Where does this story begin?? In some ways, it began before COVID..."We need to take the kids to Japan! They just have to be able to walk a lot since it's not a good stroller country..." But we all know what happened next. And then the conversation began again..."Samuel will be off to college before we know it, so we need to start planning..." And then most recently, "For some reason, we have 10 days off for Thanksgiving break this year...we should go somewhere good!" And then "Could we, should we plan to go to Japan??" The rest is (now) history!
We knew that the yen to dollar conversion rate has been very favorable lately, so our biggest hurdle was finding reasonable airfare. We used a flight tracker, were relatively flexible about dates and airports, and had a ceiling for what we would pay per ticket since there are five of us. One random evening, Tony was checking on our search and we found our sweet spot: a great price, the ideal flight plan, airports, layovers and times, AND we scored an extra day on either end of our travel dates, including a Saturday (without paying more)--PERFECT!
Then we began to really plan--where would we stay? These days, opportunities like AirBNB mean many more options! Where would we go and what would our itinerary be? And how would we get to see all of our old friends in coworkers in just over a week?? On the upside, November is mild in Japan, so we didn't have to pack too much--mostly souvenirs to give out!
And then we were on the plane and ready to head to Japan!!!!!!
The flight there felt like an eternity, so after arriving, collecting our bags, picking up our rail passes, etc., we were exhausted. We went straight to bed.
Whiiiich meant that Bas was up pretty early. Thank goodness the wifi was working. 😜
We rented a cute, little Tokyo apartment near Ueno Park. It was in a neighborhood (always a good thing)-- in the morning, we walked down the street and picked out lots of yummy things for breakfast at a convenience store. The ones in Japan are THE BEST! Here we are on Morning #1!
All the breakfast goodies, like onigiri, anpan, hot coffee and tea...
This is Samuel's serious face about his serious egg salad and fried chicken breakfast sandwich.
We met up with Miki (who was our Friendship Family student when she was an undergraduate in Baltimore--at the college where I worked) and her boys Riku and Hiro.
A long way down!
Lots of opportunities for cheesiness...
Ramen lunch!
The next morning we said good bye to our little apartment. It was pretty cool...
This was us back in the day!
And her 11th grade class, which was my favorite. (Akiko is holding the jack-o-lantern bag on the day I taught about Halloween.) We had so much fun in that class!
We walked around Tokyo a bit together and the palace grounds, which are right by her office.
Then we were off to Shimizu--my first Japanese hometown--by bullet train! Would you believe that it's the 60th anniversary of the shinkansen (created in 1964 for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo!)??
When we checked into our hotel by the station, the concierge spoke perfect English and was from Italy. It was so bizarre!
Our first friend to reconnect with there was my friend Miki who I met in pottery class back in 2000. She, Silvia from Mexico, and I were the only English speakers. It was a great class and this was us out to dinner!
So being able to reconnect with them in Japan was so special! We went up to the top of Nihondaira to see Mt. Fuji and the sunset!
But first, a little shrine time!
We did see Fuji, though it was a little cloudy out...
Sunset time!
And then off to Dream Plaza--one of FAVORITE old haunts--part mall, part museum, part food court, and part grocery store, I spent A LOT of time there back in the day. In fact, here are me, Miki, and Tony when we visited Japan in 2005--eating at Dream Plaza!
The scene of the crime!
This was my plate...
Bas loved the donut maker (like a waffle iron). He made two rounds of donuts and then fell asleep during the meal. Long-distance travel is exhausting!
And reunited!
Hippy Shake--a favorite ex-pat bar--still here!
Then we walked to over to the school where I taught, just to take a quick peek (before returning in the afternoon). As the sign says, Shimizu International High School and Junior High School are 750 meters from here.
Here we are with Satoko's mom, Satoko, Tomomi (who I taught with), and Satoko's dad who worked in the main office of my school.
This was a fun morning because Tomomi and Satoko only know each other because they both came from Japan to attend our wedding. It was great for them to reunite, too!
And then Tomomi, Tony, the kids and I headed to the school to visit everyone during lunchtime. I was a little nervous, but mostly SO SO excited... Right away we were greeted by Sawaki Sensei (whose daughter Chiha is my forever friend from when I lived in Shimizu) and Ichikawa Sensei (who had graciously hosted me for many lunches and outings when I was a newcomer to the school). They hadn't changed at all and both still teach at Kokusai! 
The view from upstairs...the school's beautiful new field and Fuji in the background...
Last one: all of the teachers and staff outside the school in Fall 2000.
And now!
The parking lot where my old apartment used to be...
