Today I am in rest and planning mode, so feel free to skip this post if you like because it probably won’t be super interesting. It’s a warm, windy day out so except for a food shopping trip, I’m staying in.
I am between scuba days so I’m using the day to catch up on sleep, nutrition, and travel planning, I spent the morning researching and booking tours in Taipei, reading my favorite Taiwan Travel Blogger, and investigating transportation options for Taiwan.
I booked a time slot for Taipei 101 ( a very tall tower), a cooking lesson, a food and night market tour, a trip to the nearby national park and hot springs, and Juifen Village. I’ve learned how these tours get booked up early. It’s why I haven’t been able to do taiko drumming lessons, a kimono session, a guided walk through Gion in Kyoto, or a tea ceremony, which were all on my list of fun things to do.
You might wonder why I didn’t do all this planning before I came, but I did do a tremendous amount of planning. I had 6-weeks of hotels booked, all major transportation booked, and I had purchased both a Tokyo Museum Pass and the JR Pass, which you have to do before you arrive. People who didn’t book the JR Pass in advance spent hours and hours of their vacation waiting in line to book individual tickets all over Japan. I stood in that line twice and it was torture.
Another reason I didn’t have more time to book adventures is that I was laid up in January with a broken arm. I wasn’t even sure I would be able to make the trip. My arm is doing great, btw. I’ve been doing my PT exercises every day, but after yesterday when I hauled myself in and out of the water onto the boat with about 75 pounds of gear on, sometimes lifting the tank by hand too, I’ve decided I’m pretty much recovered. I can do a plank and down dog pain-free as well.
In terms of packing, I was determined to only have a backpack and a carry-on suitcase. I was pretty sure that most airlines wouldn’t accept my carry-on for the plane, especially with the extra large REI backpack I’m carrying, and they don’t, but so far no one has charged me. It’s sometimes so nice to be rid of the suitcase that I’d be happy to pay. But the reason I wanted to pack this light was so I was nimble getting on and off trains and planes. So far, I’ve accomplished that goal.
I wore my trusty black REI travel trousers that have been altered three times over the years (thanks, Mom!). I climbed Machu Picchu in them and feel good going out to dinner in them. I’d replace them with new ones if I could, but I’ve never been able to find a better pair. I have a black Athleta Base layer, a long sleeve quick dry shirt. I brought a dark blue, fitted Wrangler denim shirt, which I’ve been wearing over the Athleta shirt or on its own. I brought my REI black puffy vest and a grey Marmot raincoat. All of those items are way too warm to wear here or in Taiwan, so I’ve put them in compression bags and they are packed for Korea or home,
I brought a pair of black Mountain Hardware shorts that I bought in San Diego at the Columbia Outlet (thanks for the entry pass, Sara!), which I’ve worn to work out in and as pajamas. I have a favorite sleep shirt, and three more shirts. Additionally, I brought a second pair of olive REI trousers, which I have now cut off into stylish shorts. I brought two skirts, one long and one about knee length. I also brought a nice black v-neck cotton sweater that didn’t really fit me anymore (I have a broken-arm belly I plan to lose in May) but since I didn’t really wear it in Arizona anymore, it stayed behind in Hiroshima. I have purchased three shirts here, all at Uniqlo, which is wildly popular. One is a gift for my soon-to-be 25-year-old. One was a striped tee for me and a black long-sleeved tee to replace the functionality of the black sweater that was too hot. I have two scarves and a very lightweight Columbia water-resistant windbreaker for when the slicker is too hot.
I have a mint tin of jewelry and the most pared-down set of toiletries I could manage with. I have a small pharmacy of various OTC meds and a 7 week’s supply of my required meds. I’m on Eliiquis for life and not only is it very expensive, but it’s also important that I don’t miss or stop taking that med.
I have four pairs of shoes: my Lowa Hiking Boots, which are essential for hiking and rainy days when I walk 15 miles, clunky black Keen sandals, a pair of leather Kizik step-in sneakers, and my trusty pair of Reef flip-flops. I needed a bathing suit and a sun cover shirt, plus socks and undies. All that has been worn many, many times so far and I can’t see how I would have done without any of it. I’ll admit that I wished on a couple of chilly, wet days in Tokyo that I’d had my full puffy jacket but now that I’m in the summer part of my trip, I don’t even need the vest.
I brought four hats. I brought a baseball cap which thought I liked, but it fell so low over my eyes that I replaced it with a sort of Japanese housewife variety, which will do nicely in Arizona. My OR Seattle sombrero has been essential when an umbrella was impossible to hold with a suitcase in one hand and phone in the other (Google Maps). I brought a 50-SPF “straw” hat with a strap that holds it on in the wind. Thanks to whoever lost it and I caught it blowing down my street in Arizona. And I brought a warm Columbia cap that I also found at the Columbia Warehouse in Carlsbad. It wasn’t the cutest hat, but it was the warmest for its size.
As for the pictures below, most of them came from the nice department store I walked around in before I bought my groceries and lunch in the basement. There were ten floors, mostly ladies’ fashions.
- Japan is baseball crazy. They follow their own professional teams and MLB.
- Garden furniture
- Local glassware
- Local pottery
- A whole floor of books
- A real Tower Records!
- A listening station at Tower Records – I had a full-on flashback when I saw that. Brad and I used to go to Tower Records for dates, I think!
- A clever parking solution is common here and in Europe. Even NYC now that I think about it.
- These are fancy washcloths. I guess when you pull your washcloth out to dry your hands in a public bathroom, it matters what you’re using!
- Beloved stationery floor
- A kimono fabric and fabrication section of the department store
- I’m reading Dr. Tim Spector’s book Food for Life and he recommends eating 30 different plants per week. Coffee, tea, spices, and wine all count as plants, thank goodness! But I think he’d appreciate this salad as it says it has 30 ingredients
- 14. 15. Three funny Deepl translations as I was trying to see what the filling was for a mochi candy
- The grocery store check-out operation was confusing at first, but now I think it’s brilliant
- I rode the monorail one stop home to try it out and it was wrapped with World Basketball Championship logos. I guess they like basketball too.
- 17. The not-so-good side of Naha and the new up-and-coming buildings
- I had heard on IG about all the crazy vending machines in Japan but haven’t seen too many. I have seen cotton candy and this hot sausage machine, along with thousands of drinks and cigarette vending machines. I mean thousands. I even grabbed a lemon tea drink from one on a train platform during a 30-second stop.
