Japan 2015 – the countdown is on!

This poor blog has been a little neglected lately, largely because the first part of the year is always very busy for me at work… but also because much of my spare time has gone towards planning our Japan trip!

The itinerary is set now, a bit different from my original plan – we’ll still start in Tokyo, but then spend two nights in a ryokan in Kyoto before heading to Osaka for a few days.  From there, we’ll do day trips to Miyajima and Himeji Castle.  Finally, one last night in Tokyo before heading to the airport early in the morning.

I’ve been contemplating plans since we first booked tickets back in August (I can’t believe it’s been that long!), and also trying to study up on katakana, the phonetic alphabet that will let me sound out English-origin words.  Sadly, the latter isn’t going as quickly as I would have hoped, but I’m making progress on planning at least.

For many restaurant reservations, our hotel concierges either can or must connect with the restaurants directly (most of the famous sushi ya in Tokyo will only book for foreign tourists through hotels, so they can have a credit card guarantee).  So far, our Osaka concierge has gotten dinner reservations at a kaiseki restaurant in Kyoto as well as a Michelin-starred tempura restaurant in Osaka, and our Tokyo concierge will make our sushi reservation on March 1, when the books open for all of April.

But my prize reservation?  Well, the concierge said they don’t take third party bookings, so I redialed several hundred times before succeeding!

The restaurant in question is Jimbocho Den, a modern kaiseki place with a whimsical twist that’s developed quite a reputation online (and currently has one Michelin star).  With just 8 counter seats and a few tables, it’s no surprise that the reservations process is reminiscent of the French Laundry, with a dash of Schwa.

Reservations are taken exactly 2 months in advance, between 11am and 4pm Tokyo time.  My mom and I both started dialing exactly at 11am (8pm here), only to get busy signals over… and over… and over.  After an hour, we took a break, and then I began again around 9pm.

When the phone finally began ringing, I grabbed my cheat sheet with a carefully translated request to make a reservation in English.  The chef’s wife is the restaurant manager and also takes all the reservations single-handedly, which I’m sure partly explains why it’s so hard to get through.  In the end, we got two seats at 9pm – not ideal, but not so bad if we’re jetlagged anyway.

Now let’s just hope the experience lives up to the reservation process!

Some other, non-food things I’m particularly looking forward to:

• Our ryokan stay in Kyoto: I had debated between two famous ryokans, Tawaraya and Hiiragiya, and settled on the latter.  I’m excited to take luxurious baths and sleep on futon on the floor!
• An ikebana lesson.  D has excused himself, but I can’t wait to arrange some flowers.
• Riding the shinkansen
• Shiatsu massages on day 2, hopefully a perfect antidote to travel.
• Shopping!  Self-explanatory.  On my wish list: kitchen gadgets and dishes, towels and linens, a new umbrella, perhaps some shoes… and who knows what else I’ll find!

Now, off to find those katakana flashcards…