JAPAN 12 day total trip (travel time included)
Day 1 - TOKYO - afternoon arrival (lose a day coming from USA)
Booked bus transfer AIRPORT LIMOSUINE BUS to hotel on KLOOK. Way easier than trains with luggage.
Checked into KEIO PLAZA HOTEL Premier Grand, Shinjuku. If you book the Grand side of the hotel, you get more perks (afternoon “tea time” snacks, access to the top floor which is like a Zen resting lounge, quieter breakfast area with better views, and a better room with many provided toiletries etc.)
Walked around the Shinjuku area for the evening. Rhett tried a Terriyaki burger from McDonalds for dinner.
Day 2 - TOKYO
9am (don’t worry, your body clock will make you wake up early on the first morning anyway) CHOPSTICKS MAKING WORKSHOP booked on Klook.com
Japanese Denim shopping in Harajuku
Lunch at GLUTEN FREE T'S KITCHEN (I recommend the Potstickers/dumplings & Ramen). If you’re not Gluten Free, try another place ;-)
MEIJI JINGU - SHINTO SHRINE bordering Harajuku area. Highly recommend. Lovely grounds and gardens.
NIPPON- MADE (JAPANESE) ONITSUKA TIGER STORE - leather, Japanese-made, quality athletic shoes
GF Donuts at "I'M DONUT? " in Shibuya
regular Donuts at I’M DONUT? Down the street in Shibuya
4:55 AM - took an uber to the TOYUSU FISH MARKET AUCTION - WE ENTERED THE TICKET LOTTERY BEFORE WE CAME & GOT TICKETS. WE GOT TO SEE THE LARGEST FISH MARKET IN WORLD. WATCHED THE LIVE AUCTION OF TUNA.
6:30 AM- Crossed the street from Fish Market to the Secondary Mkt & ate sushi for breakfast at ISO SUSHI.
shopping at stationary stores - in Ginza ITOYA, and GEKKOSO (which had beautiful, Japan-made, store-created art supplies and products)
Lunch at the Cafe at the top of the ITOYA store. Delicious and were able to accommodate GF (I had a salad).
went to the ASAKUSA SHRINE & SENSÓ-Ji TEMPLE : leading up to it, there were many market stalls. We tried the candied strawberries on a stick here.
dinner at FUKU YAKITORI - delicious! Skewer Roasted food. Must have reservations. We had roasted Ginko nuts (interesting but not delicious…had to try), chicken& leeks, minced meat in mushrooms, wagyu & asparagus, & a prawn skewer.
Watched the light show on the METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT BLDG. Free nightly show on the half hour from 7:30-9:30pm. Can also go up to the Observation Deck for free and get a great view of Tokyo
Day 4 (Sunday for us) - TOKYO
9 am english sacrament mtg at CHURCH BY TOKYO TEMPLE
11 am SHIBUYA SKY EXPERIENCE - above Shibuya Crossing.
Lunch: Ramen at SAMURAI SHIBUYA HONTEN, or Gluten-free ONIGIRI from 7-ELEVEN
DON QUIJOTE MEGA STORE IN SHIBUYA - souvenir shopping
rest break at hotel
Dinner: SUSHIZANMAI open 24 hrs
Day 5 - TOKYO to KYOTO
trains to kyoto - JR LINE then SHINKANSEN - Booked on Klook. Book a window seat to try to spot MT. FUJI out the window
checked into DOUBLE TREE HILTON by the KYOTO STATION
NISHIKKI MARKET (try to go before 5pm…some places close at 5) - tried wagu beef skewers (meh), fried octopus balls (not Gluten Free) called tako (Rhett thought they were great), pickled cucumber (too fishy of a brine for me), strawberry daifuku (soooo good. tried chocolate one & red bean paste one. The red bean was my fav.), sweet potato chips (yum), and soymilk soft serve w/caramel sauce at the soymilk donut shop
bought personalized chopsticks (engraved) for the whole fam. at THIS PLACE (KITCHEN YUZEN) in Nishikki Market.
8 am NINEZAKA STREET to avoid crowds. quaint & picturesque old style of Japanese town. lots of people dressed in kimonos to take pics
saw 5 tiered YASAKA PAGODA (YASAKA-DORI rebuilt in 1440 - still standing since - Take pictures HERE.)
