Japan – Page 4 – Jet-Set Japan

Fireworks Shows in Japan

July 21, 2018August 6, 2018FAQ, Seasons, Summer2 Comments

The rainy season in Japan usually ends around the first week of Japan, and this is also the start of weekly fireworks shows which are held all over the country. Summer in Japan is hot and humid, so why do thousands of people go out to watch fireworks in the summer heat? People get a chance to get out of the house to eat, drink, and talk with family and/or friends. Not to mention many people wear yukata (summer kimono). Some Japanese people say the sound of fireworks being shot high into the air and seeing the beautiful colors and patterns dazzle in the night sky help them forget about the heat.

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If you are in Japan now or if you have already planned a trip to Tokyo for July or August, here are dates and times for some fireworks shows:

Saturday, July 28:

(7:00pm-8:30pm) Sumida River Fireworks Show – Best viewing is from riverside along the Sumida River in the Asakusa area. Last year, 950,000 people went to watch the show, so it will be extremely crowded. A few years ago, I watched the show, but arrived at the viewing area a little too late to get a place where we could sit and watch. If you want to sit and watch, I suggest you go there during the early afternoon to save a spot.
(7:20pm-8:20pm) Showa Kinen Park Fireworks Show in Tachikawa – Always held on the same day as the Sumida River Fireworks Show to spread out the number of people who watch. Last year, 260,000 people when to watch the show. I watched this show a few times, and it is a lot more relaxed because of the fewer amount of people. However, people from Hawaii might still be surprised at the large crowds. Tachikawa is located about 30 minutes west from Shinjuku on the Chuo Line.

Wednesday, August 1

(7:40pm-8:30pm) Koto Fireworks Show – Access to viewing areas from Minami-Sunamachi Station on the Tozai Line. Last year 300,000 people went to watch this show.

Saturday, August 4

(7:15pm-8:30pm) Edogawa-ku Fireworks Show – Edogawa-ku located next to Chiba Prefecture. Best access to viewing areas are from Shinozaki Station on the Toei Shinjuku Line. Last year 900,000 people watch the show from the Tokyo side. This show is popular because fireworks are synchronized with background music.
(7:00pm-8:30pm) Itabashi Fireworks Show – This show can be access from JR Ukimafunado Station, which is on the Saikyo Line, Takashimadaira Station/Nishidai Station/Hasune Station, which are on the Toei Mita Line.

Saturday, August 11

(7:10pm-8:30pm) Tokyo Fireworks Show~EDOMODE~ – Fireworks will be shot up from Tokyo Bay near the Odaiba Area. So there are many places to view this show. This is the first year to have this show, but I think this show is taking the place of the Tokyo Bay Grand Fireworks Show that was discontinued in 2015.

Important Note: Fireworks shows can be canceled/postponed due to high winds or rain. So, if you are planning to check out a show, check weather reports or webpages/SNS that provide information.

Some things to prepare if you go to a fireworks show:

Food and drinks – I suggest buying the majority of your food and drinks before you arrive at your destination. Vendors will be selling food and drinks, if you want hot food or if you drink all of your drinks.
Location of bathrooms – Plan out your day so you can go early to check out where bathrooms are located. Because most people are drinking alcohol and tons of water, lines for the bathroom will be long.
Hit up a 100 yen shop – You can get cheap cooler bags, cups, napkins, and everything else you will need.
Get a blue tarp/sheet – Unless you have to watch the show standing up, get you and your group a blue tarp/sheet to sit on.
Make a plan for after the show – After the show ends, even a little bit before the show ends, thousands of people will try to catch the train at the same time. If you don’t mind staying a little later to avoid the traffic, go get a few extra drinks. If you don’t mind walking a little further to a less crowded station, research for stations you can walk to.

If you want some information regarding fireworks shows in different areas of Japan, feel free to contact us!

Fukuoka & Beppu ー Great Food, Relaxing Onsen

July 17, 2018August 29, 2018FAQ, Food and Drink, Nature, Traditional Culture/Spots2 Comments

Today, we’re going to introduce Fukuoka and Beppu, which are both on the island of Kyushu.

