by Terry Thorpe | Mar 11, 2024 | Blog, Terry
After another lovely, efficient bullet train ride, we arrived in Osaka. Our hotel was very nice but a little hard to find. After wandering around (sometimes in opposite directions) we were doing some head scratching when we were approached (not for the first time this... 
by Terry Thorpe | Mar 10, 2024 | Blog, Terry
Itsukushima shrine is a very cool shrine situated on the shores of Miyojima island. At high tide it appears to float in the water and is quite beautiful. We arrived as the tide left so, besides the view from the ferry, never got to see the illusion up close. On our... 
by Terry Thorpe | Mar 9, 2024 | Blog, Terry
A place we’d both been keen on including our journey through Japan was the city of Hiroshima. We spent a day at the Peace Memorial Park wandering the Museum and walking the grounds of the park. It was a sombre day in comparison to our recent adventures.... 
by Terry Thorpe | Mar 8, 2024 | Blog, Terry
We high-taiked it to the lorcal theatre yo try to get early tickets for a show and we’re in luck, making it by the skin of our teeth. Kabuki is a form of Japanese theater that’s been around since the 17th century and is recognised by UNESCO as an... 
by Terry Thorpe | Mar 7, 2024 | Blog, Terry
We took a train tide to Arashiyama and the pleasant bamboo forest, a lovely garden and even more shrines/temples… They are lovely, but I find myself walking faster through and sometimes, despite myself, past them. I think I might be coming down with a case of... 
by Terry Thorpe | Mar 6, 2024 | Blog, Terry
Kyoto has a lovely old town where the Geisha and Maiko reside and can be spotted if you’re lucky. Although it’s a big no-no to stop them in the street and ask for pictures etc. It’s fine to take pictures. Apparently they have been getting a lot of... 
by Terry Thorpe | Mar 5, 2024 | Blog, Terry
After another delicious japanese breakfast (I asked our waitress what she had for breakfast that day and she replied toast, so maybe not everyone has quite the same start to their day) we headed out to explore the o K d town and visit the sake brewery’s we... 
by Terry Thorpe | Mar 4, 2024 | Blog, Terry
We both got a surprisingly good night’s sleep and enjoyed a fabulous traditional breakfast in our JP PJ’s before embarking on a day-trip to the picturesque village of Shirikawa-go. The snow helped to give the whole place an enchanting, fairytale feeling.... 
by Terry Thorpe | Mar 3, 2024 | Blog, Terry
We started the morning exploring Kanaxawa Castle and the nearby gardens of Koraku-en. We took advantage of the free guide who was great, explaining the castle exterior and elements of the garden, such as the animal shaped trees, special lanterns, bridges and even... 
by Terry Thorpe | Mar 2, 2024 | Blog, Terry
The super sleek bullet train, or Shinkansen as they’re known over here, is an insanely aerodynamic marvel of Japanese engineering and efficency and today we were excited to board one for the first time to take us to our next destination Kanazawa. We crossed... by Terry Thorpe | Mar 1, 2024 | Blog, Terry
We started the day by visiting Tjuijiki fish market and sampling teas, dashi, all manner of seafood and Japanese culinary curiosities. I bought myself some delicious smoked, cured squid and we got some dashi to take home as well as a few light seafood bites and a huge... 
by Terry Thorpe | Feb 29, 2024 | Blog, Terry
We took the bullet train to Nikko to marvel St the shrine complex of three important Shogun of Japanese history. The most important/venerated of whom was Tokugawa Leyasu who founded the Tokugawa Shogunate. The last Shogun based ruling power. The shrine was incredible,... 
by Terry Thorpe | Feb 28, 2024 | Blog, Terry
We visited the Nissan HQ to marvel at some motors. Then we spent an hour or two in the totally bonkers Noodle Museum before wandering through Chinatown and back to Tokyo to prepare for our Omakase dining experience. Fun fact: The pot noodle was unleashed on the world... 
by Terry Thorpe | Feb 27, 2024 | Blog, Terry
We started the day with a cooking class featuring Wagyu and traditional Japanese dishes. It was great fun, educational and tasty and we also met some nice people who shared some tips and recommendations (mostly bar related). We also learned the proper way to serve... 
by Terry Thorpe | Feb 26, 2024 | Blog, Terry
We ventured out after a long lie and stumbled over a lovely Udon (noodle) restaurant which was delicious and very cheap. The standing clientel was a bit different and we did our very best to slurp our noodles like the locals. Our next destination was Akihabara a mecca... 
