Japan - May 2017
Our First Time in Japan.
My dad has worked for a Japanese company for many years, and would travel to Japan for work once or twice a year. He’d tell us about how good the food is, and bring back cute little souvenirs, especially when we were little. I never really thought much of it - cool, sure, but I never really got it. It was just one of those things that was.
Even when Kevin’s sister and brother-in-law went to Japan and raved about it - cool, I’ll put it on the list for someday, but it wasn’t a priority at the time.
I forget how, exactly, this plan came to be, but my dad planned for us to meet him in Japan once he was done with the business part of his trip, and then we’d all fly home together (and by together, I mean, he would fly first class and the rest of us would fly coach). It was a busy couple weeks, but fell into place perfectly.
Basically, it went like this:
Monday: I graduated from dental school
Tuesday: Kevin graduated from graduate school
Wednesday: Got our lives together
Thursday: My mom, Selena, Kevin and I met my grandma at the airport and we fly to Tokyo with a layover in Toronto
Friday: Landed in Japan, somehow found my dad in the train station among a sea of a million other Asian men in suits (jk - Kevin says we met him at the hotel)
Saturday-Wednesday: Enjoyed Japan, ate all the good food, saw the sights
Thursday: Flew home
Friday-Sunday: A friend’s wedding (my first Indian wedding, but that’s a story for another time!)
That’s all folks!
Just kidding - now we’ll get into the nitty gritty of it all, or as much as I can remember of it, anyway, since it was almost six and a half years ago.
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Japan
When we landed in Narita, it was probably about 14:00. We exchanged our JR vouchers at the airport for our JR Passes. We took the Narita Express to Shinagawa Station (using our JR Passes), about an hour ride, passing picturesque rice patty fields along the way.
My dad had given us instructions of how to get through the station to our hotel (his notes included something about a giant clock, McDonalds, “Wing” and follow the sounds of a bowling alley). Shinagawa Prince Hotel was across the street and up and around a little ways, but convenient. We checked in, met up with my dad, and got dinner. This meal is one I still dream of - I haven’t had other tempura like this ever in my life. I don’t remember what the restaurant is called, all I remember is that it was in the basement of a nearby hotel (not our hotel). We sat at the bar and the chef plated each piece of deep fried art in front of us to enjoy right away, so light and fluffy and not at all oily.
After dinner, we took a short walk and discovered a Pachinko parlor nearby. We didn’t actually play, but did take a quick walk around just to see what it’s all about. Due to the time change, we were pretty tired, so we turned in early to get ready for the next day.
Day 2: Tokyo
We woke up at like 3AM. Pretty common for a first day in Japan due to jet lag. I remember joking with Kevin if he wanted to go to the tuna auction, which occurs early in the wee hours of the morning. We didn’t. I don’t imagine it’s that exciting anyway, since the auction happens in Japanese and we don’t know what characteristics make a good tuna. But we did go to Tsukiji Market that morning with the rest of my family. I remember it was pretty busy, but not overly crowded. Even though it’s a fish market, it’s clean and doesn’t smell fishy - very much unlike the markets in NYC Chinatown. We were impressed by the amount and quality of fish and roe and urchin, all so beautiful! There were many stalls selling fish, but also food vendors selling street food. We had lunch at a sushi restaurant in the market - half of the restaurant was conveyor belt, but where we sat was normal seating. The ebi, mackerel and scallop sushi left an impression on me, they were the sweetest I’ve ever had. At the end of our meal, they scanned the plates to total up the cost of our meal. Each plate has a different value.
After lunch, we went to Ginza - the “high end” area of Tokyo (think: Champs Elysses in Paris). We went to the Nissan store to cool off, Kevin got to sit in a GTR, we had coffee and people watched. There is a famous intersection in Shibuya (Shibuya crossing) where a ton of people cross all at the same time; from where we were in Ginza, there was a lesser version of that - still a lot of people, but not nearly as much as the one in Shibuya.
Ueno Park is one of the biggest parks in the area. It’s grounds used to be part of Kaneiji Temple and is now home to many museums, a large pond and a zoo. In the springtime, the paths are lined with sakura and Ueno Park is a common place for hanami parties. Around Ueno is Ameyoko, a shopping area we wallked around a little bit.
