Adventure, Travel

teal takes on… MariCar

BY: tealLeave a comment

“How is that legal?!”

That is what I say every time I finish go-carting, in traffic, dressed as a video game star, through Tokyo’s busiest neighborhoods, without a helmet — or a seatbelt.

It’s called MariCar. NOT Mario Kart as stated specifically on the MariCar website following a copyright infringement lawsuit against Nintendo. I’ve been lucky enough to take on this  four times (so far) and each ride is just as fun as the last!

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I have great memories of playing MarioKart on Super Nintendo with my brother. I was always Princess Peach. And I always lost. I realize now these early years of crashing into barricades and driving the wrong direction were a strong indication of my future real-life driving skills (or lack thereof). My friends and family can strongly atest to this.

Still, when we moved to Japan and heard about MariCar — it was quickly added to the Japan Bucket List.

But — for many tourists who see Mario and Yoshi whizzing by Tokyo Tower or zooming through Shibuya Crossing and decide to add it to their travel plans — it’s likely too late.

Here’s what you need to do in advance in order to channel your inner Mario, Luigi or Donkey Kong and take on MariCar:

  1. You’ll need a valid Japanese, SOFA (issued to military members & their families stationed in Japan) or international driver’s license. For U.S license holders, AAA is a good bet for your international driver’s license. Download the application and take it, along with two passport photos, your valid U.S. driver’s license, and a $20 fee to your nearest AAA branch.
  2. Make a reservation. MariCar is hugely popular and even with seven locations in Tokyo, (there are also locations in Yokohama, Kyoto, Osaka and Okinawa) the number of tours each day are limited. Facebook Messenger is the best and fastest way to make your reservation and the team at MariCar is fantastic about following up with instructions and reminders ahead of your  visit.

MariCar Day:

Arrive early as you’ll need to take care of a few things before hitting the road including signing waivers as well as showing the license which allows you to drive in Japan and your passport.

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After you’ve taken care of the paperwork, it’s time to pick your costume! Selection ranges from classic characters like Mario, Toad, Princess and Bowser to Minions to superheroes like Batman and Spider-Man.

After you’re decked out in the costume of your choice (I’ve opted for Princess Peach, Yoshi and Mario so far!), your tour guide shows you how to operate the go-cart, explaining all of the buttons and knobs you’ll be using along the way.

There isn’t any racing involved in MariCar. After all, you’re driving on real roads with real traffic, so passing or shifting position with someone in your group isn’t allowed unless you’re stopped at a traffic light. Guides will also remind you that you’re not allowed to throw banana peels into the roads — or red & green shells for that matter!

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This is a fantastic way to see Tokyo as you cover some serious ground in 2-3 hours, depending on which tour you decide to do. Options include routes that take you past Tokyo Skytree, Asakusa, Ueno Park, Tokyo Tower, Shibuya Crossing — even over Rainbow Bridge (not Rainbow Road, but close enough right?!)

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It can be intimidating at first, but before you know it, you’ve got the hang of the go-cart and find yourself putting ‘the pedal to the metal’. What may surprise you, is how many people in cars driving along side you and walking on sidewalks who wave and stop to take pictures! Prepare yourself to feel a bit like a celebrity for a couple of hours!

And the icing on the cake — your guide takes great photos along the way and simply AirDrops them to the group once the ride is over.

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So the only question… which character will you be as you zip through Tokyo?!

 

Adventure, Travel

teal takes on… mount fuji

BY: tealLeave a comment

Sushi, Nintendo, Toyota, anime, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, sumo wrestling and cherry blossoms.

I’ll be honest, when I found out we were moving to Japan, that was about the extent of my knowledge of the country I’d soon call home. Predictable and quite limited.

I HAD heard of Mount Fuji though. And summiting the famous mountain quickly found a spot on my bucket list.

Yes, you read that correctly.

People who know me, know that camping and hiking aren’t really my thing. We’ll get to that shortly.

Mt. Fuji or Fujisan as we now refer to her, is an active volcano — and with an elevation of 12,388 feet, Japan’s tallest mountain. She is a beautiful, important symbol of this country and the subject of countless pieces of artwork, songs and souvenirs.

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I love flights when we’re able to catch a glimpse (and pic) of her from the sky.

