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    Blue Castle (a private home)
    Art deco buildingCentral marketRestaurant kitchen stallMain plaza4There's a bear in my coffee!

    Tarija, Bolivia

    18 июня 2018 г., Боливия ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    Our first stop in Bolivia was the center of wine and food for the country. Bolivian wine?? We were actually very impressed with the quality and the price (~ $4-5 for a very good bottle of local Tannat).
    Tarija is very quaint and seemed fairly affluent given the cleanliness, quality of buildings and the fanciness of the cars driving around the town. It was a nice town to wander around, especially after siesta when the town’s squares are packed with school kids and office workers grabbing a quick bite before returning to their long day. We can’t imagine breaking up the work or school day this way, but apparently it gets too hot to do anything during noon-3 in the summer (though it’s winter now and very chilly given a total lack of heating in any of the buildings). The food was also good and we even enjoyed some delicious street food here (we tried quesadillas and churros – Mexican food is popular). One of the things that impressed us was a new, 3-story central market the town had built that contained fresh produce and meat on the ground floor, little kitchen stalls rented out for restaurants on the 2nd floor, and a 3rd floor that rented out stalls to vendors selling clothes, soap, etc. It was a very lively place and such a great model to encourage small businesses.    Читать далее

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    Topping up the water going up hill! Note bag of bread in middle for stray dogs.
    Hip Tuk-TukFun street art??Lunch spot by Rio DoradoJohn and Bernard, our driver and guide for the dayPanoramaInka CanyonRio Dorado

    Tupiza

    21 июня 2018 г., Боливия ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    We took a bus from Tarija over very high (14,000ft) and barren mountain passes to Tupiza. The road was paved more than half of the way and we were lucky to get a very cautious driver, as some of the drop-offs were scary. Our driver was also a softie as he bought several loaves of bread he broke up into small pieces before we set off that we saw him tossing out the window to dozens of stray dogs we passed on our route. When he ran out of bread he waved kindly to the dogs that missed out, probably thinking I’ll feed you on the way back. When we’d bought our bus tickets we’d asked if the bus was new and had been told “more or less”. It was definitely the latter as the driver’s co-pilot was continuously pouring water on the engine so it didn’t overheat going up the steep hills.
    Tupiza is a small city known for beautiful red rock landscapes. We hired a driver for a day and were able to see most of the famous (we use the term loosely) rock formations, which were very impressive and reminiscent of parts of Southern Utah, though without the crowds. We only saw one other tourist the whole day! We were told this was less because of it being winter and more because everyone had stayed home to watch the soccer Worldcup.    Читать далее

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    Would you buy socks from this guy? We did.
    Market facesPotato guy at Tarabuco produce market.Reflections of a beautiful cityZebra friendBolivian Declaration of IndependenceCemetery shrines(note space efficiency)Future Bolivian police forceBroken bus in middle of nowhere

    Sucre

    24 июня 2018 г., Боливия ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Our arrival in Sucre, meant to be a 7-hour trip, turned into a 10-hour journey after our bus broke down on the way from Tupiza to Potosi. Fortunately, we arrived safely in the early evening after a harrowing ride in a shared taxi next to very high cliffs with an insane driver who enjoyed careening around corners at top speed.
    Sucre is possibly our favorite city in South/Central America so far. It isn’t too large or small (~300k residents) and is incredibly inviting with beautifully preserved/restored colonial buildings, plenty of clean city parks and squares, good food and culture, and super friendly people. The climate is also very pleasant as it’s in the high desert (9200 ft.) and doesn’t get too hot or cold. We were lucky enough to spend over a week here and enjoyed strolling the streets and hills of this great little city. We also visited some excellent museums including the Treasure Museum (about mining, Bolivia’s primary resource), the Textile Museum, and the Liberty Museum (Bolivia’s Independence Hall). A highlight here was a daytrip to the small town of Tarabuco to see the very colorful Sunday market. While there is a tourist element to the market given that handmade weaving is something for sale, it’s much more of a local affair where people come to buy, sell and trade, dressed in their best traditional clothes.    Читать далее

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    Copacabana view from hotel
    Resident alpacas at hotel - Loved it!!!Bus blockadeMarket boundBasilica of CopacabanaBlessed car -- note the jaunty hat!Big basilica in small townFurry friend we found in SampayaView towards Isla del Sol

