Day 20: Sensory Underload

DID: Jason hit the Fish Market while we ‘relaxed’ at the pool. Should have been a nice morning but had trouble locating acceptable pastries in our new neighborhood, and then Rhys had an enormous poo explosion in his bathing suit. Luckily he had gotten himself out of the water before it happened so there were no foreign objects in the pool, but by them time I realized what had happened there was…leakage. Ew. Kind of killed the swimming mood, plus Rhys bathing suit would need a good wash.

Back upstairs caught up on some postcards and Gavin’s travel journal while Rhys napped. Jason returned from a good adventure (he promises a guest post for the blog).

Decided to follow our Luxe guide’s recommendation for a shopping itinerary in Ginza. Got lost several times (note to Luxe editors if you’re reading this: why not give people who buy the guide access to a map online or add it to your iphone app?) For anyone who hasn’t seen these guides, they are very small pocketsized fold-up booklets which give restaurant/shopping/sightseeing suggestions. No photos, no maps, just (very tiny) text. Not exactly Luxe’s fault that the directions were hard to follow – there’s no address system in Japan and there can be multiple names for the same section of a road.

Nonetheless, we crossed off some essentials on the shopping list and enjoyed the walk around Ginza.  Very high end shopping area, much like the mag mile or Bond St London.  Highlight was a chopstick boutique selling sets from $5 - $5000!! Also Sony’s flagship store where you can test out all the new techie toys.

After dinner headed over to Shibuya which one of our guides said specifically is the ‘Tokyo of your dreams’.  In some ways I guess I agree. The train station was massive, impossible to navigate (it took several tries for us to find an exit to the station!) and very crowded. First time that we’ve really felt the crush in Tokyo. Outside, there was enough neon to warrant sunglasses at night.  But I’m still missing the smack of futurism/high tech/sensory blitz.

We were completely out of place in this neighborhood, mostly early 20-somethings in pre-clubbing mode. (read: un-fit and trashy).  Fashion much more conservative than I was anticipating, very little of the crazy combinations and anime-influence. Still lots of black tights with stirups. For the men, big baggy shorts, big t-shirts and big high tops, big whoop.

Got lost on the way home because we got off at Shinjuku Sanchome station rather than just Shinjuku. Kind of a meltdown moment, Rhys had been whining for hours at this point (he still refuses to fall asleep in the stroller and I can’t blame him – it looks uncomfortable) and we were all pooped. I was also getting frustrated that I wasn’t loving Tokyo as much as I wanted to, wondering if it was a matter of being in the wrong places, if I just wasn’t seeing what was front of me, or if I’d gotten it all wrong. A taxi sorted us out as far as getting us back to the hotel, but still feeling lost.

ATE: Breakfast: pastries from shop in Shinjuku station (Jason had sushi at the fish market).

Lunch: at Japanese burger chain Lotteria in Shinjuku Station. Really good. Kind of White Castle like in terms of the softness of the bun, but the meat/cheese were really good. A bit of ketchup was the only topping, this burger stands up on its own.

Snack: Green tea tasting and sake sampling in Ginza (as recommended by Luxe).

Dinner: Japanese version of crepes  (okonomiake)  @ restaurant in Mitsukoshi department store (also suggested by Luxe). Very interesting meal, cooked in front of us on a flat grill. Crepe first, then meat, then bean sprouts and a few sauces, crepe on top. Other items on offer included yakisoba (replace crepe with noodles) and an omelette version (instead of crepe). My favorite by far was the yakisoba.

Day 19: Disney Day

Up early to make the hotel’s first shuttle bus to Disneyland. I swear there is no traffic in this city – at 7.45 am the roads were running smoothly and we even arrived at Disneyland 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Had to kill time until the gates opened at 9.

On the way, we passed a steel mill where I saw about 50 steel workers doing tai chi (or similar) together in a yard outside the mill. Think they do that in Gary Indiana?

