Trip Report: First time trip to Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo! Jan 5-19

Hello, travelers! I received lots of help from the lovely people on this subreddit, and religiously read others’ trip reports, so I just wanted to report on how my trip went! I traveled with my mother, as my friend had to drop from the trip, and we did a lot of shopping!

[Original Itinerary](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/zxolmg/itinerary_check_experienced_travelers_and_heavy/)

**Jan 6: Narita to Kyoto. Traveling and Bento**

Flew into Narita around 4pm, then took public transport to Kyoto. Train was a huge headache. Took Narita express to Shinagawa, then transferred to Nozomi to Kyoto From there, we took a local bus to our inn in Gion.

We got some bento before getting on the Nozomi! My mom’s bento was very good, mine was just ok. It did the trick though, and filled us up. On the train, I thought this guy was coming down the aisle to check our tickets, but he was actually just selling snacks. We got some Chip Star, which was like pringles but better. They were nice and light, and more potato-y than pringles. We checked into our inn, and the lovely inn cat named Tama was there to greet us with the owner.

[Food pics + Tama and Tama lantern](https://www.reddit.com/user/Littlecatfriend/comments/10wnxpt/japan_jan_6/)

**Jan 7: Kyoto Day 1. Fushimi Inari, Arashiyama, Gion, Nishiki Market**

Wide awake at 4 am. We attempted to go back to sleep, but Tama-kun was kind enough to be our alarm clock at 5am, so we just decided to get ready for the day and headed out for Fushimi Inari at around 6am.

We stopped at a Family Mart for breakfast, I had a cheese curry bun and my mom had ham and cheese. I also got pocari sweat and black thunder. We took a while figuring out public transit, and then finally got to Fushimi Inari at 10:00ish. It wasn’t too busy, and we saw some cute cats. We walked about halfway up the mountain, and it was breathtaking. Photos really don’t do it justice, you really get a sense of awe staring at the huge gates that go on for forever and ever, and the nurmerous small sessha/massha and toro were unexpected highlights along the way. For a snack after the mountain, we got some takoyaki, and I had the black thunder I got from family mart earlier. I understand why people like it so much, it’s very fudgy-like in flavour. My mom bought some half-off hello kitty stuff across the street from the takoyaki stand. Then we decided to go to Arashiyama, since it was only noon at this point.

Arashiyama was lovely! I freaked out and took so many pictures at the Rilakkuma Cafe and store, which was much larger than I anticipated, much to my delight. We then headed to the bamboo forest. It started raining at the forest, but it was pretty light and the bamboo shielded us from some of it. I know people said it was small, but it was still smaller than I imagined. Regardless, I’m glad I went. After, we got some beef steak on a stick, which was really good, and some dango which was just okay. The booth we ate at is the one right outside the forest, next to the Snoopy Chocolate store. I don’t think there was anything wrong with the dango, it just wasn’t to my taste. After, we went to the Miffy Sakura Kitchen, and found the kimono forest by accident. I noticed a lot of girls renting kimono, and a few couples as well. Lace kimono seemed to be very popular; they’re very pretty and modern and Bridgerton-esque. From there, we took public transportation back to Gion.

From Gion, we went to Nishiki market. While it was cool to see, we felt it was a bit too crowded and touristy for our liking. My mom went to check out a small Donki while I went to the Kyoto location of Harajuku Chicago to look for some used kimono/haori, but there wasn’t anything to my liking. We walked back to our Hotel in Gion, and ate at [Gion, Kyoto Ramen.](https://maps.app.goo.gl/jbxz3ifNMMm8djCi6) My mom and I shared a roast pork bowl and the Special Gion Ramen, which was fantastic and rich. I really liked the complimentary iced tea they give you, I have yet to figure out if it was barley or hojicha, but it really cut the richness of the pork broth and was very refreshing. Retired to our hotel around 9pmish.

Total step count: \~27,000 steps

Total cat count: tama-kun + 3 cats at Fushimi Inari + 1 in the window of a cat cafe = 5.

Fav activity: Fushimi Inari. Fav meal: Gion Ramen (with beef stick second!)

