NFL 2026: Week 2 Power Rankings & The Rest

Ranking the 0-1 Teams

Tier L-I: The "Yeah, Not Surprised" Trio

16.) Miami Dolphins  =  0-1  (13-27)

15.) Cleveland Browns  =  0-1  (10-34)

14.) Tennessee Titans  =  0-1  (10-23)

So yeah, none of these three were expected to be good - though I guess I should give a distinction between the Dolphins abd Browns, who are basically tanking (at least in roster construction) and the Titans, who really shouldn't be this bad with a #1 overall pick QB in year #2. For the Titans, you have to hope that was rock bottom, but looking utterly feckless at home against the Jets is a really bad showing. For the Dolphins and Browns, the reason I have the Dolphins as worse as they were more or less non-competitive against a perceived bad team (Raiders) instead of a perceived good one (Jaguars). I feel for Malik Willis, but I do think on the whole the Dolphins embracing a teardown is smart. For the Browns, maybe playing Watson is surreptitiously embracing the teardown...

Tier L-II: The "NFC South, Pt. 1" Duo

13.) Atlanta Falcons  =  0-1  (13-20)

12.) Carolina Panthers  =  0-1  (37-59)

It's funny that the NFC South all started 0-1. I put these two as worse because they were less competitive in their games. Hard to blame the Falcons, having to start Cooper Rush and you would hope when they have either Tua or Penix back there they look better, but it was shocking how they just effectiely gave up at any sort of passing offense. For the Panthers - it may turn out hte Bears do that to everyone this year, but that level of defense was dreadful and hides a quietly decent Bryce Young performance. I do worry Bryce does well enough to get his option picked up / signed long term when I still just don't think he is a viable long term option.

Tier L-III: The "Not Great, Bob" Duo

11.) Indianapolis Colts  =  0-1  (23-41)

10.) Washington Commanders  =  0-1  (22-24)

Both of these two should be seen as contenders to go ~.500 and maybe sneak their way into wild card considerations, but both looked far away from that. The Colts specifically so, but there is a chance the Ravens are the best team in teh NFL and that was a perfect storm type game. I also expected a bit of rust from Daniel Jones. The pass rush was actually OK, but in response their run defense and pass coverage was a disaster. For the Commanders, they were lucky to be in that game. The offense looks so out of rhythm and I don't think that is on Daniels. They've just invested in a mish-mash of pieces that don't really complement each other.

Tier L-IV: The "NFC South, Pt. 2" Duo

9.) New Orleans Saints  =  0-1  (30-31)

8.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers  =  0-1  (27-33)

There was some momentum on the Saints in a "hey, maybe they can win the NFC South" sort of way, and after that first game you have to take that talk a bit more serious. Tyler Shough is at the very least a live QB (unlike Rattler) and the Olave connection looks great. Falling behind 21-0 wasn't great, and the OL struggled, but that comeback in a tough environment showed a lot. For the Bucs, hard to make out were they just unlucky (fumbles) or did all the turnovers allow the Bengals to sleepwalk for much of that game and make the Bucs look better on a play-to-play basis? All the same problems as before - OL struggles, ball security, pass rush - showed themselves again.

Tier L-V: The "It Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way" Quadro

7.) Los Angeles Chargers  =  0-1  (14-26)

6.) Dallas Cowboys  =  0-1  (20-28)

5.) Green Bay Packers  =  0-1  (22-39)
4.) New England Patriots  =  0-1  (10-13)

All foru of these teams had some levels of hype coming into the season, and all four fell on their face - yes, I am putting New England in that bucket for blowing a 10-0 lead to a backup, cold Drew Lock and Drake Maye seemingly playing worse than he was in the playoffs. For all four there is a chance this is just a "never take too much away from Week 1" type blip, but all four have a case where the questions about the team were highlighted badly. For the Chargers, it was their OL and the fact the defense may fall off without Jesse Minter, and both were plainly true in Week 1. For the Cowboys, it was the fact the defense may not be all that much better just because they shipped a few guys in and out, and at least in Week 1 it looked awful. For the Packers, it was their inability to close games and challenges to hold up on defense without Parsons over a 60 min game. And for the Patriots, that the real Drake Maye is closer to the playoffs poor performance than the regular season stout one. Again, all four of these may end up just fine (hence why I have them fairly high up) but those were all issues coming in that look more pronounced.

Tier L-VI: The "It Really Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way" Duo

3.) Denver Broncos  =  0-1  (10-31)

2.) Los Angeles Rams  =  0-1  (7-27)

In many ways, these two are like the last four in that they were expected to be good and had disasters - accented by Myles Garrett now being on IR. But to me these are the two most likely candidates for being games we wonder how it happened come Week 12 (granted, I think in both cases the teams that beat them are actually good, unlike say last year's example of hte Raiders beating the Patriots). For the Broncos, nothing worked - that was a 5th percentile performance for them, but you have to imagine the defense looks more like itself in games to come (maybe they didn't believe the Chiefs would lean THAT hard into the run), and I have to assume they'll find ways to use Waddle more. For the Rams, they have to hope they just royally fucked up the travel situation for that game. Forget the Garrett injury and the defense's underporfmance, the offense fully sleepwalked their way through it. Again, those two should burn the tape and move on.

Tier L-VII: The "There's a lot of Positives in That One" Uno

1.) Houston Texans  =  0-1  (31-36)

There was an interesting discussion on I think the was the Athletic Football Show on if the Texans should be optimistic that their more questionable unit (offense) performed well, or pessimistic that their supposedly dominant unit (their defense) got lit up. Personally, I think the optimism should win here. There is no reason for the defense to suddenly be average - it's more likely the Bills had a 95th percentile performance, also got some 50/50 type balls (the Kincaid catch and Moore TD right before half), and even the best defenses often will have a game where they inexplicably get lit up (see what Tampa did in Seattle last year), and it may just so happen that for the Texans that happened in week 1. The other side had some change in personnel, in approach and largely did well. Stroud looked more confident and decisive than he has in years. They can build off of that.

Rankings the 1-0 Teams

Tier W-I: The "A Win's and Win, Baby!" Trio

16.) Las Vegas Raiders  =  1-0  (27-13)

15.) Arizona Cardinals  =  1-0  (26-14)

14.) Pittsburgh Steelers  =  1-0  (20-13)

Ok, maybe it is harsh to say it, bit all three of these teams won but didn't look all that convincing against teams that are equally non-convincing. The Raiders aren't going to fool me after similarly winning Week 1 last year, and looking sluggish against probably the worst roster in the NFL. It was nice to see Ashton Jeanty get some room to breath for once. The Cardinals defense was good, but how much of that is the continued awfulness of the LA OL. Brissett also usually has an expiration point. Finally, for the Steelers, call me unconvinced by a win that required a pick-six by TJ Watt against a team starting  Cooper Rush. Rodgers looks no less limited than last year, which given his age it shouldn't be a surprise.

Tier W-II: The "Summer of New York Continues" Duo

13.) New York Jets  =  1-0  (23-10)
12.) New York Giants  =  1-0  (28-20)

It's amazing this is the first time since 2009 that both teams won Week 1. Not only did they both win, tehy both one fairly convincingly. This low ranking within the 1-0 teams is less so about them than a general acknowledgement that there weren't all taht many upsets in Week 1. Anyway, for both this was a great foundation to build off of - particularly for the Giants who looks so in control. It is amazing what having a competent coach for once can do. The key for both might be their strong OLs continuing to do as such through the season. Certainly both units were great in Week 1.

Tier W-III: The "Maybe Papering Over Concerning Elements" Trio

11.) Minnesota Vikings  =  1-0  (39-22)

10.) Cincinnati Bengals  =  1-0  (33-27)

9.) Chicago Bears  =  1-0  (59-37)

The Vikings biggest risk is if Murray is out long term, or maybe it is playing teams that won't combustively melt down on Flores ongoing blitz onslaught. That was a perfect storm for the Vikings in their 29-0 run to win the game. Not sure it is sustainable. For the Bengals, it's pretty easy to say taht four fumbles is not sustainable either. The offense looked a bit out of sync, but taht may just be do to the constant short fields and short drives. For the Bears, despite what Ben Johnson thinks, it is very unlikely they end up as the highest scoring team ever, and if not then their defense is still a serious concern. For all three, these are future problems.

Tier W-IV: The "Shouldn't We Feel Better About This" Trio

8.) Philadelphia Eagles  =  1-0  (24-22)

7.) Kansas City Chiefs  =  1-0  (31-10)

6.) Detroit Lions  =  1-0  (31-30)

There's a bit of similar challenge with these three, even if the Chiefs point differential makes them a bit of an outlier with this trio. For the Eagles, the offense still looks a bit locked up, specifiaclly the passing offense. Not sure they look any worse without AJ Brown, but there was hope they look better and that isn't the case yet. For the Chiefs, it's probably the same area to focus in on - the passing offense still looks so impotent, despite having all the weapons there. The OL is maybe forcing Mahomes to get rid of the ball too quick, but he's still playing along with that. For the Lions, their ianbility to close that game out raises the same questions on their defense that were there coming into the season, including the lack of pass rush aside from Hutchinson and a thin secondary that can be taken advantage of.   