Fukuoka

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Getting there:

Fukuoka is a prefecture in Kyushu, and Fukuoka City is the largest city in Kyushu and has a good mixture of both traditional and modern culture.

To travel from Hawaii to Fukuoka, Hawaiian Airlines cancelled their non-stop flight from Honolulu to Fukuoka, so we recommend flying into Kansai International Airport (Osaka), and then taking a shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Hakata Station, which is about a 3-hour train ride. If you are landing in Tokyo and then going to Fukuoka or plan to go to Tokyo from Fukuoka, taking a shinkansen will take about 6 hours from Shinagawa Station and Tokyo Station. Flights from Haneda to Fukuoka take a little less than 2 hours. If you want to fully utilize your JR Pass to save money, taking a shinkansen is the way to go. Also, because of travel time, combining Fukuoka and Osaka into the same trip will maximize your travel experience.

Important Note: The main station in Fukuoka is NOT Fukuoka Station; the main station is Hakata Station.

Ramen

Hakata Ramen is the local-style of ramen in Fukuoka. The soup broth is made from pork bones which gives it a brown-yellow coloration. The broth is rich and will cling on to noodles well.

When ordering Hakata Ramen, you can choose the firmness of your noodles. Generally, there’s 5 levels: extra soft, soft, regular, firm, extra firm. Extra soft noodles will break easily, so we don’t recommend getting extra soft noodles. Soft noodles don’t break as easily, blend with the broth, and will kind of dissolve in your mouth. Regular noddles are good for those who haven’t eaten too much authentic ramen before. So, start at regular, and then test out other types of noodles to find your zone. Firm noodles tend not to blend too much with the broth, but you can enjoy both the flavor of the broth and the flavor of the noodles. Extra firm noodles are for those who know how to slurp up noodles and like to taste the rich broth “crisply”.

If you are a foodie, you have to check out the yatai (street vendors) of Hakata!

Our personal to-do list:

Places we haven’t been to but want to go to include: Futamigaura and Kawachi Wisteria Garden. Also, because Fukuoka is located on the Sea of Japan side of Kyushu, sunsets are amazing along the coastline.

Beppu

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Beppu is located in Oita Prefecture and is one of the best areas for onsen (hot springs). Each onsen has different medicinal benefits from nicer skin to a recuperating from fatigue. Not to mention, each ryokan (Japanese-style inn) will include a Japanese-style meal.

Beppu stretches from the sea to the mountains, like an ahupua’a here in Hawaii, so there are a lot of different kinds of delicious food to eat: from different types of meat dishes to seafood.

If you’re traveling to the Kansai Area and have more than 7 days, checking out Fukuoka for a few days and Beppu for a night can fit into your schedule. If you just want to travel around Kyushu, at least a week (preferably 10 days) would be needed to visit all of the prefectures there: Fukuoka, Oita, Miyazaki, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, Shiga, Nagasaki.

Sapporo & Otaru ー Gems of Northern Japan

July 3, 2018November 12, 2018FAQ, Nature, Seasons, Summer, Winter1 Comment

If you’ve already been to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, or other areas of Japan, or if you just love delicious food and nature, make Sapporo and Otaru next on your list of places to visit in Japan!

Sapporo is the largest city on Hokkaido, which is the northern island of Japan, and Otaru is located about 40 minutes away by train from Sapporo.

When people in Japan think of Hokkaido, the first things that come into mind are great food and beautiful nature. So, in this post, we’re going to briefly introduce some of the food and nature in Sapporo and Otaru.

Grindz (Food!)

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Hokkaido is kind of like the Big Island (of Hawaii) of Japan. It’s the largest island in Japan, and it’s known for fishing and large ranches/farms. Because of this, Sapporo is the place to get some of the best fish and meat (also dairy products) in all of Japan! From, fresh seafood, ramen, to desserts, Sapporo has it all. If you’re looking for ono (delicious) seafood, head over to Otaru! Otaru is a 40 minute train ride Sapporo, and you can enjoy looking at the ocean while leisurely making your way to Otaru.

