Trip Report: Dec 2019

Hi everyone! I started writing this a few months ago and never got around to finishing it.

This was our (husband and I) third trip to Japan and it was for our honeymoon. We generally don’t plan too much for our travels, but this time we did a few dinner reservations, stayed at some nice hotels, and went to Disney Sea.

I made a very loose itinerary that we didn’t really follow. haha I feel like it’s more of a place for us to keep track of reservations, days friends can hangout, and accommodations. Besides that it’s sort of a free for all.

**Background**

* In our early/mid 30’s
* Interests: art, books, culture, shopping, food, friends
* I speak very elementary Japanese and can read hiragana/katakana and a bit of kanji

**Flight**

* Nov 30 – Dec 14
* Flew from LAX to NRT via ANA in business class
* Went back NRT to LAX via ANA in business class

**Airbnb/Hotels**

Booked an airbnb in Shibuya for the duration of our time. We stayed here the previous year and although small and a bit cramp it has an amazing location and the owner is very nice and accommodating. It’s between Lawson’s and 7-11, on a pretty quiet street (except Friday and Saturday), and next to the cutest curry place.

WBF Hotel Namba Nippombashi

Just like our Airbnb we stayed here last year on a trip to Osaka. It’s a fairly new business hotel so the interiors are quite modern. This year the front desk staff spoke more english, but I thought it was easier to communicate in my (limited) Japanese. They gave us a corner room so there was a big chunk of space to put things and open the carry-on we brought along. Something interesting is they have a shampoo/conditioner station by the front desk where you can pick which ones you want to use during your stay. TIP: they have a free ‘club’ that you can join where you receive points and perks. One of the perks is early check in/late check out!

Update: They have recently filed for bankruptcy, not sure if some/all locations will close ):

Andaz Tokyo

We booked this last minute because we saw an offer we couldn’t refuse. It’s located in Toranomon Hills in a predominantly financial area so while we were there (Fri-Sun) it was pretty dead. I didn’t mind it too much, the nearest train station is a few minutes away. The inside of the place gives a very modern cool vibe. The check in is at long wooden tables and they offer drinks then will show you to your room. We got upgraded to a room with a Tokyo Tower View and it was amazing. The bed was comfortable, the space was very big, and everyone was very hospitable. I loved the little travel guide they had for fun things to do surrounding the hotel.

Park Hyatt Tokyo

From the moment we pulled up until we left, there were no words to express how hospitable everyone was. I knew Japanese hospitality is next level, but this was something I had never experienced before. Some say the interiors are outdated, but I found it to have a classic style. The room was large, a nice view of Tokyo, everyone so nice and accomidating. I felt like we could ask them for anything and they would try their best. Short walk to Shinjuku Station and across from a park, it was a pretty quiet area.

**Day 1 – Tokyo**

* Arrived at around 4:30pm. Went to immigration and at this point I was starting to feel sick but had to tough out the almost 2 hour line. Once we got our luggage we exchanged our JR Pass and made reservations to get into Shibuya by NEX. While we waited we picked up our pocket wifi at Lawsons. The next NEX wasn’t going to stop at Shibuya so we took it to Tokyo Station and got a taxi to our Airbnb. Had a great conversation with our taxi driver about music, movies, anything really. Once there we freshened up and unpacked a little then left to meet friends at the Koe Hotel for the Speakeasy Tyo event. I still wasn’t feeling well so I went back to the Airbnb and my husband went to dinner with friends.

**Day 2 – Tokyo / Osaka**

* Still not feeling amazing, but we planned to take the JR to Osaka so we got up early and went to Shinagawa Station. The pain was horrendous so I was like fuck it and called Kaiser international. They weren’t much help but assured me that if I went to the hospital or got care in Japan I would be reimbursed so I carried on. We got snacks and got on the shinkansen. Once we got to Shin Osaka Station we took a cab to WBF Hotel Namba Nippombashi. I rested and my husband went out and walked around. Honestly I spent most of the day inside watching tv and eating ume onigiri. I felt bad I couldn’t really do anything.

