Lena's Traveler's Talk

I am SOO excited to write about Japan, I can barely contain myself. Although Hong Kong and Thailand were absolutely amazing, Japan took the cake for us on this trip. Hands down, Tokyo would be my number 1 pick if I were ever an expat. It is not so easy to always articulate why you love a place, but hey, I am writing a blog on travel so I better start figuring out how to do that.

My senses were awakened in Asia, unlike anywhere else in the planet. More specifically, they were on overload, in that good way, in Japan. Let me break it down for you…

Sight – Colors and lights, I am sucker for good pops of colors and those shiny lights and signs. Who doesn’t go crazy for shiny objects? oh and did I mention the Cherry Blossoms. more on that later..

Smell – Crisp, that air was crisp. It was so clean, you could smell it.

Taste – SUSHI. Enough said.

Sound – I could hear the intoxicating hustle and bustle in Tokyo but also the Zen and peace in Kyoto.

Touch – Ok, so I didn’t go around touching strangers and buildings, BUT the textures of the Pagodas had me very excited.

We arrived in Japan after two weeks in Hong Kong and Thailand, and we had ditched DAS little people since they are lawyers and didn’t have 3 weeks of vacation to take. We had already been to Narita airport for our layover to Hong Kong, and we were wildly impressed with the sushi buffet in the United Lounge, but this time, we flew into Osaka and decided that public transportation was the best way to get to Kyoto. Let’s just say that after a week in Japan, George declared that I had the “Oh look its a train, let’s get on it” attitude with disregard for where it was actually going. This is not a far departure from the truth. Our first experience with my enthusiasm for the train, was leaving the airport and needless to say, I took us about an hour out of our way with my train choice. I can’t even blame it on the whole language barrier thing. It was just confusing, simply put. So if you are like us and decide not to spend hundreds of dollars on a cab ride, then just be patient and slow, read the instructions and figure out exactly which train you are getting on. The upside of this never ending train ride is that we got to see Osaka, albeit from the train (think Brown line) and finally made our way into Kyoto’s Grand station. Detailed tips below.

Kyoto:

Best to stay near grand station. Hotel rooms are tiny. We stayed at the APA hotel, it was fine, clean, but the smallest room I have ever been in. The definition of tiny is subjective, so let me elaborate. You couldn’t open the bathroom door (outward) without having to move the luggage on to the bed. If you are any taller than George and me, I would strongly suggest you splurge because this room will make you very grumpy. If you can get a reasonable price at the actual hotel train station, that would be ideal but when I looked it was like 500, whereas Apa was under 200.

Within Kyoto, your options for travel is bus during day and cab at night. The buses are great, come often and a few major ones will get you everywhere. The busses all stop at the Train station and we looked up the bus numbers near each of the sites we knew we wanted to hit that day before leaving the hotel. This type of planning is only required if you are not splurging for the exorbitant data rates that apply internationally. We were quite happy with using Wi-Fi in the hotel in the morning and night to plan our days. The cool thing about Kyoto is that its not too big and the main sites are along an oval shape, so we created our own hop off/hop on type of adventure.

– Gion: we walked there from our hotel, but a solid hour walk so if you have time and want to stroll along the river, it’s a cool perspective on the neighborhoods of Kyoto. Gion itself is a little treasure of an area. At first you think it is just streets with shops but then you go slightly uphill to the east side and you find narrow streets, and a few temples, with great soba and sushi, rice paper/mochi dessert shops and sougveiners.  The pagodas along the way are the highlight of the neighborhood.

– Maruyama park: My perspective is skewed because it was packed for cherry blossom season with street vendors and people partying. I later learned that this is a Sakura (Cherry Blossom) festival. If you saw how gorgeous these cherry blossoms are, you’d want a festival to celebrate them too.

– Starbucks had caramel macchiato bread loafs that were SOO good. I have yet to see those come to the US so perhaps they were created especially for the Japanese market. Mmmmmmm

– Cash: The Post Office ATM and 7/11 are two of the only spots where you can get cash. Luckily, there is a post office right near the train station.

– Golden Palace: Take bus 100 from train station and its worth a trip. Crowded and you can’t get super close to the actual palace but it is truly beautiful. You probably don’t need more than an hour for that stop. See below for our view!

– Eikan-Do: We loved this place, super peaceful opposite of Golden Palace. You can climb up a little stairway towards the back to get a great view of the city. We stopped at the base of the bridge to have some green tea. They served us two kinds (the authentic Japanese, a thick consistency, and the second was thinner and the American version). Accompanied by some red bean cakes, this was a lovely afternoon snack. This could be a 1-2 hour stop. Although we didn’t find it, we read that  Philosopher’s path is also right around there and since it was mentioned in most books, was probably wonderful.