Everyone had a blast, highlights were a show with water canons blasting from the castle and showering the audience, the new PhilharMagic 3D show, the Star Wars ride in Tomorrowland, the Winnie the Poo ride, and everyone’s favorite – the tea cups. We were there from the moment the gates opened until closing. Gavin was asleep in the stroller before we even reached the exit gate from the park. Was a bit crowded in the middle of the day but overall not too bad. Weather was perfect.

The only downer was that the Disney marketing geniuses apparently don’t agree with me that it would be cool to have a shirt that says ‘tokyo disney’ in Japanese. Or maybe Mickey in a kimono or buzz lightyear eating a bowl of rice with chopsticks.

Day 18: Panda Swallows Pool

DID: Up early, checked out of Mitsui Garden and headed to see the pandas in the zoo. Zoo was pretty average but the boys enjoyed the pandas and I liked the ‘jackass penguins’.

Checked into new hotel in Shinjuku neighborhood. Very business oriented area, not much personality at first glance. Near one of the busiest train station in Tokyo so wondering how the stroller vs the masses battle will go.

Splashed for a bit in the hotel pool before heading to an evening baseball game at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. Tokyo Yakult Swallows vs the Nagoya Chunichi Dragons. Fans are very exuberant/lively, lots of chanting especially when the home team was at bat. They do a really funny mini umbrella dance when a run scores – I will post a video once out of China. They also sing a song at the 7th inning stretch but it is not anything like ‘take me out to the ball game!’

ATE: Breakfast - Pastries from bakery in Ueno station on the way to the zoo. Lunch @ Hard Rock Cafe satisfied Jason’s cheeseburger craving. Dinner @ baseball stadium, included a variety plate of sausages and edamame. Kind of a weird combo but no one was complaining!

SLEPT: Room at Keio Plaza was enormous and the staff at check-in gave the boys little origami gifts, so off to a good start. However, like most mammoth international hotels, it has zero personality or charm. Also disappointed because we’re going to have to change rooms mid-way through our time at the hotel. (we’ve got two reservations, one for ‘run of the house’ and the other for a room on their ‘premier’ floor. They won’t give us a premier room, or comp us breakfast or something if we stay in the regular room for the duration of our stay. Paid the same room rate for both reservations so it's doubly irritating.)

Day 17: Blind Date

DID: Arranged a free tour through an agency, which pairs students wanting to practice English with visitors. We were sort of expecting it to be a young student who would give us kind of the hipster neighborhoods/street food tour. As it turned out we were matched with a very lovely, older native Tokyo-an who was doing a tour for the first time. She also had some different expectations of us. Jason told her that he was a foodie and wanted to see markets and eat at a regionally typical, small restaurant for lunch. She understood that to mean that we were going to be very fat and wanted to eat for the entire 6 hours. ☺

She took us to an enormous playground in the middle of the oldest park in Tokyo. The photos say it all, needless to say the train was a big hit with Gavin and Rhys was up and down the elephant slide all morning.

After that we went to a restaurant at the top of a government building, which offered both good food and an incredible view of the city. Could also see the foothills of Mt Fuji. 

After that she took us through a touristy souvenir type market in Ginza which led to a big Shinto shrine. Although it was not the sort of market we normally visit, it did have a shop with stickers of the Japanese flag, so we got to cross that off Gavin’s shopping list.

Our last stop was the post office where she helped me buy postcard stamps and send out a few birthday gifts. (Megan and Steffi, you’ll have to let me know if you ever receive anything from the Japan post!) Again a very lengthy conversation to do something very simple, but at least we got what we wanted!

ATE: Breakfast – pastries in Ueno station. Chocolate pandas for GnR which they took down in about 10 seconds. L

Lunch with guide in ??? neighborhood. We all had the special of the day which was grilled thin slices of beef, miso, rice and a bunch of pickled things. Ordering was kind of funny – we were sort of relying on the tour guide to be our translator but we probably ended up with more miscommunications than when we do it ourselves. We are still struggling to figure out how to order a plain bowl of rice for Rhys.  A 10-minute conversation between the guide and the waitress resulted in a ball of rice wrapped in cling-wrap, accompanied by a salt shaker.  At least we got the rice, other times we’ve been flatly told no (once at a sushi restaurant where clearly they have rice), other times we had to order miso AND rice, but not rice alone. Afterwards we asked the guide if she could tell us how to order it but we got a blank stare. We must really be breaking some kind of protocol!

