Day 1 – Tokyo 🛬 🇯🇵

We have arrived in Tokyo!

After a long travel day, we emerged from the train station into the Shibuya Crossing, with thousands of other people. It was quite the introduction to Tokyo.

Our hotel is a 10 minute walk from the station and really nice.

We’re still getting to know the neighborhood but here is our impressions so far:

• Astrid enjoyed the store full of stuffies and kids toys. Gachapon machines are everywhere.
• It’s sensory overload with lots of people, screens flashing ads, and so many cool stores.
• It’s amazing how many people are here but how few cars there are.
• The coolest streets are the narrow alleyways.

Funny stories from today:

• Trying out all the buttons on the toilets.
• Emily getting stuck in the elevator door.
• The pee soaked buff.
• Astrid trick or treating in a store and getting some fish snack. Not sure if it was a trick or treat.

It’s only 8 pm, but I’m proud we all stayed up this late. Hopefully we can get a good night’s sleep and wake up mostly adjusted to Tokyo time.

Day 2 – Tokyo 🍡 🍙

We were awake at 2 am this morning, but managed to fall back asleep a little with some sleepy time podcasts. By 4 am, we were up, showering, and getting ready for the day.

We grabbed a random assortment of food from a local konbini and wandered into Yoyogi Park for a picnic. It was great to find such a calm natural oasis in the middle of a bustling city. Although in general, we’ve found Tokyo surprisingly quiet – something to do with less car traffic and a social norm toward being quiet in public.

We drew a walk card this morning (like in the Let’s Go to Japan boardgame) and stumbled upon the Meiji Jinju Shrine. It was our first Shinto Shrine and we got a stamp book to collect goshuin in.

TeamLab Planets was an Instagram trap but also surprisingly fun and engaging. We spent 4 hours there exploring all the rooms, seeing our drawings come to life, getting dizzy with projected images and mirrors, taking lots of pictures, and eating vegan ramen.

Random tidbits:

• I had a huge moment of panic today as I couldn’t find what pocket I put my IC card in. I do this a lot while traveling and usually find it in one pocket or another, but this time it was on the floor of our crowded subway car. Good thing I noticed before we got off.
• It was cool seeing all the funky buildings, 2021 Olympic venues, and a giant Gundam statue along the waterfront from the front seat of the Yurikamome elevated light rail line (a lot like the SkyTrain).
• We ate our one pre-reserved dinner at the fancy Saido restaurant. It was good, but didn’t really stand out from the generally excellent food so far. Given how hard it was to get reservations and the long train ride to get there, it might not have been worth it.

Day 3 – Tokyo 🛍️ 👩

Today was a shopping day.

After hours spent wandering through MEGA Don Quixote and through the streets of Harajuku we were all pretty worn out.

We traveled light with only a few days worth of clothes, assuming we would buy stuff here as souvenirs. On our first day, I bought new shorts and a t-shirt, but kids clothing was surprisingly hard to find in Shibuya. Astrid was upset about that so today we made more of an effort to find something for her and she hit it rich with 2 nice shirts, a cute onigiri sweater, and Pokemon pajamas. Our hotel provides Japanese-style pajamas (they look more like bath robes) but only in adult sizes.

For lunch we had our first taste of Japanese sushi at an all vegan restaurant. Very fancy stuff, all of it in the nigiri style instead of the roles we’re used to in Vancouver.

We spent the rest of the day at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, enjoying the view from the observation deck and the light show projected onto the outside when it got dark.

Random stories from today:

• Astrid did her first Japanese errand today. This morning she was ready before us and being destructive, so I sent her out with 1000 yen and asked her to buy us some food from the konbini across the street. She came back empty-handed the first time (she got flustered when she couldn’t find exactly what she wanted) but in her second attempt she acquired some red bean buns for our breakfast.
• We were startled when we came upon a box full of heads when we took a sketchy staircase down from our lunch restaurant. Just heads, no bodies. Maybe from a hair salon school?
• I had a bottle of water leak in my bag soaking my back, butt, and a bunch of other things. Not a big deal, but our temple stamp book got wet on the edges. Luckily we dried it off without any serious damage.
• The Shinjuku Station was a real maze to get out of. It was the first time we got lost multiple times and Google maps couldn’t help us – a combination of bad GPS and multiple floors defeated the technology. It’s one of the busiest stations in the world (3.7 million passengers per day!) and currently undergoing extensive construction.

