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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Life-Zookeepergame72 on 2024-09-26 17:37:00+00:00.

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Just came back from a 9 day trip and thought I'd post what I actually ended up doing and also a few thoughts that stuck out to me. Also I'm really bad about names of restaurants. I just wanted to enjoy the meal without having to take pictures etc.

Day 1

• Arrived at Narita around 3pm. Took about an hour to get luggage and go through immigration. Everything is set up very efficiently designed to use passport readers and facial recognition. Pro tip: definitely use the Visit Japan Web app and fill out your customs declarations ahead of time. This provides you with a QR code that gets read through customs making it much faster.
• Took the train to Akihabara and settled into the hotel.
• Explored Akihabara and found a local Ramen spot, then had my first experience of the large Japanese department store at Yodabashi. I'm a big fan of how convenient it is to basically get anything you need in one building.
• Went to Giga (formerly Sega) center and played a bunch of claw, dance and other random games. Got introduced to Pokemon Frienda (new game that comes out and spits out "Pokemon cards" similar to how Injustice works in the states. Made some new friends playing it.

Day 2

• Odaiba to see the life sized Unicorn Gundam as well as visit the Gundam Factory Base. Afterwards did some more shopping at Diver City. Across Diver city was Joypolis so spent a few hours there playing some games.
• Fuji Film HQ is located in Odaiba and they had a spherical observation deck that was open to visitors. Decided to head up and check out some awesome views of the city and Tokyo bay.
• On the way back to the station ran into what seemed like a festival celebrating Mexican Culture. They even had a wrestling ring and caught a few minutes of an ongoing match. Bless those wrestlers for performing in 95 degree weather.
• Back in Akihabara had dinner at a Kaiten Sushi place (conveyer belt). Every place I had sushi (and this was a first of a few) had very fresh fish and it was very affordable compared to US prices. I loved them all. Plus this is a side note, but there's something about Japanese rice and how it's made, but man it's so much tastier than the rice back at home (California). I might have to invest in some of these expensive imports.

Day 3

• Asakusa to visit Sensō-ji shrine. Man this place was packed and it was only around 10am in the morning. They offer a lot of things for sale here for the visitors. I ended up buying some incense to light and pray and also some charms to bring back for family.
• After the shrine took a local train to Tokyo Skytree to visit the observation deck. This offered more amazing 360 degree view of the city and it's amazing to see how sprawling and dense Tokyo is. San Francisco and Manhattan can't hold a candle to this. Currently they have a Pokemon them going on so got some cute pictures with the mascots.
• On the way down from the tower, stopped by the Chiba Institute of Technology to check out their displays, but mainly to find the life sized VF-25 Valkyrie from Macross Frontier (yes total nerd).
• Late afternoon trip back to Akihabara and spent time visiting Mandarake, Super Potato, Animate, and Traders.

Day 4

• Tokyo DisneySea! What a fun day trip. Ended up using Fastpass to buy tickets for Rapunzel (in order to get entry into Fantasy Springs) and also premium seats to watch the nightly water show. Beyond that, just explored and went on whatever ride that was stumbled upon. Most rides were about 120 minute wait time. It was definitely crowded and the queue to get in was massive. Most of the free fastpasses to Fantasy Springs were gone by the time I got into the park so opted for the paid version. One thing I noticed here is that unlike Disneyland in Anaheim, there were rarely any scooters and also even strollers. It was so nice walking around and not getting rammed in the back by an errant scooter.

Day 5

• Shopping at Ueno (ended up buying a Citizen Buzz Lightyear watch) and then at Nakano Broadway. I wanted to see what the Mandarake and shops here offered versus Akihabara. I did prefer the shop in Akihabara as it was much easier to navigate between floors with clearly defined "subjects" of each floor. At Nakano, Mandarake occupied a large number of individual shops on the second floor, but it was hard to tell what each one specialized in.
• Headed back to Tokyo in the afternoon to catch a baseball game between the Homiuri Giants and the DeNA Baystars. I have to say this was one of my favorite experiences. I highly recommend going to a game if you can. The atmosphere was extremely lively with each fan base chanting along for their team the entire game. Plus cute cheerleaders and beer girls!

Day 6

• Checked out of the hotel and took a train to Yokohama. Ended up storing most of our luggage at the hotel and packed an overnight bag. Took a train from Yokohama to Odawara and then a bus into Hakone to stay at an Onsen.
• Stayed at Hakone Jade and it was an amazing property and experience. Had a room with it's own tub that was on the ground floor right next to the pond on property. You could see the Koi swimming while soaking in your tub. Also there was lots of privacy in the space. This was also my first experience with a public bath and hot spring. The hot baths were fed by two different natural hot springs with different temperatures. They also had a dry sauna that I only lasted 2 minutes in before having to tap out. I'm sure the old gentlemen in there laughed at me as I ducked out while they stayed in for much longer.
• Dinner at the Onsen consisted of an amazing 8 course tasting menu that highlighted local ingredients along with the chef's favorite techniques. Eating this while looking out the at the mountains and serene backdrop was unreal.

Day 7

• After checking out, took the bus and train back to Yokohama. At the station, used some lockers to stow overnight bag and then explored SOGO and Marui City department stores as there were a few hours to kill before being able to check into the hotel. SOGO also has a fully stocked grocery store on the bottom floor so picked up some fruit and snacks before heading to the hotel. At Marui City is where the Yokohama Pokemon center was so picked up some souvenirs and a booster pack there. Note they do rip own the booster pack after purchasing to discourage reselling it looks like.
• After checking in, walked around the Red Brick Warehouse, and ate some sweets and treats from a few of the shops there. Afterwards rode in the Yokohama Sky Cabin (Kind of like the Heavenly Gondola for those of you that have been Tahoe) that crossed over Yokohama Bay.
• On the way back to the hotel decided to try some Pachinko! I had no idea what was really going on , but I did get my machine to spin up and make a bunch of noise. Did not win anything, but it was a fun experience.

Day 8

• Visited Yokohama Chinatown and tried out different food stalls.
• Headed back to Yokohama station because I wanted to visit the Book Off and Volks showroom there.
• Afternoon was spent at Cosmo World riding a few rides and also the giant Ferris Wheel (sort of like the London Eye). Also great views of the city from here.
• Last dinner (on recommendation of a friend) was eating a Puffer Fish dinner course. this was a 4 part meal that used each piece of the puffer fish followed by a dessert (not made from puffer fish). I kept thinking back to the Simpsons episode with Homer thinking he was dying. My friend guaranteed it was safe and it was one of the tastiest meals on the trip.

Day 9

• Packed up and final breakfast before heading out. I also bought some Onigiri from a local shop to take with me on the plane.
• This time took a taxi to Yokohama station so I wouldn't have to lug around the giant suitcase that was now completely full. From Yokohama station took bus straight to Narita.
• Once again check in and getting screening was extremely easy and smooth and then boarded the flight back to the states.

Overall what an amazing experience. There's still so much to see and do that I'll definitely have to plan a trip back. Also a few more thoughts below:

• It's true that most people are very polite and if you show politeness back, it goes a long way. Learning to say "sumimasen" and bowing usually will get people to help (thank good for google translate!)
• I noticed when sitting on trains that Japanese people generally have very clean shoes. Just a weird detail but everyone's shoes seem super white or polished. I must have stuck out like a sore thumb
• There really are no trashcans so avoid having to carry trash with you. If you plan to eat, it's better to sit down and do it at a restaurant.
• IC cards are key! You can basically use them for almost any form of payment. I loaded mine up and used it not only for the trains, but also at convenience stores and some restaurants too!
• Minors in Japan are so much more independent! It was interesting seeing kids as young as 10 or so ride trains on their own (usually with friends) and navigate through the hectic stations like it was nothing. Heck I even had a young kid help me with the Pokemon game because I was so helpless. She had more rare cards so she lent them to me so I could beat a boss.
• The weather is no joke. 95 on average with high humidity. Bring light clothes and clothes that can easily be washed and dried. I loved that there are machines that are both washer and dryer in one!
• 7-eleven egg sandwiches are the best!!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Little-Jellyfish-418 on 2024-09-26 14:13:57+00:00.

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Hii

Me and my parents (in their 50s) are going to visit Japan for the first time this December for 12 days. After doing some research I came up with the following itinerary: Please leave any suggestions or advice you would have on my itinerary (switch some things around, add/drop certain spots) as this is our first time visiting anything will help, thank you!

 day 1

• Arrival in Tokyo (recommended to stay near Akasaka area)
• transport
• check into hotel and rest (go out and eat if not tired)

Day 2

• Visit MEIJI JINGU (morning)
• Grab lunch
• Visit Shinjuku Gyoen (afternoon)
• Then explore the shinjuku or shibuya area at night

Day 3 

• Explore Asakusa (Nakamise dori, senso-ji)
• Grab lunch
• Tokyo national museum
• Explore Akihabara

Day 4

• DAY TRIP TO HAKONE (most stuff close before 5 so need to go early, will need to ride the train for about 2 hours.)aim to get there by 9am. Take Romancecar from Shinjuku to Hakone

https://www.hakonenavi.jp/international/en/course/244#:~:text=Ride%20the%20Romancecar%20to%20travel,enjoying%20the%20scenery%20(*1).

• Visit the hakone shrine and lake ashi
• Visit open air museum
• Have lunch
• End the day at Hot spring at Hakone (need to reserve) weekdays close at 8pm, weekends at 9pm https://www.hakoneyuryo.jp/english/spa/hotspring/#hanare

Day 5

• *FREE TIME NOTHING PLANNED*
• Ginza shopping center
• Train to kyoto (two hours)
• After getting to kyoto, explore the area and rest

Day 6 

• Explore Arashiyama (bamboo forest (go EARLY), Tenryuji, monkey park)
• Lunch
• Explore kyoto streets: Gion, Potoncho, Kawaramachi

Day 7 

• Fushi Inari red gates (morning)
• Ninenzaka!!, Sannenzaka, Hokanji Temple
• Winter illuminations (not sure which one yet,late afternoon or night)

Day 8 

• **FREE DAY NOTHING PLANNED**

OPEN TO IDEAS

Day 9

• Check out and head to Osaka (very fast), check into hotel
• Osaka Castle
• Kuromon ichiba market
• Explore Dontonburi

Day 10

• Nara/kobe day trip

Day 11

(Potentially go visit the Hiroshima war museum?) as a day trip?  

Day 12

• Rest and get ready for flight back

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/KimonoCatChloe on 2024-09-25 17:04:40+00:00.

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Wanted to give a trip recap with the hopes of helping someone in the future! This sub helped me and my husband a lot with trip planning so maybe something here will be of use.

To preface: I am a theme park nerd so I take my days seriously. Because of this, I booked a stay at Singulari and paid for the Express Pass 7 to try and maximize my time.

-6 AM: Woke up at this time to start getting ready. From the Singulari was a five minute walk to the gates at most. I had no idea there was a Lawson and 7/11 in their Citywalk, when I saw them I bought our snacks/coffee the night before after we checked in to save time in the morning.

-6:30 - 6:40 AM: Ready and out the hotel. We got to the front gates at about 6:40 AM and could see the bag check tables. There was about 10 groups in front of us. They had some people already lined up at the bag stations. Not sure if they were early entry/APs.

-7:40 AM: Gates opened early for the public. Originally scheduled to open at 8:30 AM. We rushed to Nintendo World like everyone else. We didn’t get in line immediately, we took some pictures and enjoyed the view. Around approximately 8 PM we got in line for Karts. Karts posted a wait time of 40 minutes, we waited about 30 minutes.

-8:30 - 9 AM: We did one of the Key Challenges and walked around the land. By 8:55 AM started heading to Kinopios, I was hoping to try and get seated first thing when it opened. At that point they were already only doing virtual reservations. At first, the earliest time slot available was 11:15 ~ 11:30 AM - which overlapped with our Express passes. I went ahead and booked just in case, checked again immediately and was able to snag one for 9:45 ~ 10 AM. (I cancelled the first one we made. Booking/cancelling was super simple and there was an English option available on the website.)

-9 - 9:45 AM: Shopped the gift shops in Nintendo Land and did another key challenge while we waited for our reservation. Made way back to Kinopios.

-9:45 AM - 10:30 AM: Getting an early time into Kinopio’s was one of the main reasons I wanted to rope drop the park and I’m SO glad I did. We have been to the Nintendo Land in CA and weren’t too impressed with the food. I always heard the JP one was incredible and it lived up the to hype. We got the carbonara, teriyaki chicken, and lemon drink. All were good but the carbonara was the standout and just incredible. The lemon drink had a great sour but refreshing flavor. The teriyaki chicken sauce was thick with just the right balance of sweet and savory. I am so glad to have had this reservation work perfectly for us.

-10:30 AM - 11:10 PM: TLDR: my husband has been having back issues which causes him bad cramping in his legs; he powered through for me for the first few hours so we could make it Nintendo Land and get a Kinopio’s meal. At this point he really wanted a wheelchair so we made our way up front to rent one. Rental was only 500¥, but chair was sooo tiny compared to American ones! Had to be at most the 19in size. We shopped at the entrance shops while up there, then walked back to Nintendo Land for our EXP7 time slot.

-11:10 AM - 12:30 PM: Did our passes for Karts and Yoshi. Since we were using a wheelchair the staff stopped us at the entrance each time and throughly explained what ride risks there were. For Karts, you don’t miss much regarding the queue. (Can’t speak for Yoshi as we never did its standby.)

-12:30 - 3 PM: This was the time we really slowed down. The sun was beating, and I was uncomfortably sweaty. Tried the Chocolate Churro and Frozen Melon Drink over by Jaws, both were pretty good. Went to one of the Pokémon meet and greets and got a pic with Pumpkaboo. Side note: I do wish they let you pick at least two if some don’t have lines. We weren’t too interested in Pikachu/Gengar and Misdreavus, Banette, and Pumpkaboo had no lines. Shopped the Halloween store for a little then watched the Pokémon stage show. Walk around to the left side after the show to see some Gengars and the cast walk by!

-3 - 4 PM: Went on the Detective Conan 4D show. Even tho I’m not super familiar with the IP, the show was still super lively and entertaining.

-4 - 5:15 PM: Walked back over to Waterworld to see the show and loved it!! Last (and only) time we went to CA the show was down so I was thrilled to have this opportunity. The stunts are fantastic I highly recommend it.

-5:15 - 7 PM: Ate at the Studio Stars restaurant that has the Pokémon food. The line for this moves slowly so be prepared to wait. We didn’t actually order until 6 PM, 45 minutes after we got in line. By the time we got our food the line was ever longer. We tried the katsu burger, pumpkaboo cake, and litwick mousse. Burger was really good and saucy, a little messy. Pumpkaboo cake was good enough, but not a strong pumpkin flavor. I would personally skip and go for one of the churros. Litwick mousse my husband enjoyed.

-7 - 8 PM: Sing Show! I really wanted to make sure we could see this show as we both really like the movie and it did not disappoint. Super cute, the Buster Moon animatronic is awesome, and I love how they interact with the crowd. This was a point I was concerned about as my husband and I are not into the “horror” of everything. We’re FL locals and, from what we know of HHN, people run at you in scare zones. That is not an issue here. So many people will crowd around scare actors for pics/vids, you don’t really see anything in passing. Even what I saw was very tame IMO. We were able to walk around all scare zones with no issue.

-8 - 8:30 PM: Jaws ride. Posted wait time of 20 min and was more like 10. I will say I was initially disappointed I couldn’t ride during the day, but the ambiance at night felt intense and even more thrilling! So happy I was able to experience this ride as both States versions were torn down.

