Jun 7, 2017 - Three nights in Osaka

The toilets at the airport have all the fancy cleaning options including a privacy option which sounds like running water to muffle any bodily function noises! Similarly all the ones at the hotel had all the bells and whistles the Japanese feel they require in a toilet. The Backyard Travel representative met us at the arrivals, she had a sign with our names on it. We were both very tired as she handed over our itinerary, JR train passes, and various vouchers and brochures. It was very overwhelming. Grae and she went to hire a Smartphone for...

Oct 7, 2016 - And the journey continues. .

We arrived in Tokyo (Narita airport) at 4:15pm. We had to make a quick run to catch our connecting flight to Bangkok....good thing we are carrying everything with us--NO CHECKED BAGS this time! With the 4 connections we had to make in 2 days, we did not want to risk losing the bags! It's working perfectly; we all know I can do this but you should be extra impressed that elise has everything she needs for 2 weeks in a small rolling duffle bag :). We landed in Bangkok around 9:30pm, found our hotel shuttle and settled in there. Just so you...

Sep 6, 2016 - Japon & Corée du Sud - croisière

Le lien à l'album en ligne - Link to the online album : https://goo.gl/photos/MLgum3dLsoYKWGWm8 C'est maintenant le temps de ranger le sac à dos, sortir nos beaux vêtements (le peu qu'on transporte) et se laisser bercer et dorloter à bord du Diamond Princess pour dix jours de croisière au Japon et la Corée du Sud. N'ayant avec nous que des gougounes, espadrilles et bottes de trekking, on s'est permis un p'tit shopping à Hong Kong et Tokyo afin de faire un peu plus "World Cruisers". Nous avions choisi de passer 4 jours à Yokohama pour...

Jul 3, 2016 - Kyoto temples tour

Well here in Kyoto we are on our own for breakfast. The hotel restaurant is really crowded and we were given a ¥2000 stipend to purchase our own breakfast locally. We walked a block and a half to Starbucks and had coffee and danish. Back to the hotel and on the bus. Our first stop was the Kiyomizu temple. Walked up some many stairs and took photos of the various buildings. This is the temple of pure water and there was water flowing from three pipes, probably from an uphill stream. The temple had set up a station where one could obtain a...

Jul 2, 2016 - July 2 off to Kyoto

We arose at the usual hour and packed our belongings for shipment to Kyoto. Today was the day we would go to our sister hotel next-door and have breakfast on the 12th floor. The breakfast was somewhat better and there was a chef making omelettes if you chose to have one. After breakfast we all met in the lobby and were dispatched to our various hosts for a home visit. Denise myself Cynthia and Diana Drew Mr., Kanagawa. We taxied to his home and were warmly greeted by him. He immediately took us into his garden which he was very proud. It...

Jul 1, 2016 - Optional tour to Shirakawa-go and Gokayama

We started off the morning as usual with breakfast at the hotel. Again breakfast was unremarkable. We drove for approximately 1 1/2 hours to the Ainokura Village at Gokoyama Natural Park. We took photos of the old buildings and did a little hike up the hill so that we had a vista looking down on the village for pictures. After that we went to the community center and made moshi. They took steam rice and put it in something that resembled a large mortar and then pounded it with a wooden mallet. It ultimately became creamy but gummy. It was...

Jun 30, 2016 - A day in Kanazawa

Off to our usual early start at 5 AM, we killed some time, showered, did some wash and headed for the usual combination Japanese American breakfast. As usual it was an adventure but adequate. Our first stop was the Kenrokuen garden. My guess is it covers somewhere around 4 or 5 acres and was over 200 years old. It had many beautiful old trees, water features, and was beautifully landscaped. It was across the street from the Kanazawa Castle. We spent approximately an hour and a half in the garden and it was time well spent. The garden is...

Jun 29, 2016 - Off to Kanazawa on the bullet train

Arose early this morning to go take a Japanese bath. The water is very Hot wbut it is from a Hot Spring. During her bath we saw a very large spider on the wall. It was fine until he disappeared which said his small wave of panic through our group-the grouping Denise and I. After the bath After the bath we returned to our room. The hotel has three types of mineral Hot Springs baths. There's one for men, one for women and one fprivate barh for singles couples or families. Bathing suits are not allowed. The hotel provides a Yakata for covering...

Jun 28, 2016 - The rainy day from hell

Woke up at 5:30 and went up on the roof to look at Mount Fuji it was pouring rain and visibility was about 1000 feet or less . Needless to say Fuji was not in sight We did breakfast and then boarded our bus to head to lake Ashi for a boat cruise of the lake. It was still raining pretty hard though the boat trip was somewhat of a bust. At the end of the boat trip we went to the Narukawa museum. We took some photos of some of the portraits were pictures and learn how the page were made from natural pigment. We then went to a Lakeside...

Jun 27, 2016 - Leaving Tokyo

We got up early this morning and took our luggage down to the lobby for it to be shipped to a future destination. We then went to breakfast however Denise did not go as there was nothing there she wanted to eat. We loaded on the bus and headed for Hakone. After about an hour and a half drive we stopped at a lake to see if there was a view of Mount Fuji but it was pretty much covered in clouds. However, there was some very interesting flowers at this location and some photos were taken of them. We then went back on the bus and headed to...

Jun 26, 2016 - A day in Tokyo

An early start for breakfast as we had a 745 orientation meeting. Breakfast with a mix of Japanese and American food heavily balanced toward Japanese. Some of the items included marshmallows to be dipped in a hot chocolate Fountain, ice cream, mackerel, undercooked scrambled eggs, and the list goes on. The coffee however was fresh ground and quite tasty. After the orientation meeting we boarded the bus and headed to the Sensoji buddhist temple at Asakusa. After a tour of the temple grounds and the Shinto shrine we were cut loose for 50...

Jun 25, 2016 - The day after

Today we arose bright and early at 6 AM and did our laundry. We met with the rest of the group at about 845 and walked into town for breakfast burritos at yokolicious. We all order burritos and Annie ordered. a medium order of garlic fries to go along with everything else we were eating just in case it wasn't enough. It was very good and after breakfast we walk through Yokosuka for a little shopping. Kelly decided she wanted a set of navy fatigues so we went to the NEX which turned out to be the wrong place. Shopping was at a minimum as the...