Trip Report, Dec 15-31 in Tokyo-Toba-Kyoto-Kanazawa. Tldr: we ate a lot of food!

Hi, I did a lot of lurking on this subreddit, thank you to everyone who posts helpful info! This is very long and incredibly food-heavy trip report, but I’ll put highlights in a comment below. 
I traveled with my partner (both early 30s) for just over two weeks, leaving from California Dec 15 and returning Dec 31. This was my third time visiting and his second time. My parents also traveled with us for parts of the trip, hence why we revisited some places we’d been to before. 

Background info:

– I have a moderate grasp of conversational Japanese and can read kana plus elementary kanji. That being said, we still used Google’s image translation for convenience.
– Our priorities were eating good food including local specialties, a ryokan splurge, and visiting some new places.
– Our interests include food and cooking, music, history, arts and traditional craftsmanship. My partner is into Ultimate Frisbee, and I like knitting, so we wanted to explore both those hobbies, but in Japan. On the food front, I love yuzu and my partner loves sweet potato, so we ate a lot of stuff featuring those ingredients
– We don’t really drink much, so we didn’t do a ton of evening activities and often got up early instead and spent the time walking around the neighborhoods.

Preparation:

– Started planning mid-September, as it seemed like the country was going to open up, bought our plane tickets a couple days before the official announcement. Ended up with about three months lead time–I actually liked planning at this pace because it was far enough ahead that we could reserve the things we wanted, but I didn’t have to wait a long time before the trip itself!
– My partner used our regular phone service (Google Fi Flexible Plan, $10/GB regardless of where the data was used) and I got a Mobal Japan Unlimited SIM including a Japanese phone number that I used when making restaurant reservations (7500 yen). Google Fi was basically seamless, we turned on our phones once we landed and it was ready to go in less than 5 minutes. More expensive than an esim, but it meant we could send and receive texts normally with people at home.
– Once we had our itinerary, I scoped out restaurants on Tabelog and tracked when reservations would open for my top picks. Ended up making reservations via email, Pocket Concierge, Omakase.in, and once through a hotel concierge in Kanazawa.

Transit:

– Did not buy a JR pass, as we were taking Kintetsu Limited Express trains for a large chunk of our itinerary and our major shinkansen travel covered 8 days.
– Purchased all our Shinkansen/Ltd. Express tickets online (via Ekinet, SmartEX, JR West, Kintetsu websites) so we could use a credit card, usually the night before travel. Never had a problem with not getting on the train we wanted this way.

12/15-12/16, Thursday-Friday, Tokyo

– Flew from SJC to NRT on Zipair (economy, but in the back so it was just the two of us in the row). The wifi was spotty, and you have to be prepared to pay for literally everything including water. Zipair was half the price of any other airline so we were fine with the extra costs and brought our own snacks/water/entertainment.
– Arrived 14:30, had completed everything for Visit Japan Web beforehand. We made it through customs/immigration/quarantine check in about an hour, since we were at the back of the plane, it probably would have been much quicker if we were at the front.
– My parents were on a different flight, so we hung out at the airport for an hour or so until they arrived. Picked up Suica, bought tickets for the Narita Express from the ticket machines in cash and headed into Tokyo.
– Our hotel was remm Tokyo Kyobashi, which I picked because it’s walking distance from Tokyo Station (so no transfers for my parents fresh off the plane), and right on top Kyobashi Station with the Ginza Line. It was your typical business hotel, though with a bit of extra space (good!) partly taken up by a small massage chair (less good, as it’s not too useful if you’re over 5’10”/170lbs or so).
– After checking into the hotel, picked up some snacks at the 7/11 downstairs and more or less collapsed into bed.

