Japan 8: Tokyo

We spent the last five days our our trip in Tokyo. I feel it would be a bit exhaustive to do an hour-by-hour rundown of the events here. Instead, I'll change things up a bit and here is my Top Seven list of things I did in Tokyo:

1. Karaoke in Akihabara

Mike never sings in front of other people. (He does however break out the tunes... elsewhere). He reluctantly agreed to join us for karaoke, and after a drink or two this was even his favourite part of our time in Tokyo. We had some couch surfers join us for this one, because the more the merrier. I chose Karaoke Adores because they advertised free cosplay when you do karaoke there, and it was really cheap.

The place is easy to find from Akihabara station, when leaving the station, the tallest building in the block is bright red, and has カラオケ (Karaoke) written along the side of the building. There is a choice of themed rooms available, and there was a rather limited choice of costumes available - most of which are designed for really small-framed people. Inside the room, there's TV screens behind the stage and behind the couch, so you can do the Japanese karaoke and perform the songs for your friends. We were kinda all over the place. There's an electronic tablet to request songs, so you need to have the name of an artist or song in mind to search for it, or you can look up the most recently played songs. There's no song book to search through for inspiration. The tablet takes a few minutes to figure out, but once you've got it set to English it's simple enough to navigate.

Cosplay Karaoke shenanigans :)

We spent 6 hours doing karaoke, must have had at least 4 drinks each, and the bill came to about CA$25 per person - much of the cost being the drinks. That's the cheapest karaoke I've ever seen!

2. Harujuku

This is a vibrant, popular attraction and shopping district in Tokyo. There seem to be fewer cosplay enthusiasts hanging around here compared to my last visit a few years ago, maybe they are getting sick of the gawking tourists. If you're in need for same flamboyant knee-high socks, this is the place for you.

3. Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

This park makes the list purely because it is cherry blossom season. Mid-April was the perfect time to view these blossoms in Tokyo, they were at full bloom. This park has a pleasant trail through some quieter Japanese gardens, and all you need to do is follow the crowd to reach the part of the park that is saturated with cherry trees. Many people were having picnics under the blossoming foliage, I wish we had brought lunch to have here!

4. Shibuya

This shopping district is packed with entertainment day and night. We spent countless hours exploring the streets of Shibuya. When exploring, you have to remember that what you see on ground level is only about a 10th of what is available to do there. For each street side storefront, there are more stores on the floors above it. You can see signs of what is above it, usually near the entrance to the stairs. We found a really great okonomiyaki restaurant this way. It was really rewarding after seeing the promising wax food sculptures, then getting into an argument over whether we should chance the dodgy elevator, to find a cosy little restaurant to settle down in.

Okonomiyaki batter is usually brought to your table. You mix the batter and cook the okonomiyako yourself. 

Okonomiyaki a la Shannah :)

5. Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

We took the elevator to the top of the tower, a free attraction for tourists to see Tokyo from above. On a very very clear day, it's possible to see Mount Fuji from the tower.

6. Games arcades

These are plentiful in Shibuya and Akihabara. We had a bit of trouble figuring out how to pay for most of the games, but it was mesmerising just seeing how good the gamers are at what they do. These places seem to be open at all hours, and you forget the time easily in this miniature version of what I imagine Las Vegas would be if it was made for underage kids. There's flashing lights and music coming from all of the machines. We had a shameful attempt at Dance Dance Revolution, it was on my bucket list.

We also found a place for purikura - the photo booths that allow you to stamp cute cartoons all over your pictures. Guys can only do purikura if accompanied by a girl. Amber and I had a fun time, dressing in cosplay yet again, getting our photos taken. Another item on my bucket list. It was much more popular in Japan during my earlier visits, and probably has been surpassed by instagram. We got some great photos out of it, and got really confused after the photo shoot because we didn't realise we had to go to the other side of the photo booth to edit the pictures.

