Japan Regional Specialties

Hakone Yumoto

• black sulfur-fumed cooked egg
• mochi cake - yellow outside with red bean

Hiroshima

• okonomiyaki with noodles
• maple leaf cake
• okonomiyaki flavour Pretz

Kobe

• sweets and lollies
• chocolate

Kyoto

• flat mochi sheet wrapped with green tea, red bean
• red bean flavour Pocky

Nara

• deer shaped mochi

Osaka

• okonomiyaki
• tataoki flavour Pretz

Tokyo

• Ningyouaki = 'ank' sweet paste sauce made from red bean coated with light sponge cake
• Tokyo banana
• "Edo" flavour Pretz

Things you see everywhere in Japan

• people
• Hondas
• toilets
• food places
• convenience stores
• cleaners
• people bowing at you
• Japanese tourists
• American tourists holding guide books
• carparks
• bikes
• Starbucks

Oak Hotel

Room

Well, the rooms are getting smaller and smaller, the bed was small, but comfortable enough. The pillow was good. Given that we were only here for a few hours to sleep, I wasn't really fussed. It did feel a bit claustrophobic in the room, 'cos it didn't have a window, but it was night and you couldn't see outside anyway.

Rating - 3

Facilities

This was a hostel, so as expected, there was a share kitchen, internet, laundry, vending machines. This place had no fridge and a small kettle. It was much better than I expected for a hostel, all the equipment were in good working order, and there was no rude guests or anything. We spent hours on the net and doing our laundry before we had to held off for Germany.

The staff had great English and were very helpful with our enquiries. We were able to check out very early in the morning without any problems.

Rating - 4.5

Location

10 mins walk from JR Ueno station, we chose it so we could get to the airport quickly. Otherwise, close to the attractions of Ueno.

Rating - 4

Value

At 7560 yen, I can't complain. You pay for what you get, and they exceeded my expectations.

Rating - 4.5

Snooze Points - 16

Info

6-1-2, HigashiUeno,
Taito-ku,
Tokyo, 103-0013 Japan
Phone +81-3-5828-0551
Website

Kyoto Garden Hotel

Room

Well, this was more what we expected from Japanese hotels. The room was small after we've moved in our huge suitcases, the double bed also very small. The bathroom continued the theme. The decor was very westernised and had no Japanese touch. However, we had everything we needed. The bed was comfy but the blanket was not big enough for both of us though.

Rating - 3.5

Facilities

By this time, we were very used to the politeness of the Japanese, so we were somewhat taken aback by the staff at this hotel. Oh, they were nice enough, it's just that we expected more by now.

Goodies wise, they provided everything we needed too, but nothing more. There was no laundry. The kettle could've been bigger. However, they did have 2 Internet terminals available at the lobby so we were able to blog.

Rating - 3.5

Location

Great location close to the station (15 mins to JR station) and metro (Karasuma-Oike) (1 min). There were also some cool shops nearby.

Rating - 4

Value

8050 Yen per night is ok value, but of course can't compare to Kitcho or Taiseikan.

Rating - 3.5

Snooze Points - 14.5

Info

Muromachi-dori,
Oike minamiiru, Nakagyo-ku,
Kyoto 604-8175, Japan
Phone +81-75-255-2000
Website

Taiseikan

Room

Taiseikan is a traditional Japanese full-service ryokan. If you're ever in Japan, this must be experienced. The room was very spacious, with a separate lounge area, a bathroom that has natural spring water running through the taps, and the separate area with tatami mats where we will be eating and sleeping. The room was decorated in the traditional Japanese style, with paper screen separating the two sections. Tasteful pictures hung on the wall, and most importantly, there was a great view of the creek flowing outside our window.

Surprisingly, sleeping on futons on the floor, with very fluffy doonas, was very comfortable.

Rating - 4.5

Facilities

This place also had everything we wanted and much more. The bathroom came with toiletries like "body lotion", "hair lotion", "skin lotion" and "milk lotion". Did I mention that this place has its own indoor and outdoor hot springs and baths? It was divine, I went to the ladies section and had it almost all to myself most times. Of course, all the mod-cons like hair-dryers, towels, scales were present.

There are different slippers for everything, going to the bathroom, going on tatami mats and going outside. We kept forgetting to change our slippers which I think is very bad etiquette. The staff also kept turning and rearranging our slippers every time we took them off which made us feel guilty!

The staff are very, very very polite. They want to clean and serve us all the time. The morning we were leaving, they loaded all of our luggage and pushed it out of the room for us without us even asking. Our personal "maid" couldn't speak very much English so it was very funny watching her trying to explain the rituals to us.

