Transcendence via
Onsen and Tamago Sandwiches: A Japan Guide
Osaka, Japan
A self portrait in Osaka
I’ll spare you the gritty details of the emotional rollercoaster that is taking a two week vacation with your entire family who you have not lived in the same country with for a decade. In short: it was strange, joyful, exhausting and I can’t wait to go back. It was partially planned by my younger sister (via an exhaustive spreadsheet with activities scheduled down to the hour and rest time), and partially by me on the fly (and cultivated through the sporadic saving of Japan-related travel videos I came across on TikTok).
I think a great vacation is one that both meets and challenges your expectations of what you expect to be fun. Being on a family vacation is the ultimate way of having both these things magnified at a crazy scale, and in Japan, even more so. My family and I functionally have very little in common: They do not want to go see the weird vending machines in Akhibara (some have pedophilic stories printed on them that I’m hoping are not true), or art museums, or vintage stores. I don’t want to go to TeamLabs, or line up for two hours to eat at Tsujihara, a popular sushi rice restaurant that blew up on TikTok that my sister was intent on making our mid-60s parents line up in the sun for. There is a middle ground, a fine dance between spending enough quality time on things you all find enjoyable, and having enough space to avoid losing your mind. I think my trip managed to hit both, not without a fair amount of tears (mostly just on my birthday when I was triggered HARDDDD and spent most of the night before and morning of crying on the phone to my boyfriend about how nobody loves me -lol) and laughter.
I also want to make a strong argument for going to Japan alone, to be able to navigate and adapt to the environment without the filter of company. My friend Chris, who lives in Tokyo, told me about the idea that Japanese people have three faces: the one you show the world, the one you show your friends and family, and the third, secret one, that only you know (mine is using the new macro probe camera my boyfriend bought me to look inside my ears). If you’ve watched Shogun (and if you haven’t you should), they describe it as the ‘eight-fold fence’. It’s a meticulously maintained face you serve to others, but which is stripped away when traveling alone. I found this concept to be an interesting through line throughout the trip, and without further exposition, here’s a non-linear collection of thoughts on traveling to Japan kind of with your family and kind of alone. Some I wrote while I was there, and some while wishing I was still there while back here, home in Brooklyn.
Firstly, the practical:
- I loved being able to see both dense, hectic cities and the quieter towns that satellite them. I went from Osaka (to Kyoto and Nara as day trips) and took the Shinkansen to Tokyo (and then to Hakone and Kamakura as day trips). It was like Japan for Dummies, the tourist circuit. It seems that almost everyone does this same circuit to begin with, and it just works really well as a basic primer to plan your future trips on. If I were to re-do this trip, I may have shortened my time in Tokyo and added another random satellite city.
- Load up your phone with a Suica pass in your Apple wallet to use on the 3-5 train lines that intersect but owned by different companies (confusing), the vending machines (delicious), or even as payment for stores (convenient).
- Bring at least two portable batteries cause your shit will be kaput so quick walking these streets. Bring only comfortable shoes.
- Having cash on hand is important for all the little snacks you may need throughout your day. Having a coin purse is important. I recommend buying a cute coin purse once you get there.
- Luggage forwarding (takuhaibin) is your best friend if you plan to shop. You can essentially send your luggage ahead of you to meet you wherever you’re going, whether it’s in another hotel, the next city or at the airport. Most hotels will do this for you if you inquire at the front desk.
- Understanding basic customs and etiquette beforehand is key in feeling less like a bumbling white tourist, which I personally have never felt more like in my life. Giving and receiving things with two hands, using any tray provided by cashiers for your card or payment, not eating on the train, or while walking, learning how to say arigato gozaimasu and sumimasen (excuse me).
- I went in June, which was very hot later in the month when I was in Tokyo but tolerable everywhere else. I would return for March/April for cherry blossom season, or for fall for the leaves.
