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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/IceSpiceDogsDance on 2025-06-16 05:28:27+00:00.

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My girlfriend and I just returned from 2 weeks in Japan and had an INCREDIBLE time. I was scouring this subreddit and other travel forums for months leading up to the trip, and there's some helpful things I'd love to share, along with a general (short) overview of our time in each city. We usually had 1-2 things we wanted to get to each day, and otherwise did a lot of wandering and exploring.

Big Takeaways:

-Japan feels CHEAP AS HELL right now as an American tourist. We were constantly blown away. Meals for $5-7 USD, drinks dirt cheap, admission tickets for places usually 500 - 1000 yen (~$3.5 - $7), travel and accommodations reasonably priced too. I think too many people go to the big name Western-style hotels and only eat at places they find on Google that are especially friendly to Westerners out of fear or discomfort. Go off the beaten bath even just an inch and you'll find a very affordable country. I think flights + accommodations + transportation + everything spent on the trip added up to about $2200 for each of us.

-Learn various "hello"s (Ohayo Gozaimas for morning, Konichiwa during the day, Konbanwa in the evening) and be enthusiastic about your "thank you" (Arigato Gozaimas!!!!). I felt nervous / unsure about trying to speak a different language, but it goes along away. I saw tons of foreigners make no attempt at speaking Japanese, just pointing at things and then mumbling a "Thank you" in English. I felt like the small effort we made was appreciated and it's just fun to make little connections with the employees you meet.

-Similarly, you say "Sumimasen" (excuse me) when you need a server or wait staff at a restaurant. Otherwise they'll mostly ignore you. Say it when you want to order another drink, or get the bill, or have a question. It feels a little rude at first to what we're used to, but just do it confidently and you'll fit right in.

-When all else fails, Google Translate is a lifesaver. Don't be afraid to go in somewhere that looks good just because they don't have an English menu. Pointing and saying "Thank you" is okay. This will lead you to some delicious places you'd never go otherwise!

-I feel like the descriptions of IC cards I read ahead of time were overly confusing. Get a Suica card, tap it to get on trains. That's it. You can add it to your apple wallet right now from your couch and refill it with your phone. (Yes, there are special tickets needed for Shinkansen and some Limited Express trains, but, seriously, it's simple as this and our Suica worked in every city we went to).

-Having a small bag was a lifesaver (I have This Carhartt one). Passport / cash / phone / wallet, keep your trash in there until you can find a garbage can, I even rolled up a shirt I bought and stuffed it in and one time. Bags rock!

The trip:

Tokyo (Ikebekuro)

Tokyo is incredible. If you've never been, it's hard to describe. Bustling, very alive, a million different little places to explore. We loved Shinjuku (of course went to Omoide Yokocho and Golden Gai, both twice), the Meiji Shrine in Yoyogi Park, explored Sunshine City and Akihabara on our rainy day, and the Ghibli museum. We enjoyed staying in Ikebekuro as it was a cute neighborhood with good food and bakeries right off the Yamamote line, which connected us to almost everything. Just heading to new neighborhoods and getting lost is awesome.

Kyoto (Gion)

Kyoto is, also, incredible. We loved the old-time feel of Gion, getting dinner and drinks in Pontocho, wandering Nashiki market and some of the nature we got to experience here. Arashiyama monkey park and Fushimi Inari were both highlights. Yes, both required a bit of a hike, but it didn't feel like anything too strenuous for a couple in our late 20's. People make a big deal out of timing Fushimi Inari "Just right" - we ended up sleeping in and getting there around 9:30. There was a SEA of people at the bottom, but we climbed all the way to the top and the last third was nearly desolate. So, if you absolutely need the pictures of the empty Tori gates, I guess go at 6am, but it's not necessary. We ate at a couple amazing restaurants here - Kokodenome and Rutubo. Both highly recommended. Also - the kobe beef skewers will haunt me forever.

Nara

A day trip, of course to see the deer. They were lovely, very cute - and they bow to thank you for the crackers. Just walking around watching them is great, plus the forested walk to the shrine & temple are lovely.

Osaka

Another day trip. We liked Osaka, but didn't get to experience much of it, and I think we were a little "shopped out" by the time we got here, so Dotonbori kind of overwhelmed us. We wandered about, checked out Osaka Castle and Yasaka Shrine, got some lunch at Tenjinbashi, and that's about it. I've heard people spend a whole week here and love it - would love to come back and dive deeper.

Shimoda

This was a pretty random pick, but we wanted somewhere off the beaten bath and a little chill. We definitely got that in Shimoda. It's a little coastal town at the end of the Izu penninsula, and we came during the sleepy rainy season. Still, we stayed at an awesome guest house with a lovely family nearby who fed us dinner one night and even helped make calls to local onsens for us to find out where we could go (mixed gender bath, plus we have tattoos). We saw one or two other foreigners while here, and it was just a great little time immersed in the local culture. Had some amazing seafood, went to the Museum of the black ship, swam in the ocean when the sun eventually came out, checked out the sea cave and ended up going to the Thousand Person Bath (Kanayaryoken). Plus we got to borrow bikes from the family and ride around the area - it felt like a jungle. We loved it.

Happy to answer any questions for potential travelers, and I hope this is helpful. Enjoy your eventual trip!

Edit: corrected name of Onsen in Shimoda.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/jjsmyth1 on 2025-06-16 03:18:01+00:00.

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TLDR; It was a bit bumpy and at times uncomfortable, but ultimately very rewarding.

I felt like a quiet dinner alone last night, so I found a highly reviewed sushi restaurant near my hotel. I was staying in the Naniwa ward in Osaka, south of the busy Dotombori area.

To begin with it was hard to find. Google maps took me to the street on the wrong side. I walked around the building it was apparently in a few times but nothing stood out that told me it was a sushi restaurant. I eventually found this traditional, inconspicuous little building with some kanji written on the front. Google lens let me know that it had ‘sushi’ in the writing, so I thought this might be the place.

There was no window and no way of seeing inside. What’s more, there was an entrance way but the door into the restaurant was closed and also had no way of seeing inside. Wondering if I was going to be welcome here, I gingerly knocked and slid the door open.

It was already dawning on me what kind of place this was. There was probably not much catered for tourists here. It wasn’t really what I’d set out for, but that was fine I thought. It’d be good to get out of the comfort zone of tourist traps, experience something more authentic and support a local business. Still, I was really quite nervous. What if I displease them by breaking etiquette? This seems like very local place where the people inside may know each other. Am I going to be welcomed as an outsider?

Anyway, I opened the door and there was a host standing on the other side. I thought he may have jumped and seemed a little surprised to see me, but that also may have just been my nervousness speaking. Another guy came over to me. There was a bit of an awkward moment where we were both waiting for the other to say something. I offered him Google translate if he wanted to speak Japanese, but turned out his English seemed fairly good so I eventually asked if I could sit. He showed me to a seat. I sat down, had a look around at the patrons enjoying themselves and quickly accepted that I was the only gaijin in the room.

The host gave me a menu. No English but that was fine. I’d memorised ‘Osusume wa nan desu ka’ (what do you recommend) for such a situation and was actually quite glad I got to use it at last. He replied in Japanese, couldn’t understand but I just nodded and said I’ll have that.

The waitress served me some appetisers. They were delicious, but as I ate I could see the staff looking at me from across the counter. I imagine they were doing it in good faith, but being watched while I ate certainly didn’t help my nerves! I smiled and said ‘oishii desu’ and got a nice smile and a bow in return. They seemed happy to have got my approval, but they still continued to glance at me every now and then.

The chef was very friendly and as he served each dish, he told me what it was in English. He put the first piece of sushi on an ornate black dish, sitting on a raised counter about a meter front of me. Two things weren’t quite clear to me: Will he add more sushi, or is it served one at a time? And is the black dish supposed to stay in the same place, or do I take it and put it in front of me? Maybe it was obvious to some, but my anxious brain made me freeze. I just waited to see if he would put more sushi on. But as time passed I saw the chef glancing over more, then two of the staff started talking to each other and pointing at the sushi sat in front of me! I whipped out Google translate, typed my question and got the answer easy enough. The sushi is served one at a time and you don’t take the dish. You just pick it up with your chopsticks and eat it. I hoped they realised it was just a little misunderstanding as they were all smiles afterwards.

After that I started to relax a bit more. The sushi was absolutely amazing. It melted in my mouth like butter and combined with the wasabi, it was like each bite was a flavour explosion in my mouth! There were one or two more faux pas: I fumbled one piece with the chopsticks (still conscious they may be watching), but recovered ok. And had to ask the waitress to repeat a few times when asking for the bill. But they seemed pretty patient and understanding. I paid the bill and exchanged several gochisou sama deshitas (it was a great feast/thank you for a delicious meal). The chef came from behind the counter and bowed to me as I left. Smiles all around and seemed like everyone had enjoyed it, myself included.

My anxious brain still decides to focus on the embarrassing moments and make me cringe. But looking back on it I’m pleased for getting out of my comfort zone and experiencing something closer to the local culture. I can recommend it if you have a bit of money to spare (it’s pricey) and feel like challenging yourself a bit while on your travels.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Spartaness on 2025-06-12 08:45:57+00:00.

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Posting this as both a warning and a request for help on escalation options.

We recently rented a campervan from Samurai Campervans Fukuoka, and the experience has been gross. The first vehicle was a bait and switch with what I booked online, had grinding suspension, a broken passenger seatbelt, and was clearly unsafe to drive. We ended up stranded an hour out from Fukuoka with no working support numbers. None of them connected on either my Japanese or NZ SIM and only one email contact.

Eventually, a replacement van was delivered, but:

It arrived with the fuel light on

It was dirty inside and out

It smelled strongly of cigarette smoke

We were later told by their own staff that the original van was not the model we booked, which confirmed our suspicions.

We've spent the day airing out the car, and opted for a hotel overnight (which, last minute biking in Fukuoka? Easy peasy.)

They’ve offered one day of compensation (didn't say based on what we agreed vs. the one we got), but I’ve requested two based on the safety risks and time lost to compensate. I followed up yesterday and again today but have had no reply in over 24 hours.

I’m currently looking at options to escalate through Japan Consumer Affairs, and leaving a classic 1-star review online, but it’s unclear which authority is best for this kind of issue as a foreign traveller. If anyone has gone through something similar, I’d really appreciate advice!!

This has been a stressful and disappointing part of an otherwise stellar trip. Happy to share more details privately if it helps anyone avoid the same experience.

Thanks in advance.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/jillrq on 2025-06-10 04:23:30+00:00.

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We went to Tashirojima on our first trip to Japan. It was out of the way for our mainly Tokyo and Kyoto focused trip but SO worth it if you’re a cat lover. I’d say 90% of the cat were friendly and happy to be pet. I’ve heard concerns about poor health on cat islands but that wasn’t our experience. There were a few elderly and thin cats and/or with some skin condition but the vast majority looked well fed and healthy. With any group of feral cats there will be some unhealthy ones. The small number leads me to believe the residents do more than just feed them. We visited the cat shrine which was sweet. The highlight was the noon feeding at a cafe in the middle of the island (station cafe?). It was hard to keep track while they were moving around but we counted 47 cats that arrived for lunch.

Also a highlight of the trip was the Tama Hotel and the owner Mino. He was a real character - warm, always in cat themed clothing, cat and Elvis memorabilia around the hotel. There was a room with several cats next to the lobby that was open several hour a day for visiting. He gave us a cat button and cat shaped chocolate. He went shockingly out of his way to help us navigate the coastal city next to the island (Ishinomaki), recommended restaurants, drove us back and forth to the train station and ferry, took us to a yummy bakery on the way to the ferry, etc. We missed the morning ferry (which means we’d have missed the noon feeding) so we decided to stay an additional day. He seemed to feel some responsibility for us missing the ferry which clearly wasn’t true (or he just saw the crushed look on my face and felt really bad for me) and as a result he spent 4 hours taking us to the beach and a mountain vista. We originally booked the family room that looked spacious and well appointed per other Reddit reviews but we rescheduled to accommodate a baseball game in Tokyo (highly recommended!) so instead we got the last two rooms which were small but clean and comfortable.

If you love cats you should put Tashirojima island on your bucket list. If you like warm, quirky people and unusual hotel experiences then you should book Tama Hotel.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/fireguy1thru5 on 2025-06-09 00:02:17+00:00.

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Recently got back from my first visit to Japan and had a very great time. I did the first half of my trip with my dad and the second half was partly solo and partly with work friends that had a shorter trip at the tail end of mine. The amount of days and cities turned out to be a perfect pace for me. I did a lot, but it did not feel stressful.

Planning

I don't really like an daily itinerary when I travel. I prefer to save a bunch of places I want to see (from watching youtube videos) on google maps and then just go where I want to go in the moment. I still have hotels booked, so I knew which cities I would be in. Other than that and tickets to the World expo and a baseball game, i didnt have any other reservations for my trip. I tried to give myself at least one full day, with no transit, at most of the cities. My work friends had a very fast paced trip at the end of mine, and they were wiped out and tired the whole time. Even though I still did a lot on my trip, giving myself more days really cut down on the stress and tiredness.

• Day 1 - Tokyo, Travel (arrive 5pm)
• Day 2 - Tokyo
• Day 3 - Tokyo
• Day 4 - Train to Kanazawa, 3hrs
• Day 5 - Kanazawa
• Day 6 - Train to Takayama
• Day 7 - Takayama
• Day 8 - Train to Kyoto, 3hrs
• Day 9 - Kyoto
• Day 10 - Kyoto
• Day 11 - Kyoto
• Day 12 - Train to Osaka
• Day 13 - Osaka (World Expo Day)
• Day 14 - Osaka (Himeji/Kobe Day trip)
• Day 15 - Train to Nara
• Day 16 - Train to Tokyo, 3 hrs
• Day 17 - Tokyo
• Day 18 - Tokyo, Travel (leave 5pm)

Hotels

Tokyo 1 - Prince Sakura Tower, Shinagawa. Very nice hotel. Had a very large, western style room and nice restroom. The nearby station was pretty good for connecting to the rest of the city.

