The 23 days that I spent in Japan was absolutely amazing; one that I will always remember for years to come. I got back into Toronto about 2 weeks ago, and slowly working on my blog posts about my vacation. I started my itinerary about one month prior to my trip and I am happy to say that I managed to complete at least 85% of the things that were on the list.

I was talking to a few friends of mine who are interested in going to the Japan in the future, and they wanted to see my itinerary and planning. So I have decided to post up a small guide for anyone who is interested as well, and hope that it will somewhat help in their planning (coming soon)!!

Tues, Dec 10, 2013 (Day #1)

My boyfriend and I landed at Narita International Airport (NRT) on December 10, 2013 around 3:30 pm. Going through customs and baggage claim didn't take as long as I thought; about 30 minutes or so. However, we were both exhausted from our 13.5 hour flight, and was pretty much starving. So we decided to go to the food court located on the 5th floor of the airport with a fellow passenger whom we were seated next to on the plane.

Since we were in Japan and will be eating a lot of Japanese food in the days to come. I decided to order some pad thai at a place called Jai Thai located on the 5th floor (terminal 1). The shrimp pad thai was ¥1000 and the glass bottle of coke was ¥250. The noodles were decent except that the pad thai dish wasn't spicy at all, even though there was a pepper sign beside the item on the menu.


We finished our meal and went upstairs to catch the complimentary shuttle bus to our hotel, Mercure Narita Hotel. We quickly checked into the hotel, took a shower, and then went straight to bed due to our exhaustive state.

Wed, Dec 11, 2013 (Day #2)

Bayashi Ramen (lunch)

I was really surprised that I didn't suffer from jet lag after we landed as I was able to wake up at 10 am the next morning.

So anyways, we woke up around 10 am and got ready to explore the downtown area of Narita. The first thing that was on my list to explore was the shopping street, Omotesando. Luckily, it was only a 5-10 minutes walk from our hotel. We started walking towards it when we came across a small ramen shop called Bayashi Ramen.


The menu had a small selection of ramen, fried rice dishes, appetizers, and drinks, and all are reasonably priced too. Their customers consist of both locals and tourists, so I was very glad that they were able to provide an English menu.

I ordered fried rice with chicken and small salad (¥800) and a side order of deep-fried gyoza (¥420). I really enjoyed the fried rice but some pieces of the gyoza were slightly burnt on the bottom. Overall, it was a very filling meal and a good way to start the day.

red chili pepper soup noodle topped with sliced pork (¥980)

Address: 533-9, Hanazakicho, Narita city
Hours: 11:00 am to 8:30 pm
Transit: A 5-10 minutes walk from Keisei Narita Station
Payments: Cash only.

Omotesando

The Omotesando is a pathway between JR Narita Station and Naritasan Shinshoji Temple. It is a shopping street full of vendors and restaurants, and they normally open until 5:00 pm. We went into the nearest souvenir shop, and bought a couple of things for family and friends. Most of the key chains and charms were on par with the prices found at Narita Airport which were between ¥350 to ¥600 each item.

The mascot for the city of Narita is an airplane crossed with an eel named Unari-kun. His name is inspired by both the Narita International Airport and Unagi (grilled eel) which is a local food here. There are several souvenirs available with the mascot imprinted on them.

Compared to the Omotesando that I have visited in other cities; I found this one to be rather quiet. We explored the area around mid morning to afternoon so I am assuming that people were working or attending school; hence why the area wasn't crowded at all. Tokyo wasn't like that this at all; it was crazy packed at all hours of the day and night, but I'll blog more about that later on.

Naritasan Shinshō-ji Temple

 Naritasan Shinshō-ji Temple is a large Buddhist temple founded in the mid-10th century and dedicated to Fudomyo-o. It is located a short walk from the Omotesando street in Narita, Japan. The temple grounds are free to explore, and it was a spectacular view to me. I was amazed at the structural design of the three-storied pagoda. If you happen to be in Narita, and have some free time, then this is a great temple to check out. 

Address: 1 Narita, Narita-shi, Chiba
Hours: 24/7
Fee: Free 
Transit: It is 15 a minute walk from JR Narita Station or Keiseinarita Station.

 The Sōmon entrance at the front of Naritasan Shinshō-ji Temple.

 Naritasan Shinshō-ji Temple (Great Main Hall).

Three-storied pagoda.

Shotoku Taishi Hall.