- Bring your passport when you leave the house because it entitles you to a 10% off tax refund discount that they either apply before you pay or refund you at a special counter nearby (which is a delightful experience of being refunded physical cash which according to girl math is just free money)
- The internet’s advice about traveling with a near empty suitcase to Japan is absolutely correct. In the event of buying even more than possible to fit in your empty suitcase, the department store Hands is a great place to find foldable travel 45-150L travel duffels, some with built in locks. I checked one full of clothes on the way home and it was totally fine. Hands also has an entire floor for stationary and a great cosmetics section.
- A way I like to travel to hit hot spots while keeping it flexible to be surprised: pick a neighborhood, zoom in on Google Maps and star random things that look interesting (be liberal!) and just walk around from spot to spot, seeing everything in between. Japan is best explored on foot.
- Some of my most enjoyable meals were from the convenience stores/konbini. You’re not really supposed to eat and walk, so you end up standing on the side of random streets and solely focusing on the act of eating. This was frustrating at first and then turned into one of my favorite things about Japan - the social etiquette that shames you into being more present. What’s the rush? Where am I going anyway that requires me to eat while walking?
- I have always loved crustless white bread sandwiches (my palate is that of a five year olds). The egg tamago sandwiches at the convenience stories is NOT TO BE MISSED. I had one for breakfast every day, accompanied by a randomly chosen refrigerated coffee beverage.
- All the malls seem to have a food court floor that serves hot food, a food court floor with a lot of deli-esque bite sized/lunch things behind glass display cases, and a floor that has packaged food novelties like perfectly wrapped individual pieces of fruit. I had an incredibly satisfying chicken tonkatsu curry and an ice cold Asahi standing up in a mall food court in Osaka. Many of the meals I had were chosen based on proximity to my immediate need to be hungry, its Google reviews and accessibility, and most of the meals I had were incredible. I loved that most places you can eat at are dependably good, many far surpass your expectations. I booked exactly zero restaurants in advance, but I know that’s not everyone’s preference - I don’t care as much about food as I do everything else.
STOP 1: OSAKA
- Osaka is where I encountered my first web of interconnected underground and above ground system of malls that also connect to various train stations, many of which are owned and operated by completely different companies. Do not go into these situations without sustenance because it feels like a panic attack waiting to happen. While I tried to find an antique store on the 12th floor of a department store, I found a 10th anniversary bird crafts market instead. The scale of commerce in these places is absolutely insane. Wandering around these places is a cultural experience in itself. I especially liked HEP FIVE if you’re trying to shop for clothes. The BEAMS store in the HEP FIVE was the best one I came across my entire time in Japan.
- I loved visiting Book of Days, a kind of hard to find photo book store in a quiet neighborhood. This is also where I saw my first smoking box, where they corral smokers into clear glass boxes located in the parks, which I thought was hilarious and would never ever be possible in America.
- I did a LOT of shopping in Osaka. On our first day, we went to Shinsaibashi-Suji shopping street, an indoor street of stores that seemed to stretch into infinity. I loved the 2nd Street locations (I believe there are 2 or 3 on the same street), and there’s a bunch of big brands like Asics, Uniqlo, Gu, etc. on this same street.
- Osaka is also the first place I encountered Kindal, basically an upscale 2nd street. Good for tighter curation, higher prices. I went to the Umeda Chayamachi and the other Umeda location.
- I didn’t get to go, but nearby Umeda, there’s a neighborhood called Nakazakicho that I’ve heard is pretty to walk around and packed with vintage stores. Some shops I would have visited if I had time: AURA, Sorciere, POPEYE.
- Dotonbori is an overwhelming district for dining - filled with huge neon signs and restaurants. I walked around the river and back streets as the sun set and took photos and had a great time. I had some of the best Italian food in my entire fucking life here at Italian Kitchen Legare, a place I looked up on Google Maps because I was tired of eating Japanese food and getting hangrier by the minute. It was a 12 seat counter wrapped around a small kitchen with one man, and a menu entirely in Japanese. From the mouths of two people walked out whose seat I took; “this was the best pasta I’ve ever had. We ordered seconds to take back to our hotel.” I also ordered seconds for my ravenous family waiting back at the AirBnB. Trust me. Go here.
