Our 10D Japan Trip
Day 1 Ginza / Check in to Hotel/ Rest/ Roppongi
- Arrive Tokyo Nartia Airport. Take a train to Hatchobori Station. Take a cab to Hotel Villa Fontain Hatchobori. Our room comes with a foot massage, which is really helpful after a long day's walk.
- Drop Luggage. Take train to Ginza. Walk.Shop. Tired - Nippon Airway flight was cheaper than the Japan Airline flight but the journey was superbly uncofortable. Seats were tight. Eewww...
- Ginza is a conglomorate of high end boutiques. In fact, they don't go by boutiques, they go buy buildings!
- Check in to the Hotal at 3pm. Freshen up and left for dinner at Roppongi.
- Gogyo Ramen - (Black miso ramen) An abosolute must try! Roast pork fragrance without the lard... I like! I love it actually! Very unique taste. Something different in a very pleasant way.
- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Unforgetably comfortable and relaxing. Love the cut too! Set up a hair cut and color appointment at Plus Lounge, Harajuku. Look for Ryoco Kikukawa. They speak minimal English. Better to have what you want ready translated in Japanese or just show pictures of the type of styles and colors you are going for. (Hint, google's translator makes little sense to them. It seems the usage of words are mostly incorrect :D A japanese friend might be a good help or just show pictures). http://plus-lounge.com/ Email: info@plus-lounge.com Tel: 03-3401-5155
- Lunch at this place that I have no idea where it is lol - but it's a very nice claypot Ramen. It might be at Omotesando. Yummy! It's just beside Body Shop, with a little stairway going down to the Ramen shop.
- Walk. Shop. See. Buy. Love Tokyu Hands! Take pictures at the famous Shibuya Crossing. Snap a pix with the loyal Hatchiko dog.
- Love Harajuku! Street Fashion. Young, fun, interesting!
- Omotesando and Shibuya is very much like our Orchard Road.
- Shinjuku - I honestly can't recall what we did there.
- Dinner was excellent. But I can't remember the place too!!! I will check and upate later :P It's a place where you get to make your own Japanese pancake and there is a lil store that sells the best polo bun ever! MUST TRY! Sweet and crispy on the outside, warm, light and fluffy on the inside! Wish I had a chance to eat it once more!
- We didn't make it to the Tuna auction at 430am... too early! But we did visit Tsukiji market and found the stall with the "grumpy lady" who sells excellent grilled shell fish. Ooooo the big big scallops are so yummy!
- Went back to Harajuku for more shopping :)
- Dinner at Ueno was interesting. Had yakitori under the rail tracks with beer drinking Japanese.
Day 4 Gotemba Premium Outlet / Ebisu
- Day trip to Gotemba. Didn't buy much, but we did get a few good steals.
- Went to Ebisu. There's this lil park like Chijmes in Singapore. Ebisu Garden Park - nice! Like Cinderella's castle! Nice place to get married :)
- Had a humble vending machine dinner at one of the eateries... hmmmm... delicious! Cheap and good!
Day 5 Tokyo Dome City / Ginza / Pack
- Personally I feel just buying individual rides at Tokyo Dome would be enough. 2 rides. Thunder Dolphine and the one that plunges down from a great height. We bought the 1 day pass but hardly made use of it. Scariest roller coaster I've taken because it's outdoors, through a building and you see moving people and cars below. Quite an experience.
- Lunch - Tako balls at Tokyo Dome is the best I've eaten in Japan! Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Topped with Egg Mayo... best!!!!
- Went back to Ginza for a last time. Bought cup noodles from a nearby convenient stall and enjoyed a simple meal back in the hotel.
- Pack and get ready to head to Hakone the next day!
Day 6 Tokyo/ Hakone
- Upon check out, arrange for one luggage to be delivered from Tokyo directly to Osaka so that we dont' have to drag it along with us for the next 3 days! Excellent service! Hotel can arrange for this. Inform them during check in.
- Take a train to Hakone.
- Hakone, slow down, relax enjoy. Yaeikan Ryokan with attached Onsen. Really relaxing. Not the best Ryokan in Hakone I believe, but it was good enough for us. Very interesting because it's those old Japanese style unit. And you have your very own attached onsen - you can dip as many times as you want with mountain view... super relaxing. Comes with dinner and breakfast. Try the Hakone black rabbit black seaseme mochi - SUPER good! Regret that we didn't buy some home from here. We thought we could get them at the airport :(
- Check in at 3pm and we didn't leave the Ryokan coz' the Onsen is just so......... relaxing!
Day 7 Hakone / Kyoto
- Checked out in the morning. Left our luggage in the hotel and went sight seeing around Hakone with the free bus pass.
- Visited the Venetian Glass Museum and Open Air Museum. Didn't have time for the famous Ropeway and Lake Ashi Cruise. One more day in Hakone would be good! Loved the Glass Museum, the Open Air Museum would be fun for kids! Lunch at Gyoza Centre... love the crab meat Gyoza and Chinese noodles. Yummy!
- Must try the black rabbit black seaseme mochi here, excellent! (You can't find it at the airport, so buy it while you see it!)
- Took a train to Kyoto. We boarded the local instead of the Super Express train. :( Oh well, we landed in the same place at a longer time.
- Checked in to Citadines Kyoto Karasuma at Gojo. Excellent location. Love the apartment. As with all hotels in Tokyo, small but complete with a nice, clean bathtub, and kitchen. I like this hotel the best.
- Had dinner near our hotel - vending machine dinner - Ramen. It was satisfactory.
- Rest. Had a long day.
- One night is enough for Kyoto. Highlight would be to visit Pontocho in the evening and try to spot Geishas, which we did.
- Kyoto is also a place where tourists would get dressed in Kimonos and walk around in them... will show a few videos on that.
- Had lunch at Omen Nippon. Udon with a tasty twist. We love it!
- Tons of traditional snacks.
- That's about it, not much excitement here.
- Had dinner in a yaki tori restaurant. Had the acclaimed "spicest" Ramen which was not very spicy and taste terrible :)
- Pack for Osaka.
- Check out. Take train to Osaka.
- Leave luggage at Hotel Villa Fontaine Shinsaibashi. Right smack at the shopping area. Amazing location.
- Check that our luggage from Tokyo arrived safely :)
- Walked around Shinsaibashi which is like endless street shopping.
- Checked in to hotel at 3pm. Freshen up and headed out again.
- Just walk along this stretch, it will take you all the way to Namba.
- This is the the place where takoyaki originated from. Tons of it everywhere.
- Lots of street food, cute snacks like takoyaki ball snacks etc.
- The one and Glico shop we've found during this trip. Interesting snack place. Love the ice cream vending machine.
- Keep walking, shopping and eating :)
- Walk more and you will reach Namba - The Ahkihabara of Osaka. This is where all the IT and tech gadgets can be found and also where you might get to see people dressed in their cosplay outfits.
- Although we don't understand the facts listed in the Museum, it was fun designing our own cup noodle. Very interesting experience. Love it!
- Had cup noodle lunch at the Museum - wah, it comes with a big piece of char siew... amazing what they have in their cup noodles.
- Osaka Castle - Long walk but interesting. For 300 yen per person you get to dress up in a simple Kimono outfit with flower hair accessories and have as many pictures taken as you like. Love this, cheap and good!
- Headed to Namba because we didn't have time to cover more of that area yesterday.
- Walked from Namba through to Shinsaibashi - just eating as much as we can of the snacks we love before we head home the next day.
- Home sweet home.
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