lesamuel

Table of Contents
United Economy Plus San Francisco to Tokyo Haneda
Why does everyone hate HND?
Tokyo Day 1 + 2
Some things I love about Japan
Tokyo Day 3 and Shinkansen to Aomori
Aomori
Tokyo (again)
ANA Economy Class Tokyo Haneda to Sapporo
Sapporo, Otaru, and Yoichi
ANA Economy Class Sapporo to Tokyo Haneda
Tokyo (again)
Review: Hyatt Regency Kyoto
Kyoto
My most embarrassing travel mistake
Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge HND
Japan Airlines Business Class Tokyo Haneda to San Francsico

Before I dive into this report, I’d just like to give a disclaimer. After a success on my Portland TR and lack of success on my Chicago TR, I decided not to write about my recent trip to LA. After all, I had reviewed AA Y before and that was really all there was to write about. To my surprise, travelling without writing a TR on my mind really made the experience stress-free, and I began to second guess writing a Tokyo TR. I didn’t realize how much content there was to write back on and so many tips I learned for myself, despite having researched quite a bit about Japan before the trip. But I hadn’t come to this conclusion until we reached Kyoto, in the final stretch of our trip, and so I’d like to apologize for the lack of pictures of planes, or legroom, or hotels (Don't worry there's still plenty of food pics and of sights) I’ll try to make up for it with the writing .

Lots of planning this trip came last minute, and we definitely made up a lot as we went. We used TimeOut and personal recommendations for quite a few food spots, and steered clear of Lonely Planet, etc. which tended to lead to tourist traps.

I’m struggling for words as I write this introduction, and that’s simply a function of having so much to tell, so I’ll dive in during my later installments!

In terms of redemptions, we redeemed 35,000 United miles per person for the outbound in Economy Plus, and 50,000 Avios per person for JL J on the return, which was the lowest redemption cost to Japan in the world pre-Aviosageddon. We stayed at Airbnbs in Tokyo, the Hyatt Regency in Kyoto, a run down hotel in Aomori (which was still immaculate), and a resort in Sapporo.

Tokyo has so much of this “big-city” energy 24/7 that makes it one of my favorite cities and almost an organized chaos. I best describe walking in Tokyo as “it’s on the left, except when it’s not.” Everyone’s going somewhere, all the time.

The title of this report comes from the weather. Shortly after booking our tickets, I was talking to a friend who told me, “New York in August is cool compared to Tokyo,” and it was the hottest and most humid place I’ve ever been on Earth. And that made it even more memorable (in a semi-good way, I guess? )

Hope you enjoy!


United 777


Shibuya


Aomori


Otaru


ANA 777


Sushi


Kikunoi


Kyoto


Shinkansen


Japan Alps


Yakitori


Ramen


More Ramen


JAL 777


JAL 777 Business Class

Oformula

Looks like you had a fun trip, I can't wait to see the JL Skysuite report. Since this was pre-Avios devaluation, do you mind me asking roughly how long ago you took this trip?

reverted

The pics are making me miss Japan already! Excited to see more

lesamuel

I just got back actually, on August 14th. I did book the tickets back in January though.

lesamuel

We arrived at SFO around 5:45pm for our 7:55pm departure. We both got TSA-pre and went from curbside to United Club in less than five minutes, because we had OLCI’d and had mobile BPs. ^

The lounge was swarming with people, although the line to get in was short. We staked out two chairs with decent tarmac views and my travel companion went over to the business section of the lounge to make a few business calls. I heard a small baby enter the lounge and was keen on trying to find out where the screamer was headed to tonight (please please don’t be Tokyo ). The food spread was depressing for the flagship SFO Int’l United Club. At 6:15pm, there was cold cuts, sliced vegetables, olives, and hummus. C’mon United! I sat back down in my cushy worn out leather chair with my olives and water (not even soda water!). One thing UA did get right with the lounge are the abundance of conveniently placed power ports, which are in the business centers and chairs. The wifi was also reasonably fast.

At around T-100, my partner came back with a grief-stricken face, almost scared to tell me that he had in fact left his laptop at home.

Before I continue, I’d like to stress that this is the most honest trip report I may ever give: when travelling with family, stuff happens. If you’re looking for the glorious CX F via HKG trip report about being showered in caviar and Krug instead of reading about UA Y for 10 hours without a laptop, I would stop reading now.

