Journal of my 7 Days in Japan. Tokyo, Hakone, Restaurant Reviews, Free Business Class upgrade on ANA


**Pre-Trip:**

– Flight – All Nippon Premium Economy roundtrip priced @ $2400 CAD for Vancouver to Tokyo. Paid $1700 CAD after tax using points from ExpediaForTD.
– Ubigi eSim – 3GB plan for $6.40 USD. Used pocket wifi in the past, and Ubigi was far superior. Didn’t have to charge the puck, or worry about losing it. Would recommend buying more than 5GB+ for trips 7 days and longer, hotel/public WiFi was very spotty.
– Visit Japan Web Questionnaire – completed this the day before my flight. Prints out a QR code to get through customs without having to use pen and paper.
– Insurance – My credit card covered trip cancellation, but I wanted to add theft and higher medical coverage. Paid $51CAD for World Nomad. I can’t review it, didn’t make any claims, but it was the best value for what I needed.

**Accommodations:**

– Hotel Century Southern in Shinjuku – Â¥37,000/night for two people, includes breakfast
– Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu – Â¥74,000/night for two people, includes dinner+breakfast
– GINZA HOTEL by GRANBELL – Â¥24,400/night
– HOTEL GROOVE SHINJUKU, A PARKROYAL Hotel – Â¥39,800/night

*(ratings account for service/value/location/ambience)*

**Day 1:** Vancouver to Tokyo

– Transportation: ***NH115*** YVR -> HND 4:45pm departure. Attentive service. Food wasn’t anything to write home about. The seat was a bit cramped to sleep in. I think Economy with exit row/more legroom is a better value. – 8/10

– Stay: [***Hotel Century Southern in Shinjuku***](https://imgur.com/LZHozLn) – A bit older now, but an amazing location in the heart of Shinjuku. Shinjuku station 5 mim walk away. The lobby has “Lost in Translation” up-in-the-sky vibes. Amazing customer service. – 8.5/10

– Dinner: [***Street Pasta Company***](https://i.imgur.com/WLLXTcr.jpg) – Japanese perfected Italian pasta. Large portions, decent pricing, open late (which is key after a long late-night flight). Remains one of our most memorable restaurants in Japan. – 9/10

**Day 2:** Overnight trip to Hakone

– Breakfast: ***Hotel Century Southern buffet*** – Great views, nice selection of western and Japanese dishes, the food was very good. – 8/10

– Transportation: [Hakone to Gora via Romance Car/Tozan Rail/Public Bus/Pirateship/Ropeway/Cable car](https://imgur.com/8BX4UcL)
-Covered a lot of land, rode a switchback train, pirateship, had black eggs over the ÅŒwakudani valley. Lost my Hakone freepass and had to pay fare for the rest of the trip, highly recommend you go for the digital version. Left Shinjuku at 8am and arrived in Gora at around 3pm – 7.5/10

– Snack: ***7/11*** – Pork/egg sandwiches and tuna rolls @ Hakone-Yumoto Station – 7.5/10

– Lunch: ***ÅŒwakudani Station Restaurant*** – Beef cutlet curry and Hakone craft beer with views of the sulfur-spouting mountain. – 8/10

– Stay: [***Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu***](https://imgur.com/9JRUy26) – Room was much better than expected. The lighting and details in the room and around the hotel grounds were very well done, pictures don’t do it justice. Each room has its’ own private Open Air Onsen Bath, running hot springs water with a click of a button.

Views of the mountains from the public Onsen were breathtaking, never seen anything like it. Lobby had live music after dinner, cold and hot drinks. Walking garden, landscaping, interior beautifully done – 9/10

– Dinner: [***Kaiseki-style cuisine at the Ten-yu***](https://imgur.com/qcHQGet) – Amazing presentation, they used lots of dry ice to simulate the billowing volcanoes. The food was good, but it wasn’t a true traditional Kaiseki. Served in a dining room instead of in-room. – 8.5/10

**Day 3:** Hakone to Ginza

– Breakfast: [***Ten-yu buffet***](https://imgur.com/maFeNO8) – Terrific, massive selection of Japanese dishes. Omurice to tuna tartar to sashimi bowls to Mentaiko to strawberry soft serve to chocolate croissants. Very fresh ingredients. – 9/10

– Took shuttle back to Gora and walked to Hakone Gora Park 7/10 (entry included with Hakone freepass, if you didn’t lose it). Then made the trip to Ginza.

– Stay (Days 3-5): [***GINZA HOTEL by GRANBELL***](https://imgur.com/LKeow7M) – Positive: very new hotel at a great location in Ginza Corridor. Negatives: Housekeeping is not great. The room I got was really dirty, the sheets uncleaned, clumps of hair in the shower, used slippers under the bed. The front desk was friendly but also disorganized. It’s also next to a train station, and few people in my group complained about the noise at night – 7.5/10

– Dinner: [***Ginza Kagari***](https://imgur.com/Vi0w0pe) – Chicken Ramen. We were here in 2017 and fondly remember it being very special: tender chicken, nuanced soup broth, finely made noodles, with an ambiance of classical music. This time around was much different. Blaring hits from Justin Bieber and Big Sean, the food was overly creamy and salty. Plus the price was cranked up. – 6.5/10

– Dessert: ***Nakamura Tokichi in Ginza 6*** – Just great teas flavors in gelato/mochi – 8.5/10

**Day 4:** Tsukiji, Sky Tree, Asakusa, Green tea ice cream, Soba, Donki,

– Breakfast: GINZA HOTEL by GRANBBELL – croissants and coffee

– Lunch: [***Sushizanmai at Tsukiji***](https://imgur.com/kOAJ4Jb) – wanted to re-visit Itadori Bekkan from our trip in 2017, but the wait this time was over two hours. Susizanmai was only a 15 minute wait. The interior didn’t have the same feel, was much more bare and undecorated, but the tuna was just as fresh and good as Itadori Bekkan. It was quite pricey though. – 8/10

– Subway-d our way to Skytree after lunch. Walked around and made our way to Asahi.

