we rented an rv to continue our exploring of honshu island beyond tokyo! my brother and his family had done this in japan earlier this year and we thought it sounded so fun. motor homes are a rarity in japan and it was quite an adventure to live in our vehicle together for ten days (this time – we got another rv on hokkaido island at the end of our trip!). i hope rv-ing around japan will be a memory our kids will always remember!!

our first stop outsdie tokyo was the town of kamakura. i actually lived near here for a summer with my family when i was three! some of my very first memories are around this huge buddah statue that is in kamakura. it was kinda cool to be back – wild that i was evie’s age last time i was there! we ate some really yummy ramen in kamakura after exploring around the big buddah.

then we drove down into the izu peninsula and found a beach with a playground and played! it was a beautiful evening.

then we found a michi-no-eki – a roadside station – where we could park and sleep and then moses and i went grocery shopping at don quijote – which is like walmart in japan (isn’t is so funny that it’s called that?). that was quite the cultural experience.

the next day we drove deeper into the izu peninsula, found another gorgeous beach, and then went to a hike to seven waterfalls. it was pretty spectacular with teal water and boardwalks built into the jungley landscape.

there were little stations along the way where you could get a stamp of each of the waterfalls. the kids had a lot of fun with that!

after, we were back in the rv and drove on the craziest spiral bridge! on to more waterfalls – these ones closer to mt. fuji. i loved shiraito falls: such a cool sight with so many streams of water cascading down the black rock.

it started raining, then pouring and we got soaked running back to the rv! quite an adventure. we found a little rustic restaurant and ate some noodle soup that is local to this specific area of japan. then we went to lake kawaguchi to spend the night.

the gardens along the lakeshore were stunning! we explored a little before bedtime while mt. fuji was hiding under clouds.

the next morning we groggily came out of the rv and were elated to get a full clear view of this spectacular volcano!!

wow!!
we drove to chureito pagoda and climbed the many, many stairs to get to the famous view there. i had to include here some outtakes from our attempts to get a family photo at this spot. when i apologized for our circus to the random tourist who we had asked to snap a photo, he said, “oh, but remember the music is in the chaos.” i loved that! it was just the message i needed to refuel me on this wild adventure we were on as a family.

back to the rv … where we were starting to get used to taking our shoes off everytime we got in – quite an ordeal with four little ones, but the very strong japanese custom of no shoes indoors applies in motorhomes!

we played at a playground with an epic view, then explored more around the rose garden at lake kawaguchi – sensational!! (and crowded)

we got some incredible soft-serve ice cream before hitting the road (and the twins sacking out…) towards lake shoji. there we had a different view of fuji, but it was pretty cloudy in the afternoon.

on to our next adventures…!