Visit Japan: Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

On our fourth day in Osaka, we had our sights set on the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan—but as always, breakfast came first.

It’s the perfect way to start a morning in Osaka. Fresh seafood, sizzling wagyu, sweet fruit, quick bites… it’s impossible to get tired of the food here. Even on a return visit, we found new things to try and old favorites we couldn’t resist.

After breakfast, we hopped on the train and made our way to the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan.

Tip—buy your tickets online ahead of time. You’ll need to select a designated entry time, but it’s 100% worth it. When we arrived, there was a long line for same-day tickets, and we were able to skip it entirely and walk right in.

Getting there was easy—the train station is about a 5-minute walk from the aquarium, making it a super convenient stop.

The aquarium itself? Incredible!

It’s one of the largest aquariums in the world. The layout takes you through different regions of the Pacific Rim, with 27 tanks in 16 main exhibits along the way.

The highlight, of course, were the two whale sharks. Seeing one up close in such a huge tank is pretty surreal—it just glides through the water. But we were amazed by all of the different sea creatures to see, from vibrant tropical fish to mesmerizing jellyfish.

It’s one of those places that both kids and adults can fully enjoy. You can move through it quickly, or take your time —we definitely did a bit of both.

If you're visiting Osaka, you'll definitely want to add this place to your itinerary!

 

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Visit Kauai: Tubing Adventure with Kauai Backcountry Adventures

On a recent vacation to Kauai, we wanted to try something new and decided on the much recommended tubing adventure at Kauai Backcountry Adventures. The unique tour takes you tubing down an old sugar plantation irrigation system, through open canals and tunnels hand-dug circa 1870! Tour participants must be 5 years or older, at least 43 inches tall, and not weigh more than 300 pounds. 

Our transportation to the tubing site.

Where we got fitted for gloves and helmets.

The check-in point is conveniently located in Lihue where you will check-in, be weighed, and fitted with gloves and safety hat. The kids and I wore our swimsuits, rashguards, and water shoes (crocs are good). Don't forget the sunscreen and towels. They will have containers to keep your items dry. Also, make sure to use the restrooms before leaving as they are the last flushing toilets for the next 3 hours.  

When your group is ready, you and your guide will take a four-wheel-drive ride through the former Lihue Plantation lands and enjoy gorgeous views of Mt. Wai’ale’ale. Our tour guide, Noah, was great and gave us a history of the land and kept us entertained with stories.

Before you enter the water, the staff will go over the safety rules and then one by one you will get seated in your tube. It's a little hard to stay together with your friends and family, but the staff will reunite you at the end. The adventure goes for 2.5 miles through 5 tunnels. I really enjoyed it and was surprised how quickly we moved through the water. The slowest moving part is the lazy river at the end which took about 15 minutes, but made for great photos!

Tubes are waiting!

And we are off!

After we got out of the water, we dried off and enjoyed a lunch of make your own sandwiches, chips, and cookies. The picnic spot was near a swimming hole, but there wasn't too much time before we needed to head back. Overall, it was a great excursion that we all enjoyed. It's a very unique kind of tour that I definitely would recommend to visitors. The company also offers zipline tours and a Hawaii residents' discount.

   

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Dave & Buster's New Ala Moana Location

Prize from Human Crane Game!

Dave & Buster's Honolulu has a new home at Ala Moana Shopping Center, first level, across from Foodland Farms. The new location has a larger midway of over 120 games and VR experiences. Featured games include Godzilla VR, Wicked Tuna, life-sized versions of Hungry Hungry Hippos, Minecraft Dungeons Arcade, and the thrilling Human Crane experience.

Also new is a 49-seat state-of-the-art sports bar and a self-serve beer wall; six interactive  private Game Suites where guests can book their own dedicated space with a game choice of either High Tech Darts or Digital Shuffleboard; A VIP Room; and "The Arena" - two immersive rooms featuring interactive digital floors, walls, and ceilings. 