Day 4 – Tokyo 😺😸

We started the day with a trip out to Gotokuji Temple, known as the birthplace of the maneki-neko (beckoning cats). It was a much needed break from the commercial, touristy areas. It was in a quiet neighbourhood about 45 minutes away. We just missed the special cat tram, but managed to catch it for one stop on the way back. We really went all in on the cat theme today. 😹

Ikebukuro is known for its anime culture. Our big draw was the city’s biggest Pokemon Center in Sunshine City. We also spent at least an hour looking through gachapons (capsule machines). The store had hundreds of machines, including some really random ones: mini bike helmets, cat hats, plastic smoothies, model baseball stadiums. We ended up with two Mofusand cats.

Around the mall we discovered K-Books, which has 15 separate storefronts selling buttons and figurines from every possible anime series and character. Overall the neighbourhood felt like the most authentic Japanese sub-culture we’ve found so far, and we were excited to buy a keychain from Frieren (one of the animes we watched as a family before the trip).

Memorable stories from today:

• Getting lost in Shinjuku Station … yes, again.
• Emily getting stuck in an elevator door … yes, for the 3rd time.
• A beautiful weather day, including a nice sunset. And all regrets that came with it as we decided to stay in Tokyo today instead of daytripping to Hakone because the forecast called for clouds and rain.
• We split up for dinner because the waiter at the restaurant told us french fries were the only item without soy and they refused to make any adjustments. Emily and Astrid stayed and I went across the street for a falafel. I’ve been ingesting soy with almost every meal (in sauces and broths) and felt like I needed a break today.

Day 5 – Kyoto 🚅 🐲

Today we jumped on a Shinkansen and zoomed off to the second city in our Japanese adventure – Kyoto. This was our first intercity train ride and we had a lot to figure out – how to get tickets, if we should reserve our seats, how long it would take us to get from the ticket machines to the platform, and what to buy for food (ekiben).

We figured it all out and learned some lessons for next time, like the Tokyo Train Station is huge and it took us 30 minutes to get from the ticket machines to the train platform, including 10 minutes shopping for food (hardly any of it vegan). We also found out that unreserved seats were plentiful, especially since we boarded at the first stop on the train line.

The train ride was extremely fast, very smooth, and exactly on time – all the things we have heard are great about the Japanese rail system. It’s truly a world class way to travel and very affordable. I’m very jealous we don’t have anything similar in North America.

Our Kyoto hotel is really nice – a mix between a traditional ryokan and a western hotel. Astrid is very, very excited to have her own futon in a tatami area to sleep on.

We spent the afternoon wandering around the immediate neighbourhood and checking out some temples.

Memorable moments from today:

• I ate a lot of fish today. I’ve decided the best way to avoid soy is to replace it with seafood.
• Astrid practiced her map reading skills, navigating us around Kyoto. Whenever we’re not in a rush, we try to let her take the lead.
• We toured the Kenninji Temple with its famous dragon mural. This was the first time we had to remove our shoes somewhere and it was amusing how they differentiated indoor/outdoor areas. The areas with wooden floors were indoors and you walked around in socks. There were brown slippers if you wanted to check out the garden, red slippers to cross between buildings, and slippers with bells when you went to the washroom.
• We ate dinner at an authentic local restaurant run by an old couple who do everything themselves. It was slow, but cool to see the noodles served in a bamboo strainer (zaru).
• We were warned that Kyoto is overrun with tourists. And we noticed it today. But more than the people, it’s the cars that feel oppressive. It’s hard to enjoy wandering down the historic streets and alleys when you’re constantly being passed by taxis. Today was the first time I saw a driver honk at pedestrians.
• I overheard a conversation between a tourist dad and his daughter in the grocery store.
  Girl: “we should buy a salad”.
  Dad: “I don’t want a salad”.
  Girl: “but you like salad”.
  Dad: “no, I just pretend to like it”.

Day 6 – Kyoto️ 🎮 🍜

We started the day off with a tatami mat breakfast with konbini food.

We spent the early morning checking out the Yasaka Pagoda and the Kiyomizu-Dera Temple. It was quieter when we first arrived but by 8 am it was bustling with tourists and hundreds of kids on field trips.

We drank from the holy Otowa Waterfall bringing us longevity and fortunate love lives.

In the afternoon, we experienced the Nintendo museum and had a blast with all the interactive exhibits and games. All of it was very cool, especially the giant controller games.

In the evening, we learned how to make ramen noodles at a cooking class and then ate fresh ramen for dinner. The noodles take day to cure, and they assured us the noodles we made would be served in the restaurant tomorrow, but given the quality of Astrid and I’s, I somehow doubt that (note: Emily was like a pro, of course).

