In case you were looking for an excuse to head over to Cinema Saver before it closes, there's going to be a Super Smash Bros. Melee and HDR (mod of Smash Ultimate) tournament taking place there this Sunday!
Starts at 2pm, and new players are encouraged and will be helped to learn!
https://start.gg/champsgrounds
Find more events in the area here: https://upstatesmash.com/communities/southern-tie

This sub was so helpful in helping me plan my trip and what to pack so I wanted to post a review of what I ended up packing. An important caveat here is this is what worked for me. What works for you may vary depending on your itinerary, your luck with the weather, and your cold tolerance. Personally being from the American South where our winters are rarely colder than 40 F (4.5 C) I am a little weanie when it comes to being cold. I had literally never seen snow or walked on ice prior to this trip.
Our trip: our general itinerary was to fly into KEF, transfer to RKV, then take a domestic flight to EGS. We started our trip exploring the east and then made our way down the southern coast back to Reykjavik and ultimately flew home out of KEF. So we essentially did 1/2 the ring road.
Our weather: the lowest temps we experienced were mid 30’s F and highest temps were mid 50’s F. Through the majority of our days were in the low 40’s. We also had the delight of a yellow warning while we were in Hella that grounded our hiking for the day, and we experienced intermittent light hail throughout our trip.
Besides the obvious things you need to packs, here are some of things I spent time researching before packing.

1. waterproof hiking boots: a must pack. If you plan on doing any significant hiking or even walk around the city in the rain water proof boots will help keep you cozy and comfortable! However if you have older boots that may have lost some of their weather proofing I recommend reproofing them before your trip. My boots were a little bit leaky-er than when I last used them and I would have benefited from reproofing them.
   
2. Snow pants: I got these. Like I said I live in a warm climate and owned zero pairs of cold weather pants before this trip. Lots of people online said snow pants were over kill and I was hesitant to purchase these. But as a tall and always cold girlie having some warm pants that actually covered my ankles was game changing. Since I’m tall the pants being long enough was HUGE as they prevented rain from funneling directly down my leg and into my boots. I wore them almost every day while hiking and they were especially great on the beach as it was quite windy when we were there. They did get a little warm when the sun came out but I would compensate with removing top layers.
   
3. Water proof pants: If you plan to get close to any of the glorious water falls having water proof pants is a life saver. I paired mine with leggings underneath to prevent from freezing. I even wore them over the snow pants one time for glacier hiking as it happened to be pouring rain.
   
4. Rain coat: an absolute must. I used mine as a thin rain coat/wind breaker and layered underneath to match the weather. I got one that was on the cheaper side and while I don’t necessarily regret it if you have cause to splurge and get a nicer rain coat I say go for it. Mine did a great job keeping my dry visiting water falls and in light to regular rain. It did less well while hiking for hours in the rain atop a glacier. The material of mine feels more fabric-y and less plastic-y which I’m sure helps with breathability but I think water resistance is sacrificed and it has a hard time holding up to heavy or prolonged rains. But ultimately I’m not sure a more expensive coat would have performed much better.
   
5. Water proof winter gloves: these were great on our glacier hike and glacier lagoon zodiac boat tour. Granted they got soaked but they were still immensely helpful with windchill. I don’t know if I could have done either of these activities without gloves. If this stuff is not on your itinerary you could probably skip these and replace them with regular thinner gloves. I wore them a few additional times on the beach and when it was quite windy but never for long.
   
6. Fleece buff: loved this in place of a scarf for layering while hiking. Easy to pack away when too hot. Easy to pull up to covered more of your head and chin when too cold.
   
7. Quick drying towel: we got thin microfiber quick dry towels that pack down really well. They were great for when we went to natural hot springs or just drying off if we got rained on during a hike.
   
8. Water proof backpack cover: great buy if you want to get close to a waterfall while protecting your gear.
   

Things we didn’t get: some stuff just didn’t seem like a worthy investment for us since we live in such a warm climate. Sure they might have enhanced our trip, but we managed just fine without them. On this list is: wool socks, wool base layers, trekking poles, yak traks or other crampons, or mosquito nets.
Hopefully someone finds this helpful! Cheers!

