For New Year's, we decided we wanted to go somewhere cold so we went to Japan. We flew in to Tokyo and had to take 5 trains to get to Hakone which took us a few hours. Hakone is a small town in the mountains known for its hot springs. We stayed in a traditional Ryokan where we had a hot spring on our back deck and in our bathroom. Our mattress was on the floor and when we were served meals we sat on pillows on the floor. We also wore yukata (Japanese robes) when we ate dinner. We were served dinner in our room. It came in several courses and everything was delicious. The presentation of all of the food was really impressive too. It was really neat to have a traditional Japanese experience. We loved our stay here and would recommend it to anyone who goes to Japan.
Besides the hot springs, Hakone also has a Ropeway and Sightseeing Cruise where we were able to get great views of Mt Fuji.
After Hakone, we had to take a few trains to get to Kyoto including a ride on the bullet train. Our room in Kyoto was about the size of our deck in Hakone but we were out most of the time so it wasn't a big deal. We went to Nishiki Market which was so crowded in some parts we could barely move and when we did it was because we had to move with the crowd.
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Over the next few days, we saw several temples and shrines:
Eikando Temple
Golden Pavilion
Arashiyama/Bamboo Forest
We stopped at a place for lunch in Arashiyama that looked like we were walking into someone's house. There were signs for it so we went in and it ended up being really good!
Fushimi Inari shrine - there were thousands of orange gates that led to the top of Mount Inari. It took us about an hour and a half to get to the top but the view of the city was beautiful.
Yasaka Shrine - We went here for New Year's Eve for the Okera Mairi festival. I lit the Okera rope which is supposed to cast away the evil energy of the past year. There were also food stalls set up so we ate quite a bit.
Nijo castle
Kyoto Imperial Palace - we were able to walk in the park here but the palace was closed over the holiday. Unofortunately, there were a lot of places closed over the New Year holiday
After Kyoto, we traveled to Osaka which only took about 1/2 hour. We visited Dotonbori and had dinner at a wagyu restaurant. We also tried some entrails which I wasn't excited about but I liked some of them! After dinner, we had to have a second dinner of okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) and takoyaki (fried octopus balls)
Osaka castle
We took a bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo where we stayed the last night so we could catch our flight home. We had already done a lot of sight seeing in Tokyo in April so we just walked around a bit and ate some more before heading home. We had a great trip and it was nice to be out of the heat and humidity for a week!