Rating - 5

Location

A very handy location 2 minutes away from the Miyanoshita railway station or 1 minutes from Miyanoshita bus stop. The hotel is reached by a 10 minutes cable car ride. You go all the way down the mountain, and end up in a valley. So as you can see, the hotel is very secluded.

Rating - 5

Value

Very expensive at 42000 Yen per night, including breakfast and dinner. But for the level of service and the quality we experienced, it was definitely worth it.

Rating - 4.5

Food

Part of the experience is of course the food. Dinner and breakfast is only part of the ritual. We were served kaiseki style cuisine in our rooms by our maid, little dishes of exquisitely presented food appealed before us, until the whole table was filled. It was a culinary and visual experience. There was a lot of attention to details, a balance of different flavour, and the potions thought out carefully so you don't feel bloated at the end of the meal. (See my post on this). I think if we had a better understanding and appreciation of Japanese cuisine we would have enjoyed it even more as each dish is supposed to have a lot of meaning behind it.

Rating - 4.5

Snoozie Points - 23.5

Info

72 Miyanoshita,
Hakone, Kanagawa 250-0404,
Japan
Phone +81-460-2-2281
Website

Hotel Kitcho

Room

For hotel rooms in Japan, this place is extra roomy. We have room to put our 2 large suitcases, actually turn around, and the bathroom was pretty big too! The beds were king sized single and very comfy. Decor wise, nothing fancy, except for the ashtrays that seem to be everywhere.

Rating - 5

Facilities

This provided everything we needed and things I didn't even think I needed. Besides tea and coffee making facilities, fridge, shampoo, conditioner, bath salts, toothbrush, hairbrush, shower cap, cotton buds... I didn't need to bring anything at all! There is a "pillow room" where you can go to choose the type of pillow you want. There's an automatic shoe cleaner where we stuck our shoes in every morning for the tickling effect. The laundry was quite cheap at 100 Yen a wash. We didn't try out the restaurant attached to the hotel but it seemed very popular. The best thing though, they have good quality bicycles available for guests. We took it out for 2 days and felt like a local.

The staff, like all Japanese were very polite and helpful. Their English were sufficient for us to communicate, but sometimes they didn't understand our request very well.

Rating - 5

Location

Depending on how you see it, the location could be an advantage or disadvantage. Located in Nihonbashi, it's away from the tourist area, but it was situated in suburban Tokyo, close to the financial headquarters, so we got to see what happens everyday for Japanese. Things are also cheaper out in the suburbs, there are little izakayas and even a home-made rice cracker store very close to our hotel.

Because of the excellent public transport system, you can reach Kitcho easily from the metro. However, we couldn't ride this for free with the JR Rail Pass, so we mostly walked or cycled to the closest JR station, which took about 20 minutes.

Rating - 3

Value

9450 Yen per night, not including food. For the standard we were given, excellent. I think this place raised the expectations of what we were expecting from hotels for the rest of the trip!

Rating - 4.5

Snoozie Points - 17.5

Info

2-32-8 Ningyo-cho
Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku
Tokyo 103-0013, Japan
Phone +81-3-3666-6161
Website

Day 15 7/4/06 - Japan, Germany

Ueno -> Narita -> Frankfurt

Highlight

• Sadly, we have to say goodbye to Japan. As soon as we were checking in at the airport, apart from everyone trying to speak to us in Japanese, it was a totally different atmosphere. The plane ride really reflected the German culture. Efficient, but unremarkable. Surprisingly though, the meals were quite good.
• What do you call people from Frankfurt? Frankfurters?? Anyway, they don't smile, are extremely tall, and have excellent English. They also speak very fast.
• Unfortunately, everything was more expensive than Japan.
• We caught a train into the city centre. What a shock! The trains are all very dirty and have graffiti all over, but at least they run on time.
• Frankfurt - the buildings are grey and dirty, but occasionally you get glimpses of beauty.
• I dunno if it's because we were in the touristy area, but all the cliches seem to hold true. You really can find pretzels and sausages everywhere, and the Germans themselves lap it all up.
• All the shops open until 8pm, which was a good sign, as it didn't get dark until around then.
• The department stores also have basements with food, but no taste testing or cheap discounts at the end of the day though :(
• With a few exceptions of European labels, the shops are almost the same as Oz.
• The women are especially tall. I saw so many tall women going out with shorter guys. And unlike Japan, there are actually fat people as well as thin.
• There are also lots and lots of punks around too!
• Our hotel is very basic but quite cute. See review.