Kanazawa - Hyatt Centric Kanazawa. Nice hotel and more western-style large rooms. It was right next to the train station, which made it easy for arriving and leaving. Most of the toursit spots are 20-30 min walk down the road though, which still wasn't too bad, but good for some people to know

Takayama - Hotel Spa and Gift Takayama. Definitely small rooms, which wasnt too bad except the restroom, which was too small to manuever in. The location was perfect though. Close to the train station, though partway to the old town. The rooftop onsen was also amazing and the best onsen of my trip.

Kyoto - The Chapter Kyoto. Nice hotel with another good onsen, this one on the first floor, but still pretty. The rooms were nice and a good size. The location was pretty good. We still did a lot of Taxis, but I think thats more just because of Kyoto's transit system

Osaka - Some random Bnb apartment. I didnt book it and wouldnt suggest it. It was at least clean, but it wasnt comfortable

Nara - Nara Visitor Center and Inn. I wanted to try a traditional japanese style room at least once. It was nice to experience, but the hardness of the futon on tatami made me glad it was just one night. The location of the hotel is great. And its a visitor's center too, so they had an activity room that looked fun if you were into activities like Origami and writing your name in kanji

Tokyo 2 - APA Hotel Kayabacho. Very small room, though it was fine since it was for just me. Quality of the room was still good. It was about 5 min from a metro station, but just far enough from Tokyo station that the walk was not great (especially in the rain)

Summary

• Tokyo - Wasnt sure if I would like this city, but I did. I felt from most people it was just a shopping city, which Im not normally that kind of person, but I did enjoy checking out stores while I was there. Seeing a baseball game here was also a great experience. Shibuya sky would probably have been a better experience if it wasnt raining, and the nightlife could have been fun if I was traveling with people that liked going out to bars. Food was also very good here
• Kanazawa - Cool little city with fun historic districts to see. Its a little touristy, but quite as much as places like Kyoto. I think one full (wakeup and sleep, not a daytrip) day is the perfect amount here. Omicho market, the geisha district (hagashiya chaya), geisha teahouse museum, castle, samurai district (nagamachi), and samurai house museum are all worth seeing and can be done in the day without rushing. I didnt love the Kenrokuen gardens, but I think that was because I had high expectations for them
• Takayama - Also a place that I think one full day is perfect. The old town, Maturi kaikan museum, showa museum, and open air museum are worth it. Its also a good spot to get a ryokan with an onsen to have that experience
• Kyoto - Definitely super tourity, but still worth visiting. You kinda just need to get accustomed to the crowds, especially for some areas. Kiyomizudera and the streets leading up to it are ridiculously crowded, but its still pretty and there are some side streets and temples nearby that are not devoid of people, but are definitely much calmer and nicer. The Golden temple you can do quick just to see it and the Arashiyama bamboo forest is also something that is cool to see, even through the crowds. And from the bamboo forest you can check out nearby Tenryuji and Okochi gardens and maybe go up the path to the monkey park that is still worth the tiring, long uphill walk. Fushimi inari is the only place I think is vital to see, despite the crowds. It doesn't really thin out much, but its still super cool to see, and if you follow the path for Ganrikisha Shrine, you should get on a path that will have much less people and sometimes even noone around you. If you have more time, or hate crowds enough to not do one of those big, popular sights, I suggest still trying to go to one of the many other temples in the city just to see them. I really liked Eikando at the end of the philosophers path myself.
• Osaka - Not really my vibe for a city. It was fun to look at and walk around, but honestly I was glad I didnt give myself much time here
• World Expo - Worth seeing, but it was extremely frustrating. Long lines for all the pavilions, if they even allowed people without the impossible-to-get-reservations. If you go, try to go to pavillions early before the lines and be comfortable with just walking around and looking at the cool buildings from the outside
• Himeji - A very great daytrip from Osaka. The castle was super pretty from all angles while walking around and the gardens were my favorite I had seen all trip. We also stopped in Kobe on the way back and checked out the terraced herb gardens, which could be great if your legs arent super sore or if it is spring.
• Nara - I liked doing this with an overnight, but I could see it being a daytrip. The deer are fun to see and I had a great time with the time I had, but I think it was tired at the end of my trip, so I didnt do much here

Food

• The Best
  • Kanazawa - Okina Sushi. Tiny sushi place run by a married couple and kinda hidden
  • Kyoto - Kamogawa Takashi. Yakiniku place with no english whatsoever. Get a multicourse meal with a bunch of different types of beef to cook over a charcoal grill in front of you. You may need a reservation, since I probably lucked out getting seated right away
  • Kyoto - Tendon Mentatsu. Great Tempura Place
  • Kyoto - Komefuku Shijo Karasuma. Medium sized Izakaya with great sushi
  • Tokyo - Jyotou Curry Akihabara. Probably a typical curry place, so this is just s recommendation to find a casual curry place with at least pretty good ratings for an amazing dish
  • Tokyo - Toriya Kou NEO. Yakitori place in the same building as Shibuya sky
• Great
  • Tokyo - Keitei. Tonkatsu place in Ginza
  • Kanazawa/Kyoto - Omicho/Nishiki Markets. Either have good options to try skewers of beef or fish
  • Kanazawa - Ochenta y ocho. Weird little spanish tapas place on the second floor with a fun owner with very little english
  • Takayama - Sanbyakuryo. Izakaya that was pretty good. Had a dish where you cooked chicken and cabbage on a hot plate that was good.
  • Takayama - Brand New Day Coffee. It can be hard to find breakfast in Japan. Especially quick breakfast. This place has great croissont sandwhiches.
  • Kyoto - Udon Arashiyama-tei. Good udon place next to the monkey park entrance
  • Kyoto - School bus Coffee. Great coffee and great french toast
  • Kyoto - Shoto Cafe Kyoto. Good coffee and great short cakes
  • Osaka - Takoyaki at a streetcart
  • Osaka - Okinomiyaki Mizuno. Really good okinomiyaki with the only bad service I had in Japan

Notes

• I ordered my pocket wifi online through "Global advanced Communications" You just note your flight and they ship it to a spot in the airport you can pick it up. I got the unlimited plan, which worked great. The only downside was the battery life. I had to recharge it at least once, sometimes twice throughout the day. I had a portable charger for my devices anyway though, so I wasn't carrying anything extra
• Google maps worked great. I used it for everything. It was great at guiding through the metro lines. Getting out of a station can be confusing though. It often had a hard time telling which side of a street you were on in the big cities. If you at least follow its suggested exit or look at what exit you are leaving through on the map is, that can help a lot.
• For the metro I put an IC card on my phone wallet (Iphone only, sorry) and that was so nice and made it super easy to tap in and out of subways and add mon...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/sci_fi_wasabi on 2025-06-07 04:33:55+00:00.

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Hi! I've been planning a first trip to Japan for a couple months now. I agonized a lot about this route, and finally feel like I have a good mix of activity and rest.

About me: Early 40s nurse, have not traveled internationally before, average about 12.5k steps a day but am ramping up slowly in preparation for this trip. I like to walk. I'll be packing minimally with just a 35L backpack.

Interests are: small local museums, nature, shotengai, Showa-era stuff, history in general, and drinking/eating outside (opportunities for people-watching especially)

Day 1: Tokyo arrival

Arrive at Narita @ 3:35pm

Customs Things - then Skyliner to airbnb in Nezu

Explore neighborhood - walk Snake st. to Yanaka Ginza; Yuyake Dandan at sunset

Stop by a conbini or grocery store for easy dinner, pick up some snacks for later

Day 2: Yanesen and West Tokyo

Nezu shrine

Breakfast in neighborhood cafe

Yanaka cemetary and Asakura sculpture museum

Train to Meiji Jingu

Boutique shopping around either Cat st/Omotesando/Aoyama, OR the other direction towards Daikanyama/Nakameguro

Shibuya shopping (Tower Records, Punyus)

Lost bar

Shibuya crossing as it gets dark

Day 3: Akihabara/Ueno

Ueno Park

Shitamachi Museum

Ameyoko Market/Aki-oka Artisan center

Akihabara - camera stores and Mandrake

Afternoon: Kanda River cruise (2hr) from Nihonbashi bridge

Early dinner/beer at Hitachino Brewing on the river

Day 4: Free Day/Ikebukuro

Lazy morning - possible plan to ride the Toden Arakawa streetcar from Minowa to Waseda University, hopping off at Sugamo and Asukayama park on the way there

Ikebukuro shopping trip at the end of the tram line (Otome road)

Just chill in the local neighborhood some more - possible visit to Yayoi illustration museum near Ueno Park

Day 5: Shibamata

Shibamata neighborhood exploration - Tora-san museum, shotengai, Taishakuten Sando

Retro shoujo manga themed cafe

Yamamoto-tei teahouse; take Yagiri no Watashi ferry if it's running and not too busy (only remaining old-school ferry boat across a waterway in Tokyo)

Walk along the Edogawa river if it's nice; end at Mizumoto park

Day 6: Matsumoto

Azusa limited express on the Chuo line to Matsumoto (2.5hr)

Ishii Miso brewery - hopefully take a tour and have lunch

Matsumoto castle

Wander around Frog street and Nakamachi-dori

Check in and dinner at hotel

Day 7: Kamikochi

Early-ish transport to Kamikochi via Matsumoto Electric Railway and Alpico bus (2hr) - need reservations

Leave bag at hotel

Kamikochi hike - Taisho pond to Myojin bridge loop

Check in and dinner at Nishi-ito-ya mountain lodge; night walk afterwards

Day 8: Kamikochi/Hirayu onsen

Morning hike to Dakesawa Hut - looks like you can eat there, but will bring snacks just in case

Bus to Mozumo onsen ryokan; spend rest of day relaxing in onsen; Hida beef kaiseki dinner

Day 9: Takayama

Ryokan breakfast, then bus to Takayama

Historic downtown, Showa retro museum

Staying at Hotel Wood Takayama - free local sake tasting

Day 10: Takayama/Kyoto

Hido no Sato open air museum

Ogle the HQ of international cult Sukyo Mahikari, which is apparently located in Takayama near the folk museum

Hida Wide View train to Kyoto (transfer to shinkansen at Nagoya) (4hr)

Check in at Ace hotel Kyoto - probably will only have energy to eat pizza at the hotel restaurant, but will maybe check out Nishiki Market and/or Sanjo-kai shotengai (both near the hotel) to stretch legs after the train journey

Day 11: Fushimi Inari/West Kyoto

Fushimi Inari early morning (like 6am - the only super-early day on this trip)

Higashiyama and Ryozen cemetary and museum - Bakamatsu/Meiji Restoration stuff (bail if too crowded)

Afternoon: Abbreviated version of Philosophers Path focusing on waterworks around Keage canal, maybe Nanzen-ji and the hills behind it

There's honestly too much to see in the area - will probably just wander around until I get tired

Day 12: Kyoto Arashiyama

Arashiyama morning hike - start at bamboo forest, see a handful of shrines/temples (Gioji, Adashino Nenbutsuji, Otagi Nenbutsuji, Jingo-ji) as well as Saga Toriimoto preserved street on the way to Takao, hiking along Kiyotaki river

Lunch at restaurant overlooking river in Takao

Kazan-ji temple

Bus back to hotel to rest

Evening walk - Pontocho, Kamo river, Gion; fancy dinner/bar

Day 13: Kyoto Free Day

Possibly super tired this day?

Kamogawa Delta picnic and rest if I need it

Day trip of some kind if not tired - possibilities are Omi-Hachiman, Fushimi sake district, Yamanobe no Michi trail, and Osaka pilgrimage to see kofun

Day 14: Nakasendo - Nakatsugawa to Magome

Train to Nakatsugawa (2hr)

Walk Nakatsugawa to Magome-juku (9km)

Explore town; guesthouse stay

Day 15: Nakasendo - Magome to Nagiso

Walk Magome to Nagiso, exploring Tsumago-juku along the way (12km)

Either walk additional 3km to Hostel Yui-an guesthouse along trail, or be lazy and arrange pickup from Nagiso station

Day 16: Nakasendo - Nagiso to Nojiri/Tokyo

Hike from Hostel Yui-an to Nojiri station along Yogawa trail (about 8km)

Poke around very small town of Nojiri, then catch train to Tokyo (4hr)

Check in to Hotel 1899 in Shimbashi

Tokyo Tower at night maybe?

Day 17: Tokyo departure

Hamarikyu garden

Narita by 3pm

This is busier than I would have liked, but it's not as bad as it looks at first - the Nakasendo days, in particular, will literally be just walking from one location to another with no actual "activities" planned. There was originally even more hiking! All hotels are already booked - it's super hard to book anything in Magome/Tsumago by the way, for anyone thinking about it. I booked in early May and almost everything was already full for October. My one big regret is not having more rural/inaka places - but that's for next time, I suppose.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Misterchief92 on 2025-06-06 08:40:49+00:00.

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Hi everyone!

My girlfriend and I are visiting Japan for the first time this July–August (16 days total). We’re aiming for a good mix of cities, nature, food and some downtime. I’m wondering if this plan is too packed – especially considering the summer heat – or if anything stands out as worth skipping or changing.

A little about us – we’re not usually planning that much beforehand, but since we're coming from Switzerland and won't be able to go on a vacation like this anytime soon again, we want to make the best out of it. We are passionate to explore the surrounding by foot if possible. We love nature, culture, and good food, and we’re always up for stopping by a local bar or two for a beer.

What kind of feedback I would highly appreciate:

• Adjusting the pace?
• Swapping days / more resting days?
• Smart transport choices?

