Japan is a top spot for some bonding time with teen

When I announced I was taking our 16-year-old daughter on a 10-day trip around Japan, my significant other was somewhat sceptical.

As in, “you guys will kill each other!”

And: “I need to contact the Japanese consulate now to warn them you’re coming!”

Now this was (I think) all in jest, as anyone who has a teen in the house knows, everyone gets on beautifully all the time.*

And when “people” say you and the teen in question are just two sides of the same coin, I guess there is some veracity in the comments.

But the truth is — the odd “exchange of words” aside — I couldn’t think of a better place than Japan to spend some valuable bonding time with a teen, especially one somewhat obsessed with Asian culture. It’s easy to get around, has cheap, fantastic food and there’s always something stimulating to do or see — even if you skip most of the touristy hotspots.

Ground zero for our trip was first making a list of must-sees. Maya’s did not surprise:

+ A cat or animal cafe

+ Snow

+ Fruit and cream sandwiches

+ Bullet train ride

+ A red panda

My list was something like:

+ Try some good Japanese beer

+ Try some more good Japanese beer

+ Snow

+ Fruit and cream sandwiches

+ Visit to the Skytree

Most looked achievable, although even with all my dad-power I could not really guarantee seeing snow when we weren’t planning on hitting the ski zones. And the red panda would, I assume, mean a zoo visit. . .

But with a Japanese winter approaching the further north you venture, the more chance you have of at least glimpsing the powdery stuff.

With only 10 days to cover a lot of ground (Sapporo-Tokyo-Osaka-Tokyo), I warned Maya that we would try to be travellers rather than tourists.

And that meant taking local buses, meandering quirky neighbourhoods, chillin’ out at the multitude of konbini (convenience stores) and generally not trying to compete with the travelling masses. I figured a trip up Tokyo’s humongous Skytree tower was one must, if only to get a handle on the insane size of the city itself.

The Ueno/Asakusa area was another lock-in, as was a trip to Yanaka Ginza.

Other than that, the Great Norman-Maya Japan Expedition of 2024 daily breakdown was as free as the breeze. Heck, we even left a trip to Mt Fuji off the itinerary.

First stop, after an excellent direct flight from Perth to Tokyo’s Narita Airport via ANA, would be Sapporo, a 90-minute domestic flight away.

Sapporo has a reputation of being, by Japanese standards at least, a pretty laidback place and the ideal introduction to Japan.

Thus it proved. A city flanked by mountains (it was the venue for the 1972 Winter Olympics) and big, wide boulevards stretching into the ‘burbs, it also has a great tram and train network enabling you to get anywhere easily and cheaply. Walking around the city centre proved the most fun, however.

Japan loves its towers, and the Sapporo TV Tower was an ideal vantage point to get the lay of the land. From here we spotted the local fish market, within which was a very cool izakaya (bar) serving up great, and reasonably priced, fare. (Bizarrely, the fish vendors were very antsy at photos being taken of their produce, but each to their own).

A short tram trip followed by a 20-minute walk through beautiful woodland and we arrived at Maruyama Zoo, where the undoubted highlight (and a tick on Maya’s list) was the red pandas, ambling about like living stuffed toys and sending the Cute-O-Meter off the scale.

Alas, the other animal exhibits were fairly depressing: tigers pacing back and forth in a concrete cage; forlorn-looking wolves and bears. Despite the cold, even the polar bear seemed miserable. (We did get a laugh, though, out of the “Pee Cautions” sign at the monkey enclosure.)

Lunch on the way back from the zoo was the traditional Japanese Christmas favourite, KFC (and no I am not kidding).

Thanks to some slick marketing, the craze took off in 1974 and now the company sells an estimated $61 million worth of special Christmas dinners between December 23 and 25 annually — and often you must order weeks in advance. There’s even a phrase for the occasion: Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii (Kentucky for Christmas).

Like all stores in Japan, KFC operates on a spectacular, and humbling, level of ultra-polite professionalism so even a simple dine-in-at-a-takeaway-joint experience can leave you feeling like a king.

