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2 Days in Kyoto, Japan
From 794 until 1868, the city of Kyoto was the imperial capital and is still considered the cultural capital of Japan. Kyoto is also known as “The City of a Thousand Shrines” and is home to 14 World Heritage Sites known as the Monuments of Ancient Kyoto. Kyoto is not all cobble stone streets and temples. In reality it is a huge city with a modern downtown area with a population of 1.5 million. After being in Japan for over two years, we finally got a chance to visit this wonderful city and spent 2 days in Kyoto. Kyoto is one of those cities that needs time to explore, you…
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Day Trip to Uji, Japan: Byodoin Temple and Green Tea
Located between the cities of Kyoto and Nara, Uji is one of Japan’s oldest towns. Uji’s prize attraction is the Phoenix Hall at Byodoin Temple, a renown World Heritage Site which happens to be featured on the back side of the ¥10 coin. Walk across one of Japan’s oldest bridges to view the Ujigami Shrine, considered Japan’s oldest Shinto shrine. And, a trip to Uji is not complete without tasting and purchasing Green Tea! **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 commission at no extra cost…
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Travel to Nara, Japan- Deer, Temples, & A Giant Buddha
Nara often gets looked over, since it’s bigger sister Kyoto gets most of the attention in the Kansai region. At one point Nara was the capital of Japan between 710 to 794 before being moved to Kyoto and then Edo (current day Tokyo). Today, Nara is most famous for Nara Park which is the location of many of Nara’s temples and the world famous bowing deer. We were able to Travel to Nara Japan for two days after a visit to Kyoto and I must say, Nara might be my favorite city in Japan. Travel to Nara, Japan Nara, like most other cities on mainland Japan is very easy to…
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Tsuken Island Okinawa, aka “Carrot Island”
This is post 6 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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Hiji Falls Hike, Okinawa
This is post 5 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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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…