- We were meant to go to this restaurant opened by the first urban winery in Japan (here) but quickly learned that you’re basically shit out of luck trying to book for parties about 5 people. I also would have loved to try Ikareta Noodle Fishtons and Mochisho Shizuku Shinmachi.
- Bouldering gym roca is an incredible tiny bouldering gym that you find at the very top of a narrow staircase. Owned and operated by seriously good climbers, the place is generally run down and with no AC but makes up in charm what it lacks in amenities. E-cigarettes are not sold in Japan, but they allow “heated tobacco products” and this gym is where I first encountered IQOS, this weird device you put what looks like a half cigarette in, and it heats it without combustion, fire, ash or smoke. There was a general confusion with the owner when I asked to bum a cigarette and had to learn how to use this entire system, and he wanted me to try both the flavors he had on hand, which I did out of politeness and which promptly made me feel like I was about to pass out. Cash only.
- I loved seeing Osaka Castle, even if it was insanely touristy. It’s a crazy looking place, and I’d recommend buying tickets to go to the museum inside so you’re not just standing outside looking at your family members in the rain and collectively deciding nobody is willing to try hard enough. We also went to the Osaka Museum of History nearby.
STOP 2: NARA
- I woke up bawling on my 31st birthday. I felt lonely and terrible; the differences between me and my family magnified in the context of the day and all that the expectations that I had built around It. I was 31 going on 13, and it took a serious self-face slap to get myself out of the tragic corner I had backed myself into. We had already planned to go to Nara that day, and it turns out that it’s not possible to be sad while also feeding and bowing to deers in a beautiful Japanese park. Nara is known for their population of sacred semi-wild deer that were protected as the helpers of the gods for hundreds of years, making them unusually docile and unafraid of humans.
They’re also incredibly aggressive, and you have to be careful where you wave a special deer cracker around, because it will attract a hoard of them ready to tear through your bags and your clothes to get to them. The further you walk away from the main train station, the less aggressive they become, and the real magic is walking deep into the park away from the hoards of tourists. Dotted across the landscape are little groups of deers napping together under trees, or roaming across hills.
- There is randomly a Montbell in the middle of the park. They’re a Japanese outdoors brand that makes super high quality clothes and camping/hiking products. My dad got a shirt with a fish on it (he fishes back in Sydney) and I got tiny carabiner keychains and Gore-tex pants as a birthday gift to myself.
- The Nara National Museum seemed like a really interesting spot known for a huge collection of Buddhist art, but you need tickets ahead of time, which we had not done.
- At the center of the park is a huge temple complex called Todai-Ji, which has one of the largest wooden structures in the entire world and one of the largest Buddha statues in Japan. The grounds include multiple koi ponds, smaller temples and gardens, and my family and I stumbled across a Buddhist ceremony that moved me to tears at one of the smaller temples on the periphery.
- After I said bye to my family, I crossed paths with my friends Allie and Erin for the briefest moment at the giant statues of guardian demons that marked the entry point of the Todai-Ji temple complex. Then, I walked 45 minutes south through the park, passing people napping on benches, cautious lines of deer stalking alongside car park fencec, towards the Irie Taikichi Memorial Museum, a small photo museum. I stopped at Tenkuii, a beautiful restaurant on the very outskirts of Nara after being rejected from Uma-no-me without explanation. They were done with lunch, but sat me down in a private upstairs dining room facing a manicured garden. I ordered a carafe of sake, a jar of custard, and got tipsy. This made the walk through the backstreets of the residential Nara area incredibly chaotic and fun. There were barely any people on the streets, and the small details of people’s lives had enough to keep me fully locked in after already having walked 20,000 steps.
The museum was tiny, and perfect. It has an insanely comprehensive photo book library you can just sit and read books in, and I found out that Irie Taikichi is a local photographer known for landscape and nature work. I walked back to the station to take the train back to Osaka, stopping first at 7/11 and getting a Mochi pizza bun, chicken nuggets and sitting on the rim of a water fountain and chowing tf down before getting on the train back.
