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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/jupiterFirst on 2025-04-23 18:59:51+00:00.

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Hey everyone! My partner and I are heading to Japan for the first time and I’ve been obsessively fine-tuning this itinerary. Would love any feedback on pacing, logistics, or if we’re missing anything major. No kids, kinda young (or at least still act like it), and we love food, culture, and a bit of nightlife. Trying to find that sweet spot between fun, vibes, and chill.

Tokyo

• Day 1: Flying in ✈️ → arrive in Tokyo → settle in → dinner in Ginza and rest
• Day 2: Shibuya Sky + explore Shibuya → Harajuku + Meiji Jingu Shrine → go-karting + dinner in Shibuya
• Day 3: Free morning → Sumo Tournament @ Ryogoku (1:15 PM) → izakaya crawl in Shinjuku + Golden Gai
• Day 4: Sanja Matsuri at Senso-ji Temple + Nakamise → Akihabara in the afternoon → free evening
• Day 5: Tsukiji Outer Market for sushi bites → free midday → teamLab Borderless (flexible entry) + dinner in Odaiba
• Day 6: Checkout, coffee or stroll → head to Hakone → walk to Hakone Shrine by Lake Ashi → dinner + onsen night

Hakone

• Day 7: Breakfast → Lake Ashi Pirate Ship → Ropeway to Owakudani → continue to Gora → Hakone Open-Air Museum → free evening
• Day 8: Morning soak + breakfast → travel to Kyoto → arrive and settle in → evening Gion walking tour + dinner

Kyoto / Osaka

• Day 9: Early morning at Fushimi Inari → Kiyomizu-dera → walk to Sanjusangendo → tea ceremony near Gion → dinner
• Day 10: Nara day trip (Todai-ji, Nara Park, Kasuga Taisha) → train to Osaka → Dotonbori street food + explore Namba/Shinsaibashi → light overnight in a capsule hotel or similar
• Day 11: Train back to Kyoto and drop bags → Philosopher’s Path walk + Honen-in and Eikando → free evening
• Day 12: Arashiyama Bamboo Grove (early morning) → knife shopping at Shigeharu → Nishiki Market + Kyoto Samurai & Ninja Museum → free time or final shopping
• Day 13: Final stroll or coffee → head to Tokyo/Narita via train → flight home at 5:00 PM

Open to any suggestions!

• We tried to group things by area to avoid too much crisscrossing.
• Debated skipping Tenryu-ji after hearing mixed reviews.
• Osaka is just for one night — we’re thinking capsule hotel, nothing fancy.
• We love great food, fun neighborhoods, quirky stuff, and a little nightlife.

Thanks in advance 🙏

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/sgy0003 on 2025-04-24 04:07:52+00:00.

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After 2 weeks in Korea, I decided to plan one more week in Japan. It was from 4/7 - 4/14.

This was not only my first time in Japan, but my first solo-travel as well. I went from 2 nights in Osaka, a day trip to Kyoto, then 1 night at Hakone, and 4 nights in Shinjuku.

And for the most part, it was a lot of fun! Aside from a few things I wish I did more research on, I really enjoyed my time in Japan, and made few notes to myself for my eventual, but definite, second visit.

What I loved:

• It was perfect timing for the cherry blossom! It was amazing! I got to enjoy a nice picnic at a park by a river near Sakuranomiya Station. I am in the Seattle area and the only cherry blossom that I know of is the one at UW, which not only the area super crowded at the time of the year, but it's really small. The picnic at the park was super nice, and I got to enjoy a nice, warm weather. While the blossoms began to die after I left Osaka, they were still found here and there and I enjoyed all of them
• The food! OMG the food was amazing. Okonomiyaki, Gyu-don, Ten-don, ramen, tsukemen, katsu curry, they were all amazing. The hakone ryokan I stayed at served homemade pastries for breakfast, and it was amazing.
• Hakone Onsen!!!!! Holy shit, I actually regret I only stayed one night. I wish I had stayed at least 2 nights, because dipping in a nice, relaxing, warm onsen water was heavenly. My ryokan had an outdoor onsen, and the night that I was there, a thunderstorm was happening. It was amazing to see lightning and thunder break as I relaxed in the onsen water.
• The politeness of people was amazing. I mean I heard that they were polite, but I didn't think they were this polite. I once lost a ticket during a Shinkansen ride, and couldn't find it on my way out. The staff were nice enough to let me through, telling me to be more careful next time. I felt super bad and was thankful at the same time
• Akihabara was like a mecca for pop culture, anime, videogames, etc. There were so many figures and cool legacy hardware that I haven't seen in ages
• Ochanomizu music street was bonkers! So many quality guitars, basses, and other musical instruments. I actually ended up picking up an elec. guitar myself!

Things I wish I had done, or had gone better

• A lot of places were closed, particularly around the Shibuya/Tokyo area. Imperial Palace, TEPIA Tech gallery, Samurai Museum, etc. I wish I had done a bit more thorough job when researching
• It rained a lot in Tokyo. This was something that was beyond my control. I feel the view from Tokyo Tower would've been a lot more better had it been sunny
• Most of my Airbnb reservations were for Osaka, and I wish I had scheduled more in Tokyo/Shibuya area. Because it definitely made Tokyo experience a lot less exciting. The city was fun at first, but the excitement only lasted about 1 - 2 days.
• In Kyoto, I did the kimono rental, and I wish I had asked for a lighter/cooler robes. The set that I got was really hot, and after I toured the bamboo forest I had sweated an entire bucket, and had to return it.
• At least two nights at Hakone! I didn't know what I was getting into when I made the reservation. I am definitely staying longer next time.

As I've said in the beginning of this post, I am definitely coming back. with more thorough planning next time.

EDIT:

For those of you asking, I stayed here in Hakone:

www.booking.com/hotel/jp/hakone-kowakien-miyamafurin.html

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Known_University2787 on 2025-04-23 18:41:53+00:00.

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This is going to be incredibly long but I am mostly writing all of this up for myself to help me remember my trip. For anyone traveling to Japan that does not like to be overscheduled or is traveling with there 12 year old, maybe this will be helpful. Neither of us like to over plan anything and like to just go by feel with what we want to do. We picked a list of one or two options at most for each day and left the rest open for doing whatever we felt like.

Friday (4/4/2025) – Asakusa (4,908 steps since everyone else does this)

Our flight landed in the Haneda airport at around 4 PM. I was a little confused about how the platforms for the train system worked at first. Google maps had our train departing from platform 5/6 which was both sides which I found confusing at the time. I was tired so my brain wasn’t connecting the dots very well. A nice Japanese lady saw I looked confused and helped me out. This actually happened multiple times during the trip for me. Apparently confusion shows on my face as I was approached two other times on the trip and asked if I needed help finding something.  My daughter was pretty exhausted from all of the travel so we just checked into our hotel the Kanzashi Tokyo Asakusa and she didn’t go back out. The hotel is in a great location within easy walking distance to Senso-Ji. It isn’t extremely close to train stations but I liked how walkable it made everything else we were doing. I grabbed some food from, friend chicken and a container of mixed fruit, from the nearby Lawsons for my daughter and I got ramen to go from Ryuten a small little ramen shop close to the hotel. Inside while I waited for my food I talked with a nice lady with a cute dog, luckily her English was better than my Japanese. Honestly, all the Japanese I worked on completely dropped out of my head for this trip. I get super nervous and the harder I grabbed for it the further away it was. Sigh.

Saturday (4/5/2025) – Asakusa (12,051 steps)

Saturday morning we woke up and walked to the 7-11 to grab some cash from the ATM. This ends up being something I had to do way too often. I would grab 10,000 yen and think, this should cover me, but it never did. I needed way more cash than I thought I would for this trip. We stopped at a cute coffee shop called Feb’s Coffee and Scones across the street from the 7-11. I got a latte for me and a Sakura scone for the kiddo. The coffee was great and my daughter loved the scone. From there we walked to Senso-Ji and tried a bunch of random food. You could really feel how much busier it gets as the day goes on. By 11 AM it was a madhouse. I would say the favorite thing I tried was the melonpan. My kiddo tried the matcha ice cream, I took a lick of it and thought it tasted terrible. She really liked it though. It was starting to get really crowded and we had already been walking around for a couple of hours so we headed to Sumida Park along the river. I loved it there, its is a beautiful park and it’s a people watchers dream. There were tons of kimono photo shoots, wedding photo shoots and people everywhere. We sat at the outdoor chairs at Tully’s Coffee which was shaded by cherry trees in full bloom and just chilled for an hour. It was nice and calm after the huge pack of people from Senso-Ji temple and Nakamise street market. My daughter really wanted to try out a Japanese McDonalds so we went there for lunch. Gotta say, pretty much like any other McDonalds, which honestly was good for her. She was feeling a bit overloaded from all the people so a bit of normalcy worked out. On the way back we tried a crepe from Marion Crepes. We got the strawberry and vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce which was pretty good. There were a bunch of street performers in this area as well which was really fun. The kiddo was feeling pretty tired from being out since the morning so we headed back to the hotel to chill until we went back out later.  We hung out the hotel for a bit and then headed out later that night for Wagyu. It was the one big splurge dinner I had planned for the trip. We went to Panga Asakusa which is a yakiniku restaurant on the 4th floor of a building that overlooks the river. It is a really cool atmosphere and the food was quite good. For what it is I think the price is quite fair but I would say for me in the end I am just not that fancy and I wouldn’t go back. I enjoyed the experience talking to the little old lady at the cheap ramen shop more. I just felt out of place in a fancy restaurant.

 Sunday (4/6/2025) – Asakusa (12,306 steps)

We started the day with a plan to go to Ueno park and the Tokyo National Museum but the kiddo wasn’t feeling up to it. I think it took her longer than me to get over the jet lag. Instead we decided to walk to Senso-Ji, get some coffee and then peruse all of the stores in the area. She really wanted to try Taiyaki which is a little fish shaped cake with a filling. She got the custard and I tried the red bean paste. She really liked the custard, the red bean paste was interesting, it is quite sweet but it has the texture of beans which threw me off quite a bit. I am so used to savory bean paste that I had a hard time not thinking it was all wrong. Not bad though but the custard was better. After that we looked around Nakamise but on a Sunday at noon it was super busy. Honestly for me it was fun to walk and look around but it reminded me of all the same tourist trap stuff we have back at home. Cheap trinkets and themed clothing which isn’t something I would buy. For dinner we went to Sushiro which is a chain conveyor belt sushi chain. It was tons of fun and the kiddo really enjoyed it. I know it’s a bit of a gimmick but it was really fun and I would recommend it for anyone with kids especially. My daughter is 12 and she loved being able to scroll through the menu, pick a random sushi and have it show up on the belt. After Sushiro we walked over to Tokyo Skytree and went up to the first deck (my daughter is scared of heights so this was a bid step for her). We purposefully went at night because she wanted to see it all lit up. It was pretty busy even at night but I liked getting to see the tower lit up and the view of the city at night is great. We didn’t really spend a lot of time up there though. Standing around looking at the same thing isn’t her jam so once we had been there for like 20 minutes she had seen all she wanted to see and we headed back down (I also think the height made her nervous). We did the Sumida River Walk to get to Sushiro and Skytree and back and that was great, if you are in the area its worth the walk.

Final Asakusa thoughts:

I loved Asakusa and I would say the two days we were there were the perfect amount of time. It is extremely touristy, which was fun for the start of the trip, but there is a lack of authenticity to it that feels like any other tourist trap area. If we had stayed in Asakusa I would want to start taking day trips out to other areas for new experiences. Senso-Ji is a must see but I would not go during peak hours. We went early in the morning and it was really nice, once the crowds hit though we spent more time fighting the crowds than enjoying Senso-Ji. It’s also great at night, for me even better than the day. There is almost no one around and it’s lit up very nicely. Going up to the top of Skytree for me was take it or leave it, the view from the outside lit up at night was enough and I think I would have rather spent more time walking around the city at night then waiting in long lines to see it from the top of Skytree.

 Monday – Asakusa to Osaka (6,989 steps)

 Monday was a travel day so I didn’t have a lot planned. We grabbed Mr. Donut at the train station, my daughter was bummed because in the pictures they had Pokemon themed donuts but when we arrived the only special donuts were matcha themed. We took the Shinkansen to Osaka which my daughter loved. I am very glad I watched videos on how the tickets work as it is a little confusing and different than how the Pasmo I had been using worked. We did paper tickets from the self-serve kiosks and did non reserved seating. The non-reserved car was much less full than the reserved car and we got a window seat on the Mt. Fuji side of the train. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy to see Mt. Fuji when we went by. We checked into the Henn Na Hotel Osaka, the one with the robot dinosaurs at checkout. My daughter had been super excited for this. She thought it was really cool, but she was a little bummed the hotel room itself was not dinosaur themed. We spent the little time left we had for the day looking at the clothing stores near our hotel. My daughter was in love with all of the street clothing. She wanted pizza for some random reason so we went to Pizza Catharsix Factory for dinner. It was really good but while we were there some (I assume tik tok) food influencers showed up to shoot a video. It was actually really entertaining to watch and the guy making pizza kept looking over at me embarrassed while the guy and girl made the video. The girl actually did a costume change for some reason halfway through. It was kind of like dinner and a show. After dinner we walked to Dotonbori which is an absolute mad house. It had the heaviest crowds of anywhere I have ever seen but unlike Kyoto later in the trip it seems more able to handle the volume of people. We tried a bunch of random street food,...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Apprehensive_Heat176 on 2025-04-22 16:18:18+00:00.

