-
·
🇯🇵 Kobe: Sake & Beef, with a Side of Shinto
Today’s theme: Sake and beef with a side of Shinto. We spent the day in Kobe, which is famous for two things: beef and sake. Rather than join the ship’s excursion herd, we hired a guide so we could go at our own pace. Sake Brewery Museum We started our day at the Hakutsuru Sake Brewery…
-
·
🇯🇵 Tokoname: Home of the Luckiest Cats in Japan
A quick note before I get started: Many of you have reached out about the major earthquake in northern Japan today. Our current location is in the south of Japan (see map), well away from the affected area. And one of the safest places to be during an earthquake and tsunami is at sea. So we are just fine. Thank you for checking…
-
·
🇯🇵 Embarkation Day & What I Learned About Laundry in Japan
Embarkation day. Ken and I were both wide awake at 3am. Jet lag clearly isn’t done with us yet. And once we were awake, we were starving. Emergency granola bars to the rescue. At breakfast this morning, I tried aloe yogurt. Yes, aloe. It tasted exactly like a skincare product. Ken: “What did you think it was…
-
·
🇯🇵 A Full Day in Tokyo: A Watch, a Knife, and a Tea Ceremony
Oh, it’s been a DAY. Buckle up! Slept for 10 glorious hours last night. Like some kind of teenager. Feeling much more human today. We only had one full day in Tokyo before boarding our ship, so I wanted to maximize our time. Tokyo is the largest city on earth – 37 million people in…
-
·
🇯🇵 First (Jetlagged) Impressions of Tokyo
We just returned home from a 2-1/2 week trip to Asia – a Regent Seven Seas cruise that started from Tokyo, traveled around the southern half of Japan, then to Seoul, and Shanghai. We covered 2,942 nautical miles – about like going from New York to Los Angeles. Lots to unpack. I will share my travelogues…
-
·
📚 Destination Bookshelf: What I Read Before Our Trip to Japan, Seoul & Shanghai
Before we take a trip, I always try to do some reading that connects with our upcoming destination(s). I gravitate toward my favorite genre – historical fiction. For me, historical fiction helps make history more accessible and relatable. Ken is more of a non-fiction guy, but I don’t have the patience to get through A Concise…
-
·
🇯🇵 🇰🇷 🇨🇳 Four is Death & Other Advice I’ve Received on Japan, South Korea, and China
I travel a lot, and I feel like I’ve accumulated enough passport stamps and stressful experiences to be reasonably competent at it. That said, in a few days, Ken and I are heading to Asia on an ocean cruise with Regent Seven Seas. Why a cruise? Honestly, I figured it would be a good way…