Hawaiian Sister-Trip

Back in December, my sister and I met up for a week in Hawaii, and it was the best thing ever. I pretty much haven't been able to stop talking about it since. The scenery, the weather, the food, the time with my sister, I couldn't have hoped for more.

Ten years ago I had a summer job in Hawaii, which was an incredible experience. I've been dreaming about going back ever since, but this was my first real opportunity. I was a little nervous, thinking that maybe my memories had grown more rosy as the time passed. What if it wasn't as wonderful as I remembered? But that turned out to be a needless fear.

We spent our first four nights on the north shore and the last three in Waikiki. If you have the chance to go to Hawaii, and you'll be on Oahu, I can't recommend the north shore enough. It requires renting a car, but it's so worth it! And driving around the island is part of the fun. Julie and I were always gaping out the windows at how beautiful everything was, and pulled over more than once just to see a beautiful vista or explore a beach by the side of the road. It's so much calmer than Honolulu - the perfect place to relax and unwind.

I had read that food in Hawaii is kind of overpriced, and not very good. But either we got lucky, or we're not very picky, because almost everything we ate was great. Being on vacation we embraced the spam musubis and turkey sandwiches (a novelty for me coming from Japan) from the convenience stores just as much as we did the fresh fruit and seafood.

After coming back Raku asked me what makes everyone talk about Hawaii like it's the best vacation spot ever, even better than other tropical locations. And I stumbled trying to put an answer into words (it just is, ok?!?) But I think it's a mixture of the intense beauty, the perfect climate, how friendly everyone is, how small and accessible the island is (I assume this is true of the others besides Oahu) and perhaps some special Hawaiian magic. 

So, if you ever have the chance, go! And in the meantime, try not to be annoyed at all the pictures I'm about to post.

First Night on the North Shore: Mokuleia Beach Park

Julie was obsessed with all the chickens

In winter the waves are giant on the north shore

More giant waves

This actually looked a lot better than it tasted 

The water was so rough that the Pipeline Master's surf competition was on hold for days

The Best Sister

It's even pretty when it's stormy

The view from Kualoa Regional Park 

Underwater Coral

Kayaking in Kaneohe Bay

 

Hanauma Bay

Passion Fruit Acai Bowl

Waikiki at Night

Macadamia nut pavlova with lemon curd and tropical fruit

The pool at the Surfjack Hotel

In my memories the light is always this golden

Weekend Getaway to Shimoda

Last week we had a three day weekend, thanks to Sports Day, and took the opportunity to go down to Shimoda, a little beach town at the bottom of the Izu peninsula.

I've been interested in the Izu peninsula for a while because it's supposed to have some of the best beaches with any proximity to Tokyo. It's also a pretty historical area because Shimoda is where Commodore Perry first landed and demanded that Japan open it's doors to the outside.

We were definitely visiting in the off season, so the town was a lot sleepier and not everything was open. But John and I talked about it and we thought we might like it better that way. One of the best parts of getting away from Tokyo is getting away from the crowds.

While Shimoda is known for the beach it was drizzly two of the three days of our visit so we never made it to the famous beaches. Instead we walked around Perry Road, a shopping street along a canal that reminded me of Kyoto, explored the beach near our hotel, and took a cable car up to Mt. Nesugata. We went hiking on the one sunny day on a cliffside ocean path, which was absolutely fantastic. The views were gorgeous, though some parts of the trail can be quite steep. Don't be put off though, Raku was able to do it, and she's seven months pregnant. (Eeek! Did you guys catch that announcement? Raku's having a baby!)

We also had some really nice food and drinks. If you're looking for coffee shops Cafe Pepe is a very relaxed spot with a friendly shiba inu and Jashumon is a great old fashioned coffee shop with a nautical vibe. On our last night we had the best sushi that John and I have ever had at Mimatsu. The owner and his wife were so friendly, chatting with us, showing us a New York Times article they were recommended in ten years ago, and even showing us some photos of their children.

The one activity I wouldn't recommend is the black ship harbor cruise. It's very brief for the cost, and the ship is so crowded with tourists! The ones near us were much more interested in feeding crackers to seagulls than the actual scenery. From the ship however, we did spot a little island in the harbor that appeared to have caves in it. After getting off the ship we found our way there, walking out a long jetty people were fishing off of to explore the area. It's not a must do, but it was interesting. From there we were able to walk back to our hotel, most of the way right along the ocean, as the sun set.

