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Since we couldn’t travel, I wanted to create a special itinerary for my folks. They were surprisingly game. Haha. In this article, we present an itinerary inspired by the activities we did on our “Japan” holiday!! If you’re always searching for things to do in Singapore, hopefully this will whet your appetite.
As a note, social distancing measures are being updated all the time! Of course, please adjust the itinerary to be in compliance with prevailing regulations and guidelines.
Day 1: Meditating in Kyoto
- Morning: Tour a Kyoto Zen Garden
- Lunch: Grab a counter seat at Shinzo
- Afternoon: Talk a walk through Life in Edo
- Dinner: Visit the Torii Gates at Koma
Day 2: Otaku in the House
- Brunch: Eat your fill with Sumikkogurashi
- Afternoon: Battle it out at Zero Latency
- Dinner: Up your ramen game with Zairyo
- Evening: Relive your teenage days on Netflix
Itinerary to be continued in Part 2…
Nothing here is sponsored! We don’t earn any referral fees from the links!
Day 1: Meditating in Kyoto
Morning: Tour a Kyoto Zen Garden
Kyoto Zen Garden (Cherry Blossom Edition)
To start things off, go on a guided tour in Kyoto… We found the above one on Airbnb Online Experiences. To be honest, we were skeptical at first… Does it really make sense to pay US$24 per pax to see a video? Wouldn’t we get more value from watching a random vlog of someone touring Japan…?
Our verdict: This tour was totally worth it! The host, Andrew, is a landscape designer based in Japan and held highly rated in-person tours before the pandemic. He paced the entire experience well – showed us a map of the garden we were exploring, followed by videos “walking” you through each of the spaces, all the while narrating the various points of interest. There were many opportunities to ask questions. My family really enjoyed it! Even Peter kept talking about it to friends in the weeks after. The videos were high-definition and all, but the main value-add to us came from the various anecdotes and knowledge-sharing that Andrew offered.
On a side note, before making the booking with Andrew, I had previously thought that I’d enjoy it more if the experience was “live” (i.e. the guide takes you through the place in real-time via his/her recording device). I ended up going for a “live” tour on another platform and couldn’t stand more than 5 minutes of it… The camera was shaky and the voice output was intermittent. Yikes.
Our tip for you: Be curious and ask a lot of questions. As mentioned above, the value-add comes from the anecdotes and expertise that the tour guide provides, so you have very little to ask, you gain less from the experience.
Lunch: Grab a Counter Seat at Shinzo
We were hesitant to mention Shinzo at first because space there is limited and it’s already difficult for us to make reservations! It’s like an open secret that you don’t want to share.
But for the sake of this article, Shinzo has solid lunch sets available. We find them very value-for-money given the quality! They also have omakase sets which we are looking to try next!
Our tip: Space is very limited. Make a reservation at the earliest time slot (12PM). We once made a booking at 1PM and they didn’t have a space until 30min later. Service staff were very nice but couldn’t chase out their seated customers (naturally). That was actually the first time we’d been – it was the quality of the food brought us back.
Afternoon: Take a walk through Life in Edo
Life in Edo: Special Exhibition by the ACM
The Asian Civilisations Museum’s special exhibition – Life in Edo | Russel Wong in Kyoto – is a double-bill “centred on Japanese culture and craftsmanship, showcasing an array of woodblock prints and photography”. For context, Russel Wong is a Singapore-born celebrity photographer who has taken portraits of Jackie Chan, Richard Gere, Tom Cruise and other stars. He also cameod in Crazy Rich Asians!
If you have extra time to kill after the exhibition, read The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo (the only copy that costs $0 even without Kindle Unlimited).
Our tip: Use your Singapore Rediscovers Voucher to offset the ticket cost. Tickets can be purchased on Klook.
Dinner: Visit the Torii Gates at Koma
If you haven’t already been, visiting Koma will be a delectable visual treat!! At the entrance stands a neat row of bright orange Torii gates like the ones you might have seen at the Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto. As you walk in, you’re greeted by ultra high ceilings, lanterns on the floor that look like they’re floating down a stream…. and in the middle of it all, a ginormous bell with a full-sized traditional Japanese bridge in front of it.
The menu was fairly reasonably priced (we spent ~S$40 per pax for a filling meal), I do think that the visual treat alone makes Koma worth a visit. But for the heck of it, let’s go through some of the normal pointers.
- Service is great. The service staff at the front desk were super friendly and offered to take photos for us without prompting. Wait staff were patient with their explanations of the food options and also checked whether we had any allergies.
- We’ve heard mixed reviews about the mains… Some have told us that they like the food, while others find it meh. One friend found the sushi horrible…
- Personally, we found that the food varies from “alright” to “good!”, though it’s worth noting that we mainly stuck to the big bowls section. I thoroughly enjoyed the Spicy Tofu Hot Pot, the Wild Mushroom Fried Rice, and the Miso Marinated Black Cod. We did try the Unagi Maki – taste was okay but I did find the rice dry and crumbly.
