The first of many to come.

Date: 2026.04.19.~26.

After pulling teeth with the administrators of two departments for two months, I got these measly seven days off in the end of April right before Golden Week to escape my Canadian apartment heat because apparently, it’s not possible to have heat and AC both available at the same time in the building. And what better place to escape to than Japan for the first time in my life? 

I was foolish enough to bring my Switch & 2 games thinking I might have downtime at night in the hotel to play. Needless to say, I logged a total of 0 minutes so game reviews get pushed further down the drain as I have another licensing exam coming up end of May that I barely studied for (yikes).

Quicklinks:

Day 1 – Arrival in NRT → Osaka

            Osaka – Dotonbori/Street Takoyaki

Day 2 – Osaka → Kyoto

            Soy milk soft serve/Sakura-themed tart/Ice dog 

            Kaiyukan aquarium and meeting Yuki the seal

            Kyoto at night – Sukiyaki/Gion/Yasaka Shrine

Day 3 – Kyoto

            Seimei shrine/Hanyu Yuzuru’s ema

            Hakuoki pilgrimage – Ikedaya inn/Ryozen museum of restoration

            Omakase tempura/Shogetsu’s wagashi/Eel rice 

Day 4 – Kyoto → Tokyo

            Kyoto national museum – Higekiri/Hizamaru

            Kyoto botanical gardens

            Shinkansen ekiben/Michelin kaiseki 

Day 5 – Tokyo

            TeamLab Borderless

            Sonny angel hunting 

            Ikebukuro haul 1/2: Lashinbang & Stellaworth

            Starbucks reserve roastery/fugu lunch/afternoon tea set/Hotel New Otani buffet

Day 6 – Tokyo 

            Suga shrine/Your Name stairs pilgrimage

            Ikebukuro haul 2/2: Surugaya, K-books, Animate

            Otomate Garden

            Shibuya Sky sunset

            Strawberry parfait/pork katsu 

Day 7 – Tokyo

            Ginza Karen/Mayla/Takeshita street (Harajuku)

            Ginza haul: Itoya/Loft/Sembikiya/Kikunoya

            Sushi omakase/matcha shaved ice/yakiniku

            Detective Conan Movie 29 in the heart of Shinjuku

Day 8 – Return

            NRT: airport ramen/anecdotes

Thoughts

            The negatives

            The positives

            What I learned for next time

            So, when and what is the next trip?

Day 1 – Arrival in NRT → Osaka

I booked direct flights to and from Tokyo. However, it was after I ordered the tickets did the realization come that starting the trip in Tokyo made absolutely no sense as I planned to buy my second large suitcase there: if I am doing the majority of shopping in Tokyo, why am I hauling around two big suitcases (am not staying long enough for luggage delivery) and eventually wasting time to travel back to Tokyo for the return flight? So, I sheepishly booked a domestic connecting flight to Osaka that was only two hours after I landed. This was an extremely ballsy move as if the customs were delayed I would have needed to Shinkansen to Osaka in shame later in the night. The stars were aligned that day: Not only was my arrival near one hour early, but the customs was also relatively smooth and took only 30 minutes. I had to switch terminals at NRT as well and figured the directions out while waiting in line to clear customs. 

Osaka – Dotonbori/Street Takoyaki

I arrived on a very empty stomach. Initially, I planned on getting both okonomiyaki & Takoyaki. However, my timing ended up being too narrow for the last order time for the store I wanted (~10:45PM). Hence, I ended up skipping okonomiyaki all together and headed for the street stalls of late-night Dotonbori. 

While I didn’t plan this part, I didn’t realize where the stall was and managed to snap a shot of the huge Glico sign. 

This is the Takoyaki stand I went to. 800 yen for 8 sizzling-hot takoyaki that made me absolutely full and satisfied:

Day 2 – Osaka → Kyoto

I stayed in Osaka during the day and headed for Kyoto (which was really a 15 min Shinkansen ride) around 5PM.

Soy milk soft serve/Sakura-themed tart/Ice dog 

In the morning, I tried out foods at planned stores around the city and did some sightseeing. There was initially a fourth store which was a matcha café, but time proved to be too short.

My first stop of the day was Takahashi foods – this is a humble stand situated in Kuromon market featuring a family business that has run for just over 100 years focusing on soy milk, tofu, and related products. I got the soy-milk ice cream or “soft serve”. The shop owner lady was very friendly. We had a little chat in Japanese – in the end I told her I was from Canada and she let out a big ehhh?! as she wasn’t expecting this at all.

The second stop was the Pablo cheese tart flagship store.