Hello sneakerhead! I recently received a Nike Gift Card to use for designing my own sneaker. I attempted to do some research, but there was woefully little available. I was inspired to take note of time frame, and lots of photographs when received. Overall this was a simple process, and much quicker than expected.
4/21/23 - order placed, gift card not accepted on website
4/22/23 - called 800 number, direct to a human. Immediately fixed the problem after verifying identity
4/23/23 - order confirmed received email
5/6/23 - email received stating shoes on the way, 5/29 estimated delivery
5/10/23 - tracking shows customs acceptance
5/11/23 - Alaska -> Louisville, KY in a day!
5/12/23 - delivered, southern Indiana
Overall great experience. The options available are crazy! I did get my hopes up a little too early in the shipping process. UPS Worldwide Express Saver was the shipping method.
Photo Gallery of Unboxing:
https://postimg.cc/gallery/LMmchb0

seats.aero shows many days with business class saver availability between USA and Australia. Hope this helps someone. Note that winter is coming in Australia, so might not be the best time to visit the southern parts unless you have an appetite for rainy/windy.

Hi!! I'm a solo female traveller (first time travelling on my own so am pretty nervous). I'm planning to travel to both Melbourne and Sydney during my time in Australia, and I am thinking of taking a train from Melbourne's Southern Cross Station to Sydney's Central Station. (under NSW trainlink bookings - same company as with the NSW discovery pass)
I was given an 830 train from Melbourne to Sydney, and a 1950 train from Sydney to Melbourne. The train departing at 1950 will arrive in Melbourne at 0700, and is an overnight train. (Southern XPT TRAIN)
I'm not sure how safe economy class, or economy saver is, and whether I should opt for a sleeping cabin for the night train. ^ and how do the sleeper cabins work? Will i get a private compartment or will I have to share a compartment w strangers, and if so, will i be able to opt for an all female room?
Also, if anyone has any info on which parts of sydney/melbourne i should avoid safety wise, please lemme know as well! Any safety tips for solo travel in general as well would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :)

• Report: Freezing rain in part of Ontario and Quebec (Canada) put our electrical systems down. Trees fallen in the streets. Branches affecting electrical wires. Distributors' transformers exploding. People, more than a million in Quebec, without power. It was a cold night (0°C/32°F) Today, weather will be warmer, which will melt the ice. However, power should come back in a few days only. As too many incidents happened yesterday and there's just too many to fix in a day.
  
• 911 unavailable and overloaded when people called to report electrical fires on wires. People calling to report trees falling and dangerous situations were welcomed with messages telling the users to wait on the line or that the 911 was simply not available.
  
• Fire department, overloaded: A tree branch fell on a transformer on my street. They cut the power. While here and assessing the situation, a fire due to icy branches broke out elsewhere, and they had to leave in a rush. A fireman, tired, said to a group of people witnessing the situation: "We have our hands full. We normally get a dozen calls a days. We received 80!" My BIL is a fireman in the town over. 120 calls yesterday only. He expects the same situation today.
  
• Our electrical network is one of the best in North America. So much so that when states like ME, NY, and even southern ones like TX need support, we send our electrical workers to help as they're the best in the field. But it crashes, and it crashes hard.
  

What I learned:

• I need more AA and AAA batteries. Like a lot more.
• Need more Idahoan mashed potatoes. They're a life saver right now.
• More Spam too.
• Need to research more non cook food.
• I regret not buying a bluetti. I was still on the fence on it because I don't know what type to get with the budget I have. Well, I hesitated so much that by the time I needed one, it was too late!
• A cat is a good source of temporary heat and comfort.
• I rely on my phone too much for entertainment.
• My small 90s Sony pocket radio AM/FM is keeping me sane.
• I need to know how to use my prep.
• Need a camping pan. Hooray for a camping stove, but all I have to heat water is my Lagostina pots, and it's gonna take a while. Need a better system.
• I'm too nice. When the power went out, my neighbor (I live in a 4 apartments building) came outside, and we talked about the power outages. My dumbass opened her damn mouth about having 3 power banks, and I offered one to him to charge his and his wife's cell. Therefore, losing 1/3 of my charging capacities. Just a Canadian being Canadian and our overly nice attitude!
• Need a solar way to get power.

