December 2025: Christmas in Japan

We've been promising Jasper for a while that we'd come and visit him in Japan, and with Delfine now "mostly done," it was finally time.

It's worth stepping back a moment and thinking about what we knew of Japan before we went. Which was virtually nothing. So we joined all the travel forums, read up, thought about what we might want to see, and did all the research. Eventually, we decided that the best way to see Japan was our way. Which is to go with a very light plan and make it up as we go along. After all, we were there to hang out and see Jasper.

We did book two things. The Shinkansen to Kyoto from Tokyo, because we read how busy that gets over Christmas and New Year's, and the hotel in Kyoto. Other than that, we'd make it up as we went. Oh, and we did one other piece of prep, on Jasper's advice, which was to download and preload the Suica card (a tap n' go payment system for travel, and also purchases in various stores).

Essentially, after 14 hours of flying direct from Brussels, we landed in Tokyo with very little actual idea about what we'd do or what to expect, other than stay with Jasper at his house and have a great time.

And boy, did we have a great time. It's hard to summarise the experience of being in Japan. It's both everything you expect (big, crowded, overwhelming) and yet nothing like that (peaceful, quiet, tranquil) at the same time. Like any huge city (and Tokyo is a mega-city) you can choose your experience – if you can imagine it, you can find it. Want peaceful shrines? Or busy ones? Crazy tech districts and manga? Or old shopping districts? Hang out in the centre with tourists? Or find your own way and get lost? Whatever it is, you can do it.

So this post is a collection of our favourite memories and a bit of what we got up to. If anyone is travelling to Japan and wants our detailed thoughts, feel free to ask. We're planning a post next week to talk more about Delfine and what's been happening on board over the off-season, but suffice to say, the boat is good, we're good and things are all moving in the right direction! More on that soon. For now, here's a bit of a photo explosion and commentary on our experiences in Japan.

Day 1: Arrive in Tokyo

After the long flight, it was a relief to be met by Jasper, who helped us navigate the transport system. The metro in Tokyo is no joke! It's actually highly organised once you get the hang of it, but the first impression is overwhelming.

We headed to his apartment and had one of our best meals of the whole trip (a very authentic place in his local neighbourhood).

Overall impression on our first day? Just HOW quiet Tokyo is.

Day 2: Relax and walk

Some jetlag recovery and exploring Jasper's local neighbourhood. Although he lives in Tokyo, it's an outer suburb with no tourists at all. We went to a shopping mall and Karina ordered new glasses. Everything in Japan is crazy cheap at the moment because of how weak the Yen is against the Euro. That evening we caught the train by ourselves into the local big exchange station to walk the streets and explore. Coming back was where we really learned how to navigate the stations! It took far too long to find the right platform and we missed several trains while we figured it all out.

Day 3: Imperial Palace and explore centre

Jasper still had school, so we headed off to explore the centre of Tokyo. We wandered around the Imperial Palace and started on my main quest – find all the great coffee shops. I think one of my biggest surprises is that when it comes to coffee, I think Tokyo is right up the top of the international coffee scene. There are endless cafes offering not just great cups of coffee, but truly exceptional ones.

Day 4: Meiji Jingu Shrine and Shinjuku

We headed to this shrine, which was very peaceful and a nice change from the hustle and bustle of the city center, then promptly headed to Shinjuku (one of the busiest pedestrian crossings in the world), as well as a huge shopping district. That evening, we headed back to the local train station to find dinner while Jasper was out. We found a local Izakaya and enjoyed wagyu and some delicious sake.

Day 5: Denny's, Manga, and Asakusa

Jasper was still at school, so Karina and I headed out to have breakfast with him before heading our separate ways. He took us to Denny's (yes, the American chain), which is something of an institution in Japan as a "Family Restaurant." It was the worst breakfast I've had in years! From there, it was off in the heart of the Manga district. This was a strange experience. It's obviously something many people are passionate about, so it was interesting to see, but it doesn't really resonate with us at all. Then it was the Asakusa district and the shrine there – this one was impressive, but way too touristy. We headed away from it to the river, and had a great walk without any people, and found another smaller shrine we visited as well.

Day 6: Down day

We didn't do much on this day! Karina and I went for a big walk around Jasper's neighbourhood, I think I wrote on the laptop, and Karina went with Jasper to the shopping mall again. Jasper did help us collect some photos online that we took at a photo booth, though!

Day 7: Tokyo Skytree, Sushi Train, Centre of Japan and the Robot Cafe

We headed up the Tokyo Skytree for stunning views over Tokyo and a real sense of just HOW big the city really is. Jasper took us to a Sushi Train restaurant for lunch – it's the headquarters of a big one, and they have the longest sushi conveyor in the world. Then to the geographic center of the world, Japan style (essentially, this is Japan's answer to Greenwich, when they had their own coordinate system back in the day). Next, it was the robot cafe. This one was a very interesting experience. The robots are remotely controlled by people with disabilities, and it's a really interesting (and slightly off-putting) experience to chat to the person on the other side of the machine. It was a very rewarding experience, though.

Day 8: Off to the mountains

I said we didn't have a strong plan. We decided we'd had enough time in Tokyo for the moment and would hire a car and drive up into the mountains. This was fantastic! We headed to Nikko, where waterfalls, stunning scenery, and a hotel with an Onsen that we could use, even with our tattoos.

