Author: Jose

We loved Japan but Chiang Mai is our new favorite place in Asia. It doesn’t have the most beautiful scenery (but the mountains are beautiful) or the best attractions (though the elephant sanctuary was...

Honestly, we were a bit worried about Cambodia but it was really pretty nice. We just focused on Angkor Wat and stayed in Siem Reap so maybe that’s why it was so nice but...

Our last stop was Takayama, a small town in the “Japanese Alps”. There is nothing wrong with the town but Karen and I both had colds and didn’t feel like doing much. This meant...

Our second to last stop was different in that we weren’t going to a town at at all but a village in the mountains of Japan. It’s a popular day trip from Kanazawa or...

Kenroku-En gardens is supposed to be one of the three great gardens in Japan (along with Koraku-en and Kairaku-en). We are not sure what that even means exactly but it was on our route...

Kyoto is very convenient to Himeji Castle. About an hour by train with trains every 15-20 minutes. We were bold (for us) and didn’t even make reservations. Himeji is a cool little town but...

Kyoto is about and 90 minutes to 2 hours away depending on train speed from Hiroshima. Itsukushima shrine on the island of Miyajima is a 10 minute ferry from Hiroshima bay. Hiroshima is the...

Our longest stay in Japan was in Kyoto and that was a good choice. It was our favorite city in Japan and just had the perfect blend of size, connections, restaurants, and touristy stuff....

Tokyo is an interesting mix of old and new. It has wonderful shrines, temples, and gardens but lots of quirky modern neighborhoods as well. Though it is the largest city in the world at...

Tokyo Disneyland (TDL) feels even more different at night. They really do a great job on lighting and they have the Disney Electrical Parade which combines the old theme music (my favorite) with new...