Japan

My thoughts about traveling through Japan....

This trip, we took my dad (age 72) around with us.  He is an exceptionally nervous traveller and insists that we are with him at all times to ensure he doesn't get lost.  In Japan, hotel rooms to accommodate 3 adults can be a challenge, but it is doable.  Just be prepared to pay a bit extra for a triple room and it might be a little cramped.

Japan is known for their cuisine and unique regional foods.  So make sure to try each regional dish to see which ones are your favs.  Unfortunately for gluten free suffers (and for vegetarians, I'm told), Japan food can be a challenge.  I held in there for most of the trip, but admittedly, I had a couple of breakdowns when I couldn't find something substantial to eat.  Plus, being a foodie and not being able to partake really enhances the frustration of not being fully comfortable with my food issues.  But, I have learned some things that would be helpful for future travelers that I will share in my Gluten Free Tips section below to help ease the concern and not discourage travel to this beautiful country.

Japan is exceptionally formal and clean.  You can literally go into any restroom anywhere (and I mean anywhere) and marvel at the sparkle off the porcelain.  Having grown up in the Bay Area and used to BART car conditions, you will marvel at the clean floors, new upholstery, and lack of graffiti in all the trains.  With that in mind, ensure you aren't contributing to dirtying their country.  Pack all garbage to throw away when you are able to find a garbage can as they aren't readily available.  Don't eat and drink on public transit, if you can help it, sit properly on seats and furniture, and just be very respectful that they are neat and tidy.  You will especially recognize the formality of this culture as you walk into any establishment and as workers walk through trains...you are often bowed at.  Bow back and be polite...don't be those ugly Americans they hear about.

Where to go

Our 2 week itinerary consisted of the following:

Fly into Tokyo (Narita Airport)

Tokyo - 2 1/2 days (we stayed in the Ginza neighborhood - Hotel Solaria Nishitetsu Hotel Ginza - approx $330/day)

Yokohama - 1/2 day

Kyoto - 3 days (Kyoto Brighton Hotel - approx $300/day including breakfast)

Hiroshima - 3 days (Hotel Granvia Hiroshima - approx $380/day including breakfast)

Kinosaki - 1 1/2 days/1 night (Ishidaya Ryokan - approx $640 including dinner and breakfast)

Osaka - 3 days (New Otani Hotel - $300/day

Fly out of Osaka (Kansai Airport)

Personally, I really enjoyed Tokyo and Kyoto.  Tokyo, especially Ginza, was upscale and fun.  Kyoto was beautiful and full of culture.  We made it to Japan at the beginning of the fall color change in the trees, so I marveled at how beautiful the Kyoto area was this fall.  

Where to avoid/limit time

I didn't enjoy Osaka as much.  I felt that three days in Osaka was way too long.  Don't get me wrong, I think you should go to Osaka, but maybe not for three days. 1-2 days works.  I liked visiting the Osaka Castle and the Osaka Aquarium, but I really think that was enough for me.  The only other thing I think I would've enjoyed was seeing a baseball game in Japan, but really I could've done that in any city.

Although, seeing WWII history in Hiroshima was good, but quite honestly, a bit depressing.  Again, I think three days there was a bit much, but I am glad I went and I wouldn't have changed going there.  But, I would have shortened my time there and distributed it elsewhere.

Trip highlights

I wanted a true Japanese experience of travel, and I got one....our stay in the Kinosaki Ryokan and spending time in the onset.  For those who don't know, a ryokan is a traditional Japanese b & b...where you are waited on by one or two ladies, you sleep on the floor on pads, guests wear traditional Japanese robes and wooden sandals, and you get served multi course Japanese meals on the floor.  An onsen is a natural hot spring where you are encourage to bathe in (naked) to reap the health benefits of the minerals in the water.  Many ryokans throughout Japan have their own private onsen and there are larger, public onsen for bathing.  I knew that going there might be a little uncomfortable for my hubby as he would need to share the onsen with my dad (since men and women bathe in separate onsen), but he was a champ and embraced the experience with an open heart.  I am totally thankful for him trying to embrace the situation and for that I think all of us really had a wonderful experience in this new realm.  As a result, I would totally go to another ryokan again.

We had an opportunity to take a guided tour through the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo which I highly recommend.  I was thinking that we might try to attend the tuna auction on our own to watch, but I am so glad we opted to take a guided tour instead.  Our Japanese is minimal at best, and there are so many things going on at the market, I am so glad we had folks to guide us through the experience.  The place is ginormous and it is such a different experience, I think a tour is essential to understand what is happening and to interpret to the different vendors/workers.  Our tour, Tokyo FooD Drink Tour, did a great job of giving us a thorough walk through the market, tastes of the local foods enjoyed there, and explaining the intricacies of all the business that occurs throughout the market.  Our guides worked hard to answer all our questions (we had a lot between the three of us) and were diligently trying to find me things to eat, since all the foods featured on the tour weren't gluten free/shellfish free.  They gave us the best experience at the market.

Obubu Tea Farm in Kyoto was a great way to learn about different Japanese teas.  I have enjoyed teas for years, but I don't know a lot about the different types of tea, what they are for, and how tea is produced.  I found Obubu online and booked us a four hour tour of the tea fields and extensive tea tasting.  It was a wonderful day to learn about tea.  Kudos to the hubby who navigated us all out there...as it isn't the easiest place to get to when you don't have a car.  But he efficiently got us there using several trains and a bus to a remote location for this experience.  We learned about Sencha, Genmaicha, Matcha, and other Japanese teas.  It was fun tasting the same tea at different temperatures to see how the taste changes as well as sampling different types.  I really enjoyed the day out at the tea farm.

