Author Archives: icegreyer

Jen was understandably sore the day after the marathon, and Ryan and I both out in 27k steps following her around the city so we were all gonna be going slow. After some “western” breakfast (scrambled eggs, salad with pickled onion and tomato, and cocktail wieners), we headed to Nerd Mecca in the Akihabara ward.Continue reading “We Gonna Rock Down to Electric Avenue”

Jen was nervous to begin her first “full” marathon, and I can’t fault her at all – I felt anxious just watching. But the whole of Tokyo was excited for this marathon – the first open one since COVID. Height worked to Ryan’s and my favor as we stood near the first turn by theContinue reading “City Runner”

This past week has seemed more like a month in terms of unique experiences, but I’ll admit I was looking forward to seeing my friends the most on this trip. We were scheduled to meet up in the Minato Ward’s Tokyo station, which is the most expansive metro station by far (side note: I’ve nowContinue reading “Allies Abroad”

Continuing to try and find places I hadn’t seen in my first venture to Japan, I booked a single day tour of Nikko, which is about 2.5 hours north of Tokyo proper. The tour group and guide was mostly from Hong Kong (China has recently relaxed its restrictions on travel), but also included two couplesContinue reading “Monkeying Around in Nikko”

As I mentioned in the family group text (aka 90% of this garbage fire’s readership), I was thinking today was going to be a bit light on content but surprisingly wasn’t on steps (19k and 240 working minutes). While there is indeed a bullet train that connects Hokkaido to the Honshu island, it’s only atContinue reading “Tokyo Drifter”

This is the first time I think this has happened on a trip but I’ve nearly “run out” of viable things to see (I had to pass on the Mt. Moiwa Ropeway as the overcast sky wouldn’t have made for good viewing) in Sapporo’s daytime hours. The last must-see location wasn’t open until noon soContinue reading “Last Night in Soho, er, Sapporo”

Despite being in the city for three days, I hadn’t really explored Sapporo proper and decided to remedy that. First on the list was the Sapporo Clock Tower, a 150 year old schoolhouse built in dedication to agricultural studies and the development of Hokkaido at large. Importing professors from various agricultural colleges in the UnitedContinue reading “Old Schooled”

Well, this morning started different to say the least. An old actual-bell fire alarm in the 7th floor hallway went off, prompting both the locals and us foreigners to poke our heads out and wonder what the hell we’re supposed to do. The Japanese fire department arrived and silenced the alarm (no actual fire, andContinue reading “Getting into the Spirits”

Jet lag sucks no matter where you end up, but a copious amount of caffeine can keep it at bay. I arrived at my final destination in Hokkaido’s premier city Sapporo at about 22:30 Saturday evening, just in time to notice the revelry of the weekend is undaunted by the snow and ice this timeContinue reading “Sapporo Slaloming”

I know I’ve owed you (all six of you) an update for the past couple days, and I apologize for the delayed posting. In the spirit of honesty, I’ve been torn on how to finish of this chapter of travel; Zurich is the largest and theoretically the city most full of opportunities but many ofContinue reading “So Long, Switzerland”