Fall 2025, Japan: A Seafood-Inspired Journey
Toyama, Kanazawa, Himeji, Okayama & Furashiki

Trip Summary:

During February and March of this year, we watched several YouTube videos that highlighted Toyama's superb seafood scene. As a result, we decided to visit Toyama when we go to Japan.

For this trip, we have crafted an itinerary that balances new destinations like Toyama, Okayama, and Kurashiki with old favorites like Kanazawa and Himeji, to ensure a dynamic and exciting journey.

We're somewhat familiar with Toyama Prefecture because the four Takashima brothers of the 東京大衆歌謡楽団 music band grew up there. We've not only watched videos of their outdoor concerts in different locations of the prefecture but have also read comments posted by fans. These posts frequently emphasized the stunning scenery of the Tateyama Mountain Range (立山連峰) and the abundant seafood harvested from the deep waters of Toyama Bay.

Our itinerary includes:

  • 2 nights in Tokyo (東京)
  • 4 nights in Toyama (富山)
  • 4 nights in Kanazawa (金沢)
  • 3 nights in Himeji (姬路)
  • 4 nights in Okayama (岡山), with a day trip to Kurashiki (倉敷)
  • 1 night in Yokohama (横浜), just to spent the night in a convenient location close to Haneda Airport before our flight the next day.
We booked all our hotels directly through the hotels' websites back in June to take advantage of their loyalty programs and 60-day early bird discount. As a registered member of a hotel chain, we received a small discount on our bookings and earned points equal to about 10% of our hotel room spending, which can be redeemed on our next stay at the hotel chain. Our self-planned itinerary was quite flexible, we were able to avoid staying in Tokyo or any other popular big cities on Saturday nights, as hotel rates typically rise by 40% on Saturday nights.

Below is our customized Google My Maps showing our traveling routes. You may click on the "View Larger Map" symbol ( ) in the upper right corner of the map frame to view the map in a larger window.

Transportation

AIR: We flew Delta,

Outbound: BOS -> DTW -> HND (Tokyo Haneda Airport)
Inbound:   HND -> DTW -> BOS

TRAIN: We did not move often enough to make a rail pass cost-effective, so we purchased point-to-point tickets.

Even when using point-to-point tickets, there are opportunities to purchase them at a discount if one is willing to take the time to learn how and accept the restrictions of the discounted tickets. If this sounds too complicated, that's perfectly fine; the savings may be insignificant compared to the overall cost of your trip anyway. In that case, simply visit a train station's ticket office in advance to purchase tickets from a staff member, or buy from a machine if you are comfortable in doing that.

For train times, we used JR West's Timetable & Route Finder, as almost all of our routes are within the scope of the JR West's search engine. On the rare occasions when JR West's search engine cannot provide details for a train route or fare, we used NAVITIME to obtain the necessary information.

BUS: We took a highway express bus from Kanazawa to visit Shirakawago (白川郷) for a day.
- Nohi Express Bus info: https://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/highwaybus/
- Schedule for the Takayama-Shirakawago-Kanazawa Line: https://www.nouhibus.co.jp/highwaybus/kanazawa_en/
- Buses between Kanazawa and Takayama stop at Shirakawago.
- Tickets purchased online through JapanBusOnline.com can be canceled online before departure for a fee of 100 JPY/ticket.
- When we tried to buy tickets to Shirakawago just two weeks in advance, we could only find bus seats to Shirakawago in the morning, but there were no seats available on the afternoon buses departing at 15:10 or 15:55 to return to Kanazawa.
- However, we held on to our outbound tickets and checked the returning bus seats frequently, hoping someone might cancel their reservations. Fortunately, the bus company added a second bus departing from Shirakawago at 15:55 for Kanazawa. We quickly secured two seats, ensuring that our day trip was possible.
- In the event that one cannot find bus seats to go back to Kanazawa, according to Japan-Guide.com, there is a local bus service (no reservation needed) from Shirakawago to Takaoka in the Toyama Prefecture. From there, one may take a local train from Takaoka to Kanazawa.

Online Resources:

  • Google Maps & Google Search: They are travelers' best friends, both during trip planning and while on the ground.

