The vacation all other vacations are compared to. And while I already had a fascination with Tokyo by this point, this trip was the trip that sealed it for me. A friend had casually mentioned that she was vacationing in Japan with her wife, and I sort of said I wanted to go with. She goes “sure thing“. Another friend then also wanted to board the fun train, and we respond “the more the merrier.” I let my college friend teaching English in Japan know about the trip, and she wanted to join in too. Throw in a few additional friends that were either also in Japan or were going to be there, and that’s more or less how this vacation came together.
Prior to this, I had only been to Japan for school or work, so it was pretty exciting to go back with a group of friends on a proper vacation. Our roving band of half tourists, half locals was at times up to eight people, eating and drinking around Tokyo. We also took day-trips to an onsen and neighboring Yokohama as well. It’s still one of the best vacations I’d ever taken.
- Highlights: Capricciosa, Kyushu Jangara Ramen, Mermaid Cafe, Cha Cha Hana, and the Amagi-so Ryokan.