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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/GypsySage on 2024-04-09 00:58:56.

I'll be visiting Japan in July for the first time, with my wife and teenage kids. We have a number of things we'd like to do, and we're planning to split our time between Tokyo and Kyoto. Is this a realistic schedule? I have grouped items together by proximity but the days themselves are not in any particular order; they can be reordered as needed.

1. Arrive in Tokyo, get checked into hotel, get our bearings
2. Explore Ikebukuro, Sunshine City (Pokemon Center, Pokemon Cafe)
3. Explore Akihabara, go to Kirby Cafe, maybe Tokyo Skytree
4. Sanrio Puroland
5. Studio Ghibli Museum (may need to buy a tour package that includes visiting some other sights, so this will probably take a full day)
6. Toyosu Fish Market, TeamLAB Planets
7. Meiji Shrine, Yoyogi Park, explore Shibuya/Shinjuku
8. Travel to Kyoto, get checked into hotel
9. Visit shrines (Fushimi Inari Shrine for sure, maybe Kinnini-ji temple and/or golden pavilion)
10. Samurai & Ninja Museum, tea ceremony
11. Short trip to Nara Deer Village, then shop for a kimono (not a formal kimono, but not a yukata either)
12. Toei Kyoto Studio Park (I'm not 100% sold on this, but it might be fun for the kids)
13. Travel to Hakone, stay at hot springs ryokan
14. Check out and travel back to Tokyo, fly out in the late afternoon.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Triple10X on 2024-04-08 16:37:12.

I fly non-revenue, and with limited vacation days and some luck, it looks like I'm going to have an opportunity to go to Japan for the first time this week. I get in Friday at 2pm at Narita and leave in the early evening on Tuesday.

My spouse really wants to go to Tokyo Disney and Mt. Fuji, so that is realistically two whole days. That basically means that we have Friday afternoon, Monday, and part of the day Tuesday for Tokyo.

Yes, I realize this is insane. Yes, I know I'm going to miss out on a lot.

In doing some research, I definitely want to go to Senso-Ji, the Meiji Shrine, Shibuya Crossing, and the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. I also want to get to Akihabara, walk more around Shinjuku and Shibuya and possibly Harajuku.

My main question is with a super limited time in Japan, is there anything that you would recommend removing or making sure that we absolutely must do with our limited time. Thanks in advance.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/ttx90 on 2024-04-08 03:47:15.

Hi everyone,

I'm traveling with 2 friends to Tokyo in Jan 2025 for 5 nights (our first time there). I'd love your recommendation and feedback on how logical and feasible this itinerary is. There are just so many things to do and see from my research but I understand that we should not pack everyday with activities. We love to eat (not fine dining), walk around and explore. We're good with walking 10k-20k steps a day. We're not really into shopping or anime. Thanks a lot in advance!

Day 1 - TOKYO STATION

* 7am - Arrive at Haneda airport

* Lunch in Shinjuku (close to hotel) or Tokyo Station

* Afternoon - Imperial Palace

* Imperial Palace East Gardens

* Edo Castle ruins

* Yasukuni Shrine

* Jimbocho, home to streets of bookstores

* Check out Glitch coffee & roasters

* Evening - back to Shinjuku

* Free view at Tokyo Gov metropolitan building

* 3D cat billboard, godzilla, cosplay girl

* Kabukicho Tower

* Omoide Yokocho (izakaya/yakitori alley)

* Golden Gai (pubs/bars)

Day 2 - ASAKUSA

* Morning - Asakusa area

* Sensoji temple

* Asakusa Shrine

* 12th floor of Asakusa Culture Tourist Info Center for stunning skyline views

* Tokyo National Museum

* Ueno Park

* Don Quijote - snacks & souvenirs

* Food in Asakusa

* Suzukien Asakusa - matcha

* Asakusa Unana - eel nigiri

* Imo Pippi - sweet potato bread

* Ameyoko Shopping District - tons of standing bar and yakitori places

* Dinner - Manten sushi (26 course omakase) - need to make reservation in advance

Day 3 - TSUKIJI & GINZA

* Early morning - Hie shrine

* 10am TeamLab Borderless

* Lunch - Tsukiji Outer fish market

* Hamarikyu gardens

* Optional - Sumo wrestling tournament (depend on whether we get tickets)

* Evening - Ginza

* Any food recommendations?

Day 4 - SHIBUYA

* Early morning - Meiji Jingu Shrine / Meiji sake barrels

* Yoyogi Park - can probably skip

* Harajuku

* Get Japanese crepe okonomiyaki / Takeshita Dori street

* Macca house

* Nezu museum - modern art

* Shibuya Crossing and lunch in Shibuya

* Shibuya SKY observation deck for sunset - make reservation

Day 5 -

* Day trip to see Mt Fuji, possibly Kawaguchi - any recommendations on booking a day trip via Klook/Expedia or should we go by ourselves?

Day 6 -

* Flight at 4:30pm

* Flat udon noodle shop in Haneda airport Terminal 3 - Godaime Hanayama

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Helfeather on 2024-04-07 17:25:12.

Just got back from an 18-day trip to Japan with my partner, his first time, and my second time. I have linked my spreadsheet below which has 2 tabs: the updated TRIP REPORT tab which denotes what we actually did, and my WORKING ITINERARY which was the pre-trip planned schedule. I've also left the prices of things we paid for as I think it'll be helpful for people to know what they're expecting to spend.

For the most part, it went really well. If you compare the two tabs, we had leaned into sleeping in more often but staying out later, which worked out fine in Tokyo and Osaka. Some things we fell short on was stuff to do in Kawaguchiko and Hakone as the buses are jampacked there, so we spent a lot more time at our nice ryokans which worked out because they have tons of amenities. If we had booked regular hotels, I think we would have tried to do more stuff to get our times' worth but the ryokan accommodations were really fantastic. We did decide that many of the touristy spots are too crowded, and Kawaguchiko and Hakone are WAY too crowded in that buses are overrun.. But otherwise a very fun trip.

PRE-TRIP

We loaded ¥20,000 into our mobile Suica on our Apple Wallets and it was very handy. As soon as you arrive at NRT you can go grab a drink from the first vending machine you see lol. I 100% suggest you set up mobile Suica before you go! We also bought 10g esims before going and activated it right before getting on the plane (from Los Angeles) so it was working when we landed. Our ryokans and hotels were booked about 3 months in advance and I did as many early reservations I could (about a month before for most). Shibuya Sky during sunset and Pokemon Cafe were the two difficult ones. We didn't book any Shinkansen in advance but we did setup our Hakone freepass and Romancecar tickets. We did all the transit pathing while there via Google maps which worked out just fine.

DAY 1 - 4, TOKYO

We landed in NRT late afternoon so wasn't much of a chance to do too much and definitely not able to try to ship our luggage directly to our hotel. Based on my research, you'd have to do this before noon at the latest for same-day delivery. Optionally next time I think maybe we can just store necessities in our backpacks and leave our luggage to be delivered on the second day. NRT has free wifi but it can be slow, so we had our esims as backup while we figure some stuff out during immigration. Our hotel was in Iidabashi, Chiyoda City which wasn't too hard to get to. We used the ticket counter at NRT and got on the Skyliner so it was a little faster then a local train to Iidabashi. If you've got time and want to save a little money I think there's a slower way, the Marunouchi line which travels all the way for much cheaper but makes a ton of stops, as we took this back to the airport on our last day. We ate in Ikebukuro just to kind of see some of the city and a nice hot meal before we ended our travel day.

Next morning we went to Kaminarimon, Senso-ji, in Asakusa. It's a Saturday so it was SUPER crowded.. Expect some difficulty taking photos as other tourists are very much in the way all the time lol. Still something worth seeing as one of the well-known attractions of Asakusa. Once we had our fill we went to Ginza as we had a lunch reservation at Ginza Toyoda. 5/5 kaiseki style lunch, fantastic introduction to Japanese cuisine that isn't sushi/ramen. Since we're in Ginza, we shopped around the area, not crowded at all. At night we went to an okay omakase sushi join, then went to go see Shibuya Crossing. Super crowded, as expected, but make sure you snap a picture with Hachiko!

Day 3 we then went to Takeshita Street, Harajuku. Again, super crowded but a must-see. We then went to Tokyo Skytree and Sumida Aquarium in the evening. They have a combo ticket pack for both if you're interested! Skytree was okay, too crowded, but Sumida Aquarium was pretty cool especially if you love jellyfish. They're right next to each other so very convenient.

Our last day in Tokyo before going to Kyoto, we went to see Tsukiji market! Cool experience with the market stalls but know that the food is overpriced and very tourist-centric. We opted for some seafood and the very popular tamagoyaki sticks and that was it. Take the time to go to Toyosu market which is much newer, slightly less crowded, and still some good food options. More of a mall-type restaurant place though so it's not a replacement for Tsukiji market. Teamlab Planets is also nearby so it made an easy transition. Planets is a 5/5 experience, though I don't consider is a must-see for Japan. It's really not even very Japanese-feeling but still a quality experience. At night we went to go check out Shibuya area some more, especially the very large shopping building Shibuya Parco. We also shipped our luggage using Yamato Transport (also known as kuroneko or tak-q-bin/takkyubin) to Kyoto which cost around $25 USD per luggage; our hotel helped fill it out and do the measurements. It was great. We would continue to use this service for the rest of the trip between hotels.

DAY 5 - 7, KYOTO

We used the SmartEx website to book our Shinkansen tickets which was very handy. I've heard the app sucks so use the website. You might run into VISA problems so book with a Mastercard as a backup (such as Apple Card). They don't give you a physical ticket but it was easy enough to show the QR code to the gate attendants and they either give you a ticket or just pass you through. If they give you a ticket make sure you keep it, as you'll need it to exit with the attendant at your destination as well. Went to Nishiki market which was cool, similar to Tsukiji market. Going to Kiyomizu-dera temple was super crowded but still a worthwhile sight as the traditional Japanese style buildings and temple was great. After that, we went into Gion and I found this duck rice place that was super good and 5/5 meal.

Next morning, very early, we went to Arashiyama bamboo forest! Go before 8a if you want a chance at an empty photo. As soon as it hit 8a you see a lot more people arriving. There's a very yummy wagyu beef bowl place called Kijurou nearby which has a line even before it opens, so get in line if you want to eat there, 5/5. Then went to Kinkakuji, the golden temple, which was okay. Tired, we retired early for the next morning. We also got our ready for takkyubin in the morning.

And this morning we got up extra early to go to Fushimi Inari so there'd be a lot less people. The earlier the better. He got our pictures in and hiked maybe halfway before deciding cool, we're done with the experience lol. Went to Kyoto Imperial Palace which was very cool, well maintained piece of history. Some shopping, then a night experience at Nijo Castle. The experience was supposed to be for cherry blossoms but they didn't bloom yet so we only saw naked trees.. 1/5 experience.

DAY 8 - 9 OSAKA, NARA

I'm not a big fan of Osaka but it's still worth a trip. We didn't do that much but at night definitely go see the bustling scene at Dotonbori. Lots of food options and buskers, but again very tourist-centric prices.

Went to Nara the next morning, arriving around noon. It was a very chill town and found out that the deer are actually "wild" deer, so they come and go. The park is open, very minimal fencing, so the deer just come and go, hang out, etc. There are cracker venders around every corner and no entry fees. Definitely cool experience. Then head to Rokumei Coffee for a fantastic coffee and pastry midday! After coffee we headed back to Osaka and went to Teamlab Botanical Garden.. Not that cool, 3/5, Borderless and Planets are way more fun.

DAY 10 - 11, KAWAGUCHIKO

In the morning we sent out luggage via takkyubin to our Tokyo hotel and just took a backpack each. Found out that getting to Kawaguchiko from Osaka is not quite streamlined.. So we ended up taking the Shinkansen to Shin-Yokohama then some local-ish trains north, then Odakyu line west into Fuji.. Several transfers and hours later, we got there. Definitely easier to come here straight from Tokyo. Anyway, cloudy weather so we didn't have too great of a shot of Mt Fuji but the lake was beautiful and our ryokan was amazing.

Next morning, our view of Mt Fuji was PERFECT with no clouds. We hiked our butts up to Tenku no Torii for pictures which took a bit of time, and another hour of standing in line for it.. Coming down, we went to Houtou Fudou which serves really only one thing and it was delicious, 5/5 would recommend. Went back to enjoy our ryokan onsen!

DAY 12 - 13, TOKYO

We went back to Tokyo for some filler days because we couldn't line up Hakone right after but we filled it with Shibuya Sky (book a month in advance to get sunset times) and it was 100% better than Tokyo Skytree. The second day we went to Teamlab Borderless which was a 5/5 experience and a coffee tasting at Mameya Kakeru, 5/5 as well. Luggage via takkyubin to our next Tokyo hotel while we just use backpacks for Hakone.

DAY 14, HAKONE

Getting to Hakone wasn't a big deal, but once you get there it becomes very apparent how difficult it is to get around.. Buses are often full, and it's just overcrowded with tourists. We spent most of the day at our ryokan instead which was full of amenities so no big deal.

Next morning we checked out and left our backpacks at the ryokan, and ...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/DizzyEwok on 2024-04-07 14:05:39.

We’ve just finished a 17-day trip to Japan and have a bunch of learnings and recommendations that will hopefully help others. We’re definitely not experts, and I’m sure we misinterpreted a few things, but these are the things we’ll be bearing in mind if/when we go back. Worth mentioning that we’re very food-focused travellers!

Prices are quoted in yen (¥) in case the exchange rate fluctuates significantly, but we’ve also included some approximate costs in today’s £. For our trip, ¥1000 = £5.30.

