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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/naza-reddit on 2025-10-28 10:29:51+00:00.

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Hi all, we just returned from a 2-week trip and wanted to share back to this group our experience. This is more focused on practicalities rather than what to do or see (although there is a bit of that as well)

 Itinerary

Our travel and stay was more or less like this. Sometimes we departed a location in the morning and other times in the afternoon so take the days in each location with a pinch of salt.

Osaka (2 days) – Kyoto (3 days) – Tokyo (4 days) – Kawaguchiko (Mt. Fuji) (2 days) – Osaka (2 days)

We are a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids aged 10 and 15). We don’t generally allow the kids to take their devices on family vacations although they took their phones this time so they could take pictures but we didn’t enable cellular on their phones (why this matters later).

 Arriving

• eSim
  • We setup our eSIM card the day before. We used Ubigi. I got a 10GB package for me and for my wife. I activated mine first and got a referral coupon which we applied to my wife’s data package so she got a 20% discount.
  • When she activated hers, I got another coupon for 50% discount. This could’ve been useful in case we needed to top-up but we didn’t need to.10GB was more than enough for the 2 weeks. We used google maps, apple maps, whatsapp (to send photos to family and friends), safari, and some posting of IG stories but neither I nor my wife are heavy social media consumers. Your mileage may vary.
• IC cards
  • We landed in Osaka so we got the ICOCA card. We had to go to the ticket office because my daughter is 10 years and we needed to show proof of age – she got a discounted ICOCA with her name – we kept it as a souvenir. ICOCA worked in all of our locations.
  • Since the kids didn’t have their devices connected, we all got physical ICOCA cards. I don’t know if you need connectivity on the device to use the IC card so we went “old school”. It was perfect.
  • Nankai Rapi:t Express got us from KIX to Namba in 40 mins – easy but do note that the ICOCA does not work on this line. You need to buy tickets

 During

• Osaka:
  • both times we stayed close to Dotonbori. Super easy to navigate. Plenty of food options. A really nice area with a great vibe.
  • The day after we arrived we visited the Expo. It was the last day of the Expo. After reading here that we should avoid it, I am glad we went. The atmosphere was amazing and the pavilions we visited were all super nice.
• Kyoto:
  • I wish we had one more day. Kyoto is VERY crowded with tourists. We stayed in an AirBnB just below the main station and it is a nice neighborhood with some hidden gems for food/dinner.
  • Gion was too crowded but still nice.
  • When we visited the Bamboo forest it was not overly crowded but inside there is Okochi sanso garden. Because you need to pay an extra ticket to get it, it was empty and very quiet and so beautiful. This was amazing for us. (there is even a rest area where you can have a free cup of tea or Calpis).
  • The day before we left to Tokyo we went to Nishiki market. It was probably my favourite market in Japan.
• Tokyo – What to say about Tokyo?
  • Amazing. The city, the parks, getting lost, finding our way… just go and enjoy it. Something we did that I haven’t seen too much on here was a Cooking class. We took a morning class and cooked Gyozas and Ramen. Super cool and the kids loved it.
  • I have a college friend in Tokyo that I hadn’t seen in 20 years so managed to meet with him and he gave us a lot of tips as a local person. This was a highlight. The kids actually thought dad is a cool guy. This sentiment lasted a full day.
  • Some advice I read here is to stay away from Shibuya and Shinjuku for accommodation as it is too crowded. This is true but we stayed in Shibuya and it was awesome for us. Shinjuku would’ve worked as well to be honest. We just found the hotel in Shibuya first. We visited Asakusa and many people here recommend staying there. I would not but that is a personal choice (I thought Senso-ji temple was more hype than anything else).
  • The subway lines seem complicated but if know your colors and can recognize the letters JA, JY, JR, etc. it is simple and straightforward. My 15 year old son was navigating the subway like an expert after 1 day.
• Fujikawaguchiko:
  • the first day it was cloudy and some rain so we couldn’t see Mt. Fuji but we made the best of it. There is a craft shop where you can just go and we felt like locals. The kids made some candles and they have a really nice souvenir. It was nice to slow down and observe the Japanese art of discipline if that makes any sense at all. It was very peaceful.
  • Second day it was sunny and we saw Mt. Fuji and explored the area. There is a bus system (red, green, etc.) that is also easy to navigate. If you know your colors this should also be easy.
  • EDIT: this site is helpful https://isfujivisible.com/
  • The food here seems to be very much around barbecuing. There is a staple which is chicken cutlet that you finish off the cooking at the table. It’s good, trust me.
  • We went back to Osaka (since we were departing from KIX). We took a bus to Mishima and then the Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka. We bought the bus ticket the day we arrived so we could secure our schedule but the Shinkansen tickets we bought when we arrived at Mishima and it was fine. It was a longer internal travel day. Perhaps a better choice would've been to plan the Mt. Fuji trip in between the Tokyo stay. We live and learn.
• Random notes:
  • We used the subway and train lines except twice. In Kyoto the buses were super crowded and packed so after a long day we decided to take a taxi back to the AirBnB. The second time was on our departure day from Osaka to KIX. We could’ve used the luggage forwarding service to send the luggage straight to KIX but decided not to because timings were tight.
  • All hotels and the Kyoto AirBnB had strong wifi
  • Luggage forwarding is a game changer
  • As other say repeatedly here. Konbinis are amazing. We are #teamfamilymart but Lawsons and 7-11 are also OK :)
  • Have the famichiki at Family Mart and come back here to thank me.
  • The coffee is amazing in Japan. Our favorite was a small shop called Chimney Coffee in Shibuya. If you have the chance go there. Generally we had excellent coffee everywhere. The exception was probably Hoshino coffee shop which is a chain and it is not very good. Please don’t go to Starbucks - there are so many better options just around the corner.
  • Google Maps vs Apple Maps. It felt to me that Google Maps was slightly better (even if I feel it is an app that is quite bloated). However, in some cases Apple Maps was much better. If one is not working for you, use the other.
  • It’s true that shopping is well worth it. Clothing but also anything else you need/want. I see that KitKat smiling at me. (it was the week before Halloween so there seemed to be a lot of new KitKat flavors).
  • Cash vs cards vs digital card. I found that digital cards (I use WISE lnked to Apple Pay) work 90% of the time. Some places require a physical card (or cash). EX: to top up the ICOCA card or to buy Shinkansen tickets you need a physical card. Some (few) only do cash but they usually have this well identified. I found this to be true mostly in Kyoto in some small shops in Gion but also in some food stalls in markets (like Tsujiki outer market or Nishiki market).
  • If you are an Apple user, create a shared photo album. We took so many pictures and it is nice to see everyone's pictures and relive memories. I'm sure android has something similar.

 Leaving

So difficult to leave. Try not to cry and make sure you have memories.

I’m sure I am missing some practicalities that might be useful to you. Feel free to ask and I will try to answer if I know.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/MochiPop98 on 2025-10-28 04:01:11+00:00.

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Just recently got back from my first trip to Japan from October 7–October 23. It was me, my boyfriend, and two friends for a large portion of the trip. We did Tokyo -> Sendai -> Osaka -> Tokyo. I owe a lot of the successes of this trip to this Reddit and YouTube videos.

What Went Well

• Packing light was definitely the way to go. I brought a carry-on suitcase, a shoulder bag, and a light backpack (which I wore every day and was great). My boyfriend packed a duffel in his bag, which I used at the end for my clothes so I could pack my heavier souvenirs in my suitcase. Even with this, however, it was a bit unwieldy at times, so I would definitely discourage bringing anything larger, and if you do, please use a luggage forwarding service.
  • Unlike what some have said here, having luggage (within reason...like don't carry two large suitcases) is not a problem on the trains and is actually quite common from what I saw. Buses, however...
• For our first stint in Tokyo, we stayed at an AirBnB in a quiet part of Ikebukuro (it was less than a 10-min walk to two train stations). This was an excellent find, especially because it provided a combo washer/dryer with detergent (which was essential because I packed light), toiletries, an electric kettle, a toaster, refrigerator, dishwasher, AC... it was a great location to escape the hustle and bustle.
  • Ikebukuro is also a great place to shop for anime merch and manga. A little less crazy than Akihabara imo.
• Google Maps is definitely your friend, as is Google Translate.
• If you have an iPhone, loading your Suica to your Apple Wallet is definitely the way to go. One of our group had a physical Suica and it could sometimes take awhile to top up, whereas topping up on the phone is instant. Hopefully they'll add it for Android soon!
• The konbinis really ARE that good, like wow. I had the best mochi donut I've ever had from 7/11. It was super convenient for getting breakfast and light lunch on busy/travel days.
• The toilets really ARE that good too. Think I only encountered one that didn't have a bidet three times. It wasn't a huge issue, but it is true that some public restrooms don't have soap or means of drying your hands (I always carried around hand sanitizer and a small towel, although I rarely used the towel tbh). Some of the nicest toilets I used were in malls and train stations though!
• We found that with our limited Japanese, we had very few communication issues, even outside the beaten path. Most people will speak to you in Japanese first, but as long as you know a few basic words and phrases, you should be fine. When in doubt, use Google translate.
• I have IBS, and a few days into the trip, it was like I was magically healed. I could eat anything—fried food, ramen, sugary snacks, and even dairy without any issues. Walking a lot probably help, though. Now that I'm back in the US, it's terrible again.
• I do not like fish and I did not have a difficult time finding food to eat at all (because there are just so many options). I did split up for lunch from my boyfriend one day so he could get his conveyor belt sushi though, haha.
  • The ryokan we stayed at had a breakfast and dinner buffet, which was helpful for me, since most serve you a set meal that includes fish.
• Loved going to a ryokan and having an onsen experience! I learned to feel comfortable with my body, even as a chubby woman in Japan, and if I can do that there, then I can do it anywhere. We planned it for the middle of our trip, which was the perfect recharge we needed. We booked two nights, which I don't think I would do next time, but due to changing plans on our day of arrival leading us to arrive late at night, it ended up working out in that particular situation because we desperately needed the rest.
  • Also try to find a place that has those egg massage chairs, omg. My fat calves wouldn't fit in but it gave me a more effective back massage than most masseuses!
• Sendai is an underappreciated city imo. I am autistic and even though there were many wonderful things to do in Tokyo, it could become extremely overwhelming at times. Sendai is a smaller, less crowded city where you'll find a lot of the same merch for a lot cheaper and there's still plenty to do. There's a lot of cool day trips you can take from there (e.g., my boyfriend loved doing the Nikka Distillery tour as a whisky fan...and it's free!). One being...
• Tashirojima! We went to one of the cat islands and it was such an enjoyable day. It is a little bit hard to get to, but it's still only about a 50-minute train ride to the station close to where you catch the ferry (Ishinomaki, where one of the ports is located, is also a cool little place, especially if you are a Cyborg 009 fan) and short ferry ride away. Definitely a must-see for cat lovers!
• We enjoyed staying at the Hotel Metroplitans in both Sendai and Tokyo (the one in Sendai is really affordable for the quality you get), where the rooms were a decent size and all the basic amenities were included.
• Favorite foods tried: Okonomiyaki, duck ramen, melon soda floats, yudofu, pork shabu shabu with good udon, strawberry mochi donuts from 7/11, Lawson chicken nuggets, those energy jelly packs (an absolute gamechanger!), grilled onigiri, katsu onigiri, red bean onigiri, Pocari Sweat, wagyu steak, all sorts of cute little jellies

My Bad

• Not being prepared for the walking and packing a knee brace even though I have a history of knee injuries. I eventually found one, but could've saved a lot of headache and anxiety had I just prepped better.
  • Also there really are very few places to sit. I know I should've prepared better but there are parts of even Tokyo that are just super inaccessible for people with injuries and disabilities.
• I KNEW it was a faux pas to travel on buses with luggage, but when we found ourselves in a situation where a bus was a much cheaper option than a taxi to go to our ryokan, we took the bus and could barely fit. There just isn't room on most buses (unless it is a coach shuttle specifically designed for travel; think airport limosines) for that. Next time, I would definitely use a luggage forwarding service or put my suitcase in a coin locker for the night and pack enough for 1-2 nights in a smaller bag.

Things I Wish I Had Known

• That you can't find deodorant/antipersiperant anywhere. My travel-sized deodorant/antipersiperant broke a few days into the trip and I basically had to use mangled deodorant because I couldn't find it anywhere (so envious of the Japanese for the lack of sweat).
• There is a glitch on Google Maps that prevents the Narita Express showing up as a transit option unless you choose certain filters. As a result, we took the Skyliner in when it may have been quicker (or at least less transfers) to take it directly to Ikebukuro.
• October is still a very humid time in Japan. I knew how humid it could be during the summer, but I was not prepared for how humid it was going to be even in October. As someone who hates muggy weather, I really struggled at the beginning of the trip. I definitely would've made some different packing choices had I known this, but luckily I was able to buy some lightweight wide pants at Uniqlo (and I am a size 12-14 in the US, so I was pleasantly surprised the XL fit me).
• It may be difficult to get medical treatment for anything less than a true emergency as a foreigner in Japan. I got traveler's insurance because I have some medical issues, but when I developed a nasty rash on my calves (jury's still out on what exactly it was—could've been a bacterial infection from an onsen or heat rashes from all the chafing/walking), the hospital closest to my hotel in Osaka that was recommended by my travel insurance hung up on us, even when we tried speaking in Japanese. Apparently, it no longer takes foreigners. The hospitals are also not open at all hours of the night for noncritical ER cases like US ones are. Luckily, I was able to find an English-speaking travel clinic called Okita Clinic in Osaka and I can't recommend them enough. So helpful and nice—they even helped me get my antibiotics at the pharmacy next door! It was relatively cheap compared to the US; even without them taking my traveler's insurance, it was less than $100. I submitted a claim to my traveler's insurance, so we'll see if they take it, but overall, a solid option.
• It is frowned upon to use the gated area of a station as a public restroom if you aren't riding the train. We got a stern talking-to for doing so (we tapped in and it wouldn't let us tap out). We did encounter stations that will let you enter and exit without riding the train, however, so I don't know what the distinguisher is (maybe rail company?).
• That most of Tabelog reservations are for omakase-style options. We had some absolutely incredible omakase-style meals, but it gets frustrating when you're looking to have a particular thing and can only get reservations at omakase-style places.
  • A piece of advice I got was to eat big lunches because the restaurants would be less crowded during the day. I found that this was not always true, unfortunately. Some really crowded areas are just always going to have busy restaurants, unfortunately, and if no one is there in a major city, that's usually not a good sign... Wish I had made more reservations ahead of time.
• If you lose your room key, you will be charged for it (this is less common in the US).

**Misc...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Zestyclose-Newt8956 on 2025-10-27 20:25:25+00:00.

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Hi there,

I just wanted to share my experience as a first-time visitor to Japan, in case it might be useful to anyone.

I travelled with my girlfriend — it was my first time, but she had already spent a month in Tokyo for work.

Our itinerary was 11 days split between Tokyo and Kyoto, with quick one-day trips to Mt. Fuji (Kawaguchiko) and Osaka. We’re both pretty easygoing, more interested in lifestyle, local vibes, and everyday experiences than ticking off a list of tourist spots. That said, we still visited several temples and shrines — especially in Kyoto — but preferred to keep things balanced rather than rushing from one site to another.

My main suggestion: do your own research and don’t overload your daily schedule. Pick one or two areas with a few points of interest and just go with the flow. You’ll love getting lost while wandering around. Even though we kept our plan light, there were still a few things we couldn’t fit in.

Restaurants: if you don’t want to queue or stress about reservations at those “must-try” places everyone talks about, just rely on Tabelog or Google reviews and book something that looks good. You don’t need a Michelin-starred restaurant to eat well in Japan!

I’m happy to share the restaurants we tried, and I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve been to any of these:

Tokyo – • Sushi Ginza Onodera (Sushi / Omotesando) • Cossot’ SP (Teppanyaki / Roppongi) • Magurobito (Sushi / Asakusa) • Narafuku (Traditional omakase / Ebisu) • Sushi Zanmai (Ueno / Sushi) • Gonpachi Nishi-Azabu (Izakaya) • Robatasho (Shinjuku)

Most sushi spots have several branches. We didn’t make any reservations. Ginza Onodera was by far the best. The only disappointment was Gonpachi — very touristy and the food was below expectations. You can go for the Kill Bill vibes, but not for the food. Robatasho had great food and atmosphere, and Cossot’ SP was one of the best meals I’ve ever had.

Kyoto – • Pontocho Fujiwara (Sushi omakase) • Kushikatsu Casual Izakaya Fukukitaru (Izakaya) • Nishiki Market • Wagyu Yakiniku Kyoto Gyuen Sanjokawaramachi

I highly recommend Fujiwara if you’re looking for a great, affordable omakase. The Izakaya is also worth a visit for the vibes. Nikishi market even if touristic has great options and quality.

