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What I Wore & More in Japan
I recently traveled to Japan for the first time with my family. This trip had long been in the works as it was for our daughter’s 10th birthday (which was earlier this year, but Thanksgiving break seemed to be an ideal time for a big trip like this). It was wild to experience something we’ve been talking about for so long, and so fun to experience it as a family. Age 10 felt like just the right time to take our daughter so that she could really enjoy and remember it, not to mention, be a little more flexible, especially with things like food. We planned to spend our time in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto and fortunately, my husband, who has been to Japan many times before, handled the bulk of the planning for this trip.
What I Wore
If you’ve checked out any of my other travel guides, you’ll know that I typically plan my outfits via spreadsheet but I was more flexible this time around. Instead, I tried on all of my options about a week before our trip and photographed them. Having the photos on my phone made for easy reference when I got dressed each day, which was super helpful. I packed a capsule-esque collection of pieces that I could easily mix and match throughout our time in Japan:
Although I didn’t take too much, this wasn’t a carry-on-only kind of trip (and believe it or not, we had to purchase another piece of luggage before we came home because we bought too much stuff!). Aside from what’s shown above, I wore a Spanx Air Essentials top/pant/layer set on our two travel days, and I also packed two neck scarves and jewelry to accessorize. While the Spanx set was a little on the spendy side, it was worth it in my opinion. The fabric is buttery soft and comfortable. It feels more elevated than joggers and a t-shirt/sweatshirt combo, and since we travel a decent amount, I know it’ll get a lot of wear. In all, I packed:
3 pairs of jeans: Of the two pairs of Madewell jeans and one pair of Old Navy jeans, I never wore the Madewell wide-leg jeans but wore the black straight-leg Old Navy jeans more than I anticipated, both day and night. If you’re looking for a classic black straight-leg jean with a high-rise, and you don’t want to spend a lot, these are an excellent option.
1 pair of cropped sweater pants
1 skirt: I wish I wore this more but it was too cool for bare legs during the day (which is how I would’ve styled the skirt with sneakers) and most nights I didn’t bother changing into a different outfit for dinner. Still, I did wear it a few times and was happy to have it as an option.
3 button-downs: I didn’t wear the short-sleeve very often, I think just one time, but I wore the two long-sleeve button-downs multiple times/each.
1 layering tank top: only wore it once.
2 knit shirts: only wore one of the shirts once.
4 sweaters: only wore one of the sweaters once but was glad to have it as an option, and wore the blue sweater as much as I possibly could. It’s so soft and cozy and I love the color, so I wore it as often as the weather allowed (and grabbed another one in grey on Black Friday).
1 cardigan: wore it a fair bit. Like that it’s more of a casual blazer than a true cardigan as it has a more elevated look.
1 pair of sneakers and 1 pair of booties: this was sufficient. Although I always like to have more shoe options, I probably wouldn’t have worn anything else because comfort was key as we walked approximately ten miles every day.
1 belt
1 lightweight, water-resistant jacket: the jacket did the job but in hindsight, I wish I had chosen a more stylish option since I wore the coat every single day.
This capsule-style collection made for really easy mixing and matching while we were on the trip. Even though I didn’t pack a lot of options, I didn’t get too bored with what I wore but most importantly, I appreciated the ease of getting ready each day. I do wish I had focused less on shirts and more on a great outer layer. Since it was chilly, I wore my jacket nearly every day so perhaps packing fewer shirts and throwing in another jacket would’ve felt better.
… And More
Want to know more about my trip beyond the fashion? Read on for where we stayed, what we did and where we ate in Japan.
Day 1 | Tokyo
We arrived in Tokyo mid-afternoon after a very long journey—16 or 17 hours in total. None of us slept on the flights although I did force myself to rest my eyes here and there. We flew from Austin to Minneapolis and then on to Tokyo. That second flight was 13.5 hours which was the longest flight I’ve ever been on and it felt long! We were happy to arrive and get out of the plane. It was very easy to get a cab on-demand from Haneda Airport to our hotel, Park Hotel, in Shimbashi. We didn’t have any communication challenges with the cab driver but we did have our hotel address pulled up on our phone for easy reference (side note: we had some kind of travel plan from Verizon that automatically popped up on our phones - maybe part of our existing plan? It was $10/day for each of our two phones and while it didn’t seem expensive at the time, I thought differently when I saw our bill. Still, it was imperative to have.)
