We are currently planning a six-person trip to Japan for this April/May, and it inspired me to write up a report using some notes that I jotted down from our trip earlier last year.
Background: My wife and I are in our early 30s and we flew into Haneda airport on a nonstop flight from Dallas, Texas. This was our first time in Japan, but we designed our itinerary knowing that we’d be back, so it wasn’t a huge deal if we missed out on some key landmarks. Our priorities were eating good food, drinking good drinks, and taking in as much as we could at a reasonable pace.
This report skips over most of our activities as the activities will mostly align with other itineraries you’ve read. The focus here will be mainly on rating/reviewing the food, drinks, and accommodations. And also a few stories along the way.
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**Sunday, April 2 – Tokyo:**
* **Hotel: Citadines Central Shinjuku Tokyo (3/5)** – This budget-friendly hotel is situated in Shinjuku, offering a lively experience as it backs up into Golden Gai and is within walking distance of Shinjuku Station, numerous restaurants and bars, as well as shopping destinations. The hotel, resembling a converted apartment building, exhibits dated finishes that could benefit from an upgrade. The rooms, unfortunately, have a musty atmosphere reminiscent of the apartment I lived in my senior year of college.
* **Food: Random Gyoza Spot (4/5)** – owners were quick to tell us “No English.” We managed to order gyozas and a couple of cocktails using a combination of google lens, pointing, and saying “Kore Kudasai”.
* [\[First Gyoza Restaurant\]](https://imgur.com/ewHAjnG)
* **Miscellaneous**: We scheduled a private transfer via Klook to pick us up from Haneda and drive us to our hotel. This was SUPER convenient especially after being on the plane for 12+ hours. It was $60 to get us to our hotel from the airport.
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**Monday, April 3 – Tokyo (22,500 steps, 9.5 miles):**
* **Experience: Nane Tokyo (4/5)** \- Cute spot in Omotesando where we made rings for each other. You get to choose the metal, shape, design, and engraving for your ring and then you hammer it out until it gets to the right shape/design. Super fun experience, a little on the expensive side for what you get.
* [\[Nane Tokyo Rings\]](https://imgur.com/FX1jao9)
* **Food:** **Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onodera (4/5)** – We discovered this sushi restaurant while exploring Omotesando and were fortunate to find immediate seating. Orders were conveniently placed through an iPad, and the chefs skillfully prepared each dish fresh to order. The menu offered an impressive variety, featuring fresh fish prepared in traditional Edomae style. Although slightly on the pricey side, the experience was undoubtedly worth it!
* [\[Kaiten Sushi Ginza\]](https://imgur.com/Dyw9YaC)
* **Coffee: Rag & Bone Coffee (5/5)** \- Cozy coffeeshop in the back streets of Omotesando. Really hit the spot as we were battling jetlag.
* [\[Rag & Bone\]](https://imgur.com/bBaqhll)
* **Food: Flippers Pancakes (3/5)** \- After an afternoon of shopping in Shibuya, we were looking to kill time before a drink reservation. Jetlag was starting to hit us a bit and we happened upon a Flippers so we decided to get some sweets and chug coffee to keep awake. After a 15-min wait, we were seated. The pancakes lived up to their reputation, impressively fluffy but with a slightly eggy taste. The food isn’t anything to write home about.
* [\[Pancakes\]](https://imgur.com/ptknstk)
* **Drink: The SG Club (5/5)** \- Great bar with amazing service and innovative, tasty cocktails. Seating gets a bit cramped downstairs but they make it work. We made friends with a Singaporean couple next to us who were also honeymooning. My wife’s first drink was a tomato-basil drink that tasted like the best parts of a caprese salad, super refreshing. My second drink was a yuzu, chrysanthemum concoction; the fragrance of the drink as you lifted the glass to sip was intoxicating. The scent was as much a part of the experience as the taste.
