Our 2023 Japan Trip!

 Dear Maya and Emi,

We just got back from Japan five days ago and, boy, are we still jet lagged! But we made lots of amazing memories and I need to document them while they're still fresh in my mind. So here goes a long post of words and photos of our adventures in chronological order!

March 28/29: We flew from Albany to Detroit to Tokyo, then made our way to our hotel and crashed.

March 30: We were up super early from jet lag, so we headed to see the cherry blossoms along the Sumida River, then went to Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. You were both more excited about the souvenir shops than the sights!

March 31: We met up with Aunt Rimi for lunch, then flew to Nagasaki. From there we rented a car and drove the 1.5 hours to your grandparents' house in Nishiarie!

April 1: We visited Shimabara Castle and Bukeyashiki, the historical samurai homes on display nearby.

April 2: We drove to Omura to return the rental car, then went to Tachibana Shrine for some nighttime cherry blossom viewing.

April 3: We went to a roller slide that you remembered from our last trip, Maya, but when we saw some giant hornets we got out of there and went to the beach!

April 4: We went up to the top of Mount Myoken via car, ropeway, and a little hiking. From there you can see the volcanic peaks as well as pretty much all of the Shimabara Peninsula.

April 5: We went to the hot spring baths in Unzen! We also took a few photos outside of where our wedding ceremony and reception were 16 years ago!

April 6: We did some shopping in Shimabara City and had tea in this beautiful old house surrounded by gardens and koi ponds.

April 7: We drove to Nagasaki City for the day. We went to the art museum, Chinatown, then went to the hypocenter park and the Peace Park. Mommy was also lucky enough to just happen to run into Chizuko Suzuki who was head of her department when she worked at the university there. It was such an awesome coincidence!

April 8: This day was Baba's birthday! We spent it up in the northern part of the prefecture. First we went to Sasebo where we had made a surprise appointment for you to get dressed up in kimono and get your photos taken, Emi. Then we went to an insect museum that your grandparents recommended. You both had such a great time!

April 9: We went to lunch at a cafe inside a hardware store that is 145 years old. The owner is good friends with your grandfather and even has one of his handmade Noh masks on display in the gallery space upstairs. This day we also went to dinner with some really good friends and you two absolutely loved talking about Pokemon with their daughter!

April 10: Maya, you and I went to the hot spring baths together since we loved it but Emi wasn't as much of a fan.

April 11: I took you two to the arcade while Baba helped your grandparents around the house. At night we went to a restaurant run by a friend of mine and an old university student of mine stopped by as well. 

April 12: I took you two out again to meet with an old high school student of mine, and then in the evening we went to visit some more old friends. Lots and lots of friendly faces!

April 13: We spent our last full day in Nishiare with the best people. First we had a really nice lunch out with your grandparents. Then in the evening we went to conveyor belt sushi with one of Baba's best friends who then drove us to a spot where a bunch of our friends met up to chat and see us off. It was so sweet!

April 14: We said goodbye to your grandparents and drove to the airport. From there it was a plane ride, a long bus ride, and a taxi ride to get to our rental house in Kyoto. By the time we got there it was really late and we were exhausted. Your Aunt Miho and Cousin Ryota came to see us for just a couple minutes and brought us umbrellas because the next day was going to be really rainy.

April 15: We walked the short walk over to the Fushimi Inari Shrine area and looked through all the souvenir shops first. Then we went the half block over to Miho's house and spent some time with them. After lunch, Ryota took us on a tour of the famous red torii gates (in the rain) and showed us which ones he had recently painted, repaired, and installed. He is the youngest in Uncle Masaki's family business and, at 24, it's amazing to see the craftsmanship of his work in this world-famous location. You both look up to him a lot (it also helps that he likes Pokemon, lol)

April 16: We went back to the red torii gates again this day to see them in the sunshine since it had rained so much the day before. Then Miho and Ryota helped us get to the station so we could catch the bullet train to Tokyo. It was a nice day so we had a great view of Mt. Fuji along the way. We went back to the crazy dinosaur robot hotel we had stayed at the first couple nights in Japan.

April 17: Our last full day in Japan, we went for the complete opposite experience of the traditional shrines of Kyoto from the day before...we went to Harajuku. Mommy had been there before, but the 'kawaii' factor has definitely increased since my last time. We went to a hedgehog cafe, a dog cafe, a store that was all capsule machines, and all kinds of other curious places. We were pretty overwhelmed by it all so we ended up walking over to Yoyogi park to blow bubbles in the sunshine for a while before heading to dinner and back to the hotel. Then we fulfilled one of mommy's wishes--we went to karaoke as a family and it was a blast!

April 18: Our flight didn't leave until late in the day but luckily there is a ton to do at Haneda airport so we spent a lot of time there. We flew to Atlanta and then Albany where Uncle Matt picked us up and brought us home after midnight. 

Whew, that was a lot! No wonder we're all tired. But you both rallied and went to school the next day. Maya, you even had All County Chorus rehearsal after school that day and didn't come home until almost 9pm! And then Friday you had your concert, too--what a busy week! And now it's the weekend and though we haven't fully recovered from jet lag, we're getting there slowly. And I'm so glad that we had this fun trip together!

Love you both!

P.S. For more photos from our trip, check out this album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KrsAQyw1EKBAuUh66