“日本” is Japan. It can be read in both Chinese or Japanese. In Japanese, it is pronounced “Nippon or Nihon” which translates to Japan ❤

I visited Japan in June for the first time and it was such an amazing experience! We stayed a total of 10 days, 9 nights and I feel like that still wasn’t enough time for the number of activities and food Japan has to offer. We visited Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka with the majority of our time spent in Tokyo. In my opinion, Tokyo was probably my favorite city ❤ I love both nature and city life but at the end of the day, I love the city lights and lively nightlife.

There are many characteristics of Japan’s culture that I love but one of the things that I love most is that they put so much thought into their products and services. I honestly did not have a bad meal or experience while I was there. All the meals that I had were made with such quality and served with great thoughtfulness. Every product that you buy is packaged with care and handed to you with both hands along with a bow. In addition, everyone that we encountered from different cities were very friendly and respectful.

Tokyo

Another thing that I appreciate is how orderly everyone is. For example, people line up in a systematic manner while waiting for the train, no matter how busy it is or how much of a rush a person is in. I can’t stress how efficient Japan is! I love that their convenient stores like 7-Elevens and FamilyMarts are ACTUALLY convenient! They’re open 24/7 and you can find them in every corner of the city. They literally have everything in one store. You can buy postage stamps, send mail, and or add $ to your subway pass + more! They also have endless selections of inexpensive AND delicious prepackaged food. Most importantly, it’s safe there! I felt safe walking around the city late at night, whether to a nearby convenient store or to the train station.

Osaka & Kyoto

We spent a total of 4 days in Kyoto and Osaka. We stayed at a hotel in Kyoto for the 4 days and used our JR pass to travel back & forth to Osaka. The scenery in these two cities are definitely different than that of Tokyo’s. Kyoto felt more calm and steady, whereas Tokyo was more fast paced and crowded. I didn’t get to do everything I wanted while in Kyoto and Osaka but for the most part, I enjoyed my time exploring various temples and sightseeing 🙂 Alex and Eric liked the Yamazaki Whisky Distillery so much, we went there twice! One thing I really wanted to do was wear kimonos and walk around traditional temples. However, it was too hot and humid to do so, so it’ll be an activity for our next trip 😉

This place is so exclusive that when we went back the 2nd time, all their special whiskeys that we bought the first day were already sold out. In addition, you can only buy 1 bottle per person!

One thing that I really wanted to do in Osaka was visit the cup noodle museum. The journey there was pretty exciting… we actually got there 3 minutes before they closed but they were still nice enough to let us in! I felt really rushed in the beginning while buying our packaged cup noodles from a vending machine because I wanted enough time to decorate the cup! But, the workers guiding us there were very nice and they allowed us to take our time 🙂

I have over 800 photos from this trip, but even the best photo can’t represent or showcase the beauty and uniqueness of Japan ❤ I love Japan so much because everything about their culture is so captivating to me. I love their style, food, shopping, cities, people, and even their RESTROOMS! I can’t forget to mention how clean and high tech their toilets are! I had such a great experience at every public restroom I went to. hahaha! All in all, I’m so happy that I got to experience this trip with good company. Eric and I are set to return next year during cherry blossom season and I can’t wait to witness the beauty! I’ve always wanted to visit Japan during cherry blossom season and I’m so excited to be able to share another new experience with my love. Till next time! 🙂