Trip Report (LONG) – First Timers in May-June 2023 + Recs for Vegetarians

My husband (28M) and I (25F) took our first trip to Japan recently. This was our postponed honeymoon originally planned for 2020 so we had lots and lots of time to plan! As you will see though, things don’t always go according to plan.
I am a vegetarian and my husband eats meat, so our preference was for restaurants that cater to both diets, though we did end up eating at quite a few vegetarian/vegan places as well. I decided to be a bit more flexible than I would normally when it came to trace amounts of dashi which made it a lot easier especially when eating convenience store food. I just didn’t want to be eating chunks of meat or fish or be able to taste it. There is dashi in almost everything that isn’t specifically indicated vegetarian or vegan (salad dressing, rice balls, soups, etc) so beware if you are trying to avoid this!
We averaged about 15K steps per day, which was quite a bit for us (both moderately active and physically fit) but manageable. Make sure to bring comfortable shoes!!! I think this is what saved my feet from getting too sore. I would also recommend to start taking long walks before your trip if you don’t normally walk much; it is a lot easier once your body gets used to walking lots of steps a day.

TAKEAWAYS
– People always say Japan has small portion sizes but I found them to be perfectly reasonable and even big at times??? I can count on one hand the number of times I could actually finish my entire meal. My husband is a pretty big guy and says the same thing. Maybe people are just comparing the portions to insanely large American portions or something
– I would recommend at least learning hiragana/katakana and some basic phrases like how to order at a restaurant and buy something at the store. This can honestly be achieved in only a couple weeks and will make your experience a lot more enjoyable
– Obviously pack comfortable shoes, your feet will thank you
– For first timers I would recommend staying in a quieter area at first. We stayed in Shibuya our first few nights and it was extremely overwhelming. It would have been nicer imo to get acclimated to the culture and transportation first before staying in such a busy neighborhood. (If you are used to living in a big city this will probably be no issue for you though!)
– Book a hotel close to public transportation. If you have a JR pass make sure you are close to a JR station – not all stations have JR lines
– Bring waterproof shoes!!!! Especially if traveling during the rainy season (late May-June)
– Have a backup plan and be okay with not being able to do everything you planned. Sometimes your original plan just does not work out for whatever reason.
– Google Maps works great for trains, never had a problem there. However it is really hit or miss with buses. Sometimes it would take us to the wrong bus stop or straight up not tell us which bus stop to go to when there are 6 in the area. Find out which bus number you need to take to where and read the signs at the bus stop to confirm. Additionally, the buses are not always right on time like the trains are – sometimes they can be 5-10 minutes late so just make sure you get on the right one
– Some public bathrooms did not have soap or paper towels/hand dryer. Make sure to keep hand sanitizer and a hand towel on hand. (The bathrooms at Heian Jingu in Kyoto did not have toilet paper – we had to buy it from a dispenser outside. Make sure there is toilet paper before you go!)
– We used a Wise debit card for 99.9% of all card transactions and for ATM withdrawals, I would highly recommend it. You can add yen to your account directly through the app and the exchange rate and fees are really good. It also works for touch payment which is supported nearly everywhere in the cities. It was only declined twice throughout our whole trip, though definitely have another card or cash as a backup. We used 7-eleven ATMs and never had issues there
– I highly recommend using a luggage delivery service, we used it from/to the airport and between hotels. Each suitcase was only around ¥2,000 and our hotel front desk helped us fill out the forms and everything. Have a note either physically or on your phone with the name, address, phone number, and check in/check out dates for each hotel both in English and Japanese!!! I cannot stress enough how helpful this was for us and it was only a last-minute thought. When helping us send our luggage the hotel staff would call the destination hotel and verify all of this information so it was super helpful to just have it all on a piece of paper that we handed them.
– As of May-June 2023, most people do not wear masks on the street or inside stores/restaurants. The only place I would say more than half do is on public transportation, especially when really crowded. I opted to because I really didn’t want to get sick on my vacation 🙂

Here is our itinerary along with my comments.

