A race around Japan

[CaptainCurtis]

The time has finally arrived. It's been a while since my last purely personal holiday, with a few trips of late combining both work and leisure. Needless to say, this trip is long overdue.

I began planning for this trip about about five months ago, but it only really came together in the last couple of months. I'll be departing for Tokyo tomorrow evening, spending a little over 3 weeks travelling around Japan. It's my first visit (discounting a vague childhood memory of a previous trip), so I'll be checking off the highlights in Tokyo and Kyoto. I'll also be venturing off the golden triangle with detours to Hakone, Takayama, Kanazawa and Hiroshima.

The highlight of the trip will hopefully be the the F1 weekend in Suzuka. I missed out on regular grandstand tickets, so with my flights already booked, I had no choice but to splurge an an experience ticket that spans the four days and includes a pit lane walk, guided track tour and a number of other activities. The only other activity I have pre-booked is a full-day package for the Grand Sumo tournament in Tokyo, including a tour around Ryogoku and an afternoon spectating (thank you @drron for the recommendation).

This will be my first time writing a trip review, so please bear with me for any delays in sharing updates. First up will be QF25 tomorrow night, booked as a classic award in J back in April.

 

[trendwhore]

Awesome, enjoy! F1 will be excellent, have never done Sumo stuff myself but it's on the bucket list eventually. You'll have a great time; enjoy how cheap everything is compared to Aus !

Hope you've got Okonomimura on your list in Hiroshima

 

[love_the_life]

Rather envious - hope it is fabulous!

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Day 0 - QF25 SYD to HND

Living in the northern suburbs of Sydney, evening flights are always tricky with peak hour traffic on the drive to the airport. I ended up arriving at 5PM, slightly over 3 hours before my scheduled departure. Check-in, passport control and security took no more than 10 minutes, leaving me with 3 hours to kill in the J lounge. Now we all know this lounge has its problems and is in dire need of renovations, but it was still a decent enough area to have a bite and get some last minute work finished. The wine offering was beyond woeful ($20 St Hallett black clay shiraz), although the food was actually quite decent (Mongolian beef).

Boarding was eventually called from gate 33, and was managed very efficiently, with business/priority passengers boarding from one entrance, and all other passengers boarding from a separate entry point (not sure if it was a separate gate, but there was about 20m distance between the 2 boarding areas). Pre-departure drinks were offered, the usual champagne or sparkling water, and breakfast orders were collected promptly.

I was sat in seat 4A, preferring the seats that are closer to the window as they provide a little more privacy on the Qantas A330 design. The design is definitely looking tired, but the seats remain comfortable, and despite being 6ft, I had no problem having a decent nights sleep.

Dinner was served promptly after take-off. I went for the beef fillet, which was slightly overcooked but still tasty. I was somewhat surprised by the portion size, easily one of the smallest fillets I've ever seen. The mango mousse was delicious. Wine with the meal was the Kilikanoon Mort's Block Watervale Riesling, which went down nicely. A cognac after dinner helped me dose off to sleep.

I woke up a couple of hours before landing. One of the flight attendants noticed my waking, and proactively came past to ask if I was ready for breakfast. The meal was incredibly basic. I shudder to think what Y received. The highlight of breakfast was watching the BlackBerry movie, which struck the right balance between biography, drama and comedy.

All up, a decent flight, but Qantas is still lagging behind its peers in J. The two areas that I would like to see improve are the lounges, and the onboard food and beverage offering.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Day 1 - Tokyo, Shinjuku

My flight arrived into HND 20 minutes earlier than scheduled, at around 5AM. Our early arrival seemed to catch ground services by surprise, as there was a short delay finding staff to connect the aerobridge. A long walk to immigration, which was a quick process with the Visit Japan QR code process. I then got to experience the amazing Japanese efficiency for the first time, with baggage already circling the conveyor belt just 20 minutes after we reached the gate.

