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Japan & Bali 2025
  • Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata
  • Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

Japan & Bali 2025

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata
    22

    Toyama Castle

    2025年5月17日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    In the afternoon, we went to Toyama Castle. Yes, we've been there before, but it was ages ago. We asked Mari if she knew how Samurai defended a castle, and she didn't, so we launched into a description of how castles were defended and how enemies were blocked and attacked. We have been to way more Japanese castles than most Japanese people, and we know way more about them, too.もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    Danjiri Matsuri, Toyama

    2025年5月17日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    We happened to come across a Danjiri Matsuri. It was exciting! The floats (danjiri) are big, heavy, and difficult to control. We don't know the reason for this one, but usually, the floats represent neighbourhoods. The participants practice before festival day, and then they compete for honours. These floats had fish themes, and we were near Toyama Port, so we think it must have been related to commercial fishing.もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    Makoto making soba noodles

    2025年5月17日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Makoto and his parents (and Mari, too, when she married Makoto) used to have a soba shop, so Makoto was a professional soba maker. Now he is a hobby soba maker. He makes soba about once a month in his mother's garage.

    We watched him make a batch, for us and also for his mother, which we then happily ate. Freshly-made soba is so good.    もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    Most Beautiful Starbucks in the World

    2025年5月18日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Really - that's what it's called. We are still in Toyama. It is located on a canal; it has cherry trees beside it, so lots of lovely pink blossoms in the spring, and the Japan Alps behind it, so on a clear day, it is in a lovely setting. Part of the attraction is its architecture. It was designed by the same person who did the Glass Museum. It is built on a slight slope, so it is slightly cantilevered. It was very popular, with steady lineups.もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    First days in Bali

    2025年5月20日, インドネシア ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Here we are in Bali. After a very long day of flying - Komatsu - Shanghai - Bali, we arrived about midnight. Thank goodness we had arranged transportation in advance to get us to our hotel.

    We quickly discovered that we didn't like the hotel at all. We were very unhappy there, so we looked outside the hotel for nicer things. We quickly found a great little café in one direction and a wonderful restaurant in another direction. We went there twice.

    Due to our unhappiness, we didn't take many photos those first days. Don't worry, though. We solved the problem, so future posts will show a better side of Bali, and happier girls. 😃    もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    Novotel Benoa Bali - our new hotel

    2025年5月23日, インドネシア ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    After the disaster of our first hotel, we wanted to be sure we were making the right choice, so we came here to check it out. It was so good, we made a reservation on the spot, starting the next day. ❤️

    We couldn't check in that day because we'd dropped some clothes off at a laundry service in front of the original hotel that morning and wouldn't get them back until evening. This new hotel is in a different area, so once we moved, we wouldn't go back to the first area again.

    The Novotel is everything we had hoped for in a Bali hotel. Suddenly, Bali is sunny and bright and all is right in our world again. 🌎    もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    Chef's Room, a great little café

    2025年5月24日, インドネシア ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Our first day here, we went for a walk to see what's what in the area. Not 5 minutes away, we came across this great café, so in we went for lunch. It turned out to be excellent, and we also had a nice time chatting with our server, Rosa, from Java.

    They have an all-day breakfast menu, as well as lunch items, and - always of prime importance - great coffee.

    As soon as JO saw afogato on the menu, she knew what she'd be ordering.

    Before we left, we took some exterior photos, and I even wrote a 5 Star review on Google. If you are interested, you can read it here:
    Chef's Room https://g.co/kgs/fF4dfsL    もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata
    1

    Bumbu Bali

    2025年5月24日, インドネシア ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    We went to this restaurant once before - on our first trip to Bali, about 20 years ago. It's a restaurant and cooking school, so the quality is exceptional. We never forgot it. This time, we asked what "Bumbu" meant, and the answer was "taste", so it means Taste Bali. Good name.