Tier W-V: The "Just Solid Wins" Trio

5.) Buffalo Bills  =  1-0  (36-31)

4.) Jacksonville Jaguars  =  1-0  (34-10)

3.) San Francisco 49ers  =  1-0  (27-7)

Hard to say any of these have too many significant worries. Yes, the Bills defense wasn't great, but they were going to be an offense first team and the offense looks great with Moore. The defense also continued to do the thing that helped them so much in the McDermott era - force turnovers. For the Jags and 49ers, it really is hard to complain. The Jaguars were good enough to rest everytone in the fourth quarter. Trevor Lawrence is continuing his great play from the end last season. He seems so more settled than usual. The 49ers are an interesting case because we've all assumed they'll get injured, we forgot to ask ourselves how good would this team be if they stay healthy? They are right now and looked great in that game, particularly a defense that everyone was slightly worried about. Fred Warner looks reborn. Also there is a chance Brock Purdy is just a Top-10 QB period and we're pretending that not to be the case for far too long now.

Tier W-VI: The "...Whispers.. They're Back" Uno

2.) Baltimore Ravens  =  1-0  (41-23)

So, that went about as good as it could, aside from maybe the Flowers injury but it seems that isn't too serious. Lamar looked great, the weapons all look great, Henry is somehow still dominant and Minter has seemed to have unlocked this defense to something like it was in the McDonald days. The Ravens could be a juggernaut again, especially if the weapons can hold up and Lamar can stay as nimble as he looks now after spending a few years with niggling injuries. Scary, scary team.

Tier W-VII: The "The Champs" Uno

1.) Seattle Seahawks  =  1-0  (13-10)

My rule as always is that the Champs stay the Champs until they lose, but man was it hard to justify this with not knowing for sure how long Darnold is out for. The offense did look quite poor under Drew Lock, but fairy enough. The defense looked as good as ever despite some injuries - honestly you an argue they were better in this game than the Super Bowl. The Seahawks defense is just a sight to behold and should keep them above water until Darnold gets back.

Looking Ahead to Next Week's Games

16.) Cleveland Browns (0-1)  @  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1)  (1:00 - FOX)

15.) Philadelphia Eagles (1-0)  @  Tennessee Titans (0-1)  (1:00 - FOX)
14.) Miami Dolphins (0-1)  @  San Francisco 49ers (1-0)  (4:25 - FOX)

13.) Las Vegas Raiders (1-0)  @  Los Angeles Chargers (0-1)  (4:05 - CBS)

12.) Carolina Panthers (0-1)  @  Atlanta Falcons (0-1)  (1:00 - FOX)

11.) New Orleans Saints (0-1)  @  Baltimore Ravens (1-0)  (1:00 - CBS)

10.) Indianapolis Colts (0-1)  @  Kansas City Chiefs (1-0)  (SNF - NBC)
9.) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0)  @  Denver Broncos (0-1)  (4:05 - CBS)

8.) Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0)  @  New England Patriots (0-1)  (1:00 - CBS)

7.) Washington Commanders (0-1)  @  Dallas Cowboys (0-1)  (4:25 - FOX)

6.) Cincinnati Bengals (1-0)  @  Houston Texans (0-1)  (1:00 - CBS)

5.) Minnesota Vikings (1-0)  @  Chicago Bears (1-0)  (1:00 - FOX)

4.) Seattle Seahawks (1-0)  @  Arizona Cardinals (1-0)  (4:25 - FOX)

3.) Green Bay Packers (0-1)  @  New York Jets (1-0)  (1:00 - FOX)

2.) New York Giants (1-0)  @  Los Angeles Rams (0-1)  (MNF - ESPN)

1.) Detroit Lions (1-0)  @  Buffalo Bills (1-0)  (TNF - Prime)

2026 Japan Trip: The A to Zs

A.  is for  Aso

The irony of me listing Mt. Aso here is that the eponymous mountain, with its large caldera (crater) was unreachable. But the sights while driving on Mt. Moiwa, from the lush greenery and farmland below, to the crazy fog conditions adding a bit of charm. There was also the incredible views of Mt. Aso and other hills when on the ground. You feel like you are in teh rockies, in anywhere but Japan, but I guess given how mountainous Japan is, Aso fits the bill quite well. Also, in that general direction you have the Kikuchi Gorge & waterfalls and the amazingly charming, cute & cuddly Fairy Zoo in its surrounding area as well. Just a lovely day trip with nature.

B.  is for   Bomb Museum

Visiting the Bomb Museum and associated Peace Park is a rite of passage for a Nagasaki tourist, and while of course it is honoring an act of war & destruction, it also honors the town for resurrecting itself so well in the 80 years since, the lasting memory of those lost, and takes great pains to mostly promote a potential better world under a more unified position on denuclearization, and tells this painstakingly. The Peace Park is also just serene and brilliant with its sculptures and honorofics. Overall, Nagasaki doesn't beat you over the head on it, but honors this tragic event so, so well.

C.  is for  Castles

The three castles of the trip, including two of Japan's Three Premier Castles (Kumamoto and Himeji) made a lasting impression. They are so regale, standing above their surrounding walls and parks, rising above with the central buildings. The details taht make each unique are great as well, from the blue trip in Kumamoto, to the starker white of Himeji, to the largest of them in Osaka. The Kumamoto and Osaka ones double as mini-museums, including specifically Osaka which houses some of the national treasures of the country (some truly great prints, paintings, sculpture, etc.). Also, an underrated workout climbing up the 7-8 stories.

D.  is for  Driving

Going into the trip, I had booked a car for Mt. Aso. Then, due to the weather related weirdness of my time in Sapporo, I added a car for a day to in theory Noboribetsu, but taht ended up being a day driving through the rain to some unplanned but wonderful sights in the Sapporo outskirts, and then a day driving in Itoshima. In the end, my initial fears were very unnecessary as driving in Japan is a breeze. The drivers are all so calm and rule-following. The speed is easy to manage. The rental companies are quick and efficient, and parking is also plentiful with mini lots seemingly on every street. For a second time driving on the left side of the road, it was far better in Japan than the UK. 

E.  is for  EDM in Fukuoka

I'm trying not to replace any letter from my last trip, so don't take this as a sign that Fukuoka exceeded Vent in Tokyo, but the two EDM clubs in Fukuoka I went to were perfect in their own ways. Smaller, more compact, more homely, and more dark - both Kieth Flack and Transform were excellent, particularly Transform which had DJs right up my street. Kieth Flack is a Fukuoka institution, in this Gaudi-esque house with two floors and cool artwork and food. Fukuoka was the biggest city I went to outside of Honshu, and for that reason the place I chose to spend my middle weekend, and the greatness of these two spots more than proved I had made the right call.

F.  is for  Fortified

The bars I frequent on these trips are cocktail bars - Japan has some of those. But what Japan really has is these smaller Music Bars or Owner Bars. I have another letter about the concept overall, but the best blend of both (a small bar that also had great cocktails) was Bar Fortified, a great place run by an owner who has made his bones curating a great collection of fortified wines (ports, brandies, etc.) and a personal collection of cocktails using these are the core. The cocktail manu is served to you on a board, they are all interesting splins on famous cocktails. They are all wonderful - the music he plays is great. It's a hidden gem in Tokyo and is a great cocktail spot that is an even better intro to the music bar concept.

G.  is for  Goh

The only traditional tasting menu I went to on my trip was at Goh, from famed Goh Fukuyama. It was so traditional you could book it directly on their website vs. using a Pocket Concierge, or Tabelog. The meal also was excellent, perfectly blending Japanese ingredients and produce with more inventive cooking methods. Yes, you enjoy the exactness and brilliance of the more Japanese refined preparations, but sometimes you just want ten courses of brilliance, which is what this was. Also was incredibly reasonable in price ($120) for an amazing meal.

H.  is for  History Museums

These were primarily in Fukuoka and Nagasaki, talkiing about the history of Kyushu writ large, but the history of Fukuoka and Nagasaki in more micro. If anything, I went to two of these museums in Fukouka, one in the city proper, the other in Daizenfu to the South. All of them were super interesting in telling the story visually with teh artifacts and paintings/prints. The story of these areas are also quite interesting - from Nagasaki being the one "open" port during Japan's reclusive period, to Fukuoka being one of the first settlements in Japan back in ancient times. You learn a lot, you see some great things and in the case of Fukuoka, you spend some great time away from the rain.