– [***Asahi Sky Room***](https://imgur.com/oJDXkwT) – In an office building, pick your own seating, the view was very average, kinda out of the way to walk there. – 6/10

– Walked around Asakusa afterward, hoping to try Suzukien, but it was closed. Determined to get my gelato fix, I made my way to Shibuya.

– Gelato: [***Shibuya Nanaya Aoyama***](https://imgur.com/K2zNDLT) -7 different levels of green tea concentration. The flavor profile of the teas was just right. The only downside is you kinda have to eat there and it’s a really small space. 9/10

– Dinner: ***Meigetsuan Ginza Tanaka-ya*** – Soba + tempura. Elevated Ginza prices, but overall good noodles, and great tempura. 8/10

– After dinner I wanted to do the Seiko Museum but it was closed. Settled for Citizen flagship store Ginza – it’s literally just a retail watch store.

– [Donki](https://imgur.com/O40JKIL) – Very interesting. Like a liquidator with everything from chips to underwear to a $4 million YEN Rolex. – 7.5/10

**Day 5:** Exploring Ginza

– Breakfast: [***Unatoto***](https://imgur.com/CRuBDMU) – I liked it, bar experience, reasonable pricing, and quickly made. 7.5/10

– [***Itoen Garden at Matsuya Ginza***](https://imgur.com/t1OPvoa) – Loose leaf retail kiosk in the basement of a department store. Came here based on recommendations from another thread. Pretty great, basically got a private taste testing of all the teas before buying. 9/10

– Attempt #2 at [Seiko Museum](https://imgur.com/E4XKWL6) – closed on Mondays

– Dinner: [***Yakiniku Ushigoro Ginza Namiki St.***](https://imgur.com/5WCzq0V) – solid beef with set menus. Service was kind to English speakers. 8/10

**Day 6:** Ginza to Shinjuku

– Headed to Shinjuku at 8am for an early appointment.

– Breakfast: ***Afuri Shinjuku Lumine*** – Yuzu Ramen, quickly made, clean store, good ramen, the chicken was much more tender than Kagari – 8/10

– Stay: ***HOTEL GROOVE SHINJUKU, A PARKROYAL Hotel*** – front desk service was really poor and disorganized. Got there at 3 and didn’t get my room til 5. The area’s kinda seedy. But the views from the room, incredible, made up for the poor service. Comfortable bed, large room for Tokyo standards. 8/10

– Lunch: [***Luke’s Lobster***](https://imgur.com/hezXMnz) – don’t be dumb like me. Don’t eat American-chain food in Tokyo, just don’t. 5/10

– Dinner: [***Ichiran at Shinjuku Kabukicho***](https://imgur.com/cMxl50k) – Was looking to be disappointed based on other reviews, but honestly not bad. The garlic flavor was overpowering, and I enjoyed that. 7.5/10

**Day 7:** Shinjuku eats and departure to Haneda for surprise upgrade

– Breakfast: [***オオサカヤ 24/7 Okonomiyaki***](https://imgur.com/L7YvE68) – Sizzling pancake with Yakisoba, squid, mayo, bonito, Japanese goodness – what’s not to love? 8/10

– Lunch: [***Uogashi Nihon-Ichi Standing Sushi***](https://imgur.com/ltQ3Seo) – Sushi was decent, prices were great, super fast-paced, and was a little uncomfortable for me. Locals around me were in and out of the place in 5 minutes. Trying to be respectful I kept my time short and didn’t have time to enjoy the fish – 7.5/10

– Dinner: ***ANA Haneda Terminal 3 Lounge*** I arrived at 4 for a 10pm flight, and the lounge was basically empty for the first two hours. Free-flowing liquor, self-serve Asahi beer, onigiri, all types of teas, made-to-order noodle bar, and airport shower. I was spoiled. 9/10

– Transportation: ***NH116*** HND->YVR: Upgraded to business class for 100% free. No status, no points, didn’t talk to the gate agent, wasn’t the last on the plane. When I lined up to board, they denied me boarding. Took me aside, said the plane was overbooked, and handed me a business class ticket. – 10/10

**What I wish I knew:**

– A lot of places are closed on certain days, I wish I did more planning and scheduling around that.

Toyosu is closed Sundays and most Wednesdays. Seiko Museum is closed on Mondays. A few places showed open on Google Maps and were closed when we go there.

– I would book an Omakase in advance of my trip next time.

– I had Pasmo on my phone, but I didn’t really need it. If you’re planning on staying in the same area, just put Â¥2000 on there.

– I know a lot of people recommend the Metropolitan Government building for views, but when I was there, there was a massive line leading out the door.

– Be aware of Airport Limousine schedules. For example, the last bus from Park Hyatt to Haneda is 5:30.

– Alcohol – Japanese whiskey selection as Haneda was very scarce. No Nikka, only a blended Suntory World Whiskey, which I tried in the lounge and was very meh. If I have checked baggage next time, I’m buying whiskey before heading to the airport.

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