– Kiyomizu: This is a famous pagoda and while it was nice, it wasn’t my favorite. You have to walk up a long hill to get there and there are a ton of shops and restaurants along the way.

– Kodai ji Temple: We went here at night, not sure if it was only open at night only because of Sakura, but we absolutely loved it. It’s located in Gion and you can do this in 30 to 45 minutes on your way to Maruyama park.

– Drinks at Ace café: Great view of Kyoto at ngiht. Food and drinks were good, décor was nothing special although it claimed to be a 60’s themed bar. However, the walk from Gion to this bar was wonderful. Parallel to the river, there was an adorable canal covered in Cherry Blossoms and it made for a charming path to the bar.

– Cabs: White Glove Service AND the doors open automatically. You have to see this to believe it

We were quite sad to leave Kyoto but little did we know the adventure that waited ahead for us in Tokyo. George was particularly excited to take the famous bullet train, Shinkansen, from Kyoto to Tokyo. Bring some food and drinks for this quick journey, and note that once within Tokyo, food and drinks are sticky prohibited on the trains. You will get the stink eye if you even attempt to break this rule. You will learn quickly that the Japanese are rule followers unlike anywhere you’ve ever seen. Again, one of the many reasons that this country fascinates me. George always got a kick out of cross walks because nobody would EVER dare to cross before the light turned green. He was very tempted, and may have at some point, crossed prematurely. I blushed and pretended not to know him.

TOKYO

– Safe: When I say safe, I mean they had like 1 murder the year we were there and pick pocketing just isn’t a thing. Glorious. I think this is ever parents dream for their college kid that is studying abroad.

– Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku: Located right next to Shinjuku train station, this hotel was excellent. Although we didn’t spend a ton of time in that neighborhood, it was busy, easy to get to and very vivacious. The thing about Tokyo is that there are SO many neighborhoods, that you really don’t end up spending too much time in any specific area, which is why your hotel location isn’t critical. This was super convenient for coming in from Kyoto and then getting to Narita airport on our way out.

– Train logistics: The train pass that you used on the speed train will work for the Tokyo city train transfer. The maps are crazy and confusing but you can get ANYWHERE easily, so it’s super convenient. What makes the trains so confusing is that there are multiple train systems, with individual maps all within the city. George was in charge of interpreting the various maps and getting us from point A to point B. As I mentioned earlier, I was quite excited, and well, when I get excited I just want to jump on any train that comes my way. He helped tame that situation. Frankly, part of his job as my husband is to tame me when i get overexcited. I’d like to think its what makes me charming:) Oh and have no fear, for the train stops are written in English as well as in Japanese. So I promise, you can totally get around. Patience, my friend, bring your patience with you and you’ll be all set.

There are SOOOO many parks in Tokyo, just one of the many things I love about the city. A few we visited are below.

-Shinjuku Guyen Park: Very beautiful and would be a great place to picnic. Here is us doing as they do, throwing up the peace sign amidst the Cherry Blossoms. Have I said enough times how mesmerizing these flowers are? I really just cannot stress the magic of these flowers. If you can plan your trip in late March/early April, then please do!

– Sumida park: Located in Asakusa. River itself is nothing impressive but we enjoyed seeing a different neighborhood on the walk there.

-Yoyogi park: The park itself is just OK. Meiji Shrine is located there, it’s a big deal from a historic point of view, but it wasn’t particularly exciting for me. This is right off the Harajuku train stop so if you go on Sunday afternoon, all of the Harajuku girls and lola goth people are said to be hanging out. We got there a few hours later and didn’t quite see that crowd. Then take a walk down the main street across from Hirajuku station for cool shops and people watching. Lots of stores with all the baby doll clothing. Wondering where you’ve heard about Harajuku girls before? Gwen Stefani sang about them. Check out this neighborhood and you will see why they are worth singing about.

– Shibuya is the next stop over and it has the busiest pedestrian intersection in the world. The best thing is to go to the 2^nd level of Starbucks on the corner and watch people crossing the street. Wondering why it’s so interesting to watch people cross the street? I know, you are annoyed I suggest going to Starbuck’s, (for the second time in this post) but I promise, I am only guiding you to the light. It was a rainy evening when we went, so the sea of umbrellas made for quite a vision. We met a lot of cool travelers when sitting up there, and ironically enough ran into the same couple a few days later in a park. A city with 13+ million and we run into someone we “know”. NUTS!

– SUSHI! mmmmmmmmm. Absolutely Phenomenal sushi at http://www.tripadvisor.c om/Restaurant_Review-g1066456-d1678469-Reviews-Umegaoka_Sushi_No_Midori_Shibuya-Shibuya_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html This place is a little hard to find as it is literally in the mall tower, connected to the train station. It is indeed worth the wait. The fatty tuna is memorable and sounds crazy but their California roll (real crab) was the best I have ever had. See below for a mouth watering image. Take me back!!