Ok, I’m pretty much the head of logistics at our family, so I rung our airport drop off, who was stuck in traffic on 19th Avenue. I very politely asked my neighbor to drive to the Vista Point north of the GGB with the laptop, where our airport drop off) would retrieve the laptop and drive back to the airport. GGB to SFO was showing 35 minutes with bad traffic on 101, and she was 15 minutes away from the meeting point. Doors close at T-10, so it was definitely doable, even if we had to reclear security. I had drunk an espresso or two, so sitting still during this nail biter situation was not a wise idea. I headed over to the bar at T-80 to plane spot and relax. My partner decided to try to download some movies onto my laptop, neither of which finished. At T-40 I got a call from our airport drop off who said they weren’t even on the bridge yet. Mission failure. We ended up FedExing the laptop from the Sausalito office to the Hyatt Regency Tokyo (we were staying at the HR Kyoto). More on that later.

I accepted defeat with a quick snack and headed down to the concourse to scout out food options. the only restaurant that piqued some interest was the Mexican spot across the hall from G99, so I ordered at about T-30: some tacos for me and a burrito for my travel companion. A businessman standing next to me was pacing back and forth and worriedly asked one of the waitresses when he needed to be at his gate to make the flight. I noticed he was on UA930 to London, in J no less, and I had just heard the “doors closing in 5 minutes” remark over the PA while walking to the restaurant. I excused myself, leaned in to talk to him and told him to book it. He sprinted like he was at the Olympics, and he was soon followed by the waitress who had his food LOL. She came back a couple minutes later and asked me what I had told him that lit a spark under him. I told her that doors close 10 minutes before departure, and she replied, “I thought you had to be there at T-30.” Yah, you should be, but I’m still waiting for mah food!

Eventually, at T-15, I got my food and booked it myself, dashing down the concourse. I was among the last to board, three groups late, and made it on board.

I had originally assigned myself 22H, with my travel partner in 25F, but I pulled some strings and sat across the aisle from him in 25H. The other good news: an empty middle seat next to me… for now. Now, as much as I am going to rip UA to shreds in this review, I do have to give kudos to United on the plane. It was in fan-freaking-tastic condition: high-def IFE, clean all around, wifi, and power. The overhead bins were also totally empty given the 3-3-3 seating instead of the ever-more-popular 3-4-3 seating. Soooooo glad we chose 875 over the 747 *cough* rickshaw to NRT. The seat was actually quite comfy, and I browsed the IFE on the ground. I also will give credit to United on the IFE: enough 80%+ Tomatometer movies, but also the usual selection of junk, which I’m a sucker for. At about T-10 the doors closed… but not before letting the lovely lady in 25J on. She was a joy to talk to, and quite frankly, all the in-flight-entertainment I needed!

Around this time, I also decided to see how the Mexican food was. It did not survive the jog, to say the least. The tacos’ container was a crime scene: meat strewn everywhere and tacos naked. Tacos were bland, although the salsa made them much better.

We quickly taxied to 28R and took off. Is it just me, or are the 777s really rough during taxi?! The overhead bins shook quite a bit. Below is the only photo I took from the plane, and while the dark clouds above looked inclement, the sunset above was beautiful, before it turned to the darkness we chased all the way to HND.


United 777 View from 25H

The two FAs working my aisle were kind, although they couldn’t have treated me as if I’d never been on a longhaul any worse. During the 2nd (!!!) dinner service, I said some clever one-liner about how tired I was to the FA, which was met by “well it’ll be 11pm when we land, so you can go right to sleep.” I would have replied along the lines of, “half of my 45K BIS miles this year were on redeyes, so….”, but I was so out of it at that point.

Let’s take a moment to talk about the general state of flights ex-SFO to TYO. There’s UA837 to NRT, and NH7 to NRT, both of which arrive around 2:30pm JST, which is 10:30pm PST. Now, in order to combat jetlag, one has to go to bed at a reasonable hour (past 9pm hopefully), which requires staying up all night on the ground whilst exploring Tokyo, which is extremely demoralizing. (My other two family members joined us later, and they took 837, and it definitely seemed harder to adjust to that our flight. Then there’s JL1 which arrives at HND at 4:45am, 12:45pm PST. We took UA875, which IMO is the best flight to Tokyo. First, you’re forced to stay up all night either way, so it makes more sense to stay up in a Y seat, where it’s pretty much impossible to get some good rest in. Then, you’re so beat up from lack of rest you can sleep nicely in a real bed upon landing. At least that’s according to my theory .

Now, about the food. I didn’t have high/any expectations for UA Y food, but just WOW. It’s impressive that people finish these meals. We were presented with the choice between manicotti and “chicken” fried rice during the first meal service. Having gone down the pasta road two years ago on FRA-SFO, let’s just say I steered clear. The best part of the meal service was the ice cream, which wasn’t even that good to begin with. The meal service began with drinks, cheese, and crackers. The bread and butter served with the fried rice was cold and soggy. The salad had little bits of stuff I assume was meant to be crunchy, but instead was wet and rather repulsive. The veggies and rice was actually decent, although the chicken...well. It deserves it’s own paragraph.