Now if I'm being totally honest, I had planned to avoid the trains on my first day, as I was nervous to navigate the complexity with my baggage. My initial plan was to take the Limo Bus to Shinjuku, but with our early arrival and quick immigration/baggage process, I would have been left with a 2 hour wait until the first bus. That wasn't an option, so I faced my fears, and headed down the escalator to the train. To my delight, it couldn't have been easier. Both Apple and Google Maps provide incredibly useful instructions and make the entire process a lot less stressful than it would otherwise be. A swipe of my Suica card that I had preloaded at home, a changeover from the Keikyu-Kuko line to the JR Yamanote line at Shinagawa, and I was on my way. Shinjuku station lives up to its reputation as the worlds busiest transportation hub, it truly is massive. I found it easier to get above ground and then walk to the hotel, instead of spending ages trying to find the most optimal exit.

For my first three nights in Tokyo, I'm staying at the Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku, which is a short walk from the South Exit of the JR station (if you're able to find the right exit!). Having arrived at the hotel at 8AM, there was no chance of an early check-in, so I dropped off my bag and headed out to explore Shinjuku.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Day 1 (cont.) - Tokyo, Shinjuku

I spent the morning exploring the area to the West of Shinjuku. First up was Shinjuku Central Park, which, while smaller than its New York counterpart, was incredibly peaceful. The locals were out exercising, meditating and walking their perfectly groomed dogs. I stopped in at Starbucks for a coffee, and yes I was disappointed in myself for having Starbucks as my first experience in Japan. The cold drip satisfied the caffeine craving though, and the store provided a lovely setting to people watch from the comfort of the air-conditioning.




Next it was up to the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. A number of people had mentioned to me how big Tokyo is, but you can only truly appreciate its true size from up high. Entry to the observatory is free, with a cafe/gift shop at the top.



I was particularly impressed with the architecture in the area. It was varied, but somehow seemed to gel together quite nicely.

 

[drron]

Two things stand out about that J meal.
First the green leaves. The only thing that has changed since i last flew QFi is that there are fewer leaves. Surely about time they had a real salad.
The second thing is the main course on the Japanese menu is the same beef fillet on the main menu served with rice, pickles and miso soup instead of veggies. Pretty pathetic.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

On my way to lunch, I once again navigated Shinjuku station to get some admin for the next part of the trip in order. First stop was the Odakyu Sightseeing Service Center to reserve my seat on the limited express romancecar to Hakone-Yumoto. Then it was over to the JR East Travel Service Center to exchange my JR pass. There was a bit of a line here, but it moved fairly quickly. I suspect usage of the JR pass will plummet once the price rises kick in, but thankfully I managed to get in for my 21 day pass before the hike takes effect.

Lunch was at Katsukura in the Takashimaya building - the restaurant is on the 14th floor, and while I'm sure there was an elevator somewhere, all I can say is it took a bloody long time to get up 14 sets of escalators. For those who may not know, Katsukura has a handful of restaurants spread across Japan, and interestingly one in Bangkok too.

I went for the tonkatsu set meal, which came with miso soup, unlimited rice and unlimited cabbage. You get to grind the sesame seeds at your table, and then there are a variety of sauces available. While ¥2,360 is perhaps considered expensive compared to alternatives in the area, I'm certainly glad I went. The cutlet was perfectly cooked inside, and the outside was somehow crunchy but delicate at the same time. The staff didn't speak a lick of English - every time they bought a component of the meal to the table, they would explain in the process in Japanese, with me smiling and nodding. Thankfully there was someone sitting next to me whom I followed.





After lunch, I walked to Shinjuku Gyoen stopping at Hanazono Shrine on the way. I've now ticked off the first shrine, and I can happily say I am not sick of them (yet... Kyoto come at me). Shinjuku Gyoen has an entry fee of ¥500, which can be paid with a Suica card. Things started fairly well, but unfortunately the heavens opened up with a downpour. It came out of nowhere, catching me (and many others) by surprise. Having come straight off the plane, I did not have my rain jacket in my backpack, nor had I borrowed an umbrella from the hotel. I initially sought refuge under one of the bigger trees, but eventually it became saturated, and consequently, so did I. There was a Starbucks about 300m away, and growing concerned about the contents of my backpack (camera, passport, documents), I decided to make a beeline for it. The storm lasted for about 90 minutes, followed by a soggy walk back to the hotel to check-in. Putting the rain aside, I wasn't hugely impressed with the gardens - perhaps, rights or wrongly, I am benchmarking against the gardens in Singapore, which I was impressed by.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

A few more snaps from the gardens.


