9 Days in Japan: Part 3 – Kyoto Continued

Welcome back to our nine days in Japan itinerary! If you haven’t been following along, these nine days are spread across Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo and were part of a six-week honeymoon around the world. In this week’s post, we’ll be covering the remainder of our time in Kyoto — including the Golden Pavilion, the Heian Shrine, Toji’s Pagoda, and the prettiest Starbucks in the world — plus traveling from Kyoto to Tokyo by bullet train (the Shinkansen), as well as pro tips for this portion of our trip.

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Day 4 in Japan

To complete our final day in Kyoto, we had a jam-packed itinerary that included many destinations that were literally located nowhere near each other. So this day was full of attractions with breaks in between for transportation.

First stop of the day was to the very popular World Heritage site Kinkakuji (or Golden Pavilion). We left our AirBnb and headed to the train. The whole route took about 35 minutes and included taking a train four stops, then transferring to a bus for seven stops, and then walking a short distance to the entrance. Total cost of the ride was ¥490JPY (or $4.47USD) per person.

Adult entry into Kinkakuji cost ¥400JPY (or $3.65USD) per person. Kinkakuji is a three-story building made of wood, with the top two floors covered in gold leaf. It is surrounded on three sides by Kyokochi Pond (mirror pond). If you catch a good day like we did, the sun shines on the building and water and reflects the gold leaf even more. I don’t even think these photos gave it justice. After we walked around the pond and saw the Golden Pavilion from every side, we continued to take in the rest of the garden. There was the sound of running water throughout the park because of a creek and small waterfalls cascading over rocks that went along with the main pathway.

Believe it or not, the Golden Pavilion has burnt down once before, and the pagoda has burnt down four times! (What’s all that about?!) Well, structures in Japan need to be built to withstand earthquakes, and builders over the centuries have decided to build in wood, even though the structures are more susceptible to fire. The five-story pagoda was for many centuries the tallest tower in Kyoto, until Kyoto Tower was constructed.

It was a really peaceful day in May, and the weather was warm mid-day, so to finish our time in the park, we grabbed a quick soft serve iced cream and headed to the next destination: Heian Shrine. The trip took about 35 minutes with no transfers this time. Just one bus that we took for 18 stops. Total cost of the ride was ¥230JPY (or $2.10USD) per person.

On the bus ride over, I was beginning to get hungry for lunch. Just outside of the shrine, we stopped at a 7-Eleven for a grab-and-go snack to tide us over before lunch. This store has some benches outside for you to have a place to stop and eat, which was nice. If you aren’t familiar, 7-Eleven dining is very popular in Japan. There is a huge selection of hot, cold, and prepackaged food options that are all superior to the offerings of 7-Eleven in America. We each got a corn dog and then split a bun and headed over to the shrine.

Photo Credit: Google Maps (as described in above paragraph)
This was not the 7-Eleven mentioned above, but an example to show how beloved 7-Eleven is in Japan. Look at this exterior decor!

Heian Shrine has no entrance fee for the shrine grounds, but if you would like to visit the gardens then the admission fee is ¥600JPY (or $5.48USD) per person. We had a lot of attractions we still wanted to squeeze in that day, so we skipped the garden. Looking at photos online, I see that the garden is really beautiful. So if you had more days in Kyoto, you may want to add that in while you’re already on the property. We hung out for a little inside the shrine, taking photos and exploring, then we headed to our sit-down lunch.

A quick walk from the shrine, we came across a small family-owned bakery called Le Bac a Sable that specialized in quiches, tarts, and breads. We ordered four small quiches and tarts to share between us because we just couldn’t decide on two, and they all looked so good! For savory, we ordered smoked salmon and spinach with egg. For sweet, we purchased apple and apricot. They did not disappoint! I believe they were about ¥350JPY (or $3.20USD) per tart. So for a total of $13USD, we had an insanely delicious meal baked fresh that day. So happy we came across this place. Had our hotel been closer, I’d have wanted to come back the next morning for breakfast to try more flavors. I highly recommend.

After that lovely lunch and break, we continued our walk toward Ninenzaka, which is a darling pedestrian walkway lined with shops, teahouses, and cherry blossom trees. I was really impressed by all the traditional architecture in this area.

We knew that we wanted to visit this part of Kyoto thanks to a Buzzfeed article about the Starbucks there: “This Might Be The Prettiest Starbucks In The World.” When you entered the Starbucks, the downstairs had a queue to order, some small tables leading to the back, then another queue in the back of the store to pick up your drink as you gaze out the back window onto a zen garden. The upstairs was set up with tatami flooring. This Starbucks is actually the world’s first Starbucks with tatami seating. If you remember from our last post, I explained that tatami is a tightly woven straw mat flooring used in traditional Japanese households, with low to the ground tables, and pillows to sit upon. The store was so crowded while we were there that we didn’t even see a single seat available. We just ordered our drinks, then continued our walk outside.

Hubby ordered the most delicious Starbucks drink in all of Japan, an Affogato Frappuccino. He had discovered this drink early on in Japan. It’s basically a vanilla bean Frappuccino with made-to-order vanilla ice cream, a shot of espresso, and whipped cream. I mean, YUM! I hadn’t yet had it, and generally am not the biggest coffee drinker, so I ordered a sweet iced tea. (PS: It wasn’t until the next day that we stopped at Starbucks again and I tried the affogato and finally saw the light. From that point on, that was all I ordered the remainder of the trip. Additionally, it’s not even sold in America! So enjoy it while you can in Japan!)

From here, we needed to take public transportation to our next destination. We hopped on a bus that without transfer took 40 minutes and again cost ¥230JPY (or $2.10USD) per person. Next stop was Toji’s Pagoda. This was one of my favorite parts of the day. The entrance fee is ¥500JPY (or $4.57USD) per person to enter the property, plus add charges if you would like to go into any of the buildings. It was near closing time, so we figured we’d have just enough time to see the grounds but not enough time to go inside. We opted to only walk around the park.

The grounds were absolutely beautiful. Definitely the most lush garden that we had seen that day. There were so many varieties of trees and flowers, and everywhere you turned was another gorgeous shot. There was a pond with lots of turtles in it. Lucky guys get to live on that property year-round. Even though we didn’t pay the additional fee to go into the structures, we did walk up the steps and take a peek inside, so we didn’t feel that we missed out. We basically stayed until we were asked to leave. Haha we shut that park down!

From here, we were a 30-minute bus ride away from our AirBnb. The price was the same as the other bus rides for the day, about ¥230JPY (or $2.10USD) per person. When we arrived back at our accommodations, we went upstairs to drop our bags from the day. If you’d like to read more on our AirBnb, click here to access last week’s post.

With our booking, our lovely host had included some meal voucher coupons for the Karasuma Bar Yokocho food court restaurant downstairs. It was super generous and convenient, so we decided to spend our last evening in Kyoto at our host’s recommendation. Since this style of dining was more small bites, we decided to order from several of the shops and then bring our medley of foods back upstairs to our AirBnb to dine. Maybe it was from hunger, and wanting to just dig in, but we unfortunately didn’t take photos of this meal, but we do remember everything being tasty. I happen to love this style of food court dining with small bites and tastes of many varieties of foods.

And that was a wrap on Day 4 of Japan, our final and most jam-packed day in Kyoto. We began to pack up all our possessions, and got a bit of rest before a hectic day or travel.

Day 5 in Japan

Rise and shine, today is Shinkansen (bullet train) day!! Woohoo! I think most people would get excited to ride such a fast train, because they will be getting to their next destination faster. But for me as a New Yorker, I was also excited to experience such a high-tech train in comparison to what I ride on a daily basis around NYC.

