The second of our scheduled Japanese city tours was in Kyoto, on a hot Sunday afternoon. Unlike our tour in Tokyo, we didn’t ride a bus around town for this one. We arrived by bus at the prearranged area, then hoofed it for four hours to three different shrines, up...
I’m a very sentimental old cuss. Other people have fond memories; I have flashing neon red-letter Special Events. And when it’s an actual anniversary or birthday, I’ve been known to pull out all the stops, adorn myself with sequins, and shout “Hallelujah!” from the...
By special arrangement, we had our “traditional Japanese breakfast” a half hour before the upstairs restaurant actually opened. Again, a picture menu frought with soy products, but I was not bashful about pointing to each item and asking our server if...
In direct contrast to Tokyo, Hakone is a tiny, quaint little town known for its mineral hot springs, hiking trails, ropeways, cable cars, and pirate boat cruises on the extremely picturesque Lake Ashi. I felt like we’d been dropped deep into the previous century—on...
Our second day in Japan, we were “on your own,” which meant we had no tour schedule, no set place to be at any particular time, and no worries about catching a plane or train or other mode of transportation. In other words, we could go and do totally at...
The drizzle let up after we left the Meiji Jingu Shrine, and during our short walk through the Imperial Palace Garden, umbrellas were pretty much “optional.” Those of us raised in the Pacific Northwest are drip-dry, and sprinkles, especially when it’s 80 degrees out,...
