Japan :: Personal

This place was A-Mazing! This was my first visit to Japan, and it far exceeded any expectations I had. We traveled from Tokyo, to Sendai, to Aomori, back to Tokyo, and then decided to hop on a bullet train to Kyoto for a few hours before heading back to Tokyo to catch our flight early that next morning. I wish we had more time in places to fully soak it in. Even then, I don’t know if that would have been enough time. There was so much beauty everywhere!

Some of my favorite places we visited were the Sensoji Temple in Tokyo, the Rinnoji Temple in Sendai, the Hirosaki Castle near Aomori, and, of course, the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji) in Kyoto. However, one of the most memorable opportunities I had was to enter and actually photograph the inside of a temple in Aomori since one of my husband’s relatives is the Keeper of the temple. I completely understand how unique of an experience that was, and I am so grateful.

The further we got out of the tourist areas of Tokyo and Kyoto, the more dependent I became on my husband to translate and communicate for me. Luckily, we also traveled with his family so I had more than one interpreter. I was probably most reliant on them to find me food that I would enjoy. I had to try some new things and learn how to properly use chopsticks. Needless to say, my husband was proud of me! (speaking of food, there was this Yakitori restaurant in Sendai that was phenomenal!)

There is so much more I could say about our trip, but I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. Even still, these pictures don’t do the beauty of Japan justice. I can’t wait to start planning our next trip – maybe next time we’ll even bring the kids!