Lastly, I’d like to say a few words about the delicate topic of tourism and its clash with Japanese culture — something I saw mentioned a lot before my trip.

We’re used to traveling and always try to respect local customs. Of course, we noticed some people who didn’t: being loud, showing bad manners, or ignoring basic rules. Coming from Rome, I can say this happens in every major city with a high number of tourists. I didn’t witness anything extremely disrespectful in Japan — people are simply overwhelmed by the crowds at times. Maybe I was lucky, but I think that since many of us deeply love Japan and want to preserve its beauty, we sometimes end up developing a bit of xenophobia toward other tourists.

Overall, Japan met all my expectations. I can’t wait to come back.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/betacatenin on 2025-10-27 21:24:04+00:00.

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Just returned from 9 days in Tokyo and Kyoto for our first trip and wanted to share some highlights and our general itinerary in case it’s helpful to anyone! We took the new HAL direct flight from SEA to NRT, which was about 11 hours there and 8.5 hours back. With our jobs and not wanting to leave our cats for too long this was kind of the max amount of time we wanted to be gone, but I feel like we made it work for us.

About us: Married couple in our early 30s, no kids, generally like more relaxed trips. We are early birds (went to bed around 9 and woke up at 5 for almost the entire trip), love food and animals, don’t drink so nightlife is not a priority for us. This was our first trip to Japan so I wanted to see most of the “touristy” things, but we do hope to return someday and go a bit farther off the beaten path.

Weather: I was a little bit worried leading up to our trip that it would rain most of the time but the weather was honestly pretty perfect for us in both Tokyo and Kyoto. We had a few light sprinkles on a couple of days but not enough to need an umbrella (and being from Seattle I refused to buy one unless it started dumping rain). It didn’t really start raining until our last day in Kyoto and again right before we left for the airport. Low-mid 70s with some sun, it was perfect. Didn’t need a jacket most days (maybe at night but like I mentioned we were usually back in the hotel by 7ish).

Where we stayed: For the first part of our trip in Tokyo we stayed at the B:Conte in Asakusa. I chose the Asakusa area with the intention of being somewhere a little out of the way of the busy city and we were very happy with it. It was maybe a little busier than we thought it would be, but not in the same way that Shibuya/Shinjuku were. We loved being able to walk to Senso-ji in the morning before the crowds, it was a totally different experience then. It was a little loud at night because our hotel was right above a busy street with izakayas but these closed around 10-11 and it was otherwise very peaceful. We loved Asakusa and would stay there again.

In Kyoto we stayed at the Hotel Granvia at Kyoto Station. I can’t recommend it enough, both for the location and the hotel itself which had amazing views of Kyoto tower and the mountains, and very clean and spacious rooms. Would stay here again in a heartbeat and it was so nice being right at Kyoto station for the convenience but when you’re in the hotel you would have no idea how busy the train station is right below you because it’s so nice and quiet.

We came back to Tokyo for one more night before our flight and stayed at the Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Marunouchi which I chose because it’s right next to Tokyo station (for a convenient trip to the airport the next day) but the hotel itself was meh (we booked a standard room since it was just one night and the room was very small and dated, not my favorite to be quite honest).

Getting around: We both used mobile Suica on our iPhones for the trains and buses (took a lot more buses in Kyoto and mostly trains in Tokyo). We took cabs a few times and didn’t find them to be too expensive. Certainly cheaper than uber in the states. 

Itinerary: We spent 4 nights in Tokyo (so 3 full/non-traveling days) and then took the Shinkansen to Kyoto where we spent another 4 nights (3 full days) before heading back to Tokyo the day before our flight home (6:30PM JST). I generally tried to plan at most 1 big (scheduled) thing per day to allow the rest of the trip for exploring/discovering new things/returning to any place we wanted to go again. In Tokyo our big things were: Tokyo skytree (this was more spontaneous/we decided to go the day of), teamLab Planets, Shibuya Sky. In Kyoto our big things were: Kyoto railway museum, Arashiyama bamboo forest/monkey park, Nara day trip, Fushimi Inari Taisha hike, and the new teamLab Biovortex. In between all of that, we did lots of shopping (clothes and pokemon centers), trying food spots, and honestly relaxing back at the hotel early because we did 20-25k steps a day and were beat.

Day by day:

Day 0 (10/15): Arrived just after 4pm, exhausted, no sleep on the plane. Got to our hotel, grabbed some dinner, went to sleep.

Day 1 (10/16): No set plans this day. We were in Asakusa so went to Senso-ji super early. Then some shopping in Ginza, 12 floor Uniqlo, back to the hotel for a break. Explored more of Asakusa and went to a rescue cat cafe.

Day 2 (10/17): Teamlab Planets, Tokyo skytree later in the afternoon. Dinner at Waunn in Asakusa.

Day 3 (10/18): Explored and got food in Ueno, walked through Akihabara, made our way to Shibuya for our Shibuya Sky entry time. Dinner and then explored Shibuya.

Day 4 (10/19): One last morning trip to Senso-ji, checked out of the hotel and made our way to Tokyo Station to take the Shinkansen to Kyoto. Dropped off luggage, went to Kyoto railway museum. Explored Nishiki market later that night.

Day 5 (10/20): Arashiyama day

Day 6: (10/21): Nara park/Nara day

Day 7 (10/22): Fushimi Inari Taisha in the morning, Gion later that night for dinner. We were pretty beat by this point so had a long rest in the hotel in between.

Day 8 (10/23): Teamlab Biovortex in the morning then Shinkansen back to Tokyo. Made the mission to Shinjuku that night after dinner to see the giant 3D cat because...well we hadn't seen it yet and if you can't tell we're big cat people lol.

Day 9 (10/24): Last bit of walking around Tokyo, walked to the Imperial Palace and saw the Emperor's motorcade leaving, Narita Express to NRT.

Notes on major places we went:

• Tokyo Skytree: So like I said I booked this the morning of, and I had booked a 3pm slot. At the same time, I also decided to book a restaurant reservation in Asakusa for 5pm, thinking that was plenty of time to walk or take the train back because how long could we really spend at the observation deck? It was an easy walk to Skytree town from Asakusa and we were able to stop at the Pokemon Center to get the Skytree Pikachu before getting in line for our time slot aaaaand then spent almost the entire next 2 hours in line. I’m talking a line to scan our ticket, a line to get through the security screening, a line to get into the elevator up to the deck, and then a line to get into the elevator for the galleria, and then 2 more lines to get into the elevators back down. So obviously we were scrambling to get to our restaurant reservation and ended up taking a cab and were a few minutes late. I don’t know if it is always this busy or if we chose a bad day/time (it was a pretty nice clear day and close to sunset) but considering I was able to get same day tickets for a pretty prime timeslot, I’m guessing they way oversell tickets. If it’s always this busy I can’t say I recommend this one, although the view was nice.
• Shibuya Sky: Booked these tickets a couple of weeks prior and got the 2:40PM slot (obviously the ones closer to sunset were sold out). Traumatized by the Skytree experience the previous day, we were considering skipping this one as to not spend our limited time standing in line again, but we ultimately ended up doing it and to my surprise it was much less crowded and crazy (probably because tickets are limited). Got through line and up the elevator in less than 10 minutes. It was a great view but very windy up on the observation decks and it was not a good day for a sunset so we left before it got dark to beat dinner crowds, although it would have been fun to get a night view of the city from up there.
• teamLab Planets (Tokyo)/teamLab Biovortex (Kyoto): I booked Planets first (chose this one over Borderless because it is closing I think at the end of next year). I learned about the brand new one in Kyoto later and decided it would be fun to see so got tickets for that as well. Overall, I don’t think you need to do both. I liked Planets better because it was brighter/better for photos, my husband enjoyed Biovortex more because it felt more immersive. Both were fun but I’d probably skip Biovortex if I could do it over. We spent less than 2 hours at each of them, if that gives you an idea for timing.
• Kyoto railway museum: We went here after arriving in Kyoto before checking into our hotel, so we walked from Kyoto station and it was a nice pleasant walk there and back. The museum was cool to see, this was an activity request from my husband. It was a sunday afternoon so lots of families with kids (I think we were the only ones without a little one haha) so kids would definitely love this and it was a nice way to kill time before hotel checkin time.
• Arashiyama bamboo forest/monkey park: We got up probably around 5:30-6 this day and got to the bamboo forest by 7:30. When we got off the train it was pretty obvious the group of us tourists walking toward the forest, joked with a few others how we didn’t need Maps at that point. Getting there by 7:30AM, there were some folks already leaving and it was busy-ish but not terrible and we were able to take some photos without too many people. I would say maybe an hour after that, it probably got unbearably crowded. We hung out for a bit, walked up to the observation spot overlooking the river and made our way to the monkey park where we got in line around 8:40 and there were a few people already ahead of us. Line was long by the time it opened at 9:00. Hike up the mountain took about 15 minutes and it was not terribly diffic...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Ophidion on 2025-10-27 01:40:03+00:00.

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This will be quite a long post so I’ll put the short summary here at the top before jumping into the detailed report. I’ve also highlighted specific places we visited to make skimming the post easier. We got many ideas for our trip from r/JapanTravel and I wanted to pay it forward by calling out many of those experiences here.

 

My wife [36F] and I [37M] went to Japan for the third time this October. We spent 16 days split up between 8 days in Tokyo, 4 days in Yakushima, 2 days in Takachiho, and 2 days in Fukuoka. I speak some Japanese as I studied it in school, but that was over 15 years ago and it’s been 7 years since we’ve last been to Japan. Since we’ve been to Japan a few times before, the goal of this trip was just to take it easy and not overstuff or overplan our days. As it turned out, the theme of this trip was food, drinks, and vibes. We aren’t big coffee drinkers but discovered amazing hand poured coffee cafes and several great places to just relax and pass the time. I think our favorite place overall was Yakushima and our favorite lodging was in Takachiho. Fukuoka is under-rated and we could spend months in Tokyo.

 

Tokyo - Day 1 (Landing)

We landed in the evening at Narita and took the bus to The MiraCosta at DisneySea. My wife is a big Disney fan and absolutely loved DisneySea the last time we were in Japan so she wanted to spend our wedding anniversary there for this trip. We splurged for a couple of nights there.

Tokyo - Day 2 (DisneySea)

I’ll keep the Disney section of the report brief, but we had a great time. For anyone who has never been, the food and upkeep at DisneySea/Tokyo Disneyland is very good compared to other parks and big Disney fans should 100% go to DisneySea.

Tokyo - Day 3 (Disneyland)

We spent the next day at Tokyo Disneyland and moved over to the Toy Story hotel for the night. The nice thing is the Disney hotels will move your bags for you so it makes it simple to change rooms/hotels. My wife wanted to see the Beauty and the Beast ride since it’s unique to Japan and we both loved it.

Tokyo - Day 4 (Shimo-Kitazawa)

We checked out of our hotel and dropped off our bags at the Tokyu Stay in Shinjuku sanchome before heading over to Shirohige's Cream Puff Factory to try their Totoro cream puffs. We didn’t get lucky for the Ghibli Museum lottery so this was our consolation. We grabbed a handful of cream puffs and ate them upstairs at TOLO Coffee & Bakery to enjoy the puffs with coffee (note: there is a small charge to consume the puffs upstairs in TOLO if you buy them downstairs at Shirohige’s. However, it’s the same price if you buy the puffs directly in TOLO itself). A great combination and the true start of the vibes portion of the trip. The cafe is cozy and a nice place to relax in Kitazawa.

The Shimo-Kitazawa neighborhood was very quiet and it was nice to walk around. We hit up another cafe for some savory french toast (Cafe Latte) and headed over to Nakano Broadway to knock out some of the shopping we wanted to do. I enjoyed Nakano Broadway a lot and, in retrospect, it was one of the best places to look around for anime/video game souvenirs that turned out to be much harder to find in other places.

We headed back to Shimo-Kitazawa for dinner but got confused and ended up in the wrong restaurant for dinner. We went to Toku Toku by mistake and I couldn’t read the stylized, handwritten Japanese menu. It was nice having some background in Japanese for this since I could pull the ripcord on ordering and just politely asked for the waitress’ recommendation for both of us. Japanese is required for this restaurant, in my opinion, since there was no English menu and the wait staff we spoke with only spoke Japanese.

We got very good grilled mackerel as a result and then headed over to Little Soul Cafe, a vinyl listening bar to just vibe out some more. I absolutely loved this place. The place is small, but lined almost completely with vinyl records. The owner knows exactly where every record is and keeps the music going so smoothly while serving some of the best rum you can get. I had never had cuban rum before and having a couple of cuban rum old fashioneds while vibing out to soul and funk music was a highlight of the trip for us.

Tokyo - Day 5 (Shibuya, Asakusa)

After sleeping in a little bit we were craving our favorite Japanese food: Tonkatsu. We headed over from the hotel to Katsukura Tonkatsu. Unsurprisingly the tonkatsu was excellent, but I also discovered hojicha genmai. I’m a sucker for hojicha and didn’t even know this existed. It’s hojicha blended with toasted brown rice, so there’s a nuttiness and savory notes that are really pleasant.

After lunch we spent a bunch of time at the MEGA Donki in Shibuya to buy candy, cosmetics, and souvenirs for people back home. Don Quijote is crowded, hard to move around in, and the theme song will absolutely drive you into an unshakeable madness but we love Don Don Don, Donnnki, Don Qi….JOOOTEEE.

To soothe our minds and get back on track with vibes, we walked from Don Quijote over to the kissaten Chatei Hatou. After waiting a bit we were directed to sit at the counter where we got to watch the staff making hand-dripped coffee to serve with chiffon cake. It was a perfect way to reset after Don Quijote and the light rain that had started.

We dropped our haul off at the hotel and jumped over to Asakusa to see Senso-ji at night and walk around. We grabbed some quick unagi and beef at Asakusa Yadoki Gyu Una and some tayaki at Taiyaki Sawata before heading back to Shinjuku. My wife was tired and I wanted to explore more so I walked through Golden Gai to scout it out. It’s a really cool area but, honestly, I didn’t think it was our kind of scene so I headed back to the room and we decided not to give it a go. Maybe if I was 15 years younger and with a larger group of friends I’d have given it a shot.

Tokyo - Day 6 (Yokohama Oktoberfest)

We woke up a bit earlier today to wait in line for Cafe Aaliya. We had tried to go the previous day but decided not to wait in the long line and headed to tonkatsu instead. Seven/eight years ago we went to Cafe Aaliya and loved the french toast so we knew we were going to go probably more than once during this trip. Today worked out as we only had to wait about 35 minutes to get seated. It was a weekend so I thought that was actually pretty good. If you like fluffy french toast and good coffee this place is wonderful.

After breakfast we caught the train down to the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse area to experience Oktoberfest. And, you guys, I’m telling you it was a surreal experience. We walk in about 45ish minutes after the gates opened and there are hundreds of people in the tent surrounding the oompah band with over a dozen different breweries lining the perimeter offering fest beers, pretzels, Japanese food and desserts. No joke the minute we walk into the tent there’s an enormous conga line dancing around inside the tent and everyone is joining in with the music. I’m so happy I dragged my wife down there because it was such a unique experience.

At the same time as the Oktoberfest there was a huge dog meetup happening in the Red Brick Warehouse area. So we’re walking around with giant steins of beer and pretzels just watching all of the dogs in costumes, dog strollers, and dog vendors lining the area. We found a Leonard’s Bakery that stopped us in our tracks. We had no idea there was a Leonard’s in Japan and we love the malasadas they make in Hawaii so we dutifully stood in line for half-a-dozen deep-fried donuts.

Heading back to Shinjuku we hit up a favorite gyoza place of ours that we had gone to on a previous trip Gyoza no Fukuho. We ate 46 gyoza between the two of us then walked over to the east exit of Shinjuku Station to watch the curved LED screen with a giant 3D cat.

Tokyo - Day 7 (Shinjuku Gyoen and even more Vibes)

We started the day by going over to All Seasons Coffee and having oreo cheesecake with our lattes. Did I mention food and drinks played a major role in our trip?

From there we walked around Shinjuku Gyoen for a couple of hours. We always enjoy seeing people picnicking on the grass and the lush green gardens in the center of an enormous city like Tokyo. From there we hopped over to Yanaka Ginza to indulge in cat-themed shopping. We got some hilariously funny shirts, nice figurines, and baked goods.

For dinner we jumped down to Meguro for more tonkatsu over at Tonki. We have a soft spot for Tonki and really enjoy watching the assembly line production that is going on at the first floor while enjoying great food. That area of Meguro is known for great tonkatsu restaurants so I’d recommend looking around there if you’re interested. Opinions vary on which is truly the best of the tonkatsu in that area but they’re all great in their own way.

