• Shalee Gherbaz
  • Shalee Gherbaz

Japan 2026!

One month in Japan doing Shalee's customised "Golden Figure 8 Loop" Japan itinerary of the central island of Japan. Leggi altro
  • Black Wagyu Yakiniku Dinner

    12 marzo, Giappone ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

    I wanted to experience Yakiniku at least once, so I booked a reservation at M.Mya three months ago to get a slot and give their platter a go. It was a great experience. The chef came and explained all the different cuts, the pairing sauces, and then cooked the first half of our meal for us so that we could learn how to use the grill.

    It was seriously delish, melt in your mouth meat. Probably the best we have ever eaten. The rib cut was especially phenomenal to me, as it was the perfect balance of fatty melt in your mouth but not completely overwhelming on the umami.

    Easily the most expensive meal we've done, but for this kind of meal it was very reasonably priced in comparison to other high end restaurants. The chef even took some snaps with us at the end of our meal. A really lovely experience to celebrate a great holiday in Japan!

    We arrived a bit early for our reservation, so we also checked out the main tourist area of Dontobori, getting a good glimpse at the hustle and bustle of the night time!
    Leggi altro

  • Parfaits!

    13 marzo, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    We have shipped our suitcases off to Tokyo, so had a bit of a later start before heading up to the Osaka castle area. The plan is to check out some second hand stores that flank the castle and park grounds, and then duck through the grounds and check out the castle on the way back. I was super hungry and we came across a parfait place, so we thought, that's fruit, why not haha! Haven't had any parfaits on this trip.

    They were super yum. I had apple and Michael had strawberry and pistachio and we shared a chocolate orange cake. We figure this will get us through until the late arvo. I also got a "white mocha", and honestly, it was the best "normal" coffee I've ever had. So tasty. Really balanced and delicate.
    Leggi altro

  • Osaka Castle Grounds

    13 marzo, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    After exploring a range of great secondhand stores in the area (will post the haul in another post), we wandered down to the Osaka Castle Complex and went for a wander.

    The castle is flanked by traditional wooden gates and a full moat, which has tourist boats circling the waterways. There are also car-trains that people can utilise to get around the park. We even found two Sakura trees in bloom right near the castle, which made for a stunning sight.Leggi altro

  • Osaka Castle

    13 marzo, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Checked out Osaka Castle. It was by far the grandest castle we have seen on our trip from a height and scale perspective. The scale was huge! We didn't bother going in (even though I had pre bought a ticket) and all the inside is modern so we didn't see the point.

    I must say, today has been, without a shadow of a doubt, the COLDEST day of our trip. It was so, so cold. I even put on my new coat I had just bought at the 2nd Street under my massive mohair wool coat and I was STILL cold. The sun did not make an appearance once, and the wind was Melbourne level foul. We couldn't help but laugh that our coldest day was in Osaka right towards the end of our trip!
    Leggi altro

  • Nipponbashi Denden Town

    13 marzo, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    We finished off our day up the road in Nipponbashi Denden Town. This is the main area in Osaka for anime and collectibles, loaded with shops with merch, figurines, cards, and gaming stuff. It's basically nerd street. Which suits us, as we are nerds ourselves.

    In terms of shopping during the day, I got a secondhand calf length pure mohair coat in mustard yellow/camel on half price, costing me $47 AUD. Given how freezing it was today, this came in super handy, and I now have two amazing coats to bring back home that are unique pieces. I also got a knit top/dress thing that was really cool and fit me like a glove for $9. Michael found a really high quality bright red Italian leather belt for $20 that he was rapt to find, given he knows how rare and difficult it is to dye leather that vibrantly and in red, given his experience in leatherwork.

    We also ducked straight down to the luggage store near our hotel and picked up our third suitcase, a lovely 20L carry on hardcase in champagne brown, costing us around $42.

    At night in Denden town, I managed to find two great scores. The first was a Team Rocket Pokemon card, and the second was a Pokemon card game mat... In the same pattern as my Serena card sleeves! And for $18! Couldn't believe it! I'll be able to use it for my new desk in my new office at work for sure!