Day 1 – Osaka (Arrival at 12:00)

• Easy walk near hotel (if we feel up to it)

• Dotonbori street food

• Shinsekai area in the evening

Day 2 – Osaka

• Osaka Castle (only garden)

• Museum of History

• Amerikamura

• Don Quijote (optional)

• TeamLab Botanical Garden (evening)

Day 3 – Day Trip to Nara

• Isuien Garden, Nara Park, Tōdai-ji

• Kasuga-Taisha if there’s time

• Dinner in Nara or Osaka

Day 4 – Day Trip to Minoh Falls

• Katsuo-ji Temple, walk to the falls

• Yamamoto Coffee

• Optional: Umeda Sky Building

Day 5 – Day Trip to Wakayama

• Wakayama Castle, Momijidani Garden

• Marina City (theme park)

• Kimi-Dera Temple or Toshogu Shrine

Day 6 – Osaka (rest/freestyle)

• Open day to recharge / explore nearby

Day 7 – Hiroshima (Start 2-day trip)

• Peace Memorial Museum, Atomic Bomb Dome

• Optional: Hiroshima Castle

• Gyoza dinner + arcade stroll

Day 8 – Miyajima

• Ferry to island, hike down from ropeway

• Daisho-in Temple

• Sunset at Torii Gate

• Return to Hiroshima

Day 9 – Fukuoka (maybe?)

• Ohori Park by bike

• Beach & Yatai food stalls

• Return or overnight in Fukuoka

Day 10 – Kyoto (Arrival ~15:00)

• Kiyomizu-dera + Otowa waterfall

• Sannenzaka at sunset

• Dinner in Pontocho

Day 11 – Kyoto

• Fushimi Inari

• Optional detour to Uji

• Philosopher’s Path in the evening

Day 12 – Amanohashidate (maybe)

• Considering car rental – too long by train?

• Would you skip this and stay in Kyoto instead?

Day 13 – Ine or stay in Kyoto

• Depending on how Day 12 goes

Day 14 – Travel to Tokyo

• Freestyle day, explore the city

Day 15 – Day trip to Nakatajima Sand Dunes

• Beach time, maybe Lake Hamana cruise

Day 16 – Tokyo

• Shimokitazawa for vintage shopping

• Freestyle / rest

Day 17 – Departure

I'm not sure if this seems realistic. Do you have any tips on what you’d cut/change based on the season!

Thanks a lot in advance

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Woary on 2025-06-03 02:02:11+00:00.

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Hello,

I’m flying to Japan for the first time tomorrow, and I’m really excited! I’ve put together a plan for my trip, but I thought it might be a good idea to get some advice from people with more experience.

Here’s my plan:

📍 Day 1 (June 3 – Arrival Day) • Arrival in Tokyo, check-in at Asakusa • Visit to Asakusa Shrine (Sensō-ji) • Walk along the Sumida River • Visit to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku

⸻

📍 Day 2 (June 4) • Visit to teamLab Borderless (immersive art museum) • Walk through Shibuya Parco (shopping, incl. Nintendo Store) • Time to explore the neighborhood (e.g., small shops, modern architecture)

⸻

📍 Hiroshima: June 5 – 7

Day 1 (June 5) • Travel from Tokyo to Hiroshima by Shinkansen • Visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park & Museum (incl. Atomic Bomb Dome)

Day 2 (June 6) • Visit to Hiroshima Castle • Relaxing walk through Shukkeien Garden

Day 3 (June 7) • Free morning or visit to Hiroshima Museum of Art • Continue to Osaka

⸻

📍 Osaka: June 7 – 13

Full-Day Activities:

Day 1: • Visit to Osaka Castle and surrounding park • Walk through Dotonbori (entertainment district)

Day 2 (Day Trip to Kyoto): • Visit to Fushimi Inari Taisha (torii gates) • Walk through Gion district

Day 3 (Day Trip to Nara): • Visit to Tōdai-ji Temple • Walk through Nara Park with the deer • Optional: Kasuga-Taisha Shrine or Naramachi Old Town

Day 4 (Day Trip to Kyoto): • Visit to Arashiyama Bamboo Grove • Walk along the Katsura River

⸻

📍 Tokyo (Shinjuku): June 13 – 18

Day 1 (June 13) • Visit to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Day 2 (June 14) • Shopping at Isetan Shinjuku + possibly Takashimaya Times Square or Tokyu Hands

Day 3 (June 15) • Full-day visit to Tokyo Disneyland or DisneySea

Day 4 (June 16) • Visit to Meiji Shrine • Walk through Yoyogi Park • Shibuya Scramble Crossing

Day 5 (June 17) • Day trip to Yokohama (only 30–40 minutes by JR) • Walk through Minato Mirai • Walk through Chinatown

Addition: I also bought the 7-day JP-Ticket

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/rakka- on 2025-06-02 19:40:33+00:00.

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Hey guys, me and my wife (we’re both in our early 30s) are travelling to Japan in November for 3 weeks, it’s our first time and we are sooo excited! We have prepared the itinerary below and would welcome your advice on it.

A little about us – in our leisure time, we’re usually finding balance between basic planning (setting time to wake up, looking up main places to visit, etc) and a passion to explore. We love to hike (our comfort distance for a usual hike is ~15 km), so longer day distances are something we’re not afraid of. We love nature, culture, food and won’t skip a cosy bar or intriguing art gallery.

Also, since we’re coming from Lithuania, this is rather a budget trip (not the American size budget, haha).

Here’s the itinerary:

Osaka, 4 nights

• Day 1. Arrival to Osaka Kansai airport mid-day, warming up, nothing crazy, checking in to hotel, going out to find some food, resting
• Day 2. Kaiyukan aquarium (not sure about this one), Osaka castle park, Dotonbori street, Tenma district, Shinsekai, Tsutenkaku
• Day 3. Day trip to Nara, coming back to Osaka in the afternoon, hitting the bars, exploring little streets like Tsuruhashi
• Day 4. Day trip to Kobe.

Kyoto 4 nights

• Day 5. Rest day in Osaka, unplanned chill exploring, maybe visiting one of the three: Cup Noodle Museum / Senba Center / Teamlab Botanical. Heading to Kyoto in the evening.
• Day 6. Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizu-dera, Sannenzaka/Ninenzaka stairs, Maruyama park and around, Gion, Nishiki market and Pontocho at the end maybe?
• Day 7. Arashiyama Area (not sure if Kokedera is worth the visit?)
• Day 8. Northern Kyoto, Kinkakuji, Hieizan, maybe riding a bicycle by the river

Hakone 2 nights

• Day 9. Getting up and heading to Hakone, having a rather chill day there, visiting Open Air museum
• Day 10. Hiking or riding bikes in Hakone. Doing the Hakone Round Course.

Tokyo 11 nights

• Day 11. Getting up and going to Tokyo with the Romance Car, checking in the hotel, exploring the district we’re staying at
• Day 12. Unplanned yet
• Day 13. Shibuya, Meiji shrine, Shinjuku + park, Harajuku.
• Day 14. Day trip to Nikko: Toshogu shrine, Taiyuin, Kanmangafuchi Abyss, Rinnoji temple, Tamozawa villa.
• Day 15. Day trip to Kamakura: Buddha, temples – hiking one of the suggested trails there, as they encompass most of the sightings of Kamakura
• Day 16. Central Tokyo: Koishikawa Korakuen, Akihabara, Tsukiji market, Imperial Palace + garden, Hama Rikju
• Day 17. Rest day
• Day 18. Day trip to Mt Takao
• Day 19. Southern Tokyo: Mori Art Museum, Roppongi Hills, Tokyo tower, Shiba park, Maybe visiting Team Labs? + exploring the little islands, visiting local parks.
• Day 20. Shopping, exploring
• Day 21. Shopping, exploring
• Day 22. Departure from Tokyo Haneda Airport in the evening

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/olive__oil on 2025-05-30 15:12:27+00:00.

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First time in Japan! I will have 10 full days (11 nights) and think that I am wanting to spend a few days beyond the golden route, but I can't tell if I'm trying to do too much. We will be there the last week of October/first week of November.

**Big cities (like Tokyo) only hold my interest for a couple of days, and it's mostly because of food and museums. I am not a big shopper or nightlife person. I am very well travelled and have visited many big cities all over the world. (I realize that Kyoto is also a "big city", but it seems there is more to do there that aligns with my interests)*

My main interests are:

1. Historically preserved towns
2. Nature (gardens, mountains, rivers)
3. Onsen town/ ryokan experience
4. Edo architecture
5. Shrines and temples
6. Good food

Based on my interests, I was looking at spending some time in Takayama and Kinosaki Onsen. However with only 10 days, does anyone recommend or not recommend either of these places? Should I just pick one? Am I doing too much?

Day 0: Arrive Tokyo, stay in Ginza

Day 1: Tokyo- West

• Meiji Jingu Temple
• Ura-Harajuku
• Shimokitazawa

Day 2: Tokyo- East (is this too much for one day?)

• Asakusa: Senso-ji + Kappabashi Street
• Ueno/Yanaka: Toshogu Shrine, Nezu Shrine, Yanaka Ginza

Day 3: Travel to Takayama

• 7:00 a.m. - Tsujiki Market (my boyfriend is allergic to fish, and I fear this is the only place I will get to eat tuna as we can't do an omakase)
• 11:00 a.m. - Train to Takayama (4 hours with one change in Nagoya)

Day 4: Takayama (or Kamikochi day trip)

• Hida no Sato Open Air Museum
• Sanmachi Suji
• Higashiyama Temple Walk

OR

• Kamikochi Day Trip (transportation seems complicated)

Day 5: Travel to Kinosaki Onsen- Nishimuraya Honkan

• 8:00 a.m. - Train to Kinosaki Onsen (5-6 hours with two changes in Nagoya and Kyoto. I don't mind a long train)
• 3:00 p.m. - Check into Nishimuraya Honkan

Day 6: Kinosaki Onsen- Nishimuraya Honkan

Day 7: Kyoto - Fushimi Inari Taisha

• 10:30 a.m. - Direct train to Kyoto (arrive 1:00 p.m.)
• 3:00/4:00 p.m. - Fushimi Inari Taisha (sunset at 5:00 p.m.)
• Dinner/drinks in Pontocho

Day 8: Kyoto - Southern Higashiyama Ward

• Kiyomizu-Dera
• Walk Sannenzaka St to Hokan Jii
• Kodaiji + Kennin-ji
• Chionin + Maruyama Park
• Dinner/drinks in Gion

Day 9: Kyoto - Bike to Philospher's Path

• Will rent bikes or do a bike tour with The Good Day Velo, weather permitting:
  • Nanzen-ji
  • Eikandō Temple
  • Hōnenin Temple
  • Higashiyama Jisho-ji (Ginaku-ji)
  • Kyoto Gyoen National Garden (+ Nijo Castle if we feel up for it)

Day 10: Kyoto - Arashiyama or Kurama + Kifune

• Arashiyama: Tenryu-ji, Jojakkoji Temple, Giōji Temple (not a ton of interest in the bamboo forest because of the crowds, but looks like there is a lot to do in the area)

OR

• Hike from Kurama to Kifune (might get the start of fall leaves up here?)

Day 11: Kyoto > Tokyo

• Bullet train early in the morning for an evening departure from Tokyo

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/rogue_kahena on 2025-05-28 18:13:48+00:00.

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Hi everyone!

So basically I'll be going to Japan for the first (and maybe last) time this September as it has always been a dream (excited yay!). While my first intent was to slow travel I'm not sure I've quite achieved that with this itinerary. I want to take my time, take local trains and everything but JapanTravel app has quite discouraged me. Main problem was that I wanted to go both to Aomori up north and down to Onomichi (now Aomori is no more part of the plan as sad as it is).

I like art and want to take in the nature and the shrines (not quite sporty but you see the mood). I have watched countless videos and read countless threads but I guess slow travel doesn't have as much ressources as the golden route... Here is my itinerary:

• Wednesday 10/09 Narita —> Sendaï (2 days/3 nights) 3 hours train

Yamadera temple and Matsushima bay

• Saturday 13/09 Sendaï —> Nagano (2 days/2 nights) 2h30 train

Zenkoji, Togakushi maybe Matsumoto castle if I have time

• Monday 15/09 Nagano —> Kusatsu (1 day/1 night) 2h10 train

spend a day in an onsen city (tattoo friendly)

• Tuesday 16/09 Kusatsu —> Kanazawa (2 days/2 nights) 3h50 train

visit the castle and take in the city

• Thursday 18/09 Kanazawa —> Nagoya (2 days/2 nights) 5 Hours train (taking a beautiful scenic route Hida Limited Express) : maybe only stopping if I get Ghibli Park tickets

chill and try to get Ghibli park tickets

• Saturday 20/09 Nagoya —> Kyoto (5 days/4 nights) 30mins train/1h30 bus

explore the city + day trips to Osaka and Uji and maybe Lake Biwa

• Wednesday 24/09 Kyoto —> Okayama (2 days/2 nights) 1 Hours train

base for Naoshima Island, take a bicycle

• Friday 26/09 Okayama —> Onomichi (2 days/2 nights) 1h20 train

explore the cute sea city, the nature around, the shrines and do a part of the Shimano Kaido

• Sunday 28/09 Onomichi —> Kamakura (2 days/2 nights) 5hours train

explore another sea city, shrines maybe go to Enoshima

• Tuesday 30/09 Kamakura —> Nikko (2 days/1 night) 3h10 train

for obvious reasons

• Wednesday 01/10 Nikko —> Tokyo (9 days jours/8 nights) 2 hours train: but 7 full days since I arrive around 9pm from Nikko and then travel back home on the last day

the list of things to do there is never ending but I'm a bookseller so Jimbocho, Asakusa, Ikebukuro, Ginza, parc Ueno, Shibuya, Shinjuku...

• 10/10 travel back home

Don't know if I should cancel Nagoya to have more chill time in Tokyo of if my itinerary is to packed for the kind of travel I was going for, any advice would be appreciated 🙏

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/MagazineKey4532 on 2025-05-29 22:55:08+00:00.

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Climbing fee used to be charged only on Kawaguchi-ko route, but starting this year, they will be charged on all routes.

Climbing fee: 4,000 yen/per person per climb. Cash or app

pre-registration: have to be made 2 weeks in advance

e-learning: necessary to take online training course that explains climbing rules and manners

entry permit: I think this is a QR code like last year. They emailed me a code and I had to show it at the 5th stations to get a strap. They just scanned my mobile device but it can be printed. As for straps, there were some people on the route checking if climbers had straps.

