Japan Airlines has made major changes to their frequent flyer program starting in 2024 by introducing a new Life Status program, and tweaking the membership requirements for JAL Global Club. There likely was an overabundance of elites who qualified for lifetime elite benefits by earning JAL Sapphire once, and JAL wanted to rectify the situation (see blog post by TRAICY).
I fortunately was able to qualify for JAL Sapphire through the Fly On program in 2023, and as a Japanese resident applied for JAL Global Club membership by switching my credit card to a JAL Global Club card. While JAL promised that members who were JAL Global Club members in 2023 would keep their status, it remained to be seen how exactly JAL would implement this. We weren’t sure if membership would continue past 2024 just for holding a JAL Global Club credit card or living outside Japan and renewing with miles.
Tag: Japan
New Trip Suggestions: Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan
We maintain a Trip Suggestions Index to help people decide what to do when traveling to a new place! I just updated the index with a lot of new places in Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan. Of course, all old lists are actively updated as we are traveling around, so feel free to follow any list and use them as guides.
Hong Kong (Wanderlog, Google Maps) 🇭🇰 Japan 🇯🇵 Furano & Biei, Hokkaido Hakuba Ishigaki Nagasaki NagoyaSapporo, Hokkaido
Our favorite souvenir foods from Japan!
The bloggers at DEM Flyers love Japan, and a big part of it is all the delicious Japanese food. This extends to the wide variety of souvenirs you can take home. We’ve compiled our list of favorite snacks so you can look out for them on your next trip, or you can try them at home if they are available in your country!
If you don’t want to go to a physical store, often many items are available online; I’ve included online shopping links where applicable. If on Amazon Japan, you can sign up for a free trial of Prime and get them delivered to you in Japan for free, or shipped internationally! Some items are also available to buy on Amazon US for inflated prices, or in Asian grocery stores.
Work on the Shinkansen with special office cars
Prefacing that Japan is not open to foreign tourists currently, but this post is for future reference. The coronavirus pandemic affected Japan heavily, like many other regions in the world, but along with it came the rising trend of remote work. In response, several Shinkansen bullet train operators in Japan started providing a remote work train service.
For example, the Tohoku, Joetsu, and Hokuriku Shinkansen trains, which service Kanazawa, Niigata, and the Tohoku region of Japan started an office car service. In the office car, passengers are explicitly allowed to make phone calls and join online meetings from the train, which are activities normally discouraged on trains in general in Japan. There’s no extra charge for this service, you just need to explicitly reserve a special car on the train. You should be able to reserve this with the various JR Passes as well, either the nationwide pass or the JR East Pass. I haven’t ridden this myself, but you can read more details here: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/11/e3350c504173-jr-east-launches-bullet-train-office-cars-amid-telework-demand.html
Moving to Japan during a Pandemic Part 2: Finding a (Software) Job
Previously, I wrote about my motivations for moving to Japan. Here, we will talk about how I found a job that would let me stay in Japan.
There are various ways to obtain a visa to stay in Japan. The subreddit r/movingtojapan is a great resource especially their visa wiki. If you are lucky and have Japanese citizenship or are married to a Japanese national, well, you’re lucky and can ignore all of this and move onto the practical aspects when you are on the ground. Another path that might be good, especially if you aren’t confident in your language skills, is to go into a full-time Japanese language school for at least 6 months (minimum 6 months to get a student visa), then apply for jobs on the ground while in school.
Moving to Japan during a pandemic, part 1
This is not entirely travel related, but it’s something I’ve been meaning to write. In March of 2020, I moved to Japan, right before the coronavirus pandemic really hit either Japan or the United States. Moving here was something I’ve intended on for a long time, and I maintain that it was one of the best decision in my life, despite complications from the pandemic. This will be a multi-part post, from the background motivations, to the processing moving there, and then practical tips for others making the move.
