May 4, 2025
Smooth sailing into Tokyo. We settled into hotel in the Shibuya district and then headed out for nearby dinner. It was a lively Izakaya style restaurant about 10 minute walk from hotel.
May 5, 2025
In Japan it’s National Boys Day (yeah Owen!). After we had some breakfast and math classes we met up with our guide Yosie. She seems lovely and the kids immediately liked her.
It is a gorgeous day in Tokyo. Sunny and not too hot. Today Yosie was giving us a tour around the Shibyua district.
We took quick train to one of the famous Shinto temples. It was really beautiful. Yosie gave us the history of temple, some background on the Shinto religion and how it coexists peacefully with Buddhism. She also taught us the proper way to pass through the multiple temple gates, cleanse our hands, and pray. Basic Japanese symbols are the same as Mandarin. She was impressed by how many symbols Peyton was recognizing around the temple and taught her some new ones.
Then we headed to “teenager” street where the kids got some gigantic (and delicious) cotton candy.
After some lunch we walked up and down a famous high-end shopping street with modern Japanese architecture. From there we spent some time at MiPig, a store where you hang out with mini-pigs. We had two three month old twin brothers. And Owen was the clear favorite (boys stick together on National Boys Day).
Then we headed to Shibuya Crossing. It is reportedly the busiest crossing in the world. Right by the crossing is the statue of the dog Hackiko.
For dinner we went to a “serious” Japanese tabletop cooking restaurant. The kids agreed not to ask the chef to do any tricks. The meal was truly amazing. Kids all believed it was the best meal they had ever had (which is probably true). Natacha would definitely put it on top 3. Every course was perfectly done. Kobe beef was really special. But even the veggie course was great. The kids also are happy to be getting proper desserts again.
May 6, 2025
Our luck on weather has run out. It was rainy all day. We met back up with Yosie after some breakfast and school.
Today we are exploring some other parts of Tokyo. First we head to the old fish market and then the most famous Buddhist temple. The rain put a damper these, so we didn’t stay long.
Then Yosie took us to a grocery store and showed us the various things people in Tokyo eat and the famous $200 melons.
After some lunch we took the monorail to a science museum to try and make the most out of rainy day.
The highlight of the day was a large indoor immersive art installation called teamlab Planets. The kids minds must have exploded 10+ times. Each room was its own crazy world. The pictures don’t do it justice.
Back at the hotel we said goodbye to Yosie. Then we went to dinner at a fish place about 15 minute walk away. Natacha took lead navigating us through the busy streets of Tokyo. At the restaurant you fish for your dinner and then they cook it for you. Morgan opted out. Natacha and I had sushi. But Peyton and Owen had a fun time with it.
After dinner we wandered around Shibuya for a bit looking for dessert and stopping at random places to check them out.
May 7, 2025
After some schooling we headed up to a northern district in Tokyo for some manga drawing lessons. It was interesting to learn about the subtle ways artists express differences in gender and age through otherwise simple drawings. Overall our work came out better than expected for a couple hours.
Afterward we navigated the subway back to Shibuya for some Shabu Shabu style lunch.
During the afternoon, more schooling for the kids and Justin went to do some laundry. Justin didn’t notice a pen in one his pants and now we have permanent evidence of our trip to Tokyo on some of our clothes.
For dinner we headed to a perfectly normal office building and headed to the basement. Passing through a normal office building door, we entered a ninja dungeon for a unique dinner experience. Kids tried some escargot (Owen loved it) and raw salmon (none of them liked it).
May 8, 2025
We checked out of our Tokyo hotel and our new guide took us into the countryside for day of activities. First we went on a short hike. It was nice to get some fresh air away from the crowds. Then we went to a dormant volcano to walk around and to hopefully get a view of Mt Fuji. Unfortunately despite it being a really nice day, the mountain was covered by clouds. Then we stopped by a local zoo where they were strangely playing music by a Mexican mariachi band fairly loudly throughout the zoo. Importantly the kids were able to realize a dream of meeting and petting a capybara. We then stopped for a bite to eat at a 7-11 and they drove us to our hotel for the day in the hot springs village of Shuzenji.
Heading south, the countryside and coast of Japan is beautiful and a lot greener with more mountains than I expected (though I’m not sure what I was expecting).
Our hotel here is a beautiful traditional Japanese inn called at ryokan that has been in the same family for over 500 years. No shoes allowed inside the hotel at all. Guests encouraged to wear traditional Japanese garments as the walk around the peaceful property fenced in by a steep hill and a waterfall. We felt completely secluded and relaxed (other than the three kids).
May 9, 2025
We had a relaxing morning (and school), and then took bullet train to Kyoto.
It was a rainy day in Kyoto and we went to get settled into our hotel near the Imperial Palace.
We went to a local family’s home for some cooking classes. She taught us how to make a number of Japanese dishes and we ultimately had way too much food for our dinner.
The length of the classes tested Owen’s (and my) stamina. But we made it through and our host was really gracious.
May 10,2025
After breakfast met up with our guide at the hotel. She seems great and very knowledgeable about Japanese culture and history.
First thing we did was a taiko class together. It was a lot of fun and a great way to get an arm and quad workout. After that she took us to the shogun’s Kyoto castle. On the drive she gave us the history of the shogun and emperor. The shogun was actually the far more powerful position. The emperor never had any real power or authority. An insight that the west never really understood until after WWII.
