Wow! This has been a long time in the making. My boyfriend and I went to Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka) back on April 25th – May 11th. This is going to be a long post, but I’ll try to bullet when I can. We went LAX – Haneda via All Nippon Airway, total $896 pp. Sorry for the formatting, I wrote this out on docs but the bullets didn’t translate over!
**Day 1 April 25th**
Arrived in Haneda airport around 5 am – Personally I liked getting there so early, it gave us time to figure out the Wifi situation, get our Suica card, and it wasn’t busy as we went to our hotel. Thankfully, they let you leave your luggage there until the room is ready! Very useful.
Our first hotel was Roynet Hotel Ginza – very nice, I enjoy this brand of hotels.Ginza itself isn’t too fun imo, it’s more business-y and quiet, but it was a nice hotel and has tasty cafes around.
Our first food included Lawson: Amazing sandwich trio potato salad, egg salad, salmon dill. McDonalds: bacon potato fried pocket, fun. Cafe: Iced milk tea, iced coffee, apricot jam- SO tasty!Meandered around that massive 12 story Uniqlo, convenience stores, and then met up with our friends at Tower Records – It’s huge! I noticed a lot of places in Japan like playing Vinyl still? It’s fun!
Harajuku
* Weird seeing all those exotic animal places- otters, foxes, etc. I’ve done minimal research and it doesn’t seem too ethical?
* Totti Candy – Got the giant multi-colored cotton candy! I loved it.
* Kyushu Jangara for lunch – Got a window view of the street which made it fun to people watch, and the ramen was INCREDIBLE
* Walked around all the shops- Adidas, Galaxy Store, etc. and met up on and off with friends
**Day 2 April 26th**
This day we has a planned Tsukiji Fish Market Tour planned! I mistakenly thought it was more food-forward, but it was moreso about the history of certain shops/areas. However, we had a fun time and did get samples along the way – Wasabi peas (my favorite), dried squid, many beans, tomago. We were in a group with 3 other people, so we had a lot of time to chat and get to know each other.
After, we met up with 2 other US friends and one of the tour people hung out with us for the day! We tried eel, eel liver (I didn’t like), soda ice cream, wagyu skewer, whiskey, shochu, fried chicken, and CREMIA! If you’ve NEVER had Cremia and go to the tsukiji market, this was the best one I had. It was down a sketchy looking alley inside a building. It’s 500 yen and is dispensed from a machine. I would literally kill to have this available in the states!!! I think about it all the time. It’s rich and fatty and perfect.
Overall, I loved the Tsukiji Market and would recommend checking it out! But I would 1. Go early or 2. Go on a day it rains. It was raining when we went (I did get soaked even with an umbrella), BUT it was a lot emptier compared to a beautiful sunny day I passed by and it was packed.
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* Craft Beer Bar IBrew Ginza – Lunch after the market with some friends, got a beer flight and a bunch of table snacks. I’m not much of a beer person, so the quality was probably lost on me, but my friends enjoyed it.
* Imperial Palace Area – Walked around, took pictures, vending machine snacks, it was still raining on/off.
* Little Smith Bar – A friend’s dad recommend this place to him, so we went to check it out. I had a DELICIOUS tomato based drink and those little snacks that come with sitting at the bar, but overall we were kind’ve underdressed for how nice this place is – Definitely more of a sexy/date vibe here, not something to casually go to. Whoops.
* Went on a hunt to find somewhere to do my nails- everything was booked for days – Next time I plan to be prepared in advance and not wait last minute!
* Late night Konbini – Sandwiches, cold noodles, something we didn’t like, drinks, matcha latte before bed
**Day 3 April 27th**
Went back to the Tsukiji Fish Market for breakfast and got the same tuna nigiri we had the day before, along with some eel sushi. Went to the 3rd floor cafeteria and got an egg omelet. Delicious. We did get scolded by someone who said we couldn’t eat outside food in X area and made us move to Y area- But we were confused since we had both brought in food & ordered an omelet there. She also yelled at us in Japanese so I actually don’t know if that’s what she was saying.