- My family went to Warner Brothers Movie World or something of that equivalent, which meant I had a free day and decided at 10AM to book an overnight hotel in Kyoto (like 2 hours on the train - everything is insanely close and efficient with their train system), where my family had already visited. In another stroke of serendipity, my friend Teya happened to already be there, and I proceeded to have the most manic 24 hours of travelmaxxing. I booked Agora Kyoto Karasuma, a bare bones but very pleasant hotel near the center, dropped off my bag and then took a bus over to Yasaka-jinja Shrine, hit up a few antique stores, ate a grilled rice ball stick from the street, and ended up at Kiyomizu-dera, which was a tourist shitfight but still an incredibly beautiful quick and easy loop around green temple grounds. I ate lunch just as it started pouring inside a random tiny udon noodle store, got myself tipsy again on a single beer and took a Uber over to Fushimi Inari, where I found a “back” way on AllTrails that thinned out the tourists by 99% almost immediately. It was like slipping into an alternate universe. The hike up was pretty steep, about 2 hours, and the route takes you along tiny shrines dotted on the mountain with overgrown mossy statues. At the top, I paid one of the wooden home/kiosk businesses $3 for a candle to light at the shrine, and started to cry because I am nothing if not a sentimental bitch.
- At this point it was maybe 4pm and Teya was arriving from Tokyo, so I met up with her and we walked along the Kamo river and watched kids skate and people be on dates (I highly recommend doing this). I regretted not bringing my camera on this walk. We went to a vegan ramen restaurant that was surprisingly good (offers very little in ambiance) and reminded me of the chaotic oversharing and purity of Dr. Bronner’s. Then, we met up with our friends Danny and Peyton, internet friends, where they were finishing a dinner at a stand-up bar serving giant bottles of sake.
- The next morning, we took a very long morning bus after pounding 7/11 tamago sandwiches to head to Arashiyama station, where we got off and ordered a 5 minute Uber up the hill to Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple, a beautiful 8th century temple featuring 1,200+ mossy stone heads with different personalities and expressions. They represent Buddhist worshippers. We walked down the hill past Adashino Mayumura, an adorable store that sells tiny sculptures made from discarded butterfly cocoons. We passed a few temples, stopping at Gio-ji temple, the one with an insane moss garden that had something like 200+ spices of moss sharing a forest floor. We walked through the famous Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, which was pleasant but absolutely forgettable, and then to the Arashiyama Monkey Park. You have to walk up a 20 minute hill to get to this insane viewpoint over the city, and there are just crazy amounts of monkeys around. You cannot interact with them, but you can feed them exactly one packet of tiny cut up applies from inside a jail that the monkeys crowd around the windows of. They stick their grubby little funny hands through the bars and grab at your slices of apples, or peanuts, and I won’t lie, I loved doing this.
- Afterwards, we walked along the Katsura River (turn left after you exit the monkey park and just keep walking) which was so idyllic. I imagine it’s insane in Autumn.
- That afternoon, I went to a 300 year old restaurant specializing in noodles, where I tried a Kyoto specialty — soba with pickled herring. Kyoto is so landlocked, and back in the day they would ship their fish from the coast and pickle them to make them last longer. It was an incredible solo meal. I walked outside and came across Kyukudo, a stationary store that feels like the Bloomingdales of stationary. I’m obsessed with the way that they sell designed and patterned letter writing sets everywhere. I used to have a pen pal at 14, shoutout to you if you are still out there somewhere, I actually have very little idea how we even found each other, but I was doing some random shit on the internet in the mid 2000’s. I think the idea of writing someone a physical note is incredibly romantic, and I want to bring this energy into my life.
- I caught the tail end of the Nijo Castle, which is the last place there was a shogunate that ruled the country, which was very cool (thank you Simran for the rec), and then packed my shit up and took the 3PM train back to Osaka to return to my family after deciding that yes, I had done enough for 24 hours and was exhausted.
- My friend Teya is vegan, and we had an insane dinner situation unfold where we came across the perfect vegan izakaya tucked away on the fourth floor called KlboKo Organic gallery & wine, which we walked 30 minutes to only to be again, mysteriously rejected despite there being empty seats. We ended up trying to go to a gyoza restaurant that had a Google Maps review referencing the “plentiful vegetarian options”, which resulted in us ordering 6 dishes, 5 of them being inedible because of the surprise meat they’d turn up with. Even the scallion pancake had meat.
