Japan Archives - Curiously Carmen

Travel: Kyoto Eats

April 15, 2020

During our trip to the Kansai region of Japan earlier this year, we stayed in Kyoto for 3 days! Since we were only here for 3 days, we picked a very central location to stay at. You can read my review on the hotel, Grand Bach Hotel Kyoto, here! A major plus was that we were close to so many food options such as Nishiki Market and Teramachi Street!

Here’s some of what we ate during our time in Kyoto! I didn’t include all the places we ate at because I don’t remember the name of or didn’t take a picture (gasp!).

Freshly Baked Melonpan: Yes, this is the name of the food stand! Melonpan is a popular type of Japanese pastry which is a bun topped with sugar in the shape of melon, hence the name. I saw the Freshly Baked Melonpan stands quite a few times throughout the trip, and it did not disappoint. The melonpan was warm, fresh, and so delicious. You can also add soft serve!

Sugi Honey Shop: This was located in Nishiki Market, where there are tons of food stalls! Although this place specializes in premium honey (which was very good, by the way), they sell soft serve on the side drizzled with their honey. We really enjoyed the yuzu honey soft serve and came twice during our 3 day visit!

I contemplated including this place because this was the only picture I had (why didn’t I take a picture of the soft serve?!), but in the end, I want to look back at my posts and remember this lovely shop!

Yakitori Kanazawa: Since we were a mere 20 footsteps away from Teramachi Market, the fiance looked up some yakitori places around there and picked Yakitori Kanazawa. Props to him because it was a great find! The yakitori was juicy, delicious and full of that grilled, smokey flavour.

One of the chefs/waiter (it was a very small place, probably only fit 10 customers) was really funny and liked to scare customers. He would talk normally and then all of a sudden, scream AH!!!!! which was startling to us, but then entertaining as we saw him do it to other customers, LOL!

Katsukura: Oh my GOD, the best meal we had in Kyoto! We still talk about Katsukura to this day. Katsukura specializes in tonkatsu. The tonkatsu was so delicious and the best we’ve had so far. I ordered a set that came with shrimp tempura above. Just writing about this makes my mouth water and I’m hungry again.

A Happy Pancake: A Happy Pancake isn’t new to us, as we tried the location in Tokyo in 2018. We were happy to see a location in Kyoto and came here for lunch before heading back to Osaka. A Happy Pancake is known for their fluffy pancakes. The pancakes were delicious here as well but be prepared to wait! Luckily we came right when they opened so there wasn’t a line yet.

To be honest, I didn’t enjoy Kyoto as much as I thought I would because the city was over crowded with tourists. I don’t want to be one of those people who complain about tourists because I am also one, but it lacked an authentic vibe to me. However, the food was really good and memorable.

I enjoyed the quieter cities of Kobe and Kurashiki more. I published my post on Kobe earlier this week, which you can read here. I will be publishing a post on Kurashiki soon!

Travel: A Day in Kobe, Japan

April 7, 2020

During our trip to the Kansai region, Kobe was a city that I was really wanting to explore! Kobe is smaller than Tokyo and Osaka, so it doesn’t receive much international attention, except for its world-famous, mouthwatering Kobe beef! However, I personally really enjoyed our day trip here! There was a lot less tourists here, and felt like a breath of fresh air from the crowds of Osaka and Kyoto.

We travelled to Kobe from Osaka via a regular train which took roughly a hour. You can also take a Shinkansen which is faster, but it would cost a lot more. Our friend took a plane from Tokyo and met us in Kobe. Since he had limited time, a domestic flight was a lot faster than taking the Shinkansen from Tokyo.

We were in Kobe from the morning until evening! Here was our itinerary for the day:

Meriken Park: We started our day by walking around Meriken Park, towards the harbour. The photogenic Kobe Port Tower is located here, as well as a big Kobe sign that would make for a nice souvenir photo. The skies were blue and sunny, so it was a pleasant walk around this small area.

We also saw a small ferry terminal, and a boat offering tours around the harbour!

Harbourland: A quick 10 minute walk along the same path as Meriken Park, is Harbourland. There are some malls here to do some shopping as well. We walked around the path outside and took some pretty photos of the ferris wheel.

