Another 99 Hours in Japan

Last December, Bree and Liam came to visit, squeezing in a quick trip before Christmas. They enjoyed their time enough to return again this year for another 99 hours in Japan. Arriving late Sunday afternoon, Bree and Liam crashed not long after getting to our house. Waking early on Monday, we decided to drive to …

Seeing the Top of the World

Guest Blog by Michael Schilling I’m going to Kathmandu When you decide to check off a bucket list item, thinking about what could go wrong is not in the forethought.  Needless to say, I forgot to buy travel insurance for my trip.  I’m going to see the top of the world!  Oh yah, I probably …

An Almost Perfect Day in Izu

The Izu peninsula is one of, if not, my favorite place in Japan. When I saw that ITT was offering a tour to hike along the coast and then visit a temple I’ve wanted to see,  I figured it would be the perfect way to celebrate the first day of fall.  I was excited to …

One Ninja Step at a Time

Will, as always, was very excited about our current getaway.  On the way there, he told us he had a "great idea" that we should call this weekend away a “Family Trip" since the whole family, including the dogs, was off to Nagano. Nagano was made famous during the 1998 Winter Olympics. Besides abundant winter …

Thriving during Golden Week

April 29 – May 7, 2017 Golden Week is a series of Japanese holidays that occur close together from the end of April through the beginning of May. Many people take off an additional day or two so they have an entire week of vacation. In our orientation to Japan, we were warned this holiday …

99 Hours in Japan

MONDAY I'd been saving the Hakone Round Course tour (a day long circuit of scenic Hakone mountain utilizing rail, cable cars, ropeway, a boat, and buses) until we had visitors. When Breeann and Liam asked if they could visit us for a few days before Christmas, I knew I wanted to add this to the …

Viewpoint

Fuji Five Lakes, Japan We'd originally planned on spending Thanksgiving in the Fuji Five Lakes area. However, the weather forecast included rain and snow (which we even got at our house) so we canceled our trip. I was looking at the weather a week ago and realized the upcoming weekend could be absolutely fantastic. I …

Spoiled

Kamikochi, Japan I am not a morning person but I do like to explore, so occasionally we get up at the ridiculous hour of 3:30 AM to get on a bus for a day of sightseeing. Today we were heading into the Japanese Alps to hike the Kamikochi Nature Trail in Chubu-Sangaku National Park. I …

On the Ancient Path

Wakayama, Japan Fall Trip Part 2 FRIDAY Since we'd accomplished all our Kyoto goals, I'd hoped to get an early start for Wakayama prefecture on Friday morning. We were taking the train to Nara, picking up a rental car and then stopping to explore in Shirahama before arriving in Nachikatsuura. Mike had gone out the …

Butterflies, Rainbows, Stars and a Heart Shaped Cave

Izu Peninsula Big Sur, California is thus far my favorite place on earth. There were moments when driving down the East Coast of the Izu Peninsula that I was reminded of the Central California coast. It was an absolutely lovely day and the beautiful views were getting me more and more excited about our Labor …