Category: An Epic Adventure

Exploring the World – 2017

May 24: Kyoto to Hiroshima

Our last morning in Kyoto and we had arranged to see a traditional Japanese show, with what we had thought would be dancing Geisha. Located close by, but on it’s last day for the season, I had booked online through a booking agent, and there was some confusion about whether the tickets were actually purchased on our behalf or not.…

May 22: Nara

Another day away from the city center, just about an hour outside of Kyoto. Formerly Heijokyo, it was established at the end of the Silk Road and was Japan’s first permanent capitol, from 710-784. This time marked the beginning of a strong, centralized state, a catalyst for the growth of a national identity. Buddhism, an import from China and Korea,…

Sunday, May 21: Arashiyama

Forecast to be another hot day, and with the promise of some sort of festival, we thought we’d explore one of the suburbs of Kyoto, Arashiyama. It’s popular with tourists, and it being a Sunday, it was a bit crowded, but we set off with Liz and Jonathan on the train to check it out. It was a beautiful natural…

May 19: Kyoto/My Birthday Part 2

The real benefit of having one’s birthday halfway across the globe is the ability to recognize it for 37 hours! When I woke this morning in whatever version of the heavenly bed the Ritz Carlton offers up I had many birthday wishes from time zones across America and Europe. Was quite nice to have a second day of nice messages…

May 18: Kyoto

They say it’s my birthday. Although with the time difference between here and there I’m tempted to either delay or milk it for 36 hours! It was delightful to sleep in a western bed and not have a schedule for the day. We found a boulangerie around the corner and had a wonderful American breakfast. Just what I wanted as…

May 17: Kii-Katsuura to Kyoto

Once again the dormitory/hostel type accommodation meant a very early wake up time — someone using the hair dryer across the hall in the dual gender bathroom served as our alarm clock around 5AM. But we had an early train to take anyway, and were anxious to move on from the southern countryside to a more urban and sophisticated spot.…