[2023 JAPAN SPRING – Nara Day 07, 08, 09]

We left our beautiful and serene temple at Koyasan to make our way down to Nara for our last leg of the trip. We had our last temple breakfast and took a train from Koyasan back to Osaka for our train connections to Nara.

We had no expectations of Nara at all, except hearing about the Nara deers from countless youtube videos and trip adviser pages. I was looking forward to the hotel that we booked with nice rooms and very nice breakfasts! Plus they had a very nice terrace that looked out right into the deer parks and always had a group of deers contentedly chomping away.

Nara as a city was surprisingly really walkable and very interesting! There was a very hip and happening craft and arts scene, coupled with the sort of historical architecture one would encounter in Kyoto. It was like “kyoto-lite’, without the formality and hoity toity-ness and ‘theme-like’ nature of Kyoto.

The breakfasts were as stated on the hotel website, we chose a japanese set for our 1st breakfast and the western set for our next day. We visited the Nara Craft Museum, the old Edo-period streets of Naramachi, of course the Deer Park – where I was foolishly too complacent with the deer biscuits and was promptly “attacked” by ravenous deers.

We also had the most amazing soba at a very traditional soba restaurant in Naramichi. Unfortunately I did not take down the name of it, but it was in the most idyllic old townhouse. The only ‘problem’ is that most of these traditional shophouses – whilst picturesque’ – almost always had tatami seating. Which presents a problem of a different kind!

One of Japan’s oldest temple complex – Horyuji Temple – was within the Nara Prefecture, about a 20min train ride away. When we were there, there was a rare opening up of one of the restoration projects. Luckily for us (and the immediacy of online bookings) we were able to join that tour – conducted in Japanese but with a translator – that took us up and down a 7th century building.

Whilst in Nara, we also chanced upon a few night market events which were really lively and very local.

Another unforgettable experience was also attending the NOH theatre on the temple grounds, something which we stumbled upon, after the night market visits.

All too soon it was time to leave Nara, journey back to Osaka and onwards to SG.

Bye Bye Japan – hopefully we get to make another trip next year to catch the cherry blossoms with G – who is planning a grad trip with her friends.

[2023: JAPAN SPRING – Osaka Day 02, 03, 04]

We planned to spend a leisurely weekend in Osaka for the 1st leg of the trip before heading into the Mountains for our hikes and temple stay.

As always, starting off the day right with really good (and inexpensive) breakfasts, after which we mostly walked to our destinations for the day. The weather in the days that we were in the city was in the very comfortable mid-teens, thankfully we managed to avoid the worst of the sudden heat wave that drove the temperatured into the high 20s in the 1st week of May.

Day 02 was our 1st full day in Osaka, we walked from our hotel in Shinsaibashi to the very bohemian and interesting district of Nakazaki-cho. It was full of the type of shops that always defined Japan to me – the clusters of Zakka-type interior shops, the interesting fabric shops, next to cool dessert cafes and an eclectic mix of other types of cafes and retail. The streets were very walkable, although it was a much larger scale than what I remembered, but there were enough unusual streetscapes to keep the journey out of the mundane.

We went to both “Taiyonoto” and “Kaya Cafe” as written up here in this blog. The vibe of this little cluster of shops reminded me of the time spent in Shimo – Kitazawa in Tokyo so many years ago.

We ended our 1st day at a dinner place near out hotel in the basement of Parco – where the whole basement turned into this bohemian drinking place – with all sorts of offerings for the alcohol inclined- food was merely there to complement the alcohol! It was really happening and heaving in an otherwise quiet mall.

Day 03 was again another walkable day – although we also bought the weekend tube pass, we ended up mostly walking around the areas we decided to explore.

We revisited the architectural masterpiece of Namba Parks – a mall that pioneered the outdoor / indoor garden shopping experience way back in the 1990s, where it was unheard of! It was also conveniently connected to the train station where we will be taking the trains to Koyasan, so we went in there to pre-book our reserved seats. There’s actually a 2-day pass that included the return journey, but we were not able to book that as we decided to spend 2 nights in Koyasan.

Day 03 was a relatively wet day, but one of the truly joyful things about this trip was to just aimlessly walk around the whole day, without much time pressures to do too many things in a day. We stumbled into this cafe pretty much enroute into one of our meanderings.

Our last day in Osaka was a very fine day – so we headed back to some of the shops and areas we enjoyed the last few days. To purchase stuff for the girls (at Yodobashi – the largest electronic shopping centre) we bought a nifty photo printer that looks so much fun! & I spent way too much on unessentials like MT tape and drooled over really cool camping gear here.

