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How to spend 30 minutes in Nakamise Street, Tokyo?

No food or drink sign at Nakamise Street Tokyo

Filled fried bun at Nakamise Street Tokyo Japan

Sakura filled fried bun from Nakamise Street Tokyo

Red bean manju from Nakamise Street Tokyo Japan

Strawberry mochi from Nakamise Street Tokyo Japan

Yummy strawberry red bean mochi from Nakamise Street Tokyo

Melon cream bun from Nakamise Street Tokyo Japan

Japan melon pan from Nakamise Street Tokyo Japan

Funawa Patisserie at Nakamise Street Tokyo

Making pancakes at Funawa Patisserie Nakamise Street Tokyo

Red bean sweet potato dorayaki from Funawa Patisserie Tokyo

Japanese wedding parade at Nakamise Street Tokyo

If you are visiting Tokyo with a tour group, chances are you will have an opportunity to visit Asakusa Temple and Nakamise Street. One thing to take note is that you probably will not have a lot of time to explore these two places and if you visit these two places on a weekend, oh boy, the challenge has become way higher because this area is packed with people. In order for us to go through the crowd until we reach Kaminarimon Gate, we had to spend around 15 minutes. And since we are only allocated 45 minutes in this whole area (oh yes, are you freaking kidding me), we have to move in an orderly planned manner.

After the tour guide let us roam freely, we quickly explored the alleys to enjoy some street food. If you think you can just eat while strolling like what you do in any kind of street food, you may have to remember not to do that here at Nakamise Street. Eating and drinking while strolling is completely against the rule of Nakamise Street. You can only eat or drink whatever you buy in front of the shop. Yikes, I suppose we have to chomp faster if we want to try as many food as possible here.

Considering that we had to queue before securing our food, being able to eat 5 kind of different food at Nakamise Street within 30 minutes is a satisfying result to be honest with you. However, I did give a feedback to the tour group about this crazy amount of short time given to us to explore the area. Oh well, I’m sure they are not going to do anything about it and it’s not like I’m gonna join another tour group if I’m coming back to Tokyo so yeah, whatever. From all the food shop that we visited within 30 minutes, the longest queue is gotta be at the whipped cream melonpan and Funawa Patisserie. Funawa Patisserie seems to be a famous sweet shop in Nakamise Street as its shop is huge and it even has its own eating area (i.e. a few tables where people can stand while eating their food).

There are actually a lot of shops selling souvenirs too but we totally had no time to even check them out in that kind of time limit so yeah, I hope I have the chance to revisit this street again in the future. But until then, I suppose I have just to be grateful to be able to catch a traditional Japanese cart carrying a couple in Japanese traditional wedding gown. Did they just really get married or is this just a parade for tourists? I can’t be sure but still, happy to be able to catch that. Haha.

8D Avia Japan Trip: Lake Kawaguchiko, Mt Fuji and Gotemba Premium Outlet

Early lunch at Lake Kawaguchiko Mt Fuji Japan

White sakura tree at Lake Kawaguchiko Mt Fuji

White peach ice cream from Haagen Daz Japan

Morning view of Mt Fuji from Lake Kawaguchiko

I don’t know what I’ve been doing from April to October except for trying to resuscitate my saving account to stable condition after few months of unemployment but hey, hello October I suppose. Can’t believe I haven’t even completed my blog post about the last spring trip to Japan. Talk about procrastination hahaha. Japan has been enduring a tough summer this year and hopefully Trami would be the last typhoon that they have to endure. When the typhoon not in town though, Japan is beautiful.

However, I heard that catching the view of the top of Mt Fuji is tricky, no matter what the season is. I managed to catch it during my first trip to Japan with my bestie but when I went for the second time, it was not very clear. Even though we specifically went to Lake Kawaguchiko, one of the famous viewing spot of Mt Fuji. The top of the mountain is foggy. Some of the tour participants kinda grumbled because before we had our meal, we could see the top of the mountain from our bus. But then, it’s impossible to defy the itinerary of a tour group when you join one so we continued our journey to Gotemba Premium Outlet with heavy heart. Thankfully, in the middle of the pit stop, we managed to see white sakura trees and happily taking picture with it for a while.

