Last time I went back to Japan in the spring time was about 5 years ago when my son was really small. We were really excited to go back in spring again hoping to catch sakura (cherry blossom) blooming while we visit.
After cold winters in Japan, the Japanese look forward to every sign of spring. We have a special fascination toward sakura as they only bloom for several days in a year and we’re lucky if they even last one week. Spring weather is very unpredictable so strong wind or rain could shorten the time of flower viewing. It would be very meaningful for us to see sakura blooming as it’s usually hit or miss when visiting Japan in the spring. This year it was a particularly cold winter in Japan that sakura didn’t start blooming yet even if April had arrived. When we first arrived in Tokyo area, sakura has just started to bloom.
After 10+ hours of flight from San Francisco to Narita (Tokyo), I was home. I lived in Japan until I was 20, so I still consider Japan as my home. The next morning after we arrived, we decided to go to our nearest subway station, which is about 10-minute walk from my home.
As you see from our clothes, it was still cold, much colder than San Francisco. By the way, I usually don’t show my kids pictures on my blog, but I really don’t have many pictures that do not include my kids… so my husband and I have decided to share some pictures of my family. That’s my son who will be 6 next month and my daughter just turned 4 this month.
Here, we have a subway station behind us, and there are a department store and shopping mall on the left. Usually all the office buildings and restaurants are very nearby stations as well. Sometimes the department stores are built directly on top of the stations.
In our neighborhood, we have all kinds of restaurants including my husband’s favorite Yakitori restaurant that we always go to. Not to mention, there is ToysRUs where my kids go crazy for Japanese toys, Starbucks to try out special drinks only available in Japan, Mister Donuts (my husband’s favorite junk food store), Baskin Robins…
Until kids were born, I’ve never realized how convenient my neighborhood was for the family life. I used to go to downtown Yokohama or Tokyo for shopping or meeting with friends. But after having kids, life is pretty comfortable around here. There is no need for us to get on a train and get squashed by the crowd. Not to mention, super crowded city (Yokohama has 3.6 million people) could be quite scary for kids who didn’t grow up in this crowded country. My kids are not used to navigating in the crowd and it probably doesn’t enter their mind that there are millions of people around them and they could be easily lost in the crowds.
Japanese neighborhoods are typically built around the stations, not around the highways like the US. A lot of signs you see for houses on sell or any advertisement always refers to the walking time to the nearest station. Around stations, they are usually surrounded by shopping areas and then residential areas. Below is Japan Railway (JR) map around Tokyo/Yokohama area. Yes, this is just around Tokyo area…
(click here to see details)
Back to my neighborhood, one morning after we check out cool Japanese toys in ToysRUs, we stopped by a Tonkatsu restaurant inside the shopping mall that my husband always needs to go every time we visit. I can make pretty decent Tonkatsu, but 1,200 yen for a Tokatsu set lunch is a pretty good deal. You can also have as much as the cabbage salad with ponzu dressing, rice, and clam miso soup refill as you want.
Between eating and sleeping, we usually take the kids to the park so that they will recover from jet lag quickly. In California, we always drive everywhere. It’s actually really nice to walk around the neighborhood and take in the fresh air.
My home is only about 40-50 minutes away from Tokyo (Shibuya Station) yet we have lots of greens around the neighborhood. There are lots of nicely paved walkways everywhere that kids can safely walk without worrying about cars. It was a great exercise everyday to walk, walk, walk…
Here, instead of going to take lots of pictures of foods and sceneries of Tokyo & Yokohama for my readers, I was in the suburb finding tad poles with my kids. LOL!
If you wonder about the pictures on my travel posts, most of the photos you see during my trip are taken by my husband. I’m usually with the kids, so he takes pictures. I have to mention up front because my husband and I really need to work on our ability to take indoor pictures, especially when it’s dark. Here’s our dinner at Yakiniku (Japanese BBQ) restaurant one night.
Obviously the photographer was way too busy eating and I see only first few pictures of 3 kinds of meat, and then it jumps to a dessert (yuzu sorbet) picture… I think you started to worry about my Japan trip pictures! This yakiniku restaurant is another one that we always go to every time we go back home to Japan. The meat just needs to be grilled for about 10-15 seconds on each side and then they just melts in your mouth. Even when we buy the best rib eye from Snake River Farm in the US, there is just no comparison to high end Japanese beef.
Like I mentioned earlier, if your home is in a big city, public transportation is very convenient. One of the great things about life in Japan is that even after a big meal you have to walk, without a choice. It’s very expensive to own a car in Japan. The parking can be one issue as you might need to pay for it. When going out, hourly parking varies between $6-$10 an hour and gas is about $8-9 dollars a gallon. A lot of times it just makes sense to walk and utilize public transportation due to the cost.
The benefit of taking public transportation is not only just eco-friendly and healthy, but also you get to enjoy small pleasures such as seeing sakura at night under the moon.
On the day we left for Kobe to attend my best friend’s wedding, sakura trees near my neighborhood started to bloom more all the sudden.
