Tales From the Land of the Rising Sun: The Final Chapter

Well it took me 7 months to blog this trip, but that's saying something about 8 days (+ 2 travel days) in Japan. Our final day in Tokyo was going to be chill, but still made its mark. Here we go.

When Ryan was coordinating this trip, he kept asking me about things I wanted to do. I was happy to be along for the ride, but I did list some things, and one of those things we haven't done yet. The world famous Shibuya Crossing. This intersection has multiple entry points and once per light cycle, it shuts down to cars to allow all the pedestrians to cross. Each crossing consists of a few thousand people. Yes you read that right. And somehow, when they all cross, no one bumps into anyone (most of the time). It's the smoothest flow of a crowd you can ever be apart of. And there was no way we were leaving Tokyo without doing it. So after a quick breakfast, we hit the world famous crossing. We waited with the masses for the light to change, and when it did, we were off. The sea of people flowed and I rode the waves. It was a mini adrenaline rush and not even a hair on my arm was damaged. It was worth the experience and if you ever go to Tokyo, don't skip the chance to do the Shibuya Scramble.

Not too far from the crossing was a massive Tower Records store. Ryan wanted to stop in so that's what we did. The store sort of resembled a giant jukebox. The escalators went up floor after floor, with each floor having a different selection of music. Each floor was playing different music over the loudspeakers. And the funniest part, Taylor Swift's new album had just dropped and there was a whole section for it with it playing throughout the whole floor. You could get a record of it of you wanted because Japan loves its vinyl. One could've spent a large portion of the day in this store no problem. 

From this point, we were playing it by ear. We stopped at a bakery that sold tea as I wanted to bring some home for my mom. Then we went for lunch. After 9 days we finally went to get sushi. I know I know. After all this time, we are final indulging in one of Japan's signature dishes. And it didn't disappoint. We got a full platter with various types and they were all incredible. I'm not a foodie some I'm not going to go any further in detail, but all I have to say is come to Japan and try it for yourself.

We took the rest of the day easy by traveling over to another well known shrine. The Yasukuni Shrine. The shrine has an infamous reputation due to having war criminals ashes interred there. But the walk to it is magical. A large, gravel path flanked on both sides by enormous trees that create a canopy over the path. It feels like you've entered another world. We wandered through the forest while Ryan explained the history. Eventually, we approached our first building. There were police there who formed the crowd into two lines on either side of the path. A wedding ceremony was taking place. We watched as a procession came. The bride, groom, and entire wedding party walked as if fully choreographed. Everyone stayed silent out of respect until they had gone into the temple. Then just like that, the lines broke and people meshed into a throng. 

We explored the temple grounds a bit before making our way out. We eventually came upon a museum that was free inside the doors, but you had to pay to go further. There was a full size Japanese Zero fighter plane inside. I can say that's another first as I never saw a full-sized Zero before. We decided not to pay for the rest of the museum and took a brief tour of the gift shop. We made this the last stop of the evening before heading back to our hotel. 

As we got close, we decided to wander the streets a bit more as the sun had set on the Land of the Rising Sun one last time for us. As witnessed on the entire trip, there were people moving about, cars here and there, but all that was heard was a soft roar. The lights of Tokyo beamed out into the night. The streets were still barren of even a candy wrapper blowing in the wind. The occasional glow from a vending machine and all the other sights and sounds were a constant reminder of the experience I had in those 10 days. Everything from the first step off of the plane into Tokyo to the final setting sun exemplified the wonder of travel. And while we didn't leave until the next day, I feel this is a fitting note to end on. As I've been telling most folks who have asked, if you have a top five list of countries to visit, Japan should be on it. And while I experienced so much in those 10 days, I merely scratched the surface of all Japan has to offer. Maybe some day I'll go back and have a totally new adventure. But for now, this is where this story ends. I hope you enjoyed following along and I wish you well in all the adventures you may find yourself on. 

"“All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost.”~J.R.R. Tolkien

Tales From the Land of the Rising Sun: Part 9

For those that know me fairly well, you know how much I appreciate a sleek body, four wheels, and a combustion engine. Those of you that also appreciate those things know that Japan is a field of Eden for car culture. And yet, I really haven't touched any of that in the writing of this journey. Well fear not because today was the day we went full throttle. So strap in, rev those engines, and put the pedal to the metal as we take a peek into Japan's car culture.

Ryan and I started the day by taking multiple modes of transportation to a rural part of Tokyo. Out here where the main flow and noise of Tokyo cannot be found, stood a Subaru dealership, with an STI gallery. It is here both the Subaru and car enthusiast can enter an up close and personal experience for this brand of car. Upon entering the doors, we were greeted by a young woman ready to welcome any visitor to the gallery. She provided us with a booklet that contained a treasure hunt designed to make you visit every section of the gallery. We thanked her and began exploring. Two things immediately caught my eye. The first is that they had actual Subarus used in professional motorsports sitting right there for you to see. And not only to see but they made sure we knew that we were allowed to climb inside. I have seen race cars up close many times, but this was the first time I was able to climb inside one, feel my body conform to the seat, let my hand hover over the shifter, and for a brief moment, picture myself flying down the track or kicking up dirt from a rally course while chasing the checkers. One of the cars on display was that of renowned rally driver Colin McRae, who tragically died in a helicopter crash. So it was a surreal experience to be able to see that car.

The second thing that I noticed early on was a couple of the cylindrical beam poles that had names written in sharpie all over them. The showroom allowed visitors to autograph those beams. So given the opportunity to note my presence in a foreign land, I signed one of the beams. If you ever happen to find yourself in the STI showroom in Japan, see if you can find my name. Other highlights a timeline of toy Subaru cars from the beginning until present day, a racing simulator you could play with a full chair and wheel setup, as well as the mini scavenger hunt they provided. 

Eventually we had our fill of the showroom, but before we left, we met a dude from Australia who started conversing with us. We talked cars, travel, and whatever else was on our minds. It's always fun to meet other travelers and discuss shared passions while in another part of the world. After a brief, but fun interaction, we said goodbye to STI and made our way back to the heart of Tokyo.