Itinerary summary

We flew directly from London to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, so we lost the first and last days of our trip to the ~14 hour flight. The remaining 15 days included:

• Tokyo (4 days inc. day trip to Kamakura)

• Mount Fuji 5 Lakes Region (3 days)

  • Hakone (2 days, 1 night)
  • Lake Kawaguchiko (2 nights, 1 day)

• Kyoto (4 days inc. day trip to Nara)

• Osaka (3 days)

• Tokyo (1 final day/night before flight)

Overall learnings

Money

• We had read that Japan is still very cash-centric, but ~80% of our purchases were by card (Mastercard and Amex). Cards are accepted at most shops, bars and restaurants, and all convenience stores.

  • The notable exception to this was the Suica card for public transport (see below) which can only be topped up with cash.
  • Many places accepted card but not Google/Apple Pay – you needed the physical card and sometimes you had to sign for it.
  • Tourist attractions (e.g. temples) are often cash only but rarely expensive.
  • There are ATMs in almost all convenience stores, which are abundant, so if you do run out of cash it’s easy to nip out to get some more.

• Generally Japan was less expensive than we’d expected given what we’d heard, though this might be due to the particularly weak yen right now. Some typical prices:

  • Ramen: ¥1200 (~£6)
  • Beer in a restaurant: ¥500-600 (£2.50-3)
  • Glass of sake in a restaurant: ¥400 (£2)
  • Sushi platter for 1 in a sushi restaurant: ¥2500 (£13)
  • Sashimi platter for 2 in an izakaya: ¥2000 (~£10)
  • 1-way subway journey: ¥200 (£1)
  • 1-way train to day-trip destination like Nara: ¥1500 (£8)
  • 1-way standard-class bullet train ticket with reserved seats, e.g. Osaka->Tokyo: ¥15,000 (£80)
  • Coffee: ¥200 (£1) from a convenience store, ¥600 (£3) from a coffee shop, ¥1000 (£5) from a specialist coffee shop
  • Hotels: we spent an average of ~¥20,000 per night (£100) for hotels of a reasonable standard (think 3-4 stars)

Transport

• It’s an absolute must to get an ‘IC card’, Japan’s equivalent of an Oyster card.

  • The dominant brand of IC card is “Suica” in Tokyo. It works all over Japan, across different train/bus companies, even in convenience stores.
  • There are other brands like “Pasmo”, but Suica is the easiest to get hold of as there’s a machine to get a “Welcome Suica” which is valid for 28 days for visitors at Haneda airport.
  • As of right now, you can only get these at the airport. So don’t leave the airport without getting one!
  • Note that you can’t get back unused credit when you leave, so don’t top up much more than you will use.
  • You top up the Suica card with cash (only cash) and then use it to tap in/out of subway lines. It calculates the correct fare for you and deducts it from your balance.
  • Without a Suica, you’ll have to buy paper tickets everywhere. This has the potential to be a nightmare, as the subway system is run by many different companies, which can mean multiple tickets per journey if you’re changing lines.
  • Apparently there is a way to get your Suica on your iPhone and use it via NFC. Potentially this can also be topped up via credit card rather than just cash. But we didn’t try this as only one of us has an iPhone and only Android phones bought in Japan are supported.
  • Every station has machines to ‘charge’ your Suica with cash. If you go on an expensive journey and your balance doesn’t cover it, you won’t be allowed back through the gates, but there are “fare adjustment” machines to recharge there and let yourself out.

• The subway systems in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka were all great.

  • Clear signage in English in all the stations; announcements and digital displays on trains switch between English and Japanese every few seconds.
  • All the stations are numbered as well as named, which makes things extra easy. Sometimes the Japanese names can seem similar to an English-speaker, but if you know you’re going from J-12 to J-16, there’s no room for confusion.
  • They’re all very clean, largely because there is no eating or drinking allowed on any train. They’re also incredibly quiet as phone calls aren’t allowed and people keep talking to a whisper.

• Google Maps worked incredibly well everywhere we went (even for more-remote bus journeys).

  • Although the station signage is clear, the maps are not. It’s much easier to let Google figure it out for you. It will even tell you what exit to use and where to get on the train to reduce your time spent walking down the platform.
  • Sometimes the train will change subway while you’re on it. Google Maps will helpfully say “Remain on board” even though it might not be obvious from the map.
  • Note that some stations are huge, and Google Maps doesn’t always properly account for walking from one platform to another. We didn’t find this to be a problem as the trains are regular enough for it not to matter (e.g. every 6 minutes). It’s something to watch out for when getting the Shinkansen (bullet train).

• The Shinkansen (bullet trains) are awesome. Super punctual, clean and quick.

  • You can check prices and book up to a month in advance at – you get a QR code to pick up your tickets at the station. This was super easy and meant our longer journeys were low-stress as we’d reserved seats. It seems like this was worth it as every train we got was full or close to full.
  • You can pick up tickets you’ve bought online at any major train station. It’s worth doing this in advance of the day you travel in case there’s a queue at the station (they can get long).
  • For one short journey (Kyoto to Osaka) we didn’t reserve tickets because there are trains every ~5 minutes and it’s only a ~15 minute journey. But the queue for the Shinkansen ticket machines was so long, we spent longer queuing than we spent on the train!
  • You can get delicious “ekiben” (bento boxes of food for the train) at the station. Don’t underestimate the quality of these, we had some great sushi for ~¥1000 (£5). Food and drink is allowed on Shinkansen.
  • It didn’t seem like the green car (first class) upgrade was worth it. You get so much legroom in standard class.

Language

• We had heard that the level of English was very low but we were pleasantly surprised by how many people could at least get by speaking English. We were actively seeking out less touristy places and we never had an issue communicating, even when there was no English spoken.

• There are a handful of Japanese phrases that we found incredibly useful:

  • Ari-ga-to gozai-masu: “thank you”
  • This is the polite version of thank you. You don’t pronounce the “u” at the end, it just sounds like “mass”.
  • If you elongate the a to be like “maaaaas” then that seems to indicate more enthusiasm. We never heard anyone say “domo arigato” (thank you very much), so it seems like this elongation is the preference.
  • We were surprised how rarely “arigato” (the casual version) was used.
  • If you don’t bother with anything else, this is the one to learn.
  • Fu-tari desu: “we are two” (again, don’t pronounce the u)
  • This is all you need to get a table at a restaurant as a couple. You’d probably be fine just gesturing the number 2, but it seems a bit more polite to say something as you do it.
  • If you are asked “nan desu ka?” when you walk in that means “how many are you?”, to which this is the correct answer as a couple.
  • Ku-da-sai: “please”
  • To order in a restaurant you just say the name of the thing and then this phrase afterwards. E.g. “bīru kudasai” means “can I have a beer please?”
  • There’s a polite version of ‘please’ which is interchangeable: “onegaishimasu” (maybe just Google how to pronounce that one!)
  • Kā-do de: “pay by card”
  • Unlike in the UK where it’s assumed that you will pay by card, often in Japan you have to explicitly say it or they will wait for you to hand them cash without setting up the card machine.
  • You can make this more polite by saying “kādo de kudasai” which means “I’d like to pay by card please”.
  • The word for cash is “genkin” so if you hear that in a response, it probably means they only take cash. Most people know the phrase “cash only” though, even if they don’t speak much English.

• We used Google Translate’s camera function extensively to translate written Japanese, e.g. when there was no English menu. This works incredibly well, and we had a lot more confidence to visit places with no English (e.g. particularly local restaurants) as a result.

• The couple of times we struggled to communicate what we needed to say, we just used Google translate to generate the Japanese and showed it to the person on our phones. Some Japanese people also did this with us without being prompted.

Food and drink

Food was the thing we were most excited about when planning our trip and it did not disappoint! There is lots to say. We’ve left specific recommendations to the sections below that focus on each...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/strsofya on 2024-04-07 09:59:33.

Couple trip, from Europe, NL - first time in Japan. Route Tokyo - Hakone - Osaka with daily trips (Yokohama, Nara, Kyoto). We are in our 30s, relaxed travellers, used to walking a lot. Hope this helps someone in their planning as I definitely found similar reports very useful when I did my research.

Pre-trip prep:

Internet: e-sim Ubigi, I got 10 GB for 13 days, did not run out. For a phone that did not have e-sim we got a travel sim card on our first day in Tokyo in BIC Camera (close to Tokyo station).

Customs: got QR code via Visit Japan Web. Customs at the Narita airport took maybe 15-20 min, they asked for QR three time during this time.

Electronics: got portable Anker battery and a EU->JP plug adapter. Adapter is an absolute must, there are no usb-c ports in hotel rooms.

Luggage & laundry: we had two carry-ons, no checked in luggage. We used laundry service twice - in Tokyo and in Osaka where we stayed for multiple days. As it was a standard hotel laundry service, not a self-service, we got fresh clothes same day by 6 pm if we left it at the reception before 10 am. We got a cheap suitcase (Ginza Karen, better quality then I expected for 7k yen price) for everything we got in Osaka on our last day.

Booked in advance: Teamlabs Planets, Gundam viewing deck in Yokohama, dinner options in Ryokans in Hakone. Did not pre-book any restaurants, trains or attractions otherwise.

Trip itself:

Tokyo, 4,5 days:

Arrived on Monday around 11:00, got tickets for Narita express and reached Tokyo station in about an hour. Got Suica cards in the information office, physical ones. We stayed in Ginza so it was an easy 10 min subway ride and 5 minute walk to our hotel.

Hotel: Mitsui Gargen Ginza Hotel Premier. Great location, great views (Tokyo Tower too from certain rooms), very clean and normal king size bed, not two single beds which is very common in Japan. Lots of breakfast places nearby but breakfast in the hotel itself is also good.

Ginza: great location to connect to many other areas. Lots of food options - though some places seemed to be priced rather high due to the area, I would not recommend staying here if you're on a budget. Shopping is great, as to be expected.

What we covered in 4,5 days:

• Teamlabs Planets: I know some people love it, some find it meh. I found it meh - too many people, too touristy. Some rooms are very cool though.
• Akihibara: must see if you're into pop culture / manga / gundam. It was fascinating to visit for me once, my partner came back on another day to do some proper nerdy shopping.
• Shibuya and Meiji Shrine: walked from Shibuya crossing through some streets and a really nice park all the way to the Shrine and back to the subway. The Shrine is definitely worth the visit, really peaceful and beautiful. Shibuya crossing is... well, just a crossing.
• Tokyo Tower: beautiful views of the city and really nice area around the tower, absolutely worth a visit.
• Yokohama day trip: went to Cup Noodle Museum (really nice experience!) and Gundam Factory. Giant Gundam was still up so went up to the deck as well. I loved how walkable the area was, Yokohama was definitely a highlight, and only 35 min away from Ginza.

One the last day, Friday, we took a direct train from Tokyo station to Odawara station (Hakone), I bought it a day in advance in the ticket office.

Hakone, 2,5 days:

We arrived to Odawara station around 14:00, bought Shinkansen tickets to Osaka in advance (right side of the card for the view of mount Fuji), bought Hakone passes as well - totally worth it, free transport and cable cars throughout the area. At 15:00, a transfer bud from the ryokan picked us up and we arrived to Gora which is the main town for major attractions about an hour later. It is also possible to reach Gora by a local train, we did not try it though.

First night we stayed in Gora which was convenient for seeing the sights, and for two other nights moved to a more remote area, ryokan Kinnotake Tonosawa which was a most amazing, relaxing, private accomodation with amazing service and food. We do not have tattoos but opted for a private in-room onsen experience and did not visit public onsens.

When in Hakone, we took a cable car to Owakudani to see mount Fuji and the hot spings valley - it was totally worth it though quite crowded on a Saturday. We wanted to go all the way to the lake below, but the cable car leg to the lake was closed and lines for a replacement bus were longer than we were comfortable with so it did not happen. On the way back to Gora we roamed the little streets and some smaller attractions.

Hakone was a much needed break after energy of Tokyo, and I am glad we took our time to proper slow down and relax there.

We went back to Odawara station on Monday morning by taxi from the ryokan, and boarded Shinkansen at 12:00. It took 2 hrs 30 mins to reach Shin Osaka station.

Osaka, 5 days:

Took a taxi from Shin Osaka directly to the hotel as navigating Umeda with carry-ons did not sound like fun. This was a right move, Umeda station is totally disorienting and I tried to avoid it as much as possible throughout the stay.

Hotel: Imperial Osaka on the river. Stayed for the view and the quiet area - loved it. Also only 5 min away from the Sakuranomiya train station which took us directly to Nara and almost directly to Kyoto (only 1 stop inbetween).

What we covered in 5 days in Osaka:

• City centre: Dotonbori, Nipponbashi (similar to Akihibara), Namba area. Loved it.
• Osaka aquarium: an absolute must if you are into aquariums, and the best facility I've seen, even compared to really well maintained oceanariums in Boston or Bay area.
• Osaka Castle: it was a relaxing stroll from the hotel along the river and all the way to the castle, maybe about 25 minutes. We did not go inside (lines), but walked about and it was absolutely beautiful.
• Day trip to Nara: the weather was horrible that day so we only went to the deer park and roamed about city centre a bit. I had the best coffee and croissant of the trip at the Rokumei cafe, it was a perfect spot to hide from the rain and warm up.
• Day trip to Kyoto: we were aware that no way we'd see everything in one day so prioritised Inari Shrine. It was really beautiful and relaxing hike despite insane crowds in the first third of the way. After Inari we made it to Kyoto Handicraft Centre and it was worth the track - most amazing prints, lacquerware, wood work and overall souvenir items of higher quality.

On the last day we flew back to NL directly from Kansai airport. The airport is 1 hr from the Osaka so we took a taxi and it was around 20k yen - definitely expensive but worth it with the luggage and early in the morning.

Overall learnings from the trip:

We could have easily spent a week in Tokyo, I feel we only scratched the surface, especially since we were jetlagged and not at our best for for first 2 days.

Staying in Osaka as a hub was the right move for us. I absolutely loved the city - it is very food-centric, much more relaxed than Tokyo and shopping is great. That said, I visited Takashimaya shopping centre in both Tokyo and Osaka and they're not exactly the same, so both worth a visit.

