TRIP REPORT: 15 Day honeymoon in Tokyo, Hakone, Osaka and Kyoto. Food & Drinks, Relaxation, and Shopping

# The Plan

This was our honeymoon and we wanted to go pretty big. We tried to pack as much in while still making time for relaxation. Beforehand we did our homework so we could scoop up a lot of tricky dining reservations. We also put a lot of time into picking out some really unique hotels to stay in from the serene Hoshinoya to a spectacular Airbnb in Kyoto to a funky final stay at BnA studio. Here’s how it all went down.

# Our Interests

* Honeymooning
* Soaking in the culture
* Relaxation and onsens
* Japanese food, cool bars and fine dining
* Finding unique experiences
* Seeing the cities by foot

# DAY 1 – ✈️ Up in the air

* Left **Los Angeles** in the early afternoon
* Arrived in **Haneda** in late evening
* Caught one of the last trains on the **Haneda monorail** up to Tokyo.
* Stayed at the **Park City Hotel**

*Notes from the day: we couldn’t find the welcome Suica machine in Haneda initially. Ended up making a trip back down the next evening because buying individual tickets was a pain. Flew JAL, cannot recommend them enough. Good food, great seats, great service. More bumps on the plane ride over than expected but nothing like a US domestic flight.*

# DAY 2 – ☀️ Ohayo Gozaimasu

* Dropped into **Shibuya** in the morning
* Traversed the **Shibuya scramble**
* Popped into Shibuya 109 to find the **whipped cream vending machine**
* Traversed over to **Meiji Shrine** through **Yoyogi Park**
* Headed back to hotel by way of the **Miyazaki Clock**
* Evening reservation at **Uoteru**
* Back to **Park Hotel**

*Notes from the day: Uoteru was a big highlight. Food and atmosphere were amazing. Went there for the ikura/uni bowl but were honestly more impressed by the other courses including an unbelievable sweet tomato.*

# DAY 3 – 🖊️ Imperial Palace to Itoya

* Joined a tour we reserved at the **Imperial Palace**
* Walked over to **Ginza**
* Shopped til we dropped at **Itoya**
* Popped into **Mikimoto**
* Went out to Roppongi for a multi-course meal at **Yakitori Kodama**
* Back to **Park Hotel**

*Notes from the day: I loved the imperial palace tour but it might not be for everyone. You don’t go inside but you do get to see a real, living palace and some of its gardens up close. Yakitori Kodak was really special but be prepared to eat a LOT, including chicken organs.*

# DAY 4 – ⚔️ Samurai swords and a smoked old-fashioned

* Started off the day at **Tokyo National Museum** and poked into a cultural fair happening outside
* Went all the way out to **Kisaburo Farms** for their egg bar
* Back over to **Senso-ji** around sunset
* A quick stop into **Virtu** bar at the Four Seasons on the 26th floor
* Checked in to **Hoshinoya**
* Rooftop onsen time at **Hoshinoya**
* Out for dinner at **Pizza Studio Tamaki**

*Notes from the day: The egg bar at Kisaburo Farms was fantastic if you like eggs as much as my wife. Senso-ji at sunset was special, we bought our Goshuincho here which would become a big part of the trip going forward. We popped into Virtu on a whim while we waited for our evening check in at Hoshinoya and it was by far one of the coolest places we visited during our trip. Incredible views, incredible drinks. A little pricey but worth every penny. Hoshinoya was an unforgettable experience, it’s uniquely Japanese and the rooftop onsen is magical.*

# DAY 5 – 📷 Slow-paced in Kichijoji

* In-room breakfast at **Hoshinoya**
* Arrived in Kichijoji early, popped into the **Cream Puff Factory** for a Totoro puff
* Killed some time birdwatching and taking photos in **Inokashira Park**
* Dropped into **Ghibli Museum** for shopping and a quick tour
* Back to **Tokyo** proper
* Omakase at **Sushi Masashi**
* Returned to **Hoshinoya** for some onsen and relaxation

*Notes from the day: If you go to Ghibli, make sure you remember your pin to access your tickets. We had a stressful hour trying to crack that when we forgot ours. The Cream Puff factory in Kichijoji is small, and the cream puffs are wonderful. I had heard people say don’t do a Michelin omakase because it’s not that much better than other sushi spots, but I strongly disagree. The inventiveness of the dishes, diversity of ingredients and depth of flavor was unbelievable. Truly a big highlight for us.*

# DAY 6 – 🗻 Out to Hakone

* Spent some time at the **Imperial Gardens** in the morning
* Shopped around **Tokyo Station** for an ekiben and grabbed a Kirby cake from **Kirby Café Petit**
* Took the Shinkansen to **Odawara Station**
* Hopped on the long bus down to **Hanaori** resort
* Ate dinner at the on-site **buffet**
* Used the private **onsen** in our room
* Got tipsy on **vending machine highballs** and watched Japanese TV