Random tidbits:

• We made a private little onsen in our hotel room, showering on the stool and then bathing in the large soaker tub.
• We did our first load of laundry. Very easy. Just tossed our dirty clothes into a machine with 500 yen and 2 hours later they were clean and dry (all in the same machine with laundry detergent automatically added).
• Astrid kept finding these odd looking statues around in people’s front yards and we couldn’t figure out what they were. A reverse image search tells us they are tanuki, or Japanese raccoon dogs – real but still somewhat mythical animals. They happen to be the inspiration for the Super Mario Bros 3 raccoon suit.

Day 7 – Kyoto 🐒 🥷

Today we spent the morning in the Arashiyama area, starting with a hike up to the monkey park.

The monkeys were clearly used to people but still wild animals. It was cool watching the small family groups grooming each other and the babies riding on their mother’s backs. One of the coolest moments was when Astrid sat on a giant banana statue for a picture, and a juvenile came running over to join her for the picture. We never saw any monkey do that for the other tourists.

After an early delicious lunch, we joined the hordes of tourists checking out the temples and bamboo forest.

The bamboo forest was pretty underwhelming. It would have been a cool area to stumble upon on a walk or run but it’s clearly over-hyped with thousands of people crammed in snapping selfies.

Our next stop was the Toei Park, a film set and mini amusement park. Kind of like Universal Studios but without all the rides.

The highlights were watching the ninja show, seeing the cool Yokai costumes (Japanese spirits of folklore who have made an appearance for Halloween), and Astrid’s journey through the Ninja Mystery House (which was like a kids escape room with secret doors).

In the evening we met up with some Vancouver friends for dinner. They’re on a similar trip to ours but with a different itinerary. It was fun to compare experiences so far and observations of life in Japan, like how Japanese politely wait and refuse to break rules, raving about transit efficiency, and sharing a shared pain at the amount of plastic waste we generate each day.

Day 8 – Kyoto 🌪️ ☸️

Today we did our second TeamLab experience at their newest location, Biovortex, here in Kyoto. It was awesome. In some ways the experience was similar to Tokyo’s Planets – the rooms were full of creative art exhibits – but Biovortex wasn’t as busy and better laid out. Both were truly world class experiences and even though there were some rooms in common (the Athletic Forest), I’m glad we did them both.

We spent the afternoon wandering around and enjoying the more spontaneous discoveries, like:

Day 9 – Himeji 🚄 🏯

Today we went to Himeji Castle, which his beautiful from the outside but only mildly interesting to check out inside. The wooden interior was well preserved but there wasn’t much to see as you shuffled around in your socks. It was impressive how they built the structure but it was very crowded and hot today, and we were happy when we made it through. The highlight was the friendly old Japenese volunteer who offered to take our picture in front and spent 5 minutes lining up different shots and angles. We were slightly worried it was some kind of scam, but that doesn’t seem to happen in Japan. He was just friendly and helpful.

The adjacent Japanese gardens were much cooler (literally) to explore. We enjoyed walking through all the areas and seeing the koi ponds and expertly pruned trees.

We had a lot of Shinkansen train fun today. We traveled with unreserved tickets so we could jump on the next available train and not worry about catching a specific one. Enroute to Himeji I was convinced the express train we were on was going to skip the stop we needed (not all of them stop at the smaller stations). I think the internet gave me bad advice, but to be safe we got off at Kobe and then jumped on the next less express train, which came 3 minutes later – the frequency of trains here is unbelievable.

On the way from Himeji to Okayama, we had 15 minutes to get from our restaurant to the train station, buy tickets, and grab our luggage from our locker. Emily didn’t think it was possible but I wasn’t ready to give up. If we missed that train the next one wasn’t for another 30 minutes (I guess the frequency varies throughout the day). I ran ahead to buy tickets, but when Emily and Astrid showed up I was still in line. I got our tickets with 2 minutes to spare and we quickly ran to the storage lockers and sprinted to the platform just as the train was pulling in. What a rush!

Now we’re staying in an Airbnb in Okayama, the least touristy place we’ll visit in Japan. For dinner, we bought groceries and cooked up a stir-fry.

There seems to be more cyclists here (probably because there is less public transit) and no one locks their bikes! I watched a lady roll up at the store, pop her kickstand, and just leave her bike out front. Her bike had a wheel lock but she didn’t even bother engaging it.

