Hannah in Japan

Hello again from Tokyo, where things are starting to cool off a bit, and soon it will really feel like autumn. Personally I really love autumn as a transitional season because it hits that sweet spot of not being to hot or too cold. You can start rugging up in cute sweaters and scarves, and not melt when you leave the house which is a welcome change from the stifling summer months. For all the pumpkin and sweet potato fans out there, there's also the added bonus of these vegetables being in season. In Japan they incorporate this in every possible way, particularly at Starbucks with their frappuccinos. The current flavour is gold sweet potato, even though we're still in September and it still kind of feels like summer some days. However, with the change of seasons fast approaching, I thought I'd give you all some inspiration for some of the best places to go near Tokyo during this wonderful time of year. 1) Okutama. This region has some great hiking, a lake, and even some l...

Hello again from Tokyo, where typhoon season is in full swing. Sunday night and into Monday morning was rough for many people in Tokyo as flights were cancelled, trains were delayed, and power was out for many. Luckily for me, I was in Sendai, about 2 hours north of Tokyo, and the only sign of a typhoon was some heavy rain in the morning, which did eventually clear in the afternoon. I was concerned about damage to my apartment while I was gone, but nothing was damaged, which was a relief. The past week has been super busy hosting a friend from New Zealand, and we covered a lot of ground! We visited Ueno, The Imperial Palace and Tokyo Tower, and we did a day trip down to Kamakura and Enoshima as well as soaking in the craziness that is Shibuya and Harajuku. That was all before spending two nights in Sendai! So now let's get into a recap of what we got up to in Sendai, also known as the city of trees. We arrived on Sunday (September 8th), and the weather was perfect, so we decided t...