Jeremy

Jeremy founded Living the Dream in 2008 to chronicle his long-term trip around Asia. Since then he has been on two long-term trips, visited 69 countries, and is just getting started. He is now on a Lifestyle Design quest to build businesses to pursue a life of travel.

Takayama Showa-kan is Taking a Trip Back in Time

When you think of Japan, you may think of megacities, technological marvels, and more. But have you ever stopped to think about how modern-day Japan came to be?

There are, of course, many history museums across the country that showcase Japan’s long and storied history. But at the Takayama Showa-kan museum in Takayama, you get a chance to look back at the Showa Era- particularly the rebuilding period post-war that helped Japan become the country that it is today.

There are trips back in time, and then there is a trip back in time at Takayama Showa-kan.

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The Disgusting Food Museum in Malmö is Surprisingly Fun

On a day trip from Copenhagen to Malmö, Sweden, one museum caught our eye for its name alone. This was none other than the Disgusting Food Museum, and you can imagine why that name demanded our attention.

We knew immediately we had to go check it out.

I’ll be the first to admit that I really thought this one was going to be a disappointing tourist trap. But after visiting, I have to say, this one was quite interesting and incredibly well done for its modest size.

So head to this one, preferably on an empty stomach, and be prepared to check out weird, gross, and, true to its name, disgusting food!

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Sake Tasting in Takayama – A Must Visit for Sake Fans

Whenever we visit Japan, we almost always make it to visit a town or city that is known for sake brewing. We’ve become big fans of sake over the years, and Angie has even went on to study intensive coursework for the beverage as well (WSET Sake Level 3).

This naturally led us to the town of Takayama, just a few hours west of Tokyo, which is home to six delicious sake breweries in a quaint old quarter. History, sake, and a wonderful ambiance? We are in.

After visiting all of the sake breweries in Takayama, we thought it’d be fun to share a breakdown of the styles of tastings you can experience, and give you a gameplan of what breweries to hit first if you are new to sake and want to do it right.

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Hakuba Ski Resort is Hard for Beginners – Start at Tsugaike

I’ve been getting into skiing more and more in recent years, and Japan has always been on my must-visit list to hit the slopes.

But shortly after arriving in Hakuba, I felt a bit out of my league. Part of this was simply because we had poor weather at the start of our visit. But the other part is that the slopes at Hakuba get difficult rather quickly for my skill level.

So in this one, I thought I’d share more on why that was, why it may be a more difficult spot for beginners and intermediate skiers, and why we settled on Tsugaike as the ski resort in Hakuba for us.

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