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- Day 78
- Wednesday, November 19, 2025
- ⛅ 12 °C
- Altitude: 20 m
JapanAmagasaki34°46’1” N 135°23’1” E
Japan: Hiroshima, Miyajima&Tokyo —Lauren
November 19 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
We spent a night in Hiroshima on Monday. There were some crowds at the Peace Museum, but nothing like the throngs of tourists at Kyoto and Nara. That was refreshing. We arrived in the afternoon and tried okonomiyaki—the same kind of pancake/cabbage/omelette dish we had in Osaka. I guess each city is famous for their style of making it. We liked the Hiroshima one better. It had noodles. :) We sat in a little shop at a counter where they cooked on a griddle in front of you. The owner was loud and friendly—a fun meal. Then we realized there was a koi shop not too far away. They had truly beautiful fish and were inexpensive. We were sad to learn they couldn’t ship to the US unless we had an importer license. The owner gave us a mini tour and showed us the variety he invented and bred—they were a pale pinkish yellow fish that was huge and friendly and were called mustard in Japanese. :)
Next we took a bus to the Peace Memorial Park, a large park at the epicenter of the atom bomb dropped here in August 1945. At the entrance was the A-bomb Dome, a concrete building that somehow stood after the bomb. It’s haunting. As you walk to the other side, there’s a rose garden with a direct line of sight to it. A beautiful contrast. Next to that is a large sculpture that is dedicated to all the children killed in the bombing. It was built to honor a 12-year-old girl who died of leukemia in 1955. Even today, thousands of origami paper cranes are mailed here each month in the name of peace. There are beautiful mosaics all made up of colorful cranes put together. It’s impossible not to think of all the children still affected by war and say a prayer for them.
Across the way, there is a flame that never goes out and an arch over a box with the names of people who died. All of it lines up with the dome. Truly beautiful.
Two groups of middle schoolers approached us while we were walking around and asked us if we would write a message of peace. They gave us one of their own along with two paper cranes. Drew took a photo with one of the groups—what a good field trip assignment!
Then we went inside the museum. It was heavy, full of stories, photos, and art naming the excruciating suffering experienced. There were definitely times we had to wipe away tears and times I had to look away. Witnessing their stories felt like a way to honor their losses. So difficult but important. We sat outside and processed together afterwards before we found some dinner and went to bed early.
On Tuesday, We got an early start to catch a ferry to Miyajima, a small island near Hiroshima. We saw the famous floating gate at high tide, explored a temple surrounded by fall leaves, and took a gondola up to an observation point overlooking the sea. It was beautiful and good to be in nature. We took a bullet train back to Tokyo for our final two nights. Doing a little shopping and final exploring. We went to an awesome latte art place today. I showed them a picture of Bucky, and they made my foam look like him! We also ate Lois’ favorite Japanese meal—shabu shabu. It’s a cook your own dinner in a hot pot with broth at your table. Very engaging!
We leave tomorrow. Japan has been great, but we are ready to go home.Read more
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- Day 78
- Wednesday, November 19, 2025 at 11:22 AM
- ☀️ 13 °C
- Altitude: 16 m
JapanHiroshima34°24’15” N 132°27’20” E
Japan 3 - Drew
November 19 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

TravelerThis arch has all the names of people who died that day, behind it is a flame that never goes out, and behind that in the distance you can see the building that was directly under the bomb that still has some standing walls. The monuments were built so they all line up. It's hard to describe how terrible and moving the whole experience was.
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- Day 78
- Wednesday, November 19, 2025 at 11:20 AM
- ☀️ 12 °C
- Altitude: 11 m
JapanHiroshima34°23’44” N 132°27’14” E
Japan 4 - Lois
November 19 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C
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- Day 75
- Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 5:54 PM
- 🌙 17 °C
- Altitude: 39 m
JapanOsaka34°41’53” N 135°29’36” E
Japan—Kyoto, Osaka & Nara
November 16 in Japan ⋅ 🌙 17 °C
We decided to use Osaka as a hub for some exploring since it’s a bit more affordable and easy to navigate. It’s a huge city but it feels calmer than the area of Tokyo where we stayed.