    We didn't remember the appearance, though, so we asked if they were still in their original location, and they are not. They had to close during COVID, and then they reopened in a new building. They've been in business for 25 years, and they are obviously thriving. Good for them.    もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    A Day in Bali

    2025年5月26日, インドネシア ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    We took a shuttle bus to an outdoor shopping center but weren't very impressed, so we took the next shuttle bus back to the hotel.

    The early afternoon was low tide - a good time for tide pooling. All I saw of interest was a brittle star about the size of my hand. It was a colour we don't have at the aquarium in Sidney, so they must come in different colours in different oceans and parts of oceans.もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata
    2

    Tegallalang Rice Terraces

    2025年5月27日, インドネシア ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    We hired a car and driver for the day to show us some of the sights in the Ubud area. Our first stop was at the Tegallalang Rice Terraces. They were very pretty, but also a bit of a manufactured tourist trap.

    They have adventure activities, in addition to seeing and walking through the rice terraces. I tried to buy a ticket for the Aladdin Carpet ride (sort of like a seated zip line), but they wouldn't sell me one because their insurance won't cover anyone over 65! I tried for the zip line, too, but that was also a no-go. What the heck? I was denied fun and excitement! If I'd known their rule in advance, I would have lied about my age. 😃    もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    Two Coffee Plantations

    2025年5月27日, インドネシア ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    After the rice terraces, we visited two coffee plantations. We saw how coffee plants are grown, how the beans are processed, and how different types of coffee are produced.

    At the second one, we had a sampling of the coffees and teas they make there. This plantations has many crops - various spices and fruit - which they use to make a variety of coffees and teas.もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    Lunch overlooking rice fields

    2025年5月27日, インドネシア ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    We were hoping for a lunch stop somewhere near rice fields, and we were not disappointed. Our guide took us to Warung Dewa Malen, which is right alongside rice fields. The name meant nothing to us, but as soon as we entered, we knew we'd been there before. This was our guide's choice, so it was purely a coincidence that we recognized it.

    Lunch was delicious, by the way, but it is the rice fields that are the stars here. It's enchanting to sit by the rice fields and enjoy not only the views but also a great lunch.

    On the road, we kept driving through villages with tall bamboo and rattan decorations lining the streets. Some are quite elaborate. They are done only twice a year, so we were lucky to see them.    もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    Pura Puseh Temple

    2025年5月27日, インドネシア ⋅ 🌧 29 °C

    Our final stop of the day was at this temple. We bought 'Foreign Tourist Tickets', were wrapped in sarongs by temple ladies, and were then guided around by an English-speaking guide, who seemed quite delighted to be showing us around and explaining to us Hindu beliefs and features of the temple.

    We learned about the 3 main gods: Shiva, the destroyer, Brahma, the creator, and Vishnu, the preserver. These three are represented by three towers at the entrance to a temple. There are also other lesser gods, who get smaller pagoda-like structures inside the temple. Their importance is also reflected in the size of their pagodas.

    The main temple is for villagers, and there is a side temple complex, just for farmers.

    Villagers decorate their temple twice a year, while the farmers also decorate theirs twice a year, but one month later than the villagers.    もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    Last Day in Bali!

    2025年5月28日, インドネシア ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We have a full day here to enjoy since our flight doesn't leave until after midnight. Horrible flight time, but so be it.

    We spent a few fun hours at the pool, swimming 🏊‍♀️, watching waves crash up onto the beach at high tide, watching all the parasailing and other water sports happening in front of us.

    We went back to the Chef's Room café for lunch. That's the one we spoke so highly of a few days ago. We were happy we had time to go there once more.

    We're now packed up and ready to go to the airport 🛫 for our flights to Tokyo. Once again, we're transiting through Shanghai.

    Our Bali photos end with a few examples of typical Balinese art and floral arrangements.

    Bye-bye Bali. Hello Japan.    もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    Back in Japan

    2025年5月29日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    We had a very long travel day. An overnight flight from Bali to Shanghai. That was brutal in Economy Class, but we managed to survive.

