Japan in winter…yes, again

[Justinf]

I forgot to mention I had access to the Sakura lounge at Hiroshima due to still being QF Gold.
They are very disappointing.
Virtually no food. If you want to booze on, it’s ok but I wasn’t up for that.

 

[Justinf]

Landed at Haneda and was wondering if I would get to Aomori at all.
Accessed the Sakura lounge. Had a 90 minute wait until the 4pm flight north to Aomori.
Eventually made the trek to gate 21 and we boarded.
I was at the back of this 738 bus, which was also very lightly loaded.

 

[Justinf]

However this little cherub managed to keep me entertained.

 

[Justinf]

Flight time was smack bang on one hour and coming to Aomori it was clear skies.




However immediately visibility became much worse.

 

[Justinf]

Never fear dear friends.
We made it.
The flight attendants were absolutely amazing.
They were intrigued why I was going to Aomori and I showed one of them a photo of my granddaughter’s first day at school on Monday.
They gave me a gift to give to her.



And I got a cheesy photo.

 

[Justinf]

Airport bus took ages.
By god it was cold.
About -5.
Checked in to My Stays Aomori.
Room comfortable but super small.

 

[Justinf]

Went out for a beer at Demo, and at ¥1700 for a pint it wasn’t hard to see why I was the only customer for a while.
still, the beer was nice.
After two pints I went to what I thought was an izakaya for some food, it it turned out to be one of the ghengis khan places where you cook your own meat.
it was too late to back out now.

 

[Justinf]

I had a couple of dishes and I don’t know what they were and I don’t want to, but by Christ it was delicious.


I burnt the absolute cough out of one of them.
Back to the room around 9.30pm to snow.
Off to bed now.

 

[lakeman]

If you are still there it’s worth looking at the fish market

 

[jukebox333]

All up the trip took close to two and half hours, which is a bit longer than the usual two and quarter hours.
top temperature for Kyoto today was 7 degrees.
i had a bit trouble locating my hotel and eventually arrived at 2.15pm, but was told check in wasn’t until 3pm.
i had read that they are not flexible on this even if your room is ready so I went for a walk around and checked in once the clock hit 3pm.
for the next two nights I was staying at APA Hotel Kyoto Ekimae. Cost for two nights was ¥15,030, which was a bargain.
room small as expected, but very comfortable.

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Great report Justin;

There's a few APA Hotels in Kyoto - and more than one in the Kyoto station precinct (you can tell I'm doing my planning a trip next year) - what made you pick the Kyoto Ekimae?

 

[Justinf]

Great report Justin;

There's a few APA Hotels in Kyoto - and more than one in the Kyoto station precinct (you can tell I'm doing my planning a trip next year) - what made you pick the Kyoto Ekimae?

Location mainly. Close to the Shinkansen and the price was good too.
It’s very decent.
I don’t need much when it comes to accommodation.
a bed, private bathroom and climate control and I’m perfectly happy.

 

[elanshin]

@Justinf if you're still in aomori right now, i suggest trying the miso curry MILK Ramen with butter. It's a local specialty.

Edit: was here exactly 1 year ago to the day.

Ramen Ajino-Sapporo · 1 Chome-11-23 Shinmachi, Aomori, 030-0801, Japan

★★★★☆ · Ramen restaurant

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[elanshin]

Great report Justin;

There's a few APA Hotels in Kyoto - and more than one in the Kyoto station precinct (you can tell I'm doing my planning a trip next year) - what made you pick the Kyoto Ekimae?

Assuming the same one I stayed at years ago, for me it was distance to station (lots of stuff near the station as well as being the transport hub). APA hotels are very good on a budget while still offering some privacy and the basics. I liken them to ibis budgets - you generally know exactly what you get and most of the time it's fine.