Food

• Bento box- fried vegetable, chicken and fish on rice from Tokyo station kiosk (380).
• Red bean danish from kiosk (105).
• White bean bun.
• 'Anpan' - another red bean bun.
• Lufthansa snack 1:
  • beer
  • pretzel
  • biscuits
• Lufthansa snack 2:
  • salmon rice triangle
  • egg and tomato sauce sandwich
• Lufthansa lunch 1:
  • beef with mashed potatoes
  • honey chicken
  • prawn salad
  • bread roll
  • cucumber sushi
  • fruit salad
• Lufthansa breakfast 1:
  • salmon on noodles
  • cashew chicken and noodles
  • bread roll
  • chocolate cake
• Instant noodles.
• Pastry triangles.

Day 14 6/4/06 - Japan

Kyoto -> Ueno

Highlight

• Yasaka shrine. The impression is that it is really red. This shrine leads directly to...
• Maruyama Park. This was really beautiful as the cherry blossoms were at full bloom. At 9:30 am there were already people camping under it on their blue mats.
• Kodai-ji temple was located on a hill. You can see the Yasaka-no to pagoda and Kyoto scene from there
• Ishikei-koji. According to Lonely Planet, this was supposed to be the most beautiful street in Kyoto. According to me, it was pretty, but hardly classed as the most beautiful.
• To fuel our eating habits, we decided to do a mad dash to the Sento Imperial Palace and Kyoto Omiya Palace. We had booked a tour starting at 11 am, and we were supposed to arrive 10 minutes beforehand. Knowing the Japanese were never late, we ran for about 15 minutes as there were no bus when we needed it. We made it there at 5 to 11, and they were closing the gates on us. At least our efforts were rewarded with a beautiful Japanese garden, and delightful touring with more senior Japanese citizens.
• Taste testing mochi, nuts and beans around the imperial Palace garden with senior citizens.
• Nishiki Food Market (yup, more food)
• Toji Temple had the tallest pagoda in Japan,... and not much else.
• Sokujo-in, Raigo-in, Semyuji temple complex, spans a large area and off the tourist trap, but not particularly impressive.
• Fushimi Indri-Tasha Shrine. Site of the 1000 red gates. It was really impressive. All the tourists were taking photos of themselves running through the gates, most have been made popular 'cos of Memoir of a Geisha.

Food

• Red bean flavoured jelly cake.
• Melty Kiss.
• Lots of dried squid.
• Green tea mousse Porky.
• Black sesame triangle (250).
• Green tea steam cake (84).
• Melon and cream roll (68).
• Apple & cheese danish (109).
• Melon pineapple bun (101).
• Condensed milk roll (76).
• Melon chocolate croissant (84).
• BBQ sauce flavoured steam cake (63).
• Taste testing of course... going to miss this.
• Eel wrapped in egg (420).
• Green tea drink from a can (50).

Day 13 5/4/06- Japan

Kyoto

Highlight

• Shugaku-in Imperial Villa, overlooking a hill in Northern Kyoto. The view was spectacular and you can really appreciate Japanese gardens. We went on a Japanese speaking tour, with lots of senior Japanese citizens, as this was the only way you can visit the castle.
• Got the 2-day sightseeing pass (2000), and have been really impressed with the Kyoto subway. The side of the platforms are actually walled in, with doors that open when the train comes.
• Kyoto Traditional Craft Museum - decided to do that since it was raining and we were getting a bit sick of shrines and temples, which can be found at nearly every street corner and shopping centres near you. I had no idea how time-consuming it is to produce some of the famous Japanese crafts around. It makes you appreciates the beauty of it even more.
• Heian jingu Shrine. A very red shrine. I have no idea what the significance of this is, but hey it looked nice!
• There are loads of blooming cherry blossoms in Kyoto, especially around the Gion district. The ones along the bank of the rivers are especially beautiful.
• Chasing geisha around the Gion district. This place was full of tourists. We spent ages walking around and only managed to see this fake one - her face wasn't even white and her hair wasn't done up nicely, and she was ugly!!!, but she did have an assistant and was wearing a kimono. Later on, when we were walking the shopping st, we saw two real ones, on opposite sides of the streets crossing the roads, but didn't have time to take pictures of them.
• Finding a shop with loads and loads of free tasting on the famous Kyoto triangle sweets. We felt too guilty afterwards and bought some.
• Shabu-yaki, kinda like Chinese steam boat really, but we did get to sit on the floor and take off our shoes. It was great to take your shoes off and eat. See food section below.

