Entry #16 Japan - Aug 10 - 19, 2019

 Konichiwa from Japan!

To be honest, it’s difficult to recount the itinerary for our last week and a half, since the past little while has been divided between fun-filled activities and many layers of emotional reflection.  

Let’s start with the places and experiences that composed the conclusion to our time in Japan.  

We popped into a town called Matsumoto, where we visited a samurai castle.

Japanese samurais and ninjas have captured Jamie’s imagination.  The tales of extreme bravery and unthinkable sacrifice, the long tradition of honour and service, and the stealthy, butt-kicking style of martial arts complete with ornate armour - all of it fascinates him.  So it was fitting that Jamie found the crown jewel of his souvenir collection in Matsumoto.  He got a real samurai sword from a tiny little antique shop.  We may have some explaining to do at customs :)

We then moved on to Japan’s crazy capital city, Tokyo!

Tokyo is exactly what we expected, and then some.  It has this intense frenetic energy due to the sheer number of people in motion at some of the busiest spots on the planet.  In fact, we arrived in Tokyo at Shinjuku Station, which is officially the busiest train station in the world!  

Besides that, not far away is the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing at the Shibuya intersection.  

We cannot help craning our necks and gaping in every direction as we try to take in the larger-than-life, rainbow-coloured, strobe-lit central plazas of the city.  

It’s very much a concrete jungle here, but we were determined to find a child-friendly oasis, and we managed to have some downtime in a couple of good old-fashioned parks.  

Outdoor green space where kids can play is a rare type of real estate and took some serious searching to locate.  It was important to give Jamie and Jessie a break from dragging them through the crowded streets of commerce.  Truth be told, the Japanese people may be credited with some marvels of engineering, but they don’t get to win the prize for playgrounds.  

During our exploration of various neighbourhoods, it became necessary to take breaks (and offer bribes) that came in the form of delicious treats or playtime with furry friends.

 

Being the land of technology, we spent a day in the Akihabara area. Our activities around town included testing out all kinds of smartphone-enabled games at the 6-story Samsung Galaxy phone promotional building. (Greatest marketing campaign ever!  It was all free!)  

We would hit up the arcades to have a go at classic Nintendo games and watch the modern-day “pinball wizards” who clearly spent too much time and money becoming superstar video gamers.  

The Harajuku area was colorful and crowded beyond belief.  

Sometimes alleys got a bit squishy, like this particular lane in the Harajuku area.  Here the shops are as packed as the streets, where you shuffle along, shoulder-to-shoulder in a river of people, carefully maneuvering to the edge as you aim to exit for a stop at (yet another) capsule toy arcade.

Escaping to the openness of Yoyogi Park gave us a chance to see a shrine with the tallest tori gate and a display of donated barrels of sake, meant to honour a revered Emperor and Empress.

In the evenings we enjoyed an area called Omoide Yokocho (known as "Piss Alley"), which is a network of alleyways where you can find endless little spots to eat in teeny tiny restaurants that often have just a counter.

Then there is the fun of Japan's giant discount store chain called Don Quijote. It's like an Honest Ed-sized equivalent to Dollarama-meets-Party City. The game here is to find the weirdest and wackiest toy :) Many items gave us the giggles :)

After several days in the crowded city, we ended our time in Tokyo with a day at the Toshimaen Amusement Park.  It was only a short ride on the metro in a nearby suburb.  By some stroke of luck, the park was almost empty, allowing us to run from ride to ride and have a day of fun and adventure. 

It was actually a bit of a relief to roll out of Tokyo and head to our final destination. Bittersweet as it may be, knowing this would be the last stop in our 6 months of travel, it was exactly the kind of place we needed. It was a place to breathe, relax, and take in a final, awe-inspiring, iconic, natural monument; the town of Fujikawaguchiko, at the base of Mount Fuji. Catching our first glimpse of the ancient volcano made us gape at its enormity. Mount Fuji is HUGE! Its expanse dwarfs the towns that spread out along its base. It felt pretty mythical to behold.

The sleepy, small town of Fujikawaguchiko had the exact right vibe to do some slow-paced exploring. We were thrilled to discover little local gems like the human version of Mario Kart, colourful pedal boats on Lake Kawaguchi, and for our very last day, the frigid Nurusawa Ice Cave that made for a chilly trek through one of Mount Fuji's main lava tubes.

This is the final chapter of our Zwaigen Family Adventure blog…

It is completely surreal to be at this point in time… hours away from boarding a plane and starting the long journey home.  Like any trip, we began this adventure with the naive belief that we could slow down time, and yet the past 6 months now feel like a blur that has passed in the blink of an eye. We are so grateful for this time, these adventures, these memories, and the opportunity to share it all as a family.

It feels impossible to find an eloquent way to express what this moment feels like; these final hours before heading back to "reality". Any attempt to sum up how meaningful this has all been will no doubt fall short. So, instead of trying to put it into words, we will try to keep this ending brief... finding peace in the hope that it is not the last journey or final Zwaigen Family Adventure. Until then, we hope that looking back on this blog will keep the adventure alive in our hearts because it has been the greatest gift and most wonderful joy. Till next time...