http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Mishka/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Mishka en-us Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:28:26 +0000 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:28:26 +0000 Today I went with two of my friends to the Futenma Shrine for New Year Hatsumode. Normally this would be done Jan 13 but this particular shrine seems to run the whole week after the 1st and it was a lot less busy when we went. I am not Shinto and many of the other visitors aren't either but this visit is an important part of Japanese culture and I am all about absorbing as much culture as I http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Okinawa/blog-365246.html This last weekend J and I decided to head to the Naha Tug of War. It was postponed to the 14th because of bad weather the week before. I have been to it several times but this time we didn't pull on the rope so we could get a better idea of the other things going on near the center point of the Tug of War.We drove down kind of late and I thought for sure we were going to have a terrible time findi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Okinawa/blog-211651.html We had been to Maeda misaki point several times for scuba diving and snorkeling but on this occasion we were there with a different mission. We were determined to find some rockclimbing routes we had been told were there.We walked all over the area into and on trails that we didn't even know existed. In fact during our search we actually stumbled upon a geocache our first and that is where http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Okinawa/blog-99839.html We slept in a bit and headed out to sightsee after the morning rush. We were staying in a place off Park Ave set up a bit like a hostel so it was nice to wake up and not have to fight for the bathroom or see people in the hallway while I was in my glasses and boxers.We walked a few blocks got some breakfast food at a local deli and headed to the closest subway station. We had purchased a day pass http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/Manhattan/blog-92111.html After breaking camp in Bryce Canyon early in the morning we made our way towards Arches National Park. We were in the process of moving across the US so we were trying to make time but also wanted to see everything we could along the way. We hoped to hit Arches and still get some distance under our belt during the day.I have to say Arches is an amazing place...unbelievable really. We drove throu http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Utah/Arches-National-Park/blog-85902.html After leaving Zion National Park we arrrived at Bryce Canyon in the afternoon. We quickly found a camping space and set out to explore the park before the sun set. First we walked over to the Amphitheatre at Inspiration Point to check out the amazing views and then headed down into the Canyon along Wallstreet and Navajo Loop Trail. There is nothing that compares to the view from down inside the http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Utah/Bryce-Canyon/blog-84118.html We decided to leave our truck at the longterm parking at Newark Airport and take the train into Manhattan. We were only going to be in the city for 3 days so we just packed light and only brought what we really needed and could carry with us.When we arrived at Penn Station we only had a few blocks to walk to our hotel. We stayed in a place on Lexington so it wasn't really that far to hoof it. We http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/Manhattan/blog-82164.html We wanted to do a short trip in the region and didn't have much time off to do it in. We decided to try for Hong Kong. We ended up booking our flight through a local travel agent and this combined our flight hotel and transportation to and from the airport. We were on our own once we checked in but that was okay because J and I usually avoid the organized tourist stuff anyhow.Our hotel was in Kow http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/blog-74692.html We drove up to Niagara Falls NY after picking up our truck at the Newark Airport. We hit the park around 4pm which was actually really fast time since we didn't even leave Newark until after noon.The park on the US side is state run which really suprised us. We were expecting it to be a National Park. We were a bit disappointed by it. We drove through it once before we found parking to just get http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Niagara-Falls/blog-74438.html After leaving Niagra Falls in the morning. We headed across Ontario to Michigan. We really weren't in Ontario for very long but it was a frustrating experience for a period of time. We didn't change any money over when we crossed the border because we weren't going to be in the country for long and planned to use a visa for gas or food. While we were in Niagara Falls on the Canadian side we were http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/blog-73836.html Drove to Zion National Park from Vegas on our way through Utah to the East Coast. Kind of the long way but we wanted to see these amazing parks in Utah and they were well worth the detour.We weren't in Zion for very long this day because we wanted to get to Bryce Canyon early enough to explore some and set up camp but what we did see of Zion was amazing and it would be so worth it spend more time http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Utah/Zion-National-Park/blog-73615.html After leaving Canada and NY we made our way up through Lower Michigan into the Upper Penisula UP. We stopped in Macinac and took pictures of the lighthouse and the bridge onto the UP and then headed up to Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie. We saw a ship come through the locks while we were there and it was pretty interesting. The locks are right where the International Bridge provides access to Can http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Michigan/UP/blog-73136.html Once again we slept in because the boys were out playing hard until very early in the morning. We went over to Wendy's for a late breakfast and discussed the night before. I was halfway through a frenchfry when J asked E So what was the deal with you and the dance fight. I almost choked on my fry....What dance fight I asked eyes wide open with curiousity.Apparently at some point during the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Shinjuku/blog-72127.html After our mishaps at Mt Fuji we all slept in pretty late the next day. We decided to use the train to get out and see some sites before taking off the next day for home.We walked around in the Shinjuku area in the morning because they have a street fair that happens on Sundays. It was really cool. The crowd would go from being people in business suits to girls with pink hair and platform shoes to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Shinjuku/blog-72092.html We headed out early on our second day in Tokyo for the buses to Mt Fuji. We grabbed some food before getting on the bus and settled in for the 2 12 hour drive. We didn't hit much traffic and got up there pretty fast.We bought a walking stick to take up the mountain and get stamped at the stations. I definitely recommend you take off the bell and ribbonsflag and store them before you start. The b http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Shinjuku/blog-71907.html We booked our flight and hotel for our 4 day trip to Tokyo through HIS. We were traveling with a friend. All three of us were getting ready to move away from the area and wanted to get at least a small trip to Tokyo in.Our flight from southern Japan was rather quick and we arrived in Tokyo at Haneda around midday. We decided to take the train from the airport to the station nearest our hotel which http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Shinjuku/blog-71883.html