After an early rise at 6 a.m., I eased my way into the morning with a dip in the onsen before preparing for the journey to our next city. I must be plain about my sleep quality last night: tatami mats may just not be for me. Nonetheless, I am glad to have tried the …
Misadventures in Hakone
For today, we say sayonara to Tokyo, although we will return for several more days at the end of our trip. Our first order of business on this busy day took us winding through the long underground passages at Shinjuku Station en route to one of the first stress tests of our itinerary planning. We …
Toshi-san
No rest for the wicked. We started our day this morning at 4:00 a.m., rising early to catch some of the action at Toyosu Market, the largest wholesale fish market in the world. We were guided through this adventure by Toshi, whose expertise in the industry has made his tour on Airbnb one of the …
This is Now a Food Blog
I am jotting down some thoughts on the heels of a full day of exploring Tokyo while we allow our electronics to regain some juice. We've covered a lot of ground so far today and we've still got a few ideas to wrap up the evening before a very early (4 a.m.) call time tomorrow …
Konnichiwa, Tokyo!
My trek to Japan began at 3 a.m. PDT on Saturday, August 16, and concluded around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 17, Tokyo local time. I've largely lost any tether to the reality of time and space and feel like I barely know what planet I'm on. But I made it. Longtime readers will delight …
Oh, Canada
Surely the best use of my time at 4:27 a.m. as I wait at my gate is to pen a blog post, right? Neither Paresh nor I had "scramble to rebook our plane tickets at the last possible second" on our Japan trip bingo card, but sometimes life throws curveballs. That's precisely what happened these …
With A Little Help from My Friends
In a little over two weeks, my blog will (under ideal circumstances) see some renewed activity as I travel to Japan with my best friend, Paresh. For years, we have discussed the idea of international travel together, but for a multitude of reasons have been repeatedly stymied. But, earlier this year, we laid the plans …
Finale at the Park
Fifteen years ago, while attending St. Olaf College for my undergrad, I had the opportunity to study Norwegian for two semesters. (St. Olaf, a school founded by Norwegian-American immigrants in the late 1800s, is one of the 21 colleges in the U.S. that offer Norwegian language classes; five of them are in Minnesota.) My professor …
Sunshine on the Fjord
For me, last night was unfortunately a reminder that sometimes your body has a hard time even when your mind is having a great one. Sleep proved elusive and was fragmented when it came at all. Accordingly, finding coffee was especially prudent this morning. The target this time was Supreme Roastworks AS, a company that …
Caffeine Rush
Over breakfast, as we checked in on what had been forecast to be another dreadful day of weather, we were stunned to discover our luck had changed. Apparently, overnight, both the figurative and literal winds had shifted, and we were now due an afternoon of relative sunshine. Even better yet, the elements appear primed to …
Where the Waterfalls Mean Home 