I’m doing this kind of as a pilgrimage for one of my friends in Toronto who is a fan of these tarts. Unfortunately, the Toronto chain shut down I believe during COVID. I got there too early but there was already a line-up. Needless to say, there were a lot more varieties in the Japanese flagship store than the generic ones in Toronto. I ordered the limited Sakura tart:

My last food stop was Ice Dog in American Village. I did not expect the bun to be fried hot and crispy. I would have been perfectly satisfied if it was some soft-serve in a general hotdog bun taken out of the bag, but this contrast of ice and fire made it extra delicious. 10/10.

Kaiyukan aquarium and meeting Yuki the seal

This is the main reason why I insisted on fitting Osaka into my itinerary despite only having 7 days total. I’ve been a fan of this chonky wonderful piece of happiness since 2016. Yuki has fans all over the world who travel to Osaka just to meet her; I am no exception. I wanted Yuki to be my first memory of Japan. 

The Kaiyukan itself boasts many floors. I’d say the other exhibits were good, but nothing to write home about and relatively comparable to e.g. Ripley’s (definitely larger than Ripley) in Toronto and Audubon I visited in New Orleans last November.

Yuki is usually more awake during the morning. I missed the feeding times where she interacts with staff and gets her eyedrops. She was initially sleeping peacefully. I expected she would just do that for the rest of the day, but in a few minutes, she woke up and started looking around! Much to the joy of her fans, earning waves of “kawaii!” from her viewers. 

The large Yuki plushie of course, sold out. I am still very happy that I got Arare’s plushie (Arare is another seal that is adorable; however, Yuki is the only chonky one and Arare was not above ice and swimming somewhere) & some other seal merchandise. 

Kyoto at night – Sukiyaki/Gion/Yasaka Shrine

I landed in Kyoto around 6PM. I should mention that starting here, every single restaurant and café I have reserved in advance (with the exception of one café in Ginza that I walked in).

First stop after freshening up at the hotel was sukiyaki

Unexpectedly, I got seated in a private room upstairs so certainly did not complain. I chose a sukiyaki instead of shabushabu course because I’ve never dipped cooked beef in raw egg before. I’m pretty sure it has to be germ-free egg or some special kind of egg which we do not have back home and not to be replicated without research; the last thing I want is Salmonella… 

The waiter cooked the first batch for me and demonstrated then told me I can cook the rest myself. I abused the おすすめは？and ordered sweet sake that went with the meal. It was really delicious! In a way I am glad that I missed Mishimatei’s reservation (because one month in advance wasn’t enough) and found this store. 

After dinner, I walked around Gion and got some photos for the Gram hehe:

I decided to focus on the Shinto shrines in Kyoto because while Buddhist shrines are nice, Japan literally got Buddhism from China. It’s not like I have not been or don’t have access to the Chinese Buddhist shrines. Yasaka shrine is dedicated to Susanoo which I describe to my colleagues as “Japanese Poseidon”. Now, if you played Olympia Soiree the reason is super obvious why I placed this shrine on my list. 

Day 3 – Kyoto

Seimei shrine/Hanyu Yuzuru’s ema

Abe no Seimei is a figure of personal importance to me for two reasons. One, Seimei is the MC of the hit Chinese mobile game Onmyoji. Two, Hanyu Yuzuru’s famous program that won him his second consecutive Olympia Gold and what made me become his fan. Speaking of Hanyu, my friend and I got tickets to see him in Montreal many years ago, but that competition was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID. After that, he retired, married, divorced … the rest is history. I do feel it’s necessary for me to catch one of his ice shows – while he still does them in the next short few years – in Sendai if needed in my future trips. 

I visited Seimei shrine at 9AM in the morning upon the stores opening. There were a few miko sweeping the ground. On one wall there were ten famous tales of Seimei. A few reference his rivalry with Ashiya Douman – again if you played OlySoi this character would ring a bell to you even if it was in a anachronistic context. I especially enjoyed the one where Seimei turned Douman’s tangerines to mice just to win an argument – this is peak petty king behaviour over 1000 years ago and I absolutely am here for it. 

I got a Sakura omamori from the store. There are smaller ema outside on a wall. However, the big ema are hung inside the store. These are usually from major sponsors of the shrine or… Hanyu Yuzuru himself. The miko-san at the store allowed me to take photos so here they are:

Hakuoki pilgrimage – Ikedaya inn/Ryozen museum of Bakumatsu restoration

This wouldn’t have been possible without guidance from a fellow redditor. To begin, conveniently my hotel was within 5 minutes walking distance from the Ikedaya inn site. They sell Shinsengumi character-themed ramen inside but I had other plans so only shot a pic from the outside and moved on.