After a bus and a handful of trains, we were back in central Tokyo. The skies opened up and the rains began to fall. Luckily, our next destination was inside. We were at the Nissan Crossing. It's a multi-leveled, glamorous showroom, for Nissan cars. I'm talking the eye candy of Nissan vehicles on turnstiles. We climbed level after level, stopping to see the new toys on display, including a formula 1 car. I must add that I was multi-tasking at this point. There was a Pokemon Go raid event going on and like I've said before, playing Pokemon in the country that birthed it was something else. 

After we left the Nissan Crossing, we went back to the hotel to wind down for a bit as we had a big evening planned. You see the STI showroom and Nissan Crossing were only the tip of the motor iceberg. Before we left the good ol' USA, Ryan proposed we do something a bit off the cuff. What was it? The Daikoku car meet. Let me preface this by saying that this is not an official event. You can't buy tickets to it, your taking a chance on whether it happens or not, and it's not easy to get to. So what is it? It's actually a truck rest stop about 30 minutes outside of the main city. Sometime way back when, Tokyo's car culture decided it would be a cool place to meet up and show off your ride. Because it can get crazy and it is a rest stop, the police usually come after a couple hours and shut it down. It was originally just the locals, but once word got around that you could see a ton of sweet rides, non locals and tourists started flocking there. 

There's no public transportation that will get you there except a taxi which will be expensive. But trying to get a taxi to come back and get you is even more difficult. One option is to get a rental car and drive yourself out there, but we chose the only other route. That was to pay locals running a van and mini tour to get us out there. It's not like an official tour. You get in contact with the people through a messaging app and they give you a meetup point and time. Then there was a van that would pick you and other strangers up to take you out to the Daikoku rest stop. 

When the sun had gone down, Ryan and I made our way back to Tokyo station. There, on a side street, was a small line of vans. A crazy thought ran through my head that this was one of those movie scenes where you get in a black van and bad things happen. But thankfully, the host and the driver were two, young, chill, and very friendly dudes. One spoke English and was originally from Vietnam. The other was our driver who was a local and was apparently part of the underground scene at one point. After some conversation and the rest of the people who paid for this experience arrived, we piled into the van and off we went.

This adventure had four main points. The first was that we would be crossing the renowned Rainbow Bridge. It provided epic night views of the skyline and looked incredible lit up at night. I will note that the rain had let up a bit ago, but there was still some in the area. If the skies opened up, that would be bad news for us. Our guide mentioned that if there's a little rain, folks still meet up with their cars, but if it's pouring, then most don't show up. We crossed the Rainbow Bridge and were getting closer to our main destination.

It wasn't long before we could sense we were close. Cars that you don't see everyday started to appear. We took a ramp a pretty soon we found ourselves in a super crowded parking lot. The van weaved through people and cars until it found a space to park. We all got out and the guide basically told us to have fun, go explore, and be back to the van at a specific time. As my eyes tried to take everything in all at once, I felt like I had entered a Fast and Furious world. Everywhere my head swiveled was another car to drool over. There was a BMW of the exact model and paint scheme from the Need For Speed Underground video game, a mazda with a Lightning McQueen paint scheme, a bedazzled Lamborghini, and even a midnight black Dodge charger running the red and blue police lights found on police vehicles in the US. That's not illegal here as Japanese police run a different light scheme. So if you every want to zoom around in a replica of an American cop car, come to Japan. 

I really can't describe the car meet in enough words to do it justice. It's something you have to experience for yourself. I will say that it did feel like being in a movie. People and sweet cars as far as the eye could see. Even in the dark, with a bit of rain, the motors ruled the night. Eventually people started to disperse, knowing it would likely be shutdown soon. Ryan and I made our way back to the van and everyone else soon followed. We loaded up and headed out. There was a crowd standing on the corner of the entrance ramp, cheering on the existing cars to see them one last time. Our driver, who I mentioned used to be in the underground scene, revved the van engine and peeled out around the curve right in front of the crowd. We cheered and laughed knowing the crowd was not expecting a simple van to do that.

Our third stop was at a popular JDM (I don't recall its name) store where a lot of folks went after the car meet to shop for souvenirs for car lovers everywhere. It was a huge store with a lot to offer and still bustling at a later hour. This stop was shorter than the Daikoku car meet and I didn't pick up anything here, but it was fun to explore. We once again loaded up the van and headed for our fourth and final destination. The Tokyo Tower. 

While not as tall as the SkyTree, it still stood out in the dark of night. And one look would tell you that it was modeled after the Eiffel Tower in Paris. With the rain falling lightly and a foggy mist lingering all around, the tower's orange glow cut through the night. It made for an incredible site and a very opportunistic photo. Our guide took one of Ryan and I in front of that tower, a memory captured in time. This was pretty much where our night would end, but one last thing of note happened. Our guides were kind enough to drop everyone off near train/subway stations close to where they needed to be. After we said goodbye to our guides, Ryan and I walked under the glow of Tokyo's many lights towards the station we needed to get to. Then, a voice of a stranger called out through the crowd. He said two words that my ears instantly recognize any time they're spoken. "Go Birds!" I turned my head and saw they had come from another fellow American. "Go Birds!" I called back ecstatically. For context, I was wearing a Philadelphia Eagles athletic shirt. That's how he knew. One thing that never fails is that I can sport Eagles gear nearly anywhere in the world and someway, somehow, I will bump into another Eagles fan, just as I did here in Tokyo. And it warmed my heart even more. And with that, we can conclude the penultimate post for this adventure in the Land of the Rising Sun.  

Tales From the Land of the Rising Sun: Part 8

We're back where we landed. Tokyo. The capital city. A city of 40 million people, which is basically five times the size of NYC. A place that is so far advanced, it seems to be living in the future. And we were here for the remainder of the trip. It was time to see what the capital city was all about.