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I just came back from an epic trip to Japan. Here are my experiences and hope it helps others with their planning. I'm sure my routing wasn't as optimal as it could be as I doubled back a bit. On the other hand, I didn't want to schedule everything down to the last detail. I left enough wiggle room to explore openly. The only sites I booked in advance were TeamLab Borderless, Universal Japan and the train between Tokyo and Kyoto. We were really lucky and saw the sakura during the whole trip.

Klook Passes - I bought these tourists passes and made decent use of them. I do know that tourists passes aren't always the best deal especailly for transit when you have IC cards..

Klook Pass Greater Tokyo with 3 Attractions for $65 CAD per person - I booked Teamlab Borderless, Red Tokyo Tower and the 72 hour Tokyo Subway Ticket. The pass more than paid for itself as Teamlab is already $40 CAD per person. Most of the other options in this pass didn't interest me or were too far from where I was staying in Shinjuku. I wanted to book Shibuya Sky, but dates never lined up. I didn't see the point of the other observaton decks like Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Tower or Skytree as we did the free Tokyo Gov't Building and free-ish Asahi Sky Room. I thought about the 1-day ticket cable car and chair lift ticket to Mount Takao, but didn't end up going there.

Osaka Amazing Pass - I bought the 2 day pass for $42.25 CAD per person, which gave me unlimited rides on the Osaka Metro and a whole list of sites. I probably could have seen more sites with the pass though. The pass is a bit tricky to use because the pass is valid for exactly 2 days as soon as you activate it. So I had to activate it just before taking my first trip on the Osaka Metro.

Transit - The transit passes for Tokyo and Osaka were a bit inconvenient to use because we had to switch to the paper or e-tickets vs using our IC cards. The Osaka Amazing Pass requires an active internet connection because it shows a unique QR code every 50 seconds or so. I did not have any issues with internet while in the subway though. As the pass holder, I had to get my friend to go ahead of me while I scanned the first QR code at the ticket gate. Then I could scan the second QR code so I could go through the ticket gate. I made good use of the NaviTime app to pick the transit lines that took advantage of the passes and check my IC card balance. If I visit Japan again, I would forego the transit pass and just use an IC card as it's one less thing to fiddle with.

Internet - I travelled with a friend who has an older phone that did not support esims. He bought a roaming package through Freedom Mobile in Canada, but it did not work once we got to Tokyo. We went to BIC Camera to buy a SIM card (I think it was from Softbank), but it also did not work on his phone. The sales person was very helpful and used a translator device too.

I suspect his phone is still locked or is a 3G phone that could not connect to any network in Japan. Luckily, I brought a spare unlocked phone with me that accepted the SIM card and he used it as a wifi hot spot. I used a Saily esim for my phone and it worked quite well. I did experience a dead spot in a few places in Tokyo and Enoshima I think. We also made use of the Japan Auto Wifi Auto Connect app.

Battery Pack - My friend also did not buy a USB battery pack before the trip. This was easy to fix on the same trip to BIC Camera.

Luggage - I've haven't checked a bag in over 20 years. The last time I checked a bag, I had to make a tight connection. My bag didn't make it on the connecting flight because of a weather delay. So I had to wait a whole day for my bag to catch up. I was on a multi-city tour so that could have ended in disaster with my bag constantly playing catch up and being left without fresh clothes for the whole trip. Even if a checked bag makes it to the destination, you have to spend time waiting for it at the carousel on both ends.

My friend way over packed for the trip and didn't have a proper travel suit case. It looked like he used a soft shell hockey bag with wheels and a gym bag as a carry on. Not sure what he was carrying, but the gym bag felt heavier than my carry-on wheeled luggage that was already 18 pounds. He also had a draw string backpack and a small Pacsafe wallet to keep credit cards, cash, passport and phone. The Pacsafe wallet was jammed full with his wallet, envelope with cash and coins, my spare phone, his phone and the USB power bank. He could have easily put my phone and power bank in the drawstring bag. IMO, drawstring bags are useless for travel because you can't lock them and are uncomfortable to wear because there's no padding.

Our hotels helped us ship our main luggage from Tokyo to Osaka, but he did not use it effectively. For some reason, he chose not to put his extra stuff in his main luggage before shipping it to Osaka. So his carry on gym bag still weighed more than my piece of wheeled luggage. If you must carry so much stuff to Japan, at least ship it between cities so you don't have to carry it all day long. I brought a 12 oz stainless steel water bottle with me, but got tired of the extra weight of the bottle plus water. So I just left it in my wheeled luggage after the first few days and shipped it to Osaka. I then bought a drink from a vending machine and re-filled it with water along the way or from a big jug of juice that I bought from 7-11 for 120 JPY.

Since his shoulder bag was so heavy, we had to seek out lockers. By the time we got to Kyoto station, all lockers were full. So we had to wait until we got to the Kyoto Railway Museum, which had plenty of lockers.

Cash - There's no need to carry large amounts of cash around since ATM's are plentiful and credit cards are accepted fairly widely. I know that IC cards can only be topped up with cash though. My friend actually carried his cash and coins around in a bank envelope. That envelope was almost ready to tear open by the end of the trip. I'm shocked that he didn't drop anything.

I know there are currency converter kiosks and counters around Japan, but I advised him not to use them as the rates would be terrible. He almost made the stupid mistake of using his credit card and paying in CAD while at Donki. The number one rule of getting cash or using credit cards while travelling is always pay in the local currency. Luckily, I stopped him before he made a that mistake. He also seemed dead set on converting the Canadian cash he had on hand to JPY. I told him to keep his CAD cash and withdraw JPY only when he needed it or use credit cards. Converting back and forth is another way to get hit with fees especailly when dealing with CAD.

Train Tickets - I know that many people prefer to buy tickets at the machine on the days before or day of travel because their card doesn't work on Smart EX. I prefer the peace of mind of having the tickets on me and not having to deal with lines. Besides, I had a good idea of my itinerary so buying in advance made sense to me and I splurged a bit on green car seats. My TD Visa card worked without issues on Smart EX from Canada. When we got to Kyoto station, I saw that the lines for the ticket machines were insanely long. This was before Golden Week so I'm sure it would be even worse during that time.

Itinerary

Apr 5 - Departed Toronto on Korean Air 74 to Incheon. I splurged on a business class seat and the service was excellent. This was my first time flying business, but it was easy to justify for a 15 hour flight. The flight was on a Boeing 777 and had the new Korean Air (and IMO boring) livery. The plane was in the Apex suite 2-2-2 config. I had a window seat, which has a lot more privacy than the aisle seat.

Korean uses the KLM Lounge at Pearson terminal 3, which was mediocre at best. At least, it was quiet in there. Security at Pearson was a breeze to get through.

The meals and flat bed were a highlight of the flight as was the service. I basically had instantaneous service as soon as I pushed the call button. The lavs were seldom occupied during my flight. The one time the lav was occupied, the FA let me uses the first class one.

Apr 6 - Arrived in Incheon. Customs was busy, but moved through smoothly. I had about 4 hours until my connection to Haneda. Korean Air's Presige lounge was really busy when I arrived. I didn't have any food as I was still full from the in-flight food. I wanted to take a shower, but had to wait over an hour.

Departed Incheon at 2030 for a 2.5 hour flight to Haneda. The flight was on an A330, but did not have the Apex suite configuratiion. The seats were in a 2-2-2 config and had a small partition between them. The seats had an insane amount of leg room, but I did not need to recline to a flat bed for such a short flight. I thought the service and food was not as good as the long haul flight. Then again, it makes sense as the FA's don't have nearly enough time to setup the tray table, table cloths, serve multiple wine options, etc.

Arrived at Haneda at 2300. The customs area was really busy. I think it took me over an hour to get through the line. I got twice unlucky because the...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/sgy0003 on 2025-04-22 16:17:45+00:00.

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After 2 weeks in Korea, I decided to plan one more week in Japan. It was from 4/7 - 4/14.

This was not only my first time in Japan, but my first solo-travel as well. I went from 2 nights in Osaka, 1 night at Hakone, and 4 nights in Shinjuku.

And for the most part, it was a lot of fun! Aside from a few things I wish I did more research on, I really enjoyed my time in Japan, and made few notes to myself for my eventual, but definite, second visit.

What I loved:

• It was perfect timing for the cherry blossom! It was amazing! I got to enjoy a nice picnic at a park by a river near Sakuranomiya Station. I am in the Seattle area and the only cherry blossom that I know of is the one at UW, which not only the area super crowded at the time of the year, but it's really small. The picnic at the park was super nice, and I got to enjoy a nice, warm weather. While the blossoms began to die after I left Osaka, they were still found here and there and I enjoyed all of them
• The food! OMG the food was amazing. Okonomiyaki, Gyu-don, Ten-don, ramen, tsukemen, katsu curry, they were all amazing. The hakone ryokan I stayed at served homemade pastries for breakfast, and it was amazing.
• Hakone Onsen!!!!! Holy shit, I actually regret I only stayed one night. I wish I had stayed at least 2 nights, because dipping in a nice, relaxing, warm onsen water was heavenly. My ryokan had an outdoor onsen, and the night that I was there, a thunderstorm was happening. It was amazing to see lightning and thunder break as I relaxed in the onsen water.
• The politeness of people was amazing. I mean I heard that they were polite, but I didn't think they were this polite. I once lost a ticket during a Shinkansen ride, and couldn't find it on my way out. The staff were nice enough to let me through, telling me to be more careful next time. I felt super bad and was thankful at the same time
• Akihabara was like a mecca for pop culture, anime, videogames, etc. There were so many figures and cool legacy hardware that I haven't seen in ages
• Ochanomizu music street was bonkers! So many quality guitars, basses, and other musical instruments. I actually ended up picking up an elec. guitar myself!

Things I wish I had done, or had gone better

• A lot of places were closed, particularly around the Shibuya/Tokyo area. Imperial Palace, TEPIA Tech gallery, Samurai Museum, etc. I wish I had done a bit more thorough job when researching
• It rained a lot in Tokyo. This was something that was beyond my control. I feel the view from Tokyo Tower would've been a lot more better had it been sunny
• Most of my Airbnb reservations were for Osaka, and I wish I had scheduled more in Tokyo/Shibuya area. Because it definitely made Tokyo experience a lot less exciting. The city was fun at first, but the excitement only lasted about 1 - 2 days.
• In Kyoto, I did the kimono rental, and I wish I had asked for a lighter/cooler robes. The set that I got was really hot, and after I toured the bamboo forest I had sweated an entire bucket, and had to return it.
• At least two nights at Hakone! I didn't know what I was getting into when I made the reservation. I am definitely staying longer next time.

As I've said in the beginning of this post, I am definitely coming back. with more thorough planning next time

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/redditCT on 2025-04-20 08:20:35+00:00.

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I just spent 30 days in Kyushu and it’s now my favorite place in The world! For the first 16 days, I stayed at PlusOne Nishikoen. Then Beppu in a gorgeous Airbnb for a week, and Hotel Prezio by Hakata station for 5 days.

I got a 5 day a full Kyushu JR pass and did a 5 day rally. Mojiko, Nagasaki, Kitakyushu, Kumamoto, Kagoshima. It was worth it to me, as I could book as many seats as I wanted. (The other passes limited how many seats you could book) I also visited Mount Aso, Takachiho Gorge, Dazaifu, Kurume, Arita, and Okawachiyama Village, and Itoshima.

Pro Tip: Look into JapanTransit (the app) to find day passes for certain cities as well!

I’m started a day by day blog as well to share and relive my trip!

My favorite highlights with captions in pics.

THE START: I decided to start a blog for each day of my one month trip to Japan so I could share the most memorable trip of my life. Kyushu is my new favorite place in the world. Some backstory - I first worked in Japan in 2014 and fell in love with the country. I was one of the stage managers on the tour of War Horse. We performed at the Shibuya Hikarie in the Theatre Orb. Spending a month in Tokyo was unlike anything I'd ever experienced! The food, the people, the cleanliness. I never stopped thinking about going back. Since then, I went back in April 2018 (Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Hakone, Kamakura - with my then gf, now wife) and August 2023 (Hiroshima, Miyajima, Osaka, Tokyo - with my wife). Cut to 2024. I quit my job after burning out and decided it was time to go back Japan. I originally wanted to go to Kyushu and Sapporo, but then decided on just Kyushu. I planned 2 weeks, but my wife wanted to get home early for Passover. She suggested I fly to Japan earlier, so I booked a flight for what I thought was 7 days earlier from when she would arrive. When I added it to my calendar, I realized I would have 16 days alone before my wife joined! JaPlan started and thus started a massive Google Sheets document and 800 tabs of research. Here's some helpful information below!

