We have officially reached the halfway mark in our family gap year journey. The surreal feeling of “wow, we are actually doing this” has faded, but still sneaks up on me from time to time. It usually happens during unexpected moments of adventure, like an almost secluded beach on Guam, or riding home in a…
Category: Japan – Osaka
Japan Recap
Japan has been the most amazing country to explore. From their clean and quiet streets to their efficient transportation system – the list of things we have loved about this country is long. Their culture is so vastly different than ours and I feel so thankful that we had the opportunity to experience it. The…
Closing the Chapter on Our Japan Journey
Our final days in Japan have been pretty low-key as we get ready to move on to a new country. The kids have been working hard at school. Alexis completed a paper about WWII from the Japanese perspective and Braxton just finished up a paper about cockroaches. Braxton is bummed he doesn’t get a fall…
The Alexis Angle – Japan
Japan is almost the complete opposite of Costa Rica, with giant cities and buildings everywhere and the culture too! I like both equally, but for different reasons, so here are different things I have noticed about Japan: Bikes In Costa Rica, motorcycles were VERY common. It doesn’t snow there, so they can be used year…
Shinsekai and Osaka Aquarium
As our time in Japan is wrapping up, we are packing in as much as we can. We lost almost a full week of exploring being sick, so we are making up for it now. Yesterday we took the train to Shinsekai, which is an area of Osaka similar to Dotonbori. It’s known for its…
Nara Park and Date Night in Dotonbori
Yesterday we took the train about 45 minutes east to the city of Nara and visited the iconic Nara Park. This is a public park that spans over 1600 acres. The park was beautiful with its vast nature, various temples, and free roaming deer. In Shinto tradition the deer is seen as a messenger of…
Everyday Joys on Our Daily Adventure
Now that our sickness has lifted I feel like I am enjoying everything again through fresh eyes. I got to savor a cup of coffee completely by myself this afternoon, which has been a bit of a novelty since our adventure started. I’ve been reflecting on things that I am thankful for right now, and…
Osaka Castle, Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street, and Our 100th Day of Travel
For field trip Friday this week we visited the Osaka Castle. The castle dates back to 1583. It was rebuilt in 1931, but designed to still look like the original. The grounds that surround the castle are breath-taking and were a wonderful dose of nature we’ve all been craving. The inside of the castle is…
Groundhog Days in Osaka – A Library Visit and Fall Fun
This week has felt a bit like we are living the movie Groundhog Day. If you’ve never seen the 1993 movie staring Bill Murray this reference won’t make sense to you. Basically, Bill Murray’s character wakes up and relives the same day over and over – which happens to be Groundhog Day. It’s a great…
Unhurried in Osaka: Finding Joy in Small Bites and Backstreets
We are still on the mend, but have slowly started to explore Osaka. The area we are in feels vastly different than our neighborhood in Tokyo. At first glance it feels a little dingy and rundown. As we walk along the main street that runs through our neighborhood, there’s grafitti, people smoking/vaping in the open,…