The sauce it was drowned in was incredibly sweet, but I can only assume it was an attempt to mask the “flavor” of the “meat”. It must have been reconstituted/ground up/reformed/probably not chicken. I had one bite piece I briefly put in my mouth and called it quits. I was never so desperate for mediocre ice cream to remove the thought of it from my head. It squeaked as I chewed it, like cheese curds from Wisconsin. Yuck.

The second dinner service was slightly better, although had considerably more salt in it. We had the choice between omelet with the signature United sausage or noodles. I had the noodles while my travel companion had the omelet. The noodles were edible, but mushy and I just lost interest. The omelet was so salty every bite had to be washed down with water. The sausage was edible, although it had the same “squeaky” characteristic as the chicken. Definitely a bad flight for food, although we were both satisfied and walked off the plane not hungry.

A word about the lavatories: don’t bother searching for the biggest lavatory on the plane, go straight to this one. The single best lav in coach on the 772 in in front of row 33, and adjacent to doors 3LR, and next to the crew rest. Spacious, not too trafficked and kept pretty clean throughout the flight. The size of this bathroom actually beat out the JL J lav on the return, and one has to actually walk from the toilet to the sink. Lots of room to stretch out and kudos to United on this. ^

I got up and stretched every hour, and while the flight is great upon landing for adjusting to the local time, it can take its toll around the 4am mark. I ended up watching Kingsman, Up in the Air (surprisingly depressing), a couple episodes of Silicon Valley (always funny), and The Game (much creepier second time around). I slept the other three hours and the flight was over soon enough. The “K” aisle was empty upon landing for some reason, so I grabbed my bags and made a run for door 1L.

Bottom line:
I found the flight rather comfy and would definitely do another longhaul in it. The only thing I'd do different is skip out on the food . The 772 was clean, reasonably new, and the lavatories were among the nicest I've ever been on in a plane.

This trip report will pick up in the next segment, “Why does everybody hate HND?”!

roadwarrier

Subscribed!

mkjr

wow. was HND-SFO really only 50000 still before last devaluation. what is it now? i know YYZ-far east went up to 105K each way in J from 70K.

lesamuel

Went up to 75K. 50K was also the same price for J LAX-LHR, but that's gone now too.

lesamuel

We landed slightly ahead of schedule at 10:30pm, right after Delta from LAX, so the walk to immigration was a mess, needless to say. As soon as we walked off the plane I knew we were in trouble. The air was hot and sticky, even this late at night. The immigration hall was no better.

I'm not sure who designed HND, and while I love TIAT and the domestic terminals, the Int'l arrivals zone must have been a reused design for a marathon... or area for lab rats. It seem as if we went in circles forever to reach the immigration hall. Some people made a move and avoided the moving walkways altogether the spilt for the Keikyu line. Finally we arrived at customs, which was a clusterf***, to say the least. The line for foreigners snaked around multiple times before ending waaaay past the dividers. Thank goodness we were in econ plus, and I can hold a 7:30 pace, otherwise we would have been stranded at Haneda. (forbid taking the infamous $70+ taxi). We had filled out our landing cards on the plane, although it seemed as if half the people in our cabin pretended they didn't exist and were filling them out at the station at the back of the line.

One thing that appalls me about immigration at HND is that there is one (!) lowly station for foreigners, while there's at least five for nationals. Even at SFO, there's at least three stations for foreigners, and that's a much less busy airport. Eventually, the customs officers realized the severity of the situation and opened up the "visa holders and diplomats" line to foreigners.

The customs line took about half and hour to clear, and customs was painless. The most embarrassing part of the evening was running into some people we used to know from work... and they were probably 20 minutes behind us in line .

Of all four times we went to/from HND, I really started to appreciate how much closer it is to the city that NRT. Sure, we had to hoof it onto the train with our bags, but it was so much cheaper and quicker than the "Airport Friendly Limo" or NEX from NRT.

Most of our friends raved about NRT and that HND was an old dump. The int'l terminal is pretty new, has great shopping on par with LAX (Rolex, Dior, etc.) has decent lounges, easy to navigate, connected to public transpo, etc. The the ANA domestic terminal is brand-spanking-new and felt sterile. I just prefer the layout so much more to NRT as well. I'll cover more of my love affair with Haneda throughout the TR.