Gotemba Premium Outlet is not that huge and that’s good for us because we only had 3 hours to cover the whole outlet. This is especially hard because there are three people in my family and everyone has different needs to cater to. We managed to go through every shops according to everybody needs though, Coach for me, Kate Spade for my mum and Adidas/ Nike for my brother. And even, eating Haagen Daz on the way. But I had no opportunity to check out those Disney/ Pokemon stores. Oh gosh, shopping is also an ordeal when you join a tour. The best thing is, you don’t have to stratch your head figuring out how to go to and from Gotemba Premium Outlet because it’s pretty out of the way from downtown Tokyo. Make sure you spare some time to grab those limited edition flavour of Haagen Daz ice cream. A lot of them can’t be found in the convenience stores in the city. The white peach is pretty good. Yumz.

We stayed the night at one of the hotels alongside Lake Kawaguchiko. If you think all the hotels near the lake are in good condition, you may want to rethink. The hotel that we stayed seems to be kinda old and it does not have a lot of basic amenities like hot water, stable wifi connection, and stuff. Oh gosh, it’s literally the worst hotel that we stayed during our 8 days trip in Japan but guess what, this is the most expensive hotel from the pricing perspective. Why is that the case? We found the answer when the sun rose the next day. It’s because the hotel is facing the direction of Mt Fuji and you will be able to see the view of the lake together with the mountain (and its reflection in the water). Oh well, I suppose everything is about perspective, isn’t it?

Taking Shinhotaka Ropeway to Hotaka Mountain

Forest and snow mountain view of Hotaka Japan

One hour distance away on the road from Takayama, we finally made our way to the next destination Shin Hotaka. Shin Hotaka is where you can take ropeway journey up to the Northern Alps of Japan. As it is located pretty near to Takayama, there are a lot of bus services going to Shin Hotaka for the onsen and ropeway but I suppose you need more research to figure out the route, especially if you are not Japanese-speaker.

Alternatively, you can join a day tour and you just need to be ready at the point where the bus will pick you up and the tour guide would have already bought your ropeway ticket and book your lunch meal up in the mountain. There are many stations along the ropeway but if I’m not wrong, you need to alight at the earliest stop to have your meal. The lunch set provided to us at the restaurant is pretty standard and I can probably conclude that the lunch is healthy since the tofu pieces seem to be bigger than the beef. You are supposed to cook the beef at the hot plate where the tofu is plated. The soup that the waitress instructed us to use for cooking, though, is not meant to be eaten. It tastes weirdly salty if you slurp the soup. Sp, I just obeyed the instruction and slurp the miso soup instead. I randomly spotted gacha slot machines there and oh boy, did I just get Pikachu and its poke ball? So cute!

After we finish eating, we are back to the ropeway to continue our journey further up the Northern Alps. So what’s so special about this ropeway? Based on www.japan-guide.com, Shinhotaka ropeway apparently has one of the largest elevation gains in Japan as it climbs over 1000 meters up the side of the Hotake Mountain Range, which includes Oku-Hotakedake (Japan’s third highest peak. It’s also the first double decker gondola cars ropeway. While I’m not a pro about cable car and ropeway car, I think the view from Shin Hotaka ropeway is so beautiful with the combination of forest, snowy ground, mountain, snowy mountain peak and blue sky. It also offers breathtaking view of the Okuhida region. Make sure you stand near the glass if you want to catch the view but be careful if you are scared of height okay. If you did not manage to get the window spot in the ropeway car, don’t worry, you can make your way to the viewing dock and take picture with the mailbox to prove that you have conquered the top.

