Birthday trip to Japan (Tokyo and Kyoto)
Japan
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Dec 26 - Jan 2, 2023
This was an amazing trip thanks to Claudia and then Kristy, who made it all possible. My husband turned 50 on 12/31 and to make it a memorable birthday, we spent a week in Japan. We were off to a rough start due to the airline delay of 1 whole day! That made us miss a couple of planned events in Tokyo, but we still tried to make up for it. We are foodies, so we tried absolutely everything - from Japanese street food, to a local Ramen dive, to a preplanned multi course Teppanyaki place at a 5 star hotel in Kyoto. We visited a number of shrines and walked through the busiest shopping areas of Tokyo and Kyoto. Bamboo forest in Kyoto and a couple of parks (like Nara that has deer roaming around) were amazing. We also got the JR and metro systems figured out in both cities and were very comfortable getting around. Cat and mini pig cafes - fun! We will be bringing our sons with us next time and experience a different season in Japan. A day hike at Mount Fuji is in our plans for next time!
Hotel Reviews
Very clean, friendly service. Breakfast was provided.
Great location, clean, very helpful staff. Breakfast is provided
Very nice clean place
Activity Reviews
This was one of our favorite experiences. We dressed up into authentic kimonos with the assistance of very nice staff who helped us expertly and expeditiously to look amazing. Then we walked through Kyoto’s cozy winding streets for a bit taking pictures. Then we experienced a very informative and fun tea ceremony with a lovely instructor. She was very friendly and explained all the details of what was involved in the making of a perfect cup of Matcha tea. We would love to bring our sons here next time.
We spent about half day at Arashiyama - walking through the bamboo forest and the adjacent park and shopping area. Very pretty, although I am certain it would be even more beautiful in other seasons (we were there at the end of December).