[Photos](https://www.reddit.com/user/Littlecatfriend/comments/1152vpk/jan_7_japan_kyoto/)

**Jan 8: Kyoto to Osaka. Arashiyama Kimono photoshoot, Nipponbashi, Namba Walk, Curry**

The night before, I booked an Oiran kimono photoshoot as a spur of the moment decision, so I had to be back at Arashiyama by 8:45. I went to studio Kokoro, which I highly recommend. The hair and makeup artist is very fast, and you get to wear a beautiful furisode. For only ¥12100, you get professional hair and makeup done, and an album with 3 professionally taken and edited photos. They also have a selfie station where you can take as many photos as you want with your cell phone, minus the furisode (but you get to keep on the inner kimono/obi/accessories), which is very generous. I had a lot of fun, and I’m glad I did it. While I was waiting for the photos to develop, I went to the Miffy Sakura Kitchen again and got Miffy anpan and Miffy custard cream bun. Bunny buns! They weren’t horribly expensive, but they tasted only okay, 6/10.

From there, we went back to our inn to pick up our luggage, and headed to Osaka.

After checking into our hotel, Super Hotel Namba Nipponbashi, we took a breather and charged our phones. We hadn’t eaten much since making a quick stop at Lawson before the oiran shoot in the morning, so we asked the hotel staff for a curry restaurant recommendation. We got so very extremely lost trying to find the curry place. Apparently it was in a department store inside the Namba walk, which is underground, and my cell service was a bit spotty, which ended up in us walking around the same 2km area for like an hour. However, we finally found it, San Marco Takashimaya! The hotel staff was right, the curry was amazing. My mom got tonkotsu curry and my weak ass self got the mild curry, we both added an extra poached egg. It was the best curry I had throughout the whole trip (and we ate a shitload of curry, as you will later find out).

After curry, we went to Bic Camera. It was huge! I wasn’t expecting them to carry so many different types of items. I looked at zojirushi flasks while my mom looked at laptops. We didn’t get anything yet, because we wanted to explore our options. Afterward, we walked around the namba walk some more and bought some small items, and a scarf for me. It’s so easy to get lost! We were feeling a bit tired, so we retired to our hotel at 7 for an early night in. Our hotel had complimentary bath salts, which was nice for achy legs after a long day.

Total Steps: \~20,000

Achievement unlocked (first time occurrence): an older Japanese gentleman wanted to practice his English with us while we were admiring the baby animals at the pet store across the street from our hotel. Nice!

[Photos](https://www.reddit.com/user/Littlecatfriend/comments/1152zoz/japan_jan_8_kyoto_osaka/) (dm for Oiran photoshoot pics, not tryna get creeped on)

**Jan 9: Osaka Day 1. Osaka Aquarium, Tempozan Marketplace, Tempozan Giant Ferris Wheel, Umeda Sky Building, Rilakkuma Store.**

We woke up “late” at 8:00, and went down to have the free breakfast provided by our hotel. Curry for breakfast!!! What a dream. They had siu mai as well, and it was interesting to taste Japan’s take on dim sum. After, we set off for Osaka Aquarium. It was so cool to see the whale sharks, since they’re my favourite type of shark, but I felt a little bad for the dolphins. If I had known there was dolphins, I probably wouldn’t have gone due to the ethical reasons, but I enjoyed my time there nonetheless. (no hate if you go, though) At the entrance, they take a picture of you with the whale shark statue, and give you a small print out for free! How generous. There are options to buy the larger photo as well. I tried the gacha at the gift shop (first gacha of the trip!!) and got a whale shark eco bag, which was the one I wanted most. Score!! We relaxed at the Starbucks there and I had a hojicha latte, which was very nice.

We went to the mall connected to the aquarium, Tempozan Marketplace and had a beef and rice box at [Ushinofuku Kaiyukanmakettopuresuten](https://goo.gl/maps/ygMC3HHtpV2ZEq5k9) in Naniwa Kuishinbo Yokocho. It was very good! After, we walked around Tempozan marketplace and bought some items at the 100 yen store, Seria, and a funny sushi hairclip at a fake food store. Then, we went on the Tempozan Giant ferris wheel. It was so cool!!! We’re very glad we did it. We went during golden hour, and Osaka Bay looked beautiful in the late afternoon. You could also see Universal Studios from the ferris wheel. We were on the fence about doing this attraction, but ultimately, we’re glad we went. We got a chocolate-covered cream-filled bun at the family mart next door, but it was just okay. I love whale sharks and marine life in general, so I was happy with the selection of ocean-themed items available to purchase in the area.