After lunch, I went to Ryozen museum which specifically focuses on Shinsengumi vs. Sakamoto Ryoma who eventually went through with the restoration, then later became assassinated. They display Kondo Isami & Hijikata Toshizo’s swords, though not their favourite or most favourite ones. Those are either lost forever or scattered around other places in Japan. 

However, while I came for the swords, I stayed for the rich historical content. Upstairs, they displayed Shinsengumi vs. Sakamoto in two opposing isles down a long hallway. Similar to the Kyoto National Museum that I went to the next day, being able to read Japanese helps because otherwise you are losing out on 80% of the content. Only the titles of the exhibitions & the information boards with lots of paragraphs will be translated in English. Poems by historical figures? Nope. Details on the exhibited items in Japanese? Not translated either. 

Omakase tempura/Shogetsu’s wagashi/Eel rice 

For lunch, I went to 京都祇園 天ぷら八坂圓堂 which was situated in a quiet alleyway. They actually have three storefronts in the same area. I showed up to the wrong one. A lady wearing a kimono greeted me and escorted me to the correct entrance. We chatted a bit on the way. I know she was being polite but still felt happy that she said I was ペラペラhaha. This place features bougie tempura – all sorts of things that I didn’t know could be fried, were fried here. For dessert they gave a Sakura cracker nesting Sakura ice cream in the middle. It was so pretty I didn’t want to eat it..

Shogetsu/嘯月 is one of the most famous and top-ranked places in all of Japan for wagashi, boasting a 4+ rating on Tabelog which is extremely rare. Their store is cash only & requires reservations by phone (in Japanese only, as the owner confirms with me during our conversation that he doesn’t speak a lick of English, uncle’s just here to chill and make sweets) 1-4 weeks in advance. They will make the sweets on the day of your pickup.

I called 1-2 weeks before I departed. He was very considerate and slowed down his speaking for me as well as triple checked the details. He trusted me and took my first name only and Kyoto hotel number, then said 火曜日に作ってるから、必ず来てくださいね。He also told me ちゃんと伝わったから、もっと自信を持っていいよ！which was so kind. Anyways, I showed up at 4:30 PM on the Tuesday we agreed on and picked up my sweets! I had them back in my hotel with green tea as dessert after my dinner; placed it in the fridge prior to that. I asked for one piece of kinton (their specialty, top right) & five omakase. My favourite in terms of taste actually ending up being the one with sakura filling on the top left!

For dinner, I went to a restaurant that made eel rice. I asked for the ひつまぶし course where they cut up the eel for you in small pieces. I was seated at the counter where I could see the chefs prepare the eel. sYou get a really long bowl of rice topped with eel. The waiter would then come and tell me that I’m supposed to divide it in four portions. First three quarters I should try something different each. The fourth portion I can do what I liked most. Again, it’s just so hard not ordering sake to go with traditional Japanese cuisine… The eel was exactly what I expected it to be – on the sweeter side. One of the best meals I’ve had in my life for sure.

Day 4 – Kyoto→Tokyo

Kyoto national museum – Higekiri/Hizamaru

While I was in town, KNM had a special exhibition of Kitanotenjin or Sugawara no Michizane, a historical figure who was later deified to become the Shinto god of learning out of fear of retribution from his vengeful spirit by the emperor at the time. With special exhibitions, the museum takes down its regular exhibits. We were presented with various long scrolls of painting illustrating Sugawara’s life when he was still a human, such as him showing extreme talent as a child at 9 years old and writing poetry. This also branched out to some Buddhist exhibitions. One thousand years ago, the Japanese used ink made of gold to copy Buddhist scripture on dark blue paper. The product still looks gorgeous today. However, they did not allow photos except for the swords below which is something I learned to expect for museums in Japan. I went at opening so there weren’t too many people. It was extremely humid inside for some reason (I sweat through my clothes and socks by the time I walked out to the cool breeze) – surely, I don’t think this was good for the exhibits either?? Everyone silently made a line and moved instead of pushing people around. Mostly people remained quiet, with some quiet chatter in between. Many grandpas and uncles took out their monocle-magnifying glass thingies and held to their eyes to examine the artwork. Again, if you can’t read Japanese, you miss out on 80% of the content because now with each panel there’s a lot of historical context provided in Japanese, but not translated into English. I didn’t see anyone who was blatantly gaijin-looking at the museum at all.

However, admittedly the initial reason of why I came was for the exhibit’s collaboration with Touken Ranbu. For the first time, the brother swords Higekiri and Hizamaru were showcased together side by side. The museum put black or white paper at opposite sides of the swords as a memory aid, as I certainly briefly panicked after I left that I wouldn’t know which sword was which. 