* [\[Tomato-Basil Drink\]](https://imgur.com/5RnyveN) | [\[Yuzu Chrysanthemum Drink\]](https://imgur.com/hCTgp4f)
* **Food: Nico Chica (4/5)** \- This place slaps. Located in Shinjuku, near our hotel, and it costs ¥500 yen for pizza. Upon entering, you take a set of stairs down to the basement level where there’s seating for about 40 people. The staff treated us well and were SO appreciative that we at least tried to order in Japanese (mostly pointing at the menu). We drank a ton of wine, ate pizza, pasta, and french fries. Not what we expected to be eating on our second night in Tokyo but it was the perfect late night snack after a night of drinking… At some point, they turned the lights off and brought a birthday cake out for someone and the whole restaurant sang happy birthday to the patron. How fun!
* [\[Pasta & Pizza\]](https://imgur.com/No7SBu2)
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**Tuesday, April 4 – Tokyo (17,000 steps, 7.1 miles):**
* **Food: Sushiya Ginza Honten (4.5/5)** \- This was our one sushi omakase experience of the trip. Located in a nondescript building on the third or fourth floor, the restaurant can be a bit challenging to locate. Show up early! We witnessed a group arriving 15 minutes late, only to be denied entry as the omakase had already commenced. Fortunately for us, this translated to an exclusive experience for my wife and me. The food here was amazing. There weren’t any frills in terms of super exotic flavors; the restaurant focused on high quality fish, wasabi, and rice. The combination of premiere ingredients with a high level of technique that is honed through many years of experience resulted in every bite being a banger.
* [\[Omakase 1\]](https://imgur.com/1B0q79j) | [\[Omakase 2\]](https://imgur.com/JFLQTuL)
* **Food / Experience: Kirby Cafe (2/5)** \- My wife LOVES Kirby so she was happy with taking in the ambiance, listening to the iconic Kirby music, and she got hype over the adorable presentation of the food. However, when it came to the actual dishes, we were both disappointed, neither of us managed to finish our entrees. We wouldn’t go there again but we’re glad that we gave it a shot.
* [\[Kirby Cafe\]](https://imgur.com/gV2JXAR)
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**Wednesday, April 5 – Hakone (10,600 steps, 4.6 miles):**
* **Food: 治兵衛 (2/5)** \- After landing in Hakone, we were looking for lunch close to the station and found a soba restaurant without a line. The prices were a bit steep, fitting for the resort town setting and its proximity to the train station. The soba was fine but didn’t taste as great as other soba experiences we’ve had. Additionally, the tempura was inconsistent; some pieces were overly battered so that the taste would lean more towards dough than protein.
* [\[Zaru Soba\]](https://imgur.com/undefined)
* **Hotel: Yama No Chaya (3.5/5)** \- This ryokan in Hakone was super quaint and relaxing. The amenities included multiple public onsens, a fun hotel bar, and plenty of snack/drink options. Our two floor room had modern comforts mixed with a traditional feel; it comprised of a second floor bedroom where we slept on a soft bed on top of tatami flooring as well as a formal dining room on the first floor along with a private in-room hot spring bath. The main reason for the 3.5 rating rather than a 4 is that the traditional kaiseki food was a bit of a miss flavor-wise and while pretty, it was underwhelming. The included traditional dinner/breakfast kaiseki meals took two to three hours given the pacing of the courses as well as the quantity of courses. This ended up cutting a lot into our limited time at the ryokan.
* [\[Course from Kaiseki\]](https://imgur.com/F2j8Wv8) | [\[Private Bath\]](https://imgur.com/v7mVrSV)
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**Thursday, April 6 – Hakone –> Kyoto (16,600 steps, 6.5 miles):**
* **Hotel: Gion Misen (5/5)** \- Located in the Gion district. The exterior to this hotel was lovely and gave you that old-school Kyoto feel. The hotel rooms were modern and were large compared to other Japanese hotels. For the price, we were very happy with the location, service, and amenities in the room.
* **Food: Yama No Chaya Breakfast** \- No rating given I provided a rating in previous day. Here are two pictures from the breakfast.
* [\[Grilled Veggies & Fish\]](https://imgur.com/hynJ1uO) | [\[Tofu Pudding inside Grapefruit\]](https://imgur.com/R7bNQTQ)
* **Food: Ekiben (3/5)** \- Rice, shumai, and minced pork and pickled veggies for the train ride. Hit the spot!
