After exhausting Shizuoka's offerings, we hit the road for the Ocha no Sato Tea Museum about 40 minutes away. We paid a typical admission fee of 300 yen (about $2.80 USD) per person. I don't know how Japanese museums manage, charging so little. The building looked brand new, and there was staff everywhere. We wandered …
Continue reading The Ocha no Sato Tea Museum, Plus a Detour to Shizuoka’s Questionable District
So the Miata is at the shop, and we have a loaner car and six hours to kill. The Lonely Planet Japan guidebook doesn't even list Shizuoka at all, and we quickly learned why. The Toro Ruins looked interesting enough, but alas--closed on Mondays. Same with the Shizuoka City Museum of Art. So at the …
Continue reading We Really Tried to Enjoy the Sites of Shizuoka
It's Memorial Day, a US holiday that is known in Japan as...Monday! That's right--the kids are at school as usual, and Mark and I are on the road for a quick trip to Shizuoka, a city two hours away. Two months ago Mark fulfilled his wish for a second car while nipping a looming midlife …
Continue reading Road Trip! Let’s Stop at the Best Rest Area Ever
Last weekend we headed to Nikko, a historic city nestled in the mountains northwest of Tokyo. The kids wrestled the camera away from me a few times, so I decided to showcase our trip mostly through their eyes. Though of course I can't help but add a few snaps of my own at the end.... …
As loyal martyaki readers may recall, last spring I visited the the famous wisteria in full bloom at Kawachi Fuji-en garden in Kitakyushu, about 1000 km away from my home in Yokohama. This year I decided to check out the wisteria hysteria a little closer to home, heading to Ashikaga Flower Park outside Tokyo. My …
Continue reading Wisteria 2.0, or A Visit to Ashikaga Flower Park
Last Christmas, Mark lovingly gave me the most romantic of gifts: my very own 23andMe ancestry kit! Because nothing quite says I Love You like a vial of spit. So I filled my vial and sent off the sample, eagerly awaiting my results. Meanwhile, I decided to use a story about the popularity of commercial …
But let's not get ahead of ourselves! A little background on my Mad Japanese Skillz.... Upon arriving in Japan two and a half years ago, I immediately set out to find Japanese language classes. I quickly found one class on Mondays and another on Thursdays, and I still attend both every week. If you asked …
During our stay in Kyoto two weeks ago Mark and I visited seven different temples and shrines in three days. I loved the time to wander at my own pace, and I made myself a promise to visit similar sites closer to home. So this morning my day began rather typically--after getting the kids out the door …
Last week the kids went on a school ski trip. Both kids, at the same time! All four of us have been anticipating this trip since learning of it shortly after our arrival in Yokohama over two years ago. So after Mark delivered the children and ski gear to meet the bus, we headed straight for …
This past weekend we headed out for the inaugural ski trip of the season. Our destination: Zao Onsen, a ski town about 400 km north of Tokyo. I heard of its famous snow monsters and hot springs and decided that we should check it out for ourselves. We set out on Thursday morning heading for …
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