Of course we also looked at architecture throughout – besides the wellknown pieces in Osaka, also the lesser know but equally expressive ones enroute to our destinations. Lunch at Knots Marketplace – a converted print shop into a cool cafe and bakery was absolutely amazing.

On our last night in Osaka, we also booked on a whim the entry into TeamLab Botanical Gardens art immersion experience. We had totally no expectations at all and was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable it was! Also fully recommend the cafe at the start of the park for a really yummy dinner!

[2023: JAPAN SPRING – OSAKA Day 01]

Our first trip back to Japan after Covid, this trip was an on the spur purchase even before the borders were open for Japan travels due to the epidemic. Luckily, I also had the foresight to purchase the flexi option for scoot, which meant that the flights were also able to be changed without any extra costs (only to top up the fare difference if there were any). As soon as travels started to open up, the cost of flights also increased astronomically. So much so that there were very little ‘affordable’ options for the year end travels!

Being back in Japan after so many years away was interesting. In the years that we’ve not been back, we have continued our Japanese lessons, so that for this trip, I felt that we can finally understand (up to a certain level), conversations that were taking place around us.

The last time we visited Osaka was many years ago – from the blog- it was way back in 2016!! I didn’t quite remember what it was like as a city, just that there was a lot of walking with the girls! For this trip, as it was just the 2 of us, we stayed in the heart of Dotonburi. V booked a fantastic hotel – The Flag, Shinsaibashi – that was absolutely central and so convenient.

Day 01 itinerary:

1. Arrive Osaka – take the reserve seats train from Kansai to Namba Station. You can just buy the tickets at the station or book beforehand online.
2. We opted to walk around the Shinsaibashi area, which as you can see from the photos – really felt like it was pre-covid days! Super crowded, lively atmosphere and really pretty!
3. Early dinner at Chiyomatsu – the chef is really an ex-sumo wrestler! Even though it was rather early – just past 5pm – there was already a line forming and patrons were already eating!
4. After dinner we just walked around Dotonburi and the lovely atmostpheric alleys of Hozenji Yokosho in Shinsaibashi.

[2018: JAPAN WINTER – NABEKURA MORI NO IE

Our last stop on this “many stops” trip has got to be one of the best things we did. From the Iiyama train station, we were picked up by the shuttle bus, to the cutest little huts for an indulgent 4 days of Forest Bathing.

One of the most memorable 4 days of our trip, we were only 1 of 2 families that were staying in the hut – probably because the snow has not fallen yet. The quaint little cottage was self-catering, we bought most of our food from the hypermart at Iiyama station.

On one of the days, we hired a guide that took us through the forests and ended up in an ancient wooden hut to make traditional bread buns. It was the most interesting experience – seeing the forest through the eyes of the guide – and then to make the buns over a charcoal hearth. This was all done in the most leisurely fashion, as there was no need to rush for any buses or trains. On the walk, we met an Obasan that was pushing 90 years old and still farms her own vegetables and lives on her own!

We also made a day trip out to the nearby village for outdoor onsen and the most refreshing shaved ice!

Finally on the last night that we were there, it started to snow! What a difference the blanket of white made to the place. The girls were of course elated and we spent a wonderful morning in the crisp and quiet countryside taking a gazillion photos!

Where we stayed : Mori No Ie – which translates to Houses in the Forest. It is self catering and the staff will send you to the nearby grocery stores to get your food but we recommend getting all the food from the nearest train station Iiyama before getting picked up by the hotel transport van.

What we did : There’s more than enough activities to do on your own if you like the quiet countryside – there is a handdrawn map that is very easy to follow for your own forest bathing, but we recommend hiring a guide and ending it with one of the activities on the website – we did “Making Oyaki”. It just makes it all the more enriching!

For this trip, I felt that the opening 3 days and the closing 3 days really made the trip a very wholesome one. We took the train back to Tokyo, then went directly to the airport where we picked up our luggages that had been “Takyubinned” there from our Tokyo hotel! So convenient and so Japanese! Until the next time…. 🙂

[2018: JAPAN WINTER- NOZAWA ONSEN_KARUIZAWA

Nozawa Onsen

We head north to Nozawa Onsen, where we hoped to catch some snow even though it was only in the 1st week of December. Unfortunately, this year Winter was late and we only had snow on the very last night.