    Copacabana

    2 июля 2018 г., Боливия ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    A short flight to La Paz helped us avoid a dangerous (because of roads/cliffs and bad driving) and uncomfortable 12+ hour bus trip. When we arrived at the airport we took a taxi to the bus terminal and hopped on a bus to Copacabana. It was an easy 4 hour trip, that was only slightly delayed when the police realized there were two foreigners (us) on the bus and blocked the bus from leaving for 30+ minutes while having heated discussions with the driver. We think the issue was that the bus company let us board without taking down our names/passport numbers since we bought our tickets outside instead of at the ticket office. Eventually, we were on our way.
    Copacabana is set on the beautiful Lake Titicaca, a very spiritual place to many Andean people who believe it’s the birthplace of the sun. It’s the highest navigable lake in the world (>12,500 feet) and massive. The town itself is a little ramshackle and not as clean as other parts of Bolivia, but we enjoyed our time here. It helped that our hotel was up on the hill with a fantastic view and we found the town had a lot of charm. The town is dominated by The Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana - a very large 16th century church famous for the Virgin of Copacabana and a major pilgrimage site for Bolivians. It’s also the go-to-place to get your car blessed and it was fun to see cars and shuttles outside the church decorated with flowers and hats be blessed with champagne or Coca Cola by the priest.
    Our favorite experience here was a daytrip we took to the small village of Sampaya to do some hiking. We took a taxi to the tiny stone village with only dirt paths, then walked through farmland and over a ridge to enjoy some amazing views. After finally finding a path down to the road back to Copacabana, we flagged a share-taxi back to town. It was a beautiful day and we didn’t come across any other tourists on our hike, only some local farmers working in their fields.
    We had intended to take a boat out to the Island of the Sun to hike across the island and visit Inka ruins, but an unfortunate dispute between the island’s North and South residents has essentially closed the hike down.    Читать далее

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    San Francisco Cathedral
    Main square near government buildingsPresident's officeCrashed local wedding - kicked out b/c Christy forgot her bowler hatWelcome to the future of transportChe tributeJaen Street - one of city's oldestGustu snack. Carrots and carrot cocktail!Gustu take on fried chicken and fries - yum!

    La Paz

    5 июля 2018 г., Боливия ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    La Paz is a big city of ~2.3 million people and built on some seriously steep ridges and valleys. It’s definitely not a beautiful city as the buildings are mostly unfinished brick and there doesn’t seem to be very effective building codes or city planning – it looks like parts of India in that way. Despite this, we’ve really enjoyed it here. It’s one of those cities that has lots of hidden treasures behind ugly walls and we’ve found some wonderful cafes, restaurants and museums in courtyards that you’d never realize were there. It also has a very inventive public transport system - Mi Teleferico - a network of gondolas that offer great views of the city and are surprisingly quiet and relaxing.
    The restaurant scene has also been a surprise. We enjoyed an incredible meal at Gustu – a restaurant started by the former co-founder of Noma (yes – THAT famous Danish restaurant). This is a concept that aims to train a new generation of Bolivian chefs to showcase their unique ingredients and culture. We loved it…we have to say we thought the food was much better than at Peru’s Central.
    It’s been a surprise to us how much we like Bolivia. It’s our favorite country in South/Central America. There’s such a good diversity of experiences you can have here, the people are great, the culture is interesting and seems so much more authentic than many other places we’ve visited...and it’s incredibly affordable. The only downside it the altitude. We’ve been fine, but it does wreak havoc with your basic bodily functions such as breathing and digestion.    Читать далее

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    Mia
    Old car in old townHorsecarts still in-useTypical dogs at restFlower-filled balconies everywhereIglesia del CarmenVilla de Leyva's main churchJohn at rest