Lunch at Steakhouse Zen: You can’t go to Kobe and not try Kobe steak. Our Japanese friend knew a local, who recommended Steakhouse Zen to us. We came during lunch so the prices are a bit cheaper, but I will warn you that Kobe beef is not cheap!

The quality of the beef is unparalleled and unlike any steak you will ever eat. As expected, the beef was mouthwatering, melted in our mouth, and super delicious. We ordered a lunch set, which also came with rice, soup, veggies, and dessert.

The cherry on top of a perfect lunch was that Steakhouse Zen is located on a higher floor of a building complex above the train station, so you get a beautiful view while eating Kobe steak. To our right, were buildings and the water peeking out. To the left, was greenery and mountains (including Mt. Rokko, our next destination!).

Mount Rokko and the Kobe Nunobiki Herb Gardens: After lunch, we walked to the base of Mount Rokko, next to Shin-Kobe Station. We took the cable car to the peak of the mountain.

The ride up in the cable car was beautiful and we also saw Nunobiki Waterfall from above. Alternatively, you could also hike up the mountain but we wanted to spare our tired feet when possible.

Atop of Mount Rokko is the Kobe Nunobiki Herb Garden. The Nunobiki Herb Garden is a really pretty, calm area where guests can see many different types of herbs, flowers, and greenery. There is no entrance fee to the garden.

You start at the top of Mount Rokko and can walk down the mountain to see the different types of vegetables and herbs that they grow here. Unfortunately we came during winter so the trees and leaves were bare, but I still found it to be very beautiful and calming here. I can only imagine how breathtaking it would be during sakura season!

Foot soak atop Mt Rokko: One of our highlights of the day was the herbal foot soak. For 100 yen, guests can soak their feet in a hot, herbal bath made with fresh herbs from the garden. The foot soak has a beautiful view overlooking Kobe. We ended up spending a hour chatting, just enjoying the view, and enjoying the hot water relaxing our feet.

There are also hammocks at the herb garden! It was a bit too chilly to fully enjoy in the winter time though.

City Loop Bus: After our relaxing visit to Mt Rokko and the Kobe Nunobiki Herb Garden, our friend (tour guide/translator hehe) suggested that we take the City Loop bus back to the Harbourland area for dinner.

The City Loop bus stops at all major and recommended Kobe attractions. This was a great suggestion because we were able to see other areas of Kobe instead of being in an underground train!

Harbourland at night: We were thinking of going on the sunset cruise, but we spent too long relaxing at the foot soak at Mount Rokko and missed the sailing time. Oops! But no regrets because that foot soak was amazing. Anyways, I would recommend the sunset cruise if you have time.

We ended up walking around Harbourland a bit more, and took some pictures of the night landscape. You could also take this time to shop around Habourland.

Dinner: Our friend suggested Vietnamese food for dinner! It was my first time having Vietnamese food in Japan. We went to Thang Cafe Motomachi which was a short walk from Harbourland.

Compared to Canadian Vietnamese restaurants, the noodles were thicker and chewier. The main distinction was that the pho broth was very gingery so that may be a good or bad thing depending if you like ginger or not.

Overall, it was a very fun day in Kobe. We left very satisfied with the sights that we saw and the city left a great impression on us. The weather was beautiful the whole day as well. Kobe, you were great!

Travel: Cup Noodle Museum – Osaka Ikeda

April 1, 2020

While doing my part in social distancing and staying home, I thought it would be a great time to continue my travel posts from our recent trip to the Kansai region (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Himeji, Kurashiki)! We went back in late January/early February, but honestly that felt like a year ago because things were so different then compared to now!

The Cup Noodle Museum is not actually located in Osaka. From Osaka’s city center, it is about a 40 minute train ride to the city of Ikeda. Ikeda is a small, residential city so we thought it was quite odd to plop a museum here. Turns out, the city of Ikeda is where cup noodles were actually invented!

We actually weren’t planning to come here, but prior to our flight, we had nothing to do and saw that the Cup Noodles Museum was only 15 minutes away from Itami Airport. So, we checked our luggage in early and killed a couple of hours here. It was actually one of the highlights of the trip and I ended up really enjoying our visit here!