Dinner was at a miniscule ramen place recommended by our Luxe guide. 8 seats at a bar, and as with the ramen restaurant in Kyoto, ordering + paying took place at a vending machine. Luckily there was someone who could translate the buttons for Jason. It was sooooooo good. Later Jason read that this place is rated in the “top 3” of ramen restaurants in Tokyo. I’ve decided that it’s the best food I’d never tried before arriving. The bad thing is I’m not sure I’ll be able to eat it elsewhere now that I know what it ‘should’ taste like!

SLEPT: Like a happy sardine in Ueno

Day 16: Tokyo Bound

DID: Up and out early by train to Osaka Kansai airport. Realized that with the amount of time spent getting to the airport, checking-in/waiting for the flight, flying to Tokyo, waiting at baggage claim and train into Tokyo we could easily have gotten there quicker on the bullet train. But the flight was free on our circle asia pass and in fact we would have had to pay a penalty to skip this leg, so the choice was clear!



Flight was on StarFlyer which seems to be a local carrier for ANA. Really impressed with both the service and the plane itself. From small things like they put tops with straws on the cups for the kids, and provided a stroller both at check-in and at the arrival gate so that we could check ours with the rest of the luggage (and also didn’t have to worry about dismantling the stroller at the boarding gate while fumbling around with the passports/boarding passes/etc). An incredible amount of legroom in economy, which (as Jason noted) is even more impressive considering it’s an Asian carrier.



In awe of Tokyo from the sky. The Tokyo Sky Tree truly towers over the city – from the air it looks like triple the height at least of any other structure. City sprawls in high density as far as the eye can see. It’s only water that breaks up the concrete.



Took the Monorail/subway to the hotel. Ticket system the same as elsewhere in Japan so glad we were able to learn it before hitting the crowds of Tokyo.



After checking in we went out in search of lunch and a visit to the Ueno Zoo (about a 5 minute walk from the hotel). Missed last admission at the zoo by about 5 minutes so contented ourselves with a play in the playground just outside. Then had a walk around Ueno Park, notable was an ice sculpture exhibit, which had just ended. Sculptures were melted but ice-bases (about large suitcase size) remained and people were sitting on them/putting their feet & drinks on them to cool off.



Bit of shopping in Ueno area. It’s got a market in the alleys surrounding the train station that apparently are known to be one of the few parts of Tokyo that feel like the rest of Asia (ie crowded, loud, a bit smelly, all sorts of stuff being sold from housewares to fish). Also smells that were notably absent in the other Japanese cities we visited – urine and the homeless.



Ueno does have its fair share of neon but it is not nearly as chaotic or bright as imagined. Eager to see what the rest of our week will reveal.



ATE: Breakfast – stale pastries @ Osaka airport. Lunch – assembled picnic from small grocery store in Ueno station. Edamame, fried chicken, sushi, pineapple slices. Drinks in Marui Department Store at a top-level bar which had bed-like seating. (which of course meant that Rhys just wanted to jump on the bed and resulted in multiple spills of beer and ‘poppie water’ [Rhys’ name for sparkling water]). Luckily the other customers were amused by not made wet by Rhys’ antics (it was pretty much just me who left drenched). Dinner at very lively grill-your-own seafood place in Ueno. Seems like we found the Ueno equivalent of our restaurant street in Kyoto – lots of variety, hard to choose among them, all busy. Very different atmosphere than Kyoto though – there are big windows so you can actually see people inside, and seating is at tables (even some outside!) rather than in private rooms or at the bar. The atmosphere made up for any lack of food quality – our chef (Jason) did his best but most of the seafood was unfamiliar to him.