Nevertheless, it was a really nice trip north from Tokyo. The little onsens and the beautiful temple scenery almost (but not quite) made up for the lack of snow. Whilst we were there, we also checked out the nearby town of Iiyama, where we chanced upon the concert hall by one of Japan’s most famed Architect.

It was a very relaxing break being at Nozawa Onsen – we spent a lot of time just walking around nature and taking lots of photos.

Karuizawa

To alleviate the boredom of “no snow” days, we also took a day out to Karuizawa. Of the reality drama series “Terrace House” fame, the area is known for outlet shopping and ice skating! We had a lot of fun there although for some reason I can’t find the photos! Found them!

[2018: JAPAN WINTER -TOKYO_APPLE & STRAWBERRY FARM_NIIGATA]

Strawberry and Apple Farm

We took a very ambitious day trip out – first to the Apple & Strawberry farms and then the afternoon and evening all the way to Niigata on the Genbi Shinkansen – the only Shinkansen with 12 moving art galleries on board!

Apple & Strawberry Farm was a really memorable trip out – it was an adventure indeed as we relied on train and the local bus to get to it – I wouldn’t really recommend it as it took us almost 2 hours to get there! But the fun the girls had was pretty priceless.

Genbi Shinkansen was a really good experience – beware when you’re planning as they only run on limited days – we had to replan our schedule to suit the timing of the Genbi Trains. The best thing was that the whole trip was covered under the JR East Pass – so we really fully utilised the pass on this trip!

When you get to Niigata station, be sure to check out the Ponshukan (there’s only 2 on the JR East line – Niigata and Echigo Yuzawa) they have the most amazing Sake stocked there and also G’s favorite extra large onigiri! Plus lots of interesting local food to stock up on. 🙂

[2018: JAPAN WINTER – TOKYO_DISNEYSEA]

After our first 3 days in Hakone, we based ourselves back in Tokyo, staying in a “new to us” district of Kiyosumi, along the Sumida Riverbank. It was a very nice hotel, with one of the most luxurious sized rooms (with ensuite long bath!). Lots of interesting coffeeshops around as well – perfect for that morning cuppa while the girls sleep-in! Now that the girls are older (and keep late nights and late mornings) we get to do our morning walks out to explore the little interesting parts of town. I think we probably visited all the good coffeeshops around whilst the girls slept in.

Probably the most funfilled day soaking up all the good Disney vibes at Disney Sea! The girls (& a reluctant us) thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! I think it was so cute that they insisted on getting matchy matchy headbands to accessorise so that the photos turn out “disneyfied”! 🙂

Where we stayed in Tokyo : The Lyuro Share Hotels – this was a really wonderful find – the location is perhaps a little bit out of the usual Shinjuku, Asakusa beat, but the neighbourhood is really interesting and very very local. One of the major pluses was that there was a beautiful bath that overlook the Sumida River – not one of those typical plastic spaceage hotel bathrooms at all! We stayed in the Standard 4 River View room and for a family of 4, it is a really spacious (by Tokyo standards) and super affordable room. We’re now so impressed that I will check out their sister hotels in the other towns when we next go to Japan.

What we did in Tokyo :

Harajuku haunts of Cat street, Kiddyland, Tokyu Hands & Omohara are a must. Especially now that the girls are so into shopping and “kawaii” stuff. We also did a decent shopping session at Ginza this trip. Had a lot of burgers this trip. Visited Disneysea – i think the last Disney they did was a long time ago and probably faint in their memory. Disneysea was very enjoyable – it would have been nice to stay for the fireworks but I think they ended up being too tired out! Totally recommend the IPPUDO at the Disneyland station – no queue and such comfort food after a whole day out!

Dragged the girls to a Vintage Flea Market (they didn’t really enjoy it – so if you do this with your kids – recommend parking them at the Shake Shack!) 😛 Some random photos of the things that are seldom captured in posed photos but make up so many memories of being on trips with the girls.

[2018: JAPAN WINTER – HAKONE]

The last time we were in Japan as a family was 2 years ago in 2016. The girls miss the travels and we too missed traveling with them. This time around, we decided to schedule the trip earlier in the year, from the end of November to the 1st week of December. Hopefully we will get to see 2 seasons that way – Fall in the city and Winter in the countryside (alas! it was not to be as this year’s Winter came really really late!)

Our schedule was quite ambitious this time around, as the girls are older and would probably be able to take more traveling in their stride. The itinerary will be as follows : Hakone, Tokyo, Niigata, Fruit Farm, Nozawa Onsen, Nabekura Kogen. All this in 12 days!! Probably our most ambitious travels so far!