-8:30 - 8:50 PM: Hollywood Dream. Used the EXP7 for this one. I had saved this for near the end since I was apprehensive about riding (idk why I thought there was a 360 loop lmao). The ride is very tame and I could have even gone after our breakfast or lunch. Song selection 3 was meh since most of the audio was two characters talking over music. I do wish I could have done Backdrop but could not justify a two hour wait time.

Overall I’m pretty satisfied with how our day went. A lot of backtracking and such which I could have handled better with more proper planning. As far as EXP7 we did not use the HP ones; as FL locals it just wasn’t a top priority. I chose not to do Flying Dragon since when I read other’s description it sounded too intense. I’ve been on Velocicoaster in FL, one of my favs, but it goes so fast it doesn’t feel intense IMO. Because of my husband’s pain he did not do the coasters, I probably would have done it if he was feeling better and could ride with me. Unfortunately, we completely forgot about the tax free when we left so I can’t speak to that experience.

In hindsight; I would have chose the EXP4 Thrill, EXP4 Race, or EXP4 XR. Jaws is not worth the ticket as the wait time drops dramatically at times compared to Hollywood Dream. Yoshi’s is not worth the EXP or full standby (as an adult), I’d recommend rope dropping that ride over either option. (Not saying the ride is bad, super cute! But really short track with not much else to say about it.)

Prices we paid:

Kinopio’s - 5,900¥ ‎ = -40.87 USD - one carbonara, one teriyaki, one coke large, one lemon drink

Food Stand - $7.97 - one chocolate churro, one frozen melon drink

Studio Stars Pokémon Food - 8,500¥ = $58.88 - two katsu burgers, pumpkin cake, litwick mousse, beer

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Secret_Impact_1027 on 2024-09-23 23:43:18+00:00.

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Hey! I am traveling to Japan with my family (6 Adults) 5 of which will be visiting for the first time. I have been lurking here for a while whilst we plan this trip, and I think we’ve gotten the majority of the itinerary ironed out. That being said, we would love any feedback, tips, etc anyone has to offer!

Some information about us/specific questions: 

We are not much for nightlife, super fancy restaurants, and are not heavy drinkers therefore generally do not have much planned for the evening hours so would love any recommendations for Kyoto/Tokyo after dark.

One of our group does not eat beef/pork, we are planning on having a business card in Japanese explaining this, but any tips on how to accommodate that, or foods to avoid that may not obviously contain beef/pork would be appreciated!

Arrival:

• Oct 5: This is a long travel day by design, trying to get most of it out of the way at the beginning.
  • Arrive in Haneda Airport ~2pm,
  • Grab Welcome Suica cards,
  • Take the Keikyu Line to Shinagawa Station then Shinkansen to Kyoto (Should we book these tickets in advance?)
  • Check into my hotel (Sora Niwa Terrace).

**Kyoto: (**Oct 6 - 12)

• Oct 6: Start the day with a Tea Ceremony at Maikoya, then explore Gion district as much as we fit in (Kenninji Temple, Sannenzaka, Kiyomizu-dera, Yasaka Shrine, Chionin Temple, Shorenin Temple).
• Oct 7: Booked a private car tour for some of the areas further out from hotel (Ryoan-ji, Kinkaku-ji, Kibune River, Kurama-dera)
• Oct 8: Philosopher's Path area - stops at Nanzen-ji (Suirokaku & Okunoin Temple), Honen-ji, Ginkaku-ji and maybe a hike up Mt Daimonji-yama. - I’ve done some googling and it seems like the bus/taxi is the best way to/from this area unless I am missing something?
• Oct 9: Osaka Day Trip: Not much planned for this, mostly hitting Osaka Castle in the morning and Dotonbori in the afternoon. Open to suggestions for other must-sees!
• Oct 10: Fushimi Inari in the morning and the Nintendo Museum in the afternoon (4:00 PM).

Other spots in Kyoto we plan on visiting:

• Nijō Castle, Nishiki Market, Maybe Uji if time permits?

Miyajima & Hiroshima: (Oct 11-12)

• Oct 11: Check out of Kyoto hotel, Ship luggage to Tokyo, Shinkansen to Hiroshima, drop remaining bags at hotel, explore Miyajima or Peace Memorial Park/Museum (depending on time/Weather). Stay at Daiwa Roynet Hotel Hiroshima.
• Oct 12:  Do either Miyajima or Peace Park/Museum then Shinkansen to Tokyo, check in to Tokyu Stay Shibuya Shin Minamiguchi.

Tokyo: (Oct 12-18)

• Oct 13: Morning: Nakameguro (Starbucks Roastery!), Mochi making class in Meguro, Meguro Sky Garden. Afternoon/Evening: Asakusa &  Sumo Dinner Show
• Oct 14: Between Harujuku/Yoyogi in the morning and Eastern/Northern Tokyo in the afternoon (Ueno, Yanaka, Akihabara) or a day trip to Kamakura/Yokohama depending on weather.
• Oct 15: Private Car Day trip to Hakone/Fuji area.
• Oct 16: TeamLab Borderless in Azabudai Hills, Tokyo Tower, Shueisha Manga Museum, Shimokitazawa in the afternoon
• Oct 17: Same as Oct 14th: Either Kamakura or Eastern/Northern Tokyo
• Oct 18: Shibuya Sky observation deck at 10:00 AM, Check out hotel, head to Haneda Airport for a 6:25 pm departure.

Any suggestions or ways to improve the itinerary are greatly appreciated! Thanks!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/quisquiliae_arum on 2024-09-22 17:44:15+00:00.

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Hi! I’m planning my first trip to Japan in November (13 days between Tokyo-Hakone-Kyoto), but I’m especially uncertain about the Tokyo leg of the trip; I’m worried I might have underestimated travel distances and queues, and that I’ve tried to squeeze in too much day-by-day.

We are travelling as a couple (yay honeymoon!) and we are most interested in history, general culture and anime/gaming! We’re not very interested in shopping beside the aforementioned nerdy stuff; we’re interested in food but not enough to target specific places just to eat there, or to do long queues. Not at all interested in nightlife or clubs.

Our hotel is already booked in the Akasaka area.

Below is the (for now) plan:

DAY 1: arrive at Haneda airport at 11 AM, reserve time to purchase Suica and retrieve SIM/Pocket WiFi (still haven’t decided which), then take either a private transfer or public transportation to the hotel. Did not plan any activity for the afternoon but I think we might check out the Tokyo Station area/Imperial Palace garden, since our hotel is relatively nearby in Akasaka.

DAY 2 - SUMIDA/ASAKUSA/UENO: take subway to Tokyo Skytree and visit the tower and Pokemon center. Then walk (if possible) to the Azumabashi brige to cross into the Asakusa neighbourhood, and visit Nakamise Street and Sensoji. If that can be done in the morning, we’d like to visit the National Museum in Ueno Park in the afternoon (at least the Japanese collection is a must for me).

DAY 3 - SHIBUYA/SHINJUKU: take subway to Shibuya and see Scramble crossing and the Hachiko Statue. Then walk in the neighbourhood and see some shops like MegaDonki and the nerdy shops in Shibuya Parco shopping center. Take subway to Shinjuku to enjoy the view from the Metropolitan Government building, then spend the rest of the afternoon/evening walking and dining either in Omoide Yokocho, Golden Gai or Kabukicho. I unhappily left out Meiji Jingu because it seemed to me way too much to squeeze in, and because we will be seeing a lot of temples in Kyoto.

DAY 4 – AKIHABARA/TEAM LABS: I know these are not very close nearby but we’d ideally book the TeamLabs Borderless for the late afternoon/evening, which would get us closer to our hotel. All morning and early afternoon would be reserved to Akihabara. I'm uncertain whether to plan it for a Sunday (I read that the main streets of Akihabara are closed to cars on Sunday, but I fear that Teamlabs might be swarming with people because of the weekend).

DAY 5 – JOLLY: We initially thought to do a day-trip to Nikko, but if the planned itinerary is too busy we might consider to use the day to spread out things a little bit more, or to add 1-2 more places we'd like to see (maybe see Odaiba or Roppongi Hills or Tokyo Tower and Zozo-ji).

Any help or suggestion from you veterans of r/japantravel would be very much appreciated!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/ma94uro on 2024-09-22 15:20:47+00:00.

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Hi all,

I've recently came back from my 3rd trip to Japan and wanted to share what we did and what we thought about it. I'd like to make this as much as possible a quick read so I will avoid going too much into details with the plan (do feel free to reach out if you'd like additional information) and I'll try to focus as much as possible on what kind of experiences we were looking for in Japan and what we did to look for them.

Let's start with a couple of points:

We were a group of four.

• Me, 29M, already been in Japan twice
• My partner, 23F, speaks a little Japanese and lived for one year in Hyogo prefecture
• Two friends of ours that have never been to Japan before

Me and my partner, having already traveled extensively around Japan, wanted to spend as much time as possible outside big cities and ideally as far away as possible from mass tourism. We did have a list of very famous places we wanted to visit but I guess they were 'remote' by most foreigner's standards being always more than 50km away from the closest Shinkansen station (like Ise, Koya, Dewasanzan, etc). We also really like onsens.

My two friends trusted us completely with the planning but, in general, wanted to get a 'standard' experience of Japan with Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Nara and so on.

What did we do?

First of all, we decided to rent a spacious car for the entire trip. We rented cars in Japan before so the experience itself was as smooth as expected but it did make us wonder a lot about the reasons why people don't tend to consider driving in Japan. Driving in Japan:

• Gives you a flexibility that public transport simply can't give you.
• In most cases it's cheaper than the train, often substantially.
• It's more convenient thanks to Japan being extremely car friendly with parking at reasonable prices and almost always available even inside the biggest cities
• A/C in the car when it's hot outside is a game changer
• It gives you much more flexibility in terms of changing plans. For example we would've never committed to a day-trip around Mt Fuji without being sure we would've been able to see the top without clouds. Having a car allowed us to decide last minute if it was worth doing it or not (it was).

We spent 17 days in Japan and drove around 4500km. We spent 2600USD per person everything included (including flights from London).

Below the places we visited:

Kanto

• Tokyo
• Fujikawaguchiko

Kii pensinsula (Wakayama + Ise)

• Koyasan
• Yunomine onsen
• Hongu
• Nachi
• Ise

Kansai

• Kyoto
• Uji
• Nara
• Osaka
• Kobe
• Arima-onsen
• Himeji

Chugoku

• Okayama's garden
• Hiroshima
• Kure, Etajima and Edajima

Tohoku

• Nikko and Chuzenji
• Zao onsen
• Yamadera
• Miyajuku
• Dewasanzan
• Ginzan onsen
• Naruko onsen
• Iwate Tsunami memorial museum
• Kesennuma City memorial museum
• Matsushima
• Sendai Colossus
• Zuihōden
• The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum

This list might be slightly misleading because in some specific instances the group was split resulting in two days worth of activities recorded on the above list as one. For example when we were in Hiroshima while they were visiting Itsukushima and the Peace Memorial Museum we were driving around the archipelago south of Hiroshima from Kure to Mitaka. So please take this plan with a pinch of salt but do not hesitate to ask me if you would like more info.

As I don't want to bore anyone with a detailed description of how we experienced and what we thought about every single place, I will list below a couple of particularly meaningful experiences that I hope will help others in plan their trips to Japan.

Kyoto

Let's start by discussing the love-hate relationship that me and my partner have with Kyoto. We believe it's singlehandedly the most beautiful city in Japan with activities, temples and food requiring months to properly appreciate. Having both of us studied and researched a lot the religious history of Japan, we genuinely believe that what Kyoto has to offer is unparalleled. The problem, in short, is that most tourists approach their trips to Japan as a checklist to complete and end up flooding always the same 3-4 spots and making them (and everything that surrounds them) unpalatable at best. Fushimi-Inari, Arashiyama and Kyomizudera are, above all, the three worst (and least authentic) experiences anybody can have in Kyoto. Plenty other temples offer similar experiences (if not, often, better) and almost always better pictures (since that's why most people go there anyways).

While our two friends were visiting the more popular spots in town, me and my partner spent a day visiting Mt Hiei and I can confidently say that it was one of the most intense, most beautiful and almost spiritual experiences I had in Japan. The Enryaku-ji complex is such a powerful and meaningful place that I'd wholeheartedly recommend spending an entire day there even if you only had two days to visit Kyoto. The cherry on top is that at the end of the visit you end up in Lake Biwa where we stopped at Ukimi-do, a beautiful temple on the lake, and at Spa Resort Ogoto Agaryanse, a very local super-onsen that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Himeji

While our two friends were visiting Himeji castle (and don't expect the same rant about it, we love it) we took the ropeway to Mt Shosha and visited Engyoji.

Like for Enryaku-ji, it's beyond us why this place is not on everyone's radar. If I had help somebody plan their first trip to Japan I'd recommend them staying one whole day in Himeji so they could visit it.

Hiroshima

This is a much more niche recommendation but if anybody is planning on spending more than 2-3 days in Hiroshima, hear me out.

Kure, 20 minutes south of Hiroshima, and the collection of islands around there used to be the main shipbuilding area for Japan prior to WW2. The Yamato museum in Kure is an amazing representation of the revisionist approach that Japanese people have to their history and a must for any history buff.

The archipelago around there is simply spectacular and driving around there was just beautiful. In addition to this, if you speak Japanese, do absolutely visit the Naval History Museum in Edajima. It's inside an active Maritime Self-Defense force base and it's the best hands on experience of what Japan was doing during the Meji restoration to get up to speed with the world powers.

Miyajuku (Tohoku)

In Miyajuku we had the most wholesome and authentic experience we had in our entire trip.

• We slept in Daichan Farm Guest House, a beautiful farm in the middle of Japan's countryside. The owner was beyond kind and we cannot recommend enough spending some time in this serene place.
• Ringo Hot Spring was one of the best onsen experience I've ever had in Japan. Forget the luxury of the ryokans and the frills of touristic onsen towns - this was a very down to earth onsen with locals chatting at the end of their working day and bringing their kinds with them. Shout-out to the Ringo (apples) left floating in the water that were just too cute.
• お食事処番外地 was a local ramen restaurant/izakaya. Nothing too special about it except for the fact that people around there never see a foreigner so we ended up becoming the star of the night with several people offering drinks, chatting with us and in general offering us a snapshot of a country life completely removed from the rest of mainstream Japan.

The Great East Japan Earthquake

We heard incredible things about the museums that were built following the great eastern Japan earthquake (and tsunami, and nuclear disaster). Japan is, in our humble opinion as Europeans, pretty bad at museums in general so we didn't have the highest expectations. But Iwate Tsunami Memorial Museum was one of the best designed museums we've ever visited. The intensity of this museum can be easily compared to visiting Auschwitz or the Peace Memorial museum in Hiroshima. Depending on how sensitive you are, you might find this museum being too much.

Kii pensinsula

The beauty of this area is not really a secret but I think it's worth mentioning how incredible this place was. Many people either walk the Kumano Kodo or use public transport to visit the area so having a car felt like cheating but allowed us to visit in 4 days (including a temple stay in Koyasan and a ryokan stay in Yunomine) the whole area.

To conclude, I'd like to share with everyone our three conclusions:

• If you are interested in understanding Japanese culture do make an effort to get out of the beaten path. Onsens are missing from major cities hence provide a great opportunity to experience something more authentic.
• Do some research before approaching temples or shrines. A basic understanding of religions in Japan will provide you with so much more context and will make you enjoy everything you see on a much deeper level.
• Before organizing your trip to Japan, to whatever degree you plan your trips, ask yourself what YOU like before committing to a plan decided by other people (including influencers and guides). Your trip to Japan should not be somebody else's checklist.