**Day 3- Osaka**

* Our one full day in Osaka. I was feeling better so we got up and got taiyaki then walked around Den Den Town. My husband is a huge wrestling fan so we stopped by a store and he got a bunch of old merch and figures. We walked to Shinsekai to go to a friends store called Voyage Kids. Walked around there then took a taxi to Utsubo Park, saw the leaves changing. It was so pretty! Went to a nearby friend’s work to eat, Yes! Burger. Super yummy burgers cooked medium with fries, husband had a high ball too. Walked again from there to Orange street then Amemura to go to Mandarake then back to the hotel for a break. Unfortunately fell asleep and woke up super late and just walked around, went in a few stores then called it a night.

**Day 4- Osaka / Tokyo**

* Packed up all the things we bought and checked out of the hotel. Took a taxi to Shin Osaka Station, got ume onigiri (basically lived off these the first week), banana milkshakes, and shinkansen back to Shinagawa station. Unpacked, rested, then had yakiniku with a friend. Went to another quieter part of Shibuya to see another friend and hungout for a bit.

**Day 5 – Shibuya / Koenji**

* First full day in Tokyo. Had soba for breakfast and walked around Shibuya a little. Had a slow start, met up with a friend also visiting Tokyo to go to Koenji. Walked around, went shopping, had another banana milkshake. Went to a store recommended by a friend called Kiosco. We had dinner reservations at Udatsu, but I still wasn’t feeling 100% so I cancelled it. I didn’t think I could handle an omakase dinner. Went back to Shibuya to rest then had dinner with friends instead.

**Day 6 – Shibuya / Ginza / Shibuya / Harajuku**

* This was the first really cold day. I got my husband some kairo to stick on his clothes haha. Had lunch with a good friend at Shunsai in the Shibuya Excel Hotel. It was our first time having a Kaiseki meal and it was really good but a lot of food. View was amazing, we caught up and he told us about all the construction in Shibuya. Went to his bookstore after and saw some rare things and my husband bought some books. We checked into the Andaz, a little after we got settled in our room they sent us sake and chocolates for our honeymoon. It was so sweet! Later we met with our friend at the Muji Hotel where she was staying. Checked out the hotel then went to Shibuya and walked to Harajuku for a friends Legalize Tokyo pop up. Went to the Chrome store to see another friend working there and a pop up paint event. Had dinner at a pizza/pasta place with a bunch of friends from/visiting Tokyo. I ordered a vegetable pizza that was literally a pizza with a whole salad on top. I never had that before haha. It was so lovely to see everyone though, I was so happy!

**Day 7 – Ginza / Shibuya**

* Ordered breakfast at the Andaz, it was a lot and was good. Had a lunch reservation at Ginza Iwa and we were honestly unsure if we should keep it because of some of the reviews we saw, specifically about the basement where they put foreigners. We ended up not being seated in the basement and the sushi was great. This was our first omakase experience so it was all new to us. The chef and host spoke some english, but I talked to them in my subpar Japanese. Walked around Ginza in the pouring rain then back to the hotel for a bit before dinner with friends we hadn’t seen in two years. Had nabe in Shibuya also for the first time and I already knew I was going to like it. Haha After dinner we went to an izakaya to catch up.

**Day 8 – Tokyo**

* Checked out of the Andaz and back to our Airbnb. Hungout with an old friend, he drove around Tokyo, randomly saw Steven Seagal in Asakusa.Went to a few small art exhibits and Nakano Broadway. Called it an early night, but my husband went out with friends. I was too tired, but I remember being half awake and hearing them say bye through the window. Ha

**Day 9 – Omotesando / Harajuku**

* Had lunch at Tagetsu. I was nervous because I knew it would be a lot of food and my stomach/body still wasn’t feeling right. We were seated at the counter between a couple and friends celebrating a birthday. The owner was there and supervised everything being made. It definitely was a lot of food but it was good and I appreciated all the thought and work that went into it. They had coasters that explained each course in english or someone would come by and tell us what we were eating. We didn’t finish our rice course so they made it into onigiri for us to take home. After lunch my husband and I parted ways– he went book shopping and I walked around Harajuku.

**Day 10 – Ueno, Shinjuku, Shibuya**

* Another lunch reservation day at Tempura Shimomura. We stopped at Ueno park and Bentendo Temple. It was our first time in this area and we really liked the park and people watching. Shimomura was in a quiet neighborhood. The chef and host were friendly and the tempura was good. It wasn’t oily and tasted so good with just a little salt. I definitely kept burning my tongue. Husband and I went separate ways again after lunch. I think he went book shopping again and I went to Isetan. We met for dinner and had J.S Curry.

