Japan Day 8

Day 8 of #gainesgeauxtojapan it was onward to Osaka today. If Tokyo is New York and Kyoto is Boston — then Osaka is Las Vegas. It’s flashy, dirtier, and lots of sensory overload. We headed first to Don Quijote… if you have never heard of it then go look it up. 🤯 Next we rode this Ferris wheel creepy thing. Avery and I visited a Hedgehog cafe and last we did a food tour with another family from Chicago.

 

Japan Day 7

Day 7 of #gainesgeauxtojapan another day of over 20,000 steps (we have walked a total of 47 miles so far). Our first stop of the morning was the iconic Fushimi Inari Taisha- thousands of Torii Gates. Then we decided to head to Nara to the deer park. It was a fun day to start the New Year.

 

Japan Day 6

Day 6 of #gainesgeauxtojapan Happy New Years Eve from Kyoto. Once we arrived at our hotel after an interesting travel morning - our tour guide Tess met us after lunch. She said we would have “sexy” legs by the time our tour was over… she wasn’t wrong. She took us all over this beautiful city. We can appreciate what they believe and also feel a little sad as well. I had no idea how closely Buddhism and Hinduism resemble each other. One of the most interesting places she took us was the Sanjusagen-do, famous for its 1001 statues carved from cypress and covered in copper. They didn’t allow photos so I had to steal one from Google. I have to wonder what the Lord thinks of these places… also what he thinks of the ridiculously large albeit beautiful churches all over Europe. Traveling gives us such a broader scope to view the world. I did Facebook message the other Deshotel family from Lake Charles… small world.

 

Japan Day 5

Day 5 of #gainesgeauxtojapan we started our morning headed to see views of Mt. Fugi. We caught the bus at the bottom of the hill and I apparently didn’t put on my bus legs this morning bc when the bus started up the hill I fell on not one but 3 little old ladies and not once but twice. So embarrassing. We started on the Hakone Ropeway with our first stop to get some black eggs or Kuro-tamago. Which are eggs boiled on the hot, sulfurous springs of Owakudani volcanic valley, turning their shells black through a chemical reaction with iron and hydrogen sulfide, with legend claiming eating one adds seven years to your life. Only 2 of us will have that additional 7 years 🤷🏼‍♀️. Next we continued on the ropeway to Lake Ashi for a cruise on a pirate ship. We won the weather lottery today for perfect views of Mt. Fugi- which is usually only visible 70-80 days out of year.

 

Japan Day 4

Day 4 of #gainesgeauxtojapan we spent a few last hours in Tokyo before catching the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Hakone. We traded the big city for middle of the mountain for a few days. We are at an Airbnb for a more authentic Japanese home experience. It has a private onsen (hot spring) so we don’t have to be naked around strangers 🤣.