Anu, Aditya, Sahil and I planned a trip to Japan during the Thanksgiving break in Dec 2024. Anu and I had originally traveled to Japan in Oct 1998 when Aditya was 2 years old and Anu was pregnant with Sahil. This was an opportunity for Anu and I to relive our memories of that trip 26 years ago.
Here was the daily itinerary with cities. We thought there was enough time to explore those cities.
- Day 1: Fri, Nov 22: Travel to Japan
- Day 2: Sat, Nov 23: Tokyo
- Day 4: Sun, Nov 24: Tokyo
- Day 5: Mon, Nov 25: Kyoto
- Day 6: Tue, Nov 26: Kyoto, Osaka
- Day 7: Wed, Nov 27: Nara, Osaka
- Day 8: Thu, Nov 28: Osaka, Hiroshima
- Day 9: Fri, Nov 29: Hiroshima, Miyajima
- Day 10: Sat, Nov 30: Tokyo
- Day 11: Sun, Dec 1: Tokyo
- Day 12: Mon, Dec 2: Travel from Japan
Here is day by day account of our trip.
Day 1: Fri, Nov 22: Travel to Japan
Anu and I took the flight from Pune -> Delhi -> Haneda Airport (Tokyo) on Nov 22. We took the Japan Airlines (JAL) flight from Delhi. In 1998, when we had flown JAL from San Francisco, it was a smoking flight and we had vowed never to travel JAL again. But this time it was a pleasant surprise with the flight being completely non-smoking and a delightful experience due to Japanese hospitality.
Day 2: Sat, Nov 23: Arrival in Tokyo, Tokyo city
We arrived in Tokyo early morning at 6.30 am at Haneda airport.
We took the Airport Shuttle (bus) from Haneda Airport to Hilton, Tokyo Bay. It took us 1.30 hours to get to the hotel at 9 am. Aditya and Sahil were supposed to arrive at 5 pm that day. So we kept our bags at Hilton hotel and headed out to Tokyo city.
Hilton Tokyo Bay was in the Tokyo Disneyland area.
There was a bus shuttle from Hilton Tokyo Bay to Maihama train station. We took a Japan Rail train from Maihama to Tokyo central station. In Japan, there are multiple private companies operating the rail, the metro and the subway. Unless you buy an integrated pass, you have to pay separately for a ride on each of these transportation options.
While we were waiting for Aditya and Sahil, we took the train and subway to Ginza, the shopping area of Tokyo. We saw the Seiko museum. Seiko is a Japanese maker of watches, clocks, electronic devices, semiconductors, jewelry, and optical products. Founded in 1881 by Kintaro Hattori in Tokyo, Seiko introduced the world’s first commercial quartz wristwatch in 1969. Seiko watches are frequently the timekeepers at the Olympics.
After Aditya and Sahil arrived from Dallas and came to Hilton Tokyo Bay, we again headed out to the Ginza area. We first went to dinner at Tokyo station. In Japan, the railway stations are also centers of activity with hotels, offices and restaurants. Lots of people go to areas around the train station for business and leisure. That is why traveling by train in Japan is so easy.
We got back to Maihama station at around 10.15 pm. We took a taxi back to Tokyo Bay Hilton.
On the very first day in Japan, we realized a few things:
- Japan is a very clean country. There is no trash anywhere, not a single speck of paper anywhere. There is a high degree of personal discipline. After the 1995 sarin gas attacks in Tokyo subway, the authorities took away trash cans. Yet, the country is extremely clean.
- People form lines everywhere, trains, metros, stores. They will quietly stand in line and wait for their turn.
Day 3: Sun, Nov 24: Tokyo
The morning started with a sumptuous breakfast at the Hilton.
The vending machines in Japan are a wonder. They serve hot drinks and cold drinks. Coffee cans are heated before they are dispensed. Since the Japanese yen was weak compared to the US Dollar, goods and services seemed much cheaper in Japan.
We took the 10 am free walking tour near Sensoji temple.
