My first solo trip to Japan - Fantasy Springs Opening Day Trip Report (complete 6/10/25)

[Disneyhanna]

5/27: Kyoto (Onyado Nono Continued)

The area with the bed had a tatami mat floor, they also had a little clothes drying rack which was nice. Lots of info in the TV including washer/dryer status, and the congestion status of the onsen and breakfast. Very handy!



This was a beautiful room overall! The AC unit had a remote which was very confusing, but they had an English card with instructions and I was able to figure it out. I think the coldest temperature was 20C/68F and it was a bit on the warm side for me, as a warning if you like to sleep cold.



The only complaint I had was housekeeping forgot to leave bath towels! There was one towel in the basket they provide for taking to the onsen, but none in the bathroom! You can call or stop at the front desk, I grabbed some from a stand they had by the desk so no big deal. There was no hook for bath towels anywhere to be found, I guess that's my other critique.

There was bottled water and a little fruit jelly in the fridge, I ate this right away, delicious!



The bed was very comfy, the pillows were dreadful and were filled with those lightweight beans instead of feathers. I did stop by the desk the next day to ask for feather pillows which they provided, not a whole lot of difference but slightly better.

I laid on my bed for a while, resting my feet, before heading out for dinner.
One thing I loved about the Onyado Nono Kyoto was the seat in the elevator I was on the top floor (9th?) so I utilized it a lot.



Not feeling particularly adventurous, I walked back to Kyoto Station to check out the food options there. I settled on the chain Ippudo Ramen, which I had wanted to try. It was very quiet, they take your order from your seat and my food and lemon sour arrived very quickly.



I ordered the spicy ramen, with egg and pork. This was my first lemon sour which I discovered I love! Sort of grown up lemonade and not too sweet!

The ramen was very spicy, I have a high spice tolerance and it was perfect. It did make my nose run a lot though, which isn't a good thing in Japan since it's not polite to blow your nose in public, or so I hear!

Overall, I thought this was so-so. I liked it, but didn't love it if that makes sense.

They do have a jar of spicy bean sprouts at every seat and I LOVED these. I kept refilling my little plate and wanted to take a whole container back to my hotel with me if I could. Reminded me of Korean banchan (side dish).

They just leave a receipt so you can take it to the cashier to pay when you're done, super convenient. This was 1920¥ or about $12 for the ramen and drink.

After dinner, I wandered the Porta shopping area of Kyoto Station. Wow, there were so many shops and eateries! You could get totally lost, they just go on forever.

At some point I stumbled across a supermarket. Prices made me so envious, I'm being robbed here in the US!



They had the most amazing smelling strawberries, and so many levels of price. I didn't buy any as the nicest ones were quite expensive but I sort of wish I had.

I ended up buying some sushi as well as a little fruit cup. This was the exact same price as my dinner, so $12!



Wow, this supermarket sushi was delicious. Even late in the day it tasted so fresh. The tuna especially was just melt in your mouth, and I am not a fan of tuna nigiri here in the US. This honestly may have been some of the best sushi I had all trip. The soy sauce is magnificent as well, it's thickened so it stays on the fish when you squeeze it on.

The salmon was my favorite (no surprise to me) it was so buttery, no fishiness. The rice was perfect and not hard like refrigerated sushi sometimes gets. There were lots of business people on their way home from work picking out sushi when I was there, so I think I found the good stuff!

I did some laundry that evening, they had two laundry rooms with four washers and driers each, one of them is locked and only for women to use. You can borrow a laundry machine key from the front desk if you want, I didn't bother and just made sure to set a timer. I lucked out but dinner or after is generally a bad time to do laundry in hotels with a limited number of machines, and you will probably end up waiting for a dryer since drying clothes takes 2-3x as long as washing them. The detergent is automatic and washing was free, but drying was 100¥ per 20 minutes. The machines were quite strong and it only took 30 minutes to wash and 40 minutes to dry my small loads.

There is a sitting room by the onsens/laundry and they have ice cream in the afternoons and evenings, four different flavors and I tried them all of course!

This was the coconut milk popsicle, yum.



They provide a yukata in the room to wear around the hotel since it is an onsen hotel, at least half of the guests were wearing them at any given time outside their rooms. This was so nice for after a shower and going to do laundry or just walking around the hotel, and for going to breakfast.



I stopped and grabbed more ice cream, the chocolate one was like a dilly bar (if you're familiar with Dairy Queen) and the wafer one had ice cream and a thin layer of chocolate inside. There is a popular Japanese ice cream (I forget the name) that is the bigger version of this, essentially. There was also another popsicle that was more like sorbet that was good. I had a LOT of ice cream over my two nights at this hotel!



