My son was born on October 1, 2016.  It was one of the happiest days of my life.  In early 2019, when we found out my wife was pregnant again, the doctor expected our second baby to be born on October 3.  In the end, she came a little early, arriving on September 27, 2019.  We’re about to celebrate her first birthday, and since her brother’s birthday is just a few days later, we’ve decided to go on a short weekend trip to celebrate their birthdays together.  Due to coronavirus, we obviously want to avoid any crowded places or popular tourist destinations.  So what better way to get a light vacation in while also socially distancing than a weekend at an onsen hotel?

Our plan is to head down to Toba and Ise, where we will stay at a ‘ryokan’ with a bath on the balcony.  There is a lot to do in the area that doesn’t involve interacting with other people, and staying at a ryokan is one of my favorite things to do in Japan!  We’ve ordered cakes and balloons in advance, so hopefully it will be a nice, relaxing weekend spent celebrating the births of my two favorite kids in the world.