  • Google Translate: While not perfect, its translations are very helpful, especially the camera function. You can point your camera to a posted text in Japanese and have it translated to your specified language.

  • Japan-guide.com: a wealth of tourist information for planning a trip to Japan. For example, this is an introductory page about Toyama city: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7500.html

  • Access the Visit Japan Web service, https://services.digital.go.jp/en/visit-japan-web/, to register for immigration, customs, and (optional) tax-free shopping in Japan. Although it is not mandatory, you may still fill out a paper arrival card and customs declaration; however, many airlines have stopped handing out arrival cards and customs declarations before you land. (You can always ask flight attendants for them.)
    - The online process can be a bit challenging for the first-timer. Google "Visit Japan Web video tutorial" to watch a few YouTube videos demonstrating how to complete the process.
    - Only one family member needs to create an account. This individual can register up to 10 family members who are traveling to Japan together.
    - You may complete this process a few weeks (or months) before your departure as long as your know your arrival flight number.
    - Once you have completed the process, a link to display the QR code will appear in the lower right corner of the page. Be sure to display it and take a photo (or screenshot) of the QR code along with the person's name to save on your mobile phone, as they do not send the QR code to you via email. If you have registered for two people, select the second person's name from the dropdown list to display this person's name and QR code, which you should screenshot too. Each individual has their own unique QR code.

Guidebook:

No guidebook was used for this trip. All research was conducted online, and we created a Google My Maps to plot the routes, hotels, restaurants, sights, and activities. We also compiled separate notes in Word doc.

Lodging

We chose our hotels based on their locations on Google Maps, along with photos and reviews. We booked directly through the hotels' websites. Pay attention to the room size in square meters to ensure that you book one that is spacious enough for comfort. In Japan, twin rooms are usually larger than double rooms.

One thing peculiar about booking directly on a Japanese hotel's (English-language) website is that, when we chose to pay at the property upon check-in, the booking process never asked for a credit card number as a guarantee. Although a cancellation penalty is specified for no-shows or cancellations made less than x hours in advance, how can the hotel enforce this penalty if they never request a customer's credit card number? It is possible that they choose not to bear the extra security of safe-keeping these sensitive data, or perhaps the Japanese business culture simply trusts that guests will honor their commitments.

We enjoyed combining Japanese solid 3-star hotels with a few upscale 4-star hotels on the same trip. The former provided convenient coin laundry facilities and authentic Japanese breakfasts, while the latter offered spacious rooms and luxurious amenities for a change of pace.

  • TOKYO: Daiwa(大和) Roynet Hotel Kyobashi(京橋) Premier - Tokyo was just a 2-night stop for us before taking the Hokuriku Shinkansen (北陸新幹線) from Tokyo to Toyama. We were looking for a hotel not far from the Tokyo Station, a neighborhood we'd like to get acquainted with. Since we were delighted with the Daiwa Roynet Hotel Ginza Premier in 2024, we chose a similar Daiwa Roynet Hotel Kyobashi Premier (大和 Roynet 酒店 東京京橋 Premier) which is located in the historical Kyobashi area and is about a 7-minute walk to the Tokyo Station.
    - We booked a 247 sq. ft. non-smoking twin room.
    - We had 12,100 points earned from October 2024, which we redeemed for 12,100 yen at check-in to apply toward the cost of this stay. For each stay, hotel members earn 10% of the room cost as points that can be redeemed for future stays.
    - The hotel's simple breakfast is served in a coffee house on the 2nd floor.
    - There are many hotels in the same vicinity, including a Marriott and a Mitsui Garden. However, location-wise, I like the Daiwa Roynet Hotel Ginza Premier better because it is a short walk to the Muji flagship store, the Uniqlo Ginza store, and the Hands store, where one can spend time in the evening before they close at 9 PM.
     
  • TOYAMA: Daiwa Roynet Hotel Toyama-Ekimae - As the name "Ekimae (車站前)" indicates, this hotel is located in front of the Toyama train station. We chose this hotel for two reasons. First, we discovered via Google Maps that the hotel is located just across the street from a popular sushi restaurant named 廻転とやま鮨 (Kaiten Toyama Sushi), which had been featured in a few YouTube videos. Second, the hotel points we earned from this stay can be redeemed at our next stay in Himeji.
    - Although the rooms are small, this hotel serves the best buffet breakfast of the entire trip.
     