12/17, Saturday, Tokyo

– Jet lag had us up super early around 4:30 am, but did our best to doze until things started opening up. Met up with my parents for breakfast under Tokyo Station at [Hatsufuji Yaesu](https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1302/A130201/13021045/) right when they opened around 7. They apparently are more of an izakaya in the evening, but in the morning they do breakfast set meals. Simple but good, you can choose the amount of rice you want.
– Since we were already at the station, I picked up our shinkansen tickets for Tuesday (reserved via SmartEX) from the machines there, and we did a bit of exploring around that area before heading back to the hotel to get ready for lunch.
– Lunch was at [Hakkoku](https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130101/13217157/) (reserved via Omakase.in, ~1.5months in advance). I’m really glad this worked out because it was one of the few places that could do a reservation for three people–most places only had the option for one or two. Our seating was not with the head chef but with one of his apprentices, who was super friendly and did a spectacular job feeding us quite a lot (20 pieces!) of delicious sushi. In particular, I really enjoyed the tossaki (intensely tuna-y, served as a hand roll to start off), the marinated akami (nicely firm, perfectly balanced in saltiness), the cuttlefish with sudachi (smooth and almost creamy contrasted with bright citrus), and the brûléed tamago at the end (unusual and an interesting finish). There were six seats at our counter, and it was all foreigners: us, a couple from Canada, and a traveler from Taiwan, so the conversation ended up being mostly in English. It was lots of fun chatting, everyone was excited to be there and to eat good food.
– After lunch, we did some shopping around Ginza. I was excited to go to the Muji flagship store, but it was absolutely swamped with people (especially the tax-free checkout counter) so we just got a few things to try and left quickly. We stopped by [Ginza Tsubo Yakiimo](https://www.imo-tsubo.com/) and split half a freshly roasted sweet potato. This was one of our favorite things we had on the trip, while you’re waiting in line you watch the potatoes being roasted in these giant urns and it smells incredible. Delicious, and perfect for a cold day.
– We’d had such a huge lunch (plus half a sweet potato) that we wanted something smaller and more casual for dinner. Ended up at [Soba Kiri Miyota](https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1302/A130201/13223479/). I was hoping to get their duck/leek soba, but they were out and I instead got a mixed seafood kakiage soba, which was still very good, light and crispy.
– Took a look at the Daimaru basement food hall, but were honestly so full (and still quite jetlagged) that we ended up going back to the hotel to sleep a bit early.

12/18, Sunday, Tokyo

– This was the only chance we had to go the museums in Ueno as it was the one day in Tokyo 1) we didn’t have reservations/weren’t traveling, 2) wasn’t a Monday, and 3) wasn’t part of the year-end museum holidays.
– However, jetlag had us up before 5am again, so we had some time to kill before the museums opened. My partner went to the 24hr Sukiya for a gyudon breakfast, while I had conbini onigiri in the hotel, along with this wonderful orange juice from Lawsons that has (supposedly) the flesh of a whole mikan in it, mostly intact. Highly recommended if you like pulpy orange juice.
– Headed to Ueno around 9, an easy trip on the Ginza line, and started at the Tokyo National Museum. We only really saw the Japanese gallery, but we went through it pretty thoroughly; really enjoyed this as it takes you through a broad history of the arts in Japan, with an exemplar or two of each thing
– Took a break from museums to get lunch. We picked nearby [Ramen Nagayama](https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1311/A131104/13045680/), which had a super rich chicken-pork broth and extra-thick chunky noodles. Really cozy and warming, perfect for a slightly chilly day.
– Headed back to Ueno Park to take a look at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art. We weren’t really interested in the special exhibit and several of the “Citizen Galleries” were closed while they installed new exhibits, but one of the open galleries turned out to be the senior art exhibition for a Tokyo arts magnet high school (I think). The level of talent was shockingly high, and it was interesting to compare all the historical art traditions we’d just seen at the National Museum with the very contemporary, youthful work on display.
– We were pretty museum-ed out for the day, so we wandered over to Yanaka Ginza, which had made my shortlist by virtue of being famous for cats. We did see a couple of cats and chatted with one of the cat-souvenir-store owners about the one she feeds (named Taa-chan). Snacked on a yuzu donut but resisted most of the other offerings, though I kind of regret not standing in line for a croquette…
– We were struggling to stay awake at this point in the afternoon, so we went to the Joysound karaoke near our hotel to try and reenergize ourselves. Blew out our vocal cords over the next hour, but successfully managed to push through the jet lag.
– As we were leaving, I noticed that the Joysound was right next to [Sapporo Dominica](https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1302/A130202/13025381/), a soup curry store that I’d bookmarked as a good place to get some vegetables in our otherwise carb- and protein-heavy diet. You can choose the soup base, spice level, ingredients, and amount of rice. We both had the special chicken and vegetable curry and it was delicious: everything was well-cooked, well-spiced, and the chicken just fell off the bone. We didn’t last much longer past dinner, and just went back to the hotel to sleep.

