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The Selfish Years

~ Over 200 cities, 42 countries, 6 continents and counting.

The Selfish Years

Category Archives: Japan

Heading back to Japan for one more Selfish Trip!

09 Tuesday Aug 2016

Posted by misterselfish in Accommodations, Asia, Hyatt, Japan, Tokyo

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Andaz Tokyo, Park Hyatt Tokyo, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Shibu

Hello! It’s been an embarrassingly long time since we last wrote something, hasn’t it? Just under 7 months if the date on the post below is to be believed.

7 months…

I can remember a time not too long ago where Mrs. Selfish and I were cranking out a post a day. Now I’m lucky if I get two done a year. That’s life with a busy toddler, I suppose.

Toddler Selfish

Toddler Selfish loving life at the playground.

Toddler Selfish has kept us so busy, that we’ve only managed 3 trips this year! One to Napa, one to San Diego to visit the zoo, and one to the East Coast to visit family.

Hippo!!

Hippo!! Also, Toddler Selfish.

So when my parents offered to watch Toddler Selfish over the Winter holiday, I immediately jumped at the offer and booked a trip to Japan.

Yes, Japan.

For the fifth time. Continue reading →

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Where to Spot Geishas in Kyoto

26 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Japan, Kyoto

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Geisha, Gion, Japan, Kyoto, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Where to spot Geishas

During our Selfish Year, we spent 43 days in Japan, in places like Fukouka, Kanazawa, Kyoto, and Tokyo. During our time in that fair city we finally made it to Harajuku’s legendary Cosplayer meet up.

tokyo-shibuya_harajuku_akihibara-023

Basically you show up at the Northern Exit of Harajuku station on Sunday between 1pm – 2:30pm. If you’re in the area and love taking pictures, I highly recommend it.

While I thought cosplayers in Tokyo were fairly rare, spotting a geisha in Kyoto proved to be an even rarer event. We spent a mind-boggling 23 days in Kyoto near the Gion district (the part of Kyoto where one is supposed to see geishas), and never saw one.

NOT ONE.

This time, however, we got lucky. Spotting not one, not two, but TWELVE geishas in the span of 5 nights. Totally crazy and I’ll share with you how and where we spotted them today.

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Keeping it Short and Suite at the Park Hyatt Tokyo

25 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by misterselfish in Accommodations, Asia, Hyatt, Japan, Tokyo

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Guest of Honor, Park Hyatt, Park Hyatt Tokyo, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, suite, Tokyo

Mrs. Selfish and I stayed at the Park Hyatt Tokyo twice before – once during the Selfish Year trip, and a second time during our trip to the Maldives. It’s one of our favorite hotels in the world, and one I was looking forward to sharing it with Baby Selfish.

During our first two stays, we had temporary diamond status (back when Hyatt was overly generous with their diamond trial), which meant we had free room service breakfast, access to the sauna, and free admission to the NYC bar during the diamond happy hour. Amazing benefits, to be sure, and ones which we were not going to get this time around as lowly Platinum members.

Upgrading to the Suite & Guest of Honor status

Since I still had a diamond suite certificate to burn, I booked the three of us into a king suite for two nights on a severely reduced paid stay using a combination of the Best Rate Guaranteed 20% discount and buying Hyatt gift certificates at 15% off.

In the end, we ended up paying something like 55% of the rack rate for the room and were upgraded to a suite. Pretty great.

Since we wanted to spend a total of 4 nights at the PHT so Mrs. Selfish’s parents could recover from jetlag, I booked the remaining two nights in a standard king, transferring points over to Cousin Selfish’s account so we could try out the Guest of Honor status.

If you’ve never tried Guest of Honor status you basically get to partake in a diamond member’s benefits if they book the room for you with points. Hyatt’s transfer policy is fairly generous, though a member can only receive points from another member once every 30 days, so make sure to transfer all your points at once!

I was secretly hoping that the Park Hyatt Tokyo would give us the best of both worlds and keep us in the suite for 4 nights while giving us diamond status, but didn’t have high hopes since this IS Japan after all. As expected, they followed the rules down to the letter.

