3 Weeks in Japan - The Post COVID Version!

[VPS]

It really is no problem. I remember our first trip to Japan in the early eighties. I spoke no Japanese and English wasn’t compulsory then in Japan so a lot of the older people spoke no English.
I went with our son, Mrsdrron and her mother.
In Hakone both Mrsdrron and her mother came down with a cold. That day my son and I caught the train further into the mountains to the end of the line.

I can remember a quaint little village. Have no clue as to the name. None of the locals we spoke to knew a word of English. But we had a great time with just sign language. We were even invited to have lunch with an older lady at her home. Again not too sure what we had but I remember even my son liked it.

It was one of the reasons why when I got home I went back to University and did 2 years of Japanese. That was nearly 30 years ago now so I don’t remember much. But I have found that some will say that they don’t speak English but I murder a couple of Japanese words and then they find that they are able to speak English after all.

In recent years we have been doing road trips going to some isolated places and still have a great time and make ourselves understood.

the lack of English doesn't bother me too much - it's the fish allergy that is my concern as it's very severe and if I don't know what I'm eating then it's just too dangerous

 

[VPS]

Well I did 10 trips before, in touristy areas definitely no problem.
They can speak some English...or you can google translate, it is quite good in most cases!

Fish allergy, now that's tough. Coz dashi is in almost everything, have you tried to see if you are allergy to that? If so safe bet would be to try vegan things? This one I am really not sure....

I think I can eat dashi but need to go back to the specialist to do some more challenge tests (I need to sort out if I can have caviar!!)

Thanks

 

[rbjhan]

I think I can eat dashi but need to go back to the specialist to do some more challenge tests (I need to sort out if I can have caviar!!)

Thanks

If you can, then it's not too bad.
A lot of Japanese restaurants tend to specialised in one or two things, like one of my top favourite, Rikyu, it's a gyutan restaurant, I've only ever eaten gyutan there (whether you like ox tongue or not is an entirely different question )
Tonkatsu restaurant will generally just do deep fried pork cutlet...okay sometimes maybe they fried prawns too but's that's about it.
Yakitori place will be just grilled chicken, etc.
Also you can prepare some notes in Japanese and just show them to be sure.

Edit: and remember this kanji: 魚, pronounced sakana.
That is fish! You see this, just run

 

[karen blancfield]

Yeah I just don't think doing such a long train ride on day 1 is a good idea....flight time would be what, 1.5 hours? plus you are in the airport already.
But hey if you don't mind the trouble I guess it's fine.

Qantas price is probably not a good comparison being so expensive. I avoid them in general if paying cash. Last time I went to Europe in 19, Qantas was about $14K, and I paid $5.5K for JAL/Iberia, this was two months before departure.
How much did it cost if you don't mind me asking?

PAL was $3200 return Bris via Manila. Qantas flights $7200, all economy and 4 of us. Ridiculous compared to our many previous trips here. We are platinum QF so gave up some niceties but at that price….. couldn’t even think about it.

 

[drron]

A lot of the times I find it's the fear factor. Many Japanese just have this fear of speaking English, if they can overcome it then they can speak a little, or sometimes quite a lot!

My Japanese is very basic atm, but because I could mutter a few words, they were instantly relaxed and everything just went okay from that point.

Totally agree. Basically my murdering of their language means they will not lose face if they make mistakes with mine.

VPS it is going to be hard as there are often many recipes for the various sauces. Japanese soy sauce should be fine though there is one variety using shrimp but should be called shrimp soy sauce.
Ponzu and Tonkatsu sauce are generally fish free but some will have bonito or tuna flakes added.
Dashi virtually always has bonito flakes.

Japanese fish sauces aren’t common but here is an article that describes them with names. Sorry I can’t yet link to articles from my iPhone.
www.ishiri.com
I would try and find out from a Japanese or Asian food market which brands do not have any fish component.

 

[rbjhan]

Arrived at Tokyo Station.
Say goodbye to Sunrise Izumo...what a nice journey!


Way too early in the morning though...after dropping off my luggage at hotel, had to kill some time in a Starbucks, @drron would be proud


Most shops won't open till 10 or even 11am, luckily Maruzen Marunouchi opens at 9am!
On my way there...


Bought some books, also paid a visit to Traveller's Factory Tokyo Station shop.
If you know, you know....


Lunch was Yonezawa beef

 

[Maisy33]

Loved your report. Thank you so much. I’ve always wanted to visit Japan. We have a 10hr layover next April, hoping to pop out of the airport for a few hours before heading to the US. Hope the little taste of Tokyo might convince hubby to agree to a real visit in the near future

 

[rbjhan]

Loved your report. Thank you so much. I’ve always wanted to visit Japan. We have a 10hr layover next April, hoping to pop out of the airport for a few hours before heading to the US. Hope the little taste of Tokyo might convince hubby to agree to a real visit in the near future

Cool, which airport?

