This is a trip we will remember forever. I know that all good things must come to an end, but I wish we could continue our journey throughout Japan a bit longer. I am writing this as we fly home and am smiling thinking about these wonderful memories. These two weeks flew by. I am going to share a recap of our last few days with you.
On Tuesday we visited Nara Park which is about an hour from Osaka by train. When we arrived at the Nara station we bought a bus pass that would allow us to visit the deer park and all nearby temples and shrines. We read online that it is best to visit the deer in the morning when they are most hungry. So, that was our first stop. When we stepped off of the bus we were greeted by several hungry deer. The deer are considered messengers of the gods and are extremely tame. They love to be around people. They do not act like the deer in New Jersey.
A few feet from the bus stop we spotted a woman selling deer biscuits. We bought several packs for 150 yen per pack. That is less than $1.50. The deer were immediately drawn to us and began taking the biscuits out of our hands. When we ran out, one of the deer grabbed our maps and began eating those too. There are signs all around the park that tell you that the deer are tame but to remember that they are wild animals and could kick and bite. Well, Pete quickly learned that they can kick. He ran out of biscuits and one of the deer was annoyed so she stood up on two legs and kicked him twice. It did not hurt but took Pete by surprise. He could not stop laughing!
As we walked further into the park towards one of the shrines, more deer crossed our path. We bought more biscuits. I didn’t realize that a deer was following me to the cash register and as I backed away from the register and turned towards the kids to hand them the biscuits, one of the deer chomped down on my side. It didn’t hurt but scared me to death. I screamed and everyone began to laugh.
The kids hugged the deer, petted them, fed them and took photos with them. We learned that the deer bow if you bow. We tested this out and it’s true. This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. When we asked the kids about their top 3, the deer park made the #1 spot. Before heading back to Osaka, we visited the Kasuga Taisha Shrine as well as the Kohfukuji Temple.
Later this evening we took the train to Dotonbori which is known for this nightlife. There were lights, signs and tons of people everywhere. We enjoyed an awesome ramen dinner and yakis for dessert. This is a pastry shaped like a fish that has Nutella and almonds inside. Yum! We really enjoyed our time in Osaka!
The next day was our last full day to spend in Japan. We decided to spend another day at the beach. We were going to go to Hayama but the train made its way to Kamakura so we went back to this lovely beach town on our great hunt. On our Shinkansen ride back we took beautiful photos of Mt. Fuji. It was such a clear day. Pete fell asleep in the stroller so the girls searched the beach with me for about an hour. We found the most beautiful pieces of pottery as well as blue, pink, and turquoise glass. For months we have hoped to find a piece of ojajiki and we did! Mariana found a light green one. Ojajiki is a flat, round piece of glass that is used to play a Japanese game. These pieces can be found on the beaches of Japan but they are rare; kind of like marbles. She was so excited to be able to add this to our collection!
Once the sun set, it was time to move on to our final hotel. We boarded the train and rode from the east side to the west side. By the time we arrived to our hotel it was after 11pm. We all slept in a bit and then headed to the airport on Thursday for our 12 hour flight home. It is interesting how the time zones work. We left Japan at 5pm on Thursday and will arrived in New Jersey at 4:20pm on Thursday. It will definitely take us a few days to adjust back to EST.
Thank you to all who followed us on our journey. I write about our trips so that one day the kids can read and remember what we did on each trip. Before ending, I’d like to share some top places to eat and visit in the Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto areas.
Top places to visit in or near Tokyo
-DisneySea and Disneyland
-Sensoji Temple
-Akihabara
-Kamakura
-Edo Tokyo Museum
-Shibuya Crossing
Must eats in Tokyo
-Sushi
-Gyoza
-Ramen
-Takoyaki aka octopus balls
-Any street food and anything at the Tsukiji Fish Market
-Tokyo bananas
-Beef bowls (Yoshinoya)
-Waffle sandwiches (Disneyland)
-Mochi
Top places to visit in or near Osaka
-Osaka Castle
-Nara Park
-Dotonbori
Must eats in Osaka
-Ramen
-Yakis
-Grilled corn
Top places to visit in or near Kyoto
-Nishiki Market
-Pagoda at To-Ji Temple
Must eats in Kyoto
-Dumplings (Tiger Gyoza Hall)
-The best ever cheese tart at Nishiki Market
Best way to get around
-Trains and subways
-Shinkansen for longer distance trips
-Taxi as you first arrive in a city to get the lay of the land
Best time to visit
-Late March/early April to see Sakura (cherry blossom trees)
A newly learned interest
-Furoshiki – The Japanese Art of Wrapping
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