Background: 29M Canadian. 4th time in Japan but it’s been more than 7+ years since my last time in Japan and this time is solo. Took Japanese in highschool but it wasn’t useful. Anime/Manga otaku and listen solely to Japanese music so my listening is ok but never spoke in a public setting. All my hotels are redeemed for with points since I travel for work a lot – saving quite a bit of money. I have an IC card from ages ago as well.
Day 1: Arrived into Narita \~4 pm. Picked up Sakura Sim in Terminal 1, works fine. Couldn’t speak single word of Japanese aside from a stuttering Arigatou gozaimasu at the shop. Bought Airport Limousine Ticket at the machine, waited until 6 pm for bus which took me directly to Courtyard Ginza (really convenient). Checked in then had curry katsu udon at a tan tan noodle place. Room size is bigger than your typical tokyo hotel I believe. Free bottled water in the room
Day 2: Free breakfast buffet at hotel as titanium member – quite the large selection of foods and if not for status, i would’ve had to pay \~5000 yen or so. Train to Yokohama. Weather not the greatest, with rain and chilly temperatures. Took video and pics at Gundam Factory. The gundam was great but otherwise nothing else to see – shop was small. Had lunch at Hotel New Grand Cafe, famous for their Seafood Doria and Napolitan. Had the Seafood doria + Strawberry shortcake recommendation by the waitress – came to \~5000 yen and was absolutely delicious. Travelled back to Akihabara and roamed the shops until evening. Had dinner at Sushiro which was having a genshin collab. The sushi was a disappointment, rice poorly made – \~3700 yen.
Day 3: Arranged TaQbin to Nagoya hotel. Went to Teamlabs planets, had the 930 ticket but managed to get in at 9. It was experience worth every yen. Trained to Small Worlds as it was raining. Less interesting then Teamlabs but still a good place to waste some time. Trained to Daiba, took photos at Unicorn Gundam. Gundam Front was packed at \~11 and I got a ticket to enter at 1630 instead. Had lunch at Teppanyaki Icho \~10000 yen with membership discount. Good meal but a bit too expensive for the portion size. Chilled until 1630 to visit Gundam Front. Gundam front was a bit boring than before, it became more of a shop than a display museum. Spent only 30 minutes or so in there. Returned to Ginza and had ramen at Mori’s right next to my hotel. \~2700 for ramen, extra chashu, and a highball. Decent light tasting.
Day 4: Shinkansen to Nagoya, then headed off to Nagoya Castle. Nagoya castle is a real beauty especially on a nice day. Spent roughly an hour, then went to Yabaton near the castle. There was a bit of wait but I got in <20 minutes – the miso katsu was delectable, it was \~2500 yen I believe. Thereafter, trained to Osu Shotengai, wandered around for an hour or two. Got tired and stopped by a maid cafe to sit down and have a drink. Name of the Maid cafe was Blueegg and it was 2000 yen for a drink and a photo with a maid. I’ve been to a maid cafe last time I was in Japan but I always considered it an average experience – food usually doesn’t taste good and maid leaves you on your own after a moe moe kyun. I’ve completely changed my view after visiting Blue egg, the gals there chatted with me the entire time despite my broken Japanese and I managed to improve my spoken Japanese by leaps and bounds. Had a really good time and decided to visit another one later in the trip. Thereafter, I trained to Oasis 21, took some pictures, and went to LaChic Hitsumabushi for dinner. Had the Kaiseki set for \~6800 yen, worth every yen once again. There are 3 ways of eating Hitsumabushi, plain, with wasabi/green onions, and with dashi. I personally prefer it with wasabi and green onions. Trained to Courtyard Nagoya. Courtyard Nagoya is quite a bit of a walk from the stations \~15 min or so, wouldn’t necessary recommend it for its location. That said, the front desk supervisor was superb. There’s no free breakfast at this courtyard for titanium members – only a 2000 yen breakfast voucher. He arranged for my room to be changed from 1 guest to 2 so I can be gifted two additional 1000 yen vouchers each day for me to enjoy free breakfast buffet (\~3700 yen) at the restaurant. Hotel room size was north american sized. Free bottled water in the room. Unfortunately no upgrade since every room was booked.
