Trip Overview

Dates: October 2nd - October 12th

Destination(s): Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, Japan

• Airalo for data
• Took a late night Malaysian Airlines flight to Japan on October 1. There was a stopover in KL. We boarded the flight at 8am
• Withdrew 75 thousand worth cash from Orient Express

Day 1 – October 2nd, 2024 (Wednesday)

Location: Tokyo

Weather: Sunny

Daily Highlights:

• 🏛 Tokyo
• 🍽 Sushi
• 🎉 The taxi driver drove through the boom barriers at high speed.

Details:

Touched down at Narito airport ~5pm. We didn’t do the typical part of picking up the Suica card at the airport since our taxi was already waiting. Got a complementary taxi for booking our tickets through a website and it was godsent. We were fascinated to see the taxi driver drove through the boom barriers at high speed. Checked in at Karaska Hotel. It had a washer dryer facility. Well-placed location very close to Tokyo Station. Our room had 4 placed in a line. The toto system was fascinating. Went to Tokyo Station to get a Suica card and pick up the Shinkansen Ticket and Sunrise Express ticket. Tokyo station is a maze and it took us a bit of walking and enquiring to figure out the system. Went to Sushi street inside Tokyo station and had dinner at one of the featured stores there at 10 pm. We found it difficult ordering food from the Japanese menu outside the shop. Google translate came to our rescue.

Day 2 – October 3rd, 2024 (Thursday)

Location: Tokyo

Weather: Sunny

The downtown was bustling at 8:30am with people headed to office. Very few senior citizens Picked up food for the boys from the nearby Lawson’s Headed out at 10:30 am Went to Ginza neighbourhood and shopped at the stationery store iToya Affluent place with fancy cars parked on the streets. w Tsijiki market and the place was buzzing with many people taking the food tour. We were not keen on doing this though since we were wary about the type of food we’ll have to taste. We had our first Matcha Walked around looking for a good sushi place and found one in the vicinity. Walked into Namiyoke Shinto Shrine Took the subway to head to Teamlabs Borderless since our entry time was 5 pm. It was an expectedly different and good experience. The hundreds of projectors in one place well-synchronised was trippy. Having your painted fish featured on a make-believe aquarium was exciting for Vyom. He remembered that they was a room with glass globes and he wanted to visit. We had to search for a bit. It ended up being one of the best displays and we were allowed to spend a limited time here since it was very popular. Exited at 7 pm. Saw tourist go carting on the streets with some of them in Pikachi costume. Went to Tokyo Tower. The topmost deck was closed for repair and we went to the intermediate deck. We had a good arial view which was spoilt by the projected Casper like ghosts dancing aways since it was Halloween Time. Vyom was particular about a coin keychain you could make there. We were stuck there for a while since there was a queue for it. Karaska has a beautiful common area to hang out. We picked up some food and made it back here and tried out some complementary Sake.

(Free taxi from blah)sdfsd 📅 Day 3 – October 4th, 2024 (Friday) 📌 Location: Tokyo, Kyoto☀️ Weather: Sunny 📖 Daily Highlights: • 🏛 [Place visited] • 🍽 [Food & Drinks Tried] • 👫 [People Met] • 🎉 [Memorable Moments] 😅 Challenges & Unexpected Events: 📝 Thoughts & Reflections: Rajat took Vyom for his first Tokyo station Eki stamp. Vyom was heavily invested in getting as many Eki stamps as possible. Walked towards Imperial Palace at 9am. Online registration were closed for East Gardens. There was walk-in registration at Kikyo-mon gate. Didn’t get morning tickets for entry and there was a queue for afternoon viewing and we couldn’t come back since we were headed to Kyoto. It was very hot and the beautiful East Gardens were closed on Friday. So we walked around with caps in the blazing heat. We got very hungry and walked back to Tokyo station. We looked up food in Maps and found a 7/11 from a regular looking building which turned out to be a maze. It doubled as a subway station too. The 7/11 was in the bottom most floor and each of the elevators had personal TVs. There was no sitting place to eat the food. Hence, we went to Tokyo Station sat outside and ate. It drizzled while we were eating but we were too tired to move. We went to the Pokemon store inside Tokyo Station because Vyom’s friend wanted Pokémon cards. Vyom picked a Pikachu soft toy, and Vihaan picked a t-shirt from a store in the vicinity. We took the Shinkansen Nizomi to Kyoto in the afternoon. For lunch we took the popular option of Bento box from the common area of the station. We noticed that these were there inside the station platform too. Took the Shinkansen, the fastest in Japan and tried our best to view Mt. Fuji but knew it was improbable at this time of the year.

