Alex Halavais

I’ve been to Kamakura a number of times and it is always fun. Be sure to get up into the hills a bit.

And while it’s hard to decide on the best fireworks to go to, don’t miss Kamakura’s in early August, launched from boats in the bay. The have the normal skyrockets, but speedboats also drop fireworks into the ocean near the shore, which blossom underwater and add spray. (Try not to think of the little fishies.)

If you are in Japan for a short time, you probably can miss Yokohama and head down to Kamakura instead. It feels like a much more westernized city—not entirely surprising, given its history. There are a few museums, and Chinatown is nice, but given the proximity of Tokyo, it probably need not be high on your list of must-sees.

A bit touristy, yes, but also very cool. If you can swing it, this is the best place to be for the o-bon festival.

I’m not sure it beats bonfires on Big Corona, but it’s a close second. Great beach for swimming—goes on forever.

It would be fine to live hear (if you could afford it)—it really is a pretty little town. Stopped in to watch a movie, and it’s one of those theaters where you suspect there may be movie stars watching with you (or at least stars of yesteryear). But I don’t know that it has much cache as a “destination.”

It’s a pretty quick drive from the coast (if you time it right, you can surf and ski on the same day :). I proposed to my wife in Big Bear a long time ago after a day of skiing.

I was a bit surprised not to see this on the list. Worth a day trip. Flying in is more fun, I think, since the channel can get choppy. Cool diving.

I was ready to be unimpressed, but it really is amazing. I’m not sure it’s worth a seperate trip, but it’s a nice way to punctuate a drive up the coast.

Went to college at UCI and lived in Newport Beach, Irvine, Laguna Niguel. Disneyland rubs off on a lot of the county, especially the south end. Conspicuous consumption and superficiality is the rule. That said, I recently returned and realized how much I miss it. This is as close to home as it gets for me. Certainly worth a visit.

Strange how the places you live when you are young imprint themselves on you. I like(d) the feeling of Boulder, it always felt a bit like you were being cradled by the surrounding mountains.