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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/fireguy1thru5 on 2025-06-09 00:02:17+00:00.
Recently got back from my first visit to Japan and had a very great time. I did the first half of my trip with my dad and the second half was partly solo and partly with work friends that had a shorter trip at the tail end of mine. The amount of days and cities turned out to be a perfect pace for me. I did a lot, but it did not feel stressful.
Planning
I don't really like an daily itinerary when I travel. I prefer to save a bunch of places I want to see (from watching youtube videos) on google maps and then just go where I want to go in the moment. I still have hotels booked, so I knew which cities I would be in. Other than that and tickets to the World expo and a baseball game, i didnt have any other reservations for my trip. I tried to give myself at least one full day, with no transit, at most of the cities. My work friends had a very fast paced trip at the end of mine, and they were wiped out and tired the whole time. Even though I still did a lot on my trip, giving myself more days really cut down on the stress and tiredness.
- Day 1 - Tokyo, Travel (arrive 5pm)
- Day 2 - Tokyo
- Day 3 - Tokyo
- Day 4 - Train to Kanazawa, 3hrs
- Day 5 - Kanazawa
- Day 6 - Train to Takayama
- Day 7 - Takayama
- Day 8 - Train to Kyoto, 3hrs
- Day 9 - Kyoto
- Day 10 - Kyoto
- Day 11 - Kyoto
- Day 12 - Train to Osaka
- Day 13 - Osaka (World Expo Day)
- Day 14 - Osaka (Himeji/Kobe Day trip)
- Day 15 - Train to Nara
- Day 16 - Train to Tokyo, 3 hrs
- Day 17 - Tokyo
- Day 18 - Tokyo, Travel (leave 5pm)
Hotels
Tokyo 1 - Prince Sakura Tower, Shinagawa. Very nice hotel. Had a very large, western style room and nice restroom. The nearby station was pretty good for connecting to the rest of the city.
Kanazawa - Hyatt Centric Kanazawa. Nice hotel and more western-style large rooms. It was right next to the train station, which made it easy for arriving and leaving. Most of the toursit spots are 20-30 min walk down the road though, which still wasn't too bad, but good for some people to know
Takayama - Hotel Spa and Gift Takayama. Definitely small rooms, which wasnt too bad except the restroom, which was too small to manuever in. The location was perfect though. Close to the train station, though partway to the old town. The rooftop onsen was also amazing and the best onsen of my trip.
Kyoto - The Chapter Kyoto. Nice hotel with another good onsen, this one on the first floor, but still pretty. The rooms were nice and a good size. The location was pretty good. We still did a lot of Taxis, but I think thats more just because of Kyoto's transit system
Osaka - Some random Bnb apartment. I didnt book it and wouldnt suggest it. It was at least clean, but it wasnt comfortable
Nara - Nara Visitor Center and Inn. I wanted to try a traditional japanese style room at least once. It was nice to experience, but the hardness of the futon on tatami made me glad it was just one night. The location of the hotel is great. And its a visitor's center too, so they had an activity room that looked fun if you were into activities like Origami and writing your name in kanji
Tokyo 2 - APA Hotel Kayabacho. Very small room, though it was fine since it was for just me. Quality of the room was still good. It was about 5 min from a metro station, but just far enough from Tokyo station that the walk was not great (especially in the rain)
Summary
- Tokyo - Wasnt sure if I would like this city, but I did. I felt from most people it was just a shopping city, which Im not normally that kind of person, but I did enjoy checking out stores while I was there. Seeing a baseball game here was also a great experience. Shibuya sky would probably have been a better experience if it wasnt raining, and the nightlife could have been fun if I was traveling with people that liked going out to bars. Food was also very good here
- Kanazawa - Cool little city with fun historic districts to see. Its a little touristy, but quite as much as places like Kyoto. I think one full (wakeup and sleep, not a daytrip) day is the perfect amount here. Omicho market, the geisha district (hagashiya chaya), geisha teahouse museum, castle, samurai district (nagamachi), and samurai house museum are all worth seeing and can be done in the day without rushing. I didnt love the Kenrokuen gardens, but I think that was because I had high expectations for them
- Takayama - Also a place that I think one full day is perfect. The old town, Maturi kaikan museum, showa museum, and open air museum are worth it. Its also a good spot to get a ryokan with an onsen to have that experience
- Kyoto - Definitely super tourity, but still worth visiting. You kinda just need to get accustomed to the crowds, especially for some areas. Kiyomizudera and the streets leading up to it are ridiculously crowded, but its still pretty and there are some side streets and temples nearby that are not devoid of people, but are definitely much calmer and nicer. The Golden temple you can do quick just to see it and the Arashiyama bamboo forest is also something that is cool to see, even through the crowds. And from the bamboo forest you can check out nearby Tenryuji and Okochi gardens and maybe go up the path to the monkey park that is still worth the tiring, long uphill walk. Fushimi inari is the only place I think is vital to see, despite the crowds. It doesn't really thin out much, but its still super cool to see, and if you follow the path for Ganrikisha Shrine, you should get on a path that will have much less people and sometimes even noone around you. If you have more time, or hate crowds enough to not do one of those big, popular sights, I suggest still trying to go to one of the many other temples in the city just to see them. I really liked Eikando at the end of the philosophers path myself.