Today, we are traveling from Kyoto to Tokyo. Although the distance is long, the route can take as little as three hours to get there. Our AirBnb was conveniently located by a local train station. We hopped on a local train and took that a few stops to Kyoto Station. Then we went to the ticket booth to purchase our tickets and had a little bit of time, so we grabbed a sandwich while we waited to transfer to the bullet train.

Total cost was ¥13,910JPY (or $127.03USD) per person. That was the most expensive travel we did while in Japan, but it was totally worth it for the nearly 200-mile-per-hour ride. We had wanted to experience a bullet train anyway, and this also allowed us to get to our next destination a lot faster. We could have flown from Kyoto to Tokyo, but then we would have had to be at the airport a lot earlier than we needed to arrive to the train station.

Before we even started our honeymoon, our original itinerary included a one-day layover in Fuji, the town at the base of Mt. Fuji, on the way from Kyoto to Tokyo. However, we kept an eye on the weather, and the area around Mt. Fuji was rainy and foggy. Luckily our Japan leg of the trip was flexible, as we only booked hotels the day before arriving, so we decided to go straight to Tokyo from Kyoto. I’d have liked to see Mt. Fuji while in Japan. We had figured that we could at least see Mt. Fuji from the train as we passed, but the rain and fog completely obstructed the view. If you were planning on seeing Mt. Fuji during your own trip to Japan, then it is probably recommended to spend a day there rather than see it from the bullet train anyway.

Pro Tips:

  • Ziplock bags of varying sizes are a travel necessity. We saved money by purchasing larger portioned snacks and making small ziplock bags versus buying pre-packaged small portion snacks. These came in handy during our long days away from our hotel room.
  • When traveling, it’s more affordable to dine-in for one meal a day. Since this was a six-week trip, we weren’t trying to dine out three meals a day for six straight weeks. $$$!!! However, if you are traveling for just a week, you may feel differently. Treat yo’ self, ya know? Anyway, no matter where we travel, we tend to visit a grocery store shortly after arriving and always stock up on items that can be eaten for breakfast: water, juice, yogurt, bread, cheese, etc. If the room has a mini fridge, then we will definitely be stocking up on cold items. However, if your room doesn’t have a fridge, you can still purchase bottles of water, a loaf of bread, and peanut butter, Nutella, or jam. And those items don’t really need to be chilled. The only meal we’re really willing to eat in is breakfast because it’s easy to eat as you get ready that morning, then you’ll want to spend lunch and dinner out exploring.
  • If you enjoy sushi, then we recommend you eat as much as you can while in Japan. To get the full experience, consider ordering sushi from several different types of dining options: grocery store, conveyer belt restaurant, and sit-down made-to-order restaurants. Our favorite was conveyer belt where they either make random rolls and send them around on plates, or you order and it comes around on the belt to your table. At these places, the plate color usually represents the price. So for example, a red plate may be $3, and a blue plate may be $2. And if you had one red and one blue plate, then they’ll give you a bill for $5.
  • Not sure about other areas of the world, but if you are from America and don’t normally eat wasabi, you should give it a chance in Japan. Wasabi in Japan tastes very different from wasabi in America. Actually, most sushi restaurants we went to automatically put wasabi in/on the rolls (unless you specifically ask them not to). Don’t knock it before you try it!
  • Be adventurous with food, and don’t be too particular and look for a dish you are familiar with back home. Odds are that is not authentic at home, and probably not sold in that country. In the last post, I explained how I searched high and low for chicken teriyaki and came short finding it. It would have been a very different night had I not gotten so frustrated with food options in Kyoto. If I had to say one negative from the city as a whole, it’s food selection. That evening of searching for a good restaurant put such a bad taste in my mouth for the Kyoto food scene.
  • The trains in Japan are very sophisticated and efficient. For example, when looking up directions on Google Maps, it will advise you on boarding position for fastest transfer. Genius! As a New Yorker, I ride the train daily. For your most common stops such as home and work, you learn the best placement to sit, but if I were to visit a random tourist attraction, I wouldn’t know the best car, and our Google Maps doesn’t make those types of smart recommendations. I suggest you use this to your advantage.
  • Although some of the attractions can be very busy, angle your camera to hide people behind your body in the shot. We use this trick all the time to make it look like we were the only ones there, when in reality there were people all around us. The shots look 100% better when you are the focus and not one of the many people featured. Example of this below:

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And that’s it for Kyoto! Over our three-and-a-half days here, we experienced feeding monkeys, hiking a mountain, a manga museum, multiple temples, shopping, dining, gardens, and one of the fastest trains on Earth. Stay tuned for two weeks from now when we dive into Tokyo!

If you are interested in reading more about our travels, then check out the Amarvelous Honeymoon Blog.

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9 Days in Japan: Part 2 – Kyoto

Hello Amarvelous people! Hope you and your families had a wonderful holiday season and soon-to-be Happy New Year. We’ve been on a two-month holiday hiatus from blog posts but are excited to kick off this new year with an exciting lineup of topics. Just as a friendly reminder, Amarvelous posts two themed blogs: Amarvelous Wedding and Amarvelous Honeymoon. We post every Monday and trade off between the two blog categories. If you have a suggestion on a topic for a week, then feel free to write a comment and let us know!

We will start back up with a continuation of hubby’s and my honeymoon. If you haven’t been following along, you may not know that hubby and I took an incredible six-week honeymoon around the world! You can view all past blog posts from England, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, a cruise through Asia, and Japan HERE.

Specifically in Japan, we spent a total of nine days, and Kyoto was our second city where we spent three days plus some travel time. In this week’s post, we’ll cover our experiences traveling to Kyoto, a fun museum, tranquil temples, shopping like locals, an unfamiliar food scene, climbing a mountain, and feeding some monkeys!

Day 2 in Japan

We were still in Osaka, Japan, and had just finished having a glorious Kentucky Fried Chicken (my favorite!) lunch buffet at the Expo City. Next stop on our Japan itinerary is Kyoto, and with bags in tow, we were ready to head out. The route via train from Expo City to Kyoto takes about an hour to an hour-and-a-half. There are several options of routes, but we took the Osaka Monorail to the Hankyu-Kyoto line, which lasted about 1 hour and 17 minutes and cost about ¥5.70JPY ($5.21USD) per ticket. The train was a regular train, and not a bullet train, and actually very similar to the trains in NYC.

First thing we did once in Kyoto was get off the train and walk to our Airbnb to check in. Our Airbnb was in the center of Kyoto and close to three transit lines (literally one minute from the train we took daily). We stayed at a modern Japanese accommodation that was a single private room with a low dining table, roll-out bed mats, a refrigerator, a microwave, and an electric kettle for tea. There was a separate closet for storage and a bathroom as well.

The traditional Japanese flooring is called tatami, which is a tightly woven straw mat flooring used in Japanese households. It’s hard to clean and generally more delicate than tile, which is why many people remove their shoes before entering Japanese homes. You also cannot wheel luggages on this flooring due to potential for soiling and damage. The strictness of the no-shoes-or-bags policy did not bother me, as I found the mat to be very beautiful and clean.

Photo Credit: Be-My-Guest on AirBnb

The traditional Japanese bedding mattress is called a shikibuton or futon. Similar to the futon of the 90s in America, the Japanese futon is the same type of padded mattress, but it is frameless and meant to be easily rolled up during the day when they are not needed. However, we set up the bed and then just left it out during our stay. I have included a review below on what I felt about the futon after we slept on it.

Photo Credit: Be-My-Guest on AirBnb

Overall, the room itself was really nice and clean. The owner provided us with a restaurant voucher coupon which we used on the final night of our stay, which was super nice. This is the exact Airbnb we stayed at, if you are interested in booking the same space. For $41 (USD) a night, it was uber clean, a convenient location, and a great deal compared to other hotels in the area.