* [\[Ekiben 1\]](https://imgur.com/wSV2Ja3)
* **Food: Kyo Kurozakura (3/5) -** Kyoto was a different beast than Tokyo in that, it was SUPER hard to find a restaurant that we could walk into for dinner without a reservation. Maybe it was the number of tourists or maybe we weren’t looking in the right spots this night (we were mostly in the central area near/around Pontocho alley). We eventually found this Yakiniku restaurant which served decent quality beef along with a ton of great dipping sauces. Main reason for the lower rating here is related to service. The staff here interacted differently with the locals than the tourists, they were a bit more stand offish and didn’t use the typical polite mannerisms that you saw them using with other, local patrons. Maybe it was a bad day for the staff, maybe it’s because there were so many more tourists in Kyoto versus Tokyo.
* [\[Kyo Kurozakura\]](https://imgur.com/3ROZwZT)
* **Miscellaneous:** To get to Kyoto from Hakone we had to first take a train from Hakone Yumoto station to Odawara station. At Odawara station, we had a tough time purchasing tickets using the ticket machine to buy fare from Odawara to Kyoto… The train ticket machines wouldn’t accept our credit or debit cards (possibly due to all cards being Visas), we didn’t have enough cash on hand to purchase tickets, and all the ATMs wouldn’t work with our bank debit cards OR our wise card. Eventually, we queued up for the physical ticket counter and the person there was able to process our Visa credit card just fine.
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**Friday, April 7 – Kyoto (15,700 steps, 6.6 miles):**
* **Food: Nishiki Market (5/5)** \- I’m sure a lot of the stuff here was tourist trappy – but we had a lot of fine cruising from stall to stall and trying out different grilled meats, seafood, etc.
* [\[Nishiki Market\]](https://imgur.com/undefined)
* **Food – Itsukichaya (4.5/5)** \- We enjoyed a set menu featuring six rice dishes, each prepared uniquely with a variety of seasonal ingredients. The meal offered a perfect balance of salty, savory, and umami flavors. Paired with the captivating view of the Katsura River, where we watched a gentle rainstorm pass by, the overall experience was nothing short of perfect. Note that this restaurant required a reservation well in advance.
* [\[Itsukichaya\]](https://imgur.com/Vh200a4)
* **Dessert – MACCHA House Kyoto (4/5)** \- We waited in line for 40 minutes to get into this popular-on-Instagram spot. The atmosphere was a bit busy but the food and drink itself was well worth the wait. We ordered the matcha parfait, matcha tiramisu, matcha tea, and a Sakura tea.
* [\[Maccha House\]](https://imgur.com/eoUTOgr)
* **Food – Yakiniku Marutomi (4.5/5)** \- Located at the top of an electronic supplies mall (Edion Kyoto Shijo Kawaramachi), we decided for Yakiniku again. Once again, no wait necessary and the service here was impeccable compared to our dinner from the previous night. We left full and a bit tipsy after eating tons of grilled meats and drinking countless chuhais and high balls. After the meal, my wife told the waitress that the food was “meccha umai”, the waitress gleamed from ear-to-ear and hugged my wife after. Fun times.
* [\[Yakiniku Marutomi\]](https://imgur.com/BLfuVPM) | [\[More Meat\]](https://imgur.com/AmDu7ES)
* **Miscellaneous** \- You read a lot on this sub about how the buses in Kyoto are unreliable given how packed they get when you’re trying to get to the main attractions. What we found is that ubers are surprisingly affordable and SO convenient when you’re trying to get from one side of Kyoto to the other. Compared to large US cities (NYC, SF, LA, Chicago), ubers in Kyoto felt significantly cheaper.
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**Saturday, April 8 – Kyoto (23,200 steps, 9.8 miles):**
* **Food – Katsukura Tonkatsu (4.5/5)** \- Most of the restaurants in Japan are seemingly open at either lunch hours (12pm – 3pm) or dinner hours (after 6pm). We missed the lunch window so we were FAMISHED while looking for a spot for dinner. We eventually stumbled upon a restaurant with a small line starting to form so we decided to roll the dice and see what the wait was all about. When we arrived, we were the third group in line, and after waiting for 30 minutes there were at least 30 people behind us! This tonkotsu restaurant uses Kurboata pork and came with unlimited rice, salad, and miso soup. Amazing fry on the food with the pork melting in your mouth as you bit into it. The food, sake, and highballs here hit the spot for sure.
