Tokyo to Okayama

The day after we returned from Fukuroda Falls, we had a more leisurely day. We went off in search of a great matcha gelato store I had found online. Located near Sensoji Temple on a small side street, we were treated to the best matcha gelato we've ever had. Suzukien Asakusa is famous for its 7 levels of matcha ice cream, with number 7 being its premium gelato and the strongest matcha gelato in the world. The shop also has other flavors including red bean, strawberry, brown rice, sesame, black tea, roasted tea and seasonal flavors like citrus and pumpkin. 

You can see great variation in the strength of the matcha!!

My mom and I decided to share the black sesame and number 7 premium matcha gelato. The shop is very small, and you have to eat the ice cream inside the store... But it's standing room only! There are no chairs anywhere, so you have to stand and eat at high bar tables.

My mom and I shared the black sesame and the number 7 premium matcha gelato.

Outside Suzukien Asakusa.

After our trip to Suzukien Asakusa, we proceeded to walk around Sensoji Temple. Sensoji is a Buddhist temple also known as Asakusa Kannon. It is Tokyo's oldest temple and one of the country's most visited. According to legend, around the year 628, two brothers were fishing in the nearby Sumida River. They netted a golden statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy. They presented the statue to their village chief who was then inspired to become a Buddhist priest. He remodeled his home into a temple dedicated to her. After Sensoji was damaged by World War II, the temple was completely rebuilt.

During the daytime, Sensoji is very crowded.

On the way to the temple (coming from the main entrance gates... we were walking the opposite direction), you pass through Nakamise Shopping Street. This shopping street dates back to the 17th century and is one of Tokyo's oldest shopping streets. It's become extremely crowded with tourists, but most shops in this outdoor arcade have been family run for several generations.

Walking around Nakamise Shopping Street.

In the evening, we went to a tempura bar that I had found online. Not even knowing it, we were having dinner at a 2 Michelin star restaurant that is very famous in Japan. There are 15 seats at a U-shaped counter, and chef/owner Kondo has over 50 years experience cooking tempura.

The restaurant has one small room with a tempura bar.

After dinner, we headed out for a nighttime photography session. We stopped at the visitor center near Sensoji, where we took an elevator up to the top floor. We had great views of the Tokyo Skytree, Nakamise Shopping Street, Sensoji temple and the pagoda at Sensoji.

View of the Tokyo Skytree.

Looking at Nakamise Shopping Street towards Sensoji Temple.

We then went back down, crossing the street and walking through a now empty Nakamise Shopping Street. We got to Sensoji temple, beautifully lit up at night, and I began photographing.

Photographing around the grounds of Sensoji.

To get low angles, I was often lying down on the floor!! 

A behind-the-scenes look at photographing Sensoji.

I haven't done much nighttime photography in Japan, but this night was very special. I loved the way the light hit the temple grounds, and actually found it much prettier at night than during the day! It was also less crowded... a huge plus!

Lanterns lit up in the entrance.

I also happened to stumble upon some koi fish in a pond. I'm not sure they enjoyed the flash, so I only took a few quick photos and then let them be. 

Koi in the pond.

I also experimented with using my flash to illuminate foreground subjects, as seen below with the pagoda.

Pagoda at Sensoji.

We then drove to the river front, where I took some long exposure shots with the Tokyo Skytree and dinner boats sailing past.

Along the riverfront looking towards the Tokyo Skytree.

We also drove to a location our driver knew where the Tokyo Skytree reflects perfectly in a canal! To get the below shot, I held my camera out the bridge's railing (mom was not impressed) and began shooting.

Tokyo Skytree reflected in the canal waters.

The following morning, we took the train from Tokyo to Okayama, where my mom spent 2 years teaching English. During the 3 1/2 hour train ride, we enjoyed some snacks from Suzukien Asakusa along with bento boxes. At Suzukien Asakusa, we bought 7 level matcha chocolates (the package also came with hojicha which is roasted green tea). It's amazing how you can taste the difference between all the matcha concentrations! The matcha levels are as follows...

No. 1 = 1.2%

No. 2 = 1.9%

No. 3 = 3.1%

No. 4 = 5.1%
No. 5 = 8.2%
No. 6 = 13.3%
No. 7 = 29/1%
and houjicha = 5.1%

7 levels of matcha chocolate, plus hojicha

I also had some fun taking pictures of my Totoro I bought at the Studio Ghibli museum...

