I visited all twelve original castles in Japan – review + recommendations (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Steingar on 2025-11-24 07:58:34+00:00.

Hi all. Over the six times I've visited Japan so far, I have, among many other wonderful experiences, visited all twelve of the original Japanese castles. I wanted to give a bit of a background on this experience, why I think doing so is great if you have the opportunity, as well as give my (highly subjective) ranking of the castles for those who might be interested in seeing some of them.

What are the twelve original castles of Japan?

Although Japan has hundreds of castles, the vast majority of them are reconstructions. The twelve original castles are those whose keep (tenshu) still survives from at least the Edo period.

The reason why there are so few remaining is mostly due to political reasons and war. Many of them were dismantled as a consequence of the Haijō Edict of 1873, which was enforced by the Meiji government to reduce the influence and power base of the previous samurai/daimyo class. Many of the remaining castles would later be destroyed by fire or bombing in WWII, leaving just the current twelve remaining.

Those that remain largely survived due to a combination of luck, being far from large cities or power centres, being in too difficult a location to dismantle, or lobbying and financial support by influential locals.

Why and how did I come to see them all?

My desire to visit all the castles happened gradually over time. On my first trip to Japan in 2017, I saw Matsumoto and Himeji castles as part of a larger journey. I enjoyed them greatly but didn’t give seeing any of the other original castles much additional thought.

On my third trip to Japan in 2024, I was doing a loop around Shikoku and was surprised to find that my route, with some minor adjustments, would pass me by four additional OG castles. This took me to some truly remote and wonderful areas, and from this experience I was inspired to visit the six remaining ones.

After Shikoku, I travelled north into Tohoku, and as part of this route saw Bitchū Matsuyama, Inuyama, and Hirosaki castle.

Finally, on my most recent trip to Japan, I started in Nagoya and chained together Hikone, Maruoka, and finally Matsue castles, completing all twelve by November 2025.

Is going to see all twelve castles worth it?

Ironically, no. Unless you are a massive castle nerd or Japan history geek, it’s really hard to justify travelling specifically to see them. Although many of them are extremely beautiful and fascinating, it’s also true that a lot of them are small, look the same, and often have little of interest inside of them.

However, what really inspired me to visit them all is that they’re mostly located in remote and untouristed areas. Visiting the castles therefore became a kind of elaborate and admittedly silly excuse for me to journey into prefectures that I otherwise wouldn’t even know existed. It is not the castles themselves, therefore, that make seeing them such a treasure, but rather the way they act as a trojan horse to see some of the most beautiful, remote, and breath-taking regions of Japan.

Therefore, if you want to have a bit of fun ticking all the original castles off your bucket list and getting those bragging rights, but also see some truly wonderful places as part of the trip, I can’t recommend seeing them enough.

My ranking of the twelve castles

Without further ado, here’s my ranking of the twelve castles. Note that I don’t even pretend that this list is objective: my experiences can and will be influenced by recency bias, the season I visited them, and even my feelings on the day. Treat it as a curiosity to inspire (or enrage) you to go see the castles for yourself and draw your own conclusions.

With each rank, I’ll also include the month I went there (since some castles will be more or less beautiful depending on the season) as well as some sites nearby that you should check out if you go decide to visit there, in keeping with what I said before about them being a great conduit for further exploration of Japan.

12. Uwajima castle, Ehime (09/24)

Poor Uwajima castle. Featuring a small castle keep, with no surrounding infrastructure of interest, and a fairly unremarkable view of the nearby town, it really doesn’t have much going for it. It does, however, have the notable distinction of being the only castle that had no information in English (not even a brochure)! The walk through the forest up to the castle is pretty nice though.

Worth visiting nearby: Uchiko (quaint village famous for their wax and paper)

11. Marugame castle, Kagawa (09/24)

Similar to Uwajima castle, but with a slightly nicer view towards the Seto inland sea. I actually enjoyed wandering the castle grounds, which were fairly expansive, but the castle keep itself doesn’t have much of interest.

Worth visiting nearby: Kotohira-gu (horse temple up large flight of stairs); Ritsurin (fantastic garden with wonderfully sculpted trees)

10. Inuyama castle, Aichi (10/24)

Probably a controversial placement. Inuyama castle is interesting because it’s essentially the only one close to a very large city (Nagoya). Perhaps as a consequence of this, when I was there it was absolutely packed out with tourists. However, because it’s still a fairly small castle, we were all squished in there and it was hard to enjoy. The walk up to the castle and view is quite nice though, with some shrines and other stuff which are cool to look at.

Worth visiting nearby: Nagoya (I liked the SCMaglev and Railway Park)

9. Hirosaki castle, Aomori (10/24)

Hirosaki castle is set on some really nice grounds, with some lovely trees and areas for walking. There is also some additional infrastructure around the castle (like watchtowers, etc.) which give it a more substantial feeling. Sadly, the keep itself was undergoing repairs and could not be entered, which made the experience a bit redundant. I also recall the nearby moat was dry at the time. Apparently, this area has some really nice cherry blossoms in spring, so maybe that’s a better season to see it.

Worth visiting nearby: Oirase Keiryū (lovely gorge walk near lake); Osorezan Bodai-ji (amazing temple to Jizō on a volcano)

8. Maruoka castle, Fukui (11/25)

Maruoka castle was to me “the little castle that could”. Small like Uwajima and Marugame, but the locals there seemed really passionate about it. The view of the countryside is quite nice since there are no nearby tall buildings. It also looks lovely in the autumn. Just a cosy castle, I couldn’t help but be charmed.

Worth visiting nearby: Daihonzan Eiheiji (temple beautiful in autumn)

7. Matsue castle, Shimane (11/25)

Largish castle keep with a pretty unique basement area that features a well, which seemed sensible to me. The surrounding gardens and moat area are lovely to walk around as there are lots of camellias and plum blossoms, and there’s a bit of additional infrastructure (walls, watchtowers, and drum tower) to occupy some time.

Worth visiting nearby: Mt Daisen (great hike with ice/snow on top in late autumn); Izumo Taisha (famous shrine)

6. Hikone castle, Shiga (11/25)

From this point onward, picking the placement of the castles becomes challenging. For instance: to me, Hikone castle is really lovely. In the autumn the moat area is gorgeous with maple trees all around. The garden behind the castle is also resplendent. There are some additional buildings like walls and such which give a bit more stuff to do, and the view over lake Biwa is wonderful.

Worth visiting nearby: Genkyū-en (stately garden with views of the castle)

5. Matsuyama castle, Ehime (09/24)

Matsuyama castle is really fantastic. It has a lot of external infrastructure, including walls that loop around the hill the castle is placed on, as well as connecting corridors and watch towers. The walk through the forest surrounding it is also stellar, and inexplicably has the fattest cats I’ve ever seen in my life. You can get a nice view of the sunset from the top as well.

Worth visiting nearby: Dogo onsen (inspiration for Spirited Away)

4. Himeji castle, Hyogo (11/17)

Ok, not putting Himeji castle in the top three might seem insane but hear me out. Himeji is the most imposing of the castles and has some superb aesthetics and surrounding infrastructure. It is definitely a must see on any trip to Japan. But, because of all this, it is absolutely packed to the brim with tourists. You are shuffled along at a quick pace from section to section, and it’s hard to really stop and appreciate its majesty. It’s both essential and a bit exhausting.

Worth visiting nearby: Kobe and surrounding area (Arima Onsen was nice)

3. Bitchū Matsuyama castle, Okayama (09/24)

Bitchū Matsuyama castle is super interesting because it’s the only surviving mountain castle. It’s not that close to any town and is at the top of a substantially sized hill with a thick forest. Hiking up from the bottom past the large walls and imposing structures to the keep takes about an hour, and really gives you a sense for how difficult it would be to assault such an impenetrable fortress. It evokes a true defensive structure, not just a quaint tourist spot or museum like most of the others do. It’s easily the most unique and, in my mind, interesting of the twelve original castles. Plus, it has a skateboarding cat at the top! (No I will not elaborate.)

Worth visiting nearby: Kibi Plain (amazing bike ride through fields and old grave mounds...

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A trip report from a boomer... (old.reddit.com)

submitted 5 days ago by bot@lemmit.online to c/japantravel@lemmit.online

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Top_Novel_5934 on 2025-11-19 21:07:44+00:00.

I just thought I’d would do a trip report that’s probably a little skewed towards an older crowd. We (2 couples in 60’s/early 70’s) just completed a 2 week trip to Japan

But first, I wanted to thank all of you Redditors that have contributed to this board. I’ve been following for almost a year and it’s been an invaluable source of information. Itineraries. Suggestions. Trip reports. Comments. Tips. You are kind and amazing in sharing your knowledge. Thank you.

We did a customized version of the Golden Loop. Tokyo (4 nights). Hakone (2 nights). Kyoto (4 nights). A Hiroshima stop and then Miyajima Island (2 nights) and back to Tokyo. And at each place we said “I wish we had a little more time here “!

You don’t need me to tell you about the shrines and restaurants or the top tourist hotspots. Plenty has been posted here before. Yes, some places were super crowded. Some places were crazy. But we loved (almost) every minute.

We started with a private guide at each location (not too expensive with 2 couples), and got an overview of each area. Then we were on our own. The train system was incredible and Google Maps invaluable.

Tokyo - Upon arriving we stayed at the Park Hotel Tokyo. Very nice hotel, not far from the Ginza, but in a quieter area.Our base for 4 days in Tokyo with easy access to train system. Senso-ji Temple was cool but packed and I wish we spent more time in Asakusa. Sunset from Skytree with a view of Fuji was beautiful, but really crowded. We did some experiences through Airbnb that were fun.

Note: When we returned to Tokyo we were at the Hotel Groove in Shinjuku. Totally different vibe, but still fun. Shinjuku was crazy. The 3D cat billboard was amazing. Don Quijote was a zoo. Did the Shibuya Scramble. Nice view from above with a drink at Mag8 rooftop lounge. Check out Dan's Jackets on the way up.

Hakone - Had a great stay at the Setsugetsuka Ryokan, just around the corner from the ropeway station. Great Kaiseki meal included and the rooms have a private, open air bath. The Ropeway was nice-- we got there early and got right on. Fuji was hiding all day, but the pirate boat across Lake Ashi was nice. The Open Air Museum in Hakone was beautiful and peaceful. We used the Hakone free Pass to get around.

Kyoto - the Bullet train to Kyoto was fast and easy. Our luggage was forwarded from Tokyo without a hitch (about $33 for 2 large suitcases). A quick local train brought us to the Cross Hotel - a great location and a very nice hotel. Kyoto was crazy, crowded and a lot of fun. Food options everywhere. Nishiki market was packed. Did a formal tea ceremony at Maikoya. Went to Fushimi Inari (an easy train ride). The road leading to the gate had some interesting vendors. Saw these awesome large fox mask cookies that were unique. The following day we went to Arashiyama and the Bamboo Forest. 4 days in total there with some other shrines and great little restaurants. I could have added a few more days.

Hiroshima/Miyajima - on the Shinkansen again to a guided tour of Hiroshima. We did not want to leave Japan without seeing the history there. Somber, but groups of schoolchildren coming and singing in the park. The crowd in the Peace Museum was the worst. Shoulder to shoulder the whole way through.

A ferry to Miyajima island brought us to the highlight of our trip. The Grand Hotel Arimoto was located just off the main drag, but a world away. Our rooms had a private open air bath in a garden setting. Hotel staff were awesome. kaiseki meals in a private room with our own hostess for 2 nights (don't ask me, I don't know how that happened). A five minute walk out the back door brought us to the Tori Gate. Spectacular at night and peaceful after the day visitors were gone. A memory we all fondly cherished.

Some suggestions:

You've heard it before - don’t overplan. For example, in Shinjuku we stopped to hear a Japanese Dixieland Band playing on the street in Tokyo. They were fun and friendly and amazing. And if we were rushing to the next spot on the itinerary we would have missed it.
Google Maps is a must. It will get you through the train system and the stations. Usually. ;-)
Tokyo is huge. Look at a map when planning your day.
Sometimes a cab ride beats 2 trains and a 10 minute walk when you’re tired. Taxis were cheap.
If you see something that you really like, just buy it. You might not get a second chance. Support the local economy!
Translate apps will help. A lot. They are not perfect, but usually I could speak/ type my question in English and have someone read it in Japanese. Keep it short and practice before you go!
Food from Lawsons and 7-11 really is good. Try the egg salad!
Take your time. I’ll never forget our walk at night around Miyajima Island after the day trippers left. It's a special place at night and it was unforgettable.
I waited 50 years to see Mt. Fuji. She was shy while we were in Hakone, but spectacular when viewed from the Shinkansen to Kyoto. Book right side seats heading west.
Elevators and escalators in train stations are common, but not everywhere.
Casual, dark clothes were fine. Don’t overpack. We loved luggage forwarding!
Book a ryokan and soak in an onsen. Eat your meals in a kimono.
Street food is cheap and plentiful. Some places just close when they run out of food. Eat lunch early to beat the crowd. And make dinner reservations at least a day or two in advance.
Try your Japanese! Even if it’s just “Arigato”.
Our meals were terrific. And tell the cook “oichi des ka”. It brought a smile, laughs and multiple bows. It was awesome. (I don’t think they were laughing at me!).
Get off the beaten path. Watching the end of the World Series in a tiny sidestreet Okonomiyaki spot with a bunch of locals with grandma cooking next to us was unforgettable. Note: Ohtani is a god there.

A final note:

And what I’m really grateful for were the awesome Japanese people we met along the way.

From our tour guides, to the hotel staff to the train station workers who pointed us in the right direction. The french restaurant owner on some random sidestreet in Kyoto who kindly moved other people in the middle of their meal to make room for us. The other diners were friendly and kind. And the chef's beef bourguignon was awesome.

The elderly (older than me!) couple sharing their home (and top shelf whiskey) in a kimono experience. The samurai master showing us the prize in his sword collection (owned by a shogun) and teaching us form. Our gentle and gracious hostess at a tea pouring ceremony. The kindly old waitress in the ryokan taking such good care of us for 3 days, communicating with me through Apple Translate and correcting/laughing at my kaiseki etiquette. I know you loved me and I loved you too…

Thanks again to all you contributors. May you all experience Japan and see Mt. Fuji.

It was all amazing

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Thanks to Reddit community for helping with a last second trip (old.reddit.com)

submitted 6 days ago by bot@lemmit.online to c/japantravel@lemmit.online

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Disastrous_Piglet549 on 2025-11-17 00:46:55+00:00.

We are finishing a 2 week trip to Japan that we had to plan at the last second. We were originally flying to Vietnam, and when we landed to make a connection in Seoul, we found out our tour in Vietnam was cancelled due to the typhoon. So we pivoted, booked flights to Tokyo from Seoul, and planned a Japan trip. We had never been to Japan before so Reddit was very, very helpful in quickly figuring out places to stay and visit.

I want to share some of our trip we found helpful and enjoyable.

Tokyo

Nohga Hotel Ueno: Lovely hotel, great area if you want a much more quiet experience compared to Shinjuku or Shibuya but still close to a major train station and a 5 minute walk to Ameyoko (a fantastic walking area with tons of small restaurants and shops).

We did many tours via Viator and getyourguide. Our favorite was https://www.getyourguide.com/tokyo-l193/tokyo-shinjuku-night-walking-tour-t565364/ with Loc, where learned about the drinking culture, the host/hostess culture, and many other aspects of life in Tokyo (but without bar hopping like many of the other tours).

One observation-Loc and a couple of our other guides were not Japanese, and they were more open and less reserved about making observations about Japanese culture compared to some other guides.

We also really enjoyed Kappabashi Street, which is “kitchen street,” and spent a couple of hours wandering the shops of kitchen items and bought some beautiful Japanese knives at Kawa Asa.

Hakone

We stayed a night at Hakone Yumoto Onsen Aura Tachibana. The room itself was dated (I think they are renovating soon) but the onsen in the room and the private, open air onsen on the roof were very, very nice. We did the half board and had the traditional kaiseki dinner, which was enjoyable and so much food.

We met some people who did Hakone in a day back and forth from Tokyo, and they felt very rushed and barely made it despite taking the first and last trains to/from Tokyo. We arrived the first day and spend over 2 hours at the Hakone Open Air Museum, which was an incredible display of sculptures and had an entire building for hundreds of works of Picasso. and then did the Hakone loop the next day. Definitely buy the Hakone pass-that simplified all the of the transportation. And if you do that you can start the loop very early your 2nd day avoiding many of the crowds.