One of the dining areas

Basketball and Football Games

New games

Dining spaces

Pepperoni Flatbread

Southwest Salmon Bowl

Game Day Grub Sample Board

Strawberry Shortcake

S'mores Cheesecake

After attending the media event, I returned with my son a couple of weeks later to play games. It was very busy with a long line of people waiting for tables, but if you are just looking to play the midway you can access one of the many self-service kiosk to load your power card. What I was most excited to see was that you can redeem your tickets for dessert! We are definitely doing that next time when it's not as crowded.  

Be sure to check out their website for the many promotions including Half-Price Games Wednesdays and College Night Thursdays where College students receive a free $10 Power Card with a valid student I.D. (Thursdays, 9 p.m. - close, 18+ only). Military members and first responders receive 15% off food and non-alcoholic beverages with valid I.D. 

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Visit Maui: Molokini Crater with Kai Kanani

 

Visiting Molokini Crater on Maui has been on my bucket list for some time so I definitely wanted to make it happen on a recent trip to Maui. I researched the many tour companies that go out to Molokini and I am happy to report Kai Kanani Sailing surpassed all our expectations! Here’s why we chose their Sunrise Deluxe Snorkel: 

1. They welcome all ages! Infants 1 and under are free and children 2-12 are charged a discounted rate. They also offer 15% off for kamaʻāina with a Hawaii drivers license or state ID. 

2. They leave from Maluaka Beach in Makena, which was just 15 minutes away from our hotel in Kihei! Even better if you are staying in Wailea since they provide a shuttle service to and from the check-in location. 

3. It is a short 3 mile cruise out to Molokini Crater. This was super important to me as I am prone to sea sickness. 

During the short ride, we receive our snorkel gear

4. They are the first snorkel boat into Molokini in the morning. We had about 45 minutes of solitude in waters with up to 200 feet of visibility. It was amazing. As we left, the other tour boats started coming in. 

Water was warm!

Clear visibility

First boat out to Molokini made for a better experience

5. They visit Turtle Town! It was so fun to snorkel up close (but 10 feet away) with the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles.

Our snorkel selfie

6. They provide a three-course breakfast! The cinnamon rolls are delicious and one of the best things we had our entire Maui vacation.

Best cinnamon roll!

We enjoyed our hearty breakfast!

7. They have an open bar. It was nice to have a drink after a morning of snorkeling while we leisurely sailed down the Makena Coast. 

Cheers to a beautiful day in Maui!

8. The entire tour is just 3.5 hours. We arrived back at the beach by 9:45am and still had the whole day still ahead of us. 

This was the first time snorkeling for many in our group and the staff at Kai Kanani were amazing and really took great care of us. They offered floatation devices as well as boogie boards in the water and all snorkel equipment. Reef safe sunscreen is also provided and there are restrooms aboard the catamaran. The only thing you need to worry about is bringing your own towels. 

The snorkeling was so fun and seeing the many fish and turtles in crystal clear waters was a pretty amazing experience. As a mom, it's always so great seeing the kids learn something new and seeing them enjoy snorkeling and having so much fun jumping off the boat over and over again made for such a great memory.

Lauren had to give me some encouragement to jump off the catamaran.

We loved our snorkel adventure with Kai Kanani!

Kai Kanani is family-owned and operated and has been in business for over 30 years. The Kai Kanani II is the only commercial catamaran that lives in South Maui, moored off Maluaka Beach in Makena. The tours they offer are the Sunrise Deluxe Snorkel, Signature Deluxe Snorkel, Adventure Sunset Sail, Adventure Whale Watch, as well as private charters. Kai Kanani features fresh island foods, all curated by Wailea’s The Market, a chef-inspired deli and café using locally sourced and house-cured ingredients. Their bar features Maui’s Organic Ocean Vodka, Kula Rum, Fy Gin, and wines from MauiWine in Ulupalakua. 

Thank you to Kai Kanani for the media rate. All opinions are entirely my own.

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