Matsu restaurant

Other than Organic Oasis in Spenard, I'm interested in learning about other restaurants with great vegan options. Thanks!

Hello Eastside neighbors & people traveling through! I am a longtime teriyaki enthusiast and resident of the PNW. I love teriyaki and have compiled a tier guide for the Greater Eastside, of my favorite teriyaki spots.
Some of you newbies or recent transplants may be asking yourselves, what is Seattle Style Teriyaki?
Teriyaki in the Seattle area contains a huge spectrum of influences from different asian countries, depending on the owners of each individual SHOP, not necessarily each individual name or FRANCHISE. What I mean by this, is if you see Nasai Teriyaki in Kirkland, and then drive past Nasai Teriyaki in Redmond or Seattle or Tukwila, those restaurants could be run totally differently from each other, taste completely different, use different protein or ingredients, everything could be different. So, when someone tells you about a Teriyaki Bowl or Toshi’s in a specific location, do not be fooled into thinking you will get the same experience from a different location with the same name. This is important to know in the world of Seattle teriyaki. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION! (Sorry that’s my inner realtor 😂)
As mentioned, Seattle Teriyaki can be inspired and influenced from many asian countries, but in my experience of meeting the owners, many tend to hail from South Korea 🇰🇷 Japan 🇯🇵 Vietnam 🇻🇳 and China 🇨🇳 and the menu will often reflect some of these differences, which is really fun because you end up with interesting sub-genres of Seattle Teriyaki that incorporate things like Vietnamese Phở or Japanese Sushi or Chinese-American Wok menu items, depending on where you go.
In general though, Seattle Teriyaki is grilled or broiled chicken thigh (or another protein of your choice like beef or pork) which is usually marinated in a house-made proprietary blend of soy sauce, mirin (vinegar), sugar and other ingredients based on the owner’s recipe. The sugar is important in order to get a light caramelization and char on the outside, and it adds to the umami flavor of the meal.
Every shop usually makes their own teriyaki sauce which heavily underscores the dining experience and sometimes makes or breaks the meal. You can also order side menu items like Gyoza (potstickers), Vegetable or Shrimp Tempura, Eggrolls, and more.
Another interesting thing to note, is that while it would make sense for teriyaki shops to be judged on their standard Chicken Teriyaki, when you speak to many locals it is actually the Spicy Chicken Teriyaki that is the measure of a great teriyaki shop. This isn't a hard & fast rule, but you'll find it's a consistent "measuring tape" amongst local teriyaki enthusiasts. Spicy Chicken Teriyaki can sometimes be ordered on a 1-5 star scale, but generally if you want it extra spicy, you just need to politely ask :)
The main protein is then served next to, or on top of white or brown rice, and usually comes with a side salad and 1 extra cup of teriyaki sauce for your drizzling pleasure.
We Need To Discuss The Salad Dressing This will sound absurd to some people, but the topic of the dressing that comes with the side salad which is served at teriyaki places could be an entire post in and of itself. Seriously. I can’t cover the topic on this post but I have marked the shops below that I feel are the best examples of this phenomenal sauce. Tip: get a little bit of it on your rice with a bite of chicken & teriyaki sauce. You can thank me later.
Ok, now that you've been properly schooled in Seattle Teriyaki 101, let’s get to the list for the Eastside! Please see below and enjoy.
Disclaimer This list is based on the food being hot and fresh out the kitchen, do not come at me with complaints because you ordered tempura or gyoza on DoorDash and it showed up cold & soggy. Also, this list is not judging the storefront, aesthetics, or business practices of the shop. It’s purely based on whether my tummy is pleased with itself during and after the experience.
One more thing - If someone could please point me towards spots they would highly recommend in the Issaquah / Sammamish area. It’s been a little while since I’ve tested spots around there. Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments. I’m always looking for great new spots.
THE LIST
S-Tier The Undisputed Gods of Teriyaki on the Eastside of Seattle
Toshi’s Teriyaki - Bothell/Mill Creek - 16212 Bothell Everett Hwy Mill Creek 98012 (425) 225-6420
Teriyaki Bowl - Woodinville - 13620 NE 175th St #104 Woodinville 98072 (425) 483-1904
Toshi’s Teriyaki - Houghton/Kirkland - 959 6th St South Kirkland 98033 (425) 822-8970
Tokyo Stop Teriyaki - Bellevue - 1504 145th Pl SE Bellevue 98007 (425) 653-3577
Teriyaki Plus - Kirkland - 11512 124th Ave NE, Kirkland 98033 (425) 827-5679
Yummy Teriyaki - Redmond - 17218 Redmond Way, Redmond 98052 (425) 861-1010 Location Has Amazing Salad Dressing
Ta Joia - Bothell - 22833 Bothell Everett Hwy #151 Bothell 98021 (425) 585-4842 Please Note this spot is not considered “traditional” Seattle Teriyaki when compared to the rest of this list, but it is highly popular with locals.
S-Tier Honorable Mention This teriyaki shop is technically not on the Eastside. It’s located in Lake City, which is on the other side of Lake Washington. That being said, it is close enough to access if you live in North Kirkland or Kenmore, and it is so good that I cannot create this guide without mentioning it. My buddy and I have nicknamed it, Manna from Heaven.
Manna Teriyaki - Lake City - 11064 Lake City Way NE Seattle 98125 (206) 364-4064 Location Has Amazing Salad Dressing
A-Tier The Teriyaki Kings & Queens
Minami Teriyaki - Woodinville - 17307 140th Ave NE #6879 Woodinville 98072 (425) 487-2661
Nasai Teriyaki - Rose Hill Kirkland - 8417 122nd Ave NE Kirkland 98033 (425) 827-2657
Teriyaki Time - Bellevue - 12813 SE 38th St Bellevue 98006 (425) 643-1843
Midori Teriyaki - Bothell - 1912 201st Place SE #208 Bothell 98012 (425) 489-5955
I Love Bento’s - Kirkland/Juanita - 13520 100th Ave NE Kirkland 98034 (425) 821-9325
King’s Teriyaki - Woodinville - 13317 NE 175th St #D Woodinville 98072 (425) 488-2322
B-Tier The Teriyaki Junior Varsity Team
Teriyaki Bistro - Issaquah - 6100 E Lake Sammamish Parkway SE #B Issaquah 98029 (425) 427-9031
Kami Teriyaki + Oh My Chicken - Kirkland 11613 124th Ave NE #D Kirkland 98033 (425) 820-5726
Matsu Teriyaki - Woodinville - 14231 NE Woodinville Duvall Road Woodinville 98072 (425) 415-0900
Toshi’s Teriyaki - Kenmore - 6830 NE Bothell Way Kenmore 98028 (425) 483-6318
Toshi’s Teriyaki - Factoria/Bellevue - 4038 Factoria Blvd SE STE D Bellevue 98006 (425) 562-2973

Hello Eastside neighbors & people traveling through! I am a longtime teriyaki enthusiast and resident of the PNW. I love teriyaki and have compiled a tier guide for the Greater Eastside, of my favorite teriyaki spots.
Some of you newbies or recent transplants may be asking yourselves, what is Seattle Style Teriyaki?
Teriyaki in the Seattle area contains a huge spectrum of influences from different asian countries, depending on the owners of each individual SHOP, not necessarily each individual name or FRANCHISE. What I mean by this, is if you see Nasai Teriyaki in Kirkland, and then drive past Nasai Teriyaki in Redmond or Seattle or Tukwila, those restaurants could be run totally differently from each other, taste completely different, use different protein or ingredients, everything could be different. So, when someone tells you about a Teriyaki Bowl or Toshi’s in a specific location, do not be fooled into thinking you will get the same experience from a different location with the same name. This is important to know in the world of Seattle teriyaki. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION! (Sorry that’s my inner realtor 😂)
As mentioned, Seattle Teriyaki can be inspired and influenced from many asian countries, but in my experience of meeting the owners, many tend to hail from South Korea 🇰🇷 Japan 🇯🇵 Vietnam 🇻🇳 and China 🇨🇳 and the menu will often reflect some of these differences, which is really fun because you end up with interesting sub-genres of Seattle Teriyaki that incorporate things like Vietnamese Phở or Japanese Sushi or Chinese-American Wok menu items, depending on where you go.
In general though, Seattle Teriyaki is grilled or broiled chicken thigh (or another protein of your choice like beef or pork) which is usually marinated in a house-made proprietary blend of soy sauce, mirin (vinegar), sugar and other ingredients based on the owner’s recipe. The sugar is important in order to get a light caramelization and char on the outside, and it adds to the umami flavor of the meal.
Every shop usually makes their own teriyaki sauce which heavily underscores the dining experience and sometimes makes or breaks the meal. You can also order side menu items like Gyoza (potstickers), Vegetable or Shrimp Tempura, Eggrolls, and more.
Another interesting thing to note, is that while it would make sense for teriyaki shops to be judged on their standard Chicken Teriyaki, when you speak to many locals it is actually the Spicy Chicken Teriyaki that is the measure of a great teriyaki shop. This isn't a hard & fast rule, but you'll find it's a consistent "measuring tape" amongst local teriyaki enthusiasts. Spicy Chicken Teriyaki can sometimes be ordered on a 1-5 star scale, but generally if you want it extra spicy, you just need to politely ask :)
The main protein is then served next to, or on top of white or brown rice, and usually comes with a side salad and 1 extra cup of teriyaki sauce for your drizzling pleasure.
We Need To Discuss The Salad Dressing This will sound absurd to some people, but the topic of the dressing that comes with the side salad which is served at teriyaki places could be an entire post in and of itself. Seriously. I can’t cover the topic on this post but I have marked the shops below that I feel are the best examples of this phenomenal sauce. Tip: get a little bit of it on your rice with a bite of chicken & teriyaki sauce. You can thank me later.
Ok, now that you've been properly schooled in Seattle Teriyaki 101, let’s get to the list for the Eastside! Please see below and enjoy.
Disclaimer This list is based on the food being hot and fresh out the kitchen, do not come at me with complaints because you ordered tempura or gyoza on DoorDash and it showed up cold & soggy. Also, this list is not judging the storefront, aesthetics, or business practices of the shop. It’s purely based on whether my tummy is pleased with itself during and after the experience.
One more thing - If someone could please point me towards spots they would highly recommend in the Issaquah / Sammamish area. It’s been a little while since I’ve tested spots around there. Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments. I’m always looking for great new spots.
THE LIST
S-Tier The Undisputed Gods of Teriyaki on the Eastside of Seattle
Toshi’s Teriyaki - Bothell/Mill Creek - 16212 Bothell Everett Hwy Mill Creek 98012 (425) 225-6420
Teriyaki Bowl - Woodinville - 13620 NE 175th St #104 Woodinville 98072 (425) 483-1904
Toshi’s Teriyaki - Houghton/Kirkland - 959 6th St South Kirkland 98033 (425) 822-8970
Tokyo Stop Teriyaki - Bellevue - 1504 145th Pl SE Bellevue 98007 (425) 653-3577
Teriyaki Plus - Kirkland - 11512 124th Ave NE, Kirkland 98033 (425) 827-5679
Yummy Teriyaki - Redmond - 17218 Redmond Way, Redmond 98052 (425) 861-1010 Location Has Amazing Salad Dressing
Ta Joia - Bothell - 22833 Bothell Everett Hwy #151 Bothell 98021 (425) 585-4842 Please Note this spot is not considered “traditional” Seattle Teriyaki when compared to the rest of this list, but it is highly popular with locals.
S-Tier Honorable Mention This teriyaki shop is technically not on the Eastside. It’s located in Lake City, which is on the other side of Lake Washington. That being said, it is close enough to access if you live in North Kirkland or Kenmore, and it is so good that I cannot create this guide without mentioning it. My buddy and I have nicknamed it, Manna from Heaven.
Manna Teriyaki - Lake City - 11064 Lake City Way NE Seattle 98125 (206) 364-4064 Location Has Amazing Salad Dressing
A-Tier The Teriyaki Kings & Queens
Minami Teriyaki - Woodinville - 17307 140th Ave NE #6879 Woodinville 98072 (425) 487-2661
Nasai Teriyaki - Rose Hill Kirkland - 8417 122nd Ave NE Kirkland 98033 (425) 827-2657
Teriyaki Time - Bellevue - 12813 SE 38th St Bellevue 98006 (425) 643-1843
Midori Teriyaki - Bothell - 1912 201st Place SE #208 Bothell 98012 (425) 489-5955
I Love Bento’s - Kirkland/Juanita - 13520 100th Ave NE Kirkland 98034 (425) 821-9325
King’s Teriyaki - Woodinville - 13317 NE 175th St #D Woodinville 98072 (425) 488-2322
B-Tier The Teriyaki Junior Varsity Team
Teriyaki Bistro - Issaquah - 6100 E Lake Sammamish Parkway SE #B Issaquah 98029 (425) 427-9031
Kami Teriyaki + Oh My Chicken - Kirkland 11613 124th Ave NE #D Kirkland 98033 (425) 820-5726
Matsu Teriyaki - Woodinville - 14231 NE Woodinville Duvall Road Woodinville 98072 (425) 415-0900
Toshi’s Teriyaki - Kenmore - 6830 NE Bothell Way Kenmore 98028 (425) 483-6318
Toshi’s Teriyaki - Factoria/Bellevue - 4038 Factoria Blvd SE STE D Bellevue 98006 (425) 562-2973

Hello Eastside neighbors & people traveling through! I am a longtime teriyaki enthusiast and resident of the PNW. I love teriyaki and have compiled a tier guide for the Greater Eastside, of my favorite teriyaki spots.
Some of you newbies or recent transplants may be asking yourselves, what is Seattle Style Teriyaki?
Teriyaki in the Seattle area contains a huge spectrum of influences from different asian countries, depending on the owners of each individual SHOP, not necessarily each individual name or FRANCHISE. What I mean by this, is if you see Nasai Teriyaki in Kirkland, and then drive past Nasai Teriyaki in Redmond or Seattle or Tukwila, those restaurants could be run totally differently from each other, taste completely different, use different protein or ingredients, everything could be different. So, when someone tells you about a Teriyaki Bowl or Toshi’s in a specific location, do not be fooled into thinking you will get the same experience from a different location with the same name. This is important to know in the world of Seattle teriyaki. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION! (Sorry that’s my inner realtor 😂)
As mentioned, Seattle Teriyaki can be inspired and influenced from many asian countries, but in my experience of meeting the owners, many tend to hail from South Korea 🇰🇷 Japan 🇯🇵 Vietnam 🇻🇳 and China 🇨🇳 and the menu will often reflect some of these differences, which is really fun because you end up with interesting sub-genres of Seattle Teriyaki that incorporate things like Vietnamese Phở or Japanese Sushi or Chinese-American Wok menu items, depending on where you go.
In general though, Seattle Teriyaki is grilled or broiled chicken thigh (or another protein of your choice like beef or pork) which is usually marinated in a house-made proprietary blend of soy sauce, mirin (vinegar), sugar and other ingredients based on the owner’s recipe. The sugar is important in order to get a light caramelization and char on the outside, and it adds to the umami flavor of the meal.
Every shop usually makes their own teriyaki sauce which heavily underscores the dining experience and sometimes makes or breaks the meal. You can also order side menu items like Gyoza (potstickers), Vegetable or Shrimp Tempura, Eggrolls, and more.
Another interesting thing to note, is that while it would make sense for teriyaki shops to be judged on their standard Chicken Teriyaki, when you speak to many locals it is actually the Spicy Chicken Teriyaki that is the measure of a great teriyaki shop. This isn't a hard & fast rule, but you'll find it's a consistent "measuring tape" amongst local teriyaki enthusiasts. Spicy Chicken Teriyaki can sometimes be ordered on a 1-5 star scale, but generally if you want it extra spicy, you just need to politely ask :)
The main protein is then served next to, or on top of white or brown rice, and usually comes with a side salad and 1 extra cup of teriyaki sauce for your drizzling pleasure.
We Need To Discuss The Salad Dressing This will sound absurd to some people, but the topic of the dressing that comes with the side salad which is served at teriyaki places could be an entire post in and of itself. Seriously. I can’t cover the topic on this post but I have marked the shops below that I feel are the best examples of this phenomenal sauce. Tip: get a little bit of it on your rice with a bite of chicken & teriyaki sauce. You can thank me later.
Ok, now that you've been properly schooled in Seattle Teriyaki 101, let’s get to the list for the Eastside! Please see below and enjoy.
Disclaimer This list is based on the food being hot and fresh out the kitchen, do not come at me with complaints because you ordered tempura or gyoza on DoorDash and it showed up cold & soggy. Also, this list is not judging the storefront, aesthetics, or business practices of the shop. It’s purely based on whether my tummy is pleased with itself during and after the experience.
One more thing - If someone could please point me towards spots they would highly recommend in the Issaquah / Sammamish area. It’s been a little while since I’ve tested spots around there. Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments. I’m always looking for great new spots.
THE LIST
S-Tier The Undisputed Gods of Teriyaki on the Eastside of Seattle
Toshi’s Teriyaki - Bothell/Mill Creek - 16212 Bothell Everett Hwy Mill Creek 98012 (425) 225-6420
Teriyaki Bowl - Woodinville - 13620 NE 175th St #104 Woodinville 98072 (425) 483-1904
Toshi’s Teriyaki - Houghton/Kirkland - 959 6th St South Kirkland 98033 (425) 822-8970
Tokyo Stop Teriyaki - Bellevue - 1504 145th Pl SE Bellevue 98007 (425) 653-3577
Teriyaki Plus - Kirkland - 11512 124th Ave NE, Kirkland 98033 (425) 827-5679
Yummy Teriyaki - Redmond - 17218 Redmond Way, Redmond 98052 (425) 861-1010 Location Has Amazing Salad Dressing
Ta Joia - Bothell - 22833 Bothell Everett Hwy #151 Bothell 98021 (425) 585-4842 Please Note this spot is not considered “traditional” Seattle Teriyaki when compared to the rest of this list, but it is highly popular with locals.
S-Tier Honorable Mention This teriyaki shop is technically not on the Eastside. It’s located in Lake City, which is on the other side of Lake Washington. That being said, it is close enough to access if you live in North Kirkland or Kenmore, and it is so good that I cannot create this guide without mentioning it. My buddy and I have nicknamed it, Manna from Heaven.
Manna Teriyaki - Lake City - 11064 Lake City Way NE Seattle 98125 (206) 364-4064 Location Has Amazing Salad Dressing
A-Tier The Teriyaki Kings & Queens
Minami Teriyaki - Woodinville - 17307 140th Ave NE #6879 Woodinville 98072 (425) 487-2661
Nasai Teriyaki - Rose Hill Kirkland - 8417 122nd Ave NE Kirkland 98033 (425) 827-2657
Teriyaki Time - Bellevue - 12813 SE 38th St Bellevue 98006 (425) 643-1843
Midori Teriyaki - Bothell - 1912 201st Place SE #208 Bothell 98012 (425) 489-5955
I Love Bento’s - Kirkland/Juanita - 13520 100th Ave NE Kirkland 98034 (425) 821-9325
King’s Teriyaki - Woodinville - 13317 NE 175th St #D Woodinville 98072 (425) 488-2322
B-Tier The Teriyaki Junior Varsity Team
Teriyaki Bistro - Issaquah - 6100 E Lake Sammamish Parkway SE #B Issaquah 98029 (425) 427-9031
Kami Teriyaki + Oh My Chicken - Kirkland 11613 124th Ave NE #D Kirkland 98033 (425) 820-5726
Matsu Teriyaki - Woodinville - 14231 NE Woodinville Duvall Road Woodinville 98072 (425) 415-0900
Toshi’s Teriyaki - Kenmore - 6830 NE Bothell Way Kenmore 98028 (425) 483-6318
Toshi’s Teriyaki - Factoria/Bellevue - 4038 Factoria Blvd SE STE D Bellevue 98006 (425) 562-2973

Hello Eastside neighbors & people traveling through! I am a longtime teriyaki enthusiast and resident of the PNW. I love teriyaki and have compiled a tier guide for the Greater Eastside, of my favorite teriyaki spots.
Some of you newbies or recent transplants may be asking yourselves, what is Seattle Style Teriyaki?
Teriyaki in the Seattle area contains a huge spectrum of influences from different asian countries, depending on the owners of each individual SHOP, not necessarily each individual name or FRANCHISE. What I mean by this, is if you see Nasai Teriyaki in Kirkland, and then drive past Nasai Teriyaki in Redmond or Seattle or Tukwila, those restaurants could be run totally differently from each other, taste completely different, use different protein or ingredients, everything could be different. So, when someone tells you about a Teriyaki Bowl or Toshi’s in a specific location, do not be fooled into thinking you will get the same experience from a different location with the same name. This is important to know in the world of Seattle teriyaki. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION! (Sorry that’s my inner realtor 😂)
As mentioned, Seattle Teriyaki can be inspired and influenced from many asian countries, but in my experience of meeting the owners, many tend to hail from South Korea 🇰🇷 Japan 🇯🇵 Vietnam 🇻🇳 and China 🇨🇳 and the menu will often reflect some of these differences, which is really fun because you end up with interesting sub-genres of Seattle Teriyaki that incorporate things like Vietnamese Phở or Japanese Sushi or Chinese-American Wok menu items, depending on where you go.
In general though, Seattle Teriyaki is grilled or broiled chicken thigh (or another protein of your choice like beef or pork) which is usually marinated in a house-made proprietary blend of soy sauce, mirin (vinegar), sugar and other ingredients based on the owner’s recipe. The sugar is important in order to get a light caramelization and char on the outside, and it adds to the umami flavor of the meal.
Every shop usually makes their own teriyaki sauce which heavily underscores the dining experience and sometimes makes or breaks the meal. You can also order side menu items like Gyoza (potstickers), Vegetable or Shrimp Tempura, Eggrolls, and more.
Another interesting thing to note, is that while it would make sense for teriyaki shops to be judged on their standard Chicken Teriyaki, when you speak to many locals it is actually the Spicy Chicken Teriyaki that is the measure of a great teriyaki shop. This isn't a hard & fast rule, but you'll find it's a consistent "measuring tape" amongst local teriyaki enthusiasts. Spicy Chicken Teriyaki can sometimes be ordered on a 1-5 star scale, but generally if you want it extra spicy, you just need to politely ask :)
The main protein is then served next to, or on top of white or brown rice, and usually comes with a side salad and 1 extra cup of teriyaki sauce for your drizzling pleasure.
We Need To Discuss The Salad Dressing This will sound absurd to some people, but the topic of the dressing that comes with the side salad which is served at teriyaki places could be an entire post in and of itself. Seriously. I can’t cover the topic on this post but I have marked the shops below that I feel are the best examples of this phenomenal sauce. Tip: get a little bit of it on your rice with a bite of chicken & teriyaki sauce. You can thank me later.
Ok, now that you've been properly schooled in Seattle Teriyaki 101, let’s get to the list for the Eastside! Please see below and enjoy.
Disclaimer This list is based on the food being hot and fresh out the kitchen, do not come at me with complaints because you ordered tempura or gyoza on DoorDash and it showed up cold & soggy. Also, this list is not judging the storefront, aesthetics, or business practices of the shop. It’s purely based on whether my tummy is pleased with itself during and after the experience.
One more thing - If someone could please point me towards spots they would highly recommend in the Issaquah / Sammamish area. It’s been a little while since I’ve tested spots around there. Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments. I’m always looking for great new spots.
THE LIST
S-Tier The Undisputed Gods of Teriyaki on the Eastside of Seattle
Toshi’s Teriyaki - Bothell/Mill Creek - 16212 Bothell Everett Hwy Mill Creek 98012 (425) 225-6420
Teriyaki Bowl - Woodinville - 13620 NE 175th St #104 Woodinville 98072 (425) 483-1904
Toshi’s Teriyaki - Houghton/Kirkland - 959 6th St South Kirkland 98033 (425) 822-8970
Tokyo Stop Teriyaki - Bellevue - 1504 145th Pl SE Bellevue 98007 (425) 653-3577
Teriyaki Plus - Kirkland - 11512 124th Ave NE, Kirkland 98033 (425) 827-5679
Yummy Teriyaki - Redmond - 17218 Redmond Way, Redmond 98052 (425) 861-1010 Location Has Amazing Salad Dressing
Ta Joia - Bothell - 22833 Bothell Everett Hwy #151 Bothell 98021 (425) 585-4842 Please Note this spot is not considered “traditional” Seattle Teriyaki when compared to the rest of this list, but it is highly popular with locals.
S-Tier Honorable Mention This teriyaki shop is technically not on the Eastside. It’s located in Lake City, which is on the other side of Lake Washington. That being said, it is close enough to access if you live in North Kirkland or Kenmore, and it is so good that I cannot create this guide without mentioning it. My buddy and I have nicknamed it, Manna from Heaven.
Manna Teriyaki - Lake City - 11064 Lake City Way NE Seattle 98125 (206) 364-4064 Location Has Amazing Salad Dressing
A-Tier The Teriyaki Kings & Queens
Minami Teriyaki - Woodinville - 17307 140th Ave NE #6879 Woodinville 98072 (425) 487-2661
Nasai Teriyaki - Rose Hill Kirkland - 8417 122nd Ave NE Kirkland 98033 (425) 827-2657
Teriyaki Time - Bellevue - 12813 SE 38th St Bellevue 98006 (425) 643-1843
Midori Teriyaki - Bothell - 1912 201st Place SE #208 Bothell 98012 (425) 489-5955
I Love Bento’s - Kirkland/Juanita - 13520 100th Ave NE Kirkland 98034 (425) 821-9325
King’s Teriyaki - Woodinville - 13317 NE 175th St #D Woodinville 98072 (425) 488-2322
B-Tier The Teriyaki Junior Varsity Team
Teriyaki Bistro - Issaquah - 6100 E Lake Sammamish Parkway SE #B Issaquah 98029 (425) 427-9031
Kami Teriyaki + Oh My Chicken - Kirkland 11613 124th Ave NE #D Kirkland 98033 (425) 820-5726
Matsu Teriyaki - Woodinville - 14231 NE Woodinville Duvall Road Woodinville 98072 (425) 415-0900
Toshi’s Teriyaki - Kenmore - 6830 NE Bothell Way Kenmore 98028 (425) 483-6318
Toshi’s Teriyaki - Factoria/Bellevue - 4038 Factoria Blvd SE STE D Bellevue 98006 (425) 562-2973

This wonderful old man used to greet everyone that entered his restaurant, Matsu Sushi.
I haven't seen him around for a while, at either locations. Anyone know where he is or what happened?