We ended up making the 11:45pm Keikyu line to Shinagawa after buying new Pasmos. For new visitors to Tokyo/Japan, I would highly recommend getting a Pasmo (easiest to find) or Suica (still not sure how to acquire). These can be used in subways, on vending machines, and are very convenient for making tight connections on the train, not to mention they can be used all over the country! The ticket from HND to Shinagawa was 410 and towards Shibuya was 170. Less than five bucks from airport to flat... not too shabby . We also had purchased a JR pass before leaving the States, and I will discuss that more in-depth in the Aomori segment of this report.

Our airbnb was in Shibuya, so we connected at Shinagawa for the Yamanote (I think we ended up making the last train) and hoofed it through Shibuya station. As in many of the larger stations in Tokyo (Tokyo, Ueno, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza, etc.), there are so many freaking exits! Our home station had 16 or more, but by the end of our seven-day stint in Shibuya, we knew the fastest way back to our place, although it took many times of getting lost to learn our lesson.

The first time we exited Shibuya station, it was about 12:00 and we were so not in the mood for figuring out the walk, so we bit the bullet and got in a taxi, which was more expensive than the ticket all the way from HND! Its also worth finding the address of your place in the Chome system (ours wasn't listed properly on Airbnb) and showing that to the taxi driver, as they don't speak much English. It should read something like Chome x-x-x, Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, depending on where you stay. Our flat was in between Shibuya and Omotesando, and was super-convenient for walking around and to the train. We met our host around 12:30, who was very nice, and conked out around 1. And so ended our transit from SFO to HND to our flat, and I don't think it could have been any more seamless.

More to come in the next segment(s)!

Also - just a general question. These first and third Tokyo portions are over multiple days, should I split them up for user enjoyment, or just compile one massive report? Let me know!

lesamuel

Viron

For our first breakfast in Tokyo, we listen to our host and went to a local French bakery a couple blocks from our flat. We arrived at about 9am after waking up at five. The bakery outside even had some type of French certificate on display… just in case we doubted the pastries were real . We were the fourth group of people to be seated and the bakery inside smelled delicious. We were presented with a menu for about thirty seconds before we were asked what our selection would be. Our waiter was very nice and recommended the petite dejeuner, which consisted of a large basket of pastries and a selection of nine jams, which all burst with flavor. In the basket was two types of bread, two croissants, two apple turnovers, and two small rolls.

After our light breakfast, we headed downstairs and perused the selection of pastries, which all looked delicious.

Pastries

Pastries

Pastries

I would definitely return here, especially because of how close it was to our apartment! Throughout our stay in Tokyo, finding a great breakfast was harder than it seemed and Viron was definitely up there in terms of taste.

Cup Noodles Museum

After breakfast, we hopped on the subway to Yokohama for the Cup Noodle Museum. It was broiling out when we arrived, and the kilometer walk to the museum did not help. On our way, there appeared to be some type of ferris wheel/Japanese Disneyland. It looked fun although if the pods weren’t a/c’d, it would be very unlikely that I’d go .

Ferris Wheel

Much to my surprise, the museum was packed .

Museum Exterior

Tickets were around five dollars, but the exhibits were actually quite interesting. The museum covers the life of Momofuku Ando and the spread of Cup Noodles throughout the world. The museum also featured a restaurant, Cup Noodle Mini-Factory for kids, and classes on making fresh ramen noodles. We did not get a chance to visit either; there was no room and the class was sold out.

Wall of Cup Noodles

There was also some Cup Noodle Art throughout the exhibits as well as in the main atrium. Besides the Momofuku Ando exhibit, the other highlight of this place would have to be the gift shop . I bought two towels, which were designed with chickens…not sure of the connection to Cup Noodles, but we used them throughout the trip to keep ourselves cool, as we had seen many people do on the street or on the subway.

Cup Noodle Art

This part of our trip was originally just for amusement, but the main exhibit itself was quite captivating. On our walk back to the train station, we decided to walk around Yokohama to see some other sights, and we stumbled upon the Yokohama Museum of Art.

Yokohama Museum of Art

The first thing we did at the museum was check our backpack, which had made the hot weather feel even hotter. Tickets were inexpensive at 1500 yen pp and they were featuring an exhibit by the Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang, who has done a solo exhibition at the Guggenheims in NYC and Germany. Most of the art (with exception of the wolves) was actually created within the museum and is stunning.

Signage

All of his work throughout the museum had gunpowder involved. In this first portrait, the gunpowder was spread across the paper and actually lit, but he has an incredible touch and used the explosions to “paint” his picture. Later in the exhibition about the exhibition, and I highly recommend watching that in tandem of seeing the amazing art. For some of the next photos which cause stretching of the page, please click to view.

Exhibition (Nighttime Sakura, click to view)

These are pieces from a collection by him called “Summer, Spring, and Fall, and Winter.”