Leaving Tokyo on the shinkansen.

Before leaving Tokyo, we had found a great bento box shop. Along the back wall, I saw some character bento boxes (usually what the kids eat from). When I saw a series of Shinkansen trains, I knew we had to get these bentos to have as souvenirs! The Shinkansen is the Japanese bullet train and reaches speeds of up to 200mph. Sometimes referred to as "super express", these trains only stop at major stations so it's the most direct way to get from point A to point B. When we went to Fukuroda, for instance, we spent 2 hours on a local train because the Shinkansen doesn't go to such a small station.

Our Shinkansen bento boxes.

Inside of our Shinkansen bento boxes.

After arriving at Okayama Station, we headed to our hotel which was only a block away. Okayama is the capital of Okayama Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chugoku Region after Hiroshima. The city developed as a castle down during the Edo Period and became a significant regional power. It's now a major marketing center with great rail connections to cities on the Inland Sea, Sea of Japan, and Shikoku.

Panorama view from the hotel.

Later in the day, we met up with some of our friends from Kurashiki, and actually one of my mom's former students. We met at our hotel, and walked underground to Kani Doraku, a famous crab restaurant chain in Japan. Founded in 1960, this restaurant serves the best crab. Be prepared to have your mouth water... Our meal started off with crab legs, crab meat, and octopus (going clockwise). 

Appetizer round.

We tried some Yuzu Sake, to which we said "kampai!!" (Japanese for cheers).

Kampai with friends.

We then had crab sashimi, which was raw snow crab legs.

Sashimi round.

Next was charcoal grilled snow crab and king crab along with grilled crab paste inside a crab shell that you then mix with egg. For this course, we cooked ourselves at the grill on the table.

Close up of the crab legs.

This course also had some shishito peppers, shiitake mushroom and mochi to cook on the grill.

The full plate for this course.

Cooking on the grill.

Next up was a small tempura course, consisting of crab leg tempura (SO good!!), sweet potato tempura, and eggplant tempura.

Tempura course.

We then had steamed egg custard with crab (not pictured), Japanese special soup (also not pictured) and crab sushi (below).

Crab sushi.

My mom says this meal was the best crab she's ever had in her entire life!! We left very full, and very happy to see our friends. 

Group photo during the dessert course.

Outside of the crab restaurant. 

After dinner, we all walked back to the hotel together and exchanged photos of what we have been doing in our lives recently. Our friends showed us photographs from their trip to Switzerland and from when they visited us in Los Angeles when I was a child, and we showed pictures from my trip to Svalbard, the Great Bear Rainforest, Africa, and our 2003 trip to Japan when we were last all together. The following morning, my mom and I went to Korakuen Garden. When she lived in Japan, she went to this garden many times. I surprised her by bringing her Okayama shirt on this trip, something she bought when she was living in Okayama!

Mom with her Okayama shirt.

After crossing the suspension bridge over the water and taking pictures of Okayama Castle, we headed to the entrance of Korakuen Garden.

Panorama of a rental boat shack and Okayama Caslte.

Korakuen Garden is ranked as one of the three best landscape gardens in Japan. In 1687, Ikeda Tsunamasa (a feudal lord) ordered his vassal to begin construction of Korakuen. The garden was completed in 1700 and has retained its original appearance from the Edo Period. The garden was used as a place for entertaining important guests as well as a retreat for daimyo (feudal lords). In 1884, ownership was transferred to Okayama Prefecture and the garden was opened to the public. The garden suffered severe damage during the floods of 1934 and during the World War II bombing in 1945, but was restored based on Edo Period paintings.

Walking around Korakuen garden.

Bamboo grove in Korakuen garden.

After our short visit to Korakuen and a long walk back to the hotel, it was time to once again board the Shinkansen. On the way out of Okayama, we passed many beautiful agricultural fields. Okayama Prefecture has a predominately agricultural economy, producing rice, grapes, peaches, cotton, and other cash crops. As we settled into our seats, we prepared for our short one hour journey via Shinkansen to Kyoto.

Passing by agricultural fields on the way to Kyoto.

Thanks for reading about my adventures in Japan… Stay tuned for what's to come and be sure to hit the subscribe button to be notified of new posts! As always, follow my instagram @elissatitle for more pics.