Japan 2025 - Part 2

OUR ADDICTION TO SUMMERTIME ONSENS

DAY 7 - TOKYO

The big day was finally here: the much-anticipated arrival of my medical school friends. They slowly trickled in by late afternoon just in time for dinner reservations. Peter and I spent the morning and early afternoon working at a local coffee shop overlooking pedestrians. It felt oddly relaxing to do work while on holiday. I think it was the combination of vacation fatigue and the ever-growing mountain of work that awaited each of us at the end of the trip. There was a catharsis in working alongside each other atop Tokyo.

As lunchtime rolled by, we hungrily sought out food and once again found ourselves in a very familiar pinch: wait in hours-long lines for a sit-down restaurant or pick up food at a convenience store and have nowhere to eat it? We ultimately settled on prepared food and luckily found a nearby park to eat. At this point, we had grown fondly comfortable with this pattern: there was something so serene in this simplicity of an easy meal while people-watching.

After lunch, we headed back to our new hotel where we would be staying with our friends. We checked in first and wandered around the premises, which were beautifully designed even with the cramped spaces so typical for Tokyo. After some relaxing, we met up with our friends for dinner—a disappointingly mediocre and overpriced tourist trap of a location. Nonetheless, it was good to catch up with friends and everybody eventually retired to their hotel rooms after a long day of travel.

DAY 8 - TOKYO

Our first day as a group in Tokyo started off with a wonderful kaiseki breakfast, consisting of a beautiful assortment of small bites. As we finished eating, we went over the extensive itinerary for the day: a shopaholic’s dream vacation. It was not just any ordinary shopping day, as one of my friends had arrived with a specific list of luxury goods to purchase. We hit up a variety of stores including Kapital and Issey Miyake. It was an opportunity to explore and witness the shopping and fashion renown so often associated with Tokyo. Peter did not have any intention of shopping on this trip, while I had my own abbreviated list of gifts to acquire.

From this list, I had been in search of a new matcha set. We visited a few small pottery shops while in Tokyo and I found a beautiful set along with two mugs to bring home. It was thanks to Peter’s keen eye that located this quaint shop tucked away inside an unassuming building. My friends were also gracious enough to accompany me to multiple Uniqlos while I went on a goose hunt for a Hello Kitty collaboration shirt per my mother’s request.

Unfortunately, this was one of the rainier days of our trip. Both weary and dreary by noon time, we opted for a very quick lunch at Yoshinoya. Quite interesting how this can taste almost identical to the version served stateside, albeit with much more manageable portions and at much lower cost.

After lunch, we corralled ourselves back to our hotel, rested, freshened up, and headed out to dinner. On the menu was a spectacular tempura dinner in an intimate restaurant where the chef prepared and cooked each dish to perfection right before our eyes. I had no idea tempura could be elevated to such a manner. Even Peter, someone who generally cannot tolerate fried foods, ranked the meal as one of our best on the trip.

Once dinner wrapped up, we headed over to Don Quixote to shop for little knick knacks. It was an unforgettable experience—and one that I did not intend on returning to during the trip due to the sheer amount of crowds, narrow aisles, and overstimulation. We picked up a few charms and gifts we had been looking for and scurried back home in preparation of an early morning.

DAY 9 - TOKYO

For our second day in Tokyo, we decided to split up after breakfast to fulfill the remainder of our respective shopping lists. I tagged along to a district known for their antique artwork and books. After getting lost due to my friend’s GPS mishap, we perused several stores in the rainy weather and flipped through some very interesting art prints.

Upon finishing, all parties made their way back to Ginza to visit Muji’s flagship store. We were met with a stunning array of products that I could only dream of accessing from the US. We made several purchases there and had a group lunch at the Muji restaurant and café—even their food is rather good for a store focused on home goods. We stayed around in the Ginza area for a while longer before heading over to our teamLab appointment.

Peter, on his prior trip to Japan, had attended several of their immersive experiences, including the one we would be going to together. It is difficult to accurately depict the type of experience that teamLab offers, but it is essentially an interactive and artistic display of light technology and engineering.

Japan offers several different experiences, each with a different theme. The theme for this particular event was “borderless” where we were intended on getting lost amidst the shower of lights and to discover hidden rooms, each with their own design. We meandered through the exhibit for about 90 minutes before we left. It was probably one of my favorite experiences in all of this trip.