    There were so many Pokemon card shops, and we saw some CRAZY expensive ones, including one that cost over a million yen! I also finally got to see some Ash figurines for sale... For hundreds of dollars haha! It was good to see some Pokemon figurines that were the human characters, and Serena was once again found for a good $350. Makes my $10 figurine feel that much sweeter hahaha!

    After exploring the shops, I was ravenous, so we had curry for dinner from a local kiosk style restaurant. Super yummy and really hit the spot.

    Today was supposed to be a "lazier" day, and we ended up walking over 15km (22,000 steps) hahahahaha. We finished the day with an episode of Bridgerton and then hit the hay, with our final Shinkansen train to Tokyo tomorrow morning!
    Leggi altro

  • Mt Fuji!

    14 marzo, Giappone ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Everything went smoothly for our final bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo this morning. Michael even managed to grab a few great snaps of Mt Fui from the train car door as we quickly whizzed by it! It looked super cool because it's almost looking like its been dipped in ice! Today we are simply hitting up Akihabara (Tokyo's ultimate nerd town) and then checking into our accoms in Ueno and watching some more Bridgerton!Leggi altro

  • Akihabara!

    14 marzo, Giappone ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    We have spent the afternoon gallivanting about Akihabara. This place is nuts. I have never seen so many anime figurines or maid cafes in my life. Floors upon floors upon floors of stuff. It makes your head spin a bit!

    It was so nuts that we ended up venturing over the river for lunch to this super random abandoned train station area called Maach. We ducked into the ramen restaurant, with Michael having the Charshu Ramen and me having the wonton noodles ramen. Super delish, and nice and quiet!!!

    I managed to get some My Dress Up Darling merch today, and Michael managed to get the right batteries and SD cards for his new retro cameras. They work! There's some more logistics he needs to play with, but he's rapt about it.

    And then there was the biggest score of all. But that I will reveal in the next post. Nothing will beat it. It's a WILD tale.
    Leggi altro

  • The Score of scores on our trip.

    14 marzo, Giappone ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    After lunch, I created a walking map of Akihabara for us to go and check out the Book Off and Hard Offs in the area. The plan was to walk around and visit shops that took our fancy in between.

    The Book Off was huge, and I decided to head up to the children's books and DVD section to see if I could perchance find any Pokemon XY/XYZ DVDs or books that had Serena and Ash on them. So I trawled until I found the section... And came across the absolute jackpot.

    It was a Pokemon XYZ CD/DVD box set of the soundtrack in Japanese. The music in the Pokemon anime slaps in Japanese. ESPECIALLY the Pokemon XYZ soundtrack. Not only that, but it had amazing artwork of my faves, was brand new, one of the songs included is literally a song that I reference in the fanfiction book I wrote, AND it even contained an ash-greninja Pokemon card as the centrepiece. And it was only 1900 yen (about 17 AUD or so). I was beyond rapt. "I've scored big" I texted Michael, who was waiting for me downstairs. I was as excited about this as he was about Donkey Kong. I was bouncing.

    So were wandering about, and we come across the biggest Pokemon Card store we've ever seen. It was an official one with 6 floors dealing with every single thing about the Pokemon Card marketplace. It was sick. So many cards. So I wander up a few floors, and I'm perusing and looking for cards for my collection, and whatddya know... I stumble across an ash-greninja card. All the cards here are locked up because they can get expensive. And this card was selling for 16,000 yen.

    It dawns on me. This card is sitting in my DVD box set. I look at the elevator. There's a floor for getting cards evaluated and selling them here. I already have a greninja keychain and an ash-greninja tshirt. I bought the box set for the artwork and the cd/DVD. I paid 1,900. That's nearly 10 times the price. That's a good return on investment in my opinion, because that's, like, $150AUD for a single card.

    So I text Michael and tell him I'm off to get my card appraised. I go down to the basement for the "rapid checkout appraisal and sell" and get my card out. When it's my turn, I use google translate to ask how much I can sell my card for. I have to give them my passport and fill out some form thing with all my Australian details to confirm I own the card and I'm not a business. Oki doki, too easy.