We then went to Umeda to see the Umeda Sky Building. I really wanted to go to the Rilakkuma store, but it was a little disappointing. They had a little more stuff than the Arashiyama location, but it was all very generic items I could get an home in San Francisco, so I didn’t buy anything. I did take a picture of and with the giant Rilakkuma statue, though.

At this point, my mom was hungry, so we got some items and ate at Harves at Links Umeda. It was kind of like the Whole Foods of Japan. Upscale grocery store with some ready-made items, so we got some sushi, teri chicken, a side of rice, and some Hokkaido milk to wash it all down. Afterward, we walked to Yodobashi Camera to see if the selection was any different from Bic Camera. We finally retired to our hotel after this. We had a Hokkaido milk cream roll from the Lawson next door for dessert.

Total steps: \~20,000

Favourite sea creature: the whale shark, followed closely by the sunfish and the legendary fat seal from the memes!

[Photos!](https://www.reddit.com/user/Littlecatfriend/comments/11538yx/japan_jan_9_osaka/)

**Jan 10: Osaka Day 2. Namba Yasaka Jinga, Osaka Castle, Wagyu Steak, Amerikkamura shopping, and Dotonbori.**

We got an early start and headed for Namba Yasaka Jinga after more hotel curry for breakfast. The lion’s mouth was absolutely massive! Pictures really don’t do it justice. It was cool how it was such an impressive shrine nestled in a very nondescript area of Osaka. It was also very clean, so the golden teeth shone brightly under the sun. My mom and I each got a fish-shaped charm with a fortune inside. We didn’t open them/read out fortunes because we wanted to keep them packaged and protected from breakage. After the trip, I found that my red fish had a regular blessing, while her gold one had a future blessing. Whew! No bad luck here.

At this point, the store I wanted to go to wasn’t open yet, so we went to Osaka Castle. Osaka Castle was also very impressive. I liked the tigers on the sides of the building. Entry was only ¥600, so we went into the museum. If you’re interested in Japan history, I recommend the museum, most of the signs are also in English, and you can even go to the observatory on the top floor. One of the floors has these really cool dioramas with little holograms of actors reenacting moments of history within them. I recommend taking the elevator to the 5th floor (the highest the elevator will go), and then walking to the observatory on the top floor. Then you can make your way down to the bottom, floor by floor, without tiring yourself out.

After the Castle, we went to [Kobe Beef Steakhouse Kozai](https://goo.gl/maps/S3Ua3dov3e2Nbz1f9) for lunch, because I really wanted to try A5 wagyu on this trip. The meal was served teppanyaki style; I ordered the A5 steak set meal and my mom had the hamburg steak a la carte, and we shared. It didn’t look like a lot of food, but the steak was so rich, it was just enough. THAT STEAK, LEMME TELL YA. It was UNREAL. It was so tender and just melts in your mouth; you could tell me it was meat from a completely different animal and I’d believe you. Weirdly enough, there was nobody else in the restaurant, but it was fantastic.

After the very decadent and rich steak lunch, I set off to make my pilgrimage to the Osaka location of Closet Child to buy secondhand Harajuku style gothic lolita dresses. I got a two skirts and a hairclip. We wandered around Amerikamura after that, and I found two more gothic lolita stores, and I got some Abilletage tights I’ve been wanting at Atelier Pierrot, as they were on sale. We wandered around Amerimura, and backtracked 10 min as I had forgotten my sunglasses at the steak restaurant. Along the way, we met a very nice lady working at a pet shop and chatted with her for a while and she showed us pictures of her 4 (four!!!) cats, all very cute. We bought some nice items at a DAISO, happened upon the Peter Pan Cafe (very expensive) and accidentally ended up in Dotonbori as we headed back towards our hotel.

