Japan: Tokyo and Kamakura

My son had an entire week off for fall break. I told him to pick where he wanted to go. He chose his favorite destination, Japan. I'll admit, I love it too and feel like you could go a million times and not see or do enough. This time we tried to do things we had not done on our other two trips. BUT we also made a point to do some of our favorite things.

If this is your first trip to Japan, be sure to read the two previous blogs on trips we took. The first trip has all of the first timer "need to know" information. Just click the links below:

• Tokyo and Kyoto (visited in June of 2023)

• Tokyo and Kawagoe (visited in March of 2024)

There was a beautiful sunset leaving, and a view of Mount Fuji when we arrived in Japan. You can see the top of Fuji hovering above the clouds.

Hotel Information: My son really wanted to stay in the same hotel in Tokyo that we have in the past. Knowing the area and that we would have breakfast included each day is definitely a plus. It's nothing fancy, but the staff is great, and the beds are comfortable.

The hotel breakfast includes both Japanese and western choices. I fell in love with scrambled eggs on rice our first trip to Japan and had it every morning with veggies and soup. There is coffee, tea, smoothies, juices, water, milk for beverages. Everything is always stocked and delicious. The rolls rotate daily (filled with custard, red bean paste or chocolate). We enjoy getting an early start to our day with breakfast at the hotel.

Comfort Hotel Higashi Kanda is located outside of all the busy, high-traffic areas. It's close to a couple of train stations and has a bus stop across the street. The breakfast has a good selection and is quite tasty. There are convenience stores a short walk away, which come in handy for late-night snacks or if you have forgotten something. Our go-to stops are 7-11 and FamilyMart. I go into detail and provide photos in my previous blog posts linked above.

Day 1: Akihabara. I feel like it's a ritual that on our arrival day we head to Akihabara. If you are a fan of anime, manga, and video games this is definitely a place you don't want to miss. We have a list of several places for anime collectables as well as video game stores to purchase retro games, and arcades to play various games listed below.

We did go back to Kyushu Jangara Ramen this trip for dinner. There is always a queue, but it goes fast. The ramen is delicious, and you can get a refill of noodles for just ¥150. We were stuffed with the bowl and called it a night.

Must visit shops in Akihabara for manga, anime and retro games:

• Gigo (arcade, music games, anime, claw machines, more)

• Gigo 5 (smaller store with pinball, darts, SEGA and anime themed taiyaki)

• Super Potato (retro games, small retro arcade upstairs)

• Retro Game Camp (retro games, consoles)

• Radio Kaikan (apparel, gadgets, model figures, capsule toys

• Gachapon Kaikan (largest gochapon shop)

• Gee Store & Onoden (manga, figures, accessories, t-shirts of your favorites series)

• Book Off (manga, figures, used retro games and game systems)

• Yellow Submarine (games and anime)

• Animate (7 floors of all things anime, one of our favorites!)

• Taito (arcade, figures, more)

• Mandarake (games, manga, toys, more)

• Surugaya (retro games, anime, figures, more)

• Gamers

• Don Quijote (store in most of the Tokyo neighborhoods with EVERYTHING)

You can find some of the stores above in many neighborhoods, while some are only found in Akihabara. You can look them up online and decide which you'd enjoy visiting.

Day 2: After breakfast we headed to Asakusa. The most popular area tourists flock to is the to the temple area. It has great photo spots and there's a ton of shopping along Nakamise-dori Street from Kaminarimon Gate all the way to the Senso-ji Temple.

If you go early in the day before the shops open, you can get a look at the store murals on the outside of the doors.

We had a reservation for a traditional tea ceremony with kimonos at Maikoya in Asakusa. We highly recommend it! Men and women select the kimono fabric for the tea ceremony (ladies will also have their hair styled). You are fitted into your traditional Japanese kimono and then go to the tea ceremony. The formal tea ceremony lasts about 45 minutes.

After the ceremony, you can keep your kimono on until 6pm to walk around Tokyo and take photos. They have a small garden for photos if you prefer not to walk around. We walked to the Senso-ji Temple and gardens to take a few photos before returning to change. There is a lot of effort involved in wearing a lady's kimono, and it was quite hot underneath! We enjoyed the experience but were glad to get into some cooler clothes before exploring the rest of the day.

Another place we always try to hit when in Asakusa is Kura Sushi. We prefer this location to others for conveyor belt sushi. It's very clean and seats a large amount of people. If there is a queue you can shop in the mall area and return at your time slot. If you don't like sushi (like my son), you will still have plenty of menu items to choose from. Play the game to win extra prizes when you return your small plates to the slot. We won and also got a bonus prize to potentially win more at the checkout area. He was able to shoot the matcha powder can and we got a huge tin of matcha powder as a prize. So fun!