    Except, I realised... My cards in a packet. Fully sealed. New.

    One guy looks at it. Gets the next guy, so two are looking, then a third... Then a fourth. They ask me if they can slightly move the card in the packet. I'm like, yeah, sure. Then I get a number and google translate message back. "We need more time to appraise your card. Please wait."

    Oh. This just got really interesting. I text Michael to keep shopping as I might be a while because my card has got the clerk's deliberating.

    30 minutes go by. I'm finally asked to come back and the clerk turns the computer over to tell me the grade and price they will pay for my card.

    B grade. 95,000 yen.

    I nod. Calm. Chill. Yep. Buy my card please. He hands me 95,000 yen in cash, and off I go.

    So yeah. I turned a 1,900 yen purchase into a 94,100 yen profit. Which, in Aussie dollars, is around $870 in my wallet and an amazing cd/DVD set that is in perfect condition and oh so ready to be played in my car when I get home.

    That, ladies and gents, is how you end a holiday. I'm gonna treat myself and have a spa day tomorrow as Michael and I venture off our own for our last day and a half in Japan.
    Leggi altro

  • Solo Expeditions in Tokyo

    16 marzo, Giappone ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Michael and I went on separate explorations for our last two days in Japan. When we were in Vietnam, I spent a day on my own, and we really loved having the space to explore and do things on our own. So this time round we decided we would part ways during the day and reconnect later in the evening.

    We explored the BookOff and HardOff together in Ueno, then caught the train to Ikkebukero before parting ways.

    For Michael's explorations, he went on a shopping hunt across Ikkebukero and Shibuya for tech, souvenirs and other misc items. He had some great luck finding the SD card reader converter for his Coolpix camera, PLUS he found another version of it that was purple and had video function, so he bought that. He spent his evening having all you can eat meat hotpot for dinner before heading to a cocktail bar to try out a few different cocktail concoctions. Today, he went to Ueno park to check out the Sakura's before ducking over to Shinjuku for a last chance of tech hunting.

    For my adventure, I explored matcha cafes on both days, one in ikkebukero and one in Asakusa. The Ikkebukero one was ok, and I bought some biscuits and scones with it. The biscuits were great but the scones were a flop. The Asakusa one was top 3 of the trip, and I bought a mont blanc chestnut pastry to try, and it was delicious! Plus the vibe of the cafe in Asakusa was awesome, and the clerk was super friendly and we had a great chat about a heap of stuff.

    On my first day, I headed to Sunshine 60, which is a massive shopping mall just outside of Ikkebukero. I had booked a facial in this shopping mall using my ClassPass app (the app I use to book all my fitness classes in Australia) as it has some beauty services available in Tokyo. I had some time to kill, so I ended up in a lingerie shop getting a full bra fitting and education. My facial was over an hour long, and legit the best facial of my life.

    I also scored some amazing finds in my secondhand shopping hunts. I got the most wonderful sensory brown faux fur jacket, a merino wool sleeveless skivvy, and an incredible 100% cashmere brown cardigan, all for about $70AUD. Stoked!

    I went and had middle eastern for dinner, enjoying some delightful hummus and kuftas with a middle eastern rice speciality that I can't remember for the life of me. And in my final hours of my adventure, I went and did a classic karaoke session in Japan's biggest karaoke chain, and got hojita snow ice for lunch!

    Michael and I also finished off the latest season of Bridgerton together. Another great season!
    Leggi altro

  • All aboard our flight to Melbourne!

    16 marzo, Giappone ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    We have caught the train to the airport, checked in and sorted ourselves out for our flight home seamlessly. We had a last supper together before buying some snacks with the last of our coins and are on time for our flight.

    See you on the other side as another grand adventure comes to a close.
    Leggi altro

  • Home

    17 marzo, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We have arrived home safe and sound after a relatively smooth flight from Tokyo to Melbourne. The in-flight dinner and breakfast was pretty tasty, and both Michael and I managed to get between 5-6 hours of sleep. We are pretty beat though, so a few naps will probably be required today to reboot the system. Michael is back at work tomorrow, and I'm back on Thursday in my brand new office. Apparently the move went really well thanks to my preplanning before I left.