Kyoto botanical gardens

Initially, I was going to pass on this place thinking I’d run out of time. However, I had around 2 hours so I went. It was just past cherry blossom season with many flowers out of seasons. However, there was still enough variety to get good photos.

Shinkansen ekiben/Michelin kaiseki 

In my opinion, a train experience in Japan is never complete without ekiben so I got a little sushi set to go with my trip:

I booked ahead of time which in retrospect probably was unnecessary given it wasn’t golden week. However, I also booked the oversized luggage seats. While some redditors argue it’s not necessary even with the large luggage and sometimes staff looks the other way given the amount of leg room, I definitely did not want to squish that in front of me so am glad I booked it in the end. The ride was around 2 hours. I got to enjoy some scenery along the way of smaller Japanese towns that are less known to the tourist eye. 

I had the most expensive meal of this trip on the night I arrived in Tokyo. Fushikino is a Michelin one-star restaurant that offers kaiseki and is known for being gaijin-friendly. I also got their sake pairing where they give you 7-8 little cups total. The hostess will pick out recommendations of sake that she believes goes best with the dish. I had some sweet and spicy sake. The food was gorgeous, delicately made, and the service was amazing. I had a chat with one of the waitresses who told me she was doing this part-time as a student studying sciences at a local university. She told me she was doing research in Parkinson disease, so I told her that I’m a physician from Canada who has a background in the same field she did, and the conversation ended up shifting to proteins and lab mice much to the hostess’ amusement. 

Kabukicho

After being a little tipsy from the sake from dinner, I ventured into kabukicho. Honestly, I felt it was kind of a letdown… Maybe because I grew up in China & seen similar big cities such as Shanghai so am not as amazed at the neon signs as people from the west. Also the number of 風俗 (the word means “customs” or “culture” but actually is a euphemism for prostitution) shops with provocative signs (including one saying “our women have huge tits, come inside and relax!”) and burly bouncers really turned me off. I also passed by the infamous Yggdrasil host club lol. Finally, I was approached by some guy trying to get me in their store & never have I been so quick to pull the “I don’t speak Japanese; I’m just a poor gaijin” card (I mean I do, but he doesn’t need to know) hahaha… It was just a really overstimulating yet underwhelming experience? Def not going back.

Day 5 – Tokyo 

TeamLab Borderless

I went at 8:30AM upon opening so it wasn’t crowded at all. I chose Borderless over Planets because I ain’t walking in water and am just here for the ~aesthetics~. I am only posting photos here but they use olfactory and auditory stimuli as well. It was quite surreal and 120% worth the ticket money and early waking because I’ve read accounts of how crowded it gets later on. It took me 60-90 minutes to finish my tour. I mean, did I really finish the tour given there was no map/rooms are connected and constantly changing, how do I know I went to every room? Anyways..

Sonny angel hunting 

My best friend from undergrad’s little sister is a huge Sonny Angel fan. So I made a little stop for her at the SONIANDSMI official store right next to Shibuya station & got her three sonnys and a theme bag. 😊

Ikebukuro haul 1/2: Lashinbang & Stellaworth

It was a very rainy Thursday, but I arrived at my most anticipated spot this trip finally:

After all, the #1 rule of goods-shopping is unless you’re hella rich, always try for the second-hand stores before going bankrupt at the first-hand ones. So I stopped at Lashinbang first. K-books I ended up swinging back the next day because it was too far & my time was limited on Thursday. Like many otome stores, Lashinbang has multiple locations in 1-2 blocks, each featuring a different genre within anime. What we want to look for is the 乙女館. It was rough trying to find where I needed to be. No complaints because I found some really good Gojo merch for one of my friends at the general store.

Stellaworth: The Stellaworth store & Lashinbang otome store are right next to each other on the second floor of some building. Personally, I didn’t get much merch from Stellarworth. However, I really liked their dedicated wall to NilAdo & OverReq. I think you would really like their stuff if you are looking for limited edition of physical switch otome games & situation CDs.

Starbucks reserve roastery/fugu lunch/afternoon tea set/Hotel New Otani buffet

I went to the Starbucks reserve roastery which is honestly more like a four-story Starbucks museum at this point:

I got myself & my work bestie matching pink Tokyo Starbucks mugs & some other merch like stickers and candy. I also ordered their sakura cold brew with ice cream and got to enjoy it on the fourth floor terrace. The third floor terrace was full but on the fourth it was actually just me and a cute Japanese boy who was studying. I was able to enjoy a moment of peace on this cloudy Thursday before it started to pour.

