We're Back in Japan! The Start of Our 2018 Vacation

With Kai doing well on our last two trips to Japan, we decided to go back again to visit my wife's parents and enjoy this amazing country. We took a nonstop flight out of Chicago on Saturday morning.

It was a 13-hour flight but Kai never has problems during the long flight. He loves watching movies during the entire time and never seems to look tired.

Japan is extremely hot and humid in the summer but this year the heat is even more extreme than usual. When we landed at Narita Airport, the temp was 93 but the "feels like" temp was 112. And the forecast for the next few days call for even more extreme heat.

We caught an express bus at the airport to Wakeshi, just northwest of Tokyo, where my in-laws live.

It was hot waiting for the bus but once on the bus we could relax in air conditioned comfort.

Kai's grandparents were really glad to see Kai.

For dinner, we walked to a kaitenzushi restaurant where plates of sushi go by on conveyor belts and you take what you want to eat. You can also order off the menu.

Kai remembered that we had gone to a similar type of restaurant before, and had a great time.

His favorite sushi are octopus and squid. This time he also had several pieces made with thinly sliced pork spiced with ginger.

At these restaurants, you pay by the plate with each color plate priced differently. You can see how many plates we ate.

And so we're off to good start. Tomorrow we will battle the heat and start to make our way around Tokyo. Wish us luck!