50th country couldn't have been better than JAPAN

There are reasons why people revisit Japan so often:

1. Payments – All forms, like cash, credit cards (physical or phone) and even a local card called IC that you can pick up easily, works in every little shop
2. Instructions – You can easily find instructions in English in every mall or train station, getting lost will in itself be an art
3. Helpfulness – And if you do get lost, Japanese people will go out of their way to help you, following you all the way till the place you need to go. Never seen this much helpfulness in any other country
4. Food – There is something for everyone. Even if you choose Italian veg, which we ended up doing once too often, it is not just great tasting food, but an interesting fusion like pasta with seaweed, making it a truly local experience irrespective of your cuisine choice or restrictions.
5. So much to do – For a small country, the list of things to do are endless, making this the last and most important reason why people revisit Japan so often.

Things to do:

• Disney Sea – This is an amazing experience, far better than Hong Kong or LA that I’ve been to. Despite the crowd, you can do as many rides or shows as your energy and time permits by planning through the app. The highlight is the end of day spectacle in the water – what a show!
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  Ueno Zoo – High ROI Zoo, where you can watch so many animals in just a few steps, with the highlight being Lei Lei and Rhi Rhi, the 2 pandas that put on a show for you
• Odaiba – A commercial coastal region of Tokyo for some sights like a mini Statue of Liberty and great shopping. There are activities like Legoland and Trick parks for kids here.
• Sensoji temple – One of many temples in Tokyo, but this one is right next to a market where you can sample loads of Japanese desserts.
• Cherry Blossom – Depending on the season, a super pretty sight to capture great photos.
• Old towns – There are places like Gion right in the middle of a bustling city like Kyoto that seem stuck in a past centuries ago. Requires booking months in advance to watch a Geisha or dine in one of these places, but just walking around is mesmerizing.
• Mt Fuji – This one is weather dependent. On one way we got a clear viewing, but the other way, when we decided to spend time in Shin-Fuji, it was cloudy and couldn’t even tell there was a mountain in our midst.
  
  
  
  
• Nara deer park – Fascinating to interact with deer up close this way. Some get crazy, but the tourists deserve that for offering food needlessly. If you let them be, they are happy to pose for as many photos you want.

Food:

This needs a section of its own, despite the fact that most of this trip, I either ate fried chicken to give Neo company for his potato fries or pasta, or some random Italian or Indian veg food to give company to Bangdu and family.

Towards the end of the trip, we met a Shiori, a Japanese local, at an Izakai restaurant and had the best Sake and Beer and food of the trip, and she was shocked when we told her we hadn’t sampled a Ramen or a Sushi or even a Teppanyaki yet.

But there was a lot about food she taught us:

• Wasabi is best paired with high fat food as it cuts the fat – the combination of wasabi with pork fried in miso that I had here was a combination like dosa chutney, went so well together. Equally, the wasabi with sashimi which is low fat, tasted super strong. Finally I learnt the right way to pair wasabi, with that experience in Ambassador hotel of Churchgate where I first tried wasabi still so fresh in my mind.
• Benito fish flakes is used a garnishing for many dishes, and tasted absolutely amazing.
• Shabu Shabu means the sound the thin slices of meat makes in the soup. And it’s the name used for the soup itself. It’s the hot pot and not the brand name we have been used to up until this point from Netherlands.

• Bombay Sizzlers
• Gochisoya
• Verve Coffee Roasters
• Momo Paradise
• Ginkado Asakusa
• Rozeterrace
• Eggs and Things
• Zaraku Ueno
• Tonkatsu Ganko
• Kyo Umare Karasuma
• Lavasarra

Travel:

• Japan Airlines is my new favorite airline. They serve food for toddlers first, and it is so well presented that they try to focus on their food instead of the screen at least for a little bit.
• Bullet trains are an amazing experience.
• Ubers are expensive like Europe, but with kids and strollers, you sometimes don’t have a choice.

 

Accommodation

Play Resi Hotel in Kyoto was so incredible, that a trip back to Kyoto just to stay here is on the cards. Hope we can do it before Neo outgrows the place.