For lunch, I went to 玄品 新宿三丁目 and got their most popular Daigo fugu course.

There was also fugu hotpot and fugu rice. Raw fugu is chewy but not exactly the same like jellyfish. For the hotpot the waiter will tell you to cook everything exactly for four minutes. This is important because overcooking it will lose its texture. Definitely would love to return and try some more luxurious fugu courses next time I’m in Tokyo as I started basic.

I made it a goal to try a few cute afternoon tea cafes this trip. Fortunately, there is a good rated one right next to the lobby of my hotel (Hotel Southern Century Tower): Lounge South Court. I got their Sakura set. Again, because it was so cloudy and rainy that day, I filtered the crap out of the photo, please forgive me otherwise it’s a grey blob. Eating it in person was so gorgeous though. They also gave me a cute little illustration of what everything was. I also learned that day what gum syrup was lol – the waiter just asked シロップは入りますか and I’m like sure thing bro – then got it and was like wtf is gum syrup hahah – it’s just a liquid textured sweetener.

For dinner, I went to Hotel New Otani The Sky Restaurant. You can make reservations directly on their website. The view was absolutely phenomenal as was the sushi bar – where I got my first Japanese sushi experience (if we don’t count the ekiben).

However, I was so shaken at how beautiful and luxurious the hotel itself was. I felt like I was in a 1920s American movie & definitely got very self-conscious. I had no doubt I was the poorest person there LOL and just tried my hardest not to out myself as an imposter. I’ve stayed at 5-star hotels before but this absolutely blew my mind. A quick search on Expedia actually found me a surprisingly amazing deal for the caliber of place it is. Maybe next time hmm…

Day 6 – Tokyo 

Suga shrine/Your Name stairs pilgrimage

I mean, needs no introduction. If you know you know. If you don’t you don’t. Again, I went around 8AM before the crowds came and was able to get clean shots. I appreciate the fact that everyone there – no matter where they’re from all over the world – were respectful and didn’t hog the stairs for posing (I am foreshadowing for another photo spot later the same day), get their shots/poses and immediately backed out of people’s frames.

Ikebukuro haul 2/2: Rejet, Surugaya, K-books, Animate

I went back to Ikebukuro to finish what I started the day before. My first stop was the Rejet shop which ended up being a hidden gem for its size. I got 2 CDs and a few can badges. I told the cashier I was a fan from Canada which made her super excited aww.

Surugaya: I believe this was the franchise where their otome store has the famous downstairs hallway with otome LIs on the wall. I really wanted to get a video but there were so many people in and out so decided against it. However, for its hype I actually didn’t find as much merch as I liked…? I barely got anything. Maybe I went at a bad time.

I don’t have pictures for K-books but I want to take a moment to appreciate how goated they are as a store. Found looooots of good merch including a 5500 yen limited DearVo Momochi merch and happily asked the staff すみません、バンドで繋がってるアイテムが欲しいですけど… and farmed some aura with the girls there who stared as 店員さん cut the band off after confirming with me that I want this item hehehe. [insert Charlie Sheen Parliament ad meme]

Animate building: Honestly, the best part of the building was the book floor. I saw so many things I wanted, but with better judgement I limited the items to a June 2026 copy of B’sLog and a box of life-sized Cardcaptor Sakura Clow Cards. This ended up being a wise decision because I nearly ran out of room when packing in the end. Because this is the Animate store it is a lot less otome-focused.

Otomate Garden

I was extremely lucky because I logged in 15 minutes after ticket release and saw all of them sell out. As I was feeling dejected and ready to accept my fate, a random refresh landed me a table ticket (for 2) on Friday 3PM. Good lesson for future because I was fooled by the abundance of tickets for Trouble Magia in March (because it being a colder IP).

The cafe made separate entrance times for table and counter users to divert workflow. Hence, when I went in it was only with the table people, like 5-7 tables total?

Because my ticket was for 2, I asked for Claude and Molly merch upon entering. Dorothy was by far the fan favourite at least for that day.

This is the menu. The menu is tucked under the table. If you flip towards the end they have their merch list as well.

I ordered the Claude drink. I would have ordered Molly’s too but had to run to my next arrangement. The flower is edible. They also provided honey to go with the tea.

This is the merch section.

I was scared and felt bad for disturbing the staff because I had to leave early hence would need to get up and take photos. However, the staff there were very understanding and immediately agreed. I of course said upfront that I wouldn’t even include people’s heads in the shots. They were all kind and patient.