Walked from there to the TeamLabs exhibit to meet 2 US friends and 1 friend who is from/lives in Tokyo. The walk there was BEAUTIFUL, we crossed over this bridge and it was peaceful to get some sunlight.
Okay, I feel like TeamLabs is a conversation I’ve seen on here a few times. This is specifically about the TeamLabs in Toyosu. Overall, I would highly recommend it, we ended up staying for about 3 hours. It definitely is both a social media picture place, but I feel like its very easy to do that for like 2 minutes, and then get engaged in the different exhibits at the same time.
Avoid the next list if you’d rather be surprised at what each area is like:
* Start by taking a trek up an inclined stream to clean your feet
* Crawl across inflated bean-bag like material, so fun to see kids running and older people crawling across
* The LED hanging white lights with mirrors everywhere, ethereal
* Cloudy water up to our knees, with projections of koi fish and cherry blossoms that would change as we interacted with them
* Inflated colorful balls everywhere, colors changed frequently
* Dome room that you could/were encouraged to lay down in to view floral blooming projections on the ceiling, my favorite room, visually relaxing
* Outside area with chrome eggs everywhere
* Infinity mirrors with living orchids around that would move higher and lower, stunning and smelled so nice. You go in groups so it isn’t super crowded.
At the time we went, there was this extra exhibit area you could see if you ordered a specific ramen + drink combo, we all did and I have to say, the Vegan Ramen was FANTASTIC. I’m not vegan/vegetarian, but I do enjoy a lot of those foods. This was the best. It was so savory and flavorful and filling.
Akihabara:
* Intense anime stores that were like 8 stories high, not really my taste. I love anime but not like that.
* Beer Pong Bar Grove – Got some booze and snacks and went to play beer pong. As an American, you will not like this beer pong lmao it’s on a machine and you have to press a button to change turns and also there’s a timer and a worker who was off but just came to hang out was “showing us” how to play- !! I mean, I’m not going to say it’s wrong haha but it was certainly…different. But we liked hanging out with the staff and they did guest shots for us.
* Tried to go to a sake bar nearby where you pay by the hour and can sample X sakes, they told us they were booked.
* Met friends at Nabezo in Shibuya – Delicious hotpot, seemed fancier than the ones I’ve gone to in the US, sooo many food and drink options- AYCE. One of the broths we got I didn’t care for, I believe it was the Sukiyaki. A little bland for me.
* Karaoke – I’ve only ever done karaoke where it’s public and in front of the whole bar, so this was a new experience for me! Fun with a big group.
* Ended the night at Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten Shibuya – Late night noodles w/ chili oil. Small place, wouldn’t really be for ‘hanging out’, but a great way to get some carbs and ending the night.
**Day 4 April 28th**
Changed hotels from Ginza to Shinjuku – Premier Hotel Cabin Shinjuku. It was a lot different from the very clean, quiet area of Ginza but it is SO FUN and I would want to stay in this area more, but I’m a very late night/drinking person. It was an INCREDIBLY small room though. And from the window view we saw a place called Gangbang. It’s different lol
* Ate lunch at kushiya monogatari – an AYCE deep frying place. They have meat, veggies, etc. and you get panko and batter. It was heavy but very fun.
* Checked out Muji, which we do have in LA but my bf has never been and I hate driving to LA and this was close. Got a thing of coffee, tea, and a soup.
* Kabukicho Tower – People watched, an Evangelion performance was taking place on a big stage with a DJ. We went to explore upstairs but soon realized there was nothing but the escalators kept going up?
* Met up with 2 friends from the states who also happened to be there and got food at Shogun Burger – honestly, it slapped, would eat here again. It also had the best high ball in a can I had the whole trip.
* Golden Gai area – 1st bar was nice and fun until some weird tourists came and totally killed the vibe by being really aggressive towards us/other patrons. 2nd bar owner did NOT want us there it seemed. 3rd bar was up on the second story and fantastic, I think it was called Cambiare was great- we ended up chatting with the bartender and other patrons the rest of the night.
Stumbled back to our hotel. One of the most fun drinking nights we had- would highly recommend staying nearby Golden Gai so you can drink and just walk back to your place.
