Greetings From Japan!

Daisy's travel diaries

It seems like everyone is heading to Japan, and now we know why. Besides tax-free shopping and a strong exchange rate (most shops don’t charge tax for anything over $33 if you simply show your passport, and in most cases, you don’t need to declare it at customs), Japan is exotic, beautiful, cosmopolitan, and welcoming. Getting around is safe and easy throughout the cities and countryside, and tourists feel welcome. You can find tons of travel blogs about Japan, but we thought it would be fun to ask our founder, Daisy to share her travel diary so you can experience first-hand what she saw, ate, packed (scroll to the end), and where she shopped:

Several years ago, when my children were young, I allegedly proclaimed to all three of them, “When you turn 21, I will take you anywhere in the world you want to go.” First of all, the jury is still out whether or not I said that or if my children are craftier than I give them credit for, and second of all, I didn’t realize how quickly they grow up and how big a promise this was. When my twin boys turned 21, I realized I had to spread these trips out. The one who’s 5 minutes older decided on Stockholm, and we had an amazing trip there three years ago. His younger brother is on the spectrum of autism, so he needed a little more time to mature. He chose Japan, and after patiently waiting, I finally delivered on the promise. We balanced Pokémon Centers, electronics stores, and video arcades with shrines, parks, shopping, incredible food, and lots of walking.

We started in Tokyo and did the usual neighborhood visits that every American tourist must do. The subway was an adventure in itself, but super easy and clean. Or first stop was Cat street, an absolute must for shopping.

My favorite vintage shops were Rag Tag and Salamanca (they have two in Kyoto as well). Salamanca is wonderfully curated and has a huge selection of bags, shoes sunglasses and jewelry as well as designer jackets and coats. Rag Tag carries brands like A.P.C. and Comme des Garçons with very limited sizes but still worth the visit. Some of the other vintage shops were packed with American tees and sweatshirts that may be a novelty to other tourists, but it’s basically the same collection of college sweatshirts and old tees that you have at home or at a local Goodwill (I appreciated the inspo!)

We also did the whole wildly popular fluffy pancake experience (not my thing - they have zero taste and I don’t understand the fuss), and then grabbed to-go, iced matcha and walked from Harajuku to Shibuya. It was the perfect way to get a sense of the Tokyo vibe with great people watching along the way. P.S. It’s totally true what they say about 7-Elevens in Japan. So much fun to explore!

Other Tokyo highlights included the best ramen of our lives (we never made any reservations anywhere by the way—It’s so easy to just pop into restaurants), the Meiji Shrine and park and the Golden Gai neighborhood at night (think closet-sized pubs all in a row that you pop in and out of) - photos are not allowed, but of course I snuck one.

After a few days of sight seeing and sushi in Tokyo we took a 2.5 hour bullet train to Kyoto. We opted for staying to the West of downtown on the Katsura River (because one, I wanted to use SPG points at the Suiran Hotel and two, for a little peace and quiet). It did not disappoint.

Kimono robe provided by the Suiran Hotel (why, yes I did purchase one to take home, thank you very much.)

Kyoto is touristy, but for very good reason. From the Geisha district in Gion to the crazy public food markets to the old cobblestone streets with shrines and temples - it’s a feast for the eyes and rich with history and culture. The air is filled with the scent of incense and the sounds of crickets and birds—It’s all very zen.

We explored the bamboo forest, the Monkey park, another Pokemon Center and several neighborhoods. And then I snuck away for a little more shopping. This proved to be a trickier endeavor than I expected. I didn’t want to go to the big chain stores and the small local shops sold some fun touristy items, but I wanted to find textiles and pottery to bring home as gifts. I finally found some beautiful pottery on Sennenzaka street (also known as Teapot Lane).

My new friends from Salamanca: a Ferragamo bag that I’ve been searching for for two years, in perfect condition (it was meant to be), and a pair of Fendi vintage glasses to replace a cheap Amazon pair that I had been testing out to see if I liked the white, oval style. Both at a great price, no tax (and I haggled an extra 20% off in exchange for an Instagram post)....

We had one more day in Tokyo before heading home so I checked out the Ginza district (kind of like 5th Avenue). I have a weird thing where I like to pop into a Zara when I’m in a foreign country to see if anything is different. I did pick up an argyle sweater after feeling inspired by last week’s Fresh Pick from DAISY. I then checked out Dover Street Market which is super cool and has several floors of clothes from Japanese designers. I couldn’t resist purchasing a Comme des Garçons Play striped button down and a pair of Tiger Onitsukas (no tax!)

And here’s what I packed:

For pants I was happy with my Levi’s dark wash 501s and my Nili Lotan Shons in carbon. On the plane and train I wore my feather-weight super comfy Ruti Wide-ish barrel pants. I also brought an old H&M white skirt that was totally on-point with all the Japanese cool gals in their fulls skirts.

My Cissa Daily Shirt in Garcon Bleu proved to be a work-horse because I could wear it different ways with that super cool side button feature (the Garcon Bleu is sold out but I love the stripe even more). I also packed a white J. Crew button down and a few tanks and tees.

My black Nation dress was perfect on a couple of very hot days. I was happy to have my green Xirena dress for a pop of color(all of their dresses are absolutely perfect for travel), a patterned M.M. LaFleur slinky dress that packs like a dream (use code DAISY15 for 15% off), and another black Me+Em ruched dress (sadly no longer available).

My Dolce Vida sneakers were perfect and felt kind of “fall” and I’m glad I brought my Ferragamo loafers even though I only wore them twice because it felt like a fancy treat. I walked miles in my Tevas in the heat in Kyoto and of course my H&M ballet flats were nice to slip on for short walks.

When in air conditioning I had my Comme des Garcons cardi and a gray sweater set (the shell was a nice change from tank tops). And always scarves and jewelry because they can instantly change an outfit and don’t take up space. I packed two big Longchamp totes (one acted as another carry on for the newly purchased items).

My daughter just turned 21. I can’t wait for her to decide where she wants to go.