I.  is for  Itoshima

My one day trip from Fukuoka was a great one to the Peninsula of Itoshima which housed some lovely sites, from the Shiraito Waterfall, to the great hike up to the peak of Mt. Taiteshi, with an incredible view of the peninsula and bits of Fukuoka behind it, and of course the beaming Sea of Japan to the North. It's at this mountaintop you really start to clue into what makes the topography of Japan so special, even if part of it is the overly touristy white gates in teh water in the northern beach.

J.  is for  Junmai

Junmai is the stand-in for sake (S has a more important letter) as Junmai is the main set of ingredients. I tried a lot of sake on this trip, it becoming my dinner drink, and continued to just love it - again this is weird since I am in no way a wine person. I'm starting to get a sense of the different flavors, the different types, but more than everythign, I love the uniqueness of it. The light flavor, the beautiful artwork on the bottles, the furtehr artwork that are the glasses, the fun routine of sometimes restaurants intentionally overpouring the glass so the rest falls in a bowl. All of it is jsut so Japanese and so lovely.

K.  is for  Kumamon

Kumamon is the black bear mascot with red cheeks that is hilariously omnipresent in Kumamoto. As the name would attest, the creator was from Kumamoto, and when I mean it is onnipresent I mean it is everywhere in the airport signage (including the outside of the terminal building). There is a statue of Kumamon in the atrium of a large office building & mall in the ehart of downtown. And of course there are stores selling all types of wares bearing his image or plushiness, which I of course took in. Kumamom to me is the best version of the Japanese love of cartoons.

L.  is for  Little Alleys

The first day of the trip, I took my parents to the Shinjuku Golden Gai, a protected little 3x5 block stretch that in reality is a 1x2 streth with tiny alleys and tiny bars. It is made to resemble the alleys that very much still exist more naturally elsewhere - from the alleys of Sisukino in Sapporo, to of course Pontocho Alley in Kyoto, to similar ones in every city. These alleys have magic within them, from countless bars and restaurants, to graet little boutiques, and of course lanterns and lighting and just the most magical feeling.

M.  is for  Mt. Moiwa

This is standing in for ropeways in general, of which I also went up in Otaru and Nagasaki (where the view if anything is more stunning). I'm giving a special callout for Mt. Moiwa as it was the only one that also seemed to be a hiking destination, or at least an easily done one, with a clear path down from the summit to ground level, a lovely (if strenuous) 45 minute hike past some great creeks, crevices and little sets of buddha statues on teh way down. The ropeways also are super impressive in their speed, their size, but out of all of them, Mt. Moiwa stands out.

N.  is for  Nagasaki

I'm loathe to give one of the cities their own letter, but will still with Nagasaki as a letter itself because it was the big surprise of the trip. Most people from all the blogs I read, see Nagasaki as more of a day trip from Fukuoka or a pit stop in Kyushu, but staying there for two days and two nights and you see something of a beautiful city, so modern in many ways (the station / mall / marriott downtown complex, the art museum) but so old and stoic in others. So many hills surrounding it. Such a great history with its role as the sole international port for a few hundred years. What I'm saying, is if you are doing a Kyushu itinerary, definitely keep Nagasaki on the list.

O.  is for  Ordering App

The first time I encountered this ordering app taht lets you order easily off of a QR code on your phone, was my first day alone in Sapporo at the Moon Sun Brewing. I thought it was something small. Then Koto Brewery had it. Then the Izakaya's I went to had it, from more traditional ones to more upmarket Izakayas. It made ordering seamless, even if the translation was spotty at times. It would make this delightful click sound when an order was placed in. I don't know why this particular Japanese ordering app stayed with me, but for whatever reason (and I guess lack of better 'O' choices) it did.

P.  is for  Plus Points

Plus Points are United's upgrade request currency, which have a low success rate even for a Premier 1K status member like me. There's been years I haven't used them all. This year, there is a chance I may run out of them, because I used a bunch on this trip - for the best reason: getting my parents upgraded on the flight to Japan. The day we all got our upgrade cleared was joyous, only matched by brining them to the Polaris Lounge and us all sitting in teh same row. In a vacuum, the Newark - Tokyo route, which I've now flown 3x - is far from my favorite with teh weird 10:30am takeoff, but this one may have been the most fulfilling business class flight yet.

Q.  is for  Quality Ingredients

They say the ingredients are so fresh in Japan, with every step of the way priding itself in quality, from the growers, to the purveyors to teh chefs, and this ran so through from beginning to end. The meals are all so good because the produce is so fresh. The best example was probably the omakase Tempura meal I had in Sapporo where a third of the meal was tempura vegetables, from green adn red peppers to mushrooms, to okra, and they were all just brilliant. Same with even the most local of sushi spots, like even Musashi (the cinveyor sushi spot in Kyoto). The level of care and attention placed on this is so true in Japan.

R.  is for  Ryosho

Ryosho was the one fancy kaiseki place we went to in Kyoto, wanting to go to one in the home of kaiseki. Ryosho was on the lower end of the michelin-star Kaiseki places, and it fit the billing. So exacting were the ingredients - simple in theory but the preparation being perfect. Many elements being one of the best of those things you have ever had, from the sashimi, to the tilefish, to an amazing soup with conger eel and mitsutake mushrooms, to an amazing wagyu at the end. Every dish was simple, clean, perfect. Yes, they aren't inventive - but to me there are always two types of tasting menus. One are the places taht you can't even comprehend how the dish is made, the otehr is where it seems obvious how the dish is made but you can't comprehend how to make it that well, and Ryosho stands as a perfect example of the latter.

S.  is for  Sushi Sohei

Sushi Sohei was the one top rated Omakase I could get a booking at in Sapporo and it was just amazing. The sushi itself was the best I've ever had - from the most buttery shrimp, to the perfect tuna, to amazing scallop and grunt and so much more. Interestingly enough, after their main course they offer special sushi as a one-off where I got another couple amazing bites. They for some reason don't let you take photos of the first seven appetiziers, but even those were amazing, including one of the best crab preparations i've ever had. Sushi Sohei was just brilliant.

T.  is for  Temples

In some respects, you can almost see too many temples, but what really helped my cause here is savings four absolutely masterpieces for my last day of the trip in Kyoto, including the Kinkaku-Ji in its golden glory and the Kiyumizudera in its mountainous splendor. It also started on a bit of a high with the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo with its regality, and the temples of Kamakura. In the middle, there were more in each spot, all so serene. I do like the variation in Japanese temples, from teh main color (brown v. white v. red), to some with nearly no carvings to some with a ton, to some on flat ground to some with various levels, some with staid grounds, some with manicured lawns and lakes. All of it still hits even two weeks in.

U.  is for  Unagi

Other than maybe sushi, which will forever be my favorite Japanese food, and I guess wagyu is right up tehre too, but right under that is Unagi, especially the boiled, steamed or grilled with taht lovely tangy sauce. The unagi lunch rice box became a staple, somethign I had three times planned, from a fancy multi-course one in Kamakura, to a place serviing a steamed variety in Fukuoka, to a more laid-back one in Kumamoto, to even an unplanned visit to an unagi lunch spot in the Tokyo station on the actual last day of the trip. That last one again wasn't planned, but having my last meal in Japan be unagi felt right.

V.  is for  Virtual Reality

This is my stand in for TeamLabs Planets, the incredible multi-sensory art exhibit in the South end of Tokyo, the first true tourist thing we did on the trip. Other than the description, I didn't really have a sense for what TeamLabs would be, but the description way undersells it. From the beginning stepping into the "Magical Extinct Creature Capture Forest" with surreal animals walking around the walls, to the rest of the weird delights in teh "Forest" section, to of course waljing through water and computer generated interactive fish in teh "Ocean" section, teh entire thing was a delight, something so incredibly unique and surreal.

W.  is for  Weather

Weather played a weird role in this trip. It rained a bunch on my time in Hokkaido, ironically though never in Sapporo, but that ended up with me spending way more time in teh city proper than expected. It also rained for much of my first day in Fukuoka. But from the second the rain subsided aroudn 5pm that first day in Fukuoka, it barely rained again - it never did during my time in Kyushu, and only one night in Kyoto. The rain may have stopped but it was cloudy throughout, but the silver lining is the clouds took the temperature down a good 10 degrees from where it usually is. We realized this in full in our time in Kyoto where for once it was sunny and suddenly super hot, but if there's any place you want the sun, it is in Japan's Golden City.

X.  is for   Xtra Small Bars

As mentioned in my Bar Fortitude section, on this trip I got more familiar with just small bars, be it music bars (Fortitude, Bar Davy, Bar The Appolo, Rock Bar Days) or more standard owner-run bars that were small (Bar Victor, Bar Not Found, Bar The Hubris, Farben, Bar Ladybird). These bars are hard to describe - hundred of bottles, great design and decor, fascinating bar owners, and often very empty. Still unsure how they all stay in business (say Sapporo, not the biggest of cities, having three of these in every building in a 5x10 block area) but they do - some have been aroudn for decades and they are just in a way the great watering holes of the country.