I think the main factors in choosing Park Hotel were location and price, and we were exceptionally happy with our stay there. The hotel starts on the 25th floor of a high-rise office building so the view of Tokyo from the guest lounge is incredible, complete with Mt. Fuji in the distance. They have an art exhibit in the lobbies as well as on select guest room floors which was unique and fun to look at, especially since the pieces were swapped with new ones towards the end of our stay. Our room was modern, relatively minimalist and comfortable. It had a queen-sized bed plus a twin bed which was perfect for our family of three. It was generally quiet although we heard a siren here or there on the street below which is to be expected in a city.
After check-in and freshening up, we ventured out for dinner—and to keep ourselves awake. The concierge at our hotel recommended Itamae Sushi which was a short walk from our hotel, tucked on a side street along with a lot of other little restaurants. It was lively with what appeared to be people who’d finished the workday and were enjoying food and drinks with maybe colleagues/friends. Again, no communication challenges ordering our food and drinks. The sushi was delicious and fresh and the Asahi hit just right with it (and I’m not even a beer drinker). A few observations from that very first meal that would continue throughout the trip:
You are given a warm wash cloth when you sit down at a restaurant for wiping your hands and as I’ve seen some people do, your face. Oftentimes this also serves as your napkin with your meal as there are no napkins typically.
Menus frequently have pictures which also help quash any communication challenges because you can typically identify what’s in the picture and point.
If you can’t figure out chopsticks, don’t stress. Eating something like sushi with your hands is acceptable.
Dinner is all we had energy for that first night!
Day 2 | Tokyo
We woke really early—around 4 AM if memory serves. This would be the case for the first several days of our trip; I didn’t realize how intense jetlag would be. Our day included light plans as we knew we’d all be tired. So maybe starting our day with a subway adventure wasn’t the smartest idea but we figured it out eventually—sort of.
My husband travels to Tokyo a fair bit for work (or did, pre-COVID) so he already had the PASMO pass on his phone—the commuter pass for most rail lines. For whatever reason, my phone didn’t want to cooperate so my daughter and I had to buy paper tickets each time which was slightly tedious but manageable. I’d highly recommend getting the PASMO app downloaded on your phone before traveling to Japan for ease. My first impressions of the subway were that it was very clean, efficient, and ridden by everyone. Even though it was a Saturday, there were plenty of students in uniform going to school and we saw a little league team on their way somewhere, too. I also spotted a sign indicating that a specific car number during specific hours during weekdays was exclusively for the use of women passengers.
Our stop was the Toyosu Fish Market where we planned to have breakfast. The market itself is in big buildings and you can watch the tuna auction if you arrive early enough (we did not), but my understanding is that you now have to participate in some sort of lottery to even see it. Our friends recommended Sushi Dai which is wildly popular and by the time we arrived around 9 AM or so, already had a sign stating they were booked for the day. We instead perused restaurants and chose one at random. The man working there kindly helped our daughter with her chopsticks multiple times and although she made good progress, he ultimately encouraged her to just use her hands! Now, this was our second of many sushi meals throughout this trip so rather than comment on how incredibly delicious it was every time, I’ll just share a blanket statement that applies to all right now: every bite of sushi we ate in Japan was amazing. It was all incredibly fresh and incredibly delicious and I don’t envision myself eating sushi at home for a while because it simply will not compare. After eating, we walked around the market a bit. We saw the observation windows and a bit of the aftermath of the tuna auction, and there were some stalls where you could buy foods and souvenirs/gifts.
From the fish market, we took the train to Ginza to shop at Daiso and Loft (which I learned about by closely following The Frugality’s trip to Tokyo this summer). Daiso is the 100 yen store so cheap everything. Found a lot of fun trinkets and souvenirs there. Loft is a dreamy lifestyle store for a lack of a better way of putting it. Each of the six or seven floors is dedicated to something different - so imagine a stationary/pen/sticker floor, a travel floor, a skin care/beauty floor, etc. I could’ve spent a day there but my patient family could not.
That night our daughter decided she (already?!) needed a sushi break and was just feeling “off,” so we went to the opposite end of the spectrum and ate dinner at a nearby and very familiar establishment, Shake Shack. Much like at home, it was crowded and reliably tasty.
Day 3 | Tokyo
The one (only?) positive of jetlag is that you are up and ready to go for the day quite early! We took the train to Yoyogi Park and when we got out of the station there was a doughnut shop right there, but it was still so early that it wasn’t even open! We resigned ourselves to Starbucks before exploring the Meiji shrine which was beautiful. It reminded me a little bit of Central Park. There were a lot of enormous flowers, including chrysanthemums which I did not know to be a national symbol of Japan. We were lucky to see a traditional wedding procession making its way through the shrine, too. There were also various ways you could capture a wish or a prayer intention which I later learned was something you could do at most of the shrines we visited. From the shrine, we walked over to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden before making our way to Harajuku. It was the perfect day weather-wise to be outside; my husband dubbed it our “nature day.”
