2 weeks of autumn in Tokyo/Hakone/Osaka/Onomichi/Kyoto! [Nov-Dec, week 2]

Here we are again for week 2! You can tell that I wrote this whole thing over the course of a couple weeks, because this is where I give up on the time-based writing system…

When we left off in [part 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/1183bwo/2_weeks_of_autumn_in/) my partner and I had just packed up our stuff ready to leave Osaka.

###**Day 8: Himeji, Onomichi**

– 11am: Arrived at Shin-Osaka station with our luggage in preparation for visiting **Himeji**. As a little surprise for my partner, I’d looked up the [**Hello Kitty Shinkansen**](https://www.jrailpass.com/blog/hello-kitty-shinkansen#Hello_Kitty_Shinkansen_timetable) and made sure we happened to be at Shin-Osaka in time for it. It comes once a day in each direction and is definitely a great way to mix things up with your Shinkansen travel, especially for Sanrio fans! Though I reserved seats just in case, we didn’t find the unreserved car (which is Hello Kitty themed) to be busy. The train’s decorations were starting to show their age a bit, but not to the point of being unclean or needing repair or anything.

– 12:30pm: Exited Himeji Station (there were plenty of coin lockers inside) and took a very nice stroll along the main road towards the castle. It really is as beautiful as the pictures!

– The interior of the castle is very interesting, especially for history nerds, but I didn’t enjoy it hugely. The west building and its long corridors were my favourite bit, but the main castle was a lot of steep stairs and information boards and navigating a stream of other visitors. Perhaps the atmosphere is better when you visit earlier? That being said, the courtyard that you reach after going through the main keep is gorgeous and gives some excellent views of the castle.

– I was also in a bit of a hurry, as I’d made the difficult decision to leave my partner behind (!) — she had made friends with a stray cat on the castle grounds which then refused to leave her lap… apparently it took 30 minutes of polite coaxing, less polite attempts, and eventually walking around holding the cat before she was freed!

– We met back up having explored the castle separately (no hard feelings), and continued on to the neighbouring garden of **Koko-en**. We were lucky to have visited on a clear day just after the peak of the autumn leaves, because it was [absolutely resplendent](https://i.imgur.com/hs9Rh85.jpg) — especially [the main pond](https://i.imgur.com/UAxaG3o.jpg). Some sections were out of season and had to be skipped, and overall the Nezu Museum garden was a bit nicer, but Koko-en is certainly worth it if you’re already in Himeji.

– 5:00pm: Arrived in Onomichi, just after nightfall. It was bitterly cold from the sea winds, and we quickly made our way to the Airbnb. We discovered by accident that in Onomichi you’re supposed to enter buses at the back and exit at the front (the opposite of Tokyo) — don’t get yelled at by the driver like we did!

– 6:00pm: Warmed up with some Onomichi Ramen at [Onomichi Ramen Maruboshi](https://goo.gl/maps/LHRS8nA34WHYXqhg8) (there was no wait, surprisingly). This was touted as a must-try in Onomichi, and it was certainly great if you like ramen of the salty oily variety, but the star for us was the chicken karaage. (We also visited here because it was featured in Yakuza 6 — deservingly so, I think.)

– 7:00pm: Returned to the airbnb and relaxed. Onomichi is dead quiet after dark, so we took the opportunity for a breather.

###**Day 9: Onomichi**

– 10:30am: Started the day with some waffles at [Sabo Common](https://goo.gl/maps/zuq7Hu2UVniQCp5n9), a nicely furnished old building which is cosy and popular for dates. It’s also right next to the ropeway station that takes you up to Senkoji. We were excited to ride the ropeway, as it looked to have excellent views.

– 11:00am: Began exploring Onomichi’s main shopping arcade — a relaxing walk.

