I’m back and I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to travel to Japan with my dear love, Lam, a dream of mine since forever. I could never think of journeying so far for so long without Lam. Without his love, patience, boldness, and streets smarts, I would have been completely lost and friendless. We thrived off the lightning-speed energy of Tokyo, drank in the quiet majesty of Hakone and Nikko, let loose in the culinary carnival that is Osaka, and lived like locals in the serene parts of Kyoto, all within a very small budget and small backpacks.

Clockwise from top left:
1) 七五三 (Shichi-go-san) Festival at 明治神宮 Meiji Jingu Shrine in Tokyo
2) Our 草履 Zori slippers at 春光院 Shunkoin Temple, where we stayed in Kyoto
3) Giant red torii gates at 伏見稲荷大社 Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto
4) Robot from Laputa: Castle in the Sky at the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo

With months of planning and with the help of some friends, we set forth with a very ambitious itinerary to see as much as possible within our time in Japan, and we did everything we wanted to and so much more. Japan is a beautiful, exciting country full of the most happy, friendly, and polite people I have ever met. I wish I understood more Japanese to truly appreciate the many courtesies shown to us each day. I’ll be posting more pics from Japan soon! I hope they’re not blurry and awful since we were on the go the whole time. It’s hard to be back home and back at my stressful day job but I’ll still keep dreaming of Japan and definitely plan to visit there again!

~ Rita