Mishima is the town Tony and I lived in in 2005 and 2006. We walked all over and showed the kids where we used to rent (DVD) videos (now a ramen restaurant)...
And discovered that there's now a Coin Laundry RIGHT ACROSS from our old apartment. I used to wear our laundry on my back and walk across a full rice field to the closest coin laundry. It was HOT and the laundry building was not air-conditioned. This would be been so much better!!
Hashimoto Heights Apartment 303!!
And the beautiful view of Mt. Fuji that we used to SAVOR...
And we met up with Narumi-san (the kind grandmother who adopted me and Tony while we lived in Mishima. She would have us over for dinner or leave us dinner on our door as a surprise. We met her because her home was along Tony's walk to work and she had an adorable old dog that we loved)...
We had the restaurant to ourselves, so we really got to catch up. It was very interesting to hear how they fared during COVID, how Kunimasa changed jobs (no longer commuting to/from Tokyo), and reminiscing about when we lived there before...
Samuel got curry...perfect for a cool night...
Speaking of which, after dinner, Brie and I visited the hotel's hot bath. I love going to them and it was a bucket list item for Brie. Talk about a relaxing way to rest after a long day of walking around your old Japanese town...
The next morning, we visited Tony's former institute.
For better or worse, it hadn't changed at all. The buildings seemed older and the grounds were overgrown! Regardless, it was nice to be back!
No visit to Mishima is complete without visiting Rakujuen, a park that Tony and I frequented while we lived in Mishima. It's equal parts gardens, amusement park, and zoo!
An ad for Mishima in the train station--who wouldn't want to live here??
Then we took the train to Kyoto! We bought bentou lunches before leaving...we were surprised to find vegan options all over Japan (unheard of in 2006)!
Bas says, "This can of corn soup is too hot to hold!" 😬
Yum!!
It was rainy when we got into Kyoto (our only rain for the whole trip!), so we checked into our little apartment and walked to a local department store. We found a restaurant with lots of comfort food, including omuraisu. 😋
Fun indoors!
Bas squeaked out a little friend (Rayquaza--in green) to go with his first Pokemon stuffie. Baaaas...
Bright and early the next morning (per instructions from Narumi-san), we went straight to Fushimi-Inari.
The shrine, which has hundreds of orange-red torii gates and is decorated in fox spirits--is every bit as cool as Tony and I remember it, but the crowds! There were a lot of tourists (I tried not to capture them in my photos, so it looks less busy than it was) and EVERYONE was using a selfie stick to get the perfect Insta shot. It was really ridiculous.
The kids got the doggie fix several times during our touring. The dogs were all friendly and adorable!
Here we are at Nijo Castle!
They had a little cafeteria, and the curry oden that we ordered was perfect on a gray day...
The view from the top level...
Entertainment on the bullet train (so different from 2006)!
And...like any good Japanese Friday night...where did we go?? Karaoke, of course! We discovered the chain Big Echo and it was perfect for us: big rooms and lots of songs in English to choose from...
We ordered lots of yummy food and drinks, and one of the kids figured out that there were colorful lights and a disco ball that we could use. 😂
In front of the Genbaku (Atomic Bomb) Dome...
And the Peace Park...
Complete with thousands of origami paper cranes folded by school children.
When in Hiroshima, you have to get the city's signature food: okonomiyaki!
And ice cream??
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Like many popular sights in Japan, there are deer everywhere!
They're friendly like dogs...
I think Bas would have stayed all afternoon...
Sunset view from our last hotel...
Sebastian ordered fries and hotdogs...and he got to grill the dogs himself. Ha!
We dug into all our favorites...
Knowing that we would really miss Japanese food!
And we topped it all off with crepes!
The next morning (our last 😢), we met Tony's former NIG coworker (and one of my English students at the institute) Takeo, his wife Kazumi, and their son Yuto to enjoy time together in Tokyo.
And when we got home, guess who was our #1 priority??
And I felt so happy to have my new Japan coffee mug, which we found in the Starbucks in Mishima (it didn't exist when Tony and I lived there).
The next morning, we were greeted by Mt. Fuji from our hotel window!
Ready to head out and explore! Sebastian's prized Pokemon stuffie was definitely a repeat offender for the remainder of our trip. Ha!
Of course, we had to walk around Shimizu--had it changed at all? The area by the station is largely the same, with some new restaurants and hotels...
My favorite grocery/department store has been torn down, but the rest of the walk felt exactly the same...until we got to my school. I knew it had been rebuilt, but it was still surprising to see--all new and very nice!