At random, we chose to have lunch at Yoshinoya, the first restaurant we spotted adjacent to Takeshita gate and even though ordering was more challenging for us, the food was tasty and affordable. I had a basic fried chicken and rice bowl with cabbage.
Takeshita Street is the main street with quirky, colorful shops. It was more crowded than I could have imagined yet fun to see. There are all kinds of shops—many of which are geared towards pets—plus food and treats (including 2’ tall cotton candy). The only downside was that when we got to the end of the street, we realized it was much easier to go back to where we started to get back on the train, which meant we had to do it all over again. We rewarded ourselves for that by revisiting the doughnut shop from the morning, I’m Donut. By the time we got there the line was down the sidewalk but we waited and it moved quickly. The doughnuts were soft and airy and not too sugary sweet and a fresh matcha doughnut is well worth the wait, in my opinion.
A friend had recommended Seirinkan, a Neopolitan pizza restaurant with a steampunk aesthetic and Beatles music, so that’s where we went for dinner (with the help of our concierge who made our reservation). The restaurant is three or four stories, I can’t remember exactly, and it has Beatles posters and fan gear exclusively on the walls. Our table was on the top floor which meant we had to climb the metal spiral staircase to the top. This can either be fun or scary for a 10-year-old kid… I’ll let you guess which ours was. My husband and I both really enjoyed the pizza and our daughter declared mine was better, which I will take as a colossal (and unbelievable) compliment.
Day 4 | Tokyo
Again with the jetlag being to our benefit… we got a table at Sarabeth’s—an American restaurant right by Tokyo Station—because we were waiting outside when it opened. We wanted to check out Tokyo Station since we were taking the Shinkansen, or bullet train, from there the next day, so we did that and had a hearty breakfast.
My husband booked Team Lab Planets for that morning. It’s an immersive art exhibit not far from the Toyosu fish market. There are a handful of themed rooms, all of which are hands—and feet—on. For example, when we arrived we had to take off our shoes and socks and store them in a locker, and the first room involved walking up a slight incline with water running down it. There were sound and light special effects throughout the exhibit, too. The last room reminded us a lot of the Sphere in Las Vegas. A memorable experience and a fun one for our ten-year-old.
Dinner that evening was at a traditional izakaya in Shibuya, Namikibashi Nakamura Honten. We dined with my husband’s colleague and his wife, who was born and raised in Tokyo, and it was helpful to have them help navigate the Omakase.
Day 5 | Hakone
We left Tokyo for Osaka with a stop in Hakone on the way. Japan has an amazing luggage transfer service that’s offered at many hotels which made this stop-over much easier as we didn’t have three big suitcases with us. You give your bags to the concierge at your hotel and pay a small fee, and they’re transported to your next hotel for you. For us, we paid just under $20 per bag, so it was very reasonable. Candidly, I’m not sure that I’d trust this service in most other countries but given how efficiently Japan operates, I was confident!
We took the Shinkansen, or bullet train, first from Tokyo to Odawara. In Odawara, we stowed our backpacks in a locker at the station and then transferred to another train to get to Hakone, a national park with picturesque views including Mt. Fuji. The day very much felt like a planes, trains and automobiles kind of day! Once in Hakone we got the Hakone Free Pass which allowed us to access all different types of transportation to see the area. We took a train, cable car, ropeway, cruise and a bus! I think this is a good option if you have more time or even multiple days in the area, although it was useful for us, too, to see the gorgeous scenery and get from point A to point B easily—and in interesting ways. I wish we had more time in Hakone because it was such a transition from Tokyo that it would’ve been nice to be a little more relaxed and enjoy our time there more. When I think about Japan, Hakone is not what I picture, so it was extra special to be able to experience something so unexpected.
We wrapped up our day in Hakone with lunch at Restaurant Bright, an establishment that has been around for years. It had a little bit of everything—Western fare like burgers, as well as Italian and curries. I had my first pork curry of the trip and it was so good that I couldn’t bring myself to have it again on the trip for fear that the next time would pale in comparison. It was a grey, chilly day, too, so curry was the perfect meal.
In Osaka we stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in Umeda and very close to Osaka Station. Given our busy day, dinner consisted of room service after we checked in.
Day 6 | Kyoto
We had booked a tour guide via Viator for a day in Kyoto because it seemed like there was so much to do and we weren’t really sure where to start. Unfortunately, the tour guide canceled on us at the last minute so we were on our own for the day and scrambled to cobble together a plan. The highlight was seeing Fushimi Inari Shrine. It was beautiful although a bit crowded. I don’t have a need to see multiple shrines but I’m glad we visited this one. We also visited Nijo Castle which was fascinating to see, particularly considering it was built in 1603.
