[{"content":"","date":"1 February 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/authors/","section":"Authors","summary":"","title":"Authors","type":"authors"},{"content":"","date":"1 February 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Categories","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"1 February 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/authors/chris/","section":"Authors","summary":"","title":"Chris","type":"authors"},{"content":"","date":"1 February 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/eat/","section":"Eat","summary":"","title":"Eat","type":"eat"},{"content":"","date":"1 February 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/eat/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Eat","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"1 February 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/japan/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Japan","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"1 February 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/japanese-food/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Japanese Food","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"1 February 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/restaurants/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Restaurants","type":"tags"},{"content":" When in search of amazing yakiniku in Tokyo\u0026hellip; It\u0026rsquo;s hard to pick a favorite restaurant in any city. That\u0026rsquo;s especially true in a city like Tokyo where you could pick any type of food and probably find an astoundingly amazing, if not best of the best, example of it. While there are certainly places I\u0026rsquo;ve been to many times in my many visits to Japan, Chef Kentaro \u0026ldquo;Henry\u0026rdquo; Nakahara\u0026rsquo;s Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara is currently at the top of my list in Tokyo and one of the few places I\u0026rsquo;ve recommended to numerous friends in the recent past.\nWe visited Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara first in September of 2023 and then again in the summer of 2024. The focus of this restaurant is meat, which won\u0026rsquo;t surprise you if you recognize yakiniku. Indeed, if you look at the menu on the website, you\u0026rsquo;ll several multi-course (tasting menu) options with words like meat, tongue, hormone, and filet cutlet. Fear not omnivores, you\u0026rsquo;ll also get a smattering of non-meat dishes including an appetizer, vegetables, soup, and a dessert. I can\u0026rsquo;t recall exactly but, if you do the menu that includes the hormone and fillet cutlet sandwich (which I HIGHLY recommend), you\u0026rsquo;re probably looking at 11+ small courses. On our first visit we had a nice long chat with Chef Henry, who was quite gracious while dealing with my very poor Japanese, while his English was excellent (no doubt owing to having spent a good amount of time working in the US).\nWe sat at the counter (I suppose you\u0026rsquo;d call it a chef\u0026rsquo;s counter) right in front of where the chefs do their work. Between the places we sat and the chef\u0026rsquo;s work area, wre what looked like metal boxes which could be removed from the spot in front of each set of two seats to reveal a grill. There were about 10 or so tables around the restaurant as well, each with it\u0026rsquo;s own grill at the table. Most (all?) Japanese restaurants use charcoal grills for yakiniku and yakitori. The highest end of charcoal used in these restaurants is binchō-tan. Looking into a back room in the restaurant, you can see the charcoal cooking in pots, preparing it to be used in the grills. Binchō-tan is known for being a low smoke charcoal but there also seems to be an effective air filter system in the restaurant so, despite being inches from the grill, there\u0026rsquo;s no smoke or disruption to the meal like you might see in some lower end restaurants.\nWhat followed was an array of delicious bites. Different cuts of beef including tongue, intestine, raw beef (tartare), the beef cutlet sando, and more. Every dish lovingly explained by the chef. If you look at lists of must haves in Japan, you\u0026rsquo;ll almost certainly be recommended to have a meal of wagyu beef while you\u0026rsquo;re there. This meal would not just check that box but surpass expectations. It goes without saying that the servers also come by frequently to check-in and the variety of drinks (sake, beer, liquor, etc.) is quite comprehensive.\nAt the end of our first meal, Chef Henry handed me a business card. Expecting it to be for Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara, I was surprised to see it was instead for Henry\u0026rsquo;s Burger. In addition to the high-end yakiniku restaurant, Chef Henry operates a small local chain of burger places. On my first trip, we went to Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara towards the end of the trip. On our 2024 trip, I didn\u0026rsquo;t make a specific plan to get to Henry\u0026rsquo;s Burger but the opportunity presented itself when Sam had to take care of a few things on her own for a couple hours. I think as of writing there are three Henry\u0026rsquo;s Burger joints and the one in Harajuku was the most convenient for me to get to from Toranomon Hills.\nHenry\u0026rsquo;s Burger\u0026rsquo;s menu is pretty simple. They have three different type sof burgers that come in three sizes with the option of fries or onion drinks and a drink if you want a combo. When I was there, the burger options were the Wagyu Burger (wagyu beef), the Waton Burger (pork), or the Harami Burger (skirt steak). The Harami requires advance reservation (I\u0026rsquo;ve read you can DM through Instagram but the website only lists their phone numbers). When I was there they also offered, not sure if it was a special or not, Henry\u0026rsquo;s Monster Burger which came it at a whopping 2.2 lbs (1 KG) of Kuroge Wagyu. I am a fan of burgers and I\u0026rsquo;ve been known to eat a pretty large burger in my younger years but the idea of an 8 inch tall burger scares the hell out of me. So, instead I stuck with the Medium (double) burger with fries. It took a few minutes for them to prepare my meal fresh but out it came after a few minutes. I sat at the bar seating looking out on to Meiji-dori Ave. I don\u0026rsquo;t consider myself a burger connoisseur though I have had quite a few. I thought the burger at Henry\u0026rsquo;s was delicious. The flavor of the beef clearly came through and the blend of ingredients, sauce, and bun really hit the spot for a burger craving. I don\u0026rsquo;t think I\u0026rsquo;d make a trip around just going to Henry\u0026rsquo;s Burger, and I might not recommend it as strongly as I would his yakiniku restaurant, but this was a delicious and very affordable burger lunch. Well worth the trip to Harajuku that day.\nVerdict: At this point, Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara is my go to recommendation for Tokyo and the only higher-end restaurant we went to on both of our last two trips. Links # Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara Website Henry\u0026rsquo;s Burger Website Chef Henry\u0026rsquo;s Instagram ","date":"1 February 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/sumibi-yakiniku-nakahara-and-henrys-burger/","section":"Eat","summary":"When in search of amazing yakiniku in Tokyo\u0026hellip; It\u0026rsquo;s hard to pick a favorite restaurant in any city.","title":"Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara and Henrys Burger","type":"eat"},{"content":"","date":"1 February 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tags","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"1 February 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/tasting-menu/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tasting Menu","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"1 February 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/tokyo/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tokyo","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"1 February 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/","section":"When in...","summary":"","title":"When in...","type":"page"},{"content":" When you\u0026rsquo;re going to Tokyo but also want some day trips outside the city\u0026hellip; Summary # I\u0026rsquo;ve been very lucky when it comes to being able to visit Japan. This was actually my 8th visit to Japan and Sam\u0026rsquo;s 2nd visit. I\u0026rsquo;d actually had a pretty good run of visiting Japan every year from 2016 to 2019 and 2020 wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have been any different had it not been for Covid and the border closing. Thankfully, we had some vacation time to use up and were able to spend about a week in early to mid-June. The last time Sam and I visited was in early September and it was unbelievably hot and humid. We hoped we\u0026rsquo;d be early enough in June to avoid the really bad weather. That was only somewhat true. It was still pretty hot and humid during our visit but not nearly as bad as in September. For this visit, since we didn\u0026rsquo;t have a super long time and were also trying to keep some costs down, we just used Tokyo as a base camp and did a few day trips, along with quite a bit in the Tokyo area. With Tokyo having so many options, I find that it\u0026rsquo;s pretty easy to do entirely different things from one trip to the next even in the same city. Japan is to this date still my favorite place to visit.\nTravel and Location Map # High Level Itinerary # Date Location Lodging Dining Activities Sunday Travel N/A N/A Departed SEA\u0026ndash;\u0026gt;HND Monday Tokyo Hotel Toranomon Hills Heiwa Doburoku Kabutocho Brewery, Hitochino Brewing Tokyo Yaesu, Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara Visit Tokyo Station Tuesday Tokyo Hotel Toranomon Hills Konbini, Kubota Sake Bar, Yakitori Imai Imperial Gardens, Meiji Jingu, Shibuya Sky, T Market Wednesday Tokyo Hotel Toranomon Hills Konbini, Zaimoku, Aratama Katsutei Souhonten, Ant\u0026rsquo;nBee, Sushi Yuu Kamakura Day Trip and Temples Thursday Tokyo Hotel Toranomon Hills Konbini, Takahashiya, Tofuya Ukai Mount Takao Day Trip Friday Tokyo Hotel Toranomon Hills Konbini, Hitochino, Ramen Street, Bake, Tacos Bar, Buri Bar Sensō-ji, Mokuhankan, Dengama, Ramen Street, Yebisu Brewery and Museum Saturday Tokyo Hotel Toranomon Hills Konbini, Henry\u0026rsquo;s Burger, Arbol Seiro, Eureka! Sake Bar, Sumijaki Unafuji Yurakucho TeamLab Borderless, Hie Shrine, Tokyo Tower Sunday Travel N/A Yamaharu Depart HND\u0026ndash;\u0026gt;SEA Detailed Itinerary # Departing Flights - Overnight Flight This was our flight path to Japan:\nDelta from Seattle to Haneda leaving at 11:34 am arriving the next day at 2:15 pm In the past (as you\u0026rsquo;ll see if I get around to writing it) most of the flights from the US flew into Narita. While a great airport, Narita was quite some ways from Tokyo (an hour plus even if you were going to one of the stations with a mostly direct train). In 2020, Delta, and a number of other airlines, started flying their US flights into Haneda. This was a fantastic development as Haneda (or Tokyo International Airport) is just south of Tokyo with multiple convenient train options to get where you need to go. Japan made some changes over the past few years to simplify entry though I still recall there being a poorly explained part of the process where we both had to scan in through a machine before we could get in a line to go through customs.\nTokyo for a Day and a Half Stop Normally, I would almost always prefer the trains in Tokyo over car transportation due to how fantastic the transportation system is in Japan. However, when arriving with luggage, I usually let the simplicity of getting a taxi to my hotel win over. It helps that taking a cab from the hotel we were staying at, the Hotel Toranomon Hills was about half the time that taking the two trains would have been. We would have stayed at the Andaz again but when we booked, they were out of awards availability. These two hotels are actually quite close to one another. Only separated by a couple of blocks, however, there is also a bridge that connects them via another building (that you don\u0026rsquo;t actually enter, just walk through an open portion of it). As it was, the Hotel Toranomon Hills was great. Plenty of konbini in the area and easy access from under the hotel to both the Hibiya and Ginza subway lines. Additionally, under the hotel was a cool city market named, T Market with both restaurants and shops that we went to a few times during our stay.\nPlaces we ate during this part of our stay:\nKonbini - Breakfast When in Japan, we rarely eat breakfast from anywhere other than a konbini (convenience store). If you\u0026rsquo;ve never been to Japan and you\u0026rsquo;re picturing a 7-11 in the US, you\u0026rsquo;re way off. Konbini in Japan are an institution. Plus the food can be quite amazing both in terms of taste and variety. Our go to is usually a mix of onigiri (rice balls), sandos (egg salad, katsu, etc.), sushi, soy eggs, and more. Canned coffee or bottled green tea to drink really are a great start to the day. When we can both get our fill for what equates to $8, it\u0026rsquo;s hard to beat this deal. Unless I say otherwise, assume every other portion of the trip was filled with konbini breakfast. Heiwa Doburoku Kabutocho Brewery - Snacks, Sake, Beer, and Doburoku I discovered this cute little sake bar prior to the trip I took back in 2022 (I think). Located in Nihonbashi, this is a VERY short walk from the Hibiya Line\u0026rsquo;s Kayabachō Station and a slightly longer walk from the Ginza Line\u0026rsquo;s Nihombashi Station or a 15 minute walk from Tokyo Station this place is accessible right from the ground floor so it\u0026rsquo;s hard to miss. They offer a delightful selection of their own sakes as well as doburoku (an ancient alcoholic drink that is illegal for home brewing in Japan and looks like nigori sake but thicker), as well as snacks. I think this is where Sam and I realized how delicious soy marinated quail eggs were (we probably had three orders that day). The service is very friendly and everything is ordered via your phone (with a friendly English menu). Definitely worth checking out. Hitochino Brewing Tokyo Yaesu - Beer and Food As of writing, I believe there are SIX Hitochino bars in the Tokyo area and this was the fourth one I\u0026rsquo;ve been to (after Akihabara, Shinagawa, and the other one in / around Tokyo Station). I am a big fan of Hitochino\u0026rsquo;s beer, especially the Red Rice Ale. You can occasionally find their stuff in the US but you\u0026rsquo;ll never (at least I haven\u0026rsquo;t) find a selection like they have at one of their bars in Japan. Unfortunately, they don\u0026rsquo;t always have the Red Rice Ale on draft so I was quite happy they did at this output. The location, like many other things in Japan, can be hard to explain. If you were outside the east side of Tokyo Station looking at the doors, you\u0026rsquo;d want to look for a stair case to a second floor area on the outside of the station. On the second floor there is a open air pathway with restaurants and Hitochino on it. Another way of finding it is if you go to the Daimaru Tokyo department store (which you should really check out) and you make your way to the second floor, you\u0026rsquo;d aim to go out the south side doors and you\u0026rsquo;d walk right to Hitochino. Note that there is a second Hitochino kind of on the opposite side of Tokyo Station on the first floor of Gransta Tokyo (an area with a bunch of shops and restaurants that is connected to the station). So if you ask for directions, you might have to be specific. I\u0026rsquo;ve already mentioned the Red Rice Ale (though you can\u0026rsquo;t go wrong with any of their beers, they also have sake) but if you\u0026rsquo;re looking for a bite, we both really enjoy the mackerel sandwich. Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara - Amazing Japanese Beef including Tongue This was our second time at Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara and I can easily say that it\u0026rsquo;s one of my favorite restaurants in Japan, maybe anywhere. At some point I\u0026rsquo;ll split this out into a separate page so I can go into more detail but this place is stellar and does a lot of things really right: the food, the service, the ambience, and the drinks. On the food, you\u0026rsquo;ll be served a variety of cuts of meat cooked right in front of you over the charcoal grill where you\u0026rsquo;re seated (we at at the counter where the chefs work right in front of you but the side tables have grills in the center as well). There\u0026rsquo;s quite a variety of delicious and meticulously selected Japanese beef. The highlight though is the beef tongues and the filet cutlet sandwich. Really, everything is melt in your mouth delicious. They even manage to include some vegetables with a salad, a soup, and some vegetable sides. If you look in the back, you might even see the pots they have heating the charcoal in the back before it\u0026rsquo;s used in the grills. While there\u0026rsquo;s a number of people working there, the whole show is run by Chef Kentaro \u0026ldquo;Henry\u0026rdquo; Nakahara. Chef Henry actually recognized us from our visit earlier in the year and chatted with us for a while. Just like on the first visit, he was entertaining and quite funny. All in all, this is a fantastic restaurant and a wonderful example of yakiniku. I\u0026rsquo;ve already sent several friends to this restaurant and will return again. It\u0026rsquo;s worth noting that Chef Henry also operates a chain of hamburger places named Henry\u0026rsquo;s Burger that I checked out later in the trip. As you might imagine, the burger places are a little more casual. I highly recommend checking out both! Read more about and see more pictures at my post on Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara. Kubota Sake Bar - Sake While in London, we went to a place called The Sake Collective that was somehow affiliated with a Kubota Sake Bar in Tokyo. Usually when I see things like this, I add them to a list to check out the next time I\u0026rsquo;m going to be somewhere. So that\u0026rsquo;s just what we did. This sake bar and store is located in the first basement floor of a building. Sam and I each had different flights of sake here. Both great selection and service. Note that they also seem to have food / snacks but we didn\u0026rsquo;t try any. Yakitori Imai - Yakitori I can\u0026rsquo;t recall exactly where I first read about Yakitori Imai but it was on my list of possibilities for the trip we took back in 2023 though we didn\u0026rsquo;t make it. On this trip, we made our way over to Gaienmae and enjoyed their Chef\u0026rsquo;s Choice Course with a selection of chicken, duck , pigeon, vegetables, and thankfully, more quail eggs. Not my favorite yakitori place in Japan so far (that honor belongs to a place in Kyoto) but a really great meal. Activities, sites, and visits during this part of our stay:\nTokyo Station We weren\u0026rsquo;t quite the tourists at Tokyo Station we\u0026rsquo;ve been in the past. That said we did go through on this trip and I\u0026rsquo;ll make a few more specific call outs later on. If you visit Tokyo, you\u0026rsquo;re almost certainly going to go through here if for no other reason than to get from one train to another. That said, if you\u0026rsquo;re reading this post and trying to plan your first trip to Japan, walking through Tokyo Station and trying to take it all in is worth the time and thought. There are floors of shops, restaurants, food halls, and more. It even connects to the Daimaru department store for even more stuff. Imperial Palace East Gardens Located in what feels like central Tokyo (but really isn\u0026rsquo;t if you look at a map), this whole area are the grounds of the previous Edo Castle and now the Imperial Palace where Japan\u0026rsquo;s Emperor lives. You can still see and walk up the remains of part of the castle\u0026rsquo;s tower but mostly this is a giant park you can walk around with abundant gardens, flowers, and several very old buildings. Note that you can\u0026rsquo;t actually go see the Imperial Palace itself without reservations which book out quite in advance. Meiji Jingu This is probably my favorite shrine in Tokyo, and there are quite a few. Meiji shrine was built to commemorate Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. If you\u0026rsquo;ve heard of the Meiji Restoration, this was the guy. The shrine itself is roughly in the center of a giant park in the midst of Tokyo. If you\u0026rsquo;re used to most major cities in the US, you might find it shocking that such a large park exists with so much urban development right outside it. In addition to the very impressive shrine itself, there are a number of very majestic torii gates on the grounds that you\u0026rsquo;ll walk past. Note that there is an etiquette to going through a torii. As you pass through a torii, stop and bow towards the inside (so towards the shrine in this case). You can then walk through. This is considered proper etiquette when entering sacred ground. Also, don\u0026rsquo;t walk through the middle of a torii as this is reserved as a path for the gods. Or if you don\u0026rsquo;t want to do any of that, just walk around the gate. This temple, like all in Japan, can get quite busy with people. If you go early, you\u0026rsquo;ll avoid the crowds. Shibuya Sky Shibuya Sky is one of several places around the city you can go for a pretty amazing view of the surrounding city. This location gives you, not just a great view of the city, but also a view of the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing. Tokyo is an amazingly huge city and it\u0026rsquo;s hard to appreciate just how massive it is without taking in the view from the top of a building like this or the Sky Tree. Reservations in advance are recommended as they may sell out access. One interesting note is that on top of locking any bags up in a locker, they made to check out (free of course) a lanyard for my DSLR to ensure it didn\u0026rsquo;t fall. Inside of the Shibuya Sky building there are assorted shops and restaurants and the nearby Shibuya Stream also has an assortment of restaurants and shops. We had some time to kill before our reservation at Shibuya Sky so we popped into an izakaya in Shibuya Stream for a drink while we waited. T Market One of the many amazing things about Tokyo is how many things can be hiding in any one building. From the outside it might just look like a skyscraper but on the inside there might be shops, restaurants, office space, hotels, grocery stores, transit access, entertainment options, and more. The building which houses the Hotel Toranomon Hills is no different. Located two floors down from the lobby level, is T Market. Home to an assortment of shops and restaurants, we visited T Market a few times while in Tokyo. I\u0026rsquo;ll highlight a few of the restaurants below but it\u0026rsquo;s definitely worth a walk through if you\u0026rsquo;re staying in the area. Note that the building next to the Andaz (not the one between the Andaz tower and the Hotel Toranomon Hills tower) contains something similar with the Toranomon Yokocho. Kamakura and Tokyo Day Trip There are quite a few places that you can easily take day trips from Tokyo to. Included in that list is Kamakura, one of the cities that was previously Japan\u0026rsquo;s capital (along with Kyoto and Nara). Kamakura actually has quite a few temples and can almost have more of a Kyoto feel to it than Tokyo as a result. Located around an hour and 10 minutes by train. With a couple different train options to get us there, we took the Ginza Subway line to Shimbashi station where we then took the Yokosuka line to Kita-Kamakura Station. One of the reasons I wanted to take the Yokosuka Line was that it features Green Cars. Green cars are basically a fancier car. Green cars are on some of the JR longer distance lines but the place most people will see them are on the shinkansens. While the value of a green car on the shinkansen is probably up for debate, on the more local JR lines, it means a more comfortable seat with a table. In theory, since they account for how many green car tickets they sell, you should be guaranteed a seat as well. What\u0026rsquo;s more, if you have the right phone, you can actually buy your green car seat from your phone. Sam has an iPhone which is the right phone while I have an Android which means I had to use a ticket vending machine. Both were pretty easy (though I actually had to do some translation to get through the Mobile Suica app on the iphone). Instructions for both are here. The bulk of our trip to Kamakura was temples, temples, and more temples. We also enjoyed a nice walk by the beach and a delicious lunch. All before we headed back to Tokyo on the same route and off to Roppongi for dinner. Note that we got off at the Kita-Kamakura Station to start our temple walk (described below) but there is a Kamakura station closer to the main part of town. Kita means north so you Kita Kamakura is the North Kamakura Station.\nPlaces we ate during this part of our stay:\nZaimoku After quite a few hours of walking and temples, this was a nice little respite where we could enjoy a drink and a snack while looking out on Kamakura\u0026rsquo;s Zaimokuza Beach. We hadn\u0026rsquo;t found this place ahead of time but just wandered by it. Aratama Katsutei Souhonten - Tonkatsu I can\u0026rsquo;t remember how I found out about this place but saw it was recommended in a number of places. After working up an appetite walking around all morning, we were ready for a more filling lunch. This place delivered. Specializing in tonkatsu, or pork cutlets, a lunch set here usually consists of some deep fried protein, along with rice, cabbage, vegetables, and of course, miso soup. Between the fried pork (for me) and seafood (Sam) and the special sauce they have that you mix with sesame seeds you ground yourself, this was a hunger quenching and delicious meal. I can\u0026rsquo;t say I\u0026rsquo;ve been to many places where tonkatsu is the specialty (as opposed to places that just have it) but I can imagine this place would stand pretty well against any others. Definitely recommended if you find yourself in Kamakura. Ant\u0026rsquo;n\u0026rsquo;Bee - Beer and Snacks I found Ant\u0026rsquo;n\u0026rsquo;Bee on my first trip to Japan back in 2016. If I recall correctly, I was having a beer at the Roppongi Brewdog and while chatting with one of the bartenders, I was asking if there were any local places he recommended and he told me to go to Ant\u0026rsquo;n\u0026rsquo;Bee. Located just steps from the Roppongi Subway station, Ant\u0026rsquo;n\u0026rsquo;Bee is a basement bar. At the ground floor it looks like any other building that has different businesses on each level. Taking the stair case down one floor to the bottom takes you to the beer bar. The beer selection is diverse and delicious and the staff is friendly. Note that, like many places in Japan, they do allow smoking and as it\u0026rsquo;s in the basement if people are smoking it can be a bit much for some. Sushi Yuu - Sushi, Omakase Years ago, I started going to a Sushi place in Marunouchi (near Tokyo Station) after reading about it in Eater. The first time I went, it was fantastic. I actually went back for dinner two nights later. The next trip, I went back. The next trip, I took friends. However, when I went in 2022, it just didn\u0026rsquo;t seem as good. Thinking maybe it was a one off, I went back with Sam when we sent in 2023. Sadly, I don\u0026rsquo;t think it was a fluke but they lost the magic they had. That\u0026rsquo;s lead me to start trying out other sushi places when I visit Japan. Sushi Yuu was the first place I thought I\u0026rsquo;d try since moving on. Specifically, I was looking for a place with a great omakase that wasn\u0026rsquo;t going to be impossible to get into nor was it going to cost high-quality Seattle omakase prices. I can easily say that on the first two accounts, this place hit the mark and did a great job. Chef Daisuke put out a stunningly delicious and gorgeously plated set of bites. As to the price, it wasn\u0026rsquo;t terrible but for the two of us for omakase and sake it came out to be closer to ¥60,000 or close to $380. Again, not terrible, but close to double what the place I used to go to was. With the yen where it\u0026rsquo;s been, maybe this is to be expected. At any rate, I would definitely visit Sushi Yuu again, though I\u0026rsquo;m not yet ready to say I\u0026rsquo;d go back on every trip. Activities, sites, and visits during this part of our stay:\nThe Temple Walk (map) As mentioned above, the big activity for the day in Kamakura was seeing the temples. Most folks that have heard of Kamakura know of it because there is a giant Buddha there. That\u0026rsquo;s true, but there are quite a few temples worth seeing when you visit. We sadly didn\u0026rsquo;t make it to all of the ones on our list (it was a pretty hot and humid day). Getting off at Kita Kamakura Station, we took a short walk to Engaku-ji. This is a really impressive Zen Buddhist temple and really sets the mood for the day. From there it was a short walk to Meigetsu-in, a Rinzai Zen temple. Also known as the Hydrangea Temple we just happened to be visiting in peak hydrangea season. That meant this temple was PACKED. While it was quite beautiful, this place more than any on this trip showcased the massive amount of tourism Japan is getting. On next was Jōchi-ji, another Buddhist Zen temple. From here, we headed to Zeniarai Benten Shrine, a Shinto shrine. If you follow Google Maps\u0026rsquo; directions, you walk back towards the station and then onwards. However, from the front gate of Jōchi-ji, you can continue on (left of the gate / temple) and follow a hiking path through the forest (there\u0026rsquo;s a bit of incline here but nothing serious or long) to get to the Zeniarai Benten Shrine. From there, it\u0026rsquo;s on to the Sasuke Inari Shrine with it\u0026rsquo;s many red torii (I\u0026rsquo;d say these ones were more red than vermilion) and even more Inari fox ceramic statues. From here, you\u0026rsquo;ll actually walk through more of a developed town area until you get to Kotoku-in. This is home to Kamakura Daibutsu, the Great Buddha of Kamakura. If anyone visits Kamakura and posts one picture, it\u0026rsquo;s probably a picture of this Buddha. This Buddha dates to 1252, is 43.8 feet tall, and weighs 103 tons. And it\u0026rsquo;s been outside the whole time. Pretty wild the general shape it\u0026rsquo;s in considering. We had a number of other temples on our list (as you can see from the map linked above) but were just too exhausted. I\u0026rsquo;ve heard good things about visiting Hasedera which isn\u0026rsquo;t a far walk from Kotoku-In, but we didn\u0026rsquo;t make it. Zaimokuza Beach Being as it was hot and sunny, we couldn\u0026rsquo;t not enjoy a stroll down the beach. Interestingly, it seemed like they were still putting a lot of things together for the busy season. It must get much busier in July and August. Mount Takao and Tokyo Day Trip Another day, another day trip. This time around, we headed west to Mount Takao (Takaosan). Visiting Mount Takao affords one the opportunity to be out in nature, walk (also hike), see several very cool temple structures, visit a beer garden (if it\u0026rsquo;s the right time of year, and sadly it wasn\u0026rsquo;t for us), and if you\u0026rsquo;re lucky, see Mount Fuji (Fujisan) in the distance. If you start from Shinjuku Station,\nPlaces