I decided to rearrange my BOB while the power was out yesterday and had sunlight as light. I cleaned and rearranged a few things.
(Long story short, my husband died recently, and I'm now a solo household - Our prep was a two backpacks thing. Him carrying the heavier items)
I tried to fit everything in one bag. Impossible. So I need to buy a 60L bag, and rearrange it for myself only.
I realized I don't know how to use many of the items I have: Can I add cold water to my mountain house meals? Will it still work? Can I use this small camping stove inside? The one with the white capsules you set on fire. Can I flush the toilet? Basic questions. But it added stress to my night.
(I wish I had a Bluetti right now!)

My car is currently at 62,300 miles and I've had the same tires since I purchased the car around 24,000 miles (I assume the tires I have are the stock OEM tires - Front tires are Goodyear Assurance, and back two are the Michelin Energy Savers).
I was recently quoted at a local tire dealership that I need low-rolling resistance tires if I want to keep my electric range. I looked at replacing with newer Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires, but for all 4 it runs about $1600, which isn't exactly cheap...
For reference, I live in Southern California and other than a few days of rain, I drive mostly city and highway in dry weather (although this past winter has been pretty wet, with all the rain we've been getting) - so I probably wouldn't need something like the Michelin Crossclimate 2's, which I've seen recommended for my model Volt here on occasion.
Would anyone have any recommendations on what tire might work best for my use case? Any advice is greatly appreciated. 🙂

I’m a part-time SAHM, my husband works FT and is the primary earner. We receive health benefits, etc. through his job. I say I’m PT because I have a flexible healthcare job where I can pick up hours here and there through the week if my husband can watch our baby (14 mo) while working from home. I typically work 15-20 hrs a month with this arrangement. We do not have any other childcare/babysitter set up and do not have family in the area that could watch her, especially on short notice.
I was just offered a great position with my company that is close by and pays $48/hr, which is excellent in my profession. I would probably need to guarantee 3 days/week if I accept. After speaking to my boss I know I would need to have a sitter available in order to accept.
So… how do you start finding childcare? what should I expect to pay them, and what gets included in that cost? What happens if they call out? The main deterrent for us hiring someone is price - we are big savers, we live in Southern CA (VHCOL) and if I had to pay someone essentially what I was bringing home, I’d rather stay home with my daughter myself. I like working but it’s not THAT important to me; I do like a routine but if we were independently wealthy, both my husband and I would probably just elect to be SAHPs, lol. But with this big pay bump, it might be reasonable to hire help.
Can anyone who shifted from SAHM to PT work clue me in on what to expect, and what the pros and cons have been for your family? What do you pay them in a week?
Apologies if these are dumb questions… none of my friends are in a similar situation

Planning a 3-continent trip in the July timeframe, and see a lot of X availability USA -> South America and South America -> Europe. Figuring out how to do a flight from Southern Europe to Northern Europe(late July) but it seems like there either isn’t saver award availability or the trip takes an extremely circuitous routing(I.e. FLR -> OSL via. VIE, WSW or via. IST). Is there a chance more saver availability will open up, or would I be better off hoofing it with an LCC (sometimes the base fare is less than the taxes and fees on the excursionist perk award)

Demographics: 28 year old Female living alone in Southern CA, with 2 cats
Here is a quick breakdown of my income, expenses, savings, & debt:

• Salary: $52k
• Monthly take home: approximately $3,300. I get paid on the 15th and last day of the month so it varies slightly.
• Monthly expenses: approximately $2,500
• Remaining: $800
• Savings: $6,000 (I have an additional $2,233 in my bank account that I was refunded for my school loans when I applied for the loan forgiveness but I'm not treating it as my money since the plan likely won't get approved by the Supreme Court. So I am planning on giving it back once the final decision is made)
• Debt: $7106.31 on my car at 2.44% interest, no CC debt
• Retirement: $12,834

I work for a small company that only offers the retirement option through the state (CalSavers). It's not great so I have transferred my retirement funds from previous jobs into a Roth IRA and will contribute on my own. I started my new job last August but have not started contributing yet (I know..)
My long term financial goals are to have 6 months of expenses in my savings ($16k), pay off my car, contribute generously to retirement, start a business or freelance, and hopefully eventually save up to buy a condo or a house. The house would be way down the line, especially here in SoCal.
I intentionally took a lower paying job because my goal is to leave the 9-5 life so I wanted a less stressful job that would allow me to have energy to work toward my other career goals outside of my working hours. My question is, where should I be putting my excess money? How much should I put toward my retirement each month and how much should I put toward paying off my car? Or should I try to build up my savings more since the interest rate on my car is relatively low?
I am debating taking a second job for a bit to meet these goals so that I can approach it more aggressively, but I fear that it would take away from my availability to work toward my personal projects (which involve trying to get into the film industry & working on creating my own music). I'm also fearful of a looming recession & still not knowing if/how that will affect me so I want to make sure I'm saving. Any input or suggestions would be much appreciated!

