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Toby Barrett
Toby Barrett

Toby Barrett

traveled in 2 countries Read more
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  • Japan 2018
    Tsumago
    Tsumago - a traditional farmers cottageNagoya castleNagoya Castle restored 17th c paintingsIncredible woodwork everywhere

    Nagoya castle

    July 20, 2018 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We had a quiet final morning in Tsumago with a walk in town after breakfast, then took the train to Nagoya.

    Nagoya Castle was badly damaged in WWII and is being restored, so it's not open. But a 17th century palace that was in the castle grounds has been restored, and it's absolutely beautiful.Read more

  • Japan 2018
    Local river fish along with soba noodle sushi, wasabi stems, a bit of chicken and wasp larvae
    Wasp larvae. Texture is a bit like rice, they were flavored in a teriyaki sauceTempuraBoiled vegetables were so good. There is a pumpkin sauce and on top are basically potato chipsLocal beef we were told is fed beer and apples and given regular massagesThey cooked the beef on the table. They turned fans on us during this part of the mealLocal mochi - sweet rice cake with a sticky sauce of peanuts, walnuts, sugar, sake, & soy sauceLots of rice along with all the rest of it!

    Dinner at Ryokan Fujioto

    July 19, 2018 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Dinner was fantastic - 9 different local dishes introduced by our sweet Japanese server with a lot of smiling, bowing and some follow-up questions from us.

    When we were planning this trip, I was a bit worried Alex would have trouble at meals like this. But as we have seen him do on other trips, he gets into the spirit of things and stretches himself instinctively. Tonight he ate pretty much everything, with the exception of mushrooms and the wasp larvae. Hard to blame him for that.

    The meal was very much about local food, which was very cool, but it was also very inventive and beautiful. This was a really special meal.    Read more

  • Japan 2018
    Just outside of Magome
    Walking out of MagomeYes, it is bear country!They put little bells all along the trail for hikers to ring occasionally to let the bears know the trail is iThis stream follows the trail the whole wayRice paddy and private homesOdakimedaki waterfallTsumago

    Nakasendo (Magome to Tsumago)

    July 19, 2018 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Took an hour long train to Nagatsugawa and a 15 minute taxi in Megome. After dropping the bags for transport to the town we will stay at for the night, we started on the 6 mile hike through the mountains in Nagano Prefecture.

    They are having a heat wave here (around 10F above normal) after rains which caused major flooding in the southwest of the country. So the heat index today was around 100F today. We were prepared but we were HOT.

    Even so, it was such a treat to walk this beautiful road that has been in use for at least a thousand years. There were farms, private homes, lots of little shrines, and running water everywhere.

    We pulled into Tsugome around 2 and grabbed a lunch of cold soba noodles and a treat of shaved ice with melon syrup, strawberry syrup or condensed milk on top.

    Then we checked into the adorable Ryokan Fujioto in Tsugome for a shower and rest.    Read more

  • Japan 2018
    Front entry, where we exchanged our shoes for slippers
    The gardensView from the roomOur roomPost shower relaxation

    Ryokan Fujioto

    July 19, 2018 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    This ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) is beautiful, with wood everywhere and a gorgeous common garden. We immediately took showers in the singke bathroom for the whole inn. It's a huge room that you block of for yourself - it has an onsen bath in there but we were roasting already, so we just got clean, jumped in our cool cotton yukutas and rested up before dinner.Read more

  • Japan 2018
    How to wear a yukata and not look dead
    Entry to our roomMain roomWe were all asked to wear these toe socks, which were surprisingly comfortableAlex is still playing fortnite with Will and August from JapanPrivate onsen we never usedBathroom slippers and mandatory fancy Japanese toilet seatDinner menuFutons for the night

    Tobira Onsen

    July 18, 2018 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    A private bus full of senior citizens took us 45 minutes up into the mountains to the baths. We were asked to leave our shoes at the door and use their slippers (took them a bit to find their biggest ones for Chris, which were still too small.) They don't wear shoes inside and have an entirely different set of slippers by the toilet that are only for that room. Very interesting.

    We were given a run down on the baths - there are 3, separated by gender, all overlooking the forest with the sounds of the waterfall just below. Then we were asked to change into our yakutas before wandering the halls.

    This is a big ask for our teen boys, and they were pretty leery of baring it all in front of strangers, but in the end they both did it! And it was worth it, the baths are amazing.

    In the evening we had a 9 course feast in our robes, which kept slipping off the boys. The octogenarians at the next table would have gotten quite a show of green and blue fruit of the loom had they been paying any attention.