- Besides this disastrous dinner experience, we had an incredible day otherwise. We walked our feet off: Firstly from her hostel in Asakusa (which was actually pretty adorable and had an Australian wine bar next door), where I bought matching expensive hand-made Japanese kitchen knives for my boyfriend and I at Musashi (which I am still terrified of using because they’re so sharp), to lunch at a very cute open air vegan cafe that we spent way too long lost in conversation in, before getting ready back at her hostel and then to mine in Akasaka, and onwards on foot to Shinjuku for dinner. That night we went to Golden-Gai, a small area of alleyways crowded with tiny bars - we’re talking 4-10 seats, some of them themed. I saw one that was soup themed, as in you got a free bowl of miso soup. Cash is king here, and most places have a cover charge. We chose a small jazz bar owned by an older woman, who placed down little bowls of snacks in front of us as we ordered sake. We were joined by two Australian recent university tech grads, an Aussie engineer, and a 81 year old Arabic teacher. I found out that the trains stop at 12, which felt impossible in a city that felt much more expansive and futuristic than New York, where the trains take you home around the clock.
- One of the absolute highlights of my trip was standing on the street trying to pump myself up to go into a jazz bar by myself. I think having a drink alone in a public place is straight up aspirational, and I summoned all my courage only to arrive and realize my intended destination was closed. As I patted myself on the back and walked back to the hotel, I passed a sign for another jazz bar called G’s Bar and after staring at the entrance like a weirdo for a while, I walked in and took a seat in a tiny 15 seat jazz bar. The music swelled to fill the entire room. I found myself involuntarily grinning almost immediately. There were three different performers and an incredible live band that included a man on the piano who I watched the entire time. They found out I was from New York and told me some guy that was sitting at the bar once lived in New York, and they all cheered for us.
- I went to Jinbocho, the used book district overstimulated and grumpy and it absolutely cured me. There one used/rare/antique book store after another, and you can burn hours just sitting in one place and attempting to Google Translate the titles and descriptions of books, mostly judging by cover. I loved this store - there is a second floor section dedicated to them, and you get a drink token for the vending machines next to the chairs facing the street upstairs with each purchase. I found some of the coolest and niche photo books that have barely any information available online about them, all very affordable. The only problem is that books are probably some of the heaviest things you can buy to bring home, but most of these stores will offer international shipping for a fee.
One of the best photo books I picked up one was called Yokohama Mary, based on a post-world war II sex worker who roamed the streets of Yokohama for decades. She was known for wearing thick white face makeup, and nobody ever knew her real name. One day in 1995, she just disappeared and they never figured out where she went or what happened to her. The book was full of photographs of her, hunched over from afar, as though being watched from a car. Afterwards, I went to McDonalds and tried all their different sauces.
- They ask you to wear communal Crocs to go to the bathroom at climbing gyms in Japan. Reading that sentence back makes it sound disgusting, yet, I would still trust the Japanese with bacterial risk any day. Most gyms asked me if I smoked, to show me the special smoking area (replete with communal smoking Crocs). At B Pump in Tokyo, a multi-story internationally known chain, I saw so many groups of older people bouldering, something I don’t really see here in the States. I also went to the other one near Shibuya
- The Mori Museum is an excellent small museum with a great gift shop and an expansive view of the city if you want to skip a dedicated observatory visit and roll it into seeing some culture as well.
- Daikanyama T-Site was like book wonderland. It’s a multiple building book store with one of the most extensive art and photo book sections I’ve seen. There are cafes nearby, and plenty of expensive boutique shopping and record bars if that’s what you’re into (I am).
- My friend Chris who lives in Koenji took me to a used book pop-up around the corner to his house that only opens on the weekends. Your bag is checked at the door, and you join a gentle throng of mostly older Japanese men flipping through hundreds of used books—nestled on shelves, spine up in bins on the floor. Everything was extremely well priced - I’m talking things from $1USD upwards. I bought a hard cover Japanese version of 1984 that I liked the cover of, and a photo book for my friend called Night Rainbow. We had very good pizza.