* [\[Kurobata Tonkotsu\]](https://imgur.com/S0q7Jas)
* **Experience** \- At the end of our night, we went to the Gion Misen hotel bar and it happened to be a Maiko night. A Maiko is a Geiko-in-training, which is the Kyoto-dialect for Geisha. There were a few folks at the bar and we all got to meet and talk to a Maiko (with the help of google translate as well as a translator that was at the event), the Maiko spoke on her experiences of growing up in rural Japan and what it’s like actually live in the Gion district and the stresses of having to earn a book of business in order to graduate to Geiko.
* Sorry no pictures of this without doxxing ourselves but it was a really fun experience.
* **Experience** \- We met the owner of a Keith Haring museum in Japan and he taught us the phrase “Okini” which is a Kansai dialect word meaning “thank you”. We ended up using this all around Kyoto and Osaka rather than the normal “arigatou gozaimashta” and a lot of the folks we told this to cheesed hard when we did.
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**Sunday, April 9 – Kyoto –> Osaka (16,500 steps, 7.0 miles):**
* **Hotel: Swissotel (5/5)** \- This was our hotel splurge of the trip. Centrally located in the Namba (right above the Namba station) and walking distance to Dotonbori, the rooms were modern and clean. We were lucky to have gotten an upgraded room!
* [\[Swissotel Room\]](https://imgur.com/G07v74D)
* **Food – Ramen Zundouya (3/5)** \- There were only a few lunch options open at 11:00am and when we were flipping through the options, we realized… we haven’t had ramen yet on this trip! This specific restaurant used the same broth base for all their ramens, and you end up adjusting the toppings/fat content. Two bowls of ramen, one order of potstickers, and two alcoholic drinks ran us $25 US. Not bad at all. The food really hit the spot and we both took a nap on the train toward Osaka.
* [\[Ramen Zundouya\]](https://imgur.com/tVNsgrz)
* **Experience -** We went to Easter Service at a Catholic church in Osaka. The artwork and statues in the church were beautiful and it was interesting seeing the eastern influenced art/interpretations that you don’t normally see in the west. The differences ranged from the way historical figures dressed to the shape of their eyes and jawlines, etc.
* **Food & Experience – Northwood Tea Room (5/5)** \- Lovely tea spot in a more lived-in part of town. We stumbled upon this after leaving church in Osaka. They served a traditional English tea service and the ladies that worked here were SO NICE. They weren’t expecting English-speaking customers and they were SO patient as we navigated the menu using google lens and made our orders in extremely broken Japanese. In addition to the phenomenal service, the tea sandwiches, scones, and desserts that we ordered were amazing.
* [\[Northwood Tea Room\]](https://imgur.com/z9cY1ue)
* **Experience** \- There was a Yoasobi concert on this day at Osaka-Jo hall, which is near Osaka Castle. We tried to get tickets ahead of time but it was SUPER difficult. I had tried working with a service recommended on this subreddit where the service would buy tickets for us, but it required our getting a Japanese phone number along with a bunch of other steps given we were purchasing in the secondary market. Ultimately, it ended up being too much of a hassle to get tickets, but we still checked out the outside area near the concert and were able to pick up some merch. Still a very fun time.
* [\[Yoasobi Car\]](https://imgur.com/uZPXUYg)
* **Experience** \- We happened upon an outdoor amateur Japanese wrestling event – the festival food wasn’t anything to write home about but still a cool experience nonetheless
* [\[Japanese Wrestling pic\]](https://imgur.com/izyC7CY)
* **Food – Dottonbori (4/5)** \- Good food all around, only issue was that a lot of the lines were a bit long
* [\[Gyoza in Dottonbori\]](https://imgur.com/2HOnHdm)
* **Food – McDonalds (2.5/5)** \- Had a shrimp burger and french fries. I may or may not have gotten sick from the shrimp burger.
