Japan 2024

12 years after our first and only trip to Asia, George and I returned to Japan to give it the proper attention it deserves on an 11 day (13 with travel) trip to Tokyo, Kyoto and Lake Kawaguchi (Mt. Fuji). We were there last time for Cherry Blossom season so really wanted to see the Autumn foliage. If you could only pick one, Cherry Blossom is the way to go but in both instances, it is hard to predict exactly when the colors will peak. Below are some tips but please message me with any questions. I cannot say enough great things about Japan – don’t save it for when you have more time, just do it now even if you only have a week!

Itinerary:

Fly United directly from ORD to the Haneda Tokyo airport. (This one is much closer to the city than Narita).
2 nights in Shibuya at the All Day Palace Shibuya
Shinkansen to Kyoto and 3 nights at the Hiiragiya Ryokan
Shinkansen back to Tokyo and stayed 3 nights at Apa in Shinjuku
Rented a car and drove to Lake Kawaguchi, stayed at LandLake Hotel for 1 night
Drove back to Tokyo to spend final night at the Apa hotel

General Tips:

Download QR codes for immigration and customs in advance, if not you can complete the paper forms but it’ll slow you down slightly
Download Suica card app and load Suica to apple wallet for trains on your phone
Download Go App for taxis
Look up the customs in advance so that you can be respectful (i.e. accept receipts and cash with 2 hands). We are lucky to have a friend, Seiki, that lives there and we got to spend time with him, his family and friends. Nothing can replace the connection with locals.

Where to stay:

Tokyo is so large, not only in population density but also the city spans quite a distance and they have numerous city centers. We stayed in Shibuya on the front end off the trip and Shinkjuku on the back end. Both have lots of retail/restaurants and general sense of action and proximity to parks. If I had to pick just one neighborhood, I might go with Shibuya but by a small margin. Other great neighborhoods would include Roppongi Hills / Minato City.
- All Day Shibuya – For a couple, this was great. Central location 8 minute walk from the famous Shibuya Crossing, easy hotel with a small, clean room and not expensive.
- Apa hotels – would not stay again. We were in the Shinjuku location and it is uncomfortably small. We don’t need luxury but we also don’t want to have to store our luggage under the bed so I would def say to skip this.
Kyoto is much smaller and Gion is the central tourist section. Can’t go wrong with staying there but we were more focused on having a traditional Ryokan experience so opted for one that was 20 minutes walking from Gion, still in a great part of town. https://www.hiiragiya.co.jp Traditional Ryokan with superb service.
A few highlights to consider:
- You can expect to leave your shoes at the reception and wear slippers around the property.
- The rooms are exquisite, spacious with view of garden for the area to enjoy tea, the main room cozy and everything well decorated and thought out. They are not super new but very clean.
- The staff is so kind, considerate, helpful and all around make the experience so special.
- There is a private bath available to use at your convenience but you must reserve it in advance
- Breakfast and dinner are included. You have an option for Japanese or Western breakfasts and Japanese only dinners. I really appreciated the experience of learning what traditional Japanese cuisine entails both for breakfast and dinner but be warned that if coming from the US, it is very different than what you are used to. Very savory, fish forward, eggs, pickled veggies, rice and miso soup. Dinners were multiple courses, very thoughtful and presented beautifully with option of service in your room or the main room. My palette didn’t agree with quite a few of the items served so I’d say less food was consumed during those dinners. (i.e Cod Milt – google it) We were there 3 nights and had their dinner twice, I think once would have sufficed for the experience. However, it is included in the price and the Ryokan is not cheap so you might want to take that into consideration when deciding where to stay.
- They leave traditional Kimonos for you to wear around the property

Tokyo Sites

Ginko blvd park – menji jingu Gaien- tree lined street and food trucks
Yasukuni jinja shrine
Akihabara for the gaming area, maid cafes
Yoyogi park
Tsukiji Fish Market
Hamarikyu gardens and Tea House
Statue of Liberty and statue of Gundam – kind of out of the way and could skip
Team Lab: Bborderless exhibit – very cool experience, we spent a few hours there and enjoyed without kids, don’t skip the tea at the end. It is not a “Japanese” experience so if you don’t have time, OK to skip but def gorgeous
Shibuya Gyoen Park – Massive, gorgeous and you can use your Suica card pass to enter as it’s not free
Meiji Jingu shrine and barrels (sake and wine)
Azabu neighborhood is considered more residential and fanciers
Roppongi Hills area – expats, shopping, vibrant and really nice
Tokyo tower for sunset – need tickets in advance and takes a while to get all the way to top so if going for sunset, book a time slot an hour before sunset
Shibuya scramble – sit on the second floor of the starbucks to watch from above
Ginza Shopping – FYI- American baseball sports store sells mostly Dodgers and Yankees hats with a few Red and White Sox hats. Explains why we never saw Cubs hats!
Golden Gai Bars in Shinjuku – Made for the tourists, highly busy but super cute and fun
Karaoke – so many options, but get a private room and sing your heart out
Godzilla light show projected onto Tokyo Metropolitan Government building
Ueno Park, Full of autumn colors and in a more local part of town
Imperial palace. Was ok, but not a lot of autumn colors so could skip