    There was almost a disaster before leaving Bali. We went to the gate shown on our boarding passes and we were quite early, so we sat there relaxed and unconcerned for quite a while. As it got closer to boarding time, the electronic board showed a gate change, which should have been no big deal. Unfortunately, we were on a lower level which we had reached by escalator. The new gate was a level up, but only stairs were available. No escalator or elevator. It was a long flight of stairs, too much for JO to attempt.

    I took off running to find someone to find a way to get her up to the proper level. I had to run all the way to the new gate to find someone to talk to. I ignored the barrier and went right up to the counter and let the guy there know that I needed immediate help. I explained that JO was trapped at the bottom of the stairs. He got on a walkie-talkie, another guy appeared; more on the walkie-talkie ...

    He had a solution. He said someone would go there from the check-in counter with a wheelchair and take her through areas normally not accessible to passengers. I ran back to tell her help was on the way. There was already a woman sitting on the stairs with her, and in a moment, someone arrived with the wheelchair. JO had been panicking because I'd been gone so long, and she didn't know where I was or if a solution was coming.

    The man with the wheelchair tried to go through one of those Authorized Personnel Only doors, but it was locked, and he didn't have a key. We ended up going through the boarding gate of a different flight/airline on that level. The staff there just let us through. That got us into a corridor (clearly not meant to be seen by passengers) that took us a very long way, up one floor in an elevator, along more seemingly endless corridors. There was a second elevator in there, and even a wheelchair change due to a wheel problem.

    Finally, we arrived where we needed to be and were taken right on board. One of the men I'd talked to at the beginning was there waiting for us. Passengers were already starting to board - and we had been there so early, we had had tons of time, and here we were just making it. All because of an absent up escalator or elevator. That was ridiculous. Who designed that with such an obvious flaw?

    We flew through the night, arrived in Shanghai in the morning, waited there a few hours, and then got a shorter flight to Haneda.

    Akiko was there waiting for us. We had a great dinner together at a restaurant she had found that had vegetarian items on its menu. It was a wonderful way to end our arrival day in Tokyo. This is the last stop on our trip, and Akiko is the last of our friends we'll be seeing.    もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    A day in Tokyo

    2025年5月30日, 日本 ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    With Akiko, we took a train to a shotengai (shopping street) that Akiko had learned about. It was quite a long one, so we enjoyed strolling, checking out interesting shops, having a morning coffee break when we came across a coffee shop with the slogan "Precious Coffee Moments", more strolling, a little buying and eventually a late lunch in a tempura restaurant celebrating its 100th anniversary. It was a relaxing, interesting, stress-free day.もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    Shibamata Temple and Shotengai

    2025年5月31日, 日本 ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    Akiko suggested we go to this temple and the shotengai that runs right from the temple entrance. It's famous in Japan because there was a series of movies collectively known as Tora-san. You can read all about the series here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otoko_wa_Tsurai_yo
    This temple and the connected shotengai featured in some of the movies, so it all seems familiar to many Japanese people.

    It was a long drive from Setagaya, where Akiko lives and where we are staying. We went to the temple first. It has many features common to Japanese temples, but also other features we hadn't seen before, such as big, round, blue barrels. Neither had Akiko, so she couldn't explain them.

    Next, we walked along the shotengai, which is short and has shops that Tora-san fans would recognize from the movies. It looks very old-fashioned, with small shops selling souvenirs and street food. It was very photogenic, despite, or because of, the rain. It was very cold and rainy, until we were in the car going back to Setagaya, when the rain finally stopped.    もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    Final Day in Tokyo - Not!

    2025年5月31日, 日本 ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    Another cold, rainy day in Tokyo. This was supposed to be our final full day in Tokyo before our flight to Canada tomorrow. However, the day did not unfold as planned.

    We woke to an email from WestJet about getting ready for our upcoming flight on June 1st. The details showed that we were in Premium Economy! Oh, God, no! We booked Business Class for the lie flat pods. This is all about comfort for the 10 hour overnight flight across the Pacific.

    In mid-May we had received notification from WestJet that due to swapping out one plane for another, we had been downgraded to Economy because the replacement plane was all Economy, but if we didn't like that we could change to another date with no penalty via their Live Chat.

