— A Note from Jenn
Michael & Abraham's Honeymoon
Your
Japan
Honeymoon
"Tokyo. Hakone. A city that somehow manages to be ancient and electric all at once — and then a mountain retreat where the world goes completely quiet."
Japan has a way of doing that: overwhelming your senses and then offering you stillness just when you need it. This is going to be one of those trips you spend the rest of your lives talking about. Get ready, you two — Japan is extraordinary.
March 24 – March 30, 2026
✦ Tokyo → Hakone ✦ 5 Nights
Tokyo — Minato City, where you're staying
🏨 Where You're Staying
Your Hotels
1 Hotel Tokyo
2 Chome-17-22 Akasaka, Minato City, Tokyo, 107-0052, Japan
Dates: March 24 – March 27, 2026
Room: Alcove King with City View
Confirmation: #96185SF000205
Phone: +81 3 6441 3040
View Hotel →
Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu
1297 Ninotaira, Hakone, Kanagawa 250-0407, Japan
Dates: March 27 – March 29, 2026
Style: Traditional Ryokan with Onsen
View Hotel →
Shinjuku — the city after dark
🎬 Watch & Read Before You Go
Get in the Mood
These are the films, books, and reads that make Japan feel closer — and arrival feel even better.
Watch
Shot almost entirely at the Park Hyatt Tokyo. Quiet, gorgeous, and captures something true about the city that's very hard to explain. Watch it the night before you fly.
Essential viewing before any serious omakase meal in Tokyo. You have two extraordinary dinners booked — this will make them mean even more.
The greatest film ever made about Japan, arguably. The bathhouse scenes are inspired by real onsen culture you'll experience in Hakone. Non-negotiable.
A gentle, beautiful Japanese reality show that will immediately calibrate your sense of pacing and politeness. Perfect for the long flight over.
Read
The Roads to Sata — Alan Booth
A foreigner walks the length of Japan on foot. Beautiful, funny, and deeply perceptive about Japanese culture and courtesy.
Hokkaido Highway Blues — Will Ferguson
Funnier than it has any right to be — a foreigner hitchhiking across Japan. Great plane reading.
Their city guide is excellent for neighborhoods, what's worth skipping, and where to eat when you wander off-itinerary.
🎵 Search "Tokyo Jazz Cafe" on Spotify for the flight over. You're welcome.
Sakura season — late March in Tokyo
Cherry Blossom Season
✦ You are arriving at exactly the right time ✦
Late March is peak sakura season in Tokyo — the cherry blossoms typically reach full bloom right around your arrival. This is genuinely one of the most beautiful things you'll ever see, and you're walking into it on your honeymoon. Some neighborhoods are lined with them for blocks. Walk slowly. Stop often.
🌸 Meguro River
The single best urban sakura walk in Tokyo. The river is lined for 4km with cherry trees whose branches meet overhead, creating a tunnel of blossoms. At night it's lit by paper lanterns. Walk it both during the day and after dark — they're completely different experiences. About 20 minutes from your hotel by taxi.
🌸 Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
Over 1,000 cherry trees across a vast, beautifully manicured park. A mix of Japanese, French formal, and English landscape garden styles. Come in the late afternoon for softer light. Small entrance fee; alcohol is not permitted (unlike most parks during hanami). One of the few places where the blossoms feel truly immersive.
🌸 Chidorigafuchi Moat
The classic Tokyo sakura view — a moat surrounding the Imperial Palace, its banks completely lined with cherry trees whose branches hang over the water. You can rent a rowboat and float beneath them. A once-in-a-lifetime 20 minutes. Gets crowded on weekends; go on a weekday morning if possible.
🌸 Ueno Park
Tokyo's most famous hanami (blossom viewing) spot — over 800 trees across a sprawling park. During peak bloom it becomes a massive outdoor celebration with food stalls, sake, and music. Lively, a little chaotic, and wonderfully Japanese. Go in the evening when the lanterns are lit.
