The Japan Diaries - family travel vlog - PART 1

[Music] Japan is a universally adored travel destination nobody ever comes home from Japan and has bad things to say about their trip so our expectations were high when we traveled to Japan for 2 weeks in August of 2023 even so we were blown away by how much we loved it there Japan has it all from sprawling Urban centers to Natural Beauty and from ancient wonders to the most modern technology on the planet come with us to the Land of the Rising Sun and see why Japan is destination we're sure we'll Return To You [Music] Someday a little bit a [Music] little [Music] we landed at Tokyo's Nita airport 3 hours behind schedule it was a 13-hour flight from Toronto to Tokyo so needless to say we were a special kind of exhausted we rode the Narita Express into the city it took us to Shinjuku station the closest Stop to our hotel with 53 platforms 200 plus exits and handling more than 3.6 million passengers per day Shinjuku is recognized by Guinness as the busiest train station in the world what a way to arrive in Japan we finally escaped and popped out at ground level right at the famous Catzilla [Applause] billboard Godzilla road we were just down the street from our first hotel of the trip the gracery located on Godzilla Road and perfectly Godzilla [Music] themed after checking in we took a quick walk around Shinjuku to get our bearings and then headed to bed These Guys these guys pancakes with papap Sur and margarine that's exactly what I want right there I hear lots of good things about these we grabbed a quick breakfast at the local 7-Eleven more to come on this later as the 7-Eleven would soon become a stable part of our diet we headed back into Shinjuku station and found our way to the subway part of the train station ask yeah excuse me Kanda Jewel line wraid Kanda on which side same the Cana same same they go the same oh okay thank [Music] you Japan is well connected by trains as a foreigner it does take some time to figure out all the different train systems that coexist in Japan we booked Japan Rail passes before our trip and picked those up at the airport when we arrived they allowed unlimited use of long-distance trains including a high-speed chin consent which we use for inter city travel we also had to purchase reloadable tap and go sua cards to let us use the regional trains and on top of that on our first morning in Tokyo we had to buy a day pass that let us use the two different Metro and Subway systems in the city it's getting a little hot but we're doing it we're doing it we're doing it we're getting Tokyo we're we're mastering Tokyo we rode the Tokyo Metro over to a neighborhood called asakusa we started our day at Seno G Temple which is perhaps Tokyo's most famous and recognizable Buddhist temple so I'm trying to find a place where you buy like a little notebook to get a stamp put in is what's it called again go go Goin Goin Japan is full of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines how do you tell the difference shrines have a gate called a Tori at the entrance to Mark the division between the secular and spiritual worlds and they also have water for ritual washing temples have a Buddha or a pagota at shrines you will see people perform a ritual of bowing and clapping and at temples they will make offerings with incense sometimes shrines and temples coexist at the same site both types of sites offer fortune telling slips prayer tablets and good luck ambulet for sale as well as gwin these are calligraphy designs that a monk will inscribe in your gowin show a special Journal meant to collect gowin and track your spiritual [Music] pilgrimage from the old to the new we walked from Cog G over to Tokyo Sky Tree we had purchased admission tickets in advance so we skipped the line and headed right up to the viewing platforms it was a fabulously clear day and we could see the sprawling expanse of Tokyo below freak it out a little bit not that high the highest I've ever been in my life including in your like look straight down you not even look down doesn't look scary when you look out look scary when you look down the more daring Among Us tried out the glass floor we ate lunch at the world's largest conveyor belt sushi restaurant this got a big thumbs up from us for being a meal and an activity all rolled into [Music] one [Music] all right woo the deal is y we order on the iPad or you can take take the things that come along but if you order something it'll come to your table on the top there's multiple Pages for yeah there we go take the plate is that one none of your nugget think everything that stops by you is yours those are the two eels and those are four shrimps chicken after lunch we headed over to team lab planets it is an amazing sensory Museum that combines touch and sound with stunning visual effects it is surreal and a must do when visiting Tokyo [Music] we made a few more sightseeing stops as we made our way back to Shinjuku we qu Toy Tokyo Tower the second tallest structure in Japan and we went to shabuya to experience the famous shabuya Crossing this scramble Crossing stops traffic in all directions to allow pedestrians to inundate the entire intersection at peak times up to 3,000 people cross at [Music] once we went to ichiran to get some Ramen for dinner it's a chain restaurant with a reputation for being some of the best ramen in Japan it totally hit the spot and so with that we called it a day that's a [Music] bu day three found us back at the very chaotic Shinjuku station right at rush hour we took a regional train to Tokyo station and from there we found our way to the main shinkon terminal we should we should hire her for the whole trip okay so maybe we didn't find it on our own a very lovely information agent made sure we were headed the right way it all seems so easy in hindsight the shinkansen is Japan's high-speed bullet train it connects the major cities in the country