Day 14 (July 22) - Deer, Amazing Shaved Ice and Quiet Kyoto??

 It has been a busy 10 days with cleaning, hosting, and finally getting a puppy! But back to Day 14.

We started with eating breakfast at the top of the Washington Hotel. It was a buffet-style breakfast with a variety of different foods to eat. After getting a few plates myself, we returned to our hotel room to prepare for our day.

Our first stop was Nara park. It has been almost 8 years since I last visited the deer. (Japan 2019 was to see the shrine instead of the park). OF course, we had to feed the deer, though I didn't feel that they were as aggressive as they were in the past. We also picked this particular day since they apparently released a bunch of fawns they were raising. Unfortunately, we didn't see many fawns throughout the park. We did see a deer that had a twisted horn. I didn't notice, until my girlfriend pointed out, that one of his legs were lame. Unfortunately, and probably due to his size, he was getting bullied by the bigger bucks when people tried to feed him. We were able to lure him away from the others and feed him. Perhaps it wasn't something I noticed the last two times I was here, but almost all of the deer bowed when you bowed and offered them a cracker. 

After Nara, we headed to Uji to eat shaved ice or Kakigori. Unfortunately, the famous shops we tried to visit were near closing time or required a reservation. After purchasing some treats, we found a Tsujiri nearby. After waiting a few minutes, we were able to get a table. Besides kakigori, we got other sweets (or wagashi if I remember correctly). The kakigori was definitely the star of the show. I don't recall having such delicious shaved ice; the matcha flavors were spread evenly throughout the entire bowl.

After feeling satisified, we headed to Kyoto. Fushimi Inari was extremely busy, so we decided not to bother finding the torii gates. Instead, we headed to a quiet part of Gion. It was a pleasant walk from the station to Yasaka Pagoda. The streets were quiet, which is unlike most of the touristy places in Kyoto. It was nearing sunset, which made pictures of the pagoda more magical than normal in my opinion. After spending half an hour in the district, it was off to find a place for dinner. We settled for Coco Ichiban. I didn't have curry all trip thus far. If you ever go to Japan, Coco Ichiban is a must for their affordability and delicious curry. 

With our bellies full, we headed back to Kyoto station so we could take the shinkansen back to Osaka.

Off to another city tomorrow! (Hopefully I'll have some time tomorrow to write about it!) 

A shot of Yasaka Pagoda from the bottom. 

Day 13 (July 21) - Second Day in Osaka - I'm not cut out to be a fisherman.

 It's been a busy week cleaning and building furniture. I finally have time to continue blogging about our adventure in Asia this year!

Day 13 started late, though I was in a bit of a panic. I either lost or misplaced one of our Osaka Amazing Pass. During the morning, I tried to figure out where it could be; I remembered doing laundry late last night, so we headed down to check the laundromat. Lo and behold, our pass was stuck on the rubber seal of the laundry/dryer machine. It went through a full wash and dry cycle but was still in one piece. The only question now was whether the machine could still scan the card. 

We headed towards the train station and towards the ticket gate. Fortunately, it did accept the card, thus not needing a replacement! Our first location was another Ferris Wheel: Tempozan Giant Ferris Wheel. It was bigger than the HEP5 we took yesterday, and had transparent cars! I had to admit it was a bit nerve-wracking to be so high up in the air while looking at the transparent floor. After taking in the views, we headed to the nearby Santa Maria Day Cruise. The cruise was 45 mins in length and took us around the Aji River. Not wanting to be out on deck getting beaten down by sunlight, we headed underneath to their cafeteria. I got myself a bulgogi beef rice burger, which was small, but not bad in taste.

Once the tour was done, we headed off to find a late lunch. We settled for kushikatsu, which is similar to tempura. I never had kushikatsu before (or at least not aware that I did). Personally, I thought it was better than tempura. Once we finished our lunch, we headed toward a nearby Pablo kiosk/store to sample their mini tarts. I have to say, Calgary's Pablo does a really good job of copying the taste of Japan's Pablo. Since it was quite hot, we took a break at a nearby café. I got myself a drink and a slice of cake. 