- Around the corner to Bauhaus is a cluster of strange vending machines that I found about on Reddit. They’re filled with strange and varied objects— a can of chips, a toy scorpion in a jar, and rows upon rows of square items wrapped in Japanese newspaper, with individually printed stories taped to each one facing outwards. They ranged from the tender (watching a mother take care of her disabled son in public and marveling at human love) to profane (vaguely pedophilic). It’s pretty fun to Google translate the stories. I bought one for $6 and unwrapped it to find expired Japanese animal crackers.
- I stumbled into Akomeya, a local grocery and home goods store while on a verge of a panic attack the first time I tried to navigate through Shibuya. I ended up coming back to buy a bunch of souvenirs - think high-end grocery staples, sauces and local specialties. They also have beautiful sake cups, and kitchenware.
- I didn’t get a chance to go, but would have wanted to see the ramen museum and the Tobacco & Salt museum, which was heavily recommended. I also would have booked tickets to the Ghibli Museum in advance if I knew a month before.
- My family and I hit up Afuri ramen multiple times - a very no-frills counter seating restaurant specializing in yuzu shio ramen. You order via vending machine, take a seat, and it comes out piping hot very quickly. I loved the spicy version, and always chose the thicker noodles. There’s a very delightful yuzu beer if you want to full send the citrus. Writing this months later, I just found out on a dog walk that Afuri has opened up on N11th(!!!).
- It took me 1.5 hours to go to Oi Racecourse Flea Market, which happens on Sundays, because I took the express instead of the local train all the way to the airport and had to double back. If you actually make it here, half the market is without shade in a car park, so come prepared with water and snacks. There are food trucks nearby, and most vendors take only cash. Most of the clothing stalls seem best first thing in the morning before they’re picked over, and like most of Japanese vintage, there was an over-representation of chintzy Americana vintage - denim and band t-shirts. I still found it interesting and would probably have found more if I had the energy to dig through piles of clothing on the ground in direct sun. I also bought my favorite purchase of the entire trip here - a tiny hand knitted strawberry handbag for $15 from a woman with a single table next to her car.
- I bought my drugstore beauty from Hands, a huge department store, and Don Quixote, this is where I got the Hadalabo and Shiseido things. I got the Canmake stay-on balm, which is the perfect tinted glossy balm, alongside specific eyeshadow palates from Excel recommended by Reddit, and the Naturie skin conditioner which I have to admit I still don’t really know how or where I’m supposed to use it given that it’s the consistency of milk and the only application I’ve figured out is slopping it all over myself haphazardly like I’m baptizing myself.
- We went to The Making of Harry Potter, something I only begrudgingly agreed to do as though I was above it. It made me fucking weep. The exhibition focuses on the craft/production - set design, original costumes, animatronics, music, construction, all of it. I genuinely found seeing Hermione’s pink dress from the ball deeply moving. The cafe food was themed and delicious (albeit expensive) and my parents loved all the photo moments and interactive elements. There’s a gift shop at the end that took me 15 minutes to fully explore and they still were not able to make a single piece of merchandise not too corny for me to buy.
- Today, after a really fitful night’s sleep, I walked to my family’s hotel in Akasaka to say goodbye. I took a photo of them in the alleyway behind the hotel, and when it was time to hug, I burst into tears. It was involuntary, an urgent leaking of the eyes that betrayed what I knew in my body before I knew how to describe it with words! The tragedy that it would be many months before I could hug my mum again, our planes departing in different directions to carry all of us back to our individual lives.
- I bought a full six course convenience store meal for myself for the train car and did some work. What is it about being in motion that makes a bitch feel productive? My convenience store meal was a plastic bento box of rice with some sort of grilled fish, misc vegetables, pickles and little savory tiny accoutrements. This was in my rush to get to the station as I dragged my carry-on through the hot streets of Akasaka, unclear if the time to find the platform for the Romancecar mountain train would exceed the time I actually had. In a rush, I grabbed this funny tiny bottle of mandarin juice—I never drink flavored beverages during the day back home, but there’s something so appealing about half sizes and tiny cute packaging that begs to be tried! I then rushed to the station and got a mochi donut covered in icing sugar, a packet of Mandarin (the most elite citrus flavor) flavored gummies, and a little squeeze pouch of flavored pomegranate jelly. I had enough food for a week’s long journey. I ate all of it on the 1 hour 20 minute train ride to Hakone.
