Japan

Tokyo

We started our trip in Tokyo where the weather was unusually cold and wet.

In addition to visiting some of the more famous sights, we enjoyed amazing meals at Shabu Shabu, Sushi and Teriyaki restaurants. It’s not easy to identify authentic, reasonably priced restaurants in Japan outside of the areas frequented by tourists. Fortunately, Astsuko became our guide, taking us to several off the beaten path restaurants with Michelin star food, without Michelin star crowds or prices. Our sushi experiences were particularly unforgettable.

Kyoto

From Tokyo, we headed west to Kyoto where we stayed in Yoshida Sanso.

Yoshida Sanso is a historic Ryokan run by a daughter and her mother at the base of Mount Yoshida, one of the 36 scenic peaks of Higashiyama, Kyoto’s eastern mountain. The Ryokan, which was originally the imperial villa for Prince Higashi-Fushimi, was a beautiful and relaxing getaway from the hustle and bustle of the tourist destinations in Tokyo and Kyoto. One of the best things about the Yoshida Sanso is that it is surrounded by several off the beaten path temples that we had to ourselves. And this is where we realized that although there are many must see temples in Kyoto, to have the best experience in Kyoto and other popular cities and regions of Japan, it helps to to get a bit off of the beaten path, at least for part of your trip.

Kumano Kodō

The next phase of our trip was an even more off of the beaten path adventure on the Kumano Kodō trail.

When we were planning our trip to Japan, we had read about Kumano Kodō, a 1,000 year old pilgrimage for followers of the ancient Kumanō religion on the Kii Peninsula, the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū. This pilgrimage was largely forgotten after the Meiji Restoration over 100 years ago during which Japan was transformed from a feudal society into a modern industrialized nation. But in recent years, it has been discovered, not only as a pilgrimage for people still practicing the Kumano religion, but by small numbers of tourists looking for an authentic cultural experience in a remote region of Japan. Originally, we tried to plan the trip by ourselves. But eventually we gave up and hired a local ecotourism company to book our accommodation and provide us with a map of the route. The four day trek consisted of trails through dense forests, including bamboo forests, connecting the Kumano’s many temples and small remote villages where we spent the night. One of our unforgettable experiences was walking into a small remote village and having the opportunity to drink Japanese craft beer at a beer garden (the backyard of a small inn) that was only open for one day a year, the day that the huge Cherry Blossom tree first blossomed in the backyard of the inn. As we sat under the beautiful Cherry Blossom tree having some amazing Japanese IPAs and looking forward to another night at a local inn with a private onsen, we knew we wished we had months to pursue these types of experiences in Japan.

Culture

Throughout our trip to Japan, we were fascinated by the cultural characteristics and social norms of Japanese people.

These include their appreciation for beauty, attention to detail, politeness, respect for elders, spirituality and work ethic. Leah was not born in Japan, but her mother and grandmother were. And little by little we realized that her characteristics weren’t unique (and sometimes a bit strange) traits that she had developed, but very specific Japanese traits that had been passed down from her grandmother and mother to Leah, and perhaps even embedded in her Japanese DNA.