I went to bed early again, around 8PM. 26k steps for my first day in Japan!

One thing I discovered this day was I had a bit of anxiety about just walking into restaurants. It wasn't something I expected and it wasn't anything that was a real issue, but I guess I just got nervous about it being alone and in a foreign country. It definitely limited my experiences a bit this trip as I wasn't as adventurous as I planned to be because of it. That said, I had made a number of reservations ahead of the trip, so I knew I had those to look forward to, and I wouldn't be stuck eating at chain restaurants the entire trip.

 

[Disneyhanna]

5/28: Kyoto (Fushimi Inari Shrine)

I woke up just before 5AM and slept very well, though I got super hot and sweaty at night. Maybe it was all that ice cream and sushi before bed. I also had a small rash on my wrists that I wasn't sure if it was the comforter or what but I took some Benadryl to hopefully knock it out.

Since breakfast wasn't until 6, I had time to toss in a load of laundry during breakfast. This is definitely the time to do laundry, not busy at all! Lots of people were headed to the onsens instead of breakfast.

There were some benches to sit down on waiting for breakfast, there were a couple others also waiting with me.

They invited us in at 6:00 sharp and I definitely recommend going at opening if you're up, to avoid lines. I coudn't believe the amount of food that was on the buffet, and there was fresh tempura being fried as well.



So many drink options, I got a matcha latte from the machine, they also have one of these machines in the lobby 24/7. They had juice, coffee, tea, lots of western options but I mostly stuck to the Japanese offerings.

They had multiple rice makers and types of rice, and it even had buttons for portion size. Simply amazing. And sashimi of course (no salmon sadly) and my favorite was without a doubt the scallop sashimi, which is usually quite expensive in the US.

All of the food was so good, the soft boiled eggs were one of my favorites as well as the boiled beef. The salmon served at breakfasts in Japan usually has bones, so just be careful! The tempura was absolutely delicious as well, better than what I got from Nishiki Market (far less greasy). They had shrimp, pumpkin, green bean, eel, so much variety.

I didn't think I liked matcha before this trip but the matcha lattes here were amazing! I took another to go (they had a sign welcoming people to take drinks to go).



It got very busy by 6:30 and I think you have to wait a while to get in by then and until maybe 9 or so when it starts quieting down again. I finished at 6:40 and put my laundry in the dryer. While waiting for my laundry, I tried out one of the massage chairs. I cannot stand massages so idk why I thought this was a good idea. That thing hurt so much, I can't believe people enjoy those things They were always in use in the evenings and they had like 5 or 6 chairs, I'll never understand the appeal

I was headed to Fushimi Inari Shrine that morning since it was easy access from Kyoto Station. It was raining much harder, and shortly after leaving my hotel I really regretted wearing tennis shoes instead of sandals with how wet it was.

Since it was a bit later that morning the station was much busier (7:30AM rush hour) and people were running to catch their trains.

I found my platform and waited, a platform guard came and asked me where I was headed in English and directed me to the opposite side. He seemed to do this to everyone at that side of the platform, so I'm not sure if there was a train out of service or just a faster train. There were lots of school children on my train, such a foreign concept to me to be able to take a train to school!

It wasn't too many stops on the train, and the shrine is right by the station.





It was very quiet despite being 8AM which is "late" for tourist spots in Kyoto. The moderate to heavy rain was definitely keeping crowds away.



I discovered on this trip that I'm not really into doing much other than looking and passing through when seeing the shrines, I did purchase any fortunes or amulets, which I think would be more fun with friends/family.



The red torii were quite striking even in the rain! And they go on forever, so if you walk far enough I'm sure you can get a good picture even on a busy day. It was not busy at all, thankfully.



I exchanged taking photos with a few other tourists along the way. I met a really nice solo traveler and we chatted for a while, I think she was from South Africa.





After a while, I was getting pretty wet even with an umbrella, so I decided to head back. I stayed for maybe an hour total! I probably would have hiked more if it weren't raining, thankfully it wasn't windy, but it definitely was less enjoyable in that weather. I think Tokyo got hit much harder with miserable wind and rain, so I was glad to be in Kyoto that day.

I thought Fushimi Inari Shrine was very beautiful and I agree that it is a must see!

 

[princesscinderella]

I am really enjoying your trip report. I think we will avoid the food market in Kyoto too after your description of the experience.

