Wow, this trip was actually months ago (February/March) but it has taken me forever to write this post. It’s been a long time since my last trip. The pandemic had really limited travel for such a long time, but when Japan opened their borders for tourists again, I decided to go as early as I could. With such a long break and so many people to catch up with, it became a trip full of amazing memories. The post was getting too long, so I’ve split it into 2 parts to make it a little more manageable.

Also feel free to check out my full album from the trip, here.

Let’s dive in!

Day 1: Travel to Tokyo

I think I said the same thing last time, but that flight to Japan is really long – I forgot how rough those were! During the flight I only managed to doze off for about an hour, but arriving with no sleep means (hopefully) a quick adjustment after the first night. I was a bit worried with the snow and freezing rain in Ontario that my flights might get cancelled. From the London airport that day, the plane to Toronto was one of only two that actually took off, but it all turned out okay. After a little delay de-icing, we were only an hour late into Narita. Once we arrived, I grabbed my SIM card from the airport kiosk and it was smooth sailing to meet Tommy and Yuko. They live in a nice area towards the outside of Tokyo that I hadn’t been to before.

After I dropped my luggage off at their place, the three of us went out for some food. It was getting late and his local Izakaya was already on last order, so we went to a chain Yakitori place nearby. It was nice to be back again, Japanese food is so great, and being able to order in Japanese was a bit nostalgic. Heck, even the train ride from the airport was really taking me back. I had fun catching up with Tommy and Yuko over some food and drinks. Tommy and I had previously made some plans to go to Shikoku together for a weekend trip, but we decided to figure things out the following day. We were both on the fence about it due to the large amount of travel time, so it might be good to just meet up somewhere different.

Day 2: Akihabara with Tommy and Yuko

After a good night’s sleep, we got up and made some plans. Tommy and I decided to call off the Shikoku trip we were going to take. He was also on the fence because his travel time would have been even worse than mine (10 hours for me, and maybe 14 for him, all in 2 days). Since I had wanted to keep my existing hotel room in Osaka, I actually had two hotels booked the same night for that weekend trip, so this at least saved some time and money. We decided we might meet up somewhere in Kansai instead that weekend.

The three of us went to Akihabara. It was my first time since I went there on my first trip to Japan, 10 years ago. From the station, we toured around a bunch of different shops and arcades for a little bit. It’s still the anime, manga, and gaming mecca I remember from last time, with maid cafes as far as the eye can see. It was pretty crowded and the shops were tiny, but it was fun looking through all the figurines and merchandise. We got some spicy ramen for lunch that was fantastic. It was a gigantic portion and pretty inexpensive as well.

Tommy took me to a Sentou (public bath) in the evening. I’m not usually one for public bathing, but it was nice for a change. I did end up staying in too long and getting a bit overheated. I guess I’m not used to taking those hot, hot baths. I also tried out a ‘Senkyu’ medicinal herb bath that was red colored and had an interesting scent. Of course, as is tradition, once we were done I had a little bottle of milk.

We went to that Izakaya for dinner that we tried to go to the day before. We had a great time and I got a little too drunk! I wanted to order some interesting food, so I introduced Tommy to fried Gobou (Burdock root) which he really liked.

Day 3: Roppongi and Shibuya with Naoko

I left Tommy’s in the morning to meet up with Naoko in Roppongi. After dropping my stuff off at her place, she took me to a fancy Sushi Omakase place where they served a course of 20 or so pieces of sushi, one at a time, including some types of sushi I had never tried before. I can’t say I liked it all but the quality was amazing and it was an interesting experience. There were things like Uni (sea urchin), Awabi (abalone), Hotate (Japanese Scallop) and monk fish liver. I’m glad I had the chance to try it out, it was a cool experience and a lot of it was really high quality and tasty. I don’t usually go for shellfish, and I’m not super hot on all of it still, but it was fun to give some new things a shot.

She showed me a few places in Roppongi after lunch. The area is so trendy and there are expensive cars everywhere. I’m glad I got a new jacket that looks presentable, since I already stand out too much, I always feel a little out of place. We took quick a stop at a museum for a snack at the cafe and to check out the gift shop.

In the evening, we went to a pole dancing / silk aerial show, which was wild. There was a lot of really talented pole dancers, and there was even an amateur competition where 8 dancers faced off against each other with judges choosing a winner. There were also a whole bunch of pros with amazing performances. I had a great time, except it was twice as long as I expected and I hadn’t eaten any dinner, so I was happy to finally get some food afterwards. We ended the evening at Coco-Ichi where I had some spicy curry. I love that place and I’m glad I had a chance to eat there this trip.

Day 4: Omotesando, Harajuku, teamLab Planets, and Shimbashi with Naoko

We started the morning by going to an an amazing Soba place that Naoko recommended. There I had ‘Kuro Shougeki’ (Black Shock) Soba. It was really rich for a Soba broth, and had lots of black pepper and onions, maybe my favorite meal of the trip. After eating our fill, Naoko and I explored around Omotesando for a little bit where there were a bunch of trendy shops and restaurants. We continued on to Harajiku, a really popular tourist street that was packed with people. There were all sorts of street food and touristy shops lined up. We found a small animal petting zoo where we got to see a fennec fox, some ferrets, meerkats, a monkey, and a hedgehog. I didn’t think I would ever get to hold a meerkat in my life, so that was pretty cool.