*Notes from the day: we got familiar with Tokyo Station the previous day which helped us navigate it a lot easier. The bus to Hanaori is pretty long, with as many as 60 stops but it’s a lovely ride. Hanaori has beautiful views and is super affordable for what you get, including their amazing buffet. Heavily foreigner, but not in a way that detracts from the overall experience.*

# DAY 7 – 🚠 Ropeway ride with scenic stops

* Ate at the **Hanaori Buffet**
* Grabbed an early **Scenic Ropeway ride**
* Stopped at the midpoint to enjoy views of **Fuji** and the **thermal vents**
* Continued over to **Gora** and took the cable car into town
* Ate a quick **lunch** at a convenience store before our return trip
* Took the bus up to **Susuki Grass Fields**
* Hiked a secluded path alongside the lake to a **lakeside Torii Gate** (little guy not the big one)
* Back to **Hanaori**

*Notes from the day: The cable car was exceptional especially on a day we could see Fuji. Very little to do in Gora but that wasn’t the point of the ride. Susuki Grass Fields were a little crowded but absolutely beautiful and easy to enjoy. The hike along the lakeside was special but it was getting dark so we couldn’t go all the way to the end. The shrine we visited was adjacent to an abandoned resort which was weirdly fun to walk through.*

# DAY 8 – 🚅 Onward to Osaka

* Said goodbye to **Hanaori**
* Got onto the Shinkansen to **Osaka**
* Checked into **Osaka Excel Tokyo**
* Ate our way through **Dotonburi** and the area around it
* Popped in for drinks a funky **theme bar** in Osaka

*Notes from the day: Osaka had some surprises for us. On the train down I made friends with a guy offered to show us around the following evening. He followed through and took us to two local bars that were so much fun. Dotonburi was a madhouse but from Takoyaki to Ten Cents the food made it all worth it. The theme bar was also a highlight, and the bartender recommended another one in the area I liked even more.*

# DAY 9 – 🍡 Unique experiences in Osaka

* Checked out the **temple** below Osaka, got invited in for tea and breakfast
* Traveled out to **Tempozan** area
* Braved a ride up the **Ferris Wheel**
* Visited the whale sharks at **Osaka Aquarium**
* Met up with my train friend for **drinks**
* Rounded out the night at a really amazing **theme bar**

*Notes from the day: One of my favorite from the trip. The temple was having a festival and the sweetest ladies invited us over for a small breakfast and tea they were hosting. We felt so welcome, it was really special. The aquarium was crowded but still really special. Barhopping was fantastic, the theme bar was one of the best of the entire trip. Had initially intended to do Osaka castle but a local told us to just do Himeji instead.*

# Day 10 – 🏯 Side quest in Himeji then up to Kyoto

* Short train trip to **Himeji**
* Explored the castle and surrounding buildings
* Took the train to **Kyoto**
* Checked into our **Airbnb** in Higashiyama area
* Went for an evening walk
* Found an excellent ramen spot nearby

*Notes from the day: Himeji is unmissable. The castle and grounds are so impressive and well-preserved. Higashiyama turned out to be a great place to stay, too. The airbnb had unreal views of the area, if you want the listing let me know.*

# DAY 11 – ⛩️ Konichiwa Kyoto

* Early morning bus to get down to **Fushimi Inari**
* **Hike** all the way up to the top
* **Shopping** in the area
* **Kiyomizu-dera** plus other temples and shrines in the immediate area
* Dinner reservation at **Kuchibashi Modern**

*Notes from the day: temples blended together for me a bit at this point. I probably wouldn’t cram them in like we did but chasing goshuin was a lot of fun. We visited Fushimi Inari early, pretty busy on the bottom half of the hike but the upper half was much more sparse and lovely. Shops in the area were absolutely slammed but we still found some great prints and coffee. Worth fighting the crowds.*

# DAY 12 – 🎋 Working through Arashiyama

* Early tram out to **Arashiyama**
* Obligatory **Bamboo Grove** walkabout and photo op
* **Temples** in the area
* Amazing breakfast at **Espresso and Bread**
* Hike to the **monkeys**
* Left Arashiyama to check into **Nazuna Kyoto Tsubaki St.**
* Over to **Nishiki Market** for dinner

*Notes from the day: Visiting with the monkeys was better than expected, it felt pretty humane and they weren’t at all aggressive outside the feeding area. Breakfast was also a highlight, great coffee and atmosphere. The bamboo grove met my expectations, it’s short and busy but nice for pictures. I regret not spending as much time at Nazuna but we were still cramming stuff in. The rooms have private onsens and each one feels like you’re a small home (Machiya-ish). Lots of nice touches and excellent hospitality.*

