Japan May 2023 – Kyoto, Arashiyama

We took the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto, staying in downtown Kyoto. Downtown worked out really well as Kyoto is a big city but spread out with lower buildings so while downtown is a busy area it is not incredibly busy. Arashiyama Our first destination the next day was the bamboo grove in Arashiyama. We took the train from Kyoto-Kawaramachi, changed trains at Sai , and took the train into Arashiyama Station. The train cars on this route were old, very clean, on time (of course) and just charming. There are a variety of train routes which go into Arashiyama…

Japan May 2023 – Tokyo days 2 and 3

After lunch in Tsukiji we went for a walk to teamLabs Planets but it was completely sold out for the day. I ended up ordering tickets a week out, so fair warning just book ahead of time. The area around teamLabs is fairly uninviting, a lot of modern buildings, roads and bridges. The Gas Science Museum is right down the road from teamLabs which seemed to be the one other attraction in the area. Our second full day was bucket list item “fluffy pancakes” which put us in the Shibuya area. We went to ‘A Happy Pancake’ in Shibuya and…

Japan May 2023 – Tokyo first days

This was my first time in Japan, vacationing with our two oldest kids we flew into Tokyo via Narita Airport, took the train to Kyoto, then Osaka and back to Tokyo. We went to Yokohama inside a day from Tokyo. Of course millions of people visit Japan for the first time and nothing here is new. We had an awesome time and if you’re considering going to Japan maybe this will inspire you. The afternoon approach into Narita. Tsukiji Outer Market We visited the Tsukiji outer market on our first day. You may read this is very touristy area but…

restaurant noma, Copenhagen 2022

My personal connection to Copenhagen, albeit tenuous, goes back to childhood. My father worked for the US government and would travel to Thule Air Force Base in Greenland through Copenhagen during the 1970s. He didn’t stay very long and we didn’t hear much about it but he’d bring back some chocolates, Danish coins and a few photos. I remember reading about the original noma location in an early 2000s cooking magazine, I believe it was the now defunct Fine Cooking, the pictures, the incredibly innovative food gave me the sense of an otherworldly experience. I thought then that if I…