Arrival Day:
13.5 hour flight from Detroit to Haneda. Not going to lie, it was absolutely brutal (this was our first long haul international flight). Try to sleep as much as possible and bring ear plugs if you are a light sleeper like me. My eyes/ears/throat were super dry even with me sipping water the whole time. I brought some eye drops based on someone’s suggestion which helped a lot!
– Immigration/customs – super easy and efficient
– Picked up pocket wifi – we used Japan Wireless and would recommend it, worked great for us
– Shipped luggage via Yamato Transport – would also recommend, it was about ¥2,500 to ship a large suitcase within Tokyo
– Got IC cards and took the train to our hotel, Hotel Wing International Premium Shibuya
– Had conbini dinner and crashed

Day 1
– Woke up ridiculously early from jet lag
– Ate breakfast at our hotel – ricotta pancakes which were delicious
– Window shopping at Seibu Shibuya
– Got to Katsumidori sushi around 10:30 and were second in line, we were let in soon after they opened at 11 (Great and fun place, they had veggie options as well as the usual sushi)
– Mega Don Quijote and 10-yen coin cheese bread (super stringy cheese and sweet pancake)
– Took a jet lag nap at our hotel
– Shibuya Parco – Nintendo store, Pokémon Center, Shonen Jump store, vegan izakaya Masaka in the basement for dinner (loved the karaage and tempura green beans)
– Shibuya Sky – highly recommend going at night and definitely buy tickets in advance because they sell out

Day 2
– Starbucks Reserve Roastery – definitely go early, there was almost no one there at 8am. Unique drinks and delicious pastries
– Quick stroll through Sugekari Park
– Nagi Shokudo (vegan) for lunch – the lunch set was a big portion for cheap and the karaage was to die for
– Shibuya 109 – this place is mostly for young women and I felt severely underdressed in my comfy tourist clothes
– Sent our luggage ahead to our hotel in Shinjuku
– Dinner reservation at Saido (vegan) – this was one of my absolute favorite restaurants in Japan and I highly recommend it for vegans and meat eaters alike. We loved the vegan eel and tonkatsu rice sets. Make sure to make a reservation well in advance

Day 3
– Another pancake breakfast at our hotel
– Hachiko statue on our way to Shibuya station, wasn’t crowded at all in the morning
– Took the train to Shinjuku, then from Shinjuku to Hakone – we bought digital Hakone Freepasses so everything from Shinjuku was covered. We just had to go through the manned ticket gates and show them the moving ticket screen
– Sent our overnight bag to our hotel via the delivery service at Hakone-Yumoto station
– Took a bus to Amazake Chaya – this was a super cool experience. Feels like you are transported back in time
– Hiked the Old Tokaido to Motohakone – we probably should not have done this in the rain. Definitely felt very perilous at times with the slippery rocks, I would only recommend this if you are physically fit and have good mobility/balance. It was super scenic though and fun to imagine what it was like in its heyday
– Pirate ship on Lake Ashinoko – we couldn’t see Mt Fuji due to the rain but it was still really cool and felt like we were on a ghost ship with all the fog
– Hakone Ropeway to Owakudani – luckily our view for this was pretty good. Ate the black eggs and they were actually pretty tasty
– Took the ropeway/cable car to Gora Station where we met with a shuttle bus that took us to our hotel, Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu
– We were soaking wet and exhausted at this point but the hotel treated us like royalty and our room was huge with tatami flooring and a private outdoor bath. Very very expensive at around $600 USD for one night full-board. Worth it in my opinion, wish we could have stayed longer
– Had our included dinner at hotel – it was massive with multiple courses and we were absolutely stuffed by the end (they were able to prepare a delicious vegetarian meal for me which I requested at the time of booking)
– Too tired to do the onsen so we soaked in our private tub instead

Day 4
– Woke up super early and went to the onsen – the women’s was outside under a beautiful rocky waterfall and men’s was on a higher floor with views of the mountains – apparently the genders switch each day so you can try both baths
– Had hotel breakfast – it was a huge buffet with some crazy stuff like crab and free-pour sparkling champagne
– Strolled through the hotel garden, which had a little stream with waterfalls and a small shrine
– Checked out and went to Hakone Open Air Museum – great art pieces and beautifully manicured grounds
– Had vegan donuts and a strawberry soda outside Gora station – didn’t write down the name of the place
– Went to the Evangelion store by Hakone-Yumoto station – was really small but they had cute Hakone-themed Evangelion merch
– Took the train back to Shinjuku, checked into Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku
– Dinner reservation at Ain Soph Journey Shinjuku (vegan) – was quite good! I would recommend making a reservation