The first day's adventure began with a visit to the Railway Museum. Japan is known for its top notch trains, so it makes sense there's a museum devoted to them here. I've been to many museums in my day, but each one you enter has a new world to explore. We didn't begin on the ground level, choosing to start at the top and work our way down. This floor contained numerous hands-on exhibits as well as rooms with historical videos being projected onto walls and platforms. But the real gem of this section was the open air roof. Upon wandering out, you find informative signs at the edge. And on either side of the roof, tracks run by in the near distance. The signs identify the many types of trains (including the bullet trains), and also inform you of their schedules. So you could identify which train should be passing by, hear if from a distance, and watch with excitement as it rushed on by. It's not everyday you get to visit a museum and while doing so, witness the very thing's history you are observing actively flying by you. We stayed up there for a bit train watching and saw numerous types of bullet trains glide on by.

We then headed back inside where we wandered through a maze of the history of the trains. There were many pieces to see, life size train booths, replicating times long ago, and so much more. Near the end was a room that led to a model train set-up where you could sit in theater style seats and watch as the model trains followed their tracks through valleys, cities, and through mountains. There was also a narrator who provided information on what you were seeing in front of you. That was pretty cool. After the model trains, we took a lunch break at the restaurant on site. It was set up to act as if you were in an actual train car and from your table, you could look out the windows and observe the other trains passing by. The food was really good too. 

The museum had so much more to offer and after lunch we did explore it all, but the last few highlights I'll leave you with were on the ground floor. It was incredible. Life size train cars and engines from all eras of time. And it wasn't just 2 or 3. There were probably 10-15 in  the total. You could go inside, around, and even under some of them. This whole section could've been it's own museum. And if you wandered past all the trains and outside, there was an entire track course where children could drive small motorized train engines to their hearts content. Overall, this was an incredibly well done and worthwhile museum to visit.

Our next stop for the day was the Senso-Ji temple. This is Tokyo's oldest-established temple and by far one of the most popular to visit in Tokyo. Upon arrival, there is a long street that leads to the temple. It has over 70 shops lining the entirety of it. The area was swarming with more people than the temple with the incredible views in Kyoto. You can see the massive gate and it's ginormous lantern inside of it as you wander the sea of people. While that was our destination, we had to enjoy the journey. All the colors, smells, and sounds of the vendors beckoned us to take a peak at what they had. Ryan informed me that there was something I just had to try. We walked further down until we found the booth. They sold numerous sweets, but the one we (and mostly everyone else) in line were there for was the candied strawberries on a stick. Can't say I've ever had them before, but the hard candy shell exploded in my mouth with the first bite, followed by the natural flavor of the juicy strawberry. We walked further down until we found the booth. They sold numerous sweets, but the one we (and mostly everyone else) in line were there for was the candied strawberries on a stick. Can't say I've ever had them before, but the hard candy shell exploded in my mouth with the first bite, followed by the natural flavor of the juicy strawberry. I would definitely recommend getting this if you ever come here for a visit.

Once we had our fill of the strawberries, we once again merged into the sea of people and made our way towards the temple gate. From the last approach, two things were obvious. The massive lantern we could see from the beginning of the walk was truly larger than life when we reached it. The second was that the Tokyo Skytree in the distance was also a giant in its own right. I made sure to get both the temple and the Skytree in the shot. Then we followed the masses around the temple grounds, observing it in all its grandeur. There's only so much I can say, but you truly have to visit for yourself.

The skies still overcast, we wandered to a bridge with a koi pond, that probably has fish that are the most photographed in all of Tokyo as this was a popular photo op spot. Ryan then made the suggestion that we actually go do the Tokyo Skytree. The answer was obviously yes seeing as I have a habit of going to the top of towers in large cities. So he booked tickets for a later time, which means we had time to kill. This made for an opportunity to wander the streets, all the way to our destination.

The walk led us down near the river, where Ryan spotted a coffee shop and decided to get a caffeine recharge. Cup of Joe in hand, we stood on the edge of the wall overlooking the river. We could still see the towering Skytree in the distance, the traffic flowing across the bridge and on the other side of the river, some passing boats, and on the bank of the river, a line of blue tents. It was in this moment of our banter that Ryan pointed the tents out. They belonged to part of the homeless population of Tokyo. Ryan began explaining how that side of life was on this part of the world. Up until this point, I had noticed it occasionally, but not as prevalent until now. And to a certain degree, homelessness here was a little more discreet than it is in the US, but not fully hidden from the public eye. Nevertheless, it's still a sad thing to see anywhere. 

We eventually left the river behind and made it to the doors of the mall that housed the Skytree. The line was long, but we had pre-paid tickets and surprisingly, the lines were smooth flowing. There were numerous elevators which loaded people like sheep in a pen. The staff spoke entirely in Japanese and for the first time, I knew what it felt like to be a foreigner visiting a major tourist spot and only be able to observe and not understand a lick of what the guide was saying. I stood in the packed elevator as they rattled off what I presumed was information about the Skytree. Then with a bow from the guide, the elevator doors closed. In a blink of an eye, we were shot up 350m (1,1480ft). We stepped out to yet another sea of people. Once we found an opening, I stood against the glass. There's sprawling before me, was Tokyo. 

It was dusk so the city was twinkling with all the lights. I could only stare. For miles I saw only human advancement. No trees, no, nature, just a sea of buildings and cars. And let me tell you, the view made NYC seem incredibly small. You can't really fathom the size of a city that is five times larger than the Big Apple until you've seen it from this view. We slowly made our way around to see more of the view and each angle still blew my mind. But that wasn't all. We got the extended ticket to go up another 100m. One short elevator ride later, we were as high as we were allowed. For each high point I visit, I'm overly grateful that I do not have a fear of heights. And the view up here was even better. If I could've had that floor to myself, I would've been able to stay there for hours.

By the time we were ready to go back to ground level, the sun had completely set. We had to wait in a longish line for the elevators, but once we were on, we found ourselves back on the ground in no time. To close out the day, we went across the street to a rooftop restaurant, because eating dinner at ground level wasn't good enough after our previous excursion. The space was small, but being able to sit in the open air, high above the cars and people that moved below, enjoying Italian pasta made in the far east, and having the Skytree once again towering above us and adorned in a purple glow, was a most satisfying way to end the day in Japan's capital.

