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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/lifefreak9 on 2024-04-16 16:33:34.

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Hello, everyone! I’m visiting Japan for the first time the first two weeks of July (16 days total) and I’m planning to spend most of my time in Tokyo and Kyoto, I don’t want to rush, just explore the cities. However, I’d like to make day trips to visit other cities such as Nara. I’d love to go to places like Shirakawa or Miyajima, but they happen to be so far, I’ve seen it can take 5 hours or more to get there. So, I want to ask you: are there other beautiful towns I can visit, that are maybe up to 2 or 3 hours away? Should I take some time to visit places like Shirakawa even if they’re that far or maybe should I leave them for another time I visit Japan?

Thanks for your help!

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/kmrbtravel on 2024-04-15 02:01:16.

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About Me

I'm a 25 y/o female traveller from Korea/Canada. I visit Japan 3-5x each year and wanted to share my itinerary/tips/recommendations. My most recent trip spanned a week in Barcelona (I'll be writing a trip review for this soon!), then four weeks in Japan (Dec. 23 - Jan. 19). I will be returning to Japan again this week.

Why Japan so often? My best friend moved to Kyoto in 2018 and her brother is a Japanese citizen, which allows for me to get free accommodations. More importantly, I used to compete in a Japanese martial art and return every few months for events related to this.

I also majored in Japanese history with a specific interest in Japanese architecture. I haven't seen as many pieces as I'd like, but I'm really into historical shrines/temples and pieces created by my favourite architects, so I don't think I have great itinerary suggestions for those with kids or travellers who aren't too big on shrines and temples.

I also unfortunately have very little food recommendations as my friend cooks at home and I am usually too busy seeing things to eat :( I'm also gonna get slapped for this, but I'm not huge on Japanese food, either.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT suggest travelling like me. I had a dumb and crazy itinerary because it was (1) very last minute, (2) I had to be back before a Tokyo trip on Jan. 9, (3) I come back to Japan frequently enough to sacrifice bad days and do stupid planning here and there.

Overall, I took about 20-30k steps per day, every day, which was extremely hard on my body. It's a terrible idea, don't travel like me, but I'm writing this in case people wanted to know how a psychopath travels. And in case it wasn't obvious, I don't drive. I also do not take the Shinkansen because I am broke doing dumb things like this.

This post is also obviously very long and has a LOT of information. Please read whatever section is most relevant for you :)

My current goal is to visit all 47 prefectures. 8 down, 39 to go!

Edit: after further consideration, I've taken out my Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka itinerary as I don't have any unique recommendations. However, they will definitely come back when I write my shrine megareview. I actually finished this trip in Osaka after my friend accidentally locked me out but I didn't do anything new or interesting there except for one temple.

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Preface: MIE (October 2023) - Ise

I visited Japan in late October to catch a tournament, but decided to do an impromptu trip to Ise because it's a really important place for me personally!

• Ise Jingu
  • Ise is an iconic city in Mie for one of Shinto's most important shrines—Ise Jingu. One of its most characteristic features is how the main shrine gets rebuilt every 20 years or so, an amazing way to preserve tradition in the essence of modernity. When I went, there were barely any foreign tourists but a ton of locals and still quite busy. Keep in mind that the main sanctuary cannot be seen due to its sacredness. You can catch a glimpse of the rooftop, but it is up to you to decide if that is worth it or not. The loop is pretty nice and there are other shrines that are visible, but the main structure is hidden.
• Futamiokitama Jinja + Meoto Iwa (Wedded Rocks)
  • I was in Ise on Oct. 31 but the weather was extremely warm (I was in a t-shirt and sweating). However, the clear blue skies, the view of the blue sea, blue skies, the rocks, and the frog statues of Futamiokitama Jinja were stunning. The shores are really clean and neat and it makes for a serene, picturesque walk. You can take a bus that goes directly from Ise Jingu to the rocks.
• Ise was ultimately a day trip for me (from Kyoto) and I climbed Fushimi Inari afterwards in the evening. I don't recommend doing both on the same day (clocked around 32k+ steps), but Ise can be a decent day trip if you wish. I'd like to spend more time here and do more things next time, so recommendations are always appreciated :D

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NATIONAL TRIP 2024

I know I've always wanted to visit all 47 prefectures, but I didn't think I was going to start my 'zenkoku tour' (national tour) on such short notice. After spending New Years with my friend and her family, I made the impulsive decision to visit Izumo (my favourite city) and Hiroshima—and at that point I figured I could visit all the other prefectures as I headed up.

The biggest problem was that we had booked buses for a Tokyo trip on Jan. 9, which left me Jan. 2 - Jan. 8 to travel. Naturally, this meant I wasn't going to be able to enjoy all prefectures extremely thoroughly, but I was intrigued by the idea and thought 'fuck it, let's roll.'

My friend was unfortunately working, so I was alone for this leg of my trip (Mie, too).

SHIMANE - Izumo

• The night bus from Kyoto to Izumo takes around 8 hours, but if you are in Hiroshima, the bus is only three hours long. I can't suggest people to go out of their way to visit Izumo from Kyoto or Tokyo, but if you're in Hiroshima and are running out of things to do, IT IS WORTH CONSIDERING.
• Funnily enough, I have never been to Nara, but I've been to Izumo twice. You might see me commenting on this subreddit because I am basically free advertisement for the city of Izumo and always encourage people to go especially if they're in Hiroshima or Okayama. I just really love everything here.
• Shimane is the second least populated prefecture in Japan, but it is home to one of the most iconic and important shrines for Shinto—Izumo Taisha (more officially known as Izumo Oyashiro). The giant shimenawa is beautiful, iconic, and is a personal favourite sight in Japan for me.
• Izumo is also, in my opinion, the best city to do a day trip. There are five main points of attractions you can do in a loop: Izumo Taisha, Inasa Beach, Hinomisaki Jinja, Hinomisaki Lighthouse, and eating 3-tiered soba (famous in Izumo).
  • I have done a (1) Hinomisaki Lighthouse → Hinomisaki Jinja → Inasa Beach → soba → Izumo Taisha loop and I have also done a (2) Izumo Taisha → Inasa Beach → soba (or soba then Inasa Beach) → Hinomisaki Lighthouse → Hinomisaki Jinja loop.
    • They both have their advantages and disadvantages. The biggest issues are that most soba places close at 2 PM(!) and buses in the countryside are much less frequent, so planning is essential. Most hotels are around the Izumoshi Station area, which is far from Izumo Taisha/Inasa Beach, which is very far from Hinomisaki, so bus times must be considered in advance if you want to make it to and back for any of the three locations.
    • If you pick (1), you'll have an excess amount of time at Hinomisaki assuming you take the first 7 am bus, but not a lot of time at Inasa Beach (most soba places close at 2 and are closer to the entrance of Izumo Taisha, around a 15 min walk, unless you want to go back and forth). I only pick (1) because I want to spend the most amount of time at Izumo Taisha (at the end of the day), without having to worry about bus times to Hinomisaki.
    • If you pick (2), it is possible you won't have time to climb the lighthouse depending on when the last bus is and might have to rush the lighthouse + Hinomisaki Jinja loop. YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THE LAST BUS AT HINOMISAKI as you will be stranded, but I ultimately recommend this route, depending on how much time you take to eat soba and see Inasa beach.
• HINOMISAKI LIGHTHOUSE
  • On a bright blue day, it is beautiful in photos as the white contrasts harshly against the blue. You can also climb the inside of the lighthouse (not recommended for those with mobility issues, as the steps are narrow and deep, and the last part is essentially a ladder).
  • Unfortunately when I went for the second time, it was grey and cloudy and the white did not contrast the sky effectively. On this note, I do not recommend Izumo when it rains. It is such a picturesque place, and the grey skies (while dramatic and moody!) isn't how I'd recommend visiting for the first time. It didn't dampen my love for it, but I think it might for other tourists.
• HINOMISAKI JINJA
  • The path from Hinomisaki Lighthouse to Hinomisaki Jinja is beautiful and an awesome walk away from the chaos of Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka. There's also an island with a singular torii gate (Fumishima) that I believe is home to a protected(?) bird species. Overall, I'm a fan of the sea, the lighthouse, the pine trees, and the jagged rocks. Even on matsuri days, I find Izumo to be a really quiet, serene place away from the chaos of the trifecta cities and the lighthouse/jinja path is very peaceful.
• IZUMO OYASHIRO
  • Personally, I think the shimenawa makes Izumo Taisha the most beautiful shrine I've ever seen, but I'm well aware I have weird tastes. There are two buildings, both with shimenawa. You're not looking at the right one (especially if you enter through the 'usual' entrance/path) until it makes you say 'what the fuck, that's absolutely massive!' It is usually a really quiet, almost deserted-feeling area, but during any matsuri time, it's vibrant and busy and fun with your typical street vendors and people milling about.

Izumo as a whole I think will be a hit or miss for most people. If this is your first time in Japan, I'm not sure if I'd recommend it as it's hard to access and really quiet. But if you're a shrine freak or have the same, weird tastes as me, I highly recom...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/tkara99 on 2024-04-15 15:44:59.

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I (25M) was going to do this trip back in 2021 (BASc Grad Trip) but ended up getting delayed due to COVID. Finally was able to do it these past few weeks as a MASc Grad Trip instead with a nurse friend of mine (24M).

Honestly I had zero complaints for the whole trip, a lot of things fell in place and worked out a lot better than we originally thought they would. In terms of weather, our one day trip to Mt Fuji was clear skies (the only hiccup being icy roads so we could only get as high as the 4th station). For rain, it only ever rained on days we were traveling between cities. This worked out nicely since those were treated more as shopping/exploring days rather than outdoor activities. We never really had any issues getting around from place to place (thx Google Maps) and the train system only took a day or two to really get used to. We also arrived in Shinjuku when the cherry blossoms just started to enter full bloom which was wonderful (this continued into Kyoto and Osaka).

In terms of hotels, they weren't bad. The one we stayed at in Shinjuku probably being the worst (fairly small, and very noisy at night). The rest had zero issues other than the one in Kyoto where we probably went through 10 room keys due to the keys continually not working. We also probably could've found something cheaper for Kyoto but in terms of options we had (booked through travel agent) this was one of the cheapest choices. Overall was a very nice hotel to be at location wise for us. Osaka was one of the best hotels and also one of the cheapest which was interesting.

Cost wise, the whole trip ran around $6200 CAD ($4500 USD) for the two weeks after all expenses were accounted for. Some things we couldn't avoid (plane rides being March 30th to April 12th were needed due to my buddies time off) and for first time travelers to Japan we wanted at least a comfortable hotel to stay at (looked into Airbnbs but decided to pass on them). Could have cut costs in souvenirs and food, but ultimately I'd say you are better off spending a little bit more and truly enjoy yourself than try to save $500.

Costs (all in CAD per person roughly):

Plane - $2000

Hotels - $1400

Shinjuku - E Hotel Higashi Shinjuku (3 nights - 639.37 CAD)

Kyoto - Hotel M's Est Shijo - Karasuma (4 nights - 1,114.52 CAD)

Osaka - Hotel Keihan Tenmabashi Ekimae (2 nights - 312.78 CAD)

Tokyo Mitsui Garden Hotel Otemachi Tokyo (3 nights - 735.00 CAD)

Day Trip - $200

Trains, Attractions, Souvenirs, Food - $2550

Trains \~ $400

Souvenirs \~ $1000

Food, Drinks, etc \~ $900

Attractions \~ $250 

\*These are estimated with Trains and Souvenirs being most accurate.

Trip Summary

March 30 (Sat):

• Took a plane from Toronto to Narita airport (14 hour flight) leaving at noon and arriving the next day.

March 31 (Sun): Arrival

• Landed in Narita around 4pm local time, spent about 2 hours getting through customs and collecting luggage. Spent some time after this roaming around the airport a bit and figuring out how to get on the Narita Express to Shinjuku.

• Arrived in Shinjuku around 8pm and checked in hotel by 8:30pm (15min walk from station, but all the neon lights had us distracted). Hit a McDonalds across the street from hotel (got the Samurai Burger) and went to sleep shortly after.

April 1 (Mon): Shinjuku/Shibuya

• Started day off at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (arrived there at 9am, garden opened at 9:30am) and explored around the park. Was able to get nice pictures of and with the cherry blossoms before crowds got too big. The cherry blossoms at this point were in full bloom everywhere, and it was honestly stunning to actually see. We enjoyed some matcha ice cream toward the end of our visit.

• Headed toward Shibuya after this to visit Shibuya crossing and different stores (One Piece, Pokemon Center, Jump Store, Nintendo). Got Omurice from a restaurant/café near the Pokemon Center.

• In the evening, we headed back to Shinjuku to see more of the area before it got too dark. Saw the Godzilla head, the famous KFC from JJK (those who have watched the anime understand), and just general walking around the area since we couldn’t the night we arrived. Visited a couple shrines once it became dark out which was really cool to see them illuminated and empty. Might’ve also sat at the Cat sign near the station for a good 10 minutes.

April 2 (Tues): Mt Fuji Day Trip

• Did a tour for Mt Fuji/Hakone for the day. Started off by visiting Mt Fuji (couldn’t go up to 5th station due to icy road conditions, managed to get to the 4th though). Was a near perfect day with almost no clouds. This was followed by a lunch at a hotel/restaurant (food was ok) with a drum show. Then went to Lake Ashi for a boat ride (was a quick ride, got off at first stop) to the Hakone ropeways. Was slightly pressed for time at the ropeways (guide ended up giving us an additional 20 minutes) so once on top of Mt Hakone we ran to Hakone Mototsumiya Shrine (view of Mt Fuji and surrounding areas from here was breathtaking). After this we headed back to Shinjuku (experienced some trouble with other tourists figuring out the Shinkansen from Odawara Station so that set us back an hour almost).

• Got standing bar sushi once back in Shinjuku, was a fun experience. Spent some more time walking around Shinjuku then called it a night.

April 3 (Wed): Travel to Kyoto

• Got breakfast at a “Mom and Pop” shop near our hotel. Was probably some of the best food we had all trip. Then spent the morning making our way to Kyoto from Shinagawa Station (why we didn’t just go to Tokyo station you are asking? I couldn’t tell you but ultimately we had zero issues with leaving from here, probably ended up being easier). Arrived at our hotel by 1pm and dropped off our luggage to explore around.

• First visited the Pokemon Center in Kyoto since it was down the street from our hotel (if you haven’t caught on by now, this will be a re-occurring trend) and hit a Starbucks for some Matcha Latte’s and small snack.

• Went back to hotel to check in and then headed out to Nishiki Market to get food/souvenirs. Went back to hotel by 8pm-ish and called it a day.

April 4 (Thurs): Kyoto - Fushimi Inari & Kiyomizu-dera

• Early morning waking up at 5:30am and got to Fushimi Inari by 6:30am taking local transit. Spent about 3 hours from the time we arrived at Inari station to the time we left. Crowds were nearly non-existent when we arrived and got to peacefully walk up and down the mountain with little traffic. We were able to get some quality photos which was nice. Waited around at Fushimi Toyokawa Inari Shrine Hongu for a local shop to open to buy some souvenirs (didn’t open till 9am I believe) but was worth the wait! The owners of the shop were very kind and friendly.

• Headed to Kiyomizu-dera at 10am and explored around the main street at different shops (Ghibli store, etc). Got an early lunch at a ramen shop before heading out to the main temple. This was a slightly funny experience because we were there 10 minutes before they opened, and the one employee apologized for us having to wait. This was followed up by the other employee making fun of him for apologizing while they were walking away from us (or at least that’s what it sounded like). Food didn’t disappoint. We then headed to the main temple and did most of what it had to offer.

• On our way back to the hotel, we visited the tatami-floored Starbucks. Most seats were taken but we happened to find an open spot to sit and rest our feet while enjoying some beverages. Also visited Hōkan-ji Temple which was fairly busy with people trying to get that “perfect picture”. We avoided the Gion area because of the tourism/the changes the city is making to tourism there. Thought it would be best avoided and plus we already had a long day at this point.

• After a quick break at our hotel, we visited a few other stores (Nintendo Kyoto, Don Quijote, and other department stores). One part of the trip for me was finding a Seiko watch as part of a Graduation gift for myself which I ended up buying one in Kyoto. Had slight buyers remorse when I found a SEIKO × JR WEST 25TH ANNIVERSARY JR 500 KODAMA in Osaka for about 500 CAD but in the end I am happy with the piece I got. Called it an early night after this (this was also a common trend of the trip, waking up 5/6am and going to sleep around 8/9pm).

April 5 (Fri): Kyoto - Arashiyama

• Arrived at the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove by 7:15am to walk the grove and surround parks. It was surprisingly busy but not overcrowded by any means. The walk was relatively short through the grove but we then did the Arashiyama Park Kameyama Area and followed that by walking down Katsura River to the Togetsukyo Bridge.

• We then went to Tenryu-Ji Temple for 8:30am to do the garden and main building. The gardens were wonderful, with a fair number of cherry blossoms and other flowers. The main building was also quite nice and provided some great photo spots.

• After this, we went to the Monkeypark across the bridge we visited early. We got there around 10:30am and spent the next hour or so going up and seeing the monkeys.

