Trip to Japan

May 9, 2025 – May 24, 2025

Debbie Peavler Stewart, Veryle Peavler, Emilee Peavler, Anastasia (Ana) Peavler, Clint Peavler

May 9-May 10

The flights getting here were ok. We met Debbie in Vancouver and all flew from there. Debbie was the only one of us who had someone in the middle seat beside her on the 10.5 hour flight. Customs in Osaka took over 1.5 hours in a hot stuffy area with people packed like sardines. When we got to the hotel, Daiwa Roynet Hotel Kyoto Shijo Karasuma, they had us booked for two extra rooms so we had to deal with that. So were much later getting settled than planned. Then the portable wifi we get so we can have phone connection without paying Verizon’s international fee wouldn’t connect. So, we won’t have connection unless we are at the hotel if they don’t resolve the problem. Hopefully we have had all the snafus at the beginning and the rest of the trip will be smooth.

5/11   We went to Universal Osaka. It was fun. A lot like California just in a different language. It was very crowded. One ride had a 3 hour wait time. We didn’t join the line. We had express passes for a few rides so rode those. We took the train between Kyoto and Osaka. On the way there we were on an express train. On the way back to the hotel we got on a local train and stopped at each station. So, lesson learned about watching for express trains.

5/12 We went to the Nijo Jo castle in the morning and explored it. It is very large and has beautiful grounds around it. We stopped at a lindor chocolate store on our way back to the hotel and Emilee and Debbie went in to shop. Clint, Ana and I went on down the street to a department store. After a while Emilee came in without Debbie. She had gotten tired of waiting for Emilee and left to join us. She couldn’t find the store. I shared my location and she found us, we both had airplane mode turned off. We then stopped at a 7-11 and got lunch (which is a big thing to do in Japan) I got one of their egg salad sandwiches that the internet raves about. It was pretty good. We rested at the hotel for a bit then walked to the Gion district to explore a temple and see geishas. The temple was very neat. We saw geishas but I think most were tourists in rented outfits. We wanted something to eat so went down an alley with a lot of places to get food. No one would pick a restaurant so I saw one that had a decent menu and a sign that said go down the alley to the elevator and go to the 3rd floor. Emilee did not like my choice because it seemed a bit sketchy. The alley was deserted, we had to squeeze through some bars, and the elevator had the menu on one side and an ad for a ladies club on the other. We got into a small elevator rickety and went up. The restaurant ended up being good. And I made Emilee apologize for doubting me.

5/13   We went to Osaka castle but didn’t go in because the line was 25 minutes long and we needed to get to our food tour. The food tour was good. We stopped at a restaurant and had a noodle dish. Chicken skewers and quail eggs on a stick and scrambled egg pancake. Then walked to a temple she told us some of the history. We took a train to the Dotonbori district which is pretty much streets of street food. We had octopus fried in balls with rice. I thought it was icky. Then Kobe beef prepared two ways. Then candied strawberries on a stick. It is kind of funny they have all of the food stalls but you are not supposed to walk and eat.

5/14   A busy day. We went to Fushimi Inari-taisha temple (the temple with the red gates you see in pictures). The train to get there was crowded and the temple was crowded. We were going to the shrine at the top of the mountain and Emilee thought she had a way to avoid the crowd. We went uphill for a ways to a shrine and a sign said 40 minutes. Ana decided to turn back. We went by a couple shrines and signs kept saying 15 minutes. Debbie and I didn’t make it to the top. We got to a place that was up more steep stairs and we turned back. We were on a road for a small part and thought about offering someone $10 American money for a ride. We saw some neat shrines and the bamboo forest. Over an hour of hiking. We then had lunch at Burger King and took another train to Arashiyama Monkey Park. We got off the subway and walked 20 minutes to it and found out it was up a steep hill. Clint hadn’t been to a monkey park so he went in and the rest of us waited for him. We walked in the bamboo forest trail a bit and back on the train. My app shows 8.4 miles 10 floors 

5/15 We took the bullet train to Hiroshima, 237 miles in an hour and a half. After checking into our hotel, Daiwa Roynet Hotel Hiroshima, we went to the peace museum and park. The museum was really crowded. We beat a giant group of people going in but it was still 4 to 5 people deep in most places. It was very sad to see the people hit by the atomic bomb and the destruction. A lot of school groups. It was interesting to see how they teach about WWii. In one spot they alluded to the United States wanting to take over. Later they did admit they bombed Pearl Harbor. The museum was interesting but would be incredible if not so crowded. We walked through the park and saw the memorials and the atomic dome which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After we went to get dinner. Clint went to find a McDonald. We went to a ramen place. Emilee and Ana enjoyed their food. Debbie and I didn’t. On the way back to the hotel an emergency vehicle came to the intersection. Everybody stopped but the vehicle did too, so everybody started across, and he blasted his horn at us. 

5/16 We took the fast boat to Miyajima and saw the floating tori. It was a fun day. We just wandered the island. We got separated for a while when there was a miscommunication on where Ana. Clint and I were going. Lots of souvenir and food stalls. We tried Momiji Manju, which are maple shaped cakes filled with different things. They were pretty good. Fried oysters which Emilee and Ana liked. There were deer all over the island that would just come up to you. One grabbed my map and I had to wrestle it from its mouth. We sent our luggage to our hotel in Tokyo and just brought clothes for two days. I got ice cream all over my pants so have to rinse them in the shower. We took the ferry and tram back to get back to the hotel. We went to dinner at a Texmex cantina where they played country music and the waitress was Australian. I got taco in a bag which was very good. Emilee said it is the only time she is getting American food in Japan. She came for Japanese food.    

