April 10 to 24, 2023
Day 1
- Manila to Osaka via Cebu Pacific. We left early thru Grab so we can have extra time in case mahaba ang pila. We were able to check in early and it took less than 5 minutes sa immigration.
- Arrived Osaka KIX airport by 730 PM. Our daughters Nani and Kja have been to Japan so they are quite familiar already with the trains.
- We got our ICOCA cards and loaded them initially with ¥10,000 each. From the airport we went straight to our hotel. Super lamig ng hangin bbrrrr 😂
- AAO Building, Namba. Self-check in. New building. Our room has 2 queen beds, 1 sofa bed, kitchen, dining table for six, washer, shower with bath tub and a separate rest room. I super like their heated toilet seat and the high tech bidet which is everywhere even in public areas. There also is a 24/7 supermarket nearby and our location was about 10 min walk to the train station (depende sa bilis ng lakad mo 😊)
- We shopped for dinner at the nearby supermarket. They have assortments of food and mostly discounted na from 10-40% off after 8pm. The mushrooms in Japan are super cheap, less then ¥100 yen per pack lang ang dami na. We also bought eggs, noodles, bread, coffee and extra bento meals for breakfast.
Day 2
- Early breakfast then prepared na for our first day itinerary. We visited the following:
- Osaka Castle Park. One of the largest castles in Japan. Glad to see na madami pang cherry blossoms here.
- Kema Sakuranomiya Park. Alongside a river. We didn’t stay long here since cherry blossoms were almost gone.
- Tsurumi Ryoukuchi Park. Windmill hill with lots of seasonal flowers.
- Second Street. Japan’s best thrift shop.
- Had lunch at Matsuya restaurant and bought packed dinner and stuff uli from the supermarket on our way home.
Day 3
- Included in our itinerary was going to Yoshino mountain. But, since there were still cherry blossoms in the parks, we opted not to go there anymore. We visited the following:
- Nara Deer Park. We started walking further into the park but it was too tiring 🥹 We went back to rent bikes but we were not able to download the bike sharing app. We went muna to the nearby shopping center and had brunch at Mcdonalds and mochi balls. Walked uli to Nara Park…
- For lunch, we just bought stuff from Lawson, Family Mart and other convenience stores along the way.
- Shinsaibashi. Known as Osaka’s main shopping area. We bought the cheapest Kitkat chocolates here sa store with a huge Kitkat sign.
- Dotonbori. Checked out Anello store but didn’t find a bag we like. We were supposed to eat at Ichiran but ang haba ng pila. Instead, we had dinner at 551-Horai Chinese restaurant.
Day 4
- Breakfast then checked out from our Osaka room on our way to Kyoto.
- Passed by Namba Yasaka Shrine along the way.
- Nani still has work so she went earlier na to The Rita Coffee, a nearby cafe where we met her after we checked out. I ordered the matcha frappe and it was so good.
- One Heart Inari. Standard check-in time was usually after 4pm but we were allowed to leave our things in the room early so we were able to explore na. Our hotel was just about 2 minute walk from the Inari train station, and just a block or two from the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine with lots of food along the streets. The room has 2 queen beds, 1 big sofa, kitchen, dining table, washer, shower with bath tub and a separate rest room. I like the tatami mat in the kitchen with Japanese style table and cushions. I highly recommend this place.
- We had lunch at a ramen restaurant just beside our hotel and street foods for dinner.
Day 5
- Started the day not too early for the following:
- Gion Hanamikoji, Ninenzaka-Sannenzaka Streets. Kyoto’s iconic old streets. Be as early as you can when visiting as these streets get busy with lots of local and foreign tourists.
- Kiyomizu-dera Temple
- Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
- Arashiyama Park and River
- Arashiyama Kimono Forest. Best to visit this in the evening for the awesome kimono posts lighted at night.
- We had lunch at Chasen restaurant. Tried different kinds of pasta, pizza and their matcha desserts – tiramisu, parfait, and assorted matcha sweet platter. Matcha is ❤️
Day 6
We just went shopping after lunch and left the boys in the hotel. Went to Avanti mall near Kyoto train station… to ABC Mart where Nani got her NB shoes, and Donki. We got chocolate samplers to know which ones are good. This is also where I got the havaianas slippers for ¥900+ or less than ₱400 each.
