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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…
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Dining and Eating our way through Japan
This is going to be a long post, but there is a lot to cover when it comes to dining out, etiquette, and eating food in Japan both at home and local restaurants. Jill and I have been in Japan well over a year now, I have her beat by a few months. Nonetheless, we both love Japanese food and the whole eating culture here. We’ve learned so much about proper Japanese dining here and types of food. Believe it or not, the Japanese do eat a lot of other stuff that is not just Sushi. Sure, the sushi is amazing here, but there is so much more! Unfortunately, a…
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What to See and Do in Hiroshima City
What comes to mind when you think of Hiroshima, Japan? For most people, it would be World War II and becoming the first city ever to be targeted by a nuclear weapon. I had the exact same thoughts, I knew absolutely nothing about Hiroshima other then the event that took place on August 6 1945. I’ve been to Hiroshima at least a dozen times now, and have fallen in love with this city. Hiroshima has a dark past, the events that took place here will never be forgotten. But at the same time, Hiroshima has become a modern and fun city that is home to great museums, lovely gardens, ancient…
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Cycling the Shimanami Kaido
Since moving to Japan in 2019, Cycling the Shimanami Kaido has been high on my to-do list. Prior to moving here, I’ve never heard of the Shimanami Kaido cycle route, but as I started going to bike shops and talking to other cyclist, I started to hear more and more about Cycling the Shimanami Kaido. The Shimanami Kaido is both an expressway for vehicles and route for cyclists that connects the cities of Onomichi on the main island of Honshu and Imabari on the island of Shikoku. The route crosses six smaller islands (Oshima, Hakatajima, Omishima, Ikuchijima, Innoshima, and Mukaishima) within the Seto Inland Sea. The cycle path is completely separate…
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10 Things I Love About Japan
We’ve lived in Japan going on three years now and there are characteristics here that are simply unique to Japan. Obviously, there are more then 10 things I love about Japan but the list would be incredibly long. I came up with this top ten list based on day to day aspects that truly make living in Japan fun and exciting! Cleanliness Japan is incredibly clean. You rarely see trash on the side of the streets. On mainland, I think I’ve seen graffiti only a handful of times. You can go to a city like Hiroshima or Fukuoka, well over a population of 1 million and the cities are almost…
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Japanese Snow Monkeys and How to Visit
We’ve all seen it, whether you are flipping through pages of a National Geographic magazine or watching a documentary on Animal Planet – the monkeys somewhere in Asia that like to hang out in hot springs during the cold winter months. I’ve known about these monkey’s since I was a child. Honestly, I thought they were high in the mountains somewhere near China or some other country, I had no clue these were Japanese Macaques (Japanese Snow Monkeys) that lived in, you guessed it…Japan! When I moved to Japan in 2019, I made it a goal to visit Jigokudani Yaen-Koen, otherwise known as Snow Monkey Park. Japanese Macaques(Japanese Snow Monkeys)…