Review: Overnight Luggage Transport in Japan
Back in May, my husband and I went on our annual trip to our favorite country in the world, Japan. It was an amazing trip as usual, and this time we hit up Tokyo, Fuji, and Hakone. We purchased the Fuji-Hakone Pass, which gives you round-trip transportation from Tokyo and unlimited transportation within the Fuji and Hakone area, plus many discounts or free admissions to local attractions. I’ll review this pass in a future post.
Our itinerary was pretty tight since we planned to go from Tokyo to Fuji to Hakone all within one day. We planned to take the bus from Tokyo to Fuji Five Lakes and sightsee around the area before taking another bus down to Hakone, where we would do more sightseeing before finally checking into our hotel.
We had two carry-on rolling suitcases. The more I thought about it, the more dreadful dragging them around the whole day sounded. My original plan was to store the suitcases in lockers at Lake Kawaguchiko Station, but I didn’t know how plentiful the lockers were (although I read on Tripadvisor that people have just left their suitcases on top of the full lockers and because Japan is so safe, nobody had touched them by the end of the day) and it didn’t solve the problem of having to drag them around Hakone either.
Then I discovered the amazingness that is Yamato Transport and other transportation services that offer to transport luggage overnight for very affordable prices. Yamato is the largest door-to-door delivery company in Japan. Japanese people often use them on their own trips throughout Japan.
In a nutshell, you can send your luggage directly to your hotel, same day or overnight, for a flat fee per item based on size and distance. Click here for the details and rates. The maximum size is 160 cm length+width+height and the maximum weight is 25 kg. You can have the luggage picked up directly from your room, or you can drop off your luggage at one of their offices (for a discount!) or at a convenience store like 7-11, which are everywhere. You can even send your luggage straight to/from airports.
After our 3rd night at Andaz Tokyo, we had accumulated enough things where it became a no-brainer to use the service rather than drag our luggage around and store it in lockers on our way to Hakone. I contacted the concierge, and they filled out the paperwork for me and asked me to have my bags ready to go by 6 pm that night. I packed our essentials for the night and for our day-trip in a backpack, which would be much easier to trek around with and use lockers for, and called the concierge when I was ready. The bellhop came to the room and picked up the luggage. I charged it to our hotel bill and it was Y1700 per suitcase (less than US $15). I felt that was really quite reasonable for overnight shipping of a bulky heavy suitcase! For comparison, lockers would’ve cost Y600 per suitcase of this size.
The next day, after a long and tiring day of sightseeing around the Fuji-Hakone area, we arrived at the Hyatt Regency in Hakone and checked in. The hotel staff informed us that the luggage was already in our suite, which felt pretty awesome.
I thought that would be the only time we would need the service on our trip, but the story doesn’t end there.
My husband accidentally left his wallet and charging cable in our room at Hakone and we didn’t realize it until our train arrived back in Tokyo and he couldn’t make a transfer through the gates since his Suica card was in his wallet. The staff at Hakone had emailed me as soon as the cleaning staff discovered it, but I didn’t happen to check my email during the train ride.
I called the hotel when I discovered the items missing, and they immediately arranged for overnight delivery to our next hotel, which was a capsule hotel (First Cabin Kyobashi, great hotel, by the way) since we were leaving for the airport the next day. They provided a tracking number, and the parcel arrived by noon to the front desk. Hyatt had packed the wallet and cable in bubble wrap and placed them in a little paper shopping bag. They charged it to my card on file, and it was Y700. That’s about US $6 for overnight shipping of a wallet that contained a bunch of cash…small price to pay!
In addition to the convenience, prices, and speeds, I was also impressed by the handling. We in America are used to delivery companies like UPS and Fedex throwing our parcels around without a care in the world, often causing damage to the boxes or contents inside. I didn’t feel like that was the case in Japan. Yamato Transport handled and delivered everything with care, no matter how small or big or heavy it was.
Hopefully this information helps you on your next trip to Japan!
Tokyo Maricar Review – Real-Life Mariokart! (Shinagawa Shop)
Have you ever played Mariokart? Do you like gokarting and driving fast? This awesome this-would-only-happen-in-Japan activity called Maricar might be for you. Maricar was first recommended to me by my friend Tim, and since then, many of my other friends have done the tour and highly recommended it. However, out of maybe 10 of my friends, only one was not very impressed. It’s not for everyone, so hopefully I can help you decide if you’ll enjoy it.