12/19, Monday, Tokyo

– Up early again, so we had breakfast at a soba place around the corner, [Sobayoshi Kyobashi](https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1302/A130202/13006306/). Nothing fancy and I prefer a more rustic, buckwheat-y noodle, but quick, cheap, and a very good broth. Everyone else there seemed to be office workers on their way to work. After breakfast we arranged to ship our luggage to Kyoto. I had copies of all our hotel addresses in Japanese, which made this process pretty quick – recommended if you’re going to use the luggage delivery services.
– Once that was done, we headed to Asakusa to see Senso-ji. The path directly to the temple is pretty touristy, but there’s lots of interesting little shops and such if you wander away from the main strip. My sweet-potato-loving partner had a taiyaki filled with sweet potato from one of the stores and gave it the stamp of approval.
– Stopped in at [Mokuhankan](https://mokuhankan.com/asakusa/) to take a look at their collection of new and vintage woodblock prints. This was another thing that was nice to have done after visiting the National Museum and learning about the history and production of woodblock prints; I felt I appreciate the craftsmanship more! We spent quite a lot of time here, and ended up picking out a Hokusai reproduction of Mt. Fuji + geese, and a more modern print (also coincidentally featuring geese).
– We had done a lot of snacking so skipped lunch and instead went to [Dandelion Chocolate Japan](https://dandelionchocolate.jp/) in Kuramae. Their main locations are in the San Francisco Bay area, but there’s a number of things that are exclusive to the Kuramae factory/cafe. Split a slice of their special mousse cake and a hojicha hot chocolate–I was hoping to buy some more things here, but I think many of them must only be available on their online store, alas.
– After resting at the cafe, we decided to go up Skytree–we only went up to the regular deck, but it’s still a spectacular view and visibility was great. It was surprisingly not very crowded at all, except for as the sun started to set and everyone crammed to one side of the observation deck to try and take pictures of Mt. Fuji against the sunset.
– My partner was feeling like tonkatsu so we headed back to Kuramae to go to [Sugita](https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1311/A131103/13003707/). Their listed hours had them opening at 5pm, but when we got there there was a sign saying it was actually 5:30. So we wandered around the streets of Kuramae for half an hour until they opened. It was worth waiting for; it was a very comfortable atmosphere even though we were the only ones there at first. The chef fries the pork first in a higher-temperature oil, then a lower temperature for an extended period of time, then finishes in the original oil. It was beautifully juicy on the inside and crisp outside, and not too heavy (for tonkatsu, at least). We loved this and would go back in a heartbeat. Afterwards, back to the hotel to rest and pack for our transit the next day.

12/20, Tuesday, Tokyo ->Toba

– Ryokan day! Checked out of our hotel and had breakfast at a soba shop at Tokyo Station, where I had a small soba plus TKG. Took the Nozomi Shinkansen to Nagoya and had a nice view of Mt. Fuji on the way. Stashed our overnight bag in a coin locker at the station, then went and had sea bream chazuke for lunch at [Taicha Fukuno](https://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230101/23059298/) under a department store across the street. I had originally thought to have local miso katsu for lunch, but after having tonkatsu the previous night and anticipating our kaiseki dinner, we wanted something lighter instead. The tai chazuke was just what I wanted, slices of raw fish with a sesame sauce, bits of fluffy cooked fish, and a light but flavorful green tea/fish dashi broth. There’s only one item on the menu for lunch so it’s served very quickly, leaving us plenty of time (even a little too much time) before our next train.
– Next, took a Kintetsu Ltd. Express train to Toba. Almost everyone on the train got off at Ise, presumably to visit the shrine; we were the only ones in our car by the time it made it to Toba. From Toba Station we rode a little shuttle van up a narrow road all the way out to our ryokan on top of a hill.
– This was [Oyado The Earth](https://www.the-earth.in/en/) (pronounced “Zaa Aasu”), which I’d picked because 1) the food was well reviewed, and 2) all rooms had private baths looking out over the ocean. I’d had this idea in my head that I really wanted to sit in the bath and watch the sun rise over the sea, and that was exactly what I got. It’s a more modern style ryokan; I booked about 2.5 months in advance directly through their Japanese website, as there wasn’t any availability on other sites and I wanted to make sure I got the room I wanted.
– After checking in and having our welcome drink/snack/mini tour of the ryokan, we went on a mini ~20 minute trek down to the rocky beach. It’s located in Ise-Shima National Park, and it was lovely to feel so isolated in nature after several days in the middle of Tokyo. We took a quick bath (a perpetually perfect-temperature, always-full bath with a view is one of the greatest luxuries in the world) and then commenced our sumptuous dinner. They were able to accommodate (with advance notice) my partner’s allergies, even though they unfortunately included one of the local specialties, Ise spiny lobster.
– Dinner opened with a stunning yuzu aperitif and made good use of the local lobster, ama-harvested abalone, and Matsusaka beef. Lots of yuzu since it was winter time, and the quality of the vegetables/mushrooms was particularly good. It was wonderful though not quite transcendent, and despite being stuffed we were sent off with rice balls and nori-wrapped sesame miso for our midnight snack.