Yuki (Chad’s wife) looking out at the ocean while going to Otaru from Sapporo

Nature

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Sapporo has flowers, greenery, autumn leaves, and snow, so you can go there any time of year and enjoy nature. The Sapporo Snow Festival is held in early- February in and around Odori Park, and the Sapporo Lilac Festival is held in mid/late-May also in Odori Park. If you want to travel during winter from Hawaii, you need to get winter clothes because it is COLD. If you are unlucky or lucky, depending how you look at it, you can experience a Hokkaido winter in a blizzard. Blizzards are windy, snowy, and cold, but it makes the ramen taste that much better!

Travel Plan Recommendations

If you are only going to stay in Sapporo and maybe check out Hakodate, which is about 3 and a half hours away from Sapporo by train, 5-7 days will work. This is if you want to have a relaxing trip.
If you are active and want to go to Sapporo and travel to different areas of Hokkaido, at least 7 days would be necessary because Hokkaido is a lot larger than you think (about 32,000 square miles, which is about 8 times larger than the Big Island of Hawaii).
If you want to fly into New Chitose Airport, which is about 40 minutes from Sapporo, spend some time in Sapporo before going to another part of Japan, you would need at least 7 days of traveling to fully enjoy your trip. If you do this, there are many options on how to plan your trip depending on where you want to go after Sapporo. If you want to finish your trip off in Tokyo, you could go from Sapporo directly to Tokyo by airplane; another option is to stop off at Sendai by shinkansen to stay a night or two, and then go to Tokyo. If you want to go to Sapporo and then Osaka, you would need to take a flight from New Chitose to Osaka (Kansai Airport or Itami Airport).

All in all, Sapporo and Otaru are great places to visit to each food and go out into nature!

Recommended Destinations for Your First Trip to Japan

June 29, 2018June 29, 2018FAQ, Food and Drink, Modern Culture/Spots, Traditional Culture/Spots2 Comments

Happy Aloha Friday!!!

Planning your first trip to Japan, but where to go? We recommend going to Osaka and/or Tokyo. If you have only a short period for your vacation or if you are on a tight budget, we think going to Osaka is best for your first trip. If you have time and enough money, we think going to Osaka first, and then going to Tokyo is a good plan. In this post, we’re going to explain why Osaka and/or Tokyo are good destinations for your first trip to Japan.

Osaka

Osaka culture – In my (Chad’s) experience, locals in Osaka are really honest and genuine. Not saying that people outside of Osaka are not honest and genuine, but the people in Osaka (well, Kansai in general) are very easy to connect to because they are usually outgoing. If you go to a bar and meet a few locals, it’s easy to start a conversation. You must be thinking, “I don’t speak Japanese, so how will we communicate?” But there are people who will try to have a conversation even though they don’t have English speaking skills. It helps to speak a little Japanese, but I think making an effort is what is most important.
Great access to other areas of the Kansai Region – From Osaka, you can go to every prefecture in the Kansai Region (Kyoto, Hyogo, Nara, Wakayama, Mie, Shiga) without riding a shinkansen. In other words, you can Osaka as a hub to travel around the Kansai Region, which is rich in Traditional Japanese Culture. Historically, Kyoto was the capital of Japan for a little over 1000 years, and Nara was the first capital of Japan. So, if you want to get in touch with the roots of Japanese Culture and History, Kansai is the place to go.
Traditional and modern Japan – Osaka is a fusion of both traditional and modern Japanese culture. During the spring, you can enjoy the sakura around Osaka Castle during the day, and eat good food and drink alcohol at night around Dotonbori, Namba, or Shinsaibashi (to name a few places) at night.
Awesome grinds (food)! – Osaka has GREAT food! Okonomiyaki, kushiyaki, takoyaki, yakiniku are just a few of the super ono local foods you can each in Osaka.

Tokyo

Multicultural metropolitan – Without a doubt, Tokyo is the most multicultural city in Japan because of the sheer amount diversity in the city. If you want to eat Japanese food, of course you’ll be able to find good quality food in Tokyo. If you feel like eating great pizza, there are a lot of authentic Italian restaurants with delicious pizza. If you feel like Nepalese curry, Tokyo’s got it! You get the picture, right? You can find all kinds of food in Tokyo to satisfy your craving. Another thing is Tokyo is relatively multilingual, which means you can find English signs almost everywhere. Also, compared to other areas of Japan, a lot of people speak enough English to help you if you are lost.
Convenience – First and foremost, trains throughout Japan are on-time most of the time, but if you miss a train in Tokyo, the next train will come in 5 to 10 minutes. So, it’s not a big deal if you miss one train. Next, if you’re craving some ramen in the middle of the night, you’ll find a place to eat. Tokyo is the city-that-never-sleeps.

