This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/tomaznewton on 2024-11-06 17:57:21+00:00.
One of my closest friends is from Japan and had her wedding there a few weeks back. I was excited to go, this would be my first time in Asia, I've always dreamed of going to Japan. It was amazing, beyond expectations.
Biggest tips up front:
get a e-sim on your phone, I used ubigi, it was amazing to not worry about data etc and being able to adjust the amount I had, use maps as much as I wanted, google things etc. I can travel light on data usage other places but not here, also maybe get a japan money card at one of the kiosks right off, u can use it for all travel and for the shinkansen app (usa cards dont work) + at vending machines, suica or pasmo u can add to your apple wallet and fill them up as needed -- u do not need to book shinkansen tickets ahead of time, but the machines and options can be tricky, i wish i had used the app more but my usa card didnt work so i gave up-- i think i could have used my suica in retrospect?
dont stress about seeing x,y,z if it's your first time in japan? for me the things i enjoyed most were just out of the way things, wandering kinda empty streets, eating, seeing-- i can't at all relate to the people who needed to see every temple, go to big theme parks, etc. also japan is soo convenient i would have worried about so many less things leading up to this trip, u can find anything anywhere all the time almost-- laundry was super easy > i wish i had brought a slip on outdoor shoe though, taking lace up shoes on and off so much was frustrating, some birkenstock clogs woulda been incredible
Itinerary --
Oct 15 fly from Paris to Seoul (i flew into seoul bc my boyfriend studied for 1 year there so he kinda insisted i check it out, also, direct flights on airlines i wanted at the time i looked were round trip $900 i think for seoul and about $1400 for tokyo)
Oct 16, 17 I explored Seoul
Oct 18 Fly into Nagoya in morning, meet a childhood friend living there working for Toyota, drive 3hrs to Norikura - Kogen for 2 nights in a ryokan, Hirayu No Mori, it was around $500 for 2 of us for 2 nights, in a super nice traditional room that had western style thick mattresses and fluffly pillow/comforter, which after 2 nights kinda partying in Seoul I needed this badly, the onsen that first night + the ryokan dinner buffet had me in tears of joy
Oct 19 it was rainy this day, with a little sun inbetween but we hikes all around Norikura-Kogen this day, a bunch of small hikes, a few ponds/waterfalls all super accessible and just walking one-to-another, we had wild chai lattes(which we could smell a lot hiking) at a cute cafe called Kurumu, and some pumpkin cake, got a few cermaics here for gifts, i had gotten stung by a wasp or hornet on the trail and the girl working here was so helpful to give me a like suction thing and alcohol to treat it -- we had an amazing lunch at Cafe Maple and took a bus up to the top of the mountain, went back for onsen time, and had dinner at a ramen bar walking distance from the ryokan -- it was such an excellent first day in japan, and maybe one of my favorites of the whole trip-- i loved this place so much
Oct 20 we went to Kamikochi via a super easy shuttle bus across from the ryokan, saw monkeys on the road on the way, had breakfast at a fancy hotel near the bus stop-- hiked in a few hours, gorgeous views everyhere-- lots of people here compared to norikura though, more touristy-- had lunch at a little place in the woods along the trail that had fish being trapped from the river and cooked over charcoal all right there, delicious and easy -- drove back to Nagoya stopping at the Shirahone public onsen, which was on kinda a cliff, and very local and beautiful
Oct 21 & Oct 22 I just explored Nagoya alone as my friend went to work & we had dinner together, I LOVED Nagoya, it wasn't touristy at all, was a bit she-she in a good way, had incredible food & vintage shopping around the Osu area, we had Maze Soba, conveyer belt sushi, an incredible teppanyaki at 鉄板ダイニング藤彩, one of my best meals, also being up early every morning and having incredible filter iced coffee and red beans on toast, anywhere u wanted u could have this 'coffee service' was such a treat
Oct 23 Apa Asakusa Ekime
I regretted staying here, everything before this felt quite special and perfect, and here was just rough, i chose this area because i wanted to maximize tokyo and thought, hey, i can just up early, see the temple, explore this neighborhood and move on-- the hotel had no real window, kinda opened directly onto a shaft but like no light + a smell from the restaurant below-- also this neighborhood was lively at night but very filled with tourists and touristy places-- and dead before 11am, no coffee even besides like starbucks chains or konbinis-- this was my least favorite part of my trip, i was just sweaty and stressed
Oct 24 Citadines Shinjuku
2nd least favorite part, i think i coulda just visited shibuya once and moved on, didn't need to stay here, this hotel was directly on the path of the big tough guys trying to get you to buy hookers or go in their clubs, i spent the day trying to find a dry cleaner for my suit for the wedding and just walking around the neighborhood-- it was soo hot and muggy out, i got to see the iconic tokyo streets i had in my head, visiting the Omotesando area was a highlight
Oct 25, 26, 27, 28 Shibuya Ebisu Graphy Inn
loved this area, good mix of nearby things without being too in the center of it, i was maybe a 15 min walk from shibuya station?? but i spent these days exploring Nakameguro & Shimo-Kitazawa area and inbetween, these were my favorite parts of Tokyo, it was exactly what I wanted from the city-- I got to see the Meji shrine both as a tourist and seeing my friends wedding there, magical, visit the Marquis Maeda teahouse, lots of cute shops + coffee + snacks all around these neighborhoods, this healed me from the Shinjuku/Asakusa touristy days that made me wonder if I hated tokyo??
Oct 29 Kyoto Dormy Inn
This hotel was amazing, I think it was $80 a night, the rooftop onsen was huge and incredible, i loved being so close to the shinkansen, i could walk most places, I visited the Eikando temple (a little out of the way, so serene not too busy) + the botanical gardens & Imperial palace, it was again a little misty out so i think i dodged some crowds, though walking through Sannenzaka at night was wildly busy-- I did fushimi inari at dusk and it was beautiful, hiked to the top to avoid crowds a little, saw a crane on the pond-- in the end i wish i stayed here a little longer, but, also felt i saw it in the best way and got to be in and out
Oct 30 Nara
So the trains from Kyoto to Nara were messed up this day, not sure why, what should have taken like 40 mins took 2 hours, both ways, it was amazing to see all the deer, something i'd dreamed of doing, though it was very touristy at the bottom, and just sooo many people being a bit disrespectful maybe-- i walked far up and saw some beautiful shrines and peaceful bits of forest though, if the trains hadn't been a mess it would have been great, but, i was missing kyoto a little i would have been happier doing this as a half day than spending a full on it
Oct 31 Nagoya
this was to recharge a bit, see my friend, have a quiet dinner and go out a bit for halloween, i was shocked how many japanese teenagers were going all out for halloween-- amazing costumes etc. it was fun to be back in this city that i felt i knew my way around etc.
Nov 1, 2 Osaka
this was the perfect end to my trip, a friday night in osaka, i stayed at the HUGE apa hotel, which, beyond the check in sucking, getting your luggage etc taking forever because there were something like 30 floors of rooms, the onsen was great and having a lawsons inside was cool-- my room had a nice view-- i walked all around, dotonbori canal, markets side streets malls-- recharged at the onsen then went out drinking-- i had some of my favorite food here, 2 very local vibe places i didn't save but one that was just grilling pork wrapped things like different vegatables i had red pickled ginger wrapped in pork grilled it was insane, the streets at night were so so beautiful, it was like being in blade runner but also reminded me of home (nyc) some times-- i went out drinking, needed to extend my (stupid) 10am apa checkout 2x but it was all worth it, my flight was 4pm
Nov 3-5 Seoul again and home