Field journal
家族の旅日記
A paper notebook for the trips we actually took: Christmas at the Gaylord Texan with the kids, Bushkill Falls, a Doraemon afternoon in Ariake, pumpkin season at High Hill Ranch, and Chiikawa Bakery in Harajuku. No shop. Just the photographs, the films, and the links we wished we had printed.
7 journals
クリスマスの旅
Indoor Christmas with kids. The first stay in this folder is Gaylord Texan.
Christmas Travel
ゲイロード・テキサンのクリスマス
If you are considering Texas this winter, take a look at Christmas at Gaylord Texan. It is one of the best-known indoor Christmas setups in the country. We happened to visit the one in Texas.
6 miles
From DFW, no hotel shuttle
Marriott
Card or Bonvoy points
2 nights
Enough with a young child
日本の旅
Stops we made in Japan: Chiikawa Bakery in Harajuku, and the Doraemon exhibit in Tokyo.
Japan Travel
夜中の熱、どうしたか
My wife spiked a fever in the middle of a Tokyo night, and the fatigue that came with it ended the day. We suspected influenza B, treated that as a question for the clinic, and got through it with a hotline, a Japanese note, a 7-Eleven run, and cash for the pharmacy.
Call first
Himawari by day, JNTO at night
Cash
Bring yen for the pharmacy
3 papers
Receipt, certificate, prescription
Japan Travel
ちいかわベーカリー原宿
Everything you need to know about the merch, the bread, and the kawaii vibes at Chiikawa Bakery in Harajuku.
Location
Harajuku, Tokyo
Reservations
Required via Japanticket
Time Needed
60 Minutes
Japan Travel
家族の思い出
If you grew up anywhere in Asia—or spent time watching Saturday morning cartoons after school—you already know how deeply Japanese anime shapes childhood memories. Walking into this special exhibition in Tokyo with my daughter felt like stepping straight into my own childhood daydreams, this time seeing it through her eyes.
Read Trip Story →名所
The place that was the reason for the drive.
Famous Locations
列を飛ばすコツ
Whenever we fly into Sacramento International Airport (SMF) with the family, the rental car stop is quick once you know the building. It is one story, the shuttle uses two curbs, and a free Avis Preferred or Budget Fastbreak membership lets us skip the counter.
Free
Avis Preferred and Budget Fastbreak
Two curbs
Outer drop-off, inner return
30 sec
Film the car before you leave
Famous Locations
ペンシルベニアのナイアガラ
We took the kids to Bushkill Falls, the place people call the Niagara of Pennsylvania. The Main Falls drop through a wooded gorge in the Pocono Mountains, the mist sits on the stairs, and the day stays easy once you pick the right trail.
$15 / $9
Adults and kids, roughly
45 min
Yellow Trail
No stroller
Bring a carrier
Famous Locations
かぼちゃの季節
Pumpkin season at High Hill Ranch: scarecrows under the pines, a giant apple, one shared trout, and the donut line. The traffic hack is at the end.
The practical bits from the trips: what it costs, what to skip, and the order that kept the day calm. Photographs for these stops are still being added.
Famous Locations
We walked the cove for clear water and the animals, and parking decided whether the day felt easy. The cave, the seawall, and a guided snorkel were the parts I would plan again.
Before 9
Easiest street parking
145 steps
Down and back up
$13
Adult cave ticket now
Hotel Reviews
Rooms on the La Jolla water were more than we wanted to pay in peak summer, so we slept inland and drove to the coast. A kitchen, a grocery store, and a reservation made with the hotel itself mattered more than the lobby.
Book direct
The lesson that stuck
15 min
Sorrento Valley to the cove
$500–$700
Cove rates we walked away from
Theme Parks
I bought one dining pass for myself and treated it like a timer: a real plate every hour and a half, then back to the shows. It paid off on our visit because I started hungry and stayed at the restaurants that actually take the pass.
90 min
One scan, then you wait
Side or dessert
Not both
$59.99
Adult price to recheck
Theme Parks
We looked at the Chase Disney Inspire card because tickets and hotel nights add up fast. The useful credits are real, and a few of the bonuses only pay off if we were already going to spend that money.
$149
Annual fee to recheck
$300 + $200
Welcome offer we saw
$100
After $200 in tickets
Famous Locations
We went aboard because the kids wanted real airplanes they could walk around, and the flight deck was the part that worked for every age. I learned to do the narrow decks first, then stay up in the open air.
Flight deck
Start here with kids
15 min
Film is loud and dark
4 p.m.
Last admission
Special Trips
I almost spent the night outside a locked terminal because I thought every building at Haneda stayed open. With children, the useful plan is Terminal 3, and a capsule hotel is the plan I would skip.
T3
The terminal that stays open
Under 12
Not allowed at First Cabin
1:15 a.m.
Last listed T3 shuttle
旅の写真
Every frame belongs to a trip. Open the story from the card.
