Last year, I remember getting an email from Scott’s Cheap Flights alerting me that there was a price drop for flights to Japan during ‘Cherry Blossom’ season.
Japan has been on our radar for a long time now. My son is super into ninjas and always talks about Japan randomly. I remember reading the email and saying to myself, “Oh wow!” It was a great deal! I then showed my husband and he said, “Alright, let’s book it”. It was at that moment that I immediately felt anxious. It was weird. Why now, after wanting to go so badly did I feel like this? I guess it’s because I didn’t actually think he would agree to it.
I’ll admit I have travel fever for sure but Japan was way out of my comfort zone. It was going to be the longest flight I have ever been on in my life, the culture was going to be so different, and the food was going to be, next level adventurous! I talk to my kids all the time about being brave so it was now time to take my own advice. I needed to step out of my comfort zone and just do it! Plus, I was going with my family by my side. There’s nothing more comforting than that.
I am a huge planner! I love having a plan and knowing exactly what do to in each of our destinations. With kids, having a plan is essential I think. Things can go downhill really quick without one, especially when you’re in a foreign country. I’m not a complete stickler to a plan but I do love to have a guideline, if that makes sense.
The flight to Tokyo was easy-ish. As easy as any 12- hour flight can be I guess. The plane was massive. I brought more snacks than I knew what to do with. I loaded our iPads up with a million new movies and brought some coloring and new Hatchimals for the kids. This helped break up the movie time. The flight attendants came around with Ice Cream for the kids and wine for mom. The kids were living their best life on that flight! Quinn did get a little antsy towards the end of the flight. I think that’s expected of a 3.5 year old, don’t ya think?
We had finally arrived in freaking Tokyo, Japan! I couldn’t believe it was actually happening. A few weeks before our trip we invested in the JR Rail Pass. We purchased ours from IACE San Diego, a local Japan Travel Agency. I HIGHLY suggest investing in this! It’s basically an all-inclusive ride card. Now, here’s a HUGE tip for actually picking up your Rail Pass when you arrive. You have to pick it up in a little office at the airport. If you’re traveling with someone else, one of you needs to go pick up the luggage and the other needs to run upstairs to the office. The line gets so long and you will seriously waste a huge chunk of time dealing with that. This tip will save you!
Beat up after a 12 hour flight! 
Tokyo Tower view from our hotel…beautiful!
After you have your pass and your luggage you are on your way to adventure! Japan is the cleanest city I have ever seen. The train and streets are immaculate. I wish San Diego would take some notes!
The first night there was a little brutal. We were beat up from the long flight and jet-lag was setting in. It only made sense to grab some dinner and unwind. The next day we were moving up to Kyoto which was about a 2- hour train ride so we needed to get some rest. There was a great little Ramen spot right across from our hotel so we ate there. We were seriously ‘fish out of water’ at this point because when we walked into the restaurant we just sat down and waited for our server. This isn’t how it goes in Japan. You have to order your food through a machine. They don’t like to touch Yen (money) in Japan. This was so interesting to me. It makes sense! After dinner, it was shower time and off to bed.
Food ordering machine in the background. 
The next morning, thanks to jet-lag, we were up at 4 am. The train system doesn’t get moving until 6 am. This gave us plenty of time to get ready, get breakfast, and head to the station. I had heard from others before our trip that the 7-11’s in Japan were like no other. They were right! They aren’t the typical stores you find here in the US. Since it was so early and still dark out, 7-11 was our only breakfast option. You will literally find one every 20 steps you take. It’s so convenient. There was one perfectly located right across from our hotel. We picked up breakfast and snacks for the train ride and went back to our room since we still had some time. The options were great and we ended up having a 7-11 breakfast the majority of our trip.
Just to give you an idea of what the options were, this is what a typical breakfast looked like for us: They have these little egg salad sandwiches which were perfect. I got a small pack of frozen blueberries, yogurt, juice, and some kind of pastry. I also got water bottles for the day, juice boxes for the kids, and chips for the train ride. Make sure to keep your plastic bag from the store with you all day because you won’t find a trash can anywhere! That’s crazy to me since the streets are so clean. I quickly learned that the Japanese carry around their trash with them all day and dispose of it at home. See, this is why I love exploring new cultures. I learn so much!
Off to Kyoto we go!
Some final thoughts:
International travel can seem intimidating to some. For those who don’t do it often, or haven’t done it ever – instinct can make us think “that’s too expensive.” Or, we might just assume that something is just out of our reach. But travel is too important to the soul. It is the only thing that we can spend money on that makes us richer. I highly encourage anyone to take the leap. Look for those deals and just go. You’ll come back different. You’ll feel a sense of empowerment and that’s a great feeling.
Loved this! 🙂
Thank you for reading!