Our long awaited trip to Japan finally occurred. This was the trip that Andy had his heart set on for his family the moment we decided to make Hong Kong our home. He loves Japan and has spent so much time traveling there that he couldn't wait for the rest of us to experience this amazing country.
And since we waited until our fifth year to do this trip, we got the bonus of visiting great friends, too!!
The Marletts moved to Kobe, Japan in July...which was perfect timing for us...and a great spot to be centrally located:) Kobe is on the same train line as Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima...and we can get there easily by train from Tokyo. But, while we were excited to see all that Japan had to offer, our main goal the beginning of the week was to spend time with them and see their new life. We got to Japan on a Friday night, stayed in Tokyo, then left the next morning. Our room in the Tokyo Hotel was so cool...6 single to double beds all configured in one room, one set being bunk beds. It was very fun, and we probably would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't been so late...getting to sleep around 2am. Then we were up by 6am because we had to make a train in order to get tickets on the bullet train to Kobe.
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| And we're off... |
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| Yes, her head may have gotten stuck for a bit |
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| Walking through Tokyo at midnight |
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| We got lost a couple times |
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| Our cool hotel room that fit us all!!! |
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| The bullet train...a definite favorite! |
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Mt Fuji from the bullet train
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| Finally crashed |
We finally arrived to Kobe around 1pm, and of course Nicole had an amazing Japanese lunch waiting for us when we got there. Then we were able to visit a beautiful herbal gardens that was located on the side of the mountain behind their house. We took a fun cable car to get there. Then it was back to the house where the kids swam, had fabulous Miso soup, and finally made it to bed...exhausted and happy.
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| Kobe |
The next day we got to go to their church...which was just as adventurous getting their as it used to be for us before the car. Then from there we traveled to Okayama by train, enjoyed some sightseeing in Kurashiki, and then had dinner at one of Drew and Andy's associates from Gore. Onosan has been a friend of Andy's for about a decade, and the two of them dreamed of getting our families together one day. It was hard to believe that dream was reality. Onosan, his wife and his parents, in Japanese style, prepared a feast for us that blew us away. Kobe beef, Japanese pizza, Miso soup, beautiful desserts and on and on and on were served with excellence and pride. And then the fun began...the kids were given sparklers and small fireworks. They had a ball, as that night turned into one of our favorites:)
We got home very late, as Okayama is a good hour away from Kobe. The next day the Marlett kids had sports day, which was only a half day. This was fun because Drew had off and we all went to watch the end of the festivities. Then we went to a local Japanese restaurant, and finally made it to Kyoto. Unfortunately we didn't make it to Kyoto until 5pm, so we booked it to the bamboo forest...something we thought was very unique...spent about an hour there...and then went back to Kobe. I was a little bummed we couldn't have spent longer in Kyoto...having heard so much about it, but it was so important and wonderful that we got to see where Jack, Megan and Sophie went to school, and it just meant that I will have to go back:) When we got back to Kobe we went to a Sushi-go-round restaurant. Amazingly enough, we all fit in the restaurant, and even more miraculous, Abby ate sushi for the first time and loved it:)
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| Sarah's foot did not "mind the gap" and therefore her sneaker fell on the tracks |
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| Ice cream to keep us going |
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| The bamboo forest in Kyoto |
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| One of my faves! |
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| All the Marletts and Puffs at a Sushi-go-round |
The next day we decided that in order to be more productive and efficient, we left our youngest two with Nicole to do a museum while the rest of us met Onosan and went to Hiroshima. Again, I really wanted to go to the museum, but with Onosan taking the day off, we didn't think he wanted to do that so we went to Miyajima Island instead. It wasn't the best weather, but the island was so unique, had an incredible view, and it was something Andy had talked about from his travels to Japan. We hiked and took cable cars to the top and ate an authentic lunch on the way down. We had a great time spending those few hours with Onosan, and I think he had fun, too. Then we got back on the ferry to the local train to catch the bullet train. Onosan left us, and we continued to Himegi Castle, one of the most famous castles in the world. This was an amazing tour and we all loved it. We finally got back on the train and made it back to the Marletts for dinner...it was a FULL day.
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Miyajima Island
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| Himeji Castle |
We left for Tokyo on Wednesday morning feeling sad that we wouldnt see the Marletts for quite awhile, but we had incredible memories and felt blessed to have seen their new life and experience Asia with them, as well as seen some amazing parts of Japan we would never forget
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