YASAKA SHRINE - Beautiful!
walked through MARUYAMA PARK where there was also a cute Pokemon manhole cover
ate GF Ramen at COMOREBI Ramen house. They have non-Gluten free too (yum)
KINKAKU-JI TEMPLE - beautiful gold temple & grounds
dinner at KIRANAH SPICE- Japanese CURRY & BEAN/meat/CHEESE Dish called Doria (can be made GF).
Day 7 - KYOTO
Arrived at FUSHIMI INARI GATES at 6:45am - takes 2 hours to go all the way through. By 8:30am the place is packed. These are open 24 hours though. Either go early morning or after dark. There are lights at night, but beware of wild boar.
ADASHINO TEMPLE & BAMBOO GROVE - We chose this instead of the Arishiyama bamboo grove because you have to get to the Arishiyama one very early to avoid crowds. This one is smaller but the temple there was interesting. Don’t miss the Racoon Statues. Aadashino was a bit hard to find. After getting off the bus, some tourists across the street clued us in to the hard-to-find stairway you take just after the bridge. Go down those stairs & then to left, til you see stairs on right.
YUSAI -TEI GALLERY IN ARISHIYAMA - beautiful zen gallery. Be sure to see if the “Artist-in-residence” is there and check out the original art for sale.
walked along river in ARISHIYAMA. You can rent row boats if you want. Rode bus back to Kyoto downtown.
transferred hotels to a Royukan (Traditional Japanese-style hotel, this one had an Onsen attached). It was in a bit more run-down locals area of Kyoto but didn’t feel unsafe really. The hotel was called YUNO-YADO SHOEl - Booked on Booking.com
tried the Onsen there when we arrived. Men & women had separate ones. HERE IS A GUIDE TO ONSENS. This was a traditional one, no tattoos or swimsuits were allowed.
OMAKASE DINNER (chef's choice) private experience with chef Oka at his lovely, serene, beautiful, tiny, expensive, reservation only, restaurant "GION NIKURYORI OKA" which translates to “in the entertainment district of Gion, Kyoto; meat cooking; cuisine, and Oka was the chef’s name.” It was truly a one-of-a-kind experience, and the food was delicious. Kobe beef was the highlight.
Day 8 - KYOTO to MATSUMOTO
traveled to Matsumoto, Japan, in the Nagano district. Ate snacks on the train.
checked into the MATSUMOTO MANRANOUCHI HOTEL, quite close to the Matsumoto train station and castle.
toured MATSUMOTO CASTLE w/ free English-speaking Japanese tour guide. The castle is one of only 12 remaining.
ate dinner at THAI INTER TERRACE. They have a gluten-free menu if you ask for it.
Ate dinner at KOBA YASHI SOBA. They have a Gluten Free hot soba bowl with GF tempura veggies & shrimp on the side. And the Buckwheat Tea is warm, GF and inviting.
took train from Matsumoto Station to Shinshimashima Station. Got on the Alpilo bus I had pre-reserved via JAPANBUSONLINE.COM to KAMIKOCHI NATIONAL PARK
10 am arrived at park. Hiked trails til 1:30 pm. If you are NOT gluten free, there is a nice little cafe half-way down on along the river that sells Soba noodles and traditional Japanese meals. But we just Snacked for lunch from vendors/store near the information center and bus station. Caught 2:05 bus back
- 4pm - shops/stalls on NAWATE SHOPPING STREET. (Frog street) Only a few were open. all close at 5.
Day 10 - MATSUMOTO to TOKYO
lazy morning at hotel - paid for buffet breakfast both mornings. It was ok, had enough Gluten Free food to eat. Each dish was marked with ingredient icons.
Bullet train from Matsumoto to Shinjuku Station, Tokyo.
WAGYU STEAK HAMBURGER &, RAMEN nearby for lunch. Had wagyu burger combo meal. They even had gluten-free buns. Long wait, but tasted good, and the combo meal came with free mochi ice cream for dessert.
explored TAKESHITA STREET in HARAJUKU. Check out the DAISO DOLLAR STORE there. Lots of vintage shops there, and there was a Manga Art gallery/store, lots of snack food and treats like huge rainbow cotton candy and crepes everywhere.