We didn’t stay long: just dropped our bags then headed out on a walk to the World Heritage Site Nijo-jo Castle. We knew they closed at 4pm, so we thought we’d have time to see it, but unfortunately by the time we arrived, the guards said entry was closed because it was just past 3pm and within an hour of closing. It was unfortunate, because we totally could have at least seen a glimpse of it and left, but the security was strict. So instead, we just took a few photos outside the entrance by the plaque. This would have been our only opportunity to see the castle, so glad we at least tried, but sad we missed the chance. If you plan to visit, definitely arrive more than an hour before posted closing times.

Since that plan got squashed, we had nothing else on our itinerary for the evening. We did a quick google search for things to do in the area and found the Kyoto International Manga (Japanese comic books) Museum, which was a 13-minute walk away. They closed at 6pm, so by the time we arrived, we had about two hours to walk around. Entrance fees were ¥800JPY (or $7.39USD) per person. The museum had floor-to-almost-ceiling walls lined with bookshelves full of manga graphic novels and comic books. They had divisions separated by year and seemed to have every manga book ever published, categorized by each section. It was extremely organized. Similar to a library, there were ample spaces available to encourage picking up a book and reading. Indoors they had benches and chairs, and outdoors there was a turf lawn where you could sit in the fresh air and sun. We had limited time so elected not to sit and read, and instead we went on to explore the rest of the museum.

There was a special 10-year anniversary project ongoing, a showcase of every major “manga artists’ hands” on display. They took a mould of every artists’ hand while holding a pencil. Then, next to each hand, they put the artist’s name and a drawing of their most famous character. It was a very unique and clever way to honor the artists and celebrate the craft. We stayed at the museum until it was closing, and then we headed out back towards our Airbnb.

A few blocks from the Airbnb we stopped into a large local grocery store to pick up dinner and snacks. The store was called Kyoto Yaoichi Honkan and was two stories. Downstairs had normal grocery foods as well as quick grab-and-go options, while upstairs sold beer, wine, and household items. Unlike some of the sushi you find in grocery stores elsewhere in the world, the sushi in the Japanese grocery looked very fresh. We took a chance and bought two plates of sushi and a plate of gyoza dumplings. To accompany our meal, we picked up a nice local Kyoto bottle of plum wine, which is a deliciously sweet alcoholic drink and one of my favorites. We also stocked up on sweet buns and other breakfast foods so we could dine in our room in the morning, and trail mix-type snacks and candy that we could put into ziplocks and bring with us for the day.

After shopping, we headed a few more blocks back to our room and sat down at our low dining table to eat. Hubby thought the sushi was okay. Not the best, but it was grocery store sushi, so we weren’t expecting the best. That being said, the variety was better than in American grocery stores. My gyoza were awesome. After dinner, we rolled out our traditional mat futon beds and went to sleep.

Before I continue onto the next day, I wanted to provide a mini review of the futon bed itself: I HATED IT. Haha It’s fair to say that we knew what we were getting ourselves into with this accommodation. We read the reviews, and many people said the beds would be comfortable, which is what eased us into the idea that the beds would be sufficient. Hubby enjoys a firm bed and didn’t find the mats to be uncomfortable at all, so if you are like him then don’t let my opinion deter you from this traditional experience. However, I enjoy a soft bed more, so to me this felt like I was sleeping on a rock, and I couldn’t get comfortable. On the second night, Hubby suggested we double up the mats to allow more cushion between our bodies and the floor. This helped a bit, but then we were literally sharing a twin mattress, and that caused other forms of discomfort from not being able to sleep in our normal positions (I toss and turn a lot throughout the night). Over the few nights we stayed at this Airbnb, I developed a backache that got progressively worse as the days went on. Hubby felt so bad that he eventually offered for us to move to a hotel, but I said it wasn’t worth the expense and time needed to relocate. But I gladly accepted a few back rubs as a compromise. Moral is—if softer beds are how you roll, then this particular Airbnb probably isn’t the wisest choice for you. If you don’t mind a firm bed, or if you want to experience this traditional form of Japanese sleeping accommodations, then book it!

Day 3 in Japan

The itinerary for our second day in Kyoto was jam-packed, so we woke up, got ready for the day, ate a breakfast in our room from the groceries we purchased the day before, and headed out early. I had done some research and really wanted to visit the Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama. Since we were going to that area of Kyoto, we also researched other nearby attractions to do there that would maximize our day. The day’s schedule looked like this: first stop was to Chikuren no Komichi (path of bamboo or bamboo forest), second was to the Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama, and third was the Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine.

Once off the train at Arashiyami Station, you had to walk through a small town to get to the area of the attractions. The walking route we took off the train looked like a “T”: the one bottom point was Arashiyami Station, the far-right point was the Bamboo Forest, and the far-left point was the Monkey Park. Along the way, we passed small grab-and-go food kiosks, restaurants, and souvenir shops. Clearly, it was a touristy area. Not complaining about that though, because this was one of my favorite days of our nine days in Japan.

First, we stopped for rose and matcha ice cream. I just couldn’t resist. Ice cream is my favorite dessert, and we kept passing shop after shop of soft serve. It was really hot outside too, so we ate it on our walk to the first attraction, which helped to cool us down. We had green tea ice cream several times while in Japan, and I had tasted better. I didn’t find this one to be sweet enough. But we did enjoy it nonetheless.

We then visited the Chikuren no Komichi. The paths leading in were super crowded. I guess everyone had the same idea as us to start their day in the bamboo forest. If you have time and are patient, you can hang back and let some of the crowd disperse so you can snap some photos that don’t have you surrounded by people. We walked through and took pictures with the green bamboo. Even with the crowds it was a very peaceful scenery. It was really lovely. We didn’t walk through the whole path, because although it was beautiful, it was super crowded, and we felt we had all the photos we wanted from this attraction. So we decided to move on to the next activity to give us more time there—and I am so glad that we did.

We walked back down Road 29 past the Arashiyami Station and kept walking in the opposite direction to get to the Monkey Park. On the walk, we passed Katsura River, which was picturesque. There were people canoeing in one area and a small dam with a waterfall effect. We crossed Togetsu-kyo Bridge, and just up the path was the entrance to the park.

The entrance fee into the Monkey Park was only ¥550JPY (or $5.05USD). A total steal! This was my favorite activity of the day and 100% a necessary stop if you are visiting Kyoto. Upon entry, you begin a hike up the mountain. It’s pretty steep, and there are steps built into the mountainside as well as hand rails to help support you on your way up. There are some fun and informational signs along the way that provide facts about the monkeys. There are also a few benches and flat areas to take a break along the path. We hadn’t had lunch yet, and I was working up an appetite, so I was glad I packed some of the snacks we purchased the night before at the grocery store. I would suggest you either pack snacks or eat before you begin this arduous activity. It was a workout, and once on top I was having so much fun that I didn’t want to leave.

As you get closer and closer to the mountaintop, start to look up in the trees. It wasn’t until we were literally entering the monkey area that I noticed there were already monkeys around us that we had been missing. The monkey area was a large flat top of the mountain overlooking the city below. There was a small pond with koi fish, lots of trees, and a few photo spots for guests. Then at the center there was a house that had wire mesh over the windows, sort of like a cage, but for the humans to go inside to feed the monkeys. The wires were just big enough for a monkey to stick their arm into the house. On this mountaintop, we were the guests, and this was their home to run wild and free. We went inside, purchased peanuts and fruits and fed them through the cage. Then we went outside and explored the site to observe the monkeys. There were really old monkeys, middle-aged monkeys, and infant monkeys still drinking milk and hanging onto their mothers. Very sweet that the natural environment, caretakers’ upkeep of the park, and respect from the visitors all allow multiple generations of monkeys to thrive.

