Tokyo Eats - In the neighborhood Part V

The last of the neighborhood food photos, though not the last of the Tokyo Eats series as I'm still sorting through my photos.

Check out this beauty I spotted in a tunnel in my old neighborhood. The left wing tip had a small tear :(

Kinkatsu right outside of Kamiyacho Station serves up tantan men (aka dandan noodles) and other, erhhh, Japan-ized Taiwanese noodle soups. We walk by this place all the time but it was always crowded so we never went in. Then one night when we were bored with everything else and the place seemed vacant enough, we tried their tantan men. Really good, but holy hell it was salty. I thought I already eat too much salt (and I do!) but these noodles tasted like a block of salt! We never went back.

Katsuragi no Sato, Takayama, Gifu, Part III

Last installment of Katsuragi no Sato in Takayama, Gifu.

After the lovely breakfast, we had a little bit of time to visit each other's room before checking out. Here's C. and A.'s room. They were trying to take a photo of me and hubby but kept making us laugh our heads off ^.^

Katsuragi no Sato, Takayama, Gifu, Part II

It was dinner time at Katsuragi no Sato, and C. and A. weren't there. So I went out and stood in the hallway to wait, and took a few photos while at it. I had permission from the grill-chef here to take a photo of him leaning over the floor hearth to grill onigiris for the dining guests. (Side note: if you're traveling in Japan and want to snap a picture of a local, it's best to ask for permission first or risk getting frowned at or even scolded, depends on the person. I was told it's super offensive to take pictures of strangers without their consent.)

Katsuragi no Sato, Takayama, Gifu

After the weekend in Kamakura, hubby and I met up with C. and A. at Tokyo Station where the four of us took the shinkansen to Gifu for a stay at an onsen ryokan in Takayama. Neither of them had been an onsen before, and as expected both were extremely shy about the inevitable nudity. So a couple of months prior to their arrival, we did some research for a top notch onsen ryokan with private in-room baths, which makes even more sense in this particular case given it was C. and A.'s honeymoon.

From the same book where we learned of Iwanoyu at Seni Onsen, we found Katsuragi no Sato, which was a good 1 hour and 20 minutes scenic bus ride way up in the mountain. Look at this view. Wow.

Too bad I then proceeded to fall asleep. I vowed to stay awake on the way down, and I was able to catch some good photos, but most of the awesome views turned out to be on the other side of the road on the way up =.="

Anyway, the ryokan was nice and large but nowhere near the size of Iwanoyu. They only have ten rooms, and of those ten rooms only two come with a private open-air bath in the room's backyard. Luckily for us, we called far enough ahead that those two rooms were still available. Of course we snatched up both, one for ourselves and the other for C. and A. Still, we had no idea who got which room, how much each room, or even how big. I guess that's just how Japan works, heavily fueled by and dependent on trust. 

The ryokan's brochure that I kept.

Iwanoyu at Seni Onsen, Suzaka, Nagano, Part IV

Last of the Iwanoyu at Seni Onsen saga. Phew. Breakfast was served from 7:30-9am, and checkout time was 12pm. We expected another gigantic meal and opted for 9am, as late as possible being still full from dinner the night before.

We both breathed a collective relief when we saw our breakfast, thinking, wow, okay, we can definitely do this!

Iwanoyu at Seni Onsen, Suzaka, Nagano, Part III

Just as we left Iwanoyu at Seni Onsen's private bath 5, it was time for dinner. Dinner was served anytime between 6-7:30, but it'd be a long course dinner that would leave us stuffed to our ears. So we showed up at 6, just so we could take our time and can still visit the baths afterwards.

Iwanoyu at Seni Onsen, Suzaka, Nagano, Part II

More on Iwanoyu at Seni Onsen, or more specifically, their 5 private baths. Not wanting to lose daylight, hubby and I did a walk-through and took pictures, with plans to come back later and take our time to soak and relax.

Apparently everyone else had the same idea (ha!), so we ended up hanging out and chilling while waiting for the private baths to open up. I suppose this is the reason the ryokan has so many resting spots and small libraries.

Iwanoyu at Seni Onsen, Suzaka, Nagano

Hubby and I dated for years before we got engaged. When we did, we spent our engagement on opposite sides of the planet. He was finishing up his master's, and I was a lost JET in the Japanese inaka. We signed our marriage certificate on his graduation day, had a backyard bbq with just our immediate families, and called it a day. No wedding. No honeymoon. No regrets. We've been traveling together everywhere since.


This past May was our 10 years wedding anniversary, and we finally decided we would do something special. We both love onsens and ryokans, and so hubby bought a book detailing 60 of the best onsen ryokans all over Japan. Now let's be clear: there are hundreds, if not thousands of onsen ryokans all over Japan. These 60 onsen ryokans are special because their baths are of natural sulfur hot spring water, and of course because of excellent service, food, and facility. 

We knew we didn't want to go too far out to Hokkaido or Kyushu. After having picked out a dozen contenders in the nearby Yamanashi, Nagano, etc., we went with Iwanoyu (岩の湯) at Seni Onsen (仙仁温泉, not sure if this is an area or town name), in the city of Suzaka, Nagano.

We liked the photos we saw in the book. We liked that the ryokan has 5 private baths at no extra charge (if it's open, you go in, lock the door, and it's yours for however long you want!), in addition to the usual separated men and women baths, each with indoor and outdoor pools. The extra icing is a famous large "cave bath" for adventurers who like to explore. We liked that the kaiseki meal was described as one of the best around. It was really the food that sold me, surprise, surprise ^.^

Here's the wagashi and matcha we were served upon checking in.

