From the nomadic steppes of Kazakhstan to the frenetic streets of Hanoi, Asia is a continent so full of intrigue, adventure, solace, and spirituality that it has fixated and confounded travelers for centuries.
Our final day and a half were spent heading first to Nagoya, where we spent the night, then on to Ghibli Park, which is a Studio Ghibli theme park just outside of Nagoya. If you’re a fan of Studio Ghibli movies, this is a must-see. No photos were allowed inside most of the buildings, but there were still plenty of photo ops. You’ll want a full day at...
During Japan’s rainy season, from early/mid June through July, thousands of hydrangea bloom along the narrow track of the Hakone Tozan Railway. The “hydrangea train” is a nice day trip from Tokyo into the mountains. This was day 4 of our Japan trip. It was very peaceful and relaxing. We started the day by taking the bullet train (Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen) from...
Our third day in Japan was spent at Tokyo DisneySea. There are two Disney resorts in Tokyo: Disneyland and DisneySea. Since this is the only DisneySea in the world, we chose it over Disneyland. It’s called DisneySea instead of DisneyLand partly because of an overall nautical theme weaved throughout the park, but also because of tie-ins to the secret Society of...
Our first day and a half in Japan were spent exploring Tokyo. We were supposed to have another full day in Tokyo, but our flight from SFO was delayed for a full day due to mechanical issues. We stayed in the Azumabashi/Sumida City area of Tokyo, very close to the Sumida River. We were across the street from the Asahi Brewery/Super Dry Hall, with its iconic golden...