Airbnb and Homeaway

Travel.

Our backyard in a Maui rental found on Homeaway

For the past few years of travel, Jeff and I have either used reward points for our hotel accommodations or we've rented a private residence.  I know some people think renting a house or condo might sound expensive, but we have scored some sweet living spaces for less than you would pay for a hotel.  Airbnb and HomeAway have been our go to websites that have aided us in finding these sweet vacation livings.

The best part of renting is that you don’t have to worry about all the things that annoy you about hotels; waiting for the elevator, other guests being noisy, parking, etc.  You can have a full kitchen, washer dryer, and all the privacy you wish for.  Traveling can be expensive so having a kitchen saves you money even if you are just keeping yogurt for breakfast or a few beers in the fridge.  It all adds up.  Having a washer has always been a great saver of space when packing because you can reuse your items and not pack so heavy.  As you might know,  I don’t check my bags and washing my clothes happens even if I don’t have a washer/dryer.

A few weeks ago took a long weekend trip to Miami, Florida.  We used AirBnb to get us a sweet townhouse only 1/3 of a mile away from the sandy white beaches of South Beach.  The place was sweet!  There were five of us staying at this modern town house and it had everything we needed for our short stay; rooftop deck with sweet lounge and hot tub, two modern full baths and one half bath, three bedrooms, modern kitchen, and all the room we needed to relax.  Grand total was far cheaper than a hotel, especially if everyone paid for their own hotel room!

Our oceanfront rental on the Big Island

Homeaway.com has been our go to for many past trips to Hawaii.  We used it to rent a sick house on the Big Island of Hawaii a few years back and again for our honeymoon to Maui and Kauai.  The house on the Big Island had a pool just on the other side of the seawall.  We had our own private beach in Maui and an amazing view of a freshwater stream filled with sea turtles that emptied in to the ocean.   Just the other day, we got back from a week long trip to Oahu (can you tell we love Hawaii?) and are rented another place right on the beach on the North Shore.

View from the deck of our rental on Kauai

When looking to book your next trip, I seriously recommend taking a different route from the normal hotel and renting a place via Airbnb or Homeaway.  Especially if you need a larger place, your options are more plentiful going this route.

This is not a sponsored post and my opinions are mine.  My goal is to pass on any helpful tips that might make you next vacation a money saving one.

<3 mk

Japanese Food

Food.

Friendly chef and wait staff in 8 person bar/restaurant in Tokyo

When most Americans think of Japanese food, we think of "hibachi" or sushi.  I was really worried when we went to Japan that all I would encounter was sushi and foods that made me uncomfortable.  Jeff will eat pretty much anything, but I have some consistency issues.  I went thinking the worst and that was totally not the situation at all.  The food was AWESOME and in the most unusual of places!

Here are some of the most popular food and drink items we encountered that were really enjoyed.

Ramen

Delicious ramen from vendor at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo

No, not the $0.25 packages that you ate in college, the real deal.  Delicious broth, fresh noodles, meats or fish, and some veggies = the best meal ever!  Slurping is totally welcomed and at one establishment they even offered us a bib. I had ramen at every opportunity that I could.

Feverishly slurping ramen from the Tsukiji fish market

Whether it was from a street vendor, a small nine person restaurant, or a vending machine, I wish I could recreate this at home, but I am going to leave it to the professionals in Japan.

Order ramen from vending machine and eat inside.  It's prepared inside.  Think Wawa.

Beef

The beef in Japan is referred to as Wagyu and it is some of the best in the world. The Japanese treat their cattle by feeding them beer and massaging them with shochu. The cattle are known for their marbling and quality, which is why it is more expensive.  It is sold in the states, but usually the region where it comes from names it, eg. Kobe beef comes from Kobe which is near Osaka. 