Kyoto Sites

Kyoto Bike Tour – request Cas and get the e-bike. We rode the regular bike and it was a 9.5 hour day with at least 5 hours on the actual bike. I am not a biker at all and I pushed through but there were moments of pain and aches. However, seeing the city on a bike and covering as many sites as we did was incredible. I would HIGHLY recommend. Try to schedule this on your first full day so that you can fill in the gaps of what you don’t see on the tour on your own in following days. We tried that but it rained so we had to reschedule but we looked up the stops to make sure we didn’t go to them twice. Our stops: Arishayama bamboo forest, Togetsu- Kyo Bridge, Nintendo HQ, Fushimi nari Taisha shrine, udon and tempura lunch, uphill to Kiyomizu-dera temple, Golden Temple
Other Temples
- Konkaikomyo-Ji Temple
- Shinnyodo Temple Hondo
- Shinsho Gikuraku-Ji (Three Storied Pagoda)
- Sammon Temple
- Eikando Temple
- Eikando Zenrinji Temple
- Nanzen-Ji Temple
- Konkani Komyo-Ji Temple
- Kodai-Ji Temple
- Kinkaku-Ji Temple (Golden Temple)
- Fushimi Inari Taisha (Many Orange Gates)
Little shops around yasakakamimachi, maruyama park
Night time ilusión at Nijo castle

Tokyo Eats

Ebisu yokocho – one stall has amazing mushrooms- baked enoki in foil butter and salted kelp cucumber a must. It’s just next to the toilet sign.
Latte art mania for the black charcoal matcha or coffee lates.
Dinner at Molecular Tapas – In the Mandarin Oriental, need reservations, Michelen star fine dining. Absolutely INCREDIBLE.
Tsujiki mark – Sushikuni fresh tuna bowl magic
Ginza Kagari Ramen – multiple locations, prepare to wait, very creamy and incredible Ramen, they make seafood and chicken broth bases and have Truffle to add optionally
Breakfast at Flippers- long lines so get there 15-30 before they open but so yummy Japanese souflet pancakes which take 30-40 minutes to make so don’t go when in a hurry and about to catch a train to Kyoto like we did!
Fresh fruit in Japan is next level. The Muscato grapes are a must as well as the strawberries and pears. Do not miss out.
Tokyo Juice – multiple locations, green juice, smoothies, açaí bowls, avocado toast PERFECTION in all that they do.
Greek day Omatesando – incredible yogurt with grape kiwi and honeycomb is a perfect snack.
Shogun burger in Shibuya – fun vibe, big hit with George
Warayaki in Roppongi – they cook on open fire and are known for their Bonita Fish and Whale 😦
These bar in Roppongi – adorable library feel with a bowl of ingredients for you to select for your drinks.
Micasadeco and cafe for fluffy ricotta pancakes – Flippers is better but this is great stop too.
Jomon roppongi need reservations – we didn’t make it but heard great things.
Craft drinks at B & F bar on floor 2 because there was no room at Benfiddich Bar on floor 9. No menu, just tell them flavors you are in mood for
Ramen Tour Ramen making class near Ueno in a chill neighborhood. Made the Ramen Tour reservation through 5am ramen, which took me to a Tokyo Ramen site. Request Sahuri, great guide. Have vegetarian options if you ask. We did the ramen making one.

Kyoto Eats

Matcha soft serve at train station in Kyoto at one of the little shops!
Tato a bar owned by Tato the Spaniard. Great eats but even better conversation. Tato has lived in Japan for 25 years and is highly entertaining and smart
Gyoza Chao Chao – long wait but worth it if you have the time. They have a house pork gyoza that is fantastic.

Lake Kawaguichi

Rented a car near our hotel and drove (wheel on right side of car) about an hour and a half, easy trip to Lake Kawaguichi. Train is an option but takes longer. Can also hire a driver.
Parked at main train stop (Make sure to have small change to pay for exit)
Easy 20 min walk to the Panaramoic view Railway. Long line but its a must for all the incredible Mt. Fuji and Lake views. Check the visibility before going up. The line to go down was long so we hiked down, took about 45 minutes.
Drove to musical forest museum – not a must but a unique/quirkly little stop
Walked along the lake until Maple Corridor towards Kubota Art Museum
Sunset at beach watching Mount Fuji
Drove around other side of lake at dusk for our hotel at Lake Land. We opted for a Japanese style room which we liked. The hotel is not fancy nor is it new but it totally did the trick for one night and was enjoyable.
Dinner at Hudo Foudo the igloo looking building (they have parking lot). Horse sushimi on menu but we passed. Had a HUGE pot of udon in miso broth and veggies – so hot and so good. It’s their traditional dish of the region and that’s what everyone eats there in a cafeteria style setting.
Night time onset at Lake Land Hotel Mizunosato; nude hot tub under the stars. They rotate the men’s and women’s sides every day as they are slightly different views.