12/21, Wednesday, Toba -> Kyoto

– Got up early and spent a peaceful morning watching the sunrise from our bath and listening to a jazz cd we’d borrowed from the ryokan library. Breakfast was large and very involved, with some of the most beautiful dishes/tableware I saw in Japan. Standouts were the chawanmushi with yuzu, abalone, shrimp and mushrooms, and a dish that was bits of beef with burdock and green onions that was like gyudon topping on steroids. It was all very Japanese except for the addition of a salad with Italian dressing. At least it was a good salad?
– After a last dip in the bath, we checked out and took the little shuttle back down to the station and headed for Kyoto, with a transfer at Yamato-Yagi station.
– Hotel in Kyoto was Tokyu Stay Kyoto Sakaiza, centrally located right next to Nishiki market and importantly, with an in-room laundry machine. We dropped off our luggage and snacked our way through Nishiki Market for lunch, then walked over to Kiyomizu-dera. It wasn’t too crowded since pretty much all the autumn leaves were gone (though we did see a few people posing next to the one or two trees that still had a bit of color).
– Met up with my parents for dinner at [Yagura](https://tabelog.com/en/kyoto/A2601/A260301/26001631/) with nishin-soba and oyakodon. The herring was seasoned and cooked particularly well and everything else was solid.

12/22, Thursday, Kyoto

– Breakfast from the conbini, possibly our worst meal of the trip as we tried a microwavable meal, some 300 yen chicken-and-sauce thing and it was…not good.
– The morning was spent at the Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design (formerly Museum of Traditional Crafts). The 2020 renovations improved it a lot, there’s several new hands-on exhibits and the docents were very excited to show us how to use them since it wasn’t very busy.
– Lunch was at [Hassun](https://tabelog.com/kyoto/A2601/A260301/26002259/dtlrvwlst/) and was exceptional. My previous experience with kaiseki in Kyoto had been at Kikunoi, where we were in a private room and it felt very weighty with tradition and formality, though the food was delicious. This was far more in line with my tastes; everything was done right in front of you at the counter, from grilling the fish to the choosing of tableware from the extensive collection in the cabinet behind the chefs. Our four-person party was the only one there, so we had lots of time to talk with the chef who was happy to explain the various ingredients and their origins.
– It was a very traditional kaiseki meal; not super flashy or focused on luxury, but everything was intensely fresh, perfectly cooked, and a delight to eat. My favorite course was probably the suimono/clear soup, which had fluffy sea bream, bitter mizuna, and grilled mochi in the most gorgeously smooth and delicate dashi broth scented with yuzu peel. It was so simple and so perfect. One of the standout experiences of our trip, and shockingly affordable for such a labor-intensive kaiseki meal at around 80USD/person. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
– After lunch, we went to [Komyo-in](https://komyoin.jp/), which was small, beautiful, and utterly empty; we dropped our entry fee in a bamboo tube and there was literally no one else there for most of the time. Next, Fushimi Inari; it took us about an hour to go all the way to the top and then back down, but we lingered so we could see the sunset over the city.
– Back to the hotel, then decided on curry rice for dinner. Ended up at Kara Kusa Curry, which was really good, we both had the half chicken/half beef curry plate. The meat was incredibly tender; the curry sauces had impressive depth of flavor and paired well with the lotus/radish pickles and optional cheese. Found out later that they’re listed in the area’s Michelin guide; it’s absolutely well-deserved.