As I left, I told the table to my right that they can have my ballot (all participants can enter a ballot to have the wall CG panels mailed to them after the event is over) because I am Canadian and obviously do not live in Japan. They literally screamed in joy. As I was checking out my merch and about to leave, one of the girls chased to the door and asked in English, “Do you like Molly?” as she saw me lay out Molly and Claude merch. I told her “I love Molly!” so she gave me a card of Molly (bottom left art of the merch section in the centre) as a thank you. I told her in English thank you and good luck! This was one of my fondest memories of the trip for sure.

Shibuya Sky sunset

I was amazed at how the stars aligned for me. I got tickets for Friday 4PM before I left – aka why I could not stay for long at Otomate Garden. However, up to the day before Friday, Shibuya had 100% rain probability. Given how badly it poured on Thursday, I told myself that it wasn’t worth going if they’re closing the roof & I might as well stay longer at Otomate cafe. I even booked the Q-pot cafe for 5PM because why not, might as well check more cafes out.

Lo and behold I wake up at 7AM to the sunniest day I’ve ever seen in Tokyo & all the weather forecasts now all say 0% rain!!! I’ve heard of how fickle Tokyo Aprils can be but was seriously not expecting this at all… So I scrambled to cancel the reservation at 7AM for Q-pot cafe with an apologetic message. I rotted away at Shibuya Sky bar with a matcha drink. Sunset that day was 6:22PM. Around 5:30PM I hit the roof.

I got a few videos too but will only post photos here. The sunset was certainly worth all the alarms, stress. It was surreal to see night fall.

Negativity time: While I was amazed at the view, I was really disappointed with the way how some tourists acted. What I am about to record is only my account of my experience that night (aka N=1 person and N=1 night) and is not intended to target any nationality. However, it is interesting that matches some stereotypes. There were a lot of female Tiktok influencers from China who would hog up photo spots (no they did not pay for the corner spot where the official staff takes photos for them; even then it’s one photo only I believe). They would pose for over 5 minutes, completely disregarding the other tourists there who also want a photo. I always took less than 15 seconds, went in, snap like 20 photos in rapid succession and immediately gtfo and pick my photos in a quiet spot. A few times, the girls just randomly stopped in front of the escalator to double check some details or to chat. Once, a group even stopped to FIX MAKEUP right before we get on the escalator. This was at the peak of sunset time too wtf!! The staff had to come and ask them politely to either go on the escalator or get out of the line as to not block the people after them. They rolled their eyes at the staff and walked out 😦 Even though I am Chinese Canadian, I felt so ashamed for them.

I also got forcefully pushed out of line a few times by different groups of tourists which happened to share these traits in common: Korean & male (they were speaking Korean). I’m not sure if they were just rude in general or had prejudice against Chinese people so it’s nationality-fuelled. Either way, very unpleasant. No matter the nationality or culture, please be respectful of others!

Strawberry parfait/pork katsu 

I visited BIEN-ETRE MAISON at their opening time (11AM) to get their seasonal strawberry parfait. I mean just look at it!! Their Tabelog site doesn’t allow booking so I used tablecheck. You prepay in advance.

For dinner, I went to Pretty Pork Factory (or Katsu Puripo) and ordered a standard tonkatsu set with beer. It was very delicious, but didn’t wow me if that made sense? Would I go back? Hell yes.

Day 7 – Tokyo

Ginza Karen/Mayla/Takeshita street (Harajuku)

Woke up and ran to Ginza Karen to get my suitcase. I was debating between a medium and large & am so glad I decided on large because I had to sit on both suitcases to get them to close in the end. Next time, I am either bringing two suitcases (one empty) or doing the same thing again as my old Canadian one is kind of falling apart…

My next stop was the only store I ended up visiting in Harajuku – Mayla. Mayla is a store that I know for a long time but usually shy from buying due to their prices being a bit above my budget. One of my juniors in undergrad (we kept in contact, she is a dentist now) even bought their Violet Evergarden shoes for her wedding! I messaged their store on Instagram in Japanese and was able to reserve for the white & black Cardcaptor Sakura handbags. I plan on giving my friend one of them and keeping the other. No pictures because they are staying in their packaging (as I won’t know how to put it back together) until I see her. Initially, I also wanted to the Suigintou hairpin but unfortunately I was told they sold out.

As I walked out, I followed Google Maps which took me through Harajuku’s busiest street. Why oh why lol that was so painful. The crowd was not moving at all. I was also carrying the jumbo suitcase from earlier 🤣🤣 I saw a lot of girls dressed in Lolita though which was the only positive out of this experience.

Ginza haul: Itoya/Loft/Sembikiya/Kikunoya

My bestie from undergrad is a huge stationery fan while my best friend from med school is a huge fan of florals. So why not both at this 12-story stationary store that is possibly the largest in the world?

