Solo Travel Trip Report 24/5 to 13/6 – It’s so hard to leave Japan :(

This trip report is a bit different than usual.

24/5 to 13/6 I was travelling alone in Tokyo, Odawara, Takayama, Kurashiki, Osaka, Kyoto, Iwate, Tokyo.

Solo travel to Japan has been amazing mainly because it was made extraordinary by the people there too. Some highlights below 🙂

**TOKYO**

**I stayed at Gotanda**. Straightforward train station to navigate and close to where I stay at **Ryokan Sansuiso**. Great place, with a clean ryokan and an excellent bed to sleep on.

* **Saison Gotanda** is excellent for breakfast! Trendy bakery, which is 2 mins away from the Ryokan.
* I caught up with a friend who I last saw before COVID. I knew him from a dancing game called Audition, haha. He took me to **Good Wood Terrace**, where his buddies operated. We had delicious Okinawan-style tacos and jerk pork and chicken. I met Saho-san here and we are in touch online if one day we ever meet again. Plus, an extra jerk chicken on the side. Took me around Shibuya to see different bars.
* I met a girl on Instagram. We have been following each other online for quite some time. She’s based in Tokyo, and we enjoyed exploring Kabukicho. We went to all the alleys and looked at all the small bars. We also took a snapshot of all the billboards of hosts! Fun memory.
* I met a friend from HK. We went to **Gensuiton Tonkatsu**. The menu is all in Japanese. However, my friend translated everything for me. Tonkatsu here is very interesting because the batter is light, not oily and white. We ordered different parts of pork. Their pig is fed mineral water and another type of food to achieve tenderness and flavour. No need to cut the meat using a knife or fork!

**As for fine dining food:** I made a booking for **Isana Sushi** and **Alchimiste**. Both are amazing. The chef at Isana was amiable and explained everything in English 🙂 I met Enya, a chef from Holland and her partner, Jeroen here.

At Alchimiste, I met Miho-san who dined alone on her birthday. We are now following each other online. Alchimiste ticked all the checklists for great French food. I feel like everything was cooked with love.

**TAKAYAMA**

If you like handmade items for souvenirs, check out **San Ai Handmade** Shop.

I stayed at **Hotel Wood Takayama**, which is quite central and within the old town of Takayama. Hotel Wood did an Ukiyoe (wood printing) workshop on my last night there. For $30, I got to keep my ukiyoe and also the teacher’s original prints!

I rented a car for the length that I stayed there. I drove to Gero Onsen to see Gassho house too.

I love walking around Tayakayama in the morning, especially around the river area.

My Japanese friend recommended the below restaurants in Takayama, which I thoroughly enjoyed:

* **Jakson Curry and Coffee** \- Menu is in Japanese, but the team member will let you know the main proteins and how they will cook. You can choose to have small rice, normal, or bigger ones. It was delish!
* **Nogawa Soba** \- I opted for spring vegetable tempura and soba. Spring vegetables are only available until the end of May. It was a very special treat. Here I learnt that salt is sometimes enough to showcase the flavour of tempura.

During my walk, I found a plac called **Fukutaro Dango**. This place is so loved by the local people. A lot of people opted for here. I also found the best ***Gohei Mochi*** here. I treated myself to plum wine at 10 AM while enjoying my dango 🙂

I honestly stumbled upon a beautiful cafe in Takayama. The reason was that I saw that they only had one thing on their menu—$10 coffee. I mean.. let’s go! This place is called **If Coffee and Records**. Ichiro-san ran this place, which his dad, a contrabass player, initially owned. He played beautiful records and adjusted the sounds as he went. $10 is nothing compared to the experience 🙂 That night, he played many songs by Ryuichi Sakamoto, a genius who recently passed away in March.

I booked a restaurant called **Hida Kisetsuryori Sakana**, which specialises in seasonal vegetables and Hida Beef. This place was a bit out of town, and a drive was necessary. I was the only one there that night, mainly due to the heavy rain. This restaurant was showcased in Gault & Millau and 1-star Michelin. I learnt that they picked their spring vegetables every morning from the mountain. I tasted various vegetables that I never had before! As for the Hida beef, everything was cooked perfectly.

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**KURASHIKI**

I didn’t know much about Kurashiki and didn’t book any restaurants, but I chose this town because it is close to Okayama. I can’t stop talking to my friends about the quality of the denim shops here.

They have **Graph Zero**, a shop with trendy looks and beautiful denim kendo patterns. They are pretty new in the denim world (2004), but every design is stunning and beautiful. I ended up with two items here.

Another shop that I love is **Aoki Hifuku**, which creates denim rose flowers.

I went to a wine bar called **Itokichi** in Kurashiki. They do a lot of natural wines from various parts of the world. I love it here. Very chill and cozy. The owner gave me a ticket to the Ohara Museum of Arts, a place I went to in the morning the next day.

