Japan 2025 - Part 1

OUR ADDICTION TO EGG SANDWICHES

We made it to Japan and are winding down from our first week of adventures! It’s been a whirlwind of a week, but we’re excited to share our favorite experiences and memories.

DAY 1 - From LA to OSAKA

We landed in Osaka the evening of Saturday August 3. Fatigued from our overseas trek, we went to bed almost immediately upon arrival at our hotel at 10:00 PM. Though the flight was very long, we enjoyed the food and hospitality provided by Japan Airlines. Peter somehow withstood the entire day and flight without even a second of shuteye. Before going to bed, we had to re-evaluate the itinerary for the following day given the oppressive heat and our fatigue.

DAY 2 - OSAKA

As our bodies would have it, we were up by 5:00 AM and thus hauled ourselves over to the Osaka castle to enjoy it’s glory before the flocks of tourists. On the way, we grabbed our very first meal in Japan: egg-sandos from 7-Eleven which was a great kickstart to our day. I couldn’t believe how something so simple could taste so creamy and luscious. Even better was the price, especially with the USD to Japanese yen conversion right now. We also each had a banana protein milk which was surprisingly OK as I usually find artificial banana flavoring to be extremely off-putting.

We let ourselves wander throughout Osaka a little longer and stopped by a cute coffee shop that started Peter’s addiction to shokupan for this trip. This would be the first of many loaves he would consume on this trip. We eventually went back to our hotel to work out, shower, and take a short rest before the remainder of our itinerary. It was our first day bearing the brunt of the summer humidity, and our bodies needed the rest.

Rejuvenated, we headed out to an artisanal tea shop where we enjoyed some jasmine tea, hojicha kakigori, and matcha while admiring the ceramics and pottery there. Fully caffeinated, we made our way over to lunch, a yakiniku meal consisting of some dry-aged wagyu. This was our splurge for the day and left us very satisfied. I’m especially glad that Peter enjoyed the meal far more than anticipated, given how rich wagyu can be.

The caloric surplus from lunch fueled our walk through the matrix of underground shopping. We ended the day with a few trays of sashimi back at our hotel room, feet sore from nearly 25k steps on our first full day in Japan. Needless to say, we slept very well after our first full day in Japan.

DAY 3 - From OSAKA to KYOTO (UJI)

Though we had a blast in Osaka, Peter and I were very excited for Kyoto. We divided our Kyoto stay to explore all of its main attractions. We took the train from Osaka to Kyoto, left our luggage at the train station, and headed straight over to Uji, matcha capital of the world.

Starving upon arrival, we had a breakfast consisting of a matcha yuzu soda, matcha soft serve, and matcha basque cheesecake—all of which I consumed 75% because of Peter’s dairy intolerance. Afterwards, we visited all the local matcha shops and grabbed some to bring back home. We did our best to avoid all the tourist traps, and went to visit the lesser crowded mom and pop stores.

The highlight of our day was actually lunch with a meticulously prepared 3 course set. Coincidentally, Peter had already been to this same restaurant when he visited Uji with family in February. He was impressed by the meal on both occasions—both in its thoughtful preparation and masterful delivery.

Once lunch was wrapped up in Uji, we headed back to our hotel seeking reprieve from the heat. We took a quick nap then headed out for dinner and dessert. As would be the theme for many of our meals in Kyoto, our evening meal overlooked a beautiful garden. The dishes we shared were equally stunning and left us feeling very fulfilled as we meandered through the streets of Kyoto.

En route back to our hotel, Peter introduced me to one of his favorite stores—an upscale supermarket that is oddly reminiscent to me of Erewhon. We grabbed a nighttime snack (i.e, a protein bolus) followed by some of the best kakigori we’ve had thus far. We would come to re-visit this dessert shop later due to how good it was. It’s not typical of me to re-visit an establishment on the same trip, but we wanted to try some of their other options. Alas, this was the perfect way to end the evening.

DAY 4 - KYOTO (HIGASHIYAMA)

In our original itinerary, we actually planned a very comprehensive tour of the temples and shrines in Kyoto, particularly in and around the Higashiyama Ward. Due to the scorching heat, however, we truncated the tour by quite a bit and hit only a portion of our list. By this day, I’ve had what seems like a gazillion cups of matcha, and I have no intention of slowing down.

As we have both visited Kyoto before, we skipped the popular touristy attractions in favor of the less crowded ones. We started the morning early and went straight to Ginkaku-ji, the silver and less-crowded sibling of the gold-adorned Kinkaku-ji.

The real treasure, however, was walking through the quiet streets of the local neighborhood in the early morning hours. We came across a small shrine with an older gentleman getting in his daily exercise walking up and down the stone steps. He kindly approached us and struck up conversation, only for us to find out that he lived in NYC for a short period. Just prior to parting ways, he gave us tips on temples and shrines to visit away from the bustling crowds.

Our favorite on this path was Honen-ji which came with a glowing recommendation from the gentleman. After a few scenic photos there, we walked down the Philosopher’s Path toward Gion for lunch. We stopped by a small mom and pop shop for a quick pre-lunch coffee break with some more kakigori as our hunger caught up with us. Throughout this trip, it has become apparent to me that Peter’s heat intolerance supersedes any and all other basic needs.

We finally make it to Gion in time for our reservation and one of my most anticipated meals of the trip—an unagi bowl. The anticipation was well-deserved as it became one of our favorite meals on the trip. The grilled eel was perfectly caramelized and paired deliciously with a side of pickles and chawanmushi. Turns out this was one of Peter’s favorite meals as well.