Kyoto was very cute but way too touristy. Reminds me of Venice or Florence, same vibes. I am glad we did not stay there.

It was easy to book train tickets on the stations 1-2 days in advance - that said, we travelled outside of major tourist times so I imagine it can get much busier. I spent extra on green car, as it had only two seats in a row, not three, and it was a great experience.

We were not religious about trying to get by using public transport only, and if we were too tired to figure out train station mazes we used Uber. It worked perfectly and definitely reduced travel stress.

Japan is definitely a country where wearing layers pays off, in spring at least - temperature fluctuated between 2C - 18C, and Uniqlo layers worked marvels. I also wore athleisure and it was not an issue - it was obvious we're tourist anyway. I did change to more local clothes (long skirts or slacks, shirts and cardigans) for evening meals though.

We did not book any restaurants in Tokyo or Osaka in advance (Japanese apps are not very user friendly) but had no problem walking into ramen shops, yakitori and curry places. Lines stars around 18:30 so we made sure to walk in around 18:00.

My Revolute VISA card worked almost everywhere, and backup AMEX worked as well. Cash withdrawal is easy at 7/11. Cash is needed mostly for shrines, gacha shops, remote areas / small shops in Hakone.

People generally spoke English but not fluently, there is a language barrier for sure. My partner speaks basic Japanese so it definitely helped, and we used google translate where necessary. Most restaurants had English menus or pictures we could point to. Trains / subway had English everywhere so it was no problem.

There are no trash cans in public areas which is weird considering how much Japanese love single use plastics. Fortunately, there are a lot of public bathroom and there are trash cans there.

Most local hotels would have two single beds, not one king size or double bed. This significantly reduced number of options for us to book, but I imagine some people may find it a convenience. Also, smoking rooms are a thing in Japan, so be careful what room you book.

Next time we travel to Japan we will do a reverse where we'd arrive to Osaka and fly back from Tokyo, to ...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/WolfOwlice on 2024-04-05 23:22:38.

We're from the UK; first time to Japan. We learnt a very small amount of Japanese a year before we set off. We visited Japan for 3 weeks starting 17th March. Here's my review, I've used yen if I remembered the cost of stuff, otherwise good ol' pound sterling - DM if you want any specific recommendations!

Tokyo - 4 nights We landed at Narita airport and got the Skyliner into Tokyo. Akihabara was a good place to stay and seemed central to the activities we wanted to do. We visited the Owl Cafe in Akihabara which was fun. Yodobashi Akiba is huge - we spent 2 hours in there. It was nice to see the electronics in real life, we don't get that as much in the UK anymore. Tokyo Skytree was a waste of money - good views buy way too busy. I've been to lots of similar towers and not seen one that busy - the queue for the elevator back down ran around the entire viewing deck! I wanted to do a sushi train type of place so we went to Uobei at Shibuya - that's a lot of fun watching the food come out directly to you on the conveyor. I don't think the quality was the best, but whatever. Tokyo National Museum was interesting and I enjoyed learning some Japanese history. Teamlabs Planets was alright, certainly interesting. You need to take your shoes and socks off, plus your legs will get wet up to knee height. Worth a visit.

We were literally about to depart the hotel/Tokyo when an earthquake hit - there was an emergency alert on one of our phones as it started. It was a small one (3 in Tokyo?) and was a gentle swaying of the building. Unfortunately it meant our first Shinkansen was delayed by an hour and a half - but as with most things in Japan, things just carried on as normal. We dropped our bags for our first luggage forwarding at Tokyo station...

Takayama - 2 nights We took the Shinkansen to Toyama (loads of leg room, recline...amazing), and then were due to transfer to the Hida Express for Takayama. However, I couldn't pick up the train tickets for JR West...the machine was not picking up a reservation for my card (turns out numberless cards store a different number on the strip to what you see in the app - I use Chase for my banking and numberless is becoming common in the UK). I spoke to someone in the ticket office but their English was not great - they said to refund the original ticket online and buy a new one, which I did. We traveled to Takayama on the local trains instead of the express, which was fine - good views as you make your way into the mountains.

Once there, Takayama is a brilliant little town. It had snowed the day before we got there so everything was very beautiful. And it melted enough to not be a problem whilst we visited the temples and shrines, plus the Hida Folk Village. The morning market by the river has a few little stalls to check out but my favourite bit was the old town houses - wander the streets and visit the shops (plus the Sake brewery! You get a sake cup and then pay 100 yen for each taster of sake). Hida Beef is delicious - I got a few skewers from the small stalls plus some other bits. We were going to do one of the circular walks up the hill near the centre but the snow hadn't melted enough and we only had trainers on...

Kyoto - 2 nights This time we actually got the Hida Express from Takayama to Nagoya, and then the Shinkansen to Kyoto (I had to refund and rebuy tickets again due to the card issue). As it had snowed again we got some really great views as the train weaved through the mountains.

Our bags had arrived at the hotel as expected (thanks Yamato). Kyoto train, subway and bus system seems overly complicated in comparison to Tokyo - we got ICOCA cards here as working out where to go and fares was madness without it (we weren't sticking around long enough for a pass to be worth it). The Pontocho area was cool and we walked the Philosophers path - there were a couple of impressive temples along the route (Higashiyama and Nanzen-ji). And the old streets in Gion are also cool. It was good to see Fushimi Inari but it was VERY busy (duh). In fact, Kyoto just seemed very busy with tourists, more so than Tokyo. We did another luggage forward here, sending our suitcases ahead to Osaka.

Overall I thought Kyoto was a bit...grey. Maybe it was literally the grey, drizzly weather whilst we were there 🤷‍♂️

Nara - 1 night A little trip down the line from Kyoto to Nara. There's not loads to do here so 1 night was fine, but what we did do was enjoyable. Just when I thought I was shrine-d out, I was taken aback by Todai-ji and the Giant Buddha. They are really quite something. And then of course, the deer 🦌 I'd read differing things about feeding the deer but from what I saw, if they don't want feeding they just walk away and have a rest. We got some deer crackers and walked away from the crowds to find some deer to feed, and a few came up to grab what they could. It was a pretty unique experience!

(Yoshino) Osaka/Ichio - 1 night This should have been a day trip to Yoshino but the weather was wet and cold, plus the cherry blossom hadn't appeared yet so we went to Osaka for the day instead (added in those bits in the Osaka section below).

In the evening we travelled south of Nara to a tiny village called Ichio and stayed at a Ryokan, a traditional Japanese house. This was a great experience - we were the only guests (main room, bedroom, toilet and kitchen off to one side, bathroom in different area). Whilst there were some modcons like WiFi and a TV, the building was genuinely old (1914) and was decked out as you'd expect - tatami mats, sleeping on the 'floor', floor seats, no shoes, etc. The beds were comfy though. Our hosts gave us a Japanese evening meal (lots of fish and seafood) and then a western breakfast (think European continental). The place was cold generally but a gas heater and heated mats/blanket made it all very cosy. It would have been nice to stay more than 1 night to experience the quiet of the place really and at around £100 a night it's great value.

Koyosan - 1 night The sun came out for the first time in a week - good timing as we headed into the mountains for a night at a Buddhist temple. It's a train ride then a funicular up to a bus station, and then a short bus ride to get to Koyasan (or you can go completely by bus). (Here's where an IC card pays off as you can just scan in and out on all of these journeys).

Koyasan is a quiet little village with a couple of convenience stores and lots of souvenir shops. It's a sacred place for Buddhism, where Kobo Daishi settled and also died, and as such there is a very large cemetery which is worth a visit - the sun made for some beautiful pictures amongst the tall trees. You don't get a view of the surrounding mountains here but it's a quiet, peaceful place. If you want to experience a Buddhist temple, including a very filling Japanese vegetarian dinner, an onsen, Buddhist prayers at 6am, beautiful surroundings, sleeping on tatami mats and another very filling Japanese breakfast - this is for you! It was pretty good to see it - it felt a little tourist-y considering we'd done a Ryokan by ourselves the previous night...but good to try it once, eh.

Osaka - 4 nights Earlier in the week we had come over to Osaka to fill a rainy day - we did a free walking tour, hosted by a local, which wasn't super detailed but gave us a good idea about Osaka. Osaka seemed easier to get around than Kyoto, although perhaps we'd just gotten used to navigating by then...

When we came back to Osaka following Koyasan, we spent an afternoon in Round1 Stadium. This has 4 floors of claw grabbers (PAYG), a sort of non-gambling floor (gambling is mostly illegal in Japan but people play slot machines and other games with tokens that you buy...you might win some toys) and then you pay a set amount for the remaining floors for 1, 1.5 or 3 hours. The other floors have an arcade game floor; sports like table tennis, badminton, virtual golf; and baseball batting cages - all included in the price. Everything is timed so if it's busy, most games are time limited. We did Universal Studios on a Friday - review and tips for that here.

On a busy Saturday in Osaka we explored the 'pop culture' shops in one of the Pardon centres (including a Godzilla shop); stopped by a whisky shop and did a brief whisty tasting of Japanese whisky; wondered through America-Mura, which was too hip and cool for us but I understand the appeal to some; went to the Umeda Sky Building (this WAS a good observation deck and goes outside, which was different); rode the Don Q Ferris wheel (is that what's it's called?) which is fun, and a little terrifying (looks like it could use a lick of paint); and then we visited RoR Comedy Club in the evening which was in English but had both western and Japanese comics.

On a calmer Sunday in Osaka we took a brief stop at the Housing Museum (good if not small); wandered to but not into Osaka Castle - it was a nice warm day and the surrounding park was full of locals enjoying the day, which was nice to see! - added in Shitenoji Temple and Sumiyoshi Taisha Temple; wandered the tourist trap that is the Tsutenkaku area (did not have any skewer food from that area as all the reviews were poor) and then had a brief look at the Nipponbashi area for arcades and anime stuff.

Osaka was fun! There's a lot to do and it felt buzzier/ friendlier than Tokyo in a way, althou...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/eyegoobies on 2024-04-05 16:41:39.

As title says, heading to Kyoto tomorrow for 4 days and feeling pretty nervous about all the severe crowding comments.

Our interests are culture, sightseeing, nature, walks, food, cherry blossoms and photogenic areas. TIA!

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/hopdank on 2024-04-03 08:29:13.

My wife and I are currently staying at the Hoshinoya resort on Taketomi in the Yaeyama Islands, and I wanted to share our experience going through the tsunami warnings causes by the earthquake in Taiwan this morning.

We were on a shuttle bus to go snorkeling when the initial warnings came through. Both my wife and I got emergency alerts on our phones - she is using a pocket wifi and I'm on a data-only eSIM. Glad to report that the emergency notification system here works regardless of how you're connected. We didn't feel the earthquake from inside the bus, but other guests told us that they felt very mild tremors.

After a short period of information gathering, our bus driver promptly brought us back to the resort. We were initially told that the area was safe and that we could return to our room. However, we soon started seeing additional alerts on our phones and decided to find higher ground on the resort property. Hotel staff must have gotten additional information at that time, and they began sweeping the property and gathering all guests at the front desk. We boarded shuttle buses and were taken to the local elementary school, which is the town's official tsunami evacuation point.

We stayed there for about 2 hours until given the all clear. There were probably a few hundred people at the school, both tourists and locals. We were comfortable enough, and the local officials distributed water multiple times. They gave relatively frequent updates in Japanese and checked in individually with each person to ensure everyone was doing okay. The hotel staff provided key updates in English, and we always felt sufficiently safe and in the loop.

Overall, we were incredibly impressed by the efficiency, professionalism, and kindness of the hotel staff and local officials. Moreover, the calm demeanor and stoicism of the locals and tourists alike were on full display throughout the entire ordeal. As a bonus, the resort offered free use of our mini bars and complementary lunch when we returned. 🙂

No one wants to go through something like this while traveling in a remote place where you don't speak the language, but I can't imagine a much better place to be than Japan when it does. I feel very grateful and privileged to be here - I hope today's news doesn't dissuade anyone from coming here in the future.

To anyone out there affected by the earthquake or the aftermath, I hope you're safe and that your travels get back on track!

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/amyranthlovely on 2024-04-03 02:22:35.

Issued at Tuesday, April 2, 2024 : People must continue to stay away from coastlines and waterways. Tsunami Advisory has been called in Yaeyama, Miyako and Okinawa Island, as of 10:47am JST.

＜Tsunami advisory＞ If you are in the affected areas, keep away from coasts and river mouths which could overflow. Continue to evacuate until all advisories are lifted.

＜Tsunami predictions＞ There may be some changes to the sea level, but there is no threat of tsunami damage.

People are advised to continue to avoid the coastlines and other waterways, including rivers while the advisory is in place.

Waves can still get much higher than expected. Ongoing aftershocks from the Taiwan Earthquake can cause further Tsunami Warnings and Advisories. Please continue to follow reports from NHK News until the all-clear is given.

If you are near the cost, please stay near higher ground. Follow all local instructions to move to safety, and do not approach any bodies of water until advised it is safe to do so.

Please use this link to follow the information in english from NHK NEWS.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Picklewithaplan on 2024-04-02 20:20:13.

Wrote this comparison as I thought it may be useful to someone who isn't sure how much they will fit into the day. I put a strike through the planned things that we never ended up doing. Of course, everyone travels differently - we went at a very relaxed pace, and most of the activities we did were free.

The dates we visited were Sunday 5th November to Thursday 16th November 2023.

| Location | Nights | Accommodation | Weather | |

|

|

|

| | Tokyo | 2 | Hotel | 25c hot and humid | | Takayama | 2 | Hotel with onsen | 20c sunny perfect weather | | Gero | 1 | Ryokan with onsen | 16c rainy (added to the ambiance!) | | Kyoto | 4 | Hotel | average 16c, mix of rain and sunshine | | Hiroshima | 2 | Hotel | 18c sunny | | Tokyo | 1 | Hotel | forgot to record! |

Day 1 (Sunday 5th)

PLANNED:

Evening - Shinjuku Golden Gai, Omoide Yokocho

ACTUAL: 

Evening - Got lost in Shinjuku looking for our hotel, lugging heavy bags around. Once we finally found our hotel we only went out to get drinks/snacks and then went to bed.

