Looking to show your teenagers a totally different cultural experience? A holiday in Tokyo and Kyoto will prove very rewarding. I have 14 and 12 year old girls and, despite panicking about their imminent year end exams, they loved the trip over May half-term. A 12 hour flight sounds like a deterrent for a week’s trip but it’s just two hours longer than going to Florida. Also, British Airways has a daily flight to Haneda which is a 20 minute taxi ride into the centre of Tokyo compared to the much greater distance of Narita.
Highlight
“Tokyoform” by Tokyo 903
Flickr.com
The whole trip was full of highlights but if I had to focus on one it would be be our two days in Kyoto reached by the bullet train.
Day 1 Sunday: Tokyo
Having left London the day before, everyone feels jet lagged landing in Tokyo at 7am but after a short taxi ride your hotel bed is at hand. It’s a good idea to get everyone down for about three hours. Then, head outside as fresh air is a remedy for jet lag.
Go over to Tokyo Station and choose your lunch destination from the seemingly endless supply of restaurants – there’s a whole section devoted to ramen. Next up take the the overground train (JR) from Tokyo Station, using the Yamanote Line to Harajuku Station and take a relaxing stroll in Yoyogi Park. Here you can visit the Meiji Shrine or even just walk to the impressive torii gates on the approach to the shrine. This is the most notable Shinto shrine in Tokyo, dedicated to the Emperor Meiji who reigned 1868-1912. Afterwards continue walking through the park towards the Harajuku district of all the teen shops. The best day to do this is Sunday as there are many aspects of youth culture to take in – street performers, skate-boarders, dancers and a flee market. There’s a lot of walking and, while the strange sights of Elvis lookalikes were intriguing, it was time to stop at the St Marc Cafe – one of the many dessert/coffee bars – for a quick refuel. The girls were mesmerised with the colourful and beautifully combined ice-cream and cakes. I can thoroughly recommend the iced green tea latte. Next was the promised trip to a Japanese stationary shop. Girls (of any age) go crazy for the array of every possible stationary gadget, including staple-less staplers. Loft is the place to go and leave them for an hour. With everyone beginning to fade, head over for a quick look at the “Shibuya Scramble” – one of the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing areas – and find a cab to make it back to the hotel.
While we wanted the girls to try all the different types of Japanese food we decided not to enforce it on the first night while their time clocks adjusted. A short walk from our hotel found us in a quiet courtyard of Maranouchi Brick Square and the stylish Californian pizza restaurant of A16.
Day 2: Monday: Tokyo
Everyone wanted to take it easy as we were going to have a packed schedule over the next few days. We spent the morning perusing the amazing Daimaru department store – you can easily spend hours looking at the beautifully presented food sections. Lunch was again at Tokyo Station at a tonkatsu, breaded, deep fried pork cutlets, restaurant which was a big hit with everyone. The afternoon was spent quietly exploring the areas surrounding Tokyo Station and walking over to Ginza, the high end shopping district. For dinner, we had booked to visit the famous sushi restaurant, Kyubei, at the Okura Hotel. Reservations are essential and plan to be at the counter to enjoy your own dedicated sushi chef.
Day 3 Tuesday: Kyoto
Up early and back over to Tokyo Station to catch the Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto (tickets arranged by the hotel). The train ride itself is a cool experience with all the seats facing the right way next to conveniently located power outlets for charging phones. There’s also the wonderful cultural bowing ritual of the ticket collector as they enter each carriage. After two and a quarter hours we are navigating Kyoto Station to find our hotel – the Granvia which is a quick escalator ride away. After a speedy deposit of bags we went to meet our English speaking guide and driver who would be with us for 2 days. Nobuaki Nagata (Nobu) is one of only four licensed tour guides, who are also taxi drivers, in Kyoto. This is recommended to get the most out of a short trip.
Nobu takes us to a restaurant (politely calling ahead to ensure there is space), Yoshimura in Arashiyama which specialises in soba and tofu. I sample the green tea tofu as I take in the mountain view. The girls happily slurp on their soba noodles.
