Trip Report Feb 2020 – Tokyo & Yamagata Area

WARNING, VERY LONG POST!

I’ve been putting off posting my trip report for a whole year but here it is! It’s a long one, sorry…

My friend was very lucky to have been offered a business trip to Japan so I invited myself along to have a good excuse to visit my favourite country for the 4th time! My husband and my close friend decided to come along as well and another close friend who lives in Singapore was over there for his usual February trip.

On previous trips we’d covered a large amount of Tokyo, Kyoto and Hokkaido; as we didn’t feel there was enough time to cover the West of the country this time, we decided to go North and cover the Sendai area. We had to stay in Tokyo for the first 4 days as my friend on the business trip had to stay near her work but we aimed to cover things we hadn’t done before.

We travelled just as Coronavirus was starting to become more prominent outside of China but it was not really a big threat in Japan at that time.

# Day 1 – Fri 7th (Akihabara)

**Morning**

We arrived from our BA flight at 10.35 am, picked up our pocket wifi & JR pass in the airport and headed to our accommodation in Asakusa (where we always stay!). We opted for the JR East Pass as that would cover all our Sendai Travel and luckily, unlike the standard JR pass, it doesn’t have to be used the full week, you activate each day as you need to.

**Afternoon**

Still feeling pretty jetlagged, we decided to get some sandwiches, onigiri and snacks in the close by Lawson. Food in the convenience stores in Japan is generally very good, it’s always a handy fall back if you can’t be bothered to look for something locally. After filling up on food, we headed to the only place we consider worthy enough to walk around in a jetlagged haze, Akihabara.

I cannot count the number of times we’ve been to Akihabara across our 4 trips, it’s my favourite place in the world and the area I have to go straight to as soon as I’m on Japanese soil. After a few hours wandering around, buying too many nerdy things and getting very lost in Mandrake, we met up with our two friends who were already in Tokyo and headed to a local Izakaya.

Unfortunately I can’t find the name of the place which is a shame, it was honestly adorable. A proper little traditional Izakaya with friendly and helpful staff. We went a bit nuts and ordered pretty much one of everything, perfect food when your stomach doesn’t know what time it is and you’re trying to stay awake! After filling up and managing not to fall asleep in our food, we headed back to the hotel to sleep.

# Day 2 – Sat 8th (Hakone)

**Morning**

Jetlag really is a pain in the bum, we woke up about 4 am so decided to catch the sunrise around Sensoji Temple. I love Asakusa and at 5 am it’s such a peaceful place, I would definitely recommend getting there early before the hoards of crowds descend. Unfortunately the clouds meant we didn’t see the sunrise but it was still beautiful none-the-less.

Once our friends were awake at a more reasonable hour (lucky them!) we travelled to Shinjuku station to start the journey to Hakone. We had one friend who didn’t get a JR pass so we opted for the longer but cheaper local train, it took 2 hours but only cost around £12, I ended up sleeping pretty much the whole way anyway. We changed at Odawara Station to meet our 5th party member (As he chose to use the JR pass anyway to save an hour!) and grabbed Ramen near the station.

**Afternoon**

Karubi Ramen is right outside Odawara Station and was exactly what we needed! Ordering on a vending machine so we didn’t have to use our limited Japanese skills, we sat down and enjoyed the locals giving us funny looks, I suspect they don’t get many Western tourists in Odawara. The [Pork Rib Ramen](https://imgur.com/rFNxErW), their speciality, arrived in good time and was delicious! Typically messy and endless, we chowed down and headed off to catch the train to Hakone

Unfortunately due to the recent bad weather, 2 of the 4 transport methods on the Hakone Free Pass Loop were closed. We got a bus to the ropeway stop and clambered aboard, only for one friend to tell us she was scared of heights as the doors closed. We enjoyed the spectacular sights of the ropeway while mocking/comforting our scared friend but much to our dismay, Fujisan was in hiding. Now me and my husband have a running joke on this, in all of our 4 trips whenever we attempt to see Fuji up close, he always hides so we were disappointed, but not surprised. We jumped off at the [top](https://imgur.com/KT095vA) of the ropeway to grab some photos and some black eggs, we couldn’t turn down an extra 7 years of life from eating one! After deciding the 7 years is unlikely to stack depending on how many eggs you ate, we hopped back on the ropeway to travel down.