Random Spinner 1 - Aomori + Fast Food/Restaurant/Cafe/Food Stall

1. BMW M3 E46 (Hachinohe, 2014) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.5119728,141.5007771,3a,15.9y,261.07h,87.44t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s7NV5aFFFqfgX-sWvWJQlTA!2e0!5s20140501T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
2. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI Tommi Makinen Edition (Hachinohe, 2017) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.5045619,141.5357929,3a,15y,346.59h,88.14t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s8A0eKCFx8PvKh4r3Us7C3A!2e0!5s20170701T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
3. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI Tommi Makinen Edition (Hachinohe, 2014) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.5031269,141.5383108,3a,15.1y,13.78h,87.81t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1skm3FC6LQMp-OZv_Fm-jzUw!2e0!5s20140601T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
4. Tuned Nissan Skyline GTR BNR32 (Misawa, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.6860819,141.3774873,3a,20.5y,216.86h,76.85t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s_MVfJ8WqCBX6hleNk3v4HA!2e0!5s20231101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
5. Porsche 996.1 GT3 with a 997.1 GT3 Front Facelift and Tailight Conversion (Towada, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.6151148,141.2167936,3a,15y,45.28h,85.22t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sEGJhEnmBR6h2TTnzC_Y7Kw!2e0!5s20231101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu (Rear)

https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.6152662,141.2171409,3a,15y,247.1h,86.52t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1seEqxEjxcPty7tsAZs_YceA!2e0!5s20231101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu (Front)

1. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII (Hirosaki, 2014) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.6156426,140.4851802,3a,15y,305.33h,87.22t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sEU6DljSBf0h54tCJfrg7Fw!2e0!5s20140501T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
2. Nissan Skyline GTR BCNR333 (Aomori, 2015) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.8239881,140.7691894,3a,15y,330.95h,87.1t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sv78WA3Dq2AP0_Kq60-G7Dw!2e0!5s20150901T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
3. Mercedes Benz Ponton/180 Sedan (Hirosaki, 2019) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.6072804,140.4826637,3a,15y,275.81h,85.84t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1snEgCaliKp5RKZ-_XlMjs9Q!2e0!5s20191001T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
4. Chevrolet Corvette C4 (Aomori, 2011) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.828043,140.707727,3a,15y,158.31h,88.16t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sU4v0uIWqj3XqrPlD6WTa9g!2e0!5s20111101T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
5. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX (Aomori, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.8333917,140.6959273,3a,37.7y,128.38h,72.98t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sluNpLs4Bql2hLtySut1aWQ!2e0!5s20231001T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
6. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX (Aomori, 2017) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.8333477,140.6976561,3a,15y,124.16h,86.17t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sTE99MdhYRLmLPVOB8VnkXA!2e0!5s20170701T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   

Random Spinner 2 - Fukui + Shops/Malls

1. BMW M4 F82 (Fukui, 2021) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.0441717,136.2355333,3a,15y,165.24h,88.04t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sHTEHkGQoFHOu9ZFBd9LqRg!2e0!5s20210601T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
2. Bentley Continental GT II (Fukui, 2019) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.0914036,136.2428419,3a,15y,242.66h,86.52t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1scFy_LPeXoHJvM3RHWiZBwA!2e0!5s20190901T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
3. 2017 Nissan GTR R35 (Fukui, 2019) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.0978741,136.2524053,3a,15y,114.34h,87.91t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sZOulO4kwpxhiLnnOAjpcWQ!2e0!5s20190901T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
4. Lexus LC500 (Ono, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.9889455,136.4996754,3a,17.9y,217.24h,83.96t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3QZwm4IkdyTBXEf7jMMJWw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
5. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X (Fukui, 2018) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.0201639,136.2152791,3a,15y,229.52h,87.28t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1shfeQOrdQgdcCM_Y6R03rig!2e0!5s20180701T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
6. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR (Fukui, 2015) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.0339134,136.2107785,3a,15y,351.36h,84.66t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sWGr52cQEXA3Y6VULLz8N7w!2e0!5s20150501T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
7. Maserati Quattroporte M139 (Fukui, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.0327136,136.2131856,3a,15y,95.04h,85.43t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1snwkBT-q364CnwxoM5jtuhg!2e0!5s20230901T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
8. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI (Fukui, 2012) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.0343876,136.2133825,3a,15y,257.69h,85.59t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1si4QZfq6DAAw1d2WduPAlhg!2e0!5s20120801T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu

Random Spinner 3 - Toyama + Expressway/(Blue-shaded) Main/National Roads

1. 2011 Nissan GTR R35 (Nanto, 2017) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.3966042,136.8792026,3a,15.1y,157.02h,82.27t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s5w66r82XhxhbxSf0H8g8TQ!2e0!5s20171001T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
2. BMW M5 F90 (Nanto, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.5289891,136.8869402,3a,15y,41.1h,85.46t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sYRFL6MzyrZ6nSkzvwxEl4w!2e0!5s20230701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
3. 2018 Mercedes Benz G63 AMG (Nanto, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.5914001,136.9013341,3a,15.7y,175.65h,85.63t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s5Ip3NVSsXojKv-9ystveKg!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
4. Datsun Fairlady 2000 (Nanto, 2021) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.5771694,136.9031087,3a,26.2y,229.01h,76.72t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1srJ0qTSQST1k1EaMUh39GwA!2e0!5s20210601T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
5. Porsche 991.1 GT3 RS (Nanto, 2017) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.6071699,136.9040279,3a,21y,57.48h,78.82t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sBXTlf1yz6OpcrWLaTj1pUw!2e0!5s20170601T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
6. Renault Clio 3 RS (Toyama, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.6853191,137.055944,3a,15.9y,117.02h,83.62t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sYFAhO_vvk2kD65It1yS5Jw!2e0!5s20220401T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
7. Mercedes Benz S63 AMG W221 (Toyama, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.6720956,137.1757428,3a,15.5y,331.02h,85.57t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sX75cDGebRIxkK508_Yrg4w!2e0!5s20230301T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
8. Nissan Skyline GTR BNR32 (Toyama, 2015) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.6812421,137.1519706,3a,15y,47.99h,83.59t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sum2PVgkRRgMY1Pksshzd1A!2e0!5s20151001T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu

Random Spinner 4 - Ishikawa + Pachinko Slots/Banks/ATMs

1. 1968 Chevrolet Camaro (Ishikawa, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.528801,136.590863,3a,15y,323.66h,84.3t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sTlUuaaoRP5sPvyQNakPgew!2e0!5s20231101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
2. Honda S2000 Type S (Nonoichi, 2017) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.5470073,136.600432,3a,16.2y,264.62h,87.04t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sJDjKPA2_N-PuDKWth-_Hww!2e0!5s20171201T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
3. Toyota Century G60 (Nonoichi, 2021) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.547775,136.6001632,3a,15y,166.61h,87.5t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sOVA0CWEg057lD3Tfb6ehIQ!2e0!5s20210701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
4. 1962 Chevrolet Impala (Kanazawa, 2012) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.5496292,136.6306709,3a,27.8y,221.19h,80.4t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sxtThbpaf060RL5Kygwiv6Q!2e0!5s20120901T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
5. Alpina B3 E46 Convertible (Kanazawa, 2018) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.5491426,136.6326227,3a,15y,58.65h,87.48t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1suK-I0sLAkblpT_CApjFnAg!2e0!5s20180801T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
6. Mercedes Benz SL55 AMG R230 (Ishikawa, 2019) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.5729804,136.6370373,3a,15y,43.58h,82.94t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1spNDJ7zz0StwGQNnUZsp0og!2e0!5s20190701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
7. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII (Kanazawa, 2012) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.6167516,136.6834386,3a,15y,265.85h,87.23t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sAiyd5cByEq-l-xFFL1xKgQ!2e0!5s20121001T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
8. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III (Komatsu, 2018) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.3721277,136.4368842,3a,15y,3.08h,84.45t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1shOdHvBYEgGVtlbbZHkdKOA!2e0!5s20180801T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
9. Chevrolet Corvette C5 (Kaga, 2019) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.3079235,136.3456487,3a,15y,236.57h,84.19t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sKe7LMfMQDpv4mHIX2ThuBQ!2e0!5s20190901T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu

Random Spinner 5 - Shimane + Pachinko Slots/Banks/ATMs

1. Porsche 964 Carrera (Oda, 2015) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.1990685,132.4925138,3a,15y,57.27h,83.49t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sxOyDXAD6qfzOfgFA0iqbFA!2e0!5s20150601T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
2. 2023 Nissan Fairlady Z RZ34 (Yasugi, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.43327,133.2386,3a,15y,192.71h,87.38t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1ssdxZKrP35Xbiyb7e1zYHBQ!2e0!5s20231101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
3. Mercedes Benz S63 AMG W222 (Matsue, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.4434881,133.0470418,3a,15y,69.32h,86.53t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sqYpMQ_dRH4gH60Z347Yr3Q!2e0!5s20231101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
4. BMW M3 E92 (Matsue, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.4601825,133.0811342,3a,15y,94.7h,86.9t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sL79VfTunC2SpyYkTE_1UwQ!2e0!5s20220601T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
5. Lexus LC500 Convertible (Matsue, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.4826778,133.0633838,3a,15y,105.69h,86.47t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sRWKad7Pb4vsUWOF5jKcXHQ!2e0!5s20231101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu

Random Spinner 6 - Osaka + Sports/Gyms

1. BMW M4 G82 (Sakai, 2024) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@34.5513825,135.4571503,3a,15y,368.43h,86.46t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sBgWSVAwIPTCcN5IXov2d9Q!2e0!5s20240101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
2. Mercedes Benz C63 S AMG W205 Coupe Edition 1 (Tondabayashi, 2018) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@34.5256722,135.5883464,3a,15.1y,176.14h,80.48t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1st95gTmr0vFSRz-8B-QGdHg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
3. Morgan 4/4 (Minoh, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@34.8417038,135.4991506,3a,15y,320.93h,79.64t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s6AfLbIUB4NKp7AJWWPhzjQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
4. 2012 Mercedes Benz G63 AMG (Minoh, 2018) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@34.8415577,135.4986254,3a,15y,292.96h,86.41t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sfbYHxsSUeWuR8jyhY8etCg!2e0!5s20181101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
5. 2018 Mercedes Benz G63 AMG (Minoh, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@34.8415529,135.4986182,3a,15y,300.37h,87.16t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sPrTD-EQA87NkhDRRIzcXQA!2e0!5s20220501T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
6. BMW M4 F82 (Osaka, 2016) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@34.7258036,135.5112948,3a,29.1y,103.4h,73.7t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s8R8TQjB05ECrN-rxWYMQWw!2e0!5s20160501T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
7. Lexus LC500 Convertible (Osaka, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@34.6948663,135.4890684,3a,23.1y,197.38h,74.5t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s7kDm7mK4Hxa4ICbzbWBtmg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
8. BMW M3 E92 (Osaka, 2017) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@34.7060759,135.5043459,3a,15y,43.77h,84.87t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sTCu1ahu7oH4xQgEfAI5wTg!2e0!5s20170901T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
9. Bentley Continental GT III (Osaka, 2021) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@34.6629537,135.4969301,3a,15y,244.68h,87.93t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sYKwrEClnVAGj2kmctGhiHg!2e0!5s20210101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
10. Bentley Continental GT III (Osaka, 2021) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@34.6699016,135.4921664,3a,15.5y,127.94h,85.28t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1swnYolGlJV0N_2bAle7lDkA!2e0!5s20210901T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
11. BMW M3 E92 (Osaka, 2019) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@34.6544513,135.5408997,3a,15.9y,114.06h,87.75t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sVayE0tkL4cwQB9N1oM_lHw!2e0!5s20191001T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
12. Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (Sakai, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@34.5793538,135.4663909,3a,15y,129.67h,83.4t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sGJu1W27NeyrLAf52q9sqGg!2e0!5s20230301T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
13. Tuned Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX (Osaka, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@34.7153009,135.5571525,3a,15.5y,135.5h,85.41t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sWpw4i99uNCZzAEYFwObeiQ!2e0!5s20220901T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
14. BMW X6 M (Neyagawa, 2020) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@34.7862952,135.6230307,3a,15y,182.66h,85.21t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s-CsO9VB47NDvVpiDyYLQEg!2e0!5s20201101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
15. Ferrari 812 Superfast (Suita, 2020) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@34.7573351,135.4988851,3a,15y,118.36h,85.86t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1scuUgd1Zx4YVIM4khWOzofQ!2e0!5s20201201T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu

Random Spinner 7 - Yamanashi + All Categories (Free Roam)

1. Lotus Elise S2 (Minami-Alps, 2012) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.6073483,138.4470753,3a,46.9y,90.72h,67.63t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sHuwKKMkn7n5QnOCIPVzwZg!2e0!5s20120601T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
2. Lexus IS-F (Minami-Alps, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.5976818,138.4689968,3a,28.6y,112.9h,77.2t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sgCQhOF2q1-Kwuf9a7sIogQ!2e0!5s20230501T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
3. Nissan Skyline GTR BCNR33 (Fujiyoshida, 2012) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.4849859,138.8115675,3a,15y,129.34h,86.38t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sICXChy_YWAtSZtMm2f00NA!2e0!5s20120501T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
4. Rolls Royce Phantom VIII (Fujiyoshida, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.4763548,138.8085,3a,15.4y,345.75h,83.42t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sV58aZ3bcgcRfC-PFOpddQQ!2e0!5s20230401T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
5. 2017 Nissan GTR R35 (Fujiyoshida, 2018) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.4754205,138.8080233,3a,15y,129.82h,84.6t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sKIYy2N3cH1XNL8VddZ9SQg!2e0!5s20181001T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
6. Nissan Skyline GTR BNR32 (Fujiyoshida, 2018) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.4586,138.802808,3a,15y,278.09h,86.5t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sPFg5j71se3Jr6PlX4_IQxw!2e0!5s20181001T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
7. Porsche 718 Boxster Spyder (Yamanakako, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.4314262,138.8438559,3a,19.9y,302.89h,76.26t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1suPDsaNZJ7CPDDSUUlqDe-A!2e0!5s20220401T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
8. Nissan Skyline GTR BNR32 (Yamanakako, 2018) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.4223327,138.8507715,3a,15y,359.2h,86.13t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1si8V5uVbF6DYLIcG01pmX2Q!2e0!5s20181001T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
9. Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (Chuo City, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.6189662,138.5105334,3a,29y,357.13h,75.13t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s4sao7MQ0sAC1jMRFywmt7A!2e0!5s20221101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
10. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV (Chuo, 2014) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.6140199,138.5176561,3a,21.8y,219.86h,77.56t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sC1vVKCwpPY60txwpl_mvIQ!2e0!5s20140801T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
11. BMW M2 F87 (Chuo City, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.6115574,138.53741,3a,15.9y,108.13h,80.35t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sZgNHSfZNlj3QxI2lGzIjww!2e0!5s20221101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu

Got time off work all of a sudden that had to be taken during GW and my partner REALLY wanted to do Japan. I was game - I’ve been to Japan twice before, so it didn’t bother me that we’d have to be flexible and potentially miss/skip stuff.
How I booked/planned ⤵️
Exactly 3 weeks out, I booked flights to Haneda (used points, but they were about $900 from the East Coast). I booked all our lodging within the airline ticket 24 hour cancellation window. I wanted to be able to call off the trip and go somewhere else if I couldn’t lock down good lodging.
I booked 4 nights in Osaka at the Moxy in Shin Umeda using Marriott points. While the location wasn’t the most convenient of all time, it was a nice hotel and still in an okay area. I did request a room upgrade using my Platinum Elite benefits and they were not able to fulfill the request. May not have been a GW thing but I blame GW.
I wanted to do an overnight to Yakushima or Miyajima but both were too booked up. I switched gears and scored the very last room at the very last temple stay available in Koyasan. I paid $331 for what ended up being a gigantic room in a highly rated temple 5 minutes walk from Kongobuji (main attraction of Koyasan). Having looked up their non-Golden Week rates, I believe I paid a premium of ~$100 over the normal price. Really glad it worked out this way as Koyasan was very tranquil and uncrowded.
Surprisingly, the Art Islands were not totally booked out. I was able to book the exact hotel I wanted in Uno port for the exact dates I wanted. The price was about $40/night higher than normal. The only option left was a dorm room, which I expected to be a capsule, but it turned out their “dorm” rooms are all private rooms! The downside was a communal shower, but I never even used it because the stay came with free entry every day to the incredible seaside hot spring spa next door!
For the last night in Tokyo before flying out, I got a capsule at the exact hostel I wanted. I would have booked a private room if one was available, but for a stay totaling only 10 hours, the capsule was fine.
My partner reserved all our shinkansen tickets 1 week in advance using Smart Ex, and also reserved our seats on the train to Koyasan (not shinkansen, but reservation only). We actually ended up changing several of our reservations during the trip without any issues. For example, for the shinkansen ride from Okayama to Tokyo, we moved up our departure time twice the day of and booked an oversized luggage compartment at the last minute. I don’t believe any shinkansens we took allowed unreserved seats during GW so there was never any risk of having to stand.
I got scared off by posts about taking the shinkansen out of Tokyo on April 27, so I chose to fly to Osaka instead. Our transit ended up being nice and relaxed that way, plus I could take advantage of JAL domestic one-way flights being only 7.5k AA miles. I booked the flights 2 weeks in advance without any issues.
My partner booked ebike rentals and museum tickets for Naoshima and Teshima 3 weeks in advance. The only ticket we couldn’t get was Art House Project Kinza which is extremely difficult to get under ordinary circumstances anyway. It turned out our booking didn’t actually go through for Chichu Art Museum on Naoshima, and we didn’t realize it until the day of! It was obviously fully sold out during GW so I panicked but my partner kept refreshing the booking page throughout the day and several last-minute tickets popped up from cancellations.
In terms of meals, I didn’t bother with more than 1-2 restaurant reservations. We did fancy kaiseki meals, two different fancy wagyu experiences, and a high end sushi omakase in Japan less than a year ago. That doesn’t mean I winged it though. I planned every single meal in advance, and built our itinerary around restaurant opening times so we could always beat the queue. I also mapped out backup restaurants in case places were unexpectedly closed for GW, which did happen twice. Honestly not a bad idea to do so no matter when you travel, since Japanese businesses randomly close all the time.
Fully detailed itinerary below ⤵️
Day 1 (Saturday): Arrived HND. Left almost 3 hours between international arrival and domestic departure to Osaka. This ended up being way overkill but I didn’t know what kind of crowds to expect during GW.
Arrived at Itami late evening. Went out to see Massimiliano Pagliara’s DJ set at Compufunk Records until almost 3.
Day 2 (Sunday): Mostly a shopping day other than a quick stop at Namba Yasaka shrine. Hit the Tojiro knife store, Graf and Meetdish for fancy homewares, Indigena for all things vintage Snoopy, and Lara Vintage for vintage European womenswear where I scored some incredible pieces.
Got lunch at Oretachino-curry since the seafood izakaya I wanted to visit turned out to be closed for GW.
Got coffee at Glitch (the GOAT) and okonomiyaki & yakisoba for dinner at Ajinoya Honten.
I got a heavenly dry head spa treatment at I Refre Shinsaibashi while my partner window shopped in Denden town. Wanted Rikuro cheesecake afterward but it was mobbed and sold out so got consolation Mister Donut.
Day 3 (Monday): Successfully obtained Rikuro cheesecake in the shinkansen station on the way to Himeji!
Siphon coffee at the most charming shop in Himeji called Hamamoto Coffee (3.61 on Tabelog). No queue.
Visited Himeji Castle (busy but not uncomfortably so) & Kokoen Gardens (not busy) in the morning and Mt. Shosha/Engyoji (practically empty) in the afternoon. Got lunch at Ramen Koba in between. No queue.
Did more shopping after getting back to Osaka at Moyi Store (pottery), And Wander (gorpcore), Snowpeak (camping), and Mr. Kanso (tinned fish).
Horumonyaki for dinner at Yakiniku Susumu. No queue.
Day 4 (Tuesday): Woke up unnecessarily early to go to Kizu Market for breakfast at Maruyoshi Sushi. No queue.
Had really good tea and wagashi in even better pottery at Wad Omotenashi. No queue.
Hours of vintage clothing shopping at ACORN, Post Acorn, Kindal, NATS, and Village. If I came to Osaka again I’d definitely stay in Kitahorie or Minamisemba!
Got lunch at Udon Kyutaro (3.83 on Tabelog, no queue) and coffee at Aoma Coffee.
Walked through Kuromon Market then went tax-free shopping at Shinsaibashi Parco for random stuff like Miffy merch at Kiddyland, Hario coffee gear at Hands, and SK-II (IYKYK). Also did a ton of skincare shopping at Matsu Kiyo.
Dinner at Dotonbori Kani Doraku. Admittedly a tourist trap, but super tasty - glad I had a reservation as the wait was bananas. Got dessert at Cheese Tart Pablo. Short queue despite being in an incredibly crowded shopping street.
Day 5 (Wednesday): Traveled to Koyasan. Walked around and saw all the main shrines, had lunch at Hanabishi since the tofu shop I wanted to visit was closed for GW. Onsen at our temple stay before the shojin ryori dinner.
Did the obligatory and stunning night walk through Okunoin cemetery. We passed by the guided tour from Ekoin and were so glad we decided against it. It was way more magical being on our own in the misty dark night.
Day 6 (Thursday): Morning prayers and breakfast set meal at the temple, then looong travel to Uno for the Art Islands leg of the trip. Lunch at 551 Horai when changing trains in Osaka 🤤
Got kakigori at Omachido on reaching Uno, then took the ferry to Naoshima. Walked to the Lee Ufan and Benesse Art Museums and ate fresh locally farmed flounder at Yuunagi. No queues.
Closed out the night in the seaside rotenburo under the stars at Setouchi Onsen Tamanoyu.
Day 7 (Friday): Grabbed breakfast at the Marunaka grocery store, took the ferry to Teshima, and picked up our e-bike rentals from Setouchi Karen.
Hit Teshima Art Museum, Les Archives du Coeur, La Foret des Murmures, Needle Factory, and the Teshima Yokoo House. Got lunch at Shima along the way. No queue.
More kakigori at Omachido after getting the ferry back to Uno. Long queue! For dinner we had a very nice 14-course yakitori omakase at Sumi Habaki (Michelin Bib Gourmand). This was a reservation we had our hotel make for us a couple weeks in advance.
Hit the onsen again. It was a touch busy. More families with little kids than I’m used to seeing. GW problems.
Day 8 (Saturday): Grabbed breakfast at Marunaka again, took the ferry to Naoshima where there was an open-air marché going on right at the ferry terminal. Got a bunch of cute pottery and then took photos of the iconic red Kusama pumpkin.
Picked up e-bike rentals at Ougiya, booked it to Honmura lounge to get the best chance of a convenient entry time for Minamidera.
Saw Go’o Shrine, Kadoya, Gokaisho, Ishibashu, Chichu Art Museum, where we also had lunch at the cafe, Minamidera, Haisha, Tadao Ando Museum, Hiroshi Sugimoto Time Corridors, the yellow pumpkin, and Valley Gallery.
Ferried back to Uno, then headed to Tokyo, with a stop in Okayama where we got ramen at Fujiya. No queue.
Was so tired on reaching my hostel UNPLAN Kagurazaka that I just ate a Manneken waffle and passed out.
Day 9 (Sunday): Walked around Kagurazaka-dori and visited Tokyo Daijingu shrine.
Half the reason I stayed in Kagurazaka was so I could get breakfast at Pain des Philosophes (3.86 on Tabelog). Bread made with koshihikari koji and tangzhong 🔥 I only arrived 10 minutes before open and there was a substantial queue already.
Then immediately queued again at Tsujihan for their iiiiincredible kaisen don. Again, arrived 20 minutes before open but the queue was substantial.
My last stop before leaving for Haneda was tax-free shopping for souvenirs at the incredible Akomeya La Kagu. The other half of why I stayed in Kagurazaka. Got soo many fancy homewares and gourmet food items like hinoki room spray, kyoho grape jelly, Yuzusco hot sauce, a Tembea leather wallet, etc.
Haneda was not that busy. Had a nightmare scenario last summer where it took almost 2 hours just to get through the bag check queue. This time I had plenty of time to shop for Royce chocolates and eat Rokurinsha before my flight.

