∞ Destination is Infinity

Japan

Eleven nights in spring 2019: Tokyo, two nights under Mount Fuji, four in Kyoto, and Tokyo again to finish.

Watch the film 5:10

Sakura season, 2019

"Precise and delicious food, considerate and most polite people - love you Japan"

Us, April 2020

We flew into Narita on 25 March 2019 and out again on 5 April. In between came three nights in Shinjuku, two below Mount Fuji in Fujinomiya and on Lake Kawaguchi, four in Kyoto, and two more in Tokyo. The cherry blossom was out in Tokyo and Kyoto, and our film also takes in Matsumoto Castle in Nagano. Hong Kong, where the trip began and ended, gets its own page.

  1. TokyoShinjuku · 25–28 MarFlight into Narita
  2. Mount FujiFujinomiya, then Lake Kawaguchi · 28–30 Mar
  3. KyotoBy Kyoto Station · 30 Mar–3 Apr
  4. TokyoMarunouchi · 3–5 AprFlight out of Narita
Tokyo Skytree over the Sumida River at dusk, with a lit boat on the water
Shibuya Crossing from above, with crowds gathered on every cornerCherry blossom in full bloom against the sky in Ueno Park
Region
Kantō
Stayed
25–28 Mar · 3–5 Apr 2019
Hotels
Century Southern Tower · Metropolitan Marunouchi

Tokyo

In Meenu's words, 2019This beautiful moment can be captured in most parts of the world, but never as captivating and mesmerising as in the land of the rising sun.

Our first three nights were at Hotel Century Southern Tower in Shinjuku. We watched Shibuya Crossing from above, and again from street level at night. In Akihabara, go-karts drove past the shops, and after dark the neon lit up the street. From Roppongi Hills we looked out to a glowing Tokyo Tower, and from Odaiba to the Rainbow Bridge.

The cherry blossom was out. We found it in Yoyogi Park and Ueno Park, over the rowing boats on the Chidorigafuchi moat, and lit up at night along the Meguro River. At Meiji Jingu we walked past the walls of sake barrels, and at dusk the Skytree glowed over the Sumida River.

We came back for two more nights at the end, at Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Marunouchi, before an afternoon flight out of Narita on 5 April.

0:10 Watch Tokyo2:26 Watch Tokyo at night
Mount Fuji at dusk across Lake Kawaguchi, seen from Kukuna
Meenu smiling in front of Shiraito FallsLooking out from our room at Kukuna across Lake Kawaguchi to Mount Fuji
Region
Shizuoka · Yamanashi
Stayed
28–30 Mar 2019 · 2 nights
Hotels
Kuretake Inn Fujinomiya · Kukuna

Mount Fuji

In Meenu's words, 2019Some resorts go the extra mile and bring the onsen right into your room.

Our first night under Fuji was at Kuretake Inn Premium Fujinomiya, by Fujinomiya station. We stood in front of Shiraito Falls, where dozens of thin streams pour from a mossy cliff into a blue-green pool. At Lake Tanuki, Fuji stood clear and snow-capped over the water, and we sent the drone up over the lake.

The next night we moved to Kaze no Terrace Kukuna on Lake Kawaguchi, in a suite with a terrace. Fuji sat across the lake from our window, and we filmed the sunset fading over it. Dinner and breakfast were included.

Our room at Kukuna had its own onsen, looking onto Lake Kawaguchi and the mighty Fuji. Our step counts dropped for the second half of that week, and that was spa time well spent.

0:40 Watch Shiraito Falls1:29 Watch Fuji and Kukuna
Meenu in a kimono with a red paper umbrella beneath vermilion torii gates
Tō-ji's five-storey pagoda above cherry trees lit gold at nightKinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, beside its pond on a sunny day
Region
Kansai
Stayed
30 Mar–3 Apr 2019 · 4 nights
Base
Near Kyoto Station

Kyoto

In Meenu's words, 2019Dress like a local for a day. The kimono is super comfy, and it will be a once in a lifetime experience.

Kyoto was our base for four nights, near Kyoto Station. We walked the tunnels of vermilion torii at Fushimi Inari Taisha. Meenu also wore a kimono for a day and carried a red paper umbrella among vermilion shrine gates. After dark, the five-storey pagoda at Tō-ji rose above cherry trees lit gold.

In the sun, the Golden Pavilion at Kinkaku-ji shone over its pond. In Arashiyama we walked the bamboo grove and watched the boats on the Katsura River.

We also went to Nara, where Meenu fed the deer in the park, and to Himeji, where the castle stood white against a blue sky above its moat.

1:05 Watch Kyoto3:13 Watch Himeji, Kinkaku-ji, Nara and Arashiyama

From our bookings

  • Book early for sakura season. We booked our flights and every hotel in mid-January for a late-March trip. We also held refundable rooms at other hotels for the same nights, and cancelled them at no cost.
  • Ryokan dinners have a cut-off. Kukuna asked us to check in by 7 pm for dinner and serves none after 8 pm, with no refund. Its dinner is Western-style, and a Japanese menu or a change for food you can't eat needs a week's notice. The private bath is booked at check-in.
  • Call for the station pickup. Kukuna collects guests free from Kawaguchiko station until 7 pm if you phone when you arrive. The station is about two and a half hours from Shinjuku.
  • Kyoto adds a city tax. Hotels collect it on top of the room price. In 2019 it was ¥200 to ¥1,000 per person per night, depending on the room rate.
  • Book direct and early for breakfast. Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Marunouchi included breakfast on its 27th floor for bookings made on its own website more than 30 days ahead. Without that rate, breakfast was ¥2,800 each.

Meenu's tips, 2019

  • Plan the JR Pass around Tokyo. We spent the first and last days in Tokyo and saved the long journeys for the middle, so a 7-day pass covered them all. The money saved on a 14-day pass can go towards Green Car seats.
  • JR ticket desks will rebook you. When plans change, they cancel the unused reservations and issue new ones.
  • Get a Suica or Pasmo card. It's reloadable, works on transport and in most convenience stores, and you can hand it back at the airport for the deposit.
  • Rent pocket Wi-Fi. We picked up a Ninja Pocket Wifi at arrivals and dropped it at departures. It worked in Tokyo, Matsumoto, Fuji and Kyoto, and it saves your phone battery.
  • Carry cash. In 2019 Japan was still very much cash-based, and some cash machines didn't take international cards.
  • Don't eat while you walk. Step aside or find a bench, then carry on. Bins are rare. You'll usually find them beside convenience stores.
  • Pack pocket warmers, or buy them there. Every drugstore sells them. On a cold, windy day they're such a saviour that we brought a stock home to Scotland.
  • Try the KitKats. Green tea, sakura and raspberry. The raspberry tops the list, absolutely one of a kind.
  • Camera shopping. Yodobashi, next to Kyoto JR station, gave tourists 13% off in 2019. Enter at your own risk: we're not responsible if time and money vanish in there.

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