Kyoto Imperial Palace

 The day we flew back to Okinawa, we snuck in one last tourist site. We rode the bus over to the Kyoto Imperial Palace. It is the former ruling palace of the emperor of Japan. The emperors moved to the Tokyo Imperial Palace in 1869, and the preservation of the Kyoto Imperial Palace was ordered in 1877. Now, it's open to the public for tours. 

 Afterwards, we hopped on a train to Osaka to catch our plane back to Oki. The boys ate nasty hot dogs, while Taylor and I snuck in a quick nap. I have to say, for all the traveling we did, the boys did extremely well. Even Taylor. It's a little nerve racking taking three small kids through a foreign country where you don't speak the language and can't read any of the signs. We flew on airplanes, rode buses, trains and took taxis with drivers who only speak Japanese. It can get a little stressful at times, but we held up pretty well. It was an adventure for sure, and one that I will never forget. I guess the whole 2 years in Japan was an adventure, but this was the most traveling we had done with the kids since being there. 

I hope they remember their time in Japan!

Arashiama District in Kyoto

The day before we left Kyoto, we walked through the Arashiama District. It was extremely beautiful. The trees, the water, the mountains. All of it had us ooo-ing and awe-ing every thirty seconds.

We made our way over to Iwatayama Monkey Park. We had to take a little hike to make it to the park, but we all agreed that it was well worth it.

This sign cracks me up. I miss all the English translations fails!

Once we got a little higher up the mountain, the monkeys started coming out left and right. It was a little freaky at first.

And oh the view!!

My little world travelers.

After the monkeys, we played on the slide for a while and made our way to the Arashiama Bamboo Grove. It was getting dark, so the pictures are kind of poor quality, but you get the idea. Apparently this bamboo forest is one of the top tourist sites in Kyoto, and for good reason. It was amazing! I love the United States and the comfort of being home, but looking back on these pictures makes me miss the adventure.