I’ve always loved taking a stroll through a garden, particularly a Japanese garden. It always just feels so peaceful. It’s not surprising that, when I finally made it to Japan, I spent a great deal of time exploring the many parks and gardens of Japan. Without any further ado, here are the parks and gardens that made the top of my list.
Standing on 70 acres of land, and consisting of five historic buildings and eight gardens, Stan Hywet is the 6th largest home in the United States that is open to the public. Every year in December, volunteers decorate the estate with Christmas decorations of all kinds, and include over one million lights and a choreographed light show to various Christmas songs. If you’re ever near Akron, Ohio during the month of December, I highly recommend paying a visit!
Recently, I’ve been on a quest to learn about how other countries celebrate holidays that I have come to take for granted. I’m so accustomed to the traditions and celebrations that I grew up with that it was a bit of an eye opener to learn that other countries might do things a little differently. With Christmas quickly approaching, I decided to reach out to some of my fellow travel bloggers and ask how they celebrated Christmas in their home country.
Growing up, I would always watch the ball drop on TV on New Year’s Eve. I would see the crazy crowd of people in Times Square all wearing their New Year’s glasses and partying the night away. Despite what others might think, I thought it would be so cool to be in Times Square and experience the ball drop in person. I was so excited when I finally got the chance to go! However, going to New York City to see the ball drop definitely takes some preparation. Here are my thoughts on spending New Year’s in New York.
I went bowling at Round1 Entertainment for the first when I was studying abroad in Japan. I lucked out that there was a Round1 close to my dorm and close to my university, so I found myself there quite frequently. Despite my troubles trying to convert American shoe sizes to Japanese shoe sizes so I could rent the correct bowling shoes, I thoroughly enjoyed bowling at Round1 because of their unique Moonlight Strike Game.
Trip research and creating an itinerary can be an intensive task and even a little overwhelming at times. There always seems to be so much to think about in order to make sure you get to do everything you want, get everything at a good price, and overall have a good time. However, planning your trip doesn’t have to be a super stressful process as long as you have a methodology for tackling it. Learn how to plan for your next trip the non-stressful way!
As an American, I grew up hearing stories and watching movies about the Indians and English settlers celebrating the harvest together in a time of struggle, which became the first Thanksgiving. For that reason, I just assumed that Thanksgiving was another holiday relatively unique to the United States. I can’t think of too many other countries that had issues with colonists and Indians. However, it turns out that celebrating the season’s harvest is a rather common thing to do! So what is Thanksgiving around the world like?
I’ll be the first to admit that I have no idea how to read a traditional paper map. There’s no point when I can have all the same information and more in the palm of my hand! If you are planning on traveling to Japan, there are a lot of apps out there that can help you not only navigate the train system, but also find where to eat, learn some survival phrases, and more! Before you go, make sure you download these essential apps for your trip!
When it comes to gift giving holidays such as birthdays, and Christmas, people tend to complain that I’m hard to shop for. My primary hobbies (travel, photography, etc.) are EXPENSIVE. My family gift exchanges usually have a $25 USD dollar limit, so the $500 USD wide angle camera lense I’ve had my eye on isn’t exactly an option. If you find yourself struggling to come up with some useful gifts for travelers, check out my recommendations!
Sometimes we get so caught up in the traditions of a holiday that it’s easy to forget where it all began or why we are even celebrating. After spending four months in Japan, I was reminded that not all countries and religions celebrate all holidays. I was shocked to find that Japan only started celebrating Halloween in the past few years (mostly as a result of American pop culture being brought to Japan). So, how does the rest of the world celebrate Halloween?