🌸 Akasaka — Your Neighborhood
The streets immediately around your hotel are lined with cherry trees. Step out of 1 Hotel Tokyo on any morning of your stay and the blossoms will be right there. The Akasaka Palace grounds and Hinokicho Park nearby are particularly beautiful — a 5-minute walk from your door.
I'll be adding specific recommendations — including where to see the cherry blossoms at night — directly to your itinerary in the next couple of days. Watch for an update.
🛂 Entry — What to Do Before You Fly
Visit Japan Web
Japan has an optional but highly recommended online pre-registration system called Visit Japan Web. Complete it before departure and you'll receive a QR code that covers both immigration and customs — it meaningfully speeds up arrival at the airport.
Each traveler needs their own QR code. You cannot share one, and you may be routed to separate immigration lanes — so have them on your individual devices.
- Take screenshots before you leave. Airport Wi-Fi is unreliable when hundreds of travelers are all connecting at once. A screenshot means no scrambling.
- Fill it out before departure — it takes about 10 minutes per person and can be done on your phone.
💰 Currency
Japanese Yen
Japan is more cash-dependent than most developed countries, especially outside of central Tokyo. Hotels, department stores, and major restaurants take card — but many ramen shops, market stalls, train kiosks, and smaller izakaya are cash only. Come prepared.
🇯🇵
Japanese Yen
¥150 ≈ $1 USD
Order from your bank before you go — order ¥30,000–50,000 in a mix of denominations. Exchange rates at the airport are poor. Takes 2–3 business days.
- Notify your bank and credit cards before departure — flag Japan for March 24–30.
- Suica card — a rechargeable transit card that works on subways, buses, and even convenience store purchases. Far easier than buying individual tickets. Your guide on Day 1 can help you get set up and answer any questions if you'd like one. Learn more →
- 7-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart ATMs reliably accept US cards — the best backup if you need more cash.
- Do not tip in Japan. It is considered rude or confusing. Your bill is your bill.
- Onsen etiquette for Hakone: no swimwear in the baths. Towels only — or nothing. Your hotel will walk you through everything on arrival.
Akihabara — on your Day 1 private tour
🎒 What to Pack
Packing List
Late March in Tokyo runs 50–62°F — cool mornings, comfortable afternoons, occasional rain. Hakone in the mountains will be colder, especially evenings by the onsen. Pack versatile and light; you'll want room for what you bring home.
🏙️ Tokyo
- Comfortable walking sneakers — broken in before you leave. You will log 8–10 miles a day without trying.
- Light packable rain jacket — Tokyo in late March gets rain. One per person, foldable.
- Layers — the temperature swings between morning and afternoon. A mid-layer you can tie around your waist goes a long way.
- One elevated outfit each for your omakase dinners at Hanabasa and Akasaka Kappo Washi. These are serious restaurants. Smart-casual at minimum.
- Small crossbody bag or daypack — hands-free is essential for market and temple days.
- Slip-on shoes — you will remove your shoes at temples, traditional restaurants, and your Hakone ryokan. Laces are a nuisance.
⛩️ Hakone
- Warm layers — evenings near the mountains are genuinely cold in late March.
- The ryokan provides yukata (cotton robes) for lounging and going to the onsen. No special sleepwear needed.
- A light day bag for the Open-Air Museum and ropeway — leave luggage with the hotel before the Romancecar back to Tokyo.
✈️ All-Trip Essentials
- Japanese power adapter — Japan uses Type A plugs (same as the US), but voltage is 100V vs US 120V. Most modern electronics auto-adjust. I use and recommend this compact foldable adapter →
- Portable charger / power bank — full days out drain everything.
- Reusable water bottle — tap water in Japan is excellent everywhere.
- Blacklane app — your airport transfer on arrival and your departure from Hakone are both pre-booked. Download here →
- Google Translate app — download the Japanese language pack for offline use. The camera translation feature is a lifesaver for menus and signs.
- Data while traveling: I use my regular carrier's international day pass — easiest option. You can also get a Japan eSIM → before you leave if you prefer. Either works; just don't arrive without one. Navigation in Tokyo without data is genuinely difficult.
