My first solo trip to Japan - Fantasy Springs Opening Day Trip Report

[Disneyhanna]

5/29: Kyoto (Michelin Star Dining at Takayama Pt 2)

This meal was paced so well, I was worried about getting full but it was a leisurely pace and so I was able to eat everything without being too stuffed (until the desserts LOL). Our host was only 22 and he was so sweet and funny, we all joked with him a lot. The other couples were friendly and everyone loosened up after having a few drinks. Not everyone drank, so there's no pressure to do a pairing, but the free champagne was a HUGE glass and enough to get things going

Chef Takayama was so nice and funny, he spoke good English and did everything in English since none of us were Japanese. I think two of the couples were from the US, one from Denmark, and one from Hong Kong. Despite the meal being so fancy, it was a very casual atmosphere, which I appreciated.

Next course was foie-gras. I'm no vegetarian and this wouldn't be something I'd order but it was one of the courses, so of course I'm going to eat it!



There was a little choux pastry base and the foie-gras was shaped like a duck. Chef T seemed to think that was so hilarious and clever, I mean it totally was

I won't lie, this was delicious! It was unique and unlike anything I've ever had, very savory and salty and a bit earthy.

Next up was a sort of truffle ice cream sandwich. I have to stress these courses were TINY! They look large but this was probably the size of a quarter. Everything was bite sized, so we all had no trouble clearing our plates.



I'm not a big fan of truffle but I enjoyed this. The cookie was crisp and wafer thin and the ice cream was salty a bit smoky and almost freeze dried but very cold. Another super unique bite, I loved it.



The next round "finger food" (bruschetta, taralli, gazpacho) was served three at a time, so we got a chance to watch them work a bit. It was so fun seeing them plate everything!



Perhaps this is a good time to mention that Takayama has a lot of Italian influence with some Japanese flair! I decided against doing a more traditional Japanese omakase for my splurge meal as I figured I would eat plenty of delicious Japanese meals that didn't cost a fortune throughout the trip.

Back to the review, the gazpacho was 100% tomato juice with a bit of basil juice. This was super refreshing, just a tiny sip, but full of so much perfectly ripe tomato flavor. The prosciutto was the best I've had, it was on a little cracker.

It was at this point I thought wow, they sure have to do a lot of prep every day to keep the courses moving so quickly!

I don't have any notes on the bruschetta, I'm sure it was delicious, but maybe not a standout. The tomatoes they used were so delicious though, much better than the sad artificially ripened tomatoes we have in our grocery stores.

We had a bit of a break before the next course thankfully. I received my first wines of my half pairing, a rose and white. I'm not big on red wines so I was happy! The glasses were massive, so these pours were still generous.



I enjoyed chatting with our host, the other couples, and watching the food being prepared! This meal was never boring!



The next course was served with five dishes at once, just wow! From left to right this was tart, prosciutto and fruits, gelato, carpaccio, and sponge.



The tart had little shrimps, with lemon zest, snap pea, and daikon. This was so crisp and bouncy!



The prosciutto was accompanied by the single sweetest bite of cantaloupe imaginable. Prosciutto and melon is a popular combo, but I don't think I'll ever have a better version than this.

The gelato was a standout for me. It was a Parmesan gelato, with a parmesan crisp! It was so creamy, just a hint of salt and cheese but not overwhelming. Extremely fatty and decadent, just melt in your mouth delicious.



According to my notes, the carpaccio included snapper, barracuda, something I missed, and sea grapes. The char from the grill gave this so much flavor. All of the fish tasted so different but they all just melted and had absolutely no fishiness. This is for the sashimi lovers for sure, but better than any sashimi I've ever had! I did not do any expensive sushi meals so I probably missed out on a lot of high quality fish, but I have to believe this fish was some of the freshest, highest quality you could get. Just sublime! This was a heartier portion than what we'd had so far and I still could have eaten more of it.




The sponge looked an awful lot like a baby chick, we teased Chef T about it who gave us a sneaky smile and confirmed nothing! The sponge was topped by a bit of uni (sea urchin) and was lovely, the sponge was so airy and lightweight.

Also, I'm only maybe half done with this meal review! I will try and finish the second half tomorrow

 

[Disneyhanna]

5/29: Kyoto (Michelin Star Dining at Takayama Pt 3)

Here was the cutlery drawer at each seat! I think I used the chopsticks (and beautiful chopsticks rest), and maybe a spoon



The next course was served five dishes at once again, and it came together so quickly!



From left to right: Fritto, pomodoro, espuma, arancini, panino



The fritto was a tempura with anchovy, and had little wafer crabs on top! It was filled with warm cream cheese, just wow. Think fancy crab rangoon but 10x better.



