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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/katsuthunder on 2024-08-19 15:03:59+00:00.

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I'll be in Tokyo from Oct 1st-Oct 4th, would love to catch a cool Japanese concert. When I search on google the results only show big global artists like Olivia Rodrigo.

I'm pretty flexible on the type of music. Could be j-rock, indie rock, edm, rap, jazz, jam bands. Looking for something that is like a medium-large venue for a japanese band/artist but not a stadium.

Any suggestions on shows / ways to find them? If you can suggest some venues I can go look through their lineups. Thanks!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/krdoroc on 2024-08-17 13:20:12+00:00.

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A little late, but here's our trip report. For more context and to get a sense of what our initial plan was, check out my itinerary check post prior to visiting Japan. The below mostly just sets out what we did rather than what we thought of it. This was the best holiday we've ever had, so you can assume it was good unless specified otherwise. Places we strongly recommend are in bold and italics.

Average kilometres walked each day: 18. Itinerary only suited for active travellers.

Average inter-city travel time: 3.3 hours on travel days, 1.7 hours averaged across all days. Not bad at all, in my view, considering we visited 16 different places in just 19 days.

Total cost: $12k Australian Dollars (~1.248m JPY), average exchange rate of around $1 AUD to 104 JPY. Of this, just under half was spent on flights, accommodation and trains - with the remainder (on average $315 AUD / 32-33k JPY) going on activities and food.

General travel tips for japan

• Check whether your desired activities require a booking or whether last admission is significantly earlier than closing time AT LEAST one day in advance – we missed out on a couple of activities because we did not check this
• Most stores are happy to accept large cash notes for small purchases
• Smaller cities, outer suburbs, and temples/shrines often only accept cash. Pretty much everywhere else accepts card

Itinerary

Day 0 - Tokyo - Friday 24 May 2024

• Land in Tokyo around 7pm
• Settle in, transit to hotel in Shinjuku

Day 1 - Tokyo (day trip to Lake Kawaguchi)  - Saturday 25 May 2024 (Kilometres walked: 12.7)

• Wake up early and take highway bus to Lake Kawaguchi
• Fuji Shibazakura Pink Moss Festival (got baited by this one - it was the second last day and most of the flowers were dead, so it was not worth visiting. Definitely look up whether the flowers are still blooming prior to your visit!)
• Kawaguchiko Music Forest Museum (European architecture, classical concerts, Dali sculpture, hilarious and weird vibe)
• Oishi Park and nice view of the lake
• We got unlucky and there was no clear view of mount Fuji, very cloudy.
• Return to Tokyo for dinner (yakitori, was fine)
• Didn’t have time for: ropeway, Chureito Pagoda or Arakurayama Sengen Park
• Wow moments: N/A

Day 2 - Tokyo - Sunday 26 May 2024 (Kilometres walked: 25.8)

• Shinjuku Gyoen National Park - beautiful and underrated
• Explore Harajuku, including Teamlabs exhibit at the Galaxy store
• Meiji shrine and Yoyogi Park (definitely skippable)
• Explore Shibuya, including Shibuya crossing and Tower Records. Rooftop drinks at rooftop lounge MAG8 was great
• Explore Shimokitazawa, thrift shop and hipster area, including great little snack pancakes from Flippers. Cool area.
• Dinner: Soba house konjiki hototogisu. Michelin ramen. Freshness burger draft beer a big hit
• Wow moments: N/A

Day 3 - Tokyo (day trip to Nikko) - Monday 27 May 2024 (Kilometres walked: 20.1)

• Wake up early (pre 6am) and take train to Nikko
• All the main historical sites in central Nikko (Toshogu, Taiyuin, Rinnoji, Shinkyo bridge)
• Lovely Goshuincho available at some of the main sites in Nikko
• Kanmangafuchi abyss walk
• Kegon waterfall (water flow was pretty low/slow the day we went) and view of Lake Chuzenji
• Return to Tokyo
• Dinner: Kakekomi Gyoza. All was pretty good, but the honey mustard gyoza were amazing
• Didn’t have time: Tamozawa villa and boat ride on Lake Chuzenji
• Wow moments: honey mustard gyoza

Day 4 – Tokyo - Tuesday 28 May 2024 (Kilometres walked: 18.2)

• Teamlabs Planets
• Explore Ginza area
• Lunch: Grill Bon, premium wagyu sandwich
• Lion beer hall
• Celtic cocktail bar with lots of fairy dust (Tir na nÓg)
• Dinner: Chinese near the baseball game
• Baseball game (Tokyo Dome), Giants vs Carps
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observation deck and night light show (v. cool)
• Golden Gai with fellow Aussies and bartender from Okinawa, plum wines and Taiko songs
• Wow moments: Grill bon premium wagyu, Teamlabs Planets (esp. the light room)

Day 5 - Tokyo to Kanazawa - Wednesday 29 May 2024 (Kilometres walked: 10.6)

• Take train to Kanazawa
• Stay at a Ryokan, Utaimachi in the Higashi Chaya district. Small townhouse, perfect blend of modern and traditional
• Explore Higashi Chaya Geiko / Geisha district
• Dinner: Barrier (amazing experience and presentation, average food)
• Wow moments: ryokan accommodation

Day 6 - Kanazawa - Thursday 30 May 2024 (Kilometres walked: 14.2)

• Castle grounds and nearby gardens / shrines
• Kenrokuen, one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan
• Lunch: Omicho fish market, kaisendon (tuna sashimi rice bowls)
• Explore Nagamachi district including samurai and ashigaru residences
• Gold leaf soft serve
• Gold leaf workshop (designed and made a chopstick pattern)
• Dinner: Busaku. Arguably the best meal I’ve ever had, fine dining 6-7 course set menu watching the chefs prepare everything in front of you. Counter seating of 8-10. If the menu was a la carte, I would've recommended people to come to the restaurant specifically to order the first dish - it was that good. Then I thought the same about the second dish. And the third. And the fourth. Dipped slightly from there, but still delicious and well presented.
• Wow moments: Busaku dinner

Day 7 - Kanazawa to Takayama - Friday 31 May 2024 (Kilometres walked: 15)

• Luggage transfer to Kyoto
• 9am bus to Shirakawa-go, very scenic
• 4 hours exploring Shirakawago folk village, lovely small village with traditional thatch-rooved houses. Heritage museum was both quiet and quaint
• Lunch: amazing curry rice at Ochuudo / Ochiudo
• Explore Takayama old town (pretty dead, everything closed by 4)
• Dinner: Sakurajaya. Great meal watching the chef prepare everything in front of you. Counter seating of 8-10, very chill vibes
• Drinks: Japanese Pub YU, cocktails. A bit expensive (relatively) but very tasty
• Didn’t have time for: Showa-kan museum
• Wow moments: Exploring Shirakawa-go

Day 8 - Takayama to Kyoto - Saturday 1 June 2024 (Kilometres walked: 21.1)

• Morning walk around Takayama
• Miyagawa morning market, including incredible wagyu hida beef sushi
• Train to Kyoto
• National garden / imperial palace (not worth visiting, though the palace was closed so can't comment on the inside)
• Explore Hiyagashima district and Gion
• Dinner: Pontocho, lots of options. We had very local ramen with drinks beforehand
• Didn’t have time for: Nijo Castle, admissions close an hour before closing, so we just missed out on entry. Needed to plan further ahead to make it.
• Wow moments: hida beef sushi

Day 9 - Kyoto (West) - Sunday 2 June 2024 (Kilometres walked: 21.4)

• Wake up early and head to Arashiyama
• Bamboo forest
• Gio Ji moss garden (fine)
• Otagi Nenbutsu-ji temple (awesome, lots of statues, super peaceful)
• Okochi Sanso gardens
• Tenryuji temple and neighbouring gardens
• Lunch: Bread, Espresso and Arashiyama Garden. Nice panini, matcha cheesecake, delicious adjoining bakery
• Coffee: %ARABICA (best coffee of Meggie’s life, first coffee I ever liked)
• Monkey Park and observation deck
• Kinkaku-ji (golden pavilion)
• Dinner: katsukurra (best pork cutlet I’ve had, but price scales faster than quality)
• Didn’t have time for: Hozugawa river boat cruise, couldn’t get into Kokodera as you needed to book it at least a day in advance
• Wow moments: Bamboo forest, monkey park, %ARABICA coffee, Kinkaku-ji

Day 10 - Kyoto (East) - Monday 3 June 2024 (Kilometres walked: 20.4)

• Head to the East side and explore main temples and gardens there
  • Eikan-do (great)
  • Kiyomizu Dera (fine)
  • Sanjusangendo (great)
  • Kennin-ji (cool dragon ceiling, but not as good as…)
  • Nanzaen-ji (amazing dragon ceiling)
  • Philosopher's Path (fine)
  • Ginkaku-ji (Silver pavilion, amazing)
• Coffee: %ARABICA again, as there is one in the Geisha district
• Dinner: Kizahashi. Worst dinner of my life, fine dining seafood set menu, but everything is EXTREMELY fishy and intense seafood flavours, no masking or combination with other flavours
• Wow moments: Ginkaku-ji, %ARABICA coffee again

Day 11 - Kyoto to Osaka (Nara day trip) - Tuesday 4 June 2024 (Kilometres walked: 23.6)

• Organised to send luggage to Osaka
• Wake up early and head to Fushimi Inari. Hiked about 70% of the way up, didn’t have time to go all the way
• Day trip to Nara
• Main gardens and historical sites around Nara park
• Nakatannidou mochi pounding (lasts about 20 seconds and very crowded, couldn’t see, not worth)
• Feed the deer
• Lunch: Château D’or Bakery. Part bakery part café, café had amazing pizza and sandwiches. Bakery had nice treats
• Daibutsuden hall giant buddha
• Head to Osaka
• Dinner: Blue Birds Rooftop Terrace (NOT sky dining), amazing BBQ (an actual BBQ) on a rooftop overlooking Osaka castle at night with unlimited drinks
• Didn’t have time for: Toji, Nara hikes
• Wow moments: feeding the deer, giant Buddha, Rooftop drinks and meal overlooking Osaka castle

Day 12 - Osaka - Wednesday 5 June 2024 (Kilometres walked: 16.9)

• Universal studios during the day, 7 attraction express pass (not worth going without the express passes)
• Best ride: flying dinosaur. Harry Potte...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/nahbestie on 2024-08-16 06:54:03+00:00.

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This is my second trip report here, this time on a recent summer road trip through Tohoku. We were a group of three, all foreign residents living in Japan. I know Tohoku isn’t as explored as central Japan so I hope that this is helpful for people wanting to explore up north! I have had the Aomori Nebuta Festival on my bucket list for a while, and was originally going to do a shorter trip just to Aomori to see it, but decided to expand to a week long road trip with the objective of seeing Tohoku’s Three Great Festivals (Akita Kanto, Aomori Nebuta, and Sendai Tanabata), plus Nagaoka Hanabi, and invited my two friends to come along.

I included way too many details, so this report came out way longer than I expected. Sorry for the long windedness!

August 3rd-Niigata/Nagaoka Hanabi

Flew into Niigata Airport at around 2:30. We took a taxi directly to our accommodations to check in and drop off our bags, then went straight to Nagaoka station via local train and shinkansen. 

We arrived at Nagaoka Station at about 4:30 and it was packed with people. They were funneling everyone off of the platform through one exit. Once we got down the stairs to the main floor of the station we were then mixed in with the crowd of all the trains from Tokyo as well, which led to significant bottlenecking. It took us about 20 minutes from getting off the train to getting out of the station. And it was hot in there. The long line to get out wasn’t a huge deal because we still arrived with plenty of time to get to the riverside, find our seats, and grab snacks and drinks. However, it did make us quite anxious about getting home, as we needed to make sure we could catch a shinkansen that would get us back to Niigata station in time for our last local train back to our accommodation. 

The fireworks were beautiful, and once the sun went down, the heat was a lot more tolerable. There were a lot of food stalls at the venue, and also local stalls set up along the streets to the river, and many of them didn’t have long lines, so finding food was easy. The conbinis were packed though.

This was the only event on this trip we purchased tickets for. We entered the ticket lottery which was for residents outside of Nagaoka. There is a separate ticket sale for foreign tourists but I am sorry I don’t know the details for that one. We got our first choice of seats, which was the Phoenix Block, or block 10 if you look at the seating map. The downside of these seats was that when I looked at the map, I thought there would be fireworks going from multiple places, one being directly across the river from us. This wasn’t really the case, as the majority of the fireworks were launched from the southernmost point on the map, and the spots across the river were really only used two or three times during the grand programs. It didn’t ruin the experience or anything, as we could still see great, but had I known, I likely would have tried for seats further south, like block 11 or 12. I would have thought they would try to alternate spots a bit, as that area did end up getting pretty smokey. 

Still worried about catching the shinkansen, we decided to pack up and slowly walk back to the station just before 9:00. We thought the staff would have been really strict on keeping people moving along the walkways, but there were a lot of people standing up there taking pictures, so we were still able to see most of the show. We were walking down the street by the time the final program started, but we could see most of it, and got some really cool pictures of fireworks above the buildings and street lights. 

The set up for getting on the trains was really well done compared to when we arrived. The main street leading up to the station was completely shut down for cars, and they had signage indicating what line you needed to be in, way before you reached the station. All we needed to do was follow the signs for shinkansen to Niigata, and everything moved really smoothly. I can’t say for sure, but it did seem that they were running more trains than was indicated online. These were also the only train tickets we bought in advance, which I really recommend doing if you attend this festival.

We got back to our accommodations, which was the I Eco III Niigata. It was a decent way away from Niigata city centre, and cost about 30k yen between the three of us, for a room with a double bed and a single futon. This place was more of a share house situation, that seemed to do short stays, as well as long term rentals, so all bathrooms and showers were shared. Overall, it was really clean and quiet. It would have been nice to be closer to Niigata station, but the only option I saw started at 26k yen for a single room and 35k for a double. 

August 4th-Akita/Kanto Matsuri

After checking out the next morning, we headed to Niigata Station to pick up our car from Toyota Rent a Car. We had a long drive to Akita this day so as soon as we were set we headed out. One of my friends is really into collecting stamps and tickets from michi no ekis (roadside stations) so that was one of our primary goals during the drives. We made sure we hit stops in all the prefectures we were in, which was really fun as they all offer something a bit different. We didn’t make any other stops on this leg of the journey, and I think it was around 4:00 or 5:00 when we got to Akita city and checked into our hotel. 