we ate during this part of our stay:\nTakahashiya - Soba In looking up places to eat in the Mount Takao area, this restaurant came up as being famous for their soba with grated yams. We thought that some soba might be nice on the trip so we\u0026rsquo;d try it. Funny enough, neither of us got their specialty. Sam enjoyed the kamonegi soba (duck) and I had a tempura soba. Both delicious. I also was able to try a buckwheat beer that was brewed in Ashland, Oregon, a town we stopped in on our road trip earlier in the year. All in all, a great meal after a long walk down the mountain. Cash only! Tofuya Ukai - Tofu I first visited this restaurant on my first trip to Japan. They specialize in tofu and do a wonderful tasting menu, not just with tofu. The restaurant is in the shadow of Tokyo Tower and has a picturesque Japanese garden as you enter and then a wonderful courtyard in the center, with a glass hut in the middle where they make their tofu. This is one of the most picturesque restaurants I\u0026rsquo;ve been to in Tokyo. Between the wonderful service, delicious food, and locale, this is a great place. Note that while I think most if not all of their course menus don\u0026rsquo;t seem to be vegetarian or vegan, which you might think given the focus being tofu, my understanding is they can easily accommodate. I\u0026rsquo;ve only had a private room once but if it\u0026rsquo;s a special occasion, I highly recommend reaching out to see if you can get one. It\u0026rsquo;s a whole different experience compared to when I\u0026rsquo;ve been in a larger room. After your meal, make sure you walk through the courtyard in the center of the restaurant. Activities, sites, and visits during this part of our stay:\nMount Takao On your way to Takaosanguchi Station, you will likely need to get off the Keiō Line at Kitano Station to cross the platform onto the Takao Line to continue the last 15 or so minutes. You\u0026rsquo;ll do the same when you return. From Takaosanguchi Station, the easiest way to head up is to walk to Takaosan Station and take the Takaotozan Cable Car partially up the mountain. You can also take a ski lift (probably weather and time of year dependent) or walk (we walked down it, I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t recommend walking up it). There are numerous trails up and around Mount Takao. After the cable car, the easiest and most straightforward route should be the Red route. This will get you to see quite a bit on you way up including the Octopus Cedar and Yakuo-in Temple. Once you\u0026rsquo;ve reached the top, you should find the Takao Visitor Center along with plenty of views. Make sure you find your way to Mt Takao Omiharashidai for what should, hopefully, be a great view of Mount Fuji (albeit quite far away). When we went back down, we took the Blue route which took us past the suspension bridge and a bit more through nature than the way up. Folks also seem to like the Green trail that takes them by Biwa Waterfall. Sadly it wasn\u0026rsquo;t the right time of year for it to be open (seems like we missed it by days) but the Observation Deck (right around where the cable car drops you off at the top) has the Takaosan Beer Mount beer garden which is supposed to be Japan\u0026rsquo;s highest beer garden. At the bottom of the mountain are a number of shops and restaurants as well. Given this is only about an hour outside of the city, this was a pretty fun half day trip. We started pretty early in the day before it got too hot. I could see this having been much hotter later in the day or pretty chilly in the winter months. Note that there seemed to be some special tickets one could purchase for the trains from Shinjuku to the mountain which included a discount on the cable car but we didn\u0026rsquo;t look into these enough to make use of them. Tokyo for 2 (and a half) Days Stop Originally, we\u0026rsquo;d planned to use our last two full days for one more day trip. I looked at Yokohama, Enoshima, and Niiko. Ultimately, we were a bit tired and felt it would be better to stay local. We hit some of the old favorite sites and shops and did a few new things. On our first day we visited the Sensō-ji area for the temple complex and shopping before heading to Tokyo Station and then on to Ebisu for dinner. On the second day, we visited the newest TeamLab installation, visited a new shrine we had not been to before, and we went up Tokyo Tower for the first time. On the partial last day we walked to a temple right by the hotel, had some sushi, and headed off to the airport.\nPlaces we ate during this part of our stay:\nHitochino Brewing Tokyo Yaesu We were in Tokyo Station so we had to return for some more red rice ale! Ramen street - Ramen Chances are reasonable that if you\u0026rsquo;re visiting Japan, you\u0026rsquo;ve had ramen before. As you could imagine, Ramen in Japan can be extremely delicious. It can also be amazingly cheap compared to the cost in the US. As mentioned before, Tokyo Station has loads of restaurants in it. Ramen street is located in part of Tokyo Station named First Avenue Tokyo Station. This area contains, you guessed it, restaurants and shops. It\u0026rsquo;s also a well known area as it has the very popular Character Street which sells popular merch from Japanese anime, manga, etc. To get to First Avenue Tokyo Station from Tokyo Station (hard to actually say because the station is so big) you\u0026rsquo;ll head to the Yaesu North Exit of Tokyo Station and take the stairs down. When in doubt, ask for directions. If you\u0026rsquo;re really having trouble but you found the Hitochino Brewing above (remember this is the one that is outside), then go in the Daimaru department store, go to the basement where the grocery and food market is, and then follow the signs for Tokyo Station / JR lines. You\u0026rsquo;ll have to go through First Avenue Toky Station. Once you\u0026rsquo;re there, Ramen Street is on the South Street (if you\u0026rsquo;re facing the entrance to Gransta Tokyo, go left, and if you\u0026rsquo;re facing the path to Gransta Yaesu and Daimaru, go right). Once there, you\u0026rsquo;ll have EIGHT options to choose from. They all function much the same way. There will be a line (maybe) to use the machine (some of them cash only) where you\u0026rsquo;ll pay then select what you want. You\u0026rsquo;ll get tickets for each item you order. Once you do that, you\u0026rsquo;ll then get in line (again maybe if it\u0026rsquo;s busy) to actually go in the restaurant. Some places the it\u0026rsquo;s just one line, others it\u0026rsquo;s separate. They\u0026rsquo;ll seat you from there, take your tickets and shortly bring your orders. This time around, we chose to eat at Tokyo Niboshi Ramen Gyoku. Not much more needs be said other than it was delicious. Bake Cheese Tart You might be aware of this but Japan is pretty good with food. Of all kinds. One area they excel at is definitely pastry. Imagine the most decadent or elegant patisserie in the world and if it\u0026rsquo;s not in Japan, there\u0026rsquo;s probably a better one in Japan. Bake Cheese Tart might not be the elegant patisserie of your dreams, but their cheese tarts are definitely the stuff of dreams. While in Tokyo Station, it\u0026rsquo;s worth going a bit out of your way to find this place. The Tokyo Station one is located in Gransta Marunouchi. I recommend finding the info booth in the station and asking where to go. The original cheese tart is to die for. They usually have different flavors as well. I think I\u0026rsquo;ve tried the matcha and the chocolate and they\u0026rsquo;re both also amazing, though the original is still my favorite. There are a few Bake shops around Tokyo, and a few more outside of Tokyo. There are also other shops across Japan that will make a similar dessert. Wherever you can find out, I suggest you try it out! Tacos Bar - Taco Omakase Another place where I can\u0026rsquo;t exactly remember where I heard about it but we tried to go here on our trip in 2023. Unfortunately, they weren\u0026rsquo;t serving dinner (or something along those lines) on the one night we had free for it. Thankfully, we were able to figure that out for this trip. Tacos Bar basically does an omakase menu of tacos. I think this was fun, playful, and tasty and made for beautiful looking tacos. I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t go out of my way to go again though. Buri - Standing Bar If there was one place that I\u0026rsquo;ve probably been to the most on my trips to Japan at this point (outside a few temples), it\u0026rsquo;s probably Buri. Buri is a standing bar just a couple blocks from the Ebisu JR and Subway stations. While they have food, I don\u0026rsquo;t think I\u0026rsquo;ve ever eaten there. What they also have is a wide selection of drinks including a huge variety of sake one cups. If you ask them to, the\u0026rsquo;ll turn it into a sake slushie as well. While you might not be a big fan of sake like me, it\u0026rsquo;s worth stopping by just to get one as they all come in very interesting glass cups which you can take home after you finish your drink. This is a laid back but super fun bar. Henry\u0026rsquo;s Burger - Burgers The first time I met Chef Henry at his yakiniku restaurant, Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara he handed me a card and told me about his burger place, Henry\u0026rsquo;s Burger. Sadly on that trip, I didn\u0026rsquo;t have time to make it to one of the several outputs of Henry\u0026rsquo;s Burger, but on this trip I had some time to kill while Sam was busy with other things. So I jumped on the subway to Harajuku and walked past all the major stores in the area to this small restaurant. The menu is pretty straightforward: A couple types of burgers in different sizes, fries, onion rings, side salad, and drinks. If you\u0026rsquo;re hungrier than I, you can also try Henry\u0026rsquo;s Monster burger which comes with 1 kg of Kuroge Wagyu. I stuck with the medium (double patty) burger, fries, and a drink. I\u0026rsquo;d put the quality of this burger as quite high. The meat tastes noticeably delicious and the ingredients blend together nicely. Being unable to get In-n-Out in Seattle, I still crave it, though oddly not enough to go out of my way when I\u0026rsquo;m somewhere there is an In-n-Out. I think Henry\u0026rsquo;s Burger was considerably better and I\u0026rsquo;d definitely consider going out of my way to go back again. Definitely recommend for a casual and delicious burger. Read more about and see more pictures on the dedicated post for Henry\u0026rsquo;s Burger. Arbol Siero - Chinese Dim Sum One of several places we checked out in T Market under the Hotel Toranomon Hills. Arbol focuses on dim sum and we had a nice variety of dumplings, noodles, and fried rice. Eureka! Sake Bar - Sake and Snacks This is a cute little sake bar on the second floor of a building in Rappongi. Their specialty is in pairing sake with the snacks they have to offer. When we first showed up we were just in the mood to drink sake but after seeing some of the dishes delivered to fellow patrons, we caved. The food was delicious as was the sake. The sake sommelier who was helping us out actually knew about the sake bar we frequent in Seattle, Hannyatou, which was pretty cool. I highly recommend their Ufu Mayo, a smoked egg with house-made special mayo sauce. Both the egg and sauce look black and are divine. The soft boil on the egg was perfect. Sumiyaki Unafuji - Unagi (eel) One of the things that Sam and I really wanted to make sure we hit on this trip, after missing it the prior year, was a place that specialized in unagi. Located in really cool viaduct with trains running on top of it, this restaurant\u0026rsquo;s whole focus is eel. Sam and I both enjoyed dinner sets here where the eel was the star of the show. What we actually ordered is called hitsu-mabushi which is a traditional eel dish from Nagoya. The idea is that you take rice and eel and put that in a separate bowl and enjoy as is at first. You then add green onion and wasabi and enjoy. Then you pour in dashi stock and enjoy it ochazuke style. Finally, you eat the rest however you want. A really delicious last dinner for our trip. Yamaharu - Standing Sushi Actually called Tachigui Sushi Uogashi Yamaharu, this place is located in the back of T Market. We\u0026rsquo;d spotted this place earlier on our trip and decided to make the our last meal before we headed to the airport to head home. This is a standing sushi place which means you\u0026rsquo;re standing at the sushi bar while you eat. This is actually not uncommon in train stations. Sam and I actually ate at one in the Shinagawa station on our last trip. This place had a very convenient tablet in front of each diner that also had an English menu so ordering was super simple. They had sushi sets as well as the ability to order individual pieces and assorted small dishes (like firefly squid). Sam and I probably ordered too much but it was delicious and it was our last meal out in Japan. Activities, sites, and visits during this part of our stay:\nYebisu Brewery and Museum - Beer This could have been up in the list of eating and drinking places since we only got beer here but since they also do tours, I\u0026rsquo;m listing it in the activities. This is a really sleek facility where you can try out several Yebisu beers. We both tried the sampler which was quite fun as it included two less common Japanese beers: an IPA and a hojicha (roasted green tea) beer. Note that they also have food. When we were there we waited in a line to order from a kiosk then took the tickets from the kiosk into the continued line until we got to the bar where we handed tickets over and got our beer. TeamLab Borderless If you\u0026rsquo;ve been to Tokyo, there\u0026rsquo;s a good chance you\u0026rsquo;ve heard of TeamLab. They have been doing interactive art installations in Japan for years. The two installations they\u0026rsquo;ve had in the recent years was Borderless and Planets. Borderless recently (Feb 2024) relocated to the new Azabudai Hills complex. Even without going to Borderless this is a pretty cool space to go visit. From the interesting architecture to the wide variety of shops and restaurants to the pristine outdoor space. It\u0026rsquo;s pretty. cool. But you might as well go to TeamLab Borderless while you\u0026rsquo;re at it. Borderless combines lights, colors, sounds, fog, and space to create a truly memorable experience. This takes some time (probably budget at least an hour) to walk around and is not so much a directed experience as one where you organically go from room to room with each being a different experience. Hie Shrine Despite being one of the major shrines in Tokyo, I had never visited Hie Shrine before. Initially what brought us here, aside from the proximity to the hotel, was that they were supposed to be doing some ceremony there that evening. Sadly, we missed the ceremony. However, the temple was quite cool and worth checking out if you\u0026rsquo;re not getting outside of Tokyo to a place with more temples like Kamakura or Tokyo. Tokyo Tower Tokyo Tower is a well known landmark in Tokyo and honestly, probably the most well known item in the Tokyo skyline (my own personal opinion but it feels more iconic than the other very recognizable tall thing, Tokyo Sky Tree). The tower was started in 1957 and completed in 1958 and the design was based off the Eiffel Tower (the inspiration is quite clear when you see it). Today the tower houses shops, restaurants, museums, and two observation decks: the Main Deck and the Top Deck. Reservations, especially for the Top Deck, are highly recommended. This was a cool experience, but I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t do it again. While the tower itself is iconic, and the view is nothing to sneeze at, the view is better at the Sky Tree and the glass at the Tokyo Tower