After the ropeway we got on the [Pirate Ship](https://imgur.com/4oMtbN3) across the lake and my god it was windy! Beautiful but freezing. After getting off we decided to wander over to the Hakone Torii and grab a scenic photo. Unfortunately about 80 other people had decided they also wanted the same photo and the queue was ridiculous! Being the impatient people we are, we opted for a sneaky [side on shot](https://imgur.com/1w69J9Z) so we didn’t have to queue. After that we grabbed another bus back to the station and returned to Shibuya for dinner.

As all my friends who came on this trip will know, I have a fairly major obsession with Japanese Curry, it was actually our wedding meal, that’s how much I love it! So as we’d been in Japan over 24 hours, I had to insist it was curry time and luckily my friends are wonderfully accommodating people. We thought we’d try JS Curry Shibuya as it had good reviews and was local. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food, only mild criticism was that the butter chicken didn’t have much chicken in it.

After food we weren’t quite ready to go to bed so we popped into a nearby arcade, Adores, for some games and photo booth photos. Now 3 of the 5 friends on this trip are not what I would call the standard customer for booth photos as they were sensible 30 year old men, so it took a little bit of persuading to get them to do it. If you’ve never done Japanese photo booths before, I would 100% recommend it even as someone who hates having their photo taken like I am, just don’t take it too seriously! The best bit is after, when you get to edit your photos and add words and stickers, we couldn’t stop laughing the whole time, even the reluctant ones seem to enjoy it in the end. We were exhausted after that so headed back to the hotel for the night.

# Day 3 – Sun 9th (Skytree & Odaiba)

**Morning**

In 3 of my 4 trips to Japan, we’ve attempted to go up the Skytree but something unexpected has always prevented us, whether it was not realising it was valentines day (whoops) or high winds meaning it was closed. This time I was on a mission to finally do it and also to tick another thing off the list finally, actually see Mt Fuji. We arrived at the Skytree at around 10 am not knowing how busy it was going to be, luckily it was empty so we whizzed up to the top. It’s always worth checking what exhibits are on at the top of the Skytree as we were super lucky and saw the Final Fantasy 7 exhibit, some of us are big fans!

As we went early-ish, it wasn’t too busy and the sky was beautifully clear, so clear you could even see [Fuji](https://imgur.com/3ZOfomH)! After 4 trips over 10 years I finally got to see him, even if it was from hundreds of miles away! We decided to do both decks but only to see the exhibit, I would say it’s not worth getting the upper deck ticket as well if you’re just going for the view, it’s not much different. As big Final Fantasy fans, me and my friend couldn’t turn down a drink in the themed cafe and although it was very cool to be sitting with a Cloud-themed drink at the top of one of the tallest buildings in the world, the drink was not great! I’d say it would be an easy skip unless you really need a sit down and a drink like I did.

After our trip up the Skytree we headed down and started making our way to Asakusa to explore the Sensoji area while the shops were open. My god it was so busy! After we were done, it was time to say goodbye to our Singapore friend as his flight was leaving that evening; our party was down to 4 members. With that we decided to head to Odaiba to cover a few must-dos on our list.

**Afternoon**

Most of us had actually been to Odaiba before but we all agreed it was worth heading back to in order to visit one of the TeamLab experiences. But firstly, it was time to take photos of the [Gundam](https://imgur.com/kXTwNuE), which is always a must, and grab some lunch in Aqua City. My two friends fancied sushi but I don’t eat fish so me and my husband found a nearby Indian restaurant. [Mumbai](https://goo.gl/maps/2hJNaaeukwAyyAnv8) was surprisingly good, I’d say it was worth going for the [view](https://imgur.com/ZSokuAN) alone. Once we’d demolished our lunch, we met back up with our sushi friends and headed for TeamLabs.