7. Ebisu

I never read or saw anything about Ebisu when I was looking up what to do in Tokyo. Clearly not a touristy zone, this area appears to be a wealthier part of Tokyo, with a beautiful shopping strip, and more importantly, Ippudo ramen. Ippudo is a ramen franchise that has spread to New York and Sydney, and according to my friend who lived in Tokyo for a few years, the best ramen in Japan. I can believe it, because I first ate Ippudo in New York, and none of the ramen I had in Japan came close to it until I returned to their restaurant in Ebisu. Trust me, and go there. Probably best to go for a very early dinner or late lunch, because there can be a queue for this place.

Mmmm... Ippudo

There's also some experiences that I felt were disappointing. If you're limited for time, you might want to avoid these two somehow high-rated attractions:

Odaiba

Honestly I still don't know how my friends convinced me to go back here. I visited Odaiba before and remembered it as a giant concrete mall complex with nothing particularly interesting to do. Then Amber got excited about a hot spring theme park there and I decided to give it another shot.

Odaiba still is a giant concrete mall complex. It is composed of some shopping centres that have felt empty and mostly closed on both occasions that I've visited, and several private indoor "theme parks", each with their own admission fees, all of which seem designed to appeal to kids. The only redeeming quality of the man-made island is the waterfront park which takes about half an hour to walk along, and the monorail ride to get there.

Robot Restaurant

Yeah, it's got good reviews, one of the top-rated attractions in Tokyo on TripAdvisor. It's robots, dinosaurs and flashing lights. But my favourite part of the show was the pre-show - a funky lounge you enter once you've paid your tickets, with a small robot dinosaur at each table that you can play with. Beyond that, the show was fun for its randomness, but was pretty much a burlesque show. There were a few "robots" but they didn't do anything particularly interesting.

This just about sums it up. The Robot Restaurant.

The show is fun for a gag, has some burlesque if you're after it, but at $60 per ticket it's totally not worth it. I'd pay maybe $20.


Accommodations: 
Hotel Fukudaya
4-5-9 Aobadai, Meguro ku, Tokyo, 153-0042

This hotel was a 10 minute walk (15-20 with heavy luggage) from Shibuya Station. Great location to enjoy the nightlife of Shibuya. Compared to the price of other hotels, we found this to be great value for money. We reserved the traditional rooms, where our beds were futons set up on tatami mats. There were two tatami rooms, separated by a sliding door, which afforded us privacy as two couples sharing the same hotel room.

Previous: Kobe

Japan 7: Kobe

Saturday, April 5

In an impromptu decision, we spent the afternoon in Kobe. Yes, like the beef. This is the beauty of the JR Pass, it costs you nothing to jump on the train just for the heck of it. We didn't even know what to expect in Kobe, or what we were going to do there, just that it would take under an hour on the train to get there. The JR train took us to Kobe station (not Shin-Kobe station). Here we learnt that Kobe is not a quaint town with cows roaming the fields, getting massages and drinking beer. Why we expected to find this... is mainly based on the reputation of Kobe beef.

Kobe station is by the waterfront of the city, and we were surprised to find that Kobe has a very commercialised tourist district. The entire waterfront is designed for tourism, with lots of restaurants, a giant shopping centre with an aquarium, and a ferris wheel by the sea.

The real Kobe

We went to and information centre within the mall, because there was none near the train station. We found a map and the lady suggested a few things to do in the area. We were drawn to a "hot spring theme park" north of the town, and told her we'd like to visit there. She really tried to push the local attractions, but we'd made up our minds. So at about 3pm, we set off to take a train up the mountain to the Arima onsen village (Arimaonsen station).

Our rather deceptive, not-quite-to-scale tourist map of Kobe

Now, if we had access to Google maps at this time, we'd have seen that this village is bloody far from Kobe. Like, another hour's train ride far. So, up the mountain we went. The train tickets were about $25 return trip. We were a bit irritated to find lots of Japanese advertising on the train, for a "day pass" at the same price, including a day at one of the hot springs in the village. Instead, we had to additionally pay for entrance to the hot springs, because the girl at tourism information didn't tell us about this promotion - honestly I'm still not sure where to get these promotional tickets.

