Japan - April 2023
The Trip of a Lifetime.
After our first trip to Japan in 2017, we told ourselves that we would return in five years. Of course, the universe had other plans. Because of covid, Japan was still closed to visitors in 2022 - well, they re-opened in late fall of 2022, but we can’t just take off of work on short notice like that. As Japan was re-opening, we used the opportunity to plan our trip for the spring - cherry blossom season! Due to our schedules, the only time we could go was in April, and we knew it may be on the later side of the bloom, or that we might miss it altogether, but we didn’t let that stop us.
Since we were planning so far in advance and Japan was just then re-opening to visitors again, we were fortunate to be able to reserve nice hotels for much less than what they normally cost.
We chose to go to Tokyo since we didn’t get the full Tokyo experience the last time we were in Japan, Kanazawa to the north which we had heard from my sister-in-law is a cool “small town” known for samurai and gold leaf, Kyoto because we love Kyoto, and Hiroshima for the history. There is an island across from Hiroshima, just a short ferry ride away, called Miyajima, we added to the trip too, known for the Floating Torii Gate at Itsukushima Shrine.
Itinerary
April 5: Off we go!
We took a direct flight from Newark (EWR) to Haneda (HND). Our flight departed at 10:30AM EST and landed in Tokyo around 14:00 the next day.
April 6: Arrive in Japan!
Arrived in Tokyo. Upon arrival, there were QR codes that needed to be scanned for customs and immigration due to covid. We stopped at the JR office to get our JR Passes and Welcome Suica, then hopped on the monorail to Hamamatsucho, transferred to the JR Yamanote line to get to Shinjuku. Our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Tokyo, was about a ten minute walk from Shinjuku Station, via underground pedestrian walkway.
By the time we checked in, it was about 17:00. I was exhausted but knew I had a stay awake at least a few more hours. (Pro tip: we stayed awake during the flight since we arrived in the afternoon, that way we could get a good night’s rest on day one and try to beat jet lag - of course, this strategy changes depending on your flight times.) We did some quick research and found there was an Ichiran that was a 10-15 minute walk away. Kevin had been wanting to go to Ichiran since before our first trip to Japan. It was worth it.
After our ramen, we regained some energy and went to Don Quijote (a discount store) to do some shopping. This store has everything, and is a great place to get souvenirs. We got a bunch of different flavored KitKats: matcha (of course), “adult chocolate” (which I think is just dark chocolate), strawberry cheesecake (one of my favorites) and wasabi (I can’t remember if it was at this location or one in Kyoto). We saw the Godzilla head roar in the smoke/light show. On our way back to the hotel, we made a detour at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, which has an observatory to view the city from above - and it’s free!
April 7: Yokohama
Our first full day in Japan! We had initially planned on heading out after rush hour, but since it was our first day, we woke up early and decided to get a head start. There was a 7-11 under our hotel, so we picked up some onigiri for breakfast, walked to Shinjuku Station and caught the train to Yokohama. Our first stop was Negishi Forest Park, which we had read has over 350 cherry blossom trees. Unfortunately for us, we missed peak bloom by a week or two, but we still got to see some sakura! We ate our onigiri on a park bench overlooking a little pond, then followed the paths of the park. Apparently, back in the day, the park was originally a race track, and the paths reflected its origins. There were different groves, and signs on trees to identify what they are. There was an area with a handful of cherry blossoms and tulips and epitomized spring.
From Nigishi, we walked through some nice residential streets and hopped on a local bus to Sankeien Park. This was our first Japanese public bus experience (outside of tourist sightseeing buses) and I was a little nervous, but the bus system is great and very affordable. We used our Suica cards to pay for bus fare. Google told us it would be three stops, but either we got on a different bus or we skipped a couple stops because at the first stop, the driver told us we were at Sankeien - I guess he knew that's where we were headed. Before we reached the entrance, there was a small building and gazebo type thing for friendship that we stumbled upon, on water with cliffs overlooking it.
Entry to Sankeien was 700JPY. This is not your typical park. We started in the inner garden and eventually worked our way around to the lake, up to the five story pagoda and observation deck (underwhelming, you get a good view of industrial areas). At one point around the lake, Kevin was looking at a map and an older Japanese woman came up to him and told him about an old house in the park that we can walk through, so we found that in the corner of the park. Yanohara Farm House is split - half is farmer style with wooden floors and walls with a fire pit in in the living room and family room, and half is Shoin style with tatami mats. The house has a thatched roof and supposedly, smoke from the fires helps to keep the straw dry, keep bugs away and the tar from smoke helps preserve the roof.
After we were done at Sankeien, we walked through an area of really nice houses to get to the bus to Yokohama Chinatown for lunch. We went to Houtenkaku, a place that my SIL had recommended for fried soup dumplings. We got six fried soup dumplings (white: pork, green: pork and shrimp) and six steamed (crab miso, scallop and regular pork soup dumplings). Later, I got a Taiwanese fried chicken and Kevin got more dumplings from a different shop and neither were very good. There were some cute souvenir shops there though!
