Journey to Japan

How'd we pick Japan for our Holla-day? I honestly have not a clue. I remember the conversation earlier this year. We were all gathered in the living room dreaming of places we'd like to go. Greece was mentioned. Italy. I'm pretty sure Ireland got tossed in there. The next thing I know, as I tried to cover Gizzie's ears about our plans to leave her, we're headed to Japan. 

It's quite the challenge for David to get me to travel more than 10 minutes away from our home to a restaurant on our Friday night dates. How he managed to drag me 6,000 miles away on vacation remains a mystery. 

David and Drue set about making plans. Drue made an awesome Wanderlog site adding places to see, food to try, itineraries for each day, etc. David booked the airline tickets and hotels. (We'll get to my ultra important pre trip task in a moment.)

Many of the flights had us going East from KC. Y'all. I can't. My days of long flights have sailed (see how I cleverly mashed together 2 forms of transportation?). I was wishing the trip was over before it even started! Halfway joking, I said, "I don't get it. Wouldn't it make more sense to fly West to Japan? So we could take a break in Hawaii or something?". Which, much to my surprise and delight, is exactly what we ended up doing. We flew to a time zone that was 5 hours earlier, to then fly to one that was 19 hours later. Basically losing an entire day on the way there, then reliving a day on the way back. Yeah, I'm expecting to be pretty mixed up for awhile. 

What really pulls the whole trip together and makes it successful is....boarding Gizzie. Yep. That's my job. Do not laugh. I responsibly got Gizzie scheduled with our vet back in March, whom she's boarded with for the entire 13 years of her life. And who also got bought out by a larger corporation a few weeks later, canceling all boarding due to no longer offering that service. 

"Welp, the whole trip is off!", I panicked for a day or two. Until I psyched myself up enough to check into other places near us, knowing our entire adventure hinged on us finding her a place to stay. Dramatic? Me? I found a place near us with good reviews, with openings and they scheduled an interview with her a few weeks before our departure date. "What happens if she doesn't pass?!" David inquired. "Bzzt!", I put my hand in the air to stop him, "This is my job. I've got it covered." 

I most certainly did not have it covered. And may have sent up a prayer or two saying, "I know you've got a lot on your plate now with various major world events, but if you could please help Gizzie be on her best behavior Friday at 9am, it would be much appreciated...". 

She passed. She wasn't even being evaluated for daycare, just boarding. She feels she is above all other animals of her species and will announce this to them loudly any chance she gets. So I wasn't about to subject all the poor well socialized daycare patrons to her shenanigans. The boarding fee did include daily personal playtime with a staff member so I was hopeful that bit of human contact would convince her she'd not been abandoned at Alcatraz. 

I waited until closer to our trip to confess to David how much more her stay would cost compared to our vet, in hopes the excitement of our impending departure would overshadow it. I needn't have worried. David has developed a whole new relationship with Gizzie with all the kids gone. He got her a dog treat advent calendar for crying out loud this past Christmas. Which, of course, conditioned her to getting an extra special treat each night, which he then had to keep going since she didn't understand advent ends with little baby Jesus' arrival. So when we checked her in and they asked if we wanted to add on a nature walk for $11 more per day, he said "Of course!". "Every day? Or every other?" they continued. "Every day!". Ok Daddy Warbucks. 

A few weeks prior to our trip I saw the cutest Bandaids at Target with Japanese prints on them. I started to get them, saw the $5 price tag, and talked myself out of them, not wanting to buy too many frivolous purchases pre trip. I saw them again days later and decided, "Oh what the heck, I'll skip Starbucks this week," and packed them away in my bag. Apparently, I was a little too excited about my purchase, because a day into the trip, Drue exclaimed, "Oh...my gosh! If I hear about these Japanese Bandaids one more time...!!". Guess who wouldn't have been offered one had she poked her hand with a chopstick? 