Tales From the Land of the Rising Sun: Part 7

Another morning dawned and I woke up well rested from my slumber. But my heart sunk a little when I realized I wasn't awoken by a text from my brother. As many of you know, I'm a big baseball fan and a diehard Indians/Guardians fan. They had mad a miraculous run and taken the division while I was in Japan. Then the first round of the playoffs started while I was still there. Due to the vastly different time zone, the games started after I went to sleep and finished before I woke up. So the day before, the Guardians were facing elimination, and they pulled off a win to stay alive. I was woken by a text from my brother and before I read it, I knew he was letting me know that the Guards had won. Well there was no text that morning and my suspicions were confirmed when I opened the ESPN app. They had lost and the comeback was over. While I was severely disappointed, the other side of me realized I would be able to enjoy the remainder of the trip more, knowing I wouldn't have to worry about a game I couldn't watch and a score I couldn't see. But little did I know that the chaos of Osaka was about to strike again. 

The pod hotel didn't have a continental breakfast, so we decided to catch a train back to the main station and purchase bullet train tickets to eventually head to Tokyo. A common question I got asked after returning to the US was if I experienced being shoved into train cars as shown in viral videos that made their rounds on the internet many years ago. Up to this point I hadn't. We progressed with a now familiar routine of going to the ticket kiosk, purchasing the ticket we needed for our next destination, and heading to the platform to wait for the train. The first one came cruising in in minutes, but as we watched the handful of people board in front of us, we saw that the train cars were so packed, we decided to wait for the next one as were were now first in the queue line. The thing was, we were in the heat of the Osaka morning rush hour. 

When the next train pulled up, there was a little more space, but not much. Ryan picked up his bag and got on first. I did the same and followed him in. At that point, there was maybe room for one more person behind me. Suddenly I felt the person who got on behind me press into me, which cause me to press into Ryan's backpack. Then by the force I was feeling, I felt two-three more people squish their way on and I now felt like a sardine packed in a can. While there were no workers physically pushing people on, the people themselves knew every train was like this so they squeezed themselves in. And while people did look miserable, they also had the look of dealing with this everyday. So for three stops, we had to hold steady as people physically squeezed through space that shouldn't exist. I would have to say this was probably the first unpleasant thing I really experienced in Japan. While the lack of trash cans was not fun, it was more of a minor inconvenience compared to the level of uncomfortableness we were experiencing. 

Finally the train got to our stop and it was our turn to squeeze our way out.  It was a relief to be off that train. Once again in the maze of tunnels, platforms, and shops, we made our way to the counter where we could purchase bullet train tickets. There were quite a few people there when we arrived. So we had to take a number and wait. It was probably a solid 15 minutes by the time out number was called. Once we got up there, we tried to purchase tickets for the mid afternoon train. But in the process the, clerk told us he'd have to do that on the other computer as they weren't selling that far in advance yet. Ryan looked over at me and said there was one other thing he wanted to check out in Osaka, but if I was cool with skipping it, we get tickets for a morning train departing to to long from now. I told him I was good with that. The time was 8:35am and I was expecting him to get the tickets for the 9:21am train. But he selected the 9:09am ones which was no problem in the moment. 

Still not having eaten breakfast, we decided to check out the place across from the ticket counter. I thought maybe we could grab something to go, but when I saw it was a sit down place, I was about to tell Ryan we should go somewhere else, but he had already engaged with the friendly hostess who was already showing us to a table. The place was exceptionally busy which made sense as it was rush hour and we were near the train station. We both ordered something simple in hopes it would come quick. My meal ended up coming in first and Ryan's took longer than expected. In fact, I pretty much finished mine before Ryan's food showed up. The minutes were ticking by and we were cutting it really close. Ryan's food finally showed up and I went to take care of the bill. He wolfed down three-fourths of an egg sandwich and we skedaddled towards the gate. 

We got there three minutes before the train was scheduled to leave and I slid my ticket in first. It got rejected. Shocked I tried again. Rejected again. Ryan tried his. Nope rejected. The toll of the high rush of Osaka was beginning to show its teeth. Our emotions were running thin and Ryan was concerned we just sent $90 down the drain. I took a deep breath and quickly mentioned we should talk to the gate agent. We had to wait for a couple of people, but made it to the counter with a minute left on the clock. I handed him my ticket and quickly explained the gate was rejecting it. He took a look, gave it a punch and sent me through. Ryan did the same and made it. No time to celebrate, we ran up the stairs and to the platform. The train was still there. But we weren't out of the woods yet. Our car where we reserved our seats was 10 cars down the platform. We started busting butt down the line, but then Ryan made the call to simply get on the train and walk through the cars. That way if it started to leave, we wouldn't be left behind. It was awkward as we had to push our bags through car after car, dodging others who had found their seats and were putting their bags up on the racks. 

After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was about 7-8 minutes from the restaurant to our seats, we finally made it to ours and plopped down out of exhaustion and relief. We survived what I would call the second snag of the trip and now had a 2 hour bullet train ride to decompress and relax.

The Japan country side once again blew by with a slight blur. What normally takes 6.5 hours by car was done in two. Once again we found ourselves in the capital city...Tokyo. While we were too early to check into our hotel, we still went there first to leave our bags at the front desk so we wouldn't have to use a locker and this was the place we would call home for the next few days. Once we dropped off our bags, we headed out to the streets of Tokyo. There were really no plans set for today as we had planned to stay in Osaka for a tad longer. Thus, we decided to free-roam. A vending machine was our first stop, followed by a small park by the river. We chose this park because it had a decent size geocache there that I wanted to find. To our surprise, there we a sweet view of the city buildings lining the river. I took it an as I hunted and found the geocache. I was able to drop off all the trackables (geocaching game pieces) I had with me. Next we wandered into a small toy car shop to see if they had anything good. It was packed to this gills with all sorts of small toy cars, with prices that ranged from fairly reasonable to collector territory. I did not buy anything here as there was still so much of Tokyo that was going to pry my tourism dollars from me.

The rest of the day was simple wandering and nothing of legend, but there was one small thing that added to my official introduction to Tokyo. When deciding on what to do for dinner, we came across a little hole-in-the-wall Indian restaurant and decided to wander in. It was a very small place with a couple other customers inside. I wasn't sure what to expect, but was up for any sort of surprise. The first came in the form of the main server. He was definitely not of Japanese decent. Turns out he wasn't directly Indian either. His roots lay in the middle east. But he spoke really good English and glowed with good energy. After he seated us, I watched him zip back and forth and switch from English to Japanese with fluidity. The people he worked with seemed genuinely happy with smiles all around. 