We went to the giant Don Quijote in Dotonbori, but it was actually kind of disappointing. There’s a Donki in Hawaii that we frequent while visiting family, and it’s much fancier, almost like a Japanese target. The Donki here was more like Japanese Walmart or Kmart, so we didn’t get anything.

After Donki, we wandered around Dotonbori in the direction of Chibo Okonomiyaki, which was recommended to us by our hotel staff and looked at all the wonderful decorations and signs on the restaurants in Dotonbori. It was so lovely and colorful and fun! The moving signs were really something else. The closest thing we have at home is a seafood restaurant in San Jose with an animatronic shark, but you have to go inside to see it and it doesn’t even move that much (insert “we have ‘x’ at home” meme here). We made it to Chibo, but the line was very long. I wanted to look for a different place, but my mom wasn’t feeling well so we sat down at the first place we saw, [Honke Otako Dotonbori](https://goo.gl/maps/V68j7yUG4hykGLDVA), but it was still rated well. She felt even worse after sitting down, so I took my okonomiyaki to go, and ended up eating it lukewarm in the hotel room. It was pretty good and probably even better when it was fresh and hot, but when someone doesn’t feel well that takes precedent. She felt better later that night, but we were too tired to go back out so we decided to call it a day.

Total steps: \~26,000

Fav Dotonbori signs: the moving crab at Kani Doraku Dotonborihigashi (East) and the Kinryu Ramen dragon

[photos](https://www.reddit.com/user/Littlecatfriend/comments/1153m0k/japan_jan_10_osaka/)

**Jan 11: Osaka to Tokyo. Caught flight, went to hotel.**

We had a flight to catch from Osaka to Tokyo, so we took it easy and looked at the kittens in the pet shop across the street from our hotel. We really liked the Muji sugar beet bear biscuit cookies at the Lawson next door to our hotel, so we bought 2 bags of them since we didn’t see them at other Lawson stores. We’re used to getting to the airport very early, so we got to the airport way too early for our flight. We shopped a little at the 7-11 and wrote postcards until check in opened, then got on the plane. I saw Mt. Fuji right before we landed! When the plane landed, we took the Narita Express into Shinjuku Station, and checked into our hotel, Studio Inn Nijishinjuku.

After checking in, we ventured back out for some food, and ended up shopping at Aeon. We got sakura daifuku, eggs, bread, okonomiyaki, and some fancy mushrooms. The mushrooms were so cheap compared to prices in the US, so we got shimeiji, enoki, and king trumpet. The okonomiyaki, however, wasn’t very good. I think it’s one of those dishes best made fresh.

Total Steps: \~16,000

postcards written while at the airport: 6!

[Mt Fuji photo](https://www.reddit.com/user/Littlecatfriend/comments/1154scg/japan_jan_11_mt_fuji/)

**Jan 12: Tokyo Day 1. Gotokuji, Hachiko/Scramble Crossing, Afternoon Tea at Meguro River, Giant Starbucks, Shibuya 109.**

First, we set off for Gotokuji. Our inn this time doesn’t supply breakfast as it is a studio, so we made mushroom egg toast with stuff from the corner store. Both my mom and I love cats, so we made Gotokuji a priority for the day. It was in a quiet neighborhood, and there weren’t many people at 8am. Unfortunately, the shrine shop(?) was sold out of many items including omamori, so I only got a ¥300 tiny maneki neko.

From there, we took public transport to Shibuya Station. At the station, there was a little shop called Aunt Stella’s that was selling some cookies, and we got a few. The black sesame was very very good. We saw Hachiko, the bestest boy!!! Of course, we had to take some pics and give him a big pat for good luck. Now we have a picture of me crying in front of Hachi because I love him so much lol. I went to the Shibuya🖤Hachi project store next door, and I bought a little Hachiko pin. I also made sure I took a pic in front of the 109 building!!! I love TWEWY so I did the Neku Sakuraba pose in front.