- But it seems everyone agrees the desserts are great!! Delightfully crafted creations which actually do taste as good as they look. Yum. If you are planning to order more than one dessert, we paired the Bonsai with the Lemon Yuzu and Japanese Cheesecake. They balanced each other out nicely.
Our tip for you: Whether you’re just eating dessert here or having dinner too, be sure to book reserve a table early! Spots run out fast! There’s also a lunch set that we haven’t tried.
Day 2: Otaku in the House
Otaku (according to Wikipedia): a Japanese term for people with consuming interests, particularly in anime and manga. It used to be more of a negative term (with the idea that otakus are socially awkward), but much less so in recent years. Here’s our collection of geeky things to do in one day.
Brunch: Eat your fill with Sumikkogurashi
Brunch at the Sumikkogurashi Cafe
Start your day with these fuzzy creatures at this Sumikkogurashi-themed cafe at Orchard Central! Here’s a character introduction if you didn’t already know about them.
Disclaimer: We haven’t actually been. It was raining super heavily on the day we were supposed to go! Naturally I can’t comment at all on how the food tastes, but if the sets look as cute as the pictures… I’d definitely make a trip down for the heck of it!
Afternoon: Battle it out with Zero Latency
Zero Latency: Cordless Virtual Reality
Peter went for a game at Zero Latency and raved about it for weeks after! I have tried VR at other times (one time in Bangkok, and another time using Oculus at a friend’s place), but I think there’s definitely extra fun in playing VR cordless and with a team. Here’s a video of one of their most popular games – the zombie apocalypse-themed Undead Arena….
According to their website, the equipment and venue are disinfected, but I think there’s no harm sanitizing the headgear yourself if you wanna be extra careful… 🙂
Dinner: Up your ramen game with Zairyo
Zairyo: Online Japanese Grocer
In popular portrayal, otakus like to hole themselves up in their rooms and eat lots of instant noodles. I love ramen myself and thought it’d be fitting for our otaku day to celebrate the magic of this invention, elevated by “atas” sides and toppings from Zairyo. Alternatively, if there’s a Donki close by, you can probably replicate this by going there!
- For appetizers: Chuka Kurage (Seasoned Jellyfish), Chuka Wakame (Sesame Seaweed Salad), Fugu Mirin Boshi (Dried Pufferfish), Mentaiko-topped Dashimaki Tamago (Egg topped with mentaiko) – see photos above
- For ramen: Dashimen Hotato Shio Ramen (Scallop Dashi Ramen)
- For toppings: Hello Kitty Kamaboko, Japanese Premium Chashu Slices, Yama Enoki, Sushi Seaweed, etc. – see photos below
Evening: Relive your teenage days with Netflix
Shows that make you feel smart…
The creators of the manga that these shows were based on definitely put in a lot of brain power into their work. If you’ve already watched these, I’d also add Liar Game to the list, except that it’s not on Netflix and I haven’t actually watched the live action version. (*For HunterxHunter, the starting few episodes are kinda slow.)
Shows that are pure entertainment…
Warning: Shokugeki has an odd amount of fan service (not for watching with the family).
Separately, if you like the deadpan humor in One Punch Man, you might like Mob Psycho 100 (next sub-section), which was written by the same mangaka.
Shows that are brainless and heartwarming…
The three shows below are from totally disparate genres, but they all have the fuzzy feel-good vibe that kicks in periodically (at the end of each episode for Rilakkuma and Kaoru, and later on in the series for the other two).
Shows you watched when you were a kid…
If you’re looking for some nostalgia, watch these oldies but goldies that are sure to make you laugh, cry, and cringe. Anyway, now that you know the plot, you can skip the filler episodes in Naruto… (*Also, Avatar is technically not an anime, but oh well.)
Shows for the Ghibli fans…
Over the years, I’ve watched over ten of the Ghibli movies. They’re each lovely in their own way, but if you’re not familiar with them, I’d suggest watching them when you’re in the right mood – the plot can move a bit slowly at times. Start with Howl’s Moving Castle or Spirited Away if you’re unfamiliar with these productions. If you’ve already watched the popular ones, I’d say Porco Rosso is charming and underrated.
Stay Tuned for Part 2!
If you also have great ideas for a Japan-themed holiday in Singapore, let us know at [email protected]
Cool ideas!! Can you pls do for other countries too?
Other “Japan” ideas: maccha (tsujiri at clarke quay?), izakaya, kamo soba (place looks nice but hasn’t tried the food), visit to kinokuniya
Thanks for the ideas!
We have also taken our folks for other country “holidays”! We hope to share it in time!