Japan

Our adventure begins with a luxurious start as we set out from LAX to Osaka, enjoying the perks of business class for the first time! It was the most relaxing flight I have ever taken, and I have never been so refreshed after an overseas trip.

About twelve hours later we touched down in Osaka, validated our JR Pass (this pass is not as cost-effective anymore since 2023 price hikes), then hopped on a train to Osaka Station and made our way to the Ritz Carlton Hotel. After checking in and enjoying the beautiful city views, we indulged in some room service. We were so impressed by the level of care the hotel staff took while setting up our entire table and perfectly placing every utensil in its exact position before giving us a detailed explanation of our meal. The staff then left us to our meal without any expectation of a tip. This was our first experience with the high standards of service from Japanese hospitality.

Unfortunately we only had time for a half day in Osaka, so after enjoying a delightful spread at the hotel breakfast buffet, we set out to explore the city. It was rainy that morning so we decided to prioritize our Osaka goals and went straight to find some Rikuro’s cheesecake. The walk there was nice, similar in many ways to other metropolitan cities. However, we noticed right away a very “orderly” energy: from the way people walked to the uniformity of the fashion and the umbrellas being carried, to the lack of any litter on the streets. The city culture was very pleasant, and ended up being a common pattern throughout our travels in Japan.

To say we enjoyed the famous Rikuro’s cheesecake is an understatement. It was the fluffiest, most satisfying dessert and we loved that understated sweetness. Highly recommend trying!

Miyajima (“Shrine Island”) is a small island known for the Itsukushima Shrine’s beautiful torii gate that is submerged in water. These gates are found throughout Japan and symbolize a transition from the human world to the sacred. This particular gate transitions us to the sacred island of Miyajima.

It was crowded with tourists near the shore, so after a few quick photos we head out to explore the rest of the island. Our first stop was the Daishoin Temple. On the way we tried some momiji manju, a local speciality of the island, formed in the shape of a maple leaf.

We then headed home and had enough time in the afternoon to visit Shukkeien Garden, a beautifully constructed Japanese Garden right in the city. This was the first of many gardens we’d visit during our trip in Japan – the gardens were all so unique but still had the same tones of harmony within nature.

We then tried Hiroshima’s famed okonomiyaki for dinner, which is a savory pancake with cabbage and meat, before heading back to our Airbnb.

Our first stop of Day 5 was the Fushimi Inari Shrine, where we enjoyed an hour-long tour explaining the history of the shrine. My favorite sites to visit are those that offer unique views, characteristics or experiences, and this was all of the above! Our tour guide was wonderful and we definitely had a better experience on the tour than we would have on our own. We tried some grape tanghulu (grapes with a candied glaze) on the way out and then hopped on a train to Nara.

Nara was a small town known in part for the “bowing deer” that wander the park in the center of the city. There are vendors with carts located on the borders of the park selling food for the deer. If you first bow to the deer when approaching them with food, they know to bow their heads in return before accepting the treat. It’s a fun way to interact with the local animals!

We then spent some time walking through the beautiful Kiyomizu-dera Garden. Volunteers at the garden approach visitors for complimentary garden tours, which was a nice way to learn more about the history and features of the garden. On the way back to the train, we caught a quick traditional mochi-making demonstration which was very unique.

Links:

Fushimi Inari Shrine Tour: https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/4755562 (Highly recommend!)

To avoid crowds, we woke up early on Day 6 and headed to the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. We opted to take a Uber to the forest, which took about 25 minutes. The forest was another very beautiful and unique experience, but also much smaller than we had expected. Still, the forest is a must-see while in Kyoto.

There were two gardens within the forest grounds – one about halfway through the bamboo forest (Tenryu-ji Garden), and one at the top (Okochi Sanso Garden). I personally thought the latter was much more peaceful and serene. The closer Tenryu-ji Garden had a beautiful lake in the center but was very crowded.

From Kyoto we set out to Fujiyoshida and enjoyed a scenic train ride on the way to our onsen hotel (make sure to check to see if you need to reserve a bus ticket ahead of time!). We had the most stunning views of Mt. Fuji through the train window, and after checking into Fujisen Onsen Hotel Bessho we were met with even more stunning views of Mt. Fuji right from our hotel window. We also had a private onsen in our room that we made sure to enjoy during our stay.

The whole evening at the hotel was luxurious. We were first given robes and invited to enjoy some tea in a tea house overlooking the garden and river. The hotel grounds were surprisingly empty, so we were able to wander around and explore the beautiful gardens on our own. We even found a heated foot bath spring to enjoy that we had all to ourselves.

We bid farewell to Mount Fuji and headed to Tokyo, which was only a couple of hours away. After checking into our tiny Airbnb, we set out to savor a teppanyaki dinner at Katsura Steak House. Katsura is a teppanyaki restaurant located in the Grand Prince Hotel. It was fun to try the high-quality Kobe and Wagyu beef options that were made right in front of us by our private chef.

We enjoyed the museum for a little over an hour and then head to Happy Pancakes to put our names down on the waitlist. This seemed to be a common trend for many popular restaurants/cafes in Tokyo. Our wait time was about two hours, so we head to the LV Cafe to enjoy some very beautifully made coffee (left) before heading back to indulge in some of the fluffiest pancakes we have ever seen! For a late lunch we enjoyed Minoringo Curry (right), a very small restaurant with high-quality and well-spiced Japanese Curry.

In the meantime we had a reservation at Azuki to Kouri and enjoyed some fancy shaved ice and other treats. This restaurant was started by a Michelin-starred chef and it was one of my favorite Tokyo experiences. If interested, reservations for this small restaurant opens exactly one week prior to the date of service, and spots are usually gone within minutes! After the experience, we understood why!

After our treats we head back to Udonshin. Even after app showed that our table was “ready”, we had to wait in line in front of the restaurant for another hour before we were seated. Once we were seated we understood the hype around this tiny little restaurant. Typically, we prefer not to spend our time in lines when visiting other countries, but it turned out to be the best udon we’ve ever had. Worth it.

We spent the rest of the day just wandering the streets and taking in our last evening in Japan.

As our Japanese escapade drew to a close we hopped on the Narita Express to the airport. Interestingly, another one of the most memorable parts of our trip was finding a cafe with Cremia soft serve ice cream inside of the airport! Without a doubt, this was the best soft serve we’ve ever had!

And there you have it – a 12-day adventure through the enchanting country Japan. It was such a pleasure experiencing the culture and food, meeting the local people, and taking in all of the landscapes and sites. I highly, highly recommend a visit to this beautiful country.

Until next time, happy travels! 🇯🇵✈️