After dinner we journeyed over to the Hotel New Otani Tokyo near the center of the city. It’s surprisingly hard to reach, but we found our way to Trader Vic’s to indulge in our love of Tiki. The Halloween theming was on point and the tiki drinks were unbelievably good. We even grabbed a few tiki mugs on our way out. The fugu mug was too clever to ignore. The one thing I will say though, is that I was sad how empty the place was. While we were there on a weekday nig...

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A few days ago I posted the first draft of my itinerary here and got some helpful feedback. After doing a bit more research, I completed it and decided to gather some more opinions about it.

I know a major part of the sub don't like detailed itineraries like mine, but I didn't go into the "hour/minute" detail which even I agree it's too much, so I just made a list of the places I want to visit in that day, and arranged the order by checking in google maps to do minimal backtracking (or none at all in most days). The order of locations in each day posted below is the order I intend to follow.

To add a bit of context without needing to go into my first post, I'm 30 yold male and it will be my first time in Japan. Will be traveling solo and pretend to go in May after the golden week.

I will also add two more extra days (without planning them) to the trip as a precaution in case I get sick because I don't want to skip anything.

Besides this, is there anything else that I haven't considered?

DAY 0 - Arrive in Tokyo

I don't plan to do anything in the first day because probably I'll have a tremendous jetlag (coming from South America).

DAY 1 - AKASAKA

My choice of location to stay is Akasaka, because it’s a central area close to all the places I want to visit in Tokyo, so first real day is to check the hotel area.

• Sauna
• Hie Shrine
• Akasaka Biz Tower
• Japan Tradicional Crafts
• Toyokawa Inari
• Shiawase Inari
• Jazz bar at night

DAY 2 - AKIHABARA

• Yodobashi Akiba
• Radio Kaikan
• Kotobukiya
• Super Potato
• Akiba Culture Zone
• Mandarake Complex
• Animate
• Taito Station
• Don Quijote
• Kanda Sanctuary

Plan to spend almost all day there so going to Taito Station/Don Quijote when is night already, followed by the sanctuary before returning to the hotel area.

DAY 3 - SHIBUYA

• Meiji Jingu
• Shibuya Scramble/Hachiko Square
• Yamada Denki
• UNIQLO Shibuya
• Musashi Japan
• Shibuya PARCO
• Roppongi at night

My plan is to get to Shibuya Parco after lunch and staying there almost until night time. I originally planned to go to Shibuya Sky at night after leaving PARCO, but as I understand by reading the website is that I have to be there at 3pm. I really wanted to see the town at night, but I think if I would have to stay there from 3pm to night time I'll just bore myself.

DAY 4 - SHINJUKU

• Gyoen National Park
• ME Tokyo Arcade
• Shinjuku Flags Mall
• Hanazono Shrine
• UNIQLO Shinjuku Honten
• Tokyo Metropolitan (my Shibuya Sky replacement)
• Omoide Yokocho
• Shin-Ōkubo Kankoku Yokochō
• Kabukicho Main Gate
• Golden Gai
• SEGA Fliperama

I know it's a long list, so my plan is to start at Gyoen when it opens, and get to UNIQLO Shinjuku after lunch time, going to Tokyo Metropolitan before sunset and leaving after gets dark. I'm a shy and introverted person so I'll go to Golden Gai just out of curiosity, but don't intend to stay much.

DAY 5 - KAMAKURA/YOKOHAMA

After seeing Chris Abroad "How to spend 14 days in Japan" video, the cities of Kamakura and Yokohama really drawed my attention. I also hope this day to be a breath of fresh air by going out of the Tokyo area for a while.

KAMAKURA

• Bicycle Rent Shop (will visit all places by bike!)
• Kōtoku-in Kamakura Daibutsu
• Hokokuji Temple
• Komachi Dori
• Giraffa Curry Bread
• Tsurugaoka Hachimangu

YOKOHAMA

• Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum
• Minato Mirai Harbour
• CupNoodles Museum
• Chinatown

I really want to go to Senkaien garden as well, but I don't think it fits because both the garden and CupNoodles museum closes at 17h, but the CupNoodles museum is at walking distance from Chinatown, while the garden is not. So I'll include in case I have time.

DAY 6 - KYOTO

It's time to go to Kyoto! My plan is to wake up really really early (5/6am) to try to get to Kiyomizu-dera around 8am. My choice of location to stay is Ginza, close to Pontocho Alley.

• Kiyomizu-dera
• Sannenzaka
• Ninenzaka
• Kodaiji
• Chion-in Temple
• Gion Corner Geiko Show
• Onsen
• Pontocho Alley

DAY 7 - KYOTO

The locations from Kinkaku-ji to Monkey Park are all in the same area, my plan is to get to Monkey Park around 2pm until closing time (4pm) and go to Fushimi Inari after.

• Kinkaku-ji (opens 9am)
• Ryoan-ji Zen Garden
• Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
• Tenryuji Temple
• Ōkōchi Sansō
• Monkey Park Iwatayama
• Senbon Torii/Fushimi Inari

DAY 8 - KYOTO

This day will be a real exercise! I like hiking and trekking, so I don't want to lose the opportunity to do a hike there and be a more close to nature.

• Nanzen-ji
• Philosopher’s Path
• Ginkaku-ji
• Daimonji Hike

DAY 9 - KYOTO

Light day, I purposelly planned a small list of activities to relax after a hiking day.

• Nijo Castle
• SAMURAI NINJA MUSEUM
• Kyoto Tower
• Spa/onsen/massage at night

DAY 10 - NARA/OSAKA

On this day I plan to travel to Nara and Osaka, but without checking out of the hotel in Kyoto. My reasoning is that Osaka is so close that I really don't need to change to a hotel there.

NARA

• Nakatanidou Mocchi
• Kōfuku-ji
• Nara Park
• Tōdai-ji
• Kasuga Taisha

OSAKA

• Umeda Sky
• Namba
• Dōtonbori
• Hozenji
• Back to the hotel in Kyoto

DAY 11 - OSAKA

Last day of my trip. Osaka is the place I least researched for so I don't really know if is the best place to end my trip (referring to Shinsekai), but the atmosphere by photos seems really nice.

• Osaka Castle
• Abeno Harukas
• Tennoji Park
• Tsutenkaku
• Shinsekai

And that's it, day 12 is going to the airport and going back to South America.

If you read up to here, please leave a comment! Any feedback is welcome.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Kidlike101 on 2025-10-22 13:33:20+00:00.

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PRE-TRIP

Some background for context. I’m in my mid-forties, my health has been yo-yoing the past few years and I have a bad right leg (broken hip + busted knee from an old injury).

While I did visit Japan last year in spring 2024 for this trip I had one goal, climb a mountain! Ok so, this has been a bucketlist item of mine that I always saw as “haha, never-gonna-happen.” But after a health scare… anyway after some digging I settled on Mount Takao.

I wanted to experience Japan in the autumn this time and that seemed like a popular daytrip for fall. Also it’s beginner friendly with the option of multiple trails and a chairlift for the descent.

I started going on 5 kms daily walks 3 months in advance to prepare. All the main bookings were made in late March or early April, which is why the prices seem low for an October trip.

The goal, experience Japan in autumn and hike up Mt. Takao!

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DAY 0 (Singapore Airlines, KIX, Arriving in Osaka)

Singapore Airlines – 8/10

Multi-city round ticket, Economy. $600 + $60 for seat selection. Landing at KIX, Osaka. Leaving from Narita, Tokyo.

As an airline this was a comfortable trip. Service is top shelf, the meals decent and a 25kg check-in weight allowance. The ongoing flight included a one hour layover in Singapore so I was worried about that but they’re super-efficient and even with a checked bag there were no issues. I will note that the chairs are rather narrow.

The first leg of the trip the lady sitting next to me was all elbows -- and later all knees! On the second part of the journey I caught the attention of a toddler from the family one row over. For some reason she insisted on checking and rechecking the pouch of my seat. I’m not sure what she expected to find in there but she was persistent! The lady next to me this time turned out to be from Osaka and just returning from holiday, time just flew as we chatted (and the toddler’s exploration attempts!).

Once in KIX I noticed a lot had changed since last year. They finally completed the renovations and customs/immigration section was now massive. Last year I was one of only 5 people in the QR-code lane in the airport. This time, the majority were in that lane with only a few completing the paper version on-site. I actually timed it, Landed at 4:05 PM and was done with customs/immigration AND collected my bags at 4:20 PM. There were over 20 stations specifically for the Visit Japan Web QR-Code holders and everything was color coded depending on where you were classified so it moved ridiculously fast.

Tip Currently JR has a special offer for foreign tourist specifically for the Haruka Express to or from KIX. If you book your train ticket online through them (or like me, through Klook) then the ticket is heavily discounted, almost at half price. Also, it’s an open-timed ticket, so you’re not tied to a specific train or even a date. Just show up, redeem the QR code at the machine and board the train on the spot.

Shin-Osaka Station Hotel - 7.5/10

$86 per night, 5 nights.

Located 4 minutes away from Shin Osaka station this is your typical business hotel. Very clean and no frills it was a comfortable stay if rather basic. Because of the time of year + Expo 2025 the price was rather high but for Osaka it was basement bargain bin prices to be honest for this much space.

My only complaint was that after landing I did the fall-on-the-bed-to-be-embraced-by-fluffiness thing just to end up with a head injury. Turns out they use traditional buckwheat pillows (I think), just imagine a bag of Quaker Oats as your pillow and you’ve got it. Otherwise, they are a pretty solid place to stay and the location was VERY convenient, surprisingly quiet too.

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DAY 1 (Shrines, Osaka Castle, New Pillow)

Step count for the day = 32.7K steps

Today was the open (let’s explore Osaka day) taking it slow after a long flight. You saw the step count right? So you know that’s not what really happened. Ok, let’s GO GO GO!

First on the list, visit Samuhara Shrine. I heard they sell a special ring to ward off evil. Turns out you only qualify for that as a resident as its custom made. So I paid my respects and got a normal amulet, the priest was nice enough to actually write a wording spell and attach it too. I think the shrine is popular because by the time I left there was actually a very long queue of people waiting to pray.

Next stop is Osaka Castle. I got turned around a few times here because it took a while to find literally anything. Still, it end up as a highlight. The castle exterior is lovely and I opted for the boat ride as well, while waiting for that I again got lost on the grounds and found an area full of spider lilies in full bloom! So lucky, I heard they’re a September thing!

Leaving the boat I was handed a flyer for some Expo 2025 event thing, they had set up a food court of sorts just outside the castle in the baseball field so I figured why not, it was almost lunch time anyway.

I was enjoying my first Takoyaki of the trip right up until I got attacked by a murder hornet! Ok so it was just bee but dear god was it HUGE! Why are the bugs in Japan so big! I may or may not have jumped and screamed causing the entire bench to topple over and caused a fuss. I admit nothing!

Belly full and still a bit hyper I wanted to visit a few more shrines from my list. The Moss covered one (Hozenji Temple) and the lion head (Namba Yasaka Shrine). Got the first Omikuji of the trip, Great Blessings! This is going to be so ironic later, just wait.

Namba is sorta distracting to be honest. Lots of interesting food stalls and shops. At this point I was already at 25K steps and really starting to feel it, heavy with shopping bags I headed to my hotel… which is when I remembered that bludgeoning weapon of a pillow they had!

This is where the remaining steps come in. Just me, totally lost in Umeda, trying to find a department store that sold pillows and navigate my way back. Worth it, used that thing the whole trip!

Tip A random purchase today ended up the MVP of the trip. A rain + UV ultralight umbrella I picked up from the conbini for 1500 yen. Used it every single day including in the middle of a literal typhoon, and it actually held! Seriously get one, the compact type fits right into your purse without adding weight to it and Tokyo Hands has some really nice ones.

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DAY 2 (Himeji, Five Hep Mall)

Step count for the day = 23.2K steps

One of the things I wasn’t too sure of was the regional JR pass. I got the 7 day Sanyo Sanin Northern Kyushu Pass (voucher) for the trip and activated it today. I was worried it would limit my options but turns out it actually gave me more travel flexibility. Also, I want to note that even after some planned day trips got cancelled the Pass paid for itself twice over just from the base trips.

Anyway first day trip was one carried over from last year’s wishlist. Himeji! I always wanted to see the castle, because of my leg though I skipped the interior (7 flights of stairs!) and spent most of the day in Koko-in Garden. Gorgeous place and very serene, there is a little restaurant there and I strongly urge you to have a meal in it. The entire wall overlooking the waterfall is glass so no matter where you are seated you have a view of the Koi pond and waterfall. It was just the best!

Around Midday I was getting tired so back to Osaka, by the way if you ever visit Himeji just know the view outside the station is deceptive. The minute you step outside you’ll see the castle so your mind tricks you into thinking (Oh, it’s right there)… it’s a 20 minute walk, a bit longer if you’re me but yeah get ready for that.

Anyway, remember how I got lost in Umeda yesterday while looking for a pillow? Well, there was one Mall that caught my eye called Hep Five. I think it’s because of the giant red Ferris wheel on top of it (yes, ON TOP of the building). It was only after I bought a ticket and got ready to get on that I remembered something, I don’t like heights! Wait, why did I even want to do this! Eek! High, too high!

After a minor panic attack I was back on solid ground and remembered why I wanted to go here. They had an Ichiban Kuji store! D’oh! Anyway I really wanted to try that after watching quite a few youtubes about it. One epic fail later, I had a nice evening window shopping and trying different little treats.

The day was muddled a bit because on the way back I quite literally ran into my first bumping man (Butsukari otoko). The guy looked me in the eye before picking up speed to shoulder check me as hard as he could. Mind you, he was rather young and I’m old enough to be his mother so that was a really weird experience.

Tip There is a rather famous store in Kobe called Frantz. It seems they expanded because I came across a branch in Shin-Osaka station. Today I discovered why their “Magic Jars” are a must try item in Kobe. Seriously if you come across them get those Jars, they’re out of this world amazing and this is from someone that doesn’t care for pudding. Oh and they sell chocolate covered freeze dried strawberries in Narita airport. My family adored those, they are expensive but quality.

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DAY 3 (USJ)

Step count for the day = 26.5K steps

My Day in USJ…

Last year this was my most ant...

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Very long post incoming! Tried not to embellish too much and stick to the main points of our trip.

My partner (28M) and I (28F) were originally planning on going to Japan in 2020, but due to Covid-19 that trip was postponed to June-July of 2025. Since we were first timers, we decided to do the typical big 3 cities and sprinkle in some day trips or one-night stays. We didn't pack our days full of activities, as so to be able to experience everything to the fullest.

Even though it was supposed to be rainy season, we only experienced 3 days of rain.

Looking back I am very happy with our itinerary. Two things I would have done differently:

• doing Osaka as a day trip (for 1 or 2 days) from Kyoto. We loved Kyoto and were not as big of fans of Osaka..

• Secondly, BIG MISTAKE: we brought duffel backpacks. Good for stuffing full, but A NIGHTMARE to carry from station to station in 30-35 degree heat, especially when you're changing hotels often. Definitely doing a rolling one next time!

Day 1 (Sunday): Arrival at Narita

We landed in (and left from) Narita because it was cheaper than Haneda. We flew with Thai Airways which was perfect. We bought a physical Welcome Suica card at the station and each put 10.000 yen on it. First issue when we arrived: my luggage got lost (because of some delays in our layover in Bangkok). The staff in Narita was AMAZING: they wrote down all of our information. Everything was VERY organized and under control, I honestly never experienced something like it. In the end, my luggage was delivered to our hotel on Tuesday, two days after our arrival.

We stayed in an AirBnb by Cask Village in Itabashi for 7 nights. It was wonderful: beautiful and spacious room, close to two metro stations, about a 30min ride to any major attractions or districts, kitchen and washer included!

Day 2 (Monday): Senso-ji temple, Asakusa, Sumida Aquarium and Tokyo Skytree

First thing in de morning was Senso-ji temple. Was kind of blown away by the amount of people. We roamed around Asakusa and then went to Tokyo Skytree. My partner wanted to wait until just before sunset to enter Tokyo Skytree, and because the aquarium was in the same building we decided to got. Honestly, SUCH a beautiful experience! It wasn't on our itinerary but I'd recommend it to anyone! Afterwards we went to Tokyo Skytree and saw mount Fuji!