Took the Eki stamp from Kyoto station. Checked in to our room at Moxy Kyoto in the evening. A great place with excellent vibes. It worked out cheaper since Rajat had Marriot points. They had complimentary drink per person but Vyom found a stash from the previous occupants and he made full use of it. Spent the evening walking around some of the popular hotspots. Walked around in Motoyoshicho, Kawaramachi-dori Street, went in to a covered shopping street to look for Daiso didn’t buy anything in Daiso. Kids picked knick-knacks like Japanese hand fans, and keychains for friends. Many tourists were dressed as Geisha. Decided to take a bus back to Moxy Kyoto.

📅 Day 4 – October 5th, 2024, Saturday 📌 Location: Kyoto☀️ Weather: [Sunny, Rainy, Cold, etc.] 📖 Daily Highlights: • 🏛 [Place visited] • 🍽 [Food & Drinks Tried] • 👫 [People Met] • 🎉 [Memorable Moments] 😅 Challenges & Unexpected Events: 📝 Thoughts & Reflections: Went to Arashiyama. Took the early train transport. We wanted to enjoy the location with less crowd. We were there by 7:30 am. Went to Tenru-ji from Arashiama as soon as it opened. The place was absolutely beautiful with the highlight being the gardens. We didn’t pay extra to go inside the temple in this place in other places. Tried getting Goshuin stamps here. But the book we took from iToya was small and they didn’t want to put the Goshuin on it. We didn’t like the Goshuin book sold there and we had to give it a miss. Had bkfast at a nice place outside Tenru-ji. From here we walked and climbed Genroku place. The place up the hill was very fascinating. The ticket price was for the upkeep of the place. They didn’t seem very diligent about collecting it. We chimed an ancient bell as we went uphill and the experience was amazing. The views were fantastic from uptop. There was a little shrine up there where I lit some incense sticks. There was an ancient abacus there too. We had food in one of the bustling food courts and made our way back. Took it easy for the rest of the day since the previous day was a long day and the next day was also a long day. Rajat and I walked around the Moxy Kyoto neighbourhood and chanced upon Life superstore. The food choices were way better here than any 7/11 and Lawrence and we went to this place a few more times. We decided to look for supermarkets for food rather than 7/11.

📅 Day 5 – October 6th, 2024, Sunday 📌 Location: Kyoto☀️ Weather: [Sunny, Rainy, Cold, etc.] 📖 Daily Highlights: • 🏛 [Place visited] • 🍽 [Food & Drinks Tried] • 👫 [People Met] • 🎉 [Memorable Moments] 😅 Challenges & Unexpected Events: 📝 Thoughts & Reflections: We headed out at 8 am. Very good bkfast at metro station of toast and egg Took a bus and headed to Nanzen-ji Temple and reached at 8:30am. We were mesmerised by the aqueduct images on the internet and headed there first took a few photos before the crowds began. Took a few flight of stairs to see the top view of the aqueduct. Walked around the scenic place and lectured Vihaan to pose for pics and be different than the previous day while Rajat and Vyom were avoiding us. Headed towards the Abbot’s place to get an inside view. Passed by a beautiful room meant for tea drinking ceremony while watching a manmade waterfall. We saw the dry landscape garden - Hojo Garden - and the vibrant sliding door paintings of the tigers. Came across big webs while we were walking along the wooden walkways. The temple building opening while we were heading out. I went for a quick peak. Just as I was leaving a tourist told me to look up and the painting on the roof of the temple was beautiful. As we were leaving we came across a building where we could climb atop to get an aerial view. We were not inclined but the kids went ahead and saw the panoramic view. We finally left the Temple and on a whim decided to walk the philosopher’s path and go to Ginkaku Ji. Took the Philosopher’s path to Ginkaku Ji. The path was beautiful and shady with a stream along the way. A local made us throw a flower contraption like a boat in the water. If the boat landed well it signified that our lives were going to be smooth. I was happy to see that our boats landed well. It was a 40 min slow stroll for us and the we reached our next temple. Ginkaku Ji aka Silver Pavilion or Jishoji is a UNESCO world heritage site. Ginkakuji aka Jishoji has an intricate garden and there is a pathway taking you along the hilly terrain of the garden. The shogan who built this was inspired by his grandfather’s retirement villa - the golden pavilion. Came back to the room after this. Had lunch from Life Departmental store. At 5 we were at Kiyomizu Dera. We knew it would be crowded but we wanted to cover it.

We stayed here to watch the sunset from here. Went to Fushimi-Inari after dark. The boys and I went a few extra levels while Rajat decided to hang near the entrance since he was exhausted. Went to a Gyozo Place.