SLEPT: Mitsui Garden Hotel Ueno. Was hoping for a similar calming scent as in the MGH lobby in Kyoto – and indeed it did have a scent but not quite as nice. I cannot stress enough how clean it is. The whole place looked like they’ve been steam cleaning it every day since it opened in 2010 and we were the first visitors. If I could sponsor one of the housekeeping staff for a visa in Australia and hire them to take care of my home, I would.



Finally in a room which lives up to the hype as far as size of Japanese hotel rooms. Suitcases were stacked in a corner and with Gavin’s sleeping bag and Rhys’ portacot assembled, there was about ½ an inch to move around.

Day 15: Race Around Osaka

DID: Osaka in one (very hot) day. Started with the castle, then over to the aquarium (the largest in the world), then the big ferris wheel, boat over to universal studios, wandered around universal city, crashed.

Where Kyoto was very shy and private with its charms, Osaka lays it all out there. I was sad we only had a day to spend (and even at that we were mostly in the tourist complex with the aquarium/universal.) Much more my style. Liked it from the second we arrived at the central train station. Packed with people, street food, interesting shops, energy, and lots of young women (even some men!) with big smiles for Rhys and Gavin. Stark contrast to older/conservative Kyoto.

Gavin was very interested in ‘following the emperor’s maze’ (as we called it) to the top of the castle.  At least it kept him from asking the normal series of questions: ‘are we there yet? How many steps? What do I have to count to until we are there? Why does Rhys get to ride in the stroller?’ Several moats, ramparts, bridges, sentry towers etc to check out on the way. Best part was that for $4 he got to dress up in a samurai uniform.

The aquarium was very interesting. You take a long ride up a steep (STEEP!) escalator – kind of the like the first up hill on a roller coaster  - to the top floor of the building then work your way down in a spiral. Smaller tanks along the outer walls wind around a huge floor-ceiling tank in the core of the building. Largest fish I’ve ever seen indoors. Particularly unique because you get to see the top/middle/bottom dwellers in depth as you make your way down. There was also a shark/manta ray petting tank which was a lot of fun. Not as artistically done as the Seoul aquarium.

We then took a spin on the ferris wheel which is “one of the 3 tallest in Japan”. We see a lot of this ‘one of the 3…’ around here – very superlative-shy.  It did take us to literally dizzying heights (at least I was dizzy). This could be because Rhys insisted on jumping in the car causing it to swing and bounce right as we were reaching the apex…

Toyed with going into the Universal Studios park but by the time we got there it was only open another 2 hours. $60/each (and this was just for the twilight ticket!) seemed a bit much. Had dinner in Universal City hoping that there would be some characters wandering around or other activities but they do a good job saving the fun stuff just for the park. They did have a Museum of Takoyaki (the octopus balls we ate in Nara) which was interesting to one of us.

The Japanese aversion to the sun is even more obvious in Osaka than Kyoto. The women somehow make arm warmers and elbow-length gloves fashionable – even in the summer heat!  They also wear black leggings and not just knee length ones – full length ones but with stir-ups. Absolutely no places for eating/drinking outside. In spite of harbor location of the aquarium/universal, most of the stuff to do is indoors (there are no nice harbor walkways etc.)

ATE: Pretty boring food day, it must be said – but today was more about convenience than anything else. Breakfast pastries from a café on the way to the train, tried to find a Lotteria (Japanese burger chain) for lunch but failed. Gavin had been promised fries (he’s tired of rice) so we had no choice but McDonalds. Incidentally, the happy meals prizes were really good. Jason and I had gyoza and beer at a small booth near the aquarium, no complaints from me! Ramen at a restaurant in Universal City. Jason’s came with wontons in the soup, mine with gyoza.

SLEPT: another great night in the Simmons beautyrest at the Unizo.

