Vancouver (2024)

Vancouver (2024)

We recently took a somewhat last minute trip to Vancouver, BC earlier this month. Part of the trip was for D’s birthday but we actually had ulterior motives to make a trip to our neighbors of the north. Due in part to recent current events, we had discussed the possibility of moving out of the country. I had some contacts for potential work in Canada, where you need to have a job offer in hand to obtain a work visa to move there.

On early Sunday morning we made our way to the airport (with our flight times both leaving and arriving, we elected to leave our car at economy parking) with great time and then eventually had an early lunch prior to boarding. There was actually quite a bit of choice in the terminal (CPK, Wahoo’s fish tacos, Wolfgang Puck (pizza and regular food), a Mexican place, Habit burger, along with Peet’s and Starbucks). We settled on Point the Way Cafe (which is run by Golden Road brewing).

Our flight was slightly delayed but we still landed in the afternoon and once our rental car was obtained (my first time driving a Volkswagen Tiguan) we got on the road and headed east of Vancouver. Being further north, it got dark real quick and felt like night-time when it was only like 4:30 pm. There was some light drizzle during the drive but overall the 1 hour 40 minute drive was smooth. I also had to get used to driving in km/hr vs mph – and didn’t know what the average speeds were (how much over the speed limit can you drive without getting pulled over).

Miyajima Island, Hiroshima, and last day in Tokyo

Miyajima Island, Hiroshima, and last day in Tokyo

Even though I was under the weather and tied to being close to a bathroom, the show had to go on and our trip wasn’t going to just end (even though I had fleeting thoughts of telling my wife to go ahead and I’d just go back to Tokyo and hole up in a motel until our flight home).  I’m glad that I pushed forward and finished off the trip.

From Kyoto we hopped on the Shinkansen again and continued our trip westward.  Our destination was Itsukushima, or Miyajima Island, which is located just off the coast of Hiroshima.  We initially thought we’d stop in Hiroshima first prior to heading to the island.  However given the time of day when we arrived in Hiroshima, we altered our plans and decided to go to the island first and would check out Hiroshima on our way back to Tokyo the following day.  To get to the island you need to take a ferry.  Strangely enough there are two competing companies but they operate right next to each other at the ports.  One of the ferries is operated by JR and since we had the JR pass, we could ride for free.  It was a very short trip (10 minutes) to get across the channel.

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As we approached the island, we sailed right near the large Torii gate that sits in the middle of the water.  I managed to snag a few shots even though it was quite foggy. Continue reading “Miyajima Island, Hiroshima, and last day in Tokyo”