The retro decor on the Arima train

As daylight dwindled, we got off the train at Arima Onsen Village. The town is on a steep mountain. We couldn't find any English maps or information, so we crossed the street to the JR information centre, and asked the girl at the counter for a recommendation of where to visit. She recommended Arima Onsen Taikou-no-yu, which was a 15 minute hike up the mountain along the narrow un-pedestrianised roads. This hotel had a formal hot spring resort. We got a voucher from the JR information for 1000Y for the first 1 hour. After this, it would be 2400Y which we thought was a bit expensive, and we figured we couldn't really stay much longer anyway, given it was so late.

The entrance to Arima Onsen

This onsen was a bit complicated in how you prepare for the baths, and we spent a while trying to figure out how to even get to them. First, you enter a changing room, removed your clothes and put on the robes provided. We removed our watches, and spent the rest of the time guessing when an hour would be up - no clocks provided. Once enrobed, you go back through the main foyer to reach the onsen changing rooms. In the next changing rooms, you remove the robes and follow through to the wash station - where you shower and wash your hair - on the way to the hot springs. We managed to mentally time an hour successfully, and I'm pretty sure about 20 minutes of it was spent figuring all this stuff out.

Arima Onsen Village

We returned to Kobe, another hour unexpectedly lost in transit. We made our way to the waterfront, and after checking out a few menus, decided to try the BBQ place because it served Kobe beef. The food was good, more expensive than Takayama for the Kobe beef (compared to Hida beef in Takayama), but we noticed the poor quality cuts of beef served. Also one of the shrimp looked like it had some green algae disease. This was probably our worst dining experience in Japan, come to think of it. Anyway, I thought the Hida beef was better than the Kobe beef, but it may have been the quality of the cuts. Either way, I think Hida beef is a great alternative and much less expensive.

The waterfront district at night in Kobe

Once the dinner hour had subsided, the waterfront closed abruptly and the crowd thinned. The walk back to the train station was empty. We returned to Kyoto after 11pm.

Previous: Nara      Next: Tokyo

Japan 6: Nara

Sunday, April 6

We spent the afternoon in Nara, on the return trip to Kyoto from Koyasan. Nara is a very popular tourist destination, famous for the deer roaming nearby the many temples. This was the biggest tourist crowd we had seen in the whole trip. Yes, there are many tourists in Tokyo and Kyoto, but there are many more Japanese people so you don't notice the tourism so much.

The temples, parks and deer in Nara lie about 20-30 minutes walk from the JR train station. Signage is clear upon exiting the station, and it's pretty much a straight shot down the main road to reach the parks. It takes a bit of wondering around to see all that Nara has to offer, but I found the further we walked into the complex of temples the prettier it became.

Nara is like a regular city... except with deer and stuff.

A stroll through the forest to a temple

The deer themselves, cute as deer can be, are fed often by people. So if you have food, they can become aggressive - we only saw this behaviour with people who had started actively feeding the deer. You can get relatively close to the deer without offering them food, but I wouldn't be so sure about patting them - they look a bit mangy, many have clumps of fur missing from their coats.

Feed the deer too much and they might try to eat you... and watch your bag and pockets!

There's also lots of pretty temples

Temples AND deer, what more could you want?

In the grand scheme of things, Nara is an easy half- or full-day trip from Kyoto, and is nice to see when you have that extra day for convenience sake, or if you really love to see the deer. Beyond that, Hiroshima, Kobe, or Osaka are probably better choices for day trips from Kyoto.

I've seen Hiroshima as a day trip from Kyoto on a previous trip. It is a bit far on the train, and if there's time it looks like a nice place to stay overnight. The Peace Memorial Museum and many monuments nearby engage you in a more recent part of Japanese history. The museum effectively shows the devastating consequences and aftermath of the nuclear bomb, and is a piece of history that everyone should see and learn from. The city itself is more modern and beautifully designed. But this trip wasn't about Hiroshima...

We got some groceries from a large supermarket in Nara JR station before returning to Kyoto. I must say, the fresh fruit in Japan is amazing. Strawberries were a bit on the pricey side - although not as expensive as I expected - they were the small, juicy variety of strawberries and not a single bruised one in the punnet. We couldn't help ourselves and ate them on the train home. I have since discovered how impolite it is to eat whilst on the move in Japan... luckily I'm white and they seem to tolerate foreigner ignorance with bemusement.

