Kyoto – Cherry Blossom Season with a Baby
So here it goes…
Tokyo! (Part 2)
We stayed at the Hilton Tokyo (Shinjuku) for the remainder of the trip.
I’d give the hotel 4 stars — granted, I may have been spoiled by the PH Kyoto. Visually it was nice and very clean. And when it was clear, we could see Fuji from our room!
The service was amazing. The hotel was extremely busy — from what I understand, it’s an 800-room property running at 98% occupancy, with a constant flow of flight crews and cruise ship passengers.
Friday/Shabbos:
Settling into the room and some much-needed R&R.
Sunday (1st Day of YT):
Rainy day, but we took a walk around Shinjuku to see Godzilla and the famous 3D cat billboard.
Monday:
Unfortunately, DW got sick. 😞
Tuesday:
Late start, but still got to visit the Tokyo Skytree observation deck.
IMHO, the tower itself is more impressive than the view. It’s just too high and remote to feel like a good vantage point.
Took a Sumida River Cruise — cute, but not a must-do.
Ended the day window shopping in Ginza.
Wednesday:
Explored Harajuku.
Headed to the Roppongi Hills Observation Deck. This view was worth it. On a clear day, you can see Fuji (we couldn’t), but the location felt much more central and gave a real “Tokyo” feel — plus, you overlook Tokyo Tower. Very memorable.
Visited The Hundred Stairs + Hotel Gajoen Museum — the museum has a revolving theme with different exhibits in each room. When we visited, the theme was cats (not exactly my thing...), but the rest of the hotel was spectacular and well worth seeing.
Next stop: Rikugien Park — BEAUTIFUL. Another great spot.
We ended the day with an evening Street Kart experience through Shibuya Crossing.
I had read about this in a TR from
@jnb1800 (thanks for the idea!). It was quite cool — though after a while, it got a bit repetitive.
If I had to do it again, I’d choose a more varied route. They offered a Rainbow Bridge Tokyo Bay route, which was sold out and sounded like it covered more interesting landmarks.
Thursday:
Shopping at Asakusa, which turned into a spontaneous visit to a MiPig (Micro Pig) Cafe — definitely a unique experience.
Kappabashi St shopping (aka “Kitchen Town”).
More time at Shibuya Crossing and shopping in the area.
Ended the day wandering back around Harajuku.
Friday:
Visited TeamLab Planets — which features four exhibits: Water, Garden, Earth, and Air.
IMHO, only the Water exhibit was worth it. It was mind-blowing. Everything else was meh.
Went shopping at the Odaiba Mall, then took the subway back to the hotel.
Note:
I LOVED traveling via public transportation in Japan.
Besides the cleanliness and silence (even when packed in like sardines — except for my daughter of course 🤦♂️), I especially appreciated how user-friendly the ticketing process is for tourists.
You can get the Suica pass in your Apple Wallet, though for some reason it didn’t work for me. I ended up purchasing tickets from the machine for each trip — super simple. My favorite part? If you don’t put enough money on the ticket (since different trip lengths cost different amounts), there’s a fare adjustment machine right next to the exit turnstiles. So easy to use. Made me so happy. Weird, I know.
Also, DW pointed out that in stores, no matter how quiet they were, the employees were NOT on their phones scrolling. It was SO REFRESHING. A subtle difference that had a massive vibe change.
Monday (Departure Day):
Left our bags at the hotel and toured Shinjuku a bit more, checked out Golden Gai, and then took the subway to David’s Deli.
Now — my experience was definitely colored by the fact that this was our first fresh chametz meal post-Pesach, so my ratings might differ quite a bit from
@tavster 😄.
We ordered:
Burger (fantastic — we even took another one for the plane!)
Beef ramen (spectacular)
Chicken curry (delicious)
Iced coffees (solid)
One homemade ginger ale (skip).
They also serve up hot pitas and (c)hummus... so goooood.
Back to the hotel and then the airport.
It was really an amazing trip, and I really hope to return soon.
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