It’s our last full day in Japan! We decided to take part in a day tour to Nikko, which we heard was a very beautiful part of Japan. I got these ‘Crunky’ chocolate cookie things the night before in Akihabara. I was amused by the name of the candy and figured I try it out.. I also got it just so I could say I got crunky in Japan hahaha The biscuits were pretty tasty.

We had a short rest stop on the way to Nikko and I caught a fish there!

Hahah just kidding, this is a Japanese pastry called Taiyaki which has red bean paste filling inside. Very yummy

I also bought some other Japanese snacks to try during the day.

Wow I didn’t mean to have consecutive food pictures, but here is the lunch that was included with the tour. There was soup, tempura, salad, rice and some other things I can’t quite remember..

The Toshogu Shrine

The sculpture on the right is called The Imaginary Elephant, because the sculptor/painter who made it has never seen a real elephant before. The sculpture is how he imagined an elephant to look like, a horse like tail, clawed feet, funnel shaped ears and fur!

Here’s myself, Claire, and Cassandra copying the pose of the famous Three Wise Monkeys carving. Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil!

Shinkyo, aka the horse stable is where the monkey carvings are found.

I love how the leaves are growing on top of the lantern. Looks neat

Yōmeimon gate.

All of the buildings had such beautiful detail.

One of two statues guarding the Omotemon Gate.

I saw a few of these around the shrine.. some rocks that seem to form a turtle, kinda cute!

Leaving the shrine and going to see a few other highlights of Nikko.

Taken from the bus window.

We stopped at Lake Chuzenji for a little bit.

I want to ride the swan boat!!

Photo taken from bus window, driving away from the lake and going to see the waterfall next!

Our last stop of the tour was the Kegon Waterfall.

Some cats in rocking chairs we saw at one of the souvenir shops! They start rocking and meowing when you clap. aaahahaha cass’s laugh in the background

Once we got back to our hotel, we went and explored the Shinjuku area in search of something to eat for dinner.

The front desk of our hotel was extremely helpful and gave us a map of places to eat in the area, we were in the mood for some sushi!

We also went up to the observatory at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building to check out the view of the city. It’s free to go up and is also one of the best views of the city!

The next morning we went up the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building again, this time at the South Observatory and to see the view in the daytime!

We had some time to spare until we had to catch our flight home at 6pm so we decided to venture to Harajuku once more. Our main mission was to find the BAPE store to pick up something for our friend. It was so hard to find, we got lost and were given the wrong directions twice!

The inside of the Bathing Ape store..

The Louis Vuitton storefront along Omotesando in Harajuku. So nice!

It was such an amazing trip, not quite long enough though! I’m dying to go back already! Hopefully I’ll learn some Japanese before going again so I’ll have an easier time communicating with the people! I’d also like to see more of Japan like Kyoto, Osaka and also see the Japanese cherry blossoms in bloom! Not sure when I’ll go back, but I’m certain I will! Japan is an awesome place and I love it ♥ :). Sayonara Japan!

I hope you all enjoyed reading about my Japan trip! Now it’s time to move on and post about different stuff! No more travel posts for a while, I’ve used up all my vacation days for this year haha. :(

That’s all folks! Come back soon.