• At noon we headed back into Kyoto for lunch and then visited Kyoto Tower. It was fairly cool to see the different temples and shrines at the top of the tower, and the city as a whole. After this we went back to Kyoto Station to climb (I might’ve made my friend climb it all in...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/mark01254 on 2024-04-15 11:54:38.

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Start: Narita Airport, April 3rd, 2024

3 people, including me.

Only had a rough itinerary, we didn't have much time to plan. Sakura timing was a shot into the blue but we got lucky.

Renting and driving a car in Japan - easier than expected!

We were a little nervous about renting a car in Japan and driving in a country we've never visited before. But it turned out to be super easy and straightforward. We were welcomed with kindness and got picked up by the car rental agency at the terminal.

There was no surcharge for registering additional drivers. International driver's license issued by Austria was accepted without a translation in Japanese thanks to a bilateral agreement. International driver's license issued by Germany was only accepted with an additional translation on paper in Japanese (expensive). Definitely make sure you have these documents ready before renting the car.

Regarding tolls: you can rent a toll card ("ETC card") from the rental agency for just 300 JPY for the entire trip. Highly recommended, you can just drive through the "ETC" gates at any expressway and it registers the toll to be collected. 1400 km, of which ~1100 km on toll roads (expressways) ended up in a total of 28,900 JPY (~ 180 € / USD) Gas is currently really cheap, we got regular gas for as low as 165 JPY per liter at some places. Fueling the car at self service stations is also the same as in every other countries, have your phone ready to translate the screen. Fuel types are color-coded, so almost impossible to mistake.

Being 3 people, even including tolls and gas, the rental car was still cheaper than 3 rail passes together, and since we had accomodations quite far off the grid, it allowed us more flexibility.

Left-driving traffic did take a few hours to get used to, but Japanese drivers are VERY patient and other drivers would always let us merge when we had troubles switching lanes at intersections etc.

Even parking is pretty straightforward. Almost all accomodations, restaurants and stores offer (limited) parking space. In the cities, you can't just park anywhere, you have dedicated pay parking lots that turned out to be super easy to use: you drive onto your prefered numbered parking space, then an automatic barrier will come up in front or under the car after ~ 3 min., and you can just walk away. When you come back, you type in your parking space number at the machine and pay the amount. Usually they have rates for 30 min., 1h and 24h maximum charge for parking. In Tokyo, we paid 900 JPY for 24h of parking, which we considered a great deal compared to European cities.

The only challenging city for driving and parking was Kyoto. Narrow roads, slow traffic, hardly any space and many tourists and cars at the main attractions. But whenever we were stuck backing out of a full parking lot, someone came rushing to our car to help us back out safely into traffic. I've never encountered such attentiveness for others in any other country.

The expressways are great and save you a lot of time. The speed limits are not always obvious, especially because to our surprise, hardly anyone sticks to them, so we decided to just flow with the left lane traffic to be safe.

There are plenty of tidy rest areas on the expressways offering food, coffee and WiFi.

April 3/4/5: Narita to Fujoyoshida - Restaurant experience instead of Mt. Fuji

Having picked up our little Nissan, we drove straight from Narita to Fujiyoshida. Our accomodation was not directly in the city but on the very outskirts, which turned out to be perfect, because after a long noisy flight we found ourselves in a peaceful Tatami room facing the rainy forest and a sakura tree in bloom. They use heavy blankets and rice pillows for the beds and I slept like a baby on these.

The weather was rainy and not a sign of Mt. Fuji, so we tried some local restaurants and had fantastic Hōtō noodles, a speciality from Yamanashi area. We were extremely hungry and ordered 4 pots for 3 people, and they came back twice to confirm our order. When the food arrived, we realized why they double checked, because one pot is already big enough to be shared by two non-competetitive eaters.

We also learned our first lesson: In busy areas, especially during Sakura time, you should definitely make a reservation, expect lines and also expect restaurants to take the last order/guests 30-60 minutes before the actual closing time. They also might be randomly closed on Sundays during Sakura. Opening hours/days on Google Maps are hardly reliable. We also realized that reviews in Japan are rather strict. Anything that had "just" 4-star reviews was perfectly fine to eat- 5-star reviewed places were often packed.

My 2 companions are vegans, and there are hardly any Japanese restaurants that offer specifially vegan dishes. But no matter where we went, they were super helpful and always tried their hardest to find a vegan solution for them. We also realized though, that fish isn't always considered as non-vegan, so there's that.

Despite the rain, it was very nice to wander around the city, Fujikawaguchiko lake, and we visited Fujiomurosengen Shrine. The cherry blossoms were still closed at this time.

We also explored some of the nearby towns and found beautiful little shrines everywhere and even stumbled upon a spring celebration ceremony at one of them.

April 5/6: Halfway stop at the shore to Nara and a waterfall

We booked an Airbnb halfway to Nara at a small town at the shore. On the way to the south, we stopped at Shiraito waterfall a wonderful waterfall located at the bottom of Mt. Fuji. 500 JPY for parking, otherwise no admission fee and definitely worth to spend 1-2 hours visiting. On clear days, you have Mt. Fuji as a backdrop. Again we had a wonderful Ryokan located off the beaten path in a small village near the sea. Cherry blossom was in full bloom there and people were incredibly friendly. I highly recommend you to check out some of the little towns in Gamagori, Hamamatsu or south Aichi area.

April 6/7/8: Nara Park

Full cherry blossom in Nara! We had an accomodation close to Nara Park. Around 8-8:30 am the park started filling with visitors and remained full until sunset. For me personally, it was too busy, nevertheless it's a unique experiece to be allowed this close to wild deer and the Park is home to absolutely magnificient ancient temples. My favorite one to visit was Nigatsu-do temple, which is located at the very top of the western park side and is not as full as the large Todai-ji temple. And obviously the famous Sakura pavillon in the park.

Nara offers a great variety of restaurants. My friends found a specifically vegan restaurant for their dinner, I had the best sushi of my life here, at a place called Sushi Ichi.

Regarding our narrow total time frame, 2 days in Nara were perfectly fine to spend without being too rushed.

April 8/9/10: Kyoto

Arriving at our hostel, located at the very northwest end of Kyoto, we realized how much we underestimated the size of Kyoto. We were at least a 45-50 min. drive away from the main attractions. A car is not really helpful in Kyoto. I caught a cold and spent the first day in Kyoto in bed. My friends went to bamboo forest and even in late afternoon, they said it was too crowded. I wish someone would've told us that there was a lesser known little bamboo forest just 10 minutes drive away from our hostel.

The second day was rest and recovery day due to pouring rain. Did some grocery shopping and meal prepping.

On our last day in Kyoto, we woke up to clear blue skies and sunshine - the first time since our arrival in Japan. With the time being still early, we headed to Fushimi Inari-Taisha shrine and even hiked up all the way to Mt. Inari. Surprisingly, it was not as crowded as expected, but on the way down around 9:30 am, the place started to get incredibly full.

Around noon, we sat down for ramen at Fukakusa Ramen Toriton.

As much as we would've loved to stay in Kyoto, getting a new chance to see Mt. Fuji had a higher priority, so with a tear in our eyes, we made our way to Fujiyoshida.

We were not disappointed when we got our first clear view of Mt. Fuji from the highway. It's absolutely impressive, majestic and looks beautiful with the snow covered top.

Maybe it's personal preference, but I don't regret sacrificing a Kyoto day for Mt. Fuji. To get the Kyoto experience, 2 days are not enough either way, so I think 3-4 days would've been the actual minimum.

We managed to see Mt. Fuji in evening light from Shiraito waterfall.

April 10/11/12: Lake Saiko, Mt. Fuji, Aokigahara Forest

This time we had an accomodation in Saikonishi at lake Saiko. Beautiful peaceful area from where you can still see Mt. Fuji a little. In the morning, we managed to get some wonderful shots with Sakura near Oishi Park and then went to the famous Chureito Pagoda.

Similar to Kyoto, getting up early pays off. At Chureito Pagoda, we paid 1,000 JPY for parking but it was almost directly at the entrance. They have a 5-min slot system, so only a certain amount can visit the platform for 5 min and then the next group can go up etc. Everything is very well organized and it wasn't too busy in the morning.

Sakura at the pagoda was still not in full bloom, so we noticed how even within one area, there can be trees that already have leaves next to trees that hav...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/PrestigiousWall1806 on 2024-04-14 04:45:15.

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I thought I would post a couple of thoughts on travelling with a Vegan friend as aNon-Vegan on my recent trip (March to April 2024) because I had a little difficulty finding similar info ahead of the trip. I hope that this, in some way, helps the next person on their journey.

My itinerary btw - Tokyo, Nagano Region (12 days (we did lots of skiing in Hakuba)), Gifu Region (5 days), Kyoto (5 days), Osaka (2 days), Tokyo (5 Days)

TLDR: You can find Vegan food most places, but finding both vegan and non-vegan options in the same restaurant is not easy.

I was travelling with a vegan friend, but I am not vegan myself. I don't mind vegan food, probably half my meals at home are vegan just by virtue of not eating meat every meal.

But as an avid foodie and cook, I was in Japan for the food—sashimi, ramen, sukiyaki etc. So when it came to meals, snacks, and even getting coffee, it was quickly a painful experience. Our journey also included time in regional Japan, tiny towns, and hiking in the mountains. Even in the touristy areas there, there just aren't many vegan options.

There are only so many coffee shops you can walk to in a regional centre like Takayama before you have to accept that there is no one with oat or soy milk. ( I suggest learning to like black coffee).

There are vegan restaurants all across Japan, but in most places we found (regional and cities), it is either all vegan or all "normal" food. We really struggled to find places that had both options and where one wasn't compromised, and one of us was clearly not getting a full experience. Google/Happy Cow etc still isn't well set up to find "Vegan options available" or "Vegan-friendly" rather than just fully Vegan places.

You could probably have rice and a handful of vegetable sides, but that's not a real meal and not fair when there is killer vegan ramen a 5 min walk away. Language barriers also did not help in finding the random option that may have been available (even with my basic Japanese or my friend's vegan card to show servers).

It also meant we were not able to quickly duck into a cool-looking Izakaya together to grab some food. For some people, that is fine, but it put the brakes on a lot of what I had wanted to do going into the trip.

As we were just friends travelling together and not partners, we ended up going our own ways for food a lot.

I guess the point of this is to suggest you set your expectations early. It's still not "easy" to find vegan food and most places do not have a vegan option in addition to their normal fare.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/dubear on 2024-04-14 07:54:30.

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Trip Date: March 21-April 8

Interests: Coffee, Tea, Food, Anime, Gardens, Castles, Museums, Sakura

Priorities: trying good coffee, eating good food, minimizing waiting in lines, buying some chef knives, one piece, pokemon, Sakura.

Route: Tokyo > Nagoya > Kyoto > Yasugi > Hiroshima > Yufuin > Osaka > Hakone > Tokyo

Expenses (rounded to nearest $10):

• Transportation within Japan: $1300
• Luggage Forwarding: $80 (2 carryon sized luggages 3 times)
• eSim: Ubigi - $26 for 2 10gb plans

General tips to newer travelers or first timers to Japan:

• Get an IC card regardless of JR pass or not, physical or Apple pay, either work. There were some people who said IC cards were unnecessary, but we traveled using the booths for the first day, and after getting our Pasmo (for me) and loading a Suica onto my wife’s iPhone, traveling was immensely easier. No need to spend time calculating how much fare to pay, just tap in and tap out and it’s auto calculated.
• Make sure your card/phone actually scans/beeps when you enter/exit stations. If you accidentally enter or exit without scanning, your card will have an error, and you will need to speak to an attendant to fix it. They will ask you for your last entry/exit station.
• Ubigi eSim: while I rarely had service outages, I never got the advertised 5g speeds and was stuck on 4g the whole time. Apparently this is a US Pixel specific issue (I have Pixel 7Pro). My wife has an iPhone 13 and she had 5g the whole time, but she had to change some privacy settings in order to use her web browser (apps worked fine). We both got the 10gb/30day plan and I had 800MB of data left while my wife had 2.8GB. I did all the navigation but I wasn’t watching videos or using social media unless on wifi.
• Prioritize what you want to do. Sometimes you may end up spending more time at a location than you expect, or maybe there is a longer wait for something, or maybe you just missed the subway/got on the wrong train.
• Google maps is wonderful for train/metro/subway, and a little more confusing when it comes to buses. My wife and I rarely used public transit before this trip so our time in Kyoto was very stressful because google maps would not match up with the bus lines perfectly and the colors/”platforms” were sometimes incorrect. Don’t pack the first 2-3 days of your trip with tons of locations to travel to because you’ll be using these days to learn the transit system.
• Learn some Japanese and Japanese culture/etiquette. There were definitely areas where we felt like some business owners and residents were weary of tourists. But knowing simple things like where to wait, how to say how many seats you need, or just simply being mindful of those around you will go a long way.
• Don’t be “those tourists”! You’re visiting someone else’s home. You should respect the rules of the house even if you were raised differently. I read plenty of reviews on google for places that were negative because “no one spoke english”. If you see people lined up for something, you should assume that it’s because they are waiting to get into the place/train/bus you are trying to get to. I could go on and on, but rude/ignorant tourists were by far the worst part of our trip.
• If you want to avoid the crowds, you will have to go early (or late) to popular tourist spots. The downside to going early is that a lot of the shops are not open yet.
• For those that are lactose intolerant, some places advertise oat milk/oat lattes. My wife had 2 incidents (out of 20+) where she believes they were using oat FLAVORED milk. If you’re really sensitive to dairy, just stick to black, or bring your own non dairy creamer, or use lactaid every time.
• Google translate works best when you understand how the Japanese language structure works. I have completed Pimsleur Japanese 1 and 2, I have been doing DuoLingo for almost a year, and I watch anime regularly, so I was able to start understanding how to word things better when using the translate functions. Sometimes I would type something into translate and they would give me a confused look, and then I would reword my questions using different words/sentence structures and then it clicked for them.
• Cards or cash? I see this asked often and I see a varying degree of answers. My personal experience is that I was able to use cards at a lot more establishments than I was expecting, especially since I went to more rural areas. I have a Chase Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum card and they were allowed at probably around 90% of the businesses I visited. If you have a physical IC card, you need cash to reload it. For 18 days, I brought 300000 Yen (Chase bank’s currency exchange was not bad) and I used about 135,000 Yen, over half of which was used to reload my IC card.

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This was a re-do of our canceled 10 year anniversary trip that was planned for 2020. I was really bummed because that trip was timed PERFECTLY with the sakura blooms. I had hopes for this year as well, because all the reports up until the week before our trip were forecasting late March blooms again. Unfortunately, we missed the blooms and were, instead, given rain and strong winds for the first half of the trip. I booked our Ryokan stays first based on availability and pricing which is why the route may not look optimal to seasoned travelers. My initial concept was to book Ryokans as “rest days” in between the more active days of the trip and to also use the longer train/bus rides as down time. I wanted to end with Osaka/Tokyo as I had plans to purchase some chef knives and do some shopping and wanted to get a feel on the prices during my initial stay in Tokyo to see if I should buy in Osaka or not.

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Days 1-3: Tokyo

Notable Coffee:

• *Glitch - 8/10:*this is made for people who prefer light/medium roasts with fruity and floral notes and enjoy drinking coffee black. My wife and I prefer darker roasts in the chocolate/nutty family with some milk. So while we didn’t particularly enjoy our brews, we definitely appreciated the time and effort they take to make you a special cup of coffee. It can take a while if you come at the wrong time because they walk everyone through their coffee process so if you have a bunch of people lined up in front of you who like to ask questions and don’t know what they want, it will be a while.
• Fuglen - 10/10: apparently this is a tourist hotspot and is especially popular with Chinese/Taiwanese tourists. There is a guy who seems to regularly sit in the front in a military outfit (he was there both times we went). The coffee jelly was AMAZING (best I had). This was the first time my wife could have non dairy milk (oat) with her coffee and she loved it. It was in the top 5 coffee spots in Japan for us. The waffle was good, but we didn’t get it the second time we visited.
• Kielo Coffee - 9/10: Another spot with non dairy milk and it was really tasty. The vibes were nice as well - chill and relaxed.

Notable Food:

• Himuro Ueno - 8/10: our first meal in Japan after landing. They went a bit heavy on the beansprouts for my wife’s miso ramen. Gyoza was excellent. Eggs were amazing (theme for the trip)
• Tonkatsu Hasegawa - 10/10: I believe you need reservations to dine here, but I saw a couple people walk up and try to get seats (not sure if they were successful or not). Best Tonkatsu we’ve ever had. We never ate katsu for the rest of the trip because we were certain it would not live up to this place.
• 銀座すし和 - 9/10: our first sushi spot in Japan. It is underground and there is only 1 person running the whole thing. He speaks no english and there is no english menu. It takes about 10-15 minutes for him to finish 1 person’s order. We both ordered the medium sized meal (for 1.5 people) and everything tasted fresh.
• Boulangerie Jean Francois - 10/10: we made the mistake of stumbling across this bakery at the basement level of Ginza 6. I say mistake because we loved their baked goods so much that we compared every other baked goods to this place. Their cinnamon rolls, butter croissant, regular croissant, and curry bread were the best we had.
• Yasubee - 8/10: Known for their Tsukemen, but they have ramen options as well. I was confused because they price the small, medium, and large serving sizes all the same. I got the large size (maybe it was XL?) Tsukemen and my wife got a medium ramen. They go HARD with their noodles… I only finished about 80% of my meal and I actually had to sit for 45 minutes after my meal at a starbucks because I was in such a massive food coma. Amazing noodle texture, and the eggs.. Holy moly people weren’t kidding about the eggs in Japan.