Y.  is for  Yoichi Distillery

I didn't realize how lucky I was to score a ticket for the Yoichi Distillery tour, until I tried booking one for my parents a good three weeks ahead of time and it was fully sold out. The tour itself wasn't anything unique - it was effectively the same tour I've taken in Scotland, but that's when it hits you: you are basically in Scotland. The Yoichi Distillery was designed to look like Scotland, and we are in Yoichi because the atmosphere was similar to Scotland. Japan's great play of replicating the goods of the West reaches its Apex with whisky and the Yoichi Distillery was a perfect encapsulation of that.

Z.  is for  Zero Regrets

As always, ending it with my normal "Z" and rarely does it ring more true than here. I still go back to the weird fact that I booked this trip solo and then convinced my parents to join me for a part of it, whichw as great to play their tour guide in Tokyo and Kyoto, but still mix it with venturing on my own. This was also the longest I've ever spent in one country on a trip, a full 2.5 weeks (vs say the last Japan trip which was slightly less than two weeks in Japan and then a few days in Southeast Asia). Overall, I don't know if there is a better country to do so in. These trips are all fun in their own ways, and this one even for the variations to the plan, exceeded expectations - the big lesson is make that second trip to Japan to see the real country behind the country.

2026 Japan Trip: Day 17 - Kyoto

Day 17 - The Temple Run

Kyoto, as mentioned previously, is a notoriously tourist heavy city. There is a clear reason for this, however, and that is the quality of the sites. Sure, the lovely city center, and alleyways and shops and what not are great, but its the sites that get people to come to experience those other things, and man are the sites great. I wanted to show my parents the best of Kyoto and also add one final site I didn't see last time, and do it all in a day where we had a large kaiseki meal at 7pm as the backstop. It all worked about as perfectly as it could've, on easily the sunniest day of the trip. In this case, the last real day of the trip went off just about perfectly.

It started by heading to the Northwest corner of the Kyoto area, where you can check off a few sites, the furthest afield is the Tenryu-Ji temple and associated Arashiyama bamboo forest. The Tenryu-Ji is a larger, but flatter version of teh Ginkaku-Ji yesterday, whereby still here the main piece is the integration with the forest around it. The temple buildings are also a bit more extensive, including a path where you can walk through 4-5 of them inside (shoes off, of course), but the magic starts when you take the garden route through the large, again perfectly manicured, sand areas, the large lake that stands near the main temple building and the scenes all around, from small waterfalls to beautiful moss and flowers. The best part is the back end of the Tenyru-Ji connects directly with teh Bamboo Forest, a large area with paths with giant, and I mean giant, bamboo stalks on either side. 

The bamboo forest area is lovely, with so many great moments of wonder of just how large and imposing these bamboo stalks are. The main part of the forest is about a 10-minute walk, but even aside from that there are paths extending connecting temple to temple with the stalks running the length of each path. If you had a week in Kyoto, maybe you do these intermediate temples as well, but if you're us with a day, you do the main area and then move on. The town area near the Tenryu-Ji also had some lovely shops, selling a few key items of interest - namely this superb chili mix that we tasted and bought a decent amount of. The whole experience here was a great start to the day, which only continued if not got enhanced.

The next stop was the Kinkaku-Ji, one of the most famous destinations and views in Kyoto, with its glistening gold pagoda. I already warned them going in that the main draw is right at teh start but they make you continue on the path - which ultimatley was shorter (and flatter) than I remembered. I did not give them much of a preview of what the Kinkaku-Ji, as I wanted to see their honest shock and awe when they saw it. That paid off, as they were slack-jawed at the sight of that beautiful four story pagoda, replete in gold from top to bottom, making an already ncie view (the lake, the plants and trees) even greater. The weather helped, with teh shining sun and mostly blue sky making it look even nicer. The rest of teh kinkaku-ji trail is as unneccessary as always, save for two bits. 

First, there are a couple viewpoints of the golden pagoda from other parts of the path, including an initial one from an elevated point which is just wonderfulf. Second, there is a little tea-house at the end where for a fairly nominal fee, you can get a nice matcha tea on a tatami mat in a nicely air conditioned tea house. Now, this is not at all a replacement for a proper tea ceremony, but with our time is limited we weren't going to be able to do a proper one, so this worked just fine.

At this point with the sun beating down on us, we needed a bit of a refresher, so we headed back to the main part of Kyoto and went to Musashi Sushi, which is a conveyor belt sushi spot in the heart of Kyoto. Yes, many look down on these places, but Musashi is well known of being better quality than most conveyor belt spots, and indeed it remained great three yaers later. What I like too is they are super quick in churning out new stuff when ti is close to running out on the conveyor, and they have way more nori wrap sushi options than just nigiri. 

After lunch, we had two more temples to see, first the Choin-In and then the Kiyumizu-dera, the only one of the day that I hadn't seen before. The Choin-In is to me an underrated delight. It is not one of the better known temples, even in that East of Gion area that holds a bunch of them, but I think it is fantastic. Part of the reason it isn't well known is I think it is actually being run primarily as an active place of worship, whereby the people operating it aren't really promoting it as a tourist destination. But you go and make the climb up the steps (or luckily for my parents, take a quick shuttle van ride). The Choin-In once you get past those steps is on a flat plateau before the mountains rise behind it. The best way to describe it is that it is big.

The main hall is giant, and so well built, designed and decorated - with peaceful fountains and lotus pots in front of it made out of jade. The inside of the main hall is stunning - gold buddhas everywhere, with other carvings and sculptures as well - along with clear "no photos" signs everywhere. The secondary buildings are also quite pretty - a really nice brown and sharp white combination everyhwere. Overall, the Choin-In is to me the most imposing temple and impressive purely from the aesthetic of the actual temple buildings itself.

The final temple though was the one I was looking forward to the most because we didn't do it last time, and that is the Kiyumizu-dera, a series of temples, gates, and more that rise from an already elevated start at the end of an uphill lane. At first, it seems fairly plain - many of the buoldings a striking red, but fairly small. But then you get past that first set of buildings, adn it becomes something greater, with a large striking red pagoda, and better than that, a great view of Kyoto behind you - high enough taht you have a clear view of a lot of the city, including the striking Kyoto tower.

Then this only continues with more buildings with more views, including the most impressive one, which is built literally with part of the entryway courtyard hanging over the cliff face, with this intricate lattice-work of beams supporting it. Apparently, it was built this was back in the 1500s and its just incredible - viewed better from a side temple that has the same design feature but smaller. At points, you can get the view of this unique, "hanging on a cliff" temple in one corner and the city of Kyoto in the other. The Kiyumizu-Dera is a can't miss, even if I did miss it previously.

From there, we had a bit of time to mingle around the shopping area, and me get a final last craft beer of the trip at Umineko before dinner. Kyoto really is buzzing in teh main area - and yes it is a bunch of tourists, but again, there is a reason people flock in such numbers to this magical city.

Dinner was our one super fancy kaiseki meal, though sticking to one at the low end of teh fancy kaiseki meal price range, at the two michelin star Ryosho. The meal was a perfect exposition of kaiseki cusiine, for better or worse (mostly better). As known to most, kaiseki meals are there to really feature the ingredients and techniques. The dishes aren't super crazy and creative, no foams and gels and shit. Just refined cooking of great ingredients - and that is what it was. Yes, would you want a bit more razzle dazzle at times? Sure, but the quality of what Ryosho served, from sashima that wouldn't be out of place at an omakase, to the best fried fish I've had in a while, to a crab chawanmushi, to perfectly cooked wagyu tenderloin, it was all so well made and cooked. You can quibble you want a bit more from two michelin spots, but as a kaiseki meal, it was excellent.

The last night actually had me trying out a few new places, with of course ending it, and ending the trip proper in many respects, at Barcode. The first spot was a small 8-seat bar called Mikke which specialized in craft beer and sake, quite a perfect combination after my heart. The two bartenders were lovely as was discussing trips and notes with a French couple that were there (my parents were there for that one). Yes, the bar is tiny, even for Japan bar standards, but full of love, life and great drinks, including a nice matrix style system of requesting sake (plottikng each type on a matrix of sweet v dry and rich v sharp. Their craft beer selection also included a wonterful coffee stout.

The next spot was actually, ironically, a block away from our AirBNB, in a nominally sleepy part of the Gion area, but Yamada Music Bar was not sleepy - it was in a relative sense fairly packed, a mix of locals, some tourists from Netherlands, and a family (parents and two sons) from Kumamoto, which was a natural entry point for me to chat with them about my time there, wihch they loved that I went. Yamada was a really nice spot - not close to much else so if I wasn't staying near it, it would be tough to go again, but as a place it is worth seeking out.