Summary
Maricar is a gokart tour operated in various cities in Japan, where you dress up as a character of your choice (not limited to Nintendo characters!) and drive a high quality custom gokart, following an experienced tour guide throughout the city with a small group of people.
How to Book
- First, you need to get an International Driving Permit (IDP). Read this page carefully: http://maricar.com/license/#en
- I opted to get my IDP at AAA for $20 per person. I printed and completed the PDF application, attached a passport photo, and brought it to my nearest branch. I had to wait in line, but the it took the agent only maybe 5 minutes to make the booklet and collect my payment.
- Japan only accepts International Driving Permits issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention. Permits issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention are not accepted in Japan. Please ask for details if you are not sure about your license.
Make a reservation through their Facebook page by sending them a message. They will send you a template message back asking for the following information:
- Which shop (Tokyo – Akihabara or Shinagawa, Mt. Fuji, Osaka, Okinawa)
- Which tour course (I’ll paste a copy of the message at the end of this post so you can get an idea, since the ones on the website are out of date now)
- Date and time
- How many karts/people
- Type of driver’s license and IDP
After you make your reservation, they will respond back with a confirmation and very detailed directions on how to get to the shop. Save these instructions and don’t be late!
Read their website carefully for any frequently asked questions you may have. The website is slightly out of date but still has a lot of good information.
Give yourself plenty of time to get to the shop on the day of your tour. Even if you arrive early you can spend more time choosing your costume. 🙂
When you show up, check in and pay (credit cards are accepted), choose your costume, and put your extra stuff in one of the free lockers. Bring your IDP and your phone/camera with you. I couldn’t find information on this before, but was happy to find there is a small neoprene pouch attached to the steering wheel of the kart by your right knee.
Save Maricar’s phone number (+81-80-9999-2525) to your phone in the unlikely event that you get lost, you should pull over safely to the curb and call the shop right away so they can alert your guide and not have to send out a search team.
Follow your guide’s instructions, don’t do anything stupid, and have fun!! Throughout the tour, your guide will take lots of photos for you on his iPhone, basically at most stoplights, and during rest stops. He’ll take individual photos of you too.
At the end of the tour, your guide will Airdrop all the photos to your iOS device right away and give you a printed copy of a group photo to take home as a souvenir.Night or Day Tour?
I HIGHLY recommend a night tour. Personally, I feel that Tokyo is most beautiful at night, due to the lights. Having been to Tokyo many times now, I’ve always felt that Tokyo is a city that really comes alive at night. Some buildings are a bit old so I feel like the view is not quite as amazing during the day. The only downside is that it’s harder to get good photos at night. I did not want to carry my heavy Sony A6000 with me, but maybe I should’ve.
I chose the 6 PM Course S-L departing from Shinagawa, hitting up Rainbow Bridge, Odaiba, Tokyo Tower, Roppongi, and Shibuya. This is the longest tour option of 3 hours for a total of 8000 yen (very reasonable in my opinion). In May, the sun has not set yet by 6 PM so I got to see the Rainbow Bridge and Odaiba during golden hour (this is a photographer’s term for the best lighting of the day the hour prior to sunset) AND see the beautiful lights of Tokyo Tower, Roppongi, and Shibuya at night. Shibuya at night is especially amazing. Dat crossing.
One of my friends asked, “Isn’t it more dangerous at night?” To this I say a big fat NO. This is Japan we’re talking about, and never once did I feel unsafe while following our tour guide. Once I realized that Japanese drivers are really polite (just like their culture) and kept their distance on all sides, allowing us to merge when needed (wasn’t needed often, maybe once), I was able to fully relax and enjoy the tour, and had no issues keeping up with my group of 6 karts.
Oh, and there was practically no traffic at night. Their message (copied and pasted below) recommends a morning tour due to smoother traffic, but I would strongly recommend the night tour.