Hours: from 3 am till 2 pm. Other hours requires proof of hut reservation

Those planning to go climb Route 3776, route has changed to stop by the 5th station to get registered and payment.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/cassettinna on 2025-05-27 22:24:29+00:00.

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Hey everyone! My husband and I just returned from our trip to Tokyo and I have wanted to share my trip report. I was 23 weeks pregnant on the trip and I hope this post may be helpful for any future travelers thinking about Tokyo who are also expecting a baby :)

Day 1: We flew from Seattle to Haneda Airport and arrived at ~2 PM. Customs was quite quick and took us 30 minutes in total, albeit most of that time was spent rapidly walking through the VERY long lines. Afterwards, I directly downloaded the Welcome Suica and Airalo 10GB plan while we were still at the airport. The 10GB may have been overkill but I was determined to use Google Maps for all of my navigating and also wanted to use the Papago app for translation purposes. We then Ubered to our hotel as I was a little tired and didn't want to navigate the rail system quite yet.

We each packed a duffel bag with enough clothes for 4 days. I also chose a hotel which provided a washer/dryer for guest use because frankly I don't like carrying luggage around and neither of us was planning on buying a lot.

We did some exploring in Ueno Park after checking in to the hotel and went to the 7-11 near by to withdraw currency.

Day 2: I had contacted a volunteer guide group about 2 weeks before our trip. I think the concept of these is awesome and I enjoyed the experience of hanging out with someone who was very confident in their knowledge of the neighborhoods. We used the SGG Goodwill Guides Group, which primarily connects multilingual retired Japanese folks to interested foreign travelers. The group's participants can spend a max of 3 days with the travelers and it is expected that the travelers cover the cost of transportation and lunch. They don't generally like larger groups so I would only opt for the volunteer guide option if you're in a party of 4ish or less. You are required to fill out an application at least 2 weeks ahead of your travel date and specify what you would like to see. Afterwards, the group circulates the application amongst its members and matches you with a volunteer.

Our guide Ken was about 70, originally from the Kansai region, super fit, and worked on Wall Street for about 15 years in his youth before heading back to Japan. He met us at our hotel and we spent nearly the whole day with him and parted ways at ~4:30 PM. I had previously expressed in my application form that I was interested in seeing Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, and smaller gardens in the Asakusa and Ueno neighborhoods so we did a lot of exploring there, including the Senso-Ji temple. Ken and my husband are both into trading market so they had a good time chatting about the state of American and Japanese stock markets. He was super pleasant to talk to and we ended up discussing everything from corporate culture in Japan vs America, Japanese Shinto practices, kabuki and Noh performances, the differences between the healthcare systems of both countries, and even some more spicy political topics that he brought up himself lol. We went to a lot of smaller gardens where nearly all of the visitors were middle aged to elderly Japanese people and zero tourists. Ken was nice enough to help us get tickets. He brought a guide badge so that his tickets were generally free (but FYI you are also expected to cover your guides ticket costs if they don't have one for some reason). I highly highly recommend volunteer guide groups with retirees!

Day 3-8: We explored Shinjuku, Shibuya, more of Ginza (specifically the Seiko museum and surrounding areas) Kanda, Shimokitazawa, Koenji, Roppongi, Jinbocho book town, more of Ueno/Asakusa, and briefly stopped in Akhibara. We did not go to Tokyo Tower or Shibuya scramble but did see Meiji Shrine.

Some of the highlights:

• Meeting a group of drunk businessmen at an outdoor izakaya on Ameyoko market street in Ueno. Basically, one of them randomly tapped me in the shoulder and handed me these packaged cheese snacks and said "I love you" very enthusiastically. We thought this was hilarious so we bought them shots. Afterwards, I found out that two in their group spoke really great English and Spanish respectively so we spent a few hours chatting about work, politics, and even one of their upcoming divorces lol 😂 I didn't think I was going to have full blown conversations with people in Japan in Spanish but hey, life is funny that way. The owner bought my husband multiple drinks and chatted with us a bit (and apologized for some of the more crazy members of the group). Apparently they were the owners friends and came to that spot regularly. Overall we had a lot of fun with them. Please check out this market street! Yes, it's "touristy" but it's also crammed with cool local spots and such a fun vibe.
• S Watanabe woodcut prints in Ginza. This is the real deal. I didn't realize this when we walked in but the Watanabe family has been in the business of ukiyo-e for a long time and the service at this shop was excellent. They have lots of originals and prints reaching as far back as the Edo period. I had a little bit of an awkward encounter here (see my post history) but the experience was excellent overall. My parents are serious art and handicraft collectors so I will direct them here if/when they decide to take a trip.
• Suntory Museum of Art in the Tokyo Midtown complex in Ginza. This was another experience I walked into without much knowledge ahead of time but I'm glad I did! We walked through an art exhibit featuring scrolls dating from the 1400s depicting the tale of Shutendōji, a legendary Japanese demon and human flesh eater who is destroyed by a brave group of men. I believe that some of the scrolls on display have never been available for the public prior to this installation. The exhibition is very artfully designed and even comes with an extremely detailed audio guide that builds anticipation for the story as you walk through the museum hallways. Tokyo Midtown is an extremely aesthetic and luxurious indoor area with plenty of benches. It was especially hot on the day we came here so it was a nice break.
• Every Swing Jazz Club in Ueno! This was such a cool spot. Every patron (except for us) was actually a rotating performer and seemed to be friends going back a long time. They were all probs in their 60s and older. We paid a cover charge and bought some snacks/drinks and listened as this cool group of friends played a bunch of different jazz standards. A few people spoke a little English so they initiated a conversation with us after I explained in that my husband was in a jazz band. The bartender busted out the star spangled banner on his trumpet after he found out that we were American 😂
• Jazz Spot Intro in Shinjuku! Very different/younger vibe than the previous place. The talent here is extraordinary and we happened to stumble in on a night when a world class saxophonist and composer was playing. We met a bunch of locals and tourists alike, including a drummer from Osaka who played a few sets, and had a blast. This is a VERY tiny bar and they have no problems cramming people in so be warned if you're a claustrophobic jazz head. The owner knows how to run a tight ship but keeps the atmosphere energetic and fun.
• Yoyogi Park in Shibuya was great! There was a big food fest AND a Lao festival while we were there. We even got to see a Japanese punk band perform on an outdoor stage for free which was cool. Ueno Park is a close second for me.
• YAYOI KUSAMA Museum! This is a small but interesting modern collection from an extremely successful artist. Some of her displays are interactive so it was a nice change of pace from the typical art museum.
• standing room only neighborhood bar in Koenji. I had a strong feeling that it was frequented by a small group of regulars who all knew eachother so we tried not to be buzzkills. We dropped a lot of money here and eventually chatted a lot with the bartender and some patrons with a mix of broken Japanese and Papago. One regular who was a fluent English speaker talked to us a lot and mentioned that he wanted to visit our home state in the US so we exchanged emails and may take him paddle boarding at some point in the future. Koenji was one of my favorite neighborhoods!

General Tips:

• I highly recommend getting a Welcome Suica and topping it off as you go with Apple Pay. It's extremely convenient and compatible with multiple railway lines. We were frequently at the train station during rush hours so being able to tap and go instantly was great! Also my iPhone ran out of battery once before I left a train station but to my relief the fare amount was still deducted when I tapped my phone.
• Airalo eSIM was also a lifesaver, especially with how much we relied on Apple Maps for walking directions.
• Getting the ChatGPT app was great for translating handwritten menus/information from Japanese to English. This helped us a lot with eating at places which did not have an English menu and for using appliances at the hotel.
• Get some solid and comfy shoes for walking. We were hitting 20k-30k steps per day and it was frequently close to 80 F outside for multiple days of the trip.
• Try to learn a few phrases of Japanese while you are here (please, thanks, excuse me, x number of people, how much is this, this please, etc). This isn't Paris; people aren't going to sneer at you for trying. The Papago app is also amazing for inserting a natural-sounded translated sentence if you're struggli...

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Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/1kx0rjq/trip_report_tokyo_may_1726_pregnancy_edition/

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/magicalme_1231 on 2025-05-27 18:34:16+00:00.

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Hey all, just wanted to share the experience my husband and I had in Tokyo. This sub has helped me a lot over the years. We had initially planned this trip for April 2020, then Japan and the rest of the world shut down. Now, 2025 we finally took our trip, better late than never!

This was my first time being overseas and my husbands second time since he was in high school. We are both mid 30's and from America. It was intimidating being by ourselves, neither fluent in Japanese so we decided to stick to one place and one hotel this time. There will definitely be a next time for us to spread out outside of Tokyo!

Dates: 5/7 - 5/21 : We wanted to avoid all the other tourists during cherry blossom season and avoid golden week.

Hotel: Tokyu Stay Tsukiji : We very much enjoyed our stay here, would stay with them again in the future. Our room had AC and an in room washer/dryer which was something we were looking for. We wanted to pack as little as we could so the washer/dryer helped with that. At the end of our trip we still felt like we overpacked!

Phone plans: Husband activated an overseas plan through Verizon for a month. And he activated a travel plan through his employer on his iPhone. For my phone, I used Ubigi. We did unlimited data the first week, but since I used it so little we only renewed it for the 2nd week with 5GB or 10GB. I did not have calling or texting on my phone. I called my family over FB messenger a few times and called my husband over messenger if I was looking for him. It all worked out great. Husbands iPhone was our map(Apple maps) and it got us to everywhere we needed to be perfectly.

Trains: I got the physical Welcome Suica when we landed and husband had his on his phone.

We landed on a Wednesday and went straight to the hotel for the night, stopped at a konbini for food.

Thursday we had nothing scheduled and explored Tsukiji a bit. The Fish Market being right outside our hotel was very fun. With the jet lag we were up and awake early enough to see them set up and walk around before the area got really busy. We walked to Nissan Crossing and checked out Tsukiji Hongan-ji Temple. Just wandered around the day really.

Friday we had a 1:00 reservation at Cup Noodles Yokohama. We arrived in Yokohama well before our scheduled time to do some wandering. The mall there was huge! We both very much enjoyed our time at Cup Noodles. After we were done there we did some more exploring, and took a ride in the Yokohama Air Cabin!

Saturday we had a reservation at the Seiko Museum. This was a free experience, but you needed a reservation. Another enjoyable experience, didn't realize how close it would be to our hotel, so it was a short walk. It was a rainy day, luckily our hotel lent out umbrellas for free. After our time at Seiko Museum we walked to the Imperial Palace and walked around. We also walked to Tokyo Station, we took a step inside, but it looked like it was all train platforms, so we did not explore it this day.

Sunday we had a 1:00 Tokyo Free Walking Tour at Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. This is a free english tour guided by locals. We arrived in Asakusa early to explore the area. We ended up walking to Tokyo Skytree and buying a ticket to go inside. Also on our walk over to Skytree there was a Hawaiian Festival going on which was fun to watch. Our TFWT tour had one guide and 5 people in the group. On Sunday the temple was very busy and the sun was beating down. Our tour was pleasant, and our tour guide Yoshi, was very informative. He was also considerate of the sun, trying to find small areas of shade for our us to stop when he gave his speeches. I can't recommend this service enough, I plan to do this again next time. It's free, but you NEED to make a reservation.

Monday we had a reservation for Teamlab Borderless. Since our reservation wasn't until 3:30 we decided to walk here. We stopped at Hamarikyu Gardens for a walk around there. You needed to buy some tickets to get in. I think we had just missed some flower display, all the flowers were gone and the Wisteria too. It was still enjoyable to walk around. We walk to another park, might have been Shiba Park(Shibakoen) and relaxed a bit. We had a great view of Tokyo Tower from here and then walked to Tokyo Tower. We went inside to look at the shops and restaurants. Then we walked to Azabudai Hills, what a beautiful place. We explored the area and went to teamlabs, it was so much fun!

Tuesday we had a reservation at Warner Bros Studio Tour. I think we looked on the map the night before and didn't see much in the area to explore so we walked around Tsukiji this morning instead of showing up real early for our tour. As a huge Harry Potter fan, I loved this event. We spent hours walking around the sets. This was mostly our last day for pre-booked reservations.

Wednesday, we went to Akihabara. We started by visiting Toshogu Shrine. We went to Yodobashi Camera, and spent time at a few arcades.

Thursday, we got tickets to go to Art Aquarium Museum in ginza. The museum was fantastic! We did some more walking around Ginza and the Imperial Palace again. I don't know how deep you can get into the imperial palace so thats why we walked around there again. We were trying to see what was and wasn't off limits to visitors.

Friday, we went to Ikebukuro, we really enjoyed it here. We got tickets for the Sunshine city aquarium, walked around Sunshine City, stopped at the Pokemon Center, did some shopping. In the evening we went to Shibuya Crossing. Husband is a fan of cars and Friday evening after sunset is apparently a great time to see some cool cars. We did stop to see the Hachiko Statue but it looked like they were doing some construction around it with 3 walls up. So the only place you could see Hachiko was filled with tourists doing photo ops, so we saw Hachiko from afar!

Saturday, we went back to Yokohama but we started our morning going to Auto Bacs Headquarters. In Yokohama, we stopped at Nissan Gallery Headquarters and that was cool. They have a very little museum behind the showroom about the history of Nissan. Its free, no reservation needed either. We did some more shopping, I love the brand Gelato Pique and bought a few clothes at their store.

Sunday, we decided to go to Shinjuku. We started at Hanazono Shrine, bought some charms here for family. They had some vendors here that we browsed around too. We walked to the 3D cat screen to browse around the area as well. Later in the day we went back to our area and went to Tokyo Station again. This time we went in another way and found all the stores, restaurants and Tokyo Character Street! Can't forget about the Pokemon Center of course, spend some more money there too!

Monday was Harajuku/Shibuya/Aoyama, we made reservations at a Samoyed Cafe in Harajuku for 1:00PM. We tried to see Hachiko again, still a line of people. Walked to Harajuku. Husband wanted to stop at Liberty Walk, we were impressed with that little area of shopping, very cute and fun! The Samoyed Cafe was great, clean place, cute dogs. While the staff may not be fluent in English, they had english placards for us and it was very fun! We walked to and explored around Aoyama, I think this is where we had a bite to eat at Goku Burger. In the evening, we stayed close to our hotel, and walked to Caretta Shiodome. There's some shopping and restaurants in here, but if you take the elevator to the 46th floor, you get a beautiful view of the area, even in the elevator its beautiful! We went after sunset, so tokyo at night was gorgeous! Its free too!