Ryan and I ordered different curries, and even though I've tasted many a curry in my day, including authentic Indian curry made by an Indian himself, what was put before us and was entered my mouth on that night was absolutely delicious. Ryan and I ate, talked travel, and took in the surrounding atmosphere. We ended up conversing with the server for a short bit and I had to ask him how many languages he spoke. I believe the number he said was 6, but it may have been 5, either way it was still incredibly impressive. We finished the food, paid our bill, said goodbye to the staff, and once again slipped into Japan's night. That last little adventure was a reminder of the wonders of travel. The hidden gems you can find both in a country and its people. Truly remarkable. 

Tales From the Land of the Rising Sun: Part 6

Out of all the cities we had explored so far, Nara's visit was the most brief. And while I took in every moment of tranquility that Nara offered, did not realize how much I was going to miss it for the rest of this trip. I'll explain more on that later, but now it was time to head to Osaka. Now if you've never been to or are familiar with Osaka, basically think of it as NYC on steroids. The hustle and bustle, the crowds, the bright lights, and so much more. 

We arrived via train by early afternoon. Since we could not check into the hotel yet, we once again tracked down lockers. We weaved our way through the maze of underground shops and stores, eventually coming upon a set of stairs to the above ground world and beside them were the lockers we sought. We stowed our bags and Ryan snapped a couple of pics of the area. We went above and I made a mental note of the nearby business. Our first destination was Dotonbori Street.

Dotonbori is well known for its night market and night life. But we had arrived in the heat of the day. So we were going to wander while the crowds weren't existent and take an early peek at a famous destination. As we approached, there was a large sign in gate-form, welcoming you to Dotonbori Street. Upon entrance there was a mechanical crab over the entrance of the nearby restaurant. This was a smaller version of the world famous Kani Doraku mechanical crab, which is massive compared to this one. I've seen a lot of crab icons, especially in the numerous times I've been to the state of Maryland. But this one by far took the cake. The street was lined with full blown restaurants and businesses that spilled onto the street with stands and samples to draw the masses beyond their doors. It was a sight to see, but a small glimpse of what it would be when the sun dips below the ocean and the stars light the sky. 

What also makes this area well known is the canal that runs down the middle, eventually leading to an place that looks like Times Square. Giant, electronic billboards everywhere and what a sight they would be to see at night. There were towering buildings that seemed to kiss the sky, one of which was a giant shopping mall that had a Ferris wheel running through it. You read that right. The Ferris wheel was built into the building. There would be so much more to see, but we were going to come back when it got dark.

The rest of the afternoon we took a bit easy. We traveled over to the famous Osaka Castle. Being tired upon arrival. we paid a few hundred yen to ride the tram up as far as we could go. Then we we departed it and wandered through the main gate, and there before us was this massive castle. If you've never seen an image of it, remove the European castle imagery from your mind as it looks nothing like those. But it is a castle nonetheless. And an old one too. It has been in existence since the late 1500s. What a sight it was to see. 

Due to the large crowds and a very warm day, we decided to forgo paying the fee to tour the inside. instead, we wandered the park grounds until we found a bench that overlooked a large pond. Here, Ryan and I took a long breather and discussed many things. The US government had just shut down around that very moment so that was brought up because we wondered how it would affect our trip back home. We also discussed life and planned adventures for 2026. Eventually we decided it was time to go get dinner, even though my legs begged me not to move. It was around this time (and for the first time in a long time) I began to experience traveler's fatigue. Maybe it was the daily city hopping and the effects of constantly navigating and dealing with public transportation. Maybe it was the overstimulation of everything my brain took in as well as constantly dealing with throngs of people. Maybe it was even the chaos that was Osaka. I couldn't say for sure, but I knew in that moment if you told me we had to skip the last four days and head home, I wouldn't have argued. I had seen a lot, done a lot, and experienced a lot to be satisfied. But I knew I had to press on as we had yet to conquer Tokyo. Now you see why I missed the tranquility of Nara?

Ryan navigated us to a restaurant that was underground. We had to weave through a maze of stairs and tunnels until we reached its doors. He had already been there before from his previous trip and felt it was worth another visit. We must not arrived during a busy time because the place seemed completely dead other than one table occupied by four businessmen. The friendly host seated us near the other occupied table. He brought us water and then disappeared...for a while. He only returned when the older gentleman at the other table called him. We flagged him over and put in orders. From the time we placed them to the time the food actually arrived was longer than what I would consider normal. Because we had nothing else to do, my mind ran through many possibilities of why it was taking so long. I would never know the actual answer and wrote it off to being in another country. The meat kebabs we ordered were pretty good.

We eventually paid for our meal and made our way back to where we started, Dotonbori Street. The atmosphere was electric and the crowds were thick. Billboards hummed and glowed in the night sky. The famous billboard of the running man was in full display. His arms poised up in a forever victory pose. We stood on the bridge of the canal and watched as the tour boats loaded with people passed beneath us. The smells of the night market wafted in the air. It was a sensory overload, but still worth experiencing. 

One thing that many tourists do is wander into Don Quijote stores as they are packed to the gills with many enticing consumer goods. The one here in Osaka had the Ferris wheel I mentioned prior built into it. Ryan suggested we give it a go, but when we checked it out, they were not running it that night. So we decided to do some shopping instead. We ascended up the electrical stairs and found ourselves wandering among throngs of people and goods. One level had walls and walls of goodies and sweets. Some of which are American product, but with flavors only found in Japan. Ryan and I grabbed a package of banana chocolate and matcha Kit-Kats. Flavors you definitely would not find under normal circumstances in the US. We continued on through floor after floor. Shelf after shelf. All until we decided we had or fill of exploration and went to check out.