- Osaka - Not really my vibe for a city. It was fun to look at and walk around, but honestly I was glad I didnt give myself much time here
- World Expo - Worth seeing, but it was extremely frustrating. Long lines for all the pavilions, if they even allowed people without the impossible-to-get-reservations. If you go, try to go to pavillions early before the lines and be comfortable with just walking around and looking at the cool buildings from the outside
- Himeji - A very great daytrip from Osaka. The castle was super pretty from all angles while walking around and the gardens were my favorite I had seen all trip. We also stopped in Kobe on the way back and checked out the terraced herb gardens, which could be great if your legs arent super sore or if it is spring.
- Nara - I liked doing this with an overnight, but I could see it being a daytrip. The deer are fun to see and I had a great time with the time I had, but I think it was tired at the end of my trip, so I didnt do much here
Food
- The Best
- Kanazawa - Okina Sushi. Tiny sushi place run by a married couple and kinda hidden
- Kyoto - Kamogawa Takashi. Yakiniku place with no english whatsoever. Get a multicourse meal with a bunch of different types of beef to cook over a charcoal grill in front of you. You may need a reservation, since I probably lucked out getting seated right away
- Kyoto - Tendon Mentatsu. Great Tempura Place
- Kyoto - Komefuku Shijo Karasuma. Medium sized Izakaya with great sushi
- Tokyo - Jyotou Curry Akihabara. Probably a typical curry place, so this is just s recommendation to find a casual curry place with at least pretty good ratings for an amazing dish
- Tokyo - Toriya Kou NEO. Yakitori place in the same building as Shibuya sky
- Great
- Tokyo - Keitei. Tonkatsu place in Ginza
- Kanazawa/Kyoto - Omicho/Nishiki Markets. Either have good options to try skewers of beef or fish
- Kanazawa - Ochenta y ocho. Weird little spanish tapas place on the second floor with a fun owner with very little english
- Takayama - Sanbyakuryo. Izakaya that was pretty good. Had a dish where you cooked chicken and cabbage on a hot plate that was good.
- Takayama - Brand New Day Coffee. It can be hard to find breakfast in Japan. Especially quick breakfast. This place has great croissont sandwhiches.
- Kyoto - Udon Arashiyama-tei. Good udon place next to the monkey park entrance
- Kyoto - School bus Coffee. Great coffee and great french toast
- Kyoto - Shoto Cafe Kyoto. Good coffee and great short cakes
- Osaka - Takoyaki at a streetcart
- Osaka - Okinomiyaki Mizuno. Really good okinomiyaki with the only bad service I had in Japan
Notes
- I ordered my pocket wifi online through "Global advanced Communications" You just note your flight and they ship it to a spot in the airport you can pick it up. I got the unlimited plan, which worked great. The only downside was the battery life. I had to recharge it at least once, sometimes twice throughout the day. I had a portable charger for my devices anyway though, so I wasn't carrying anything extra
- Google maps worked great. I used it for everything. It was great at guiding through the metro lines. Getting out of a station can be confusing though. It often had a hard time telling which side of a street you were on in the big cities. If you at least follow its suggested exit or look at what exit you are leaving through on the map is, that can help a lot.
- For the metro I put an IC card on my phone wallet (Iphone only, sorry) and that was so nice and made it super easy to tap in and out of subways and add mon...
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