28/01/23 – 11/02/23
Hey hey. I will just put some pics and random notes of things I get up to while in Seattle. Here is the first couple of weeks. Twin Peaks got its own entry of course 🙂
1. On The Way
2. UW Campus
3. Sunn O))) @ Neptune Theatre
4. Ballard
5. Judge John Hodgeman @ Neptue Theatre
6. U District
7. Grand Illusion Theatre
8. Unwound – 2 nights!!
9. Underground Tour
10. Downtown Seattle
11. Huskies Basketball
12. Capital Hill
11/02/2023
I can’t believe it finally happened. After 30+ years and 3 visits to Seattle I was finally able to visit places indelibly etched into my brain.
I was a HUGE Twin Peaks nut back in the day. Still am I guess. If I am ever asked then ithout hesitation I will name it as the greatest TV show of all time. Like the rest of the world I was sucked into that dark and mysterious world, and the reality is I never left.
So with a bit longer here in Seattle this time I was determined to make it happen. Thanks to the internet I could locate most key places, and so I was just going to hire a car for the day and visit. Logistically that ws working out to be a bit of a pain, and so with more thanks to the internet I found David who runs dedicated tours (https://www.twinpeakstour.com). I figured what the hey, why not let someone who knows their thing guide me, so with ease I organised my tour.
From the outset David was a gem. We met downtown where he was resplendent in black FBI suit, and he was the right mix of professional guide, but Twin Peaks nerd. From there is was 4 hours of visiting key Twin Peaks locations all the while listening to soundtrack tunes and getting peppered with trivia questions. I did pretty well, so he started hitting me with the real hard questions and then it was all over!
All the locations were about 30 minutes east of Seattle, in either Snoqualmie or North Bend. So here we go, enjoy the trip through Twin Peaks 🙂
1. Laura and Donna Picnic Spot (also a scene of James on a motorcycle brooding ha ha)
2. RR Diner!!!
3. The “Ronette Pulaski” Bridge
4. The actual “Twin Peaks”
5. Welcome to Twin Peaks!!!
6. Sheriff’s Department
7. Shelley and Leo’s House
8. The Big Log from the opening credits
9. Murder Traincar
10. Great Northern and Snoqualmie Falls!!!
11. The Roadhouse
12. Ed and Nadine’s House
22-23/12/2022
A catchup post to finish off our Japan trip.
The last couple of days were relatively chill. The Thursday was just about getting out and doing a little more wandering and shopping in Tokyo. We mostly spent time in Akihabara, exploring the toys and pop culture.
As the sun went down we went to visit some more Christmas lights, this time in Roppongi. The view was great looking toward Tokyo Tower, and the number of TikTok’ers was testament to that too.
We capped off the night in another Ginza cocktail bar, this time the Music Bar, home to 3000+ records and a dedicated DJ. Nice strong, unique cocktails too 🙂
The Friday was one of those awkward days where we had until about 1pm before needing to head to the airport. We had a lazy morning and a Ginza brunch, and then made our way out. A final airport (not too bad) okonmyaki and it was on the plane home.
Mata ne Japan. See you soon.
16/12/2022
A quick post since this was a travel day. We jumped on the train to leave Kyoto and head for Hakone, in the mountains near Mt Fuji.
We had glorious weather so on the train were greeted with amazing views of Fuji-san (luckily, as the weather was threatening for tomorrow). We arrived in Hakone and in the train station I turned my back for 30 seconds and the girls were suddenly being interviewed by Japanese TV. Ha!
After their 15 seconds of fame, we made the trek uphill to our digs, K’s House Hakone. I had stayed at a few K’s House hostels before and always found them exceptional and this was no exception.
It was a quiet evening of Izakaya and some outdoor onsen before bed.
15/12/2022
Our last full day here in Kyoto. We didn’t have much left to do so to speak. I started the day with a bit of a cycle around the neighbourhood, and then we all got together to do a couple of last temples. First was Rinzaishu-Daihonzan, and then was to the classic Fushimi-Inari and it’s 1000’s of torii gates.
We wandered there for a bit, heading up the mountain and away from most the crowds. Lunch was some street food near the temple, before doing a little bit of last minute ceramics shopping.
Madeline and I then decided to head back to Osaka. We wanted to visit Dotonbori to soak up the neon and craziness, but top of the agenda was Rikuro’s Cheesecake. Why? They are one of the new Japanese sweet sensations… Jiggly Cheesecake!
We were super lucky to find the department store that had them freshly baked with a relatively short queue. Woo! So we waited and saw them in all their glory. And yes, they jiggle! How did they taste? Their appearance didn’t match the taste. They looked like cheesecake but were much more eggy, milky soufflé. But delicious!! We bought two 🙂
It was then off to Dotonbori for some takoyaki before heading back to Kyoto.