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And on clear days, we’re lucky enough to see her (from a distance) from multiple spots flightline fujion NAF Atsugi where we live. It’s funny, on those days… as I run errands or head out on an adventure, people will stop to say ‘did you catch Fujisan today?’ or ‘doesn’t Fuji look gorgeous this morning?’ On the days she isn’t hiding in the haze, people seem to have a bit more of a spring in their steps. There’s no question the mountain is majestic and impressive.

Back to that bucket list… the window to hike Mt. Fuji each year is short. Climbing season is limited to about 2 months, usually the start of July through about the first week in September. The trails are not open the remainder of the year due to safety concerns stemming from bad weather and poor visibility. Often times Fujisan is still snowcapped in June! Chris had a month-long break from deployment so we picked a day in August to check Fuji off of our list!

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Fujisan still showing signs of snow in early July (less than two months before our hike!)

Preparation:

Since hiking isn’t really my thing, I had grand plans to prepare and train for our adventure. There are several smaller mountains with shorter hikes nearby. I figured I’d check out a few. It didn’t happen. My backup plan was to spend some quality time on the StairMaster. Eeeek. That didn’t happen either. What can I say?! The summer got away from me!  I did walk and run a fair share so I wasn’t completely out of shape…. but admittedly, I was pretty nervous about how I’d do on our trek.

As for gear — I invested in hiking shoes (as opposed to boots because I didn’t want them to be too heavy) and hiking socks. I don’t own any special hiking pants or clothing so I wore layers — leggings on the bottom and a t-shirt, long sleeve athletic shirt and a rain coat. I borrowed trekking poles and a CamelBak (which I later purchased and highly recommend!) from friends. A friend of mine also sewed her own gaiters. Gaiters help to keep the volcanic gravel and ash we encountered from getting into boots and shoes. If you don’t have a sewing maching or a crafty friend — try these.

Hiking Day:

4:00 a.m. Hit the road for the drive to Fujisan

6ish a.m. Arrival at the Fuji Subaru Line 5th station (a tourist destination even if you don’t plan on hiking with restaurants, shops and beautiful views). Here, we spent about 45 minutes acclimating to the change in altitude. During that time we purchased a hiking stick (you can have stamps burned into the stick on the way up and it makes for a great reminder of your adventure!) and mailed postcards from Fuji’s post office. Here, shops also sell hiking gear, water, snacks and canned oxygen (for altitude sickness) in case you’ve forgotten anything. You can purchase all of those things in huts on the mountain, but the higher you climb, the higher the price!

7:00 a.m. The trek begins. There are four trails leading to the summit of Mt. Fuji. We made the climb on the Yoshida Trail, which is also the most popular thanks to its close proximity to public transportation and the fact that there are two first aid stations (comforting!) and several huts for supplies along the way. The trail is made up of several switchbacks as you make your way up. After every few zigs and zags we stopped for about 30 seconds to take a quick sip of water and catch our breath. We really only took one real break — a five-minute stop where we actually sat down and ate a granola bar. We were also lucky not to experience altitude sickness.

The views were nice to start, but visibility decreased as we got higher and made our way into the clouds. We experienced a bit of rain and toward the top and the temperature dropped quickly. I was thankful for gloves and extra layers. The hike proved challenging and there were several spots where scrambling (hiking terminology for using your hands along with your feet when climbing) was necessary, but I never felt defeated. The longer we hiked, the more confident I became.

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11:15 a.m. SUCCESS!

We summited in 4 hours and 15 minutes. It was cold, windy and unfortunately we didn’t experience the stunning views we’d heard about and seen pictures of. We were socked in by the clouds. Still, Fujisan’s summit is spectacular. We spent about half an hour at the top for some rest and sustenance (ramen & beer!).

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I remember feeling this fantastic sense of accomplishment! A reason to celebrate! And then you remember — you’re at nearly 13,000 feet — and you have to get down. I asked my husband (a helicopter pilot) if he could call in a favor and get us a ride down… no such luck.

11:45 a.m. The descent. I found the way down to be just as challenging as the climb. The loose gravel on the trail made it easy to slip as you gained speed, and it was tough on the knees and ankles. We clipped along, and 2 and a half hours later we were back at the Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station.

2:15 p.m. Climbing Mt. Fuji — officially checked off the bucket list. If you’d like to add it to yours, don’t miss this website, for everything you need to know.

There’s a saying here in Japan: “He who climbs Mt. Fuji is a wise man; he who climbs twice is a fool.”

I’m not saying Fujisan made a ‘hiker’ out of me, but I wouldn’t rule out a second climb in the future. Maybe that makes me a fool — a fool who loves adventure… and a fool who loves her husband (an avid hiker).

