Seattle Area - June 22-25

Laura flew up to Seattle to meet up with Mike and me, so the three of us could explore the city and surrounding area for a few days. We stayed at the wonderful Edgewater Hotel, built right out over the harbor, with a lovely bar and restaurant at which we indulged mightily.

On Monday we did the city sights including the Space Needle, the Aquarium (much better than expected) and the rather rowdy 5 Point Tavern for lunch.

On Tuesday we drove up to Deception Pass State Park, where we did some fun hiking into the hills and along the shore, where we were rewarded with a close up view of an elephant seal having an afternoon nap. Back to Seattle and another very good dinner at the Edgewater Hotel.

Wednesday we flew back to Austin, and on Saturday Mike flew home to England. Fun trip!

Shinjuku and Mt Takao - June 20-22

From Osaka we took the Shinkansen back to Tokyo where we were booked in at the Groove Hotel, Shinjuku. We knew immediately that we liked Shinjuku much better than Roppongi. The whole place bustles with life and we found good restaurants and bars everywhere we looked.

On the evening of the 20th we walked out from the hotel and immediately found a narrow bar serving great ales and appetizers. from there we wandered on and chose the Noma Noma yakinuku restaurant for dinner. Early night for us as tomorrow is our big hike.

On Saturday June 21, we had a car and driver booked to take us out to Mt Takao, which promised a temple at the base, a 90 minute hike to the top with brilliant views in all directions. The mountain delivered. The only thing we did not count on was the heat and humidity. We were fairly parched when done, but what an amazing day!

That evening, we decided to go exlore the Golden Gai area of Shinjuku, which is basically a narrow alley with tiny atmospheric bars on each side. After that fun we found a great sushi restaurant for our last dinner in Japan this trip. As you can see, we made some friends along the way!

Sunday June 21 was final day in Tokyo. We went back to the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden to take in some zen moments, and then headed to the airport for our flight to Seattle and the next stage in our adventure.

Osaka & Kobe - June 18-20

We took the Thunderbird from Kanazawa to Osaka, where we would get to re-unite with Hector on June 19 to see the sights of Osaka and neighboring Kobe. But first, after dropping our bags at the Candeo Hotel, on the afternoon of the 18th we had a "half day foodie tour" in Osaka.

The Candeo Hotel "The Tower" is a bright, modern Japanese hotel in a lively area of Osaka, which we very much enjoyed ... especially their upstairs bar and balcony! The bar staff were friendly and mixed great cocktails. Despite a late night, we were ready to meet Hector the next morning for a full day of touring, by car and on foot.

The tour included the glorious Himeji Castle in Osaka, then the Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum and Nunobiki Ropeway and park in Kobe. Hector joined us for dinner in Kobe before dropping us back at the hotel to check out that upstairs bar again.