could really use with a cleaning. Additionally, the procedure to go to the Top Deck was very slow. They\u0026rsquo;ve turned it into an experience, which makes sense as they need to make sure they have enough room at the Top Deck before they bring people up to the small space, but it\u0026rsquo;s a bit dull until you get the actual view and then you\u0026rsquo;re elbow to elbow with the other people. Sensō-ji Sensō-ji is the oldest temple in Tokyo and, while originally built in 645, much of it has been rebuilt due to fire. According to many articles, this is also one of the most visited sacred sites in the world. Which is to say, this place can get busy. The earlier or later you go in the day, the more likely you will be able to enjoy the complex in peace and quiet. That said, the shopping street that leads from the Kaminari mon (gate) to the main hall, named Nakamise-dori, won\u0026rsquo;t have the shops open very early or very late in the day (I don\u0026rsquo;t think the shops being open makes it worth the crowds). The main hall, the gates, the pagoda, and the dozens of smaller shrines make this a must see in Tokyo. I usually make my way here on every trip just because it\u0026rsquo;s very beautiful. Not my favorite temple in all of Japan, but very cool. The surrounding neighborhood, Asakusa, is also quite fun to walk around. Mokuhankan Woodblock printing also known as ukiyo-e, is a artistic technique in use since the 700s. Many of the best known artworks from Japan are actually woodblocks. You may not know it\u0026rsquo;s name, but you\u0026rsquo;ve probably seen a picture of The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai which is a woodblock print. We really like this style of art work and there is a shop in teh Asakusa neighborhood, just a couple blocks from Sensō-ji which specializes in woodblocks. They also deal with tax free purchases for foreigners and will handle shipping the artwork home for you. We bought prints from them this time and the prior time we were in Japan and had them framed at home. They look great on our walls. I haven\u0026rsquo;t bought from them online but they do have an online shop as well. Dengama - Pottery Located a short walk west from Sensō-ji is Kappabashi, more commonly known as Kitchen Street. If you were opening a restaurant and you needed to outfit it with kitchenware, flatware, place settings, aprons, cooking utensils, knives, plastic versions of your food for the window (very popular in Japan), you could come ot Kappabashi and get it all. Located on a corner in Kappabashi is my favorite pottery shop in Japan, Dengama. I\u0026rsquo;ve bought stuff at this shop for years now an am always happy with what I\u0026rsquo;ve gotten. My purchases have primarily been sake glasses and carafes (tokkuri), cups, bowls, platters, and chopstick rests. However, you\u0026rsquo;ll find a large variety of items here including tea pots, donabes (a Japanese cooking pot), and much more. Additionally, they have a large amount of things at very affordable (I might even say cheap) prices while the upstairs has more high end and costly items. Most, maybe all, of the pottery here is also made locally in Japan. I highly recommend bringing an extra bag or leaving space in your bag so you can bring pottery home with you (they also make great gifts)! Returning Flights - Same Day Flight This was our flight path back to Seattle:\nDelta from Haneda to Seattle leaving at 4:20 pm arriving at 9:55 am (same day) Highlights # For this trip, it\u0026rsquo;s easy to say the food was the highlight but that\u0026rsquo;s probably the highlight for EVERY trip to Japan. If I had to narrow it down to new things on this trip, it was probably the day trip to Mount Takao and Eureka! Sake Bar.\nLowlights # The weather. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t as bad as our last trip in early September but it was still quite hot and humid. We need to remember that June through Early October are NOT our times to visit.\nVerdict: Japan is still my easy \u0026lsquo;would go to again and again\u0026rsquo; destination. If you haven\u0026rsquo;t been yet, why aren\u0026rsquo;t you planning a trip? ","date":"29 January 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/japan-2024/","section":"Travel","summary":"When you\u0026rsquo;re going to Tokyo but also want some day trips outside the city\u0026hellip; Summary # I\u0026rsquo;ve been very lucky when it comes to being able to visit Japan.","title":"The 2024 Japan Trip","type":"travel"},{"content":"","date":"29 January 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/travel/","section":"Travel","summary":"","title":"Travel","type":"travel"},{"content":"","date":"29 January 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/travel/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Travel","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"29 January 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/trips/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Trips","type":"tags"},{"content":" When in search an authentic castle experience in Ireland\u0026hellip; Sam and I recently took a trip to Ireland and ever since I had first visited Ireland in 2015, I\u0026rsquo;d wanted to go back and stay at Ashford Castle. Located in Cong in County Mayo, Ashford Castle is the site of a historic castle dating back to 1228. Ashford has a storied history but it was purchased in 1852 by Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness (of Guinness brewing) who greatly expanded the grounds and castle. In 1939 the castle was first opened as a hotel. In 2013, the castle was purchased by Red Carnation Hotels who own and operate the castle today.\nAshford Castle is more than a traditional castle that\u0026rsquo;s been turned into a hotel, it\u0026rsquo;s an experience that ties together modern comforts with a rich history of traditional Irish culture and no shortage of famous visitors and wonderful food and drink. To say I was excited for this part of our stay in Ireland would be an understatement. We actually booked our stay through Amex as that affords a number of perks such as the possibility of an upgraded room (which we got), a food credit, late checkout (which we didn\u0026rsquo;t use), and a few other things.\nAs you drive in the main entrance of Ashford Castle, your greeted by a gateman at a large stone gate who asks for the name on the reservation. As you pass through that gate, and the gatemen radios your name ahead, you begin a scenic drive through a wooded area and pass the golf course. Finally, you come upon the main castle gate and bridge where you meet another gateman (who will wonder who you are if you gave the wrong name for the reservation like we did). They\u0026rsquo;ll admit you, and then you drive over the bridge, through one final gate and pull up to the main castle entrance.\nOnce out of the car we were greeted by the doormen bellmen who unloaded our car while we went into check-in. The reception was busy at the time so we were taken to the seating area by the fire for a few moments. Once checked in, we were offered a welcome beverage which included several options, including a daily cocktail. After check-in we would have been taken up to our room, but we had a pressing appointment on the grounds and wanted to get lunch first. Ashford features a number of dining options as well as unique activities you can partake in while you\u0026rsquo;re there. I\u0026rsquo;ve described both below.\nActivities Falconry - A truly amazing experience, the Ireland School of Falconry is located on the castle grounds and enable you to do a private hawk walk with your party and a guide. We both carried our own Harris\u0026rsquo;s Hawk for this. As seen in the picture below, each person is gloved up and given a hawk to walk with. During this time the guide will take you through the woods talking about the birds themselves, falconry, and providing ample opportunities to send and retrieve the birds and take memorable pictures and videos. Other places in Ireland also provide opportunities to practice falconry though I\u0026rsquo;ve yet to see a place that can offer the comparable experience with the grounds or expertise located here. Walking the Hounds - This is a no-cost activity at Ashford though we would have happily paid for it. Multiple days a week, the dog handler (and owner), James, takes his Irish Wolf Hounds, Mulligan, Molly, and Dougal along with his Irish red and white setter, Shay, and at least while we were there a labrador retriever as well, on a walk through the nearby Kinlough Woods. This is a short walk away from the castle and they provide wellies so you don\u0026rsquo;t muddy up your shoes as well as rain gear. The wolf hounds are enormous dogs and it\u0026rsquo;s quite fun to walk around with them and, as they slowly warm up to you, give them some pets. James is quite humorous and is an excellent guide and extremely knowledgeable about the dogs. We loved this and would highly recommend it. The Spa - No luxury resort would be without a spa and Ashford doesn\u0026rsquo;t mess around. The spa at Ashford has actually won Ireland\u0026rsquo;s Best Hotel Spa for 8 years running. They offer a variety of services as well as a relaxation pool, reflection room, and a fitness center. We took advantage of a massage the the Ashford Ritual while we were there as well as the fitness center. It was a wonderful way to relax while enjoying lovely views of the grounds. Walks and Hikes - The grounds at Ashford are quite substantial consisting of forests, gardens, ponds, and manicured paths. While you\u0026rsquo;ll almost certainly have to walk around some of these areas if you partake in the activities, it\u0026rsquo;s worth intentionally walking around and enjoying the grounds. The gardens between the castle and falconry school are particularly nice and feature fun hidden path ways for you to discover and enjoy. Additionally, if you want to pop into the nearby town of Cong, there are some substantial forests you can walk through, even a tower to discover, if you want. Other Activities - There are plenty of other experiences to be had at Ashford including lake cruises, picnics, golfing, clay shooting, and many more. While we didn\u0026rsquo;t partake in any of these other ones, I\u0026rsquo;m certain based off the experiences we did enjoy, they would be wonderful. Dining George V Dining Room - Hosting dinner seven days a week, George V is the fine dining restaurant at Ashford. The menu is extensive, the wine list is long, and the food is absolutely delicious. This meal was easily one of the highlights of our trip including the cheese cart at the end. Highly recommended at least once during your stay. Tea at the Connaught Room - Naturally Ashford would offer afternoon tea and that takes place in The Connaught Room. This room is stunning with a hugely impressive Donegal Crystal chandelier. Tea itself is delicious between the scones, tea sandwiches, and beautiful desserts. One of the best afternoon tea\u0026rsquo;s I\u0026rsquo;ve ever had and definitely the best setting. Don\u0026rsquo;t be afraid to not finish your food as they\u0026rsquo;ll pack up your leftovers in an equally amazing togo box. The Drawing Room - Upon first arriving, we didn\u0026rsquo;t have very much time before we had to get to falconry so we were pointed to the Drawing Room for lunch. The menu features a wonderful variety of traditional lunch items and some with a more Irish flair and the windows all look out on to the beautiful back grounds of the castle, pond, and lake. Cullen\u0026rsquo;s at the Cottage - Cullen\u0026rsquo;s is one of the few options outside of the castle and offers a more relaxed dining experience with a wide selection of seafood amongst other items. This was a fun alternative to the more refined George V. We ordered a bottle of wine that we didn\u0026rsquo;t finish with dinner so they provided us with cute Ashford cup to take for our walk back to castle. Prince of Wales Bar - Named for the Prince of Wales who visited the bar and later became George V of England, this is the sort of bar featured wood panelling, fine fabrics, enveloping furnishings, and traditional fire place is the sort of lounge you\u0026rsquo;d dream of having in your hunting lodge or mansion (we all have those, right?). The cocktails designed in house are intricate and delicious. The whiskey (and other liquor) list is extensive. The service is friendly and great. The smoked manhattan and smoked old fashion will be set before you with the smoke pulsing away from your beverage really creating an amazing sense of atmosphere. When staying, it\u0026rsquo;s a must to stop by for at least one drink. Breakfast - Also hosted daily in the George V dining room, an extensive breakfast buffet with a la carte items is offered. The daily ham that was hand carved was divine and possibly the best ham I\u0026rsquo;ve ever eaten. The a la carte selection is quite large as well. I think my highlight of that menu was the kippers. On the buffet, everyone will find something they can like but I have to give high marks for the fresh honeycomb. Wine Tasting in the Cellar - Previously the original kitchen in the early days of the castle, the wine cellar is now the home of a rather extensive wine collection. This is a singular place to enjoy a guided wine flight with a sommelier. We did a Bordeaux style tasting while we were there with a sommelier from Bordeaux as well. If you like wine, this is a wonderful place to enjoy some. Note that there is some arrangement where the owners of Ashford also own a vineyard in South Africa so this is one of the few places you can try this wine. Other Options - While the above is quite a breadth of dining options, Ashford has even more options both in the castle itself, as well as at the nearby lodge. Above we\u0026rsquo;ve walked through what to do and where to eat while you\u0026rsquo;re there. It\u0026rsquo;s worth highlighting another pillar of staying at Ashford: the service. You can stay at the nicest place in the world, eat the finest food, and do the most amazing things, but if the service isn\u0026rsquo;t on par with the place, the food, or what you\u0026rsquo;re doing, the experience is never going to excel. Thankfully, across the board the service at Ashford castle is exceptional. From the first gate you pull up to to the person who loads up your car and opens the door, you\u0026rsquo;ll feel well taken care of and catered to.\nVerdict: Easily one of the most amazing places we\u0026rsquo;ve ever stayed. Will make a point of staying again on any return trips to Ireland. Links # Website Instagram ","date":"10 November 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/ashford-castle/","section":"Stay","summary":"When in search an authentic castle experience in Ireland\u0026hellip; Sam and I recently took a trip to Ireland and ever since I had first visited Ireland in 2015, I\u0026rsquo;d wanted to go back and stay at Ashford Castle.","title":"Ashford Castle","type":"stay"},{"content":"","date":"10 November 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/hotels/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Hotels","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"10 November 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/ireland/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Ireland","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"10 November 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/stay/","section":"Stay","summary":"","title":"Stay","type":"stay"},{"content":"","date":"10 November 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/stay/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Stay","type":"categories"},{"content":" When you\u0026rsquo;re planning a trip to Ireland\u0026hellip; Summary # Last year (2023), Sam and I were discussing where we wanted to travel to in 2024. I had previously been to Ireland in 2015 and really loved visiting so I suggested we do Ireland for our fall trip. I must have done a good job describing the beauty and wonder of the country as she agreed to it. So, in February of 2024, we booked our flights and made a very loose plan around what we would do. I thought two weeks would make sense and give us enough time to visit a number of locations but prevent us from needing to move every day. One of the things I remembered from my first visit to Ireland was that all of the major towns you want to visit generally require a semi lengthy (1-3 hours) drive between them. Well, our timing ended up being a bit weird because of a lot of changes going on for us in Seattle but we stuck with it (mostly)! While our visit was from the beginning to middle of October, we didn\u0026rsquo;t have to deal with too much rain (but definitely not none). Ireland remains a very beautiful and quiet country with a diverse array of food options and very friendly people.