Another big attraction in Tokyo is Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo’s oldest temple, with the iconic Kaminarimon. Shortly after we arrive, a festival started - the Asakusa Sanja Matsuri - which was incredibly lucky for us to be able to experience it. There were serious crowds, and my sister weaved her way through the crowds to see the best of it. Kevin and I tried to keep tabs on her, while also staying close to my parents and grandma, but eventually Selena led us deep into the crowds. We had great views of the procession - teams of men carrying portable shrines through the gate - and celebration, but of course, I got in trouble later because “I should have known better” (yes, even though I was just making sure Selena was okay - being the older sister is hard and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!).
After all the excitement of the festival, we went to an area right outside of Shinagawa Station we call Ramen Row - it’s not quite underground but also not quite ground level either, but is a cluster of ramen shops each with a different specialty. Kevin, Selena and I went to one with black garlic ramen. It was the true ramen experience, where you ordering at the vending machine, get your ticket, find a seat at the bar and hand your ticket to the staff and in a couple minutes, they serve you.
Day 3: Nikko
We took a day trip north of Tokyo to Nikko. It was a 2-3 hour train ride. Near the station, you cross a bridge with a great view of the Shinkyo bridge - one of those picturesque red arched bridges.
The main attraction in Nikko is the Toshogu Shrine, which is the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was the founder and first shōgun of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, and unified Japan. The Toshogu Shrine was at the top of the mountain, we climbed a lot of stairs to get there - it’s definitely doable, my grandma was able to do it - but the ornate details of the gate and shrine were spectacular and made our hard work worth it!
There are other shrines in the area that we did not visit, because we had to get back to Shinagawa to get ready for our Shinkansen to Kyoto later that night. We picked up sushi and bentos for the ride. It was dark out so we didn’t get to see the scenery between Tokyo and Kyoto. As our first Shinkansen ride, I was impressed with how smooth the ride is. You’d never guess you’re moving as fast as you are. As expected from Japan, the trains are on time, clean, comfortable and quiet.
The hotel we stayed in Kyoto was a block away from Kyoto Station and across the street from a 7-11, Miyako Hotel. Kyoto Station was extremely impressive, and to this day, is one of my favorite stations - sounds strange, but once you explore and experience it yourself, you’ll know what I mean. For one, it has like 15 floors. It has a Skyway on the 11th floor that extends the length of the station with LED lights with glass windows on one side facing Kyoto tower with the city below, and on the other side opens up to the station. It has a department store and underground mall. It has an observation deck on one side and a little park-like area on the other. It has flights of stairs that light up, which you can see from the opposite end of the station. Kyoto Ramen Koji, an entire corridor lined with ramen shops, is on the 10th floor.
Day 4: Kyoto
After our buffet breakfast with porridge and curry and matcha lattes, we went to Nijo Castle, the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The entire castle grounds is surrounded by a wall and moat, so it doesn’t look like much from the outside. Once inside, you pass through the gates to the Ninomaru Palace, which you can go inside (you must take off your shoes). You can also explore one of the keeps and beautiful gardens.
After the castle, we wandered the area in search of lunch. Kevin had looked up and wanted to go to Fire Ramen, where they literally light scallion oil on fire before pouring over ramen, but there was a long wait. Instead, we continued walking and stumbled upon a small, hole in the wall, mom and pop soba shop. There were eight seats total - so the six of us took up almost the entire restaurant. The woman - a cute little old Japanese grandma - spoke little English, the menus were in Japanese, so we knew we were in for a good authentic culinary experience. We each got cold soba with freshly grated wasabi. Her husband was making the noodles fresh for us right then and there. This is one of my favorite Japan memories, how serendipitous that we stumbled across their little soba shop! Below, I’ve included a Google Maps image and map of how to get to this soba shop, but no guarantees they are still there!
With full bellies, we headed north to Arashiyama, known for its bamboo forest and monkey park. We got iced matcha lattes to hydrate and cool off as we walked toward the bamboo forest. There were a lot of people, and I can imagine it is even more crowded since it became popular on social media. Regardless, bamboo forests are always peaceful. As the bamboo sway in the wind, they produce a calming knocking tone.