Food

• Another red bean bun from Fresco (hey I couldn't read the writing!) (74)
• Bun with milk coating
• Bun with egg, ham and curry
• Soybean Porky (100)
• Green tea chocolate cube (105)
• Black sesame rice cracker
• Assorted dried seafood
• Green tea paste cake
• Taste test of triangles, mochi, pickles, cakes... they display it, we tasted it.
• Shabu-yaki, a half pot of shabu-shabu (boiling water with seaweed flavouring) and sukiyaki (shallow pool of BBQ sauce), you are given beef (we ordered the "domestic" beef, it was very fatty but tasty, of course), vegetables, udon and mochi to cook however you like. They had a very nice sesame/peanut sauce and a miso/soy sauce as dipping. It was very expensive (2800 per person) but a good experience. We were going to go for the All-you-can eat option - 2 hrs for 3980 yen but decided that stuffing yourself with meat is prob not a good Japan eating experience... will save that one for Italy or Canada :)

Day 12 4/4/06 - Japan

Kyoto -> Himeji -> Kobe -> Kyoto

Highlight

• Himeji is all that's built up to be and more. I think the whole township of Himeji sprang from this castle. The road from the station leads to the castle and all around are just tourist shops supporting this structure. It's a World Heritage Listed area. The castle is made up of about 5 levels, and as part of the tour, you can go to the very top, where you can look out to the town. The most impressive thing for me, as for all Japanese temples and castle, is the beautiful Japanese garden, especially with the cherry blossoms in full bloom.
• Continuing on the garden theme, we popped into the Nishi-Oyasiki-ato Garden, right next door, and checked out lots of small Japanese gardens.
• Watching all the Japanese reserve their spot from early in the morning on the blue canvas under the cherry blossom tree. It's great to see them really embrace their symbol of spring.
• I wanted to go to Kobe because of Kobe beef. Well, this place was nothing like I imagined - green grass with grazing cows in a village feel. Instead, it's quite a metropolitan city with lots of interesting looking buildings - and not a cow in site!
• We shouldn't have bothered, we couldn't find any Kobe beefs anywhere!
• Slokky went from being allergic to coughing to limping. He never has an opinion on anything and always just go "up to you" whenever I ask his opinion on anything!
• We had dinner on the "Ramen Road" at Kyoto station. It's not a "road" as such, but a whole floor of a building filled with just ramen places. The "Special" ramen is basically a huge bowl of noodles. Very satisfying!

Food

• Chestnut bun (74).
• Green tea pineapple bun with cream and red bean (101).
• Bun with Shiroan (white bean) filling (68).
• Bun with cream (custard) filling (68).
• Almond Porky.
• Red bean cake.
• Taste test cakes + biscuits + department store stables.
• Milk Porky (105).
• Meiji Melty kiss - green tea chocolate cube (105).
• Ramen tonkatsu (750).
• Ramen "special" (1000).

Day 11 3/4/06 - Japan

Kyoto -> Kita -> Yodoyabashi -> Minami -> Kyoto

Highlight

• Our first day of actually touring Kyoto. We saw a few temples, but the highlight was the Kyoto Imperial Palace. We joined the English tour with a lot of other tourists, and had a guide who spoke very funny English, not her accent or anything, but the way she kept bending over and using her hands when she spoke.
• We decided to tour Osaka night scene, and walked around Osaka's many bridges.
• First stop was to the Floating Garden Observatory which is like an urban park built into a skyscraper. We observed the twinkling lights of the city.
• We wondered to Namco Park with its giant Ferris Wheel and other weird happenings. It reminds me of Harajuku and Shibuya, except with more tataoki balls!
• Wandering the Osaka Sts, filled with tempting food streets:
  • okonomiyaki
  • sushi
  • shabu shabu
  • Korean BBQ
  • other countries
  • coffee
  • cakes
• The okonomiyaki joint we ended up going to serves the pancake in your own grill. We had heaps of fun coating all the sauce and bonito flakes on our pancakes.

Food

• Sushi set from Fukuya (280).
• Bento box from Fukuya (249).
• Sushi and ramen set (750).
• Eel on rice + soup + pickles set (650).
• Tataoki balls 5 (160).
• Green tea ice block with red beans inside (50).
• Melon and vanilla ice-cream (55).
• Okonomiyaki with pork, egg, cabbage (600).
• Okonomiyaki base + squid & prawns (800).
• Taste test strawberry mochi and coffee.
• Cream crepe (400).