We flew Delta again, we made a short detour at the airport to deposit our luggages with the forwarder, so that we only have 1 bag to take with us to Hakone (we love the convenience of the local forwarders – highly recommended if you have many destinations like we did). Then it was to change our JR East pass and we’re off to Hakone!

We stayed in a wonderful converted Ryokan. The view from the window of our room were the quiet countryside and clear mountain air. Hakone was pretty much free and easy – we didn’t really plan many venues, just used the Freepass, which brought us around the area.

Some of our highlights – Gora Park, Volcanic Fumes, Hakone Open Air Museum.

The girls are becoming even more shutter crazy than us, this is probably the trip where they joinly asked for more photos of themselves than all the other previous trips! I didn’t even have to cajole them to pose – they were the ones picking out the backgrounds 🙂

Hakone was an amazing prelude to the Tokyo leg of the trip, it was quiet yet picturesque. The perfect little stopover for some very aesthetic and leisurely few days!

Useful Links:

Where we stayed in Hakone : Irori Tenmaku Hakone Guest House (I will also want to stay in their sister guest house – Hakone TENT that has an Onsen!)

What we used: Hakone Free Pass – We had to purchase the 3 day pass as we arrived in the late afternoon – it’s not as worth it IMHO – plan to arrive on the redeye and you can just do a 2 day pass.

Most memorable experience: This has to be a toss up between spending the whole morning at the Hakone Open Air museum, and the BBQ fish campfire dinner at the hotel around the hearth (If you do that – we recommend getting extra food from the grocery stores as the fish cooked is not substatial at all :P)

[2016: DEC – TOKYO|NIIGATA – Part 2]

Day 04: Echigo Yuzawa

As with all our trips to Japan, there has to be SNOW… wondrous snow!! This time around, we head up North into the famed “Snow Country”. The hotel we checked into was very luxurious, probably our most luxurious (read: expensive) bookings ever! But worth every penny as the room was spacious, the meals were of the highest quality, and the location (just opposite the train station) was perfect!

After checking in and putting on the correct gear, we head out to catch the train to the nearest Snow Park – Gala Yuzawa.

As a snow resort, it was quite a let down as it was super crowded with tourists – perhaps as it was the nearest snow resort to Tokyo (it’s only a 1hr bullet train ride away). We had a bit of fun sledding though as the girls didn’t want to try skiing this trip. The snow was still magical, and there’s something really calming about being all the way up in the mountains, with only white all around.

After a whole afternoon on the slopes, we headed back to “our” train station for dinner, which was the most enormous onigiri we’ve ever eaten! It was really yummy and we went back to the hotel for the obligatory onsen and chill out.

Day 05: Echigo Yuzawa & Surrounds

We woke up to a really lovely breakfast with steaming rice and grilled seafood. This day was spent leisurely walking around the sleepy town of Echigo Yuzawa, where we played with the heaps of snow that were all around.

There was a lot of Soba eating (for them), Sake drinking (for me), and Snow fights (for all of us).

Day 06: Yudanaka Shibu Onsen, Snow Monkey Park (Jigokudani)

After another gourmet breakfast, we checked out of our lovely lovely Ryokan and headed on the bullet train for our last stop in snow country. Although it wasn’t the typical snowscape for the Monkey Park, we had a nice walk into the forest amongst lovely pine trees. The girls in particular were so cute during this walk – encouraging each other (K to G), and amusing each other (G to K). They were the perfect walking companions and I hope they continue to cherish the time they spend together.

For the last few nights, we stayed at the little known small village of Shibu Onsen, whose claim to fame is it’s inspiration for the Ghibli Studio’s “Spirited Away”, and a nostalgic traditional spa / onsen experience, where we can walk about in Yukatas & experience the  9 different bath houses. (It’s all public and very very basic, so do not attempt if you’re squeamish about nudity and being super clean!) The girls didn’t quite like it as most of the onsens were way too hot (they are 100% spring water and get burning hot!), but we had quite a bit of fun in our Yukatas and wooden clogs walking down the streets.

Although the accommodations were a bit of a let down after being spoiled at Echigo Yuzawa, the breakfast was equally good, served in a quaint old school hall. We spent the morning walking around the little town before catching a bus to the Shiga Kogen Mountains.