We also walked around Gion a bit, including Hanamikoji Street which is probably the most well-known street in this famed geisha district with tea houses and restaurants. This is when it would have been helpful to have a tour guide as we had a difficult time navigating particularly when it came to lunch. I believe a lot of the tea houses are closed to tourists.
Fortunately, train stations in Japan are filled with great restaurants, so before boarding the train back to Osaka, we had lunch at Ramen Ippudo in the train station. It was our first ramen of the trip and so good.
Once back in Osaka, we passed right by Pokémon Center so we had to oblige for our daughter, who was in heaven. As a mom who does not at all understand Pokémon or the fascination, it was sensory overload to an extreme for me. I kept reminding myself that it could've been worse, that she could’ve wanted to go to Super Nintendo World which was originally on our agenda.
We were all ready for more sushi again, so we dined at Sushi Hanazakura that night based on a recommendation from our hotel. It’s a small restaurant with counter service and a few tables. We had the chef’s omakase and were really happy with the variety and quality. Another trait of Japanese restaurants that I neglected to mention is that oftentimes the chef will walk you out and thank you personally for dining with them. That happened to us a few times, including here.
Day 7 | Osaka
Our jetlag was finally starting to subside so we started our full day in Osaka slowly. The day before we had spotted a Mister Donut shop at Osaka Station and they had adorable Pokémon doughnuts and I promised our daughter she could get one the next day because we were in a hurry the day before. Well, here’s the thing with many places in the train stations in Japan: if you’re not familiar with the stations, everything starts to look alike and you can never find a place you’d maybe seen before! I know there was definitely a Mister Donut in the train station because it was on my phone’s map, but we couldn’t find it. While we were looking at a map in the station, a Japanese gentleman asked us if we needed help. Slightly embarrassed, I told him we were looking for Mister Donut. He tried to figure out where it was but seemed a bit confused, too. He told us to just follow him and he’d take us there. We walked with him and chatted as best as we could and at one point my husband asked him if it was out of his way and he assured us that it was okay. He ended up leading us out of the train station and to a nearby shopping mall, where there was a Mister Donut in the basement! In all, this man probably took about 20 minutes of his day to help us. We offered him a doughnut and he politely declined, telling us that he was our host in his country. And this is what they mean when they refer to Japanese hospitality, or Omotenashi.
Pikachu doughnut secured and devoured, we were ready for a day of walking—and shopping—around Osaka. We found new sneakers at Onitsuka, endless trinkets, candy, Kit Kats in obscure flavors, skincare and more at Don Quixote and Hanshin for championship Tigers gear. We stopped for lunch at Sushi Nono Umeda and perhaps felt overly confident when the host let us know that the menu was only available in Japanese and we said that was okay. Google Translate wasn’t on our side but Instagram was. I found photos of dishes on the restaurant’s Instagram and we were able to order easily that way.
It was Thanksgiving day in the U.S. and while we hadn’t anticipated eating traditional Thanksgiving dinner while in Japan, we noticed a BLT Steak in our hotel and they were offering a western Thanksgiving meal, so we decided to partake. I’m glad we did. The food was good and the ambiance was nice; it definitely felt like a special day and meal. It was a lovely way to end our time in Osaka, a city I really enjoyed. It’s smaller scale than Tokyo and consequently seems more manageable.
Day 8 | Tokyo
On Friday we picked out tasty bento boxes and got on the Shinkansen back to Tokyo, which was about three hours. This time we took our luggage with us since we were leaving Japan on Sunday and it felt too risky should anything happen with our bags, and even though we had pretty large suitcases we didn’t have any issues on the train (we had reserved seats, which helps ensure you have bag space overhead).
This time around we stayed in a different part of Tokyo, Ebisu, which was quiet and charming. We stayed at the Westin which is just across the street from Yebisu Garden Place, a cute area with shopping and restaurants. They had a big Christmas tree in the plaza and a night market going on that evening. Joel Robuchon’s Chateau Restaurant was also aglow with white Christmas lights which made for the perfect backdrop for selfies and TikTok dances; it was a popular gathering spot for young Japanese.
My husband wanted to return to one of his favorite restaurants so we had dinner at Ramen Nagi which actually worked out perfectly because it had gotten cold and windy. It was a quirky little place (emphasis on little - there are only a few tables inside) where you order via what looks like a vending machine outside. We enjoyed our dinner before a little shopping. We realized that we couldn’t fit everything in our luggage to go home so we needed to buy another piece (oops) and our daughter insisted one more Pokémon stop. We braved Shibuya for our shopping which admittedly isn’t one of my favorite parts of Tokyo. It felt a lot like Times Square, but busier.