Day 5: Arranged TaQbin of luggage to Kyoto hotel. Had breakfast at conbini since I had to catch 7 am bus for Shirakawago. While waiting for the bus, I hustled inside a Lawson to evade the rain. Wanted to sit down at the window seats but then a homeless? elderly called me out on it. I apologized in Japanese and he explained to me that those seats aren’t yet opened. There’s a policy in place to prevent young delinquents from lingering at conbinis so the seats can’t be used until later in the morning. Also, I should buy something to eat to be able to sit there. However, he was polite throughout and complimented on my Japanese. Boarded the VIP liner bus once 7 am came. It was an arduous 4 hour ride to Shirakawa go. Two washroom break stops and also a stop in Takayama. Did not arrive to Shirakawa go until 11:20 am. I booked with Klook so I had a Higa Beef set included with my ticket at Koshiyama. Decent meal but was in a rush since the return bus was slated for 2 pm. Finished my lunch at 11:50 am and headed off to explore. The weather wasn’t the best, mix of wet snow and later freezing rain; literally chilled to the bones the entire time. The hike up to the observation deck was a killer 15 min hike up a steep slope but worth it once i reached the top to see the views. Shop at the top had a higurashi corner – one of the reasons i picked Shirakawago to visit. Went back down and explored the rest of the village. There were many tourists on guided bus tours. Found a few other shops with higurashi corners and also a small rest area plastered with higurashi merch. Bought a cute limited higurashi eco bag as a souvenir since I didn’t think i would come across Shirakawago again anytime soon. Walked across the bridge to take some photos then returned to the bus stop at 2 pm. Got back to the bus stop at \~6:40 pm, back to hotel and ordered oyakodon via ubereats. \~2200 yen but it tasted average.
Day 6: Free breakfast buffet at hotel then Shinkansen to Kyoto, transferred to Kintetsu Nara. Apparently the train i took to Nara was a limited once requiring an additional ticket, not just tap of IC card; an attendant came to me and I played my gaijin card, and paid an additional 500 yen. Arrived at Nara, walked to Todaiji, then surrounding areas. Met up with a person from Discord, who happened to be a Canadian as well, originally wanted to try some persimmon leaf sushi but it was all sold out so we had some Kaiten sushi. We then went around Kasuga Taisha together, helping each other take photos and pics. Kasuga Taisha was well worth it. We split afterwards and I trained to Chapter Kyoto hotel. Checked in and asked the receptionist what’s a good place to have dinner. She recommended Men-ya Takakura Nijo and off i went. The restaurant was well hidden with no signage, went into and ordered the ramen through a ticket machine. Counter space had 10 spots or so and had several locals eating; chefs were two young guys in their 30s ish. The chashu ramen had a very rich broth and the cha shu was very fat. Although i typically prefer something lighter, taste was still good. \~1500 yen or so. Still had plenty of time before sleep so decided to practice my Japanese with cute girls again. Went to Cafe De Ai nearby and found it to be empty. The girls there are all very bright and spoke in Kansai ben; they would stand in front of you, behind the counter, at all times and continuously chat. It was 3000 yen with unlimited drinks (alcohol and soft drinks). I’m not much of a drinker so ordered only tea after the first cocktail they made for me. Requested each girl to sing a karaoke for 500 yen per song (a bit of a ripoff) and also a guy behind the counter as well. One of the girls was darn good at singing; apparently she post song covers on youtube. Ended the day being a bit less lonely since I got to chat with people despite solo travelling. The rooms at Chapter Kyoto was huge for Japanese hotels; pretty much North American size. They gave free socks. Unfortunately no upgrade yet again since it was fully booked. Location was very good since it was close to the station and Gion/Pontocho.
Day 7: Free breakfast buffet at chapter Kyoto, then trained to Arashiyama early in the morning. Took at few pics at Bamboo grove and met a guy from Portugal. We kept each other company and toured Adashino and Otagi Nenbutsuji. It was still very early so not many shops were open when returning to the station area. We split some time after as I wanted to try my luck to eat at Shoraian for its tofu kaiseki; i did not make a reservation beforehand. Got there at 11 am and met a couple at the entrance who were also trying their luck. They didn’t mind me joining at the table so we decided to eat together. At first, the obachan says that there’s no availability but then she went in, came back out, and had a table for us. We were brought into the Japanese style room and we all ordered Shofu set. Had a really good time chatting with the two Canadians. Each dish of the kaiseki was also exemplary. Damage to wallet was only a mere \~6800 yen – inexpensive for the quality. Walked to see Togetsuko Bridge then headed back to the hotel to take a dip in the public bath. Was already burnt out after a week and wanted to take it easy last couple of days. No longer adhered to my itinerary. Decided to try another maid cafe – Kyoto Maid Cafe Candy. Turned out to be an immense disappointment. The maids just ignored me most of the time except when seating me at first and bringing me my food and doing a Moe Moe kyun. They only attended to their regulars. The omelet rice was ok though so i’d give them that. \~3000 yen complete waste of money. Afterwards, I decided to head back to Cafe de Ai for healing and practice more japanese. Superb service as usual.