Day 10 2/4/06 - Japan

Kyoto -> Hiroshima -> Kyoto

Highlight

• Hiroshima is our longest trip on the Shinkensen, being about 3 hrs away from Kyoto. Armed with our booty from the 99 yen shop, the time flew by.
• Heavy train greeted our arrival to the city, which was kinda fitting, adding to the somewhat somber mood the city exhibits. We walked around the town, visited some parks, Sadako of the paper crane fame's high school.
• After awhile, we got way too wet (my feet especially, curse non waterproof shoes!), so went into the city in search for food. We found the Hiroshima specialty, okonomiyaki with noodles. We were in awed of the display of the chefs making these giant pancakes in front of our eyes. They didn't speak English so we just pointed. After awhile (like 3 min), they came to apologise to us, because they'd forgotten our order. We finally figured out that to make up for it, they were going to give us some extra ingredients in our pancakes for free! We would never even have realised they didn't do our order, and the service was excellent, and the pancake yummo!
• The other specialties of this regions is maple leaf mochi and okonomiyaki flavoured pretz.
• I got free samples of 'lady' shampoo, Slokky got some too!
• The WWII memorial park was especially touching. We saw the site of the 'A bomb'. The building directly under the bomb survived, but everything else around its radius was destroyed. It was a poignant reminder of the cruelty of war. The actual memorial is marked by a fire, lit to commemorate the dead, and is lined up with the A bomb site and the Memorial Museum.
• Our last stop was fittingly the Memorial Museum, where we were confronted with pictures of the victims of the tomb, and the site of the city before and after. The museum was excellent and is a must see on any trip to Japan.

Food

• Black sugar cream bun (100).
• Melon and milk drink (100).
• Okonomiyaki yasai (1050).
• Okonomiyaki special soba (1050).
• Sushi set of 8 different sushi - ebi style (490).
• Mochi - green tea and red bean coated (127).

Day 9 1/4/06 - Japan

Kyoto -> Nara -> Osaka -> Kyoto

Highlight

• The Kyoto Station area was a huge modern structure, with an elaborate underground shopping arcade, connections to lots of other transportations, geisha girls, acrobatics display, old Japanese tourists lining up for transport, people meeting each other. Chaos really.
• We started the journey of temple visits, I can't keep track.
• We tried the Kyoto specialty, flat pancake wrapped with all sorts of fillings, e.g. green tea, asuki.
• Off we go on the Shinkensen again, and not long after we've consumed our goodies, and watched the conductor bow each time he enters the carriage, we arrived at Nara, the deer capital of Japan.
• From the station, there is one main road leading to Nara Park. We made our way slowly along, sidetracked by the various shops along the way.
• Japanese like to tour their own country and buy lots of souvenir from the place they visit. There were hordes of tourists snapping up all manners of deer-related products. No wonder the Japs buy up big when they're in other countries!
• Lunch at a quaint little shop. We really only ate there 'cos their plastic foods looked quite good. What came out didn't really resemble the plastic though :(
• Finally we made it to Nara Park. There really are deers EVERYWHERE, probably encouraged by all the deer food (500 yen) you can buy to feed them. It was funny, the deers were in construction sites, next to shops, on the road... We had fun trying to get pics of them, and watching all the families gathered here for picnics.
• We found a 99 Yen shop, and that's gotta be better than a 100 Yen shop right? We filled up on ice-cream and all matter of snacks.
• On our way back, we stopped off at Osaka. It's like a mini Tokyo, although it's not really small at all. Things here are definitely cheaper though. There were really crowded streets filled with people wanting a feed. We wandered along with the rest of the crowd, stopping to eat at many places. We only discovered "Korea St", where EVERY SINGLE SHOP was a Korean BBQ.

Food

• Surfur egg.
• Red bean mochi cake.
• Dried cuttlefish.
• Hersheys milk chocolate.
• Mochi pancakes.
• Mens Porky.
• Green tea ice-cream cake (104).
• Rice ball with red bean (104).
• Taste testing.
• Mixed vegetable soup with noodles with black speck (650).
• Miso udon + chicken + egg on rice (730).
• Pineapple bun (120).
• Okonomiyaki (110).
• Flat pancake mochi (530).
• Dried fish.
• Street food.