AEON Narita Shopping Center

Aeon Mall is a large shopping mall located in the heart of Narita; it boasts over 160 shops. If you want to drop by the mall from the airport, there are direct shuttle buses that takes you straight to Aeon Mall.

Address: 24, Wing Tsuchiya, Narita, Chiba. 286-0029, Japan
Hours: 9 am to 10 pm
Transit: Take the train to Keisei Narita Station, and go outside to board a pink colored Aeon Mall bus that depart every 10-2 minutes. The ride costs ¥200 per person.

Saizeriya

Since we were already at the Aeon Narita Mall; we decided to stop by Saizeriya for dinner, and then head back to the hotel to rest. Saizeriya is a chain Italian restaurant with multiple locations throughout Japan. They specialize in providing Italian cuisine for the family. The prices are amazing for its value and the food was really good for a chain restaurant. I was very surprised that they had a separate non-smoking and smoking areas, as there is no smoking indoors allowed in Canada. This turned out to be a very common thing in Japan, and smoking in restaurants is more than acceptable.

 Note: I just got back earlier this week from an amazing 23 days trip in Japan. I will be blogging in details about Japan so please bare with me as there's a lot of things to blog about. I'll also be creating a Japan trip guide, along with blogging about the restaurants that I went to. It won't necessarily be in order but the entire itinerary will be posted up eventually.

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It was an incredibly long journey getting from Hiroshima to Nagoya. We got up around 7 am and got ready for the day. We went downstairs to the lobby around 8 am, and asked one of the hotel staff to call us a taxi. The taxi quickly got us to JR Hiroshima Station and only cost us $10 CAD. It was completely worth it as we would have been late for the JR train had we taken public transportation.


The JR Rail Pass was valid for this trip, so we went directly downstairs to track #14, and got on the Shinkansen Sakura which took us to Himeji Station. From Himeji Station, we transferred onto the Shinkansen Hikari, which went straight to Nagoya. The duration of the trip took 163 minutes which is a long time to be on board of a train.



It is highly recommended that you buy the tickets to view Satsuki and Mei's House beforehand, as only a limited amount of tickets are sold at the location. You can buy the tickets at any Lawson (a convenience store chain in Japan) for a mere ¥500. I find it amusing that the trip getting to the house costs substantially more than the entrance ticket itself.



Anyways, we booked for the 12:30 pm showing. However, by the time that we reached the Ai - World Fair Memorial Park; it was already 1 pm. Ohhh nooooo, we had missed it =( 

I was pretty devastated as it took us more than 3 hours to get to Nagoya, and we wouldn't be able to join the tour. Fortunately the two ladies at the front desk were very friendly, and they allowed us in despite out time has passed. I am very grateful to the both of them because this one of the many places that I had really anticipated on seeing.


Sat, Dec 28, 2013 (Day #19)

Satsuki and Mei's House [Expo 2005 Aichi Japan]


My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 animated production written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It's a childhood favorite of many people and I have seen many shops dedicated to selling Totoro merchandise while in Japan.

I never grew up watching My Neighbor Totoro, and just watched it for the first time about four years ago. Since then, I have watched it three times. I can see why people still enjoy this film even as they grow older; it's such a whimsical tale.


Satsuki and Mei’s House is located in the middle of a park that was used for the grounds of the Expo 2005 Aichi Japan. In order to get to the house, one  needs to get to Nagoya Station, and then take the Higashiyama Line (Nagoya City Subway) to Fujigaoka Station (¥290, 30 min). From Fujigaoka Station; transfer onto the Linimo monorail and get off at Aichikyūhaku-kinen-kōen Station. The Linimo will cost ¥340 each person and it's a 15 minute ride.

My stuffed Chu Totoro plushie enjoying his ride on the Nagoya's Linimo =)

Ai - World Fair Memorial Park.


 Visitors were que into two lines to get into Satsuki and Mei's House; A and B.

 The house is an exact replica of the 1950's Showa-era house from the popular animated film. It's amazing how detailed the house really is; from the rotten pillar, the pink colored roof, the bucket with the hole, the back of the home, and down to the father's western-styled study room.



I screen-capped this scene from the animated movie, My Neighbor Totoro.

Pictures were not permitted inside of the house, but you can take all the pictures that you want standing from the outside.

Chu Totoro posing with the rotten pillar; the same one where Satsuki and Mei were seen laughing around in the film.

I screen-capped this scene from the animated movie, My Neighbor Totoro.

The details of the 1950's Showa-era house was amazing!

