NOTE: This part of a series. Please visit the other parts to see all of the fun things we did in Myanmar and Japan Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

For the second leg of our trip, we visited Japan! This was not purely for fun even though Japan is one of the most fun places on Earth!

Some of the goals to visit Japan were:

To see what a society that started out with similar conditions & heritage to present day Myanmar can do in the span of about 50 years. The answer: a lot!
Visit amazing modern and ancient sites in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto!
Shopping!! We stayed right in the Kawaramachi district of Kyoto - the main shopping district in Kyoto! This area is filled with lots of shops department stores, and zillions of places to eat!

Nishiki Market, Kawaramachi Area, and Gion

We spent a day walking around the Nishiki Market area which has every kind of Japanese treat, ancient and modern! We also visited several small shrines, watched a sushi chef prepare a whole tuna fish, and were even lucky enough to get a photo with real Geiko - truly a rare treat!

Nara Deer Park, Osaka Castle, and Dotombori

Nara Deer Park was so fun! The deer were VERY friendly and wanted so many treats! We also visited Osaka Castle and climbed all the way to the top visiting various exhibits along the way! In the evening, we visited the famous Dotombori area of Osaka! It had so many crazy signs and delicious foods! We couldn’t eat them all!

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Tenryu-ji, and Fushimi Inari-Taisha

We visited the awe-inspiring Arashiyama bamboo grove early in the morning before most people arrived! We also had time to visit Okochi-Sanso Villa to check out the pristine gardens and have some real Japanese matcha tea.

In the evening, we visited Fushimi Inari-Taisha - famous for it’s countless red gates donated over the 1300 year history of the temple! What’s nice about visiting at night is that it’s much cooler and no one’s around! Woohoo!

The Hongyun Art Foundation's Global Education Initiative (formerly Myanmar Teacher Education Program) seeks to demonstrate to teachers and students in Myanmar first hand, the value of student-lead, project-based, STEAM learning. Senior students from Hongyun Art School apply to be selected for each yearly team. They develop and prepare their own projects to teach to students in various schools around the world hoping to demonstrate to educators and school administrators the value of a modern education system.

To learn more about the program, please visit Hongyunart.com/gei

Transit to Tokyo, Akihabara, Bullet Train to Kyoto

We flew in to Tokyo and spent the day exploring the Akihabara area filled with Japanese pop culture products! We also played fun games and tried our luck at gashapons!

In the evening we took the Shinkansen to Kyoto - a super smooth and fast train! We arrived in Kyoto just in time to catch a beautiful pink and purple sunset!