Prior to our departure from the US, I’d made reservations for afternoon tea at [Haute Couture Cafe](https://goo.gl/maps/XP1a6FJFzsWx1Uxa8), so we walked to the Meguro River from Shibuya Station. The river was nice, and it must be even prettier during sakura season. We were a little early for our reservation, so we wandered around the river until 1:30. Haute Cafe is special, the decor is nearly entirely made up of fake flowers, and both the florals and the menu change with each season. This winter’s theme was White Winter Strawberry. The afternoon tea was fabulous, it came with a special hot tea, a strawberry brownie custard parfait, a hot crab and cheese doria, white chocolate fondue, 4 savory pastries, and 6 sweet pastries, and your choice of hot or iced beverage at the end of the service (we chose honey yuzu). The ambiance was wonderful, the decorations were gorgeous, and the food was amazing. They know it’s a popular selfie spot, so there were many ring lights set up, and the waitstaff will take pictures for you or hand you props, if you’d like. They also provide selfie sticks and little ring lights for your phone. Somehow, we lucked out and had the large table right next to the window with a wonderful view of the river.

For some reason, my mother was sick of taking the subway and insisted we walk somewhere instead, so we walked back towards Shibuya and stumbled upon the giant Starbucks. It was cool to go in and I like how most of the decor is copper, very cool. Back at Shibuya, I suggested we go to 109 to shop. We ended up doing the entire building, from top to bottom. I bought a lot of stuff! I got some earrings at Ank Rouge, some hair accessories at Liz Lisa, two skirts and a phone strap at Wego, and a lingerie set at Risa Magli (lol). It was like 8pm at this point, so we ate at the only thing near us that was open, which was Fatburger. It was okay, it did the trick. I got a Monkey D Luffy sticker and a keychain for my friend at the One Piece Mugiwara store while we waited for our food. We took a subway and then a bus back to the inn, and on the walk back, we got some yuzu honey powder to make tea with, and calbee potato chips. We ate the sakura daifuku we had purchased previously, which was rich but very good.

Total steps: \~23,000

favourite dish at tea: the crab&cheese doria and the parfait!

[photos](https://www.reddit.com/user/Littlecatfriend/comments/1155vtj/japan_jan_12_tokyo_gotokuji_shibuya_tea_meguro/)

**Jan 13: Tokyo Day 2. Asakusa/Senso-ji, Sanrio Gift Gate, Tonkotsu, Mochi, More shrines, Tokyo Skytree, Akihabara.**

We woke up and decided to do Asakusa, so we took the train over to Asakusa after making more mushroom egg toast. We were on the fence about this day trip, as we’d already been to Kyoto, but we’re both very glad we went. We prefer being able to get little snacks and bites to eat as opposed to sit down restaurants, as it takes up less time, so we were glad that Asakusa has little food stalls and shops similar to those in Kyoto and Osaka.

We walked down Nakamise-dori, and bought many cute little items. If you’re looking for cheap keychains and other souvenirs to bring home, this is the place to get them. We also bought some yummy shoyu puffed rice crackers, and an interesting sesame candy. The best way I can describe it is a shiny sugar ribbon hard candy shell on the outside, and when you bite down, there’s a sweet and crunchy black sesame filling. It was so unique and tasty. We also shared a tempura shrimp from Aoi Marushin, which was okay, but I’m not the biggest fan of fried food, so maybe it just wasn’t my thing. While wandering, I came across a store selling beautiful used kimono for very cheap. I bought two lovely haori from Tatsumi Office Senju for ¥2200 total, much cheaper than Chicago, who sells haori for ¥3500 each, minimum. If you’re in Nakamise-dori standing in front of Senso Ji, it’s to the left. We also went to Sanrio Gift Gate! The giant Hello Kitty on the outside was very cute. Inside, we got some adorable Hello Kitty shirts with her wearing a kimono in front of Senso-ji, with some Japanese snacks. It said Askakusa, Japan on it and was also on sale, awesome! I also got a my melody plastic file for my friend who is going back to college soon, and a cinnamoroll folder for my other friend.

We were hungry for real food, and stumbled upon [Tonkatsu Toyama](https://goo.gl/maps/i3LkeAKsjVj32chC7). We had no idea that the place was popular, and their tonkatsu was absolutely magical. The tonkatsu coating was light and crisp and not too oily, and the meat was moist and cooked perfectly. The sauce was rich and thick, and they also had a special bamboo charcoal salt meant to bring out the taste of the tonkatsu. The salt was light with a sweet aftertaste. It was literally the best tonkatsu I’ve ever had in my life. They also offer free refills of cabbage and rice, if you tend to eat more.

