Japan: There and Back Again

We found great round trip fare earlier this year, $550 with extra leg room. As far as I know it's still pretty cheap.

PART II: https://imgur.com/gallery/iwWdI

PART III: http://imgur.com/gallery/eFn1S

DOUBLE EDIT: A lot of people are asking for budgets, itineraries, and many other things. There's no easy way for me to handle that many inquiries over Imgur, so please correspond via Twitter@ ADMAVEN

After an 11 hour flight you go directly to yakitori and have a few beers.

Start each day early with a Black Boss!

Tokyo has a lot of beautiful, walkable thoroughfares. It's not all a crush.

Tsukiji fish market at 8am. Breakfast.

Tokyo has gotten more adventurous with architecture in the last decade.

Strolling through a park in Tokyo.

To the National Museum.

Treasures.

Look closely.

Extra large serving of tonkotsu.

A very special dinner with the entire restaurant seating 8.

Abalone. These guys were not fooling around.

Roppongi Hills giant spider. The sister sculpture is in Kansas City, MO.

Tokyo imperial palace on a rainy day.

Lunch. While we ate a 6.4 magnitude earthquake shook the building. Only we jumped.

Beer is popular in Japan, and while their beers are very very good, you can find foreign imports.

Japanese whiskey is considered by many to be the best in the world.

Turtle soup. My first time.

We stumbled into a bar that has over 2000 kinds of whiskey available. Japanese love whiskey and now own Jim Beam and other famous American brands.

There's only one way to see Japan: Shinkansen. As a tourist, you can get nearly unlimited use of the country wide network for $300-500. Green Car is their first class, and it's worth it.

Hurtling across the country at over 200mph is amazing. The trains are so nice you won't want to get out.

Idyllic park scene in Kyoto.

Shrines aren't my favorite, but this one in Kyoto is a nice trek.

Busy day in Kyoto.

The Japanese still love malls, and stores continue to thrive inside these mega centers.

Tonkotsu sandwich and wine on the ride back to Tokyo. In Japan you may consume alcohol anywhere without restriction.

A typical shopping street in Japan.

Back in Tokyo having a park stroll.

We found possibly the best Manhattan at the new Ritz Carlton. I'm a sucker for a fancy hotel bar.

Shabu shabu dinner pre-game.

This entire meal looked as good as it tasted.

There's the shabu shabu being prepared tableside.

Don't forget the sake! (We didn't).

Desserts in Japan are often simple. Delicious fruits and puddings leave you refreshed.

The streets at night are always lively in Tokyo's party districts.

Heading out to see Mt. Fuji and caught one of Japan's famously large insects.

At the lake at the base of Fuji you can rent a swan boat and paddle around.

Lunch in the mountains.

After a day trip via Shinkansen to Fuji, back to the yakitori for charcoal grilled chicken and veggies.

The Japanese excel at simple recipes that rely on the quality of the raw product as the main attraction.

Beer is good.

Department stores and crowds are common all over Tokyo.

Tea at the Park Hyatt Tokyo.

And some other stuff too. The bar at the Park Hyatt was prominently featured in Lost in Translation. For a relaxing time...

A late night stop for food in a mall.

Zoom to see all the late night commuters. Japanese work notoriously late hours.

Typical ad featuring Japanese train life.

The Shinkansen pulling into the station.

All aboard heading to Niigata, famous for sake. If Imgur likes this I'll post a part 2 soon.

Read on for more:

PART II: https://imgur.com/gallery/iwWdI
PART III: http://imgur.com/gallery/eFn1S