The Aunties trip to Nihon!

On October 22, my aunts, Mary Lou and Joani, arrived for a 10 day visit! We had a fantastic time and it felt great to get hugs from family. Their first full day in Japan, we visited the city of Seto for pottery shopping and a Japanese curry lunch.

Then we began our tourist fun on Thursday.

We visited Nagoya-jo, which is a reconstructed castle with a museum inside.

Also home to the golden dolphins that are the symbol of the Aichi prefecture (Nagoya and Toyota City are part of the prefecture).

Friday we headed to Kyoto, which was our first shinkansen (bullet train) trip. Our first stop was the Heian Shrine, which is the most famous Shinto shrine in Kyoto.

Saturday morning we had breakfast and then started shopping on Shinkyogoku, a shopping arcade full of every kind of store.

Aaron arrived and we all headed to Nijo-jo, a beautiful castle, to see how the shoguns lived.

The views and gardens here were beautiful too, and the Ninomaru Palace was a great glimpse at life during the shogun era.

Saturday night we headed out to Ponto cho, a cobbled tiny street home to lots of restaurants, bars, etc. and backing to the river.

We enjoyed a teppanyaki dinner. The chefs here don't throw the food around like they do at Benihana at home though!

Sunday we visited Kiyomizu-dera, a famous temple. It was raining, but it was still beautiful.

Then we visited my favorite place of the whole trip, Sanjusangendo Hall. Inside are 1001 wooden statues of the thousand-handed Kannon. Ok, they really have 40 arms, but it was stunning. No photos allowed though!

Monday we headed towards Hakone, which is a very beautiful and scenic area of Japan. We stayed at the Fujiya Hotel, the first western hotel here, dined in their beautiful dining room, and tested out the onsen.

Tuesday morning we began the trek through the Hakone area, which is the draw for all the tourists. The first stop on the railway was the Hakone Open Air Museum, featuring outdoor exhibits, a Picasso exhibit, and a foot onsen to enjoy.

In Hakone we traveled via railway, switchback railway, cablecar, ropeway, and boat. Here we are in the ropeway, praying no doors come open!

The views here were breathtaking and it was a beautiful day. Hard to believe you're in Japan, home to so many people, when there is all this open space to enjoy!

Then we headed to Tokyo. Our first full day in Tokyo we headed to Asakusa. Outside a temple, there is Nakamise Dori, home to shopping since the 17th century and a great place for souvenirs.

Lively Nakamise Dori leads up to the beautiful temple, Senso-ji.

Then we took a Sumida River Cruise, checking out 12 bridges along the way, skyscrapers, and other fun.

The cruise dropped us off at the Hama Rikyu Garden, a 300 year old former falconry and duck hunting area for the shogun. It was beautiful and interesting to see the old garden surrounded by new skyscrapers.

Then for our final dinner, we headed out for yakiniku (Korean BBQ that is very popular here) in Toyota City!

Thanks for a wonderful time Joani & ML! We loved seeing you and it was a blast!