KFC aside, Sapporo covers every avenue when it comes to food but as winters here can be brutal above ground, locals head underground to get their shopping, dining and entertainment fix.

The very groovy underground Pole Town precinct, a 2km network of stores and shops, offers everything from local delicacies, pizza restaurants, beer halls and bars, boutiques, gaming arcades and my favourite: the Japanese crepes-in-a-cone shop.

Sapporo was icy but snow wasn’t on the forecast. Just 30 minutes away by train (not a bullet) though was the historic seaside town of Otaru, nestled under some decent-sized mountains, including the 530m Mt Tengu.

In the local folklore, tengu are mountain goblins that are said to bring good luck if you touch their long noses.

And as luck would have it, I had one mega-thrilled 16-year-old because as the cable car (ropeway in Japanese terminology) rock and rolled its way up to Mt Tengu’s summit, we entered a snowy wonderland.

At the height of winter, it becomes a haven for skiing and snowboarding right on Otaru’s doorstep. With the icy temperatures on Mt Tengu warding off snowmelt, an early season dusting offered a preview of things to come but, more importantly, had delivered another ‘tick’ for Maya, who was beside herself scooping up big handfuls of the not-quite-powdery stuff.

From the Mt Tengu summit, Otaru shimmered far below like a tiny toy town, the ocean stretching out to the horizon, and beyond that Russia and North Korea.

Back in town, we checked out the beautifully preserved canal district, with buildings dating back to the 1800s, and the nearby Sakaimachi Dori shopping street. Packed with quirky shops such as the Music Box store (AC/DC anyone?) and lined with stalls selling hot snacks, this was a meanderer’s paradise. A huge Snoopy store (Peanuts is massive in Japan) sent Maya into raptures. Some boutique Otaru ales had Dad in a similar state, too.

Mission accomplished (red pandas and snow), it was time to take the train back to Tokyo. The first few hours were via a clunky “chugger” but a change at Hakodate at the southern end of Hokkaido and bingo, it was Shinkansen (bullet train) time.

The buzz of hitting 260kmh on rails never fails, although unfortunately Japan Rail no longer offers an in-train meal service, so we had to stock up on onigiri (rice rolls), chocolate and (for me) good Japanese beer at Hakodate Station.

Arriving in Tokyo, the local bus got us to Asakusa and a 15-minute walk to our hotel, the very slick Kanzashi.

As realtors say, it’s all about location, location, location and the famous Sensoji Temple (Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple, dating back 1400 years), adjacent shopping district (lots of very cool lanes) and the monumental Skytree were all within walking distance.

(Tip: Wear comfortable shoes. You will do a huge amount of walking in Tokyo, even with one of the world’s best subway systems to whisk you around. We averaged 25,000 steps a day).

Sensoji Temple and its precinct and markets can be very busy, especially in summer at the weekend, but overall it’s still a great place to base yourself in Tokyo. Lots of cool little cafes nearby (coffee, Japanese milk bread toast and a boiled egg for brekky — although other local punters were having a beer or two with their fare) and funky izakayas dishing up hot yakitori skewers.

Looming large over everything is the stupendously tall Skytree — 634m to be precise, or more than 2000 feet in the old money. We book tickets through the Kanzashi reception desk (including to the top observation deck at 450m) and head off. No surprise that a lot of other folks have the same idea, so allow a couple of hours at least for the whole experience.

The dusk view out to Mt Fuji, with Tokyo and its 37 million inhabitants stretching from horizon to horizon, is staggering.

With only a day and a half left in Tokyo, we check out the beautiful, relaxing Ueno Park and then take a train to a virtual time warp: Yanaka Ginza, or “Cat Town”.

Just off Nippori station, Yanaka Ginza is one of the few areas to have escaped natural disasters (earthquakes) and the Tokyo firebombing in World War II. It’s like a giant 1940s film set, a shitamachi (old town), with myriad alleyways chock full of antique shops, cafes, little bars, pottery shops and cats — cat statues, cat paintings, cat galleries, cat lanterns, toy cats, real cats.

And another tick for Maya as we spend a couple of hours at a cat cafe.

