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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/fightitdude on 2024-11-24 08:49:47+00:00.
I read a fair few of these before I went, so I thought I'd share my experiences :)
First time in Japan, travelling by myself. In total I spent 10 nights in Tokyo and 6 nights in Osaka and did a lot of day trips out. I booked accommodation about two weeks before flying and decided my itinerary pretty much on-the-fly. Total cost was around 2.5k GBP.
Activities/itinerary
Tokyo
Around Taito Citi
- Ueno Park: very nice to walk around. I combined this with a walk through Yanaka Cemetery to Yanaka Ginza.
- Tokyo National Museum: easily a full-day activity, really enjoyed it.
- Senso-ji: fun in the morning before it gets busy, but gets crowded really quickly.
- Taito Craft Museum: worth visiting, free museum showcasing crafts from Taito City.
- Sumida Hokusai Museum: if you're going to visit, get the special exhibition pass so you can see some originals; the permanent exhibitions rarely show them.
Akihabara
- My hotel was nearby so I spent some time wandering around. Not really my vibe.
Shibuya and around
- Meiji Jingu is nice to visit, especially in the morning when it's a bit quieter.
- d47 museum and restaurant are worth visiting. The museum does exhibits showcasing crafts from Japan's prefectures on rotation (when I was there, Hiroshima). The regional set meal is great and if you're visibly a tourist they'll give you a seat with a view of Shibuya Crossing. Try the herbal teas.
Nikko (day trip from Tokyo)
I followed the trail recommended by Japan-Guide, but I dropped the Imperial Villa and added Taiuin, Kanmangafushi Abyss, and Takino'o. It was really nice, especially in fall colours. I wish I'd overnighted here, because I would have liked to see Okunikko and Kirifuri Falls.
Kamakura (day trip from Tokyo)
I combined the Japan-Guide trail with the Lonely Planet trail. Basically, start at Kita-Kamakura station, visit Engaku-ji/Tokei-ji/Jochi-ji, then hike through the forest to Kaizo-ji/Kuzuharaoka, then to Zenirai Benten and Sasuke Inari. Then down to Kontoku-in, Hasedera, visit the beach, and walk up the main street to see Tsurugaoka at night. Return from Kamakura station.
Mt Takao (day trip from Tokyo)
I did this trip on a whim because I wanted to do a proper hike and I was a bit sick of the city. I followed the 'difficult' trail (not that hard) up Mt Takao, then continued to Mt Shiroyama and then back. It's a good hike, and on a clear day you can see Mt Fuji.
There's a traverse you can do from Mt Jimba to Mt Takao (~7h total), which I'd like to do next time I'm in Japan. Best done on a weekend because most of the food stalls are not open on weekdays.
Osaka
- Museum of Housing and Living: worth visiting if you're in the area, it's a life-size recreation of Edo-era Osaka.
- Osaka Castle: didn't go inside but did wander around the park before I went back to Tokyo; it's got good views of Osaka proper.
- I spent a full day following the Japan-guide full-day walk combined with the Lonely Planet Dotonbori-Amerikamura walk.
- I really liked Sennichimae Doguyasuji Shopping Street, more so than Kappabashi Street in Tokyo.
Kyoto (2x day trips from Osaka)
- On the first day I did the Eastern Kyoto full-day walk, then the Lonely Planet 'Geisha District' walk back to the train station in the evening.
- At Heian Shrine I ran into some dance performances by students from local universities; not sure what the occasion was, but they were really fun to watch!
- The Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design is worth a visit. They have occasional live demonstrations, too.
- On the second day I did the Northern Kyoto half-day walk followed by a half-day in Arashiyama: Togetsukyo Bridge, hiking up to Daihikaku Senkoji Temple, then the bamboo forest.
Nara (day trip from Osaka)
- I followed the Lonely Planet highlights walk (very similar to the Japan-Guide trail). Nara is really nice and I could easily spend multiple days just exploring the park and hiking the trails.
- I stumbled onto a free open-air Noh performance, which was really interesting to watch (though I understood none of it!).
Koya-san (day trip from Osaka)
I really liked Koya! It feels very spritual. The graveyard was the highlight.
I got off the bus at Daimon Gate and hiked up to Dake no Benzaiten-sha, then down to Nyonin-do Hall. I then hit up all the tourist sites going west-to-east, finishing at Kongobu-ji Okuno-in at dusk (amazingly atmospheric at night!) and then taking the bus back to the cable car.
When I come again I'll hike from Gokurakubashi Station to Koya proper rather than cable car -> bus.
Budget
Total trip cost: 530 GBP flights + 247,531 JPY (~1280 GBP) accommodation + ~166,640 JPY (~860 GBP) for everything else.
- Flights: 530 GBP return from London with China Eastern.
- Transport within Japan (41,640 JPY):
- Pasmo: ~12,000 JPY
- Keisei Skyliner to and from Narita: 5,160 JPY
- Shinkansen to and from Osaka: 29,840 JPY
- Koyasan World Heritage Pass: 3,140 JPY
- Nikko World Heritage Area Pass: 2,120 JPY
- Cash: 30,000 JPY (for temple entrance fees, food/snacks where card wasn't accepted, misc spending).
- Accommodation, all three-star hotels in double rooms (247,531 JPY):
- Tokyo Ueno (2 nights): 37,080 JPY
- Osaka (6 nights): 66,951 JPY
- Tokyo Kanda: (8 nights): 143,500 JPY
- Everything else (food, souvenirs, museums, anything I paid with my credit card basically): ~95,000 JPY
Reflections Language
- I speak basic Japanese (~N5) which was more than enough to get around. I could have gotten away with no Japanese but it is a lot easier if you can read kana/basic kanji and have basic conversations.
- Google Translate is great, especially the ability to translate text from pictures.
Transport
- China Eastern is the Ryanair of long-distance flights. You get what you pay for. I'll fly with a proper carrier (probably British Airways / JAL / Singapore Airlines) next time because CE was really not worth the cost savings.
- If you're going to Nikko, buy your ticket a few days ahead of time at the station office in Asakusa, and head out early (I took the 6:50am departure ). The station office doesn't open until 7:20am and the queue is long when it does. Limited Express tickets (~2h each way) sell out ahead of time so you'll need to take the slower trains with changeovers (~3h each way).
Planning
- I used a combination of Lonely Planet and japan-guide.com to plan activities. Highly recommend both.
- Ten nights in Tokyo was too long. I wish I'd only done ~5/6 and instead added some overnight days to Kyoto and gone down to Hiroshima/Miyajima.
- In Osaka I stayed near Yodoyobashi, which is really awkwardly located because it's right in between the two stations you'll want to travel from (Osaka-Umeda, Namba). In hindsight I should have booked something in Namba.
- I wish I'd booked a ryokan/shokuban stay, but they were all sold out on the dates I was going by the time I looked. Next time :)
Food
- If you're vegetarian... good luck. I had so much trouble finding food: most things are made with meat stock, and even dishes described as 'vegetable' often had mystery meat. I do eat fish sometimes so that ended up being most of my diet. Unagi is A+.
- Conbini food is decent but highly processed.
- Fruit is insanely expensive and honestly not very good.
Activities
- The highlights of the trip for me were definitely the shrine and temple visits and the time I spent in nature. I'm not much of a city-activities person these days, it turns out :)
- I was intending to some onsens but I had nosebleeds the whole three weeks so I had to scrap that :(
- Next time I come to Japan, I'm going to do more nature. Tentatively: hike the Kumano Kodo, cycle Shimanami Kaido, and hike Fuji.