# DAY 13 – 🔔 Ninna-ji, Ryōan-ji, Kinkaku-ji

* Early bus up to **Northwest Kyoto**
* Hit up **Ninna-ji, Ryōan-ji, Kinkaku-ji** in order
* Dropped into a **woodblock gallery** on the way
* Back to **Nishiki** to shop
* Back to **Higashiyama** because we got addicted to hunting Goshuin
* Visited **Heian Shrine** and surrounding gardens

*Notes from the day: these were my favorite temples. They were busy but not nearly as busy as Higashiyama. Each one was beautiful and easy to explore. The woodblock gallery was a true highlight, I regret not buying more. They were really affordable too all things considered. Heian Shrine gardens were spectacular and we basically had them entirely to ourselves in the afternoon.*

# DAY 14 – 🚆 Meeting an old friend and a long goodbye to Tokyo

* Took the bullet train up to **Tokyo**
* Stopped off in **Yokohama** to meet up with an old friend for lunch
* Continued up to check into **BnA STUDIO Akihabara** for our last night in Japan
* Shopped for unique food, fruit and ingredients at **Isetan Shinjuku**
* Got evening tickets to go up **Skytree**

*Notes from the day: great views of Fuji on the train ride back up which we missed on the way down. Highly recommend going to Isetan’s food court if you want to bring back some rare and unique cooking ingredients or get some expensive fruit. Skytree was pretty spectacular, we went to the top deck and took in some impressive views. It’s so high up with no peers in the area that it kinda feels like you’re in a plane. Drinks were borderline non-alcoholic but I do regret not getting a reservation at the restaurant.*

# DAY 15 – 🍣 Good fish and a shopping spree to top it all off

* **Tsukiji** in the not-too-early but not-too-late morning
* Ate some **tuna** and some **uni**
* Headed over to **Kappabashi Street** and did a huge round of shopping
* Took the express train to **Narita**
* Flew home to **Los Angeles**

*Notes from the day: Tsukiji was pretty cool overall, didn’t need nearly as much time as I thought we would. Kappabashi was so great for shopping, I could’ve spent way more time and money there.*

# Wrapping it all up, here are a list of my favorite places/things/moments:

* Himeji Castle
* Unforgettable meal experiences like Sushi Masashi and Uoteru
* Virtu and theme bars in Osaka
* Seeing Mount Fuji
* Isetan Shinjuku
* Skytree
* Kappabashi Street
* Riding the Shinkansen
* Monkey park
* All the little interactions with locals along the way
* Heian Shrine gardens
* Collecting goshuin
* Hoshinoya Tokyo
* Osaka aquarium
* 130 miles walked in total

*\*I didn’t list the names here but if you want them just shoot me a message*

# Favorite souvenirs

* Goshuincho
* Knives
* Ceramics
* Tea
* Woodblock prints
* Chopsticks
* Coffee
* Ghibli stuff
* Stationary and pens
* Candy and snacks
* Sake and Japanese spirits

# Anecdotes/tips we picked up from others and learned ourselves along the way:

* **Pro photo tip:** your photos will have people in them no matter how hard you try. My wife had a great idea to use long exposure and it was a game changer. Have your subject stand still in front of your backdrop, use long exposure and everyone around will be stylistically blurred.
* Can confirm **cash is important to have at all times**. We split cash/card usage about 70/30 in favor of cards.
* **Weather was amazing** in late October to the first week of November.
* If you’re riding an express train **make sure you get the right ticket**. We almost missed a train because we just got the normal ticket.
* Know the difference between **express, semi-express and local** when boarding a train. Google Maps will help you navigate them.
* **Japan is incredibly affordable right now** with exchange rates the way they are. Drinks were sometimes as low as $2-3 dollars. Vending machine highballs were $1.
* **Order drinks** at every restaurant you go to, it’s how they make their money we were told.
* Getting around the trains and buses is pretty easy, **but pay close attention to entrances and exits** when navigating with Google Maps.
* Osaka and Kyoto have **inverse public transportation etiquette** from Tokyo. When standing, one stays to the right on the escalators, the other on the left. Some buses you scan when you get on, some you scan when you get off. Some have you board at the front and exit the middle, some have you board at the middle and exit at the front.
* Wearing provided **kimonos and/or yukatas** around the room and hotels was something I did not expect to love as much as I did or at all. Truly a mini-highlight.
* Knowing that **handful of phrases** made getting around a breeze. Everyone was very accommodating and gracious.

# Final word

At the end of the it all, I don’t think I’d change a thing. It felt pretty complete and loved every minute. If you have any questions about anything shoot me a message.