There was a moment we were walking around taking photos, and then the peaceful sounds of nature were disturbed by a kind of carousel music that began to play. The monkeys immediately reacted and began to run to the area in front of the house. Then a worker came out of the house with a big bucket of food and began to disperse it through the site. This food included whole chestnuts and other fruits and nuts. Once or twice a day, the monkeys are fed at meal time (which is announced by the music), and the remainder of the day they are fed by tourists who pay for the experience to feed the monkeys. Even the koi enjoyed a chestnut that rolled into its pond.

This was one of the few days on our honeymoon where we were closely interacting with animals. I was thoroughly enjoying myself and hardly wanted to leave. We spent an hour and twenty minutes at the top of the mountain with the monkeys, plus add on the time it took to walk up and down the mountain. This wasn’t a very short activity. Hubby knew if we were to make it to our final activity of the day that we would have to leave soon. So I took my last few snaps of a sweet baby hugging its momma, and we began our trek back down the mountain. Going downhill caused less exertion, and it was in turn faster because we didn’t take breaks.

We left the park, crossed the bridge, and headed back toward the train station. We grabbed a snack in town then walked to the public restroom. It actually ended up being the fanciest public restrooms we had ever been in. It looked similar to the bamboo forest with beams of bamboo that you walked through to get to the stalls. When you closed the bathroom door and locked it, a running sound of water came out from the toilet bowl to help you get in the mood. And of course, as in nearly all Japanese toilets, it had a hundred buttons and was like a supercomputer for all your derrière needs.

Our next stop was in a totally different area of the city, so we had to take a train there. There are multiple public transit routes you could take, including trains or buses. We traveled from the Saga Arashiyami Station to the Kyoto Station to the Inari Station, then walked about six minutes to the Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine. Total cost for the trains were ¥240JPY ($2.19USD) per person and took about one hour. We just had a very exhausting afternoon, so we didn’t mind sitting down and just enjoying the ride out there.

Upon arriving at the shrine, there is a large set of stairs you walk up to enter the site. The general entrance is free, but there are options to pay for special experiences like a ¥300JPY ($2.74USD) sake attraction that we did not partake in. We began walking through the shrine and came upon the path surrounded by the famous orange torii gates. The bright shade of orange (hubby’s favorite) mixed in with the green nature, plus the sheer number of the thousand gates, made this attraction very beautiful to experience. Through the gates, you could see trees and greenery, water features, and statues. We walked enough to see two or more shrines, which are dispersed throughout the property. We probably could have spent a lot more time here to see the remainder of the property, but the night was approaching, and being under tree coverage in the forest made the scene even darker—so we headed back toward the trains.

From here, we were only a 19-minute train ride from our Airbnb. We took the train from Inari Station back to Kyoto Station and decided to get off here so we could take a photo with the Kyoto Tower and walk around this area to find a restaurant for dinner. There were many places to dine, but I was being very particular in craving chicken teriyaki, and no restaurant served it. We looked at all the menus that we passed, hoping the next one would have it, but it doesn’t seem to be a popular dish in this area. I would say in the area of Kyoto Station, most restaurants served either super high-end cuts of wagyu beef, then cheaper curry-type dishes, or sushi. All of which are delicious, and we could have eaten, but I was in the mood for something else. We took the train from Kyoto Station back toward our Airbnb at Karasuma Oike Station and walked back to a restaurant downstairs from our Airbnb. After a literally two-and-a-half-hour hunt for chicken teriyaki, I caved and we ate a curry dish for dinner instead.


So that was our start of Kyoto! We had some incredible ups and some downs related to culture-shock and tradition. Overall, we were thoroughly enjoying Japan. We have one more day left in Kyoto filled with some fun experiences, so come back to the Amarvelous Honeymoon blog in two weeks to read Part 2 of Kyoto! Sayonara!

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9 Days in Japan: Part 1 – Osaka

The last country on the Amarvelous six-week honeymoon around the world was Japan, and probably some of our favorite moments of the trip happened on these nine days. Japan is this wonderful mixture of ancient and traditional culture, high-tech modern technology and architecture, plenty of opportunities to do soul searching while connecting with nature, thrilling theme parks, and kitschy opportunities for entertainment and adventure. Our time in Japan consisted of three cities – Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo – and these next few Amarvelous Honeymoon posts will be split up by city. This week’s post is on Osaka!

Of the three Japanese mainland cities, we spent the least amount of time in Osaka, because Hubby and I knew we wanted to prioritize Tokyo. We arrived in Osaka from Sanya, “the Hawaii of China” (read our blog post about this tropical paradise here), just in time to enjoy dinner and explore the nightlife. We also spent the next morning and afternoon in Osaka before leaving for Kyoto. This post will cover the currency, transportation, food, accommodations, and attractions of Osaka, plus a few things we researched but didn’t have time to do.

Currency

Generally speaking, Japan isn’t a cheap travel destination. Of the Asian nations we had been to on this trip (China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Japan), Japan was the most expensive. At the time of writing this post, the conversion is $1 (USD) to ¥108.66 (Japanese Yen). Don’t get sticker shock when almost everything you buy is sold by the thousands of yen. For example, a bowl of ramen can range from ¥600 to ¥2,000 (JPY), or $5.52 to $18.41 (USD). I wouldn’t say Japan is unaffordable though. We live in New York City, and I found the pricing in Japan to be similar to Manhattan. So perhaps some tourists won’t get as much bang for their buck as at home, but for us it was relatable.

Transportation

The flight from Sanya to Osaka was incredibly affordable, about $194 per ticket, with a layover in Guangzhou. Unfortunately, flying from Hainan, China, to Japan means that you lose one hour due to the timezone change. Upon arrival in the Kansai International Airport, which is on a peninsula and not on the Japanese mainland, you have two options to get into the city: train or taxi.

Hubby and I decided on taking the hour-long train ride to our accommodations in Osaka, which were located near the Nishi-Ohashi train station. For reference, the drive can be just as long, depending on the traffic! In general, our recommendation for mainland Japan is to travel by train, because the subway system is one of the best that we’ve seen in the world: it’s very efficient, clean, and on-time. The video below, created by JapanGuide.com, is an excellent breakdown of types of trains in Japan, some rail lines, and rider etiquette:

Traveling in Japan (and especially taxi rides with drivers who are not always fluent in English) was made more enjoyable since Hubby luckily speaks Japanese—but don’t fret, because most of the public transit signage is in English, and many people speak English too. It doesn’t hurt to learn some phrases ahead of time though. Take a look at this blog post before your trip to Japan: Enjoy traveling by trains and buses! Phrases for using transportation @ LiveJapan.com

Accommodations

First thing we did in Osaka was check into our cute but tiny Airbnb, probably the smallest room of our honeymoon. The room consisted of a small entryway, a petite kitchenette, a bathroom, and a bedroom on a soft linoleum floor. Something we hadn’t considered was that the rules of the house did not allow you to wear shoes or have bags on the linoleum floor, as it could dent and damage the flooring. This forced us to stack up our luggages at the front entry for them to fit in the room. Then when we needed to access our bags, hubby had to carry them over to the bed and open them on top of the bed.

Photo Credit: Airbnb Hidenori

In addition to the room being among the tiniest of our trip, so was the bathroom. Many bathtubs in Japan are deep soaker tubs, but the tub in this bathroom was the smallest we experienced, which didn’t bother us since we didn’t have the time to soak anyway.

The small size aside, the room was comfortable, had nice décor, included free wifi, and perfectly fit our needs for a single-night stay. The option to self check-in and check-out saved us some time. This is the exact Airbnb we stayed at, if you are interested in booking the same space. In the photo section, the host shares very useful information about nearby transportation, convenience stores, restaurants, shopping malls, and tourist spots. For $37 (USD) a night, it was a steal and an incredible savings compared to a regular hotel.

The main reason we selected this room was because it was close to public transit and in prime location to our nighttime and next-day activities. As soon as we settled in, we went out exploring by foot.