Exhibition

Exhibition (Morning Glory, note the gunpowder residue still on the leaves)

There, were two parts of the exhibition (called There and Back Again) that did not allow photographs. The one below was my favorite of the whole collection, and I could not find pictures online of the other, as the name has slipped my mind.

Exhibition (Head On, photo from website, click to view)

The works were unbelievable and masterful and I would definitely want to see more of his work again. This exhibition is without a doubt the gem of the museum, which we glossed over more so. We skipped out on the gift shop, and headed back to the subway station, where we caught an express train to avoid a long ride back to Shibuya.

ShinQs

The first time we went to the ShinQ was actually entirely accidental; we took the wrong exit and found ourselves in the Japanese version of Whole Foods, which was pretty awesome . Instead of trying to find our way out, we decided to pick up a quick snack from the “Natural Market.” FWIW, the peaches in Japan are outrageously expensive, they were 2 for 650 yen at that market, but they were enormous and delicious. We also picked up some hamachi sashimi, which was reasonable at 450 yen, and headed back to our apartment.

The tomatoes in Japan were also spectacular, so sweet and juicy!

Tomatoes

Drink Selection

Tofu Selection

Snack Selection

After a long first day in Japan, we ate the fish (which was delicious, by the way) and peaches before taking a much-needed nap at 7:30pm…which turned into a deep sleep. I woke up at 12:30 completely clothed and angry that we missed our first opportunity for dinner in Japan! I set my alarm for 3:45: tomorrow was fish market day.

Tsukiji Market

After a disgruntled wake-up, we called an Uber and were on our way to the market at 4am. I would highly recommend looking at a map beforehand, as it was extremely confusing as to where we could and couldn’t enter, be, line up, etc, although this is Tsukiji, so there’s no real set rules . We were informed, much to our dismay that the lining up for the 5:25am tour stops at 3(!!!). Defeated, but nonetheless determined, we still pushed forward and explored the outer market, as it still was about an hour before any of the restaurants opened.

Streets of Tokyo at 4:30am

Tsukiji Market at 4:30am

It’s worth noting that in Tsukiji, in terms of traffic, anything goes. Men on standup carts drive fast, anywhere, anytime, and I admit there were a couple close calls . We began talking to a FedEx pilot in line for sushi, who was commenting on how “most of the stuff that goes on in Tsukiji is straight outta Hong Kong,” and why he believed it was right to tear the place down.

Vegetables

Condiments

We did stop to have an omelet, which was surprisingly sweet, but it was served with an unforgiving mustard that mellowed the sweetness.

Stalls

Stalls

Vegetables

Wasabi

Peach Bean Paste Thing

Knife Store

Wagyu Beef

After some extensive exploring of the Outer and Inner market, we headed over to Daiwa Sushi.

Daiwa Sushi

At around 5am, we began lining up at Daiwa Sushi (the other big player at Tsukiji is Sushi Dai, but the line was too long. We waited for about half an hour before we were let into the tiny restaurant. Prices weren’t too bad, it was about 3800 yen for both of us, and we ordered about 5-6 items apiece.

Toro

Miso Soup with Clams

Sushi Preparation

Hamachi

The fish and seafood was incredibly fresh, and I’ve never had better uni and eel in my life outside of Japan. Admittedly here the sushi isn’t too artistic, but rather the style is “turn em’ and burn em’” but I appreciated the respect given to the seafood and seafood alone. FWIW, the most tourists we ever saw were in Kyoto and at Tsukiji the whole time we were in Japan, mostly due to the fact that we didn’t stay in Ginza.

Lotte Kaisai Golf

While eating our delectable sushi at Daiwa, I hopped onto Google maps to see if we could go to this driving range today. After all, we were closer to the area than if we were in Shibuya, so I mapped it out. When we came to Japan, we originally wanted to play an actual round of golf (both of us are terrible and I mean terrible golfers, but we thought the experience would be worth doing), but we ruled it out due to cost and weather (duh). Nonetheless, I was determined to find the biggest driving range we could in Tokyo and tee it off. Lotte Kaisai Golf is ENORMOUS with 300 hitting bays and three levels. It wasn’t exactly optimal with a twenty minutes subway ride, but we decided to pull the trigger anyway. We hopped on the Metro, and accidently boarded an express train and missed our stop. At this point it was about 8:30am, so rush hour was hitting. When we got off the train at Kasai Station and saw an army of white-collared salarymen gathering to board the train, we knew we were in trouble. The horror stories are true, and that’s all I have to say on riding the Tokyo Metro pre-9am.

