Guess what, it’s another exciting Japan trip, and for the first time I wasn’t going solo! It was exciting to travel together with Shannon and share in all the fun times. While it had only been a year for me since the last time, it was around 10 for her, so that made it extra special. Once again, this blog is going up really late but it’s always fun to look back after a little time has passed. Join me again as I run through our many exciting days in Japan.

The full photo album is up here.

Day 0: Getting to Japan

We started the trip with a drive to Pearson airport for our early afternoon flight. It was nice to have a direct flight, especially after the debacle last year where I passed through five airports to get home. Once we were in the air, it was a smooth (but long) flight to Narita. We were able to book the seats at the back where they were in pairs next to the window instead of three, so that was a big bonus as well. I had some anime ready to go on my phone, and it was my first time travelling with my Steam Deck so it was awesome to be able to play some games as well (I started and beat ‘Cocoon’!). Shannon was able to get a lot of reading done on the flight as well.

For our in-flight meal, I had a Pork Donburi-style dish that unfortunately had no flavor. I know airline food isn’t something to get excited for but I was baffled at how bad it was. I didn’t manage to get any sleep, but by the time we got to the hotel it would be dinnertime anyways, so at least we could crash at a normal time. We landed and got through Immigration and Customs in decent time, picked up our SIM cards, and got the train to the hotel in Shinjuku.

The rooms in that hotel were tiny! But otherwise clean and functional. Apparently the APA hotel brand is famous for rooms like that. We quickly went out for yakitori at a nearby shop before crashing. I ordered too much food and forgot to take any pictures!

Day 1: Meeting up with Alex and Eric (Shinjuku, Harajuku)

Today’s plans were to meet up with a couple of friends, Alex and Eric. By a happy coincidence, the two of them were basically planning a trip to Japan at the same time as us. They got there a few days before us, and it was awesome that we were able to meet up.

I woke up that morning after about 12 hours of really mixed sleep – the time zone change is always fun to deal with. Walking around the area, we tried to go to Shinjuku park but it is happens to be closed Mondays! We ended up touring around near the station and stopped at a cafe near for a latte and croissant.

We continued on our morning walk, passing through to the opposite side of the station from where our we were staying. It was a bit of a blast to the past for me. On both the first full day of this trip, and the first full day of my first trip to Japan, over 10 years ago, I was walking around the Shinjuku Chuo park, right next to the Keio Plaza Hotel where I had first stayed. It was a beautiful day for a walk around the small park. We went to the observatory floor of the nearby government buildings to get an amazing view of the city. After that we did a little more touring and stopped for some lunch. We ended up getting tsukemen, but I forgot to take pictures again! It was really tasty though.

After lunch, we met Alex and Eric at their hotel nearby. While walking to Harajuku together, we got caught up on their travels so far. Our first stop was an owl cafe near the station. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but there were 15 or so owls of different sizes and types (we got to vote on our favorite!). Depending on the type, they let you pet them on their cheeks, back or head. There was also a big falconry glove looking thing that you could use, and sometimes they would just land on your head or shoulders. One of the other patrons got pooped on but thank god we all managed to dodge that bullet. They also got fed mice heads while we were there. There are a ton of pictures in the album, so go check them out!

We walked down the Harajuku street and then looped back to Shinjuku where we stopped at Coco-Ichi for curry for dinner. It was Alex and Eric’s first time with Japanese curry and it sounds like they really liked it.

To cap off the evening, we headed to an area called ‘Golden Gai’ where we were also meeting up with Naoko. It was a crazy place with literally hundreds of tiny bars that all seated maybe 8 people each, jammed together and stacked on top of each other. We stopped at a place called Ruri. Naoko joined us and it was lovely getting caught up and having a few drinks. Alex and Eric left a little early but we were joined by a man who I only remember as ‘pork guy’. He was a business man who worked for a pork company. He wanted to practice English and was telling us about how he was just in Montreal. The staff was nice, too, and it was good chatting with everyone. After a long first day, we headed back and crashed.

Day 2: Meeting up with Naoko (Roppongi, Shinjuku)

We planned to meet up with Naoko today. We had a little bit of time to spare in the morning so we started things off with a walk around Shinjuku park. It was still early in the season and not many flowers were in bloom yet, but it still made for a nice walk, and luckily we just beat the rain. We stopped at Dotour for some coffee, then headed to Naoko’s place in Roppongi.

We stayed at her place for a little bit and we delivered our Omiage, including some that Mom was nice enough to send with me. Afterwards, we went out to a shop and picked up a bunch of different dishes to bring back so we could have a big feast for lunch. We had thought about taking a hike that day, but with the rain, that was a no-go, but we did end up walking around in the city for a bit. We ended up going to a Toto building in search of toilet seat wisdom (that was the only thing I knew about the company). Instead they had a library and museum. We also went to the Meiji Shrine together. By this time it was raining pretty hard out. We also hit up an arcade and played a rhythm game for a bit while waiting for our reservation.

We had dinner at a restaurant in Shinjuku that was called 6年４組 (Year 6, Class 4), which was a themed around elementary school lunches. The tables were in little classrooms (ours was the music room) and a lot of the food was themed around the kind of lunches they have in school in Japan. There were also some cool drinks, like cocktails in beakers with glowing ice cubes. We even had to do a math test! It was a unique and fun little dinner.

