Nick and Grant are almost finished their Japan trip and appear to have had a great time. Grant is studying animation at Algonquin College so anime (Japanese-style animation) was one of his motivations for travelling to Japan, whereas Nick was keen to see the temples in Kyoto. You might be able to pick up subtle differences in their personalities from their Instagram captions.
Nick on Tokyo: Today was a crazy busy day, taking advantage of no jet lag and nice temperatures. In the morning we explored the Meiji shrine and grounds, and had the place more or less to ourselves. After that we headed over to Harajuku, and then over to Shibuya to witness the famous Shibuya Crossing and do some shopping. After a dinner and power nap we went to explore the night life of Shinjuku. We went up to the 45thfloor of the Metropolitan government building and had some incredible views of the city below.
Grant on Tokyo: We in it.
Nick on leaving Tokyo. Our last morning in Tokyo was the Tsukiji fish market and the Hamarikyu Gardens, two of my favourite places in the city.
Grant on leaving Tokyo. Yeeting out of Tokyo, time for sum Kyoto.
Nick on Kyoto. You could spend an entire trip exploring Kyoto but 2 days was enough for it to steal Florence’s spot as my favourite city on earth.
Grant on Kyoto. Ayyo people, we got some hot and spicy photos of the key-yote-toe. Plz enjoy!
More Japan pics on Nick’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nick_chodura/
Back in Ottawa, Ray and I spent a day being tourists in our own city, watching the changing of the guards on Parliament Hill and taking in the Impressionist Treasures exhibit at the National Gallery.
We also took a 10-day southern Ontario road trip to see friends and family – first stop, Oshawa to visit my Little Sister Sarah and baby April, then on to Georgetown to spend time with Ray’s mom, plus friends and family we missed during our July visit.
The new owner of my parents’ house came by and offered me a tour. They’ve done a lot of renovating and landscaping. If they expected me to be impressed by the changes… well, that wouldn’t have been a realistic expectation.
What to them was an annoying stump that they’d had removed from the back yard, was to me our former cherry tree (that the birds would make into a cherry-pit tree before we ever had a chance to pick the fruit). The cherry tree gave the squirrels an advantage over my dad in their ongoing – and endlessly entertaining – battle over access to the bird feeders. A hammock swing where my parents rocked their grandchildren once hung from its branches. When the tree finally had to be taken down, the stump became a planter.
It was strange to see the place looking so different, but I realized that the house is just a house and the memories are what made it our home. New stump-free memories will be created there now.
From there, we went to Mississauga to see my sister and brother-in-law, then north to cottage country to visit our friend Caroline, then to Collingwood where we stayed with friends Ric and Sue for a few days, and we broke up the drive back to Ottawa with a night at a B&B near Bancroft.