Day 10 – Okayama 🚲 👹

Today we got out into the countryside and explored on our first bike ride.

We rented bikes and rode the Kibiji Cycling Trail. It is a very well organized bike ride and a good precursor to the Shimanami Kaido bike ride we have planned next week. The rental companies allow one way rentals, the start and end are right next to train stations, and they gave us a good map at the start.

The whole route was 20 km, very flat, well-signed, and almost entirely separated from traffic.

It was interesting biking by all the rice fields and seeing them at different stages of growth. In Canada we’re used to huge swaths of crops all harvested at the same time, but here we saw some rice freshly planted, some growing, and some being harvested.

The rice was being harvested by hand and these cute little tractors.

Along the bike route we stopped at a few shrines, including the big Kibitsu Shrine that is home to a buried ogre head that now tells fortunes through a rice pot. Very cool.

In the afternoon, we walked through the mostly deserted streets of Okayama. It was quite a change from Kyoto and Tokyo.

Then we checked out Okayama Castle, which looked similar to Himeji but was very different. Firstly, it wasn’t busy at all. Secondly, because it was reconstructed after it burned during the war, the inside is more of a museum with some interactive exhibits.

We struggled a bit finding a dinner place, but ended up with train sushi in the train station. There is rarely any vegetarian sushi options here, but we ordered everyone they had, including cucumber and shiso, oshinko, natto, inari, and miso soup.

Today was a big day for wildlife spotting:

• We watched a nutria in the canals near the rice fields. I thought it was a beaver but it had a very skinny tail. Apparently it’s a horrible invasive species.
• There were huge cranes and white egrets perched everywhere.
• We caught glimpses of a gecko, snake, and turtle.
• We saw large fish making huge jumps out of the Asahi River.

Other random tidbits:

• We learned about the legend of Momotaro, who was born in a peach and along with his animal companions slew a fierce ogre. Now he’s immortalized on manhole covers and candy wrappers.
• Around 3 pm we saw 3 small kids (probably 6 or 7 years old) get off the streetcar by themselves, wearing their matching school uniforms, explorer hats, and oversized backpacks, and then walk themselves home. Love the independence kids have here.
• The cold that I’ve been battling for the past few days is mostly gone. Luckily Astrid and Emily have been healthy.
• I was the only one who had a biking mishap today. Near the end of our ride, I rode into a pole while admiring a beautiful pond. Only a small cut to one finger.
• We love the cool escalators that have flat sections.

Day 11 – Naoshima 🎭🧖‍♀️

We are half way through our trip to Japan. That is wild to think about. We’ve done a lot already but none of us is ready to go home, and we have a lot more adventures ahead of us.

Today, we ventured to the Inland Sea to see the art island of Naoshima. With the trienalle on right now there is a lot of public art scattered throughout the area. We spent the morning posing with giant pumpkins and other statues before grabbing lunch and taking a ferry back to Uno.

In Uno, we spent the afternoon relaxing at an onsen – a traditional Japanese spa. This one seemed foreigner friendly (they allowed tattoos and had a lot of positive reviews) but only some of the signage was in English and we were the only white people there.

Which meant we got to stumble through figuring things out on our own. Emily and Astrid were on the women’s side and I got to hang out with all the naked guys. It was a tricky balance between trying to pick up social etiquette by watching others and not looking at anyone’s junk.

Once we figured out where to shower, the next challenge was figuring out what all the different pools and tubs were. Some were hot, some were cold, and some were shaped like barrels for a single person. None had any English signage. There were also wet and dry saunas. It wasn’t very busy and it was completely silent, at least on the gentlemen side. On the ladies side, there was a little bit of conversation I’m told.

We all felt a little weird hanging out naked with strangers but soon got used to it.

They also had some large lounging areas that you could spend time in while wearing the traditional robes they provided (unfortunately none kid sized). One area had reclining chairs and TV screens. And one area had tatami mats, pillows, and a library full of manga to read.

Random tidbits from today:

• We had to reload our IC cards before getting on the train. We only had a few minutes before the train left when the machine decided to eat my 100,000 yen bill. Luckily a man popped out of the machine to help me in time and fulfill Emily’s dream.
• We got lucky with train, ferry, and bus timing today but unlucky with restaurants. We showed up at 3 different restaurants that Google Maps said would be open but we’re closed (either temporarily or permanently). This is the first time we’ve had any Maps misses all trip and it happened 3 times today!