Day 7
- Dahil our accommodation was just a couple of blocks away, Bob and I went out for an early 5:30 AM photo ops at the Torii gates. People started coming in at around 6:00 AM.
- Checked out of Kyoto hotel. Since our travel to Fuji is late at night pa, we left our luggage in coin lockers at Kyoto train station. We got two big lockers at ¥700 each, then strolled to the following:
- Keage Incline. A former cargo railway lined with sakura trees.
- Nanjen-ji Temple. Walking past the railway will lead you to the water dam, then to the temple near the arch shaped bridge.
- Philosopher’s Path. A pedestrian path with sakura tree lined canal. Best to visit during cherry blossoms season.
- Ginkakujicho. Looks like Gion with lots of street foods and souvenir shops. Had karage chicken, croquettes, sakura and matcha cream puffs here for lunch. While eating, it rained with hailstones, it was something to experience…
- Went back to the train station for dinner. We had beef back ramen, and other stuff that the kids ordered. I don’t know what they are called 😂
- We also bought heattech shirts and pants from Uniqlo in preparation for our Gala Yuzawa tour when we get to Tokyo.
- Night bus to Fuji. We booked bus tickets in advance thru Willer for ¥6,400 each.
Day 8
- We departed Kyoto at 11:30 PM the previous night and arrived Fuji at 9:00 AM.
- Fujinokura Guest House. It was still early to check in, but we were able to leave our luggage and start exploring Mt . Fuji. We rented motor assisted bikes from them at discounted rate of ¥2,200 for guests from ¥2,500 for the whole day. The air was so cold and we were so thankful that we already have our heattechs na, so we changed muna before starting our bike tour.
- Biking around Mt. Fuji. This I would say was the highlight of our Japan trip. It was super nice to bike around Japan, the bike lanes and routes are very safe and friendly. Glad we got the motor assisted bikes, less effort especially when going uphill. I can’t imagine being able to reach the torii gate walking or with just the regular bikes 😂
- Kawaguchi Asama Shrine
- Tenku-no Torii ~ Torii gate in the Sky
- Oishi Park
- Lake Kawaguchiko
- Brunch at Family Mart. I like their squid calamares and beef croquettes. For dinner, we just bought stuffs from Lawson before going back to the guesthouse. This Lawson branch is famous for the awesome view of Mt. Fuji but with not so friendly staff ✌️
- Our luggage were already in our room when we got back. The guest house is just two blocks from the train station. The room looks like traditional Japanese room with tatami mat, futons, and Japanese style table and floor chairs. The rooms do not have in-room shower and restroom, but are shared with other guests. I never had an instance being in the restroom or shower with other guests, so it still felt private. The restrooms and shower area were so clean, with complete amenities including face wash, hair dryer, coin washer and dryer. Also, came with unlimited free coffee ☕️
Day 9
- After quick bath and breakfast, we headed to Arakurayama Sengen Park ~ Chureito Pagoda, this spot is famous for the awesome view of Mt. Fuji next to the pagoda. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day and Mt. Fuji was not visible. Good thing we were staying for another night so we thought of just returning the following day. Oh, thinking about the climb again, 398 steps! 😅
- We went back to the guest house and rested before heading to what’s next in our itinerary.
- Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine. With giant cypress and century old cedar trees.
- We love the vibe of Fuji, less tourists than the other spots we have been in the past week. The weather here was so cold too but tolerable naman especially with the help of our heattechs.
- Lunch and dinner were still from Lawson and 7-11 😊
Day 10
- Chuerito Pagoda is just three stations away from our guesthouse. We took the earliest train at around 5:20 AM when we went back here. The sky was so clear and there was not a single cloud blocking the view of Mt. Fuji, we are so thankful. Took photos, then went back na to our room to prepare for check out.
- Checked out Fujinokura guest house and headed to the train station to wait for our 1:00 PM bus going to Tokyo. We booked our seats the previous day thru Willer again for ¥2,060 per person. Travel time was about 2.5 hours.
- Tokyo. Coming from a bit laid back Fuji, Tokyo looked like a very busy place. We went straight to our accommodation which was about 10 minute walk from the station.