Day 9 | Tokyo
Our last full day in Japan was a busy one. We started with Imperial Palace Gardens which was lovely. There were fruit trees and flowers and fall colors; it was picturesque and a nice way to start the day.
We also went to Tsukiji, the original fish market. I now understand what everyone says about the new market (Toyosu) feeling so different. Tsukiji is more of what I had pictured in my head—busy and crowded food stalls in an open air-style market. It was so crowded, though, that it was difficult to even make your way through the streets. We ate yakitori and did a little shopping before escaping the area.
I didn’t anticipate eating pizza multiple times in Japan, but my husband and daughter both wanted it for dinner so we went to Savoy Pizza, a tiny restaurant not far from our hotel. They had counter service and a few tables as well as several canine diners! Well, the dogs didn’t actually eat but there were a few there with their humans. I learned that the Japanese are crazy about their dogs, many of whom were in clothing (the dogs, not the people… well, the people, too). This makes sense when thinking about the number of stores we saw that catered to dogs.
After pizza, we went to Yebisu Sky Tower which is in Yebisu Garden Place and has amazing views of Tokyo. Unfortunately, it was a little overcast so the view wasn’t super clear, but dazzling nonetheless.
Day 10 | Tokyo
We all felt a little glum about our vacation ending because it had been such a wonderful trip. Oftentimes we’re just ready to be home and while I was ready to sleep in my own bed and see our dogs, I was sad to leave Japan. I was happy, though, that our journey home wouldn’t be quite as long as our journey there. We had an approximately seven-hour flight from Tokyo to Seattle, and then a four-hour flight from Seattle back to Austin. Ironically, the four-hour flight was harder than the seven-hour flight! I was just ready to be off the plane.
Miscellaneous Musings
This trip was a dream. Years before our daughter was even close to turning ten years old, we talked about traveling to Japan for her 10th birthday so it was a milestone achieved. But the experience itself and the Japanese people made it so memorable. I’ll forever look back on this trip fondly and can only hope to return sooner rather than later.
The Japanese have STYLE. ALL-CAPS required. The women make it look effortless. We traveled to Japan in late fall so the weather was cool and in hindsight, I should have focused on a great jacket and stylish but comfortable shoes (we averaged ~10 miles of walking/day). My tops didn’t matter much because I was always in a jacket. I left being inspired by their style.
Food can be challenging if you’re not open to trying new things. We didn’t have too many communication issues as most restaurants have menus with pictures, but not always. We always managed to figure it out and we were lucky to taste so many good flavors and foods. It’s possible to eat very affordably, too. Reservations seem to be necessary at most places so either rely on your hotel concierge or use an online booking system like Tabelog or Tablecheck. I didn’t find the booking apps to be particularly easy to use so we relied on our concierge.
The abundance of train lines can be very confusing so be patient with yourself and take your time. On more than one occasion our ticket got denied at the turnstile because we didn’t have the ticket for the right line. There are multiple subway lines and they all seem to require different tickets. We also had situations where we could only use Japanese Yen to purchase tickets, so plan to keep local currency on-hand. If you plan to travel outside of Tokyo, I highly recommend looking into the JR Pass in advance. We purchased our tickets before our trip and they mailed us the physical tickets which we then had activated at the station when we arrived. We used this for the Shinkansen to/from Osaka but were also able to use on some trips within Tokyo, so it proved to be a very good value.
The luggage transfer service that you can utilize between hotels is amazing—and reliable. I believe there may be more than one company that offers this so if you plan to utilize it, I’d just check at your hotel. Most if not all train stations also had ample luggage lockers. We utilized this in Odawara and it was very handy and easy.
Japan is very safe and clean. Children take the subway by themselves. And in our hotel room, we never put anything away (i.e., electronics or jewelry in the safe) like we do when traveling in the U.S. because there’s no need.
People don’t walk and eat on-the-go. At most, they may have a cup of coffee but there are no trash cans out in public so if you opt to do this, know that you will be carrying your cup with you until you return to your hotel to throw it away there.
Paperwork is a thing! There seem to be a lot of paper receipts and confirmation letters (i.e., when your concierge makes a dinner reservation) which surprised me. Even at places like Starbucks, they were insistent on giving us a paper receipt. In some cases such as takeaway restaurants, you actually need a paper receipt to get your food when it’s ready, but I’m not sure of the purpose in other places.
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