Attractions & Food

It was a cold night, and we had a craving for ramen, so we googled ramen restaurants in the area and walked about 15 minutes to a busy area of town named Dotonbori that had lots of restaurants. In fact, Dotonbori is the most famous food district in Japan, and Osaka is known as the “Nation’s Kitchen,” with exquisite restaurants, world-famous chefs, and delicious dishes aplenty.

Down a small side street, we found Ramen Makotoya Shinsaibashi. The restaurant was long and narrow with a bar-top down the length of the whole restaurant, seating on one side for guests, and a kitchen workspace on the other side for the cooks. The format meant you sat next to your companions versus across from them. We encountered many restaurants in this same style while in Japan. We ordered gyoza as a starter and two bowls of ramen: one with a chicken broth and the other with a beef bone broth. Both bowls had tender pork belly slices, soft boiled ramen eggs, bamboo shoots, scallions, and hand-made noodles, then mine also had cabbage, and hubby’s had mushrooms and nori (Japanese seaweed). Still to this day, this was the best ramen that we have ever had in our lives. For a first meal in Japan, we were over-the-moon excited for the rest of the food on our trip.

By the time we had finished eating, we left to explore some more, but many of the places that we passed were closed. We continued to walk around and noticed something interesting: In the country that created Godzilla and the mecha entertainment genre (think Power Rangers and Pacific Rim), it’s no wonder that restaurants and stores put these types of huge cartoon and robotic structures in front to attract customers. Definitely some photo-worthy opportunities.

Although some shops were closed, the area was still busy with open bars and clubs to experience. This area of town was hip with a lot of young people in their early-20s. After a long day of travel and a time change, though, Hubby and I didn’t partake in the nightlife but instead went with full bellies back to the Airbnb to sleep and get an early start the next morning.

Hubby and I woke up early to pack up and then go through the self-check-out procedures for the Airbnb. Once all done, we headed out with our luggages for our daytime activities. It wasn’t ideal to roll our bags around all day, but the area of town that we were headed to was on our way to our next city, Kyoto. So instead of requesting a late check-out, going to the next activity, going back to the Airbnb to pick up the bags, then continuing back to Kyoto, we just brought our bags along from the beginning. Figured this plan was smarter, faster, and cheaper than backtracking. Take a look at just how far our next destination (Expo City) is from the area of our hotel! Osaka is huge!

If you’ve read some of our other posts, you know that we usually dine at McDonald’s around the world because Hubby likes to order the McDouble and compare them in each country. Well, my favorite fast food is KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken). We’ve passed KFCs in other countries and regrettably not had time to stop in. In preparing for this trip, when I learned that the first KFC buffet in the world was created in Osaka, I couldn’t miss the opportunity of having lunch here.

Our first stop of the day was to a shopping mall called Expo City so we could have all-you-can-eat brunch at KFC! It took a couple of trains to get from our Airbnb to Expo City, and the ride was just over an hour long. The trains were very clean and not busy. Expo City mall is located next to the 1970 World’s Fair/Expo Commemorative Park that includes gardens, museums, and a nature center. Expo City even has a ferris wheel called the Redhorse Osaka Wheel. Had we had more time in Osaka to make this a day-trip and not a stop in between cities, we wouldn’t have had our luggages and we would have explored the park after KFC. That may be an option for you if you have a day to spend in this area.

When we arrived at KFC, there was a short wait to sit. But eventually they sat us and even found a patio area where our large bags could fit next to our table. They allot you 90 minutes max to eat—that way you don’t just hang out all day, and they can get others inside. There were about 60 different menu options ranging from multiple types of fried chicken prepared in different seasonings and cooking methods, biscuits, pasta, vegetables, soup, salad, and ice cream.

We were absolutely stuffed in way less than 90 minutes, so the clock didn’t matter. Although they say the recipes are Colonel Sanders, I think the chicken and biscuits are a little different than America. I did expect some variation, so I wasn’t disappointed, and everything was really tasty. Prices vary based on day of the week and time of day. For example, weekday afternoons are the lowest price, and weekend evenings are the highest price. Adult prices range from ¥1,880 to ¥2,480 (JPY), or $17 to $22 (USD). Well worth the money being that we had one meal all day until a late dinner in Kyoto.

After lunch, we decided to walk around the mall to work off the full feeling. We shopped and bought some souvenirs from Osaka. Then when we were done, we walked back to the train platform.

Some Additional Attractions

Hubby’s and my time in Osaka was a mere 24 hours, so we unfortunately did not have time to see and eat everything that Osaka has to offer, and that’s a lot! If you’re planning a longer trip there, then make sure to add these options to your list:

  • Universal Studios Japan: Just like Orlando in Florida, this park now has a Wizarding World of Harry Potter section
Photo Credit: NeverEndingVoyage.com
  • Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan: The world’s largest aquarium!!
Photo Credit: Japan Rail Pass Blog
  • Tempozan Ferris Wheel and HEP Five Ferris Wheel
  • Jiggly Cheesecake at Uncle Rikuro’s Café: As made famous around the world by Buzzfeed
Photo Credit: Insider.com

Pro Tips

  • Hotels in Japan can be costly, so consider alternative accommodation website such as Airbnb where you can rent someone’s home. We utilized Airbnb for our Osaka and Kyoto stays but opted for a hotel in Tokyo because we found an affordable option (which was still one of the most expensive we paid for while in Asia).
  • Some traditional accommodations in Japan may have tatami flooring, which is a tightly woven straw mat flooring used in Japanese households. It’s hard to clean and generally more delicate than tile, which is why many people remove their shoes before entering their homes in Japan. Just like Osaka’s Airbnb linoleum, we couldn’t put our luggage on the flooring in Kyoto either, since it was tatami flooring.

Besides a two-day stop to the island of Okinawa, Japan, (which was a port of call on our cruise through Asia), Osaka was the first Japanese city (on the mainland) that we visited. These nine days and three cities in Japan were the final stops on our six-week honeymoon around the world. Though brief, Osaka was great so far, and we were excited to continue the journey to Kyoto and Tokyo.

If you are interested in reading more about our travels, then check out the Amarvelous Honeymoon Blog.

DISCLAIMER: Any brands listed above are not sponsors.

Two Days in Okinawa Japan

Two Days in Okinawa Japan

In my Ovation of the Seas Royal Caribbean Cruise Through Asia blog post, I noted that our ship stopped in Okinawa, Japan, for two days. This was hubby’s and my first time in Japan, and we were pleasantly surprised! Okinawa has a lot to offer despite being arguably less visited by tourists than the mainland. This post will cover our two days in Okinawa. We’ll review the daily itinerary we followed, fun excursions, shopping, and dining.

🗾 🌸 🎌

For our two-day itinerary, keep in mind that we were still sleeping on the ship. Also, since food is included on the cruise, we decided to dine twice a day on the ship while in Okinawa. Our two-day itinerary at port looked like this:

  • Wake up early and have a big buffet breakfast on the boat
  • Depart the ship as early as possible
  • Take a shuttle bus into town (provided by our cruise ship)
  • Complete one big excursion for the day
  • Explore town further
  • Enjoy lunch and snacks off the boat
  • Take the shuttle bus back to the boat
  • Get cleaned up for dinner
  • Dinner and nightly entertainment on the boat
  • Sleep on the boat

We decided to not book our daily excursions through the cruise ship. My hubby speaks Japanese, so we felt confident that we could get around by ourselves. If we had to choose, we wouldn’t pick to be on the ship’s schedule. However, if you would feel more comfortable in a foreign country to have your day organized for you, then you should absolutely consider booking through your ship, or before you even set sail.

Day One

As I mentioned before, Royal Caribbean coordinated a shuttle bus service to ride from the desolate industrial cruise port area over to town. We hopped onto a bus and got dropped off on Kokusai Street. We began our day exploring some of the catch-all souvenir shops on this block. They literally sold everything! In general, this block has a lot of places to shop, dine, and take unique photos.