From Chinatown, we walked through Yamashita Park (there's a rose garden, but it was too early for them to be in bloom) to get to the Gundam Factory. Because it was so windy that day (and overcast and rainy), the Gundam wasn't operating - meaning it wasn't moving that day (usually it kneels and has working joints), so Kevin was disappointed. On the bright side, at least we got to see it because it was supposed to have been disassembled on March 31st, just days prior to our trip. It was installed in 2020, likely for the Tokyo Olympics. Original plans started in 2014, assembly started Nov 2019 so it took a full year to build. Inside "The Lab" there was a robot that was able to build mini Gundams and 3D printed parts (such as shin guard) at 1/100th scale and is probably still bigger than would fit over my shin, showed the transformation since the original Gundam in the 1970s. We walked through Yamashita Park again, through the flower show exhibits called Garden Necklace, on our way to the Red Brick Warehouse. This is mostly shops and restaurants. We hung out at Uni Coffee for a little while there was a down pour. Kevin happened to check the weather for the next day and saw that it was going to be sunny (it was supposed to be cloudy and rainy all the days we had planned to be in Tokyo), so we started planning to go to Kawaguchiko, discussing bus vs train (there are only two trains that run on weekends but can use JR pass for some of it. The bus has more options, both take about two hours). We also wanted to print train tickets to Kawaguchiko before the station closed so we took the bus to Yokohama Station - but we didn't know that the bus would stop running so we had to transfer. When we got to the ticket office, the trains were fully booked/standing room only, so we left and decided to either stand on the train or take the bus (spoiler alert: we took the bus). From here, though, we went to our last and final stop of the day.
Our last stop of the day was Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum (380JPY). The museum was much smaller than expected - it's one floor - but gives the history of ramen and how it became a world food (spoiler alert: it’s because of an earthquake). In the basement is the ramen shops and the halls decorated like old time Japan, and multiple ramen shops as if in the center of town, each with a different specialty. We ate at a shop called Nogata Hope, that served pork bone and soy sauce based soup with back fat. It wasn't bad, but the Ichiran ramen was better. After dinner, we took the Hikan Shinkansen to Shinagawa then transferred to the Yamanote line to Shinjuku.
Once back in our hotel, we did some more research on buses to Kawaguchiko. There are 2-3 buses that depart at a time, and there were more options and more flexibility, so we decided to book bus tickets, even though they wouldn't be covered under our JR pass. The bus tickets were 2200JPY each way per person (less than $20).
April 8: Kawaguchiko
Day trip to Kawaguchiko to see Mount Fuji! We did not plan this in advance because we weren’t sure how the weather was going to be. In fact, it was supposed to be overcast and rainy all the days we were in Tokyo.
Our bus was scheduled to depart at 7:35. We picked up onigiri for breakfast at the 7-11 and took the underground walkway to Shinjuku Station. The highway express bus station is on the south concourse of Shinjuku station and across the street from the station itself (from where the JR trains are) and on the 4th floor. It is about a two hour bus ride. While we were on the bus, I remembered that one of the main things I wanted to visit is Chureito Pagoda in Arakurayama Sengen Park, so we got off early at Shimoyoshida Station instead of Kawaguchiko Station. We were able to see Mount Fuji from the bus shortly before our stop, and immediately when we got off the bus. We followed the signs (good signage) and the crowd to Arakurayama Sengen Park. It wasn't a bad walk, but it is on rural roads. Once in the park, it is a lot of stairs and crowds, but wasn't as long of a hike as expected to get to the pagoda. There was a very long line, however, to get to the observation deck. At first, I saw the deck from the pagoda and was surprised how much space there was, but as we rounded the corner, there were hoards of people and we walked quite a while down the mountain trails to get to the end of the line. It took just over an hour to get five minutes on the observation deck. The paths were lined with sakura - and luckily for us, they were in full bloom since it’s a tad cooler around Mount Fuji than it is in Tokyo! Our hanami dreams came true as we waited in line to get on the observation deck overlooking the Chureito Pagoda and Mount Fuji. We were very fortunate that we had a clear day and the cherry blossoms here were at peak bloom. We attempted to follow another trail further up, that lead into the woods then abruptly stopped, so we turned around.
