The Backpack Adventures

Day 15 May 31, 2018 Gifu - Nagano Road Trip Day 1 Finally! We're off to another road trip with our Japanese family. This time, we're heading to the Prefectures of Gifu and Nagano for a 4-day adventure.  Off to Shirakawago via the Tokai-Hokuriku highway God probably really wanted us to enjoy our trip today as he blessed us with finer weather compared to yesterday's torrential rains. We left home very early as we are in for a long drive going to our first destination which is the historical town of Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture.  Stopover at Hirugano Kougen   The road trip continues! Hida Tunnel Since our destination was quite far from Osaka, we had several stopovers like the road station in Taga City in Shiga Prefecture and at Hirugano Kougen (road station) in Gujo City in Gifu Prefecture. What I love about this road trip are the scenic views along the Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway and also the numerous tunnels which I don't usually see in the Phi

Day 14 May 30, 2018 Rainy Tsubasagaoka It seems like all the rain that did not fall in the past few days fell today. According to the weather forecast, this will continue until the evening. With this much rain, I suddenly missed our trip to Shirahama Beach a few days back. How I wish the weather today was that nice.  Regardless, the good thing about this weather was that it gave us no choice but to rest and prepare for our 4-day trip to Gifu and Nagano Prefectures tomorrow.   My wife and I also took this opportunity to cook for our Japanese family and clean our room.  No outdoor adventures for us today A rainy view from our room Hot cocoa for breakfast Our version of Tuna Pasta also for breakfast During lunch, Mr. Toshi and I got a lengthy chat about some good to know things about Japanese culture and tradition. We also discussed our itinerary for our trip tomorrow.  Nilagang baboy for lunch Lunchtime with our Japanese family Hope Springs with Ja

Located at Konohana-ku, Osaka City in Osaka Prefecture, Universal Studios Japan ( USJ )   is one of the four Universal Studios theme parks in the world. It is owned and operated by USJ Co. Ltd with a license from NBC Universal.  Universal Studios Japan  ( USJ ) Universal Studios Japan Details Universal Studios Japan is one of the most famous and most visited theme parks in Japan . It opened on March 31, 2001, which coincidentally happened to be during my 14th birthday (Do the math and you'd know my age already).  Welcome to Universal Studios Japan Universal Studios Japan Rates Here's what will first greet you when you enter USJ Look who came to meet us Strolling around the Hollywood-ish streets Can you guess the movie where this car was shown? Try some Butterbeer! My family and I first visited Universal Studios Japan during the 5th and 6th day of our 2014-2015 Japan adventure (You can click the links to read more about our first visit t