Winter 2019 (2/2 - 2/16)

Day 1- Pizza Perfection

Had the seat next to mine empty throughout the flight. Awesome. Definitely a very relaxing flight. Went through my usual checklist upon arrival. Pocket wifi, check. JR pass and free NEX ticket, check. Currency, check. Grabbed some stuff at Family Mart. Headed to the my NEX train and then towards Azabujuban, where my brother lived. 

Buzzed the intercom and then took the elevator to the top floor. I was greeted by my brother and two of his friends who were staying with him at the time. We all chatted and discussed plans for our Japan trips as well as discussing dinner plans for tonight. Luckily, he lived quite close to lots of great restaurants. 

We opted to try Savoy, a local pizza spot that was even featured on 'Ugly Delicious' on Netflix. I was a bit skeptical about having pizza in Japan, but decided to give it a go and see if it really was the best pizza ever as stated by David Chang. 

We put our names down and had to wait a few minutes as the prior customers finished up. Once we got seated, we ordered three pizzas to share amongst the group. We got a margherita, marinara, and a seared tuna sashimi pizza. Out of the three pizzas, the seared tuna sashimi pizza was amazing! Quite possibly the best pizza I've had...despite the non-traditional toppings. The tuna was half sashimi and some of the top pieces were seared to perfection. What made it even better was the freshly grated wasabi they offered with the pizza. 

After dinner, we took the short walk back to the apartment and hung out for a bit before calling it a night. I enjoyed the view from the balcony and planned out my trip to Hokkaido tomorrow.

Day 2- Hello Hokkaido

Woke up bright and early at 6am. Admired the sunset from the windows in the living room as I packed up my small luggage bag. Arrived at Tokyo station and grabbed two ekibens as the shinkansen rides would be quite lengthy. Took the Ltd Express Super Hokuto for 4hrs and then arrived at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto station. I admired the view as the countryside transformed into snow blanketed fields as the train made its way gradually up north. While I've enjoyed snowboarding during the winter, the cold in Hakodate was something else. I definitely was undergeared and my wool gloves were not cutting it. Headed off to catch the Super Hokuto and rode it for another 3.5 hrs. 

Finally arrived at my APA business hotel in Sapporo nearly half frozen and fatigued from the long train rides to make it up here. Unfortunately, the hotel only had smoking rooms available and so it reeked really badly of old cigarette butts. Definitely need to book hotels way more in advance if you're travelling for the Sapporo Snow Festival in early Feb.

I settled in and set up all my stuff. Decided to explore the area near the hotel and spotted some interesting restaurants. I retreated to a nearby conbini for warmth and got a few snacks for dinner. A bit of a rough day today, but my top priority is to get some better winter clothing tomorrow.

Day 3- Odori and Otaru

Woke up early at 6am. Jet lag still kicking. Felt a bit lazy with the cold and stayed in for a few hours and then made my way out by 930am. Stopped by nearby Odori Park first to check out all the snow sculptures and displays. Enjoyed the sights and sounds before making a beeline straight to North Face. Got myself some thermal pants, beanie, and a sling bag. Decided to check out Rojiura Curry Samurai Sakura as I saw the line was long last night and looked quite popular. The line was about 20 people deep, but moved at a decent pace. The restaurant it self was narrow, but had three floors.

I opted for the half chicken and half pork belly curry soup. Presentation was very nice, although the flavors weren't as robust as I would've liked. Stick to regular curry. After finishing up my meal, I wandered around Parco and a nearby shotengai, Tanukikoji Shopping Street. I stopped by a place called Kinotoya Bake as the queue was quite long. Definitely a smart move. One of the best egg custards I've ever had. Also got an apple tart, which was pretty good as well. I got a discount coupon for my next purchase, which I definitely planned on using later on.

After dessert, I decided to check out Otaru and hopped on the train. The train ride was quite scenic as it passed the coast with snow scattered on the shores. Once I arrived at Otaru station, it was just a straight shot down to Otaru Canal. There were lots of tourists waddling around in their snow boots, but it was still quite nice seeing all the snow. I decided to stop by a local restaurant, Ajidokoro Takeda for a kaisendon. I ended up getting one with Hokkaido snow crab, ikura, and tamago. It was amazing. The crab meat was flavorful and a little sweet and the ikura was great too. 