**Day 5 April 29th**
* Sushiro for lunch – 6F of a building, and when you get inside you check in on one side of the lobby and get a ticket, then head to the other side and wait for that ticket number to be displayed and it tell you where to sit. Then you have a tablet to order and the food slides its way to you on this conveyer-type system. Basically 0 human interaction. We ordered like 30 plates and it only cost about $32 total I believe. It’s crazy. I know it’s a chain, but to me it all tasted great!
* Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden – Got towels to sit on, some nice drinks. Entry was free because it was a holiday. We sat, pondered, people watched. Further in there’s a little cafe/store, we got some pastries and ice cream. Amazing and creamy as always.
* Accidentally ended up in a massive bougie mall nearby, unaffordable to us, I was just looking for a Sanrio store. It was underwhelming haha.
* Cafe Aaliya – They only sell french toast and it was so good. We got the trio order that comes with caramel, blueberry vanilla ice cream, and cinnamon apple pie sauces to dip it in. Perfectly fluffy.
* Watched the Mario Movie at the Toho Theater with some friends after- Personally, not my favorite at all (and honestly I fell asleep not too long in) and none of our group enjoyed it. But it was fun watching a movie there!
**Day 6 April 20th**
* Hotel breakfast buffet: Congee, Korean fried chicken, tamago, curries, creme brulee, grilled fish, pickled veggies, clams, fish, wasabi, nuts, fresh juice, hokkaido milk, sausage, teriyaki chicken, and other delicious treats. All for about $9.50 each!
* Got a massage nearby, it was FANTASTIC- Wish I wrote down the name/place. They were super nice and gave us an umbrella on our way out as it started raining.
* Meiji Shrine – One of my favorite places. Huge torii gates, beautiful trees. Bought charms for friends, bought an Ema tablet for our own little prayer, offered money and did the clapping.
* Yomenya Goemon – Dinner time. We’re fatasses and both got a double dinner set. Me: Pesto with mozzarella, avocado, shrimp & a creamy prosciutto, bacon, and raw egg. BF: Creamy tomato with shrimp and mozzarella & a mentaiko butter pasta with seaweed. So tasty, so filling, so fatty.
* Mega Don Quixote – First time going into one. It’s crazy. Anything you could ever want??? Found a new duffle bag since we ran out of room. Name it- Burgle the Bag, cause it looked like we were gonna rob places.
* Stopped at the best Korean Fried Chicken place on the way home, and then had THE most trouble with getting out Shinkansen tickets!!! It wouldn’t accept our card, we didn’t have enough cash, and then we weren’t able to pull cash from an ATM after a certain time?? It was very confusing. We used all of debit/credit cards over and over until finally one just worked. Stressful.
**Day 7 May 1st**
Today we went from Tokyo to Kyoto via Shinkansen. Planned for a 930am departure.
Daiwa Roynet Hotel Kyoto Ekimae
* Showed up early and got 2 Ekiben and some coffee, tea, and an egg sando. Highly recommend getting to the station early the first time you take a Shinkansen. Or we’re really stupid, but it was slightly confusing for us. But also, it’s fun to go and pick out what little meal you’re gonna take, and it’s nice to not be rushed!
* Comfy seats, saw Mt. Fuji from the window, went to sleep.
* Kyoto station is huge, but has way nicer souvenir shops compared to Tokyo. Honestly, if you’re gonna be at both areas, I would just wait for Kyoto to start buying stuff. Their sweets, tea, treats, everything was so much better. I got a bunch of candy from the station- some is just sugar in the shape of pretty things but wow…Tasty.
* Less busy than Tokyo overall, and absolutely one of my favorite places to be. Walking around without being totally crowded is so nice.
* Rengeo-in – It’s a beautiful temple that houses 1001 statues, mostly life sized, hard to explain how it feels to see in person! Please go if you get the chance, I cried a little. I love art!
We stayed in the gardens for a while and it was POURING rain, we were not prepared but it was gorgeous.
* Stopped at Tsuruki Mochi Honpo on the walk home and got a Kinako Latte and Dango. Another place I wish we had a chance to stop by again before we left! So sweet and warm in the rainy weather.