Subway during rush hour

Upon arrival at Nishikasai, I checked the walking route to the driving range, only to discover it was a 1.5km walk in the heat. FWIW, do NOT go to Nishikasai station even if Google maps prompts you, instead go to Kasairinkaikoen, which is a much much shorter walk, even if it requires a transfer. There was also some confusion as where pedestrians enter, and I’m still not sure if we went in the “official” entrance. To the left of the range (facing towards the net) there’s a bicycle entrance, so we entered there and walked through the parking lot. By the time we were inside the air-conditioned (whoot whoot) lobby, both of us were drenched in sweat, which was met by some uncontrollable giggling by the receptionist. They proactively offered for us to try clubs before renting them, and then walked us through how the system worked, in fairly broken English. We were presented with a card, similar to the Pasmo, and from there the receptionist helped us load some yen onto it. There was a 500 yen bay fee for the 1st floor, nonsmoking, and it was about 16 yen per ball (we got 100).

We then walked back outside into the blast furnace and proceeded to walk around completely clueless as to where we would get balls. At each bay there’s a small screen, where the card is read, and where the tee height can be controlled. It also lists how many balls are remaining on the card, and how many have been hit. Upon tapping the card to the terminal, my dreams were answered. The tee disappeared into the ground, and returned with a ball. Yes, an auto-loading driving range. . Needless to say, we both burst into laughter and I went to get drinks as my travel companion teed off.

Driving Range


There were vending machines every other stall or so, and I grabbed a coffee and sparkling water. The 100 balls went faster than either of us had anticipated .

Driving Range

From there, we were craving some lunch, so we got back on the Metro and connected at Tokyo for the Yamanote Line (easier said than done).

Japanese Soba Noodles

Japanese Soba Noodles was raved about, so we decided to check it out. The 12 seat restaurant is a block away from Sugamo station, and the line was out the door. The restaurant is situated next to an apartment building, and there’s a line divider set up down the hallway, so I wonder when the building will start asking for royalties . We were about the 14th in line, and it took an hour to be seated. While the line area is covered, it’s not air conditioned by any means, and it was HOT out that day.

As is the case in all the ramen restaurants we went to, there’s a vending machine right by the door where one orders his ramen and receives a ticket stub, which is presented to the chef. All the options were in congee and there were no pictures so we pointed and asked for the shoyu. One of the cooks rushed over and pointed at two different buttons, but we weren’t able to communicate our question as what the difference was between them. So I blind ordered for both of us and hoped for the best .

Eventually we sat down at the bar and watched as the cooks worked their magic. This is one of the ramen restaurants in Tokyo that has taken the stance of “no additives”, and it shows in the quality of the dish. The shoyu soy is handcrafted and rounds out the broth. We received our bowls of steaming soba noodles, dug in, and as is customary in Japan, slurped with passion. The noodles had such a toothy chew to them, and the broth was so rich and had a depth of flavor like no other. We finished our soups like there was no tomorrow and shouted to the chefs as we left: “Totemo oishi!” Very delicious.

Shoyu Soba

I checked the status of the FedEx package (to decide if we should have picked it up that day), only to see that the delivery was halted due to “incomplete commercial invoice.”

A couple things:
1. Our airport drop off had not filled out the commercial invoice, per the FedEx office’s instructions.
2. This was a personal package, why would they need a commercial invoice? Because it’s being delivered to the Hyatt? I dunno…

Either way, I called up FedEx (chewing into my international calling plan) and started a case with FedEx. We went into the coffee shop and got a soft serve while we worked out our plan for the rest of the day.

Soft Serve

Since the Yamanote line runs in a circle, and we had almost come full circle after leaving our Airbnb at zero-dark-thirty, we decided to do something between Sugamo and Shibuya.

Meiji-jingu

There are several stations that serve Meiji-jingu, including Yoyogi and Harajuku. We took the train to Yoyogi, which was a much shorter walk. The entire shrine is a reconstruction, but it is still a very meaningful and beautiful cultural shrine.

Yoyogi Station Entrance to the Shrine

There are several different paths for getting to the central shrine, and we took one of the more lesser known. Be aware that some of them lead to live roads, which we were not expecting.

As is the case with all the shrines we visited, cleansing yourself before entering is customary.

Shrine

Shrine

There was an area to write and hang prayers, which I took advantage of. Afterwards we both sat down to catch our breath and take it all in.

Shrine

Around 6:30pm, we decided to hop back over to Yoyogi and then back to Shibuya for a quick rest (not like the last night ). We headed back to the ShinQs to try some of the square stuffed bread we saw. My travel companion grabbed a table (a tough feat to accomplish) while I bought the bread. We got the maple, chocolate walnut one. I asked the lovely women behind the counter if they could cut it, which they responded no to. I asked further if they had a knife I could use, and I was met with lots of giggling and “you do not cut the bread!” Ok…. I guess the bread isn’t meant to be cut, although when we ate it at the table with our hands (in the French style), several of the women shopping full out laughed at us. Still not sure how to eat/cut/serve that bread .