Kyoto

We stayed at the Westin Miyako Kyoto. This is one of the nicest hotels I have stayed at, in a quieter area but a 20-25 minute walk to Gion and the busy shopping areas as well as a 3 minute walk to a subway station.

Besides the main sites and a bunch of tours, one of our favorite sites was in Arashiyama–Ōkōchi Sansō. There were not many crowds (the rest of the town was packed) and it was one of the most beautiful garden walks we went on during our time here. We got to Arashiyama at 8am on a Sunday. While there were some tourists here, it was enjoyable walking through the bamboo forest. By the time we left the town at 1, it felt like I was at a Disney on a very crowded day.

We’d also highly recommend the Gion Corner show-a 45 minute show that gives you a glimpse of 7 different kinds of japanese arts (music, Giesha dance, and a few others).

We also went to the Camellia tea ceremony, which was more about learning about the ceremony by watching a tea ceremony master perform and explain the ceremony than participating in one, but it was realistic and not touristy and enjoyable. At the end, you do make your own matcha after learning about the process. There were only 8 people in our group that morning.

A couple other tips.

Bring your passport with you as you can purchase tax free at most shops as long as you have your physical passport (we didn’t realize this the first day when we did a bunch of shopping).

We shipped our bags from Tokyo to our hotel in Kyoto. Our hotel in Tokyo took care of that, and it was only about $15 per bag. That made our travels to Hakone much easier where we only stayed a night. The bags arrive the following day after you ship it.

Thanks again to the community—in many ways it was more helpful than the guidebooks I looked through for our last second planning

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Detailed trip report: second trip to Japan, over 12 locations in 2+ weeks in April 2025 (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Evil_Crab on 2025-11-16 16:49:11+00:00.

I finally decided to sit down and write a report for this trip, which was probably the best vacation of my life.

I traveled with two of my best friends, and it was our second trip to Japan. During our first trip in 2023, we followed a fairly standard route: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and back to Tokyo, with day trips to Nara and Hakone. For a second trip, we wanted to visit other parts of the country (and see sakura in bloom), so we decided to start our trip in Hiroshima and travel in the direction of Tokyo. I like to plan my trips very thoroughly, and in this trip all the effort paid off =)

Initially, we planned to go for two weeks, but after we learned that the week after our trip would be a rock festival featuring several bands we were interested in, one of my friends and I decided to stay for one more week to attend it. Since we had no other plans for this week, we decided not to take extra vacation days and worked remotely between the end of the main part of the trip and the rock festival.

For anyone interested, here's our itinerary (I highly recommend Wanderlog as a trip planning tool) and some photos (and stamps I collected during the trip).

Day 0 - Arrival:

Arrival at Kansai International Airport
Shinkansen to Hiroshima
Rest

We arrived in Japan around noon, collected our travel passes (we opted for the Sanyo San-in Area Pass), and spent the rest of the day resting after a long flight from Europe.

Day 1 - Hiroshima, Miyajima:

Hiroshima Orizuru Tower
Peace Memorial Park
Ferry to Miyajima
Cable car to Mount Misen and hike down to the Itsukushima shrine
Ferry back and relocation to Okayama

Our first day was pretty busy. It may be better to dedicate one full day to Hiroshima and a separate day to Miyajima, but we were still able to see most of the places we wanted to.

Miyajima is lovely. Unfortunately, due to a packed schedule for that day, we did not have time to reach the top of Mt. Misen, but the hike down from the cable car stop was quite enjoyable.

Day 2 - Naoshima:

Bus to Uno and ferry to Naoshima
Picked up bikes at the rental place near the ferry terminal
Bike trip around the island with stops at MANY art installations (see itinerary for the details).
Visit to I Love Yu public bath (which is also an art installation!)
Ferry and bus back to Okayama

Naoshima is a really lovely destination for a day trip from the Okayama area. We were lucky with the weather (not only this day, but it was perfect almost the whole time), and biking around the island was very enjoyable. I especially liked many whimsical frog sculptures made from plastic buoys by a local artist that can be found all over the island. A visit to the bath after the day of biking was a great way to end this day trip.

Day 3 - Okayama, Himeji

Visit to Okayama Castle
Visit to Okayama Korakuen Garden
Train to Himeji
Visit to Himeji Castle
Relocation to Tottori

We did not want to spend much time in Okayama or Himeji, so we planned to see the Korakuen Garden in Okayama and both castles in a day, and we were able to do it quite comfortably. Himeji Castle is truly impressive, and the tour of its interior was very interesting.

Day 4 - Tottori, Kinosaki:

Visit to the Tottori sand dunes
Relocation to Kinosaki
Lots of onsens

Visiting the sand dunes was a fun experience, and I'm glad we stopped by on our way to Kinosaki. However, in my opinion, if you need a separate day to visit them, they may not be worth it.

Kinosaki onsen, on the other hand, is wonderful. We stayed there for two days, visited all the onsens, and really enjoyed the whole onsen town experience. It took some time to get used to walking in getas, but it was fun.

Day 5 - Kinosaki:

More onsens and relaxation

I don't have much to add here; it was just a relaxing day. Some of the onsens were very hot, but we got used to it fast. We collected stamps from all the baths and ended up with a little souvenir in the end. I can recommend the ryokan we stayed at: Onishiya Suishoen

Day 6 - Kyoto:

Train to Kyoto
Visit to Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
Visit to Kyoto Gyoen National Garden
Relocation to Osaka

We covered most of Kyoto during our first trip, so this time we decided to stop for half a day on our way to Osaka and visit a few places we had skipped. Both the Garden and the Bamboo forest were beautiful, but I personally enjoyed the Garden more.

Day 7 - Osaka Expo 2025:

Osaka Expo 2025

It was one of the few days with the bad weather. The constant rain, combined with large crowds on the opening day, somewhat soured the experience, but we still managed to visit a couple of large pavilions and many smaller ones in the "Commons" areas. The evening drone light show was great, too! I really wanted to attend the Ado concert, but unfortunately, we didn't win the lottery.

Overall, the Expo was quite fun, and if I were living somewhere nearby, I'd probably get a season pass and a stamp book and try to visit all the pavilions over the course of a couple of months.

Day 8 - Nintendo museum:

Visit to the Nintendo museum in Kyoto
Relocation to Magome

It was a pretty relaxed day. We visited the Nintendo Museum, and even though I'm not a massive fan of Nintendo games, it was pretty fun. I especially enjoyed learning about older consoles and all the weird accessories they had.

But the highlight of the day for me was our hotel for the night. We stayed at the Magome Furusato Gakkou, a cozy guesthouse situated in a former elementary school. It was really fun to explore, and we were even allowed to shoot some hoops in the gym. I highly recommend it for anyone visiting Magome.

Day 9 - Nakasendo trail, Matsumoto:

Hike from Magome to Tsumago-juku
Visit to Narai-juku
Relocation to Matsumoto

The Nakosendo trail was one of the best experiences of the trip. It's very picturesque, and even a little rain in the middle of the day hasn't soured the mood. Halfway between Magome and Tsumago, there is a cozy old teahouse, and we got there just in time to wait out the worst of it with a cup of tea. My only regret is that I learned that you can get a wooden stamp card in Magome to prove you walked the trail only after we arrived at Tsumago. Don't make the same mistake!

After Tsumago, we took a train to Narai-juku. It was already evening, so most of the places were closed, but the town itself was charming. We also bought ourselves some wooden hair combs (which are apparently a traditional local craft) in one of the few open shops.

We ended our day in Mastumoto. We only had one night there, but we still found some time to visit the castle, which was very pretty with all the night illumination.

Day 10 - Fujikawaguchiko:

Train + bus to Fujikawaguchiko
Stroll along the lake Kawaguchi
Visit to Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway observation deck
Relocation to Tokyo

We were fortunate with the weather that day. Many people told us that the clouds often cover Fuji, unless you visit it really early in the morning. However, the weather was perfect that day, with barely any clouds in the sky.

One mistake we made was not prebooking the train seats from Fujikawaguchiko to Tokyo. The train was absolutely packed and was not fun to ride for two hours, standing with people packed there like sardines

Day 11 - Tokyo:

Shopping
Visit to The Sumida Hokusai Museum
Visit to teamLab Planets
Drinks and karaoke in Ginza

It was a relatively slow day compared to some of the previous ones. We visited Kamemannen shop, where I ordered glasses that I had wanted since our last trip. The Hokusai museum was very interesting and informative, and I definitely recommend it. TeamLab planets, on the other hand, was quite disappointing for all of us and IMHO does not live up to the hype.

We ended our day with drinks at Ginten, a fun izakaya with all-you-can-drink shochu, and a couple of hours of karaoke at the nearby Big Echo. It was a dangerous combination, but fortunately, we were not as hungover as I feared the next morning.

Day 12 - Yokohama:

Visit to Chinatown
Stroll in Yamashita Park
Visit to the CupNoodle Museum
Watching the sunset from the Sky Garden
Dinner at the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum

Yokohama is an excellent destination for a day trip from Tokyo. We had a pretty packed schedule, but we managed to do everything we wanted, even though we spent around an hour in the B-Side Label store in the red brick warehouse area. They sell a lot of awesome stickers and other merch.

We were lucky with our timing and arrived at the Sky Garden just in time for the sunset. Afterwards, we went to the Ramen Museum for dinner (fun, but the lines were quite long) and then returned to Tokyo.

Day 13 - Saitama:

Visit to the Railway Museum
Visit to the G-Cans
Shopping at Akihabara

The railway museum was fun, but to be honest, I expected a bit more. Also, it felt like we were the only group there that was not parents with a little kid.

G-Cans underground temple, which is the metropolitan area's underground anti-flood system, was a lot more impressive. I recommend it to any...

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Trip Report: Shikoku (Kochi, Kami, Iya Valley, Shimanami Kaido bike route, Matsuyama) + Tokyo/Kyoto (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/oly_traveler on 2025-11-16 16:26:26+00:00.

Had a great time in Japan and figured I'd report on some of the lesser talked about destinations we visited on Shikoku mostly. Also visited Tokyo/Kyoto but I'll keep those brief as they're discussed a lot.

Context:

Myself and my partner
30-somethings, active
We're American (sorry)
I'm an experienced traveler and had been to Japan once before, my partner hasn't traveled much
Relatively low planning travel style; we kinda went with the flow
In total we spent 2 weeks in Japan in late October/early November

Tokyo (6 days)

Awesome city, one of my favorites in the world! My advice, don't over plan itineraries and leave some room for spontaneity - especially in Tokyo. You could spend 100's of hours fine tuning your hour-by-hour itinerary, and you're still going to feel like you missed out on something. So just forget FOMO and wing it (and I say this as someone who struggles with FOMO). The city is magic and there's cool stuff everywhere, so IMO just plan a barebones itinerary and wander.

Also - this is an incredibly walkable city. Even with lots of subway rides, we did like 30,000 steps a day for 4 of the 6 days we were in Tokyo. As soon as you're half a block off the main street, it's super quiet and peaceful. If you're physically able, just wander :)

Also also - don't be afraid to eat some non-Japanese food in Tokyo, especially if you have a longer trip planned. There's incredible food of all types, and IMO Tokyo is the place to branch out and get whatever you're craving just because the quality is so high there.

Pleasant surprise: Harajuku. Not Takeshita street, skip that, but once you go a little deeper into the area behind Takeshita street, there are tons of painfully hip/cool shops to wander through. I'm not a big shopper (and didn't even buy anything in this area) but I had a great time, super unique shopping area. Obviously hit Yoyogi Park/Meiji Jingu while you're in the area.

Overrated: TeamLab. Mainly because they just let too many people in. It's cool, don't get me wrong, but easily 40% over a reasonable capacity, it felt claustrophobic at times. We ended up going to both Planets and Borderless (my partner really liked it, I was happy with just one but we ended up doing both lol). Of the two I preferred Planets.

Rural Shikoku (Kami City)

We flew from Tokyo (NRT) to Kochi. Quick and easy flight, and quite cheap.

Picked up a car in Kochi at the airport, rented via Toyota. Was a little pricey (~$120/day?) because it was a one-way rental (to be dropped off in Matsuyama), and because we booked late (recurring theme; we aren't the best planners)

Driving notes:

Pretty easy honestly
Narrow roads but people drive slow
Requires an international drivers "permit" (really just a $20 fee, but you need to get it in advance)
Many road signs in English
VERY safety minded, excellent signage, slow drivers, tons of crosswalks, etc.
Often wasn't clear what the speed limit was. Seemed to be slower than my instinct as an American driver
Toll system is automatic, the rental agency will give you a card that plugs into the car and then you just pass through toll gates and pay the rental agency. Tolls can add up but our route was only maybe 3,000 yen? Check fine print obviously, they may charge extra, but Toyota didn't.
Pickup/dropoff super easy. They even gave me a small refund for dropping off the car 2 hours early - hah! Had to save my gas receipt though, that's unique. The gas meter barely budged the whole time, so they ask you to keep your receipt for gas/petrol and show it when you drop off.

We stayed 2 nights in an Airbnb (waited too long and all the ryokans were booked - there aren't many standard hotels in the region) in a small village outside of Kami City, I don't even really know what it was called hah but it's near "Okawakami Birafu Shrine" which shows up on Maps.

SUPER beautiful and peaceful area. We stumbled upon a local festival that was going on and had a great time. We felt very welcomed, despite very little English speaking (and our very poor Japanese). People seemed excited to have visitors. Dining options are limited so we "half cooked" at home using konbini hauls.

In retrospect, I would have spent an extra day here. It was very calm and peaceful, great place to just go for a walk and decompress.

Iya Valley Drive

We left Kami and drove up through the Iya Valley. We didn't do as much as planned as we were feeling a little run down. Visited the Iya Valley Vine Bridge (very touristy but dang cool nonetheless), Oboke Gorge, and a few random stops along the way.

The drive itself was very fun. Beautiful scenery and fun, windy roads that just felt zippy even if you weren't going very fast.

If doing it again I'd probably add a 1-2 night stay somewhere in this region. We booked late and all the Ryokans and farm stays were sold out.

We continued the drive on to Matsuyama, so this day was mostly driving but was quite scenic even from the car.

Matsuyama

We spent 2 nights in Matsuyama at a generic chain IHG hotel, lol (I had points for free rooms). Anyways, certainly not a highlight of the trip, but Matsuyama had its charm.

The orange/citrus obsession was pretty amusing and interesting. There are juice tasting businesses, for instance, where you pour small samples of all the orange juice varieties you could possible want. And many orange smoothie/juice bar type places, plus orange-themed decor everywhere you look.

Matsuyama Castle is also well worth a visit. AFAIK it's well rated as far as Japanese castles go, though I truthfully didn't do much research. The attached (but separate admission - 100 yen I think?) Ninomaru Historical Garden was beautiful too, and very quiet/peaceful.

Overall, Matsuyama has a dated feel to it. The buildings look very 70's/80's, lots of grey, not super interesting architecture wise. I wouldn't go out of my way to visit again, but I enjoyed it.

We dropped off the car when we got to Matsuyama and returned to transit from there.

Shimanami Kaido Bicycle Route

WOWZA this was the highlight of the trip for sure. 100% do this, it is so worth it!

We did it backwards to what most people do, as we started in Imabari and ended in Onomichi. I don't think either direction is "better", this is just what worked for our logistics.

We did the whole route (~60km?) over 2 days. It is "doable" in 1 day, but I wouldn't recommend it. There's so much to explore along the route, and it was so enjoyable to not be on a schedule. We took several detours, hung out at the beach, grabbed coffee, sit-down meals, etc. along the way and it was very relaxing. I wouldn't want to be watching the clock making sure I get to the destination by sundown. That said, if you're fit and into cycling, it's certainly doable in a day if you have limited time (again, wouldn't recommend it :D)

The first day we took the train from Matsuyama fairly early and picked up bikes around 9am. No reservation (though this was probably dumb and risky - I simply forgot!). Hit the road from the station, although there's ~10km of city riding before you get to the start of the actual bike route.

I would guestimate that ~80% of the route is on dedicated bike path (no cars at all, but low-CC mopeds are allowed on some sections), ~10% is on sidewalks, and ~10% is on roads (which usually had a sidewalk option too, but the road was smoother). VERY clear signage, there's a blue line to follow the whole way. Overall, an incredibly safe bike route with incredible infrastructure. And incredible views pretty much 95% of the time!