When we were planning this trip we did extensive research on the two TeamLab options; the general consensus online was that Borderless has more to see but Planets is more of an interesting linear experience. As we all quite liked the idea of wading around in water as part of the experience, we decided to go with Planets. Luckily it wasn’t too busy and we pretty much walked straight in after talking our shoes and socks off. After days of walking constantly, the warm water was such a welcome part of the exhibit. We had a lot of fun walking around, experiencing different textures on our feet and absorbing crazy [lights](https://imgur.com/rJVcZkh) with our eyes. It ended up lasting about an hour but I’d say it was definitely worth it, it’s an experience I’m not sure I’ll ever have again!

Once we’d left Planets one of our friends was so entranced by it she just had to go and do Borderless too, being a wonderful friend and generally curious how they were different, I decided to keep her company. The two guys were less bothered and decided to skip borderless in favour of going to our next destination earlier, so we decided to meet them there after. Pretty much all the most popular exhibits had queues of 30-60 mins to get in, we took our shocked faces to look around the other exhibits with the intention to return later when it was less busy. Where Planets was a linear and sensory experience, Borderless was more on a smashed together maze. A lot of the exhibits felt quite samey, a variation of pretty [lights](https://imgur.com/dicDdCi) in various patterns but the ones that had tried something a bit different were very enjoyable. Luckily we returned to the popular exhibits later and the queues had pretty much gone so we saw everything we wanted to in about 1 hour 30. Although both are great experiences, my preference was definitely Planets, it felt more like an experience and was far less stressful to navigate! After our trippy few hours, we were ready to relax so we headed off to meet the boys at Onsen Monogatari.

Now we were reluctant about Onsen Monogatari, on the one hand we really wanted to do an onsen in Tokyo as we were all big fans, but on the other hand many of the reviews said it felt a bit touristy and fake. We figured we’d give it a shot at the cheaper post-6pm slot and see how it was. I’m really glad we took the risk, it ended up being one of my highlights of Tokyo! When you arrive you’re given an electronic bracelet which you use to buy things while you’re inside, it was so helpful but also a little dangerous as you have no idea what you’re spending. After that you have a choice of yukata design and sash before you head into the locker rooms to change. There are English signs everywhere explaining the process luckily, so we changed into our yukata and went to find our friends who had already been relaxing for two hours. The stalls in the food court had all different Japanese specialties, we opted for the Katsudon stall to play it safe. After that we headed for the outside foot bath which, although decorated very OTT in a neon Alice in Wonderland theme, was very relaxing while it was dark and a bit chilly. The footbath is also some sort of pain obstacle course with lumpy stones throughout to help encourage blood flow but jeez, it was incredibly painful! My husband managed to get all the way around while we sat in comfort laughing at his pain sounds, interesting if you’re up for a challenge at least.

After the pain and the cold of the footbath, we decided to head to the onsen baths to relax some more. If anyone would like to try an onsen but is worried about the nakedness, I’d say try it anyway! I’m very body conscious and it is uncomfortable for the first 10 mins but after that it becomes weirdly normal and now I can do an onsen easily without embarrassment! Out of all the onsen I’ve been to, I’d say Monogatari had one of the best selections of pools, many different temperature options and water types. Luckily for me it even had a ‘colder’ pool which was a far more comfortable 35 degrees instead of the other 40+ pools that overheat me too quickly. All in all it was a very pleasant 3-5 hours we spent there and although it was all a bit fake and touristy, it was very relaxing and is probably worth a shot if you’re not a traditional onsen snob. I can’t remember how much the final bill was, I think it was around £30-40 which isn’t bad for a whole evening’s entertainment with dinner and desert! Of course we were very tired and chilled after that so we headed back to the hotel.