As is Barcode, which was humming - some folks that I met on Thursday Night, including the couple from Germany, were back. The German couple also convined many on a tour they did that were staying at a hostel to come, which added a group of about 12 youngsters. The music as always was great, the people were nice and friendly and chatty, the drinks are cheap but good (JW Black Highball for $5) and there is, to me, no better way to end a night in Kyoto and end a trip essentially, than karaoke at Barcode. Thsi is the image I wanted for the trip's end, both Barcode but also a graet last few days in Kyoto, and that is exactly what I got.

2026 Japan Trip: Day 16 - Kyoto

Day 16 - Rediscovering Kyoto

Deciding to end my trip in Kyoto was the plan from the beginning of planning this trip - from the time before my parents decided to come to Japan as well. The reason was simple - save the best for last. In prior Asia August/September trips (including the Japan one in 2023) I went to Southeast Asia for the last few days of the trip, because there was familiarity and a safe joy expected with ending the trip there. Kyoto is playing that role this time, a known quantity, a place I unabashedly love, and after a first full day back, I can confidently say I chose wisely.

The day actually started by leaving Kyoto and heading to Himeji to visit the famed Himeji castle, one of the other "Premier" castles within Japan (Kumamoto being one of the others, Matsumoto the third) and probably known as the most stunning. The castle is the only real draw for the city of Himeji, and they know it - placing the train station a 15-minute walk away from the castle keep, but that fifteen minutes is by walking down one long promenade from the station straight to the castle walls, with the central tower of the castle imposing itself mightily from the start. It's a pretty awe-inspiring view.

Like the other castles, that central tower is the main element, but you have to earn your right to go there by walking through the castle compound, in this case through a series of paths, gates and turns. There is a large courtyard in front of the tower, but unlike with Kumamoto and Osaka, that area is noly accessible once you finish with the tower - the path from the entrance gate taking you basically around hte back. The tower itself was a wonderful contrast to Kumamoto and Osaka, as the interior here was left basically untouched - it was as close to a truthful example of how it looked. 

Each of the seven floors explaing a bit of how the castle worked as a defensive force - from rooms with elevated counters around the perimeter from where soldiers could launch rocks at their enemies, to areas of nooks that were used as granaries. The castle is kept as it was - which also leads to having no elevator, and requiring you to take your shoes off. The actual staircases within the castle floors are fairly steep, but again there is a certain cool-ness in ascending and descending the tower the same way those did centuries ago.

From there we then got to the courtyard, which gave just great viewpoints of the castle, this one more black trim than Kumamoto's blue. In the end, seeing both of the two was a delight (and my parents saw the Matsumoto one, so across the three of us we've completed the set) and again I did like the contrast in the way they chose to go about the interior. Very much worth the trip to Himeji - but we were fortunate / smart in using the Shinkansen there, because the normal trains take about 1:45 from Kyoto (or 1:20 from Osaka) vs it being 45 minutes.

We were supposed thereafter to go to Kobe, which sits halfway between Himeji and Kyoto, but I was getting a bit of a worry we wouldn't have enough time tomorrow to do everythign I wanted in Kyoto (and everyhing I wanted to show my parents), and there was the aforementioned draw of the familiar, where I was able to convince my parents that we skip Kobe. Made easier by the fact they are taking a cruise from Hong Kong to Tokyo with many Japan stops, including one at Kobe. My realization of this change happened slightly too late to take one Shinkansen back, giving us about 50 minutes before the next one where we got a bento box lunch in Himeji station - a classic Japan tourist experience, and my wagyu sukiyaki bento box was lovely in its efficiency.

I had a clear set series of sites that I wanted to check off in Kyoto - a mix of new and repeats but playing the hits, mostly. We arrived back at the Kyoto station at 2:40, and I thought it best to finish off the farthest afield (or at least the one not near anything else) which was the Ginkaku-Ji temple complex Northeast of the city. Getting there was easy (uber) and as with most temples it has a mini-souvenir market frenzy around it. The walk throuhg the Ginkaku-Ji was lovely and a great introduction to why Kyoto temples are so incredible - namely, how seamlessly they integrate with teh nature around it.

The Ginkaku-Ji has a clear path demarked to take within it that starts off with the almost too picture perfect lake with beautiful trees, shrubbery, moss and the large sand gardens that are so well manicured and perfected. It's all so serene of a picture. From there you go up towards a point that serves as a lookout both for the temple complex below, but to a vewi of part of Kyoto from behind. The whole thing opened my parents eyes to why Kyoto is so special, as it did reaffirm taht for me as the Ginkaku-Ji was one of the temples that I didn't see last time - probably because it is a bit disconnected from the others. Overall, it was a great experience.

As was the next bit of Kyoto tourism which was just walking through the Nishiki Market streets, and the surrounding shiopping districts. The Nishiki Market is definitely being commercialized for tourism - more and more stands selling more "approachable" options like meat or seafood skewers. Granted, the skewers are good (we got a couple seafood ones, and yakitori) but many stalls now promote most heavily skewers of kobe beef and other premium A5 wagyu cuts, which go for aroudn 20k - 30k yen a stick (basically $14-20). Less present now are the stalls selling "weird" Japanese delights. This is definitely a change I noticed from the last trip. 

The surrounding shopping area is no less interesting than before how ever - so many great stores and mroe than that the decor. Spiralling out from the Nishiki Market are lane after narrow lane with generally a mix of residential real esetate and then one or two lovely shops with great storefronts and designs. Brilliance lives within these lanes, you just have to go seek it. The best way is truly just to get lost and walk around soak it all in.

From there we walked the fifteen minutes or so across the river to the central Gion area, the lantern-lit Edo-style street with more restaurants and shops. I was surprised that more of taht street is restaurants than I remember (would call it 75/25, vs something closer to 50/50 that I misremembered from the 2023 trip) but either way the style of the buildings, the lanterns coming on as dusk was settling in creates a lovely environment. But if your intention is shopping, it seems better now to remain on the western side of the Pontocho river.

From there my parents went to see a cultural show at teh Gion Center (which I do regre a bit not seeing) but I had another bit of familiarity to check out, a visit to Umineko Stand Bar, back near the Nishiki market. This beer bar is my favorite in Japan, and remains so. Yes, the whole standing element can get tiring, especially after a day with a lot of steps already, but the beer options - 24 taps, dozens of cans, all Japanese - was alluring. As was their menu, where I got a really nice lamb and lotus root meatball dish. In the end, the time at Umineko was as good as I remembered it being. And I don't think Umineko has necessarily hit the tourism circuit yet as the crowd was more locals than I expected given how overrun with tourists Kyoto was. On that point, Kyoto definitely seemed busier as a whole than last time - this isn't a bad thing. Kyoto is after all primarily a town about tourism by its own admission, but the secret is out globally, if it wasn't already in 2023.

Dinner was at Sumiro Man, a lovely, buzzing Izakaya a block or two away from Umineko (though of course I had to go back in between to shower, change, etc.). Like basically all Izakayas, or at least the ones I have been to on this trip, you had to order by QR code on a program that seems to have a monopoly on this particular ordering method all across Japan. However, for this one I didn't want to responsibility, so booked us for the "Sumiro Man" premium course where they pick about 8-10 plates for you to try. It was nice not having to be the chooser, and even if we missed on some stuff, the food on the set menu was generally quite good. 

The best was probably the wagyu sukiyaki that was the star of the show, live cooked in front of you - so sweet, so brilliantly soft, with also the associated vegetables within the dish (mushroom, tofu, scallions) all so tender as well. But prior to that, their other dishes of sashimi, fried chicken, roast beef salad were all nice. Their grilled meat dish served right before the sukiyaki, of a wagyu strip loin was great, if a bit annoyingly covered in a more Western style mustard sauce. The only other notable part was me trying sochu for the first time all trip and pretty immediately not liking it, or at least not getting it. Luckily, included in the premium course is an all you can drink aspect where I could quickly pivot to a much nicer highball.

Following dinner, the town was ablazze with Friday Night merriment on a lovely night, and I took my parents for a little walk before heading to Bar Caamm, wanting my dad to experience a true Japanese Whisky bar. They both got a kick out of the sheer number of whisky bottles covering every spare inch of Bar Caamm, and my Dad smilarly so in terms of the level of detail of which the menu goes into for the btotles. It was a nice experience for them, and a good start for me as well, before I headed to Bar Dram, which is similar in setup (whisky, and gin, focused) but smaller, more modern and more reminiscent to the bars I went to in Kyushu. This one definitely not on most peoples list, but out of the ten chairs, six (including me) were occupied and one regular who was definitely geting fairly drunk (in a good way) regaled me and a couple from France with some great stories. It was a perfect Kyoto bar experience - as was a brief stop at Rockign Bar ING, which again is reminiscent of Kyushu (or really all Japan) music bars - this one having been aroudn since the 90s.

