Mike and Ree's List for Japan

Above: we made a snowman at a vista point overlooking Lake Shikotsu.

Also check out our VLOG in Japan!

Hokkaido

Activities

1. Lake Shikotsu Park

Lake Shikotsu is a big lake in the middle of Hokkaido surrounded by a bunch of mountains and craters (so the views are incredible). We went to Lake Shikotsu in the winter during their ice festival. It was a very fun stop on the way from Sapporo to the famous onsen town Noboribetsu in the south. The ice festival had a myriad of ice structures that each had something special about it. There was one with so many pine branches frozen into the walls that it looked like the building was made of pine rather than ice, and it was was filled with the pleasant scent of pine. There was another with a wall of ice bricks with different kinds of trouts from the lake frozen into them - Mike loves to fish so he loved it, but Ree thought it was a little creepy. We weren't there at night but apparently the whole place lights up with colored lighting, which is probably pretty rad to see. There is a shop near the entrance of the park where you can warm up and find snacks like the famous Hokkaido corn and ice cream (don't take this lightly, this, not the frozen fish walls or ice slides, was Ree's favorite part of this spot). There is also a cruise in the summer. All in all this place has everything you'd need to have a wonderful day. Definitely check it out.

The pine-infused ice hall

2. Noboribetsu Onsen Town

Noboribetsu is one of the Japan's most famous onsen towns. That means it's a geothermal hotspot. In addition to the amazing selection of onsen hotels, there is also Hell Valley, a geothermal area with venting holes and bubbling mud pools with well-built and maintained walking paths. It's a beautiful town with many shops and restaurants. This is also where you can experience Japanese luxury at its best. We stayed at a very fancy Ryokan called Takinoya. Our room had its own outdoor bath with a view of the mountain in the back. You also get to enjoy Kaiseki style (prix fixe menu) meals during your stay. So here's what you'd do on a typical day in Noboribetsu: you arrive in town, go to the hotel and check in first so you can marvel at the beautiful room you booked for yourself, take a casual stroll into the steaming sulfur-y Hell Valley, come back to the hotel, change into the kimono-looking bath ropes that the hotel has prepared for you, eat an exquisite Japanese meal in the comfort of your own room (with sake pairing), take a climatic bath in the outdoor bath filled with hot spring water pumped from underground, then (or while?) Netflix and chill before you go to bed. The quintessential luxurious, zen, Japanese experience... Oh who are we kidding, it's just a huge load of indulgence.

Hell Valley with its steaming vents

3. Sapporo Morning Market Seafood Market

This is one of the two seafood markets in Sapporo. The other is Nijo Market and I believe that one is more popular. But this is the one we went to. It's a lot of fun to walk through the market in the morning and see all that's on offer - crabs, crabs, and crabs. Then come out and sit down at one of the restaurants and enjoy a extravagant breakfast of... crabs. JK you can have other seafood as well. It's a lot of fun and really great way to start your day, cuz it'll be followed by a nap after the huge meal you will no doubt have because of all the temptations (although we actually drove south to Lake Shikotsu and then Noboribetsu).

Our extravagant breakfast.

4. Jingisukan Lamb BBQ

This isn't a particular spot but a Hokkaido cuisine (the link is to the restaurant that we went to in Sapporo). It's essentially lamb BBQ with a bunch of onions, and they call it Genghis Khan (makes more sense than General Tso I guess?). We learned about this local delicacy when we were planning the trip, and we went straight for it on our first night in Japan right after we checked into our hotel when it was almost 11pm. It was an amazing welcome meal. The restaurant was steamy, smoky, lively, and full with a wait when we walked it even at the late hour. The meal was hearty and comforting, especially to a travel-worn couple who were still young enough to go out at almost midnight. Good old times.

The shape of the grill collects the lamb fat on the rim where the onions were cooked. It really is a great late night food.

5. Otaru Port City with a (Relatively) Long History

Otaru is a pretty famous city and we probably didn't spend enough time there to really add to the many good guides there are on Youtube. There are many interesting shops, restaurants, museums, and sightseeing spots to explore. Start with a casual stroll along the canal. One thing we want to mention is a Karaage (Japanese fried chicken) restaurant called Naruto. It is famous for a good reason - you'll get some burning hot, succulent, and juicy yet crunchy fried chicken, just imagine.

Ducks hanging out on the freezing canal.

Tokyo

Activities

1. Ushigoro Ginza Japanese BBQ Restaurant

The first recommendation in Toyko is a yakiniku, or Japanese BBQ, restaurant. We've had many yakiniku meals in the US and China, and many of us might be familiar with the cuisine and some of the famous restaurants like Gyu Kaku, which is very good. But Ushigoro is hands down our favorite restaurant during our visit in Japan. For less than $200 per person, one can enjoy truly amazing BBQ'd Wagyu, most of which are A5 grade. The service was friendly and down to earth, especially for a high-end restaurant like this (probably because yakiniku is supposed to be a comfortable cuisine), which is a welcome feeling given many other fancy (or not so fancy) places require advanced booking and have some stringent rules. Really great meal and awesome time at this restaurant. It will be a highlight of your trip.

You can't go wrong with literally anything on the menu.

2. Meguro River Neighborhood

Meguro River is in the beautiful Naka-meguro neighborhood. We went during the winter but during sakura season it's one of the most famous spots for an outing. It's a great spot to take a stroll and explore. We usually avoid vague things like "explore" and prefer concrete things to do. But it's appropriate here. Along the riverbanks are shops, coffee shops and restaurants, and the interesting find ratio is high enough that it's definitely worth exploring - trust us. We ended the night at a tempura kaiseki restaurant called Ten masa, which is also worth considering because you rarely find high end tempura restaurants outside of Japan (check out our NY list for one of the few in the US).

Imagine these cherry blossom trees in full bloom in the spring (or just google).

3. Mori Art Museum Art Museum + Observation Deck

Mori Art Museum is a pretty well-known museum that hosts many cool exhibitions, including exhibitions on contemporary masterpieces such as Gundam and Evangelion. It's located on the top of Mori Tower, which is pretty tall so there is an observation deck right outside of the museum. The deck has sweeping views of Tokyo and, on clear days, Mount Fuji. Mori Tower is situated in the Roppongi, an extremely affluent neighborhood of Tokyo to put it mildly. A high-end contemporary art museum in a high-end neighborhood with lots of luxury shops, restaurants, bars, cafes and bakeries, you really have all you need for a pretty bourgie day of exploring.

View of Tokyo Tower from the observation deck