The trip of a lifetime was the one that felt it took a lifetime to plan. We could have never imagined the gravity of traveling across our whole country and most of the Pacific Ocean back in 2019 when we started building our itinerary for Japan. But through the years of designing (and re-designing) the perfect vacation to this wondrous island country (with constant support from the brilliant Tisha!) in November, we began our 26 hour journey to Kyoto.
We make it to breakfast on morning one. I’m feeling rested and confident in my very novice Japanese. I attempt to speak with the waiter stumbling through all those syllables. I pause and inquire as to my performance, he responds “Sounds good to me, but I’m from South Carolina.” Those first day out-of-comfort-zone nerves on vacation and the ‘can we communicate here’ jitters disappear. We ease right into this prestigious place.
Day one is chock-full of temples and shrines. We lose our shoes, quiet our voices, and take in the opulent structures and landscapes of Kyoto.
We marvel at the significance of these places (some built over a thousand years ago!) while trying to soak up as much knowledge as possible for our thorough guide, Yano.
Lunch in Kyoto on day one is much like lunch in every city we will visit, David’s choice – ramen. 😊 And just like the protocols we follow in the temples, there’s a proper way to approach ramen, slurping an essential component.
Our afternoon ends at a traditional tea ceremony where we get to select our kimonos before a local hastily wraps and ties what felt like a half-dozen layers of dress. More instructions soon follow as we learn the strategy to formally make and take tea. And here again slurping is highly encouraged.
The sun sets and we find ourselves alone with the proprietor of a local sake bar. A few hours and a dozen or so samples later of the mesmerizing beverage, we partake in some tempura shrimp and veggies before calling it a night.
Day two in Kyoto starts the same with breakfast, but we are now noticing the intentionality – of everything around us. My purse is placed in a cart beside the table. Every item on the table rests on a coaster, nothing touches the table. David drops his napkin, and it is replaced within seconds from a frantic server darting across the dining room.
Today our guide shows us to the heavily-photographed Fushimi Inari Shrine and follows it up with a ramen spot that in the states we would call a hole-in-wall. Turns out it also had a hole for a toilet.
We close out the day learning the history of geishas and the basics of sake brewing.
Day three is all ours to plan (no guides). First stop is easily Mipig Café, a training camp for minipigs, where we are quickly covered in the little sweeties.
Lunch is a highly recommended sushi spot that serves as our first O-M-G food experience. We try every offering of fish and re-order a few standouts. The restaurant and bar scene in Japan is quite the opposite of the US scene. Most places seat less than twenty patrons and prioritize the individual experience over volume. Lengthy meals are highly regarded by me already, but adding in service-focus really sells us.
We stroll home before the night life picks up as we have an early morning departure.
As Tisha told us, day four will be a journey with many modes of transportation, but we’d be thankful we made the trip once we arrived. That might be the biggest understatement ever, but first, the journey. Taxi to airport, flight to Chitose City (3 bags checked for free, handled by white-gloved attendants and gently placed on the conveyer belt – I love this country!), rent car (better Japanese would have helped us here), drive car (on the left side of the road!). David does an exquisite job chauffeuring while I take in all the scenes and feed him scrumptious convenience store snacks along the drive to Niseko. (I could write another blog on food from the 7-Eleven in Japan)
The sun sets at 4:21 which means driving in the dark up steep mountain roads, but we make it. And, Oh My. If I had to describe (and it’s really not possible) Zaborin, I would say, from the moment I walked in the door, I felt like someone wrapped me in a warm blanket and I stayed the coziest I’ve ever been for the next 48 hours. David recently said he could still hear the crackle of the fire when we walked into the lobby. Me too!
A traditional ryokan, there was no detail missing from the architecture to the food to the immaculate service. We don the required robes and wabake (slippers) before heading down to pre-dinner drinks and dinner. The one-size-fits-all robes make a lot of sense after the ten-course meal with wine pairing. 😉
We awake the following day to see a picture-perfect Mount Yotei framed behind the bar. Unbeknownst to us, we were enjoying drinks under this mammoth mountain the entire night prior.
Breakfast was another opulent show – first time I’ve had that much fish for breakfast – and it is absolutely flawless.
We spend the day reading by the fire and soaking in the spring-fed onsen before our somehow even more spectacular dinner.
The next morning we arigato profusely to the inn keepers and say a little prayer this won’t be the last time here. The drive back to the airport is much smoother – David is more familiar, and the sun is out! We realize in the Sapporo airport that we haven’t had one yet so we prioritize – two bowls of tofu ramen + two Sapporos – $15 USD. The Japanese Yen is in our favor – cheers to that 😊
Vibrant fall colors greet us as we arrive to Hakone, but we can’t quite make out the one thing we want to see in this lakeside town, Mount Fuji. We have been told by many that it is likely we will not see this stunning peak given on average it’s only visible 80 days per year!
We are ‘roughing it’ for the next two days at Hoshinoya Fuji, a glamping resort. We gather our backpacks, headlamps, canteens and binoculars (provided to us in the cutest backpacks) before checking into our room. We awake the next day earlier than the sun and watch with suspense as fog swirls around the mountain. A nice morning run around the town of Hakone is in store before breakfast that we kind of, in the glamping way, make ourselves. Back in the room, the clouds part and we can see every inch of Mount Fuji – it’s as incredible as the photos!
The weather today is a sunny 50 degrees! We hop on bikes and make our way around the 24km lake.
Dinner is another locally inspired treat complete with milk bread rolls (yum!) and a traditional way to cook potatoes. We can barely stay awake through another extensive meal. We turn in early and check off the last small-town venture of this trip.
Tokyo greets us as anticipated – busy! We take the elevator to our hotel on the 31st floor where we find another remarkable view. Lunch is, well we already know what lunch is, because David is still in tow. All of $12 satiates us.
Walking around Tokyo we are underdressed. It’s like NYC but if everyone was doing the most with their clothing, shoes and hair – everyone. Back at the hotel we sit down with the concierge to plan our night out in the big city.
Dinner is an omakase plus free-flow sake extravaganza. Over the next hour and half we devour all the raw fish we can stuff inside our week-plus vacation bellies. We make it up to our hotel room only to realize we’re missing a phone. I’ve been questioning why every cab we’ve taken gives out a receipt, and now I see one of the benefits. The phone is returned to our room within 30 minutes and all is well.
Breakfast overlooks the staggering Tokyo that seems to never end. For comparison, NYC is about two-thirds the land size of Tokyo. Our day is spent honestly in the most random of places – a park full of ducks, an antique shop and an 8-story stationary store. And least random of all, ramen for lunch (this time ordered from a vending machine).
We toast to our last night in The Gold Bar reflecting on all Japan offered us over the course of our ten days. Food that was as deliberately plated as it was prepared. Service that I venture no other country even dare come close to replicating. Manmade structures that rival their surrounding natural landscapes. And I swear there was one more thing…..a hai, kaedama onegaishimasu.
Eat.Drink.Run 
