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Rainy morning in Kyoto's bamboo forest.
Kyoto's Arashiyama District
Community baths are relaxing and an important part of Japanese culture. We enjoyed Fu Fu No Yu Onsen, alongside Kyoto's Kutsura River.
The Nintendo store in Kyoto.
There are thousands of torii gates at Kyoto's Fushimi Inari-taisha Shinto shrine.
Kyoto restaurants with riverside deck tatami seating, over the walking path and live music.
Kyoto's geisha district with traditional wooden buildings
Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design: It's a cool place. Explains the process behind many different techniques, scents, types of wood, pattern printing chemistry, etc.
Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design: It's a cool place. Explains the process behind many different techniques, scents, types of wood, pattern printing chemistry, etc.
Nanzen-ji Temple
Nanzen-ji Temple zen garden
Nanzen-ji Temple: The shisi-odoshi bamboo tube is meant to scare deer away when it makes a clunking sound.
Hideyoshi Toyotomi, from a poor farmer family, became a warlord who conquered the entire nation. He founded Osaka Castle.
The view from Osaka Castle.
With so many places to eat in Osaka, there is signage one-upmanship to compete for attention.
Osaka's Tsūtenkaku Tower was scrapped for steel during WWII, but was since rebuilt.
Osaka's Dotonbori is essentially Times Square but bigger and with a canal running through it.
Osaka's Dotonbori is essentially Times Square but bigger and with a canal running through it.
Kyoto's preserved wooden kyo-machiya from hundreds of years ago.
Kyoto's preserved wooden kyo-machiya from hundreds of years ago.
Cultural
J-pop's upcoming Exile tour took over every single ad spot on the subway.
Giant claw arcades are very common. They get busy in the evenings.
Most public transit was crowded most of the time, but it was reliable and went everywhere.
Gashapon, coin-operated capsule toy dispensers, are everywhere. Every convenience store, train station, or randomly on the street.
Bikes have a two-sided kickstand in the back, hand covers for cold and rain, and even eBikes sometimes are left unlocked.
This Ginza department store has local, express, and stroller/wheelchair elevators.
I'm not sure how to reach the pumps or see how much you're paying.
Television has a lot of quirky game shows. Most are related to food.
Most school kids have the exact same backpack, except for the color.
Karaoke is everywhere. Sometimes there are multiple 24-hour places on the same block.
It is smart to ask people to pour out liquids out before disposing of the cup. It is somewhat rude to bring open food or drink with you, and you won't find another trash container before you are back where you are staying.
Rent a USB charger and drop it off at any convenience store or station later.
There are 24-hour places to grab a shower, some food, and watch a movie.
There are capsule hotels, where you pay a small price for just a bed pod.
It was strange to see, what the US considers an invasive species, decorating the streetscape.
Touristy areas had manual rickshaws. It was extra awkward to see people pulling people around in a steady rain.
Many places have camera holders for selfies. This might be so you don't have to ask anyone to take the picture for you.
Bicycles often share the sidewalk. On some Kyoto streets, there was space. Other times, it was dangerous.
Restaurants often have smoking floors or even ventilated glass booths.
There are sooo many trains between cities. In fact, one every few minutes.
People line up for the specific subway car, that they would like to try squeezing themselves into.
We stayed near Shinjuku Station. It has more than 50 platforms and moves several million people per day.
The Shinkansen bullet trains are the best way to travel around the country.
Most train stations have barriers that only open when a train is at the station. This is partially an attempt to lower the suicide rate.
Clunky English translations were amusingly everywhere: "Because it is slippery Please note"
Food culture
Kyoto's Nishiki food market is a wonderland of deliciousness.
Kyoto's Nishiki food market is a wonderland of deliciousness.
Kyoto's Nishiki food market is a wonderland of deliciousness.
Kyoto's Nishiki food market is a wonderland of deliciousness.
Kyoto's Nishiki food market is a wonderland of deliciousness.
Kyoto's Nishiki food market is a wonderland of deliciousness.
Kyoto's Nishiki food market is a wonderland of deliciousness.
Kyoto's Nishiki food market is a wonderland of deliciousness.
At conveyor belt sushi restaurants, you navigate your tablet through a massive menu. Your order races down the belt and stops in front of your seat.
At conveyor belt sushi restaurants, you navigate your tablet through a massive menu. Your order races down the belt and stops in front of your seat.