Day 2 (Monday 6th)

PLANNED:

Morning - Yoyogi Park, Meiji Jingu shrine 

Afternoon - Harajuku, Takeshita street 

Evening - Shibuya Crossing, Akihabara 

ACTUAL:

Morning - Yoyogi Park, Meiji Jingu shrine. [I would skip Yoyogi Park, it is just a nice park but nothing special especially if you’re going to walk around the Meiji Jingu Shrine anyway]. 

Afternoon - Harajuku, Takeshita street, Shibuya Crossing [did not explore the Shibuya area and it was still daylight, so for us this was not worth the detour. Partner thought it was over hyped as there are hundreds of people crossing the streets everywhere in Tokyo]

Evening - Shinjuku Golden Gai, Omoide Yokocho

Day 3 (Tuesday 7th)

PLANNED:

Morning - ~~Studio Ghibli Museum~~ [unfortunately shut the entire duration of our stay!]

Afternoon - Train to Takayama (4 hours 30 mins) 

Evening - Walk around town

ACTUAL:

Morning - Akihabara [so glad we dedicated more time here and came in the morning. My partner is really into electronics so it was fun seeing all the little stores they have full of components]

Afternoon - 2pm Train to Takayama. The train stops in Nagoya for a few hours so we just explored the train station and had dinner [definitely took longer than 4 hours 30 mins to get here]

Evening - 9pm Got to the hotel and just slept.

Day 4 (Wednesday 8th)

PLANNED:

Morning - Historic high street (Sanmachi-suji District). ~~Yoshijima Heritage House, Kusakabe Folk Crafts Museum~~

Afternoon - ~~Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine~~, Higashiyama Walkway, ~~Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition Hall~~

ACTUAL:

Morning – Walked to the edge of town, hiked up a beautiful graveyard, visited a few temples 

Afternoon – Town museum, ate snack food & found café in the historic high street (Sanmachi-suji District) 

Evening – I chilled in the onsen at our hotel whilst my partner went on a walk

Day 5 (Thursday 9th)

PLANNED:

Morning - Bus to ~~Shirakawa-go~~ walk around town for 2 hours

Early Afternoon - train to Gero

Evening - Dinner & Onsen

ACTUAL:

Morning - walked the Higashiyama Walkway [this was my favourite day of our whole trip. I absolutely loved Takayama, and I think the onsen revitilised me enough that i could manage all the steps to visit every shrine on this walkway. I would have liked to go to Shirakawa-go but we feared it would be very touristy, and we loved the vibes of Takyama so much, it was more fun walking around than sitting on a bus for hours].

Afternoon - train to Gero

Evening - Dinner & Onsens [our ryokan this evening was absolutely incredible, we spent so much time exploring it that we didn’t even leave to see the town of Gero. I’d like to go back one day]

Day 6 (Friday 10th)

PLANNED:

Morning - ~~Explore Gero~~

Afternoon - Train to Kyoto

Evening - Gion Shirakawa, Hanamikoji Street, Visit Pontocho

ACTUAL:

Morning – squeezed in another onsen visit after breakfast before returning to the train station in town. Our hotel dropped us off at 10:30am however there were no trains until 12:22. It was pouring with rain and the lockers were full already so we just sat at the station and waited.

Afternoon - Train to Kyoto

Evening - walked around by the hotel & got dinner

Day 7 (Saturday 11th)

PLANNED:

Morning - Higashiyama, Matsubara Dori St, ~~Hokan Ji Temple, Yasaka Pagoda~~

Late Afternoon/evening - Kiyomizu-deru

Evening - Dinner in ~~Nishiki Market~~

ACTUAL:

All day - train to Nara, walked down the high street, pet deer, visited Tōdai-ji temple, had Starbucks by the pond

Evening – Walked through the Nishiki Market at 9pm but it was all closed. All the restaurants we walked past were closed, but thankfully we found a Pizza Hut that saved us as I was starving. [If you want to go to Nishiki Market, go in the morning, not at night...]

Day 8 (Sunday 12th)

PLANNED:

Morning - ~~Golden Temple~~

Afternoon - ~~Fushimi Inari (Tori gates)~~

Evening - ~~Eikando Zenrinji Temple (3000 maples trees, lights up at night).~~

ACTUAL:

Morning – Kiyomizu-deru, walked through the streets of Higashiyama [I have never seen anywhere so busy in my life, it ruined the experience for us because you could barely walk let alone eat at any of the shops. Note that it was a Sunday so I imagine the weekends are twice as busy as a weekday].

Afternoon – Walked through another temple that had lots of food stalls. Then walked Gion’s main street, and then Gion corner and Pontchoco [It was not dark yet so the streets were dead quiet here which was a nice change, but didn’t really have much atmosphere either]

Evening - Walked around some more & got dinner

Day 9 (Monday 13th)

PLANNED:

Morning - Arashiyama, ~~Tenryuji Temple~~

Afternoon - walk down main street to do shopping/lunch, view the bridge, then go to the Monkey Park Iwatayama

ACTUAL:

Morning - train to Arashiyama, walked through the short bamboo forest, then the nice park that follows

Afternoon - walk down main street, view the bridge, then go to the Monkey Park Iwatayama [we loved walking through the park, admiring the view of the water with lunch, and visiting the monkeys! Its a bit of a hike but definitely worth it. If you are coming exclusively for the bamboo forest then it is not worth the trip]. 

Evening – Shabu Shabu for dinner back in Kyoto city

Day 10 (Tuesday 14th)

PLANNED:

Morning - Nara, pet deer, visit Tōdai-ji temple

Late Afternoon/Evening - train to Hiroshima

ACTUAL:

Morning – train to Hiroshima

Afternoon – shopping, visited arcades and cafes

Evening - Okonomiyaki for dinner! [we did visit the okonomiyaki tower block but everywhere was full and we found it awkward waiting in such a tight space so we went across the street instead to another restaurant serving the same thing].

Day 11 (Wednesday 15th)

PLANNED:

Morning - Hiroshima museum

Afternoon - ~~Miyajina island (visit the Itsukushima Shrine and its “floating” tori gate, and see cluster of smaller temples and shrines like Daisho-in Temple and Daiganji Temple.~~ 

Evening - Okonomiyaki for dinner

ACTUAL:

Morning - Hiroshima museum

Afternoon – more shopping, more arcades and more cafes!

Evening - Okonomiyaki for dinner again!

Day 12 (Thursday 16th)

PLANNED:

Morning - leave Hiroshima to visit ~~Himeji castle~~

Afternoon - leave ~~Himeji~~ to travel to Tokyo

ACTUAL:

Morning - visited a cafe [by this point we found it more enjoyable to just relax where we were, rather than dealing with the stress of getting to Himeji castle and where to put our bags].

Afternoon/evening – train back to Tokyo. Bought super noodles for dinner and went to bed. [Probably an uninspiring end to a trip for most people but we never got a chance to try Japanese super noodles and we wanted to before we left!]

Final thoughts & Tips:

1. Using the trains took much longer than I expected. I didn’t plan any train times so we just rocked up to the train station, got lost most of the time and finally found the train we needed and then would sit at the platform for a while, especially if we had just missed that train. Obviously to avoid this, plan ahead for the train times.
2. We changed hotels a lot and we had two suitcases (15kg each) that we had to lug around with us often which honestly was a lot of effort, especially around the train stations with all their steps or trying to find where the lifts/escalators are. I'd recommend forwarding your luggage on, though we did not do this so can't comment on it other than I would do that next time, or if not visiting a lot of cities I would rent a car.
3. We didn’t plan what restaurants to go to and I found most of the food we ate was average. So I would recommend planning where you want to eat too. Also restaurants, especially outside of Tokyo seem to shut by 7pm so bear this in mind too!
4. It took me two days to get over my jet lag so you may want to account for that too.
5. There are so many stairs… Get practising now! I thought I was of average fitness but by the end of day 1 my legs were shaking. I didn’t get used to it until I was able to recover in the onsen on day 4.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/jessluce on 2024-04-03 01:33:38.

(Not my post, found on facebook, link below) "Hi Everyone, !!!! Has anyone lost 4 x japan Rail Passes? Someone on the Japan Travel tips facebook page has found them and handed them to the JR Osakajokoen station office staff. The passes are being held at the office as you enter JR Osakajokoen from the hall side. Passes have part of owners passport numbers on them. Hopefully the owner and the railpasses can be reunited!"

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/toddsleivonski on 2024-04-02 17:39:05.

Flew out from Toronto to Tokyo on November 2nd, flew back on November 26th.

To say this was a packed trip would be an understatement, but we planned it to be that way. We don’t do “sitting still” all that well on vacation and this was our first trip over so we wanted to experience as much as possible.

Overall had a fantastic experience, when we go again we will spend less time doing touristy things in Tokyo, slow it down, and do more small town things.

Day 0-Arrived 9pm local time at Narita, long customs line, barely got the last train out of the terminal. Got to Tokyo station then to Hammamatschuo station area

Day 1-Minato city area. Stayed at Hotel Tavinos Hamamatsucho. Good enough hotel, great location. Saw Miyazaki/Ghibli statue. Walked to Imperial palace, wasn’t open. Walked to Pokemon center. Walked back to Minato area. Nap. Saw Tokyo tower, Zozoji temple, shrine of 100 steps (Atago Jinju) and Karaoke all around the Minato area, did this last half as a guided tour through Airbnb experiences. Absolute blast.

Day 2-Coffee and pooted around Hamamatscucho area. Got on monorail to Haneda. Flight down to Kagoshima. Checked into hotel at JR Kyushu Kagoshima. Fantastic hotel, great location. Did the Ferris wheel and arcade at Taito Station in the mall by the Kagoshima station.

Day 3- Set out early to Kagoshima Port, hopped on Sakurajima ferry (very easy, grab a street car from station, walk 10 minutes or so). Ferry was fantastic views and easy. Tsukiyomi shrine for views. Walked down to visitors center. Did the foot bath for a bit and saw the Geo park. Hopped on the bus to tour the island. Got up closer to Sakurajima, stopped for photos. Started to drizzle so we headed back to ferry. Had ice cream with sweet potatoes and ash at ferry port, at Minato Cafe excellent coffee, food looked excellent as well but we had eaten earlier at Lawson. Hopped back on ferry and toured the Kagoshima aquarium upon arrival, went from aquarium to tour the various side streets near Tenmonkan park and Chuo park. Had dinner at Aji No Tonkatsu Maruichi, owner was fantastic. Headed back to hotel and crashed out after getting JR Passes for the next day(jet lag hit)

Day 4-checked out of hotel and bullet train to Kumamoto. Walked from station to Kumamoto castle. Had lunch at Aeon mall near Kumamoto castle, place was called RHC and was PHENOMENAL. Very healthy more western style but the coffee and food was fantastic. Walked over after lunch to tour Kumamoto castle. Hopped on bus back to station to grab bags and go to ferry at Kumamoto>Shimabara port. Ferry to Shimabara. At Shimabara port walked to Shimabara Toyota rent a car and got our car rental. Stunning drive to Unzen. Stopped at hotel for the night (Unzenonsen Azumaen). Private onsen room with a view. Food was fantastic (kaiseki dinner) service was phenomenal. Our favorite place of the trip by far. The price was higher but the value was absolutely there.

Day 5-Drove up to the Unzen cable car. Words can’t describe the views up at the peak of the Unzen area. Came back down to Unzen and saw Unzen Jigoku, the Unzensan Manmyo Temple, the visitors center and lunch at Bunnoji. Took a little trip down to Obamacho. Had a foot bath at Hot foot 105. Walked around Obamacho, had great gelato and back to the hotel after a bit. Beautiful scenery, amazing people, great vibes and a fantastic scenic drive.

Day 6-Headed out to Izahaya to return the car at Izahaya. Train from Izahaya to Nagasaki. Stayed at Candeo Nagasaki right at Chinatown, absolutely excellent stay at a good value. Walked to Oura church area. Fantastic views all around. Walked back to Chinatown and taxi to Atomic Bomb museum. Walked the museum and grounds, very well done museum and beautiful area. Walked back to hotel and had hamburg steak and curry at a local restaurant (will find the name). Excellent food and service. Back to hotel for bed since it’s later out.

Day 7- Travel day to Fukuoka. Stayed at HafH Fukuoka. Do NOT recommend. Good location but the bed is SO uncomfortable. Did Canal City, Hakata station Christmas decorations.

Day 8-made our way to Ohori park, stunning area, had coffee nearby. Walked over to bus and bus to Fukuoka tower. Very enjoyable little tower with seaside views, mountains, and cityscape. Walked down to beach after and had Italian at a restaurant called Mamma Mia. Pretty decent! Walked back to Ohori, train from Ohori to Hakata. Food tour later on in the day. Had Hakata style ramen and Okonomiyaki at a street food stall guided with an Airbnb Experience.

Day 9- left Fukuoka early. Train to Hiroshima. Hiroshima station dropped off bags and walked to Atom Bomb dome. Perused the park and took it all in for a bit. Walked over to Hiroshima castle. Back on the train after that, stopped over at Himeji. Himeji castle was beautiful. Walked around the grounds and were lucky there was a 30th anniversary celebration. Really neat to see the traditional celebration happen on the grounds. Only a brief stop and it was getting dark so we made it back to the station and onwards to Kyoto. Stay was at Sakura adult terrace. Nice location, great lobby, room was pretty cramped, still very enjoyable stay (especially compared to our place in Fukuoka).

Day 10- slower day, pooted around the mall, got the IC card finally at the Kyoto station, had lunch. Made our way out to Kiyomizu dera. Enjoyed the first half, had a panic attack with the crowds in the upper half. Cut through a beautiful cemetery on the way out, and had Coco’s Curry heading back to hotel.