Addressing My Fears
I have to admit that when I first sat down in the kart, I was immediately a little scared. The last time I drove a gokart was at the Livermore gokart tracks and I sucked. Kept running into the sides, had poor handling of the kart, skidded a lot, was overall the second slowest person in my company, etc. All of those memories came flashing back to me.
Not to mention, I HATE DRIVING and I especially hate flooring the car. I always make my husband drive whenever we go out. So when I sat down, I thought to myself, “Why did I just sign up to DRIVE for 3 hours?!” I was also scared for at least the following reasons:
- I would be driving a gokart and not a real car so the handling is different, what if I don’t brake in time and crash into something?!
- We’re in Japan where they drive on the left side of the road, so I’m not accustomed to that…what if I accidentally forgot and drove into oncoming traffic?!
- I can’t read signs in Japanese, the roads and signs and lights and lanes look really confusing, what if I break some traffic rules?!
- What if cars drive really fast and can’t see me because I’m so small and my head is at bumper-level?!
- Since I was such a slow gokart driver in Livermore, what if I get lost and left behind, and have no idea how to navigate the streets of Tokyo by myself?!
- What if what if what if…!!!!
Trip Suggestions: Japan
Co-bloggers E & M go to Japan just about every year or multiple times a year, and would unequivocally say it is our favorite country in the world to visit. We often joke about just moving there, because it’s such an awesome country (M isn’t joking anymore, he lives there now!) Anytime we hear friends or family say they’re thinking about going to Japan, we immediately start gushing about how amazing it is, how awesome/polite/kind the people are, how safe it is, and how you’d never get bored or run out of things to do there, etc etc. It really has something for everyone. With Japan becoming more and more accessible through fare deals and award availability, I am regularly getting questions for what to do, where to eat, etc.
Similar to my other Trip Suggestions posts, the *** denotes things I feel like are must-do’s. Of course, everyone’s interests are different, but hopefully this will give you a good starting point. This post will be a constant work in progress, as Michael and I input more experiences of our own each time we go, and collect must-do suggestions from friends and readers.
General Info
- www.japan-guide.com – Almost everything you need to know, from top-rated attractions, opening times, entrance fees, how to get from A to B, learn about the differences between the types of transportation, view cherry blossom schedule, etc etc. This is by far my favorite and the most comprehensive guide I suggest to everyone for planning your own trip to Japan. I wish every country had such a thorough and detailed free guide like this on the internet!
- www.tabelog.com – The premier food guide to Japan. Anything above 3.5 (out of 5) is going to be amazing by our standards because the Japanese are very very critical. However, the only problem is this site is in Japanese, so it may be a bit difficult to navigate.
- www.tokyocheapo.com – Japan doesn’t have to be expensive. Get lots of ideas from here.
- Japan Rail Pass – 7/14/21-day passes available for unlimited rides on the JR system, including one of the bullet trains. Weigh the advantages/disadvantages against just flying with Avios. JR pass would be more flexible and efficient (i.e. don’t have to go to the airport, not tied down to specific flight times, no delays, etc).
- Rail Pass Calculator – Use this site to calculate whether you will save money with a rail pass vs. just buying individual tickets. (Thanks for pointing this one out Dawn! See, japan-guide.com is amazing!)
hyperdia.com – Transportation timetable and route calculator for everything except for city buses.
Suica card – Transportation card for subways/trains, also widely accepted at all convenience stores, many restaurants, lockers, stores, etc. Definitely get one! This blog post contains lots of photos on navigating the machine to buy a physical card.- You can now add Suica to Apple Pay! You can either create one from scratch, or transfer a physical card onto Apple Pay (if you do, you can no longer use the plastic card). P.S. Use CSR to load for 3x and pay everywhere with it! You don’t need to unlock your phone when swiping, so it is very convenient. I love it because my phone is always in my hand already anyways (looking at directions, etc). You can also reload on the fly and it gives you instant notifications whenever you use it and an easy to read transaction history. So much better than the physical card.
- Update: there is now an English app to make it a lot easier to add Suica to your phone.