P.S. : Tokyo's absence from this review comes from us having been unable to form a conclusive opinion about it. We love Kansai and our trips to Tokyo have never made us feel like we really wanted to focus on it too much but we never really gave it a proper chance so .. hopefully one day we'll be back.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Sakura95996 on 2024-09-22 02:58:29+00:00.

Original Title: Trip Report - Day 4 to Day 7 of 21 Days - Kyoto (rabbit shrine, Nishiki Market), Yamanashi (Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan Ryokan), Tokyo (Cinnamoroll Cafe, APA Hotel, Hie Shrine, Ghibli Museum, Sanrio Puroland)

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Original Post - 21 Days Onsen Hopping Itinerary plus more 

Trip Report - Day 1 to Day 3 of 21 Days - Osaka (Dotonbori, fluffy pancake), Kyoto (Bunny Shrine, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Nishiki Market, Ichinenzaka, Ninenzaka, Sannenzaka)

Side Notes - Japan travel experience regarding late fall weather, bugs, shoes & luggage

Hello, I previously posted my 21 day itinerary on reddit. I wrote this for my future self to reference back on but I'm making this public for anyone interested to read. Below only contain my diary from Day 4 to Day 7. Reddit won’t let me post it together with Day 1 to Day 3 (link above) so I had to make a separate post.

Post format - Each day starts with the updated itinerary, follow by my diary with google map links to all of the destination. 

My travel videos are posted on Instagram at EstherTravelDiary for anyone interested to watch. I cannot link it here due to reddit "no self promotion" rule. All of my travel videos from Day 1 to Day 7 are now posted as of 09.20.2024. I will be uploading the rest of my travel videos for Day 8 to Day 21 whenever I can. 

• Day 4 - 10.25 Wed- Kyoto - staying home in Nara 

[X] Leave by 7:30, 1hr30min to Okazaki Shrine - rabbit shrine, get the by 9AM - a MUST visit for bunny lovers like me! 

[X] 20min bus to Nishiki Market for street food: 

[X] snack - Okakidokoro Terakoyahonpo Nishikiichiba Sohonten for rice crackers 

[X] snack - Fuka store for chestnut manju[X] snack - Marutsune Kamaboko for buttered potato tempura 

[X] snack -Hanayori Kiyoe for yuba cream & curry croquette - can sit there to eat. 

[X] Ochanokosaisai for rice seasoning 

[X] dango 

[X] Sally's Kitchen for fruit sandwich 

[X] Kyo Tanba for tea 

[X] Sugi Bee Garden for honey 

[X] Nishiki Tenmangu Shrine 

[X] Mahoroba Daibutsu Pudding 

• I felt drain from being in crowded place for the past two days, so I slept in more on this day. I took my time getting ready and enjoyed eating my expensive Shin muscat grapes. I didn't leave until 11am. Weather was 65F-75F, cool but still sunny so I wore my very comfy, breezy, sleeveless maxi dress from Uniqlo.
• It took me about 1hr30min to get to Okazaki Shrine (Bunny Shrine in Kyoto). Despite getting there later than I wanted to, there was no crowd at all. I came here years ago in 2018 and it was very crowded. So I felt lucky that I got to visit a second time without the crowd. This is a shrine that locals visit to pray for safe childbirth, so newlyweds often like to visit this shrine and pray. There was so many cute bunny statues at each corner. The tiny pink and white ones were especially cute, they look like a bunny army ready for battle! You can ring the shrine's bell at the center and rub the black bunny belly that is to the side with its own alter for good luck in childbirth. I got some good luck talisman and charms to take home, they just look so cute! Some are for good luck in studies, health, safe travels, and meeting your soul mate, etc. I enjoyed some quite time here for sure before heading to my next destination.
• I took a 20min short bus ride to my next stop for lunch at Nishiki Market. When I got there mid afternoon, it was super crowded! When buying snacks to eat, I stood to the side at a corner to finish eating. It is consider bad manners and rude to eat while walking. I wouldn't be able to enjoy my food anyways if I had to walk with food at hand at such a crowded place. So I just find a corner to eat and enjoyed my food. Some of these stores have inside seating though so you just have to look or ask. If you look up, the banners have animals on it, I thought that was a nice find. The elephant was my favorite find. Despite the crowd, I really enjoy going here to eat and shop. I would definitely go back again. All of the store owners and employees were very energetic and friendly toward tourist so I had a very pleasant experience. Here's the stores I went into:
• Okakidokoro Terakoyahonpo Nishikiichiba Sohonten - They sell rice crackers, but not just any rice crackers, they sell all sorts of flavored rice crackers! I tried the Aosa (sea lettuce) flavor. I liked it, good flavor, I think this is a safe choice for anyone unsure of what to get. I recommend it. 9/10.
• Ochanokosaisai - I didn't plan to go here but the samplers got me! I didn't think too much about visiting this rice seasoning store but when I saw the employee giving out free samples, I couldn't resist walking over to get one to try, and that sure got me hook because I went in and bought like 10 packs of them XD LOL. I wasn't the only one mind you, this other girl had arm full of the same rice seasoning pack I was buying! It was that good. 10/10. I was very excited that I found this so I can make better tasting onigiri at home. I recommend this place for spice lovers or any adventurous cooks. They sell other spices too, so not just rice seasoning.
• Fuka - I went here for their popular chestnut manju. Luckily we were the only one there so we got to order and sit down at their one and only small table. The store is very small so if there is space to eat, you can order it to go. Once I sat down, they brought over a complimentary hot tea with the manju so that was very nice! I got to rest for a few minutes there while eating. The chestnut manju was 10/10, I miss it...it was so good... I want to go back there again. Next time I will order one to eat there and one to go!
• No store in particular, but there a lot of seafood stalls there. What caught my attention though was the gigantic, huge, oyster! It was bigger than my hand! I had never seen such a big oyster before. So I had to make a mention of it.
• Marutsune Kamaboko - Next I went to this fried fish cake store. I got the buttered potato tempura from here. Per Google review, this is many people's favorite and the store's #1 recommended item, so that's what I got. And WOW just after first bite I could tell why that is. It was just so good. 10/10. I was afraid it was going to be too buttery or oily but it wasn't. It was so delicious. I wish I had gotten a second one to take home for the next day road trip. I also tried a second flavor, the curry onion with potato tempura, it was good but not as good as the buttered potato tempura. 8/10. Next time I go back, I will only get the buttered potato tempura and some to take home for the next day. These are heavy though so it was filling my stomach up fast, I couldn't eat much after that.
• I went to a nearby stall for dango, forgot which store name it was. It was not as good as the one from the day before at 月下美人 so I was sadden by it. It was just not fresh at all, so I think that was the biggest difference. This one was the main disappointment of the day of all the food I tried. It made me miss the dango from previous day even more because of how fresh it was.
• Hanayori Kiyoe - I went here for some croquette. I got the yuba cream and curry flavor. Both were too oily for my taste and flavor was decent. 6/10. I did like that I got to sit down to rest inside after ordering though.
• Sally's Kitchen - I was craving something cold after all the warm food I ate, so I got a cold fruit sandwich from here. I got the grapes sandwich. I actually really liked it! There was a good balance of grapes and cream inside the bread. 10/10. Would get again! Next time I want to try the dragonfruit sandwich.
• Kyo Tanba - I was walking back, I visited another shop that wasn't on my list again because another sampler got me... it was a tea shop this time. I was given a cup of black soybean tea, and it tasted unlike any other tea I had before. I really enjoyed the taste, so I got a bag of it. Black soybean is goo...

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This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/optimisticwanderer13 on 2024-09-21 08:58:59+00:00.

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Hello! Travelled with a friend. It was a last minute trip since we found the flights for an extremely nominal price, so we didn’t get much time to plan it out. It was our first time in Japan. We started with Tokyo:

Landed at Narita and took the Kisei Skyliner to Ueno Station. There, we got our Suica IC card at the JR station nearby. We then took a metro and checked into our accommodation in the Akasaka area, and surprisingly enough found the Hie Shrine nearby, didn’t expect to find such a beautiful shrine right in the middle of the city, the Tori gates at the stairs made it even better! We explored the city taking long walks late at night and visited the popular places during the day. The view from the Tokyo Skytree was breathtaking, there was some Pokemon event/exhibition kinda thing on the upper deck (450m) so it was mostly filled with kids and accompanying parents but overall it was a great experience. Also visited Tokyo Tower and Teamlab Borderless, the later was as beautiful as in the pictures, especially the hidden rooms. I would recommend everyone to go there atleast once if you visit Tokyo. The Shibuya crossing is as busy as they say, got to witness it with my own eyes. Explored Akihabara a little but then was informed that most of it closes by 9pm. Visited some more shrines like Akagi Shrine and Meiji Shrine, both plenty beautiful and peaceful. Our last stop was Senso Ji temple but we were short on time since our Shinkansen tickets were already booked so we couldn’t spend a lot of time there but the little time spent there made me realise that I will be visiting again next time! PS - It was very crowded.

Onto Kyoto, arrived via Shinkansen and checked into our accommodation in Gion area. One challenge we faced here was carrying our luggage to the hotel. The routes showed by Google maps had buses mostly and there were signs of “No Heavy Luggage” on the buses so we took a Taxi, even though it was a little heavy on the cost side, the person driving the Taxi was very polite and made sure we reached our destination comfortably. Our accommodation was near the Yasaka shrine so we checked it out first, there was a Kagura Dance (not sure if I am using the correct term here, please correct me if I am wrong) coming to a close so we got to witness the last few moments and it was beautiful. We went on to visit Kenkaku-ji and Ginkaku-ji, there were a lot of school kids in groups probably on field trips. Next we went to Kiyomizu-dera temple, and I was stunned by the views from the top. Japan is very photogenic in general but those views from the top were just something else. We also went to the Fushimi Inari shrine, and went all the way to the top, although it was around 7pm and no sun but the humidity made it a little hard, the 10 thousand Tori gates were totally worth it though. Wanted to visit the bamboo forest as well but we were out of time.

For food we went for local restaurants as much as possible and late night snacks had to be from the konbini (which are a true blessing). The interactions with the locals were very wholesome in general, everyone was very polite and respectful. In one of the restaurants we visited in Kyoto, the girl who served our ramen was very pretty, which I told her and her smile and reaction was adorable.

Overall it was an amazing experience, this unplanned last minute trip was better than most of the planned ones I have taken to other places.

Some points I think people should know (if they don’t already) -

1. Almost all places we visited in Tokyo and most of them in Kyoto accepted Credit Cards, very few were cash only. So its better to be on the safer side and carry some cash.
2. The humidity was as bad as everyone has been saying. Pocari sweat is your friend. I did hear the weather is going to get much better from next week so maybe you won’t need it but it’s available at almost every Konbini and Vending Machine.
3. One interesting thing I noticed at Mt Inari, the cost of the same drink in the vending machine increases by 20-30 yen the higher you go. Good sales strategy. Thankfully we bought from the one at the starting point.
4. Coin Lockers are underrated. You can store your luggage for nominal fee and explore the city carefree. This proves very handy if there is a gap between your hotel check-out/check-in and train/flight times.

Thanks for reading and please let me know what I could have done better or any other suggestions!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Sakura95996 on 2024-09-21 02:43:19+00:00.

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Original Post - 21 Days Onsen Hopping Itinerary plus more 

Hello, I previously posted my 21 day itinerary on reddit. I wrote this for my future self to reference back on but I'm making this public for anyone interested to read. Below only contain my diary from Day 1 to Day 3. Reddit won’t let me post past my Day 3 even though it is under 40,000 characters, so I need to make a new post on the rest.  

Post format - Each day starts with the updated itinerary, follow by my diary with google map links to all of the destination. 

My travel videos are posted on Instagram at EstherTravelDiary for anyone interested to watch. I cannot link it here due to reddit "no self promotion" rule. All of my travel videos from Day 1 to Day 7 are now posted as of 09.20.2024. I will be uploading the rest of my travel videos for Day 8 to Day 21 whenever I can.  

• Day 1 - 10.21 Sat & 10.22 Sun 

[X] fly to Osaka airport KIX 

[X] Arrive at 8PM, 2hr to Nara home by 10PM- the 1hr faster bus has been suspended 

Day 1 Diary: 

• I don't think I ever want to fly any other airline when going to Japan except purely with Japan Airline because their service was top notch, friendly, and food was actually GOOD. I never had good food on an airplane until then. JAL even provided real silverware, not the flimsy plastic ones. Their seats were also very comfortable. The whole experience of flying with them was just great. I flew back using American Airlines to America and the experience was not good at all. The food was not good and seats were not comfortable at all. I regretted not booking a JAL or ANA flight back home. I do think a big part of what makes Japan airlines service better than American airlines is due to culture. I definitely prefer how JAL flight attendants speak and handle passengers, they are less aggressive, more friendly and professional. From now on, I will definitely fly TO and FROM using Japan Airline, or maybe even ANA, since both are international airlines by Japan.
• Arrived 7PM at Osaka KIX, took 2 hours transportation by train/buses to reach my home in Nara at 10PM. Total travel time 26 hours. I was very tired, jet lag, and had severe motion sickness from the trains and buses more so than the airplane. Motion sickness medicine & sleeping pill does not work for me, it makes me nauseous and then hyperactive instead of drowsy. Instead, I suck on this Lemon Ginger Lozenges Candy when I feel sick and it is what helps me. I also use Motion Sickness Armband during travel, it is the only thing that works for me so far along with the candy in my mouth.

• Day 2 - 10.23 Mon - Osaka - staying home in Nara 

[X] Leave by 10:00AM, 1hr15min to Micasadeco & Cafe for lunch, get there by 11:20PM - always wanted to try fluffy wiggly pancakes! 

[X] 8min walk to Uniqlo Osaka - GU store inside, one of largest store with multiple floors - already got my list of items to buy 

[X] 1min walk to Rebekka Rabbit store for rabbit goods - a MUST visit for bunny lovers like me! 

