Jérémie Tessier's website

This was my 3rd trip now, so I knew what to expect. Our seats are quite ordinary and the in-flight meals were okay.

I watched 3 movies (28 Years Later, One Battle After Another and Oppenheimer) and played with my Switch 2.

Going through Japanese customs was quick, followed by a few purchases (sim card, suica card), then we took the Skyliner to Ueno, where our first hotel was located!

Walked around the neighborhood of our hotel before breakfast, it was filled with restaurants and bars. Then went to Ueno Park/Zoo for the rest of the morning.

Ate at an okonomiyaki restaurant, then had a walk around Sumida City (the location of a videogame we quite enjoyed, it was fun to see the game’s locales in real life!)

Ended the day at Toriton, a sushi restaurant in the Tokyo Skytree mall that we had really appreciated during our first trip.

Starting the day with a walk in a park around Shinjuku station while waiting for our train to bring us to Hakone. Ate an “ekiben” for lunch (a lunchbox specifically sold in train stations for the purpose of being eaten in the train)

The trip was interesting, the mountain train used a special “switchback” method to climb the paths up to Hakone by changing directions multiple times during the ascent.

Had dinner at the hotel, then relaxed in our private onsen (a bath fed by hot springs water) on our balcony (we would use it a lot).

After breakfast at the hotel, we walked to Gora Station to take the cable car up to the rope way to get to Owakudani, a mountain with volcanic sulfuric vents still active.

It was very impressive, and there were multiple shops selling souvenirs based on black-shelled eggs (because they are cooked in the sulfur waters) that seemed to be a big draw to this spot. We wanted to take a boat ride on Lake Ashi, but because of fog it wasn’t possible that day.

We decided to go to Hakone’s Open Air Museum, a very large outside space with many buildings containing art from various known artists (like Picasso) and more interactive exhibitions. There even was a foot bath (very useful after a long day of walking). First combini (convenience store) meal tonight (and this will not be the last), because our hotel was far away from everything and the hotel dinner was rather pricey.

After doing our laundry and eating breakfast, we took a bus to Lake Ashi to have our boat ride. It was quite windy and rainy, but the lake was quite beautiful and we appreciated the view. We then had a quick soba lunch at Motohakone.

Our afternoon was spent at Yunessun, some kind of water park with multiple pools and baths, but specifically baths filled (in part, or at least enough to pretend they were) with coffee, wine, milk, the, etc. It was funny, but probably more of an activity for kids, because after a few hours we were done with the place. It wasn’t super simple going back to the hotel from there (the busses weren’t super reliable).

Another convenience store dinner for the same reason than the previous day.

After a last chance to use our private bath (I think I took 6 during our few days in Hakone), we walked around the hotel before going to eat at Box Burger, a restaurant near the station that we wanted to try. It was quite good, but expensive! The trip to Kyoto was complicated because we took the wrong bus, but ultimately we got there safely, so that’s what matters.

We had a bit of rest at the hotel (which was near Kyoto Station, very convenient), then we took a bus (big mistake, it was rush hour and there were infinite people) to do a bit of shopping and eat at an izakaya in Potoncho.

Started the day (after the hotel breakfast) at Fushimi Inari, this iconic Kyoto locale that we didn’t manage to fully visit the first time we went to japan. The trek was long and the breaks numerous, but we managed to get to the top this time. We also learned that Fushimi Inari was host of a colony of cats and we saw a few.

Tactical error after lunch; we went and visited the Arashiyama bamboo forest. We already had walked all morning, so it was too much for us. The forest itself was impressive, but all that walking around wasn’t exactly worth it…

For dinner we had a reservation at a yakiniku restaurant. I think that the wagyu Chateaubriand we had was the best steak I had in my life.

After doing our laundry, we went to the Fushimi district to visit a sake brewery. It was quite instructive and we learned a bit on the history of sake brewing and how it’s done in the region. We also visited the reconstructed Teradaya Inn, a place linked to an important figure in Japanese history; Sakamoto Ryoma.