We walked to Shimoyoshida train station. We had just missed the train to Kawaguchiko and they run about every half hour (330JPY). It was a quick four stops to Kawaguchiko (about 15min). By the time we got there it was 12:30 so we decided to get lunch before exploring. I had made a note about a tempura place near the station, Tempura Fuji Idaten, so we went there. There was a long wait (about two hours) and the food was good but not great - in retrospect, we should've gotten a quick lunch somewhere or gotten into the lake area first. It wasn't until about 15:00 that we took the Kawaguchiko sightseeing bus (390JPY). We had hoped to see Tenku-no-torii (the torii in the sky, past Asama Shrine), but we wouldn't have made the hike to the top by the time it closed (supposedly at 16:00 according to Google). Plan B was to go to Oishi park or Nagasaki park. From the bus, we saw areas along the lake with cherry blossoms, so we went there instead (stop 16, don't know what the area is called). We walked around and took photos, just enjoying ourselves and the view. There was a little festival going on, and a hotel playing live jazz in their property that was facing the lake. Around 16:15 we got back on the bus, did a little souvenir shopping around the station and took the 17:50 bus back to Shinjuku. Most things in Kawaguchiko close at 17:00, including the shops in the station (maybe it closed at 18:00, but I remember they were closing while we were in there). The area is known for ryokan and onsen too, so it would be nice to stay in the area if you have time. We did not opt to do this, but it would have been really nice if we had.
We got back to Shinjuku Station around 19:45 and we were tired, but we had reservations for omekase sushi at Sushi Tokyo Ten in Shibuya that night at 21:00. We took the train to Shibuya and walked around the Shibuya Scramble mall until our reservation time. Our chef at Sushi Tokyo Ten was awesome. The food was excellent too, but a little more modern and experimental than my traditional edomae palate likes. I think we had twenty courses. Dinner ended around 22:40 and we got back to our hotel around 23:00. We packed our luggage to be ready to check out the next morning.
April 9: Tokyo
As we were showering and packing and getting ready, I looked out our hotel window again and noticed for the first time that Mount Fuji was there along the horizon, just past the park that our window overlooked. The past few days had been cloudy and rainy, and even on the sunny day, clouds obscured her. We went down to the lobby at 7:30 to check out and arrange our Yamato luggage transfer to Kyoto.
We took the Oedo subway (not JR, paid with Suica) to Tsukiji Market. Our first stop was right as we entered - Wagyu Jyu Jyu - we had seen videos about this stall and knew we had to eat here. Their specialty is wagyu beef skewers with uni on top and it is just about the best thing you will ever eat. We got the sirloin (5500JPY) and it was incredible. There was also a very busy stall that sold different grades of tuna across the way. Many of the stalls were not yet open - I think because it was early, but also because some moved to Toyosu. We had sushi at Sushi Zenmai (the chain with the guy holding his arms out) and the quality was ok. After we left the sushi restaurant, we stumbled upon (okay, followed a guy who had) uni in the urchin shell. It was from a stall that had giant oysters, and the uni sold out so quickly when they brought out a tray that at that moment and when we had passed by earlier, there wasn't any out. We got some though for 1500JPY. We also got matcha soy lattes from Matcha Maruni. They make the matcha the traditional way with the bamboo whisk, right there in front of you.
We took a bus to teamlabs Planets, and it seemed that almost everyone on the bus was headed there too. We had 10:30 tickets to teamlabs Planets (3200JPY - need to book ahead of time, we almost weren't able to find tickets a week ahead of time, because our SIL said when they went in Nov it is easy to secure same day tickets, but that was right when Japan re-opened to tourism). This was probably one of the coolest experiences. teamLabs does immersive art, so the exhibits include walking through strings of dangling LEDs in a mirrored room, playing with giant inflatable orbs in a mirrored room, walking through a room of foam floors and walls, walking through knee-high water with fish and other aquatic life projected onto the water. Don't wear a skirt because of mirrored floors (although they offer free shorts), wear shorts or pants that can be rolled up because there is a room with water about knee high. There are lockers to store your belongings and you will be barefoot. It is a sensory experience for all senses (except maybe smell), different textured floors. Our favorite was the crystal room, with strings of LEDs hanging down, an apparently are interactive. There was a dark room with black padding everywhere that was difficult to walk through, the walls had padding that sagged, intentionally. There was a room with warm knee high water and fish reflected onto the water. A room with projections of flowers on the walls and ceiling. The garden side was just one room and you have ten minutes in it; there are orchids hanging down, and a glass ceiling for natural sunlight, and of course, more mirrors. We spent about an hour total at teamlabs.
After getting dressed and gathering out belongings, we took the JR Yurikamome line from Shin-Toyosu Station eight stops to Daiba Station, past Tokyo Big Sight, where the 2020 Olympics took place in 2021, and Ariake district). We walked around outside overlooking the water, the Statue of Liberty, fake Tokyo Tower and a bridge that resembled the Verrazano, walked around the malls, eventually to the Unicorn Gundam and inside a mall to the Unko Museum (1600JPY). I don’t remember how we found out about the Unko Museum but it was a fun place - definitely intended for children (we were the only people there who were not accompanied by a child) but still fun for adults, if you consider us adults. We spent some time wandering the mall, including the Totoro store (really a Ghibli store, but Totoro is the only one who matters to me).
