Disney! This was the highlight of the trip for sure. We went to Tokyo Disneyland, which is akin to Orlando’s Disney World Magic Kingdom. One major difference was the Beauty and the Beast ride however which is a Japan exclusive. Another big difference is that popcorn is huge here! We tried berry cheesecake and matcha white chocolate but there was also soy sauce flavor, salted, and a couple other flavors. The lines were so long though so we just got to try the two this time and they were both really delicious. Since it was Halloween, they completely redid the Haunted Mansion to a Nightmare Before Christmas theme which was really incredible to see. Also, we got to see the Spooky Boo Parade (equal parts spooky and cute) which only takes place this time of year, as well as the Electrical Parade which I miss in Orlando Disney World since it stopped when I was a kid. Luckily Leanne got to experience this magic from my childhood.

Today was all about checking out all the different neighborhoods of Tokyo.

After checking out Shinjuku which has high end fashion, shopping, business, and most importantly Disney and Samsung stores, we went to Harajuku and Takeshita Street. Here we ate matcha tiramisu crepes and went to a puppy café! A café, filled with puppies, that you can play with and feed! Leanne had a lot of fun here.

The other best part of Shinjuku was the Samsung Galaxy store.. no, I should say experience, in Shinjuku. This 6 story building is filled not only with all the latest models of Samsung phone/watch gadgets, but also tons of interactive areas including one room where you can interact with dinosaurs! Dinosaurs are all throughout the walls and you can send arrows from your Galaxy phone to catch them. Once caught you can release them back to the “wild.” The experience was actually really cool!

After all this, we went to our Disney hotel because tomorrow is a big day. Tomorrow is Disneyland Tokyo.

This is my second time in Tokyo and Leanne’s first time. I wanted her to have the same amazing experience I had 11 years ago. I didn’t realize it would end up being a new experience for me too!

We started in Asakusa which has the big temple Senso-ji that is one of the most visited temples in Japan. There were tons of vendors outside with great street food.

Video: Leanne getting a fortune in front of the Senso-ji temple.

After this we went to Ueno Park, a refuge from the crazy cityness of Tokyo.

In front of the reflection pool in Ueno.

In Ueno park there was a 150 year celebration of.. something (my Japanese is still coming along), and there were lots of stands for environmental protection. And since Japan is so cute, there were also panda stuff everywhere.

In the evening after going to Akihabara electric city, we went to Shibuya scramble crossing. According to Wikipedia: “Shibuya Crossing is the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing, with as many as 3,000 people crossing at a time.” So many people, holy moly!

Our hotel is in Shinjuku area (that blue tower straight ahead in the next pic). So much still to see and do but we have to sleep sometime!

We took a tour about 3 hours from home to the Ryuseendo Caves. This cave system is a limestone cave, of which 3100 meters have been explored (the cave is believed to be about 5000 meters total). We got to see a lot of it, and saw the deep, super clear underground lakes (up to 98 meters deep!), stalactites, and stalagmites. We didn’t see a bat in the cave even though we really looked, but we ended up seeing a bat in another close by much smaller cave.

Right outside the cave is beautiful nature of Japan which we walked around.

After spelunking, we went to an amber museum and made amber jewelry. Amber is from tree sap up to 85 million years ago. One of the biggest mining sites for amber is here where we made the jewelery in Japan.

Can you believe that one hour from our house, in a no name town in Japan, is a completely Pokémon themed playground?? Pikachu benches, Geodude swings, climb an Onyx, ride a Tyrunt! Can’t wait to bring my kiddo here one day!

Nara is about an hour from Kyoto so we made a day trip there today. Though there is a massive number of UNESCO World Heritage sights as well as many national treasures, we were more interested in the polite deer! Since these are Japanese deer, they will bow when you bow. There are so many deer and they are so friendly.

After our day trip to Nara, we went back to Osaka to catch the sunset at the Umeda Sky Building. We went about 425 ft high where we saw the sun setting behind the mountains on the Osaka skyline.

We stayed until the evening and watched all the lights light up the city.

The view was beyond spectacular. We could not believe how big Osaka is, and how it sprawls in every direction for as far as the eye can see.

After this we had a big dinner and then went shopping at the Osaka Station.

At night we went to the onsen in our hotel to rejuvenate and relax.

This morning we went to Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto, walking through all 10,000 torii gates to get to the top of the mountain. My feet hurt by the end of it!

Kyoto, though it seems small wherever you are, is actually massive with so many different areas. Japan is a land of contradictions. You can be in a serene quiet temple, walk two blocks and you’re in the heart of Downtown hustle-and-bustle Kyoto. You can be in Gion district and see a giesha and walk a little further and be in a Studio Ghibli store. Which is exactly what happened!

First stop today was Arashiyama bamboo forest. So peaceful to hear the wind blowing through the bamboo. There was a large serene Shinto temple there as well.

After this was our favorite stop of the day: Arashiyama Monkey Park! Here monkeys were roaming freely and you could feed them peanuts and apples.

After lunch we went to the kimono forest where old kimonos were upcycled as art.

Osaka is nightlife, party, and excitement. Kyoto is more subdued, quiet, and reminscent of old Edo period Japan. Today, we saw both. We started the day walking all around Osaka. For a super modern city, you still see small pockets of nature, Shinto temples, and traditional Japan living harmoniously side by side integrated with modern fast-paced culture.

Our destination? The Pokemon Center! Pokemon Go is absolutely massive in Japan. By the Pokemon Center, raids would routinely fill to 20 players instantly and everyone around is playing it. The Pokemon Center was inside a really huge 16 story train station building filled with stores, restaurants, and cool places like the One Piece store, CAPCOM store, Nintendo Osaka, and the Pokemon Center.

After a full day exploring Osaka (we only really scratched the surface of what’s in this incredible city), we took the Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto. In ten minutes we sped between the cities and landed in Kyoto.

Kyoto is beautiful and charming in its own way, but certainly less crazy than Osaka and more subdued and quiet. There are still tons of shopping areas, stores and great restaurants though!

Living in Japan, we have cheap flights to Tokyo and Osaka! Flying on a Japanese airline was wonderful. The plane boarded exactly 15 prior to boarding and doors closed exactly on time. The plane was quiet throughout the trip!

Osaka is so much fun. Being the second largest city in Japan, there is so much to do. This city is like NYC, it’s HUGE and never sleeps!

The best way to see the city isn’t to walk it or even to bike it.. it’s to Mario Kart it! We took a 2 hour Mario Kart tour around the city, took in all the neighborhoods and sights, and even saw Osaka castle lit up at night! Afterwards we walked along Dotonbori district where all the street vendors, shops, and lights are. Then finally back to our hotel to soak in the wonderful Osaka views! It’s city as far as the eye can see!