In a completely unprecedented move, our family packed a rental car in mid-August and drove down the Pacific Coast Highway. 2020 was supposed to be a kickass year for vacations. Plans made as far back as May 2019 were the definition of perfection, with many of our favorite flights, hotels, and destinations carefully stringed together.
Vacation
Pacific Islands (10/10) – Japan Favorites
Time flies when you’re having fun. As we were just getting used to the pace and train systems of Osaka, it was time to head home. We flew Asiana Airlines, connecting through Incheon. It was a nice stop as we both were quite fond of Korea. Guess we stayed in Japan long enough to pick
Pacific Islands (9/10) – Tasty Japan
Here comes another food post. Let me start by saying that we would not be having a conversation about food in Japan without mentioning 7-Eleven. I love 7-Eleven, and somehow there’s less shame implicated when I refer to a convenience store in Asia, versus its American Big Gulp counterpart. Anyhow. The convenient foods in these
Pacific Islands (8/10) – Osaka Urban Hangouts
Because trains are the dominant means of transportation for people in Japan, the areas surrounding major train stations are prime real estate. The amount of urban development and connectivity in some of these neighborhoods is simply incredible. For example, around Osaka/Umeda Stations in the northern part of Osaka, there’s a complex network of footbridges and
Pacific Islands (7/10) – Deer & Whale Shark
As an advocate for urban lifestyle and mass transit, I absolutely love Japan’s train systems. As a temporary visitor, though, I find them to be also headache-inducing. Among our destinations, between every point A and point B, there were at least two train routes, sometimes operated by different companies. From there, there were different train
Pacific Islands (6/10) – Castle Day
Traveling not only enables people to see cool stuff and taste delicious food around the world. More importantly, it allows us to observe and interact with people from other cultures, bridge understanding, and break through stereotypes. It is a natural way for people to see one another as human beings rather than scary foreigners. Living
Pacific Islands (5/10) – Osaka via Shinkansen
We flew into Tokyo because it was the most convenient flight we could find, but we meant to see Osaka. In order to head westward via Shinkansen 新幹線, the high-speed rail, we first took a local train to Tokyo Station. Tokyo Station High-speed trains between Tokyo and Osaka ran every few minutes. Even the Nozomi
Pacific Islands (4/10) – On To Japan
During our last vacation, we went from the bustling Bangkok to the island resort of Koh Samui. This time around, we flew from Hawaii to spend the second half of the trip in Japan. While I like warm and scenic beaches, and love hanging out with family, what really pumps me up with vacation energy
Pacific Islands (3/10) – Island Eats
This is a food post. Delicious feasts wasn’t something I anticipated coming to Hawaii. The last time we came here (well, Maui), we had excessively mediocre food. And it kind of made sense: with the state being a resource-constrained bunch of islands, the variety and quality of ingredients simply could not compete with the major
Pacific Islands (2/10) – Surf & Turf Adventures
Here’s something I learned on this trip… that the State of Hawaii had 42% Asian, 24% white, and under 10% native Pacific Islander. Of those Asians, Japanese was the largest group. Many of them came over 100 years ago to work as laborers on the sugarcane plantation, both before and after the annexation of Kingdom