Touristy Spots:

• Square Enix cafe - 7/10: our only cafe experience and it will probably be our last. I know it’s not as well done as, say the Kirby cafe, but as much as I LOVED Final Fantasy 7, this was just not worth the price. The drinks were very tasty, but you don’t get a lot of it (ice takes up most of the space). I’m glad I experienced it, but themed cafes are just not my thing.
• Sensoji Temple - pretty cool temple grounds with cool gates. Lots of vendors all around the temple area. Easy to get to and worth a stop if you’re in the area.
• Nakamise Dori - right next to Sensoji Temple, so you might as well walk around there after. Tons of food and souvenir vendors but you’re probably better off buying things at Don Quijote price-wise.
• Gundam Factory - they decommissioned th...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Top_Ordinary849 on 2024-04-13 06:36:21.

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My husband & I recently returned from our first trip to Japan from 21 March to 8 April. We mostly stuck to the golden route & wanted to see the cherry blossoms. We did most of the planning with help from this subreddit & watching YouTube videos (really enjoyed u/CurrentlyHannah & u/RionIshida). I enjoy reading everyone’s trip reports so here’s ours.

Overview

2 x nights Tokyo, Hotel: Hotel Century Southern Tower

2 x nights Lake Kawaguchiko (Mt Fuji), Hotel: Mizno Hotel

4 x nights Osaka, Hotel: JOYTEL HOTEL Namba-Dotonbori

4 x nights Kyoto, Hotel: Laon Inn Gion Nawate

6 x nights Tokyo, Hotel: JR-EAST Hotel METS Gotanda

Prep/Planning/Pre-booking

• We booked our flights with Qantas about 6 months prior & started a Google Map & pinned places & restaurants of interest, colour coded them by area & grouped things together when we planned our daily itinerary.
• Once we had our itinerary sorted, we booked hotels on Agoda, Booking.com & where we could book directly with hotels we did. We kept tweaking our itinerary until the last minute.
• We read some Japanese websites like USJ and SmartEx don’t accept Visa or certain other credit cards, we used a MasterCard Credit Card & it worked everywhere, no issues.
• We booked the below in advance as soon as we could, this is not required, this is just what we did. With it being peak season, we wanted to avoid any disappointment of things likely being sold out or wasting time researching and booking things while we are there.
  • Two months in advance we:
    • purchased Tokyo Disney Resort tickets
    • purchased Universal Studios & Express Passes
  • One month in advance we:
    • booked the Limited Express Fuji Excursion Train on www.eki-net.com to get from Shinjuku to Lake Kawaguchiko.
    • booked the Fujikyuko Express Bus on sekitori.jp to get from Lake Kawaguchiko to Mishima Sta.
    • booked our Shinkansen trips on SmartEX smart-ex.jp. Tips: This gets mentioned a lot but book seat D & E for standard car or C & D for Green Car going either way from Tokyo to Osaka/Kyoto to view Mt Fuji & link your IC card to your bookings so you don’t need to print tickets, just tag on with your IC card & save a couple of minutes.
    • booked the Kintetsu Sightseeing Limited Express AONIYOSH Train on www.kintetsu.co.jp.
    • purchased Shibuya Sky tickets (we wanted sunset slots for 17:00, they sold out within minutes, so got tickets for the 16:00 slot)
    • purchased tickets to the NAKED Flowers Sakura Nijo Castle Kyoto event on Klook.
    • reserved restaurants, we didn’t want to reserve any restaurants as we wanted to be flexible when it comes to this, however after research & being especially concerned about Kyoto , we reserved these four restaurants, we were still able to be flexible otherwise & stumbled upon a lot of great restaurants, but nonetheless three of these four were some of the best meals we had the whole trip:
    • Matsuzaka Gyu Yakiniku M Hozenji-Yokoch Osaka (www.tablecheck.com)
    • Kobe Beef Steak Mouriya Gion Kyoto (www.tablecheck.com)
    • Itoh Dining Kyoto (www.tablecheck.com)
    • Hokkaido Menkoi Nabe Kumachan Onsen Shibuya Miyamasuzaka (www.kumachan-onsen.jp)
    • purchased Skytree tickets on Klook
• Learned some Japanese using Duolingo & watching YouTube. These are the phrases we used the most:
  • “Arigatou Gozaimasu” – Thank you
  • “Sumimasen” – Excuse me
  • “Daijoubu Desu” - It’s Ok, I’m Fine, No thanks
  • “Onegaishimas” - Please (when asking for something)
  • “__ o Kudasai” – I would like __, please
  • “__ wa Doko Desu ka?” – Where is __?
  • When we tried to use any more than this people would try to have fluent conversations with us, so we just kept to basics. We also learned a bit of Hiragana was somewhat useful reading signs, but we mostly used Google Translate.
• Completed the Visit Japan Web site a few days before our trip.

Luggage & Packing

• We took 1 x large suitcase (160cm) & 2 x carry-on sized bags (Kathmandu Hybrid Trolley v3 32L). Our one large suitcase was empty & we planned to fill it up with shopping & souvenirs as we go and forward it using Yamato Transport TA-Q-BIN (black cat) when we move hotels. By the time we got back to Tokyo the one large suitcase was full so we bought another one as my husband needed one anyways. Both large suitcases were full at the end of the trip.
• Luggage forwarding gets mentioned a lot, but I mention it again as I see people keep asking about it & it is convenient. We forwarded our luggage twice, it is recommended to do it the morning before 11:00am & usually it will arrive the next day but could take longer. We took our luggage to our hotel reception or 7/11. They phoned our next hotel to check that they were happy to receive the luggage. As far as I know, this service is available all over Japan, we only shipped from Tokyo > Osaka & Kyoto > Tokyo.
• We had a small backpack for our daily shopping, & found coin pouches useful.

FYI for those taking their luggage with them on the Shinkansen:

• 160cm & below = No reservation required
• 161–250cm = Reservation required
• 250cm & above = Not allowed on train

Weather & Clothes

• Temperatures ranged from 0°C to 20°C. There was an unexpected cold front when we arrived in Tokyo & was colder than we expected so we purchased some gloves & beanies to keep warm. It rained about 6 out of the 19 days, most days were a little cloudy with no rain, we had some sunny days where it was warm & it helped that we could take off layers.
• We planned to use the laundry services & at our hotels so we each only took 2 x pairs of outfits & a lightweight windproof rain jacket. We also planned to buy some clothes during our trip.
• We each took only one pair of comfortable walking shoes & several pairs of thick comfortable socks. We averaged 20K steps a day.
• We each took a set of sleepwear but 4 out of 5 of our hotels provided sleepwear.

Thursday 21 March 2024 Tokyo Shinjuku

• Arrived at Narita Airport at 17:30 from New Zealand on Qantas Airlines.
• We activated our E-Sims (I used Ubigi 10G 30Days & my husband used Airolo) as soon as we landed. 10G data each lasted us the whole trip (had 60MB left at the end) & we had good signal everywhere we went. We always connected to WiFi at our hotels.
• We scanned our QR Codes from the Visit Japan Web through customs & had our luggage by 18:30.
• We each drew ¥50,000 cash at the airport & used ¥20,000 of this to top-up our Suica IC Cards. We topped up our Suica IC Cards a few more times throughout our trip as in addition to using it for trains, we also used it at the konbini & vending machines. IC cards can only be topped up with cash. We drew cash a few more times from ATMS at kobini's.
• We borrowed Suica IC cards from friends so we already had these & just topped it up when we arrived at the airport. We both have Samsung phones so couldn’t use the digital Suica cards on the iPhone wallets, else this would’ve been convenient.
• Took the Narita Express (N'EX) Train to our hotel in Shinjuku (can pre book but don’t need to, I didn’t prebook in case our flight got delayed or customs took long, very easy to locate & purchase tickets after arrival). Train took about 1-hour 30 mins from Narita to Shinjuku.
• Checked into Hotel Century Southern Tower which is conveniently located 5min walk from Shinjuku Station & has great views of the city from our room. Room was spacious. We specifically booked this hotel as it was close to Shinjuku Station where we needed to take a train to Mt Fuji in two days’ time. We will return to Tokyo again later.
• We were hungry so we walked to the nearest Ichiran Ramen & waited in line for 40 min before being seated, it was delicious.
• Got a few things from 7/11 before heading back to the hotel.

Friday 22 March 2024 Tokyo Shinjuku

• Kept this day free in case of any delays, but also for viewing cherry blossoms in case they bloom early (they ended up blooming late due to the unexpected cold front).
• We felt a bit anxious about the public transport (especially Shinjuku Sta.), we went to the station to print our train tickets that we pre-booked & wanted to make sure where we need to catch our train to Mt Fuji the next day. It was very easy & straightforward, & all our anxiety melted away.
• Visited the 3D Cat Billboard & Godzilla before grabbing lunch at CoCo Ichibanya which was really tasty and went down well with the cold weather & then dessert at this 2D Café.
• Decided to head the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building early for sunset which was just ...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/bernerdude2020 on 2024-04-13 01:11:30.

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My wife and me just finished a three-week trip to Japan. I sense that there is a lot of anxiety among people who have plans to travel to Japan, and so this write-up is an attempt to hopefully alleviate some of that. My precursor to this is that most all of this is subjective. It’s just what worked for us and everyone has different priorities and approaches to travel, obviously. Having said that, we’ve traveled internationally extensively, and this was the best trip of our life.

First some details about our itinerary: we left from Denver and arrived in Tokyo on March 24th and were in Japan for a total of 18 days. We spent the first five nights in Tokyo, then four nights in Kyoto, five nights in Osaka (with three day trips to Nara, Himeji and Hiroshima, and Mount Yoshino), two nights in Fujiyoshida, and two nights in Tokyo on the tail end. I bought a DS and took Pokémon Soul Silver to play on the plane. It made the time go super fast and made me even more excited about Japan.

Hotels: Hotel Metropolitan Edmont (Tokyo), Sora Niwa Terrace (Kyoto), Mitsui Garden Premiere (Osaka), Hotel MyStays Fuji Onsen Resort (Fujiyoshida), and JR Blossom (Tokyo). All hotels were fantastic but my favorite stay was Sora Niwa. It was right across the river from Gion, had an awesome rooftop terrace, and on-site onsen. Kyoto was the destination we were most excited about, and so it was kind of a “splurge hotel” by our standards. Two of our hotels had onsite onsen, which was great after long days of walking. The hotels (especially in Tokyo) were very small and it was difficult to maneuver large luggage. My wife and I actually had separate beds at the JR Blossom (because only a double was available) and having the extra space for luggage and shopping was awesome.

Ultimately I felt like the number of days (18) we spent in Japan was just about perfect. It felt like we had time to settle into each location and explore at a steady pace, but none of our stops felt shortchanged. I didn’t leave anywhere wishing that we would have had more days. The cherry blossoms were sparse for the first week or so, but they really exploded around the time we hit Osaka. We took ¥300,000 (approx. $2,000 USD) in cash and it was handy. Most all places took card except for the odd street vendor here and there, though my Visa cards were not working with setting up the transportation cards. Just don’t forget your cash in the hotel safe like me and you won’t have to rush from Tokyo Station back to your hotel and back to the station…

So now I’ll start off with some macro-advice on mindset and approach to Japan.

First: Let. Things. Roll. Before leaving on our trip, I had a long conversation with one of my friends who spent several years living and working in Tokyo. He said that in his experience, the people who really enjoy Japan, are the ones who let things roll and go with the flow. That mantra was in the back of my mind the entire trip and allowed me to maintain a positive outlook even in “frustrating” situations. Sandwiched into a rush hour car in Tokyo? Let things roll. The restaurant you wanted has a long queue? Let things roll. Google Maps goes crazy and leads you astray when you arrive at a huge station? Let things roll.

Second: relatedly, not everything that you do in Japan needs to be the “best of.” Obviously you should branch out by trying unique foods and experiences, and hit the prominent tourist locations that are popular for a reason, but not every meal or site needs to be life changing or come from a prominent list or social media. Our favorite experiences were the things that we stumbled upon: an Italian restaurant in a back alley in Fujiyoshida (Kagashippo), a table tennis shop in Nara, a random temple we found from a hotel coffee table book in Kyoto, random rivers and streams lined with cherry blossoms, local art stores around Tokyo, listening to a guitar player by the river in Tokyo, and so on and so on. Find your own unique experiences and moments by heading down back alleys, walking instead of taking transit here and there, and interacting with Japanese people.

Third: be a good tourist. More on this later, but the treatment I observed from tourists toward Japanese employees, and towards other tourists, particularly in hotel lobbies and at popular photo spots, was absolutely absurd. Treat the Japanese workers kindly and try to engage with them, if you can. Attempt to communicate with them in Japanese before bombarding someone with a confusing English statement. It is not that hard to learn the twenty or so keywords that you’ll need in most hotel and restaurant situations. If there was an upcoming interaction where I needed to say something, I would write it out in translate and try to quickly learn it on the fly. This wouldn’t always work, but I could sense that the effort was appreciated, and I felt like workers in tourism were more inclined to help me because of it. Telling “oishi” (tastes good) to workers here and there goes a long way.

Fourth: remind yourself to enjoy yourself. It’s ok to try and get some rest and relaxation. It is vacation, after all. I think there is a tendency to try and pack itineraries to the brink, especially in Japan where there is just so much to see. I have done this before on other trips and usually regret it. Of course, not everyone can take three weeks in Japan like us, but the couple of slower paced days that we had (which we planned to correspond with rain) were essential to recharge our bodies and minds. Getting that two hour nap to feel fresh for the next day was more valuable than crossing off another temple.

Now I’ll go into some more specific advice on things that made my life much easier in Japan.

-Invest in a good pair of shoes. Do it. You won’t regret the up-front expenditure, but will certainly regret it if you start having foot issues shortly into the trip. Some of our friends came and the woman had blisters all over her feet after two days. Not fun.

-Get a physical transportation card if you can. We were able to acquire them from the JR counter at Narita Airport. This is not necessary, of course; it was just nice to be able to keep the card in my right pocket, take it out at the stations, and not have to worry about phone battery etc. You can “charge” them with cash at any convenience store.

-Phone: eSim purchased through the AirAlo app worked beautifully the entire trip. You just buy it and activate it right before leaving. For me it started working as soon as we passed through Japanese immigration (be prepared for a long line).

-Taking taxis to the tourist hotspots early in the morning was essential for us. In order to beat the crowds, we took taxis from our hotels to our list of “must see” spots that we knew would get busy. Those sites included: Senso-Ji in Tokyo, Ariyashima Bamboo Forest near Kyoto, Fushimi Inari in Kyoto, and Universal Srudios in Osaka. None of those rides (with the exception of Ariyashima, maybe) were more than ¥4000. This method of transportation might not be for everyone, but for us, the calculation of spending $10-$20 USD to experience these places in complete peace and serenity, or start off the morning with more energy and comfort, was worth it.

-Try to get going early in general. Even if you aren’t a super early riser, I noticed that each hour at popular spots gets progressively busier. For example, we took a day trip to Nara from Osaka. We arrived at Nara Park around 8:00 a.m., and it was relatively peaceful, serene, and “normal” for a couple of hours. Then sometime around 10:30 a.m. the area simply exploded with people.

-Get a power bank, keep it charged, and take it with you. We had an Anker power bank, and the thing was a life-saver. Navigating around the cities, researching sites, taking photos, and pulling out your phone for transportation eats up a lot of battery quickly. With the power bank we could use our phones at our leisure and never had to worry about running out of battery. Of course you can always find a coffee shop or station to charge your phone, but it’s much easier to just plug it in and keep exploring.

-Luggage forwarding is essential. This was something I’d read about before leaving for Japan, and I didn’t anticipate needing or wanting it. But after hauling our carry-ons, backpacks, and a large suitcase from Narita to our hotel in Tokyo, I needed it more than I needed water. A sub-tip is that you can send luggage one destination in advance, that is, skipping a destination. For example, we were in Osaka, from there we had two days in Fujiyoshida, but we sent the luggage from Osaka to the next hotel in Tokyo. It was there waiting for us in our room when we arrived. Very nice. In my experience the cost was approximately ¥2000 per bag per time, and I don’t regret a single cent of it. Edit thanks for kind reply: or just pack lightly, do laundry (easy) while there, and buy a suitcase in Japan for souvenirs.

-I found some of the perceptions of Japan to be overblown. Finding a nice, clean bathroom was never an issue. Much harder in Europe, in my personal experience. Disposing of trash was never an issue. Sometimes we would carry it down the street for a while, but you eventually come across a disposal. People generally respect the crosswalk lights, and we did, but it won’t shatter the earth it someone crosses without a walk signal.

-This one may be controversial and put me in an extreme minority, but I preferred Apple Maps to Google Maps. I j...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/bromanceftw on 2024-04-12 09:54:38.

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Part 1 here

Edit: realized I left out Wednesday March 27 in the original post.