FLIGHTS: I booked our flights through Delta since I have status and a Delta Reserve card. JFK -> ICN -> FUK FUK -> ICN -> JFK After working in Seoul for 3 months in 2021, I was hoping for more exciting things in the Incheon airport like an Olive Young, or KyoChon branch. Alas, it was mostly expensive Duty Free shops, so I used my Delta status and Priority Pass to lounge hop instead. Round Trip Total ppx: $1,580

HOUSING: Stay 1: I used my Delta card to get a $200 Delta Stays credit for my apartment in Fukuoka. A Basic Triple Room Studio with a loft in the Tojinmachi neighborhood called Plus One Nishikoen. I emailed them to ask for a quiet room, as I wanted to record voice over auditions. They happily emailed back and said they would assign me the top floor. The bus was a pain to get into the city (they were never on time), but it was nice being in a quieter neighborhood across from a temple. It was also nice having a fridge and kitchen! 16 Night Total: $517 ~$32/night ($695 - $200 Delta credit + ¥200/night city tax fee. I accidentally paid an extra day of the city fee.)

Stay 2: We did an Airbnb in Beppu, ShikiVilla Tatami and Modern Room - Issen, that was BEAUTIFUL and spacious. And it had an onsen on the first floor! 6 Night Total: $385 ~$64/night

Stay 3: The Shizutetsu Hotel Prezio Hakataekimae in Fukuoka was so so so tiny… but a quick walk to Hakata station which was nice. It was also a bit loud as it was directly above the train tracks. It was not too bad on the highest floor, and we used our iPhone "Background Sounds" feature to have "dark noise" to fall asleep to at night. 6 Night Total: $295 ~$49/night ($495 - $200 Delta credit)

PHONE/DATA: Ubigi 60GB "Unlimited" data. I've used Ubigi in Japan, London, and Costa Rica on my iPhone 13 (with T-Mobile). I got 60gb full speed and then they throttled it down to 1Mbps after. It got me through my whole trip! It definitely got slow after the throttle though. Pro Tip: EW7PJDBN to get 20% off your first purchase. I also suggest getting Google Voice! I was able to call places in Japan for 2-4¢/minute for reservations and my super when I thought I lost my apt key.

JAPANESE LANGUAGE: You’ll be alright with google translate. But learn the basics. Hello. Thank you. Excuse me. It’s alright. Sorry. Yes. Konnichiwa. Arigato. Sumimasen. Daijobu. Gomenasai. Hai. こんにちは、ありがとう、すみません、大丈夫、ごめんなさい、はい。

Learning hirigana and katakana is INSANELY useful. Get a notebook and start writing each character for a page (and say it out loud as you write it). This’ll help you read signs and make your life so so so much easier. If you’re a foodie, learn some basic kanji characters like “beef, fish, pork, chicken, horse” it’ll help with restaurants and menus. If you go to a lot of conbinis (7-11, family mart, Lawson) and they say “fukuro” 袋, they’re asking if you need a plastic bag. If you don’t need one, you can say daijobu 大丈夫.

CLOTHES & SHOPPING: Don’t worry about clothes. I went to Uniqlo and GU and they had XL sizes and a great selection. I also got a windbreaker that rolls up into a tiny umbrella sized pouch. 10/10.

The yen seems to be going up. Fill your pasmo/suica now. If you need glasses or you’re not sure if you need glasses, check out Jins or Owndays. I got 2 pairs of glasses in Japan and they were so cheap!! I did get one nice pair with progressive lenses. But that takes 10 days. So make sure you check your schedule. I also regret not getting things when I saw them. I figured I would have time to buy them at the end of the trip, but I wish I bought them in the moment.

Make sure you bring your passport with you at all times. And also check if you can qualify for Tax Free purchases! (You won't be able to use the product in Japan if you do Tax Free though.)

TRANSPORTATION: You can get a pasmo or suica card. My wife and I had one and the other for Kyushu and Tokyo/Hiroshima/Osaka on a previous trip and it both worked for trains and conbinis (IC payment).

I highly recommend renting a car for outside of Fukuoka. We had a car for Beppu and it was great to create our own timeline and go anywhere. Get the ETC toll pass. We rented through Priceline and it was very easy. I will say, driving with 2 people is much nicer than driving alone (For directions, fatigue, etc.) Get your international Drivers License from AAA. It was super easy and took us 20 minutes!

You can also rent bikes! I did Chari Chari until I heard about LUUP. They have 3 hour passes. Just be careful. Taking a fall on one of those will scrape you up….. they’re heavy. I loved biking around the city! Even did it in the rain.

TLDR: Have fun, explore the parks and cities, and eat all the food.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/stainbas on 2025-04-20 00:15:36+00:00.

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tl;dr: by sacrificing some "Instagrammable" spots you can stay sane and still see cool stuff; in Kyoto, consider staying in Fushimi Inari to get the most out of it:; Hiroshima was worth it.

I am paying it forward by writing a trip report since I learned a lot from this subreddit. Biographical details in the header (I am mom). Exact dates were April 11 to April 20.

Tokyo (4 nights): Flew into Narita and got into town via he Skyliner, which was very easy as we were staying near Ueno. We got welcome Suica cards, but if the line is long just consider paying the deposit for regular IC cards. I lost mine during the trip and found the Japanese IC card was more reliable at vending machines.

We stayed im a residential area between Ueno and Akihabara. I chose it because I figured the boys would love Akihabara. Turned out they did not. But Ueno was fantastic, including the park. Sakura were past peak but still abundant. Day 1 we did the fish market first thing in the morning, Asakusa, and Skytree. We walked from Asakusa to Skytree and it was great -;the park by the river was a highlight. Heights don't normally do much for me, but I appreciated Skytree. The boys also loved the mall there. We used the basement food court to get takeout shi and it was awesome. We passed out at 3 and never made it out to dinner.

Day 2 was Shibuya and Harakuju. This was our toughest day because it was raining all day and a Sunday so everyone was out and about. We were underwhelmed with both places (Harakuju was a zoo, even on side streets), but the weather probably didn't help. My 14 yo and I went to Akihabara that night. He was troubled by all the women advertising bars. Not our thing.

Day 3 was Disney Sea (Monday). We are big Disney fans so wanted to experience the Japanese take. Got there 1 hour before rope drop. By sacrificing any opportunity to do the frozen ride, taking advantage of single rider, and paying for a couple of priority passes, we managed to finish up by 3 or 4. We really enjoyed Disney Sea and while it was definitely Japanese, it was nice to be in an environment we were familiar with for a day.

Day 4: went to Koto to see the Gundam statue (I recommend) before taking the train to Kyoto. For those stressing about "oversized bags" like we did, we had one medium suitcase that was larger than a carryon but not gigantic. This fit fine in the overhead compartment. We paid for the green car but for the rest of the trip used the ordinary reserved car. We bought all tickets the night before or the same day using the SmartEX App and had no problems.

In Kyoto (3 nights), we rented a small house in the Fushimi Inari area, on the advice of Travel Caffeine This was possibly the best strategic decision we made the whole trip. We could visit the shrine early in the morning and late at night. We were close to the main line train station so could get to all the other places fine, and there were plenty of places to eat. When we talked with other westerners we ran into, they were not enjoying Kyoto because of the neverending crowds. We definitely saw crowds but did not have that same experience of feeling swarmed. We also decided to forego the Arashiyama forest and just focus on the east side of Kyoto, which was fine because Inari mountain has a beautiful grove. We hit the temples you're "supposed" to hit, but also went to Kennin-ji, which was a highlight. Nanin-ji's aquaduct was also super cool, and the Philosophers path was surprisingly now crowded.

Our Hiroshima stop was a happy accident - I had miscounted the days and realized we had a gap in our accommodations for one night. When I discovered that a week before or trip, our 16 yo asked to go to Hiroshima, so that's what I booked. It was a powerful experience. One night was sufficient, but that is because we chose not to do the island (again, sacrifices). We got the morning train back to Tokyo for one night and leave this afternoon. For this night we stayed in the onsen ryokan in Asakusa and it has been wonderful. We also appreciated the vibrant night vibe here.

That's about it. I hope this helps others.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/corruptedcircle on 2025-04-19 07:21:59+00:00.

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Did minimum planning beforehand (parents didn't want a concrete plan in case they need more rest), ended up checking this sub quite often to come up with ideas so figured I'll try to offer a little in return. Not much worth copying but might give people some ideas.

Parents are getting up there in age so this trip was meant to be more relaxing and slow-paced...But I'm unfit af so I was slowly dying by day 3 anyway lol oop. Steps recorded by an iPhone 10. Would recommend trying to fit in more bus transfers if you want to walk less.

0403 Arrival, Ueno Sakura at night Arrived at Narita at 3pm, met up with parents at about 5pm. Rushed to Ueno for sakura viewing at night because the night lights are only around till Apr 6 and we didn't know how much sakura flowers are left. It was lightly raining so it wasn't too crowded. Had dinner in Ameya yokocho, was crowded but didn't have to wait for seating. That seems to be the case for most places we ended up going--even though it'd be so crowded there's almost no space to walk, entry to restaurants or places that require an entrance fee are still aplenty. Steps: 13366

0404 Mount Fuji viewing tour This was one of the two things we booked beforehand, a one-day bus tour taking us to view Mount Fuji. It would have taken us up the mountain too but the roads were closed and the cable cars were too crowded (guess they can't book tickets beforehand for groups?). Boat trip in Kawaguchi-ko was still pretty nice, top of Mount Fuji still had snow on it while the bottom was blue which was THE perfect view of the mountain. Also took us to Asama (Sengen) jinja and Oshino Hakkai. Steps: 14261

0405 Ueno Tokyo National Museum Slower day to rest up, dad spent the day mostly in the hotel. Had a Japanese full-course lunch that took a while, and then decided to go back to Ueno because I wanted to visit the Tokyo National Museum. Spent maybe 3-4 hours in there? Also saw the sakura trees at Ueno Park again both in the daytime and at night, but it was a sunny day on a weekend so scarily crowded. Steps: 20083

0406 Shinjuku Gyoen Entered from the south to start with the sakura trees which were mostly full blossom still. Circled the park a bit and then walked back to Shinjiku for a late lunch, then checked out the department stores near Shinjiku station's South Exit which was further from the place we were staying. Steps: 13808

0407 Meiji Jingu, Harajuku Entered from Yoyogi side and walked across Meiji Jingu. Rested at a coffee shop for a bit after getting to Harajuku, then dad went back early and I walked around Harajuku and Omotesando with my mom. Spend a lot of time in Laforet because it's nostalgic for my mom and she also enjoyed checking out the current loli/goth fashion stuff, neither of us were really ever going to buy anything but still noticed that sizing is very limited. Also walked along a street nicknamed Cat Street and Takeshita dori. Steps: 17545

0408 Asakusa, Sumida gawa Walked from the outer Kaminarimon towards the temple, ate lunch somewhere near Nakamise-dori. Decided this was the day we tried out Kimono rental, takes like an hour to get hair and clothing done for women. Strolled around Senso-ji in kimonos, couldn't really walk fast anyway because I'm not really steady on my feet and found it difficult to walk in those slippers. After returning the rentals, we slowly walked alongside the Sumida river to the decking area for the second thing we actually booked--dinner on a yakatabune (the flat top boats with red lights hanging across) as it sailed along the river from Asakusa to the rainbow bridge and back. Steps: 13195

0409 Roppongi Mori Museum, Azabudai Another rest day for the dad and slow day in general, decided to go to Roppongi because I really wanted to fit in an art museum. Went with the Mori Museum because I saw it was a small viewing window to see Tokyo from up top, and I didn't want to pay another entry fee for just a sky view. Unfortunately I didn't really enjoy the exhibition that was on, although the atmosphere was still pretty good. I have fonder memories of the National Art Center though, and I think I'll choose to revisit that next time and just pay for a proper sky view. Walked towards Azabudai and somehow randomly met my grandma's family friend who was out with their family to buy a suit for their son, lol. Steps: 12111

0410 Kawagoe For once properly consulted the local tourist center and they recommended we take a bus towards Hikawa jinja and walk back towards the station. The river behind the temple had the best view of my entire trip--sakura petals covering the entire river while the trees above were still mostly covered in flowers. Then went to Honmaru Goten (skipped the museum and art museum after considering the time), I'm not really a history person but walking in an old Japanese style castle building was still fun. Then we circled back towards Kashiya Yokocho, which was not all that interesting if you're like me and not really into Japanese sweets. In comparison, the old buildings on Ichibancho were much more fun to look at, including the Toki no Kane of course. We continued on to a street named Taisho romantic dream street with Taisho era buildings, then parents continued in that direction back to the station while I went towards Hoshinoyama Mugenjuji Kitain, which was another old castle to walk around and I would recommend this over Honmaru Goten if you wanted to pick just one since it had more old artifacts laying around and included Tokugawa Iemitsu's birth room as well as a small labyrinth consisting of 540 Buddha statues. Senba Toshogu and Hiejinja are also nearby. Lastly went to Kawagoe Hachimangu which I can't say was all that different from all the other temples (sorry xd) but it said it specialized in foot and back health so I got some omamoris for the parents. Steps: 22189

0411 Shibuya Slow day, started the day late and only went to Shibuya. Visited Scramble Square, PARCO and 109. PARCO had a Nintendo, Pokemon store, Capcom and JUMP store which was all CROWDED (especially the Pokemon store!) but I joined the crowd anyway because how could I not. Mom enjoyed 109 because it had vibes she remembered more. Steps: 14804