    We did that right away, and our flight moved from June 2nd to June 1st. No big deal. During that Live Chat, I confirmed over and over again that we were still in Business with lie flat pods. Keeping that class was the only reason for changing dates. I got repeated assurances that our new seats were in Business Class with lie flat pods. We thought everything was fine until this new last-minute email saying Premium Economy. What a nightmare!

    I was back online with Live Chat for 1 hour and 45 minutes, trying to get this fixed. I got nowhere. The agent just kept repeating that everything was OK, we were confirmed in Premium, all was well, etc., etc. Finally, she admitted that she was unable to solve the problem, and my only recourse was to phone the call centre in Calgary.

    We were beyond distressed. We were so distraught that we could barely face the day we had planned. We had already postponed our start time with Akiko to go on a daytrip to Shibamata Temple and Shotengai. We decided to go ahead with our plans and try to stop worrying for a few hours.

    Details of that trip in next footprint.

    Back at the hotel in late afternoon, still wildly upset, we made the phone call to WestJet's Calgary Call Centre. We got an amazing agent who listened to the problem, understood it, looked for a solution, and found it! She searched for various options, routings, availabilities, and dates. What we ended up with is a new flight day - June 3rd, the same flight from Narita to Calgary. The connecting flight from there to Victoria is 2 hours later than the original, but we can cope with that.

    So we have two more days in Tokyo. Ultimately, this is only one day later than our original booking, so in the grand scheme of things, it isn't so bad. We have absolutely got the Business Class seats we need. We even had a choice of seats on the new flight. Suddenly, we can breathe again. Thank goodness.

    After dinner, we booked 2 more nights at the hotel we are in, so we don't have the hassle of moving. We are letting the stress wash off now.    もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    Rigoletto Spice Market

    2025年5月31日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    This was supposed to have been our final evening in Japan until the flight drama earlier in the day resulted in a 2-day date change. (By dinner time, that had all been resolved.)

    To celebrate the occasion, Akiko had made a reservation for dinner at Rigoletto Spice Market (https://g.co/kgs/mqpiWii). We had found it by accident when we were here in 2023, and we all thought it would nicely wrap up our trip and visit with Akiko to have dinner here again.

    Much to our surprise, this time they had a vegetarian menu available, in addition to the regular one. This is something new for them, and a happy find for us. After the horrible experience with WestJet, we decided we deserved a glass of wine with dinner. 🍷 This might be the only wine we've had since leaving Canada.

    We had a great dinner. It was indeed a fitting farewell dinner, even though it turned out we would have two more nights in Tokyo.    もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    Kobeya Lunch

    2025年6月1日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Here we are, still in Tokyo. We all decided that we could make very good use of our extra time by having lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Kobeya. We had dinner at one in Nishinomiya way back at the beginning of this trip, and we went to this one in Setagaya with Akiko in 2023. We weren't going to go this time, until this free time appeared.

    As usual, it was a very good meal, but something funny happened. When we arrived, Akiko noticed one of the servers and remembered that he had served us in 2023. She scrolled back through the photos in her phone and found a photo she had taken of him with me on October 16, 2023. She showed it to him and told him we were back in Japan for another visit. He had a good laugh, we went on with our lunch, and forgot about that, until at the end of our meal, he suddenly appeared with 3 little cups of ice cream to thank us for coming back! That was nice, wasn't it? 🍨    もっと詳しく

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  • Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataJapan & Bali 2025Jo and JO Brooks-Caragata

    Togoshi Ginza

    2025年6月2日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    What should we do with our last bonus day in Tokyo? We know! Go to one more shotengai!

    This one is called Togoshi Ginza and was about a 20-minute train ride from our hotel. We went on our own. Akiko had taken time off work for the days we were scheduled to be in Tokyo, but she's gone back to work now.

    This shotengai is noted for being one of the longest in the country, and its road uses some of the bricks from the original Ginza district of Tokyo.

    We had a leisurely stroll along the street from one end to the other.    もっと詳しく

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