– 11:45am: Started following the **Onomichi Temple Walk** guideline we saw on a local map board. I had no delusions about being able to see all the temples in one day — but I had used [this helpful guide](https://blog.hinomaple.com/2016/03/14/onomichi-temple-walk-an-overview/) to identify the ones that seemed worth visiting. My earlier comments about Google Maps apply especially in Onomichi, with all its winding narrow residential roads, walking paths that abruptly end, and generally roundabout street design. Allocate ample time for walking and finding your way — not least because there are many stray cats to greet along the way!

– The first temple we stopped at was Saihoji. It took a decent walk to reach it, and the actual temple area was completely deserted and dead silent despite being in a residential area. We noticed a lot of gravestones here — and with the excellent views and the sense of peace around us, I had half a mind to reserve a plot of my own here, way too many decades in advance. I would have liked a goshuin, but it seemed there was no one there. We did get a lovely [goshuin from Hodoji](https://i.imgur.com/1ysr5JM.jpg), which ended up being one of my favourites, and a pre-printed goshuin from Komyoji with a charming cat theme. (Next to Komyoji is a workshop where you can paint your own lucky cat, but we didn’t come early enough in the day to try it.)

– Along the way, we got lunch at [Curry Café Aozora Papad](https://goo.gl/maps/bLGtAU5VBcLxwAVB8). This small place is run by a very friendly couple, and their take on some classic Indian curries was delicious and just what we needed.

– We grabbed a unique cat-themed souvenir (yes, this is a pattern with Onomichi) from [Hananeko](https://goo.gl/maps/bqRACt7affn6sL4q7). The shop sells intricate handmade clay resin cat figurines, and is run by an equally friendly lady with 12 (!) cats which she very happily showed off.

– Despite the hills and winding paths forcing a slow walking pace, Onomichi itself is a joy to explore. On the residential streets amongst which these temples are nestled, we barely saw any other people. In fact for most of the day, I think we [saw](https://i.imgur.com/dEQL2m9.jpg) [more](https://i.imgur.com/Y3nGvqo.jpg) [cats](https://i.imgur.com/4Ipiucn.jpg) [than](https://i.imgur.com/MaLYS8x.jpg) [people](https://i.imgur.com/iPiawQh.jpg)…

– One place we did see many visitors was the famous **Cat Alley**, a short and verdant path near Senkoji lined with cat-themed souvenirs, cafes and even a map of all the known stray cats in Onomichi. Since by the time we reached this point we were already halfway up the mountain, we decided to walk the rest of the way up to Senkoji. It is a bit of a climb — many, many stairs. We drew fortunes at Senkoji, which was comparatively bustling, and continued up towards the ropeway station. To our disappointment, the ropeway had been closed all day!

– Before tackling the walk back down, we took a few minutes to admire the [excellent sunset](https://i.imgur.com/BXpriM6.jpg) we’d accidentally arrived in time for.

– For dinner, we’d hoped to get a spot at [Kagimasa](https://goo.gl/maps/rFHWmYDRmxEjj4Ee8) for some Hiroshima okonomiyaki, but it was fully booked for the night. We ended up at an izakaya named [Ichizen Sakaba Hareruya](https://goo.gl/maps/rrwH94rf19vNUUdp8) as the only customers. Normally that would be a yellow flag — but this place was truly memorable. The burdock karaage, grilled mackerel and ochazuke were particular highlights, but it was all delicious and we felt truly welcome there. My partner was enamoured with the place and compared it to ‘food made with love by your grandma’. Come here if you want a true Onomichi hidden gem!

– Heading home past 9pm, the only other signs of life in Onomichi was a young guy running a makeshift sumo challenge in the arcade, just outside the Lawson in Takasucho. It reminded us both of one of those ‘try-and-hit-me’ challenges from our beloved Yakuza games… sadly we were both in no state to challenge him.