On Friday, we took the train to Kyoto. We walked all around, to several shrines, parks, a bamboo forest and little shopping streets. There were so many places that had been there for centuries. I think the fall colors looked great with all the orange architecture. The first place was Fushimi Inari, and it was more of a hike than a wander. There were 10,000 orange gates up a big hill, so we got our steps in early that day. I think we had close to 30,000 by the end of the day! So many beautiful shrines and temples with so much land around them. A little like cathedrals in Europe but so much more green space around them. I wonder what it would be like if western cultures dedicated so much space to honoring God.
Saturday we stayed in Osaka. We walked around Osaka Castle in the morning and called the boys while they were together in Lawrence. Then we explored a street food market. They really like exotic sea food here—urchins, squid, and more! We tried eel, wagyu, and chicken skewers, dumplings, and a regional omelette/pancake called okonomiyaki. And boba—Lois is good at finding that. Then we went to a kitchen store area and shopped for knives. I bought a pretty green santoku one and Drew got one to help with his bbq prep work.
Sunday we went to Nara, about an hour on the train. There was a huge park with a temple with a giant Buddha statue from around 750 AD. So old! There is a pillar next to the statue with a tunnel cut out that is supposed to be the size of the statue’s nostril. People line up to go through it—if you can make it through you are supposed to have longevity and a year of good luck. Of course, Drew wanted to try. He was the only one to go through feet first. He said he had to exhale fully to get his ribs small enough!
Nara is also famous for the wild deer all around the park. They sell little deer biscuits to feed them. They will bow to you for a biscuit. That is the real reason we came to Nara, and Lois loved it. We had lots of fun greeting dozens of deer. There were warning signs everywhere about bucks being dangerous, but Lois fed them all alike. :)
Today, we are on a bullet train to Hiroshima. I have a feeling it will be a little like visiting the Holocaust museum or Yad Vashem. Sad but so important. Only 3 more nights in Japan…Read more
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- Day 75
- Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 1:23 PM
- ☀️ 20 °C
- Altitude: 15 m
JapanOsaka34°39’55” N 135°30’22” E
Japan 3 - Lois
November 16 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
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- Day 74
- Saturday, November 15, 2025
- ⛅ 19 °C
- Altitude: 25 m
JapanOsaka34°41’13” N 135°31’34” E
Japan 2 - Drew
November 15 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
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- Day 74
- Saturday, November 15, 2025 at 12:11 PM
- 🌬 25 °C
- Altitude: 21 m
JapanMotobu26°41’39” N 127°52’40” E
Japan 2 - Lois
November 15 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 25 °C
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- Day 72
- Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 8:55 AM
- ⛅ 26 °C
- Altitude: Sea level
JapanKin26°27’21” N 127°51’56” E
Japan: Okinawa —Lauren
November 13 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
We spent 4 nights in Okinawa to scuba dive. It’s green and laid-back—sleepy even—spread out with some surprisingly busy tourist spots.
We arrived late on Sunday afternoon and went to find an open pharmacy right away. My eyes have been bothering me since the last couple of days in Nepal, and drops I found weren’t cutting it. I visited the clinic inside the airport in Tokyo and got a Rx for basically Pataday allergy drops. Neither the doctor and pharmacist spoke English, but they were both so helpful.
It was dark when we found our Airbnb, a small house in a little vacation home complex a 5 min walk to the beach. It was great—clean, modern with a full kitchen and washer/dryer. And a sauna!
We dove 3 times together on Monday. We are working toward our advanced open water so we did a buoyancy, navigation and a night dive. We learned a lot! But about an hour after we finished diving, Lois’s ear started hurting pretty sharply. One ear didn’t fully equalize when diving. It felt better after an hour or two, but she couldn’t dive the next day, which was a bummer. Since we had committed to the boat driver, Drew and I did the last two dives the next morning: deep and fish ID. Lois will catch up another time—she has lots of diving ahead of her.
