Was fortunate enough to visit Japan twice this year! Thank you, cheap flight prices.
1. The food in Japan was amazing, and cheap! We had sushi, tonkatsu, tempura, ramen, udon, soba, yakiniku, wagyu, shabu shabu, okonomiyaki, and more, and it was all fantastic. I think on average, the quality of Japanese restaurants is higher than American restaurants.
2. But the lines sucked. Waiting in line for a restaurant always involved physically waiting there. No digital waitlist where they text you when it’s almost your turn to come back, which is a convenient system many American restaurants employ.
I think there’s more of a priority placed on the art of the craft there (vs the focus on money-making and efficiency in the US). At one restaurant, we waited almost two hours in line while they were seating a single party of two at a six person table…
3. The train system is super clean and convenient. The local trains are easy for hopping around neighborhoods in Tokyo and the bullet trains were great for moving between larger cities. Google Maps even shows you which train cars are the most efficient for transferring to your next train.
4. There’s so many shrines and temples everywhere, with some very unique. They were very tranquil and nice to escape from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.
5. There is beauty throughout the seasons. In the Spring, we saw the famous cherry blossoms in peak bloom. In the Winter, we caught some gorgeous snowy backdrops and hiked to see snow monkeys staying warm in the hot springs.
Spring: Tokyo, Lake Kawaguchiko, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Hiroshima, Miyajima
Winter: Tokyo, Kamakura, Nagano, Matsumoto
Excited to explore more parts of Japan on future trips!
Recently did a little road trip across the three national parks of Washington state in mid-October and had a blast! We got our fill of fall foliage and were lucky enough to catch the tail end of golden larch season.
North Cascades NP
- The least popular of the parks, but I loved it!
- Lots of cool waterfalls as you drive through the North Cascades Highway
- Maple Pass Loop is an amazing hike, one of my favorite ever. Going counterclockwise, you get views all the way up the mountain
- Blue Lake Trail was beautiful under light snowfall, it felt like Christmas, but with golden and green Christmas trees interspersed.
- We stayed the night in a cute little town called Mazama
Mount Rainer NP
- Winter season started so most of the roads were icy and we ended up having to wait for it to thaw out before making our way in
- Skyline Trail Loop was a great trail with spectacular views of Mount Rainer. We weren’t prepared with the proper snow hiking shoes but still got up pretty close to the mountain.
- We only had time to check out one part of the park so will need to make a return trip someday.
Olympic NP
- It was really cool to hike through the temperate rainforest at Lake Quinault. Who would’ve thought you could find a rainforest out here? Such a stark contrast from the many mountains we hiked earlier in the trip.
2023: Back to the Beautiful Basics
Going into this year, I was hopeful to find two things: a place of my own and love (again).
The former didn’t happen. The Bay Area housing market is a beast I still plan to conquer some day.
But one out of two ain’t too bad… I found love again.
This year, I feel like I went back to the basics and everything just flowed from there. I got back to doing the things that I love, found love along the way, and got to do more of those things with the person that I love.
Being out in nature is when I feel most free and I was fortunate to explore some of the most beautiful places on Earth: New Zealand and Banff. They had been on my travel bucket list for the longest time and neither disappointed one bit. My year was filled with breathtaking waterfalls, lakes, and peaks.
Outside of these faraway lands, I made a concerted effort to go on more hikes close to home as well. And at the top of one of those hikes, I suddenly found myself with a girlfriend. Luckily she’s one that also likes to get out and see the beauty in nature. I’m grateful to be able share in discovering more of that beauty with someone beautiful. See what I did there? ;)
More beautiful things are in store for 2024! Hoping to take some big next steps in life and love.
Life has been a little different lately…
I was laid off from work a few months ago, which was a shock, and came with the anxiety of not having a stable income. I know a new job opportunity will come eventually though.
This was the first time I’ve had a real break from work since 2015. With this time off, I’ve been able to focus on other priorities in my life:
- Girlfriend
- Getting outdoors: I’ve gotten the chance to travel and do some hikes that have been on my list for a while: Alamere Falls, Lassen National Park, Banff
- Back to playing basketball 1-2 times a week: Ball is life, it’s always fun to compete on the court
So can’t complain too much.
Also turned 34 and ready to embrace my mid-thirties happy, healthy, and hopeful.
Spent a little less than a week in Portugal recently and enjoyed it very much.
We split the week between Lisbon and Porto and I’ll get into it more below, but in my opinion Porto > Lisbon.
It’s been a long time since I spent time in Europe during the summer and wow is it pleasant. The week was filled with seafood, pasteis de nata, and good cheap wine.
Maybe this impression was affected by two red-eye flights within 3 days, but Lisbon was just alright. There were some nice areas, but it also felt a little seedy?
- Alfama was a fun neighborhood. For an afternoon, we just walked around and followed the twisting and turning cobblestone streets. Around each corner were small beer garden-like areas with outdoor stalls selling drinks and bar snacks.
- The view was from Miradouro de Santa Luzia was beautiful, with the expanse of red clay roofs as far as the eye could see. A few musicians were playing guitar and singing which added to the peaceful ambiance.
- Belem was nice. Belem Tower was cool, but the line to get into Jeronimos Monastery was annoying. The timed tickets didn’t mean anything so we ended up waiting over an hour under the sun. The pasteis de nata we had at Pastéis de Belém were our favorite from the trip though!
We took a three-hour train from Lisbon to Porto which was pretty smooth sailing and a convenient way to hop cities. Porto, known for it’s port wine, was smaller than Lisbon but very cute and nice. I felt like we got to really know the city in our 2.5 days there.
- There were tons of churches in the city
- Palacio do Bolsa (palace of the city’s commerce association) was a cool little tour. The architecture inside was gorgeous
- Very much enjoyed spending a sunny afternoon across the river in Gaia sipping wine and drinks from a waterfront port lodge.
- My favorite spot was up on the hill at Jardim do Morro, where we spent our last sunset on the grass drinking a bottle of vinho verde out of paper cups we snagged from McDonald’s. There were some DJs spinning music and some bachelorette party groups, the vibes were simply immaculate.
We also discovered the perfect summer drink called a Porto Tonico, which is basically just port wine + tonic water + a little citrus and mint. Let the summer of Porto Tonicos begin!