In conclusion:

1. Osaka-only plan: If you’re short on time and money, and want to see both traditional and modern Japan hit up Osaka. If you’re in Osaka for 5-7 days, you can check out more places than if you were in Tokyo for 5-7 days.

2. Tokyo-only plan: If you want to jump straight into one of the most populated cities in the world, and also want to be on full-gear for your entire trip, head over to Tokyo.

3. Osaka-to-Tokyo plan: If you have the time and money, and want to ease into Japan, head over to Osaka before Tokyo. So, you have to first fly into Kansai International Airport, and then book a flight out from either Narita or Haneda (we recommend Haneda).

4. Tokyo-to-Osaka plan: If you have time and money, and you want to jump into the excitement (and craziness) that is Tokyo before taking it (a little) easy, go to Tokyo and then Osaka.

Autumn/Fall ー A Great Season to Travel Japan

June 25, 2018August 22, 2018Autumn/Fall, FAQ, Food and Drink, Nature, SeasonsLeave a Comment

This time of year is a good period to start planning for a trip to Japan during Autumn/Fall. What’s good about Japan during the Fall season? We’ll talk about two things which make Fall a great season to go to Japan: 1. Fall leaves, 2. Food, 3. Climate

1. Fall Leaves/Foliage

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When the leaves start changing colors to bright yellow, red, and orange, it’s also a really comfortable time to visit Japan. The humid summer heat is gone, but the cold of winter has yet to set in.

The best time frames to check out fall leaves are:

Hokkaido: Because Hokkaido is large, in northern areas of Hokkaido, leaves will be changing color in late-September, and in southern areas of Hokkaido, leaves will be changing color in mid-October.
Tohoku (Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Yamagata, Miyagi, Fukushima): Early-October (from Aomori) to late-November (in Fukushima).
Kanto (Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa): Late-September (from the mountains of Gunma) to early-December (in Kanagawa)
Chubu (Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Yamanashi, Nagano, Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi): Late-September (from Kurobe Dam area in Toyama) to early-December (in Aichi)
Kansai/Kinki (Shiga, Mie, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Wakayama, Hyogo): Early-October (from Shiga) to early-December (in Hyogo)
Chugoku (Tottori, Okayama, Shimane, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi): Late-October (from Tottori) to early-December (in Yamaguchi)
Shikoku (Kagawa, Tokushima, Ehime, Kochi): Late-October (from the mountains in Tokushima) to early-December (Ehime)
Kyushu (Fukuoka, Oita, Miyazaki, Saga, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima): Late-October (from the mountains in Fukuoka) to early-December (in Kagoshima)
Okinawa: Leaves change colors on certain trees, but because of the climate, it is different from the rest of Japan.

Because about 70% of Japan is mountains, certain areas in a prefecture will start turning colors compared to areas in lower elevations.

2. Food

Many people say that a lot of the best foods are available during Fall because farmers harvest them before Winter comes. Here’s a short list of what is in season during Fall:

Rice
Sanma (Pacific saury; we don’t know what this is in English, but we know sanma)
Unagi (freshwater eel)
Salmon
Eggplant
Mastsutake Mushrooms
Yaki-imo (Sweet potato)
Chestnuts

3. Climate

During Fall, coming from Hawaii, we recommend:

During the day: long pants, t-shirt, jacket/sweater
At night: long pants, long-sleeve shirt, jacket/sweater

If you go around late-November to early-December, you should where a long-sleeve shirt during the day also. If you are sensitive to cold, you can always go to UNIQLO and buy some cheap clothes to keep you warm.

With all of the walking, sightseeing, shopping, eating you will do while traveling in Japan, Fall provides cool, dry weather to enjoy Japan to your heart’s content!