 

[Disneyhanna]

I am really enjoying your trip report. I think we will avoid the food market in Kyoto too after your description of the experience.

Thanks for following along! Sometimes tourist traps are great, sometimes not. It's probably one of those places that would be better if you had a local with you showing you what's worth stopping at. The indoors and crowded part was what I didn't like, I had no problem with crowded areas outside but I don't enjoy them inside as much.

 

[princesscinderella]

Thanks for following along! Sometimes tourist traps are great, sometimes not. It's probably one of those places that would be better if you had a local with you showing you what's worth stopping at. The indoors and crowded part was what I didn't like, I had no problem with crowded areas outside but I don't enjoy them inside as much.

I am packing the next two days since we leave on Thursday is there anything you wish you packed from home that you didn’t think you would need?

 

[Disneyhanna]

I am packing the next two days since we leave on Thursday is there anything you wish you packed from home that you didn’t think you would need?

I'm an overpacker so I had everything I could possibly need Some of the stuff I found useful:

• Ziplock baggies and freezer bags: good for leftover snacks especially popcorn at Tokyo Disney, keeping passport dry in your bag, etc
• Bug spray, I didn't have a problem but I think the bugs are getting worse as it's getting rainier, I noticed mosquitos at Fushimi Inari and Ikspiari (you can buy in Japan of course but sometimes it's just easier to bring things with if you have room)
• Body glide if you deal with chafing, the humidity is relentless
• Tide pen for after you drip ramen broth on your clothes
• Night light, a couple of my hotels (especially the Disney ones) were so dark at night
• Paper clips and binder clips if you have a Disney vacation package, as it makes keeping the tickets and passes together so much easier
• Compression socks for flights
• Portable chargers for everyone, I went through phone battery crazy fast (I think the roaming data was part of it), even faster than at WDW

You can definitely buy almost everything you need in Japan though. I would bring any toiletries you are picky about. I usually bring a carry on and full check bag for a week in WDW, but for Japan I managed to downsize to just a carry on and a fairly empty check bag with a 70L duffel inside, it was only 35lb which is probably a record for me lol. I did not fill either check bag full on the way home but I was glad for the extra room.

 

[princesscinderella]

Thanks for your useful items list, some we on my packing list but a few were not. Would the lanyards like they give on a Disney cruise that hold a key card be useful for TDL resort vacation package tickets? That was on my maybe I should pack list. I am a very efficient packer and typically only travel with a carry on and backpack. I was able to get 7 days worth of clohes in one side of my hardside carryon. I also bought two expanding duffles for any goodies we buy along the way if we need the extra space.

also bought a large bag of American candies in Halloween give away sizes of (nerds, sweet tarts, laffy taffy and gummy worms). I was going to make little goodie bags to give as a thank you to our guides and hotel staff as I know tipping isn’t customary. Do you think this will be appreciated?

 

[Disneyhanna]

Thanks for your useful items list, some we on my packing list but a few were not. Would the lanyards like they give on a Disney cruise that hold a key card be useful for TDL resort vacation package tickets? That was on my maybe I should pack list. I am a very efficient packer and typically only travel with a carry on and backpack. I was able to get 7 days worth of clohes in one side of my hardside carryon. I also bought two expanding duffles for any goodies we buy along the way if we need the extra space.

also bought a large bag of American candies in Halloween give away sizes of (nerds, sweet tarts, laffy taffy and gummy worms). I was going to make little goodie bags to give as a thank you to our guides and hotel staff as I know tipping isn’t customary. Do you think this will be appreciated?

I think lanyards would work great! I am so impressed with anyone who can pack for a trip in a carry on only

I think your luck with goodie bags will be a bit hit and miss. I imagine for tour guides that would be totally fine. It might be okay outside of Disney but I'm pretty sure at Disney I recently saw someone post that they are not allowed to accept anything, even non-monetary gifts.

 

[Nakkira]

Enjoying your trip report. Can't wait to hear all about your adventure!

 

[Disneyhanna]

5/28: Kyoto (Rainy Day Activities)

With all of the heavy rain, I decided to stick to indoor activities there rest of the day. I wanted to stop at Uniqlo and found one at Aeon Mall close to Kyoto Station. This was a really nice indoor mall with tons of shops, and it was very quiet! They had some cute new designs of the popular moon bag.



The bags were on sale for Uniqlo's 40th Anniversary, I think the basic colors were on sale for around $1000¥. Considering they are $20 in the US they were basically 1/3 of the price, crazy!



