I wake up early and start a much needed load of laundry at the hostel. I pay the 100 yen to wash the clothes, which takes about 40 minutes, and then hang the clothes out on a line. The clothes will be there all day, so I decide to take a short day trip to Yokohama, which is only about 30 minutes away by train…

I wake up just early enough to say goodbye to Hinami and Nastume before they check-out. I bid them farewell, and thank them for the conversations we had. I get ready and throw on tan shorts, and make sure to bring my poncho and guidebooks…

After a rainy first day, I sleep in later than usual, not ready to leave until 10. When I finally leave, I decide to explore the main street that runs from the beach to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, the main Shinto shrine in Kamakura. The walk is quite beautiful on this sunny day…

The train ride into Kamakura is beautiful, rain beating hard as I stare out the window. It’s beautiful, but I dread going out in this typhoon to find my hostel. Hoping the rain abates soon, I pop in my headphones and listen to some music…

I wake up later than I intend. Instead of catching the 7:40 train, I have to catch the 9:23 train. This makes my arrival in Tokyo 2 hours later than intended, arriving at my hostel around 1:00 pm. Compared with the subway in Kyoto, the Tokyo underground is an inescapable maze…

On Saturday morning, I take the shinkansen (bullet train) from Kyoto to Nagoya, then transfer to a rapid line for Ise. The shinkansen takes about 30 minutes, but the rapid line is about 2 hours. All of the seats are taken, so I am stuck standing for two hours. I read a little of the Yoshida Kenko…

Today is my last full day and night in Kyoto. Tomorrow I head for Ise. Before heading out, I have to do laundry. I wake up early and do laundry, the drying taking about twice as long as I expect…

​After an easy day of shopping and eating, I am ready to do a real hike. I get up early and take the earliest train I can to the base of Mt. Hiei, a famous mountain that is covered in temples and beautiful scenery…

I’ve been walking while I’ve been here. Like, a lot. Even with the trains and buses, I’ve walked anywhere between 30,000 and 40,000 steps minimum every day. After 3 hard hitting days, I decide to take an easy day and try to get a break from the heat…

The day starts off ambitiously. Still unable to sleep in past 3, I get dressed and take a train to the imperial palace. The palace itself is still closed, but the par, which circles the palace, provides a beautiful tour of lush greenery…

On my second day in Japan, I decide to take a day trip to Himeji, about 50-75 minutes from Kyoto by train. Still unable to sleep in past 5, I wake up early, go to the main train station in Kyoto, and hop on a train…

After years of hearing about Matsuo Basho’s travelogue Narrow Road to the Interior, I was finally able to sit down, open up this short book, and begin reading…

In less than a month, I will scratch off an item that has been on the top of my bucket list for years. I will be staying in Japan for almost three whole weeks, traveling, visiting temples, gardens, museums, hiking, and more…