Day 8 31/3/06 - Japan

Miyanoshita -> Moto Hakone-Ko -> Lake Ashi -> Hakone Machi -> Moto Hakone-Ko -> Hakone-Yumoto -> Odawara -> Kyoto

Highlight

• Sad to have to leave Taiseikan after our elaborate breakfast and being pampered.
• Visiting the various sights around the Hakone area, highlights are:
  • Walking through the tranquil cedar forest.
  • Detached Palace garden in Hakone machi, with the best view of Mt Fuji, not to mention a good exercise spot with their "thousand steps" stairs.
  • The ferry ride on Lake ashi, another Mt Fuji viewing point.
  • Walking alone the roads, exploring the various shops which all have their different bent and of course taste testing all the different types of mochis they have on offer.
• After pushing our suitcases up the very very steep slope of <> Station, we caught the shinkensen to Kyoto. First impressions? Kyoto is a very grey city, its side sts are very country-like, compared to Tokyo. There is certainly much more of the "old" Japan present, although, of course you can find all sorts of mod-con here. Things are definitely cheaper here too!
• We went department store bargaining hunting for dinner yet again.

Food

• Kaiseki cuisine breakfast from Taiseikan:
  • miso soup with clams
  • rice with seaweed and soy
  • soy glazed fish
  • fishcake with wasabi cream, berry and seaweed
  • mixed pickles
  • green tea
  • tofu ball with stuffed bamboo shoot and thick miso sauce
  • steamed egg custard with chicken pieces, bamboo, seaweed and bean, miso flavoured
  • sashimi of tuna with sauce of mild wasabi, soy and radish
  • foamy ginger and soy tofu
  • fresh brewed coffee
• Taste test mochi, fish cakes, biscuits.
• Green tea Porky.
• Japanese mochi cake.
• Bento box 1 from Daimaru (514).
• Bento box 2 from Daimaru (525).
• Hersheys milk chocolate.
• Choc crisp biscuit.

Day 7 30/3/06 - Japan

Nigyocho -> Odawara -> Miyanoshita ->Chokokunomoli -> Gora -> Sounzan -> Owankudani -> Togendai -> Lake Ashi -> Sengoku -> Miyanoshita

Highlight

• Time to say goodbye to Tokyo and head off to see Mt Fuji. We said goodbye to Hotel Kitcho and it was on the skinkensen to Odawara, the gateway to the Hakone-Yumoto area.
• Our first stop was Gora Park, a beautiful landscaped garden. The highlight of which is the fountain with cherry blossom trees surrounding it. We could see the snow from the park too.
• There are a couple of ways to get around the Hakone area: train, cable car, bus and boat. The cable car gave us absolutely the best view, and it was also snowing a bit while we were riding up the hill too.
• Eating eggs cooked with sulfur fumes in the freezing cold at Owankudani. The black eggs are famous in that region. They even have Hello Kitty dolls made in the likeness of the eggs.
• Viewing the sulfur mountains with steam rising up everywhere.
• Riding the Hakone ropeway between Owakudani and Togendai. The sun came out and the view of Mount Fuji was spectacular.
• The cruise on the "pirate ship" on Lake Ashi.
• Our Ryoken (Japanese inn), Taiseikan. From the ride down via cable car, to the beautiful valley setting and staff who bow at you all the time. See review here.
• The elaborate Kaiseki style dinner.
• This should actually be a lowlight - but Slokky lounging around in a yukata and tanzen is NOT a good look.
• Our "maid" Yoko, who is very funny as she didn't speak much English.

Food

• Bento box from Maysuya Ginza (682).
• Sushi leftovers.
• Warm mochi cakes (100 for 2).
• Sulfur black eggs (500 for 6).
• Taste test.
• Almond Porky.
• Cafe au lait (50).
• Taiseikan Dinner:
  • very sweet sake (apple grape taste)
  • pink tofu with beans and wasabi taste
  • mixed entree with prawn, fish cake, salad, sushi, vegetable, miso seafood
  • mochi, prawn, bamboo hot pot with wasabi sauce.
  • mixed sashimi with fresh wasabi
  • rice ball with fish in thick miso sauce
  • black vinegar noodle
  • beef tatiki
  • almond coated crab with beans, prawn cakes, with miso dipping sauce
  • rice
  • miso soup
  • mixed pickles
  • strawberries with almond
  • tea
  • Soup with fish tofu and vegetables

Day 6 29/3/06 - Japan

Otemachi -> Ryogoku -> Tokyo -> Ginza

Highlight

• A very cold and windy day, with temperature of only 5 - 10 degrees.
• A sunny walk around the Imperial Palace. It's strange seeing this place of peace and tradition in the middle of the city.
• Seeing heaps of new buildings on the way on our bikes.
• The Sony Centre wasn't as cool as we thought. Sure there were stuff to play with, but the Playstation section is closed (in anticipation for the PS3?) and there weren't any cute girls like Alvin promised!
• Our first stand up noodle place. We had no idea what anything was, so just pointed. It was def an experience, and it was heaps better than the vending machine stall noodles.
• We stumbled upon a few very nice Japanese gardens, but have no ideas where they are situated or what they are called.
• Yeah, finally found two FREE Internet places. The one in Ginza is very cool, it's like a public library, with comfy couches, magazines (including English), and loads of vending machines. I will put in the address if I can find it.