5/17   We took the train to Tokyo so not much to report. We were in the first reserved car and got annoyed because people who hadn’t reserved seats were overflowing into our car. Plus a woman and her daughter were rude to the conductor because they hadn’t reserved seats. We figured out how to get from Tokyo Station to our hotel, Dai-ichi Hotel Ryogoku. Ana had them change the bedding on her bed because it had a stain. The room has a big window between where the beds are and the bathroom. I assume so people can lay in the tub and look out the window because it is a great view. We went to dinner and found a place we all liked. I think it was Chinese not Japanese but they had ramen and fried rice so everyone was happy.

5/18 We went to Akihabara in the morning. It is known as electric town because of all the electronic stores. We stopped at an arcade and each tried a claw machine for 100 yen, about 70 cents. I won a lusso smart watch (a very cheap smart watch). We went to a cat cafe and had a half hour of playing with cats. Clint was getting a migraine so we helped him get back to the hotel and then went to Asakusa to see the temple. We happened to be there for the Asakusa Sanja Matsuri, one of Tokyo’s biggest festivals. The festival is centered around Asakusa Shrine and Sensoji Temple, with activities including processions, dances, and traditional festival stalls. It features over 100 mikoshi (portable shrines) paraded through the grounds of Sensoji Temple, as well as traditional dances, music, and festival stalls. It attracts over 1.8 million visitors. We went to a sumo wrestling show and hot pot dinner. The food was good and the show entertaining. Debbie and Emilee wanted to stay til dark so Ana and I ventured the subway on our own. We asked at information and the woman wrote a travel plan for us, two subway transfers and a train transfer. We asked several people and had to have the station master show us how to add money to our ticket but we made it. A woman and her daughter, who we had asked for help, changed their plan and escorted us part way.  

5/19 We went to Gotokuji Temple: the lucky cat temple. People make a wish and leave little cat- except now they say buy the cat, make a wish and take it home. Bring it back if your wish comes true. Because they have too many cats. We then went to Shibuya Sky which is by the crosswalks you see in pictures. Ana doesn’t like heights so stayed at a McDonald while we went up. We took pictures and walked around it is 45 floors high great views of Tokyo. It has been cloudy so haven’t had a view of Mt. Fuji. Everything is crowded and takes a while to get to.

5/20 We went to Tokyo Disneyland. A fun but very long day. We were in a Good Neighbor hotel so they had a shuttle. But it picked us up at 7:30 in the morning and returned at 9:30 pm Some old favorites Small World. Country Bear Jambore. canoes. Tom Sawyer island. We got on the canoes and I misjudged the seat and fell backwards. Debbie, Emilee. Clint and Ana were laughing everyone else gasping. The seats are made for shorter people so our knees are sore..we went to Alice in Wonderland Banquet and had a unbirthday cake. A Beauty and the Beast ride that only they have was fun. A lot of kids in school uniforms in Disneyland and throughout Tokyo. I read that field trips are big in Japan. Small towns will bring groups into the city for them. The fireworks were canceled because it was too windy. There were a lot of people but we got express passes for a few and watched the times for others.

5/21 A fun day. We got up and went to a bakery for breakfast and then started to the train station. Ana got a stomach ache and went up to the room to lay down. The rest of us went to sanjuka region. We walked around and saw Godzilla on a roof and a cat billboard. We met Ana at a subway station and we all headed to Asakusa to a tea ceremony. We dressed up in kimonos. I thought we would just stick a kimono on over are clothes but we did the full dress up- it is quite an ordeal to get all the layers on. Then to the ninja museum. They did a star throwing demonstration, then we tried it. Clint won the competition and got to keep his plastic star. There was a boy there who obviously studied ninjas- he answered all the questions the guide asked. Clint gave the star to him and he was very happy. We then went to a place for Kobe beef. We learned all the rules for Kobe beef on our food tour. If a restaurant has true Kobe beef they display a gold medallion. It was very good but expensive even here where we are close to the town where the cows are raised.

5/22 We took the train back to Osaka so not a lot going on. Our hotel, Toyoko Inn Osaka Dome Mae, was across from the baseball stadium. They had a game so it was interesting watching people go in. Most carried their own food. There is a big mall connected to the stadium so we went there. Emilee bought a couple pair of pants she won’t have to have them hemmed.

5/23 We went to the Dōtonbori district today. Just wandered around and bought souvenirs. We took a boat ride thinking it was going to let us see a bit of the area. But it just took us up and down the canal, which we could walk. We had a good lunch and Emilee finally got the sushi she had been wanting, got a bit panicked when I forgot my backpack in a bathroom – it had passports in it. They had moved it to the office when I went looking.

5/24 We had a car take us to the airport and flew home.

  •    Women carry rags to dry hands because there are no paper towels and usually no hand drier.
  •    I like bidets and warm toilet seats
  •    There are a lot of school outings. A couple of adults will usher very young kids down the streets. Or young kids take the subway on their own
  •    People don’t give up train and subway seats to elderly or disabled.