We stayed at the Tokyu Shimoda Hotel, and being the off season we only paid $79 per night as oppose to the $200-300 they charge in the middle of summer. While the rooms were nothing special the amenities more than made up for it. They have two onsen with the most gorgeous outdoor baths I've ever seen. Sitting in the hot water looking out at the mountains jutting up from the ocean with palm trees swaying nearby we felt like we were in Hawaii. The hotel also has a pathway down to the ocean, and during the summer a nice swimming pool. Another great thing was the free shuttle into town that we used several times. If you'd rather not wait for their schedule the front desk is also happy to call taxis for you.

It's taken us so long to visit because Shimoda isn't the most convenient place to get to in terms of trains. The odoriko is the only direct train from Tokyo and it stops running by 4:00 in the afternoon, making it impossible for a Friday night departure. There are a number of different options to get there, so it's probably best to use google maps or Jorudan to find the best route and price for your trip. If you are able to take the odoriko, try and get the super view train - we caught it on the trip home, and the enormous windows make for a really beautiful ocean view.

Reccomendations:
Tokyu Shimoda Hotel
Suzaki Hiking Trail
Cafe Pepe
Jashumon
Mimatsu

Garden at the top of Mt. Nesugata

Jashumon Coffee Shop

Perry Road

Floating Torii Gate

Ocean Cave

The beach near our hotel, once the sun came out the colors were amazing!

View from our hike

The Tokyu Hotel's outdoor onsen (super against the rules, but we were the only ones there)

Onsen selfie

Visiting Cambodia: Angkor Wat

At the end of May and beginning of June John and I took a week long trip with our friends, split between Cambodia (Angkor Wat) and Vietnam (Hanoi). It was an absolutely magical experience, and I'm so glad we went!

If you've never heard of it before, Angkor Wat is a huge temple complex (more than 400 sq kilometers!) in Cambodia that was built by the Khmer Empire in the 12th Century. Angkor Wat is technically the name of the main temple, but the entire archaeological park is also known by the same name. The nearby town where we stayed is named Siem Reap.

If you're just here for the pictures please feel free to skip the rest and enjoy the photos - it was so hard to narrow it down to even this many, and I've still dumped a ton. But if you're planning a trip yourself, or you like reading intricate travel details I've tried to include all the information I would have found the most useful.

We spent three nights in Siem Reap, with two days dedicated to Angkor Wat and a final day spent in Siem Reap before an evening flight to Hanoi. June is the beginning of rainy season in Cambodia while March through May are the hottest months of the year. We were lucky to not see any rain, but wow was it hot! The benefit though, was that we were traveling during the low season so prices were lower, reservations were easier to get, and everything was much less crowded. If you're thinking about going at this time of year but worried about the heat, I  highly recommend it. It's definitely hot, and you'll be sweating most of the day, but the temples are so amazing you'll be distracted a lot of the time. I think I'm a wimp when it comes to heat: I start sweating pretty quickly, get grumpy about it, and I definitely had the fairest skin among our group, but honestly, it was pretty manageable. With hats and a couple sunscreen applications a day none of us burned - in fact I didn't even get the slightest tan. We also tried stay hydrated, luckily our driver always had bottles of water in the car, and it's easily purchased just about everywhere.

The best advice I have for Angkor Wat is to hire a car to drive you around. We found that a car would cost $34-$45 per day while a tuk-tuk (basically a covered cart attached to a motorcycle) would cost $12 per day. With four people it was especially practical because we figured we could all fit in one car or we could pay for two tuk-tuks. And you better believe it was worth the extra money to be in an enclosed air conditioned space to catch our breathes between temples. Besides the air conditioning, Angkor Wat is a pretty dusty place - at least during the dry season, and I can imagine it would be a lot less pleasant to be breathing in all that dust. Additionally, if you're interested in going to any of the more remote temples this will save you tons of time. We went to Beng Mealea, which took about 45 minutes in the car while our driver said it would take closer to two hours in a tuk-tuk!

When we hired our driver (I did this about three weeks in advance) he offered us two of his most popular routes, though he was very flexible and open to any other ideas we had. We chose one of his itineraries which included a first day seeing most of the "must do" sights in Angkor Wat and then the second day spent going to three outlying temples. In hindsight I think this was the better option for several reasons, first of all the outlying temples are absolutely stunning and far less crowded - Beng Mealea in particular was everyone's favorite. Second of all, we simply didn't have the stamina on the second day to do as much as we did on the first. By going to fewer sights further out on the second day we had more time resting in an air conditioned car, putting all of us in a better mood. 

Our exact itinerary was: Day 1: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom City (Bayon, Phimean Akas, Baphoun, Elephant Terrace, Terrace of the Leper King), Ta Prohm. (Note: we ended up getting a little off track in Angkor Thom and seeing more temples than we meant to. To compensate for time and energy we skipped Banteay Kdey and Sras Srong which our driver had initially planned to take us to.) Day 2: Preah Khan, Banteay Srey, Beng Mealea. 