Food

• Squid and fish in vinegar.
• Curry instant noodles (105).
• Dried squid (945).
• 5 bean lollies.
• Soybean Porky (100).
• Chestnut cake and Yellow bean cake.
• Tempura ramen (310).
• Deparment store tasting.
• Assorted tempura (525).
• Assorted nori sushi (315).
• Instant noodle "dan dan".

Day 5 28/3/06 - Japan

Tsukiji -> Ueno -> Ameyoko -> Okachimachi -> Asakusa -> Aoyama-I-Chome -> Roppongi

Highlight

• Tskiji Fish Markets. We got there at around 8 am and it was very chaotic. I expected it to be busy but I thought the Japanese were orderly. Was I wrong! There are trucks, cars, and engine-powered loading machines going everywhere. We nearly got ran over a couple of times. We saw loads and loads of seafood and seafood products. We must have walked 2 or 3 kms and we didn't even cover everything.
• All the little food stores and "restaurants" just outside the fish markets. Most specialise in only one thing and the atmosphere was great.
• Our melt in the mouth but expensive sushi (see food).
• Slokky walking around trendy Tokyo with his beanie and scarf and hat hair.
• A really nice lady taking pictures of us at Ueno Park.
• Ameyoko is not as exciting without the people on a week day.
• Like they say, or sing, but what a difference a day makes! The cherry blossoms were all in bloom at Ueno Park today.
• Asakusa - was the most touristy place we went to, and we went to a lot of tourists hot spots. There is a famous temple there, with the streets leading up to it all lined with tourist shops selling everything that supposedly represented Japan. The closer you got to the temple, the more expensive the same items became in the shops. I bought some Japanese slippers for (650) at a side street, and saw the same slippers for sale at these shops, ranging from around 800 yen up to 1300 yen!!
• We skipped half of the stuff we were supposed to see at Asakusa 'cos Slokky is in charge of map reading and he was zonked out again.
• Trying out new cars at Honda showroom including the "Fit", what the Japs called the Jazz. They have so many different colours to choose from here, unlike the boring colours you get in Oz.
• Roppongi was a disappointment. There was no night life, just lots of bars and foreigners. If you don't like bars and girls, don't come here. On the other hand, if you do like bars and girls, this is the place for you.
• Our first vending machine meal. (see food).
• Slokky getting lost everywhere. This one is not a highlight but just a record so I remember.
• Found an Internet cafe, at a very seedy place... but we hadn't touched a computer for awhile and was having withdrawal symptoms, so we paid up. It was pretty difficult, since it was our first Japanese keyboard.
• It rained for the first time since we got here.

Food

• Taste testing fish, meats, pickles, black beans at Tsukiji.
• Sushi set containing 12 freshly (and very quickly) made sushi + miso soup + green tea. The fish were melt in the mouth, the rice still warmed. The sushi specialist shop only sits about 8 people around the sushi bar. They don't give you a plate, instead, they drop the sushi as they are made on the bench in front of you and you eat it straight from there. It was one of the best sushi I've had, but the price really hurt. (6300 for 2).
• Eel skewers - Slokky's indulgence. I wasn't impressed. It was dried and only slightly warmed. And you only get a little piece of eel for the money (100).
• Another pineapple bun from Ameyoko (135).
• Taste test rice snacks.
• Melon porky.
• Grape juice (50).
• Fish ball tempura soba at some fast food joint at Roppongi. The soup was really salty, and I can say now, was the worst of any meal I had in Japan, but it was still passable. The restaurant was cool though. You pick what you want, pay, get your tix at the vending machine, hand it over to the lady, set out your own cutlery, condiments and water, and 1 minute later, your meal is ready (390).
• Katsu don from the same fast food place. This one tasted a lot better (450).
• Morinaga choc sticks. These were divine! (part of 1000 yen throw).

Day 4 27/3/06 - Japan

Nihombashi -> Shinjuku -> Ikebukuro -> Akihabara

Highlight

• Slokky was afraid of the escalator we went up at Tokyo Big Sight exhibition centre.
• Eating lots of free food and getting full at the food hall.
• Our first "working day". People sleep on the train instead of playing on their mobile.
• Buying "home-made" rice cake from the shop near our hotel.
• Riding our rental bike in peak hour traffic.
• Discovered our first of many 100 Yen shops.
• 100 yen shops and other convenient stores stock all the takeaway as well as restaurant food! We bought a 100 yen Oden and it was great!!