I got a couple bags, a dress, three Disney UTs, a Peanuts UT, and a linen blouse for about $87 USD. The Disney tees were under 1000¥ vs $25 in the US, I don't know how I stopped myself from buying the whole store.



I ended up going to the 12 story Uniqlo flagship store later in the trip and they had the exact same stuff as this smaller Uniqlo where it was nice and quiet and no wait for a fitting room. You do have to take your shoes off and put a little face covering on when putting shirts on!

There was also a Daiso so I think I spent like two hours there Surprisingly I didn't get that much stuff, but I got a few rice/onigiri molds, a laundry bag, some washcloths (which came in very handy during the trip), washi tape, funny cat scissors which also came in very handy, and a UV umbrella (which saved my life in the hot sun).



I hadn't eaten since my huge breakfast at 6 so I was very hungry after shopping. I found an interesting looking pork katsu place called Katsukura that was supposed to be on the 11th floor of one of the stores in Kyoto Station. It took me a while to find and I don't think I could find it again if you asked me! The line was pretty short around 1:15 and I only had to wait a few minutes to be seated.

This place was very English friendly, they even had instructions on how to grind the sesame seeds to a paste to make your dipping sauce in English. I ordered one of the popular sets, it had a large prawn and small pork tenderloin. The miso soup, barley rice, and cabbage salad had unlimited refills but I didn't need any. I also got a lemon sour, and there was cold tea at the table.



The sesame seeds were so fragment when grinding them! I used the spicy sauce and it wasn't even remotely spicy. The katsu was really good, I enjoyed this meal. The rice was so soft and fluffy and the cabbage was really finely shredded. The vinaigrette for the cabbage was really good. The miso soup was a bit thicker than I'm used to and had some fried tofu in it, I really enjoyed it (more hearty than typical miso soup). The woman across from me had so many refills, I am usually a big eater but some of the women in Japan put me to shame

This meal was a bit pricier, about 3200¥ ($20 USD) but totally worth it. Definitely recommend!

I headed back to my hotel and did some laundry, not too busy in the early afternoon. I checked my air tags and saw my check bag was at my next hotel, hooray!

Something I wanted to do in Japan was get my nails done, I have never done this before (I just paint them myself) and decided to treat myself while in Japan. I found a place prior to my trip and made a reservation ahead of time through social media. It was about a 15 minute walk from my hotel, which I was dreading a bit given the rain, oh well!

Google maps did take me an interesting route that would have felt sketchy in any other country, ha! I was clutching the railing for dear life on these stairs as it was so slippery in the pouring rain.

'

The woman who did my nails was so sweet, she spoke enough English to get by and she was so meticulous at doing my nails. The salon was "Precious nail28" near Kyoto Station. It took her about 90 minutes and I was so happy with how they turned out. I went purple and mentioned I was going to Fantasy Springs on opening day and she got so excited, saying "Rapunzel!!!"



This was a bit pricey since I did acrylic extensions, but it was totally worth it. It was my first time having gel polish and that stuff doesn't budge, I just took them off yesterday and so they survived almost four weeks without a single chip!

I was pretty hungry at this point but was feeling really lazy and didn't want to go back out after I got to the hotel. So, I decided to stay up for the free late night ramen at 9PM. It ended up being so delicious, and a decent size portion for free!



Of course I grabbed more ice cream too!



Overall it was a fun day, the perk of solo travel is you can sort of do whatever you want without a plan, and you can waste hours at Daiso and no one will complain I spent a lot of time wandering Kyoto Station this day, it felt like it never ended and you could get lost for an entire day there.

Ended the day with a modest 22k steps!

 

[Nakkira]

I ended up going to the 12 story Uniqlo flagship store later in the trip and they had the exact same stuff as this smaller Uniqlo where it was nice and quiet and no wait for a fitting room. You do have to take your shoes off and put a little face covering on when putting shirts on!

There was also a Daiso so I think I spent like two hours there Surprisingly I didn't get that much stuff, but I got a few rice/onigiri molds, a laundry bag, some washcloths (which came in very handy during the trip), washi tape, funny cat scissors which also came in very handy, and a UV umbrella (which saved my life in the hot sun).

View attachment 870452

I can spend absurd amount of time shopping in Daiso. I have really hoping that Pooh Bear washcloth is still available in October. Love it!
Your nails turned out nice. Totally worth it. I only use gel polish these days (I do it at home) and I love how long it can last.

 

[Disneyhanna]

I can spend absurd amount of time shopping in Daiso. I have really hoping that Pooh Bear washcloth is still available in October. Love it!
Your nails turned out nice. Totally worth it. I only use gel polish these days (I do it at home) and I love how long it can last.