Baby Selfish enjoying the view.

Continue reading →

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2.5 Nights at the Fabulous Conrad Tokyo

24 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by misterselfish in Accommodations, Asia, Hilton, Japan, Tokyo

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Conrad, Conrad Tokyo, HHonors, Hilton, Selfish Year, Selfish Years

Let me start this review by saying that I am torn. Mrs. Selfish and I are, by nature, Hyatt loyalists. There are numerous reasons: better perks, more consistent quality, low cost awards, etc. etc.

Yet every now and then, we stay at a Hilton property or, (dare I say) Intercontinental that is not only good, but is excellent.

The Conrad Hilton is definitely one of these properties and if you’re looking to burn some Hilton free nights, I would consider this an excellent use of points.

This was our fourth Conrad property, and while the Conrad Koh Samui and the Conrad Rangali wowed, the Conrad Singapore was a bit meh. Whereas that hotel fell flat on its face (other than the excellent breakfast), the Conrad Tokyo more than rose to the challenge.

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15 Selfish Tips for Infant Traveling Success

23 Tuesday Jun 2015

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Infant Travel, Japan

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

infant, infant travel, Japan, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, travel, Travel with infant

Hello! It’s been a riiiiidiculous amount of time since our last new post proper, which I can only attribute to being a) grounded, and b) severely sleep deprived. We’ve been spending most of our time un-selfishly, which is a big change of pace for us.

Yes, Baby Selfish is cute, but man is she a handful.

So I was very excited to leave the country once more (it had been 7 months at that point), and pleased to take Baby Selfish on her first international trip: Japan.

 

Ah, Japan. Home to efficient service, clean water, and bottomless ramen bowls.

Having spent over 2 months in Japan, Mrs. Selfish and I were pretty confident this would be a safe and enjoyable travel for a 3-month old – and it was!

That being said, we definitely learned a few lessons on the way, which will hopefully lead to others’ future baby traveling success.

Continue reading →

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Baby Selfish’s 1st International Trip: Japan!

30 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Accommodations, Asia, Hilton, Hyatt, Japan, Kyoto, Tokyo

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Baby Selfish, Japan, Kyoto, Nara, Park Hyatt Tokyo, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tokyo

Mrs. Selfish and I decided to take our Selfish Year journey as an end cap to our fading young-adult years. We had always enjoyed traveling as young professionals, and decided a year abroad together would be a great way to “get it out of our systems” prior to having a kid.

Boy were we wrong.

A year later and I’m more addicted to traveling than ever. In fact, after settling in San Francisco, we ended up spending over 3 of the next 15 months outside of the country.

So when we found out Mrs. Selfish was pregnant, I immediately did what any other miles & points enthusiast would do in my shoes and started planning Baby Selfish’s first international trip.

Yep, back to Japan!

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Where’s the Wagyu Beef? At Maruni!

27 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Tokyo

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Maruni, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tokyo, wagyu, wagyu beef

During our first visit to Japan in 2009, Mr. Selfish and I feasted at Grill Miyata, which was located in Kyoto but is now closed, for the best wagyu beef ever. With the revelation that most “Kobe” or “wagyu” beef in the States is in fact just regular beef, we knew that we had to have it again while in Japan.

Wagyu is expensive, as it should be. The term refers to several breeds of cattle that are genetically predisposed to intense marbling and to producing a high percentage of unsaturated fat. This, of course, makes them extra tasty.

Mr. Selfish and I did some research online and decided to try Maruni (1-11-1, Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0004). It is a small yakiniku restaurant where they grill the meat right in front of you.

Wagyu 01Wagyu 04Wagyu 05Wagyu 06

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THIS IS THE FUTURE: Tokyo Robots

26 Sunday Jan 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Japan, Tokyo

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Gundam, Robot Restaurant, Robot Show, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Shinjuku, Tokyo

During our last visit to Tokyo, Mrs. Selfish and I spent a fair amount of time checking out the weird bits of Japan. We drank at the bizarro-Japanese DisneySea. We chased after lolita girls in Harijuku. We wandered around super nerdy Akihabara, and ultra trendy Shibuya. We even found Godzilla.