In the afternoon it was the Nintendo Museum in Kyoto. Very interesting, with a detailed history of the company and all the game systems they’ve made alongside the games published for them. There were a few minigames to participate in, like a SNES with a giant controller and a shooting gallery, it was quite fun.

Had lunch in the burger restaurant attached to the museum (it was quite good), then a bit of karaoke near our hotel.

Little daytrip to Nara today, a city near Kyoto with their famous park filled with deers that only want to be fed special crackers you can buy around. As soon as I had bought a few it was very intense how all deers were converging on my location!

We visited a few temples and had some ramen before going back to Fushimi Inari (for the third time) to do a bit of nighttime photography. We also had the occasion to see the cats from its colony again!

In the morning we went to Kyoto aquarium. I’ve been to a bunch of aquariums by now, but this still was plenty interesting! There was a big exhibition on jellyfishes. Then we had some misadventures to find a restaurant for lunch, so we just had another ekiben in the train.

Got to Nagoya, rested at the hotel then walked a bit around the neighborhood we would be in before going to eat a typical Nagoya eel dish (Hitsumabushi).

After our breakfast at the hotel we went and visited Nagoya castle. It was quite impressive (and the cherry trees were starting to blossom) and we visited a few buildings. Then we walked in a park before lunching on another of Nagoya’s dishes, pork cutlets in a miso sauce.

In the afternoon we went to Oasis 21, a mall built under a glass structure that we could visit. It was very futuristic and quite peculiar. Then we went to the Sky Promenade, an observation platform at the 46th floor of a skyscraper. The view was incredible, but my fear of heights really kicked in here (more than in the rope way to Owakudani) so I couldn’t look around too much.

Finally, there was a restaurant we wanted to try for yet another of Nagoya’s foods (chicken wings), but we went to the wrong floor of the building so it was a sushi restaurant instead. No worries, it was very good.

We went to the SCMAGLEV and Railway Park in the morning. It was a big museum that talked about the history of trains in japan, beginning with old steam engines up to new prototypes that work with electromagnetism. It was very cool to be able to go into old trains and see how they evolved with time.

On the way back to Nagoya we had a spontaneous stop at a random station because we saw a lot of cherry blossoms and it was worth the time! Then I went to the Nagoya Science Museum. A lot of interactive exhibits on a really large number of subjects, very cool.

Second try for our chicken wing restaurant in the evening. This time we went to the right place and it was excellent.

Leaving for Tokyo quite early, we went to do some shopping in Shibuya Parco. We bought a bit more things than we thought! Then we stopped at a mall to eat takoyakis, it was a special mall space where all the restaurants only sold takoyakis, so we had the opportunity to try different flavors.

Then we took a break at our last hotel of the trip.

In late afternoon we went to the Team Lab Planets exhibition. Some art pieces were more impressive than others, but overall it was very original and amusing. We had a very good vegan ramen there too!

Yokohama day trip after the traditional hotel breakfast. Started our day with the Cup Noodle Museum, then walked through multiple parks before landing in Chinatown (where there was an incredibly large number of people)

Had a meal in Chinatown, then went back to the hotel at the end of the day. There was a convenience store connected to the hotel lobby, so that was very useful for our improvised dinners!

Today was Disneyland day! Had a quick breakfast at the hotel to arrive early (but not early enough, there was already infinite people there)

We had a good day and went on a bunch of rides. Pirates of the Caribbean, the Mark Twain River Boat, Beauty and the Beast, a train ride, the tiki room spectacle, Splash Mountain, Winnie The Pooh, Snow White… and had a meal at Gaston’s Tavern.

This was a big day! Another combini dinner, then rest.

After packing our luggage for the last time, we went to Ueno Park for the last time to see the cherry blossoms in their full glory. It was very pretty and we had perfect timing being there. Then we went to another yakiniku restaurant not far away for our last trip in japan, it was really good!

We took the Skyliner to the airport and then the plane back to Montreal. I watched 3 movies (The Running Man, Okurimono and Baby Driver). There was a lot of turbulence during our flight, but otherwise it went without a hitch!