Japanese Dreams: Our Belated Honeymoon ♨️

Part 1 – Luxury, Onsens, and Wild Deer in Nara

Feb 04, 2025

Hey! I am so grateful to have you back at my blog. Your subscription means the world to me. ❤️ In order to get to know you better, here is a question for you: “How would/did you celebrate your honeymoon?” 😊

Now jumping into today’s blog:

One year after my wife and I got married, we finally are able to fly to Japan, that has always been on top of our travel list. Since we both love anime, Japanese culture and the food, we have always dreamed to see it in person. Our belated honeymoon during the Tet holiday was the perfect time to set foot on the whole land of Sushi and fine Japanese animation.

Here a short teaser:

Arrival in Osaka

Since it was my first anniversary gift to my wife, I planned the first two nights in Japan. After a 5 hours flight, very limited space and comfort, I wanted to make sure that our first days in Japan would be fire!

So I booked an airport taxi that picked us up at the airport in Osaka. Somehow, I expected a person with a small board with our names on it, but as soon as we got out of immigration, there was no one standing at the exit to welcome us like k-pop idols.

A little bit disappointed, we bought our sim cards and went to the designated area where the taxi would wait. Since I booked the cheapest taxi, my eyes were looking for a small Toyota, similar to the taxis in HCMC. After waiting for 5 minutes desperately trying to find our taxi, I contacted the agency because our bodies were not used to the winter in Osaka and our bodies started to shake.

The agency replied that the taxi is already there, waiting for us.

My wife asked me for the plate number and realized that we were literally 10 meters away from it. In shock, I asked the driver if this was our taxi.

With an “OK”, he confirmed that this luxury transporter was indeed ours, that would take us to our first destination. The door automatically opened in a smoooooth way, and inside we had two premium seats that you could adjust. Having more leg room and more comfy chairs than the first class in the plane, I laid down and could not wait for the first city - NARA.

First Impressions of Nara

I woke up from my beauty sleep and when I looked out of the window, I was greeted by a massive park where people and deer would bow down in front of each other. It was true, Nara was full of wild deer, that occasionally block the streets and would bow to you in order to get snacks.

The driver dropped us of in front of a fancy entrance, that was not our hotel, but a premium restaurant. Since we had time before we could check in, we decided to have lunch there … and boy was it fancy!

After waiting for 30 minutes the staff took us to a private room, where we had a million dollar view - a magical Zen garden, bamboo forest and a beautiful small bridge over a pond.

But not only did the view was stunning, but our 25 Euro set lunch was also out of this world. I could not help but feel blessed to be alive and I enjoyed flavors that I never had before.

A Stay in Luxury – FUFU Nara

After a wonderful experience and a full tummy, we took our stuff and walked to the FUFU hotel, that was supposed on the opposite site of the restaurant.

Happily, we walked along the street where the air was fresh and crisp. Sunshine was kissing our skin, as if it tried to protect us from the cold.

As soon as we reached the entrance, we could see the fancy cars in the parking lot. The staff rushed out to take our luggage and welcomed us in the luxurious complex. Instead of taking us to the reception, they guided us to a kind of cozy living room, where we had our own booth. The hot tea and the relaxing music made us feel at peace. The receptionist would come to us, and confirmed the booking details.

After around 30 minutes of checking in and finishing our tea, we were guided to our room.

Since it was a surprise for my wife, she did not know anything about this place. But as soon as we arrived at our place, not only her but also I were completely in shock, how beautiful this place was.

As soon as we stepped in, we were welcomed by a relaxing smell of wooden oil. We left our shoes at the entrance and we walked through the hallway where the staff already had placed our luggage. The bathroom sink had a massive mirror and was right next to the shower and the bed room, which you could separate with a sliding door. There was also a cozy living space on tatami floors with a big ass couch and a TV. Since it was around 50 cm lower than the rest of the room, it felt like a separate area, which made it even more cozy.

But then there was the highlight. I walked out of our balcony just to see the private onsen steaming in this cold weather.

It was the first time, that the real accommodation was more beautiful than in the pictures! We decided that we would just relax here, until we would have our dinner that was also included with the stay.

A Magical Dining Experience

It was 8 PM and time to have dinner. As instructed by the staff, we walked through the garden in the back to get to the restaurant, where we had a table booked for our dinner. As soon as we arrived at the garden, we realized that the place, where we were supposed to have our dinner, was actually the fancy restaurant that we had our lunch and the marvelous Zen garden that we saw 6 hours ago, was right in front of us.

After walking through the bamboo forest we were greeted by the staff and guided to our private dining room. Since my wife and I have allergies and individual preferences, the chefs adjusted the 7 course menu and even finished with a desert plate where they wrote “Happy Honeymoon”.

They took a picture with us holding the plate and gifted it us in a frame. What a superb service!

A Perfect Morning in Yukata

The next morning, I got dressed in my Yukata that the hotel provided, walked down the garden like an Asian prince and was ready for the breakfast they served. The morning sun mad the whole view towards the garden magical again, that I decided to do a small photoshoot after breakfast.

People say that you should relax after your meal and I diddddd! After a semi professional photoshoot with a even less professional photo model (only referring to me because my wife always looks stunning) I had to jump into the private onsen that was soaked with herbal (onsen) bag. It was kind of a tea bag, only 100x bigger with herbs that could cure any illness.

The cold air outside and the ho bath was the perfect mix - similar to hot chocolate with marshmallows. Sometimes, I was so relaxed, that I almost fell asleep multiple times.

Exploring Nara and Letting Go

The next day, my wife and I head out on the quest to see the deer close up. Luckily, we had blue sky during our whole stay in Nara. That is why we ended up walking for hours in the Nara Park.

I would try to take some nice shots of the landscape and the beautiful architecture. The biggest tourist attraction there was Todai-ji Namdaimon (東大寺)- a buddhis temple. As soon as I stepped through the gate, I could feel the vibes of those old Chinese movies about the imperial kingdom.

Next to the buddha statue, there was a wall with wooden boards, where people would write their wishes on it. Naturally, I went straight to the cashier and changed my Yen against a piece of wood with nice paintings.

Similar to Christmas, I would sit down write my wishes in the most beautiful handwriting to make sure that my wishes definitely will come true. Proudly, I would hang it up the big wall, securing my luck and positivity for 2025. Of course, I had to finish the letter with #yeudoi.

Since the “holiday-feeling” has not yet settled inside of me, I would do all the things, that were necessary to change my habit from checking Slack and Asana to something more relaxing like watching One Piece, reading the book “Ganbatte” that my friend gave me a week ago or just jump into the onsen again.

Fireworks – The Final Touch

But the final “bomb” that got rid of all the worries and work mindset, was the evening before we went for dinner. Just before we got ready to find something to eat, I heard some tiny explosions. As soon as we opened the door and walked through the tiny bamboo forest, we could see the firework lighting up the sky.

For a few minutes we stood there and appreciated the beauty of science.

With each explosion, I worried less about my tasks.
With each colorful light, I forgot about the work.
With each sound, my tension vanished.

I took a deep breath of the cold air and smiled at my wife:

What a great start of our honey moon.

Thanks for reading to the end and I wish you an awesome day full of kindness and positivity. See you next Sunday morning for a new blog of #sonofavietkieu. 🥰

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Keep staying awesome! #yeudoi

Son of a Viet Kieu