We then walked to the main street of the festival to find a spot to watch the show. We did not have tickets, but there was plenty of free seating along the sidewalks. By the time we got to the main street, most of the curb was claimed by either people seated, or by mats and blankets people had left. This was really common at these festivals, but everyone is really respectful about not moving other people’s things. There was plenty of room to start a second row behind everyone, but no one had really started doing that yet, so we were worried we’d be committing some festival faux pas if we sat behind people. But, we went for it anyway, and sure enough before the festival started, the second row was full of people standing or sitting. We didn’t bring seats or blankets ourselves, but after claiming a spot, I ventured out for food and came across a man selling foldable cardboard seats for 400 yen each. We each grabbed one and they were perfect for sitting behind the people along the curb. They weren’t super comfortable or durable but they lasted long enough for both the Kanto and Nebuta Matsuri.

The festival itself was amazing. I had seen pictures of the lanterns, but really had no idea what to expect. It was pretty mind blowing to see the performers lifting the lantern poles, and honestly it was fun and dramatic whenever the lanterns would fall. Definitely make sure you stay till the end when they connect all the poles together and lift the lanterns super high. After the festival the performers wait in the street for a bit and let people get up close for pictures. One man even had our guy friend try to lift the lanterns himself, which are apparently significantly heavier than they look.

After a stop at the beer garden we walked back to our hotel at the Dormy Inn. Highly recommend this hotel chain as they usually have baths and free noodles in the evening. It was a great location, but definitely our most expensive accommodation at 28k for a double room and 18k for a single. I’ll talk more about booking hotels later, but the extra cost was definitely worth it. 

August 5th-Iwate

This was a free day with no events or festivals planned, so we did a lot more road tripping and focused on stopping at places along the way to Morioka. First thing, we wanted to find Kanto Matsuri goods. We wandered downtown Akita a bit after checking out of the hotel and came across the Akita Inu Station. There are no dogs on site on Mondays, but the shop was still open and we got some cute akita inu goods. We also came across the daytime Kanto festival, which is competitive and performances are judged. We didn’t stick around for long but it was still cool to see. 

After leaving Akita city we drove to Lake Tazawa. We hit up two beautiful shrines along the lakeside. It was pretty hot so our stops weren’t long. We decided to get lunch near the lake, and at this point we had mostly only eaten festival food, so we were pretty keen for a sit down meal. Since it was later in the afternoon, most places were closed between lunch and dinner services, but we came across a pizza place called Yama no Hachimitsu Ya. I find pizza to be hit or miss in Japan but this place was definitely a hit. Honey on pizza might sound weird but honestly it was some of the best pizza I have had in Japan. We also checked out the honey shop next door where you can sample almost every flavour of honey you can think of. 

From here it was straight to Morioka, with the odd michi-no-eki stop. We stayed in the Morioka Grand Hotel Annex. 16k for a deluxe room with a double and single bed. We had dinner at a nearby ramen shop. I cannot remember the name of the shop, but we were a little worried because it wasn’t until after we ordered and sat down that we realised all the broths were made with anchovies. No allergies to be worried about, but we were expecting some really fishy ramen to come out. However it was actually really tasty ramen and the fish flavour was quite subtle and nice.

**August 6th...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/samiam130 on 2024-08-14 17:33:46+00:00.

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This sub was super helpful when I was planning my trip, so I hope I can give back and help other people out with my report. I spent 18 days in Japan earlier this year travelling by myself. My main interests in this trip were gardens, shinto shrines, stationery and all things Ghibli. I had spent 5 days in South Korea before arriving in Japan, so take that into account. I apologize in advance for the formatting, I'm not very familiar with the web version of Reddit. I'll try to go into more detail for the places that haven't been extensively covered here and just touch on the more popular attractions.

PREPARATIONS

Reservations

I reserved pretty much all attractions in advance. The most competitive were for sure Ghibli Park, Ghibli Museum and Kirby Café. Others like the Takachiho boats and Kabuki one-act tickets were competitive but there was about an hour margin to get what you wanted. The rest was pretty easy.

Learning Japanese

I started learning basic Japanese with Duolingo a year and a half before my trip. This ensured I had a grasp on the basics and I ended up being able to handle a lot of recurring situations fully in Japanese, which I was proud of. I didn't even try to learn kanji, though, and my katakana and hiragana were only passable, but speaking and understanding is much more important anyway. I took five private lessons on the weeks before the trip to perfect pronounciation and practice real-life situations and these helped a bunch as well.

Medicine

I was staying for less than 30 days so technically I didn't have to worry about this, but just in case I had my prescriptions and a letter from my doctor translated to English so I could present it at the airport if I needed to. Turns out no one cared, noticed or asked, so I didn't have to use them, but I still suggest doing this if you're bringing any kind of controlled medication into Japan, just in case.

ITINERARY

Day 1 - Fukuoka (airport) and Kumamoto

• I had an 8 o'clock flight from Seoul to Fukuoka, which looking back was a horrible decision. I was anxious about missing my flight so I got to Incheon the night before and had to sleep on a very uncomfortable bench because the airport capsule hotel was fully booked and there were no immigration services at night. Obviously, I got to Fukuoka feeling very tired.
• Had an e-sim from Airalo and it took a bit longer to activate than in South Korea but still worked fine.
• Immigration was very easy in Japan. I had my QR code ready and that was basically it.
• Sent my larger luggage to Osaka at the Yamato counter. Spent the next few days with only a carry-on.
• The airport itself has a free bus to the train station, which was helpful. Bought my tickets at the machine but then learned I had to get a base fare ticket as well, so had to turn around and go back and almost missed my train. So after this I was determined to not get any reserved seating tickets and only get my tickets at the booth with an attendant.
• Got my Sugoca at the Kumamoto train station and continued to use this card for the rest of my trip. Accidentally added too much money to the card because I was still thinking in Korean Won so I decided to only have dinner at convenience stores.
• My brain still hadn't fully shifted from Korean to Japanese and I was very tired so I ate at the only restaurant with an English menu at the station.
• Bought train tickets for the following day at the counter. This became my routine: every time I arrived at a new city, I would buy the train tickets for the next leg of the trip. Highly recommend this to everyone, as it allows you to take your time finding your gate and platform.
• Went to my hotel (Super Hotel Kumamoto Ekimae) to wait for check-in time. I think this is the hotel I liked the most during my trip even though I only stayed for one night. Wish I had booked this chain for other cities as well.
• Took a short nap instead of immediately heading out to see the sights because I was wiped.
• Took the tram to Kumamoto Castle to see the sunset from up there. Sadly the castle itself had closed at 4pm but it was still beautiful to see from the outside and the restoration work is very insteresting. Had a lovely walk around the castle and back to the tram.
• My original plan was to also visit Suizenji Jojuen and Kumamon Square but it got dark earlier than I expected and there were already a lot of Kumamon stuff at the train station itself so I just took the tram back to the station. I honestly loved riding the trams, they're very charming. It's a slower way to get around but you really get to see the city and peoplewatch.
• Bought dinner and snacks for the next day and went to sleep.
• STEP TOTAL: 12,818

Day 2 - Takachiho

• I had booked a tour of Takachiho and the Aso caldera in advance with Explore Kumamoto because I can't drive. This was probably my favourite day of the entire trip. The guide (Helen) was lovely and told us so much about the area, and the other people on the tour were great as well.
• We got to Takachiho gorge early in the morning and I already had a reservation for the canoes as suggested by our guide. This was very helpful because otherwise we would've had a 3 hour wait and obviously wouldn't have made it. The gorge itself is smaller than I expected but the whole place is so beautiful, I still think it's very much worth the visit.
• After walking around and rowing, we had lunch on-site and had Nagashi Somen (cold flowing noodles). I did better than expected at this and had so much fun. The locals thought we were funny celebrating our abilties with the chopsticks and that was also fun. Also had nanban chicken and man, that was delicious.
• Visited several spots in the caldera for the rest of the day, can't recall all the names. Unfortunately Mt Aso was spewing some gas so we couldn't go up all the way but it wasn't my main interest so I didn't mind. Just driving around was already so lovely, I really can't stress enough how much I loved this day and would recommend this stop for everyone.
• Got a train to Oita from Kumamoto. Arrived pretty late, bought train tickets for the next few days, had a konbini dinner and that was it. Stayed at Toyoko Inn Oita Ekimae. Pretty standard business hotel, very good breakfast. Got a surprisingly large room.
• STEP TOTAL: 14,182

Day 3 - Yufuin

• Boy do I regret this one. I had planned to spend the day at Yufuin but it was so small. If I had known I would've either skipped this entirely or done half a day here and half a day somewhere else (maybe Beppu).
• The Floral Village is literally just two blocks of character-themed shops, lake Kinrin is very small, and you can cross the whole town in like an hour. Thought about spending time at an onsen but I have tattoos and didn't want to go around asking and getting rejected. It's not even a relaxing place because there are constant busses dropping people off all day so it's way too crowded for how small it is.
• Good food options, though. Had dessert at Snoopy Chaya and ate anpan at Miffy Kitchen, had some kind of japanese version of bao for lunch.
• Went back to Oita and basically had my first slow evening of the trip.
• STEP TOTAL: 9,298

Day 4 - Osaka

• The train trip to Osaka was the longest of the whole trip. Left at 8 a.m., got there around midday. Bought tickets for the end of the week but messed up with my Japanese and apparently instead of buying tickets for 4 p.m. I bought tickets for 4 people. I'll get into this later.
• Dropped off my luggage at APA Hotel Namba-Shinsaibashi. I didn't know about the owner's horrible politics when I booked hotels for this trip so ended up staying at an APA twice. Both times I got to one address and had trouble checking in until they figured out I was actually staying at another branch two blocks away from where I thought I was staying. So if you're staying at an APA do plan some time around the check-in in case this also happens to you.
• Went to Okonomiyaki Ajinoya for lunch. This was the only place in the whole trip where I had to wait in line. I wouldn't classify this as a tourist trap because the food was very good and portions were large, but be mindful of the wait.
• Headed to Osaka Aquarium. Loved doing the stamp rally. All the animals looked healthy and active, which was a concern I had after finding out how bad animal conditions can be in Japan.
• Originally I had planned to go to Shinsekai but it was late so I instead walked around Dotonbori, took lots of pictures, ate some street food, had a good time.
• STEP TOTAL: 14,198

Day 5 - Osaka Universal Studios

• I'd heard about the gates opening an hour earlier than they say and it was true! I only had a standard ticket so I run-walked to Super Nintendo World and got in with no need for a timed entry ticket.
• Rode Mario Kart in basically 15 minutes. I won't go into details for this day because I think it's been sufficiently covered online, just wanted to add that the mushroom cream popcorn is delicious.
• The Harry Potter area was a letdown. I'm not the biggest fan so I just wanted to go on the rides. Ended up wasting almost 2 hours in line for the rollercoaster before I got a good look at how small it was and gave up.
• The Jurassic Park area was all closed, unfortunately.
• Did some laundry at the end of the day
• STEP TOTAL: 13,862

Day 6 - Osaka

• Started the day at the Museum of O...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/mithdraug on 2024-08-14 13:25:48+00:00.

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Typhoon Ampil is about to hit/brush with eastern coast of Hokkaido on Friday, 16 August and affect eastern and northern part of Honshu for 36-48 hours with sustained winds up to 80 knots, gusts up to 115 knots and heavy rains.

Please plan accordingly - cancel your trips into affected areas, especially mountains and landslide prone parts of the country, stay indoors until the danger passes, follow instructions of your hotel staff in case of evacuation orders being issued. Please do not plan 'typhoon watch parties' or any other silly stuff.

You can follow typhoon's tracking here and updated list of advisories - here.

JR East has already possible suspension of many Kanto and Tohoku area services at least on 16 and 17 August, as well as very probable cancellations of all its shinkansen services from around noon on 16 August with Tohoku, Akita and Yamagata shinkansen stoppages lasting whole day of 17th, and possibilty of suspension of Narita Express both on 16th and 17th.

JR Central has announced that all Tokaido shinkansen operations will be suspended between Tokyo and Nagoya on 16th, and Nagoya to Shin-Osaka services will be reduce to 2 Kodama trains an hour. Operations of services on 17th will be assessed after shinkansen passes over. Additional trains will be added on 15th.

Other railway companies including Keikyu, Keisei and Tokyo Monorail already put announcements about possible cancellations of services on 16th and 17th. It's very likely that no rail or bus services will run in Tokyo and Yokohama area from before noon on 16 August until it will be safe to resumer service.

Please take under consideration that Haneda and Narita Airports might be unreachable on 16 and 17 August. If they will be operating, airline companies will likely refuse to refund/rebook your flights, if you couldn't get there. If you have concerns, whether your flight is operating, please contact your carrier directly.

• JR East status information:
• JR Central status information:
• Keikyu status information:
• Keisei status information:
• Tokyo Monorail status information:
• Haneda Airport webpage:
• Narita Airport webpage:

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Aellaisbad on 2024-08-13 23:34:01+00:00.

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Last November I went on a trip to Japan with two friends for just over three weeks. I put a significant amount of prep into this trip and while a significant amount of it was unneeded, it allowed me to have a wonderful trip that I don't at all regret. Post is a bit late, but felt I should give back a bit before making an itinerary post.

This post's formatting and idea is roughly based on this wonderfully formatted post.

Background

We're a group of gamers with a nearly ten year age gap between us and significantly different interests that required a large amount of cooperation and sacrifice from all of us to make things work. In retrospect, doing more things separately would have been a better idea.

Myself: 29 y/o - History, Architecture, Culture, Nature, Photography, Anime

Dietary Restriction - Semi-Kosher (No Pork, Shellfish, etc)

Primary Interest - Shrines, Museums, Gardens, Exploration

Friend #1: 33 y/o - Food, Arcades, History, Culture, Music (Electronic)

Primary Interest - Arcades, Music, Wrestling

Friend #2: 24 y/o - Culture, Food, Anime, Shopping

Primary Interest - Weeb?, Music, Chilling (idk dude was vibing the entire time)

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Statistics

Budget

Everything here is in USD. Exchange rate for most of the trip was around 149:1 - JPY:USD. Everything was split evenly and below is my personal spend, but I did sometimes spend for my friends without splitting it.

| Category | Spend | Information | |

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| | Flight | $1798 | Premium Economy RT - United Airlines, nonstop to HND, return from NRT | | Hotel | $1837 | 24 Days, including Ryokan | | Transport | $278.91 | 2x Shinkansen, Suica, Domestic Flight - FUK > HND | | Shopping | $1495.20 | I spent way too fucking much LOL | | Food | $670.20 | | | Cash Spend | $394.43 | Almost all was shopping & food | | Attractions | $125.62 | Museums, Oberservation Decks, Events, etc | | Utility | $207.60 | Ubigi eSim, Travel Insurance, etc | | Total | $6820.17 | Numbers may not perfectly align |

Admittedly, looking back this was much more than I initially intended.