Day 12 – Hiroshima ☮️🔭

It’s been threatening to rain for most of our trip, including general typhoon warnings, but we’ve always managed to luck out and avoid getting wet. Today they called for another rain storm but it only drizzled, fitting weather for a somber visit to the Peace Memorial Museum and the site of the atomic bombing.

The museum was excellent but heavy. It was hard seeing the images of all the burned bodies. The most emotional part was reading letters from parents who survived the initial blast but died soon after, leaving parting words to their kids who they wouldn’t be there to raise.

There were dozens of school groups at the children’s peace monument offering the paper cranes they folded for peace. An important message as ever with the situation in Ukraine and Gaza and the rise of fascism again.

The highlight of Astrid’s day was checking out the children’s science museum and finding other English speaking kids to play with. They had to kick us when it closed at 5 pm.

For dinner, we tried the local delicacy of okonomiyaki. It is normally made with meat and egg, but we found a shop that could make it vegan for us.

Other tidbits:

• It’s crazy how efficient the Shinkansen is. It would have taken at least 2.5 hours to Hiroshima in a car, but we did it in 30 minutes on the train. And they depart every 7 minutes.
• We walked by an elementary school and the little kids (like grade 1) were outside running races around a small dirt track barefoot. So adorable.

Day 13 – Miyajima 🚡⛩️

Today we took a train and ferry to Miyajima to visit the famous floating Torii Gate. It was a good day for our bingo card as we checked off “walk 20,000 steps” and “visit 3 shrines in 1 day”.

The floating Torii Gate was cool, but the real highlights were the aggressive deer nearby headbutting tourists to get snacks.

We then waited in a 45 minute line to take a ropeway (gondola) to the top of Mount Misen. We were very tempted to just hike it, but instead decided to ride the gondola one way and walk down. It was the right choice. The people we saw climbing up were exhausted and regretting their life choices.

There were some great views from the top and some shrines to visit. The hiking was more strenuous than we expected and Emily regretted wearing sandals. I was on alert for the poisonous snakes the signs warned about and after I saw something moving in the bush, Emily snuck up behind and made hissing noises while tickling me. I jumped, she laughed, and I acted grumpy for the next 10 minutes.

The coolest shrine we visited was back at the base of the mountain. Daishoin is a Buddhist temple founded way back in 806 with hundreds of Buddha’s wearing knitted hats, halls full of candle lanterns, and some really interesting sculptures. And they had a smoke machine that went off every 15 minutes for dramatic effect.

The hike down took longer than expected and we were very grateful we weren’t going up. We were out of water and hungry by the time we got to the cute restaurant along the trail that served delicious vegetarian udon and curry. It was next to a pond where deer were drinking and playing while large koi swam around. Very idyllic.

And for dinner we ate okonomiyaki, again (when in Hiroshima…). This time from a restaurant with more vegan options, including fake egg and vegan cheese.

Day 14 – Shiminami Kaido 🚵 🍊

Today was the start of our big bike ride along Japan’s Shiminami Kaido, one of the most anticipated parts of our trip. There were a few bumps along the way, but we made it to our hotel in Saido by 3 pm after riding for 30 km.

We got up early this morning but not everyone was feeling chipper. We ate our breakfast on the go as we took a high speed train to Onomichi. It was the first time we’ve seen a delay on the Shinkansen, a whopping 5 minutes late.

Astrid wasn’t in a great mood and complained about her bike and helmet. I do think her bike was a little small for her, but with the seat raised it was fine. She tried on every helmet before she finally agreed to wear one.

After thirty minutes of whining and only 4 km of biking, we pulled over at a fruit stand. The islands here are known for their lemons and oranges. I couldn’t really tell any of the fruit apart, but the lady gestured to a bag of small yellow and green fruit and we bought it for 300 yen hoping it wasn’t all lemons. I’m sure there would have been an apt proverb if it was, but they turned out to be the most delicious mandarin oranges.

With some oranges and chocolate for fuel, and a buff under her helmet to make it more comfortable, Astrid’s spirits slowly improved. We also did some bike dancing while listening to Taylor Swift, but only while we were alone – the Japanese frown upon loud noises in public.

The Shiminami Kaido is a very popular bike route and very well marked, but we honestly expected more infrastructure. Most of the time you’re riding along with cars, or optionally on the wide multi-use sidewalk (where we tended to be given our speed). The majority of the bike infrastructure they do have is for the bridge crossings. We did two of them today but there are 7 in total along the full route.

The ramps up to the bridges are bike (and sometimes motorcycle) only, with a very comfortable 3% grade. The bike lane on the first bridge was below the vehicle deck, which was pretty cool.