# Day 4 – Mon 10th (Shinjuku & Harajuku)

**Morning**

After a tiring day before, we decided to meet up a bit later in Shiba Park for our last day in Tokyo. Although none of us were bothered about going up the Tokyo Tower as we’d done the Skytree the day before, we thought it would still be nice to see it up close and have a look at the nearby park. The temple in the middle of the park was really pretty and we were lucky enough to see a religious ceremony while we were there, although the smell of the incense eventually caused us to leave and clear our noses. After a brief stroll, we decided to head to Harajuku for some shopping.

**Afternoon**

As someone led by their stomach, lunch was necessary before shopping could be fully enjoyed and after my insulted reaction to my friends having never tried omurice, we felt that was a good choice. Luckily there was a highly rated place right near the station so we headed for our delicious [Omurice](https://imgur.com/hsuAe7g) at Tamago Kitchen. The place was tiny but very cute, we all chose something different so we could try each other’s. Generally everyone enjoyed their food, a few murmurs of some people’s being better than others but that’s always likely to happen.

After we were sufficiently full, shopping could commence! We started on Cat Street for the biggest selection of fashion places but unfortunately as a slightly curvy (UK size 12) western girl, whenever I asked for size info they would just shake their head so I opted for not doing any clothes shopping. It is also worth noting we went into a few nerdy merchandise shops down Cat Street and the items in there were 3-4 times more expensive than Akihabara! So don’t bother looking for anything other than fashion in Harajuku, you’re likely to be ripped off.

After the pizzazz and moderness of Harajuku, we fancied some mild culture so we travelled on to Shinjuku for the Samurai Museum. After about 15 mins or so of waiting, the next tour was ready and off we went to learn about some badass [Samurai](https://imgur.com/F8vQATo). We were joined by 2 Irish guys and 2 French guys which unfortunately wasn’t beneficial for the poor tour guide, he tried so hard with his jokes but our 3 nationalities are not known for their amazing crowd participation skills. Regardless of many of his jokes falling flat, he continued and the history he taught us was genuinely very interesting. The museum is quite small but feels well spaced out while we were the only ones in there, I’d imagine on a busy day it would feel quite cramped. After the tour which lasted around an hour, we were given the opportunity to try on some replica Samurai gear and not being ones to turn down a silly photo opportunity, we agreed. They had 3 sets of armour and 3 kimonos to choose from but as we had 2 progressive women in our group who wanted armour and swords, my husband ended up in the dress and, of course, he looked beautiful!

Sustenance was once again required after our tour so the lovely guy on the front desk gave us a recommendation for a local Izakaya that the staff visit often, Taketora. There was a little bit of a wait but that’s certainly a good sign on a Monday night and we were eventually sat in our walled off booth. As with the Izakaya on our first night, we ordered loads of bits and pieces and went to town, it was all delicious and reasonably priced.

Keeping with the theme of private booths, we decided to take the plunge and do something none of us had ever done before… karaoke. Now as a group of friends, we’d known each other 10+ years, been on multiple holidays together and seen many embarrassing moments, but yet there was something still so exposing about singing in front of each other. We did a fair amount of research as to whether karaoke bars were English friendly but it seems like Shinjuku in general has a large selection of appropriate places so we chose one nearby and jumped in at the deep end. They put us in a nice big [room](https://imgur.com/ImoXyqs) and left us to it but after 10 mins we realised we had no idea what we were doing and had to get the waiter in to help us turn the kit on! After the first nerve-wracking song, we settled into mostly comfort, we even decided to extend it by 30 mins as we were having fun! Definitely worth doing if you’ve not done it before, it’s certainly less nerve-wracking doing it in a room with friends!

Unfortunately our friend was due to fly home the next day so we said our goodbyes and our party size was down to 3. Time to travel outside of Tokyo for some countryside!

# Day 5 – Tues 11th (Matsushima)

**Morning**

We checked out earlish and headed for the station ready for our train to Sendai. We decided to leave our suitcases in Tokyo and do the next part of our trip via backpack, it’s certainly much easier for travelling around! We grabbed some lunch bits from the 7/11 and began our 2 hour journey north.