    The cats greeted us with delight this time around. Huge thanks to our friend Adam who looked after them whilst we were away for the month. Triss took a while to get her voice but was a bundle of snuggles, and Ciri actually had her tail up in happy pose and was chattering to us and giving us light rubs immediately. Still, she's delighted to be allowed back into Michaels gaming room, beelining for the joint the second we opened it up.

    We are going to do one or two more posts to summarise our reflections and thoughts over the trip. It is both great to be back in Australia, but also very sad. Japan was unforgettable, and will remain in our hearts forever.
    Leggi altro

  • Our final post: rapid fire best list

    17 marzo, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    We have completely unpacked and are now in the process of working out where our souvenirs are going to live. So whilst our trip is fresh in our minds, Michael and I sat down and jotted down some rapid fire questions on all our favourite elements of our trip to see where we aligned and where we differed.

    The figure 8 loop planning I did worked extremely well. We basically had no logistical issues or challenges whatsoever when it came to the itinerary itself. In that regard the trip was a raging success.

    SO without further adieu, here is our final post to close out a great holiday that we will treasure forever.

    The Overall Contenders

    Favourite City
    Michael: Tokyo
    Shalee: Nagasaki

    Favourite Meal
    Michael: Izakaya in Kanazawa
    Shalee: Izakaya in Kanazawa

    Favourite Beverage
    Michael: Peach Suntory Soda.
    Shalee: Ginger Ale. It hits so different in Japan and was my constant go to and a reliable staple absolutely everywhere. Was reminded of this on the plane home.

    Favourite Comfort Food
    Michael: Egg Salad Sandwich from convenience stores.
    Shalee: The beef and potato croquettes from convenience stores.

    Favourite Theme Park
    Michael: Donkey Kong Country, Universal Studios.
    Shalee: Universal Studios. No contest.

    Top 3 Scores from a secondhand score
    Michael: 3. Donkey Kong Country on Gameboy Colour. 2. The charcoal spring coat. 1. The Nikon Coolpix Cameras
    Shalee: 3. My large brown coat from the Shitakitazawa flea market. 2. My Serena figurine. 1. The XZY music CD/DVD collection set with the Pokemon Card that made me a mutzah and paid off every souvenir I purchased. Honorable mentions: my Fennekin plushie that I slept with every night, and my brown handbag that I used nearly every day and will be my staple handbag in Australia moving forward.

    Top 3 Favourite Souvenirs (new)
    Michael: 3. The three Splatoon keyring and carabinas set. 2. Uniball Zento Signature Pen. 1. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong jumpers
    Shalee: 3. My lingerie sets. 2. My capybara keychain plushie. 1. The couples photoshoot experience and full collection of images.

    Favourite Temple
    Michael: Tie between Senko-Ji Temple grounds in Arishimaya, Kyoto, and Senkoji Temple built into the cliffside in Onomichi.
    Shalee: Asakusa Temple at night.

    Favourite Castle
    Michael: Osaka Castle
    Shalee: Karatsu Castle.

    Favourite Accommodation
    Michael: Our traditional homestay in Onomichi
    Shalee: Our traditional homestay in Onomichi

    Most Magical Moment
    Michael: Witnessing the Weeping Plum Festival at Jonan-Gu, Kyoto
    Shalee: Watching Michael meet Donkey Kong.

    Best Dressed City
    Michael: Tokyo.
    Shalee: Onomichi.

    Favourite Natural Wonder
    Michael: The plum garden in Jonan-Gu, Kyoto
    Shalee: The plum garden in Jonan-Gu, very closely followed by wandering around Gokayama in the snow.

