Chasing Cherry Blossoms Mar/Apr 2023

[rbjhan]

Well I stayed in Tokyo for 3 days but mostly were just shopping...don't think that would be very interesting so I'll see what I can do...

Starbucks Reserve Roastery Naka Meguro

This place is very popular! You need a numbered ticket to get in..


It was interesting seeing the roastery.





I didn't order any coffee!
But they have limited editions of Traveler's Factory notebook.



Obviously I bought some

 

[rbjhan]

Kitte, this is a shopping mall near Tokyo Station.



The rooftop view was fantastic.

 

[rbjhan]

Dinner, in a restaurant inside the newly opened Midtown Yaesu.

Soup, best of the night.


Sashimi


Beef stew


Seasonal dish


I'm not sure about this one??


Rice


Strawberry daifuku

 

[rbjhan]

More random Tokyo pictures! Mostly food

Nakamura Tokichi


Ancora Ginza, if you know you know...








Spy Family!

 

[rbjhan]

The return journey started early...Scoot changed my flight (from 4pm departure to 8.15am) about 1 month before. Not much choice but to accept it...
So I had to move last night in Tokyo to Narita.

Luckily Dormy Inn Ginza was near Higashi Ginza station, there's a direct train to Narita (also direct train to Haneda, one of many reasons I prefer this area).
It's a commuter train so quite slow, but much cheaper than the express trains like Skyliner or NEX.


Only one hotel actually inside Narita Airport, the 9 Hours Narita which is a capsule hotel.
I'm not that brave so booked another one in the area.
They have a shuttle bus ofc.


Good size room and the air con was set at 18!


Family Mart next to the lobby, very handy.


Certainly better than IBIS BNE ha ha.

 

[rbjhan]

Took the 6am shuttle to Narita Terminal 1.
Priority check in for Scoot Plus. Only took a few mins.
This was when I realised security at Narita was starting at 7am together with the shops like Starbucks or Maccas....should have bought something from the Family Mart in the hotel

That's not it though. After finally cleared the security and immigration, I saw that airside was even worse! Vending machines only
Found one selling sandwiches, so that sorted breakfast...
Compared to SIN a day later, I'll give Narita, hmmm -100 maybe?

Well at least boarding started soon after.



It was about what I expected from a budget airline.
However can you believe it cost money to charge your phone! Not in Scoot Plus but the normal seats....


Why did I order herbal chicken? Don't remember now. DO NOT RECOMMEND.
It took me a good 5 mins to peel off the packaging without spilling the liquid!
Oh and the coffee sucked.

 

[rbjhan]

Watched some Netflix, landed at SIN about 2.20pm.
Remember I hadn't had a lot to eat, only a small sandwich and that herbal chicken....
"Selected for additional screening" was probably my least favourite words that day.
Ended up getting my luggage after 4pm! (And many people from my flight were still waiting)
Probably should just leave T1, check in at CP, have lunch and go back...

Was not having a good day, at all.
Thank heavens I booked CP.


Room was in Jewel Wing.
Apologies for the picture quality here, I was rushing it so that I could go have something to eat.


Feature of the room, bathtub with Jewel view


Jewel Wing, taken from the bridge.

 

[rbjhan]

Went straight back to my favourite restaurant in Jewel.



Came back to life after the food!
Jewel was as pretty as I remembered.


There were some other restaurants I wanted to try as well, sigh. Originally I planned to have a late lunch and dinner...

Wandered into T3.


Premium Economy check in area, the dreaded kiosk...


Yayoi Kusama x LV


Bathtub view, really was not bad at all

 

[rbjhan]

Next morning, flight was 7.45am.
Went to the newly renovated Silver Kris lounge - it was massive but FULL.
Wondering if it's time of the day or always this busy...



Boarding time


I still can't get my head around this design.


I mean, I'm short so not a major problem. But how is a tall person supposed to handle this?

 

[rbjhan]

Continental breakfast....yeah I knew...that's why I ate in the lounge!
Good for...dieting?


The sleeping position, uncomfortable.


Worst thing was, can't be bothered asking it to be flip back for lunch - plus everybody was so busy during meal time!
So I had lunch on the bed.


Hainanese chicken rice.

 

[rbjhan]

And that's the end of this TR.
Thank you all for reading!

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks very much for making the effort to write your trip up and for all the lovely photos.

 

[drron]

Love traveling along in Japan. Just 5 months to go before we are there again. Enjoy your TRs.

 

[zig]

Thank you for your wonderful trip report. The photos were incredible, and you have a very adventurous spirit.

 

[RooFlyer]

Always enjoy these TRs - super photos, detail, and interest. ありがとう

 

[veganftw]

Great TR, going back to Japan next March and this has given me lots to research!

 

[VPS]

Thanks for making the effort. I always enjoy your TR and excellent photos

 

[wsthong]

Booked a restaurant via Pocket Concierge to use the AMEX dining credit
Sushi Nao.

It was a very small place, the chef runs an one-man show.
Six seats total. That night there were me and a group of 3 guys - typical Japanese work party I think.
View attachment 323950

The chef worked in Singapore for 5 years so he spoke quite good English!
We started with firefly squid.
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The abalone was to die for!!!
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Did I mentioned in Kanazawa everything is golden? Yes, including the plates for sushi here.
Sigh, this gold plate was photographer-unfriendly to the maximum degree
Plus my phone was not great handling low light. As a result I'm not happy with the pictures...so I'll only post a few (nothing to do with taste, purely based on pic quality ha ha). That is to say, I ate a lot more

Nodoguro, you cannot have sushi in this region without it!
View attachment 323953

Akagai, red clam.
View attachment 323954

Gizzard shad, I think...
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Chirashi
View attachment 323956

We mixed Japanese and English and chatted a lot. He was very curious about Australia
The other guests, unfortunately did not speak English. So I only managed a few words with them.
They left before me, as they were leaving, one of them turned to me and said "Good Morning!" ROFL

Food looks great. Do you have to use all the Dining Credit at one go?

 

[levelnine]

The OP's recommendation for this wagyu kaiseki restaurant in Kyoto was a truly excellent one.

My partner and I had an absolutely fantastic time there recently. One of the courses was the best steak I've ever had. The wagyu noodles starter was also such an inventive dish.

There was a group next to us that got chatting to us (as the sole foreigners there) and shouted us some sake. One of the persons turned out to be owner of the brand of wagyu (omi beef) that supplies the restaurant (and perhaps the owner of the restaurant — was hard to tell).

Cannot recommend this place highly enough.

 

[rbjhan]

Food looks great. Do you have to use all the Dining Credit at one go?

I'm not 100% sure. I did twice in Japan but both times used the full $200 at one go.
Might be better to call AMEX.