Funny Numbers

Total Spent @ Convenience Stores - $153.23 USD

Total Spent @ B-Side Label - $247.94 USD

Most Expensive Single Item Purchased - Anime Figure - $202.28 USD

Most Expensive Meal - 神戸牛 ステーキ仙 - $110.73 USD

Average Distance Walked

For myself and Friend #1, we had little difficulty handling the walking during the drip. I would, however, strongly recommend taking a pair of shoes you are used to walking longer distances in. I tried out a new sole for my shoes and this was a mistake that caused me to develop a blister in only 4 days. Good thing I brought my old soles.

• Tokyo - 9.31mi / 14.98km
• Kyoto - 9.92mi / 15.96km
• Osaka - 11.46m i/ 18.44km
• Hiroshima - 9.12mi / 14.57km
• Fukuoka - 9.86m i/ 15.87km
• Total Average - 9.14mi / 14.71km

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Cities Visited & Photos

With hindsight, I'd have made Kobe a day trip, extended Hiroshima and Fukuoka a day, and pulled a day off of the final leg in Tokyo.

Tokyo - 4 Nights

Kyoto - 4 Nights

Ogoto-onsen - 1 Night

Osaka - 4 Nights

Kobe - 1 Night

Hiroshima - 2 Nights

Fukuoka - 2 Nights

Tokyo - 5 Nights

Daytrips:

• Yokohama
• Himeji

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Accommodations

Nearly every reservation made on this trip was made through Booking.com. In hindsight, we could have saved around 100-200 USD over the full trip booking directly with hotels, with the main savings coming from Tokyo. Some hotels offer early bird or member discounts that really do come with savings. The only exception to our choice in hotels was in Kyoto where we stayed at an AirBnB in Higashiyama. Keeping opinions out of this so as not to break Rule #4.

Tokyo:

• Tokyu Stay Ikebukuro - Convenient Location. Ikebukuro was an amazing area to stay in.
• JR-EAST HOTEL METS Akihabara - Convenient location. Akiba was a boring area to stay in. Would not stay in Akiba again.

Kyoto:

• Tsukinowacho House - Excellent location.

Otsu:

• Biwako Hanakaido (Ryokan) - Ryokan.

Osaka:

• Hotel WBF Hommachi - Solid location.
• Osaka Excel Hotel Tokyu - Solid Location.

Kobe:

• Kobe Tor Road Hotel Sanraku - Alright location.

Hiroshima:

• Smile Hotel Hiroshima - Solid location, but requires walking.

Fukuoka:

• Hotel Grandolce Hakata - Excellent Location.

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Impressions

• Tokyo is very clean, but very impersonal. As a city, I did not enjoy it all that much. As a vacation destination, however, it was lovely.
• Kobe was surprisingly dirty - for Japan. The amount of garbage on the streets surprised me as opposed to Tokyo/Osaka. It was the only city during my trip that I noticed was significantly less clean than other cities.
• Kyoto is absolutely lovely late at night and early in the morning. As a tourist in Kyoto, I can comfortably say I hate tourists in Kyoto. Hypocrisy, woo!
• Trains are so much quieter than in many other countries. Both the actual trains and the people, although the latter was expected.
• Japan is not as much of a cash society in the cities as I expected. The further out you go though, the more you'll need cash. I made it a rule to keep ~5-10k yen on me at all times.

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Advice

• Garbage bins aren't that much of an issue. Either keep it on you or return it to where you got it. If you bought something at a conbini and eat it there, throw it out there. If you buy something from a stall in front of a shrine and eat it there, return your garbage there. If you take something with you, hold onto it. Stations and hotels usually were the most common places to throw things away.
• Multiple credits cards are really worth it. My AMEX worked online where my Visa did not. Where either of those failed, my Mastercard didn't. Having one of each came in handy. My AMEX was my most used card followed by my Visa. I used my Mastercard thrice.
• Schwab Checking was really worth it for pulling cash out of ATMs with no foreign exchange fee and the ATM refund. 100% worth it if its available to you.
• Ryokans can sell out quickly. Check when availability goes up and book then. There is also usually availability in the immediate 2-4 weeks that is easier to land due to cancellations.
• If you book your Shinkansen tickets on Smart-ex you can attach them to your IC card so you don't have to wait in line at the ticket machines.
• Get an eSim so you don't have to wait in line at an airport when you arrive. Most support tethering, so you won't need a wifi device.
• Use luggage forwarding services. Most hotels offer them. Just pay and forget. It'll show up at your next hotel without worry - just check with your hotel if that's okay first.
• Don't obsess over the Shinkansen/trains. Use flights when possible. 7h Fukuoka > Tokyo by Shinkansen vs 1h30m by flight + 30m baggage? No contest. And the flight is cheaper, too. Busses can be great too.
• Take a taxi if you're leaving Kyoto Station with Luggage.
• Don't book your Shinkansen leaving Tokyo Station immediately after rush hour. Taking luggage onto a filled train during rush hour is not fun for you or the people around you.

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Reservations

I'll label all the reservations I attempted to get and the process that we went through to get them. We were not successful with all of them.

• Shibuya Sky

Booked without issue for 1h - 40m before sunset entry time about 6h after release of tickets directly with Shibuya Sky. We found that Klook's availability was delayed and as such did not make a sunset booking likely. We used the direct webket link that is now hidden in tiny text. This may have changed - hope so, because I hear many people have card troubles.

• Pokemon Cafe

I slept in for this one and missed out. Decided not to bother and push it off to my next trip. After an hour there were no reservations left. Oops.

• Ghibli Museum

We didn't realize it was closed for a large portion of our trip so ended up booking for December. We had 3 people attempting to book and the sheer demand paralyzing the website prevented 2 of us from doing so. My mother ended up being the only one able to purchase the tickets despite being behind me in queue.

• Kichi Kichi Omurice

We were ready to go on this one - both Friend #1 and I. Sold out within ~50 seconds. Lag wasn't horrible, but we d...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Adurnha on 2024-08-12 14:01:46+00:00.

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Hi!

I'm traveling to Japan for 2 weeks on September, and I would love some feedback/advices on my itinerary.

This is my first time in Japan, and I would come from Seoul, South Korea so I have no jetlag on the arrival day.

I tried to group activites together when they were together not to do too much transport on each day, but maybe some of them can be moved to other day or swapped to be more effective.

Feel free to give advices, especially if some days are too crowded. The goal is not to be active 100% of the time doing an activity, but to have some time to hang freely, do some shopping, etc...

• September 10th:

  • Plane arrives to Tokyo NRT at 5:30pm (from a trip to South Korea so no jetlag)
  • Transfer to Shinjuku for check-in, and then explore Shinjuku

• September 11th:

  • Morning
    • Hang around Shibuya
    • Shibuya Sky
    • Shibuya Nintendo PARCO
    • Harajuku
  • Afternoon
    • Lunch at Shibuya or Mitaka depending on time
    • Ghibli museum at 2pm
    • Back to Shibuya for Meijui-Shingu, shopping and dinner

• September 12th:

  • Morning
    • Teamlab borderless at 9:30am
    • Tokyo tower
    • Zojo-ji temple
  • Afternoon
    • Hang around Asakusa
    • Senso-ji temple
    • Have dinner in Asakusa

• September 13th:

  • Morning
    • Hang around Akihabara
    • Tokyo skytree
  • Afternoon
    • Lunch at Ryogoku Edo Noren
    • Sumo tournament at 3:30pm
    • Explore Ueno and have dinner

• September 14th:

  • Nothing yet, maybe a day trip ?
  • Dinner at Ninja Restaurant at 8pm

• September 15th:

  • Morning
    • Early train from Tokyo to Kanazawa
    • Check-in in Kanazawa
    • Kenroku-en
  • Afternoon
    • 21th century museum
    • Kanazawa Castle
    • Hang around and have dinner

• September 16th:

  • Morning
    • Early train from Kanazawa to Osaka
    • Check-in in Osaka
    • Hang around in Umeda and have lunch
  • Afternoon
    • Hang around in Namba and have dinner

• September 17th:

  • Day trip to Koya-san
  • Have dinner and hang around in Osaka

• September 18th:

  • Universal Studio Japan
  • Have dinner and hang around in Osaka

• September 19th:

  • Morning
    • Early train from Osaka to Hiroshima
    • Check-in in Hiroshima
    • Hiroshima Peace Museum + park
  • Afternoon
    • Trip to Mitaki-dera
    • Back to Hiroshima to hang around in the city and have dinner

• September 20th:

  • Day trop to Miyajima
  • Have dinner and hang around in Hiroshima

• September 21st:

  • Morning
    • Early train to Kyoto
    • Check-in in Kyoto
    • Hang around in Gion
    • Kiyomizu-dera
    • Have lunch
  • Afternoon
    • Mount Kurama
    • Ginkaku-ji
    • Back to center of Kyoto, hang around in Pontocho and have dinner

• September 22nd:

  • Morning
    • Fushimi Inari Taija
  • Afternoon
    • Arashiyama
    • Kinkaku-ji

• September 23rd:

  • Day trip to Nara

• September 24th:

  • Morning
    • Daigo-ji
  • Afternoon
    • Nintendo Kyoto
    • Hang around in center of Kyoto
    • Head to KIX in Osaka to take our plane to Seoul at 7:55pm

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/deputygus on 2024-08-10 14:36:11+00:00.

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(Edited with more details)

Hi y’all! We are four adults traveling to Japan for the first time. We’re aiming for medium paced travel with some set destinations, but free time to wander and explore as well. Our group will occasionally split depending on personal interests.

So far we’ve booked our flights, lodgings, and major ticketed attractions. We still need to book trains and shipping luggage.

Day 1 (Monday, September 30): We will land at Haneda in the early afternoon. After checking into our hotel in Shinjuku, we will explore and eat dinner in Omoide Yokocho.

Day 2 (Tuesday, October 1): Start by visiting Meiji Shrine for their daily ritual at 8am. Then explore Harajuku district and Shibuya Scramble Crossing area. The group will then split with half staying in Shibuya for the Pokemon Center and Kumachan Onsen (Bear Cafe) and the other half going to Gotokuji Temple (Lucky Cat Temple) and the surrounding area.

Day 3 (Wednesday, October 2): We’ve booked a guided bus tour to Lake Kawaguchi. **tickets purchased*

Day 4 (Thursday, October 3): This is an open day to explore Shinjuku. Our options include Golden Gai/Kabukichō, Tower Records, Tokyo Government Building, and Suja Shrine (Your Name ❤️).

Day 5 (Friday, October 4): We will leave Tokyo early in the morning and travel to Ghibli Park **tickets purchased*. Once we’re done at the park, we will continue on to end the day in Kyoto and check into our hotel.

Day 6 (Saturday, October 5): We will possibly book a guided walking tour of Kyoto in the morning. Then visit Nishiki Market and/or Kiyomizu-dera in the early afternoon. At 4:30, we have a kimono rental and tea ceremony booked near downtown/Gion **tickets purchased*. After that, we will explore the Gion District in the evening.

Day 7 (Sunday, October 6): Our group splits on this day with half going to Osaka for a day trip. The other half will explore the port area of Fushimi Ward, Kyoto including a sake museum and canal cruise. The half in Kyoto may rent bikes to get around.

Day 8 (Monday, October 7): Visit Saihōji (Kokedera) Temple (Moss Temple) at 10am **tickets purchased*. Then visit Arashiyama Monkey Park followed by the Arashiyama  Bamboo Forest in the afternoon. If we have time, we may visit Kinkaku-ji Temple.

Day 9 (Tuesday, October 8): Wake up early to hike and visit Fushimi Inari Shrine in the morning. Then an open afternoon to explore anything else we want to see in Kyoto (like Kiyomizu-dera Temple or GEAR if we need a break from walking around).

Day 10 (Wednesday, October 9): The group will travel to Miyajima Island to stay. Our plan is to hike Mount Misen and visit Itsukushima-jinja (floating torii gate).

Day 11 (Thursday, October 10): On this day our group splits again. Two will travel back to Ueno District, Tokyo and two will stay to visit Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima then relax/explore more of Miyajima.

Day 12 (Friday, October 11): The two in Tokyo will go to Akihabara while the other two travel from Miyajima to Ueno District, Tokyo. The group will reunite for dinner in Asakusa **reservation booked*

Day 13 (Saturday, October 12): Take the morning to explore Kappabashi Street and Asakusa Underground Street. Then we’ll return to Haneda in the early afternoon for an evening flight home.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/kakashirokudaime on 2024-08-09 03:36:32+00:00.

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I wrote a post last year (May 2023) about traveling with our 10-month-old to Japan, we went back(Feb 2024) but this time we brought my mom!

A few notes

• My mom is 55 and in the fitness industry, she is very athletic so we had zero concerns about walking. She is also vegan (but flexible with fish while traveling) so it was tough, at times, to find a resturant that worked for all of us.
• We did portable wifi the first trip but this trip we went with the e-sim and it was so so much easier/better.
• We visited in February. Since we are from Southern California, we bought my son a waterproof one-piece snowsuit that he wore almost everyday. It was rainy and windy so I was happy knowing we could layer him up or down. It was also easy to pull off when we were indoors for an extended amount of time.
• We learned the first time that we needed to offer my son downtime and child-focused activities. I HIGHLY recommend practicing on-the-go naps ahead of time. My son is excellent at stroller naps because we practice before we travel.
• We stayed at the Mimaru chain last time and appreciated the size + amenities for children and opted to book it again.

Day Zero (aka the longest travel day ever)

• 6 am to 12 pm - My dad drove us from San Diego to LAX (the only direct flight from SD is with JAL). I booked business-class tickets on Singapore Air using points from American Express and Capital One. We checked out both the Centurian Lounge (better food) and Star Alliance (more space, less busy, better for toddler to run around outside).
• 1 pm - Boarded and take off. I called 6 months in advance to ensure we would get the bulkhead seats. They are massive, and so worth it when traveling with a lap child. There were at least 10 other kids in business which was surprising since last year on our JAL business class flight, my son was the only one. The 6 year behind us was a bit feral.
• 5 pm (Japan time) - After an 11-hour flight we landed feeling excited. Despite many people saying it was a bad idea on Reddit, we were headed to Kyoto the same night.
• 8:30 pm - Shinkansen to Kyoto from Tokyo Station(booked on smart ex a month in advance).
• 11 pm - checked into Mimaru Suites Kyoto. We opted for this location because it was close to the metro and offered a 2-bedroom suite at a reasonable price.