12/23, Friday, Kyoto

– Breakfast was udon at a local shop, [Kyo Shogoin Hayaokite](https://tabelog.com/kyoto/A2601/A260302/26024926/). Their main selling point is that they open super early (4am, though we got there around 6:30am) and make the noodles onsite. It’s basically seats in a garage so it was pretty chilly, but the food was good–chewy noodles, light broth, and homestyle toppings on the aptly-named Okaasan no Udon (Mom’s Udon).
– My parents wanted to experience a tea ceremony since it was their first time visiting. After a bit of research I settled on one at [Kouroan](https://kouroan.com/english/index.html), which was a shop I’d visited on my first trip, and made reservations in advance by email. The owner has his own tea farm and has been studying cha-do for several years and was happy to answer our many questions both about the ceremony and the production of tea.
– Kinkakuji was nearby so that was our next stop. It was shockingly empty compared to when I’d been there in the past, I guess due to the cold weather and recency of the reopening to international tourism?
– Hustled back to Gion for a late lunch at [Yuzuya Ryokan](https://tabelog.com/kyoto/A2601/A260301/26007773/) (reservations made via email). We had the yuzu porridge course, which included miso soup, sixteen tiny dishes, rice porridge with fish, eggs and the juice of a whole yuzu, plus tea and warabimochi for dessert. Yuzu is one of my favorite flavors, so this was perfect for me. Some of the side dishes were the same as we’d had at Hassun the day before (such as eel wrapped around burdock root), and comparing the two really just emphasized how impressively executed things had been at Hassun. That being said, I love novelty and it was lots of fun to eat a bite or two of so many different things–it ended up being a ton of food, and the porridge in particular was delicious
– Afterwards, I did a bit of shopping while my partner went and saw some kabuki at Minami-za (no English sub/supertitles like at Kabuki-za in Tokyo, but they have an English summary of the plot). I picked up some yuzu miso in a tiny yuzu-shaped jar from 300-year-old [Yaosan Yuumiso](https://www.yaosan-yuumiso.com/map), makeup brushes from [Hakuho-do’s flagship store](https://hakuho-do.co.jp/en/pages/stores_index), then trekked out to [AVRIL Kyoto](https://www.avril-kyoto.com) to buy some specialty yarn and a store-exclusive kit. Ended my shopping at [Sou Sou](https://www.sousou.co.jp/?wovn=en), a Kyoto company that specializes in modern Japanese design.

12/24, Saturday, Kyoto -> Kanazawa

– Checked out of our hotel and did a bit of last minute shopping at Nishiki Market. We had some time to kill before our train to Kanazawa, so we stashed our stuff at a locker in Kyoto Station and went up Kyoto Tower. From the top you see basically all of Kyoto, and it really puts into perspective how enormous Tokyo is by comparison, that you can’t see everything even though Skytree is so much taller.
– For lunch we had okonomiyaki at [Yamamoto Mambo](https://tabelog.com/kyoto/A2601/A260101/26034294/). This was one of our favorite meals of the trip; it’s supposedly “Kyoto-Style” okonomiyaki, but it most resembles Hiroshima okonomiyaki without all the cabbage. If you sit at the counter you can watch the chef cook everything in what seems like perpetual motion, never stopping, never faltering, while everyone else moves around him taking orders and serving. We got a couple of the special “Mamboyaki” plus a side order of grilled steak, and it blew us away. Different sauces and ingredients are added at what seem like random intervals, but somehow they all work together perfectly and the final product has an impressive depth of flavor. This is a place we would definitely come back to, it’s the best kind of comfort food and super convenient to Kyoto Station.
– After lunch, took the JR Thunderbird to Kanazawa, arriving just before sunset; there had been a big snowstorm the day before so we had to trudge through the slush to [Hotel Kanazawa Zoushi](https://kanazawa-zoushi.com/). The interior of the hotel is beautiful, everything is warm wood and there’s lots of nice art pieces everywhere. In particular, the closet in the room is made of wood and so when you open it it smells amazing. Unfortunately, the hotel’s smoking area is unenclosed and right by the entrance to the hotel rooms, and there was one lady chainsmoking basically the entire time we were there. All the hallways of this small hotel absolutely reeked of smoke whenever she was there. It didn’t get in the room, thankfully, but it made things unpleasant when we were going in or out.
– Dinner was at [Notomeguri Kaitenzushi](https://tabelog.com/ishikawa/A1701/A170101/17012712/) near Kanazawa Station, theoretically a conveyor belt sushi place, but the conveyor belt wasn’t running; you just ordered through your tablet at your seat and got food directly from the chef. The quality of the fish was quite good; we made sure to order local specialty nodoguro (blackthroat sea perch/rosy seabass) which is super fatty and luxurious, one of the highlights of the meal.

