In our 2020 version of the trip, we weren’t planning on going to Japan. However, post COVID there were no direct flights available to us from Hawaii to Taiwan, and most connected through Japan with long layovers. So rather than spend 12 hours in an airport, we decided to extend our day for a few days to actually see Japan. This was fine in my books as Japan was one of my secondary places I wanted to go. It was short and sweet and while in Tokyo we got to stay with one of Julia’s co-workers who is posted there.
It was fun to connect with co-workers, especially when one was a surprise! He was recently posted there and Julia didn’t know. A bit of a shocked look on her face when he came over for a visit 
On our arrival day, Julia’s co-worker took us to Naritasan Park on our way from the airport to Tokyo. It was our first visit to a Japanese garden in Japan and it didn’t disappoint, even though it was winter there. I could imagine how stunning it would be when everything was flowering.
Unfortunately our one full day in Tokyo was a pretty wet and cold day. We made the most of it, but did call it quits after lunch so didn’t do as much walking as we were originally hoping for.
The Shibuya “scramble” intersection; a lot less busy then usual, probably because of the weather.
Yoyogi Park with the Olympic village would have been wonderful if only it was sunny and the flowers were out.
Just outside the park was the Meiji Jingu temple. Again, glad we got to go, but probably a lot more enjoyable in better weather.
All the barrels on the right are barrels with straw and sake in. Each year the sake companies do an offering to the Meiji emperor and Shoken empress for whom the temple was built for.
Thankfully Julia’s co-worker told us about the large underground food courts that are part of the subway/train station at Shibuya. It was a warm and dry place to get lunch and there was such a large variety of food stalls to choose from we were able to sample a little bit from a few different stalls.
After warming up and drying out and doing some schoolwork in the afternoon, we went with Julia’s co-worker out to a small ramen noodle shop for dinner and to see the Tokyo lights.
The next day the weather thankfully started to clear and Julia’s co-worker drove us out of Tokyo to visit Mount Fuji.
Along the way we stopped at a service center which was a good example of what Japan is like. Things are highly automated and outside the restroom was a map showing the different stall types and a status light to show what was available. It also showed which stalls had squat toilets and which one had more Western toilets. Also, matcha is everywhere, even in and on the donuts!
There was also bottled drinks everywhere, both cold and hot. These could be found in vending machines on almost every corner, in service centers, and in 7-Elevens which are quite the stores here. The girls found warm hot chocolate in this particular 7-Eleven.
We stopped at a few viewpoints around Mount Fuji. It is a very majestic looking mountain/volcano, as it sits by itself.
The sun and the views got better with each stop.
The last stop was up a narrow dirt road to a view point at the top of a hill. We could look one way to Mount Fuji and the other way back to the lake we had just been at. The sun was starting to go down providing beautiful views of the surrounding countryside as well.
We are so glad it was a beautiful and clear day even though it was still pretty cold. We are also so thankful to Julia’s co-worker who made this all possible by hosting us and driving us around. Though it is possible to do Fuji from Tokyo with public transit, you can’t get to the more remote viewpoints without a vehicle.