Day 5
– Buffet-style breakfast at our hotel
– Meiji Jingu – can’t believe such a serene place is right in the middle of the city. Had some strong matcha ice cream at a cafe there and it was delicious!
– Shopped at Uniqlo in Harajuku
– Vegan Bistro Jangara Ramen for lunch – this was one of my husband’s favorite ramen despite it being completely vegan
– Picked up our JR passes at Shinjuku station
– Did laundry/napped at hotel
– Decided on Mexican for dinner at Guzman y Gomez in Harajuku (veg option)- surprisingly good Mexican in Japan, though it’s more like a Chipotle-type restaurant than authentic Mexican
– Dessert at Santa Monica Crepes – we shared the matcha cheesecake one. Long line but it moved fast

Day 6
– Hotel breakfast
– Train to Disneyland – train was absolutely packed for Monday morning rush hour
– Waited in the super long line for security, once inside we bought Premier Passes for Splash Mountain (my husband’s favorite ride in the US)
– Pooh’s Hunny Hunt (50 min wait) – This ride was so great and adorable
– Honey flavored popcorn – lightly flavored, not too sweet, almost floral
– Haunted Mansion (30 min wait) – this is basically the same as in the US, mostly English with Japanese
– It’s a Small World After All (20 min wait) – cute ride, combination of English and Japanese
– Splash Mountain (15 min wait with premier passes) – we got soaked but it was nice on a super hot day
– Lunch at Grandma Sarah’s Kitchen – TDL has only one single vegetarian meal in the park and we were going there for dinner so I had to be a little flexible for lunch. This restaurant had an allergy-friendly vegetable curry – you have to special request it. It didn’t have any chunks of meat in it and didn’t taste like meat so I was fine with eating it and it was meh 6/10. Wish Tokyo Disney was more veggie-friendly
– Crème brûlée churro – phenomenal
– Pirates of the Caribbean (10 min wait) – this was great and the animatronics are closer to you than in the US. I could have reached out to touch them, it made for a really exciting and immersive ride (I unfortunately got a bit wet because I was sitting on the outside though)
– Mickey waffle at Great American Waffle Co – tasted like a normal waffle lol but it was really cute
– Tiramisu ice cream sandwich – yummy and refreshing
– Monsters Inc (40 min wait) – really cute ride with high repeat value, this is one of my favorite Disney movies
– Snow White (15 min wait) – was really spinny and it ended kind of abruptly
– Berry cheesecake popcorn (limited) – delicious!
– Jungle Cruise (30 min wait) – cute and funny, probably won’t be as good if you don’t understand any Japanese
– Dinner reservation at Eastside Cafe – actually really high quality food, we were impressed. The vegetarian option was tasty (tomato sauce pasta with bell peppers)
– Went home early because we were beat!

Day 7
– Hotel breakfast
– Train to Disney Sea
– It was a rainy chilly day so it was much less crowded – we did have to put away umbrellas and take off rain coats for each ride which got old fast
– Tower of Terror (40 min wait) – I liked the theming on this, the ride itself was milder than the US version
– Soy sauce butter popcorn – pretty good not too strong
– Indiana Jones (30 min wait) – this ride was so fun and the seats were super comfy and soft
– Sindbad’s Storybook Adventure (no wait) – this ride is really well done with an original story and soundtrack, very long
– Lunch at Casbah Food Court (veg option) – this place had a proper vegetarian option which was Indian-style vegetable curry. actually delicious and large portion
– 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (25 min wait) – cute ride but obviously more oriented towards kids
– Sea salt monaka ice cream – the ice cream cart employee was shocked to have a customer on such a cold rainy day lol but this ice cream was seriously delicious and had a fruit filling
– Journey to the Center of the Earth (45 min wait) – amazing scenery and just a little bit of thrill at the end. Was a lot calmer than I was expecting
– Chicken ukiwa bun – I obviously didn’t try but my husband loved it
– Shopping – bought Duffy-themed everything (side note: there was a little omiyage tin of flavored cookies that we didn’t try until we got home, but they were SO GOOD and wish we had bought more)
– Sweetheart Bakery – Mike Wazowski melon pan (actually melon flavored) and limited tiramisu donut
– Mickey original churro – classic, can’t beat it
– Big Band Beat – we were lucky to get tickets near the front in the middle (they are assigned randomly). A really cute musical show, was great to get out of the rain for a while
– Little Green “Man” – amazing branding, super cute, taste was pretty good (filling tasted like American-style pudding)
– Dinner reservation at Ristorante di Canaletto (veggie option) – again really impressed with the food. Had a great margherita pizza
– Went home early again because we were tired of walking around in soaking wet shoes and socks