Previous: Mount Koya     Next: Kobe

Japan 5: Mount Koya

Here's the thing. The one thing to take away from this entire experience. The one thing to see in Japan, if nothing else. Mount Koya.

Okonoin Cemetery

Sunday, April 6

Now that I've talked it up, let me explain. I've been to Japan three times. I've seen Hokkaido, Kyushu,  Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo, Nara, and now also the Hida region. And then there's Koyasan, a tranquil, historic, embodiment of Buddhist Japanese culture. It is best to stay overnight to visit Koyasan, mainly because it takes over 2 hours to get there, but also because sleeping in a monastery is a worthwhile experience, and we got the best views of Okonoin cemetery during an evening walk.

We packed an overnight bag and left most of our belongings in Kyoto for the night. We left Kyoto early, travelling to Koyasan via Osaka. We got held up in Osaka by an hour due to a train fire - we were in disbelief to experience a train delay in Japan, and it's a bit stressful when we couldn't understand the announcements. We took a local train from Osaka station to Shinimamiya station, which is another main station within Osaka. It's important not to confuse Shin-Imamiya station with Imamiya station (or Shin-Osaka with Osaka etc). The "Shin" prefix means "New". It's like going to New York instead of York.

From Shinimamiya station, we purchased the Koyasan World Heritage Ticket, which was about $28 per person. It included our return train tickets to Koyasan (cable car included), and bus travel while in town. The cable-car takes you up the majority of the altitude change in the last 5 minutes of the journey.

At the exit to the cable car, I peered down the steep mountain edge at the cedar trees lightly drizzled with fresh snow. The bus ride to our accommodations from the cable car station was nothing short of breathtaking. The recent snow added to the magnificence of the scenery on the mountain.

Accommodations: Shojoshin-in monastery. This was a pricey choice at just over $100 per person, but the place had great reviews for the accommodation and food. It's a monastery, and while the monks greeted us and showed us our room, they otherwise kept to themselves. The rooms were comfortable, but overall the building was cold, especially so at night. There was a kerosene heater in the room that needed to be on most of the night, and everything smelled a bit toxic because of it.

On the way to dinner at Shojoshin-in

The food at Shojoshin-in was amazing. The meals - dinner and breakfast - were entirely vegetarian, beautifully presented and creatively flavourful. I'm usually a meat-and-potatoes type, and I never thought that simple dishes made from rice, beans and miso could be so delicious.

Monday, April 7

This morning was spent exploring the Okunoin Cemetery. This cemetery is the main reason to visit Koyasan. At over 1000 years old, the dappled sunlight beams through the tall branches to light the trail through hundreds of monuments. The entrance to the cemetery is right next to the Shojoshin-in guesthouse, and the trail leads to a mausoleum.

Snow was melting from the tree branches, creating a gentle rain along the trail. The guesthouse provided umbrellas for us to use while moving about town. We visited a few temples in town and had lunch at the only place we stumbled upon that served food - a canteen-style restaurant above a souvenir shop.

After wondering around town, we returned to the station to visit Nara on the way back to Kyoto.

Previous: Kyoto     Next: Nara

Japan 4: Kyoto

Friday, April 4

We left Takayama at 8am on the train to Kyoto. We got to the station about 15 minutes before the train was scheduled, and we were so lucky. When booking our seats, the man at the counter asked if we would like to sit at the front for the 'scenic view'. What he gave us was the very front row of seats, on the wide view Hida train, where we could see the conductor and out the windows at the front of the train. The train follows a beautiful route through the mountains, along the turquoise river. These were definitely the best seats in the house.

Kiyomizu-dera Temple

Arriving in Kyoto, we had a noodle lunch at the train station. There is so much good and cheap food at this station. My favourite, which I had difficulty finding, was the sushi train. You can find it by exiting the JR tracks, and follow signs to ASTY square. You should see a Bearded Papas (i.e. your dessert) and Godiva chocolateria along the way (I suggest stopping for a hot chocolate there, yum). Go down the stairs at the south exit to the station, this will lead you outside, where there is a taxi rink. At the bottom of the stairs you can enter the lower level of the station, keep walking east along the mall and you will probably see a line of people outside the sushi train.