The pomodoro had the tastiest tomato ever. Espuma is a vegetable foam, it was full of air and very savory. The arancini was a delightful fried ball of flavor, and the bao with fried fish was probably the best bao AND fried fish I've ever had. Half of these courses were served hot and I have no idea how they manage that with the amount of dishes there are x9 people at the same time!

In my notes I wrote that everyone was definitely feeling their wine at this point Though I had the half pairing, our host still tried to refill my glass, but I had to decline or I'd never make it through the meal!

The next wine was a chardonnay. I think the notes were honey and grapefruit? I think all wine taste the same but it was very easy to drink



The next course was bread, this was fresh out of the oven and steaming. It was served with a slightly sweet butter, and the crust was so thick! It was delicious but if there was one course we could have skipped, it would be this. I had no desire to fill up on bread!



We were starting to have some pretty funny convos at this point, we were teasing our host since he was only 22 and so young! He asked us where I was from and we were trying to help him understand where Minnesota is. The couple next to me was from the Netherlands and they were like "Prince! Bob Dylan!" and I was like he is way too young to know who they are even if he were from the US not Japan

Finally it was time for the main courses to begin! First up was a Spanish mackerel.



The fish is hiding there behind those beautiful veggies! There were 15 local veggies involved in this dish, and it was accented with salsa verde and soy sauce.

Oh my goodness, this was just superb. The fish was unbelievably tender and the veggies were perfectly crisp.

Next wine was a Tuscany red, again very easy to drink. The glass was literally bigger than the bottle.



Chef Takayama prepped most of the beef, maybe because this was probably the most expensive course?



The sirloin was a waygu mature cow (not A5) from Japan. Served with Hokkaido asparagus.

The beef just melted in your mouth, it still had good texture and was not all fat. Asparagus is probably my favorite vegetable next to mushrooms and it was cooked to perfection, no woodiness.

 

[Disneyhanna]

5/29: Kyoto (Michelin Star Dining at Takayama Pt 4)

Next up was tagliolini, with orange zest and uni! This was just one forkful, but packed full of flavors. The orange was so fragrant and the uni was buttery, almost pillowy. I'd say this bite was another standout in terms of creativity/flavor.



After this was risotto, with parmesan and fava beans and sakura shrimp.



The parmesan was very rich and super creamy, and the shrimp were fried to crisp perfection. The level of salt was spot on. I don't think I could find a fault with a single dish we had, if you can't tell

Since I wasn't doing the full wine pairing, I did not receive the rest of the wines. Which I ended up being perfectly happy about as aside from the sake, none of them are up my alley! I believe there was a sake, port, and grappa. I learned that chef Takayama is a sake sommelier!

The first of three (yes, three) dessert courses was five dishes again: a smoothie, granita, mochi, tiramisu, and iced cake



The smoothie was banana and I think kiwi and something else. And it had pop rocks on the rim! Very Disney-esque
The granita was tart, like grapefruit. Super refreshing!
The mochi was filled with hojicha cream, it was bitter in a good way. The mochi itself was sooo soft and pillowy.
My favorite was the tiramisu, the strawberry was "unreal" according to my notes. I think it was just past strawberry season in Japan but you never would have known.
The iced cake was a bit forgettable, it had white chocolate crumbles.

The next dessert was my favorite, it was mango like 10 different ways. It came out steaming with dry ice.



I could identify mango sorbet, mango pop rocks, granita, grilled, meringue, freeze dried, foam...mango is one of my favorite fruits and this was like an ode to mango, showcasing its versatility. Definitely one of the best desserts I've ever had, period!

While they prepared our last course, we had coffee/espresso or tea. Since it was so late, I got a lovely herbal tea. Nice and fruity.



Finally, our last course, the piccola pasticceria. Aka more desserts than I can count. These were teeny tiny, but so many! He advised us to eat the Japanese cheesecake and creme brûlée square right away and they were happy to box up everything else.



I don't remember all of the desserts and I definitely packed some up to have for breakfast the next day.

I know there was a matcha macaroon, raspberry jelly, something lavender sesame, choux pastry, shortbread chocolate sandwich, chocolate truffle, Italian chocolate cake, and more...

And a honey sucker in the shape of a strong arm, there was a story there that has escaped my mind



Alas, our meal was done. We finished eating around 9:40PM and paid our bills. The most expensive meal of my life, but probably the best meal of my life as well!



I used to always want to try Victoria & Albert's some day but it has gotten so expensive over the years, so unless someone else is footing the bill I doubt that will happen!