\nTravel and Location Map # High Level Itinerary # Date Location Lodging Dining Activities Saturday Travel N/A N/A Departed SEA\u0026ndash;\u0026gt;JFK\u0026ndash;\u0026gt;Dublin Sunday Dublin Hyatt Centric The Liberties JR Mahons, J Mulligan Grocer Ha\u0026rsquo;Penny Bridge, Trinity College and the Book of Kells, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Castle, Temple Bar Monday Dublin Hyatt Centric The Liberties Little Dumpling, Piglet Wine Bar Guinness Storehouse, St Patrick\u0026rsquo;s Cathedral, Teeling Distillery Tuesday Donegal Lough Eske Castle Olde Castle Seafood Bar, Cedars at Lough Eske Donegal Castle, Hanna Hats of Donegal, Abbey of Donegal Wednesday Cong Ashford Castle The Drawing Room, George V, Prince of Wales Bar Sligo Abbey, Lough Mask Distillery, Falconry at Ashford Castle Thursday Cong Ashford Castle George V, The Connaught Room, Cullen\u0026rsquo;s at the Cottage, Prince of Wales Bar Hound Walk at Ashford Castle, Wine Tasting at Ashford Castle, visit Cong town Friday Galway Glenlo Abbey Mitchell\u0026rsquo;s Seafood Restaurant, Kai, O\u0026rsquo;Connor\u0026rsquo;s Famous Pub Kylemoore Abbey and Garden, Leenaun Village, Clifden Saturday Galway Glenlo Abbey éan, Sheridan\u0026rsquo;s Wine Bar and Shop, Aniar The Spanish Arch, Galway Cathedral, The Latin Quarter, Galway City Museum Sunday Dingle Heaton\u0026rsquo;s Guesthouse Pat Collins Bar, The Dingle Pub, Out of the Blue Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle and Folk Park Monday Dingle Heaton\u0026rsquo;s Guesthouse The Fish Box, Murphy\u0026rsquo;s Ice Cream Dingle Peninsula, Dunmore Head, Dingle Distillery Tuesday Kenmare Landsdowne Kenmare P.F. McCarthy\u0026rsquo;s, No. 35 Kenmare Ich Beach, Ross Castle, Muckross Abbey, Muckross House, Ladies View, Cromwell\u0026rsquo;s Bridge Wednesday Dublin Hyatt Centric The Liberties Loose Cannon Wine and Cheese, Daruma, Las Tapas de Lola Kenmare Stone Circle Thursday Travel N/A Depart Dublin\u0026ndash;\u0026gt;ATL\u0026ndash;\u0026gt;SEA Detailed Itinerary # Departing Flights - Overnight Flight This was our flight path to Ireland:\nDelta from Seattle to JFK leaving at 11:15 am arriving 8 pm Delta from JFK to Dublin leaving at 9:40 pm arriving 9:15 am Dublin - 2 Days Stop While in Dublin, we stayed at the Hyatt Centric The Liberties located in The Liberties neighborhood in central Dublin. This ended up being a great location as far as how close it was to the major things we wanted to see and restaurants we were eating at and was a well run and well maintained hotel as well. We actually enjoyed this hotel so much that when we decided to change our return late in the trip, we booked another stay at the Hyatt Centric when we came back to Dublin. Excellent breakfast at the hotel.\nPlaces we ate around Dublin:\nJR Mahons - Lunch I went here years ago and remember the chowder being great. Chowder is quite prevalent in Ireland and this was a great first stop for Guinness and chowder. L Mulligan Grodcer - Dinner Little Dumpling - Lunch We tried to go to a fish and chips shop but they were full up. I had put Little Dumpling on my list after doing some initial research for Dublin so we ended up here. This place was tiny and great. A wide selection of dim sum with quite a few duck options. Piglet Wine Bar - Dinner Had some wonderful Cacio e Pepe, some delicious charcuterie, and some very subpar deviled eggs. Breakfast at the Hyatt Centric While not likely to be featured on any \u0026ldquo;best of\u0026rdquo; lists, I have to call out the wonderful breakfast at the hotel. Specifically, they did a phenomenal job day over day with their Ham and Cheese omelet. Activities, sites, and visits:\nHa’Penny Bridge Trinity College and the Book of Kells Definitely a must visit if it\u0026rsquo;s your first visit to Ireland. Reservations recommended. Christ Church Cathedral Dublin Castle Temple Bar Neighborhood Guinness Storehouse Another must visit. This was probably the best brewery tour experience we\u0026rsquo;ve ever been to. Reservations recommended. St Patrick\u0026rsquo;s Cathedral Teeling Distillery Many people visit the Jameson Distillery, also in Dublin. Teeling, while a newer distillery, was a very cool experience and, having done Jameson the first time I was in Ireland, I\u0026rsquo;d recommend this one over that. Donegal - 1 Day Stop From Dublin, we picked up a rental car from Avis and drove northwest to the North of Ireland to the town of Donegal. We checked in at Lough Eske Castle where we stayed for one night. After checking in, we jumped back in the car and drove over to the town center.\nPlaces we ate around Donegal\nOlde Castle Seafood Bar - Lunch Cedars at Lough Eske We had dinner and breakfast at Cedars. The dining building feels like an odd extension of the castle itself. It\u0026rsquo;s perfectly fine but felt more out of place than anything else. Activities, sites, and visits:\nDonegal Castle Hanna Hats of Donegal When I first visited Ireland, I had a very hard time finding a hat that fit my head. Who knew that not having hair would make this a challenge. In a shop somewhere, I finally found an Irish cap that fit and Hanna Hats of Donegal was the maker. Since we were in Donegal, I had to take advantage of stopping in to get another hat. Friendly service and lots to choose from (in all sizes). Abbey of Donegal Cong - 2 Days Stop From Donegal we drove down to Cong. Along the way we made a stop at the ruins of an abbey and a distillery (both noted below). Cong probably isn\u0026rsquo;t the first place anyone will tell you to go, except for it being home to The Magnificent Ashford Castle. This alone makes visiting Cong worthwhile and you absolutely can stop for tea, falconry, or a number of activities. Of course, you\u0026rsquo;ll want to have reservations for something there vs showing up. That said, if you are looking for THE castle experience in Ireland and are willing to splurge, look no further. I\u0026rsquo;ll highlight some of the specific things we did at Ashford Castle below but also plan to write a separate article and will link back to that as soon as it\u0026rsquo;s live.\nPlaces we ate around Cong:\nGeorge V Dining Room - Dinner Afternoon Tea at the Connaught Room George V Dining Room - Breakfast The Drawing Room - Lunch Cullen\u0026rsquo;s at the Cottage - Dinner Prince of Wales Bar - Drinks Activities, sites, and visits:\nSligo Abbey This was one of our stops on the way from Donegal to Cong. This were the remains of a Dominican priory dating from the 1200s. Very accessible, right in the town of Sligo, and well preserved. Lough Mask Distillery Also called Loch Measc Distillery, this distillery is located just a short way from Lough Mask (it\u0026rsquo;s a lake). We didn\u0026rsquo;t actually organize a tour before arriving but the lady running the place was nice enough to give us a tasting and a quick tour. Super fun stop and the drive along the lough is incredibly scenic. Falconry at Ashford Castle Ashford Castle is home to Ireland\u0026rsquo;s School of Falconry and you can book numerous activities with the birds when you visit. Sam and I did a private hawk walk which mean we both got gloved up and had a hawk sitting on our hand while we walked through the woods with a guide. We spent about an hour flying the hawks through the woods and then having them return (and eat). This was an amazing activity and seeing the birds in action is astonishing. I\u0026rsquo;d highly recommend this activity at this location. The specific birds we worked with were Harris\u0026rsquo; Hawk. Hound Walk at Ashford Castle Several mornings each week, you can join the resident hounds for a walk through the woods. This is an organized event (the castle even offers wellies and rain jackets for inclement weather) and run by the guy that owns the dogs. You learn quite a bit about the dogs and Irish Wolfhounds specifically (there were three wolf hounds on our walk and two other dogs). Another highly recommended activity. Wine Tasting at Ashford Castle The wine cellar at Ashford Castle is as amazing as you\u0026rsquo;d expect it to be and they offer private wine tastings with a sommelier. After a thorough tour of the cellar (long ago the castle\u0026rsquo;s kitchen), our somme from France, took us through a tasting of Bordeaux varietals. This was a great experience and we learned more about what life is like at Ashford Castle from the somme than from any other point during our stay. Galway - 2 Days Stop From Cong, we drove to Kylemore Abbey to see the abbey and gardens. From there, we drove to the small town of Clifden for lunch. In Galway, we checked into Gleno Abbey Hotel and Estate. We\u0026rsquo;d originally booked Glenlo because they participated in Small Luxury Hotels which had been connected with Hyatt. Since then, SLH has stopped partnering with Hyatt and now partners with Hilton. Given our current focus on staying at Hyatt properties, and Glenlo being a nearly 15 minute drive from town, we\u0026rsquo;d probably stay in town if we went back to Galway.\nPlaces we ate around Galway:\nKai - Dinner Originally we weren\u0026rsquo;t going to make it to Kai but friends of ours who were in Ireland back in the Spring came back and raved about it so we made a reservation fairly late in planning. The inside of Kai reminded me of a cuter small pub in Ireland. We shared starts and mains with everything we ordered being seafood focused (they did have non-seafood items). Everything was delicious though the stand out for me was the cured mackerel. We also had a bottle of wine from Languedoc which we liked so much we reached out to the winery afterwards and discovered there is a wine bar in south Seattle which specializes in wine from that region and even imports wine from that winery. All in all, Kai was excellent and we would absolutely return if we visit Galway again. O\u0026rsquo;Connor\u0026rsquo;s Famous Pub - Drinks éan - Breakfast I think I found éan on a food website list of restaurants in Galway. We decided to try it out for brunch on Saturday. While they didn\u0026rsquo;t have the squid sandwich I was excited about when I saw their online menu, they did have a fish katsu sando which was delicious. Great brunch. Wish we\u0026rsquo;d had a chance to return for another meal. The server was kind enough to point us in the direction of the nearby market (farmers and craft) that was running that day. Sheridan\u0026rsquo;s Wine Bar and Shop - Wine and Charcuterie We just happened upon Sheridan\u0026rsquo;s while walking through the above mentioned market. At first we walked through the downstairs which is mostly a cheese shop (and oh did they have a lot of cheese) when Sam noticed a sign for a wine bar upstairs. This was just after éan so we decided to check it out later. We did return and through a separate door to the left of the cheeseshop we went through stairs up to the wine bar. Some delicious wine and charcuterie was had. We actually tried going to a Sheridan\u0026rsquo;s in Dublin when we returned at the end of the trip but found it was just the shop and without an accompanying wine bar. Definitely a great place to while away some time while watching people at the market below. Aniar - Dinner One of the first reservations I had made when we sorted through our timeline for when we\u0026rsquo;d be in Galway. Aniar has one Michelin Star which is more often than not the amount of stars Sam and I prefer. While Kai might be considered rustic and fully at home in Ireland, Aniar, despite meaning \u0026lsquo;from the west\u0026rsquo; and specifically using items made in west Ireland (even the concrete tables with seashells in them), it could have been anywhere. It actually reminded us quite a bit of Maz in Tokyo both in terms of it being a space outside of it\u0026rsquo;s surroundings, plating, and general motif. None of that is to say the meal wasn\u0026rsquo;t exceptional, delicious, and very well executed. I think the highlights for me were the oyster that wasn\u0026rsquo;t an oyster (completely edible, shell and all) and trying sparkling wine made in Dublin. I think I\u0026rsquo;d sooner go back to Kai if I was doing another dinner in Galway but this was a delicious meal. I also have to call out the poems that accompanied a number of the dishes.. Mitchell\u0026rsquo;s Seafood Restaurant in Clifden - Lunch Activities, sites, and visits:\nKylemore Abbey and Victorian Walled Garden Potentially out of the way depending on where you\u0026rsquo;re going, this still working abbey includes a very impressive restored abbey building, gothic church, and large Victorian walled garden. Worth a visit. The Spanish Arch Galway Cathedral A short walk from the main center of Galway. A very beautiful church with a very impressive wooden ceiling inside. The Latin Quarter Home to an assortment of shops, restaurants, pubs, and bars. Great people watching if you grab a seat at one of the establishments. Galway City Museum Dingle - 2 Days Stop From Galway, we drove south to Dingle. Along the way we stopped at the infamous Cliffs of Moher. We made a more questionable stop at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. Finally, we stopped in the cute town of Adare for lunch. In Dingle, we checked in at Heaton\u0026rsquo;s Guesthouse, the only bed and breakfast we stayed at in Ireland. Once in Dingle, we visited a number of pubs before settling on The Dingle Pub for drinks and trad music. The next day we did a drive around the Dingle Peninsula, which is an amazing drive full of things to see and do. I\u0026rsquo;ll likely write a separate article about our trip around the peninsula. It was around day two in Dingle when we realized we were pretty tired and started to consider ending our trip early. The last morning we woke up in Dingle we changed our flights to fly back a day early, called to shorten our stay in our next destination, and booked another night in Dublin so we could head to the airport right from the city and not have to deal with a long drive on our last morning.