I had the most amazing time on my honeymoon. We went to Japan which is one of the most unique and awesome places I’ve been to date. Since neither of us had been, we wanted to see as much as we could in the 2 weeks we were there. Before I get into everything we did, I want to give a thank you to Sammy’s dad Gus for buying our plane tickets and hotel rooms for our wedding present. It was such a nice present and really gave us a unique moment to bond as a married couple.
The first place we visited was Tokyo. We landed in the city (after a terrible 6 hour delay) and was wowed with the efficiency of the train system and traditional feel of the city. We stayed in the Akihabara district and were delighted to see all of the arcades and anime shops. We also went to Ikebukuro and experienced even more arcades and our first Pokémon Center, Shibuya to see the crossing and Nakano Broadway and the National Gardens, Yogigi park which was so relaxing, and Harajuku to experience the fashion and of course cat cafes. In a few of the areas we also hit up the Hello Kitty cafes and stores. The amount of adorable clothes, lunch supplies, food, and more is overwhelming in the best possible ways. Can I move here?
After a week exploring as much as possible in Tokyo, we made our way to Kyoto. This was such an amazing mash up of traditional shrines in the middle of a modern city. It was so busy and yet so quiet and peaceful at the same time. I don’t understand how both of these seemingly conflicting ideas melded so smoothly into each other. We also checked out the Pokémon Center and Tokyo tower. While staying at the hotel here, we made day trips to Osaka, which honestly was a bit disappointing but had delicious food, and Aryashima, which had beautiful bamboo gardens, rice fields, delicious food, and the most scenic train journey ending in the rice fields. It was so worth the trip. We also checked out a temple in the mountains which was stunning (and had free WIFI lol).
We continued our bullet train journey south from there on our way to Hiroshima and Miyajima. Hiroshima was devastatingly beautiful. The monuments they keep standing and all those added in commemoration of the event is a stark reminder of the devastation of war, of over ambition. As if to emphasize this point, there were several field trips happening at the time; the innocence of the children against the horrors of the past. The museum was so informative and heartbreaking. It was a heavy day, but a good reminder. Luckily, we spent the next day in one of my favorite spots of the entire journey, Miyajima. It has a “floating” shrine which is one of the most beautiful traditional structures we visited. It was also filled with the friendliest deer just trying to escape the rain. Plus, the stands were filled with food to fill the belly and warm one up. It was a like a trip into an anime, so surreal that I wonder if my memories are wrong. I will go back here again.
Finally we were nearing the end of our journey and so decided to spend the last few nights in Tokyo in a traditional ryokan. The experience was one of a kind and I’m glad I did it, but honestly that futon was super uncomfortable, and I plan to stick to hotels in the future. Overall it was a great trip where we were already planning our return trip before it was over. We will find our way back, maybe to celebrate our 5 year anniversary! 😉
Full photo album: https://imgur.com/a/IzAtPI0