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Wednesday, March 27 - Tokyo (1.9 miles) - Nihonbashi & Ginza:

• Shopping: Kuroeya - High-end lacquer-dealer, very beautiful stuff. Bought a nice set of chopsticks for cheap (relatively). On 2F.
• Food - Dessert: Usagiya (3.79 Tabelog, 5/5 rating, 15 min wait @ 2:15pm) - Usagiya is a chain that invented the 'sandwich' shape of the dorayaki that's now commonly used. 1 min wait in the morning but the dorayaki had to be reserved in advance and picked up later that day. Pretty solid, sweet, and cheap dorayaki (¥240).
• Shopping: Nihonbashi Nagasakikan - The first of many antennae stores I visit. This is Nagasaki's, where I bought castella and a dorayaki with a cat print.
• Shopping: CocoShiga - Shiga's, where I bought Omui beef curry sauce mix.
• Shopping: Welcome to Yamaguchi - Yamaguchi's, where I bought a goldfish ceramic and orange marmalade.
• Shopping: Ginza Kumamoto Kan - Kumamoto's, though I didn't see anything I really wanted.
• Food - Lunch: Ginza Kushikatsu Bon (3.70 Tabelog, 5/5 rating) - Reservations recommended. On 3F. Tokyo branch of the Osaka one, which has a Michelin star. Kushikatsu is 'deep-fried', but not like American deep-frying. Yes there's a fired layer you can taste, but it's not particularly oily or overwhelming. I could just keep eating it and not feel sick. The whole course (Premium Course + Ultimate Katsu Sandwich) was wonderful, fried sushi, cheese, A5 wagyu, pork, prawn, shitake, cream croquette, fish eggs, takoyaki, and a wagyu sando. Holy shit everything was amazing, and again, like Tempura Shimomura, very cheap for everything you get. ¥6900 for all that, and a few others I didn't list. Honestly, also something I could see myself doing monthly. Definitely coming here the next Japan trip. Finished it in roughly 60 minutes, door-to-door.
• Shopping: Takumi - High-end folk crafts shop.
• Shopping: 8base: - Aomori's, got apple juice and apple pie.
• Shopping: Pokémon Center DX - got Pokemon stickers for the gf.
• Food - Dessert: Ginza Kimuraya (3.62 Tabelog, 4/5 rating, 15 min @ 3:20pm) - Famous for creating anpan. Also known for their 'Ginza cream melon', which sold around a few minutes before I arrived.
• Shopping: Itoya - Stationary paradise, picked up some ink for the gf. Lots of floors, for every occasion: greeting cards, letters, fountain pens, notebooks, travel, home, crafts. Also a hydroponics farm and cafe at the top floors.
• Food - Dinner: Ginza Yakitori Take-chan (3.65 Tabelog 4/5 rating, no wait @ 5:20pm - Yakitori, grilled right in front of you. Choose between 5 sticks for ¥3000 or 8 for ¥4000. You basically get all parts of the chicken: breast, liver, neck, thigh, wings, as well as duck and chicken meatballs.
• Shopping: Akita Furusato-kan - Akita's, got syruped fig and fig jelly.
• Shopping: 徳島・香川トモニ市場 - Tokushima/Kagawa's, got an awabancha drink.
• Shopping: Hakata Yurakucho - Fukuoka's, got Amaou strawberry tyrolean and yumecha.
• Shopping: Hokkaido Dosanko Plaza - Hokkaido's, got corn soup mix, and Hokkaido soft-serve ice cream. Very popular store.
• Shopping: Ginza Okinawan Washita shop - Okinawa's, got Okashigoten beni-imo tarts and a shikuwasa drink.

Thursday, March 28 - Tokyo (4.8 miles) - Mostly Akihabara & Nihonbashi-Muromachi:

• Sight: Tenno-ji (P4) - right next to Yanaka cemetry. Has a cast Buddha statue.
• Sight: Yanaka cemetery (P2 if blooming) - Japanese cemetery, several graves had fresh flowers, beverages. Fairly well-kept. Disappointing there was only one tree in bloom.
• Food - Dessert: (Kuriya) Kurogi (3.81 Tabelog, 5/5, 15 min @ 9:50am) - 2nd-highest-rated kakigori (shaved ice) in Tokyo. There's a few items he always has and a few seasonals. It was difficult to choose between, but I picked up a sakura one. It had sakura milk and sakura jelly, which had a saltiness that paired well against the sweet matcha, and bubu. I wish I had ordered more condensed milk to eat up the rest of the ice, which many of the others had done. There's adzuki inside the kakigori, the Japanese sure do love their red bean.
• Food - Lunch: Tokyo Noodle Works (3.80 Tabelog, 3.5/5, 25 min wait @ 11:45am) - After trying to go to two others first (Tokyo Style Hotate was closed, and Aoshima Ramen had an insane line), I found Tokyo Noodle Works to be pretty close to Akihabara and the line manageable. Very solid ramen with respectable-sized slices of both chicken and pork, made by a fairly young owner. Slightly higher price-point compared to others.
• Shopping: POP M Life - Adult department store. I for some reason thought it would have non-adult stuff but when I walked in the doors I knew it would be 100% adult stuff. Wasn't for me, and I had other things to see so I 180'ed.
• Shopping: Radio Kaikan - Mentioned on Reddit a couple times, lots of figurines and cards, def weeb paradise.
• Food - Dessert: McDonalds (5/5, no wait @ 1:50pm) - Wanted to see what sorts of special Japan stuff they had. They had a matcha mochi pie for ¥220. Got that. Damn this was one tasty pie. Matcha pastry with mochi and black sugar inside. Slightly over-fried, but for the price and at a McD? I like it a lot. Worth a try if you see it. Likely seasonal.
• Shopping: Mandarake Complex - Mostly bookstore for manga but has toys, figurines, DVDs, adult works. Sizable section of doujinshi/self-published manga. Was not expecting Yuji and Geto from JJK in a very close embrace when I was checking what was on the shelves. Bought a vol 1 of My Hero Academia. They sold out of vol 1 of JJK.
• Sight: Kanda Shrine (P4) - Lots of steps to get here as it's on top of a hill, at least coming from Akihabara. Picturesque shrine with the vermilion and gold.
• Shopping: Chabara - This is like a general regional specialty store. They carry products from all regions of Japan.
• Shopping: BOOKOFF - Used bookstore chain. I didn't plan it prior to the trip, but after Mandarake, I was set on finding a vol 1 of JJK. It was also sold out here.
• Sight: Vending Machines (P5) - Mentioned on Reddit. Popcorn machine, boxes wrapped in newspaper, toy beetles. Weird yes, but not particularly worth the detour imo.
• Shopping: MIDETTE - Fukushima's. Got some packaged moist cake.
• Shopping: Mie Terrace - Mie's. Got some katayaki, hard-baked senbei.
• Shopping: Ninben Nihonbashi Main Shop - Business that was founded in 1699 selling bonito and dashi. They have a dashi bar. An older employee there spoke English very well.
• Food - Dinner: Tempura Yamanoue Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store (3.69 Tabelog, 2/5, 5-10 min wait @ 5:45pm) - Got the special tempura bowl set. Tempura was tasty good but no where close to what I had at Shimomura. It was texture wasn't quite crispy, almost soggy. More golden yellow rather than a white gold look. Also pretty expensive (¥4500) seems to be priced for the rich people who need a bite or bento to take home. Note, this was a restaurant in the basement of Mitsukoshi.

Friday, March 29 - Tokyo (5.7 miles) - Mostly Shibuya:

• Sight: Chidorigafuchi (P1 if blooming) - Moat of the Imperial Palace. Was recommended by many friends. It was another rainy day, also no cherry blossoms in sight. You can see all the bare trees along the banks. Sad.
• Other: Tokyo Station - Got hella lost here. This station was ginormous. Google Maps did not help here, even the Live View function. I went in a gate, then out, then walked out of the station all together, walked around it, then eventually found the gate I was supposed to be at.
• Food - Lunch: Sushi Tsu (3.74 Tabelog, 5/5) - A highly rated sushi place under ¥20000 for lunch, was easy to book online, and had openings. Each piece came out fairly quick in the beginning then slowed down as other guests came in. Got 13 pieces of fish, including gizzard shard, squid, chotoro, Hokkaido uni, cooked anago, toru taku. Also miso soup, tamago, and ice cream. 12-person counter and 3 private rooms. Each piece had the perfect amount of nikiri, wasabi or other flavoring, never overpowered fish but enhanced it. They had beautiful ceramics. Apparently was ¥12000 not too long ago, but still worth the ¥16500, tax included, no tip needed. Easily a $200 meal in the US.
• Sight: Togo Shrine (P4) - Only went here because the gf saw they're the only shrine to offer Sanrio omamori (apparently there's a shrine in Kanagawa that also does so). Of course, it was sold out.
• Sight: Meiji Jingu (P1) - As others have mentioned, it feels so out of place in the middle of a big city like Tokyo, it does remind me of Kyoto. Lots of sights within the area. Was very wow-ed by the main Meiji Jingu area, the shrine is flanked by these giant camphor trees. Unfortunately the treasure museum was closed for renovations.
• Food - Dessert: I'm donut ? (3.60 Tabelog, 5/5, 30 min @ 3:50pm) - Long line, 95% Japanese women. By the time I got there, there were probably only 6 flavors left with none of their most popular flavors left. Very solid donuts, decent at room temperature, even better zapped in the microwave. They have that soft mochi-like texture with none of the oiliness. I wou...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/bromanceftw on 2024-04-12 09:51:50.

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Just came back from Japan last week. I wanted to write this trip report to 1) journal my experience and 2) give back and share my experience with others so their future trip to Japan can be more amazing. Happy to answer questions!

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Background:

• First time in Japan. Originally was going to go with an ex in March 2020... finally got to go this year due to strong dollar/weak yen, 2 weeks off from work, and using my United points to pay for the flight.
• Flight booked Nov 2023 using 110k points via United website. direct to HND, layover in YYZ on return to IAH.
• Hotels booked Dec 2023. Checked roughly once a week to see if there was anything cheaper. Saved a few bucks 1) changing hotels in Osaka, and 2) choosing another, but same room layout for Kyoto hostel.
• 34M Chinese American. Big foodie. When it comes to sights, I am more of a 'checkbox' traveler. I'd rather spend more time on the restaurant experience, and learning about products, such as origins, etc. As such, I wanted to pack a lot more sights in this trip, and walked a fair amount everyday. I didn't use a step counter. Just reporting the miles walked via Google Maps timeline (I would +10% just in case).
• When planning this trip, I put more emphasis on 'older' restaurants/stores, e.g. established in 1600s, or credited with creating a special product.
• Wanted to check out the Tokyo antennae stores, which sell the regional/prefecture goods. They have mostly food, but also have crafts, sake, and some even have a restaurant. 99% of customers were Japanese, hardly any foreigners.
• No interest in anime/manga products so I breezed through Akihabara/Den-Den Town, though I did buy the volume 1's of a few popular manga. Difficult to find Jujutsu Kaisen Vol 1.
• For food, I put more emphasis those with high ratings on Tabelog, aka Japanese Yelp.
  • 3.0 - average.
  • 3.5 - very good.
  • 3.6 - you'll start to see lines, and prior to opening. Start checking online to see if reservations are required.
  • 3.8 - very tough to get in these. The ones that didn't have reservations, had insane lines, like 3.86 donut shop in Kyoto, I waited almost 2 hours in the rain, and that's arriving 40 minutes early.
  • 4.0 - seemed to apply mostly to high end sushi/kaiseki, e.g. you gotta know someone to get on the list.
• For sights, I will assign a priority number (P1, P2, etc). Use this as datapoints for figuring out where to visit on a quick trip.

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Resources

• My Google My Map for points of interest, shopping
• My Google My Map for food
• My Google Sheet with prices of gifts, food, and ratings

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Monday, March 18 - Houston:

• Arrived 7am at IAH, boarded 10:45am for 11:15am flight. While waiting, an ANA employee already mistook me for Japanese; confused, what little Japanese I prepared for this situation left my brain. Knew this won't be the last time I get mistaken as Japanese.

Tuesday, March 19 - Tokyo --> Osaka (1.9 miles) - Just a travel day:

• Land in Haneda around 3:20pm. I stupidly went through the door to the other Terminal 3 gates instead of going through customs, because I wanted to go by gate 108B to grab the special edition Pikachu plushies. Only the flight attendant plush was left. Then I realize I couldn't get out. It took ~20 min to explain to the Info desk and wait for the person they called to escort me to customs. When I got to customs, it looked like there were two flights worth of travelers in front of me.
• Once past customs, activated my Ubigi eSIM with no problems, got my Welcome Suica card (machines to the left when facing towards the exits to the stations).
• Took the Keikyū line to Shinagawa, then took the Shinkansen to Osaka. At first I was going to buy the ticket via the counter at Shinagawa station but there was a line so I figured I would give the SmartEX app a chance. It was pretty easy to buy tickets via app. I linked it to my Suica card. Took the 5:46pm Nozomi, it looked like I was the only foreigner on my car.
• Food - Dinner: Fukutaro Main Store (3.74 Tabelog, 4/5 rating, 20 min wait @ 9:30pm) - Ordered the triple negiyaki (recommended by staff) and beef okonomiyaki. Freshly made at the front grill, and placed on your grill to keep warm. Very bold flavors due to the okonomiyaki sauce (using Worcestershire), dired seaweed flakes, and pickled ginger. Great for drunk people. The worst thing about solo traveling is not getting to try a little bit of everything. Two entrees was way too much for me, despite eating closer to 10pm. I recommend getting okonomiyaki in Osaka, especially since many open late very late, I've seen some open until 3am.
• Sight: Dotonburi (P2) - Very bright and lit up, lots of young people walking around. Felt like a mini Times Square.
• Hotel: Tabist Hotel ASIATO Namba (5/5 rating, $39/night) - Business hotel. 10 min walk to station. Next block was Kuromon Market. Mix of Japanese and foreign guests. Pretty good for the price, and I had my own room and bathroom. The bathroom was a little tiny even for someone 5'10", particularly the space between the toilet and the opposite wall. Would stay again!

Wednesday, March 20 - Osaka (5.9 miles) - Food & Aquarium:

• Sight: Kuromon Market (P2) - Pretty dead at 8am, many shops are closed, some are setting up for the day. Would recommend sleeping in. Or you could get your shopping in early at the Don Quijote in Umeda (only Osaka Donki that's open 24 hours).
• Food - Pastry: Rikuro’s Namba Main Branch (3.51 Tabelog, 5/5 rating, 45 min wait @ 8:20am) - The famous jiggly cheesecake. Was 3rd in line 45 minutes early. Turns out there are two lines, one for the cafe, one for just cake, the two people ahead of me were 3 hours early for the cafe. Line was about 20-30 people when it opened. Not sure how long it'd be middle of day or on weekend. Not as jiggly as the IG posts, but damn good. Note, there are raisins at the bottom. I had to save half for later, it's a good size for 2-4 people. Another note, cheesecake is take-out only, unless it's bought at the cafe (with possibly a more ridiculous line).
• Food - Appetizer: Fukahiro Honten (3.5/5 rating, no wait @ 10am) - Saw a Youtube vid that said the scallops were very good here. Pretty fresh, No line. Note, most of the scallops at the market will grill it all, ovary included. So you'll get an orange sac to eat. The muscle part was juicy and delicious grilled, the ovary part I could do without.
• Food - Appetizer: 満福 / Manpuku (1/5 rating, no wait) - AVOID! Figured I'd try a wagyu on a stick, price seemed okay ~¥2000. One of my worst food ordered this trip. It was microwaved in plastic wrap before being put on a skillet, not grill. Then he added lots of salt/msg and lastly torched and sauced. Terrible quality meat, super sinewy and I could not chew down. Seems to be Chinese-run, only the cashier was Japanese as the other staff were talking in Chinese but spoke Japanese to her. I don't have high hopes for the other stuff.
• Sight: Osaka Castle (P2) - Beautiful up close. This area was super windy. Pretty long lines to go in, so I skipped the interior.
• Food - Lunch/Dinner: Kadoya Shokudo (3.84 Tabelog, 3/5 rating, 60 min wait @ 2:30pm) - Late lunch since the original place I had in mind for some reason was closed. This was the highest-rated ramen in Osaka, which explained the line at 2pm. Shoyu ramen was very solid and rich but wasn't salty like many of the ramen in the US. However, I didn't think it was necessarily 'memorable'. I also ordered the stamina rice bowl. Delicious and well-braised, but still not worth the wait time.
• Experience: Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan (P1) - Reservations recommended. Though when I went, there wasn't a line to buy tickets. Good amount of people @ 4pm. You may have to wait 15-60 seconds each exhibit for the people in front to finish up. The main twin whale shark exhibit is huge, there are many many many angles to view them, so if you are pressed for time, you have plenty of chances. At first I thought the aquarium was less impressive than the Atlanta one, considering Osaka only had 1 river otter, but the later themes were pretty impressive/unique such as the twilight/jellyfish one, artic waters/Japanese spider crabs, and coral. Gift shop was pretty neat, much better than Atlanta's. Picked up some ceramics with otter designs for the girlfriend.
• Shopping: Don Quijote Namba Sennichimae - The original plan was to buy my Donki haul in Tokyo since I didn't want to lug it to Kyoto/Uji/Tokyo. But I saw some sign that said the Biore sunscreen was the cheapest in the region and all reason flew out the window. Oops. I had a shopping list from the girlfriend, so much of what I bought was to fulfill that. It's somewhat organized, categories I remember: food on 1F, cosmetics on 2F, alcohol, electronics, suitcases, pharmacy on 3F. There's a fairly long line for the tax-free counter on 3F. You can get an [extra 5% off](https://www.djapanpa...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/GypsySage on 2024-04-09 00:58:56.