Once we were able to cool down, we walked toward Tsutenkaku to go down the tower slide. Unfortunately, it was a lot busier than yesterday, probably because we arrived a few hours before closing time. Slightly dejected, but determined to go down the slide, we stopped by the Zaou: a restaurant where you catch your own fish. We spent a good amount of time here, mostly due to the fact that it was difficult to catch horse mackerel (the cheapest fish on the menu). My girlfriend was able to catch one after persevering for at least 15 minutes. Fortunately, she's not a big fan of fish, so I was able to get the kitchen to turn it into a sashimi dish. At this point, I wasn't able to catch anything myself. We were about to leave, but she convinced me otherwise to give it another try. After waiting around 20 minutes without any luck, I started flailing the line and hook in the water. By sheer dumb luck, I managed to hook a fish via it's belly. It tried desperately to get away as I swooped it into the net. I did feel slightly guilty, though I ended up asking the kitchen to make tempura out of this one.

After paying for dinner, we headed back to the tower. The lineup was only about 30 minutes long now, so we ended up getting our tickets to head upstairs. The slide itself was a bit lackluster, but they did film the beginning and end of your journey. 

With our day pretty much done, we headed back to our hotel to rest. I was missing the onsen experience so I ended up soaking in our tub for the night. All in all, the Amazing Pass was indeed Amazing. Not only did it help us save money, but it's quite durable as well! I would recommend this to anyone traveling to Osaka for the first time. 

We passed by Yasaka Shrine as we made our way back to Tsutenkaku. 

Day 12 (July 20) - First Day in Osaka! Osaka Amazing Pass!

 I wasn't able to blog yesterday due to cleaning and moving things around the house. Things are going to get exciting in the next few weeks, but that's for another blog.

Like the day before, we decided to take a later train to Osaka instead of waking up at the crack of dawn to catch a train. It was a relatively short ride of around an hour to Osaka. Once we arrived, we had difficulties finding the right exit that would lead us closer to our hotel. Unfortunately, there were some stairs to climb with our heavy luggage, but we finally found the right path to Shin Osaka Washington Hotel Plaza. It was early, so we just dropped off our luggage before we headed back to the station. 

At Shin Osaka station, there was a small tourist office. My girlfriend recommended we get the Osaka Amazing Pass. For about $35 CAD, you can visit over 40 different attractions. Many transit lines are also free with this pass. I don't recall the exact number we would have spent if we didn't get the pass, but I'm sure it would be over $80 CAD. Once we picked up our pass, we headed to the HEP Five Ferris Wheel. It was relatively early in the day, and being a weekday meant that there were no lineups. I believe the entire ride was about 10 minutes or so, but it was enough to see the views from high up in the sky. The best part for me was that each car was fitted with an a/c unit! After the Ferris Wheel, we headed towards an art museum: Koji Kinutani Tenku Art Museum. Honestly, I'm not sure who Kinutani Koji is, but the art was visually impressive. Nearby, we headed to the observatory within the Umeda Sky Building. The sites were nice to see, but it was quite busy. 

After spending time here, we headed off for a late lunch. From what I know, Osaka is known for its Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki. My girlfriend took me to an okonomiyaki restaurant near the place she used to live while studying Japanese. Also, thanks to her ability to read and speak, she found a small sign that said if you followed them on Instagram, you're entitled to free sorbet after your meal. A nice way to finish up our meal! After eating, we walked down a shopping arcade towards our next stop. There was a food stall that was serving the trendy 10 yen cheese coin. As much as I wished that it was only 10 yen, 500 yen wasn't too bad of a deal. We finally made it to the next art museum: Kamigata Ukiyoe Museum. From my understanding, it was showcasing woodblocks of kabuki. At the very top of this relatively small museum (the size of a medium-sized house), there was a kimono on display that you were allowed to wear. It's my first time wearing a kimono (I'm assuming that men normally don't wear these). It was very ornate and heavy. After taking turns, we left and proceeded to the next stop: the Tombori River Cruise.