Day 5: Nara
Oh, deer! Nara is about an hour south of Kyoto and known for the deer - so kawaii! The thing to do here is to purchase “deer cookies” and make the deer bow to get them. Keep in mind that the deer are wild deer, and because of this practice, the deer have gotten pretty aggressive. They will follow you, especially if you have food, and may bite you, but it’s still fun and I recommend experiencing it!
The main attraction in Nara is Todai-ji Temple, which is home to a giant Daibutsu, in fact, one of Japan’s largest bronze statues of Buddha at 15m tall. The main hall of the temple was the world’s largest building for quite some time. Also housed within the main hall is a wooden pillar with a hole in it, and it is said that if you can squeeze through the hole, you come out the other end enlightened. Kevin and Selena both are enlightened, but I, on the other hand, did not try to reach enlightenment. I believe this is no longer allowed since covid.
On our way back to Kyoto, we had lunch at an udon shop in Nara. Most of us got tempura udon, and Selena got curry udon. We made a stop at Fushimi Inari, now extremely popular due to social media. Fushimi Inari is easily accessible from a station, and torii gate after torii gate lines the path up the mountain. It is beautiful, but very crowded. The further up the mountain you go, the fewer people there are. There is a bamboo forest near the top too.
Day 6: Osaka
Osaka is a quick half hour train ride outside of Kyoto. Osaka Station is similar to Kyoto Station (but not quite as cool, although it did have a park). We had katsu lunch on one of the top floors of the station, with a window looking to the station below. Unsurprisingly, the katsu was phenomenal. Even the cabbage and dressing were memorable.
We went to Osaka Castle, which is a bit of a far walk from the Osakajokoen Station - maybe twenty minutes, really not bad but our feet were tired from all the walking we’d already done that week. Osaka Castle and the area around it is quite beautiful. It is a reconstruction, and modernized (even has an elevator). Inside the castle is a museum about the history of Osaka, the castle and the history between Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The second quintessential Osaka experience is the food culture of Dotonburi. Vendor after vendor along the main street here with impressive presentation and quality of food. We had the biggest, sweetest, juiciest grilled scallop on the street here. It is mesmerizing to watch the vendors as they make takoyaki - balls of grilled octopus in batter, covered in kewpie, bonito flakes and aonori - which is one of the famous local dishes, so we of course had to try. For our actual dinner and to wrap up our last night in Japan, we went to a yakiniku restaurant and ordered a bunch of types of meat to grill, as well as horse sashimi.
Day 7: Heading home
As our trip came to a close, Kevin and I agreed we’d be back in five years to explore more of this beautiful country. Everything about Japan was impressive - the culture, the food, the people. It was a great teaser to Japan and definitely left us wanting more.
Concluding Thoughts
Our trip was in May, and it was already hot and humid.
The hotels we stayed at on this trip had buffet breakfast included, so we got to try Japanese breakfast with porridge and fish and curry and - the best part - matcha lattes!
As I mentioned in Japan 101, visiting Japan will ruin food for you. Sushi is Japan is like none other. It is so fresh, sweet, melt-in-your mouth delicious.
Hotel rooms in Japan are small (as are apartments). They really do make the most of the space though. One of the smartest things is that on bathroom mirrors, there is a square that will not fog - amazing!
You can get by without knowing Japanese, especially in Tokyo and Kyoto.
I am just so grateful we got to go to Japan with my family, as short of a trip as it was. It definitely inspired us to do more things with my grandma - and she impressed us with how well she did keeping up with all the walking we did and all the sites we saw!
This trip was such a teaser - there were so many things we didn’t get to do this trip. One of the things we had hoped to do but didn’t is Robot Restaurant. Now it’s closed forever since covid. There are rumors it may eventually reopen, but who knows! We also didn’t get to have Kobe beef, or even wagyu, while we were in Japan - we made it a point when we went back in 2023.
Japan is so rich with culture that we could easily spend a month or more on just the Honshu peninsula. We’ll be back!