All of our travels around the world from day trips to multi-month backpacking adventures and everything in between.
We took Beijing’s subway for the first time to Yonghegong Lama Temple where they provide free incense service for visitors. Three incense are burned at each temple for different types of prayers. The Tibetan Buddhism monastary is one of the few to survive the Cultural Revolution.
More Photo of the Day posts from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam
Our first day in Beijing, China! The golden lions guard a hall inside the sprawling Forbidden City complex.
More Photo of the Day posts from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam
Our last lunch in Taipei was a feast at Sho Yuan Su Shih. We tried a few different noodle dishes and an oyster omelette, a local specialty.
More Photo of the Day posts from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam
The sun setting in the Zhongshan neighborhood of Taipei. This was taken near the subway station by our hotel as we ventured out for our last night in Taipei.
More Photo of the Day posts from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam
Taipei 101 and the surrounding city as seen from the top of Xiangshan (Elephant Mountain).
More Photo of the Day posts from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam
The cobblestone alleyways of Jiufen Old Street, a gold rush town in the late 1800s that is now a hot spot for tourists. The site is also said to be a major inspiration for the street scenes in the Miyazaki film “Spirited Away.”
More Photo of the Day posts from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam
The monument and museum building of the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan. Taipei 101, once the tallest building in the world, can be seen in the distance.
More Photo of the Day posts from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam
Arriving in the international terminal at Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan for the first leg of our 41-day adventure through Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
More Photo of the Day posts from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam
Back home, heading to the coast for the day didn’t require much thought. Hop in the car, swing by the grocery store for some snacks and make the hour-or-so drive to the beach.
Last Friday, we decided to spend the weekend at the Jogasaki Coast on the Izu Peninsula southwest of Tokyo. I get the sense that a “trip to the coast” isn’t something that’s just done from central Japan. It requires some planning: finding a place to stay, mapping out the three-hour train ride… however, the swinging by the grocery store for some snacks part is the same.
But, we made it happen! Things came together nicely as we found a low-cost ryokan (Japanese inn) near the main train station in Ito city. The limited express train from Tokyo follows the coastline and, similar to the shinkansen (bullet train), offers reserved seating, a snack bar and a snack cart, complete with beer-on-tap. I’ll write more about train culture in the future—the way people behave on the different types of trains is fascinating.
Eating is a big part of traveling and this trip didn’t disappoint. We had an amazing vegetarian lunch at Cafe Sora and a fun and filling dinner at the ryokan made up of random things picked up at the nearby grocery store.
Sampling meibutsu—the Japanese word for famous products of a region—is a fun way to get to know an area. In Ito, that’s wasabi, mikan (mandarine oranges) and yamamomo (bayberry). We had wasabi ginger ale, yamamomo soda (and beer), and mikan ice cream (and beer).
After our lunch at Cafe Sora, we hiked along the coastal trail. From Renchakuji Temple, the path south takes about three hours to get to the Hashidate Suspension Bridge. The trail winds through forest and along the rocky coast, offering breathtaking glimpses of the sea.
Staying at a ryokan was on our short list of things to do while in Japan. We stayed at the charming Hinodeya Ryokan a short walk from Izu Kogen Station. The small guesthouse has just a few rooms and the service was excellent. We were given the quick tour and shown to our room, which was nearly as large as our apartment! A small carpeted entry area was separated by traditional sliding shōji doors leading to two tatami-floored rooms.
A chabudai (low dining table) was arranged in the middle of the first room where we were served iced green tea. The second bedroom was made up with traditional futons. We were given yukata—light cotton robes—to wear around the ryokan or even out on the town!
The shared baths were separated by gender, but they set us up in the smaller women’s bath so we could relax together. All of our previous onsen/sento experiences have been in the gender-separated baths, so this was a pleasant change to be able to share the experience.
The next morning, we were served a traditional Japanese breakfast in the main dining room downstairs. We wore our yukata to breakfast and laughed when a Japanese family entered the room dressed in their normal clothes. Oh, foreigners! The breakfast included rice, miso soup, tsukemono (pickled vegetables) and a hotplate to make a small omelette. They also had a pickled shrimp dish and a whole fish—head and all—split down the middle. We just moved the fish dishes around a bit, not wanting to be rude.
After breakfast, we were served coffee in the “family room” where the lady who made our breakfast showed us pictures of her garden. At checkout, the man who seemed to run the place asked where we were going. I told him we were headed to Mt. Omuro and he said he’d give us a ride, turning an hour-long bus trip into a 10-minute drive. Plus, riding in a car is a rare experience, so that was an added bonus!