Best GF dessert of the trip located in Harajuku area. RIZLABO KITCHEN : puffy gf rice flour pancake tower, got the strawberry king…was delicious.
Day 11 - TOKYO to HOME
TOKYO TOWER opens at 9am.
ZOJO-JI TEMPLE across and up the street from Tokyo Tower.
AIRPORT LIMOUSINE BUS from hotel to Haeneda Airport.
FAQ
Q: How did you get from the Airport to the Hotel and then back to the airport?
A: We booked the AIRPORT LIMOUSINE BUS. However, you have to stay at one of the listed hotels in the areas it serves. If you aren’t, you could ride it to the one closest to you and then walk to your hotel. It costs about $9 a person, but it took us directly from the airport to our hotel door and was about an hour long.
Q: How much luggage did you bring?
A: 1 Carry-on suitcase and a good travel backpack that fits under an airplane seat. We packed enough clothes for ½ the trip and did laundry halfway through. We brought a sturdy, packable duffle bag to check on the flight home (filled it with shoes and dirty clothes and put the souvenirs in our carry-ons). We also packed collapsible day backpacks to use on the daily for jackets, water, snacks, and purchases.
Q: What did you use for phone service?
A: Ubigi E-SIM. If your phone is unlocked by your carrier, you can use a different eSIM when you are in other countries. It cost us $35 each for unlimited data for 15 days. However, this does not allow for cell phone calling. Since we had iPhones, we could FaceTime call people with iPhones and make and receive iMessages, use all our map and social media apps, and any other app. Since all of our family back home had iPhones, we didn’t see the need for the cell phone calling connectivity. Doing this was cheaper than the $10/day international calling plan our cell carrier charges.
Q: How did you keep up on episodes of Survivor 50 while you were out of the country?
A: We paid for and downloaded a 30-day subscription of Nord VPN for $16.29
Q: What was your favorite thing you did or saw on the trip? A: Hard to choose just 1. This wouldn’t be for everyone, but for me as an artist, I’d have to say it was meeting the Artist-in-residence at the Yusai-Tei gallery in Arishiyama. His name was Yusai-Jun and after purchasing one of his paintings, he asked me to sit for a couple minutes while he painted my portrait and then gifted it to me. A unique experience and souvenir.
If I were to choose a more general one, I would say visiting the Fushimi Inari Gates in Kyoto or the tour of the castle in Matsumoto.
Q: Is there anything you would do/see that you didn’t get to do/see that you wish you had?
A: I would’ve liked another couple of days. I would’ve taken at least a 1 day trip to NIKKO Japan where there is a beautiful temple, national park, and the Yudaki, Ryuzu, and Kegon Waterfalls. I also wish we had another day in Kyoto. I would’ve liked to tried to spot a Geisha at sunset HERE as my friend suggested. I would’ve liked to go to the KIYOMIZU-DERA TEMPLE that overlooks all of Kyoto, and had time to explore the older shops.
Q: Is there anything you did/saw that you felt wasn’t worth the effort?
A: It probably took too long to get there and back from the Adashino Temple/ bamboo forest. So maybe it would’ve just been better to brave the crowds of the Arishiyama area. Taking the bus up to the Adashino Temple took a long time and waiting for it afterward took even longer. If we’d paid for an uber or taxi, that would’ve cut time but definitely would’ve been more expensive.
Q: What are your recommendations for souvenirs?
A: It’s true that you will probably want to bring an extra suitcase or duffle bag or buy one at Don Quijote when you’re there. We only traveled with carry-ons so we would’ve had no room for souvenirs. You can’t legally bring meat products back into the United States so don’t buy any tinned fish. Buy more of the consumable things you find you like because they go fast once you get home. Also, look into the “TAX FREE” shopping and how that works. Essentially, at some stores (like clothing stores, Don Quijote, etc.) if you spend over a certain amount, you don’t have to pay tax which can save you a lot of money. You just have to show them your passport, they scan it, then scan the items you buy. If you do this, and buy consumable items, like beauty products, snacks, and candy, you can’t consume those things til after you leave Japan. They sometimes pack them in sealable plastic bags. But clothing and shoes they don’t. You can use those right away. (Comment if you want info on specific shops we bought our favorite souvenirs at).
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