our last stop in japan before heading back to tokyo to catch our flight was hakone.  the best part was the open air museum, which was like storm king but in japan.  and therefore cooler (and certainly cleaner).

i still dream about those strawberry mochis at night.

i have previously mentioned how much i love going to drugstores in other countries.  i didn’t do much research on the best things to buy in a japanese  drugstore ahead of time because it wasn’t a top priority in terms of trip planning,  however, on our last morning, i decided to pop into a store near our hotel.  this is what i came home with.

the d.up liquid liner is literally the best i have ever used.  there is no dragging, and the line is super thin and dark.  i also got some false eyelashes from the same brand to play with, because i heard that japanese falsies are much higher quality than what you can find in america.  the transino skincare has been pretty good so far at lightening my dark spots.

kyoto was so, so, so amazing.  the food, the people, all the sights…i totally get why people just go on and on about it.  because the rugby world cup was happening, there were many more foreign tourists than i expected.  but it didn’t detract from the charm much.  and i would still go back in a second.

since all we did in karuizawa was sit and eat, here are some pictures of where we sat and what we ate.  this was actually some of the best indian food i have ever had.

after tokyo, we headed to calm, quiet wilderness of karuizawa.  we had saved up a ton of credit card points so we were able to splurge and stay at the hoshinoya.  it was one of the most spectacular resorts i have been to. the service, the food, the grounds, and the rooms – everything was incredibly special.  i wish we were there longer than 2 nights.

we just returned from an epic trip to japan, so the next umpteen posts will be dedicated to what we saw and ate.  there are few places that have had such a profound impact on me.  literally every day we have been back, i keep thinking of small details we experienced and how quickly i can go back.  it is truly a spectacular place.