I'm in the 'states for a couple weeks visiting family. It's the first time I've been back to the 'States since moving to Japan. Things pretty much feel like I left them. My mom and dad are healthy but my grandfather went into the hospital this week so we went to visit him yesterday. Everybody said that it was crappy waiting around at the hospital but it turned out to be a good experience mee[...]

It's been a little while but I'm back with the comings and goings of day 2 of our trip to Hakone. So without further ado lets get started! Reiko and I woke up early at our Ryokan, and went for an early morning walk down to Lake Ashi to see if we could see Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately that objective was doomed from the start but we had a nice walk, enjoying the crisp morning air, and brilliant sun[...]

Yesterday, Reiko and I got back from Hakone. Reiko planned a nice trip for my birthday. We left on Saturday and came back the next day. Hakone is about two hours away on the Odakyuu train line. We went to Hakone for the nature scenery, but most people go there for the Onsens (hot springs/hot baths), and health spas, since they are all over the place. It seems every other bus stop is named 'so[...]

Reiko and I got back from Kyoto a couple days ago and man what a beautiful place. The city itself doesn't look like much at first because there are laws against building tall buildings but you soon find that this adds to Kyoto's charm. Kyoto is surrounded by mountains which are visible from within the city. Coming from Tokyo where you're lucky to see more than a few blocks away because of the[...]

Hey everyone! Reiko and I just got back from Kyoto yesterday. What an amazing trip. Kyoto is a city steeped in a huge amount of history and beauty. Just stepping of the train you can feel that it's a totally different city and atmosphere from Tokyo. The air is fresher, the the buildings are smaller, and there is an tradition of keeping the city one of the most beautiful places in the world. [...]

So things are all set for us to go to Kyoto! We'll be there starting the 29th of April to the 2nd of May. We plan to go lots of places and take lots of pictures. I'm still not sure exactly what day we will be going to each place on our list but I think that our time will be quite full. For all of those interested I'll be sure to post the pictures after we get back. I'm really looking forward[...]

So Goldenweek is approaching. It's a week in Japan with no less than 5 national holidays. They don't all fall on the weekdays but essentially you got a full week off from work. Since I'll have a good time off from work I was wondering what I should do and I'm thinking of taking a trip with Reiko to Kyoto and Osaka. Currently I'm putting together a list of possible tourist destinations in the[...]

Reiko and I just got back from New York. We went via Amtrak on Monday and came back this morning. We managed to see all the really famous attractions and do quite a bit of stuff while we where there. We took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty, City Hall, and saw the Empire State Building on Monday. Yesterday we went to Times Square, Central Park, Washington Square, Colombia University, and Rock[...]