We spent some more time wandering the mall shopping for souvenirs until about 15:00. We headed to Tokyo proper, the Hie Shrine and the torii gates there for photos. We were hoping to visit the Imperial Gardens but the guard told us no - it was about 16:30 so we assume it was too late, since it closes at 17:00. Instead, we walked around the moat outside, and saw cool looking trees in the adjacent Kokyo Gaein National Garden from afar. We went to Tokyo Station early. Saw a handful of couples taking wedding photos.
Our first goal at the station was to print our Shinkansen tickets. We couldn't find the kiosks, so we waited in line. The clerk took our JR passes and had us pick seats, but we had already reserved seats. We gave him our reservation page and after a good couple of minutes he told us he cancelled our reservation and booked us on the train that left in seven minutes! We said no, and he was shocked, we just wanted to print the tickets for the train and seats we had reserved. It took him no time to change it back and print our tickets. We still don't know where the miscommunication was but we got it sorted out.
After that scare, we went to the basement to shop and get dinner. We at a a katsu restaurant at the end of the hall and got curry katsu that was really good. After dinner we wandered around a department store within the station, then went to Track 21. We were a little early and the train that was there was being cleaned. Our train came and the seats turned automatically so we would be facing the right way. The Shinkansen to Kanazawa took about two and a half hours. We stayed at the Hyatt Centric Kanazawa, which was conveniently right across the street from Kanazawa Station.
April 10: Kanazawa
Kanazawa is a small town known for its samurai history.
We put our backpacks in a coin locker at the station for 500JPY, got onigiri for breakfast and ate outside the iconic station gate while we waited for the ticket office to open. At 8:30 we purchased our sightseeing bus tickets (600JPY) - and learned the ticket office was open earlier, it's a little booth outside the entrance of the station, where the buses line up, and it was the first bus that left at 8:30 so we missed it). We took the left loop bus to stop LL5 and walked a quick five minutes to Myoryuji Temple (now known as Ninja-dera). It was just after 9:00. We didn't have a reservation because reservations are made by phone, but we were able to get a reservation for 9:30. The tour was in Japanese with an English leaflet, and a very cool experience. It was actually a temple with all these features built in for samurai to protect Kanazawa Castle and the feudal lord.
We walked to the Nishi Chaya District and the Ninja Weapons Museum. It was about 10:30, cost 450JPY each for the museum upstairs and 300JPY for Kevin to throw ninja stars. We spent about half an hour here.
We checked out the samurai district of Nagamachi, walked along aqueducts of a picturesque area with old style houses to Nomura-ke House (550 JPY), a samurai house with tatami mats, a garden and a team room upstairs. Two loud European tour groups crowded the house, making it difficult for us to walk around the rooms or read about the house. We walked to Takada Family House which was free, but wasn't much left of a house.
We walked to Kenrokuen Gardens (320JPY) - beautiful, but smaller than expected. We walked the whole garden in an hour, then walked through Kanazawa Castle Park - there is no longer a castle, but castle remains and a keep.
We went to Omicho Market for lunch. It is more a market and less a food stall venue. We had lunch at iki-iki-tei, planned on getting uni-ikura-don but they ran out of uni, so we got ikura-don (K got large, I got small), two large uni sushi and two large unagi sushi. And when I say large, they were large. It was served with miso soup with fish in it.
After lunch, we went to the Gold Leaf Museum (310JPY), very small but very cool, not much of a gift shop surprisingly, though. Then we walked around Higashi Chaya which was so crowded with tour groups.
We took the sightseeing bus back to Kanazawa Station to collect our bags and take the Thunderbird Shinkansen to Kyoto. Our hotel in Kyoto was the Hotel Granvia Kyoto, which is in Kyoto Station. It’s a really nice hotel and it doesn’t get more convenient than that!
April 11: Kyoto
One of the iconic views of Japan is on the streets of old Gion with the Yasaka Pagoda of Hokan-ji Temple - so, of course, I wanted to see it - at sunrise. We were still waking up pretty early Japan time, so we used that to our advantage and got an early start. Unfortunately, though, trains don’t run to that region and buses don’t start that early in the morning. We hailed a cab, and our Japanese-speaking driver didn’t understand me, a non-Japanese speaker, so we went to Kiyomizu-dera first since he understood that. The taxi ride was under ten minutes, and I’m thankful for having taken a taxi because the streets leading up to Kiyomizu-dera are steep!