0412 Tsukiji, Ginza Still tired, dad wanted oysters at Tsukiji so we decided that's all we'd do. Apparently the inner market moved to Toyosu, but the outer market remained as a tourist attraction and was still crowded. Then we walked towards the Kabuki-za in Ginza, but by the time we got there dad was tired so we took the train back to our hotel. At night my mom and I walked around Shinjiku and spent a lot of time at a drug store buying stuff to take home. Steps: 13193

0413 Shinjiku Actually started dying by this day so started the day even later, only walked around Shinjiku and checked out a couple more department stores. Found a lot of secondhand stores selling brand stuff but didn't have any good finds after comparing online prices. It was also a Sunday and weekends are terrifying when it comes to crowds. Steps: 8329

0414 Daiba I had strong memories of Daiba and really wanted to revisit. Mostly spent time in the department store buildings including DECKS, Aqua City and Diver City. Had lunch in the takoyaki "museum" (just an area with like 6 takoyaki places lol) in DECKS. Also really wanted to go into Joypolis since I had childhood memories of the place but didn't want to do the full thing, so I went for the evening admission that included 2 ride, while 60 years and older entered for free so my parents just went in with that lol. If you go with the evening ticket remember that most attractions close way before 7pm closing time so definitely hurry. Steps: 18996

0415 Ikebukuro Solo trip out for anime stuff. First went to a card store that had a Pokemon TCG tournament going, spent a bit more than an hour just checking out cards and observing the tournament from afar. Then went to K-books which had several buildings for different genres. Sunshine city was next, which had a Pokemon store that had mostly the same stuff as the Shibuya one but was much less crowded. I have childhood memories of Namja Town so I had to go in, but I didn't dare try out the attractions with my very limited Japanese (my mom who spoke Japanese guided us around when we went as kids). It was much less crowded than I remembered so there were a lot of great photo spots, but half the attractions I remember were gone and replaced by anime corners. Then went to Lashinbang which sold secondhand anime stuff, and also found several other secondhand/doujin stores I can't remember the names of along the way. Ended with Animate which was rather boring in comparison, lol. Steps: 11747

0416 Kamakura Decided on Kamakura the night before and just went for it. Found the Enoshima-Kamakura Freepass which was easy to book and included one round-trip on the Odakyu lines to Fujisawa, and unlimited rides on the Enoden (Fujisawa to Kamakura) and between Fujisawa to Katase-Enoshima. Started from Tsurugaoka Hachimangu and ate lunch at Komachi Dori. Spent way too much time just strolling around until we realized it was nearing closing time for temples and we rushed towards Kōtoku-in for the Great Buddha statue and arrived 10 minutes before closing time. I wanted to fit in Enoshima but there wasn't enough time and I really didn't have the strength left for it anyway, so we only went to th...

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Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/1k2qq4o/trip_report_13_days_in_tokyo_with_aging_parents/

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/venividivici_1 on 2025-04-17 21:15:21+00:00.

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Hi all, so in planning and preparation I used this forum extensively, therefore felt I had to pay it forward with my review, thoughts, and information.

One thing I will say, is that in my planning I struggled asking questions INTO this forum with kids mentioned. For some reason the autobot cancelled my posts constantly so I really hope this is useful for those with and without kids.

Some basic useful bits of info from our trip but feel free to ask if anything specific:

• Family trip of four, with two kids aged 9 and 4 travelling from UK to Haneda for around 12 full days in Japan, starting in Tokyo (Ueno), going to Kyoto, then Osaka, then back o a different area of Tokyo (Shinjuku)
• Jet lag lasts a few days, so would advise factoring that into your plans the first few days. Maybe have less things BOOKED that you HAVE to attend and instead more unbooked events so you can be flexible
• Comfortable footwear is no joke. A lot of folks were wearing Hoka’s and I tried them and definitely worth a recommendation, however we went with New Balance with the Foam Cushions and would definitely recommend. Super comfortable but even these couldn’t save aching feet/legs by end of the day!
• Wife is a vegetarian, this proved difficult, more so than my fussy kids. If you are going to solely Vegetarian/Vegan restaurants, then it’s fine (Happy Cow App). But if you want a mixed bag, it’s a struggle. Few recommendations in my notes below but really you need to plan ahead. don’t go around expecting to find somewhere that offers both veggie and non-veggie, first week we had late dinners as we couldn’t find much to cater for both
• Hotel chains: we stayed at Mimaru throughout and I would really recommend them. Most super close to a a station, but also something minor that I found as an added bonus was knowing how things work each and every time we arrived at a new Mimaru (stayed in 4 of them). Didn’t need to understand the room layout, the safe, the laundry process, was the same in each. Really just makes things that little bit easier, dump your bags and crack on with little “oh I need to understand this quickly” type of thing. Staff were super friendly and attentive. It is true though, stay near a station, makes life much easier
• Mimaru also has kitchen areas, meaning if travelling with kids you can make them a quick breakfast (Eggs/Toast) without much hassle as you pick up from 7/11 or Lawsons
• Train stations are a bit complicated and mainly because they are massive. Factor this into your trip planning as when Google Maps says “7min walk” - bearing in mind you are checking, rechecking routes, station names, platforms etc and not sure which direction to walk in, it will add time
• Get your Suica added on Apple iPhone as others have pointed out, so much easier
• Pre book Smart Ex trains for Shinkansen. Make sure you have your Login IDs recorded as you need to re-login before you travel to get your QR code for the ticket barriers. Also prepare yourself that Shinkansen train stations/areas are super busy, plan with enough time. If you have a train in 5mins and find yourself queuing for the barriers… well that’s poor planning. Don’t assume “well japan is efficient so it must be quick” if you are travelling in busy periods
• Tokyo Skytree was so packed it was probably not worth it in the end, not enjoyable really
• Klook - use to book event type things but not trains. We used it for Ninja Experience Cafe in Asakusa, Umeda Sky Building and USJ
• TeamLabs Borderless was great fun and brilliant photos to have as memories but quite the sensory overload for kids. They were shattered after less than 2 hours in there, so again, plan that in if travelling with younger ones
• Kyoto - Bamboo Forest would advise getting there before 1030am, otherwise gets jam packed. The Monkey Park is a long old walk uphill, tiring for all of us not just the kids. We did about 25,000 steps that day, meaning my little 4 year old must have done nearly double that!
• Kyoto Railway Museum was super fun for the little ones, but trying to pull them out to LEAVE was a bigger issue and involved tantrums
• Overall, we had around 1-2 activities as must have in the days and then some others we would have liked to do, but when travelling with kids I don’t think you can Jam Pack the itinerary like I see many do on posts. You wont see all of Japan so don’t try
• Taxis are a bit pricier in Tokyo but sometimes it’s totally worth doing in any of the cities. A lot of places are 10-15 min drives compared to 30-45min trains. Don’t be scared of doing the odd taxi to make life easier, again especially worth if travelling with kids
• Hakone we booked a private tour through Klook, just made things easier than a full long day, could kind of run to our own itinerary and leave early if we wanted to, might be an option to consider if you want more flexibility in your travel. Meant we could come back earlier and head to Shibuya
• Even if you don’t want do, you will end up picking the odd thing up throughout the trip so factor that into your packing and suitcases
• Didn’t use luggage forwarding much, only from Kyoto to Osaka and we didn’t travel on Shinkansen between those locations so was quite easy with little cases. But you cannot use Suica, you need to pay an additional amount. There’s green ticket machines at Kyoto station, but its much cheaper than Shinkansen and maybe 25mins longer so worth doing I think
• USJ - I didn’t want to spend two full days of theme parks on this trip so we picked USJ over Disney/Disney Sea and no regrets. Was great fun, got to the pack a little after 8am via Taxi to save time and spent the day there with Express Pass and Access all booked through Klook. They are strict on time so would ensure you plan accordingly. We hit the Minions area first with no queue jumps, was early enough so manageable. Then Harry Potter area, then Jurassic Park with Express 7 so we could get on a couple of rides there. Lunch (brought home made cheese rolls which were a lifesaver as queues for most things), then Nintendo World to finish from 4pm. I would say that saving Nintendo World til the end was great as it really did save the best til last. If you hit Nintendo first thing, everything else may seem a bit of a downgrade

Food options we enjoyed (not all Japanese but sometimes you need to get a pizza for the kids).

Tokyo: * Sushiro * Kakeomi Gyoza (Shinjuku) * Junisoh (@ the Hilton) * Pizza & Bar Nohga (Akhiabara)

Kyoto: * Menbaka Fire Ramen - totally tourist focused and it’s brilliant, probably best dinner of the trip not just good food but the ambience and setting etc, just super fun

Osaka: * Gyozah!

Hakone: * La Terrazza (probably the best pizza I’ve ever eaten!)

Hope that helps but feel free to ask anything specific.

Overall, the absolute best trip!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/gladly-beyond on 2025-04-18 08:00:43+00:00.

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Hello Japan Travel! Currently on day 5 of my first trip in Japan with my partner. Today was our first full day in Kyoto, and months ago we got tickets for the Miyako Odori geisha and maiko performance. We saw the performance this afternoon and it was incredible. The dancers and musicians are extremely talented, and we rented small headsets which played English audio describing the history of the Mikayo Odori, and the story behind each dance.

Despite having a wonderful time, I have to vent about the lack of etiquette displayed by the tourists attending the show. There was a 50/50 mix of Japanese locals and tourists at the performance. Prior to the performance starting, workers walked around with clear signage (displayed in Japanese, English, and symbols/photos) to put away and silence phones, not to talk, etc. Before and during the performance, I witnessed the following:

• Seconds before the show started, lots of tourists were arriving and quickly being ushered to their seats by staff. I could not imagine running late to such a formal performance.
• Also seconds before the show started, multiple tourists were standing up to have their photo taken in front of the stage. Staff had to order them back to their seats.
• Moments before the show began, a woman was scrolling on her phone, and staff went over with their sign and quite literally shoved it in her face to tell her to put her phone away. She didn't make eye contact, shrugged, and continued scrolling on her phone. Staff awkwardly stood there watching her until she sheepishly put it away.
• My largest gripe: during the performance, the entire row behind me consisted of loud tourists who laughed and talked almost the whole time. It was very distracting. An older Japanese man was seated next to me and turned around to shush them, which they ignored. I was very close to turning around and telling them to be quiet, but the performance ended before I did (it lasted 1 hour total). I regret not saying something. I wish staff would have come by to tell them to be quiet / kick them out during the show.

This is a bit of a rant, but I am blown away by the behavior of grown adults being disrespectful while attending such an amazing show. Regardless, I would highly recommend seeing it! I think tickets are likely sold out for this year, but it is an annual performance each April in Kyoto.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Suitable-Television9 on 2025-04-14 01:58:32+00:00.

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Me (33M) and wife (32F) traveled to Central Japan from 25/3 - 5/4. This is our second time visiting Japan, the first one being in Kansai region (Osaka/Kyoto/Nara) in spring 2024 (you can read that trip report here)

DAY 1 - INUYAMA >> NAKATSUGAWA

• Touched down at Chubu Centrair International Airport at 7.30am.
• Took the airport train to Nagoya Station and stored our luggage in coin lockers. Then, we headed to Inuyama Station.
• Walked and explored around Honmachi-dori, the main street that leads to Inuyama Castle. There were not a lot of people, and not many shops were opened yet as it was still very early.
• Visited Sanko Inari Shrine. Bought a Goshuincho and got my very first Goshuin.
• Explored Inuyama Castle. The view from the top of the castle was amazing!
• Left the castle and went back to Honmachi-dori. Many shops were already opened. We had an interesting tofu-themed meal at 本町茶寮.
• Walked to Daishoji and explored the temple grounds. From there, headed towards Inuyamayuen Station and took the train back to Nagoya Station.
• Retrieved our luggage and took the JR Shinano bound for Nakatsugawa.
• Reached Nakatsugawa Station and checked-in our hotel. Took a few hours nap, as we didn't have a proper sleep throughout our overnight flight.
• Woke up feeling much rested. Had a wonderful obanzai dinner at 笑処 あいろ.

Step count: 17,560 steps

DAY 2 - NAKASENDO WALK (OCHIAI , MAGOME , TSUMAGO)

• Woke up at 5am on my own and went for a morning walk, exploring Nakatsugawa Town.
• Came back to the hotel at 8am and wife was up and ready. Took a bus to Ochiai and started our Nakasendo hike from Ochiai-juku.
• After 1h30m, we reached Magome-juku. What a beautiful post-town! We couldn't stop taking pictures!
• Explored around a bit and bought some coffee and sandwich for snacking. Then, we departed for Tsumago-juku.
• Really lovely countryside vibes along the way. As we're approaching Tsumago, we had goheimochi and knife-cut soba for lunch atKongoya (it was the absolute BEST soba we've ever had in our lives!)
• After 3h10m of trail walking, we reached Tsumago-juku. Spent the next hour exploring around the town.
• Supposed to head to Narai-juku after this, unfortunately we missed the bus. The next bus doesn't go well with the train's timing, and we realized that it would be all dark the moment we arrive at Narai. So we scraped the plan.
• Continue walking another 45 minutes towards Nagiso Station and took the train back to Nakatsugawa.
• Visited the town's Valor Supermarket. Was really surprised how much cheaper everything here is, especially after the evening discount! Loaded up with lots of sashimi, bento and snacks and had a feast back at the hotel.