I love Daiso so much! I went when I was in San Francisco a number of years ago and don't remember enjoying it as much as I did in Japan. The washcloths are really nice and they had a lot of other options, I had to do a real reality check on buying washcloths this trip as to how many I really needed It was really fun having my nails done and not having to worry about them the rest of the trip! I figured I was going to take a lot of pictures with my thumb holding up food and needed them to look cute

 

[soniam]

We went to some of the same places in Arashiyama and 2 other temples. It was nice. Pretty area to walk around.

We did Fushima Inari at night. It was amazing!! Not very crowded and beautiful shadows from the torii and lights. Spent a lot longer there than I thought we would. We had to drag our 18 year old son out

Sounds like you had fun. We just got back last night, and this is bringing back memories.

 

[twinstar2]

This is bringing me back too! I miss Japan, Kyoto especially, and am already making a list of what to do and eat the next time we can go. We stayed at Onyado Nono in Tokyo (Asakusa) in a triple room for 4 people and it was one of the best hotel experiences of the trip. Same small shower with the incredible water pressure haha (apparently their Deluxe Triple rooms have a bathtub). DS loved those painful massage chairs and trying the onsen, and of course the breakfast, ice cream pops, and the nighttime soup. DH and I enjoyed the roomclothes so much we bought some jinbei at a nearby shop. Asakusa is incredibly busy with tourists at all hours, and getting to transit was a bit of a schlep, but overall I liked the vibe there better than our other stay in Shibuya (which was much more expensive). The hotel we stayed at in Kyoto was also very good for families - Monday Apart, a 10 minute walk NW of Kyoto Station - only downside being no restaurant/breakfast on site, and man is it hard to find an early breakfast in Japan (Korea too btw!). The best feature of Monday Apart was the combo washer and dryer machine in the room. The teeny front loading drum could do maybe 6 articles of adult clothing, otherwise it wouldn't get everything dry, but they gave free packets of detergent and I just ran that thing constantly! They offer a family sauna room (no baths) with sofas and tv and water which you can reserve for free for an hour, and that was fun.

 

[Disneyhanna]

We went to some of the same places in Arashiyama and 2 other temples. It was nice. Pretty area to walk around.

We did Fushima Inari at night. It was amazing!! Not very crowded and beautiful shadows from the torii and lights. Spent a lot longer there than I thought we would. We had to drag our 18 year old son out

Sounds like you had fun. We just got back last night, and this is bringing back memories.

I'm excited to read your TR updates! If I had time I would have gone back to Fushimi Inari, I was only staying near Kyoto Station a couple nights and it was super inconvenient to get to any station from my next hotel. I didn't spend too much time out after dark in Japan at all, I can relate to your son even though I am usually a night owl!

This is bringing me back too! I miss Japan, Kyoto especially, and am already making a list of what to do and eat the next time we can go. We stayed at Onyado Nono in Tokyo (Asakusa) in a triple room for 4 people and it was one of the best hotel experiences of the trip. Same small shower with the incredible water pressure haha (apparently their Deluxe Triple rooms have a bathtub). DS loved those painful massage chairs and trying the onsen, and of course the breakfast, ice cream pops, and the nighttime soup. DH and I enjoyed the roomclothes so much we bought some jinbei at a nearby shop. Asakusa is incredibly busy with tourists at all hours, and getting to transit was a bit of a schlep, but overall I liked the vibe there better than our other stay in Shibuya (which was much more expensive). The hotel we stayed at in Kyoto was also very good for families - Monday Apart, a 10 minute walk NW of Kyoto Station - only downside being no restaurant/breakfast on site, and man is it hard to find an early breakfast in Japan (Korea too btw!). The best feature of Monday Apart was the combo washer and dryer machine in the room. The teeny front loading drum could do maybe 6 articles of adult clothing, otherwise it wouldn't get everything dry, but they gave free packets of detergent and I just ran that thing constantly! They offer a family sauna room (no baths) with sofas and tv and water which you can reserve for free for an hour, and that was fun.

I'm so glad, it is helping me reflect on my trip a bit as it was so crazy in the moment. I hear the Dormy Inns (Onyado Nono) are pretty good no matter the location so I will definitely consider staying at the other locations. LOL at the painful massage chairs.

I had mixed feelings on staying in Shibuya, I definitely want to stay in other areas of Tokyo next time to try a different vibe out. Having a w/d in your hotel room is such a game changer, I did so many loads when I had one for a couple nights.

