As last semester came to a close, I along with my parents, oldest sister and two older nieces got ready to embark on what may have been the most exciting trip we would have taken in a long time. For years my parents and I have talked about going to Japan – it was the one place we all were dying to go but we had been unable to go visit until after I started college. Japan has the best weather in May and this year we decided we were going to fulfill our longtime dream and go! To say we had a great time would be a major understatement. We spent our two week adventure touring Tokyo, Hakone, Mt. Fuji and Kyoto. By the end of the first week we were ready to explore on our own, without a guide but in a country where no one, and I mean, no one, speaks your language, it’s a small challenge. We are already thinking of how we can manage fully on our own on our next trip, with the help of our friend Google Translate, of course. The number of adventures we had are endless, from losing our cell phones on the bullet train (and getting them back!!) to eating in a classic style 9 course dinner served with geishas accompanied with traditional Japanese music– the stories will go on for months and months. The pictures I got on this trip were endless so I had to choose my very favorites but there are hundreds more where these came from if you ever want to see them! They are really beautiful!