After we finished diving, it started raining and it has barely stopped since. So we didn’t get to do a ton of exploring. We visited a huge aquarium, one of the biggest in the world. They even had a whale shark, which was crazy and a little sad. But they had great displays of all the creatures we saw and others from the area. Amazing what lives in the oceans. And how many people were there—it was packed. Wednesday we explored the ruins of Najikin castle, a unesco heritage site from the 1400s. People have lived in this place a long time!
We flew to Osaka on Wednesday. We too the train to Kyoto yesterday. I’ll add those pics to my next post—maybe our last one. 5 days left in Japan!Read more

TravelerLove the castle pictures, what a view! It is amazing to think how long people have been living there, wow! Love the whale shark picture, he’s a big boy! Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures
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- Day 67
- Saturday, November 8, 2025
- ☁️ 15 °C
- Altitude: 51 m
JapanNarita35°47’4” N 140°22’45” E
Japan 1 - Lois
November 8 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
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- Day 66
- Friday, November 7, 2025 at 9:55 PM
- ☁️ 5 °C
- Altitude: 826 m
JapanMinakami36°50’52” N 139°3’43” E
Japan: Tokyo & Gunma —Lauren
November 7 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C
First week in Japan is done! It was so full. Lois and I arrived on Saturday from Singapore. She wasn’t feeling great, so we took it slow at the beginning of the week.
We explored different neighborhoods, getting more comfortable with the subway system and walking countless steps. Highlights were the Godzilla building (zoom in on the first photo!), an arcade with an initial D racing game, a sushi conveyer belt restaurant, and natural beauty tucked into the city.
On Wednesday, we rented a car and left for the Gunma/ Niigata area. It’s 2.5 hours northwest of Tokyo and the birthplace of koi breeding. There are also multiple smaller ski areas nearby. It’s cooler here, and fall colors are everywhere. We found a magical Airbnb tucked into the woods and have been exploring the area with little day trips.
Tomorrow we head back to the city to get ready to fly to Okinawa on Sunday. We are hoping to scuba one more time. Less than two weeks till we go home. We miss everyone!Read more

TravelerI’m in awe of how different, but similar culture and landscapes are. Beautiful pictures Lauren. What a quaint, equipped Airbnb. What are the bathrooms like? The Koi farms makes me wonder how your koi are doing. Two weeks!!!❤️
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- Day 60
- Saturday, November 1, 2025
- ⛅ 20 °C
- Altitude: 48 m
JapanShinjuku35°41’38” N 139°42’17” E
Japan 1 - Drew
November 1 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
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- Day 59
- Friday, October 31, 2025 at 11:57 AM
- ☁️ 32 °C
- Altitude: 62 m
SingaporeSingapore1°18’11” N 103°49’26” E
Leaving Nepal+Singapore
October 31 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C
Our last 2 weeks in Nepal were so full! We went to the Gokarna Resort for 3 days over the Tihar festival. It’s a beautiful property with a swimming pool, golf course, and a great breakfast buffet. Lois learned how to play pool, achieved her goal of having a leech attach to her hand, and we all tried the driving range and saw lots of monkeys.
In Kathmandu, we spent lots of time with Pharakilo Ghar kids—we took a day trip for a picnic on top of a big hill south of the city, watched them play wheelchair basketball with the army team, had photo shoots at one of our favorite restaurants, and played endless chess, carrom board, and cricket.
We also did more van shopping and met with the architects designing the new church building.
Sam, Paul, and Steve came for our last few days, and it was so good to have them with us. They headed off to Tokyo, and Lois and I are in Singapore. We saw a merlion and dinosaurs and ate Shake Shack in our short time here. We head to Japan tomorrow.Read more
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- Day 58
- Thursday, October 30, 2025 at 7:48 AM
- ☁️ 29 °C
- Altitude: 18 m
SingaporeSingapore1°21’28” N 103°59’11” E
Singapore - Lois
October 30 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
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- Day 57
- Wednesday, October 29, 2025
- ☁️ 22 °C
- Altitude: 1,290 m
NepalKathmandu Metropolitan City27°42’27” N 85°18’53” E
Nepal 5 - Drew
October 29 in Nepal ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
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- Day 55
- Monday, October 27, 2025 at 12:48 PM
- ☁️ 24 °C
- Altitude: 1,280 m
NepalLalitpur Metropolitan City27°39’56” N 85°18’14” E
Nepal 13 - Lois
October 27 in Nepal ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
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- Day 49
- Tuesday, October 21, 2025 at 4:21 PM
- ☀️ 16 °C
- Altitude: 2,725 m
NepalChapakharka27°34’16” N 85°24’24” E
Nepal 12 - Lois
October 21 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
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- Day 46
- Saturday, October 18, 2025 at 2:12 PM
- ⛅ 26 °C
- Altitude: 1,301 m
NepalLalitpur27°39’49” N 85°18’42” E
Nepal-Lauren Kathmandu Daily Life
October 18 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
It’s always good to be in Kathmandu! We have rested our legs and enjoyed getting into rhythm with the Adhikaris, Sundar Dhoka Saathi Sewa, and the kids at Spacious Place.
