Travel With A Butterfly

After visiting Yokohama and Hakone, we did a quick stop at Fujikawaguchiko. Got there early afternoon, had lunch there, spent the rest of the afternoon there, woke up really early to catch the beautiful clear skies to see Mt. Fuji, and started our drive back to Tokyo in the morning to make our lunch reservation.

We were very fortunate because on the first day we were there, the skies were quite grey and the weather wasn’t very clear. We had to do many things fast because sunset was very early in Japan in the winter – the skies were pitch black by around 4:30pm, so when we got there in the early afternoon, it didn’t really give us enough time to do many sightseeing, let alone see Mt. Fuji anymore.

Anyway, if you want to read more about my hike up to Mt. Fuji from before, you can read it at Let’s Drive: Mt. Fuji and Fuji Five Lakes. This blog post will be a quick recap of what we did for this trip in Fujikawaguchiko. Continue reading Day Trip to Fujikawaguchiko

Japan

Hakone Is Where Jack Ma Lives? And the Amazing Ryokans

ByRyan Lee

Apparently Jack Ma is residing in Hakone, Japan and enjoying lots of uni and toro? And planning to learn about advanced agricultural technology and bring back to China? Or so the media says.

Now that I’ve captured your attention, going to Hakone for my second time was a delight. Hakone is most notable for its ryokans, and there is no feeling that feels more authentically Japanese than staying at a ryokan and being served a Japanese breakfast and dinner, and sleeping on a tatami.

Hakone really isn’t a place for sightseeing and activities. I think the most interesting would probably be the museums, especially the glass museum we visited, but the rest weren’t that impressive. You go to Hakone to enjoy the ryokans mainly. If you haven’t done so already, you can read about my last trip to Hakone at Let’s Drive: Izu Peninsula, Hakone, Gotemba Continue reading Hakone Is Where Jack Ma Lives? And the Amazing Ryokans

Japan

teamLab Tokyo and Why Is Tokyo So Beautiful

ByRyan Lee

Each time I go to Tokyo, I admire it more and more. There’s always something new to be discovered, the cleanliness of the city and the politeness of the locals are impeccable, the Christmas decorations suggest it to be more than just a capitalist city but a cultural landmark and one that embraces liveliness and atmosphere, the list goes on and on. Sometimes I dream about living here.

When I talk to my friends who have lived or are living in Japan though, they see things that we tourists don’t get to see. The rigid office hierarchy, the formality that you have to adopt when talking to others (and you are not exempt from it even if you are an expat as long as you are Asian looking), the difficulty of making new friends, and of course the challenge of learning Japanese. Then there is lack of public transportation during the night, and taxis are expensive not only during the day, but more so during the night. I’ve seen videos from Youtube talking about how it’s different living in Japan than going there to visit. Usually there’s a few months of honeymoon phase, then a few years of depression and detest towards the culture of actually living in Japan, then after the acceptance phase.

If you’re looking for my recommendations on places to eat, you can read my blog post Recommended Places to Eat in Tokyo.

Shibuya Continue reading teamLab Tokyo and Why Is Tokyo So Beautiful

Japan

A Romantic Christmas in Yokohama

ByRyan Lee

It’s a Christmas miracle that only after visiting Tokyo on multiple occasions, do I finally make the less than one hour trip to visit its younger and similar sibling city, Yokohama. Despite arriving early afternoon on the first day and leaving the city prior to lunch on the second day, I felt I was able to get the gist of what the city has to offer.

Continue reading A Romantic Christmas in Yokohama

Japan

Recommended Places to Eat in Tokyo

ByRyan Lee

Prior to my Tokyo / Hakone / Fujikawaguchiko trip, I did a lot of research finding a variety of different Japanese foods to eat – sushi, ramen, unagi, BBQ beef, soba, udon, Kaiseki, pancakes, seafood donburi, and tempura. And trust me, even after 9 days, we felt that we were not able to eat all the Japanese meals we wanted, because there just simply wasn’t enough time to do and eat everything! We ended up not eating one of the soba noodles I researched, missed a udon shop we wanted to try because they ran out of udon noodles, and sometimes just didn’t feel hungry enough.

