This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/tkara99 on 2024-04-15 15:44:59.
I (25M) was going to do this trip back in 2021 (BASc Grad Trip) but ended up getting delayed due to COVID. Finally was able to do it these past few weeks as a MASc Grad Trip instead with a nurse friend of mine (24M).
Honestly I had zero complaints for the whole trip, a lot of things fell in place and worked out a lot better than we originally thought they would. In terms of weather, our one day trip to Mt Fuji was clear skies (the only hiccup being icy roads so we could only get as high as the 4th station). For rain, it only ever rained on days we were traveling between cities. This worked out nicely since those were treated more as shopping/exploring days rather than outdoor activities. We never really had any issues getting around from place to place (thx Google Maps) and the train system only took a day or two to really get used to. We also arrived in Shinjuku when the cherry blossoms just started to enter full bloom which was wonderful (this continued into Kyoto and Osaka).
In terms of hotels, they weren't bad. The one we stayed at in Shinjuku probably being the worst (fairly small, and very noisy at night). The rest had zero issues other than the one in Kyoto where we probably went through 10 room keys due to the keys continually not working. We also probably could've found something cheaper for Kyoto but in terms of options we had (booked through travel agent) this was one of the cheapest choices. Overall was a very nice hotel to be at location wise for us. Osaka was one of the best hotels and also one of the cheapest which was interesting.
Cost wise, the whole trip ran around $6200 CAD ($4500 USD) for the two weeks after all expenses were accounted for. Some things we couldn't avoid (plane rides being March 30th to April 12th were needed due to my buddies time off) and for first time travelers to Japan we wanted at least a comfortable hotel to stay at (looked into Airbnbs but decided to pass on them). Could have cut costs in souvenirs and food, but ultimately I'd say you are better off spending a little bit more and truly enjoy yourself than try to save $500.
Costs (all in CAD per person roughly):
Plane - $2000
Hotels - $1400
Shinjuku - E Hotel Higashi Shinjuku (3 nights - 639.37 CAD)
Kyoto - Hotel M's Est Shijo - Karasuma (4 nights - 1,114.52 CAD)
Osaka - Hotel Keihan Tenmabashi Ekimae (2 nights - 312.78 CAD)
Tokyo Mitsui Garden Hotel Otemachi Tokyo (3 nights - 735.00 CAD)
Day Trip - $200
Trains, Attractions, Souvenirs, Food - $2550
Trains \~ $400
Souvenirs \~ $1000
Food, Drinks, etc \~ $900
Attractions \~ $250
\*These are estimated with Trains and Souvenirs being most accurate.
Trip Summary
March 30 (Sat):
• Took a plane from Toronto to Narita airport (14 hour flight) leaving at noon and arriving the next day.
March 31 (Sun): Arrival
• Landed in Narita around 4pm local time, spent about 2 hours getting through customs and collecting luggage. Spent some time after this roaming around the airport a bit and figuring out how to get on the Narita Express to Shinjuku.
• Arrived in Shinjuku around 8pm and checked in hotel by 8:30pm (15min walk from station, but all the neon lights had us distracted). Hit a McDonalds across the street from hotel (got the Samurai Burger) and went to sleep shortly after.
April 1 (Mon): Shinjuku/Shibuya
• Started day off at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (arrived there at 9am, garden opened at 9:30am) and explored around the park. Was able to get nice pictures of and with the cherry blossoms before crowds got too big. The cherry blossoms at this point were in full bloom everywhere, and it was honestly stunning to actually see. We enjoyed some matcha ice cream toward the end of our visit.
• Headed toward Shibuya after this to visit Shibuya crossing and different stores (One Piece, Pokemon Center, Jump Store, Nintendo). Got Omurice from a restaurant/café near the Pokemon Center.
• In the evening, we headed back to Shinjuku to see more of the area before it got too dark. Saw the Godzilla head, the famous KFC from JJK (those who have watched the anime understand), and just general walking around the area since we couldn’t the night we arrived. Visited a couple shrines once it became dark out which was really cool to see them illuminated and empty. Might’ve also sat at the Cat sign near the station for a good 10 minutes.
