Japan was behind the world in reopening, and as COVID-19 is now endemic, Japanese continue to wear face masks more commonly than almost any other country. This covers Japan’s face mask rules, laws (or lack thereof), and expectations, as well as other health safety measures and our experiences with masking in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka & beyond. […]
Following the reopening of Japan to tourists, we returned to Kyoto and spent several weeks in the city. Suffice to say, a lot has changed. We revisited every major temple and shrine, checked in on hotels, wandered Gion, Arashiyama, Higashiyama, and other districts to see what things are like now. This update shares Kyoto photos, how things that […]
Kobe Luminarie is one of the best winter light displays in Japan, and this free event will return in 2024 for the first time in 4 years. We attended Kobe Luminarie and wow is about all I can say. In this post, we’ll offer some background about the event, plus photos and thoughts from our experience at […]
Hanatoro (花灯路, Hanatōuro) is a set of illumination events in Kyoto, Japan that occur in mid-March and mid-December in the Higashiyama and Arashiyama districts, during which thousands of lanterns light the streets, there are public art displays, and other illumination events. Translated literally to “Lanterns and Flower Lane,” Hanatoro is a festival in Kyoto that […]
Cuyahoga Valley National Park near Cleveland and Akron, Ohio is not one of the “big name” US National Parks, but it features beautiful fall colors. This post shares the best spots for autumn foliage, leaf peeping, a fabulous fall hike to a waterfall, and the current operating status of CVNP. (Updated September 23, 2020.) Let’s […]
Cuba has been on our travel bucket list for years. Since first seeing post card-perfect photos of Old Havana’s vibrant Spanish colonial architecture and classic American cars from the 1950s, we yearned to visit. After extensive planning and postponing, we finally had the chance on a recent cruise, and thought we’d share thoughts from the […]
We pick up from Part 1 of our What’s New in Kyoto, Japan post with more on temple construction, soda updates (including new Coke and Pepsi flavors), cool summer fun in northern Kyoto, and more. We’ll also share some ‘just for fun’ photos from this visit to Kyoto. But first, we encountered a family of […]
Hyatt is months away from opening its third flagship hotel in Japan with Park Hyatt Kyoto, which is slated to debut on December 1, 2019. We have the latest construction photos of this nearly-completed resort and commentary about Park Hyatt Kyoto, which promises to be a great use of points. As regular visitors to Japan […]
This year, I opted to visit Yosemite National Park during “Firefall Season” over Presidents’ Day Weekend. In this post, I’ll share my Horsetail Falls photos, plus commentary and tips for those planning on shooting the Firefall this year or in the future. Note that while this offers advice, it’s not comprehensive. For that, refer to […]
Fushimi Inari is our favorite place in Kyoto, Japan. It’s a huge mountain shrine famous for its thousands of torii gates, but that’s just scratching the surface. It’s also home to myriad sub-shrines, natural beauty, and great hiking options around the mountain–and to nearby temples–via Kyoto Isshu Circuit Trail. In this post, we’ll detail one of […]