The last stop of the night was part of that familiarity at Barcode, which was not as crowded as the night before. There were a few repeaters, including a nice American group who recognized me (as I did them), and then you get the fun of what groups come in day v day, such as a group from Ecuador stepping in for the group from teh Philippines yesterday, and then a large Indian group coming in towards the end fo my time there. All in all, the experience tonight at Barcode wasn't as memorable as last night (namely, music picked wasn't as much my speed - more K-Pop and Taylor Swift) but there is never a bad time at Barcode, and that's never a bad way to end your night.

2026 Japan Trip: Day 15 - Osaka & Kyoto

Day 15 - The Initial Audible

I think I alluded to this a couple times through this piece so far, at least when talking about the various rain-related challenges I had on the early parts of my trip causing me to audible a few times. Well, this trip had an audible even before it started, which was in the aftermath of the Kumamoto earthquake, even as the city itself and msot of the sites came back online, major damage to the Shinkansen tracks leading Southwards from Kumamoto created a elongated cancellation of Shinkansen heading down to Kagoshima. That was where I was supposed to spend a day but a 90-minute ride on the Shinkansen becomes a 3-4 hour journey on normal trains or car, so away went Kagoshima. That left me with the ability to fly this morning to Osaka, to eventually head up to Kyoto, the final stop on our trip. The day itself was supposed to end there either way, beut instead of a nighttime arrival, I was able to buy myself an extra city.

I first went to Osaka in 2013, where as i've said a bit, serious home sickness set in around that point. Probably didn't help that I went to Osaka first in Japan, a place that while it has great food and nightlife, there aren't a whole host of sites. So few that I'm not even sure where I did go this time I did in 2013 or not. 

I only had half a day or so total before a combination of both (a) wanting to head to Kyoto for the evening and (b) rain expecting to come through Osaka around 5pm. The flight from Kumamoto landed early (9:45 vs 10:10) and after a quick jaunt down to teh city from Itami airport using the Airport Limousine Bus, I had mroe time than expected. The main site that I wanted to check out was the Osaka Castle and associated grounds, a large expanse of greenery, moats, walls, and of course the eponymous castle. It is probably the main site of Osaka, and at this point the sunny, bright day made it all quite lovely.

The grounds are massive, with a series of gates and turrents and walls that lead you to the main castle in the middle, with a large courtyard in front of it. The castle itself is not as striking as the one in Kumamoto (the blue tint of the Kumamoto one is the tibreaker) but it is seemingly larger and more imposing. Much like with Kumamoto, they turned the inside of the castle into a museum, in this case with two floors full of "national treasures", a series of really great prints, fans, scrolls, drawsings, etc., The only downside was you can't take any photos - and they man it. I have never seen a place with more "no pictures" signs then this. And while I don't fully udnerstand what this was (and the prevalence of no picture museums and exhibits) I get it here as the pieces were truly incredible.

The higehr floors were less museum adn more about views and the views were nice, mostly of the large expanse of parks, gardens, buildings, etc., that make up the Osaka Castle grounds. On the whole, there is a good reason why the Osaka Castle is the main site of Osaka - both because it is great, but also because as noted, there aren't too many other places. The one notable part of this visit though was how many tourists, and particularly Western tourists there were. Had gotten so used to being with mostly locals and, I guess not unsurprisngly, other Asian tourists when touring Kyushu.

The next stop was a quick conveyor belt sushi lunch at a fancy looking strip mall in a park a block South of the Osaka Castle. Somehow, this was my first conveyor helt sushi restaurant of my time in Japan. Won't be the last, as that's the plan for lunch on Saturday. The next stop was supposed to be the Tenyaggu Shrine, but there is massive ongoing construction tehre that turns it into a non-site. Luckily it was more or less on the way back towards the main area of Osaka.

The last stop was the Umeda Sky Building, which is just awesome. It's a 50-story tall building with these interconnected glass outdoor tunnels, stairs, etc., connecting various floors on teh top, leading to two observatory floors with 360 degree views. The lower one is indoors and has the usual things like a cafe (an excellent cappuccino), shop, etc., but the top outdoor floor is incredible. From here, Osaka is massive, but also more green than I remembered - especially aroudn the two sets of rivers that run through the city. While, there aren't a whole lot of sites, the modernity of Osaka, and the few things I do remember from last time (the food, particularly in teh Dotonbori area), I do understand why it is a stanaard part of the Japan itinerary.

Nearby to the Umeda Sky building was a graet craft  brewery as well named Mother Tree. They had a vast selection of their own brews, and then cans avaialble for sale (their own plus many other craft Japanese brews). I chatted up a group of four Aussies who were just starting their time in Japan, giving them a few tips but mostly also secretly hating that they are at the beginning of their vacation and I'm naering the end of mine.

That hit home with the train to Kyoto - the last actual stop of this trip (not counting lunch on Sunday in Tokyo). Going in I have high expectations for Kyoto, a magical, wonderful city that currently I have is my #3 city to visit. The first night itself at minimum doesn't have me changing that opinion at all. We first went to our AirBNB (I'm back with my parents for Kyoto) in the Gion area, which was great except on the 2nd floor (walk-up only). From there we headed to the main area of Kyoto to walk aroudn a bit, soak in the alleys and sites and what not, until our dinner at Ibushigin Kayuza - the one repeat meal from last time. 

Ibushigin Kayuza is a "sake and smoke" izakaya - basically an izakaya that serves foods with some smoke element - some live smoked in front of you with the cloche and whatnot (the little amouse bouch of clams, a brilliant braised pork belly) or a bit more subtle (smoke infused sashimi). Either way, the food was great. They have a full bar, but their specialty is sake, which we sampled about 5-6 of. Overall, it was a really nice meal and entry point into Kyoto. As was talking my parents for a stroll aroudn the roads running parallel to Pontocho River, be it the famed small confines of Pontocho Alley, or the neighboring road with teh canal with tons of bars and nightlife. There were two cocktail bars I went to last time that I wanted to go back to with them but both had 30-60 minutes waits, and frankly neither are special enough to wait that much time. At this point, they bid me adieu and left me to roam this part of Kyoto.

The final stop was assured (Barcode, a great foreigner-heavy karaoke bar) but the stops there would be varied. I first went to Bar Caamm, a famed whiskey bar on the North side of the main canal road. This bar is noted for having over 400 whiskey choices, though this means most are from places that aren't Japan. Still, they had an extensive Japan list as well. I tried a couple and then tried out a more varied place in Kazuya which is quite an experiecne.

Kazuya is up two flights of stairs and their thing is to take you back to a pre-electricity age. There are no lights, everything lit by candles. There is no menu - you tell teh two bartenders what you want. Luckily, there are fans, but on the whole it is minimalism, but not in the cocktails, which were wonderful. The whole experience was unique, and wonderful/ Because Kyoto is so international and foreigner heavy, a lot of the bars skew that way (think Thailand, or the tweezery cocktail bars, that again aren't as good as the counterparts I went to in Tokyo), but in between there are these places like Kazuya, that for now seems like a hole in the wall known mostly by locals, but probably isn't too far away from being a foreigner spot as well.

What definitely is a foreigner spot is Barcode, but it is a lovely time. The crowd was mostly European, but on this today also more Japanese than I'm used to, and a Filipino group. Overall, teh crowd was great, the songs people requested and sung were all to my liking for the most part, and as is almost guaranteed in Barcode, you get to chat with folks over hte mic - including making friends with a lovely German couiple who are on a three month trip through Japan, spending a month of it in Kyoto. They were fascinated by my trip, "Oh, you are seeing so many places!" and me by theirs,  "Oh, you have three months!". Two different ways of traveling, but all roads lead to Kyoto and on this night, to Barcode.

2026 Japan Trip: Day 14 - Kumamoto

Day 14 - The Highlands of Japan

I'm learning something interesting comparing my touring aruond Kyushu to that of Hokkaido - which is despite Hokkaido being the north island and the home of skiing in Japan, unless you go deep into the ski slopes, Kyushu, the South island, looks no different - and in many ways as picturesque. Finishing up my time in the South Island today, and I can confidently say that I have loved my time here. Now, I like Sapporo a lot, and feel it unfair to make a direct comparison given how much weather impacted my planned itinerary in Hokkaido (which was basically monsoons the second I got outside the Sapporo metro area) verse how little it has impacted my time in Kyushu (other than one aspect we'll get to tomorrow). It may be sad how much waether can change your perspectives, especially in cases like this where the risk of rain is more or less the same in both Hokkaido and Kyushu this time of year, but one one of the two had the bad luck show up.