  • KANAZAWA: Hyatt House Kanazawa - Built in 2020, this modern Hyatt property is conveniently located right behind the Kanazawa Station. While we enjoyed our stay at the Hotel Nikko Kanazawa last year, we were drawn to the Hyatt's photos of modern and spacious rooms with large windows and are looking forward to exploring a new accommodation.
    - We booked our stay using the Hyatt member rate, which provided a small discount, the flexibility of free cancellation up to two days before arrival, and complimentary breakfast for two.
    - We loved our spacious room and the hotel's convenient location, 2-min walk off the west exit of the Kanazawa Station.
     
  • HIMEJI: Daiwa Roynet Himeji - For Himeji, we wanted to stay just beyond the northern exit of the Himeji train station, as this area is bustling with shops and restaurants.
    - We booked a 290 sq. ft. non-smoking twin room. We were lucky to be assigned a room on the 12th floor with a view of the Himeji Castle from our window.
    - The Saturday room rate spiked up by about 40%, confirming just how popular this tourist destination town is.
    - We redeemed points earned from our earlier stays in Tokyo and Toyama toward the cost of this stay, reducing the hotel bill by over 10,000 JPY.
     
  • OKAYAMA: Hotel Granvia Okayama - Hotel Granvia is the luxury brand owned by the JR West Group. We chose to book at the Hotel Granvia Okayama due to its spacious rooms and convenient location.
    - We booked a 344 sq. ft. Superior Twin non-smoking room. This is a great hotel with attentive services. We were very pleased to wind down our 19-day vacation in this comfortable and relaxing setting.
     
  • YOKOHAMA: Richmond Hotel Yokohama Ekimae - 4-minute on foot from the JR Yokohama Station West Exit. Since we had 9,100 Richmond Hotel points which was set to expire in Oct/2026, we booked a stay at a Richmond hotel to use the points.
    - We booked a 280 sq. ft. Superior Double room. However, the train station is not only huge, the surrounding area is also very busy and somewhat hectic. Therefore, we do not recommend booking a hotel near the train station.

Internet & WIFI:

Both of us have eSIM-compatible unlocked iPhones. MC purchased a NOMAD eSIM for just one country (Japan), and VT purchased a similar-planned eSIM from Japan Wireless.

  • eSIM is the way to go. We intentionally bought eSIMs from two different brands to compare their performance, and both worked wonderfully, including iMessage support. Although the installation procedures may vary from vendor to vendor, the configurations after installation are the same. Here we made a separate page to outline the key steps for configuring a travel eSIM. This will ensure it not only provides internet access at your destination but also maintains functionality for iMessage and any other apps tied to your USA phone number.

Money Matters (Cash, ATM etc):

We started with some leftover Japanese yen from our last trip and withdrew cash from ATMs at Japanese postal offices as needed.

We tried to use credit cards that do not charge foreign transaction fees whenever possible, as they provided the best currency conversion rates. Always opt to pay in the local currency, which in this case is the Japanese yen.

Laundry:

All of our hotels, except for the 4-star Hotel Granvia Okayama, had on-site self-service laundry facilities.

Food:

Sashimi, sushi, grilled fish, grilled squid, unagi, and tempura—we loved them all.

We also love oden (おでん, 関東煮), Japanese fish cake and daikon stew. Although it is a winter dish, some shops in Kanazawa and Himeji offer them year-round.

"紅天使 焼き芋" (Red Angel roasted sweet potato) is a brand of roasted red-skinned Japanese sweet potato. We found them sold warm in the "Yours" supermarket next to Hotel Granvia Okayama, and we ended up buying them for 3 days in a row.

We loved the Japanese rice.

We read in the news that this year's Japanese green grapes (晴王麝香葡萄, Shine Muscat Grapes) are in oversupply, resulting in a significant drop in the retail price. We bought them from the supermarket whenever we saw them, and they were very sweet. We also enjoyed Japanese mandarin oranges called mikan (みかん, 蜜柑); they were very sweet too.