After the meal, I hopped back on the train back to Sapporo to the hotel to defrost a bit. Headed back out in the evening to check out the illuminated snow sculptures. Definitely a nice vibe and nicer at night. Stopped by one of the ramen stalls nearby and got myself a Hokkaido bowl of ramen. Butter, crab, and corn. A bit unusual for ramen, but it went quite well and was even more enjoyable as I ate it while being surrounded by snow.

While the ramen was quite good, the portion was a bit small and so I decided to check out the Susukino area for some sushi. I stopped by Sushizanmai, a well known sushi chain in Japan and decided to give it a shot. Ordered a nigiri sampler set, toro nigiri, and kani miso soup. Definitely satiated my hunger and was well worth it. Afterwards, I wandered around the Susukino area and even stumbled upon some interesting bars...but decided not to go in as my Japanese was quite limited. Worth a revisit perhaps on a future trip...

Day 4- Noboribetsu

Woke up sporadically throughout the night. 3am. 8am. Dragged myself out of bed and got ready. Took a train to Noboribetsu and then a taxi to Oyunuma foot bath. After being dropped off in the middle of a mountain trail, I enjoyed the snow and silence as I watched the steam from each breath evaporate into the cold winter air. I savored the short walk across a small bridge and towards the natural foot bath area. Once I arrived at the site, there was one Chinese couple that were leaving. Had the foot bath all to myself. Awesome. Luckily, I prepared and brought a towel to dry off my wet feet afterwards. 

The water was quite lukewarm and not scalding hot as I thought it would've been. Most likely some snow got in it and caused the temp drop. Still, it was enjoyable for a few minutes until more tourists eventually made their way to the foot bath and it got a bit crowded. I dried off my feet, put my snow boots back on, and headed down the steep path towards the Noboribetsu onsen area. I wandered around the area for a bit and popped into a conbini for some refreshments. Hopped on a Donan bus back to Noboribetsu station and then back to Sapporo station.

I decided to grab dinner at Nemuro Hanamaru kaitenzushi in Sapporo station and ate my fill. One of the items that was interesting was the tori nigiri with uni and ikura on top. Seafood flavor explosion. After dinner, I had originally planned to go to Mount Moiwa for some night views of the city, but felt a bit lazy and headed back to the hotel as my legs were still a bit sore from some of the hiking earlier.

Day 5- Ramen & Regret

Woke up and decided to get Ramen Shingen for brunch. Sapporo is known for their miso ramen and so I wanted to see how it would stack up to my beloved tonkotsu ramen. It was snowing pretty heavily in the morning as I made the walk towards the ramen shop. I got there really early and decided to huddle in a nearby doorway of a shop as I didn't want to stand in the snow and get bombarded.

As I warmed up a bit, I waited a bit too long and realized that a line had already begun to form for Ramen Shingen. I quickly hopped in line and waited for the ramen shop to open up. Most of the people in line seemed to be tourists as I could recognize some of them speaking Chinese or Korean. I reviewed the menu and settled on the spicy miso ramen. However, the person in front of me ordered in Japanese and I recognized him saying 'gyoza', which funny enough was not on the English menu for some reason. So copying his order, I added on some gyoza with my ramen. Definitely a good move. The ramen itself was pretty good, albeit heavy. I think I still prefer tonkotsu over miso ramen. 

After my heavy brunch, I walked around and headed to Nijo market. There were lots of interesting shops selling various things such as snow crab, fish, and even the famous yubari king melon. I decided to splurge a little and got some of the melon. It was quite juicy and tasty, but I really couldn't tell the difference from the regular cantaloupe I'm used to. I also got a sample of some snow crab from a vendor, which was really good. Definitely must try snow crab if you're ever in Hokkaido. 

I continued to wander the area and strolled through Soseikawa park and eventually made my way back to the Tanukikoji shotengai to use up my Kinotoya Bake coupon for more egg custard tarts. Headed back to the hotel and enjoyed those while defrosting myself. Went out again in the evening to check out the Sapporo TV Tower in Odori Park and check out the viewing deck, which was about 700Y. Passed by a skating rink as I made my way to the tower, which was quite nice. On the viewing deck, the views up there of Odori Park were amazing at night. You definitely get a better perspective of how big the place really is.

