Japan

This morning we set off for Michael's first full day in Japan. We took the subway to get around most of the day. First stop was Osaka Castle. It was nice to see the historic architecture of this castle and the fortress around it. Then we made our way to Shitennoji temple which was a Buddhist temple with a five story pagoda. We stopped for some lunch at the train station and Michael tried some Japanese Ramen. He thought it was alright, Ellie enjoyed it more. Next we took a quick stop at Nanba shrine (lion shrine). The huge lion head was very impressive.

We headed to the aquarium next which was amazing! We both thought it was the best aquarium we have ever been to. We were memorized by the whale sharks, giant sting rays, and white sided dolphins. The main tank was very deep and as we walked down we circled the tank getting lower in the water on each level. We stayed there for a while admiring all of the sea life. After the aquarium we went back to the hotel for a quick break and decided on a Yakiniku restaurant where we could try some wagyu beef. It was a fun experience grilling our own beef and veggies and was very tasty. We ended the day at dotonbori, Osaka's famous night life area. There was tons of animated signs, shops, game stores, and restaurants. It was a fun area to walk around in.

Today started with a train ride to Kyoto where we dropped our bags at the hotel and began sight seeing for the day. We hopped on a bus and visited our first kyoto shrine. This shrine is known for the cherry blossom trees, they were all dormant right now being winter. We then were able to walk to the next few temples/shrines where we were able to see an 80ft tall Buddhist statue. We had a delicious lunch at a small restaurant in a bustling tourist area outside of the final temple of the day. The area was filled with shops selling foods and souvenirs, we were able to snag plenty of free samples of sweets and super spicy potato chips that made Michael cry.

The final temple was the best of the day, with an amazing view of the city from high on the mountain. We checked into our hotel, which is more traditional so we aren't allowed to wear shoes inside and are given samue for lounging and walking around the hotel. We went across the street to a mandarin restaurant, Michael had some chili pepper chicken with rice, Ellie enjoyed some shrimp fried rice. We ended our night by trying out a private onsen where we suffered through the extremely high temperatures. We are enjoying all of our hotel amenities which includes tea, sweets, popsicles, massage chairs, and the onsens.

Today we took a lot of hikes. We slept in a bit and had a yummy breakfast at the hotel and then made our way to Fushimi Inari-taisha. The shrine is famous for the hundreds of torii gates lined up creating a tunnel up the mountain. We hiked through the gates for about an hour to the top of Mt. Inari (there were a lot of stairs). Our legs were pretty tired on the way back down but we still had a lot of walking left for the day. We grabbed a quick lunch at 7-Eleven and rode the train to our next stop, a bamboo grove on the other side of the city. It was nice to walk through the path with super tall bamboo lining each side.

After the grove, we walked through another busy market area with more sweet shops and souvenirs. The area was very pretty with a river running through the middle and mountains on each side. We made our way to the monkey park, where we were met with another steep hike. The hike up was tiring but was worth seeing the Japanese Macaque monkeys at the top. We also got a very nice view of Kyoto from here. When we got back done, we picked up some chocolate yatsuhashi (a dessert commonly made in kyoto) and then made our way back to the hotel. We tried a pizza shop for dinner (it was ok) and enjoyed some time relaxing in the onsen again.

Today we woke up and headed for the Shinkansen (bullet train). We sped through the countryside for about 2 hours all the way to Tokyo. It was beautiful to see some snow falling in some of the towns along the way. When we arrived in Tokyo we found our hotel and set off to each lunch at Gonpachi Nishiazabu (the restaurant which inspired the Kill Bill movie scene). Lunch there was nothing too special but the atmosphere of the restaurant was great. After lunch we hopped on a bus to Shibuya station to see the famous Shibuya scramble (a very busy huge intersection). We had fun exploring the area, going into shops (including the seven floor Don Quijote), and looking at some of the 3D billboards. We went into a breezeway at rush hour to watch the hundreds of people using the Shibuya crossing (it really was a scramble).