Peter and I subsequently went to the gym before washing up for a sushi dinner. While the food was good, we were unfortunately squeezed into a tight room that allowed for smokers which dampened our dinner experience. Though thoroughly full from dinner, Peter and my friends had a strong hankering for dessert.

Unwittingly, we placed faith in the same friend who led us via GPS in the morning. Consequently, we made several unintended stops (including at a store that apparently did not exist) before ending up at a suitable bing-su shop.

We shared a few bowls of Korean shaved ice before heading out toward Kabukicho and Golden Gai to check out some of the more historic neighborhoods. We didn’t stay long despite there being a robust nightlife. Instead, we headed back to our hotel to enjoy popsicles on the 18^th floor onsen overlooking the nighttime city skyline.

DAY 10 - TOKYO

For our last full day in Tokyo, we originally planned for it to be a relaxed and flexible day, which would culminate in a grand dinner by the end. Peter and I dragged ourselves to the gym at 5:00 AM before getting our day started. Simultaneously, we ran a few loads of laundry to last us through the remainder of our trip as well. We had our usual kaiseki breakfast at the hotel before heading out to Harajuku.

There, I was able to pick up a few more gifts. My friends similarly completed the remainder of their shopping lists as well. Harajuku has a few phenomenal rooftop gardens that overlook the city. Situated in one of these rooftop gardens was the cutest pop up ice cream shop. We rewarded ourselves with a few soft serve cones before heading over to Akihabara as a friend wanted to check out a camera store.

While in Akihabara, we also visited massive stores of figurines and anime merchandise. The crowds in these stores rivaled that of my Don Quixote experience. It was nice to witness firsthand once, but I’m not sure I’d return. After Akihabara, we all returned to the hotel for a second round of popsicles and chill in our onsen lobby.

As we prepared for dinner, we dropped by a nearby 7-Eleven where my friend located some elusive raisin sandwiches. These apparently have been wildly popular, especially amongst Vietnamese tourists. My mom caught wind and asked me to pick up a few packs, and up until this evening I hadn’t been able to locate them.

Satisfied, we left for dinner which was at a 2 Michelin star restaurant featuring 18 amazing courses. It was an indescribably delectable evening set in a private room. The last few dinners were set in shared spaces and I much preferred this more intimate setting. It was the perfect way to wrap up our last evening in Tokyo.

DAY 11 - TOKYO to HOKKAIDO

Next up on our itinerary was Hokkaido. Peter and I woke up at 5:00 AM to hit the gym prior to flying out of Tokyo. We had purchased a 7 day gym pass for our time in Tokyo which cost us about $50 per person. We thought it was really worth it given how clean and well-maintained the gyms were. Surprisingly, they were not very busy which made it ideal.

After our workout, we rushed back to the hotel to have a last breakfast before rushing to Haneda Airport. The flight to Hokkaido passed very quickly and smoothly. Upon landing, we each enjoyed a large chirashi bowl. We also had the first of many Hokkaido ice creams, which quickly became Peter’s new addiction.

My friends had the great idea of renting a car instead of (pleasantly) rotting away at the ryokan. The ryokan was located in Jozankei, just outside of Sapporo. Our eyes were in shock when we arrived at the ryokan.

I thought the last hotel in Tokyo was upscale but this ryokan was on a different level. Granted, it cost nearly an arm and a leg to stay here, but it was nice splurge for us. Each of our rooms had private onsens. The rooms themselves were ridiculously spacious with immaculate detailing and huge windows that gave us direct views into the woods outside. Each room was fully stocked with snacks and drink which was a nice touch.

After a long day of traveling, we were all more than eager to shower and soak in our private onsens until dinner time. I didn’t know what to expect coming in, but the ryokan provided a set 5 course menu for dinner, along with a kaiseki breakfast in the mornings.

With a fully belly, we went to our very comfortable beds happy that night. Peter and I spent some time just watching the lush green view from our room before eventually falling asleep.

DAY 12 - HOKKAIDO

I excitedly woke up for our first full day in Hokkaido to the stunning views from my room. I brewed us a cup of hojicha and then jumped into the onsen to have a quick soak before breakfast. Though breakfast at our last hotel set very high standards, the breakfasts provided at this ryokan were on a completely different level.

The self-serve bar was far more extensive, and the kaiseki was far more elaborate. We all marveled at the size of the fish provided for us each morning—each portion could easily feed two people.