April 2 (Tues): Mt Fuji Day Trip
• Did a tour for Mt Fuji/Hakone for the day. Started off by visiting Mt Fuji (couldn’t go up to 5th station due to icy road conditions, managed to get to the 4th though). Was a near perfect day with almost no clouds. This was followed by a lunch at a hotel/restaurant (food was ok) with a drum show. Then went to Lake Ashi for a boat ride (was a quick ride, got off at first stop) to the Hakone ropeways. Was slightly pressed for time at the ropeways (guide ended up giving us an additional 20 minutes) so once on top of Mt Hakone we ran to Hakone Mototsumiya Shrine (view of Mt Fuji and surrounding areas from here was breathtaking). After this we headed back to Shinjuku (experienced some trouble with other tourists figuring out the Shinkansen from Odawara Station so that set us back an hour almost).
• Got standing bar sushi once back in Shinjuku, was a fun experience. Spent some more time walking around Shinjuku then called it a night.
April 3 (Wed): Travel to Kyoto
• Got breakfast at a “Mom and Pop” shop near our hotel. Was probably some of the best food we had all trip. Then spent the morning making our way to Kyoto from Shinagawa Station (why we didn’t just go to Tokyo station you are asking? I couldn’t tell you but ultimately we had zero issues with leaving from here, probably ended up being easier). Arrived at our hotel by 1pm and dropped off our luggage to explore around.
• First visited the Pokemon Center in Kyoto since it was down the street from our hotel (if you haven’t caught on by now, this will be a re-occurring trend) and hit a Starbucks for some Matcha Latte’s and small snack.
• Went back to hotel to check in and then headed out to Nishiki Market to get food/souvenirs. Went back to hotel by 8pm-ish and called it a day.
April 4 (Thurs): Kyoto - Fushimi Inari & Kiyomizu-dera
• Early morning waking up at 5:30am and got to Fushimi Inari by 6:30am taking local transit. Spent about 3 hours from the time we arrived at Inari station to the time we left. Crowds were nearly non-existent when we arrived and got to peacefully walk up and down the mountain with little traffic. We were able to get some quality photos which was nice. Waited around at Fushimi Toyokawa Inari Shrine Hongu for a local shop to open to buy some souvenirs (didn’t open till 9am I believe) but was worth the wait! The owners of the shop were very kind and friendly.
• Headed to Kiyomizu-dera at 10am and explored around the main street at different shops (Ghibli store, etc). Got an early lunch at a ramen shop before heading out to the main temple. This was a slightly funny experience because we were there 10 minutes before they opened, and the one employee apologized for us having to wait. This was followed up by the other employee making fun of him for apologizing while they were walking away from us (or at least that’s what it sounded like). Food didn’t disappoint. We then headed to the main temple and did most of what it had to offer.
• On our way back to the hotel, we visited the tatami-floored Starbucks. Most seats were taken but we happened to find an open spot to sit and rest our feet while enjoying some beverages. Also visited Hōkan-ji Temple which was fairly busy with people trying to get that “perfect picture”. We avoided the Gion area because of the tourism/the changes the city is making to tourism there. Thought it would be best avoided and plus we already had a long day at this point.
• After a quick break at our hotel, we visited a few other stores (Nintendo Kyoto, Don Quijote, and other department stores). One part of the trip for me was finding a Seiko watch as part of a Graduation gift for myself which I ended up buying one in Kyoto. Had slight buyers remorse when I found a SEIKO × JR WEST 25TH ANNIVERSARY JR 500 KODAMA in Osaka for about 500 CAD but in the end I am happy with the piece I got. Called it an early night after this (this was also a common trend of the trip, waking up 5/6am and going to sleep around 8/9pm).
April 5 (Fri): Kyoto - Arashiyama
• Arrived at the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove by 7:15am to walk the grove and surround parks. It was surprisingly busy but not overcrowded by any means. The walk was relatively short through the grove but we then did the Arashiyama Park Kameyama Area and followed that by walking down Katsura River to the Togetsukyo Bridge.
• We then went to Tenryu-Ji Temple for 8:30am to do the garden and main building. The gardens were wonderful, with a fair number of cherry blossoms and other flowers. The main building was also quite nice and provided some great photo spots.
• After this, we went to the Monkeypark across the bridge we visited early. We got there around 10:30am and spent the next hour or so going up and seeing the monkeys.
• At noon we headed back into Kyoto for lunch and then visited Kyoto Tower. It was fairly cool to see the different temples and shrines at the top of the tower, and the city as a whole. After this we went back to Kyoto Station to climb (I might’ve made my friend climb it all in...
Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/1c4ml53/12ish_day_trip_report_tokyo_kyoto_osaka_tokyo/