Babymoon Japan

Seven days in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara with Shalomi, Matt, Joseph, and Shannon. Stamps chased, Shinkansens caught, a Glanta ring customized, countless Pocari Sweats drunk, McDonald's academically evaluated, and a lot of lessons learned the hard way.

Recurring obsessions

The stamp chase

One of the most fun, free-est things you can do in Japan is collect stamps. They are everywhere, and they become this weirdly perfect free souvenir. The Traveler's Journal (see below) was a perfect companion for this.

7-11 magic

Onigiri. Coffee that has no business being that good. More Chocorooms. A whole counter-culture of convenience that ruins every American gas station forever. Also, incredibly cheap shirts, socks, and other items you 100% shouldn't pack when going.

Pay for the extra luggage

The shopping was phenomenal. Bakeries, coffee shops, little stores, big stores, everything being sold or created felt top tier. Pay for the extra luggage on the way back. Buy. Everything. Especially coffee beans.

Note: You really, really should just pack a bag to get you through a day or two. Go to Uniqlo, 7-11, or similar and load up on local essentials. Everything is better and cheaper here.

A little Japanese goes a long way

Knowing even a little Japanese completely changed the experience for us. It was not just a small difference in convenience or politeness. It felt like we were treated almost like an inconvenience when my family was trying to order without speaking the language. At one bakery, they were borderline being bullied through the interaction: short answers, impatience, visible frustration, and the kind of energy that makes you feel like you are doing something wrong just by being there.

Then I stepped in and used the small amount of Japanese I knew, and the entire mood shifted. Suddenly they were smiling, warmer, more patient, and much more helpful. It was not because I was fluent or impressive. I was not. But even making the effort seemed to matter. It showed respect, and in return we were treated with more respect. That moment really stuck with me because it made the contrast obvious: showing up with zero Japanese can put a wall between you and the people around you, but even a basic attempt can turn the same interaction into something kind, human, and welcoming.

Fast, polite, holy bullet train

The Shinkansen is just pure train magic. You're going 285 km/h and someone is sipping a tiny coffee and the conductor bows. Fuji shows up out the right window in all of its morning glory. McDonalds, coffee from a vending machine, and train station sushi made the ride exceptional. We hit the upper tiered room that cost extra. Was definitely worth for the experience as a tourist.

The coffee is doing something

Pour-overs were a religion here. Sundays Coffee in Kyoto was one of our favorites, but honestly, every high-end shop we went to was exceptional. There's a ton of regret not coming back with more beans, so buy as many bags as you can fit. If you pick up anything from Glitch, I will buy it off you. I am also a terrible husband for how many coffee shops I took my pregnant wife to.

Customizing a ring in Kyoto

Glanta in Kyoto: a small shop, a workbench, a hammer, and a band that came home different. Nearby we also made a custom perfume and found a Porter store. The whole area was immensely walkable.

Collect the stamps

If you do one low-effort, high-reward thing in Japan, collect stamps. Not postage stamps. The ink ones sitting at train stations, museums, shops, airports, counters, and random corners of places you were already going to wander into anyway.

They are free, they are everywhere, and they turn your notebook into a little physical map of where you actually went. It also gives the trip a side quest, which is dangerous information for me specifically.

Day 1: Landing in Tokyo

Narita → Ginza

Long flight, longer walk, terminal that doesn't end. I was deeply convinced the eSIM was handled. It was not. The hotel waits at 8 PM with the warmth of people who have done this many times before.

Landed Narita around 4:45 PM local. This did not mean we would be in Tokyo for any meaningful time on Day 1. Terminal 1 was mentally tough, that specific airport tiredness where you've been awake long enough that the floor looks nice. The eSIM did not work the wayI expected, which made figuring out the route to Tokyo Station a small group project we hadn't signed up for. We definitely almost got on the wrong train to Ginza. Absolutely test this before leaving the States.

Before we left the airport, I made everyone spend an inordinate amount of time at the Traveler's Factory Airport store. Worth it. The first "Irasshaimase" walking in felt like a doorway opening. We left with journals, inserts, and a special-edition airport stamp. The stamp chasing starts here, and honestly, it became one of the best parts of the trip.

This was also the first lesson in useful Japanese. Knowing a little went a long way. The difference in experience, and how people treated us before versus after we made even a halfway-decent attempt, was not slight.

First Pocari Sweat. I won't explain, but I've been craving another hit for a decade. Got to the Hyatt Centric Ginza Tokyo close to 8:30 PM, ate exactly nothing because flight snacks had ruined us, and slept. That hotel was incredible: great aesthetic, warm staff, and the singularly best breakfast of the trip. If you're doing the math, that was over four hours between customs, the train to Tokyo, and finding the hotel.

Day 2: Bullet train to Kyoto

Tokyo Station → Shinkansen → Kyoto

Walk into Tokyo Station and out the other side at 285 km/h. Fuji on the right at exactly the right time. Kyoto by lunch.

The Shinkansen is louder online than in person. You get an extremely tidy, extremely on-time train where nobody talks above a whisper and the seats recline. We had snacks. It was a vibe.

Fuji shows up roughly forty minutes south of Tokyo and the entire car looked the same direction. There is no ironic way to see Mt. Fuji from a train window. We took the picture.

Kyoto by lunch. Different temperature, different air, different smell. Walked to Fushimi Inari the next morning super early because we had energy and the gates were practically empty. Worth it.

Also, if you see a stamp station, stop. It costs nothing, takes thirty seconds, and gives you a cool physical record of where you were. Japan is full of them, and they made the notebooks feel more precious.

Day 3: Kyoto, slow

Arashiyama → Higashiyama → Pontocho

Bamboo and the gates in the morning. Coffee brewed to the gram by lunch. Snow flurrying through the old streets in the afternoon. A day that paced itself.