Stopped by a conbini for some snacks and then headed back to the hotel to relax for my last evening in Sapporo. Decided to organize my photos from my trip so far, but somehow ended up deleting nearly all of them!! Scrambled to buy some restore software, I was able to salvage some photos. Wave of REGRET hit me. Always back up your stuff. Lesson learned the hard way. Regardless, I still enjoyed the Sapporo Snow Festival and all it had to offer. Will definitely come back one of these years to do it better prepared and with better accommodations!

Day 6- Sayonara Sapporo

6am. Bright and early. Had a quick breakfast at the conbini and headed back to Tokyo. Sayonara Sapporo. It was a memorable trip with lots of great food and sights. I was still a bit bummed losing a lot of my pictures, but I shook those feelings off and decided to push towards being positive. Still got a lot of my trip to enjoy. Took the Namboku line to Sapporo station by 730am. Human sardine situation on the subway. Got off and then rode the Super Hokuto. Ah relief and more room. Reminder to reserve seats during busy seasons at least two days prior to the trip date. Arrived at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto station. Grabbed some ekibens. Rode another shinkansen back to Tokyo. Back in Azabujuban. 

Relaxed and unwound from the Sapporo trip and took a nice, long, hot shower to re-energize. My brother had a Michelin star kaiseki reservation for me and his gf later tonight. Definitely excited for that....although I was a bit worried about eating shirako. Once evening rolled through, I met my brother at a Maker's Mark bar in Ginza. It was a standing bar, which was interesting to me as a concept. We tossed a few highballs back and then made our way to the restaurant, Kojyu in Ginza. I definitely felt a bit underdressed, but enjoyed the kaiseki course with various dishes inlcuding ankimo, fugu, kinki, scallops, shirako, toro, A5 wagyu, snow crab, and ice cream. All the dishes were immaculately presented and were quite tasty. Think it ended up being something like $330 per person, which was wild. My brother got the bill, which was quite generous of him. Definitely a memorable culinary experience. Even the shirako was palatable, but don't think I'll purposely try that again. 

Day 7- Shibuya Shopping Spree

Woke up at a reasonable time around 930am. Snowkyo. It was lightly snowing in the morning, but was short lived and cleared up a bit by the afternoon. Still, it was kinda nice wandering around Tokyo as it lightly snowed. Headed off to Tamawarai for the one Michelin star soba they offer. I opted for the baked miso as a starter and soba in egg soup for my main. The baked miso was savory, salty, and interesting. I could have done with a small bowl of rice to mix with it. As for the egg soup soba, it was pretty good, but I kind of wished I got the regular dipping soba with tempura on the side instead.

After my somewhat light meal, I shopped around Omotesando, Minamiaoyama, and Harajuku. CDG, BAPE, Billy's, Carhartt, Hare, Visvim, NBHD, Momotaro, Resquad.

Decided to revisit the ramen alley in Tokyo station's basement as I did on a prior trip. I didn't really feel like more noodles and instead opted for a tonkatsu set at one of the nearby restaurants. It was quite good and enjoyable. Afterwards, I grabbed a few snacks at a nearby shop and then headed back to Azabujuban to rest from the shopping spree. My brother was nursing a flu, but we still ended up getting dinner later that evening when he felt better. We went to a local yakitori spot and got an omakase course of various skewers to enjoy. We chatted a bit about future plans, things to do in Japan, and then ended the night. Planning a trip to Nagoya tomorrow to visit a college buddy and to catch up.

Day 8- Nagoya Nostalgia

Slept quite well. Pretty much over the jet lag. Tokyo to Nagoya. Waited at our usual meeting spot near the Golden clock. Reunited with my old college buddy. Decided to grab some misokatsu at Yabaton in Nagoya station. We shared one plate, which was a smart move as the katsu was quite heavy and rich. 