My initial sanctuary from the rain was under one of these.


In the evening, I walked around some of the hotspots in Kabukicho and Omoide Yokocho, but was feeling tired, so picked up a chicken sandwich from 7-Eleven and retired to the hotel for the night. My watch recorded 24 thousand steps, with more coming tomorrow at Harajuku and Shibuya.

 

[Cossie]

Very envious! If you get a chance, and as you seem to be interested in motorsport, the Toyota Museum is meant to be very good. It’s also on my list.….. one day…….

Toyota Automobile Museum | A museum that tracks the evolution and culture of cars in the world

Toyota Automobile Museum showcases the worldwide history of automobiles and automobile culture.

toyota-automobile-museum.jp

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Very envious! If you get a chance, and as you seem to be interested in motorsport, the Toyota Museum is meant to be very good. It’s also on my list.….. one day…….

Toyota Automobile Museum | A museum that tracks the evolution and culture of cars in the world

Toyota Automobile Museum showcases the worldwide history of automobiles and automobile culture.

toyota-automobile-museum.jp

It's on my list, but I'm not sure that I'll have time. There's also the Toyota Techno Museum, which is much closer to the city. I haven't looked into the difference between the two, but both rate very highly. The
SCMaglev and Railway Park is on my list too. Lets see how I go for time.

 

[trendwhore]

It's on my list, but I'm not sure that I'll have time. There's also the Toyota Techno Museum, which is much closer to the city. I haven't looked into the difference between the two, but both rate very highly. The
SCMaglev and Railway Park is on my list too. Lets see how I go for time.

I've been to both, actually the Techno museum was surprisingly interesting. Showed their history from a yarn manufacturer up to cars. I enjoyed it. The other one is pretty much all cars and has a lot of vehicles on display from all manufacturers, definitely very cool.

Also can confirm the railway museum was pretty sweet as well

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Day 2 - Tokyo, Harajuku and Shibuya

I was up fairly early this morning and had breakfast at the hotel, which offers a fairly big buffet spread of Western and Asian foods. Then it was a short walk to Yoyogi station for a one-stop trip down to Harajuku on the Yamanote line. I don't know whether this is deliberate, but Apple Maps is incredibly clever in suggesting boarding at Yoyogi, as it means you avoid the chaos and complexity of Shinjuku station. This is one of the many perks of the Sunroute Plaza hotel, as it is on the south-west side of Shinjuku, just outside the main hustle of the city.

From there, it was a short walk to the Meiji Jingu shrine, which commemorates Emperor Meiji, the first modern emperor who took the throne at just 14 years of age. The original shrine was destroyed during WW2 by the Americans, and was only rebuilt a decade or so later. The walk up to the shrine from the torii gate was once again very tranquil, only disrupted by trains in the distance. The sake barrels are donated by local brewers and the wine barrels by wineries of Bourgogne - probably not ideal storage conditions in 33 degree heat.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

The balance of the morning and much of the afternoon was spent exploring Harajuku and Shibuya. This was all done on foot, taking in Takeshita Street, Omotesando and Cat Street. Now I'm not a particularly big shopper (read: I generally hate shopping), so this was more exercise than retail therapy, although I did appreciate the lower density nature of the Omotesando strip in comparison to the monstrous buildings in Shinjuku and Shibuya. I found Takeshita Street a little tacky, but enjoyed Cat Street for its trendy/boutiquey feel.