Yanaka Ginza isn’t to be confused with the Ginza, which we check out at night for a dazzling neon-and-chrome fix before heading once more by bullet train to Osaka. Our eyes light up waiting for the train — there at the station is a specialty sando (sandwich) shop with an amazing array of fresh cream and fruit sandwiches. Strawberries, mangoes and kiwifruit, submerged in whipped cream on thick, soft bread. You beauty.

I’d heard Osaka had an entirely different vibe to Tokyo and that proved right; it’s hipper for sure, with a level of food worship on a Singaporean scale.

Note: Just 48 hours in Osaka wasn’t nearly enough. We checked out the magnificent Osaka Castle, surrounded by a million-stone fortification. Dating back to the 1500s (although rebuilt once or twice due to fires and war), it is one of Japan’s most-visited attractions.

If the castle symbolises Old Japan and its feudal/samurai past, the Dotonbori food/entertainment district that straddles the river of the same name is the vanguard for 21st-century Japan, even if the precinct has been a leisure district for hundreds of years. Today it’s a riot of neon-lit, overwhelming noise and smells, and is best visited when night falls to get the full dazzling effect. Think of the Royal Show meets Times Square meets a food festival.

And make sure you go hungry.

The range of food stalls is incredible, including octopus balls (takoyaki), okonomiyaki (savoury pancakes), wagyu steak, spicy crab, hot dogs, ramen and much, much more (including sideshow stalls designed to suck yen out of you like there’s no tomorrow).

As we snack our way to gluttony, rain begins to pelt down. With the neon signs casting psychedelic reflections on the river and pooling water and see-through umbrella-toting locals shuffling their way down the narrow lanes, Dotonbori is pulsing with full Blade Runner vibes.

It’s a highlight among highlights of our quick Japan trip and we both agree Osaka deserves more love for the next trip.

And there will be a next trip.

(*Ok, maybe not all of the time.)

Japan — why go?

Great food (if you don’t like Japanese, don’t worry — every major city has cuisine from the world over), easy getting around (the shinkansen or bullet train system, or internal flights), LOTS to see, and even the “ordinary” like 7-Eleven stores (or konbini) are full of funky foods, great bargains and “Japan-only” souvenirs.

Is it expensive?

Unless you are planning to stay at the very high end of town, Japan is on the whole no more expensive than Perth.

Which, of course, is not that cheap.

To save money, and if you plan extensive city-to-city travel, get a Japan Rail card BEFORE you arrive in Japan.

The local subway systems are very economical but to save a lot of hassle with fares, buy a SUICA or PASMO card. These can be topped up at convenience stores, bus or train stations, and used for travel, shopping and more.

Where to stay

Japan Rail has an extensive and very affordable range of hotels, often literally at the station. Or if not, they are only a short distance away.

We stayed at the JR East in Sapporo, an easy walk to the centre of town.

The Toyoko Inn chain of business hotels also offer very affordable deals, but rooms are pretty basic.

Ryokans, or traditional Japanese inns, offer an immersive cultural experience but may not be to everyone’s tastes.

There are hundreds if not thousands of options in Tokyo. We stayed in the Kanzashi Asakusa, which was very modern and in a great location.

I took a punt with the Hotel Vine in Osaka and when our taxi driver couldn’t find it I got a little worried, however daylight showed it was just a five minute stroll to the nearest subway line.

Note: Japanese hotel rooms are invariably VERY compact and it pays to make sure you book a room in a non-smoking floor; yes, the Japanese still happily puff away in restaurants, bars and more.

What NOT to do

Don’t be that loud foreigner on the bus or train; the Japanese heavily frown upon yabbering loudly on a phone on public transport.

Never stick chopsticks in rice. It’s associated with funeral rites.

Travel light. Lugging big suitcases around is a pain for everyone, especially on public transport. There are multiple luggage transport services that can whisk your baggage from hotel to hotel.

Don’t try to cram everything in a few days. Japan is a big place; Sapporo to Osaka is more than 1000km, for example.

And you’ll do a lot of walking, so bring comfortable walking shoes.

https://kanzashi-tokyoasakusa.com/en/

https://www.hotelmets.jp/sapporo/

https://hotelvine.jp/