After lunch we headed to Kappabashi Dogugai Street to do some shopping. I have always wanted to go to "restaurant street." There are several stores with dishes, pots and pans, utensils, and tons of other stuff. Most shops are open 10-5 daily but are closed on Sundays. Be sure to take cash here. I didn't have nearly enough cash for the two of us to buy all of the things we wanted. There are tons of great deals. You can also find nice gifts here.

Day 3: My son was excited to go to the Sumida Hokuai Museum. We really enjoyed the museum and learning about his process of creating his paintings. The museum is closed on Mondays, so plan accordingly if you plan to visit.

Yanaka Ginza entrance is a popular photo spot at the top of the stairs. We headed to this area to get my son, who didn't travel with us this time, a personalized cat stamp from the famous Shinimonogurui shop. There are TONS of options here for both regular or wood seal stamps. I suggest checking online before you go. You submit your order, and they will give you a time slot to come back and pick it up. The wait depends on how busy they are. This street was extremely busy when we went and very crowded. Not my favorite location, but we got what we went for, so it was worth it.

The street is famous for the number of cat statues and cat themed shops. I purchased a pair of Jiji socks (cat from Kiki's Delivery Service movie) at one of the shops. There is also a large Buddha statue at the Tennoji Temple near the train station.

For lunch my son found a fantastic place, Tonkatsu Mitsuya. We ordered the katsutama set meal (Sagen pork loin set meal). We were not disappointed. It was delicious.

Our next stop was the Nezu Shrine, much less crowded than the other popular shrines yet very scenic. We loved all of the red tori gates and walking through them.

We really wished we had allotted more time to Sugamo Jizodori Shopping Street. This 800-meter road is filled with about 200 shops and restaurants mainly targeted to the elderly. Known as "grandma's Harijuku," it is less busy than the other iconic shopping streets yet has an old-world charm that we absolutely loved. The Koganji temple holds a small festival on the 4th, 14th and 24th of every month. These days the road is also filled with street vendors and more people. We loved the Sugamo Kintaroame Candy shop as well as a number of other shops.

Day 4: Our day trip to Kamakura was truly a highlight of this trip. We took a train (about an hour from our hotel) to Kita-Kamakura Station using the Sobu Rapid Line. There is a map at the train station of the area and all of the temples you can explore. From here we walked to Meigetsu-in to see the beautiful, landscaped gardens. During different times of the year, you will be able to see different flowers in bloom.

We explored the Kencho-ji Temple and grounds. This is the oldest Zen Temple in Kamakura.

I had my heart set on having lunch at the Tenshin-an Cafe. I saw their traditional Kencho soup set online and just knew I had to go. We got there right when they opened, and the restaurant was filling quickly. The Kenchin soup recipe was learned from the Kenchou Temple. The soup set comes with a bowl of Kencho soup and two onigiri. You also get a small bowl of vegetables and pickled vegetables. I asked for hot tea during my meal and my son got the matcha tea at the end that also comes with a sweet treat. We loved it all.

There is a separate room you can go to take photos. The round window that looks in at the garden is similar to the window in the Meigetsu-in temple (pictured with temple photos).

Our next stop was Tsrugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. It was very busy here. I haven't mentioned yet on this post that before entering the large tori gate to the shrines you are to wash your hands and mouth and then bow before walking through the tori gate.

The purification ritual goes like this: Use the dipper provided to get some water. Rinse your left hand first and repeat for the right hand. Pour water onto your left hand and rinse your mouth. Then rinse your left hand again and rinse the dipper. You bow when entering and exiting the large tori gate at the shrine entrances.

*TIP*

I like to pay for a goshen stamp at all of the temples we visit. Each temple has their own unique stamp. You can collect them for about 100 yen. If you plan to do this, many people find it helpful to purchase a book to hold the stamps. At some temples if you have the book, they will hand paint the stamp into your book. If you get the takeaway paper like I do, it is still hand painted, just on a separate sheet.

We were both looking forward to visiting Houkoku-Ji Temple, bamboo grove, gardens and tea house. We walked the grounds to the small tea house. For 400 yen you can enter the tea house and have a cup of matcha while viewing the bamboo groves. Very quiet spot to enjoy a cup of matcha. We learned at our tea ceremony to eat the sweet first, then drink the matcha. The sweet takes away some of the bitterness from the matcha tea. Highly recommend this. Be sure to get an entrance and matcha ticket at the entrance.

Komachi-dori shopping street is a very busy street with 250 stores and shops. It is just outside the Kamakura Station if you come that way. Street food, restaurants, and souvenir shops line the street filled with people. My son tried a few snacks before heading to our next destination. Taiyaki is the fish shaped dessert that is usually filled with red bean paste or custard. He also tried a risotto onigiri what was delicious.

