Trip Report: November 2019

I didn’t get around to this right after my trip a year ago. I figured I would post now as there have not been many recent trip reports. It was my wife’s (38F) first trip to Japan. I (42M) had previously traveled there on business, so I was excited to go as a tourist and have my wife travel with me.

**Friday, November 1 – Flight and Arrival to Tokyo**

Flew on United via Denver. Used miles. This was the first time I went into the United Club in Denver. I thought it would be nicer. It was just a small buffet of snacks and chili and some places to sit. Left in favor of just waiting near our gate anyway.

Meal on the plane was not very good: tough over-salted chicken with thick sauce. Other than that, flight was ok.

**Saturday, November 2 – Tokyo**

Arrived at Narita late afternoon local time. Picked up pocket Wifi. Took train to Tokyo station, and a cab to Hotel Moxy. Made this hotel choice due to having Marriott points which went the furthest here. Room was real nice, if a bit small (expected for Tokyo). Neighborhood was a red light district, but didn’t seem unsafe. Saw some drunk Japanese salarymen. And the bar area of the hotel was full of All Blacks fans (which I learned is the New Zealand national rugby team). Ate some flatbread, had some drinks, and enjoyed not being on a plane while the rugby fans watched the Rugby World Cup championship game, which was held in Tokyo that night.

**Sunday, November 3 – Tokyo**

Ate breakfast buffet at hotel. Took JR to Yoyogi station and walked to Meiji-Jingu.

I was aware that there would be a festival, and it was the Culture Day holiday. We made sure we arrived early (jet lag also helped with that), but I didn’t realize the importance of the exact day until we got there. This was the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the shrine. We really enjoyed the walk through the inner garden, so I would definitely recommend doing that. There’s also a really nice gift shop.

Walked to Harajuku. My wife bough more comfortable shoes at a Skechers. We proceeded to Takeshita-dori, browsed the shops, bought some things. We ate lunch at a Gyu-katsu restaurant which had 6 ways to dip the breaded beef into different sauces, rubs, or egg yolk. We then took a cab to Shinjuku, which I called using the Japan Taxi app. We looked for some type of bar where we could have a drink mid-afternoon, but everywhere to get a drink seemed to be closed. I guess day drinking isn’t a thing? We didn’t look too hard. We settled for coffee and then took a train back to our hotel.

We tried a few restaurants around our hotel which looked mostly empty, but we were refused. Perhaps they did have reservations later? We walked back to our hotel and got a recommendation, then walked over to FILLET BAR, located near Kinshicho Station. The server grilled our yakiniku beef on a small grill on our table. It was excellent, and the restaurant had a decent selection of wine, and was reasonably priced. Our server told us she didn’t like Japanese food herself, and prefers to eat American and French food. She recommended a French restaurant for us to try the next night.

**Monday, November 4 – Tokyo**

Breakfast at hotel again. Today was an observed holiday (Culture Day), so most Japanese were off of work. We met a tour guide (Tours by Locals) at Iidabashi station and proceeded to Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens, the Imperial Palace Gardens, Naritasan Fukagawa Fudōdō – a Buddhist temple with a fire ceremony, and then Senso-ji. We had Gyu-katsu for lunch again since we liked it so much the day before. I highly recommend the Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens, it’s a beautiful Japanese garden near the Tokyo Dome. The fire ceremony was cool, but it was still sitting through a religious ceremony where we didn’t understand the language. We left after the fire ceremony portion. Senso-ji is must-do for your first trip to Tokyo. It was the best place for souvenirs, and the temple is just iconic. I also recommend stopping by the tourist information center near the Asakusa metro stop. It has a small viewing tower from which you can view Senso-ji and Asakusa, and it’s free.

Took the subway back to Iidabashi station and walked to Kugurazaka (Tokyo’s little France or little Europe neighborhood). There was piped-in French music and French bakeries and French and other European restaurants, but other than that seemed like a normal part of Tokyo, a good break from the more touristy areas. We did find a wine bar for day drinking. Ate dinner at Bistro Le Parisien. Good French restaurant.