The main goal today was to see as much of Mt. Aso National Park and the surrounding forests and hills as possible, with knowledge that at minimum the caldera (crater) on top of Mt. Aso is off limits as there are still some potential concerns of eruption. Nothing imminent but random bits of gas getting thrown up every now adn then. From what I gather the continued closure (it's been a few months) is becoming somewhat controversial. Anyway, while taht is closed off, there are a lot of other joys sitting aroudn the actual mountainside itself and hills and valleys surrounding it.

Starting with my first stop of the day t the Kikuchi Gorge. Technically this is a long area, but one three KM stretch has been cordoned off and turned into a great nature trail featuring four or five waterfalls, some great sightlines, greenery, forestry and some magical surroundings. It is something that reminds me of similar waterfalls in say Luang Prabang (though oyu can't swim here) or other ares, but with a cooler air of Japan. The whole thing is well marked, takes 45-60 minutes (you can shorten in by 25-50% by taking the "small loop") and is a great entry point to this part of the world of Kyushu. However, all the other stops, at least that I went to, stray away from the depths of the forests into more aerial sights.

The next stop was the Daikanbo Lookout, which is a nearby peak close to Mt Aso where you can drive basically to the top. The only problem is while the air was cool, clear and calm below, the higerh you get up the mountain, generally once you get past the 2000 foot elevation mark, it starts to get very foggy. The Daikanbo Lookout is around 3,000 feet. Mt Aso tops out at 5,000 feet. So, basically at the Daikanbo Lookout, instead of really being able to see anything up, we could see patches of he farmland, the lush, lush farmland and towns and stuff below in fleeting moments between successive rolls of fog. It was wonderfully beautiful in an eerie way, and it was downright cold at the lookout and crazy windy. It was all a wild experience, if not what the scene should actually be showing.

From tehre you can drive quickly to the town of Aso (the route I took probably adds 30 minutes to just driving straight to Aso), which is a small town with a main drag with seemingly some restuarants that all seemed closed. I know for sure the one I had planned to go was closed on Thursdays (I had initially planned this Aso trp for yesterday), but instead went to this almost Wawa-like place that served hot food bar, grab and go food, and hot food made to order. The choice was endless and overwhelming and in the end I picked a handful of types of skewers and definitely didn't get theri best, but it was good enough. It was also at this point I got an email from Tabelog telling me my omakase meal was cancelled as the restaurant was unexpectedly closed, with a note from the owner saying he has hurt his finger so he cannot prepare the meal. I applaud them for the honesty and integrity, but it did suck. Panicking, I spent ten imnutes in my car finding random fancier spots taht had last minute availability, finally settling on an affordable omakase spot.

From there, I drove onto the mountainside of Mt Aso, going to the check-in point which I knew was closed beyond that. What I wasn't sure about was the four or so spots I had earmarked on Mt Aso, how many of those are similarly closed. Turns out at least two were, adn the other two were likely going to be similary foggy, and hazy and tricky to wander around in the case they were open, so I cut my losses and headed down the other side of Mt. Aso to a few more lookouts and sites. 

The ones on the other side were similarly beautiful, especially the views of the lush greenery. This was like driving throuhg Scotland or the Shenandoah Valley or something like this (actually the fogginess at the peak reminds me of a Shenandoah trip a few years back). It was all so beautiful - even when you reach back the ground level (the valley, basically) the views of the hills aroudn you are stunning. There are just endless lookouts and picture spots, some enticing enough to lead me to truly dangerous things like stopping on an empty road and grabbing a picture and hoping I could do all this before a car appeared at the end of the rearview mirror. In the end, it was a truly great drive.

Tehre were two last stops however, both done a bit impromptu. The less meaningful was a stop at Yamada Milk Company, a milk and (more notably) ice cream spot that had some lovely ice cream - where in Japan it taste a bit more like what the literal words should indicate - iced cream/milk. It was quite great, and right on the way back. The other spot before that though was just awesome - named Fairy Zoo, it is something of a petting zoo right in the foothills of the mountains, with again these imposing hills. In this little area, a couple and a few other farmhands have this little area of two stables and pens of first the fluffiest dogs ever, and then sheep (woolly as hell), goats & lambs, guinea pigs, chickens, donkeys and horses. The goats and lambs were the highlight - the pen had about 20 of them, including three of four tiny little babies. He would let people hold the babies, telling me taht the little adorable thing I held was just three days old. Not sure if this is true, but at most it wasn't much more than that.

There's another more open area (with low fences) which sits four or five pigs who were perfectly fat, about five turltes with some marvelously strong looking shells and a handful of capybaras. Look, I'm not normally a zoo person, and even less so a petting zoo person, but this was on the way, had some amazing reviews and is maybe the best mom and pop run business I've ever seen in therm sof hteir gentleness (the animals, for once, look happy) and care for customers. If you are ever planning a day trip in the Mt. Aso area, try to make a stop at Fairy Zoo possible.

It took a while to get back because I had put my rental return as the airport, but after moving my flight up tomorrow, the rental would be closed. The airport is directly on the way back from the South end of Aso, but it is frustratingly far away from the city (which also has implications for my taxi tomorrow morning). I have no diea why this city has its airport so far away. I get that more people in Japan take trains to travel around, but Kumamoto is actually more well connected to more cities than say Nagasaki, but the airport sits a good 40 minute ride away.

After finishing, I only got back to my AirBNB at 6:15, giving me some time to pack up as much as I can today in advance of tomorrow as it will be an early start. My dinner was a Kaiseki place whose name is in Japanese, but was a really great 4.02 on Tabelog (and 4.6 on Google), and affordable at around $90 and was as exacting, careful, delicate as you would expect. It is crazy how fresh some of the ingredeints are. The highlights were the horse sashimi (which was insanely good), a really wonderful unagi preparation with a little herb on top that he called "tree bud" but gave this almost lemongrass like flavor, to what was probably the best dish of the night, a brilliant miso soup with little dollops of miso flower in it and maitake mushroom, eggplant and lobster. The whole meal was wonderful, especially as something i had to rush and book last minute. In the end, probably better to add another kaiseki meal instead of a third sushi omakase.

From there, I first went back to Bar Ladybird, as it is a graet place with a really earnest barman and he was also the person who gave me the recommendation of Yamada Milk House. The drinks were great again, with once again great little presentation boxes - one replete with moss and deer, his interpretation of the forests around Mt. Aso. The next stop was a new one, and a place that makes me wonder if I've missed out on similar places elsewhere. It's name is basically Japanese Sake Bar (not sure if the name is more inventive in Japanese). It basically serves sake (obviously) but throws in a lot of extras. First, anyone coming gets three shot-sized portions of sake for free, along with two appetiziers (more amouse bouche sized) as part of the cover charge. Then, if you order a sake glass, you get three more shot sized tastings. In the end, you can sample a bunch for not all that much, and it was wholly a great experience. The last stop was Rock Bar Days, which may end up as my last traditional rock bar that I will visit on this trip, but again just hit the spot with cheap highballs, a good crowd, great music, and a great way to end my time in Kyushu - where you can really tell it is less foreigners, it is more real and it is so worth visiting. Sure, not on your first trip to Japan, but definitely on a second.

2026 Japan Trip: Day 13 - Kumamoto

Day 13 - A City Lost to Time

I don't know how to think of Kumamoto after my first day here. I should start by overall it is a net positive, and I'm happy I came, especially after their recent earthquake. The earthquake was mostly impactful in the area South of hte city, while the city proper didn't take too much damage, but still the toiurism part of the economy, as expected, would be impacted. But waht I can't get a good sense of is how many tourists there actually are. Kumamoto is a palce of contrasts. In theory, if you look at a map, it would seem to water is close by, but the city itself is mainly in a valley with rolling hills on every side to where you would think you are in Denver. It is a larger city by population than Nagasaki, but with way less cabs, way less locals enjoying the nights (and it's a fair comparison since I went to both places on generic weekdays). It is a lovely city, maybe the most walkable of the ones I have been to, but also that is needed, since it is hard to get cabs at night. Anyway, again, not sure how to classify it overall other than you are going to a place that seemingly doesn't depend on tourism, and that is just fine.

My morning train journey took two stops, three trains, and thirty minutes of waiting in stations, but end to end 90 minutes, which is almost annoying in that the actual train journey segments were all super short. Also weird, as the crow flies Nagasaki and Kumamoto are close by, requiring a ferry on the coastal town of Shimabara which sits in between, but there is no fast train to Shimabara, so that seemingly more close route takes way longer. Anyway, I made it to Kumamoto on schedule at 11am, with a lot of time on my hands, and a car to drive around the city - keeping the car for both days as the AirBNB has a parking spot and most of tomorrow will be spent far afield in the Mt. Aso park area.