    After dinner we got back to our room to find they'd laid out the futons for sleeping.    Read more

  • Japan 2018
    Outside Matsumoto Castle
    Toby got stung by a bee on that fingerSquare entry gate

    Matsumoto Castle

    July 18, 2018 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    After a peaceful train ride out of Tokyo through rolling hills and into low, jagged green mountains, we came to Matsumoto. After a lunchbox ramen and gyoza we toured the largest castle in Japan, a gorgeous all-wood 16th century building.Read more

  • Japan 2018

    SAMURI PARTY

    July 17, 2018 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    Alex is mad because people are making him smile for a picture which he hates.

  • Japan 2018

    Yokohama DeNA BayStars v Yakult Swallows

    July 16, 2018 in Japan ⋅ 🌙 28 °C

    Yokohama is about an hour south of Tokyo, but it seems like it takes an hour to get places within Tokyo, so I find the whole distance thing here a bit confusing.

    The stadium is small - about 30k seats, and it was mostly full on a hot sticky weeknight, so the BayStars definitely draw. They don't win much, but this season they have won a few more than the Swallows, so they are both at the bottom of the Central Nippon League.

    Local kids stand on the field to greet they players as they are announced, and the players run out and meet the kids and sign their jerseys...it's a sweet way to start the game! The crowd chants the whole game, and the chants change to include each batters name as they come up (only the fans of the batting team chant.) We grabbed some bento boxes, a cucumber on a stick and some beer, got our seats and proceeded to chant along when we could figure out how.

    Girls go up and down the aisles constantly (every 5 minutes no exaggeration) dressed in the colors of the brand of beer they are selling with a mini keg on their backs. They smile and wave and look super happy, but they are the only Japanese women so far that I have seen break a sweat. There is a lot of beer consumed, and a lot of bento boxes.

    After so much running around the last couple of days, we only lasted about 4 innings before we headed home to bed, but it was a super cool experience and the boys definitely noticed differences between the baseball and and the baseball at home.    Read more

  • Japan 2018
    You can barely see the boys just to the right of centerThis custom is turning out to be a favorite. You must rinse cool water over your hands before entering the temShaking the sticks to get his fortuneDrawing the fortuneAlex ensuring his poor fortune won't come trueCat hats. I would love to see someone try thisExperimental people mover device in the science museum

    Asakusa & Odaiba

    July 16, 2018 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    After the hotel breakfast this morning we headed out to Asakusa to the Senso-ji temple. The neighborhood is older and very quaint, and the approach to the shrine is full of touristy shops with lots of trinkets and street food. We had mochi balls, even though we’d just had breakfast.

    The Buddhist shrine is beautiful. It's a very old shrine, but was demolished in WWII and so needed a lot of repair. It's interesting that all these shrines (we’ve been to around 10) are all active places of worship even when they are swarming with tourists. Many of the tourists come and genuflect and pray, clearly moved by the experience of being there.

    The boys got their fortunes - you shake a box of sticks & pull one out, then take a fortune from the drawer with the number that corresponds with the stick. We needed some help there from a friendly Japanese girl, the numbers were in kanji and we were having some fun trying to match the figures up. They are close to the ones Alex learned in Mandarin class, but I think he only got to 20 this year. Alex’s fortune was unhappy so he tied it to the string so it would be changed.

    On to Odaiba and the science museum, which was big and beautiful and full of interesting exhibits. We spent about 90 minutes there and moved on to Joypolis, a video game/amusement park mashup that looked amazing, but was so crowded that they boys got one ride and one game in 90 minutes. Everything here is just mobbed all the time...    Read more

  • Japan 2018
    Gyoza. Yes please!
    Takeshita-doriI look like this, and this woman is wearing arm warmers. I am definitely not refined enough to be Japanese.

    Harajuku

    July 15, 2018 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Went to lunch at a great gyoza place in Harajuku, Alex was particularly happy with that choice.

    After we went to Takeshita-dori, the main locus of teen fashion & culture in Tokyo. The boys were super into it and had a ball. It was wild - packed and full of color and noise and teens EVERYWHERE.

    To wind down after all that excitement we hit the hedgehog cafe. Who thought of this idea for a cafe? It started with cat cafes, and now there are dogs, hedgehogs and even owls.    Read more

  • Japan 2018
    Breakfast at the Tokyo Westin
    HachikoDo not know who Pocari is, but he is selling his sweat so he must be amazingGate to the Meiji Jingu shrineBarrels of sake donated annually to the shrine for sacramental purposesBride at the shrineSacred tree with prayers surrounding it

    Shibuya & Meiji

    July 15, 2018 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Breakfast on the 17th floor of the hotel was a great way to start, followed by a celebrity sighting in the way out. Exiting the elevator we saw a Jason Momoa lookalike but bigger (7 feet tall dudes stand out) and Toby and Alex immediately identified him as Thunder center Steven Adams. The boys introduced themselves and he was incredibly nice. We didn't bother him long, but Toby was completely star struck!