Day 3 (Tuesday): Meji Shrine, Inner Garden and Harajuku

Second day of 30 degree heat! Meji shrine felt so much more serene and calm than Sensoji, and we even witnessed a wedding! Afterwards we went to Harajuku and randomly booked a massage (at Arona Spa), because I'm prone to serious headaches and you know, why not! It was amazing being in this very calm space in the middle of such a big city. After that we explored Harajuku and Shibuya, tried out a Purikura photomachine. The small side streets of Shibuya are SO cozy to roam through!! It's like you're in a completely different city. One of my favorite memories of the trip. In the evening we tried out Kura (conveyor belt sushi). The food was okay, but it was cool to experience.

Day 4 (Wednesday): Tokyo DisneySea

Fourth day was completely dedicated to Tokyo DisneySea. Arrived there at around 8h45 (about 15 minutes before the park opens) and we were in line for about 45 minutes before we entered the park. Luckily we brought an umbrella to protect ourselves from the blazing sun.

Tokyo DisneySea is beautiful! It didn't feel 100% like Disney to me, but we're not huge disney fanatics anyway, so we just enjoyed the beauty of the park. Lines were brutal, so we bought Premier Access about 4 times. It's not cheap, but so worth it. We probably saved around 4h by not having to stand in line. We paid around 7500 yen each (on top of entrance ticket) for PA.

Must do's: try all the churro flavors, they're so good + definitely try the gyoza! Soaring is a beautiful ride and Rapunzel is beautifully made - whether you're a big fan or not. The Toy Story ride was so much fun!

Day 5 (Thursday): Tsukiji market & exploring Ginza

Tsukiji market was very busy, but it was cool to see all the fish vendors. After lunch we went to explore Ginza and Ginza six. If you're into books (any kind): the Tsutuya Books store inside Ginza Six is heaven. We went up to the top floor of the mall and you get a nice view of Tokyo from there. Tried to go to the Imperial Palace but was closed already. This is where we learnt that gardens and such close quite early in Japan (around 16h mostly).

Day 6 (Friday): Ghibli Museum & Akihabara

By some stroke of luck we managed to get tickets for the Ghibli museum. If you're a Ghibli fan, obviously try to get tickets - it's amazing!!! The merch store was slightly disappointing though. Afterwards we explored the neighborhood and there's so many cute little cafes and stores!!

Afternoon was Akihabara and I love anime/figures/gaming so I loved it there! We stayed until the evening and it was very cool to see Akihabara by nighttime. Bought a couple of figures in Traders bc I honestly didn't know where the best deals were. I'm pretty sure I got an OK deal on both figures (they weren't anything major). Went to a Don Quijote for about 10 minutes and I never want to go inside one again. In my experience: everything you can get at a Don Quijote, you can get at any other pharmacy/souvenir shop/sweet shop.

Day 7 (Saturday): Shinjuku, more Shibuya and teamLab Planets

Started with Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. Very peaceful! Next up was Shibuya crossing (didn't do it last time) and some second hand shops.

In the afternoon we take the train to Odaiba for our evening teamlab planets visit. This was my partner's idea and I thought it would be a tourist trap, but it felt so magical! The barefoot part was my favorite. I would definitely recommend it.

Day 8 (Sunday): Gotokuji, Shimokitazawa and train to Hakone

One of my favorite days in Tokyo. Gotokuji was one of my favorite temples: not too busy, very cute and cute backstory/history as well. We went in the early morning so maybe that's why the crowds were okay. We went to Shimokitazawa afterwards. Very trendy-feeling neighborhood while cozy at the same time. Amazing if you like thrifting! Wish we could've spent more time there, but had to catch a train to Hakone.

We stayed in Hakone Kowakien Mikawaya Ryokan - our splurge of the trip. Had to book a room with private onsen, since I have quite a lot of tattoos on my arm. The staff was happy to provide a fabric sleeve if I wished to enter the public onsen. Gorgeous hotel, with a mini museum inside, spacious rooms, and a busstop close by.

Day 9 (Monday): Hakone Ropeway

Did the standard ropeway and boat over the lake. It was very beautiful. Too cloudy to spot mount Fuji unfortunately. We hiked some more in Hakone and in the evening took the train to Kyoto, where we stayed in Crush On hotel. Only good things to say: close to everything - we could do most of our trips by foot. spacious room with tatami mats and paper sliding doors, and most of all: a really big bathroom!

Day 10 (Tuesday): Kiyomizu dera & Kodai-ji

Can't speak enough on how much we loved Kyoto. Very different vibe from Tokyo. Aside from Gion that was very very busy, we could roam the streets and it was so calm and peaceful. Temple was gorgeous, even though it was packed. We ate lunch in Izuju Sushi and can't recommend them enough! We explored some more and went to Kodai-ji and it started pouring right as we entered (first rain of this trap we've had during the day). The grounds were almost deserted due to the rain and the rain made it even more special. Drank a green tea with a sweet in the tea house of the temple - never felt so peacful in my life - really recommend it.

Day 11 (Wednesday): Nishiki market, Teramachi Street & Fushimi Inari-Taisha shrine

Ate breakfast in Kanno Coffee, really cute little coffee bar. Went to Nishiki to go knife hunting, and roamed around Teramachi and hit up some thrift shops. I was blown away by the sheer volume of thrift stores! Really enjoyed it. Went to a Pokemon Center as well.

An hour before sunset (at around 18h30 PM) we went to Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine, to try and avoid the crowds. None of the crowds you see on social media! We were able to snap lots of pictures with almost nobody in the background :) Saw the sunset over Kyoto at the first viewpont. We didn't go all the way up because it was getting quite dark. It's quite a special feeling to explore the shrine at nighttime.

Day 12 (Thursday): Nishiki market part 2 and Imperial Palace

Went back for one of the knives my partner saw the day before. Bought beautiful woodblock prints in a cute little shop in Teramachi and drank coffee/matcha in a bar with an inner garden.

Afterwards went to the Imperial Palace - so cool! The gardens are stunning.

In the evening we go to Pontocho to explore all the restaurants but went out a little too late (at around 9PM), so a lot of restaurants weren't letting in any new customers for food.

Day 13 (Friday): hike from Kurama to Kibune

One of our favorite parts of the trip! The hike uphill is a bit challenging, but very much worth it! The rest of the hike was very doable. When arriving at Kibune we saw that it was possible to eat on platforms on top of the river/little waterfalls, but unfortunately these had to be booked in advance, and could only be booked by hotel sta...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/penpen35 on 2025-10-19 12:12:05+00:00.

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Just came back yesterday from my 9 days' solo trip to the Setouchi area. The itinerary was shared here, though that was mostly a general list of things to do each day, I'll go into a bit more detail here where applicable.

General stuff:

• All the traveling was public transport and walking (lots of walking). I have not biked on the Shimanami Kaido (I haven't biked in many years and I am a solo traveler), though I did use the bus as a filthy casual.
• Most of the pre-planning were done on Google maps. It was mostly accurate, though as I found out, sometimes you take more/less time than planned, and Google maps is there to help out again, though the times might be slightly off if you're a bit farther from the city. Super useful.
• I bought the JR Setouchi area pass. For my case where I went to Matsuyama and back, the value of this pass is immense.
• I've gradually used the bus more than the tram in cities. The bus has a broader network usually, and their speed is faster than trams.
• IC cards are useful in the area, especially since it's mostly serviced by JR West.
• My plan was to go after the China National days, so it's not as populated in some areas, so your mileage may vary. Hiroshima is definitely a popular spot for non-Asian tourists, though. Additionally, it seems like fall is only starting, as the trees are still basically all green.
• My mealtimes are slightly off to try to avoid crowds a little. Mostly my lunch would be at 12pm, and dinner at 5pm especially if I expect a crowd. Also, most places would close at 8pm, so take note of that.

Day 1 (Hiroshima half-day):

• Arrived at Hiroshima airport. It is a rather small airport and the only way to get out of there (unless you rent a car) is by the limo bus. The bus goes to most major cities around the area. Obviously I took mine to Hiroshima station to first get my JR pass exchanged. The bus will take 1 hour, and if you come in by international flight, you need to get to the domestic arrivals area for the bus tickets, though I believe you can also use the IC cards.
• I also had lunch in the airport, Oyster Farm Hiroshima felt like a good choice then, though I somehow only ordered a plan rice curry with nothing else (it does come with a small salad though).
• I stayed in Dormy Inn at the center of the city. This one is a little old, and my room view is the next building's terrace, but again Dormy Inn slaps (see day 6 in link). Also mostly convenient as well to other areas. Furthermore, this one offers a free shuttle directly to Hiroshima station, though you need to reserve first (but I didn't use).
• Checked out Hondori at night and it was a pretty nice shopping area. The highlight was the B-side Label shop which had a lot of cool and fun stickers.
• Dinner was at Kunimatsu Ramen. Mixed dandan noodles is a specialty in Hiroshima, and this one's rated highly. It was great.

Day 2 (Hiroshima):

• Hiroshima castle & park. The castle itself is basically rebuilt into a museum, though it does offer a decent view of the area on the top floor. There is a also a major shrine nearby.
• If you have a JR pass with you, you can take the loop bus outside the castle's east exit, and show to the driver to ride for free.
• Lunch was at Okonomiyaki Mitchan Sohonten Orizuru tower as I had to try out okonomiyaki after all. This one is near the atomic dome and technically it was a convenient place, though it was disappointing. The wait was rather long even if I arrived early, and I got a counter seat facing the street. The okonomiyaki wasn't very good, either (I liked the coke more than that). Better choices might be found by moving a block down to Hondori for food.
• I checked out Orizuru tower right on top of the restaurant. The top floor was really cool, especially with its location next to the atomic bomb dome. You can also pay an extra 100 yen to fold an origami crane and drop it down a chute to help form the crane wall art outside. And there's some exhibits about the history of the area pre and post bomb. However, I do feel 2000 yen admission fee is quite steep. There's also a slide to go down but nobody used it, and if you decide to walk down halfway and want to use the elevator, there's no way and you're forced to walk down to ground level.
• The atomic bomb dome is historic and a sight to behold. There's something amazingly dire about seeing a ruined building. Nothing more need to be said, as it's a must-go.
• The peace park is also a nice place to visit right after. I maybe spent an hour in the park, and if I really wanted to, maybe take at least an hour more. The monuments and free exhibits are great.
• Unfortunately a not so great experience in the Peace Memorial Museum. It's just so packed with people in the middle area (basically the bridge you see outside) that they should've instead do crowd control. Some of the exhibits are so crowded that you can't even get near. And there's parents taking kids in there who has no idea what's up and wants to leave or run amok, and a tourist guide stopping the flow of crowd so he can explain to his group and block others...it was just poor. The latter exhibits once the crowd starts to disperse is better. I know it's a must-go for tourists, but if you're able to, I highly recommend going to the one in Nagasaki instead.
• Heading back to the Hondori area, I checked out Animate and the Sunmall nearby.
• Dinner was at Reimenya. Another special dish in Hiroshima, this is a cold ramen with a spicy dipping sauce. As a disclaimer, there's basically only one dish to choose from, and you can ask for more/less spicy and pay for how much noodles you'd want (and also pay for extra meat). Very little people at dinnertime, though.

Day 3 (Matsuyama):

• This is where the JR Setouchi pass comes into play. You need to head to the ferry port first (via tram or bus - I did bus). Right when you get off, go to the main building and on the left side you can find the ferry ticket counter to Matsuyama. Show them your JR pass (might need to also show your passport - I needed to on the way back) and get the ticket to either the super jet, or the cruise ferry. The value comes from the super jet, which is 8800 yen for one way, and if you do a round trip, that's almost 80% of the pass' value. You can find the super jet's schedule here, though note it will change in November. It takes one hour for the super jet, and 3 if you take the ferry which is more luxurious.
• After you get off the Matsuyama sightseeing port, there is only one way to get to Matsuyama (unless you use a taxi). It's to take the shuttle bus to the train stop and ride into Matsuyama. There is NO direct limo bus from the port to the city anymore. Additionally, there were comments in Google map saying it didn't accept IC cards, it does now.
• Touristy protip on the train, sit on the right side, in the first car. You'll soon get to a station right next to the coast, and it's also a location used in Tokyo Love Story (a 90s J-drama).
• For me, I got off at Otemachi to get onto the tram to Dogo Onsen. In Dogo Onsen area, I had lunch and checked out this restaurant for the local food, the sea bream rice (though I wanted to try the steamed one, it takes 20 minutes according to the menu). It's not too populated, and you can order by QR code, so it's a great choice if you can't speak Japanese.
• I never planned to use the onsen in Dogo Onsen, though there really wasn't a line waiting outside pre-lunch, so I feel if I really wanted to, I could've taken it. The building is really nice, even.
• Going to Matsuyama castle, I had to take the bus (the one to Matsuyama airport but not the express one) and get off at this one and walk a bit to the ropeway. You can either take the cable car or the lift, but the lift seems more fun, so I took that.
• For Matsuyama castle, it is a hike. Even with the ropeway/lift up, you still need to walk up a considerable distance. I feel if you have some walking difficulties, it'll be very hard. Roads aren't paved, and inside the castle the stairs are pretty steep (also I didn't wear the slippers they provided and going up/down the stairs were not good to my feet). The castle itself is indeed impressive, and it's basically kept as-is, including the very steep stairs. But the views are great, and there's lots of cool historical stuff on display.
• Going downhill I actually walked the whole way down the south road to get to the nearest tram stop as planned. It's quite steep. In retrospect, I should've just rode the lift down and find a way to get to the city after.
• Unlike other cities, the local rail's main station is more like the city center instead of a JR station. So I went to Matsuyama city station and ate there for dinner, before taking the train back to Matsuyama sightseeing port.
• I took the second to last super jet back to Hiroshim...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/vskhosa on 2025-10-17 01:16:38+00:00.

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My wife and I just got back yesterday so wanted to share what worked for us. We are very active and don't mind a lot walking and long days when we travel. This wasn't really a vacation, but more of an exploration trip. Some of you might find it quite a lot, but it was great for us.

This might get a little long.

Oct 3 - Arrived at Narita airport and got our Welcome Suica card and 7-day JR pass. Took Access Express to Asakusa where we were going to stay for 5 nights. Checked in at the hotel around 8 pm and walked straight to Senso-ji temple. It was quite and peaceful. Took some night shots and prayed in peace.

Oct 4 - Started the day at 6 am and went to Ueno park. Walked quite a bit in a peaceful setting. Came back towards Senso-ji via Kapabashi street. Bought a knife. Visited Senso-ji at crowded time when all the shops were open. Went back to the hotel to get a power nap due to jetlag. Woke up late afternoon and took the subway to TeamLab Planets. Called it a day after that.

Oct 5 - Again long tokyo day. Started early. Visited Shibuya, Meji Jingu, Yoyogi Park, Takeshita St, Cat St, Metropolitan building, Shinjuku Gyoen Garden, Shinjuku shopping. After all the crowd, we went to Odaiba and relaxed by the river and watched rainbow bridge lit up.

Oct 6 - Day trip to Nikko via Tobu Nikko. Visited Toshogu Shrine and others in the area. Took the bus to Lake Chuzenji and saw Kegon Waterfalls. Left Nikko at 5:30 pm back to Asakusa.

Oct 7 - Day trip to Kawaguchiko. This didn't go as planned due to weather. It started raining so we didn't get to see Mt Fuji. But we still go to Oishi park and waited for it. We didnt go to the Pagoda because it requires climbing 400 steps which wasn't a great idea in rain. This was our shortest day.

Oct 8 - Start of our JR pass. Took the early morning Shinkansen to Kanazawa. Visited Kenroku-en garden, Kanazawa Castle and Samurai district. By the time we reached Higashi Chaya the shops were already closed. It's a ghost town after 5 pm. But we still strolled around Higashi Chaya.

Oct 9 - Rented a car for a day and drove to Shirakawa-go. Took the non-highway route. It was scenic and avoids toll. This was one of the best days as we could go at our own pace. On our way back, we visited Ainokura as well. It was so much quieter than Shirakawa-go.

Oct 10 - Took early morning Shinkansen to Kyoto. There was a transfer a Tsuruga station to Thunderbird train. Just to note, Thunderbird train has spacious top rack for medium sized luggage just like shinkansen. Upon arrival in Kyoto, we stored our bigger luggage in coin locker and took the train to Nara. Spent half day in Nara, visited Toda-ji temple, deer park, had ice cream. On the way back, we stopped at Uji for a few hours. Strolled along the river, visited Byodo-in temple and did some matcha shopping. Came to Kyoto around 6 pm. Checked-in and walked to To-ji temple. Our accommodations was fairly close and the temple looked amazing at night.

