I had a wonderful time visiting Japan again this spring during the cherry blossom season, and shared the experience real-time via Facebook. This triggered a host of requests from my friends, asking me to share the itinerary of my recent visit. Which I'm very happy to do now via this post.
First and foremost, I must thank my wonderful travel companions, Li Ki and Joyce, for all the fun, laughter, patience and hairy moments that come with travelling overseas on our own - especially when we don't speak the language. I love that we used our strengths to the max!
is a lovely spot to see the flowers in bloom. While it was extremely crowded, everyone was relatively well-behaved. People tend to move along without blocking others from viewing the cherry blossoms. Lots of cafes and restaurants around Ueno Station for bentos, coffees and ice cream.
Surprise Find: Roof Garden on Level 8 of Isetan flagship store in Shinjuku.
There's a huge food hall in the basement of Isetan with an amazing range of affordable Japanese and international food - everything from sushi, sashimi, tempura, yakitori, salads, croquette to French pastries, Chinese dim sum, Indian curries and Italian pasta. We bought our lunch from the food hall and went up to the roof garden for a picnic feast.
Don't be put off by the lift that only goes up to Level 7. Climb that one flight of stairs to the roof garden. It's worth it!
2) Hakone (2 days)
Hotel: Hotel Okada is comfortable with a choice of western beds or Japanese tatami for sleep. Choose the tatami. Opt for the catered Japanese dinners, which are delicious and come in extremely large portions. Every set has 2 main courses with 6 dishes each. Might want to consider sharing 2 sets between 3-4 adults because we couldn't finish our individual sets. Breakfast is so-so.
Hakone is one of the best places from which to view Mt Fuji. This was taken at Lake Ashi.
Getting to and around Hakone is super easy if you get the all-in Hakone Free Pass from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. Go to the international travel counter at Odakyu Shopping Centre next to Shinjuku Station and they will sort you out.
The Hakone Free Pass by Odakyu Railways is a special pass for exploring Hakone, and includes:
| 1) | One round trip from the Tokyo area to Hakone by Odakyu Railways, unless you purchase the pass inside the free area, e.g. at Odawara, Hakone-Yumoto or Mishima Stations. |
| 2) | Unlimited use of Odakyu affiliated buses, trains, boats, cablecars and ropeways within the Hakone free area. |
| 3) | Discounted admission to selected tourist attractions. |
|
Hakone Free Pass (as of April 1, 2014)
|
|
2-day pass
|
3-day pass
|
| From Shinjuku Station |
5,140 yen
|
5,640 yen
|
Purchased inside the free area
(e.g. Odawara Station) |
4,000 yen
|
4,500 yen
|
| Reduced rates (almost 75%) apply for children. |
3) Kyoto (3 days)
Ryokan (Inn) :
Kikokuso is the ONLY place I'd stay in Kyoto. The Yoshimura family has owned the inn for four generations and the level of hospitality is sublime. We stayed with the family in 2013 and it was the highlight of our trip! Grandma Yoshimura literally squealed in delight when she saw us again this time.
Book early to get the room with ensuite bathroom. The other rooms with shared bathroom facilities are good too.
Cherry Blossom Viewing: For my favourite spots, read this
blog post.
With Grandma and Grandpa Yoshimura outside Kikokuso
Food: You MUST try the keiseki (imperial set) dinner at Kikosuko. It will be the most beautiful and delicious meal of your entire trip. Mrs Yoshimura is so beautiful and graceful in her kimono, you will be thoroughly spoilt by her hospitality.
Honke Owariya is one of the oldest soba shops in Japan, dating from 1465 - when Kyoto was the royal capital. The set lunches are reasonably priced and the cold soba is delicious. There are 2 branches and we've tried both. I think the original one is better.
From there, you can walk to Nishiki Market which has a good array of Japanese foods for sale. Good place to pick up tea, seaweed condiments and Japanese pickles. A little touristy but still worth a visit. Lots of macha (green tea) desserts to try.
4) Osaka (1 day)
Osaka is just a 30-minute train ride from Kyoto so it's easy to do a day trip. If you're flying from Kansai Airport in Osaka, you can store your luggage in the lockers at the train station and see the city in a day before heading to the airport.
Shopping/Sightseeing: Dotonburi is the place to see and be seen. If nothing else, come and take a photo with the giant crab. The other shop signs are quite outlandish too.
Food: The only reason we come to Osaka is for the food, especially okonomiyaki, which is a delicious egg omelette stuffed with seafood, pork and vegetables.
Mizuno in Dotonburi is very popular and rightly so. They cook the okonomiyaki on a grill right at your table, and it takes every ounce of willpower to wait for the food to cook and avoid drooling. Just keep yourselves occupied by taking lots of photos!
For fans of takoyaki (grilled octopus balls), you'd be happy to know that the dish originated in Osaka too. I'm told the stall opposite Mizuno is quite good (sorry - I don't like the taste of takoyaki so I really can't vouch for any vendor)
Market: Try
Kuromon Market for an authentic experience of a Japanese market. Lots of fresh fruit, sushi, sashimi and Japanese pastries to try. I personally found it more authentic than Nishiki Market in Kyoto and the stallholders seemed friendlier too. Iburi Coffee House is a cute little 1920's art deco shop serving great coffee, hot chocolate and waffles. This market totally rocks because they provide a large seating area for tourists to eat their takeaway meals while enjoying FREE WIFI.
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