It was time for a change in temperature and activity after leaving Tokyo and arriving at Lotte Arai, Myoko.  Lotte Arai Resort is nestled among a beautiful mountainous countryside that spreads scenically from Mt. Myoko to the ocean. It was time for snowboarding and partaking in the many activities the Resort has to offer, including their magnificent outdoor onsen.

The resort is extensive and offers an indoor pool...

Every year we plan to spend some time in Tokyo.  There's so much to do and see, including day trips to Nikko Mura, the Bay area of Tokyo, Sumo and so much more.  We arrived late into Tokyo from Sapporo and opted in stay in Asakusa, which for us, is central to everything we wanted to do.  Akihabara (秋葉原) (the Electric District) which also has a Yodabashi store; Kanda (神田) mainly for the sporting goods; Ueno (上野) famous for Ueno...

Snowboarding is our main choice of activity when staying in Hokkaido, however this year the snow gods had not delivered their normal daily dumps.  Yes, we are becoming powder snobs and very fussy, so instead of gracing the hard parked and at times icy conditions of Niseko and the other ski fields around the area, we opted for photography, walking and snowmobiling.  Check out our video on "How to spend five days in Ni...

An awesome seven days in Honolulu staying on the beachfront in Waikiki.  

The view from our room at Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach.  

Good morning Waikiki.

Looks like a nice day for a surf.

Getting ready for a beautiful sunset dinner.

When in Waikiki you can't miss the parasailing adventures.

Even if you have to shut your eyes for a while. 

Just love my Pop.

How can you not smile with this beautiful weather in Honolulu.

...

Whilst staying in Kauai, you cannot miss the drive to Waimea Canyon and also Kokee State Park. There are two ways to drive to Waimea Canyon, turn up Waimea Canyon Drive (Hwy. 550) at Waimea town; or you can pass through Waimea and turn up Kokee Road (Hwy. 55) at Kekaha. I would suggest taking one way up and the alternative drive back down. We went up via Hwy. 550 and down to Kekaha.  Along both roads, there are epic views that...

Kauai is home to some incredible sea life including Blue whales, Killer whales, Sperm whales, Pilot whales, Bottlenose dolphins and Striped dolphins.  Unfortunately on this trip to Kauai, we did not have time to see these incredible fish.  Instead we experienced the wonderful bird life on the Island including native songbirds, tropical birds, and the island’s infamous hordes of wild chickens.

The red-ta...

We were so looking forward to the helicopter flight.  We had taken the helicopter (doors off) on the Big Island to see the volcano and what an experience. Our pilot on The Big Island was an ex Airforce Pilot and he certainly gave us a thrilling ride.

If you've been following any of my other blogs, you will know we always hire a car (which our friends give us a hard time over, but we like road tripping).  I'm always the dri...

Destination Hawaii - here we come.  We've been to Hawaii on several occasions, spending time in Oahu, Maui and the Big Island.  This vacation we chose to stay at Kauai for 3 days and then head back to Oahu to meet up with our children and grandchildren.

We normally fly Jetstar from Sydney, but this time chose to fly Hawaiian Airlines. A 10 hour flight from Sydney to Honolulu and then a 2 hour stop over (which was...

For seven days we had been oblivious to anything that was happening in the outside world, immersed in what I call "Polar Bear Heaven".  There was no internet or cell towers, which was just wonderful - we were located 250 km southeast of Churchill, Manitoba on the Hudson Bay Coast. 

We had just flown from Nanuk to Churchill and then on to Winnipeg. The next part of our journey would involve a few days seeing the sights of S...