Hi friends!
Our Japan trip in April 2023 has been one of our favorites.
We took Japan Airlines on our 11 hour journey to Japan. Japan being 16 hours ahead, we lost a day traveling there. Through our Amex credit card, we had a free upgrade to economy plus seating and it was a great experience with service, entertainment, and food. Gia lived her best life for sure!
Our entire 8 day itinerary was mostly based in Tokyo. Since this was our first major international trip with Gia, I wanted to have a “home base” per se while as a backup for jet lag, illness, home sickness, etc. We stayed at Hilton Tokyo in Shinjuku. Again, through our Amex card, we had access to the lounge for breakfast and for “cocktail hour.” They had great Japanese and American breakfast options along with a variety of beverages (including caffeine). We also would collect water bottles on the daily to stay hydrated while traveling! Also a general cultural norm to know in Japan is that many do not “eat on the go.” There are not many trashcans around the city although it was incredibly clean. The numerous cafes and restaurants each have small areas to formally sit or stand where you enjoy your food, throw the trash away, and keep moving.
Day 1️⃣
We arrived at the Haneda Airport around 6pm. I had already made ressies at Junisoh, a sushi & teppanyaki restaurant at the hotel, prior to traveling knowing we have a family who gets “hangry” quickly! The sushi at Junisoh was amazing. The fish here in Japan just hits different. It was a great start to our trip.🍣
Jet lag of course hit us.
Day 2️⃣
I kept this as a free day because I knew jet lag was going to be an issue. After breakfast we explored Shibuya, a tourist attraction famous for the “Shibuya Scramble Crossing” (the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing) and walked around. We ended up doing a 30 minute walk to Harajuku (a district of Shibuya) and visited the famous Takeshita Street to eat all the goods. The crepes from Marion Crepes was a SOLID place for ANY crepe combo that your crepe heart desires! Next we HAD to get the crazy cotton candy we saw from all the viral posts. There were multiple shops selling different versions but we decided on Totti Candy Factory (Gia knew she was NOT finishing all of it!). Sanjay had candied strawberries from Strawberry Fetish which were yummy! Another highlight of our day was THE BEST LUNCH at Gyukatsu Motomura – a small 14-20 seat restaurant (depending on the location). They serve the best beef Japanese cutlets that have a thin layer of breadcrumbs that are served medium rare for you to cook on the hot stone in front of you to your liking. It was my fave. Be ready for a wait! We went home after lunch and fell asleep until 7pm! We went to dinner at Menchirashi for their specialty Carbonara Udon 🍜. It was good but didn’t blow me away.
Day 3️⃣
Even though we didn’t want to hit every tourist attraction since none of us would enjoy it, we wanted to hit the highlights. We hired a personal tour guide from the website GoWithGuide. It was great because you can choose your itinerary among a long list of possible excursions. He helped us maneuver through Tokyo’s train stations which was incredibly easy. 🚉 We visited the Meiji Jingu Shrine – whose history and land was beautiful.
The Tsujiki Fish Market* 🎣 is a huge market with hole in the wall places – one of which had THE best sushi I have ever had. Then we ran into a mochi cart that was divine.
We ended our 7 hour day at Asakusa – another shrine.
That’s it for now! Stay tuned for next week’s newsletter where i’ll share more about the rest of our trip!
Hi friends!
Let’s start with where we left off last week. Day 4 😊.