The Shiga Kogen ski areas area amongst the best in Japan (as I’ve been told by friends who are avid skiers!) However, on the day we visited, the whole area was very empty and desolate! It also started blizzarding when we were there, which did not help! It definitely was a melancholic sort of place, I can imagine holing up by the fire in the warm country houses and just having a coffee and contemplating life! With the girls however, this is not an option! haha. So, we built snowmen, stomped about it the snow, admired all the falling snow flakes, chilled ourselves to the bone, before discovering a nice little hotel lobby where we have warm cocoa before catching the bus back to our hotel in Shibu Onsen.

It started to snow very heavily on the day that we left. Till the next visit – Snow Country!

As always, the memories of our many trips to Japan remain vivid and precious. We are actually in Japan now (just the 2 of us) as this post gets published! Remember the Hike between Kyoto and Tokyo I mentioned sometime ago HERE? Well we finally managed to get round to booking it! 🙂 Will blog about it as soon as I get back!!

Below some helpful links to the places we visited this trip, and also our accommodations and transport arrangements.

Activities:

Gala Yuzawa (skiing & snow)

Echigo Yuzawa station Sake Museum

Things to do in Snow Country

Snow Monkeys

Shibu Onsen & Surrounds

Shiga Kogen Ski 

Hotels:

Hotel Graphy, Tokyo

Echigo Yukawa Hatago Isen

Hatsunoyu Hotel Shibu Onsen

Transport:

JR EAST PASS

[2016: Dec -TOKYO|NIIGATA – Part 1]

As we embark on our annual Japan trip, I realised I’ve not recorded our most recent trip with the girls to Tokyo / Niigata! It’s already almost 2 years, so I should do it before I forget all about where we went!

Day 01 & 02: Ueno & Kichijoji (Ghibli Museum)

We stayed HERE again. The last trip that we came on our own, we booked this modern hotel, which we really liked and can’t wait to bring the girls to stay. As expected, the girls found the place to be utterly charming, the breakfasts were super wholesome and the nice lounge and a very well equipped kitchen proved indispensable throughout the trip! The only gripe had to be the 10minutes walk daily from the hotel to the train station, although it was very nice to do so in the cold weather and the girls did not really complain (that much!)

We arrived after a red-eye, so the first night was really just getting settled and shopping around the Ueno district. We woke up bright and early on our first Day 01, where we finally visited the Ghibli Museum. I remember the very first Ghibli animation the girls watched was Totoro, way back when G was a tiny tot of about 3 or 4. They have both probably watched most of the Ghibli productions since then. The rest of the day was spent wandering about nearby Kichijiochi, an up and coming suburb of Tokyo, where K was delighted to find a hidden away Kiddyland, it’s a little bit obscure through a bookstore on the 6th floor! We shopped for the rest of the afternoon there and had dinner at a really hippie Hammock Cafe.

Day 03: UN Farmer’s Market, Aoyama, Daikanyama

The next morning, we had breakfast at a quaint coffee shop round the corner of our hotel. Called Kissaten, these really old school coffeeshops nonetheless have really cute western breakfasts like pancakes and sandwiches on offer. The girls devoured everything that was served….

As it was a Saturday, we brought the girls to the UN Farmers market, where there will be pop up events every Saturday & Sunday. Whilst there, the girls had a lot of fun making Christmas cookies for Popo and Kongkong back home, while we sipped our mulled wine and perused the many interesting pop up kiosks of food and craft. We had also the most amazing grilled meat and stewed daikon.

Some other places we visited as they were all within walking distance:

Found Muji

Commune 246

Day 03: Mount Takao Hike

We brought the girls to Mount Takao (the train station is designed by Kengo Kuma), where the hike was a pleasant one – all the way to the top where the girls made their wishes for the year ahead (G wished for a smooth PSLE and she did get her wish!). At the foot of the mountain, we stumbled upon a very nice traditional Soba cafe. This trip, both girls kept wanting to have Soba for their meals, so there were MANY soba meals. 🙂

Day 04: Harajuku, Shinjuku, Cat Street, Akihabara, Nakano Broadway

This day was dedicated to Craft & Toys shopping. I love how the girls are getting so good at shopping in Japan. Especially K, who prior to the trip, did a recce online with V, so she would know exactly where to purchase her “re-ment” toys. We also visited Akihabara, the electronic district which we have not really been back to for the past 10 years or so! The hunt for the Re-ment toys were eventful to say the least, many of them through little corridors and obscure hallways. K was super pleased to see how her online research paid off, as she scored many toys at discounted prices! Of course, we had to indulge in craft shopping at our favourite Tokyu Hands, which is just 7 storeys of crafty goodness.

The above ends the PART ONE of our annual trip. This year we are stepping into Snow Country, named after the famous novel by Kawabata. Read on in PART TWO.