Rhys’ New Foods List – November

11/1 - Takoyaki: Bits of octopus fried in doughy balls with MOLTEN insides. Tasted a bit like extra-rubbery shrimp. Not a fan. 11/2 - French Fry Chips, Udon: The french fry-shaped-and-flavored chips were bizarrely accurate, and salty. Liked 'em, as you would have guessed. Udon are super-thick noodles that I enjoyed somewhat, but not tremendously. … Continue reading Rhys’ New Foods List – November →

Japan Redux

You may (or may not) have noticed that almost all of the Japan blogs were written by Rhys; this was intentional, as his eyes were new for Japan, so I felt he would be able to write more interesting blogs. However, it was an interesting perspective to revisit the same areas (and many new ones) … Continue reading Japan Redux →

Kyoto and Leaving Home Again

Our last day on the Shinkansen took us to Kyoto. We spent the day touring various temples, seeing a dry rock garden, and looking at the magnificent colors of the leaves. Kyoto is known for the red maple trees of autumn and we caught the start of it. We also met an engineer from Boston … Continue reading Kyoto and Leaving Home Again →

Studio Ghibli Museum in Tokyo

After visiting Hiroshima, we desperately needed a happy jump-start type day to bounce back. Luckily, we had purchased tickets to the Studio Ghibli Museum in Tokyo and took the Shinkansen there two days ago. Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio founded by the famous director Hayao Miyazaki and has produced absolutely wonderful animation for … Continue reading Studio Ghibli Museum in Tokyo →

Hiroshima

I've thought a lot before sitting down to write this entry. It's been a few days now and I think I can write about it as objectively as I possibly can. The day started out as so many this last week have: an early rise followed by a lot of time on the Shinkansen. Though … Continue reading Hiroshima →

Shinkansen to Tokyo

We've added another mode of transportation to our long list of conveyances: Shinkansen. That's 'bullet train' for you Westerners. It's a wonderful experience to be zipping along at 200+ MPH, though it's a little unnerving at first to see the landscape moving so quickly yet not feel the train moving. It took us about three … Continue reading Shinkansen to Tokyo →

The Nikki has Landed

Indi and I are happy to report that we have been joined for the next week+ by one of our best friends! Nikki and her husband, Brad, took the road trip to California with us back in April and waved goodbye from Long Beach as we set out on the cargo ship to New Zealand...which … Continue reading The Nikki has Landed →

Winter is Coming

You could probably say it's already here, but we do still have some warm days in Osaka. Though money is getting tighter for us, we broke down and bought some winterized clothing, as the ol' shorts and t-shirt routine that sustained us in Southeast Asia won't cut the mustard either here or in Europe … Continue reading Winter is Coming →

Dining in Japan

An experience that is still taking some adjusting to in Japan is eating out. We are staying at a guesthouse that has a supplied kitchen (much like the places we stayed at in New Zealand) so we cook in sometimes, but since we're often out-and-about we typically eat out someplace. Whether it's a nice sit-down … Continue reading Dining in Japan →

Money Talks

Well, we've amended our travel plans. Again. But it's a good thing. Indi and I sat down today to really hammer out the details of the next leg of our journey. We looked at the money we have, the money we estimate we'll have when we leave Japan on December 3rd, and how much flights … Continue reading Money Talks →