Exiting the massive Don Quijote store, we found ourselves once again in the crowds. We continued to explore the area a bit longer, before eventually deciding it was time to call it a night. We left Dotonbori Street and made our way back towards the train station to get our bags and head to our next hotel. I followed Ryan through the sea of people and after a decent walk in the evening air, we made it to the entrance to where we had left our bags...or so we thought. Upon getting to the bottom of the stairs, the lockers we had put them in were nowhere to be found. Maybe we've got the wrong entrance, I thought. Ryan's photos taken earlier in the day were of the area below and not above. We were in a literal maze so the reference wasn't as good as we thought. So we began wandering. And wandering. And even more wandering. Chaotic thoughts began to creep into my fatigued brain. Like the ones that said I would not see that luggage ever again. I had everything I cared about in my backpack, which was on me. My roller bag only had clothes and toiletries. I could survive four days without those, even though it would be slightly unpleasant. Ryan, on the other hand, had left his backpack in the locker with his bag, so not finding it wasn't an option. I didn't want the panic button to go off so I kept my cool. Part of me wished I had pinned location coords to my phone. Ryan's fatigue was getting to him as well as I could see he was getting a little stressed. I told him that we should go back to street level and try another entrance. He agreed and when we got to the top, he navigated us across the street to another entrance and down we went. A sigh a of relief swept over me as the lockers we were looking for appeared before us. The wall also had the letter "G" from the photo. I flashed the QR code to the screen of the locker and the door swung open. Our second minor stressful moment had been resolved. But it would not be the last.

We made our way to the hotel. And while our adventures were done for the day, we had one more thing to experience. You see the hotel we booked was no ordinary hotel. It was a particular one that Japan is known for. A pod hotel. The entrance only contained an elevator to the front desk. It was pretty late by the time we got up there. Like most other hospitality workers I interreacted with in Japan, this one was also incredibly friendly and kind. She got us situated lickity-split by handing us wrist bracelets with keys for our lockers. We took our tired bodies up to the men only floor and found the lockers associated with our numbers. There we found paper slippers, robes, and towels to take to our pods. Once my stuff was stowed, I walked down the hallway to a door. I scanned my bracelet and went inside. Before me were two four rows of pods. Ten on each side with five on top and five on the bottom. I found my number and saw a shade. I pulled it up to reveal the opening to a box-like compartment with a small mattress, pillow, tiny shelf on the wall, an outlet, and artwork on the walls. There was a vent for air control, so don't worry I wasn't going to suffocate. 

As for other amenities, there was another entire area on that floor that had sinks, toilets, and individual showers. And the showers were excellent. Roomy, spacious, good water pressure, and aesthetically pleasing. Not what I was expecting for a pod hotel. Now thank goodness I knew we were doing this before I left the US because I brought something that was an absolute game-changer here. Ear plugs. I'm not a person who can sleep comfortably anywhere. I've mentioned before that I cannot sleep in moving vehicles (cars, trains, buses, planes, etc), I don't do well with any source of light coming in (I need near pitch black conditions), and any noise within the general vicinity is not good. Especially snoring. It's a nightmare scenario for me. And knowing that there may be 15+ other people in that space, I had them ready. Sure enough, the pod directly across from me had a person who snored like a lawnmower that could wake even then dead. But thanks to those little polyurethane sound stoppers and that surprisingly cozy mat, I slept well through the night. Final thoughts on the pod hotel. If you are an adventurous person in more than explanation, then do it once for the experience. Would I do it again? Maybe if the conditions were right, but I much prefer my own room with my own bathroom and shower inside of it. 

That rest was much needed as the next day, Osaka's chaos was about to befall us again and then it was off to conquer Tokyo. Never a dull moment in Japan.

Tales From the Land of the Rising Sun: Part 5

We left Kobe as the sun began to set and grabbed a local train for our next destination...Nara. While Ryan did all the planning for the trip, Nara is home to a very particular attraction that I wanted to experience and so when he asked me about things I wanted to do, I made sure to mention Nara. But more on that later. As per the normal routine, once we stepped foot in Nara, we made our way to the hotel to check in and unwind for a bit. Up until this point, our trip had run without a hitch, but we were about to hit our first speed bump.

We made our way into the hotel which we had to take an elevator right inside the door up to a certain floor. Once at the front desk, we gave the clerk our passports and waited for our room keys. While super friendly, both clerks barely spoke English. I note this because up until this point, all of the hotels we stayed in had at least one staff member whole spoke it well enough to communicate. So this was the first time experiencing the language barrier. After a few short minutes, the man at the desk gave us back our passports and showed the cost on the screen. Ryan gave him a confused look as he had already prepaid and pre-booked all our hotel rooms for the trip. He tried to explain this to the clerk. The clerk asked us to wait and disappeared in a back room. After a bit he returned and Ryan showed him the receipt via email. The clerk asked us to wait in the lobby and disappeared behind the curtain once more. We could hear him talking quickly on the phone. As we were waiting, I was wondering if this was going to be a long back-and-forth situation, but had no concern of not getting a room because the clerk had rung one up. Eventually he re-appeared and explained the best he could with his limited English that there was no booking in the record system. Not wanting to draw it out any longer, Ryan told him it was okay and we would pay for the room. Somewhere along the line, Booking.com fumbled the reservation, but thankfully we managed to get a room without too much trouble. 

As we made our way back to the elevator, I noticed an entire rack of pillows in the lobby. It was odd to me that they were all stored near the entrance. When we reached our room, I looked at the bed and was caught a bit off-guard. The pillows on the bed were long, lanky, and filled with beans. It was weird and abnormal. I put my head on it, and while it wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, I figured I could make it work. We took our daily breather before exploring the night side of Nara.

Ryan was very excited to show me this city, especially at night. From what I could see, it was as dense as the others in terms of large, man-made structures everywhere with little to no nature in sight. But the thing that made it stand out was that in a city of just over 360,000 people, at the early darkness of night, you could hear a pin drop. We walked the near empty streets as the buildings towered over us. We passed by an occasional human, moving car, or anything else that would contribute to the noise pollution for a city, and still could hear ourselves think. And to be clear, it wasn't a deathly silence, but rather a serene calm. Like if there was a city an old person would retire to, this was it. 

