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Japan 10 Days Travel Blog (Warning: Get Your Calendars Ready to Plan a Trip there!)

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Japan is one the most popular country people want to visit. It has great food, culture and entertainment! We just went to Japan, let’s have a look at the beautiful country!

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Day 1:

Nothing much on Day 1. A long plane ride to Japan on Delta Air. 

delta airlineglimpse of japan

Catching a glimpse of Japan.

Touchdown!

narata airport

We took a Shinkansen (or bullet train) from Narita Airport to Tokyo. 

shinkansen

solar panel

Airbnb was the choice for accommodation due to its price. It was an eye opener of the interior of a house in Japan. We stayed in Shin Okubo, or what is commonly known as the Korean Town in Japan.

shin okubo

The busiest traffic light in the world, the Shibuya Crossing was pretty interesting. Man! It was crowded with people crossing the road and trying to take a picture. It is dangerous to take a photo in the middle of the road in our homeland, but it is perfectly normal here!

shibuya crossing 1

shibuya crossing

After some light shopping at Shibuya, dinner was in a restaurant at Shin Okubo. The tuna-don was really fresh.

tuna don

Going to Japan: Improving Your Navigation and Convenience (Don’t worry, it opens in a new tab)


Day 2

Early day to the Tsukiji Fish Market. Place where the freshest fish of all are sold at. If you want some good sashimi, this is the best place to come to. They had the live bidding of raw tunas interestingly. Honestly, this place is a food haven.

Tsukiji Fish Market 1

tuna

Tsukiji Fish Market 2

below are just a few delicacies. We can’t upload them all, the team is salivating thinking back about it.

beef slicetamago

Monster spotted! No seriously, it’s a Tuna, as a whole. It’s huge.

cutting tuna

Talking about size, I also spotted some huge crabs.

giant crab

The restaurant’s queue wasn’t too long there. Sushi for lunch before setting off for my next destination, it was the freshest sushi we ever had!

tsujuki fish market sushi

We walked through Ginza.

ginza

Seriously $200++ for a melon? 

expensive melons

A peek at the Tokyo Imperial PalaceThis place was huge. Surrounded by water, it must be hard to invade the castle in the past.

Tokyo Imperial Palace

There is a park at the west side of the castle. It is clean and relaxing. 

Tokyo Imperial Palace 2Tokyo Imperial Palace 3

There was still about a week before the cherry blossom blooms, but we managed to view those that bloomed early. Couples, you would love the scenery.

Tokyo Imperial Palace 4

The east side is referred to as the East Garden of Imperial Palace, it is where the main garden is. Probably the area where the emperor liked to chill at. The old structures are still there.

guardhouse

The picture above is a guardhouse. Guard duty, anyone?

Inside the garden, we had no idea what species they are, but they are beautiful.

flowerTokyo Imperial Palace 5

orangeTokyo Imperial Palace 6

Peaceful…

Tokyo Imperial Palace beauty

We headed to the streets of Ginza.

ginza night

Ramen for Dinner, DUH!

japan ramenanti social

More shopping after that. Before sleeping, we had Yoshinoya for supper. Honestly, it was not too different from those in Singapore.

Yoshinoya

Related: 6 Odd and Unique Japanese Behaviours You Might Not Know

Day 3

Had a(nother) beef bowl rice. This time, it is from the Matsuya chain. The best beef bowl rice I had.

Matsuya

It was a rainy day, so we hid inside Takashimaya at Shinkuju. Window shopped here and ate some snacks.

Takashimaya

It was still raining. Had no choice but to move on.  Japan is famous for their temples/shrines. we visited Meiji Jingu/Meiji Shrine next. Another beautiful place.

Meiji JinguMeiji Jingu 2

Sake vs Wine?

winesake

Near the main shrine, there are some Japanese prayers to wish for whatever you desire. You can either purify yourself or write on the wooden board, which we have no idea what it is called.

japan cleanse

wishing board

After the shrine visit, we proceeded to Harajuku for street shopping. It was narrow and packed with people (again).