Oct 11 - Started early morning, went straight to Fushimi Inari. Hiked all the way to Mt Inari. The crowd gets half after the viewpoint so it's nice and quiet. Came back to Kyoto station thinking what to do next. Since we had JR pass, we hopped on Shinkansen to Himeji. Took a quick tour of the castle. Unfortunately, the tickets were sold out to go inside so we could only see it from outside. Still it was great. Came back to Kyoto around 3 pm and went to Gion district. Strolled around, went to Yasaka shrine and the park behind it. Checked out Pontocho alley but couldnt find a place to eat due to long line up. So went to a Mexican place for some burritos. Absolutely delicious.

Oct 12 - Woke up a little late. Went to Arashiyama and visited Adashino. Arashiyama was too crowded but bamboo forest was right there by the entrance. So we didn't go too deep. Came back and relaxed. In the evening, we went to Yamato to send our medium sized luggage straight to Narita airport. It cost us 3300 yen. It was totally worth it.

Oct 13 - Early morning Shinkansen to Hiroshima. Went straight to peace memorial museum. This was one of the highlights of the trip. It was such a a heartfelt experience. We easily spent 2-3 hours in the museum and then went to A-bomb dome. In the afternoon, we went to Miyajima Island. Spent 3-4 hours there. Spent the night at a rooftop bar for a few hours before going to bed.

Oct 14 - Early morning shinkansen back to Tokyo. We had two options, either go straight to Tokyo and wait for the check-in or make a quick stop somewhere in between. We decided to take a detour to Kamakura and Hiroshima. It was a cloudy day so not great for the beach but we paid respect to the great Buddha and took the train to Enoshima. From there came back to Tokyo around 6 pm.

Oct 15 - Our flight was in the evening, so we took this time to do some shopping in Ueno and Asakusa. Left for the airport around noon. Bought some Hokkaido cookies at Narita airport and boarded the flight.

Stats for 13 days:

Steps - 277,000

Avg steps per day - 21,300

Distance walked - 188 km or 116 miles

Avg distance per day - 14.4 km or 8.9 miles

Cost (excluding flights) - $2300 CAD or $1600 USD per person

The JR pass was totally worth it for us as we used it wherever we could from the starting till the last day.

I would love to answer any questions that you might have while it's still fresh in my mind. I might have skipped a lot of details to avoid making it any longer. Thanks for reading. Hope it helps.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/NobodyAskedDMC on 2025-10-17 04:56:46+00:00.

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Hopefully giving back to this sub after lurking here for a month before my trip which I just completed in October. In the order I did them;

Pokemon Cafe * I had a strong fondness for Pokemon from playing on Gameboy advance back in the day. I initially vetoed going but saw it pop up enough times on this sub to take a closer look. Thankfully, it exceeded all my expectations. * No need to be pretenious about it, the food is quite nice but the presentation is where it really excels. Then there are all the surprises. Buy a drink, you get to pull a random coaster prize. Buy a main and a dessert, enter a lottery for a random sticker. Buy a special dish, a waitress will ask you to scan a QR code and have an AR experience. Then to top it all off, a Pikachu mascot rolls into the resturant. * It's silly. It's childish. But it's a lot of fun, and it featured the best customer service I witnessed in Japan.

Inkimino * It was my six year anniversary with my partner while I was in Japan and I had happened upon a recommendation for a kimono photoshoot. * Stasia helps you pick out a unique kimono combination based, something authentic, photogenic and in season. She then gives you a brief introduction to kimono meanings before helping you to get properly dressed and made up for your shoot. * This all culminates in being led to a couple of suitable locations for a photoshoot, and Stasia knows exactly how to get the best from you, prompting and guiding you. * It felt like one of the most unique things I've done, not just in Japan, but on any trip. A one of a kind experience that we'll cherish with professionally edited photos.

Disneyland Tokyo * There's a part of me that wants to experience everything once, and going to Disneyland even as an adult felt like something worth doing once. * A word on overplanning and relying on reddit too much. Every post suggested Disneyland would open early. It didn't. And to be honest. I would have much rather turned up at the listed opening time and joined a moving queue. On a mid week day, things moved quickly and I wouldn't say it was overcrowded. * It was crowded though, but if you're happy to enjoy the sights, and not worry about doing everything, it can be a stress free experience. In the first hour at the park queues felt short (we were on Jungle Cruise in less than five minutes). Your Disney app will let you get at least one free pass to pick a time to jump the line at a popular ride, turning a 40 minute wait into a 10 minute wait (we scouted the Nightmare Before Christmas version of Haunted Mansion as a must). You can pay for an extra pass once or twice (We decided to pay to skip the wait at Splash Mountain.) Then as the day continues, you will spot a few lulls in queues and decided to jump on to a few more rides if it will be less than fifteen minutes. * I ticked my boxes (Star Tours & Toon Town) and there's plenty to do along the way. The characters standing around for meet and greets make time for you and often have something in mind to give you your own story or special moment to take away. Parades and fireworks will routinely come along to entertain you for a while. *We stayed until the park closed and loved the experience.

Mount Takao * With the season and weather, a Mount Fuji excursion was a bit of a bust, so we looked for something more embedded in nature nearby. Getting to Mount Takao was over an hour on train from Shinjuku (and covered by our Suica card.) * When you step off the train, you're at the foot of a mountain with multiple routes up and it can be hiked up in roughly 90 minutes. But there are plenty of reasons to stop along the way. A cable car, a chairlfit, a monkey park, a shrine, many views, many ramen restaurants, food stalls and other facilities to cater your needs. * It's rewarding to enjoy the scenary and reach some good observation points. * There is also the claim that you can see the myth that is Mount Fuji from the top on a good day, (I'm not convinced there actually is a Mount Fuji.)

New Japan Pro Wrestling * I'm a big wrestling fan, WWF in the late nineties and AEW for the last five years. I know a good bit but I don't follow or know many names in NJPW. However, things lined up that a big show was happening while was there. * Confused by how to buy tickets (English options seem to come weeks after general sale in Japan) I used BuySumoTickets.com to order during the presale and snap up decent seats. Balcony, second row, and in an actual chair. This also afforded us the chance to step into and admire a sumo hall, The Ryogoku. * The show was out of this world. Some of the best pure wrestling I've ever seen. An incredible atmosphere from the local Japan crowd. And an assortment of wrestlers who will get over and have you rooting for someone within minutes of seeing them for the first time.

Great experience for my first time in Japan. Ten days felt just right. On the tenth day we were exhausted and just wanted to get back to our a hotel to rest our feet, but we already have a shortlist of more things to do when we return at full strength.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/RushFPS on 2025-10-14 17:10:10+00:00.

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Does this route make sense in terms of best travel route + Onsen at the end of the day?

Morning – Depart Tokyo

07:00 – Shinjuku → Hakone-Yumoto Take the Odakyu Romancecar (seat-reserved, small surcharge)

08:30 – Arrive Hakone-Yumoto → transfer to Hakone Tozan Railway

08:40 – 08:55 – Ride to Chokoku-no-Mori (museum stop)

⸻

Morning – Art & Mountains

09:00 – 10:30 – Hakone Open-Air Museum

10:35 – 10:45 – Walk / one stop to Gora Station

10:50 – 11:05 – Cable Car: Gora → Sounzan

11:10 – 11:30 – Ropeway: Sounzan → Owakudani

11:30 – 12:00 – Stop at Owakudani (viewpoint + black-egg snack)

⸻

Midday – Lake Ashi and Fuji Views

12:00 – 12:25 – Ropeway: Owakudani → Togendai (Lake Ashi)

12:35 – 13:05 – Pirate Cruise: Togendai → Moto-Hakone

13:10 – 14:10 – Lunch around Moto-Hakone lakeside

14:10 – 14:55 – Visit Hakone Shrine (10–15 min walk from pier)

⸻

Afternoon – Return Toward Yumoto

15:05 – 15:45 – Bus (H Line): Moto-Hakone → Hakone-Yumoto Approximately 45 minutes downhill; covered by Freepass

15:45 – 16:40 – Free time at Yumoto (souvenirs, coffee)

⸻

Evening – Relax and Return

16:45 – Hakone Yuryo shuttle from Yumoto (free, 3 minutes)

17:00 – 19:00 – Private Onsen – Hakone Yuryo (2-hour booking)

19:10 – Shuttle back to Hakone-Yumoto

19:30 – Return to Tokyo (Odakyu train?)

21:00 – Arrive Shinjuku Station

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/wadolsh on 2025-10-12 05:26:31+00:00.

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If you ever visit Nagoya, there’s a really cool spot right next to Chubu Centrair Airport called Flight of Dreams (フライト・オブ・ドリームズ).

It’s a free indoor exhibition featuring a full-size Boeing 787! You can explore aviation-themed exhibits, shops, and enjoy seeing the airplane up close.

・Admission: FREE

・Hours: 10:00–17:00

・Location: Connected to the airport terminal

I stumbled upon this place during my trip in March, and it was such a surprising hidden gem. Definitely worth a visit if you have some time in Nagoya!

Official info (English):

https://www.centrair.jp/en/service/1257851_2135.html

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/SpinachBisque on 2025-10-09 17:46:00+00:00.

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Japan was my partner's first Asia trip since being diagnosed with Celiac's--we thoroughly researched the trip as he was quite nervous about his dietary prospects. There is some information shared via online posts and blogs, but I thought it might be helpful to contribute some of our own recent experiences for those traveling with the same concerns.

A bit about us (for context): We are an American couple in our 40s. I have no food restrictions, but my partner has Celiac’s disease and is very sensitive to cross-contamination. He also has a wheat allergy and dairy intolerance. We are both “foodies” and try to find the best dining experiences.

Cities Visited: Tokyo, Karuizawa, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kobe

General Tips/Lessons from Our Trip:

1. Regardless of the specific nature of your dietary condition, we found it most helpful to inform restaurants that my partner has a “strong allergy to wheat, barley, rye, and oats.” Many restaurants may be unfamiliar with terms common in the West (Celiac, gluten free, gluten intolerance) but they understand that an allergy needs to be taken seriously and isn’t a food preference. Its not worth getting into technicalities of allergies vs. intolerance vs. sensitivity when the main point you're trying to communicate is that you can't eat specific foods.
2. Moreover, some businesses labeled themselves as “gluten free” when they were actually wheat-free. It was therefore important to be explicit about all of my partner’s allergens (wheat, barley, oats, rye) rather than asking, “Is this gluten free?”
3. We followed the online guidance of carrying a translation card that explained my partner's dietary restrictions--the first version we opted for was lengthy and explained Celiac's disease in detail. We found that staff were overwhelmed by the long explanation, so we eventually switched to having a simple and direct translation on our phones that said, "I have a strong allergy to wheat, barley, rye, and oats. Is this OK to eat?" This worked much better at most shops.
4. As other online guides mention, it’s best to check product ingredients yourself using the Google Translate camera on your phone as shop recipes can change. For example, some guides said that plain onigiri should be safe, but during our trip we found that plain salted onigiri sold at some konbini (e.g., 7-11) contained a seasoning with barley.
5. Some products/brands that are gluten-free in western markets (like Kewpie mayo) contain gluten in Japan! We had to avoid all items that used commercial mayo--just a heads up that your favorite Japanese brands from home likely have different formulations in Japan!
6. Many commercial packaged foods will have a statement if the item is produced in the same facility as allergens (e.g., wheat, nuts, dairy, etc.). We were informed by locals that this means there’s potential cross-contamination with shared equipment, there’s no way to verify if equipment is adequately cleaned between processes. This label was printed on konbini potato chips and other snacks reported as GF-safe in some online guides.
7. It is very helpful to book stays at nicer hotels with concierges, as we were able to contact the concierges in advance to arrange our restaurant reservations and ask about allergy accommodations—this ensured proper communication and that the restaurants had time to prepare before our visit. At some nicer hotels, the concierges even did research and recommended GF-safe restaurant options that don't typically appear in searches on Western websites.
8. Most GF-friendly establishments (including more casual bakeries and cafes) were very small operations (only 1-2 staff) and often had different hours than those posted "officially" on Google. If you’re visiting a walk-in business, always check their social media (usually Instagram)—the shops will often post updated opening/closing information if they need to close for the day.

Restaurant Highlights--these were shops, cafes, and restaurants we would recommend for other Celiac/gluten-sensitive diners. For the most part we tried to balance safety with finding quality experiences--as most GF-friendly places seemed like tourist traps targeted at desperate Westerners.

• Esoragoto Udon (絵空事) - Tokyo: Not the most elaborate meal of our trip, but it’s the one we reminisce about all the time. Perfectly crisp and light tempura, noodles with amazing bouncy texture. Unfortunately they lost their lease and will be closed for the foreseeable future until they find a new location.
• Kushiage Su (グルテンフリー串揚げ スー) - Tokyo: This small counter restaurant specializes in an omakase-style experience with various fried meats, fish, and vegetables served on skewers with dipping sauces. Refined meal that allows you to sample a variety of Japanese ingredients and flavors. Reservations required.
• BIO-RAL and Shizensyoku F&F (自然食品F&F) - Tokyo (but with other locations nationally): We had the most luck finding GF bread/buns and groceries at BIO-RAL and F&F, two organic grocery chains. Most locations seemed conveniently attached to train stations or malls. F&F offered brochures explaining their GF bread is baked in their own dedicated GF kitchens while BIO-RAL carries a variety of GF breads from various brands. We also stocked up on GF pantry items before heading home (e.g., tempura batter, karaage batter, curry roux, dry noodles, rice bread, tonkatsu sauce, etc.).
• Mampei Hotel (万平ホテル) - Karuizawa: This historic, recently renovated hotel has both a cafe and restaurant--we had luck in the main dining room, which had several GF items on the lunch and dinner menu: corn soup, green salad, roasted chicken, and steak. Our server was excellent with communicating our dietary needs to the other staff. Note that this is somewhat of a pricier venue with a dress code (smart casual, no sandals or shorts).
• comorebi Ramen House - Kyoto: Best ramen of our trip—popular among both locals and tourists as a “healthier version” of ramen. The gluten-free bowl is made with brown rice noodles, light shio broth, poached chicken breast, and seasonal veggies. If celiac, request a separate cooking pot when ordering—the head chef has a wheat allergy and is very understanding.
• Waco Crepes - Kyoto: This was heaven for my partner, who loved the vegan choco-banana crepe. Most of the savory crepes cannot be made vegan. The shop is very small so expect to take-away your order, and wait a bit during peak times.
• Tousuiro Gion (豆水楼) - Kyoto: After researching, Tousuiro was the best option we found for an authentic (and GF) kaiseki dinner in the Kyoto style, including a tofu course, sashimi, grilled foods, etc. The dishes were pure artistry, and a great opportunity to taste the variety of tofu famous in Kyoto. You must reserve in advance and request the GF course.
• Cafe & Bar Maru at Keika (Maru@恵花) - Kyoto: This restaurant was shockingly overlooked compared to other GF places we visited! We changed plans to eat twice here during our Kyoto stay. The crispy karaage and flavorful curry rice are recommended if you’re wanting a comforting meal.
• Naramachi Vegan Nabi (ならまちヴィーガン菜美) - Nara: On our day trip to Nara, I scoped out this cute cat-themed cafe that serves GF vegan meals (and donates a share of their profit to cat rescues!). The lunch is a bit on the lighter side and very vegetable-forward, but leaves you feeling clean and healthy. Staff are absolute angels--the server helped direct us to several local shops where we could buy cute cat souvenirs! Reservations needed.
• Galeco (ガレコ) - Osaka: Perhaps my favorite meal in Osaka, but sadly my partner was limited in what he could order. Although he was able to have the meat and fish entrees, at the time of our visit all of the GF galettes were made with milk and cheese (shouldn’t be an issue if you are fine with dairy, though!).
• Naki Vegan Sweets - Osaka: I’m accustomed to GF cookies having a strange grainy texture, but the delicate shortbread biscuits at Naki are perfect. They offer a variety of seasonal and interesting flavors, including sake lees, hojicha, and pineapple. We loved these so much that we bought a few packs to take home (the manager informed us that the biscuits can be frozen to prolong their freshness).
• Genji Soba (源氏蕎麦) - Osaka: This historic shop offers both standard soba dishes and a variety of set meals that can be adapted for Celiac needs, including GF soba dipping sauce and GF tempura cooked in a dedicated fryer. It’s possible to make a reservation, but you will need to call to request one.
• Bifteck Kawamura Sannomiya (ビフテキのカワムラ 三宮本店) - Kobe: We wanted to cap off our trip with a special meal featuring certified Kobe steak. The tenderloin was genuinely the b...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/daremoina on 2025-10-11 13:33:23+00:00.

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Hi all,

Just wanted to share about the Osaka Pokémon Hunt event! Official link

You start at JR Osaka Station, where you can purchase one of five maps — Charizard, Lucario, Gardevoir, Gyarados, or Ampharos — and then go on a Pokémon hunt to gather clues. The event runs until 31 October.

