| Japan |

Our 14 Day Itinerary

Back in February we took a plane over the North Pacific Ocean and spent the whole month in Asia, half of which was in Japan! Japan has been #1 on Jeremiah’s list of places to go for as long as he can remember. I was so excited to be apart of a trip that was mostly about him, as usually our trips are dreamed up by me. So here’s Japan through my eyes, and details about our two week itinerary!

Day 1: Osaka

We started off our adventure in Japan by flying into Osaka. Osaka is the third largest city in Japan. The airport is on it’s own man made island off the shore, and you take public transport into the main city. Here, we purchased our JR Pass. If you are going to Japan, I highly recommend purchasing the JR Pass. Although it doesn’t cover all public transit, it covers a good majority and definitely saved us quite a lot of money. Osaka was an awesome way to start off our trip!

Things we recommend in Osaka:

• Kobe Beef

• Toyo

• Shinsaibashi-Suji Street

• Spo-cha Arcade

• Japan Rail Pass

Day 2: Kyoto

Kyoto is the second largest city in Japan, and was the capital before Tokyo. Kyoto is where you can go to see thriving traditional Japanese culture. The Arashiyama bamboo forest, and Japanese Curry & Cutlets were my two favorite things we did in Kyoto. Surprisingly, there was blossoms in bloom! Kyoto is a must see for Japan, if I went back I would definitely spend more time here!

What we recommend in Kyoto:

• Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

• Gion District

• Japanese Curry & Cutlets

• Tenryuji Temple

Day 3-6: Tokyo

Tokyo is obviously where we spent the most time in Japan! Jeremiah once had dreams of attending Tokyo University, and had lots of ideas for what to do in the city. However, one of our favorite things to do here was just wander around and enjoy the culture.

We spent most of our time in the Shinjuku area, which we fell in love with. Fun fact, Shinjuku station is the most trafficked train station in the world! Our Airbnb was a cute tiny apartment, and I enjoyed spending a lot of time “vacationing” by drinking boba and watching movies while I watched the rain outside our window. I also took some time for reflection and self portraits, it was beautiful and healing.

What we recommend in Tokyo:

• Sanrio World

• TeamLab Borderless

• Seray Kabab

• Boba

• Our Airbnb

• Meiji Shrine

Day 7-9: Mount Fuji

Jeremiah and I had once planned on eloping in Japan, at Mount Fuji. Seeing this giant in person was surreal, especially after seeing so many photos of it. While we were walking the streets of Fujiyoshida, I kept forgetting Fuji was there looking over us, and it took my breath away every time I sought another glance.

The ride into Fuji was one of my favorite parts. The train was small and quaint with an old time feel, and the town we stayed in wasn’t very big compared to the huge cities we came from. This is where we met up with our friends Isabelle and Jairus! It was so much fun getting to spend a week of our trip with them, I’m so glad our trips matched up.

What we recommend in Fuji:

• Chureito Pagoda

• Our Amazing Traditional Japanese Home

• Yagizaki Park

Days 10 & 11: Matsumoto

Matsumoto was not on my radar, but it’s a really unique and interesting place. Surprisingly, there a lot of Italian restaurants here. Although, we never tried the Italian food as we were pretty committed to eating as many authentic Asian dishes as possible.

Matsumoto was however the first place where I tried a Japanese onsen! Heads up, people with tattoos aren’t allowed in most onsens. I made the mistake of showing my tattoo to the desk clerk and asking if it was okay, which she was offended by. To help us all learn for my mistake, I’ve included an article linked below to help other tattooed people traveling to Japan know what to do.

What we recommend in Matsumoto:

• Matsumoto Castle

• Daio Wasabi Farm

• Norikura Kogen

• Ink & Onsen

Days 12 & 13: Nagano

Saved the best for last! This was a definitely a peak life experience for me. One of the reasons I wanted to go to Japan in the winter was to see the snow monkeys, and they definitely did not disappoint. The snow monkey park in Nagano is a really unique and wonderful experience. The trail up is easy and beautiful with tall evergreens surrounding you. You’re allowed to go and walk amongst the monkeys as they enjoy their onsen habitat. The young ones will play fight with each other, and occasionally knock into you.

Please be respectful of the monkeys if you go! The park does not allow selfie sticks, drones, or objects that you put close to the monkeys. Please do not intentionally pet, taunt, or look into their eyes. Abiding by these rules, we spent hours in this park with the monkeys and it truly was the best part of Japan for me.

What we recommend in Nagano:

• Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park

• How to get there

Day 14: Time to fly home!

We reached the end of our trip! Flying back was an interesting experience, as our first flight got cancelled due to Covid-19, and we had to placed on a new flight later that day, barely making the connection.

We fly from Osaka, to Seoul, over the Pacific Ocean, and saw the sun rise on the mountains in Alaska, and then set again somewhere in the clouds. The trip back was long, but I was glad to be home.

Thank you for the memories Japan!