Tuesday, we were making a gameplan for our trip home. We went back to Tokyo Station, I got to stop at Kirby Cafe for a snack. Husband was looking for more info about the Keisei Express(train) I believe? Im still confused as to the exact train we took. We went to Ikebukuro again afterwards, we spent time in a few arcades and gacha machines of course. In the evening we brought one of our suitcases to store in a locker at Tokyo station for the night and bought our train tickets for the airport.

Wednesday. Our flight wasn't leaving until almost 7PM. Spent the last morning, walking around the fish market. Our checkout was at 11AM, but the we left our luggage in the lobby with the staff while we went to Ginza for a last browse. Stopped at the Perfume Oil Factory and that was a a fun experience, even bought some perfume oil. When we got back, we took an Uber to Tokyo Station, grabbed our luggage out of the locker and went to our train. It was a smooth trip to Narita Airport!

We very much enjoyed our trip in Tokyo, we were going to book a day at Tokyo Disney or Disney Seas, but because we needed to make an account we decided against it. I HATE making accounts for one time things. Maybe someday, but not this time. Now, I'm a picky eater so the cuisine was a little intimidating and my husband is not a big fan of seafood. I certainly don't want to offend anyone by being picky. We kind of americanized our food experience. We went to Kura Sushi Ginza a few times, found an Italian restaurant we really liked in ginza and stopped there a few times too. Hoshino Coffee, which was really close was a fantastic place for some breakfast. I will admit I never noticed how Japan doesn't really have designated breakfast foods. As someone who loves bacon and eggs, I had a hard time finding breakfast meals or sandwiches outside of McDonalds. Hoshino Coffee had a delicious French Toast dish. No...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/BusinessSuspicious44 on 2025-05-26 11:05:10+00:00.

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I just did a Shimanami Kaido cycling trip and wanted to share my notes.

I chose to go in the middle of May after golden week but before the summer rainy season (5/17-5/19). Worked out pretty well. I got some rain on the last day but mostly had sunny, moderately hot weather.

The route I chose was to go from Imabari to Onomichi. The primary reason was b/c it simplified the transfer inbound significantly. I was coming from NYC and the two itineraries looked like the following:

• JFK to HND to KIX, Bus to Kobe, Shinkansen to Fukuyama, Local train to Onomichi (about 2.5-3.0 hrs extra transfer time after the airport)
• JFK to HND to MYJ (Matsuyama)

Matsuyama turned out to be a very pleasant city. I enjoyed Dogo Onsen and visiting the castle via the ropeway.

The night before I started the ride, I transferred via train to Imabari and stayed at the JR Clement Inn ($40/night w/breakfast). This made for a very stress free first day. While it is possible to do the 1.5hour transfer in the morning, I opted for doing it the night before b/c there’s a 10AM cut off for picking up your bike and shipping your bags via Sagawa.

Sagawa luggage transfer worked without any issues. I dropped it off at the JR Clement Inn in the morning and had it delivered to the Sakura Hotel in Onomichi two days later. Note that the luggage did come on the scheduled day around 6PM as described.

Picking up the rental bike in Imabari went smoothly, but it did take more time than expected. It was a two person operation and took about 40ish minutes to get my bike. There were ~6-7 people in front of me in line at 8:15AM.

The ride was very enjoyable. Beautifully maintained roads, plentiful rest areas, good food and chill vibes. I decided to do the ride over three days.

• Day 1 - Imabari to Omishima - 33 miles - went around the top of Omishima which had nice views of the sea.
• Day 2 - Yumeshima Kaido ending in Setoda - 47 miles - the Yumeshima Kaido route around the smaller islands to the east was fun, albeit a bit hilly (short climbs). Really nice views and less cyclists and cars.
• Day 3 - Setoda to Onomichi - 27 miles - easy ride for the last day. I did a side trip to loop around Iwashi Island before heading in.

Misc. Tips

• Gear-wise, I got the cross bike and rode with a small backpack and 10L saddle bag. I didn’t use Sagawa between hotels.
• Omishima Brewery was great. A good beer after a day of riding is nice.
• Suminoe Ryokan in Setoda - a little old, but very nice ryokan. Vibes were good and it was very well run. The innkeeper (woman) spoke good English and explained everything well.
• Hassakuya sweets shop near the Innoshima bridge was a treat. Worth a stop to get some fruit filled mochi.

Overall, I highly recommend doing the Shimanami Kaido. It turned out to be a very enjoyable trip that wasn’t too hard to plan.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/the_rustyknight1 on 2025-05-25 17:13:02+00:00.

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Last December, I traveled across Japan on a 14 day solo trip. I was a bit anxious at first because it was my first big solo trip but it was magical! Being a vegetarian, many people told me that it would be hard to find any good food and that I would have to live off convenience store food. I’m here to say that I was pleasantly surprised at the great vegetarian and vegan options I was able to find.

Day 1: I landed in Osaka late at night and found the trains were delayed due to some operational issue. I was concerned initially but the staff were super helpful in getting everyone on the right train. I got to my hotel late but it was a fun adventure on my first night in the country. I stayed at Hotel Ataroyo which offered capsule style accommodation but you could pay a little more to get a bigger capsule. I stayed in the Superior Capsule Room which had enough space for a solo traveller.

Day 2: I hopped on a train the next morning to Kyoto. I planned my trip to spend more time in Kyoto which was definitely worth it! I dropped my bags off at the hotel and headed off to explore. I spent the whole day just walking around Gion and its little backstreets. There were a few restrictions on where you could go and take pictures but I didn't mind, there were lots of other places to explore. I had lunch at Zirael Vegan Restaurant which serves delicious and super healthy vegan platters that come with a generous serving of rice and fresh salad along with some vegan yuzu beer. I closed the day by visiting the Gion Shrine in the evening (it was all lit up and pretty) and trying some yummy matcha sweets.

The five nights I spent in Kyoto, I stayed at the Pocket Hotel in Karasuma Gojo. The room was clean, spacious and most importantly cheap for a solo traveller. They even let me leave my bags at the reception well before check-in. The bathroom and shower areas are shared and were very clean throughout my stay. Note that bathrooms are not attached and while there were toilets on every floor, the showers were on the ground floor.

Day 3: I visited Arashiyama on day three. I reached the bamboo forest around 8:30 AM and happy to report that on a cold winter morning the crowds were sparse. There were a few people but nothing crazy (Did get a bit busy later on though). I did the stroll through the bamboo forest and got some really pretty snaps of the valley. I strolled by the river and got some pics from Togetsukyō bridge.

The highlight of my trip to Arashiyama was the walk up to Daihikaku Senkoji Temple. It’s a small Buddhist temple situated atop a hill just beyond the monkey park (which I skipped). Apart from a lovely caretaker lady, I was pretty much the only person there. I spent some time in the peace and quiet and also got some really great pics. Highly recommend visiting this little temple. Note that there is a bit of a climb (short but steep) but it’s definitely worth it!

After exploring Arashiyama, I visited Kinkaku-ji temple. It was alright, not worth the hype and super crowded. Also not a lot to see here. For lunch I had a vegan ramen at Ramen Kazu near Kinkaku-ji. While the place looked interesting and the owner was super lovely, I didn't enjoy the shoyu ramen here very much. For dinner, I visited the highly rated Vegan Izakaya 虹屋 nijiya VEGAN FARM, which was definitely worth the hype! I tried the assorted platter here and it was fantastic. I enjoyed the cozy izakaya experience and the ladies who prepared the food were super lovely. The food was a bit pricey and also I was very lucky to get a seat immediately. The izakaya has about 7-8 seats and you may need to wait 20-30 minutes to get a spot. Definitely recommend going early in the evening.

Day 4: On this day I took a trip to Nara. There are a couple of ways to get from Kyoto to Nara by train and I took the Kintetsu Nara line. This was very convenient because the train station is very close to all the big sites. I enjoyed the hour long train ride with really nice views. At Nara I visited Todai-ji Temple, Kofuku-ji Temple, Kasuga Taisha Temple and Gango-ji Temple. I tried to feed one of the many deer that freely roam the area but found them to be very aggressive. I really enjoyed walking around the city, which was less crowded than the Nara Park area.

I had lunch at Onwa, a cute little cafe tucked away at the heart of Nara city. I got the vegan delight which was a platter that contained a little bit of every dish they had.

Day 5: I started off early on a cold morning to visit Fushimi Inari which was a short train ride from my hotel. Based off of advice I read online, I decided to get breakfast before I went up the mountain and this was definitely a good choice. I had breakfast at a cute and cozy cat themed spot called Cafe Yuyuri. The place is run by a sweet old woman and had only one breakfast option. I was a bit worried that it would not be vegetarian but my fears were laid to rest when the lady brought out the platter consisting of toast, jam, yogurt, potato salad and some oranges. I definitely recommend getting a bite here before going up to the shrine.

Fushimi Inari was definitely one of my favourite spots that I visited throughout my trip. I went all the way up Inari mountain which was a 2-3 hour hike through a very picturesque route. As mentioned by previous reviews, there are lesser people as you go higher so there are some really nice spots to take pictures. After this, I visited some nearby temples including Sennyu-ji and Tofuku-ji. I ended my day by watching the sunset at Kiyomizudera. This was definitely a very busy and crowded spot but the view was beautiful.

I had dinner at Vegan Izakaya Masaka, Kyoto which was really good. I enjoyed the food and the ambience here. Highly recommend their fried mushrooms, was yum.

Day 6: I didn't plan much for the day so I visited Nijo Castle in the morning. This was a great experience seeing the castle gardens and even got to see inside the Honmaru-goten Palace which had some beautiful rooms with stunning paintings and screens with motifs. There is a separate ticket to visit the Palace and can only be purchased online. I spent the rest of the day just walking around Gion area, window shopping.

For lunch I decided to try Tadka 1, a South Indian restaurant run by a Japanese chef. As a South Indian myself, this was a really interesting experience. The whole restaurant had been modelled like a Tamil mess, loved the attention to detail. I had the vegetarian meals and it was really yummy, tasted like home. Definitely recommend. For dinner, I had ramen at Kyoto Engine Ramen. It was super busy but I enjoyed the vegan ramen here.

Day 7: I took the Shinkansen to Tokyo on Christmas Day and arrived around noon. I had lunch at Ts Tantan at Tokyo Station which was so hard to find. I tried their golden sesame Tantanmen and organic soda, which was delicious. After that I went to straight to my hotel which was L Stay and Grow Minamisuna, which was really clean and nice but quite far from the city.

I spent the evening in Shibuya, which had some really nice blue Christmas lighting and walked around a bit. I had curry and rice for dinner at Vegan Bistro Jangara in Shibuya which was okay.

Day 8: I started the day with a visit to Teamlabs Planets and was absolutely mind-blown. I really enjoyed all the pieces especially Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers. I grabbed brunch at a nearby Blue Bottle Coffee which was alright. After that I travelled to Asakusa and visited Senso-ji temple. I enjoyed walking through Nakamise market and the temple, though it was super crowded. After that I went shopping at Akihabara. As an anime geek, I splurged on some merchandise. I ended the day with dinner at Vegan Eat Tokyo, where I had a yummy lotus root Hamburg. The people were lovely and the food was amazing.

Day 9: I visited Meiji Jingu shrine in the morning. It was so peaceful and nice to walk through the trees. Quite a contrast to the concrete jungle of Tokyo. I also visited the beautiful Yoyogi Park. Then I visited the Shibuya crossing and had lunch at a nearby Mos Burger. Despite all the negative reviews, I wanted to try the place out and now can confirm that it is easily the worst burger I've ever had. After lunch I walked to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and went up to the 45th floor for picturesque views of the Tokyo skyline. In the evening I visited Golden Gai. Though I found it a bit overwhelming and didn't really go to any bars, it was an interesting experience to just walk through the area.

Day 10: I started off lazy as I had a sleep in and got breakfast at the hotel. I spent the rest of the day shopping and just walking around. I had lunch at 2Foods Ginza, where I tried the vegan omurice. It was creamy and really tasty. Definitely a spot to have on your list.

Day 11: I started the day super early on trip to Hakone. I took the 2 day Hakone free pass for 6100 yen, which included a discounted ticket from Shinjuku to Hakone and all the other transportation at Hakone. The train took me until Hakone Yumoto and then there was another train to go up to Gora, where I was staying. After dropping my bags at the hostel I was staying at, I took the cable car to Sounzan. On the way I stopped at Owakudani, which was super crowded but I managed to get beautiful views of Mount Fuji. Then took the ropeway do...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Secure_Drawer_4829 on 2025-05-25 16:40:01+00:00.

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Hello everyone! Loved reading your trip reports before my trip, so wanted to contribute back to this supportive community! This is my second trip report. Here's the first: 2024 trip report to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Yokohama.

About me: 27F, I travelled solo between May 8th and May 23rd. I hit Hiroshima (3 nights), Onomichi (3 nights), Kobe (3 nights), and Tokyo (5 nights). I don't drink, so this report will have no mention of clubs, bars, dancing, etc. I tended to wake up early, walk over 20k steps, and wrap it up at 10PM. I'm from Toronto, and a visible minority. I like beautiful nature, but prefer places with the hustle and bustle of people, so you will not find an overly quite itinerary. It's balanced between quiet nature and lively people. This itinerary is more or less relaxed, and suitable for a solo traveler or maybe up to three people. It contains little to no pre-booking, no ryokans, no expensive souvenir shopping, and lots and lots of public transportation. I hope the ease of this itinerary will demonstrate how relaxed Japan can be.

Notably, I carried around a sketchbook, and drew in it around Japan! Imgur is refusing my PNGs, so I've posted my images on Tumblr. If you'd like to check them out, here you go: Japan Sketches

(All prices in CAD. If you see the $ sign, no, it's not USD).

