Japan has long since been a place we have enjoyed visiting. In the past though, we have flown from the US to Japan. It was a long flight and very expensive for us to take these trips. Previously, my brother paid for a trip for my husband, him, and me for my birthday. It was a dream come true. Monkey has always wanted to go to Japan. I promised her a trip when she graduated high school unless we moved overseas. Well, we moved overseas, so we were able to meet my brother in Japan.

Osaka Station and Kyoto Tower

We landed late in Osaka.  I wish I would have taken photos of our hotel rooms.  It was basically a hostel.  It was not comfortable, but the people who ran it were incredibly sweet.  It was also in a really good location.

That first day we woke up, it was pouring out.  It was also significantly colder in Japan than it was in Hong Kong.  That was difficult. We wanted to go into Kyoto right away, but the things we wanted to do would be outdoors. Instead, we opted for indoor options.

We went to Osaka Station to the Pokemon Centre.  Then we took the Shinkansen to Kyoto to go to Kyoto Tower and walk around there a bit.

The following day was gorgeous, so we took the Shinkansen into Kyoto. We were finally taking the kids to my favorite place in the world.

Fushimi Inari @ Kyoto

The next day, we went to my happy place, Fushimi Inari.  I was so happy.  This was Bub’s favorite place.  He loved climbing the mountain.  The other two really seemed to appreciate the whole experience.  There were so few complaints, and they really loved being there.

I love it here.  It is bittersweet.  I wish I could have been in a better place in my head to really appreciate it all.  This is where I want to retire.  I want to live in one of those houses right there and climb that mountain every day.

Kiyomizu-Dera @ Kyoto

We took them to Kiyomizu-dera.  This is another place Fruitbat and I loved in Kyoto.  It’s in such a gorgeous area of the city.

The Bowing Deer @ Nara

On our way to Yokohama, we stopped in Nara. It was later when we got there, so the kids didn’t get to see the deer as long as they really wanted to. They still had such a great time playing and feeding the deer.

We ended up taking various trains and shinkasen to get to our hotel in Yokohama.

I’m proud of my children. For all of the traveling and moving and walking, they were happy. They were happy to see all of the things we were going to see.