Food

Lots of sushi and ramen.  For a person that doesn't really enjoy sushi or noodle soup, Japan can be a challenge, but it is doable.  Shabu Shabu and Hot Pot are also popular dishes that I really enjoyed.  They are similar there is a pot of boiling liquid (usually water, but sometimes miso or soy flavored broth) where you cook pieces of meat and veggies in it - Yum! Japan is home to some of the world's best beef, so definitely give Waygu and Kobe beef a try while there.  Another dish we tried (I mean Ryan and Dad) was okonomiyaki (pancake of ramen noodles, meat, egg and covered in sauce.  I was told it was tasty but way too big.  There are lots of other goodies to try there, but I wasn't able to eat them due to food issues - battered/fried meat on a stick, octopus balls, blowfish, and the many beautiful desserts and candies.  A fun place for foodies.

Getting Around

Big shout out to one of my trainees before I left that helped me understand the Japan Rail Pass.  I am so glad we purchased the 14 day rail pass to navigate our way around Japan.  The rail pass gets you on any JR train, including the bullet trains (shinkansen) and also many buses and ferries that are JR transport.  We easily paid for our passes one week into the trip.....I added up the point to point costs for the long journeys on our trip and our rail passes really saved us a pile of money.  I highly recommend folks traveling through Japan to plan ahead and purchase a pass before going.  Keep in mind, you cannot purchase a rail pass in Japan, so you must get one before going.

Another helpful item to get is the ICOCA card.  This cute little platypus card gets you on every local train, subways, buses, and can work on several vending machines to purchase drinks and snacks.  

How it works: Its a 220 Yen investment (approx $2) to get the card. Using cash at an ICOCA machine you can load up the card.  From there, you can scan your way in and out of the subway on any of the turnstiles, the local buses and the vending machines.  At the end of your trip, you can turn in the card to obtain the balance left on the card (minus the 220 Yen investment) at almost any train station.  We ended up keeping our cards to use when we return to Japan as the balance is honored for 10 years.  It makes your transport life way easier by minimizing cash exchanging going on in subway stations.

One other thing to take advantage of while in Japan is utilizing Black Cat.  Yamato Transport, has a black cat logo, is a courier service that has a luggage transport service option that will move your bags from one hotel to another for a nominal fee.  Anyone who has traveled by train knows the annoyance and inconvenience of lugging bags through train stations.  This service is a godsend!  For us to send our bags from Tokyo - Kyoto - Hiroshima - Osaka, it cost each of us approx $40......worth every penny! Its super easy to arrange.  Simply talk to your hotel concierge and provide your next hotel's information.  They will coordinate the drop off with the next hotel and measure the bags on the spot (cost is calculated by the size of your bag) and collect the fee for the service.  Then your bag will magically appear the next day at your next hotel.  It really saves a huge headache lugging baggage from here to there.

Gluten Free Tips

A lot of people questioned me as to why Japan with all my food issues as well as not liking sushi all that much.  It was hubby's turn to select our destination and he wanted Japan.  It wasn't that I didn't want to go to Japan, but it probably wouldn't have been my first choice for travel right after going gluten free.  But that being said, I wanted to try to be a good sport, so we went.  I did some things that really set myself up for success, and in hindsight I learned some things that might help for next time.  Here is what I did right: 

• food grade squeeze bottles filled with coconut aminos to use with the sushi in place of soy sauce (if you can have soy, fill with gluten free Tamari).  They are called Go-toobs and are sold at REI and other travel stores.  I think the intent of them is for shampoo, but they worked well for the sauce so that I had a little flavor
• tupperware full of protein powder and a plastic shake bottle to mix with milk for a protein shake
• individual servings of peanut butter and almond butter for a quick protein snack
• rice crackers for snacks
• Larabar granola bars for a quick breakfast
• Booked two of our hotels with breakfast buffet included
• Have google translate downloaded to communicate dietary issues with food staff

Here is what I could've done better:

• Taken more advantage of purchasing milk for shakes at convenience stores or hotel shops
• Bring some frozen gluten free bread for breakfasts that I keep in the fridge
• Make some savory snacks: Bring lunchmeat for fridge with some prepared veggies and cheese for roll ups, make chicken fingers, and bring some hummus in squeeze tubes for lunch/snacks.  Make sure to select hotels that have a fridge or kitchenette to use.
• Make salad dressing for Go-toobs to make dry salad taste a little better
• Be ok that it might take a little while to order to communicate food issues.  Don't go to a restaurant hungry...make sure to eat a little beforehand in case the restaurant that you choose doesn't have good choices.  Also, be ok to go to multiple restaurants to get enough to eat and that the people you are with understand that you may not be able to eat at the restaurants they choose.
• Be sure to confirm with the airline beforehand that they have a gluten free meal on the plane for you by calling 24 hours in advance.  It isn't enough to do an online request while you are abroad.  Make sure to have food on hand for the airplane.

All in all, Japan was a great experience.  Big thanks to hubs and dad for putting up with my food frustrations the past couple weeks.  I really would go back and explore more of Japan as well as re-visit places like Tokyo and Kyoto.  I don't think my traveling companions agree with me on this, but I am still adjusting to my new food life.  I am glad I challenged myself to go to an asian country that eats a lot of shellfish and soy and wheat, so now I know I can still enjoy travel and stick to my new gluten free life.