This will be a series of posts on our trip to Japan in 2023. This will be our first international trip “post” pandemic, and a rain check from a planned group trip in May of 2020 (bad timing right?).

With Japan finally opening up again late 2022, we decided the time was ripe to go again. Obviously going to Japan is so hot right now, so our initial looks at tickets left a bit of sticker shock. We were eager to see some significantly cheaper options leaving post sakura bloom, especially starting April 30th. Too cheap, one might say, but our desires overcame our caution and we snatched them up while we could.

Of course, the catch was we happened to be going during Japans’ Golden Week, a series of sequential holidays designed to let the Japanese population have a proper vacation at least once a year. Travelling within Japan during this time is a known hazard, at least known to people who read up before buying tickets! Fortunately, we heard that most people leave Tokyo this time, resulting in Tokyo becoming a relatively quiet place – sure some shops and restaurants may be open, but overall crowds are lower as long as you avoid big tourism spots. At least, that’s our hope, and we planned to stay in Tokyo for nearly a week to avoid further travel until after Golden Week ends.

After being in Tokyo, we desired a similar experience as Kanazawa on our last trip – a spot that is a bit more off the international path, but still known for its’ culture and natural beauty. Lu discovered Onomichi, a coastal port town between Kobe and Hiroshima. Known as a spot where many Japanese films have taken place, most notabl “Tokyo Story”, it offers tremendous views of an archipelago. These islands are connected by bridges, and notably offer an unrestricted bike path through the whole chain. While Lu and I aren’t really big bikers, it sounded too exciting to pass up.

For our third destination before returning to Tokyo, I discovered that right next to Onomichi is a city called Okayama, most known for its’ baked goods. Lo and behold, this is in fact where our new local Japanese bakery Salt and Butter had its’ origins. Okayama Kobo is a very successful franchise chain, with many locations in Japan, as well as in the States. They’ve been a much visited addition for us in San Diego, so I figured a short stay was necessary. Okayama is also home to one of the three great gardens, and yet another bike path of temples. (TODO look up actual name here)