Last Day in Tokyo

Regretfully, this trip is drawing to an end. We spent the last days in Japan back in Tokyo and visited the Imperial Palace. It is located in the heart of Tokyo and is surrounded by a garden. Although my camera does not do it justice, the image below is one of the popular depiction of the palace. 

Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto, the previous imperial capital of Japan before being moved to Tokyo, is one of the most beutiful and amazing cities we have been to. It is located in the western part of Japan, about 300 miles west of Tokyo. We took the high speed bullet train, or the Shinkansen, which can easily reach speeds at about 180 mph.
Kyoto was the first imperial capital of Japan and remains an important cultural and educational center for Japan. The imperial family of Japan lived in the Kyoto Imperial Palace until 1868, when the capital was moved to Tokyo. The imperial palace is located within Kyoto Gyoen, a park like enclosure.

What we didn't realize is that to visit the Palace grounds itself, you need to "request" permission in advance through the Imperial Agency of Japan with your passport. So we just ended up viewing the Palace from the outside walls.

Meiji-Jingu Shrine Tokyo, Japan

You can spend a lifetime in Tokyo and just barely scratch the surface of all the sites that can be visited. We went to the Meiji-Jingu ShrineMeiji-Jingu Shrine (http://www.meijijingu.or.jp/english/index.html) which is a Shinto shrine located in the middle of Tokyo. It was created after the death of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken in 1912 and 1914, respectively. The people wanted to commemorate the virtuous life of the Emperor and his wife so over 100,000 trees were donated from all over the country and volunteers spent the next few years building a forest in the heart of Tokyo.

Regardless of which side of the forest you enter from, you will come across a Torii, or Shrine Archway. To show respect, you are supposed to bow when entering and again when leaving.

Mt Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi

One of the most iconic views of Japan, is of course, Mt. Fuji which is located about 80 miles southwest of Tokyo. We ended up taking the 2.5 hour trip by bus to get to Kawaguchiko a town adjacent to Lake Kawaguchi and spent a night in the area. Kawaguchiko is about 10 miles north of Mt Fuji.

First Trip to Japan

Moshi moshi from Japan. We decided to pack our bags, make no real plans, purchase a Lonely Planet guide book, and get on a plane to Japan. We both have been infatuated with the Japanese culture since we were children, so where better place to go for 8 days. To say the least, with no planning, it was one of the most stressful (not in a bad way), yet amazing vacations we have ever had.

We landed in Narita and took the newly built Narita Express, the express train that travels between Narita Airport and Tokyo. The 50 mile distance is covered in 60 to 75 minutes, making usually only three stops before arriving at Tokyo station.