    Villa de Leyva, Columbia

    9 июля 2018 г., Колумбия ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    Our middle-of-the-night flight out of Bolivia landed before 7am in Bogota. We hopped in a cab to the bus station and ~4 hours later arrived in the ridiculously charming colonial town of Villa de Leyva.
    We were immediately struck by how clean, well-developed, and vibrantly green Columbia appears. And this little village was a wonderful soft landing as it’s one of the most picturesque parts of the country and we were staying at a beautifully restored villa-hotel. Luxury!
    We love South America’s colonial cities. We recognize they were (sadly) mostly built on pillage and oppression and they can feel a little Disney-ish because they are just that perfect. Still, we can’t resist their charm.
    Apart from wandering through the cobblestone streets and enjoying some delicious juices, coffee (for John) and good food, we had to deal with a few annoyances. First, John threw his back out while playing with the adorable resident boxer (dog) and ended up in bed for a couple of days, unable to walk without discomfort. Luckily, it only cost ~$40 for a doctor to visit our hotel and give him a shot so he could get back on his feet. We also got attacked one morning by small biting insects that managed to bite Christy at least 40 times, and John a bit less. The bites are the worse we’ve experienced in terms of itchiness and swelling. We still don’t know what they were, but yuck. Otherwise, we loved this town!    Читать далее

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    Botero's Mona Lisa
    Botero's famous bird statueGold breastplatePre-colonial gold maskDowntown Bogota

    Bogota

    13 июля 2018 г., Колумбия ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    A short bus ride took us back to Bogota, which is a massive city of ~8 million people. The city is surrounded by scenic, green mountains and is very hilly in some neighborhoods (our Uber driver said some apartments were as pricey as NYC), though the bulk of it is built in the flat valley.
    Our time here was short, but we managed to get to two excellent museums: The Gold Museum - highlighting an incredible array of pre-Columbian gold not melted down by the Spanish, and The Botero Museum – Columbia’s most famous artist known for his rotund statues and paintings of people and animals.    Читать далее

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    Original city walls with new construction in distance
    Cathedral of Saint Catherine of AlexandriaCocktails!!One of many decorative door knockers around townOld bar in old city1Plaza Santa Domingo. Botero statue in front of church - excellent location choice

    Cartegena

    15 июля 2018 г., Колумбия ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    A quick flight brought us to Cartegena - once the main port for shipping Spanish plunder to Europe and an incredibly rich city in its’ day.
    The original city walls are still intact and make a stark contrast between the old, stately Spanish architecture vs. the huge high-rise apartments that dominate the nearby shoreline. While the city is very beautiful, it was stinking hot (up to 100 degrees some days), so we limited our time out-of-doors to morning and evening, when it was still hot, but almost bearable. The feel of the city reminded us of New Orleans, with lots of horse-pulled carriages trotting through the narrow streets, and many, many restaurants and bars with some people walking through the streets with drinks-in-hand. It also reminded us of Galle in Sri Lanka, with its’ spectacular walls and beautiful old buildings. We particularly enjoyed eating delicious ceviche and indulging in a few very well-made martinis in several of the city’s charming, old bars.Читать далее

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    Medellin panorama
    Escobar's former homeEscobar's graveWhere Escobar's reign of terror ended now a Spanish language schoolcoffee time!More coffeePoblado neighborhood - fancy as!

    Medellin

    19 июля 2018 г., Колумбия ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    Another quick flight and we arrived in Medellin.
    Most famous, in recent history, for being devastated by Pablo Escobar and the out-of-control violence that was part of life in the ‘80s up until his death in ‘93. Given the impact this had on the country, and the world, we wanted to learn more and took a private city tour with a father-daughter guide duo who explained how their family was impacted by Escobar’s “narco- terrorism”. There was a time when hundreds of bombs were going off in the city every year and young kids were hired by the narcos to assasinate people, making the police likely to shoot young kids who they thought were working for the narcos. Our guide had a memory of being lined up against a wall by the police as a kid, and was only saved from execution by his grandmother rallying the neighbors to come and stop the murder.
    Today, it’s a city that’s doing a wonderful job reinventing itself with many new buildings, clean and (generally) safe streets, and a mayor that locals seem to love. We thought San Francisco had hills, but much of Medellin is built on very big, steep hills. Walking here can be a major workout. We’ve enjoyed drinking in the local coffee culture here and walking through the leafy, green neighborhood. Even Christy is gaining a taste for cold-brew coffee with sparkling water added to it. Delicious!    Читать далее

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    Snowy volcano view
    Carolina Park artPre-columbian museum displayWall-e?Quito "town" squareGuayasamin's HouseView from Casa Museo GuayasaminQuito's hilly streets