Day 3: The Underground Temple (Saitama)

We woke up to another rainy cool day. Today’s plans were heading to Saitama to see an underground flood channel ‘Temple’ that Shannon had found tours of online. It was a bit of a trek to get there, from the station it was a half hour or so walk to the facility. The tour group was mostly seniors, but after we got a quick introduction we headed down the stairs to give it a look.

Apparently it’s a system of underground channels and pumps that have massively reduced flooding during heavy rains. It redirects water from six or so rivers to the Edogawa river, which can handle the volume.

We were in the final chamber, the area where all the channels lead before they get pumped out back to the surface. It was a giant concrete structure, not quite as big as a soccer pitch, but 70 meters tall. It was very impressive.

After that, we were ready to eat and had a big Ramen lunch after a lot of walking through some countryside. We hiked on over to a nearby mall to look around and watch the new “Spy x Family” movie in Japanese, which had come out recently.

After returning to the city, we had Monjayaki and Okinomiyaki for dinner at an all-you-can-eat place. To cap out the night, we went back to the Golden Gai area we were at the first night and found a bar called ‘Go-in’ written 強飲 – strong + drink. I couldn’t resist a bar with a pun name. We drank for a while and had a fun chatting with some locals and some fellow travellers. We both had a great time.

Day 4: Meeting up with Issei and family (Osaka)

It’s a travel day! We packed up our bags and said goodbye to our tiny hotel room as we headed to the station to take the Shinkanesen to Osaka. We were hoping to get some lunch from the snack carts on the train, only it turns out they stopped that service in the last few years! We arrived at the station hungry and luckily found a good Ramen place to fill up in Osaka.

We made our way to the same hotel I was at last year in Sakai city and got checked in. After a little rest, we took the train down to see Issei’s family and they picked us up at the station. It was lovely seeing Hiromi, but with weird timing, she had lost her voice again. They are beginning to call this the Garrett disease because it hit the last 2 times I showed up. It was great to introduce Shannon to everyone, we had a nice little visit and exchanged lots of gifts.

It’s been a while but I was able to get one joke in. Hiromi had recently been to to a ‘houji’, a type of funeral ceremony, I asked if they served ‘houji’cha (a kind of tea) and got a laugh. I’m glad to know I’ve still got it! We went out together for dinner to the same Yakiniku restaurant as last year, the one with robot waiters. We ate so much we almost exploded.

On the way back, I did a surprise early stop in at my old bar, Beppinsan. It was only for an hour or so (I had a work meeting where I got to hear about my bonus right afterwards). It was nice to see some new and familiar faces. I was supposed to show up just once on the following day, but I’m glad I got a little extra bonus time.

Day 5: Meeting with my former tutor and my bar friends (Osaka)

We started the morning with a tasty breakfast near the hotel. Recently, the telescoping handle part of Shannon’s luggage broke, so we headed to the nearby mall to pick up some new luggage. Thankfully we were able to find some at a decent price.

After taking the scenic route from Namba up to Shinsaibashi, we met with my former tutor, Kuri-sensei, for an unagi lunch. It was a very traditional style place, we had a huge private tatami room and the waitresses were in kimonos – it was very fancy. We enjoyed the food and had plenty of time to get caught up. I managed to get a joke in as well – we were talking about how the last time I was in Japan, masks were still mandatory, and she said she was wearing them for a long time for all tutoring, except online. I asked if she was okay not catching a computer virus. That’s 2 jokes down! Still got it.

There was a little time to kill before meeting everyone at the bar, so we went to karaoke with Issei for a little bit in the afternoon before heading back to my home turf. We took the long way to the bar so I could give Shannon the scenic tour of my former neighborhood. It was a little nostalgic, not much has changed around there. It was nice to see the nearby shrine again too, as it’s quite pretty.

I had a great time at the bar seeing everyone again. The owner was there with his wife, and a bunch of regulars too. We got caught up, hung out, and drank way too much. It was all kind of a blur (but in the best way possible). Shannon left a little earlier than me, but I ended up getting a ride from the owners wife (while he passed out in the passenger seat).

Day 6: Kicking around Osaka and meeting some more friends (Osaka)

There was a little unplanned time today, so we started things off by doing some laundry at the neighborhood laundromat. I also managed to get a haircut while we waited. They have a vacuum hose at each station to clean your head during the cut, that was a first for me.

Once that was taken care of, we ended up doing a big of a walking tour around the south part of Osaka. We headed to Namba and had some kushikatsu for lunch and then headed to Denden town nearby to check out some shops. We walked to Shin-Sekai, then to Tenouji.

In the evening, we had some plans for dinner. We met up with a few of my old friends I hadn’t seen in years, Mori and Saeko, for yakitori at a place near Tengachaya. The food was really amazing, it was chicken that was killed that morning so super fresh (which is good because it was served as sashimi and also cooked rare). Catching up was great, Saeko’s son was there too, he’s training to be a dolphin trainer in Fukuoka. It sounds like he’s using my kitchen knife I left behind when I moved back, which brought back some interesting memories. It was a nice knife! Saeko’s business is going well too, I’m so happy. I had almost forgot that I gave her some money to get started, but she was super thankful and treated us to a great dinner.

Stay Tuned for part 2