We left Canada on June 28th and traveled to Yokohama, Japan, where we stayed in a home for over 3 weeks (a home exchange).  During that time, we visited Tokyo several times and many sights around Yokohama, including one of the biggest China town in Asia.  A train ride from Yamate train station was about 45 minutes to downtown Tokyo. 
On July 12th, we went to Fujinomya and climbed Mt Fuji (3778m). 
We started at the 5th station at around 10am and walked for 6 hours to reach (and sleep) at the summit. 

The weather was fantastic on both days, but slightly cold (5 degrees) in the morning.  This was a nice change from the 35 degrees at the bottom of the mountain.

After Fuji, we traveled to the Izu peninsula, and swam in the ocean.  During that trip, visiting big Buddhas around Japan was a highlight and the Big Buddha of Usami (Kannonji Temple) was fantastic!

On July 23rd, we left Yokohama and traveled to Kyoto for 4 days, followed by Osaka. Kyoto was very touristy, but nevertheless impressive. We visited Nara, the former capital of Japan, where many wild deers were roaming around the city. On our last day in Osaka, we visited Universal Studios Japan for Alixe`s birthday.

Left Japan on August 1st for Taiwan. Continue reading here!