Day 1 - Kyoto

• 6:50 am - called an Uber to get to Kiyomizu-dera. We used Uber a lot in Kyoto since it was so cold and it was easier with a stroller. The cost was low when splitting it between multiple people.
• 7:30 am - the shops leading up to the temple are closed early in the morning so we enjoyed the peace and wandered around the temple. Not very stroller friendly but still happy we brought it.
• 9:30am - We made our way to Sannenzaka (a traditional shopping zone) and then to the famous Starbucks Kyoto Nineizaka Yasaka Chaya. Tbh, you won't get a seat but considering everything else will be closed at this time, it's worth it for the caffeine.
• 10am - After walking down Nene-no-michi we stopped at Maruyama Park and Yasaka Shrine so my son could get some wiggles out.
• 11 am - Omen Udon for lunch. Lots of options + vegan-friendly + toddler-friendly (high chair). It was a great first meal. Highly recommend arriving 10-15 min before opening to get the first seating
• Afternoon - spent 90 minutes trying to get my son down for a nap (it was a team effort). He was overtired and jet-lagged, fighting hard against his internal clock. We all were really struggling with jet lag at this point. My husband opted to nap while my mom and I walked over to the Ace Hotel to get a coffee at Stumptown. Listen, I judge myself for going to American brands abroad but it was the closest coffee shop to us that wasn't a Starbucks. The latte I got was...no joke....the best latte I have ever had.
• Evening - The jet lag battle was brutal so we headed off to Aeon mall next to Kyoto station to try to find some toddler-specific activities that The Tokyo Chapter recommended. Ended up finding a random conveyor belt sushi place to try out, they had a booster seat for my son, it was good enough for us to leave happy but not impressed.

Day 2 - Kyoto (aka when we start rotating who is sick)

• Morning - The original goal was to use jetlag to our advantage and head to Fushimi Inari around 6 am. However, my husband woke up with a migraine and didn't want to miss out on seeing such a cool shrine. The morning started going downhill when my mom, son, and I headed to a coffee shop that had the wrong hours on Google Maps. Then we started walking to the Kyoto Imperial Palace, only for the rain to start coming down in sheets. When we arrived, the grounds were all gravel (and wet) and the stroller wheels weren't strong enough to traverse it. On a whim, we headed over to Heian Shrine. I don't think a lot of people go there but we ended up loving it.
• Afternoon - Dropped off my son with my husband for nap time before going to Sushizen for lunch with my mom (soooooo good). Got on a bus to head to our tea ceremony. I initially booked one of those geisha tea ceremonies but the reviews turned me off when folks mentioned that it's mostly people asking the geisha random questions. Ours was accidently private aka no one else booked it and INCREDIBLE. Seriously one of our top experiences of the trip. It was next to Daitoku-ji so we spent some time walking around there after.
• Late Afternoon - My mom needed some rest so she took over watching our toddler while my husband and I went to Nijo Castle. Another highlight for me, the afternoon really made up for the chaotic morning.
• Evening - 7:30pm res at Vegan Ramen UZU. I was a little doubtful based on some of the reviews but I wanted to take my mom somewhere that she could have anything on the menu + celebrate her birthday. This place was so good! I loved my ramen and would rank it high on my list of places we ate at.

Day 3 - Osaka (reality of traveling with a toddler)

• Morning - Travel guides saying that Osaka and Kyoto are 15mins away are lying or are talking about just going between Kyoto Station and Shin Osaka. It took us 2 hours (honestly I knew that ahead of time) to get to the Osaka Aquarium. Our 11 am reservation was cut short after 20 minutes when it was clear my son needed a nap. Luckily, you have access to the aquarium all day after checking in. After wailing like a tiny maniac along the waterfront, he finally fell asleep in the stroller. In the past, he has not slept longer than 90 minutes in the stroller. For some reason, today was the day that he slept close to 3 hours.
• Afternoon - Not wanting to go through the aquarium without my son, we took turns going on the Osaka Ferris wheel. We shopped around the little mall but it was very underwhelming. We were stuck mostly inside due to the crazy rain. Finally, when he woke up, we went through the aquarium. We really loved it, the whale sharks were so beautiful. Don't stop at the first viewing point, there are at least 20 spots to view the whale sharks that are less busy. We also lost the diaper bag at some point (jeeez) but the customer service was so friendly and helped us find it (my mom was so upset cause she thought it was her fault).
• Evening - We should have gone home but instead we took an Uber to Dotonbori around 6 pm. Honestly, I shouldn't have pushed the group. The combination of a toddler, vegan, and insane rain made this so unpleasant. We went home after 45 min. I have high hopes for Osaka if we go in the future but this day had a lot of challenges.

Day 4 - Kyoto (Arashiyama, my favorite day)

• 8 am - Uber dropped us off at Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple right as they were opening up. Our favorite temple, felt very spiritual. We left our stroller at the entrance and either carried my son or let him wander around. Most people took the bus straight to the Bambook Forest but I wanted to really enjoy Arashiyama so we took a small path past Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple to Saga Toriimoto Perserved Street. The walk was so serene, highly recommend it.
• 9:48 am - We finally arrive at the Bamboo Forest. We are not a family that chases instragramable locations so I knew going here at the crack of dawn wasn't worth it to us. We took about 10 mins to take pics and walk through. It is very small, if this is the only thing you do in Arashiyama, you are missing out.
• 10 am - Entry into Tenryu-Ji. My husband and I traded off getting 20 minutes of exploration due to the gravel and number of steps not being stroller-friendly. Just sitting at the temple was pleasant so it wasn't a hardship on the person doing the baby watching.
• 11:30 am - Lunch time! I sent my mom to the gardens to enjoy a traditional Buddhist meal (vegan + booked a few months in advance) while my husband and I headed over to Itsukichaya. The set meal was beautiful and so delicious. It's a quiet space so we put zootopia on mute for my son to watch. They didn't have high chairs but he did fine in a normal seat. They also offered him rice and steamed eggs free of charge. Highly recommend. After we met back up at %Arabica, I ordered the Kyoto Latte which was not worth the 45 min wait.
• Nap Time - Honestly, we came to all enjoy these mid-day breaks. My mom was feeling sick so she stayed home for the rest of the day.
• 2 pm - We reserved time at a free indoor play center (they ask for no promotion so if you are interested DM me for details). Lots of wo...

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This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Weaksafety on 2024-08-09 18:32:30+00:00.

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Hey everyone! 👋 I'd like to share my first time 7 days trip I had this march, and hopefully get some suggestions from you for my next one in March 2025!

This was a solo trip, I'm used and enjoy walking 15-18 miles per day starting very early (6:30am or so) and wandering around, so this was packed but I had lots of fun. Also, renting a bike via app was a tremendous time saver, especially in Kyoto. Here it was:

March 9 (Saturday): Bright Lights

🛬 Arrived in HND at 11:30AM after a 14 hours flight, went to my hotel in Akasaka.

🏯 Visited Hie Shrine (loved it), then explored Akihabara to stay awake until 10PM, then called it a day.

March 10 (Sunday): Shopping Frenzy

🌳 Started at 7AM in Meiji Jingu, walked through Yoyogi Park, visited Yoyogi Hachimangu Shrine.

🚲 From there I rented a bike and went to Shibuya, then spent the rest of the day visiting Shibuya (usual spots, plus PARCO) and Shinjuku.

March 11 (Monday): On the traditional side

🌅 Started the day at 7:30 in Asakusa to see Senso-ji without heavy crowds. It was indeed not crowded but the rest of the neighborhood shops was still closed, so I sadly had to skip Kappabashi Dougu. Will be back next year.

🚴‍♂️ Biked to the south tip of Ueno park, then walked to Shinobazunoike Benten-do, then Kiyomizu Kannon-dō, Ueno Daibutsu, Ueno Toshogu.

🏛️ From the National Museum I walked through Yanaka, briefly visited the Yanaka Cemetery then had lunch at Sampota Cafe Nombiriya (loved the atmosphere, food was grandma-style). Walked the alleys up to Yanaka Ginza.

🚉 Took the Yamanote at Nippori and explored Ikebukuro, had ramen there, then went to Shibuya for a nightly stroll before calling it a day.

March 12 (Tuesday): Rainy surprise 🌧️

Had plans for a daily trip to Kamakura that sadly had to be scrapped due to heavy rains. During breakfast I searched for mostly indoor spots, so..

🎨 I found a 9 AM ticket to Teamlab Planets, which I enjoyed.

🚉 Then headed to Tokyo Station and got lost exploring the shops, Character street, etc. Ate Tsukemen at a place under the Tokyo Station tracks.

🛍️ Headed to Ginza and walked a bit, but rain was still pouring. I went inside Itoya and spent a full good hour looking at all the marvels there.

🏙️ After a quick stop at the hotel, I went to Nakano Broadway to explore and then had dinner with a good tonkatsu in the nearby alleys.

March 13 (Wednesday): Shibamata and Kyoto

🍡 Began my day with a pretty long metro ride to Shibamata. Had breakfast at the station, then walked to Shibamata Taishakuten, which was one of the top highlights of my trip. Absolutely stunning, both the temple and the garden. By the time I was done, some shops in Taishakuten Sandō were open and I enjoyed some sakura dango.

🚄 Then back to Tokyo Station, booked a 1PM Shinkansen to Kyoto, and off I went.

🚲 Arrived at my hotel in Kyoto around 4 PM, then biked to the Philosopher's path and met some friends there. Went to the gardens of the three temples on the side of the mountain, enjoyed the view. Ended the day stuffing up at a yakiniku.

March 14 (Thursday): The east side of Kyoto

⛩️ Intentional super-early rise so that at 6:30 I was at the bottom of Fushimi Inari. Dumb me took a "small" detour that sent me to the path at the BACK of the mountain, so no red Torii while climbing, but still got:

• a walk through a bamboo forest;
• nice open-air rusted sanctuaries/shrines with waterfalls;
• total silence and peace, saw only 2 people during the entire climb

🚶‍♂️ Once at the top of the mountain, I descended through the Torii path with no detours this time. At the bottom, I started walking north and visiting every temple I found along the way, so Nanmei-in, Komyo-in (including the garden), had tea at the wonderful Chikujō Sō, then Tofuku-ji.

🏞️ Biked up until Takio Shrine for a quick view, then visited the wonderful Sanjūsangen-dō and its garden.

🍡 Biked again up to Hōkan-ji, then grabbed dango and some matcha ice-cream at Sannenzaka. Walked at the back of Gion to Otani Sobyo, then through the park at Yasaka Sanctuary. A stroll through Gion and exhaustion ended my day at 4PM, so I went to Kyoto Station and took the Shinkansen back to Tokyo, where I ate another tonkatsu at Akasaka and then collapsed in my bed.

March 15 (Friday): Final day

🚴‍♂️ My last full day and I wanted to explore more, so I got on yet another bike and rode for about 10 miles all around the Akasaka Imperial gardens, to the west-south side of the Imperial Palace and Hibiyakoen, then down to Shiba Park. Another great walk through the parks toward Tokyo Tower and the temples.

🍜 Then I went to Shimokitazawa to explore and had some udons for lunch, then back to where I started (Akihabara) for some final shopping, dinner and back to the hotel.

March 16 (Saturday): 🛫 Had breakfast then straight to HND for my flight home.

Overall, I loved every minute, and the pace I had was right for me. I left a piece of my heart in Kyoto and promised I'd spend 3 days there in my next trip. After going through many mundane and traditional spots, I'd say I appreciate a good mix of the two but with more preference for traditional / historical sights.

Now I'm trying to plan for my next trip in mid March, for which I already have tickets. It'll be a 8 full day trip, from friday (landing day) to saturday night (leaving day), both to and from HND again.

I'd definitely love to:

• Give Kyoto a good 3 days;
• Take at least 2 full days in Tokyo;
• Put in some day trips as well.

What would you suggest for my next itinerary? 🤔

Open to questions from you all!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Himekat on 2024-08-08 16:06:24+00:00.

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Because of the influx of posts about the topic, I'm creating this megathread where people can ask questions and post helpful links. Please stay on topic, abide by all /r/JapanTravel rules, and keep conversation factual and direct (no dramatic speculaton, please).

After an earthquake (magnitude 7.1) off the southern coast of Japan (Miyazaki Prefecture) at 4:42pm JST on August 8, the government has issued a megaquake advisory (NHK article, Japan Times article), although they have since lifted tsunami warnings (see previous links).

• For technical information about the August 8 earthquake, see here.
• For general listings of earthquakes in Japan, see here.
• For information about earthquake preparedness, see here.
• For general weather news and updates (including earthquake information), see here.
• For JR Kyushu train updates, see here.

If you are looking for the monthly meet-up megathread, see here.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/BlueRex1985 on 2024-08-06 12:32:11+00:00.

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Came back from an amazing trip as a family of 5 (w/ kids 11, 8 and 6). Did lots of shopping, took in the sights, ate yummy food and we survived the heat! Will just give the highlights and things I found useful.

Just some general things to that we did to survive the heat and with kids:

1. Definitely get IC cards, major time savers. Got mine at Narita Airport.

2. Set expectations with the kids. We began prepping them weeks ahead of our trip of how hot and how much walking we have to do.

3. Read up on all the usual tips to beat the heat. Personal preference are the Pocari Sweat and the Sunbrella.

4. Google maps works 99% of the time. Found Navitime more accurate/useful during the day we had a pass for Hakone. Also, had trouble with it looking for a store inside a building and when it tries to tell you to walk underground.

Feel free to ask any questions!

Day by day report

Day 1: Narita Airport to Hotel

You can get Welcome Suica cards from the machine and barely anyone was in line (this was around 5:30pm). You can also get child Welcome Suica through the machine as well.

Day 2: Harajuku/Shinjuku

The Meiji Jingu is a nice walk before all the shops opened!

Day 3: DisneySea

Suggest to arrive at around 7am if you are looking to get into the new area Fantasy Springs to better your chances at getting passes.

Day 4: Shibuya

I was ready to be disappointed as when I checked their website, the top of Shibuya Sky was closed due to heat, but by the time we arrived at night, it was opened again! So consider getting night time tickets if going in summer.

Day 5: Hakone

Couldn't pick up the day passes at Shinjuku station as the timing didn't work out, but you can easily purchase it at Odawara station. Also, be sure to be on the lookout for Mt. Fuji! Our only clear view of it was from the train ride. Also consider doing to loop clockwise (we did the Hewa Torii to Pirate ship to Ropeway) as many sites I've read suggests doing it counter clockwise. I found it to be less crowded.

Day 6: Asakusa/Kawagoe

Went to the 'Million Lights Festival', which is a small summer festival at Kawagoe.