The next stop on our itinerary was the Shurijo Castle. This attraction is about a 14-minute drive, or a 28-minute public transit ride, from our starting point. We decided to take public transit, because we are New Yorkers and love seeing the train systems around the world. The above-ground Okinawa Urban Monorail (Yui Rail) Prefectural Office Station is conveniently located where the buses dropped us off in the morning, so we went upstairs, used a machine to purchase our ¥300 ($2.73 USD) tickets, and took the train eight stops towards our attraction. The train was small with only a couple of cars, but it was clean, ran smooth, and seemed well maintained. When we got off the train, we had about a 13-minute walk to the entrance of Shurijo Castle.

Shurijo Castle property is full of history. It was built as a palace for the Ryukyu Kingdom. There were years the palace was unused and neglected, then a war ended up destroying most of the property. The property was repurposed as a university campus, and the main buildings were reconstructed based off historical records. Today, Shurijo Castle Park is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a beautiful place to spend an afternoon. We spent hours walking through gardens and traditional buildings (even ones we had to take our shoes off to walk through). At the entrance of the park, we paid our ¥820 ($7.45 USD) entrance fee and picked up a map with an interactive stamp activity. As you walk through the park, you collect stamps from special monuments on your paper. Before you exit the park, if you have collected all the stamps, you receive a free gift. I love free stuff, so, basically, challenge accepted! In the end, we completed all the stamps and received some stickers and coloring books. It was definitely more of a kid’s activity, but ensuring we collected every stamp allowed us to not miss any of the park. There were also some interesting cultural performances and mango soft serve ice cream that we enjoyed while on the property.

After we left the castle park, we were hungry and ready for a yummy Japanese lunch! We made our way back towards Kokusai Street and ate lunch at the Suitenrou restaurant. This restaurant had no chairs, so it was more Japanese than western style of dining. When you arrive at your table, you remove your shoes, step up onto the wooden floor, then sit down to dine. The food was yummy, and the ambiance was nice. For not looking it up and just popping into one of the first places we passed, we got lucky.

After lunch, we walked down the strip towards the First Makishi Public Market. This was off the main block, but it was also a great place to check out if you were looking to dine or shop. We walked around, bought a few souvenirs, and then came across the holy grail of desserts: grandma mochi. Ok, that wasn’t the official name, but they were fresh, soft, huge, handmade mochi sold to us by this adorable older woman—hence our loving name of “grandma mochi.” They were heaven. I eat mochi all the time in NYC, and the ones in the States will never even be close to comparing in flavor or texture to our grandma mochi. We should have bought more and brought them back on the ship with us haha!

We then walked a half hour from the market to Nami-no-ue Shrine and Beach. The shrine is on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Since its origin and rebuild after wartime destruction, people have come to this shrine to pray for many things: bountiful hauls of fish for fisherman, protection of the trade ships coming into Naha Port, safe journeys over the sea, good harvests, peace and prosperity of the nation, mothers praying their sons weren’t called to war, and I’m sure this list goes on. In 1924, the site was designated the official center of religious affairs on the island. The space is super tranquil. There was tree coverage around the buildings, a ceremonial hand-washing station, the sound of water in the distance, and an incredible cliff-side ocean view. You could even see our ship in the distance. There were paths along the beach that led to picnic tables, so if you wanted to pack a lunch, then you could spend an afternoon at this beach. From the sand, the beach does have an overpass highway obstruction, making it seem more like an inlet, but it was one of the closest beaches to the ship. After our shrine visit, we made our way back to the bus pick-up area and headed back to our cruise ship for the evening. If you book the Nami-no-ue Sea and Sky Snorkeling Park excursion through Royal Caribbean, they provide snorkeling gear, guided snorkeling tours of 95 types of coral and 53 species of colorful fish, and a beach party barbecue.

Day Two

We began our second day by again taking the shuttle bus into town. We then grabbed a taxi to take us to our daily excursion. Not sure if all taxis in Japan are this neat, but our taxi doors swung open without any human assistance. That was a shock at first, because NYC taxis definitely are not that high tech, but I shouldn’t be too surprised because the Japanese also have the most sophisticated toilets, so obviously their cars would be sophisticated too haha!

Okinawa World and Gyokusendo Cave is a theme park without rides. There are a few options for entrance tickets. You can buy tickets for the Cave and Kingdom Village, or you could add on the Habu Museum (snake museum). I have literally zero interest in snakes, so we skipped that portion. Our ticket for the first two areas was ¥1,240 ($11.27 USD), which was an insane deal! We had a fun day and took a bunch of pictures. The park itself is a little touristy, but the caves alone are reason enough to visit.

Kingdom Village portion of the park included many different things to do. There is a craft area where you can make your own crafts or buy handmade crafts, a garden to walk through with many different types of fruit and vegetable trees and plants, the Nanto Brewery where you can enjoy beverages on-site or buy some to go (careful, because you may not be allowed to bring them back onto the cruise ship!), Eisa dancing shows, and a restaurant to take a break and have lunch. There are also a bunch of photo opportunities. This is the first time in Asia that we had seen phone stands with a slot for your phone. You put your phone in the stand, set a timer, then pose for your photo. You no longer need an extra person to take pictures or even a selfie stick. So handy! We should bring this concept to America (and all over the world frankly).

Gyokusendo Cave was my favorite part of the park and two days in Okinawa. It’s one of the largest caves on the island, and the second-longest cave in Japan, stretching five kilometers or a little over three miles. The cave was formed over 300,000 years ago but only discovered in 1967! The cave maintains a constant temperature of 21°C or 69.8°F, so it was a nice break from the intense heat we experienced the day before. The stalactite and stalagmite rock formations and turquoise blue pools of water running through the cave are breathtaking. They found dear bones in the cave from a species that has been extinct for over 15,000 years. We also saw small troglobite long-arm prawns in the water.

We spent so many hours in the park that we took a taxi back to the bus area because it was time to get back on the ship to depart.

Other Activities

Okinawa is known for having gorgeous beaches. Its beaches went viral a year ago from a Buzzfeed article showing spectacular crystal clear water and white sandy beaches. Although this beach is part of the Okinawa Prefecture, Ishigaki Island is a boat ride away from Okinawa island proper. They may offer tour boats that would take you over there for the day, but we didn’t look into it. There are plenty of other beaches on Okinawa’s main island that are accessible by car: Araha Beach, Tropical Beach, Nishihara Kirakira Beach, and Ten-no-hama Beach.

  • Royal Caribbean offered these combo excursions that you might be interested in booking through the ship:
  • Shuri Castle and Churaumi Aquarium excursion: This aquarium is part of Ocean Expo Park and is the second-largest aquarium in the world. According to Japanese tourism websites, this is also the number-one aquarium in all of Japan. The 77 tanks with two-foot thick acrylic glass windows boast floor-to-ceiling views. They themed the aquarium with only animals that can be seen off the coast of Japan. Some of those species even include very large manta rays and whale sharks.
  • Best of Okinawa excursion: Includes entrance into Shurijo Castle, time to shop on Kokusai-Dori Street, and Shikina-en Garden. This garden is located on a small hill just next to Shurijo Castle. It’s 23,000 square meters (or about 248,000 square feet) and features a heart-shaped pond.
  • Shurijo Castle and Gyokusendo Cave excursion (both of which we toured on our own)

Overall, I’d say that Okinawa really surprised us. My hubby speaks Japanese, and this was our first time in Japan, so the two days we had here were special to us for several reasons: We were able to cross a country off his bucket list, see a new country to scratch off of our scratch map, be in awe of Okinawa’s beauty, and be blown away on how easy it was to go explore on our own. We investigated Royal Caribbean’s excursion offerings then created our own itinerary. In the end, we were able to see our favorite parts of these excursions and save a bit of money by organizing it ourselves and not going on a guided group tour. Even though we slept and ate breakfast and dinners on the ship, we still had plenty of time in Okinawa to explore and get a feel for the culture. I will be publishing a future post about other cities in Japan that we visited on our honeymoon (not part of our cruise), so keep an eye out for Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo posts!

