Japan: A Dream Come True

On June 3rd Lucy and I visited Rachel and got the chance to go to Japan! It is such a beautiful country I would love to live there. Every direction I looked I could tell I was somewhere far away. The first day we went for a walk along the cherry tree lined street past Rachels neighborhood shrine Miwa Jinja. We then went to Tokuyama Dam, the largest dam in Japan. We went to Tokuyama lake and had a picnic outside. Lucy and I are next to a big tire from a vehicle that helped build the dam.
Then we went to Fujihashi Castle and walked around where they have traditional Japanese thatched roof houses set up. I fell in love with the Japanese omelet.

The next day we drove to Gifu and went shopping at Diamond City and Loft. We went to Gifu park and rode the ropeway up to Gifu castle and hiked up to the top. Lucy was really wanting to be independent most the trip and climb stairs herself. It was a beautiful view. We walked around beautiful gardens and walked along the Nagara River.

The walkway up to Tanigumi temple is beautiful with the trees lining the street. There is tanuki statues all over but Lucy was too scared to pose by one. There was a cute little bridge with a shrine that Lucy liked walking back and forth on. There was koi fish and lotus flowers in the water. I might butcher this, but they only grow in dirty water so India built a temple shaped like a Lotus flower because despite all the ugliness around it the flower became beautiful. There was some fox statues. After a nap we drove to Ikeda mountain past the tea farms and walked around the park and river. We ate at Masala Masters in Ogaki City and had delicous Indian and Nepalese curry.

The next day we took the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo. It was so fast! We walked around central Tokyo and went to Donut Plant and tried some happy donuts. We went to Ginza and window shopped at Burberry and other stores. We checked into our hotel and it was very nice! Went to Shibuya and Harajuku where the crazy fashion is. I wish we had a place like that!

The toilets are so crazy here! Some are a hole in the ground.

We ate at La Boheme Italian cafe and had a yummy gargonzolla pizza with honey. It was nice seeing the big city, but I'm glad I got to spend a lot of time in Ibi-Gowa and see all the beautiful mountains and rice fields.

We drove past the Imperial Palace and gardens on our way to catch the train for the Ghibli Museum. The museum is such a peaceful place with calm music playing and very unique architecture throughout it. There was a dark room that showed the step by step making of movies. Lucy liked watching the wheel spin and make the characters move pose by pose. There was a few different staircases to different levels for exploring fun. Lucy was scared of the catbus and cried when I put her by it. A couple employees threw dustbunnies into it and she got a little closer. A year and a half ago I put a picture up of this statue on my vision board. I didn't expect to see it until years later. It was amazing to see it in person.

I thought it was cute that the gift shop was called "Mama Aiuto". Depending on what month they show a short film. We watched a cute one about wrestling mice. The theatre room reminded me of the babies room in Spirited Away. The next day we drove up to Kasuga. We ate dinner at the Nohara's home and they were so sweet. They gave Lucy a stuffed animal poodle with a pink suitcase and clothes for the poodle. They also gave Rachel and me gifts that were so kind I need to find something for them, but it is hard to think of what. They have a beautiful home and we had traditional Japanese food and ate on the tatami mats. They were so good to me I wish I could have stayed later.

Rachel, Keiko-san, and I took the shinkansen to Kyoto with some adorable elementary students. One boy gave me a lucky crane. First we visited Kiyomizudera and said prayers.
Second was Chionin temple which had a lot of stairs. Rachel stayed with Lucy while Keiko-san and I climbed to the top.
Then we went to Kinkaju or the Golden Pavillion which is beautiful. It makes me sad that it has been burned down several times throughout it's history.

Last we went to Fushimi Inari shrine with the orange tori pathways and kitsune (foxes) gaurding the entrance. This was my favorite of the day. The pathways go on for hours and are breathtaking. It seemed like such a magical place.
What path will I choose?


I love the rice fields. I love the countryside in Japan. I didn't want to say goodbye because I knew it would be a while before we would meet again.
On our last night we took a spontaneous trip to Tanigumi Mountain and visited the temple on the opposite side. Even though it was so peaceful I got too spooked to go to close to the top. We noticed lots of cars pulled over on the way so we parked by the Hotaru River and there was fireflies! They seemed so magical flying past us with the glowing green. I would love to have a yard full of them at night. Japan is a beautiful country and I would recommend taking a trip to anyone.