Day 7: teamLabs/Diver City/Shinkansen

Our hotel did not offer luggage forwarding service to Kyoto, but luckily there was a Yamato Transport office a few minutes walk from the hotel. Staff was super nice and helpful in getting the forms filled out. Dropped it off when it open at 9am, and got the luggage next day around 11am according to their website.

For those going to Gundam Base, make sure you check the website on if you need to 'win' a lottery to get in, but tbh, other hobby stores have similar if not better stock.

For Shinkansen tickets, we bought on the day we got to the station with no issues, but make sure you do reservation if you are travelling during busy season.

Day 8: Uji/Fushimi Inari

Uji was beautiful and was not crowded at all when I went. Also, went into an unassuming building and they offered tea sets where they teach you how to make tea for approx. 1000 yen! They were super nice and tried their best to communicate in English.

We got to Fushimi Inari at around 4pm, but they closed it off for watering until 6:00pm. We thankfully found some ledges and shade while we waited, and it was reopened at around 5:30pm. We made it up all the way to the top, but the best spot was at the fork where when we made our way down, we arrived shortly before sunset and had an amazing view. And by the we made it down to the station, it was dark. So just a suggestion to visit around this time if you want to see it under different time of day.

Day 9: Arashiyama/Kyoto Aeon Mall

Got to Arashiyama at around 8am. Wasn't very crowded at all. Feeding the monkey was definitely a fun experience.

Day 10: Osaka

Hotel didn't offer luggage forwarding service to airport, so had to again visit Yamato Transport (and thankfully, was only a 5min walk from the hotel)

There is an area between Dontobori and Shinsekai with lots of shops related to anime/hobby stuff. We ended the night at Harukas300, where it have a must visit bathroom!

Day 11: Nara

If you are planning on feeding the deers, don't feed the swarm near the entrance. I had gotten bitten multiple times on my legs and they left quite the bruise. Feed the ones further in the park as they seem less aggressive and you are not surrounded.

Day 12: Kansai Airport

Took the Haruka Express from Kyoto Station. Picked up the tickets a day before and also familiarize myself with the layout of the station since I don't want to get lost on the day to the airport. Also, consider reserved seating if not departing from Kyoto, as the seats were filled up pretty quickly and not many non-reserved seats were available by the time it got to Osaka.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/mrspotatohead24 on 2024-08-05 10:31:11+00:00.

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Hi all! Mid October l'm going to Japan for two weeks (l'm a solo traveller). It's my first time in Japan so for my itinerary I chose to do Tokyo, Kyoto and daytrips to DisneySea, Nara and Kamakura. From what I read online, I think Osaka is not a must for me (I don't see any sights/ activities that really spark my interest) so I skipped that city to have more time in other spots.

Overall I really love culture/history and just walking around cities and soaking up the atmosphere (l'm also a big fan of hiking and nature, but two weeks seems a bit short to go the Japanese alps for example). My itinerary for each day is more of a rough outline, as I like to be able to change my mind if I bump into something interesting. Still I'm curious whether this schedule makes any sense, if I would do it exactly this way. Are there any (perhaps more off the beaten track) things that might be interesting to add? Also vegetarian food recs that are still somewhat authentic are also super welcome. :) Thanks a lot in advance!

Day 1

• Arrival Tokyo at 7pm (same timezone so no jetlag) • Maybe Shinjuku at night if energy

Day 2 - Tokyo Asakusa

• Tea ceremony • Senso-ji (temple) & explore surrounding streets • Kappabashi street • Nakamise dori street

Day 3 - Tokyo Harajuku & Shibuya

• Early morning: Meiji Shrine • Takeshita Street • Walk to Daikanyamacho • Shibuya Sky (observation platform, after sunset timeslot) • Shibuya Scramble crossing at night

Day 4 - Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5 - Tokyo

• Slower day, Shinjuku if not done earlier with Golden Gai, Omoide Yokocho, maybe karaokebar in Kabukicho

Day 6 - Tokyo -> Hakone

• Explore Hakone with the boat, train etc.

Day 7 - Hakone -> Kyoto

• Tenzan Onsen in the morning • Train to Kyoto

Day 8 - Kyoto

• Arashiyama bamboo grove early morning • Otagi nenbutsu-ji (temple) 8 am • Gioji (temple) • Lunch at Shigetsu @ Tenryu-ji (temple) • Ryoanji (temple) • Kinkakuji/Golden Paviljon

Day 9 - Kyoto

• Fushimi Inari Taisha • Tofuku-ji (temple) • Sanjusandego (temple) • Kiyomizu-dera (temple) • Kodai-ji (temple)

Day 10 - Kyoto

• Daytrip to Nara

Day 11 - Kyoto

• Nijo Castle • Nishiki Market • If there's anything I didn't got to in Kyoto yet, I can do it on this day. • At night back to Tokyo

Day 12 - Tokyo

Daytrip Kamakura • Early morning train to Hase station (west side) • Kotoku-in (temple) with the great buddha • Hasedera temple • Komachi-dori shopping street • Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine (east side) • Hokokuji temple • Heisei Pilgrimage Road

Day 13 - Tokyo

• Free day, maybe Shimokitazawa or Teamlab Planets • Do whatever I feel like doing!

Day 14 - Tokyo

Going to airport at 6pm, once again do what I feel like doing this day. Space to try some recs from fellow travellers/locals I talked to this week :)

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/ConnectSheepherder3 on 2024-08-03 01:57:55+00:00.

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Hi there!

I am currently in Japan along with my parents and visited the Tokyo Disneyland on 1st August (Thursday) expecting that I would not be able to get on more than 2 rides, but it was entirely the other way around!

We took the Weeknight passport since the heat would’ve been unbearable in the afternoon, so we essentially had 4 hours only.

Once we entered, we were able to do the following up until 9PM (do note we did not take any DPA):

1. Disney Harmony in Color Parade
2. Pirates of the Carribean
3. Jungle Cruise
4. Mark Twain Riverboat
5. Haunted Mansion
6. It’s A Small World
7. Mickeys House and Meet Mickey
8. Beauty and the Beast
9. Pooh’s Hunny Hunt

None of the rides above had waiting for more than 5 minutes. The lines for Thunder and Splash Mountain were ~30 minutes at max, but we went to have food Center Street Coffeehouse instead, which we reserved, but could have honestly just walked in.

After all I heard about planning on this sub, I had honestly given hope, but it turned out to be one of the best days ever!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Odd-Mind-5060 on 2024-08-02 21:20:55+00:00.

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Hi all, 

I'm travelling to Japan on my own in September and am currently trying to plan my itinerary for a 3 week trip. I have a rough idea of the cities/towns I want to go to and have done the itinerary based on that. But it's still quite rough in terms of each day with a bit more research needed from myself.

I have nothing booked at the moment other than accommodation for the first 4 nights in Tokyo, so I’m happy to move things about if the below doesn’t work. 

Day 1 - Tokyo; Accommodation in the Asakusa area

• Arrive at about 7am to Haneda Airport
• Asakusa exploration

Day 2 - Tokyo; Accommodation in the Asakusa area

• Day trip/organised trip to either Fuji Five Lakes or Hakkone

Day 3 - Tokyo; Accommodation in the Asakusa area

• Team Lab Planets
• Shibuya
• Shibuya Sky Tree in the evening

Day 4 - Tokyo; Accommodation in the Asakusa area

• Day trip to Kamakura. Also maybe to Yokohama

Day 5 - Kanazawa

• Train from Tokyo to Kanazawa
• Explore the city

Day 6 - Kanazawa

• Kanazawa castle
• Trip to Shirakawa-go?? (maybe not needed if going to Hida no Sato from Takayama)
• Explore the city

Day 7 - Takayama

• Early train from Kanazawa
• Sakurayama Shrine
• Matsuri Yatai Kaikan
• Hida no Sato (old town)

Day 8 - Kyoto

• A few hours in the morning in Takayama - Miyagawa morning market
• Train from Takayama

Day 9 - Kyoto

• Bamboo forest
• Kinkaku-Ji Temple
• Walking tour (If I can find one)

Day 10 - Kyoto

• Day trip to Nara

Day 11 - Kyoto

• Kiyomizu-dera (temple)
• Fushimi Inari Taisha (gates)
• Or, include these in day 8/9 and go to Kobe for a day trip instead?

Day 12 - Hiroshima

• Hiroshima dome
• Explore the city

Day 13 - Hiroshima

• Day trip to Mirajima

Day 14 - Osaka

• Settle in and explore

Day 15 - Osaka

• Universal Studios (specifically Nintendo world)

Day 16 - Osaka

• Walking tour
• Maybe food/drink tour

Day 17 - Osaka

• Osaka castle

Day 18 - Nagano

• Monkey Park
• Senko-Ji temple

Day 19 - Tokyo

• Akihabara
• Shopping

Day 20 - Tokyo

• Other areas I haven’t managed to explore yet

I guess the main things I’m unsure of are;

• whether the order of my journey works, or is there a route that is much better
• for the day trip from Tokyo, any recommendations between Fuji Five Lakes or Hakkone
• Is it worth going to Shirakawa-go if I’m going to Takayama
• Is there anywhere that is recommended instead of Nagano? This was an addition due to a spare day, but it's not a must.
• I did think of looking for a beach resort for a few days but it would mean reducing a day in Osaka and Kyoto, and dropping Nagano. Maybe could go to Kamakura for a few days, or I read that Izu is a nice place as well

Any suggestions are welcome as it is quite overwhelming trying to make the decisions when there are so many great places to see.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Hungry-Worry5006 on 2024-08-01 11:42:54+00:00.

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I'm travelling to Japan in October with a couple mates, just wondering which activities would be urgent to book, should book but isn't necessary and don't need to book at all? Below is my itinerary which I hope won't be too much of a mess to read on Reddit. Also, if it's not too much to ask here; I would appreciate recommendations on places to go and/or whether I should swap stuff around in the itinerary, I have posted in here before and people were really helpful so would love more advice for a first time traveler

Tokyo (hotel in Shinagawa):

Day 1:

• Arrive at hotel approx. 5:30 pm Roaming Shinagawa and resting up after the flight
• if we have the energy to explore, just wonder around places (no bookings)

Day 2:

• Teamlab planets
• Ginza
• Clothes shopping for the rest of the trip
• Any other stores we see along the way
• Akihabara

Day 3:

• Disneyland

Day 4:

• Tokyo tower
• Teamlab borderless

Day 5:

• Warner bros
• Shinjuku at night

Day 6:

• explore views we didn't get to previous days
• Sengaku ji temple in shinagawa (graves of 47 ronin) buy incense
• Explore the rest that we didn't get to that we would want to
• Find a good shopping centre to do souvenir shopping/fun shopping
• Shibuya sky
• Betty Smith Ebisu factory

Day 7:

• Go to Mount Fuji to stay the night

Day 8:

• Mount Fuji

Kyoto:

Day 1 :

• Arrive in Kyoto (3 hours by train)
• Rest up and maybe adventure a little bit

Day 2:

• Samurai museum

Day 3:

• explore

options:

• Fushimi Inari Shrine
• Higashiyama area
• Arashiyama area

Day 4:

• head to Osaka early
• find place to stash luggage and bags or send them via the delivery service
• Osaka castle
• other castles/shrines that we see near by
• views
• aquarium

Osaka:

Day 1:

• hiroshima
• Miyajima

Day 2:

• Universal

Day 3:

• Go to Hong kong (10 am)

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/aggvalue1 on 2024-07-31 01:21:01+00:00.

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Hi everyone would love some feedback on my itinerary, visiting Japan with my wife for the first time spending the entire time in Tokyo. We are leaving in a few weeks from the US. I got a lot of ideas from other previously posted itineraries but wanted to get more feedback. I'm trying to cluster everything by the area where we will be that day.

In terms of what we are looking for, we love walking around and seeing the city on foot as well as shopping for unique Japanese things. We're huge foodies and want to try as many different foods as we can.

Day 1: ARRIVAL

• Plane lands at 1:35pm at HND
• Take train or airport limo from HND to Shinjuku station and check into hotel
• Probably too tired to do anything but will probably grab some sushi and maybe walk around Shinjuku if we feel up to it

Day 2: SHINJUKU

• Cat Billboard
• Omoide Yokochō
• Shinjuku Gyoen Park
• Isetan Shinjuku Store
• Kabukicho tower
• Golden Gai
• Hanazono Shrine to chill out
• Have a 5:30pm Omakaze reservation

Day 3: GINZA 

• Tsukiji Outer Market in the early morning
• Ginza shopping
• hama rikyu gardens if we feel like it
  • Nakashima No Ochaya matcha teahouse
• Sushi reservation for 12:30pm
• shopping/walking around
• Dinner 6:00pm reservation

Day 4: SHIBUYA/HARAJUKU

• MEGA Don Quijote Shibuya
• Hachikō Memorial Statue
• Shibuya Scramble Crossing
• Takeshita Street
• Meiji Jingu
• Shibuya Sky for sunset (tickets already booked)
• Yoyogi park
• mostly shopping/walking around

Day 5: AKIHABARA/ASAKUSA

• shop 2k540
• Shopping at Kappabashi Kitchen Town
• Edo-Shitamachi Traditional Crafts Hall
• Maybe sunset at TOKYO SKYTREE
• Asakusa Underground Street

Day 6: MT FUJI

• Mt fuji day trip
• leave early in the morning and arrive back around 6pm
• Shinkansen to/from lake Kawaguchiko
• Dinner reservation at 8:15pm

Day 7: OPEN DAY

• Open day - maybe go back to Shibuya?

Day 8: LEAVING

• Flight departs 5:00pm from NRT
• Leave around 12:30pm

For day 5, I'm not sure if its worth it to go to Asakusa? Is there anything there I have to see? I was debating if we should instead go to Minato/Roppongi instead.

Additionally, am I packing too much for day 4 in Shibuya? I feel like there is so much to see/do that one day is not enough.

Any recommendations for the open day on day 7? My wife wants to do a day trip to Kyoto but from what I've read its difficult/not recommended to do that for a day trip. I'm wondering if instead I move the Mt. Fuji plan to day 5 and spend days 6-7 in Kyoto.

Anything else we should remove/add?

Thanks in advance!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Bossball4 on 2024-07-29 16:35:15+00:00.

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I loved reading through reports here so I will submit my own for a solo trip, my very first international solo trip! A lot went wrong, but I will talk about what I did and what had to be skipped.