Japan doesn't just let you bring in your meds willy nilly. We had to submit what we were taking and why and then they had say back if they were ok or not. A few of us procrastinated and didn't get all of our info sent until the week before, so were holding our breath to get our confirmation. Which may have induced yet another panic attack on my part. "Well there's no way I'll be able to go if I can't smuggle in my anti depressant!" I would have spent the entire vacation curled up in a ball, nibbling on sushi they slipped under the door and crying into my green tea. 

We prepped David ahead of time he would have to tone down, well, everything. Bless his heart. He has a big personality. And the Japanese culture frowns upon that. He talks loud. He laughs loud. His sneezes? Don't even. In addition to prepping him, we had to continuously remind him throughout the trip as well. Checking us in to the hotel in Toyko, he belted out, "Tate!" across the lobby and was met with four collective "Shhhhh's" from the rest of us. 

We had to remind him to silence his phone. Or at least lower his shrill ringtone and notifications. Lower. Nope, l-o-w-e-r...  

I enjoyed making our family Thanksgiving vlog so much last year, I wanted to do one for our trip. But I ran out of steam. Plus Reese kept saying how her vlog was going to blow mine out of the water so I gave up. Hers did turn out super cute. I wish I had done a vlog of just Tate eating. It's pure entertainment for me to watch all that boy can consume in a day. As a middle aged Mom who gains weight just walking past the cinnamon almond stand at the mall, I am fascinated by the teen boy metabolism and ability to put away a Chipotle burrito in three bites. 

Leaving KC, the TSA agent told Reese she had "good energy" and "seemed easy going". Which she will never let us forget. After about the 10th time, of, "Well, that must be because I have good energy," I replied, "He had a 30 second encounter with you, we should have brought him along with us to see the real Reese!". 

Our hotel in Hawaii was valet parking only. Not because it was super bougie. Just because there is zero parking near Waikiki beach. It was 2am our time when David finally pulled up to it as I muttered, "Ugh, you couldn't pay me to drive down here." Next thing I know he jumped out to go check us in, leaving the car running for me to hop in the driver's seat and inch my way up to the valet. I had no idea how to put it in drive and mistakenly turned on the windshield wipers and sprayer. Recounting the tale to him afterward, I said, "I didn't know where anything was!". Reese quipped, "But at least we had a clean windshield!".

We have a great time on our family trips. Do not get me wrong. But they are certainly not all laughs and precious memory making. I don't always showcase the other side and certainly don't choose to highlight our squabbles for memories sake, but I certainly don't want to appear like we are the picture perfect midwestern family. Far. From. It. Yep, even our eldest with the good energy. 

One afternoon, we were all in the ocean cooling off and relaxing in the waves, when it became apparent I wasn't speaking. It quickly turned into a game of "who made Mom mad?". The kicker was that each and every person thought it was them and all started confessing valid reasons it could be them. I believe the culprit that time was Tate. 

Traveling with young adult children is a quirky little paradox. I don't have to have eyes on them every second in the water. I can toss them in their own room with no worries. Yet I also found myself having to talk Tate off of scaling the 8th floor balcony between our rooms to cross over into ours, "I really think I could do it Mom." Always parenting. 

As I came around the corner the next day, David and the kids were peering down a few floors at the pool and I heard him say, "I mean I feel like I could (make the jump) but I also feel like I could be short...". Always. Parenting. 

After a few days of sun, sand, and saltwater, we were ready to hop another flight and continue our journey to Japan! Our first taste of their refreshing respectfulness was when our departure was delayed an hour and a half. They apologized profusely and credited us $100. David was awestruck, "I just can't believe it. Southwest would never have done that. They would have just kicked us off the flight then tried to fight us."

Customs was a breeze. We kept feeling like we must have missed a screening checkpoint somewhere because before we knew it, we had all our luggage and were headed to find the train to take us near our hotel. An hour and half train ride later is where things got hairy. We agreed never to talk of it again amongst ourselves but of course, I'll include it here. For some reason, whenever we arrive at our destination, we have to move at warp speed. Like we are neck and neck to win the Amazing Race. I'll never understand it. And, quite frankly, I'm not sure how many more vacations I will be able to endure it. 

