Okay, so it’s officially our second day in Japan, and the pregnant lady is still exhausted. 😅 But honestly, the day couldn’t go to waste. We woke up early for breakfast and decided that instead of pushing ourselves all the way to Kyoto (which would’ve been a whole production with our schedule), we’d visit Nezu Shrine instead. Nezu Shrine is like a little Kyoto tucked inside Tokyo. Quiet, traditional, and surrounded by those iconic red torii gates. It’s one of the oldest shrines in the city, and it’s dedicated to Inari, the deity of prosperity and good harvest. Japan has shrines everywhere because Shintoism is deeply woven into everyday life. People visit to give thanks, pray for good fortune, or simply reconnect with nature. At…

This trip to Japan was so unexpected. Me, my husband, my mom, my uncle, and my auntie all ended up going together. There’s been a lot of drama with my mom lately, and I just wanted to take her somewhere new, somewhere she could breathe for a bit. I also haven’t seen my cousin in years, so I thought, why not visit her in Tokyo? Then I invited my uncle and auntie too, hoping we could all have a happy, peaceful vacation as a family. I only had three weeks of vacation left for the year. I already used one week in Jamaica back in May and another week in Manila, so this basically gives me one week in Japan and one week in Korea…