Entrance fee to Kiyomizu-dera is 400JPY, it opens at 6 and we got there right around opening. It took us 30-40 minutes to walk through the area, there were only a handful of other groups with us that early. Normally, the stage is crowded with people. To be honest, my priority was getting to Gion for photos still so we rushed through it a little. We walked down to Ninenzaka and Sanenzaka, the picturesque streets of Gion around 7AM and there were already a handful of other groups taking photos. We waited and they kept going (normally people offer to take turns, but they didn’t) so we took our photos anyway and continued walking to Yasaka Shrine, past Sowaka (Hyatt property ryokan) to the Tatsumi Bridge (Memoirs of a Geisha) and Shinbashi dori, the most picturesque street I’ve ever seen. We went back to the Gion Starbucks around 8:30 (it doesn't open til 8AM) which is famous because its sitting area is tatami mats and things like that. We wandered the streets of Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka many times, shopped, waited for the Totoro store to open at 10:30. We walked to Kinnen-ji Temple (only the ouside, didn't go inside, had nice peonies around the edges) on our way to Nishiki Market for lunch.
We ended up spending two hours in the market from noon to 14:00, eating a little here and a litle there as we wandered past stalls. We had a giant grilled scallop (800JPY), "crab" skewer that was really fish cake (500JPY), beef skewer (3000JPY), crispy chicken (500JPY), fried shrimp (don’t remember how much it cost), unagi skewer (800JPY - from a stall at the back of alcove with barrels as tables, really good), shrimp tempura skewer (550JPY, this one was good, long shrimp that was drizzled with sauce, sitting area available), gyoza (495JPY). We had intended to get ichigo daifuku and Cremia ice cream here but were too full at the end.
After eating for two hours, we took a bus to Kinkakuji (230JPY for the bus paid by Suica, 400JPY entry), the gold temple and another iconic Kyoto site. It was late in the day, around 15:00 and very crowded but beautiful, and amazingly gold. I would recommend coming here early in the morning if possible.
We were initially planning to go back to Arashiyama - we had gone in 2017 - but the monkey park closed at 16:00 and it was already 15:40, so we skipped it and went back to the hotel. Initially, we were planning to get tempura for dinner, but had time to kill, so we went shopping at Don Quijote across the street from Kyoto Station. We were on the hunt for matcha kitkats, but ended up buying a lot of snacks and found the matcha powder we like! We didn't get plastic bags so we had to carry everything back to the hotel looking like fools. Kevin was nervous about everything fitting into our luggage, so we did a trial run and ultimately decided we needed to buy additional luggage. We went shopping in the basement of Kyoto station for suitcases, then to the department store, but luggage in Japan is ridiculously expensive. We went back to the mall and found duffel bags for less than $30 and got matching ones.
By this time it was too late to get tempura, so we found a katsu restaurant, Katsukura, in Kyoto station on the 11th floor. We got two types of pork (the same cut, but different regions) to compare. Both were really good, but could taste the difference. We did the sky walk of the station and returned to our room pack up.
April 12: Kobe and Osaka
We had been wanting to visit Kobe to eat beef since before our first trip to Japan, so Kobe was a must-see for this trip.
We woke up for our 8:01 Shinkansen. For some reason, we only booked it to Shin-Osaka instead of Shin-Kobe. The ropeway to the Kobe Nunobiki Herb Gardens is right next to Shin-Kobe station. But we got off at Shin-Osaka and did a couple of transfers to get to Shin-Kobe. We got to the ropeway right as it opened though at 9:30, so it all worked out. We took the second car up to the top of the Herb Gardens, with views of Kobe and the sea as we ascended. It started raining while we were up there, but they had free umbrellas to borrow. Right by the ropeway is a viewpoint that overlooks Kobe city and the water, but it was too foggy to see anything. The central area surrounded by Bavarian building has shops for food and tables, with cute wagons with different categories of plants, like "cooking." We wandered to the back, toward the rose garden, that was not yet in bloom, and the fragrance museum. We started walking downhill through the gardens, stopping at each "exhibit". There is a greenhouse and an area of tropical plants. Because were there in the spring, there were lots of tulips. It was a little before noon when we left. We took the metro to Sannomiya for our 13:00 lunch reservation.
We had a reservation for lunch at Mouriya in Kobe and this is likely the best beef we’ve ever eaten. We were seated on the second floor. The place seemed pretty empty but other people who were walking in without reservations were being turned away. We ordered one Kobe sirloin (120g) and one wagyu sirloin (120g). They didn't tell us where the wagyu was from. Both were really good. Our chef was smart and cooked the steaks portion by portion so that we were constantly eating and the beef was constantly freshly off the teppanyaki. We thought the Kobe beef was more melty and the wagyu had more beef flavor. We also both had Japanese beer, and upgraded to garlic rice. Lunch cost 31,000JPY ($220).