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I'll be visiting Japan in July for the first time, with my wife and teenage kids. We have a number of things we'd like to do, and we're planning to split our time between Tokyo and Kyoto. Is this a realistic schedule? I have grouped items together by proximity but the days themselves are not in any particular order; they can be reordered as needed.

1. Arrive in Tokyo, get checked into hotel, get our bearings
2. Explore Ikebukuro, Sunshine City (Pokemon Center, Pokemon Cafe)
3. Explore Akihabara, go to Kirby Cafe, maybe Tokyo Skytree
4. Sanrio Puroland
5. Studio Ghibli Museum (may need to buy a tour package that includes visiting some other sights, so this will probably take a full day)
6. Toyosu Fish Market, TeamLAB Planets
7. Meiji Shrine, Yoyogi Park, explore Shibuya/Shinjuku
8. Travel to Kyoto, get checked into hotel
9. Visit shrines (Fushimi Inari Shrine for sure, maybe Kinnini-ji temple and/or golden pavilion)
10. Samurai & Ninja Museum, tea ceremony
11. Short trip to Nara Deer Village, then shop for a kimono (not a formal kimono, but not a yukata either)
12. Toei Kyoto Studio Park (I'm not 100% sold on this, but it might be fun for the kids)
13. Travel to Hakone, stay at hot springs ryokan
14. Check out and travel back to Tokyo, fly out in the late afternoon.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Triple10X on 2024-04-08 16:37:12.

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I fly non-revenue, and with limited vacation days and some luck, it looks like I'm going to have an opportunity to go to Japan for the first time this week. I get in Friday at 2pm at Narita and leave in the early evening on Tuesday.

My spouse really wants to go to Tokyo Disney and Mt. Fuji, so that is realistically two whole days. That basically means that we have Friday afternoon, Monday, and part of the day Tuesday for Tokyo.

Yes, I realize this is insane. Yes, I know I'm going to miss out on a lot.

In doing some research, I definitely want to go to Senso-Ji, the Meiji Shrine, Shibuya Crossing, and the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. I also want to get to Akihabara, walk more around Shinjuku and Shibuya and possibly Harajuku.

My main question is with a super limited time in Japan, is there anything that you would recommend removing or making sure that we absolutely must do with our limited time. Thanks in advance.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/ttx90 on 2024-04-08 03:47:15.

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Hi everyone,

I'm traveling with 2 friends to Tokyo in Jan 2025 for 5 nights (our first time there). I'd love your recommendation and feedback on how logical and feasible this itinerary is. There are just so many things to do and see from my research but I understand that we should not pack everyday with activities. We love to eat (not fine dining), walk around and explore. We're good with walking 10k-20k steps a day. We're not really into shopping or anime. Thanks a lot in advance!

Day 1 - TOKYO STATION

* 7am - Arrive at Haneda airport

* Lunch in Shinjuku (close to hotel) or Tokyo Station

* Afternoon - Imperial Palace

* Imperial Palace East Gardens

* Edo Castle ruins

* Yasukuni Shrine

* Jimbocho, home to streets of bookstores

* Check out Glitch coffee & roasters

* Evening - back to Shinjuku

* Free view at Tokyo Gov metropolitan building

* 3D cat billboard, godzilla, cosplay girl

* Kabukicho Tower

* Omoide Yokocho (izakaya/yakitori alley)

* Golden Gai (pubs/bars)

Day 2 - ASAKUSA

* Morning - Asakusa area

* Sensoji temple

* Asakusa Shrine

* 12th floor of Asakusa Culture Tourist Info Center for stunning skyline views

* Tokyo National Museum

* Ueno Park

* Don Quijote - snacks & souvenirs

* Food in Asakusa

* Suzukien Asakusa - matcha

* Asakusa Unana - eel nigiri

* Imo Pippi - sweet potato bread

* Ameyoko Shopping District - tons of standing bar and yakitori places

* Dinner - Manten sushi (26 course omakase) - need to make reservation in advance

Day 3 - TSUKIJI & GINZA

* Early morning - Hie shrine

* 10am TeamLab Borderless

* Lunch - Tsukiji Outer fish market

* Hamarikyu gardens

* Optional - Sumo wrestling tournament (depend on whether we get tickets)

* Evening - Ginza

* Any food recommendations?

Day 4 - SHIBUYA

* Early morning - Meiji Jingu Shrine / Meiji sake barrels

* Yoyogi Park - can probably skip

* Harajuku

* Get Japanese crepe okonomiyaki / Takeshita Dori street

* Macca house

* Nezu museum - modern art

* Shibuya Crossing and lunch in Shibuya

* Shibuya SKY observation deck for sunset - make reservation

Day 5 -

* Day trip to see Mt Fuji, possibly Kawaguchi - any recommendations on booking a day trip via Klook/Expedia or should we go by ourselves?

Day 6 -

* Flight at 4:30pm

* Flat udon noodle shop in Haneda airport Terminal 3 - Godaime Hanayama

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Helfeather on 2024-04-07 17:25:12.

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Just got back from an 18-day trip to Japan with my partner, his first time, and my second time. I have linked my spreadsheet below which has 2 tabs: the updated TRIP REPORT tab which denotes what we actually did, and my WORKING ITINERARY which was the pre-trip planned schedule. I've also left the prices of things we paid for as I think it'll be helpful for people to know what they're expecting to spend.

For the most part, it went really well. If you compare the two tabs, we had leaned into sleeping in more often but staying out later, which worked out fine in Tokyo and Osaka. Some things we fell short on was stuff to do in Kawaguchiko and Hakone as the buses are jampacked there, so we spent a lot more time at our nice ryokans which worked out because they have tons of amenities. If we had booked regular hotels, I think we would have tried to do more stuff to get our times' worth but the ryokan accommodations were really fantastic. We did decide that many of the touristy spots are too crowded, and Kawaguchiko and Hakone are WAY too crowded in that buses are overrun.. But otherwise a very fun trip.

PRE-TRIP

We loaded ¥20,000 into our mobile Suica on our Apple Wallets and it was very handy. As soon as you arrive at NRT you can go grab a drink from the first vending machine you see lol. I 100% suggest you set up mobile Suica before you go! We also bought 10g esims before going and activated it right before getting on the plane (from Los Angeles) so it was working when we landed. Our ryokans and hotels were booked about 3 months in advance and I did as many early reservations I could (about a month before for most). Shibuya Sky during sunset and Pokemon Cafe were the two difficult ones. We didn't book any Shinkansen in advance but we did setup our Hakone freepass and Romancecar tickets. We did all the transit pathing while there via Google maps which worked out just fine.

DAY 1 - 4, TOKYO

We landed in NRT late afternoon so wasn't much of a chance to do too much and definitely not able to try to ship our luggage directly to our hotel. Based on my research, you'd have to do this before noon at the latest for same-day delivery. Optionally next time I think maybe we can just store necessities in our backpacks and leave our luggage to be delivered on the second day. NRT has free wifi but it can be slow, so we had our esims as backup while we figure some stuff out during immigration. Our hotel was in Iidabashi, Chiyoda City which wasn't too hard to get to. We used the ticket counter at NRT and got on the Skyliner so it was a little faster then a local train to Iidabashi. If you've got time and want to save a little money I think there's a slower way, the Marunouchi line which travels all the way for much cheaper but makes a ton of stops, as we took this back to the airport on our last day. We ate in Ikebukuro just to kind of see some of the city and a nice hot meal before we ended our travel day.

Next morning we went to Kaminarimon, Senso-ji, in Asakusa. It's a Saturday so it was SUPER crowded.. Expect some difficulty taking photos as other tourists are very much in the way all the time lol. Still something worth seeing as one of the well-known attractions of Asakusa. Once we had our fill we went to Ginza as we had a lunch reservation at Ginza Toyoda. 5/5 kaiseki style lunch, fantastic introduction to Japanese cuisine that isn't sushi/ramen. Since we're in Ginza, we shopped around the area, not crowded at all. At night we went to an okay omakase sushi join, then went to go see Shibuya Crossing. Super crowded, as expected, but make sure you snap a picture with Hachiko!

Day 3 we then went to Takeshita Street, Harajuku. Again, super crowded but a must-see. We then went to Tokyo Skytree and Sumida Aquarium in the evening. They have a combo ticket pack for both if you're interested! Skytree was okay, too crowded, but Sumida Aquarium was pretty cool especially if you love jellyfish. They're right next to each other so very convenient.

Our last day in Tokyo before going to Kyoto, we went to see Tsukiji market! Cool experience with the market stalls but know that the food is overpriced and very tourist-centric. We opted for some seafood and the very popular tamagoyaki sticks and that was it. Take the time to go to Toyosu market which is much newer, slightly less crowded, and still some good food options. More of a mall-type restaurant place though so it's not a replacement for Tsukiji market. Teamlab Planets is also nearby so it made an easy transition. Planets is a 5/5 experience, though I don't consider is a must-see for Japan. It's really not even very Japanese-feeling but still a quality experience. At night we went to go check out Shibuya area some more, especially the very large shopping building Shibuya Parco. We also shipped our luggage using Yamato Transport (also known as kuroneko or tak-q-bin/takkyubin) to Kyoto which cost around $25 USD per luggage; our hotel helped fill it out and do the measurements. It was great. We would continue to use this service for the rest of the trip between hotels.

DAY 5 - 7, KYOTO

We used the SmartEx website to book our Shinkansen tickets which was very handy. I've heard the app sucks so use the website. You might run into VISA problems so book with a Mastercard as a backup (such as Apple Card). They don't give you a physical ticket but it was easy enough to show the QR code to the gate attendants and they either give you a ticket or just pass you through. If they give you a ticket make sure you keep it, as you'll need it to exit with the attendant at your destination as well. Went to Nishiki market which was cool, similar to Tsukiji market. Going to Kiyomizu-dera temple was super crowded but still a worthwhile sight as the traditional Japanese style buildings and temple was great. After that, we went into Gion and I found this duck rice place that was super good and 5/5 meal.

Next morning, very early, we went to Arashiyama bamboo forest! Go before 8a if you want a chance at an empty photo. As soon as it hit 8a you see a lot more people arriving. There's a very yummy wagyu beef bowl place called Kijurou nearby which has a line even before it opens, so get in line if you want to eat there, 5/5. Then went to Kinkakuji, the golden temple, which was okay. Tired, we retired early for the next morning. We also got our ready for takkyubin in the morning.

And this morning we got up extra early to go to Fushimi Inari so there'd be a lot less people. The earlier the better. He got our pictures in and hiked maybe halfway before deciding cool, we're done with the experience lol. Went to Kyoto Imperial Palace which was very cool, well maintained piece of history. Some shopping, then a night experience at Nijo Castle. The experience was supposed to be for cherry blossoms but they didn't bloom yet so we only saw naked trees.. 1/5 experience.

DAY 8 - 9 OSAKA, NARA

I'm not a big fan of Osaka but it's still worth a trip. We didn't do that much but at night definitely go see the bustling scene at Dotonbori. Lots of food options and buskers, but again very tourist-centric prices.

Went to Nara the next morning, arriving around noon. It was a very chill town and found out that the deer are actually "wild" deer, so they come and go. The park is open, very minimal fencing, so the deer just come and go, hang out, etc. There are cracker venders around every corner and no entry fees. Definitely cool experience. Then head to Rokumei Coffee for a fantastic coffee and pastry midday! After coffee we headed back to Osaka and went to Teamlab Botanical Garden.. Not that cool, 3/5, Borderless and Planets are way more fun.

DAY 10 - 11, KAWAGUCHIKO

In the morning we sent out luggage via takkyubin to our Tokyo hotel and just took a backpack each. Found out that getting to Kawaguchiko from Osaka is not quite streamlined.. So we ended up taking the Shinkansen to Shin-Yokohama then some local-ish trains north, then Odakyu line west into Fuji.. Several transfers and hours later, we got there. Definitely easier to come here straight from Tokyo. Anyway, cloudy weather so we didn't have too great of a shot of Mt Fuji but the lake was beautiful and our ryokan was amazing.

Next morning, our view of Mt Fuji was PERFECT with no clouds. We hiked our butts up to Tenku no Torii for pictures which took a bit of time, and another hour of standing in line for it.. Coming down, we went to Houtou Fudou which serves really only one thing and it was delicious, 5/5 would recommend. Went back to enjoy our ryokan onsen!

DAY 12 - 13, TOKYO

We went back to Tokyo for some filler days because we couldn't line up Hakone right after but we filled it with Shibuya Sky (book a month in advance to get sunset times) and it was 100% better than Tokyo Skytree. The second day we went to Teamlab Borderless which was a 5/5 experience and a coffee tasting at Mameya Kakeru, 5/5 as well. Luggage via takkyubin to our next Tokyo hotel while we just use backpacks for Hakone.

DAY 14, HAKONE

Getting to Hakone wasn't a big deal, but once you get there it becomes very apparent how difficult it is to get around.. Buses are often full, and it's just overcrowded with tourists. We spent most of the day at our ryokan instead which was full of amenities so no big deal.

Next morning we checked out and left our backpacks at the ryokan, and ...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/DizzyEwok on 2024-04-07 14:05:39.

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We’ve just finished a 17-day trip to Japan and have a bunch of learnings and recommendations that will hopefully help others. We’re definitely not experts, and I’m sure we misinterpreted a few things, but these are the things we’ll be bearing in mind if/when we go back. Worth mentioning that we’re very food-focused travellers!

Prices are quoted in yen (¥) in case the exchange rate fluctuates significantly, but we’ve also included some approximate costs in today’s £. For our trip, ¥1000 = £5.30.

Itinerary summary

We flew directly from London to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, so we lost the first and last days of our trip to the ~14 hour flight. The remaining 15 days included:

• Tokyo (4 days inc. day trip to Kamakura)

• Mount Fuji 5 Lakes Region (3 days)

  • Hakone (2 days, 1 night)
  • Lake Kawaguchiko (2 nights, 1 day)

• Kyoto (4 days inc. day trip to Nara)

• Osaka (3 days)

• Tokyo (1 final day/night before flight)

Overall learnings

Money

• We had read that Japan is still very cash-centric, but ~80% of our purchases were by card (Mastercard and Amex). Cards are accepted at most shops, bars and restaurants, and all convenience stores.

  • The notable exception to this was the Suica card for public transport (see below) which can only be topped up with cash.
  • Many places accepted card but not Google/Apple Pay – you needed the physical card and sometimes you had to sign for it.
  • Tourist attractions (e.g. temples) are often cash only but rarely expensive.
  • There are ATMs in almost all convenience stores, which are abundant, so if you do run out of cash it’s easy to nip out to get some more.

• Generally Japan was less expensive than we’d expected given what we’d heard, though this might be due to the particularly weak yen right now. Some typical prices:

  • Ramen: ¥1200 (~£6)
  • Beer in a restaurant: ¥500-600 (£2.50-3)
  • Glass of sake in a restaurant: ¥400 (£2)
  • Sushi platter for 1 in a sushi restaurant: ¥2500 (£13)
  • Sashimi platter for 2 in an izakaya: ¥2000 (~£10)
  • 1-way subway journey: ¥200 (£1)
  • 1-way train to day-trip destination like Nara: ¥1500 (£8)
  • 1-way standard-class bullet train ticket with reserved seats, e.g. Osaka->Tokyo: ¥15,000 (£80)
  • Coffee: ¥200 (£1) from a convenience store, ¥600 (£3) from a coffee shop, ¥1000 (£5) from a specialist coffee shop
  • Hotels: we spent an average of ~¥20,000 per night (£100) for hotels of a reasonable standard (think 3-4 stars)

Transport

• It’s an absolute must to get an ‘IC card’, Japan’s equivalent of an Oyster card.

  • The dominant brand of IC card is “Suica” in Tokyo. It works all over Japan, across different train/bus companies, even in convenience stores.
  • There are other brands like “Pasmo”, but Suica is the easiest to get hold of as there’s a machine to get a “Welcome Suica” which is valid for 28 days for visitors at Haneda airport.
  • As of right now, you can only get these at the airport. So don’t leave the airport without getting one!
  • Note that you can’t get back unused credit when you leave, so don’t top up much more than you will use.
  • You top up the Suica card with cash (only cash) and then use it to tap in/out of subway lines. It calculates the correct fare for you and deducts it from your balance.
  • Without a Suica, you’ll have to buy paper tickets everywhere. This has the potential to be a nightmare, as the subway system is run by many different companies, which can mean multiple tickets per journey if you’re changing lines.
  • Apparently there is a way to get your Suica on your iPhone and use it via NFC. Potentially this can also be topped up via credit card rather than just cash. But we didn’t try this as only one of us has an iPhone and only Android phones bought in Japan are supported.
  • Every station has machines to ‘charge’ your Suica with cash. If you go on an expensive journey and your balance doesn’t cover it, you won’t be allowed back through the gates, but there are “fare adjustment” machines to recharge there and let yourself out.