What are good options for kids and youth's transaction and savings account?
Great southern bank has an eSaver account for up to 17yr Olds, paying 5% interest up to $5000. No criteria needed to earn the 5%.
Westpac has a Bump savings account for teenagers paying 4% interest. Criteria is to grow the balance at the end of the month.
Any other options?

Recently replaced the stock Michelin EnergySaver tires after 70,000 miles. My front tires were pretty bad for a while... but I was still averaging about 45-48 mpg.
The EnergySavers ain't cheap, so I did some research and settled on the Pirelli P4 Persist AS PLUS because they have a really nice warranty.
But after a week my mpg is in the 38-40 range. It's also been uncharacteristically cold in Southern California- but I'm wondering if I messed up.. -10 mpg is a lot..
Have you replaced your tires with non stock and how have they impacted mpg?
(I have an '18 LX HEV)

Hello fellow travelers!
First off, if y'all reading this, thank you so much for expressing interest in reading my thoughts on this game! I am a very casual gamer, I just got my OLED Switch in May last year, and I've been having a blast! I played a bunch of RPGs since then, one of which was Octopath Traveler, and I can confidently say that it is one of the most fun video game experiences I ever had! And what do you know, I finished the secret boss of OT1 just in time for the Octopath Traveler II hype train to roll around!
As a way for me to keep track of my progress, and to maybe share helpful info to my fellow travelers, I decided to make a Reddit journal of my first playthrough of OTII! This will just be a stream-of-consciousness thing where I just blab freeform about my gaming experience, with the occasional tips and commentary.
Some disclaimers: I am NOT a min-maxer or strategist, I will be very casual with the way I play this game. Most of my decisions will be made on the basis of what I feel like doing. You are welcome to give advice on what I should do in the comments, just don't expect me to follow every single thing y'all mention. I also will be very honest with my commentary, so expect some criticism of story beats, technical issues and the like. I also ask that if you will comment on this, to please refrain from mentioning any spoilers from parts of the game I haven't encountered yet.
The way I decided to do this is I think I'm just gonna make a journal entry for each chunk of uninterrupted gameplay I finish, because I know there's some asymmetry with the story structures this time round. For this first entry, I'll be talking about my first four hours of gameplay.
Without further ado, let's begin!
CHAPTER ONE: Best bois!(SPOILERS FOR OSVALD CHAP 1-2 AND PARTITIO CHAP 1 AHEAD!)
- OK, so I actually played the demo and played a couple of first chapters, but I decided to start afresh with my physical cartridge since I want to experience the game in one straight playthrough. I played Osvald and Partitio in the demo first, and I enjoyed them so much that I decided to lock in on them.
- Starting with Osvald made the most sense to me from a storytelling perspective, a dramatic jailbreak just feels like a great way to open this grand adventure, and Emerald is a great starting traveler, since his story and its conclusion thematically contrasts with what will eventually happen to Osvald as he ends up taking 7 other travelers with him on his quest for revenge.
- Strategy-wise, Osvald ended up being a good pick as well, since his first passive really helped to smooth out the exploring experience. His Study Foe talent was also a godsend for breaking enemies. I will say that SP is a very scarce resource this early on, so make sure you stock up on Inspiriting Plums and judiciously use your elemental attacks. I ended up unlocking Elemental Barrage and the lightning AoE skill first, since I want Osvald to be as offensive as possible.
- Experiencing the story firsthand, I will say the pacing of Osvald's story is a little slower than I first anticipated. There was a lot of waiting for days to pass by, and there were moments were the music just completely disappeared, which I'm assuming was an intended choice, but it made the story feel sluggish at times. The choice of having his prologue split into two chapters is also odd to me, there's no reason why this couldn't have been just done in one chapter. I'm excited for what's ahead though, I am very interested in some of the new features in his kit, and I am hoping there's a hidden skill here that will turn Osvald into an OT1 Sorcerer. Also excited for his new path action, I have every intention of overleveling this character and this will be a great way to do that and get goodies at the same time.
- I guess another reason why this chapter felt slower than usual is because I ended up Scrutinizing the heck out of all the NPCs available to me. I don't regret it though, it really helps to flesh out the world at large, and you can get some bonus items and discounts along the way.
