Tag: adventure
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Exploring Tōkamachi Japan and The Tunnel of Light: A Must-See Art Installation in Kiyotsu Gorge
September 30, 2025. Tōkamachi, Japan. Today we drove to Tōkamachi in the Niigata Prefecture. Tōkamachi’s main attraction is skiing, as it receives the heaviest snowfall of the entire main island of Japan. Because of this, there are ski slopes everywhere. We decided to venture a bit into the mountains in search of natural beauty, and…
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Akan National Park: Exploring Hokkaido’s Hidden Gems
September 14, 2025. Akan, Japan. Today, we drove from Shiretoko to Akan. We’re now in the center of Akan National Park, staying at the wonderful and accommodating Forest Akan Hotel on the shores of Lake Akan and at the foot of Mount Meakan. Along the way, we made several stops. Near Shiretoko, we stopped at…
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A Day in Shiretoko National Park and a Visit to Rausu.
September 12, 2025. Shiretoko, Japan. Today, we embarked on an exploration of Shiretoko National Park. The journey began by traversing the sole mountain pass in the heart of the Shiretoko Peninsula, which leads to the Pacific Ocean and the town of Rausu. Our first stop was the Shiretoko Nature Center, a large and well-staffed facility…
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Day One at Shiretoko: Japan’s UNESCO World Heritage Site
September 11, 2025. Shiretoko, Japan. Today we drove from Sounkyo to Shiretoko. Our 3.5-hour drive took us through the mountains before descending to the Sea of Okhotsk. The journey took us through thousands upon thousands of acres of farmland, with the fields bustling with activity as farmers harvested their crops. Shiretoko, meaning “the end of…
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Exploring Biei, Hokkaido, the Shirogane District and Mount Tokachi
September 9, 2025. Biei, Japan. Today we spent the day exploring Biei, Japan, a quaint village at the center of Hokkaido. Listed as one of “Japan’s most beautiful Villages,” it’s easy to see why. Biei itself offers peace and quiet, but just beyond it lies a network of roads that lead to some of the…
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Exploring Mount Asahi-dake: Hokkaido’s Majestic Volcano
September 8, 2025. Higashiwaka, Japan. Today we drove from Furano to Mount Asahi-dake. Asahi-dake, also known as Mount Asahi, is a majestic stratovolcano and the highest mountain on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. Standing at 2,291 meters (7,516 ft), it is a central and prominent feature of Daisetsuzan National Park. The mountain’s native Ainu name,…
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Understanding International Driving Permits A Guide to Getting Yours Before You Go.
July 29, 2025. Portland, Oregon. Day 69 of 170 International Driving Permits (IDPs) are not a new concept, but do we truly understand their purpose? I’ve held an IDP before, specifically for a month-long trip to Italy where we planned to rent a car and drive. We decided to get one, yet when we rented…
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Exploring Mount Rainier: A Day of Alternative Hikes
July 24, 2025. Tacoma, Washington. Day 64 of 170 Today, we returned to the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park. We were so disappointed that we couldn’t hike in the Paradise area today, especially after our last visit to the park, which brought back fond memories of hiking in the snow. This time, we…
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Exploring the Magic of Lena Lake: A Hiker’s Paradise
July 12, 2025. Brinnon, Washington. Day 52 of 170 Today was our last hike at Olympic National Forest. We chose to hike Lena Lake, a 7.2-mile round trip with a 1,300-foot elevation change. By the numbers, it’s a moderate to difficult hike, but the trail is well-maintained with a number of switchbacks that make the…
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Day Two at Olympic National Park: Our Crescent Lake Experience, From Rock Chips to Rainforest
July 8, 2025. Brinnon, Washington. Day 48 of 170 On our second day at Olympic National Park, we had to take care of those inevitable travel mishaps. After 6,700 miles of trouble-free trekking, we unfortunately took two flying rocks to our car windows yesterday on the way back to the Airbnb. Not one to procrastinate,…