**Things we planned but didn’t get to:** Hiroshima day trip (as one option — we replaced it with the temple walk)

###**Day 10: Onomichi and Kyoto (Higashiyama, Fushimi-Inari)**

– This was the day I had to compromise most on my ambitious plans. My initial idea was to stop over in Kurashiki on the way from Onomichi to Kyoto, to see the canals and the historical quarter. I’d also heard about Okayama denim and wanted to visit the nearby jeans megastore (not Kojima Jeans Street but the more convenient [Kurashiki Denim Street](https://goo.gl/maps/RFV5qZ1GvVzWB5iT9)). Somehow I thought that we could get Onomichi-yaki at 11:30am (when the place opened), head with our luggage to Kurashiki, explore for an hour or so, then head to Kyoto, check in, and finally visit Fushimi-Inari in the evening. Travel times and reality scuppered those plans and we had to leave Kurashiki for another trip.

– 9:30am: Breakfast and coffee at the Showa-reminiscent [Bridge](https://goo.gl/maps/hyHRF9vWCnfyb5hu5).

– 10:00am: Spent a little while wandering the arcade and drinking in the atmosphere and the chilly air one last time. Got lemon madeleines from a shop themed around Onomichi citrus, and a nice café au lait from [Gallery Café ULTRA](https://goo.gl/maps/b318KSe2gEqzWzeh6). There was much we didn’t get to explore in Onomichi — many eateries, bars, small businesses and parts of the scenery — and that only reinforced our desire to return.

– We grabbed our luggage and took a local bus to Shin-Onomichi station (the closest shinkansen stop). This station was full of great souvenirs. What caught my eye in the conbini were the [local brands of cider](https://i.imgur.com/sM435aj.jpg), the designs of which looked to be 50 years older than anything else there. I’d have loved to grab one as a keepsake, but it turns out you are supposed to finish the bottle in the store and return it at the counter for reuse. It made me happy nonetheless to see them still in use.

– The shinkansen to Kyoto was ultimately uneventful, but we did witness a comparatively rare sight at Kyoto Station on the way to Higashiyama — a significantly delayed train. And by significantly, I mean about 20 minutes late; we knew this was significant because a conductor was announcing updates once a minute, apologising profusely and thanking customers for their patience with increasing breathlessness as the minutes passed. In Melbourne, we’d be lucky to get one automated announcement, and our trains are pretty decent overall.

– We checked in at [Nodoka-an](https://www.kyoto-machiyastay.com/nodoka-an), a machi-ya near Yasaka Shrine with a cosy feel. For dinner, we looked at [Ryumon](https://goo.gl/maps/JTi5WHV9Ar676uH57) (which was full at 6pm!), then [Marushin-Hanten](https://goo.gl/maps/xpgXng74xzfkVvY28), but we never once saw it without a queue of a dozen or more. Instead we tried [Hayashi](https://goo.gl/maps/Ln6bgpnDgcXPbvnZ9), a popular “set meal” place which really felt like a local institution. I tried chanko-nabe (the sumo stew) for the first time, and it was excellent.

– We rugged up and headed to Fushimi-Inari, about 20 minutes away by train. Like I’d heard, the atmosphere was completely different at night. We saw maybe a dozen people the whole time, and the solitude in such a large area made us talk quietly without even realising. Not to sound snobbish, but this did make the place feel much more like a shrine rather than a hugely popular photo spot. The lighting on the buildings near the entrance and on the torii themselves was wonderfully atmospheric. If you have a camera with good lowlight performance, this is a great place to test it.

– We walked for about 30 minutes and came across a Kirin vending machine and a Kirin-branded bench right next to one of many private burial sites (I think, correct me if I’m wrong). I enjoyed the absurdity of a warm bottled lemon tea in perhaps the most holy place in Kyoto, and we theorised that maybe the burial site was for Mr. Kirin himself.

– We’d have continued to the Yotsutsuji Intersection at the halfway point, for the night view, but along the way, my partner saw a large silhouette in the trees and we both heard a distinct growling and rustling. A very decent chance it was a boar — and having heard the stories, we turned tail and legged it!

**Things we planned but didn’t get to:** Kurashiki, Okayama and Koraku-en

###**Day 11: Kurama and Autumn Leaves**

– First, we grabbed a bakery breakfast at the very cute [Le Bac à Sable](https://goo.gl/maps/zGxNz27syHAsB1pJ8).