    Took the train to Shibuya to do the obligatory Hachiko photo, wandered through Yoyogi, then on to the Meiju Jingu shinto shrine.    Read more

  • Japan 2018
    Getting psyched up for the Robot Restaurant.
    Pretty much.

    Tokyo - Robot Restaurant

    July 14, 2018 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Went up to Tokyo and were glad to meet up with Chris and Alex, not-so-fresh off the plane.

    I have no words for the Robot Restaurant. Except...not really a restaurant.

    Had a solid bowl of ramen and went to bed.Read more

  • Japan 2018
    Obligatory gate on Enoshima island
    Breakfast at billsFishingWe will be looking to try potato chocolate at the earliest opportunity

    Enoshima Island

    July 14, 2018 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    We were up at the crack of dawn. Packed up the bag and left it in the hotel for the morning. We had yummy Western breakfast at a place called bills close to Shichirigahama station (they don't refill your coffee they way they do in the states…very sad about that.) Then off to Enoshima station to walk around the island.

    Kamakura and Enoshima are beach towns, with loads of surfers, SUPs, a few dragon boaters and an obsession with Hawaiian things. We walked through the town of Enoshima over to the pedestrian bridge to the island, and then around the island, which has loads of shops and restaurants, a shrine (of course) a lighthouse (referred to as a sea candle) and some caves. Tons of stairs and loads of walking, and at 9 in the morning we were dripping sweat.

    A couple of things I have noticed so far about the Japanese:

    * they linger over their meals like the French. I love this, there’s no wolfing down food in a rush.

    * they are absolutely petrified of the sun. We have been walking for 2 days through Heart of Darkness heat; this is a tropical climate. The Japanese (especially the women) wear hats, long sleeves (sometimes separate sleeves like kids wear in baseball), gloves, scarves over their neck/chest, long pants or leggings under dresses, and carry umbrellas.

    * we are the only Westerners in most places we go. What few Westerners we see aren't American. If course at the hotel this morning Toby was wearing a UT shirt and a guy asked if we were Texans…they were a family of Americans with Japanese ties.    Read more

  • Japan 2018

    Sushi in Enoshima

    July 13, 2018 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Toby was craving sushi, so I searched Google maps for the closest sushi restaurant to Enoshima station and came up with Masa Sushi.

    About 5 minutes walk from the station we came to a building that looked like the photo online - a classic pitched-roof wood sided building with a sliding wood door. I stood there trying to read whatever I could in the front before risking entry, but Toby just stuck his head in, called out and the proprietor came from the back and welcomed us in to the empty restaurant. I am so impressed with his sense of adventure…he has so much confidence to just walk in and make himself at home! For all l know he was motivated by hunger, we hadn't eaten since 11:30.

    We were given pretty solid English menus and sat down to a beautiful sushi meal. Turns out we are not big fans of the sea urchin (uni), which somehow turns to fish pudding in your mouth. The rest of the meal was great. We walked around Enoshima for a bit, then went back to bed.    Read more

  • Japan 2018
    Tree in the gardens at Hokoku-ji
    Buddha with what looks like graffiti at SugimotoderaAncient steps at SugimotoderaRental kimonos are everywhere. I cannot even imagine wearing that in this heat! But they look beautiful.Schoolgirls dress like this, they are everywhere. I can't even with this getup, it's amazing.Some sort of shrine to ancestors at Hasedera. Intriguing hats on the little mini statues.Main shrine at HasederaAdorable owls at HasederaBig Buddha.1

    Kamakura afternoon

    July 13, 2018 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    After lunch we walked to Hokoku-ji Temple (small but beautiful) and then on to Sugimotodera Temple, which was founded in 734. The original steps are still there, but so worn they have built new ones beside them, but the originals are now covered in beautiful moss.

    By now we were drenched...its only mid-80's here but insanely humid - reminds me of the weather we just had in Myrtle Beach. We constantly have a drink in our hands.

    Back to the railway then and on to Hasedera Temple, which is up on a hillside and then the Kotokuin Temple with the Daibutsu Kamakura, or Kamakura Buddha.

    We are now showered and resting in the hotel, trying to scrounge up the energy to head back out to Enoshima for dinner.    Read more

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