It’s a really fun experience, but be aware that it takes about 1.5–2 hours to collect all the clues, as the hunt covers quite a wide area.

A few notes from our experience:

• The reward is a clear pouch and keychain matching the map you chose — not the plushies some vloggers have shown.

• We completed the Gardevoir (5 clues) and Mega Charizard X (7 clues) routes. Altogether, it took about 3–4 hours, as some clues were a bit tricky. For example, boxes 22 and 23 are actually on Level 10 of LUCUA 100, and box 14, while featuring amazing artwork, does not contain a numbered clue.

If you get stuck, here are the clue numbers we found:

Gardevoir: 23, 27, 36, 63, 87

Mega Charizard X: 11, 15, 37, 54, 56, 73, 81

Once you return to the starting point, you’ll need to decipher the final phrase using the provided tables.For Charizard, the correct answer is A (the one with seven syllables). For Gardevoir, I can’t recall exactly — but choose the one with five syllables!

Happy hunting! and remember - the clear pouches don't come with the plushies!

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/z33ji on 2025-10-09 19:42:32+00:00.

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Hi hi,

I finally have time to sit down and write down my experiences traveling to Japan for the first time all by myself. This sub really helped a lot so I wanted to share my thoughts, for myself as well to remember my memories. I really loved reading people's trip reports beforehand, especially the long ones, because it got me excited for my trip so please excuse the length! I'll put what I planned to do, and what I actually ended up doing.

Some context: I'm a mid 20s Southeast Asian-American girl and I've never taken a solo trip anywhere before. I decided to book a trip to both Japan and Korea, though this trip report is just about the Japan part. I had a friend who was going with her friend group however I didn't feel like intruding and wanted to try out going back myself. I'm an ambivert so doing my own thing on some days and meeting up with friends on other days was perfect for me. I'm also from North Carolina and was a little bit worried about the heat/humidity but it was slightly comparable to our summers. Am also fairly active and am used to constantly being on my feet working a lab job BUT i have bad knees. Did duolingo for like a month or two to pick up some basics that were actually helpful!

Transportation: Flights were booked in April ($500 one-way) and booked Hostels + Hotel two weeks later. Did the math and with all of the traveling I was going to be doing, the JR Kansai Wide Pass was worth the price so I booked that about a month prior. Also booked my Shinkansen 2 weeks prior even though I know you could do it the day of, I didn't want to stress about it and wanted good seats.

Packing: Had 1 backpack and 1 carry-on. Really tried not to overpack since I knew I'd be buying a lot of things but was also prepared to back 1-2 checked bags.

Day 0/1 -

I booked through AirCanada since it was the cheapest however the week leading up to it, there were strikes and that did affect my flight. It went from 8am to 7am which was no sweat. BUT when I got to the airport (at 4am mind you), I got all the way to my get, tried to rest my eyes after only getting 2 hours of sleep and a migraine, and an hour before we were scheduled to board, my flight got delayed for THREE hours. Which wouldn't have been a problem except my next layover was supposed to be in 3 hours. They luckily rebooked me through United for free and my 2 layovers, in DC and Toronto, to just 1 layover in San Francisco (yay). The flights weren't terrible, I used an app to help avoid Jetlag but tbh I didn't do much except sleep for 3 hours, wake for 2 hours, sleep for 3 more etc, until the 10 hours were over.

Official Day 1- Check in, Sumida River Walk, Akihabara

Landed at Haneda Airport around 3pm. Bought and activated an e-sim from Airalo before I flew so it worked right when I landed. I also did the arrival card online beforehand cause I thought it was faster however, it was required by everyone to do it and have the QR code ready lol. They weren't handing out any physical forms on the plane FYI so def have it ready beforehand. I did it the night before. Customs line was still super super long but once I scanned everything, it was pretty easy to get out. Did a mobile Suica card and I got cash from my bank back home so loaded it up on my card as well. TIP: if you have a mobile suica card, put it on service mode when you are loading it up physcially then put it on transit mode to use it on the train. Took the train to my first hostel: Nui. Hostel Bar & Lounge in Kuramae, and checked in.

My hostel was RIGHT next to Sumida River so I decided to walk along it and get my bearings but also take it in that I'm really in Japan!! It was absolutely beautiful since it was at sunset. Decided to head to Akihabara since someone recommended to go my first night. Headed to Radio Kaiken but quickly realized that I'm not that up to date on current anime. Lights were cool though. Quickly got dehydrated so I walked to Gyukatsu Motomura cause it was right there. Got a seat after waiting for 15 minutes and wow what a first meal! Went to a random (HUGE) department store (?) to grab some necessities like fans, an some airism Uniqlo clothes. Was gonna take the train home but I got lost, realized I was near by Senso-ji temple and decided to just cut through it back to my hostel. The view at night was soooo much better than the day time. Made a friend at the hostel and she invited me out to try this random ramen restaurant a Hostel staff recommended (ran along Sumida River cause I lost track of time and was late meeting her lol but pretty!) so great way to end the night.

Steps: 33,172

Day 2 - Asakusa/Ueno, Kappabashi St, ~~Ikebukuro, Akihabara (again)~~

Got an egg sandwich and coffee at a family mart and it was just ok (but got to use a lil japanese!) Met another person at the hostel and we made plans to go to Ueno Park together. But first, I wanted to see Asakusa during the day. Went to see Senso-ji temple during the day and holyyyyyy the heat and humidity really hit me. I got a UV umbrella from Uniqlo, a fan, and cooling wipes. That trio saved me my whole trip. Got a book to collects stamps from temples (this was the only day I used it lol) paid my respects, got some blessings. It was 8am and the crowd was already started to come in so I dipped. The stalls were just beginning to get set up but I wasn't that hungry. Took the train to Ueno park to meet up with my hostel friend and we walked around and enjoyed the views. Took pics of each other and visited smaller shrines and things. Went to an area that said it was a lake and there wasn't any water so was kinda confused but the lily pads (?) were cool. She really really wanted to visit the museums but we discovered the museums were all closed on Monday so she was really disappointed. I'm not that big into museums but I was sad for her. We split off and I decided to head to Ikebukuro.

Went straight to Sunshine City Mall and yeahhh stayed for quite a few hours. I see the obsession with Gacha. I'm a size 6-8 M/L in the US so I was worried about sizing BUT I fit most free size shirts and am a L/XL (oof) in other clothing items. The girl from ramen wanted to meet up so we to the food level which was a floor with a bunch of restaurants. Stopped by one place with a long line of locals and sold out items and wow had the best fish I've ever had in my life. I really loved all the extra stuff that came with it. We split off and I went to animate and got goodies. Tried to visit this cafe I saw online but when I got there, it was closed even though it wasn't supposed to be :( Went back to the hostel cause I was sweating through my clothes. Met someone just checking into the hostel who needed to buy somethings so I decided to bring her along with me to the mall but at Tokyo Skytree which is breathtaking at night. Our hostel was just one stop away which was really great. Ate in the food court which is crazy to me cause the food is just great quality even though it's fast?? Too used to mcdonalds and chick-fil-a in my food courts. Had a great soba dish. Ramen girl invited us to try the conveyor belt sushi place - Kuma(?). Who am I to turn her down even though we just ate. I've never actually had conveyor belt sushi even though I eat sushi religiously but it was really fun, great quality, and fast! The fish choices were different than I was used to but it was fun trying them out. Loved the squid btw. Decided to lead the group through Senso-ji temple at night on the way back to the hostel cause they hadn't seen it yet and it felt like I was passing it on lol

Steps: 28,993

Day 3: ~~Ueno~~, check out, Kiyosumi, Shibuya, check-in, ~~Golden Gai~~

I started to really like solo-traveling cause obviously my plans were already changing. Since I already visited Ueno the day before, I decided to bump up Kiyosumi. I really loved walking through the area, I didn't see anyone else who wasn't a local and it was just a beautiful area. Was amazed at kids walking themselves to school. Stopped by a really great cafe and unironically had an amazing grilled cheese and tomato soup. Wanted to visit Kiyosumi Gardens but it was kind of like dead?? Idk if it's under construction or something but there was no water or anything. Didn't really expect that so just stopped by another temple, before heading back cause I needed to finish my laundry. TIP: Japan dryers really really suck. Expect 3 rounds of drying before it's even semi-dry and definitely don't do it if you're on a time crunch. Asked the staff to hold onto my luggage after check out and headed to Kappabashi st. Visited___ to buy knives for my dad and brother and they were really helpful. I knew what kind of knife I wanted but it was still fun to try out different ones. Got them engraved really quickly and left. Wasn't in the mood to buy much else in the area. Grabbed my luggage and headed to my second hostel: Unplan Shinjuku.

Just dropped off my luggage and tried to wipe down my sweat. The route google maps took me was TERRIBLE, I should've forwarded my luggage that was the worst walk of my entire life I wanted to cry. The train station was so far I started questioning my decisions booking that hostel. Went to Shibuya sky cause I had tickets with my friends from home that was booked two weeks beforehand. It was cool but honestly after 30 minutes, we were kind of over it. Ended up in Harajuku and shopped til night time. Went back to the hostel, decided to check out the bar attac...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/bythevoid_ on 2025-10-09 14:44:50+00:00.

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I arrived in Japan on the 25th of September and stayed in an Airbnb in Sangenjaya. I was supposed to go to a Kyoto Airbnb on the 6th of October, but, 4 days before I was meant to arrive, my host tried to force me to cancel the reservation by claiming that there was a water leak in the apartment. He said he would provide me with an identical room (and provided photos), but that he couldn't list it on Airbnb because new rooms take 3 months to be approved by Airbnb. He also said that hosts couldn't cancel reservations, only guests, but that he would give me the identical room at a discounted rate if I arrived with no Airbnb reservation and paid in cash.

Since he told me about the supposed leak at 10 pm on October 1st, and the cutoff for a full refund was 4 pm, he would receive over half of the booking fee that I paid if I were the one to cancel.

After I said that it sounded like a scam, he tried to guilt me and said that there were "tears in [his] eyes" and that he wouldn't try to scam someone over what he considered a small amount of money, and that he only wanted to run an Airbnb to meet new people. He then said he would let me stay for free.

Anyway, I ended up spending 5 hours trying to resolve this situation which, by the way, started on the night of my birthday when I was kind of drunk in a darts bar in Sangenjaya.

I contacted Airbnb customer support and they forced him to cancel the reservation on his end. He sent me a screenshot of the fees that he incurred by cancelling so late, which I believe he wouldn't have received if he could have proven that there were extenuating circumstances (i.e. a leak) that forced him to cancel the reservation. He then tried again to persuade me to come and stay at his apartment.

I ended up getting a hotel in Osaka instead of Kyoto, since, after looking it up, it seems as though Kyoto Airbnb hosts do shady things to try to evade Kyoto's rental laws. Regardless, I was trying to travel on a budget and spent way more than I wanted to. I'm now in Osaka in a very small hotel room that I paid more than I should have for. Interestingly, it also has over 100 free porn films on the TV, but it isn't a love hotel...

Anyway, this is somewhat of a warning for anyone planning to use an Airbnb in Kyoto. I'd just play it safe and go for a hotel.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Sky_Walker98 on 2025-10-08 19:29:35+00:00.

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I am just back from my Japan trip. I spent 15 days in country and I visited Tokyo, Mt Fuji (and it was visible), Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Hiroshima.

I booked flights for this trip in March and it has been a dream of mine to go to Japan ever since a friend of mine went for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

I had high expectations going into this trip and I had a lot planned. When I tell you this trip exceeded all my high expectations it is an understatement. My experience in Japan went perfectly. Nearly too perfect now I can’t see anything beating the 2 weeks I spent there.

I am from Ireland so we don’t have any extremely large cities. I am well travelled and I’ve been all over Europe, Dubai and America so I have experienced big cities. Tokyo just blew all other big cities out of the water. Tokyo was my favourite part of the trip. The public transport was amazing. The food top notch. The buzz of the city honestly gave me a new lease on life.

One day a few months ago my work laptop set the background to Mount Fuji. I made it a goal of mine to get to see Mount Fuji from that exact location and I fulfilled that goal. It nearly brought me to tears to be honest.

Kyoto was a breath of fresh air compared to the mega city that is Tokyo. The temples and nature you could see around that city was unbelievable.

Ōsaka had such a cool unique vibe to it. So much to do there and I used it as a hub to travel to Nara (I took a bite in the ass from a deer which was hilarious) and Hiroshima (I am a big history nerd so when I got a chance to see that city I couldn’t turn it down).

The shopping was amazing and I must’ve bought every souvenir possible.

I returned to work today and while it was depressing being back, I feel so fulfilled that I managed to pull off the trip of a lifetime.

How does one go on after experiencing everything I experienced.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/SpacedOutVy on 2025-10-08 04:48:02+00:00.

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Hi all! If you could please take a look at my current itinerary and let me know if you think it'd doable or too much or if I could choose better places. My main goal are to see some touristy spots, so I don't feel FOMO but do some lowkey things. Other goal is to enjoy as much food as possible. I've listed some places that are a must for me to go to, but I'm open to recommendations. If I list curry below, I'm not likely to go to another curry place as I want to try a variety of different foods. Or if I do have two different ramen spots, it has to be super different from each other.

Sunday, Nov 2 - Tokyo Station

• Arrive in Japan at 3:05pm
• Get a physical Suica card
• Haneda Airport to Tokyo Station
• Tokyo Station (buy some toiletries and travelor's journal)
• Eat: McDonald’s teriyaki burger
• Check in at Toyoko Inn

Monday, Nov 3 - Asakusa & Ueno (Culture Day)

• Senso-ji Temple & Nakamise Street
• Go! Go! Curry Ueno
• Tokyo National Museum (free)
• Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art (free)
• Ueno Park
• Ichiran Ramen Ueno

Tuesday, Nov 4 - Akihabara & Ginza

• Tsukiji Fish Market
• Arcades & anime store in Akihabara
• Shopping at Ginza Itoya (stationary)
• Buy a Japan-only Pandora Charm as a souvenir
• Food: Gyukatsu Motomura (lunch)

Wednesday, Nov 5 - Shibuya

• Meiji Jingu Shrine
• Harajuku & Omotesando
• Iyoshi Cola
• Shibuya Crossing
• Food: Pizza Marumo?

Thursday, Nov 6 - Ikebukuro

• Animate Ikebukuro
• Pokemon Center
• Asakusa Culture & Tourist Information Center
• Sumida River & Azumabashi Bridge Walk
• Hokkaido Milk Bar
• Hatoya (matcha)
• Manten Sushi for dinner

Friday, Nov 7 - Hakone

• Train to Hakone by 9:30am via Romancecar
• Ropeway to Owakudani
• Hakone Open Air Museum
• Check in Onsen Mizunooto
• Food: Kaiseki dinner & late night ramen

Saturday, Nov 8 - Osaka

• Morning bath & breakfast at Onsen Mizunooto
• Hakone Shrine & Torii of Peace
• Travel to Osaka (4-5 hours)
• Eat at Dotonbori (takoyaki, tempura, okonomiyaki)
• Check-in Toyoko-inn

Sunday, Nov 9 - Kyoto

• Nijo Castle
• Nishiki Market (matcha beer)
• Motoi Gyoza?
• Tea ceremony
• Tofuku-ji
• Food: La Voiture (tarte tartine) & Sumiyaki Sosai Toriya Hitomi (yakitori - open at 6pm)

Monday, Nov 10 - Kyoto 

• Fushimi Inari
• Itsukichaya by Fushimi Inari
• Gion/Hanamikoji Street
• Kiyomizu-dera around sunset
• Pontocho Alley for dinner OR Gion Duck rice
• Kamo River

Tuesday, Nov 11 - Kyoto

• Hozugawa River Boat Ride
• Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
• Okochi Sanso Garden
• Odai Sushi
• Kinkaku-ji Temple
• Demachi Futaiba (mochi)
• Muginoyoake (scallop & duck ramen)

Wednesday, Nov 12 - Osaka

• Osaka Castle
• DEARBROs (omurice)
• Osaka Museum of Housing & Living
• Vintage window shopping?
• Make custom pouches at Object Osaka
• Kuromon Ichiba Market
• Shinsekai & Tsutenkaku

Thursday, Nov 13 - Himeji & Kobe

• Himeji Oden Jiryori Izakaya
• Himeji Castle & garden
• Sumiyaki Anago Yamayoshi (eel donburi)
• Suma Beach
• Kobe Chinatown & Motomachi Shopping Street
• Kobe Beef AMAMI

Friday, Nov 14 - Shinjuku

• Travel from Osaka to Shinjuku
• Kirimugiya Jinroku (udon tempura)
• Check in Toyoko-inn
• Stores: Ikedaya Tea Store (matcha soft serve); Akomeya Tokyo (local souvenir shop)
• Pachinko Hall
• Omoide Yokocho

Saturday, Nov 15 - Shinjuku & Tokyo

• es Nail Salon appointment
• Last minute shopping
• Pick up glasses if needed
• Mos Burger
• Anything I didn’t get to

Sunday, Nov 16 - Departure

• Shinjuku National Park
• Early lunch
• Go to airport
• Flight at 8:25pm

EDIT: I'll be staying in Tokyo and Osaka for the majority of my trip with an overnight stay in Hakone. The Kyoto/Himeji& Kobe days are day trips from Osaka.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/ScannerToScan on 2025-10-08 05:21:54+00:00.

