Our Trip to Japan

Hello friends. In 2019, Japan broke the record for the past 10 years by hosting 32.5 million foreign tourists, including us.It was our first trip to Japan as a family and we chose one of the best seasons for our journey: "Momiji" the time when the leaves turn crimson.

We visited Mount Fuji, the city of Matsumoto, the famous deer of Nara and the traditional Kyoto. Our Japanese experience began with a journey to Tokyo on Japan Airlines. The quality of service, Japanese cuisine and the respectful demeanor of the flight attendants truly amazed us and the greatest gift was seeing Mount Fuji among the clouds as we approached Tokyo. Tip: If you want to see Mount Fuji,choose seats on the right side of the plane.

Upon arriving in Tokyo, we first exchanged euros for yen and purchased SIM cards from an automatic machine at the airport. There are many options depending on the GB amount and validity period. We bought two SIM cards for a 20-day period, with 3GB and 4GB respectively, which was enough to use the main applications for the rest of the trip.

By the way, it's important to download Google Maps before traveling because it works excellently in Japan. It not only shows the route but also displays the exact arrival and departure times of trains and ticket prices. This is especially useful when traveling on the Tokyo Metro, which we think is impossible without Google Maps.

Tokyo is really immense. There are more comfortable accommodation areas and neighborhoods for tourists. Among the best are Shinjuku, Harajuku and Shibuya. We chose Shinjuku first because it houses one of Tokyo's largest and most important train stations, making it easy to access not only any part of the city but also other cities in Japan. For example: Mount Fuji, Nikko Village, Matsumoto City and many other cities in Japan. Secondly, it is the center of shopping malls, resturants, hotels and businesses. Shinjuku is what we imagined when we talked about Tokyo: neon lights, bustling streets, the smell of food from restaurants and entertainment options for every budget.

The Harajuku district is a few stations away from Shinjuku. Here, walking along Takashita Street is inevitable. You can find all sorts of strange things related to Japan. Colorful clothes, souvenirs, odd products, animal-shaped ice creams, giant cotton candies, colorful vendors and many other strange things. Near this street, there's a place that will take you to an interesting café. You can order coffee with Latte Art featuring different characters. Even if you're not a coffee lover, it's impossible not to fall in love with these cute foam animals. The secret to making them is simple, it requires a lot of foam and the magical hands of an experienced barista.

One of the must-see places in Tokyo is undoubtedly Shibuya. The Shibuya Crossing is famous as the busiest intersection in the world. Approximately 2,500 people cross this intersection in about 180 seconds. Here, you can also find the statue of Japan's most famous dog, Hachiko. The best views of this bustling intersection can be found in different places. Firstly, from Shibuya Station, which is the easiest and free option. Secondly, at Starbucks, although easy to find, it's not entirely free. Also, note that these spots often get crowded with people vying for the best views.

A third spot is the Shibuya Magnet shopping center, with an entrance fee of 600 yen. When you're feeling hungry, head to Uobei Sushi right next door. It's just a 5-minute walk from Shibuya Crossing. What's special about this place is that you order your meals from a touchscreen and the chosen dishes come directly to you. Plus, sushi here is quite affordable since it's in central Tokyo.

In the evenings, we visited Kabukicho. Known as Shinjuku's red light district, here you can find plenty of bars, pubs and restaurants alongside adult entertainment. There are game arcades, clubs and even a giant Godzilla head that puts on a light show every hour.

One of the city's main attractions is the Tokyo Tower, resembling the Eiffel Tower in Paris. To get the best view, we went to Zozoji Temple. By the way, not far from the temple, there's a panoramic observation deck at the World Trade Center building where you can see a magnificent view of central Tokyo and its districts. This is also one of the best places to see the Tokyo Tower. Many tourists are unaware of this observation spot, as most people visit the one at Roppongi Hills, which is more crowded and expensive.

Another temple we visited was Sensoji Temple. It's the oldest temple in Tokyo, built in 645 AD, making it older than most European castles. Sensoji Temple is located in the Asakusa district. There's a long shopping street leading to the main entrance of the temple and it's always bustling with people. An interesting activity at the temple was the Omikuji, or fortune-telling slips, where everyone can receive a prediction of good or bad fortune. I ended up getting a good fortune, assuring that everything would turn out well. For those unlucky, they can leave their bad fortune tied to rails, so it doesn't affect them.

The next day, we took a walk in the Odaiba district. Unexpectedly but pleasantly, we found a large beach here. Moreover, this area resembles New York, there's even a small replica of the Statue of Liberty. Another activity here is taking the monorail to the center of the city and enjoying a beautiful view of the city from there. Another place that impressed us was TeamLab. It's an interactive museum with dozens of installations and areas of different sizes and contents. The walls, ceiling and floor are black and due to the irregular floor, various projections and installations give the feeling of falling into a parallel universe. Each installation has its own concept. Some feature projections of flying whales in the room, others are filled with color-changing giant balloons and some are filled with lamps and mirrors. You'll want to observe and photograph everything, not wanting to leave the place.

The following day of our arrival, we went to Mount Fuji. To see the best views of the mountain, you can go to one of the nearby villages. We decided to go to Kawaguchiko Lake village. There are several ways to get there; we first took a train to Otsuki Station and then transferred to a train to Kawaguchiko. The village is located next to the lake of the same name, at the foot of the mountain. To be honest, seeing Mount Fuji was very important to us. It was one of the main reasons for visiting Japan and not seeing it would have been a huge disappointment.

Mount Fuji is a sacred place for the Japanese; it can even be called a god representing the country's spirit and each of its inhabitants. We reached Fuji, or what they call Fuji-san here. We were lucky because the weather was clear today and it had rained a few days before, so the mountain was covered in snow. It was truly a breathtaking sight and we were very happy and surprised because this was exactly how we wanted to see Mount Fuji.

A little tip: to see Mount Fuji, you should come between October and April, but remember that the best days are in the winter months. Secondly, keep an eye on the weather so you can be sure the day you choose is free of clouds. Also, I recommend tracking the weather in real-time through online cameras around Mount Fuji.

Thirdly, I suggest visiting Tokyo for a few days so you can go to Mount Fuji on a separate day. And in case of bad weather, you can always change your plans and go on another day.

The next stop on our itinerary was the city of Nikko. Officially a city, this place looks more like a village. I'm sure you're wondering why we went to this small town? It was because of the amazing temple complexes in Nikko. Now getting here from Tokyo is quite simple; you just need to take a train from Shinjuku or Asakusa station and after an almost two-hour journey, you arrive at Nikko station. Once you get to Nikko station, you take a city bus and within 10 minutes, you're there. At the entrance of the complex, you'll see the Shinkyo Bridge, one of Nikko's symbols. There's an entrance fee for the bridge, but the view is so beautiful that I think the fee is justified. We didn't expect the place to be so grand and attractive and despite being a place with a lot of people and stairs, this place left us in awe. These temples were the reason we came here. The place is really huge and the kids look so cute with the same hat, many of them seem to be on a school trip.

These were the highlights from our trip to Japan today. I realize now that I won't be able to fit all the places we visited into this post. I hope you enjoyed reading it. I'll continue sharing memories from Japan in my future posts. Thanks for reading.