Plane ride + arrival

• This time around I packed like...nothing. 3 shirts, 3 long dresses, 2 pants, some undergarments, and a hat. Sunscreen, cosmetics, passport, some maple candies to hand out, presents for my friends, my goshiun book, a sketchbook, and some pens. My Switch for the plane ride. I think that was it lol. Just one small carry on, my backpack, and my Uniqlo cross-body bag. Was more than enough.
• Took AA to Dallas, AA to Haneda. On the way back it was JAL to New York, AA to Toronto.
• All I have to say is, absolutely screw AA from the bottom of my heart. AA made the entire process, from using my flight credit (which I got from the last trip, see the end of that report hehe), to checking in, to using their app, to getting flight updates, to booking a meal, etc. insanely difficult, more so than the last time. Every time I needed to do something I had to call them and be on hold for 2 hours. Not to mention, the last time I called them to redeem my flight credit, I used their "give us your number and we'll call you back to secure your place in line" feature, and a SCAMMER CALLED ME BACK. When I went to the airport to sort out flight tickets, the attendant charged me in USD without informing me, and added extra fees that I had to call to get refunded. Upon time to check in, their app locked me out, and I was forced to become an AA Advantage member just to have access to my reservation. Just...absolutely screw AA. The flight there was mid, nothing to comment on.
• I arrived in Tokyo around 4PM, went through customs, bought a Shinkansen ticket to Hiroshima station on the spot, got my little eki-ben dinner, and went on my merry way on the 4.5 hour ride to Hiroshima. Arrived around 10:30PM to my hotel and crashed, then woke up with no jet lag at 8AM, yay! This time around I had a proper appetite (unlike my last trip), so I was able to eat well.
• Once again, getting a Welcome Suica from Haneda Terminal 3 was extremely easy. I took the subway (forgot what line) after. Even with my luggage (normal sized carry on, backpack, cross body bag) and a train full of people, it was easy. (I'm used to subways in Toronto). I put $100 on it at the start of the trip and only had to load $20 later. So about $120 for my 2 weeks.
• I'd prepared my Ubigi sim before coming (10 GB plan, used about 70% of it as I just used it as normal to watch videos and use google maps and google translate and everything). 0 issues with it. Absolutely amazing.

Hiroshima

• Itinerary:
  • 9th: Arrive at 10:30PM, sleep.
  • 10th: Mitaki-dera temple, cafe, Peace Museum, Peace Park, lunch, Atomic Bomb Dome, Hondori shopping street, long walk around Hiroshima, dinner
  • 11th: Itsukushima/Miyajima, cafe in Hiroshima, dinner in Hiroshima
• Mitaki-dera temple was a nice start to my day. Still a wee bit groggy from travel, just walking around the temple and getting my hunger back was nice. I accidently started doing the hike at the top before I climbed down, haha. There was like no one here, just old people hiking back down from the mountain by 9:30AMish.
• I highly recommend the museum. Personally, I loved it. It was like $2 and I bought the ticket on the spot. Not very busy. Very sobering, and really made me look at the city differently. I kept walking around the lively Hiroshima streets and bustling cafes thinking "this was literally RUBBLE less than a hundred years ago...". There are small monuments around the city, ex. some bent windows on display that were bent from the blast. What stayed in my heart the most were the artist depictions of the event. I won't spoil it, but that art -- as a fellow artist -- really moved me.
• Lots of great food and cafes in Hiroshima. Got to try a variety of things this time because I had an appetite, yay! Had Coco for the first time and it was just curry but on my hungry stomach I loved it. Went to a cafe with floor seating (blankets on the floor and pillows around it) and had a parfait. So relaxing!
• Miyajima was lovely and breathtaking. It was raining, and looked lovely in the rain. The deer were quite nice and funny here haha. I got to see the Tori both in the ocean and with the ocean receded, and both were lovely. Getting there was easy: I subwayed to Miyajimaguchi, and took the ferry for a couple bucks (ticket machines are available at the ferry port). I know there's another ferry from the Peace Park area, but apparently it's more expensive.
• I know people say to take the cable car up to Mount Misen, but I don't mind a little hike, so I told myself I'd take the easy trail up (Daisho-in route), but somehow got lost and ended up on the HARDEST TRAIL (Omoto route)!!?!? I'm actually stupid. I climbed stairs for over 2 hours! My thighs were like jelly by the end!! The views were lovely at the end but I was too out of breath to enjoy them (but I still enjoyed them). Took the cable car down for a rewarding view at the end of a hard hike. Honestly though, I don't regret it. I felt a lot of pride at the end of the day that I was able to accomplish that, and the tea and dessert I had at the end plus the lovely dinner I had really made up for it.
• I tried oysters on the island for the first time, and they were good, but I wouldn't have them again. I normally love all kinds of fish but they're not my cup of tea (fresh or fried).
• Went back to Hiroshima at around 4PM and relaxed for the rest of the day.
• Ah, I had Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, but didn't like it as much as the classic okonomiyaki. Too much extra stuff going on, just give me my simple cabbage + batter + bonito + sauces!

Onomichi

• Itinerary:
  • 12th: Subway to Fukuyama, subway to Onomichi, leave my luggage at the hotel (pre-check-in), head out: Onomichi shopping arcade street, lunch, cat alley, check-in, dinner, walk around.
  • 13th: Bike reservation with Shimanami Bike Rental, biked half (4.5 hours) of the Shimanami Kaido (just to Setoda Port), ferry back, dinner.
  • 14th: Tomomoura, come back to Onomichi, rest and relax (as the past few days of hiking, hiking some more, climbing 2 hours of stairs, and biking for 4.5 hours destroyed me HAHA)
• Onomichi is BREATHTAKING. So breathtaking I kept whispering "beauty like this has to be illegal, right? RIGHT?" I could have relaxed there longer if I was with someone. Seeing boats everywhere, eating many lemon-themed things and drinking different orange juice "shots" (they're known for citrus), just inhaling that sharp sea air...amazing.
• Bike reservation through the Shimanami Kaido Bike Rental website was easy. I did feel the need to book about 2 weeks in advance as by then most bikes seemed to be taken (though they apparently have some day of, I didn't want to risk it). I booked a city bike (with a basket) but on the spot asked if I could take a cross bike and they said yes. Got my bike and was on my way!
• People make the biking route out to be intimidating, but it's not. I haven't biked in years and am not particularly active beyond swimming once a week and walking 10k steps twice or thrice a week. I easily biked half-ish of it to the Setoda tourist information center, dropped off my bike, then walked ~10 minutes to Setoda Port to take the ferry back at 5PM. There are convenience stores and ice cream along the way, and I stopped once or twice. To go uphill to the bridges, I walked my bike 10ish minutes or less up the hill (easy mode lol I know my limits), then rode across the bridge, no e-bike needed. I didn't explore much of the island beyond the main recommended route as I just didn't really care/didn't have much energy/was conscious of time. The route was so breathtaking that I think at some point my eyes got tired of breathtaking views haha.
• In short, literally grab your bike and go. There's nothing else to it. (There's a bike-friendly ferry you have to take that's 180 yen that was a bit hard to spot, but otherwise easy peasy).
• The f...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/tamarindchutney on 2025-05-24 03:17:49+00:00.

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Dates: May 12-22

I stayed in Tokyo exclusively and took day trips to surrounding areas. I would say that even one full month in Tokyo would be sufficient. There’s so much to see! I spent most of my trip wandering around and shopping. Didn’t visit any major attractions aside from Donki.

The Good:

1. Suica- I successfully set up Suica on my phone using a Visa card after speaking to customer service. I’m thankful I was able to resolve the Visa issue before arriving in Japan. I could use Suica as payment at pretty much every store/restaurant I visited in Japan with the exception of cash only shops and Kura Sushi for some reason.
2. General affordability of food - I think it’s possible to visit Japan on a budget as good food (and transit) is abundant and cheap. I got yakisoba from a grocery store for ¥329 and juice for around ¥129. It was a pleasant surprise considering even McDonald’s here in Canada is almost $15 / ¥1500 for a meal nowadays. I ate primarily at chain restaurants, konbinis, and hole-in-the-wall spots.
3. Shopping selection - There’s something for everyone and at every budget. I was blown away by the variety of department stores and malls. My favourite chain shop was Village Vanguard by far. Definitely recommend for the weird girlies ! Their two-storey branch in Koenji had an excellent selection of manga and interesting art books.
4. Transit & Google Maps - Need no explanation for this one.
5. Good customer service - I loved how store employees would make their presence be known but still leave you alone for the most part. It’s a good balance between the suffocating salesperson attitude and straight up ignoring found at most stores (Aritzia) where I’m from. I also appreciated NOT being followed around or watched - a common experience for me as a mixed-race person.
6. GU - I could’ve brought one change of clothes and then bought the rest at GU. Prices were affordable and the clothing felt decent quality-wise. Japanese Women’s L and Men’s S did me well as someone who is slightly larger than Free Size.

The Bad

1. Other tourists - I’m sorry, but, some of you are very embarrassing to be around. I’m sure it’s no one in this subreddit though haha. I noticed Brits were common culprits of unsavoury behaviour (talking loud on the train, speaking to staff ENTIRELY in English, stopping for no reason in busy walkways) which was surprising as I thought Americans would win that title. Please remind your friends, family, coworkers, idk, to do better. Also, please shower and wear deodorant.
2. Pet stores - I wanted to purchase some accessories for my dog so I figured the local pet shop would have something. What a mistake. I left a sobbing mess from witnessing the deplorable conditions that puppies and kittens experience.
3. Buying tickets at Family Mart - HIIIGHLY recommend reading the English tutorial of the FamiMart multicopier machine before attempting buy tickets. It was extremely stressful but easy once I figured it out after a while. Input your hotel’s phone number at the end. Be quick as a line will build behind you. More of these machines are needed badly LOL.

General Tips/Observations:

• Set up Suica before you leave. Makes your arrival process much quicker too.
• Wear a good mask on transit. It’s true - people will just cough into the air… gross… Also, I found some trains to have a weird aroma (kinda rank?) that my mask was able to block out for the most part.
• Study as much Japanese as you can before you depart. Most people don’t speak English there, and why should they? I would’ve benefited from more listening practice as I froze up the first few days when people would speak to me 😭😭 Very embarrassing but I apologized profusely and adapted.
• Check drug stores before Donki for beauty and grocery stores before konbinis for food. The price differences weren’t outrageous but can make a difference for those on strict budgets.
• On Donki, I visited the location in Akihabara in the late morning on a weekday and it was pretty quiet which was a relief. I didn’t buy much (I think I spent only ¥2000 LOL) but thought it was cool to walk through. One visit was enough for me. It felt like a vertical Walmart. I passed by the Mega Donki branch in Shibuya and that looked like a nightmare. Shibuya in general was nightmarish.

In summary, Tokyo can, and should, be done on its own or at least given a massive chunk of time. I can’t wait to return! Next time, I’ll spend more time in nature :) !

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/hollabackgurl413 on 2025-05-23 18:58:04+00:00.

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I started writing this and accidentally didn't save so now I'm jet-lagged and mad. This is mostly for my travel journal, but why not post here too? I went with my husband, we are both in our early 30s and enjoy anime and Japanese food. I'm definitely a foodie and this will be food centered.

5/9:

Landed at KIX, checked in at **Dormy Inn Premium Osaka Kitahama** which we chose because Dormy Inn premium always has free nightly ramen, free ice cream and yogurt drinks, and a public open air bath. I don't think we did much this day because we were tired from our 25 hours of flying/layovers.

5/10:

We got up early because of jetlag and had dormy's buffet breakfast which was delicious and included things like congee, beef stew, small seasonal dishes, desserts, pastries, fruit, salad, etc. Definitely worth it for the price. We then ate takoyaki at **のびる屋 卵かけJr.のお店** which was delicious, this is a small restaurant with friendly staff and an extensive menu, they also have English menus.

Then we headed to **Osaka Aquarium** and on the way we had a very tasty sweet potato crepe with ice cream at **Tabanenoshi Shinsaibashi**. I wanted to try more of their crepes but we were too full. There was an interesting insect/lizard shop a couple doors down. The aquarium was crowded but still worth the visit. I was impressed by the large central tank with the whale sharks, other sharks and mantas, and they had a sunfish too. They also had several different penguin species, otters, seals, and a species of dolphin I had never seen before. I bought a couple keychains and towels from the gift shop which was small, but then when you exit downstairs there is a huge second gift shop! We were trapped there for a while.

We then went to **Shinsaibashi Shopping Street** which is one of several covered shopping streets with AC. We spent most of our time there at the Parco/Daimaru mall just browsing. They have high end shops and clothing but also shops that focus on cute characters like sanrio, sumiko gurashi, mofusand, chiikawa, etc. We each had a pair of glasses that turn to sunglasses in the UV light at **Zoff** which only took like 30 minutes and only cost about 9k yen. The first floor of the mall is entirely snacks/nicely packaged foods that seem like they're for gifting. They weren't giving out samples so I just had intense decision fatigue here. The basement is a food court but also had a grocery section with things like fancy fruit and sushi. We had packaged sushi here which was pretty fresh other than the uni. We walked over to **Dotonburi** but it was so packed we were just there briefly and to take pics of the Glica man. We went back to Dormy and had some free ramen.

5/11:

We tried to go to **Ramen Bukkoshi** by our hotel because it has creamy beef ramen that intrigued me, but it was closed so we instead went to **Ramen アゲイン** which ended up being amazing. This is one of those 8-10 seat ramen places where you order by vending machine ticket, and that is usually an indication that it will be fire ramen, which it was.

We went back to Shinsaibashi because we didn't actually browse the street the first time, and did some shopping. Tried some cheese tarts at **Pablo** which were creamy and flavorful, and they had a nice iced chocolate drink too. I was able to find Cremia soft serve at a random cafe which I've been wanting to try. It was good, very creamy, but not life-changing. We also had **Chika Chicken** in the basement food court of either Daimaru or Parco and it was really good korean fried chicken. Very crispy and perfectly juicy and flavorful, it was interesting that all the pieces were boneless. The pickled radish was an extra charge and wasn't the best, but would definitely come back here for the chicken.

