Two Families, Japan
With a year of living abroad in Hong Kong on our agenda, we decided it would be a tremendous opportunity to visit parts of Asia we had missed the first go around.
Welcome to Japan.
I truly fell in love with being in Japan. Being a tourist is like the first day of a budding romance but instead of finding your potential soul mate you've found your potential soul place. Had we more funds for frolicking on furlough I would have like to stay and get to know Japan utterly, from the mountains of the north to the seaside of the south and all points in between. But that could not be, given that Japan is an expensive concubine and we ran short of time, what with getting back to work and school and all.
We landed in Tokyo the day after my wife's brother's family and made our way to an AirBnB in Hatsudai; a quiet and sleepy (in comparison to much of Tokyo) suburb next to the tourist mecca of Shinjuku. If I can make any suggestions when staying in Tokyo; no matter where you stay be sure to stay close to a train station. The metro is the lifeblood of of the city and while it may take a couple/few days to orient yourself with the metro you'll be glad you're not paying for very expensive taxis everywhere you go.
We hit many of the tourist hotspots for first time visitors; Shibuya Crossing, Takeshita Street, Ueno Park, the Robot Restaurant to name a few. And when we had had our fill we headed north to the mountain town of Nikko, which in some ways reminded of being in Banff.
For more on our time in Tokyo and Nikko follow the link (link coming).
Our next stop had both families in Kyoto. While I simply adored Tokyo, I think I preferred Kyoto. Tokyo had a super high energy vibe to it and really could get the blood pumping. Kyoto on the other hand felt a little more relaxed and more my speed. Maybe I just felt as though I would not be able to keep up with Tokyo in the long run.
Kyoto saw us visiting more of the first-time tourist hot spots such as Fushimi Inari and Kiyomizu Dera. We also made friends with the deer of Narra, walked the bamboo forest and tried Okonomiyaki, a kind of Japanese egg based "pizza".
For more on our time in Kyoto and Narra follow the link (link coming).
Sadly this is where we parted. Matthew and his family headed back to Canada. We said our good byes, picked up our rental car and headed to the coastal town of Ine. A beautiful and quaint village type town on the west coast of Japan a mere hours drive from Kyoto. It is here I had the best sushi to ever grace my palette. Unfortunately we were not long for One before making our way to Magome where Our 4 Afar hiked part of the Nakasendo highway; super cool by the way, if you are ever in the area spend a few nights in this area.
For more on our time in Ine and Magome follow the link (link coming).
One day I hope to return to Japan and explore and experience many of the parts I missed on our first visit.
Watch the video and follow along on our recent adventures in Japan.
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