    Best Garden Complex
    Michael: Moss gardens at Senko-Ji in Kyoto
    Shalee: Kenrokuen Park in Kanazawa

    Highlights by place

    TOKYO round 1

    Coolest district
    Michael: Shinjuku
    Shalee: Kichijoji

    Favourite Natural Wonder
    Michael: Hinagi Park
    Shalee: Hinagi Park

    Best Meal
    Michael: Gyukatsu in Asakusa
    Shalee: The Ramen near the Creative Tokyo Museum

    Best Day of activities
    Michael: Saturday: Plum Blossom festival, flea market Shimokitazawa, Shibuya Crossing, Asakusa Temple.
    Shalee: Friday: Studio Ghibli day in Kichijoji

    Shalee's Final Comments/Observations
    Loved wandering the silent streets of Honjo Azumbashi in the evenings. The salt bread from the bakery near our apartment was heavenly. The Sinbad ride at DisneySea was the shining star of both parks. The train system gets easier with time and practice.

    NAGANO
    Favourite Natural Wonder
    Michael: Mt Togakushi
    Shalee: Snow Monkey Park

    Best Meal
    Michael: The Soba we had in the mountains
    Shalee: The Soba we had in the mountains

    Shalee's Final Comments/Observations
    Shalee: A much larger city than expected. Seeing the snow was amazing and magical. Dai was a fantastic guide and well worth the money. Nagano had a quiet magic to it, and will hold a piece of my heart forever.

    KANAZAWA
    Favourite Natural Wonder
    Michael: The snow in Gokayama
    Shalee: Driving through the mountainsides between Gokayama and Shirakawa-Go.

    Best Meal
    Michael: the Izakaya
    Shalee: the Izakaya

    Best Day
    Michael: Stationary shopping, Old Samurai Town and Museum, Anime and Tech shopping, amazing Izakaya for dinner
    Shalee: The tour day through Inami/Gokayama/Shirakawa Go

    Shalee's Final Comments/Observations
    Loved the interactions we had with oldies in this city. It was an easy, walkable city that had fantastic secondhand stores, food, gardens and vibes.

    KYOTO
    Favourite Natural Wonder
    Michael: Jonan-Gu Weeping Plum Festival,
    Shalee: Jonan-Gu Weeping Plum Festival, but the Senko-Ji temple grounds was also divine.

    Best Meal
    Michael: Pizza from the tiny Italian place
    Shalee: The Indian we had for dinner after Fushimi Inari-Taisha

    Best Day
    Michael: Plum Festival/Nintendo Museum/Fushimi Inari-Taisha
    Shalee: Plum Festival/Nintendo Museum/Fushimi Inari-Taisha

    Shalee's Final Comments/Observations
    Shalee: The only city that didn't really feel like a city. It had great sites to visit, but as a city and a vibe, I wouldn't feel the need to return, as many of the traditional elements in Kyoto that attract people we experienced in Nagano and Kanazawa. The worst city in terms of food (still good but a lot pricier)

    NAGASAKI
    Favourite Landmark/Activity
    Michael: The Million Dollar View at night on Mt Inasa.
    Shalee: The Million Dollar View at night on Mt Inasa.

    Best Meal
    Michael: Turkish Rice
    Shalee: Breakfast Sweet treats on the way to Glover Gardens

    Shalee's Final Comments/Observations
    I wish we had more time here. This city had immense vibe. Loved the tram system, the city essence, the quiet pockets, and wandering around the city at night. It had some of the quirkiest and coolest shops. The Ghibli shop and the children's book museum and shop being highlights.

    HUIS TEN BOSCH
    Favourite Moment
    Michael: The mirror maze labyrinth.
    Shalee: Witnessing the incredible night illuminations.

    Shalee's Final Comments/Observations
    So worth travelling out to. What made this park great was that it wasn't just pretty on the surface. There were actual things to do and explore.

    FUKUOKA
    Favourite Natural Wonder
    Michael: Views of the ocean around Karatsu.
    Shalee: Ohari Park.

    Best Meal
    Michael: The Set meals in Kawabata Shopping Arcade.
    Shalee: Every meal here slapped, but the best one for taste was the ramen and rice set I had, and the coolest dining experience was the yatai.