\nPlaces we ate around Dingle:\nPat Collins of Adare - Lunch The Dingle Pub for drinks There are quite a few pubs in the Dingle area but we ended up at the Dingle Pub a few times. They had live music and it didn\u0026rsquo;t start very late. Additionally, we were actually able to get a spot at the bar both times and the bartenders were very friendly and spent extra time on Sam\u0026rsquo;s cocktail when she ordered something somewhat complicated and did it with a smile. Out of the Blue - Dinner Great selection of local seafood. Standouts were the grilled oysters and monkfish. The Fish Box - Lunch AND Dinner Primarily a fish and chips shop, we originally went to The Fish Box for lunch after a long morning / early afternoon across the Dingle Peninsula. We shared the easily shareable Sharing Box which included samples of an assortment of their fried fish items and chips. We really enjoyed it so when dinner proved hard to figure out, we actually went back to The Fish Box for dinner as well. I\u0026rsquo;d probably plan better than eating at the same place twice without being really intentional but if you\u0026rsquo;re in the mood for fried fish and chips, this place has you covered. Murphy\u0026rsquo;s Ice Cream - Dessert Murphy\u0026rsquo;s is famous for having Brown Bread Ice Cream (amongst other flavors). I knew I had to try it while we were in town. Thankfully, on the last night, we remembered to stop by. We both got cones with two scoops and, sadly, my bottom scoop fell off in mid lick. The real travesty was that was the Brown Bread scoop. Maybe next time. Activities, sites, and visits:\nCliffs of Moher Arguably one of the most famous attractions in Ireland. They\u0026rsquo;re cliffs. I do appreciate the folks that run the place leaning into it with signs for the lifts of Moher and gifts of Moher. A pretty cool geological formation that you should definitely see if you\u0026rsquo;re in western Ireland. Bunratty Castle and Folk Park It\u0026rsquo;s a castle with a bunch of period appropriate homes and buildings. Probably not really worth stopping by unless it\u0026rsquo;s on your route and you have time. That said, the staff do lean into the recreation. Also, we were there fairly early on a Sunday so it\u0026rsquo;s entirely possible it gets more exciting at another point in the week or season. Dingle Peninsula This requires it\u0026rsquo;s own article and I\u0026rsquo;ll get to that eventually. In short though, there are a few things worth seeing including the Fahan beehive huts, Counenhole Beach, Dunmore Head, Dunquin Pier, and Gallarus Oratory. Dingle Distillery A local distillery created by the folks behind the Porterhouse Brewing Company in Dublin, they started with the goal of making whiskey and made gin and vodka during the three years and 1 day (mandated by Irish law) that the whiskey had to wait in the barrel. We did a tour of the distillery (very walkable if you\u0026rsquo;re staying in town like we did) and sampled both the gin and vodka as well as two of their whiskies. While they don\u0026rsquo;t sell their spirits at the distillery (at least not as of October 2024), we were able to find their stuff in quite a few stores. Kenmare - 1 Day Stop After two days in Dingle, we left to drive further south to Kenmare. Along the way we stopped at a few locations including: Inch Beach, Ross Castle, Muckross Abbey, Muckross House, and Ladies View. Finally, after arriving in Kenmare we checked into The Landsdowne Kenmare. The Landsdowne was another Small Luxury Hotel we booked through Hyatt when SLH was a partner. Our plan WAS to spend a second day in Kenmare driving around the Ring of Kerry which would have been a comparable drive to the Dingle Peninsula. Since we only had a day, we made plans to see a few things right by town and have dinner before we left in the morning.\nPlaces we ate around Kenmare:\nP.F. McCarthy\u0026rsquo;s - Lunch No. 35 Kenmare - Dinner This was on our short list of places to try to get to for dinner while in Kenmare. They only take reservations by phone and I didn\u0026rsquo;t get around to calling them but, luckily, while walking by earlier in the day there was a lady setting up tables and she was happy to take my reservation. We sat upstairs for dinner which was quite warm but the food was delicious and service very friendly. The baked fillet of hake special was a stand out. Activities, sites, and visits:\nInch Beach Ross Castle They were only doing group guided tours when we were there so we just walked around the outside. We prefer to move at our own speed. Muckross Abbey We parked at a lot on the side of the road (not at Muckross House) to walk to the Abbey. It was probably a 15 minute walk but took us to the very cool and still holding it together remains of an abbey. Muckross House If you park by the roadside to walk to the Abbey, you could continue on walking to the House or you can park much closer to the house. The grounds are quite expansive and fun to walk through if it\u0026rsquo;s not raining heavily (like it was when we were there). The house is the main attraction though. Picture Downton Abbey and you won\u0026rsquo;t be far off. The house and artifacts inside seem to be in very good condition so you can really get a feel for what it would have been like years ago. Ladies View Cromwell\u0026rsquo;s Bridge Kenmare Stone Circle Dublin - 1 Day Stop After moving our plans up by a day, we jumped in the car and made the long drive back to Dublin from Kenmare. Much of the drive was on the highway so no real highlights along the way. Once we got back in town, we checked back into the Hyatt Centric The Liberties and were treated to an upgrade to their Terrace Suite.\nPlaces we ate around Dublin (Part Two):\nLoose Cannon Wine and Cheese - Wine and Charcuterie After looking around for a place to stop for a snack, we found this natural wine bar not far from the Temple Bar area. Friendly and knowledgeable service, a cute shop, and delicious wine. Daruma - Snacks We\u0026rsquo;re pretty big fans of Japanese food so when I saw there was an izakaya near by and we had time to kill before dinner, we stopped by. The beef tongue and chicken thigh skewers were delicious. The sake was crazy expensive (probably due more with cost of importing than trying to overcharge). Las Tapas de Lola - Dinner A fun tapas place I had found on a food website for Dublin. Very tasty and good variety. When we first showed up I was a little worried as it wasn\u0026rsquo;t very busy but by the time we finished, the place was packed. Returning Flights - Same Day Flight This was our flight path back to Seattle:\nDelta from Dublin to Atlanta leaving at 11 am arriving at 3 pm Delta from Atlanta to Seattle leaving at 4:20 pm arriving 6:49 pm Tips # Local Pubs vs Tourist Pubs In some towns, there will clearly be a difference between pubs that are visited by more tourists and ones that are mostly more locals. This was noticed mostly in Dingle and Kenmare. Don\u0026rsquo;t be deterred though, the service is just as good. Tipping If you\u0026rsquo;re from the US and you\u0026rsquo;re used to US tipping culture, Ireland is a little different. This is not the land of never leave a tip but 10% is considered good and 15% is generally pretty exceptional. Bartenders generally don\u0026rsquo;t expect a tip if you\u0026rsquo;re just getting a drink. Many restaurants will have a service charge where you don\u0026rsquo;t need to worry about it at all. Many places (i.e. when getting a beer at a pub) won\u0026rsquo;t ask you / give you an opportunity to tip so you\u0026rsquo;ll have to ask them to run it for however much you want the total to be (i.e. tip included). There were a handful of places we saw that said they weren\u0026rsquo;t allowed to do this and tipping had to either be done in cash or they\u0026rsquo;d have a separate app you could tip in. I never got clarity on this. Driving Yes, they do drive on the other side of the road here. If you haven\u0026rsquo;t done it before, it\u0026rsquo;s not that much of a challenge. Just take it slow and don\u0026rsquo;t get flustered. I highly recommend reserving an automatic vehicle if you\u0026rsquo;re not used to both driving on the left and manual driving. The spot I found it easiest to get screwed up was at flat roundabouts (i.e. nothing in the center but flat pavement). Again, go slow and think about what you\u0026rsquo;re doing. Bed and Breakfasts While we stayed at quite a few hotels and castles, Ireland abounds with B\u0026amp;Bs. Since we recently made the pivot to focusing on Hyatt loyalty, we decided to use points for quite a few of our stays. This was easier because Hyatt had been partnered with Small Luxury Hotels which has a number of places in Ireland. Now that they aren\u0026rsquo;t, if we returned again, I would probably book more B\u0026amp;Bs. Highlights # It\u0026rsquo;s impossible to not say the whole Ashford Castle experience wasn\u0026rsquo;t the top highlight on the trip. They do such an amazing job there from food, to service, to the grounds and activities. Beyond that, the Guinness Storehouse really was well done. The Dingle Peninsula was also a wonderful experience with the hike to Dunmore Head. I can easily see a lot of the Peninsula and some of the activities at Ashford Castle being less fun if it had been overly rainy though.\nLowlights # Towards the end of the trip we did get quite a bit of rain though thankfully we moved up our return so we didn\u0026rsquo;t really feel like we lost a day not being able to do things because of the rain. If we had planned this trip again, we probably would have fully skipped Donegal (sorry Hanna Hats) and either done another day somewhere further south (Kinsale or Kilkenny perhaps) or just kept the trip a little shorter.\nVerdict: A wonderful country to visit where you\u0026rsquo;ll want to be able to drive around. Beautiful scenery, wonderful food, and amazingly nice people. ","date":"28 October 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/ireland/","section":"Travel","summary":"When you\u0026rsquo;re planning a trip to Ireland\u0026hellip; Summary # Last year (2023), Sam and I were discussing where we wanted to travel to in 2024.","title":"Ireland","type":"travel"},{"content":"","date":"12 August 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/inns/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Inns","type":"tags"},{"content":" When in search of the best place to stay on Whidbey Island\u0026hellip; Since I moved to Washington in 2012, I\u0026rsquo;ve been to Whidbey Island a number of times. Most of these were either day trips though I\u0026rsquo;ve also done AirBNB as well as stayed at the Captain Whidbey hotel. I\u0026rsquo;ve always known about the Inn at Langley and always intended to try it out but never got around to it. With Goldie\u0026rsquo;s recently opening, Sam and I decided to make a weekend out of it and finally stay at the inn.\nLocated in the charming village of Langley, The Inn at Langley is nestled at the far end of 1st Street, a hub of local business. Langley is relatively small (maybe more of a village than a city) with most of the businesses located in a small three block area. Though the inn is small, with only 28 rooms, each one offers a stunning view of Saratoga Passage which means you\u0026rsquo;ll get an amazing view. The inn also features a spa and restaurant. The restaurant is only open for breakfast and dinner and breakfast is included in your stay. Dinner needs to be booked separately, and can be done so even if you\u0026rsquo;re not staying at the hotel. There is plenty of parking in Langley but the inn has it\u0026rsquo;s own dedicated parking lot right out front. A wooden staircase just to the right of the inn\u0026rsquo;s office takes you down to the waterfront with chairs and a fire pit as well as a dog wash station in case your pup decides to frolic in the water. Each room has a small external deck that also overlooks the water so you\u0026rsquo;ll have plenty of opportunities to enjoy the views. Staff are all super friendly and there to help. Also in the office are an array of snacks you can help yourself to during your stay. Staying at the inn was peaceful and quiet which made our visit to Langley very relaxing.\nYou can read about the Inn\u0026rsquo;s dining room at it\u0026rsquo;s dedicated page here.\nVerdict: A lovely inn in an adorable town on Whidey Island Links # The Inn at Langley Instagram Dining at the Inn ","date":"12 August 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/inn-at-langley/","section":"Stay","summary":"When in search of the best place to stay on Whidbey Island\u0026hellip; Since I moved to Washington in 2012, I\u0026rsquo;ve been to Whidbey Island a number of times.","title":"The Inn at Langley","type":"stay"},{"content":"","date":"12 August 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/whidbey-island/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Whidbey Island","type":"tags"},{"content":" When in search of a wonderful tasting menu on Whidbey Island\u0026hellip; Sam and I recently took a trip out to Whidbey Island where we stayed at the Inn at Langley. While there, we did the dinner tasting menu at the inn\u0026rsquo;s dining room, where we also had breakfast each morning. The dining room is located in the front of the hotel, closest to the street. Outside, there is a small reflecting pond water feature with tables for outdoor seating. Then inside there are only probably ten tables so it really is more dining room and less large restaurant. The kitchen is open so you can watch the chefs work while dining. As of writing, a single seating is available for dinners on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 6:30 pm and the price is $180 per person.\nUpon arriving, we were given a welcome beverage (champagne) and asked to take a seat in the courtyard. As we were there in July, it was quite nice out. I imagine much of the year, it\u0026rsquo;s not so easy to do this when the weather isn\u0026rsquo;t as favorable. After relaxing in the courtyard for a short while, we were escorted to our table inside. After being seated, we were greeted by our server and able to review the menu. Dinner is a set tasting menu, which was 6 courses when we were there. Additionally, there is a beverage menu with a nice selection of wine. The dining room serves what would definitely be considered Pacific Northwestern fare and features produce from local farms and seafood from the region. Prawns, salmon, mushrooms, crab were all featured ingredients when we ate. With dinner, we enjoyed a nice rose and a gamay. Both delicious wines that complimented our meal nicely. Close to dinner, we were also offered tea or coffee. The tea cups and plate had some amusing writing on them which made us both chuckle. Overall, the dinner was delicious, and the staff were very friendly. As Whidbey has an assortment of dining options, I might not go to the dining room for dinner on every trip to the island, but I would definitely return.\nBreakfast # When staying at the inn, you also receive complimentary breakfast in the dining room. Unlike dinner, reservations aren\u0026rsquo;t required for breakfast; you just show up during the hours they\u0026rsquo;re serving. Unfortunately, I didn\u0026rsquo;t get any pictures of breakfast. However, they put out a lovely spread of pastries, fruit, and other breakfast items. Both days they had a delicious spanish omelet of eggs and potatoes. Additionally, they\u0026rsquo;ll do eggs to order if you ask. This was a wonderful meal to fuel a fun day of exploring the island.\nVerdict: A delicious and creative tasting menu in a intimate dining room. Links # The Inn at Langley Instagram Reservations Staying at the Inn ","date":"12 August 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/inn-at-langley-dining-room/","section":"Eat","summary":"When in search of a wonderful tasting menu on Whidbey Island\u0026hellip; Sam and I recently took a trip out to Whidbey Island where we stayed at the Inn at Langley.","title":"The Dining Room at The Inn at Langley","type":"eat"},{"content":" When in search of wood fired food on Whidbey Island\u0026hellip; Seddrick \u0026lsquo;Seddy\u0026rsquo; Livingston, formally the chef at Delancey, opened Goldie\u0026rsquo;s and the Roost in mid 2024 in the town of Coupeville, WA on Whidbey Island. If you\u0026rsquo;ve been to Delancey, you\u0026rsquo;ll see that Seddy took everything he learned from working the wood-fired oven there to his own place on the island. Pizza is the primary fare at Goldie\u0026rsquo;s though you\u0026rsquo;ll also find salads, wood-fired veggies, and a few other items on the menu.