Discounts are provided by local establishments for wearing a kimono,
so you will see lots of people wearing this traditional garment in the streets of Kyoto.

I'm writing in detail about how to find this place because, it is difficult to find when you can't remember where it is, and it's my favourite sushi that I've eaten in Japan on my three visits there. When we decided to travel to Japan, one of the first things I said to Mike is "I can't wait to take you to Kyoto station's sushi train". Plates are about 130Y each, I had about 7 plates, Mike had about 13. Even after I had talked it up, everyone seemed pretty impressed. And the queue for this establishment speaks for itself.

I'm getting carried away over sushi.

We spent the afternoon with Amber's aunt, who showed us the Kiyomizu-dera temple and surrounding neighbourhood. Cherry blossoms where in full bloom, and merchants were selling sakura-flavoured ice-cream and mochi treats (soft rice cakes with a sweet filling). This neighbourhood certainly feels like the 'old town' of Kyoto, with traditional style architecture, narrow laneways, temples and monuments.

From here, we wondered around the nearby shopping district, and had an izakaya dinner on Kiya-machi Dori. This street is beautiful during cherry blossom season, with sakura trees overhanging the stream running beside the road. The restaurants aren't obvious, displaying a subdued sign at the entrance, so you wouldn't notice them if you weren't looking to find them.

Accommodation: K's House Kyoto. This is the older hostel of the franchise, and much more of a hostel than a guesthouse compared to their other locations. There is a large lounge and common area, and rooftop patio. The beds and rooms are comfortable as expected, Mike and I got private room because it was all that was available. For the price, you could stay in hotel elsewhere, but it's peak season in Kyoto and there was limited availability of anything at the time we visited.

The view from the top of Kiyomizu-dera temple

Saturday, April 5

We borrowed bikes from Amber's aunt, and rode to the Golden Pavilion. Note to self: bring a map. We had arranged for some mobile internet at this time, but hadn't received the device yet. It looked like an obvious route, except in the region nearby the temple, many of the roads have 5-way intersections and we were going by memory and couldn't even tell where north was.

The bike ride itself was at first very pleasant, we road along the park that travels north and underpasses the east-west roads. It was all uphill, and the weather was perfect and warm. Then we had to cross to the west side of the city using the road system. Most cyclists use the pedestrian pathways in Kyoto, and we followed suit, and had a stressful time weaving our way through pedestrians.

When you enter the Golden Pavilion, staff usher you to a yard on the left side for photo opportunities. There is a long one-way walk around the pavilion, but be sure to take the photo of yourself with the temple in the background in this area, as it's the only view you will have of the front of the temple. Watch the pond as you make your way around the temple, there are lots of fish that come to the shallows. As expected, you will pass many vending machines and tourist shops before you complete your walk of the grounds.

This is the only pavilion we visited this tour, but I've visited the other pavilions during an earlier trip and I find they are mostly the same experience with a different coloured temple, and the Golden Pavilion is the most impressive one to me. I don't really have the attention span to visit a hundred temples, museums or galleries in a city, but I'm sure there's plenty of people that would enjoy whatever differences there are between the many temples in Kyoto. You definitely have to visit a temple while in Kyoto.

We rode through the Imperial Palace grounds on the way back. The distances are quite large, so by foot it would probably take an hour or two to wonder the palace grounds. By bike, we had a bumpy ride on the gravel paths through the gardens.

Imperial Palace Grounds

We had a lazy afternoon to rest a bit. For dinner, Mike and I went to まんざら亭NISHIKI which is a difficult to find Izakaya place on Nishikikoji Dori. The sign to this restaurant is subtle, so you really have to look for it, but most of the restaurants in this area looked nice. The food was really delicious, but a bit expensive.

We stopped at stand-up whisky bar on the way home, where Mike tried a sampler of a few whiskeys.

We left the majority of our belongings in Kyoto and took an overnight bag to our next destination, Mount Koya. After this we returned to Kyoto and used it as a base for day trips to Nara and Kobe.

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Japan 3: Takayama

Early morning at Sanmachi Suji, Takayama's Old Town

Thursday, April 4

A list of Takayama specialties at the hostel.
We tried everything!