It was zooming down the long off ramp after the first bridge that Astrid got her mojo back and started enjoying the ride. There was still the odd complaint and frequent need for water breaks (it was 28 C out) but she ended the ride happy and proud of what she accomplished.

Random tidbits:

• There is a lot to see in Setoda, where we’re spending the night before doing some more bike riding tomorrow and then catching a ferry back.
• We hiked up to a nearby temple. We got lost and ended up along a barely used path full of spider webs and giant spiders. The pagoda at the top was cool and there were great views but the mosquitoes were horrible. Astrid thought it was hilarious that I complained the whole way down about giant spiders attacking me as every web caught in my face.
• Our hotel is cute but very hostel-like with bunk beds and shared washrooms. I keep bonking my head on the door frames. And they make you put sheets on the beds yourself but the fitted sheet doesn’t seem to fit the mattress. (Maybe Astrid isn’t the only grumpy one midway through our trip.)
• After carrying around a cribbage board for 2 weeks we finally got to play some tonight. Most nights we barely have time for journal writing before we fall asleep, but tonight we had a little bit more free time. We are only half way through the game but Astrid is currently winning.

Day 15 – Shiminami Kaido 🚴‍♀️ 🍋

Today we did some more biking along the Shiminami Kaido. Astrid was a bundle of energy today and in good spirits. What a difference 24 hours makes.

Today we biked over the 3rd bridge (just past the midpoint at km 39) before turning back. This gave us a chance to explore more of the Shimanami Kaido, but we returned to Setoda because that is the farthest ferry route from Onomichi.

The route took us past vast lemon and orange orchards interspersed with solar panel arrays.

After it rained last night, it was definitely cooler today, which was actually nice for biking. Not that the cooler weather stopped us from consuming more fresh lemonade.

We also got to explore more in Setoda. We had a snack at Sunset Beach, which looks like an awesome summer destination with a big sandy beach, paddleboard rentals, and shade cabanas.

We also spent an hour at the Kousanji Temple, which is another very unique Buddhist temple. This one features a vast marble sculpture garden, a cave of 1000 Buddhas, the Path to Hell depicted in paintings of demons eating decapitated humans, and more traditional buildings like pagodas.

We met up with our Vancouver friends again after they did a day trip along the Shiminami Kaido and we enjoyed their company on the ferry and train rides back to Osaka. Osaka is the 2nd last stop in our adventure.

Day 16 – Osaka 🦈 👘

We’re back into big city life. Today we spent the day exploring Osaka, which was bustling with crowds even on a Monday.

Osaka is known for its restaurant scene and I’m happy to report that it applies to its vegan restaurants too. Today we are at an overpriced gluten-free bread cafe with ¥1000 avocado toast, a cheap and healthy all-you-can-eat vegan buffet (also ¥1000), and a very eclectic takoyaki restaurant with punk rock vibes.

The big attraction of the day was the Osaka Aquarium. Vancouver has a world class aquarium, but this was something else. The Vancouver Aquarium does an amazing job with education and rehabilitation of injured animals, but Osaka did a better job wowing us.

The giant Pacific tank had whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, and giant rays – all viewable from different angles as you spiraled your way down multiple stories around the tank. And then there were other large tanks with otters, seals, octopus, penguins, and dolphins – all of them impressive and viewable from different levels.

Our hotel in Osaka is very fancy and keeps trying to keep us around with all of the free activities and perks. They have free drinks, ramen, massage chairs in the lobby, pajamas (including kids sizes), and today the daily activity was trying on kimonos.

Random notes:

• We found a store that sold nothing but fake food, much to Emily’s delight.
• At our dinner restaurant, there were instructions in the women’s washroom on how to make a wish. “Write it on a ball and toss it in the well.” We made a wish to protect the octopus. The well turned out to be an old bathtub with a blow up doll.
• We lost ¥600 yen playing unwinnable crane games.

Day 17 – Nara 🦌✒️

Today was the day trip that almost didn’t happen. We had planned on going to Nara but almost bailed after we heard it was overcrowded and overrated. We weren’t keen on a repeat of the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. But we didn’t have much planned in Osaka, so we decided to try and go early to beat the crowds. It ended up being a fun day and I’m glad we went.

We weren’t that early, arriving at 9:30 just as a bunch of big tour buses were unloading tourists and school kids. Luckily the area is large and it never felt that congested.