My mom wanted to go to this old traditional mochi shop, chomeiji sakuramochi, so we walked across the Sumida river to get there. Along the way, we visited three shrines, Ushijima and Chomeiji, and Kofokuji. The mochi shop only makes sakuramochi, so we got one each, it was a little expensive for mochi, but it was very good. The azuki paste filling was smooth and not too sweet, and the mochi had a good texture, kind of al dente almost if that makes sense lol. From there, we walked to Tokyo Skytree. We did some shopping there, but opted not to go up because it was a cloudy day, and we had already done the Tempozan Giant ferris wheel in Osaka.

From Skytree Station, we went to Akihabara. I wanted a zojirushi water bottle, and my mom wanted an ion hairdryer and a water bottle as well, so we went to Yodobashi and Bic. Yodobashi didn’t have the colour water bottle I wanted, so we went back to Bic, where we got everything we needed, as well as some makeup and other items, which made us eligible for tax free, hooray!

Finished with our big purchases, we set off to explore Akihabara. It was very colorful at night, but seeing so many maid cafes was a little offputting. Not to get on my feminist soapbox, but the girls just standing there with signs around their necks like mannequins was objectification at its finest, eugh. I went into some hobby shops and arcades, but none of the ufo catchers or gachas had prizes I liked, and none of the stores had merch I liked. Not much Hatsune Miku, sad! There was vocaloid merch, but it was mostly colorful stage, the new rhythm mobile game which I do like, but I have a soft spot for the original crypton vocaloids, which didn’t have as many items dedicated to them. I went to a secondhand store and only got a Kagamine Len pin. We had a skirt steak skewer for dinner near Akihabara station, and finally went back to our inn for the night. We had purchased an ice cream at AEON the night before, so we ate that for dessert.

Total Steps: \~20,000

[photos](https://www.reddit.com/user/Littlecatfriend/comments/1156g70/japan_jan_13_asakusa_akihabara/)

**Jan 14: Tokyo Day 3. Nippori Fabric Town, Ramen, Harajuku, LaForet, Alice on Wednesday, and Crepes!**

In the morning, we went to Nippori Fabric Town. Google said it opened at 10, but tomato fabrics didn’t open until 11, so we shopped at other stores for half an hour until Tomato opened. Tomato was amazing! So many nice fabrics that were also extremely cheap. There are 3 stores that are all very close to each other, and each one sells different sewing supplies.

We just happened to be near the more high end shop when it opened, I got 4 yards/meters of some nice cotton with macarons on it. There was an accompanying fabric with the same print, but scaled down for making matching doll clothes and accessories with, so I got a meter of that. I’ll probably make a dress and matching accessories with this fabric. My mom got some lavender wool to make a coat with. In the large main shop, I got a nice remnant of Japanese cotton with cats against a red checkerprint background. I also really love cute Japanese border prints, so I got 2.5 meters of a lavender/mauve cotton border print of a piano, cats, and music notes. I’ll make a jumperskirt style dress with this fabric. We also got some ribbon and trim.

It started to rain so we ducked into a small ramen shop for some lunch. You know the place is good when it’s busy and there’s no English menu! It’s not even on Google maps, but it was between Tonari and Mos burger on Nippori Central Street. My mom got the ajitama ramen, and I got the recommended yakiniku ramen. The ramen was absolutely fantastic. The noodles were so soft and tender, and the broth was salty and rich. The chashu in my mom’s ramen was so smoky and tender, and the egg was nicely marinated with a perfectly jammy yolk. My yakiniku was grilled to perfection, and they also tossed in some grilled onions with nice caramelization. It was a good, hearty meal for a cold, rainy day.

It was still a little drizzly after leaving the ramen shop, but we were close to the station, so we headed off to Harajuku. Along Takeshita-dori, I got some accessories at some little stores, then headed to closet child. Closet child didn’t open until 4pm, so I went next door to Bodyline to get some rocking horse shoes. They’re so horrible, I love them.

