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Gyeongbokgung to Myeongdong
After waking up at the RYSE and having breakfast, we headed back to Gyeongbokgung to see the guard changing ceremony at Gwanghwamun. We then visited the adjacent National Palace Museum before having lunch. After, we walked over to Myeongdong, visiting the Buddhist Jogyesa on the way. We walked around Myeongdong a bit, having some bingsoo and a snack before returning the RYSE to end our day.
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Gyeongbokgung and the Blue House
After arriving late last night at Gimpo, we stayed at the LOTTE City Hotel at the airport before heading to the RYSE in Hondae the morning. After dropping off our bags, we had breakfast and visited Gyeongbokgung, Seoul’s main royal palace. We spent the morning there followed by lunch nearby. We then visited the Cheong Wa Dae, also known as the Blue House, the presidential residence until 2022. We ended the day with dinner in the area before returning to the RYSE.
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Sunday Night Aurora at Shenandoah National Park
We missed the fantastic aurora seen across the US on Friday night due to inclement weather, and again Saturday night due to even worse weather. We decided to drive over to Shenandoah National Park tonight as the forecast called for good weather with clear skies.
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Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, 2024 Visit #2
We went back to the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens today after visiting for the first time this year two weeks ago. We once again saw a variety of flowers and birds. We in particular had many Orchard Oriole sightings as well as many swallows as usual, though unfortunately no Baltimore Orioles.
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Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
It has been about 6 months since our last visit to the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in NoVA. We missed cherry blossom season this year but were still able to see many beautiful flowers today. And, of course, a variety of birds, including the sometimes elusive Baltimore Orioles!
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Odawara
After breakfast at the Indigo Gora, we checked out after a fantastic stay and took the hotel’s shuttle bus back to Odawara Station. We spent a few hours in town, primarily visiting Odawara Castle. We then began the journey home, taking the Shinkansen back to Tokyo for our flight out of Haneda.
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Owakudani Nature Trail and Gora
The weather didn’t look as good today when we woke up at the Indigo Gora with overcast skies. After breakfast, we decided to head up to Owakudani again as there did seem to be bits of blue sky. We ended up getting onto the day’s first guided tour of the Owakudani Nature Trail. The weather wasn’t so great and it was extremely windy so we returned to Gora to have lunch and to walk around the town a bit. Later in the afternoon, we went back up to Owakudani to see how conditions were. It was even more windy than before! We came back down to Gora pretty quickly for an early end to the day.
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Owakudani and the Komagatake Ropeway at Hakone
After breakfast at the Indigo Hakone Gora, we headed up to Owakudani to check out the thermal area and to have some of area’s famous black eggs. We also enjoyed a beautiful, though hazy, view of Mount Fuji. After, we headed over to the Komagatake Ropeway for an alternate high elevation view of Mount Fuji and the surrounding area. Before returning to the Indigo in the afternoon, we visited a beautiful row of sakura at Miyagino, just across the river from the hotel.
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Hakone Golden Route
After waking up at the Conrad Tokyo and having breakfast, we checked out and took the Shinkansen to Odawara. From there, we took two local trains to Gora in the Hakone region. We checked into the Indigo and took a funicular along with two gondolas to reach Lake Ashi. We boarded a pirate ship to cruise the lake and landed at Hakonemachi. We walked through the Onshi-Hakone Park, with views of Mount Fuji, and ended up at Motohakone, still on the shores of Lake Ashi. From there, we took two busses to complete our loop, returning to Gora to enjoy our in room onsen!
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Shinjuku Gyoen
After waking up at the Conrad, we had breakfast and ventured out to Shinjuku Gyoen. We were hoping to see some sakura but it was well past peak in the park. We spent the remainder of the day with cousins here and there in Tokyo.
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