From Yokohama to Kobe, we took Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train). Both of my kids had been on it many times before, but they still love this fast train. Living in the US, we rarely take trains to go places. Sometimes for fun we would take the train a few stations to get ice cream or snacks in a different town, but the experience is just not the same.
My favorite part of train ride is of course eating lunch box inside the train. Japanese stations have many bento stores providing travelers lots of choices to Japanese style bentos. Some of the train stations carry bentos that have local ingredients. Our picks included: temari sushi bento, Maisen’s tonkatsu sandwich, and classic Japanese bento with salmon and shrimp tempura. All the bento are served at room temperature.
When you are traveling on Shinkansen around Shizuoka area, you may be able to enjoy viewing Mt. Fuji from the window if the weather is permits. Depending on the season and weather, it is sometimes hard to find the mountain. Here, we were unlucky – the clouds covered most of the top.
Next week I’ll be sharing my short trip to Kobe and Osaka. Thank you so much for reading!
Continue reading Vol. 2 of Japan Trip 2012.
Nami, thank you for sharing these photos. My son is on his way home from Japan after the 2 weeks school exchange at Katsube High School. Just can’t wait to see more of Japan from your next post and from my son’s.
Hi nami,
What a beautiful post. I really enjoyed reading about your trip and looking at the gorgeous photographs. Your kids are too adorable!
I really miss my home now, Mumbai. I think I need a trip back home soon.
Glad to hear you had a wonderful trip home! I’ve always wanted to visit Japan. Hopefully one day it will happen. Your children are beautiful!
Hi Nami-thank you for your kind and encouraging words on my blog. Prince and I are doing much better now!
I love your travel post, and beautiful photos. Your children are so adorable, and sweet!
I really enjoyed seeing all the photos. If we had trains like the ones in Japan, I would certainly ride it to a lot of places. How awesome to have such great transportation surrounding the city!
All the foods look so fabulous, and the scenes of nature, and the beautiful garden is breathtaking. I love the garden photo, with the amazing tree. I will pin this, and call it…Spring in Japan!…hope it’s OK with you.
Thank you for sharing your trip to Japan, and looking forward to seeing more:DDD
Lovely photos Nami – your children are so cute 😀 Your yakiniku restaurant photos made me really miss the one they had in Paris which closed… maybe there’s another… need to have a look.
The JR lines map brought back some memories. You know what I love about the Japanese subway…? Fare adjustment machines. If you go too far, no problem… just adjust the fare by inserting your ticket and the coins and you’re good to go. In France, if you go too far… tough. Your ticket won’t work and you can’t leave. Completely stupid!
Hi Nami, Thanks for sharing some snippets of what looks like a beautiful trip back to your hometown! I absolutely love Japan, and I’m so waiting for the day where I have some time to go see the sakura!
Can’t wait to hear about Kobe and Osaka from you!
Btw, your kids are adorable.
What a splendid trip! The photos of the food and the places and your description make me want to jump on the next plane to Japan. It is still one of my dream places to go to. Thank you for sharing your home and your family trip. Your kids are so adorable! Volume 2 please!
I have no words. I think going back to home even for just some days may be a great experience, I can imagine your feelings, looking the same places, smelling the same scent and tasting the same flavor, it should be a great experience for you, and also for your family.
Can’t wait to read your next post.
Nami, thanks for sharing your family trip with all of us and what a beautiful family you have! I think my favorite photos would have to be of the Shinkansen – that is just a cool train and I hope to someday ride it! And the photos of the cherry blossoms are beautiful…
Thanks for sharing your trip back to your homeland, Nami! I know how that feels. We love Japan because my husband worked there for a few years and he can get by with his Nippongo. I can only say “wakarimasen” ! But your tonkatsu photo reminded me of what my husband often asked me to cook because it reminds him of Tokyo. Your kids are adorable, Nami! Can’t wait for your next chapter! Thanks again for sharing.
Thank you for sharing these amazing pictures with us of your family and your home. I can hear the song “Sakura” in the back of my mind as I look at the pictures of the blossoming trees. Are you celebrating the “Cherry Blossom Festival” with any special dishes?
Thank you for sharing your experiences with us my friend – I am glad you enjoyed yourself so much 😀
Your photos are beautiful!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I’m so glad your trip to Japan went just fine.. and I’d love to see those cherry blossom *___*
Nami, now I will dream about going to Tokyo all night… I have loved reading about your trip, looking at your wonderful photos and dreaming of going there soon…
Thank you for sharing the family photos with us! You all look so cute and happy! I hope all your family has had wonderful time!
You know what I kept on thinking? Japan is so close in so many points to big cities in European countries… Maybe not all, but many. Here in Switzerland I walk almost everywhere, I only take a tram when I’m really tired or in a hurry or when the weather is awful. I wonder if I wouldn’t feel more “at home” visiting Tokyo than a big American city… Yakiniku is something I have already planned to do! I must taste Japanese beef. I am looking forward to the vol 2!
Nami thanks so much for sharing your photos with us. Your kids are beautiful, and you are stunning. I love a glimpse into your trip. The Sakura’s are so gorgeous. I have two Kwanzan trees in my yard. They are small and just a couple of years old but I am so hopeful.