DISCLAIMER: Any brands listed above are not sponsors.

Ovation of the Seas Royal Caribbean Cruise Through Asia

As you may have gathered from an old post of mine, “Why a Cruise Should Be Your Next Vacation,” WE LOVE CRUISING!! Naturally, when hubby and I were deciding where to go on our honeymoon around the world, we knew that we wanted to cruise part of it.

This post will explore the next leg of our honeymoon on the Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas 6-night repositioning cruise through Asia. We began in Tianjin, China, the closest port to Beijing, spent two days at port in Okinawa, Japan, and ended in Hong Kong. We’ll discuss what a repositioning cruise is, the three ports of call, the service on the ship, and the ship itself. All aboard!

Repositioning Cruises

There are two kinds of cruises: traditional (or round-trip) and repositioning. A traditional cruise takes you from point A to B and back to A, so you start and end in the same port. A repositioning cruise moves you from point A to B, which allows you to start and end in different ports. If you are lucky enough to have your hometown also be a port of call, then you most likely would do traditional cruises to avoid paying extra airfare.

However, I think there is a time and place to consider a repositioning cruise. If you are adding a cruise onto a vacation like us, then a repositioning cruise may be a good idea! We needed to get from north China (Beijing) towards Thailand, and we had two options: pay for airfare or pay for a cruise. We looked up cruises and found the perfect option that gave us six nights of adventure, plus we had the opportunity to stop into Okinawa, Japan, and end in Hong Kong. For the price, it was a no-brainer. For the minimal day fee, we basically paid for hotel, food, and entertainment on the ship and completely avoided travel costs!

Photo Credit: OzCruising

Ports

Tianjin, China: As far as travel goes, it takes a couple of trains and a taxi to get from Beijing proper to Tianjin, but it wasn’t too difficult or costly. RCL, other cruise lines, and tour groups offer shuttle services, but they can be costly and then you are on their schedule. We did it on our own, and even with the language barrier we got by without any issues. We were really impressed by the immaculate gardens in Beijing and the last long stretch of street leading to the cruise port was no exception. The port was located in an industrial area with nothing else around for miles, so the tree and flower lined streets helped to soften the look. The lines to get on the ship were insanely long. Not sure if RCL didn’t have enough people working that day, or if all the cruisers just showed up at the same time, but we waited hours standing in line to get on the ship. It was not the best first impression. Read my Beijing Part One and Part Two blog posts if you are interested in learning more on what Beijing has to offer. Some excursions at this port include Great Wall tours with lunch and shopping, followed by transportation to either the airport or to your hotel.

Photo Credit: China Highlights

Okinawa, Japan: The cruise was originally supposed to stop in Jeju Island, South Korea, as well as Okinawa, Japan. Unfortunately, RCL pulled Korea off of our itinerary the day after President Trump’s infamous “fire and fury” threat to the leader of North Korea. Totally speculation if both incidents were related, but it was curious timing. RCL ended up giving us two full days in Okinawa instead, with an overnight at port to make up for the change. That was really awesome, because they could have just kept us at sea for that day. There was plenty to do in Okinawa, so my next Amarvelous Honeymoon blog post will be on how to spend two days in Okinawa, Japan. Stay tuned! For now, I’ll just explain the port. The ships are a bus-ride away from town and shopping. There is literally nothing near the ship except other ships. RCL and other cruise lines coordinate charter buses to shuttle everyone into town and back. The system is easy enough—just make sure to get back on the right bus. Some excursions at this port include Shuri Castle, Gyokusendo Cave, Churaumi Aquarium, and Nami-no-ue Sea and Sky Snorkeling Park.

Hong Kong: What a beautiful port!! Pulling in was so picturesque. You have a view of this futuristic customs building with a green roof, the city behind it, and mountains behind that. Total “WOW, welcome to Hong Kong” moment as we pulled into port. Since there is no train right at the cruise terminal, we took a bus to the train station. From there, we took a train towards the area where our hotel was located. Some exciting excursions at this port include Disneyland, the evening light show at Victoria Peak, dim sum culinary classes, and iconic junk boat tours. Just like Okinawa, we’re going to dedicate a post to Hong Kong—stay tuned for that one too!

The Ship

Ship Overview: Ovation of the Seas is part of RCL’s Quantum-class. It made its maiden voyage on April 17, 2016, so the ship is still pretty new, and it shows! There are eighteen decks (sixteen are passenger-accessible). Maximum occupancy of the ship is 4,905 passenger-guests and 1,500 crew.

Photo Credit: Cruise Mapper

Art and Decor: Something we’ve observed on Carnival ships is how cheesy the decor can be. RCL’s Ovation of the Seas, however, was really nicely decorated. Maybe it’s because the ship is only a few years old, or maybe it’s because of the modern artwork around every turn. The color scheme and modern touch in the staterooms was appealing too.

Our Room: Our room was absolutely wonderful. This was our first time ever in a balcony room. We actually went from interior rooms straight to balcony and skipped window rooms, so we felt totally spoiled for our honeymoon and don’t feel like we could ever go back to a non-balcony room haha! It was nice tanning, watching the sunset, and having coffee in a robe from the privacy of your own room and balcony. Our favorite part, though, was keeping the door ajar and listening to the waves while we slept. Talk about peaceful. The room was so spacious too. We had a bathroom, king-sized bed, sofa, and desk. Not a complaint as much as an observation, but we really didn’t need that much space—I actually wish the ship was designed with smaller rooms and deeper balconies so that we could have laid flat on lounge chairs without tanning obstructions (shadows) from the railing.

Photo Credit: Royal Caribbean

Service: Before we left for our trip, RCL had sent us several emails to explain that this cruise was going to be “under the Culturally Enriching program.” At the time, I didn’t know what they meant. I get a lot of emails from RCL with random sales offers, so when receiving emails from this sender, and not asked to log in and do anything with my reservation, it just seemed like more junk mail. In hindsight, I see now they were trying to prepare the Westerners for the culture shock.

We did have an incident with someone trying to break into our luggage before it got to our room on day one. We dropped off our bags at the Tianjin port curbside, and by the time they were delivered to our room the lock had been busted on one of them. We waited in the Guest Services line for a long time to put in a complaint with security and file a full report. Unfortunately, there are no cameras at the Tianjin port, so there was no way to see who did it. Security on-board was nice, but our first day was awful due to this experience, and our brand new luggage that we received as a wedding gift was ruined.

The stateroom housekeeping was on point! We brought several branded “bride” and “groom” items (like sunglasses) on the honeymoon. Housekeeping dressed our towel animals with them daily, which was both clever and cute. Sometimes it’s in the small details that the guests can be wowed.

Dining: We found the dining to be underwhelming while onboard, but it wasn’t for lack of built-in restaurants or dining halls. In fact, the ship has six main dining areas (American Icon Grill, Chic, Silk, The Grande, Solarium Bistro, and Coastal Kitchen). It has six signature restaurants (Wonderland Imaginative Cuisine, Jamie’s Italian, Amber & Oak Pub, Chops Grille, Izumi Japanese Cuisine, and Chef’s Table). It also has eight laid back dining options (Windjammer Marketplace, The Café @ Two70, Seaplex Dog House, Kung Fu Panda Noodle Shop, Sorrento’s, Café Promenade, La Patisserie, and Vintages).