Instead of trying to kill time waiting for Closet Child to open, we headed for LaForet. Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling very good at this point and had a bit of a headache, so I only visited floors 1-B1.5. I got a nice pair of tights with cats and crowns on them at Miho Matsuda, and the shopgirl was very nice. I was wearing a beret with ribbon on it, and she noticed it was untied, so she tied it into a nice bow for me. I also got a pretty two way garter/choker necklace at Abilletage, although it was actually from an indie brand that they carry, and not produced by the brand themselves. I liked how on the bottom floor, there was a small shop that was full of cubbyholes, and each shelf had items and accessories for sale from local indie brands/small artists.

We then made a stop at Alice on Wednesday, the Alice in Wonderland-themed gift shop. It was so cute! There are three floors, the White Queen’s kitchen, selling candy, cookies, and other cutely-packaged food, the Red Queen’s Atelier, which sells jewelry, hair accessories, keychains, and other accessories, and the Mad Hatter’s Parlor, which has bags and other miscellaneous goods. We didn’t get any of the snacks or food as it was a little expensive, but all the other items were priced reasonably. I got a hotel key-style keychain (I had been wanting one in general for a while), some earrings (one is an ornate key and the other is the clock with a bow), a ring with a large crown on it, and a “silk scarf bag” with an Alice print and a cute hanging tassel. Due to the thin and silky material, it can be folded and tied around a different bag like a hermes-style silk scarf. My mother got what she thought was a luggage tag shaped like a pocketwatch, but it seems to be a pass holder, as it is attached to a badge reel. Even better!

We headed back towards Takeshita-dori, as closet child was open by then, but made a quit pit stop at #FR2 to take a street snap at the iconic “no sexual services” sign. The shopstaff at Harajuku Closet Child were actually pretty rude, but I got an Ank Rouge skirt.

I had to get a crepe at Marion Crepes for the true Harajuku girl moment, so my mom and I split a #36, the chocolate almond crepe. It was tasty and very almondy, and the ice cream was very creamy and good. I think the combination of having a bite to eat and my ibuprofen starting to hit made me feel better, so I popped into a few more shops but didn’t find anything.

After taking the subway to Shinjuku station to get home, we stopped at a department store before transferring to our bus, and ate at a nice department store for dinner. We split a teru don set, which was a chicken teriyaki donburi with shredded scrambled egg that came with a yummy udon soup and ice cream for dessert. They don’t let you split meals, so we got a side of french fries to abide by the one order per person rule. We headed back to our hotel for an early (for us) night by 8pm.

Total steps: \~17,000

favourite store: Alice on Wednesday!!

[photos](https://www.reddit.com/user/Littlecatfriend/comments/1156kk1/japan_jan_14_harajuku/)

**Jan 15: Tokyo Day 4. Transfer hotels to Tokyo Bay, Bon Voyage, and Shopping in the area.**

We didn’t do much on this day. We had our last day of mushroom egg toast and spent the morning packing up all our purchases, since checkout wasn’t until 11. Somehow, we made everything fit into our suitcases, and transferred our stuff to Hyatt Tokyo Bay. There’s a free shuttle from Shin-Urayasu station, but it still took us a while as we had large suitcases and transfered a total of 3 times (including the shuttle). We checked in, stashed our stuff in our room, and then took the shuttle to Tokyo Disney to check out Bon Voyage, which is similar to the World of Disney stores in the US. There’s a little mall a short walk away, so we explored that area after browsing Bon Voyage.

We found a really cute bakery called Heart Bread Antique, where many of the items are cat themed, which are both adorable and delicious!

Total steps: 15,000

favourite item at Heart Bread: the cheese bread!

[photos](https://www.reddit.com/user/Littlecatfriend/comments/1156l9i/japan_jan_15_tokyo_bay/)