- Oh, and BTW, I am really digging this day/night cycle. I love how smooth the transition is between the visuals and music, and I love the idea of night being a slightly more challenging mode where you can get more exp and jp battling stronger enemies. I actually ended up wasting a few minutes just watching the title screen animation just to see the difference between the day and night versions, it all looked and sounded so different but cohesive.
- Battles this time around feel much more dynamic, it's amazing what some fancy camera angles can do to impact the flow of battle. The particle effects really add to the drama, and I love the additional voice lines between party members. As an XC fanboy, I'm all for my characters hyping each other up.
- Geography wise, Frigit Isle is definitely a memorable starting point. It's no Flamesgrace with the shimmering snow, but it's supposed to be a desolate icy wasteland, and it comes across in the art direction. I really appreciate that they made an effort to break up the linearity of the first game and added a lot more vertical and diagonal traversals and a lot more winding paths in the background and foreground. The escape route was surprisingly long and more fun to explore than I expected. The introduction of the canoe traversal mechanic was smooth and made sense in-game. The chapter ends in Cape Cold, which is very small compared to the typical starting town, but it's as good as place as any to rest up when you're out of SP and plums.
- after Osvald's chapter, I immediately made a beeline to the harbor at Anchorage to go to the western part of Solistia, where Partitio is. I love this new harbor system, it really added to the whole expanded feel of this game. After arriving on shore, I rushed towards Oresrush, but for a minute I though I got lost because I ended up passing the Leaflands, but eventually I found a path that got me back to the Wildlands and I finally arrived in my destination.
- Partitio's chapter was so much fun! I just love his wholesome vibe, and I don't care what anyone says, his southern accent is music to my ears, even if it is just a couple of degrees away from sounding like Goofy. As a H'aanit MC player, I'm used to extremely stilted dialogue, so I felt right at home with Partitio's vibe.
- Partitio's starting chapter, compared to Osvald, was much faster-paced and enjoyable. I love so many of the starring characters and NPCs, and I loved how they showed the passage of time through the timelapse of Papp's house. The thematic elements of the Silver Rush and the Age of Steam really tickled my fancy and made the town feel alive, and I had a lot of fun checking out the wares available on all of the NPCs. The big bad was a little basic, but very easy to hate, so I enjoyed putting him in his place. The plot twist with Roque was interesting, I am very curious at how Partitio's standoff with him will go down.
- Gameplay-wise, I love how they made Hire a much more prominent mechanic. I didn't really use it a lot in OT1, but this will give me the perfect excuse to integrate it in my party setup. I ended up choosing Ned as my first hire, and I really like his ability and his discount passive. I also realize how important money is to OT2, so I will be taking advantage of Collect and the merchant money passive as often as I can. As for his skills, I'm a little sad SP Saver is now gone from the merchant passives, and I was also sad that the merchant elemental is fire now instead of wind, but I am very excited to see the JP oriented skills, and I hope this will help a lot with grinding. Rest and Sidestep remains reliable AF.
- So something I noticed...... the first time I was in the Abandoned Mine area, it was daytime and there was a chest tucked in the first level that I opened immediately. The second time I was there, it was nighttime and for some reason the chest I opened was closed again. Is this a new thing, where chests appeadisappear or differ in content between day and night? Or is this just some random bug? I will have to pay attention to this more in my next playthrough.
- Now that I played them back to back I'm really excited that Osvald and Partitio will be sharing Crossed Paths stories together. I love how stark the contrast is between them: one is on a deeply personal and singular quest for revenge, while the other is on a altruistic quest to end poverty in the world for the benefit of everyone. It'll be interesting to see how they play off each other in their joint storylines. And I'm sure Osvald would love Partitio's LP just turning him into a elemental damage heavyweight. Also they are extremely hot NOW KISS
​
And the first chapter of my OT2 playthrough comes to a close! Hope you enjoyed my rambly account of me enjoying this cozy AF game! Please feel free to share your theories on Osvald and Partitio's totally platonic relationship, and if you have any advice and tips on how to make the most out of my experience, don't hesitate to share them! I am now planning on picking up Agnea and Hikari next. Happy travels everyone!