with an incredibly fast clean and punctual network of trains the Jr PASS gives unlimited use of these trains and you can either ride standby or reserve seats in advance the special green cars are first class particularly nice when you're traveling in a group of four and can swivel your seats to sit together unlike the other trains in Japan it is socially acceptable to eat on the shin anden and the eky Ben or bento box is a popular train station meal to pick up for your trim see how much you're going to like of this okay there's your bento box and there's mine pork KET and rice I think yours is a little bit more interesting there are lots of different meals to choose from including kids meals packaged inside a souvenir toy train the food is surprisingly good we were Bound for Koto but we got off the train for a few hours partway through the trip at Mishima we took a taxi to an outdoor adventure Park called mhima Skywalk the reason for our layover was to try to spot Mount Fuji and on a clear day this would have been a no-brainer the Skywalk is well known for having an amazing view however on this day it wasn't meant to be nor was it likely July and August are notoriously cloudy months when Fuji is rarely visible so we were disappointed but not surprised to be shut out we made the most of things by enjoying the views of suruga Bay and checking out the hillsides covered in wild blue [Music] hydranges not they're not like the ones we have at home they're like double pedal I've never seen one like that before they almost look fake we also tried mishima's famous blue milk flavored ice cream notice how blue is a theme here and we got a real kick out of all the dogs visiting the park who were confined to Doggy [Music] strollers here I'm assuming that's where we are want to get to this bridge the Press we finished the trip to Kyoto the cultural capital of Japan and made our way to arama it's a bucolic District on the outskirts of the city famous for the large wooden bridge that crosses the hosu [Music] river we checked in at the Grand West aryama where we would be staying for the next [Music] week this the family room like on the floor Japanese style [Music] manable for dinner we went to an isaka across the street and completely bungled the experience it took a lot of maneuvering to get ourselves seated at the table and then we mistakenly ordered all of our food at once when as we would later find out at an isaka it's considered polite to order dishes one at a time we then made a well-intentioned attempt to eat our onigiri or rice balls with with chopsticks before being politely corrected by the locals to pick them up and eat them with our hands so we didn't demonstrate the Best Manners that night but it was a great learning experience we continued exploring after the sun went down visiting the kimono Forest as well as the ariyama Bamboo Grove there's not a lot of lit up public space in aryama to explore after dark so we vowed to come back during the daytime and headed home we got an early start the next day and caught a train to minari station we were headed to Fushimi Inari the most famous Shinto Shrine in Kyoto the shrine consists of 10,000 Tory Gates that climb up a hillside in a loop taller than I thought too really is it one way up and one way down the gates have been donated by patrons who believe that making a donation will make a wish come true the oneway path through the Gates is crowded at the base of the mountain but the higher up you climb the more the crowd thins out I thought it'd be way busier actually yeah I did too honest you would always [Music] shoulder a little known feature of Fushimi Inari is a hidden Bamboo Grove that also offers a break from the crowds we didn't see anyone back back here outside of the shrine there are lots of Street vendors and so we tried some grilled Seafood for lunch is it good how is it SP up good I didn't knowes were that tiny and mallerie also bought a little fox statue since the fox who is everywhere is believed to be a messenger of the god in [Music] scared our next stop initially looked similar to fimi in AR since the gates closest to the entrance are the same shade of Vermilion but the main part of kium Mizu daa also known as the water temple is quite different oh I love this one look at that ticket that's awesome in a beautiful leafy setting that is supposed to be especially stunning when the leaves change in the fall it is caved on a hillside over top of its namesake waterfall which is also believed to have wish granting [Music] Powers [Music] me a lot of people will tell you not to go to Japan in summer because the heat is unbearable and they're not wrong we were there for the first 2 weeks of August and even though we come from the Great Lakes region which is hot and humid in the summertime Japan in the summer was Next Level it was 36° C everyday with 80% humidity there are ways that the Japanese mitigate the heat though first of all almost everyone carries a UV umbrella it is just as common to see people using an umbrella on a sunny day as it is on a rainy day a lot of people also carry a portable battery powered fan to keep themselves cool and we did break down and buy one of those partway through our trip lots of stores fly these flags out front and that means that they sell kakigori or Japanese Shave Ice a nice cold summer treat at some of the major tourist sites you'll find misting stations that will give you a break from the Heat and the best way of all to stay cool is to stay hydrated there were vending machines on every street corner and we found that a bottle of fluid an hour was about right for us us note that Japan has very few public garbage or recycling bins so emptying out our day pack at our hotel each night tended to look like this a stroll downhill from the temple takes you through some of the oldest streets in all of Kyoto we entered our day in gon the gisha District of the city because of the