• Dates: January 25 - February 4
• Me: 20M, student, half Asian
• Weather: Cool and clear almost every day. Hail one day. Snow one day.
• Clothes: T-shirt and sweatpants. Hoodie for outside, taken off getting onto the trains because holy fuck was I dying in the trains wearing layers. How do the commuters do it???
• Travel: Exclusively public transport using Suica + a 7 Day JR Rail Pass for Jan 27 - Feb 2 (minor mistake for 2 pieces of luggage)

Day 1 (Thursday the 25th)

I landed in HND at 2:50PM and sped through customs faster than I ever thought possible. I picked up my JR Rail Pass + reserved Shinkansen tickets, NinjaWifi pocket WiFi, and I had to buy a jasmine tea from a vending machine. I went to my lodging to drop off my luggage before venturing on a whim to look at Tokyo Tower (and peep the Oshi no Ko collab displays).

LODGING: Ryokan Nakadaya

• 9/10. Insane value for price ($33/night)! My room was cozy, but got upgraded to a double for free. Owner was super kind and we talked for an hour about places he recommended. Only downside is the long and stair-filled walk from Minami-Senju Station. Stayed here for my whole trip so I could keep my checked bags and souvenirs somewhere.

Soba at Fuji Soba

• 8/10. I got a set meal which had so much food for only 900 yen!

Day 2

Ripe off the effects of jet lag, I take to the fish markets after unintentionally waking up at 4:30AM! Tsukiji clears Toyousu heavy handidly, because I bought nothing and spent little to no time in Toyousu.

Onigiri Marutoyo in Tsukiji Outer Market

• 10/10. The shrimp tempura was warm and had a great crunch! I got there a little before 6AM, and then the line was at least 8 people long to the stand. The clam and eel onigiri(s) are also worth getting!

Teamlab Planets

• 10/10! A great museum where you also FEEL the art. Make sure to reserve beforehand!

Pork Cutlet Set Lunch at the Staff Cafeteria inside Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

• 10/10. While I had to ask an office worker where the cafeteria was, the value and view make this spot worth it! With the clear weather, Mt Fuji could be seen peeking over the closer mountains. Did I mention that the observation floor is FREE?

Then I got lost looking for the Godzilla Store before heading to Shibuya where I looked around Tower Records, Shibuya Crossing, and Shibuya Square.

SAKE MARKET (Shinjuku)

9/10. A great reservable place to taste a bunch of different sake, sochu, and more. You can bring your own snacks as well. NOT an izakaya.

Day 3 TOKYO > HAKONE

I started my day by walking across Sakura Bridge to Tokyo Skytree! It was nice to get my steps in on another sunny day.

Brunch at Tokyo Skytree

• 9/10. I got takoyaki from Gindaco because they were doing a collab with Oshi no Ko (my #1 or 2 fav anime) and North Plain Farm Hokkaido Milk Ice Cream as a brunch!

I spent the rest of the main day buying Oshi no Ko merch and other items in Tokyo Solemachi with a couple vending machine drinks and cold matcha from Gion Tsujiri. I went into Ikebukuro and immediately had a rough time. Once you exit the station, the mall complex you find yourself in has HORRIBLE signage and I felt genuinely overwhelmed for the first time this trip. I looking in a Ministop, Pokemon Center, and Comic Books Toranora before hopping on a shinkansen and bus to my one night stay in…

LODGING: Fukuzumiro

• 10/10. Approximately $200 got me my own room with a river view, seasonal kaiseki, yukatas in the rooms, and reservable onsen rooms. The fugu themed meals were great! BUT… There is a butt. By sheer incompetence or my anxiety, I went into a mini mental breakdown as I scrabled to figure out and then look up how to wear a yukata. I was very worried about etiquette. The meal helped stabilize me, and the onsen was especially calming - to be able to bathe alone.

Day 4 HAKONE > TOKYO

After breakfast and a morning onsen, I take the bus further into the mountains so I could go on a short hike to…

Chisuji Falls

• 8/10. It’s a small falls, but a short <15 minute hike from the nearest bus stop. It was a cozy stop!

Sidequest: Needed to stop and walk 15 minutes to a 7-Eleven because I forgot to top off my Suica for the bus fare.

Hakone Shrine

• 5/10. Was nice to see from a distance since the main tori gate was closed off… until it started hailing (small hail). This was one of the bad weather days, since I had no view of Mt Fuji.

Took buses and shinkansen back to Tokyo.

Starbucks Reserve Roastery: Did not get anything.

Supper: Uobei Shibuya Conveyor Belt Sushi (8/10)

Then I looked in Animate, Mandrake, MEGA Don Quixote, Hands, & Nintendo Tokyo.

Day 4 TOKYO > OSAKA > NARA > KYOTO

I can already see the comments saying that today was a huge mistake. You are right! DO NOT try to fit the Osaka-Nara-Kyoto set into one day, because the aftereffects can be felt for the next few days. By taking the shinkansen from Tokyo > Shin-Osaka, I was able to see Mt. Fuji!

Osaka Aquarium

• 10/10. The smartest thing I did here besides reserving my ticket in advance was to put my backpack into a storage locker at the closest train station. Loved the whale sharks!

Lunch

• 8/10. 7-Eleven curry bread and Onigiri
• 9/10. Nakatanidou Mochi. So chewy and fresh, plus I got to see the mochi pounding; lucky!

Nara Park

• 9/10. The deer were chill and I had a great time eating lunch and feeding the deer!

At this point I felt horrible and broken down so I skipped Fushimi Inari Shrine and all of my other Kyoto plans to head straight to my capsule hotel for the night. I went to bed at 8pm ;w;

LODGING: Anshin Oyado Premier Kyoto

• 7/10. I stayed here for free since I had OneKeyCash from a prior vacation. The amenities were really nice, but I got bad sleep unfortunately. Noise was nice and low.

Day 5 KYOTO > AOMORI > HAKODATE

You might’ve thought that the JR Rail Pass was a bad cost move, but this huge leg of three shinkansen trains make it worth it combined with tomorrow’s train rides! Shinkansen(s) to Aomori, clear Mt Fuji again!

Breakfast: Vending machine ice cream and Koikeya Shrimp Chips

Miso Milk Curry Ramen at Ramen Ajino-Sapporo

• 10/10! Waiting in line for 10-15 minutes takes you into a small restaurant where the whole menu is in Japanese. A must visit!

Bought souvenirs in A-Factory plus Apple gelato & cider.

LODGING: Share Hakodate (8/10)

Supper: Sweet 26 Cider & Persimmon-leaf-wrapped mackerel sushi (8/10)

Day 6

Finally, a proper winter!

Breakfast at Hakodate Morning Market!

• 10/10! I had fresh Squid Sashimi, Kyushu Melon, Pearl White Strawberries, & Fresh Boiled Hairy Crab! The hairy crab took 45 minutes of waiting but it was worth it and I feasted like a king!

Lunch: Strawberries and Beef Chip-Sticks

Dai-Ichi Takimotokan Onsen at Noboribetsu

• 10/10. The outdoor onsen baths were the coziest because I could balance the hot water with the cold winter air as it lightly snowed. It was honestly perfect!

Supper @ Nemuro Hanamaru Standing Sushi in Sapporo

• 10/10! Got a standing space for a shorter wait time and it was of better quality than in Tokyo!

Bought some more souvenirs in Sapporo Stellar Place before taking a Train to CTS, plane to HND, and transit to Ryokan. The Sapporo Snow Festival was unfortunately delayed, so I just barely missed it. Slept @ 1am.

Day 7

Today is all about Harajuku and Akihabara!

Brunch: Yuzu Ramen Set with Whiskey Yuzu Highball @ Afuri Harajuku

• 10/10! While the ramen is pricey, the flavor makes it worth it! Unique vibe going on since they played Dua Lipa’s Houdini while I was there lol. NO CASH.

Then I bought streetwear at Takeshita-dori before taking transit to Nakano Broadway and Akihabara.

Owl Cafe Akiba: It was very chill and calming plus it was nice to have an owl there that loved to sit on my head!

Snack: 1500¥ Kobe Beef Skewer at Beef Skewers Maruju Meat Shop (10/10)

I then bought lots of figurines before doing laundry at my ryokan.

Day 8

Senso-ji

• 8/10. I went on a weekend which was not the best idea to avoid crowds, but I could tolerate it and managed to get the best fortune! My wish is a secret though teehee.

Bought cups & fake food at Nakamise-dori.

Lunch: Giraffe Curry Bread (10/10 value)

Dessert: Suzukien strawberry & level 7 matcha gelato (10/10)

Snack: Naruto Taiyaki (8/10)

Walk to KitKat Popup Shop, Bus to Ryokan, Transit to Japan Sake & Sochu Info Center, and Shibuya. After many days I FINALLY saw the Hachiko Statue!

109 Vending Machine Cake in a Can?! It’s in the basement of the 109 btw

Looking down on Shibuya Crossing from 109 Magnet, a good place since you pay AND get a free drink.

Supper: Karukaya Tsuke-Udon (9/10). I went about an hour before they closed and there was nobody else there!

Waited 40 minutes in line at Onigiri Bongo, andI bought 5 Onigiri.

Late Night Snack: Sujiko & Egg Yolk Onigiri from above (11/10)

Day 9

Breakfast: Onigiri Bongo

Transit to Suga Shrine Otokodan (Your Name location), Meiji Jingu, & Akihabara. Bought more Oshi no Ko merch & things

Lunch: Baked Goods

Transit to Godzilla Statue in Ginza. Bought lots of stationary at Itoya

Transit to Tsutaya Books, and bought a circuit board Tokyo rail map card holder (now unavailable)!

Transit to Shinjuku for Sake Market, then Ryokan...

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Hey folks, wanted to share my experience in some less-visited wider Kansai area destination, covering both food and attractions. Will use a loose 1 star to 3 star rating system. Most of the places are from my recent trip, but some from my previous trips to the area as well. This time, I did 21 days in peak summer, covering Kyoto, Okayama, Kurashiki, Kojima, Saijo, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Onomichi, Odashi, Nima, Izumo, Matsue, Yonago, Mt Daisen, Takamatsu, Nagashima Spaland, and Osaka. I won't really talk about the big tourist spots in the major cities because there is more than enough information about those already. For food, I tried to only eat at places above 3.5 on Tabelog, ignoring Google Map reviews for the most part unless I was in the less-touristed areas. I didn't enjoy some more highly-rated places on Tabelog, but overall this led to many good meals. Thanks to everyone on the r/JapanTravel Discord.

Link to the itinerary check for this trip is in my profile, except I ended up doing Takamatsu instead of the Tottori stuff, and ended up skipping Kobe too.

Spending: around 1.7k USD for 21 days in Japan, excluding flights and shopping. I tracked my expenses fairly comprehensively with a budget tracker app.

General advice: For the San-in coast and less urban Japan ideally come with a car. Plenty doable without trains, but hard, because trains run once an hour, and some buses are three times a day. It was actually impossible to get to Yuushien and back with public transport, for instance. You can get a 1000yen bus to and from Hiroshima to the major Shimane hubs. Hostels in rural Japan are less occupied, but you have a much better chance of meeting locals there. On a couple of nights I was the only guest or one of two guests, although things do pick up on the weekends. As with elsewhere in Japan, capsule hotels are a universally worse experience compared to a hostel. FInally, learn how to use Tabelog, especially the Tabelog map. Google Maps reviews in the cities are 90% Western tourists and you get the silliest ratings.

KYOTO:

[2 star] Chishaku-in: Head temple of the Chisan subsect of Shingon Buddhism, and deserves to be far more on the tourist track. This is one of my favourite Kyoto temples. It's 1600s so not as historical, but possesses large grounds, an excellent and quiet sitting garden that isn't a rock garden, and a Treasure Hall with beautiful wall paintings, many of which are National Treasures. This place apparently also offers a temple stay like some others in Kyoto; no need to head to Koya-san for that.

[2 star] Kyoto Trail: a network of hiking trails in the outskirts and hills of Kyoto. Again seemingly unknown by tourists. There are many sections you can do, and I originally wanted to do the long walk by the Kiyotaki River from Saimyo-ji, but ran out of time. So the next day I walked part of an the eastern section, starting behind Nanzen-ji (where there is a quiet Shugendo waterfall!) and heading to Yamashima via Bishamon-do (which I wanted to visit, but had closed by the time I reached it). This path, and Bishamondo, will be epic in autumn, and the 2 star is awarded on that expectation

[1 star] Toyokuni-jinja: For a small fee you get to enter the Treasure Hall and see Toyotomi Hideyoshi's tooth.

[1 star] Shugakuin Imperial Villa: the gardens are overhyped tbh, was almost turned away by the Imperial Household Agency for being 2 minutes late

[3 star] Hassun: my second time here for lunch. I don't have much basis for comparison, but for me it is hard to imagine a better value kaiseki for 11000 yen. The ayu and anago both seem to have improved from my last time here, which was neat. I still think occasionally of that eel intestine jelly they served me on my first visit. 4.24 Tabelog.

You want to try and eat obanzai in Kyoto. A regional specialty, and again something many tourists seem to miss.

OKAYAMA:

[3 star] Kōraku-en: admittedly I have not been to any of the other Three Great Gardens, but this is beautiful. The 1000 yen teahouse is worth it. Some of the best tea I had on my trip. Bought excellent peach jelly and peach sake from the omiyage store outside while waiting for the bus. The actual Okayama white peach I bought for 750 yen from the station was super mid despite being in season.

KURASHIKI:

[2 star] Ryokan Tsurugata: I think Kurahsiki in general should be considered as a ryokan destination for golden route travellers, especially if you don't mind a sento instead of an onsen. Dinner here was creative and tofu products were excellent, even if nothing was truly memorable. Relatively affordable as far as ryokans go as well.

[2 star] Shopping district: excellent variety of craft products. My partner and I both walked out happy although we have very different tastes. I got a really unique piece of Bizen ware. There is a unique Traveler's Notebook store in Kurashiki.

KOJIMA:

[1 star] Shopping district: only my partner visited this. She liked it and there was stuff to buy, just not in her size surprisingly, she is somehow smaller than the Japanese size. Things were much cheaper than in the west. Area had a rather past-its-prime vibe, with discernible amounts of stores closed. A lot of tourist infrastructure, and the whole town had meshed its identity with denim, but few tourists were actually there. This might be better as a weekend destination.

SAIJO:

[2 star] Renowned sake breweries lining a single street with tastings offered for a token price. The tourist information office has a map and a list of opening hours. This is useful for figuring out what you like and trying different flavour progiles. The only one which has invested into tourist facilities (like a museum/showroom) is Kamotsuru, and we found this had the best sake as well (including the "Obama sake"). Seriously excellent sake. We bought as much as we thought we could fit in our luggage.

