Japan

Konichiwa!!!

Japan is an AMAZING place. We fell in love with this country (I told my husband we should move here for a year). The main reason to visit Japan was our friend’s wedding, however, we weren’t just going to go for the wedding and not explore the country. We went to a few places in Japan and each has their own uniqueness and quirkiness. There are two main airports in Tokyo that you can fly  into, Haneda and Narita. We few in/out from Narita . It is about 1.5 hours outside Tokyo.

Tokyo

There are so many places to see in Tokyo. So much to experience, it is hard and overwhelming to take it all in, but it is an exhilarating experience.

Places to See/Visit:

• Ueno Park
• Senso-ji temple 
• Akihabhara – This is called the technology park. You can find literally anything here, new phone, washing machine, hair pin, cosmetics, you name it. We went to a store called Yodabashi Camera, the store is huge and honestly can take you several hours to see the store. We shopped a lot from this place.It is right by the train station, you cannot miss it.
• Yoyogi park – This was a nice park, we unfortunately went on a rainy day, and the Meji Jingu Shrine was under construction
• Harajaku – This is right by the Yoyogi park, it is a narrow street with lots of shops and food stalls. You can actually see people who are super dressed up in weird attire in this area (actually that is a lot of Japan in general ;))
• Ginza – Shopper’s paradise. We went there a couple times. our favorite ramen place was in Ginza and also the fish market is here too, Tsukiji Fish Market.
• Shinjuku – Both our hotels were in Shinjuku, it almost felt like home to us. It is lively, vibrant, full of life. There are tons of bars and hotels in Shinjuku and it is one of the biggest train stations so we got almost all the trains we needed to get anything within Tokyo from this station.
• Shibuya crossing – It is awesome, however, there are multiple crossings in Tokyo similar to Shibuya crossing. How does everyone cross and not run into people is beyond me but they make it work.
• Robot Restaurant

Restaurants/Bars:

• Muthu
• 82 Ale House
• Kazami Ramen – EXCELLENT!!!! MUST GO
• Cha Ginza
• Bar High Five
• Tudore Tranquility – Vegetarian pre-fixe menu. It was one of our first fancy meals in Tokyo and it was amazing. We had our own private meal since we were the only ones in the restaurant.
• Bar Albatross
• T’s TanTan
• Sense
• Kaffir Lime Thai
• Braid Brewery
• Milan Nataraj
• Good Morning Cafe
• Toranomon Koffee
• Cafe de Lambre
• Sushi in fish market
• Cona – Pizza
• L’Effervesance – Absolutely amazing place. If you have the budget to spend on one fancy meal, pick this place.
• Tokyo Whiskey Library

Nasu

We went to Nasu for our friend’s wedding. It is about an 1.5 from Tokyo. Ordinarily you would not visit Nasu when visiting Japan, but they are most famous for their cheese and strawberry. If you ever decide or know of someone who is looking to do a destination wedding, please suggest Hotel Epinard Nasu. We had an amazing time at this resort. The wedding was perfect and very well organized, the staff was awesome and the food was simply mind-blowing. Compared to weddings in the US, I heard for a fraction of a cost you can get married in Nasu. Not to mention you get married by an Alpaca. You read that right!!
Osaka

Places to see/visit:

• Osaka Castle
• Dotonbari

Restaurants/Bars:

• Hajime – Michelin star restaurant. The food was good, however the experience at the end was not pleasant. Check my review here.
• Chitose Okonomiyaki – OMG this was the best meal in Osaka. They are able to vegan/vegetarian as well. Make sure to visit.