 

[Maisy33]

Haneda

 

[rbjhan]

Haneda

That's great, Haneda is so close to the city centre.
I would recommend the Imperial Palace for a little stroll, then Tokyo Station/Marunouchi area, then Ginza.

 

[Cossie]

Great report, have to get back there soon!

About transit in Tokyo, it was a few years ago but we flew into Narita on QF with about a 5 hour wait before BA to London. We weren’t allowed to leave the airport.
This was well before covid, hope it’s changed now.

 

[rbjhan]

Royal Park Canvas Hotel Ginza Corridor

This one opened 16 Nov! I like new hotels
Location is very good, close to Ginza Six and Tokyu Centre.
And with Ginza Corridor right next to it, no shortage of restaurants!





Love the projector! TV is basically useless for me since they don't have international channels...


View, depends on if you like trains or not I guess...


Like I said, just opened.

 

[rbjhan]

Great report, have to get back there soon!

About transit in Tokyo, it was a few years ago but we flew into Narita on QF with about a 5 hour wait before BA to London. We weren’t allowed to leave the airport.
This was well before covid, hope it’s changed now.

Narita is about 70km away from Tokyo proper (It's in Chiba Prefecture not Tokyo), 5 hours is not nearly enough tbf.
Haneda is an entirely different story.

 

[Cossie]

Narita is about 70km away from Tokyo proper, 5 hours is not nearly enough tbf.
Haneda is an entirely different story.

Sorry, I wasn’t clear enough, we wanted to go into Narita for a quick look, but we weren’t allowed to leave the transit area. We did ask, but were told no.

Love the train shots. Have to get back to visit more cat stations/trains. Not to mention the food, has to be much better speaking the language. Speaking of food, I do like the series Midnight Diner….

 

[rbjhan]

Dinner at Ginza Gomei, also booked via Pocket Concierge.


Beluga


Tuna & salmon sashimi


Cod milt cartafata, white truffle


Rockfish porcini


Akita beef steak


Rice with black truffle


Akita udon


Dessert is dorayaki you know, Doraemon's favourite....

 

[rbjhan]

Sorry, I wasn’t clear enough, we wanted to go into Narita for a quick look, but we weren’t allowed to leave the transit area. We did ask, but were told no.

Love the train shots. Have to get back to visit more cat stations/trains.

That was strange....probably worried some people might get lost and didn't make it back on time?

Edit, on 2nd thought, how do they actually stop you from leaving the airport? I've done transits in Tokyo, just left...

 

[rbjhan]

The next day was basically shopping in Ginza....I won't bore you with the details, just a few pictures...

Ginza Itoya, stationery heaven.


OMG I want that Namiki Yukari Shooting Star!!!


Just caught the finish of Ginza Pedestrian Paradise.


The Uniqlo flagship store.



Kinki University Aquaculture Laboratory Dining - yes that's the restaurant's name. (Not recommended for @VPS )


On previous trips I noticed Netflix in Japan has many anime shows...SPY X FAMILY was great

 

[rbjhan]

Last day!

More shopping in Ginza....
No I didn't go to Bvlgari, just like the building ha ha


Ginza Six


Fountain pens in Tsutaya bookstore. I want everything!!


Nakamura Tokichi


Chazuke for lunch

 

[rbjhan]

Haneda was a far cry from what I remembered....
This is the ONLY shop that was open.


JAL lounge, only level 5 in operation, and no buffet.


Boarding time!


Meh, slightly better than the red one I guess...


7A was not ideal...Personally I prefer reverse herringbone over staggered because most seats are more or less equal.


Duck udon.


Honestly I would not call that croissant.


There was a non stop crying baby nearby....not a good flight
I was so glad when I saw Sydney outside!


SYD International-domestic transfer, the less said the better!
SYD domestic lounge, see above.

I don't remember what this was...


Waited 40 minutes for my luggage! Well at least it arrived.

And that's the end of this TR.
Thank you all for being patient with me
Booked to go late Mar/early Apr 2023 for some nice Sakura viewing. Next trip won't be this long and complicated, I promise.

 

[rbjhan]

PAL was $3200 return Bris via Manila. Qantas flights $7200, all economy and 4 of us. Ridiculous compared to our many previous trips here. We are platinum QF so gave up some niceties but at that price….. couldn’t even think about it.

JAL 787 economy is probably one of the best out there (2-4-2 compared to most airline's 3-3-3), I'm not sure how much but you can have a look.

Pre COVID I also fly with CX, SQ and CI, all cheaper than QF - with the added benefit that they all fly to more than just Tokyo. Fukuoka for example, would be great for your trip.