Katherine & Josh at Mt. Fuji

 

Katherine, Josh, and the kids made it safely home without any problems! Ezra actually slept 8 hours of the 13-hour flight. They were all ready to get home. It took four days to adjust back to our time zone.

Before they came home, they rode a train to the Mt. Fuji area of Japan. They were so pleased that the sky was clear each of the three days. That hardly ever happens. 

They stayed in a traditional Japanese Inn called a ryokan. The floor is made of tatami mats, so they could not wear shoes in the room. The first photo shows the setup of the room during the day. While you are at dinner, they come and lay out a futon mattress for everyone to sleep on the floor.

Marina looks like she's enjoying her food.

Elaborate breakfasts and dinners were included with their stay.

Just the cutest!!

Their ryokan included an onsen (a hot springs bath). They rented one of the private ones for an hour. They are dressed in yakata (traditional robes you wear to & from the onsen).

On their first day, they hiked up to Chureito Pagoda, which is a very famous spot to view Fuji. 

Later, they went to Oishi Park to see Mt Fuji across the lake at sunset. (The first photo on this post is also from this spot).

On day 2, they rode a cable car up to a different viewpoint. The autumn leaves were beautiful!

The last few days of their trip were spent back in Tokyo. They went to Team Lab Borderless, which is an interactive digital art museum that is very popular in Japan.

They met up with a friend of a friend (Naneko and her daughter Sana) at a park so the kids could play. Marina made a new friend.

Finally, a photo of their situation on the plane ride home, trying to fit four people in three seats on a 13-hour overnight flight. What an amazing trip!!!