Japan Days 1, 2 & 3

The three years we lived in Japan were not easy. We were young, very newly married, broke, paying off Rich's college debt, couldn't speak the language and we worked...a lot. So the years were as tough as they were fun, but they set us up for financial success in the years to come, and for that and many other reasons (the people, culture, traditions and a new sister-in-law for starters), we are very grateful for our time there. Even better, we've realized that the 'Japan as a visitor' experience is a lot more fun than the 'Japan as workaholic' experience we once lived. Every visit back there has been waaaay more enjoyable than I'd ever imagined.

This trip was hands down, one of the best we've ever gone on, for so many different reasons:

• The Yuki Matsuri (Snow Festival) did not disappoint.
• The falling snow was enchanting, gorgeous and soothing to my soul. I've fallen in love with the sound of crunching snow under my boots, the snow blanketing an entire landscape, etc.
• It's always fun traveling with my parents, who even at nearly 70, can keep up with both of us, never make any demands and are fun to laugh with.
• We got to travel with our dear friends from Kona...they live a mile away from us, and we loved getting hang out with them in Japan as much as we do in Kona!
• We hung out in the coolest cities in Japan- Sapporo and Tokyo! The only city I would've loved to have visited would've been Kyoto too (our home), but we were there on our last trip...so we'll have to go again soon!
• The food...oh God the food. I think I ate eight meals/snacks a day. Everyday. It's pretty easy to be a vegetarian in Japan!
• The people...always helpful, courteous and kind, on trains, in stores, on the street, and in temples. I'm not sure there are a more respectful and humble group of people. We live in the land of Aloha, and it's a very special place if you can crack beneath the touristy surface...but Japan is the land of respect. It is freely given, and it's a wonderful feeling experiencing a world like that.

Our day started with an early morning flight from Kona to HNL, with a long layover before our flight from HNL to KIX. We've learned over time that even a 3-4 hour layover can easily be not enough time to make the connection if your first flight is delayed by an hour or two. You end up wasting a bit of time in the airport, but it's less painful that wasting a lot more money on re-booking five international flights.

We flew Air Asia X, a first for us. It's a Malaysian airline that recently starting flying out of HNL. I'd say my opinion of them is...mixed. They offer deceptively low fares, but nickle and dime you to death, so much so that you start to wish you had just paid for a regular, full fare so you can stop the bleeding. Here's what you pay more for: assigned seats, food (meals that looked slightly on par with high school cafeteria food were $16 each), drinks (not even water is free), checked baggage (and these fees are NOT cheap, we paid $40+ a bag), carry on baggage (anything over 7kg you had to pay for), in flight entertainment, pillows, blankets, etc. If they could have charged you to flush the toilet, I'm sure they would have (but I bet it would only backfire...no pun intended).

So if you're tempted by their low fares...buyer beware. It takes a special kind of patience and traveler to tolerate their style of business. I'm not sure I always appreciated the 'value' they offered over the lackluster treatment they offer. There is zero concern for passenger comfort, only on upselling those amenities. So lesson learned...if you do travel with them, travel light (preferably naked with nothing else), bring your own tablet loaded with movies/books and water (technically, outside food is not permitted) and have lots of cash handy for all the extras.

Other than the shock of their cheapness...our flight was fine. It was clean, safe, left on time and landed early, and that's really all that matters. It took ten hours from HNL to KIX, so our travel to Japan immediately ate up two days, as Japan is 19 hours ahead. We left on a Friday morning, and arrived there late Saturday night. To avoid having to take the train into Osaka for the night, we booked two rooms at the airport hotel (Hotel Nikko, a lovely place, highly recommended) to rest at before our noon flight the next day to Sapporo.

The walkway from the Kansai airport over to the Hotel Nikko...beautifully lit up with origami paper cranes hanging overhead. It's the perfect hotel for a late night arrival and an early AM departure the next morning. 

Ryan loved the lobby of the hotel, it was filled with cultural displays and massive vases of flowers. We quickly grew attached to our suite and didn't want to leave, for so many little reasons- proximity to the airport (a few hundred yards away), price (my parent's room was about $150, ours was about $205), amenities (after being treated like 4th class citizens on Air Asia, it was nice to have a room generously stocked with creature comforts), spacious (hugest hotel room I've ever been in in Japan) and with a panoramic view of the airport.

On each of our three beds were two sets of pjs for each of us- a western set, and a yukata. Not to mention three fluffy bathrobes (Ry wore his from check in until checkout the next day), a fully-stocked complimentary bar (sadly, it was mostly beer and teas, which we don't drink), etc. We couldn't believe how much we enjoyed our stopover hotel room and didn't want to leave!

Our bonus for stopping over at Kansai for the night? A stop the next morning at a Pokemon store, and...

...craft time! It was a winter festival at the airport (and it's a wonderful airport, btw), so they had a few activities. My mom and Ryan each got to paint 'Good Luck' ceramic cats while we waited for our mid-day flight to Sapporo.

Our flight to Sapporo from Kansai was another surprise. Apparently Jetstar, our airline, was another budget airline (even though I wouldn't have called their airfares all that cheap). It was more of the same- no free checked bags, only very light carry on baggage permitted without additional charge, no food/beverage or in flight entertainment (not that big a deal for a >2 hour flight, however), pricey checked baggage fees, etc. I had no idea either airline would be so budget-focused, as Japan is so generally quite heavily focused on customer service.

The views flying into Sapporo could not be beat. I'm sure it looked just like Greenland (well, in spring or fall), Alaska or any other cold region, but to us...it was the most snow-covered landscape we'd ever been to.

Every trip has a hiccup, and this trip, our hiccup was yet another AirBnB host who cancelled last minute, without reason. We had that reservation for over a YEAR, and booked with her as she had over 140 positive reviews. But she went AWOL and never responded to any of our emails the week before the trip. And because AirBnB has terrible customer service whenever this happens (don't even get me started, it's the THIRD time it's happened to us), we were stuck having to rebook a new place 24-48 hours before arrival. This is the equivalent to losing your Manhattan hotel room overlooking Times Square a day before New Years Eve, by the way...you're gonna pay dearly if you're even able to find something last minute. Every hotel room in town has been booked for a year. So we paid close to three times the amount we should have...but were grateful to have found a place within walking distance of the festival, and thankful it was a lovely place.

Our hotel was stunning. It was a hybrid hotel, quite new, with only four or five units. We booked a three-bedroom apartment (trying to book for more than 2 or 4 people in Japan is always incredibly difficult, as places are quite tiny) and loved it. Though it wasn't very practical (more pretty than useful), we were happy to have such a cozy, pleasant and large apartment only 15-20 min. away from the two main festival venues.

Our Japanese style living room...

One of our Japanese-style futons on faux-straw tatami mats (I learned there is such a thing on this trip).

Our bathroom was also very Japanese (think futon room), but our kitchen and dining room were thankfully, quite Western.

Though it took us THREE days to get to Sapporo because of the time difference and three flights, we were so ecstatic to finally be there and see SO much snow piled everywhere and falling continuously from the sky. We've been to many cold places, played in snow, seen light snowfall, etc. But nothing prepared us for the beauty of snow-covered Hokkaido, and we were so excited to get an early start the next day (early for kids/seniors, btw, is about 8:30-9am). ;-)