I just looked, and V&A is $295 without add ons, plus $155 for the wine pairing. Even if two people split a pairing, that is still close to $500/person after tip. Just fly to Japan and pay less than half that for Takayama This was also cheaper than the prix fixe meal at Takumi-Tei not including tip or drinks! Is this what they mean when they say Japan is cheaper than going to Disney World?

Despite being 10PM, I still walked back to my hotel. I had been sitting and eating and drinking for over three hours after all! It was a bit spooky going through residential areas when no one was around but it never felt unsafe. That was one of my favorite parts about Japan, feeling so safe walking around.

Back at the hotel, I didn't see anyone but the staff at that hour. I actually got lost trying to find my room since all the walkways looked so different at night.



Turn down service came when I was heading to dinner, and they made up my bed, and put out slippers as well as water and ice and chocolate. There was a different origami creature each night!



And that's a wrap on this very long day, only 20k steps! I have a feeling if I end up back in Kyoto, I will need to go back to Takayama. I am a huge foodie but I don't like stuffy posh dining experiences, I want it to be more informal and relaxed, and this totally fit the bill. Chef Takayama doesn't take himself super seriously and is happy to joke around and have fun. I know some chefs are super stoic and even weird about taking pictures or talking too much, which wasn't what I was looking for.

 

[mlaw]

Loving your review. And MOA when trying to tell someone where Minnesota is. LOL

 

[Disneyhanna]

Loving your review. And MOA when trying to tell someone where Minnesota is. LOL

Thank you! And LOL! The thought occurred to me but the malls in Japan are so good, I was like I'm not sure the MOA would even compare

 

[Ngwira]

Stalking the Hyatt site for PH Kyoto availability.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Stalking the Hyatt site for PH Kyoto availability.

I did soooo much stalking. I had all my nights bookmarked on the Hyatt site so I could just open all my tabs with searches at once. I got all 5 nights I needed at various Hyatt hotels so I think the odds are pretty good if you look every day.

 

[Disneyhanna]

5/30: Kyoto (Kiyomizu-dera, Yasaka Pagoda, Yasaka Koshin-do)

Since I had a late night, I slept in until 7 on this 4th morning of my trip. I didn't experience any jet lag other than the early wake ups those first three days, and no daytime sleepiness. I definitely recommend a flight that lands in Japan in the afternoon if you are coming from the US, it was an easy adjustment.

This day ended up being a rough one for me. I woke up severely itchy and since I have chronic hives that are mostly under control, it is alway pretty mentally difficult to experience breakthrough reactions. Being alone in a foreign country and dealing with it didn't help, of course!

I felt better after a shower but still knew that it could get worse throughout the day, all I could do was push on with my planned day.

The Park Hyatt room was soooo quiet. I never heard anyone walking by and since the bedroom was so huge and far from the door, I slept so soundly. I think I mentioned this but I always sleep with ear plugs and a white noise machine on vacation, but I didn't need the ear plugs in Japan nor did I ever wake up to any noise.

I went to the front desk around 9AM and requested luggage shipping, I had put my luggage in my room by the door so all they did was take down my next destination and check in day and they took care of everything. Amazing!

This was the view from the hotel by the elevator, so beautiful! Yasaka Pagoda is very visible from this view.



I didn't plan this day ahead of time but in my room I checked google maps and tried to roughly plan the order of the few main stops I wanted to hit. I decided on Kiyomizu-dera first, it was a short walk from the hotel, maybe 10 minutes.



It was quite busy since I didn't get an early start. The popular stairs were very crowded with people taking photos. It was also incredibly sunny, so I got good use of my UV umbrella for the first time. It wasn't humid, so the UV umbrella made it feel like 10 degrees cooler, I am a total convert now.

The walk to Kiyomizu-dera was lovely, through both the Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka areas. There were tons of food stalls and little shops but I skipped them on the walk up, planning to do them at another time. I wanted to get to the temple before it got too crazy.

Since I hadn't researched any of the shrines/temples in advance, everything was a surprise to me. I didn't realize how big Kiyomizu-dera was!



The first parts you could see without paying the entrance fee. Lots of people trying to get photos.



To go into the actual temple (and beyond) you did have to pay 500¥. I don't have any pictures from inside the temple nor did I linger in it for long, but I did get the classic picture of the temple from afar. You can see how crowded it was, it wasn't miserable or anything but I would definitely get there earlier if you want pictures without tons of people in them.



There is quite a bit of walking but nothing is particularly challenging, no major steep hills or huge sets of stairs that I can remember.

It was quite beautiful looking down at Kyoto in the background.



I'm not sure I even explored the entire grounds, as it was quite hot and I was feeling a bit anxious from my itchiness all over.



I spent maybe 45 minutes overall? But you could easily spend more time there.