[X] 24min bus to Dotonbori for the below food - also I'll be eating whatever looks good while leisurely strolling through: 

[X] Dessert - Lord Stow's Bakery for egg tarts 

[X] Snack - Daiou Cheese Jyu-en-Pan for cheese cake, there's 3 location -second local, third local 

[X] Dessert - Mattari-Purin Dotombori for pudding 

[X] Dessert - over macaron for cute bunny shape macarons, infront of Sanrio Gift Gate store 

[X] 12min walk to Kuromon Ichiba Market for street food - cheaper than Dotonbori but mostly seafood 

[X] 50min bus to go home Nara 

Day 2 Diary: 

• I wore my black strap silky dress. Weather was 66F-69F, cool but very sunny so I was sweating while walking. I was going to go to A Happy Pancake, but after a redditor commented on my itinerary that Micasadeco & Cafe is better, I decided to go there instead. And I was very glad that I did because the pancake was so good! It was the best and fluffiest pancake I ever had. I would definitely go again. I got there around 11AM, there was no wait, but after I sat down, the place got full and the people after us had to wait. The location I went to was tiny so if you go at 12PM you may need to wait. The pancakes are made fresh after it is order so it takes about 20 minutes for it to be ready. After 20 minutes, I got my pancake, and it was definitely worth the wait! 10/10.
• I took a train afterwards to Uniqlo Osaka, did some shopping there, and decided not to go to Don Quijote due to how crowded it was at that area. I will be going to another Don Quijote location that is out of the city on another day so this wasn't a must do on this day.
• I walked to the Rebekka Rabbit store afterwards. Even thought the store was small, there was so many cute rabbit goods to look at that I ended up spending an hour there. I actually didn't want to leave but I had to. This was one my favorite store to visit during my trip because of all the rabbit goods. I'm so glad my friend had mentioned this place to me, I wouldn't have found out otherwise! It was like my happy place. I was not allowed to take photos inside so there is not video on it, but I did a video on my shopping haul. Luckily no one else was there when I went so I was very happy I could slowly take my time to browse and not get in other people's way. The owner was very nice too. I received a cute mini pink shopping bag with my purchase and a cookie to celebrate their store's 4th Anniversary. I spent about 18,821Yen (was $126) and I had to hold myself back from buying more! It's a bunny lover heaven...
• I took another train to Dotonbori for snacks. It was SUPER crowded. I didn't stay there long. I got my food, ate it, and left within 30 minutes. I wouldn't go back again but don't mind the outer parts of it where it wasn't as crowded, which was where I got my food. I'm glad the food I wanted to try were on the outer edge of Dotonbori so I didn't have to walk through the middle parts of it. Here's what I had:
• Lord Stow's Bakery - 10/10 better than the Chinese egg tarts I had in America. Would get again.
• Daiou Cheese Jyu-en-Pan - 8/10 cheese was sweet with no other flavor, outside is crispy like waffle with no flavor, so overall taste was basically a sweet cheesy pastry. While it was fun to eat, I did got tired of it after I ate half of it. Still, I enjoyed it. Good to try at least once.
• Mattari-Purin Dotombori - 8/10 This was good but I think the famous pudding from Nara call Mahoroba Daibutsu Pudding is far more superior in texture, flavor, and taste. So I will not get it again.
• over macaron - 7/10 overall too sweet, it just looks cute for picture, I would not get it again.
• There was a Cinnamoroll Cafe right next to over macaron. I will be going to the Cinnamoroll Cafe Tokyo so I only stepped in to take pictures. I didn't order anything. Right infront of it was a Sanrio Gift Shop too so I took a look there as well. This one is larger than the cafe in Tokyo with a reservation system for the special room upstairs, next time I will go back for it.
• Kuromon Ichiba Market - a few minutes walk to this market from Dotonbori. I didn't eat anything there since they had mostly seafood so I wouldn't visit again.
• Went home for Japanese home made meal.

• Day 3 - 10.24 Tues - Kyoto - staying home in Nara 

[X] left 9:30, 1hr30min to Fushimi Inari Taisha for 2 hour hike 

[X] 35min bus to Ichinenzaka Hill, Ninenzaka, Sannenzaka: 

[X] cafe - The Unir coffee senses for coffee, coffee pudding, & fruit sandwich - can sit on 2nd floor 

[X] gift shop - Studio Ghibli Shop 

[X] snack - 月下美人 for dango 

[X] dessert - Apple Pie Lab for apple pies 

[X] dessert - [Matcha Hou...

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This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Novel-Pineapple-2131 on 2024-09-17 00:23:50+00:00.

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Edit Thank you all for all the feedback and notes! I'm sure I'll get more - really appreciate it.

I ended up making one big change - on day 7 (11/23) I'll be doing the day trip to Nara from Kyoto, then going back to Kyoto and staying at a modest Ryokan near the station. I would have stayed at my original hotel but they didn't have availability for that extra day. This way I do get a ryokan day with dinner+breakfast.

Osaka is now down to two days but I plan on scraping the day trip to Kobe to give myself two full days.

Edit end

I have been lurking this sub for the last few days so I know I will definitely get some flak for my itinery - but I think I really need the feedback to reign things back.

I get pretty bad motion sickness so I want to limit the amount of travel on trains/buses/subway as possible - but I know it's impossible to absolutely not relay on those modes of transportation so I will be popping Dramamine daily.

November 17 - November 27

Day 1 (11/17) - Tokyo

• Arrive at HND in afternoon
• Pick up IC card, SIM, ATM
• Subway or bus to Shinjuku
• Check into hotel
• Grab dinner and explore Shinjuku (Golden-Gai?)
• Rest up to recover from jetlag

Day 2 (11/18) - Tokyo

• Wake up early
• teamLab Borderless at 9 AM
• Shibuya (crossing, Shibuya station, Shibuya Sky)
• Harakuju (Yoyogi Park, Meiji Jingu)
• Back to Shinjuku

Day 3 (11/19) - Tokyo

• Breakfast at Tsukiji Market
• teamLab Planet at 9 AM
• Asakusa (Senso-ji Temple)
• Ueno (Ueno Park)
• Akihabara
• Back to Shinjuku

Day 4 (11/20) - Kyoto

• Shinkansen to Kyoto
• Drop off luggage at hotel
• Nijo Castle
• Nishiki Market
• Potentially Imperial Palace, Kyoto Gyoen
• Check into hotel
• Gion if time allows

Day 5 (11/21) - Kyoto

• Early trip to Fushimi Inari
• Kiyomizu-dera
• Gion
• Pontocho Park
• Back to hotel

Day 6 (11/22) - Kyoto

• Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
• Tenryu-ji Temple
• Iwatayama Monkey Park
• Togetsukyo Bridge
• Back to hotel

Day 7 (11/23) - Osaka

• Check out of hotel
• Take train to Osaka
• Drop off luggage
• Umeda Sky Building
• One or more of: Shinsaibashi-suji, Dotonbori, Shinsekai

Day 8 (11/24) - Nara

• Bus to Nara
• Todai-ji Temple
• Nara National Park
• Kasauga Taisha Shrine
• Kofuku-ji Temple
• Naramachi District
• Head back to Osaka

Day 9 (11/25) - Osaka or Kobe

• Day trip to Kobe for Arima Onsen, or stay in Osaka
• If in Osaka, Osaka Castle, and anything missed on day 1

Day 10 (11/26) - Tokyo

• Check out of hotel
• Shinkansen back to Tokyo
• Probably forwarded luggage day before to hotel in Haneda
• Spend half day in Tokyo with anything I missed
• Transit to Haneda and explore -Relax and early night to get ready for flight in AM

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/K9Audio on 2024-09-15 02:07:05+00:00.

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Hi there, I'm looking for recommendations or information about shrines. Mainly if there are any focussed on working dogs, or dogs I'll be visiting Japan in a few months and I was originally intending to visit with my Seeing eye dog. However Cancer took my boy from me in July. My dog turned my life around and gave me so much more than my independence after my sight loss. I want to show my appreciation and pray for the soul of my best friend for whom I owe so much. I'm going to be visiting Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Fukuoka, any insight would be greatly appreciated.

こんにちは、神社に関するおすすめや情報を探しています。特に、働く犬や犬に焦点を当てた神社があれば教えてください。数ヶ月後に日本を訪れる予定で、本来なら盲導犬と一緒に行くつもりでした。しかし、7月に癌で私の大切な犬を失いました。私の犬は、視覚を失った私の人生を一変させ、独立した生活以上のものを与えてくれました。私は、感謝の気持ちを示し、私が多くを負っている親友の魂のために祈りたいと思っています。東京、大阪、京都、福岡を訪れる予定ですので、何か情報があれば教えていただけるとありがたいです。

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/And_hi on 2024-09-14 18:22:59+00:00.

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Hi, I would like to share a trip report on my family’s second time to Japan. I (25M) travelled with my mum (58F), my brother (23M), in June 2024 for 17 days. As none of us drive, we relied only on public transport. I would like to share some tips as well as lessons learnt! :)

Abbreviations used: pp (per person), JPY (Japanese Yen), SGD (Singapore Dollar), Ltd Ex (Limited express JR train), FOC (free of charge)

Flight: We flew using Scoot LCC to and from KIX. ~500 SGD/54000 JPY pp

Transport: We got the JR West All Area Pass for the first 7 days of our trip (~26000 JPY pp). We also got the Kansai Area pass for the last 4 days of our trip (~7000 JPY pp). For more information on these regional passes, visit this url: . We also relied on public buses, chartered buses and subways but only when JR was not a viable option. Lastly, we also relied a lot on walking (and clocked at least 10km-13km on average daily pp)

Accommodation: We stayed in 3 star/business hotels in Nagoya and Kobe, and Airbnbs in Kyoto and Takayama. The main consideration was location, within ~1km of the main JR station (in this case Nagoya JR, Kobe JR, Kyoto JR and Takayama JR), as well as affordability. Total cost spent on accommodation for 17 days was ~ 180000 JPY, or 60000 JPY pp.

Focus of the trip: Nature, sightseeing and hidden gems. Some highlights include Wazuka, Takayama, Ine/Amanohashidate, Fukui, Shirakawago, Sekigahara and Shimonoseki. Ine and Wazuka are also in the official list of the most beautiful villages of Japan ().

Total Cost: ~2700 SGD/293000 JPY pp in total, including plane tickets, JR regional passes/tickets and accommodation

Intention behind this report: I hope this report will be useful, especially if you are relying on public transport. For easier readability, I’ve chosen not to get too detailed. That being said, if you have any questions, please fire away :) and I will do my best to answer them! Also, I have placed asterisks at places which I recommend going (from * to ***, with *** being the most recommended).

(Days 1-6: Stayed at Kyoto)

Day 1: Arrival in Kyoto

Description: Touched down at KIX and took the Haruka Ltd Ex to Kyoto JR. Explored Kyoto Skyway and had dinner at Kyoto JR before heading back to our Airbnb.

Tips: There is a staircase in Kyoto JR with light illuminations every night. There is also a place with many ramen restaurants located at the floor 10, that’s where we had our dinner. If you are a “Hello Kitty” fan, do consider taking the Haruka Ltd Ex as it is “Hello Kitty” themed.

Day 2: Day trip to Hiroshima

Travel: ~2.5 hours one way (Kyoto JR --> Shin-Osaka JR via local train, Shin-Osaka JR --> Hiroshima JR via shinkansen)

Places visited: Peace Memorial Museum**, A bomb Dome*, Ground zero, Okonomimura*, Hondori Street

Description: We reached Hiroshima about 1100hrs. Took an “old-school” electric tram to the A bomb dome. The dome was haunting in some way, albeit with some semblance of its magnificence left. Went to the museum and surrounding memorial area, which I would remember for a long time. The suffering of the civilians was truly great. We saw many school children paying their respects and singing commemorative songs. We then walked to the hypocenter, which was next to a clinic. Standing there while reflecting on what we saw in the museum was truly profound. We went to Okonomimura, for Hiroshima-styled Okonomiyaki, which I really enjoyed. We wandered around Hondori street, Don Quijote and got bento sets for dinner to eat on the shinkansen trip back to Kyoto. We left Hiroshima at around 2000hrs, and reached our accommodation at 1100hrs.

Vibe: I really loved the vibe of Hiroshima, how it is bustling despite its challenging past. I also liked how they preserved traces of its past even in the midst of rebuilding, for example, I saw some architecture preserved from WW2 in Hondori Street itself with signboards explaining what they were.

Tips: Do not skip the Peace Memorial Museum, it is a very well-thought out museum with many artifacts preserved such as the famed “Human shadow etched in stone”. Do consider to prebook your tickets online, so as to skip queues entirely. It would be good to dedicate at least a full day to Hiroshima.

 

Day 3: Day trip to Ine/Amanohashidate

Travel: ~3.5 hours to Ine (Kyoto JR --> Fukuchiyama JR via Ltd Ex, Fukuchiyama JR --> Amanohashidate JR via Kyoto Tango Railway (non JR), Amanohashidate --> Ine via bus)

Places visited: Ine bay/funaya***, Ine café*, Amanohashidate Kasamatsu Park*, Amanohashidate sandbar, Kaisen Bridge.

Description: Departed for Fukuchiyama JR at 0700hrs, and reached Amanohashidate JR around 0930hrs. Then, we took a local bus from right outside Amanohashidate JR to Ine and reached Ine before 1100hrs. We had a sashimi set lunch at Kajiya Ine, which was amazingly fresh (Ine is a fishing town). We had some spare time after to walk around the town, taking many photos, enjoying the nature and also had drinks at Ine café. At 1430hrs, we took the bus heading towards Amanohashidate, but dropped off halfway at Amanohashidate cable shita station, to take the ropeway up Kasamatsu Park. From there, we could enjoy views of the sandbar, but we did not spend long there as there was nothing much else to do. We took the ropeway down, rushed a quick dinner, and then started walking across the sandbar back to Amanohashidate JR (about 3.5km). The sandbar walk was fun but not especially spectacular, it has many pine trees though and nice sandy beaches. At a bridge nearing the end of our walk, we managed to spot a wild cormorant and multiple jellyfishes. We managed to see the Kaisen Bridge (rotating bridge) in action too. We left Amanohashidate JR at about 1900hrs and reached our accommodation at 2200hrs.

Vibe: Really loved the vibe of Ine. Literally a town between the mountains and the sea, on the outskirts of Kyoto. There was only a one lane street running through the town hence cars had to reverse when they met in the middle. There was no internet access and only emergency services were available, and there was only one store selling local produce. But all these added to the old-school, untouched charm. Staring at the Funaya which have been preserved for hundreds of years, while enjoying the fresh sea breeze and calls of kites and gulls, was really magical. Hence, although Ine is not very accessible, I cannot emphasize enough how worth it is to still travel there. Amanohashidate also had a very nice natural scenery, with the sandbar being one of the famed 3 views of Japan. This was my favorite day of the entire trip.

Tips: Having the JR West All Area Pass really made travelling easier especially with regard to as the Kyoto Tango Railway (which the pass automatically covers). Other regional passes like the JR Kansai Wide Area Pass also covers this. I would strongly recommend that you head to the nearest JR office to reserve seats for the journey to Amanohashidate especially if you are transferring at Fukuchiyama JR to the Tango railway as it requires mandatory reserved seating. Alternatively, the Hashidate Ltd Ex provides direct JR trips from Kyoto and Osaka JR to Amanohashidate JR (but the downside is that the trains leave later and you will have less time to spend in Ine/Amanohashidate). There are sea taxis giving you tours of Ine bay in Ine itself for 1000 JPY pp, which I highly recommend. Unfortunately, I had to give it a miss due to time constraints. On hindsight, I would have skipped walking on the Amanohashidate sandbar just to have more time in Ine. Lastly, Ine is in the official list of the most beautiful villages in Japan.

 

Day 4: Day trip to Shimonoseki and Kokura

Travel: ~3 hours one way (Kyoto JR --> Shin-Osaka JR via local train, Shin-Osaka JR --> Kokura JR via shinkansen, Kokura JR --> Shimonoseki JR via local train)

Places visited: Karato market/Iki Iki Bankangai*, Kanmon Tunnel, Battle of Dannoura sculpture, Mojiko Retro, Tanga market

Description: Our furthest day trip yet, hitting Kyushu from Kyoto. We reached Shimonoseki at about 1030hrs. We wanted to experience Iki Iki Bankangai, which turned out to be quite fun. However, prices were not as low as what we expected from reading online reviews. It’s not overrated but it’s also not the most spectacular. The sashimi servings are generous though and the deep fried fugu and miso soup were hits too. We then made our way to Kanmon Tunnel, an underground tunnel connecting Honshu to Kyushu. When we crossed over to the Kyushu side, we happened to spot wild dolphins swimming in the Kanmon Strait, which we believe to be a rare occurrence. We were really grateful for this experience! We then took a bus down to Mojiko Retro (which we did not spend much time at), and then a JR train from Mojiko back to Kokura JR. From there we walked to Tanga Market and reached an hour before closing time. It was an interesting market with significant history but once again, it’s not any different from any other local Japanese market. We headed back to a mall near Kokura JR, and had our dinner there before heading back to Kyoto.

