Back at Work

I left for Tokyo on Dec. 20 and returned to Okinawa on Jan. 6th. Total travel time: 18 days. The time went by at a normal pace and I never really felt like I was traveling. Probably because I was in Tokyo and Fukuoka each for a full week.

My mom and sister arrived on the 24th. Not much happened on that day. I did laundry. Christmas Day was hectic. They had one day in Tokyo and I was determined to show them as much as possible. Bad idea. We made a complete loop on Tokyo's main train line, hitting almost every stop. Try to imagine walking to a train station and going up and down stairs with about a thousand other people. You jump on the train, ride it for 3 minutes, jump off, and climb up and down stairs to get out of the station. Go see the attraction at that train exit, go back to the station, do it again. By the end of the day, my mom and sister were half dead. So the rest of the trip (1 week) became a recovery session.

After Tokyo, we headed to Kawaguchiko, which has a beautiful view of Mt. Fuji. When I was taking pictures, they came out like all the other pictures of Mt. Fuji. This was disappointing because words can not explain how awesome this mountain is. At around 10,000 feet, it just devours the horizon. Best part of the trip.

Next came Nagoya, which acted as a half way point between Fuji and Kyoto. It has a mediocre reconstructed castle. Nagoya also is famous for miso katsu. It was yummy.

Then we went to Kyoto for two days. The first day, I left my mom and sister to see friends in Osaka. Then the next day was a Tokyo-lite touring of Kyoto. Kiyomizudera is alright, but Kinkakuji is amazing!

The last part of the trip was in Fukuoka, hanging out with Yuka's family for the New Year's holiday. On New Year's Eve, we braved the cold at midnight and walked to the local temple to ring the gong at midnight. We were all bundled up and the monks were only in robes. Hardcore.

My mom and sister left on the 2nd, and I just relaxed in Fukuoka until the 6th. I was taken out shopping on the 2nd, which is the equivalent of Black Friday in America. The department stores were jammed. There were lines to ENTER the stores! We would take the elevator up one floor and barely be able to move. I did my duty and waited by the elevator holding the bags.

Pictures soon.