This morning was basically spent in a culinary trance, fluttering from store to store and tasting the regional foods that Takayama is proud of. Searching for the morning market, we stopped at a food stand to try the Mitarashi Dango that was being freshly prepared. If you've ever played Katamari Damacy, you'd know this treat. Mitarashi Dango is the unmistakable balls of rice cakes, skewered together and grilled with a sticky thick soy basting sauce.

We got a bit confused finding the markets. Every time we walked up the river, the sign to "markets" would point downriver, and when we would walk down the river, the sign to "markets" would point upriver. It turns out, there are two morning markets and they're just not signed all that clearly. The northern market was fairly small so you have to be looking for it. It was nearby the Jinya building. We didn't enter the Jinya as it charged an entrance fee.

For the girl who has everything:
a bouquet of chilli at the markets

The southern market is difficult to miss, it is along the riverside and much larger, it just wasn't open yet at the time we were searching for the markets (ie. 8am).

The old town (Sanmachi Suji) was my favourite part of Takayama. Arriving as early as we did, stores were just opening their doors as we strolled down the main street. As expected, most of the stores are tourist shops. The main pride of Takayama chachkas is hand-crafted wooden owls. We went to a store where you could watch the craftsman making them. The tourist stores also sell furniture made from beautifully prepared wood. I really wanted to take a table home with me, if it weren't so impractical. It's worth visiting a few crafts stores just to see how stunning these pieces are, the way the worker embellishes style on the natural grain and shape of the wood.

Sanmachi Suji

Our next snack was some rice crackers. Fresh made onsite, they were irresistible with the smell of soy permeating the air. What was even better was the little fish-faced pancakes filled with all sorts of goodies. We bought a pack of 5 to taste, then got a pack of 15 to follow up because they were too delicious and we couldn't have just one each! The bite-sized pancakes were reminiscent of dutch Poffertjes, but they had fillings like chocolate, hot dog, sesame, and red bean. I'm a fan.

Moving across the street, the boys bought some Japanese beer at a tourist shop. The storekeeper opened the beers for them, and there they were drinking in the middle of the street. Which is awesome for us, although I don't know how socially acceptable that is in Japan. I found out later, when talking to a local in Tokyo, that people don't eat or drink while on the go. That explains why it's always so difficult to find a garbage bin, but doesn't explain what all the vending machines are for.

Sake is another regional specialty of Takayama. We were way too tired to truly enjoy it, but there were a few stores in the old town that provided free samples of sake. In one of these stores there was a mysterious tatami room. Taking off our shoes, we followed the tatami floor through a passage to find the cutest little cafe. Amber ordered a deep roasted green tea latter, and Scott had this parfait that was heavenly.

Just before leaving the old town, Mike and I filled up on a Hida beef croquette. This one is a delightful blend of salty Hida beef flakes with mashed potato, deep fried with what I assume is a crunchy panko crust. We couldn't eat just one.

We walked through the south markets and along the lakeside park before returning to the hostel in the afternoon. With plenty of time to spare, we decided to rent bikes from the hostel (at K's House it's about 100Y per hour, to a max of 700Y).

We rode along the south side of the river, and up a steep hill towards a quiet temple. We parked the bikes and hiked further up the mountain to the Ruins of Takayama Castle. There are several trails to hike in the forested mountain here. We were scared away by the impending rain though, and returned to the hostel after seeing the ruins. This hiking area is a nice way to enjoy nature nearby the city. It was a charming forest.

At the Ruins of Takayama Castle.
By the way, the "ruins" is an empty platform at the top of a mountain, and there are no building remnants to see.
But the walk is pretty, and the view worthwhile.

Remember how I said this was the Onsen tour of Japan? Yep, you got it. We went to another onsen at the Takayama Green Hotel. This onsen was pleasant enough to sooth our fatigued bodies, but lacked in atmosphere what Okuhida offered.

Parking the bikes to hike up the mountain.

For dinner, we just went to a rice bowl place. It's nothing special, but satisfying in its simplicity: japanese sticky rice, mixed with egg, and topped with crispy tonkatsu and spring onion.

Previous: Okuhida Onsen Village