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Jessica IndykJessica Indyk
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traveled in 3 countries Read more
  • Japan Sakura 2024
    Day 17–18

    Tokyo - Last Day in Japan!

    April 6 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    After some tax free shopping and packing our bags, we were headed to the river to meet Tiff for some brunch and cherry blossom viewing! It was awesome to catch up with her while we were here and get our last dose of cherry blossoms before we head to the airport!Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    Day 16

    Tokyo - Teamlabs Borderless

    April 5 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    We enjoyed exploring the different rooms and interacting with the exhibits at this digital art museum! Afterwards, we went up higher in the tower to take in the nightscape. Seeing dense lights as far as the eye can see really hammers in how big Tokyo is.Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    Day 16

    Tokyo - Ueno Park & Kappabashi

    April 5 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    The cold and rainy weather we've been having since we arrived had delayed the cherry blossoms across the country. While this has worked against us for the rest of our trip, today it's to our advantage! We were for sure going to miss them in Tokyo based on the forecasts, but they're just hitting peak bloom! This morning we walked over to Ueno Park to ogle at them.

    After breakfast, we explored some shops in Kappabashi, the kitchen district of Tokyo. We're specifically looking for knives but we're also browsing the vast selection of everything else that lines the streets.

    Then it was time for our cooking class! We learned about the different varieties of Ramen broth and started our own before moving on to gyoza. I was much better at assembling pierogi than gyoza, but despite my poor folding, our gyoza came out looking good and were delicious! We then cooked our noodles and assembled our Ramen bowls. 😋    Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    Day 15

    Kawaguchiko

    April 4 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    I woke up before sunrise and scurried down to the lake and was met with dense fog where Fuji stands. It wasn't actively raining though, so I decided to take an early stroll along the shore of the lake and just enjoy the quiet and solitude. I met up with Keanan when the fog had dissipated slightly, though not appreciably or in the direction of Fuji. We wandered along the lake shore some more - breakfast at our hostel didn't start until 9:30 and there's nothing else around or open anyway, so we have some time to kill. We are both surprised to admit that this night in a pod, in a room with 10 other people, was one of our most comfortable nights!

    After an unsatisfying hostel breakfast, we set off for a more populated shore of the lake and got some breakfast dessert at possibly the only place that was open before 11am. Very tasty red bean paste sakura thing and apple pie with lots of fresh fruits. It was getting slightly less foggy, but still nowhere close to having a view of Fuji.

    Next we went to the Itchiku Kubota Art Museum, which came highly recommended to us by 2 Australian women we met in the bar in Kanazawa. Itchiku Kubota built this museum to display his life's work, a collection of kimonos that he designed and created after rediscovering a traditional dying technique. The level of detail in the colors and textures was incredible! No photos were allowed so I attached a couple from the internet.

    Our last stop before hopping on a train to Tokyo was for some local noodles. Hoto noodles are flat udon noodles served in a miso broth. These noodles were served to us in what can only be described as a cauldron! They were incredible and we bought some too bring home to try and recreate here!

    We then took a bus to the train station to buy tickets back to Tokyo. There were no seats left unless we hung around for several more hours so we accepted standing room only tickets for our 2 hour trip into Tokyo.    Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    Day 14

    Journey to Mt Fuji

    April 3 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    More rain! Today we are traveling to the Fuji Five Lakes area and hoping to catch a glimpse of the mountain! We start with what is supposed to be a very scenic train ride through the mountains. The river we're following is a gorgeous teal color but we don't have much visibility beyond that and photos through the raindrop covered windows doesn't work so well. After several hours and transfers, we reach Fujinomiya. This is the point where we need to transfer to a bus, but we have a couple hours to explore and try the local noodle specialty. The noodles are delicious and Keanan eats all the large squid chunks that I picked out of mine.

    Next up is the Mt Fuji World Heritage Center, a relatively new museum dedicated to the volcano's seismology, history and cultural significance. The building itself is really cool - an inverted cone that reflects and mimics the shape of Mt Fuji. Once inside, you climb a spiral ramp to an observation deck with has an incredible view of the mountain in clear skies. We're just gonna have to take their word for it haha. Our favorite exhibit was the one on the most recent eruption and outlined the shocking amount of volcanic debris that fell over such a wide area in such a short amount of time. Overall this was a really cool museum and a worthwhile stop on a rainy day.