Kotoku-in Temple lets you get a closeup look at the giant Buddha. It's really a must do!

The Hasedera Temple grounds have pools with coy, a cave with shrines and candles, and a view of the ocean from the overlook. We arrived close to closing time but were able to get through fairly quickly and see everything we wanted to see.

We really wanted to try to get a glimpse of Mt. Fuji before heading back to Tokyo. We took the local Enoden Line to Enohima bridge. You can go to the island and dine, get great views of Fuji and a myriad of other things, but we were exhausted, and the bridge was fine for us. We sat a bit and watched the sun set behind Fuji and then headed back to Tokyo.

Day 5: We decided to take to take one of the free guided tours of the Imperial Palace grounds. The tours are completely outdoors, you will walk the grounds areas that you can only see on a guided tour. We enjoyed it, but we did not book a time slot. If you do not book a slot, be sure to head over at 10am to get in the "first come, first served" style line. We were the second group to go in. The tour lasts about 75 minutes. Afterward I would suggest visiting the gardens. Unfortunately, it was closed the day we were there.

We took the train over to Nakano. Right outside of the train station stop and get an obanyaki (filled pancake) at Oyakidokoro Refutei. Then head through the covered walkway known as Nakano Sun Mall. The covered arcade has shops, restaurants and even a cat cafe.

We took a small side alley to grab a bite for lunch at Ichiran Ramen, my son's favorite. I wore a bib. Slurping noodles is messy!

My son also grabbed a shrimp onigiri from Omusubiya Komeri down that alley we took to Ichiran. They all looked delicious. Would go back for sure! Nakano Broadway is filled with stores with lots of resale items and new items. There are several Mandarake stores here as well as a game station, grocery store, and some restaurants. The small side streets in this area are also filled with restaurants and shops. You just have to walk and explore to see all the fun things in this area. There is also a Don Quiote, which is a great shop for anything and everything. Go explore, have fun!

Day 6: Video games, UFO machines (we call them claw machines in the US) and tons of fun games and things to do in the Gigo buildings. There are several throughout Tokyo. We stopped for a quick couple of games after getting out of Ikebukero Station.

We also stopped at Animate. This is the largest Animate building in Tokyo. If you are into anime, you can find pretty much any series here. There are Animates throughout Tokyo.

My son has a knack for finding great food places. Really you can put whatever kind of food you are wanting into google maps and find something close throughout Tokyo. He wanted barbecue and found Yakiniku Stadium JAN. The sign below is to show you that many times the food courts and restaurants are in the basement of these tall buildings (B1). Don't be intimidated to check out the basements! This set lunch was fantastic.

Ikebukero is a great neighborhood for games, manga, anime, and retro game shopping. Some of our favorites shops include Namco, Mandarake, Animate, Book Off, Sega/Gigo, Super Potato, and Gamers. There are more, these are just the ones we have frequented.

Sunshine City Mall is also a fun place to explore. We wanted to shop the following stores: Gashapon Main Store (largest in Tokyo), Kiddy Land, Snoopy Store, Pokemon Center, FamilyMart, 3 Coins, Donguri/Ghibli Store, Daiso, Sanrio Vivitx, Village Vanguard, Siera, Loft, Kagurazaka Sanryo Ikebukero, and Lupicia. We didn't make it to all of them, but it was fun exploring and trying to find the things our family and friends back home requested from Japan. Many of the characters were found just walking around the mall. So fun.

We also went up to the observation deck to look at the city views. It was decorated in fall colors. I'm sure in the day it's beautiful. It was a fun place, but most of the seats were taken so we didn't stay very long. Would I do it again? Probably not.

Our last day we like to just relax and get last minute goodies to take home. We had a great time exploring areas we hadn't been to as well as going back to our favorite places. We finally got some udon, which we were hoping to find.

We wandered through Akihabara one more time and got snacks at the convenience stores.

This was our third trip to Japan, and we really took the time to relax and explore neighborhoods we didn't' see last time. It was so much fun. If you are wondering what kinds of things we brought back, here's a photo after dumping out our suitcases:

Tons of snacks, first manga book of my favorite anime shows, socks, cabbage peeler, matcha and various teas, bath bombs, face masks, tons of gachapon mini figures, lanterns, figures, the wave painting my son bought from the museum, ichiran ramen, stickers, daruma, tons of retro games, candy, tomagotchi, sake, books, trading cards, mochi, towels, mugs, and more!

We always take only carry-on bags. Fortunately, we were able to find a really cheap suitcase to check our dirty clothes and we packed the carry-on bags with collectables. It's easier to purchase a bag at the end of the trip so you don't have to lug it all around. This is another reason we like to stay in the same location and take day trips.

If you need other places to see and do, please check out the other blog posts and locations.