Japan with Lisa

February 2024

Transportation

Airlines 

International flight - Air Canada

I flew Air Canada business on the outbound and premium economy on the return on the Boeing 777.  If you are flying on a paid fare internationally, I highly recommend getting to the airport early to enjoy the new Air Canada Signature Lounge, upstairs from the Air Canada lounge. This lounge is amazing, from the Laurent Perrier Champagne to Chef David Hawksworth made-to-order chef calibre meals. You will not leave disappointed. I flew business class eastbound to Tokyo, and premium economy class on the return. If you can afford to splash out for business class, it’s much more comfortable with lie-flat seating. If travelling in business class, I suggest pre-ordering your meal ahead of the flight to ensure you get your preference. 

Domestic - Japan Airlines

Domestically we flew from Komatsu to Haneda. We were in business class for the short flight, the seats were comfortable and legroom spacious. They do not usually serve meals on these trips, but you can buy good Bento boxes at the airport and bring them on board with you.  

Trains

We took the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo Station to Kanazawa. This was my first time on a bullet train, and I was very impressed. The distance between the two cities is about 300kms. The bullet train took 2.5 hours to get to the destination with a few stops along the way. They offer a few different classes of service, and I recommend taking the premium class for the extra room if travelling with luggage. There is not a big difference in price, but there is in train cars. The food selection at the Tokyo station is amazing - get there early to find your favourite food to take on board with you. 

Tokyo - Hotel Stay

The Capitol Hotel is located in Akasaka, the heart of downtown. This hotel was opened by Hilton back 1963, and the architecture is wonderful. The hotel was sold in 1983 and was closed in 2006 to 2010 to complete a full renovation. I was taken by the gardens of the Hie Shrine located outside this property, the natural beauty against the large structure was amazing. It felt like an oasis. Check-in was quick and efficient, not surprising being Tokyo. My room was stunning, and when I first walked in, I was amazed with how large my room was with a beautiful entrance that led to a nice sitting area, wall-to-wall windows, a huge king bed and a fabulous bathroom with a soaker tub, shower, makeup area, walk-in closet, and a separate toilet. Since this was my first time to Japan, I was unfamiliar with their amazing smart toilets. It’s now one of the things I miss most! That and the amazing pajamas they provide for your stay. Every hotel I stayed in had pajamas for their guest use along with robes and slippers. It’s like an Easter hunt to find them in one of the drawers once you know they are in the room. 

After a rest I met up with the rest of my group to find out what the next few days would bring. We were able to pick a trip to experience some part of Japan that we had not been to before. I had chosen the Hokuriku itinerary that was a journey to the essence of Japan through food, Zen, philosophy, food, and artisans.

The next morning, we met with our groups in the lower lobby, my group consisted of three travel agents, one from Canada (me), one from Switzerland and one from Italy, we accompanied by our guide - a monk! - and a representative from the tour company who had planned our adventure.  

After a private transfer to the Tokyo Station, we boarded our train to Kanazawa. The ride was so smooth and comfortable we were there before it knew it. When we arrived in Kanazawa, we were met by our driver who had a very comfortable 20 seat bus for our journey. Lots of room for all, our first stop was a stroll through the Ohmicho Market, to explore the many stalls of fresh produce, fish and other things a farmers’ market might have.

From there we went for lunch to an amazing sushi at a family run restaurant called Sendori Sushi that originated in 1952! We were in a private room with a beautiful view of their outdoor gardens, it was snowing so it made it even more special. The sushi was exceptional, the best I have ever had. 

Next stop a famous Kimono making shop that uses techniques that date back 500 years. We were able to see the process from the start to finish in the different stages. One single Kimono can take up to three months to complete and cost upwards of $25,000 dollars.

After the Kimono factory and in a snowstorm, we went to visit the outdoor Japanese gardens called Kenrokuen, these gardens first opened to the public in 1871. Well- maintained by a staff of many, these gardens are a sight to be seen at any time of the year. Due to the weather, we were only able to see a fraction of what you can explore. We then went to their tea house for a traditional matcha tea ceremony.  