    Best Day
    Michael: Fukuoka City Day
    Shalee: The Karatsu Day trip

    Shalee's Final Comments/Observations
    A very youthful city that most reminded me of the best parts of Melbourne mixed in with the best parts of city life in Japan. Good energy, easy public transport, walkable, with an excellent food and night culture.

    ONOMICHI
    Favourite Natural Wonder
    Michael: the views from the top of the cablecar
    Shalee: Sakura by the seaside

    Tastiest food item
    Michael: the beef stew at the izakaya
    Shalee: the beef stew at the izakaya

    Best Moment
    Michael: the cat cafe.
    Shalee: it's a tie between drinking green tea and reading in the evening in our accommodations with the amazing view, and the entertainment and relaxation of the cat cafe.

    Shalee's Final Comments/Observations
    A gorgeous place to visit with a great vibe, awesome views, and a deep sense of peace and calm. People were the most expressive in their dressing here, making it the most interesting and fashionable to me.

    OSAKA
    Coolest Area
    Michael: Dontobori
    Shalee: Nipponbashi

    Best Meal
    Michael: The Black Wagyu Experience
    Shalee: The Black Wagyu Experience

    Best Day
    Michael: Universal Studios
    Shalee: Universal Studios

    Shalee's Final Comments/Observations
    Much cooler and more enjoyable than anticipated. Super easy to navigate public transport. In saying that, everything closes way earlier than I anticipated.

    TOKYO ROUND 2

    Best Meal
    Michael: HotPot
    Shalee: Middle Eastern

    Best Moment
    Michael: Shalee flipping her Pokemon card
    Shalee: Japanese Karaoke

    Best Bargain Buy
    Michael: Netbook Laptop for $20 (doesn't turn on but a good project to tinker with)
    Shalee: My DVD set with the golden ticket Pokemon card

    Shalee's Final Comments/Observations
    Ueno is a great central location to stay during our final days in Japan, but it's super touristy, so it was ideal as a base but not to get a true vibe of the city. Yet this part of the trip will always have a magic and a place in my heart and I ventured out on my own and explored the city.

    The final question that must be established.

    Would we wish to return to Japan for another holiday in the future?
    Michael: Absolutely.
    Shalee: Ten thousand times yes.

    Shalee's bonus thoughts.

    What does Japan do better than Australia, and what will you miss?

    1. Bidets, and incredible public toilets across the board. Privacy music is a lifchanger. As is the bidet elements themselves. I immediately felt sad back on an Australian toilet, knowing i didn't have a hands free cleaner at my disposal anymore. Also, most public bathrooms include coat rack attachments to the doors and walls. Which is ingenious. I used them constantly to hang up my coat and bags instead of dumping them on the floor.
    2. Japanese Showers/bathrooms. The Japanese seperate their shower/baths into a room instead of attaching them to the bathroom where the sink and toilet are. They are fabulous. I had a baby weep showering today in my terrible signature Aussie corner box shower. Making it a room gives you so much space.
    3. Ramen. So many types. Basically, no two bowls taste the same.
    4. BookOffs. Loved how their secondhand stores felt like a mix of the salvos and a cash converters.
    5. Taxi's that have automated doors. You don't ever have to open or close a taxi door in Japanm it's so nice.
    6. Convenience stores that slap because they have so much good hot food. The 7/11s, familyMarts, Lawsons... Fami chickens and yummy croquettes... And Curry bread. Most of all, we will miss curry bread!

    Things that Australia does better and Japan could look to us for inspiration.

    1. Milk/dairy. The plain milk in Japan is ick. They do milky drinks just fine, but trying to get a bottle of milk for hot drinks... A headache. Aussie milk is so good in comparison. Also their vanilla ice cream is blaaaand.
    2. Automated rubbish bins. There are like, hardly any bins in public places in Japan. It's such a headache. They should utilise tech to bring in bins.
    3. Hand towels or hand dryers in bathrooms. They aren't in, like, 95% of bathrooms. I have no idea why. But they need them hahaha.
    4. Potato chips. The Japanese could benefit from the introduction of salt and vinegar chips.
    Leggi altro

    Fine del viaggio
    17 marzo 2026