After watching the crossing for a bit we grabbed a ticket at Sushiro. The wait was an hour unfortunately but it was worth it. After getting our table we tried various types of sushi and snacks all delivered on conveyor belt. Michael tried some unconventional sushi like grilled chicken and cheese and steak sushi. Afterwards, we took a train back to our hotel and called it a night.

Today we started by walking to a Krispy Kreme for breakfast, since our Tokyo hotel doesn't have breakfast. We then hopped on the train to the Tokyo Skytree, the world's tallest tower and the world's third tallest structure. We took the fast elevator to the first viewing platform 350m above ground and we're amazed at the views of Tokyo. You can see up to 45 miles on a clear day, today was pretty clear so we could see mountains in the distance. The second platform 450m above ground was just as good of a view but was packed with ads. For lunch, we finally tried McDonald's Ellie got a teriyaki Burger and Michael got a Big Mac with spicy chicken nuggets, we got the 2 meals for around $8.

We then visited the last Buddhist temple, Senso-ji. Just outside the temple was a crowded market, Nakamise Street, which we enjoyed walking down and browsing the shops. We then headed to Akihabara. Here we were able to visit many electronic stores that were full of miscellaneous electrical components that Michael greatly enjoyed browsing through. It is also well-known for multi-story arcades which we enjoyed exploring. For dinner we went to Ichiran a well-known ramen restaurant which Michael liked more than the other one. We ended our day early to get plenty of rest for the early bus to Mt Fuji tomorrow.

This morning we got up bright and early to get on the first bus to the Mt Fuji five lakes area. Once there we took the sight seeing bus to Oishi park where we were able to get a fantastic view of Mt Fuji with some clouds rotating around the peak. Afterward we went to the ropeway where we ascended high onto a hill directly across from Mt Fuji for an amazing view of the lake area and Mt Fuji. Making the most of the pass we bought, we then got on a 20 minute boat ride into the middle of one of the lakes, we were happy with this decision because we got a good view of Mt Fuji reflecting on the lake.

We got curry rice for lunch at a local restaurant and then headed for the train where we went to Arakurayama Sengen Park where we climbed 398 stairs for a view of Mt Fuji with a small 5 story pagoda. The view was nice, but the sun was directly in front of us which made pictures hard. On the way back down we got a grape and soda (ramune) flavored ice cream cones, which were super delicious and just what we needed (the temperature was much higher than we planned for).

Back to the lake area we planned on going to the wind and ice cave, but on the bus there we realized they would close right when we got there so we stopped off at a shrine to kill the time. For dinner, we went to a 30 minute all you can eat buffet which ended up being just curry rice and candy, so we got to try lots of different candy and sweets. We got on a bus back to Tokyo earlier than we planned but will be happy to get back for some extra sleep.

We woke up for this for our last day in Japan and got on a train headed for TeamLab Planets. Teamlab offers immersive art exhibits all over the world. When we got in we had to put all of our things in lockers and take off our shoes and socks. We entered the exhibit and walked through various rooms with different displays, some where we walked through water, others we played with giant colorful balls, and one where we walked through a maze of light crystals and mirrors. We both really enjoyed the experience.

After we headed back towards our hotel area and went to Itoya, a multi-floor stationery and craft store. Ellie wanted to get some nice pens since apparently Japan makes good pens. We had fun testing out the many varieties and colors. For lunch we went to a Chinese restaurant which was very tasty.

We were done earlier than expected so decided to check out the free police museum across the street. The museum was educational and historical and we learned about all the different roles the police take on in Japan. Next we headed to a coffee shop for a break before doing our souvenir shopping. We stopped by a couple different 7-elevens and some other convenience stores to get all the treats we wanted to bring home. Then we pickup up our bags and headed to the airport.

At the airport we stored our bags and shopped around in the extensive airport shops. We watched a candy making demonstration and bought some since the samples were so delicious. After dinner we went through security and got to try the airport lounge for the first time. It was very nice to get to use the showers in the lounge before our flight! Now we are headed home after a great trip