5d in Tokyo + 1d in Kyoto

My partner (34m) and I (31f) just returned from our vacation in Japan! We both went to Japan for very short trips separately years ago, we both love food/coffee and fashion, and had a bit of disposable income esp because our USD went a long way in JP. We also don’t mind a little waiting if we’re excited and the destination looks cool. We do not speak Japanese but tried our best to practice common phrases, but didn’t really end up needing it. As far as travel style, we are not big on sightseeing and just like to make food plans and figure it out on the fly. We also like walking and taking it easy if we need to since cramming schedules can be stressful.

Here is what we did on our major splurge trip 🙂

Day 1: flight from LAX>HND
– took the metro to our hotel, K5, which was very modern and cool. Stopped by 7-11 for snacks because we were so hungry.
– went and had late night yummy udon at Godaime Hanayama Udon Nihonbashi. There was a little wait, but it was yummy and we got there just in time for last call.

Day 2: walking/exploring day nearby Ginza-ish
– walked to Passenger Coffee for some toast and coffee
– walked to Ginza area and went to Eggs n’ Things with all the other tourists just cause we were really feeling like eating something familiar
– explored malls and shopped
– had a really cool nerdy coffee experience at Glitch Coffee
– had a casual curry lunch at Hot Spoon
– went back to the hotel to rest before heading to Shinjuku to explore
– went to bar Zoetrope and had a good but intimidating time ordering a drink 😭
– had a meaty yummy dinner at Yakiniku Motoyama before turning in

Day 3: night in Kyoto
– walked to Kayabaya for an early onigiri and sandwich breakfast because I was very jet lagged
– headed to Tokyo station and dropped off our things in a locker before heading to Kyoto for an overnight trip
– took the Shinkansen to Kyoto and checked in at Ace Kyoto, which was nice and VERY trendy
– walked through Nishiki Market which was crowded but fun, and had tempura snacks!
– went to Bar Rocking Chair which was AMAZING. Yummy cocktails, snacks, and vibe.
– went to a late dinner at Vinaino and didn’t really enjoy it, but there weren’t a lot of options at that point

Day 3: day in Kyoto before Tokyo
– woke and meant to go to a drip coffee place, but then wandered into Ogawa Coffee Sakaimachi Nishiki which had a wait and felt a little extra but we loved it! Had a fancy griddled toast and some fun coffee drinks.
– tried to get some ramen nearby but the wait was long so we went to 手打蕎麦 みながわ 京御池 for some chill and yummy lunch
– went to Flip Up Bakery for train snacks and it was SO YUMMY
– grabbed a very special box of sweets at a place I cannot remember the name of, but it was near the hotel and was so beautifully put together. I remember the pine dew sweets were so yummy and unique.
– we were originally going to spend a day in Osaka but it seemed like such a time crunch and it started raining so we headed back to Tokyo via Shinkansen, grabbed our things at the locker, and headed to Aoyama Grand for the last hotel (swanky af!)
– went to Tonkatsu Wako in Shibuya for a yummy katsu set dinner before a nightcap at Bar Ishinohana (amazing!)

Day 4: dead tired in Tokyo
– had a nice coffee at Baggage and puffy pancakes at A Happy Pancake Omotesando
– took to metro to Akihabara and checked out all the gacha machines and stores like Super Potato
– went back to the hotel and had lunch at the there (Belcomo), which was decent esp cause we were soooo tired
– rested before going to the New Otani for a buffet dinner, it’s not really what we thought as it was recommended by a friend to do for fun but we’re easy and the shortcake was yummy
– we’re dorks so we went to Trader Vic’s in the hotel because we like Tiki drinks

Day 5: chill day in Shibuya/Ometesando
– had breakfast at Espresso & Bread and sat in the little park to see all the cute dogs walk by
– hung around the shops in Ometesando before lunch
– had our reserved omakase sushi lunch at Kanesaka, which turned out to be inside our hotel. BF is not the biggest sushi eater so I was very proud he ate everything at this special meal
– did more shopping in Shibuya before another dinner at the hotel (we were very tired and the hotel had another fancy restaurant at the roof, Italian)

Day 6: last day!
– woke up late and got breakfast at City Bakery downstairs before checking out and keeping our luggage at the front desk (they were cool about it)
– met a local friend for lunch with their family and had a traditional Japanese lunch in Shibuya. We first met at the Hachi statue which is very cute and made us miss our dog. They ordered for us in Japanese so I don’t remember what it was called but it was excellent. Plus I was happy to eat Japanese food after being lazy and eating pasta the night before.
– went to don quixote for last minute gifts and Hikarie mall for so many cute dessert gifts for our parents. I was obsessed since I love sweets.
– grabbed our luggage and headed to Haneda/home

by pessi-what