**Tuesday, November 5 – Tokyo**

Last breakfast at hotel. Took subway to Ueno Park, walked around, walked through a District of kitchen supply shops, and a lot of music shops. Don’t remember if we made it back to a subway or just walked, got over to Jinbocho, browsed the book shops, mostly the ones with English language books. Ramen for lunch. Subway over to Shinjuku, and toured the Samurai Museum. Although really touristy, the Samurai Museum was fun and worth checking out. We had yaki niku in Shinjuku for dinner and then saw the Robot Restaurant show. Do not plan to eat at the Robot Restaurant. Show was wild.

**Wednesday, November 6 – Iwakuni**

Checked out of hotel. Hotel Moxy had very friendly and helpful staff, but decor was trying a little too hard – especially in common areas. We woke up super-early this morning and flew ANA to Iwakuni. I got this flight included for what our miles covered with no additional fee. Some fairly new United program at the time, I believe. Would have flown to Hiroshima, but it wasn’t available, so I got the next closest airport. We saw the Kintai Bridge, and walked around an area with old samurai residences, several parks, temples, a Japanese Garden, and then took a tram up a small mountain to Iwakuni Castle. This was a neat day we would not have done except for how the flight worked out. We then took a train to Hiroshima and a cab to ANA Crowne Plaza, booked with IHG points.

**Thursday, November 7 – Hiroshima**

Started the day at Shukkeien Garden. This fairly small garden was absolutely beautiful, with many different Japanese Garden elements worked in. If you are in Hiroshima, I really recommend fitting this in. It’s really a gem. After a nice walk through the garden, we walked over to Hiroshima Castle. There was a spot in the castle where you could dress like a Samurai and take a photo. We then saw the Atomic Dome, walked through the Peace Garden, and went to the Peace Memorial Museum. Definitely worth doing, but be prepared to be upset / feel just awful emotionally. We walked around through the Peace Garden some more, then made our way to Okonomimura, which I very highly recommend. It’s a building of several (4 or 5) floors of about 8 to 10 Okonomiyaki stalls. There’s a big sign near the elevator as you enter with some English-language descriptions of the type of okonomiyaki sold by each shop. We picked one, and it was great – cooked right in front of you and served right away. Delicious and like nothing else.

**Friday, November 8 – Miyajima**

We took a train to Miyajima and the JR Ferry to the island. Ate some oysters. Saw a lot of tame deer walking around town. Torii Gate was under scaffolding, unfortunately. Got an idea of what it would look like anyway. Toured the Itsukushima Shrine and Daishoin Temple. Saw hundreds of cute little Buddha statues all wearing knit caps. Thought about climbing Mt. Misen. Decided to have some beer at the Miyajima Brewery instead. Headed back to Hiroshima earlier than anticipated. Got a little rest before going out for Shabu Shabu.

**Saturday, November 9 – Himeji / Kobe**

Checked out of the hotel and took a ShinKansen train to Himeji. Toured Himeji Castle and Koko-en Garden. Definitely recommend making it to Himeji to see this castle if you can. We also enjoyed walking through the garden. Had ramen for lunch. Took a train to Kobe. Got tired of hauling our luggage around. If I did this again, I would have forwarded our luggage from Hiroshima to Kobe using a service rather than carry it ourselves (incl. storage locker at Himeji, etc.) Got to Kobe and checked in to the ANA Crowne Plaza Kobe for one night. Ate Kobe Beef and Propeller Restaurant. Very, very good, and much less expensive than I was thinking it would be.

**Sunday, November 10 – Kobe**

Had breakfast at our hotel, then walked just out of our hotel, and just past the Shinkansen station, and right out of the City and into a trail up a mountain. Just a short hike and it felt like you were miles away from the City. Saw several beautiful waterfalls. Turned around, walked back and got a cab to Meriken Hatoba for lunch. This Kobe beef was beyond excellent. Chef spoke to us and posed for a photo with us. Also, not nearly as expensive as I anticipated. Cab driver didn’t understand our destination and dropped us off at Meriken Park, but it wasn’t far, so we walked and weren’t late. We walked around China Town after lunch. Then we picked up our bags from the hotel and took a train to Kameoka via Kyoto. We had booked a two-night homestay in Kameoka for something a little bit different. These were among only a few nights for which we did not use hotel points. Our host cooked us dinner – included tuna. It was very good.