Thanks to the lift, we arrived at Mt. Omuro just after the cable car opened, beating the crowds. From the top of the grass-covered dormant volcano, you can see the surrounding mountains and farmland, the village below and all the way out to the sea and the Izu island chain. An archery range has been set up inside the crater. A man and his daughter fired arrows while tourists watched from above (see the video below).
Every February, the sleeping giant burns brightly, but the scheduled fire and smoke don’t come from within. The Yamayaki of Mt. Omuro is one of the area’s most popular events as the grass is burned to promote healthy growth for the coming year.
Ito was the perfect weekend getaway; a soul-refreshing trip to the sea.
Update: As of February 2016, Cascadian Abroad reader Linda from Yokosuka has verified American passport holders can still apply for 10-year visas at the Chinese Embassy in Roppongi. Read on for more information and thanks to Linda for the update!
I like to think I’m pretty good at the internets, but when researching our next adventure, I hit a major roadblock trying to figure out the visa process for China. Our situation is a little unique because we have Japanese residency but U.S. passports.
Older posts indicated that we could go directly to the Embassy to apply. Newer posts said that you could no longer apply directly at the Embassy and needed to go to a travel agency. Comment after comment mentioned being turned away at the door. Even semi-official websites suggested going through a travel agency.
I turned to crowdsourcing and asked a Facebook group focused on foreigners living in Japan. Four of the five commenters replied that I’d need to apply via a travel agency.
The price difference between the Embassy and a travel agency was around $200 USD, so I figured it was worth a shot to try the Chinese Embassy first.
American passport holders living in Japan CAN apply for a Chinese tourist visa directly through the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo.
And it was actually pretty easy! While passport holders from most countries can apply for short-term tourist visas, Americans tourists can only apply for a 10-year visa. Here’s a few tips to make the process go as smooth as possible.
The current visa application form is called Form 2013. The website VisaRite has detailed instructions to help with some of the funky parts.
You’ll need the following items for your application packet:
The Embassy in Tokyo is located in the Roppongi District and is open for visa application and passport pickup from 9 a.m. until noon Monday-Friday. There is very little signage in English, but some of the security staff speaks English, so if you get stuck, ask for help.
Pro tip: When you enter the building, you’ll pass through a metal detector and your bag will be searched. Make sure you’re not carrying your X-ACTO knife or scissors as they’ll be confiscated.
Head for the third floor via the elevator or stairs. There’s an information window just to the left when you exit the elevator. Get in this line. I went on a Tuesday and the line wrapped down the stairs back to the second floor.
The woman at the information window will quickly review your application and give you a ticket with a number. Take your number to the waiting area. You’ll be called to one of the two windows on the left side.
Pro tip: Watch the number and be ready to run toward the window as they don’t waste a lot of time skipping through the numbers.
The staff at the windows speak excellent English. Give them your passport and application packet. They’ll give you a receipt and a return date. Sounds like four days is pretty average.
When you return to pick up your visa, stay on the first floor and head toward Window #6 with your receipt. The person at Window #6 will give you a numbered tag and another receipt with the amount to pay.
Go to the purchase machine by the door—similar to the ordering machine at the ramen shop! Insert your money and push the button(s) for the amount you need to pay.
Take the ticket from the machine, the numbered tag and the receipt to Window #4 to collect your passport.
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After I picked up the passports from the Chinese Embassy, I headed across town to the Vietnam Embassy to apply for visas for the final leg of our journey.
You can apply for a visa-on-arrival-sorta via several websites. Basically, you’re purchasing an invitation letter from a Vietnamese company. You’ll provide this at your arrival airport in Vietnam to get the tourist visa. We preferred to get the visa in advance so we wouldn’t have to muck with any of that on arrival.
The Embassy is buried in a neighborhood about 15 minutes from Yoyogi-koen Station on the Chiyoda Line. When you approach the embassy, there’s a gold sign hanging on the stone wall. I was distracted by the shininess, but it actually has good information on it. The actual Embassy is up the hill to the left, but the visa application center is to the right of this sign.
All you need is your visa application, passport-sized photo (trimmed to 30 mm x 40 mm), your passport and a stack of cash. The embassy website has very little info about hours, price, etc. Some of the travel agency sites say it’ll take 4-5 days to process your visa, but it only took about 30 minutes! I walked out of the application center with two freshly-minted Vietnam visas in our passports!
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Good luck and happy travels!