Most of our suitcases were just under the allotted weight of 50lbs. And Tokyo may as well mean "city of unlimited stairs". We went sprinting through the train station, up and down flights of stairs hither and yon. I was making it. At one point however, I must not have been making it quick enough. Because David sprinted back up the stairs they'd just descended, grabbed my bag, and dashed back down with it. As we neared the exit of the station, we found a tiny elevator that went down to the level we needed. The kids all shoved in with their bags and David yelled, "Go! Go! Go!", to me to shove myself in with my suitcase while he ran down the stairs next to it. 

I believe that was the shutting down point for me. Nobody else was waiting for this elevator. The worst case possible scenario would have been that I would have just gotten on the next one to go down one level. 

Finally emerging onto street level, it hit me. Just how many people Tokyo has. And for some reason they had all gathered in the few blocks' radius between us and our hotel. I must have missed the day in Geography when it was taught that Tokyo was the most populated city in the world. Good thing. Because I may have opted out altogether. For Giz's sake of course. 

And we were off. Again. Jogging through the unfamiliar streets and sidewalks as Drue led us onward. Their sidewalks have an amazing braille system I didn't realize until after our initial 5K through their city. So I kept rolling my suitcase over the raised tracks and getting stuck as I watched my family getting farther and farther away. Thankfully, a red light slowed them down just enough for me to catch back up. None of us were speaking to each other. A nighttime street performer was blaring loud base accompanied by unfamiliar lyrics. And I thought, "Where. On. Earth. have they brought me?". 

I get the best sleep on vacations. Not because I am chill and relaxed. But because I'm worn out and walked out until I finally pass out on the bed each night. The next day we began again. Bright and early of course because of our newly warped internal clock. 

David and Tate walked around a bit and went to the popular 7-11 around the corner early the next morning while we were still getting ready. "The sweetest old ladies kept fawning over Tate, asking how old he was, if he went to University, it was cute," David said when they returned. Turns out, they were ladies of the night. Well, not them, specifically, but they were the ones who would seek out eligible young men for other younger ladies of the night. "Yeah, Mom," Tate went on to explain to me, "You can like rent a boyfriend or girlfriend here." Oh my. 

Our time there was fast paced, 20K+ steps a day, taking in the sights and appreciating our experience getting a very small taste of their culture firsthand. So respectful. So organized. So clean. There are very few public trashcans, yet not one piece of litter on the ground. Even amongst a bazillion people, I never got bumped into once. They don't try to cut in front of you. Systematic lines are formed and adhered to. Everyone stands to one side of the escalator. People aren't yapping loudly on their cell phones. Small bows or nods of thanks when you hold the door or let someone go first. Which we didn't often get the chance to do because they were doing it for us. 

Drue navigated their public transportation system like she'd lived there her entire life. Somehow, though, we never exited the same place twice when we got to the stop nearest our hotel. We were always popping up somewhere new. We only got super turned around and couldn't get out once. And I thought, "Welp, this is our home now." The girls and I also got lost once in a multi level store. We could recognize the exit signs, but for some reason couldn't quite make it back to the floor we had entered on. Once again, I decided, "I guess we live in this establishment now." 

We took a bullet train to Kyoto one day. Key word being "one". Upon researching various itineraries for Kyoto, most people spend multiple nights and days exploring the beautiful city. Not the Hollaways. We sprinted from shrine to temple to gardens to street vendors, then collapsed on the bullet train back to Tokyo with a bagful of, you guessed it, 7-11 snacks to replenish our energy. 

How was the food there? Wonderful. At least my family says so. I get overwhelmed in new and unfamiliar circumstances and ended up panic ordering dumplings as my go to. They were delicious though. And I did try bites of everyone else's picks. 

