Kyoto - Gion District

We left our hotel at Tokyo Disneyland and caught the train to Tokyo station, so that we could catch the Shinkansen (bullet train).  On our first trip we were able to buy our tickets at the station and get reserved seating, but this time we were only able to get non-reserved, which meant we weren't guaranteed a seat or a seat together.  Luckily, we were able to all grab a seat and close together. 

Part of the fun on the Shinkansen is that you are able to eat on the train (you can't eat on regular trains) and can buy the most amazing bento boxes at the train station. 

We love the Shinkansen - it feels like you are on a fancy plane, but it's even better as you have so much space, can put your luggage on the racks above you (if they aren't too big) and the ride is so smooth. It also has toilets on the train and is so clean. 

Apparently, Mt Fuji is only visible 100 days of the year, so we were so lucky to see if from the Shinkansen on the way to Kyoto. 

Kyoto isn't as easy to get around as Tokyo and Osaka, and we weren't keen on jumping on a crowded bus with our luggage after we arrived at Kyoto Station, so we decided to just walk the 20 minutes to our accommodation. It wasn't bad as it was all very flat. 

Our accommodation in Kyoto was a 100-year-old house in the Gion district.  It was very cute, but the stairs were extremely steep, and it was hard to get our luggage up and a pain to go up and down (especially if you needed to use the toilet in the middle of the night, which was downstairs). 

Jalen, Kobe and I slept upstairs, and it was Jay and my first experience sleeping on futons, which actually wasn't bad at all. 

I was so excited to be in Kyoto because I knew that we would be catching up with Simone and Simon and their family again.  They had already been in Kyoto for a couple of days, so we organised to meet up at the Yasaka Shrine which was close to our accommodation. 

It was so good to see them again and to hear about how their trip was going, and what they thought of Japan. 

We had a lovely time catching up and wandering around Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka which are pedestrian only streets with preserved traditional wooden buildings. 

It was a great time to be there together, because it was getting close to dusk and it wasn't busy at all. During the day there are usually so many people there. 

I love being there at night as the streets look so pretty. 

On our first trip to Japan Harri bought Melissa a mug from this Starbucks store.  Melissa was keen to go and check it out and bought her mum a mug from there too. 

We could walk back to our accommodation, and I love that you always feel safe, even walking around at night. 

Melissa and Harri were sleeping downstairs and had a cute little room. We were looking forward to exploring more of Kyoto in the morning. 

Tokyo Disneyland

 Melissa had a few things on her bucket list for Japan and going to Tokyo Disneyland was one of them. We went on our first trip and loved it and love them parks, so we didn't mind going again.  

We lined up with the rest of the crowd about an hour and 15 minutes before it opened and knew to grab the fast passes on our app as soon as we scanned in.   There were a few rides that we didn't want to miss including the Beauty and the Beast ride which is definitely worth paying for a fast pass for. 

The park was busy, but not terrible and we got lots of rides in during the day. 

Jalen was loving his cowboy hat that he bought :)

Of course we had to try all the popcorn. 

Beauty and the Beast is the most incredible ride, and I knew it would make Melissa cry.  I feel so emotional when I'm on the ride, especially hearing the singing in Japanese. 

We didn't realise on our first trip that you could actually go inside the castle (we just thought you could walk through the middle of it, but it was all outside). It was so beautiful inside. 

The light parade and lightshow at night were both absolutely incredible. 

We had such a fun day and stayed till about 9:30 pm when the light show finished.  Melissa felt so emotional and cried on the monorail as we left. I'm so glad we could all go back and experience it with her.   We were all very tired, but happy and needed a good nights sleep after a busy few days. 

Shibuya, Harajuku and Shinjuku

On our third day in Japan, we left our accommodation in Asakusa and caught the train to drop off our luggage at our next hotel which was the Hiyori Hotel Maihama (near Tokyo Disneyland). 

The train stations were never really that far away from where we are staying, and I don't mind walking through the streets with our luggage. 

Unfortunately, the trains were often very full, and we felt bad taking up lots of space with our luggage. We didn't end up forwarding any luggage on this trip as it was just too hard because we were staying in Airbnbs rather than hotels (except for at Disneyland).   We ended up splitting up between train carriages after a couple of trips, as we realised it would be easier with our suitcases. 

We dropped off our suitcases at our hotel and then caught the train into Shibuya so that Melissa could see Shibuya Crossing and everything in central Tokyo. 

We paid for a drink at the Magnet store so that we could go up to their lookout. 

Inside people from all around the world had written notes and hung it on the wall. 

We all spent a bit of time looking around Shibuya before meeting back up again, so we could walk together to Harajuku and Shinjuku. 

The Nike store is so cool and all I could think about was how much Aaron would've loved it. 

We went to Takeshita Street which we knew would be hectic, but we also wanted Melissa to experience it and I was keen to get some crepes. 

We are very wary of the touts there (very big African men, who try to lure you into their shops) as the boys were lured in last time and we've heard lots of stories about them. We avoided them as soon as we saw them. 

We always find the different drinks so fascinating. Apparently, this Pepsi has a high amount of caffeine in it - more than a regular Pepsi. 

We ended off the day at Shinjuku which always has lots of people out and about, drinking on the streets.  I don't mind visiting there, but wouldn't want to stay there. 

The boys and Melissa had fun trying on glasses in the Blue Elephant store. 

We all ended up getting different things for dinner. Kobe and I found a place where you could just order food on the iPad which we loved. 

We then jumped back on the train for the big trip back to our hotel at Disneyland. It wasn't quite as close to the one we stayed at on our first trip, but we still loved it. They had a shuttle bus which we could get to the Disney monorail. They had a little station in the foyer where you could choose a couple of little treats every night like face masks, or bath bombs. 

Every evening they had free dashi chazuke from 9:30 pm - 11:00 pm which is a rice soup. It was for when people were coming back from Disneyland or DisneySea. It was fun to put on your own toppings on top of the rice and broth and it was really yummy. They also had free drinks every night. 

We had joining rooms in this hotel, and we loved that they supplied us with Japanese pyjamas and slippers.  We were tired after a long day but were ready for a big day at Disneyland the next day.