Chu Totoro posing with Satsuki and Mei's father's sandals. Isn't he so fat and cute? The bf got him for me when we were in Kobe, Japan.


Chu Totoro sitting on the two girls' father's chair.

The side of the house.


The backyard and the bucket with the hole underneath is in there as well.



A wonderful trip!

Richmond Station is an upscale farm-to-table restaurant offering Canadian dishes using fresh ingredients. It is helmed by the winner of Top Chef Canada (Season 2), Chef Carl Heinrich, who opened the restaurant in late 2012. 

As you walk into the restaurant; there is a chalkboard to the left displaying the specials for the night. The specials for that Tuesday were Honey Glazed Duck Breast $$27) and Braised Rabbit Pappardelle ($25).

The restaurant was simply decorated with wine bottles to the side of the bar; with wooden accent furnishing. There are two floors available for dining which I will mention a little later in the blog.

For those who aren't too hungry; there is also a bar at the front of the restaurant. Unfortunately, I don't drink alcohol (and know nothing about it), so I can't comment on the available wine choices.

The menu is a simple one-pager, and categorized under share, appetizers, and mains. They also provide customers with a wine list.

The restaurant was modern, and simply decorated with wooden accent furnishing and a high ceiling. There are two dining areas; one in the front and as you walk up the steps, there is another dining area in the back. We were seated in the back area which I enjoyed, as the space had a view of the open kitchen.

We started off with an order of 6 pieces of oysters on the half shell ($3.50 a piece) [house condiments, horseradish, lemon]. The oysters were absolutely fresh  and the provided condiments added extra spices to them. 

  

The scallion polenta fries ($8) were served on a rectangular serving board glazed with truffle aioli, Asiago cheese, and chives. I heard a lot of great reviews from friends so I had to order it to see for myself. I loved it as the polenta fries had a very crispy exterior, yet really soft on the inside. I highly recommend getting this this as a starter.

For my main course, I opted for the Station Burger ($20). I would have to say that the quality of the burger was excellent. The braised short rib was served medium rare on topped of a fresh milk bun, and was really juicy. There was a lot of flavor in the burger; thanks to the beet chutney. Additionally, the burger was dressed with lettuce, lettuce, beet chutney, and aged cheddar which, and served with a side of rosemary fries. The accompanied fries were pretty decent, but a couple of pieces were really hard.

I tasted a bit of the chili & fennel sausage pasta $23) and liked it as well. The pasta is hand made orecchiette, and contains toscano cheese, fennel, pickled peppers, and basil. There was also a good amount of sausages in the dish which is always nice. 

A friend and I went shopping at Eaton's Center, and decided to grab a quick bite at Spring Rolls. We opted for their lunch AYCE as there was an assortment of items on the menu. It's not the best AYCE but it's adequate enough for a quick and casual lunch. Spring Rolls is a well known pan-Asian franchise as they have several locations across Toronto, and one in Mississauga.

You can either order off their menu (à la carte) or go for their AYCE if you want a wider selection of dishes. The AYCE menu is priced at $14.99 (lunch), $22.99 (weekday/dinner) or $24.99 (Fri-Sun/dinner).

The following pictures are only of the items that I personally ordered and ate.

The chicken tom yum soup had a decent sour taste, but there were very few pieces of chicken in the soup.

The seaweed salad was pretty good.

The beef teriyaki was a Westernized version of the dish, and lacked flavor.

 The pad thai had an unnatural red tint to it, which was probably due to the large amount of ketchup that was used. I also ordered it spicy but they gave me one that was very sweet.

The spring rolls was enjoyable as it was both cripsy and hot on the inside.

The menu does have a fairly large selection of rolls, hand rolls, and sushi for lunch. A lot of people have complained online that the fish isn't of the high quality. All I can say is this should be expected as it's an AYCE offering pan-Asian/westernized dishes, and they don't specialize in sushi. Due to this, I found that the fish to rice ratio was very imbalanced. There was a lot of a rice tightly packed in the rolls compared to the amount of fish that you get.The sushi itself is edible but if I were to be craving sushi, then this place wouldn't be on the top of my list.

 Even though the food was either a hit or a miss; I did like the service that we got. My friend and I were quickly seated, and our waitress was friendly, patient, and quick to assist us throughout our lunch.

RATINGS:

Quality of Food: 3/5

Service: 4.3/5

Overall Dining Experience: 3/5

Price: $$ || Online Menu

Address: 40 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M7A2C7