Japan with your partner, once in a lifetime, book it.

Fushimi Inari early morning was magical but by the time we reached the upper trails it had turned into a proper crowd, worth going even earlier than the package timing suggested.

Four Japanese cities in eleven nights and this was easily the most memorable trip my husband and I have taken together, the floating torii gate at Itsukushima with the tide coming in right on schedule felt almost staged it was so perfect, and walking through the endless red gates at Fushimi Inari at our own pace with barely anyone around early morning is something we still talk about.

Golden Pavilion is stunning but we were herded through quite fast by the crowd control, would have liked five more minutes to just stand and look.

First time in Japan for both of us and the pacing across Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo let us actually absorb each city instead of rushing, the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima was heavy in the best way and completely changed the mood before the fun chaos of Osaka the next day.

Mount Fuji from the 5th Station was almost entirely swallowed in cloud when we went, maybe two minutes of a clear view before it fogged over again. After building it up as the trip's crown, that stung, though the other three cities more than delivered.