For the coffee aficionados among us, I highly recommend a visit to Koffee Mameya in Harajuku. You just know the coffee is going to be good when there's a line outside waiting for the shop to open. As you can see from the snaps, this place is incredibly minimalistic, offering standing room only for 4 patrons at a time. The baristas clearly knew their stuff, and didn't rush you along (despite the lines outside). They were happy to have a chat, taking the time to understand the type of coffee you like most. I tried items C and Q, the first being fruity and light, and the latter being darker and more fulsome. Both had been prepared as cold brews for 30 hours, but hot coffee was also available.





Lunch was at Sushi no Midori in Shibuya. There was a long wait time (~1 hr), but I think it was well worth it with other diners mostly locals. I'm sure I had a mild allergic reaction to something, as my mouth became incredibly itchy and heart rate elevated shortly after consuming one of the rolls - never had that happen before, but it resolved as quickly as it came on. I may need to stick with tuna and salmon next time.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

How could I forget the crepe from Takeshita Street - cream, banana and chocolate. It felt totally out of place, but who can say no to a crepe?


After finishing up in Shibuya, it was back on the train to Yoyogi and then to the hotel for a short rest and to catch-up on the Singapore grand prix practice sessions. For dinner, I took a short walk back up to Omoide Yokocho for an izakaya experience. It wasn't particularly memorable, but the sunset certainly helped.




Today was another big day, with 17 thousand steps. Back at the hotel now relaxing. Tomorrow I'll be on the sumo tour, before heading to Hakone on Monday morning. I wanted to ask if anyone has been to Itoh Dining by Nobu in Gora - I'm thinking about going for lunch or dinner on one of my days in Hakone, but would like to try understand if it's worth the price.

 

[Cynicor]

I'm sure I had a mild allergic reaction to something, as my mouth became incredibly itchy and heart rate elevated shortly after consuming one of the rolls - never had that happen before, but it resolved as quickly as it came on. I may need to stick with tuna and salmon next time

Interesting. Unless you are normally allergic it doesn’t sound like a typical allergy and I suspect a potential very mild scombroid reaction. Which would then implicate the tuna, more than most other fish.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Interesting. Unless you are normally allergic it doesn’t sound like a typical allergy and I suspect a potential very mild scombroid reaction. Which would then implicate the tuna, more than most other fish.

I think you may be right. I’ve never had a problem with seafood before, although I don’t consume a great variety of it back home - mainly just salmon, tuna, trout and barramundi, although have never had problems with oysters, prawns etc.

 

[drron]

I think you may be right. I’ve never had a problem with seafood before, although I don’t consume a great variety of it back home - mainly just salmon, tuna, trout and barramundi, although have never had problems with oysters, prawns etc.

Though new seafood allergies have been reported after having covid.

 

[VPS]

Though new seafood allergies have been reported after having covid.

I wonder if I had Covid and didn't know it because I developed fish allergies during Covid and my taste buds have changed a lot since the allergy started. Things I loved like Shiraz gin and port are just not appealing any longer

Sorry to be a bit OT but my first reaction was a bit like that - the second was much more spectacular so just be aware

 

[ShelleyB]

Today was another big day, with 17 thousand steps. Back at the hotel now relaxing. Tomorrow I'll be on the sumo tour, before heading to Hakone on Monday morning. I wanted to ask if anyone has been to Itoh Dining by Nobu in Gora - I'm thinking about going for lunch or dinner on one of my days in Hakone, but would like to try understand if it's worth the price.

We went to the other restaurant by the same group in Gora - the Gora Brewery (NOBU STYLE 鉄板焼レストラン｜GORA BREWERY & GRILL｜トップページ). It was a little exxy but not any worse than a 1 or 2 chef's hatted place here in Melbourne. The main star of the show for us was the Wagyu Tomahawk steak. It's 15000 yen but was enough for 2 adults and a child, so perhaps maybe too much for one. I am not a beer drinker but my husband had the beer flight and loved it. We also drank some excellent sake. On our visit in April we were able to reserve on arrival for dinner the same night - we don't speak any Japanese but our hotel concierge was happy to help.