Day 4️⃣ Our day trip to Kyoto via the bullet train, Shinkansen. The bullet train experience in itself was amazing. STRONGLY recommend purchasing the Green Car tickets (aka first class) to get the best experience. The Tokyo train station had restaurants and shops that were all open to bring food onboard. We arrived to Kyoto and immediately went to our Ninja training experience and museum. Even though we had a blast, I wish we did this in Tokyo instead so we didn’t waste our limited time in Kyoto. I also really wish we did an overnight trip to Kyoto because we didn’t realize how far things were within Kyoto! Our next stop was Fushima Inari Taisha, which was a beautiful shrine of a thousand red gates. Really surreal. Warning: there were tourists EVERYWHERE. Get there early and you can really take amazing pictures and recordings while experiencing a relaxing walk. We ended our day trip with THE BEST matcha meal at Maccha House.🍵
Day 5️⃣
Day 5️⃣ Kept the morning free & explored the Starbucks Tokyo Roastery (the second largest Starbucks in the world 🤩). It was beautiful inside. They had a special coffee menu + cocktails + a whole floor dedicated to tea! Their desserts and small bites were also delish. If you like exploring, relaxing, and/or are a fan of coffee, this was a must see! Prior to arriving to Japan, I had purchased advanced tickets to TeamLab Planets – one of the best interactive museums I have ever been to. It is a fully interactive experience: shoes off, water, lights, music, visual illusions, smells, technology. While we were waiting for our timed entry, we explored more sushi at Toyosu Shijou (a market that was walking distance from TeamLab) and had DELISH vegan ramen on the TeamLab campus at a Michelin star restaurant, Uzu Tokyo. It was VERY impressive. We rested and ended the night at Yakitori Alley in Shinjuku. Be mindful that some of the places within the alley don’t allow kids. These sitting areas are VERY small so take your time and scope out a comfortable yakitori place.
Day 6️⃣
Day 6️⃣ We spent our entire day at DisneySea! As huge Disney fans we wouldn’t have missed this opportunity!🧜♀️ I did a bit of research before going and knew what highlights we wanted to hit. We have annual Disneyland passes so didn’t want to redo things we find at home. DisneySea offers “Premier Access” which is a pay per ride access option for certain heavy lined rides. The Journey to the Center of the Earth was our favorite ride! Another highlight of DisneySea were the various kinds of popcorn: matcha white chocolate (our fave!), soy sauce, black pepper, caramel, and chocolate. My favorite part of DisneySea was walking into the Arabian Coast, which was modeled after Agrabah from Aladdin. Ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of walking into Disney’s version of Agrabah, because it’s just so special, unique, and closest to India! It did not disappoint. Downside was the food in general. The meals were definitely overpriced and not good, sadly.
Day 7️⃣
Day 7️⃣ Before arriving to Japan, I head about their specialty soufflé pancakes. Let me tell you, they are NOT all created equal so, of course, I did my research and Happy Pancake 🥞 did not disappoint. It was eggy, fluffy, and so good. Even though we made reservations, we still waited about 30 minutes for our table. Happy Pancake was located in an area called Ginza, which was full of high end shops for art, home decor, luxury goods, designer clothing, etc. Tip – luxury goods are cheaper in Japan! Take your passport with you and you will not be charged tax. Therefore, you can get the same product for hundreds of dollars cheaper! Ginza is also known for their conveyor belt sushi restaurants and Michelin Star restaurants. We tried a recommended conveyor belt sushi restaurant and were underwhelmed with the food. But the experience was fun! We ended our day with reservations at Rokkasen – with an all you can eat best of the best quality wagyu. 🥩🤤 Worth. It. But. So. Heavy!
Day 8️⃣
Day 8️⃣ Packed up & hit up last-minute spots like Cafe Reissue for latte art. ☕️ Tip – bring an extra carry on bag for souvenirs and shopping! We walked around, took pictures, had lunch, and headed out to the airport. Get there early! We went ham at the Duty-Free Shops at the airport for souvenirs & Japanese confectionaries for friends, coworkers, and family! Get the Pocky sticks (loved the cantaloupe flavored ones!), matcha chocolate covered almonds, ANYTHING made by Royce’s chocolates, different flavored KitKats, a MUST buy is Sugar Butter Sand Tree cookies (but they also have the consistency of crackers?), matcha tea, kimonos, etc.
That’s it! That was our trip! Save this for reference. Hope it was informative. Back to mindset tips next week!