Next, I walked over to the Yasaka Pagoda (less than 10 mins), which I could see from the hotel.



It was very large in person! Lots of food vendors nearby.

Just steps away is Yasaka Koshin-do, a very unique little temple.



The Park Hyatt was such a great location for visiting all of these spots. I think going early (before 8) or late (dinner time or later) is better for lower crowds. There are lots of tour groups hitting these spots and if you go early/late you will avoid them.

 

[soniam]

I always carry cortisone cream with me when I travel, because I am prone to eczema and my husband tends to have allergic skin reactions. I don't usually take Benadryl cream though. I take an antihistamine everyday anyway, so I had that. Does any of that help your hives? I hope they improved. I will be posting about Kiyomizu-dera soon.

 

[Disneyhanna]

I always carry cortisone cream with me when I travel, because I am prone to eczema and my husband tends to have allergic skin reactions. I don't usually take Benadryl cream though. I take an antihistamine everyday anyway, so I had that. Does any of that help your hives? I hope they improved. I will be posting about Kiyomizu-dera soon.

I left the hydrocortisone at home which was a silly decision! I ended up at a pharmacy where they helped me buy some stronger stuff that helped me immensely, I’ll write a bit more in my next post as I had quite the experience! My head was off that entire day since I was trying not to panic and I don’t think I really enjoyed any of the temples I saw as much as I should have, which is a bummer. I am on Zyrtec daily and take Benadryl when I have a breakthrough reaction and so my body must have really been suffering to still break out with all those meds in my system Luckily I was able to control it after that day and enjoy the rest of the trip. Skin stuff really can be a bummer can’t it! I’m still not sure if it was a heat reaction, sunlight reaction, or just a no-cause unfortunate reaction.

 

[gelatoni fan]

I left the hydrocortisone at home which was a silly decision! I ended up at a pharmacy where they helped me buy some stronger stuff that helped me immensely, I’ll write a bit more in my next post as I had quite the experience! My head was off that entire day since I was trying not to panic and I don’t think I really enjoyed any of the temples I saw as much as I should have, which is a bummer. I am on Zyrtec daily and take Benadryl when I have a breakthrough reaction and so my body must have really been suffering to still break out with all those meds in my system Luckily I was able to control it after that day and enjoy the rest of the trip. Skin stuff really can be a bummer can’t it! I’m still not sure if it was a heat reaction, sunlight reaction, or just a no-cause unfortunate reaction.

Can you post a photo of the cream?
I'm curious how it compares to mometasone furoate if you've ever used it.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Can you post a photo of the cream?
I'm curious how it compares to mometasone furoate if you've ever used it.

https://hc.kowa.co.jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/new_livimex_cream_eigo_24_04_16.pdf

Ingredients: Prednisolone valerate acetate 3mg

I went into a couple drug stores out of curiosity later that week and found OTC creams with prednisolone but most were only 1mg or 1.5mg. I wonder if the 3mg is just kept behind the counter or is less common. Either way, it cleared up my rash in a day, it was amazing.

 

[Disneyhanna]

5/30: Kyoto (Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu, Kodaiji Temple)

I was getting hungry (I think I just had a couple leftover desserts from my dinner the prior night for breakfast), and one of the places I had made a note of prior to my trip was Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu (Kiyomizu Gojozaka). I had read that this was similar to the popular Gyukatsu Motomura or possibly better. This was less than a 10 minute walk, and I was there before they opened at 11. A couple others joined me in waiting, there was a clipboard where you could put your name and party size instead of standing in a line (but you had to be there when they called your name, and there were no advance reservations).

I met a solo traveler (I think from Canada?) and we chatted for a while, and he borrowed my portable charger while we waited lol. We were seated mostly in the shade while waiting, but I noticed the rash that was on the back of my hands and wrists was spreading down my forearms and becoming more red. I had taken some Benadryl that morning which I think was keeping the itchiness at bay (thankfully), but the bumps were spreading despite the double antihistamine dosage which made me pretty nervous.

At 11 someone came from inside the restaurant and grabbed the clipboard and started calling names. I was seated at the counter with the solo traveler I had been talking to as well as another female solo traveler. I didn't check how many other people came after me, I don't think it was a ton of people but we probably filled the restaurant's first seating as it wasn't that big of a place.

The menu had a few options and I wasn't really sure what to get so I got one of the popular sets. I think the main differences were the grades of beef and the amount. I'm pretty sure I got the tenderloin set (2959¥).