* **Food – Chao Chao Gyoza (4/5)** \- Open until 1am, this Gyoza chain had a huge menu which included horse sashimi which we weren’t brave enough to try! There was one other patron here when we arrived and they were openly talking shit about us as we sat down and ordered our food. The lone worker didn’t indulge and even apologized to us about the other patron once they left. Food and drinks were great. We ordered about 30 gyozas and plenty of ginger highballs and lemon chu-hais. When the shop was about to close down, I realized that the restaurant didn’t accept credit card and we didn’t have enough cash. I had to run to an ATM to withdraw some cash. When I got back, the restaurant worker was talking to my wife through google translate about common interests and Yoasobi. Technology rocks.
* [\[Chao Chao Gyoza\]](https://imgur.com/861ytrf)
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**Monday, April 10 – Nara Day Trip (16,100 steps, 6.75 miles):**
* **Food – Gyukatsu Motomura (5/5)** \- While searching for lunch in Osaka before heading to Nara, we noticed a line forming outside a restaurant we recognized from TikTok videos. We queued up and only had to wait 15-minutes. The set included barley rice, miso soup, wasabi dipping sauce, cabbage, potato salad, roe, and the star of the show – fried beef cutlets, known as gyukatsu. The gyukatsu is initially served raw in the center, and the restaurant provides a grill for you to cook it to your liking. It was a delightful and interactive experience with top-notch food. Even a year later, I find myself reminiscing about this memorable meal.
* [\[Gyukatsu\]](https://imgur.com/MosSdHM)
* **Food – Rikuro’s Cheesecake (5/5)** \- After leaving the Gyukatsu restaurant stuffed, we had to try the famous Japanese cheesecake around the corner! We’ve had similar products in the US but nothing really compares to the real thing in Japan. The cheesecake was light, airy, and fluffy with a subtle sweetness that balanced out the whole dessert. This was my wife’s favorite bite of the whole trip.
* [\[Cheesecake\]](https://imgur.com/GcmRW6f)
* **Lamp Bar (5/5)** \- After exploring Nara, we found ourselves at Lamp Bar near the Nara train station. While it was noticeably touristy with few locals in sight, the standout feature was the phenomenal drinks. We were fortunate to sit at the bar. Since there’s no printed menu, you share your preferences with the bartender, and they either whip up a classic or creative cocktail that fits your palette. We loved every drink and ended up staying for a few hours.
* [\[Bar\]](https://imgur.com/QkbC1WC) | [\[Espresso Martini-ish Drink\]](https://imgur.com/MiVOxiH)
* **Toriyasu (Food 1.5/5, Vibes 10/5)** \- We reluctantly left Lamp Bar as we realized we were becoming more intoxicated without having eaten anything. The challenge was that it was around 8:30/9:00PM, and there were only a few open restaurants. Fortunately, we stumbled upon a yakitori spot that resembled someone’s home and had zero signage on the outside. Upon sliding open the door, all 11 patrons and two women behind the bar paused to stare at us (one of the women was 81!!). I mustered up the courage to yell out “Konichiwa!” and one of the couples at the bar moved down a seat to make room for us. We spent the next hour chatting with the Japanese couple via google translate. They were an older couple with college-aged kids, they helped us order food and we all drank the night away. One of the weirder things we ate here was raw chicken (torisashi) and raw chicken liver. The patrons in the restaurant all stared as we ate, and after giving a sheepish “Oishi” with both thumbs up, everyone cheered. It was in fact, NOT oishi. We drank with everyone at the restaurant and followed a few of the other patrons on instagram (including the friendly couple), and as we left the friendly couple walked with us to the train station as they needed to head back to Osaka too. We all fell asleep on the train ride back.
* [\[Outside of Restaurant\]](https://imgur.com/qEHWu1V)
* [\[Torisashi & Rebasashi\]](https://imgur.com/J5xeleQ) | [\[Yakitori & Stuffed Chicken Skin\]](https://imgur.com/YmHANh7) | [\[Artwork by 81 year old owner\]](https://imgur.com/08o6idi)
* Chao Chao Gyoza (5/5) – After getting back to Osaka, there was still enough time to swing by Chao Chao and grab some more gyozas, a ginger highball, and a plum wine & soda. Solid end to a great night.