Step count: 45,160 steps

DAY 3 - NAEGI , ENA , IWAMURA , AKECHI

• Woke up at 5am on my own and went for a morning walk. Explored the Nakasendo post town Nakatsugawa-juku and some local residential parks. Tried the infamous strawberry sando from 7-eleven for breakfast.
• Came back to the hotel at 8am and wife was up and ready. Took a bus to Naegi and hiked up to Naegi Castle Ruins. The top of the castle ruins offers a splendid view of the whole Nakatsugawa Town!
• Descended from the castle ruins and took the bus back to Nakatsugawa Station. Took a short train ride to Ena Station. From there, switched to the Akechi Line and headed towards Iwamura Station.
• We had Tonkatsu for lunch at Kawairight outside Iwamura Station. We're normally not a fan of Tonkatsu back at home, but this meal genuinely surprised us! The meat was thick, juicy, tender and deep-fried to perfection! Pairing with the hatcho miso sauce, this was hands down the best Tonkatsu we've ever had!
• Explored around Iwamura-cho, a traditional castle town street that leads to Iwamura Castle Ruins.
• Spent about 40 minutes hiking uphill. The castle ruins was full of mysterious vibes, it felt as if we were in a Zelda game! We explored the castle ruins and hiked down back to Iwamura-cho.
• Took the train to Akechi Station. Wandered around the town's Taisho Village and visited Hachioji Shrine.
• Took the Akechi Line back to Ena Station. Had an AMAZING udon meal for dinner at Muginawa. Wife was a big fan of Kitsune Udon, and she told me the ones here were the best she's ever eaten!
• A short train ride back to Nakatsugawa and called it a day.

Step count: 32,846 steps

DAY 4 - GERO >> TAKAYAMA

• Woke up at 6am on my own and went for a morning walk. It rained throughout the night, and a huge, beautiful rainbow formed above the sky as the sun came out. Spent a good full 20 minutes at a spot just taking pictures of the rainbow until it eventually fades away.
• Came back to the hotel at 9.30am and wife was up and ready. Checked-out our hotel and stored our luggage there.
• Walked to Nakatsugawa-juku and did some souvenirs shopping there. Tried the local specialty chestnut sweets - Kurikinton.
• Had delicious cold soba for lunch at Masa Soba Restaurant.
• Went back to our hotel and retrieve our luggage. Caught the 12.15pm bus bound for Kashimo, and from there switched buses and arrived Gero at 2pm.
• Stored luggages at Gero Station and started exploring the onsen town.
• Visited Onsenji and the Frog Shrine. Tried some foot baths along the way as well.
• At 5pm, we retrived our luggage and took the local train towards Takayama Station.
• Checked-in our hotel in Takayama, had Chinese food for dinner at中国料理小満.

Step count: 21,409 steps

DAY 5 - TAKAYAMA

• Woke up at 5am on my own and went for a morning walk. Wandered around the west side of Takayama and did a short hike up to Takayama Sky Park.
• Reached back to the hotel by 9am and wife was up and ready. Walked to Miyagawa Morning Market and explored around. Had some wonderful cream puffs and coffee for breakfast at Coffee Don.
• Continue towards Sakurayama Hachimagu Shrine. Got a goshuin here!
• Finished the entire Higashiyama Walking Course, and ended up at Shiroyama Park near Takayama Castle Ruins.
• Had a really wholesome Hida beef bowl and Hida beef curry rice for lunch at an unknown restaurant at Shiroyama Park (couldn't even find it on Google Maps)
• Walked towards Sanmachi-suji and explored the old townscapes of Takayama.
• Feeling a little tired, we headed back and rest at the hotel. Had our very first onsen experience in the hotel onsen.
• Headed out after sunset and had a really fantastic sushi meal for dinner at Matsuki Sushi.

Step count: 32,380 steps

DAY 6 - HIDA NO SATO , HIDA-FURUKAWA

• No morning walks for today. Left the hotel around 7.30am and went to Miyagawa Morning Market for some souvenir shopping.
• From there, we took a 40 minutes walk to Hida no Sato. Stopped by [Boulang...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Ok-Job-710 on 2025-04-14 14:10:15+00:00.

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Hello there,

I thought there might be some people interested in reading about a longer trip and budget travel. I'll try to keep this short and sweet:

Background

This was my last destination during my sabbatical/career break, so at this point I was used to long term/budget travel. For Japan I planned a daily budget of €60 (~¥10.000) (excluding flights). I arrived on January 19 and left April 8.

Route

Naha (number of nights 3) - Tokashiki (2) - Naha (2) - Fukuoka (4) - Nagasaki (3) - Beppu (2) - Dogo Onsen (2) - Hiroshima (1) - Miyajima (1) - Onomichi (3) - Osaka (3) - Yunomine Onsen (2) - Kyoto (4) - Kanazawa (3) - Takayama (3) - Matsumoto (1) - Nagano (3) - Tokyo (5) - Fujikawaguchiko (2) - Ito (2) - Tokyo (3) - Nikko (2) - Aizuwakamatsu (2) - Murayama (4) - Yokote (2) - Hirosaki (2) - Hakodate (3) - Lake Toya (2) - Noboribetsu (1) - Asahikawa (1) - Wakkanai (1) - Sapporo (5)

Itinerary

Many people write detailed trip reports and itineraries, so I suggest you take a look at those! I'm a planner, but more a route maker. My day to day was usually pretty open. I enjoy just wandering around. I know I've missed quite a lot "must visit sights", but I don't care. This was my trip :)

Daily expenses

Accommodation: €21. I exclusively stayed in hostels. Food/drinks: €14. In general I would eat yoghurt, a banana and granola in my hostel, one meal from the konbini or supermarket and one meal in a restaurant. There are heaps of affordable food options. Not to long ago there was a great write up about chain restaurants that I recommend reading. Transport: €11. Shinkansen is amazing, but if you're on a budget and have time, you probably want to take local trains and busses. I only took one Shinkansen (Onomichi - Osaka). Entrance fees: €4. This could vary a lot depending on your interest. For me this mostly includes temples, shires, castels and other historical buildings. Miscellaneous: €5. Mostly laundry and souvenirs.

Miscellaneous

Cash: I see a lot of discussion on how much cash is necessary. I think I used around ¥160.000, thus ¥2000 daily. Mostly used for snacks, hole in the wall restaurants and transportation. I did not have a suica card, I bought individual tickets. Weather: It was pretty cold most of my stay and I bought some heattech cloths from Uniqlo.. I needed those. Some days were rainy, but I didn't have a umbrella. Every hostel I stayed at had umbrellas guests could use, so I didn't feel the need to buy one. Crowds: I travelled in off season and it wasn't bad (thankfully). Steps: It is pretty well known that you will walk a lot in Japan. On average I walked 15k steps every day. This includes rest days and transportation days. I can imagine you would walk even more on a shorter trip.

Conclusion

80 days Japan, €55 a day (~¥9000). Loved Japan! Let me know if you have any questions!

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Virtuous_Pursuit on 2025-04-14 11:22:15+00:00.

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1. Weather makes an ENORMOUS difference. Today was gorgeous until it got windy and rainy. There are things to do in the rain, but wow is the whole experience so much better in nice weather. If you’re local, plan accordingly.

2. The app/reservation UI is atrocious, but making reservations isn’t a huge deal. There is more to see and do than you could possibly do in a day. But if you don’t like lines, consider going later in the day or on a weekday.

3. There are some things they’re still figuring out how to communicate, like a food court with all the seating blocked off where the place to pay to get that seating is…at the exit. But you can also eat outside for free.

4. The overall vibe is a lot like a Disney or Universal, but an important difference is you walk through the pavilions instead of sitting on rides. So either be in good shape, or pace yourself, or both. And wear comfortable shoes.

5. The Expo is amazing. It’s beautiful, and remarkable, and fun, and interesting. But it’s also high degree of difficulty. The more skill and interest and commitment and curiosity you have the better an experience you will have. If you’re lazy about it, or can’t walk and explore outside well — or if you’re with people who can’t — it will be tough.

6. I was with kids age 5 and 8. They did pretty well! But I had to carry the 5 year old a lot, and definitely would’ve seen more I was interested in solo. It depends on the kid, but unlike a Disney or Universal it’s harder to explain to the kid what it’s going to be and there’s less stuff that’s a guaranteed hit. But there is a playground and plenty of stuff for kids too. It was unfortunate that the mascot, Myaku Myaku, completely creeped my kids out. Saved on merch though!

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Extension-Worth1896 on 2025-04-13 10:50:05+00:00.

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Hi everyone!

My partner and I (both from Germany) are planning our first trip to Japan this November. It’s also our first long-haul trip! We’ll be staying for 22 days and would really appreciate any feedback on our itinerary.

A few notes about us:

• We’re not planning to rent a car or take domestic flights

• We want to see a lot, but without stressing ourselves

• Nightlife is not important to us

• We’re interested in nature, history, culture, anime, and some unique experiences

• We plan to use luggage forwarding from Osaka to Kyoto and travel to Miyajima/Hiroshima with just backpacks

I’m especially unsure whether our time in Kyoto is too long, considering we’re only visiting a few sights there. On Miyajima, we’ll stay in a regular hotel. At Lake Kawaguchi, we’re planning to treat ourselves to a more comfortable room with half board and an onsen.

Here’s our draft itinerary:

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11/08 – Arrival in Osaka (KIX)

• Arrive 12:50

• Check-in at hotel in Shinsaibashi-suji

• Explore the area, eat, and try to stay awake

11/09 – Osaka

• Katsuō-ji

• Shinsekai

• Harukas 300 Observatory

11/10 – Osaka & Surroundings

• Minoh Park (waterfall trail)

• Cup Noodles Museum Ikeda

11/11 – Day trip

• Himeji Castle

• Koko-en Garden

11/12 – Miyajima

• Travel to Miyajima & hotel check-in

• Momijidani Park & area exploration

11/13 – Hiroshima > Kyoto

• Check out Miyajima hotel

• Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park + Museum

• Hiroshima Castle, Shukkeien Garden

• Travel to Kyoto (Ebisuyacho) and check-in

11/14 – Kyoto

• Nijō Castle

• Kyoto Gyoen National Garden

11/15 – Kyoto

• Fushimi Inari Taisha

• GEAR non-verbal theatre show

11/16 – Day trip from Kyoto

• Amanohashidate

11/17 – Kyoto

• Philosopher’s Path

• Eikando Temple

• Tenjuan Temple

11/18 – Kyoto

• Ninenzaka/Sannenzaka

11/19 – Lake Kawaguchi

• Check out from Kyoto

• Travel to Kawaguchi

• Check-in + explore Great Bridge and Maple Corridor

11/20 – Day trip to Fujiyoshida

• Chureito Pagoda

• Arakurayama Sengen Park

11/21 – Tokyo (Taito)

• Check-out Kawaguchi

• Travel to Tokyo & check-in

• Explore area

11/22 – Tokyo

• Akihabara Electric Town

11/23 – Day trip to Kawasaki

• Japan Open-Air Folk House Museum

• Traditional indigo dyeing workshop

11/24 – Day trip to Kawagoe

• Wood Works Kawagoe

• Explore the area

11/25 – Tokyo

• Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

• Nakano Broadway

• Omoide Yokocho

11/26–11/27 – Tokyo (open days)

• No fixed plans yet

11/28 – Departure

• Check-out and head to Narita Airport

• Flight around 11:00 PM

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We’d love feedback on:

• Whether we’re over- or under-planning some days

• If we’ve missed any must-sees near our locations

• How to make Kyoto or Tokyo time more balanced

Thanks so much in advance for your help!

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/bad_ed_ucation on 2025-04-13 09:00:23+00:00.

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Hi everyone.

Today, my partner and I were at Expo 2020 in Osaka - it's also the opening day. We booked tickets months ago because I am a big fan of an Expo (been to previous ones in Milan and Dubai) and because Ado is performing an opening day concert and it was possible to ballot to attend if you had tickets. We weren't successful, but we had the Expo tickets so thought we'd go anyway.

We arrived at 1000. Security checks to get in took about 40 minutes, which wasn't great but wasn't terrible. Probably the first sign that something was going a little wrong was that to buy our Expo passports (for those unfamiliar: at every Expo you can buy a little passport-sized book that you can use to stamp all of the 'countries' you've been to), we had to queue for 20 minutes to get into the gift shop, even though the day had only just begun.

Then, the rain started - just as we were in line for the Spanish pavilion. That's when things started to go from pretty overwhelming to unbearable.

The rain, of course, can't be helped. But it did exacerbate the problem of crowds. It seems pretty clear that far too many people were being allowed on-site - it felt like all of Osaka was there (very few foreign tourists, incidentally). And when the rain came, it pushed all of us towards the indoor areas (of which there were relatively few). The indoor common zones where several countries share pavilion space were literally shoulder-to-shoulder. There were swarms of people trying to see even rather minor country pavilions like Croatia or Ukraine.

By this point - some time around 1430 - we'd decided that we were not having fun and that we wanted to leave. This was easier said than done. By this point, the queues were beyond parody. At previous Expos I'd been to, one could expect (sometimes long) waits for the more important purpose-built national pavilions. But today, people were queueing for almost literally everything: for very minor pavilions, to use the toilet, to enter the food courts, to enter the sourvenir shops and even the 7-Eleven. We waited 20 minutes to use the shuttle bus to get from the West Gate to the East Gate (and they even had the nerve to charge us for it!). We even waited half an hour to leave, just after 1500.

