Michelle had such an amazing time in Kyoto, Japan, and will soon post a full episode on Kyoto. Segment one is a sneak peak into the bike tour they did with Kyoto Bike Tour, which she and her kids, ages 7 and 9, loved!!!  They explored on a bike down safe streets and saw rice fields, a bamboo forest, and monkeys! This is the only bike tour company she found that specifically had a family tour, catered to young children. 

Looking for a last minute getaway? Dawn Yanek talks about Myrtle Beach and why it's a great family destination! She is an author, actor, mom of two, and MomSanity.com and talks about the latest family travel trends, smart ways to save on last-minute vacations, and tips for finding the best values before school starts.

Are your kids looking to ace their school or professional auditions? Kurt Domoney, founder of Broadway Kids Auditions, is a professional Broadway actor, New York City based director, choreographer, actor, and coach and has choreographed a broad spectrum of projects from musical theatre to opera. He has been a member of actors equity for 25 years and now is helping coach the next generation of Broadway performers! Listen to his conversation with Michelle about tips for giving your kids the confidence and tools to excel both on and off the stage.

We are approaching flu season once again and Michelle talks with pharmacist and senior director of immunizations at Walgreens, Samantha Picking, about why getting vaccinated is so important.

Osaka - Swissotel Nankai Osaka; Arigato Travel and Culinary Food Tours; Food Activity Japan's Sushi Making Class

Michelle traveled to Japan with her two children, ages 7 and 9 and the last stop on their trip was the really fun city of Osaka. Besides the overstimulation of crane machines, pokémon stores, and amazing shopping for mom, there's a lot to explore, including the incredible food scene.  

We stayed at two wonderful properties while there - one was the really fun Pokémon themed room at Mimaru in Namba North and then an the extremely central and convenient Swissotel Nankai Osaka. The Swissotel Nankai Osaka was a great last stop for shopping and a central base to then take the train back the Kansai Airport.  It also has a great indoor pool, cold/hot plunge pools and a gym.  

Osaka has a great food scene and offers so many different restaurant options and markets to try a variety of local cuisine.  Arigato Travel and Culinary has amazing tour guides who will make sure you try it all.  Their Osaka food tour will leave you stuffed and educated!

Food Activity Japan is a great company, located in Tokyo and Osaka, and offers sushi, chopstick making and matcha tea classes.  It is a wonderful kid friendly activitity and perfect for those days you may want a break from the outdoors.

Osaka also has cultural sites to see and is a 45 minute train ride from Kyoto, so it's a great city to base yourself to explore other regions as well.  You can stock up on all your Japanese cosmetics, sunscreens, snacks and clothes, so you may want to bring an extra bag or suitcase or buy one there!

Michelle decided on a whim to head to Japan with her two kids alone for two and a half weeks.  While many people plan their trip to Japan for months and even a year, she did this with just three weeks prep.  Planning some activities and hotels befor her trip and others while there, she is going to bring you interviews with those hotels and tours she did and chat about some of their activities along the way.  This week's episode features Tokyo.  She stayed at the beautiful and conventient Shiba Park Hotel and Park Hotel Tokyo.

They took an amazing tour with Tourist Japan to Mt. Fuji.  Check out their website here.
It was great because they met and then the rest of the day were transported in a comfortable vehicle with a small group which is perfect when traveling with kids.  Michelle also got lost on the trains more than once so having a group show you are around saves a ton of time and makes sure you see all the great spots! In additon, they went to see a Sumo wrestling show and had dinner at Sumo Live Restaurant in Ginza, spent a couple of hours at the incredible immersive art experience, Team Labs Borderless.  They fed and cuddled with capybaras at Capybara Cafe Moffu in Harajuku.  And of course, the first stop of the trip was to the Pokémon Center in Shibuya!