Itinerary and highlights:

Day 1 to 2: Tokyo (9/22 ~ 9/23/2005, Monday ~ Tuesday): Link to Tokyo photo

We left Boston on a 9 AM Delta flight the day before, and arrived today in Tokyo Haneda Airport at 4:15 PM.

With two nights in Tokyo, it only gave us one full day.

Kyobashi (京橋), situated between Ginza and Nihonbashi, is one of the oldest commercial centers in the heart of the city. The neighborhood is named after the Kyobashi, a famous bridge during the Edo period that no longer stands. This hotel is a 7-min walk to the Tokyo Station.

Our Tokyo highlights include:

  • Tokyo Station: We spent about 2 hours in the morning getting familiar with the Tokyo Station. We purchased two Shinkansen tickets to Toyama for tomorrow and also bought two regular SUICA cards (good for 10 or more years) and loaded 4000 yen onto each. These SUICA cards can be used to pay for public transportation in many other cities, including Toyama, Himeji, and Okayama.
     
  • Attended a 東京大衆歌謡楽団 concert at the Asakusa Shrine: Since 9/23, 秋分の日 (Autumn Equinox Day), is a national holiday in Japan, the band gave an outdoor concert at the Asakusa Shrine! We were in luck. An outdoor concert relieved us of the challenges of obtaining tickets and also offered the flexibility for us to arrive and leave as we wished, given our limited time.
    (The band has released the video of this concert on YouTube. Here is a link to the middle of the concert for a highlight: https://youtu.be/k0asnFlgssI?list=RDk0asnFlgssI&t=3354 )
     
  • Went to Ryogoku Kokugikan (両国國技館) National Sumo Arena, where a sumo tournament was taking place. This arena, Kokugikan (國技館), is located in the Ryōgoku (両国) district; that is why the two names are often mentioned in one breath when referring to this arena. All the tickets were sold out. We lingered near the entrance to watch the wrestlers coming and going and shared the excitement with other fans.
     
  • Took the metro and then a taxi to western Ikebukuro (池袋) to see the 新珍味 restaurant. We knew we could not visit the small museum on the 4th floor but were curious to take a look at the restaurant.

Day 3 to 6: Toyama 富山 (9/24 ~ 9/27/2025, Wed ~ Saturday): Link to Toyama photo

Toyama Prefecture guide: https://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1219.html
Toyama City guide: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7500.html
Getting around in Toyama city: use trams. The tram network consists of six lines which all depart from or pass through Toyama Station. The fare is 240 yen per ride.

Toyama City is the capital of Toyama Prefecture with a population of about 400,000. Toyama City is well-known as an western entry point for the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, which offers stunning mountainous scenery. However, that is not our focus this time.

Famous food in Toyama: (1) Toyama Black Ramen, known for its unique jet-black soy sauce-based broth, which can be quite salty. (2) White shrimp from the Toyama Bay.

Our highlights in Toyama include:

  • Glass Art Museum: Toyama was famous as a pharmaceutical center during the Edo Period, practicing and selling traditional medicine. As these medicines needed glass jars as containers, a glass industry evolved.
     
  • Downtown: Toyama downtown is located to the south of the train station, about a 12-min ride on a tram. 総曲輪通り (sōgawa-dōri), along with the adjacent 中央通り (Chūōdōri) 商店街 and 西町 (nishichō) 商店街, forms the largest downtown shopping area. We enjoyed browsing the food hall and the restaurant floor in the enormous Daiwa Department Store Toyama (大和百貨 富山店). Both north and east of the Glass Museum are the downtown commercial areas.
     
  • Amaharashi Coast 雨晴海岸: What a beautiful name! Does the name mean 雨過天晴 (after the rain, then sunshine) or 又雨又晴 (rainy and sunny at the same time)? The modern Roadside Station Amaharashi (道の駅　雨晴) is about a 5-minute walk from the Amaharashi train station. On a clear day, one is supposed to be able to see the Tateyama Mountain Range (立山連峰) from this coast.
     
  • A beautiful Starbucks coffee shop and the Kansui canal park (環水公園). They are about a 10-minute walk north of the Toyama train station.
     