Afterwards, we strolled around Nagoya castle and caught up on life events, future plans, and whatnot. Most of the castle was under renovation, but it was still nice to see the architecture. Once evening arrived, we headed to Fushimi and stopped by a British themed pub called the Hub. Met up with two other friends, Josh and Nori. Tossed back a few drinks and then headed off to our usual spot, Yamachan for some tebasaki and of course that Ginga Kogen beer. Delicious.

Went to a billards bar called JoyJoy afterwards to play a few games and then later on called it a night and parted ways. Crashed at my friend's pad for the night.

Day 9- Beef & Basashi 

Woke up and said my goodbyes to my friend and headed back to Tokyo in the morning. Did a bit more shopping in Ginza and even splurged on some custom raw denim at Momotaro to be shipped to me in the U.S. Stopped by Gyukatsu Motomura in Shibuya for some delicious gyukatsu and then headed back to my brother's place to chill until the evening.

In the evening, we had dinner at a local spot that serves motsu nabe along with other various offerings...including basashi. Horse sashimi. Whoa.

I mean I already tried shirako earlier in my trip, so I decided to go all-in and give horse sashimi a try. It was surprisingly quite good and reminded me of tuna sashimi. Flavorful and a little fatty. The motsu nabe was the highlight of the meal. The broth was seasoned perfectly with just the right amount of sweetness, savoriness, and saltiness. We washed it all down with a few drinks and I had some nice drunken dreams.

Day 10- Akihabara & Asakusa

Woke up a bit early to plan for Tomita tsukemen in Chiba prefecture. Two trains. 40 minutes. Walked down a narrow street toward the restaurant. However, another ramen fail. Upon arriving at the restaurant, one of the employees was standing at the front and telling customers that they were sold out of reservation tickets for the day. Depressed.

Decided to head to Akihabara, my old stomping grounds from my last trip. Got some gachapon and a few other things. On the way back, I stopped at Yoshinoya at one of the train stations to try and compare it to the American version. Definitely better than the American version, but not by much. Will need to try Matsuya or one of the other chains to compare.

Saw a Palbo mini cheese tart stand in Akihabara and decided to grab a cheese tart. It wasn't very good and I missed those tarts at Kinotoya Bake. Definitely something about that Hokkaido dairy that makes things so much better.

Wandered around Akihabara and gave into temptation and bought some cigarettes. Ended up going to Asakusa afterwards to walk down Nakamise dori, Kaminarimon, and Senso-ji temple. Took lots of nice photos and enjoyed the scenery. Stopped by a conbini before heading back to my brother's place. Originally planned to check out Tazawako onsen in Akita tomorrow, but might end up cancelling it to rest up.

Day 11- Akita Absence

Slept in and decided to skip the trip to Akita. Definitely did a lot of traveling and walking throughout the trip so far and decided it would be best to conserve my energy. Definitely don't have the energy reserves that I had in my 20's. Plus riding multiple shinkansens is quite draining and flying domestic might be the better move next time. 

Wandered around Harajuku and Shinjuku for some more shopping and grabbed some takoyaki at Gindaco. In the evening, I stopped by Coco Ichibanya for some katsu curry. Quite a heavy meal, but very comforting and satisfying. Got lost in Shinjuku station. Utter chaos. Reminder to self (JR near Lumine EST bldg. Marunouchi line is downstairs on left, Platform 8 on left). 

Finally arrived back at my brother's pad. Hung out with him and his gf for the evening. Not a very eventful day, but got some much needed rest.

Day 11- Lavish Luxury

Woke up and chatted with my brother briefly before he headed off to work. Decided to check out Kagari Honten in Ginza after hearing my brother's gf rave about their chicken ramen. Had to give it a try. The restaurant was a bit difficult to find as it was tucked away in a small alley. Once I arrived, the line wasn't too long and I was able to get seated fairly quickly. I opted for the special tori paitain ramen. The broth was a nice and thick chicken broth with generous chunks of tender chicken inside. Amazing. It definitely made me reconsider tonkotsu as my fav type of ramen. After slurping down the bowl, I realized there's another ramen spot right next door called Kazami. I remember reading reviews of the place and found it interesting that they had sake-kasu noko soba made with sake lees (filtered residue from sake production). 