* On the same street there’s a specialty liquor store – we got a fancy whiskey and corn liqueur.
* Gion Tanto – Met up with some friends and got okonomiyaki for dinner. It was delicious! Very small place and we waited a bit, but totally worth it. I got a beef Yakisoba and sake, BF got the yuba salad and seafood special okonomiyaki.
**Day 8 May 2nd**
* Nara – Met up with our friends at the station, got some coffee, and went on to Nara! It was as fun as expected, even more. There were beer and ice cream stands which I got, and then you can buy these crackers to feed the deer. Of course we did the whole bowing thing. Just note, the deer aren’t necessarily as cute in person? At least not to me. They look scaryish. And you need to put your hands up to show you have no crackers or they’ll be mad and headbutt you. I watched them ram children.
* Todaiji – Nearby temple with a huge Buddha statue. We went, and there’s more deer over there, and food vendors, souvenirs, etc. Checked out the Buddha, it was fun to go inside the temple.
* Wakakusa Curry Hompo – BF got a plate with all four of the main curries (chicken, lamb, spinach, and beef) and I got a chicken curry with a huge omelet on top. Delicious! This is also in an outdoor but covered mall, a lot of cool shops to check out. I tried something called Amazake – it’s a traditional sweet drink? I didn’t like it at all haha.
**Day 9 May 3rd**
* We dressed up in Kimono rentals and walked the Inari Shrine! It wasn’t too bad in the geta, but we ended up taking a path that was off the main course and walked this other area with no one around. It was great! Found a little rest stop that sold sake and drank. Got to the top and had some ice cream.
* On the street of the Inari Shrine there was some delicious fruit- we got a mochi covered kiwi, and it was the best kiwi I’ve ever had.
* Engraved chopsticks are also nearby and they made the BEST gifts! I wish I got some for myself. But the place does close relatively early, so don’t wait until after you hike the shrine to get in engraved unless you’re nearby enough to come back the next day.
* Ryo Rayu Furikake – We got this at a shop also nearby and wow, it’s the perfect level of spicy and flavorful. They also had other yuzu items, and spicier things.
* Mos Burger – we waited too long to make dinner plans, ended up here. Negative recommend. I hated it more than anything i’ve hated eating in a while. If you’re truly out of options, head to the konbini’s per usual, ugh.
**Day 10 May 4th**
* Sent our luggage from Kyoto to Osaka via the services. It cost some $$ but honestly, the ease and not having to deal with it while traveling was way worth it.
* Kyoto Obubu Tea Farm – This was a whole half day tour type thing we did with a friend! They first teach you about teas, types, etc. Then they take you out onto the tea farm area to see the growth and whatnot, and then you get to head back and actually taste a lot of the teas and have lunch. Fantastic experience in general, and especially for the tea lovers out there!
* Arrived to Osaka after, explored that Dotonbori area. Tried takoyaki again and realized it just isn’t for us haha. Found an amazing shot place, and had some random place for dinner. Delicious. Called it an early night.
**Day 11 May 5th**
Kyoto to Osaka – Henn na hotel Osaka Namba
* Cup o Noodle factory! It was SO FUN to draw on your own container and have it made. We watched the informational video, and walking through the history of it all was fun. Would recommend once, but not necessarily a repeat place.
* Ippudo Ikeda – Got delicious ramen, although BF got his too spicy because I wanted to try the regular and spicy. Whoops.
* Itsuo Museum of Art – they had a whole section on the train route history. Small, quiet, very nice to stop by.
* Ikeda Castle Ruins – Right up the street from the museum, very cute with a lot of families and young kids – I believe it was Children’s day? They have a big koi pond and a thing that you can buy small pellets to feed them.
* Pizza Bar Full House – Dinner, great slices of za and fun to people watch if you sit on the little outside area.
* Bar Nayuta – There’s no menu, you just tell the bartenders what you like/don’t like/liquor of choice and they’ll whip something up. I got an amazing tomato based drink, and BF got some old fashioned esque things. We ended up coming back 3 times total I think haha.