The deer were everywhere (apparently 1200 live in the park) and amusing to interact with. You can buy packs of special deer crackers for ¥200. Most of the deer have learned to bow before receiving their food. We broke our crackers into small pieces and it lasted us the whole day. But we definitely saw flustered tourists throw whole packs on the ground when a deer headbutted or nipped at them.

When we were down to our last cracker, I wanted to get a good video of me feeding it to a bowing deer. So I walked a few steps away to give us some space. But before I could turn around to face the deer it had stolen the map out of my back pocket – the only instance of pick-pocketing in Japan. It wouldn’t give it back. I tried trading for a cracker but the deer just happily munched away and wouldn’t let me get close enough to grab it. Astrid thought it was hilarious – her highlight of the day.

My highlight for the day was a calligraphy store that we wandered into. There was a calligraphy expert who wrote Astrid’s name out in Japanese letters and explained what all the symbols meant. He even let Astrid try her hand at writing the symbol for “spring”.

In the evening we checked out another Pokemon Center and spent too much money on souvenirs.

Random tidbit of the day:

• I was trying to follow the Jays game but the internet wasn’t great in Nara. I checked periodically but missed most of the excitement. I was able to follow the final 3 outs while we waited for our lunch to arrive. There was much high-fiving and a “Go Blue Jays” shouted to some Canadians spotted wearing Jays hats.

Day 18 – Osaka & Tokyo 🥢 🏨

It was our first rainy day today, although it only drizzled off and on and we barely needed the umbrella. We spent the morning exploring some of Osaka’s more eclectic neighborhoods, many of which had covered outdoor shopping malls.

One of the shopping streets specialized in kitchenware and had everything imaginable. We weren’t shopping for a deep fryer, but we did pick up some nice chopsticks for gifts.

We also stumbled upon the Shinsekai area which was full of restaurants, amusement park-style shooting galleries, and dozens of quirky statues (hello Billiken). It wasn’t on our radar, but should have been. The neighborhood was amazing.

We also found the Tsutenkaku Tower, which offered some of the best value entertainment in Japan. For ¥500 Astrid got to ride down a giant 4-storey slide, and they gave here a free package of Pretz and a slick video with no upsell.

Another blistering fast Shinkansen got us back in Tokyo in 2.5 hours. There is no such thing as a travel day here because you can get anywhere in a few hours.

At our hotel in Tokyo, we were upgraded to a Premium Suite, with way more space than we’ve had in any hotel. It has in-suite laundry, a full kitchen with an induction stove and toaster oven, and a separate room for Astrid with tatami mats and futons. The only problem was the small standard room we planned on staying in had a fold out bunk bed that Astrid was excited about, and this one didn’t. We were overdue for dinner and Astrid burst into tears when she realized she didn’t have a loft bed.

There was no convincing her that this was an upgrade. So we went to the front desk and explained the situation in the simplest English we could. After a few confused minutes and some typing on the computer, the nice lady said she could downgrade us for the next 2 nights. This made Astrid happy but now I was grumpy. I really hoped she would like our new room.

Then after dinner, the hotel manager was there and informed us in better English that the standard room wasn’t actually available. Bummer, right? But she wanted Astrid to be happy, so she was upgrading us to their most premium room which was even bigger and had a bunk bed. Wow!

Random tidbits:

• Astrid ran another errand for us this morning, buying breakfast from the local 7-11. I really love the independence that Japanese life gives kids. It’s so safe here.

Day 19 – Hakone 🗻🚡

Back on day 4, we passed on a chance to day trip to Hakone because the forecast called for clouds and rain. It turned out to be a beautiful day and I worried we would regret that decision.

Today was our alternate Hakone day and we were at the mercy of the weather. We must have made an offering at the right shrine because we totally lucked out. Yesterday was cold and rainy but today was crisp and clear.

We knew it was going to be a stretch to squeeze Hakone into a day trip and we put a lot of planning and research into figuring out the optimal route and how much time we had for each leg of our journey. Sometimes that level of planning gets discarded immediately when the first roadblock is hit, but today it all worked out perfectly. Go spreadsheet planning!

We got our first glimpse of Mount Fuji on the train ride and it only got better as we did our multimodal circuit around Hakone. Our day involved a subway, train, bus, hike, pirate ship, gondola, funicular, and tram. It was awesome.

We did an unconventional loop around Hakone, which allowed us to squeeze everything in and avoid the worst of the crowds, most of whom go the opposite way from what we did. Our first stop after Hakone Yumoto was a bus ride to the Amazake Tea House, where we enjoyed traditional amazake (a fermented rice drink), oden 🍢, and mochi – all vegan.