    Quito, Ecuador

    29 июля 2018 г., Эквадор ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We first visited Quito a decade ago on our way to the Galapagos Islands.
    The colonial architecture, grand parks, and beauty of the surrounding mountains impressed us on our first visit and on this one. We were struck by how much the city has grown since our last stay with the northern part now packed full of new high rise apartments, restaurants and high-end shopping malls.
    The apartment we rented was near Carolina Park - a huge, clean park packed with people enjoying its’ sports fields, running track, lake and open fields. It was a place we enjoyed walking and running through several times during our stay.
    Apart from visiting the old city, we were most impressed by the Guayasamin museum set in the home of the artist and packed full of his private collection of colonial and pre-columbian art and his own works. Apparently, Guayasamin gained access to the art world when Rockefeller’s plane made an unplanned stop for repairs in Quito on his way to Buenos Aires. Rockefeller went to a Guayasamin exhibit and was so impressed with his talent that he bought several paintings and invited him to NY. He went on to become Ecuador’s most famous artist, though we hadn’t heard of him before our visit, we were very impressed.    Читать далее

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    Local sweets for sale
    Sunday flower marketGrand, old buildingSanto Domingo churchHidden courtyard gardenOutlook over new Cuencastreets of CuencaStairway connecting old to Parque de la Madre

    Cuenca

    8 августа 2018 г., Эквадор ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Cuenca is another colonial city set in the mountains and a popular retirement destination for many Americans. We found the city very livable and have felt very safe wandering around. It’s not as well-restored or pretty as many other South and Central American cities, but it’s charming and packed with a variety of good restaurants and leafy parks.
    Unfortunately, John had some problems with his teeth here and ended up having to get a root canal and a crown. The good news is he found good dentists to do the work at a fraction of what it would have cost in the US. Apart from many dental appointments, we enjoyed getting some exercise and taking boot camp classes from a Canadian woman who runs a gym near our apartment and getting several wonderful massages by an American woman from CT.
    This is our final stop in South America so we went through our things and donated around half of our clothes to a local church as we’ll be heading into fall/winter in Japan and needed a wardrobe change. Plus, we hope the clothes can go to some of the many Venezuelan refugees who are trying to make a new life here in Cuenca.    Читать далее

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    Coast near Santa Cruz - looking for whales
    Big Basin RedwoodsSanta Cruz3Aunt Christy and LolaFamily at Eli's birthdayFamily farm fun!

    San Francisco

    21 августа 2018 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    While our stop was brief, we enjoyed catching up with friends and family, meeting our new niece, and celebrating our nephew’s 3rd birthday before our long trip to Japan.
    Our travels have shown us just how much more affordable everything (well, except housing, education and healthcare...) is in the US, so we waited until we were back to buy new shoes and clothes (we were so over our same 4-5 outfits we’ve been wearing for the last 18 months!) and shifted from backpacks (which we were also totally over) for our roll-away suitcases.
    Thanks to everyone we were lucky enough to see for making the time for us – we missed you!    Читать далее

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    Sapporo tower
    Lunch at seafood marketJapanese cute part 1: Cute cakesPart 2: too cute - Japanese version of traffic conesPart 3: 'Happy Life Support' for you or your pets?Old Sapporo government building1Post earthquake bed - on restaurant floor under tableSoba lunch

    Sapporo, Japan

    5 сентября 2018 г., Япония ⋅ 🌬 22 °C

    It was a rough start to our Japan trip with our flight nearly being cancelled by a typhoon, and then, we were shaken awake at 3am on our first night by a 6.7 earthquake. Unfortunately the typhoon that had just brought torrential rains to Japan loosened the soil enough to cause major landslides that killed 41 people here when the earthquake hit. It also managed to cut power to the entire island of Hokkaido for several day(s) - closing everything down, including the airport, trains, highways, businesses, etc.
    With the power out, the water at our hotel wasn’t working so we had to evacuate from our room and spend our second night in the hotel lobby trying to get a little sleep while camped out under a table in the restaurant with only cardboard and a towel for padding.
    Because power still wasn’t restored on what should have been our 3rd night, we had to find another hotel that had power (it came back to the city in sections) before finally returning to our original hotel on our 4th night.
    This disaster could have played out very differently in other countries. In Japan, the buildings are well built so there wasn’t a real concern for structures falling apart. The power outages meant all restaurants were closed for 3+ days so convenience stores were the only real source of food and water for many people and long lines of patient and orderly Japanese reminded us of the value of such a polite society.
    In our last few days here, restaurants and department stores re-opened and we were able to enjoy some of the seafood and ramen that Hokkaido is famous for – yum! Fortunately, our experience during and after the earthquake was much easier than for many others in Hokkaido.    Читать далее