We weren't able to get the next available cruise due to the crowds, but we were able to book tickets for the next tour, which was about 30 minutes later. We had time to kill so we strolled along the canal of Dontobori. There was the trendy Cremia ice cream, so we got a vanilla cone to share. Honestly, it tasted like regular ice cream to me that was placed inside a soft cone. When it was nearly time for the cruise, we waited in line to board. 

The cruise was about 20 minutes in length. The tour guide spoke fluent English and gave a detailed explanation of the various sites on the tour. Once the tour was over, we headed towards our last destination for the night. 

The Tsutenkaku tower was relatively short, but filled with tourists. We had a choice of either checking out the observatory or going down their tower slide. I opted for the observatory first. Like the last few attractions we visited, it was full of tourists. After taking some pictures, we headed down to see if we had time to go down the tower slide. Unfortunately, it was closed for the night, so we headed back towards our hotel. Due to our late lunch, we just grabbed some food from a nearby Lawson konbini (attached to the hotel building) before checking in. Fortunately, we had a nice view of the city from our room this time, in comparison to Asakusa. 

I have to admit I was quite exhausted from all the attractions we did, but glad that we opted to get the Osaka Amazing Pass! Before eating dinner, I did some laundry since it was due time to get it done. Interestingly enough, I have a tale to tell, but that's for tomorrow's (hopefully I'll have time tomorrow) post.

Taken from the Ferris Wheel! I'm not sure why, and I know we have them here, but it was oddly satisfying to see this roof parkade/parking lot. 

Day 11 (July 19) - Heading to Nagoya to see Ghibli Park!

 I was a lot busier than I expected yesterday and didn't end up coming back home till late last night. But off to Day 11 of my Asia 2023 trip!

The last day in Asakusa has arrived. We booked an earlier train back when we got our JR passes in Harajuku, but opted to skip that and board a later Shinkansen to Nagoya. Fortunately, we were able to place our large baggage behind our seat (new rules on the Shinkansen for large bags) in an unreserved car. 

After arriving in Nagoya, we first headed to our hotel to drop off our luggage. It was still too early to check in, but they stored our bags for us in their back room. With no heavy luggage to hold us back, we proceeded back to the train station for our destination for the day.

Ghibli Park is a relatively quick ride from Nagoya station. They built the park on the grounds of the 2005 Expo in Aichi. I was disappointed with the Ghibli Museum back in 2019, so I had high hopes for this park. For one, it was a lot grander than the museum. We were only able to book tickets for the warehouse; not the forest nor the Hill of Youth. From what I read, it seemed like the biggest attraction was the park anyway, so we weren't missing much.

Like the museum, the warehouse was filled with tourists. They had some interesting exhibitions, including a vast forest that I'm assuming was from My Neighbour Totoro. There's also a screen room that had a short film playing every 15-20 mins or so. The film in question was Looking for a Home (Yadosagashi). I initially thought it was about camping, but I managed to find an article on Wikipedia explaining what the story is about. I have to say it's a lot better than Boro the Caterpillar that I saw in 2019. 

What was not worth waiting for was the exhibition section of the museum. The line stretched for what seemed like half a mile. We were curious to see why people were lining up, so we decided to wait in line as well. Just after an hour of waiting, we finally got inside to see... mannequins and sets from the various films. Honestly, I didn't think it was worth the wait, but since I apparently had a case of FOMO, I made sure to spend quite a bit of time checking out the exhibits.

Once we left the park, we headed towards a quiet shopping street in Nagoya to find a café that served various chestnut desserts like the Mont Blanc Sweet we had in Asakusa. The café was relatively quiet, but the atmosphere was pleasant. We ordered two separate desserts, with both tasted quite good. After we finished, we left and headed back to our hotel to check-in.

Dinner was at a seafood joint close to our hotel. There were a variety of dishes to try. Even though I'm not a huge fan of seafood, it was an enjoyable meal. Feeling full, we headed back to our hotel to rest for the night since we would be heading to Osaka the next morning.

A lot of traveling today, but it was nice getting to explore Nagoya a bit more with the dessert café, and the park. If you ever get the chance, and you're a bit of a Ghibli fan, I would recommend checking out the park. I believe it's a lot better than the museum in Tokyo. 

I forgot which section of the park this is from, but I really liked the scenario outside the window. 