It's hard to rank the places we saw, but Beng Mealea, Ta Prohm, and Preah Khan were my personal favorites because they were so wild feeling. Ta Prohm is the temple where Tomb Raider was filmed, and Beng Mealea is a completely unrestored temple in the jungle where local guides will help you pick your way through and over the crumbling stones. In terms of sheer size Angkor Wat and Bayon are absolutely stunning. It's amazing to imagine these enormous places being built by hand so long ago! And Banteay Srey is interesting because it was built separately two centuries earlier and with a red stone that looked different from any of the other temples. I didn't actually love it, but when my friend Sarah went it was her favorite.

Everyone recommends that you start your days early in Angkor Wat, and I completely agree. We headed out each morning at 8:00, which really helped with both the heat and the crowding. By starting so early we were finished by lunchtime, when we would have our driver drop us off in town. After eating lunch we'd take tuk-tuks back to the hotel, shower, and then lounge by the pool until the evening when it was cool enough to go back out for dinner and drinks.

A final note, Raku and I wondered about the bathroom situation in Angkor Wat before we went and couldn't find much online, so we made a point to go before leaving each morning, brought tissues with us and prepared for the worst. But on the first day we sweated so much that it wasn't even an issue. The second day we did ask our driver for a bathroom break, and it was not trouble at all. There was a bathroom less than five minutes away that was free to anyone with the Angkor Wat Pass to get into the park. The bathroom was a little rustic but clean, with sinks, western style toilets and toilet paper! 

First stop of the morning: Angkor Wat

Preah Khan

Resting in the shade at Angkor Wat

View from Angkor Wat

These intricate carvings are everywhere, they must have taken so long to do!

Chicken snacking on someone's coconut

The giant faces at Bayon

Temple Kitties

Strangle Fig Tree at Ta Prohm

Some of the roots are so heavy that supports have been installed at Ta Prohm

The red sandstone at Banteay Srey

A crumbling courtyard at Beng Mealea

Read About the Rest of Our Trip:
Visting Cambodia: Siem Reap
Visiting Hanoi: The City
Visiting Hanoi: The Food
Visiting Hanoi: The Sofitel Metropole
Afternoon Tea at The Metropole

Kyoto Day Three: Fushimi Inari

On our third day in Kyoto Julie and I woke to gray skies and rain. Our plan had been to go to Nara, an area near Kyoto famous for the semi-tame deer, and then possibly stop at Fushimi Inari Taisha before taking the shinkansen back to Tokyo. We bought some rain gear (and umbrella for me, a rain coat for Julie) at a convenience store and ate breakfast while we debated what to do. Finally we decided to see Fushimi Inari first, and decide from there if we wanted to continue on to Nara.

Fushimi Inari is an incredible shrine that I highly recommend. It's famous for the long path of torii gates that wind up through the mountains. Most people don't walk the whole way up, but if you have the time I think it would be amazing. The rain cut down on the crowds, but there were still plenty of people with umbrellas bumping into each other. We got started on our walk up through the gates, and it was almost like an obstacle course with all the umbrellas and people stopping off and on to take pictures backing up the line of people behind them. But to be honest, it's such a beautiful place that for once I didn't really mind the crowds.

At one point Julie and I found a little spot between the two rows of gates to stop and have a little photo shoot without getting in everyone else's way. Eventually we turned around and walked through the rest of the shrine's grounds. It was so peaceful and beautiful with rain drops dripping off the cherry blossoms.

When we left Fushimi Inari we decided not to venture on to Nara. It's a wonderful place, and I'm so sorry that Julie wasn't able to see it, but one of the things Julie was most excited about was feeding and interacting with the deer, and we decided that petting wet deer might be kind of gross. So we headed back to the station, bought our train tickets and some box lunches and headed back to Tokyo.

It wasn't a very long trip, but it was absolutely amazing. Kyoto is such a beautiful place and it was so refreshing to spend so much time outdoors in nature instead of surrounded by buildings. I love Tokyo, and I feel so grateful that I'm able to live here. I'm able to take advantage of so many amazing opportunities, and I have access to just about anything I can imagine, but the longer we stay here the more I realize what an impact growing up in the mountains of North Carolina had on me. Without time in uncrowded green places around I start to go a little crazy. Our time in Kyoto just soothed my soul.

Loving that rain jacket!

The torii gates at Fushimi Inari

Goofing around at Fushimi Inari

Rainy Cherry Blossoms

Cherry trees near the train station

Train station in the country side

The roof of Kyoto Station

Places we went:
Fushimi Inari Taisha

Read about the rest of our trip:
Arashiyama and Kawaramachi
Kiyomizudera, Nanzenji, and The Philosopher's Path