Arashiyama bamboo grove early enough to almost have it to ourselves. The grove was almost alien. You tilt your head back and the green keeps going up and the sound flattens. Two minutes of that fixed a lot.

Coffee scene of the day: a tiny pour-over-only stand outside a mall. I told the extremely chill barista I could not figure out how to make a pour-over myself, and he presented the recipe he had stored on the phone: 15g beans, 240g water, 200g yield, four-stage pour. Phenomenal coffee. Embarrassingly, I do not know the shop name, but the recipe has become my daily.

Sundays Coffee in Kyoto was great too. We had this coffee-cocktail-like thing that was very nice, which is about as specific as I can be without pretending I remember the full menu. I do remember dragging my pregnant wife to an alarming number of coffee shops. Terrible husband behavior. Excellent coffee behavior.

Higashiyama in the late afternoon, snow on a slope of wooden shopfronts. Like walking through a postcard. Seriously, the number of times I've seen professional photos of japan and the street we walked down is nuts.

The bigger pattern was that bakeries, coffee shops, and basically anything being sold or created felt dialed-in. The sights are beautiful, obviously. But the everyday stuff is what made the place feel perfect.

Practical coffee advice: buy as many bags of high-end beans as you can responsibly, or irresponsibly, bring home. If you find anything from Glitch, grab it.  Please consider this a procurement request.

Day 4: Nara, and back

Kyoto → Nara → Kyoto

Train down to Nara to be not-so-politely mugged by deer. I thought it was a blast. But they are legit violent for those crackers. We also found yet another coffee shop, Rokumei. Dumb good. Brought back a bag of beans, thankfully, and some instant coffee. I yearn for more.

Back to Kyoto for izakaya, skewers, and the kind of dinner that ends because someone finally says "okay".

Nara delivers exactly what's advertised. Deer bow at you, then take your cracker.  Shalomi handled it with grace; Matt was outnumbered by a small herd within sixty seconds of buying crackers. Joseph did not take it well.

Back to Kyoto. Pokémon Center detour, because if there's a sign that says Pokémon Center, you go.

Dinner at a small izakaya we wandered into, because Japan is apparently full of great places that just happen to be in front of you when you are hungry. Chicken skewers, highballs, the kind of room where you sit at a low table and stop checking your phone.

I will always be obsessed with yakitori and demand others be so as well. There is something very correct about ordering skewer after skewer, realizing you are full, and then ordering more because the next one might be even better.

Day 5: Last morning Kyoto, train back

Kyoto → Nijo → Shinkansen → Tokyo Station

Coffee, donuts, Glanta, custom perfume, a Porter store, and a Shinkansen "home". Kyoto makes it very easy to have a perfect walking day.

Last Kyoto morning: Starbucks Reserve, thick shokupan toast, and lots of steps. Then donuts. Holy crap. More on that below.

Nijo Castle gate for the family photo: Joseph, Shannon, Andrew, Shalomi, and one bag of Traveler's Factory loot. We also customized a ring at Glanta, made a custom perfume nearby, and found a very neat Porter store. The whole area was immensely picturesque in a way Tokyo couldn't do.

I'm donut? was the single best donut place I have been to, and I have had a lot of donuts. I do not hand out that title casually. Japan's bakery scene is playing a different sport.

Shinkansen back, snacks included. McDonald's on the train is way better than it should be. Sushi tray on the way too, because we still had a few hours of Kyoto in our system and wanted to keep going.

General rule: McDonald's is always worth hitting when you are not in the U.S. Japan's was extra good. We had already developed an addiction to the little chocolate mushroom snacks, and then McDonald's had them as a McFlurry. 10/10 recommended.

Day 6: Tokyo on foot

Shibuya → Harajuku → Omotesando → Daikanyama

Hachiko (aka heartbreak central). Harajuku. Omotesando trees. A Reserve Roastery that's part theme park, part cathedral. Seirinkan pizza at the end, because Tokyo pizza is actually great.

Shibuya for the Hachiko obligatory. The intersection is a real thing, and the statue does have a small crowd around it doing the same thing we did. Worth it. Onward through Harajuku, where the manhole covers were better than they had any right to be.

Omotesando into Daikanyama. The Starbucks Reserve Roastery, say what you want about Starbucks, this building is doing something else. Copper cask roaster up the middle, four floors of wood, a tea bar that is unreasonably good.

Dinner was Seirinkan: Beatles themed, very neat staircase, and pizza good enough to make everyone stop pretending they were too tired. Loved it.

Shopping was phenomenal enough that my practical advice is simple: pay for the extra luggage on the way back. Buy. Everything. I am not normally this irresponsible in writing, but Japan made a strong case.

Day 7: Ueno, Asakusa, departure

Ueno → Asakusa → Narita

A museum morning, an Asakusa afternoon, Skytree scale-check, a night at the Hyatt Regency, and one last pass through Narita. The notebooks come home with more stamps than they started with.

Tokyo National Museum at Ueno, calmer than expected, mostly tatami and gold screens and exactly two samurai keeping watch. Shalomi posed with the red one. The red one did not pose back.

Asakusa for Senso-ji and the streets of stalls leading up to it. Soft-serve in a black charcoal cone, milk pudding flight. "Have a milk day" is my new motto. Hokkaido Milk is worth the trip.

Skytree was actually kind of neat. Definitely worth doing once. Tokyo's scale is hard to understand from the ground. From up there, it just keeps going.

The real culture shock hit on the way back through JFK, when we immediately remembered rude people, bad service, and broken stuff exist. Japan had set the bar so high that returning felt like someone turned the lights on in a Waffle House at 2 AM.