Day 8: Went to Fushimi Inari and Hiked to Yotsutsuji. I went there pretty early at 8 am ish but still packed with people. The hike up to Yotsutsuji wasn’t too bad but the descent down to Tofukuji was dangerous. Was afraid that my kneecap would break on that slope coming down. I was pretty much hopping each step since it was so steep. Do not recommend. Took some photos at Tofukuji but did not enter since i was getting tired of temple. Returned to hotel area, walked around Nishiki Market, went for Lunch at Menbou Kiyoshi at noon. Funny thing happened where a local couple looked at teh menu while i was waiting outside the shop, then exclaimed so expensive at the 1500 yen lunch set. I was thinking to myself “Expensive? You can never get a good udon lunch at this price in Canada!” I went ahead with the 1500 yen Menbou Kiyoshi set and it was amazing. At first, I thought it was the typical udon soup taste but then I bit into the mushroom and the Umami just came pouring out. Every yen was worth for this meal. For the afternoon, I visited the Ippodo and Nakamura Tokichi to buy some teabags as souvenirs, then arduously navigated through the JapanPost system to get them shipped out. Visited Cafe de Ai again then went for my first kaiseki experience at Kiyama. I have to say, for 30000 yen, the service and food could’ve been better. Kiyama was running up and down the two floors and never greeted me even once, focused only on his regulars. Thankfully, the silver lining was meeting the other patrons. One was the Swiss seated next to me, we chatted the entire time for the 3 hours. Also, met a regular Kaiseki patron, S-san, who was kind enough to recommend another Kaiseki place for me – Gion Nishimura – and make a reservation. Throughout the 3 hours, there was not a single dish that dazzled me enough to make me focus back on my meal.
Day 9: Took the bus to Kinkakuji in the morning, surprised to find a lack of tourist and managed to get many good photos. Then bused to Kiyomizudera which was jam packed. Walked the streets to experience the atmosphere for a bit and headed to Menya Inoichi for some Michelin ramen. There was a wait of roughly 30 minutes. The Ramen wasn’t bad but it wasn’t something i’d write home about. Headed back to hotel to relax at the public bath. For the evening, went back to Cafe de Ai. One of the maids were cooking her own dinner so had her make some for me too – ground pork on rice with egg – that’s not on the menu. Not bad.
Day 10: Last day. I bussed to Toei Kyoto Studio Park. Empty at 9 am and was able to get all the photos I wanted at the Evangelion attraction. Thereafter, the park was filled up quickly by children on their school trips. The park is rather small and many of the attractions were taken down like the anime gallery. If you like Eva, then it’s worth the fee but otherwise, I wouldn’t necessarily pay a visit. Headed to Hafuu for a nice wagyu meal then Relaxed at the hotel public bath again then spent an hour at Cafe De Ai, before heading off to my last good meal in Kyoto – Gion Nishimura, which S-san made a reservation for me. Arrived at 1800 and was escorted to a small counter. I was alone at first and was served sake as a starter. I’m not much of a drinker nor do i enjoy alcohol much but i must say the sake was delicious. Nishimura-san came out then started prepared my dishes. After 10 days in Japan and practicing Japanese with cute grills, I’ve reached a decent conversational level. Nishimura was at the counter the entire time and explained to me patiently on what’s in each dish and how to eat it. Roughly 15 min after I got seated, 3 other customer came in, and were regular patrons and they lightened up the atmosphere asking me questions and educating me on what i’m eating. One of the dishes were suppon – tortoise – and a delicacy in Japan. It’s is by far one of the best dining experiences I ever had, and truly had a lot of fun making jokes with Nishimura-San and the other patrons. At the end of the meal, Nishimura-san and okami escorted me out and bowed 90 degrees until I turned the street. I bowed 90 degrees as well in return to give my heartfelt gratitude for the hospitality. Was in a good mood, so headed to Cafe de Ai again and generously spent 20k yen, making requests for karaoke as well.
Day 11: Took the cab to Kyoto station, the driver was in a rush for some reason and was playing with the shiftstick at every red light – probably one of the only uncomfortable experiences this trip. Shinkasened back to Shinagawa, then Narita Express, and was on my way home. Caught by surprise at the Star alliance bag drop since the agents there were non-Japanese and I was so used to Japanese hospitality that I was taken aback by the coarse treatment, interrogating me on my baggage. Kind of brought me back to reality and i responded coldly to their questions.
Despite saving quite a bit of money by not having to pay a dime for hotels. Wallet damage was around 450k yen, including my flight which was 1100 cad. I didn’t buy much for myself – the big purchases were really just the shinkansen tickets, and kaiseki meals. 10k yen on the IC card was more than sufficient to cover the public transport, I believe i still have 3/4k remaining.
by AmatsuXD
