Day #1 - Kyoto
When we first arrived in Japan after a long 14 hour flight on ANA economy class, we immediately went to our first hotel called the Westin Miyako Kyoto. The first activity that we did in Kyoto was a fun ninja class called Ninja Dojo. This was an amazing start to our trip and it set a great tone for the rest of the trip! When we got to the ninja class, the instructors first showed us around a big room full of cool ninja souvenirs like nunchucks and shurikens. But get those mailed home. You don't want to bring a sword on a plane! Next, they brought us into the main room where they dressed us in cool ninja uniforms! The instructors brought out many items and tools that we "fought with." There was also a very cool secret room that we did activities in. Lastly, they gave us blind folds so we couldn't see and they put sharp objects on the ground that we had to avoid. But luckily it was not as hard as it sounds, so I did not go home with a blade in my foot! This ninja class was definitely one of the highlights of Kyoto.
Day #2 - Kyoto
For our second day in Kyoto, we explored the culture of Japan by visiting many temples and shrines. We also ate a lot of food, or should I say my dad ate a lot of food. I am a very picky eater which was one big downside of Japan for me. The shrines/temples that we visited were called the Kinkakuji Temple and the Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine.
Day #3 - Kyoto
The next activity that we did was a Taiko drumming class called Taiko drum class. This was one of the best things that we did in Kyoto, and probably in the entire trip. When we got there, we expected a wait but they took us in right away! Our instructor gave each of us a huge drum called a taiko drum that we practiced on for a little while. Me and my family went with our family friends so there was a lot of us drumming at the same time. This made it more fun! He taught us a routine which we mastered in no time and we preformed it in front of another family! Good vibes! If you want to get an idea about the taiko drumming class, click here to see a video of my family, family-friends, and I playing the drums. And skip to 1:13 if you want to see me go!
Day #4 - Travel!
On day #4, we traveled from Kyoto to Mount Fuji on a JRR train and then took a bus the rest of the way. We arrived at the Fujikawaguchiko Onsen Konanso Hotel. The best hotel in the trip! This hotel was at the base of a gigantic mountain called Mount Fuji, where we went to an amazing amusement park. I will talk about this in my day #5 part of the itinerary. In this hotel, we stayed at a room that had an indoor hot tub, and we slept on huge, comfortable futons on the floor! There was also a natural hot spring that was very nice and hot! In many of the rooms, there were hot tubs, so don't worry!
Day #5 - Fuji Q (at the base of Mount Fuji)
The next morning, we went to the amusement park at the bottom of Mount Fuji called the Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park. When we got there, we waited on line for about 30 minutes to get our tickets. I would recommend the fast-passes because on some days, the lines can get very long. Once we were in the park, most of us went directly to a huge roller-coaster called Takabisha. This thrilling ride had a falling angle of 121 degrees! If you want to see the full list of rides at this amusement park, click here. The next ride that we went on was called Eejanaika. This ride broke the world record for the most number of revolutions. There are a total of 14 of them! Another ride at Fuji-Q that I would recommend for all you thrill-seeking people is called Fujiyama. It breaks a total of 4 world records and is nicknamed the "King of Coasters." If you ride it, you will find out why! Finally, if you are at this park, you definitely do not want to miss Dododonpa. It breaks the record for the fastest roller-coaster, along with the world's largest loop! This coaster reaches a speed of 110 mph in 1.56 seconds! Although the line might be very long, it is definitely worth it! After we left this amazing park, we traveled to Tokyo on a Fujikyu Railway and then transferred to a JRR train. This was one long day!
Day #6 - Tourism in Tokyo
On day #6, we walked around and explored all of the amazing things in Tokyo. We went to a record store called Tower Records, which is the last tower record store in the world!
Day #7 - Tokyo
We did a lot on day #7. We went on a Mario Cart ride on the main streets of Tokyo! It was called MariCar. Although us kids were too young to ride, we got to sit in fun convertible cars while we watched our parents ride. Another very fun perk about this was that we all wore onesie costumes that we picked out! Later that night, we went to a restaurant called Robot Restaurant. This was the most fun restaurant that we went to this whole trip! We sat down and watched a very entertaining show full with big robots while we ate our delicious snacks! It was so fun! If you are in Tokyo, I would definitely recommend visiting the Robot Restaurant.
Day #8 - More tourism in Tokyo!
We did not do a lot today. We walked around and ate cool foods at unique markets and shops. Fun!
Our trip to Japan is over. In the morning of day #9, we said our last goodbyes to Japan. It was so sad because we were leaving such an amazing vacation and experience. In the afternoon, we checked out of our hotel, The Westin Tokyo, and and went to the airport. We took an 11 hour business class flight on American Airlines to Dallas and then a 3 hour lay-over back to New York.
Overall, this trip was by far my favorite trip I have ever taken. We were in Japan for 10 days and did so much more than I could ever imagine! I would go back and do the same things again. That's how great of a trip this was. I would definitely recommend going to Japan and experiencing all the amazing thing that you can do there. It will be worth it!
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