Harajuku

Street Snacks

chicken snack

A popular place here is the Calbee factory. That’s right that potato chip brand. Chips are freshly made here and they taste heavenly!

Calbee

Calbee 2Calbee 3

More shopping and food adventure follows. For people hunting for branded or exclusive clothing, Harajuku is a good place to come to. Use Google Maps to navigate through the many alleys and reach the stores you like.

Anyway, we found Pablo cheese tart store hidden in one of the alleys.

hidden pablopablo cheese tart

Back in Shin Okubo, We had sushi (kinda meh) for dinner/supper. Not the best, buy still better than most places in Singapore.

random sushi shop


Day 4 

Kaminarimon is the destination today. Another freezing rainy day. Another temple visit. Despite all this, this is also a gorgeous place.

Kaminarimon Kaminarimon 2

A nice view of a small garden beside the main shrine. Good for a walk with your partner!

Kaminarimon 3

Hope we have fans everywhere too!

fan shop

Luckily, there was also indoor shopping places. And is that a samurai shop?

Kaminarimon 3samurai

After food and more shopping, we went down to Ueno Park. Luckily, we managed to see more cherry blossom. A very calming place and a good place to relax at.

Ueno ParkUeno Park cherry blossom

If you feel like it, you can rent a square to have a small picnic. Not much people are picnic-ing as the rain just stopped.

Ueno Park rent

For anyone who ever migrates to Japan, consider coming here for a family day.

Ueno Park family

Lunch was a small bowl of salmon and roe don at a small shop in some random alley near Ueno. The best!

salmon and roe don

We proceeded to Akihabara by train. This is the place where animes/mangas and electronics prosper. A very fun looking place. Definitely worth a visit if you are hunting for a figurine or trying to buy a slightly cheaper PS 4. Not much photos of the shop as most of them prohibit using a camera.

Akihabara

Look at all the Yu-Gi-Oh cards. How is this still a thing? There are also Duel Masters and Magic cards. Other unknown cards were put for sale too. 

yu gi oh

This place is flooded with capsule machines. Wonder how much money is in those machines..

capsule machine

Wonder what the shop sells. These adult shops are openly displayed in Japan.

Akihabara 2

Talking about adult shops, we headed to Kabuchiko, the “Geylang” in Tokyo.

KabuchikoKabuchiko 3

Kabuchiko 2

Not a very pleasing meal and it was slightly overpriced.

fried beef slice

Kabuchiko is rumoured to be flooded with Yakuza so we did not stay there for long. We shopped around Shinjuku before turning in for the night.

Shinjuku

Related: Wearing Shirts With Jeans: The Lazy Man’s Guide To 6 Different Combinations

Day 5 

Time to travel far away. The whole day was spent at Hakone area, the place to see Mt Fuji. A long Shinkansen train was taken to Owadara. Bought the Hakone pass and began our journey. We managed to try a bento during my train ride.

shinkansen food

Had to change to a ferry (like a pirate ship) for the climb up the mountain. A scenic view can be spotted from the ferry.

Hakone ferry

Hakone Hakone 2

Then we changed to a cable car… So many modes of transportation.

cable car

A good day as the fog is not that thick. During the ride up, Mt Fuji was visible. It’s that random big white patch.

mt fuji view

Finally, we reached the top of the mountain. It was mind-blowing! It was the first time most of us saw snow! The view is also breathtaking. Rising volcanic gases! Out of so many first experiences we ever had! This was definitely one of our favourites!

Hakone peakHakone peak 2

Again, another spot to get a faint sight of Mt Fuji. Snow was everywhere and kids just love it.

mt fuji

Of course, how can we forget about the black ice cream and black egg sold here? It was a good snack in the cooling scenery.

black ice-creamblack egg

Enough of this mesmerizing place. We headed to the next location. These train junctions are always our favourite spots to snap a picture.

train crossing

At the edge of Hakone, we arrived at Gotemba Premium Outlet. Factory Outlet of a wide variety of branded goods and hopefully a discount. Yes, discounts are Singaporeans’ favourite. Another hour of bus ride, another hour of sleep.

gotemba premium outlet

We finally got to try the Japan Curry at a food court. 