Our afternoon sightseeing starts with the tranquil Bamboo Forest in Arashiyama where the 600 year old Chinese bamboo tower above. Then Nobu takes us on a tour of nearby temples – Gio-ji and Otagi Nenbutsu ji. The latter, with its 1,200 carved stone figures of Rakan (disciples of Shaka, the founder of Buddhism) is a favourite with the girls where they also have fun ringing the bells – a ritual before Buddhists prayers. Neither of these temples are so popular with tourists which makes for a more peaceful visit. Finally we are driven to the World Cultural Heritage Site of Kinkaku-ji or the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. Despite being a major tourist attraction this temple is truly stunning, covered in gold leaf, and forming a calming reflection in the surrounding water. There’s also a sprawling 600 year old bonsai to behold. By now everyone is tired so, despite my protests, we didn’t go to Gion to spot Geishas on their way to work at dusk. Dinner is wagyu beef at the narrow, but cosy, counter in Hafuu, followed by sumptuous puddings.
Day 4 Wednesday: Kyoto
Nobu drives us to the eastern part of Kyoto where we walk up a busy shopping street to arrive at Kiyomizudera, a historic temple and another World Cultural Heritage Site. Kiyomizudera means Temple of Clear Water and was named after the Otowa Waterfall. This is where patient visitors wait in line to drink from one of the three sacred Otowa waterfalls hoping for either knowledge, true love or good health. On the way back be sure to sample some of treats being offered by the local shop owners and stop in at Malebranche to buy green tea chocolate.
As we had missed going to Gion the previous evening Nobu took us for a quick stop. While it was the wrong time to see Geishas we were at least able to look at the tea houses situated along the shady narrow streets. I had made a request to buy some matcha (powdered green tea, which is especially good in Kyoto) and Nobu had a specific shop that he wanted to show us – Ippodo Tea Co. This is a tea heaven, founded in 1717, and I could easily have spent several hours sampling their exquisite offerings. They insisted on making tea for all of us and then demonstrating how to make matcha with the bamboo tea whisk, using the “m” shaped motion. Needless to say I came away with many beautifully wrapped packages. While Ippodo has opened in New York, London is still waiting. With patience waring thin amongst the other family members we set about visiting the “washi” – Japanese paper/stationary shops which are another Kyoto tradition. These are a huge hit with girls of all ages but even my husband became intrigued at the infinite array of paper designs and started shopping! Presentation is very important in Japan and all these beautiful sheets of washi are used for wrapping but we saw them as potential wall coverings and, at roughly ¥500(£3.00) a sheet, were happy to buy a whole load to take home and frame. In addition to the washi there are also hosts of carefully crafted objects made out of paper, including Iphone cases and coasters. Everything became a must-have but after three shops we had to exert some self-control – baggage space was becoming an issue and so far washi luggage was not on offer! Favourite washi shops are Morita Washi and Suzuki Shofudo.
With all our purchases safely stowed in Nobu’s car boot our next stop is at the nearby Nishiki Market. This market dates from 1310 and specialises in food and cooking utensils and, despite it being a tourist attraction, is a great way to sample local life.
Time’s running out before we need to catch our train back to Tokyo and Nobu drops us at a tiny sushi restaurant where, after we deposit our shoes, we sit on floor cushions and have a bowl of chirashi sushi for ¥1,000 (£6.00) each.
Reluctantly, we are taken straight to the station. Nobu ensured that we left our luggage in his car so as to maximise the day but still there was not enough time to soak up everything Kyoto has to offer.
A quiet train ride, with the girls revising for their imminent school exams, and then it’s back to Tokyo Station and our hotel, the Metropolitan Maranouchi. There’s been a unanimous vote for another tonkatsu, at Tonkatsu Suzuki, conveniently located in the station.