**Monday, November 11 – Kameoka**

In the morning, we did a seven temples walk through a much more rural area than the rest of trip. If I remember right, Kameoka means “turtle field.” We had ramen for lunch. My wife bought several vintage kimonos at a shop in town for a fraction of what you would pay in tourist shops in Kyoto or Tokyo. We then did the Hozugawa River Boat Ride on the Oi River, which starts in Kameoka. At first, we were a bit underwhelmed, but quickly you get into much better scenery. The guys running the boat spoke only Japanese, but I don’t think we missed much not understanding their banter. We enjoyed the scenery. Towards the end, another boat docks with yours, and you can buy food and drinks, but it’s right at the very end. It let us off in Arashiyama, Kyoto, in a prime spot to walk through the Bamboo Forest. I enjoyed that more than I thought I would. It was not too crowded. We took a train back to Kameoka. Our host cooked us Sukiyaki for dinner.

**Tuesday, November 12 – Kyoto**

We said good bye to our homestay, took the train to Kyoto, and dropped our luggage off at our hotel, a traditional Ryokan in Central Kyoto. We purchased a 48-hour pass to a hop-on / hop-off bus. We walked over to Nijo Castle and went on a one-hour guided tour (in English). I do recommend doing the guided tour here as we learned a lot that we otherwise would not have. We took our bus over to near Kinkaku-ji. We had reservations for a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, which we very much enjoyed. We then toured Kinkaku-ji, headed back to our hotel, and walked over to Gion and found an Italian Restaurant for dinner. It was very good, but we were the only diners.

**Wednesday, November 13 – Kyoto**

Saw Daijiin, Sanjen-in, and Obai-in Temples. Took the bus on nearly the full circuit this day. Also did a guided tour of Nanzen-ji Temple and other temples in that area. Fall colors were beautiful. Our guide told us one of the gardens in one of the temples we saw was almost empty most of the year, but people specifically came to that one just for when the leaves are red. Had pork Tonkatsu for dinner.

**Thursday, November 14 – Kyoto**

Started the day at Ginkakuchi (Higashiyama jisho), and then took the Philosopher’s Path south, past the temples we saw the previous day, got on the bus and headed to Kiyomizu-dera and Rengeoin Sanjusangen Temple. Picked up our luggage at our hotel (in hindsight luggage-forwarding service would have saved us the trip) and took a Shinkansen to Tokyo.

Saw a lot of temples in Kyoto over 3 days. Nearly all with beautiful gardens. A bit of temple-overload, but it’s a trip to Japan. I was ready for a change of pace and heading back to Tokyo, but I was quickly realizing that we were almost done with our trip. Arrived in Tokyo and checked in to the Intercontinental Tokyo Bay. Used IHG points.

**Friday, November 15 – Tokyo**

Headed to Odaiba. Had time to shop at the Hello Kitty store before our ticketed time at TeamLab Borderless. Enjoyed TeamLab Borderless, but to be honest, it was a little underwhelming with all the hype it gets. It’s still worth doing. Did some shopping around Odaiba. Had dinner at an amazing teppanyaki restaurant in Ginza that I cannot locate any longer. We had more Kobe Beef. Much more expensive than in Kobe, but excellent – one of the best meals I’ve ever had.

**Saturday, November 16 – Tokyo**

Last day in Japan. Went back to Senso-ji and bought lots of souvenirs at the shops. Bought a lot of Kit Kats of unusual flavors. Had some ramen. Took a train to Narita and flew to Denver. Immediately had Mexican food at the Denver Airport.

I hope to get back to Japan someday. I had a couple business trips and trips to see family within the US in late 2019, but I had no idea that I wouldn’t leave my metro area in all of 2020. Memorable trip. Glad we did this in 2019.