• The subway systems in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka were all great.

  • Clear signage in English in all the stations; announcements and digital displays on trains switch between English and Japanese every few seconds.
  • All the stations are numbered as well as named, which makes things extra easy. Sometimes the Japanese names can seem similar to an English-speaker, but if you know you’re going from J-12 to J-16, there’s no room for confusion.
  • They’re all very clean, largely because there is no eating or drinking allowed on any train. They’re also incredibly quiet as phone calls aren’t allowed and people keep talking to a whisper.

• Google Maps worked incredibly well everywhere we went (even for more-remote bus journeys).

  • Although the station signage is clear, the maps are not. It’s much easier to let Google figure it out for you. It will even tell you what exit to use and where to get on the train to reduce your time spent walking down the platform.
  • Sometimes the train will change subway while you’re on it. Google Maps will helpfully say “Remain on board” even though it might not be obvious from the map.
  • Note that some stations are huge, and Google Maps doesn’t always properly account for walking from one platform to another. We didn’t find this to be a problem as the trains are regular enough for it not to matter (e.g. every 6 minutes). It’s something to watch out for when getting the Shinkansen (bullet train).

• The Shinkansen (bullet trains) are awesome. Super punctual, clean and quick.

  • You can check prices and book up to a month in advance at – you get a QR code to pick up your tickets at the station. This was super easy and meant our longer journeys were low-stress as we’d reserved seats. It seems like this was worth it as every train we got was full or close to full.
  • You can pick up tickets you’ve bought online at any major train station. It’s worth doing this in advance of the day you travel in case there’s a queue at the station (they can get long).
  • For one short journey (Kyoto to Osaka) we didn’t reserve tickets because there are trains every ~5 minutes and it’s only a ~15 minute journey. But the queue for the Shinkansen ticket machines was so long, we spent longer queuing than we spent on the train!
  • You can get delicious “ekiben” (bento boxes of food for the train) at the station. Don’t underestimate the quality of these, we had some great sushi for ~¥1000 (£5). Food and drink is allowed on Shinkansen.
  • It didn’t seem like the green car (first class) upgrade was worth it. You get so much legroom in standard class.

Language

• We had heard that the level of English was very low but we were pleasantly surprised by how many people could at least get by speaking English. We were actively seeking out less touristy places and we never had an issue communicating, even when there was no English spoken.

• There are a handful of Japanese phrases that we found incredibly useful:

  • Ari-ga-to gozai-masu: “thank you”
  • This is the polite version of thank you. You don’t pronounce the “u” at the end, it just sounds like “mass”.
  • If you elongate the a to be like “maaaaas” then that seems to indicate more enthusiasm. We never heard anyone say “domo arigato” (thank you very much), so it seems like this elongation is the preference.
  • We were surprised how rarely “arigato” (the casual version) was used.
  • If you don’t bother with anything else, this is the one to learn.
  • Fu-tari desu: “we are two” (again, don’t pronounce the u)
  • This is all you need to get a table at a restaurant as a couple. You’d probably be fine just gesturing the number 2, but it seems a bit more polite to say something as you do it.
  • If you are asked “nan desu ka?” when you walk in that means “how many are you?”, to which this is the correct answer as a couple.
  • Ku-da-sai: “please”
  • To order in a restaurant you just say the name of the thing and then this phrase afterwards. E.g. “bīru kudasai” means “can I have a beer please?”
  • There’s a polite version of ‘please’ which is interchangeable: “onegaishimasu” (maybe just Google how to pronounce that one!)
  • Kā-do de: “pay by card”
  • Unlike in the UK where it’s assumed that you will pay by card, often in Japan you have to explicitly say it or they will wait for you to hand them cash without setting up the card machine.
  • You can make this more polite by saying “kādo de kudasai” which means “I’d like to pay by card please”.
  • The word for cash is “genkin” so if you hear that in a response, it probably means they only take cash. Most people know the phrase “cash only” though, even if they don’t speak much English.

• We used Google Translate’s camera function extensively to translate written Japanese, e.g. when there was no English menu. This works incredibly well, and we had a lot more confidence to visit places with no English (e.g. particularly local restaurants) as a result.

• The couple of times we struggled to communicate what we needed to say, we just used Google translate to generate the Japanese and showed it to the person on our phones. Some Japanese people also did this with us without being prompted.

Food and drink

Food was the thing we were most excited about when planning our trip and it did not disappoint! There is lots to say. We’ve left specific recommendations to the sections below that focus on each...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/strsofya on 2024-04-07 09:59:33.

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Couple trip, from Europe, NL - first time in Japan. Route Tokyo - Hakone - Osaka with daily trips (Yokohama, Nara, Kyoto). We are in our 30s, relaxed travellers, used to walking a lot. Hope this helps someone in their planning as I definitely found similar reports very useful when I did my research.

Pre-trip prep:

Internet: e-sim Ubigi, I got 10 GB for 13 days, did not run out. For a phone that did not have e-sim we got a travel sim card on our first day in Tokyo in BIC Camera (close to Tokyo station).

Customs: got QR code via Visit Japan Web. Customs at the Narita airport took maybe 15-20 min, they asked for QR three time during this time.

Electronics: got portable Anker battery and a EU->JP plug adapter. Adapter is an absolute must, there are no usb-c ports in hotel rooms.

Luggage & laundry: we had two carry-ons, no checked in luggage. We used laundry service twice - in Tokyo and in Osaka where we stayed for multiple days. As it was a standard hotel laundry service, not a self-service, we got fresh clothes same day by 6 pm if we left it at the reception before 10 am. We got a cheap suitcase (Ginza Karen, better quality then I expected for 7k yen price) for everything we got in Osaka on our last day.

Booked in advance: Teamlabs Planets, Gundam viewing deck in Yokohama, dinner options in Ryokans in Hakone. Did not pre-book any restaurants, trains or attractions otherwise.

Trip itself:

Tokyo, 4,5 days:

Arrived on Monday around 11:00, got tickets for Narita express and reached Tokyo station in about an hour. Got Suica cards in the information office, physical ones. We stayed in Ginza so it was an easy 10 min subway ride and 5 minute walk to our hotel.

Hotel: Mitsui Gargen Ginza Hotel Premier. Great location, great views (Tokyo Tower too from certain rooms), very clean and normal king size bed, not two single beds which is very common in Japan. Lots of breakfast places nearby but breakfast in the hotel itself is also good.

Ginza: great location to connect to many other areas. Lots of food options - though some places seemed to be priced rather high due to the area, I would not recommend staying here if you're on a budget. Shopping is great, as to be expected.

What we covered in 4,5 days:

• Teamlabs Planets: I know some people love it, some find it meh. I found it meh - too many people, too touristy. Some rooms are very cool though.
• Akihibara: must see if you're into pop culture / manga / gundam. It was fascinating to visit for me once, my partner came back on another day to do some proper nerdy shopping.
• Shibuya and Meiji Shrine: walked from Shibuya crossing through some streets and a really nice park all the way to the Shrine and back to the subway. The Shrine is definitely worth the visit, really peaceful and beautiful. Shibuya crossing is... well, just a crossing.
• Tokyo Tower: beautiful views of the city and really nice area around the tower, absolutely worth a visit.
• Yokohama day trip: went to Cup Noodle Museum (really nice experience!) and Gundam Factory. Giant Gundam was still up so went up to the deck as well. I loved how walkable the area was, Yokohama was definitely a highlight, and only 35 min away from Ginza.

One the last day, Friday, we took a direct train from Tokyo station to Odawara station (Hakone), I bought it a day in advance in the ticket office.

Hakone, 2,5 days:

We arrived to Odawara station around 14:00, bought Shinkansen tickets to Osaka in advance (right side of the card for the view of mount Fuji), bought Hakone passes as well - totally worth it, free transport and cable cars throughout the area. At 15:00, a transfer bud from the ryokan picked us up and we arrived to Gora which is the main town for major attractions about an hour later. It is also possible to reach Gora by a local train, we did not try it though.

First night we stayed in Gora which was convenient for seeing the sights, and for two other nights moved to a more remote area, ryokan Kinnotake Tonosawa which was a most amazing, relaxing, private accomodation with amazing service and food. We do not have tattoos but opted for a private in-room onsen experience and did not visit public onsens.

When in Hakone, we took a cable car to Owakudani to see mount Fuji and the hot spings valley - it was totally worth it though quite crowded on a Saturday. We wanted to go all the way to the lake below, but the cable car leg to the lake was closed and lines for a replacement bus were longer than we were comfortable with so it did not happen. On the way back to Gora we roamed the little streets and some smaller attractions.

Hakone was a much needed break after energy of Tokyo, and I am glad we took our time to proper slow down and relax there.

We went back to Odawara station on Monday morning by taxi from the ryokan, and boarded Shinkansen at 12:00. It took 2 hrs 30 mins to reach Shin Osaka station.

Osaka, 5 days:

Took a taxi from Shin Osaka directly to the hotel as navigating Umeda with carry-ons did not sound like fun. This was a right move, Umeda station is totally disorienting and I tried to avoid it as much as possible throughout the stay.

Hotel: Imperial Osaka on the river. Stayed for the view and the quiet area - loved it. Also only 5 min away from the Sakuranomiya train station which took us directly to Nara and almost directly to Kyoto (only 1 stop inbetween).

What we covered in 5 days in Osaka:

• City centre: Dotonbori, Nipponbashi (similar to Akihibara), Namba area. Loved it.
• Osaka aquarium: an absolute must if you are into aquariums, and the best facility I've seen, even compared to really well maintained oceanariums in Boston or Bay area.
• Osaka Castle: it was a relaxing stroll from the hotel along the river and all the way to the castle, maybe about 25 minutes. We did not go inside (lines), but walked about and it was absolutely beautiful.
• Day trip to Nara: the weather was horrible that day so we only went to the deer park and roamed about city centre a bit. I had the best coffee and croissant of the trip at the Rokumei cafe, it was a perfect spot to hide from the rain and warm up.
• Day trip to Kyoto: we were aware that no way we'd see everything in one day so prioritised Inari Shrine. It was really beautiful and relaxing hike despite insane crowds in the first third of the way. After Inari we made it to Kyoto Handicraft Centre and it was worth the track - most amazing prints, lacquerware, wood work and overall souvenir items of higher quality.

On the last day we flew back to NL directly from Kansai airport. The airport is 1 hr from the Osaka so we took a taxi and it was around 20k yen - definitely expensive but worth it with the luggage and early in the morning.

Overall learnings from the trip:

We could have easily spent a week in Tokyo, I feel we only scratched the surface, especially since we were jetlagged and not at our best for for first 2 days.

Staying in Osaka as a hub was the right move for us. I absolutely loved the city - it is very food-centric, much more relaxed than Tokyo and shopping is great. That said, I visited Takashimaya shopping centre in both Tokyo and Osaka and they're not exactly the same, so both worth a visit.

Kyoto was very cute but way too touristy. Reminds me of Venice or Florence, same vibes. I am glad we did not stay there.

It was easy to book train tickets on the stations 1-2 days in advance - that said, we travelled outside of major tourist times so I imagine it can get much busier. I spent extra on green car, as it had only two seats in a row, not three, and it was a great experience.

We were not religious about trying to get by using public transport only, and if we were too tired to figure out train station mazes we used Uber. It worked perfectly and definitely reduced travel stress.

Japan is definitely a country where wearing layers pays off, in spring at least - temperature fluctuated between 2C - 18C, and Uniqlo layers worked marvels. I also wore athleisure and it was not an issue - it was obvious we're tourist anyway. I did change to more local clothes (long skirts or slacks, shirts and cardigans) for evening meals though.

We did not book any restaurants in Tokyo or Osaka in advance (Japanese apps are not very user friendly) but had no problem walking into ramen shops, yakitori and curry places. Lines stars around 18:30 so we made sure to walk in around 18:00.

My Revolute VISA card worked almost everywhere, and backup AMEX worked as well. Cash withdrawal is easy at 7/11. Cash is needed mostly for shrines, gacha shops, remote areas / small shops in Hakone.

People generally spoke English but not fluently, there is a language barrier for sure. My partner speaks basic Japanese so it definitely helped, and we used google translate where necessary. Most restaurants had English menus or pictures we could point to. Trains / subway had English everywhere so it was no problem.

There are no trash cans in public areas which is weird considering how much Japanese love single use plastics. Fortunately, there are a lot of public bathroom and there are trash cans there.

Most local hotels would have two single beds, not one king size or double bed. This significantly reduced number of options for us to book, but I imagine some people may find it a convenience. Also, smoking rooms are a thing in Japan, so be careful what room you book.

Next time we travel to Japan we will do a reverse where we'd arrive to Osaka and fly back from Tokyo, to ...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/WolfOwlice on 2024-04-05 23:22:38.

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We're from the UK; first time to Japan. We learnt a very small amount of Japanese a year before we set off. We visited Japan for 3 weeks starting 17th March. Here's my review, I've used yen if I remembered the cost of stuff, otherwise good ol' pound sterling - DM if you want any specific recommendations!

Tokyo - 4 nights We landed at Narita airport and got the Skyliner into Tokyo. Akihabara was a good place to stay and seemed central to the activities we wanted to do. We visited the Owl Cafe in Akihabara which was fun. Yodobashi Akiba is huge - we spent 2 hours in there. It was nice to see the electronics in real life, we don't get that as much in the UK anymore. Tokyo Skytree was a waste of money - good views buy way too busy. I've been to lots of similar towers and not seen one that busy - the queue for the elevator back down ran around the entire viewing deck! I wanted to do a sushi train type of place so we went to Uobei at Shibuya - that's a lot of fun watching the food come out directly to you on the conveyor. I don't think the quality was the best, but whatever. Tokyo National Museum was interesting and I enjoyed learning some Japanese history. Teamlabs Planets was alright, certainly interesting. You need to take your shoes and socks off, plus your legs will get wet up to knee height. Worth a visit.

We were literally about to depart the hotel/Tokyo when an earthquake hit - there was an emergency alert on one of our phones as it started. It was a small one (3 in Tokyo?) and was a gentle swaying of the building. Unfortunately it meant our first Shinkansen was delayed by an hour and a half - but as with most things in Japan, things just carried on as normal. We dropped our bags for our first luggage forwarding at Tokyo station...

Takayama - 2 nights We took the Shinkansen to Toyama (loads of leg room, recline...amazing), and then were due to transfer to the Hida Express for Takayama. However, I couldn't pick up the train tickets for JR West...the machine was not picking up a reservation for my card (turns out numberless cards store a different number on the strip to what you see in the app - I use Chase for my banking and numberless is becoming common in the UK). I spoke to someone in the ticket office but their English was not great - they said to refund the original ticket online and buy a new one, which I did. We traveled to Takayama on the local trains instead of the express, which was fine - good views as you make your way into the mountains.

Once there, Takayama is a brilliant little town. It had snowed the day before we got there so everything was very beautiful. And it melted enough to not be a problem whilst we visited the temples and shrines, plus the Hida Folk Village. The morning market by the river has a few little stalls to check out but my favourite bit was the old town houses - wander the streets and visit the shops (plus the Sake brewery! You get a sake cup and then pay 100 yen for each taster of sake). Hida Beef is delicious - I got a few skewers from the small stalls plus some other bits. We were going to do one of the circular walks up the hill near the centre but the snow hadn't melted enough and we only had trainers on...

Kyoto - 2 nights This time we actually got the Hida Express from Takayama to Nagoya, and then the Shinkansen to Kyoto (I had to refund and rebuy tickets again due to the card issue). As it had snowed again we got some really great views as the train weaved through the mountains.

Our bags had arrived at the hotel as expected (thanks Yamato). Kyoto train, subway and bus system seems overly complicated in comparison to Tokyo - we got ICOCA cards here as working out where to go and fares was madness without it (we weren't sticking around long enough for a pass to be worth it). The Pontocho area was cool and we walked the Philosophers path - there were a couple of impressive temples along the route (Higashiyama and Nanzen-ji). And the old streets in Gion are also cool. It was good to see Fushimi Inari but it was VERY busy (duh). In fact, Kyoto just seemed very busy with tourists, more so than Tokyo. We did another luggage forward here, sending our suitcases ahead to Osaka.

Overall I thought Kyoto was a bit...grey. Maybe it was literally the grey, drizzly weather whilst we were there 🤷‍♂️

Nara - 1 night A little trip down the line from Kyoto to Nara. There's not loads to do here so 1 night was fine, but what we did do was enjoyable. Just when I thought I was shrine-d out, I was taken aback by Todai-ji and the Giant Buddha. They are really quite something. And then of course, the deer 🦌 I'd read differing things about feeding the deer but from what I saw, if they don't want feeding they just walk away and have a rest. We got some deer crackers and walked away from the crowds to find some deer to feed, and a few came up to grab what they could. It was a pretty unique experience!

(Yoshino) Osaka/Ichio - 1 night This should have been a day trip to Yoshino but the weather was wet and cold, plus the cherry blossom hadn't appeared yet so we went to Osaka for the day instead (added in those bits in the Osaka section below).