Day 11- Day trip to Nara. Really really enjoyed Nara. Straight to Todaiji temple, absolutely awe inspiring area. Walked all around the temple area for a while and found a small Okonomiyaki spot. Omitsu Okonomiyaki. Fantastic gem. Walked through the nearby Mochiidono shopping street. Headed back to the station and onto Kyoto.

Day 12-Got started to Osaka for day trip. Umeda area was really cool. Saw Pokemon center. Walked over to Osaka Castle and did the tour, pretty busy but the views were really wild. Walked over to Dotonbori as it got darker.

Day 13-Walked to top of Fushimi inari, had spectacular views. Did laundry. Saw Tofukuji lit up at night.

Day 14- travel day to Nagano/Yudanaka. Beautiful views through the mist and rain all through the Japanese alps. Went via Kanazawa randomly, but it added to the overall beauty of the train journey. Main goal was to get checked at Hotel Yudanaka

Day 15- Yudanaka honpon purin for breakfast and late start bus to Jigokaedani park. Unbelievable experience to get up close and personal with the monkeys. Stuck around there for quite a while and had lunch at Enza cafe. The food was phenomenal. Bus back to Yudanaka. Did the whole public onsen experience, was odd but neat. Dinner out later at night.

Day 16- Yudanaka to APA Ueno Tokyo. Mostly a travel day but walked around Ueno park and saw a couple of the shrines.

Day 17- Last minute decision to take bullet train out to Fuji. Rented bikes for ¥100 for the day and went down to Niihama park on bike. Walked along the seawall, tons of beautiful views of both Fuji and the sea. Got on a bus to head to Shiraito falls. Gobsmacked by the outstanding beauty of the falls and Fuji views. Bus back to Fuji, walked around Fuji a while then back on the train to Ueno.

Day 18-Walked from Ueno to Skytree. Really enjoyed the views and sights. Stopped by Sensoji temple noped out of there before it was too busy (was 9am and it was still busy). Got to top of Skytree view and it was nice, nuts how big of a city Tokyo is. Had Kura sushi near the Skytree which was fun. Skytree walked back to Ueno. Visited Don Quixote in Ameyoko. Had dinner at Everyone’s Cafe in Ueno park. Pooofy pancakes.

Day 19-Day 19: Tokyo! Shibuya/Shinjuku. Lots of fall color. Woke up and walked to Cafe Lapin. Took the subway to Yoyogi Park. Visited Neko Neko Inn and a local art shop. Around the park and ended up at another cafe for lunch called Verve Cafe and had the best Nitro Lattes! The sandwiches were also good. Walked around the rose garden. Had to stop and see cats at the mocha cat cafe in Shibuya. Went to Shibuya crossing, saw hachi statue, and stopped by shibuya sky but was too crowded so we left. Headed to Shinjuku to go to the observatory at the government building but still too crowded so we left and went to Chuo Park and saw the Christmas decorations. Walked to the sumitomo building and enjoyed all the Christmas decorations. Walked to shinjuku station area to see the giant cat billboard. Caught a quick train to akihabara browsed a few stores for anime stuff, but didn’t find much we wanted. Still enjoyed the experience.

Day 20-Tokyo/Roppongi-Azabu Juban. Train ride out to Azabu Juban near Roppongi for sailor moon scavenger hunt. Had excellent coffee and breakfast at Verve Coffee roasters. Walked around and found the station from sailor moon. Found the park from sailor moon, and the statue and shrine as well! Found a beautiful hidden park (Arisugawa-no-miya) in the hills of Roppongi. Like a forest in the middle of Tokyo. Lunch out near the park and had curry. Walked over to Shibuya. Made it to Daikanyamacho neighborhood within Shibuya, was adorable but not quite what we were looking for (very gentrified and no parks or anything interesting), moved on. Got to Meguro sky park and it was stunning out, walked around for a bit. Walked over to dinner at a vegan restaurant nearby. Got out of the Meguro area and c...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/SouthCryptographer58 on 2024-04-02 00:52:26.

I'll be in Tokoyo in mid May. I arrive on a Sunday afternoon and will be staying in Akihabara for a week. Between Monday and Saturday I have the following things booked during the day:

Monday: Nikko shrine/waterfall tour Tuesday: Odaiba (Team Labs, Joyoplolis, etc) Wednesday: Tokyo Disney Thursday: Disney Sea Friday: Fuji Q Saturday: Mount Fuji tour

I was wondering what are some fun things to do after the events listed above and what are some things that close late? I figure I'll probably be done with the events above by 7pm and will be willing to stay out until midnight.

I may have a beer or two a night. However, I'm not really looking for bars, clubs, and karaoke. I'm thinking tourist attractions like Tokyo Tower, but would also be interested in lesser known places too. Some things that sound interesting would be an evening baseball game, Broadway or Japanese style theater, maybe shopping, and good resturants or street vendors.

I know I listed a pretty vague description of what I would be interested in, but was seeing what others may recommend. I've only been using Google so far.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Perfect_Lead_4639 on 2024-04-01 09:12:04.

Hi all, just came back from a magical two-week trip with my gf in Japan in mid-March, and wanted to share some easy-to-read tips and recommendations as Reddit played a big part in my trip planning.

QUICK TIPS

• Setup Ubigi eSIM or equivalent just before you fly off. Easy to setup, cost-effective, and had no significant connectivity issues throughout the entire Japan trip. No need to scramble around for a physical SIM card when you land in Japan.
• Suica or IC card equivalent will handle all public transportation but the shinkansen and some limited express trains (i.e. Narita Express). Checkout this pinned thread for more details -
• Debit/credit card can cover most of your purchases in tourist-populated cities & towns. We mostly only needed cash for occasional 1000-2000 yen purchases from street vendors.
• Luggage transfer between hotels is a godsend. The train stations in Tokyo and Osaka have many stairs and are very crowded, it would be a nightmare to move large luggage yourself through the train system. Note that this is often cash payment only.
• Bring a large empty luggage suitcase if you are planning to shop, so you can fill it up with goodies to bring home :)

TOKYO

• Nintendo Store and Pokemon Center: Big worth if you grew up with these brands (I ended up going to 5 Pokemon Centers and 3 Nintendo Stores across Japan 🤣). In Shibuya they are next to each other in a shopping center and are extremely crowded. I actually found that a great time to visit was in the hour before close - the crowds had thinned considerably.
• Shibuya Sky: Very worth to book. Inexpensive and amazing view of Tokyo. As you go up to the rooftop, you can watch people cross Shibuya Crossing. It gets crowded during sunset hours. The best photo spot is on the top roof level in the corner where they have an official photographer - there is a line and you can ask a group next to you to help take your holiday snaps.
• Studio Ghibli Museum: Very worth booking. I've only watched Spirited Away before visiting, and now I'm inspired to watch all the Studio Ghibli movies. Much better online booking experience than Pokemon Cafe. They only allow you to take photos of the museum's exterior - which has plenty of fantastic photo opportunities. The interior is packed with Studio Ghibli memorabilia. One section has wall-to-wall color drawings which are stunning - I imagine it would be a safety hazard if they allowed visitors to take photos there. Do see the short animated film showing they have in the underground theater.
• Uraonikai: Highly recommend. This is a reservation-only omakase with one intimate sitting (max 6 customers) every night. It cost ~27000 yen (including drinks, which you are obliged to purchase) for the two of us. We saw this on a YouTube video and decided to book it. The chef handcrafts 15 courses right in front of you. The seafood quality and flavors were exquisite. Dishes which I've had at home - including squid and tuna - are elevated to another level here. The chef is rather friendly and gladly accommodated my partner taking hundreds of photos of our dining experience 😂
• Isegen: Another exxy (~23000 yen for two) restaurant recommendation. Located in Akihabara, they specialize in serving monkfish. They dedicate themselves to preparing the various monkfish parts in the most delicious way, the highlight being the liver - also known as 'foie gras of the sea'. It's a traditional Japanese dining experience - a staff member takes your shoes and coat at the ground floor, and you sit upstairs on a tatami mat with no chairs (they have optional stools to assist!) and a low lying dining table. I gained a new level of culinary appreciation for the monkfish here.
• Akiba Cultures Zone: A multi-storey anime/manga collectible store in Akihabara. I got lost in the huge collection of anime figurines on the upper levels. I’m not sure if they do good deals here, but this was the only place (within a couple of hours of walking through Akihabara) where I found Code Geass figurines, a favorite series of mine.
• Pokemon Cafe: Crazy hard to book for your desired time. Cafe theming and decorations are really on-point. They have a regular Pikachu show which is nice. Food is quite overpriced and not great. Overall could miss this, if I were not a sucker for the challenge of the online ticketing system.

I've participated in hot NFT mints, rave ticket sales and sneaker releases that have sold out in minutes - none of these prepared me well for the horrible online booking system. How it works is that everyday at 6PM Japan time, bookings for the day which is 31 days ahead are made available. All the available timeslots (spaced out by 15 minutes) are gone in less than 1 minute. What makes this process particularly bad, is that it will randomly kick you out to a "We are sorry for the inconvenience, but please try again later" page. It will do this even if you didn't click anything. At 6:20PM and 6:40PM Japan time, you can try again for timeslots which weren't confirmed in the first 6:00PM round.

NOZAWAONSEN

• Nozawaonsen overall: This place really left an impression in my heart. Picturesque snow mountain scenery on the transit in and out of town. An onsen town full of hidden gems. My gf had not done snowsports before, and she found there was plenty to experience outside of drifting down the mountain.

It’s not the easiest place to get to - I had to line up a local train ride in Tokyo, a shinkansen, and a bus from the shinkansen station that only came every 1-2 hours. But it was so worth it.

• Nozawaonsen Hotel - We had a memorable stay at this medium budget accommodation (~80,000 yen for 3 nights, breakfast included). They do a beautiful traditional Japanese breakfast, have multiple onsen facilities including a foot onsen at the front door, and restock your room daily with bite-sized pieces of selected Japanese confectionery.

We discovered a chestnut treat that was so delicious that we later sought out the brand store (Obusedo) in Osaka and bought ~10 boxes to bring home as gifts. I also cherished their outdoor onsen pool with the sight of snow-tipped trees and clear night skies.

• Sport Thanx (Equipment rental): Easy online booking process. Well located - quick access from the shop to the two main gondola stations. Free dry room so you don’t have to lug your gear to and from your accommodation.
• Sooyu restaurant: Small family-run shabu shabu restaurant with four tables. Little tricky to book. They take care of customers really well. My stomach was in a blissful place after devouring their beef shabu shabu and chicken & fish hotpot.
• Miyuki Shoten (sweet store): Apple pie with fresh apple slices in it (and Nozawaonsen is known for huge, sweet apples) 😋

Other food recommendations

• Genki Burger: Small Australian-run shop. Many burger places serve a generic product (including Fergburger in Queenstown, New Zealand imo), but not this place.
• Hotel Haus St Anton: Streetside oyaki (steamed buns with fillings) with flavors including apple & cinnamon, and sweet mashed pumpkin.

OSAKA

• Makino Umeda Tempura: Tempura shop in Osaka train station. Fresh seafood produce that is expertly deep fried in front of you and served directly by the chef to your plate. Affordable and excellent.
• Robatayaki Mizukakechaya: Three-storey open seafood grill izakaya in the alleyways of Dotonbori. They have a to-die-for grilled scallop - juicy, large and scrumptious. The first two floors have the chefs grilling food in front of guests, we unfortunately couldn’t work out the online booking system to get those seats.

NARA

• Nara Deer Train: Train intricately decorated in a Nara theme including deer-hide patterned seating, grass-painted floor and handles with deer-head figures. We chanced upon this train for a few stops while taking the Kintetsu-Nara Line to Nara. I’m not sure of the schedule for this train.
• Nakatanidou (Mochi pounding demonstration): Go here first before anything else in Nara, it’s very close to the train station and they may not do shows in the afternoon (as we sadly found out). I just couldn’t get enough of their signature fresh mochi balls.
• The deers: Intelligent mammals that do an adorable gesture of bowing their heads to humans. They can be quite aggressive if they think you have deer crackers. If you find yourself being assaulted by deers, hide any crackers you may have and show your empty hands to get them to leave you in peace.
• Kasuga Taisha: Shinto temple that compared to its large neighbor Buddhist temple Tōdai-ji, is underwhelming at first glance and a little further away from the train station. It has its own charm however, as you get to come up and close to hundreds of elaborately crafted bronze and stone lanterns. There’s a few deers scattered throughout the temple and we even witnessed one peering curiously inside a roadside convenience store.

KYOTO

• Nishiki Market: Also known as ‘Kyoto’s kitchen’, it is a narrow shopping alleyway that runs for about five blocks. We enjoyed fresh seafood BBQ and tempura dishes at Yatai Mura Stall Village, and a matcha dessert at Sawawa Japanese Maccha Sweets.
• Kinkaku Ji: Beautiful temple plated with gold lea...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Ok_Biscotti_4070 on 2024-04-01 04:22:56.

I just got back from 12 days in Japan, traveling with a family of four (kids 12 and 15). We got so many great tips from this Reddit thread, so I wanted to share back some insights and tips for other families.

Trip: Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara (day trip), Hakone - Gora, Tokyo - End of March 2024

We loved the MIRAMU apartment hotel chain. We stayed seven nights between Tokyo and Kyoto. The rooms were larger than traditional hotels, allowing our family to spread out a bit. The sleeping room with bunk beds were separated from a simple sitting room and a kitchenette by a sliding door or wall. The toilet and shower were also separate from the bathroom. In Kyoto, we had laundry in the room, and while we packed light, we could have gotten by with even less. I highly recommend it to other families. We booked these approximately five months in advance.

We shipped luggage between hotels one time. The hotel took care of all the paperwork and made it easy. It allowed us to travel between Tokyo and Kyoto with just daypacks (with one day's worth of clothes) and hit the ground running without the need to go directly to our hotel before exploring. The bags were in our room when we arrived.