I still had a little room left in my stomach and decided to grab a bowl of the sake lees ramen there. The ramen came with two pork slices along with various other toppings. The broth was quite interesting and had a hint of sake flavor, which actually worked well. However, after eating about half of the bowl, I began to regret this decision. My stomach was at max capacity. I decided to try and walk off all the carbs and checked out a few stores nearby in Ginza. DSM, MSPC, North Face. I managed to score a nice sling bag from North Face, which was definitely a win as the bag was sold out online. 

Headed back to my brother's pad to pack up and check into a hotel as he had promised some friends that they could stay with him prior to my trip. I didn't mind this as I had saved a good chunk of money staying with my brother and had already booked a nice 4 star hotel for two nights. Cleaned up a bit and then requested a taxi through the Japan Taxi app. Checked in. 

WOW. The hotel room was amazing. Spacious living room, huge bed, full kitchen, washer, and all that. One of the best hotel rooms I've ever stayed at. Settled in for a bit and then wandered around nearby Ginza and Tokyo. I strolled through a market in Tokyo station and was considering buying some groceries to cook wagyu beef in my hotel room, but got lazy and decided to skip that. Might have to try that next time if I do have a kitchen to utilize.

Day 12- the GOOD Life

Woke up refreshed and slept great on the big, plush bed. Explored Akihabara again and hit up Gyukatsu Motomura for a second time. Love it. Was planning on checking out Daikanyama and Shibuya again, but decided not to. Ended up hanging out locally near my hotel and Ginza. Explored some shops nearby and did some shopping. Checked into my flight online and got offered a bump to business class for about $600 extra. YES PLEASE. I was excited that my return flight would be luxurious as my stay in this hotel. I could definitely get used to this.

Hung out at the hotel for a bit and then met up with my brother and his friends in the evening to go to Hona Abazu for some drinks, food, and their well-known foie gras fried rice. That stuff is just frigging amazing! Definitely got some nostalgia vibes after visiting this place on my first Japan trip a few years back. Chatted it up with my brother and his friends while sharing stories of our Japan trips. My brother and his friends were planning a snowboarding trip in Niseko. So jealous. Wish I had more time in my trip to join them. Would love to snowboard in Hokkaido with all the snow that they get there.

Ended up going to a bar for more drinks after dinner. The vibe was a bit too noisy and hectic, so they decided to hit up another bar nearby. I checked my watch and decided it was a bit late and time to head back as my flight was pretty early the next day. I said my goodbyes to my brother and his friends reluctantly. Semi-drunk, I walked back to my brother's place and then called a taxi back to my hotel.

Day 13- Sayonara Nihon

Woke up a bit groggy and with some heartburn. Ugh, getting older sucks. Can't hang like I used to. Showered up and got ready for the last day. Texted my brother if he had time to grab some brunch before I headed to the airport. No response. Decided to check out Kagari Honten one more time for the chicken ramen. Consistently great.

Got a text from my brother a few hours later. Hungover. Expected. I thanked him for the hospitality and texted my goodbyes. Checked out and headed for the Limo Bus stop in Tokyo station and got a ticket from the kiosk. Arrived at Narita Terminal 2 quite early. Dropped off my trusty pocket wifi at the post office. You've served me very well. 

Checked my bag. 49.6 lbs. Wow, super close to the 50 lb weight limit for economy. Thankfully, I had a 70 lb limit since I upgraded to business class. Went through security and then bought a ton of omiyage treats to fill up my empty duffle bag. Priority seating. Business Class.

Feels good. The seats were quite spacious as expected and I had a nice window seat on the right. They offered complimentary champagne, but I opted for orange juice instead since I still felt a bit groggy from the night before. Opted for the Japanese meal, which was three courses and a ton of food. Quality was pretty good. They served mango smoothies mid flight, but I ended up sleeping deeply for 7-8 hours. Amazing. Had a Western style breakfast and then finally landed at LAX. While it was bittersweet coming back home, I definitely enjoyed my time in Japan and had lots of great experiences. Will definitely need to come back again when time permits and explore further. Perhaps North to Aomori/Akita or South to Hiroshima/Fukuoka or even fly to Okinawa. Til next time...mata ne.