Japan
October 19th – 26th, 2016
So pre-deportation from Guam I went to visit the land of the rising sun (or I like to call it the PPE donning capital of the world). This is the infamous trip that spurned the longest Customs Border Patrol shindig that I have ever partaken in, and I have partaken in plenty.
There are those that don’t have Japan on their radar for travel must dos, but I don’t understand why. The culture, the beauty, the history and…THE FOOD!! Oh and don’t forget the crazy shopping that’s done in Japan (makes me wonder why so many Japanese tourists went crazy at Kmart in Guam of all places?!? – totally beyond me).
After being on Guam for a solid 5 weeks, a couple of travel nurse buddies decided we wanted to go to Japan. Guam is a little known U.S. territory in the South Pacific (ie. NOT North America), that surprisingly doesn’t have the best access to countries in that area. The main hubs Guam flies to are Tokyo and Manila. Those were the cheapest destinations that didn’t require a connection or three hopper flights in the opposite direction. So off to Tokyo we went…
At the risk of sounding totally first world, the first thing we did once we got off the plane…headed to the airport STARBUCKS!!! After 5 weeks on Guam, with little access to decent coffee, we all bolted to have a warm cup of goodness. BTW: Japan Starbucks does the Matcha Green Tea Latte better than anyone (as they should).
We only had 7 days to explore Japan so we made a plan to go to Kyoto pretty much right away and then come back and explore Tokyo before flying back to Guam.
Kyoto
Bucket list √ . Bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto. You wanna talk about comfortable!! The chairs spin around so a group of four can face each other, there is plenty of luggage space, leg room, cushy chairs and food service. These rides are not cheap however, (we paid about $150 USD one way). Fast and smooth 284 miles (457km) in just over 2 hours.
We stayed at a cute…but tiny Air BnB, but I think it was probably standard size as far as Japanese standards go. Challenging for my two taller friends. Also, the public bath thing…NOT for us.
Kyoto is the tourist town for what is traditional old world Japan. The iconic pictures you see of the Bamboo Grove and the Torii Gates (ie. what you have seen in Memoirs of a Geisha or pics from travel pages on Instagram) those are here in Kyoto.
Come prepared with some good walking shoes as we logged a ton of miles walking to and from the metro and to each site. Also, there are a ton of sites in Kyoto, depending on your time frame you may have to pick and choose which ones you want to see. (17 World Cultural Heritage Sites in Kyoto, alone).
Travel Tip: If you want any pics without a hundred tourists in them, go at the ass-crack of dawn and research which sites are open early or don’t require a fee. The bamboo grove and the Fushimi-Inari Taisha (Torii gates) Shrine are both free with no admission gates so going early is possible.
Just like a stereotypical asian (I can say this cause I am one…a Canasian to be exact…stereotypical not so much), Asians love electronics/technology and food, so it was perfect that our first meal in Kyoto involved both of those things…needless to say it was delicious.
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
We had seen tons of amazing pics of this place on Instagram prior to our trip so we knew it would be littered with tourists. So we made the effort to see this first thing in the morning and we lucked out with some solo pics.
One thing I have to mention about the Arashiyama area and the Bamboo Grove, they still offer the traditional form of transportation…rickshaw pulled by a person! Those quads and hammies were impressive. I just couldn’t bring myself to pay the dude to pull three women around the grove…Just couldn’t do it. But they definitely deserved a mention. There are three rickshaw runners currently making a name for themselves traveling the world right now, actually. They were in Thailand a few days ago.
Adashino Nenbutsu-Ji Temple
The downside to getting up at the ass-crack of dawn…the other temples may not be open and you have to fill your time somehow. Luckily, we walked around and came across some beautiful temples and shrines. We enjoyed walking through the town which was quiet and tourist free in the early morning.
Otagi Nenbutsu-Ji
Little known gem…We happened upon this “whimsical buddhist temple“ while walking in the Arashiyama area. We had just walked through the bamboo grove and were deciding among all the other temples on which ones to see. We went on the road less traveled and headed partway up the mountain to hunt down this treasure…a newer tourist attraction which you figure out as soon as you look a little closer at the 1,200 stone buddhas. Some holding modern items such as cameras, some sporting sunglasses with all different facial expressions. Such a playful place, yet peaceful and serene.
Kiyomizu-dera Temple
A beautiful temple up on a hill with a decent view. The incline up was a fun walk with tourists in Geisha garb seen everywhere. We partook in some sake tasting on the way up and the streets are lined with souvenir shops selling everything from chopsticks to high-end pottery as well as some interesting street food.
Gion District
Walking around in this area brings you back to old world Japan. You can picture yourself walking along these quaint streets. We strolled this area at night right after a Geisha show and it was lit up beautifully.
Nishiki Market
From sake to chopsticks this market was fun to explore. The many side streets leading up to the market were quaint and lined with cute little restaurants.
Fushimi-Inari Taisha
This Shrine is probably the quintessential site of Kyoto. Iconic, beautiful and no joke of a walk. It is actually quite the 4km hike up through the 5 shrines lined with thousands of bright orange and black torii gates. It’s free and always open, about mid-way through there is an opening with a view of Kyoto. If you walk through all the trails it can take 2-3 hours.
