To the Land of The Rising Sun

To The Land of The Rising Sun -

We are off on a new adventure, this time to Japan. Our plans for this trip are to visit Mt. Fuji by rail, Tokyo by bicycle and a few days at Tokyo Disneyland. Looking forward to the culture, the sights, the food, and the people. I feel one must meet the people in order to understand the country. There is always something to learn and I always find myself in wonderment with the ingenuity and creativity of people world wide. 

My expectations for Japan and Tokyo are two fold. I expect the hustle and bustle of a mega city. I think it will be more busy and more filled with people akin to Beijing. In contrast to this I also expect to find pockets of tranquility and peacefulness. Looking forward to finding some great street food. Again another way to get to know the people is via their street food. We really enjoy eating where the locals eat. 

This trip started with sending the kids (Kenai and Sitka, our new puppies) off to Puppy Camp. I kinda feel bad for them as we will be traveling a good deal this fall. They were a bit hesitant going into the kennel but once the door to their run was opened they were right in there checking things out. They will be missed, and already I can not wait to see them upon our return. 

We usually drive to Denver the day before we fly out and stay at a hotel near the airport.  We feel we can get a good sleep before travel, especially on these long trips. This is  also important during the winter months given road conditions and weather. On this trip down we stopped at REI and got each other early birthday presents. We got Garmin Vivofits, we have the Fitbits, these devices are fun to see how much activity one experiences when traveling. In London we typically was 18,000 to 24,000 steps a day. The advantage of the Vivofit for me is it is a wristband and I can just leave it on 24/7. The Fitbit goes in my pocket and I oft simply forget it. 

Our favorite place to eat the evening before is the Moonlight Diner. Located nice and close to the airport hotels and offers classic diner food. Portions are plentiful and we usually split an entrée and walk away very very full. Their happy hour is also great 241 craft beers. 

This flight is not early, about noon, but it will be a nonstop 12 hour plus flight. Flying on a 787 Dreamliner, as a passenger this is a great airplane. Pressurized to a lower altitude allows for a less draining flight. I am thankful we were upgraded to first/business class with lay down seats. 

For camera gear on this trip I am going light, one camera body and one lens. Will be using the Canon 60D with an 18-135mm lens. Future trips will be photo gear intensive, so I better enjoy this while I can. I am sure there will be times I wish I had a few other lenses with me but I will make this do. 

I got up early to see the lunar eclipse, this is where I wish I had a longer lens and tripod.   

Will have breakfast here at the hotel and I do like the waffles and I did bring some brown sauce (HP Sauce)  for a bacon sandwich. After breakfast we will get things together and head to the airport. 

More later as this trip progresses, Thanks for following along.