Hong Kong Trip Report
Trip Background June 3, 2019 to June 18, 2019 This was a 7 night trip for just my wife and I. She went to China twice a year for work and often ended that part of the trip in Hong Kong. This was my first trip to Asia, but I decided to stay in Hong…
Japan Trip Report
Trip Background June 3, 2019 to June 18, 2019 This was a family trip with my wife and two sons who were 13 and 11 at the time. Japan seemed like a natural choice to introduce the kids to Asia. It’s arguably the most affluent, clean, and safe country in the Eastern Hemisphere with the…
Japan Trip Report – Hiroshima – Days 6 to 7
Day 6 We boarded our first Shinkansen train just after 9am and were on our way to Hiroshima. The train is really fast, but you don’t feel it. They aren’t as modern inside as I thought they might be considering it was Japan. Our trains had spotty wifi and were really no different than a…
Japan Trip Report – Kyoto Days 8 to 12
Day 8 We left Hiroshima first thing in the morning. Kyoto isn’t that far by shinkansen, but we had a detour on the way. For bunnies. My wife and kids were obsessed with seeing Okunoshima, a small island completely overrun with little rabbits and bunnies. And like all apparently all wild animals in Japan, they…
Japan Trip Report – Tokyo – Days 1 to 5
Day 1 and 2 Despite landing in Tokyo at 4:45, by the time we got our luggage, got through customs, and took the hour Keisei Skyliner train into the city, it was close to 8:30 before we found our AirBnB. We booked a small apartment just outside of Shinjuku which worked out well as it…
Japan Trip Report – Matsumoto – Days 13 to 15
Day 13 We arrived in Matsumoto expecting a sleepy village in the Japanese Alps. But when we left the train station, we walked out into a little city. Walking towards our hotel, Matsumoto Hotel Kagetsu, the city vibe did switch to quainter small town feel which was nice. The hotel was just a few blocks…
The Best Travel/Beer Podcasts
There’s nothing better to inspire wanderlust or a thirst for beer (or both) than a podcast. I listen on long bike rides or while mowing my lawn. Both times I probably wish I was somewhere else. Here are my favorite travel/beer centric podcasts: Extra Pack of Peanuts Primarily a travel podcast, Travis Sherry (and his…
Top 5 Beer Experiences in 2018
The best part of the new year is that you get to rank what you did last year. Drinking beer is more than just having a great tasting beer. It’s where you drank it, when you drank it, who you drank it with and sometimes why you drank it. And sometimes it’s just having a…
The Great Brewery List – Every Brewery I’ve Visited
This list is just for fun and informational purposes only. I’m not in it for the numbers as I try not to go to shitty breweries (but that happens, too), but it’s fun to see where I’ve been and where I have left to go. It also only includes the breweries visited since I started…
Travel Bucket List
Bucket lists probably jumped the shark years ago. But, I never did one when they were all the rage and so I’m going to pretend they’re cool again. This is my list and these things are always personal. My one rule in creating the list was not to put any timeline on completing. I don’t…