Vibe: What was most memorable was perhaps eating sashimi with a sea/bridge view as well as dolphin spotting. That was really relaxing. Otherwise, with all due respect, Shimonoseki is quite “industrial or bare” in my opinion ...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/izzie-travel on 2024-09-12 11:14:00+00:00.

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Hiya! I’d love some advice on this itinerary for Kyoto and Osaka. Is every day pretty packed or will it be attainable to see everything?

11: Night 1: Arrive in Kyoto 7 PM

• Hotel check-in
• Dinner at Chao Chao Sanjo Kiyamachi

12: Night 2: Kyoto

• Nishiki Market 08:00-10:00
• Enkoji Temple 11:00-12:00
• Philosopher’s Path
• Late lunch in Omen Ginkaju-ji 14:00/ 15:00
• Eikando Temple (if enough time)
• Yasaka Shrine Evening
• Dinner recommendation?

13: Night 3: Kyoto

• Arashiyama Forest: arrive by 7:00 AM
• Kimono Forest
• Kinkaju-ji Temple
• Nintendo Museum 13:00 - 15:00
• Kiyomizu-Dera (if not seen already)
• Train to Osaka around 5-6pm
• Dotonburi in evening

14: Night 4: Osaka

• Osaka Castle 08:30 AM
• Umeda building for photos
• UNIQLO and GU shopping
• Izakawa Toyo lunch 13:00
• Namba Yasaka Jinja 15:30
• Rikuro Cheesecake
• Food Tour 17:30, ends 20:30
• Dotonburi area

15: Night 5: Osaka

• Early morning 5:30 to go to Fushimi Inari - arrive 7:00
• Nara ^
• Todai-Jin Temple
• Nara Deers
• Dotonburi in the evening

16: Night 6: Osaka —> Tokyo

• Cup Noodle Museum 09:30 - 11 AM
• Return to Osaka
• Shinkansen 2:45 PM (in an attempt to see Mt Fuji from the train)

Now some questions:

1. Is this attainable? If not, what should I skip?
2. I haven’t booked the Shinkansen yet so I could go later around 6pm, but then won’t see Mt Fuji (although no guarantee of seeing it anyway)
3. Is the Cup Noodle museum worth it? I just find it a quintessential thing to do that I’d not do in Europe.
4. Am I skipping any major sight in Kyoto or Osaka?

Thank you so much xx

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Gwyn_L on 2024-09-11 16:38:20+00:00.

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TLDR: We bought last-minute Saturday tickets at the gate (on Friday, the day before) we were worried about crowds since I've heard that you just shouldn't even try USJ on a Saturday without express passes but decided to go for it. We had the best day ever and got into Nintendo Land, rode every ride we wanted (except Demon Slayer), and had an amazing time at Halloween Horror Nights! BIGGEST TIP: You can buy tickets at the gate the day before (if your card doesn't work online like ours) so you don't have to wait in line in the morning and can make a b-line for Nintendoland before timed entry starts.

Hi everyone! I recently returned from an amazing honeymoon trip to Japan with my new(!) husband. We went to Osaka, Kyoto, and Okinawa and had an amazing time (maybe I'll do a full trip report idk). What I wanted to talk about in this post was our experience at USJ on a Saturday, during Halloween Horror Nights, with no express passes. Before deciding on Friday to go I did a lot of reading on here and other websites and the general consensus was that USJ is WAYYYY too crowded and if you go on a Saturday, good luck getting on any rides without an express pass. This put me off wanting to go but near the end of our trip we decided that we had seen enough of Osaka to be content (this was our second time there) and that USJ is cheap enough (compared to the US parks) that if it was no fun and way too busy we could just leave early. I attempted to buy tickets online but much like Tokyo Disney my card didn't work so we decided to just take the train over on Friday morning and buy Saturday tix. I recommend this!! We waited in line for about 20 minutes on Friday at 10 am for tickets but when we got to the park about an hour and 15 mins before opening on Saturday the line to buy tickets was wayyyyyy longer. if you want to make it to Nintendoland I would say definitely buy tickets in advance.

With that info out of the way here was our day with approximate wait times!

Arrived at 6:50 AM to get in line before the park opening. I had read online that if you make a b-line for Nintendo land at opening you can get in without timed entry, we did this and it worked!

7:45 Entered the park: walked at a brisk pace to Nintendoland and got right in line for Mariokart (we did single rider, posted times: SR 40 mins, Normal 70 mins, real wait: about 25 mins)

8:20 took pics around Nintendoland

~8:45 got in line for flying dinosaur: posted time: 40 mins, real wait: about 20 mins. Literally one of THE COOLEST COASTERS I'VE EVER BEEN ON! I may have liked it even more than Velocicoaster at Universal Orlando.

9:30 Headed to Harry Potter: It was about 36C out so we were dying of heat, the solution...frozen butterbeer!! After we got that we shopped a bit to try and cool off and then decided to get in the 70 min line for the Hogwarts ride. The real wait was more like 50 mins.

11:15 Got lunch at the Three Broomsticks: Had the Halloween set and it was pretty good!

12:15 Walked over to Hollywood Dreamer: We did Backdrop first and the posted wait was 50 minutes I think but it was more like 25 maybe, it was wayyyy quicker than estimated. They had two Halloween exclusive songs we wanted to ride to: Kickback from Chainsaw Man and Show by Ado so we decided to do kickback for the backwards ride because it just seemed right lol.

1:00 attempted to ride Demon Slayer: We got the Tanjiro popcorn bucket and the soy sauce popcorn (which was delish) and then attempted to ride the Demon Slayer ride but the posted wait was 120 minutes and after barely moving in line for 30 minutes we gave up and left the line. The ride ended up shutting down later (I think it was because of HHN, not a breakdown) so we never ended up riding it but, oh well. We then did some shopping and I bought some Ado HHN merch because I'm a huge Ado fan and I love exclusive collabs.

2:00 Rode Jaws: I was hyped to ride Jaws since I never go to ride the one in Orlando. I was amazing and I bought a really cute Jaws sweater vest after the ride! Posted wait time: 65 mins, real wait time: 60ish mins.

3:30 Re-rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey: We enjoyed this ride so much and the posted wait time in the app was like 35 mins but when we got there the time was already up to 80. We decided to wait anyway because the line moved way faster than the posted time earlier in the day...but then the ride broke down lol. We were really close to the front as well so we were supposed to be evacuated last but that mean we sat in line for about 2 hours total. We were a bit miffed as no one was giving information in Japanese or English BUT just when we thought we were about to be evacuated the ride started up again and we got to ride!! So in reality the posted time was 80, it probably would have taken 60 if the ride didn't break down but it ended up taking 90 so really not too bad.

5:00 Had dinner: We had the MOST DELICIOUS Danish pizza things near the Jaws ride. OMG they were devine.

6:00 HHN Started! I've never been to a HHN so I was super hyped to go in Japan, I like that it wasn't a separate ticketed event, it was just included in our 10,000 yen admission. And it was SO FUN. The Zombie costumes were unreal and the actors made it so fun, I liked the Blue Rose Protection Force too and how they played Ado music throughout the evening. There was this huge concert with these creepy/cute bear things and Ado (she wasn't actually there of course) and everyone was so hype, it was a lot of fun.

7:15 One last ride on Hollywood Dreamer: After we had ridden the hollywood dreamer earlier in the day the wait times went up at ton, I think paybe maxxing out at 90 or 100 mins. We had hoped the wait time would go down while everyone was enjoying HHN but it only went up so we decided to just bite the bullet and get in line so that we could ride it forward and listen to Show. I'm so glad we did because the way the ride is lit up at night was a totally different and amazing experience! NOTE: Make sure you check which song number the song you want is by referencing the seat back in front of you because they change the song list between the forward and backward cars and Show went from song #2 backwards to song #5 forwards!

8:45 Time to head out: At this point we had been at the park for like almost 14 hours and we were pretty wiped so we went home and enjoyed the public baths at our hotel. The hot water was heaveny on my sore feet *(*we did about 26k steps that day so we were pretty tired, especially after a few weeks of 20-30K + steps a day lol)

Anyway that was our early Septemer Saturday at USJ. It was absolutely amazing and I think as long as you acknowledge the crowds and enjoy yourself it is totally doable without an express pass!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/nachoaveragepie on 2024-09-11 05:42:07+00:00.

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Just took a look at the Nintendo museum website and it's under maintenance now but before it went down I saw the calendar was updated to saying tickets for October and November were open for sale! This might be the update that lets us buy any remaining tickets! I'm planning on being in Kyoto the first week of November so I'm super excited to get a second chance at tickets!

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/danemonyo on 2024-09-10 12:47:01+00:00.

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Hello! I'll be visiting Japan for the first time on Sep 23 - Oct 7. I plan to take in as much culture, food, and sights as I can, will be traveling solo so I can definitely adjust my day accordingly. I'm not too big on shoping and am hoping to get recommendations to the not-so-known places!

Edit: I know it's packed, I always do this on my solo trips :) I averaged around 30K daily steps on my last one

Day 1 - Tokyo

• Arrive at 6pm, check in at accommodation (Jimbocho Area)

Day 2 - Tokyo

• Sensoji Temple
• Nakamise Street
• Sumida River Park
• Ueno Park + Museums
• Ameya Yokocho

Day 3 - Tokyo

• Meiji Jingu
• Yoyogi Park
• Takeshita Dori
• Gyoen
• Kabukicho
• Shibuya Sky
• Shibuya Crossing

Day 4 - Tokyo

• Toyosu Fish Market
• Teamlabs Planets
• Imperial Gardens
• Chidorigafuchi
• Yasakuni Jinja
• Akihabara
• Yanaka Ginza

Day 5 - Nikko

• Shinkyo Bridge
• Rinno-ji
• Nikko Toshogu
• Futurasan Shrine
• Kanmangafuchi

Day 6 - Tokyo

• Nezu Shrine
• Yanaka Cemetery
• Koishikawa Korakuen
• Kagurazaka
• Ebisu Garden Place
• Tokyo Photographic Museum
• Shinjuku Omoide Yokocho
• Tokyo Metropolitan Gov't Building

Day 7 - Hakone (staying near Gora Station)

• Gora
• Sounzan
• Owakudani
• Lake Ashi Cruise
• Heiwa no Torii

Day 8 - Hakone

• Hakone Open Air Museum
• Picasso Pavilion
• Hakone Sekisho
• Old Tokaido Road
• Moto Hakone
• Hakone Yumoto

Day 9 - Kyoto (Staying near Shijo Station)

• Kiyomizu Dera
• Higashiyama District
• Yasaka Shrine
• Gion District

Day 10 - Kyoto

• Kinkaku-ji
• Ryoan-ji
• Nijo Castle
• Kyoto Imperial Palace

Day 11 - Kyoto

• Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
• Tenryu-ji
• Togetsukyo Bridge
• Iwatayama Monkey Park

Day 12 - Kyoto

• Fushimi Inari Taisha
• Tofuku-ji
• Fushimi Sake District

Day 13 - Nara

• Nara Park
• Todai-ji Temple
• Kasuga Taisha Shrine
• Kofuku-ji Temple
• Naramachi District

Day 14 - Tokyo

• Roponggi Hills
• Mori Art Museum
• Zojo-ji
• Tokyo Tower
• Ginza

Day 15 - Tokyo

• Breakfast somewhere
• Depart

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/linachann on 2024-09-09 11:04:31+00:00.

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First time in Japan. I am mostly interested in Tokyo and can only go for 10 days so I decided to focus on this and go back in the future to visit other cities.

Trying to visit at least one shrine a day and get Goshuin. I also plan to collect station stamps but I'm a bit concerned about the size of the stations and whether I'll be able to find the stamps.

Sorry if this is too detailed. I'm not going into detail of the shops (mostly stationery, anime and videogames) I'm visiting or where I'm eating. I do have some options in mind but recommendations are welcome.

DAY 1 - Saturday 21/09 - IKEBUKURO

✈ 7:30 Arrive to Haneda, Suica, eSim, ATM, etc

🚌 8:30 Limousine Bus to Ikebukuro Station

🛅 10:00 Leave luggage at Hotel, lightly explore Ikebukuro and eat some konbini food

☠️ 15:00 Check in at Hotel, rest for the day (I'll probably be destroyed from the flight)

DAY 2 - Sunday 22/09 - SHINJUKU & NAKANO

☕ 8:00 Breakfast around Shinjuku Station

🌳 9:00 Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

ℹ️ Get lunch reservations and visit Tourist Information Center

💸 Visit shops around Shinjuku

⏳ If tired rest at Eye Garden@Isetan

🍙 After lunch (Yakiniku), take Chuo Line to Nakano (~10 min)

💸 13:00 Nakano Broadway

⛩ 15:00 Back to Shinjuku, visit Hanazono Shrine and more shops

⏳ If tired, relax at Cat Cafe Mocha Lounge

🌇 17:00 Tokyo Metropolitan Gov Building Observation Deck for sunset

📷 18:00 Kabukicho (check Cat board, Godzilla head, Kabukicho Tower, Gigo)

🍜 20:00 Dinner (Ramen) and return to hotel

DAY 3 - Monday 23/09 (holiday) - TOKYO STATION & GINZA

⭐️ 10:00 Clamp Exhibition @ National Art Center (be there early to queue)

☕ 11:00 Breakfast around Tokyo Station

🏣 Tokyo Central Post Office

💸 Tokyo Character Street and other shops around the station

🏙️ KITTE Marunouchi, 6th floor vista

⛩ After lunch, Shimbashi, Karasumori Shrine

💸 Ginza shops

📷 18:00 Miyazaki NTV Clock (arrive 5 minutes before the hour)

⭐️🗼 20:00 Tokyo Tower (Night view)

DAY 4 - Tuesday 24/09 - HARAJUKU, OMOTESANDO & ROPPONGI

⛩🌳 9:00 Meiji Jingu and Yoyogi Park

💸 11:00 Harajuku Station and Takeshita Street

⛩ Togo Shrine

🍙 13:00 Lunch (Sushi or Udon)

💸 Omote-sando shops

⛩ 15:00 Zojo-ji, Hoshuin Temple

🗼 Tokyo Tower (Day view) and walk around Minato Ward

🌇 17:00 Roppongi Hills Mori Tower City View

DAY 5 - Wednesday 25/09 - AKIHABARA

⛩ Hanabusa Inari Shrine

💸 Akihabara shopping spree

🍙 Lunch @ Akiba Ichi

⏳️ If tired, rest @ UDX 2F

⛩ Check out EDOCCO next to Kanda Myoujin Shrine

DAY 6 - Thursday 26/09 - SHIBUYA

💸 Shibuya shopping spree

⭐️ 12:00 Shibuya Sky

🍙 13:00 Lunch @ Shibuya Stream

⛩ 14:30 Gotokuji Temple (Closes 5 pm)

⭐️ 17:00 Hello Kitty Cafe @ BOX cafe&space SHIBUYA109

DAY 7 - Friday 27/09 - KAMAKURA DAY TRIP

🚟 Shonan monorail - Ofuna Station to Shonan-Enoshima Station

🚃 Visit multiple spots by Enoden, one-day pass "Noriorikun"

⛩🚌Hokoku-ji by bus from Kamakura Station (Bamboo garden)

⛩ Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, Sasuke Inari Shrine, Kotoku-in

🍡 Komachi Street

🚃 16:00 Kamakurakōkō-Mae Station

⚠️ (Probably not enough time for Enoshima)

💸 18:00 Fujisawa for shops, have dinner

DAY 8 - Saturday 28/09 - NIPPORI & UENO

🌳 9:00 Ueno Park

⛩ Ono Terusaki Shrine

⛩ Akiba Shrine

😸 11:00 Yanaka Ginza

😸 Cat Gallery

⛩ Nezu Shrine

😸⛩13:00 Yushima Cat Festival ( Yushima Shrine + Tsumakoi Shrine + shops + food )

💸⛩16:00 Jimbocho shops and Gotoinari Shrine

DAY 9 - Sunday 29/09 - TGS2024, SKYTREE & ASAKUSA

⭐️ 9:30 Tokyo Game Show @ Makuhari Messe

⭐️ 17:00 Tokyo Skytree

🌇 18:30 Asakusa Culture Tourist Information (8th Floor Viewing Deck)

⛩ Senso-ji Temple, Asakusa Shrine, Hikan Inari-jinja, Imado Shrine

⚠️ (Probably won't be able to get Goshuin this late, will consider going back the next day early in the morning)

DAY10 - Monday 30/09 - IKEBUKURO

⭐️ Sunshine Aquarium

💸 Sunshine City

💸 Stores around Ikebukuro Station

DAY11 - Tuesday 1/10

✈ Go home :(

If I have any extra time any of the days I would like to take the Tokyo Cruise ferry and/or visit Odaiba

Is there anything I'm not saving enough time for?