  • Last but not least, our Toyama hotel's breakfast was outstanding.

Day 7 to 10: Kanazawa 金沢 (9/28 ~ 10/1/2025, Sunday ~ Wed) Link to Kanazawa photo

Kanazawa City guide: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2167.html

The Shinkansen train from Toyama to Kanazawa took about 22 minutes, while the local Ai-no-kaze (愛の風) train took 59 minutes and cost less than half of a Shinkansen ticket. So we took an 愛の風 train, since we would not be able to check in in Kanazawa if we arrived too early. Besides, we would love to see the countryside scenery passing by in slower motion on a local train.

We really love our modern and spacious room at the Hyatt House. The hotel's location is excellent; it's just a 2-minute walk from the west exit of the train station, with no busy streets to cross—only a pleasant stroll along the sidewalks.

This was our 3rd visit to Kanazawa, so we had no must-see sights; we just enjoyed being there and taking it easy.

We set aside a day for a round-trip to visit Shirakawago (白川郷), a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its traditional gassho farmhouses.

As explained in the "Transportation" section and under "Bus," there is no train to get to Shirakawago; bus/car is the common transportation mode to reach there.

However, all buses between Kanazawa <-> Shirakawago must be reserved ahead of time (and seats are assigned.) Plan to purchase your tickets online a couple of weeks ahead, because you can cancel your ticket with a 100 JPY penalty, but you cannot go if you cannot find available bus seats. More importantly, don't go unless you can also secure bus seats to leave Shirakawago, because you would not want to be stranded there overnight (unless you intend to stay overnight and have booked lodging in advance with a guest house or minshuku there.)

Day 11 to 13: Himeji 姬路 (10/2 ~ 10/4/2025, Thursday ~ Saturday): Link to Himeji photo

Himeji Guide: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3500.html

The biggest attraction in Himeji is Himeji Castle, the largest and most visited castle in Japan, often regarded as the #1 castle in Japan. Himeji Castle has never been involved in any battle because it has never been attacked, and it also survived the 1945 bombing toward the end of WWII, according to its Wikipedia page.

The train journey from Kanazawa to Himeji was somewhat complicated due to the need for two train changes. After the opening of an extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Kanazawa to Tsuruga (敦賀) in March 2024, the limited express trains that used to run all the way from Kanazawa to Kyoto and Osaka stopped running the segment between Kanazawa and Tsuruga, forcing travelers to take the new Shinkansen from Kanazawa to Tsuruga and then change to a limited express to continue from Tsuruga onward to Kyoto or Osaka. Since we were heading beyond Osaka to Himeji, we had to change at Shin-Osaka from a limited express to a Shinkansen for the remainder of our journey.

We visited Himeji briefly in 2013 as a stop on our way from Hiroshima (廣島) to Osaka. The castle keep was closed for a five-year renovation at that time, but we enjoyed the stroll along the beautiful boulevard leading to the castle and were impressed with the expansive grounds surrounding it. So we decided to come back to visit the castle this time.

Our hotel in Himeji is the Daiwa Roynet Himeji, located on the northern side of the train station. We were delighted to be assigned a room on the 12th floor with stunning views of the castle.

VT enjoyed catching up on MLB postseason games on TV whenever he could.

Himeji Castle plays an important role in the formative years of the legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武藏, 1584-1645). In the movie "Samurai Trilogy", Samurai I: Miyamoto Musashi, after Musashi is brought to Himeji Castle by the monk Takuan, the monk takes him to the attic, where there are shelves of books. The monk tells him to read diligently, and then suddenly locks the door to the attic from the outside, confining Musashi inside. After reading for three years, Musashi is transformed from a ronin who only possessed brute force (空有蠻力的浪人) into an educated and sensible samurai (武士).

We have now climbed the keeps of the top 3 castles in Japan: Himeji Castle (姫路城), Matsumoto Castle (松本城), and Kumamoto Castle (熊本城). With our aging legs, perhaps we can save ourselves from climbing any more Japanese castles in the future.

Between the train station and the castle is a very bustling part of the city. We saw several restaurants advertising grilled eel, but upon a closer look, they were serving anago (穴子, conger eel), not the freshwater eel (unagi). Anago is a saltwater eel and tastes different than unagi.