    We then hopped on a bus to Kawaguchiko. Neither of us have been a fan of the busses - in many cases they come very infrequently and we're never quite sure we're on the right one. The one we caught this time was the last of the day (at 2pm) and was thankfully the correct bus. Once in Kawaguchiko, we took another bus to our hostel on the north shore of the lake. Tonight we have pods in a hostel dorm room, which we're both a little apprehensive about. There's also apparently no places to eat here after 5 so we just order something at our hostel bar and cozy up in my pod to watch some TV. I set my alarm for sunrise, hoping the forecast will change and the mountain will make an appearance in the morning!    Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    Day 13

    Takayama

    April 2 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We said goodbye to Kanazawa this morning and took the train into the mountains to Takayama. We arrived just before noon, so our first stop was a shop selling Hida beef "sushi". Hida beef is the wagyu beef from cows in this area (Hida), and the term sushi in this case just means that it's a slice of cooked beef over rice. The beef melts in your mouth and is incredible.

    We next head down some streets with traditional edo architecture and land at the Takayama Matsuri Yatai (Festival floats exhibition hall). Here, a subset of the floats used at the famous Takayama festival are displayed. They are hundreds of years old and very intricately carved and decorated.

    We then walked along the path of temples and shrines. The architecture is different here than other places we've been, with the roofs featuring more rounded corners and having flatter shingles. There's also nice detail on the joints and still snow present off the sides of the paths.

    Next up was Hida Folk Village, an open air museum exhibiting over 30 traditional houses from the Hida region. The houses were built during the Edo Period (1603-1868) and were relocated from their original locations to create the museum in 1971. In a village-like atmosphere, the museum features buildings such as a former village head's house, logging huts, storehouses and a number of gassho-zukuri farmhouses, which are named after their steep thatched roofs resembling a pair of hands joined in prayer ("gassho"). All exhibited buildings at the Hida Folk Village are carefully preserved and open for exploration. They have unique wooden architecture and exhibit tools and utensils used in everyday life in the past. Interestingly, the buildings' indoor fireplaces are lit every morning, making this outstanding open air museum a treat not only for the eyes but also for the nose.

    For dinner, we had takeout Hida beef burgers that really hit the spot.    Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    Day 12

    Kanazawa - Day 2

    April 1 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Today starts with more soufflé pancakes! Keanan found this place in the geisha district, and the breakfast pancakes are so good that we consider coming back later for their dessert options!

    Our next stop is Kenrokuen Gardens, which is known for being one of Japan's 3 most beautiful gardens. The name Kenrokuen literally means "Garden of the six sublimities", referring to spaciousness, seclusion, artificiality, antiquity, abundant water and broad views, which according to Chinese landscape theory are the six essential attributes that make up a perfect garden. Water is diverted from a distant river by a sophisticated water system constructed in 1632 to feed Kenrokuen's various water features.

    We make a quick detour to the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Traditional Arts and Crafts. Here, we learned about some of the crafts this area is known for, including ceramics, laquerware, gold leaf, silk spinning and more.

    We wandered back through the castle park on our way to lunch and our massages. We checked out some buildings we hadn't yesterday and enjoyed the cherry blossoms, which seemed much more bloomed after only one additional day under the sunny blue skies. The foot massage also felt great after all the walking we've been doing!

    In the afternoon, we went back to the geisha district, which was much more packed with tourists at this time of day. Here we toured a traditional tea house that still hosts geisha events to this day, and went shopping for some traditional crafts to take home with us. In the end, we picked up some matcha bowls and sake cups with gold details.

    We then stopped at a bar, where Keanan tried a local gin and I tried a local sake before heading back to our ryokan. We donned our yakatas and used the traditional bath before going out to dinner. Dinner tonight was Kanazawa curry - a very dark curry which we both had with the recommended Noto pork cutlet. It made it onto both of our lists of favorite foods that we've tried here!