Then we did a 40 minute hike along the Old Tokaido Road, the main highway that used to connect Kyoto and Tokyo 400 years ago. It was peaceful and reminded me of an easy BC hike, but with more bamboo in the forest.

We then took the pirate ship and ropeway to the volcanic summit, with its pungent smells and cool smoke billowing. This also had the best views of Mount Fuji.

From there it was an additional funicular and tram to get to the awesome Hakone Open-Air Museum. Our friend Rhea recommended this and it didn’t disappoint. We only had 2 hours to explore before it closed, but we could easily have spent 3 or 4. So many cool interactive exhibits here, like the Woods of Net (a giant play structure for kids only that Astrid loved), Symphonic Sculpture (a stain glass tower you could climb), and Forest Footbath (where you could soak your feet in hot springs water).

Random tidbits:

• We didn’t realize how lucky we were with Fuji weather. The first snowfall arrived 21 days later than usual this year, and we were there the first morning it was visible.
• The chairs on most trains can spin around, which happens automatically whenever the trains change directions. But you can also do it manually to create a group of 4 seats facing each other – handy for bigger groups but with less leg room. On the way to Hakone, a kind Japanese lady sat beside me and asked if we could spin our seat because she had 2 friends joining us on the train. I didn’t mind, but she thought it was a great kindness from me. And when her friends joined us a few stops later, they had local desserts as gifts to thank us.

Day 20 – Tokyo 🐈 📽️

Our last full day in Japan has finally come. 😢 We still have a long list of places we wanted to explore and a dwindling number of hours left in the country.

We spent the morning checking out Akihabara, the nerd haven of Tokyo. We could have spent all day here, with its cool anime shops and cheap arcades, but we only had 2 hours. We spent a long time in arcade playing multiple rounds of high-tech dancing and drumming games, and it only cost ¥400 (about $4).

But we had to keep moving. We ate quick lunch at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant which had a more extensive vegetarian menu, although even then we found ourselves ordering multiple cucumber and rolls, inari, and lotus root tempura. Japan might be the birthplace of sushi, but nothing beats Vancouver for cheap and varied vegetarian options.

After lunch we headed out to the lesser known Kichijoji Honcho neighbourhood. We were there to visit the Studio Ghibli Museum but the area was super cute – full of quaint shopping streets and young families on bikes. Tokyo is huge and full of little gems that we never got to explore. While I wandered around, Emily and Astrid visited a cat cafe and got some quality time with a long haired Maine Coon. I hope Boo isn’t jealous.

Visiting the Studio Ghibli Museum was the capstone of our epic 3 week adventure in Japan. We were lucky to get tickets in the only online booking process more competitive than Vancouver swimming registration.

Honestly, we were a bit underwhelmed. Everything is very high quality, Astrid could have spent all day playing in the cat bus (kids only), the animation galleries were cool, and we really enjoyed watching the rare short they featured in the theatre. But that’s all there is. If it wasn’t for lineups, you could do it all in an hour. A cool museum, but clearly over-hyped.

Day 21 – Tokyo 😥 🛫

And just like that our 3 weeks in Japan is over. This morning we packed up our bags and took stock of all the souvenirs we bought. Even with a pretty good haul, we still were able to fly carry-on thanks to our minimalist packing from Vancouver, which left a fair bit of space in our bags.

We already had a pretty good haul of clothing, toys, and other sourvenirs, but we still had a few hours in the Narita Airport, which doubles as a giant mall, to buy more treats like matcha Kit Kats.

We loaded up with some final onigiris and bowls of vegan ramen before catching our flight back to Vancouver. I wish I would have counted every onigiri we ate. It was well over 100 and maybe even 200.

The only thing we had time for today was a quick visit the the Senso-Ji Shrine and one last goshuin stamp.

There was a bit of panic as we left Tokyo this morning. We stored our luggage in a locker at Asakusa Station, but when we went to back to fetch it and jump on a train to the airport, we couldn’t find the lockers we used. Turns out there is two Asakusa stations and we were at the wrong one, which we kind of knew but the entrances looked eerily similar. Luckily, we made it to the other one and down to the train platform with 5 minutes to spare, which sounds tight but was actually quite comfortable.

The prices at the Narita airport are similar to prices in town, so it was easy to load up on last souvenirs, eat lunch, and buy some extra food for the airplane ride to Vancouver. We were happy to find a T’s Tantan which has a fully vegan ramen menu!