Having a bit of time to kill before lunch, I went to the Southeastern edge of the city to a large strip of land hugging the Kase River named the Suizenji area. The defining element is a series of parks, from a more traditional one with a couple small temples on its northern edge (where I went), and then things like a fishing area, a more proper botanical garden and a zoo. I went to just the main first garden, which was beautiful and serene. Even in this small area, there is a range of landscapes, heights, shrines, shrubs, hills, etc. It is a really nice 20-30 minute stroll and the hills that sit far off in each direction give it a great calmness. This was my first introduction to the hills of the Kumamoto region, which would be its defining takeaway - that and maybe the cartoon bear Kumamon (more on taht to come).

From Suizenji, I was fairly hungry as I avoided picking up any snacks on my various train stops, and went to lunch back in the main area of the city. It was another unagi spot, with a Japanese name. This one was a weird dichotomy of having the largest footprint, quite fancy decor, and was packed, but of the three I've been to on this trip, actually found the unagi itself slightly lesser than the otehr two. Still great, however, and they had a really nice miso soup and even little dessert, and was no more expensive than the others. Still would recommend, but wouldn't if it were someone's only time having an unagi box lunch. 

At this point, the rain was going to hold off for the day (I have to say, other than that first day in Fukuoka, I've been exceedingly fortunate with weather during my Kyushu time), so I decided to wait on Mt. Aso for tomorrow, and finish the sites of Kumamoto today, with the main ones being the area right off its main heart, where the Kumamoto Castle sits. The castle is a reconstructed version of the iconic older Kumamoto Castle from the Edo times, and today is seen as one of the three premier castles in Japan (the Himeji Castle, where we are going later in the trip, and the Matsumoto Castle in Nagoya being the other two), and you can see why. The walk up the main keep takes you on this cantilevered route along the walls where you get good views of the turrest and side buildings, and this imposing nine story beast lingering behind, in a sharp blue and white. It is truly striking, along with again the great hills in the distance. I can tell, having seen similar castles a couple times that there is a reason why this one is held in such high regard - and am excited to see if Himeji can match it in terms of picturesque awe.

The castle interior is slightly disappointing compared to the outside, as it is now a museum to the history of the castle itself, with some old artifacts, but a bit hollow compared to if they just made it a recreation of what they castle would've looked like. Granted, maybe the castle interior back in the day was fairly a whole lot of nothing anyway. Also they were adamant that anyone without a real excuse had to walk up the stairs to visit all eight stories. I would've rather taken an elevator up to the top and then seen it reverse, but alas not possible - and probably a good thing as it saves the best for last, which is the viewpoints from the top floor. THe views from here are lovely - most of Kumamoto maxes out at aroudn ten floors (lower than the castle, when you add in the height of the keep and walls, etc.), so you mostly get views of the hills and farmlands and lush greenery. It was gorgeous, and a crsip, I guess almsot fall, air made it all the better.

The castle sits in the middle of a larger park, which houses the Kumamoto Art Museum on one side, which was on my list. It was an intersting place that had two great exhibits that I wholehartedly enjoyed, but an aggressive no pictures policy for like 80% of the pieces. The first exhibit was "Renoir in Japan" where apparently during the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese took particular interest in the worsk of Renoir, including having a few Japanese artists move to Europe to learn under him. That gallery was abuot 40% Renior's, 50% of his Japanese disciples, and the remaining 10% of other impressionist masters (your Pissaro's, Sisley's and of course a couple Monet's - I remain astounded that basically every major art museum in the world seems to have 1-4 Monet's). The permanent exhibit was of their own collection of all Japanese artists from Kyushu, many from Kumamoto, which was lovely - your classic prints, scrolls, folding barriers and then some really nice paintings as well - with the only issue that 90% of it had a "no photo" sign next to it. The 10% they allowed photots were pretty clearly the 10% you wouldn't really want to take a photo of, since the other 90% was better.

The last bit of museum-ness was in the Northwest corner of the castle park, which sits the City Museum of Kumamoto - which was similar to the city / cultural museums I had been to in Fukuoka and Nagasaki, with a couple interesting differentiating points. First, a lot more of it was about the nature of the region - with a great exhibit showcasing the variety of native animals, fish, butterflies, birds, etc., and second, more focus was on daily life in teh city than just the wars and conquests and what not. It wasn't the biggest museum (and like most, had one of their exhibits currently closed - batting 1.000 on this trip of having some part of any museum I've been to closed), but it was a nice side quest at the end of the larger Kumamoto Castle complex as a whole.

My last stop before checking into my AirBNB was to go to the city center and visiting the large, funkily designed (externally) mall that houses the Kumamon Village store. Kumamon is a cartoon black bear with red cheeks that is basically hte unofficial city mascot. His visage is everywhere, from signage to all over the airport, and bust stations, to much more. For instance, the mall connects to an indoor plaza that houses a train station and two office buildings, and in the rotundo of an area liekly traversed mostly by white collared salarymen is a large Kumamom statue. So, Kumamon Village is a store that much like the Snoopy Village I went to in Otaru, sells a bunch of Kumamon stuff. I couldn't resist, even worse than with teh Snoopy store, wehre this time I did give in to my weaker instincts and got myself the second smallest of five sizes of plushies. 

The AirBNB was lovely, a really nicely decorated apartment with both a western full size bed and a tatami area/bed. Also, as AirBNB is coming under fire as we speak in Japan, crucially, this one was owned by an actual couple as a second apartment in the building they live. I say this because that is different to my AirBNB in Tokyo and Fukouka, which are owned by companies that own many units in buildings that are becoming de-facto hotels. Both of the two I stayed at were good and I think reasonable values for the cost (especially since hotels are the one thing that is not cheap in Japan despite the weakness of the yen), but these types of pseudo-hotels are becoming a big talking point. During my trip, the local government of Shibuya in Tokyo announced they were making these types of rental businesses illegal. They are giving AirBNB owners like the lovely couple of the Kumamoto place a bad wrap. I did appreciate the nice touch of actually meeting the hosts.

Before dinner, sitting a nice five minutes walk from the AirBNB, is a beer bar called 25 Brews, which is probably the closest thing to a true beer bar I've been to on this trip - well this or Beerkimchi in Fukuoka. It doesn't have 25 taps, but had about 12, all from Japan and then a reasoanble can selection, again all from Japan. I apprecaited really their commitment to highlighting Japan beer. The taps were cold, they had free WiFi (as I would soon learn, a rarity in Kumamoto) and it was a great time to sip a few. As I'll explain in a bit, I almost wonder if them having a nice beer bar like this was a sign of their more localized and less foreigner-forward appraoch.

Dinner was at Yokobachi, a famed local izakaya (famed enough it was on the AirBNB hosts list of their recommended food destinations). They too have the same online ordering system that the Izakaya in Nagasaki had and multiple breweries. Seems like that particular site is just taking over how it is done across large swaths of Japan. The food list wasn't as zany as I was maybe expecting, but what they did have was really nicely done, from lovely horse sashimi, to a local dish of fried lotus root that is then filled (the holes) with this near horseradish type mustard. They also had a nice fried fish, and maybe my favorite bite which was these tempura-corn dusted with a generous amoutn of Sancho, the numbing spice everpresent at the Unagi spots. Actually, my favorite dish was their quite simply brilliant custard dessert.

From there, I hit up three spots that I think shwoed a bit of what I was talking about before - they were all great, but were mostly all locals and only one of the three *had free WiFi (which had a much higher hit rate are similar establsihments all trip before). The frist was near Yokobachi, and was probably in a vaccuum the best - Bar Ladybird, which was similar in decor and intent to Bar Victor which I liked in Nagasaki. The bar master has created a fantasy world of flowers, plants, etc., including having these elaborate flower box / diorama type creations from which he puts the glass and serves you. It would be kitsch if not for the care and delicateness you know goes into this. The drinls too mostly highlight craft whisky and gin and were all fantastic, if maybe not the wildest things. There aren't crazy adders or flavors, but what it was is pure heart. 

The next two stops were places that I'm sure exist in the other cities but those other cities had more fancy / foreigner focused options. The first was Youth(Craft Beer & Rock), which is just by name perfect - its a bar focused on serving craft beer (all bottles & cans) and playing punk rock music. The music wasn't fully my speed, but I appreciated the specificity. The beer was great however, if a bit expensive, but from my understanding it was quite curated acorss Japan - but this place too seems more aimed at locals.

Certainly the last place, Rock Bar Days, is - an establishment taht has been open 20 years, has a walk of CDs and Vinyls, cheap drinks but nothing fancy, and a good late night food menu (so I can avoid some random noodling around 7-11 / Family Mart). I got highballs of JW Black for $6 (pretty damn good) and some nice beef jerky and listened to the owner playing the entirety of American Idiot front to back after she heard I liked Green Day (I guess the other 5-8 people were fine with it), and it was a great way, if a localized, smaller way, to end my first day in Kumamoto.