Grand Marble Bread

Yakitori

During our regroup at the PH Omotesando (our shoebox Airbnb ), we decided on going back to Tuskiji the next day at 2:45, so we’d be in line for the auction at 3AM. By that point it was about 8, so we figured as long as we’re sleep deprived, we may as well be really sleep deprived ! So we headed to a nondescript yakitori place tucked away in the alleys of Shibuya. We were pointed downstairs to the smoking section, complete with no chairs, short tables, and tatami mats. Nonetheless it was a very “local” experience. The Japanese guy next to us helped us out by recommending a couple things on the menu and catching the waiter’s attention. The food was delicious, from the stuffed roasted peppers, to the yakitori itself and the fried chicken. The taste of the charcoal from the grill was lightly present in every bite. Did not think of taking a photo before the madness, but here’s one of the aftermath

The Aftermath

On the way back to our place, we got lost a couple times (IMO the charm of Tokyo ), but got to explore the many alleyways of Shibuya. We arrived back at our place around 10:30, only to wake up 4 hours later!

Streets of Shibuya

Streets of Shibuya (pardon the image quality)

Next up: Tsukiji Redux and the Shinkansen to Aomori

lesamuel

First of all, please let me know if some of the photos are of order, which is how it's appearing on mobile for me. Thanks!

What I love:
-Vending machines everywhere!
and I mean everywhere. So convenient and a great variety of options: coffee, water, tea, beer, etc.
-Subway system
It makes sense and is easier to use than at first glance
-Land of a million restaurants
When I left I felt like I had missed out on so many places...but that's a function of there being so many places. Always something for every dish, every hour of the day!
-Cell signal in the subway
-ITS SO FREAKING CLEAN HOW DO THEY DO IT?!


What I don't love:
-Trashcans
I swear there's a boycott on trashcans. They're only found in Starbucks and by vending machines.
-What street am I on?!
Ok, there's signs on main drags, but in alleyways I have no idea where I am and the only help is GPS on google maps. Where are the signs?!

mkjr

love the driving range. there is also one in Meiji-jingu. not as large. that one looked insanely awsome. the heat is the reason why my families next trip to japan is in march...i would rather be a little cool/cold than baking.

lesamuel

After a rough four hours of sleep, I woke up at 2:30 and requested an Uber. Our apartment was on an alley, and both Uber drivers we ever had both had problems finding the place. All in all we were on our way to the market at 2:45am, and arrived at 3am. Most taxi or Uber drivers should know where to drop you, but it’s worth mentioning that you want to be dropped at the fish auction line. The line wasn’t huge, but not small either, but we lucked out and got into the first group. There are two tours, and people are assigned times on a first come, first serve basis. We were corralled into a small room, with no chairs, benches, or anywhere to sit at 3:15. The tour starts at 5:25. After about twenty minutes of sitting on the floor, bumping elbows and fighting for leg space among other tourists, a handful of people, including myself, decided to walk out and be outside. Granted, it was air-conditioned inside but outside we could stretch out. Vests are handed out before we were herded into the waiting room, so we weren’t losing our spot in line for the tour.

At around 5:20, we headed back into the room and followed the guard through Tsukiji Market. I would highly recommend the tour; it’s breathtaking to watch the whole market operate at once, especially in the parts normal visitors aren’t allowed to see. We were led into the auction room, with a watching area partitioned out in the middle of the room. Before the actual auction, each buyer would approach a fish and inspect it for quality. Each fish’s tail is cut off so the fatty meat can be observed. Some buyers also used picks and began chopping into the fish, although I’m not sure what they guage from that .

The auction began soon after that, with bells ringing and quite a bit of screaming. I wasn’t exactly too sure who was winning, but it was certainly fascinating to watch . After each auction (I suppose) an auctioneer came around and painted the name of the highest bidder on each fish, which were then hauled out by the buyer.


Fish Auction


Fish Auction


Fish Auction


Fish Auction

After the auction, we were led, once again, through the wholesale are of the market, and I spotted what looked like one of the fish that was at auction!


Tsukiji Wholesale Area


Tuna

Towards the end the group got split up due to the unpredictable “traffic patterns” . We were also walked past the enormous pile of Styrofoam containers, which has been covered in other Tsukiji reports. (I don’t have a picture). I very much enjoyed the auction, and it's a must see for visitors to Tokyo! The tour lasted about 35 minutes, and from there, my travel companion and I decided to find some breakfast in the market.