Buying discount tickets:
- If you are are willing to brave a Japanese interface, Loppi machines, located at Lawson convenience stores can provide great discounts. Often you can search online for “Loppi [insert name of activity]” and you can find the code to enter and the current deals. Here is a guide to using Loppi machines.
- Another way to buy discounted tickets are at kinken shops. These are shops located near major subway stations (one major store is Access Tickets) that sell discounted train tickets and activity tickets like Disneyland. I’ve personally used it for saving $20 on a Disneyland ticket! It’s at your own risk, but I think the risk is low.
Pocket Concierge – Get reservations at popular restaurants for a small fee. Good option if you don’t have a hotel concierge to work with. Most upscale restaurants won’t take reservations from foreigners directly without working with a hotel concierge, and American Express Platinum Concierge will only work with your hotel concierge.
=&0=&- Go to the basements of any large department store like Isetan or Hankyu and you will find a wonderful world of amazing food. Great for when you are out wandering and are hungry and don’t have time for a sit-down restaurant or to wait in line at some popular ramen joint.
=&1=&
- Japan is a cash-based society. Make sure to withdraw plenty of cash with your bank debit card at the airport (for good rates). Good debit cards are Schwab and CapitalOne.
- Most ATMs in Japan will not work with your American debit card. You’ll need to find a 7-11 (they’re everywhere), a post office, or an American bank like Citibank in order to withdraw more cash.
- Good general tip is to not use a money exchange counter. Use an ATM.
If you’re a big fan of the reality television series Terrace House, they have seasons set in Tokyo, Shonan (south of Tokyo) and in Karuizawa (a ski resort town 1 hour northwest of Tokyo.) Here are Google saved maps of all the locations they go on the show. They tend to be good ideas for restaurants, bars, and cool areas to check out.
Seasons
Sakura (cherry blossom) season:
-
- Where to go: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011.html
- Most famous place in the world is Yoshino-San, a day trip outside Osaka/Kyoto.
Forecasts (plan your trip using this): http://www.japan-guide.com/sakura/
The site Japanese people use for forecasts: http://sakura.weathermap.jp/en.php
Follow @wm_sakura_en on Twitter for specific locations that are in bloom throughout Japan (use the built-in Twitter translation).Summer season (hot and humid):
- Recommend doing indoor activities and nighttime activities, or visiting cooler parts of the country like Hokkaido. Okinawa is also a great choice, for scuba, etc.
- Fireworks season – in the hot summers, the thing to do is dress up in yukatas (thin and light summer kimonos) and go out with your SO, friends, or family to one of Japan’s amazing pyrotechnic shows. Seriously, once you go to one of these, American fireworks shows will look like little sparklers. These Japanese shows often set off over 15k fireworks and are huge, stunning displays that will leave you speechless. If you go to Japan in the summer, you MUST go to a fireworks show! Tokyo has a bunch almost every weekend, but there are huge shows held elsewhere in the country as well. You’ll want to google for the current calendar, but here’s one example search result.
Fall (colors) season:
- To be added – definitely hit up Kyoto
Winter (snow) season:
- To be added – obviously, Hokkaido and Niseko, and the snow monkey onsen
Tokyo
Stay
- Hyatt:
- *** Andaz Tokyo!!!! (Cat 7) *** – Toranomon, HIGHLY recommended. Definitely our favorite Hyatt in the world. Incredible views. Has a nice cocktail hour, even more amazing breakfast. Just a few blocks from the station (on flat ground) on the convenient Ginza line. Great pool/fitness area with beautiful views (and famous for their carbonated hot tub, there’s also a water massage pool too), and if you like free massage chairs, the private ones in the locker rooms are excellent. 😀 Globalists get free rentals of swimsuits, swim caps, goggles, workout shirts/shorts, socks, and shoes. The guest rooms are well-appointed and all have great unobstructed views. Great bathroom amenities and has a Toto Neorest which is definitely worth mentioning (self-opening/closing, self flushing, self cleaning, heated, all that good stuff).