Shinhotaka Ropeway operating hours:

8.30 to 16.45 (April to November)

9.00 to 16.15 (December to March)

Admission:

From the bottom: 2,900 JPY (roundtrip), 1,600 JPY (one way)

8D Avia Japan Trip: Hida Plaza Hotel Review, Takayama

Tatami room of Hida Plaza Hotel Takayama Japan

Western bedroom in Hida Plaza Hotel Takayama

Complimentary Japanese sweets from Hida Plaza Hotel Takayama

Dinner set served at Hida Plaza Hotel Takayama Japan

Sarubobo dolls at Hida Plaza Hotel store

Hello Kitty Sarubobo at Hida Plaza Hotel Takayama

The best hotel that I stayed during my 8D tour to Japan with Avia Tour is definitely Hida Plaza Hotel Takayama. I was quite surprised actually cause I don’t really have any expectation of the hotel to be so nice. We reached the hotel around 5-ish and we are given either tatami or normal Western bedroom. Tatami bedroom does not come cheap in Japan so I was kinda excited to find out that we had been assigned the tatami room. However, the funny thing is since there are three of us, my mum, my bro and I, it seems that we have a combination of Western bed and futon bed. So they only did the futon for one person hahaha. I suppose we would have to draw a lot to decide who’s the lucky person then.

There are complimentary snacks given on the top of the tea table in front of the TV. The snacks are traditional Japanese sweets made from red bean. They taste so good and they make a good pairing to green tea. Since we still had time to spare until dinner time around 6, my mum and I just lazed around in front of the TV while my bro took a nap since he didn’t feel well. You can go to onsen too but I prefer to go to onsen a bit later because I bet before dinner is considered peak hour for onsen.

The dinner that they give to per person is a set dinner and oh boy, it includes the locally famous Hida beef. Japanese dinner set always look so pretty and it usually consists of sashimi, tofu, miso soup, meat and rice. Hida Plaza Hotel Takayama gives us both Hida beef and grilled salmon and I was pretty happy about this meal.

After dinner, we took a quick walk to the souvenir shop located near the hotel lobby and we saw so many Sarubobo dolls. Sarubobo is the mascot of Takayama and Gifu area so you will see them a lot in this area. They even sell collaboration of Hello Kitty and Sarubobo. If you are a Hello Kitty fan, you should get it here because you won’t see it so often outside this area.

While the meal is good and the bedroom is fancy, what I like the most about Hida Plaza Hotel is their onsen. They have indoor and outdoor onsen although the outdoor one is not big and you can’t really see sky full of stars. The common shower area have divider so if you are uncomfortable sitting side-by-side to stranger openly while washing your body and hair, you probably won’t feel so self-conscious here because there’s divider between you and your next-door. You don’t have to carry your toiletries to the onsen because Hida Plaza Hotel put a lot of Shiseido products such as shampoo, soap, cleanser, and moisturizer in the bathing and hairdrying area. Thankfully, my first onsen experience with my mom was quite fun here at Hida Plaza Hotel Takayama. Yeay~

8D Avia Japan Trip: One Day at Kanazawa Part 1

APA Villa Hotel Kanazawa Katamachi Japan

Comic books at convenience store at Kanazawa Japan

I reached the town of Kanazawa at dinner time and the sun has already set by then. I honestly just wanted to laze on my bed by then after a fun and tiring day at Shirakawago but Avia tour will not drop us at hotel directly without dinner. And the dinner that they gonna give to us is a buffet. Oh wow, buffet? Just like that I perked up again. I find Western buffet in Japan is pretty interesting. They have a mixture of Japanese items such as tempura and miso soup and Western dishes such as pasta, pizza, salad, cream soup. They have seasonal dessert too and back then in end March was strawberry season so the desserts are all made from strawberry. Strawberry cake, pudding, ice cream, you name it. Since the tour have booked the seats for us, the restaurant have assigned us certain tables which we have to STRICTLY follow because we are not the only diners who booked the restaurant. Some of the tour participants changed the seats by themselves and it confused the waiters/ waitresses so they ask them to move back to their assigned seats. Japan is all about rules and neat order I suppose.

