Japan Travel: Reasons Why I Love Taking My Family to Trips


The Fam👨‍👩‍👧‍👧

This is an introduction to my Japan Travel Series. A series of posts documenting our visit in Japan December of last year. 

One obvious answer is because they're my family and I love them. The reasons I will list down are probably nothing out of the ordinary, special or extra filial. I'm just treating the people who are dear to me extra special. 

Here are my answers to the why:

Our first meal at Ichiran in Dotonbori

Okonomiyaki. Photo by Aisa essasays

Food. My family loves to eat. We take it seriously. Even my rice cooking skill have not yet passed their standards. So having them try an authentic cuisine from none other than the source – its origin is priceless. 


Foreign Lifestyle. Society, economy et cetera, I want to give that kind of experience to them. A glimpse to a life that we have gotten to know first through reading and the movies. The stark contrast of their way of life that is of high standards and that they consider basic, to that of our living standards back home.

Museum of Modern Housing and Living

Osaka Castle
History. To my parents who are older than me and to my sister who's smarter than me? Haks😄. No, I don't mean I'm taking them to trips to teach history. Countries like Japan have lots of historical landmarks that are well preserved, regularly maintained, museums that are very well curated – that can walk you through history. Like the lifestyle experience, we want to see for ourselves how these countries put utmost importance to their history, their appreciation to their ancestors, heroes, their past that they don't dare forget and thus, made them who they are today. 

Torii Gates in Kyoto
Le Grand Tour. The main goal of any kind of trip I think, be it solo or adventure with friends, is to take a break and have fun. Act like a local and discover hidden gems. Enjoy being a tourist, browse through different tour packages and do touristy things . Breakfast buffet😋. We did all these things with the first three reasons in mind (food, lifestyle, history). A well-deserved reward for all of our hard work. A gift, worth every cent, for my family. 
Universal Studios, Japan

"Kore wa ninja"
Lastly, Teamwork. We make a good team. Dynamics, planning, navigation, decision -making, name it. I plan the itinerary, work around the budget, physical limitations and other considerations. My sister researches more and reviews the plan. We all decide on the airline and accommodation. My mother is the human GPS, such an important vital role that my sister and I learned the exhausting way when we traveled by ourselves to Korea😅 (read our Guide to getting lost in Korea to find out more). My father, the comic relief and the accomplice to anything my mother will not cooperate😅 such as selfies, extra food, walking idly, making fun of her, etc.


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