Day 10 (July 18) - Driving Around Mt Fuji!

 After spending a week in Tokyo, it was time to venture to another location. I was supposed to be in charge of planning our route for the day, but she was able to find a more efficient route. We woke up early to catch a bus from Shinjuku station to Kawaguchiko. My girlfriend was able to snag our front seats on the upper deck of the bus. That meant incredible views throughout the entire trip. The ride was under two hours, and the familiar Kawaguchiko station soon came into view. In the past, I've been to Kawaguchiko station three times, and each of the three times resulted in a hike up the tallest volcano in Japan. This time, however, instead of catching a bus to the 5th station of Mount Fuji, we walked towards the nearest Toyota Rent-a-Car center.

Besides driving a go-kart, and nearly getting lost in 2017, I never drove in another country. Nevertheless, I never drove with a steering wheel on the right-hand side of the car, nor on the left side of the road. I was feeling anxious as we entered the small building. After showing my international driving license and other documents, I signed some papers, paid the fee for the day, and went out to inspect the car we were given. It was a dark blue Toyota Vitz. I remember going around, snapping shots of the car from different angles as a reference for when I returned the car later on. After everything was cleared, we got into the car and headed for our first destination. 

We were looking for the iconic Lawson with Mount Fuji in the background. I picked the wrong Lawson on my GPS, which left us confused since there was no mountain/volcano in sight. Either way, we had to stock up on supplies, so we spent some time purchasing items before heading to Fuji-Q Highland. Fortunately, we were early so there was ample parking space. The nice thing about the Vitz as well was that it was a small car, which made parking a breeze. Just like 2019, you didn't need to pay to enter the park. People just had to register their faces, I'm guessing for security purposes. I wasn't so keen on going on any rides, but my girlfriend found an attraction that caught her eye. After going on the ride, we walked around the park for a while before leaving to head to the famous Chureito Pagoda. 

The roads were narrow and many of them were wide enough for one car. At times, I would stop off to the side of the road to let oncoming traffic pass by. When we got to the parking lot for Chureito, we had to wait a while to climb a narrow path to park. The climb to the pagoda wasn't as long as I recalled. We stopped by the shrine to purchase some a good luck charm, before making it all the way to the top. Unfortunately, Mount Fuji was covered with clouds, so we were unable to snap the iconic pagoda+mountain shot. Somewhat dejected, we made it back to the parking lot to head to our next location: Oshino Hakkai.

The drive to Oshino Hakkai was pleasant. Traffic is light around Mount Fuji, making it easier than taking the bus. I wasn't quite sure where to park, since the last time I came, I did take a bus. Noticing a parking lot near the bus stop, I decided to park there. Oshino Hakkai wasn't as crowded as it was back in 2019, meaning that there were no difficulties getting around and snapping pictures. Also unlike 2019, I was feeling relatively well, thus being able to sample the food and drinks there without worrying about an upset stomach. There are eight distinct ponds, that are fed by glacier melt from Mount Fuji. We were only able to find six before we decided we spent enough time at this location. 

Hananomiyako Park is only about a 10 minutes drive from Oshino Hakkai. You could access the site via bus from what I read, but I don't think a bus came by that often. The park was filled with flowers with Mount Fuji in the background. Once again though, the clouds blocked out the mountain from view. We walked towards the entrance, paid, and continued to walk through the various greenhouses they had on site. Near one end of the park, there was a waterfall that must have been about 100 meters wide. It was very serene, and since it was hard to access this park, very quiet. We spent some time soaking in the sights before going back to the flower field in front of the gate. After snapping some shots, it was time to take a break at another onsen.

The onsen we went too unfortunately took cash only. With very little cash on us, we had to find a nearby 7-11 so that we could access their ATM and get more money. It was a while since we ate a full meal (Lawson in the morning), so we grabbed food from the konbini as well. After getting our fill, we headed back to the onsen. Unlike the one in Asakusa, it was nowhere near as busy. Also, most of the clientele were probably locals. It was nice to soak with only a few people around me. After the bath, we relaxed in their lounge area. Since it was getting late, we traveled to our last destination for the day.