If one were to say that Nara had a bit of magic, the serenity wasn't the limiting factor. As we continued to stroll the streets, we turned a corner and came upon an incredible site. Before us was a large square pond. Hanging high enough above it a running the whole way around its perimeter, were orange, paper lanterns, glowing in the night. The scene that lay before us was enough to stop our movement and observe its beauty. If I lived in that area, I would most certainly stop by that spot every night, as it could soothe the soul. Unfortunately, our moment of tranquility came to an end when some yahoo with an obnoxiously loud motorcycle came roaring on by. His engine was so loud, it could've woken the dead. Thankfully he disappeared almost as quickly as he came. We ourselves eventually left and headed back towards the hotel. Along the way, we saw a massive gashapon store and had to take a gander inside. There were flashy lights, high energy music, and rows and rows of gashapon machines. It was a sight to behold.

The next morning, we headed off to the part of Nara I wanted to see the most. Nara Park. If you are unfamiliar with it, it is a large, beautiful park that is filled with free-roaming and friendly deer. They are no one's pets, but they hold no fear of humans. Every single one will let you walk up to them and pet them even if you don't have food. I know we see deer all the time here in the US, but they're all timid and have no interest in humans (some for good reason). So to say I was excited to experience this phenomenon would be an understatement. 

Upon arriving at the main gates, the deer were already abundant. Immediately I was in awe that I could walk right up to them and pet them. To be able to be in the presence of a touch wild animals with a soothing nature was therapeutic. Nearby the gates were little old ladies selling stacks of deer crackers for 200 yen ($1.26). Ryan and I each bought a stack and soon discovered something we were not expecting. Before we had those crackers in our hands, the deer did their own things and paid people no extra attention. But once they saw the old ladies hand them over, every single one within proximity swarmed us, forming circles around us so we had nowhere to go. We began to hand out the crackers to the deer, but soon found another surprise. The once docile deer turned slightly hostile. They all wanted the crackers and if you were feeding their friends, they weren't waiting for you to notice them. I heard Ryan let out a "hey" and "no!" I then let out a little yelp myself as I felt deer teeth make contact with my backside. It was a nip, but those nips don't feel too good. So I spun around and gave that deer a cracker...then was promptly bit in the butt again. I realized in the moment that I shouldn't have rewarded the deer who bit me, but my brain's reaction to get it to not do it again was to feed it. Which is ultimately the reason they do it because they know they won't get harmed and they'll be fed. I made it through my stack of crackers pretty quickly and came out with no broken skin nor red marks. And while being nipped by deer isn't something I would recommend, it was one of those rare travel experiences that I can now talk about for the rest of my days.

Nara Park is known for more than just the deer. It's grounds are home to multiple ancient temples, one of which houses the largest bronze buddha statue in the world. We had arrived at the park before the temples opened, so after we fed the deer, we wandered over to the first temple, found a vending machine (no surprise), grabbed a cool drink, and plopped ourselves down in the shade. At one point, I noticed a deer laying down against a building, so Ryan and I went over to it and parked ourselves next to it. We enjoyed our drinks, shared some chit-chat, and even spoke to the deer even though it wouldn't respond. It wasn't too long after that the temples opened, so we said good-bye to the deer and went exploring.

As we stopped at each one, the history and craftsmanship oozed out of them. Ryan is very avid about Japan's history and was consistently spewing out history facts about each place we stopped. Before this trip, the only other countries I had visited were English speaking countries with similar culture to the US. And after years of seeing other cultures only through books and the interwoven webs of the internet, I was now experiencing a culture with no English ties. The statues inside the temples were incredibly fascinating. In both size and craftsmanship. But it wasn't until we walked into the Todai-Ji temple that a full wave of awe washed over me. The bronze statue was so towering, my mind tried to wrap my head around how they moved that impressive chunk of stone and carved the very detailed human figure before me. To quote Ryan "It's their Mount Rushmore." 

After we left the massive statue for all the other tourists to observe, we wandered the grounds a bit more and found an incredibly cool photo op spot. My feet were set on the paved path with a small wooden fence. Beyond that was a calm still pond, which was spread out before a grassy hill. Then on top of that hill was the Todai-Ji temple. It all embodied the beauty of Japan. We had one last thing to do before we departed the park and that was finally try some matcha tea. We followed the signs into a very modern and tourist tailored cafe. A waitress greeted us and brought us to a table. Two mugs of matcha were ordered and it wasn't long before they arrived. It was one of the greenest colored drinks I had ever had, but it was delicious. After we had downed the last drop, it was time to say good-bye to Nara and take another train ride to our next destination. Our stay was brief, but it was a magical one. I highly recommend a visit if you ever find yourself in that part of the world.

One Last Look At 2025

Another new year is upon us. As the calendar turns from 2025 to 2026, events and moments of years past seem like only yesterday. The new year is both a fresh start and a constant reminder of what came before. And as each year comes, it has different meanings to each person. Some will tell you it was a good year. Others will say it was awful. Each year brings different swings of life, but ultimately, if you're still breathing as January 1st arrives, that in itself is enough to be grateful. Without further ado, here's a look back on my journey through 2025.

January wasn't going to be outdone by the gifts of Christmas and decided to bring me a second nephew. Tim and Kay had another boy and he's been a cute bundle of joy. Some friends from our sister church in Australia paid us a visit and we took them to a Cavaliers game. It was ironic because exactly nine years prior, we took another group of Aussies to a Cavs game as well. And before January bowed out, Carlf and I drove down to Columbus to see a Blue Jackets hockey game and visit some friends in the area.

February wasn't too exciting, but I was living on cloud 9 as my favorite NFL team, the Philadelphia Eagles, beat the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl. Not every fan gets to witness their favorite team win it all, so when it happens, I soak in every moment. March was also quiet for me in terms of life adventures, but I did stay up until 1:30am to see a lunar eclipse and captured the moment on my phone. I also hit the 10 year milestone of when I started geocaching. It's crazy to believe that I've been doing this hobby for 10 years now.

April was when everything began kicking into high gear. At the end of the month, I drove back to my hometown to attend my cousin Dave's wedding. It took place at a lovely barn overlooking the beautiful countryside. And while rain threatened earlier in the day, the weather was perfect at the time of the  wedding. Congrats again Dave and Tara!