We determined that we did not need a JR pass and just used IC (Suica) cards in Apple Wallet on every train trip. It was so simple. I added my AMEX to one kid's phone so they could easily recharge as needed using Apple Wallet (they cannot recharge with Apple Cash), but for the other minor, we needed to pick up a physical IC card (from an IC ATM) when we landed at Haneda airport in the arrivals hall.

In the Arrivals Hall: 1. Get pocket WIFI (we got a physical unit and did not reserve in advance). It's so cheap compared to phone plans. 2. Get cash. We always had 30,000 yen just in case, but we primarily used IC or AMEX. 3. Get a physical IC Suica card for minors from self-service ATM. Twenty minutes later, you can be on a train.

We bought Shinkansen tickets 2-3 days before travel using the smartEX app only to get 4 seats together or sit on the right side of the train. When you purchase, you can connect or "designate" your IC (download the Suica app to get your full Suica number) cards to Shinkansen tickets to streamline flow through ticket terminals in train stations, especially if you are going between local trains and Shinkansen…just tap and go. You don't need to print QR codes. If you don't do this, the friendly ticket station people will quickly get you through. There were always tourists getting this sorted.

Food was a big focus of our trip, but we only had one reservation (the hotel called for us on the same day). Many of the booking sites require payment in advance, and we were not interested in that level of planning. Since we have kids and we're operating on a totally different schedule, we opted to eat early dinners, usually arriving just after they open for the day. We ate at some really popular restaurants and never waited for more than 10 or 15 minutes, including restaurants with Michelin ratings. Our family had one vegetarian, and so we did a fair amount of research for friendly restaurants in each area and starred them in Google Maps.

Make sure you are fluent using Google Maps for navigation. It does a phenomenal job of navigating train stations, determining what exit #/name to enter/leave a station, what platform to be on, and even the best car for efficient transfers. After a few train rides, you'll be a pro, able to toggle the times and switch floors on the map. It'll tell you the basic information, but you'll still need to use the station signage to get where you need to go.

We booked an onsen in Hakone-Gora five months before our trip, but I think I should have done this earlier. Most of the small boutique onsens in the area we wanted to stay were already booked and several implied that they booked out a year in advance. The onsen was such a fun part of our trip that I recommend researching and booking far in advance. I also recommend at least two nights in Hakone to get the full experience and to allow multiple days to get good views of Fuji in case of weather (it rained for two solid days). The trains and buses are packed, and I do not believe Hakone should ever be done as a day trip from Tokyo; it would be exhausting. Go there and stay. We were there two nights and didn't even have time to do "the loop" because of all the soaking and leisurely dinners. The Open Air Museum is amazing…even in the rain and clouds.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Juggy2111 on 2024-03-31 22:41:29.

Just finished a first time to Japan trip with friends, and thought I’d post a breakdown of the bits we liked, any tips we discovered and things we would change.

(Apologies for the wall of text to follow).

Going into the trip, I did an enormous amount of planning and research to know what places we could visit, when they were closed, if they needed reserving etc. It was a massive pain but honestly, it really paid off because it gave a really good structure for days and planning when to do what.

Flights: LHR-NRT via HKG (Cathay). Flights were great. But probably would be worth it going direct for UK peeps.

Luggage:

1 medium suitcase (checked) 1 small photography backpack (carry on) 1 very small golf shoe bag (carry on)

Suitcase had all my clothes exclusively. The backpack had my camera, lenses, travel plug adapter, 65w charger, cables and paper printouts. The shoe bag just had some trainers and socks. Basically to free up space in the suitcase for clothes.

This combo was pretty manageable. Never needed luggage forwarding and could carry the suitcase up stairs easy when needed.

Used Suica via Apple wallet. Never failed. Incredibly easy to top up, no machines needed. Worked in every location for transport. (Used Amex to top up).

Google maps was also incredibly reliable. It tells you entrance and exits, what line, whether it is local/express/rapid etc.

The only times it failed is when we made mistakes (buying subway tickets rather than train tickets), not noticing the station names are different (e.g. Ueno has multiple)

Reservations:

Ghibli - Sells tickets on the 10th 10am (Japan time). Had to slug it out. Queue-it placed me 6000+, still got tickets (just not on the day I originally wanted) Sumo - Sells tickets on the 10th 10am (Japan time). The website is shit. It will crash repeatedly. You basically have to brute force it and repeatedly go through the process of buying tickets from scratch until it works. Shinkansen - Bought ahead of time via SmartEx. Was super easy. Barely an inconvenience. Collected at Shinkansen ticket machine 30 mins before departure. TeamLabs Borderless - Bought as soon as available for date. Skytree - Waited until in Japan for weather report. Then bought ticket on the day at like 6am. Got sunset easy. DO NOT TRY AND BUY AT SKYTREE. The line was massive. If you don’t want sunset, nighttime will also be a great time for night city views. Also quieter Gundam Factory - Bought on the day. Didn’t do the dock and instead saw the show from the seating area.

Cities:

Yokohama - Loved Yokohama. Was incredibly cheap for Accomodation and food, had great locations for photography and a cool vibe at night. Really didn’t expect it to be as great as it was.

Tokyo - Also loved Tokyo. All the areas we visited felt distinct and unique, there was so much to do/see. A huge variety in things to do as well. Awesome for photography (Architecture and Cityscapes).

Osaka - Was decent. Not sure it was our kind of city. Ironic as it had some of our favourite activities. Food was good (but it was great everywhere tbh). Had a lot to do both during day and night.

Kyoto - rained heavily each day… but was still brilliant. Each of the areas we visited felt different, we didn’t get temple/shrine fatigue either. Didn’t feel busy either (probably because of the rain) but you can tell it’s more touristy.

Transport:

Trains/Subway - Super easy. IC card friendly, fairly cheap. Reliable and high frequency. In Tokyo, this is the way.

Buses - Also very easy (with IC). Usually flat fare per ride. Less reliable and frequent but honestly it’s hard to go wrong with the buses. The numbers are on the front. In Kyoto we only ever used buses.

Bikes - For a country famed for its politeness and order, it was weird to see how bikes are basically chaos on the footpaths/roads. Still not sure on the rules. Would suggest renting a bike for the Fuji lakes areas.

Day breakdown:

12 - arrival at 2pm. Travel to Yokohama. Eat food. Stay awake until night time to fight jet lag.

13 - Day trip to Kamakura. Started by beach and worked back to station. Saw the lot. Fuji, Big Buddha, bamboo grove tea. 33k steps. Most we walked. Fantastic area. Gundam Show in the evening. Also fantastic.

14 - Shibuya area. Meiji morning, Shibuya shopping areas noon, Ghibli museum afternoon. Ghibli museum was ace, and the Shibuya area was nice for shopping and generally chilling.

15 -move hotel + NE Tokyo (Akihabara, Ueno, Asakusa, Skytree) - Akihabara had some cool arcades, Ueno park was great although busy, Hokusai Museum was surprisingly good, Skytree was extremely busy (sunset) but the views were epic. Senso-Ji at night was awesome.

16 - originally planned to be nikko day trip. Did Kawaguchiko instead as it was clear. The Fuji views were immense. We didn’t rent bikes - that was a mistake. At night we stumbled into the metropolitan building light show.

17 - St Patrick’s day. Surprised by the sheer amount of events. Also- auld lang syne for st Patrick’s day? Is that a thing? Omoide Yokocho in the evening.

18 - travel to Osaka. Wandering Osaka. Umeda sky building In the evening - great views, extremely cold though.

19 - Osaka aquarium in the morning, Sumo in the afternoon, Dotonbori Evening. Aquarium was unreal. Absolutely massive. The Sumo was timed perfectly. Arrived just as main matches began. Saw until end. Awesome. Dotonbori was impressive. Massive sensory shock but was a cool area.

20 - Nara. The deer are cool. Todai-Ji impressive. Nara visitor centre was the true standout. Told us to forget the deer, go to see Ashura at kofukuji as it’s a national treasure. He was right. Also did a tea ceremony with them.

21 - Osaka castle in the morning then travel to Kyoto. Needed some rest as well. The castle was very pretty. And the walk around the grounds was nice.

22 - East Kyoto pt1 - Ginkakuji, Eikando, Nanzenji, philosopher path, Heian Shrine. All very good temples/shrines. Philosopher path was a bit sad without blossoms.

23 - East Kyoto pt2 - Kiyomizudera, hokanji, Kenninji, Yasaka Shrine. Rained heavy on this day, but again all the shrines/temples were awesome. The cloud dragons were a standout.

24 - Arashiyama - Bamboo Forest, Wander, Tenryu-ji, Jojakkoji, Seiryoji Temple, Daikakuji, Isu Pond. I’ll be honest, the rain didn’t help (although did make for excellent photography) but the temples carried this day. The bamboo and the river path were nice, but it was hard to enjoy the mountains with the rain. The temples were excellent though. More cloud dragons and basically empty.

25 - North-ish Kyoto - KinkakuJi, Ryoanji, Botanical Gardens, Nijojo. Still raining. Golden Pavilion was still awesome. Ryoanji was pretty quiet. Botanical gardens were amazing (the conservatory mainly). Nijojo was surprisingly expensive (a whopping £6.80 each). But inside it was great.

26 - Fushimi Inari and Byodin. Rained extra hard. This obliterated the crowd, only the brave remained. Was an enjoyable hike. Not many people tbh. Byodin was awesome as well. Museum+inside both were impressive.

27 - travel day. Tsukiji Honganji. This temple takes the cake for most enthusiastic helpers. By a mile.

28 - Odaiba. Was pretty dead, but still cool. Monorail, Fuji TV, Gundam, Docks, Big Sight. A treasure trove for photographers. Was pretty cool to see the presenters live as well.

29 - Teamlabs Borderless + Leave. Borderless was epic. Really enjoyed it. 2 hours just flew by.

All in all, Japan was fantastic.

Averaged 20k steps a day. (33k high, 11k low). 8.5 mile average. Temples are around 400-600 yen Meals vary between 1000-2000 yen each. You can spend more but you’ll quite easily find a ramen restaurant that will serve ramen + a soft drink for 1500 yen. A significant portion as well. Drinks vary from 650yen for beers to maybe 1400 yen for cocktails and some sake. This varies massively on the restaurant/bar. Buses are around 230yen flat fare. Subways are accurate on Google maps but usually between 180-440 yen depending on distance. Shinkansen Tokyo-Kyoto is around 12-14k yen. Coke bottles are 180 yen from vending machines. These machines are everywhere. Haagen-Dazs Ice cream is around 500 yen from vending machines. They are less common but still epic.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Dumbidiot1323 on 2024-03-31 20:12:07.

Welcome (back) to the second part of my November "Journey Down South"! This report will feature my absolute favourite experience in Japan (and perhaps just my life in general) with the famous Shimanami Kaido cycling route that I undertook back in that November!

As always, you can check out my other reports down below.

Part 1| Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Okayama + Kurashiki

After finishing my hike along a portion of the Nakasendo trail, it was time to get the train from Nagoya to Okayama. I had been to Okayama in 2019 already and thus had already checked out the major sights, such as the Koraku-en (one of the top 3 traditional gardens in Japan) and Okayama Castle before, which I passed on this time around. The main reason I had a short stay over here was because I didn't really know where else to go after my Nagoya stay, truth be told. I revisited Kurashiki, which is famous for its canals and shopping streets featuring a whole lot of denim. I took these two days to just somewhat relax after the big hike beforehand, so I basically just strolled around town, checking out a few shrines along the way. If I were more of a window shopper or just more into shopping in general, I probably would love this place a lot more - but I feel that way about a lot of places in Japan that other people love (for instance: Shimokitazawa in Tokyo).

Not much to report here, I am afraid. If you are ever on your way down south Japan and are looking for like a day or two day trip, Okayama and Kurashiki are probably a good shout but don't expect anything super special. And apparently Okayama is famous for it's Horumon, so if you like that, I am sure you can find a good place here somewhere.

Onomichi

After my little break in Okayama, I went ahead to Onomichi, which is a port town closeby and one of the starting points for the aforementioned Shimanami Kaido cycling route. Many people usually take a train from Okayama early in the morning, go to Onomichi and start the cycle there but since I had time and wanted to start as soon as possible on the day of the cycle, I had decided to stay there for one night and check out the small town in peace. And I actually was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. There is a designated route to walk along 25 temples, most of which are on the city's hillside. Of course, most of them are rather small but there are a bunch with multiple buildings as well. I really liked walking along the path and seeing all the different temples and small shrines, although some of them are a bit off the route and lead through small residential areas. On top of that, you can get great views of the port and surroundings of Onomichi. At one of the temples, I found this particular cat just sleeping away. This cat looks almost exactly like my cat, which passed away in 2018. I choose to believe that this is her from another universe and that this was fate :P.

At some point, I went back to my hotel to properly check in and pack my necessary things for the cycle before shipping my large suitcase to my hotel In Hiroshima, where I'd be a few days later. Hotel staff was very helpful with that and forwarding my luggage was super easy (Sakura Hotel Onomichi Ekimae, for anyone who's interested). Once I did all that, I went back outside and made my way back up the hill to Senkoji temple, which has a park, museum and an observation platform - the latter being completely free. Since this is one of the highest points in the city, it offers the best views as well! Especially around sunset. I probably spent an hour or so up there and just watched the sun slowly disappear behind the faraway mountains, thinking about how "tomorrow", I'd be cycling around somewhere in the distance. Once the sun was gone, I slowly walked back down to the city, stopping along the way, taking a few pictures of the city at night, with the moon illuminating the town. There's also a whole lot of cats in Onomichi.

I ended the day with Onomichi's own version of ramen, although this was certainly one with not as much pork fat on top, but it was incredible. Because I wouldn't have much time to go for breakfast the day after (and I don't really eat breakfast in general), I got a few bananas for the cycle. Some sort of pseudo nourishment to have at least something in my stomach before the cycle began!