For booking restaurants in Japan, you will probably need to use the websites https://tabelog.com/en/ and https://omakase.in/. With the huge influx of tourists going in to Japan these days, along with locals just dining outside in general, it is highly recommended that you book at least a month, preferably 3 months, prior to ensure you have a table booking, otherwise it can be difficult to book. Also it is recommended to have someone who knows Japanese to help you book because with the websites, you will have to rely on Google translate sometimes and sometimes the translation may not be understandable, so you might end up booking a set menu when you actually could have just booked a table with a la carte instead (what happened to us with Yoroniku Ebisu).

This post will focus on restaurants we ate only in Tokyo, as I will do separate posts for Hakone and Fujikawaguchiko and talk about the trip itinerary including the restaurants for those. It will talk about which ones were yummy and worth the price, and which ones that weren’t. Continue reading Recommended Places to Eat in Tokyo

Travel

Travelling is Both Tiring and Resetting

ByRyan Lee

It’s been about three years I haven’t travelled before embarking on the Yellowstone trip.

Ever since Covid happened, I’ve been stuck in Hong Kong for quite some time, and quite frankly, I’ve been feeling jaded, monotonous, and slightly depressing. I’ve travelled on average about twice a year, and to succumb to find different things to do each weekend in Hong Kong was firstly humbling to see how much Hong Kong has to offer, but at the same time it was all the same – new restaurants or cafes popping up each week, same areas, try going to different sightseeing places. Zzz.

Continue reading Travelling is Both Tiring and Resetting

Travel

Yellowstone Day Four

ByRyan Lee

For each of the Days posts in Yellowstone, I’ll be pretty much photo dumping a lot of beautiful photos I’ve taken throughout my route for that particular day. Some of you who wish to be mesmerized upon reaching there, you can just read the text in these beginning paragraphs.

Route taken (focus on southeast of park): West Thumb, LeHardy Rapids, Mud Volcano area, Sulphur Caldron area, Hayden Valley

For all my Yellowstone tips – The Best Tips For Yellowstone When Visiting From West Yellowstone

Spoilers ahead of amazing Yellowstone photos!!

Continue reading Yellowstone Day Four

Travel

Yellowstone Day Three

ByRyan Lee

Route taken (focus on Northeast of park): Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (Brink of Upper Falls then Lower Falls then Lookout Point then Inspiration Point), Washburn Hot Springs Overlook, Tower Fall

For all my Yellowstone tips – The Best Tips For Yellowstone When Visiting From West Yellowstone

Spoilers ahead of amazing Yellowstone photos!!

Continue reading Yellowstone Day Three

Travel

Yellowstone Day Two

ByRyan Lee

Route taken (focus on Northwest of park): Gibbon Falls, Artists’ Paintpots, Norris Geyser Basin, Mammoth Hot Springs

*For Mammoth Hot Springs, we took a detour on day three to come back to see the Canary Hot Springs since we missed it on Day two. However, we suggest that when you are in Mammoth Hot Springs to also visit there to save time

For all my Yellowstone tips – The Best Tips For Yellowstone When Visiting From West Yellowstone

Spoilers ahead of amazing Yellowstone photos!!

Continue reading Yellowstone Day Two

Travel

Yellowstone Day One

ByRyan Lee

Route taken (focus on southwest of park): Fountain Paint Pot Trail, Midway Geyser Basin, Biscuit Basin, Black Sand Basin*, Old Faithful

*For Black Sand Basin, since we didn’t have enough time on our first day, we actually did it on our 5th day, when we were leaving Yellowstone going through south to get to Jackson Hole. But I suggest doing it on the same day if possible since the stops from the route above are perfectly in line with each other

For all my Yellowstone tips – The Best Tips For Yellowstone When Visiting From West Yellowstone

Spoilers ahead of amazing Yellowstone photos!! Continue reading Yellowstone Day One