We got on a train to Kyoto and checked in at **Royal Twin Hotel Kyoto Hachijoguchi** which is right across from Kyoto station. The room wasn't as big as our king room at Dormy, but they also have an open air public bath that we used daily, and the jinbei they provide as PJs was definitely comfy and not as prison-looking as Dormy's lol. I wanted to buy a jinbei for myself after this but didn't get around to it this trip. It was raining so we browsed a nearby mall. The pet stores here have insanely cute puppies and kittens. We had dinner at the mall at **Pommes** which is probably a chain and had pretty good katsu omurice and mentaiko pasta. It wasn't one of our better meals in Japan, but was cheap and hit the spot. The serving sizes are on the larger end.

5/12:

I think we probably ate 711 breakfast this day before heading out. We got to **Fushimi Inari** around 8:20AM and it was beginning to fill up. We were never planning on going all the way up, and there was an easy way to loop back down to the shrine after walking through several sets of the red gates. We still were able to get some good pictures and the vibes were pretty serene while walking through the gates and down the forest path back to the shrine, even without getting up at dawn. We didn't really feel that appetized/interested by the food stalls at the bottom, and then I saw the special Chiikawa store and pretty much screamed! There was a line but we figured out that it opens at 9:30 and it was just before then, so we walked in and did some shopping. The first floor had shrine/fushimi/kyoto specific chiikawa goodies including plushies and snacks, and the second floor had clothing and a bunch of items that were not specific to the tourist site we were at. I got a hoodie, shirt, and some plushies and the whole store was so cute, albeit a bit expensive.

We then took a train to Uji, got to **Nakamura Tokichi Honten** by around 10:30ish, and put ourselves in the queue to eat at the cafe. This is pretty much the number one/premium teahouse/teamaker in Uji and I didn't do a ton of research about the others, so I figured we'd try to shop and eat here. And so did everyone else of course. This place opens at 10AM and by the time we got there we were already #80 something in line. As we waited, we shopped at their store, which gives free tea samples and everything tasted great. I got some hojicha and their nakamura special tea, and we also bought some hojicha and matcha chocolates and madeleines, etc. We then looked around the nearby streets which were picturesque, and ate at **Food Park** which was in a little food alley. They have very cute photogenic wagyu over rice sets with a raw egg, and the burger was great as well. After our meal we checked our status in the queue and we were up (it was probably around 12:30 so about a 2 hour wait)! So we rushed back to the teahouse and were able to get one of only 3 outdoor tables overlooking the garden. Which had an interesting tree that was shaped to grow in grid-like pattern with wires, kind of like a bonsai but not small. They give you a free serving of shincha which is the freshest batch of green tea of the season, and you order via QR code menu. They have interesting things like matcha soba but we were already kind of full so we got two desserts, the hojicha tea jelly and matcha shiratama zenzai. I honestly wanted to try so many other things, but didn't want to overdo it. Both desserts were fantastic. The hojicha one had hojicha tea jelly, hojicha ice cream, red bean, and mochi balls. The matcha one came with hot or cold matcha soup kind of thing (we got cold) with mochi and red bean in it. I want to go again. I do know they have other locations for their store and cafe but I think some of the menu items are specific to the main store we were at.

We took a bus to the **Nintendo Museum** which I had reserved maybe 2-3 months in advance, there is a lottery system for tickets. You can design your own Mii on the website when you register your account, and when you get there they actually print out a ticket with your Mii on it! It's a nice little free souvenir. They have many opportunities for photos in the museum as well as right outside with the green pipes. As you enter the building you can stand in line for a photo with the Toads (there are a bunch and if you touch their heads they make different toad noises, it's really cute). The museum floors do not allow photos for some reason, but you can take photos of the interactive parts where you play games. There were not a ton of explanations on the walls in any language. It was mostly display case after display case of the different Nintendo games, consoles, and other products that have come out year after year. It was a ton of stuff and very interesting. They had this very early VR headset that you could look into/experience a short clip of play. Downstairs you can use your 10 tokens to play games. There were regular console games you could play but also ones you can team up with someone for with giant controllers. There was a batting cage where you get points for hitting fake furniture/props. There was a compatibility test that was kind of corny but fun. And pictures of you playing the games are loaded into your online Nintendo account so you can see and download them. The gift store was also very cute, with some giant plush controllers as well as blind boxes for mini keychain versions of the controllers. I think these are limited items and each person can only buy 1-2. All other items didn't seem so exclusive to this store. We spent a decent amount of time here...

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This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/mono_probono on 2025-05-21 19:15:13+00:00.

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Hello, everyone! My husband and I recently returned from a 9-day honeymoon holiday in Japan. I found these trip reports and itineraries helpful in planning our trip, so I wanted to share our own experiences with you fellow travelers! This was our first time in Japan; we flew into and out of Tokyo Narita Airport and stayed in Tokyo and Kyoto, with a day trip to Osaka.

Our itinerary:

Day 0 | Travel Day

We flew 15 hours directly from our hometown to Narita, losing a day in the process. This flight was pretty brutal - if yours is as long as ours, bring plenty of snacks and entertainment.

Day 1 | Arrival in Tokyo

Since we were staying in Ueno, we prebooked Narita Skyliner Express tickets on Klook. It was super easy to hop on, and there was space for our luggage. We checked into our hotel, freshened up, and then went on a Ueno food and drinks tour. We had a great time trying things we wouldn't have otherwise ordered (think pickled plums, chicken esophagus, and whiskey highballs).

Day 2 | Explore Tokyo: Ueno, Yanaka, Nippori, Asakusa, and Akihabara

We started off the day with a hotel breakfast then wandered some of Tokyo's quieter neighborhoods for the morning. I love to sew, so I spent quite a bit of time in Nippori's fabric town. After visiting Senso-ji temple and grabbing Okonomiyaki in Asakusa, we took a brief nap back at our hotel before exploring Akihabara's electric city. I won't lie - Asakusa and Akihabara were tough due to the crowds. We really enjoyed Yanaka and Nippori though!

Day 3 | Explore Tokyo: Shinjuku, Harajuku, and Shibuya

We started today with a visit to the Metropolitan Government building to see the great views then bopped over to the Sompo Insurance Museum to see Van Gogh's sunflowers (my favorite painting) before heading to Harajuku where we explored Yoyogi Park, Meiji Jingu, and Takeshita Street before grabbing lunch at Kura Sushi. We have a Kura at home, so it was fun to compare the experience! We then do a kintsuki pottery workshop in Harajuku before heading to Shibuya to experience to famous crosswalk and see the Nintendo store and Pokemon Center. Shibuya was also very crowded but wasn't quite as overwhelming as Akihabara (I think because there's more room to breathe). After a ramen dinner, we headed back to the hotel.

Day 4 | Tokyo Disney Sea

This was the day we were most intimidated by, but it ended up being one of the most pleasant of our trip! We waited in line for about 30 minutes before opening and experienced all of the rides we wanted to see. We lost the lottery to see the big band performance but otherwise enjoyed exploring, riding rides, and trying all the snacks we wanted. My favorite was the soy sauce popcorn! I also liked looking at the merch - I snagged a couple of Duffy items for our nieces and nephews back home, since they're not available in the States.

Day 5 | Tokyo --> Kyoto

Today we grabbed our last hotel breakfast and boarded the shinkansen for Kyoto. Like the rest of Japanese public transit, it was super easy to link our pre-booked tickets to our IC cards and hop on. We prebooked seats in the oversized baggage area to stash away our suitcases. We grabbed some bento boxes from Ueno station before boarding, and we even saw Mt. Fuji along our way!

Once we checked into our room at a traditional ryokan, we temple-hopped and explored Gion. We started at Kiyomizu-dera and worked our way up Ninenzaka to Yasaka, visiting all the little shrines and shops that caught our attention along the way. Crowds were pretty brutal, but that's what we expected for the afternoon. Once we got our fill of temples, we participated in a traditional tea ceremony where we dressed up in traditional kimono and took lots of photos. Then, we bopped to Nishiki Market and grabbed street food for dinner before going back to enjoy the onsen at our ryokan. Tbh, the little taco stand outside of Nishiki Market was one of my favorite meals!

Day 6 | Explore Kyoto: Arashiyama

We began with a traditional Japanese breakfast at our ryokan before heading over to see the famous bamboo grove and Okochi Sanso Gardens. The bamboo grove was already popping by 9am with wannabe photographers, but the gardens were blissfully empty save us and 1-2 other couples. We then took the Sagano romance train up and a Katsura river boat ride back down. Both were fun and offered great views!

After this, we took a taxi to Kinkaku-ji to see the lovely golden pavilion and grabbed a delicious eel dinner nearby before turning in early to our ryokan.

Day 7 | Osaka Day Trip

We really lucked out on weather, because today was the only day it really rained, and we had planned on being mostly indoors anyways. We took the train to Osaka, visited the Castle museum, grabbed an incredible soba + tempura lunch, then headed to the Aquarium where we were greeted by the incredible whale shark. I think we stood there watching them for at least 45 minutes. We then made our way to Dotonbori to try more street foods and people watch.

Today was probably our most crowded/stressful day with all of the commuting across Osaka, but I was glad we got to see what we did! We took the train back to Kyoto, stopping by Fushimi Inari on our way to see the famous red tori gates at night. We happened to stumble across a mama wild boar and her babies, so be careful if you go late to avoid crowds!

Day 8 | Kyoto --> Tokyo

We enjoyed a tea ceremony at our ryokan before catching the shinkansen back to Tokyo. Once we checked into our final hotel, we headed to Ginza to shop for souvenirs and eat some delicious bougie sushi. For our last night, we balled out and got a room at the Imperial Hotel overlooking the imperial palace and ate wagyu with champagne at one of their many restaurants. It was so delicious and very fun since we had the place to ourselves - there was even a live pianist!

Day 9 | Last day in Tokyo!

Our flight was at 5pm, so we spent the morning enjoying the nearby palace gardens and grabbed a last lunch at Tsukiji Outer Market before making our way back to Ueno to board the Narita Express again.

Highlights of the Trip:

• Our fantastic ryokan in Kyoto

• Nippori fabric town

• Harajuku (I liked Takeshita Street way more than I thought I would)

• Tokyo DisneySea

Lowlights:

• Osaka wasn't my cup of tea, but I'm still glad we went!

• Crowds in tourist areas (not surprising, since we are tourists, after all)

• General feeling of stress navigating public transit if you're not used to it (we are from a car-centric city and only use public transit when we travel. Thankfully, Japan's metro and bus system is pretty easy to get the hang of, but there were several moments when we got overwhelmed!)

The next time we visit Japan, we'd likely stay the entire time in Tokyo and do more day trips to places we wished we had visited, like Nikko, Kamakura, and Hakone. Overall, we had a lovely time, and I wish you all the best in planning your own trips to Japan! It was a great honeymoon, and we can't wait to go back as soon as we can!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Kind-Alternative3677 on 2025-05-23 10:20:24+00:00.

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We wanted to cycle the whole route (Onomichi to Imabari) and go to Rabbit Island. I haven’t seen many Reddit posts with people doing this so thought I’d share our experience.

We were staying in Hiroshima, so we took the 6:20 Shinkansen which got into Shin-Onomichi at 6:51. The station is small so we got out quickly and hopped straight in a taxi that was waiting outside the station. We arrived at the bike terminal by about 7AM and there were already a few people ahead of us. We didn’t book bikes because the weather was looking a bit hit and miss and we knew we didn’t want to cycle in the rain. My advice would be to absolutely book bikes if you want any kind of electric bike. They were all out of the e-assist bikes but luckily had a few e-bikes left so we were able to get those. They have tonnes of cross bikes so if you’re not fussed getting an electric one you should be fine to just turn up. A note here - we are both experienced cyclists. My partner is a club cyclist and I am a commuter cyclist. Before the ride we both thought the ~70km would be pretty easy for us to do on regular cross bikes, but ended up deciding to get e-bikes because we wanted to do rabbit island too. On reflection, it would have been too ambitious for us to do the whole ride on push bikes, and have enough time to do rabbit island. As mentioned before, there are some pretty steep inclines to get on to the bridges which I hadn’t anticipated would be quite so long.

It took us about 6 hours to get from Onomichi to Imabari. We weren’t cycling flat out, and we had our e-bikes on the lowest setting for most of the ride to preserve battery (with the exception being to go up those aforementioned inclines!). We had lots of stops along the way, there are tonnes of toilets and vending machines which we frequently stopped at. We also stopped for 45 minutes or so for lunch.

We arrived at Imabari at around 2pm, had a quick bite to eat and then got in a taxi to go to Sakari Port on Ōmishima Island. We couldn’t find another way to get there so concluded a taxi was our only way. You might be able to stop along the way and catch the ferry over to the island, but we weren’t sure if we could take bikes with us on the ferry and were worried if we did this we would miss the last time to drop off our bikes at Imabari. The taxi was expensive… but I wanted to see the bunnies so I was ready to pay lol. The taxi was approx ¥12,000 which included the tolls. Once we got to the port at Sakari we had to wait a while for the ferry. I believe they run every hour or so. We missed one by about 20 minutes so we had a 50 minute wait.

We were able to buy a ticket to rabbit island, and then another ticket to take the ferry onward to the mainland (to Tadanoumi) from rabbit island. The ferry was ¥360 per trip.

After about an hour on Rabbit Island we caught the ferry to Tadanoumi port. From here we took a JR train to Takehara and then caught an expressway bus on to Hiroshima for ¥1400. We caught the final bus of the day to Hiroshima at 18:16 so just be aware of this as a hard cut off. The bus was a surprise highlight for us! It was peaceful (in the UK we’d call it a “coach” rather than a bus) and winds its way through the hills back to Hiroshima.

It was a very long day - we left our hotel in Hiroshima at 5:45 and didn’t get back until 19:45 and we spent quite a bit of money with all the different types of public transport, plus e-bikes, but it was totally worth it. Just putting this post out there in case anyone is also planning a trip like I was and wanting to work out if they can do the whole ride and see the bunnies :)

Edit: typo

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Bubbly_Energy_9972 on 2025-05-22 13:17:09+00:00.