by Terry Thorpe | Feb 25, 2024 | Blog, Terry
After a nice breakfast at the hotel we met Seizo who would be our guide to Tokyo for the first half of the day. Seizo took us to the imperial Palace while telling us about the role of the emperor and his wife and Japanese culture. Next stop was the Meiji shrine where... 
by Terry Thorpe | Feb 24, 2024 | Blog, Terry
The flight to Tokyo went better than expected, a couple of movies, a few drinks and a beauty treatment or two later and we were finally in the land of the rising Sun. Jet lagged, but happy and excited to see what Japan held in store. We travelled in style to our... 
by Terry Thorpe | Dec 31, 2023 | Blog, Terry
Thorskog castle in Sweden was our destination for ‘ringing in the bells’, full credit to my better half for finding this place. What a gem. We had an incredible 3 days in a wonderful Swedish castle chugging champagne and trying not to bump into suits of... 
by writer | Dec 20, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We arrived home, tired but happy, had a couple of days to visit kids and cats then headed for the snow-peaked mountains of Hovden. The next week was spent in the company of the Sivertsen clan, surrounded by great people, food and drink and snow. Lots of snow. We were,... 
by writer | Dec 19, 2023 | Blog, Terry
South Korea was a crazy place. I’d love to go back some day. Despite Katrine getting sick we had a good time and will miss the efficiency and friendliness of the place, especially the metro system. I promised myself whilst shuffling towards the airport to give... 
by writer | Dec 18, 2023 | Blog, Terry
The highlight of the day was the bizarre poop cafe. Apparently South Koreans aer obsessed with poop. Who knew? The cafe was located on the top floor of a funky little market complex which was host to all manner of weird and wonderful bits and bobs. We resisted the... 
by Terry Thorpe | Dec 17, 2023 | Blog, Terry
A very exciting day today, we’re heading North… all the way to the Demilitarised Zone.The no mans land between two worlds, that of South and North Korea. We got to our tour bus nice and early and met our lovely, informative guide. After a quick passport... by writer | Dec 16, 2023 | Blog, Terry
Katrine, who was fighting a flu put on a brave face and braved the cold weather. We made for Namdaemun market, where we browsed a myriad of shopping options, eventually picking up some Ginseng while trying all manner of lovely street food. After a rather cold day of... by writer | Dec 15, 2023 | Blog, Terry
The day was jam-packed with activity. Braving the inclement weather we headed out for brunch at a local cafe, which I selected mainly because I saw half a dozen bodies sitting by the window and because it looked like one of those unassuming gems we’d been lucky... by Terry Thorpe | Dec 14, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We were rudely awakened at 8am by the sound of construction outside our window… Actually technically we’d been up half the night already with Katrine’s bad throat… still, undisduaded, and after a quick rant at reception we were off exploring Seoul.... 
by Terry Thorpe | Dec 13, 2023 | Blog, Terry
With heavy heart we trundled our suitcases to the ferry and onwards to the airport to our next destination. Sydney, and particularly manly beach were hard to leave behind, but I was excited to be heading to Korea, although knowing that the weather woukd be about 30... 
by Terry Thorpe | Dec 12, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We started the day with a relaxing few hours at the beach, cooling down with a dip in the lovely waters, even spotting the occasional grouper and other aquatic life. We ambled onwards you a delicious lunch of oysters (The oysters native to Sydney this time as opposed... 
by Terry Thorpe | Dec 11, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We heard there was an undead outbreak just outside Sydney, so we geared up, locked and loaded and bugged out to kick some zombie ass! Which was great fun, if slightly terrifying…Katrine was particularly frightened… Luckily I had her ‘6’ during... 
by Terry Thorpe | Dec 10, 2023 | Blog, Terry
Manly beach was a fantastic concellation prize for having to leave our propeller-driven hotel. What a gorgeous place. The main beach was lovely but we also ventured further afield to Shelly beach. Gorgeous. Otherwise we did some shopping, sampled the local beer and... 
by Terry Thorpe | Dec 9, 2023 | Blog, Terry
I made the conscious decision to not blog the cruise. Like a beautiful sunset I wanted to enjoy it in the moment and without distraction. I figured I’d remember what stuck and hence what mattered. As we boarded the impressive vessel ‘The Edge’, it... 