Then we had a sushi party at Satoko's house--very reminiscent of when I lived in Shimizu and her family would have me over for dinner. 💛
This is me singing karaoke with him back in the day...
And the (formerly) young teachers: Kawai Sensei, me, Ukisu Sensei, and Tomomi. Unfortunately, Furushyo Sensei was traveling for work that day--we missed seeing him!
And all of us out to dinner about 23 years ago! I felt so lucky to teach at a school with a fun young group of teachers.
We (including Jackie) also climbed Mt. Fuji together in July 2001!
A few more flashback photos:
When Beth came to visit, we taught a class together!
And good bye to Tomomi and her daughter (a high school student in Shimizu)!
Then we were off to Mishima! Mt. Fuji was out in full force on our train ride!
Then we walked down to Mishima Taisha, the local shrine. It's still lovely there...
Her son Kunimasa, and his wife Kanako--a reunion 19 years in the making! We were thrilled for the kids to finally meet them and vice versa!
We went out for a really delicious meal...maybe our favorite from the trip!
Brie excited about our fancy plates!
The kids especially enjoyed grinding sesame seeds to make their own sauce.
Many a meal at the dining hall!
Even walking around the town, especially by the river outside our apartment, was very nostaglic...
Then we went to the Golden Pavillion--a must-see in Kyoto!
Every sight is a reason for a treat. 😉 Bas got green tea ice cream with gold flecks on it!
That night was Thanksgiving, so we celebrated in the most Japanese (yet somehow American) way possible: conveyer belt sushi!! The food was extra good, and we got drinks and dessert, too. Somehow, it was less than half of what we pay in the U.S. thanks to the exchange rate...crazy!
We all went around and shared what we were thankful for. Above all, we were grateful to be Japanophiles because it inspired us to travel all the way to Japan as a family and to love every minute of it.
Then we headed south to Hiroshima! But first, warm drinks from a station vending machine!
The two highlights of the night were Sebastian doing an Eminem song...
And Brie and Samuel sharing the Bruno duet. Great fun!!Back at the hotel and ready to rest!
The next day we visited the Atomic Bomb Dome, Peace Park and Hiroshima Museum. Hiroshima is a beautiful city and every time I'm there, I marvel at how you would never know that it was hit by an atomic bomb just decades ago...
Our crew asleep on the train...
Not far from Hiroshima is Miyajima, a beautiful little island that's famous for its large, orange torii gate in the water.
It was fun watching it grow bigger as we approached the island by boat.
And thanks for modern technology, we knew when low tide was, and timed our visit, to we could walk out to the gate!
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Pretty awesome!
and usually want your snack!
A final look at Mt. Fuji.
For our last few days in Japan, we stayed in a different part of Tokyo (closer to Haneda Airport). Can you imagine my surprise when I spotted a Club Pilates in Kamata, Japan?? I absolutely went in and bought a t-shirt!
That afternoon, we grabbed Konbini lunch and sat outside in a little park...
And then we surprised the kids by visiting a cat cafe! The cats were all so cute and very sweet...
The next day, we made our way back up to Tokyo (sigh...). A hot can of coffee and an old favorite (coffee jello) eased my sad heart on the train ride back north.
And saying, "Kampai!" and "Dekimashita!" at our final dinner...
Here we are at Asakusa!
We were there 8 days ago!
One of the highlights was ordering fresh eel...
And enjoying it on a cruise on Tokyo Bay!
What a wonderful morning of catching up!
Yuto is very into Rubik's Cubes, just like our kiddos.
While heading back to our hotel, we finally spotted the much coveted Pokemon donuts...
So of course we bought a bunch! Brie ordered boba to drink and said it was the best they'd had!
And then went to the airport (=sad!).
There was so much to reflect on...all the new experiences for the kids and the lucky opportunity to escape our little bubble in such a big way. The food, the culture... In advance of our trip, I thought, "I'm going to want to hug everyone, but that's not Japan's culture," but we were still greeted with lots of hugs and it felt so good to show affection like that with longtime friends. Those reunions topped it all.
Here is a view of Tokyo at night as we flew home. Farewell until next time, Japan!
We had some time in Dulles before our connection to Cincinnati, so we made the most of our time (and location) by grabbing dinner with Nonna and Nonno! The kids had lots of stories to tell them!
We also admired our cool souvenirs...here's Bas with his light up Tokyo SkyTree...
So now we're back and we can't believe the trip has already happened, but more than anything, we're thrilled that we went and so grateful that we could introduce the kids to the country, friends, culture, and cuisine that we love so much. 💖
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