Japan
October 15 - 22, 2019
KYOTO
We stayed in the geisha district of Kyoto. At first, we thought geishas were roaming around all the streets. Then we joined a free walking tour of the city and were taught that almost all of them are tourists dressed up, but we learned how to spot the real ones! We even caught a few in the street on the way to school. There were many temples and shrines to visit as we took in the Japanese culture. The Yasaka Koshindo Temple was the most colorful. Worshippers write a wish on the colorful balls and hang them at the temple. If you give up one of your 'greeds', your wish may come true! Justin tried a local delicacy - octopus on a stick with an egg in the head (he wasn't so stoked lol).
OSAKA
Osaka is considered the nation's kitchen of Japan, and it did not disappoint. We ate so much conveyor belt sushi and it was some of the best we've ever had! Each plate is about $1-2. And had a late-night bowling session with Ric and Shinhey whom we met up with post-Korea!
TOKYO
We stayed in the sumo district of Tokyo, Ryogoku, where you could find free-roaming sumos in the street! We rode the subway system and visited almost all of the neighborhoods. More conveyor belt sushi, we even heard Bruce Springstein playing throughout the streets of Shibuya! There's an interesting balance between historical culture and anime throughout Tokyo. While exploring Shinjuku, we came across this really cool foodie alley, Omoide Yokocho. There were maybe six seats per food stall, catering to locals over tourists first. And the best part?! An old Japanese man cuddling kittens at the end of the alley!!
Before we flew to Vietnam, we went to teamLab Borderless via a recommendation from a German couple we met - Pascal and Susan (little did we know we'd run into them a few more times :D). teamLab is an interactive digital art museum, in one exhibit you make a drawing that is then projected onto the wall. Can you guess what Justin drew? :p We spent almost four hours in teamLab and could have stayed longer but we had a flight to catch!