**Jan 16: Tokyo Day 5. Tokyo Disney Sea**

Not much to say about this day, we did Tokyo DisneySea. We were surprised by how large it was, as we had only seen parts of it while doing our research, and we didn’t realize there was a mini Epcot-esque area, the Mediterranean Bay. However, we do suspect there was some forced perspective going on, as we were able to complete the park by 6pm, due to some attractions being closed for the rain or refurbishment, and there not being very many rides compared to American Disney in general. As far as food goes, we had the Sea Salt ice cream Monaka at Mermaid Lagoon, the Gyoza Bread at the Mysterious Island, the Teri Chicken Leg in the Medieval Europe area, the Little Green Alien Mochi on the American Coast, a Shrimp and Pastrami Sandwich on cheese bread at Cape Cod, and Soy Sauce and Butter Popcorn outside of Nemo’s Searider. All of the food was fantastic, and I can’t really pick a favourite, but our favourite areas were Mermaid Lagoon, the Morocco-inspired area based on Aladdin, and the Mysterious Island. Our favourite rides were Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Sinbad’s Storybook adventure. Indiana Jones would have been on the list too, but it was closed for refurbishment.

Our hotel shuttle wasn’t going to come for the next 30 minutes, so rather than wait around, we went back to the mall next to Bon Voyage. We got more items at the very cute Heart Bread Antique, as well as mini scissors from the bookstore next door. We ate a hotdog bread and some cheese bread from Heart Bread Antique for dinner, then went to sleep.

Total Steps: \~23,000

[photos](https://www.reddit.com/user/Littlecatfriend/comments/1157528/japan_jan_16_tokyo_disneysea/)

**Jan 17: Tokyo Day 6. Laid back shopping in Tokyo Bay.**

We had plans to visit an onsen to relax in between our Disney Days, but the onsen we had planned on going to had closed since we had first researched it 3 months prior. Instead, we decided to take it easy and do some shopping near the hotel. We went to a few local malls, and hit up our 3 favourite 100 yen stores in one day, DAISO, CanDo, and Seria. We were able to find some last minute souvenirs and other items to take home, as our luggage was not as full as we had expected it to be. If you like to do your nails, there are many DIY mani items such as nail design plates, gel nail polish, nail glue, nail stickers, and rhinestones at many of these stores, which I purchased a lot of. Also small ceramic dishware and chopsticks if you like that sort of thing, but I can buy that kind of thing in the states for only slightly more money, so it wasn’t worth the risk of having it break in my luggage.

On the bottom floor of the New Coast Shin-Urayasu mall, there was a bakery called Chateraise where we had a wonderful slice of fluffy Japanese cheesecake as a snack. I would definitely go back next time. We also looked at a pet shop where there was a very cute and rambunctious ragdoll kitten.

Our meals were pretty much covered due to Regency Club access at the Hyatt, so both breakfast and dinner were covered, and we usually just snack and skip lunch.

Total Steps: \~17,000

[photos](https://www.reddit.com/user/Littlecatfriend/comments/1157774/japan_jan_17_tokyo_bay/)

**Jan 18: Tokyo Day 7. Tokyo Disneyland.**

We woke up early again and got to Tokyo Disneyland right before it opened, so we were able to get in line for the new Beauty and the Beast Ride and ended up waiting about 55 minutes. It actually cleared up in the evening (after 7pm) after all the tired children went home and went down to a 25 minute wait (we rode it again as our last ride of the day), but we couldn’t predict this, and wanted to get prioritize this ride as there is no counterpart in America. I was on the fence about Tokyo Disneyland as I was worried it’d be too similar to the original Disneyland in Anaheim, but ultimately, I’m very glad I went. I noticed there were many more mascot characters (Pinocchio, Chip&Dale, Woody from Toy Story, etc) than at Anaheim Disneyland, which was a treat. We ate the Country Bear Curry, curry popcorn, Alien Mochi (again), and strawberry milk popcorn, all of which were fantastic. Our favourite attractions Beauty and the Beast, Monsters Inc Ride and Go Seek, and the Mickey’s Magical Music World Show. A good end to a wonderful trip!

Total steps: \~25,000

[photos](https://www.reddit.com/user/Littlecatfriend/comments/115883k/japan_jan_18_tokyo_disneyland/)

**AND EVERYTHING I BOUGHT**

[This isn’t all of it, but it’s most of it! :D](https://www.reddit.com/user/Littlecatfriend/comments/115mpa7/everything_i_bought_in_japan/)

Once again, I just wanted to thank everyone on this sub for helping make this trip a great one. I have very little regrets, and saw nearly everything I wanted to see, and discovered a few new things as well! Happy Travels!