May arrived the following weekend and I kept the adventure going by hoping on a plane to Boston. A group of geocaching friends (George, Amy, and Dave) and I were attending a large geocaching event in Attleboro, MA for the weekend. I flew in before them and took the time to pay a visit to Grace Wang, a dear friend living in the Cambridge, MA area. We caught up, ate some delicious food in an Irish pub, and enjoyed discussing life. I returned to Boston after where I met the rest of my crew. We got a rental and drove to Attleboro. The next morning we drove all over the New England area, finding geocaches and exploring new places. I added two new states to the visited column in Vermont and Rhode Island. I also got to finally see Cape Cod for the first time. The geocaching event was great as well with lots of people in attendance, cool events, and lots of geocaches to find. SEMAG 2025 was quite the adventure.

The beginning of May kicked off with a bang, and the end of it wasn't going to be outdone. I drove 3 hours down to Morgantown, WV to attended the US's second biggest geocaching event ever in the history of geocaching called GeoWoodstock. Along the way, my 2018 Ford Fusion that I bought in 2020 with 18K miles, hit the big 100K. Of the three cars I've owned, it was the first I got to see hit that milestone. I've put 14K more on it since then. As for GeoWoodstock, it was incredibly well done with thousands in attendance. Since I went solo, it was a lot of fun bumping into other geocachers I knew from Ohio. I had a blast exploring Morgantown and all the new geocaches it had to offer. May did have two final mini highlights for me. The first being that Ryan and I attended a Guardians baseball game with the Dodgers in town. Ohtani hit his 20th home run of the season and it landed about 25ft from us. I wasn't quick enough to react to secure it, but the guy who did was nearby and the Japanese media came over and swarmed us to see it. The other was my 30 year old washer stopped working. Thanks to the power of youtube, I was able to fix it myself and it didn't cost me a dime. That was a feat I am proud of.

June brought my next big adventure as I went to visit Keith and Coyee in Denver, CO. I had never been to Colorado before, so this was new state #3 on the year. Keith took me out exploring and I experienced a mountain river that remains ice cold year round, even in the sweltering heat. We explored Red Rocks Amphitheater and the beauty of it was breath-taking. I have to see a concert there some day. We also explored more of Colorado's natural beauty and hiked a trail were dinosaur footprints were discovered. And I got to check another baseball stadium off my list as a group of us attended a game at Coor's Field. Fun fact, the row we sat in was exactly 1 mile above sea level. I also spent time with the people they met out there and members of the church. It was a breath of fresh air meeting them and talking with them. Thanks again for having me Keith an Coyee!

July did July things with its summertime magic. While I didn't go on any major adventures, I took part in a handful of youth camps. I returned to Laurelville, PA to serve a jr. high camp where I had done so many times before. But this was the first time in 8 years that I had gone back and it was a real treat to be able to participate once again. I also took part in our high school camp which was held here in Cleveland. We planned this 10 challenge activity that I oversaw which required groups to complete 10 daunting tasks in the quickest time they could. I acquired a full costume for the bit and it was a blast. The other important event that occurred in July was our annual fantasy football competition. While we do get overly competitive, it's always a grand time when we can get the whole crew together for a weekend, especially when we don't see each other as often due to work, taking care of our families, being out of state, etc. I also attended the annual Midwest Geobash and camped in a tent there for the first time. I even ended up riding out a severe thunderstorm at 4am inside of it which was quite the experience and something I hope to not ever do again. So while I didn't travel far, but July was crammed full of excitement.

In August, I held an event to celebrate my 10 years in the game of geocaching at Lakewood park. Folks came out and we had a dandy of a time enjoying goodies, cornhole, and each other's company. August was also the month we took our family vacation up to Wisconsin. Not all of us were able to make it, but every time I go, I savor the moment. We rented a large cabin on a lake I had never been on before. We did a lot of fishing and boating, all while enjoying the natural beauty. We joined the family for a church pig roast, had fires on the farm, and spent time with the family. Other highlights included my cousin bringing his little speed boat and tube so we went tubing on the lake. I told him to not hold back and he went nuts trying to toss me. I went airborne 3 times and still managed to not be thrown. That was a great day. My dad, Stephen, Lydia, Hannah, and I took a day trip to Minneapolis to catch a Twins game at Target Field. That marked MLB stadium #18 for me and would be my last one of the year. My brothers, Nathaniel & Stephen, and my sister's boyfriend, Ben, and I tackled the 60th ranked disc golf course in the US. It was 27 holes all on a large piece of land. It was fantastic and one of the best courses I've played on. We ended the trip with dinner by the fire on the farm. No fish fry this year as my two bros left early for a wedding. Wisconsin is always a dandy time.

 September started off as a chill month. There were some baseball games, geocaching events, and end of summer shenanigans, but as September came to a close, I was about to go on what one would call, and adventure of a lifetime. If you've been following this blog or my facebook page, you know what I'm referring to. Japan. My longtime high school buddy Ryan approached me in 2024 about this trip. He had already gone before, but wanted to do it again. He asked if I wanted to go and the answer was obviously yes. While there's so much I could put here, I'm already in the process of blogging it now. So I'll just add some photo highlights and let them speak.

The Japan adventure went into October and five days after I returned, I got in my car and drove all the way back again to my hometown in PA as my other cousin, the younger brother of the one who got married in April, was also getting married. They had their wedding about an hour away on a beautiful venue in the countryside. I got to see my nephews again and my grandmother who turned 90 in July. Congrats again Joe and Megan!

I turned 35 in November which I'm still undecided on how to feel about that, but for now, I'll take it as another year. This month was filled with small geocaching events with friends, multiple friendsgivings, and just being around great groups of people. We also got our first snowfall on Thanksgiving and other than a few days here and there, the ground has been consistently covered in snow and it's been quite cold. 

And finally we come to December. The holiday season saw many events with friends and family, with the final adventure being a trip down to Maryland to Tim & Kay's new house for Christmas. I spent four days there with the family. We ate good food, went disc golfing on a surprisingly warm day, toured Longwood Gardens in the cold, exchanged gifts, and spent a bunch of quality time to close out the year. So overall, 2025 was pretty good to me. And with that, I say so long and hope for many joys, thrills, and blessings for 2026. Happy New Year y'all!