My question to you all, I suppose, is if anyone has any insight into whether we were just dumb to have gone on the opening day, or whether this is just what this Expo will be like. If so, that would be an enormous shame - in many ways, it is a very impressive feat. I'd pencilled it in to go tomorrow as well, but if it's anything like today I'm not sure I can put my poor partner through it again!

I'd also be very happy to answer any questions about my visit - I am sure lots of people here will be looking forward to going.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Neither_Village2295 on 2025-04-12 13:53:57+00:00.

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Hi everyone!

 I'm a Japanese living in Maniwa city (Northern Okayama) since December. This city doesn't see many international tourists, but I think it's an interesting and unique place. I'd love to share the some information about the city. Honestly, I'm also considering launching a business here, possibly an accommodation or an English guide, so any feedback or advice would be greatly appreciated!

What to see/do:

• Rich of nature: You can enjoy seasonal landscapes, like the blooming cherry blossoms right now
• Hot springs: There's a FREE, mixed-gender public open-air bath!
• Cycling at Hiruzen Highland resort
• Sake breweries: Visit Tsuji Shuzo and Ochi Shuzo to taste local sake
• Historic streets of Katsuyama and Shinjo
• Kamba water falls: There are also wild monkeys!
• Former Senkyo Elementary School: You can even try on a school uniform and take some fun photos!
• Enjoy the quiet and peaceful time!

Location:

Maniwa is in Northern Okayama prefecture. It’s about 2 hours by express bus or 2.5 hours by train from central Okayama station, and around 3.5 h by train from Matsue (In case of the trains transfer will be needed). It’s a reasonable place to stop and spend a couple of days if you'd like to travel between Setouchi areas and San-in areas.

Notes:

• Less tourists here, so you can escape the crowds and enjoy a more relaxed experience.
• Most local people don't speak English...
• It would be difficult to find the restaurant sometimes.
• There are no clubs or party spots, so would be healthy days.

For more info and photos, you can check out the official tourism website. Visit Maniwa

If you’ve been to Maniwa I’d love to hear your experiences too!

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/itsnits on 2025-04-09 14:11:03+00:00.

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Fulfilling my lifelong dream of going to Japan! 10 days - looking for itinerary validation plus some recs!

Looking for the following recs:

1. a ryokan in Hakone with a private onsen and great food
2. 2 nice/upscale restaurants in Tokyo that are unique experiences (like robot restaurant) - ideally for adults and in the areas we are already planning to visit.

Day 1: land at HND at 2pm. Check into hotel near Tokyo station, grab food at ramen street in station and turn in early.

Day 2: Ginza (Uniqlo/GU), Tsukiji Outer market, teamLab planet.

Day 3: Travel to Kyoto, check into hotel. Explore Gion, Kodaji park.

Day 4: Fushimi Inari & Nishiki food market. (Should we do Ryoanji on this day too?)

Day 6: Day trip to Nara. E bike tour. Return to Kyoto

Day 5: Travel to Osaka. Osaka castle and Dotombori. Intentionally aligned it so that our weekend in Japan is in Osaka. Stay in love hotel. (Wanted to experience these unique hotels)

Day 7: Travel to Hakone. Heard this is the best place for the ryokan + onsen experience. Will just spend time in the ryokan experience.

Day 8: Check out of ryokan, Travel to Tokyo. Visit Akihabara, rest.

Day 9: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Golden Gai.

Day 10: Ueno park, Nakamise Dori, sensoji temple

Day 11: depart from Tokyo

Questions -

1. reservations aren’t needed at train station spots right? I’ve seen a bunch of recs online for places in different stations that seem convenient to grab bites at.
2. Luggage transfers: Tokyo station hotel to Kyoto hotel to Osaka love hotel to Hakone ryokan to Tokyo hotel. I’ve been hearing about the luggage forwarding service, are those feasible even for smaller places like Hakone ? Or for the love hotel (esp since those are sometimes booked on the spot). Trying to realistically understand what when we will have to lug things around haha.
3. Any thoughts or recs for itinerary

We are young, like busy itineraries and exciting activities :)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Leather_Western4904 on 2025-04-08 07:08:58+00:00.

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PS: I’m simply sharing my personal experience, but I’ve received comments containing vulgarities directed at TokudAw, which is not what I intended or encouraged.

(Edited for clarity) I’d like to share my recent personal experience with a tour company called TokudAw, based in Japan. Hopefully, this helps other travelers make informed decisions.

Here was our basic itinerary:

• Day 1: Airport pickup from KIX to hotel (4 pax)

Cost: ¥40,000

• Day 2: Shiga prefecture day tour (3 pax)

Cost: ¥125,235

• Day 3: Nara day tour (5 pax)

Cost: ¥118,800

• Day 4: Osaka day tour (5 pax)

Cost: ¥118,800

• Days 5 & 6: Kyoto tour (5 pax)

Cost: ¥118,800

• Day 7: Hotel pickup in Kyoto to KIX airport (4 pax)

Cost: ¥60,000

The total I paid was ¥851,851, excluding admission tickets, hotels, or meals. I specifically requested an electric wheelchair for my elderly mother (age 76), and a Chinese-speaking driver-guide.

According to their website and Instagram, TokudAw offers tours with their own Hiace vehicles (with automatic steps for seniors) and WHILL electric wheelchairs. However, two days before the trip, I was informed that TokudAw only directly operates in Tokyo, Hakone, and Mt. Fuji—and that our Kansai tours (Shiga, Nara, Osaka, Kyoto) were being outsourced to third-party drivers. This outsourcing arrangement had never been disclosed to me in advance.

Because of this, none of the advertised vehicles or accessibility features were available. Worse, the drivers were not informed that a wheelchair was needed. One had to scramble to find a basic manual wheelchair on the spot—it was not electric, and I had to push my mother up and down hills, which was physically exhausting and, at times, unsafe.

To be fair, our first driver was kind and helpful, and really tried to make the experience work. However, our Kyoto driver was very difficult to work with. The wheelchair provided had no carer brakes, which made navigating Kyoto’s steep slopes very risky. When I asked if it could be replaced, I was told to “just bear with it.” Only after I mentioned possible legal action did they provide a proper wheelchair—with brakes—the next day.

In addition, I later discovered that the prices I paid were significantly above average market rates. There was no formal contract—only a basic quotation and booking form, with no clear terms or conditions.

I’ve since filed a formal complaint with the All Nippon Travel Agents Association (ANTA) and am requesting both an explanation and a partial refund. I’ve kept all records—emails, LINE chats, photos/videos, and quotation documents—as evidence.

When I requested a refund, my messages were ignored.

Just sharing my personal experience so others can make informed decisions. If you do choose to book with TokudAw, I strongly recommend requesting written confirmation on all accessibility needs and who will actually be providing the services.

Also, just a tip: Kyoto is not very elderly-friendly. It’s full of stairs and steep paths. If your elderly companion has mobility issues, this may not be the best destination unless strong support is arranged in advance.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Haezer- on 2025-04-07 15:34:38+00:00.

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Hello!

My girlfriend and I are visiting Japan for the first time next month, and we’ll be spending 18 days there. We've put together this first draft of an itinerary and would really appreciate any feedback you might have :)

We usually like to travel at a relaxed pace, taking time to enjoy each place rather than rushing from one spot to another. Also, I’m currently recovering from a knee injury, so we’ve tried to keep the walking to a reasonable amount. That’s something we’ve tried to take into account while planning.

Here’s what we’ve come up with so far. We’d love to hear your thoughts. Are there any must-see highlights we might have missed? Anything on our list that you think is overrated or skippable? How’s the overall pacing, too packed or just right?

We’re open to any suggestions or ideas that come to mind.

Thanks in advance! :)

Day 1-8: Tokyo

Wed. 07/05 - Ikebukuro

• We get to Tokyo in the morning, drop luggages in apartment at Meijiro, go to Ikebukuro
• Sunshine City (Pokemon Center, Namco Town)
• Shops

Thurs. 08/05 - Minato / Roppongi

• TeamLab Borderless
• Tokyo Tower
• Zozo-ji Temple
• Roppongi Hills
• Mori Art Museum (worth it?)

Fri. 09/05 - Day trip to Nikko

• Shinkyô Bridge
• Rinno-ji Sanbutsudo Temple
• Toshogu Shrine
• Futarasan-jinja Shrine
• Taiyuyin Temple

Sat. 10/05 - Ueno / Yanaka

• Ueno Park & Toshogu Shrine
• Ameyodo Market (Lunch break)
• Yanaka Cemetery and surroundings
• Nezu Jinja Shrine - Azalea Garden

Sun. 11/05 - Chiyoda / Ginza

• Imperial Palace Gardens: Nijubashi Bridge via Higashi
• Hibiya Park (on the way between Chiyoda and Ginza)
• Walk around Ginza (luxury shops, Ginza Yonchome crossing)
• Ginza Six rooftop
• Art Aquarium Museum

Mon. 12/05 - Harajuku / Shibuya

• Yoyogi Park
• Takeshita Dori
• Omotesando
• Cat Street to connect Harajuku to Shibuya
• Walk in Shibuya (Hachiko Statue, Shibuya crossing, shops)
• Shibuya Sky

Tues. 13/05 - Day trip to Kamakura

• Hase-dera Temple
• Kotoku-in - Great Buddha Daibutsu
• Komachi Dori: Lunch break
• Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine
• Kencho-ji Temple
• Engaku-ji Temple
• Return to Tokyo

Wed. 14/05 - Shinjuku

• Shinjuku Gyoen Garden
• Walk around the district / shops (Giant 3D cat)
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
• Walk through Kabukicho / Golden Gai
• Omoide Yokocho

Day 9-11: Osaka

Thurs. 15/05 - Namba

• Bullet train to Osaka
• Drop luggage and head to Namba
• Sennichimae Doguyasuji Street
• Namba Parks
• Namba Yasaka Shrine
• Dotonbori - Hozenji Yokocho Temple

Fri. 16/05 - Osaka: Osaka Bay / Shinsekai ?

Not sure what to do with this day, but we want to spend the evening in Shinsekai

• Osaka Bay (Naniwa Food Theme Park) ?
• Dinner in Shinsekai
• TeamLab Botanical Garden

Sat. 17/05 - Day trip to Himeji

• Himeji Castle
• Koko-en Garden

Day 12-16: Kyoto

Sun. 18/05 - Arashiyama Mifune Matsuri

• Tenryu-ji Temple
• Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
• Enjoy the Mifune Matsuri
• Togetsukyo Bridge
• Iwatayama Monkey Park

Mon. 19/05 - Kyoto center and Gion

• Imperial Palace
• Nishiki Market: Lunch break
• Kamogawa River & Pontocho Street
• Kiyomizu-dera Temple
• Yasaka-jinja Shrine
• Walk in Gion

Tues. 20/05 - Day trip to Nara

• Nara Deer Park
• Todai-ji Temple
• Naramachi District (lunch)
• Kasuga-Taisha Shrine
• Isuien Garden

Wed. 21/05 - North Kyoto

• Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)
• Ryōan-ji
• Ninna-ji
• Higashiyama Jishō-ji (Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion)
• Philosopher’s Path

Thurs. 22/05 - Kyoto South (and travel back to Tokyo)

• Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine
• Tofuku-ji Temple
• Komyo-in Temple (part of the Tofuku-ji complex)
• Bullet train back to Tokyo, hostel in Asakusa
• Discover Asakusa

Day 17-18: Back to Tokyo

Fri. 23/05 - Asakusa

• Senso-ji
• Asakusa Shrine
• Nakamise Dori
• Tokyo Skytree
• Kappabashi Dori
• River cruise ?

Sat. 24/05 - Last day in Tokyo

• Last minute shopping
• Not planning anything yet, we will see

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/jerseyjoewalcott on 2025-04-06 14:11:34+00:00.

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Thought I'd share the Yakushima part of my trip as it may be helpful to some people as a reference.

Day 1

Flight from Okinawa to Kagoshima and then Yakushima, NAVI rental car picked us up from the airport.

Drove around the island, did not make it in time for the animal trail so we had to u turn from the north side to Onoida, stopped by some lighthouse with amazing views of the coastline and sunset. Had dinner at an Izakaya called Sampotei was aight.

Day 2 

It started pouring and some intense thunderstorm was happening early in the morning, winds were absolutely insane and I think it might have been even hailing at one point as it sounded like rocks hitting on the windows.

Started the day slow with hotel breakfast, drove around for lunch and then up Yakusugi Land. It was still raining at this point but we took the 80 min hike as the area was about to close and we did not have enough time for the other 2. 

The rain actually enhanced the entire hike and it was really magical just walking around the area. Our rental car somehow broke down (I think due to a dead battery) after we tried to start it to make our return trip. Since we had no local line we had to contact hotel via WhatsApp and the helped to contact the car rental. A rockstar lady from car rental drove up and switch cars with us, gave us some snacks and bottled ocha, and we made it down nicely and in time for dinner. We ate at a nearby place called Hachiman, there was karaoke and I butchered my favourite anime OP in front a bunch of Japanese people but I had fun. 

Day 3

The rain cleared up and it was decent weather though still quite foggy.

Ran around Onoida early in the morning it was quite nice.