Kyoto

Places to see/visit:

• Fushimi Inari Shrine – If you have time for only 1 shrine in Kyoto, make sure you go here. This was spectacular.
• Bamboo Forest
• Tenryuju temple ( make sure you have lunch here, we did it and it was an amazing experience) There is a 500 yen entry fee, but well worth it.
• Kiyamizudera Shrine – Beautiful shrine, lots of steps 500 yen entry fee
• Kinkakuji temple – Golden Temple it was a beautiful site. There is a 400 yen entry fee
• Philosophers Path – A lot of people like this, we were shortly after the sunset. Everything wasn’t fully bloomed so it was not that eventful, it was a nice walk though.
• Pontocho Alley – Lovely area in Downtown Kyoto, lots of restaurants and bars.
• Yasaka Shrine ( at night time) – Great shrine at the night time. Very nicely lit. Towards the back they have an area with lots of food stalls. We were done with dinner, so we grabbed a beer and walked around the park. Beautiful Maruyama Park is right behind this shrine. The blossoms were awesome on the trees there.

Restaurants/Bars:

• Yak and Yeti
• Shin Shin Samurai Cafe
• We walked into a few bars, I do not recollect the names. You cannot go wrong there

Nara

We took a day trip to Nara from Osaka, we got the one day pass for $16 from the train station, it covered the rides between Nara and Osaka, but it did not cover the entrance fee for some of the temples to visit.

Places to see/visit:

• Deer Park
• Todai-ji Temple
• Pagodas

There are lots of World Heritage sites in Nara, but we did not have enough time to go to all of those. It was a lovely city. Honestly, besides the deer park, there was not much in my opinion to visit Nara for. You could skip this if you are running short on time.

Restaurants/Bars:

• Mellow Cafe – it is close to the train station. The food was different yet delicious.

Hakone

This was an unbelievable experience. We had a hot spring in the room itself. In between Kyoto and Tokyo, Hakone is at the foothills of Mount Fuji. It is an amazing town, with lots to explore. It is most well known for its hot springs. We had a multi-course meal at the Ryokon we stayed at, you really can’t go wrong with the place you pick. We shared a room with our friends since the prices are a little steep.

Even if you are unable to spend a night in Hakone, I would strongly suggested visiting at least one hot spring while in Japan. We went to this one, Yunessun Inn, where we were able to bathe in a hot spring which was flavored with wine, coffee, green tea, sake etc. For roughly $25 we had a great time. You can get down at Odawara station when traveling by Shinkasen and take a bus up in the mountains.

Cities we missed seeing in Japan:

• Okinawa
• Hiroshima
• Kobe
• Kanazawa

General Tips:

• Try flying into Haneda airport, it is only about 8 miles from city center as opposed to Narita which is about 1.5 hours
• If you plan on doing any travel across the different cities in Japan, make sure to get the JP Rail Pass. This pass works to/from Narita airport, however the lines are long at the airport to redeem the voucher you get in the mail
• Get a suica card when you land, that is your best friend. You can use this on train lines that are not JR (in case you have a JR pass) and you can also use this card for the vending machines and most stores at the train stations accept these as well
• All the basics are provided by all the hotels e.g.: toothpaste/toothbrush, hairbrush, night suit. I’d suggest not carrying more than a pair of night clothes.
• Try carrying minimal luggage as hotel rooms are small. If you end up carrying more luggage and have a plan of visiting multiple cities within Japan, ship your luggage to you next destination using your hotel. If you are using Airbnb, just was into the nearby hotel and they can help you ship everything.
• People speak limited English so make sure all the addresses are readable in Japanese. We printed all the hotel addresses ahead of time in case we needed help.
• Plan your day, Japan is very accessible, but in order to not waste your time make you have a daily agenda, you might not follow it completely, but you at least might have a general idea of your day.
• No one tells you thing, or maybe they do, but you will WALK WALK WALK all over Japan. Make sure you have pair of comfortable shoes and nicely padded socks. We averaged about 8-10 miles a day.
• Pro-tip Always put the final destination of where you want to end up, due to the amazing transportation in Japan, you’d be surprised to find some direct trains to where you want to go.

Visit Japan for an absolutely incredible experience. This was my FB post when we left Japan

“Wow it has truly been a culturally, technologically and transportationally (yes I made this word up) enriching experience. I heart Japan. It really is one of a kind. The streets, people, gardens, shrines and food have their own charm and uniqueness. We are surely coming back. Until next time. Arigatou gozaimasu 😊 ”
Arigatou Gozaimasu Japan!!!! We will be back for sure.