Hi all! Hope your Mondays are off to a great start. I am planning a trip for 5-6 people total, with the group being my wife's family and me. It's still a little unclear if my father in law will be joining, but planning on 3 hotel rooms in each location just in case. I have been to Japan 3 times, with my most recent trip in 2019.
I'm a little torn in that I'm basically doing a similar agenda to my previous trip, but I really loved it and feel it's the perfect way to experience Japan for the rest of the family since it will be everyone's first time.
I'm hoping for feedback on a few things:

• I know from my previous trip that underplanning is better than overplanning. Does this itinerary feel like that? Kyoto got a little packed because there's so much great stuff.
• Does anyone have recommendations from the hotels listed (or other similar ones?) Especially curious about ryokans in Hakone, the ones listed are some I found from previous posts on Japantravel. In general, I am aiming for 100-200 per room a night, willing to spend more on the high end of that range in Tokyo. For ryokan, 250-350 per person.
• Am I missing anything obvious? I am going pretty generic since it'll be everyone's first time. I left out lunches here, where I am planning on hitting ramen, udon, etc.
• Looking specifically for recommendations for seeing fall colors. I think we'll be a little before peak season, but if anyone has ideas I would love to hear them.

Tokyo (Oct 21-24)

Hotel Options: Since we’ll be in Tokyo twice, I was thinking a little bit nicer of a place on the front-end and a simple/business hotel on the back-end.

• Park Hotel Tokyo
  • Location: very central and convenient to many destinations.
  • Cons: Surrounding neighborhood doesn’t have a lot but easy to get anywhere
  • Price: 190-220 USD a night
• Hotel Century Southern Tower
  • Location: Western Tokyo, much more lively and is walking distance to many prime attractions - little further to others
  • Cons: could be a little busy/crowded
  • Price: 190-200 USD a night
• Hotel Risveglio Akasaka
  • Location: Central, convenient to a lot of destinations.
  • Cons: Surrounding neighborhood doesn’t have a lot but easy to get anywhere
  • Price: 160-170 USD a night

Oct 21

• Transportation to Hotel + Check-in (flight lands around 1:30pm)
  
• Main Activity: Explore Surrounding Area
  
  • Possible Attractions:
  • Tokyo Tower
  • Ginza Shopping Area
  • Imperial Palace
  • Koishikawa Korakuen Graden
• Goal: Walk and get acclimated
  
• Dinner: Sushi Zanmai (I've been there 3-4 times and it's always been reliable, but thoughts on other entry level places?)
  

Oct 22

• Main Activity: Meiji Shrine, Shibuya, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
  • Lots of walking, visiting all around the city
• Dinner: Tonkatsou Taihou (Tonkatsou, fried pork cutlets)

Oct 23

• Morning Main Activity: Tsukiji Fish Market & Teamlab Planets (Digital Interactive Museum)
• Afternoon Main Activity: Akhibara
• Dinner: Abe Ginzahonten (Tempura)

Oct 24

• Morning Main Activity: Tokyo National Museum & Ueno Park
• Transportation: Train to Hiroshima

Hiroshima (Oct 24-26)

Hotel Options:

• Sheraton Grand Hiroshima Hotel
  • 5 star hotel, one of the best in the city
  • Location: Everything is pretty central, right near the train station
  • Cons: Pricier than other options
  • Price: 170 USD per night
• Rihga Royal Hotel Hiroshima
  • 4 star hotel, roof top bar with great views
  • Location: right next to the peace memorial, great and central
  • Cons: no clear ones
  • Price: 90-120 USD per night
• The Knot Hiroshima
  • 4 star hotel, roof top bar with great views
  • Location: Right by the peace memorial, great and central
  • Cons: no clear ones
  • Price: 100-110 USD per night

Oct 24

• Main Activity: Explore the hotel surroundings
• Dinner: Nataga-Ya (Okonomiyaki, a Japanese pancake, has a specific style in Hiroshima)

Oct 25

• Morning Main Activity: Peace Memorial Museum and Park
• Afternoon Main Activity: Hiroshima Castle & Shukkeien Garden
• Dinner: Tsukiakari (Anagi meshi, saltwater eel)