We then headed over to a ritzy patisserie where each dessert was a display of stunning artistry, both visually and taste-wise. The desserts had many components and flavors, but they all melded in unison to create a very delectable experience. Our particular dessert was one of yuzu, passionfruit, white chocolate, matcha, and azuki. Full from this decadent meal, we retreated back to our hotel for some rest and relaxation.

We headed out later to explore the shopping centers at Kyoto Station and to grab a quick dinner. Dinner would be our first bowl of udon here in Japan; it was nothing to write home about, but hit the spot. We wrapped up the night by ascending to the top of the station which overlooks the Kyoto skyline and Kyoto Tower. Taking in the beautiful lights and ambient environment atop the city was the perfect ending to our day.

DAY 5 - KYOTO (ARASHIYAMA)

Next up on our Kyoto tour was Arashiyama. The morning started with a light drizzle which helped manage some of the heat. Peter and I loved the serenity that came with the rain as we walked through the old neighborhood streets with its lush greenery.

We stopped for breakfast overlooking a large garden. We originally stopped by for coffee and baked goods, but were very happy to sit down and enjoy a full breakfast. We were able to slowly enjoy our morning sitting on tatami mats and bathing in the idyllic atmosphere.

The rain slowed down as we exited breakfast, at which point we made our way toward the more populated streets of Arashiyama. We walked into a plum and pickle store looking for air conditioning but ended up tasting several items from their selection and ended up purchasing many to bring back home.

It was a store that had few foreigners. I don’t think the sales lady expected us to be so enthused about pickles. Little did she know, Peter is a pickle aficionado and enjoys them in all preparations. After seeing our reactions to some of the basic samplings, she brought up a Japanese-only menu to give us a very thorough and extensive tasting experience. We walked out with a bag full of pickles and grabbed out a few more gifts and souvenirs before lunch.

Lunch was a beautifully presented set meal overlooking the river. I hungrily devoured the meal while Peter was overwhelmed with the many components of the meal. He was also still a little full from consuming a whole loaf of raisin bread just minutes after breakfast (we had picked up baked goods for the day, but he just couldn’t resist).

With full bellies, we headed back to our hotel, took our obligatory rest, and then headed back out to meander the streets of Kyoto. We were undecided for dinner and had no reservations, so we ended up at Peter’s favorite supermarket once again for some prepared food. We walked over to a nearby park to enjoy a quiet and simple meal together before looking for dessert.

Peter was so impressed with the kakigori from our first evening in Kyoto that we made our way back to the same establishment, this time to try their cake. Peter’s eyes lit up as he dug into our fig and grape fruit tart—really simple yet so delicious. Satisfied yet again, we returned to our hotel to rest for our journey to Tokyo the next day.

DAY 6 - From KYOTO to TOKYO

Fully rested, we left Kyoto via Shinkansen for Tokyo bright and early. We grabbed several sandwiches along with coffee at the train station for an easy breakfast for the ride. I dozed off for a great portion of the 2 hour ride, while Peter continued to figure out logistics for the remainder of our trip.

Upon arrival at our hotel in Shinjuku around 11:00 AM, we dropped off our luggage and went to explore the prefecture. We did not have a strict itinerary this day, so we allowed ourselves to get lost in the city. We spent quite a bit of time looking for lunch as the fatigue slowly set in. Due to the sheer amount of people and our specific cravings, it was actually very difficult to find any lunch spot that could accommodate.

We ended up at the MUJI cafe to share a slice of mango yuzu cheesecake and coffee before looking for something more substantial. IKEA, at least stateside, would not even hold a candle to MUJI in terms of food offerings and quality. As we exited MUJI, there was a sudden but welcome downpour of rain—finally, it seemed like the heat was lessening. This helped abate our fatigue temporarily.

We scurried to a nearby Lawson to pick up lunch before returning to our hotel to check in. There was some specific fried chicken, per my cousin’s recommendation, that I had been wanting to try. This seemed like a good opportunity that came out of an unfortunate circumstance of having no other lunch option.

Peter had yet another egg sandwich, his third for the day. It has become part of our daily ritual here in Japan to have an egg sandwich at least once per day. Now with more energy, we did some laundry so that we would have enough clothes to last for the remainder of our trip. We killed time and let the rain pass by playing a few games of Wild Rift.

Dinner time rolled around, and once again on the menu was supermarket food. The supermarket bentos and availability of prepared foods here in Japan have been a godsend with unmatched quality compared to what we have back at home. We took our supermarket haul to an open park where several locals were also enjoying their dinners.

As is now our custom, we sought out dessert and settled on ice cream and cake; we sat on an upper level of a café to watch the bustling crowds. After some time, we returned to the streets which seemed only to grow ever busier as the night progressed. Unlike Kyoto, the streets of Shinjuku were lined with so many more bars and clubs, lending to a much livelier nightlife.

Peter and I walked around to people watch, enjoy the lights, and take in the experience of city life. We reveled in feeling so tiny and acutely insignificant in the magnitude of this grand city. Eventually worn out from traversing the city, we ended our first night in Tokyo with some relaxation at an onsen. We wanted to be fully rested for the arrival of our friends, and thus concluded the first leg of our trip.

This first week of our trip was designed to be very packed so that we may take things more slowly with my friends this coming week. Our trip has been amazing thus far, but we are eagerly anticipate their arrival. We’re excited to see what else this trip has in store for us. Truthfully, we hope that this coming week will bring us some rest and relaxation as we’ve booked out ryokans, but who knows what shenanigans we’ll be roped into! Stay tuned for our next postcard of a blog!

XOXO,

Howard and Peter