Kyoto

Kyoto is my favorite city in Japan! There are so many temples, palaces, and gardens to explore- it's just a beautiful place (plus, you can buy the best mochi here, more on that below:). While we were in Kyoto, we stayed at a traditional Japanese house called a Ryokan. The traditional house was full of sliding doors and tatami floors, and we slept on mats on the floor each night. It was a really cool cultural experience.

Our first day in Kyoto, we woke up early and took the train to see the Bamboo Forest. I loved it! It's so pretty and peaceful.

There is a little town nearby the bamboo forest, so we grabbed some ice cream there. During the walk to the town we spotted this Buddha holding quadruplet babies so obviously we had to take a picture :)

After lunch, we headed to see the famous Fushimi-Inari-Taisha Shrine. Here's my family at the front entrance.

Hiroshima & Himjei Castle

We took the bullet train from Fukuoka to Kyoto (which goes almost 200 mph!), but made two quick stops along the way. We first stopped in Hiroshima to see the A-bomb Dome. This building has been preserved because it was the only one left standing after the atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima in 1945. They made it into a memorial to serve as a peace symbol.