Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire A Good Time Back East

Was back in Japan over the Christmas holiday and New Year with the beloved Mrs. KG. Her entire family is there so we try to go at least once a year, and sometimes twice if we can pull it off. Japan never fails to amaze and always leaves me wanting more, despite my having lived there as a kid for 3 years as well as having more than a dozen trips under my belt since getting hitched to the Japanese lass.

Very few downsides of ever going, save for missing our pups, but one for sure is the trip itself there and back. It invariably sucks, with 24 hours door to door each way being about standard from here. Spent the first couple of days right off the bat in a mountainous area NW of Tokyo at an 'onsen', which are hot springs, many with traditional accommodations. As always, riding the Shinkansen/Bullet train is a pleasure and thrill. This little side trip for us was really just to have some quiet time together with the wife as well as to try to kick the jet lag (East Coast and Japan is a toughie, at 13 hours time differential). Spent more time than usual with the family, but that is fine and they are wonderful people. Mrs. KG's grandma at 88 still walks faster than I do, and I walk pretty fast, believe it or not.

PB is acting wonky so don't really have the option to choose photos easily, so am just going to more or less randomly select images and post up. When possible I'll try and add some descriptions but as you al know after some time passes editing isn't an option for posts. Anyway, hopefully some here will enjoy some of them. Cheers.

Where else but in Tokyo can you waltz up to a bank of vending machines and be able take currency from pocket change to a 100 dollar bill (equivalent, of course) to purchase sodas, milk products, teas hot and cold, coffees hot and cold, juices, corn chowder, clam broth, miso and other soups, whiskey and other hard liquor, beers, mixed alcoholic drinks, rice wine, hot and cold snacks, hot noodles. I chose the corn chowder for the wait on the platform. Good stuff it was!

Check the eyes on the Dutch kid we were having a few pops with. Mrs. KG drank him under the table then pretty much saved him from drowning in the damned hot springs tub lol.

Family is precious. It is very good of you to spend so much time and effort to maintain your wife's happiness in that regars.

And the food looks tremendous.

What are you supposed to do with the fish head in the Fish/floral arrangement?



I dont know about prices.....but I bet that beef was pricey.

Kick ass beef can be had in Japan, as most know. Top was spicy beef tongue dish. I'm a big fan.

Nephew and wife's cousin estranged for 30 years until last week. She's served for 25 years in the Self Defense Force in a Corps of Engineers type role in some place outside Sapporo, in Hokkaido up north. She's an advanced instructor for heavy equipment, of all things. She's also nationally ranked in 'kendo'/Japanese wooden sword fighting sport.

I can handlr chop sticks like those in the top pic.

Is this pic of Tuna? Some manner of ocean mammal? Land mammal?

Thanks....brought back memories from 71-73......