I’m in love…with the ryokan & onsen experience!! It’s like stepping back in time to old Japan. A ryokan is a type of traditional Japanese inn that usually features tatami-matted rooms, communal baths that are separate for men and women, with onsen (or hot springs), if you’re lucky. When you walk into Yudanaka Seifuso, the first thing you do is take off your shoes and don a pair of their generic one-size-fits-all blue...

A friend in the States asked me on Skype the other day if I’m really as happy as I appear in my Facebook photos, and the short answer is yes, absolutely. I’m meeting interesting, fun, kind & generous people, seeing beautiful places, and learning new things every day. It reminds me of when I sold most of my possessions the first time, 8 years ago, and moved across the country to California with just what fit in my little Toyota....