- *** Park Hyatt Tokyo (Cat 7) *** – Shinjuku, great views, highly recommended for the experience, but inconvenient to the super busy/confusing Shinjuku station (uphill walk from the station for 15-20 min, there is a shuttle but we hardly used it due to the timings and long waits).
- Grand Hyatt Tokyo (Cat6) – Roppongi, easier chance of getting a suite upgrade if you’re Globalist. The suites are nice. Great views if you get a high floor, has a nice club lounge with mediocre breakfast and great happy hour, a convenient location to the subway, and attached to a nice mall. Also has free rentals of swim/workout gear for Globalists. Their pool/spa/fitness area is nice, but has no views. They do have free massage chairs too, though! Pro Tip: If you don’t like June Jacobs amenities, you can request for REN amenities which are significantly better.
- Hyatt Regency Tokyo (Cat 3) – Shinjuku, good views, decent hotel with a club lounge, relatively small mediocre breakfast and happy hour, convenient to Shinjuku station (few blocks walk on flat ground). I still hate the Shinjuku station though. Otherwise a bit dated. Was recently downgraded from Category 4 to 3, which is more fitting, in my opinion.
- Hyatt Centric Ginza (Cat 6) – Ginza, very modern and new hotel with nice suites, relatively small breakfast, no views, no cocktail hour, no onsen or pool. Very convenient location to multiple subway and JR lines, smack in the middle of amazing shopping for all budgets, and great for spending the night before a flight out as it is on a direct line to the airport.
- In my opinion, I would stay at Andaz Tokyo > Grand Hyatt > Hyatt Centric > Park Hyatt > Hyatt Regency based on convenience first and luxury second
=&8=&
- *** Prince Gallery Kioicho *** – HIGHLY recommended by my friend Kenneth and many others. Incredible views, amazing breakfast. Convenient as it is located directly on top of a subway station.
- Ritz Carlton Tokyo – Roppongi Hills, great high views, convenient to the new and impressive Tokyo Midtown mall.
=&11=&
- Conrad – Shiodome, beautiful hotel with great views if you can get the Rainbow Bridge side, and located close to Tsukiji and Shimbashi. Breakfast in the club lounge is decent.
IHG:
- Intercontinental ANA The Strings – Shinagawa, beautiful hotel with gorgeous water feature in the lobby, located in the JR East One building on top of the bustling Shinagawa station. Easy station to navigate and only 15 min ride to Haneda. Great location for a last night in Tokyo.
Other:
- First Cabin Kyobashi – great “capsule hotel” with segregated men’s and women’s areas, very cheap but super modern and clean. Great proximity to Tokyo Station, Kyobashi Station, and Takaracho Station (direct access to HND), and walking distance from Ginza. Book it on hotels.com with discounted gift cards. Was around $30-40 per night when booked it, great for a one night stay before an early flight. Not a good choice for light sleepers since you will be able to hear others snoring.
Transportation
NRT:
- By far the fastest way – take Keisei Skyliner into town (41 min from NRT to Ueno for around US$20). If you buy the tickets online in advance you can get a discount. Consider getting the bundle with the unlimited Tokyo subway pass.
- There’s also the Narita Express (NEX) which takes you to major train stations like Shinjuku, Shibuya, Yokohama, etc. If you want to get tickets for the Narita Express but there’s a long line at the ticket counters, you can also get your tickets at the Travel Service Center. It’s around US$27 one-way or US$36 round-trip (this is the discount price for foreigners).
- I’ve never used it, but apparently the airport limousine buses are comfortable and can drop you off and pick you up at major hotels. Cost is around US $30 for adults, but there are discount tickets for foreigners, such as 4 ticket pack for US $80 or a round trip for US $45 if only flying in and out of Narita. https://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/bus_services/narita/index
- There’s a US ~$10 bus as well that goes to Tokyo Station: http://www.keiseibus.co.jp/inbound/tokyoshuttle/en/
Luggage delivery to/from the airport. Luggage delivery in Japan is a very common service and not actually too expensive. Japan is actually efficient enough to offer same day luggage delivery to almost anywhere. Prices range from $10-25 for a piece, depending on size. https://www.gpa-net.co.jp/en/passenger-service/baggage-delivery/to_airport.html
Definitely do NOT take a taxi (US$300+!)