Day 8
– Slept in!
– Hotel breakfast, then lounged around for a while
– Lunch at Ippudo Lumine Est (veg option) – this is the only Ippudo location with plant based options. I had the plant based Akamaru ramen and it was seriously my favorite ramen broth in Japan! I love a strong broth and this one was garlicky and a little spicy and creamy. My husband liked my veggie ramen better than his meat one
– Sent our luggage ahead to Kyoto
– Grand Sumo Tournament – we had tickets for the front row of the upper level. I can’t believe the amazing view we had. This was so incredibly fun and uniquely *Japan*. I would highly recommend attending a match (make sure to read up on the rules and rituals! It’s really interesting)
– Eggslut Shinjuku for dinner (omni but obviously not vegan) – ugh I have dreams about the Fairfax sandwich. Absolutely amazing

Day 9
– Early morning to catch shinkansen to Kyoto – we had conbini breakfast (rice balls, coffee, pastries)
– Got a clear view of Mt Fuji on the way there!!!!
– Nishiki Market – pretty touristy, had egg sandwiches, shrimp tempura, Snoopy-yaki, ichigo daifuku, mitarashi dango
– Got super lost on the bus system and wasted some money lol
– To-ji – didn’t go inside because we were worn out from being in a new city. Iconic though. Squat toilets only
– Kyoto Tower Observation Deck – not as impressive as the super tall ones in Tokyo, but still good nonetheless. We liked the cute mascot
– Rice balls and fruit sandwiches for lunch
– Checked into Oriental Hotel Kyoto Rokujo and passed out – this hotel was cute and cheap but kind of in the middle of nowhere. Nearest train station ~10 minutes walk
– Takeout CoCo Ichibanya for dinner (veg option) – 10/10 I’ll never understand people’s hate for this place, it was absolutely delicious, fast, and cheap. Most locations have a vegetarian menu. Love how it is super customizable with spice level, amount of rice, and toppings. I miss this place so much I talk about it like every day

Day 10
– Conbini breakfast again – rice balls, fruit sandwiches, melon pan (I loved the chocolate chip kind)
– Arashiyama Bamboo Grove – it was beautiful but I wish we had gone earlier in the morning because it was absolutely swamped with tourists and influencers blocking the whole walkway to take a picture. Kind of ruined the serenity of it. Glad we went but probably won’t go again
– Walked through the park at the west end of the bamboo grove and they had a couple observation decks over the river
– Walked down the mountain to Togetsukyo Bridge
– Tenryuji – one of the prettiest gardens. Was pretty packed though
– Lunch reservation at Tenryuji Shigetsu (vegan, shojin ryori) – this was such a special experience and I’m glad we did it. I don’t know what half of what we ate even was, and we didn’t like everything, but that’s part of what made it great! Definitely make reservations in advance
– Dessert at the Arashiyama Rilakkuma tea house – we had to take a number and wait for our turn, which took maybe 30 minutes. They have lots of cute merch to browse while you wait. We had a strawberry parfait and yuzu honey pancakes, both were okay-tasting but oh so cute!
– Souvenir shopping at Miffy Sakura Bakery
– Relaxed on the riverbank by Togetsukyo
– Crossed the bridge and bought some candied strawberries from a stand in the park – I am salivating at the thought of these. Strawberries in Japan are just amazing
– Sagano Romantic Train – the views were great and the train itself is so cute! Definitely worth making a reservation in advance – we did this online and picked up our tickets beforehand at Kyoto station
– Mos Burger for dinner (veg option) – they have a plant burger here that is pretty decent. Not the best veggie burger ever but a solid choice for sure if you want something quick and cheap. My husband loved the shrimp burger

Day 11
– Hotel breakfast – buffet that had some local Kyoto specialties, I was a fan of the yudofu with soy sauce and green onions/ginger!
– Fushimi Inari Taisha – cool but super touristy. Again, good to see once but don’t feel the need to go again
– Walked the Philosopher’s Path – there were only a handful of people since it was after sakura season. It felt so serene! There were butterflies everywhere.
– Ginkakuji – some of the best temple gardens in Japan
– Sumikko Gurashi store – my husband became obsessed with Sumikko Gurashi lol, we had to pick up some of the goods exclusive to this store
– Omen Ginkakuji (vegan option) – the cold udon was sooo refreshing on such a hot day. I loved the fresh vegetables it came with
– Relaxed at hotel
– Early dinner at Kyoto Engine Ramen (vegan option) – we came 20 minutes before they opened and there were several people already in line. This place seems to attract mostly tourists but it was one of the most unique ramen I have had. I went with the zesty vegan ramen and it was spicy, creamy and had a super unique flavor. I loved the curly noodles and abundance of green onion.

