Kristin and I spent Thanksgiving in Japan with our good friend Dave. The three of us had a blast traveling around Japan together. We started off our trip being invited to dinner at Miki’s home. Miki was a student of Dave’s in Japan. And while she was traveling in the States we took her in for a weekend in Seattle. She returned in kind by inviting us to her family’s home outside of Toyko for dinner on the night we arrived in Japan.

We only spent one day in Tokyo. From there we flew South to Fukuoka on Japan’s Southern-most main island Kyushu. The highlight for me in Fukuoka was cheering on the big boys at a Sumo tournament! After Fukuoka we took the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto. Kyoto is the cultural center of Japan due to the huge number of surviving shrines and temples. From what I understand, partly due to the those shrines and temples, Kyoto was spared from the bombs during the war. It seems the entire city is designated as a UNESCO world heritage site. I think my favorite temple is Kinkakuji - something about all that gold!

We enjoyed tons of yummy local foods while we traveled around. Although this mashed taro root wasn’t one we particularly enjoyed. We even got to spend our last evening at one of Dave’s favorite hangouts - Daruma’s. Daruma’s is like the Japanese version of Cheers - a tiny local bar where everybody knows your name.

We were very thankful to spent a week traveling with Dave in Japan. It’s an opportunity that we couldn’t pass up.

Enjoy our Japan trip photos on Flickr!