 

Adventure, Travel

teal takes on… 3,262 miles

BY: tealLeave a comment

In June, Chris and I made the drive (actually — he drove, I rode) from Newport, Rhode Island to San Diego, California.

3,262 miles.

From the northeast to the southwest.

Atlantic to Pacific.

It doesn’t get much more ‘cross-country’ than that.

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But as adventure-seekers, Chris and I saw the many hours we’d spend in our SUV as an opportunity rather than a burden. After all, we’d get the chance to visit new places and see friends and family along the way.

Disclaimer: This may be a long post because, well… it was a REALLY long drive.

Day 1: Newport to New York — 185 miles, then New York JFK — London Gatwick

I know, I know… England isn’t exactly on the way to California.  In fact, it’s completely the opposite. Long story, short — we scored ridiculously inexpensive flights on Norwegian Air and decided to go for it.

Days 2-6: England

We visited our dear friends (Kevin & Sonya) who are living just outside London, in the village of Beaconsfield. I spent a semester in London during college, so experiencing a smaller community in the countryside was different than the hustle and bustle of the city, but oh-so-charming. We also spent some time seeing the sights in London and Oxford. I’ll be sure to write more about our trip across the pond in another post.

Day 7: London Gatwick — New York JFK, then New York, New York to Philadelphia Suburbs — 103 miles

Our flight back to the states didn’t land until late, but we decided it best to hop in the car and get away from NYC so we wouldn’t have to fight New York traffic the next morning. We made it past Philly to the suburbs before calling it a night.

Day 8: Pennsylvania to Lexington, Kentucky — 634 miles

This was a MONSTER of a drive, but we wanted to make it to Lexington.

Lexington is home to the Kentucky Wildcats, great bourbon and my amazing friend Leslie, and her family. Leslie was my roommate the semester I spent in Washington DC at Georgetown. We were fast friends and have stayed in touch ever since.

Day 9: Lexington, Kentucky to Louisville, Kentucky — 78 miles

As a pediatric resident with two kids, Leslie is crazy-busy so I was grateful we were able to time our visit for the ONE day she had off in the entire month of June. We spent the day catching up before heading an hour or so down the road to Louisville.

Louisville is home to my friends Tiffany and Ryan. Tiffany is a meteorologist, and the two of us worked at competing television stations when I was a morning news anchor in Waco, Texas. As if the day couldn’t get any better, my brother Spencer and his girlfriend Alyssa made the trip down to Louisville from Indianapolis. The six of us spent the evening at the historic Churchill Downs (home to the Kentucky Derby) for ‘Downs After Dark’ — an evening of horse races, live music and of course Mint Juleps. It was fantastic, except our luck when it came to betting on the horse races (I suppose making picks based on the horse’s name I liked best wasn’t exactly a good strategy).

Day 10: Louisville, Kentucky to Nashville Tennessee — 176 miles

We spent the majority of the day in Louisville before a two-and-a-half hour drive to Nashville to see friends Rebecca Schleicher and Drew Cunningham. They moved to Music City about a year ago. Rebecca and I worked together at the NBC-TV station in Waco.

Day 11: Nashville

It was a Monday, so while our hosts were at work, we explored Nashville! We began in Drew and Rebecca’s neighborhood, 12South — a trendy neighborhood where we hit up The Frothy Monkey for breakfast and coffee and Draper James (Reese Witherspoon’s boutique clothing store). We continued our exploration in Centennial Park and the Vanderbilt University campus (where we even managed to sneak inside the football stadium) and grabbed lunch at Puckett’s Grocer (one of Chris’ favorite Nashville spots).

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After Drew and Rebecca returned from work, we hopped in an Uber to Broadway Ave., home to a number of Music City honky-tonks. We ventured to Acme Feed & Seed, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and a few other spots. It’s Nashville, so obviously we listened to fantastic live music everywhere we went.

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Day 12: Nashville, Tennessee to Little Rock, Arkansas — 349 miles

On the road again — this time to Little Rock (by way of Memphis). We made it to Memphis by midday, where we had lunch at Pearl’s Oyster House on Main with Chris’ friend Matt (the two played sprint football at the Naval Academy and spent time in the same helicopter squadron). We wished we had more time to check out Memphis, but were aiming to make it to Little Rock before the Clinton Presidential Library closed for the evening (we made it). After learning about the lives and careers of Bill & Hill we were ready for some food (Lost Forty) and trivia (Flying Saucer) before turning in.

