Photos from Japan

Off the ship! Welcome to Japan! Straight to Kyoto.

Our living quarters in Kyoto. All we really needed to sleep and make a quick breakfast.

Guthrie at the grocery store trying to decide what kind of Starbucks drink his dad might like.

First full day in Japan. Off to Nara! Smaller town with a lot of cultural sights and tame deer that bow.

Successfully navigated the train system! Yes! Welcome to Nara.

Nara's main attraction is the tame deer that wander around. They come up to you and bow and then you give them a cookie. Though they will eat your jacket if you aren't quick enough with the cookie.

The deer are trained to back off if you hold up both hands. It tells them you don't have a cookie. 

Back off deer!!!

We had a blast with the deer. 

Especially around temples there are places to wash your hands and have a drink. Use these bamboo scoops to do left hand, then right hand, then take your drink.

Todai-ji temple. This place was the largest wooden structure in the world until a few years ago. It holds the biggest Buddha in Japan. 

Legend has it that if you climb through this hole in the temple (which is the size of the big Buddha's nostril) you will have a long life.

Another long life!

Street food was pretty great. These were doughy balls dipped in a sweet soy sauce. Yum!

Here's the real reason we went to Nara. A huge festival that culminates in setting a mountain on fire. 150,000 people came. The fireworks show was amazing and then they set fire to the mountain.

We slept in Kyoto most nights so Day 2 was all about Kyoto. First stop Fushimi Inari Taisha to see the torii gates. 

Look who's here?!! Our good friends Ashley and Jeff happened to be on a 3 week trip through Japan. They are wonderful humans and wonderful travel buddies!

This is a sacred place especially for people connected to Shintoism. There were many places where you could buy a trinket to write a prayer on and hang it near a shire. 

Shinto isn't really a religion, but more a part of Japanese culture. There are many, many spirits that will help you with different things if you can get their attention

These are the gates we came to see. There are over 32,000 gates. People and businesses sponsor a gate. Their names are written on the back side of each gate. The trail to the top of the mountain and back took us a few hours and a lot of steps.

Possible holiday card photo! (If we ever get around to sending a holiday card)

Chris is big.

Jen's favorite photo from Japan. You always wear a mask when you're sick in Japan out of respect for everyone else. Also helps in avoiding coronavirus.

Buddhism exists in harmony with Shintoism. It's totally possible to practice both. 

The hike was a few hours total and we climbed quite a bit. But it was a glorious day. The Johnson-Leck's do well on the trail. 

After we got done with the hike, it was time for ice cream!!

Also, we were starving by the end of the hike so Ashley found us a noodle shop. Wally liked his yakisoba with a fried egg on top.

Guthrie had a ramen bowl and ate the whole thing. 

This place was our second best meal in Japan.

Day 3: Osaka and the Pokemon Store!

The Pokemon store had towels, mugs, toys, cards, candy, and EVERYTHING you could think of stamped with Pokemon. The whole family enjoyed it, but Wally was really in heaven.

Even mom loves the Pokemon store

Next stop on Day 3 in Japan: The Cup Noodles Museum.

The Cup Noodles actually has an interesting history. Invented in 1945 by a guy who wanted to feed as many people as possible. He wanted a cheap way to enjoy Japanese food. 

By far, the big highlight was that we could make our own Cup Noodles where we picked all the ingredients. First stop was to design and color your own cup. 

Next they helped you put the broth flavors, then the veggies and spices. 

Then they shrink wrapped your cup. We are saving ours for a rainy day on the ship when we can enjoy our tailor made Cup Noodles. 

Last day, really the last few hours in Japan, we found the World Buffet. This is the Old Country Buffet of Japan and we loved it. Everyone was happy. They had Japanese food, European food, American food, and an all-you-can-eat dessert bar with soft serve ice cream. The kids (and maybe one of the adults) had three servings of ice cream. This may have been our best out-to-eat dining experience in the history of our family.