**Day 12 May 6th**
* Cat Cafe – Went mostly for a friend, not something I care for and would never do again.
Stopped at a croissant place and got Mentai, sweet/sour, and egg flavors.
* Sporty Coffee – Osaka Candy Latte, it had ginger and seemed like it might be weird but was soooo tasty!
* Mirch Masala Bollywood Indian Cafe, Restaurant & Bar – Went to get lunch and it’s down some stairs and amazing. We were SO stuffed after this and even had leftovers, total was like $18.
* PC and Retro Bar Space Station – Met with friend, got some drinks and played some old video games. Drank: The Hemlock, The 5 Ingredient, & Dr. Mario)
* Bar Nayuta again, chatted with some other patrons from Seattle and Jakarta.
* Rake?Raka – underground bar/club, very small and intimate but it’s pretty nice. We watched 2 DJs and they were great Techno/House type music. 1500 yen cover charge that included 1 drink. Got more popping closer to 2am. I got groped and danced on by a guy and it was kind’ve weird, but then he also started dancing on BF? Oh well.
* Went to a place I WISH I could remember, but I was too drunk. It was the most savory ramen “If God was trying to push you to the limit of umami, this would be what he shoved down your throat” – BF.
* Stumbled into a family mart and bought stuff but then went to bed immediately.
**Day 13 May 7th**
At this point, the notes on what we did/where we went gets real limited because we were tired of keeping track haha.
* Fluffy pancakes for breakfast somewhere, Croque Monsieur as well
* Pokemon Center & Nintendo & Capcom stores at a mall. Was fun and not too busy, so we got all the things we wanted, various plushies and gifts.
* Tempozan Ferris Wheel – It was pouring rain when we went, and the streets were basically empty, but it made for some nice quiet moments and aesthetic pictures. Played the ending to Inuyasha (My Will by Dream)as we went around the ferris wheel, a long time dream of mine haha.
* Got dinner at a place where no one really spoke English, and I translated the menu with my phone. At the end the chef started talking to us in English a bit and it was fun to chat with someone!
**Day 14 May 8th**
* Cafe LA – met with a friend and the worker was also someone who worked at the pizza place, but he didn’t recognize us at all. I think he was even the one who recommended Rake?Raka to us?
* BF got a whole Japanese street wear fit! Very comfy, not super expensive per se, but not inexpensive. Went tea shopping, I finally got my tea set and cups! My more “splurgey” souvenir for myself.
* Did an Airbnb Experience with someone named Taka – it was 3 restaurants and booze and ended with karaoke. Our group was so wild and fun, and our guide was the BEST! I would do it again next time I go. He was seriously the best. Embarrassingly, I did throw up on the train ride home (in a bag though!!!!). I feel like I had drank more than I ever had in my life during this foodie tour. Each restaurant came with about 2-4 drinks, and then the karaoke was unlimited. Phew.
**Day 15 May 9th**
Osaka to Tokyo – Sakura Tokyo Asakusa Yokozuna Hotel
* Much better time getting on the Shinkansen. Got more ekiben to eat. Yum. Saw Mt. Fuji again!
* Stayed in Asakusa for a change in scenery/pace, and got a much nicer place. It was super spacious with a nice outdoor patio area with a decent view.
* Sensoji – Went at night and it was gorgeous with all the lights. Got some taiyaki and katsu snacks nearby.
* Ended up at a french place for dinner- way over priced, food was mid, ugh. I hate wasting money like that, but I learned my lesson- fancy doesnt mean better!
**Day 16 May 10th**
* Went to Namikase Dori for the last round of souvenirs and snacks. Great place for board giftsets for people!
* Ghibli store and Skytree. The top of the Skytree was fun, but kind’ve expensive. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. I did get a nice time lapse though.
* Enjoyed our last night with a Family Mart meal on our hotel balcony.
* There was an earthquake at some point in the night, I wasn’t too bothered.
**Day 17 May 11th**
We checked out late and went straight to the airport! Home sweet home.
Overall, fantastic trip! If you have any questions about the places we went/tours/etc., I’d love to answer! Can’t wait to go back.
by RainClouds753