12/25, Sunday, Kanazawa

– Got up and snacked our way through Omicho Market, which is more of a real food-market than Nishiki; lots of crab and other seafood on display, including some absolutely gigantic octopus tentacles.
– Made our way to Kanazawa Castle Park through a mix of hail and rain; everything was covered in several inches of snow, though it was starting to melt a little. The reconstructed castle buildings are gorgeous on the insided but my socked feet absolutely froze on the cold wooden floors. The docents were very interested in where we were visiting from; I got the sense that they’re wanting to promote international tourism more in Kanazawa.
– Took a break to warm up and had lunch at nearby [Turban Curry](https://tabelog.com/ishikawa/A1701/A170101/17001277/), a famous Kanazawa-style curry shop. The curry roux is very dark-colored, but tastes surprisingly bright and fruity, and is topped with a pounded-thin katsu–we had both chicken and pork, and they were both quite good, crispy outside and juicy inside.They also sell their curry in premade packets–I bought one to take home, will see if it’s the same!
– After lunch, we saw Kenrouku-en which was absolutely spectacular. I’m sure it’s beautiful in any weather, but with the snow covering everything it was magical. It wasn’t too crowded, and everywhere you look there’s another thoughtful bit of landscaping or gorgeous old tree. Highly recommended.
– Stopped by the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, we weren’t that interested in the special exhibition so just took a look at the free, permanent stuff which was mostly outdoor sculpture. Since it was getting colder, we moved on quickly to Nagamachi, a traditional samurai district. Unfortunately just missed the closing time of Nomura Samurai House so we couldn’t go it, but there’s still some interesting architecture just walking around the street.
– Dinner was at [Menya Taiga](https://tabelog.com/ishikawa/A1701/A170101/17007507/); it’s quite popular with both domestic and international tourists so we had to wait 30 minutes outside in the snow and rain and dark. But the ramen was good: a tiny shot of vegetable juice to start your meal, chunky noodles, and the special spicy sauce on the red ramen is amazing, shrimpy and garlicky.
– Since it was Christmas, I wanted to have a cake for the novelty factor (though no fried chicken for us). We picked up a “tiramisu” at one of the souvenir shops at Kanazawa Station, made with kagabocha (a local kind of roasted tea), cheesecake, and the requisite Kanazawa gold leaf flakes on top. Pretty good!
– Tried to reserve breakfast for the next morning at the hotel, but both of their services were already full.

12/26, Monday, Kanazawa

– Lazed around the hotel in the morning then wandered over to Higashi Chaya. Lots of little shops, lots of things with gold leaf. Not a particularly large area, but nicely preserved.
– Lunch was at [Buemon](https://tabelog.com/ishikawa/A1701/A170101/17007788/), a soba restaurant in the middle of Higashi Chaya. We got the hanamaki soba (with tons of seaweed and some pickled cherry blossoms) and the yamakake soba (with gooey grated yam). I really liked the hanamaki soba, with all the seaweed it tasted very ocean-y in a good way. The yamakake/tororo is a love-it-or-hate it texture since it sticks to the noodles in a particular way but I think it’s worth trying. This was a bit expensive compared to most other soba places we ate, but it’s in a lovely old house and very convenient.
– Afterwards, headed to the [Yasue Gold Leaf Museum](https://www.kanazawa-museum.jp/kinpaku/english/index.htm), which was quite small but very interesting with both info about how gold leaf is made and samples of art made using gold leaf.
– The [Kanazawa Phonograph Museum](https://www.kanazawa-museum.jp/chikuonki/) was super interesting mostly because we were there for one of their listening sessions (3x daily). It’s actually a 45 minute mini lecture; they talk about the history of phonographs both generally and in Japan and play records on different machines. The lecture is all in Japanese, but they have an English transcription available to follow along. If you go, I highly recommend visiting at one of the times they do the demonstrations.
– Dinner was at [Sushi Kibatani](https://tabelog.com/ishikawa/A1701/A170101/17010062/) (reservations made through hotel concierge, 2 months in advance). There was some confusion about our reservations since they were under the hotel manager’s name, but we figured it out eventually. It seems to be one service but on a rolling system; we were seated at 5, another group came at 5:30, another at 6, and so on. This was a splurge meal for us but it was delicious. Highlights included the amaebi in uni sauce to start, fluffy grilled kamasu (Japanese barracuda), amberjack served with grated yam and bright ponzu, and the best octopus I’ve ever had: unusually fatty, slightly sweet, and shockingly tender. Lots of seasonal winter crab: hairy crab and snow crab gunkan sushi, plus a whole snow crab deconstructed then served in the shell. The pickled ginger was slightly unusual, very sharp and raw-tasting, and a deep brown color.