- Airbnb Guest House, Kita. Two-story house with 3 beds (1 in the attic), complete kitchen with dining table for 6, separate toilet and bath. It has a grocery store just outside, convenience stores in almost every corner, and less than 10 minute walk to the Jujo Ginza shopping center and train station.
- For dinner, Bob cooked pasta with different types of mushrooms ~ shitake, enoki and shimeji, all fresh and less than ₱50 per pack.
Day 11
- Jujo Ginza Shopping Center. Bob and I went here to scout the place. More choices for ready to eat packed meals at reasonable prices. Super sulit ang ¥10 chicken balls, max 30 pieces per order 🤗
- Teamlab Planets. Booked our tickets in advance thru their website. Though madaming tao, we still enjoyed and appreciated each room. Laugh trip sa black hole, ang hirap makaalis sa pwesto 🤪 Best room was the floating flower garden, mala-hunger games in finding the best spot to take pictures haha
- On our way home, we tried the sweet potato waffles, tastes like yayamaning sweet potatoes 😋😋😋
Day 12
- Shopping day with the girls.
- Second Street
- Mode Off
- Donki. Bought Legend Walker medium luggage for ¥11,990 tax free.
- Gyozanomise Okei. A Michelin guide restaurant. We lined up here for about an hour to be seated, famous even with locals for their gyoza dumplings.
Day 13
- This day should have been our Gala Yuzawa tour. But, since we were not prepared for the snow and the very cold weather, we opted not to go anymore. Thinking of going to Hokkaido next 🙏. We instead went to the following:
- Ashikaga Flower Park. Lots of wisteria and different kinds of flowers. A bit pricey though as we spent about ¥6,000 each for train fare and entrance fee. We enjoyed the street food and the wisteria flavored ice cream. I also want to note their portalets, super clean with bidet pa din and full flush, plus mirror… amazing!
- Jujo Ginza Shopping Center. We got the chocolates here for pasalubong. Melty kiss was so good plus of course all sorts of other matcha flavored chocolates and my fave senbei crackers 😍
Day 14
- Tokyo tour
- Asakusa Temple. Dami tao. Lots of souvenir shops and this is where I got the sakura ref magnets.
- Nani got the cute peach Anello bag on our way to Ginza street. Tax free din.
- Ichiran. Less people here compared to their branch in Dotonbori.
- Ginza, Chuo-dori Street. Tokyo’s most famous upmarket shopping district. The entire street is closed to cars on weekends and becomes a pedestrian plaza.
- Don Quijote. Dahil sa dami ng nabiling clothes and chocolates, Nani also got the smaller version of the Legend Walker luggage for ¥9,990 tax free.
- Shibuya Crossing. Very busy indeed.
- Hachico Statue. New attraction is the wall mural of Hachiko family just across the statue.
Day 15
- Checked out of our Tokyo accommodation. We had to finish all the remaining food 🤢😂
- Bought last minute additional pasalubong at the Jujo Ginza shopping center.
- Narita Airport. We arrived here before 3:00 PM for our 9:00 PM flight. Counters opened two hours before the flight. We just roamed around and bought sari-saring stuff…
- Nani and I bought the Miss Dior perfume at the Duty Free Mall.
- Late lunch/early dinner at Soba Buckwheat Noodle restaurant inside the airport.
This is my (and Bob’s) first travel out of the country, and Japan has always been in our list. We were supposed to travel in 2021 but got cancelled due to the pandemic. We finalized our decision to go only around January and started processing requirements in February. Got our visas thru UHI. Our plane tickets cost ₱20k each for the Manila-Osaka-Narita-Manila route.
A bit late for cherry blossom peak season, as we wanted to be in Japan for my birthday, yet we are still so grateful to see sakura flowers 🌸 and enjoy the trip overall, despite the 10k to 25k steps per day 😅😅😅
Thankful of course for my two daughters, since they’ve been to Japan na, we didn’t have to worry about the itinerary and navigating the train system which was so complicated for me 😂
We got our travel insurance from Standard by the way. Around ₱1200 per person for ₱500k coverage. Glad that we didn’t have to use them.
See you next year, Japan! 🙏