People often ask how I can travel for five weeks or five months with a carry-on suitcase. The key is to do sink laundry when traveling. I can pack for about a week and go indefinitely if I can wash my clothes in the sink when I travel. I mostly wash as I go, a …
I’ll start by saying that there is no dress code in Morocco or India, and I saw a wide range of clothing choices among tourists. This is an opinion piece—it’s my opinion about how I choose to dress in conservative countries, and I wouldn’t presume to tell others how to dress. I am sharing it …
Japan is a relatively small country (California is a bit bigger) but is packed with so much history, culture, and natural beauty that it’s difficult to narrow down the choices. There’s so much to appeal to so many different interests that there are plenty of opportunities to personalize an itinerary. Our three weeks in Japan …
After exploring the island of Hokkaido and Tokyo, my husband and I headed south. For this segment, we moved around quite a bit. We tried to see as much as we could of Kyoto and beyond on lower Honshu Island, Japan. This included Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nagoya, the Nakasendo Trail, Lake Kawaguchiko, and Mount Fuji. This …
There is so much history, culture, and natural beauty in Japan that it’s difficult to narrow down the choices. I wanted to divide my time between the big cities and smaller towns so we started with Tokyo and knew we wanted to visit Hokkaido on the rugged northern island (see my article: A Week in …
Timeshifter is an app designed to help travelers or shift workers adjust to different time zones using science and technology. The science part involves research into such topics as the effect of bright light, melatonin, and caffeine on the sleep cycle, while the technology part relates to how the app lays out a plan based …
Hiking in Japan is a trekker’s dream destination since three-quarters of the island nation is mountainous. They have a rich hiking culture with extensive networks of huts and village to support short day hikes or longer multi-day hikes. Trails are well maintained, and hikes can range from coastal hikes with expansive water views to remote …
Three weeks isn’t much time to sample such vast countries as Argentina and Chile, but within the huge scale, a hop from Buenos Aires to Santiago looked reasonable. Iguazu Falls to the north and Bariloche to the south created a jagged route from east to west. This allowed us to sample enough to know we …
By Inga Aksamit All photos by Inga Aksamit Hokkaido, the northern island in Japan, drew me with visions of lofty peaks, wide open spaces, and abundant natural beauty. I wasn’t disappointed. There are beautiful hikes for days and lots of solitude. We only made it to one national park among the embarrassment of riches in …
The hiking in Daisetsuzan National Park on the island of Hokkaido is sublime, featuring bubbling hot springs, steaming, otherworldly fumaroles, dramatic volcanic landscapes, wildflowers, and thick forests. During our week in Hokkaido, we visited Sapporo and spent two days in Daisetsuzan National Park, taking public transportation to get around. We were able to do three …