Trip End Survey: Best and Worst Japan 2012

On our trip to Europe, Greg and I decided that we should rank various things best and worst. We saw some really great sites, stayed in some great hotels, and ate at a couple of great restaurants. But we also saw the worst of all of those things. We decided to do the same for our trip to Japan. The list below is a revised version of the one we used for our Europe trip 3 years ago. So here it is, the Best and Worst List 2012:

Illustrated Best and Worst of Japan 2012

Best historical thing: Hikone Castle

Hikone Castle

Best View: from vista point overlooking old village Shirakawa-go

Shirakawa-go

Best Hotel View: Grand Arc Hanzoman Hotel, Tokyo

Worst Hotel View:  Business Inn Tsuchiya, Nagoya

Best Hotel: Grand Arc Hanzoman Hotel, Tokyo
Worst Hotel: Business Inn Tsuchiya
*Note that since this was a much shorter trip, we only stayed in 5 different hotels.

Best Toilet: Villa Fontaine Roppongi, Tokyo. I liked the warm seats.
Worst Toilet: Business Inn Tsuchiya, Nagoya (only Eastern hole-in-the-ground style toilets available). Note that the men's bathroom in particular was both unbearably disgusting and smelly.

Best Animal Encounter: feeding the deer in Nara

Greg feeding the deer

Best French-Inspired Pastry: pastry with fruit and cream (yums)
Worst French-Inspired Pastry: Mayonnaise and corn pastry

Most Brilliant Food Invention: Pancake sandwich (with margarine and jellied syrup filling)
Best Dessert: E - cheesecake from 7-11

Best Food Item: G - sushi and miso ramen / E - triangular rice thingies with spinach

Best Drink: C.C. Lemon Soda
Best Local Liquor: G - warm sake / E - shochu

Best Castle: Hikone Castle, Hikone
Worst Castle: Himeji Caslte, Himeji (but only because it is currently under construction and covered with a tarp)

Best Temple: Nishihonganji Temple, Kyoto

Best City: Tokyo
Worst City: Yokohama (not a bad city, just lowest ranked)

Best Restaurant: the izakaya we visited in Nagoya

Best Nightlife: Karaoke

Best Subterranean Experience: crazy huge underground cities in Tokyo attached to subway and train stations

Best-Preserved Old City: Shirakawa-go
Best Backdoor Destination: Shirakawa-go

Best Weather: Tokyo
Worst Weather: Kanazawa (freezing cold rain all day)

Most Interestingly Dressed Locals: Harajuku, Tokyo

Clothing shop in Harajuku

Most Relaxing Place: Grand Arc Hanzoman Hotel, Tokyo
Least Relaxing Place: E - Business Inn Tsuchiya, Nagoya / Kyoto Imperial Palace park trying to eat food on a bench in freezing cold wind.

Scariest Moment: E - at Business Inn Tsuchiya when I realized there were no western toilets / G - none
Biggest Culture Shock: G - at Bunraku performance the women in the audience were dressed in fancy kimonos.
Cheesiest Tourist Trap: G - the cup of noodles museum in Yokohama / E - Guy wearing a castle suit, Osaka.

Guy wearing a castle suit in Osaka

Longest Distance Walked: New Year's Eve in Tokyo
Longest Travel Day: G - Traveling from San Francisco to Tokyo (21 hours) / E - Traveling from Austin to Tokyo (26 hours)

Best Inside Joke: "5 seconds"

Worst Hawker Experience: Chinatown, Yokohama (people kept trying to get us to come inside their restaurants and hand us fliers)
Biggest Revelation: E - the musical note button on the toilets makes a fake flushing sound meant to cover up other "toilet sounds" / G - "there are a lot of people in Japan"