Hakone — Lake Ashi and Mount Fuji
💊 Health & Wellness
What to Bring
No vaccines required for Japan. No special health advisories. Just smart packing.
Ibuprofen + Tylenol
Big walking days and time zone adjustment
Blister Pads (Compeed)
Temple paths and cobblestones are beautiful and unforgiving
Antihistamine
Spring cedar pollen season in Japan can be intense
Imodium
Standard for any international travel
Cold Tablets + Lozenges
Long flights and dry cabin air
Hand Sanitizer + Wipes
Japan is very clean, but travel days are travel days
Liquid IV Packets
Essential for jet lag recovery on Day 1
Motion Sickness
Mountain switchback roads to Hakone can be winding
Tap water is safe and excellent everywhere in Japan — no adjustments needed. Push through to local bedtime on arrival day; it's the single best thing you can do for jet lag. Your private city tour on Day 1 will keep you moving.
✦ Things to Know Before You Go
Six Things Worth Knowing
Half the magic of Japan is arriving already curious.
01
Tokyo Is the Largest City on Earth — and Somehow Feels Intimate
Greater Tokyo has 37 million people. It's the largest metropolitan area in human history. And yet neighborhoods like Akasaka — where you're staying — feel like small villages. Each district has its own personality, its own specialty shops, its own bars. Your hotel is in one of the most refined and walkable parts of the city. Wander without a plan at least once.
02
The Tsukiji Fish Market Changed the World
The Tsukiji inner market moved to Toyosu in 2018, but the outer market — where your cooking class begins — is still one of the most alive food destinations in Tokyo. Tsukiji was, for most of the 20th century, the largest fish market in the world. The knife shops there supply some of the best sushi chefs in Japan. You'll be walking through it at 9am with a guide, buying ingredients you'll cook yourself an hour later. That is a genuinely rare thing to do.
03
Onsen Culture in Japan Is Thousands of Years Old
The Hakone region sits in a volcanic zone, which means the hot spring water flowing into your ryokan's baths has been heated deep underground by the earth itself. Onsen bathing is a meditative, ritualistic practice — there's a right way to do it, and your hotel will walk you through everything. The water in Hakone is high in minerals and notoriously good for skin. You are going to feel like a different person after two nights there.
04
Omakase Means "I Leave It to You"
Both of your Tokyo dinners are omakase — which means you put yourselves entirely in the chef's hands. No menu. No ordering. The chef decides what you eat based on what's best that day, what's in season, and how the meal should flow. Hanabasa's chef trained in an Edo-era sushi lineage and believes everything begins and ends with tuna. Akasaka Kappo Washi weaves Japanese culinary history into each course. These are not restaurants you stumble into. You're very lucky to have these tables.
05
The Romancecar Train Is Worth the Name
The Odakyu Romancecar from Shinjuku to Hakone has been running since 1957. All seats are reserved, windows are panoramic, and the countryside between Tokyo and the mountains is genuinely beautiful. It's called the Romancecar because when it launched, forward-facing paired seats were considered scandalously intimate for a commuter train. The journey takes 80 minutes and it's one of those travel moments where you look at each other and think: we're actually doing this. Purchase tickets →
06
In Japan, the Journey Is Part of the Destination
Japan has the most punctual rail system in the world — trains are delayed by an average of 18 seconds annually. The convenience stores (7-Eleven, Lawson, FamilyMart) are genuinely excellent: hot food, great snacks, ATMs, and anything you forgot to pack. The vending machines on every corner sell hot and cold drinks and are a small, perfect delight. Let yourself slow down. Bow back when people bow at you. Say arigatou gozaimasu. Japan rewards the traveler who pays attention.
✦ ✦ ✦
Bon Voyage
You are going to have the most extraordinary honeymoon.
I'm here for every question between now and takeoff.
— Jenn
Jennifer Rustigian · Jetsetti Travel
Independent Affiliate of Fora Travel · Member of Virtuoso
Independent Affiliate of Fora Travel · Member of Virtuoso