12/27, Tuesday, Kanazawa -> Tokyo

– Checked out of our hotel and tried to ship our luggage, but found out that they can’t send it for us, only receive. Since our train was leaving soonish, we decided to just take it to Tokyo ourselves rather than try and find a convenience store to send it from. The Hokuriku shinkansen had plenty of luggage space, so while it was a bit unwieldy dragging our stuff through the snow, once we were on the train things were fine.
– Picked up some onigiri and croquettes for breakfast on the train at [Kanazawa Station](https://tabelog.com/ishikawa/A1701/A170101/17001214/), various Kanazawa specialties: nodoguro and Kanazawa curry katsu onigiri, sweet potato and Noto beef croquettes. The best was the curry onigiri; the rest were just okay.
– Dropped off our luggage at our hotel, Sotetsu Grand Fresa Takadanobaba, then my partner had a very quick lunch at [Udon Jinza](https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1305/A130503/13272480/), which is an impressively efficient operation: even including waiting in line, he was in and out in under 20 minutes.
– For the afternoon, we wanted to enjoy the good weather in Tokyo after the cold and wet of Kanazawa, so headed to Shinjuku National Garden. Not as amazing as Kenrokuen, but large, quiet, and beautiful in its own right. We particularly enjoyed the greenhouse, which has a nicely designed interior. I also liked that you could pay for entry to the gardens by tapping in with your IC card.
– After officially checking into the hotel, we met up with my parents and went to [Tonkatsu GS](https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1304/A130401/13257510/) for dinner. Solid tonkatsu, with a wide variety of condiments available, and easy to get into with four people. I wish I’d tried the curry they’re apparently known for, but the katsu set meals with soup/rice and the requisite cabbage were still very tasty.

12/28, Wednesday, Tokyo

– Went to [Shiro-Hige’s Cream Puff Factory](http://www.shiro-hige.net/main/) to get adorable Totoro-shaped cream puffs, in the classic custard cream and seasonal raspberry cream cheese flavors. There was a very long line to sit and eat in the cafe, but no line for takeout so we just got our cream puffs to go and ate at a nearby park. Super cute and quite tasty, all the Totoro cream puffs have different hats to indicate the type of filling.
– Wandered over to Shimokitazawa and had some fun poking around the various vintage shops, then stood in line for lunch at [Mintei](https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1318/A131802/13001826/), a famous local Chinese restaurant known for their pink fried rice. I had the half fried rice (delicious as advertised, moist, well-seasoned, and very pink from the food coloring in the pork), half ramen combo (good, but not particularly special) and the housemade gyoza (tasty!); my partner tried to order yakisoba but ended up with an enormous bowl of noodles and beansprouts in a thick gravy that we ended up not finishing.
– Spent some more time hanging out in Shimokita, and got a souffle pancake sandwich from [Flippers](https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1318/A131802/13197095/dtlrvwlst/) with strawberries and cream. I was surprised at how pancake-y it tasted despite looking very different.
– Did some afternoon karaoke, then my partner went to play pickup ultimate frisbee in Ebisu. This was apparently a very fun experience; this group plays on a middle school field, and was about a 50-50 split of Japanese nationals and foreigners/expats. The primary language while playing was English, but all other information was given in English and Japanese.
– While they were doing frisbee, I met up with my parents for dinner in Shibuya. They wanted to have tempura, so we tried [Tsunahachi](https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1303/A130301/13036210/) in the Shibuya Seibu building. The food was pretty good, but the restaurant is not well-ventilated so it smelled pretty strongly of frying oil. One thing I liked was that they brought the food to you in batches as it was fried, so it always came hot and fresh. They have other locations, so next time I’d try one of those in hope of a better-ventilated experience.

