Kyoto

Our first trip we took since coming to Okinawa was to Kyoto, Japan back in November.  It's a quick flight, around two hours.  We planned our flight time around nap time and it was perfect!  Our busy girl slept almost the whole flight!  We knew we wanted to visit Kyoto in the fall to experience all the fall colors & temperatures that we just don't get in Okinawa.  The scenery (and weather) did not disappoint!

On our first day, we visited the Fushimi Inari Shrine, famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates.  It was packed full of tourists and locals alike: the tourists taking in the beauty of the gates and the scenery surrounding us.  The locals, dressed in traditional kimonos, headed to the top to pray.  We didn't make it all the way to the top (you know, toddlers...), but the time we did spend here was amazing!

That afternoon we checked out Kyoto Imperial Park.  We got there pretty late in the afternoon and parts of the park were closing (and it was getting dark), but we were able to explore the grounds and just run around.

On our second day, we took the train to Osaka (about an hour away) to check out the children's museum.  Although it was a lot of fun and there was a ton to do there, I think it was just a little too old for Nora - she wasn't able to fully appreciate everything there.  Maybe we'll go back when she's a little older.  She did stand in the front entrance forever just watching all the balls go through each mechanism:

Afterwards we hopped back on the train and headed for Iwatayama Monkey Park (aka Monkey Mountain).  Home to Japanese Macaque Monkeys, we knew our animal-loving girl would be in heaven.  I don't think I realized that it was an actual mountain that we had to hike to get to the top where the monkeys were.  Of course I was in inappropriate footwear (my trusty Chucks let me down) and Nora insisted that I was the one to wear her up the mountain.  But we made it and it was awesome!  Not just the monkeys, but the view from the top.  

Of course, a trip with a toddler wouldn't be complete without a total meltdown by said toddler.  She did not want to leave those monkeys.  I get it, they were awesome and I was sad to leave too.

But here's the deal: traveling with kids can be hard, and those meltdowns are enough to make you want to throw in the towel and never do this again.  But you can and you should!  Just like anything, the more you do it, the easier it becomes - and as she continues to get older, traveling with her will get better.  Of course there will be bumps along the way and new problems will arise, but we are all better for it.  I'm not going to let a few meltdowns stop us from seeing the world.  There were so many things on our must-see list while we were there that we didn't get a chance to see.  We will definitely go back (maybe every year we're here!) so we can take in as much as possible!