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Interesting- thanks for the info!

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After leaving Hakone we took the Shinkansen to Kyoto station, with a stunning view of Mt Fuji along the way. We then hopped in a rental car and navigated the narrow streets of kyoto metro area 35 minutes south to a small town, Uji.


Uji is the birthplace of Japanese tea. A Buddhist monk named Eisai brought tea to Japan from China in the 12th century. We had a particular interest to travel back here as we are sourcing fine teas for a new business venture.

We stopped at Byodoin, which is a Buddhist temple and fine example of a pure land garden. This temple is featured on the Japanese 10 yen coin.


We took a car up north 4 km to the Amagase Dam, a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station.


We also stopped by Nara to see the famous deer in Nara Park


We couldn't pass up some delicious Katsu


We spent several nights at Hanyashiki Ukefune-en, a traditional Ryokan located along the banks of the Uji River.


Overall a highly successful trip to Uji. The ryokan was fantastic, affordable, and offered a very nice bath with rotemburo, showcasing a decent view of the Uji river.

Next up:

Kyoto, and 4 Stars worth of Michelin dining!

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After leaving Uji we had 3 nights in Kyoto. We stayed at the Hotel Granvia. I didn't bother taking photos as the room was very standard Japanese-business style. A decent choice to stay given the proximity to transportation in Kyoto station, however my choice would always be the Hyatt(or the RC in my dreams), which unfortunately was closed for the month due to Earthquake upgrades.

Since we had the rental car for a few more hours, we headed to western Kyoto to visit Yoshiminedera, an amazing temple complex in the mountains, which can be though of as the "sister shrine" to the much more famous Kiyomizudera on the edge of the eastern mountains. This amazing temple complex spanned halfway up the mountain, and had many different buildings, gardens, and environments. The best part about it was the secluded location. We saw maybe 10 other people in total during our whole visit. Contrast this to Kiyomizu, during Chinese New Year, you can imagine our preference


We ate at Gion Matayoshi for lunch one day and Owatari for Dinner the next. They are both 2* Michelin rated Kaiseki restaurants located in the Gion area. Matayoshi didn't allow photos of their food, so all I can present is the vessels for our sake selection. We were able to choose the cup of our liking!


Overall chef Matayoshi was humble, diligent, and detail oriented. We had the 8,700 yen/pp lunch and it was at least 10 courses of variety and high technical execution. I would recommend this restaurant as an excellent value.

The next evening was at Owatari. Oddly we were told by our hotel to wait in our room until we were "summoned" by the restaurant. This happened at 8:30 PM. We arrived and found the only other party of 4 to be from Hong Kong. They were accompanied by a Frenchman in his mid-20's wearing ripped jeans and a flannel pajama-like shirt. (I guess I could have left my blazer at home.) The chef was made a bit uncomfortable by his continuous drinking of sake despite the fact that he had driven to the restaurant(a big no-no in Japan with very strict DUI laws.) He kept asking if he wanted any water and if he was "daijoubu." I suspect they have a later seating reserved for foreigners. Pictures were OK here:


The chef was very friendly, though he was drinking sake throughout the entire meal in front of us as well, which we found a bit odd for a Kaiseki experience. Overall for 16,000 yen/pp for dinner. we found it a moderate value but given some the overall rather bizzare experience and so-so food quality we would not return.

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The next morning we managed to wake up early and head to Fushimi-Inari, the ultimate Torii gate experience just 2 stops south of Kyoto station on the JR Uji line.


The torii wind for several KM up the mountain to the top, where an elaborate gravesite is located.

View from the top
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We of course hit up Kiyomizudera which was packed due to Chinese New Year.


Other notable sights:

Overall Kyoto remains a favorite for us, with new adventures each return trip.

Up Next: Peach Airlines? and the Ultimate Hyatt Okinawa Review

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After an early start, we took the very convienient Haruka express train from Kyoto station directly to Osaka Kansai International Airport(KIX). I had timed it so we would have time to relax prior to our flight to Okinawa. At first I found it odd that all departing airlines were out of terminal 1, while peach was out of terminal 2...

We were greeted by this long line which took ~75 minutes to get checked in. They check in flights in the order which they depart, so we had to wait for the other Tokyo flight to finish first.


By the time we made it to check-in and through the security line we walked directly to the gate which had already been boarding. Peach boards plane side on the tarmac. Luckily for us it wasn't raining. We also parked on the tarmac in Okinawa and walked uncovered to the terminal entrance.


Peach airlines has apparently converted cargo terminals to passenger ones. After arrival in OKA we had to wait ~30 minutes to take a shuttle bus to the main terminal from the cargo area, totally unacceptable.


In summary, peach is an airline for people who value their time much less than their money. Given the ability to book relatively inexpensive intra-japan flights on JAL using BA Avios, I was kicking myself during this whole ordeal. Even though the fare was inexpensive having to wait in lines with all our luggage for *literally* hours left us arriving at our hotel exhausted despite a relatively short travel day.

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The Ultimate Hyatt Regency Okinawa Review

Through a combination of luck, last minute changes, and good planning, we spent 4 nights at this property in 3 different room types, giving me an unprecedented perspective on this new property. We arrived via rental car and parked in "The Monolith" a >10 story automated parking garage that stores your car automatically after driving in.


Check-in in the lobby was efficient and professional. Several of the staff had lived abroad, thus their English language ability was excellent. Okinawan service culture is a bit different from the rest of mainland Japan. The laidback yet personable approach was perfect.

After a prompt checkin we headed up to our room.


The suite came with lounge access, which was on the top(18th?) floor. The lounge was a large, open area, and was never crowded during our stay.


After the first two stays this room felt considerably cheaper, smaller, and less well-apportioned. The blinds were manual as opposed to the automated ones in the deluxe/suite category. There was an amazing amount of differentiation between the room categories, down to different colored umbrellas between them, minibar, bathroom, parking situation, etc. Overall I would highly suggest to upgrade to at least the Deluxe room if possible. A standard night award to a lowly Platinum member is of questionable value, IMHO.

We had breakfast the last morning at the downstairs buffet. It was packed with tons of foreign tourists, crying babies, and a 20-something who visited the restaurant in his pajamas, much to the chagrin of the restaurant staff.

The hotel facilities were fantastic. We enjoyed the hottub which was open even in the winter.


We also checked out the upstairs bar. They had a nice happy hour with 500 yen cocktails, including some tasty awamori-inspired creations. They were also offering a deal for 3500 yen which included a large american-style steak and an Orion beer.

The Italian restaurant was fairly busy with local businessmen, and offered a prix-fixe meal


For completeness sake, the room service menu seemed extremely limited, with only set menus offered...


We enjoyed our stay at this property and hope to return soon. Diamonds should enjoy the lounge and room upgrades. Platinum guests may do well to pay a cash rate to avoid the lowest room category, which may represent a poor value depending on the going rates.

TOMFORD

Those food pictures are making me hungry again.