Day 14: Credit Crunch in Kinosaki

DID: Last day in Kinosaki, and the weather was gorgeous. Even Jason agreed it was too hot for an onsen (and I think he was still pruned from the day before). Check out was a bit dramatic, hotel didn’t take credit card so we had to give them all but about $15 of what we had left in cash. Attempt #1 at an ATM and Jason realized he’d left all his plastic in his yukata (robe) that was back at the hotel. Which of course by the time we got there, the cleaning service had already collected and taken away!! Fortunately it was only a 20 minute wait before the cleaning service returned to the hotel with the load of laundry. Double fortunately that this service only does the yukatas and not all the towels too, so it was just a small hill rather than a mountain of laundry to sort through. He even found 10 bucks in the process. Rhys had near death experience #1 of the day when he snuck up the stairs and fell back down (only about 5 steps!)

Gavin was given the choice, beach or mountain, he chose mountain. Made our way to the cable car stopping at 3 ATMs on the way, no luck. Ride up the mountain was good, had the cable car (or ropeway, as they call it) to ourselves. It makes a stop midway at a temple but we didn’t alight there. At the top was an enormous, though slightly dilapidated, playground. Kept the boys entertained for quite awhile. This playground (like the one in Seoul) also incorporated some ‘play’ equipment for adults – probably designed for the lunatics who opt out of the cable car and think the hike up the mountain isn’t enough of a challenge.

Rhys had near death experience #2 of the day with a botched attempt at riding down the fireman’s pole after Gavin. Unhurt under the tears.

Then it was off to the train to Osaka. Jason was confident they would take credit card at the train station, so it was just a matter of how to fund lunch on the $10 we had left.  No parting beer at the local craft brewery for me.

On the way back through town we found an open-air foot onsen (which we’d previously discounted as either some sort of shrine or a picnic gazebo). There were a few ladies there enjoying a mid-day soak who got a kick out of GnR. Gavin was feeling particularly friendly today and even waved to them – progress!

Train to Osaka took us from the north coast and the Japan Sea to the south coast and Osaka Bay. Beautiful scenery through the mountains and small villages. Trip took about 3 hours.

Checked into hotel, had a bite, then took advantage of hotel’s laundry room.

The boys had to sleep in their bathing suits while their PJs were in the wash, they were very amused by this.

ATE: Another gorgeous but completely unappetizing breakfast at the ryokan. Even Jason was starting to come back to his senses that pickled and smoked fishy things accompanied by soft boiled cold eggs are not the most delectable things at 8.30 am (to a western tastes, of course!). The hotel was kind enough to pack up Gavin’s meal after he slept through breakfast (I didn’t see the point of waking him up to have him choke down another bowl of rice). This proved very handy for lunch since we were all out of cash. Well sort of handy. I certainly wasn’t interested in it, and Jason just picked out the rice balls and left the rest. We used the last of our cash to get the boys' lunch - a couple of hot dog pastries from a bakery and a bottle of cold water.

Dinner in Osaka at a place near our hotel. Again hotel had rubbish recommendations for restaurants (how are they not prepared for these questions???) Found a tempura place that was kind of like those Brazilian places where they just keep bringing you food until you tell them to stop. We were sitting at the bar right in front of the fry cook. I was a bit dubious about the whole thing to start with, I mean how much fried stuff could I possibly eat before getting that yucky coated feeling in my mouth and feeling generally ill? Apparently a lot, with this guy at the fryer (and the beer probably helped too). This was no ordinary tempura. Some of it was in tempura batter, other in panko crumb. We had everything from prawns to chicken to crab to pork to steak, to jalapenos, to tofu….and on and on. The food came one stick at a time at a slow pace so it just felt like we were grazing rather than gorging.

SLEPT: Fabulously at the Unizo Hotel in Yodayabashi. Looks like it’s kind of a business-y district of Osaka. Hotel seems brand new, beds are very comfortable and who says rooms are small in Japan?  This is now our third room here and although this is the first time there is no bed for Gavin, there’s plenty of room for us to set up Rhys’ portacot + Gavin’s sleeping bag + all suitcases and we still have space to move around. Jason was disappointed that there was no onsen at the hotel, but I’m sure nothing would live up to the Kinosaki standard anyway!