We had amazing bread from a nearby bakery in Onoida, and went up the road to Shiratani Unsuikyo. We planned to just do the 3 hour hike to the inspiration of Princess Mononoke and grab lunch, but my insistence on us not yet reaching the moss covered forest as there was no sign (and I mean pretty much all of the forest is moss covered..) took us all the way to the last part of the hike. So we climbed up the last stretch to Taiko Iwa rock which gave us a stunning view of the area. 

Now keep in mind the sign only said 20m more which felt like half an hour worth of hiking. My partner was worn at this point and we quickly made our way back. Near the end of the hike we did bump into a deer in a moss covered landing which made it extra magical. We did finish it quite comfortably at 3 hours 45 mins and It was late Noon by this point and were starved. Thankfully the remainder of the snacks brought to us by the rockstar rescue lady the previous day gave us the energy to drive down.

The drive up is as spectacular as it is long. The incline on it is pretty high and I do see people riding a bicycle up, which I would advise against. Unless ur training for an Ironman or something.

I also tried the Onoida Onsen - which was filled with locals and boiling hot water. I am quite a big fan of onsens but this one was uncomfortably hot for me.

Day 4

Ran up to Senpiro Falls in the morning, it was quite steep I had to stop a few times. The falls itself was quite nice - pictures don’t really do it justice which is applicable to pretty much everything here actually.

Didn’t want to do Jomon Sugi so we went back to Yakusugi Land to do the full course. We were well prepared with food this time but didnt need it. We completed it slightly under 3 hours and then went around the Anbo area to shop. Yakushima Bless and the surrounding shops around sold some interesting Yakusugi trinkets. We then drove around the island to see the west side. 

Now most of the driving around the island is pretty easy unless it is up one of the trails, or this west side of the island where it becomes a one lane for both directions. We were also told to not go clockwise from Onoida and instead go counterclockwise from the south all around the island if we wanted to see the animal trail. We thought it was a rule but we did see people coming from the opposite direction. For comparison, it is like driving around Iya Valley with significantly less cars and shorter distances. 

The drive itself was full of macaques and yakushikas to really observe, there were a couple of cars stopping to take photos and admire them so it is quite hard to miss.

Stopped by Ohko waterfalls which were even better than Senpiro in the morning. And also Tsukasaki Tidepools which we left quickly due to strong winds.

Day 5

Grabbed more bread at the nearby bakery and we had to say goodbye to our beautiful cabin at Shikinoyado. Returned the car and took a flight to Kagoshima.

Final Thoughts

Food there is nothing to shout at compared to the mainland and is on the pricier side. That said - the food there is still of very high quality. The tap water here is crisp and very fresh. There is a 6am jingle that I miss due to how good I am sleeping in the lodging.

I stayed around Onoida which was on the southern side away from the main areas Anbo and Miyanoura. There were still eateries around, supermarkets, non-chain convenience stores. A lot of which do stock hiking equipment should you need. I prepared a lot of cash but surprisingly a lot of places accept credit cards as well.

The 80 min hike for Yakusugi Land is almost like a walk in the park. The 210 min hike with the final stretch to Tenmon no mori is slightly more difficult but I wasn’t entirely sure what I was supposed to see at the end. That said a lot of the times you do feel like you have the whole forest to yourself.

The hike for Shiratani is more crowded in comparison (still at a very enjoyable level) probably due to a more rewarding hike overall. The last stretch up to Taiko Iwa Rock is physically more demanding than Yakusugi  Land but I would say still manageable for a lot of people.

Overall Yakushima did live up to the hype (so did the rainfall - I was honestly terrified the first night) and the 4 full days that we had here was some of the best hiking and travelling I have done. Obviously dependant on your style but I did feel we could have spent a few more days there. If you can drive and have an interest for hiking/nature I would highly recommend including it in your itinerary if you can spare a few days.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/hyouko on 2025-04-04 17:05:54+00:00.

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You can't visit Japan just once. My first trip was back in 2023, and I loved it so much that I immediately began scheming to find a way to visit again. The stars aligned for a second trip this spring. I added some new folks in my crew, so we revisited some of the greatest hits from the first trip in Kyoto / Tokyo for their benefit, but this time we also visited Hiroshima and Kanazawa (and I took a day for myself in Osaka, which was great fun).

I'll break my notes out by city here.

• Tokyo: As fun and busy as ever. We stayed in Akasaka at the start and end of our trip, which turned out to be a good base of operations for a lot of what we wanted to do: convenient access to the subway lines, nearby parks, and lots of food options. A few highlights:

  • Call me basic, but Teamlabs Borderless was a lot of fun; some of the "exhibits" were extremely cool. The concept of being able to explore and find hidden entrances to various setpieces was great. The teahouse inside was a good experience overall, particularly if you are a matcha fan, but the wait was pretty long at midday.
  • Seeing the illuminated cherry blossoms at full bloom in Chidorigafuchi was wonderful. We actually went across to the far side of the moat first, which gave a neat perspective on the trees.

• Hiroshima : A lot calmer than Tokyo. The ride down on the shinkansen was a treat all by itself (I caught a nice pic of Mt. Fuji as we went by).

  • Miyajima was a big hit with our group. Hiking on Mt. Misen (if you want to see the top and the shrines, do be prepared to hike 30-45min both ways from the lift with some solid uphill). Miyajima Base had some of the best fried chicken I have ever tasted. The floating torii gate is beautiful, of course, and the deer were mischievous (we watched one nip through a fence and grab ice cream from an unsuspecting tourist). Daishoin was a temple filled with more hands-on stuff to do than any other temple I've visited.
  • I could literally watch my stress levels go down via my watch as we strolled the Shukkeien gardens. Be careful on the central bridge!
  • The peace park and peace memorial museum are very worth a visit, but give yourself time afterward to process everything.
  • Definitely grab some okonomiyaki. The main dish we had in a little second-story restaurant was great, but the cheese and potato okonomiyaki we made stole the show.

• Kyoto: I particularly love the zen temples here. We arrived too early for the main sakura bloom season, but still had a very good time.

  • The Kyoto Railway Museum was a great time, and it's a good change of pace if you are getting overloaded with shrines and castles and temples. Now I really want to ride on a sleeper train!
  • Strolling up Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street in the northwest of the city was also well worth it. This area has some of the best gift / souvenir shops we found on the whole trip, and it's beautiful and less crowded. Easiest to reach via taxi.
  • We had fairly good experiences at Fushimi Inari and Kiyomizu-dera showing up 7-8am - still busy, but not crowded to the point of being un-fun. I remain rather ambivalent about Kinkaku-ji - it's certainly eye-catching, but the whole trip is basically a 15 minute photo op, and I much prefer the quieter atmosphere and zen gardens at Ginkaku-ji.
  • I was lucky enough to get tickets for the Nintendo Museum. Seeing the old prototypes and pre-video-game history of the company was a treat, though I found myself wishing for a bit more guidance. Inordinately proud of my winning score

• Osaka: I had a whirlwind one-day tour here.

  • The Osaka '70 Expo Park was a little run-down, but walking the aerial promenade all by myself at park open was a neat experience, and the Tower of the Sun is well worth a visit (grab tour tickets online before you go). Kind of wish I could take pictures up near the top, as the structural details inside the arms / wings of the tower were really cool looking.
  • Don't be like me - figure out your Osaka Aquarium ticket reservations in advance. I still got in, thankfully, and the whale shark tank was a cool as advertised.

• Kanazawa: has been described to me as a quieter and less-tourist-y Kyoto, but I feel like it's got its own thing going on.

  • Kenroku-en at opening on a sunny day was one of the highlights of the trip. It's a beautiful garden, and well engineered such that it looks great in all seasons - I don't think it is terribly dependent on particular flowers being in bloom. That said, the camellias made for some really pretty scenes.
  • The Higashi Chaya district at twilight... I wonder if this is what Gion felt like before it became such a major tourist thoroughfare? Just wandering the streets here was an experience. The restaurants had a neat vibe, but I think were mostly well out of our price range.

One lesson we learned last time that we applied with great success during this trip: don't be afraid to grab a taxi, particularly in Kyoto. Splitting the fare 4 ways with our group, it was not that much more expensive than taking a bus, and certainly more comfortable and faster. If you find yourself staring at a complex route with two or three transfers and lots of walking, consider this alternative. And taxis are indispensable when it comes to moving with a full complement of luggage.

One lesson we didn't learn well enough last time that bit us a few times this trip: advance reservations are frequently necessary. We got turned away from restaurants, missed out on a day trip to Shirakawa-go, and almost missed visiting the Osaka Aquarium due to lack of reservations.

Overall, the trip was a great time, and I'm already juggling ideas for a return in my head, because of course I am.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/AzanWealey on 2025-04-05 15:07:29+00:00.

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When: 10.03 (late evening) – 23.03.2025

Who: me (40), my younger sibling (38), our dad (67) and mom (62).

The trip was a retirement gift for our dad – visiting Japan was his life-long dream, but there were always more important things/expenses, so now that he is retired I kind of bought the tickets and informed him to start packing :P He is most interested in feudal era (samurais, shoguns etc.), weapons, architecture and modern technology.

For me and my sibling it was a 2nd trip, so we wanted to see/experience/buy things we missed the last time or loved enough to repeat it.

Mum was mostly along for the ride, but she also wanted to taste some common foods like mochi or ramen and compare them to ones available at home. While she is fully mobile, she can’t go too fast, too far and for too long, and avoids stairs, so we had to compromise and plan our trip around her.

Money: none of my family members has a credit card, we went fully cash with my card as a backup. Since we were buying „in bulk” we got a nice deal, tho it was still a tiny bit more expensive than simply paying with card.

Transportation: we got Welcome Suica cards at the airport and ended up spending ca. 8500 yens per person for all the rides to save some walking for mum. We bought shinkansen tickets when we got to the station on the travel days. Only once I went to buy the tickets the day before because we wanted to sit on the Fuji side on the Kyoto-Tokyo route (in the end it was rainy and foggy day, and we saw nothing….).

Internet: We all have Android phones, so we bought physical SIM cards. We got them in the morning after arrival at the airport without reserving anything. Me and my sibling got AnyPhone 50GB for 14 days and our mum got 10 GB for 14 days. The staff at the shop helped us to install them. They worked very well in Tokyo, a little less so in Kyoto.

Apps used: Google Translator, Lenses and Maps. Yurekuru Call for earthquake early warning.

Hotels: all hotels were booked 9–10 months ahead of time and paid for before the trip: 1) Villa Fontaine Grand Haneda (1 night), Sotetsu Fresa Inn Shijo Karasuma (5 nights) and Sotetsu Fresa Inn Tamachi (6 nights)

Luggage forwarding: I proposed, everyone refused ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. We had middle sized suitcase (ca. 60L) and small cabin size soft bag each, so it wasn’t that inconvenient to travel with. There was a lot of space on shinkansen even if we could not put all of them overhead. When travelling on public transportation, we went outside rush hours. Only once it became a problem when we were not able to find lift/escalator, and we had to drag them to the metro station (which was mostly a problem for me since I bought some heavy souvenirs).

General subjective observations/thoughts:

1. Japan is allergic to benches. I noticed it the 1st time, but it became a problem this year. Mum had to rest every so often, and suddenly there was nowhere for her to sit down. Even in parks sometimes it’s hard to find one outside of few designated areas and of course nearly none along sidewalks. Not saying there are no benches at all, but they are definitely not that common. It may be a good idea to bring or buy a small foldable stool if you travel with someone that requires frequent rests.
2. Lifts/moving stairs. Generally Japan is very good with it, which is very helpful for people with limited mobility. BUT, while all stations had them, not ALL ENTRANCES had them. And on big stations, entrances can be quite spread out, sometimes hard to find between buildings and a net of narrow streets. So be prepared to either brave some stairs from time to time or walk around looking for the entrance with lift/escalator. We didn’t encounter any out of order ones, tho.
3. Overtourism. It’s possible we were a little early to the party and/or skipped some of the most popular places, but my sibling’s and mine impression was that there were fewer people than during our last visit in October 2023. The biggest crowd was in Senso-ji – but we also visited it during holiday, so can’t say how it was on „normal” day. The other place was Akihabara and I have to agree it was not a fun place to be with how packed it was. But for example, both Kyoto and Himeji sometimes felt empty.
4. Masks. It was a flu season, so a lot of people wore masks, but definitely less than I thought would even when evidently sick. It was also where I encountered my biggest culture shock: apparently blowing your nose is a big no-no, but constantly sniffing for 40-min train ride is perfectly fine (without mask ofc). And I’m not talking about kids or teenagers but also mums, grandpas or serious businessmen and women in smart suits.
5. Weather. Most of the time we had nice tho a bit cold weather around 10-15 deg. C and sunny or partly cloudy sky. That being said, we experienced everything from minus temperatures and snowstorm to 25 C sunny day.
6. The roadworks on a side street that we encountered in 2023 in Kyoto were still not finished in 2025…. So much for my idea of Japanese doing roadworks overnight :D
7. Garbage cans. Yes, everyone know they are mostly absent and we were prepared. Still mildly irritating.
8. I love konbinis. I simply love them.
9. I also love Japanese sweets, esp. matcha flavoured. I will miss the selection and prices.
10. I'm so going back there again!