This came with cabbage salad, an onsen egg, miso soup, and steamed rice. I think there was a bit of curry as well. They lit the little hot plate in front of you so you could cook your meat to your liking. (I'll be honest, I like my steak almost rare so I barely needed to warm it on the plate )

Now, I wish I could tell you how this meal was, but by the time I got my food I was starting to panic a bit about my rash. It looked horrible and since I deal with hives I was worried it was going to spread to the rest of my body. Since the Benadryl hadn't stopped it I wasn't sure what to do. I kept talking to the solo travelers I was seated next to as a distraction but I couldn't taste a single bite of this meal. The food was literally turning to ash in my mouth, it was a horrible feeling I think the worst part of solo travel is when this sort of thing happens and you just feel really helpless.

I ate as much as I could but didn't finish it, and grabbed my receipt and quickly paid and left. They were very nice at the restaurant, and someone came around with an iPad with the Google website and encouraged us to leave a review.

My last ditch plan was to try and find some hydrocortisone cream so I went on Google Maps and searched "pharmacy English" and Yoshida Pharmacy was less than 10 minutes away, and had excellent reviews that mentioned the pharmacist speaking English. I walked there and it was a tiny hole in the wall pharmacy with a sign on the door about speaking English (and German, I think). The pharmacist totally clocked me as a tourist right away and greeted me in English She was a small older lady, and spoke excellent English!

I showed her my arms and said I was looking for hydrocortisone, and she reached for something to give to me and said "hydrocortisone not strong enough!" and handed me a cream. She asked me if I was taking anything for it and I mentioned Benadryl, and she smiled and nodded. She then proceeded to tell me to not eat any Japanese beef, sushi, or eggs as they can cause an allergic skin reaction for a lot of people...okay I was absolutely not doing that...

It was only 1100¥ for the cream (cash only) and off I went back to my hotel, which was not too far. The pharmacist was so nice at Yoshida Pharmacy and I highly recommend if you are in the area. There are lots of drug stores too, but those tend to be busier with tourists buying treats and makeup, though they will absolutely help you at the drug stores as well!

I got back to the hotel a bit after 12PM and put on the cream, and just laid on my bed in the AC. I ended up calling my mom and updating her, and just hung out in my room for a couple hours. If I was going to be stuck in my room for a while, the Park Hyatt Kyoto was sure not a bad place to be stuck!

After a couple hours in the AC I gathered myself enough to decide to head back out. I still had plenty of daylight left, so I started with Kodaiji Temple which was literally across the street and up some stairs. It was 600¥ to just do the outdoor portion.



This zen temple was beautiful! It was just before 4PM and not crowded at all. The sun finally went behind clouds and was much cooler than the morning.






There was a small bamboo forest!





I spent about 20 minutes at Kodaiji and didn't pay to go inside, you could spend more time there but I went pretty quickly through all the shrines and temples I saw on this trip.



Ryozen Kannon Temple was right next to Kodaiji but it was closed at 4 so I missed it, you could still see the large statue from outside.



In this view, the Park Hyatt is on the left and you can see the start of the Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka slopes. Really an unbeatable location.

 

[soniam]

I left the hydrocortisone at home which was a silly decision! I ended up at a pharmacy where they helped me buy some stronger stuff that helped me immensely, I’ll write a bit more in my next post as I had quite the experience! My head was off that entire day since I was trying not to panic and I don’t think I really enjoyed any of the temples I saw as much as I should have, which is a bummer. I am on Zyrtec daily and take Benadryl when I have a breakthrough reaction and so my body must have really been suffering to still break out with all those meds in my system Luckily I was able to control it after that day and enjoy the rest of the trip. Skin stuff really can be a bummer can’t it! I’m still not sure if it was a heat reaction, sunlight reaction, or just a no-cause unfortunate reaction.

Now that I think about it, I had a rash/eczema on my lower arms and wrists when we were first in Japan. It went away after a few days of cortisone cream. I notice mine flairs up when my allergies bother me or when I’m stressed.

https://hc.kowa.co.jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/new_livimex_cream_eigo_24_04_16.pdf

Ingredients: Prednisolone valerate acetate 3mg

I went into a couple drug stores out of curiosity later that week and found OTC creams with prednisolone but most were only 1mg or 1.5mg. I wonder if the 3mg is just kept behind the counter or is less common. Either way, it cleared up my rash in a day, it was amazing.

I wish this was over the counter in the US. My husband will break out in terrible rashes. He has to go to a doctor to get a prescription for prednisone.

 

[Disneyhanna]

5/30: Kyoto (Yasaka Shrine, Musoshin Ramen)

I didn't have much of a plan for the rest of the evening, I headed to Yasaka Shrine since it's open 24/7. It was less than a 15 minute walk from the hotel, and I passed by many lovely spots on the way.





Marayuma Park was along the way and was a popular spot for hanging out. It was very beautiful even though there were no cherry blossom or autumn colors this time of year.