Oct 26

• Morning Main Activity: Miyajima Island
  
• Transportation: Train to Kyoto
  

Kyoto (Oct 26-30)

Hotel Options:

• Cross Hotel
  • Central location, near a lot of the main attractions on the Westside of Kyoto
  • Looks simple but nice
  • 155 USD per night
• Solaria Nishitetsu Hotel Kyoto Premier
  • Central location, near a lot of main attractions on westside of Kyoto
  • Public bath
  • 175 USD per night
• Noku Kyoto
  • Northern location, little quieter and outside of the main tourist zone
  • Looks sleek and modern
  • 130-150 USD per night
• The Celestine Kyoto Gion
  • Gion district, a little more in the historical district
  • Public bath
  • 180 USD per night
• Kyoto Hana Hotel
  • Mix of Japanese/Western hotels
  • Central location in Eastern Kyoto
  • 140-160 USD per night

Oct 26

• Main Activity: Explore Surrounding Area
• Dinner: Sushi Matsumoto

Oct 27

• Morning Main Activity: Northern Kyoto - Arashiyama Area (Bamboo Grove) & Kinkaku-Ji Temple (Golden Pavillion) Early start! 6am wake up time so we can enjoy the bamboo grove without overcrowding
• Afternoon Main Activity: Explore Central Kyoto
• Dinner: Mishimiya-Tei (Sukiyaki)

Oct 28

• Day Trip! Takao Mountain Village. Has anyone done this before? I've read it's an awesome place to see fall colors.
  
• Dinner: Udon or Soba, casual dinner
  

Oct 29

• Morning Main Activity: Nishiki Market, Tea Ceremony. After two days of walking, we’ll plan a mini rest day, focusing more on central Kyoto and less walking
• Afternoon Main Activity: Kiyomizudera
  
• Dinner: Kiyamachi Sakuragawa (Japanese Kaiseki Tasting)
  

Oct 30

• Morning Main Activity: Fushimi Inari Shrine, Tofukuji Temple
  
• Transportation: Train to Osaka
  

Osaka (Oct 30-Nov 1)

Hotel Options

• Dotonbori Hotel
  • Basic and small but straightforward and clean
  • Very centrally located, maybe even too touristy
  • 100-120 USD per night
• Cross Hotel
  • Very centrally located
  • Little larger
  • 180 USD per night
• Hotel the Flag
  • Central location, right off the main tourist strip
  • New/boutique feel
  • 120-140 USD per night
• Hotel Androoms Shin-Osaka
  • Slightly north of main central tourist zone, little quieter
  • Large communal baths
  • 100-120 USD per night

Oct 30

Dinner: Ichimatsu (Yakitori)

Oct 31

• Morning Main Activity: Osaka Castle, Nishinomaru Garden
• Dinner: Kuromon Ichiba Market (try various Osaka street foods like Takoyaki and Kushikatsu)
• Night Activity: Halloween!

Nov 1

• Morning Main Activity: Leave to Hakone so we can enjoy the day in the mountains!
• Transportation: Train to Hakone

Hakone (Nov 1-2)

Hotel Options: Ryokan, Traditional Japanese Inn * Senkyoro * Seikansou * Gora Kansuiro

Nov 1

• Main Activity: Explore Hakone
  
  • Open Air Museum
  • Ropeway
  • Lake Ashinoko
• Dinner: Kaiseki at the Ryokan, typically served in the room
  

Nov 2

• Main Activity: Relax and maybe hike around Hakone
• Transportation: Train to Tokyo

Tokyo (Nov 2-3)

Hotel Options

• Hotel Ryumeikan
  • Central location, right by train station
  • 140-160 USD per night
• Hotel Risveglio Akasaka
  • Location: Central, convenient to a lot of destinations.
  • Cons: Surrounding neighborhood doesn’t have a lot but easy to get anywhere
  • Price: 160-170 USD a night
• Hotel Gracery Asakusa
  • In the historical district, could be nice to mix it up and end in this quieter neighborhood
  • Price: 140 USD a night

Nov 2

• Main Activity: Shopping and Walking
  
• Dinner: Isana Sushi Bar
  

Nov 3

• Main Activity: Asakusa Historical Area/Shopping

Nov 4

TBD if happening, depending on flight cost, as there are great saver awards on Nov 3