Posing at the 6th Station torii gate

Konichi wa (Japan Trip Part II)
The adventures continue!

Day 9: We climbed Mt. Fuji! Well, most of it. Bus schedules proved a limiting factor, but Daddy, Bug, Lion, and I made it to Station 8 on the Subashiri Trail (3,100 m. elevation) when we realized we needed to head back down or risk getting left on the mountain overnight. Aunt E started the hike with us intending to go only to the first stop (6th station). She's climbed it before and made plans instead to head to a nearby onsen (hot spring baths) while we kept going. Partway to the 6th station Monkey wasn't holding up well, so we sent her to the onsen with Aunt E rather than drag her along and risk altitude sickness. The altitude is no joke! Lion, of course, remained bouncy the whole time, and she probably could have made it to the summit in plenty of time. However, Bug and I were definitely starting to slow our pace, and Daddy started getting headaches. It was a good hike though! Besides experiencing the world famous mountain, the girls also handled getting the station keepers to brand our hiking stick, mastered using squatty potties, and had a glorious time sliding down the black gravel slopes!

The Mt. Fuji hike starts in a lovely forest.

The higher you go the more desolate and foggy it gets.

We didn't make it to the summit, but that's it behind Bug and Lion!

This photo doesn't nearly do justice to the steep slope we had to slide down! 

The girls tried out futons in one of our hotel rooms.

We met Aunt E and Monkey back at our hotel, which was a fantastic cultural experience in itself! Our room's entryway, where everyone left their shoes, led up to a tatami mat room with futons laid out. Also off the entryway was a private bathroom (a Western luxury, not traditional to Japanese hotels) that had a big onsen-style tub. While eating the dinner Aunt E and Monkey picked up, we swapped stories of the day. Monkey had a great time at the onsen: a traditional lunch, a lovely hot soak, and ice cream in the relaxation room. Lion and Bug decided they deserved a long hot soak as well after that hike and set up their own private experience in their hotel room before bed.

In case you didn't know things are smaller in Japan.
That's Daddy in front of our hotel room door.

Lion and Bug are ready for their onsen!

The girls joined the temple guardian in scaring
evil things away.

Day 10: For convenience we decided to take advantage of the hotel's breakfast, which advertised a mix of Japanese and Western foods. We had to laugh at their Western offerings though--teriyaki meatballs and potato salad! After checking out we headed to a local playground that the girls loved--a couple of massive slides and a variety of climbing things made everybody happy. From their we went to the Peace Garden, a Buddhist temple dedicated to world peace that contained some of the Buddha's remains. We wandered through the lovely traditional gardens and down a long path of compassion Buddha statues before getting back in the car and heading back to Tokyo.

Day 11: We had low key day back in the apartment while Ellie ran some errands. I got the girls to a playground in the afternoon before we headed out to explore a bit more of the city in the evening (shopping & dinner).

It's an early morning on the Shinkansen.

Day 12: We got an early start the next morning to get to the Shinkansen (the bullet train, in fact, the third fastest train in the world), and what would have been an all day road trip got us to Kyoto by mid-morning! Our first stop was a tour of the Kyoto Imperial Palace. While tourists cannot enter the buildings themselves, most of the rooms open to the outside for easy viewing and the grounds are beautiful. I found a fun little park with a stepping stone river crossing for our next stop before heading to Pontocho Alley (famous dining district) for lunch. Many of the restaurant were closed until the evening, but we found a very tasty gyo katsu (fried beef strips) place. In the afternoon we visited the Golden Pavilion and did some souvenir shopping before dinner. On our way the little two-bedroom apartment we were staying in, we located an international donut shop and picked up some very tasty treats for the next morning.

The emperor's entrance to the palace.

Crossing the river on the backs of stone turtles.

A look down Pontocho Alley

Traditional Japanese dining--so tasty!

That's the Golden Pavilion in the background.

Classic image: Beautiful yukatas, a massive torii
gate, and a Shinto shrine

Day 13:  The five-story pagoda within minutes of our apartment was, sadly, covered in scaffolding, but we glimpsed a bit on our way to Fushimi Inari Shrine, famous for its hundreds of red torii gates leading up the mountain (we didn't go all the way to the top--with the felt temperature reaching 109 degrees it was just too hot for that kind of exertion). We also got to watch a shinto worship service with tradition music and dance at the main shrine and peek into a number of different little shrines on the way up the mountain. After lunch at an air conditioned restaurant near the shrine, we headed to the Raku Museum, were we learned about the history and creation process of a local pottery tradition and viewed samples from its beginnings hundreds of years ago to one created only last year. Finally we wandered through the Nishiki Market (food & souvenirs) before catching a Shinkansen back to Tokyo.

So many torii gates!

The girls learn about how to work a raku kiln.

Even the Kyoto train station had entertainment:
above, a light show on a massive stair case
below, an interactive robot
For the record, a robot that makes eye contact
and requests my participation is a little disconcerting!

Day 14: We attended a bilingual church service where Aunt E had friends, found tasty sandwiches and a playground for lunch, then headed to Miraikan (the national museum for emerging science and innovation), where we explored exhibits about robots and climate change.

Aren't they cute? Also that massive globe behind them
tracks actual satellite images of earth's weather patterns.

Souvenir shopping came with a fun photo op!

Day 15: We'd checked off our cultural and historical bucket list, so for our last day in Tokyo we headed to Disneyland! (also, it's significant cheaper in Tokyo than in California) Lion in particular was excited because she is finally tall enough for all the rides. Obviously, Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain were priority rides, and she loved them! (We almost ran into a snag, however, when a cast member spotted Daddy in line and was afraid he'd be too tall for Space Mountain. They pulled him out of line and took him "behind the scenes" to sit in an unused car to make sure he'd fit. He did!) The Star Wars simulation ride was also a favorite. In addition to the exciting rides we also rode It's a Small World--so the girls now get the reference next time Grandma sings it!

Daddy says this photo pretty much sums up his
Japan experience.

Day 16: We spent most of our last morning in Tokyo packing and cleaning, but the girls and I did find the time to visit a nearby playground and catch the last bit of a concert at the neighborhood shrine before heading for the airport and home.

We had such an amazing trip! And we were so thankful to have Aunt E as a tour guide!