- I checked into my onsen, Hakone Sumeisou, which I have yet to be able to deliver my full opinion on as I’ve only just arrived and settled in for the night, but so far it has been quaint and adorable - many unexplained customs and details I’m left to figure out through abstraction and context clues. I have never felt so much like a lumbering white man. They provided a Kaiseki dinner, which was an elaborate spread of 16 tiny courses in different cups and plates, all of which were heavy in seafood and meat that I’m not normally super into - I’m not going to lie my gag reflex was activated by some of the dishes but I managed to try them all. At one point I stared at the wall in front of me and thought how funny it was that they lock you in a room by yourself for a very long and elaborate meal that you feel the need to pay full attention to, leaving you alone with your thoughts and anxieties. Someone comes into your room while you have dinner to assemble a futon they keep in the closet and bring tea to your room upon request. There’s even a really soft, worn in robe with a waist tie that I danced around in, and the private bath that is bookable for 45 minutes was so hot I could barely stay in it, and was one of the only moments I wished that I had someone else to enjoy it with - it was so romantic.
- The most divine bite of sour plum Ume sorbet that was tart and a taste that just seemed to swirl into all corners of the mouth with its presence immediately. An insanely strong finish to a very strange meal for me. Redeeming.
- I arrived in Hakone today, checked in to my ryokan and walked thirty minutes uphill in the sun to Tenzan, a local hot springs bathhouse. When I walked into the main washing room that precedes the insane outdoor hot springs area, there was a single shaft of light illuminating a Rubenesque Japanese woman sitting on a stool washing herself. I had to tear my eyes away for fear of looking pervy because the light and the image was literally breathtaking and I wish I was in a position to take a photo. It always takes me a moment to re-adjust to nudity as something no big deal, those first few seconds you hesitate before taking your underwear off in a room of strangers. Within moments I was totally accustomed to being around the nude bodies of others, scornful at the Westernized idea of nudity as inherently sexual.
In Japanese bathhouses, you wash yourself down before you enter the bathing area, and the communal experience of washing your body amongst others should be a mandatory human experience. The baths outside are fed directly from natural hot spring sources, and seem as though carved into the side of a mountain.There’s a sign outside of Tenzan that assures people with tattoos they’re welcome as long as they’re alone; they must enter with an intention of using the hot springs to heal, to take it seriously. There’s a hush to the place before the post-work rush that happened right about the time I decided to leave. Most were silent, sitting nude on benches with their eyes closed or cast above at the canopy of trees. There was a mother who brought in two of her young children, and held the baby on her lap in the hot natural pools, while the older kid splashed around next to them.
- One of the main things to do in this area is the Hakone loop, a tourist loop that hits a volcanic vented area, a lake and something else via a cable car. I took the train Gora, the end of the line, got tickets for one cable car and then got off to get secondary tickets to a second cable car, all of which was incredibly confusing and stressful because I was trying to get to a nature walk through Owakudani, the active volcano at a specific time. One of the cable cars actually takes you directly about a bunch of active volcanic vents, and there is an insane view of Mt Fuji. At the top, I sprinted and only just made it through the gate and part of the tour before it closed. I was given a helmet, and they walked us slowly up the barren landscape, pausing at bomb shelters to explain things only in Japanese. These tours only happen a few times a day, and you get to see the actual pools they dip dozens of eggs into. The shells react to whatever volcanic shit is going on and turn black. There are entire restaurants and shops on top of this random volcano where you can buy black eggs (I shared mine with some Spanish tourists). Each egg eaten adds year to your life. I ate two, I’m going to outlive everyone. The walk was unnerving and cool, you can book it here and I believe its 500 yen.