– I was most excited for this half-day trip. **Mt. Kurama** looked stunning in photos and especially in autumn. The bus from our place to the train terminus (Demachiyanagi) was a bit confusing, but the train itself (Eizan Line) was a [charming two-car affair](https://i.imgur.com/ZKOH58V.jpg), and the route was clearly popular with local tourists.

– We followed the [InsideKyoto guide](https://www.insidekyoto.com/kurama-to-kibune-hike) to the hike, which helped contextualise many of the sights. The hike was picturesque — a good amount of visitors, but not too many as to remove the atmosphere. There’s not much else to say, other than that it made for an excellent half-day outing, and to make sure to bring supportive walking shoes. In retrospect, I might not recommend it to be included on a short trip to Kyoto — given that for our two-night stay in Kyoto, half a day was a long time. But it would be great to do in the middle of a few days of inner-city exploration. I’d hoped to finish the hike with a soak in the Kurama Onsen — sadly it had been closed for many months. I still hold out hope of it reopening.

– After a quick yakitori dinner, we headed to my second-most-anticipated Kyoto attraction — the [autumn illumination at **Kodai-ji**](https://www.japan-experience.com/all-about-japan/kyoto/events-festivals/kodaiji-illuminations). This one was *packed* — lines reminiscent of a theme park, and about 30 minutes’ wait to buy tickets. Pre-book yours if you can! The photos obviously never show the crowds, but I’d properly underestimated the demand for illuminations. There is a projected light show on the raked-sand garden — the queue for that was festival-worthy, so we skipped it. In general, it seems these events are best treated like ‘light festivals’ instead of (as I’d naively imagined) nights where you can serenely view the temple gardens in a different light. I’d still say it is worth it, though; the [bamboo forest and its light show](https://i.imgur.com/uC5B8XK.jpg) were excellent in spite of how quickly we were herded through, and the classic view of the pond and trees really does look as beautiful as the pictures. We finished our visit with a lovely goshuin and some delicious dango mochi and soft serve.

– Lastly, we stopped at the local **BOOK-OFF**. Many of these second-hand media stores are open late, and visiting one is a great evening activity. This one had three whole floors of stuff, most of it near-new. Going to one of these is a must if you’re a fan of any Japanese media.

**Things we planned but didn’t get to:** Toji Temple’s Sunday antique market, several close-knit temples near Kodai-ji: Kennin-ji, Yasui Konpiragu, Ishibei-koji Lane, Entoku-in

###**Day 12: Back to Tokyo**

– A somewhat stressful morning as we checked out of our machi-ya. Initially, I had ambitious plans to get breakfast at the Nishiki Market, but that turned out to be unworkable given that we had to first find a luggage locker. Our last morning in Kyoto was centred around an 11am booking at [Tea Ceremony Camellia FLOWER](https://goo.gl/maps/8UoCzZRL7RYcoiEq8), located just off the historical street of **Ninenzaka**. We dropped our luggage at a locker in Kiyomizu-Gojo station (which took some searching), and ended up having a hurried conbini breakfast instead of strolling Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka like we had planned.

– Not that we necessarily missed much, because Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka (and the surrounding streets) were packed to the gills with people. This was a Monday, so I assume this was an indication of a quieter day in Kiyomizu!

– The tea ceremony at 11:00am was very good with a [beautiful area](https://i.imgur.com/5UDGuMm.jpg), and I recommend Camellia for a ceremony that’s easily digestible by English speakers. As tourists, many times we seek to experience the ‘real’ thing and not a version catering to tourists. This is not necessarily one of those times — the rules and the process of a tea ceremony are complex enough that a ceremony with an English-speaking host who assumes zero prior knowledge is much more worthwhile. You learn things from the ground up and get to understand why each action is the way it is. I think if we had tried to attend a tea ceremony in Hakone as mentioned above, there’d have been no ‘tourist tax’ but I’d have no idea if it would be English-friendly or explained as thoroughly as the Camellia tea master did. The matcha was vividly fresh and the kohakuto (the candy to go with the matcha) was delicate and very sweet, crunchy on the outside and jelly-like on the inside.