I keep trying to forget her substack exists but despite unsubscribing, I keep getting the emails.
And once I saw the title, I was eager to see the glow up she gave a trip where she looked miserable. I still cannot believe this woman has a career as a writer,
“Where we ate, shopped, and stayed in Tokyo and Kyoto
My first ever trip to Japan was a total whirlwind that was filled with a packed itinerary, lots of laughs (didn’t see laughs but I did see side-eyes) and such an amazing experience. My mind and heart are still fluttering (minds cannot flutter) over the quick 9 day trip! I could have used more time, but I still feel like we covered so much with the time we had.
Below you will find a full break down of each day and what we did, where we ate, and where we shopped. (Mostly shopped)
TOKYO Night One: Masa Ishibashi - Thanks to jet-lag, we nearly fell asleep at the table but it was a great first night spot. It’s a great area to walk around before dinner and shop hop. We popped in Dover Street and had a pre-dinner cocktail at Ginza which was a super hip record playing bar. Most restaurants and bars are up in office buildings so expect that. (No mention of the dinner spot)
Day - Night Two: We hit the ground walking (oh I get instead of running, but it’s an expression so you can use it correctly) and started at the famous Shibuya Crossing. It’s cool to see but not a must. Stumbled across so many interesting and unique moments like a Farmers Market at UNU. We walked and walked to Amore Vintage Aoyama - great vintage Hermes selection and lots of locations . . . and then to Casanova Vintage - another amazing vintage shop! Next we walked through Tokyo Plaza and saw the mirrored escalators which was cool. Then off to Meiji Shrine where we made wishes and saw the beautiful shrine. From there our legs were burning so we took a quick cab to YoYoGi Park to take in the Cherry Blossom trees with our Australian friends and wine. That was really cool because it was a tradition that the Japanese have been doing for over 800 years. Truly special!
Pre-Dinner drinks at Park Hyatt New York Bar (the hotel we stayed at) which was amazing and surreal. Lost in Translation is a favorite movie of mine so this was a “moment” for me. (The moment 🤡) For Night two we had a really fun, quick and easy dinner at Daian which had great Soba and was in a fun area for playing with gaming shops. read more here
Day - Night Three: We spent most of the day in Daikanyama walking around the shops. Specifically loved Hedy for vintage. Cabbed (a long cab) to Sakura Bashi Bridge which was my favorite Cherry Blossom viewing point with locals. We were the only tourists there! We started the night off at Team Labs which was a really fun art experience that I recommend if you have time. Cruised back over the bridge (beautiful) for happy hour at The Edition (fun) and had dinner at Sushi Yuu. This was my favorite dinner in Tokyo. We ended the night at Karakoke Kan in Shibuya which is where Lost in Translation filmed (drink every time she mentions this movie) (seeing a theme?) We ended at the Golden Guy mini bars. The Golden Gai is an area in Shinjuku, Tokyo, with around 200 bars in a small area of alleyways. Most of the bars are so tiny – some with as few as 6 seats! They really are like walk-in cupboards, with just the bar and a space in front.
Day - Night Four: Went to Takeshita Street for some souvenirs for the kids (she remembers them) and ended up at Tomorrowland and a sake taking at a random shop. You can talk and eat street food for days in this city. Our final dinner was at the French Michellin star Equisse but I think we were too jet-lag sleepy to truly enjoy it. HOUSE OF LIGHT - TOKAMACHI
Day Five - Day 6: Trained all day to the James Turrell House of Light. To say that this experience was once in a lifetime, never forget places I’ve visited is a huge understatment. What an amazing journey. I warn you that it is most definitely not for the faint of heart. You spent a LOT of time getting to the House of Light and upon arrival you will definitely have one of those “where the hell are we” moments. You bring your own food, etc. and camp out on mats on the floor. But there’s cell phone service, heateAC, towels etc. and the best art exhibits I have seen in my life. The house books out well in advance. We had 5 people but booked it for 6 people because otherwise you will be sharing the space with fellow travelers if that’s your jam. Also, we booked it for two nights so we could have a later check out time because they’re pretty strict! See more here. We stayed here one night and then trained our way to Kyoto. KYOTO
Night 6: Checked into the Hotel Mitsui and what a dream it was. I 100% recommend this hotel if you’re in Kyoto. Absolutely stunning and has everything you want head to toe! Took our swaying train legs to a tofu driven restaurant called Tousuiro Kiyamachi Main Shop. If Tofu is your thing, then this place was phenomenal. Tofu is not my “thing.” We walked around town a bit and popped by BAL which is a really great multi-level shopping mall that has a few brands unique to Japan.
Day - Night 7: Took the 40 min train trek to see the deers. It’s a super popular destination called Nara Park and it really is special. There’s a magic here and so many damn deers. You will be laughing and in awe. They’re like 1,000s of house cats. Apparently they were placed there to guard the temples but now it just seems like they’re there for the biscuits and pets. After that we walked around town and stumbled upon the cutest LL Bean (Jacey never stops trying to make LL Bean happen) but more elevated canvas bag store called Ichizawa Shinzaburo Hanpu which I later found out has been making these high quality bags for over 100 years and are sold only in Kyoto (score!). We went back to the hotel and walked to Brown Kyoto which is a vintage shop Amber Lewis suggested because it’s so close to the hotel but it was closed. We ended up popping in to the cutest sake shop just right next door for some tasting and shopping called Sake Cube Kyoto which I highly suggest. You could hit both up at once. We saved some energy and stomach space for one of the most amazing dinners I’ve ever had in my life. Monk. Need I say more? Yoshihiro Imai's 14-seat, seasonally inspired restaurant, set on the cherry blossom-lined (drink every time she mentions the cherry blossoms) Philosopher's Path in Kyoto. I suggest googling more on it and/or watch the Chef’s Table episode all about it. It’s impossible to get in but luckily we had Ariel pull some strings (ND forever a name dropper) for her special birthday dinner. It was an unforgettable night.
Day - Night 8: We went to the Fushimi Inari Shrine temple and I wish I’d worn sneakers. You can just pop in for the beginning but of course I wanted to go to the top. There are drink, bar and food stations all along the way and I suggest making a long morning out of the experience. At the bottom there are the most amazing food trucks for lunch but we had a really amazing lunch reservation. We intended to see Bamboo Forrest after our amazing lunch. We had a reservation at Tempura Matsu which was my second favorite (behind Monk) meal of the trip. It was very authentic and felt so special. It’s also very close to bamboo forrest so you can kill both birds with one stone. Sadly this is when I started to fall ill. I didn’t post on social media, but after this lunch I headed back to the hotel and fell into a dark hole of not feeling well. I guess my back to back travels from New York, Cabo, to Tokyo and Kyoto (lol so stay home more) just all caught up with me and I caught strep throat. Damn. I really only missed out on the last night because we made our way back to Tokyo on Day 9. We had planned on staying at the new Janu in Tokyo for one night but instead, I caught an early bird home (masked up) and went straight to urgent care and home to rest up to see my babies. Outside of my little strep throat souvenir, this trip was a true bucket list that I was so thankful to finally check off my list. I will absolutely be going back one day and would very much like to spend more time in Kyoto and perhaps visit Osaka. Have you been? I simply must thank Case and Ariel, our fearless leaders who made every reservation and guided us. They’d been before and had the best laid plans. We had an absolute blast! I hope you enjoyed this itinerary and find it helpful! There are so many amazing places to see, you really can’t go wrong!
Until next time, JD x”
Alright this is it. I am amazed they didn’t take in more cultural aspects of Japan or the Japanese beauty treatments they are absolutely famous for…not to mention Japanese snacks are lit. They also didn’t get the Japanese shortbread cookies with butter. But they did shop for brands the US sell so I guess a success.

Hi everyone! I'll be traveling with my mom from the US and our plan is to eventually end up in Fukuoka (from Tokyo) and take a ferry to Busan, then fly back home from Seoul.
Background and Interests: A bit of background is that this is my graduation trip, and my mom has always wanted to visit Japan so we want to make the most out of this trip but not rush it. We were in Tokyo for about 12 hours in January for a layover and visited Sensoji Temple, Nakamise Street, Meiji Shrine, Tsukiji Outer Fish Market, and Shibuya Scramble (and had the best strawberry soft serve we'd ever had!). My mom loved everything but especially the strawberries. She loves fruits, snacks, and sweet treats in general but unfortunately does not eat raw fish, which is why we decide not to do omakase and just do sushi places with non-raw options. We both love exploring different markets with many food vendors to try out, and I especially wanna try the local cuisine/specialties (such as Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki, Shisaru in Enoshima, Motsunabe in Fukuoka, etc.). She also has an interest in palaces, castles, and anything prince/princesses-related. Personally, I absolutely loved Meiji Shrine and plan to revisit it during this trip. I also love nature, greenery, scenic views, etc.
I think this is less of an itinerary but more so a list of things within the same vicinity that we would like to visit. The list looks long, but we're not going to try to hit everything and also flexible with restaurants. Places with **** are the ones we absolutely wanna check out. I'm personally mostly concerned about the logistics and timing of the travel from one city to another and don't want to make it too exhausting. Any feedback regarding this would be greatly appreciated!
Friday May 17th - TOKYO

• Arrive at HND at 2PM
• Check in hotel and settle in/rest
• Dinner

Saturday May 18th - TOKYO (Harajuku and Shinjuku)

• Morning
  • Picnic at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
  • Harajuku: Takeshita Street (DAISO, Marion Crepes)
• Afternoon
  • Shinjuku:
    • Lunch at Kaiten Sushi Numazuko
    • 3D Cat, Godzilla Head, Seria 100 Yen, and Kabukicho Tower
• Evening
  • Omoide Yokocho**** for dinner
  • Golden Gai****

Sunday May 19th - TOKYO

• Morning
  • Imperial Palace East Garden****
  • Taito City
    • Kappabashi Shopping for knives/kitchen goods****
    • Ameyoko Shopping District + lunch
    • Suzukien Asakusa
    • Kurogi
• Afternoon
  • Shiba Park and Zojo-ji Temple (or just one depending on how tired we are) and stay until sunset for view of the Tokyo Tower****
• Evening
  • Dinner at Kushikatsu Bon Ginza

Monday May 20th - TOKYO

• Morning
  • Ginza: Itoya, UNIQLO****, etc.
  • Tokyo Station and the surrounding shopping areas
• Afternoon => Shibuya:
  • Hachiko Memorial Statue and Shibuya Sky at sunset****
  • Shibuya Scramble at night****
  • MEGA Don Quijote
• Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu Harajuku for dinner

Tuesday May 21st - TOKYO

• Morning
  • Meiji Shrine****
  • Kagaruzaka - explore the 3 alleys****
  • Tokyo Skytree - lunch, check out shops, Ghibli store
• Afternoon
  • Kiyosumi Gardens
• Evening
  • Ginza Yakitori Take-chan for dinner; Ginza Kimuraya if time permits
  • Akihabara at night if time permits
  • Head back to hotel and forward luggage to Kyoto

Wednesday May 22nd - NIKKO***\*

• Shinkyo Bridge
• Temples
  • Rinnō-ji temple => Toshogu Shrine => Futarasan Shrine
  • Kanmangafuchi Abyss
• Lunch
• Kegon Waterfall and Ryuzu Falls
• Dinner then head back to hotel at Nikko

Thursday May 23rd - Kanagawa/Enoshima Island

• Kanagawa:
  • Arrive at Kotoku-in Temple around 10:30 AM (around 4-hr transit)
  • Zeniarai Benten Shrine
  • Lunch: Wasai Yakura
• Enoshima
  • Enoshima Shrine
  • Chigogafuchi Plateau and Iwaya caves
  • Dinner: Enoshimatei
  • Sunset at Sea Candle
• Head to Kyoto (around 3.5-hr transit)

Friday May 24th - KYOTO

• Morning: Higashiyama Jisho-ji => Philosopher's Path => Heian Shrine
• Lunch: Omen Ginkaku-ji
• Afternoon: Nanzen-ji Temple => Suirokaku (Waterway Bridge)
• Evening: Hanamikoji Street to see the geisha****
• Dinner: Gion Uokeya U

Saturday May 25th - OSAKA

• Morning:
  • Osaka Castle****
  • Kuromon Ichiba Market (jiggly cheesecake at Rikuko's)
• Lunch: Fukutaro Main Store for Osaka-style Okonomiyaki****
• Afternoon: Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street
• Dinner: Kadoya Shokudo
• Evening: Dotonbori****

Sunday May 26th - KYOTO

• Morning:
  • Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka****
  • Hokan-ji Temple
  • Kiyomizu-dera Temple****
• Lunch: Nishiki Market
• Dinner: Kichi Kichi Omurice
• Yasaka Shrine at night

Monday May 27th - KOBE AND HIMEJI***\*

• Morning: Arrive at Himeji Castle around 8:30AM
• Kobe for lunch or early dinner
• Back to Kyoto
  • Ichiran-ramen somewhere if we don't do dinner in Kobe

Tuesday May 28th - NARA AND UJI***\*

• Nara: Nara Park, Todaiji Temple and Kofuku-ji Temple, Nakatanidou
• Uji: Byodo-in Temple****
• Dinner: Takoume Kitaten in Osaka if time permits
• Back to hotel in Kyoto

Wednesday May 29th - SCENIC TRAIN & AMANOHASHIDATE

• Head to Nishimaizuru Station (about 3-hr transit)
• Take the Tango Aka-Matsu (only operates on Tuesday and Wednesday)**** at 10:12AM to Amanohashidate
  • Arrive at Amanohashidate around 11AM
  • Amanohashidate View Land**** and lunch
  • Explore around the area
• Take train back to Kyoto

Thursday May 30th - KYOTO

• Arashiyama: Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Tenryu-ji, Shigetsu for lunch, Arashiyama Monkey Park
• Kinkaku-ji****
• Dinner: Gontaro or anywhere nearby/on the way back to hotel
• Back to hotel and forward luggage to Hiroshima

Friday May 31st - KYOTO => KINOSAKI

• Fushimi Inari Taisha early morning
• Head to Kinosaki (~2-3 hours)

Saturday June 1st - KINOSAKI => HIROSHIMA

• Head to Hiroshima after lunch (~3hr transit, arrive at Hiroshima around 6PM)
• Dinner: Denkousekka (Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki)
• Retrieve luggage and check in hotel in Hiroshima

Sunday June 2nd - HIROSHIMA AND MIYAJIMA ISLAND

• Hiroshima: Atomic Bomb Dome
• Miyajima Island: try out local cuisine, Daishoin Temple, Ropeway to Mt. Misen if time permits, Itsukushima Shrine at sunset
• Back to Hiroshima

Monday June 3rd - HIROSHIMA => FUKUOKA

• Arrive at Fukouka around 11AM then lunch
• Dazaifu Tenmangu (try umegaimochi)
• Get snow globes from one of the Starbucks (not sure these snow globes are just in Fukuoka but I didn't see any in Tokyo during my layover)
• Yatai for dinner or dinner somewhere else

Tuesday June 4th - FUKUOKA => BUSAN

• Nanzoin if time permits
• Motsunabe somewhere****
• Ferry to Busan at 3PM (Queen Beetle)

Trip Date: March 21-April 8
Interests: Coffee, Tea, Food, Anime, Gardens, Castles, Museums, Sakura
Priorities: trying good coffee, eating good food, minimizing waiting in lines, buying some chef knives, one piece, pokemon, Sakura.
Route: Tokyo > Nagoya > Kyoto > Yasugi > Hiroshima > Yufuin > Osaka > Hakone > Tokyo
Expenses (rounded to nearest $10):

• Transportation within Japan: $1300
  
• Luggage Forwarding: $80 (2 carryon sized luggages 3 times)
  
• eSim: Ubigi - $26 for 2 10gb plans
  

General tips to newer travelers or first timers to Japan:

• Get an IC card regardless of JR pass or not, physical or Apple pay, either work. There were some people who said IC cards were unnecessary, but we traveled using the booths for the first day, and after getting our Pasmo (for me) and loading a Suica onto my wife’s iPhone, traveling was immensely easier. No need to spend time calculating how much fare to pay, just tap in and tap out and it’s auto calculated.
  
• Make sure your card/phone actually scans/beeps when you enteexit stations. If you accidentally enter or exit without scanning, your card will have an error, and you will need to speak to an attendant to fix it. They will ask you for your last entry/exit station.
  
• Ubigi eSim: while I rarely had service outages, I never got the advertised 5g speeds and was stuck on 4g the whole time. Apparently this is a US Pixel specific issue (I have Pixel 7Pro). My wife has an iPhone 13 and she had 5g the whole time, but she had to change some privacy settings in order to use her web browser (apps worked fine). We both got the 10gb/30day plan and I had 800MB of data left while my wife had 2.8GB. I did all the navigation but I wasn’t watching videos or using social media unless on wifi.
  
• Prioritize what you want to do. Sometimes you may end up spending more time at a location than you expect, or maybe there is a longer wait for something, or maybe you just missed the subway/got on the wrong train.
  
• Google maps is wonderful for train/metro/subway, and a little more confusing when it comes to buses. My wife and I rarely used public transit before this trip so our time in Kyoto was very stressful because google maps would not match up with the bus lines perfectly and the colors/”platforms” were sometimes incorrect. Don’t pack the first 2-3 days of your trip with tons of locations to travel to because you’ll be using these days to learn the transit system.
  
• Learn some Japanese and Japanese culture/etiquette. There were definitely areas where we felt like some business owners and residents were weary of tourists. But knowing simple things like where to wait, how to say how many seats you need, or just simply being mindful of those around you will go a long way.
  
• Don’t be “those tourists”! You’re visiting someone else’s home. You should respect the rules of the house even if you were raised differently. I read plenty of reviews on google for places that were negative because “no one spoke english”. If you see people lined up for something, you should assume that it’s because they are waiting to get into the place/train/bus you are trying to get to. I could go on and on, but rude/ignorant tourists were by far the worst part of our trip.
  
• If you want to avoid the crowds, you will have to go early (or late) to popular tourist spots. The downside to going early is that a lot of the shops are not open yet.
  
• For those that are lactose intolerant, some places advertise oat milk/oat lattes. My wife had 2 incidents (out of 20+) where she believes they were using oat FLAVORED milk. If you’re really sensitive to dairy, just stick to black, or bring your own non dairy creamer, or use lactaid every time.
  
• Google translate works best when you understand how the Japanese language structure works. I have completed Pimsleur Japanese 1 and 2, I have been doing DuoLingo for almost a year, and I watch anime regularly, so I was able to start understanding how to word things better when using the translate functions. Sometimes I would type something into translate and they would give me a confused look, and then I would reword my questions using different words/sentence structures and then it clicked for them.
  
• Cards or cash? I see this asked often and I see a varying degree of answers. My personal experience is that I was able to use cards at a lot more establishments than I was expecting, especially since I went to more rural areas. I have a Chase Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum card and they were allowed at probably around 90% of the businesses I visited. If you have a physical IC card, you need cash to reload it. For 18 days, I brought 300000 Yen (Chase bank’s currency exchange was not bad) and I used about 135,000 Yen, over half of which was used to reload my IC card.
  