The very first island you cross over (or the last, if you're starting in Onomichi), Uma Island, is tiny but we checked it out anyways. There's a freakin' bicycle elevator that goes 4 stories down from the bridge to the island, Japanese infrastructure is incredible haha. There's a cool shrine on the island, some glamping, and nothing else besides a few residences - part of the island is off limit to visitors but the signage was clear. This is why I recommend two days - there's many random little finds like this one that are very unique, and that you probably wouldn't have time for on a one-day route.

There's often a "scenic route" which I believe was called Island Explorer. I would recommend taking these if you have the time - they are both more scenic and likely less hilly, as some of the islands had a decent climb in the middle (where the "fast"/main route often took you). Some of the middle of the island wasn't great visually either, it's much prettier on the coasts.

In general, there's more climbing than you'd expect for a sea-level route. The spiral routes to get up to each bridge can be tiring, and like I said the middle of some islands have some climbing too. If you're not much of a cyclist an ebike might be worth the upgrade. Or just take your time like we did!

Logistics:

We forwarded our luggage from the hotel in Matsuyama to a hotel in Kyoto. Pretty easy process (hotel clerks helped), and around 3,000 yen for 2 medium/large bags.
We rented bikes in Imabari and dropped them off in Onomichi. We just used the government run program, I think it's called Shimanami Kaido Bike Rental, hah.
We didn't reserve bikes (probably should have, just forgot) but it wasn't an issue. They had probably hundreds of bikes in Im...

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Three Weeks in Shikoku - Trip Report (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/DeCoburgeois on 2025-11-16 10:52:08+00:00.

Hi all. My wife and I recently got back from a three week tour of Shikoku. After a recent Kyushu trip, we fell in love with both the quieter side of Japan and Onsens, so it seemed like a good fit for us. We managed to visit all four prefectures and had an absolute blast. It's much quieter than the other parts of Japan but its beauty is definitely underrated. If you're looking for a combination of low crowds, beautiful nature and delicious food, it's worth a look for sure.

I haven’t seen too many trip reports here for Shikoku so I thought I’d share mine.

(Photo Highlights here if you want to check them out - https://photos.app.goo.gl/zAA5D8Y47x4VQ8zu8 )

We pre-booked all of our accommodation about two months in advance. I wouldn’t recommend leaving it any later as places seem to book out fast, and we weren’t even there during peak time. When booking we generally tried to get ryokans with an included onsen. Having an onsen to retire to after a long day will genuinely change the way you travel. It’s that good. The ones we stayed in were fairly basic but did the job. Many of them look like Showa Era time capsules which is part of the charm. My only complaint is the traditional Japanese pillows which legitimately feel like you’re sleeping on a sack of rocks.

On average we spent around 150 dollars a night for a basic Japanese style room. We hit Shikoku just before peak autumn season so prices might go up at other times of the year. Shikoku overall is incredibly cheap to travel. Food is much cheaper, even in the more touristy areas.

Trip Highlights

Mt Miune Hike

Pretty tough but absolutely stunning if you get clear weather. We did this instead of Mt Tsurugi, which is the more popular mountain in the Iya Valley. Miune doesn’t have the cable car so it’s much quieter up top. We also hiked Mt Ishizuchi, but the weather wasn’t kind to us. Even so, you could tell the views would’ve been incredible from the glimpses we got through the clouds.

Kochi City

This was a real surprise. We didn’t have big expectations but the people were warm and friendly, and the food was incredible. You can get a huge serving of fresh bonito for under 1500 yen. We had a great time wandering around, checking out the Sunday market and the local izakayas.

Ozu City

We hadn’t planned to stop here but did after reading some stuff online. The Garyu Sanso House is one of the most beautiful homes I've seen in Japan. Walking around the old town is really pleasant. We ended up wishing we had stayed there. The castle is great as well.

Iya Valley

We stayed in a beautiful ryokan with an onsen. The whole region is stunning. Driving through Oboke Canyon and the mountain passes is incredible. We stopped at the famous Iya Valley onsen and I had the entire bath to myself for about forty minutes. Sitting there taking in the view of the valley was unforgettable.

There's also the scarecrow village and school here which is a pretty weird experience if you want to check it out.

Niyodo River Area

Definitely worth the drive. The blue water and lush nature were unreal. We visited Yasui Gorge and I lost count of how many times my wife said it was “magical”.

Vintage Shopping

We stopped at a few vintage stores and Second Streets in random towns and found some gems. Way cheaper than the major cities. I picked up a couple of jackets and hats. My wife had a field day.

Shimanami Kaido Route

We rented e-bikes in Imabari and rode the first fifteen kilometres over the first bridge. Perfect weather and perfect views. If the whole route is like that, it must be incredible. Highly recommend.

Honourable Mention: Kihoku Michi no Eki (鬼北)

Roadside stations are one of the funnest parts of driving in Japan. They often have some theme or gimmick. This one had a giant demon princess called Yuzukihime holding a baby out the front. Apparently it's because it's the only town with 鬼 in the name which is the kanji for "Demon". Not something you see every day. Check out the Google page to see some weird thirsty reviews and feet pics of the statue.

Disappointments

Naoshima

This will probably be controversial, but it felt like a giant tourist trap. The museums were overpriced and sparsely furnished. Everything on the island was expensive, and getting on and off it was stressful because the limited ferries filled up fast. Maybe staying overnight would help, but for us it wasn’t worth it.

Getting Around and Communicating

The level of English throughout Shikoku is fairly low. Hotel staff often have a decent grasp but most others do not. Unless you can speak at least basic Japanese you’ll be leaning heavily on Google Translate. A lot of restaurants didn’t have English menus either.

I’m around N3, so ordering and reading menus was much easier for me. On the flip side I’m terrible at actually speaking, so it only helped so much.

Food

The food in Shikoku was incredible and cheap. After one day back in Osaka we were wishing we were back in Shikoku.

Kagawa – The udon here is famous for a reason. For under 1000 yen you can get a bowl of chewy, tasty noodles that are tough to beat.

Kochi – The fresh seafood here was next level. The seared bonito is amazing, but the yellowfin and kingfish were just as good. Even the supermarket sashimi sets were restaurant quality for around 500 yen.

Ehime – So much fresh fruit everywhere. Mikans and persimmons all over the roadsides and supermarkets.

Matsuyama - We were craving pasta after consuming way too much Japanese food and hit up the pasta place at the bottom of the Mitsukoshi in central Matsuyama. They do fusion Japanese Italian pasta and somehow it works really well. Definitely recommend.

Driving

Driving in Shikoku is very chill. The mountain roads are a highlight. You’ll end up with a sore neck from craning to see everything. We spent around 250 dollars in tolls overall, which wasn’t too bad considering how much ground we covered.

Best driving areas:

Iya Valley, specifically Obokke Canyon
Shikoku Karst. The views are absolutely stunning
The drive to mount Ishizuchi. Jurassic park vibes.

Final Notes and Tips

The big mountain hikes are pretty tough. Mount Ishizuchi has a cable car that takes you up most of the way but you have to hike the last 3-4km up. Some of the sections are pretty sketchy. I definitely recommend doing it in good weather.

Almost everywhere accepts card payments. A lot of places don't accept smartphone touch payments for some strange reason.

You definitely need a car to get around Shikoku. It looks like it's possible to use public transport but it seemed very tedious.

Overall it was a great trip and I'd highly recommend Shikoku to anyone who's seeking an authentic Japan experience that's affordable and away from the crowds.

Itinerary

For those interested, here’s our route:

Day 1 Osaka → Iya Valley

Day 2 Iya

Day 3 Iya

Day 4 Iya → Takamatsu

Day 5 Takamatsu (Naoshima)

Day 6 Takamatsu

Day 7 Takamatsu → Kochi

Day 8 Kochi

Day 9 Kochi (Niyodo Region)

Day 10 Kochi → Seiyo City

Day 11 Seiyo City → Shikoku Karst and Yusuhara Town

Day 12 Seiyo City → Umajima City

Day 13 Seiyo City → Mt Ishizuchi Hike

Day 14 Seiyo → Kumakogen (Ozu and Uchiko on the way)

Day 15 Kumakogen (day trip to Matsuyama)

Day 16 Kumakogen (Ishizuchi hike)

Day 17 Kumakogen → Matsuyama (Shimanami Kaido e-biking)

Day 18 Matsuyama

Day 19 Back to Osaka

If you have any questions feel free to DM me.

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Three Ethical Cat Cafés in Kyoto (All rescued cats, quiet & welfare-focused) (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/bipedal_cat on 2025-11-15 16:02:59+00:00.

I live in Kyoto and love visiting cat cafés, but I’ve noticed something important: many popular animal cafés in Japan — even those with thousands of high Google reviews — do not actually treat the animals well.

In Japan, a lot of customers focus mainly on the “cute experience,” not on animal welfare. Because of this cultural gap, Google ratings and review numbers often reflect entertainment value, not the wellbeing of the animals. So even cafés with huge numbers of 5-star reviews can still be overcrowded, stressful for the cats, and not providing proper care.

For travelers who genuinely care about animal welfare, this can be confusing and frustrating.

That’s why I think it’s meaningful for us to choose ethical cafés — doing so sends a message, supports rescue efforts, and encourages better standards across Japan.

Despite the problems, Kyoto does have a few places where rescued cats live safely, quietly, and with real respect. Here are three ethical cafés that I personally recommend:

⸻

Cat’s Cafe Gallery Cat’s Eye

A small, home-like café run by a Japanese woman. Located in a sunny building near the Imperial Palace. Very simple facilities, low-cost style, relaxed atmosphere, and gentle rescued cats. The owner speaks English very well, so foreign visitors feel welcome.

Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/1RDDzETK7xeGPaLZA?g_st=ic

⸻

THE CAT RETREAT at UTANEKODO

An ethical, quiet cat retreat inside a traditional Kyoto townhouse. This is not a typical Japanese cat café — no chasing, no standing, no forced interaction. Cats live freely and guests follow welfare-based rules to keep the space calm. Beautiful interior, small groups, optional matcha whisking experience. Higher price than the others, but it offers a unique, peaceful atmosphere and very high-quality experience. Bookings available via GetYourGuide.

Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/5mVqkQHxPxeCL4hBA?g_st=ic

⸻

Maneki Machiya Cat Cafe

Run by an animal-rescue organization. Located a bit away from central Kyoto in a quiet residential area. Housed in a traditional machiya townhouse. Many of the staff are foreigners, so communication is easy for travelers. An ethical, calm rescue-focused space.

Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/76knqe1CBonpkJtC6?g_st=ic

⸻

If you care about animal welfare, quiet environments, and supporting rescue efforts, these are (in my opinion) the best choices in Kyoto. And again — choosing ethical cafés helps move Japan in a better direction for animals.

If anyone knows other ethical rescue-based places in Japan, I’d love to hear your recommendations.

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Trip Report: 2 weeks, Tokyo - Sapporo - Lake Toya (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/orientalmushroom on 2025-11-10 09:41:25+00:00.

It was great. I am glad to be home. A man can only be the ugliest and least fashionable person in a 1 mile radius for so long.

—

Apparently my post has to have at least 200 characters so here’s a small report:

I am glad I did not go to Kyoto or Osaka, and honestly feel like I missed nothing. Of course there are plenty of things there that I would love to experience, but honestly Tokyo was crowded and hectic enough. I loved having leisure time to just explore, like going to the National Museum of Modern Art with no plans, and ending up spending the rest of the day in parks and coffee/shops in Jimbocho. Next time maybe they’ll be on the list, but I preferred not having crowds.
Soup curry was the best meal I had. I still think about it. Honestly beat out multiple expensive omakase courses I did.
I adored Sapporo. We were there during Halloween and it was so cute. And just an all around lovely city with plenty to do, but without the huge crowds. It was nice to have a bench in the middle of the city to just sit and eat ice cream, something that’s basically impossible in Tokyo (finding a bench lol).

The Sapporo Open Air Museum is sooo lovely and they have volunteer English guides. He was so cute and funny. We had a lovely time and spent way more hours there than intended. Autumn is gorgeous in Hokkaido.

Lake Toya is very quiet. If you go, plan to go before the 31st of October. Lots of stuff ends on the 31st (like the fireworks). Plan your meals carefully as places close early. But it is so serene and peaceful and lovely and charming. I did some hiking up Mt Usu and was one of 3 people on the trail. Incredible autumn hiking.
if you rent a car, pay for the highest level of insurance. It’s not expensive and will save you. My rental tire blew up an hour away from Sapporo headed towards Toya, and it was so stressful and a huge headache. Thankfully I didn’t have to pay $1000 on top of it.
spend less money on your regular hotels and splurge on 2 nights at a really, really fancy ryokan at the end of your trip. Mine was $600 a night (Tsuruga Hikari no Uta) but it was an incredible cap to the end of the trip. Pure luxury that would have easily cost double that per night in the States. 100% worth it. Incredible food. It was amazing.
I really am glad to be home. I love Japan. It was everything I imagined it would be. At the same time, there were things there that I just… felt stifled by. It was crowded but often not lively, if that makes sense. Also it’s funny that I thought the US was overboard with ads, but man the audio ads in Japan are something else. Please don’t take it as criticism. Just glad to be home but at the same time can’t wait to visit again!

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Back from Japan... and already planning my next trip 🇯🇵✨ (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Lachanklureuh on 2025-11-11 10:11:51+00:00.

Unfortunately, I’m back from my two-week trip to Japan with my wife and our one-year-old baby 😭

But honestly? What. A. Trip. This country is just unreal — I’m already planning to go back next year, same period, new itinerary 😅

We landed in Osaka and took a taxi straight to our hotel near Dotonbori (no choice with all the luggage!). Then… we realized we’d forgotten one of our suitcases 🤣 So the next morning I had to go back to get it. Ended up costing me 2000 yen, but it was actually worth it — I learned how to use the metro and train system, made my ICOCA card, and even withdrew cash from a 7-Eleven.

By the way, the ICOCA card is a total game changer — you can use it pretty much everywhere, recharge it easily, and it just makes everything smoother.

Now about Osaka — my favorite city of the trip! The vibe there is just so chill and authentic. I absolutely loved it. Of course, with a baby, our rhythm was slower, lots of stops and last-minute changes. But Japan is amazing for traveling with a baby — you can find changing tables everywhere, elevators and escalators are everywhere (and never broken 😅).

I really enjoyed Umeda Sky Building and Tsutenkaku Tower, both had such a cool atmosphere. We also did Himeji and Kobe on the same day — it was a bit rushed, so we didn’t get to explore Kobe’s port, but what a beautiful city.

Next was Kyoto, and the vibe changed completely — much busier and way more touristy. We had to wake up super early a couple of times to enjoy some spots almost empty. Fushimi Inari was breathtaking, same for Kiyomizu-dera! Again, our schedule was too packed, and we couldn’t see everything we wanted. But the highlight was definitely staying in a ryokan and experiencing the kaiseki dinner and traditional breakfast — absolutely unforgettable 😍

We also made a quick stop in Nara — didn’t have much time, but the park alone was stunning!

Finally, we headed to Tokyo and Fujikawaguchiko, where we stayed one night. Once again, not enough time to do everything we planned. Shibuya was cool but honestly a bit too crowded for my taste. The observatory view of Tokyo though — incredible. Asakusa was a beautiful area to stay in!

Looking back, next time I want to go at a slower pace — maybe one main visit per day and then just chill and explore the city. Trying to see everything made it feel a bit rushed at times, and you end up not fully enjoying each moment.

So next year, I’ll be back — same route (Osaka → Kyoto → Tokyo) but with more days, and new stops in between like Gifu, Kamakura, Wakayama or Nikko. Can’t wait already 🇯🇵🔥

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Trip Report - The Usual Suspects (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Party-Deer8739 on 2025-11-10 08:37:33+00:00.

Just finishing up a 2 week trip here - Tokyo - Kinsoaki Onsen - Kyoto - Osaka - Tokyo.

Wow what a place, had such an amazing time. Japanese people are so unbelievably kind. Did not see even an ounce of resentment against foreigners (we're British), and every single person we encountered was lovely and welcoming. Was very refreshing coming from the UK where everyone is miserable these days.

This was our first time in Japan so by default we kind of had to do all the super well known touristy things by default.

That said things we did that I thought were great (I know most of these have been mentioned numerous times on here but just to reinforce:-

-Luggage forwarding - absolute game changer, spent about £70 throughout the 2 weeks here sending direct from one hotel to the next. Having now experienced the trains in person I can't believe we even considered risking not doing it. Don't be that dickhead on the train with 2 huge suitcases annoying everyone at peak times. Just use the luggage forwarding, it was the best money we spent the whole holiday, genuinely.

