Japan

Whenever we get home from a vacation, we often find ourselves in a bit of a mental funk. This is, naturally, to be expected- going back to your daily routine after a vacation is always somewhat painful.

But once the laundry is put away, you hit a favorite bar or restaurant for some comfort food, and hang out with friends, you start to slip back into your usual routine just fine.

Unless you’re coming home from Japan.

Every time we come home from Japan, we find that the post-travel blues last much, much longer. The laundry feels like a bigger chore. The restaurant doesn’t hit quite the same. And we need many, many hangouts with friends along the way. Days turn to weeks, and the severity of the depression is on a scale that has never quite come as close anywhere else we have been.

Why is that? Well, let’s count the ways Japan depresses us about having to return home!

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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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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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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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