We go to the office most days. Some days we have meetings there, either connecting with staff members, planning for the new church construction project, or helping to host another partner. We’ve also spent many hours driving to different car dealerships in a hunt for a new van for the spacious place kids. If we finish early, we head to their house, playing chess or Nepali games like carrom board. With extra time, we explore the neighborhood, finding good coffee and fun snacks.
Evenings are spent at home. Lois has been remembering how to ride a bike, with Bishesh coaching her. We play card games or have dance parties after dinner—last night we upgraded to hide and seek in the dark.
Yesterday was Lois’ birthday, and we celebrated with an arcade/fun park, good food, and a party at the kid’s house. They went all out with balloons and silly spray. So fun and special to celebrate her here with our friends.Read more

TravelerWhat a happy birthday celebration!! And Lois seems to enjoy it too. The fire looks a little out of control. Your life there sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing it. ❤️
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- Day 45
- Friday, October 17, 2025 at 1:10 PM
- ☀️ 26 °C
- Altitude: 1,139 m
NepalPokhara28°14’41” N 83°58’27” E
Nepal 11 - Lois
October 17 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
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- Day 40
- Sunday, October 12, 2025
- ☀️ 25 °C
- Altitude: 1,139 m
NepalPokhara28°14’41” N 83°58’27” E
Nepal 4 - Drew
October 12 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
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- Day 40
- Sunday, October 12, 2025 at 8:22 AM
- ☀️ 15 °C
- Altitude: 2,073 m
NepalChhomrong28°25’43” N 83°49’49” E
Nepal 10 - Lois
October 12 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

Sorry if I missed the explanation earlier (or haven't caught up with the more recent comments). What is the story with the eye art? [Sam]
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- Day 39
- Saturday, October 11, 2025 at 7:48 PM
- 🌙 20 °C
- Altitude: 1,137 m
NepalPokhara28°14’41” N 83°58’28” E
Nepal-Lauren Base Camp and return
October 11 in Nepal ⋅ 🌙 20 °C
We did it! Our Annapurna Base Camp trek is finished.
We took the long way there. We walked 9 days, slept in 10 different beds, and used countless squatty potties! :)
We estimate our route took us 96 kilometers and gained 6070 meters of elevation—that’s about 60 miles and almost 20,000 feet! It’s crazy how much you can used to walking up and down hills. At the beginning, we had some doubts about doing it, and each of us had challenges. We walked together in small groups, played games, and helped each other.
It felt so good to arrive at ABC, and the mountains were stunning. You are surrounded by them there: Fishtail and Annapurna 1 & 3, Himchuli and 12-Peak and Annapurna South. The hour before sunset turned them golden and pink. And the moon lit them up at night. Sunrise was lovely too. On top of the beauty, I was touched to see so many people from around the world marveling at their beauty. Exclamations of joy were all around us, and the photo poses were pretty epic. Drew joined the fun for one.
The way down was long—we did 2.5 days of walking in 10 hours yesterday. My app said I took 30,600 steps! It was dark before we reached our guest house. And then 4 more hours today, including some never-ending stairs. We got into our jeeps at Jinu after crossing one last—incredibly long—suspension bridge, and then the road closed for construction almost immediately. We sat in the car on the road for an hour and then started the 3 hour trip again. We were to glad to get to our hotel in Pokhara. Tomorrow we fly to Kathmandu.Read more

TravelerI like your synopsis Lois. If you can do this, you can do anything. ❤️ wish we were there, but we are cheering you on.