Tokyo - Did Sky tree during day and Shibuya Sky during the night. Both amazing but preferred Shibuya at night with the lights. Better than both though was the Sky bar place in the Asahi building...amazing view and can get properly pissed at same time!

Sensoji - our hotel overlooked it so we could literally go whenever we liked. Went at 5/6am each day (jet lag) and it was so much better than later on. It's like Disneyland after 10am and really takes away from the experience tbh, so hit it up early, most of the shops will be closed but they basically all sell the same tourist tat anyway, you're not missing out.

-Trip to Kamakura - Hokokuji Bamboo forest over Arashiyama all day long (get there first thing), get the green tea ticket as it's so nice having matcha looking out over the forest. Side quest - the cutest little cafe, run by the sweetest lady we've ever met in the middle of nowhere on the walk from Kamakura station to the bamboo forest - Nishimikado have cafe, food was top tier and so was the coffee.

-Kotoku-in - Deffo worth seeing, was very busy by the time we got there from Hokokuji though so a bit manic.

-Enoshina Island - also totally worth it. Went up the sea candle and the views were elite. Took the escalators though as we were absolutely knackered by this point in the day, no regrets.

Kinosaki Onsen - Quality little place highly recommend going. Was a bit of a trek from Tokyo but well worth it. Stayed in Nishimuraya Honken, expensive, but the Ryoken and the Kaiseki was about as good as you'll get anywhere in Japan.

Kyoto -The usual places were super busy at peak times - Arashiyama, Kinkaku-ji, Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizu- Dera. So we made sure we got to all of them for 6am (bar Kinkaku-ji which opens at 9), just as the sun was coming up. These places were dead at 6am and we had the whole place to ourselves pretty much for about 45mins - 1 hour. We were at the top of Fushimi-Inari by about 7.30am and the walk back down was just a constant stream of people on the way up, utterly horrific. Just get to all these places early and you won't experience any of the horror stories.

-With the above said about arriving early, we used taxis in Kyoto to get all of them except Kiyomizu-Dera (which was 5 mins from our hotel). Yes it was obviously more expensive than the bus, but at that time in the morning there was no traffic and the journeys were fast and reasonably priced. This was 100% worth it in our opinion. I would however never get a taxi after 7am though, the traffic in Kyoto is abysmal and the journey would cost 10 x more. The buses in Kyoto at peak times aren't a nice experience at all. Kyoto was probably my favourite place we went to all trip but the city isn't equipped for the ridiculous number of people who go there now, I can see why locals get fed up (not that we saw anything suggesting this).

-Wagyu Steak Hafuu Honten - highly recommend restaurant in Kyoto, the beef was outstanding.

Genko-An - Best temple we visited the entire trip. A bit of an uphill walk from Kinkaku-Ji, the history of it is badass and it's not overly visited.

Osaka -loved it here, but didn't love love it like everywhere else. The place gave me seedy Amsterdam vibes the whole time. Glad I've seen it, but wouldn't go back there when we eventually revisit Japan. Might be my age (late 30s), so if we were looking to be out till early hours clubbing then maybe I'd feel different.

Maze Cafe Namba - Class breakfast/Brunch place.

-On the whole don't stress looking for places to eat, I've never seen so many restaurants in my life and honestly believe you won't be disappointed in 95% of them. Didn't even bother with tabelog by the end, we just picked whatever we liked the look of and they were all amazing.

-Green car on Shinkansen all day long.

-Obvious advice but avoid travelling rush hour if you can, we had to get to Osaka from Kyoto early and the local trains at 8am were an experience I wouldn't want to repeat.

Things I won't miss (a very short list)-

Complete lack of bins, I know it's all people mention on here but it does boggle me the almost total absence of them, to the point you buy street food, eat it next to the stall or vendor you just bought it from and even they don't provide a bin, doesn't make sense to me at all.

-Spending what felt like half of my time in Japan waiting at road crossings, even when there were absolutely no cars on the road.

Don Quiote - didn't think the prices were actually that good, even with the tax rebate, they just seem to charge more in the first place so you don't actually save anything compared to other shops. Plus I felt like I was going to have a stroke every time I went in one, too busy, too much stimulation.

-Other tourists - I concede as a tourist myself I contribute to the overall problem of too many people, but the amount of entitled, total lack of self awareness and obnoxious behaviour we saw, particularly from Americans of a certain age 45+ (soz guys but it's true) was embarrassing. This culminated in our journey back from Kinosaki to Kyoto when "Martha and Barry" were having a full blown argument on the quiet carriage of the train annoying everyone. Fortunately (in this instance) as a westerner myself, I lack the grace and politeness of the Japanese and was able to tell them to pipe the fuck down. When you're there, just be quiet and act properly in public, don't be Martha and Barry.

Anyway, enough of my babbling - can't wait to go back again and see the lesser known, less touristy parts of Japan! What a place!

Hotels -

We stayed in these and highly recommend each of them:-

Tokyo - Omo3 Asakusa

Kinosaki Onsen - Nishimuraya Honkan

Kyoto - Gion Elite Terrace

Osaka - Centara Grand Hotel Osaka

Tokyo - Hotel Groove

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2-week trip report: Kyoto - Nara - Nagoya - Tokyo - Nikko - Hakone (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/isnotacrayon on 2025-11-08 18:14:00+00:00.

We are at the airport waiting for our (delayed) flight, so now seemed as good a time as any. I created a somewhat busy itinerary but we did a decent job sticking to a lot of it.

We arrived in Osaka around 3pm and headed straight to Kyoto because our hotel had a special event with a maiko that evening we didn't want to miss, which was wonderful. She didn't dance or play an instrument, but she did sing, answer our questions, and pose for photos. Immediately passed out afterward.

Day 1: I broke my glasses on the plane so our plans were derailed from the get-go. We spent the morning going to JINS and getting me new glasses, which only takes about an hour, but also exploring/shopping in the area until lunch. After lunch was our kimono rental before a traditional tea ceremony at Camellia FLOWER. One of my favorite parts if I'm honest. We decided to do part of our morning plan after that and walked to Kiyamizu-dera, then dinner.

Day 2: Started early at Ginkaku-ji Temple, then an early lunch at Omen (udon!). After lunch, the plan was to just follow the Philosopher' Path, detouring off for various shrines and temples. Not the most exciting day overall though we saw several beautiful places.

Day 3: Arashiyama bamboo grove early in the morning, though even at 730am, it was still pretty busy. Then we rode the Sagano Romantic Train one way, which I enjoyed a lot. We took the Hozogawa boats back, which was also enjoyable but a little too long of a trip. After lunch were Ryoan-ji and Kinkaku-ji temples (I preferred Kinkaku-ji).

Day 4: Day trip to Nara! We fed the deer first and foremost (they can be aggressive but I liked them anyway). Then we went to Todai-ji Temple to see the big Buddha, which was gorgeous. After lunch, we wanted to go to Mt Kasuga Primeval Forest, but it was pretty far, so we ended up heading back to Kyoto and exploring there more.

Day 5: Fushimi Inari in the morning. We are both disabled so didn't go all the way to the top but did what we could. Headed to Nijo Castle grounds after that and were amused while being interviewed by some high school girls practicing their English. It was very cute. Spent the rest of the day shopping.

Day 6: Shinkansen to Nagoya for Ghibli Park! We thought we might have time to visit the castle too, but no such luck. The park is definitely for people who enjoy taking photos and the idea of being immersed in the sets of their favorite movies. I thought it was fun but i can see why some people wouldn't. After that, back on the shinkansen and on to Tokyo where we had some of the best tsukemen of our lives at a place called Yasubee in Akihabara.

Day 7: Meiji-Jingu in the morning, at which point I pronounced myself temple'd out. Found the Hachiko statue. Went to Micasadeco & Co for the souffle pancakes which were divine. Found the Godzilla head and explored that area some.

Day 8: Teamlab Borderless, which i loved. Yes, its very instagrammy but I also found a lot of the art beautiful and interactive and fun. We went to Dawn Robot Cafe next, a very cool place that hires people who cannot leave home to work who operate robots that interact with customers. The woman we spoke to has a daughter with ALS who needs constant medical care. It was a great experience. We explored Akihabara that evening.

Day 9: Day trip to Nikko! We did this through a tour group. Went to Kegon Falls, saw Chezenji Lake, had a tour of Tosho-gu (which i liked despite my temple burnout), and saw Shinkyo Bridge. With travel, that took the entire day.

Day 10: Shopping around Tokyo, went to Tokyo Kimono Shoes and Kimono Reborn where they repurpose kimono into shoes, bags, other items. I loved it. We also hit up Nakano Broadway. In the afternoon, we went to a one-act kabuki play at Kabuki-za theater, which I really liked. You can get a tablet with English translation for the show (1 is enough for 2 people to share), and it was fascinating to see. I recommend buying your ticket the day before on the website because shows do sell out especially on weekends.

Day 11: Train to Hakone. We got there in the afternoon, took the shuttle bus provided by our ryokan, and spent the afternoon enjoying the hot springs and the fancy dinner at our ryokan.

Day 12: Started the day with a soak of course, but then went to the Hakone Open-Air Museum, which we loved. Lots of great sculptures, some interactive, and we had a good time. We took the train to the cable car to the ropeway next, and got some truly excellent views of Mt Fuji! We were so excited that we got so lucky because the morning had been quite overcast but it cleared up just in time. We had a (late) (mediocre) lunch at the pirate ship place, then headed back to the ryokan.

Day 13: Last day that involved nothing but getting from Hakone to Haneda airport.

My tips: *Pocari Sweat is a literal lifesaver, especially if you dehydrate easily. So is Coke Plus for fiber reasons.

*Nakano Broadway says it opens at 10am. That's pretty much a lie since most of the shops inside don't open til 12 noon, so don't try to go early.

*Folks aren't joking about needing a change purse. Bring one or get one.

*Enjoy carrying your trash for hours! If the cities in America didn't have trashcans, they'd be even more disgusting than they already are. Idk how Japan does it.

*Maybe it's the American Southerner in me, but I said "sumimasen" (excuse me) constantly. Definitely learn that if little else.

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30 days across Japan in Nov–Dec 2024 (Part I) (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/rynaut on 2025-11-08 01:34:48+00:00.

Here’s my long-overdue assortment of notes & tips from a family trip last year. Unfortunately some of it is already too late for the 2025 season, but we did a few things that I hadn’t seen extensive coverage on, so I hope to add some new information to the conversation for future travellers.

This part covers up to Setouchi; I had to split the posts as I exceeded the character limit!

Itinerary

|

This trip was rather meticulously planned to hit a number of different attractions and interests while alternating nature with city. Notable date constraints included:

≤15 November: Kamikōchi
≤20 November: Fujikawaguchiko Autumn Leaves Festival (more on this later)
23 November: Nagano Ebisukō Fireworks Festival
≤30 November: Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route
2–3 December: Chichibu Night Festival
≥30 November: Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu

We went for more boutique accommodation over large hotel chains, so I largely booked these months in advance to account for limited availability. The itinerary itself was largely settled a month in advance. I have notes of everything we ended up skipping on the day, and you'll see we were able to hold to most of it.

We likely missed out on some spontaneity from the structured itinerary, but we also got to experience plenty of things that would have been stressful or plain unfeasible to organise at the last minute. Swings and roundabouts.

Note that there were no provisions for jet lag as we flew in from the same time zone, and it wasn’t our first time in Japan, so we skipped some places we had already visited. We had a group of 4; it’ll be a lot easier to freewheel a solo or duo trip.

One oversight was that I didn’t go out of my way to account for bad weather. We saw rain on 4–5 days but were lucky that it didn’t disrupt our plans. The biggest risks going in were:

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, which may not run through to Tōyama depending on the weather. Our backup plan was to take the Hokuriku Shinkansen and dawdle around Tōyama, Kanazawa, or Kyōto.
Shimanami Kaidō, where we were lucky to have clear skies on both days. If I were to do this over, I’d try to include an additional buffer day just in case.

Takayama

14–17 November

Airport → Takayama

Chūbu Centrair is a convenient gateway to the alpine region via the Meitetsu Airport Line & Takayama Main Line. I was initially worried about timing the infrequent connection to Takayama (1–2 hour interval between services), but we were through immigration, baggage reclaim, and customs in under 30 minutes, such that I could bring forward our μSKY reservation.
Grand Kiosk (now seemingly PLUSTA) has a decent bento selection at in Nagoya Station.
I found the Hida limited express to be good, but not great. This was likely a combination of unrealistic expectations and suboptimal conditions (overcast weather approaching sunset). The HC85 series now comprise the rolling stock rather than the vaunted Wide Views, and as the sun dimmed, the overhead lights throughout the carriages turned half of the view out the windows into a reflection.
The Hida limited express changes directions at Gifu Station, so keep that in mind if you’re planning to reserve a specific carriage or side. Reserving the last carriage at Nagoya Station will have you seeing out of the rear up until Gifu Station, then the front from that point onward.

Takayama

The prototypical overtourism experience is heavily localised to specific streets, notably around Sanmachi-suji and Miyagawa Morning Market, though you can somewhat beat the crowds if you’re staying nearby and head out early. At night, this gives way to a serene calm along the river.
Restaurants generally took reservations. I had no problem emailing Kyōya for a table a month in advance, but many steakhouses were fully booked a couple weeks out and we saw groups turned away at ...

Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/1orcmbh/30_days_across_japan_in_novdec_2024_part_i/

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Trip report for 12 nights in Japan - I had an amazing time. My advice: don't pack in more than you think you can handle (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/joan2468 on 2025-11-07 08:19:30+00:00.

Hi everyone, my husband and I went to Japan for the first time for about 2 weeks (12 nights total). We are a couple in our early 30s with interests in food, culture / history, and shopping. We did Tokyo, Kyoto and a day trip to Nara and we had a fantastic time. We learned so much about Japanese culture and lifestyle and it was probably our most eye-opening trip to date.

Compared to some of the itineraries I see on here ours probably looks quite boring / tame, but we felt that it was the right pace for us. We hate rushing around, we prefer to take our time sightseeing and we aren't huge travellers usually so we tried to prioritise what we wanted to see and we didn't do a ton of day trips. To be honest, even with just doing Tokyo Kyoto and Nara we already felt we were quite exhausted by the end so I salute people who are doing more packed itineraries!

Highlights / recommended activities (obviously all my opinion):

I'd imagine any of the really famous temples and shrines would be worth seeing, but I really enjoyed Meiji Jinggu, Senso-Ji and Todaiji.
We really enjoyed the more cultural experiences we booked, particularly the tea ceremony where we learned a lot about Japanese tea culture and philosophy and we got to participate in it ourselves.
It's so cliche but I somewhat underestimated how much I would like Kyoto - I thought it would be super touristy and annoying but the city is beautiful and has a great vibe even beyond the most famous touristy spots (once you get beyond those, it's fine crowd-wise in Kyoto). There's just something about the historic streets with the traditional architecture that I really enjoyed. We chose to do Gion at night as we happened to have a free evening and there were hardly any tourists there, so I managed to get some beautiful pictures. I am not a morning person by any means so I wouldn't have managed to catch it at like 7-8am, this was a good alternative imo.
Our first hotel had an onsen for hotel guests, which I got to use a couple of times and really enjoyed. I've heard mixed reviews about actual public bathhouses in Japan, so if you want to try an onsen and can get a hotel that has one I would highly recommend!

Other reflections / observations:

1. Train stations in Tokyo:

I underestimated how big, stressful and confusing the train stations and metros in Tokyo would be. I am a Londoner and have always lived in cities but Tokyo's stations are a different level of intensity, scale and busy-ness, especially really big interchange stations like Shinjuku and Shibuya.

When we arrived we had to do a change somewhere (I forgot where), and despite turning on accessibility options on Google Maps (as we had one large luggage) for the life of us we couldn't figure out where the lifts were and ended up just carrying the luggage down stairs.

We also got lost in Tokyo Station trying to find the right Shinkansen gate - apparently because we had QR code tickets (bought off of SmartEX), we had to use a particular gate and we spent about 15-20 minutes trying to figure out where this was. If you have a train or flight to catch definitely always budget some extra time to figure out the station itself, don't assume you will be able to just go through it all smoothly.

Budget more time in one city:

If you can, I would recommend spending a bit longer than you think you need in one city. I don't know how people are out there doing Tokyo in anything less than 5 days, or Kyoto in 2-3. Once you account for travel / transfer days, jetlag and needing to rest, any bad weather days that might limit sightseeing or just that you got sidetracked checking out something else that wasn't planned on your itinerary, that's barely enough time in those cities imo.