HIROSHIMA:

[2 star] 一麺天に通ず: one of the top three ramens I've had in Japan. Sure yuzu-infused broth isn't revolutionary, but this is done onomichi-style and done very well. The taste grows on you. Rice in the leftover broth was epic. 3.52 on Tabelog.

MIYAJIMA:

[1 star] Oshokujidokoro Miyajimaguchi: quite like the oysters they did here at Miyajimaguchi port. Done in a variety of ways. The sardine tempura and sardine sashimi were both fantastic. Somehow, and I disagree, only a 3.09 on Tabelog, but looks like a lot of those reviews are about conger eel

[2 star] Miyajima Itsuki Coffee: lol wtf I don't like coffee ice cream and this coffee ice cream is insane? 3.21 on Tabelog.

ONOMICHI:

[0 star] City: disliked this place quite a lot. Only went because JR suspended all local trains that day over a drizzle, and it was literally impossible for me to get to Okunoshima, which I still regret missing. Meh views, overhyped "backstreets" which are just touristy coffeeshops. Seriously, cycle over the Seto Inland Sea and get out of here.

[2 star] Karasawa Ice Cream: great egg-based ice cream. 100 yen a scoop. I thought I was just here to try out a scoop, left after having four. Don't be that google review which gave it one star because it "didn't taste like vanila". 3.63 on Tabelog.

[1 star] Onomichi-style ramen: a unique seafood broth

ODASHI:

[1 star] Guesthouse Yukimi-inn: great opportunities for interacting with locals here! In general the more rural you go, the more locals you meet in hostels. Drank with the owner one night, that was fun. Local treated me to some dried fugu, which tastes like stiff cardboard

[1 star] Iwami Ginzan: not sure if I would make the trip here just for this, like I did. The museum is cool, mineshaft itself is mid. Possibly better if you fork out the money for the hike and tour of the less-accessible mineshaft.

NIMA:

[1 star] Nima Sand Museum: not sure how I ended up here. Nima has nothing to do with sand culturally or historically. This museum has the world's biggest hourglass, which takes a year exactly to empty. The best part is the basement, where you get to do sand painting, make sand art, and do your own miniature rock garden (or inflatable duck garden). I enjoyed myself greatly.

[2 star] Slide: exiting the Nima Sand Museum you will see a park with a slide. This slide is a roller slide and it is huge, coming down from atop a steep hill and twisting and turning its way through the trees.

[1 star] Sanin Main Line: the train here, though infrequent, winds between the forest and the coast. It is quite pretty.

IZUMO:

[1 star] Izumo Taisha: still very actively used in worship unlike most of the buildings in Kyoto Theme Park. Saw some shrine maidens. The Treasure Hall was neat.

[0 star] Shimane soba: tried it at three 3.4-3.7 Tabelog-rated places to make sure I wasn't missing anything. This is nothing special, to my mouth. You want to make your own verdict.

[1 star] Nodoguro: the other local specialty. This was slightly better than the above

[? star] I really wanted to head out to Cape Hinosaki and try the highly rated Tabelog kaisendon place, Hanafuna. Alas, a freak landslide destroyed the road and no buses were operating there. You really need a car in Shimane.

MATSUE:

[3 star] Old Town: Get the Discover Another Japan pass, it's super worth. I really liked the vibes of the old town in general. Castle, boat, samurai residences, tea houses, gardens, Lafcardio Hearn's house. Underrated ...

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GIGANTIC POST INCOMING!

I was blessed with the rare opportunity to take my first legit big boy vacation with three other friends to explore Japan for the very first time. We departed on 6/26 and returned on 7/19 (yes, we were smack dab in the middle of all the Crowdstrike stuff leaving Japan and it SUCKED), for a total of 24 days in the country. It was absolutely magical and as I write this I am crying a bit - Japan is honest to goodness the best place I've ever visited and am already trying to figure out when I can visit again ASAP.

This trip came with a lot of challenges, and I want to share the various learns and esoteric tips that we found to be insanely helpful! Feel free to ask me any questions - the little things are always the trickiest to get a clear answer on from randoms online, and with the trip this fresh in my mind I'm happy to share anything that can help your trip be amazing!

I'll break down our journey into three sections:

1. Building the trip of our dreams
2. Itinerary and recommendations from our adventures
3. Tips and Tricks!

 ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------ --------------------------------

Creating the Trip:

• The idea of going to Japan has been a long time desire for each member of our group, and we really began to plan in earnest a year before the trip began (June 2023).
• We originally used Google Maps and a shared group to start plotting locations/restaurants/attractions we wanted to go see and do.
• We later found out about Wanderlog, which is an outstanding collaborative tool especially if you're going as a group. You can create custom categories that helps keeps things organized, add costs and notes to each place, create an explicit day to day itinerary, and so on. We moved all our Google Maps locations to there and never looked back.
• We met as a group for an hour each week to work on the trip via Discord. Consistency is key!
• For our trip, we blocked out a chunk of days for each city and then filled in the rest with food/activities, focusing on exploring a different part of a city each day. This really helps to focus people on what to do and where we were.
• Once we settled on the dates for our trip, we bought our plane tickets in December 2023 (roughly six months out). We flew United, IAD -> SFO -> KIX (Osaka). Flying back: HND (Tokyo) -> ORD -> IAD (original plan, 2024 Crowdstrike outage made an absolute mess of our travels back to the States). Plane tix round trip were $2273.
• This was my first international trip in a long time, so a few things about flying in and out of the country as US citizen:
  • As of 6/26/2024, we did not need a Visa.
  • Get the boring stuff like passport and Real ID out of the way early. You'll thank yourself later.
  • Flying to Japan with a Domestic connection was super easy. Checked bags were automatically routed to KIX after our flight out of SFO.
  • Once at KIX, Customs and immigration was so simple. Do the Visit Japan Web immigration declaration prior to arrival to make things super quick. Customs and immigration took 10 minutes at KIX, totally painless.
• Once we had lodgings and plane tickets locked in the reality of the trip really started to sink in and people started participating more actively in the trip planning process.

 ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------

Itinerary

While I love simply exploring a brand new place, having a mix of structured activities on some days in combination with "free" days worked well to discover the unexpected while also hitting the "must do" stuff. Below is our whole itinerary with brief remarks for each place (and time estimations for places!)

 ------------------------------------

June 26 -> June 27

Travel Day to Japan! Plane landed 2:50 PM local time, which really worked well since it takes some time to get bags, get oriented, get some cash and IC card, and make your way to your lodging. It forced us to stay awake until about 9 PM or so.

 ------------------------------------

June 27 -> July 1st - OSAKA

Lodging: 

June 27 - Land in Osaka, check in, and explore close by.

Lodging for us was really close to Dotonbori, which took about 1.5 hours with our bags on the train from KIX. We hit up a Matsuya beef bowl shop for dinner before we crashed. Our first proper meal: Dirt cheap and delicious.

June 28 - Wander around Osaka, soak in the sights and sounds

Explored Dotonbori in earnest, discovered the wonders and delights of Don Quijote, went to the Osaka Pokemon center, had 511 Horai pork buns, bought games and trading cards at EdiOn, discovered how much we loved Gacha! Really got immersed in the city and it was delightful!

June 29 - North Osaka - Osaka Castle, Umeda Sky building 

Osaka Castle (4 hours) was delightful - take your time to read about its incredible history. Gorgeous views and lots of energy here. We ended up at a mall by Osaka Station to get some lunch and cool off, then went to Umeda Sky Building (3 hours) an hour or so before nightfall. Incredible views and seeing the city at night is breathtaking.

June 30 - Minoh Park, Cup Noodle Museum, and Kobe for Dinner

Took the train up to Minoh Park, got a delicious breakfast at . Took the leisurely hike up to Minoh Falls (3 hours) which was gorgeous. Hiked back down and took the train to the Cup noodle museum (2 hours). The factory was chaotic but fun, and the museum part was small but still worth going to. Then we took the train to Kobe and went to Royal Mouriya for an exquisite dinner to experience A5 beef (2 hours). Highly recommended. Pricey!

July 1 - Osaka Aquarium AM, Osaka Explore PM

Osaka Aquarium (3 hours) has tons to see, the main tank with whale sharks is awesome. It was a rainy day so maybe a bit more packed than usual. Came back to Dotonbori area, got some food at an izakaya (tablet ordering), and wandered the city before it started pouring buckets.

 ------------------------------------

July 2nd -> July 8th - KYOTO

Lodging

Hotel in Kyoto - , 384 Kawaranochō, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-0837, Japan

July 2 - Train From Osaka to Kyoto, then keep it local

Took local trains to Kyoto and checked into our hotel. Spent the day wandering about, finding cool places to eat and visit. Walked down the Kamo river in twilight, utterly beautiful. Got Gyoza at a little itty bitty place, cheap and absolutely delicious.

July 3 - Kyoto Wander Day - Shopping, eating, and soaking in Kyoto sights

The Nintendo Kyoto store was one of the nicest licensed stores I've ever been in. Hit up Nishki Fish Market for local eats, a local video game store, then headed towards Gion but got distracted by a hike at dusk at Yasaka Shrine. One of the most serene places we found!

July 4 - Biking around Kyoto, Nijo castle, Kamo River Soak, burgers!

One of our group twisted an ankle and another got heat exhausted from the day prior, so me and another group member rented ebikes as a spur of the moment idea. This was INCREDIBLE. Kyoto is lovely to bike around, and we really got explore so much more than just walking. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. We rented from Kon's Bicycle, a chain in Kyoto. We went to Nijo Castle (it was HOT) but definitely worth going for the historical significance. We biked around the suburbs of Kyoto and found a lovely small cafe stuck in an alley, then made our way to the Kamo river and soaked our feet. Maximum refreshment. It was July 4th in Japan time, and as Americans we were craving burgers. We met as a group at Upit Burgers in Kyoto. Put so many American burgers to shame honestly. Terrific staff and insanely good onion rings. Vibes were on point!

July 5 - Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Jojakkoji hike, Kyoto Backstreets

Got up super early to get the Bamboo forest before the crowds. While small, definitely worth visiting. Beautiful landscapes and is a great break in the shade. We then just decided to wander and went on a temple hike at Jojakkoji. Quiet, away from tourists, really beautiful and most covered in trees and lush foliage. Wandered our way back after some curry and took the train back to chill out the rest of the day.

July 6 - Nara, Todai-ji, and legit Katsu

Took the train to Nara (about an hour) and fed the deer! We half expected this place to be swarmed by tourists, but after you make your way deeper into the park things thinned out nicely. Genuinely fun to feed the polite deer. PRO TIP - Stick the senbei crackers that you feed the deer in your armpit and show empty hands to curious deer. They will ignore you (mostly) if they don't see anything in your hands! Started wandering about and ended up at Todai-ji, which was just stupendous. The larger than life sculpture gave me chills. Had some legit Katsu at a local joint for lunch as well, absolutely delicious. Also we got some McDonald's late at night. The Japanese menu was unique, but otherwise it was mostly mid.

July 7 - Matcha morning at Ippodo, Kyoto Pokemon Center, Fushimi Inari Taisha

Went to Ippodo as a group to get legit Matcha for the first time (at least for me). It was intense but definite...

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So that everyone knows and takes appropriate measures, there has been a maintenance incident on the Tokaido Shinkansen (two maintenance trains collided, one derailed). As a consequence, as of July 22, 11am, the service has been suspended on the Tokaido Shinkansen with no timeline for resumption (and resumption on July 22 being unlikely).

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/mtstaffa on 2024-07-18 01:25:48+00:00.

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Traveling Japan and looking to see some comedy while you are here? Japan has a variety of comedy styles to check out in both English and Japanese (and sometimes both in the same show).

TOKYO:

Pirates of Tokyo Bay: English + Japanese improv comedy. Shows are once a month in Ebisu area and performed in both English and Japanese. 2 hours of comedy in two languages. Free drink with ticket purchase. Full bar and dinner available. Tickets online in advance or at the door the night of the show. Next show, Sunday, July 21st.

Tokyo Comedy Bar: English stand-up comedy. Occasional Japanese language stand-up and sometimes improv. Shows every night of the week. Regularly gets international headliners to stop by and perform. In Shibuya very close to the station. Craft beer available and some light bar food. Tickets available online or at the door.

The Empty Stage: Japanese improv from giant domestic comedy company, Yoshimoto. Shows across Tokyo but often in Shibuya. Great venue and production for a very Japanese-style improv show. Tickets available online or at the door.

OSAKA:

ROR Comedy: Stand-up comedy venue near the Dotombori river in Osaka. Shows a few times a week. Tickets available online or at the door.

NAGOYA:

Nagoya Comedy: Mostly English stand-up. Roughly a few shows per month.

FUKUOKA: (seems to be on hiatus)

Comedy Fukuoka: Mostly English stand-up. Use to be a few shows per month.

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Are you traveling to Japan this month? Want to hang out with other Redditors while you navigate the country? Then this is the thread for you!

Please post any and all meetup requests here. Be sure to include:

• Your basic itinerary
• Dates of travel and cities you're planning to visit
• Your age and gender identity
• Your home country (and any other languages you might speak)
• OPTIONAL: Share some of your hobbies or interests!

We have a discord server you can use to coordinate meetups and other activities. You can join the official r/JapanTravel Discord here! There are also monthly meetup/planning channels so react accordingly, you can create threads for specific dates/locations if you so desire.

In the past, people have used LINE to coordinate and plan meetups.

NOTE: Please only post meetup requests for this month. If you are traveling in the future, please reserve all meetup requests for the thread that corresponds with the month of your first date of arrival in Japan. This thread is automatically posted 7 days before the start of the month.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/yamajunreisha on 2024-07-16 10:43:30+00:00.

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On my 6th trip to Japan, I had two main aims, to walk the Kumano Kodo and to visit at least one museum or gallery a day for the rest of my trip. Visiting museums has never been top of my list in my previous trips because there was just so much else to see and do already. I have previously written about the main part of my trip on the Kumano Kodo here so this post is all about my museum experiences in Osaka and Tokyo.

In Osaka

Museum of Oriental Ceramics - 7/10

Excellent if you’re a fan of ceramics like I am, expensive entry ticket prices if you’re not. The pieces were the attraction of course, but it was also interesting to see how they’ve incorporated new presentation techniques like earthquake proof display cases, rotating daises and natural light into their galleries. I walked through it all in under two hours. They have a nice looking cafe with a lovely view of the river but be prepared to queue as it seem to be a popular spot with non-museum patrons. Nakanoshima is a quiet little island to stroll around afterwards if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of Osaka.