This was a re-do of our canceled 10 year anniversary trip that was planned for 2020. I was really bummed because that trip was timed PERFECTLY with the sakura blooms. I had hopes for this year as well, because all the reports up until the week before our trip were forecasting late March blooms again. Unfortunately, we missed the blooms and were, instead, given rain and strong winds for the first half of the trip. I booked our Ryokan stays first based on availability and pricing which is why the route may not look optimal to seasoned travelers. My initial concept was to book Ryokans as “rest days” in between the more active days of the trip and to also use the longer train/bus rides as down time. I wanted to end with Osaka/Tokyo as I had plans to purchase some chef knives and do some shopping and wanted to get a feel on the prices during my initial stay in Tokyo to see if I should buy in Osaka or not.
Days 1-3: Tokyo
Notable Coffee:

• Glitch - 8/10:this is made for people who prefer light/medium roasts with fruity and floral notes and enjoy drinking coffee black. My wife and I prefer darker roasts in the chocolate/nutty family with some milk. So while we didn’t particularly enjoy our brews, we definitely appreciated the time and effort they take to make you a special cup of coffee. It can take a while if you come at the wrong time because they walk everyone through their coffee process so if you have a bunch of people lined up in front of you who like to ask questions and don’t know what they want, it will be a while.
  
• Fuglen - 10/10: apparently this is a tourist hotspot and is especially popular with Chinese/Taiwanese tourists. There is a guy who seems to regularly sit in the front in a military outfit (he was there both times we went). The coffee jelly was AMAZING (best I had). This was the first time my wife could have non dairy milk (oat) with her coffee and she loved it. It was in the top 5 coffee spots in Japan for us. The waffle was good, but we didn’t get it the second time we visited.
  
• Kielo Coffee - 9/10: Another spot with non dairy milk and it was really tasty. The vibes were nice as well - chill and relaxed.
  

Notable Food:

• Himuro Ueno - 8/10: our first meal in Japan after landing. They went a bit heavy on the beansprouts for my wife’s miso ramen. Gyoza was excellent. Eggs were amazing (theme for the trip)
  
• Tonkatsu Hasegawa - 10/10: I believe you need reservations to dine here, but I saw a couple people walk up and try to get seats (not sure if they were successful or not). Best Tonkatsu we’ve ever had. We never ate katsu for the rest of the trip because we were certain it would not live up to this place.
  
• 銀座すし和 - 9/10: our first sushi spot in Japan. It is underground and there is only 1 person running the whole thing. He speaks no english and there is no english menu. It takes about 10-15 minutes for him to finish 1 person’s order. We both ordered the medium sized meal (for 1.5 people) and everything tasted fresh.
  
• Boulangerie Jean Francois - 10/10: we made the mistake of stumbling across this bakery at the basement level of Ginza 6. I say mistake because we loved their baked goods so much that we compared every other baked goods to this place. Their cinnamon rolls, butter croissant, regular croissant, and curry bread were the best we had.
  
• Yasubee - 8/10: Known for their Tsukemen, but they have ramen options as well. I was confused because they price the small, medium, and large serving sizes all the same. I got the large size (maybe it was XL?) Tsukemen and my wife got a medium ramen. They go HARD with their noodles… I only finished about 80% of my meal and I actually had to sit for 45 minutes after my meal at a starbucks because I was in such a massive food coma. Amazing noodle texture, and the eggs.. Holy moly people weren’t kidding about the eggs in Japan.
  

Touristy Spots:

• Square Enix cafe - 7/10: our only cafe experience and it will probably be our last. I know it’s not as well done as, say the Kirby cafe, but as much as I LOVED Final Fantasy 7, this was just not worth the price. The drinks were very tasty, but you don’t get a lot of it (ice takes up most of the space). I’m glad I experienced it, but themed cafes are just not my thing.
  
• Sensoji Temple - pretty cool temple grounds with cool gates. Lots of vendors all around the temple area. Easy to get to and worth a stop if you’re in the area.
  
• Nakamise Dori - right next to Sensoji Temple, so you might as well walk around there after. Tons of food and souvenir vendors but you’re probably better off buying things at Don Quijote price-wise.
  
• Gundam Factory - they decommissioned the moving Gundam at the end of March, so I’m glad I got to see it before they did.
  
• Cup Noodle Museum (Yokohama) - if you aren’t doing the ramen making workshop or the cup building workshop, you can probably walk through the whole place in 30-45 minutes. The lines for the instant noodle kitchen was insane when we went. We only bought admission tickets to look around.
  
• Akihabara - just wow. I didn’t think I could get sensory overload, but I did. The malls here are either super tight and tall, or super wide and tall and LOADED with signs. Not only that, but there are simply SO many people walking everywhere. It makes Vegas look like child’s play. When taking videos, try not to point your cameras at the cafe girls. They all looked away/turned around when they saw people with cameras shooting the streets.
  
• Tsukiji Market - cool to walk around, hard to figure out what you want to eat and where to get it. Lots of people are trying to buy things and if you don’t assert yourself at some of the shops, you’ll never get help. Stopped by a couple knife stores and the prices weren’t great. Had some “onigiri” from a random shop outside of the market and it was really delicious.
  

Other thoughts:
This was our first international flight over 5 hours so I wanted to make our arrival as frictionless as possible. We got Ubigi esims for my Pixel 7pro (US unlocked) and her iPhone 13 (US Unlocked) so we wouldn’t have to pick up a pocket wifi. I opted to forgo JR pass, as the calculator said we would barely be saving money and I read that the JR Ticket lines at the airports are always packed and slow moving (for obvious reasons). And I opted to use the Keisei Skyliner and book a hotel in Ueno to avoid needing to transfer stations.
We arrived at Narita Airport around 5pm. When we landed, immigration only had two lines: 1 for Japanese residents and 1 for tourists. Everyone in the tourist line had to line up and do the same things regardless of if you had a QR code or filled out the hardcopy paperwork. Everyone had to scan their face and fingers. I noticed that the customs agents seemed to work quicker for people who had QR codes (maybe due to illegible or incorrectly filled out paperwork).
We headed straight for the ticketing booths on the B1F and I headed for the Skyliner Ticket booth. The Keisei information booth was much longer. The JR Line was even worse. I waited about 10 minutes before getting to the front of the line and purchased our Skyliner tickets to Ueno. They had no Pasmo Passports or any IC cards at the booth. The lady told me I had to pick one up at Ueno station. We boarded the Skyliner and arrived at Ueno station around 7pm. Information booth was closed and the JR office had no IC cards.
I had to shift gears a bit for one of the days because I was planning to visit Shinjuku National Garden and Yoyogi park for the Sakura. Unfortunately, we had wind and rain instead, and no blossoms in sight. So we opted to explore more of the Taito city area and take it easy. I am not a rain person so my spirits were quite low, but we got umbrellas and trudged on!
Day 4-6: Nagoya and Kyoto
Notable Coffee:

• Kitaoji Roastery Lab - 8/5/10: run more like a roastery than a cafe, but they know how to make a good latte. We were the only ones there and we got to see them roast 2 batches of beans while enjoying our lattes and iced coffees.
  
• % Arabica - 10/10: this was maybe our favorite coffee spot in all of Japan. Perfectly steamed milk and beans that are strong enough to burst through the creamy milk in perfect harmony. They are opening another 2nd location right across the street in April that looks to serve food as well. I’m note sure if the new location will be replacing the original location or not.
  

Notable Food:

• Funaokayama Shimizu - 10/10: our first kaiseki dining experience and it did not disappoint. Reservations only, as the place only seats 6. Chef Shimizu doesn’t talk much besides explaining the dishes he was presenting to us with the help of google translate. Top 3 meals for us in Japan. Everything was done so well and the flavors were immaculate. My wife’s favorite dessert was this orange juice jelly that he built inside of an actual orange. Located in a residential neighborhood, so it’s a little disconcerting to get there if you’re walking from the closest bus/metro stop.
  
• Charcoal-grilled eel Togawa sakae - 10/10: we actually wanted to eat at Atsuta Houraiken in Nagoya, but there was a 3 hour wait when we arrived at 11am, so we found this place nearby. They were fully booked for lunch already but were willing to make takeout boxes for us. We took these to the nearby Parco mall to eat. I was curious to see my wife’s reaction as she is not a huge unagi fan, but this unagi bowl changed her mind. They pack it with extra eel sauce and some onion/salt packets for the egg. Not cheap, but so so good.
  
• Yamamoto Menzou - 10/10: We typically aren’t udon people because the texture of the udon in the US isn’t very good. It’s usually too mealy, or thick, or the broth is too bland. But this place? Amazing. They seem to require reservations but we came at a down time and they were able to seat us right away. We had the spicy udon and spicy miso udon with burdock and chicken tempura. This was one of the only places that used white meat chicken that we tried in Japan and it was cooked perfectly. I wish I had ordered more. The burdock tempura was interesting. It was very firm and crunchy like a carrot. The texture of the udon noodles here were to die for: wonderfully chewy while somehow feeling like an al dente noodle. Was a perfect compliment to the broth.
  
• Ramen Tanaka Kyu Shoten - 8/10: everything here was pretty delicious, but it is definitely overpriced. This was the first place we dined at that we felt like we were paying tourist prices. Eggs were more yellow vs the orange we were used to seeing, but still cooked perfectly. Gyoza was okay and the karaage chicken was good.
  
• Pizzeria Da Yuki - 10/10: neapolitan style pizza has become our go-to in recent years and this place knocks it out of the park. They just changed locations about 150 meters away from the previous location. The menu is extensive and their dough has the perfect amount of chew and bubbling. We definitely felt underdressed here.
  

Touristy Spots:

• Nijo Castle: very cool castle with large grounds and gardens to walk through. Several Sakura trees, so I bet it'd be awesome to walk through when in bloom. Admission includes the ability to walk through the castle. We were planning to skip this in favor of west Kyoto (Arashiyama areas) but the rains changed our minds and we're glad we got to see this castle.
  
• Kiyomizu Dera: Very cool to walk around without hordes of people. We arrived around 7am and there were maybe 10-20 other people at the time we went. Kodaiji Temple: cool stairway to the main entrance. Again, no one around here early so you can take some cool photos.
  
• Sannenzaka: there were already people lined up to take photos here despite the gloomy weather. We couldn’t see the temple through the fog and clouds. No shops were open.
  
• Ninenzaka: cool to walk through while it was empty, but sad that we couldn’t explore the shops. Pick your poison I suppose.
  
• Philosopher’s path: was really looking forward to walking here with the trees in bloom but it was still a nice walk. We saw some fat neko here.
  
• Kinkaku-ji: Cool golden temple with a nice garden and short “hike”.
  
• Fushimi Inari: we got here around 5:00pm and there was still a decent crowd, probably because it had stopped raining and the sun was starting to peek through. We ended up taking a random path out of the hallway of tori gates because we saw several people go that way, and we ended up hiking up the backside of the trail. It was very cool to see the forest of bamboo, and we met a friendly neko that gave me a headbutt of affection, so that was the only reprieve of taking a very difficult (for us) hike up to the top. At one point, we were confused about where to go and this kind old man pointed us in the right direction. We went back down the normal path and it was significantly easier… so do with that information what you will. Definitely less people at the top, but not an insignificant amount of people either.
  
• Takumi-no Yakata: very cool place to learn how to brew teas. For 1000 yen, you can pick a tea to learn how to brew and drink and also pick a tea snack. This is where I learned I don’t like gyokuro tea. For whatever reason, it hits the umami centers of my tongue really hard, so it tastes almost like broth to me instead of tea. Wife learned how to whisk matcha so now I don’t have to whisk it up every morning for her haha. They are able to communicate effectively in English and Chinese here.
  
• Nakamura Tokichi Honten: if you want to try this place, I recommend stopping by here first before you explore Uji. There is a kiosk you put your name and party size into and it prints out a ticket for you to track where you are in line. When we got there around 11:30am it was a 3 hour wait. We explored Uji in the meantime and came back with an estimated 30 minute wait left (total time was about 3 hr 15 mins). I wasn’t impressed, but I also didn’t get the parfait. I got the mochi, jelly, and icecream dessert along with matcha latte and my wife got a traditional matcha.
  

Other thoughts:
Overall, we liked Kyoto the city, but we encountered so many awful tourists here. For example, there were some American teens who were crossing the rope boundary at Kinkaku-ji to grab yen on the ground to toss into the statue bowls for good luck and constantly yelling at each other to miss their tosses. We also had unpleasant experiences on the buses where tourists would cut the lines that Japanese residents were waiting in to get into packed buses and then proceed to act like ass hats (super loud nonstop conversations, watching tiktok on their phones at full volume, etc). We skipped west Kyoto because we were tired of wandering around in the rain, and spent a half day out in the rain at Uji instead. We were thinking that mud+rain would make everything less enjoyable in Arashiyama. We discovered how much we love warabi mochi, and I am so so sad we didn’t buy more Hojicha warabi mochi here.
Day 7: Yasugi

• Ryokan - Saginoyuso 8.5/10: Amazing stay here and they are very accommodating. Mainly booked this because I wanted to visit the Adachi Museum. My wife has several tattoos so I wanted to book Ryokans with private onsen in the room to avoid any discomfort. It’s so nice to be able to soak in the comfort of your private quarters instead of having to walk down several hallways to get to a private one you can book. Kaiseki meals were amazing. Dinner is served in your room, and breakfast is served in a communal dining/banquet area.
  
• Adachi Museum - 10/10: amazing garden with some cool art and sculptures. We sat and had coffee in one of the tea rooms, but you can probably skip it and find a bench to sit on in various areas of the museum. The views from the tea room were amazing, but at 1500 yen per drink (free refills) for pretty bad coffee, I don’t know that it’s worth it on top of the price of admission.
  

Other Thoughts:
We really wanted to visit Himeji castle, but after our hike, we were wiped and just wanted to get to the Ryokan and chill. Really cool view of Mount Daisen from the train on the way to Yasugi. There wasn't much else to do in Yasugi, and this Ryokan is literally across the street from the museum. I think I would try and stay in Matsue if we visit again. Pretty rural area in the mountains, but almost no tourists here aside from the tour groups stopping by the museum. If you stop at Okayama station, make sure to pick up the wasabi flavored nori snacks. We didn’t find those anywhere else and they were one of our favorite snacks of the trip!
Day 8-9: Hiroshima
Notable Coffee:

• Obscura Coffee Roasters Hondori - 10/10: one of the few places that have dark roast beans in their main rotation. This was one of the only places we actually bought beans from. Loved the vibe and ambiance in this location (they have another location closer to the peace park). Our second favorite coffee place after %Arabica.

Notable Food:

• Kome Kome Shokudo - 10/10: my wife picked this place out as she was wanting karaage. It was the best Karaage we had all trip. Skip the sizzling steak plate and just get the karaage chicken. I also tried the minced tuna don and it was okay. Their specialty is the karaage chicken and it was by far the best we had in Japan. Perfectly crispy outside with juicy chicken on the inside. They cut out all the gristle which we loved. They also have takeout option for their chicken.

Touristy Spots:

• Miyajima Island: I initially ruled this out because my wife gets motion sick and the ferry ride from Hiroshima is about an hour long. But I found that if you take the train to Miyajimaguchi Station, the ferry ride from there is only 10 minutes and apparently the ferry is bigger as well so it’s less rocky. My wife was fine for both ferry rides and we got to “enjoy” the hike up Mt. Misen and the street food. We took the Daishoin path up and it took us just over 90 minutes which is what the suggested time is for the hike. We didn’t have tickets to take the ropeway down, but there are signs indicating that you can pay for the ride down after you get to the base of the ropeway. Just know that if you take the ropeway up, you still have to hike for a bit to get to the top of Mt. Misen. We saw a woman in a nice dress and fur jacket and leather boots walking up from the Gondola and we were thinking “she does NOT know what she signed up for dressed like that…”
  
• Peace Memorial Museum: very sobering experience. It takes a while to get through because there are so many people in there that you get bottle necked sometimes. If you’re in Hiroshima, there’s no reason not to visit. The park and dome are right
  

Other Thoughts
The oysters weren’t my cup of tea. I tried them deep fried in a ball and grilled with Yuzu miso sauce. I think they taste too much like the water they were farmed in? Not sure how else to describe it. They don’t taste like the ocean like the oysters I’m used to, but they taste like… what you would expect brackish lake water to taste like? We also didn't do too much in Hiroshima because there was super strong winds on top of rain, so we mainly just explored the areas next to our hotel.
Day 10-11: Yufuin

• Ryokan - Yufuin Yasuha 8/10: special blue colored water (aoyu) that makes your skin silky smooth. The private bath in our room was not as smooth as the other ryokans we stayed at so it was slightly less comfortable if you’re going in naked. You can’t control the amount of spring water that goes into the bath, only the amount of cold water, so make sure not to leave it on too long or else you’re stuck with a lukewarm bath unless you ask the staff to resupply your bath. The welcome mochi and cold towel were amazing after sweating on the bus. Kaiseki dinner was good but one of my beef slices was super chewy. Meals are served in a communal area with partitions and sliding doors separating diners.
  
• Ryokan - Ryunohige 10/10: This was by far the best ryokan experience we had but it should be because it was also the most expensive haha. There are only 10-15 rooms in the whole Ryokan I think and every room is isolated from each other. Dinner area is in a communal area with separate, closed off rooms. Our favorite server in all of Japan was here. This was our 2nd favorite kaiseki meal after Shimizu’s and it introduced me to hojicha gelato (soooo good!). The breakfast was not as good as Saginoyuso’s breakfast though. The views here from the outdoor onsen were amazing, and Mt. Yufuin peeked through the clouds during my last soak before checkout.
  

Notable Coffee:

• Ordinary Day Coffee - 9.5/10: Really chill place to get coffee after walking around Yufuin all day. I didn’t confirm, but it seemed to be run by a husband and wife. They use manual press espresso extraction and the flavor was excellent.

Touristy Spots:
There is one main road that has all the stores, shops, restaurants with a few more off the side streets. When you’re at Yufuin Station, it’s easy to see where to go. On this street, some of our favorite food were: sweet potato, fries with chili salt, chicken tempura, Warabi Mochi, and Mochi dango. Yufuin Cider is a must try as well.

• Comico Art Museum: pretty expensive for what it is. I was fine with it because Takashi Murakami is one of my favorite artists and his art was one of the main exhibits.
  
• Kinrin Lake: smallish lake at the end of the path with a few cafes/restaurants around it.
  
• Flower Village: cool if you like Ghibli, smells like a poorly maintained petting zoo. Stores are very small and cramped. Random assortment of caged animals you can feed and several animal cafes
  
• Oita River: there’s a long path where you can walk along the Oita river. This is where we finally saw Sakura in full bloom on some of the trees.
  
• YUFUIN strawberry farm: you need reservations to access this location and I didn’t find out about it until the day we were walking around so I couldn’t get in. But if the strawberries in the dango that I ate in the Yufuin area were any indication of the quality, you should definitely try to get a reservation here.
  

Other Thoughts:
We decided to fly from Oita Airport to Osaka instead of taking the train as the airfare was actually cheaper than a train ride. We asked the host at Ryunohige about when we should get to the airport, and he said we could take the 10am express bus from Yufuin station to the airport and we would be fine for our 12pm flight. I was a bit anxious because I’m used to needing to get to the airport at least 2 hours early. But we trusted him and it took us less than 5 minutes to get from the bus to our gate. We should have spent more time outside of the gate because that’s where all the food and shops were but we rushed through and then just ended up sitting at the gate for 45 minutes with not much to do. They board people in a very efficient way, with window seats going first in general boarding. Took maybe 15 minutes to board the entire plane. Highly recommend flying in and out of here. So many people with dogs in Yufuin! It seemed like mainly Korean tourists and Japanese residents in the Ryokans we stayed at.
Day 12-14: Osaka
Notable Coffee:

• Lilo Coffee Kissa - 8/10: very cool vibes in this shop with 2 floors. They have all the brew methods you can ask for for their beans. Coffee jelly is good (but not as good as Fuglen). Mainly light/medium roasts with fruity/floral notes here though.
  
• Cafe Ciao Presso - 6/10: coffee wasn’t great, but the views from the 17th floor and the fact that it’s not jam packed with tourists was really nice. They have some “panino” sandwiches which weren’t bad.
  

Notable Food:

• Mizutaki Iroha - 9/10: the best sukiyaki we’ve had. It is definitely a bit on the sweeter side - but it might be possible for you to request for them to add less sugar. They cook the meat for you and then leave you with a tray of veggies to cook afterwards. Beef was SUPER tender. It is very pricey though. I don’t think I would come back, as there were other sukiyaki places for half the price. But if price isn’t an issue for you, definitely give it a try. Lots of autographs and pictures on the wall so I assume a lot of celebrities dine here.
  
• Sumibiyaki Unagi no Nedoko - 10/10: hard to compare this with Togawa sakae because we had a dine-in experience, but it was amazing. We had reservations for dinner and I believe they are required as we saw several people turned away. This was also not a cheap dinner, but unlike Mizutaki Iroha, this was worth every penny. I would dine here again in a heartbeat. We both ordered the eel bowl set and the hostess gave us instructions on how to eat the meal to best appreciate it.
  
• Mugito Mensuke - 10/10: we got here 45 minutes before opening on a rainy day on a Wednesday and were the first in line. We both got the Guinea Fowl ramen, and while we didn’t care for the actual Guinea Fowl meat, every other component of the ramen was top notch. This was our favorite ramen experience for sure. The chashu bowl is also a must get, as they cook the chashu while mixing it in a bowl using a hand torch. The eggs here were the best eggs we had all trip.
  
• Sakamoto Sushi - 10/10: I actually had to wake up twice at 5am (PST) to reserve a table at this location because they open reservations on tablecheck on the 20th of every month and I miscalculated which day that would be in the US. But it was so worth it. Chef Sakamoto was our favorite chef all trip and was so accommodating and interactive. We actually met up with my cousin and her husband on this leg of the trip and the 4 of us got the prime seats right in front of Chef Sakamoto. He and his wife know some English but rely on google translate. Very affordable omakase and I would go to Osaka again just to dine here.
  

Touristy Spots:

• Wada Knife Sharpening Class - highly recommended for anyone who is a home chef or interested in knives. The class includes a knife for you to take home and a trip to the knife museum and Yuji is amazing at explaining the history and all the intricacies of bladesmithing in Japan. There are two sharpening masters at the shop who help guide you in the knife sharpening process and at the end of the class, you can pick out a handle and you set your knife in the handle yourself (with assistance).
  
• Dotonbori - go at least once to experience the sheer amount of people and food stalls. We didn’t end up eating anything here though as the prices seemed a little high compared to the areas immediately outside of it. We also didn't want to wait in the lines.
  
• Shinsaibashi - So. Many. Stores. Also, people seem to not give a damn here. I saw an old lady just sitting at the end of the strip on the floor with her shoes and socks off next to her 8 shopping bags. Lots of cool looking places to eat as well.
  
• Shinsekai - we only came during the day but it seems like it would be similar to Dotonbori.
  