At conveyor belt sushi restaurants, you navigate your tablet through a massive menu. Your order races down the belt and stops in front of your seat.
The best ramen we've had was on a Shinjuku walking tour, that stopped by an unassuming corner shop. They boil the bones under high pressure for a day and add no additional seasoning.
The best sushi we've had was from Seagen, in the Tsukiji fish market. It was bowl of chef's choice tuna that just dissolves in your mouth. We hadn't seen soy sauce in a spray bottle before.
Convenience stores have delicious food. We often picked up breakfast from FamilyMart the night before.
...mostly delicious food. We skipped the yakisoba spaghetti sandwich.
Many foods are meticulously over-packaged, like every wedge of this apple.
Crispy donuts with seasonal chestnut cream are exceptionally good.
Stumbled upon Zen, a Kyoto okinomiyaki restaurant with tableside preparation.
Drink vending machines are everywhere, but fresh squeezed orange juice is a rare find.
Pay for ramen at the vending machine, eat and then make room for others.
Many bars and ramen shops can only fit a handful of people at a time.
It is common to find ready-made bento boxes to eat on a regional train ride.
Traditional kaiseki dinner
We splurged for a traditional kaiseki dinner at an inn from the early 1800s. It was a seasonal ten-course
meal in a private tatami room.
Kyoto's Jōjakkōji Temple
Amongst the many shrines and temples, this one is a hidden gem. Wandering its lush pathways on a quiet, rainy
morning felt like being in a storybook. They eventually lead uphill to a panoramic view of Kyoto.
World Expo 2025 in Osaka
This was a months-long gathering where nations could promote their tourism and exports. Organizations
could share ideas about building sustainable societies of the future. A
substantial number of pavillions
were constructed, as well as a massive elevated ring with a walking path on top.
Overall, the event was a disappointment due to overcrowding. They sold so many tickets for a single day that
it was difficult to move around or see much of anything. The lines, to spend ten minutes in a country's
pavillion, were often multiple hours long. People were corralled in satellite waiting areas. They would then
rope off the crowded walkways, to let people cross from the satellite lines to the main lines.
The most popular pavillions could only be seen by entering a lottery weeks in advance and winning a timed
reservation. This is how we got to see the Future City
pavillion. Some of the inventions we hadn't heard of before and were interesting. There was a prototype of
using synthetic photosynthesis and formic acid to store solar energy as hydrogen for a home energy source.
The ALICE transportation system imagines that travellers get into a pod and are automatically
transferred from ship to train to truck, for various parts of a long journey.
Takayama Autumn Festival
Takayama is a small city of around 80,000 people, up in the Japanese Alps. Its preserved Old Town rivals
that of Kyoto. The Takayama Autumn Festival has been run for 400 years and brought out dozens of street
food vendors. Its floats include master sculptor works and elaborate decorations.
Bananas with lips!
Crab tempura sticks with wasabi and mayonnaise
Takayama's Hida Folk Village
Takayama's Hida Folk Village is an open-air museum with relocated traditional gassho-zukuri mountain
homes from the Edo Period, starting in the 1600s. The thick thatched roofs use no nails or metal, withstand
heavy snow, and insulate against wind. Indoor fires were lit everyday, and the rising smoke dried out
dampness in the thatch and discouraged pests.
Takayama Ouan Hotel
This was a fun hotel to stay at and was different from anywhere that we would find in the United States.
The train station is basically next door and Old Town is a short walk. The hotel flooring is mostly tatami
mats, so no footwear is allowed in the building. After you put your shoes in a locker, you can grab one
of the tea, coffee, and cocoa drinks, that they make freely available. The rooms themselves
are comically dated; the television even has RCA jacks on it. But, the rooms are clean, comfortable, and
quiet.
Relaxing in open-air, hot-spring onsen baths is a Japanese tradition. This hotel had its own on the
rooftop. It was open from early in the morning to late at night. Walking naked out onto the rooftop
of a 13-floor tower on a cold, breezy evening takes some determination. But it is worth it, once
you're in the hot bath, looking across the city and up at the stars, and listening to trains come and
go in the distance. The public baths were divided by gender, but you could also wait in line for
several private onsens for 2-6 people. The hotel provides free ice cream while you wait.
The hotel provides sleepwear to all guests. At 21:00 each evening, they serve free, made-to-order ramen
in the hotel restaurant. Most of the hotel's guests show up barefoot in their pajamas to enjoy ramen together
before settling in for the night. In the morning, that same restaurant charges for a buffet breakfast
that has a wide variety of both traditional and Western options.