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    Otaru glass museum display
    Otaru canalBeer on the canalDisplay of lamps - glass museum2Lunch alleyOld warehouse now a storeTanaka Sake Brewery - Otaru

    Otaru

    12 сентября 2018 г., Япония ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    This small town on the coast is famous for its’ seafood, historic stone buildings and a very scenic canal. We really enjoyed our brief time here walking along the canal and a pretty path along the old railway line, drinking local beer and sake, and admiring the beautiful, old buildings that lined the quaint streets and alleys. Glass making is a local specialty and a very good museum highlighted some of the world’s best glass making traditions, including an amazing display of Tiffany glass (which we weren’t allowed to photograph, unfortunately) displayed in an impressive old, stone bank.Читать далее

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    Flower Land!
    11Lunch - avacado/scallop/tomato & eggplant/wild mushroom/peppers!Golden rice fieldsBear countryWhy do we keep visiting volcanoes?Mountain pond with steam vents of Mount Asahidake.1Blue PondThere's an octopus on my nori!

    Asahikawa

    15 сентября 2018 г., Япония ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    After picking up our rental car, we drove a few hours through the beautiful farmland of Hokkaido to the city of Asahikawa. Driving here is pleasant and easy as there aren’t many people and the speeds are slow (50km max, though most drivers ignore this limit which seems far too low for the excellent road conditions). Our rental car was tricked out with lots of driver feedback – including telling us “Overspeed detected. Please drive safely”, “Sudden deceleration detected. Please drive safely”, and incessant beeping if we happened to cross the center or shoulder lines.
    While we missed the peak summer flower season, we still found some beautiful fields of flowers nearby Biei and Furano. We were also a bit early for the leaves changing, but still enjoyed a soggy and scenic hike up to Mount Asahidake where the volcanic and alpine landscape was stunning. Luckily, we could catch a gondola back down so were able to save our knees hurting or our shoes getting too muddy. Stumbled across a cute café for lunch, where they baked their own bread and used local, fresh ingredients.
    This area is famous for skiing and onsens (hot springs), and would be (even more) stunning in winter.    Читать далее

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    Rainbow on way to Utoro
    Small town of UtoroOne of the five lakes of ShiretokoShiretoko and Mt. Rausu.Utoro harbor and sunsetGodzilla rock in Utoro!!At the end of the road Shiretoko peninsula1

    Utoro

    18 сентября 2018 г., Япония ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    An easy 6 hour drive through more scenic rice fields, dense forests, and along a rocky coastline took us to the small fishing village of Utoro.
    The area is famous for onsens and the remote national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Shiretoko. This peninsula, which has no roads through most of it, preserves a wilderness teeming with bears in the summer. We ventured to the end of the road on both sides of the peninsula and were rewarded with beautiful coastal, volcano and forest views, but no bears. Pink salmon were running up the rivers and streams, so we very much enjoyed watching the ritual struggle upriver to lay eggs.
    On our last night here, we visited a fancy hotel onsen as day visitors. We had it all to ourselves and loved the incredible views over the harbor from the pools and sauna.    Читать далее

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    Roadside temple
    Autumnal Glasswort near lake AbashiriCranesCape NotoroMount Lozan - more volcanoes with stinky sulphurMt. RaisuClear spring pondLake Kussharo - Wakato peninsulaOctopus bag at museum - cuteness around even a couple hundred years ago!

    Kawayu

    21 сентября 2018 г., Япония ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    This part of Hokkaido felt fairly remote and was populated with sprawling farms, many large and small crater lakes, and more onsens.
    The ryokan we were staying in didn’t have a bath so we had to go a few hundred meters down the road to the local public bath for ablutions – group nudity always creates an interesting cultural experience.
    We’ve been told many were scared off after the earthquake and cancelled their reservations so we’ve seen very few tourists here. Apart from indulging in onsens, we drove to several lakes and the coast to enjoy some very nice walks through the forest, near volcanoes, and along the shore. We also enjoyed a visit to the Peoples of the Far North Museum, which had an excellent collection of artifacts from the indigenous people from Alaska, Hokkaido and Russia. Hokkaido has been every bit as beautiful as we hoped.    Читать далее