• Expo ’70 Commemorative Park - pretty cool park that I think would be awesome to visit when the Sakura bloom. There’s a neat museum in the park (need to pay for it) that details the creation of the park. Reminiscent of large regional parks we have in California, with a lot more things to do. Shopping and small amusement park at the south entrance to the park. 90% of the visitors looked to be locals.
  

Other Thoughts We came to Osaka to eat and shop for knives. Nara was supposed to be a part of the trip too but we were just so over the rain and we got our deer fix on Miyajima Island. We definitely spent a pretty penny here (knives are expensive haha). Overall, the vibe is definitely younger here and a lot more people are smoking everywhere. It was also the first time we noticed trash on the streets. For shopping, I would recommend Umeda over Shinsaibashi. Namba walk also had a ton of food in the underground area. There were several bento style shops that had massive lines of people with baskets overflowing with food which I assumed were discounted due to the time (around 7pm). We grabbed a box of tuna sushi for about 800Y from one of the stands and it was excellent quality.
Day 15: Hakone

• Ryokan Mizunoto - 7/10: a lot of families at this Ryokan. Definitely a different vibe compared to the other 3 Ryokans we stayed at previously. There are several private baths you can “reserve”. Kaiseki meals here were good and they give you the option of grilled or hotpot for the meats portion of the meal at dinner and we chose grilled. There were also free snacks/foods at various times: dango, meat buns, ramen.

Touristy Spots:

• Owakudani - The souvenir and egg store were flooded with people when we went. Really annoying when groups of people would just stand at the entrance/exit for no reason just loitering. Eggs come in sets of 4 for 500 yen. They taste like normal eggs but have a black shell. They come with a packet of salt.
  
• Open Air Museum - It was okay.
  

Other Thoughts:
It was very gloomy when we went so there weren’t any good views of anything. We didn’t end up doing the loop because we weren’t going to go on the ship and the gloom and fog didn’t offer any views. Overall we weren’t impressed with Hakone compared to Yufuin. I’m sure a lot of the charm was lost because of the weather, but there are just way too many obnoxious tourists here too. We were stuck on the ropeway ride and subsequent railcars with a group of really obnoxious people.
Day 16-19: Tokyo
Notable Coffee:

• The Roastery - 8/10: the baked goods here were some of the best we had in Japan. Donut and cinnamon rolls were amazing. Coffee and lattes were decent but not super remarkable compared to our favorite coffee shops in Japan.
  
• Koffee Mameya Kakeru - 9/10: this was a very interesting experience. They offer an omakase coffee experience where they serve you coffee 4-5 different ways based on your course selection. Our barista informed us that it would take up to 2 hours. We didn’t have the time to spend here so we just opted for some a la carte options. If you are into the science of coffee, and want to experience all the different preparations of coffee, including alcoholic drinks, I don’t know where else you can go to have this experience. Baristas were fairly fluent in English.
  
• Little Nap Coffee Stand - 9/10: great place to stop by next to Yoyogi park. Excellent coffee stand. Don’t sit in the outside bar area though - the bathroom vents to that counter.
  

Notable Food:

• Harajuku Gyozaro - 6/10: Very skippable. Pretty much only tourists ate here. Gyoza was very forgettable. I guess a lot of people like this place because they serve beer, but the food itself was very meh.
  
• Sobahouse - 5/10: this was a big disappointment for us considering its Michelin star rating. They have a bunch of rules about how to dine there to help facilitate moving as many people as possible through the restaurant as they have limited seating. We were 14th in line for dinner and their ticket machine showed that 80% of the menu was sold out. No eggs available. Chashu bowl was easily the worst I had in Japan. Chashu was tough and chewy and lacked flavor, and the rice wasn’t cooked well. Broth was very interesting - deep seafood flavors with a punch of clam (as advertised). But I wouldn’t come here again. Very good price point though!
  
• Shewolf Diner - 9/10: We were craving fries and this restaurant was attached to our hotel so we came here after the disappointing sobahouse dinner to get our fry fix. Really really tasty fries. Highly recommend the truffle if you’re into truffle.
  
• Sushi Mogana Okachimachi - 9/10: One of the best tempura we had in Japan, along with very good quality sushi. You order from your phone after scanning a QR code.
  
• Nogata Ramen - 9/10: wanted to eat near the Meguro River Cherry Blossoms Promenade and wandered into this place. Their broth is extra garlicky and oily, so ask for less if you need to. They offer pickled beansprouts that have a little kick to them and they were super tasty. The egg was excellent. Chashu don was very tasty with a good char taste. Skip the gyoza.
  
• Bifuteki Kawamura - 9/10: Not sure how much of it is marketing but they give you a full explanation about what is allowed to be called Kobe beef or not. Really good dining experience here, but also the most expensive of our trip. The garlic fried rice was bursting with flavor. We had the standard kobe beef course and it was definitely some of the best steak I’ve ever had. I can’t help but wonder if there aren’t cheaper alternatives though.
  

Touristy Spots:

• Shinjuku Gyoen - a must visit during sakura season.
• Yoyogi Park - if you don’t want to pay a (nominal) admission fee, you can come to this park for free
• Meguro River Cherry Blossom Promenade - very nice walk. Not very crowded after 8pm. Probably get better pictures during the day though.
• Cat Street - nice area to walk around that isn't super crowded. Lots of shopping and food stalls. I wish I tried the lobster rolls.
• Shibuya Scramble - Nice to see from Shibuya Station walkway
• Kappabashi Street - Tons of shops here. I wish we had more time to explore. Picked up some knife sharpening stones and a knife here.

Other Thoughts:
This was mainly the shopping portion of the trip. The mega donquijote in Shibuya was wild. 7 floors of merchandise. Tax free on the top floor. I only was able to last through 2.5 floors and I was just too tired and overwhelmed to keep going haha. It was at the end of the day so I would probably start earlier there next time. We visited multiple one piece stores and pokemon centers throughout Japan, and we noticed that 90ish% of the things can be gotten at any of the stores. There was a custom shirt making station in the Shibuya Pokemon center that I didn’t see in the Ibekuro, Osaka, Nagoya or Osaka ones. Claw machines games were a money sink. I was surprised at how much of a premium Kirby souvenirs demanded compared to all the other anime/game souvenirs. We saw massive lines at Narita for China Air but everything else was smooth sailing. We flew ANA and it took us about 20 minutes to pickup our forwarded luggage, check our bag, and get through security. They have showers and a room that you can rent. And it seemed like all the stores and restaurants in the airport were priced the same as outside of the airport, which was a big surprise coming from American airports. So you can save some of your souvenir shopping and dine in the airport without fear of being price gouged.

- Tl;dr if you’re a returning visitor to Japan, I highly recommend that you consider the outskirts such as Shikoku (in my earlier post here) or Tottori/Shimane – I personally find the more ‘outside’ routes more rewarding, and considerably less crowded as well.
- This is a continuation post from Part 1 here (Day 0~9).
- Refer to link here for a map covering Day 10~12 here(labelled Part 1), Day 13~23 here(labelled Part 2).
- This post covers between Hiroshima (Day 10) to Kinosaki Onsen (Day 18).
- This trip occurred during Mid-November to Mid-December (autumn season).
Day 10 – Kintaikyo Bridge (Yamaguchi), Simose Art Museum and Miyajima (Hiroshima)
Started off the day with a breakfast at the hotel, before taking the Shinkansen over to JR Shin-Iwakuni station for just 15 minutes [NOTE: only the Kodama type stops here], and transferring to a local bus (not covered by JR pass) to see the bridge. There is an admission fee of 310 yen to cross the bridge and back. Spent just about 1.5 hours strolling and relaxing around the area.
After that, before noon I headed over to the Simose Art Museum, a new art museum that popped up between Iwakuni and Hiroshima back in April 2023 (yes, its THAT new). Accessibility to the museum via public transport is limited – you will either need to time your bus connection well, or face walking ~2.5km from the nearest station (JR Kuba/Otake) over. Shuttle buses to/from the museum direct are only available on the weekends (I visited on a Tuesday); consequently I had to walk (or eat a 1h penalty/wait for the next public bus). The museum feels modern with its mirror-like exterior, but exudes a traditional, wooden vibe on the interior. I suppose its main call to fame is its “8-colored boxes” exhibition hall situated above a shallow pool, facing the Seto Inland Sea, which is most certainly memorable (or Instagram-worthy). There is both English translation and audio guides if you are unable to read Japanese. The museum was enjoyable though I wished they would consider improving public transport accessibility to said museum if they want to draw more tourists in. Admission tickets are (relatively) steep at ~1.8k yen. I would suggest rationing 1.5~2 hours here in order to enjoy your time here.
After that, I decided to walk back to JR Kuba to hop over to Miyajima. When I took the ropeway up to Mount Misen, it was just past 1530. Getting up to Mount Misen this late was a major mistake in hindsight for two reasons – first, the ropeway service back to ground level ends at 1630, meaning that there’s not enough time for me to head all the way up to the top. Secondly, there was a really LONG queue for people to get off Mount Misen. It took nearly 45 minutes of queuing time to get on a return ropeway down to base. In short, if you want to get up to Mount Misen, do it early and cater more time for it (probably 2-3 hours). That aside, I was able to watch the sunset at Itsukushima Shrine (night version here).
Day 11 – Peace Memorial Park, Yamato Museum, JSDF Maritime Museum (Hiroshima)
After finishing some paperwork to forward my luggage to my next destination, I went to the Peace Memorial Park which was a 10 minutes walk away from the hotel. I think it drives home the point for nuclear abolition rather well overall. The main museum, A-bomb dome and the memorial cenotaph was crowded as expected, though other parts of the park were just as well presented (but with significantly lesser tourist footfall) such as the Peace Memorial Hall and the Children’s Peace Monument. My thoughts is that you’ll probably have to dedicate about 2-3 hours if you want to properly comb through the entire park at a moderate pace. I spent the morning here for reference.
For the afternoon, I took a highway bus from downtown Hiroshima to Kure (you could do it via JR but the highway bus was more accessible for me) to visit the Yamato Museum and JSMDF Kure Museum. If you’re into military or naval history, this should be right up your alley. The Yamato Museum details Japan’s naval history in Kure, and has that mega-scale Yamato battleship which is pretty impressive. Whereas for the JMSDF museum, it details JMSDF’s contribution such as anti-mining efforts and and various joint exercises around the world. The highlight though was being able to enter the life-sized submarine replica and see how cramped submarines can be first-hand. No visit to Kure is complete without trying the JMSDF curry; I thought it was … alright, not exceptional, but not terrible either – good for a taster at least. Kure is about half an hour away from Hiroshima, and can be done as a (half)-day trip.
In essence, Hiroshima isn’t limited to just Miyajima and the Peace Memorial Museum - I feel that devoting an extra one or two days to explore the peripheral areas (Kure, Onomichi etc) would enhance your experience more in that area!
Day 12 – Kurashiki (Okayama), Yuushien (由志園) (Shimane)
This day is meant to be a ‘repositioning day’ from Hiroshima to Matsue (since I’ll need to travel 2.5 hours across the San’in mountains). Hopping on the Shinkansen over to Shin-Kurashiki and local rail to JR Kurashiki, I decided to spend the morning strolling along the historical quarters and visit the Ohara Museum of Art which was not bad. As always, coming early here means you get to beat the crowd and get an unobstructed view of the canals. There’s also a mini-denim street.
Taking the Yakumo train, by the time I reached Matsue and deposited my luggage at the hotel, it was already 1500. Nevertheless, I managed to squeeze in a visit to Yuushien (由志園) which had just started its autumn illumination at night (day version here). Taking a bus over, I spent the evening walking in the garden and watch the illumination; it was pretty, and also relatively chill [crowd levels are definitely much manageable over here].
Day 13 – Adachi Museum of Art, Izumo Taisha, Ancient Izumo History Museum , Inase Beach (Shimane)
NOTE: Days 13 ~ 16 is covered by the Sanin-Okayama Pass for JR-related trains
The plan for the day was to start off at the Adachi Museum of Art in the morning, before breaking wesstwards towards Izumo Taisha and exploring the area before circling back to Matsue for the night.The Adachi Museum of Art is renowned for its well-curated garden, and in my opinion it certainly lives up to its title. Besides that, there is also an extensive art gallery which I would say is on par with some of the better ones in my opinion (think Benesse Art Museum). Access to the museum via public transport is doable via JR Yasugi and hopping on the shuttle bus which departs at fixed timings, however, do note that the bus has a maximum seating capacity of 28; if it fills ahead of time you’ll be forced to wait for the next bus (hourly departure). For the return trip to JR Yasugi, you will need to grab a ticket near the counter to book a slot for the shuttle bus (free).
I then took the Yakumo limited express train over to JR Izumo, and swapped to a bus towards Izumo Taisha. There were a lot of rabbit statuettes littered around the temple, a nod to the folktale The White Hare of Inaba. Considering that it was a public holiday in Japan (Labor Thanksgiving Day) and its innate popularity, it was rather crowded; I decided to queue for one of the smaller shrines and got a goshuin for my effort. I do want to mention that those binded rice straws (Shimenawa) at the front of the temple are extraordinarily thick– seeing is believing. There was still some time before sunset so I decided to walk over next door to the Shimane Museum of Natural History which provided a run-down on the history of Izumo. If I recall correctly, admission is half-priced for foreign visitors so it might be worth a visit even on a budget. The main thing that stuck with me for this museum was the very long temple replica, as well as a full-blown jade/bronze armoury. Lastly, I took a walk over to Inase Beach to visit the sunset; there was a tori gate perched on an outcrop with a donation box stuck near it. Although the sea breeze was chilly, watching the sunset was something worth visiting; its one of those visuals that would stick with me long after this trip fades away from memory.I took the local Ichibata tram that courses along the northern stretch of Lake Shinji back to Matsue to retire for the night.
For dinner, I chanced upon a local cafeteria called Bamboo where I ordered their daily special – kimchi beef nabe, and some karaage. The husband and wife owner duo offered to provide me a free serving of zosui [porridge] using the leftover soup base from the nabe at no extra charge which I gratefully accepted. With my basic command of Japanese, I was able to have a meaningful conversation about some of the tourist hotspots, as well as some of the town happenings – they mentioned that one of the temple nearby was celebrating 神在祭 (lit. gods are present festival) tomorrow and I noted that down. I just find the hospitality rather heartwarming and just want to give them a shoutout here.
Day 14 - Sada Jinja, , Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum, Matsue Castle (Shimane), Misasa Onsen (Tottori)
Started off with a visit to Sada Jinja, a relatively remote shrine in the outskirts of Matsue. Unfortunately, the main event that the cafeteria owner mentioned would only take place at night, but nevertheless, there were those bazaar stores open for me to explore and buy some finger foods etc. Grabbed a goshuin for my effort, and a corn cob.Taking a return bus to central Matsue, I stopped by the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum where they detailed this one foreigner that made significant effort integrating into 1900s Japan society and contributed enough to be worthy of memorializing. There was a rather popular soba restaurant nearby (Kamiyo Soba) serving nameko [mushroom] soba which I thought was pretty delicious. After lunch, I walked over to explore Matsue Castle, one of the few remaining original castles left standing in Japan. The size of it is pretty impressive when you look at it in person.
Finally, I headed over to JR Matsue to board the Ametuchi sightseeing train. As with other sightseeing trains, there was a bar where you could buy some snacks and drinks to consume. Two particular aspects that stood out to me was the comfy, wooden design feel that was present throughout the train, and was how well they integrated various local crafts into the train, such as the tiles that are on the tables. The sightseeing train coasted along the Sanin line facing the Sea of Japan which made for an enjoyable sightseeing ride. As with previous sightseeing trains, you could book this sightseeing train easily via the JR West website. JR pass (or the Sanin-Okayama Area Pass) covers the base fare.
The train runs from JR Izumo all the way to JR Tottori, though I stopped at Kurayoshi to head to my final destination for the next two nights – Misasa Onsen. The main reason for choosing this particular onsen town was that I wanted to climb up Nageire-dou the next day, which was a 20 minutes bus ride away. However, I made a major blunder by not engaging a local guide to climb with me ahead of time (since the regulations are that hikers need to go in pairs in interest of safety). I casually remarked this to the chauffer that picked me up to the ryokan, and he went above and beyond to call various people to make it happen. Although it was ultimately unsuccessful [since it was so last minute – entirely my own fault], I was really moved by his efforts – it really speaks to the otomenashi experience that ryokans provide, a unique aspect to Japan.
Onto to the actual ryokan – Mansuiro (万翆楼). The room was pretty traditional with tatami mats and futons, but it was comfortable overall. I would like to give special mention to their dinner service which was delectable, showcasing their local cuisine such as crabs, beef sukiyaki and pear wine (!). Another nice subtle touch is how they labelled each dining room with the assigned guest name. I would highly recommend them if you do pass by this area. Also, I would also mention that this particular ryokan is ‘rare’ in the sense that it accepts solo pax bookings; most ryokans would only accept a minimum of 2 pax in order for them to accept your reservations.
Day 15 – Misasa Onsen, Kurayoshi Figurine Museum, Nijisseiki Pear Museum (Tottori)
Had a scrumptious breakfast at the ryokan (look at the quantity of it – I struggled to finish them). Even though I knew that I wont be able to climb Nageire-dou, I decided to go over to view the temple from a distance [and try my luck and see if any solo strangers were there too]. Unfortunately, at ~9am, there were very few trekkers, and I didn’t feel right butting into those couples so I decided not to push my luck further and leave. I managed to get a shot of the remote temple from the observatory point.
With that minor setback, I decided to head over to the nearby town of Kurayoshi via bus to spend the day. Some notable attractions in brief as follow:
- Kurayoshi Figurine Museum: As a repurposed school building, this is a good place to visit if you have interest in anime or figurine collecting. At the point of visiting, there were some exhibits detailing how they made those nenedroids. Even if you aren’t into anime, there are also other figurines such as military(tanks/jets), and animals that you could view, which should be adequate to cater to a wide demographic. There were also some hands-on activities like creating your own nenedroid faces. I took about ~2 hours in this place.
- White Wall Warehouses: as what the name implies, it’s a bunch of historic white-walled building. Its okay if you’re already in the vicinity, though I wouldn’t purposely make a dedicated stop for this. (~10-20 minutes walking along the canals)
- Kurayoshi Line Railway Memorial Hall: a small free museum showing the history of the now-defunct Kurayoshi railway line. I suppose the main draw is that you are able to get up one of the old train replicas similar to those at the Kyoto Railway museum. There's also another SL replica outside of the memorial hall.
- Nijisseiki Pear Museum: a pear museum showcasing the history of pear cultivation in Tottori, as well as the various pear types around the world. You get to sample free pears, though I wanst able to do so because it was Kansai Culture Appreciation Day and admission was free, thus said samples were already gone by the time I visited. (~1-1.5 hours)
Overall, a pretty enjoyable time in Kurayoshi. The figurine museum and the pear museum are the main highlights for me.
Returned to Misasa Onsen late afternoon. I spent the remainder of the day exploring the onsen town before dinner, and one particular interesting location was the Misasa Violin Museum, showcasing how violins are made and some history on violin-making. You could even test-run their violins with purchase of a drink (at ~400yen) though I declined since I couldn’t play it. I enjoyed spending the evening walking along Mitoku River and soaking at an ashiyu. There is an open-air river onsen that is free to all, though I was too shy to do so.
Day 16 – Tottori Sand Dunes, Tottori (Tottori), JR Amarube (Hyogo)
Another great breakfast at the ryokan before checking out. As with most ryokans, they offered to drop me off at JR Kurayoshi so that I could catch my next train to next-door Tottori. After dropping my luggage at the hotel, I went straight to the sand dunes for a paragliding session. Usually most people would associate the sand dunes with the museum (and rightfully so), but I was feeling a bit daring and decided to try something out of character. For 10k yen, you are taught the basic commands (left/right) and postures, landing/emergency drills before you get to do your paragliding attempts (4 in total, three solo attempts and one tandem with the instructor). Although not explicitly mentioned in the website, there was actually an English-speaking instructor that was present at all times so I do not think you need to worry if you can’t speak a lick of Japanese. All in all, a great way to view the dunes from above.
After that, I spent some time traversing along the sand dunes and visited the sand museum. It appears that the themes vary on a yearly basis and this year’s focus was on Egypt. I thought the level of detail on each of those sculptures was pretty impressive. Lastly, I made a stop at Amarube Station (or known as the ‘station in the sky’); while I cant say that I am a rail geek, I admire the engineering design that has been in place since the 1910s. Getting to and from the station via JR was a pain though, with train frequency few and far in between, but I still felt it was worth spending an hour just exploring the area and taking some photos. Returned to Tottori for the night to retire at Green Hill Morris Tottori, which in my opinion is a great value-for-money business hotel at ~7.7k yen/night with decent rooms and good breakfast spread.
Day 17 – Hakuto Shrine, Uradome Coast (Tottori), Kinosaki Onsen (Hyogo)
NOTE: Days 17 ~ 21 is covered by the Kansai Wide Area Pass for JR trains and Kyoto-Tango (for Amanohashidate).
Started the morning with a subsidized sightseeing taxi at JR Tottori to bring me to some of the tourist hotspots such as Hakuto Shrine (with a heavy rabbit theming) and Uradome Coast(which was extremely windy/rainy on that day). For 3k yen, you get to have a taxi to bring you around based on the selected route of your choice, and the taxi driver would explain some background information of the place to you (mostly in Japanese, ymmv). These sightseeing taxis are a good way to get around places in Tottori especially if you rely on public transport. I do note that they operate on a first-come-first served basis (no reservations allowed), so it is a good idea to get there right after the tourism centre opens in the morning. The entire tour lasted for about 3 hours.
After that, I took the limited express Hamakaze over to Kinosaki Onsen. There are only two trains per day (one early in the morning, and another just after lunch) so its not a good idea to miss it. Although I arrived at the ryokan earlier than the check-in time, I was able to drop my luggage first to explore the town. After checking in, I was handed a onsen pass to try out the 7 public baths at no extra charge (its baked in as part of the accommodation cost). I managed to try out 4 of them, with the remaining 3 to be done the next day. I spent the evening and night walking around town. My personal thoughts on Kinosaki Onsen as a whole is that while it is heavily geared to foreigners with English translations almost pervasive throughout the area, it manages to retain its own traditional identity rather well. Additionally, I feel that if one wishes to try out all 7 public baths in the area, spending at least 2 nights here is a good idea especially as 1 or 2 of them would be closed on a certain day during the week for maintenance.
Onto the ryokan for the next two nights – Morizuya. The innkeeper is a cool middle-aged man with a good command of English and here, the otomenashi experience was great – with the little things such as offering to help take photos for personal keepsake, showing the various facilities within the building and the room. My room was on the third floor, and at first glance it looks like the run-of-the-mill traditional ryokan room with tatami mats. However, the balcony view from the room is the million dollar view facing the main road that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. Dinner was served with Tajima beef and crab legs. I should mention that Morizuya is again one of those few ryokans that accept solo travellers, so kudos to them.
Day 18 – Kinosaki Onsen (Hyogo), Amanohashidate (Kyoto)
Decided to day-trip over to Amanohashidate via Kinosaki. Breakfast at Morizuya was splendid. Getting over to Amanohashidate is not as straightforward as I needed to make a transfer at JR Toyooka via the Kyoto-Tango railway (covered by Kansai Wide Area Pass).
My day trip was as follow:
Amanohashidate at 0930 Bus to Ine to catch the boatride Return bus to Motoise Jinja Kasamatsu Park Nariaiji Temple Rent a bike and cycle across the sandbar to the other end Amanohashidate Viewland return to JR Amanohashidate
- The boat ride at Ine was alright, though it was nothing special overall. Seagulls are pretty aggressive so I think it’s a good idea not to bring any food stuff with you.
- Having experienced both ends of Amanohashidate, Kasamatsu Park was definitely less crowded (since it wasn’t that readily accessible via public transport), though the view of the sandbar was about the same (Kasamatsu Park vs Viewland). IF you have time for just one, settling for Amanohashidate Viewland is adequate. Nariaiji Temple was not bad though and is probably worth the visit over to Kasamatsu Park.
- There is a bike rental store near the sandbar entrance, with rentals at ~400yen for about ~2 hours. If you are not feeling well on that day you could also opt for a boat ride to get to the other end of the sandbar(iirc 600+ yen). Cycling across the sandbar took me about 30 minutes (with some stops along the way to take photos etc).
- If your time is really limited dropping Ine is a necessary evil (since it takes almost an hour on bus to get there from JR Amanohashidate, one-way).
Returned to the ryokan for dinner – great as usual. Additionally, I managed to try out the remaining public onsens.
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If you’re still reading, thanks for powering through! Due to word limit I cant post the Kobe/Osaka leg here, but I'll add them in a separate post in the coming weeks.