3. Restaurants and reservations

We only needed reservations in advance for our three more upscale meals, which we booked online via Tabelog etc. Otherwise, we either walked in or just made a reservation last minute on the day. We found that most of their eateries are quite small and more catered to solo diners or couples, so if you're travelling in a big group you would likely struggle more to just walk in somewhere I think.

The itinerary we ended up with (if interested!)

For context, we only do very rough itineraries when we travel and tend to just have a list of places / sights we want to check out but not fix them to particular days or timeslots! This is what we ended up doing :) We usually start our day around 9-10am and come back to the hotel by around 5-6pm to rest up before having dinner somewhere in our local area, and then we usually just relax after dinner or at most maybe wander around our local area.

Skipping Osaka

Contrary to most first time Japan itineraries we chose to skip Osaka this time around as we felt like there was plenty enough to see and do in Tokyo, which provided more than enough "big city" vibes for the trip, and we feel it was the right decision in the end not to tack on yet another new city to figure out at the end. However, we absolutely see ourselves going back to Japan and will do Osaka next time.

Days 1 to 6: Tokyo

Day 1: Arrival at Haneda early afternoon, get bearings, sushi omakase dinner at Osushi no Joe in Roppongi. We were very jetlagged so we ended up napping and not doing much.
Day 2: Shibuya (Scramble Crossing, Meiji Jinggu, including the Meiji Jinggu Museum which most people seem to skip), and a bit of Harajuku (checked out some streets and spent a bunch of time at the Cosme lol)
Day 3: Tsukiji Market tour, Ginza
Day 4: Asakusa (Senso-Ji Temple, Nakamise Shopping Street, Asakusa Don Quijote)
Day 5: Lunch reservation at Sukiyaki Asai. Omotesando, Shinjuku.
Day 6: Ueno Park, Tokyo National Museum, Amenoyo-kocho

Days 7 to 11: Kyoto

Day 7: Arrive via Shinkansen, check in. Sake tasting event organised by hostel. Get bearings, Pontocho Alley and Gion District at night (including Sannenzaka, Shirakawa Canal, etc).
Day 8: Fushimi Inari late AM / early PM. We took a detour down a little bamboo forest where there were basically no other tourists, which allowed us to feel that we could skip Arashiyama as it was on the other side of the city from our hostel. Day trip to Nara for deer and Todaiji Temple in the PM. Dinner reservation at Jiki Miyazawa.
Day 9: Rained heavily so we were limited in sightseeing. We had lunch/wandered around Nishiki Market (which was very crowded), and then we had a more relaxed day where we did some shopping / wandered around some streets more local to our area and came across some beautiful shops with incredible ceramics. We also did a tea ceremony.
Day 10: More relaxed day (as we were burning out a bit from sightseeing at this point!) - Nijo Castle and prep to leave for Tokyo.

Days 11 to 13: Back at Tokyo

Day 11: Arrive via Shinkansen, check into new hotel, relax
Day 12: Last bit of souvenir shopping in Ginza
Day 13: Depart from Haneda Airport in the AM.

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Magical Japan - A Trip Report : Tokyo, Kamakura & Enoshima, Kanazawa, Takayama, Gero, Osaka, Kyoto. (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Tricky_Confidence_72 on 2025-11-06 13:03:11+00:00.

Hi friends, I’m a 35yo Indian woman and I travelled to Japan for 13 days from 1st - 13th Oct and this is my Trip report.

I'm a fairly easy-going traveler. I like culture, food, and design, but I didn’t want to rush around or tick every tourist box. I’m not a very active person normally, but before the trip I practised walking 10K steps a day for about three weeks. That really paid off in Japan as I averaged between 18–25K steps a day and handled it surprisingly well. My Nike Pegasus shoes were absolute lifesavers.

My travels covered Tokyo (w day trip to Kamakura and Enoshima), Kanazawa, Takayama, Gero, and Osaka (w day trip to Kyoto) without JR Pass. The weather mostly stayed pleasant with a few spells of light rain here and there and 2 days of heavy rain, but overall the temperature was ideal for walking and sightseeing.

Here is my day wise Itinerary, tips and learnings. But let me first tell you that Japan is a magical place and no matter how many TikTok and reels you see and feel that you have information fatigue, it will still blow your mind :)

Tokyo (Days 1–5)

Day 1 - Arrival - Stay at Wise Owl Hostels, Azumabashi

We landed in Tokyo in the evening and took the train to Azumabashi. Our hostel was just a short walk from several attractions, so instead of calling it a night, we went straight to Sensō-ji Temple. Seeing it illuminated at night was incredible. We wandered through the quiet streets, found a small sushi bar nearby, had a lovely dinner, grabbed a beer and called it a night.

Day 2 - Museums, Markets & Shinjuku Nights

Started the day with soufflé pancakes for breakfast lol, then explored Kappabashi Street, famous for its kitchenware, ceramics, and knives. From there we visited the Tokyo National Museum, which was excellent - highly recommend it. We strolled through Ueno Park, then to Akihabara played a few arcade games (was weird to see young girls dressed as anime characters calling you inside stores though), and later took the train to Shinjuku. We had drinks at a bar called House of Pain — the bartender was fantastic, and spent the evening exploring the narrow alleys of Nishi-Shinjuku lined with tiny restaurants. It was pure Tokyo magic. The lights, the lanterns, gosh, i was in love.

Day 3 - Harajuku, Meiji Shrine & Shibuya

Spent the morning wandering through Harajuku, café-hopping and shopping for quirky finds. Then visited Meiji Shrine, a peaceful contrast to the energy of Harajuku. Walked to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building for sunset views, stayed to watch a light show outside, and ended the night in Shibuya, ticking off both the Hachiko statue and the iconic Shibuya Crossing.

Day 4 - Markets, Art & Shopping

Visited the Toyosu (Tsukiji) Fish Market early in the morning for sushi breakfast, then went to teamLab Planets, spent the afternoon shopping around Ginza before heading back to the hostel for a relaxed evening.

Day 5 - Day Trip to Kamakura & Enoshima

Took a day trip to Kamakura and Enoshima Island. very quaint town, coastal views, temples, and quiet streets. loved every bit of it.

Day 6 - Kanazawa

We took the morning Shinkasen from Tokyo to Kanazawa. Our hotel, SOKI Kanazawa, was lovely - spacious rooms and an onsen that was tattoo-friendly, which I really appreciated. Kanazawa was quieter and had a slower rhythm after Tokyo. We explored the Higashi Chaya district, admired the traditional wooden houses, and visited the Kenroku-en Garden, which absolutely lived up to its reputation. Ended the day with a relaxed dinner near the castle area.

Day 7 - Kanazawa to Takayama

Took a scenic afternoon train from Kanazawa to Takayama, passing through beautiful mountain valleys. We stayed at Hotel Wood, another great find — big rooms, lovely interiors, and again, a tattoo-friendly onsen. The town itself felt like stepping back in time. We walked through the preserved Edo-period streets, browsed the little craft shops, and ended the evening with sake and local food in one of the tiny restaurants nearby.

Day 8 - Takayama

A full day in Takayama. We started with the Miyagawa Morning Market, tried Hida beef skewers, and wandered through the Sanmachi Suji streets. Takayama is small enough to do mostly on foot, so we took it easy, just soaked in the town’s atmosphere and did some souvenir shopping.

Day 9 - Gero Onsen Town

From Takayama, we took the train to Gero, one of Japan’s famous onsen towns. We stayed at Japanese Modern Hotel, a comfortable property slightly uphill from the station. The rooms were spacious, and the view from the window overlooked the hills. We spent most of the evening relaxing in the open air foot bath — it was quiet, local, and exactly what we needed before heading to Osaka.

Day 10 - Osaka Arrival

Took a train to Osaka (via Nagoya). Checked into Grand Hotel LDK Osaka in Shimanouchi, which turned out to be perfect — large room, central location, and close to all major attractions. In the evening we walked to Dotonbori, watched the neon lights come alive, ate takoyaki and okonomiyaki from street stalls, and soaked in the energy.

Day 11 - Osaka Sightseeing & Shopping

Explored Shinsaibashi Shopping Street and Amerikamura, insane vintage shopping districts honestly. Stopped at Osaka Castle in the afternoon, then had dinner in Namba, where we found a cozy izakaya. Osaka felt livelier and more playful compared to Tokyo — full of colour and food.

Day 12 - Kyoto day trip

Now, one of the days we did a day trip to Kyoto. And let me tell you, the moment I got there I was like, “Why didn’t I plan more time here?” But it’s all good. I’d kind of intentionally kept Kyoto short to avoid the big tourist crowds, but it’s just so beautiful that you can’t help but want more time. We explored the samurai and geisha districts, walked around the main temples, and just sitting by the canals with those lined-up little shops was honestly such a vibe. The geisha district especially - it’s just so well-maintained and charming that it blew my mind.

Day 13 - Osaka

We spent our last day revisiting favourites - more shopping, last-minute souvenirs, and one final meal near Dotonbori. Packed up in the evening and got ready for our flight home the next morning

Tips :

although my shoes were perfect for long distance walking, I wish they were waterproof. So please get waterproof shoes. The rains are a little unpredictable here and they go on for long hours.
if you like something just buy it because you won't be able to see the same shop again because there is so much to see
Buy a phone holding stringy thingys because you to constantly take your phone to take photos or translate or Google maps.
BTW Google maps works fabulously well. Select your needed accessibility feature, and it will even give you routes which makes you take no stairs.
Japan's cities are high on walkability. As an Indian who has travelled a bit of Europe and Middle East as well, I have never seen such walkable cities and towns as Japan.
I booked my Shinkasens usually 1-2 days prior and picked up tickets from the station in the morning before traveling. Did not book it before. what's important is that you have enough time to get in a queue? Take your ticket, then reach the platform and also queue again for getting a seat in the unreserved coach. For eg - the train to nagoya had a good 20 people who had to stand and travel because it was busy.
Japan is extremely efficient. The questions is would you be able to keep pace with it hehe.
Book hotels and hostels you can walk to from stations. Can't stress this enough.
Always look up the google review of places. Either go to a well reviewed place and bars (which we did and I would rate my food experience a 7/10) or places which already have queues. That guarantees a good taste mostly.

Japan doesn't shout to impress you, it whispers. It hums quietly under fluorescent light, between sliding shut train doors and a ramen chef's nod that means you're welcome. Somewhere between neon night in Osaka and silent morning in Takayama, I came to a realization - this country is not to be done. You don't check Japan off a list. You absorb it-one step, one sip of broth, one bow, one smile at a time.

I found myself slowing down everywhere we went: eating slower, talking softer, looking longer. In a world that often rewards loudness and speed, Japan rewards presence-an art I didn't know I was missing until I was already knee-deep in it.

I can't wait to go back. What a place! What a country!

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Trip Report (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/SoldierDog59 on 2025-11-05 15:02:23+00:00.

Just returned from 14 days in Japan with my wife and 13 yr. old son, picked up quite a few tips from here so thought I'd return the favour. Our plan was see the main cities plus also explore the countryside\mountains in autumn and preferred not to just do all the standard touristy things.

Osaka (3 nights)

Explored the City and markets.
Osaka Castle & grounds.
Koyasan Day trip - From Gokurakubashi Station we hiked up rather than taking the cable car. Took the Fudouzaka pilgrimage route to Nyonin-do Hall which is pretty steep but along a concrete track then the womens route to Daimon gate which is a rooty track with plenty of steps, probably took a couple of hours or so to get the top. Explored the many many impressive shrines in Koyosan before entering the Okunion cemetery, the thousands of moss covered tombstones intertwined with huge cedar trees is pretty spectacular. Took the bus to Koyasan station and then cable back to Gokurakubashi Station. Well worth the trip, the plus being you will never need to visit another shrine again! Had originally planned to stay here for the night in a temple for the Buddhist experience but I think you need to book months in advance, the prices were ridiculous when I looked on short notice.

Kyoto (2 nights)

Fushimi Inari Shrine - walked up to the halfway viewpoint before coming back down on another route. Very crowded.
Arashiyama & Monkey park - super busy but great weather made it worth while.
Samurai Ninja Museum - won a Shuriken throwing competition.
Nishiki market
Pontocho Alley in the evening.
Kurama Fire Festival - Had read a couple of horror stories about this but it was fine, well worth the trip. Yes there were a lots of people but it was extremely well marshalled. After reading about it, my initial strategy was to leave at around 8pm before the crowds at the train station. It didn't quite work out like that; the festival starts at 6pm, we arrived at around 4pm, we didn't need to and explored the town and lower shrine. The first hour was the kids parade with a few small torches, The main torches started to be lit around 7pm but the parade didn't really get going till around 8pm. We passed the station doing the enforced loop at just past 8 and the queues at the station were already large. We had also read that special buses were being laid on from 8.30pm so decided to take that option. Just after nine we headed down the hill at the bottom of the loop. After a 15 min or so walk we arrived at the buses, jumped straight on with no wait and shortly after taken to a subway station, easy.

Takayama (2 nights)

Stayed in a Ryokan, basic but great fun, had many laughs putting on our supplied yukata for the first time.
Explored the old town
Takayama Jinya - didn't expect much but this was actually really interesting, plenty to see.
Kamikochi Day Trip - Took the Nohi bus to Hirayu Onsen, then changed to get the bus to Kamikochi. Got off at the Taisho Pond stop (K-28), walked along the path round the pond past Tashiro bridge, crossed the Kappa Bridge following the trail to Myojin Pond, over Myojin bridge and back to the bus station. Its about a 9/10 km walk with great scenery. Unfortunately we went on a Saturday and it was also a lovely sunny day and the start of leaf season so boy was it crowded and jammed with instagramers on Kappa bridge.

Masumoto (1 night)

Masumoto Castle - very crowded and not as impressive inside as I'd hoped.
Merchant district

Tokyo (4 nights)

TeamLabs Borderless.
Shibuya, Shinjuku & Harajuku. Shibuya PARCO for Pokemon, Nintendo etc. Shinjuku Gyoen to chill. Harajuku for shopping - my wife could have spent days here!
Shimokitazawa District - Never knew old second-hand, sorry 'Retro' clothes could be so expensive.
Nikko Day Trip - From the station took a bus to Kegon Falls. After exploring the falls and getting some snacks we got on the bus to Ryuzu Falls (Stop 37). Hiked up the river on the trail on the eastern side exploring the various small waterfalls then north-west across the Senjogahara marshlands via the observation deck passing through several bear gates to Yudaki falls (about 2+ hrs). Very scenic walk, easy to follow and pretty quiet. Weather started out great but by the end it was snowing lightly and very cold, so took the bus back from just outside the Yudaki falls car park. Easy to extend by also going around Lake Yunoko to Yumoto Onsen.
Hakone Day Trip - Romancecar to Hakone-Yumoto Station. Took Bus route T getting off at Sengoku Annaijo Mae bus stop (247). Walked along the road for 10/15mins until the sign post for Mount Kintoki trailhead alongside the Kintoki Shrine. Steep, rocky and rooty trail leads to top and took us about 90 mins, this is a proper hike so beware. Stunning views across Hakone and the lake from the top and a small shack cafe selling Noodles. Mt. Fuji was unfortunately covered in cloud on arrival but as the weather was clearing we stayed at the top for over an hour and were finally rewarded with picture perfect views. Headed down following the signs to Otome pass, along the path past the viewing platform coming out at the Otome Toge bus stop opposite Fujimi cafe (about 1 hr), cafe closes at 16.30. More great views from here or you can take the trail next to the cafe to the Otome no Kane (maidens bell), about 10 mins walk for more great views. Take the bus on Route G or W (opposite side to the cafe) changing back onto Bus route T to get back the station. Really enjoyed this and only saw a handful of people on the trails; so glad we didn't do the Hakone loop.

Osaka (1 night)

Shopping in Shinsaibashi
Halloween Party

Apps Used

Google Translate
Google Maps
Japan Transit Planner (needs to be installed in Japan or use a VPN)
Japan Wi-Fi auto-connect - connects to Wi-Fi in many Shops & cafes etc.

Surprises

Prevalence of English - signs, menus, maps & transport etc, rarely struggled
Cost of food & drink - very reasonable even in the cities

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Trip Report: 2.5 Weeks of Nature & History (Kansai, Shimanami Kaido, Hiroshima) (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Taggerino on 2025-11-05 14:11:52+00:00.