**Afternoon**

Having been warned that Sendai wasn’t the most exciting city in Japan, we opted to skip the city itself and travel to Matsushima instead. We chucked our backpacks in a locker at the station and jumped on the very scenic train. We started are very long walk by reaching the water and travelling along the bank taking in the beautiful scenery. There are a few lovely [temples](https://imgur.com/nYkEPAR) in the area too but many of them have entrance fees, so we decided to go to the smaller temple that included a [Zen Garden](https://imgur.com/nCUhybt) as we’d not seen one on our trip so far (and it was cheaper than the others!).

After wandering around for a bit we started heading back but noticed a long bridge to an island that intrigued us. It turned out to be Fukuurajima Island, it cost a few hundred yen to cross but we fancied an adventure so we took a look. The island itself didn’t have much on it, a single shop selling ice cream and a few pagoda seating areas, but it offered really wonderful views of the water and the surrounding islands. With sore feet, we trekked back to the station to head back into Sendai for dinner. We spent the train journey deciding our dinner plans, I was insistent a trip to japan was not complete until Yakiniku had been eaten so we chose a [Yakiniku](https://g.page/nikujuhachi_nakakecho?share) place with alright reviews near the station and shimmied on down. We ate our fill of meat, even a few of the complimentary deserts (apple ice cream is a revelation) and went on our way to our final destination and sleeping location, Yamagata.

# Day 6 – Weds 12th (Zao Onsen)

**Morning**

I can’t believe I’d gotten to this point in the trip and had only been to Mister Donut once, it was criminal! So a visit was in order now we didn’t have complimentary breakfast anymore. Their donuts are the best ever, so fluffy and light, I could eat them every day (and I’m fairly certain on some of our trips I have…). Our side trip for the day was Zao Onsen, a skiing resort with very cool snow monsters. After our scenic bus journey up the mountains we arrived in Zao Onsen and headed straight for the ropeway, where we were met by an unreasonably long queue.

**Afternoon**

After queuing for well over an hour, we were crammed into the ropeway car for the most uncomfortable 15 mins of our lives. We were so squished in the staff literally had to push people in! At the top of the mountain we were stunned by the [beauty](https://imgur.com/CTKpBkJ), I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Deep snow as far as the eye could see and snow-covered trees dotting the landscape. Of course, it was damn cold up there!

We were cold and pretty wiped out from all the walking on the trip so far, so we decided while we were in an area famous for sulphur water, it would be rude not to try out a local onsen. We found one on the way back to the bus stop that looked promising and we shuffled in to be met by a lovely older lady keen to help us get ready for the [Onsen](https://goo.gl/maps/V16B6Ydipy98EbwY8). Everything was ordered via a vending machine, which was new for us in an onsen situation. The baths were lovely, just one big inside bath and a few different options outside in the snow, which I’m always a sucker for. After our relaxing bath we hopped back on the bus to Yamagata for some dinner.

I’ve mentioned my food obsessions a lot in this but never my husband’s, he has a mild obsession with Yakitori and will suggest it for every meal possible. It was finally time we gave in and found him a really good Yakitori place to get stuck into. Luckily after getting lost, we found the [place ](https://goo.gl/maps/gJCxQiC6xkjry2V76)we were looking for, and it was packed in there. We managed to get 3 seats on the bar and they handed us an english menu, a rarity in Yamagata. My gosh the yakitori there was a wonder, honestly so good, we could have eaten there every night. The staff were really sweet and welcoming, even if they didn’t speak much English and the atmosphere felt really homely.

# Day 7 – Thurs 13th (Yamadera & Ginzan Onsen)

**Morning**

This day was due to be a busy one, we were going to try and fit two day trips into one day, potentially crazy but we wanted more time in Tokyo the next day. First stop was Yamadera, one trip I’d been simultaneously looking forward to and dreading. It’s a beautiful temple at the top of a mountain with a whopping 1000 steps to the top in icy conditions; I am not a particularly fit person so I was concerned I wouldn’t make it to the top.