Didn’t do Yasaka shrine Mariann garden Inara Gion and Temples

📅 Day 6 – October 7th, 2024 📌 Location: Kyoto☀️ Weather: [Sunny, Rainy, Cold, etc.] 📖 Daily Highlights: • 🏛 [Place visited] • 🍽 [Food & Drinks Tried] • 👫 [People Met] • 🎉 [Memorable Moments] 😅 Challenges & Unexpected Events: 📝 Thoughts & Reflections: Ryoaji in the morning. One of the best zen gardens. Went to the Lakshmi Inari here. Ninna-ji Kinkakujicho

📅 Day 7 – October 8th, 2024 📌 Location: Kyoto, Osaka☀️ Weather: [Sunny, Rainy, Cold, etc.] 📖 Daily Highlights: • 🏛 [Place visited] • 🍽 [Food & Drinks Tried] • 👫 [People Met] • 🎉 [Memorable Moments] 😅 Challenges & Unexpected Events: 📝 Thoughts & Reflections: Headed to Osaka Went to fancy lunch place Went to Osaka castle Went to Nippmbashinishi and tried to look for Manga books Many girls were fancy dressed and were trying to attract male customers Walked around in Dottonbari Took the sunrise express back to Tokyo

(Free taxi from blah)sdfsd 📅 Day 8 – October 9th, 2024 📌 Location: [City/Town]☀️ Weather: [Sunny, Rainy, Cold, etc.] 📖 Daily Highlights: • 🏛 [Place visited] • 🍽 [Food & Drinks Tried] • 👫 [People Met] • 🎉 [Memorable Moments] 😅 Challenges & Unexpected Events: 📝 Thoughts & Reflections: We were tired and took it easy. Paid extra and checked in early at Section L Found a great sports store close to where we stayed. We were excited to find shoes for the boys and they said no Japanese sizes for them Went to Uniqlo store in Ginza and the boys shopped there. Also went to the second bookstore and went back to iToya Went to food court and we could barely stand the noodle place, bkfast place 📅 Day 9 – October 10th, 2024 📌 Location: [City/Town]☀️ Weather: [Sunny, Rainy, Cold, etc.] 📖 Daily Highlights: • 🏛 [Place visited] • 🍽 [Food & Drinks Tried] • 👫 [People Met] • 🎉 [Memorable Moments] 😅 Challenges & Unexpected Events: 📝 Thoughts & Reflections: Went to Ueno park Visited National museum of science Walked back via Ameyayokocho Went to a Manga store in Shinjuku Went to Shibuya Crossing- Saw Ichiko Bought tix to Kawaguchiko Had food at a fancy Mc Donalds

📅 Day 10 – October 11th, 2024 📌 Location: [City/Town]☀️ Weather: [Sunny, Rainy, Cold, etc.] 📖 Daily Highlights: • 🏛 [Place visited] • 🍽 [Food & Drinks Tried] • 👫 [People Met] • 🎉 [Memorable Moments] 😅 Challenges & Unexpected Events: 📝 Thoughts & Reflections: Took the bus to lake Kawaguchiko Took the ropeway up Found a small shrine further away and got excellent views Took the ropeway down Saw the 3D cat in Shinjuku Went to book store again. Rajat picked some alcohol and Vyom got an Eki there.

write about forwarding luggage part 📅 Day 11 – October 12th, 2024, Saturday 📌 Location: Tokyo☀️ Weather: Sunny 📖 Daily Highlights: • 🏛 Walked in the Ueno market had ijooz, • 🍽 Ichiran Ramen • 🎉 [Memorable Moments] 😅 Challenges & Unexpected Events: 📝 Thoughts & Reflections: Headed out to the Air Japan shoes and I bought the Merrill shoes that were comfortable on the way. Went to the market got Ijooz which was reminiscent of our days in Singapore, went to a market store and got some random that Vyom wanted Walked to the knife place. It was worth a visit by itself well-known for ceramics, kitchen items and knifes. Picked up a knife for family in lieu of a Katana requested by a friend Meiji Restoration Walk - saw a lot of people getting married that day Went to Shibuya from there to have food at Ichiran Ramen. Ordering from the vending machine was stressful. We double ordered. Very interesting concept where you can eat alone or with a group

Took the airport train back to Tokyo airportu Returned Suica Card Headed back to Bangalore

Random things to write about Vyom got zoo eki stamps Went to another stationary shop than Itoya Itoya twice Book shops twice Picked alcohol drinks Shinto vs pagoda

🌟 Trip Highlights & Favorites 🍜 Best Meal: Ichiran Ramen, 📍 Favorite Place: [Attraction/Experience]💡 Most Unexpected Moment: [Surprise event]🎁 Best Souvenir/Purchase: Stationary at Itoya, Eki Stamps, Knifes, Fans, 🎓 Lesson Learned: [Personal takeaway]

📷 Memories & Extras 📎 Attachments: (Add Photos, Tickets, Receipts, etc.)

🏁 Final Reflections ❤️ What I Loved Most About This Trip:🔄 What I Would Do Differently Next Time: 🗺 Future Travel Ideas & Destinations:

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Last modified on 2025-02-17