Lake Yamanaka was extremely quiet near sunset. We were lucky as well in that there were no longer clouds surrounding Mount Fuji! After snapping our pictures, we took one last break to stare at the serene sight of the lake and volcano. It was then time to make our return trip to Kawaguchiko. The drive back was nearly half an hour, but fortunately, the trip was relatively smooth. It was quite dark when we returned the car. One of the workers took a quick glance at the car, double-checked that I filled the gas tank (the gas station was just next door), and sent us off with a hearty thank you. The walk back was not as hot as the morning. After waiting for a while, a bus arrived to take us back to Shinjuku station.

What I learned that day was no matter how efficient and effective the public transportation system was in Japan, nothing beats your own personal vehicle. I probably wouldn't drive in a major city, but the next time I'm out in the countryside, I'll highly consider renting a car to get to places. It beats waiting for the bus/train or taking a taxi. 

Finally able to grab a clearer shot of Mount Fuji! This was taken at Lake Yamanaka. 

Day 9 (July 17) - Chiyoda (Jinbocho and Akihabara) and a Relaxing Day at the Spa!

My dad told me that lineups are a rite of passage in Japan. Many famous restaurants tend to be on the smaller side, meaning you often have to queue long to go in. You know a restaurant is good if a lot of Japanese people, especially the locals, are lining up to enter. With that said, we woke up early again to venture to Jinbocho in Chiyoda city (within Tokyo). 

Ebimaru Ramen is known for making lobster broth ramen. I'm not the biggest fan of seafood, but it was something on our list to try. We arrived about 10 minutes before opening, but there was already a lineup. Unfortunately, we weren't the first batch to enter the restaurant when it did open. Fortunately, there were a lot of trees along the side of the road which provided much-needed shade from the sun. We ordered while we were waiting in line, so our food was almost served to us immediately. I got the lobster broth ramen while she got ramen with an entire lobster. My ramen did come with a glass of sparkling wine and risotto. Starting with the ramen, the broth was quite creamy. A unique piece was a slice of bread with cream that was floating in the soup. The head chef suggested that I try the ramen with the broth before spreading the cream into the already creamy broth. The ramen didn't taste dramatically different from the cream, but it was decent nonetheless. The risotto that came out afterward had bits of lobster, but no broth. I was told to use the broth from the ramen, which in my opinion, tasted better than the ramen.

After we were finished, we left and walked around Jinbocho. The streets were quiet, even as we passed by a university. Our next destination was Hijiri Bashi Bridge. For those of you who watched Shinkai's Suzume, this particular bridge was where Suzume jumped to save the Souta. If you time it correctly, you can see three trains passing on three different tracks. We weren't able to see three trains at once, but we did manage to see many trains using the three tracks. After getting our fill, we walked towards Akihabara. We spent some time at an arcade before walking around the main street (Chuo Dori if I'm not mistaken). We were looking for a rabbit café, but unfortunately, you needed to reserve. Deterred, but feeling hot, we stopped by a McDonald's to rest before heading back to Asakusa.

Within Asakusa, we stopped at a viral matcha Mont Blanc dessert stall. It was pricy, but tasted pretty good. There were various layers filled with different sweets. To top it off, there was gold leaf, hence probably why it was so expensive. After eating, we walked towards the department store we visited on our first night. I never knew, but there was an onsen/spa on the top floor. Before today, I've been to onsens twice: The first time in 2015 Osaka (a friend's friend was a local so he showed us the location) and our ryokan stay in 2017 Kurokawa Onsen Town. Both times, I went with male friends. This time, however, I went on my own since the onsen wasn't co-ed. For first-timers, a trip to the onsen can be a bit confusing. You have to scrub yourself down well in the shower section before normally stepping into the onsen itself. I did my utmost best to clean all parts before stepping into the baths. The problem though, is onsens are hot springs. I've never been able to stay within an onsen for a long period of time when it's hot outside. Nevertheless, I tried the various tubs they had available, with each being slightly different. I couldn't read the signs, so they all felt the same to me. They had one onsen that was outside and faced Skytree. 