The Asahi Beer Hall is one of the buildings of the Asahi Breweries headquarters located on the east bank of the Sumida River in Sumida, Tokyo. It was designed by French designer Philippe Starck and was completed in 1989. It is considered one of Tokyo’s most recognizable modern structures. The shape of the building is that of a beer glass, designed to complement the neighboring golden beer mug-shaped building housing the Asahi Breweries offices. It is noted for the Asahi Flame, an enormous golden structure at the top, said to represent both the ‘burning heart of Asahi beer’ and a frothy head. The Asahi Flame is sometimes colloquially referred to as “the golden turd”. The Tokyo Skytree tower is right behind the Asahi building.
Next stop was the Sensoji temple, also known as Asakusa Kannon. It is an ancient Buddhist temple built around 645 AD in Asakusa, Tokyo. It is Tokyo’s oldest-established temple, and one of its most significant. It is dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. Structures in the temple complex include the main hall, a five-story pagoda and large gates. It is the most widely visited religious site in the world with over 30 million visitors annually.
The entrance is known as the famous Kaminarimon gate built in 941 AD.
We visited the shrine next to Sensoji temple. A temple is for Buddhists and a shrine is for Shinto religion. The method of praying is 2-2-1 , 2 bows, 2 claps and 1 bow. In a temple, the claps are silent, in a shrine, the claps are loud. In 1868, the Japanese government ordered the separation of Shinto and Buddhism, which created two separate religious traditions. However, the two religions are often practiced together, and it’s common to find both shrines and temples in the same complex.
After completing the guided tour, we ate lunch at Marugoto Vegan restaurant. In general, we did not have trouble finding vegetarian food in Japan because of Google maps and the availability of the internet.
Another interesting characteristic of Japan is that many restaurants do not allow you to sit unless each person orders a dish. Once, Aditya and Anu wanted to eat and I wanted to just sit and chat, they would not allow me to sit unless, I too ordered a full meal. I thought the custom was strange.
Next stop was Ueno park and the Tokyo National Museum. There was a Hello Kitty exhibit to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Hello Kitty character created in 1974 by Sanrio.
We wrote Japanese characters at the end of our visit.
After spending about 2 hours at the Tokyo National Museum, we proceeded to Tokyo Skytree, a broadcasting and observation tower, located in Sumida, Tokyo. It is the tallest tower in Japan since opening in 2012, and reached its full height of 634 meters (2,080 ft) in early 2011, making it the tallest tower in the world, the third tallest structure in the world.
There was a long queue, about 1 hour to get to the top, but the views were worth it.
We had dinner at the food court in the Skytree. Anu, Aditya and I ate Pad Thai and Sahil had a pork dish.
On the way back, we say interesting shop that served cheese, cream and pudding in a cone.
We got back to Hilton Tokyo Bay around 9.20 pm.
A few observations about Japan:
- Japanese are very good at user interface design. All signs are very clearly mentioned, no confusion. No need to ask anyone. Every signboard and announcement is in Japanese and English. That is why they created popular video games.
- Japanese products have great aesthetics, they work well and they look good. There is a lot of attention to detail, small things that others may overlook
- Toilets in Japan are the next level beyond all other countries. Heated seats, electronic flush, precision bidet, auto-sensing seats. Really advanced toilet technology.
Day 4: Mon, Nov 25: Travel to Kyoto, Kyoto City
We took the morning Shinkansen from Tokyo at 9.02 am reaching Kyoto at 11.37 am. Anu and I had visited Japan in Oct 1998 when Aditya was less than 2 years old and Sahil was not yet born. But riding the Shinkansen was as exciting an experience in 2024 as it was in 1998. We covered the 450 km distance between Tokyo and Kyoto in 2.35 hrs, going at an average of approx 200 km/hr.
We saw great views of Mount Fuji to our left as we rode the Shinkansen.
It was raining when we got to Kyoto. We took a metro to the nearest station and checked into the Hyatt Place, Kyoto at around 12.20 pm. Kyoto was formerly the capital of Japan, until the restoration of the power of Meiji Emperor from Tokugawa Shogunate in 1867. After 1867, the capital was moved to Edo (now know as Tokyo, meaning “capital city”).