\nThis past July, we spent a couple days on Whidbey Island staying over in Langley at the Inn at Langely. We\u0026rsquo;d known that Seddy had opened Goldie\u0026rsquo;s after hearing about it on one of our visits to Delancey and were looking for a reason to hop over and try it out. We stopped in on a weekday right after they opened for the day so they weren\u0026rsquo;t very busy at first. We were probably the second party to stop in. By the time we left, all of the outdoor tables were full and so were a number of the tables inside. Right outside the front door there is a stand with paper menus and then there\u0026rsquo;s a chalk board above the kitchen with the daily specials and special ingredients you can add to your pizzas. Ordering takes place at the register at the far end of the counter and they\u0026rsquo;ll give you a number which you can take to sit either inside or in their beer garden out front. We tried out their white pie (aged mozzarella, fresh mozzarella, pecorino, ricotta, crispy alliums) and had one of their specials which had fresh peas, mozzarella, greens, and nuts. I\u0026rsquo;m rather partial to Japanese rice lager\u0026rsquo;s and they had Pfriem\u0026rsquo;s in the can. We had our lunch outside in the beer garden as it was a nice sunny morning. The white pie was phenomenal and as good as any I\u0026rsquo;ve ever had. The peas were crisp and delicious and a nice refreshing add on to the pizza. I wish we\u0026rsquo;d been hungrier and been able to try more of the food but what we had was delicious.\nThe Roost is cocktail and wine bar on the second floor, right above Goldie\u0026rsquo;s. We didn\u0026rsquo;t have a chance to try out The Roost when we stopped by Goldie\u0026rsquo;s but look forward to visiting the next time we\u0026rsquo;re on Whidbey.\nWe probably make it to Whidbey at least once a year and will definitely make sure we stop at Goldie\u0026rsquo;s on every trip in the future. This is a wonderful addition to a fun island excursion.\nVerdict: Worth a trip to Whidbey and Coupeville for the pizza alone! Links # Goldie\u0026rsquo;s and the Roost Instagram ","date":"6 August 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/goldies-and-the-roost/","section":"Eat","summary":"When in search of wood fired food on Whidbey Island\u0026hellip; Seddrick \u0026lsquo;Seddy\u0026rsquo; Livingston, formally the chef at Delancey, opened Goldie\u0026rsquo;s and the Roost in mid 2024 in the town of Coupeville, WA on Whidbey Island.","title":"Goldie's and the Roost","type":"eat"},{"content":"","date":"6 August 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/pizza/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Pizza","type":"tags"},{"content":" When in search of tapas in Seattle\u0026hellip; Pintxo opened in September of 2023 and is quite interesting. It\u0026rsquo;s a tapas restaurant run by the Valdemar Family who have been making Spanish wine in Spain for over a century and more recently in Walla Walla as Valdemar Estates since 2019. Pintxo is almost a combination restaurant - tasting room except it\u0026rsquo;s less wine tasting heavy as most tasting rooms in Woodinville.\nAs you\u0026rsquo;d expect of a tapas restaurant, Pintxo\u0026rsquo;s menu is mostly small plates, though there are also some larger dishes and on Thursdays and Sundays, they have Paella. We\u0026rsquo;ve had lunch or a light bite several times since they opened and have greatly enjoyed everything we\u0026rsquo;ve had. I\u0026rsquo;d feel safe saying you can\u0026rsquo;t go wrong with anything on the menu. That said, some of our favorites include the Jamon Iberico, the Whipped Labhen, and the Octopus. The Jamon Iberico comes with bread, specifically Pan de Cristal bread. While I love Iberico ham, I think the bread might be even better. We have raved about the bread every time we\u0026rsquo;ve been to Pintxo and even had a conversation with the manager about it. Originally they were getting their bread from a bakery in San Francisco though we were recently informed they made an arrangement with a local bakery (Tarte also in Woodinville) to make the bread. We\u0026rsquo;ve only had the paella once but it was very delicious. They have two varieties: one with chicken and chorizo, and one with prawns and octopus. We had the later and it was wonderful. Note that you have to make a minimum of two orders when you get the paella.\nThe drink menu includes an assortment of cocktails, beers, and a wide selection of Valdemar\u0026rsquo;s own wines. We\u0026rsquo;ve had a few of the cocktails including the Olive Oil Martini, the Queen Bee, and the Smoking Bull-evardier. They used to have a wonderful cocktail named the Bay Sipper but that seems to have left the menu for now. Note that their brunch menu includes some special cocktails not on the normal menu.\nPintxo currently has happy hour on Thursdays and Fridays from 4 - 6 pm and does brunch on Saturdays and Sundays 11 am - 2 pm.\nVerdict: The best tapas we\u0026rsquo;ve had in the greater Seattle area. Links # Website Instagram ","date":"6 August 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/pintxo/","section":"Eat","summary":"When in search of tapas in Seattle\u0026hellip; Pintxo opened in September of 2023 and is quite interesting.","title":"Pintxo by Valdemar","type":"eat"},{"content":"","date":"6 August 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/seattle/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Seattle","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"6 August 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/tapas/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tapas","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"6 August 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/woodinville/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Woodinville","type":"tags"},{"content":" When in search of fine dining in Seattle\u0026hellip; We\u0026rsquo;ve actually had the good fortune to visit Canlis a number of times including for our wedding in 2023. We\u0026rsquo;ll focus more on the restaurant in this page and discuss having an event at Canlis elsewhere (but will say they\u0026rsquo;re fantastic). Canlis has been in business overlooking Lake Union since 1950. That doesn\u0026rsquo;t quite make it the oldest establishment in Seattle but it\u0026rsquo;s on the list. It\u0026rsquo;s also probably as fine dining as Seattle gets these days. Since I\u0026rsquo;ve lived in Seattle, this has been THE restaurant that is thought of when people think about a special occasion. That\u0026rsquo;s not to say it is the most expensive restaurant in the city nor is it the hardest to get a reservation (which probably has more to do with the size of Canlis vs the harder to get into ones being quite small). If you haven\u0026rsquo;t been yet, this is not a restaurant to miss.\nThe Experience # All sorts of restaurants can have food that tastes amazing. From a food truck to a casual restaurant all the way up to the finest dining establishment. What makes the difference is the experience you have as a diner, customer, and visitor to the restaurant. It\u0026rsquo;s easy to say that going to Canlis is an experience. There\u0026rsquo;s an assortment of ways this shows up. Between seatings, not only do they reset the table and the tablecloth, but they iron it to make sure it\u0026rsquo;s crisp. Every time you get up to visit the restroom, a new napkin is put at your seat. The food platings themselves are playful and artful. The main dining room has a piano where the player plays instrumental versions of popular songs. You can actually watch a youtube video of one of the players here. Additionally, when you valet your car, there is no asking them to bring it around when your meal is done, they just know. Added to all of that, the team members at Canlis actually work as a team. The service and the experience are routinely exceptional.\nThe Food # In May of 2021, Canlis announced their new chef, Aisha Ibrahim after the prior chef, Brady Williams, left to open his own restaurant. Under Ibrahim, the menu has pivoted over the last two years returning to both a tasting-menu format and shifting away from some of the traditional Canlis dishes (I never loved the Canlis Salad but the Canlis Prawns were spectacular). As of writing, the way the menu works is that you choose three courses: an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert. Generally for the first two courses, there is a selection focused on seafood, one on meat, and one vegetarian. In addition to those courses you\u0026rsquo;ll also see an assortment of other courses brought to the table. When we were last there, there was also an amuse-bouche, a soup, a salad, a bread course, a palate cleanser, and additional dessert treats. If you\u0026rsquo;re the sort that has a hard time finishing a single entree at many restaurants, you may not end up eating every bite, but generally portions are the right size that you can enjoy the whole meal. For myself, I\u0026rsquo;ve never left hungry but also never overly full. During our last visit, the standout dishes were actually the teriyaki mushrooms (Sam\u0026rsquo;s entree) and the palate cleanser (featuring goat cheese) though everything was delicious.\nThe Views # If you\u0026rsquo;re lucky enough to be sat by the windows or near them, you\u0026rsquo;ll be taking in one of the best views of Lake Union in Seattle. Perched on the eastern slope of Queen Anne hill, there isn\u0026rsquo;t much blocking the view down to Gas Works park and the lake itself with its frequent assortment of pleasure craft going to and fro. However, that\u0026rsquo;s not the only view that Canlis boasts. At the back of the main dining room, you can see the original copper grill which is as much a showpiece as any kitchen can have. Also, and slightly harder to see, is the wine cellar downstairs. Canlis does occasionally do small special tours of the cellar (or if you\u0026rsquo;re fortunate enough to get married there, they\u0026rsquo;ll let you do photos in the cellar).\nCanlis during Covid # During Covid, many restaurants shut down or tried to pivot to take out. While Canlis did do a form of takeout, they also went through an assortment of iterations of trying other things. From a bagel shop to a burger pop up to live broadcasting of their amazing piano players. Canlis did a lot to be successful and keep their people employed. If you want to hear more, listen to this episode of Acquired focusing on Canlis\u0026rsquo; journey during Covid.\nVerdict: The quintessential Seattle restaurant. A must experience. Links # Canlis website Instagram ","date":"2 August 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/canlis/","section":"Eat","summary":"When in search of fine dining in Seattle\u0026hellip; We\u0026rsquo;ve actually had the good fortune to visit Canlis a number of times including for our wedding in 2023.","title":"Canlis","type":"eat"},{"content":"","date":"2 August 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/fine-dining/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Fine Dining","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"6 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/ballard/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Ballard","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"6 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/italian/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Italian","type":"tags"},{"content":" When in search of Italian in Seattle\u0026hellip; Living in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle has afforded us the opportunity to dine at San Fermo many times. San Fermo has been family owned and operated since 2016 and sources many of its ingredients from their farm in La Conner, Washington (where they also do farm dinners).\nSan Fermo has a fairly traditional Italian menu with antipasti, primi, and secondi. Classic items on the antipasti list include almonds and olives, salads, and burrata. That is usually rounded out with some seasonal items (when the maitake mushroom is in season it\u0026rsquo;s fantastic). The primi include a rotating list of pastas though I think they always have bolognese and carbonera to round that list out. The secondi list is usually only a couple items, the pork chop is pretty frequently on the menu. Then of course they\u0026rsquo;ll have desserts. The wine list includes a great selection of Italian wines and they have a full bar for cocktails.\nTypically when it\u0026rsquo;s just us eating, we get the Caesar Salad (which includes anchovies) and two pastas. That\u0026rsquo;s normally more than enough food for us though the burrata is a great addition if you\u0026rsquo;re looking for another antipasti. San Fermo is always dependable for a great meal and excellent service.\nA couple notes for San Fermo. They charge a 23% service charge. Additionally, they require you to place your full meal order (not including dessert) when your party is ready to order. These are quirks but don\u0026rsquo;t detract from a wonderful experience and a delicious meal.\nVerdict: Wonderful Italian in Ballard. Links # San Fermo website Instagram ","date":"6 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/san-fermo/","section":"Eat","summary":"When in search of Italian in Seattle\u0026hellip; Living in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle has afforded us the opportunity to dine at San Fermo many times.","title":"San Fermo","type":"eat"},{"content":" When you want some great tacos in Seattle\u0026hellip; Gracia is another wonderful member of the Ballard community. While not the only Mexican restaurant in the area (would you believe there are 3 within a 5 minute walk), we think Gracia is far and away the best. Their menu includes many of the things you\u0026rsquo;d expect to see on the menu at a classy Mexican restaurant, though it\u0026rsquo;s hard for me to even get past the taco portion of the menu since they\u0026rsquo;re so good. Gracia is open for dinner, weekend brunch, and does a happy hour Tuesday through Friday. Additionally, they have an extensive spirits list with more mezcals, sotols, and tequilas than you could drink in a year. Some people judge a Mexican place based off their tortilla chips and I can easily say these are the best in town.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ve been to Gracia for brunch, lunch, and dinner. The salsa sampler is a great start to any meal and let\u0026rsquo;s you try three of their different homemade salsas along with their delicious tortilla chips. While Sam is partial to the tostada, I rarely order anything but the tacos. Beef tongue, or lengua, isn\u0026rsquo;t on every menu and tongue on their lengua tacos is some of the most tender and delicious I\u0026rsquo;ve ever had. The pescado taco has a nice balance of crispiness and tangy sauce that always keeps it on the list if I\u0026rsquo;m looking for more than lengua. More often than not I\u0026rsquo;ll get two tacos (lengua and pescado) though they have a pork belly special taco that is worth trying. Additionally, their house margarita is always delicious. A normal meal for us is the salsa sampler, a couple or few tacos each, and a few of the house margaritas.\nVerdict: Amazing tacos, delicious margaritas, outstanding Mexican spirits list. Links # Gracia website Instagram ","date":"6 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/gracia/","section":"Eat","summary":"When you want some great tacos in Seattle\u0026hellip; Gracia is another wonderful member of the Ballard community.","title":"Gracia","type":"eat"},{"content":"","date":"6 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/mexican-food/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Mexican Food","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"6 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/live/","section":"Live","summary":"","title":"Live","type":"live"},{"content":"We recently decided to pivot our hotel loyalty over to Hyatt and one of our first planned trips after this was to San Diego. We had originally booked at a Marriott in the Gaslamp Quarter, prior to switching allegiance, and we didn\u0026rsquo;t think we\u0026rsquo;d be able to switch over to a Hyatt as the closest one was a good deal more expensive than the Marriott. Thankfully, prices dropped a week before the trip and we were able to book our first stay at an Andaz property. So we found ourselves at the Andaz San Diego located in the Gaslamp Quarter.