Am I missing any important stuff? I decided not to go to Disney this time, maybe next time. And I'm not interested in teamLabs.

Thank you!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Strict_Search584 on 2024-09-07 14:24:39+00:00.

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Hey everyone! As the title indicates, we are first time visitors heading to Japan for two weeks in October and would welcome feedback on our itinerary. Not everything on the list needs to be done, but at least it should give us some structure and inspiration depending on how we feel that day.

Day 1

• Depart North America, arriving in Tokyo (Narita) the following day at 4:05 PM. Purchase shuttle bus tickets to Tokyo central station. Walk to hotel. Grab dinner in the vicinity before bed.

Day 2

• Imperial Palace (East Gardens)
• Ueno Park / Tokyo Metropolitan Museum (if time/energy) / Ameyoko Shopping District
• Sensō-ji temple + asakusa
• Tokyo Skytree observation deck (evening)

Day 3

• Tsujiki Market / Tsukishima Monja Street
• Ginza / TeamLab Borderless
• Akihabara Electric Town / Taito Station (arcade)
• Kanda Shrine
• Local izakaya / bar (evening)

Day 4

• Depart Shinkansen from Tokyo Station at XX:XX A.M. Arrive Hiroshima mid-day.
• Hiroshima Castle
• Atomic Bomb dome
• Peace memorial museum

Day 5

• Early morning ferry to Miyajima island
• Itsukushima Jinja
• Mount Misen Observatory

Day 6

• [Optional stop in Himeji] Morning transit to Kyoto, for arrival mid-afternoon.
• Check-in to hotel and explore local area
• Kyoto Imperial palace / Nijo Castle

Day 7

• Fushimi Inari Taisha
• Kiyomizu-dera
• Sannenzaka Path
• Ninenzaka
• Harushika Sake Brewery

Day 8

• Kinkaku-ji
• Ryoan Ji
• Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama
• Tea ceremony Ju-An / Kimono Ceremony Maiyoka
• Pontocho Alley
• Shinkyogoku Shopping Street Union

Day 9

• Day trip Osaka. Discover Osaka Castle
• Explore Umeda
• Kamigata Ukiyoe Museum
• Kuromon Market
• Dotonburi

Day 10

• Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple
• Kimono Forest
• Spa relaxation at ryokan or onsen
• Dinner / bar near hotel

Day 11

• Depart Kyoto in the morning to Lake Kawaguchiko (transfer in Mishima - 4 to 5 hours total journey. Arrive by mid-afternoon)
• Check-in to hotel and explore surroundings of the town and lake.
• Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway (weather permitting)

Day 12

• Mt. Mitsutoge day hike [weather permitting]

Day 13

• Travel to Tokyo (approximately two hours)
• Leave luggage at hotel / check-in when possible
• Explore Shinjuku
• Omoide Yokocho
• Evening - Tokyo Metropolitan Government Observatory

Day 14

• Shibuya crossing
• Shibuya Nonbei Yokocho
• MEGA Don Quijota / [optional - Shibuya Sky]
• Meiji Shrine
• Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku
• Takeshita Street Square
• Pack / prepare for travel the following day

Day 15

• Sleep-in and check-out mid-morning.
• Grab light lunch depart for Narita at approximately 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
• Travel back to North America (arrive no later than 3:00 PM to Narita)

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/TheRealMallowpuff on 2024-09-07 06:00:17+00:00.

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I am admittedly a bit late with this trip report. As I sat at my desk reminiscing about the trip I decided now is better than never.

To preface, this trip was me and my sister with a second sister joining around the midpoint. The goal was following the fall colors from Sapporo to Kyoto. I used this post as some inspiration for formatting.

I'd love to do a day by day report but it would literally be like 15 pages long.

Cities Visited in chronological order with summaries added to save space:

Haneda Airport - Kawasaki King Skyfront - 1 Night

• A lot of people recommend not staying near Haneda and instead going straight to Tokyo, I think it's definitely a time thing. If you have the time, stay near Haneda. The plane ride is exhausting, we hopped out and were in a Hotel within 20 minutes of leaving the airport. For us it was a question of stay near Haneda or fly straight to Sapporo, we were definitely glad to have stayed one night.

Sapporo - Villa Koshido Odori - 5 Nights

• I don't know if Sapporo is really underrated but it can't be overstated how nice it is. It may be my favorite city we visited, and I am not even really sure why. It has big city vibes without being overwhelming. It's laid-back but there is still plenty to do. Susukino is very busy at night, if you're looking for nightlife you wont be disappointed. I can't recommend Sapporo enough. A few places we went and really enjoyed:
  • Moerenuma Park
  • Odori Park
  • Mount Moiwa

Otaru - Hotel Torifito - 1 Night

• Otaru was very enjoyable and was somewhere we wished we had gotten a second night. It's beautiful, great food, and just relaxing. The canals were very nice, especially at night. We had some of the best Sushi we had in Japan here.

Hakodate - HakoBA Hakodate - 2 Nights

• Hakodate was nice. It's a beautiful city with some fantastic attractions. Outside of the well-known views, there's not a lot to do. Also, I know this is very hypocritical, but this is the first time we noticed fellow tourists being frustrating. Before this there were very few tourists and nothing that stood out. Here there were a few instances of tourists being arrogant or disrespectful. Nothing super egregious just noticeable. Either way, I can recommend Hakodate for a short stay. Highly recommend checking out Mt. Hakodate, A few of the nice things in the area we visited:
  • Mount Hakodate
  • Fort Goryokaku
  • Morning Market
  • Red Brick Warehouses

Aomori - Super Hotel - 1 Night

• Aomori and Akita were specifically picked because of the Resort Shirakami. With that said, we were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed Aomori. We especially enjoyed the Nebuta museum and the morning market. I think it was my favorite of the seafood markets, and possibly my favorite breakfast.
  • Nebuta Matsuri
  • Furukawa Fish Market

Akita - Richmond - 1 Night

• We didn't have much time in Akita so I don't have a lot to say about Akita specifically. I really liked the design of the Station however. Instead I will take this point to talk about the Resort Shirakami. It is definitely in the top 3 things we did in Japan. Many of the views were downright breathtaking, It was almost 5 hours long, from 1PM to 7PM ish. The last hour or so was after nightfall. It really was amazing. Fall is definitely the off season so the train was pretty much empty. This was fantastic, except the bar was closed which was a bit of a letdown. I know I've said this a couple of times throughout this report but I really can't recommend it enough if you can be in the area at the right time.

Morioka - AirBNB - 1 Night

• We didn't pick Morioka instead we picked the AirBNB and it happened to be in Morioka. With that said, like Aomori, we enjoyed the city for sure. The downtown area was unique and quite interesting. The best thing without a doubt was Koiwai farm, which is right near. I am not sure I ever saw it mentioned in my research before the trip but it was great. Awesome views, ice cream, and pizza!
  • Koiwai Farm

Sendai - Almont Hotel - 5 Nights

• We picked Sendai as a break from the non-stop traveling before and as a gateway to Tashirojima. The moving around so much above wasn't as taxing as we were expecting but it was still very nice to have 5 days in one spot again. Sendai itself was nice and the first "big-city" feel since Sapporo. Actually it felt much busier than Sapporo. Great food choices and lots to do in the area. Matsushima Bay was fantastic as well, it was great being so close so we could go multiple times. Some of things we did are listed below.
  • Zuihoden Mausoleum
  • Aoba Castle

Tashirojima - Manga Ai-land - 1 Night

• Tashirojima was one of the places I found early in my research and just had to go. I saw some mixed opinions with some people saying the cats were in rough shape and not to go if you like cats. I decided to give it a shot after seeing a lot of people rebut these claims. I am happy to say it was absolutely fantastic and one of my favorite places I visited in Japan. The cats around the two restaurants were well cared for and seemed to be quite happy. At the end of the day they are obviously fully outdoors with relatively little care, but the residents do their best to keep them all healthy and happy. The island itself was an experience. It is almost entirely abandoned with only a handful of residents remaining. All of the structures are still there, it is eerie to say the least.
• Manga Ai-land itself was nice. The cabins are cute and cheap, the staff was helpful, the amenities were the bare minimum but they were there.

Yamagata - Daiwa Roynet - 1 Night

• There is not a whole lot in Yamagata outside of Yamadera which is why we were there. We enjoyed Yamadera but the stairs are rough if you're not in good shape. I won't lie, I almost gave up a couple of times. I made it all the way up though, and the view was worth it.

Fukushima - Sankyo Hotel - 1 Night

• We really just stopped in Fukushima because we needed to use a day before our AirBNB. We didn't plan on doing a whole lot and we didn't do a whole lot.

Aizuwakamatsu - AirBNB - 3 Nights

• There is a lot to do here if you enjoy the sights and history. We stayed in a little AirBNB where we had a delicious homemade breakfast everyday which made the experience even better. They have a great bus system where you get a pass and it will bring you to every attraction with endless reruns. Some of the many things we checked out are listed below.
  • Tsuruga Castle
  • Aizu Bukeyashiki
  • Enzoji Temple

Hitachi - The Square - 1 Night

• Hitachi is the sister city of our hometown which is why we decided to visit. It is actually a very nice little city though with a couple of unique parks including the Hitachi Seaside Park.

Tsuchiura - Celecton - 1 Night

• Another thing I had learned about many, many months before the trip was the Tsuchiura Firework Festival. Somehow it lined up and we were able to fit it in. The festival was absolutely spectacular. However, to say it was busy would be the understatement of the century. I have never seen so many people in one place. We were lucky enough to have a hotel within walking distance, even if they did raise the rates 3x for the festival. I am confident we would have waited 4-6 hours to get back to Tokyo if not.

Tokyo - Henn Na - 2 Nights

• We didn't do very much for these first two days in Tokyo. Our 3rd member was supposed to fly in the first morning but was delayed until the next evening. Mostly we walked around and relaxed.

Nikko - Turtle Inn - 1 Night

• Nikko was high on our list based on what we read of other peoples' experiences. In reality, it was a bit disappointing solely due to the crowds. There were lines for every temple, just tons of people. More people than we saw anywhere except possibly some parts of Kyoto. The temples themselves were spectacular however.

Tokyo - Sakura Cross Asakusa - 5 Nights

• Admittedly, we didn't do a ton in Tokyo for these 5 days either. We walked around a ton, visited Senso-Ji since it was so close to our hotel, got a bunch of souvenirs from all around, saw Godzilla Minus One. Honestly, none of us really enjoyed Tokyo as much as other cities. It's fun to walk around and people watch, there's more food choices than you could ever eat, shopping is amazing, but for us I think it was a bit more than needed. I'd definitely go back, but 3-6 days is plenty.

Kyoto - AirBNB - 29 Nights

• This was a long term stay to then make day trips or longer from. It was in Joyo-Shi which is pre...

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This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/HelpfindingPascal on 2024-09-05 12:30:30+00:00.

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We are missing Pascal Stadtmüller, German citizen, who was last seen at Odawara Station on 27 August 2024 at about 2 p.m., when he walked away from his girlfriend after an argument.

They were travelling Japan together, were in transit from Tokyo to Kyoto, spending one night in Hakone from 26 to 27 August. Arrival in Kyoto was planned for August 27, where Pascal did not show up.

Has anybody seen Pascal in the afternoon or night of August 27 or early morning of August 28 in Odawara, in the Hakone area or at any later point of time or any different place?

He (age 43) is 1,83m, has blonde short hair, European looking, wears glasses (which he maybe lost). On the day of his disappearance he was wearing a black tank top, khaki shorts, black Adidas sneakers, beige baseball cap. He had a blue backpack (brand Burton) and a small black cross-body bag with him. He had a light green t-shirt in his backpack, so he could also have changed clothes. He has clearly visible skin irritation at his wrists.

Photos:

We assume that the following items were stored in the backpack or in the bag:

Mobile phone Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G (black cover), mobile phone Samsung Z flip (light blue cover), Jack Wolfskin wash bag (brown checked patterns), phone charger, Samsung Earbuds, Passport, black leather wallet, black Zara slides, Samsung Galaxy tablet

In case you have seen him or have any information about where he was or is located, please contact me. In case he is with you, please ask him to contact his family and his girlfriend, as they are very worried. As there were heavy rains and even some evacuations in the Kanagawa prefecture, this makes us worry even more.

In case you found any of his belongings and delivered them at a lost and found office, please let me know.

In case you have any helpful information, please do also contact Higashiyama police office in Kyoto (Tel. +81-75-525-0110), where a missing person’s report was made, especially in case you have witnessed any crime, accident or dangerous situation he was involved in.

 

What happened after his disappearance:

His girlfriend was searching him in and around Odawara station after he walked away. They were exchanging some messages via Signal messenger in the afternoon / evening after he disappeared, which were submitted with some delay. They were using a mobile Wifi-device, which his girlfriend had with her, so Pascal had no permanent internet access, maybe using public Wifi, and probably was unable to navigate. His girlfriend asked him several times to tell her where he is, which he did not, and offered to come to the spot where he is, but he did not tell her. As she could hear sounds of trains or platform announcements in his voice messages, she assumed that Pascal was already making his way to Kyoto on his own, so she bought a ticket for a Shinkansen with scheduled departure at 4:07 p.m., which left Odawara with two hours delay due to heavy rain. His girlfriend arrived at approx 9 p.m. at the hotel in Kyoto, but Pascal had not shown up, she begged him to come to Kyoto. In a voice message at 0:02 a.m. Pascal mentioned that he had an encounter with some police officers. In his last voice message at 3:37 a.m. to his girlfriend he, sounding drunk, told that he woke up somewhere, has no idea where he is, is now in a coin laundry (probably for seeking shelter as it was cold outside) and could not find his glasses.

All messages, which were sent via Signal messenger and WhatsApp by his girlfriend and family members after his last message, have not been submitted until now. His phone seems to be switched off or ran out of battery. Not contacting any of his family members is quite untypical, as he normally keeps close contact to his beloved ones, even when he is doing unwell. He never mentioned any plans whishing to disappear or start a new life leaving everything behind him.

His girlfriend reported him missing at Gion Police box in Kyoto in the evening of August 28, an English speaking police officer told her that they would call other police stations in other prefectures and ask whether they met him and would keep her updated in case there would be any news. They also gave her an advice to report him missing at the German Consulate General in Osaka, what she did in the morning of August 29. The consulate phoned the police in Odawara and hospitals in Odawara, without any success.