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I am visiting Hirakata Park (ひらかたパーク) today and just wanted to share — it’s such an unexpected little gem. It’s a small local theme park between Osaka and Kyoto (right off the Keihan Line), and it honestly feels like time stopped there around the early 2000s — in a good way.

Its Wednesday and the place is almost empty. No lines, no crowds, just me hopping from ride to ride. The park’s a bit run-down in parts, but it has this really nostalgic, cozy atmosphere — old-school music, polite staff, and families wandering around without any rush.

The wooden coaster “Elf” and the Red Falcon are surprisingly fun, and the Ferris wheel gives a great view of Osaka. Definitely not Universal Studios Japan, but if you want something more relaxed and local, this place has real soul.

Tickets were kinda cheap too (entry ¥2,000 + unlimited ride pass ¥3,400). If you’re in Kansai and want a low-key day away from crowds, it’s worth the trip.

Anyone else been recently? Curious if it’s always this quiet or if I just got lucky midweek.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Spiritual_Sun_9538 on 2025-10-07 04:47:55+00:00.

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Interests are fall color, Japanese gardens, history and architecture. I'm not in great shape but can handle 10,000 steps a day pretty well. I'm travelling with my adult son who is on the spectrum. He doesn't like crowds, I know, tremendous crowds in Japan. He knows very well. He's here for manga and anime. Thanks for looking this over, I have learned so much from this forum! Day 1: Arrival in Tokyo, Nov. 18 at 1540

• Arrive at Tokyo Narita airport, transfer to Ueno hotel, check out neighborhood

Day 2: Tokyo  Nov. 19

• Ghibli museum if get tickets Oct. 10, Meiji Jingu Gaien Gingko Ave., Tokyo Metro Gov’t Bldg
• Depart Nov. 20 to Kanazawa, Hokuriku Shinkansen departing from Tokyo station

Day 3: Kanazawa Nov. 20-22

Higashi Chayagai District, Kaikaro, Omi-Cho market

   Day 4: Kanazawa Nov. 21

• Kenroku-en garden, DT Suzuki Museum

Day 5: Depart Kanazawa Nov. 22.

 Take JR Thunderbird Limited Express – Kanazawa to Kyoto

• Travel to Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera temple for view of city, night viewing 6-9:30
• Kinkaku-ji (Golden temple) plus famous rock garden by it (Ryoanji ) 20 min.walk away, 30 min to tour

Day 6: Nov. 23 Kyoto Nov. 22-26

• Silver temple, (Ginkakuji) sand and moss gardens, Philosopher’s path, Honen-in

Day 7: Kyoto -  Nov. 24

• Walking tour 10-12 Gion district
• Eikan-do Zenrin-ji Temple

Day 8: Kyoto - Nov. 25

• Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple (Bamboo grove and statues)
• Jojakkoji Temple (fall color)
• Nijo Castle

Day 9: Depart for Osaka Nov. 26 JR Kyoto line

• Umeda Sky Building, Pokemon Center

Day 10: Osaka -  Nov. 27

• Shinsekai, Denden Town Nipponbashi, Dotonbori

Day 11: Depart to Hiroshima, stop at Himeji Castle Nov. 28

• Travel to Hiroshima (2.5 hours), no plans for rest of day

Day 12: Hiroshima Nov. 29

Peace Memorial, Orizuru Tower, Miyajima Island

Day 13: Hiroshima to Tokyo (take Sanyo Shinkansen Nozomi?) Nov. 30

• Nothing planned

Day 14: Tokyo Dec. 1

• Enshimo Island, Iwaya Cave
• Last-minute shopping or sightseeing if time allows

 

Day 15: Dec. 2, Depart 6:10 Narita airport, last minute stuff

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Psychological_Goal55 on 2025-10-06 18:47:41+00:00.

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Just got back from 4 weeks in Japan - spent a few days in Tokyo at each end, and most of the trip around the Northern Alps. Sharing my itinerary (excluding Tokyo since that has been well covered) in case the information is useful to anyone. Apologise in advance if I had recalled any facts wrongly. Note: I used Claude to help me clean up parts of this post.

Who this is for: People who like smaller cities, hiking, nature, and enjoy some camping. Not super budget (went for comfort where cost was manageable) but not luxury either.

Who this isn’t for:

• Travellers on a tight trip - sections might work but probably not the whole itinerary, and weather in the mountains can be unpredictable
• Travellers on a tight budget - transport to these popular mountain destinations are slightly pricey

Some highlights in short clips (only halfway done sorting through the photos): https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE4MDk4OTYyNTI4NjUyNDU4

Quick Stats:

• Dates: September 2-23, 2024
• Budget: ¥237,576 (~$1,600 USD) excluding flights
• Accommodation: Mix of camping, guesthouses, and mid-range hotels

Matsumoto (5 Days)

Getting there: Hourly buses from Shinjuku, no advance booking needed.

Good city to ease into the trip. Plenty of day trip options, and the pace is relaxed. The old merchant streets (Nawate-dori and Nakamachi-dori) are nice to walk around and less crowded than Takayama.

Where I stayed: Hotel M Matsumoto - Capsule-style with private cabins, clean, right next to the bus terminal. Has a communal hot bath. Many cabins share one large room with no dividers, so if anyone snores you'll definitely hear it.

What I did:

• Matsumoto Castle - One of the few original keeps in Japan, over 400 years old
• Day trip to Naraijuku - Historic Edo-period post town (50 min by train)
• Day trip to Azumino - Cycling through rice fields, Daio Wasabi Farm, Hotaka Shrine (30 min by train)
• Obasute Station - Worth the trip just for the view (40 min by train)
• Yayoi Kusama exhibition at City Museum of Art - Small permanent collection since she's from Matsumoto

Food:

• Miyota for toji soba
• Karaage Center for sanzoku-yaki (local fried chicken)
• Coffee Bigaku Abe for old-school coffee

Notes:

• Kojitsusanso outdoor gear shop at Alpico Plaza if you need camping gear
• Other day trip options: Norikura, Magome/Tsumago

Kamikochi (3 Days)

This is what got me started planning the whole trip. Kamikochi is a valley in the Northern Alps with crystal-clear rivers and accessible hiking.

Getting there: Direct bus from Matsumoto requires advance booking online. There's also a train + bus combo you can book on the day of travel but they get crowded too.

Camping: Konashidaira Campsite, 15 min walk from the bus terminal. Good views if you get a site near the river. No reservations needed if you bring your own tent.

Facilities: Restaurant and store on-site with reasonable prices. More options at Kappabashi and other campsites. Communal hot bath available for ¥700 for guests (slightly more for non-guests). Basic toilets. Most toilets in Kamikochi request a small donation except at your accommodation.

What I hiked:

• Day 1: Tashiro Marsh → Tashiro Pond → Taisho Pond
• Day 2: Full day loop to Myojin → Furuike → Tokusawa → Yokoo, then back via Myojin Bridge to see Myojin Ponds and Dakesawa Marsh. Mostly flat.
• Day 3: Took it easy, chilled by the river and walked to Kappabashi and Dakesawa Marsh again

Good to know:

• My favourite views were from Konashidaira Campsite and Dakesawa Marsh
• Lots of bear warnings - I didn't see any, but do take precautions seriously
• For those more ambitious than me, Karasawa Campsite further beyond Yokoo looked like a popular spot with great views
• Hotels and cabins are also available at Kamikochi

Hirayu Onsen (1 Day)

Short bus ride from Kamikochi. Small hot spring village with a nice waterfall, some small attractions, and public foot baths.

Where I stayed: Hirayukan - Most expensive night of the trip but worth it. Indoor and outdoor baths in 2 sections that switch between men's/women's during the stay so everyone experiences both. Breakfast and dinner were delicious buffets.

What I did:

• Hirayu Waterfall - Beautiful waterfall, 30-min walk from the bus terminal
• Skipped Shinhotaka Ropeway (first double-decker cable car in Japan) due to cloudy weather, enjoyed the ryokan onsens instead

It is also possible to use Hirayu as a base to visit Kamikochi and Norikura.

Takayama (2 Days)

Beautifully preserved old town, lots of international tourists. Being in the Hida region, there's great food - Hida beef, hoba miso, local apples, milk and more.

Where I stayed: Cup of Tea Guesthouse - Affordable capsule-style dorms, small but clean.

What I did:

• Takayama Jinya - Historic government building
• Sanmachi Suji + sake tasting at Harada brewery (¥450 for a cup, self-pour from a dozen bottles). It was chaotic with everyone crowding around. I barely got through half since I don't drink much.
• Morning markets (Jinya-mae and Miyagawa) - Smaller than expected but good vibes
• Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan - Festival float museum with Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine next door. The floats are huge and intricately decorated.
• Sakurayama Nikkokan - Scale models of famous shrines (same ticket as floats)
• Takayama Shōwa-kan Museum - Retro museum to take you back in time

Toyama (2 Days)

From mountains to coast. I liked that it was a little quieter than Takayama.

Where I stayed: T-Port. T-Port is a collection of rental apartments in an apartment building, operated by a lovely old couple. The apartment was slightly old but clean and well equipped. I had a comfortable stay there. 

What I did:

• Kansui Park - Modern waterfront
• Glass Art Museum - Building by Kengo Kuma, Dale Chihuly permanent exhibition and beautiful glass art by various artists
• City Hall observation deck (free) - Great views of city and mountains. Went day and night.
• Toyama Prefectural Museum - The Onomatopoeia Rooftop Playground (free) was cool
• Iwase - Beach with observation deck (free) and historic street. Observation deck was hot with no ventilation but good views.
• White shrimp and firefly squid - Had them as sashimi at Rotate Toyama Sushi near the station. One of my pricier dinners but worth it. Also got tempura versions from Shiroebi-tei at the station.
• Toyama Black Ramen at Isshin
• Toyama Castle gardens (skipped inside - it's a reconstruction with Japanese-only signage)

Tateyama (1 Day)

And back to the mountains. Stayed here to visit Shomyo Falls and start the Alpine Route early. The local train from Toyama was scenic.

Where I stayed: Locomotion Coffee and Bed - Pricier capsule but new, well-designed, spacious. Small communal hot bath.

What I did:

• Tateyama Caldera Sabo Museum (free) - Didn't know about this beforehand but it was interesting - interactive exhibits about erosion control
• Shomyo Falls (free, bus ¥500 each way) - 15-min bus + 30-min walk each way. Last bus departs Shomyo at 4:40pm so confirm timings before going up

Food: Everything closes by dinner. Locomotion requires pre-booking dinner, no convenience stores nearby. They provide a microwave and hot water if you bring your own food.

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route (2 Days)

This is the famous mountain crossing with cable cars, funiculars, and buses. Most people come for the snow walls in spring. No snow in September, but the hiking and views were great.

What I did:

• Funicular to Bijodaira → cedar forest hike
• Bus to Midagahara → wetlands hike
• Bus to Murodo → hiked to Raichosawa Campsite, explored ponds and viewpoints around Murodo (night at Raichosawa Campsite)
• Next day (all transport connections, minimal walking except at Kurobe Dam): Murodo → Daikanbo → Kurobe-daira → Kurobeko → Kurobe Dam → Ogizawa → Hakuba

Camping at Raichosawa (2,450m): Getting to the campsite was not difficult but also not an effortless walk if you have a fully loaded backpack - about 1 hour from Murodo with steep stairs right before camp. ¥1,000/person/night. Toilets and running water, no showers. Nearby huts have day-use onsen for ¥1,000. I went to Lodge Tateyama (Raichosawa Hutte's onsen appeared closed). Lodge was small and run-down with a dirty and unused outdoor tub. Interesting experience but might not be for everyone.

After setting up, I hiked to Chinoike (Blood Pond), Mikuriga-ike, Midoriga Pond and other viewpoints of the mountains and valleys - all on paved paths, about 2-3 hours total. Perfect weather on the first day, but it poured overnight and was foggy in the morning. Raichosawa Campsite is also a starting point for various summit hikes, for those more prepared and adventurous. There were also bear warnings at Murodo.

Tickets:

• Buy whole route (Tateyama to Ogizawa) or individual legs
• Easy to purchase online
• 10% discount booking 1+ month ahead (2025)
• Valid 5 days from start - you only pick timing for first leg
• Can buy day of travel but allow flexibility
• Hotels available between Murodo and Midagahara (pricey)

Transit notes: Stops between Murodo and Ogizawa are quick (mostly viewpoints). Kurobe Dam takes longest - you walk across with viewpoints...

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We flew to Haneda Airport from Chicago, direct, and it’s a long one. I broke it up with some movies and games, and it was a breeze. Food service was interesting and okay for being stuck in a can. Looking back, I will say I should have skipped some of those meals. When we landed, I wasn’t really hungry for anything, which kinda bummed me out since I was in Japan and food is phenomenal here. When I go again, definitely skipping some of those meals the plane provides.

Landed around 3:30 and did the whole immigration thing. They stopped handing out the customs paperwork you used to fill out on the plane, but luckily we filled all this out a day before our flight using the Japan Travel website. It was super simple and definitely sped things up at immigration. Highly recommend you create an account and fill this out before your trip. You can sign up for the tax free QR code as well, but we had issues using it. We used our passport directly, and by law, you should carry yours at all times anyway.

Even though I bought a ton of stuff tax free stuff and they bagged it up, no one checked anything at the airport on our way back. Not sure if you get pre-selected or what, but we were stressing a little about it since we bought so much and didn’t have it organized. They literally didn’t do anything for the tax free stuff we bought.

I screwed up the phone service thing since I thought I would buy it right when I landed. The WiFi available at the airport is pretty trash, so using that to sign into AT&T and add the international add-on was annoying. Ended up using dial services to get it added to my account. You should probably not do what I did. I just didn’t buy the eSIM or anything and paid extra through AT&T.

I’ve read that the eSIM is a breeze to sign up for, but I like to be stubborn. I also read the eSIM is for data only and you can only text when you’re on Wi-Fi. Not sure if that’s the case, but I didn’t want to deal with it. Have your phone service figured out before your arrival.

Most of the trip was focused around taking in the sights, walking, architecture, art, vintage decor, and design. Brief info about us, my wife and I went last year and couldn’t get enough. We decided to go again this year and spend much more time as well as check out other cities.

Last year we mainly did Tokyo with some short day trips like Hakone, Nikko, and Kawagoe. We’re in our 30s. I’m extremely active and run regularly. I can walk for days nonstop and love exploring. My wife is the complete opposite and enjoys shopping and relaxing at the beach. She mentioned several times during the trip how her feet and legs were hurting, so she bought several heat pads she wore throughout the day, which helped her a bit. They are literally in every store, so I recommend them if you feel sore.

Pack good walking shoes. I wore open Keen sandals and it was super easy sliding my feet off at some areas that required it. My wife wore shoes with laces, which didn’t bother her, but she always had to retie them. My only issue was small rocks would sometimes get into the sandals, but other than that, they were perfect.

Luggage forwarding is insanely easy. I recommend it, although sending to the airport is expensive. I think I paid $30 per bag to Haneda from Kyoto. Regular sending is $12 or so per bag. We had a couple of backpacks between us and our massive checked luggage. The luggage bags were forwarded every few days so we weren’t paying at every single place we traveled, since some stops were only for a couple of days. Not having to carry these around was worth it. I did buy apple tags but not sure if it helped. Probably would have if our luggage was lost but that never happened. Mind at ease tax I guess.

One thing I will say is we overpacked. Literally could have brought one backpack, bought new clothes, shoved them into luggage, and had that forwarded every few days. Lesson learned. By the end of it, we ran out of space and were lugging massive extra bags around. We wore only a fraction of the clothes we brought since it was so much traveling and no point in spending time figuring out outfits when we can buy new clothes at Muji or several other retailers for super cheap. Muji had great stuff for 1000 yen a piece, INSANE.

They have storage lockers literally everywhere, and they’re not like the ones in Germany that are disgusting and broken. Every place we went, even parks, had luggage storage available costing 1000 yen or less for the whole day. Came in clutch a few places we traveled to.

