Land of the Rising Sun

I

We're heading to Japan on Friday night and I figured this was a good time to revive the blog after a two year hiatus. We decided on Japan for our summer vacation because wanted to take advantage of our proximity to other countries in Asia while we still live in India. Despite the proximity, it's still an 8 hour overnight flight from Delhi to Tokyo, but still much easier than flying from the US.

I've done a ridiculous amount of research to put together our two-week trip. Even though Japan is geographically small, there are so many options: bustling cities like Tokyo and Osaka, the cultural capital of Kyoto, small towns in the Japan Alps, beaches in Okinawa, flower fields and hot springs in Hokkaido.

After numerous versions, I finally finalized our itinerary:

1. Tokyo for 5d/5n where we plan to take in the craziness of crowded capital, enjoy the food and do a little shopping. We're also planning to visit Hakone for a day trip where we hope to catch a glimpse of Mt. Fiji.
2. Hiroshima and Miyajima for 2d/1n where we'll visit the Peace Park and Peace Museum in Hiroshima and then stay overnight in a ryokan, or traditional Japanese inn, on the nearby island of Miyajima
3. Kyoto for 3d/4n to see some of Japan most well-known Buddhist temples, shrines and gardens
4. Takayama and Shirakawa-go for 2d/1n to experience a quieter, more traditional Japanese town in the Japan Alps and see the gassho-zukuri houses
5. Tokyo for one more night before out flight back to Delhi

I'm already thinking ahead to the next trip to Japan because there are several places that I just couldn't fit in. I really wanted to go to Hokkaido to see the amazing flower farms in the summers, but I'm going to defer it for a later trip when we can spend more time driving around the island and make the most of a visit there.

We'll be traveling throughout the country on the famous shinkansen or bullet trains and have 7-day rail passes. I packed in all of our long-distance travel into this 7 day period, hoping to get as much value as possible out of the passes. We're not even there and I'm already amazed at the efficiency of Japan's rail network. I'm looking forward to the super clean and punctual trains, probably the complete opposite of what I have experienced in India.

I did realize that this is our first trip where we'll do a lot of sightseeing with Aaron. We went to Singapore when he was 6 months old, but that was just a long weekend for relaxing and eating, as Ani and I had visited most of the major sights a few years before. And we went to Malaysia this past winter, but again, that was largely relaxing by the pool or beach. So, my fingers are crossed that this trip will go well. I'm intending to balance the temple visits with downtime for shopping and leisurely exploring and we may have to forgo museums all together. Hopefully Aaron is a bit prepared for this trip and he's already looking forward to "riding the fast train" and eating "noodles."

Sayonara to us!