After lunch, we walked to the port side of the city. We visited the Port of Kobe Earthquake Memorial, which occurred in 1995 and it took two years to rebuild. It caused devastation to the ports (Kobe is a big port city), and the area was almost inaccessible because of the number of bridges that collapsed. Materials and aid were brought it by sea. Further down by the water is the big "BE KOBE" sign. We took a walk along the water toward the Ferris Wheel (Kobe Tower is under construction), eventually to get to Kobe Station.
We took a Special Rapid from Kobe Station to Osaka Station, then took the Osaka Loop to Osaka Castle. It is a bit of a walk between the station and the castle itself. We got photos outside the castle, but it was too late for us to go up. There is a building on the side that had shops, so we went there, then walked out the back way (but through the front/main gate of the castle) to get to the subway to Nagai for the teamlabs Botanical Gardens.
We got here before 19:00 as well as a number of other people, before they even had people lining up. It was dusk and getting cold, so I put leggings on under my dress. The exhibits are distinct from each other, and it was a really cool concept. I think we would have enjoyed it more if we had brought our puffies, if Kevin brought pants (it was cold), and if our legs weren't so tired. We spent about 45 min here.
We took the subway from Nagai to Tennoji, and transferred onto a limited express back to Kyoto station. Kevin was tired and had a headache, so we went directly back to our hotel. He soaked in the tub for a while to soothe his legs, and I ordered Kyoto beef curry room service for us to share. I soaked in the tub until the food came, it was the equivalent of $21 and we ate while watching a Japanese drama on TV that we didn't really understand. We packed up because the next morning we were on to our next city.
April 13: Miyajima
We woke up at 5:45, checked out and arranged our suitcases to be shipped to Hiroshima. We kept our duffel bags with us (our clothes and fragile souvenirs) - in retrospect, I would've shipped everything except backpacks because there was quite a bit of walking and the bags got heavy.
We took the HIkari 531 Shinkansen to Hiroshima, which departed Kyoto at 7:20 and arrived at Hiroshima Station at 9:04. Then we had to transfer to Tsukin-Liner to Miyajimaguchi, which took about half an hour. Lastly, we took the JR Ferry from Miyajimaguchi to Miyajima Island, a 10 minute ferry ride, covered by JR Pass. There are two ferries that cost the same. One is a JR Ferry and one is not, it doesn’t really matter which you take, but we had the JR Pass so we took that one.
When we got to Miyajima, we went straight to our ryokan, Iwaso, to drop off our bags. It was about a 10 minute walk from the ferry station. Because it was early (not even 10AM), the streets were fairly empty, most people were going directly to the shrine. We dropped off our bags and were told they would bring our bags to our room (#506) for when we checked in at 15:00. The hotel gave us a sheet with tide times, sunrise/sunset times, and asked us what time we wanted to have dinner that night and breakfast the next morning. We went to Isukushima Shrine first (about 300JPY). The exit is on the other side of the water, where there are fewer people. There are lots of shops with better goods than other cities, I thought. We got lattes from a small coffee shop called Sarasvati that were really good, then sat by the water admiring the Floating Torii Gate, Otorii.
Around noon, we got lunch at a place on the corner called Tombo. We had passed it while walking around earlier, and it is a small soba shop with an attached window on the corner that sells tempura oyster and fried momiji manju. It looked closed from the outside, except for that the door was slightly open and there was music coming from inside. No one answered when I called, but when an older Japanese couple came by, the woman went inside and yelled "sumimasen" a couple times and got someone's attention. We had the most amazing oyster tempura soba in a tatami room, which cost 1350JPY each plus Kevin's additional shrimp tempura for 350JPY.
After lunch, we went to Daisho-in Temple (10 min walk from Isukushima) and Mani-den, which, in my opinion, are cooler than most other temples. In this area up the mountain are two areas where you're supposed to spin the cylinders (prayer wheels) as you go up/down the stairs for luck, and random buddha baby monuments throughout in fun positions and poses. There is an area in the cave that is dimly lit, smells of incense and has chants playing, with gods and sand from 88 Buddhist temples - the idea is that you can “visit” all 88 temples throughout the country. Off to the side (the left on your way up), is the entrance to the 500 Rakan Statues, many of which have hats (this comes from a children's story, where an elderly couple made straw hats to sell, and also put them on statues, and in return, the statues came to life and gifted them food).
We hit the shops, they were plentiful and had lots of fun things. We tried a local sweet treat, momiji manju, which is traditionally a pastry with red bean paste inside. Nowadays there are different variations, including different flavored fillings, ones filled with ice cream, ones that are deep fried. As you would expect, I tried a matcha ice cream-filled momiji manju and Kevin tried a chocolate-filled, deep fried momiji manju. We also got a couple of giant grilled oysters from a small shop that were the best oysters we’ve ever had. The Hiroshima area is known for their oysters and Miyajima specifically is known for momiji manju.