– We stepped out refreshed, and wandered Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka for a while buying souvenirs. There are two neighbouring shops dedicated to Studio Ghibli merch around here — they are close enough to be worth the visit if you’re in the area. I briefly considered stopping for a drink at the Starbucks here which is famous for adopting the ‘old Kyoto’ look with all its mandatory muted colours, but being a tourist spot you had to book a timeslot for a table there in advance.

– We did consider going to **Kiyomizu-dera** afterwards, but given the crowds and our already-tired legs, we decided to leave that particular stair marathon for another trip. On the one-lane road leading out of the Kiyomizu district there was a queue of cars about fifty metres long, and it made us wonder why anyone would attempt to drive into Kiyomizu.

– Instead we headed to what I later found out was **Teramachi Shotengai**, the well-known shopping street, so I could check out the [local branch](https://goo.gl/maps/wfsqYfyBjLF5x4dN8) of Okayama-based [Japan Blue Jeans](https://japanblue-jeans.com/). I’m no denim nerd so I can’t compare them to other Okayama jeans brands, but I will say that the [Circle Straight Selvedge](https://japanblue-jeans.com/circle/official-store-limited-jje2013m23-circle-straight-12oz-white-selvedge-jeans.html) jeans I ended up buying were excellent and a huge upgrade in both quality and fit from Uniqlo jeans. It’s the most I’ve ever spent on a pair of pants (¥20,000 with the tourist tax discount), but the price included a free knapsack and hemming with your choice of stitch colour (I chose blue), and the shopkeeper was super helpful in showing me what the best fit was. I’m looking forward to wearing them for many years.

– We took a final stroll around Kyoto’s shops, then jumped on the shinkansen back to Tokyo. This time, we were staying in Yoyogi. The scramble crossing just outside Yoyogi Station was very atmospheric in the rain — it would be great if you want a photo of something like the Shibuya Scramble without the masses of people. The rain was pretty heavy as we walked from the station, and we were hoping our Airbnb would be a nice spot to rest our feet and luggage. Unfortunately, the best way I could describe it is ‘barebones’ and ‘slightly off’. I won’t complain in detail too much, but suffice it to say that comparing this to the excellent hotel room in Asakusa was a main factor in me deciding against using Airbnbs in future.

– Never mind — if the room was not going to warm us up (and it was far from warm) then we would find some warmth elsewhere. I convinced my partner into trying CoCo Ichibanya, the curry chain known for their customisable spice levels. I missed spicy food and so I was especially looking forward to this. I ordered a level 6 and my partner got a level 4 — the level 6 hit my limit, but not in the way I expected. It seems their spice relies significantly on pepper (or a combination of things like it — all I can say is that it’s definitely different to chilli). Sadly, I didn’t end up liking the spice level hugely — in retrospect this is unsurprising, but the spice felt ‘added on’ instead of being an incorporated part of the curry. The curry itself was quite nice (I think) but the pepper flavour dominated. With chilli, I feel like even with super-hot curries the chilli will amplify the other flavours instead of drowning them out. An educational experience, nonetheless!

**Things we planned but didn’t get to:** Kiyomizu-dera, Chawanzaka, Nishiki Market (skipped anticipating large crowds)

###**Day 13:** Harajuku and Kabukicho

– A comparatively unhurried day. After a sleep in, we took a leisurely walk through nearby **Yoyogi Park**, from the peaceful north-east entrance through Meiji-jingu, and ending up at the new Harajuku Station. From there, we went to Shinjuku, to satisfy a craving of mine for conveyor belt sushi. [Oedo Shinjuku-minamiguchi-ten](https://goo.gl/maps/bAWuMbNwNzgHtLoJ7) definitely hit the spot — the mackerel, horse mackerel and especially the shabu-shabu salmon nigiri were worryingly moreish.

– The Takashimaya mall in Shinjuku and its multi-floor Tokyu Hands shop was just nearby and we spent an hour thoroughly exploring it and the nearby Don Quijote.

