California
The ultimate combination of chemical, physical and biological factors perfectly align to deliver a red tide off the shores of San Diego.
Read more “Bioluminescent Waves Visit San Diego Shorelines”
Japan
Today we head to the most popular attraction in the area. Hakone is a quaint town built in the base of Mt. Hakone. Getting there via public transit was awesome. The area has a very unique public transit system that includes the Hakone Tozan Railway, the Hakone Tozan Cable Car, the Hakone Ropeway (gondola), the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise, and various buses. The railway was very unique in the sense that it takes you up the side of a mountain from Odawara to Hakone. Because it takes you up the side of a mountain the train is about half the length of a normal train and sometimes has to go through switchbacks where the conductor would get out, switch sides of the train and continue operating the train from the opposite end. With the constant switchbacks it was a long, scenic ride up the mountain and as usual, Lex fell asleep.
Read more “A Day Trip to Hakone and Our First Shrine Experience”
Japan
With our time in Tokyo quickly ending, it was time to head on to our next destination. Before we left the bustling city, we had one more place to stop. Tokyo Station. This station is one of the busiest stations in Tokyo serving a mix of Shinkansen (bullet trains), JR East regional trains, and the Tokyo Metro System underground. This massive station is built with an extensive network of underground tunnels linking it to nearby commercial buildings and other train stations. We came here with one purpose, to do some last minute souvenir shopping in Tokyo before heading to Odawara.
Read more “Romancecar and the Journey out of Tokyo”
Tokyo
Since I left behind my souvenirs from the Nikon Museum, the first step item on our list was to brave the rush hour train again and head back to the museum. Once I arrived at the Nikon Museum, I was walked to the security office to go over the details of the items lost. This allowed me to really put my very limited Japanese and resources to the test. After about fifteen minutes of talking to the security officers through the use of google translate conversation feature and my pocket wifi providing the necessary data connection, I had fully conveyed my missing items to the officer. We then took a long walk down an underground hallway to the security locker room and about five minutes or so later, I was provided with my items. I filled out a form with all of my info and then I was on my way. While this was definitely not an ideal situation, I did a lot of growing in that situation and saved myself from having to repurchase any of the souvenirs. The security officers who assisted me were all more than accommodating and very polite.
Read more “Let’s Cram Harajuku, Shibuya and Akihabara All Into One Day!”
Tokyo
What an awesome first day in Tokyo! We couldn’t have asked for a better place to make our headquarters while in the city. This Airbnb offered easy access to the various trains in the Shinjuku area making it easy to go out and explore. Today we take the Yamanote Line train to Shinagawa to check out the Nikon Museum.
Read more “Rush Hour Trains, Nikon Museum and Studio Ghibli!”
Tokyo
With the magic of Tokyo Disneyland behind us, it was time to get a move on to the real Japan. Disneyland was a nice way to get our feet wet when we first got to Tokyo and helped us slowly acclimate to the culture. We had the advantage of a slow culture shock since many of the cast members there spoke English but that was all about to change. It was now time to test out our skill from the inconsistent learning we did between apps like Duolingo and Rosetta Stone and an audio book from Pimsleur. This would be the true test of international travel with a group who’s never traveled abroad before.
Disney
As someone who frequents Disneyland California, it was very refreshing albeit disorienting to visit DisneySea. I am so used to being able to easily navigate around the park by using all of the shortcuts available to me. So DisneySea definitely threw me off! Once you walk through the main entrance/shopping area, you are welcomed with the grand view of the park. This featured European style buildings flanking on either side of you and a towering volcano separated from you by a lake.
Read more “Magical Day at DisneySea – The Most Unique Disney Park”
Disney
First full day in Japan was well spent at Tokyo Disneyland!
The weather was perfect! We had been checking the weather the whole week before we left California and almost everyday said it would be either cloudy and 50 degrees Fahrenheit or there was a chance of rain. To our delightful surprise it felt not too cold and not too hot, with only a light sprinkle half way through our day. I’m so thankful we listened to our friends and made sure to layer our clothing.