It was around 15:00 when we went up Mt. Misen via Miyajima Ropeway (30 min, 2000JPY round trip). The last ropeway down was at 16:30, and we underestimated how long the ropeway ride would be (the first ride is 15 minutes and holds six people, then transfer to a gondola for another five minutes) and how steep the trails would be. We thought if we ran, we could make it, but we didn't want to have to hike all the way down, so we we turned around and went instead to the overlook right by the ropeway station before taking the ride down. There is a free shuttle between the ropeway and the main shop area, which is actually right outside Iwaso.
We officially checked into Iwaso. We were escorted to our room, donned our yukata and had our tea ceremony with traditional momiji manju. Our room (#506) was probably the best room - on the top floor and a corner room so we had an additional window that overlooked the pagoda and the torii gate. We checked out the onsen in the basement. There was no one in the men's, and two people in the women's - we decided to go for it. Turns out, in the women's was a mother-daughter French pair; the daughter was done and getting dressed, and the mom was out of the pools, laying on the little deck, so I had the pools to myself anyway. We planned to stay for ten minutes but it was so nice we stayed for over 20 minutes.
We hung out and enjoyed sunset from our room before our keiseki dinner at 19:00. The meal was really good, and lasted about an hour. Our server was great and explained everything we were eating for each course. She was impressed and excited that we knew what chawanmushi was.
After dinner, we changed out of our yukata into normal clothes, and went down to the shrine to see the torii at low tide (20:40) - it is not appropriate to be at shrines in yukata. It wasn't crowded but there were definitely still a lot of people around, and we saw a French couple get engaged! We considered going to the onsen again, but instead turned in so that we could wake up early for sunrise.
April 14: Hiroshima
We woke up at 5AM for sunrise at 5:40. Waking up was a struggle because the futons were so comfy, but I dragged us out of bed - it was supposed to be for sunrise over the Otorii. We didn’t quite make it for sunrise, but we did get to enjoy the view by ourselves. The island is so quiet in the morning, before the tourists flock by ferry.
We went back to the onsen at 6AM when it opened and had it to ourselves, then put on our yukata and explored the grounds to make the most of the remaining hours of our ryokan stay. There is a peaceful garden with a bridge and waterfalls and trails along the cottages. Our breakfast was the earliest possible, at 7:30AM - traditional Japanese breakfast with porridge, coffee served at the end of breakfast. Breakfast took about an hour. After breakfast, we packed. I didn't want to leave. The futons are surprisingly comfortable. We checked out around 9:30AM (check out time is 10), and Iwaso has a shuttle that dropped us off at the ferry station. We took the other ferry back (not JR, since our JR pass expired, and they were the same cost anyway). We transferred from Miyajimaguchi to Hiroshima Station and dropped off our bags at the Hotel Granvia Hiroshima, right off the station. They said that when we checked in, they would have all our bags (our duffels and our luggage that was shipped by Yamato) sent to our room.
It was about 11AM. We bought tickets for the Hiroshima sightseeing bus (meipuru-pu) day pass. The bus stops right outside the station (and our hotel). We took the green line to Shintenchi, for lunch first at the Okonomiyaki-dura. Okonomiyaki is popular in Osaka and Hiroshima - the Hiroshima-style having noodles in it, which is right up our alley. The place was a little confusing at first but we found ourselves on the third floor and went to a random stall where a Japanese couple was placing an order. It was early (the shops open at 11 and it was 11:30) so no stall was crowded. I got oyster okonomiyaki and Kevin got seafood okonomiyaki which came with shrimp and squid) - each cost maybe 1300-1400JPY. It takes 15 minutes for them to make it, but they cook on the teppanyaki right in front of you, and you eat off the grill. It is very filling, I couldn't finish mine.
After lunch, we went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (~300JPY), we spent about two hours here. After the museum, we went to the Memorial of Victims, the Cenotaph, Eternal Flame of Peace, Children's Peace Monument, and A-Bomb Dome. It’s a heavy day, but reading the stories of people who lived it opens your eyes and it’s so important their stories aren’t forgotten. Seeing the A-Bomb Dome - a skeleton of a building, is grounding.
It started raining as we walked to Hiroshima Castle, known as the Carp Castle. It was about 16:00 when we went in, and we were done at 17:20. The shuttle was scheduled at 17:21 at the castle to go back to the station, and we thought we missed it, but as we were walking, a bus pulled up - it must've been late due to traffic.
Back at the station, we walked around the Ekie markets, and eventually got in line for dinner at a sushi restaurant in the back corner called Sushi Tatsu. Normally it is conveyor belt, but they must've stopped that during covid. Now you order on a tablet and they serve you directly. The sushi was really good (better than the sushi we had in Tsukiji), came out quickly and I think about 3,000JPY for the two of us. You could only order four items at a time.