Then we walked around the Golden Temple before heading to a Ninja/samurai class. In addition to getting taught how to do shooting stars and blow darts, we also learned the important differences between Samaria (highest class during shogun era) and ninjas (farmers who moonlit as spies and assassins).
After a quick break at hotel, went to dinner at a fire ramen restaurant.
May 11, 2025
This morning we toured Kyoto on some rickshaws before heading to a shrine and a temple. The shrine was one of the most important ones for the Shinto religion since it is a shrine for the god of rice (both the staple crop of country and historical currency). It is most famous for its 10,000 orange gates.
Afterward we went to a shrine that is the longest wooden hallway in the world. Inside the hallway are 1,001 and one sculptures lined up in 10 rows behind 33 Hindu gods (no pictures allowed, but very impressive).
For lunch we had okonomiyaki which was delicious.
After lunch we dressed up in traditional kimonos. I was having language issues with the old lady helping me get dressed. I ended up with a boring black one not realizing what was going on. The girls loved dressing up.
We called an audible for dinner to give kids (and parents) night off. The kids got the infamous famichiki from a convenience store as well as egg sandwiches (they loved both). Parents got a nice dinner out at hotel while kids watched movie. Win-win to end our Mother’s Day!
May 12, 2025
We had morning off. Justin did a laundry run and the kids did some school in hotel lobby.
Afterward we walked around Kyoto for a bit and did some souvenir shopping.
In the afternoon we did a longer samurai lesson where we got instruction through an interpreter on how to properly use a samurai sword. We also had a zen meditation session where they explained how the samurai used zen mediation to calm their emotions before and after battle.
After some practice with wooden swords we were each given chance to use a real samurai sword. The kids cut through a radish. Natacha and I cut through a single tameshigiri tatami mat (equivalent of cutting through a human shoulder). It was amazing (and a bit scary) how sharp the swords were, as even without great technique it cut easily through the mat.
Later in the afternoon the kids relaxed in hotel room while Natacha and I went to the hotel’s spa.
May 13, 2025
We took bullet train to Himeji to see one of the four surviving samurai castles in Japan. Each of the 150 feudal districts had a castle. But after the shogun period, almost all of them were taken down. This one survived and is still the original all wood construction from 1601.
In town Natacha has excited to find a place selling kakigori (Japanese shaved ice). She was worried we would be too early on year for that.
After lunch at a pork cutlet place hoped on another bullet train to Okayama and then were driven to a town called Kurashiki.
The town had a bunch of really cute shops along a small river. A traditional Japanese dinner was prepared for us at our ryokan.
May 14, 2025
Natacha got her wish and today we did day trip to Naoshima. Naoshima is a Japanese island made famous for its numerous art museums and art installations.
We hit three very unique art museums, multiple pop up art installations, an abandoned home that an artist turned inthas been converted into a “dentists office”, and the infamous Pumpkin by Kusama Yayoi. Particularly fun for kids who each have made a replica of this pumpkin in their art class.
May 15, 2025
Around lunch time we caught the bullet train back to Tokyo. We got a nice view of Mt. Fuji along the way.
We are very lucky that we happen to be in Tokyo one of the three times a year that the Grand Sumo Tournament is being hosted here. We watched about 40 matches of the best sumo wrestlers in the world. The last match featured the only Yokozuna class wrestler in the world right now (named Hoshoryu).
It was impressive to see the athleticism, power, and flexibility of the wrestlers. It was fun to see the crowd get really into it whenever there was a fan favorite competing or a particularly good match was occurring. Any match that lasted longer than seven seconds (probably about a third of them) was particularly fun to see the tension building as the wrestlers kept working insanely hard for the win.
After the sumo tournament ended we headed back to our hotel near the imperial palace.
May 16, 2025
Our final full day in Japan was all about wrapping things up and soaking in a few last experiences. The morning was dedicated to prepping for tomorrow’s travel: laundry, packing, shipping home souvenirs and extra clothes, and submitting our Indonesian visa applications.
In the afternoon, we strolled over to the Ginza district for some shopping—and finally checked off one big item we hadn’t yet done: karaoke! The kids were skeptical at first, but by the end, everyone was singing and dancing—even Owen.
That evening, we made our way to the Tokyo Dome for a baseball game between the Tokyo Giants and the Nagoya Dragons. The festive reputation of Japanese baseball games proved absolutely true. The energy in the stadium was incredible, with nonstop chants and songs from both fan bases. The Nagoya fans were grouped into a few concentrated sections, giving them a louder presence than we’re used to seeing from visiting fans in the U.S.
We left after the fourth inning since we’ve got an early start tomorrow. For our last dinner in Japan, we grabbed Shake Shack just outside the stadium—Morgan had been seriously craving a cheeseburger, and it was a comforting bite of home after three weeks in Asia.
May 17, 2025
We were up at 6 a.m. to catch our flight. Everything went smoothly: a seven-hour flight to Singapore, a tight connection, then a two-hour hop to Bali. Heat and humidity hit us immediately on landing. We arrived late and went straight to the airport hotel since we have an early flight to Sumba tomorrow.
Japan was high on our list for this trip, and it completely lived up to our expectations. We’ll definitely be back—with more time in Tokyo, a visit to Osaka, and a chance to explore other parts of the country.
After our visit, Natacha is convinced she has a Japanese soul: quieter people, rule-followers, a deep respect for nature, heightened awareness of others—and she can enjoy multiple glasses of sakes without a hangover!
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