12/29, Thursday, Tokyo

– Started off in Shibuya to do some shopping and ended up at Mega Don Quijote since it was the only thing open. We didn’t buy much, but it was fun to go through all the floors and see what was on offer.
– Lined up a few minutes early for the first seating at [Katsumidori Kaitenzushi](https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1303/A130301/13135066/). It took a little while to get things since all 60+ people who got in when they opened were ordering at the same time. But it was good quality and quite affordable, less than 4000 yen for the two of us.
– By this point, Loft and Muji were open so I could get my stationery fix. After going through all the floors, we headed to the Shibuya Hikarie building to visit the [D47 Museum](https://www.hikarie8.com/d47museum/). This was more of a small exhibit + a shop, but it was cool to see the variety of local crafts; the most interesting thing was probably some dyed fishskin leather. There was also a pop-up shop of Okinawan pottery on the same floor, which was super interesting to me since I like ceramics.
– Since we were nearby, we headed to Meiji Jingu and walked around there for a bit. Mostly skipped Harajuku since it was absolutely packed and we’d been there before.
– The first place we tried to go for dinner was closed for the year-end holidays, so we ended up at [Kazunoya](https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1305/A130503/13006185/) in Takadanobaba. It was quite hard to find, off a side street then at the end of an interior hallway. Super tiny shop, and you could see the one guy working there rolling out and cutting noodles behind the counter. I had a very tasty duck nanban, with super chewy noodles.
– After dinner we decided to try our luck at [Naru](https://yoyogi-naru.com/), an underground jazz bar in Yoyogi. We didn’t have reservations but it wasn’t very crowded (about 10 people in a space that seats 20 or so). Since we don’t really drink, we ordered food instead, which was expensive but good: matsutake apple salad, a very tasty chocolate gateau, and a platter of dried fruit, nuts, etc. We were primarily there for the music; Yoyogi Naru has primarily vocal jazz, usually in a trio. The night we went it was a vocal/piano/bass trio, and they did two one-hour sets with a 30 minute break in the middle, mostly jazz standards. It was a really nice place to spend the evening, very chill and comfortable, totally worth the 3300yen cover charge. All the musicians were quite good, and the staff was super friendly. One of my favorite things we did on this trip, and recommended if you like that kind of jazz!

12/30, Friday, Tokyo

– Woke up and thought we were going to the Mori Art Museum, but then tickets suddenly became available for the 10:30 TeamLabs Planets slot. We bought the tickets and rushed there, making it just in time. It was lots of fun, though easily the most crowded tourist thing we did the whole trip.
– After TeamLabs, we went to Monja Street to try some monjayaki at [Monja Kura](https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1313/A131302/13029520/). It was quite busy and we had to wait a while, but it seemed basically all of the popular places on Monja Street lines around lunchtime. We had the kimchi pork monja as one of the few non-shrimp-containing items that my partner could eat; the dashi flavor was quite good though the goopy texture was not our favorite; turns out we prefer the classic okonomiyaki instead. For that, we got the shiso-cheese okonomiyaki, which was delicious and more satisfying.
– After our late lunch we were craving something sweet so we went looking for the Flippers kiseki pancakes again. The store in Shibuya had a long line that wasn’t moving, so we decided to back to the Shimokitazawa location, where we got in almost immediately. My partner ordered the pancakes with fresh fruit, while I got the triple lemon and rare cheese, which came with candied lemon slices, a lemon sherbet, and creamy lemon sauce. Apparently there’s a Flippers store in the US, but we were happy to have them as part of the cafe experience in Japan.
– Went back to the hotel and packed up all our stuff, then ramen for dinner at [Kageyama](https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1305/A130503/13146339/) in Takadanobaba. Unfortunately they were out of the hazelnut tantanmen, so instead I got the shoyu chicken ramen. It was nice to have a chicken broth instead of pork, rich while not feeling too heavy, and it had a robust black pepper + yuzu flavor. It was topped unusually with shredded chicken and salad greens, and they give you a tiny bowl of rice at the end to enjoy with the broth.

12/31, Saturday, Tokyo -> home

– Checked out of the hotel early and ferried our stuff to Shinjuku Station, where we stashed it in lockers near the NEX platform. Once that was done, we went looking for breakfast and ended up at a 24hr Coco Ichibanya. Surprisingly good for a chain restaurant, though not as tasty as some of the other places we went.
– We wandered around Shinjuku until it was time for our train to the airport; it was interesting to go to places like the Golden Gai and such when they were totally empty in the morning.
– Took the NEX to the airport; security was very quick, though it was not very clear what you were and weren’t supposed to take off/put in the bins. Once through security, we spent the last of our yen at the 7/11 and headed home!

Final thoughts [in a comment here](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/10i15zv/trip_report_dec_1531_in_tokyotobakyotokanazawa/j5bmp2q/), since I’ve run out of space!