On August 30, his girlfriend again went to Gion Police box in Kyoto, inquiring if there were any news. There were different officers onsite, none of them speaking any English, they used a translation device. They had not heard about any report of a missing tourist, and let her know that official missing person’s reports cannot be done at this police box, and it should be done at Higashiyama police office in Kyoto. So she made the report there, but did not receive any proof or reference number.

His girlfriend decided to continue the planned travel schedule hoping that Pascal would join her again at some point of time. He had all hotel booking confirmations (printed on paper) in his backback, so he would know where to find her even without any electronic device.

His girlfriend travelled to Hiroshima on 1st September, then to Tokyo on 3rd September and took the flight home on 4th September, with an empty seat next to her.  We had some hope that Pascal would eventually return for the flight home. The family has now made a missing person’s report in Germany, the officers in charge take this case very seriously.

 

This is no scam! We do not ask for any money. Any note, any trace which helps us finding Pascal is appreciated.

Thank you for sharing this with other travelers and communities.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/LMG_White on 2024-09-05 00:16:54+00:00.

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Hello everyone, I’m traveling to Japan in November for the first time. This will be my second overseas trip traveling solo. I’ve got a very loose itinerary and I’m open to any kinds of suggestions of things to do, places to stay, things to avoid, etc. Some of the days are pretty sparse. I haven’t booked my accommodations yet, so I can also add or subtract days in the cities I’m going to.

A little bit about me as a traveler: I’m a very laid back person and pretty easy to please when I travel, I’m honestly just happy to be in another country exploring. Just walking around for hours looking at architecture is good enough for me. I don’t need very niche and unique experiences to be packed into every hour of the day, but at the same time I’m also not opposed to the hustle and bustle required to fit a lot in a day.

I don’t have this on my itinerary, but I’m considering taking some time to see Himeji castle. Maybe I should add another day in Osaka for that?

Looking forward to your feedback. Thanks!

Day 1- 11/18 (Tokyo)

• Fly into Narita (4:30 PM)
• Check in to hotel in Asakusa
• Explore the surrounding area and check out Senso-ji temple in the evening

Day 2- 11/19 (Tokyo)

• Hie Shrine
• Tokyo Imperial Palace
• Akihabara

Day 3- 11/20 (Tokyo)

• Explore Shinjuku area
• Check out Golden Gai or Omoide Yokocho. This kind of environment is not really my vibe and I’m not a big drinker, but I’d like to at least see it in person. I’ve got a friend that lives in Tokyo so I may try and bring her along with me.
• Tower Records Shinjuku
• Omakase dinner

Day 4- 11/21 (Tokyo)

• Shibuya crossing
• Disk Union Shibuya Record Shop
• Nintendo Tokyo

Day 5- 11/22 (Tokyo > Kyoto)

• Check out of hotel in the morning and take a shinkansen to Kyoto
• Check in to lodging in Kyoto
• Walk around Gion district
• Pontocho Park
• Nishiki Market

Day 6- 11/23 (Kyoto)

• Arashiyama
• Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple

Day 7- 11/24/ (Kyoto)

• Yasaka Pagoda
• Hanamikoji-dori
• Kiyomizu-dera
• Fushimi Inari

Day 8- 11/25 (Kyoto)

• Nintendo Museum

Day 9- 11/26 (Kyoto > Osaka)

• Check out of hotel, catch a train to Osaka and check in to hotel there
• Explore Dotonbori Canal in the evening

Day 10- 11/27 (Osaka)

• Shinsekai
• Den Den Town

Day 11- 11/28 (Osaka)

• I’m considering going to USJ.

Day 12- 11/29 (Osaka)

• Train to Hiroshima
• Peace memorial museum
• A Bomb dome
• Miyajima

Day 13- 11/30 (Osaka > Tokyo)

• Ginza shopping district

Day 14- 12/1 (Tokyo)

• Day trip to Kawaguchiko to get some good views of Mt. Fuji

Day 15- 12/2 (Tokyo)

• 🤔

Day 16- 12/3 (Tokyo)

• Fly home (6:30 PM)

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/saridien on 2024-09-04 13:55:37+00:00.

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Ryokan are a popular recommendation in Japan but can be difficult to find info on or book as an English speaker. We just got back from a trip earlier this week and I wanted to put together a guide/review of our experience at Sekizenkan, which seems to be popular on Instagram since the oldest building is one of the inspirations for Spirited Away. I will go into DETAIL so hopefully this is helpful to someone else planning their trip!

1. BOOKING

I booked directly through their website () and had no issues. There are 3 buildings: Honkan (bare bones rooms), Sanso and Kashotei (full service). We booked in the Kashotei as I wanted dinner to be in our room and not in the dining room.

Booking through Japanese hotel websites is never fun or intuitive... but it's not the worst site I've used. You will pay PER PERSON since it includes breakfast and dinner, so make sure to have the right number of people from the start!

Booking online has you pay at the hotel at checkout, so no expenses upfront.

2. GETTING THERE

We were staying in Tokyo so this is where I'll start to give directions. I went to a JR ticket office in person after I arrived in Japan to make the booking, though you could probably book online (I have no experience with this). The train you will want is the Kusatsu-Shima Limited Express train. This train has all reserved seats so I recommend booking in advance since you can't just walk on. This train leaves from Ueno station so make sure you are there on time! The platform is in the area with the Shinkansen tracks, ask for directions if needed.

You will get off at the small station Nakanojo. There you will get on a bus (there is only one bus stop) to get to the stop Shima Onsen, which is the end of the line. The bus schedule aligns with the train schedule so you will get on the bus immediately after getting off the train. When we were there, the bus driver was at the exit making sure everyone from the train got on the bus that needed to, so don't be afraid you will miss it. You will have no time (and there are no convenience stores) at Nakanojo, so make sure you have all the drinks/snacks you want for your stay before you get on the train in Ueno.

Get off at Shima Onsen station (last in the line) and Sekizenkan is just up the road. You can take your luggage there for them to hold on to if you get there before check in.

3. THE TOWN

Shima Onsen is a super tiny town and felt a little like a ski town in offseason when we were there in late August. It's probably more busy at other times of the year, but there is still not really much to do or see in the area. There were a couple spots near the hotel open for lunch so we stopped at one since our bus got us there around 12:30 PM after taking the 10 AM train. The hotel also has a cafe but it's closed on Fridays. There are some bridges with good views of the river that you can wander to. We didn't find any public foot baths like you might find in other onsen towns, but there is a foot bath at Sekizenkan if you want to use that as you wait.

4. CHECK IN and THE ROOM

We were sitting at the hotel cafe when the front desk receptionist came in and told us our room was ready. Sekizenkan has 3 main buildings that are all connected by elevators, but it can be really confusing. The receptionist gave us a laminated paper with step by step instructions and photos to get us to the Kashotei check in desk.

At the check in desk, they sat us all down and gave us tea and went over the room, meals, baths, etc. One disappointment was that although our booking said dinner was to be in the room, they reassigned us to the dining room for dinner. I asked why and they didn't really give me an explanation. Maybe because we were foreigners they thought the dining room would be more comfortable? The tables in the rooms are the traditional low height where you sit on the floor, but the dining room has Western style tables. If you have trouble sitting on the floor definitely request the dining room.

The room keys are literal keys, so make sure to lock your room when you leave. It will not lock automatically.

Another person showed us to the room and gave us a rundown of where everything was. There was a basket for each person with a towel in it and a Yukata, belt and socks for each person. Go ahead and put these clothes on because it's what everyone wears in the hotel. If you need a different size yukata, you can get one at the desk. They are sized based on height.

In the standard rooms, the main tatami area will have a table and chairs. While you are at dinner (if in the dining room) or after dinner, they will put the table away and bring out the futons for sleep. So don't be worried if you don't see anywhere to sleep at first!

5. THE BATHS

The best baths were the outdoor ones on 5F of the Kashotei building. To go to the bath, first prepare your basket and make sure to bring a towel! There will not be towels in the bath for you. Don your yukata and socks and head to the 5th floor. There is some water and iced tea in the bath lobby for you if need, then enter the women or mens bath. I am a woman so I'll walk you through that side.

When you enter, take off your slippers and attach a numbered clip that is provided. This is how you know which slippers are yours, since they are all identical. The toilet is directly after, so use it if you need. Then enter the prep room/locker room? Not sure what to call it. But there is a shelf for you to put your basket on here. Pick a spot and take off your clothes and put them in the basket. Yes, all your clothes. You will be completely naked for the baths. Put the towel on top so you don't have to dig for it later with wet hands.

After undressing, make sure you have a hair clip or hair tie. You can't have your hair hanging into the bath water, and you can use a shower cap as well (provided in the little bin on the counter). There are also hairbrushes in the little bin on the counter if you need, and there is a used brush area on the counter as well for you to put it in when you are done.

Next, enter the bath area. After stepping through the door, the showers will be directly on your left. There are stools, buckets, and a removable shower head for each station. There are also toiletries provided so you don't need to bring shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face wash, etc. Wash up at the station (I didn't wash my hair every time but I washed my body every time). When you are done, rinse off everything with the shower wand including the stool you sat on.

Then you can enter the bath! There is an indoor bath in the room with the showers, or the super nice outdoor bath is out the door to the right. Make sure your hair is up and contained in a clip or shower cap! Then enjoy the bath for as long as you like :)

Once you are done, head back inside to the locker room area. Grab your towel from your station and dry off. There are chairs and hairdryers at the counters if you need to use them. Otherwise get dressed again in your yukata and socks before leaving the baths.

I think because we are in the Kashotei, they gave us a password for the lounge in the Sanso building. If you have access then head there after your bath. They have popsicles in the freezer, cold drinks in the fridge, tea and coffee in the lounge. If you don't have lounge access, there is an ice cream vending machine in the hallway outside the 5F Kashotei baths that you can use for something cold.

We used the baths constantly, once every 2 or 3 hours or so while we were there. Each dip was only 15-20 minutes apiece.

6. MEALS

Meals in the Kashotei were elaborate kaiseki type dinners. We went to the dining room for our meal at the time they booked us for (there were a few slots to choose from). The menu is set, there is no ordering. If you don't like something you can just have them take it away, no hard feelings or anything. Food was traditional fancy Japanese food, I can post pictures and a menu later.

Breakfast was in the lounge room near the check in counter. It was also a big tray of food that was standard for each person, plus you got to choose a smoothie flavor and if you wanted rice or porridge. All the food was pretty good and I didn't have any complaints!

For snacks, there is a small shop near the check in counter. There are NO convenience stores in town but there are some small grocers that may have something. For drinks, there are some vending machines in the hotel and in town that have beer and lemon sours, etc. But I just recommend bringing what you want from Tokyo. There is a fridge in the room so you can put the drinks you brought in there.

7. HOTEL GROUNDS

The hotel had some areas to explore and a stamp rally if you want, but there weren't any facilities other than the baths and formal dining areas. They do light up the front of the hotel every night until 9:30 PM so you can go out and take a really beautiful photo of the old building. Definitely don't forget to do this!!

Other ryokan I've been to have had a karaoke lounge, bar, or room with ping pong etc, but this ryokan was more basic. It looked like there was a pachinko parlor in town but we didn't venture out to see if it was open, so entertainment is limited here.

There is a small museum room that also has autographs from Hayao Miyazaki so make sure to take a look at those before you leave!

8. CHECKING OUT and TRAVEL BACK TO TOKYO

Chec...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/CaoCaodidnowrong on 2024-09-04 06:06:03+00:00.

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Content warning, this is in no way a serious report post, and is intended only in the spirit of good fun.

Day 1: Tokyo, Asakusa Broke 42 social and local customs getting off the plane and onto the train to Asakusa. Got some beer, chilled, and got told to “stop contributing to overtourism” by some nerd on Reddit when I posted a picture of the yakitori I bought for dinner. Overall:7/10 day

Day 2: Tokyo, Akiba, Shibuya, Shinjuku Good breakfast at a 7/11 then put my shoes tot the test trying my best to walk and avoid public transit. In the evening did an Izakaya tour and met this solid Greek dude and a guy from America. Sake was good, Yakitori was better, and we lost Roy to a punter in Shinjuku along the way. RIP Roy. Overall My feet hurt/10

Day 3: Yokohama woke up late, went to Yokohama to get some of the Chinese food I’ve been missing since I moved away. Got some good mapp tofu and spoke some mandarin for the first time in a while. Overall The Japanese don’t know what spice is/10

Day 4: Sendai Got up early, hotel wasn’t ready in Sendai so climbed Mt. Aoba. Amazing view, but if you ever want to experience being a steamed bun, go to Sendai in August. Why is everything beef tongue flavored/10

Day 5: Matsushima Beautiful little seaside town, lots to see and do, good oysters but a bit expensive. Defs bring your walking shoes. Came back and went to a bar to get some real Miyagi whiskey and ended up staying out late with some salarymen. Oysters are too expensive/10

Day 6: Sendai and Miyagi Ken Went way to the sticks to get some whiskey from the Nikka distillery. 10/10 whiskey but when I asked a couple from Finland how they were and where they were from they looked at me like I shot their dog. 10 glasses of Nikka whiskey/10

Day 7: Aomori Aomori is country country, and dead in the summer. Typhoon was coming in so I spent most of the day in an onsen. Everything was apple flavored, even the onsen. 9/10 apples

Day 8: Hirosaki Very cute castle and downtown, but a bitch to get to. Also I speak decent Tokyo Japanese but whatever they speak in Hirosaki is fucking gobbledlygook. Also my Katsu set came with applesauce. I couldn’t understand a word/10

Day 9: Hakodate Cute little town, also good to see some Matthew Perry rep on the walls. Introduced my partner to Melon Bear, the best mascot in Japan fuck you fight me. Literally all the food had cheese on it and I don’t know why. Had a good approximation of Tater Tot hot dish at a pub. Ope/10

Day 10 Sapporo Good food, good beer, very very cheap beer. Sapporo beer blows Kirin out of the water and I will die on this hill. Bummed around, got some Genghis Khan, and visited the model village in the mountains. Met some old British dudes in the pub. 2 proper brexit geezers/10

Day 11 Sapporo Why I ask, why is the beer so cheap. Why I ask, does northern Japan not have a massive liver failure problem, why I ask, but I shall never know. I walk around Sapporo, dairy and beer being offered in equal bounty, a mockery of medical regulation. One day Hokkaido shall be punished for its hubris. My cholesterol has spiked/10

Day 12 Otaru Horrible tourist trap. I go hungry because I refuse to pay more than 2000 yen for any donburi, no matter how scrumptious. I somehow have the best fried chicken I’ve ever had at a lawsons near the station. Why, I shall never know, the question of why this 100yen friend chicken was so good will keep me up at night for the rest of my mortal and immortal life. Why was it so good/10

Day 13 Asahikawa Graaaahhh I love Golden Kamui, I love muscular men, I love old man Yaoi, raaaah 9/10

I now leave Japan with these final words of advice. If you want to see some cool sights, meet some cool people, and eat the best food in Japan, don’t head south, head north, you won’t regret it.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Sucitraf on 2024-09-03 20:04:09+00:00.

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This will be a bit long at the beginning as it has some extra details - feel free to skip the first few days if you care more about the logistics/non-heritage stuff we did. We did get the 21 day JR pass (math said we'd get a little extra value so we wanted to see how well it did with the new pricing) and it ended up being worth it, but it requires a LOT of travel, so I'd still probably not recommend it unless you're moving around a lot on Shinkansen.

My wife and I are both Yonsei - 4th Generation Japanese Americans - and have always wanted to dig further into our heritage in Japan, so the main focus of the Honeymoon to Japan was to visit the village locations that each of our great grandparents were born in, and if possible, find a grave or something. Unfortunately, we didn't get all of our Koseki in time for that, but we did get a big surprise with my paternal line (detailed below).

