shopping mall – Roving Sun

Nagoya

After breakfast at the 名古屋マリオットアソシアホテル Nagoya Marriott Associa Hotel, we headed out to visit 名古屋城 Nagoya Castle… which was closed for the Japanese New Year holiday! We ended up walking around it before having the local 味噌煮込みうどん miso nikomi udon for lunch nearby at 山本屋 Yamamoto-ya. We then visited 熱田神宮 Atsuta-jingu before spending the rest of the afternoon and evening around the 栄 Sakae district and オアシス２１ (Oasis 21). We had dinner in the area at 矢場とん Yabaton, a local chain that specializes in the local 味噌カツ miso katsu dish.

We got another late start at the メルキュール東京羽田エアポート Mercure Tokyo Haneda Airport this morning. We headed over to Shinjuku to meet up with family who live in Japan. Later on, we visited アルトニア Artnia, the Square Enix cafe and shop at their headquarters. We ended up walking around Shinjuku for a bit before having sushi at Shinagawa Station on our way back to the Mercure.

We had a late start this morning from the メルキュール東京羽田エアポート Mercure Tokyo Haneda Airport. We left just before noon to get lunch near 東京駅 Tokyo Station. In the early evening, we went over to 東京ミッドタウン Tokyo Midtown to see their Christmas illuminations. After, we walked over to 六本木ヒルズ Roppongi Hills primarily for the extremely busy view over the beautiful illuminated けやき坂 Keyakizaka with the 東京タワー Tokyo Tower in the background. We then walked over to 麻布台ヒルズ Azabudai Hills to see what Christmas was like there before heading back to the Mercure.

After checking out of the Courtyard in Kyoto, we took the Shinkansen to Hakata on the island of Kyushu. We visited the 櫛田神社 Kushida and 住吉神社 Sumiyoshi shrines and had some ramen before checking in to the グランドハイアット福岡 Grand Hyatt Fukuoka at キャナルシティ博多 Canal City Hakata. Later in the evening, we watched Canal City’s water and light shows behind the hotel.

After waking up at the Mercure, we went up to Tokyo Station where we had tsukemen for breakfast at Rokurinsha. We then took the train to Takaosanguchi, a chairlift partway up Mt. Takao, and then walked up to the summit. We enjoyed the view as well as the Takao-san Yakuo-in before returning to Tokyo. We then went to see the winter illuminations at Tokyo Midtown and Tokyo Midtown Hibiya.