Sake District
After the Inari shrine we tried to get our drink on in the sake district, but after exploring shrines all day we got to the district late and only one sake distillery was still open. So we indulged in some decent sake and filled our water bottle with some Shiragikusui-Water – spring water that is used for sake due to its flavor. Then headed to the train to head back to our AirBnb….
Osaka
Just when we thought we had the metro system down…Nope. What we thought was a trip back to our place from the sake district ending being a questionably long train ride. I decided to look at my maps.me app (highly recommend this app for traveling btw), the dot was strangely nowhere near Kyoto, LOL. We ended up being closer to Osaka, so just like good travelers we went with it. Another Guam travel nurse just so happened to be in Osaka as well, so we met up with her and had a terrific night exploring Osaka for 4 hours before we had to take the long train ride back to Kyoto.
Tokyo
To help maximize our short time in Tokyo, we did a hop on hop off bus tour. Hit up all three routes and saw all the major sites. Mostly from a distance, but seen none the less. The hop on hop off tours are a great and affordable way to see the major sites in a city and know what areas you want to explore further.
Tokyo Highlights:
Shopping
Shopping in Japan is unreal. Large structures with ferris wheels on the roof (Osaka). Some were attached to the train stations, thus making it even hard to get to see the city sites. A fellow travel nurse was in Tokyo for just a day and never made it out of the train station because she was engulfed by the vast shopping mall in Tokyo station, LOL.
Daimaru (think large department store like Macy’s on acid) – 13 floors high filled with everything you could think of including delicious ready-made food that was the entire basement floor, with that many options deciding was a difficult task. We learned that train transportation is a staple of Japanese culture and bringing gifts along these rides is customary, hence the numerous shops and gift boxed items in the station was overwhelming.
Side note: I am not entirely sure what Japan’s fascination with Kit Kats are but Japan has Kit Kats in all colors of the rainbow (weird interesting flavors, that may or may not tempt your taste buds, but interesting none the less).
Travel Tip: There are locker systems in the train station so if you are traveling with your luggage you can lock it up and not have to lug it around while you shop.
Shibuya Scramble
The world-famous walkway known as the Shibuya Scramble. This multi way cross walk is a spectacle better viewed either personally walking it or from an upper level view. The Shibuya area is a great area filled with shopping and night life. The younger crowd filters in this area and noticeably the most littered area in Tokyo (which happens to be pristine for the most part).
The EPIC FAIL: Of our trip, attempting to see the famous fish market, where all the sushi grade fish is bid on and sold. Tsukiji Fish Market… we got up at 3am and hailed a taxi to take us there…we got there at 3:20am and missed getting in by 30 minutes. Only two groups of 60 people are let in daily for the Tuna auction. So what do you do at 3:30 in the morning…you go to Denny’s and think up another game plan.
Travel Tip: Just don’t go to bed. Also, I might research this as they are moving the market due to the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.
Mt. Takao
I really wanted to do a hike on this trip…cause if anyone knows me… I like to hike. Mt Fuji was already shut down and we were short on time. So, we decided on Mt Takao. Just a short 50 minute journey from the Shinjuku area of Tokyo. Imagine getting off the train and going through turnstiles and starting a . There is a little gift shop at the station that sells cute Mt. Takao gloves, hiking socks and hats for those who underestimated the chill. I admit we were part of that group.
There are several trails to get up to the summit we took trail 1 which is mostly paved or cobblestone at the start then turns into dirt path near the top. There was a confusing portion that goes behind what looks like a home or a temple. Once you figure that portion out it was pretty smooth sailing to the top. Along the way there are beautiful temples and monuments. One of my favorite pictures was taken up there of numerous buddhas on pedestals surrounding a temple.
Okay.. now let’s talk about the food. I know this is Japan, so you all are probably thinking sushi or teppanyaki. Well, we saved sushi for Tokyo and went to an amazing restaurant I will talk about later. Japanese food is diverse, tasty and at times weird, but I am willing to try just about anything. Here’s a glimpse of the yummy goodness we partook in.
Kaikaya by the Sea Izakaya
Izakaya – Japanese version of a gastropub. This restaurant is located in the Shibuya area along a great walking street lined with cute little restaurants and a wine bar. We had walked by this place a few nights and it was always completely packed. It had a definite hipster vibe to it, the doors and outer walls painted and plastered with stickers from all over the world like the back of an old car. We had an amazing 6 course dinner here which we shared. Definitely a memorable meal and I highly recommend it if you can get a seat. We lucked out with a table in a tiny corner nook of the smoking section, none of us smoke but the area was essentially smoke free so we took the chance. We indulged in some beer and some sangrias and left happy and tipsy (no worries, we walked home).
Japan definitely has a ton to offer everyone, from hiking to shopping and everything in between. Beautiful pristine sites and streets kept respectfully clean and traditional. If you have an appreciation for culture and history and don’t mind eating a delicious meal and/or snack here and there then I suggest you add Japan to you bucket list of places to see.
For full gallery of pictures check out my Facebook page 🙂
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