– The TMG building, in the Shinjuku neighborhood, has great views of Tokyo. We saw it first thing in the morning so the line was short and admission was free.

– Akihabara: GEEK District. This is a MUST. You will never see a place like this again. The streets are full of Arcades, sex shops, Maid Cafes where women are subservient but fully clothed, and very very tall buildings.  Do not miss out on this experience.

– Tsukiju fish market:  We arrived at noon, (FAIL) in the rain and waited an hour for sashimi at a tiny place just outside the market. We missed the morning market in action but weren’t willing to wake up early. Sometimes, a girl just has to get her beauty rest.  Plus I think they only let 120 people in so even if you get there early, no guarantee you see the action.  I thought it was worth it to try such fresh fish, George might argue that the taste is marginally better. We were tired and since it was rainy, the wait was a bit annoying but might be totally different if sunny. I really did love a bowl of tuna paste (ground up tuna, sounds gross but in reality is Yummy goodness) and tuna sashimi with rice and green tea.

– Ginza is their shopping district, comparable to Michigan Ave, Rodeo Drive, 5th avenue. You get the gist.  Cool to see but nothing earth shattering. It was probably the one neighborhood that felt most like home. Everything else was truly foreign.

– Imperial palace gardens are probably prettier when flowers are in bloom, but sine we were there in April, it was just green. However, very impressive in size and I would not add this to the Must see list.

– Marianochi tower across from Tokyo train staion, in the business district. Tons of cafes and there is a great Italian restaurant on the top that had some wine and thin pizza to change up the pace from Asian food. There is a great terrace as well that might be fun at night for some drinks. I envision it would be a happening area when its warm.

– Ninja Akasaka: Yes, your dreams have come true and there is a Ninja themed restaurant in Tokyo. You have to make reservations. It was our most expensive meal in Asia, and we went with the 10 courses, drinks not included, for $100 USD. Considering how expensive food can get in Chicago, I was very surprised at how reasonable the price of food was in all of Asia, specifically Japan, considering its listed as one of the most expensive cities in the world. Speaking of which, I think real estate is a significant factor in these studies and since I wasn’t buying a nice little apartment in Tokyo, as a tourist who just wanted to eat, drink and be merry, I did not think this country breaks the bank. Anyway, back to the meal. There was a ton of food, so def not a horrible price all things considered. I would say it was very good food but not mind blowing. Inventive with the ninja theme, very very cool experience with the décor of the restaurant and the fact that everyone is in character. Worth the visit for sure. I had birdsnest in my martini. Google what birds nest is…then after running to the bathroom to gag, come back and finish reading this post. No, I can’t believe I drank it either.

– If it is rainy or you don’t feel like being outside, check out the Edo Museum for a few hours. Grab some soba noodles and shrimp tempura at the top floor café, and then the museum itself was interesting and very well designed. Good snapshot of Japanese history minus. Here is a nice shot from the museum to cheer you up.

– Chidorigafuchi area was stunning with the Cherry Blossoms. Probably not a must see outside of that season

–  Roppongi Hills is the expat district and you see it right when you arrive. I suggest going in the evening for sunset from the tower in Roppongi Hills building.  You can get great shots of the Tokyo tower (looks like eifel tower, mini) and 360 view so you see the whole city. Below was taken by yours truly…

– Seiki: Sadly for you readers, Seiki will not be part of your trip, but a post without mention of our friend Seiki, would be a post not worth writing. Seiki and I studied in Madrid together. He is a native of Tokyo, and after spending 4 years in Madrid, moved back to his home country. Fun fact, Seiki, George and I all communicated only in Spanish. Yes, the Greek, Russian, and Japanese guy spoke Spanish to communicate. Makes my soul warm just thinking about it. Conversation got better as the drinks flowed…wait, I am not being sarcastic. Who else out there speaks foreign languages better when a little liquored up? There has to be something scientific about that. Anyway, Seiki was a gracious host and took us to his office (he is an Architect) in the Mitaka neighborhood. Catching up over some authentic dinner was SO much fun and our evening hit an all time high when the 3 of us hit up a Karaoke bar. Seiki shocked us with his unbelievable performance in English. Karaoke is the best activity ever. As you may imagine, this is no joke in Japan and a MUST in my opinion. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you Seiki for an unforgettable evening and a window into Japanese culture that can only be shown by a local. So my tip for you, find yourself a local to show you around!

Well, my friends, as they say at the end of a good party, ” I don’t care where you go, but you can’t stay here”..or something like that. (P.S. I am bad with idioms since English is my second language. This is my excuse and I am sticking to it). SO, my post on Japan has come to an end. If you are not tempted to go book you trip to Japan right now, well then, I just didn’t do this post justice.

Japan, we will meet again. This, I promise you.