I made it to Yasaka Shrine and it was at this point that the shrines and temples were starting to blend together a bit for me. I imagine this would be very beautiful at night with the lanterns lit.





I wandered around some more, Kyoto was such a great place to just walk and end up wherever you end up.



I stumbled across my first gashapon spot and got a Mofusand magnet.



For dinner, I was still too nervous to just walk into somewhere random, so I checked Google Maps and found Musoshin Ramen close by. You order from the machine and give your ticket to the waiter. There was only one other person when I got there around 5 and there were water pitchers and tissues at the counter which was awesome. My food arrived quickly, I got their special bowl. I believe it was 1800¥.



I had sort of mixed feelings about this ramen. I'm guessing this was a bit of a tourist trap and most of the high ratings were from tourists (I know about the whole Google Maps vs Tabelog ratings scale, but this did have a 3.3 on Tabelog which is supposed to be decent). There was so much pork, which was just fine, but plentiful. The noodles were the best part, they tasted homemade and were probably the best ramen noodles I had that trip. The egg was cold and a bit past the runny soft boiled I prefer, but I found that to be the case at all ramen places I ended up at in Japan.

The broth was SO thick and gelatinous, I didn't realize hot broth could still be that thick. The flavor was pretty plain, nothing special, so overall this ramen bowl was just fine. Not great, but not bad either. They did have a spicy chili oil on the counter that was really good. I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there again but I wasn't mad about it either.

The people working at Musoshin were super friendly, so I definitely recommend it if you're an anxious solo traveler like I am lol. Apparently they have a location in Canada as well, and you can take ramen noodle making classes?

My walk back to my hotel was so pleasant, the temperature was much more comfortable. I found that the evening temperature was perfect at this time of year, not humid and much cooler.

I stopped at a Family Mart and got some treats for back at my hotel, of course.

I wandered around the shops by the hotel and saw the Starbucks, it really blends in! It was much quieter in the evening though I'm not sure if everything was still open.



I discovered a Gong Cha bubble tea right by my hotel so I got a passionfruit green tea of course! Good thing I didn't discover it any earlier or I would have had it multiple times, I'm a bubble tea addict

Elevator selfie with my tea...I tried to dress a bit nicer when I stayed at this hotel. Of course I was a hot and sweaty mess no matter what every day! The Japanese women always looked so perfect, but I tried to remind myself most were only outside briefly on their way to/from work, lol. Also, long dresses and skirts were definitely much cooler than pants!


I ran into a beautiful bride and some of her party in the hallway at hotel, so I was glad I wasn't in a t shirt and shorts at least

Here is the Family Mart haul. This was $3 USD, amazing. I enjoyed all the flavors of those ice cream balls and the coolish soft serve as well.



I got about 18.5k steps for the day, I was not tired from walking at all since I was averaging around 20k steps and when in Disney I usually do more like 25k-30k. I thought it was funny how people warn you about how much walking there is when you go to Japan, well maybe that's a lot if you don't go to Disney often

I went to bed at 10:30, so I was slowly starting to go back to my usual night owl self. The day started off pretty terrible but it turned around in the end, thankfully.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Now that I think about it, I had a rash/eczema on my lower arms and wrists when we were first in Japan. It went away after a few days of cortisone cream. I notice mine flairs up when my allergies bother me or when I’m stressed.



I wish this was over the counter in the US. My husband will break out in terrible rashes. He has to go to a doctor to get a prescription for prednisone.

Interesting!!! Maybe it's something in the water/soap? I used my own soap for showering but I did use the hotel and bathroom hand soaps for hand washing. It was the first time I've ever had a reaction on my hands and arms. It was only the back of my hands, not the surface, which is sort of odd. Usually I get hives on my face and neck and it is the type that goes away almost as soon as it comes on if I take Benadryl. Google had me thinking heat rash or polymorphous light eruption but those didn't really fit perfectly either. I definitely get flares from stress as well so who knows, sometimes the body just reacts to nothing too.

I tried searching for this cream in the US but didn't really find anything, no surprise it probably isn't available OTC here. I was a bit nervous as I know topical steroid withdrawal can be a problem for people but I figured a few days wouldn't hurt anything. That stuff worked like magic, I will definitely have to get some to have next time I am in Japan. I think my rash was gone by the next day after several days of only getting worse.

 

[Nakkira]

The walk to Kiyomizu-dera was lovely, through both the Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka areas. There were tons of food stalls and little shops but I skipped them on the walk up, planning to do them at another time. I wanted to get to the temple before it got too crazy.

Since I hadn't researched any of the shrines/temples in advance, everything was a surprise to me. I didn't realize how big Kiyomizu-dera was!