Since the Cup Noodle Museum is the only attraction around here, there are signs everywhere when you get off the train station so it would be hard to get lost. There is no entrance fee here unlike the Cup Noodle Museum in Yokohama.

First, you sanitize your hands and pay for your cup. As of Feb 2020, it was 300 yen and I believe they only accepted coins.

Secondly, this is where the fun begins! You are led into the decorating area! The decorating area is efficiently divided up by parties of 2 or 4. Each table has its own pens so you don’t need to worry about sharing with other visitors.

We spent about 30 minutes decorating our cups. We could have been faster but we had a few hours to kill before our flight, so why not?

Thirdly, you hand over your newly decorated cup to the staff, where it goes into this machine to put the noodles in.

Fourthly, your cup noodles are handed to another staff. You can select one broth flavour, and some toppings!

Finally, your cup noodles go through a machine where it is sealed and packaged! It was very fun to watch and see your creation look like a real, packaged food item that you’d buy at a grocery store!

In addition to making your own cup noodles, there are also exhibition rooms talking about the history of cup noodles, and interesting facts. There is also a huge wall of cup noodles over the years that make for great photos!

There is also a gift shop where you can buy souvenirs.

For only 300 yen (or about $4 CAD), it was a great way to spend a couple of hours and now we have personalized souvenirs in our home.

If you have some time to kill in Osaka, or departing/arriving from Itami Airport, I would recommend a stop here!

Travel – Hotel WBF Namba Nipponbashi, Osaka

February 29, 2020

Happy Leap Year! Last leap year in 2016, I wrote that I was wondering where CuriouslyCarmen would be next leap year… happy to see that I’m still kickin’ it on the blog and posting regularly! Will CuriouslyCarmen be around for next leap year?!

Last month, the fiance and I went back to Japan for vacation! This time, we went to the Kansai region, which includes Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, and Himeji. During the trip, we stayed in three different hotels – two in Osaka and 1 in Kyoto, which I reviewed here!

For the first two nights in Osaka, we stayed at another hotel, Sarasa Hotel, due to its close proximity to Shin-Osaka station so we could get to Kyoto quicker. Sadly, I forgot to take photos because it was 4am Vancouver time, slept only 25 minutes on the flight, and was in zombie mode. =(

But, I will say that Sarasa Hotel was great and we would have actually preferred to stay at this hotel instead because WBF Namba Nipponbashi was disappointing. Seeing that we did so many day trips, it would have also been more convenient to stay around Shin-Osaka station.

When/if we come back to Osaka, we would definitely stay at Sarasa Hotel instead of the one I am reviewing today, Hotel WBF Nipponbashi.

Unfortunately we stayed here 9 nights, for most of our trip, so we just had to suck it up. No one wants to read fake, positive reviews, so I hope you can see this as an honest review instead of being “picky”.

Location: Since it was our first time in Osaka, we weren’t sure of where to stay so we picked the Namba area. The hotel was a block away from Kuromon Market and about a 15 minute walk to Dontonbori where the signature Glico man statue is.

I will say that if you’re planning on just staying in Osaka, the location would be excellent. Close to local train stations, and so many delicious food options within 5 minutes.

However, if you’re planning on doing a lot of day trips like us, I would actually recommend staying around Shin-Osaka.

Amenities: There was a lounge in the lobby which offered some free juice and pastries if you signed up for a free WBF membership. However, we came during the middle of coronavirus, and did not feel comfortable eating uncovered food that had been lying out for many hours with lots of tourists passing in and out in the dirty lobby (see below).

Very misleading photo from Booking.com, lobby area was not this clean or spacious in real life (angles!) I wish I took a photo of the reality!

The main reason we did not like this hotel was because it felt very dirty, messy and cluttered. The lobby was stuffy and narrow to begin with. They didn’t have a proper area to store guest luggage, so it was all piled on top of each other and quite the eyesore every time we walked in.

I was also worried about the possibility of theft when they are out in the open like that – how would hotel staff know whose luggage whose? The lobby just felt like a stuffy dumping ground for all sorts of things (there were also rental costumes on a rack??) so it ruined the atmosphere when you first walk in.

Room: The room size was pretty standard, although there some complaints. The toilet seat was not cleaned properly when we first arrived The heating system was also very finicky and didn’t work properly.

