What a trip! I’m definitely jealous.
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Great report! Following closely in your footsteps!
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Nice write up! Thanks for the pics…
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Fantastic and very helpful for my future travels. But I’m confused, I thought you had long hair, a beard and missing half a finger.
Did someone say more pics of ramen?
Menya Yuko - Kyoto
We stumbled upon this tiny place after drinks at Bee’s Knees. My son’s favorite of the trip. I liked it, but it’s hard to find bad ramen. At least we couldn’t. This was soy based. We tried dark and light. Great noodles here and nice chashu. For $9. lol
Gunma Tonkotsu? - Tokyo
We stumbled upon this place in Setagaya City after making our first transit mistake (after cocktails, lol) and heading way across town and missing our reservation at Eureka Sake. Oh well, this ramen was good, too, rich tonkotsu. Seems one doesn’t have to worry in Tokyo, around any corner, you can find good food.
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Thanks for the great write up on what sounds like was an amazing trip!
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Looks awesome! I gotta get back to Japan soon.
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Nice nice, out in my neck of the woods… 
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Thanks so much for the photos. So glad you made it to Monk. I wish we had something like that in NYC!
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Awesome trip report, thanks. I’m heading back in a few weeks… will update my notes accordingly.
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Have expressed the same in one of the Tokyo threads, and it goes for everywhere I have been in Japan. Love that you had a good mix of places across the range - and a lovely write up.
When my kids gets a bit older I will definitely take them to Japan. My son is already excited about it (for the food, and he just turned 8!).
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You are totally correct! And great that your son is up for it. That was how it started for us- this was in the works for a bit- he’s 21 now, which was perfect as he was all-in. We had a great time.
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Thanks for the great report - although I’m living a bit closer than most people here (I’m in Hong Kong) it’s been nearly 20 years since I was in Japan, and I have to say that it seems that it’s got quite a lot easier to find places that can deal with English-speakers. When I was last there it was quite a struggle, so I’d been avoiding going back, but it seems like things are a bit easier now. I need to get planning…
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We had no issues beyond basic stuff where it took an extra 10 seconds to figure out what each party was saying. My son knows a *little Japanese, so that helped. Restaurants were not an issue at all, outside of the Izakayas on Hoppy Street, but that’s part of the charm of Hoppy Street. Google translate is also a game changer. We shared a table with two young Japanese women on Hoppy Street who were visiting from a coastal town up north- who were several drinks in, lol- and we chatted for 20 minutes using Google translate on each others’ phones. That was a hoot.
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This is a great point - I haven’t ever used it or travelled to places where it might be of value since it existed, but good to know that it works well for Japan.
BTW beware drinking contests in both Japan and Korea - even some of the women can really get through quite a surprising amount without falling over!
I took mine for Spring Break 2019. They were 16 and 14.
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Did that too. Makes flirting odder
We took our kids over the summer. They’re 10 and 8. It was magical. It’s an ideal kid destination–even littler kids–because it’s such a nonstop assault of new sights and stimulation and stuff you never see in the USA (or Europe, where my kids have been many times).
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Spoiled little brat was 8 (younger daughter) when I took her to Australia and then spent a couple of nights in Tokyo on the “way back”. She was a foodie already
Google Translate works for your camera on signs as well. True gate changer.
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