Kanazawa - Hotel Stay 
Hyatt Centric located within walking distance of the Kanazawa trains station. This hotel was built just before the pandemic, and is fantastic. The rooms are beautiful with art from local artisans inside and outside the room. With a king size bed and view of the train station I was very happy.  My room was large and comfortable with a modern hip twist. I found my pajamas right away and they were probably my favorite the whole trip. The buffet breakfast was amazing! My favourite of the whole trip, the selection was vast, so it was hard to choose what to get! From the made-to-order stations to the French pastries, to the traditional Japanese breakfast selections…fresh-pressed juices and Illy lattes, hard to beat this hotel’s breakfast.

Dinner was at a traditional Geisha House, Kaikaro, starting with learning to print our names in Japanese onto a handmade fan. Once the fans were complete, we were led upstairs to a room where they performed traditional music and dance for us while we enjoyed our Japanese meal. This house is private, and you can only get in if you are recommended by someone that knows the Madam. You do not pay when you leave - she will send her regulars their bills two times per year and expects cash payments. Odd but true… this was a very interesting experience.  

After breakfast we checked out of our hotel and headed south towards Fukui, we were headed to the Okamoto and Otaki shrines, dedicated to the gods of paper ancestors. The roof of the shrine is said to be the most complex in Japan, designed with four layers of roofs.

After the shrine we walked to a traditional paper making factory to learn about techniques such as Nagashizuki, and the new ways to enjoy Washi that fit in with modern lifestyles directly from the artisans.

Before lunch we went to the home of an old man who was a lacquerware expert and he taught how to hand-paint our own bowls. This is a tradition technique that traces back to 7000 BCE.  This was such a cute and thoughtful experience.  

Lunch was a treat - we headed to a small restaurant that is Michelin rated for Echizen Soba noodles, called Mori Roku. This restaurant is over 100 years old and seats only nine people at a time. The Soba was served cold, and the flavours were amazing! 

The we headed to some knife making factories. Japan is famous for their cooking knives, chefs from all over the world covet them. These knives start at around $250 for a small one and go up to over $10,000!

To complete the day, we headed to our next hotel to check in and change before dinner.

Eiheiji Temple- Yoshida District, Fukui - Hotel Stay

The Hakujukan Hotel at Eihei-ji Temple is a Japanese Inn located right at the Eiheiji Temple that is voted one of the most Zen places in the world. They only have 18 Japanese style rooms, all the same. My room had two comfortable futon beds with soft cotton bedding. This room mixed modern amenities with traditional Japanese touches.

Dinner was in Fukui at Aujus a French restaurant. We had an amazing seven course meal, complete with wine pairings.  

Back to the hotel to get to bed for an early morning wake up call – 5:30am - to have a tour of the Eiheiji Temple with a monk before our traditional vegetarian Japanese breakfast at the hotel.   The Eiheiji Temple was founded in 1244 and has been voted one of the most Zen places in the world. There were around 80 monks in training when I was there, as you can imagine finding monks is a lot harder than it used to be. The training is grueling and uncomfortable compared to today’s living standards. They get up at 4am for prayers, then a quick vegetarian breakfast followed by the cleaning of the temple, followed by more praying, more cleaning, lunch (you get the picture), the next day it starts all over again all in bare feet no matter what time of the year it is.  

Once we finished our tour, we went back to the hotel for a traditional Japanese vegetarian breakfast. It was really yummy and displayed beautifully in the Japanese breakfast boxes. 

After checking out of the hotel we headed to the Kippoji Temple. This temple is located on top of a mountain, it is a much older temple that only has four monks living in it. Two of those are monks in training. After our tour of this temple, we learned about Zazen, the practice of seated meditation, and had a fun activity of making our own cushions out of recycled fabrics to do our practice on. After making our cushions we headed upstairs to the meditation room to put our skills to the test. For this meditation you must either sit on the cushion cross legged fully or half crossed with your spine and head erect, with one hand folded over the other and eyes open focused on the wall in front of you. If you feel like you are going to fall asleep you can raise you hand and have the master hit you between the shoulders with a stick to wake you up! I was determined not to fall asleep and have that happen to me. After about 15 minutes, they say you have become enlightened, you say a thank you to the gods, and we headed for lunch. 