Aarti is a long time San Diego chef, and her health insurance dropped her once she began treatments for breast cancer, stiffing her with the bill. The community is coming together to help her as much as possible. Matsu will host a benefit dinner, as well as a silent auction will be set up, with items from Meglio Knives, dinners from multiple restaurants, Leucadia Knives, Tommy the FishmongeTunaville, leather works from AJ Red Beard, Chefsroll, various wines, and more.
https://www.exploretock.com/matsu/experience/471913/aarti-sanghavi-benefit-dinner?date=2024-04-16&size=2&time=20%3A00
"Host Chef William Eick of Matsu, will welcome guests Chef Davin Waite of Wrench and Rodent/Plot/Shoots/Brine Box, and Chef Keith Lord of Strateje Fourteen/The Shed for a special one-night dinner event on April 16th at Matsu in Occanside, CA.
The six course tasting menu priced at $225 (exclusive of lax and gratuily), with an optional pairing featuring sake and wine selections from the Matsu team priced at $75, will showcase these outstanding culinary talents and their refined haute cuisine for a memorable experience to help raise funds for long lime friend and San Diego Chef Aarti Sanghavi during her recovery from breast cancer.
All proceeds will be donated to Aarti."

Itinerary check please!
We’ve finalised our plans for our holiday to Japan - Osaka, Tokyo and Kyoto. We will be travelling with 3 children aged 5yo, 3yo and 7mo. I’ve put everything we WANT to do on each day, but am very aware that we may have to slow down/miss things if our kids aren’t feeling up to it.
Are there any days here that are so busy you think it would be absolutely impossible to do everything on them? I’ve tried to plan so that we’re not catching too many trains each day, and everything we want to do is in similar areas. Any tips/suggestions or tweaks to our itinerary you’d recommend?
Thanks all 😁
DAY 1 • Breakfast at Matsu Take fluffy pancakes (opens 8:00am) • Osaka Museum of History (opens 9:30am) • Osaka Castle (opens 9:00am) • Tully’s coffee Osaka castle (opens 9:00am) • BorneLund playground Osaka castle • Grand front Osaka/explore Osaka-Umeda • Hep 5 ferris wheel (opens 11:00am) • Dinner at pearl leisure bldg.
DAY 2 • Breakfast at Mcdonalds • Osaka aquarium Kaiyukan (opens 10:00am) • Tenpozan Anipa (opens 11:00am) • Legoland discovery centre (opens 10:00am) • Utsubo park • Dotonbori • Tonbori River Cruise
DAY 3 • Breakfast • Round 1 stadium sennichimae • Reptile Rockstar Café (opens 11:00am) • Tsutenkaku tower and Shinsekai market • Sumiyoshi taisha shrine • Teamlabs Botanical Garden (opens 6:30pm)
DAY 4 • Late morning and relax/do washing/kids area at citadines • Breakfast at Matsutake fluffy pancakes (opens 8:00am) • Kuromon Market • Kids Plaza Osaka (opens 9:30) • Izakaya Toyo • Dotonbori • Ebisu tower Ferris wheel
DAY 5 • Late morning relax, find good breakfast and lunch • Catch train to Tokyo at 1:00pm • Arrive at Monday Apart Premium Ueno Okachimachi (check in 3:00pm) • Dinner near hotel • Explore Akihabara
DAY 6 • Breakfast near hotel • Ueno Zoo (opens 9:30am) 15 min walk • Explore ueno park and ueno area and grab food • Tokyo National Museum • Teamlabs borderless (open 10:00am – 8:00pm)
DAY 7 • Sensoji Temple • Skytree (opens 10:00am) • Sumida aquarium • Pokemon Cafe
DAY 8 • Explore Odaiba • Little Planet Diver City Tokyo Plaza • Tokyo Joypolis • Dinner in Akihabara
DAY 9 • Breakfast near hotel • Disneyland!!
DAY 10 • Check out of tourist hotel at 10:00am • Drop bags at Hotel En Shibuya • Zaou Fishing Restaurant Shibuya • Takeshita street explore – otter café • Shibuya Crossing
DAY 11 • Kidzania Toyko – English Wednesday • Lukes lobster ometosando for lunch/afternoon tea • Catch train to Kyoto at 2:00pm • Tonoda Shokudo dinner
DAY 12 • Kichi Kichi Omurice for ticket • Ninja and Samurai Muesum with Experience • Maccha House • Nishiki Market • Teramachi Mall • Kichi Kichi Omurice for dinner
DAY 13 • USJ!!
DAY 14 • Hokan-ji Temple • Ninenzaka • Sanenzaka • Kiyomizu-dera • Hikiniku to come (11am-3pm) • Yasaka Shrine • Explore Gion District
DAY 15 • Arashiyama Bamboo forest • Sagano Romantic Train • nijo castle • Kyoto International Manga Museum
DAY 16 • Fushimi Inari Taisha • Kyoto train museum • Leave at 5:30pm for Kansai Intl Airport – Haruka Train

We’ve finalised our plans for our holiday to Japan - Osaka, Tokyo and Kyoto. We will be travelling with 3 children aged 5yo, 3yo and 7mo. I’ve put everything we WANT to do on each day, but am very aware that we may have to slow down/miss things if our kids aren’t feeling up to it.
Are there any days here that are so busy you think it would be absolutely impossible to do everything on them? I’ve tried to plan so that we’re not catching too many trains each day, and everything we want to do is in similar areas. Any tips/suggestions or tweaks to our itinerary you’d recommend?
Thanks all 😁
DAY 1 • Breakfast at Matsu Take fluffy pancakes (opens 8:00am) • Osaka Museum of History (opens 9:30am) • Osaka Castle (opens 9:00am) • Tully’s coffee Osaka castle (opens 9:00am) • BorneLund playground Osaka castle • Grand front Osaka/explore Osaka-Umeda • Hep 5 ferris wheel (opens 11:00am) • Dinner at pearl leisure bldg.
DAY 2 • Breakfast at Mcdonalds • Osaka aquarium Kaiyukan (opens 10:00am) • Tenpozan Anipa (opens 11:00am) • Legoland discovery centre (opens 10:00am) • Utsubo park • Dotonbori • Tonbori River Cruise
DAY 3 • Breakfast • Round 1 stadium sennichimae • Reptile Rockstar Café (opens 11:00am) • Tsutenkaku tower and Shinsekai market • Sumiyoshi taisha shrine • Teamlabs Botanical Garden (opens 6:30pm)
DAY 4 • Late morning and relax/do washing/kids area at citadines • Breakfast at Matsutake fluffy pancakes (opens 8:00am) • Kuromon Market • Kids Plaza Osaka (opens 9:30) • Izakaya Toyo • Dotonbori • Ebisu tower Ferris wheel
DAY 5 • Late morning relax, find good breakfast and lunch • Catch train to Tokyo at 1:00pm • Arrive at Monday Apart Premium Ueno Okachimachi (check in 3:00pm) • Dinner near hotel • Explore Akihabara
DAY 6 • Breakfast near hotel • Ueno Zoo (opens 9:30am) 15 min walk • Explore ueno park and ueno area and grab food • Tokyo National Museum • Teamlabs borderless (open 10:00am – 8:00pm)
DAY 7 • Sensoji Temple • Skytree (opens 10:00am) • Sumida aquarium • Pokemon Cafe
DAY 8 • Explore Odaiba • Little Planet Diver City Tokyo Plaza • Tokyo Joypolis • Dinner in Akihabara
DAY 9 • Breakfast near hotel • Disneyland!!
DAY 10 • Check out of tourist hotel at 10:00am • Drop bags at Hotel En Shibuya • Zaou Fishing Restaurant Shibuya • Takeshita street explore – otter café • Shibuya Crossing
DAY 11 • Kidzania Toyko – English Wednesday • Lukes lobster ometosando for lunch/afternoon tea • Catch train to Kyoto at 2:00pm • Tonoda Shokudo dinner
DAY 12 • Kichi Kichi Omurice for ticket • Ninja and Samurai Muesum with Experience • Maccha House • Nishiki Market • Teramachi Mall • Kichi Kichi Omurice for dinner
DAY 13 • USJ!!
DAY 14 • Hokan-ji Temple • Ninenzaka • Sanenzaka • Kiyomizu-dera • Hikiniku to come (11am-3pm) • Yasaka Shrine • Explore Gion District
DAY 15 • Arashiyama Bamboo forest • Sagano Romantic Train • nijo castle • Kyoto International Manga Museum
DAY 16 • Fushimi Inari Taisha • Kyoto train museum • Leave at 5:30pm for Kansai Intl Airport – Haruka Train

Hi everyone! I'm posting our itinerary so far and wondering if anyone has any suggestions/tips to make the trip run smoothly. Restaurants we cant miss in these areas? Must do things with a 3yo and 5yo in these areas? Anything spectacular that I've missed or anything that's super over-rated and we shouldn't do?
Thanks everyone!
Day 1 - Saturday
· Arrive in Osaka at 7:00pm
· Catch train to Citadines Osaka Namba
Day 2 – Sunday
· Breakfast at Matsu Take fluffy pancakes (opens 8:00am)
· Osaka Museum of History (opens 9:30am)
· Osaka Castle (opens 9:00am)
· Tully’s coffee Osaka castle (opens 9:00am)
· BorneLund playground Osaka castle
· Grand front Osaka/explore Osaka-Umeda
· Hep 5 ferris wheel (opens 11:00am)
Day 3 – Monday
· Breakfast at Mcdonalds
· Osaka aquarium Kaiyukan (opens 10:00am)
· Tenpozan Anipa (opens 11:00am)
· Legoland discovery centre (opens 10:00am)
· Tempozan giant Ferris wheel (opens 10:00am)
· Utsubo park
· Dotonbori
· Tonbori River Cruise
Day 4 – Tuesday
· Round 1 stadium sennichimae
· Reptile Rockstar Café (opens 11:00am)
· Tsutenkaku tower and Shinsekai market
· Sumiyoshi taisha shrine
· Teamlabs Botanical Garden (opens 6:30pm)
Day 5 – Wednesday
· Late morning and relax/do washing
· Breakfast at Matsutake fluffy pancakes (opens 8:00am)
· Kuromon Market
· Kids Plaza Osaka (opens 9:30)
· Dotonbori
· Ebisu tower Ferris wheel
Day 6 – Thursday
· Late morning relax, find good breakfast and lunch
· Catch train to Tokyo at 1:00pm
· Arrive at Monday Apart Premium Ueno Okachimachi (check in 3:00pm)
· Dinner near hotel
· Explore Akihabara
Day 7 - Friday
· Akihabara
· Ueno Zoo (opens 9:30am) 15 min walk
· Explore ueno park and ueno area and grab food
· Tokyo National Museum
· Teamlabs borderless (open 10:00am – 8:00pm)
Day 8 – Saturday
· Sensoji Temple
· Skytree (opens 10:00am)
· Pokemon Centre Sky Tree Town
· Pokemon Cafe
Day 9 - Sunday
· Asobono!
· Explore Odaiba
· Tokyo Joypolis
· Dinner in Akihabara
· Back to hotel then out for karaoke
Day 10 – Monday
· Breakfast near hotel
· Disneyland!!
Day 11 – Tuesday
· Check out of hotel at 10:00am
· Drop bags at Hotel En Shibuya
· Zaou Fishing Restaurant Shibuya
· Takeshita street explore
· Shibuya Crossing
Day 12 – Wednesday
· Kidzania Toyko – English Wednesday
· Lukes lobster ometosando for lunch/afternoon tea
· Harry Hedgehog Cafe
· Catch train to Kyoto at 2:00pm

Hi folks! This is the last part of our 21-day late November honeymoon trip. Our final stops were Nikko, Tokyo and Kawaguchiko. Parts 1 and 2 can be found on the following links:
Part 1: Osaka, Hiroshima and Miyajima
Part 2: Himeji, Kyoto, Matsumoto, Snow Monkey Park and Shibu Onsen
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Day 12 - Nikko (Toshogu Shrine)

• When building my itinerary, I wasn't sure if we should do Nikko as a day trip from Tokyo or spend a night there. Since we wanted to visit two different areas (Toshogu Shrine area and Lake Chuzenji), I opted for the overnight option to make sure we had enough time for it.
• We left Shibu Onsen at around 7.30am and arrived in Nikko at 1pm. Dropped our bags at the hotel and had lunch at Trattoria Gigli (6/10, the food wasn't bad, but I REALLY like Italian and it was just not up to standard. Good price though and we got seated right away).
• After lunch we walked towards Toshogu Shrine. I recommend walking instead of getting the bus from the train station - traffic can be pretty bad in Nikko and there are several little shops and food trucks along the way. We walked by Shinkyo Bridge and didn't pay to get inside as the view from outside seemed nicer.
• We arrived at Toshogu Shrine at 2.45pm (it closes at 4pm) and for us that was enough time to see everything. There was a MASSIVE queue to buy tickets, but thanks to someone else on this subreddit I knew I could buy tickets online at the KKday website right before entering. So I did that, got a QR code in my email in less than 2 minutes, and got my tickets at the KKday collection counter, which was completely empty, so I was inside the temple in less than 5 min (versus what looked like a 30 min queue). The temple was impressive, very very busy, but we enjoyed it.
• We then decided to walk towards Kanmangafuchi Abyss. The walk there is pretty nice, but the 'Abyss' itself is very unimpressive. So if you're in Nikko for a day trip, I wouldn't recommend going there.
• We walked back to our hotel and got out again for dinner at around 7.30pm. It was a mistake getting out that late - Nikko turns into a ghost town after 6pm. The only place open and taking orders was Ramen Bonten so we stopped there for food (6/10).

Nikko hotel: Nikko Station Classic (8/10). Right beside the JR station, so very convenient location. Room was spacious, hotel had an Onsen (but I didn't go check it out). Breakfast was included but it wasn't very good.
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Day 13 - Nikko (Lake Chuzenji)

• We got the 8.30am bus towards Chuzenji Lake, after buying an all day bus pass to the Chuzenji area from Tobu-Nikko station (the counter opens at 8am, so if you're planning on getting an earlier bus, buy these tickets in advance. If I'm not mistaken you can get them online). DO NOT get the bus from the Tobu-Nikko stop - instead, walk two minutes down to the JR station and get it from there, it's the first stop and practically empty compared to the next stop (where not everyone managed to get in the bus)
• Our first stop was the Akechidaira ropeway. We took the cable car up to the observation deck and there were no queues. Views were beautiful, so I absolutely recommend. We were there past peak foliage, but I can only imagine how impressive it would look during the peak. We spent less than 30 min there. Check the bus schedule beforehand to figure out how much time you can stay at each spot without waiting ages for the next bus to show up.
• Hopped back on the bus, and our next stop was Kegon falls. We arrived there at around 9.45am and there were no queues to the elevator yet. Once we were done, instead of getting back on the bus, we just walked down towards the lake. There was not a lot going on in the area, very few shops or places to eat.
• We decided to do the boat cruise departing from here. Views were nice and it was cozy and warm inside. I don't remember for how long exactly we were in the boat, but I'd guess it was around 40 min. Once we were dropped off we got lunch at the Maple restaurant, and had a delicious Wagyu Stew (9/10). There is a temple in the area that looked cool from the outside (Chuzen-ji temple), but we decided not to go in. We really wanted to check Mt. Hangetsu observation deck - however, at that time of the year there were no buses available, and the walk was reaaaaally long, so we opted not to go.
• We then made our way back to Nikko - be prepared for a very long bus trip (traffic), standing.

What I would do differently: we should have just done a day trip from Tokyo to Nikko. Nikko is dead in the evenings, so there was no point on spending the night there. If doing a day trip, I would explore Lake Chuzenji area in the morning (8am start), grab lunch at the Maple restaurant and then visit Toshogu Shrine in the afternoon. Renting a car could be helpful for exploring Chuzenji Lake. During our time there, traffic got really bad after 3pm, so as long as your back to Nikko at that time you should be fine.
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• We headed to Tokyo and arrived in our hotel in Shinjuku at 7pm. After grabbing dinner, we just checked out the Disney Flagship Store, Muji and the Godzilla statue at the Gracery hotel (which was pretty underwhelming) before calling it a day.

Tokyo hotel: APA Hotel Higashi Shinjuku Kabukicho Tower (8/10). Good value hotel, convenient location, 15 min walk from several train/metro stations. Ideally, I would recommend staying closer than that to the stations if you can - the last thing we wanted to do by the end of the day after walking 25k steps, was to walk 15 more minutes. Rooms were small (but that was the case most of the time). They had laundry on site and a public Onsen (which we didn't check).
We left the hotel to go to Mt Fuji for a night and asked them to hold our luggage for 24 hours and they refused. So we had to use a luggage forwarding service (Airporter) to pick it up and drop it off at the same hotel on the next day, a bit of a waste. That was the only stress.
If you are not the going out type, I wouldn't recommend staying in Shinjuku, the area is very very busy all day every day. If you are, then that's the place to be!
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Day 14 - Tokyo (TeamLabs, Odaiba and Ginza)
When building your Tokyo itinerary, consider that you are going to need PLENTY of time to get to places. Even if two areas seem very close on the map, it won't take you less than 40 min to travel between them. So if you are planning an early activity in a day, that might mean waking up 1.5 hours before that, so just keep that in mind.
​

• The initial plan was to start the day very early and be at Tsukiji Fish Market before 7am. Well, that didn't happen - we were very tired so decided to sleep for 2 extra hours. We ended up never going back there, so can't really comment on it (and I don't regret not going - we've been to plenty of markets during the trip).
• We started our day at TeamLab Planets with our 9am pre-booked tickets. We got there at 8.45am and there was a massive queue waiting for it to open. Still, we were in by 9.15am and even though the place was busy, it was not TOO busy that we couldn't enjoy the exhibition, so I definitely recommend going on the first timeslot if you can. It is not a long exhibition, so you can spend as much time there as you want - we were there for 1 hour and for me that was enough.
• We had lunch at Sushi Dokoro Yamazaki, one of the many sushi restaurants around Toyosu market. This was the best sushi we had in our entire trip, 10/10. It's a small restaurant. There was no queue when we arrived at 10.30am, but a big queue when we left.
• We then headed to Odaiba and checked the three shopping centres in the area and spent some time in one of the arcades. We left by 5pm, it was already dark, so we could see the rainbow bridge, the Fuji TV observatory, the Unicorn Gundam Statue and the Statue of Liberty lit up.
• Our final stop was Ginza - we just walked around and did some shopping (Shiseido, Uniqlo, Muji) before heading back to the hotel. We stopped for dinner at Curry House Rio in Shinjuku Station (7/10).

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Day 15 - Tokyo (Harajuku and Shibuya Sky)

• We started the day by going to Harajuku and honestly, I don't recommend going there. The area is SO BUSY and there is a queue for literally everything (to get into restaurants, cafes, shops, shopping centres, it's a bit too much).
• Anyway, there we were. We first stopped at Cafe Reissue, dropped our names to a list (at 10.20am) and came back 1 hour later (11.20am) to be seated. While we waited we had our first Japanese crepe (I don't remember the location). SO MUCH CREAM inside, it was a bit sickening. We then just walked around Omotesando Street (so many queues). Then it was time to go back to Cafe Reissue, their latte art is amazing. My husband got a very cute 3D Pikachu latte and the artist perfectly drew my dog's face on my cappuccino. We had some food (sandwiches) there as well, but it wasn't very good. 10/10 for the coffees though.
• We had a reservation for MiPig cafe at 12pm. I have my reservations about animal cafes, but this was recommended by a friend living there, and after doing my research it seemed to be ok - the pigs are not on display for the whole day, it's different groups taking rests throughout the day. And they are being trained and socialized there for being adopted when they get older. You also can't hold the pigs, but they do come to you. My husband had 3 pigs taking naps on his lap at some point. It was very cute and fun.
• After that we walked down Takeshita Street and I don't think it's worth it. Nothing special about it and too busy. Did some more shopping in Uniqlo, before getting an Uber to the hotel as we had too many shopping bags and needed to pack as we were heading to Mt. Fuji on the next day.
• We left again in the evening to go to Shibuya Sky, as we had sofa reservations at The Roof (you need to book this one month earlier on their website at a specific time as they sell out immediately. There are posts on this subreddit explaining how to do it).
• Before going up, we stopped for Sushi at Matsue in Shibuya Scramble Square (6/10, the sushi was more expensive than the one we had around Toyosu Market, and not as good). We were sat at the window, so we got some really nice views of Shibuya Crossing. We then headed to Shibuya Sky for our timed entry. I didn't manage to book our sofa for sunset, but in the end it didn't matter as it was a very cloudy day.
• We then walked to Yokocho Alley for some food in one of the Izakayas, and finished the night having cocktails at The Bellwood (10/10).

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Day 16 - Kawaguchiko

• Instead of day tripping to Mt. Fuji (we were torn between Hakone and Lake Kawaguchiko), we decided to spend a night in Kawaguchiko. Day trips would allow for the flexibility of picking a day with good weather - we had set dates so had to count on luck to get good Mt. Fuji views. In the end it worked out perfectly, we got very lucky with the weather, and I would recommend spending a night there if it fits your itinerary. Mt Fuji looks different during sunrise, morning, afternoon and sunset, so it was really cool to see it all.
• From Shinjuku Station, we got the Fuji Excursion (Limited Express) to Otsuki (included in the JR pass, with hourly morning departures - 7.30am, 8.30am, 9.30am). We got the 8.30am train and reserved seats on the ticket machine that's on the platform - that was a bit stressful. So get to the station a bit earlier to find your way to the platform (Shinjuku station is a bit of a maze) and use the ticket machine. At Otsuki you jump on a different train heading to Kawaguchiko (not included in the JR pass) - that train was full and we didn't have booked seats, so we were standing for the rest of the trip. I think it is possible to book this seats in advance.
• Our first stop was Shimoyoshida Station. We were starving, so we stopped at Arakura Guesthouse for a quick bite (it was the only food option in the area open at 10am). 2/10, do not recommend - I ordered the Pork curry and there was no pork in it.
• We headed to Shimoyoshida Honcho Street for Mt Fuji photos. Full of people and queues to the good photo spots. However if you go to the adjacent streets (either side) they are empty and you get great photos.
• We then walked towards Chureito Pagoda (Arakurayama Sengen Park). Prepare yourself to climb a million steps. The view from the top was beautiful and really worth it.
• We got back in the train, this time heading to Kawaguchiko Station. We had lunch at Shaw's sushi bar and dining (7/10), then headed to the Lawson at Kawaguchiko Station, the one with Mt Fuji as the backdrop. Well, it looks much prettier in photos than in person, so in my opinion it can be easily skipped.
• We checked in at our Ryokan, got back out for a walk around the lake during sunset and took a few more nice Mt. Fuji pictures. Then back to the hotel in the evening for an Onsen bath and a Kaiseki dinner.