Food

• 5 bean bun.
• Black sesame Porky.
• Apple Chip(part of 1000 yen throw).
• Fresh rice cracker (100).
• BBQ rice ball.
• Department store tasting.
• Blueberry cheesecake crepe(400).
• Oden "Hot pot" with egg, fish ball, daikon, mochi (105).
• Instant noodles (105).
• Milka peanut chocolate (part of 1000 yen throw).
• Mochi cake.
• Biscuit from 1st day.
• Red bean cake.
• Assorted dried fish.
• Meiji chocolate drink (55).

Day 3 26/3/06 - Japan

Harajuku -> Shibuya

Highlight

• KDDI designing studio - showcase of new technology developed by KDDI. We had no idea what was going on, but there were lots of pretty lights.
• Other tourists following Frommers or Lonely Planet at the same place as us.
• Weird girls dressed up as goths or lolita around Harajuku.
• Slokky falling into the fancy water-filled gutter at Shibuya along the designer street.
• A whole crowd of people filling the whole street at Shibuya because of some famous star.
• Building a collection of free tissues.
• Discovered supermarket at last. We thought people had to shop somewhere besides department stores.
• Takeshita St has great shopping. Slokky found this really cool soccer store -> only to discover later that it is actually a chain.
• Crepes galore (see food).
• Witnessing a few Japanese style weddings at various temples.
• Walking around beautiful parkland.
• Really cool people hang out in Shibuya and Shinjuku.
• The Japanese, especially the girls, are shopping mad! Omotesando Hills, La Foret...etc.
• Can choose from a choice of pillows at hotel.

Food

• Bento box from Oma...
• Black Sesame Porky (100 yen).
• Red bean bun.
• Tiramisu crepe (480).
• Banana and custard warm crepe (350).
• Pumpkin coated with bread crumbs and fried from street vendor(128).
• Pineapple bun from Andersens.
• Another pumpkin coated thing from The Garden.
• Fried fish from The Garden.
• Black vinegar noodle.
• Mochi cake from The Garden.
• Yakult like "Milk" drink from vending machine (120).

Day 2 25/3/06 - Japan

Narita -> Tokyo -> Akihabara -> Ueno - Ameyakocho -> Shinjuku -> Ningyocho

Highlight

• Discovered cool cake shop. Bought a cheesecake (100 yen and yum) and got free biscuits.
• Street in Ameyakocho, which is like Paddy's, except more interesting and heaps more crowded. We visited a shop where for 1000 Yen they throw all these junk food into a bag... very theatrical, except we don't know what they were saying.
• Tokyo girls all look very similar. They all wear the same fashion, although stylish, and they are all skinny. How do they stay so thin with the amount of food that's available everywhere.
• Everyone on their mobile on the train and the subway. All their mobiles also look the same and they have this sticker thing you put on the screen so that only they can see it and no one else. It's very cool... now if they only make it for my phone...
• The Japanese love their cherry blossom. There were only a few buds out around Ueno Park, but they were taking more pics of it than we were! Everyone also picnic under cherry blossom trees everywhere. We will lots of people doing the same thing at our hotel.
• Seems the whole of Japan decided to visit Ueno Park too. There were food stores selling Jap fast food (octopus balls, pancakes, squid, fish balls, corn, bananas on a stick...) Cherry Blossom brings out the festival spirits of everyone.
• Everyone is always so busy and rushing everywhere.
• Department Stores - we spent a very long time there, there is so much to look at and so much stuff to try. You can buy anything and everything there.
• On the other hand, many shops specialise in only 1 item. e.g. mochi cakes, knifes, rice crackers, bicycles, eggs.
• Being mistaken for being Japanese all the time.
• Everyone bowing at you in the shops, everywhere
• Our hotel (see review) being big in Tokyo terms. We can actually spread things out, and we got king single beds!!
• Shoe cleaning machine, library, pillow selection at our hotel.

Food

• Qantas breakfast:
  • seasonal melon in fruit juice
  • pan fried salmon with steamd rice and choy sum
  • scrambled egg with french toast
  • danish pastry
  • orange juice
• Bento box from street vendor outside Hamacho subway (450).
• Chirisu bento from department store.
• Warm pineapple bun (135).
• Octopus balls with fried onion and mayo (500).
• Teppanyaki squid (500).