Japan Curry

gotemba premium outlet 2

For Pokemon lovers, there is even an official Pokemon Store here. Plushies, Pokemon toys and many Pokemon related stuff can be found here.

pokemon store

We recommend heading to Hakone the next time you are in Japan. Before heading back home, we stopped by Ueno and had Unagi Rice Bowl for dinner. This is another fresh Japan delicacies. Maybe only at top-notch restaurants, you can’t find any better ones in Singapore.

unagi rice bowl

Related: 6 Greatest Things About Singapore 


Day 6

Before going the Osaka, where we will be staying for the rest of the trip, we had Sukiya’s beef rice bowl. It’s better than Yoshinoya’s but not as good as Matsuya’s

Sukiya

It’s a 2h 30min Shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Osaka. It was a mix of sleep and enjoying the glimpse of the rural Japan.

Shinkansen view

Shinkansen view 2Shinkansen view 1

After arriving in Osaka and moving into another Airbnb, the adventure in Osaka begins. Dotonburi is the heart of Osaka. Food, Drug stores and Clothing stores are everywhere. Everything could be found here. 

dotonburi 1dotonburi 2

We tried the dish we have been craving for. Takoyaki. The first 2 pictures are my favourite ones. Guidesify recommends and you should definitely try it! The third picture is the one that’s rated number one, but it was not that nice compared to the one from the first store. We don’t know the name of the store as none of us knew Japanese, sorry!

Takoyaki 1Takoyaki 3

Takoyaki 2

Feeling rich, we tried the Luke’s Lobster. It is fresh lobster stuffed inside a bread. Nothing special, just lobster and bread. It is fun watching the preparation though.

Luke's Lobster 1Luke's Lobster 2

Luke's Lobster 3

Do not claim you had been to Japan if you did not give Ichiran Ramen a try. That’s what we had for dinner. We chose the option where we got our own booth. We made the soup extra rich and it was amazing! Another dish that Guidesify recommends!  

Ichiran Ramen

Ichiran Ramen 2Ichiran Ramen 3

Don’t believe how nice it is? Just look at the bowl! 

More shopping ensues, until it’ supper time. We decided to get an ice cream and a cake from Pablo. They are nice, but the cheese tart were more worth it.

Pablo ice-creamPablo cake

Related: 7 Instagram Accounts Cooking Noobs Should Follow

Day 7

It’s Gyoza for breakfast today. We had it for our 15 min Shinkansen ride to Kyoto.

Gyoza

We arrived at Fushimi Inari-Taisha. This place is crowded. Very very crowded.

Fushimi Inari-taisha

Alright, the above picture doesn’t say much but was just the entrance. Inari means fox so I believe they worship the fox. That’s just a wild guess. Look, they even have statues of the fox!

Fushimi Inari-taisha 2

This is a shrine, so there are again many forms to offer your prayers. There is the wooden board where they modified it to the signature red arc. Another board if for you to toss the money and ring the bell.

Fushimi Inari-taisha 3Fushimi Inari-taisha bell

This place is famous for the signature red arcs. It has a lot of red arcs, all donated. Probably by big companies. (we accept donation too…) And look at how narrow the walkway was.

Fushimi Inari-taisha 4

Fushimi Inari-taisha 5Fushimi Inari-taisha 6

If you stray off from the main path, you can see beautiful some gardens. A good place to have a break if you want to stay away from the crowd for a little while.

Fushimi Inari-taisha stray

Fushimi Inari-taisha food

beef stick thing

Enough of snacking, we hopped on the train and proceed to the next area. During my walk, we saw a nice little playground. Personally, sandy playground is my favourite. Wish we were still kids. Playground trip anyone?

japan playground

Try the Matcha ice cream when you’re in Kyoto. Not just a normal matcha ice cream, it is a blend of soybean and matcha. A very fulfilling meal.

soybean matcha ice-cream

After a lot of walking, we finally reached the Bamboo Forest. Do you want to have your field camp here? It’s very cooling and a very relaxing place. We had never seen many bamboos before. They are at least 10m tall.