 

[bPeteb]

Bit of rain around today so I stayed in until around noon and then off to the Hiroshima peace museum and park.
Wow.
This was single handedly one of the most moving and stunning exhibitions I have ever seen.
Since being a late diagnosed adhd and I now realise why I don’t really like museums or galleries.
My attention span lends itself to moving too quickly between exhibits and therefore I don’t take nearly enough in.
I get restless and move on.
Not with this.
I read every single word.
Had to stop to compose myself.
The museum was absolutely amazing. Sad, haunting, informative and ended in a positive note about a new beginning.
I didn’t see any no photo signs but nobody was taking any.
You could hear a pindrop. That’s the level of respect everyone showed. Usually you get one or two, but not here.
I did get this before I went in. I’ll try and attach the video.

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It is an incredibly moving place. It will stay with you forever Justin.

 

[Justinf]

@Justinf if you're still in aomori right now, i suggest trying the miso curry MILK Ramen with butter. It's a local specialty.

Edit: was here exactly 1 year ago to the day.

Ramen Ajino-Sapporo · 1 Chome-11-23 Shinmachi, Aomori, 030-0801, Japan

★★★★☆ · Ramen restaurant

maps.app.goo.gl

View attachment 369472

Excellent. I had earmarked this as something to try. Now I certainly will.
i don’t do pork so I hope they have something else to have with it.

 

[elanshin]

Excellent. I had earmarked this as something to try. Now I certainly will.
i don’t do pork so I hope they have something else to have with it.

The other place we went to was 魚鮮水産 青森駅前店 · Japan, 〒030-0801 Aomori, Shinmachi, 1 Chome−8−10 トーエープラザＢ１Ｆ

They had a page on the front of their menu that was basically all their local specialties. As we were literally in a blizzard that night, we didnt want to walk too far from our hotel.

Also A's Factory had some nice apple stuff. Aomori is known for their apples as well. Hot Apple cider while watching the blizzard blow outside was a nice experience.

 

[Justinf]

The other place we went to was 魚鮮水産 青森駅前店 · Japan, 〒030-0801 Aomori, Shinmachi, 1 Chome−8−10 トーエープラザＢ１Ｆ

They had a page on the front of their menu that was basically all their local specialties. As we were literally in a blizzard that night, we didnt want to walk too far from our hotel.

Also A's Factory had some nice apple stuff. Aomori is known for their apples as well. Hot Apple cider while watching the blizzard blow outside was a nice experience.

Keep the recommendations coming. Loving it.
That’s basically next door.

 

[Justinf]

Have you ever had a day mid-holiday when you just say ‘nope’.
nope, I don’t want to do anything.
i’d been on the go for more than a week, never staying in the same place for more than two days and been on trains, buses and planes.
i had been averaging around 15,000 steps per day, sometimes less, sometimes much more.
so I decided to catch up on some sleep.
the fact that it was snowing quite heavily in Aomori made the decision a little easier.
I did eventually head out around 4pm.


I found a brewpub where they give you a card, you place it under the beer tap and pour your own.
it calculates the amount of beer and adjusts the tab accordingly.
It is called Aomori Brewpub by BeEasy Brewing. Not exactly cheap.
But with the temperature at minus 2 and snow falling, I justified it by being a place of refuge.

 

[Justinf]

It was time for dinner and I went to one place and had some squid pancake. It was delicious.



then went to the ghengis khan place again but it was packed out so I went to another place nearby and had some steak, which was also good. The green stuff is potato and it was very good as well.



I hadn’t spent much time out of my room, but I’d spent quite a bit of money on expensive beer and food, but I’m on holidays right?

 

[VPS]

Have you ever had a day mid-holiday when you just say ‘nope’.
nope, I don’t want to do anything.


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I found a brewpub where they give you a card, you place it under the beer tap and pour your own.
it calculates the amount of beer and adjusts the tab accordingly.
It is called Aomori Brewpub by BeEasy Brewing. Not exactly cheap.
But with the temperature at minus 2 and snow falling, I justified it by being a place of refuge.

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definitely need a down day every now and then otherwise you lose the enjoyment. Some people like to tick things off and then move on. I like to enjoy a place