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The first parts you could see without paying the entrance fee. Lots of people trying to get photos.

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To go into the actual temple (and beyond) you did have to pay 500¥. I don't have any pictures from inside the temple nor did I linger in it for long, but I did get the classic picture of the temple from afar. You can see how crowded it was, it wasn't miserable or anything but I would definitely get there earlier if you want pictures without tons of people in them.

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There is quite a bit of walking but nothing is particularly challenging, no major steep hills or huge sets of stairs that I can remember.

It was quite beautiful looking down at Kyoto in the background.

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I'm not sure I even explored the entire grounds, as it was quite hot and I was feeling a bit anxious from my itchiness all over.

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I spent maybe 45 minutes overall? But you could easily spend more time there.

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Kiyomizu-dera was one of my favorite places from my last trip. Your photos of it are lovely and are bringing back great memories. We only have one full day in that area on our upcoming trip so we won't have time to visit it again but you are making me wish we did. I am sorry you were feeling uncomfortable the day of your visit. Hives are the worst!

 

[Disneyhanna]

Kiyomizu-dera was one of my favorite places from my last trip. Your photos of it are lovely and are bringing back great memories. We only have one full day in that area on our upcoming trip so we won't have time to visit it again but you are making me wish we did. I am sorry you were feeling uncomfortable the day of your visit. Hives are the worst!

I would like a do-over in that area, for sure! It was amazing how many things were in a relatively small area. I could have spent several days walking around and finding new things.

 

[Disneyhanna]

5/31: Kyoto to Tokyo

One of these days we'll get to the Disney part of this trip, I promise

I got up a little before 8AM, and slept really well. My rash was mostly gone, I wasn't itchy, overall feeling 100% better than the previous day. I also set the thermostat to 18C instead of 19C which helped, I prefer to sleep cold! The hotel I was at before this only went down to 20C so I imagine Western hotel chains are more likely to have cold AC than some of the Japanese chains.

I still had my carry on and small bags with me, so I had to pack up for my journey back to Tokyo! I checked around 9:30 and my air tags indicated my check bag (which I shipped the prior morning) was already in Shibuya, though not at the hotel yet.

Since I hadn't done any shopping the day before, I decided to hunt for a souvenir. I headed back up the Ninenzaka/Sannenzaka slopes which were still fairly crowded, but the temp was much cooler and there was a slight drizzle.



Most of the shops were selling pretty typical tourist stuff, lots of knick knacks and repeat items. There were a couple shops with pretty matcha bowls and tea cups and such, but it was sort of hard to tell if anything was authentic or just overpriced mass produced stuff. Probably a bit of both.

I stopped for a snack at Sumikkogurashi-do where they had these cake donut things shaped like characters. The stand smelled sooo good!



A cup of six was only 390¥. Unfortunately the ones in the cup were cold but they were still pretty good, I'm sure they would have been best hot off the iron!

I stopped in almost all of the shops lining those streets, and went all the way back to the base of Kiyomizu-dera. Right before Kiyomizu-dera was a Yuba & cheese stand, omg! I had wanted to try this place in Arashiyama but didn't have time, so I was excited to stumble across another location. The name is 湯葉チーズ本舗 清水店.



I got the Yuba & cheese which was 500¥. They had other flavors but this was the classic. It only took a couple minutes and came out piping hot from the frier. They had a nice indoor seating area.



This was everything I wanted it to be! I think it's like a fish tofu filled with cheese, wrapped in tofu skin and fried. It's a bit greasy, but SO delicious. I love fish tofu and fish balls in hot pot, and the cheese just made it extra delicious. If you've never had anything like this the closest comparison I can think of is like a crab stick, it's nothing like actual tofu. If I had discovered this earlier in the trip I would have gone back for more.

There were tons of places offering samples, and one place selling tons of flavors of Yatsuhashi which is a famous Kyoto souvenir snack. It's hard for me to describe this, it was really fun trying all of them but it's not something I'd ever want to eat a whole box of. I definitely recommend stopping and sampling though! They had tea samples as well, I think.



I totally missed the Starbucks the first time I went by, it blends in so well. I never stopped at any Starbucks in Japan but they all seemed busy.


One shop I found had lots of little souvenir treats, including shortbread cookies shaped like dogs, flowers, and cats. I had to get a box of the cats as it came in a three pack and two of them looked just like my foster kitties at home! I ran out of room in this post, I'll throw it in my next post. There was also another shop with the furikake and chili oils I liked from Nishiki Market so I got a few more oils.

The box of cat cookies was around 800¥, the three little cookies were individually wrapped and beautiful. They had display boxes in the store so you could see what the cookies looked like. I think the dog ones were Akita.