Trip itself:

10.03

We landed late in the evening and went through the immigration and customs relatively easy (we had VisitJapanWeb QR codes). Knowing we will be dead tired, I booked rooms at airport hotel which was a blessing. We were horribly jet-lagged and didn’t sleep much anyway, but being able to shower and go horizontal was heaven.

11.03

After checking out in the morning, we travelled to Shinagawa Station by Keikyu Airport Line and bought Nozomi tickets to Kyoto. It was where I introduced my parents to the idea of ekibens and watched as they faced their biggest adversary of the whole trip: chopsticks.

We arrived in Kyoto shortly after midday and were able to check in the hotel. After leaving the luggage, refreshing and eating, we went on a stroll along the Shijo street and done some shopping on Teramachi street.

12.03

We visited Kyoto Imperial Palace, Kan'in-no-miya Residence and Heian Shrine. Next to Heian we encountered a flea market which was nice since I wanted to visit one anyway. On that day, we saw our 1st cherry blossom.

13.03

We started with Gallery of Kyoto Traditional Arts and Crafts that was closed last time. My sibling and I loved it, our parents were less interested. Next we went to Nijo Castle and spent a a lot of time there. In the afternoon, we made a short stop at Manga Museum souvenir shop and ended up in Higashi Honganji Temple that was amazing.

14.03

Day trip to Himeji to see the castle. Mum went with us to the castle ground and West courtyard but skipped the main keep because of many very steep and narrow stairs. While there, we also visited Itatehyouzu Shrine that has a nice tiny tori path.

15.03

Walking around Pontocho, Gion and Sannenzaka. We thought of going to Kiyomizu dera, but the weather turned quite bad with rain, wind and temperature drop so we went back to the hotel earlier. After changing wet shoes, I went alone to buy last things on Teramachi and to the train station to buy shinkansen tickets to Tokyo for the next day.

16.03

Ride to Tokyo, checking in and trip to Ginza to salivate over luxury jewellery. On Sunday, during the day the street is closed to cars so we had a whole street for best selfies.

17.03

We started with Fukugawa Edo Museum (it was great!), then went to Ueno hoping for cherry blossom, but only the two trees at the entrance were in bloom. At the end of the day, I dragged them to Nippori Fabric Town to buy years worth supply of sashiko thread that is stupidly expensive in my country.

18.03

Since the weather was very nice, we went to Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum where we encountered the most beautiful cherries and no crowds. The museum was worth 1,5h trip one way!

19.03

The day welcomed us with a snowstorm, destroying our plans. We (along with half of the Tokyo) went to the National Museum to hide from the hail and satisfy our dad’s swords and samurai armour craving. In the afternoon, when the weather improved once again, we ended up in Ueno at the opening of Sakura Festival where we spent time hopping from food stand to food stand and listening to live music.

20.03

We went to Senso-ji Temple, Nakamise street (where for the 1st time we experienced true crowds) and Hisago street. From there we rode by bus to Meiji Shrine, which I adored, and I’m so going back there next time.

21.03

The day started with a visit to collab cafe (Motto Cafe). It was… interesting experience, let's call it. After that, we rode to the top of Sunshine Tower (600m/min) to a viewing platform. It had an amazing view of the city and since it was a whole building and not a flimsy metal tower my fear of heights was not triggered. We also visited an aquarium there and shopping mall with many thematic shops including whole floor of Pokemons, big shops for Bandai merch, Sylvan Family or Marvel and the biggest capsule topy store in the world.

22.03

We went to Akihabara for electronics (dad) and to see the whole madness going on there (me). I fell in love with tiny rice makes and nano dishwasher, but had to leave them (sniff), dad bought some small ga...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/DaIubhasa on 2025-04-04 01:27:30+00:00.

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Looking for advice what needs to be tailored here. You can suggest what to remove and add and we'll consider. This is our first time in Japan and I'm quite sure not the last :)

PS: I'm not a fan of Pokemon or Anime or Nintendo. We're more on culture aspects and perspective. If you can please recommend and we'll remove what's needed. I'm keen to see samurai katana, sumo wrestlers, geisha, shrines, temples, history etc. As mentioned, this will not be the last we're going there.

Day 1 (Tokyo)

• Arrival Narita Airport 5PM (We will come from NZ so imagine the long flight. Haha!)
• Eat dinner Gonpachi Nishi-Azabu

Day 2-3 (Osaka)

• Eat lunch somewhere - HITOTSUZUKI
• Dinner Moegi or 551 Horai
• Dotonbori River, Denden Town, Shinsekai
• Osaka Castle
• Brunch - 551 Horai
• Hirakata Park
• Umeda Sky Building and Grand Green Osaka Park
• Abeno Harukas Skyscraper
• Minoh National Park

Day 4-5 (Kyoto)

• Fushimi Inari Taisha
• Kiyomizu-dera
• Gion
• Arashiyama
• Kinkaku-ji
• Ginkaku-ji
• Philosopher's Path
• Mt Kurama

Day 6-10 (Tokyo)

• Asakusa Sumo Club
• Akihabara Electric Town (Shopping)
• Imperial Palace (Castle)
• Tokyo Tower (Landmark)
• Yokocho (Eating and drinking)
• Shibuya Sky (Landmark)
• Takeshita St (Shopping)
• Meiji Jingu (Temple)
• Tokyo National Museum

Edit1: My bad. We'll be staying 2 days in Kyoto. Removed Pokemon and Nintendo as well. Edited my "PS".

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Mean_Post_2536 on 2025-04-02 00:03:32+00:00.

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Hi! I’m traveling to Japan between late November and early December. Could you take a look at my itinerary? Do you feel like I’m missing any places, or that I might be overloading some days? I’m still not sure what to do in Osaka. For the first days in Tokyo, I want to leave one day open to visit Mt. Fuji (I want to go on a day with good visibility).

⸻

✈️ Day 1 – Flight to Japan

⸻

🗼 Days 2 to 8 – Tokyo + Kamakura + Fuji

🗓️ Day 2 – Arrival + Light sightseeing (Shibuya & Shinjuku) • Check-in and rest • Shibuya Crossing & Hachiko • Shibuya Sky (sunset) • Loft, Tokyu Hands • Don Quijote Shibuya + Bic Camera Shibuya East • Pompompurin Café

🗓️ Day 3 – Harajuku + Omotesando + Akasaka • Meiji Jingu Shrine • Takeshita Street (DAISO, Kiddy Land, Sanrio, POP MART) • Omotesando (shops & themed cafés) • Tokyo Tower at night

🗓️ Day 4 – Asakusa + Ueno + Akihabara • Senso-ji Temple & Nakamise Street • Ueno Park (Tokyo National Museum – optional) • Akihabara (anime & pop culture stores, Maid Cafés, Sanrio Gift Gate)

🗓️ Day 5 – Ikebukuro + Nakano Broadway • Sanrio Café Ikebukuro • Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo • Sunshine City & Animate Ikebukuro

🗓️ Day 6 – Day trip to Kamakura • Hase-dera • Sasuke Inari Shrine • Shichirigahama Beach • Café Yoridokoro

🗓️ Day 7 – Flexible Fuji Day (if the weather is good) • Chureito Pagoda, Lake Kawaguchi, Tatego-Hama Beach • Café with a view: Oishi Park Café • Overnight stay in Fujikawa or Fujinomiya

🗓️ Day 8 – Shimokitazawa • Shimokitazawa (vintage shops, cafés & Village Vanguard)

⸻

⛩ Days 9 to 12 – Kyoto + Day Trip to Nara

🗓️ Day 9 – Higashiyama (Eastern Kyoto) • Kiyomizu-dera, Hokanji Pagoda • Ninenzaka & Sannenzaka • Yasaka Shrine & Gion

🗓️ Day 10 – Arashiyama & Surroundings • Bamboo Grove • Otagi Nenbutsuji • Tenjuan Temple • Arashiyama Miffy Sakura Kitchen • Kimono Rental (Kyoetsu)

🗓️ Day 11 – Day Trip to Nara • Nara Park • Todai-ji Temple • Kasuga Taisha Shrine • Return to Kyoto at night

🗓️ Day 12 – Kinkaku-ji + Relax • Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) • Kyoto Gyoen National Garden • Rest in the evening

⸻

🎎 Days 13 to 15 – Osaka

🗓️ Day 13 – Namba + Dotonbori • Dotonbori • GIGO Osaka • Pokémon Café • Namba Yasaka Shrine

🗓️ Day 14 – Castles & Pop Culture • Osaka Castle • America-mura • ONE PIECE Store

🗓️ Day 15 – (To be decided)

⸻

🏙 Days 16 to 20 – Final Days in Tokyo

🗓️ Day 16 – (To be decided)

🗓️ Day 17 – Odaiba • teamLab Planets or Borderless • DiverCity Tokyo Plaza (Giant Gundam) • Joypolis, Unko Museum, Aqua City

🗓️ Day 18 – Kichijoji + Ghibli Museum • Ghibli Museum (advance reservation required) • Exploring Kichijoji (Inokashira Park, cafés & shops)

🗓️ Day 19 – Shopping + Final Sightseeing • DAISO • Don Quijote • Dr. Martens • Ghibli Store (Donguri Kyowakoku) • ONE PIECE, Sanrio & souvenirs

🗓️ Day 20 – Free Day & Farewell • Revisit a favorite area or do last-minute shopping

⸻

🛫 Day 21 – Flight Back to Brazil

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/latot on 2025-04-01 13:49:38+00:00.

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I actually posted this a few days ago but I think it got caught up in the automod, so hopefully it's better this time.

My younger brother (early 20s) and I (mid 30s) are doing our first trip to Japan this October and could use a sanity check on our rough itinerary. We've booked the travel to Japan, and that's about it so far. We're going to look at hotels and rail travel shortly, but wanted to make sure that what we're planning makes sense first.

Although we have this broken down into days, the "things we want to do" are not necessarily planned for those days in particular, just things we want to do the most. We broke them down very roughly during our planning as potential segmentations, but we're happy to move them around if you have any recommendations.

| Date | Location | Notes | |

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| | 30/09/2025 | Tokyo | Arrive Tokyo 10.55am - spend the day jetlagged and just taking it easy / walking around | | 01/10/2025 | Tokyo | Shinjuku (Gyoen Park, Imperial Palace) - Shibuya (Shibuya Scramble, Meiji Jingu, Yoyogi Park) | | 02/10/2025 | Tokyo | Akihabara - Asakusa (Sensoji, Tokyo Skytree) | | 03/10/2025 | Tokyo > Hiroshima | Long train - not much happening on this day - Okonomiyaki Dinner | | 04/10/2025 | Hiroshima | Peace Memorial Museum - Peace Park - Atomic Bomb Dome - Hiroshima castle - Orizuru Tower - Mega Spoon | | 05/10/2025 | Hiroshima / Miyajima | Itsukushima Shrine - Deer - Ropeway Mt Misen - Daishoin Temple - Henjo Cave | | 06/10/2025 | Hiroshima > Osaka | Osaka Castle - Shitenno-ji Temple - Sumiyoshi Taisha - Umeda Skybuilding | | 07/10/2025 | Osaka / Himeji / Kobe | Himeji Castle - Koko-en garden - Kobe Kitano-cho district - Kobe Nunobiki ropeway / waterfall | | 08/10/2025 | Osaka / USJ | Universal Studios Japan | | 09/10/2025 | Osaka > Nara | Nara Deer Park - Todai-Ji - Kofukuji - Kasuga shrine | | 10/10/2025 | Osaka | Aquarium - Isshin-ji - Shinsekai - Dotonbori - Harukas 300 | | 11/10/2025 | Osaka > Kyoto | Suntory Yamazaki Distillery - Nishiki Markets | | 12/10/2025 | Kyoto | Kiyomizu-dera Temple - Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine - Okazaki Shrine - Hokan-ji Temple - Murinan Garden | | 13/10/2025 | Kyoto | Arashiyama Bamboo Forest - Tenryu-ji - Tahoden - Kinkaku-ji - Iwatayama Monkey Park | | 14/10/2025 | Kyoto | Samurai Ninja Museum - Higashiyama Jisho-ji - Imperial Palace and gardens | | 15/10/2025 | Kyoto > Hakone | Ashi Lake - Hakone Shrine - Open Air Museum - Onsen Hotel | | 16/10/2025 | Hakone > Tokyo | Ghibli Museum | | 17/10/2025 | Tokyo | DisneySea | | 18/10/2025 | Tokyo | Ueno (National Park) | | 19/10/2025 | Tokyo | Minato City (Tokyo Tower, Teamlabs Borderless, Sky Lounge Stellar Garden) | | 20/10/2025 | Tokyo | Harajuku | | 21/10/2025 | Tokyo > home | 13:05 Travel home |

In general we're fairly relaxed and like to take things as they come, so we've listed all the "must do" things, and then otherwise we plan to just walk around and take in the sights. We're planning to add a bunch of cool things to Google Maps and if they're nearby and we have time, we can do those. We both enjoy cityscapes, historical architecture, nature. We're both into anime and games too. So there's quite a lot we're interested in, really. If there's anything on here you think is overrated, or anything we've missed out you recommend, please do let us know.

Otherwise, just looking to make sure this all makes sense in terms of time spent in the various places, etc. We haven't really looked into rail passes, phone/internet cards, or currency/spending money just yet, so if you have any pointers for those, that would be good too! And any other recommendations or advice you have would be great!