We had planned to do more things in Kawaguchiko (the Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway and Kawaguchi Asama Shrine). Even though we had enough time to do all that, we opted not to - by the time we checked in to the hotel, we felt like we've had enough views from Mt. Fuji (and our hotel room also had a side view of it).
The itinerary above can be done as a day trip, there's plenty of time to do it all if you get the 8.30am train from Shinjuku station. I do recommend spending the night if you can though.
Kawaguchiko Ryokan: Hotel Asafuji (9/10). They offer a free shuttle to and from the train station, the staff is very accommodating, traditional dinner and breakfast were delicious, the hotel has a public Onsen which was also really nice, and you get a Mt. Fuji view from the rooms (it is a side view, but still very beautiful).
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Day 17 - Tokyo (Akihabara and Tokyo Station)

• We had breakfast at 8am and got out for another walk around the lake for some last Mt Fuji views. We checked out by 10am and got the hotel shuttle to the train station.
• We arrived in Tokyo at around 2pm and spent an hour in Shinjuku Taito Station while waiting for our check in time. In the evening, we went to Akihabara and walked around checking different shops, including The Mandarake Complex. We arrived in Akihabara at 5pm and stayed there for 1.5-2 hours.
• We then headed to Tokyo Station (basement) for dinner at the Tokyo Ramen Street. Every Ramen restaurant had a massive queue, so we ended up having tonkatsu at Kurokatsu-tei (7/10). We then walked around Tokyo Character Street. I don't think these are a must in your itinerary, a lot of the shops there can be found elsewhere.

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Day 18 - Tokyo (Asakusa and Tokyo Tower)

• We started the day doing this Asakusa Rickshaw tour. Our rickshaw was lovely, gave us a lot of information on the area, took some nice pictures of us and told us a good bit of his life in Japan. When I booked this tour I didn't really realize that the rickshaws in Japan 'walk' instead of having a bike or some sort of motorized vehicle as it happens in other places, so I don't think I would have booked it if I knew that was the case (the tour was great, I just didn't feel comfortable with having someone carrying us around).
• We then just walked around Asakusa. We visited Senso-ji temple and Nakamise-dori (it was around 10.30am and the place was PACKED). After we walked around the streets around the temple, much quieter than the temple itself and there are some really nice shops around. I really enjoyed Asakusa and if we ever go back to Tokyo I will try to find a hotel in the area.
• My husband wanted to get a Japanese knife, so we walked towards Kappabashi. We checked three shops (Seisuke, Tokuzo and Kamata) and ended up buying our knife from Kamata. This area is full of shops selling all types of kitchen utensils for a good price. So if you wanna buy sake glasses, bowls, soup spoons, chop sticks, chop stick holders etc., I'd say this is the place.
• For 1pm, we had booked this Sumo Experience and Chanko Nabe Lunch, where you basically learn a bit about sumo from retired wrestlers and watch their morning practice . They also cook you lunch. It was nice, but I don't think I would recommend it, everything is scripted, the wrestling is definitely staged, and most of the time is allocated for people taking photos with the wrestlers (and it is a bit out of the way).
• After seeing Tokyo Tower from afar so many times, we decided to go check it out. We didn't go up, as we've already seen Tokyo from above at Shibuya Sky, so we basically just walked around it and through the park right beside it.
• In the evening we visited the Christmas Market at Meiji Jingu Gaien (loads of of German and Danish stalls).
• As I mentioned in Part 1, we are not the going out type and were always in the hotel by 9pm. Since we were staying in Shinjuku, we decided to go out at least once. So we checked out several of the little bars in Omoide Yokocho and finished the night out with 2 hours of Karaoke. This Karaoke place had a great collection of western songs and it was an open bar.

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Day 19 - Sushi Making Class

• Well, I was very hungover on this day so we didn't do anything except for this Sushi Making Class. I really recommend it, 10/10. The instructor was brilliant and you cook an entire sushi meal (with different types of sushi) for yourself.

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Day 20 - Shibuya

• This was our last full day in Tokyo. We had Japanese fluffy pancakes at The Original Pancake House for breakfast. We arrived at 11.15am and there was no queue.
• We then spent our day in Shibuya, to do our last bits of shopping and because we didn't really walk around the area when we visited Shibuya Sky. I don't remember all our stops, but we definitely checked Shibuya 109 and the Mega Don Quijote. We had Ramen at Ichiran (10/10, my favourite Ramen of the trip) before going back to Shinjuku. We probably had to wait around 20 min in the queue.
• Back to Shinjuku, we spent more time in an arcade, then visited Kabukicho Tower. It was very busy and there was nothing unique to it (except for the decoration on the restaurant's floor), so I wouldn't recommend going there.
• We had Wagyu burgers for dinner at Shogun burger Shinjuku. BEST BURGER OF MY LIFE, 10/10. Just go.

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Day 21 - Shinjuku

• We had bus tickets to Narita Airport booked for 4pm - our initial plan was to get the Narita Express train, but after seeing how busy Shinjuku Station is, I didn't want to walk around it with 3 large bags, so opted for the pre-booked bus.
• We spent our last hours in Shinjuku. Our first stop was the Shinjuku Marui Annex - there is a lot of cool shops in this shopping centre, so I do recommend going.
• It was a beautiful sunny day, so we visited Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden - massive park with paid entrance. It was beautiful with Autumn foliage. So if you are visiting in peak autumn or spring I also recommend going there.
• We had our final lunch at Sushi Zanmai (7/10, probably a 15 min wait before getting seated).

And that was it. We loved every minute in this amazing country. Eat all the food you can, schedule some rest breaks into your itinerary and go to the arcades! I hope these trip reports can help in your planning, and let me know if you have any questions.

Random Spinner 1 - Gunma + Residential Houses/Apartments

1. Tuned Mazda RX7 FD3S (Shinto, 2014) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.4271542,139.0020641,3a,15y,74.64h,79.83t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1scr6AqXyyL3d38FjEOAgqdQ!2e0!5s20140701T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
2. Mazda RX7 FD3S Spirit R Type A (Maebashi, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.4009895,139.1868348,3a,15y,34.3h,80.31t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sawGfbBSJbAkewt4Y3Q3wpA!2e0!5s20230101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
3. Nissan Skyline R30 RS Turbo Sedan (Maebashi, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.3914,139.1315235,3a,15y,357.52h,84.92t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1szNS-MGO0IMv-IJnZxukH1w!2e0!5s20221201T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
4. 2017 Nissan GTR R35 (Maebashi, 2015) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.3823292,139.0777378,3a,15.4y,23.19h,84.05t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s4fF92nSID69npPyIub87hw!2e0!5s20150801T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
5. Chevrolet Corvette C3 (Maebashi, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.3814196,139.0804439,3a,18.1y,129.35h,77.29t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sYr7sIlMgF7dzLZXaG-_fQw!2e0!5s20230201T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
6. Mercedes Benz GLA45 AMG (Maebashi, 2021) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.37734,139.0649448,3a,15y,336.62h,85.13t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s5IcEGcVBgbzstZdHQSa8Fg!2e0!5s20211101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
7. BMW M4 F82 (Maebashi, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.3817968,139.0799249,3a,15y,100.3h,82.05t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sCUdutYKlz2_3pSjKos3RGg!2e0!5s20230201T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
8. Lancia Delta Integrale HF Evo (Maebashi, 2020) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.3817705,139.0799523,3a,34.4y,216.29h,71.81t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sg3NjprrSYzNhRmpQDxf58A!2e0!5s20200701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   

Random Spinner 2 - Aomori + Gas Stations

1. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X (Hachinohe, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.5120251,141.5345834,3a,15y,351.28h,83.4t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1swgcjTKoobXj3v5r88aVOvg!2e0!5s20231001T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
2. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII (Hachinohe, 2018) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.4968624,141.5165301,3a,15y,53.82h,86.98t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1scbFUgZX868zIqKgiGgZFsw!2e0!5s20180501T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
3. Tuned Nissan Silvia S15 (Aomori, 2014) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.8294775,140.8136792,3a,15y,82.58h,88.28t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sbSphY-NucYLrX8ObZZCNgA!2e0!5s20140601T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
4. Nissan Skyline GTR BNR32 (Aomori, 2014) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.8159706,140.7751802,3a,15.2y,48.12h,86.07t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sjZtIYx3Ny16mmqyNOL5axg!2e0!5s20140601T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
5. Mazda RX7 FD3S (Aomori, 2015) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@40.8306764,140.7041763,3a,15y,205.96h,87.88t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sjrH5yUzj33KkyUfTreu06g!2e0!5s20150801T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   

Random Spinner 3 - Okinawa + Residential Houses/Apartments

1. Nissan Skyline GTR BNR34 (Ginowan, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@26.2730043,127.7314697,3a,26.8y,79.7h,76.82t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sELEG-dKLRoPxeJTXtxSMaw!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
2. Nissan Skyline GTR BNR32 (Ginowan, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@26.2734571,127.7343477,3a,20.7y,34.06h,77.76t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s8aVNIpFEOLPUYliuYwsHYA!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
3. Mercedes Benz G55 AMG (Ginowan, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@26.2743736,127.7386789,3a,15.9y,328.01h,85.55t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sYAQ0pHNbjgDLdwNQ5FMugA!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
4. Mercedes Benz C63 AMG W204 Estate (Ginowan, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@26.2745103,127.7387587,3a,20.9y,253.99h,82.51t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sTqe9Wy7DqAlbncSAxWCqOg!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
5. Lotus Elise S3 (Ginowan, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@26.2891607,127.7553947,3a,31.3y,61.2h,71.07t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s0-vUQ76Ut79zd9kcIFBs7g!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
6. 2007 Nissan GTR R35 (Ginowan, 2019) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@26.2941852,127.7564543,3a,15y,66.82h,83.82t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sPwk8p_wydPKJ9eqXtsOxUg!2e0!5s20190801T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
7. Mercedes Benz A45 S AMG W177 (Chatan, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@26.3029607,127.7599614,3a,18.3y,341.65h,81t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sojTO28YX8b3oyMZoiSO4Kg!2e0!5s20230701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
8. Nissan Skyline GTR BNR32 (Chatan, 2018) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@26.3039945,127.7602884,3a,17.5y,56.82h,78.19t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sOP6Bfood3-4EIfs9yLVRtw!2e0!5s20180901T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
9. Mazda RX7 FD3S (Chatan, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@26.3045092,127.7613099,3a,15y,77.54h,82.2t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s1cJgGayX0YB1CnaXrGevEw!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
10. Tuned Toyota Supra A80 (Chatan, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@26.3056049,127.7618708,3a,15y,247.04h,83.61t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s9x16tTNPgv5-QGlqjFw75Q!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
    

Random Spinner 4 - Nagano + Supermarkets (Ft. Don Quijote)/Groceries

1. Mercedes Benz E55 AMG W211 (Shiojiri, 2012) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.1189667,137.9608661,3a,15y,142.16h,81.93t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sWDYIogcyP3HfAc8c7ZKp_A!2e0!5s20120601T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
2. Audi RS5 Coupe (Iida, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.5287485,137.8384709,3a,15y,210.13h,78.95t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1svc6UaNKTTHIP5uBJGSVrYA!2e0!5s20231001T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
3. 2017 Nissan GTR R35 (Iida, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.5008614,137.7974822,3a,15y,208.09h,88t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sHS-hazlPhnjlLAFvc-lWIA!2e0!5s20231201T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
4. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X (Nagano, 2018) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.2136331,137.9626199,3a,15y,110.26h,86.43t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sUJCyxFn709mrFip9kYqtAg!2e0!5s20180801T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
5. Tuned Mazda RX7 FD3S (Omachi, 2021) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.4936752,137.860496,3a,15y,152.13h,87.77t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s6aBcCOabvO7M8tgiG4Cb9g!2e0!5s20210501T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
6. Porsche 964 Carrera (Saku, 2019) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.2470603,138.4755383,3a,15.1y,236.43h,84.36t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1ssZDYR9w1Z_NnqUDuELCPgg!2e0!5s20190701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
7. Nissan Skyline GTR BNR32 (Komoro, 2018) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.2975438,138.4685601,3a,15y,297.73h,86.92t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sqisOwl1YnSz101_IL4WwdA!2e0!5s20180801T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
8. TVR Chimaera (Karuizawa, 2019) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.3435704,138.6252759,3a,15y,357.67h,87.53t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sSH6HsIdFKs89ijkTEewhtg!2e0!5s20190701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
9. Lamborghini Urus S (Karuizawa, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.3388343,138.5922478,3a,15y,75.72h,88.15t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sA9LTp68tdMijY3R-qeF4Ag!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
10. Tuned Mazda RX7 FD3S (Ueda, 2019) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.4106001,138.2356706,3a,15y,137.25h,83.18t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s0slBKAbKablF4LfS0DG0BQ!2e0!5s20190601T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
    
11. Nissan Skyline GTR BNR32 (Nagano, 2012) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@36.4154898,138.2228038,3a,15y,146.24h,87.47t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sHVcG6GElPf5Wg5rqlcjDJQ!2e0!5s20120501T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
    

Random Spinner 5 - Shimane + Restaurants/Fast Food

1. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII (Matsue, 2017) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.459543,133.0757013,3a,15.5y,281.67h,81.96t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1seg_7SSnTvcrKvS2srPXUNw!2e0!5s20170601T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
2. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X (Matsue, 2018) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.4592586,133.0717808,3a,15y,271.97h,86.31t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sPif5uDV8QjgyL0eKnG5HuQ!2e0!5s20180701T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
3. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X (Matsue, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.4591991,133.0710342,3a,19.4y,289.78h,79.42t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1ssEJfm6kCVwpZOwLl0B31tA!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
4. Alpina B7 E65 (Shimane, 2018) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.4587813,133.0607467,3a,16y,228.61h,85.65t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sFKhUWgIv_hsEXQuYGLkKyQ!2e0!5s20180701T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
5. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X (Shimane, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.4840026,133.0657095,3a,15y,31.96h,85.49t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sSZ3jzA9sefau3qTpGVh-3Q!2e0!5s20231101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
6. Porsche 991.2 Carrera S (Shimane, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.4348331,133.0569303,3a,15.1y,250.39h,85.14t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s6MHaeYQAOMjhMIrm9hiKwA!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
7. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII (Shimane, 2015) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.3706616,132.7459025,3a,15.5y,133.36h,85.37t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sX0lAK5iUG4dGHY_3paD6Vw!2e0!5s20150601T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
8. Tuned Toyota Supra A80 (Izumo, 2015) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@35.3647764,132.7404887,3a,15y,161.23h,85.87t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s89-xVHFy91Hu0coLC58-pg!2e0!5s20150601T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   

Random Spinner 6 - Okinawa + All Categories Above (Free Roam)

1. 2011 Nissan GTR R35 (Nago, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@26.5977457,127.9688148,3a,23.8y,353.55h,77.27t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sD7MCgIToZwFMSsBpf9hnbw!2e0!5s20230501T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
2. Tuned Nissan Silvia S15 (Nago, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@26.5788082,127.9839686,3a,15.3y,147.86h,81.88t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sLsKV8JxWR2Bycjltn0vNEw!2e0!5s20230401T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
3. 2017 Nissan GTR R35 (Kadena, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@26.3586,127.7477204,3a,15y,97.73h,85.57t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sPHjNn40giDXsaYLCBnD-ww!2e0!5s20220601T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
4. Bomex-tuned Toyota Supra A80 (Kadena, 2021) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@26.3565032,127.7456348,3a,15.1y,53.67h,86.75t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1stk-dclcpyEcvpTnbMh_8Yg!2e0!5s20211101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
5. Nissan Skyline GTR BCNR33 (Kadena, 2023) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@26.3589134,127.7393951,3a,29.6y,43.39h,74.58t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sL_VUvIF1vdGdJSbIyKs4Gg!2e0!5s20230501T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
6. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV (Kadena, 2010) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@26.3564779,127.7413462,3a,39.7y,341.32h,74.23t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1spDY-HxWtPKfJXub0IVifQw!2e0!5s20101101T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   

Random Spinner 7 - Nagasaki + Tourist Attractions (Semi-Free Roam)/Museums/Parks

1. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X (Nagasaki, 2015) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@32.7411463,129.8742482,3a,21.2y,255.22h,82.39t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sv__U_0z8ZCDXvVlBb-8IRA!2e0!5s20150201T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
2. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV (Nagasaki, 2018) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@32.7411396,129.8742091,3a,22.7y,251.47h,78.94t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1siv6IK0lA5etNJsgsNjQUZw!2e0!5s20180401T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
3. Porsche 997.1 Carrera S (Nagasaki, 2018) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@32.7456907,129.8729403,3a,15y,206.62h,86.81t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sc5MtCgi57pIm3GauMO3Q0Q!2e0!5s20180401T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
4. Nissan Skyline GTR BNR32 (Nagasaki, 2014) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@32.7507858,129.8719788,3a,15y,4.95h,84.43t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1ssKu_EDQn7-31bsNEXnJExw!2e0!5s20140201T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
5. 2011 Nissan GTR R35 (Nagasaki, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@32.7548586,129.8703063,3a,17.6y,292.42h,84.02t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s13EyJe8bLEbO0cVgSOD-sA!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
6. Tuned Mazda RX7 FD3S (Nagasaki, 2015) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@32.7548368,129.8703158,3a,16.7y,66.15h,86.21t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s6NlYBMh6K5EPMrewirk07A!2e0!5s20150201T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
7. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII (Nagasaki, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@32.7592312,129.8670207,3a,15y,258.28h,87.22t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sAUbfuqwa4CMOve9J-J8lFg!2e0!5s20220101T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
8. Heavily-tuned Nissan Silvia S15 (Nagasaki, 2022) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@32.7715597,129.8629724,3a,15y,70.66h,85t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sKNNsdnnH8NgfxBZvmfsyxw!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu
   
9. Mazda RX7 FD3S (Nagasaki, 2010) https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@32.7740448,129.8619711,3a,35.1y,299.72h,74.96t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sPviAK3b99YS0awndgklNrA!2e0!5s20100401T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&entry=ttu
   

My wife and I are going to Japan in April and still trying to figure out the details. Could use as much feedback as possible to fill in the blanks. Below is what we have thus far.
None of the below has been booked, these are all just ideas and suggestions. Hotels have been booked but would love your thoughts if you agree/disagree on any of the selections.
Tokyo - (3 nights) - The Blossom Hibiya (Ginza)
Food * Sushi Dai (Breakfast Sushi) * Fuunji Ramen * Tempura Kondo * Seagan * Nakiryu * Wagyu Mafia * Sushi no Midori * Aldebaran * Jiro in Roppongi * The Pizza Bar On 38th * Egg sandwich from 7-11 (Snack) * Ichiran Ramen * Moriya Gion * Yakitori Mai * Kyubey * Den * Takamitsu * Sushi ShoMasa * Nikku Kappo Jo * Pizza Studio Tamaki * Nakiryu * Tonkatsu * Kagurachaka Petit (Dessert)
Activities * Tsukiji Fish Market Visit * Sumo Wrestling - Experience-the-World-of-Sumo * Sake Tour * Food Tour * Soba Noodle Cooking Class - Tsukiji Soba Academy * Ginza Shopping District * Shinjuku * Tokyo Giants Game * Teamlab Borderless - have received mixed reports on this
Kyoto - (4 nights) - Cross Hotel Kyoto
Food * Tempura Endo * Tempura Matsu * Niksihi Market * Eitaro * No Name Ramen * Himalaya * Mouriya Gion (Dinner)
Activities * Food Tour of Asukasa district * Nishiki Market * Day Trip to Osaka (if we don't stay night there as next location) * Wander through the Gion District and see for Geishas (Sightseeing) * Imperial Palace * Nijo Castle * Fishimi Shrine * Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine * Bamboo Grove/Forest * Togetsu-kyo Bridge - Monkeys
TBD - (1 night) - Kyoto another night most likely
Hakone - (1 night) - Gora Kadan * Eat a Black Egg at Owakudani or buy it from Hakone * Onsen * Massage * Open Air Museum (after checkout on way back to Tokyo)
Tokyo - (1 night before departure) - Hotel TBD Couple questions: 1. Should we stay the night in Osaka? I've been told that it can easily be a day trip from Kyoto. If not, where should we stay for the one day that is labeled TBD? 2. What day trips would you do from Kyoto? We've been recommended - Nara, Kanazawa, Takayama, Miyajima island 3. Any recommendations on restaurants we should try and get reservations for? 4. Anything on the itinerary that you would remove/add? 5. What is a must go or must do in each city? 6. Do you recommend getting the rail pass?
Priorities: 1. Food 2. Adventures/Experiences - food tour, sumo wrestling, robot show, etc 3. Explore - Walk around town, Hike 4. Touristy - Budha/Temples/etc 5. Shopping

Background

• Repeated solo visitor to Japan; first time to Tohoku after being inspired by Abroad In Japan. (Chris if you've any KPIs to meet in bringing visitors, I'm one of the statistics)
• First time dealing with snow and ice.
• Unable to drive.
• Able to read and hold a basic conversation in Japanese.

General itinerary

• 4th-7th: Tokyo
• 8th: Tokyo to Yamagata, night in Zao Onsen
• 9th: Zao Onsen, night in Sendai
• 10th: Sendai
• 11th: Day trip to Iwate (including Geibikei Gorge)
• 12th: Transit via Kakunodate (Akita) using Akita Nairiku Railway. Night in Aomori
• 13th: Aomori
• 14th: Detour to Lake Tazawa, night in Sendai.
• 15th: Tokyo and home.

General comments:

• Tokyo was intended to be more relaxing to balance the tighter pacing of Tohoku.
• Many locations in Tohoku are spaced from each other in the ‘5 mins by car, 30 mins by foot’ zone and hence taxis were used to support travel between some of these locations.
• In addition, the public transport in Tohoku is infrequent which necessitated close planning to allow for seamless transfers. I had to also mentally prepare to drop certain locations if necessary.
• 0 English support outside major locations.
• Food places were either found through Tabelog or last-minute Google mapping. Very pleasantly surprised to find out that most places accept cashless payment now even in Tohoku.

Detailed Breakdown
4th - 7th:
Key objectives and locations.
I did not have a solid plan for the Tokyo leg except for meeting with a friend and catching the Waggaki Band New Year concert. (Sigh hiatus post 2024 sigh)
Trip reports and itineraries on Tokyo have already been written to death on this subreddit; a brief summary of visited food places will suffice.

