Japan | Tokyo & Kanazawa (Days 1-2)
Despite my nerves about being able to navigate the Tokyo metro system after a 14 hour flight and maybe 5 hours of sleep, I was pleasantly surprised how straightforward it was. Between Google Maps’ detailed directions, the digital screens showing which stops were next, and the Japanese and English announcements, I managed to navigate myself through three train transfers and arrive at the hotel in one piece. Honorable mention goes to an older Japanese woman – who spotted me laden with my suitcase and bag and second-guessing which way to turn after I rounded a corner near the hotel and kindly pointed me in the right direction.
My first stop, prompted by a mix of hunger, the need to withdraw some yen, and sheer curiosity was a 7-Eleven. Multiple friends who had been to Japan in the last few years had waxed poetic about Japan’s konbini as mini culinary wonderlands. Now, I absolutely get it. Far superior to the States-side convenience, these offer everything from freshly-prepared packaged meals to baked goods to fried chicken – and of course – aisles and aisles of incredible and intriguing snacks. After spending far too long gazing in wonder at the selection, I grabbed a salmon onigiri to tide me over before heading back to meet up with the rest of our tour group.
There are seven of us total, plus our guide, which feels like such a perfect size – small enough to actually get to know each other over these two weeks without feeling like a field trip. We swapped intros and travel stories over our first group dinner: skewers at a nearby izakaya. We didn’t quite realize the skewers were one per order, which became hilariously clear when the “shrimp skewers” we thought we ordered turned out to be one (1) lone shrimp on a stick that gave us all a good laugh before we ordered several more to share, along with some grilled chicken and crispy karaage. A surprise hit of the meal? A charred shiitake mushroom that had soaked up a soy garlic glaze – salty, savory, truly delicious.
I started the next morning with a true breakfast of champions: a strawberry and cream sando on soft white bread that I’d grabbed the night before from a second post-dinner 7-Eleven stop. To absolutely no one’s surprise – it was incredible. It’s basically cake in sandwich form. 10/10, no notes.
We were then bound for Tokyo Station to make our way to the first stop on the tour – Kanazawa. I had heard Tokyo foot traffic made New York City look tame by comparison. While I believed it in theory, I didn’t fully grasp it until we stepped into the bustling organized chaos of the city’s second-busiest (!) station on a Monday morning. As we wound our way through the halls, we navigated around a sea of fashionable polished professionals, all moving with purpose and precision, flowing in and out of the labyrinthine corridors with ease. Getting through the crowd, especially with our bags, felt a bit like playing Frogger — dodging heels and side-stepping commuters just desperately trying not to mess up their rhythm. I can confidently say I would have been lost if I’d tried to navigate it solo, and I wasn’t the only one in our group who felt that way. We were all grateful to have our guide leading the charge.
If Tokyo Station was chaotic, then boarding the bullet train was the absolute opposite. With barely a sound, the sleek, futuristic white train glided up to the station, we boarded – and then soon enough, we were on our way. The ride was clean, spacious, and calm – so unlike the jerky, screechy rails of the subway that I’ve grown used to. At several points along the route, snow-capped mountains came into view, and I kept popping out of my seat to get to the windows on the other side. It was our first real glimpse of Japan’s landscape outside of the cities.
A lucky snap from the train during one of many sightings of snow-capped mountains.
When we arrived in Kanazawa, the weather couldn’t have been better — sunny, breezy, and a little cooler than Tokyo’s humidity. After dropping our bags at the hotel, we wandered to Omicho Market, the town’s biggest fresh food market known for its seafood. It had a lovely balance of energy without feeling too crowded. We passed stalls offering snow crab, oysters, and uni – and spotted the rather grisly aftermath of some enormous heads of tuna in the backs of some stalls. After taking a lap through to explore the offerings, we snacked our way through with wagyu beef skewers (grilled and torched to order before being topped with garlic salt), an impossibly crispy potato croquette, crisp white strawberries, and a dorayaki pastry with red bean paste, salty-sweet caramel, and sweet glutinous rice dango.
A sample of the fish on offer at Omicho Market.
It was simply too nice outside afterwards to not take advantage of the day, so Asya and I kept walking to Higashi Chaya – the largest and best-preserved of Kanazawa’s geisha districts. Today, the wooden structures are home to craftsmen, artists, and cafes – and many of the houses had a wooden lattice-like structure on the outside called "kimusuko” – an elegant privacy solution that allows someone to see well from the inside, while outsiders looking in won’t be able to see anything. To rest our feet, we settled into the lovely Hayuwa tea house, which overlooked one of the main streets and treated ourselves to a sampler of matcha desserts and tea. The breeze drifted in through open windows, and we watched swallows swoop and glide above the narrow streets while we people-watched.
Matcha heaven at Hayuwa tea house
A glimpse of the Higashi Chaya district
We returned along the Asano Riverwalk during golden hour, admiring the sunlight against the wooden structures of the neighboring Kazuemachi Chaya district along the way, as well as the view from the bridges of the mountains in the background.
View from the bridges of the Kazuemachi Chaya district.
Dinner that evening was at another izakaya with our tour group – Kyushu Jiman – which had a couple specialities according to our guide: offal soup, and horse meat sushi. I’ve tried various forms of offal before and it’s never quite been to my taste – and I just couldn’t bring myself to try the horse – so a few of us split some fluffy rolled omelets, sashimi, grilled pork, and a wagyu rice soup instead. With our guide’s encouragement, I did try some of the offal soup broth – which was pretty tasty – salty, gingery, and not too strong.
We closed out the night with, you guessed it, another post-meal stop at 7-Eleven. This is quickly becoming a tradition for our group, with each of us egging each other on to try out a new sweet or snack (as if we needed the encouragement) and walking back to the hotel armed with an edible mini-haul for the next day.