 

[nono]

also bought a large bag of American candies in Halloween give away sizes of (nerds, sweet tarts, laffy taffy and gummy worms). I was going to make little goodie bags to give as a thank you to our guides and hotel staff as I know tipping isn’t customary. Do you think this will be appreciated?

Eh, I don't think gifts for random folks you briefly meet is a thing in Japan. And actually could be awkward because then there's a reciprocity rule that kicks in.... If you are meeting a family who is hosting you, then yes, bring something. Here's a Japan Guide article that gives you the basics.

 

[Disneyhanna]

5/29: Osaka (Sailor Moon Museum)

I woke up at 4:40AM despite not heading to bed until 10, this was my third and I think last early wake up of the trip. I did another load of laundry during breakfast, and there were fewer people waiting at 6 for breakfast to open this morning.

Most of the food was the same but a couple of the small dishes were different, so I had a few new things as well as many of my favorites from the previous morning.



This hotel breakfast was unbelievably delicious, I could have had it every day for a week straight and had something different every day.

I left the hotel around 8:30 and stowed my bags with the hotel to pick them up later. Since I got out a bit later, Kyoto Station was much quieter! I very confidently was waiting for my rapid train to Osaka and realized at last minute I was on the wrong side of the platform. I had just enough time to cross to the other side of the platform and almost had to run to make it onto my train, oops!

The rapid train only took about half an hour to get to Osaka. I think I transferred there to Namba station since I was headed to the Sailor Moon museum at Namba Parks which is a massive shopping center. It was only 10AM so I had a bit of time before my timed slot for the museum (I pre-booked on Klook) so I decided to find the Namba Don Quijote which was a few minutes away.

On my way to Don Quijote, I wandered a bit around Osaka. I hadn't spent any time in Tokyo yet and obviously this was a totally different experience than Kyoto! What stood out to me is everything felt much more casual, more relaxed. It felt like there were a lot more young people out and about too (teens and 20s).



I got very confused trying to find Donki, and stumbled upon lots of random things in the process!



Finally I found Donki, where I only had about an hour to shop. Of course I wanted some of the viral products and they had cheap tester shampoos so I grabbed some to try during my trip to see if I wanted to buy any full size to bring home.



I could have spent hours more in Donki but I had to head out to Namba Parks. I did wait in the tax free line which wasn't too long as this Donki location was rather quiet. It was only three floors, and probably less overwhelming than the Mega Donkis. I forgot to take a picture of my haul but I got shampoo samples, some of the popular gummy candies, Anessa and Biore sunscreen, the rice face masks, a shisedo eyelash curler, and some Kiss Me Heroine mascara and remover. Didn't go too crazy, I had to leave room in my luggage for Disney!

The Sailor Moon Museum exhibition was only in Osaka for a couple months, I forget where it is headed next. I had tickets for the 12:00 entry and they do have everyone enter at the same time, so I was glad I was on time.



I would say most of the other people there were older Japanese school girls and young adults! Not many tourists!



The museum was very cute, you could take pictures in most areas so I used Google lens to translate at times. There was an art section where you could not take photos and it was beautiful.

At the end, there were tons of collectables on display. It was sort of crazy to see how much Sailor Moon merch is out there!



I loved seeing the costumes up close.



I only spent about 25 minutes in the Museum area, it wasn't super big so it didn't take long to go through. There was a shop at the end, which I spent another 20 minutes in. It was on the expensive side so I didn't get much, only a couple washi tapes and some wash cloths. I forgot to take a picture so here are the official photos, ha!

I think I cut myself off of purchasing wash cloths at this point These were 990¥ each so definably on the "expensive" side for Japan, at least I thought so.

 

[Disneyhanna]

5/29: Osaka (Sailor Moon Cafe)

I pre-booked the Sailor Moon Cafe on table check (where I booked all of my dining reservations, it's a great site) and I was glad I did as it sold out quickly. They only had a couple time slots per day and again sat everyone at the same time.



They allowed people to line up about 20 minutes before our time (1:15PM) and checked us in while in line. They had a QR code where you could pre-order your food and drinks so it would be ready more quickly, awesome! You could also order more while seated, and there was a last call time as well. Very organized.

All of the food was so cute, I decided to get one of the random manga art lattes, the Luna and Artemis curry, and the sorbet dessert.

Each drink comes with a random plastic coaster, and each food item comes with a random paper placemat. I got my favor sailor, Sailor Saturn (Hotaru). I liked her as a kid as she had black hair like me, and a name starting with H just like me!