Yamadera is only 20 mins by train from Yamagata but they’re not all that regular so definitely check the times beforehand. There is a little temple area before the big climb begins and even that was very slippy, I wasn’t holding on to hope for me making it out of this trip without falling on my arse. We started the climb up the icy steps but luckily we had to take it slow, and I think that’s what enabled me to make it to the top without too much difficulty. There are plenty of little places to stop on the way to observe the beautiful forest you climb through, we were lucky enough that it was foggy while we were there making everything a bit more mystical. At the top you’ll find a few temples and a viewing platform, the temples are worth checking out but the real highlight is the [view](https://imgur.com/1fqhDNQ) from the platform. After sliding our way all the way to the start of the steps, I’m pleased to say we managed it without any embarrassing falling over incidents, a true achievement.

**Afternoon**

With no time to spare, we jumped back on the train (after waiting an hour in the station first because of our terrible timing) and headed for Oishida. After our tiring trek that morning, we were definitely in need of some food but Oishida is not the thriving town we expected. We needed to stay near the station as our bus to Ginzan Onsen was in an hour but it seemed like there was nothing nearby at all, not even a convenience store! Luckily we spotted a cafe not too far away and thought we’d try our luck. It ended up being the [Totoro Cafe](https://goo.gl/maps/85ZQJg2yhbFz68qu7), much to my pleasure as a Ghibli fan, and they served curry, a match made in heaven for me. When the bus arrived it was the oldest running bus I’ve ever seen, it looked like it was from the 1920’s. The bus was packed and certainly not designed for a 6ft 4 man to stand in the aisle, my poor husband spent almost an hour hunched over holding on for dear life while not banging his head and it’s honestly the most uncomfortable I’ve ever seen him! It was not a good start to our Ginzan Onsen trip.

The reason we wanted to go to Ginzan Onsen is our friend from Singapore, who was with us earlier in the trip, had been last year and had taken some photos there that made it look magical. A very traditional looking Japanese town covered in snow, just our kind of thing. Unfortunately for us, hundreds of tourists along with some grey clouds had descended onto Ginzan making it incredibly busy and not hugely picturesque. That paired with our hellish journey there meant we were incredibly underwhelmed by Ginzan Onsen. It’s just one single area with [traditional buildings](https://imgur.com/Z4PHTZB) either side of the river and it is pretty, it’s just not worth the hassle of getting there and wading through the tourists.

Happy to be back in Yamagata, we decided to track down some food and we figured we needed more ramen! We found a place on google where the reviews mentioned an English menu so, not wanting any more faff that day, opted for the easy choice. The [Ramen](https://goo.gl/maps/shtxHZgoRWiUAx279) place we chose was run by a lovely lady who had minimal English skills but made up for that in enthusiasm! I was thrilled to see they did curry ramen, unexpectedly my favourite type of ramen, and it really was very good, would highly recommend a stop there if you’re in Yamagata.

# Day 8 – Fri 14th (Ikebukuro)

**Morning**

We checked out and jumped on a train as early as we could to head back down to Tokyo, unfortunately travelling straight from Yamagata added an extra hour to our journey compared to the Sendai train. We arrived in Tokyo just before lunch so we dumped our bags in a locker at the station and headed to our first shopping destination, Ikebukuro.

**Afternoon**

Without wanting to waste too much time finding somewhere to eat, we stopped in Lotteria for a Teriyaki Burger. Before the trip we made a vow to only eat Japanese food on this trip to maximize our experience, but we figured as Lotteria is a Japanese chain and we were eating a very Japanese style burger, we could allow ourselves that one. Once full we went about our extensive shopping in the nerdy shops around Ikebukuro.

After we’d exhausted all the shopping in Ikebukuro, it was time to take our last visit to Akihabara as is tradition on our trips. We shopped and shopped, bought all the things and then stopped for food in one of our favourite places, [Coco Ichibanya](https://goo.gl/maps/NbzTyjjXzYXgM4bp8). We had our flight back early the next day, so we ended up chilling in Asakusa, playing some arcade games and eating McDonalds apple pies (as it was the only place open) while we discussed our awesome trip.

# Day 9 – Sat 15th (Home)

We returned home after our amazing trip 🙁