We proceeded to check in at our hotel, APA Villa Hotel Kanazawa/ Katamachi and the hotel lobby is so tiny we have to queue for a while for the small lift which bring us to our hotel room. The hotel looks like apartment from the inside though. We quickly put our luggages in our room and got ready to wander around the streets near the hotel. There are two convenience stores near our hotel, 7-11 and Family Mart which are located right opposite each other. I love visiting Japanese convenience stores although these stores must be normal to the residents. A lot of office workers have just left their office and we saw some of them taking cab together seems to be getting ready to go for a drink or something. Some of them just bought their dinner at convenience stores. One or two dudes were reading manga at the stores too. And there are soft porn magazines available and yeah they are displayed in the open.

By the way, yakisoba (fried noodle) bread does exist. I wonder how does it taste but I was still full from the buffet. Oh well.

Few blocks away from the bustling intersection where the convenience stores are located, there are some quiet street alleys which have a lot of what looks like izakayas. My brother was actually kinda curious and feel like going inside one of them but we figured that izakaya is probably not the place to bring our Mum. I suppose we can go to izakaya next time my dear Brother.

Hida beef and Cremia ice cream at Shirakawago

House and crop field at Shirakawago Japan

The beautiful vantage view of Shirakawago

Shirakawago is one of the highlight of the 8 days Avia spring tour to Japan. To be honest, it is also of the luring reason of why I joined this tour. I’ve been seeing photos of Shirakawago in Instagram and since then, I have made mental note to include Shirakawago in must-go-list when I revisit Japan. Thanks goodness the chance came.

I visited Shirakawago sometime in end March so the snow on the ground is not as thick as what you call winter wonderland. This is good for me because I am not a fan of thick snow. But at the same time, my brother who has never seen snow before could finally have a chance to see and touch the snow. I heard there is not much thing to do in Shirakawago when summer comes so spring is probably the latest chance you can visit Shirakawago before it closes and reopens toward the coming of winter.

The houses at Shirakawago are mostly used as stores and exhibition for tourism purpose. In winter, the snow piling on top of the houses roof is thick and occasionally the snow may topple to the ground. They are heavy and can cause injury so be careful when you are walking around Shirakawago in winter.

The problem with the tour is, the limited time that I got to explore Shirakawago. Walking around, taking picture, buying the famous Hida beef and Cremia ice cream, and climbing to the top of the vantage point takes time. But we have to do all within 40 minutes. I don’t think anyone else in the tour bothered to try to climb up to the vantage point (understandable cause they are mostly in their 60s) but there’s no way I’m gonna missing out the beautiful aerial view of Shirakawago from the top of the hill. The climb to the top is kinda tiring despite I’m still in my early 30s (and my brother in his not-so-late 20s). We wonder if our lifestyle need to have some healthier touches. But in my defense, I’m never good at climbing since school days. So I suppose this got nothing to do with age, right?

Do you know it feels so good to eat ice cream when the weather is cool? Thanks to Cremia opening one outlet here (I notice they like to open outlets at some unimaginable places, like the top of the mountain), I could do that at Shirakawago. This Cremia ice cream is really good. It’s milky and soft and yet not really considered soft-served. Hmm, I can’t really describe food well except for nice or not nice, so I suppose it’s better if you try it for yourself. Hehe.

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Wandering Fel

How to spend 30 minutes at Nakamise Street, Tokyo?

8D Avia Japan Trip: Lake Kawaguchiko - Mt Fuji - Gotemba Premium Outlet

8D Avia Japan Trip: Shinhotaka Ropeway

8D Avia Japan Trip: Hida Plaza Hotel Review, Takayama

8D Avia Japan Trip: Shogawa River Cruise

One Day at Kanazawa: The Arrival

8D Avia Japan Trip: Shirakawago