Amidst all of our nerdy wanderings, however, we somehow neglected robots. It was time to set things right.

Tokyo Robots 005

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Good Eats in Tokyo: Yuian Izakaya and Jinnan Curry

25 Saturday Jan 2014

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Tokyo

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Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Jinnan Curry, Little Shop, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tokyo, Yuian, Yuian Izakaya

I love Japanese food. During our travel during the selfish year, Japanese food is the one cuisine of which I never got tired. Considering that we spent over forty days in Japan, that is quite a feat. Here are two tasty restaurants that we discovered during our last time in Tokyo.

Yuian Izakaya: A Great View and Good Food

Although Mr. Selfish and I are quite partial to the 35 Steps in Shibuya, we decided to give another izakaya a try. We found rave reviews for Yuian Izakaya (2-6-1 Shinjuku Sumitomo Building 52F) online and booked it for our last night in Tokyo. It is located in Shinjuku on the 52nd floor of an office building, which makes for great views during dinner.

Tokyo Eats 09Tokyo Eats 10Tokyo Eats 11Tokyo Eats 12

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Relaxing in Roppongi

24 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Tokyo

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Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Roppongi, Roppongi Fukuzushi, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tokyo, Zōjō-ji, Zōjō-ji Temple

Mr. Selfish and I always love visiting Tokyo. We usually stay in the areas of Shinjuku, Shibuya, Akihabara, and Harajuku. This time, we decided to go to the expat area – Roppongi.

Ropponggi 01

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Pumping Iron at the Park Hyatt Tokyo

23 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Accommodations, Asia, Hyatt, Japan, Tokyo

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Park Hyatt, Park Hyatt Tokyo, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tokyo

Mrs. Selfish and I were originally planning on skipping Tokyo altogether, having gone there twice before. Unfortunately, I had some difficulty finding a business award flight from Tokyo to San Francisco. Availability was limited at the time I booked our tickets, so I opted to book economy, with the hopes that 2 business class awards would open up closer to our travel date.

After checking back every day for two months, I finally found 2 business class awards. Unfortunately, they were 4 days after our connecting flight from Okinawa. Fortunately, we love Tokyo.

Having had a wonderful 5 night stay at the Park Hyatt Tokyo last May, I decided to book 3 nights at the Park Hyatt Tokyo. While I wasn’t surprised that the hotel was still amazing, I was surprised by who I ran into at the Park Hyatt’s gym – let me set the scene.

The Park Hyatt’s gym is small, especially the weight section, which can’t fit more than 6-8 people comfortably. Just check this puppy out:

tokyo-park-hyatt-022

So it didn’t take me very long to realize that the hulking man doing bicep curls to my left was none other than the Governator himself, Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger. After a few awkward glances, I fell into my normal routine until the man left, without saying a word to him. After I told Mrs. Selfish what happened, she told me to wake up her up the following morning, should Arnold be at the gym a second time.

The second morning I woke up and bam!, there he was again. After a quick phone call, Mrs. Selfish arrived with camera in tow, so that we would have photographic evidence of our encounter with Mr. Schwarzenegger.

Behold!

Park Hyatt Tokyo 001

Mr. Schwarzenegger was in town promoting his new movie, Escape Plan, and was a guest at the Park Hyatt Tokyo. Though he seemed like he had a packed day, he still took the time to pose for a picture with us, which was pretty cool. Though I never saw him outside of the gym itself, I did see his Japanese bodyguard on several more occasions.

Anyway, back to the hotel itself.

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Nago Food: So Much Taco Rice, So Little Time

22 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Okinawa

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Asia, Beni-imo, Chura-Hana, Food & Drinks, Goya, Japan, Nago, Okinawa, Okinawa Cuisine, Okinawa food, Pork Belly, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Taco Rice

As I’ve gone over previously, Okinawan cuisine is quite different from the food in the rest of Japan. Even though I knew this coming in, nothing could prepare me for the Okinawan fascination with tacos. In fact, taco rice, which is taco flavored beef served on a bed of rice, is a typical school lunch meal. Mr. Selfish and I, of course, had to try it for the sake of posterity.