Day 9: Touring Nikko (Waterfalls, Imperial Palace, Toshugo Shrine) and more Onsen

It was bitterly cold and snowing on and off as we wandered around these stunning locations. The hike to the waterfall (despite the bear threat) was a highlight. But, the afternoon with the Onsen? After being freezing cold? Pure bliss. We asked about our tattoos, and they said, "Not scary," so we were good to go!

Day 10: Tobu Miniature World, KFC Christmas lunch, Bamboo Forest, and home

We enjoyed the miniature world more than we expected, partially because it was a huge "memory lane" of things we had seen before. Japan doesn't really "do" Christmas – it celebrates it, kind of in the same way we "celebrate" Valentine's Day. It's a thing; we have decorations, but we don't actually take a day off or anything. But KFC is "the" thing you do (to do with a big advertising campaign). We went to the local KFC and enjoyed watching the parade of people rush in to pick up their orders. Then it was off to the bamboo forest. This is a hidden gem – there is a famous one in Kyoto, but this one is far better, more remote, and just as stunning. You have to have a car to get there, though.

Day 11: Shinkansen to Kyoto, Kyoto Castle

The train was fun. Very fast, and in true Japanese fashion, very quiet. We found our hotel, wandered around, and visited the castle gardens. It might be the fact that it's winter, but they were a little dull, to be honest. Perhaps at this point, we were getting gardened and shrined out.

Day 12: Kiyomizu-Dera shrine and a LOT of walking

This shrine is spectacular and, despite the crowds, worth the visit. Like most places, we found that if you were willing to keep walking a bit further, the crowds thinned, and even at this crazy busy time of year, you'll find peaceful spots for yourself.

Day 13: Kinkakujicho shrine, monkeys and more

The Golden Temple is well worth the visit. We enjoyed the "Kimono forest" and the wild monkeys too. Again, lots more walking! The monkeys are free-roaming, but there is a cage in the centre of the park. You can buy food and then feed the monkeys from inside the cage. Basically, they hang around for a free meal.

Day 14: Osaka Day Trip and Uji brutalist train station

Jasper had a friend in Osaka who showed us the city. We had a great walk, visiting a lot of the districts. Osaka and Kyoto are only 40 minutes or so by train, so getting from one to the other is straightforward. I found a brutalist station I wanted to see, so on the way back, we all split up. Jasper and his friend went off, Karina went shopping for plates for Delfine, and I visited the station.

Day 15: Fukakuysayabunouchicho (Inari) Temple, River Walk and Wagyu

The Inari temple is another highlight. And like the rest, just keep walking, and the crowds (which were insane) thin out, and you'll have parts of it to yourself. The highlight today was a Wagyu beef dinner with lots of speciality Wagyu from the various regions.

Day 16: Nara Park

The deer were very cute – they have been "trained" by guests to bow for food, and it's a lot of fun wandering around, bowing and feeding them. Further away (recurring theme here), they are less aggressive.

Day 17: Kyoto Aquarium and home

This was heading home on the train, we had some time to kill, so we dropped the bags at the station and visited the aquarium. We saw some giant salamanders, and am awkward dolphin show which felt really wrong.

Day 18: Down day! Writing, walking, recovering

Time to do nothing! Karina made a beef stew for dinner. Sometimes you just need familiar food.

Day 19: Snow day! Shinjuku and Karaoke

It snowed while we were in Tokyo. We took Jasper out to search for a new jacket and ended up going to Karaoke. It was so much fun, and actually harder than we expected to keep a tune and remember the melody.

Day 20: Down day! Sumo demo at the mall. Collect glasses. Dinner with Jasper's flatmates.

We saw an advert for a "cultural day" at the local mall, so we watched a sumo demo and the kids wrestling with the sumo fighters. Jasper made Olie Bolle (Dutch donuts) a few days late, but oh well. We then took Jasper's flat mates to dinner. Super cheap! Like €60 for six of us, all we could eat and plenty to drink.

Day 21: Fish markets, Sushi, Ferry, Kitchen District, Shinjuku at night.

In the morning, we headed to the fish markets. Interesting, but probably not a must-see unless you're going to get up and go at 4AM (we weren't). By 10 Am, it's all packed up, and there's not much to see. We did enjoy the Gundam and the ferry ride back up the river. The ferry was a cool design and very futuristic. That evening, Karina and I met with another nomadic travel couple we know in Shinjuku (Brent and Michael).

Day 22: Visit Jasper's school, Metro Museum.

Jasper was back to school, so we went with him to see where he's studying, then Karina and I visited the Metro Museum, which was good fun and very educational about the history of the metro system in Japan.

Day 23: Home!

That's it! Off we go. It was a sad goodbye to Jasper the previous night. We wisely decided the spend our last night at a hotel near the airport, which saved us a horrendously early start to the day.

So, there's our journey to Japan.

Spending so much time with Jasper really helped us reconnect, and understand what his day to day life is like. I'm sure he got sick of us, but it was also great having a local explain the culture, history and way of life in Tokyo.

It was a wonderful break, and it was great to get away from all things boat-related. Delfine was fine without us (although in the colder weather, burning through the diesel heating fuel), and we returned to find everything in great shape.

There's a lot happening with Delfine and the business at the moment, but we'll save that for a post next week.

Until next time,

Tim & Karina