– We had saved our energy for exploring **Kabukicho** in the evening. Good thing too, because once again making it out of Shinjuku Station was a real challenge. We had a blast exploring Kabukicho and comparing it to the locations in the Yakuza games. After a very nice burger at [Shogun Burger](https://goo.gl/maps/4jqKBJrJ3hoG3M5g6), we came across a fancy-looking [branch of the karaoke chain Karaokekan](https://goo.gl/maps/XjxyuTUrWLUqMH4B7) (the main branch as it turns out), in the exact same spot as in Yakuza. I figured this must be some minor twist of fate, so we went in to try our luck at all-you-can-drink karaoke once again, hoping the elaborate interior signalled good service and foreigner-friendliness.

– Unfortunately, for foreigners, the experience at **Karaokekan** is less than stellar if you don’t speak good Japanese. The front desk ordering process was a struggle with the language barrier — we put that one down to bad luck. If you don’t want to order drinks/food over the room phone, you need to use their LINE app interface — we didn’t realise that, and couldn’t use LINE because our SIMs didn’t have phone numbers active. Out of general unsureness and confusion with the system and whether we’d even ordered nomihodai, we didn’t end up ordering any drinks from the room. Oh well…. The karaoke machine itself was still great. But we’ll definitely be researching karaoke spots in advance from now on!

###**Day 14:** Shimokitazawa, Shibuya, Nakano

– After a quick konbini breakfast, we rushed towards Shimokitazawa in hopes of making it to [**Shiro-Hige’s Cream Puff Factory**](https://goo.gl/maps/pATV2kaAHkRsrT7j7) near the opening time of 10:30am. I feared seeing a long queue before the doors even opened, but luckily they had plenty of room and we seemed to be the first dine-in customers. The place inhabits a lovely old brick house — which seemed rare for Japanese building norms — and the famous Totoro cream puffs were tasty and almost too charming to bite into.

– The weather was balmy and almost warm for a winter’s day, and it made the walk back to Shimokitazawa Station really pleasant. We didn’t get much time to explore the streets and shops, though. We had a 12pm lunch booking in Shibuya that I was loath to risk being late for.

– Our lunch was an omakase at [Sushi Yajima](https://goo.gl/maps/mxyzoPifhNkKc7ZA6), which I was very much looking forward to. I’d found [an article](https://medium.com/gone/the-ten-commandments-of-sushi-4eac45192c7d) about the place a few months beforehand, and steeled all my courage to make a phone booking. It seems they’ve had a fair few foreign customers in the last few years, as Yajima-san and his wife were quite curious about how we found their place, and we even signed their book commemorating all their tourist patrons. The twelve courses of nigiri were the best sushi I’ve ever had, and also the fastest I’ve ever eaten — I would eat one nigiri, chew for a few seconds, and when I looked back down at the plate another would be right in front of me. Sadly, this lack of pause meant that even now I don’t have vivid memories of any one course — more of the entire 25 minutes as a single whirlwind. But for ¥4400 each and the amazing service we got, this was only a tiny concern. I recommend getting the house sake with the omakase — Yajima-san will tell you the best times to take a sip of sake with your sushi. If you don’t drink, they have a tea (I forget which variety) which was really excellent, I regret not ordering a whole bottle.

– We stumbled out barely 30 minutes later, visited the peaceful [Konno Hachimangu Shrine](https://goo.gl/maps/1fdvMK61ZAP1d4Xu6), and continued to **Nakano Broadway**. Though we didn’t end up buying anything, Nakano Broadway was still highly worth it for both the otaku shopping and watch shopping. It obviously can’t match the scale of Akihabara’s selection, but there’s more than enough to spend half a day exploring. Also, there’s a soft serve shop in the basement that gives you three flavours for about ¥600. If you’re crazy, you can get 8 flavours (!) for ¥900.

