The money I Spent

I've spent a lot of money on this trip. The flight there was 1,500 dollars. One the first day i spent 1,500 dollars just for the plane ticket, and that was it. On the second day I spent 9,126 yen, or 119.93 dollars. The third day i spent 10,472 yen or 137.61 dollars. The fourth day i spent 27,626 yen or 363.02 dollars. The fifth day i spent 10,000 yen or 131.40 dollars. The sixth day I spent 7,843 or 103.06 dollars. The last day i spent 4,100 yen but not including the plane ticket home. The money i spent on the last day was 2,065.87 dollars. All together i spent about $3,408.86 including food costs, bus rides, car rentals, and plane tickets.

Map Of the Areas I visited

1. My first stop was in the Fukuoka Area
2.  My second main visiting place was the capital, Tokyo
3. My third stop was in the Sapporo area
4. My last stop was back to Fukuoka to see my family and then fly out the way I came in

7th and final day

Still on the island of Hokkaido, I left from Shizunai to Sapporo. My first stop was the Moerenuma Park to look at the sculptures throughout the park. For the day i rented a car for 3200 yen, and i left from Sapporo to Otaru. It was only a twenty-five minute drive, but since I wasn't used to the place it took about forty minutes. There in Otaru I went to see the canals, and traditional glass blowers. I got some souvenirs of the pretty hand sculpted glass, and then took off to Lake Shikotsu. I rode a swan boat out into the lake, and i saw some marimo. This is a small sphere of moss that grow at the bottom of certain lakes, and their only located in a few places across the globe. I also tried some Jingisu Kan, a traditional meal which is just lamb and some vegetables. It was finally time to go home after a wonderful trip to Japan. I took a flight back to Fukuoka from Chitose, Sapporo so i could see my family one last time before i left completely. Then it was finally time for me to leave the country, and i took the same planes i took to get here.

6th day

I woke up bright and early on my sixth day, because that time i was going to a completely different part of Japan. First i ate the complimentary breakfast back at the Kichijoji Tokyu Inn, which was around 1200 yen. On that day I went to the island of Hokkaido to celebrate Golden Week, and visit Shizunai. This small town holds Nijukken Road which is lined with 2,000 Hokkaido Mountain Cherry trees. The street was so beautiful to see with all the trees blooming. This day was a whole day of recreational adventures. I went fishing and hiking through the mountains. It was a great day to get outside, and enjoy the weather. After visiting the street, fishing, and hiking I decided to pay 550 yen to get into the Shizunai Ainu Museum. This museum contains the culture of the Ainu people who used to live there. Now in a new part of Japan, I stayed my last night in the local Shizunai City Hotel for the price of 6093 yen.

5th Day

It was my fifth day, and it was filled with viewing some of Japan's greatest rare flowers and trees and the second oldest temple in Japan. The places I went to were Jindai Botanical Garden, Jindaji Temple, and The Fuda Tenjinsha shrine. The first place was the garden which only cost me 500 yen to get in. This place is filled with Japan's most endangered plant life and others too. Below the garden was the Jindaji Temple, the second oldest one in Japan. This also cost me 500 yen to get in. My last stop for the day before i headed back to the nearest hotel was to visit The Fuda Tenjinsha Shrine. This shrine was so beautiful to see. I ate my dinner back at the restaurant in the hotel. Finally after a long day of visiting beautiful scenery i crashed for the night at The Kichijoji Tokyu Inn. This cost 9,000 yen for the night.

4th Day

It was my fourth day and this time i went to the capital, Tokyo. I went to the Fukuoka Airport to take a plane, because it was the quickest and easiest way there. This plane ride for a one way ticket cost 18,000 yen. When i got to Tokyo I wanted to go to the Dome City, Imperial Palace, and Edo Castle. The Dome City contains various things from a baseball park to boutiques and stores all the way to an amusement park. When I was there i rode the Thunder Dolphin, the roller coaster in the Dome City. I also ate my lunch there, but it was hard to choose what restaurant since there was more than ten of them. For once I actually had some American food, and it started to make me miss home. My next stop was the Imperial Palace which cost me 2,000 yen. Man was i excited to visit the palace owned to the oldest hereditary monarch family in the world. The family lineage dates all the way back to the sixth century. I felt really honored to be on the grounds which they were. After being in royal grounds, I went to the Edo Castle. The Imperial Palace is actually located inside the Edo Castle grounds. After that interesting day of royalty, i crashed at the Imperial Palace Hotel for the price of 7,626 yen.

3rd Day

I woke up early in the Royal Hotel, ready to start my third day. I planned to go to the garden of peace, The Former Hosokawa Residence, and the Kumamoto Castle. The first stop was to visit the garden of peace, and The Former Hosokawa Residence. Within the garden of peace is a huge statue of Jibo Kannon, which you can see all throughout the garden. I found this statue very intriguing and Jibo actually means lady of peace. I guess thats how the garden got it's name. The second place was The former Hosokawa Residence. Together these two places cost me 640 yen to get in. The former Hosokawa Residence belonged to a branch family of the Hosokawa clan. This was a samurai mansion back from the Edo period. My last stop for the day was to visit the Kumamoto Castle. It's been around for over 400 years, and still has some structures from when it was first built. Many of the workers were dressed up in costumes back from the time period in which the castle was built. My most famous costume was the ninja up on the ledge. While i was in the area I went to the Kamado Dining house to eat my dinner. Later that night i stayed in the Kumamoto Castle Hotel which cost me 9,832 yen. That was my third day in Japan.

2nd Day

It's was my second day there, and I was ready to start my adventure of my 7 day 6 night trip. It was in late April going into early May because of all the festivals and warm weather that took place. Today I was going to the Hamatama Beach in Saga, the Keiyaki-dori Akasaka, and the Sofukuji Temple. My first stop was to visit the 1.5 mile street named Keiyaki-dori Akasaka. I started my walk from Ohori Park. This street is aligned with beautiful Zelkova trees, and they all bloom at the end of April going into May. Along this street are different restaurants, boutiques, and shopping stores. After that i wanted to go to the Sofukuji Temple. I had to take the Fukuoka City Subway from Ohori Park which cost me 600 yen. This temple is the oldest one in Japan, and it's the one that looks more Chinese than any other. After all that i just wanted to relax by the beach, so i took the subway back to the Hamatama Beach. There i sat along the shore while i watched the sun set and i had some wonderful sushi. I went to a kaiten-zushi restaurant to get my various sushi from the circling table. I got 3 different plates which cost about 900 yen. For the night i crashed at the Royal Hotel. The price for one night was 7,626 yen. The second day was pretty fun, but tiring. I couldn't wait for a good nights rest.