Extremely marbled massaged Japanese beef

We went to a few BBQ places, but we hit the jackpot when we went to M for Jeff’s birthday dinner.  They literally showed us a picture of the cow’s identification (nose print) and the farmer that raised it.  The meat was cooked right in front of us and was delicious.  Typically, the customer cooks it, but tourists are occasionally served by a chef.  Probably the best we have ever eaten. 

Sushi & Fish

Freshly caught food porn (tuna) at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo

The fish was obviously fresh, but the main difference was the size.  It was larger pieces of fish that were placed delicately over the rice, aka nigiri. Another favorite was Una Don, which was broiled eel in a sweet sauce over rice. No matter what fish you had ordered, it was always fresh and delicious, except for maybe the fermented fish Jeff ordered. Not appealing at all. 

Octopus balls in Osaka

Octopus balls seemed to be a big hit, particularly in Osaka.  They're a small piece of octopus with breading on the outsides.  Jeff got some after a night of sake, but I didn't try them because it didn't feel like having that taste linger all night.

Japanese Beef Curry

I got a whiff of this stuff every time we walked thru the subway system and always wanted to try it, but there was never enough time.  Many of the major subway stations are elaborate underground shopping/food areas, nothing like what we have in the states.  I was happy when we were in the airport lounge waiting for our flight home and they were serving it as a meal item that day.  Some people are not curry fans, but the smell was irresistible and so was the Japanese beef curry.  Served with some rice, my mouth is watering.  I will be trying to make this recipe as soon as I can get my hand on the secret ingredient,  Japanese curry roux.  P.S. they sell it on amazon - of course they do!

Donburi & Tendon

No, not the ones in your legs.  It’s a rice or noodle (udon) bowl with tempura on top.  Meats, fish (prawn), and veggies that are in a light, flaky, fried crust and then dipped into a salty broth.  This was another favorite of ours on the trip.  I was surprised that my favorites were pumpkin and little green peppers (nori).  It all was delicious, I mean, how can you go wrong with something fried?

Pickles/Pickled Cucumber

I know, not what you expected.  I have had a love affair with pickles my entire life so when they were a popular snack item at almost every place we stopped, I was in heaven.   It was really hot when we visited so we often stopped and got a beer and a snack a few times during the day.  Fresh pickles were almost always on the menu.  Shocker, right?

Sake & Shochu

Shochu in grocery store

Kanpai! If you think about an adult beverage from Japan, many people think of Sake.  Jeff and I went to Japan thinking we would be drinking Sake the entire time, but in reality the popularity of the drink has been declining for decades.  We took a sake tasting class while there and we really learned about the process to making real authentic sake.   The main thing we took away from the class was that sake got a bad wrap because it was being made with cheap rice, in mass quantities and made in an unauthentic manner, resulting is really sweet sake.  There are breweries making it the real way and the result is delicious. You need to look for specific labels, but the price is obviously more expensive when purchased in the the US.

So, instead of drinking sake as our main adult bev, we discover Shochu. This drink is a distilled alcohol which is somewhere between wine and vodka in alcohol levels and it is distilled from many different ingredients; barley, sweet potatoes, rice, sugar, buckwheat or chestnuts.  It is served straight up, with water, in cocktail form, or on the rocks as we liked best. It can be up to 25% alcohol, so watch out! We have been searching to purchase this in stores at home, but we ended up purchasing it online.

Barley Tea

Japanese barley tea

Every time you sit down, they offer you tea, it can be hot but it's usually cold.  I know that you are probably thinking green tea and that was what I thought as well, but it wasn’t.  This stuff is delicious, with a slightly roasted, sweet flavor.  I preferred it cold.  Every time we sat down or stood up to eat, that was what we got, not water.  I enjoyed it so much that I ordered it (on amazon) as soon as we got home.  Its easy to brew and delicious over ice. You should try it out.

I hope you read this and realize the huge variety of food choices there are when visiting Japan.  This trip really made us want to try to bring back some of these delicious foods and beverages with us. Japan really is a great place to visit...and the food happens to be amazing too!