Bamboo ForestBamboo Forest 2

Soba was the next dish we could not afford to miss.

soba

Be warned, the next place was astonishing! At Togetsukyō Bridge, kids get to run around, people having photo shoots. Couples would have a nice date here. Guidesify recommends you to drop by this place!

Togetsukyō Bridge

Togetsukyō Bridge 3

Togetsukyō Bridge 4

Togetsukyō Bridge 5Togetsukyō Bridge 2

We travelled back to Dotonbori. Dinner was sashimi. the tempura was very nice. The salmon and tunas are just wonderful. Top-tier. Words can’t describe it. You have to try to know it. 

tempurasashimi platter

Next consisted of Okonomiyaki and Yakisoba. Veggie lovers would love the Okonomiyaki. Yakisoba was good.

okonomiyaki yakisoba

Related: Winter Is Coming – Perfect Flower Choices for the Holidays (Christmas Prep)


Day 8

We visited Osaka Castle today. 

Osaka Castle

Another cherry blossom.

Osaka Castle cherry blossom

Everyone was taking a picture of this statue, so we followed suit. Probably some Japan King or General.

Osaka Castle 2

Circling around the castles, we braved the cold weather and quickly took some photos of the castle exterior. You have to pay for premium entry to see more.

Osaka Castle 3Osaka Castle 4Osaka Castle 5

Not sure what the queue was for

queue

Next stop was Orange Street. This is another place to find rare and exclusive branded goods. 

Orange Street Orange Street 2

Back to Dotonburi, we had a pork rib ramen. The pork rib is soft and delicious. The soup was average.

pork rib

We tried a melon bread. Basically an ice cream bread.

melon bread

Related: 5 Effortless Ways to Save Money on Online Shopping

Day 9

Kyoto’s Nakagyo Ward. This is the place well-known for geisha. 

Nakagyo Ward

Had no idea what they are celebrating or what ritual they were performing.

japan festivaljapan festival 2

Geishas!

Nakagyo Ward 1

We were extremely lucky and fortunate to be able to have the Kichi Kichi Omurice by a walk in instead of making a reservation! Months of reservations are needed for this! It is the most expensive meal we had in Japan. 

Kichi Kichi Omurice beef stew

Kichi Kichi Omurice Kichi Kichi Omurice 2

Kichi Kichi Omurice 3

In Japan, you will be walking a lot. So that’s good. And Kyoto is a stunning place. Enjoy the view!

beautiful street 1

beautiful street 2

In addition to walking, you will also need to climb steep slopes and stairs a lot. That’s because Japan is a mountainous country. Climbing my way up..

beautiful street 3

Look! Didn’t expect a Hermes store to be hidden here.

hermes

We decided to walk through the housing estate just to see how their neighborhood looks like. It just feels so peaceful. 

japan alley

Finally, after all the climbing, we reached Kiyomizu-Dera. 

Kiyomizu-dera Kiyomizu-dera 2

The shrines look very majestic and reddish. Surrounded by cherry blossom trees, this place is also very marvellous too.

Kiyomizu-dera 3

Finally, we managed to get a beautiful view of Kyoto. This photo does not do the view justice.

kyoto overview

Kiyomizu-dera pond

Before heading to the station, we saw the lighted up Kyoto tower.

kyoto tower

Since this was the last night, we stuffed ourselves with 3 dishes

fried beef thing

sashimi

grilled salmon

best sashimiichiran 2


Day 10

Had a pork cutlet don before my Shinkansen ride from Osaka to Tokyo.

pork cutlet

Last-minute shopping at Narita Airport.

japan airport

Bidding our farewell to Japan during our evening flight on Delta Air.

bye japan

Back to reality. Do like and share to let us know that you are interested in this type of content. Till next time!

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