April 15: Sayonara
We woke up at 6AM for breakfast (included in our hotel stay) at 6:30 - at check in they said breakfast was really popular and to expect lines. We went early to avoid lines and didn’t encounter any. We opted for the Japanese breakfast instead of buffet. After breakfast, we showered and did some final packing and still had time to kill. We were aiming for the 9:40 shuttle to the airport, so naturally, we went shopping again. We bought more souvenirs (oyster flavored things), and got croissants, a matcha latte (for me) and a caramel latte (Kevin) from Anderson bakery. We missed the 9:40 shuttle but caught the 10:00 shuttle (1450JPY) which got us to the airport at 10:50. The Hiroshima airport is really small and got through in no time (you can take water bottles through security), so we had extra time and, wouldn't you know it, we shopped some more.
At Haneda, we took the shuttle bus (Stop 9) to transfer from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3. We had to go through security again but did not need to collect our checked luggage. We were hungry (we landed at Haneda at 14:20, and by the time we were through security and all it was maybe 15:30). We got tempura and soba, which was really good. I waited on line to get nigiri to go, so my tempura was sitting for about ten min before I ate it and it was still good. By the time I was done eating and the sushi order was ready, it was 16:20 and boarding for our 17:15 flight started at 16:30 - right on time!
Concluding Thoughts
Even though we visited nine cities in eight days, Kevin and I both felt this was a well-paced trip. We felt like we saw pretty much everything we wanted to - with a few exceptions of course - without ever feeling rushed (okay - there was one time, because I wanted to get somewhere to beat crowds).
We were incredibly fortunate to have wonderful accommodations without breaking the bank. The cost of flights were nearly double what they were when we went in 2017 - a combination of covid and just everything being more expensive these days. All things considered, though, this trip didn’t cost nearly as much as one might expect, especially considering we value experiences and good food. Aside from our Kobe beef experience and omekase sushi experience, we did not spend a lot on food. We are fans of 7-11 onigiri (roughly 150-200 yen each, or a dollar or less), which was often our breakfast. Ramen was approximately 900 yen (about $7). The oyster tempura and soba on Miyajima cost 1350 yen (about $10).
My favorite place we visited this trip is easily Miyajima. It has a completely different feel than other cities we’ve visited - although you can’t go wrong anywhere I’m sure. I also highly recommend a ryokan stay. It’s something everyone should experience - the tatami rooms are so relaxing, the food is spectacular, the futons are surprisingly comfy.
When we got back from the trip, I made a quick reference favorite/least favorite chart - which is nice, because if I were to answer now (six months later), my memory of things are different.
Favorite city: Miyajima
Least favorite city: Hiroshima - the city itself is very modern (obviously)
Favorite day: Miyajima - the vibe, much more relaxed and less crowded
Least favorite day: Hiroshima - great to experience, but as the last day of the trip, I was exhausted
Favorite meal: Sushi Tatsu (Hiroshima Station) - this answer surprised me; I was definitely looking forward to good sushi this trip and this was it. If I were to answer now, I’d say the tempura soba from Tombo or the katsu from Katsukura
Second favorite meal: Mouriya (Kobe) - also a good choice
Least favorite meal: Taiwanese fried chicken in Yokohama - just not good
Favorite accommodation: Iwaso
Second favorite accommodation: Kyoto Granvia - so convenient, affordable, great view of Kyoto Tower
Least favorite accommodation: Hyatt Regency Tokyo - 10 minute walk from Shinjuku Station (not bad, but not great either - spoiled by the Granvia hotels)
Favorite activity: seeing Mount Fuji OR teamlabs Planets
Least favorite activity: Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse - just shops
Things we are glad we did the way we did:
Keep our days in Tokyo flexible - this allowed us to take the last minute trip to Kawaguchiko to see Mount Fuji since there was good weather
Ship our luggage (instead of taking it with us on the train)
Use coin lockers
Stayed in a ryokan - should do at least one night every trip!
Stayed in Shinjuku - easy access to bus and train, it is one of the major train stations (along with Tokyo, Shinagawa)
Stayed in Granvia Kyoto - we had thought about cancelling because our BIL said it was inconvenient, but it was such as nice hotel and so convenient because it’s in the station
Spent the night on Miyajima instead of doing it as a day trip
That we reserved teamlabs Planets tickets - we had forgotten/didn’t think to reserve in advance because our SIL/BIL said there was no one when they went in Nov 2022. We scrambled to get tickets a week before our trip and it was so crowded.
Things we should have done differently:
Not had tempura in Kawaguchiko - should have used that time to go into town, by the lake, visit other sites (the wait was two hours and the food was not great)
Go to Gion earlier - we got there around 7AM (keep in mind buses and trains don’t run that early)
Not rushed Kiyomizudera - I was anxious to get to Gion before crowds
Do the Mount Misen ropeway earlier - it was about 15:00 and the last ropeway car down is at 16:30 so we didn’t make it to the top of Mount Misen.