Day 12
– Hotel breakfast
– Ryoanji- rock garden was really pretty! Underrated imo
– Kinkakuji – obviously super crowded but worth the hype. The gold exterior is beautiful
– Lunch reservation at Itadakizen (vegan) – this place was so cute! We loved the kimbap, fried tofu, and pumpkin soup
– Nijo Castle – surprisingly one of my highlights of the trip. So worth it to go inside, just wish we were allowed to take pictures!
– Kyoto Gyoen – a really nice park that’s huge and free to visit
– Kyoto Imperial Palace – again free and really underrated! It was not crowded at all
– Reservations at Kamehameha for dinner (veg options) – this was our first okonomiyaki and we were blown away. Absolutely delicious. Make sure to make a reservation, they were turning people away left and right (a side note: there was an issue with our credit card here where they accidentally charged us twice. We called later to have it fixed and they just refunded everything for the inconvenience!! A+ customer service, we would have gone back here again in the future anyway but this made absolutely certain we will. And yes the owner loves Dragonball)

Day 13
– Starbucks Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya – recommend getting here before open because there was a line. Luckily we were able to get a Japanese-style table on tatami. The menu is the same as any other Starbucks though (had a veggie soy patty sandwich, was really good but more like a burger than a breakfast sandwich)
– Kiyomizudera – amazing views but a bit of a hike to get up/down as it’s on the side of a mountain
– Kiyomizu-zaka Sumikko Gurashi store
– Ryozen Kannon – quiet and sobering. There was also a shrine for the guardian of miscarried fetuses that had lots of flower offerings 🙁
– Donguri Republic – a must for Ghibli fans, just wish they had more merch for some of the less popular movies
– Itoken Sousou – wagashi skewer
– Maccha House – matcha tiramisu and matcha parfait
– Yasaka Jinja – wish we had gone at night!
– Mimikou (veg option) – had the veggie curry udon with kakiage and soy nuggets – these nuggets were some of the best I’ve had
– Heian Jingu – this place was great except the bathrooms do not have toilet paper in the stalls. Also was stopped and interviewed in English by middle schoolers for a school project so that was cute
– It rained all day today so we were soaking wet by this time and headed home early
– Conbini dinner (7-eleven egg salad sandwiches are so bomb)

Day 14
– Hotel breakfast
– Sent our luggage ahead to Osaka
– Day trip to Nara. The deer really are everywhere. We decided to keep our distance from them as much as possible because I didn’t want to get bitten/stomped on
– Kofukuji – we enjoyed the national treasure museum a lot
– Walked through Nara Park – huge park and really nice
– Mizuya Chaya for lunch (veg option) – adorable tiny little place in the forest. This place had fairytale vibes. Surprisingly good kitsune udon and matcha latte
– Kasuga Taisha – this was a really unique shrine unlike any of the others we had seen. The lanterns were so pretty and everything was covered in moss. One of my favorites
– Got a matcha ice cream cone from a shop nearby – my husband nearly tripped over a deer that came up from behind him hoping for snacks. We found a tick on hubs’s leg later and we are thinking this is when it happened because we were strictly walking on pavement and not in any grass or anything. Another reason to keep your distance from the deer and make sure to check for ticks
– Todaiji – another experience unique to Nara, this building and the Buddha inside are breathtakingly huge. Pictures don’t do it justice
– Nakatanidou – mochi was good but probably would have been better if we had waited for fresher ones! We were gassed from all the walking at this point
– Mos Burger – I decided to try their limited offering plant sea burger this time. Holy moly it was 10/10. Perfectly crispy plant-based “fish” patty with vegan tartar sauce. I still have cravings for this sandwich like every day. Not sure if they are still offering it?
– Train back home to Kyoto

Day 15
– Hotel breakfast
– Took the Shinkansen to Osaka, dropped off our bags at our hotel
– Osaka Castle Park – we ate conbini snacks on a bench. BRING BUG SPRAY!!! I got attacked by mosquitos here
– Osaka Castle – this is more of a museum than an accurate historical representation. Still really cool, wish we had more time to read everything. The top floor is open-air and had great views
– Hydrangea garden in the Osaka Castle Park – they weren’t quite peak yet (early June) but I was super excited to see them because hydrangeas are my favorite
– Kuromon Ichiba – pretty touristy. Ate sweet potato chips, grilled wagyu skewer, candied strawberry skewer
– Namba Yasaka Jinja – it is in the middle of the city and not a ton to do there but the lion head is a cool sight!
– Rikuro Ojisan – I liked it but my husband hated it. I think it is a bit overrated but still good. Tastes more like an egg custard than a cheesecake
– Checked into Cross Hotel Osaka
– Early dinner at Oko (veg option) – we waited outside for them to open because I read online the wait can be really long. It is a super tiny place but the okonomiyaki was really good and drinks are so cheap and self serve! We were so tired we didn’t have any alcohol but this would be a great place to have a few drinks with some great food, I think drinks were something like ¥120 each
– Browsed the Pokemon store and Shounen Jump on Shinsaibashisuji