We had to experience Shibuya one day. As in Shibuya Crossing. As in an intersection that up to ONE MILLION people cross in ONE DAY. I'm sorry. Whaaaatttt?! 

Reese found a micro pig cafe for us girls to visit and it was the cutest. They just crawl up in your lap and snuggle. I must own some one day. The worker kept coming over and asking if he could take one from me to let others have a chance, saying, "You are so popular with the piggies. I don't know why." 

For all you Iron Chef fans, our family's most favorite meal of all time was at Morimoto's restaurant in Hawaii a few years back. So we decided to also splurge on his restaurant in Japan. No, I did not have dumplings. David made the reservation on our 27th wedding anniversary. I'm not quite sure how's he going to top that one in years to come. Multiple amazing courses cooked right in front of us. At the end of the meal, our server asked if we needed a taxi back to our hotel. Having arrived in two separate ones, we graciously accepted her offer to find us one to take us back. Our "taxi" surprisingly ended up being a white limousine courtesy of their restaurant! Drue hopped right in while Reese looked around to see who in the world this fancy ride was for. 

Our last full day in Japan, David decided he should probably take some pictures of his own. Why he hadn't been taking some all along like the rest of us, we're not quite sure. He isn't very good at it, for one thing. Exhibit A: This lovely gem of a random duo who just happened to look like they were posing just for him.

Unfortunately, we never got the chance to make it back to this little business we spied on our train ride in for a photo op. Probably just as well. 

As our time there drew to an end, we realized we somehow had to make it back to the express train that would take us to the airport. I had tried to block out that first night getting to our hotel, having neither emotionally nor physically recovered. David suggested we do a dry run. It somehow fell to me to get us there. But after a little online research and mapping it "without stairs" I figured it out. Off he and I went to see if it could be done. And it could. The real test would be could we do it with all five of us, with bags, and be on speaking terms when we got there. 

So off we set the next day, with all our luggage plus one we had to buy for souvenirs, ready to traverse the streets of Tokyo for the last time. It bid us farewell with a rain shower flattening our hair and dripping into our eyes as we sloshed through the city to the station. But I was determined. I'd trained for this. And after all of our planning and practicing, we made it with plenty of time to spare before the initial train we'd planned to catch boarded. In its place, however, was an earlier train getting ready to depart. In true Hollaway fashion, we decided to take it instead as David rushed to enter our info into the kiosk and barked, "You guys get on and start getting the luggage situated!" as he waited for his card to go through and ticket confirmation. So off we ran, yet again, me grabbing all the luggage near me as we raced toward the first car where our seats were going to be, threw ourselves on board, and started securing the larger bags in the back of the car. 

Even though we moved through each city at a brisk pace, we were still able to enjoy and take in the beauty of their country, their architecture, the religious meaning behind their holy places, and the history of their civilization. 

We stopped in Hawaii for one night also on our way home. We envisioned lying on the beach sipping a fruit smoothie, recovering from our adventures overseas. But instead, landed blurry eyed from our red eye, stored our luggage at the hotel until our room was ready, and passed out on the sand at 9am, desperate for some shut eye. When our rooms were finally ready, we showered and passed out again, waking up for an hour or so to eat before falling back asleep. 

Our flight wasn't until 8pm the next day so we just randomly drove around the island looking at the sites. I kept falling asleep in the van and they just propped me up for pictures at various gorgeous island lookouts. 

We finally returned to Olathe and Giz was beside herself. I was gifted with some upper respiratory nonsense the kids were convinced was a new mutation of covid that would shut down the entire planet again. It is not. I tested just to shush them up. But I fear this cough that comes from the depths of my toes may last until the micro pigs come home. 

So how'd we pick Japan for our Summer '25 vacation destination? Oh, I still don't know. But I'm so glad we did. What an absolutely amazing adventure I 100% recommend! Might I suggest the dumplings if you go...