Exploring Japan

Greetings steemit first travel blog of 2018 from my trip to japan! We traveled to Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Mt. Fuji and Tokyo. Ill be breaking the trip down to the must-see places and a few tips!

Day one was mostly spent in airports and checking in to the hotel Rei Tokyu both in Osaka and Tokyo. Since this was a family trip we booked with a travel agency to make everything smoother although its a tad bit more expensive but don't worry I'll make this blog suitable for solo travelers( which I highly recommend booking with a hostel where you can interact with other travelers.)

Osaka is an urban city it has a few attractions you can even grab a city pass for 2,500 Yen so you can tour around the city. For day two we spent it in Universal Studios Japan for 7,600 Yen per person. I highly recommend going into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter where they have Hogwarts castle and hogsmead. Of course once in Hogsmead you must visit Olivander's the attraction recreates Harry's first encounter with Mr. Olivander where my brother was chosen to participate and then potterhead in me was just giddy with joy.

After grabbing a wand in Olivander's you could chose the Magic wand so you can interact with some of the displays by trying out a few spells. Then you could head to the castle for the main attraction "Harry Potter and the forbidden Journey" it takes 3 hours but its worth the wait! If your lucky you can buy a fast pass so you can skip lines but fast passes are very limited and can only be bought on the day so you'll have to try your luck.

A visit to Hogsmead will never be complete without Butterbeer!!

After you've satisfied your potterhead cravings I recommend you check out the Spider-Man 4D ride. Its fun and exciting ride with a 2hr waiting time but if you're a fan it'll be worth it!.

There are other rides like the Jaws ride and the Jurassic Park area but we weren't able to go on them because our trip was timed during peak season on December. So I recommend going on other times like September where there are less people so you can go on more rides.

For our third day we headed to Nara to visit Todai-ji Temple. We took a bus going there care of the agency buy you can also go via JR train the temple is only a 15 min walk from the station. Before heading into the temple you will be greeted by deers which you can pet and feed with biscuits( you'll have to be careful as some of them might get a bit aggressive specially if they see you buy the biscuits)

Going into the temple you'd see a beautiful and traditional Japanese landscape. Inside the temple is a 15 meter high bronze Buddha, the biggest in japan. And two smaller Buddhas and two warriors that said to protect the temple.

After nara we headed to kyoto about 1 hour bus ride from nara but you can go directly to kyoto via 1 hour train ride. When in kyoto visit the Fushimi Inari Temple its the iconic spot with over 10,000 red tori gates. If you have the time I recommend you go up the mountain it would take about an hour to go up and the tori going up are bigger( and more beatiful for photos).

We also visited the Kiyomazi temple. It was under renovation when we visited but the view was just as good. And going down from the temple you can see a bunch of shops where you can buy goodies and souvenirs. The road is very iconic, it feels both old and new at the same time.

In the morning of the fourth day we visited Osaka castle. An ancient fortress built in the 16th century. Its huge stone exterior walls and its iconic castle is a sight for many tourists.

Before heading to the train station to Tokyo, which takes 2 hours by bullet train. We had to go and see the busy Dotonburi. Even in daylight its iconic and busy.

We headed to Japan's highest mountain and cultural center Mt. Fuji stopping by a spring at the foot of the mountain to drink spring water that is said to cleanse those who drink it so you may convene with the mountain god to pray and make a wish.

Unfortunately we weren't able to go beyond the first station due to heavy snow up the mountain. Even in the first station we experienced light snowing, not enough for a snowball fight but still it was a wonder to see real snow fall.

We headed to Hakone to get on the lake Ashi cruise. Of course we spent the time at the top deck with cold winds but the view was well worth it. We even got to see the pirate ship attraction sail by.

We got off in the next stop where they had a petting zoo and artificial snow hill that you can sleigh on! Since we missed the snow in Fuji we just had to get our sleigh bells on!

Our last day was spent in Tokyo Disney Sea! Admission is 7,400 yen. Hands down top three rides are Toys Story Mania, Tower of Terror and Journey to the Center of the earth. (If you don't understand Japanese i suggest you skip some of the shows or attractions like magic lamp). Disney was of course magical as always, topping it of with the happiness firework show.

Overall the trip had been a lot of fun. The travel agency provided us transport which made our trip easier and the guides helped us point to the right direction and got us great meals.

TRAVEL TIPS:
Here are things people don't usually tell you when traveling. First , cold weather will dehydrate your body so its important to keep drinking water even if you dont feel thirsty and to put on a lot of lotion since your skin will crack and get itchy. Second, layers, put on a lot of layers a coat or jacket will not be enough to fight off the cold winter winds. Third, learn a few phrases and this applies to any country you willl visit. Learn how to say simple and useful phrases like "hello" or "where can I find the toilet?". Fourth, I suggest going to japan during autumn instead of winter.you get to save luggage space, most places wont be as crowded and you might get to see the leaves change and the trees turn orange. Lastly and this goes without saying have fun, immerse yourself in the culture, learn the history of things and places, talk to the locals, and indulge yourself in the food. A nation isn't only its monuments, it's the people, history and culture. Specially a proud nation like Japan with a rich history and a good balance between innovation and culture.

To the next adventure, thanks for reading Steemit!