The posters were large and on heavy cardstock, not exactly easy to get home when you're a tourist but I managed. Now what to do with them?





My latte and curry arrived quickly, omg they were so cute! Exactly like the menu photos!



The curry was actually quite good, I'm no curry expert but it was hot and tasty. I'm picky about meat in dishes like this and the chicken was good. The vegetables were cut out in stars and moons, adorable. The latte was good as well!

My dessert came out a bit later, they timed everything really well. This looks big but the scoops were tiny, so it was a good size for one person. Again, it looked exactly like the photo!



I really enjoyed this dessert, I prefer fruity desserts to chocolate so this was perfect. Under the sorbet there was fresh fruit and jellies, really refreshing.



There were maybe a dozen tables of mostly groups of two, but there were a couple other solo people. Everyone was taking so many photos of their food, as was I! I had pretty low expectations for this but was pleasantly surprised that everything I ordered was very tasty, not just cute. This ended up being one of my favorite experiences, the cafe vibes were really pleasant and I didn't feel weird about being alone at all. The food was definitely expensive given the theming (around $30 USD) but I thought it was totally worth it.

I didn't have time to wander the mall as I had to get back to check into my next hotel and head to my fancy dinner that night.

The restrooms in shopping areas of Japan were sooo nice. Much better than most of the train stations bathrooms which varied. Train stations seemed to rarely have soap or hand driers but all of the malls did. This mall even had nice holders for your bags/umbrella by the sinks!



Overall the Sailor Moon Museum & Cafe was a fun experience and I'd recommend seeing it if you have a chance and you're a big Sailor Moon fan. I just checked and it looks like it's going to be in Nagoya for July/August. The museum was about $12 USD through Klook.

 

[Disneyhanna]

5/29: Kyoto (Park Hyatt Kyoto)

Sorry for the delay in updates, I was busy attending the US Gymnastics Olympic Trials this weekend, so fun!

Time to review the most expensive hotel I stayed at, the Park Hyatt Kyoto! If you're a points enthusiast, you are probably familiar with this one. The cash rates are pretty crazy, often north of $2000 USD/night. As someone who typically stays in Best Westerns, Hampton Inns, etc...this was definitely a whole new level of luxury!

If you can snag a reservation with Hyatt points (what I did), it's a mere 35-40k points per night. Still nothing to sneeze at but since I tend to value my points 1:1 I would say ~$400/night is a lot better than $2000/night. I cancelled a trip to Maui last year and was sitting on a lot of Hyatt points and thought this would be a good time to use them. The resort does book up like a year in advance but I've always found cancellations to be common, and I was able to snag my two nights as separate bookings in the months leading up to my trip. The hotel combined them with no problem, and it was listed as one continuous stay when I checked in.

I made it back to the Onyado Nono by 3:15 which was about check-in time, luckily it wasn't too crazy and I was able to grab my bags without waiting long. Kyoto is not nearly as accessible by train as Tokyo, and one look at Google Maps was all I needed to decide to call a taxi. You can use Uber but I downloaded the Go Taxi app which was very easy to use.

My taxi came within minutes, and off I went to the Park Hyatt! It was about 15-20 minutes due to some traffic. It was really interesting seeing the scenery change from the area near Kyoto Station vs the Higashiyama Ward. Went from the more metropolitan feel to very historic feel very quickly!

The Park Hyatt is located right at the base of the Ninenzaka shopping area and is just surrounded by tourists, the taxi driver was using his horn a lot to get through lol. Then when you drive up to the hotel there are so many people dressed in suits that whisk away your belongings, it was a very VIP experience. The taxi was a mere $10 USD, totally worth it.

The hotel itself is very small, I think only 70 rooms. I was led to the lobby and given a complimentary drink, I chose the sake, and got to listen to the koto being played. She started with My Favorite Things!



They also gave me some warm roasted nuts, delicious! The AC was strong in the lobby, which I appreciated.

After check-in procedures which took maybe 10-15 minutes (from the comfort of my plush chair in the lobby), they brought me to my room. For such a small place it was still a bit of a maze to get to my room, involving two elevators!

They gave me a tour of my room, it was that big! I questioned how to get my bag which I had sent from HND a few days prior, and he opened one of the many closets and was like "you mean this?" with a smile, and there my bag was!

I took so many pictures but Disboards limits 10 per post so I just picked 10 lol. The huge mini bar, sadly not included. But the Nespresso and teas were free!



I brought most of the teas and coffees from my various hotels home with me.



The pajamas were really nice at this hotel, I prefer bringing my own but theirs were quite stylish.