influx of tourists to this part of Kyoto some pretty strict rules have been put in [Music] place no photos oh no smoking do not touch Do not sit here no loing of what not eat while walking yeah why so walk do not eat while walking for dinner we went to chowchow guoa and had a dumpling did let's try it my not is that okay thank you do you know kai Japanese Kai Kai okay drink thank [Music] you thank you we headed back to ayama as the sun went down and spent the rest of the night watching terrible old martial arts movies on TV why are you filming this small oh that's pretty the next day started in our typical fashion with a peaceful early morning walk across aama's beautiful old wooden bridge we were on our way to Nara after leaving K we will be arriving at n Nar was also once the capital of Japan so it's home to some beautiful historic sites the ear are so [Music] cute more deers here de everywhere everywhere hey dear but it's also famous for being completely overrun with wild deer he's like no you got crackers we have to go get some crackers the deer were once considered sacred and are now protected and you can buy deer crackers to keep them well fed as soon as you are carrying crackers the deer can get pretty aggressive but generally speaking they are very cute they've been conditioned to beg for their food by bowing so of course this makes them very popular with visitors bow bow yes you bowed this guy here has have like 50 of them and's feting me whenever I don't give him one so [Music] there that's not very nice to your we're trying to be nice to you oh the downside of The Taming of the deer is that in spite of being cute they're a big nuisance they block traffic and are constantly trying to get inside buildings we're trying to get in the restaurant but they've been protected for more than a thousand years and things are unlikely to change anytime soon oh come on trying to stay cool we went to see a few UNESCO Heritage sites in Nara first kasuga tayisha which is located in a peaceful shading setting in the forest and then we went to see toi G Temple its Great Buddha Hall is an absolutely massive complex that houses one of the world's largest bronze Buddha statues wow wow wow that is huge man this is this is maybe the most impressive one we've seen yet it's not orange and red though it's not orange and red but man it's massive and it looks old please refrain to take a grot photo think that means no family selfies [Music] here [Music] heading back to the train station we passed a shop that gives live Mochi making demonstration several times per day after the demo the Mochi is served up warm and fresh and it is delicious the car's coming guys one of my favorite people apprciate the tell that's his job all day right [Music] here what's the plan the car's coming the car is coming guys one of our favorite carers from trip so far well he's not wrong not station number 04 please exit on the got under control yeah try that way if you get a good job here from Nara we took another train to Osaka and got off at Osaka Castle it's not the biggest castle in Japan but it's still a gorgeous example of Castle architecture complete with two concentric [Applause] Moes and then we had a major fail when we went to see the Namba Yas lion head Shrine and got there right after the gates closed nobody Googled what the hours for that think important to anyone we had a much more successful night at doton bore Osaka's downtown Canal front District it is chalk full of neon signs and street food options we had a lot of fun wandering around trying everything that looked good as well as a few things that quite frankly scared us a bit what is that your your stand together dad you just make a [Music] Messick pretty [Music] good candy apple [Music] after a few days of train trips fast-paced sightseeing and big city hustle and bustle we slowed down for the most Zen day of our entire trip we started out with a traditional wooden boat trip down the cenic hosy river the ride features some stretch of peaceful floating interspersed with some more thrilling Rapids that are expertly navigated by the river guides okay okay okay I take it over [Music] okay this area is very [Music] at the end of the trip there are floating food vendors who pull up alongside the boat and sell all kinds of snacks cholate right it does so but we'll find out I don't know that's is that what at other yes exactly oh is I think so but like the rice the rice dumping after the boat docked back in arish we went to see the Gardens at tenry Yuji a major Temple complex in the heart of the [Music] village the temple crowns exit directly out into the ariyama Bamboo Grove so we finally got our chance to see it in broad daylight it's not it's not uh same idea as the pr person that one looks very interesting yeah I got every everyone want one you can get one should I get I think all get rais butter after dinner we stopped at a local vending machine for dessert they say you can get anything from a vending machine in Japan and we are now Believers in Japan there is one vending machine for every 23 people given how densely populated Japan is that is a lot of vending machines they sell everything from hot drinks to cold drinks to pizza slices to socks and underwear most of the time you will find vending machines in large Banks so there is always lots to choose from never seen anything like it before they say you can get everything in a vending machine in Japan and now I believe it cotton candy and by the way also gives you the air temperature just in case you're wondering press it three times in [Music] a we took another day trip from Kyoto this time Heading by train to Hiroshima we started at the Hiroshima atomic bomb Dome one of the only buildings to survive the atomic bomb in [Music] 1945 we happened to be visiting on August 5th and August 6th marked the anniversary of the blast there were special events going on around the site including