Konansou Hotel, Fuji Kawaguchiko

Over the holidays when my family visited, we decided to bring my parents to a ryokan, because it's quite the "Japanese" experience. There are so, so, so many choices, of course, but my sister had heard of one that was good, Konansou, in the town of Fujikawaguchiko of Yamanashi prefecture.

This is a ryokan-hotel, with mostly tatami rooms and a choice of Western beds for those who prefer that over the futons on the floor. The main draw is the kaiseki dinner and the rooftop foot-bath with view of Fuji-san. We went all out and upgraded our meals too, because how often will my parents and siblings get together in a country to visit me?

Tokyo Eats - In the neighborhood (Picture heavy!)

Three months into our Tokyo stay and I'm finally posting about our neighborhood. It's very quiet around here, for which I'm thankful. We made a conscious decision to stay away from the boisterous and the lively after all. The only drawback is that most restaurants close at 8pm, the lights go out shortly after, and the small family-run shops and even parts of the subway station close over the weekends. We can always hop on the train if we want to go play, or walk, or if we're desperate enough, take a taxi, so I'm not complaining.

The first thing that jumps out at us in our neighborhood is Tokyo Tower.

Day Trip to Beitou, Taipei (北投)

While my sister was here visiting, hubby's Japanese colleague A-san also dropped in for a few days. Of course that gives us the most perfect excuse to explore Beitou's famous onsens, so we took off on a cool and rainy afternoon when the weather was just right to be soaking in a hot bath.

The train ride to Beitou is pretty straight forward. You get on MRT Red Line and get off at Beitou Station, then take another special touristy train to Xinbeitou Station ^.^

Manyo Club Part II

Hubby just completed a draft of his dissertation, and to celebrate I took him back to Manyo Club for some much need relaxation. School was done for me as of late March, and I have been working a lot too (hence the lack of daily posts, sorry!), telecommuting from home. That makes two cave-people out of us, well, more like a caveman and a vampire as I usually stay up well into the morning. So it was due time to chill out in a hot bath and come back to civilized society ^.^

To be honest, I don't like going to the onsen by myself. If you have ever been to one in Japan, you will know that it's infinitely more fun to go with at least one other female relative or friend. Why? Because onsens in Japan are communal --separated by sex-- but yes, everyone soaks in the same super duper hot spring water bath(s). Completely naked. You must shower and wash up first, but swimsuits and towels are generally not allowed into the baths as coverups.

Ayasa Hotel and Yamaguchi Soba, Nikko

On my previous Takimibashi Suspension Bridge post, I mentioned that hubby, my sister and I had a difficult time navigating Kinugawa Onsen. From all the information source we had, it was never clear to any of us that Kinugawa Onsen is an onsen town and not a specific onsen. Particularly the foreign language pamphlets and brochure, they all have beautiful pictures of these outdoor baths along with the name Kinugawa Onsen or Kawaji Onsen (yet another onsen town in the vicinity), but never a specific name of any hotel/ryokan/onsen where we could find the baths pictured.

Getting off the train at Kinugawa Koen Station, with the map outside we finally realized we were in the Kinugawa Onsen town. To make sure our understanding were correct hubby picked up a different brochure, this time in Chinese, and it was clear as day to us in that version that Kinugawa Onsen is a town! Uhh...they couldn't put together a clearer, at least less vague, brochure in English but they could in Chinese?!? Har? I was so incredulous I had to google again to get to this Kinugawa WikiTravel page when I got back to our hostel, Sumica Guesthouse, later that night.

Ayasa Hotel - theck out their official website and read Ayasa's reviews on TripAdvisor.

Manyo Club

About 2-3 weeks after Golden Week my sister came to visit me for a weekend and we spent a whole day together at the Manyo Club Yokohama, a 8-floor onsen spa club that trucks in its natural hot spring water from Atami, Shizuoka daily!

We've been trying to find an onsen facility locally here at Yokohama but weren't successful. Hubby did overhear his classmates talk about a bathhouse (sento) nearby but when he finally inquired, the classmates replied they only heard rumors and had never been themselves. So we were left to our own device to search for an interesting place to bring my sister when she visits. Thank goodness for the Yokohama City sightseeing guide on the city's official website (in English too, yay!), where I spotted Manyo Club further down the list. With details and pictures on Manyo Club's official website and more information from this Japanican.com review, all 3 of us were totally sold on the place. A foot bath on the building's roof with a 360 degree view of Yokohama? Yes, please!!!

Hana no Yu, Fujinomiya, Shizuoka

While hubby and I were in Shizuoka, my sister also took us to her local onsen, Hana no Yu, located in the city of Fujinomiya, on the southern side of Mount Fuji. As soon as we got off the train, we were greeted with this view of the mountain ^.^ And it was a cloudy day. Imagine a nicer clearer sky!

Oedo Onsen Monogatari, Odaiba, Tokyo (Picture Heavy!)

Our next destination was Oedo Onsen, an Edo-themed onsen (though more like sento, a bath house, since none of the baths have actual natural hot spring water). This place was one of the highlights of our time together with my sister and brother, and hubby and I would definitely take our family and friends here again. We all had a such fantastic and relaxing time there, even the train ride there and back was spectacular!

Me walking along the fake moat at the entrance of Oedo Onsen.