The room was just massive! So beautiful!



I had the cheapest room so no view, but I preferred that for privacy. I hear the views facing the streets sort of feel like being on exhibit in a zoo



The bathroom was equally large, and they had the softest and largest towels ever, I would have liked to have those at home.



I don't think I ever made time for a soak but the shower/tub was gorgeous.



One thing that annoyed me was the toilet. Some of the hotels had toilets with automatic lids and that annoyed me SO MUCH! You'd walk by and the lid would open, and then minutes later it would beep when it shut. I pace around my room a lot and that got old real fast



You know you're in a nice hotel when the hair drier is a supersonic Dyson. I really wanted one of these at home after using it, it's super quiet but dries your hair so fast. Then I saw the price tag



Overall, this hotel was wonderful. It was so peaceful, and all of the staff were so kind. They wear suits so it's sort of intimidating (they stand around and always greet you, when you get off the elevator they would welcome me back by name) but it didn't feel stuffy. I felt a tad out of place at times, how could I not when some of the guests were walking around in outfits that probably cost more than my salary, but I'd go back in a heartbeat if I had the points to burn.

 

[Disneyhanna]

5/29: Kyoto (Michelin Star Dining at Takayama Pt 1)

Buckle up, this one will be long thanks to the photo limit! My most anticipated meal was Takayama, a 1 Michelin star restaurant located at Good Nature Station in Kyoto. Bookings open on Table Check about two months in advance, and they offer lunch (12PM) and dinner (6PM). I stumbled across this one within a review of the Park Hyatt, so it's not one of those "viral" dining spots. That said, I believe the guests are mostly foreigners due to the price. I had no trouble booking the date I wanted, so I don't think it's difficult to book.

Lunch or dinner is the same price, and it's about a three hour meal.

• Meal: 28000¥ ($173 USD)
• Wine pairing (full) 14500¥ ($90 USD)
• Wine pairing (half) 8800¥ ($55 USD)

I elected to do the half wine pairing, I'm not a big drinker, but I couldn't resist the half pairing given the price. This was by far the most expensive meal I've had in my life, but I read a lot of reviews and decided to splurge. Similar meals in the US would be more like $500+ before you even add a tip, and that is most definitely out of my price range.

I was on the fence about walking or calling another taxi, as the walk was about 20 minutes and I wasn't sure where it would take me. Well turns out you can't call a taxi to the Park Hyatt in the app (too many issues with tourists given the location I suppose) and I didn't have time to ask the desk to call me one, so walking it is!

Luckily the walk was very scenic, I really enjoyed it.



This was one of those times where I wished I had even more time to spend in Kyoto, I walked my so many interesting spots I would have liked to stop at, but alas I was on a mission to get to dinner!



Takayama was located in a little shopping area, it was such a cute spot where I imagine tourists and locals alike spend their evenings.

I did dress nicely for this dinner, and I'm glad I did as so did everyone else!



I was the first to arrive, a young man greeted me and brought me to my seat. He was so nice, I said thank you in Japanese of course and he complimented me on that, in the US you would think oh they're fishing for tips

There are only 12 seats (I think) but there ended up being only 9 of us, four couples and myself.



The restaurant was beautiful, AC was nice and cool, and the long table is so that everyone has a great view of the food prep!

The other couples arrived shortly after me and we all got settled, they brought our choice of water (still or sparkling) and a free glass of champagne for everyone. It was a team of three, our young "host" who took care of entertaining us and filling drinks, chef Takayama who did the presenting of food and some of the prep, and then another chef who did most of the actual work!

They encouraged taking photos, and always presented the bottles for us to get a picture if we wanted




The first course was served in a container with dry ice, and they lifted the lid to show off a beautiful display with a white chocolate stamped with a QR code with the night's dinner menu! Talk about theatrics!



This was the aperitif juice, the chocolate was filled with fresh Taiwanese pineapple juice. All I could think was how could a little chocolate fit so much juice, it was like an explosion in the mouth! I could have eaten 10 more of these, just delicious.

Chef Takayama advised us to pick it up gently "soft touch" and eat it in one bite of course, one of the guys wasn't listening and tried biting it in half, and they had napkins to clean up the mess within seconds.



Here is the menu from the QR code, I don't think it changes too much but some of the courses were different than the reviews I saw, so I'm sure it just depends on what's in season.




Too many courses to count...good thing I was hungry!

The next course was caviar, of course there was a much better and longer explanation than that but I don't remember anything



This was made in Japan and so savory and not at all fishy. I don't know much about caviar but I really liked this!