April 2020, we had tickets to Nepal. Never happened, something got in the way? By 2024, Nepal required guides to do a tea house trek. That’s lame – where else can we go? On a road trip to BC, two hosts suggested Ladakh.
Contested territory at the intersection of India, Pakistan and china. What can possibly go wrong?
Now that we’re both retired, we’re looking for a smarter way to fly. There comes a time when you don’t feel like spending 36 hours in airports. We planned the trip as a series of one-way tickets. This gives us the flexibility to plan layovers in interesting cities. First up is two full days in Tokyo, a direct flight from Calgary
As Marta promised me, 7-eleven in Japan is amazing.Also, 7-Eleven
If you had any luggage, you’d have to rent another room to store it Delica d5. Seems small compared to our Delicas, but in Japan, this is a big vanToyota is totally dominant in Japan. Check out this Hackney carriage themed taxi.
Scooters – I’m really surprised Japan is still selling/driving gas powered scooters. This is such an easy win for batteries. Gas scooters disappeared in china more than 10 years ago. Japan is in the same position as China – all oil and gas is imported.
Probably multiple reasons. 1. Japan is a country of very large established corporations, and they don’t like change. 2. As a country, Japan feels complete, and no one would be excited to make large infrastructure changes.
A big bolete we found in the forest. The bugs hadn’t gotten into it, which is kind of scary.A stand of large bamboo. Tokyo has the largest population in the metro area of any city in the world and the environment feels very healthy.We took a boat ride through Tokyo on this spaceship themed boat. Not a rusty rivet to be found under any of these bridges. The Japanese really know how to build and maintain This massive bit of art was supposed to be a flame, but everyone calls it the Golden turdI’m really curious what this Wagyu tastes like 1.1 kg of chicken breast for six dollars? Food is similar in price to Canada, but this was weirdly cheap. In China, this is considered a terrible cut of meat, might be the same here That’s a funny milk bottle. Seriously, it’s interesting that Japan and China don’t have to control access to alcoholWe checked out a store that sold camper vans. Our design is superior!Hydrogen fuelling station for buses. Still a silly idea in my opinion. Garbage cans are really rare in Japan. To the point that this was worth a photo. Labeling on recycling makes it clear that they just incinerate plastic waste. Realistic – I like it Most temples burned in World War II. The big Temple in Tokyo is insanely commercialized. Naritasan temple complex is just as nice with 1/1000 of the people. Watching the fish beg for treatsHow can I justify some more Japanese knives in my kitchen?
Japan is crazy quiet. The crickets make way more noise than people. Reminds me of the Swiss – social pressure to conform is very strong Tokyo is a really really pretty city. She hides her massive scale well
Marta and Chester's Maleficent Adventures 