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24 hours in Shinjuku, Tokyo
Tokyo is Japan’s capital city and the worlds most populous metropolitan area. The metro area of Tokyo has over 37 million people. Simply put, Tokyo is huge! It’s a high-tech, modern, and wealthy city that is separated into several districts. One of those districts is Shinjuku. Obviously, you can’t see all of Shinjuku in just a day or even a weekend, but we only had one day in Shinjuku. This is how we spent 24 hours in Shinjuku Tokyo. **This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one of the links or banners throughout the page, whether it be TripAdvisor, Booking.com. Agoda.com, or any other affiliate, I might receive…
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Hiking Mt. Fuji – Yoshida Trail
Hiking Mt. Fuji in Japan is a dream for many travelers and a spiritual journey for local residents. Mt. Fuji is a symbol of Japan, as it is Japan’s highest and most well known mountain. Every year (non-Covid) hundreds of thousands of locals and tourists flock to the Mt. Fuji area to hopefully get a glimpse of the mountain from afar or hike the trails that lead to the summit. Jill and I, both have wanted to hike Fuji for a while but travel restrictions have hindered us from doing so. Since we both got vaccinated and Japan loosened restrictions, we were able to book our flights and hike the…
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Zamami Island, Okinawa
This is post 4 of 18 in the series “Discover Okinawa” Discover Okinawa is a series of posts that has everything to do with all things Okinawa. Join us on our journey as we bike around islands, explore Okinawa’s wildlife, eat amazing food, and everything in between! Visiting Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium: From Coral Reefs to Whale Sharks Okinawa Battle Sites Tour Day Trip To Cape Hedo, Okinawa Zamami Island, Okinawa Hiji Falls Hike, Okinawa Tsuken Island Okinawa, aka “Carrot Island” Iriomote Island, Japan – Beaches, Jungles, and Wild Cats Okinawa World Heritage Sites Indiana Jones Trail, Okinawa Exploring Ie Shima, Okinawa Tunnel Rats, Exploring Okinawa’s WWII Caves Okinawa Night Hike,…
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Day Trip To Cape Hedo, Okinawa
This is post 3 of 18 in the series “Discover Okinawa” Discover Okinawa is a series of posts that has everything to do with all things Okinawa. Join us on our journey as we bike around islands, explore Okinawa’s wildlife, eat amazing food, and everything in between! Visiting Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium: From Coral Reefs to Whale Sharks Okinawa Battle Sites Tour Day Trip To Cape Hedo, Okinawa Zamami Island, Okinawa Hiji Falls Hike, Okinawa Tsuken Island Okinawa, aka “Carrot Island” Iriomote Island, Japan – Beaches, Jungles, and Wild Cats Okinawa World Heritage Sites Indiana Jones Trail, Okinawa Exploring Ie Shima, Okinawa Tunnel Rats, Exploring Okinawa’s WWII Caves Okinawa Night Hike,…
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Earth Day 2021, Beach Clean Up
This year, Earth Day is on Thursday, April 22nd. Since Earth Day lies on a Thursday this year and we have been experiencing a lot of heavy rain and high winds due to Typhoon Surigae, we will be celebrating Earth Day on Saturday, April 24th. Those that know me probably know that I really enjoy picking up trash whether it be along the beach or a city trail. Now that I live in Okinawa, it only makes sense to go to various beaches near Okinawa City to help with beach clean up. Jill and I bought some trash tongs from Daiso (Local 100 Yen Shop) or as we call it…
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Okinawa Battle Sites Tour
This is post 2 of 18 in the series “Discover Okinawa” Discover Okinawa is a series of posts that has everything to do with all things Okinawa. Join us on our journey as we bike around islands, explore Okinawa’s wildlife, eat amazing food, and everything in between! Visiting Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium: From Coral Reefs to Whale Sharks Okinawa Battle Sites Tour Day Trip To Cape Hedo, Okinawa Zamami Island, Okinawa Hiji Falls Hike, Okinawa Tsuken Island Okinawa, aka “Carrot Island” Iriomote Island, Japan – Beaches, Jungles, and Wild Cats Okinawa World Heritage Sites Indiana Jones Trail, Okinawa Exploring Ie Shima, Okinawa Tunnel Rats, Exploring Okinawa’s WWII Caves Okinawa Night Hike,…
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Visiting Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium: From Coral Reefs to Whale Sharks
This is post 1 of 18 in the series “Discover Okinawa” Discover Okinawa is a series of posts that has everything to do with all things Okinawa. Join us on our journey as we bike around islands, explore Okinawa’s wildlife, eat amazing food, and everything in between! Visiting Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium: From Coral Reefs to Whale Sharks Okinawa Battle Sites Tour Day Trip To Cape Hedo, Okinawa Zamami Island, Okinawa Hiji Falls Hike, Okinawa Tsuken Island Okinawa, aka “Carrot Island” Iriomote Island, Japan – Beaches, Jungles, and Wild Cats Okinawa World Heritage Sites Indiana Jones Trail, Okinawa Exploring Ie Shima, Okinawa Tunnel Rats, Exploring Okinawa’s WWII Caves Okinawa Night Hike,…
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Our New Chapter, Iwakuni to Okinawa
The saying goes, “All good things must come to an end,” unfortunately that is how we feel because we are leaving Iwakuni after 1.5 years. When I first received a job offer to work in Iwakuni, I’ve never even heard of this town and I bet most people haven’t. I always told myself I want to live in a smaller city yet close enough to a big city, I wanted to live near an ocean and have access to mountains, and I wanted to live in a city that has great public transportation. Iwakuni ticked all these boxes. To me, Iwakuni was the perfect city and I wish I could…
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Guide to Miyajima Island, Japan
Miyajima Island, Japan is considered to be in the Top 3 most scenic sites in all of Japan and home to the Floating Shrine a UNESCO World Heritage Site, there is no wonder why this island receives over four million visitors annually. Itsukushima is the proper name of the island but everyone knows it as Miyajima Island meaning “Shrine Island” or as I like to call it, “Deer Island” since the island is home to a small species of deer that roam around and are not afraid of humans. Miyajima is a holy place full of shrines and temples. Strict measures have been in place here to keep Miyajima authentic…
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Visiting Hagi, Japan
Considered one of Japan’s best kept secrets! Hagi, is a small castle town located on the western side of Yamaguchi Prefecture over looking the Sea of Japan. This castle town has been remarkably preserved. Although the castle lies in ruins much of the town including streets and buildings are as they were centuries ago. Hagi was the seat of the Mori Clan. The Mori Clan (Japanese Samurai Clan) settled in this area for more then 250 years around the 1600’s. After this period ended, Hagi became a significant location during the Meiji Period (1868-1912). The Meiji Period was a period of renewal for Japan. During the Meiji Period, Japan quickly…