Not me already going bankrupt on the 2nd floor:

After Itoya, I went to Loft. My dad has allergic rhinitis all year round and likes his handkerchiefs, so I got him a few.

I never knew sponges can come in these.. I got both seals and a sakura fish design. I will be so scared to use them.. I tried going on Loft’s website in Canada and it IP-blocked me, so even if I want to proxy will need a VPN. It’s not entirely undoable because I can see the item preview which is good enough for me to use the link for proxy sites. However, this is going to be costly. I don’t think I will end up using these sponges. They’re too precious.

I got myself a purple fan. I also didn’t realize one of the fans fell out of place but hey, looks more real this way.

Ginza Sembikiya is a fruits specialty store. I’ve never seen such beautiful fruits in my life… I really wanted to get their specialty honey as well but again, no room left & I know I’m not that big of a honey user. Ended up getting some snacks.

Ginza Kikunoya is a snack store that features pretty snacks and friendly aunties in kimono that chatted with me after I bought their stuff.

I originally planned to visit a few more places including Kyukyodo but ended up running out of time (as I only had a total of 3 hours before my dinner reservation). Until next time!

Sushi omakase/matcha shaved ice/yakiniku

I went to Sushi Kotobuki which was a hidden gem in the underground of bustling Shinjuku with counter style sushi. It was the best sushi I’ve ever had in my life by far. Everything had such rich tastes and textures. My chef was a grandpa who was friendly and introduced his dishes in Japanese to me after hearing me speak, taking away the English menu for sake because said I wouldn’t need that haha. The restaurant had a mix of locals and tourists. The chef was telling a Japanese couple at the group that today’s guests included people from Canada, USA, and Netherlands and the couple in classic Japanese fashion were like ehhh sugoi~~

Listen, I was a filthy sushi eater prior to Japan, but fortunately did the proper research so I knew not to mix wasabi in soy sauce, or eat the sushi in bits, or dip in soy sauce with rice facing down… Whew

Ginza Hiiragi is a social media-famous store with only 6 counter seats. Hence, I was SO lucky to be able to walk in right as a customer finished and walk out. I got their infamous matcha shaved ice (that they make in front of you) and a matcha latte. BEST DESSERT I’VE EVER HAD. 12/10 WILL GO AGAIN. 😭😭 

For dinner, I went to Jojoen Tokyo Opera City 53F. Because I last-minute decided to watch the Conan movie on IMAX, I had to call the restaurant to move my reservation from 8:30PM to 7:00PM. They told it was doable, but with the caveat I give up my window seat. I mean what view was going to beat out Shibuya Sky sunset so I said sure. I ended up ordering à la carte instead of doing a course because Hiiragi actually left me so full 2 hours prior. The food was absolutely delicious coupled with the view. Maybe next time I will return on an emptier stomach and with a friend..

Detective Conan Movie 29 in the heart of Shinjuku

I watched the IMAX version at 21:40 and experienced Japanese cinemas for the first time. This year’s movie is called Fallen Angel of the Highway with Sawashiro Miyuki voicing one of the main characters. My queen absolutely ate like she always does in her roles. The soundtrack absolutely slapped. The screen was HUGE and really gave me an immersive experience. At the beginning of the movie, they play an official message warning that if you take photos of the movie you face a fine and jail time. I mean I would love to stay in Japan for longer but maybe not jail.

It was a thrilling ending to my trip as it was quite literally Tokyo Drift but motorcycles and anime. I sat in the premium box (3700yen). I didn’t get any popcorn or drink because again I was so full. The premium seats have so much room and lots of privacy.

They also teased the 30th movie for next year which is throwback to the London confession. Man, this movie is a must watch, even as an Haibara Ai fan..

Day 8 – Return

NRT: airport ramen/anecdotes

My hotel has a airport bus service that I can book for ~3000yen so I did that. At the end of bus ride there was a bump or something to the point I dropped my earphones and they scattered on the floor. I was not able to find my left bud and everyone has left. Desperately, I asked the driver for 2 more minutes because my earphones fell. I also told him that if he has places to go next then I’ll take the loss. This kind man stopped the bus engine for me so we could hear the find my sounds play better. After searching on the ground on our knees for 5 minutes, he found my left bud. Thank you, driver-san! Definitely the deepest bow I did in Japan (not that I out-bowed him).

I met my ramen quota very last minute at Ippudo Narita Airport. I ordered their 06: Kyoku-Akamaru ramen with large cup of nama-biru. Savoury and very delicious!

