Almost Goodbye

Friends and family, welcome to my penultimate post! We are wrapping up our second week in Japan and are feeling good. Japan is so easy that it almost feels like we are on a three-week vacation. Our first six days were in Tokyo, where we stayed in a tiny apartment like legit Tokyoites. Here is our hallway/kitchen/dining room. The kids thought it was "cozy"; I thought it was "suffocating."

We made our first family trip to Disneyland, which of course the kids loved. Ryan has always wanted a classic Splash Mountain photo, and I think the kids really delivered! It will be framed and hanging at home shortly.

A few days later we went to DisneySea, but it was raining like crazy so we didn't last long. (And, honestly, I was all Disney-ed out by then anyway.)

We also spent time just exploring our neighborhood, Asakusa. Ginny walked to the corner store each morning to get onigiri for her breakfast. (I made Ryan follow her the first time she went, but then she did it on her own.) We had the best time at the local Samurai and Ninja Museum and ninja weaponry class. We learned some katana skills.

We learned how to throw different types of ninja stars.

And we tried our hands (mouths?) at blow-darts.

Our awesome travel agent and friend, Jennifer, gifted us a Japanese drum lesson at Taiko Lab. I think we all needed to bang really hard on drums more than we realized. We had such a great team making noise and learning about this traditional Japanese music.

On Holly and Noelle's recommendation, we spent a morning at Team LabPlanets. We were blown away by the incredible interactive art exhibits! I assume it was as close as I could get to an acid trip without actually doing acid. I can see why this is a favorite stop for locals and tourists alike.

Then it was time for the much-anticipated trip to Legoland in Nagoya! We have never been to Legoland so we went all in. We stayed in a pirate-themed room at the Legoland hotel, and I don't think I've ever seen the kids so happy.

I'm glad we went to Legoland at the end of our trip, because nothing could possible top it for the kids. From Nagoya we had a short train ride to Kyoto, where we are currently staying in a traditional apartment with tatami mat beds and very low ceilings. After some uncomfortable nights and sore foreheads, we are starting to get the hang of it!

Kyoto has a much more relaxed pace than Tokyo, and we've been loving it. We visited the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine and followed the torii gates to the top of Mt. Inari.

The next day we rented two rickshaws to take us through Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. The kids were delighted not to have to walk, and we all marveled at the strength of the rickshaw drivers pulling us through the beautiful scenery.

Yesterday we headed out in the rain to Nishika Market to meet the Margoles family. We were all so happy to see our wonderful friends from home! Hugging Sandy absolutely made my day. We wandered around the market together, eating some new things, avoiding the baby octopus skewers, and just enjoying being with friends.

We have one more day in Kyoto before heading to Osaka for a few days, then back up to Tokyo to attempt Mt. Fuji. Then, home sweet home.

Please wish us luck for Fuji! I'll write a final post from Japan to let you all know how it goes.

All my love,

Madeline