onsen - Travel With A Butterfly

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

Fukuoka, Aso, and Sea Hell in Beppu

ByRyan Lee

It’s been a couple years since I went to Fukuoka, Aso and Beppu. We joined one of those tour groups so I didn’t prepare any itinerary. As with most tour groups, there were a lot of bus riding, a lot of mediocre restaurants, and some OK hotels that we stayed in (so clearly this wasn’t my decision).

This will be purely a photo blog.

Dome shaped hotels in Aso Farm Village. They also have Dom shaped onsen Continue reading Fukuoka, Aso, and Sea Hell in Beppu

Events

FUJI ROCK 2018: The Experience, Tips and Strategies, and More

ByRyan Lee

This year was Fuji Rock’s 20^th year hosted by SMASH Corporation Limited.

This trip was somewhat unexpected for me. I “raised my hand” to say that I would go and let my friend did most of the organizing. Even about 2 weeks before the event, I hadn’t heard back from him about any confirmations for hotels, the flights, or even the event tickets themselves, so I thought that I wouldn’t be going to FUJI Rock after all. Thank goodness that this trip actually went through, because I had a lot of fun. Continue reading FUJI ROCK 2018: The Experience, Tips and Strategies, and More

Japan

Let’s Drive: Nagoya (Japan Part Three)

ByRyan Lee

This is part three of a four part series blog post. The first talked about my days in Izu Peninsula, Hakone, and Gotemba. You can read it by clicking here.

The second part talked about the climb to Mt. Fuji summit and Fuji Five Lakes. You can read the second part by clicking here.

This blog post will concentrate on Nagoya.

You can read about the 4th post, on Tokyo, by clicking here.

Accommodations

Nagoya – Dormy Inn Premium Nagoya Sakae. 2-20-1 Nishiki, Naka-ku, Nagoya Station / Downtown, Nagoya, Japan, 460-0003. Booked through www.agoda.com. Continue reading Let’s Drive: Nagoya (Japan Part Three)

Japan

Let’s Drive: Izu Peninsula, Hakone, Gotemba (Japan Part One)

ByRyan Lee

This is a series of four blog posts because of the number of different places I went to for my Japan trip, and I want each post short enough to keep you from getting bored but long enough to provide you as many details as I could.

This first post will focus on the western parts beyond Tokyo – Izu Peninsula, Hakone, and Gotemba. The second part will focus on Mt. Fuji and Fuji Five Lakes, especially focus on Mt. Fuji since I feel it deserves a more special post. The third part will focus on Nagoya, and the fourth post will focus on Tokyo. The Gotemba was mainly going to the Gotemba Premium Outlets, and we actually went on two separate days. So it was outlets, Mt. Fuji and Fuji Five Lakes, then a revisit to Gotemba again. Continue reading Let’s Drive: Izu Peninsula, Hakone, Gotemba (Japan Part One)