In addition, the pajamas were hard and scratchy. Most Japanese hotels provide pajamas and the previous hotels, Sarasa Hotel and Grand Bach Hotel had really comfortable pajamas.

Housecleaning also didn’t do a thorough job as they forgot to refill our shampoo and other toiletries… but not very surprising considering how there were stains on the toilet seat when we first checked in!

View from hotel room, you can see Namba Station in the back

With so many hotels to pick from in this area, I would not recommend WBF Hotel Namba Nipponbashi. Again, not trying to sound picky, just trying to give a honest review.

The WBF chain has quite a few hotels in Osaka. I can not comment on their sister hotels (random thought, does anyone say brother hotels? LOL) but we weren’t impressed with this hotel. It felt dirty and stuffy.

Travel – Kyoto Hotel Grand Bach Review

February 26, 2020

Last month, the fiance and I went back to Japan for vacation! This time, we went to the Kansai region, which includes Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, and Himeji. We stayed mostly in Osaka, but went to Kyoto for 3 days. This post will talk about our hotel in Kyoto, Hotel Grand Bach!

Background: While looking for a hotel in Kyoto, we wanted somewhere central because we would only be here for 3 days. In the end, we chose downtown Kyoto because there was more to see in this area, and was also within walking distance to Gion.

I don’t remember the exact price but it was about $100 CAD a night, a very good deal considering how central we were and how classy the hotel was!

Location: The location was VERY convenient and central! We were a block from train stations, Nishiki Market, and Teramachi Street which were great for meals and shopping. We had many great meals on Teramachi Street!

Walking around Gion, a 10 minute walk from the hotel

Gion District, the historical area was about a 10 minute walk. Department stores were about 2 blocks away.

Room: Since the hotel was on the main road, I was worried about the noise. However, the room had great soundproofing and we could not hear a single thing from the road!

The room was average sized for Japanese standards, which is considered small for Western standards. Japanese hotels usually have two twin beds with wheels, so you can choose if you want to sleep separately or together.

The room was comfortable enough for the two of us although we had to keep our luggage upright for space. It wasn’t a big deal for us, but just a heads up if you haven’t stayed at a Japanese hotel before.

There was a rainfall shower and body jets. I would have preferred a tub, but there was a bathhouse in the hotel where I was able to soak and soothe my sore muscles, which I’ll talk more about below.

A nice bonus was that they offered free movies in English. The other two hotels we stayed at in Osaka only had Japanese cable, so it was nice to have a movie playing in the background while relaxing.

Change room in the female bathhouse with facial products, q-tips, and hair dryer.

Amenities: I really enjoyed the bathhouse in the hotel. The bathhouse was always very relaxing, spotless and clean. In addition, the products (shampoo, conditioner, foam face wash, face oil, night cream) they offered were really good quality.

Picture of gender segregated bathhouse from hotel’s website

Some people may feel uncomfortable going into a bathhouse because you have to be nude, but this is a norm in Japan so no one cares that you’re naked. Just be sure to follow the rules (no phones, rinse before, don’t put face towel in the water, don’t cause a ruckus) and no one will judge you.

There was also coin operated laundry, which we took advantage of. When you’re travelling for 2 weeks with limited clothes, it’s a must!

Atmosphere: The atmosphere was very calm and classy. It felt more like a 4 star hotel than a 3 star hotel. Since this hotel has a Bach/classical music theme, there was always classical piano playing in the lobby and hotel!

Cute Bach/piano theme at the bottom of the sign!

The staff were polite and helpful. This is embarrassing but after checking out on the last day, I realized I had forgotten something in the hotel! We quickly went back to the hotel, where the front desk called housecleaning to grab it for us. They came down within 15 minutes with the item.

Cons: I really can’t think of anything bad about this hotel. The only con I can think of was the awkward entrance. Although the hotel was located on the main street, you have to enter through the side street which confused us during check in. Once you get in, the first floor is awkward with a dark hallway and elevator. You have to take the elevator to the second floor lobby.

I am very glad we stayed in downtown Kyoto and would recommend Hotel Grand Bach. The location, atmosphere, and amenities were great and honestly I think we underpaid for what we got! Shh, hehehe.

This review is not sponsored.