Around 1.15 pm, we left to each lunch at vegan place called Kyoto Curry Seisakusho Karil. The food was pretty good. It was a small restaurant and the seating was 1 person seating. However, I had eaten on the train. Therefore, I told them that I would just sit and not eat. There is a strange custom in Japanese restaurants that to sit at the table, you have to order a full meal (a drink is not enough). They were not rude, but that is just a custom in Japan. I had not seen this customer anywhere else in the world. Anu and I decided to step out and sit at the bus stop.
After lunch, we took a bus and proceeded to the Higashiyama Jishoji temple. Ginkaku-ji (“Temple of the Silver Pavilion”), officially named Jishō-ji (“Temple of Shining Mercy”), is a Zen temple in Kyoto built around 1460 AD. In addition to the temple’s famous building, the property features wooded grounds covered with a variety of mosses. This Japanese garden was supposedly designed by the great landscape artist Sōami. It took us about 45 mins to tour the Jishoji temple complex.
Our next stop was the Kiyomizu temple complex, located in the Eastern part of Kyoto. The temple was established in 778, during the late Nara period, by Enchin Shonin, who was a priest from Nara (the capital of Japan from 710 to 784). He is said to have received a vision telling him to construct the temple next to the Otowa spring. Many of the temple’s present buildings were constructed in 1633 on the orders of the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. There is not a single nail used in the entire structure. It takes its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hills. Kiyomizu means “pure water”. We spent 1 hour at this place and got a great view at sunset.
In the evening at around 6 pm, we joined a free walking tour of the Gion district of Kyoto. It is Kyoto’s most famous geisha district, located around Shijo Avenue between Yasaka Shrine in the east and the Kamo River in the west. It is filled with shops, restaurants and ochaya (teahouses), where geiko (Kyoto dialect for geisha) and maiko (geiko apprentices) entertain. The tour guide was a Swiss guy who was residing in Japan to learn their martial arts. He was conducting walking tours to make some extra money. He explained the geisha culture in detail.
In the end, it was getting really cold and our feet were hurting. So, around 7.30 pm, we quit the tour and headed back to Hyatt Place hotel.
Few Observations:
- Not being allowed to sit in a restaurant unless you order a full meal was a very strange custom. I have not seen it in any other country
- There is no tipping in Japan. You simply pay the bill and go. That is a refreshing custom rather than navigate the awkward feeling deciding guiltily how much to tip.
Day 5: Tue, Nov 26: Kyoto, Travel to Osaka
We started our day by visiting the Fushimi Inari shrine, an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grounds. We did not have time to climb the trails. Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari’s messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari Shrine has ancient origins, predating the capital’s move to Kyoto in 794 AD.
Our next stop in the morning was Kinkaku-ji temple (‘Temple of the Golden Pavilion’), officially named Rokuon-ji (‘Deer Garden Temple’). It is a Zen Buddhist temple and one of the most popular buildings in Kyoto, attracting many visitors annually. It was built in 1397 AD. Anu remembered that we had seen this structure in 1998.
At around 1 pm, we at the MOS Burger, a familiar place. The burger was quite good.
Since Kyoto was the capital before Tokyo (Tokyo was called Edo and became the capital only in 1868), it has a lot of important buildings. Nijo Castle was built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo Period (1603-1868). His grandson Iemitsu completed the castle’s palace buildings 23 years later and expanded the castle by adding a five story castle keep. After the Tokugawa Shogunate fell in 1867, Nijo Castle was used as an imperial palace for a while before being donated to the city and opened up to the public as a historic site. Its palace buildings are arguably the best surviving examples of castle palace architecture of Japan’s feudal era.
At around 3 pm, we went back to Hyatt Place and then took a train to Osaka. We arrived in Osaka and checked into the Doubletree in Osaka at 5.30 pm. Since it was raining, we decided not to go anywhere that evening. We could see the Osaka castle and the Christmas lighting at the Osaka Castle grounds from our hotel.