Day 13: Little Rock, Arkansas to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma — 372 miles

For those who don’t know, three of my husbands favorite things are Presidential Libraries, craft beer and National Parks. We’d already hit up the Clinton Library, and I happened to discover the only craft brewery IN a National Park on the way to our next overnight. Enter, Hot Springs National Park, known for it’s historic bath houses built around the hot springs. After a short hike in the park, we made our way to the brewery and distillery (housed in a former bath house).  We also managed to chow down on some Arkansas BBQ before heading on to Oklahoma.

 

We arrived in OKC fairly late, but did have time to walk around the Brickyard neighborhood and see the canal before getting some shuteye.

Day 14: Oklahoma City to Santa Fe, New Mexico — 534 miles

Another long day in the car. We stretched our legs and filled up on Tex-Mex in Amarillo, Texas (I couldn’t convince Chris to try the Big Texan Challenge).

Upon arriving, we relaxed with margaritas and live music, did some window shopping (the jewelry the southwest is famous for isn’t exactly my thing) and grabbed dinner.

Day 15: Santa Fe to Scottsdale, Arizona — 468 miles

More time exploring New Mexico’s capital city — we visited the Rail Yard District, stopped in a few art galleries and (on a hundred degree day) had Hatch Green Chile Stew.

Scottsdale was hot, dry and really hot. We hit up a few Happy Hour spots before collapsing in bad.

Day 16: Scottsdale to San Diego, California — 363 miles

At this point we’d been living out of suitcases for more than two weeks — we decided it wouldn’t hurt to do a little relaxing. We got a late check-out and soaked up the Arizona sun at the pool before starting the final leg of our cross-country journey. Several hours and a couple of border security checkpoints later and we’d made it to San Diego….where North Park would be home for (just) 3 and a half months.

By the way, serious props to my husband who drove every one of those 3,262 miles. I thank you (as does anyone who was on our route during those 16 days).

Adventure, Travel

teal takes on… 1 year, 3 countries, 27 states

BY: teal1 Comment

I am incredibly lucky to have married someone who shares my love for adventure. Someone who, like me, is up for anything.

In our first year of marriage, Chris and I spent the night in 3 countries, 27 states — and countless cities. We basically always had a bag packed and ready to go (okay, okay… HE was always ready to go. I’m more of a procrastinator when it comes to the packing).

We got in the car and moved to Newport, Rhode Island exactly 13 hours after our wedding ended in Iowa. We arrived a day and a half later and moved into the Navy Lodge on base (a glorified hotel room) for the next 3 weeks.  It was, without a doubt, a whirlwind — but I will always be incredibly thankful for our year in Newport, as it allowed us TIME together. After all, we didn’t live together until that first day after we got married.

So, what were we up to in that first year of marriage?

We spent time in: the U.S. (obviously), Canada (a frigid, romantic trip to Montreal), and England (a wonderful trip visiting wonderful friends).

And: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia — AND Washington DC.

I have grand plans of doing city guides for a few of these spots. In the meantime, I’ve got some serious packing to do.

Adventure

teal takes on…

BY: tealLeave a comment

I’ve always loved adventure. From an early age that meant dragging my parents on the Chicago Loop roller coaster at the local carnival 7 times in a row (I wasn’t tall enough to go by myself), producing and anchoring my own TV show (Good Morning, Mason City) from my childhood basement and skiing down the tallest, steepest hills I (thought) I could handle.

Chicago Loop -- apologies to my parents for making you ride this over and over and over.
Chicago Loop — apologies to my Mom & Dad for making them ride this over and over and over.

Thanks to my adventurous spirit, I’ll try (nearly) anything once. I’ve ‘taken on’ skydiving, roller derby and wild rickshaw rides in the streets of Agra, India.  I’ve tried my hand at goat roping (yes, goat roping), a circus trapeze and archery with Ted Nugent.

Hanging out on Ted Nugent's ranch.
Hanging out on Ted Nugent’s ranch.

But adventure doesn’t have to mean spending big bucks traveling to Asia or jumping out of airplanes.  Each and every day brings opportunity to ‘take on’ something new.  You can ‘take on’ that new Ethiopian or Persian restaurant in your city, an amazing hike you’ve been meaning to find time for, or a nearby city you’ve never explored.

My goal is to ‘take on’ something new at every opportunity.  I hope you’ll join me!