We met Dan in southern Japan where he spent the previous few months studying at Kansai Gaidai University. We started in the traditional city of Kyoto, staying at an old style inn. We branched out from there to see Osaka and Hiroshima. We then saw central japan, staying at a modern hotel in Tokyo. We explored several of the districts, and also Mt. Fuji from there. We took a night train to northern Japan for the final leg of the trip. We stayed in Sapporo and explored the brewery, the coast, and the national parks of that region. It was a fine family adventure. Dan did an excellent job closing the language gap for us.