**Day 11 – Disney Sea / Naka Meguro**

* Attempted to wake up early for Disney Sea but that didn’t happen. We got there probably around 10:00 am and it was already pretty packed (expected). The lines for anything and everything were pretty long so my expectations weren’t my reality, but I’m okay with that. We waited in line for almost 2 hours to ride journey to the center of the earth and it broke when we were halfway there so that sucked. We took an amazing pic with Donald Duck, had a late lunch at the Teddy Roosevelt Lounge. We rode a lot of the lowkey rides and walked around a lot. The decoration and attention to detail were so cool. For example, it was almost Christmas so each port was celebrating it in their own way. After Disney Sea we went to Naka Meguro to do some shopping at Wacko Maria. Hit up a random bar that looked cool and ended up staying awhile. To end the night we had ramen by our Airbnb. I had the best yuzu ramen, it was one of my most favorite things I ate on this trip.

**Day 12 – Shinjuku / Nakano**

* Time to leave our Airbnb so we packed everything and took a taxi to the Park Hyatt. Checked in and they gave me a honeymoon bouquet! Unpacked our stuff in our room then walked to Isetan. I did a bit of shopping then we went to Nakano. Ate at a lotteria, walked around, did a bit more shopping at Nakano Broadway. Came back to Shibuya and had dinner at Aona for gyukatsu then bought a check in luggage because we knew we needed it. Back at the Park Hyatt they left us a bottle of champagne for our honeymoon. Attempted to drink most of it but ultimately fell asleep from exhaustion.

**Day 13 -**

* Had breakfast at the Girandole buffet. Husband went to Akiba and I went to Shibuya for last minute things. I stopped at Parco first to check out the Jump store and Cdg Girl then I dropped off some film to get developed. Next was Tokyu Hands to get stationary stuff, Daiso, and 3 Coins. Had a quick lunch at Genki Sushi, picked up photos, got a call from my husband, he met up with a friend and they were going to pick me up. We went to a few shops in Ebisu and Daikanyama, had another banana milkshake (vegan!), and he dropped us off at our hotel. We rested then walked to Shinjuku to try and go to a drug store, but it was too hectic so I 86’d it. Our bookseller friend helped put together the Bollocks Exhibit at BookMarc so we stopped by to see him one last time before we left. Had dinner with a friend at another friend’s work. It was a small restaurant with huge yummy portions. I unfortunately didn’t finish my food ): After dinner, our friend dropped us off at Donki to get more last minute stuff and we took a taxi to the hotel.

**Day 14- Narita**

* Woke up early to have breakfast at the Girandole buffet again. Since it was our last day they sat us next to the window so we could have a view of Tokyo. I know my husband had an omelette and I wanted to try every bread they had to offer. After breakfast we finished packing (tetris) and got ready to head to the airport. The day we checked into the Park Hyatt, they asked if we wanted to arrange a limo bus to Narita when we leave, so we took them up on that. Someone came and got our luggage and we went down a little before our bus came. They handed us the tickets and we were off. It was very simple and I’m glad we ended up going that route instead of taking the train. There were a few other stops, but it was a very smooth ride. We got to Narita and had to have our new luggage wrapped because it wasn’t closing properly and we were scared it would pop open. After checking in our luggage we went to the ANA lounge until it was time to board. Flight was fine, nothing wild happened.

**Other Notes!**

* Got the 7 day JR Pass and used it for the NEX and trip to Osaka and back
* Bought Disney Sea tickets from Loppi Machine in Lawsons
* Exchanged money at conbini through the ATM
* Used google maps on a daily basis and was correct 90% of the time
* Had 2 pocket wifi: Pre ordered pocket wifi before we left and picked it up at Lawsons in Narita basement / had one with our airbnb
* Realized I have pretty severe gerd on this trip which is why I wasn’t feeling well half the time ): as a result, was taking Ohta Isan frequently.
* I love the pajamas in hotels!
* I also love the winter decorations!
* Don’t open/close taxi doors, it’s done for you.
* We walked a lot, we love walking! bring comfy shoes/socks.
* I spoke a lot more Japanese on this trip compared to past ones (too shy/scared) and I think it was appreciated on both ends.

[Photos from the trip](https://imgur.com/a/FT7WaBJ)

All in all it was another amazing trip to Japan! If you have any questions feel free to ask (:

Oh and if you’re all interested, I could do an album for food as I took pictures of pretty much everything I/we ate.