With no fly rods, no adventure gear, and no expectations, I stepped off the plane in Tokyo with an overwhelming desire to shake the jet lag and acquire, in rapid fashion, the two simplest things a 10 day trip to Japan could offer – authentic ramen noodles and fresh sushi!
Japan has been on my travel list for the better part of a decade. It turns out that all it would take to get me there was a group of good friends, a spontaneous decision to buy tickets, and self-control to step away from work and enjoy the moment in front of me (easier said than done).
Making this trip even more spontaneous was that my wife of 13 years, Rebecca, was able to convince our family to keep tabs on our two young sons so she could tag along to Japan as well. Traveling together on a 10-day trip without the kids would prove to be a little slice of much needed heaven. Along with us, there were a few travel products we don’t leave home without, the Classic and Montana frames from Winston Sunglasses.
The trip would consist of about 70% of our time spent in Tokyo, it’s neighboring cities and 30% of our time taking a bus out towards Mount Fuji… holy smokes! Mount Fuji is radical – more about that in a minute.
To start the trip, my wife and I quickly found ourselves hopping through the subway system in the bowels of Tokyo and strolling through the heart of Shinjuku. Blending in wasn’t an option for us.
If you are unaware, Tokyo is a world-class city. The Japanese people were as welcoming as we could have imagined. While surrounded by buildings and millions of people, there was a vibe of comfort and peace everywhere we went. The cleanliness and orderliness of the city, its people, and its architecture made for the best metropolitan experience of my life.
As soon as we felt like we were getting too much concrete and high-rises, we hopped on a bus and made for the country town of Fujikawaguchiko at the base of Mount Fuji. Vibes of Japanese whisky, onsens (a Japanese bath house of sort), and the most majestic views of snow-capped mount Fuji, were overwhelming.
Toward the end of the trip, we dashed through merchant centers, toured local shrines, and dove into rare food items like we had been traveling to Japan our entire lives. Then, just like that, the trip was over.
Twenty-two hours of travel back across the world and a massive case of jet lag had my wife and I stumbling into DFW Airport like the walking dead. Thankfully, we brought back a few souvenirs for the kids, a boat load of memories, and enough photos for a 200 page coffee book.
Jesse's Sunglasses Picks to Explore Japan:
The Classic
Rebecca's Sunglasses Picks to Explore Japan:
The Montana
