Saffles Went To Japan - Summer 2024
A shrine in Kyoto near our hotel
We decided that Japan would be our destination for summer 2024 about a week after we got back from Hawaii in 2023. Being able to fly that long, the reasoning went, we can handle just about anything. And we did! Next might be New Zealand and then the Mars.
Japan was exciting, wild, but more than anything, HOT. It was so hot. Like, 100 degrees most days, hot. Like the main news story each day on local Tokyo TV was how many people had to go to the hospital for heat related issues, hot. Most of our pictures we are drinking something cool, sweating, fanning, or doing all three.
Nohora and two Canadian ladies we ran into more than once in Kyoto.
The kids loved Japan. When asking them four months after the fact, the hotels and Anime was their highlights. And seeing Godzilla pop-up everywhere. We stayed for the most part in Tokyo, though we did take two days in Kyoto.
"Peek-a-boo!"
For me, it was the chance to get back to a country that is near and dear to my heart, after having lived there for two years as an English teacher. Pre-digital cameras, I only had the old click-and-wind disposable options. I didn't even own a proper SLR. In two years, I took about 700 photos in all. I think between the four of us this summer, we took 700 pictures each day!
Tokyo Disney Sea Kyoto was fun, but I think the kids had the most fun at Tokyo Disney Land. Specifically, Tokyo Disney Sea. We had never been to one of the Disney theme parks and this one was nice. Also very affordable. I think all together, the day for the four of us to visit with food and souvenirs was under $400. Not bad at all. Sure, you need to fly half-way around the world to get here, but if you were already here? It's a bargain!
the family tried to beat the heat with shaved ice!
All in all it was a great trip, even with the heat and super long travel days to get there and back. We will go again, but maybe not for a few years. We have more adventures and more countries we have yet to travel to on our list!