Day 5 Thursday: Tokyo
It’s our last day, and as wanted to cram in as much as possible, we had arranged a private tour through “Backstreet guides”. We met our English speaking guide, Rei, at the hotel and headed over to Asakusa to see the Buddhist Sensoji temple where the girls had fun testing their luck with boxes of fortune sticks. Nakamise Dori, located close to the temple, is a tourist street selling the usual uninspiring souvenir. Nearby there is Kengo Kuma designed building which resembles blocks of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings piled on top of each other. It’s worth going up to the observation deck for the view of the “beer’ shaped Asahi building and the Sky Tree, which at 634 metres, is the world’s tallest tower and second tallest structure after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Afterwards Rei takes us on the subway to Akihabara, home to all the electronic stores, where her local knowledge was essential in guiding us through the famous department store, Yodobashi, which has floor upon floor of every conceivable gadget at reasonable prices. Nearly exhausted, our next stop is another major destination, this time for manga and anime. Here I lost the girls, mentally and physically, while they submerged themselves in Totoro and other similar characters. We are then taken for the Maid Cafe experience. I’m hesitant to recommend this as the girls found it very strange, verging on uncomfortable, but the intention is aimed at more innocent fun. There are a series of cafes located in the Akihabara district where the waitresses dress up as french maids and serve you drinks and food. We all order lattes and milkshakes with animals of our choice drawn in syrup over the drink’s froth. All quite sweet but there is one customer, getting his photograph taken with the maids (available for an extra charge), who has brought his album full of his “maid” photos. It’s one way to experience Japanese culture… After a lunch of feasting on ramen we were due to head over to the Meiji shrine to see more than Sunday’s visit to the torii gates but the girls have had their fill of temples and opt, instead, for the teenage shopping mecca of Takeshita-dori back in the Harajuku district. Our final port of call is 30 minutes at a five storey Forever 21 – next time I know that I can leave them here for the entire trip. Exhausted but content that we successfully navigated the JR, we arrive back at the hotel to confront the packing for tomorrow’s morning flight back to London.
The following day at Haneda Airport we stock up on more green tea chocolate – especially the kit kats and chocolate almonds. Back to london and the girls, inspired by their trip, spend the weekend revising for those year end exams which start on Monday. We are already making mental lists for all the things we want to cover on our next visit to Japan which would include sumo wrestling, an early morning trip to the fish market, Tokyo Sky Tree, science museum and the zoo to see the pandas.
Travel
BA flies daily to Haneda – 20 minutes by taxi to Tokyo Station.
Stay
We stayed at the Metropolitan Maranouchi, adjacent to Tokyo Station, which is very convenient. The rooms are small but it is reasonably priced.
www.hotelmetropolitanmarunouchi.jp
Mandarin Oriental is a more luxurious hotel experience and about a 15 minute walk from Tokyo Station.
www.mandarinoriental.com/tokyo/
Park Hyatt – Very cool with lovely rooms and a fun bar – think “Lost in Translation” (same hotel). Located in Shinjuku, quite far from Tokyo Station but close to the calming Yoygi Park.
http://tokyo.park.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html
Kyoto
Hotel Granvia – above the station. Huge sprawling hotel complex, good sized rooms.
Ryokans – good information on these Japanese inns, including the legendary Tawaraya, can be found at www.insidekyoto.com
Eat
The food is a huge highlight in Japan and I didn’t even scratch the surface. There are more Michelin starred restaurants in Tokyo than any other city. Next time I want to try the seven seater sushi counter at Sushi Saito – reserve at least one month in advance.
Tokyo Station – we could have easily spent a week sampling the vast number of restaurants here.
All types of Japanese cuisine are on offer and the tonkatsu at Tonkatsu Suzuki was a favourite. Be sure to pick up a caramel roll (looks like a swiss roll) at Arinco, Tokyo Station which has its own caramel fountain.
Kyubei – sushi counter at the Okura Hotel.
http://www.hotelokura.co.jp/tokyo/en/restaurant/list/kyubee/
A16 – Californian pizza in a quiet courtyard setting of Marunouch Brick Square
www.marunouchi.com/e/shop/detail/9115
Kyoto
Hafuu – sensational wagyu beef – we went to the original restaurant which was very relaxed with counter seating.
http://www.hafuu.com/eng_index.html
Yoshimura – soba and tofu restaurant in Arashiyama
http://www.arashiyama-yoshimura.com
Tour Guides
Tokyo
Kyoto
Our guide, Nobu, can be reached at
aki.nobu.nagata@star.ocn.ne.jp
Takakazu Machi is another highly recommended English speaking guide/driver who is usually booked out months ahead.
http://privatetour-kyoto.com/ehome.html
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The Occasional Nut is the blog of Olga, a squirrel lady-about-town who seeks to discover the latest and greatest around London. From eateries and fine-dining to the latest films, plays and musicals. If it's public, she's there.