This subreddit helped me a lot in planning my trip, so I thought I'd return the favour and share a recap of my recent solo trip as first time traveler. To give a little background to see whether my itinerary will suit you: I'm 32 years old and I would describe myself as reasonably fit. I like to hike through nature and to visit cultural or historical sites. I'm totally not interested in things like theme parks, nightlife and shopping, hence why I decided to skip the usual first timer Tokyo-Osaka-Kyoto loop to take a more personal fitting route. Packed light by only taking a carry on backpack with me. Planned this trip for October knowing I would miss out on most if not all autumn foliage, but avoiding peak crowds as trade off. To prevent having a checkbox itinerary I allowed myself to plan just two items for most of the days with an occasional third item if on the route.

My overnight stays were as follows:

Kyoto (8 nights), Shimanami Kaido (2 nights), Hiroshima (3 nights), Koyasan (1 night), Sakurai (2 nights)

I flew from Amsterdam to Osaka with a short transfer in Taipei. Direct flights were available, but more than twice as expensive. Already had customs form, eSIM and Suica configured on my phone before leaving and that all worked out neatly. Arrival wasn't the smoothest. There was some issue with the trains and as a result of that I had to wait for almost an hour on a steaming hot platform. I was so tired my body just started to protest and felt so unwell. Still don't know to this date how I managed to reach the hotel.

Central Kyoto

Didn't really have a jet lag, so compared to the day before that was really nice. Rented a bike and cycled along the Kamo river towards Kinkaku-ji. Busy, but manageable. Made some beautiful pictures, though I get the common critique that beside doing that on a few particular spots there isn't much else to it. Took a small detour towards the nearby Genko-an as I was interested in the blood ceiling. There were only three other people and you could hear the birds chirping in the garden. Such huge contrast with the previous temple. My final stop was at Nijo castle. The squeaky nightingale floor is pretty cool and also had a drink with a lovely view from the tea house.

Western Kyoto

Had a reserved time slot for Koke-dera first thing in the morning. It's pretty expensive and kind of locks your itinerary for the day, but the moss garden is just amazing. Had the garden completely for myself the first twenty or so minutes. Then climbed up the mountain towards the monkey park. Fun to see the roaming monkeys and also has a nice view on the city. The rest of the day I explored Arashiyama without any specific goal. Initially wasn't that interested in the bamboo forest as I expected huge crowds, but when I walked past the entrance there were only a handful of people. Also bumped into a small temple run by two lovely ladies who made me a beautiful autumn themed goshuin and gifted me a handmade coaster.

Eastern Kyoto

Strolled from the hotel to Sanjusangen-do. Please do not miss out on this one. Don't see this temple mentioned that often compared to others, but the first time entering the main hall is an experience you will never forget. You aren't allowed to take pictures and it seems as result of that the ratio of elderly visitors is way higher. Walked towards Kiyomizu-dera and oh my the amount of people, it was really bad and it also started to drizzle. Glad I got to see the temple and nearby district, but it was so overcrowded and together with the crappy weather it hurt the experience a little bit. Took a spot at the bridge near Heian-jingu, as today was October 22nd and the Jidai Matsuri parade would pass soon. The skies started to clear and really enjoyed watching the parade, which took well over 1.5h to pass.

The mountain and the lake

Hiked all the way to the top of Fushimi Inari Taisha, took a loop around the top and finally made my way down through another route. I think I spend a good three hours there. Amazing hike. I knew this wouldn't fill the whole day, so planned it with a trip to Hikone, of which I also knew it probably wouldn't take all day and couldn't fit nicely elsewhere. Visited the castle with a beautiful sight on lake Biwa. Also checked out the nearby museum, which holds various old artifacts including some incredible looking red samurai armour. There was also some sort of meet and greet going on with their local mascot Hikonyan, which was really cute to watch, though I couldn't understand anything being said.

Day trip to Nara

Took an early train towards Nara and then walked to Todai-ji. The scale of it is just incredible. Images don't really do this building any justice and the same goes for the statues inside. Thought it would be easy for me to crawl through the gap in the pole since I'm pretty slim, but my hips didn't agree. Was waiting in line with a primary school class and they cheered me on haha. If you want to feed the deer I suggest to look for one that is alone. Saw so many tourists try to feed a group, which isn't going fast enough, resulting in headbutts and clothes being pulled. When walking towards Kasuga Taisha I got greeted by an overly excited deer who jumped at me out of nowhere, damaging my watch. Not cool! I finished sooner than I anticipated. Since I would pass Uji on the way back I decided to pick up an originally scrapped plan by taking a quick stop at Byodo-in and also ate some delicious matcha ice cream.

Northern Kyoto

Made my way to Kurama and did the hike over the mountain. Pretty cool things to see like a tengu statue, huge pine trees and exposed tree roots. Most people I was with in the train took the cable car up, but I think that's a bad decision as you miss out on a pretty cool shrine. The part down the mountain towards Kibune wasn't as interesting in my opinion. Used the remainder of the day visit the final temple on my wish list: Ginkaku-ji. The temple itself looks rather basic for something that is often listed high on itineraries, maybe underwhelming even, however the garden surely makes up for it. In the evening I watched the show at GEAR. Won't spoil anything about it, but it was simply amazing. Went in completely blind and was positively surprised. Can highly recommend.

Day trip to Amanohashidate

Departed with the first Hashidate limited express I booked two days prior towards Amanohashidate, then immediately transferred to the bus to Ine. Sailed around the bay with one of the smaller fishermen operator boat tours. I think that's a way better experience than the big touring boat most people use, as you get way closer the buildings and aren't swarmed by seagulls. Afterwards walked around town a bit more before returning with the bus. Took the cable car on the north side up the mountain to Kasamatsu park. Amazing view and also did the 'matanozoki' of course. Ended the day by walking over the sand bar back to the train station. The return train departs at 6PM, which is kind of annoying as after 5PM everything closes down and it also becomes dark already, making it feel a bit like a wasted hour. Even though it's a long day I think it works out pretty well.

Stopover at Himeji

Checked out of my hotel and went to Himeji by shinkansen to go to the castle. When I was on the grounds they were announcing on the speakers nobody was to be let inside the castle anymore due it becoming too busy, even though the grounds felt pretty empty. When I arrived at the entrance I could enter just fine, so not sure what was up with that. The nearby Koko-en garden is really nice with a lot of different themed sections, though most plants were already past their peak at this point. In the afternoon I made my way to Onomichi to prepare for the next part of my trip.

Shimanami Kaido

Picked up my rental bike and there were a bunch of police officers taking photos of cyclists. More in the sense of like a promotion, but not sure what was going on there. Followed the recommended route indicated by a blue line on the road. On Innoshima I took a small detour off the route to Shiratakiyama. This was a stupid idea, as I had to climb up a road with a 13% incline to get there. In the end it paid off though, as it has a beautiful full panoramic view. On Omishima I dropped my bag off at the hostel and continued west towards the Oyamazumi Shrine Treasure Hall. At first it felt a bit underwhelming as I only saw like two pieces of armour. Then entered a dark small adjacent building, the lights suddenly turned on and there were like twenty armor sets from the year 1100-1400 on display. Amazing these items got preserved. Also want to give a small shout out to a huge mysterious looking tree I bumped into nearby called Ikiki no Gomon, which has a path carved right through.
The next day I continued cycling southbound. I don't learn from my mistakes, so I came up with the genius plan to check out Kirosan. It isn't that far off the route, but this meant going up at an average of 9% for 4km. Was quite the effort to word it mildly. Using an e-bike would certainly have helped. At the top you can see the final bridge hopping along some small islands into the distance. Easily the best view of this trip. Crossed the final bridge and snapped some pictures at the Shimanami Kaido sign with the bridge in the background to round things up. After turning in my bike I took a ferry to Hiroshima.

**Hir...

Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/1op3x49/trip_report_25_weeks_of_nature_history_kansai/

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Only two days in Kanazawa - too packed? (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Dry-Distribution6164 on 2025-11-04 14:07:46+00:00.

My first trip to Japan is coming up and I included two days and one night in Kanazawa in late November. It will be near the end of our trip. A little bit afraid of it being too packed to actually enjoy the city, as I don't know how big each of these places actually is.

We are going with only our backpacks, as the luggage will be forwarded to our next hotel in Tokyo.

Day 1:

Arrival from Osaka around lunch time

Lunch at Omicho Market

Walk through Kenroku-en Gardens

Seinsokaku Villa

Go to the hotel for check-in

Higashi Chaya district at 4 or 5pm (I was hoping to get the shops still open)

Day 2:

Kanazawa Castle

Oyama Shrine

Lunch

Nomurake Samurai House

Walking around Nagamachi Samurai District

Some shopping around the train station until our late train to Tokyo

Any opinions?

If there is anything unmissable in Kanazawa I did not include, let me know!

18

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Kyoto Itinerary - what to skip (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/HalloweenQueen896 on 2025-11-03 14:57:16+00:00.

Hi all, currently on my honeymoon here in Japan, we will be staying in Kyoto 11/4 (tomorrow) - 11/10. Trying to avoid temple burnout and hoping to get some advice on what to skip, especially with temples if any are overrated. Here is a general itinerary:

Tuesday 11/4: Travel from Hakone to Kyoto - arrive approx 2:15 PM Check in to hotel 3 PM Explore Nishiki, Gion & Pontocho? (Should we move these to a regular full day? Gion Duck Rice dinner?

Weds 11/5 - Northern Temples: Kinkaku-Ji Ninna-Ji Nijo Castle Nijo Kuzuki - 7 PM dinner reservation

Thursday 11/6- Arashiyama Day: Arashiyama Bamboo Forest as early as possible! 10 AM res early lunch at Arashiyama Itsukichaya Tenryu-Ji Arashiyama Monkey Park Togetsuyo Bridge Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple Sushi Fukugawa Ryuji 7 PM dinner reservation

Friday 11/7: Nov 7 – Nara Day Trip - morning - afternoonBreakfast/early lunch at Honke Daiichi-Asahi (#1 ramen shop in Kyoto City, 4 minutes from train station)Todai-ji Temple + Giant BuddhaNara Deer ParkKasuga Taisha ShrineNaramachi old townKakinoha Sushi Tanaka before returning to Kyoto

Friday 11/8 - Higashiyama & Philosopher’s Path:

Tea Ceremony - Maikoya - 11 AMKatsukara Tonkatsu Sanjo for early lunchHigashiyama WardKiyomizu-dera TempleWalk through Sannenzaka & Ninenzaka Continue to Philosopher’s Path and Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion)Gion Nikutei Shin - 7 PM dinner

Saturday 11/9- Yokai festival and Fushimi Inari: Gion Yakiniku Gyusho Shin - 12 PM reservationYokai FestivalFushimi InariTofuku-ji Temple Wagyu Ryotei Bungo Gion 7 PM dinner

Any advice is appreciated thank you:)

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First Time in Japan - 2 Weeks. Over-planned? (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Significant-Hunt-161 on 2025-10-30 14:13:53+00:00.

Hey everyone!

I’m heading to Japan for the first time this November and got a little carried away with my planning.

It’s a mix of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka — all in two weeks.

Would love to hear your thoughts: does this seem doable, or too much?

November 5 – Tokyo (Shinjuku, arrival)

Arrive at Haneda Airport around 2 PM
Check into Airbnb in Shinjuku
Explore the area & have dinner
Possibly a walk in Golden Gai

November 6 – Tokyo (Shibuya)

Explore Shibuya
Gotokuji Temple
Evening: Shinjuku Central Park & Government Building (view)

November 7 – Tokyo

Teamlab Borderless (9:30–10 AM entry)
Tokyo Tower – Lunch and Hamarikyu Park / Tsukiji Market
Takeshita Street with animal cafés
Towards Harajuku (Liberty Walk)

November 8 – Tokyo Nature

Early morning departure for Fujisawa Station
Enoden Line via Koshigoe Park to Kamakura Park (Fuji view in good weather)
Continue to Houkokuji Temple with its bamboo forest
Return to Shibuya (shopping and strolling)

November 9 – Arrival in Kyoto

Departure from Shinjuku → Shinkansen ride to Kyoto
Check-in at Airbnb Kyoto
Lunch and Higashi Hongan-ji Temple
Alternatively: Yokai Festival (Toei Kyoto Studio Park) at 2:30 PM
Fushimi Inari-Taisha
Dinner and strolling around the Airbnb

November 10 – Kyoto Classics

Samurai Ninja Museum (book tickets online in advance)
Explore Higashiyama-ku, including a walk to Kiyomizu-dera (Sannezaka & Ninenzaka)
Philosopher’s Path and lunch at Hikiniku (book one week in advance!!)

November 11 – Kyoto West / Arashiyama

Early start to Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple and Adashino (small bamboo grove)
Lunch in the Tenryu-ji area
Optionally visit the Monkey Park and bamboo grove afterwards
Evening: To-ji Temple (illuminated 6–9:30 AM)

November 12 – Nara Day Trip

Morning: Nara Park, Todaiji Temple, Kasuga Taisha
Lunch in Nara
Afternoon: Kofuku-ji Temple, stroll through the old town
Evening: Return to Kyoto
Aokiyoshi Train

November 13 – Osaka Day Trip

Morning: Osaka Castle
Lunch: Explore Dotonbori, Kuromon Market
Afternoon: Umeda Sky Building (book tickets in advance if necessary)
Evening: Return to Kyoto

November 14 – Kyoto → Hiroshima → Fukuoka

Morning: Early departure for Hiroshima by Shinkansen → luggage storage
Lunch: Hiroshima Castle, walk to the Peace Memorial Museum
Return to the station, collect luggage, and continue by Shinkansen to Fukuoka
Evening: Check in and explore the area / dinner

November 15 – Fukuoka (Sumo Day)

Morning: Early start at Canal City Hakata (strolling)
Bring shopping hauls back to the hotel and relax for a bit
Noon: Around 1 PM, head to Kokusai Center
Evening: Ohori Park – unwind

November 16 – Return to Tokyo (Ueno Hotel)

Morning–Midday: Shinkansen Fukuoka → Tokyo, check-in at Ueno around 3 PM
Evening: (possibly Kappabashi) Asakusa Shrine and stroll through Nakamise Shopping Street

November 17 – Akihabara Electric Town

Explore Akihabara
Evening: Ueno Park

November 18 – Tokyo Departure

Buy breakfast and snacks

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Trip report Oct 2025 (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/hillsideforest on 2025-11-01 16:27:16+00:00.

Thank you to many who posted here and helped me with our trip plan. My summary here is only our favorite highlights, things I’d do differently next time, and general tips we learned for getting around.

Getting around Japan

We purchased a JR Pass with green level access and thought it was worth the extra cost, because this allowed us to reserve larger seats where the seats had a space behind the seats for large luggage (most passenger seats require putting bags on overhead racks. JR Pass also can be used for some local trains and subways.
Use Google Maps for getting around, and not Apple Maps (for iPhone). The latter sent us to the wrong place sometimes, and we learned that the underlying mapping data for Japan is superior in Google Maps.
Japanese addresses work differently than US addresses. Sometimes you need to enter map coordinates, or else a building name in Google maps, because the street address cannot be found.
SUICA IC card was very useful. In some rural areas, it’s cash only.
Tried a new app called Timeshifter, which helps you manage jet lag (we had 16 jours of travel time) and after we (mostly) followed the app’s instructions, it (mostly) eliminated our jet lag.

Tokyo: 2 days - things we loved

Fukagawa-Edo Museum - Life-sized reproduction of Edo-era street scenes.
Sumo wrestling practice
Team Lab Digital Art Museum - immersive digital art Regrets – Wished I would have made advanced reservations for the Ghibli Museum. Ticket purchases are quite competitive and you have to book way in advanced, else entry is not allowed.