We already had a Suica card installed on our phones, which I highly recommend. It was super easy adding money to Suica using Apple Pay. One thing we did not have that a lot of places and vending machines took was Pasmo, so maybe add that to your wallet too. Missed out on some fun vending machines since we were out of coins and too lazy to look for change.

They do have machines to change paper money to coins, so keep an eye on that and always have a few 100 yen coins on you. The 500 yen coin was annoying since lots of weird vending machines wouldn’t take it.

I know absolutely no Japanese other than “Arigato gozaimasu” for saying “thank you kindly” and “Orimasu” to get off the trains or buses. I’m pretty sure no one really cares if you just say “Arigato,” but it’s not hard adding on the “gozaimasu” at the end. Apparently it’s more polite? We used Google Translate for most translations at restaurants and train stations, and no one really gave us a hard time. They enjoyed helping us and were super friendly.

Several hotels offer washing machines, so if you are staying for a while, look for hotels with washing machines or at least have a laundry place nearby. You will need to do laundry. They have a pre wash cycle which cleans the machine before use if you are worried about it being disgusting from others.

Purchasing train tickets is simple enough, so don’t stress. We used Google Maps most of the way and it was relatively simple finding things. We had some issues underground since the service wasn’t pinning us correctly and jumped around, but there are signs everywhere.

Weather-wise, we got lucky and only had one major torrential rainstorm at night. There were a couple days with clouds and sprinkles but nothing too crazy for our main days out. We did pack travel sized umbrellas, which I recommend having.

Onto the trip

Sep 16th–19th: Tokyo Stayed in the Minato area since it’s calm and we actually enjoyed it last year. We visited a few places we enjoyed the year prior and took it easy for the most part to get used to the time zone change. It wasn’t too bad honestly, because our time zone had us getting up early around 5–7am, which helped beat some crowds to places. We aren’t night people, so being in at 9–10 pm isn’t bad for us.

19th–21st: Kanazawa Itinerary felt a bit packed even though we were pretty central to everything. Did the usual, Omicho Market, Kenroku-en Gardens, Kanazawa 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Higashi Tea District, D.T. Suzuki Museum, Kanazawa Castle, and Nagamachi District.

We did miss a few things like the Museum of Architecture and a couple of other places, but we only had so much time. One extra day here would have cut into other stops, but if you have the luxury, I would add two full days here.

21st–22nd: Shirakawa-go We were only here for the arrival date, and the next day we departed. Can you spend more time here? Yes. But for us, it was fine this way, and we got to see most of the village areas and enjoy the scenic views. Luckily, our hotel offered a free tour of the whole area and even took us to the top of the lookout area, which I highly recommend for everyone.

Problem is, there are only two ways up, walking or tour bus. Both eat up a lot of time, and the main view area closes relatively early around 3:30–4:00. There are two lookouts if I remember correctly, but the main one closes early. Stayed at Shiroyamakan, and holy smokes, it was worth it. Access to two private onsens, one overlooking the running river, incredible! Our rooms were very traditional with a view of the river. They also serve dinner and breakfast, both traditional and amazing experiences. The family that runs it is tied to the city and was wonderful.

22nd–23rd: Takayama Took the bus from Shirakawa-go to Takayama, and it was simple since the hotel is right across the street from the station. Arrived early, locked up our bags, and did a brief walk. Visited Hida Takayama Retro Museum, which was so cool, definitely recommend. Also visited Miyagawa Morning Market, then made our way to the hotel through a provided shuttle.

We decided to stay at Wanosato since it was our anniversary. The hotel provides a shuttle ride from the station, you can select what time works for you, but once you’re there, you’re pretty much stuck since there’s nothing really to do outside of it. The hotel was a huge highlight for us to relax and take in the beautiful views.

Ended up booking one of their villas and WOW, it’s well worth it. Pretty much your very own house in the woods with a view of the river from the living room. Private bath, large rooms, and a perfect traditional setup for dinner and breakfast. The food here was very traditional and delicious.

They have a couple of different onsens, one has a fake rock façade with separate cold and hot baths, and the other is more modern with a clean look but only a hot bath. This one had a ...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/lloydholland100 on 2025-10-06 11:53:28+00:00.

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Hi everyone,

Arrived back from Japan yesterday after a 15 day trip to Japan, and I used this subreddit a fair bit when planning and organising a trip with my wife. It was really helpful to plan etc, so thought I would leave a small essay - i hope it helps at least 1 person.

I have put put together a bit of list of what we did on each day, should you wish I have more of an in depth google sheets doc and around 175 pinned locations on google maps of key sites / restaurants, hotels etc.

We did the "usual route", Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, cylying on the Shimanami kaido route, Hiroshima, Miyajima and then back to Tokyo.

Pre arrival information

• Pre booked a vast majority of hotels (left 2 days spare at the end in case we wanted to revisit anywhere).

• Arrange and install an esim - we went with Journey Japan esim, worked really well, had the 20gb package each and used around 14gb each on the trip.

• Recommend completing the Visit Japan Immigration Clearance and Customs forms along with the Tax Free declaration.

• Bring USB charging cables and 2 pin plugs (there were several hotels without 3 pin sockets and only 1 hotel with USB-C ports)

• Packing information, we packed relatively light, around half a suitcase each with the idea we'd wash our clothes every 4-5 days.

• Upload some local currency to a debit card / virtual card. I went with Revolut. One mistake was not having a physical card, so if you have time order one of those and then use the app to maintain funds etc.

• Google Maps was so useful for travelling in terms of which trains and platforms, made getting around super easy. We also hadnt pre booked any Shinkansen tickets, which worked out fine as we wanted to be pretty flexible. I was worried about this, but it was absolutely fine (late sept to early oct - this might change if going in the busy seasons.

• We found Tablelog much better than GoogleMaps for restaurant recommendations. Google reviews seem to over inflated with tourists being asked to give 5 stars, where tablelog seemed much better in our experience, a 3.5 out of 5 was typically great food.

Day 1 - Tokyo

Arrived in Tokyo around 3pm - took a bit of time to get through passport control etc, but all very easy.

Once outside of passport control, go to the left hand side of the stairs that are in front of you and purchase a "Welcome Suica" card for travel. You can use a debit card to purchase and top up, we went with a small amount - 2000yen and then topped up frequently.

Took the trains to Shibuya to our first hotel - Hotel Iyf. Hotel was exactly what we wanted for our first night, clean and easy. Short-ish walk from Shibuya Station.

Went for exploration around Shibuya, Parco Shopping, Pokemon Centre, Shibuya Crossing etc.

Had booked a restuarant for the first night, just so we knew where we were heading, tonkatsu.jp Omotesando. Great place and food, we actually went back when back in Tokyo for one of our last meals.

Back to Shibuya crossing, went up for a drink at Mag's Rooftop bar, then to LOST bar for a drink.

Day 2

Went for a short run around Yoyogi Park and then to Meiji Jingu., Coffee and pastries at Cafe 365 Days, great selection of baked goods, would recommend. Packed up, sent a majority of our luggage to Kyoto via the luggage forwarding service - left us with a medium sized north face backpack for a few days. Got the tube over to our next hotel in Shinjuku - Yuen Shinjuku.

Went to Teamlabs - Borderless, was cool to see and interesting, not sure its a must do if honest. Explored the area to visit the Tokyo Tower.

Headed to Omote-Sando Ave and Takeshita Street. Had first (of many) Family Mart chicken experience. Great for on the go food.

For dinner, went to Memory lane for drinks and yakatori at one of the many places, before deciding we were still hungry and went to another area for goyza and dumpings.

Our hotel had an onsen in, so had our first onsen experience. great way to finish the day and relax the muscles and feet.

Day 3

Early-ish start and headed over to Tokyo Skytree. Great to see the vast scale of Tokyo.

Walked over to Senso, did Senso-Ji and Nakamise Street, very busy, I'd recommend seeing early or late to avoid the vast number of people, but it was ok midday, not unbearable.

Over to Ueno, went down Ameyoko Street and had ramen. Up to Ueno Park and walked up to Yanaka Ginza for wonder and had a drink at one of the bars.

Left then and Akihanara area. Did the usual wonder in the area and shops etc before finishing at Yodabashi Akiba (superstore). Overall I'd say Akihabara was a massive let down, but maybe I built it up too much.

Day 4 - Hakone

Packed up and went to the Imperial Palace for a very quick walk around.

Went to Tokyo Station, grabbed some bento boxes for the train and got the RomanceCar train to Hakone.

Checked into a Ryokan - Matsuzakaya Honten, before getting the bus to the lake and seeing the torii gate and shine. Sadly Mt Fuji was clouded over.

Experienced the food, we are pretty fussy eaters, so make the evening and morning meals rather tough, but was an experience to say the least. The hotel also had a private onsen, which was lovely.

Day 5 - Kyoto

After a tough breakfast experience, got the train and Shinkansen over to Kyoto.

Checked into our hotel - Nol Kyoto Sanjo, lovely place and great room.

Walked around the Kyoto gardens, did the Samuari Ninja Museum, walked the general area, before heading to Nishiki Market and Pontocho Alley. Very busy areas with long queues. Ended up for dinner at Gyoza Hohei, great place would recommend, cheap and great food.

Day 6

Early morning run around the national garden.

got to Arashiyama Bamboo forest for 9ish, it was pretty busy on our way out, so recommend seeing it as early as possible. Walked around Tenryu-ji, before visiting the Monkey Park

Headed to Ryoan-ji, and up to Kinkaku-ji. This was busy around half 2, must be unbearable in peak season.

Visited the outside of Nijo Castle, before evening walk around Gion area and having dinner.

Day 7

Another early start where we went to Fushimi Inari Taisha for around 8am to beat the crowds, we took a side path to the top, which was much quieter. got to the bottom at around 10am and was very very busy.

Got the train to see Kiyomizu-dera, this was fab, but again very busy the time we got there.

Walked from here to Chinon-in Temple before having lunch at Ramen Nishiki - very good.

Walked to many other shines along the route, went to Nanzen-ji and Eikando Temple before walking along the Philosophers Path canal ending up at Ginkaku-ji.

Day 8 - Nara Day Trip and Osaka

Packed up, and sent our main luggage back to Tokyo, and got the train to Nara, left luggage in the coin lockers.

Saw the deer and had a good walk around the park, shines and temples. Todai-ji was great to see. Had a mochi at Nakatanidou before getting the train to Osaka at around 4ish.

Dropped our bags at the Hotel - HOTEL RESOL TRINITY OSAKA, before visiting America-mura and down to Dotonbori. Had takoyaki at Achichi Honpo Dotonbori, before heading for ramen at Human Beings Everybody Noodles, great place, was super busy, also nice being the only tourists there.

Day 9 - Onomichi

Relaxing morning, went to UTSUBO BAKERY PANENA and coffee near by and sat in the park for a bit. Headed over to the Imperial Palace after and walk around the area, before getting the Shinkansen and train over to Onomichi.

Stayed at Hotel Cycle, would recommend.

Day 10 - Cycling

Did the first leg from Onomichi to our hotel at Omishima Island - 42km. Went to good road bikes but no ebikes. Stayed to Hotel Wakka, in a premium room with BBQ dinner. Best experience of the whole trip. Expensive, but worth it. Went to the public onsen in the evening.

Day 11

Second day of cycling, did the short island loop, before heading to the final destination of Imbari, 57km in total. Sore bums, as hard seats and not big cyclists.

Arrived at Imbari for half 2, had several 7Eleven chicken bites and chocolate bars before getting the train to Matsuyama. Got on the tram over to the port and got the boat over to Hiroshima. Checked into HOTEL INTERGATE Hiroshima. Exactly what we wanted, good price, clean with an onsen like area.

Evening dinner at Smile Okonomiyaki

Day 12 - Hiroshima

Coffee and bakery good at MAPS BAKERY / CAFE, before seeing the Hiroshima Memorial Museum and Park. Very moving and would recommend seeing.

Great pancake at Melange de Shuhari Hiroshima Hondori Store, before heading to Miyajima in the evening.

Checked into Miyajima Kinsuikan and visited the amazing store of Miyajima Syouyu-ya for soy sauce and spices etc.

Day 13 - Miyajima - Tokyo

Morning hike / run along the mountain trail to see the island.

Left the island at 10ish to get the train back to Tokyo.

Stayed in Shibuya again as we liked the area first time - this time at Tokyu Stay Shibuya.

Went back to tonkatsu.jp Omotesando, before evening walk around Shibuya, visited the madness of MEGA Don Quijote, finishing with evening drinks at LOST bar again.

Day 14 - Shopping in Tokyo

Chilled morning, went to Jimbocho for a walk and see the shops, ramen for lunch.

Went to Kappabashi street for kitchen wares. We spent far too long here, so much choice!

Evening dinner at SG LOW and went to their sister bar for drinks after æ - ash. Waiters were fab and so helpful and things we should do or s...

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We just got back home and I'm genuinely writing this with a heavy heart lol, I simply did not want to leave Japan.

This was my second trip to Japan after spending 8 days in Tokyo last year (which felt way too short) this time around I decided on a month. For obvious reasons I won't go into a lot of detail since a month is a long time to spend in Japan but if anyone has any questions feel free to ask :)

Days spend per city:

Osaka 6 days

Kyoto 2 days

Tokyo 22 days

We started off by landing in Osaka on september 4th safe to say we were not prepared for the HEAT lol i knew it was going to be warm but this was something else entirely.

First day we explored the center a bit, around namba station and dontonbori since our hotel was only a 15min walk from there.

Day 2 was mostly anime day for me, I spend hours at denden town looking for figures and retro stuff.

Day 3: this was our Nara and Kobe day trip we absolutely loved Nara and would recommend it too anyone! The dear can get a bit aggressive during september (pare season)though so watch out lol

The next 2 days we spend going around temples, the Osaka tower and shopping around for souvenirs and stuff nothing heavy since I was starting to get sick unfortunately.

I also had an entire separate list for food I wanted to try in each city so I went down that list the same time as my other itinerary lol

September 9th Kyoto

We took a local train to Kyoto only took around 35min I think. First impressions were the station was confusing as hell and with so much luggage (and sick) I had enough after my gps told me to go up the same stairs for the 5th time... After spending 30min wandering around we just took a cab to the luggage drop off person of our hotel and went for some breakfast at a place that was filled with tourists, forgot the name of the place but it wasn't good lol.

We decided to immediately take a bus to the Fushimi Inari shrine to save some time, it was beautiful and seeing all those gates was definitely worth it BUT it was ridiculously busy .

After that we checked In and went to teramashi shopping street and in the evening to the nidec tower.

Day 2 was more of the same going around a few temples and most chilling since at this point I got very sick but didn't want to stay in the hotel since I only had 2 days in Kyoto. I left Kyoto feeling that 2 days were more than enough, it's small has a lot of charm but the center and touristy stuff are just way to busy, so busy that I wouldn't want to go there again.

Tokyo day:

We took the Shinkansen to Tokyo station and than the yamanato line to Shinjuku.

We spend 3 weeks in Tokyo i will just list out the major things we did since in those 3 weeks I've must have seen almost every district in and around tokyo but I won't bore you with that lol.

The days we did things in are a bit blurry so here's the "major" stuff we did.

-Tokyo tower and surrounding temples, also went to the WW2 museum on the same day

-Akihabara for gaming and anime, I went there 4-5 times and was pretty disappointed every single time (like last year) I've found other stores and areas to be better.

-Nakano Broadway: for anime this was probably the best one I've found, lots of stores and also gaming and tech stuff.

-Ueno: we went to the park, zoo, ameyoko street etc

-mouth Fuji: we decided to book a tour through booking because going alone would have cost us more, and it was worth it, the bus took us too: senkei shrine/park, oishi park, water Heritage Village, saiko Iyashi.

-yokohama including the big flea market.

-odaibi beach, the big Gundam statue, Statue of liberty and the big mall.

-ikebukero: sunshine mall and surrounding shopping streets

-inokashira we went to a park and checked out surrounding areas, was pretty chill and less Tokyo vibes.

-Tokyo fc football game

-Tokyo game show, must do for every gamer but it was so busy but an incredible experience.

So much more, like shibuya, asakusa, asakasa, skytree, harajuku, tons of temples, parks museums etc it's just too much too list, I also went to most book offs and hard offs around tokyo I found the best selection to be outside like at least 90min away by train.

Like Osaka I had a separate food list and went through most of it lol, 1 thing I would recommend around asakusa is age 3 bakery and if you love apples bet the cinnamon apple sandwich it was delicious (a bit messy too eat though)

We took the night bus back to Osaka to spend 1 more day there before getting on our flight home.

Like I said there is too much stuff to list and I've definitely forgot a lot of things but I'll try to update this if I remember something major.

It was our best vacation ever!

Until later Japan you've been amazing.