Our lunch was prepared by the monks, and I have to say it was one of the best meals of my trip! This is high praise as all my meals were amazing. The lunch was fully vegetarian with delightful surprises of flavour and colours.  

Not wanting to go because we were all so enchanted with these special monks, we headed back to the bus for the sake tasting!!

We arrived at the Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute in the city of Komatsu. Located in a mountain village, you are struck by the beautiful modern facility surrounded by rice fields. Mr. Naohiko Noguchi, the Sake master is a 91-year-old man that has been making Sake since he was 16 years old. The ironic twist is he is allergic and cannot taste the Sake. He has relied on family, friends, and visitors to give him their feedback and he takes notes and has been for over 75 years. The tour was very informative - we learned that they use every last drop of rice for the making of the sake, then the ruminates are used to make things such as rice crackers, ice cream and face lotion. After the tour we were taken to the beautiful tasting room. Each sake is presented in a hand made glass by a local artisan and paired with a bite of food to bring out the flavours. We were very lucky to have Mr. Noguchi join us while we tased to answer any questions we had. He was warm, charming, and completely adorable. At the end of the tasing they presented us with rice crackers and rice ice cream sandwiches! 

We all headed to the gift shop to get our bottles to take home, then back on the bus for a short ride to our next stop.

Kaga, Ishikawa - Hotel Stay

The Beniya Mukayu is a Relais & Chateau property located on the hillside of Yakushiyama - meaning healing Buddha’s mountain - a sacred place. This is a ryokan property sitting in 300-year-old forest of trees. There are only 16 rooms, I stayed in the Zen Style Executive Suite that featured a bamboo verandah, a Japanese tatami room/living space, a separate bedroom, small refreshment area, walk-in closet, and a private open air hot springs bath on the outdoor deck through the bathroom. The suite was around 1000 square feet in total. The whole hotel was a dream, with thoughtful areas throughout the hotel. The property is family owned and operated with a staff that are clearly an extension of the owners. When we arrived Mr. and Mrs. Nakamichi welcomed us with a traditional match tea ceremony. After the tea ceremony had a tour of the property, a beautiful spacious lobby with a small bar, three libraries, two communal baths with indoor outdoor spaces and saunas, a fine dining restaurant where breakfast and dinner are served, a full service spa, and gardens to explore outside. 

Dinner at the hotel hosted by Mrs. Nakamichi, she prepared a special seven course menu consisting of mostly snow crab. She also hand write the menus each night and illustrates them with drawings. After dinner free time to do what you wanted, I wanted to get back to my room and into my hot spring pool on my deck. Oh, and we had the most beautiful robes to put on during our stay, they encourage the guest to wander the hotel in the robes. 

In the morning, we had a beautiful Japanese breakfast before we had to pack and check out to head to the airport for our flight back to Tokyo.

Tokyo - Hotel Stay

The Grand Hyatt Tokyo is a very well-situated hotel in the Roppongi district. This hotel is very centrally located and is connected to 200 shops and restaurants, a cinema, an art museum, and an observatory. Any store you can imagine from Louis Vuitton to H&M are within walking distance. The rooms are nice, rather business-oriented, and around 450 square feet with floor to ceiling windows, I had a view of the Tokyo Tower from my room. The bed was so comfortable, the bathroom was well laid out with a huge soaker tub. I didn’t get pajamas in this hotel, but I did get a traditional Japanese robe with matching slippers. 

I had a private driver to take me to and from the airport, and I loved it.  But they also do have easy access to trains from the airport into the city.

Overall, I loved Japan and can not wait for my next trip back!