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).