After about half an hour, I got out to meet up with my girlfriend. To my horror, she messaged me half an hour ago (just as I changed) that she wasn't able to enter the onsen quite yet, meaning she was waiting for half an hour outside. I had something she needed for the bath, so I went back to the locker room to grab her item so that she could take her time with the onsen. When she finished, we went to a room where other people were sprawled on the ground on soft cushions. We found two next to each other and lay there for a while. It was nice to take a break from traveling to different locations. After some time, we got up and tried some of the crane games they had there. There were massage chairs located in each change room, so we took time to get massages from the chairs. I haven't had a massage from a chair since going to Fit4Less; these chairs blew the ones in Calgary by a mile! 

We ended up taking another bath, near sunset. I went back to the outdoor onsen to see Skytree as it got darker and darker. All in all, we spent nearly four hours relaxing at the spa. Once we left, we went to the nearby konbini to grab a small dinner for the day.

After today, I realized that I'm starting to appreciate vacations where I just lounge around. Maybe I'm getting older, but I never used to appreciate just relaxing all break. (Cancun 2014 comes to mind.)

A giant Ferris wheel as we made our way to eat lobster ramen.

Day 8 (July 16) - Nihonbashi, Nakameguro, and Harajuku

 I managed to get up early, but we were late heading to the Hanayama Udon restaurant in Nihonbashi (same branch, but quieter here in Nihonbashi). Fortunately, the wait was about 30 minutes, but the sun made it quite hot. The umbrella we purchased earlier in our trip proved useful in blocking the heat and UV rays. After we got in, we proceeded to order. From what I read online, if you requested the English menu, there are fewer choices there in comparison to the Japanese menu. Fortunately, I was with someone who could read and speak Japanese fluently to order for us. The udon noodles themselves didn't feel anything too special, but the sauces were quite good. Whether or not the flat udon was actually 5 cm long was a mystery. But back to the sauces! I had a sesame sauce and a... another sauce (note to self once again: Take detailed notes next time!) The tempura that came with my set was superb though -- each piece was crispy and not overly battered. Once we finished eating, we got some souvenirs at their little gift shop to bring home. We proceeded towards our next stop in Nakameguro.

We had about a 15 minute walk towards our next destination. The sun was blazing, but fortunately the sidewalk we were on had buildings tall enough to shelter us from the sun. We did end up taking a minibreak at a Family Mart for some iced treats. Once we were somewhat refreshed, we continued on our path. We found the Starbucks Reserve in this district. I was thoroughly impressed with the one in Seattle and we wanted to stop by the one in Tokyo. The line to enter though, was beyond anything we've waited so far. It was estimated that we needed two hours before it would be our turn to enter. Not wanting to grab a drink and bite, we opted to just enter the museum/gallery/gift store section of the Reserve. For this, you didn't need to wait in line. After purchasing a souvenir, we headed back out towards the station to reach our next location: Harajuku. 

We stopped by a café in Harajuku to once again cool down from the heat. I don't believe there was anything unique about this café, but the mango lassi and cake I got were quite good. Afterward, we headed back out onto the ever-busy Takeshita Street. It was hard getting through the crowds, but we managed to stop by some shops along the way. For those of you heading to Harajuku, I suggest making a stop on the side streets, for they're not as busy. It's almost surreal how empty one block away from Takeshita Street can be. After getting a good look around the station, we proceeded back to the JR Harajuku station to exchange our JR Pass vouchers. We will be needing them in due time.

Getting the vouchers went relatively smoothly. We headed back to Asakusa and, as you may have guessed, back to the hotel to relax before heading out for dinner. There was a shabu shabu (hot pot) restaurant nearby our hotel. However, the a/c was not working at the restaurant when we arrived. Not wanting to sweat bullets as we ate hot pot, we opted to try something else instead. With all sorts of other restaurants being busy, we ended up at a Matsuya for dinner. Perhaps its rep of being a chain restaurant, or with so many Matsuya restaurants in Japan, the one we went to was nearly empty. Nevertheless, the food was as good as always. Once dinner was completed, it was back to the hotel for the night. 

One more full day in Tokyo before we head off to another city!

At the Starbucks Reserve. These retro billboards are fun to see and to hear!