In the evening we travelled south of Nara to a tiny village called Ichio and stayed at a Ryokan, a traditional Japanese house. This was a great experience - we were the only guests (main room, bedroom, toilet and kitchen off to one side, bathroom in different area). Whilst there were some modcons like WiFi and a TV, the building was genuinely old (1914) and was decked out as you'd expect - tatami mats, sleeping on the 'floor', floor seats, no shoes, etc. The beds were comfy though. Our hosts gave us a Japanese evening meal (lots of fish and seafood) and then a western breakfast (think European continental). The place was cold generally but a gas heater and heated mats/blanket made it all very cosy. It would have been nice to stay more than 1 night to experience the quiet of the place really and at around £100 a night it's great value.

Koyosan - 1 night The sun came out for the first time in a week - good timing as we headed into the mountains for a night at a Buddhist temple. It's a train ride then a funicular up to a bus station, and then a short bus ride to get to Koyasan (or you can go completely by bus). (Here's where an IC card pays off as you can just scan in and out on all of these journeys).

Koyasan is a quiet little village with a couple of convenience stores and lots of souvenir shops. It's a sacred place for Buddhism, where Kobo Daishi settled and also died, and as such there is a very large cemetery which is worth a visit - the sun made for some beautiful pictures amongst the tall trees. You don't get a view of the surrounding mountains here but it's a quiet, peaceful place. If you want to experience a Buddhist temple, including a very filling Japanese vegetarian dinner, an onsen, Buddhist prayers at 6am, beautiful surroundings, sleeping on tatami mats and another very filling Japanese breakfast - this is for you! It was pretty good to see it - it felt a little tourist-y considering we'd done a Ryokan by ourselves the previous night...but good to try it once, eh.

Osaka - 4 nights Earlier in the week we had come over to Osaka to fill a rainy day - we did a free walking tour, hosted by a local, which wasn't super detailed but gave us a good idea about Osaka. Osaka seemed easier to get around than Kyoto, although perhaps we'd just gotten used to navigating by then...

When we came back to Osaka following Koyasan, we spent an afternoon in Round1 Stadium. This has 4 floors of claw grabbers (PAYG), a sort of non-gambling floor (gambling is mostly illegal in Japan but people play slot machines and other games with tokens that you buy...you might win some toys) and then you pay a set amount for the remaining floors for 1, 1.5 or 3 hours. The other floors have an arcade game floor; sports like table tennis, badminton, virtual golf; and baseball batting cages - all included in the price. Everything is timed so if it's busy, most games are time limited. We did Universal Studios on a Friday - review and tips for that here.

On a busy Saturday in Osaka we explored the 'pop culture' shops in one of the Pardon centres (including a Godzilla shop); stopped by a whisky shop and did a brief whisty tasting of Japanese whisky; wondered through America-Mura, which was too hip and cool for us but I understand the appeal to some; went to the Umeda Sky Building (this WAS a good observation deck and goes outside, which was different); rode the Don Q Ferris wheel (is that what's it's called?) which is fun, and a little terrifying (looks like it could use a lick of paint); and then we visited RoR Comedy Club in the evening which was in English but had both western and Japanese comics.

On a calmer Sunday in Osaka we took a brief stop at the Housing Museum (good if not small); wandered to but not into Osaka Castle - it was a nice warm day and the surrounding park was full of locals enjoying the day, which was nice to see! - added in Shitenoji Temple and Sumiyoshi Taisha Temple; wandered the tourist trap that is the Tsutenkaku area (did not have any skewer food from that area as all the reviews were poor) and then had a brief look at the Nipponbashi area for arcades and anime stuff.

Osaka was fun! There's a lot to do and it felt buzzier/ friendlier than Tokyo in a way, althou...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/eyegoobies on 2024-04-05 16:41:39.

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As title says, heading to Kyoto tomorrow for 4 days and feeling pretty nervous about all the severe crowding comments.

Our interests are culture, sightseeing, nature, walks, food, cherry blossoms and photogenic areas. TIA!

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/hopdank on 2024-04-03 08:29:13.

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My wife and I are currently staying at the Hoshinoya resort on Taketomi in the Yaeyama Islands, and I wanted to share our experience going through the tsunami warnings causes by the earthquake in Taiwan this morning.

We were on a shuttle bus to go snorkeling when the initial warnings came through. Both my wife and I got emergency alerts on our phones - she is using a pocket wifi and I'm on a data-only eSIM. Glad to report that the emergency notification system here works regardless of how you're connected. We didn't feel the earthquake from inside the bus, but other guests told us that they felt very mild tremors.

After a short period of information gathering, our bus driver promptly brought us back to the resort. We were initially told that the area was safe and that we could return to our room. However, we soon started seeing additional alerts on our phones and decided to find higher ground on the resort property. Hotel staff must have gotten additional information at that time, and they began sweeping the property and gathering all guests at the front desk. We boarded shuttle buses and were taken to the local elementary school, which is the town's official tsunami evacuation point.

We stayed there for about 2 hours until given the all clear. There were probably a few hundred people at the school, both tourists and locals. We were comfortable enough, and the local officials distributed water multiple times. They gave relatively frequent updates in Japanese and checked in individually with each person to ensure everyone was doing okay. The hotel staff provided key updates in English, and we always felt sufficiently safe and in the loop.

Overall, we were incredibly impressed by the efficiency, professionalism, and kindness of the hotel staff and local officials. Moreover, the calm demeanor and stoicism of the locals and tourists alike were on full display throughout the entire ordeal. As a bonus, the resort offered free use of our mini bars and complementary lunch when we returned. 🙂

No one wants to go through something like this while traveling in a remote place where you don't speak the language, but I can't imagine a much better place to be than Japan when it does. I feel very grateful and privileged to be here - I hope today's news doesn't dissuade anyone from coming here in the future.

To anyone out there affected by the earthquake or the aftermath, I hope you're safe and that your travels get back on track!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/amyranthlovely on 2024-04-03 02:22:35.

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Issued at Tuesday, April 2, 2024 : People must continue to stay away from coastlines and waterways. Tsunami Advisory has been called in Yaeyama, Miyako and Okinawa Island, as of 10:47am JST.

＜Tsunami advisory＞ If you are in the affected areas, keep away from coasts and river mouths which could overflow. Continue to evacuate until all advisories are lifted.

＜Tsunami predictions＞ There may be some changes to the sea level, but there is no threat of tsunami damage.

People are advised to continue to avoid the coastlines and other waterways, including rivers while the advisory is in place.

Waves can still get much higher than expected. Ongoing aftershocks from the Taiwan Earthquake can cause further Tsunami Warnings and Advisories. Please continue to follow reports from NHK News until the all-clear is given.

If you are near the cost, please stay near higher ground. Follow all local instructions to move to safety, and do not approach any bodies of water until advised it is safe to do so.

Please use this link to follow the information in english from NHK NEWS.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Picklewithaplan on 2024-04-02 20:20:13.

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Wrote this comparison as I thought it may be useful to someone who isn't sure how much they will fit into the day. I put a strike through the planned things that we never ended up doing. Of course, everyone travels differently - we went at a very relaxed pace, and most of the activities we did were free.

The dates we visited were Sunday 5th November to Thursday 16th November 2023.

| Location | Nights | Accommodation | Weather | |

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| | Tokyo | 2 | Hotel | 25c hot and humid | | Takayama | 2 | Hotel with onsen | 20c sunny perfect weather | | Gero | 1 | Ryokan with onsen | 16c rainy (added to the ambiance!) | | Kyoto | 4 | Hotel | average 16c, mix of rain and sunshine | | Hiroshima | 2 | Hotel | 18c sunny | | Tokyo | 1 | Hotel | forgot to record! |

Day 1 (Sunday 5th)

PLANNED:

Evening - Shinjuku Golden Gai, Omoide Yokocho

ACTUAL: 

Evening - Got lost in Shinjuku looking for our hotel, lugging heavy bags around. Once we finally found our hotel we only went out to get drinks/snacks and then went to bed.

Day 2 (Monday 6th)

PLANNED:

Morning - Yoyogi Park, Meiji Jingu shrine 

Afternoon - Harajuku, Takeshita street 

Evening - Shibuya Crossing, Akihabara 

ACTUAL:

Morning - Yoyogi Park, Meiji Jingu shrine. [I would skip Yoyogi Park, it is just a nice park but nothing special especially if you’re going to walk around the Meiji Jingu Shrine anyway]. 

Afternoon - Harajuku, Takeshita street, Shibuya Crossing [did not explore the Shibuya area and it was still daylight, so for us this was not worth the detour. Partner thought it was over hyped as there are hundreds of people crossing the streets everywhere in Tokyo]

Evening - Shinjuku Golden Gai, Omoide Yokocho

Day 3 (Tuesday 7th)

PLANNED:

Morning - ~~Studio Ghibli Museum~~ [unfortunately shut the entire duration of our stay!]

Afternoon - Train to Takayama (4 hours 30 mins) 

Evening - Walk around town

ACTUAL:

Morning - Akihabara [so glad we dedicated more time here and came in the morning. My partner is really into electronics so it was fun seeing all the little stores they have full of components]

Afternoon - 2pm Train to Takayama. The train stops in Nagoya for a few hours so we just explored the train station and had dinner [definitely took longer than 4 hours 30 mins to get here]

Evening - 9pm Got to the hotel and just slept.

Day 4 (Wednesday 8th)

PLANNED:

Morning - Historic high street (Sanmachi-suji District). ~~Yoshijima Heritage House, Kusakabe Folk Crafts Museum~~

Afternoon - ~~Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine~~, Higashiyama Walkway, ~~Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition Hall~~

ACTUAL:

Morning – Walked to the edge of town, hiked up a beautiful graveyard, visited a few temples 

Afternoon – Town museum, ate snack food & found café in the historic high street (Sanmachi-suji District) 

Evening – I chilled in the onsen at our hotel whilst my partner went on a walk

Day 5 (Thursday 9th)

PLANNED:

Morning - Bus to ~~Shirakawa-go~~ walk around town for 2 hours

Early Afternoon - train to Gero

Evening - Dinner & Onsen

ACTUAL:

Morning - walked the Higashiyama Walkway [this was my favourite day of our whole trip. I absolutely loved Takayama, and I think the onsen revitilised me enough that i could manage all the steps to visit every shrine on this walkway. I would have liked to go to Shirakawa-go but we feared it would be very touristy, and we loved the vibes of Takyama so much, it was more fun walking around than sitting on a bus for hours].

Afternoon - train to Gero

Evening - Dinner & Onsens [our ryokan this evening was absolutely incredible, we spent so much time exploring it that we didn’t even leave to see the town of Gero. I’d like to go back one day]

Day 6 (Friday 10th)

PLANNED:

Morning - ~~Explore Gero~~

Afternoon - Train to Kyoto

Evening - Gion Shirakawa, Hanamikoji Street, Visit Pontocho

ACTUAL:

Morning – squeezed in another onsen visit after breakfast before returning to the train station in town. Our hotel dropped us off at 10:30am however there were no trains until 12:22. It was pouring with rain and the lockers were full already so we just sat at the station and waited.

Afternoon - Train to Kyoto

Evening - walked around by the hotel & got dinner

Day 7 (Saturday 11th)

PLANNED:

Morning - Higashiyama, Matsubara Dori St, ~~Hokan Ji Temple, Yasaka Pagoda~~

Late Afternoon/evening - Kiyomizu-deru

Evening - Dinner in ~~Nishiki Market~~

ACTUAL:

All day - train to Nara, walked down the high street, pet deer, visited Tōdai-ji temple, had Starbucks by the pond

Evening – Walked through the Nishiki Market at 9pm but it was all closed. All the restaurants we walked past were closed, but thankfully we found a Pizza Hut that saved us as I was starving. [If you want to go to Nishiki Market, go in the morning, not at night...]

Day 8 (Sunday 12th)

PLANNED:

Morning - ~~Golden Temple~~

Afternoon - ~~Fushimi Inari (Tori gates)~~

Evening - ~~Eikando Zenrinji Temple (3000 maples trees, lights up at night).~~

ACTUAL:

Morning – Kiyomizu-deru, walked through the streets of Higashiyama [I have never seen anywhere so busy in my life, it ruined the experience for us because you could barely walk let alone eat at any of the shops. Note that it was a Sunday so I imagine the weekends are twice as busy as a weekday].

Afternoon – Walked through another temple that had lots of food stalls. Then walked Gion’s main street, and then Gion corner and Pontchoco [It was not dark yet so the streets were dead quiet here which was a nice change, but didn’t really have much atmosphere either]

Evening - Walked around some more & got dinner

Day 9 (Monday 13th)

PLANNED:

Morning - Arashiyama, ~~Tenryuji Temple~~

Afternoon - walk down main street to do shopping/lunch, view the bridge, then go to the Monkey Park Iwatayama

ACTUAL:

Morning - train to Arashiyama, walked through the short bamboo forest, then the nice park that follows

Afternoon - walk down main street, view the bridge, then go to the Monkey Park Iwatayama [we loved walking through the park, admiring the view of the water with lunch, and visiting the monkeys! Its a bit of a hike but definitely worth it. If you are coming exclusively for the bamboo forest then it is not worth the trip]. 

Evening – Shabu Shabu for dinner back in Kyoto city

Day 10 (Tuesday 14th)

PLANNED:

Morning - Nara, pet deer, visit Tōdai-ji temple

Late Afternoon/Evening - train to Hiroshima

ACTUAL:

Morning – train to Hiroshima

Afternoon – shopping, visited arcades and cafes

Evening - Okonomiyaki for dinner! [we did visit the okonomiyaki tower block but everywhere was full and we found it awkward waiting in such a tight space so we went across the street instead to another restaurant serving the same thing].

Day 11 (Wednesday 15th)

PLANNED:

Morning - Hiroshima museum

Afternoon - ~~Miyajina island (visit the Itsukushima Shrine and its “floating” tori gate, and see cluster of smaller temples and shrines like Daisho-in Temple and Daiganji Temple.~~ 

Evening - Okonomiyaki for dinner

ACTUAL:

Morning - Hiroshima museum

Afternoon – more shopping, more arcades and more cafes!

Evening - Okonomiyaki for dinner again!

Day 12 (Thursday 16th)

PLANNED:

Morning - leave Hiroshima to visit ~~Himeji castle~~

Afternoon - leave ~~Himeji~~ to travel to Tokyo

ACTUAL:

Morning - visited a cafe [by this point we found it more enjoyable to just relax where we were, rather than dealing with the stress of getting to Himeji castle and where to put our bags].

Afternoon/evening – train back to Tokyo. Bought super noodles for dinner and went to bed. [Probably an uninspiring end to a trip for most people but we never got a chance to try Japanese super noodles and we wanted to before we left!]

Final thoughts & Tips:

1. Using the trains took much longer than I expected. I didn’t plan any train times so we just rocked up to the train station, got lost most of the time and finally found the train we needed and then would sit at the platform for a while, especially if we had just missed that train. Obviously to avoid this, plan ahead for the train times.
2. We changed hotels a lot and we had two suitcases (15kg each) that we had to lug around with us often which honestly was a lot of effort, especially around the train stations with all their steps or trying to find where the lifts/escalators are. I'd recommend forwarding your luggage on, though we did not do this so can't comment on it other than I would do that next time, or if not visiting a lot of cities I would rent a car.
3. We didn’t plan what restaurants to go to and I found most of the food we ate was average. So I would recommend planning where you want to eat too. Also restaurants, especially outside of Tokyo seem to shut by 7pm so bear this in mind too!
4. It took me two days to get over my jet lag so you may want to account for that too.
5. There are so many stairs… Get practising now! I thought I was of average fitness but by the end of day 1 my legs were shaking. I didn’t get used to it until I was able to recover in the onsen on day 4.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/jessluce on 2024-04-03 01:33:38.

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(Not my post, found on facebook, link below) "Hi Everyone, !!!! Has anyone lost 4 x japan Rail Passes? Someone on the Japan Travel tips facebook page has found them and handed them to the JR Osakajokoen station office staff. The passes are being held at the office as you enter JR Osakajokoen from the hall side. Passes have part of owners passport numbers on them. Hopefully the owner and the railpasses can be reunited!"

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/toddsleivonski on 2024-04-02 17:39:05.

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Flew out from Toronto to Tokyo on November 2nd, flew back on November 26th.

To say this was a packed trip would be an understatement, but we planned it to be that way. We don’t do “sitting still” all that well on vacation and this was our first trip over so we wanted to experience as much as possible.

Overall had a fantastic experience, when we go again we will spend less time doing touristy things in Tokyo, slow it down, and do more small town things.

Day 0-Arrived 9pm local time at Narita, long customs line, barely got the last train out of the terminal. Got to Tokyo station then to Hammamatschuo station area

Day 1-Minato city area. Stayed at Hotel Tavinos Hamamatsucho. Good enough hotel, great location. Saw Miyazaki/Ghibli statue. Walked to Imperial palace, wasn’t open. Walked to Pokemon center. Walked back to Minato area. Nap. Saw Tokyo tower, Zozoji temple, shrine of 100 steps (Atago Jinju) and Karaoke all around the Minato area, did this last half as a guided tour through Airbnb experiences. Absolute blast.

