Even as I type this, my D is in the air, flying non-stop from Narita to O’hare after an almost 3 week stay in Japan. By the time she lands at Reagan National at roughly 7:30 pm tonight, she will have experienced the longest Tuesday of her life, and still have 3 and a half hours left of it!
This was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream of hers, and she had a blast. She and her traveling companion stayed in ryokans (traditional guest houses, rather than conventional hotels) for most the the trip. We facetimed almost everyday, so she showed us her accommodations, which were comfortable, but spare, with tatami flooring, futon beds, low furnishings, and on-suite baths whose toilet rooms were separate from the bathing rooms. They spent several days in Tokyo, which is every bit as crowded and hectic as you’d expect, but is of course as varied as any of the world’s major cities, with tons to see and do. They had purchased JR passes that afforded them unlimited subway and train travel for the duration of their trip, so they used those to take the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto, as well as other towns around Kyoto. D much preferred Kyoto over Tokyo for it’s more natural setting, tons of temples and shrines and other historic sites. Her favorite place was the spectacular Fushimi Inari Shrine, which she hiked twice, the first time all the way to its 4km summit and back. She posted some pretty amazing photos on Facebook, among which were the thousands of vermillion red gates that line the path to the summit. They also visited lots of temples and castles, eat at lots of restaurants, and did more shopping than D would normally tolerate.
Unlike the experience of other posters, D said most people they encountered did not speak English, so it’s a good thing she’s fairly fluent, and can read the language well enough to have read the Harry Potter books in Japanese. D has been practicing Kendo for the past five years, so the reason for her visit was to attend the World Kendo Championships, which were held in Tokyo this year. However, they only spent two days out of their 3 week visit at this event. The rest was spent traveling, and trying to adjust to the time zone difference. Once she arrives home, she will be taking the rest of the week off to recover from her vacation. :))