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Day 2 of the Nakasendo Trail: An Unexpected Winter Wonderland
Typical daytime temperatures on the Nakasendo trail in mid-March are around 8 degrees. So, we were quite surprised to wake up on the second day of our hike to this! Day 2 was originally going to be an 18km hiking day. But, given the weather plus the unexpectedly long hike the previous day, we decided…
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Day 1 of the Nakasendo Trail: Getting Lost
After a simple, hearty breakfast buffet in Matsumoto, we shipped our luggage to Kyoto, donned our warmest clothing, and set out for (what we thought was) the Nakasendo trail. In theory, the historic Nakasendo trail goes all the way from Tokyo to Kyoto. However, in practice, the trail has been largely replaced by highway. Information…
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A Perfect Spring Day in Matsumoto, Japan
We spent only one full day in Matsumoto, on route to our Nakasendo Trail hike. Luckily, it was a beautiful early spring day, and the perfect amount of time to explore this pretty historical town. We started the day off with a visit to Matsumoto Castle: a 430 year old castle from the Sengoku period.…
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Kawaii Culture in Tokyo
During our time in Tokyo, I found myself exceedingly drawn to all of the colorful, tiny, and otherwise adorable things that are part of Japan’s “kawaii” culture. Starting with: this poodle cafe! That’s right. It’s a cafe in which you can spend time with sweet, fluffy poodles. And not, like, a couple of poodles. This…
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The Search for Cherry Blossoms: Tokyo Edition
One of the main reasons we decided to visit Japan this year is because we had the rare opportunity to travel during the spring. And that means cherry blossom season! Japan takes their cherry blossoms, or sakura, very seriously. These beautiful flowers hold a lot of cultural significance, representing themes of renewal, hope, and the…
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Wandering Through Tokyo’s Neighborhoods
Like CDMX, Tokyo is one of those cities that’s impossible to fully explore in a single visit. But, after six weeks of solo travel, reuniting with James gave me a second wind for exploration. We were both determined to experience as much of Tokyo as we could in the few days we had here. I’ve…