Kyoto: 2.5 days - things we loved

Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design
Dinner at Giro Giro Hitoshina restaurant. They do a modern take on traditional kaiseki (multiple course) set dinner. The food was delicious, the ambiance is unique, and it was a lot of fun to sit and eat at the counter and watch the chefs make each of the successive dishes that they place in front of you. Advanced reservation is required. This was a a fraction of what you would pay for such a dinner in the US.
Saihoji Temple (the “moss temple”) monastery and moss gardens. Take off shoes, and you are given a calligraphy pen for hand copying a Buddhist sutra or prayer, before entering the garden. Lovely.
Sanjuusangendou temple - 1,000 statues of Kannon, goddess of compassion. There are many wonderful temples in Kyoto. Our friend who lives in Kyoto says this is his favorite and we were also deeply impressed. Taiko drumming workshop - We all had a blast - one hour just for the four of us, for $44 pp. Might have done differently –
Otagi Nenbutsu-ji temple - 1200 stone sculptures of rakan (Buddha’s disciples), all with different facial expressions and poses, many are charming and humorous. It was closed on the day we went there. Wished we had done better planning and gone when it was open, that was a miss.
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove - Striking to see bamboo towering this tall, but I think it’s also possible to see lovely bamboo groves elsewhere.
Iwatayama Monkey Park, Arashiyama - Could have missed this easily; these monkeys are not in cages and roam freely but it still feels somewhat zoo-like because there are mobs of tourists.
Gion cultural walk and (apprentice) Geisha show - My husband and I would have passed on this because we suspected it might be a bit of a tourist gimmick, but one of our group wanted this so we all went. It was somewhat enjoyable but it seemed a bit long for what it offered and too overpriced.
Tenryuji temple restaurant - We were all sort of unenthused about the meal. I had hoped that it would feel like a shared Buddhist meal, but that’s not really the goal, it’s simply a vegetarian meal in a building on the temple grounds.

Kobe: 1 day - This museum is the one reason we went to Kobe and it was completely worth the effort.

The Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum is a 6 min walk from the Shin-Kobe station. Wood working techniques and tools used throughout Japan for many centuries. It was fascinating to learn how people managed forests, felled lumber, planned geometry for multi-story buildings, milled and shaped boards and joinery, planned geometry for multi-story buildings, and carved The clarity and beauty of the explanations and demonstrations is also impressive.

Hiroshima: 1 day including travel to Kumamoto

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, plus a walk through Memorial Park to the Atomic Dome. This is deeply sobering and memorable, important to see and relevant to our world now.

Central Kyushu Island: 4 days - This area was a highlight of our trip, and we loved it.

Takachiho Gorge - We followed walking trails around this beautiful, deep gorge with waterfalls.
Stayed for two nights in a traditional onsen ryokan in Minamioguni town, which is a small town in the mountains, full of natural hot springs. You are treated to kaiseki dinners and breakfasts and rooms are traditional style with tatami mats. Life slows down.
Hiked on a mountain trial in Aso-Kuzu National Park
Visited beautiful Nabegataki Falls near Minamioguni.
Kumamoto Castle - If you want to see castles, this is an impressive and beautiful one, and is one of three premier castles in Japan, along with Himeji and Matsumoto castles. Badly damaged in the 2016 earthquake, mostly repaired. I felt the interior displays became somewhat repetitive. Regrets – We had reserved a short helicopter ride with AriAir over Nakadake volcano caldera, which is one of the largest caldera in the world, and which is part of the Aso mountain range in central Kyushu Island. Flying over is the easiest way to see the caldera; sometimes people are not allowed to hike all the way up to the viewing platform because of the live volcanic conditions there, and cautions are given to people with asthma because of the gasses released. The flight was cancelled because of overcast conditions, and we were unable to reschedule for another day.

Fukuoka in northern Kyushu Island: 3 days (one of those days was spent taking trains and changing plans when our original trip to Yakushima Island was cancelled (see ‘Regrets’, below).

Takumi Arts & Crafts Gallery Really fun (and delicious, and inexpensive) eating at a yatai food stall on the street. This is a local tradition in Fukuoka, where you pull up a chair and sit around the cooks under a small open canopy; strangers chat with each other and it’s lively.
Guided tour of a historical museum and shrines. Learned how to pray and show respect when coming before a shinto shrine or passing under inari gates.
Day trip to the village of Daifazu, where there is one of Japan’s most important Shinto shrines, a beautiful old park area and an interesting history. Regrets
Our trip to Yakushima Island (a rare type of temperate rainforest environment, very beautiful and known for its unique and ancient Yakusugi cedar tree forests) — was cancelled! When we got to the southern port of Kagoshima, we were notified that the jetfoil ferry to Yakushima was cancelled due to gale winds, and we were unable to reschedule for a later date. We returned north and spent that time in Fukuoka, instead.

Shikoku Island: 1 day (including overnight)

Ritsurin Garden: A large, very beautiful strolling garden built by Edo lords, with ponds, orchards and forested areas.
Shikoku Mura is an open-air museum that exhibits traditional buildings from the Edo and Meiji Periods: farmhouses, workshops, storehouses, a kabuki theater, a vine bridge and a beautiful modern museum, all set along a mountainside slope flowing with waterfalls and streams.

Teshima Island: 1 day (including overnight)

Rented (reserved in advance) e-bikes from Teshima Bicycle Rental, rode around the 11-mile circumference of this hilly island, with views of the mountains, sea, rice fields, and through a few small villages, and one beach. Weather was beautiful. The villages have lots of small art galleries and we stopped into some of those.
Lunch at Shima Kitchen, reservation required
Dinner at Aruei restaurant (seats around 12 people, maximum) was perfection. Advance reservation is required, and can only be done via Facebook Messenger (note: most restaurants on this small island require advance reservations). Regrets
Teshima Art Museum - I did not make an advance reservation to go into this very unique museum, and so we were not allowed to enter. Bummer.

Tokyo: 3 days (plus another day to get there from Teshima)

The Japan Folk Crafts Museum - This is a small, quiet, dignified museum with beautiful work, located in a peaceful neighborhood just outside of the city center. We loved it.
Sumida Hokusai Museum - Hokusai is most famous for The Wave, but there is so much more worth seeing, and it was a real pleasure to discover the range and depth of his work. Some of it is also quite humorous.
Kappabachi “Kitchen Street” is fun to walk around. There is everything imaginable plus more, to shop for in the kitchen or restaurant category, including those plastic displays of restaurant meals that you see in Japanese cities, with plastic noodle dishes and so on.

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First trip to Japan (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/silverist on 2025-10-31 07:15:12+00:00.

Here's my lengthy trip report for my 14-day mid-October loop from Tokyo to Hiroshima and back:

Day 1: Landing and not much else.

Flight going in to Tokyo was delayed a couple of hours, so I just took the shuttle bus direct from Haneda to the hotel in Shinjuku and relaxed for the night.

Day 2: I'm on a ~~boat~~ battleship.

Took the local trains out to Yokosuka, went to the IJN Mikasa museum ship, then stopped at Yokohama on the way back to get lunch and a pin at Hard Rock Cafe. Forgot to go to the cup noodle museum or Chinatown because the weather wasn't that great to walk around in. Back to the hotel, then down to Shibuya to spend a couple of hours at a bar I originally planned to go the day before.

Day 3: Just too early for fall colours.

Rode the Shinkansen to Kanazawa, walked around the castle and Kenroku-en while waiting to check in to the hotel. There was just a tiny bit of orange on some of the maple trees when I visited, I'm sure a few weeks later would have been beautiful.

I signed up for a foodie tour hoping to spend the evening going random places with other people, though it ended up being just me and the tour guide for the night. The food was mostly good (I definitely would not eat snail again), but the sake bar at the end was great and the conversations I had with the tour guide were very engaging.

Day 4: A (small) taste of Osaka.

Shinkansen out to Osaka. I attended a cooking class, which also ended up being a private session as I was the only person signing up for that day. Still, it was pretty nice to make a Japanese-style omelette, taiyaki, and Osaka-style okonomiyaki.

I realized earlier in the day that my pants were starting to develop a tear in a pretty inconvenient spot, so I browsed through a couple of stores to find a new pair to use for the rest of the trip. Those pants ended up being the most expensive "souvenir" I would buy for the trip, at least they were made in Japan.

Had another foodie tour for the night, this time with a group of 5 other people. We were offered a mystery sashimi that ended up being whale which I would not have again (it didn't taste bad, but it wasn't great either and I just don't see the appeal).

Day 5: To the Races!

Train up to Kyoto, I started a IRL game event where you collect physical and digital stamps around the city to get some prizes at the end. I was able to get 3 of 8 before I stopped at the hotel to drop my backpack off, then headed for the Kyoto Racecourse to watch some horse races. I brought my most expensive lens, but was easily outclassed by the people next to me with kits that were easily 10x the price. Despite that, I was still able to get some nice shots of the main race at the end.

Returned to the hotel to enjoy a multi-course kaiseki dinner. It was the first time having shabu shabu, so I accidentally emptied the hot pot bowl before the small flame below it burned out, causing me to slightly panic as the remaining liquid boiled off and started to char.

Day 6: To the top and back.

Full day in Kyoto, walked the whole length of the national garden to Kawai Shrine and tried some "beauty water". Afterward, a local train and cable car up to the top of Mt. Hiei, then back down to walk the length of the national garden again while getting the remaining stamps for that game event. Once getting the prizes, I rushed to Kiyomizu Dera (managed to make it with about 40 minutes before closing) and got a few great evening shots overlooking the city. Ended the night with another kaiseki dinner. This time I knew how to shabu shabu properly.

Day 7: Day at the castle, night at the canal.

Shinkansen to Okayama, with a stop at Himeji Castle in between. Went to Kurashiki for the night and had a good margherita pizza with tiramisu. Ended the night back at the hotel with a couple of glasses of whiskey, then retired to the traditional Japanese room.

Day 8: The hunt for okonomiyaki.

Train ride out to Hiroshima. Dropped my bag at the hotel, went to the Shukkeien garden, then had some omurice for lunch. Signed up for a third foodie tour at the last minute, which was a pleasant evening ending with sampling 3 different okonomiyakis.

Day 9: The hunt for MORE okonomiyaki.

Full day in Hiroshima. Went to the Peace Memorial Museum, and walked through the park up towards Hiroshima Castle to attend a short archery introductory session. The instructor conducted the lesson seriously, which frustrated two European women that also attended enough to walk out causing a scene. After that distraction was over, I had the rest of the hour to myself and enjoyed the session (despite only hitting one of every 4 shots on the target). I managed to get to the Orizuru Tower to catch the sunset on the observation platform and folded a paper crane for the first time.

For dinner, I went into Okonomimura and had a delicious okonomiyaki (sensing a theme?) that was light and easy to devour.

Day 10: Fine, I'll do this myself. (By "this", I mean okonomiyaki.)

Next stop: Miyajima. But first, an okonomiyaki cooking class near the main station at Hiroshima. Now I just need to figure out how to set up a proper cooktop to make it at home.

Took the train, ferry, dropped off my backpack at the ryokan, then took the ropeways and hiked up to the top of Mount Misen (losing my camera lens cap down a cliff along the way). My feet especially did not like this day. Got back down and walked around Itsukushima Shrine during low tide.

One more kaiseki dinner, though I was not able to figure out how one eats a full shrimp with chopsticks. I decided to be a savage and use my hands to remove the shell, head, legs, and tail.

Day 11: This was supposed to be a rest day!

Shinkansen back to Tokyo. I couldn't get a direct train, so I got one with a changeover in Kobe to grab one of those special Kobe beef bento boxes. Pretty good. Went the rest of the way to the hotel in Odaiba and wandered around the nearby malls/Gundam/Statue of Liberty for the night.

Day 12: Do you like to get lifted?

Slowly made a half-loop through Tokyo, collecting eki stamps, stopping at the Ueno Hard Rock Cafe for lunch/pin. Looped the other way towards Ikebukuro to meet up with someone at a themed bar for a very interesting night. I also found a replacement lens cap at a used camera store! Stopped at Shinjuku/Harajuku/Shibuya for more eki stamps and visited the bar from the second night again before returning to Odaiba.

Day 13: Last day shopping.

Akihabara for shopping and a themed cafe. This was probably the second-worst day for my feet after Miyajima. Somehow managed to fit everything I brought for the trip and the things I bought in the same carry-on baggage. I was worried that I would have to buy a second suitcase.

Day 14: I should have extended this trip.

Return to US, one last okonomiyaki at Haneda, and a 7-hour layover at LAX. Given events, I could have spent another week in Tokyo at a cheap hotel and not miss anything work-wise.

Wrap-Up

Boy, did I miss okonomiyaki. I moved from a city that had one restaurant making it, to another city where it's an 8-hour drive to the closest place that makes it. I made sure to get my fill on this trip, and try out the difference between Osaka and Hiroshima style. (Osaka-style might be easier to make at home, but I prefer Hiroshima-style)

This might look like an unconventional/rushed trip compared to most others here, but I walk fast and get through things pretty quickly (especially being solo). I accomplished almost everything I planned to do (cup noodle museum must wait for next time), and had enough of an experience from each place to know where to focus more on next time.

It does bother me a bit after awhile when I travel solo, usually by the 2nd/3rd day of most of my trips, but my time in Japan was thoroughly enjoyable. The only times where being solo felt weird was during the kaiseki dinners and the themed cafe lunch I had in Akihabara. All the other dining places I went to there were conversations with the owners or being part of a food tour/cooking class, but those kaiseki dinners especially felt awkward eating alone, surrounded by couples and families.

Things that went especially well: Luggage shipping between hotels was easy. It was one bit I was more worried about going in that ended up having no issues at all, even the last leg from Hiroshima to Tokyo got delivered a day earlier than expected, just after I checked in at Tokyo and was about to go to my room.

Things I would do differently next time:

Spend less on lodging overall. Already got the kaiseki experience, and I will never use a public onsen.
Spend a bit more on better plane seats instead. (Can't sleep in Basic Economy)
Full JR Rail Pass was useful this time, don't need it next.
Take both carry-on and checked luggage. I had a rushed layover going to Japan this time, so I went carry-on only.

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Japan Trip September 2025 (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/mattlesnake2268 on 2025-10-31 07:06:23+00:00.

My wife and I benefited from this page so we are adding our trip details to help others! (Also posted this to JapanTravelTips) Going to share our highlights and lowlights as well as tips. Our itinerary was Tokyo > Takayama > Kanazawa > Kyoto > Osaka and we had 27 days total. Highlights:

Climbing Mt Fuji. Stayed overnight at the 7th station Tamoekan and hiked up for the sunrise. It was a little more challenging than I thought it’d be (mostly the descent) but it was an amazing experience.
DisneySea. My wife worked at DisneyWorld for a summer and loves visiting Disney parks so this was special since it is one of a kind.
Ishakawa Prefectural library. Oddly enough this was one of our favorite stops. We look for unusual ways to experience daily life (went to a piano recital and tai chi class at the city hall, ate at Tokyo university student cafeteria, cup of noodles museum/experience, zoo, disaster prevention experience, gyms, etc). It was beautiful and the tech center gave us cool demonstrations. Not to mention, we happened to show up the same day as a JICA convention and we just happened to be taking this vacation during our time service as Peace Corps volunteers so I actually knew some JICA workers from Senegal. Really fun coincidence.
Geisha Experience. We had a dinner and watched a Maiko dance. We also got to play Konpira Fune Fune with her. Such a fun time.
Hanshin Tigers game. We looked up the chants beforehand and had a blast singing along. I looked up which section was the “spirit” section and had an amazing time.
TSUKUMEN. Aka dipping noodles. I saw no mention of this food anywhere in my research but our free walking tour guide in Tokyo took us to a Tsukumen spot. It instantly became our favorite food and we had it 4 more times.
Sushi making course for my birthday!

Notable mentions: high end omakase (tried things we wouldn’t normally) and cheaper omakase, Golden Gai, Mt Koyasan (temples galore), Izakayas, sake tasting in Takayama, Udon Shin, F1 in theater, shinhotaka ropeway and hike, food markets! And of course the konbini

Lowlights:

We hoped to enjoy Onsens but it was just too warm out. Sento was more enjoyable.
We would not go back to Kyoto and in hindsight probably would have been fine not visiting it. Just too many tourists and there are so many other excellent places to see in Japan.
Shirakawa go. This was a bit of a let down since it felt like you needed a tour guide to get the most out of it. However, we went to the Hida Folk Village Museum in Takayama and for a small fee we had access to all the same types of buildings (and more) with a lot less walking. I preferred the Takayama setup.
Teamlab Planets gave us mixed feelings. It was beautiful but if you have limited time, it just didn’t feel like a MUST do. A little spendy too. Still cool though.
The heat and humidity was a little rough but having come from a literal desert, we were pretty well adjusted.

Tips and other thoughts: definitely get SUICA set up on Apple pay if you can. Super easy to refill on the go. Book activities through Klook. Google maps worked just fine for our whole trip (buses, trains, subways, walking). We averages over 20k steps a day - Fuji was over 30k. Be sure to carry cash. I used way more cash than I originally thought I would (I think around 250k for the whole month). Learn some Japanese; the typical words will get you by, but I found it super helpful to learn numbers (people and food counters) and basic phrases for restaurants, travel and greetings. It really elevated our experience. I spent about 3-4 months studying.