Day 6: Wed, Nov 27: Nara, Osaka
Our first stop of the day was Nara, the former capital city of Japan. We reached Nara Station at around 10 am. It was a really cold day.
We walked over to Kofuku-ji, a family temple of the Fujiwara dynasty established in Nara at the same time as the capital in 710. At the height of Fujiwara power, the temple consisted of over 150 buildings. The temple features several buildings of great historic value, including a five-storied pagoda and a three-storied pagoda. At 50 meters, the five-storied pagoda is Japan’s second tallest wooden pagoda, just seven meters shorter than the five-storied pagoda at Kyoto’s Toji Temple. Kofukuji’s pagoda is both a landmark and symbol of Nara. It was first built in 730, and was most recently rebuilt in 1426. Neither pagoda can be entered by the public.
We continued walking to the Nara deer park, where we saw bowing deer. There are a few vendors selling deer crackers for 100 yen each. If you give the deer a cracker and bow, they bow back. Very interesting. We spent a lot of time playing the “bowing” game. These deer are wild and they roam about the city of Nara. In many places, the deer were just sitting around lazing in the sun.
We swung by the Nara National Museum, but decided not to visit it because it mainly consisted of archaeological exhibits. For people who like such exhibits, it is a very important building.
We continued our visit to Nara to the Todai-ji temple (“Great Eastern Temple”), one of Japan’s most famous and historically significant temples and a landmark of Nara. The temple was constructed in 752 as the head temple of all provincial Buddhist temples of Japan and grew so powerful that the capital was moved away from Nara in 784 in order to lower the temple’s influence on government affairs. Until recently, Todaiji’s main hall, the Daibutsuden (Big Buddha Hall), held the record as the world’s largest wooden building, despite the fact that the present reconstruction of 1692 is only two thirds of the original temple hall’s size. The massive building houses one of Japan’s largest bronze statues of Buddha (Daibutsu).
Our last stop in Nara was the Isuien, an attractive Japanese garden with a variety of features, such as the use of Todaiji Temple’s Nandaimon Gate and Mount Wakakusayama as “borrowed scenery”. Isuien means “garden founded on water”, and the garden’s name is derived from the fact that its ponds are fed by the small adjacent Yoshikigawa River. The Yoshikien Garden is located just on the other side of the river (and is free to visit, therefore, recommend going there). Isuien is divided into two parts, a front garden and a rear garden, with a number of tea houses scattered throughout. The front garden has a longer history, dating back to the mid 17th century. The rear garden, the larger of the two, is more recent and was built in 1899 by a wealthy merchant.
We came back to the Doubletree hotel in Osaka at 4.45 pm. In the evening, we visited Dotonbori shopping area.
Anu and I ate at the Shake Shack, Aditya ordered a burrito to go. Sahil at at another place. We arrived back at the hotel by 9.21 pm.
Few observations:
- Normally, 1 US Dollar is about 100 yen. When we visited, it was 1 USD to 150 yen. Everything seemed inexpensive.
- Taxis are reasonably priced in Japan. There is no cheating anywhere, no solicitation. Feels very comfortable.
Day 7: Thu, Nov 28: Osaka, Hiroshima
We started early morning and reached Osaka Castle by 9.30 am.
The construction of Osaka Castle started in 1583 on the former site of the Ishiyama Honganji Temple, which had been destroyed by Oda Nobunaga thirteen years earlier. Toyotomi Hideyoshi intended the castle to become the center of a new, unified Japan under Toyotomi rule. It was the largest castle at the time. However, a few years after Hideyoshi’s death, Tokugawa troops attacked and destroyed the castle and terminated the Toyotomi lineage in 1615. Osaka Castle was rebuilt by Tokugawa Hidetada in the 1620s.
We then went to Osaka station where Sahil wanted to visit the Pokemon store. In Japan, the train stations are swanky and at the center of business activity. They have offices, shops, restaurants and much more.