**Ohara Museum** is a stunning privately owned museum. Monet created a particular waterlily painting for this place. You can look at all paintings they have on their website. One room was designed to fit “All Things Die, But All Will Be Resurrected through God’s Love” by Leon Frederic.

The second night, I went back to Itokichi. I met the same girl on the first night. She said she just moved to Kurashiki. Another two people jumped into the conversation. When it was 8 PM, we all left the bar for Yakitori. I was thankful for the three people who shouted me for dinner.

We ended up at **Marugen** **Sake Bar**. A bar that introduced me to many beautiful sakes, including my current favourite, Izumibashi from Kanagawa. Thank you, Masami-san, Kyoko-san and Hide-san.

In the morning, I walked to **Den Soba** restaurant. I just found out they were listed in Michelin Guide. So I ordered their famous Duck Soba 🥳 Super delicious and refreshing.

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**OSAKA**

I went super early to **USJ**. I didn’t get to use my entry-timed ticket for 1:30 PM because beating the crowd in the morning is better. I walked into Nintendo World with a lot of other people. I did 20,000+ steps on this day.

**Umeda Sky Building** was excellent. I was stuck at the train station but got there around sunset time. Things truly happen for a reason.

Dinner at **Tempura Tenboshi** was delicious. I met a diner who explained different ingredients to me in depth. She works as a lawyer.

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**KOBE**

In Kobe, I went to **Harborland Sauna** to relax and treat myself. I have been loving onsen and sauna too much in Japan!

I also visited **Kobe Nunobiki Herb Garden**, a beautiful spacious area with a view of Kobe Harbour. If you like nature and love walking, check out this place.

Dinner was at **Tor Road Steak Aoyama**. Chef said he is single and has been looking for a single woman. He cooked the beef well, haha. If you know anyone…

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**KYOTO**

One of the most amazing restaurants is **Funaokayama Shimizu**. I tried Junsai here, a water vegetable covered in gelatin. I love how Chef always highlighted his ingredients well, like one step further! I was the only diner on the day. It surprised me how a restaurant still opened for only one person 😭

Temple that I love: Eikan-do, stunning even in the rain. This temple was recommended by a Korean pastry chef who moved to Japan. She now has a shop called Quatre Heures that just opened in June. This shop has delicious lemon tart!

I went to Nara for a day trip. I bought a deer senbei and took it further from the Todaiji area. It was worth it. I spent a good time with three deers and zero tourists 🤣

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**IWATE**

I made a day trip and forgot my international driver’s licence. Toyota was kind enough to give me a map of the touristy areas. I purposely took a trip to Iwate to see the Chagu Chagu festival. It was worth it! 🙂 It was the only matsuri that I saw. I went to the Gorge, and it was stunning.

I bought a lot of snacks from Sendai, Morioka and Aomori here 👏

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**BACK TO TOKYO**

I went to **Chizanso Hotel** to see Hotaru and Cloud in the Sky. If you have not heard about Chizanso Hotel, google it or follow it on social media. They do a lot of art workshops for their guests. Their garden is stunning and has a lot of landmarks brought in from various parts of Japan.

I went to **Kikusuiro Unakiku** to have delicious unagi. The only unagi set I had when I was in Japan. They were from Nara and had just opened a restaurant at Chizanso in May.

I attended **The Lost World** exhibition at Ueno Park. I thought it would be filled with dinosaur bones, but I was wrong! A lot of oil paintings of people’s imagination of how dinosaurs live. Very interesting to see how technology and the human brain evolved together.

I went to **Kamakura** just for dinner. I mean, it’s only an hour away. The restaurant is called **Femme de Bateau Aoki**. Chef Aoki caught all the fish herself. The seafood here is excellent. I had clams with butter and wine, and also Blackthroat Seaperch! Wow, so delicious. Even the fish sando is fantastic. I met a couple who have frequented the place for six years. Here, I found the same sake that I tried in Kurashiki.

The couple at the restaurant took me to a fun karaoke night after at a hidden spot. I am so grateful. We exchanged Line IDs and still contacting each other now.

My friend introduced me to **King Tomoro (or Tomoro King)**, and his song reached Billboard #1 digital sales! I went to his shisha lounge with a friend in Roppongi. The wall of the lounge was drawn by the same artist who drew a mural at Nijo-jo castle, Kyoto.

I also went to the hyped-up **Bar Centifolia** and am happy to report that the hype is real. I stayed for two hours over five drinks. Every drink I had was excellently made. They put me right in the centre seat, where I got to see all the action easily 😊

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Between the above, I had a few dates with one person over two dinners, one dessert, and two walks in the park. I am still in touch with him 😳

I met a lot of people and made friends along the way. It was hard leaving Japan on the last day.

I might not see them again in a year or two or three. But the memory, kimochi, and experience have lingered. I am thankful for the hospitality, shared laughter, and rare encounters.

This trip feels like a **gift** to me**.**