Concluding Remarks

The negatives

Was the trip all sunshine and butterflies? Of course not. The customs officer at Narita when I landed was one of the nastiest human beings I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, yelling and extremely rude.

I had my own run-in with a butsukari-otoko at the subway station in Tokyo. He was a salaryman on the older side (graying hair) and neatly dressed in a suit. However, he hit me with such force in an area that had ample of room so it was certainly intentional.

At Hotel Otani buffet the elderly couple next to my table were talking about how I was a gaijin and how I ruined their experience by sitting next to them. It was hilarious because a luxury 5-star hotel probably has the highest concentration of foreigners out of all the places I went. Not sure what they were expecting… I just told myself that I’m not going to spend 150$ just to have my night ruined by two randoms & still enjoyed my food and view.

I’ve also had staff cross their arms and tell me no gaijin when I tried to ask for instructions in Japanese – it was not a issue of me being incomprehensible as 99% of the time I was fine and the staff usually escorted me physically. However, this only happened once (in Kyoto).

The positives

I don’t even know where to begin. This trip was not only a much-needed escape from my burnout at work but also a dream come true. Because it was a solo trip and my language advantage, I filled it with items that were of personal importance to me instead of the mainstream attractions, fully expecting I will make many return trips and might as well save those spots when I go with a friend who would be doing their once-in-a-lifetime visit to Japan.

The people were courteous and friendly. Now, I’m not going to get into the tatemae bullshit about how they may secretly hate me but act nice. IDC. I paid and received services well-above the price. I never wanted or tried to fit in. I am a tourist that contributed my humble share to their country’s economy.

I could count on one hand the times the staff switched to English at busy establishments. Did I take offence in that? Of course not. This is my first time in Japan. The restaurant is also busy, damn it! They are not my 会話 teachers. I think a lot of us try too hard to be “viewed as native” or have some dick-measuring contest of how good our Japanese is… accept the fact you will never be one of them and learn to love yourself while enjoying their culture and beautiful country. How I frame it is that they want to maximize my experience and comfort by speaking in my language, even if they are less comfortable doing so. Hence, I view it with appreciation and immediately switch to English. Being a tourist is great; I get to enjoy all the country’s positive without having to deal with any of the problems of their society and culture.

Speaking of the culture, I really learned to appreciate how rule-abiding Japanese people are and harmoniously they operate as a whole. This is best seen in the subways. People will always quietly line up at the busiest places, not rush to get in the subway before people got out, no loud chatter during the ride etc.. I looked at the people cutting lines and pushing others despite the staff repeatedly saying “please line up guys” when boarding my Air Canada flight and felt I live in the actual third world country… No manners whatsoever. The streets are clean even without available trashcans because everyone actually doesn’t throw trash. Also the no eating or drinking while walking is probably true as I haven’t seen people do it, even during busy periods of getting to and from work.

This is not an attraction I explicitly went to, but given the privilege to get a glimpse of people’s everyday lives in the city. From the salaryman going to work or izakaya after work with his colleagues, to the high school girl in uniform boarding the subway with her friends, or the little kids in Tokyo walking to school… While anime is obviously not real, my takeaway is it was a lot realer than I thought.

What I learned for next time: 

1. I don’t have to land in Tokyo if I don’t plan to start there. For future trips likely best to end in Tokyo as well.
2. Learn to use Japanese Tabelog for reservations, seriously.
3. Otomate Garden and popular tickets in general: log in on the dot or regret it forever.
4. Bring napkin/tissues yourself. I was miserable for first day then went to a supermarket to buy a bag of paper towels and carried them around.
5. It’s real that there are no trashcans. Either bring a bag for trash, place in pocket, or get used to asking ゴミ箱はどこですか real fast.

So, when and what is the next trip?

Either late October with a work friend vs. another solo trip next year – if solo I think I would be thinking September for my birthday. Bonus points if Otomate Party happens during that time period again. I would aim for some different things, e.g. the major historical attractions in Kyoto, or a different area in Tokyo (thinking Roppongi but I do need to go back to Ginza and finish what I started). Food wise, this time I booked many restaurants. Especially if with a friend & schedules are harder to follow, I want to do more street food and book one nicer Michelin restaurant (e.g. 2/3 stars this time) because I’d be saving money from the street food stands. I want to focus more on washoku next time as well.

I definitely recommend Hotel Southern Century Tower for first-timers. It’s right next to Shinjuku and Yoyogi stations and at the centre of the places I wanted to go; very convenient.

My top three food spots ended up being: the eel rice in Kyoto; omakase sushi in Tokyo; best dessert has to go to the matcha shaved ice.

Until next time.