The problems we experienced were that RCL did not have every dining area open, they had limited hours, the restaurants for extra purchase were totally booked up, and everywhere else on the ship served the same food. Literally all four of the main dining restaurants served the exact same menu every night. So you weren’t going to American Icon Grill because you wanted American cuisine and Silk because you wanted Asian cuisine. The only reason you would have to choose one restaurant over another was because of ambiance. It was basically authentic Asian food everywhere you turned. Nothing against Asian food—but our dining experiences on cruise ships usually offer us incredible variety. There are often so many good options on a menu that we don’t know what to pick. However, on this cruise, there were some nights when we sat down for dinner and couldn’t even find one thing that we wanted.

Unfortunately, by the time we realized how terrible the food would be, all the extra cost restaurants were totally booked, and we had no other options. I will admit that we have never felt the need to pay extra to experience excellent food on a cruise ship. Usually, for the cost you pay to be on the boat, you eat like kings. I would recommend if you are interested in dining at one of the more exclusive pay-as-you-go restaurants, that you book before you get on the ship.

We met a few Australians on the ship, and they all complained about the food too. One “Diamond Plus” couple had been on the maiden voyage of Ovation and said that the experiences were night and day. As first-time RCL customers, we explained how surprised we had been with RCL’s low standards, and the couple urged us to give RCL another chance (in another part of the world). So perhaps the food situation is better when they sail through other regions?

We connected with the dining manager in one of the restaurants. I guess he had received many complaints from the Western guests. He told us if we were unsatisfied with the options, that we could put in a request for something. That night, we ordered steak (not on the menu), and he made it happen. Service was very good, and you could tell that they were trying to appease all parties. I still feel like there shouldn’t have been any moments when I felt hungry and unsatisfied, but I am definitely open to give them an opportunity to redeem themselves.

The food section is very important to me because it was the most negative aspect of the trip, so I’ll end it with a closing comparison. We both thought the food at the buffet was tastier and more variety than the offerings in the dining rooms. It’s definitely the opposite on other cruise lines. If comparing all other Carnival Cruise Line dining experiences we’ve had to this experience on RCL’s Ovation, we feel the dining rooms in Carnival are superior.

Included Activities: Below, I have outlined all of the free activities onboard the Ovation of the Seas. Something that irked me a bit was that a few of the BEST activities this ship has to offer were at an additional fee specifically when this ship is sailing in China (which we were). Not sure what that rubbish is about! We already paid a bunch to be on the boat in our balcony room… no way was I going to drop several hundred more on a few activities when the ship was loaded with other free things to do. And I am not exaggerating when I say hundreds. They wanted $600 for FlowRider®!!

Each night, an itinerary for the next day is delivered to your room. Some of the activities are reserved for special themes or party nights, while others are offered daily. Nevertheless, there is something for everyone, and I did feel that there were more offerings than on other ships. The only downfall on activities would be that while they tried to make the vacation inclusive to the Asian community, some activities were not listed as “Mandarin language only” (like other activities were) and I would show up to participate but they did not have an English translator for me. So I would just leave and go do a different activity. It would have saved me from walking from one side of the ship to the other, and not being late to the next activity, had I known in advance, but it was a minor inconvenience compared to other things.

  • North Star® 360º elevated view above the boat (Fees apply to China sailings)
  • FlowRider® surfing (Fees apply to China sailings) – In other regions, this activity is included but private session fees are: $69, $345, or $552
  • Ripcord® by iFLY® skydiving simulation experience (Fees apply to China sailings)
  • Adventure Ocean® children’s activity and babysitting program (After 10:00pm: $7/hour)
  • Splashaway Bay℠ waterpark
  • Rock climbing wall
  • SeaPlex – from skating rink to circus school to bumper cars, this is the largest sporting activity zone on the seas
  • Solarium adults only pool lounge with an incredible view at the front of the ship
  • Silent Disco party where everyone wears headphones and can tune in to the station they want to dance to
  • Fitness center
  • Running track, sports courts, table tennis, pool tables
  • Outdoor movie nights
  • Nightlife, Karaoke, Salsa dancing
  • Pools, Jacuzzis
  • Dance classes, Learn a language class, Towel folding class, Origami class, Scrapbooking class, Guest lectures, Wine tastings

Shows: Holy smokes, the shows were incredible!! The second we got on the ship, we received great advice from a crew member that we should reserve show tickets ASAP if we were interested. We went straight to the guest services counter and locked that down. Some theatres in the ship are large, but others are small and sell out. There were two shows in particular that required pre-reservation. We’re glad we didn’t miss out.

  • Live. Love. Legs. (Reservation Required)
  • Pixels (Reservation Required)
  • Original theatrical productions
  • Live bands
  • Game shows
  • Two70® lounge with daily and nightly entertainment

At-Cost Activities: And, of course, there are some more exclusive activities where you can pay to play. I am more a BINGO person myself, but (unless I missed it) this ship didn’t offer it. Sure, it would be fun to see behind the scenes, have a spa treatment, or win big in the casino, but don’t feel like you have to pay to enjoy yourself. Notice the disparity in pay for activities to free activities. There is so much to do onboard!

  • Sushi-making class
  • All-access tours
  • Spa
  • Casino
  • Shopping
  • Arcade

One thing Hubby and I each felt this RCL ship was missing:

Hubby: Hubby really enjoys the dining model where you sit with the same people every night, in the same dining room, at the same mealtime. RCL seems to be more freestyle and lets you go where you please. They also tend to only seat you with your party. So this party of two on our honeymoon sat alone for every meal. Yes, it’s our honeymoon, but we were vacationing for six weeks! It’s also nice to have a conversation with other people every now and then. We found ourselves talking across the table to folks that sat next to us almost every night haha. I’m sure freestyle is great for some people, but not us. We like the structure of knowing when to eat and where to go. We also enjoy meeting new people and hearing how they spent their day and what they enjoyed on land and at sea. On past cruises, we’ve even connected with our table buddies on social media and have remained in touch.

Me: I was really looking forward to laundry facilities. Who does laundry on vacation?? Haha THIS GIRL, when she’s on a six-week honeymoon around the world! We had avoided doing laundry on land, because we figured (incorrectly) that it was available on the ship, like Carnival Cruise Line offers. Ovation didn’t offer this DIY facility, so we had to pay A LOT to have housekeeping launder all our clothes. I should have looked this up in advance, but I just assumed it was like all other ships we’d been on. Since then, I’ve heard from friends and family that other RCL ships also don’t offer a laundry room.

One thing Hubby and I each loved on this RCL ship was:

Hubby: The shows! Quality, effects, lighting, props, and talent were all superior to other cruises. It was also impressive some shows were bilingual and inclusive of multiple languages. The cast was so talented. For a special performance, RCL brought onboard a group that was locally famous, and they were incredible. Special mention: Almost equally as important as the shows were the Belgian waffles with strawberry topping mmmmm. Actually, all breakfast options and the self-serve buffet-style restaurants were generally pretty good on this ship.

Me: Cruise ships often have photographers out each night so you can take photos dressed up before dinner. Most of the time, photographers are stationed in front of cheesy backdrops, which RCL does have, but they also have roaming photographers that take pictures in front of nice areas in the ship. If you like a particular fountain, then the photographer can shoot you there, for example. Hey, if you have a nice-looking ship, flaunt it! Only a ship that is attractive could afford to do this.


This “Culturally Enriching” cruise through Asia didn’t turn out exactly how we envisioned our first Royal Caribbean Cruise to be, but we still had a good time and love cruising. The staff on board alleviated the tensions by listening to what was making guests (usually fellow Westerners) unsatisfied and making accommodations. We were blown away by the ship itself, the entertainment, and the balcony stateroom. Even though the food was overall underwhelming, some dining options were still good. Everyone I know raves over RCL cruises. I can’t say that our first experience was how our friends say that theirs was, but I am really excited to cruise with Royal Caribbean again—just maybe not through Asia next time!

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