Shimanami Kaido

And then, the day I awaited for YEARS had arrived. I packed my backpack with all the leftover stuff (laptop, powerbank, chargers, change of clothes, bananas) that I did not send forward to my next hotel and checked out, walking towards the pickup point of my rental e-bike. I will not go into more detail about how the whole bike reserving went since I made a post about it back then. If you are interested in reading what it's like to do this cycle with pretty much no cycling practice for over a decade, check that out. For this report, I'd like to focus on the actual journey itself!

Once I got my bike, I got onto the ferry that takes you from to Mukaishima, which is the first, small island of the actual cycling route. The weather was AMAZING and I still get shivers when I think back at me on that ferry, watching the sun slowly rise, the hazy morning sky, my trusty steed...It really did feel like I was embarking on some grand journey at that time and it was a dream come true to cycle this route. The first island isn't that spectacular since you spend a while cycling along cars through the small city but once you hit the proper cycling route (which is always marked by a blue line on the road), you get to enjoy the incredible views around the Seto Inland Sea.

It really feels distinctively different from the rest of Japan. The flora is so much more tropical. I stopped a lot along the route, taking pictures of everything. For the sake of not cluttering up the thread too much, I am posting just a "few" photos but yeah...words can not describe how breathtakingly beautiful this place is. Cycling along the coasts, seeing the bridges, cycling over them, having even better views offered - it's incredible. It felt very rewarding to cross bridges I've seen from afar. Back when I cycled this route, there weren't too many people doing the same so I had most of the way to myself. Although one person sticks out to me - a woman who walked the route. Now, I don't know whether she walked the entire thing or just a portiong but certainly did make her way up one of the bridges and those have some killer inclines! We exchanged a few words and "Ganbatte'd" each other every now and then because sometimes she'd catch up with me when I was taking pictures; her pace was astonishing. Every now and then, I'd get some water or snack along the way from one of the konbini, using that time to take more pictures of course.

Around the halfway mark, I took a break at the cyclist sanctuary, which offers seating, food and everything else you'd probably need as a cyclist, I suppose. I was pretty hungry at this point and devoured this curry at what may be the most scenic place I've ever eaten at before continuing my journey. These maps were always a nice reminder of how far I was already and how much more I had to go. Honestly, 90% of this cycling route has beautiful sights. After taking this picture, I managed to actually fall over with my bike but didn't hurt myself in any major way but it was still somewhat funny that I actually fell when trying to get back onto my bike and not while cycling - which I was more concerned about considering how long it had been since I actually rode a bike. Anyway, as I approached the "final stretch" (which was probably still like... 15-20 kilometers), I checked my e-bike's juice and had more than enough to tackle the part of the cycle that isn't part of the official route but an absolute must see for me personally: Kirosan Observatory.

This one is located on a mountain, some 300 meters high, near Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge, the last bridge I'd cross on...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/ScythianCelt on 2024-03-31 22:41:55.

I stayed in the Chofu area of Tokyo and on my last of 3 days there, decided to see something nearby. I went to the Jindaiji Temple and it was beautiful, serene, Tons to see and explore, there appeared to be monks that maintained it, and there are supposedly award winning soba. I’m sad I didn’t give myself more time here, I had to rush away after an hour. The Temple area is free. There is also a paid botanical garden I never got to see before it opened at 9:30.

Highly recommend as a quiet retreat! Easy to get to Chofu station, can either bus directly to the Temple from the station or take a 30 minute walk with google maps if you feel adventurous.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/wolfpaw68 on 2024-03-30 23:04:10.

My itinerary was a pretty standard Kyoto/Tokyo trip so I thought I'd share something different: the logistics for traveling through Japan that I would have liked to know ahead of time. I'd consider myself an intermediate traveler, but I can get pretty anxious and I like to know as much as I can about how to actually do/get to what I want to see in order to reduce micro decisions on the trip. Hopefully this write up helps other anxious planners like me!

I'm going to focus on a bit of what we did to prepare, how we traveled from major city to major city, general travel advice, and what we did in a day and how busy that day felt.

Disclaimer: This is what we did and the decisions we made. This is by no means the only way or even the best way to go about traveling through Japan, but it is a way that worked for us.

We are an American couple in our late 20s/early 30s. We've traveled abroad before but I wouldn't call us world travelers or anything. We are very comfortable/familiar with public transportation. This information was valid for a trip at the end of March 2024.

Before the trip:

• Learned some travel phrases
  • My biggest uses were excuse me (sumimasen), thank you (arigatou gozaimasu), please (typically onegaishimasu), and two people (futari desu). But I was also prepared with do you speak English? (eigo wa hanasemasu ka)
  • You can also watch role plays of convenience store and restaurant interactions on Instagram and Youtube which are super helpful, especially if they give keywords to listen for
• Decided on passes
  • JR Pass - we did not get. I didn't even expense it out, with the increase in price everyone was saying it was not worth, and traveling around the Kansai region I saw non-JR trains that were more convenient
  • With our trip to Kinosaki Onsen it probably would have been worth it to get the JR Kansai Wide Area Pass, but ultimately decided not to solely because we didn't want to worry about picking it up and using it
• Decided on data
  • eSIM/SIM
    • Pros: don't need to worry about an extra item to carry/charge, do not need to pick up and return, the eSIM can be set up before traveling
    • Cons: evidently there can be some broadband/coverage issues with foreign phones, cannot use wifi calling or text (eSIM)
  • Portable wifi
    • Pros: better coverage, potentially faster, can do wifi calls, multiple people can connect
    • Cons: extra piece to charge/carry, cannot wander to far from each other or separate, have to pick up and return
  • For two people the prices were about the same for the trip, but you get more data overall with the portable wifi
  • We decided on the SIM cards for convenience, and because we are staying in the large tourist areas so we weren't too worried about coverage. I used an Ubigi eSIM and my partner picked up a physical SIM from Narita
• Packed efficiently!
  • We each had travel backpacks as our carryon which we packed two days of clothes in
  • We then packed 5 days into a carryon suitcase (resulting in 7 days of clothes for a two week trip with the intent to do laundry). I put that carryon into a trash bag then packed it into a large suitcase with extra shoes and two cloth overnight duffle bags
    • We ended up not needing the duffle bags
  • This reduced the number of bags we were shipping for the first half of our trip, but gave us a whole extra suitcase for souvenirs! We did have 2 checked bags per person for our flight, so keep that in mind
• A tip for getting tickets ahead of time: they queue! I missed Ghibli Museum tickets because I didn't realize they start queuing an hour before release... I only got on 15 mins early

General Info for Travel

Buses (Kyoto)

• You get on through a door in the back of the bus. When you leave make your way to the front, pay by the driver, and leave through the front door
• The buses take IC card, but if paying by cash you do need exact fare. There is a change machine by the bus driver
• When looking for a bus stop, Google maps should give you a stop letter. You can double check the letter is on the stop and this should let you know you are getting the bus in the right direction
• Multiple buses will stop at the same stop. Verify the number on the top of the bus is the number bus you should be taking. Some of the stops also have a little sign showing what bus was approaching the stop or was pulling up. It was helpful!
• There is a screen on the bus showing the next stop as well as an announcement. The screen would always show the romanji of the bus stop, and the announcement was often made in English as well (at least for the major tourist spots)
• When your stop comes up on the screen, you have to push the buttons littered along the side of the bus to indicate you want to get off
• The buses can get busy, but otherwise I had no issues with them!

Subway

• Similar to the buses signs/announcements are also in English
• Personally I used Google Maps as more of a guide, rather than actually following its walking directions. Particularly it is helpful with determining which station entrance/exit to take, which lines you need to take, and what stops you need to transfer at, but for actual navigation through the station I found following the station signs the easiest
• Sometimes the signs will not write out the whole name of the line you are looking for, especially if it is a larger station. Look on the far left of your Google Maps directions and it should give you a line abbreviation and a color. You should be able to find these on a sign
  • For example, the Yamanote line may also be depicted on signs as JY with a lime green border, or you may see a lime green line on the ground
  • If between the signs and Google Maps you are still having trouble, completely exit the station and load up Google Maps again to take you to the appropriate entrance, where you *should* now see signs for your line
• Google Maps will often give you a platform number and will tell you which train you are taking (e.g., Yamanote line for Shibuya/Shinagawa Platform 14). Double check your train before getting on. Make sure the destination on the train (e.g., local to Shibuya/Shinagawa) matches what is on your phone. In Tokyo the platform was always correct, but in some of the surrounding areas the train may arrive on the opposite side
  • Another way to make sure the train is going the right direction for the platform you are on (at least in Tokyo) is to check the next stop number. If underground there should be a sign on the wall directly across from you indicating the name of the current station and the stop number. Underneath will be the next stop with its stop number. You can (1) expand out the stops on your Google Maps and verify the name of the next stop or (2) check whether the stop numbers are going up or down in comparison with your stop
    • e.g. for (2), if you are currently at stop 21, the sign says the next stop is 20, and your stop is 11 you are taking the correct train! If your stop is 25 you'll want to turn around and take the train behind you
  • If you get on a train going the wrong way do not fret! You can simply get off at the next stop and cross to the other side of the platform to get the next train going the other direction
• There are different types of trains, such as the local, express, rapid express, limited express, etc. Anything other than the local will skip stops. Double check with Google Maps which one you need to take
  • Be aware that some limited expresses require extra tickets on top of the base fare
• When charging your IC card you need to do it in cash
• Signs are in English! We had no trouble navigating the stations

In general the transportation system reminded me a lot of Washington D.C. Taking public transportation was very easy. I only went into so much detail because I saw many people having trouble at the stations, and I know many people who have never taken public transport before. Do not be intimidated, after the first couple trips you will have it down pat!

Itinerary

In general we would be out of the hotel by 8 and back after dinner (typically sometime between 7-9)

Day 1: Flight/at the airport (Narita)/Tokyo

• Getting through immigration took about an hour I'd say. We filled out our forms ahead of time and had the QR code but paper forms and QR codes went in the same line so it didn't save too much time
  • Note: you need to fill out and get a QR code for each person. You can do it on the same account, you can just toggle the name at the bottom to change the code
• Dropped off luggage with Yamato (yellow with black cat logo) to ship to Kyoto
  • In Narita this was located on the first floor on the side opposite the info center
  • You will need your hotel's address and phone number
• Pick up money
  • There were ATMs near the info center
  • Interestingly, this is the only time a 7/11 ATM worked for us
• Picked up the Pasmo Passport (tourist specific IC card - valid for 30 days)
  • Located at the Skyliner and Keisei Information Center on the same floor as the trains
  • Line was very long
  • Before going anywhere you'll need to load it up with cash
• We stayed near Tokyo Station for the night so we took the Keisei Skyaccess

Day 2: Travel to Kyoto

• We woke up early (jetlag) and took the Shinkansen to Kyoto
  • We bought tickets at the station with no issue, the terminals were easy to use and had an option to change the language to English
    • Make sure you buy the ticket with base fare! It is just e...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/ereinu on 2024-03-30 22:04:14.

Hi,

I'll be traveling to Japan from the end of May until mid-June (21 days) together with my boyfriend. We've never been to Japan, and I want to make the most out of our trip without overwhelming or undoable planning. Our flights and hotels are booked, so we can't make any changes in that regard, but perhaps someone can check if we have days with too much or too little planned. Suggestions for must-visit locations are welcome.

Sadly, I'm not the most physically active person, and I can walk a maximum of 10km on a good day. So, I hope to keep most days a bit below that to save my poor feet and back. We are not really night people, so after dinner, we will return to our hotel to recharge for the next day, and if we still feel up for it, we might go out but I didn't put it in the planning.

Our planning in Osaka seems a bit empty on days 15 - 17 should we combine more in a day and add an extra day trip to the planning?

Note: The place names are from Google, and I hope they are correct.

May 21st - June 11th

Tue 21st Day 1 (Tokyo for 7 days)

• Arrive at Narita airport at 8:30 (Tokyo time).
• Complete airport procedures (Pasmo/Suica card, Wi-Fi setup, etc.).
• Travel to our hotel in Asakusa and drop off our suitcases (check-in at 15:00).
• Explore nearby attractions such as Nakamise-dori Street, Senso-ji, and Don Quijote.
• Have dinner near the hotel

Wed 22nd Day 2 (Ueno park and Akihabara)

• Visit Tokyo National Museum and Ueno Park.
• Explore Kanda Shrine.
• Head to Akihabara Electric Town for shopping (Hard Off, Hobby Off, Mandarake Complex, Super Potato, etc.).
• Return to the hotel for dinner

Thu 23rd Day 3 (Shibuya)

• Visit Meiji Jingu Shrine.
• Explore Shibuya, including Shibuya Crossing and Nintendo Tokyo.
• Enjoy dinner in Shibuya

Fri 24th Day 4 (workshop and Shinjuku)

• Attend a sample food workshop in Toshima City (30min - 1hour long)
• Explore Shinjuku area, including Golden Gai and Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.
• Have dinner in Shinjuku.

Sat 25th Day 5 (only if we can get Ghibli museum tickets)

• Visit Ghibli museum (if we can get the tickets)
• Lunch at a Cat cafe (temari no ouchi)
• Visit some stores near the cat cafe (mode off, hard off etc...)
• Visit another hard-off on the way bay near Koenji station (dinner somewhere)
• Return to the hotel

Sun 26th Day 6 (Ginza)

• Explore Ginza for shopping and sightseeing.
• Visit DiverCity for entertainment.
• Stroll through Kokyo Gaien National Garden.
• Enjoy dinner in Ginza.