We then headed out to see the Futami Suspension Bridge and it’s associated trail which, as is the theme in Hokkaido thus far, are serene and very scenic. We planned on re-visiting in the evening where it becomes a popular spot for a light show put on by the city to showcase the beauty of the Jozankei area.

We then drove over to Otaru, a bustling port city known with flocking tourists. We visited a variety of stores, including one with a focus on craft music boxes. The favorite destinations for the day, however, were the food selections per usual. We had some amazing grilled seafood in a cozy, tucked-away store hosting only 8 seats. We had the pleasure of watching the chefs prepare all the exceptionally fresh seafood. Though we were mightily stuffed from the protein, Peter was insistent on using our second stomachs for ice cream.

We got not just one dessert after lunch that day, but two. The first was an ordinary ice cream cone. The second was a phenomenal 8 layered soft serve cone. The five of us could only stomach a total of 24 layers comfortably. Following dessert, we rushed back to the ryokan so that a few of us could make a secret trip to a nearby bakery.

We wanted to get some celebratory cake for a surprise birthday party for our colleague. Due to it being late in the afternoon by this time, we could only secure a few left over slices, so we supplemented with various other Hokkaido sweets, including taiyaki. We would host the surprise birthday party in my room after dinner with a special bottle of Hokkaido wine I had picked up earlier in the day from Otaru. Dinner, drinks, and dessert—the night was complete.

DAY 13 - HOKKAIDO

On our last full day in Japan, we went to enjoy lavender and flower fields nearby our ryokan. Though the fields were small and lavender on its way out of season, we still enjoyed the picturesque views of Sapporo from the top of the hill.

We spontaneously decided to visit a chocolate factory located in Sapporo which turned out to be a strange amalgamation of themes: sports, chocolate, and elves, all set in 19^th century European décor and architecture. It was a bizarre experience to say the least, one that still attracted flocks of native Japanese people as well as tourists.

We were not keen on staying too long, so we headed back toward our ryokan to pick up a quick lunch. Peter again was already looking forward to dessert—all he could talk about the entire day was getting more Hokkaido ice cream and kakigori. We ended up getting two giant bowls of kakigori to share amongst the 5 of us: one with raspberry and the other with sumptuous, seasonal peaches. The kakigori shop we visited was situated in a very cute locale with several souvenir shops.

I probably would have bought more things to take home, but our luggage was very full by this point. After corralling my friends to buy some last minute items, we headed back to the ryokan for an early dinner.

We scheduled an early dinner with the ryokan because we intended on making it out to the Futami Suspension Bridge early in the evening to attend the Jozankei Nature Luminarie—essentially a light show featuring the natural beauty of Hokkaido. Luckily, we got there before the hoards of tourists started showing up.

We collected a few cute photos together, made a final run to the convenience store as a group, then hung out together at the ryokan for one final hurrah. Peter and I laid in bed afterward, reflecting on the lengthy trip and all the experiences we shared together. It wasn’t until midnight that we fell asleep, with an anticipated 5:00 AM awakening to make our taxi for the airport the next morning.

DAY 14 - HOKKAIDO to LA

We said our goodbyes to our friends who would be departing from the ryokan later that day, and made our way to our taxi who arrived on the dot. The 80 minute ride from the ryokan to the airport flew by and before we knew it, we were having a hearty bowl of udon for breakfast just prior to our flight to Tokyo.

Things were going well until we started the process of checking in to our flight from Tokyo to LAX. We ran into a few hiccups this day, including miscalculating our luggage weight which resulted in checking in a bag for an unforeseen $80, having to throw away some gift items because they were considered liquids (they’re of peanut butter consistency), and being seated half a plane away from each other.

Somber, we ate our last meal in Japan: a pair of 7-Eleven egg and chicken in teriyaki sauce sandwiches, our personal favorites. It was fitting to end the trip as we had started.  We quickly overcame the blunders of the day, determined not to let it sour our trip.

Naturally, the disasters didn’t end there, as we arrived back at our apartment with half the electrical circuits (including the one connecting the fridge) completely shorted. We have no idea how this happened but we were too tired at this point to even get mad. Maybe we were just deliriously amused at the chain of misfortune.

Nevertheless, our trip to Japan was such an amazing one. We enjoyed so much, and at the same time learned so much about how we can make our next trip even better. In usual Peter fashion, there is already a Notion check list on improvements. And yes, there will be a next time to Japan, hopefully in the near future!

XOXO,

Howard and Peter