<3 mk

Japanese Style

Fashion.

Platform shoes on subway in Japan

We just recently returned from a trip of a lifetime in Japan.  We spend two weeks traveling in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto.  This trip was one of those trips that was culturally shocking in a way that made you appreciate the way they did things and wonder why some things are the way they are here.  I especially was paying attention to the fashion and the food as I wanted to share what I observed with you. 

I obviously focused on the women because to be honest, we are always looking at other females and comparing ourselves.  There were so many moments when traveling on the train or subway, or just sitting and having a drink that I was people watching and able to observe a lot.

Skin.

Umbrellas but no rain!

The women have the most beautiful skin… not just because of genetics but because they take care of it.  One can not only wonder what they do to keep their skin so clear and porcelain like.  The woman mostly covered their bodies with umbrellas, clothes, and arm coverings when they were outside.  No wonder they maintain such beautiful skin, the sun doesn't ruin it.  One thing we didn't see many of were tanning salons. I felt almost guilty with my summer tan, but then all I wanted to do was slather suntan lotion and keep myself covered up.  I did actually buy some facial masks from there in a hope that my age spots from the sun would dramatically disappear.  I guess the lesson learned was that you can be beautiful with pale skin, but you need to work to keep it just as it was when born. 

Hair.

Hair accessory store in Japan

If you go to your local mall, do you know the kiosks in the middle that sell all those hair accessories?   You totally know what I am talking about.  Well think of those kiosks and then turn it into a store - a very large and specific store.  Japanese women love hair accessories. There were entire stores all over the place that were strictly devoted to hair clips, pins, scrunches (yes, they are wearing them), hairbands, hair extensions, etc.  I loved seeing them on other people, but I didn’t indulge and buy any.  I have a drawer full of hair décor that I rarely use, I'll work on that first.

I have been considering cutting my hair in the style I saw most often.  Heavy straight bangs with straight length all the way around.  My only concern is that the look would require thicker hair and I often like to style my hair with a curl, which might not look good with that cut. I might just leave the style to the ladies in Japan.

Footwear.

Socks and Stocking store in Japan

I have a thing about socks worn with certain style of shoes (flats, heels, sandals), but I had to get over that quickly when in Japan.  Much like the stores strictly focused on hair accessories; there are entire stores specifically for socks and hosiery.  I thought the shoes that I saw women wearing around the cities were uncomfortable, but I guess with a good pair of socks paired with them makes it a lot easier.

Heels with stockings in Japan

Most women also wore stockings with their outfits to cover their legs.  I am not sure if it is only to cover their legs, or also to be ladylike.  The temperature when we were there was in the 90s so I don't know how they handled being so covered up. I can't say I am going to wear some socks even with my flats anytime soon, but you never know.

Style.

If you are familiar with Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Girl, then you won't be shocked when you visit Japan. This style is popular with younger girls and it is all the rage.  Remember, I was only in a few cities, but this style was seen in all of them. Please don't think that everyone is walking around like this, but it was extremely prevalent in the cities we visited. 

I don’t want you to think that all younger women dressed in this manner.  That truly isn’t the case.  I really enjoyed seeing the clothing that women would wear, especially when sitting on a train.  Much of the younger girls would layer their clothes, not fitted, and they had a very ethereal quality to their styles, lacy, layered, blousey.  The majority of the women were very petite and were not curvy and could carry this look off very well.  There was such a mix of different styles that I couldn't even begin to explain. I did do some shopping and tried on clothes, but I am not the shortest and I have curves to my body, so many of the clothes that I saw them wearing looked not so stylish or fitting on me. 

The main fashion thing that I learned about this trip is that compared to the 'States, anything goes.  I know that I spend so much time putting outfits together with the thought of other people, women, judging me.  I am sure that is the case with some of the ladies in Japan, but pretty much from what I saw, a good amount of them take chances and wear what they like.  

  

<3 mk