Tsukiji

Having had sushi the day before, we thought we’d try something different. We had heard about a place serving up steamed fish online, so we figured we’d check it out. There was no line and we were originally turned away from the line because they don’t have an English menu. We showed them the picture of the dish we wanted from the article and they begrudgingly let us in. First and foremost, my partner was served the fish head, and I was served the tail. The food was ok, but we really had no clue what fish we were eating, or how to properly eat it. The real shocker came at the end, when we were quoted a ridiculous 4000 yen for both of us (we didn’t order any drinks). Not wanting to argue considering we hadn’t actually seen the price on the menu, although there’s no way locals pay that much, we paid up and high-tailed it out of there.


Breakfast

After such an early start, we decided to head back to Shibuya to rest for a couple hours and pack for Aomori. We got back around 8:30 and our bullet left Tokyo at 11:16, so we figured we’d be good in terms of timing.

Now, let me explain our poor planning in this case. We had planned our visit to Hokkaido about a month or so before departure, so I pulled the trigger on some ~$180 r/t tix to Sapporo August 6th through the 8th. However, we hadn’t discovered Aomori until about 3 days before departure, when we made the decision of getting the JR Pass for 14 days instead of 7 days (more on that after this paragraph). The Nebuta Matsuri festival was on the night of the 4th, and we couldn’t cancel our Sapporo tickets. Aomori is a four hour bullet train ride north of Tokyo, and from there it was a 6-hour crawl to Sapporo, which is even farther north. But ultimately, our schedule had us going up to Aomori on the fourth, returning the fifth to Tokyo, and leaving the next day for Sapporo, which was pretty hectic. Here’s that on a map, using GCMap:


Map of Japan

Instead of lugging our carry-ons and personal items around the country, we packed a single backpack and left our stuff at the Tokyo pad (which we were forced to keep for the extra night as well). We booked the last hotel room in Aomori for $244 last-minute, at the Hotel Sunroute Aomori, which was the most spotless yet rundown hotel I’ve ever been to.

About the JR Passes: a 7-day pass currently costs $231, and a 14-day pass costs $368, ordering through Jrpass.com. The pass is only available to foreigners and worth every penny. The company mails you an exchange order, which is exchanged in Japan for a pass. The pass can then be presented at any ticket gate, and you can walk onto any train. However, for Shinkansen, most of which are reserved seats only, a visit to the ticket office is required, and the seat tickets are issued for free and checked on the train. It’s worth noting that the Shinkansen tickets, and any other reserved tickets for that matter, are NOT for use in automatic ticket gate, which will cause confusion and embarrassment at the train station. The 7-day pass is the same price as a roundtrip ticket to Kyoto, which we were visiting during the second week of our trip, but getting the pass instead allows virtually unlimited flexibility for other train trips. Had we not gone to Aomori, we would have gotten the 7-day pass. The pass ultimately saved us at least 7100 yen (about $65), although it would have saved us 21,000 yen, (around $180) had I not had a, erm, incident regarding the pass, which will be covered in “My most embarrassing travel mistake ever.” I would get the pass again in a heartbeat if when I return to Japan .

We ended up napping a little too long, and got on the 10:48am train, getting in around 11:11, 5 minutes before our train, so we were sweating the whole way to Tokyo station.

We figured our transfer would be easy, painless, a piece of cake. After all, Shinkansen depart at the time published, not like aircraft, where the door closes 10 minutes before departure. I will just say for the record that Tokyo station is a complete cluster, especially at the Shinkansen transfer gates. All I can recommend to those transferring at Tokyo station is to be brave and don’t stop walking. It was a complete flood of people, everywhere we turned. The most challenging part are the structural columns, which obstruct all views of oncoming traffic. Needless to say, the very thought of transferring/terminating/storing bags/etc. (all things we did) gets my blood pressure up. Either way, we made it to our Shinkansen with two minutes so spare, and we settled into our seats. Having been operating on eight hours of sleep in the past 48 hours, I passed out for most of the journey, but I will say that the train was comfortable, quick, and without a doubt one of the more exciting everyday experiences we had in Japan.

Next up: Arrival at Shin-Aomori and Nebuta Matsuri!

lcpteck

Looking forward to the rest of the review.

BRITINJAPAN3

. The real shocker came at the end, when we were quoted a ridiculous 4000 yen for both of us (we didn’t order any drinks). Not wanting to argue considering we hadn’t actually seen the price on the menu, although there’s no way locals pay that much, we paid up and high-tailed it out of there.


If you think that then you really do not understand Japan or the Japanese. What you had was a speciality food and you paid 100% exactly the same as anyone else, Japan is one place you NEVER get overcharged. NOT a chance !!!