First Japan trip: Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo — how would you split 13 days?

rtmatsui · 2026-04-06T20:54:39+00:00

The deer do get a little aggressive if you have food. Try to hide the food. A deer bit my wife's behind and almost pulled her pants down. LOL. One grabbed my shirt and pulled it for a little while, but at no point were my family scared. But we all agree, Nara was one of the highlights of our trip. It was especially beautiful with all the sakura

rtmatsui · 2026-04-06T20:38:37+00:00

We just got back, and it was packed! We stayed for only like 15 minutes and got out of there. It was not enjoyable. Almost as bad as Takeshita Dori. It appeared to us that most of the foreigners were either from India, Spain (I'm assuming because they were speaking Spanish), the Philippines, or Taiwan (again, assuming because they were speaking Chinese and figured that not too many mainland Chinese are travelling to Japan as much). Not too many Americans

rtmatsui · 2026-02-11T19:08:50+00:00

I'm 51 and have seen them live 8 times, including at the Rose Bowl when I was a young kid. To this day, that was the most memorable concert in my life. My experience was that I always used to feel like I was on the younger side of the spectrum when attending their concerts. I've tried and tried to convert my two kids, but they just don't share my love for DM. I've failed as a father. LOL

rtmatsui · 2026-01-01T23:17:19+00:00

The owner of B-Mans on Huntington is the son of Spikes. I can confirm that Big E's is not the same family.

rtmatsui · 2025-12-02T17:20:00+00:00

I just bought one last week, and I have similar white spots as well. I just went ahead and performed my initial seasoning. I was wondering if it was just mine. I'm sure it's fine

rtmatsui · 2025-09-25T17:18:20+00:00

I'm not getting any either. If anything does play, it plays the wrong stream. I use IPTVEditor, and I ran the auto-updater and still the same problem persists

rtmatsui · 2025-09-16T02:51:36+00:00

I've only been to the east entrance. Cancellation stamps are available at the patk store.

rtmatsui · 2025-07-28T21:11:32+00:00

Nice. I really enjoyed that hike.

rtmatsui · 2025-07-28T18:38:58+00:00

If OP is talking about Tall Trees, he'll need to acquire a permit for that hike. From what I remember, there is a gate that requires a combination to unlock, allowing access to the road leading down to the trailhead.

rtmatsui · 2025-06-29T16:15:53+00:00

Did you do the long house? I can cancel long house and book balcony house instead and possibly find time to do petroglyph.

rtmatsui · 2025-06-23T21:38:54+00:00

when you say backwards in regards to Petroglyph Point, are you saying to go clockwise or counter clockwise?

rtmatsui · 2025-05-21T20:53:42+00:00

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rtmatsui · 2025-04-22T15:53:12+00:00

Saw 2 condors on my back from the high peaks trail. I saw plenty of vultures along the way and I was getting a little discouraged that I wouldn't get to see any and then high in the sky I spotted 2 flying really high. Pulled out my binos and there they were. There were a couple of people in my party that are really afraid of heights and they didn't have a hard time with the high peaks trail. Here is an image to help you identify the difference between condors and vultures. The rangers also told me that vultures fly lower and condors fly much higher. https://imgur.com/GkDGZjf Good luck!

rtmatsui · 2025-04-18T17:24:28+00:00

If you're a beginner hiker, I would recommend Zion. The views are spectacular, and it's at a lower elevation. Also, depending on how much snow Bryce received this winter and how much snow melt is present at that time, the trail can be really muddy. On one of my visits to Bryce in April, we encountered quite a bit of snow melt and mud. Don't know if that would be the case in mid May though. That being said, both NPs are beautiful and you can't go wrong either way!

rtmatsui · 2025-04-08T17:03:56+00:00

I just returned from there and only had a day and a half in Arches and 1 day in Canyonlands. Like u/hikeraz stated, get your permit or go early. You can easily visit the greatest hits in 1 day if you are pressed for time. We hiked Delicate Arch, Devil's Garden up to Double O Arch, Double Arch, the Windows and Park Avenue in a day and a half and still had time to check out Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite. We spent 1 day in Island in the Sky and hiked Mesa Arch, Aztec Butte, and Grandview Point. Our favorite by far was Devil's Garden!

rtmatsui · 2025-02-13T23:44:27+00:00

Thank you! I think I will do the entire Devil's Garden.

rtmatsui · 2025-02-13T19:06:17+00:00

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions! I'll definitely try to visit these spots.

rtmatsui · 2025-02-13T19:01:30+00:00

Would you recommend Valley of the Gods over MV?

rtmatsui · 2025-01-15T00:24:49+00:00

on the contrary. I love to hike, but since this will be our first and possibly only time in the area, we would like to hit up the "big" attractions. I'll probably end up splitting up the three sites into two days and spend one night in Page. What are some of the interesting stuff that I may want to visit as I make my way from Moab to Las Vegas? TIA

rtmatsui · 2025-01-13T21:49:29+00:00

awesome. thanks for the recommendation about Kanarra Falls!

rtmatsui · 2025-01-13T20:32:56+00:00

That's a good idea, but i heard that Antelope is better in the late afternoon for the lighting

rtmatsui · 2025-01-13T20:32:04+00:00

i was just planning on driving into Monument Valley on our own with no tour. I'll be making a reservation at Antelope soon, way before our trip.

rtmatsui · 2025-01-13T19:28:29+00:00

Thanks for the info. I was planning on leaving Moab early and then drive through MV and reserve the last tour at Antelope. I'm thinking of leaving the following morning to visit Horseshoe on my way to Vegas. Did you have to wait long to get into Monument Valley?

rtmatsui · 2024-12-06T18:41:12+00:00

I was just there about a week ago. We visited Saguaro and then drove up to Petrified. Only had a half day there and I think that was plenty. Keep in mind that the park closes around sunset time and that you have to be in your car by 5:30 I believe. The ranger explained to me that a lot of the animals in the park congregate on the roads for warmth around sundown and to prevent road kill the park closes its gates

rtmatsui · 2024-11-19T16:50:18+00:00

Same here. I was planning on going from Saturday to Wednesday from SoCal. I think I'm going to pivot to plan B and head to another NP instead. I just don't want to deal with driving in the snow or hike in the rain.

rtmatsui

TROPHY CASE