We continued on to go see the teamLab Planets Tokyo exhibit. It was a really cool experience and a treat for the senses. You start by dropping your shoes and socks in a locker and rolling up your pants. Then you entered by walking up a slope that has water running down it in a dark hallway before arriving at a big room where the whole floor was like a big cushion. From there, most of the rooms had mirrors on all the walls and floors so it was really easy to lose your sense of scale. Lots of unique exhibits that involved some amazing lighting and interactive elements (and occasionally ankle deep water). The pictures are cool but you really need to see it to get the full experience.

We also stopped at the Joypolis indoor amusement center that had all sorts of interesting rides and attractions like an indoor roller coaster. There was a team ride where you scored points that Naoko and I went on and I did really poorly and ended up owing her an ice cream. I made up for it later where we won a racing game against some other folks. You had to strap in tight to the machine, because it rotated fully 360 degrees around as you did flips, and though I didn’t know it until later, I ended up bruising the heck out of my shoulders with the safety straps.

In the evening, we met up with Tommy for some food in Shimbashi. There was some cheap Izakaya food that we filled up on before Tommy showed us to a cocktail bar. The bar was an interesting experience. I normally drink a lot of Japanese drinks in Japan, so I wasn’t sure what to get for cocktails. I had the bartender pick a drink for me and I tried my first Manhattan, which I ended up really liking. A funny thing happened there – there were also a couple guys who came in and one of them ordered some straight gin, and gin on the rocks for his friend. I thought that was a weird way to drink gin and those guys looked totally lost, so I eventually brought some fries and shared them out as I started talking to them. It turns out they were engineering students from Korea in Japan for four days. We talked for a bit and I thought they should really enjoy some Japanese stuff while in Japan so I got them some Shochu (okay reception) and some Umeshu (great reception). It was a fun little experience.

Day 5: Yokohama

Before I headed to Yokohama, Naoko wanted to get some brunch. She had a little work to do first so I went to the coin laundry to kill some time and refresh my luggage. There was a friendly older man there that helped me out with the machines. He complimented me on my Japanese and we ended up chatting for a bit. He asked about where I was from and he mentioned that he was abroad in France for a year when he was younger. I like being outside the normal tourist areas where I can enjoy little interactions like that.

Naoko and I had a quick lunch together, then I headed off to Yokohama by myself. I think I was a little confused about the lines to get there, but I found my way to Yokohama station and got a locker for my luggage. I first went to ‘Minato Mirai’, where there was a Ferris wheel and a huge shopping mall. Apparently it’s a popular area to go on dates. Lots of stores on many floors, but it was a little lifeless and boring when I was there, I guess it’s not too busy mid-day on a Monday.

From there I went to check out the famous Yokohama Chinatown. It was a lot livelier there and there were a ton of stores where you can pick up some interesting Chinese food. After looking around there for a bit and grabbing a snack, I headed to Shin-Yokohama to go to the ramen museum and grab a bite to eat.

There was a lot of interesting things to learn about the history of ramen in Japan, as well as the different varieties of ramen. The basement floors had a bunch of different restaurants you could choose from, and I decided to try some salt ramen and some spicy miso ramen. It was my first time having salt ramen, and it was not bad, though I prefer something richer. From there, I picked up my bags and headed to Atami in Shizuoka, where I would be staying the next couple days.

Checked into the Ryokan in Atami after climbing a ton of stairs. It’s a little far from the station (about 25 minute walk) but it’s a great place that’s run by a friendly couple. There was a big common area/dining room and the rooms were very nice as well. The pictures online didn’t really do it justice but it was very highly rated and they totally deserve it.

That evening I went to an Izakaya (the only restaurant nearby) and talked with the owner for a couple hours. I was the only other person there, business is slow I guess. Seems like there was a landslide a few years ago that destroyed a bunch of houses and roads so it’s still hard to get to. Between the Ryokan staff and the Izakaya owner, I had fun to chat with the locals, I don’t think they get many foreign tourists who speak Japanese.

Day 6: Atami and Kawazu, Shizuoka

I got up and had an amazing breakfast at that Ryokan. It was a fairly traditional Japanese-style breakfast, with fish, rice, veggies, soup, eggs, and so on. The portion was huge, and it was all delicious. The stay was worth it for the breakfast alone.

Based on some recommendations from the people running the Ryokan, I went to Kawazu to see some cherry blossoms. Kawazu is also in Shizuoka but it’s a bit far from Atami, about 1.5 hours by train. After a walk to the station and a bit of a train ride, I made it to Kawazu. It was still quite early in the season, but that specific area has cherry blossom trees that bloom about a month early compared to most of the rest of Japan. It was a weekday so I thought it might be quiet, but there were a ton of people there.

It was really quite beautiful, it was a gorgeous sunny day, and there were hundreds of flowering trees lined up from the station down to the river, and then all the way up and down the river in both directions as far as the eye can see. I walked down to where the river ends at the ocean, and then back inland for a couple kilometers and the trees still kept going well past where I ended up turning back.

There were a lot of people, but also a lot of stands set up just next to the path selling all sorts of food, drinks, and gifts. I tried a meat bun made with boar meat, a cherry blossom mixed drink (with an edible flower on top), onion ginger Kamaboko, and a grilled rice ball with eel.

I had a great time enjoying the scenery and eating my fill, and I did a ton of waking so I headed back a bit early to get some dinner and rest my feet with an early night. I was headed to Osaka the next day to check into my hotel in Sakai near my old stomping grounds and was looking forward to meeting up with my friend Issei for dinner.

Continued in Part 2…