Between our short stay in Hongkong and our visit in China mentioned in the previous post, we spent two months in Japan. Most of the time was spent in Tokyo, where we immersed ourselves in a quiet but really nice neighborhood called Sasazuka, which is part of Shibuya. We also got to experience cherry blossom season in all its glory and consumed more sakura mochis than we could have ever imagined. Every now and then, we embarked on little trips to discover other places such as Karuizawa, Nagano, Obuse, Mount Takao, Matsumoto, Nikko as well as Kyoto and Osaka. Though we only just returned home a couple of months ago, we can’t wait to go back eventually.

From Tokyo to the museum islands Naoshima and Teshima, onwards to South Korea’s Busan and Jeju Island.

We initially planned a trip to Japan on our way back from Hawaii in early spring, making it a round-the-world trip. However, we had to change plans and fly back the other way around, postponing our trip to Japan by a few weeks. So by the beginning of June, we finally left for Japan after spending a bit over a month at home. On the road again! (Or in the air, rather.) We had been to Tokyo a year and a half earlier and absolutely loved it, but we hadn’t seen anything else of Japan. This time, besides Tokyo, we were to visit the two small towns Hakone and Yamanakako in the Fuji Five Lakes region, close to the beautiful symmetrical volcano, as well as Kyoto.

What an amazing city! We got to spend almost a week in Tokyo and we loved every second of it. The city is so incredibly diverse, it has so many different faces. It felt safer and cleaner and more organized than any other megapolis I’ve ever been to. Getting around and finding things was super easy despite the language barrier. People were charming and always very helpful. The food was absolutely delicious.