October 2014:
Japan is such an incredible country – by far, one of our most favorite trips (I feel like I say this a lot…)! Grant’s Dad, Bob, joined us on this adventure, making it that much more special.
Japan is such an incredible country – by far, one of our most favorite trips (I feel like I say this a lot…)! Grant’s Dad, Bob, joined us on this adventure, making it that much more special.
We awoke the next morning at 2:30 am, in order to make it to
the famous Tsukiji Fish Market, the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market
in the world. As we were stumbling
out the door (not quite awake), we almost tripped over two passed out Japanese
businessmen (that definitely woke us up!). At first, I thought they were dead, but then quickly
realized that no, they were just passed out. Can you believe that?
Apparently, this happens quite often in Tokyo – businessmen get completely
wasted, and find themselves unable to make it home or check into a pod hotel
(you literally sleep in a pod – these hotels were created for this reason
alone)…so, they just pass out on the sidewalk! The most impressive part? One man’s iPad sat out on his chest, untouched. We couldn’t
believe that no one had stolen it!
Anyways, back to the fish market. The highlight of the market is the live
tuna auction that starts around 5:30 am – it’s on a first come first serve
basis though, maxing out at 120 people, hence the 2:30 am wake-up call. It was well worth it though…
I think what we looked forward to most though was the sushi
breakfast that followed inside the market (talk about fresh!). To most westerners, sushi at 6 am
doesn’t sound too enticing, but believe me, it’s a must! To this day, this is the BEST sushi I
have ever had!
After a quick mid-morning snooze, we were off to discover Mt
Fuji in all its glory. To our
disappointment, we couldn’t see it upon arrival, but our view over Lake
Kawaguchi was still breathtaking.
We strolled through our small town, taking in the fresh air and
beautiful scenery – and chowing down on some delicious tempura.
That evening, Grant and I dined on hōtō,
a popular dish in this region, made by stewing flat udon noodles and vegetables
in miso soup. We happily slurped
our way through this delicious, traditional Japanese meal.
The next morning, we awoke to a
knock on our door early in the morning.
As we opened the door, Bob was like a little boy on Christmas
morning… "Open your curtains! Open
your curtains! You won’t believe
it!!!!" Our eyes widened as we
stared out onto a perfectly clear view of Mt Fuji! We were VERY lucky to see it during our one night stay
here. Woohoo!
Traveling further south, we
arrived in Kyoto, home base for the next few days. I think there’s only one word necessary to describe Kyoto…utopia. Everything
(and everyone) was perfect. It was
kind of freaky, to be perfectly honest, but in a good way (if that makes any
sense?).
First stop, Kinkaku-ji (The
Golden Pavilion) – the current gold leaf-coated reconstruction was
unveiled in 1955, five years after the 14th-century original was torched by one
of the temple's monks.
Next up, Nijo Castle, built in
1603 as the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa leyasu, the first shogun of the Edo
Period (1603-1867). Its palace
buildings are the best surviving examples of castle palace architecture of
Japan’s feudal era.
Eikando Temple – its buildings
are built alongside the base of the hillside and are connected by wooden
corridors. Our favorite part of
this temple was the Tahoto Pagoda, which is nestled in the trees on the hillside
above the temple’s other buildings, with great views of the city of Kyoto.
For dinner, we made our way to
Osaka. Coming from serene Kyoto,
we weren’t prepared for the crazy, comic-con like city. So fun!
The next day, we said goodbye to
Bob, and Grant and I were off to Nara for the day, basically the fairytale land. Surrounding the temples of Nara were
wild deer, running around everywhere!
It was quite the site!
Kofuku-ji Temple – five-story
pagoda erected in AD 730 – at 50 meters, the second highest pagoda in Japan...
Kasuga-taisha Shrine – founded
in the 8th century. In Deer Park, deer roam freely and are believed to
be sacred messengers of the Shinto gods that inhabit the shrine and surrounding
mountainous terrain...