How To Take a Japan Staycation

We are on a steady every-other-weekend schedule for our destination date nights. I was excited to visit Japan, and while planning, I couldn't decide between Mt. Fuji and Tokyo, so I we will be doing a second Japan staycation focusing on Tokyo. Since we aren't traveling at all right now, this is a fun way to take a mini vacay without leaving home. 

This last weekend I focused on Mt. Fuji and Japanese culture, as we are looking forward to a future trip and I'll be interested to learn a little more about my heritage (my paternal grandmother was Japanese) and indulge in a ton of delicious food and super cool architecture.

You can't have a Japanese table setting without a cool lantern. I had this great lantern hanging around, so I busted out my Cricut and Japan-ed it up with some fun words. In this case, it says Shushi Date, because that's what we were doing. 

This gave us a great excuse to try a new Japanese restaurant that is a bit more upscale than our usual sushi-go-rounds. I was excited to find this place that also served butterfish, because it's extremely difficult to find around here. If you haven't had it before, make sure to order it if you ever come across it on a menu. It's delicious and melts in your mouth, which might be why it's called butterfish. 

Look how gorgeous this spread is! I also went to the local Asian market and picked up a trio of Ramune soda flavors and a bottle of sake. As always, our sushi spread was phenomenal, and I made sure to get some veggies in, including a pickled radish roll. 

If you haven't had Ramune before - this was our first time - it's a soda that comes in a ton of different flavors in glass bottles. The top doesn't have a cap, but instead has a plastic cover that you pull off, take apart, and then use it to jab into the top of the bottle to push a glass sphere into the bottle (it has a special compartment). That's actually the best part of the soda, in my opinion. I picked melon, because I thought it would be the most interesting, but it didn't have a flavor at all really. Next I picked watermelon. It was pink, but was also not that big on flavor. Last, I picked peach, because I figured you couldn't go wrong with that one. This one had the best flavor and I would actually go out of my way to drink it again. These are pretty much just fizzy sugar water though, so if you aren't a regular soda drinker (we only drink diet), you might feel like it's a bit much.

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Trying new foods is fun, but so is trying new DRINKS. 99% of Ramune drinks is opening it. The peach was the best. I found the Aladdin sake tasted a lot like rum, so I recommend it, especially for the cool bottle and the shimmer effect.. 🍶 🍶 🍶 #japanesesake #ramunesoda #japanesedrinks #japanstaycation #destinationdate #destinationdatenight #datenight #staycation2020 #responsibletravelers #covidstaycation #armchairtravel #mtfuji #mtfujijapan #mountfujijapan

A post shared by Shereen Travels Cheap (@srayle) on Oct 7, 2020 at 5:47pm PDT

Here you see the fun bottle of Aladdin sake. It's shimmery and really pretty. I don't speak or read Japanese, so I 100% bought this based on the bottle, knowing it would also be something I would use after I drank it. I liked it. It's very rum-like. I'd be into trying their other flavors. This was the Aizu Homare Nigori sake.

My second backdrop was this lovely Japanese village. 

I like having a second side that really sells the setting and makes me feel more into the destination.  

As usual, we brought the laptop out and took a tour from home. We did two Mt. Fuji tours - one was a drone tour and the other gave some fun tips - and then 3 different geisha performances while we were eating dinner.

I also got these lovely little sushi plates, with accompanying soy sauce dishes, that really showcased each piece we ate.

None of the our local sushi or Japanese places really have traditional desserts, besides mochi, so I picked up a box of Thai tea mochi from Trader Joe's. They also have more Americanized flavors, like chocolate and strawberry, and if you like an earthy flavor, they also have matcha. 

I always want to try all the cool candy I see at our local Uwajimaya store, so while I was picking up Ramune and sake, I also snagged some fun Pocky flavors and this mystery candy that turned out to be like little jawbreakers that are grape and wine flavored. There's also a third flavor in the middle, but I didn't make it to that and I really don't recommend these unless you're a fan of sour candies. Eric really enjoyed them. 

This was a spendy "night out", compared to our others, but I knew it would be. I want to say that it ran us around $160 with food and decor. Clearly, you can do this more affordably. Because of this date, we have talked about possibly taking an online sushi class. If you already make your own sushi, this can be a great activity to take you into your Japan adventure.

Here are some things that can help you make your Japan staycation awesome:

• Mt. Fuji backdrop
• Japan village backdrop
• Red tablecloth
• Japanese lanterns or bonsai tree
• Tea set
• Sake set
• Sushi plates <----these are the ones I have
• here are some that I also had on my list
• Sushi kit
• Sushi serving board
• Cherry blossoms 
• Japan playlist on YouTube - this is mine
• Travel guides for your eventual trip. Here are two I have on my wish list:
• A comic's guide called Cool Japan Guide
• A budget travel guide called Super Cheap Japan
• A fun board game, like Machi Koro

As always, make this as easy or as involved as you want. Tailor it to how you like to travel and do date night. Maybe get into a documentary (there's one on my playlist that we enjoyed) or learn some cultural traditions or learn to recreate a tea ceremony or learn a Buddhist prayer chant. There's so much you can do with each destination without actually having to be there. Go to your local Asian market and get all the weird foods, plan your dream trip, and start figuring out what you will pack on said trip. 