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    Sapporo

    24 сентября 2018 г., Япония ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    After an all day drive back to Sapporo, we stayed overnight before our flight to Kanazawa – which fortunately gave us an opportunity to eat at the delicious conveyer belt sushi restaurant one more time. YUM!Читать далее

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    Shiroyone Senmaida (terraced rice fields)
    1Harvest time2Hatago Iwa sacred rocksrestored Gassho houseVillage festivalBunnies are so cute!Geisha districtKanazawa Castle Park school tripKenrokuen Garden weddingWe love wagashi (sweets)!

    Kanazawa

    25 сентября 2018 г., Япония ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    We’re so grateful to have had friends and family meet us at various points during our travels. It was great fun to meet up with our friend, Rowena, in this fantastic part of Japan.
    A second typhoon made for some unpredictable weather, but we were lucky that it didn’t disrupt our enjoyment of this wonderful city and it’s surrounds. Both of us wished we’d been stationed in Kanazawa when we lived here as it seems the perfectly sized city that has all the modern conveniences, but also beautifully preserved historic sites, green spaces, and is also near the ocean and mountains.
    To more easily visit the Noto Penninsula, we rented a car and were able to enjoy some stunning coastal scenery and a surprisingly good French meal in the small coastal town of Wajima.
    On another day, we drove to the UNESCO World Heritage villages of Gokayama and Suganuma - famous for their well-preserved Gassho-style houses with “praying hands”-shaped, thatched roofs.
    The remainder of our time, we walked through the samurai and geisha districts, the castle grounds, and incredible garden of Kenroku-en, and through the busy food market – making sure to stop and eat many delicious foods along the way.
    Rowena loves Japanese sweets (wagashi) as much as we do, so we took a class on how to create some decorative red and white bean treats. Our results were pretty amazing, if we do say so ourselves. Yum!
    We also managed to have a very amusing experience at a reflexology “spa”, where staff were confused by Rowena being Asian, but not speaking Japanese or Chinese, and Christy quickly learned to tell the therapist in Japanese not to poke her feet so hard. Ouch!
    Special thanks to Rowena (and Marc’s phone) for (temporarily) improving the quality of our blog photos.    Читать далее

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    Genki (super energetic) school kid
    Old storefrontTemple groundsJapanese cypress tree shrineShrine with guardian dog1Yukata style1Drawing of GG bridge at gyoza restaurant3Temple poseWe love yukatas

    Takayama

    1 октября 2018 г., Япония ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    When we lived in Japan, we’d both visited Takayama separately. Christy remembered it as a very small, hilly town (which it wasn’t) and John remembered it as a fairly large city (which it turns out, it is).
    While it’s a biggish city, there are several blocks of well-preserved, old houses in the center. In the nearby hills there were many, many temples and shrines - making for a very nice walk along the Higashiyama path.
    Staying at a ryokan meant we had access to colorful yukatas. Even though the summer season popular for parading through the town dressed in these “outdoor” yukatas was technically over, we didn’t hesitate to dress-up and walk through the town. We enjoyed it so much, we even wore our yukatas out to a fancy dinner after being assured by our ryokan hosts that it wasn’t too odd.
    What was very odd, was a meal we had at a small gyoza restaurant, where the chef blasted death metal music, insisted every visitor draw a picture representing their home country, and was particular about many, many things, but cleanliness wasn’t one of them. Fortunately, the gyoza were delicious, though we tried not to pay attention to the black build-up on the fryer.    Читать далее

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    Sake before dinner
    Sashimi!River along trail near TsumagoForest floor2Bear bell instructionsShrinePraying MantisNakasendo trail

    Kiso Valley

    3 октября 2018 г., Япония ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    After saying farewell to Rowena, we picked up a rental car to drive further into the mountains.
    For our anniversary, we splurged on a nice ryokan with a beautiful onsen (thanks Carol, for the recommendation). Apart from soaking and enjoying some indulgent meals, we walked part of the Nakasendo Trail between Tsumago and Magome. This part of the trail is one of the best restored sections of the centuries-old path that connected Tokyo to Kyoto via post stations. It was a charming walk that was busy with day-hikers, though it never felt over-run.Читать далее

