May 2023 recap - in-laws visit to Nikko & Hakone, sumo, Tohoku JR Rail Pass trip

May has brought the warmth back to the weather, and it's certainly started to become more humid and less cold - even at night and when it's raining! We had what seemed like a busy month with visitors during almost every week, but it's so great to spend time with friends and family. 

Nikko weekend

While my MIL and FIL were visiting, they had planned a weekend out based in Nikko! We made some other stops along the way over and on the way back (strawberry picking, Ashikaga Flower Park, Hitachi Seaside Park, Kato Ranch and Costco) and had a lot of fun exploring the area despite the rainy weather.

[The full blog post with all the details about our 3 day getaway is here.]

While we (my husband and I) had been to some of these places before, others were completely new. In particular, Edo Wonderland in Nikko was a surprisingly enjoyable experience (despite being a bit pricey). My MIL also picked a nice hotel in the area where we were able to relax in the onsens and indulge in buffet dinners and breakfasts!

Hakone weekend

The second weekend while my in-laws were visiting had a slightly more familiar vibe as we wanted to share some of our favorites with my FIL (last time my MIL visited with her mother). We also got a chance to stop at the Yokosuka Curry Festival before continuing on to Hakone.

[The full blog post with all the details for our weekend in Hakone here.]

Hakone Checkpoint and the Hakone Open Air Museum were two of the main attractions. Our hotel was also right next to the Hakone Komagatake Ropeway, so we were able to get to the top and back before we even had to check out the next morning!

Sumo

Another part of my in-laws' visit including checking out a sumo tournament! We had been wanting to check one out, but I had always been intimidated about the logistics of getting the tickets, etc. My MIL took care of all of that for us ahead of time, and all we had to do was pick up the tickets from a 7-Eleven. My husband and I took a half day at work and then headed into Tokyo, arriving near the stadium around 15:15. 

We had just enough time to see the ending of the junior matches and see the walkout of the upper level sumo wrestlers and the ceremony for that. Our seats were on the upper level and not very close, but still had a very decent view/vantage point in person. The venue doesn't allow outside food or drink, but there's a selection to choose from inside. 

It took me a little while to figure out the flow of the matches and how things were going, but because the matches are relatively short and somewhat repetitive, that really helps a lot in establishing an understanding.

We stayed through the last yokuzuna match (done around 18:00) and overall had a really good experience! We wouldn't necessarily pay for another set of tickets for just ourselves, but would be interested in going to another tournament in the future with the right circumstances.

Tohoku JR East Rail Pass trip

I had spent months researching and planning this 5 day trip to Tohoku for the end of May and finally got to experience it! My parents and brother and SIL ended up tagging along with my husband and me, so the 6 of us caught trains all around the Tohoku region using our JR Rail Passes (all Japan 7 day passes for them, JR East Tohoku passes for my husband and me).

[Introduction ⁃ Day 1 ⁃ Day 2  ⁃ Day 3  ⁃ Day 4  ⁃ Day 5]

We changed hotels every night with major stops in Hachinohe, Aomori, Hirosaki, Morioka, Ichinoseki, Akita, Kakunodate, Sendai and Yonezawa. It will take me a little while to get through all the blog posts for these, but I can't wait to share more about each place/day! All published now so please go read!

What we ate

Actually a lot of eating out this month because of all the people who came to visit + travel including many new restaurants and dishes and some old familiar ones too.

島豚しゃぶしゃぶ あぐー家

  串カツあらた 

Gyukatsu Motomura

friend birthday celebration at 萬菜酒場 + a slice of Chateraise cake

Kappa Sushi

Mendokoro Shinya

Oguraya Sano Ramen (Nikko weekend)

Asaya Hotel buffet dinner and breakfast (Nikko weekend)

Kato Ranch soft serve, gelato and nikuman (Nikko weekend)

Pizza-LA

Premium Karubi

ニュー鳥正 in Tokyo

Course dinner at Itarian

Yokosuka Curry Festival

Prince Hotel Hakone Lake Ashinoko dinner (& breakfast) buffet (Hakone weekend)

Chukoku no mori dining at Hakone Open Air Museum (Hakone weekend)

Sukiyaki from Yuzuan 

Grill Toba

Karayama 

Hasshoku Center in Hachinohe

Daifukumaru in Aomori

Aomori Nokkedon in Aomori

Sukiya in Hirosaki

Wanko soba challenge at Azumaya in Morioka

Yakiniku and reimen from Seiroukaku in Morioka

Kiritampo nabe, hinai jidori chicken, hinai jidori oyakodon, Akita beef sukiyaki don from Mugendo in Akita

Shottsuru yakisoba and katsu curry udon from Minatoya Restaurant in Oga

Melon melon shake from Starbucks

Spicy shredded beef tongue, grilled tail and yakigyutan teishoku from GyutanYaki Senmon-ten Tsukasa in Sendai

Yonezawa beef lunch sets + wagyu beef from Bekoya in Yonezawa

Personal life/miscellaneous

In addition to both our parents' visits, we also met up with my friend from HI (now living in CA so I see him less often) and his girlfriend when they had a brief stay in Tokyo before going all over (Yamanashi, Hokkaido, Fukuoka, Mie) to explore. We were able to meet up with them for 2 meals, and it was great to catch up!

Also celebrated 3 Japan friend birthdays this month (although one was technically in late April). We've all been busy with our own things + work for some of them and haven't been able to get together as a whole group as much as we used to. 

It was good to spend some time with everyone this month because it seems we might all be split up over the summer too because of more travel and work! :O

No pictures because it was a work thing, but our office hosted an event that ended up extending to other offices, even out of country! It was interesting to have an in person gathering with that many people who all had similar (but not exactly the same) jobs and hear how they operated and conducted their business + just meet people! This was the same week that my in-laws left and we started out on our Tohoku trip, so it was a bit of a whirlwind. 

And May outfits! I had my last opportunities to wear outer pieces at the beginning on the month and during our travel, but it's looking like all short sleeves from here on out. Full collection of what I wore in May can be found here. 

Bring on summer!