1 Nov 2019 We woke up to bright sunshine. After our luggage was organized we had to leave the motel by checkout at 10 am. We headed out just past the Tokyo skytree by subway and we found the first and oldest garden in Tokyo, Mukojima-Hyakken garden. It had been around since the late 1800’s … Continue reading The longest day of the year
Japan 2019
Beautiful day for a walk
31 October 2019 Our last full day in Tokyo. Since we did not have to get up to an alarm we lazed about in the room until we finally had to go out and do something. We took a train to Kamakura, a popular tourist city. It was an hour by train and was a … Continue reading Beautiful day for a walk
A hidden lunch
30 October 2019 Today we were off to find the place we were going to do glass carving in Ota city which is in southern Tokyo. The train trip was a little bit trickier than usual as we had to switch to a non-JR line and pay a reduced fee for switching to another line … Continue reading A hidden lunch
Off to the seashore
29 October 2019 The day dawned gloomy and rainy. We had planned to travel to Mt. Nokogiri in the Chiba prefecture, as it has a hike, a temple, and beautiful views but, as we were sitting in Tokyo station waiting for the first of three trains and looking at how long it would actually take … Continue reading Off to the seashore
Visiting an old friend
28 October 2019 We had a late start to the day. Off to Yokohama for the day. We found a little quicker route there, taking an express train, but we had to head to tokyo station to do that. Once in Yokohama we headed towards the Red Brick warehouses we visited last year, right on … Continue reading Visiting an old friend
Off to Tokyo
27 October 2019 It was a very last day of our driving tour… a sad day. We were up at our new usual times and Kim went for a bath before breakfast. Then we had our last hotel breakfast since we never have breakfast at the hotel in Tokyo. It was fairly small as we … Continue reading Off to Tokyo
Pasteurized
26 October 2019 Not up until 7:50 am. Went down for a bath and then off to breakfast. This time they had a cheese omelet station. The eggs were perfect and for sure not overcooked. The eggs in Japan are more yellow and all eggs are pasteurized which means they are well washed and then … Continue reading Pasteurized
We ate. We drove.
25 October 2019 The ryokan we stayed in was beautiful, old and had wonderful baths and it was made even better by the morning meal. Kim did not get as much enjoyment out of it as it was heavily seafood-based. But I did! There was an interesting regional specialty where you cooked egg and seafood … Continue reading We ate. We drove.
Two Oceans and a Strait
The hotel stay continued to be interesting. We went down for breakfast at 7:30. The same person at the desk the night before was still there and running things including the breakfast. There was a tray with some dishes on it with pickles, natto, a small cooked fish, an egg and seaweed salad. Jennifer went … Continue reading Two Oceans and a Strait
New friends and tight spaces
23 October 2019 Up early again. Kim went to have a bath and there were only three people so it was pretty empty. When he returned we went down to the buffet breakfast. There was lots there but oddly no pot of rice. Usually the buffet breakfast comes with a pot of miso soup and … Continue reading New friends and tight spaces
Kesennuma and the tsunami
22 October 2019 The day started with a hotspring bath, an amazing Japanese breakfast buffet and then it was on the road to Kesennuma. Kesennuma is one of many towns that was hit with the tsunami in 2011. This particular town lost 1354 people and over 80 % of the 15000 buildings and households. We … Continue reading Kesennuma and the tsunami
Tome…
21 October 2019 Up at 5 again with lots of time to kill. We did not have to be out of the hotel until 11 and were not picking up the car until 1 PM. not a very exciting morning except for when Kim was trying to avoid me touching him and managed to wedge … Continue reading Tome…