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- Day 38
- Friday, October 10, 2025 at 5:47 PM
- 🌙 3 °C
- Altitude: 4,118 m
NepalAnnapurna28°31’50” N 83°52’42” E
Nepal 9 - Lois
October 10 in Nepal ⋅ 🌙 3 °C
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- Day 37
- Thursday, October 9, 2025
- ⛅ 3 °C
- Altitude: 4,111 m
NepalAnnapurna28°31’52” N 83°52’42” E
Nepal 3 - Drew
October 9 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C
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- Day 37
- Thursday, October 9, 2025 at 12:51 PM
- ⛅ 13 °C
- Altitude: 2,485 m
NepalAnnapurna28°28’11” N 83°52’11” E
Nepal 8 - Lois
October 9 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
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- Day 36
- Wednesday, October 8, 2025 at 3:33 PM
- ⛅ 8 °C
- Altitude: 3,170 m
NepalAnnapurna28°29’51” N 83°53’52” E
Nepal—Lauren ABC Trek Day 4&5
October 8 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
We have joined up with the main trekking route towards base camp. The trails have more people, the hotels are getting crowded, and amenities are simpler. We are also getting better views and prettier scenery.
We walked from Tadapani to Dovan yesterday. It was more downhill than up, easier in some ways but a longer day overall. Whenever we stop for lunch it takes at least an hour or more to wait for our whole group to arrive, order, and eat. Even if it’s something simple like basic noodle soup. Patience is key here.
We arrived in Dovan late in Tuesday afternoon, and it was pretty chaotic. It was crowded with trekkers from Korea, India, Spain, and Nepal. The hotel gave away our reserved rooms, and we had to wait a while to find a place to sleep. On the bright side, it started lightly raining, and a beautiful rainbow filled the sky. We eventually got a basement room, but it wasn’t our favorite stop.
We left early Wednesday morning (around 7:15), and started walking. The beginning was “Nepali roads”, which means you go up and down as you wind across the mountain. Then, we started a gradual climb until we reached a small town with a coffee shop. We stopped for 30 min and kept on going up steps towards Deurali, our stop for tonight. It’s that little blue roof in the photo. So pretty. And much quieter. Most people continue up higher, but we are trying to manage elevation gains. We arrived before noon. A cloud covered us in mist, and it’s been drizzling all afternoon. We are enjoying the shorter hike and planning our Japan trip together in our room.
Tomorrow, we reach our goal: Annapurna Base Camp! It will be a long climb, maybe close to 1000 meters up from here. Our legs and lungs are getting used to walking. It’s still hard, but I think we can all make our goal!Read more

TravelerI enjoy your posts, Lauren—- full of details that fill my heart and mind. I know better how to pray for you all. I admire every one of you! The pictures are pretty too!💚























































































































































































































































































































































































































Traveler
Amazing!!!
Traveler
Seriously incredible!
TravelerI know! I was so impressed. Super fun.
TravelerI’ve never seen anything like it!