Day 2-Coffee and pooted around Hamamatscucho area. Got on monorail to Haneda. Flight down to Kagoshima. Checked into hotel at JR Kyushu Kagoshima. Fantastic hotel, great location. Did the Ferris wheel and arcade at Taito Station in the mall by the Kagoshima station.

Day 3- Set out early to Kagoshima Port, hopped on Sakurajima ferry (very easy, grab a street car from station, walk 10 minutes or so). Ferry was fantastic views and easy. Tsukiyomi shrine for views. Walked down to visitors center. Did the foot bath for a bit and saw the Geo park. Hopped on the bus to tour the island. Got up closer to Sakurajima, stopped for photos. Started to drizzle so we headed back to ferry. Had ice cream with sweet potatoes and ash at ferry port, at Minato Cafe excellent coffee, food looked excellent as well but we had eaten earlier at Lawson. Hopped back on ferry and toured the Kagoshima aquarium upon arrival, went from aquarium to tour the various side streets near Tenmonkan park and Chuo park. Had dinner at Aji No Tonkatsu Maruichi, owner was fantastic. Headed back to hotel and crashed out after getting JR Passes for the next day(jet lag hit)

Day 4-checked out of hotel and bullet train to Kumamoto. Walked from station to Kumamoto castle. Had lunch at Aeon mall near Kumamoto castle, place was called RHC and was PHENOMENAL. Very healthy more western style but the coffee and food was fantastic. Walked over after lunch to tour Kumamoto castle. Hopped on bus back to station to grab bags and go to ferry at Kumamoto>Shimabara port. Ferry to Shimabara. At Shimabara port walked to Shimabara Toyota rent a car and got our car rental. Stunning drive to Unzen. Stopped at hotel for the night (Unzenonsen Azumaen). Private onsen room with a view. Food was fantastic (kaiseki dinner) service was phenomenal. Our favorite place of the trip by far. The price was higher but the value was absolutely there.

Day 5-Drove up to the Unzen cable car. Words can’t describe the views up at the peak of the Unzen area. Came back down to Unzen and saw Unzen Jigoku, the Unzensan Manmyo Temple, the visitors center and lunch at Bunnoji. Took a little trip down to Obamacho. Had a foot bath at Hot foot 105. Walked around Obamacho, had great gelato and back to the hotel after a bit. Beautiful scenery, amazing people, great vibes and a fantastic scenic drive.

Day 6-Headed out to Izahaya to return the car at Izahaya. Train from Izahaya to Nagasaki. Stayed at Candeo Nagasaki right at Chinatown, absolutely excellent stay at a good value. Walked to Oura church area. Fantastic views all around. Walked back to Chinatown and taxi to Atomic Bomb museum. Walked the museum and grounds, very well done museum and beautiful area. Walked back to hotel and had hamburg steak and curry at a local restaurant (will find the name). Excellent food and service. Back to hotel for bed since it’s later out.

Day 7- Travel day to Fukuoka. Stayed at HafH Fukuoka. Do NOT recommend. Good location but the bed is SO uncomfortable. Did Canal City, Hakata station Christmas decorations.

Day 8-made our way to Ohori park, stunning area, had coffee nearby. Walked over to bus and bus to Fukuoka tower. Very enjoyable little tower with seaside views, mountains, and cityscape. Walked down to beach after and had Italian at a restaurant called Mamma Mia. Pretty decent! Walked back to Ohori, train from Ohori to Hakata. Food tour later on in the day. Had Hakata style ramen and Okonomiyaki at a street food stall guided with an Airbnb Experience.

Day 9- left Fukuoka early. Train to Hiroshima. Hiroshima station dropped off bags and walked to Atom Bomb dome. Perused the park and took it all in for a bit. Walked over to Hiroshima castle. Back on the train after that, stopped over at Himeji. Himeji castle was beautiful. Walked around the grounds and were lucky there was a 30th anniversary celebration. Really neat to see the traditional celebration happen on the grounds. Only a brief stop and it was getting dark so we made it back to the station and onwards to Kyoto. Stay was at Sakura adult terrace. Nice location, great lobby, room was pretty cramped, still very enjoyable stay (especially compared to our place in Fukuoka).

Day 10- slower day, pooted around the mall, got the IC card finally at the Kyoto station, had lunch. Made our way out to Kiyomizu dera. Enjoyed the first half, had a panic attack with the crowds in the upper half. Cut through a beautiful cemetery on the way out, and had Coco’s Curry heading back to hotel.

Day 11- Day trip to Nara. Really really enjoyed Nara. Straight to Todaiji temple, absolutely awe inspiring area. Walked all around the temple area for a while and found a small Okonomiyaki spot. Omitsu Okonomiyaki. Fantastic gem. Walked through the nearby Mochiidono shopping street. Headed back to the station and onto Kyoto.

Day 12-Got started to Osaka for day trip. Umeda area was really cool. Saw Pokemon center. Walked over to Osaka Castle and did the tour, pretty busy but the views were really wild. Walked over to Dotonbori as it got darker.

Day 13-Walked to top of Fushimi inari, had spectacular views. Did laundry. Saw Tofukuji lit up at night.

Day 14- travel day to Nagano/Yudanaka. Beautiful views through the mist and rain all through the Japanese alps. Went via Kanazawa randomly, but it added to the overall beauty of the train journey. Main goal was to get checked at Hotel Yudanaka

Day 15- Yudanaka honpon purin for breakfast and late start bus to Jigokaedani park. Unbelievable experience to get up close and personal with the monkeys. Stuck around there for quite a while and had lunch at Enza cafe. The food was phenomenal. Bus back to Yudanaka. Did the whole public onsen experience, was odd but neat. Dinner out later at night.

Day 16- Yudanaka to APA Ueno Tokyo. Mostly a travel day but walked around Ueno park and saw a couple of the shrines.

Day 17- Last minute decision to take bullet train out to Fuji. Rented bikes for ¥100 for the day and went down to Niihama park on bike. Walked along the seawall, tons of beautiful views of both Fuji and the sea. Got on a bus to head to Shiraito falls. Gobsmacked by the outstanding beauty of the falls and Fuji views. Bus back to Fuji, walked around Fuji a while then back on the train to Ueno.

Day 18-Walked from Ueno to Skytree. Really enjoyed the views and sights. Stopped by Sensoji temple noped out of there before it was too busy (was 9am and it was still busy). Got to top of Skytree view and it was nice, nuts how big of a city Tokyo is. Had Kura sushi near the Skytree which was fun. Skytree walked back to Ueno. Visited Don Quixote in Ameyoko. Had dinner at Everyone’s Cafe in Ueno park. Pooofy pancakes.

Day 19-Day 19: Tokyo! Shibuya/Shinjuku. Lots of fall color. Woke up and walked to Cafe Lapin. Took the subway to Yoyogi Park. Visited Neko Neko Inn and a local art shop. Around the park and ended up at another cafe for lunch called Verve Cafe and had the best Nitro Lattes! The sandwiches were also good. Walked around the rose garden. Had to stop and see cats at the mocha cat cafe in Shibuya. Went to Shibuya crossing, saw hachi statue, and stopped by shibuya sky but was too crowded so we left. Headed to Shinjuku to go to the observatory at the government building but still too crowded so we left and went to Chuo Park and saw the Christmas decorations. Walked to the sumitomo building and enjoyed all the Christmas decorations. Walked to shinjuku station area to see the giant cat billboard. Caught a quick train to akihabara browsed a few stores for anime stuff, but didn’t find much we wanted. Still enjoyed the experience.

Day 20-Tokyo/Roppongi-Azabu Juban. Train ride out to Azabu Juban near Roppongi for sailor moon scavenger hunt. Had excellent coffee and breakfast at Verve Coffee roasters. Walked around and found the station from sailor moon. Found the park from sailor moon, and the statue and shrine as well! Found a beautiful hidden park (Arisugawa-no-miya) in the hills of Roppongi. Like a forest in the middle of Tokyo. Lunch out near the park and had curry. Walked over to Shibuya. Made it to Daikanyamacho neighborhood within Shibuya, was adorable but not quite what we were looking for (very gentrified and no parks or anything interesting), moved on. Got to Meguro sky park and it was stunning out, walked around for a bit. Walked over to dinner at a vegan restaurant nearby. Got out of the Meguro area and c...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/SouthCryptographer58 on 2024-04-02 00:52:26.

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I'll be in Tokoyo in mid May. I arrive on a Sunday afternoon and will be staying in Akihabara for a week. Between Monday and Saturday I have the following things booked during the day:

Monday: Nikko shrine/waterfall tour Tuesday: Odaiba (Team Labs, Joyoplolis, etc) Wednesday: Tokyo Disney Thursday: Disney Sea Friday: Fuji Q Saturday: Mount Fuji tour

I was wondering what are some fun things to do after the events listed above and what are some things that close late? I figure I'll probably be done with the events above by 7pm and will be willing to stay out until midnight.

I may have a beer or two a night. However, I'm not really looking for bars, clubs, and karaoke. I'm thinking tourist attractions like Tokyo Tower, but would also be interested in lesser known places too. Some things that sound interesting would be an evening baseball game, Broadway or Japanese style theater, maybe shopping, and good resturants or street vendors.

I know I listed a pretty vague description of what I would be interested in, but was seeing what others may recommend. I've only been using Google so far.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Perfect_Lead_4639 on 2024-04-01 09:12:04.

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Hi all, just came back from a magical two-week trip with my gf in Japan in mid-March, and wanted to share some easy-to-read tips and recommendations as Reddit played a big part in my trip planning.

QUICK TIPS

• Setup Ubigi eSIM or equivalent just before you fly off. Easy to setup, cost-effective, and had no significant connectivity issues throughout the entire Japan trip. No need to scramble around for a physical SIM card when you land in Japan.
• Suica or IC card equivalent will handle all public transportation but the shinkansen and some limited express trains (i.e. Narita Express). Checkout this pinned thread for more details -
• Debit/credit card can cover most of your purchases in tourist-populated cities & towns. We mostly only needed cash for occasional 1000-2000 yen purchases from street vendors.
• Luggage transfer between hotels is a godsend. The train stations in Tokyo and Osaka have many stairs and are very crowded, it would be a nightmare to move large luggage yourself through the train system. Note that this is often cash payment only.
• Bring a large empty luggage suitcase if you are planning to shop, so you can fill it up with goodies to bring home :)

TOKYO

• Nintendo Store and Pokemon Center: Big worth if you grew up with these brands (I ended up going to 5 Pokemon Centers and 3 Nintendo Stores across Japan 🤣). In Shibuya they are next to each other in a shopping center and are extremely crowded. I actually found that a great time to visit was in the hour before close - the crowds had thinned considerably.
• Shibuya Sky: Very worth to book. Inexpensive and amazing view of Tokyo. As you go up to the rooftop, you can watch people cross Shibuya Crossing. It gets crowded during sunset hours. The best photo spot is on the top roof level in the corner where they have an official photographer - there is a line and you can ask a group next to you to help take your holiday snaps.
• Studio Ghibli Museum: Very worth booking. I've only watched Spirited Away before visiting, and now I'm inspired to watch all the Studio Ghibli movies. Much better online booking experience than Pokemon Cafe. They only allow you to take photos of the museum's exterior - which has plenty of fantastic photo opportunities. The interior is packed with Studio Ghibli memorabilia. One section has wall-to-wall color drawings which are stunning - I imagine it would be a safety hazard if they allowed visitors to take photos there. Do see the short animated film showing they have in the underground theater.
• Uraonikai: Highly recommend. This is a reservation-only omakase with one intimate sitting (max 6 customers) every night. It cost ~27000 yen (including drinks, which you are obliged to purchase) for the two of us. We saw this on a YouTube video and decided to book it. The chef handcrafts 15 courses right in front of you. The seafood quality and flavors were exquisite. Dishes which I've had at home - including squid and tuna - are elevated to another level here. The chef is rather friendly and gladly accommodated my partner taking hundreds of photos of our dining experience 😂
• Isegen: Another exxy (~23000 yen for two) restaurant recommendation. Located in Akihabara, they specialize in serving monkfish. They dedicate themselves to preparing the various monkfish parts in the most delicious way, the highlight being the liver - also known as 'foie gras of the sea'. It's a traditional Japanese dining experience - a staff member takes your shoes and coat at the ground floor, and you sit upstairs on a tatami mat with no chairs (they have optional stools to assist!) and a low lying dining table. I gained a new level of culinary appreciation for the monkfish here.
• Akiba Cultures Zone: A multi-storey anime/manga collectible store in Akihabara. I got lost in the huge collection of anime figurines on the upper levels. I’m not sure if they do good deals here, but this was the only place (within a couple of hours of walking through Akihabara) where I found Code Geass figurines, a favorite series of mine.
• Pokemon Cafe: Crazy hard to book for your desired time. Cafe theming and decorations are really on-point. They have a regular Pikachu show which is nice. Food is quite overpriced and not great. Overall could miss this, if I were not a sucker for the challenge of the online ticketing system.

I've participated in hot NFT mints, rave ticket sales and sneaker releases that have sold out in minutes - none of these prepared me well for the horrible online booking system. How it works is that everyday at 6PM Japan time, bookings for the day which is 31 days ahead are made available. All the available timeslots (spaced out by 15 minutes) are gone in less than 1 minute. What makes this process particularly bad, is that it will randomly kick you out to a "We are sorry for the inconvenience, but please try again later" page. It will do this even if you didn't click anything. At 6:20PM and 6:40PM Japan time, you can try again for timeslots which weren't confirmed in the first 6:00PM round.

NOZAWAONSEN

• Nozawaonsen overall: This place really left an impression in my heart. Picturesque snow mountain scenery on the transit in and out of town. An onsen town full of hidden gems. My gf had not done snowsports before, and she found there was plenty to experience outside of drifting down the mountain.

It’s not the easiest place to get to - I had to line up a local train ride in Tokyo, a shinkansen, and a bus from the shinkansen station that only came every 1-2 hours. But it was so worth it.

• Nozawaonsen Hotel - We had a memorable stay at this medium budget accommodation (~80,000 yen for 3 nights, breakfast included). They do a beautiful traditional Japanese breakfast, have multiple onsen facilities including a foot onsen at the front door, and restock your room daily with bite-sized pieces of selected Japanese confectionery.

We discovered a chestnut treat that was so delicious that we later sought out the brand store (Obusedo) in Osaka and bought ~10 boxes to bring home as gifts. I also cherished their outdoor onsen pool with the sight of snow-tipped trees and clear night skies.

• Sport Thanx (Equipment rental): Easy online booking process. Well located - quick access from the shop to the two main gondola stations. Free dry room so you don’t have to lug your gear to and from your accommodation.
• Sooyu restaurant: Small family-run shabu shabu restaurant with four tables. Little tricky to book. They take care of customers really well. My stomach was in a blissful place after devouring their beef shabu shabu and chicken & fish hotpot.
• Miyuki Shoten (sweet store): Apple pie with fresh apple slices in it (and Nozawaonsen is known for huge, sweet apples) 😋

Other food recommendations

• Genki Burger: Small Australian-run shop. Many burger places serve a generic product (including Fergburger in Queenstown, New Zealand imo), but not this place.
• Hotel Haus St Anton: Streetside oyaki (steamed buns with fillings) with flavors including apple & cinnamon, and sweet mashed pumpkin.

OSAKA

• Makino Umeda Tempura: Tempura shop in Osaka train station. Fresh seafood produce that is expertly deep fried in front of you and served directly by the chef to your plate. Affordable and excellent.
• Robatayaki Mizukakechaya: Three-storey open seafood grill izakaya in the alleyways of Dotonbori. They have a to-die-for grilled scallop - juicy, large and scrumptious. The first two floors have the chefs grilling food in front of guests, we unfortunately couldn’t work out the online booking system to get those seats.

NARA

• Nara Deer Train: Train intricately decorated in a Nara theme including deer-hide patterned seating, grass-painted floor and handles with deer-head figures. We chanced upon this train for a few stops while taking the Kintetsu-Nara Line to Nara. I’m not sure of the schedule for this train.
• Nakatanidou (Mochi pounding demonstration): Go here first before anything else in Nara, it’s very close to the train station and they may not do shows in the afternoon (as we sadly found out). I just couldn’t get enough of their signature fresh mochi balls.
• The deers: Intelligent mammals that do an adorable gesture of bowing their heads to humans. They can be quite aggressive if they think you have deer crackers. If you find yourself being assaulted by deers, hide any crackers you may have and show your empty hands to get them to leave you in peace.
• Kasuga Taisha: Shinto temple that compared to its large neighbor Buddhist temple Tōdai-ji, is underwhelming at first glance and a little further away from the train station. It has its own charm however, as you get to come up and close to hundreds of elaborately crafted bronze and stone lanterns. There’s a few deers scattered throughout the temple and we even witnessed one peering curiously inside a roadside convenience store.

KYOTO

• Nishiki Market: Also known as ‘Kyoto’s kitchen’, it is a narrow shopping alleyway that runs for about five blocks. We enjoyed fresh seafood BBQ and tempura dishes at Yatai Mura Stall Village, and a matcha dessert at Sawawa Japanese Maccha Sweets.
• Kinkaku Ji: Beautiful temple plated with gold lea...

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