Here is our full itinerary with a budget on Notion if you are curious: https://www.notion.so/Days-in-Japan-176dc20b0534801895d4febf1c4c1b9e?source=copy_link

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PSA: Hello Kitty Shinkansen will end service in Spring 2026 (old.reddit.com)

submitted 3 weeks ago by bot@lemmit.online to c/japantravel@lemmit.online

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/frozenpandaman on 2025-10-30 09:03:54+00:00.

More info:

https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000001724.000095753.html

https://www.westjr.co.jp/press/article/items/251030_00_press_hellokittyshinkansen.pdf

https://www.jr-hellokittyshinkansen.jp/cp/finale/

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Post Trip Review (Tokyo, Hakone, Kamakura with kids, ages 7 and 10) (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/panandacub on 2025-10-30 04:56:36+00:00.

Hey everyone, I know these types of posts aren't super popular, but I wanted to share our trip with information I would have found helpful as a parent traveling with a 10 year old and a 7 year old. It should be noted that my 10 year old is a very picky eater, and lactose intolerant. This mostly affected our food experiences in Japan and although we were able to accommodate, it was a major focus of the trip and I would have loved to have known beforehand options for food.

Day 0 - Delta Flight from Seattle, WA to Haneda. Packed a BUNCH of food because the meal options were not things my 10 year old would eat, or had dairy. He ate all the things we packed. 7 year old was the only one who slept. Customs at Haneda was about 1.5 hours long. We had to go through extra security due to my 7 year old looking way different than his passport picture (he was 5 in the picture). We looked for the Suica card machine but didn't find it because everyone was overwhelmed and tired and wanted to be done. Ubered to our Air BnB in Nakano City. The AirBnb was perfect, within walking distance (about 4 blocks) of the train station, McDonalds, two 7-11s, two Family Markets, a grocery store and a bunch of restaurants. We literally only slept and showered there, so can't talk about the restaurants. We had McDonalds for dinner (you can get pancakes or chicken nuggets all day, the kids enjoyed being able to pick their own toy as well).

Day 1 - Tokyo. Up really early, but nothing was open so got pastries at one of the 7-11s for breakfast. Found a Suica card machine in Shinjuku station so acquired cards there. Walked to the Don Quixote in Shinjuku then back to the train for the SkyTree and mall there. We did the Pokemon Center (and the Pokemon Friends game) for a while. This was the only Pokemon Center of the three that had the location exclusive Pikachu (with Sky Tree) and was the least chaotic that we visited. Spent some time looking at the other stores nearby. We walked a few blocks away to Gusto and enjoyed the food options and cat robots that delivered the food for lunch. Also stopped by Mr Donut for breakfast the next day. Ghibli store, Skytree, Tea Ceremony experience and then decided to go to Akihabara for the first Gatchaball store. Found Shogun Burger nearby, which had delicious burgers. (7.3 miles walked, mentioning because kids and adults were TIRED).

Day 2 - DisneySea! This was a great day and not being Disney people, we loved it. The typhoon was coming so today was super windy. Not sure if it was the weather or day (Thursday) but it wasn't too crowded walking around. We used the DPA for Toy Story, Tower of Terror, and Soaring. Journey to the Center of the Earth and Indiana Jones were closed. We had fun trying the churros and popcorn and the Halloween decor was great. Picky eater had a hot dog from the NY Hot Dog stand. Something to note: they don't have a ton of kids apparel at the park. My 7 year old got car sick taking a taxi there and needed a new shirt. They had either baby/toddler sizes clothes or adult clothes, with the exception of some Halloween stuff further in the park. We ended up getting him an adult small Duffy sweatshirt, which worked for the day, but was huge. (8.1 miles walked)

Day 3 - Hakone. Pastries from 7-11 for breakfast. We had tickets for the RomanceCar from Shinjuku and purchase the Hakone Free Pass for traveling within Hakone. We took the old train up the mountain, which was cool with the switchbacks. Our goal was the Open Air Museum and the kids loved it. There was a little cafe there, where we had snacks. We took at taxi to Pub Stop Pizza and Bar because they had dairy free cheese! It's behind the Gora Brewery and serve their beers. This is one of the times that GoogleMaps failed us, as it took us to a less busy cable car station after lunch. Unfortunately, that meant that it was packed and we couldn't get on. We walked a few blocks to the start and was able to get on. Took the cable car to the Ropeway and stopped at Owakudani. We didn't leave the Ropeway station area because we realized that time was getting short and that the Pirate Ship had a last sailing of 5pm. We were super anxious but made it on the last sailing, which was delayed and left at 5:10. Jumped onto the bus back to the train station. It was hard to find somewhere to eat on google so we ended up walking back streets to a Lawsons to get food. So we had our convenience store dinner, and ended up passing several open restaurants that weren't showing up on Google on the way back to the station. (6 miles walked, even with all the time on transportation)

Day 4 - Tokyo. McDonalds for breakfast. Making of Harry Potter Tour. We spent right about 4 hours there. We ate lunch at the cafe at the half way point. We enjoyed the Butterbeer, popcorn and all three dessert options. Train to Sunshine City for the Pokemon Center, where they were sold out of the location Pikachu (chef Pikachu). Pokemon Friends game was here as well so spent some time there. Huge Gatchaball area in lower level so got a bunch for souvenirs. This day was rainy and unlike Seattle, everyone uses umbrellas! Ended up finding another Shogun Burger place to eat dinner. (5.6 miles walked)

Day 5 - Kamakura. Pastries from 7-11 for breakfast. Took local transportation to Kamakura instead of a RomanceCar this time. Unbeknownst to us, even with research, this weekend was a holiday weekend so Kamakura was PACKED. Visited Kotoku-In and waited to meet some friends who are stationed in Japan and coming for a visit. Found a shaved ice place that included Pokemon Cards with purchase and had diary free options (Costa Coffee). We stopped there and then walked a little bit off the main street for lunch. We stopped at Ramen Hanabi, which was delicious and my picky 10 year old ate his kids Ramen. This is one of those placed that only has 10 seats so we waited a bit, but it was worth it. We visited the Hasadera afterwards with our friends and then headed back to the AirBnb. We stopped at the grocery store nearby, for dinner food and food for the next day/airplane ride. (5.3 miles walked)

Day 6 - Tokyo and home. Grocery store breakfast. We wanted to visit one last Pokemon Center, so we headed to Shibuya...with all of our luggage. Accidentally walked the Shibuya Scramble with all of our luggage because the storage lockers were not in the same station as the one we arrived in . That was fun! Dropped our luggage and went on an adventure to get the to Pokemon center, which involved elevators only going to Starbucks, the mall not being open and then walking through the Nintendo Store. This Pokemon Center was also out of the exclusive Pikachu (graffiti Pikachu) but does have the design a shirt area. We didn't have time to wait for the shirt (wait in line, plus an hour for it to be printed). This location also did not have the Pokemon Friends game, which the kids wanted to play one last time. We did find a Gatchaball/Claw Machine store that had the game, so they got a few last rounds in. We took a taxi back to Haneda, where we visited the Pokemon vending machine (also no exclusive Pikachu...Pilot Pikachu), finally stopped in a Uniqlo and attempted to get dairy free cheese pizza again. The place in the airport only had frozen, premade pizzas, and the vegan one included lots of veggies that weren't able to be picked off. So hot dog it was for the picky kid and we were off to fly home. 7 year old was the only one who slept again on the way back. Longest Monday EVER with the time travel back in time (3.7 miles walked).

We all had a blast. If we plan another trip, we'll wait until 10 year old will eat more things, and spend more time outside Tokyo/pop culture. Even the frustrating parts (mostly GoogleMaps fails and so much time on trains) added to the lovely experience. And the kids rocked it!

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Nijo Castle tips + walking route (old.reddit.com)

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/No_Dot4817 on 2025-10-29 16:59:06+00:00.

Advice

I’ve seen a lot of questions like “Is Nijo Castle worth it?”, “How long should I spend there?”, “Do I need to book ahead?”, “What’s the deal with the palaces inside?” So here’s a practical guide.

With recent limited-entry access to the Honmaru-goten Palace and seasonal nighttime projection/illumination events, Nijo Castle is not “just another old castle ruin.” It’s one of Kyoto’s most important historical sites, and you actually walk through original shogun-era rooms instead of just looking at them from outside. Below I’ll explain what it actually is, how to plan your visit, what not to miss, and at the end I’ll describe a simple loop route so you don’t wander around and accidentally skip the best viewpoints.

What is Nijo Castle?

They call it a castle, but visually it’s not like Himeji or Osaka with a giant white keep. It’s a huge moated complex of palaces, walls, and gardens sitting right in central Kyoto. It was built in the early 1600s by (and for) the Tokugawa shogunate as their Kyoto base, and later became an Imperial residence. It’s now part of Kyoto’s UNESCO World Heritage sites. The famous “nightingale floors” in the palace corridors deliberately squeak when you walk, so guards could hear intruders. You’ll also see wide moats, massive stone walls, super decorative gates, and painted audience halls.

Is it worth going? And for who?

Short answer: yes, unless you truly don’t care about history / interiors.

Longer answer:

* If you like art / interiors / atmosphere

→ You literally walk through Ninomaru Palace, where the shogun met regional lords, surrounded by gold-leaf screens of tigers, pines, hawks, flowers, etc. (No photos allowed inside, which keeps it calm.)

* If you like views / outdoor photos

→ You can climb the stone base of the old keep (the original tower burned in the 1700s) and get a surprisingly nice panorama over the moats, gardens, and Kyoto skyline.

* If you’re into history / politics

→ This is where the Tokugawa shogunate ruled from Kyoto and where power was handed back to the Emperor in the 1800s, basically ending samurai government.

* If you’re traveling with family

→ Paths are mostly flat, there are bathrooms, rest areas, tea/snack spots, and even rental wheelchairs and stroller/luggage storage. (The gravel can be annoying for strollers, and strollers/wheels aren’t allowed inside certain palace interiors, but staff can loan special wheelchairs and help you transfer.)

Is it crowded?

It’s busy (it’s Kyoto), but the grounds are big and people spread out in the gardens and moats. The only places that really bottleneck are the palace interiors, because everyone moves along the same wooden corridors. Honmaru-goten Palace is timed-entry and strictly capacity-controlled, so that helps too.

If crowds matter to you: gates open 8:45 a.m., last entry is around 16:00 and closing is 17:00. Go right at opening or late afternoon to dodge the biggest tour groups / school trips.

Where to get tickets

There are basically three “layers” of tickets/pricing (adult pricing shown here):

Castle grounds / gardens only: around 800 yen
Castle + Ninomaru-goten Palace: around 1,300 yen
Honmaru-goten Palace: about +1,000 yen, sold separately, and you MUST book a timed web ticket in advance. They only let a small number of people in each day.

Important details:

* You do NOT need advance reservations for general castle admission or for the Ninomaru Palace. You can usually just buy that day at the East Gate ticket machines/booth and they take cards.

* You DO need advance reservations for Honmaru-goten Palace (the “inner palace”). Even locals and people who qualify for discounts still have to reserve online for that part.

Facilities

* Lockers / luggage drop: There are coin lockers and even a staffed luggage check so you don’t have to drag suitcases or strollers across gravel.

* Rest areas / snacks / tea: There are rest areas and a tea house/café inside the grounds; you can sit down for matcha and sweets in the quieter garden area. There’s also a souvenir/shop zone near the exit.

* Wi-Fi: Free Kyoto City Wi-Fi is available around the main gate/rest areas.

* Accessibility / strollers: The paths are mostly gravel, which is annoying for strollers and manual wheelchairs. The castle will lend you an electric-assist wheelchair for outdoors (free, first come), and inside palaces they’ll transfer you to their clean indoor wheelchair via ramps. Strollers can be stored.

* Audio guide: Rental audio guides (multi-language) are available if you want context while walking.

Ninomaru Palace (main shogun residence / “outer palace”)

Who is this best for: couples or groups who want iconic “this is where the shogun actually sat” vibes, and anyone into traditional Japanese interiors and art.

Time spent: if you move at a normal pace, about 30–40 minutes to walk the palace corridors and then wander Ninomaru Garden right after. Taking your time there makes ~1 hour feel normal.

When to go: go first, as soon as you enter the castle in the morning. Two reasons:

It’s quieter, so you can actually hear the “nightingale floors” squeak under your feet.
You avoid the slow-moving tour groups that pile up later in the day.

What it’s like: you remove your shoes (you’ll carry them or use a little box), then you shuffle along polished wooden corridors past audience halls. The huge gold-and-color paintings of tigers, hawks, pines, flowers in four seasons, etc., are there to show off Tokugawa power. No photos are allowed inside, which keeps the flow moving and the rooms calm.

After you exit the palace interior, you’re basically dropped into Ninomaru Garden. It’s a classic pond garden with little “islands” (crane island, turtle island, Horai island) symbolizing longevity and paradise, plus manicured pines, stones, and waterfalls. This spot looks good in every season and is peak “traditional Japan” photo material.

Honmaru Area (inner circle, Honmaru-goten Palace, base of the old keep)

Who is this best for: people who like viewpoints, samurai/Imperial history nerds, and anyone who wants photos with moats, stone walls, and Kyoto skyline in the background.

Time spent: roughly 30–40 minutes to explore the Honmaru-goten Palace area (if you have a timed ticket), stroll Honmaru Garden, and climb the old keep base for the panorama.

When to go: late morning or early afternoon works well. By this point you’ve already done Ninomaru, so you can slow down, get the views, and grab a break afterward in the tea/park area.

Honmaru-goten Palace is inside the inner moat, and access is tightly controlled: you need that extra ~1,000 yen timed web ticket. Capacity is low, and it sells by time slot because the rooms are delicate (painted sliding doors, late-Edo / early-Imperial style). Staff limit how many people are in there at once. This part only recently reopened to the public after being closed for many years, and it’s treated like a big deal.

From there, keep walking and you’ll reach the massive stone foundation of the former main keep (the original multi-story tower burned down in the 1700s). You’re allowed to climb up the base, and the view over the inner moat, gardens, and Kyoto city is honestly way better than most people expect from a “flat” castle.

When you come down, you’ll cross the West Bridge toward Seiryu-en Garden and the rest area. Seiryu-en is a quieter garden with teahouses, lawns, and seasonal flowers, and it’s also where a lot of people stop for matcha + wagashi (traditional sweets) and to just sit down.

Gardens & seasonal night illumination

Who this is best for: couples, families, and anyone who likes seasonal night events, projection mapping, cherry blossoms, and “Kyoto at night but a little cyber.” This is also where you’ll get some of your best photos, especially in spring.

Time spent: depends on how much you linger. Daytime gardens can be 30–60 min extra. The special night events are usually ticketed separately and can easily take another hour+ because everyone stops to take pictures.

When to go:

* Daytime in spring = plum and cherry blossoms, classic ponds, pines, and stone bridges in Ninomaru Garden and along the moats. Autumn = red maples and panoramic views from the keep base / Honmaru Garden.

* Night (limited dates, usually spring and sometimes autumn) = seasonal illumination / projection mapping events inside Nijo Castle. The Karamon Gate, moats, and trees are lit or animated. There are also night food/drink stands sometimes. These night events are separate, timed-entry tickets with controlled capacity, so it’s busy at the photo spots but not total chaos.

Suggested walking route (the simple “don’t miss anything” loop)

Enter via the East Gate and buy/scan your ticket.
Go straight to the ornate Karamon Gate and enter Ninomaru Palace first (shoes off, no photos). Listen for the nightingale floors before it gets crowded.
Exit into Ninomaru Garden and take your time with the pond and pines.
Walk over to the Honmaru Area (inner circle). If you have Honmaru-goten timed tickets, do that now.
Climb the huge stone base of the old keep for a panorama of the moat and Kyoto skyline.
Cross the bridge toward the quieter garden / tea area / souvenir shop. Grab a drink and chill.
Exit back toward the East Gate.

Why this order works:

* You get the palaces done before peak crowd.

* You hit the best view platform while you still have energy.

* You end near bathrooms, lockers, snacks, and seating so you can rest before heading to your next Kyoto stop.

That loop basically hits all the essentials without backtracking all day.

Japan Trips &amp; Travel Tips

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Tokyo (6 days)

Rural Shikoku (Kami City)

Iya Valley Drive

Matsuyama

Shimanami Kaido Bicycle Route

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Itinerary

Takayama

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Japan Trips & Travel Tips