    Tonight is our last night in a traditional Japanese room, which Keanan is relieved to hear when I tell him. Neither of us have really been getting very good sleep on these thin and firm futon mattresses on the ground...    Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    Day 11

    Kanazawa - Day 1

    March 31 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Craving more familiar breakfast fare, we started our day at café that was opened by Seattle natives before heading out to explore the city. After enjoying our coffee and breakfast sandwiches, we walked through Kanazawa Castle Park. The cherry blossoms here were showing some signs of life and the weather was beautiful for strolling through the park and castle ruins. Kanazawa castle burnt down several times through the centuries, with the latest fire not leaving much behind. The city recently (in the 90s) began the project of reconstructing the castle from the ruins. They're using traditional techniques and materials to restore the castle to its original appearance and we felt the explanations of these things really enhanced the experience of visiting a reconstructed site.

    The next area we explored was the samurai district, which contains several former samurai houses that have been turned into small museums. The amount of English information at these museums is almost overwhelming, and we learn all about the hierarchy of samurai and what their lives were like at each of these levels. One of the houses has a beautiful zen garden that we got to enjoy for a bit. We also stop at a very inconspicuous tea house for some matcha and wagashi and enjoy being sandwiched between a zen garden and the owner's collection of traditional dolls.

    Next, we head to Omicho Market for a very late lunch at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. While Kanazawa is known for crab, neither of us are much of a fan of the raw crab sushi or the crab miso butter roll, but otherwise, everything is delicious! When you order specific things, rather than pulling them off the conveyor belt, they arrive on a tiny sushi shinkansen, which I thought was super cute.

    We then chilled at our ryokan for a bit before heading out for dinner and evening exploration. We get some tasty yakisoba and okonomiyaki for dinner and then wander the empty streets of the geisha district. We thought we'd be able to walk through the illuminated castle park, but it seems very closed, so we just walk the perimeter of it before calling it a night.    Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    Day 10

    Kyoto - Fushimi Inari & Yariganna Hunt

    March 30 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    On our way back from Arashiyama, we made a stop at Fushimi Inari Taisha, a shrine known for its thousands of torii gates lining the trail up Mt Inari, between the shrine's main buildings. This is a very popular tourist attraction in Kyoto, so it's recommended to come super early or super late if you don't want to be in a sea of people. This was our only opportunity for visiting, so we decided to give peak timing a chance. It was a zoo in the beginning, but like with lots of tourist attractions, once you head up the mountain a bit, the crowds thin out and you can get some time to yourself.

    Before we left Kyoto, we stopped at a small carpentry tool store. After seeing and trying a yari-ganna (spear plane) at the Takenaka Museum, I (Keanan) found a place to buy one to bring home. The shop itself was tiny, with barely enough room for the two of us, the two men there (who I think were father and son), and the shelves and shelves of handmade chisels, gouges, planes, marking knives, and hatchets. While Jess ran out to an atm to get more cash, I did my best to make small talk through Google translate. All of the tools in the shop were handmade on site, and being shown all the varieties of tool and how they differ from western hand tools was a real treat.    Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    1
    Day 10

    Kyoto - Arashiyama

    March 30 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    We woke up today with plans to take the Hozugawa River boat tour, but the consistent rain the last few days meant that the river was too high for the tour.

    Instead, our first stop was Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple, which is home to 1,200 mossy, stone rakan. Each was carved by visitors under the guidance of Kocho Nishimura, a Buddhist stone sculptor and monk. It's a beautiful temple, and wandering slowly and seeing the unique rakan was a great start to the day.

    We then started our walk down towards Arashiyama Park and Bamboo Forest, stopping at Adashino Nenbutsuji for our second bamboo grove.

    We were very happy for the stop at Adashino once we made it to Arashiyama, since the much larger bamboo grove there was also much busier. We focused our time at the park on enjoying the side paths and taking in the views of the river, including several beautiful splashes of cherry blossoms on the other side.

    We walked through Arashiyama's bamboo grove on our way to lunch and were able to grab a few moments away from the crowds to take in the scale of the bamboo surrounding us.

    For lunch, we had our first wagyu beef experience overlooking a small zen garden. The beef was the best either of us has ever had and made a fantastic end to an active morning.    Read more

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