Tokyo
For comparison, New York City has around 30,000 restaurants, is 300 square miles, and the metro area has
20 million people. Tokyo has three times as many restaurants, is almost 850 square miles, and the metro
area has more than 40 million people. Tokyo is considered the safest city in the world.
Many retail stores filled an entire tower, because there are that many shoppers. We visited an office
supply store that dedicated two of its floors to all kinds of pens, ranging from cheap office pens to
$3,500 ones.
A shoutout to Arigato Japan's Daniel, who led an amazing evening walking food tour.
He moved from California to Japan more than a decade ago. His perspective taught us so much, both about what
makes Tokyo great and its darker and criminal aspects, that are often hiding in plain sight. He was informed
about local politics that threaten the existence of unique, gritty districts like Golden Gai. We were offered
more great foods than we could finish, including the best Tonkotsu bone-broth ramen we've ever had.
You'll see raw egg in one of the photos. Japan uses spectroscopy to look inside eggs and then a machine
to clean and dry their shells. This means there is no risk of salmonella from dipping your food into the
yolk of a raw egg.
The Golden Gai district has around 200 tiny bars and restaurants crammed into narrow, dark, and crowded alleyways.
The famous Shibuya crossing wasn't that busy on a rainy morning. But, the Mario Kart tours were still out, frustrating drivers and locals.
A half million people might cross these choatic Shibuya intersections on the busiest days.
Think of this Don Quijote location as a nine-story Walmart.
Miyashita Park is a rooftop park, with a skate park, beach volleyball, a rock climbing wall, and food trucks.
On Daniel's food tour, at our first stop, for all kinds of yakitori.
There is a room in the Hotel Gracery where you can be eye-level with Godzilla as you wake in the morning.
Journalists conducting a hard-hitting interview on a closed street in the Tokyo's Akihabara anime distict.
Tokyo's Akihabara anime district had hobby, game, book, card, and figurine shops everywhere.
Cat lovers, nerds, and YouTubers alike gathered for the annual Kagurazaka cat festival.
Cat lovers, nerds, and YouTubers alike gathered for the annual Kagurazaka cat festival.
Cat lovers, nerds, and YouTubers alike gathered for the annual Kagurazaka cat festival.
Cat lovers, nerds, and YouTubers alike gathered for the annual Kagurazaka cat festival.
Ueno Park is beautiful and expansive. It houses a zoo and multiple museums. We stumbled upon a festival along with several bands and street performers. Its dedicated outdoor smoking space is amusing.
The Ginza luxury shopping district
Shopping near the Sensō-ji Buddhist temple, the most visited religious site in the world.
Shopping near the Sensō-ji Buddhist temple, the most visited religious site in the world.
The Sensō-ji Buddhist temple is the most visited religious site in the world.
At the Sensō-ji Buddhist temple, you can pay for a fortune. If you like it, great. If you don't, just tie it up outside and it's no longer your fortune.
The Sensō-ji Buddhist temple is the most visited religious site in the world.
The Sensō-ji Buddhist temple is the most visited religious site in the world.
The Tokyo Metro Government Building provides a spacious observation deck at no charge.
From its observation deck, the city continues farther than the eye can see.
On the observation deck, people line up to play the piano for a few minutes. There is a bin for your stuff, a floor stand for your phone, and a lady keeping time on a stopwatch.
Hama-rikyū Gardens, with its seawater tidal pond, is a beautiful oasis in the middle of the city.
Hama-rikyū Gardens, with its seawater tidal pond, is a beautiful oasis in the middle of the city.
teamLabs has an immersive art exhibit that uses projectors, mirrors, sound, and smells. Several of the installations react to your touch and follow you from room to room.
Each hanging orb in this teamLabs room contained a spinning array of LEDs, that were synchronized with the others.
teamLabs let you color an animal on paper and scan it in to the exhibit. We passed by our Jersey turtle several times before he went out to sea.
The Tokyo metro system is huge. It is too bad that it shuts down at midnight.
It was so nostalgic to see a Tower Records. The people outside are lined up before opening time.
Tower Records had a vast amount of curated merch.
Tower Records had cassettes, a cafe, whole sections for VTubers and video game music. You name it.
At Tower Records, members of J-pop's Number_i autographed the wall. The line, that stretches out into the stairway, is to take a selfie next to the autographed wall.
