Japan Overview - October 2015

This was our first trip to Japan as a family. We decided to do a pretty conventional trip, visiting Tokyo and Kyoto. However, we did add a four day hike on the Kumano Kodō pilgrimage trail and a visit to the temples and graves in Koyasan. This ended up being a great mix of old and new Japan. Koyasan and the Kumano Kodō felt like visiting the past. Tokyo the modern Japan and Kyoto and Hiroshima, the complete mix of the two.

The boys were 14 and 16 at the time, a great age to travel and hike. They also really loved (most) of the food and the modern bits of Japanese culture. While Owen wanted to go for Pokemon, this trip had a far bigger impact on him over time. He has become a real Japanophile, learning the language, writting, food and culture a lot more deeply.

Read our day by day notes on our 2015 trip to Japan >