* [\[More Gyoza\]](https://imgur.com/2D8AoGL)
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**Tuesday, April 11 – Osaka (9,200 steps, 3.85 miles):**
* **Food – Random Pizza Place (0.5/5)** \- We needed something quick and easy as we were running late to our aquarium reservation. We opted for a slice of pizza next to the aquarium as there were a ton of people at the konbini. Not great.
* [\[Sad Pizza\]](https://imgur.com/njNkh9f)
* **Food – Kushikatsu Bon Kitasinchi (5/5) -** Perfect meal. Outstanding service. The restaurant seats 12 people with three chefs cooking for everyone. The operation was impressive with the chefs seamlessly collaborating to batter, fry, and season the food before it hits your plate. After an 18 course meal, more highballs, chu-his, sake, and plum liquor, we were full and happy. The couple next to us were excited to practice their English so we had a good time chatting them. Near the beginning of the meal, the restaurant staff asked if we were celebrating anything and we told them it was our honeymoon. Near the end of the meal, they brought us a bouquet of flowers with a happy anniversary note as well as custom desserts with “Happy Anniversary” written on it. So, so special.
* [\[Kushikatsu 1\]](https://imgur.com/lhWo9IK) | [\[Kushikatsu 2\]](https://imgur.com/Sf7RXrL) | [\[Flowers\]](https://imgur.com/sWGbVtk) | [\[Dessert\]](https://imgur.com/gNKes11)
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**Wednesday, April 12 – Osaka –> Tokyo (??? steps, ??? miles):**
* **Hotel – Nohga Hotel Ueno Tokyo (4/5)** \- Nice hotel, located in a quiet neighborhood that’s under a ten-minute walk from the hustle and bustle of Ameyoko, Ueno Park, and Ueno station.
* **Food – Ekiben (4/5)** – Rice bowl cooked in beef broth, soy sauce, beef and veggies. Yum!
* [\[Ekiben\]](https://imgur.com/YQ4HlnE)
* **Food – Ekiben (5/5)** – Rice bowl with crab meat and shredded nori on top. Double Yum!
* [\[Ekiben 2\]](https://imgur.com/ih33oz3)
* **Food – Vegan Ramen UZU Tokyo (4/5)** \- This is the restaurant right outside of Teamlabs Planets. Lots of flavor in both of their meatless ramen options! The broth is rich with just the right amount of spice, and the noodles were springy with decent texture. Tough to find seating as everyone’s waiting to get into teamlabs and the wait for food CAN be a little bit long. If you’re planning on eating here, either eat after teamlabs or arrive well before your teamlabs reservation.
* [\[Vegan Ramen\]](https://imgur.com/out4s5P)
* **Food – Random Sushi Restaurant (3/5)** \- We went to a random 24-hour sushi restaurant. There was one server that was completely overwhelmed. Every unoccupied table/bar seat had dirty dishes on it, whenever a new customer came in, the server had to clear space then quickly get drink orders in. Fortunately, we were sat at the bar so we were able to order directly from the chef. We ordered chanwanmushi, a bunch of sushi, and as usual, plum wine liquor and highballs. A good reminder that even the “average” sushi restaurants in Japan are legit.
* **Experience – Shibuya Sky (5/5)** \- Gets a bit crowded but we booked the sunset time slot for Shibuya Sky, and it was totally worth it. It was a lot of fun taking pictures and taking in the entire city from an awesome vantage point. Was a great thing to do on our last day.
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My last notes for Thursday/Friday are a bit of a mess so I won’t type up anything for those days. Here are some pictures of food that we ate around Ueno/Taito City area (not pictured was some incredible Italian food within walking distance of our hotel – I regret not noting down its name).
[\[Yakiniku\]](https://imgur.com/lQHx3zz) | [\[Sushi\]](https://imgur.com/sroWge7)
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by KitchenCabinetIsOpen