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!