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So, I traveled to Japan from 27th April to 11th May. Here are highlights of my trip:

Aomori, Hirosaki, Hakodate, Osaka, Nara, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Kyoto, Tokyo, Kawaguchiko

27th - landed in Tokyo and took a Shinkansen to Aomori. Checked into hotel and went straight to bed.

28th - woke up early in the morning and took a train to Hirosaki to attend cherry blossom festival at Hirosaki park. Visited the castle, saw mount iwaki, visited botanical garden, stayed till sunset to watch Sakura trees in the nighttime when they light up the whole park, came back to Aomori

29th - woke up early in the morning, took a Shinkansen to Hakodate. It was raining in Hakodate, visited Goryokaku park, saw more Sakura trees. Shopped at the famous red brick warehouses

30th - took a flight from Aomori to Osaka. Forwarded luggage to our hotel and headed straight to Nara. Visited Todai ji and the deer park. Came back to Osaka city, had food. Checked into hotel, our luggage had already arrived. Freshened up and went out to Dotonbori area.

1st - went to Osaka castle. Took a cruise. Chilled a bit. Easy day

2nd - checked out of hotel, locked luggage at the lockers on Osaka station. Took a train to Hiroshima. Visited the peace museum and the a bomb dome. Took a ferry to Miyajima and visited Shinto shrine and the floating tori gate. Headed back to Osaka through Hiroshima. Took out luggage from Osaka station and headed to Kyoto. Checked at hotel in Kyoto pretty late in the night

3rd - woke up early in the morning and took a walking tour of Kyoto. Visited temples, shrines, pagodas, geisha district, bridges as a part of walking tour. Went to samurai museum (worst possible activity ever) and then ended the day with some Mexican food and sake.

4th - went to Fushimi inari, Kinkaku-ji, nijo castle, bamboo forest, kinda hectic day. Clocked 30k steps

5th - woke up, checked out of hotel and took a Shinkansen to Tokyo. Thought of stopping at hakone to view Mount Fuji, but it was a cloudy day so went straight to Tokyo. Checked into hotel and explored Akhihabara.

6th - it rained the whole day so had to find some indoor activities. Headed to Ginza. Shopped at itoya, Muji, Uniqlo and a couple of other shops.

7th - sunny day. Went to Meiji shrine and the park around it. Checked out few more shops in HARAJUKU area.

8th - woke up and took a bus to kawaguchiko station. Visited Kawaguchiko lake, took the rope way, but still couldn’t spot Fuji because of clouds. Went to another spot, Saiko, that’s when the clouds started clearing up and we saw top of Fuji. Visited caves, Oishi park etc. and impromptu decided to stay there. Booked an Airbnb and checked into it. Went out in evening to see Fuji more clear. Clicked lot of pictures

9th - went to Motosuko area. Visited the park where they were celebrating shibazakura festival. Just before leaving, spotted Fuji again. Took a bus back to Tokyo. Visited skytree, had dinner and retired for the night.

10th - last minute shopping at harajuku, akhihabara, asakusabashi, Shibuya.

11th - packed bags and headed to airport for our flight. Spotted Fuji again from the flight.

Cherry Blossoms, Iwaki, Fuji, Shinkansen rides, Tori gates, Hiroshima, were the highlights of my trip.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Emilicis on 2025-05-21 22:18:43+00:00.

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For context this is my second trip to Japan but my first ever time in Tokyo! I visited both Kyoto and Osaka for a 2 week trip back in 2019. I wanted to allot more time in Tokyo specifically since I’ve never been and there’s such a large volume of things to do in this city that I wanted to see it all.

One thing I do regret deeply is my itinerary was SO packed. I just wanted to do and see everything and as a result I felt like I was hopping from place to place without a lot of breathing room. I did have days where I wandered and explored at my own pace but some days were running like a chicken with its head cut off. I’m still overall very happy with how everything turned out, but just some wisdom I wanted to pass on.

I also want to preface that my preferences will not be the same as yours! I care a lot about soaking up big city vibes, POKEMON, anime merch, character goods, food, photos, shopping. Yes I like temples and nature but those things aren’t as important to me as the first few things. I definitely wish I took at least 1-2 more day trips though. Or heck even a rest day. But no rest for the wicked!

Anyways, this was my itinerary:

5/9: Leave home, fly to Tokyo

5/10: Land at Narita, take Skyliner to Ueno. I found myself wandering through Ameyoko market late at night and stumbling into a delicious local ramen joint. Got some oysters too! Walked around a bit more and soaked in the night life. It was Saturday night. A lot of young people at the izakaya having drinks.

5/11: Ventured out to Akihabara and shopped around the various anime stores. I remember being shocked by just how many floors each store has! Got a lot of gacha keychains, blind boxes, and anime figurines! There was also a matsuri going on with people carrying mikoshi, chanting, drumming, cheering etc. Good times.

5/12: The pace picked up a bit more this day. Woke up early, took advantage of my jet lag and headed to Tsukiji Fish Market. Tried the tamago, tuna sashimi (melt in your mouth), wagyu skewer (favorite thing I ate), gyudon, oyster, scallops, matcha.. WOW! Then went to Ginza and shopped at Uniqlo and Muji. Got udon. Made our way to Senso-Ji/Asakusa.

5/13: Meiji Temple in the morning. Spent a lot of time here, wandering through the grounds and hiking through the gardens. Then Shibuya for afternoon/evening. Walked the crossing. Don Quixote. I checked out the Pokemon Center, Nintendo Store, Shonen Jump store at Parco. Then Tower Records! Tried Ichiran just to say I tried it. It was mid.

5/14: Wandered around the Tokyo Tower area and discovered Maple Waterfall Park! Gorgeous little green space and it was so early that I basically had it to myself. Went to a cafe. Spent the afternoon bumming around Akihabara and Ueno. Strolled through Ueno Park and stumbled across the cutest summer flea market! Picked up very cheap ceramic kitchenware (550 yen a bowl) and some wooden spoons. Had my mind BLOWN at the Tokyo National Museum. Spent a few hours here but wish I had more time. Then went back to accommodation to watch some of the XG concert livestream.

5/15: Mt. Fuji day trip. Literally the HIGHLIGHT of my trip. We got extremely lucky with the visibility so Fujisan looked absolutely beautiful. Stopped at Oshino Hakkai and tried houtou noodles and it was absolutely scrumptious! Took pictures at Lawson. Wandered around little streets in the village nearby. Went to Lake Kawaguchi. Took the cable car up to a viewing point. Saw some swans and fish at another lake area.

Once I got back to Tokyo I saw LiSA in concert! It was my very first Japanese concert so the etiquette was TOTALLY different but I adjusted very quickly. She was absolutely amazing. Then I just bummed around Shinjuku after the concert lol.

5/16: Ikebukuro day! Spent a lot of today ambling around Sunshine City and various doujinshi/BL stores lol. Dropped by Pokemon Center Ikebukuro. This area definitely has a different vibe than Akihabara. Went to TeamLabs which I thought was overall quite a mid experience. Then made my way back to accommodation and on the way back saw the Miyazaki clock! WOW!

5/17: DISNEY SEA DAY! I got there a few hours before opening and bolted to Fantasy Springs area. Got to do the Peter Pan, Rapunzel, and Tinkerbell rides. Frozen was closed. Did Journey, 20k Leagues, Soaring, Indiana Jones, and Nemo rides too! At the end of the day I was so exhausted. It was also POURING rain that day.

5/18: This day was kind of crazy, so buckle up. Woke up at dawn and immediately bolted to the Your Name stairs. What’s insane is there were already a few people taking pictures! But it was overall very serene and quiet. I checked out the Suga Shrine right next to it. Hit up a vending machine and just vibed. Then I made the stupid but also chaotic decision to WALK to the Imperial Palace. So I did. Hit up a konbini for a cold drink and just… walked and walked. I feel like I saw a lot of quieter neighborhoods this way too. The Imperial Palace gardens were… meh. I liked the koi fish and cool twisty trees though.

You’d think the day is wrapping up but we are just getting started. Ambled over to Tokyo Station to explore Character Street. Went to the Pokemon Center Tokyo DX. Chilled a bit at a cafe.

Not done yet! Then I took the train ALL the way to Shimokitazawa. Had to transfer through Shibuya so I stood and watched the crossing. Ducked into a few vintage clothing stores, nothing really piqued my interest. Then back to Shinjuku to watch Godzilla do its thing. Ended the day at Golden Gai and befriended a local!

5/19: This day was also quite insane. I think as the days went on and I realized my trip was ending soon I wanted to do EVERYTHING. Got breakfast with some friends I haven’t seen since college. Smoothies at 7-11 and walked around. Went to Dengama in the kitchenware district. Shibuya Sky. Then went to my Pokemon cafe reservation. Got dinner with a different group of friends. Won some plushies at the arcade. And then finally a private onsen to end the night.

5/20: Last day. Went to Tokyo Tower again and looked around the mall/shopping area attached to it. Took some final pictures. Then went to Narita for flight home. Got some curry. Hit up a couple souvenir shops. Then goodbye Japan!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/InevitableOk4700 on 2025-05-20 22:16:25+00:00.

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Thanks for the help on my last post. I've fleshed out our itinerary and just wanted to see if anyone has any last minute advice for our trip as first-timers.

Toyko

• Day 1 (Thursday)
  • Arrive into Tokyo at 4 PM --> head to hotel in Asakusa and dinner locally
• Day 2 (Friday) - Asakusa
  • Senso-ji + Kaminarimon + Nakamise-dori Street
  • Lunch at Wagyu Ichinoya Asakusa
  • Head to Kappabashi Kitchen Street + Ueno Park
  • Move to our second hotel at toranomon hills
• Day 3 (Saturday) - Shibuya
  • Meiji Jingu + Yoyogi Park
  • Walk to Harajuku and stroll through Takeshita Street and Cat Street
  • Head to Shibuya Scramble Crossing and go up Shibuya Sky
• Day 4 (Sunday) - Ginza
  • Browse Toyosu Market in AM
  • Visit Ginza: Uniqlo, Muji, Ginza Six, Jins
  • Head to Tokyo Station and Roppongi Hills
• Day 5 (Monday) - Kamakura
  • Teamlab Borderless in AM
  • Head to Kamakura after teamlabs
• Day 6 (Tuesday) Shinjuku
  • Gotokuji Temple in AM
  • Then head to Shinjuku, visiting Gyoen National Garden, Cat Cafe Mocha
  • Tokyo Metropolitan Governemnt Buidling observatory
  • Walk through kabukicho and golden-gai (but probably will have dinner elsewhere)
• Day 7 (Wednesday) -Hakone
  • Hakone trip
• Day 8 (Thursday)- Disney
  • DisneySea

Kyoto

• Day 9 (Friday) - Kyoto
  • Shinkasen from Tokyo to Kyoto
  • Visit Nishiki Market
  • Walk along pontocho alley
  • Chao Chao Gyoza for dinner
• Day 10 (Saturday) - Arashiyama
  • Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Tenryuji Temple, Okochi Sanso Garden
  • Lunch
  • Visit Monkey Park
  • Sagano romatic train + Hozugawa river boat
  • Kinkaku Ji if we have time
• Day 11 (Sunday) - Nara
  • Nara day trip
• Day 12 (Monday) - Fushimi Inari
  • Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kiyomizu dera
  • Browse stops along sannezaka and ninenzaka
  • Visit Maruyama Park and Yasaka Shrine
  • Take train at night to Osaka

Osaka

• Day 13 (Tuesday) - Osaka
  • Osaka expo, Dontoburi
• Day 14 (Thursday)
  • Osaka castle and return to Tokyo for our flight home

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/marikasimo on 2025-05-21 14:11:46+00:00.

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I'm going to Japan at the end of next month! It's a last minute trip and I will be joining my sister-in-law, who grew up there, for a portion of the time. (She takes my niece and nephew to her hometown each summer to visit family and attend the local elementary school.)

My itinerary is bare bones because I don't like to over plan. I am really not a shopper, but I enjoy visiting historical and cultural sites and nature. I would like to take a cooking or art class... any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Day 0-3: Tokyo

• I'll be at the airport for a few hours before my family, so I'll buy my Suica card.
• Sister-in-law will take me and the kids sight-seeing. (Asakusa, Shibuya, Ueno Park)
• We have tickets to Teamlabs Planets

Day 4: Train to sister-in-law's village in Shimada

Day 5: Spend time on extended family's ranch, visit the river, hang out with the kids

Day 6: Train to Kinosaki (remainder of trip is solo)

• Say goodbye to family and continue solo to Kinosaki
• Planning to make the express train that arrives around 4pm
• Check into guesthouse
• Walk around town, relax in onsen for a few hours

Day 7: Kinosaki

• Morning: Take ropeway to shrine and hike
• Afternoon: Considering renting a bike and exploring surrounding area
• Evening: visit Onsen again

Day 8: Train to Kyoto

• Arrive by 3p to check in at hotel (near station) and drop off luggage
• Evening tour of Fushimi Inari

Day 9: Day trip to Hiroshima

• Free walking tour at Hiroshima memorial Park
• Visit the famous Shinto Shrine / Tori Gate

Day 10: Kyoto

• Early Morning: Monkey Park
• Late Afternoon: Visit Gion district
• Souvenir shopping?

Day 11: Day trip to Nara

• Visit a museum, explore, eat some food
• Deer Park
• Giant Buddha

Day 12: Depart

• Take train from Kyoto back to Tokyo to make 5pm flight.

My Main worry: I will be solo for the last portion of my trip and this will be the first time I've travelled to a country solo where I don't know the language. Will I get lost on the trains? Seems overwhelming--regional, local, express, highspeed, basic fare, different machines for different ticket types.... oh my!! I have an Android and based on recommendations on this sub I've downloaded the Smartex app, the Navitime app, and I plan to but a Welcome Suica? card when I arrive at the airport...though I don't know if I require ALL three of these things. Any other apps I need?