Day 16
– Hotel breakfast – this was my favorite hotel breakfast. They had so many options including a type of soy meat each day, I was a huge fan of the soy nuggets and soy hamburg patty. Also an espresso machine that made lattes and americanos 🙂
– Universal Studios – got there around 8 and got in the park at 8:30. We bought tickets and express passes in advance online
– Spy x Family secret mission – this was a limited time scavenger hunt-type thing going on. We had to do it as big fans of Spy x Family. Knowing a bit of Japanese was necessary because all of the instructions were in Japanese and some of the puzzles involved wordplay in Japanese as well. Luckily we were able to solve all of them and had a lot of fun 🙂
– Went to Nintendo World for our timed entry at 10 AM
– OML this was by far the busiest area of the park, way worse than Disney
– Timed entry Mario Kart ride – really fun and great theming
– Picked up an 11:30 entry ticket for Kinopio Cafe
– Yoshi ride – cute and good views of the park. Wish it was longer
– Got back to Kinopio Cafe and ordered lunch – Yoshi’s fruit and veggie salad (vegetarian), teriyaki chicken with super star rice, piranha plant caprese (vegetarian), super star lemon squash, Peach’s cake. We were super impressed with everything, it was surprisingly good for theme park food. The two of us managed to finish everything (including the cake meant for 3-4 people lol) and were absolutely stuffed
– Waited in line for popcorn bucket – 45 minutes!!!! Absolutely insane. But worth it for the cute light up star popcorn bucket. Peach popcorn was pretty good
– My only complaint is that Nintendo World had almost no places to sit. Probably because they don’t want people to linger too long given how popular it is
– Turned in our secret word for the secret mission and were given a 3:00 showtime – however on the way there we got stuck in the parade crowds because they had all the paths blocked off
– Made it through the parade and to the location of the show – it was super cute but obviously all in Japanese. Afterwards we got to take pictures of the actors playing Loid/Yor doing all kinds of action poses 🙂
– Had the Anya dark chocolate raspberry churro – this was right up my alley, I loved it
– Bought lots of merchandise near the front of the park
– Waited in a longggg line for the Mario’s hat pancake sandwich. Worth it though
– Left early because we were TIRED and did everything we wanted to do
– Coco Ichibanya for dinner again 10/10. So easy, I love how you can just order on the tablet

Day 17
– Woke up to a horrible forecast of 3-5 inches of rain today. We had planned to go to Himeji and Hiroshima today but decided to do that tomorrow instead (perk of having the JR pass! We didn’t have to worry about Shinkansen tickets)
– Hotel breakfast
– Went outside and immediately got soaked even with an umbrella, went back to hotel room to change into sandals
– Walked around Shinsaibashi covered shopping street, husband had takoyaki from Kukuru and loved it
– Parco Mall – Sumikko Gurashi/Rilakkuma store
– Lunch at Starbucks – they had a limited plant-based keema curry sandwich that was sooo good. Also had drinks and a matcha scone
– Went to the Kaiyukan aquarium – we bought tickets online earlier that morning. Glad we did because the line for tickets was super long. The aquarium was really cool and big but everyone else had the same idea as us to go on a rainy day. It was super crowded. We liked the whale sharks, dolphins, jellyfish, penguins, and seals
– Stopped by JR Namba station on the way home to pick up Shinkansen reservation tickets for tomorrow (ended up not needing them as you’ll see, oh well)
– Shogun Burger for dinner (veg option) – had a veggie burger, husband had a wagyu burger. These were really similar to an American style burger so obviously we loved them (the basil dipping sauce for the fries was SO GOOD)
– Got some Krispy Kreme donuts to-go and enjoyed an early night with some Strong Zero (stuff is seriously no joke, goes down really easily and stronger than similar stuff I’m used to in the US)
– Had a bath in our wonderful deep soak tub 🙂

(Continued in comments)