Day Trippin'

Kyoto was probably my favourite city in Japan. We used it as a home base to visit other places. The Fushimi Inari Shrine was a highlight of Kyoto. We didn't quite make it to the top of the hill, but we hiked a fair amount under thousands of gates with the Mins in tow.

Nara is a short train ride away from Kyoto. It used to be the capital of Japan way back in the day. This Buddhist temple (in a park with hundreds of deer) is the main attraction.

Back in Kyoto we visited the Golden Pavilion...

...as well as the Bamboo Forest. G photobombed the Mins' photo.

Gion is Kyoto's most famous geisha district. There were lots of shops to rent a traditional outfit to wear for the day.

Our second day trip was to Osaka. Here's the Mins in front of Osaka Castle. At night time we ate at several places in Dotonbori (a.k.a., Japan's Kitchen).

Our last day trip was to Kobe. We visited a few sake breweries...

...and had a great dinner. We sat at a counter while a chef cooked Kobe beef and veggies in front of us. Om nom nom!

Tokyo >>> Hakone

Our home base in Tokyo was Shinjuku. Shopping there was top notch and it was very convenient transit wise to get to other places. A great free thing to do in the area was the observation floor at the Metropolitan Government Building. The day we went was cloudy but it was still nice to get a bird's eye view.

Mascots were here, there, and everywhere in Japan. Here's the Mins with two from a flower festival.

We went to an all you can eat, make your own, okonomiyaki place. The Mins made one with veggies and corn.

One of the highlights of our trip was eating sukiyaki. The wagyu beef, though not pictured here, was out of this world! G's friend speaks Japanese and made a reservation for us in advance.

Our first time taking the Shinkansen (bullet train) was to Hakone. It is a small town that is known for its hot springs resorts and views of Mount Fuji. It also has a circuit with five modes of transportation. The first mode was an electric train up a hill.

Between modes of transport are attractions, shops, and restaurants. We had soba noodles at Gora Station.

This was one of the views after the first ropeway.

The second ropeway took us even higher, and over a quarry.

After taking a boat and a bus, we walked around town and then spent time at our ryokan. The hospitality was excellent and we had an onsen all to ourselves. Can you see the Mins relaxing on top of the water spout?

Hakone was a lovely retreat for us to rest and recharge. Next up...Kyoto!

Big in Japan!

The Mins may be small...but he was big in Japan! His favourite thing? The food! On our first full day in Tokyo, we tried omurice (omlette + rice). It doesn't look like much, but it was delish!

Ginza is a famous shopping district. Everything was super luxe, especially the department stores. Here's the Mins on the main drag.

We splurged on a mid-afternoon dessert at Toraya Ginza. It was worth every penny!

We visited the Imperial Palace (booked a free tour in advance). The tour was a bit chaotic but it allowed us to get an inside peek.

The Mins and I had the best ramen of life at the bottom of Tokyo Station! It was dipping ramen. Yum! We wore a bib to make sure we didn't splash on our clothes.

We've seen the tuna auction so many times on TV that we didn't feel the need to wake up at 3 AM to line up for tickets. The fish market is open to the public at 10 AM so we did a quick walk and then had...

...sushi! The Mins was a pro with chopsticks at this point.

The Mins paid his respects to Hachiko, the remarkably loyal dog who continued to wait for his owner by a train station for nine years after the owner passed away. Don't mind the grandpa sleeping in the background...

Shibuya was super busy, as expected. The Mins wasn't phased by the hustle and bustle. (Side note: the Tsutaya bookstore in the background was impressive...highly recommended!)

We went to a tiny udon restaurant close to our hotel in Shinjuku. The noodles were cooked perfectly. Probably the best udon we've ever had!

More photos to come!

Name that City

Where in the world is the Mins?!?

Little Monster, Big City

We spent the Easter long weekend in NYC. B had a few things to do in the Big Apple. Maggie and I joined for the ride. After checking into our hotel, we visited a few shops in SoHo and had a late lunch at Sadelle's. The bagel tower was very decadent!

The Raptors are in the playoffs so we watched the game before dinner. As you can see, Maggie controlled the remote!

We spent a decent amount of time in Central Park the next day. The weather was in the high 20s.

Maggie studied with B on a park bench.

She was also being silly, photo bombing!

On our last day, I took Maggie to visit my old stomping grounds. I did an internship at the UN several years ago.

We then ate, ate, and ate some more. Our first stop was Tim Ho Wan. In 2014, Maggie went to the original location with Colin in Hong Kong.

We ended up going to a bunch of places, including Baohaus. Maggie liked the names of the bao. On the left is the Uncle Jesse Bao, and on the right is the Chairman Bao.

Cherry Blossoms

Q trekked to High Park to visit the cherry blossoms today. They are not in full bloom yet, but he wanted to see them before it's too late. Nature makes Q smile!

Nap

Spencer is enjoying a nap in the afternoon sunshine.

We hope everyone is having a fantastic day so far!

All of the Lights

Maggie braved the wind earlier this evening to check out the Toronto Light Festival. There were 21 installations from around the world. This one was very popular. Doesn't Maggie look angelic?

Havana Continued

The weather was better than expected while we were in Havana. It was supposed to rain a few days, but never did. One day was particularly warm and sunny so we dropped everything and went to a local beach.

As you can see, Clem and Dumbo were very relaxed!

We spent our remaining days exploring other districts in Havana, including Central Havana. They have a Chinatown there, but we didn't really see anything that was authentically Chinese.

We brought home coffee, rum, and cigars. We're saving these Cohibas for a special occasion!

Hola Havana!

Clem and Dumbo had a terrific vacation in Havana! Here are a few snaps from their trip.

We woke up early to catch our flight. Dumbo napped while Clem watched luggage being loaded onto our plane.

We stayed in a casa particular, which was a great alternative to a hotel. Our host was friendly although we didn't know much Spanish and she didn't know much English. Our room was simple but had everything we needed, and was very clean. Clem and Dumbo enjoyed basking in the sun when we first settled in.

On the day we arrived, B and I did a 4-hour bike tour. We had the friends with us the whole time, but opted to keep them clean in our backpack. We were sticky from the heat and did cycle through some wet areas.

Clem and Dumbo spent the next day exploring Old Havana. They went to the famous squares, such as the one above...

...and this one. They thought the architecture was pretty cool.

Clem and Dumbo wanted to dine like locals so we tried lots of mom and pop places. The food in Havana is nothing to write home about. There's not a lot of variety, but the portions are large and cheap.

We didn't take as many photos as we usually do while travelling but a few more to come of Clem and Dumbo!