Retired life adventures. My first adventure upon retirement was a trip to Japan to visit Kanazawa. Preparations included making sure my passport was current. I also loaded up my Suica card in my Apple Wallet to the limit. The Suica card can be used for transportation, convenience stores, vending machines, restaurants, supermarkets, and more. Next, we determined our packing plan. My husband and I have a baggage allowance of three bags each on Hawaiian Airlines. Since we upgraded our seats to business class, the bags can weigh up to 70 pounds each. We decided to pack two large suitcases with a small suitcase in each. We also checked in a medium size suitcase with an empty duffle bag in it. I’ll share more about. Before leaving Hilo, we completed the Visit Japan Web questionnaire. This was necessary to get the QR code for customs and immigration entry to Japan. The QR code isn’t necessary if you don’t mind filling out the forms upon entry.

We flew on Hawaiian Airlines to Narita Airport and used miles to upgrade our seats to business class. On this Sunday afternoon, the entry process was pretty quick. One hiccup was that my passport number was incorrect in my Visit Japan Web questionnaire. My old passport number was listed and I didn’t realize it. Thankfully, it was an easy fix and I was allowed to enter Japan. We secured our bags, met our friends, and exchanged rail pass orders at Narita Airport. After getting the Rail Pass, we went to the JR window to obtain our Shinkansen tickets for Kanazawa. There was a long line at this office. I suggest you make the Shinkansen ticket reservations online and then you can access a short ticket pickup line. This process was new to me so I didn’t know about it before this trip.

Tasks accomplished, we then boarded the free shuttle bus to take us to the Narita Tobu Hotel. While my husband waited to check in, I removed the small suitcases that were packed in the large suitcases. We packed the small suitcases strategically. We took them with us on the train to Kanazawa. They were intended to get us through the first night. The medium suitcase was sent to the Hyatt Centric in Kanazawa with our needs for the following days. We sent the two large suitcases directly to the final stop, Tobu Hotel Levant Tokyo. They were half empty after taking out the small suitcases. For the convenience of sending these three bags, we paid about $49. This was well worth it to avoid the difficulty of lugging them with us all over the place.

First full day — Monday: Time change struggles. Went to sleep around 10 p.m. and woke up at 1 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep. We had breakfast and caught the bus to Narita Airport where we began using our Rail Pass. First, we boarded the Narita Express to Tokyo Station. Then, we transferred to a Shinkansen to Kanazawa where we arrived at the Hyatt Centric Kanazawa. Our first stop was to Omicho market where we bought gobo pickles and Wajima salt. We found a delicious shoyu ramen at the market. That evening, we had dinner at Ichinokura in Omicho. The shumai with yuba wrapping was different and so delicious.

Day 2, Tuesday: I was awakened by a call from my daughter at 3:45 a.m. Our dog had just had surgery and his incision had opened up. I supported her from afar as she thankfully could get him an appointment at the vet to get stitches. We planned a private tour to Shirakawa Go. There, we explored and ate the area’s specialty, gohei mochi. It’s a smashed grilled mochi with miso sauce. We also tried a Hida beef onigiri. Next, we stopped at Gokayama, a much less crowded and easy to explore area. Dinner was at an Italian restaurant in Kanazawa Station.

Day 3, Wednesday: I thought I would sleep in a bit more. However, I still woke up at 4 a.m. We rode the bus to Higashi Chayagai for just 210 yen. My favorite meal of the trip was here at a restaurant called Mizuho. I had a most amazing saba lunch set. It cost just approximately $13. That evening, we packed up the clothes we were done with. We also packed all the purchases made by this time. We sent the medium-sized suitcase to Tokyo. After that, we headed to izakaya dinner.

Day 4, Thursday: We rode the Shinkansen to Echizen Takefu to visit a shop called Takefu Knife Village. Very cool shop if you are into Japanese knives. We also visited Papyrus House, a shop specializing in washi goods before getting some oroshi soba. Oroshi soba is cold soba with daikon oroshi on it. We got back to Kanazawa and dropped our bags off at the room. Since we still had time before dinner my husband and I got back on the Shinkansen. We visited Takaoka where we visited Zuiryuji Temple where we purchased some omamori. This temple worships a unique deity. The deity is regarded as the guardian of the bathroom. It has powers to purify and prevent diseases. I never purchased a bathroom omamori before. I got one to help protect those who come to our house! Can’t hurt, right? We returned just in time for dinner. We ate at a Gyukatsu, a beef katsu restaurant. We were allowed to bring our own bottles of sake with us.

Day 5, Friday: Shinkansen back to Tokyo and checked in at Tobu Hotel Levant Tokyo in the Kinshicho district. This was my first time there and this area is hopping. Lots of shopping and restaurants in the area. This hotel has a direct shuttle to Disney. Additionally, it is a stop for the Airport Limousine bus. When we checked in, our three suitcases were there and waiting for us. Additionally, we had an order delivered to the hotel. The hotel stored our perishables in their freezer for us. We also had an Amazon Japan purchase. So convenient. We did some repacking and then sent three suitcases to the airport to wait for us for our departure. After checking in, I did some fun Daiso shopping.

Day 6, Saturday: We had breakfast at Yoshinoya, just a block away. We headed to Tsukiji for some grocery shopping. After Tsukiji, we walked to Ginza where we came across an amazing whisky museum/shop. Put this place on your list if you’re into whisky! You can have tastings there too. We shopped at the HUGE Ginza Uniqlo–9 floors, I think and then had lunch at Italian restaurant. That evening, my cousin Kyoko joined us for dinner. I had not seen or been in touch with her since I was in sixth grade. This reunion was so very special.

Day 7, Final day — We enjoyed breakfast at Matsuya. Then we went shopping in Nihombashi at the Fukushima and Sumoto antenna shops. I also stopped at the Kayanoya store for various dashi. After getting back to the hotel, we checked out. We made one last stop for groceries at the supermarket next to the hotel. We boarded the airport bus with just three bags. This door to door service was just 3100 yen a person which is about $20 a person. So affordable for this long ride. If you take this option, remember that you can only take two checked bags per person on this bus. Once we got to the airport, we had lots of time. We picked up the 3 pieces of luggage we had sent ahead. Then, we headed toward the check-in counter for our flight home. There was a little bit of a wait before the counter opened but people were already starting to stand in line! Tip—if you’ve checked in online and have your boarding pass, no need to wait in the long main cabin line. Go to the bag drop line. Much shorter. After getting through TSA, we bought some Royce chocolate then we headed to the JAL Sakura Lounge for curry. So happy to have had business class seats again. Hawaiian Airlines served sashimi on my inflight meal!

Upon our landing on Oahu, we used the mobile passport lane. It was very fast and easy. There was a little bit of wait for the bags but all arrived and we smoothly exited customs. There was no bag transfer area so we had to wheel our bags to the interisland section to drop our bags off. My husband enjoyed Portuguese sausage and corned beef hash for breakfast while we waited for our flight home to Hilo. Living Hilo Style in Kanazawa and Tokyo.