\nIt had been several years since I had visited San Diego and like many other cities in the country, it hasn\u0026rsquo;t been immune to the challenges of homelessness. The Andaz itself, as of May 2023, wasn\u0026rsquo;t quite the epicenter of this in San Diego, but it was very noticeable. I personally don\u0026rsquo;t mind staying in a hotel where this is an issue and don\u0026rsquo;t hold the hotels responsible for it at all. That said, I could certainly see how some could feel safety concerns.\nThat being said, from a location perspective, this spot isn\u0026rsquo;t bad. Within a 5-10 block radius you\u0026rsquo;ve got lots of restaurants, bars, breweries, etc. Petco Park is also close. You\u0026rsquo;re less than a 10 minute drive from the zoo and even closer to Balboa Park (the zoo is located within the park). You\u0026rsquo;re also only a few block walk from the Blue line that gets you to Little Italy or down to Tijuana.\nAs this was our first experience staying at an Andaz, we didn\u0026rsquo;t know exactly what to expect from this brand of Hyatt. Having since stayed at a different Andaz, and having something to compare it with, I have to say our experience left something to be desired. Upon arriving at the hotel to check in, there were two people working the front desk. One was dealing with a guest and the other was on the phone. When the one finished with the guest, they left to go to a back office rather than check us in. When the second person finished their first phone call, they then made another, and when they finished that, finally checked us in. We probably only had to wait five to ten minutes but it still felt like a miss, especially as a first impression.\nThe room was perfectly fine though the sink in the bathroom was oddly hard to use. I forgot to take a picture but you can see what it looks like on this bathroom picture from TripAdvisor. The water comes down on the far side of the sink which makes using it awkward.\nThe crowning (pun intended) feature of the Andaz seems to be its rooftop bar, restaurant, and pool, complete with DJ and pool parties on the weekends. It\u0026rsquo;s a bit more clubby than what we usually opt for though we did get a drink one afternoon. Kudos to the hotel for having a drag brunch on the Saturday we were there.\nAll in all, there\u0026rsquo;s not a lot that makes this hotel either worth a recommendation or suggesting people avoid.\nVerdict: Passable hotel. Walkable to downtown San Diego hot spots. Links # Andaz San Diego website Instagram ","date":"6 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/andaz-san-diego/","section":"Stay","summary":"We recently decided to pivot our hotel loyalty over to Hyatt and one of our first planned trips after this was to San Diego.","title":"Andaz San Diego","type":"stay"},{"content":"While I have been to Japan about 7 times, Sam had never been. So when we booked our trip to Japan in late 2022, I was so excited for her to see Tokyo and Kyoto. I had recently decided to switch loyalty from Marriott to Hyatt, and that meant rethinking hotels I might have used the last few times I was there. In the past when in Tokyo, I\u0026rsquo;ve stayed in Shinagawa because it was convenient for work. As this was purely vacation, there wasn\u0026rsquo;t a need to think about that. So, after having read numerous reviews, we booked the first 4 days of our stay in Tokyo at the Andaz Toranomon Hills. Interestingly enough, while on the Hibiya and Ginza subway lines, which I\u0026rsquo;m certain I\u0026rsquo;ve taken in the past, I couldn\u0026rsquo;t say I\u0026rsquo;d ever heard \u0026ldquo;Toranomon Hills\u0026rdquo; before this trip.\nThis hotel opened all the way back in 2014 but was completely off my radar. The area of Toranomon Hills is actually just a complex of skyscrapers in the Toranomon district of Minato, Tokyo. If you are only vaguely familiar with the areas of Tokyo, you can think of Toranomon as being south, maybe a bit southwest, of Tokyo station and roughly just south of the Imperial Palace. We booked our stay with points for this trip which I think is a great way to redeem points (in our case we transferred points from Chase). For four nights, we spent 100k points. I don\u0026rsquo;t recall exactly what the cost of rooms was when we booked but I\u0026rsquo;m certain at the time using points came out to being a much better deal.\nUpon arriving at Haneda airport around 1:30 in the afternoon, it took us about 45 minutes and a few trains to get to the hotel. Upon arriving at the train station near the hotel (more on this later), we took the underground tunnel to the building and then took an elevator to the 51st floor, where the main lobby and check in area are located. We were, thankfully, able to check right into our room. Our check in experience, while perfectly fine, seemed to miss the perks of a welcome drink that others have reported. That said, we were quickly checked in and taken up to the room. We had a lovely view of Tokyo Tower from our room.\nThe Andaz does offer a breakfast buffet which I\u0026rsquo;m sure is great, but I generally opt to visit the local konbinis for breakfast. My general experience with breakfast at many of the hotels in Japan is that while their breakfast buffets can be quite extensive, including things like custom made-to-order eggs as well as cuisine from several different ethnicity\u0026rsquo;s, it\u0026rsquo;s hard to beat paying less than five dollars (US) for a few onigiri (rice balls with filling), a bottle of green tea, and a can of cold coffee. The Andaz serves breakfast as well as lunch and dinner at \u0026ldquo;The Tavern\u0026rdquo; on the same floor as check-in. Additionally, the hotel has \u0026ldquo;the SUSHI\u0026rdquo; which provides an omakase experience as well as \u0026ldquo;Rooftop Bar.\u0026rdquo; We only took advantage of the Rooftop Bar while we were there. It seemed a bit too sceney for us including subpar service, overpriced drinks, table charges (even for hotel guests) and views which weren\u0026rsquo;t worth the price of admission.\nOne standout feature of the Andaz is the gym. Located on one of the building\u0026rsquo;s high floors, the views from the spacious fitness room are great. More importantly, the amount of fitness equipment is impressive for a hotel. Plenty of treadmills and other cardio equipment along with weight lifting equipment including a rack and bench for doing barbell work. The fitness area also has a pool for lap swimming as well as a spa. We only took advantage of the gym but it was very well done for a hotel facility.\nAs far as using the Andaz as a base to get around Tokyo, it\u0026rsquo;s not terrible. After taking the elevator to the ground level floor of the building (remember the lobby and rooms are all near the top of the building), you can then walk to a set of elevators/staircase that will take you to an underground tunnel, which will take you to the Ginza and Hibiya lines. These are both metro or subway lines in Tokyo. Tokyo has many different train lines that run through different areas of the city. There are quite a few places you can get to on these trains but there are also quite a few places you\u0026rsquo;ll need to connect with other trains. That\u0026rsquo;s just how Tokyo is. It\u0026rsquo;s worth noting that Shimbashi Station is a 16 minute walk (outside and uncovered) which gets you to the Yamanote (Green), Tokaido (Orange), and Yokosuka (Blue) lines which are all JR trains.\nIn general, I\u0026rsquo;d say the Andaz is a great hotel and I\u0026rsquo;d consider staying again. The facility felt new, the staff was friendly and helpful, and the location, while not walking distance to many things itself, was a short walk from several train lines.\nNote that as of early winter 2024, there is also a Hotel Toranomon Hills which is part of Hyatt\u0026rsquo;s Unbound Collection. These hotels are just a short walk from each other. We stayed at the Hotel Toranomon Hills on most recent stay (June 2024) and will write about that in the future.\nVerdict: Great hotel on two subway lines but not close to any tourist attractions. Great gym. Links # Andaz Toranomon Hills website Instagram ","date":"6 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/andaz-toranomon-hills/","section":"Stay","summary":"While I have been to Japan about 7 times, Sam had never been.","title":"Andaz Toranomon Hills","type":"stay"},{"content":"While on a weekend trip down to San Diego in April of 2023, we had numerous recommendations to try out Callie in the Gas Lamp district. We first found out about Callie from an Eater article and later had a recommendation from a close friend. Suffice to say, we had high hopes for this place.\nCallie is mostly a large open room. Tables are close enough that you\u0026rsquo;ll hear your neighbors\u0026rsquo; conversation but not so close that it\u0026rsquo;s intrusive. Callie is apparently Greek for \u0026ldquo;the most beautiful\u0026rdquo; and the fare is a combination of Greek, Spanish, Italian, Moroccan, and Middle Eastern food. On top of their normal menu they also offer a Mediterranean Feast tasting menu with optional wine pairing. We had our server walk us through what was included in the feast option but decided to order a la carte instead. We ordered the following:\nTaramasalata Uni Toast Beef Tartare Artichokes, Peas, and Mint Mediterranean Octopus Pappardelle Warm Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookie Service was prompt and polite, but not overly friendly. We had several different people either come by to deliver items or take orders, so it was hard to really make a connection with anyone on the staff. The food was all good, but not great. It\u0026rsquo;s hard to pick any standout dishes. They were all ok. While I do feel like we had some expectations based off recommendations, even without, I think this would have just been ok.\nVerdict: Perfectly ok. Nothing outstanding. Links # Callie website Instagram ","date":"6 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/callie/","section":"Eat","summary":"While on a weekend trip down to San Diego in April of 2023, we had numerous recommendations to try out Callie in the Gas Lamp district.","title":"Callie","type":"eat"},{"content":" When you want some of the best pizza in Seattle\u0026hellip; Delancey is a neighborhood pizza place in Ballard, Seattle. Delancey was opened in 2009 by Brandon Pettit. Brandon also run\u0026rsquo;s Essex the sister bar to Delancy (right next door, actually connected) as well as Dino\u0026rsquo;s Tomato Pie in Capital Hill. Delancey focuses on wood fired pizza. It\u0026rsquo;s Neopolitanesque though not as thin and not cooked as high of a temperature. Having been making pies (at least at Delancy) for 15 years, they\u0026rsquo;ve really dialed in how to make a great pizza. Delancey\u0026rsquo;s menu has a few starter and dishes that aren\u0026rsquo;t pizza, some of which also come from the wood fired oven. The Jersey Salad, the burrata, and the Delancey\u0026rsquo;s Meatballs. The pizza menu is a selection of red and white pies. The menu also includes an assortment of ingredients you can add to any pie. Additionally, they have a daily selection of special ingredients, and occasionally a seasonal starter, on the chalk board between the kitchen and the dining room.\nDelancey only takes reservations for large parties (6-11) which you can make on Delancey\u0026rsquo;s Tock page. The restaurant gets quite busy but fortunately, Essex, the sister bar, is right next door adn a great place to grab a drink, or even a starter, while you wait. Essex actually provides all of the drinks for Delancey as well but their drink lists will be a bit different (but you can get any of the drinks at Delancy as well). Note that at Essex the food menu is more limited (no pizza).\nTypically when we show up, there is a wait. We usually put our name in at Delancey and then go next door. The Americano (on draft) is a great drink to start the evening. If it\u0026rsquo;s in season, the Starry Eyed Surprise is quite delicious. Once we make it to Delancey, our go to is usually either a bottle of the Italian wine on their list or a bottle of lambrusco or another chillable red. You can\u0026rsquo;t go wrong with any pizza but we\u0026rsquo;re big fans of adding pepperoni to the White Pie though we\u0026rsquo;ve been known to do the White Pie adding Anchovies and the Pepperoni with mushrooms (or the Fancy Mushrooms if they\u0026rsquo;re on the special items board).\nAdditionally, Brandon runs pizza cooking classes (also available to book on the Delancey Tock page). We did one of these classes this past July and learned a ton about the history of the restaurant, how they make their pizza, the type of oven they have and how to work it, and so much more. Plus we ate a ton of pizza. It\u0026rsquo;s great fun if you can attend one.\nVerdict: Contender for Best Pizza in Seattle. Links # Delancey website Instagram ","date":"6 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/delancey/","section":"Eat","summary":"When you want some of the best pizza in Seattle\u0026hellip; Delancey is a neighborhood pizza place in Ballard, Seattle.","title":"Delancey","type":"eat"},{"content":"","date":"6 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/hyatt/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Hyatt","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"6 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/italian-food/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Italian Food","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"6 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/san-diego/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"San Diego","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"6 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/drink/","section":"Drink","summary":"","title":"Drink","type":"drink"},{"content":"Welcome, we\u0026rsquo;re so happy to to have you here! When in\u0026hellip;[blank] is all about our adventures in life and sharing what we love: dining out, travel and planning our next trip\u0026hellip;This site and this page are perpetually a work in progress. This site is organized around 4 main topics:\nEat - Restaurants Drink - bars, wineries, breweries, distilleries Stay - Lodging Live - lifestyle Travel - cities, trips, countries, islands, experiences Who are we? # We\u0026rsquo;re Sam and Chris! We live in Seattle where we occasionally foster puppies and always eat too much food!\nSam # I\u0026rsquo;m Sam. I\u0026rsquo;ll tell you more about myself later.\nChris # I\u0026rsquo;m Chris. I\u0026rsquo;ve been a software engineer for over two decades but focused on eating my whole life. While I will eat just about anything, I lean towards Japanese cuisine. I\u0026rsquo;m a recovering craft beer fan with more of a focus on wine and whiskey now. I spent most of my life in Michigan before moving to Seattle in 2012.\nAbout the Site # This site was created using the Hugo framework with the Blowfish theme. Additionally, the hugo-shortcode-gallery was used for some of our image displays.\nThis tip was used to add a disclaimer for old posts. ImageMagick was used to add watermarks to photos.\n","date":"6 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/about/","section":"When in...","summary":"Welcome, we\u0026rsquo;re so happy to to have you here!","title":"About","type":"page"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/series/","section":"Series","summary":"","title":"Series","type":"series"}]