HOME!

I plan to put these words in order on this page, but man am I exhausted! We woke up on Saturday morning in Tokyo (late afternoon Friday Central time, that is), gathered our things, and hopped on the metro to Ueno Station. There, we picked up the Keisei Skyliner bound for Narita airport. We enjoyed…

Tokyo: The Last Day

Aw, man. I can’t believe I’m already writing about the last day of our trip to Japan! We need to leave our apartment here near Ginza at about 7:15 tomorrow morning to head to Narita to catch out flight, so tomorrow doesn’t really count as a trip day at all. 7:15 isn’t too far away,…

Travel Day: Takayama to Tokyo

Logan’s birthday is today. YAY! He got to spend most of it on a train, which was neat, but maybe not his most exciting birthday ever? We woke up this morning in Takayama, packed, and caught the 11:32 Wide View Hida. The gel cling stickers made an appearance again – this was a dollar well…

Takayama: Exploring the Town

So. We should have planned for more time here in Takayama. I’m not sure where we’d have found the time, but I love this town and am sad to leave tomorrow morning! Part of it could be the amazing airbnb Logan found, but I think most of it is the walkable town center, fascinating shops,…

Takayama: Day Trip Through the Time Tunnel

Today was a really good day. Last night was a little rough, though – I’m noticing it usually takes Amity a day or two to settle into a new place, which is hard when you’re moving every 3-4 nights. So, even though she had that super cool cubby, she woke up at 2:45 and demanded…

Travel Day: Nara to Takayama

Trains, trains, wonderful trains! I’m so glad Iron Butt is finally going to be showing in our local cineplex. (Don’t correct me.) Today, we took the kintetsu line from Nara to Kyoto, changed there for the Shinkansen, and then changed again for the Hida Wide View train, a fancy sightseeing train with yoooge windows and…

Nara: Rain and Wandering

So, after two days, we’ve decided we really like Nara. It’s a small town, with a lot of history, good restaurants, and wonderful roads to wander.  That’s pretty much what we did today. Even the sewer covers are festooned with deer! Our first real stop was lunch, at a place called Edogawa Grilled Eel. As…

Nara: Ami almost gets eaten by deer

OMG, you guys. I guess we’ve been pushing our toddler hard, because today she woke up just before 11. My toddler is a teenager? Well, she’s at least a tween, if that look on her face is any indication. We gathered ourselves and left our apartment, stroller in tow, to find some lunch. On the…

Leaving Osaka (and friends)

Today was our last day in Osaka, and our last morning with Jody and Tori! Big old sad face on both counts.  Tiny was being particularly adorable. (Less so right now, at 10:38, when she won’t go to sleep…) The morning started with a search for big, fluffy Japanese pancakes (after a search for coin…

Osaka: Taking it Easy

Unfortunately, when you’re traveling, somebody is bound to get sick. And today, that somebody was Logan. Poor guy woke up this morning feeling just awful! The rest of us hung around the apartment this morning, resting and/or getting some work done, while he convalesced. In the early afternoon, we left him to get some sleep…