Have you ever been to Asia? If so, what was your favorite thing? If not, what do you look forward to the most?

Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links, and I may be compensated should you choose to make any purchases through them. This allows me to keep this blog running for you. Thanks in advance!

Why You Need Vacation Time

I know we're all sick of being in the house, with no foreseeable real vacationing in sight, but that doesn't mean you can't take a vacation. Just working straight through the year, even though you don't have a trip planned, isn't a great idea. You can and should still take time off, because it's good for you. Even if you don't go anywhere, you can still do a rad staycation. We've been doing destination date nights to break up the time spent at home and you can do something similar, while also planning for your next actual trip. 

Going on vacation is good for your body, mind, and soul. It's difficult when you realize you haven't been anywhere in a long time and realize that's why you're so stressed out. Make sure that not everything in you life is work and streaming shows, because you need the break. Get a bit creative right now to enjoy a change of scenery. We took a walk around our neighborhood the other night to look at Halloween decoration. We also drove to a nearby house that had a great Pirates of the Caribbean set-up in their yard. Look at Nextdoor.com or Facebook for some appropriately safe events in your area. I hear there's going to be drive-thru haunted houses this year, but this is also a great time to put on some boots and a mask and go visit a corn maze or a pumpkin patch. Just because we have to be careful, doesn't mean we have to stay in the house all day every day and go stir crazy. 

Where are you hoping to visit when it's finally safe to do so?

https://venngage.com/gallery/post/12-reasons-why-your-brain-craves-vacation/

How To Pack For a Cruise

In my last post, we had a cruise staycation. If you've been thinking about a cruise vacation, now is a great time to get started on a plan. Research your choices of ships and places to cruise and start saving for your amazing travel, since you have probably another year to plan for your next trip. Let's look at how to perfectly pack for a cruise.

Just because there are so many different things to do on the ship, it doesn’t mean you need to bring your whole closet. In fact, you can still pack light and have everything you need for your cruise.

• Bring multi-purpose items, like a top that you can dress up or down depending on the situation. A plain black tank top can work for a formal night when paired with a statement necklace and a light wrap.
• If you want to really dress up for those formal nights, invest in a bag like a Skyroll, that incorporates a garment bag in the design. You can pack all your regular stuff and then the garment bag wraps around it. Both are carry-on size, so you don't have to check them and *hope* they make it to your cruise. Another option is this 2-in-1 garment duffel.  I would still opt for a few pieces that can be reworn in different ways, even if it's just a little black dress or great pair of pants.
• A nice pair of sandals can also be worn for formal nights, so you don’t have to pack a pair of heels that you’ll only wear a few hours the whole time you’re cruising.
• Men can bring a lightweight sport coat and a few ties to dress up any outfit…and not have the same look twice if there’s more than one formal night on your ship.
• Aside from these things, bring what you normally do: 5 tops, 3 bottoms, a pair of really good walking/running shoes, a rain jacket, sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses. If you need more help packing light, here’s a post for you.
• Stage, roll and stuff. To avoid overpacking, set up a staging area where you can lay out everything you are packing. Make two piles: one with essentials and one of things you might need. Roll and pack your essentials first, then see how much room you have left for "maybes". Stuff shoes with socks, belts and other small items. Think of your bag like a game of Tetris and fill in all the available space of each layer. This will eliminate shifting and wrinkles as much as possible. You don't have to stuff your bag to the point of having to sit on it to close it though, because remember that you might want to buy some things at your ports of call. 
• Don't forget your passport if you aren't going to a closed-loop U.S. port.
• If you "check" your bag at the port authority, it may be an entire day before you get it delivered to your stateroom, so make sure you either don't check your bags (you can wander the ship with them, which you might find annoying) or have a smaller carry-on or tote bag with necessities like your bathing suit, extra clothing, sunscreen, camera, etc. I always have a packable tote in my bag just in case. This is a great way to use it.
• Take along a pop-up mesh laundry hamper. Not only does this keep your clean and dirty clothes separate, but it gives you something to carry your dirty clothes tot he laundry room. You aren't going to be doing something 24 hours a day on your cruise, but having to do a bit of laundry will remind you to slow down and take a breather. Plus, you can always start your load and hit the buffet while you wait.

I think you're ready to head out on the open seas now, with an excellent mix and match wardrobe that doesn't weigh you down too much. 

Have you been on a cruise that you adored? Let us know where you went and what cruise line you sailed.

Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links, and I may be compensated should you choose to make any purchases through them. This allows me to keep this blog running for you.