1/13. Arrived in Narita at 4:30pm. Super easy to go through customs and security. Ordered a private transfer to our hotel through Klook. Cost 110 dollars. After factoring that Narita Express and a Taxi from Tokyo station would cost around $70 this made sense to have a direct transfer and not have to worry about carrying luggage through the trains.
Arrived at Prince Gallery Tokyo Kiocho. Amazing hotel with great service. Best shower I’ve ever had in a hotel room.
Explored Akasaka area and got sushi and ramen. Took sleep medicine and went to bed.
1/14. Woke up around 6am. Breakfast included at hotel. Walked to Hie shrine and got tea and coffee at a cafe.
Went to Akihabra and ate at Shabu-Yo. All you can eat Shabu with cat robots which bring your food to your table. Went to arcades and tried out some of the music games.
Train to Sumo tournament. Watched the Senior division. Decided to get seats so sat on second deck. Incredible experience, unlike anything I’ve seen before.
Dinner with friends at Gonpachi. Felt touristy but some of the best chicken karage I’ve had. Wasn’t overly expensive.
1/15. Took train to Kamakura to see Kotoku Buddha. Very peaceful. Took seaside train to Enoshima got amazing ramen and local beer by the train station. Went to Enoshima aquarium and watched the dolphin show and jellyfish. Fairly packed since it was a Sunday. We then watched the surfers along the shore.
Took the train to Yokohama Chinatown. Tried various dumplings, roasted pork and duck at the food stalls.
Took train to Shibuya for Shibuya Sky. It was raining so open decks were closed. However we had the top floor pretty much to ourselves. Not the greatest visibility but it was nice to see all the lights in the rain and avoid the crowds. Enjoyed drinks at the bar.
1/16.
Did Kaiseki cooking class through Tokyo Sun Cooking. Lots of fun and learned how to make various salads, make tomago and various other side dishes.
Took train to Shinjuku to eat at Standing Sushi. I think it’s one of the best ratios of good quality sushi and great value. One of the best things to try there is the fresh wasabi handroll. The chefs were surprised when we downed two.
Took the train to Shimokitizawa for thrift shopping. It amazes me how many thrift stores are there and the amount of vintage sports jerseys you can find. Started pouring so we found a coffee shop to chill. Decided to take the train back to our hotel and use the pool facility since we were drenched.
Pool is set up like an Onsen on the 30th floor. Nice warm bath while overlooking Skytree at sunset.
Showered at ate ramen and gyoza at a local spot in Akasaka. Afterwards went to Harry Potter Cafe for dinner. We looked at the dinner options beforehand and decided to just do drinks and desserts. It was very cute and fun. And the desserts were the more creative dishes. Afterwards got late night sushi at Sushi Zenmai. Which is always cheap and solid.
1/17.
DisneySea Day.
Went on Tuesday so knew crowds wouldn’t be too crazy. We arrived at 10:30am and were able to ride everything and be done at 5:30pm. Paid for the premium access to skip lines. Considering price came down to 10 dollars a person seemed highly worth it to save 4 hours. That way we could have a more chill morning and get breakfast.
Took train back to Akasaka and had amazing sushi at Sushi no Midori. No wait at 7pm. Great sushi, great price. From what I’ve heard this location is way less crazy than the Ginza spot.
1/18.
Took the train to Nikko. Got leek miso ramen and fried mackerel from a place in town and was perfect. Went to a few temples and then checked into FUFU Nikko. Very nice modern ryokan with private Onsen. Put the robes on and never took them off. Dinner was a private 8 course teppenyaki meal made in front of us. We did our best to communicate with the chef. I would recommend the stay if someone wants an elevated ryokan experience.
1/19.
Train back to Tokyo. Was able to check in to the Andaz Tokyo early. Had a tower view room and to just have Tokyo Tower outside of your window was amazing.
Took the train to Omote Sando and walked the shops and ate at Harajuku Gyoza. Amazing little pillows of goodness. Walked to Takashita street to get in some quick gifts for friends and to buy some ASICS shoes.
Went out to dinner at Yakinuku Jumbo Shirokane. Amazing A5 Wagyu beef for a good price and some of the best Kim chi I’ve ever had. Also their Hokkaido soft serve was perfect.
1/20.
Tsukiji Market in the morning. Got some knives and amazing tuna at Maguroyu.
Walked to Ginza and the Art Aquarium museum. Really surprised me how beautiful it was. Got the wife a massage at the Andaz spa and I explored Tokyo tower and Shinjuku area. Tried out the Thermae-Yu which was a lot of fun as well.
What was wild was finding the Korean section of town north of Kubikicho. Had some Korean fried chicken before heading back to hotel.
Met friends for dinner at Standing Sushi in Shinjuku before drinks in golden Gai and Kubikicho.
1/21. Morning walk through Shimbashi to Ginza for Mannekan waffle. Grabbed some sushi at Miri art tower before catching train to Narita.
Ate at Ippudo Natita before boarding. One thing to note is it closed at 5pm. Saw many people get turned away right before closing.
Flight back home.
1 comment
Thank you for the detailed trip report! We’re traveling to Tokyo for the first time this November so I saved your post.
Can you please share if you rented a Japan hotspot or used E-sim? And how easy was it to communicate in English while in Tokyo? What app did you use for trains and did you consider the bullet train?