- On the way back, instead of braving the packed trains, I decided to get off at Chokokunamori and do a hike I found that would take me all the way back to my ryokan. I found a quiet Lawson at this regional train station and loaded up on spicy chicken nuggets, soy sauce rice crackers, a pair of soft socks from Muji (they have a pop-up presence within Lawson) and an emergency onigiri to stash in my bag as an insurance policy. I never want to hike without a fanny pack full of konbini snacks ever again. The trail takes you immediately into Chisuji falls (“waterfall of a thousand strands”), which is one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been to. It was like Japanese Fern Gully. There was only one other person present when I went there, and I was literally mouth open speechless at the ambiance - gently bubbling streams and branches bent over, leaves trailing on the surface of the water. The rest of the hike was longer and steeper than I expected, and SOOOOO many root stairs. Big time recommend.
STOP 6: KAMAKURA
- I took two trains from Hakone to Kamakura, a beach-side area with an iconic tram system which was featured in an anime that now attracts hoards of tourists to recreate this photo. I was meeting up with my friends Chris and Nele to explore Enoshima Island for the day. I used the coin lockers at the train station, and had an incredible matcha ice cream sundae at a casual 100 year old cafe I stumbled across on the main strip. It was hot, and the island is completely covered in staircases. You can pay money to use escalators, but I never figured out where they were. The stairs weren’t that bad.
- Enoshima was so beautiful, a tiny island surrounded by rocks and soaring hawks. We meandered from restaurant to restaurant, sampling an elaborate lunch at a place that turned us away until we came back and was let in by other waitress while the guy who rejected us was downstairs, stopping by a cliff-side family-owned cafe where we had shaved ice and stared at the glittering sea outside. There’s a system of caves at the center of Enoshima’s story that is worth walking through (beware of the animatronic dragon that guards the third cave, which growls when you clap). We finished the day with my second incredible Italian meal of the trip at Il Birraio.
- On my one full day in Kamakura, I walked from my hotel, WeBase (I’d recommend - they give you the most elaborate breakfast that I couldn’t even finish) and through the main tourist street. It was both incredibly overwhelming in vibe and underwhelming in vibe at the same time. I’d recommend exploring the streets just off to the side of this one, there are so many adorable specialty boutiques that I found - from a place called Chahat which sold Thai and local handmade accessories, and Pajaro, which was an adorable hat shop owned by a photographer. I spent $100 on a hat here, and it made me feel like a character in a cartoon.
- I grossly underestimated the amount of time I would spend staring at trinkets, and was running out of time to make it to the famous temple with the hydrangea bloom (Meigetsu In), but walked to Jochi-ji, another idyllic temple, and started a hike I found on AllTrails that cut through the center of the city along a peaceful and quiet path at times overrun by bees, all the way to Kotoku-in, which is known for its giant bronze Buddha statue. I watched people here for a while, some who looked like it was a real important moment for them, bowing in reverence and whispering murmured prayers. I had worked up an appetite at this point, and found a tiny confectionary shop run by an elderly man. I spent my last 150 yen scavenged from the bottom of my bag to enjoy a stick of mitarashi dango (rice flour dumplings covered in sweet soy sauce glaze). I walked back to my hotel, along the way stopping at a vintage store called off course, where everything is 2000 yen, and then finally to Matsubara-an, a soba noodle restaurant recommended to me that just happened to be next door to my hotel.
STOP 7: YOKOHAMA
- Quick stop on the way back to the airport, stopped in Yokohama at my connecting station and dropped my suitcases off at a coin locker. I walked to get one last climb in at B Pump, and had a very fruitful 2nd street visit. I found a Stussy t-shirt, some pants, a handbag and left behind a North Face rain jacket and Ralph Lauren handbag. I went to Cosme underneath the station to stock up on beauty products, mainly a Decortes lip plumping serum that I mistakenly bought the wrong color of, and which I’ve also lost twice since I’ve come back. I got back on the train to the airport and an hour later I was elbowing a guy out of the way at the 7/11 in the airport so that I could get all my snack souvenirs. I bought one last egg tamago sandwich for the road.