Day 14 to 17: Okayama 岡山 (10/5 ~ 10/8/2025, Sunday ~ Wednesday): Link to Okayama photo

Okayama City guide: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5700.html
Kurashiki City guide: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5750.html

The Shinkansen train from Himeji to Okayama took about 20 minutes. So we arrived at Okayama too early to check in. We left our luggage at the hotel and went to AEON Mall for lunch and to kill time. When we came back to the hotel, our luggage was already in our room.

We booked at the Hotel Granvia Okayama for 4 nights. Hotel Granvia is the luxury brand of the hotel chains owned by JR West. Typically, these hotels are situated atop or adjacent to a JR station. Over the years, we have enjoyed stays at the Hotel Granvia Hiroshima and Hotel Granvia Kyoto; therefore, we did not hesitate to book with the Hotel Granvia Okayama.

We loved our spacious Superior Twin room on the 16th floor. The room has a round table, a couch and a chair, plenty of countertop space to make coffee/tea, drawer space for us to unpack, and a large closet with doors to close off. The hotel staff was very attentive when we had questions.

We took a day trip to visit the historical town of Kurashiki (倉敷) and another half-day to see Okayama's famous Korakuen Garden (後楽園), one of the top 3 landscape gardens in Japan. (The other two top gardens are:
Kenroku-en (兼六園) in Kanazawa(金沢) and Kairaku-en (偕楽園) in Mito(水戸).)

The rest of the time we just took it easy, trying to live like a local, watching TV, relaxing in our room, looking out the window at the cityscape and the mountains beyond, and marveling at our good fortune that we were only a 2-minute walk from the Takashimaya Department Store (高島屋百貨) with its abundant selection of takeout lunches. The only decisions we had to make were questions like, "What's for lunch?" and "What's for dinner?" It was the perfect setting for us to wind down our 19-day trip by spending the last four days at this very comfortable hotel.

Okayama is the home of Japanese children's storybook hero Momotaro-san (桃太郎, Peach Boy). However, peaches are in season during the summer months, so we missed fresh peaches.

Day 18: Yokohama 横浜 (10/9/2025, Thursday): Link to Yokohama photo

Yokohama City guide: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2156.html

Our vacation is drawing to an end. To spend the final night closer to Haneda Airport, we considered options including Shinagawa (品川), Yokohama, or a hotel at the airport. We ended up choosing Yokohama. The Nozomi Shinkansen train from Okayama to Yokohama took just over three hours. 

Yokohama was much cooler and very windy compared to Okayama. TV news seemed to have mentioned a typhoon was nearby.

Yokohama is Japan's second-largest city by population, just behind Tokyo. We have boarded and disembarked from cruise ships at Yokohama Harbor twice, but we have never had the chance to explore the city's attractions. Today, we are finally taking the opportunity to visit Yokohama Chinatown, the largest in Japan, to satisfy our curiosity.

We took a taxi from our hotel to Chinatown; the fare was 2200 JPY. We'll let our pictures convey our impressions. While we don't think it should be anyone's first choice if one has time for only one sight, we chose it out of our curiosity.

Day 19: 羽田機場 Fly home from Haneda (10/10/2025, Friday): Link to Haneda Airport photo

The frequent Keikyu Bus (京急巴士) that runs between Yokohama and Haneda Airport departs from YCAT (Yokohama City Air Terminal), which is located outside the east exit of the Yokohama Station.

From our hotel on the west side of the Yokohama Station, the walk to YCAT takes about 15 minutes by weaving through the train station and going up and down escalators. With luggage, walking to YCAT is not an option. So we either have to take a taxi to YCAT or a taxi directly to Haneda Airport.

We took a taxi to Haneda Airport. The fare plus toll totaled about 10,000 JPY (USD $66.) Our Delta flight was delayed for 90 minutes, giving us plenty of time at the airport to leisurely enjoy an unagi lunch at Unagi Yondaime Kikugawa (うなぎ四代目菊川). The restaurant has a branch at the Haneda Airport Garden wing, on the land side before security.

We arrived in Boston in the early evening. It was always nice to be back home.