I didn't have much luck finding a souvenir, I'm trying to not accumulate so much junk so I was being picky. I ended up finding a flat gold metal bookmark that I decided to use as a tree ornament. It was pretty cheap, and I did see it in a couple stores after I bought it.

I headed back to the hotel for my noon checkout and since I could not call a taxi in the Go app, I asked the desk when I checked out. Or rather, they asked me if I needed a taxi and I said yes! My bill for shipping two check bags to Shibuya was 4280¥, totally worth it. I forgot I had unpacked my packable duffel and split my luggage across the two bags as I already had accumulated quite a bit of stuff.

It took about 10 minutes for my taxi to arrive, it ended up being an entire van lol. It was perfect timing as it started pouring rain after I loaded into the taxi! It took just over 15 minutes to get to Kyoto Station and a few minutes to get dropped off. I paid cash and it was only 2400¥, again totally worth it. I ended up never using the buses in Kyoto, after hearing horror stories about how crowded they are I just didn't even bother, especially with luggage. If I were in Kyoto for longer I'm sure I would have used the busses, but with only a couple days and strategic hotel locations, I never had to.

The taxi drivers there loved using their horn

There were SOOO many school groups in Kyoto and at Kyoto Station. I'm not sure where they were from, but most seemed to be around middle school age. Matching uniforms, all well behaved!

I bought my Shinkansen ticket from the machines, the first set I encountered only had two and there was a long line, and there was a sign in English to walk five minutes to where there were more machines, so I did. It was outside the office where you could buy tickets in person and there were tons of machines with no line. It was 14170¥ for the ordinary reserved ticket back to Kyoto. I got a window seat for what I thought was the Fuji side, it was not, oops I think I left myself a half hour or so before my train so I could wander around a bit and have plenty of time to find the platform.

The Shinkansen is so easy to find, there are so many signs and the platforms are so well labeled. I don't really know how people get on the wrong one since they all have different numbers and exact times! I still don't quite understand the paper tickets and which to use when so I just put both in the machine and hope for the best lol. I did not tap my suica since I was starting at Kyoto Station.



I took a long time to find treats I wanted but finally settled on an onigiri, tuna roll, water, strawberry milk, and fruit sando. This all was only 1216¥! I made it to my platform with 10 minutes to spare. When I got on my train I realized immediately the window seat was the opposite side I thought, oops lol. It is nice to be able to see the scenery though, and probably too cloudy to see Fuji-san anyways.

The train was never full, I'm not sure if that's always the case in the reserved cars. I probably could have done an unreserved train since I was solo, I didn't even look how much that would have saved me. I felt no need to do the green car for such a short trip, the ordinary car seats were very comfy and there was SO much leg room.



Food review! Tuna mayo onigiri was delicious as always. The tuna roll wasn't quite as good, but still good.



The strawberry milk was yummy, love the extendable straw it comes with. It was like chunky danimals, lol. I didn't like the fruit sando, it was mostly whip cream with the tiniest slivers of fruit slice on the outside only (a bit misleading!) and the bread was dry. I didn't have much luck with sandwiches in Japan, probably bad timing as I likely just never got super fresh ones.

I had an uneventful ride to Tokyo, it was about 2 hours to Shinagawa and then I got off the Shinkansen and transferred to the Yamanote line. I put both tickets I had in the machine when I transferred onto the Yamanote line again, and got both back. No Suica tap since I believe the basic fare part of the Shinkansen ticket covers that particular transfer. Honestly one of the tickets might have been a receipt, I really have no clue

It was less than a 15 minute ride to Shibuya Station, and then per the directions for my hotel (Hyatt House Shibuya) I disregarded Google Maps and instead followed the signs to the New South Gate. This was SUCH a long walk and it really feels like you're going the wrong direction because the only people going that way are people staying at hotels. But I kept walking, and eventually reached the end. The gates were unmanned so if you run into ticket issues, it's not ideal as it's a long walk (almost 10 minutes) back. Of course I ran into ticket issues, I fed both my tickets into the machine and it didn't like it. There was a fare adjustment machine and so I went to that and put my tickets in and it said my ticket was sufficient, try exiting again. So this time I just put the main ticket into the gate and it let me out, phew! That was the only time I ever had a minor issue with the ticket gates the entire trip so not bad lol.

I know a lot of people recommend using SmartEx to buy tickets but I enjoyed the flexibility of buying at the station and not having to be there at a certain time. Of course you can buy a ticket in advance and get a good discount so for multiple people that's probably worth it.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Here were the kitty cookies! They were so yummy too! They were individually sealed so a good souvenir as they had a pretty long expiration date, months I think.