Aditya and I decided to go to the Umeda Sky, a 40 storey building with great views of Osaka. We realized we could go up to the 39th floor for free, which we did. There was a fee for the last 2 floors to go up the observation deck. We decided to skip that part.
Back at Osaka station, for lunch, Aditya and I ate a South Indian vegetarian thali prepared by a Japanese cook. But the thali was very good.
We took a metro to Shin Osaka Station and then a Shinkansen at 2.23 pm to Hiroshima. Since we had the Japan Rail pass (which we bought for $354 per person), we could travel on all the Shinkansen trains for free, except the super-express Nozomi trains. We reached Hiroshima in 1.30 hrs at 3.52 pm.
We checked into the Hilton Hiroshima at around 4.15 pm. We immediately proceeded to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, dedicated to the victims of the atomic bomb that exploded above Hiroshima on Aug 6, 1945. The exhibits present the chilling reality of atomic bombs.
The museum closed at 6 pm. Then, we wandered around the Peace Memorial Park Arch.
We also walked by the famous Atomic Bomb Dome. The building was the only structure that remained standing in the area around the atomic bombing of Hiroshima at the end of World War II. The ruin of the hall serves as a memorial to the over 140,000 people who were killed in the bombing. It is permanently kept in a state of preserved ruin as a reminder of the destructive effects of nuclear warfare. Domestically, the memorial is a common venue for anti-war, anti-nuclear weapons and anti-nuclear power movement in Japan protests.
Our final stop was the Hiroshima Uniqlo shop, where Anu purchased a couple of warm weather jackets.
We returned to Hilton Hiroshima at around 9.15 pm.
Day 8: Fri, Nov 29: Miyajima Island, Hiroshima
We had a great breakfast in the morning and headed to Hiroshima Castle.
Hiroshima Castle, also called the Carp Castle, is a good example of a castle built on a plain in the center of a city as opposed to hilltop and mountaintop castles. Its main keep is five stories tall, and its grounds are surrounded by a moat. Hiroshima developed as a castle town, whereby the castle was both the physical and economical center of the city. Built in 1589 by the powerful feudal lord Mori Terumoto, Hiroshima Castle was an important seat of power in western Japan. While it was spared the demolishment that many other castles met during the Meiji Period, like the rest of the city, Hiroshima Castle was destroyed by the atomic bomb in 1945.
Our next stop was the Shukkeien Garden, a beautiful Japanese garden. Shukkeien can be translated into English as “shrunken-scenery garden”, which is also a good description of the garden itself. Valleys, mountains and forests are represented in miniature in the garden’s landscapes. Through careful cultivation of the land and vegetation, the garden mimics a variety of natural formations and scenic views. Shukkeien has a long history dating back to 1620, just after the completion of Hiroshima Castle. The garden displays many features of the traditional aesthetics of Japanese gardens. Around the garden’s main pond there are a number of tea houses which offer visitors ideal views of the surrounding scenery.
We took a train from Hiroshima at about 12 noon and then a ferry from the Miyajimaguchi station to go to the island of Miyajima, a small island less than an hour outside the city of Hiroshima.
Miyajima island is most famous for its giant torii gate, which at high tide seems to float on the water. The sight is ranked as one of Japan’s three best views.
We ate lunch at a small restaurant, but they had really good vegetarian curry and rice.
We then walked and then took a cable car to the Mount Misen, the highest peak on Miyajima. On clear days, it affords spectacular views of the Seto Inland Sea and as far as Hiroshima City. There are also a number of Buddhist structures near the peak. The ropeway closed at 4.30 pm, so we could not go all the way up to Mount Misen. We took some time to take photos at the observation point near the cable car station and then came right back.
We took the 5.15 pm ferry back to the main Honshu Island and then back by train to Hiroshima at around 6.30 pm.
We got back to Hilton Hiroshima at 8 pm.
Day 9: Sat, Nov 30: Travel to Tokyo, Tokyo City
We took the 8.03 am Shinkansen from Hiroshama -> Shin-Osaka -> Tokyo, reaching Tokyo at 12.44 pm, almost 1,000 km in about 5 hours. On the train, we got a great sighting of Mount Fuji on our eastern side.
