Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious. – Ruth Reichl One of the perks of travel is the chance to discover new food and drink. As much as we can, we aim to find local places to support and enjoy. For those of you that know us …
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. – Helen Keller Sometimes duty calls, making it hard to get away on leave for a large block of time. Thankfully, the military calendar contains a few four-day weekends. Even if you only have a small window of time to travel, don’t sweat it! There’s …
The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see. – G.K. Chesterton It’s no secret that Husband and I do our best to get out of the house as often as we can. When we first moved here, we were told “In three years, you can go out every …
Vermeer found a life’s work in the corner of a room. – Irwin Greenberg Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. – Thomas Merton Back in October, Husband took me on a very special day date. We went out on a whim, not quite sure how the adventure …
Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. – Norman Vincent Peale It’s our first Christmas in Japan and things are in full swing. Our house is decorated, including our first attempt at outside lights. All our gifts to family and friends have been wrapped and mailed. …
Human reactions to robots varies by culture and changes over time. In the United States, we are terrified by killer robots. In Japan, people want to snuggle with killer robots. – Daniel H. Wilson Before we moved to Japan, we did very little research on popular things to do and see. This was mostly because, …
“Hiking is a bit like life: The journey only requires you to put one foot in front of the other…again and again and again. And if you allow yourself opportunity to be present throughout the entirety of the trek, you will witness beauty every step of the way, not just at the summit” – Unknown …
“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” -Maya Angelou Have you ever been in a place where it was difficult to communicate with other people? I’ve spent plenty of time choosing not to talk to …
shrine: n. a place regarded as holy because of its associations with a divinity or a sacred person or relic, marked by a building or other construction. There are lots of shrines in Japan. According to a recent survey, nearly 80% of the Japanese population practices the Shinto religion. As part of Shintoism, shrines …
“Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience.” – Paulo Coelho It’s a Saturday in July (a little late, I know), and I have received an invite from Ayumi, a Japanese friend of mine. She asked me to go with her to a matsuri, or festival, in her area of town. It was a …