Osaka Museum of Housing and Living + special exhibition gallery - 8/10

I think kids would really enjoy this small little hands-on museum. I certainly did. Located on the top two floors of a public building, it wasn’t particularly well sign posted but it’s at the north end of the Tenjinbashi-suji shopping street, said to be the longest shopping street in all of Japan.

I opted to get the combined ticket which included a special exhibition about beautiful folding screens. The museum proper was split into a recreation of an Osaka street in the Edo period that cycles very cleverly between day and night and a diorama section that showcased Osaka through the different historical periods. Although many of the descriptions were in Japanese it wasn’t too difficult to follow what was going on. Many exhibits were interactive and the recreated street offered an immersive dress up experience and games for children. Again, under two hours for me but I imagine families with children might spend a bit more time here than I did.

Osaka Ukioye Museum - ?/10

This was a museum that I ended up going to but not entering. It looked very small from the outside and it felt more like a shop that decided to slap on a small gallery upstairs and call it a museum, rather than an actual museum, And since I was going to go to a more renown one in Tokyo, I decided it wasn't worth it. Was I right? Let me know!

In Tokyo

Ota Memorial Museum of Art - 10/10

A delightful little museum dedicated to Ukiyoe and related arts. The current exhibition of Cats, Kabuki Actors and Girls is such a good one. The cats are hilarious! It’s small and you’ll be able to do this in a couple of hours and then walk around Harajuku and Omotesando after. They have a nice little gift shop and an auditorium in the basement. They screen a slightly dated history of Ukiyoe documentary daily in the auditorium. Including the documentary, I spent just under two hours for this.

Nezu Museum - 7/10

The museum was Buddhist art heavy when I visited but the curation of the special exhibit about numbers and counting was very well done. Ultimately I was more impressed by the traditional garden and the museum building than the exhibits. In my opinion, the garden alone is worth the ticket price. It’s also a nice excuse to check out the fancy and relatively untorusity Aoyama district afterwards.

Omiya Bonsai Art Museum - ?/10

This museum had an unannounced closure when I got there but the two bonsai nurseries, Seiky-en and Toen-en, that allowed public access partly made up for the loss. A big shame as it took me over an hour to get to Omiya and I don’t think I’ll be as committed to getting all the way out there again in the future. Would love to hear what past visitors have to say about it.

Tokyo National Museum - 9/10

I think they did a fantastic job curating the most representative of pieces that shout "Japan" for their main exhibition. It had many important items that a tourist would expect, such as samurai weaponry and armour, as well as other national treasures like scrolls and folding screens. I did find it rather striking that their Okinawan and Ainu section was more like footnotes to the exhibition.

Apart from the main gallery, I also managed to briefly browse through the serenely beautiful Gallery of Horyuji Treasures as well as their Asian collection and was pleasantly surprised to see Chinese stone carvings that were thousands of years old. The museum also has a small traditional garden with recreated/rebuilt tea houses but I thought it wasn’t as impressive as Nezu's.

This was the only museum where I skipped the special exhibition as I simply ran out of time. To look at everything at a comfortable pace would require a whole day and I only managed to get there after lunchtime and stayed till it closed for the day.

The National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo - 7/10

I'm not a big fan of modern art but I found the pieces in this museum quite approachable. The special exhibition of Trio: Modern Art Collections from Paris, Tokyo and Osaka is beautifully put together. Also impressive were pieces by Dali, Calder, Rothko, Gormley, etc casually scattered around the galleries. I recommend their Nihon-ga selection in their permanent galleries. It's a must see if you visit.

A small inconvenience here is that the museum only had a full service fine dining restaurant with set courses and no casual cafe option at all. I was here for a little over two hours before hunger forced me to leave for Tokyo station to seek lunch.

Tokyo Photographic Art Museum - 4/10

The Mount Fuji special exhibition was beautiful but the permanent galleries were so-so. Plus it's a bit of a trek from Yebisu or Meguro stations. Maybe you have to be a photographer to really appreciate it?

Yebisu Brewery Tokyo - 2/10

Brand new gallery showing off the history of Yebisu. Displays were in Japanese and so were the guided tours. The bar served very delicious specialty beers and bar snacks, albeit at a very high mark up (Y1100-1200 for 300ml). I would skip this unless you're a big beer fan and you're already in the area visiting the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum.

Hope this helps! Happy to answer questions!

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/denisonwitmer1 on 2024-07-15 03:48:07+00:00.

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Hello there. I’m planning to return to Japan this fall. My itinerary is mostly centered around art, design, tea, temples, shrines, and gardens. Locations for each day are listed in the order that I intend to visit them. I’ve included any questions that relate to a particular day directly under the agenda for that day. In the past, this sub has been tremendously helpful in ensuring I’m able to make the most of my time. I am once again asking for your help in this regard. Thanks for reading, and thanks for any input in advance. I sincerely appreciate it.

See detailed itinerary via Google Sheets here.

Day 1 (Mon, 11/18) - Tokyo (Arrival)

• Haneda Airport Garden

Has anyone ever stayed at HND or NRT for their first night in Japan? This is something I’m thinking about doing to save money and get to bed earlier. Last time I stayed at a relatively inexpensive hotel in Ginza for my first night and then switched hotels the next day. Yes, it was annoying having to pack everything back up the next morning, but I couldn’t justify spending money on a much nicer hotel when I would arrive so late and barely get to enjoy the room.

Day 2 (Tues, 11/19) - Tokyo (Street Photography)

• 📍Daikanyama (代官山): 🍁Kyu Asakura House (旧朝倉家住宅)
• 📍Harajuku (原宿): Tokyu Plaza, Takeshita Street, 🍩Higuma Doughnuts × Coffee Wrights Omotesando, 🍵BLUE SIX COFFEE
• 📍Shibuya (渋谷区): Shibuya Hikarie via 11th floor Sky Lobby
• 📍Daikanyama (代官山) (cont.): 📖 Daikanyama T-Site, 🦊Maison Kitsuné Daikanyama, Forestgate Daikanyama, CIRTY (located in Forestgate)
• 🏮Shinbashi (新橋) at night: サカナヤ オアジ, izakaya and popular photo spot

Day 3 (Wed, 11/20) - Tokyo (Street Photography)

• 📍Asakusa (浅草): Sensō-ji, 🍵Hatoya Asakusa (八十八浅草), Sumida Park
• 📍Ameya-Yokocho (Ameyoko (アメ横)), popular open-air market (via Ueno Station's Shinobazu Exit): 荒川区日暮里 (Yanaka Ginza) at sunset (Yūyake Dandan, landmark steps popular for sunset viewing, via Nippori Station)
• 📍Kabukichō (歌舞伎町) at night
• Optionally:📍Shinjuku (新宿区) at night: Yodobashi Camera Shinjuku

Day 4 (Thus, 11/21) - Kamakura (Beach Day)

• ☀️The Sunrise Shack (Inamura-gasaki Store)
• 📍Hase Kannon Temple (Hasedera, 長谷寺)
• ☕Kannon Coffee
• 📍Hokokuji Temple
• 📍Enoden Line:  🌊Shichirigahama Beach (七里ヶ浜), ov*erlooking Sagami Bay (相模湾), 7-Eleven: Kamakura Shichirigahama, spot for ocean views of Mt. Fuji, *Kamakurakōkōmae Station and adjacent alley, Koshigoe Station
• 📍Enoshima: ⛩️Enoshima Shrine

How plausible does my itinerary look for Kamakura? I’m worried I won’t make it to Enoshima and am considering doing another day trip there once I’m back in Tokyo towards the end of my trip.

Day 5 (Fri, 11/22) - Tokyo (🗼Tokyo Tower)

• 📍Shiba Park (芝公園, Shiba kōen)
• 📍Sunwood Mita Parkside Tower (サンウッド三田パークサイドタワ), building near Akabane bridge for views of street views of Tokyo Tower
• Lobby Bar at Tokyo EDITION for afternoon tea
• 📍Azabudai Hills Mori JPTower (Sky Lobby via 33rd floor at sunset)
• The Blue Room (or Jade Room) at Tokyo EDITION for dinner

I love Tokyo Tower and Tokyo EDITION so this is a day I’m particularly excited about. I plan to focus the day entirely on those things, spending my time in Toranomon and the surrounding area to maximize my time at Tokyo EDITION.

Day 6 (Sat, 11/23) - Tokyo & Kyoto (Travel Day)

Labor Thanksgiving Day (勤労感謝の日)

• 📍Tokyo: The Blue Room at Tokyo EDITION for breakfast
• 📍Kyoto: 🍵Rokujuan (麓寿庵), teahouse serving flower warabi. Optionally:🦊Café Kitsuné Kyoto ShinPuhKan, 🍵The Terminal KYOTO (ザターミナル京都)

Day 7 (Sun, 11/24) - Kyoto (Cafes & Shrines)

• 📍Kyoto Imperial Palace (京都御所)
• 🍵School Bus Kyoto
• 🍵COMFY
• 📍Heian Shrine (平安神宮)
• 🍵Blue Bottle Coffee - Kyoto Cafe
• 📍Kamo River (鴨川) at sunset (starting point: Izumoya (いづもや), unagi restaurant at south end of Pontocho District

I’m amazed by the seemingly endless number of temples, shrines, gardens, and teahouses that I continue to discover in Kyoto and, in turn, want to visit. Some of the things I’m most excited about seeing on this next trip are in Kyoto. As a result, I’m worried that three days may not be enough time there. I plan to linger in Kyoto before heading to Osaka that fourth day if there’s anything I still want to do. In other words, that fourth day is kind of a backup. Even then, I’m not sure that’s enough time. Again, it just feels like my itinerary could benefit from an extra day or two - either in Tokyo, Kamakura, and/or Kyoto.

Are there any geisha performances in Kyoto worth checking out? This is something I’ve always wanted to do but I’m not sure I’ll have enough time. Some of the ones I’m aware of are Wagyu Ryotei Bungo Gion (I don’t eat red meat though) and Kyoto Geisha Show & Experience GION MAIKOYA. I would love to see Rurikō-in as well but I imagine it will be very crowded and difficult to get tickets for (as it has been in the past). I tried to go last Nov but wasn’t able to secure reservations ahead of time.

Day 8 (Mon, 11/25) - Kyoto (Cafes & Temples)

• 📍Kennin-ji (建仁寺) and Seiraiin (西来院), a* sub-temple of Kennin-ji, featuring the zen garden, Gameijoun, and the ceiling painting, White Dragon*
• 🍵Ryurei Tea Room “SABI”
• 📍Ryōzen Kannon Temple (霊山観音), temple featuring statue of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara
• 📍Yasaka Kamimachi, f*amous shopping street located in the Higashiyama District with views of Hōkan-ji Temple (Yasaka Pagoda), *at sunset
• 🍵% ARABICA Kyoto Higashiyama

Day 9 (Tues, 11/26) - Kyoto (Fushimi Inari)

• ⛩️Fushimi Inari Taisha (21m train from Ace)
• 🍚 Lorimer Kyoto
• 📍Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺, Temple of the Golden Pavillion)
• 🍵Kyo Amahare
• 🍵Weekenders Coffee Tominokoji

Day 10 (Wed, 11/27) - Kyoto & Osaka (Travel Day)

• 📍Osaka: Shin-Osaka Station, 🏯Osaka Castle
• 🍵wad
• 🍡Mochisho Shizuku Shinmachi
• 🍣Amano (あま野) for dinner

Day 11 (Thurs, 11/28) - Nara (Temples & Deer)

Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.

• 📍Kofuku-ji: Central Golden Hall (中金堂)
• 🫖Saryo Zeze
• 📍Nara Park
• Mizuya Chaya, teahouse located in Nara Park
• 📍Todai-ji Temple
• Optional locations: 🍁Isuien Garden, 🍁Yoshikien Garden, 🍡Nakatanidou
• 📍Mount Wakakusa (若草山) at sunset

Initially, I wasn’t planning to go back to Nara, but the last time I went I got there late in the day and left relatively early the next day so I didn’t get to see a lot. As a result, I’d like to go back, mainly to visit Sayo Zeze and Nara Park.

Day 12 (Fri, 11/29) - Osaka & Tokyo (Travel Day)

• 📍Osaka: Namba Yasaka Shrine, FamilyMart Kuromon Market East, Canele du Japon Sakuragawa
• 📍Tokyo: Glow by Tomoko (or similar option for facial)

Day 13 (Sat, 11/30) - Tokyo (TBD)

• 📍Shirokanedai: Zuishō-ji (瑞聖寺)
• 📍Roppongi: 📷 FUJIFILM SQUARE
• ❄️Tokyo Winter Illuminations: Shibuya Blue Cave Illumination (Ao no Dokutsu (青の洞窟), Keyakizaka Illumination

I really wanted to go to KAIT Plaza at the Kanagawa Institute of Technology in Atsugi; however, it’s only open to the public on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. If I went on the last Saturday of my trip I would go from Osaka to Nara, Osaka to Tokyo, and then Tokyo to Atsugi in the span of three days, which I’m worried would be too much, especially at the end of my trip when I will likely be more tired. Adding a day to my trip doesn’t help either. I would need to add two days to visit Atsugi on Tuesday, 12/3 and then fly out on Wed, 12/4. It would probably be better to visit Atsugi the day I planned to go to Kamakura and then save Kamakura for the end of my trip as I can to Kamakura any time. Ultimately though I may save Atsugi for another time.

I don’t have a lot planned for my last two days in Tokyo so I’m open to suggestions of what to consider adding based on the types of things I like and have included thus far. In the past, I’ve been to 21_21 Design Sight, the Nezu Museum, the National Art Center, and Tokyo International Forum, all of which were great. The last few days of my trip are what I’m most unsure about and still need to finalize - mainly just the order of things and what I plan to do each day. For instance, I may move the Yayoi Kusama Museum to Sat, 11/30 and push Zuishō-ji to Sun, 12/1 or even Mon, 12/2 - the reason being that I’m more interested in seeing the Yayoi Kusama Museum so it may be better to prioritize that over other things. I originally opted for Sun because I figured Sat would probably be the busiest day to visit.

Day 14 (Sun, 12/1) - Tokyo (TBD)

• 📍Shinjuku: ⚫YAYOI KUSAMA Museum, Green Terrace Kagurazaka, aesthetic condominium complex
• 📍Shibuya Scramble Square: 12F Observation Floor, 46F & 47F Shibuya Sky

Day 15 (Mon, 12/2) - Tokyo (Departure)

• 📍Ginza: Shizuoka Press and Broadcasting Center, 📖Tsutaya Books Ginza (located in GINZA SIX)

My flight departs at 6:25 PM so I plan to leave for HND by 3:00 PM. Again, I may fly out on Tues, 12/3 instead. I’m not sure yet.