We flew Scooter airlines from Tokyo to Taipei. A budget airline that is great!

We arrived at 15:30 & had a train ride from airport to city center – through stunning natural beauty. Glad I could see from train as there has got to be lots of hungry snakes in there! We arrived at Taipei Main Station – huge! We tried to exit & found ourselves in an underground shopping area – with trinkets & stuff as far as the eye-can-see. Did I mention stinky tofu…decomposing bodies come to mind. 🫣no thanks! At this point as we just have backpacks – hoofing it to our hotel is easier than a subway. We encounter a street market, National police building, and plenty of our favorite 7-11 stores! Our hotel is lovely & air conditioned & has a wonderful shower- Taipei is hot & humid. We are starving so we go to Ningxia Night Market. Every food you can imagine & many more that you would never believe. Queues- long ones!! For deep fried taro balls, quail eggs simmering in a brown sauce. Of course, fried squid – which is yummy and looks a bit daunting when raw. As I approached the watermelon juice stand – there was no hesitation- I grabbed & gulped! It was wonderful. We did like the Michelin rated taro balls with pickled yolks and the fried scallion pancakes, and the stir fry. And I drank my first cold Coca Cola in 12 months to combat the greasy & yummy food. If the food is interesting the spectrum of people enjoying the night is entertaining as well!

Welcome to Taipei – vibrant!

While in Tokyo we stayed near Hamamatsucho Station. Loved it. Convenient to all transportation around Tokyo, fun little restaurants, views of Tokyo Tower. First we stayed in a MyStays Hotel. Perfect for us. Not available when we returned- so we stayed in Henna Ha Hotel. Our Front Desk personnel- never missed a beat.

We are heading to Taipei – so a good time to reflect on our time in Japan.

We continue to be amazed by the natural beauty of the countryside. When you get outside of the major metropolitan areas – the rivers, streams, forests, peaks, shore lines are gorgeous. And Jack was so fortunate to sneak in two days of perfect powder skiing.

We love exploring the back streets, alleys and neighborhoods of the cities we have visited. We have found amazing cafes & friendly citizens.

Our train rides have been an amazingly easy way to tour the country. Bullet trains are so easy & fast. Local trains get you close to small towns.

Respectful & courteous people have helped all along our routes. From amazing new pickleball friends to the kind people in restaurants who help us order amazing food to kind travelers who help us navigate the streets & train routes.

Google Translate – thank you🤣🤣

To a country where we feel safe to wander at any time of day and eagerly anticipate our next adventure. It has been such a treat to explore here.

While the Sakura is in full bloom in Tokyo now – it has been a transition for the past few weeks.

Cherry blossoms are here! We are in Tokyo and the blossoms are fabulous.

We continue to explore dining options here. Last night we found a little spot filled with locals and each place setting had a grill. The food was great, atmosphere lively. A perfect dining experience for hungry travelers. Did I mention that this one had unlimited Lemon Sours for 60 minutes😄. So refreshing & light.

Exploring Hamamatsu has been fun.

Greg found a locals restaurant that is superb! We had the chef’s choice. Starting with a beer- then a soup starter – heavy on local clams-tiny & tasty. Next we had the catch of the day. Beautiful(saw them before cooked) mackerel. First we ate the sautéed fish – including all bones as instructed. Yum! Then a dish of tempura – this is where one trusts chef – the heads of our mackerel. So tasty! He prepared them expertly so we had no idea we were eating fish heads. We finished with a lovely local sake. Btw: we are not fans of sake & now love it with Japanese food!

Still on food.. last night we tried a little local spot (no gringos there) and had amazing gyoza, okonomiyaki, & their specialty. Portions are small so we could explore. Excellent!

Greg played pickleball / had a blast. Yamaha is headquartered here – music everywhere. Happened upon local high school & 2 ‘pro’ jazz type bands playing in the square – excellent!

Yamaha headquarters is here and they have Innovation Road which highlights their musical products. Very well done!

Tokyo,Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima all are fascinating cities with lots to explore. However, as we have the luxury of time in Japan, we have had a blast exploring places off the tourist trail. Oita & Kyushu, Kochi – Shikoku and now Nagoya & Hamamatsu.

In Nagoya we walked – a lot and loved the parks – Sakura & people watching. The castle was fun as they had a great indoor exhibit showing & educating on the techniques used for Japanese art – the types using gold leaf on their walls. Fascinating.