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Owakudani and the Komagatake Ropeway at Hakone
After breakfast at the Indigo Hakone Gora, we headed up to Owakudani to check out the thermal area and to have some of area’s famous black eggs. We also enjoyed a beautiful, though hazy, view of Mount Fuji. After, we headed over to the Komagatake Ropeway for an alternate high elevation view of Mount Fuji and the surrounding area. Before returning to the Indigo in the afternoon, we visited a beautiful row of sakura at Miyagino, just across the river from the hotel.
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Hakone Golden Route
After waking up at the Conrad Tokyo and having breakfast, we checked out and took the Shinkansen to Odawara. From there, we took two local trains to Gora in the Hakone region. We checked into the Indigo and took a funicular along with two gondolas to reach Lake Ashi. We boarded a pirate ship to cruise the lake and landed at Hakonemachi. We walked through the Onshi-Hakone Park, with views of Mount Fuji, and ended up at Motohakone, still on the shores of Lake Ashi. From there, we took two busses to complete our loop, returning to Gora to enjoy our in room onsen!
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Shinjuku Gyoen
After waking up at the Conrad, we had breakfast and ventured out to Shinjuku Gyoen. We were hoping to see some sakura but it was well past peak in the park. We spent the remainder of the day with cousins here and there in Tokyo.
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Sakura and Temples at Kamakura
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Tokyo Hanami
Our first full day of the trip! After an excellent breakfast at the Mesm, we headed out to the Meguro River to see the riverside sakura. We then went to the Sumida River around Tokyo Skytree for more sakura before having a late kaiten sushi lunch. We ended the day at Chidorigafuchi where we saw yet more sakura!
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Sakura Illumination
After arriving at Haneda, we checked in at the Mesm, near the JR Hamamatsucho Station. We then had dinner nearby, which turned out to be the most disappointing meal we’ve ever had in Japan. After that fiasco, we went to see nighttime sakura illuminations at Tokyo Midtown and Roppongi before returning, getting some 7-Eleven onigiri on the way back.
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2024 Solar Eclipse
We were fortunate to be able to see the Sun today for the solar eclipse as the weather forecasts weren’t particularly optimistic. Although we were about 250 miles away from the totality zone, we still did see 89% of the Sun obscured by the Moon!
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The Key Bridge and Cherry Blossoms from Fort McHenry
We visited Fort McHenry this morning to see the cherry blossoms as well as to take a look at the remains of the Key Bridge, which was destroyed a few days ago after being hit by a ship.
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Farewell Stumpy the Cherry Blossom Tree
Back in 2019, we noticed a rather unique cherry blossom tree in DC at the Tidal Basin. It was by itself, right on the edge of the water, and looked like it shouldn’t be alive but somehow was. This tree has become known as Stumpy! Unfortunately, 2024 is the last year we’ll ever be able to see Stumpy in bloom as he is going to be removed in order to repair this area of the Tidal Basin.
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Hawaii’s Byodo-In
After breakfast at the Sheraton Waikiki, we went out to have lunch and picked up a rental car at the International Market Place. We then drove to visit Byodo-in, a replica Japanese temple at the Valley of the Temples. After walking through the grounds, we drove around area a bit before heading to get poke from Tamura’s. We spent some time at Kailua Beach Park before attending a wedding in the evening.
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Here and there but not quite everywhere!