Anu and Sahil went to see the Imperial Palace while Aditya and I went to drop off our luggage at Hilton Tokyo Bay.
Sahil visited the Salesforce Tokyo building.
Sahil was not feeling well and they decided to skip the Imperial palace and head back to the hotel. Aditya and I met them at the Shin-Kiba station. Sahil went to the hotel. Aditya, Anu and I went back to Tokyo city.
We visited the Yasukuni Shrine, founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 to commemorate the soldiers who died for Japan in various wars. The shrine became highly controversial later because it included names of Japanese soldiers that were labeled as war criminals after World War II.
Later, we visited the Ginza district at night. We spent a lot of time in Uniqlo store and bought a few jackets.
We had our dinner at Nijubashi square. Ginza was brightly lit as we walked back to Tokyo station at around 9 pm.
Few Observations:
- Japanese people are very polite in their interactions. When we traveled on the Shinkansen, the train conductor would bow each time he entered and exited.
- Japanese society is quite rigid. While they are polite, quiet and respectful, they have strict norms on what you can and cannot do. For example, you cannot sit anywhere in shrine area, it is considered disrespectful. If you do sit, people will take offence. Therefore, the society is polite but rigid.
Day 10: Sun, Dec 1: Tokyo Museums, Tokyo City
Dec 1 was Aditya’s birthday. We had specifically decided to spend an extra day in Japan so that we could celebrate his birthday together.
In the morning, I decided to take off early and head to the museums. My first stop was the Tokyo National Museum of Nature and Science. It was in the same Ueno park area where we had gone earlier during the trip. The museum was very hyped and I did not enjoy it much. I spent only about 45 mins at this museum.
I proceeded to the Railway Museum, near Omiya Station in Tokyo. It was quite far, but since I had a Japan Rail pass, I did not have to pay for the ride. The museum turned out to be simply awesome. It had railway exhibits from the 1870s when railway really developed in Japan.
The Shinkansen exhibit was truly amazing because it showed how in a short space of 5 years, the first Shinkansen line was developed. It also explained the details that went into the design of the train and the associated logistics. Totally mindblowing.
Anu and Aditya visited the Meiji Jingu shrine built around 1920. The shrine is dedicated to the spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine does not contain the emperor’s grave, which is located at Fushimi-momoyama, south of Kyoto.
Aditya and Anu had south Indian food, while I ate a Subway. We met near Shinjuku station.
We visited a non-descript museum called the Memorial Museum for Soldiers, Detainees in Siberia and Post-war Repatriates. It was on the 33rd floor of the Sumitomo building. Admission was free and it turned out to be a very nice information museum.
Our next stop was the Tokyo Metropolitan Building, a tall government building with an observation tower at the top. The lifts were not extremely crowded unlike Tokyo Skytree, about 10 min wait time. At the top, there was lots of space, big windows and a nice, reasonably priced cafe. We sat for nearly 2.5 hours looking at Tokyo City, Mount Fuji, sunset. Great experience.
When we descended, there was a beautiful sound and light laser show projecting on the building. It lasted about 15 mins but it was a rich experience and it is free to watch. It runs every 30 mins.
We took the metro to Shibuya station where there is a statue of Hachiko, a Japanese Akita dog remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno, for whom he continued to wait for over nine years following Ueno’s death. There is movie on this dog starring Richard Gere. Truly heartwarming.
The Shibuya crossing is a famous for multiple streets converging and all streets are stopped to allowed thousands of pedestrians to cross. It is compared the Times Square in New York. It is quite a sight.
Anu and I ate dinner at a Mexican taco place, not great. Note the linear seating due to lack of space. Aditya ate at a South Indian restaurant. Very good.
Day 12: Mon, Dec 2: Travel from Tokyo to US/India
Our flights were at around 11 am from Haneda Airport to US and India. We took a taxi from Hilton Tokyo Bay.
Anu and I visited Japan after 26 years. It was a great experience reliving those memories.