• Asakusayakushuba, 寿美屋ビル 3F 1 Chome-7-1 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032 : small franchise bar selling herbs infused alcohol. The taste was a little of a letdown despite the unconventionality of it.
• Kamo and Negi らーめん 鴨to葱 6 Chome-4-15 Ueno, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0005 : Ramen bar specialising in duck and spring onion ramen. On the lighter side to allow to shine through Decent for the price, although there wasn't a lot of meat. Recommended.
• 北丸 〒160-0022 Tokyo, Shinjuku City, Shinjuku, 4 Chome−1−13 田園新宿ビル 10F: a rather generic restaurant I found last minute to meet some peeps on this subreddit. One of the fellow travelers liked the steak.
• 創作麺工房 鳴龍 Nakiryu Japan, 〒170-0005 Tokyo, Toshima City, Minamiotsuka, 2 Chome−34−4 ＳＫＹ南大塚 １F: Michelin 1 star. went there 30 mins after opening and the queue was already 1 hour long. Ramen was on the heavier side. Was it good enough to queue for 1 hour in the cold? Maybe not. Was it good enough that I did not regret queueing for that damn 1 hour in the cold? Yes. Recommended.
• Abbot’s Choice Roppongi アボットチョイス 六本木店 〒106-0032 Tokyo, Minato City, Roppongi, 5 Chome−1−5 加藤ビル 2階: This place tried to replicate the feels of an English pub. They have some Japanese and international IPAs but not too specialised in it. They also have some cheap cocktails and amusingly, haggis that were tailored to the Japanese palate. English menu is available.
• 鬼金棒 2 Chome-10-9 Kajicho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0044 : Lived up to its reputation I feel. Not just plain spicy (which I find many JP dishes are stuck at) but having some layering to it. Faster moving queues than Nakiryu helped too. Recommended.
• 屋台屋 博多劇場新橋 2号店 3 Chome-14-3 Shinbashi, Minato City, Tokyo 105-0004：they had some promo of gyoza, but only available to 2 pax or more. They served karashi renkon cold and soft and insisted there was no mistake although an offer was made to fry it. I had no idea why it differed from the one I ate in Kumamoto where it originated from, but it sucked. Not recommended.
• A.S.A.B.（as soon as beerable) 2 Chome-11-1 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032: Bartender speaks decent English; a hangout spot for foreign visitors and locals. Recommended for first time travelers.

Side note: I was trying to book a cocktail omakase at Gen Yamamoto. The owner requires a local number and rejected a proxy booking from a local friend and public payphone. Attempted a walk in but it was full. Arghhhhh.
​
8th:
Key objectives and locations.

• Yamadera: Took the first train to Yamagata. The local train from Yamagata to Yamadera runs about once/hour.

I think I got lucky as the snow completely melted in the past week and only started falling again in the past 24 hours. The result was that the area was beautifully coated in white without the stairs being excessively slippery or hidden by snow. My cheapass ice cleats died even before the climb but thankfully the snow boots alone had sufficed. There are also rubber boots available for free rental at the ticket booth.
In addition, Yamadera is part of the 4 Temples Pilgrimage where a special Goshuuin can be bought and stamped. Recommended.

• Nikko Whisky Distillery Tour: I got lucky again as the day was a public holiday: special shuttle buses ran between Sakunami Station and the Distillery. While it was not a long ride between Yamadera and Sakunami, It would be 20 mins+ by foot otherwise, and I could never fit this in as the local buses are in 30 mins that do not match the local train I.e. there would be a lot of time spent waiting which I could not afford. It

The tour was ok-ish and conducted in Japanese. There are English audio recorders for Key areas but the amount of content significantly differed from the sharing by the Japanese guide. If catching the shuttle bus, the time allocated for tasting (you know, why everyone is there for) was rather short at only 20 mins. I wished I had more time for the paid tasting as well.

• Zao Onsen: arrived too late and spent too long at the public baths. Most dinner places were closed by then.

Food

• 瀧不動生蕎麦 4359 Yamadera, Yamagata, 999-3301: a little tad off the station but well within a couple of minutes walk. The texture of the soba was fantastic. Recommended

9th:
Key objectives and locations

• Zao Snow Monsters: got lucky with having clear skies in the morning and rushed to see the snow monsters. There was already a queue at the gondola station for the first ride up at 8.30 am.

Note that some hotels can help to get the day pass at a discounted rate when booked early (by Nov). There are also free shuttle buses between key locations around the ropeway points.
The wind was terrifyingly biting at the summit; I thought my fingers were going to become the snow monsters. So beautiful though. Strongly recommended. (2 days of good weather for high-key locations, I was thinking then that I had used up my luck for the entire trip.)

• Ski School: one of my regrets of the trip, but not because of the quality of the school but because it was a tiring and expensive experience in learning that I have zero/negative aptitude in skiing.

There are no dedicated English lessons for any schools in Zao and some basic command of Japanese is a near must. The schools may have partnered with rental shops that offer a slight discount for equipment rental.
Spent the night at Sendai with a Couchsurfing host. Note that there is a special winter bus from Zao directly to Sendai that one can pre-booked. I took the Zao-Yamagata-Sendai route instead for flexibility.
10th:
Key objectives and locations

• Arahama Elementary School Tsunami Museum: my host drove me there. The museum by itself is nothing much as a sightseeing spot, but strongly recommended for the human stories it holds during the 311 Tsunami (esp poignant given the recent Noto Peninsula Earthquake). The beach is also a peaceful spot to just chill.
• Matsushima Bay: spent a tad too long with the host in the morning and decided to drop the boat tour. Took the longer way there via Matsushima station rather than Matsushima-Kaigan Station by mistake.

Basho was speechless when he saw Matsushima, and while I feel all the resorts around the bay had spoilt the scenery somewhat, it was certainly still beautiful, especially with the golden hue of the setting sun. Recommended.

• Zuiganji: part of the 4 Temples Pilgrimage and only a couple of minutes walk from the Bay. The temple also has a museum attached. Recommended

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Food

• 松島牡蠣小屋 MATSU Fugendo-13-13 Matsushima, Miyagi District, Miyagi 981-0213, Japan. Passed by this place by chance. It offers oyster buffet and has oyster set meals at a decent price.
• 牛たん料理 閣 電力ビル店 〒980-0811 Miyagi, Sendai, Aoba Ward, Ichibancho, 3 Chome−7−1, D-Biru, 本館 B1F. Beef tongue is a Sendai specialty with a couple of competing names. I chose 阁 after looking through a few reviews. Good service; the beef tongue has a smokey flavour without the stink of beef. Recommended.
• CRAFTSMAN Sendai 〒980-0021 Miyagi, Sendai, Aoba Ward, Central, 2 Chome−2−38 フォーシーズン １階 Found it last minute via Google Maps. It has some locally made craft beers which I really enjoyed. Recommended.

11th:
Key objectives and locations
Activated the 5 Days JR Tohoku Rail Pass.
Today was jam-packed and a fair bit of research went in on making sure the transport timing fits. Ended up oversleeping a bit anyway. As a side note, the 711 beside my capsule hotel rejected my request to forward luggage via Yamato on the basis I don't have a JP address. Since when it is a thing?
My planning considerations were that the train from Ichinoseki to Chusonji and Motsuji was a lot more frequent. Along with the fact that I could adjust my time spent at these 2 places more easily than the boat tour (can't jump off the boat midway and swim to catch the train can I), I slotted the temple visits in the morning with a hard cut off time to head back to Ichinoseki.

• Chusonji: took a taxi there from Hiraizumi (810 yen) since I missed the local bus.

Note: the special Run Run Bus from Hiraizumi has been suspended.
The temple is part of the 4 Temples Pilgrimage and is on a steep hill. There are straw shoes from free rental under snow conditions (there weren't any snow). The temple compound itself was free and ok-ish. The real stuff was in the paid section of the museum and Golden Hall exhibit. It is one of the few exhibitions I have seen in JP that made me go ‘woah’ as my first instinct. Strongly recommended.

• Motsuji: Took a taxi from Chusonji (810 yen) to save another 30 mins walk. There is a small booth by the foot of Chusonji that rents audio guides and can help to call a taxi. Lady doesn't speak English, but there are signboards to facilitate body language communication.

The last of the 4 Temples Pilgrimage, Motsuji was considerably less impressive in the woah factor compared to its cousins. The central pond made for a nice walk though.
Nonetheless, I should have allocated more time at Chusonji and reduced the time for Motsuji. Walked back to Hiraizumi (700m, about 10-15 mins) for the next leg. Note also that food options are scarce around the area.

• Geibikei Gorge boat ride: in the past years, the area ought to be covered in snow but thanks to global warming/El Nino, the area was like my balding head. Still, relaxing in the boat with a warm sake in my hand was quite a mood.

The guide spoke in Japanese but could manage some English and even Chinese.
Note also the toilet at the turning spot is closed during winter.
Food.

• 小判寿司 〒980-0811 Miyagi, Sendai, Aoba Ward, Ichibancho, 2 Chome−3−41 とりっこ文店. Sushi omakase and my first omakase experience. One of the top rankers on Tabelog. I made a booking via a freelance proxy. The shop has 0 English support. 10 courses with additional maki rolls, a local sake, and a beer for about 10k yen. Strongly recommended.
• まんげつ 2 Chome-3-30-59 Ichibancho, Aoba Ward, 980-0811. Stumbled upon it while looking for a drinking spot. Purely my personal opinion, but I will only recommend coming if one can hold some basic Japanese conversations. It is a small and quaint shop The owner operates on a loosely omakase home-cooked meal system, a bit similar to what is described in a Paolo video. If viewed strictly from the food/cost perspective, there are better options out there. The selling point is more of the cozy vibes and the chit-chats/interactions with the owner and fellow patrons, hence the need to be able to converse loosely.

12th:
Key objectives and locations:
The plan was to go Kakunodate, and transit to Odate via the scenic train of Akita Nairiku Line while taking a short detour to Utto Onsen Matagi-no-Yu for onsen and bear meat.

• Kakunodate: someone warned me about it being a dead town in winter and he’s right. I was attempting to reach a homestay inn that allows interaction with Akita dogs but after trudging for 20 mins in the snow, only to realised the place was closed till Spring. The only saving grace was the steeping sakura trees still looked pretty in the snow.
• Akita Nairiku rail: I would recommend this for people only if they have time to burn. The train cuts through snowy mountains and forests which make for good photo-ops.

Note also that JR pass holders can buy a day pass to allow getting on and off stations for free. In addition, there were formerly shared taxi services from Matsuba station to Lake Tazawa but had since been canceled. A single cab ride there will cost approx 6000 yen (I wrote in to ask after reading conflicting info), making the Tazawako station the remaining feasible entry point in winter for the budget-conscious.
The less-than-appealing thing about this line was that the snowy mountains do get boring after a while given it was a 2 hours + long journey.

• Utto Onsen Matagi-no-Yu. The staff at Kakunodate station can help to call the ryokan when buying the ticket for pick up vehicle at the Ani Matagi station based on the arrival times. The objective was to have a soak in their onsen (600 yen, 200 for towels, and 100 for lockers) and try their bear meat restaurant. 0 English support.

The onsen bit was nice, with an outdoor one overlooking the snowy fields. The disappointing bit was that the restaurant was not open for any orders; I had to resort to cup noodles from the souvenir shops. It was a mood-killer to spend 1.5 hours eating cup noodles (without a table) and scrolling on the phone because there was nothing else to do. I could have gone to the attached museum but was feeling too weary for it.
Furthermore, my next train leaving the station was delayed for 1 hour (due to the snow I think) despite my arriving 15 mins early as recommended by the ryokan staff. Ani Matagi station was an unmanned one with a small waiting room; I only caught some mumbling from the PA without ascertaining if the train was delayed or worse, canceled. By 1 hour's wait I grew concerned enough to text a local contact to call the railway for info. Coincidentally, the train came right after he made the call.
The delay did mess up the next leg of the journey as the next train from Takanosu (ending station) to Odate only came in 1.5 hours (there was nothing around Takanosu). The hard cut-off would be the 9.03 pm train to Aomori and there was a restaurant I wanted to try at Odate that was 30 mins by footway. My stomach did the thinking and decided to risk it; I took a cab from Odate to the restaurant and walked back. I made the mistake of not asking the driver to wait for me at the shop at a designated time because 30 mins march with snow pelting my face was not fun. (Tropical kid, not much experience with snow remember).
Food

• Akita Hinai Ya 21 Omachi, Odate, Akita 017-0841: Recommended by a Redditor and risked being stranded in Odate for it. Thankfully, it was worth it. Good kiritanpo paired with local sakes. Most importantly, the turnaround was fast enough that I could return with time to spare.

13th
Key objectives and locations
The morning was still snowing heavily and hence I reduced my activities to rest and do laundry. Most places were within walking distance with a short day trip made to Hirosaki just to see the park.

• Furukawa Fish Market: Felt a tad touristy with their points for don system and repetitive stores. I suppose it satisfies any seafood cravings, however.
• A-Factory: a specialised retail shop in apple products. I am here only for the cider vending machine featured in Abroad In Japan. Picked up a couple of items to bribe colleagues for work coverage too.
• Nebuta Museum WA RASSE: Recommended for the detailed exhibits. There was a good bit of coverage on the history and past floats (the workmanship is amazing).
• Hirosaki Castle: the park was sorta dead due to the winter, but in exchange, it was peaceful and quiet which made for a nice stroll around. The keep was shifted to allow for renovation work.

Food

• 鳥ふじ 1-9 Oyakatamachi, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8191: Thought it was a mom-and-pop shop and turned out to be a franchise. Went in right after opening and got a one-seater despite no reservations. Didn’t understand the handwritten signs (the writings were just too cursive) and omakase-d my way through. The chicken wings (tebasaki) were awesome. Recommended.
• Aomori Brew Pub 〒030-0803 Aomori, Yasukata, 1 Chome−5−11 ギャレスビル 2F: local craft beer which tasted good but not so awesome prices (245ml for about 800+yen I think). I left after one drink as I didn’t feel the vibes of being the sole customer. I suppose it could be a nice hang-out spot in a group.
• Bar flat 〒030-0803 Aomori, Yasukata, 1 Chome−11−10 大王プラザ 1F: Grandpa and Grandma bar. There was a group of ojisans chatting so I left after 1 quick drink.
• 灯 1 Chome-11-23 Shinmachi, Aomori, 030-0801: Stumbled upon it as the menu outside showed they have a local sake I wanted to try. 0 English support. The food was a tad ex and small, but the quality made up for it. Tried to specialty of shellfish hotpot (heating a shellfish over an open flame with shellfish meat and egg in it). Recommended.

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14th
Key objectives and locations

• Lake Tazawa: I took a detour via shinkansen for the short bus tour around the lake, as I had ample time to kill since the Dontosai Festival in Sendai was all I wanted to see anyway. The sightseeing bus cost 1210 yen and only stopped for photo-ops for 20 and 10 mins respectively, which was pretty short considering the whole train took 1.5 hours, and longer if counting the train rides (I departed Aomori station on 7.30 am train and reached Sendai at 2.45 pm). I guess without driving, this would be the only way I get to see the lake. Splendid nonetheless.
• Dontosai: Held on the 14th of Jan every year, the shrine festival allows people to throw in past year decorations and any symbolic non-plastic items they want to get rid of. The crowds were stifling, the food expensive, but the shrine festival was nice to soak in. Helpful also that there were shuttle buses for 200 yen that returned directly to Sendai station. Disappointingly, I was strongly dissuaded from throwing people with burnt bridges with me inside. (I JEST)

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Food

• 桃屋 〒014-1201 Akita, Semboku, Tazawako Obonai, Mizushiri−７9: Found it via Google Maps while looking for lunch options around Tazawako station. The don was good and reasonably priced. Recommended.

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Closing remarks
By and large, I am glad that I could see the major stuff I wanted given the lack of private transport. I do wish that I had more time for something more leisurely rather than watching the clock.

I am planning 2 weeks in Tohoku in the second half of March 2024.
I have been to Japan multiple times (and speak Japanese), but this will be my first time travelling Tohoku and my first time solo travelling.
I am in my 20s and very active so fatigue/tiredness are not major concerns. I am aware I am trying to do a lot but I am someone that likes to have a detailed plan but am also happy to adjust on the spot if issues arise or I run out of time.
I will mainly using public transport except for 2 days where I will be renting a car as listed below (but open to renting more days).
I would appreciate any feedback/recommendations or any must-see things I have missed. I have some specific questions highlighted at the bottom :)
Day 1 - Aomori:

• Shinkansen from Tokyo
• Aomori Gyosai Center (Aomori Nokkedon)
• Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse
• A-FACTORY
• Aomori Prefecture Tourism Information Center ASPAM (Observation deck)
• Aoiumi Park
• Aomori Bay Bridge
• Stay in Aomori

Day 2 - Hirosaki

• Train from Aomori station to Hirosaki Station
• Hirosaki City Apple Park
• Hirosaki Park (and Castle)
• Fujita Memorial Garden
• Former Fifty-Ninth Bank Head Office Main Building
• Former Hirosaki City Library
• Stay in Aomori

Day 3 - Mount Hakkoda

• Bus to Ropeway
• Hakkōda Ropeway
• Considering hiking here but it appears not possible in March
• Is it worth renting ski gear and skiing for the half the day instead? If so, any recommendations? Or should I extend this to an overnight trip and ski the following morning as well?
• Return to Aomori

Day 4 - Hachinohe

• Train from Aomori
• Drop luggage at Hachinohe station. Are there luggage lockers here for a large suitcase? Google seems to indicate there is.
• Tatehana Wharf Morning Market
• Kabushima Shrine
• Samekado toudai lighthouse
• Ashigezaki tenbōdai Observatory
• Tanesashi Coast/Beach
• Walk along the coast as far as time allows
• Shirahama Beach
• Hachinohe Yatai Mura (Food Stall Village) - Miroku Yokocho (みろく横丁)
• Continue on to Morioka and stay in Morioka

Day 5 - Morioka

• Takamatsu Park
• Hōonji Temple (500 Rakan)
• Ishiwarizakura (The Rock-Splitting Cherry Tree)
• Azumaya Honten (Wanko Soba Challenge) - Nearby so can fit this between sights
• Bank of Iwate Red Brick Building
• Iwate Park
• Morioka Castle Ruins Park
• Sakurayama Shrine
• Morioka Hachimangu Shrine
• Nanshoso
• Head to Iwayama Park for Iwayama Observatory after dinner
• Stay in Morioka

Day 6 - Kakunodate

• Walk along Hinokinai river
• Pass through Hinokinaigawa Tsutsumi Park
• Kakunodate Castle Remains
• 角館武家屋敷通り (Main street in Samurai District)
• Aoyagi Samurai House
• Ishiguro Samurai House
• Enishi Inn - Can I actually pay to pet/play with/walk the dogs?
• Train minutes to Morioka Station
• Explore Morioka Oodoori (Shopping street) for dinner and drinks
• Stay in Morioka

Day 7 - Lake Tazawa

• Should I rent a car this day as well? Is it safe driving in this weather from someone who has never driven in snow/icy conditions?
• Train to Tazawako Station
• Tazawako Resthouse (starting point)
• Lake Tazawa
• Initial plan was to rent a bike and cycle around lake but it appears this is not yet open in March.
• Instead: Take bus around lake and get off at main attractions
• As I am leaving Morioka this morning and not returning, is it possible to take my luggage with me this day? I'd be happy to leave it at Tazawako station if required.
• Gozanoishi Shrine
• Tatsuko Statue
• Train to Akita Station and stay in Akita

Day 8 - Akita (RENTAL CAR)

• Rent car from Akita Station
• Namahage Museum
• Shinzan Shrine
• Akagami Shrine Goshado
• Akita City Folk Arts Center (Neburinagashi-Kan)
• Senshu Park (Kubota Castle)
• Akita Arts Theatre Mille Has
• Return Car to Akita Station
• Dinner at Kawabata Street
• Akita City Port Tower Selion (free observation tower)
• Stay Overnight in Akita

Day 9 - Yamadera

• Train from Akita Station to Sendai then to Yamadera
• Yamadera Temple (Rissyakuji Temple)
• Minenoura Tarumizu Iseki
• If time available, continue to Yamagata and visit Kajo Park & Yamagata Folk Museum Bunshokan
• Return to Sendai

Day 10 - Sendai

• Buy Loople Bus Ticket
• Sendai Morning Market (Sendai Asaichi)
• Zuihōden Temple (Mausoleum)
• Sendai Castle ruins (Aoba Castle)
• Aobayama Park
• Osaki Hachimangu Shrine
• Rinnoji
• Jozenji dori (main street through city) for dinner at Aji Tasuke (famous gyutan restaurant)
• AER Building (free observation deck)
• Nightlife - Whatever I do not do tonight, can visit other nights:
  • Kokubuncho
  • Iroha yokocho

Day 11 - Matsushima

• Train to Higashi-Shiogama Station
• Shiogama Fish Market (breakfast)
• Shiogama shrine
• Marine Gate Shiogama (Purchase ferry to Matsushima)
• Lunch (near Matsushima Shoreline)
• Godaido of Zuiganji Temple (Godaido Temple)
• Zuiganji Temple
• Entsuin Temple (and gardens)
• Fukuurabashi Bridge
• Walk across to Fukuurabashi Island
• After Fukuurabashi Island, the below places are optional depending on time
  • Saigyo Modoshi no Matsu Park
  • Oshima Island
• Train to Sendai Station

Day 11 - Hiraizumi

• Train from Sendai Station
• Geibikei Gorge
• Geibikei boat tour from dock: 猊鼻渓終点船着場
• Buy Hiraizumi "Run Run" Loop Bus. Is this bus running in March and is this worth buying?
• Chusonji Temple
  • Take Tsukimizaka (Slope) to reach temple
• Konjikido: temple grand hall
• Motsuji Temple
• Return to Sendai

Day 12 - Fukushima (RENTAL CAR)

• Goshikinuma ponds
• Aizuwakamatsu Castle (Tsuruga Castle)
• Sazaedo Temple
• Lake Inawashiro
• Stay Overnight in Aizuwakamatsu or Fukushima City?

Day 13 - UNDECIDED!

• I have a spare day that I have not decided on what to do and this can be inserted anywhere above
• I am highly interested in something active (particularly hiking) or some type of cultural experience that is unique to Tohoku.
• I have considered staying somewhere to ski however I would prefer to do a full 'ski trip' on a future holiday to Japan. Still open to suggestions for skiing :)

Questions:

• Are any train passes worth it? I'm considering the 14-day JR Pass but not sure my travel will make this worth buying? Could buying one or two 5-day JR Tohoku passes be worth it instead? Am I better to just pay for the individual trains?
• What exactly is the weather like in late March? I understand it will be very cold but coming from a city that receives no snow, just how cold will it be? What clothing will be most suitable?
  • I am planning on buying waterproof hiking shoes and ice cleats/snow grips as well as 1 snow jacket and 1 pair of snow pants
• Are there are others days I have planned where I need to rent a car?
• Are there any things listed that I should skip or are not worth it?
• Is it possible at all to hike Mount Iwate in late March? Most research shows it is too early in the year but I just want to confirm this is true?
• Any nightlife/clubs/bars/izakaya recommendations? Specifically, any areas that I should visit?