King Tacos: The Originator of Taco Rice

Even though Mr. Selfish and I didn’t really enjoy the Kin Kannon-do Temple, we rather relished the idea of eating at King Tacos, the originator of taco rice, which is located nearby in Kin.

Nago Food 04Nago Food 10Nago Food 07Nago Food 08

We ordered a taco platter, as well as the traditional taco rice with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and salsa. As odd as it sounds, I found it pretty tasty and definitely a bit like comfort food (even though I had never had it before). I mean – I love rice and I love tacos. Why not combine it? If you’re in Kin, I would definitely check out Taco Kings!

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Nago’s Noteworthy Sights – Part II

21 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Japan, Okinawa

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Tags

Nago, Okinawa, Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, Pineapple Park, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Whale shark

For our second day in Nago, Mrs. Selfish and I decided to tour the area northwest of Nago. Okinawa is home to many ruins, beautiful beaches, and bizarre tourist attractions – so I knew we’d have a good time.

The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium at the Ocean Expo Park

The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium is the third largest aquarium in the world, after the Dubai Mall Aquarium, and the Georgia Aquarium.

The aquarium itself is located in Okinawa’s Ocean Expo park, which is a large (and free) park. The park is pretty massive, just check out the map.

Nago Sites - II 001

We had a lot of fun wandering around the expo park, which was filled with playful gardens, animal shows, and beaches.

Nago Sites - II 002Nago Sites - II 004Nago Sites - II 022Nago Sites - II 003Nago Sites - II 025Nago Sites - II 017

The aquarium costs 1800 yen ($18) for adults, and 600 yen ($6) for children. While the cost is a wee bit higher than I’d like, there’s no doubt it’s a great aquarium.

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Nago’s Noteworthy Sights – Part I

20 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Japan, Okinawa

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Asia, Cape Manzamo, Ikei Island, Japan, Kin Kannon-do Temple, Nago, Nago Sights, Nakagusuku Castle Ruin, Okinawa, Selfish Year, Selfish Years

Mr. Selfish and I spent two days in the Nago area of Okinawa. As a subtropical area, Nago has its fair share of beautiful beaches. However, since we were visiting during winter, we didn’t know how much there would be to do in the area. Fortunately, there are numerous noteworthy sights in the Nago area. Today, I’ll go over the sights south of Nago, and tomorrow, Mr. Selfish will go over the sights north of Nago.

Cape Manzamo: Beautiful and Accessible

Cape Manzamo is a scenic rock formation near Onna Village, which is on the way to Nago. It faces the East China Sea and is a popular viewing spot for sunset. Mr. Selfish and I didn’t visit during sunset but we found it beautiful nonetheless.

Nago 01Nago 02CapeNago 03Nago 04Nago 05

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Staying at the Luxurious Ritz-Carlton Okinawa

19 Sunday Jan 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Accommodations, Japan, Marriott, Okinawa

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Okinawa, Ritz Carlton Okinawa, Ritz-Carlton, Selfish Year, Selfish Years

After packing up the car, Mrs. Selfish and I drove an hour north from Naha to our next stay, the Ritz-Carlton Okinawa. This was our first Ritz-Carlton stay, so I was a little unsure what to expect.

Golden chandeliers? Martini-fueled Bentleys? Diamond-encrusted butlers?

Ritz Carlton Okinawa 009

While it didn’t have any of these things, the Ritz-Carlton Okinawa still managed to ooze luxury.

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Who’s Selfish?

Mr. and Mrs. Selfish are an obsessively organized couple who sold all their junk to travel abroad for a year. Now settled in San Francisco, they have since visited over 200 cities in 44 countries over 6 continents. This site chronicles their travels.

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  • Heading back to Japan for one more Selfish Trip!
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  • Keeping it Short and Suite at the Park Hyatt Tokyo

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