– We got back to Shibuya and its maze of a station (only slightly better than Shinjuku) for a 4pm entry to **Shibuya Sky**. This was an excellent spot to watch the sunset and the slow illumination of Tokyo’s skyline. There was a long queue for professional couple photos on the roof (¥2000); we didn’t indulge. Be sure to get there 15 minutes before your stated ticket entry time — the initial entry and the lifts can take a while, though there’s a very cool CGI film projected on the ceiling of the last lift as you ascend.

– We stayed on the roof until [night fell](https://i.imgur.com/4XWjDmQ.jpg) and it got too cold. Somehow, we ended up back at Harajuku Station right on the 5pm rush. Seeing a Yamanote Line train fill until it was literally bursting (the doors wouldn’t close) did not inspire us with confidence to take the train at this moment, so we decided to try Mos Burger instead to kill half an hour. It was perfectly adequate (sorry, Mos Burger fans).

– Finally, the nearby [Museum of Wonky English](https://www.openculture.com/2022/12/the-museum-of-wonky-english-a-japanese-exhibition-dedicated-to-hilarious-mistranslations.html) — a one-room Duolingo-managed exhibition of some of Japan’s best English mistranslations. Sadly it was only open in December 2022, but most of the best ones from the museum are in the link — and there is [plenty of new wonky English](https://i.imgur.com/TSalSYZ.jpg) to be found every day in Japan.

###**Day 15: last-minute shopping and departure**

– Our last breakfast was at the wonderful [Tanbo Yoyogi](https://goo.gl/maps/kWUXsgE72jtmJp4t6). The breakfast set — mainly grilled fish, rice and miso plus side garnishes — sounds deceptively simple but was high quality and nourishing. The rice was a strong point and their onigiri are apparently famous. I ordered the breakfast set, but then we spotted ‘grilled idiot’ on the menu and I wished I’d gotten that instead.

– After bidding a perfunctory farewell to the truly mediocre Airbnb we began the search for a luggage locker. Yoyogi Station’s lockers were all full, so we braved Shinjuku Station for a final time. To their credit, the lockers there do allow you to pay and authenticate with IC card instead of cash and a key, which is a godsend. But we inevitably got lost both leaving the station and returning for our luggage. Even with ample maps and signs, never underestimate Shinjuku Station!

– Then began the rush for last-minute shopping. First it was the Don Quijote in Kabukicho, after that it was back to Asakusa one final time for a few bottles of Denki Bran from **Kamiya Bar** (seriously, a top quality souvenir at only about ¥1200 for a bottle of “electric brandy”). Lastly, a perhaps unwise detour at Ikebukuro, as we thought we’d have enough time for a quick look around Otome Road. Ikebukuro Station is huge — not Shinjuku huge, but “10 minutes’ walk end-to-end” huge.

– We didn’t have time for Otome Road, but we did fulfil my partner’s morbid curiosity for trying a purikura/print club photo game. Once was too much. You cannot undo or opt out of the filtering, whitening, and caricaturing they inflict upon your face. It’s unnerving on the expected audience of lighter-skinned women and downright alien on a tan-skinned man. The fact that you can’t remove the effects at all — only modify/intensify them — was the final nail in the coffin for us. The end results were so grotesque to look at that I think I threw mine out!

– Finally, [T’s Tantan](https://goo.gl/maps/q2z5DCcG3jccv3af6) — though confusing to find, as it’s inside the station ticketing gates — made for some excellent tantanmen/ramen, and it’s an extra achievement that it is so full-tasting while being vegan. I recommend the black sesame broth.

– And that was that — we headed to Narita, grabbed some final gachapon from the big rows of them at Narita Int’l, and bid Japan farewell for now. (Our JAL flight to Singapore was excellent, and the [dinner was honestly impressive](https://i.imgur.com/yJEJ78O.jpg) and closer to a decent five-course restaurant meal than any other plane food I’ve had. From now on I’ll be considering shelling out on a JAL flight over Jetstar, savings be damned…)

Thank you for reading this marathon post! I’m certain I’ll be back with another trip report in a few years, but until then, best of luck with planning your own trips!