I wanted to be able to capture what I felt while in Japan and yet the words are I am putting together don’t seem to really express the essence. Japan was amazing. Japan was definitely on our list of places to visit during this trip and what I consider the first vacation part of this trip. Hong Kong has become more familiar and we are able to settle into a routine there. Japan was a new place to discover and I was surprised to see the depth of culture and how well conserved it is all over Japan.

It was easy to get mesmerized with the customs in Japan. There was a simplicity to the details, the beauty of the presentations of the food and polite delicate bowing; it was so gracious. I really loved Japan more than I thought I would. A few of the most breath-taking and memorable moments that stood out to me and whether I write about them here or not, I am sure I will remember, but I also wanted to share.

While we were in Japan, we landed in Tokyo for 4 days, then met up with our friends in Osaka for a night, before heading to Mt. Koya to stay in a temple for a night, to Kyoto and then back to Osaka before flying to Beijing.

I was going to try and jam little tidbits about each place into this one blog, but have decided instead to take even more time to slowly write about each place and be able to slightly relive and capture the experience. This trip within a trip has lingered with me and has me thinking about the next time I would visit Japan when I would go. We are thinking next time in the Spring for the Cherry Blossoms and not so chilly weather.