Note - Because we're 4th gen (from California) we don't have much Japanese speaking or as much information about our family history due to WW2, so most of our digging came through old documents and asking any surviving Nisei what we could!

Day 1 - July 31st/August 1st - Arrival and Home Base Hotel

Depart SFO to HND on JAL 1.

Arrive at HND in the early afternoon, picked up a 21 day JR pass and headed to our hotel in Sumida.

Checked in to the hotel in Sumida- this would be our "Home" in Tokyo and where we would store our big luggage when it was not in use. The check out date was August 23rd.

Got Dinner at our favorite Udon shop in Tokyo (Taniya) and then passed out at the hotel.

Day 2 - August 2nd - Treats, Temples, Tokyo Dome

Explored a confectionary shop in Setagaya my wife had found online, visited a few parks and shrines/temples in the area and then headed to Tokyo Dome City.

At Tokyo Dome, we visited the Baseball hall of fame, got dinner, and then watched the Giants vs Swallows.

After game finished, went back to Sumida, picked up some snacks at 7/11 and packed our carry on bags for the trip to Kochi Prefecture.

Day 3 - August 3rd - Arrive in Kochi and Meet Locals/Hidaka Village

Kochi is where my paternal line is from, and thus my family name and family crest (which we did not know). When doing my ancestry research, I found that the original village was no longer around, as it merged with 2 others some time in the 1950s due to shrinking population. Luckily for me - the newly merged village had a small Tourism Board, and when I reached out using bad google translate, the person running it happened to know English, and said they would be more than happy to help me find out where my family lived, and if they could, find the gravestone of my ancestors!

We woke up early Tokyo so we could make sure we were packed and ready for an early afternoon flight from Haneda to Kochi Ryoma airport. Flew into Kochi, picked up a rental car and checked in to a hotel in Kochi City to use as home base while we were in Kochi (I could not find any hotels in the family village, but was told later they have some, but they don't have an online presence, so next time I'll just use my contacts there!).

When we arrived, I messaged the tourism board on Line to let them know we were in town and excited to meet them the next day for some exploring around the area. They invited me to a small "Izakaya" sort of gathering in the village that night, so my wife and I drove down, ate at a local restaurant using the tiny bits of Japanese we know, and met up with my contact at the tourism board.

It was a VERY small location that looks like it is rented out on occasion for small get togethers like this one, but I got to meet the person I had been communicating with, his friends, and his friends' kids. We chatted a bit (with the contact doing his best to help translate, but also with some of the locals using small bits of english and us using small bits of Japanese), ate, drank, and set off some fireworks and played with some bubbles. One of the people also gifted us a pair of Naruko hand clappers with our names in Katakana, the wedding date, and art/kanji to wish us a happy marriage. Incredibly fun and kind folks, and one of my favorite nights of the entire trip.

After hanging out with them for a few hours, we headed back to Kochi City with plans to meet back up for a caving expedition - The first full day in Kochi was to explore the area and learn about it.

Day 4 - August 4th - Learning about Hidaka and watching minor league baseball

We woke up early and met up at the Tourism Board office at 8am to explore a local cave (Saruda Cave), a flood abatement pond area with a LOT of Dragonflies (got to see the rare Oni Dragonfly alongside a bunch of others), and then took a tour on the Niyodo river for lunch. All of these were incredibly fun, and it was pretty cool to imagine that my Great Grandparents may have explored the cave for fun as a kid, or swam in the river to cool off on the warm summer days.

After our lunch on the river (they have a boat that explains some local history and a shop that sells bento to eat on the boat), we headed back into Kochi City for baseball. We got back to the hotel to change out of our caving clothes and into some lighter clothes AND our Fighting Dogs Jerseys to support the local team! Got to enjoy a Kochi win and then headed to the local Round 1 to play some DDR and a few other arcade games. Went to sleep early so we could be ready for a full day of family history on the 5th.

Day 5 - August 5th - Learning about my family and Hidaka

Woke up early again to meet up at the Tourism Board office at 8am. From there we caravaned in our cars to the Okina area of Hidaka where my ancestors apparently originally lived. They had a small meeting center there where I got to visit people currently living IN the Okina area, and they showed me the land records dating back to the 1920s or so. Unfortunately my family had apparently moved out of Okina before the 1920s, so while the Koseki had their address, the land records indicated that a separate family had bought and worked on the land afterwards. They still were able to track down the actual locations of the homes, however, so we hiked up the hills to see the 1st original dwelling that was on record, and I took a photo next to the well that would have been used by my family for water. The 2nd dwelling had been destroyed in a mudslide sometime in the past, so the building had been rebuilt, but we still hiked up there too and visited the area.

Around this time, the group showed me some photos of them going through the forest just outside town and up into the mountains searching for my family's old gravestones, and they told me that the gravestones USED to be right outside the 1st and 2nd dwellings, but had been moved around 10 years ago by the descendants of my great grandfather's brother, and they were excited to meet me and show me the current location of the graves later that afternoon/evening! Until then, however, we had a few more things to do in Hidaka.

Next up was the local Temple. The priest? (Not sure the title used) had helped with determining the correct temple/shrines my family would have utilized, so I was shown how to pray/pay respects to the souls of my family that had come before. He also provided me with 5 sticks of incense for us to burn at the actual gravesite (that was located in Kochi City).

After all of the heavier emotional stuff, we had a little break for Omu Raisu (the local specialty in Hidaka) and after learning that my hometown in California had a lot of Tomato farming too, they showed me to their main greenhouses and tomato/produce factory. It was pretty fun to see, as I've spent a LOT of time on my cousins' tomato farms back in the states when I was younger, and it was fun to see the differences (mainly their greenhouse use for their specialized Tomato stuff vs my US family just having giant tracts of land uncovered for the tomatoes. Also - different varieties of tomatoes too due to the specific needs of one vs the other.)

When we finished with all the produce related activities, including a stop to buy produce as tribute for the ancestors, we caravaned again to Kochi City (the exact location I saved on my phone, but I can't remember the area off the top of my head, and it's not too important for the internet to know) where we met up with an older gentleman and his two sons. They ran over to our car, gave us ice cream and ice cold bottles of tea and said "follow us" and jumped into their cars to show us the gravesite (which was maybe 1 km away from their house I think). I was able to "meet" my ancestors. There were a good chunk of graves, and I was shown the different stones for each relative, as well as the Family Crest. We paid our respects/prayed, and talked a bit at the gravesite, eventually moving to a local cafe to continue the conversation for a few more hours. Exchanged contact information and helped update each other's family trees! Once we were all done, and lots of bowing and gift exchanging later, my wife and I finally got back to our Kochi hotel and rested. That was the end of our Kochi stuff for the most part, and we would be leaving to Osaka (area) the next day.

Day 6 - August 6th - Udon and heading to Koshien

Our favorite food is Udon, and we had a mission to eat Udon on every island of Japan this trip for fun. We already had some at the first restaurant in Kochi, but we don't know how...

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Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/1f89t2l/trip_report_23_days_of_honeymoon_ancestor_visits/

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/ssntipro182 on 2024-09-03 07:58:21+00:00.

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I think it's always important to give back to a community that helped me so much while making my itinerary.

My trip was a trip from Europe for 16 days in August, started on the 14th and we got back on the 31st.

First I'll start with some general recommendations:

1. Hotels near a station are a great resource and time saver even if they are a little bit more pricey, they save a lot of time.
2. Google maps was perfect, great directions, great suggestions of "train exits" and train wagon. Only issue can be with "subterranian" malls in which you might get disoriented.
3. Going in the summer might be a "bad" idea if you mind being constantly sweating and are planning to walk a lot and make a "tight" itinerary, if you have a lighter itinerary or plan to mix between walking and shopping (places with A/C) it isn't so bad, so don't fear the summer.
4. Any IC card will save you a lot of time, saw people lining up to buy tickets and I think that kinda takes a lot of time, we got our Welcome Suica at the airport (T3).
5. Konbinis are everywhere and food is good and cheap, but don't miss the opportunity of hitting local restaurants, everything I ate was great.
6. Cash is definitely necessary even more in temples and shrines, so plan accordingly, don't be without a little cash as you might need it and not have an atm nearby.
7. eSIM was really useful, I used 7gbs in 16 days and that is while forgetting to "not use it for social networks". Just have google translate and maps previously downloaded.

Our itinerary was like this:

Day 1:

• Arrive at Haneda and take a flight directly to Hiroshima (we did this because we were already in an airport and because we didn't want to take Shinkansens to and from Tokyo).
• Limousine bus to Hiroshima Station, send our luggage to Osaka (we took 2 days clothing in our backpacks)
• Hiroshima Castle
• Peace Memorial, Park and Museum.

Day 2:

• Day trip to Miyajima early:
  • Pagoda
  • Itsukushima Shrine and floating Torii
  • Mount Misen cablecar (one way as we walked down on our own, I don't recommend it if you are out of shape, it took a good toll on my knees)
  • Daisho-In temple
  • Floating torii with low tide
• Back to Hiroshima at 5pm to do some shopping (Ghibli store, Pokemon Center, souvenir and Uniqlo)
• Took Shinkansen to Osaka at 9:30pm
• Arrived in Osaka at 11pm and took subway to our Hotel

Day 3: (Osaka day 1)

• Osaka Castle
• Osaka Station comercial zone
• Yasaka-Namba Shrine
• Sennichimae shopping street
• Shinsaibashi (cookware street)
• Pokemon Center
• Dotonbori. (We ate at Ichiran ramen, 25 minutes queue)

Day 4: (Osaka day 2)

• Katsuo-ji temple
• Isshin-ji temple
• Shitenno-ji temple
• Tsutenkaku tower and commercial zone.
• Umeda Sky building (from before sunset until it got dark)
• Dotonbori (we ate some takoyaki and then went to a Okonomiyaki restaurant)

Day 5: (USJ day)

• We had purchased early entry USJ tickets (15 minutes before) but we arrived 1:45 hours before "real opening time" (the normally open 1 hour before). They have a separate line for "early entry" and they get in 15 minutes before everyone else, we were literally the 2nd couple in the park and the third into Mario World (people run ahead of us)
• The park was great but it was extremely packed, over an hour on every attraction minimum (the best ones had between 2 and 3 hours wait time), we got to see everything we wanted

Day 6: (Kyoto day 1)

• Early train to Kyoto, left our luggage at the hotel reception (without doing check in).
• To-ji temple
• Kyoto Pokemon Center
• Nishiki Market (tried my first kobe beef, it was glorious, there are pictures of my face that I won't share that express how great it was) we ate a few things more
• Nishiki Tenmangu (small shrine at the end of Nishiki Market)
• Nintendo Kyoto
• Hard Rock Cafe Kyoto (only rock shop for now)
• Pontocho Alley (we ate at a Gyukatsu store, I really liked the experience)

Day 7: (Kyoto day 2)

• Kiyomizu-dera really early
• Sannenzaka and Ninnenzaka streets and pagoda photos (luckyly we had great luck with this spots as they weren't as crowded as I had expected)
• Sanjusangendo Temple
• Heian Jingu Sanctuary
• Eikando Temple (we had this in our itinerary for the day, we got there at 4:05pm as the closing time was 5:30 pm, but they close admissions at 4pm, so we left it for the next day)
• Okazaki Shrine
• Walk in Gion and Miyagawacho

Day 8: (Kyoto day 3)

• Fushimi-Inari early (not as early as we had planned), we went to the top and down through the other part, honestly the top is not the best part at all, so if you only want good pictures, you can stop at the first "viewpoint" halfway to the top
• Nijo Castle
• Eikando Temple
• Kyoto Tower and Kyoto tower "food court"

Day 9 (Kyoto day 4)

• Arashiyama Bamboo forest (Honestly, just an instagram/photo location)
• Saga torimoto district
• Adashino Nenbutsuji temple
• Otagi Nenbutsuji temple
• Kinkaku-Ji temple (another instagram photo, but a much more stunning one than Arashiyama, it's a beautiful temple and gardens)
• Dinner at ChaoChao Gyozas (good variety, long of queue)

Day 10 (Nara trip day)

• Spent the day around deers and walking the park, checking the temples
• At around 4pm we went to the mochi shop, saw the shop, tasted some mochi and took a trip back to Kyoto
• Sent our luggage to Tokyo
• Pontocho again, but ended up eating somewhere else

Day 11 (Tokyo day 1)

• Early shinkansen to Tokyo (We left carry-ons and 1 backpack at Tokyo Station)
• Zozoji temple
• Tokyo tower "subway stairs" spot photos (there was a long queue as people took their time with them)
• Hard Rock cafe roppongi
• Ginza (it was a sunday so they make it a free to walk street)
• Pokemon Center Tokyo Dx
• Akihabara (our hotel was right beside the station)

Day 12 (Tokyo DisneySea)

• Really packed, we were lucky to get a standby ticket to Tangled attraction so we were able to see "Fantasy Springs"
• We walked the park, jumped on some attractions and stayed until the night show
• Beautiful park, but really packed everywhere
• I personally dislike the fact that you have to pay to enter some attractions after paying for a ticket, but I think that's the way Disney is doing it everywhere now

Day 13 (Tokyo day 3)

• Meiji Shrine and Imperial gardens
• Tokyo Metropolitan goverment building observation deck
• Shinjuku (daylight visit) cat, Godzilla, shopping streets
• Shibuya crossing (arrived early afternoon)
• Shibuya Parco (shopping mall)
• Shibuya Sky (we didn't get afternoon tickets so we only had the night view)

Day 14 (Tokyo day 4)

• Senso-ji temple
• Namikase street
• Turistic information center viewpoint
• Kappabashi cookware and knife shopping
• Hard rock cafe ueno
• Ueno Toshogu sanctuary
• Benten-do temple
• Tokyo Skytree (only the shopping part, we didn't go to the top)

Day 15 (Tokyo day 5 - Yokohama trip)

• Yokohama, Minato Mirai, trying to find some "pokemon manhole covers", red brick district, ramen noodles museum, ferris wheel and Chinatown (we ate a lot of things here)
• Hard Rock cafe Yokohama
• Pokemon Center Yokohama
• Trip to Odaiba
• Some photo spots: Rainbow bridge (we only saw white light as I think it's rainbow only in december), Unicorn Gundam. Fuji Tv Building and Statue of liberty

Day 16: (Tokyo day 6, last day)

• We had planned a walk through Chiyoda and the Tokyo Imperial Palace (Kokyo) but it was heavily raining, so we skipped it and went directly to Sunshine City
• Sunshine City shopping mall (Hard rock cafe, Harry potter, Pokemon Center, Ghibli, Bandai, Gashapon, etc)
• Shinjuku at night, same spots as daylight but added: Kabuchiko, Omoide Yokocho, golden gai and some arcades. We had dinner at a Yakiniku restaurant
• Some last arcades at Akihabara (near hotel)

Day 17 (Trip back home).

• Had our flight at 9am, we took a train at around 5:30am and monorail to T3, quite easy to do (with 1 fullsize luggage, 1 carry-on luggage and backpack). We just used as many elevators as we could and the transports were not full, so we didn't really bother anyone
• Went to terminal 2 for some last pokemon machine shopping
• There are some konbinis both before security and after if you want to do a little bit of last hour shopping

Feel free to make any questions or ask for clarification, I'm more than happy to reply.

This was a really packed itinerary, but we did almost all we had marked as "must do" and even some more things. We had done a really good itinerary and had made research on everything, so we had the "history of places" written and we could read it on the spot.

Sorry if I named a Shrine temple and vice-versa or if I made a mistake in any name.