an anti-war protest set up for large scale Memorial services and lots of media [Music] coverage the peace Memorial Museum was a sobering look at the city in the immediate aftermath of the [Music] attack [Music] it finishes on a more upbeat note about International peacekeeping efforts outside of the museum we visited the peace Memorial Park in senat and we also saw the children's peace Monument on top of it there's a statue of Sadako sazaki who died at age 12 from radiation poisoning before her death she attempted to fold 1,000 paper cranes in the belief that it would make her wish for World Peace come true as a kid I read sedak in the Thousand Paper Cranes over and over again so it was really special to see the monument in [Music] person from hoshima we hopped on a ferry to MIMA Island another place in Japan that is overrun with deer who wants the air conditioning yeah we tried a few of mima's most famous street foods including Momiji Manu little Maple shaped cakes that come with different flavored fillings and fresh grilled [Music] [Music] oysters surprised this guy convinced us to buy our cable car tickets from him nowhere near the actual lift and we were half certain that we had been scammed but Japan is well known for its law abiding citizens and lack of hustle culture of course the guy was legit and by the time we got up to the ropeway we were able to skip the ticket booth and jumped right on to the first available car can't see where we're going we were aiming to get to the top of Mount M the highest point on the island we knew we would would be a bit of a hike to get there but I don't think we realize just how steep The Climb would be nor how hot it would be hello hey cutie we did make it to the top but if we'd known how much effort would be involved it's entirely possible that we would have skipped this hike I'm just I'm just show this is what it looks like when you come to Japan in the summer and you decide to go hiking it's not pretty to the tallest point it's not pretty I made it but it's not pretty but it is pretty look at it out there oh it's so pretty I guess it was worth it after all back down at sea level we returned to mima's famous floating Tory gate the tide had gone out since we first passed it by and it was much more accessible as a result the 7-Elevens in Japan may share their name with their North American counterpart but they are nothing like our local stores I wouldn't dream of eating a meal at a 7-Eleven at home but in Japan we made countless trips to this ubiquitous chain the stores are chalk full of fast fresh cheap food Sushi Ramen baked goods and produce in addition to fun local candy and desserts worth a try orang salted rice hot dog it's a noodle sandwich what's that chocolate cream bun corn and mayonnaise on a bun oh pancakes with salty vanilla that sounds even better than pancakes with Maple syr and marar that chocolate banana bread was good remember oh yeah it was you want want some egg cakes oh no no that's small sardines and chili pepper small sardines and chili pepper bad for you my favorite item at the store is a fruit smoothie you pick out one of four flavors from the freezer scan the barcode and the smoothie machine in the store Blends it with a complimentary fruit juice and serves it to you before a self-cleaning cycle prepares it for the next customer how cool on our last day in Kyoto we got an early morning start at the iwatayama monkey Park it's located on on top of a mountain and the only way up is to walk we thought we'd beat the heat and get the hard part of our day out of the [Music] way it was well worth the slog up the hill the maak monkeys that inhabit The Mountaintop are wild but they're accustomed to people being around they don't mind being up close to you while they engage in their [Music] antics next we caught a taxi over to kinkakuji also known as the [Music] temp this was the only location we visited in Japan where there were restrictions on camera equipment the temple is a beautiful site on a sunny day when it sparkles in the sun and a reflection of it appears in the surrounding pond Golden Temple Gold Ice Cream it's m flavored I don't know if I'm going to like it or not so we'll find out it's not my favorite but it's not as bad that's good for our last night in Kyoto we took the local train into the hard of the city to the Gear nonverbal theater this show was a total delight and dare I say the best theater performance I have ever seen it's about a doll and four robots that live in an abandoned Toy Factory and the show involves magic brri dancing juggling and mind work performed at an amazing level you don't even miss the dialogue the gear theater is just a few blocks from Ponto Cho an entertainment District filled with restaurants and bars we ended our night at yubi a restaurant famous for its okonomiyaki which is a Savory pancake stuffed full of cabbage and seafood among other things the okonomiyaki was a big hit and it was especially nice sitting next to the open kitchen where we could watch our dinner being [Music] made and the house okay anym I'm going to put some okaki sauce I just like the with more with more seafood and more our time in Kyoto was coming to a close we toasted the amazing first week we' had on our trip and discussed what we were most looking forward to on the next leg of the [Music] Journey coming up in part two of the Japan Diaries we head to Tokyo Disneyland and complete our every Disney park bucket [Music] list we complete the honei loop around the base of Mount Fuji still chasing a view of the elusive Mountain just like the middle is covered Mount Fuji is right there and we return to Tokyo where we have a few more big city adventures in [Music] store [Music] nowes that was just CHS that came out

Channel: CarrieCook

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Id: I3zsBln6LJw

Length: 36min 18sec (2178 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 06 2023