Narita offers free tours of the town if you have a long layover: http://www.narita-transit-program.jp/ (from my friend Dawn at ShareTraveler.com, thanks!)HND:
- Take the Keikyu subway line (<30 min). Super easy, and awesome airport. The Tokyo monorail goes to Hamamatsucho and is around US $6, or is covered by the JR Rail Pass. The Asakusa subway line also goes to and from Haneda airport.
- Be sure to explore the 4th and 5th floors before you enter security! It’s a lot more interesting and fun before security — there is a cute Kyoto-themed street with its own “yokocho” (alley of restaurants), a bunch of cute stores, a Japanese-style bridge and “shrine”, an outdoor observation deck to view takeoffs and landings, a Don Quijote, flight simulator games, and even a planetarium café.
Tokyo Recommendations map
A map of cool things to do and see, and hype restaurants in Tokyo, curated off of Tabelog, RamenDB, Ramen Beast, and personal experience/recommendations. Keep in mind that these are popular restaurants, so there will likely be a line!
Sushi
Top 50 sushi restaurants in Tokyo according to Tabelog.com users (the Yelp of Japan.)
Dessert
=&14=& is a Japanese show on Netflix about a Tokyo salaryman who goofs off during his sales visits by stopping by dessert shops. The places are real, so worth checking out if you are really into dessert. Japanese desserts have a large varieties (parfaits, shaved ice, chocolates, puddings, pancakes, bean desserts, jellies, etc.) so go satisfy that sweet tooth!
Here is a list and map of all the places visited on the show.
Mochi (Dessert)
- Learn about different kinds of mochi: https://www.snakku.com/blogs/news/118172613-10-mochi-you-need-know-before-travelling-to-japan
Themed Cafes
- Owl café
- Cat cafés
Other
- Other things to look out for:
- Nagasaki champon noodles (pork broth with egg noodles and seafood)
- Onigiri (triangular seaweed-wrapped rice and stuffings) – found at any convenience store, great for a snack
- Butadon (pork rice bowl)
- Oyakodon (chicken rice bowl)
- Takoyaki (octopus balls, more of an Osaka thing)
- Okonomiyaki (savory pancake, more of an Osaka thing)
Ikebukuro
- Sunshine City– First city within a city. Aquarium, theme parks, museum, planetarium, shops, restaurants, skyscraper with observation deck. Great place for kids.
- Namja Town – Fun indoor theme park to bring kids. Lots of games, small rides and attractions, food corners like gyoza stadium.
Shibuya
- *** Shibuya Crossing *** – Hachiko exit of Shibuya Station. Fun to people-watch from the second floor of Starbucks overlooking the crossing (above the Tsutaya sign).
- *** Yoyogi Park *** – Nice huge park, fun for people watching and sakura picnics (hanami). Between Harajuku and Shibuya. Free.
- *** Meiji Shrine *** – Next to Yoyogi Park, beautiful shrine in a forrest. Free.
- Dog Heart – play with puppies and dogs, you can even rent one to take to the nearby Yoyogi Park for an hour!
Harajuku
*** =&25=& *** – Fun people watching, small street for shopping, seeing interesting things, and eating Marion Crepes.
=&26=&
- Where to go: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011.html
Driving on the wrong side of the road again – Japan edition!
After my first driving adventure on the other side of the road, I went on another trip to a country where you drive on the left side of the road, the land of the rising sun, Japan. Now with some experience, would my next time driving on the left side be as easy?
Before all of that, you might be asking, “Why drive in Japan? Isn’t there a great public transportation system over there?” And the answer is, normally you wouldn’t. The train system in Japan is very extensive, and with options like the JR Pass for tourists, you should be able to get to the majority of tourist areas for free or just with a charge for the last local connection. Plus, driving in Japan is expensive, with pricey car rentals and highway tolls.
Why might you want to drive in Japan?