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    Our ryokan's stoop
    Tea growing at foot of Mt. EnaRice fieldsShrine on Nakasendo TrailMorning in Magome1Ryokan feastFamous chestnut sweet shop (kuri kinton) in NakatsugawaSchool where John taught (Nakatsu Commercial HS)

    Magome

    5 октября 2018 г., Япония ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    While some may find Magome too perfectly restored, we loved this small, charming village built on a hillside with great views over nearby rice fields and mountains.
    Today, it’s full of restaurants, ryokans and souvenir shops, but still manages to help you imagine what it must have looked like hundreds of years ago. We think it may be the cutest town we’ve seen in Japan. And while tiny, we managed to spend an entire day wandering around the shops and sitting in cafes. After about 5pm the tourists cleared out so we felt like we had the town to ourselves.
    Because we had the freedom of a rental car, we decided to drive to nearby Nakatsugawa - the town where John was posted 24 years ago. My how it has changed! A huge shopping mall, free wifi and many new buildings make it feel so much more cosmopolitan than it did in the 90’s. Though visiting John’s old apartment and school, where he taught, showed us that some things have become a bit run-down.    Читать далее

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    Tokyo Skytower view from canals
    View over canal in Ginza3Christy holding a hedgehogOur favorite neighborhood udon restaurantMeiji Shrine gateMeiji Shrine weddingOur cocktail tastingNingyocho neighborhood street2020 Olympic practice in Yoyogi ParkTokyo building detail

    Ginza, Tokyo

    7 октября 2018 г., Япония ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Tokyo was fantastic! We absolutely love this city and it’s many, many hidden treasures. While some might see it as an overwhelming concrete jungle, we found it to be one of the most livable cities imaginable. It’s clean, safe and there are lots of parks and green spaces – plus - endless small shops and restaurants lend so much character to the many different neighborhoods. We were also surprised by just how quiet the city is when you get off the main streets.
    While here, we fell into a happy routine of walking or taking the subway out to a different neighborhood each morning to explore and find somewhere good for lunch. Usually back for an afternoon nap, out for some exercise along the nearby Sumida river, then back home to cook dinner and plan our next day.
    A few highlights were kayaking on the city’s canals, visiting a sumo stable to see some intense practice, doing a fancy cocktail tasting at a small bar, and enjoying seriously great food and sampling many delicious sweets (hence the need to eat salad most nights and get back into a running routine).
    It was hard to leave the city, but we are sure we’ll be back.    Читать далее

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    Can not duck cuteness
    1Mt. Fuji from ShinkansenMt. Fuji likeness at silver pavillionCycling philosopher's pathJohn contemplating pickle purchase at Nishiki marketShimogamo JinjaShimogamoHitched for life - shrine within Shimogamo complexBackstreets Kyoto2Fushimi Inari shrine

    Kyoto

    2 ноября 2018 г., Япония ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    The Shinkansen (bullet train) is such a fun way to travel. We picked up some excellent ekiben (station bento boxes) and some wine to enjoy on our trip and got lucky with clear weather so had good views of Mt. Fuji on our way to Kyoto.
    The fall leaves changed into full color during our time here, attracting hordes of Japanese and foreign tourists. The colors were beautiful, but the crowds were a bit overwhelming. However, we were able to find some time away from the crowds to enjoy some lesser-visited sites.
    Despite the busy time, we had a great visit - including some of our best meals (thanks to Rowena for recommending the best tempura ever!)
    Riding bikes, walking and taking occasional trains/buses enabled us to cover a lot of ground. Some highlights of our time here included visiting Arashiyama’s beautiful Zen garden (it was Japan’s first Zen temple), Fushimi Inari shrine with its 10,000 tori (gates) with cute fox mascots everywhere, Ginkaku-ji’s (Silver Pavilion) gardens, cycling along the Philosopher’s path and visiting many other temples and shrines to admire the changing leaves.
    An odd thing happened on one of our days out. We had bought lunch at a convenience store and were sitting on a bench eating in a park. Suddenly, a very large hawk swooped down between us and grabbed the cream puff John was starting to enjoy. It scratched John’s hands with its talons and brushed Christy’s face with its wings. A little creepy! John decided it was not a hawk, but some mystic, Japanese spirit-guide making sure he did not eat the cream puff he obviously did not need.    Читать далее

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