Mon 27th Day 7 (Travel to Hakone)

• Visit the post office if needed to drop off parcel to send home
• Travel to Hakone for a day trip.
• Explore Hakone attractions.
• Have dinner at the hotel in Hakone

Tue 28th Day 8 (Travel to Kyoto)

• Travel to Kyoto.
• Drop off suitcases at the hotel.
• Visit Kiyomizu-dera Temple. (dinner somewhere) Return to the hotel

Wed 29th Day 9 (Fushimi inari)

• Visit Fushimi Inari Shrine early in the morning.
• Explore Nishiki Market. Dinner near hotel

Thu 30th Day 10 (Bamboo forest and Monkey park)

• Visit Arashiyama Bamboo Forest early in the morning.
• Explore Arashiyama Monkey Park.
• Visit Hard Off Katsura Store on the way back with the bus Dinner near hotel

Fri 31st Day 11 (shopping and Gion)

• Visit Pokemon Center Kyoto (5 min walk from our hotel)
• Rent a kimono in Gion
• Visit Ichiho, Yasaka-jinja shrine, Maruyama park (is this all do-able while wearing a kimono and Zori sandals?)
• Bring back the kimono (Dinner somewhere)
• Return to the hotel

Sat 1st Day 12 (Kyoto > Nara > Osaka)

• Travel to Nara in the morning
• Visit Kofuku-ji, Todai-ji, Tamukeyama Hachimangu Shrine
• Walk through Nara park
• Visit Kasuga Taisha
• Have dinner in Nara
• Travel to Osaka and check into the apartment.

Sun 2nd Day 13 (Osaka)

• Explore Osaka Castle.
• Visit Kuromon Ichiba Market.
• Explore Dotonbori and Shinsaibashisuji.
• Have dinner somewhere near Dotonbori/Shinsaibashisuji

Mon 3rd Day 14 (Osaka - Universal Studios)

Spend the day at Universal Studios Japan.

Tue 4th Day 15 (Osaka - Shinsekai market)

• Visit Shinsekai Market.
• Explore Shitennoji Temple.

Wed 5th Day 16 (Osaka - Den Den Town)

• Explore Den Den Town.
• Visit Super Potato.

Thu 6th Day 17 (Osaka - Minoh)

• Visit the post office if needed to send a parcel home
• Travel to Minoh for the day.

Fri 7th Day 18 (Osaka > Himeji > Hiroshima)

• Travel to Himeji and visit Himeji Castle.
• Take the Mount Shosha Ropeway.
• Visit a Hard Off on the way back.
• Travel to Hiroshima and check into the hotel.
• Dinner near the hotel

Sat 8th Day 19 (Miyajima)

Visit Miyajima Island and explore its attractions.

Sun 9th Day 20 (Hiroshima)

• Visit the Atomic Bomb Dome.
• Explore Hiroshima Castle, Shukkeien Garden, and downtown Hiroshima.
• Have dinner in Hiroshima.

Mon 10th Day 21 (Hiroshima to Osaka)

• Return to Osaka.
• Explore the southern part of Osaka.
• Have dinner in the hotel (hotel is near Kansai airport)

Tue 11th Day 22 (Departure from Osaka):

Departure from Kansai Airport at 10:00 Japan time.

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/jololojololoj on 2024-03-30 01:27:59.

Hello! I have created an itinerary for my 8-day trip to Tokyo, and I would appreciate any advice or assistance. Many thanks!

April 16

• Arrival
• Akihabara for dinner (since it's close to our hotel)

April 17

• Explore Taito

• Tokyo SkyTree

• Asakusa

• Tokyo National Museum

• Ueno Park

April 18

• Explore Shinjuku

• Shinjuku Gyoen

• Kabukicho

• Golden Gai

April 19

• Explore Minato

• TeamLabs Borderless

• Explore Shibuya

• Meiji Jingu Shrine

• Takeshita Street

• Harajuku

April 20

• Explore Chiyoda

• Jinbocho

• Explore Setagaya

• Shimokitazawa

April 21

• Explore Chuo

• Tsukiji Outer Market

• TeamLabs Planet

• The Advertising Museum Tokyo

• Ginza

April 22

• Explore Shibuya

• Shibuya Center-gai

• One Piece Straw Hat Store

• Shibuya Crossing

• Shibuya Sky

April 23

• Departure
• Akihabara for lunch

--

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/lilyintx on 2024-03-29 13:55:01.

Reflection on trip to Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka, Hakone, Tokyo.

Just got back! This was my 2nd trip (last trip March 2023) to Japan and we tried to visit more cities than last visit which was just Tokyo Osaka Kyoto and Nara.

This visit we did not get the Jr pass and just bought individual tickets for the Shinkansen and used our ic card. A recommendation for Shinkansen is go to the station, find the track you’re getting on, then buy tickets. Sometimes the stations are so big you could get lost in them, so I’m glad I never pre purchased tickets and had to rush. We bought some tickets (looked up the times before we left via google maps) 10 minutes before leaving and still could sit with my group- plenty of room! My feet never hurt I wore new balance 327 and used compression socks most days. I averaged about 18k steps per day and 10 flights of stairs. I’m not athletic at all and my feet killed me last visit- the right shoes matter. Also loved the ESim- we used Airalo which gave us 10gb over 30 days and I used it all almost. Cash is important to have as we found many restaurants only took cash. But if you don’t have enough cash move on to somewhere else, many places take card.

🌸We saw cherry blossoms all over Japan just not the full bloom.🌸

We flew into Fukuoka from the USA connecting at Haneda. This was by far the least touristy place of the entire trip. Staying near Hakata station, we loved the ease of travel visiting nearby places like Nanzoin temple and even taking the ferry to a few nearby islands. Within the city we did taxi frequently as the busses were not as fast or convenient. Our highlight was the SoftBank Hawks baseball game which is a much do if you’re in town during the season or preseason. We were by far standing out as the few tourists there. It was nice to not experience that craziness at the beginning of the trip. This is truly a peaceful and serene area. I highly recommend catching a ferry to Iki island or even taking the ferry to Busan if you have time. Tenza Hotel at Hakata station was our hotel, it was pretty good but no cleaning if you stay less than 3 days, they will replace towels though. I was ok with that. 2.5 days total there.

Next stop Hiroshima and we had to take the Hello Kitty Shinkansen! We got to Hiroshima and we stayed very close to the peace dome, which we found out has a ferry nearby that takes you from the canal to Miyajima Island. We arrived around 11am and stayed until 2pm walking around the island, visiting the temples, and waking down the shopping street which had beer, street food, and restaurants with delicious oysters. Back to Hiroshima and visited the peace park and sites around that area, then went into the shopping streets and left the next morning. The Knot Hiroshima was our hotel, highly recommend! Only one day here but I felt like we did a lot.

Kyoto is now becoming my favorite city, I love the look of the city and the culture. However the amount of tourists were insane. Almost ruined the trip! We stayed near Kyoto station and jumped back on the train to go to Yamazaki distillery for a tour and tasting. This was a major highlight as we are huge whiskey fans but it was a stressful experience to get tickets as it’s a lottery system. We got lucky and I can’t recommend this enough, you even get a chance to buy liquor at about $35 usd for a bottle- wow! Back to Kyoto and we went to several temples and shopping areas including Sannenzaka, Old Japan Starbucks, Nanenzaka, Kiyomiza Deru, Gion district and the big shopping streets nearby to visit the Nintendo store, loft, Uniqlo etc. All recommend. Nishiki market was a big letdown. The food was not that great and it was too packed. Loved seeing the Geishas and trying all the Matcha! Air bnb. Only 2.5 days here, I could have done more!

On to Osaka as we had tickets to the sumo tournament and that was our main reason to visit as I felt we had seen it all on our last trip. Sumo is just amazing to witness in person. We also went to Dontonburi, Shinsaibashi, Namba walk, and temples nearby. We loved the food in Osaka, but also had a disappointing time at Kuromon market, food has gone down in quality at most stalls. Air bnb. Only 2 days here and it was enough.

Mt Fuji on the Shinkansen is breathtaking I can’t imagine seeing it up close. I went to the larger window between cars to get better pictures!

Our next stop was Hakone to relax in the hot springs. They were so hot and truly rejuvenating. We didn’t want to spend $600 a night so we got a hotel and went to the day onsen where we rented a private onsen at Yuryo Hakone. Definitely worth it and 2 hours in a private room was the perfect amount of time. I felt rejuvenated and ready to finish our trip strong. Amazing food here at the pizza place -808 monsmare and sushi restaurant - nakamuraya. We stayed at Mirahakone right by the station and loved being able to walk the street - beware everything operates between 9am-5pm otherwise it’s a ghost town! Took the romance car straight to Shinjuku, it was a nice view, storage at the top but big luggage needs to go in the spot in between cars. One day only in Hakone, I could have stayed another day if I took a much longer trip.

Last stop was Tokyo where we split our 5 days into different neighborhoods. We were lucky enough to see some cherry blossoms at shinjuku gyoen and ueno park. We also visited the Gundam in Yokohama before it leaves which was a good experience possibly better at night, going up to the tower deck wasn’t worth it as you couldn’t see much, the view is better from the ground. We stayed at at Airbnb in shinjuku off the Yamamoto line. Shibuya sky is worth the stop but we had to buy tickets about 3 weeks in advance. I am a huge ghibli, Pokémon, Nintendo, hello kitty, dragonball nerd so we went to all those stores all over Japan and visited Bandai headquarters to get a picture with Goku. Sad we didn’t get ghibli museum or park tickets but oh well! I felt the stores were good compromises as every store has a different photo op. Ginza was my favorite neighborhood last visit but I think this visit I enjoyed Harajuku and Omotesando area the most for the shopping and cafes. We finally got into the amazing Uni restaurants at Tsukiji market and I highly encourage anyone who loves fish and uni to visit- Itadora Unitora. We also loved Ginza Bairin for their pork cutlets. A highlight meal was at T Nakameguro. Highest quality beef Ume, prepared as an omakase, truly mouth watering!

Overall I can’t wait to go back. I may have gone overboard on Japanese skincare and makeup, as well as matcha but I still didn’t get enough. What I would recommend is not to waste time or space buying all the snack souvenirs as they have them all at the airport, even the ginza or station speciality Tokyo bananas were at narita. You get them placed in duty free bags to take on the plane and you don’t have to worry about taking up space in your luggage. They also have so many other souvenirs that you can wait to buy everything until you get to the airport. Even the drugstore at the airport had all the beauty items, medicines and products you see on TikTok.

Side note: where can I order the delicious treats from Japan delivered to the US?

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/ahhtibor on 2024-03-29 00:09:50.

Hello, solo male traveller here, just back from three weeks in Japan, still in a bit of a daze so this might be a bit all over the place, but we’ll see how it goes. I visited Tokyo, Nikko, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Fukuoka, Osaka, back to Tokyo for home.Pre-trip planningI’ve been saying I wanted to visit Japan for years but kept finding excuses, but in Sep I finally just went ahead and booked the flights, meaning no turning back! I spent about a month planning where to go, and booked the hotels in October using Booking.com and paid for them over the next few months after paydays to spread out the cost. I opened a Chase bank account as there’s no charges for withdrawing (£1500 monthly limit for charge-free, but didn’t come close to withdrawing that much). I also booked a few workshops and visits ahead of time that I’ll come to later.

Packing

I pride myself on packing lightly, but even I cracked at the last second and took an extra jumper and t-shirt that I didn’t really need, then literally walking out of my house grabbed a pair of gloves (good idea) and a headlamp (ridiculous idea - I knew I was going to be doing some trekking and suddenly thought what if I get lost in the Japanese wilderness at night? I ended up forgetting to take it on the walks anyway)

I ended up packing:

1 x pair of shoes - Merrel Moab 3 GTX comfiest shoes I’ve ever owned. Bought in December and broken in ahead of March trip.

5 x pair of socks - schoolboy error in spending all that money on quality shoes then taking standard socks. Walked so much (example) and got a couple of blisters, so bought some quality walking socks. Should’ve bought them first with how much I was walking.

1 x pair of jeans

1 x lightweight walking trousers

4 x lightweight jumpers (sweaters)

5 x t-shirts (3 cotton, 2 polyester running t-shirts that wrap up small)

5 x boxer briefs

1 x beanie

1 x coat

1 x ultralight foldable backpack - highly recommend, wraps up as small as a pair of socks and great for daily use

1 x plug adapter - didn’t really need, hotels had USB slots for charging. Ended up forgetting it anyway later in the trip.

cables for charging

iPad for reading

toiletries

The finished bag. Pretty happy with that, meant I didn’t have to use luggage forwarding as it was easy to carry on public transport. I wish I’d packed a collapsible umbrella. Didn’t realise how much it rains in Japan - hotels have umbrellas you can borrow but they’re full sized and can be a pain to lug about if it stops raining. Most places have storage for umbrellas as everyone uses them. Bought a cheap one at Uniqlo.

Useful apps - Papago, google translate, japan wifi auto-connect, naviguide, safety tips (didn’t need thankfully), Ubigi esim - bought the 10GB plan, used about 6GB, worked fine. Tried setting up in England night before I left but it kept crashing my phone which was a bit worrying, but when I landed I turned phone back on and it automatically connected and started working.

Did the Visit Japan Web thing the night before the flight, strongly recommend doing this. Flew from Heathrow for 14 bastard hours in economy, landed 9am at Haneda. Don’t know if I just got lucky but it felt like we were the only people there, breezed through customs thanks to the visit japan web thing, longest wait was 10mins to get my checked bag. Got cash out of the ATM, bought a welcome suica card from the machine next to the ATM and loaded cash onto it, five minutes later I was on the monorail into Tokyo listening to Death in Vegas and Jesus and Mary Chain like an absolute cliche. Marvellous.

Tokyo - six nights

I had six nights in Tokyo staying in Akasaka. I can’t remember exactly why I picked there (booked all hotels back in October not long after booking the flights) - I think I’d read that it was a bit quieter than other places and I thought it might be a less overwhelming way to ease into the trip. I quit drinking nearly 10 years ago so bars and whatnot obvs aren’t important to me, so can’t comment on that sort of nightlife, and I can’t really compare it to anywhere else, but I thought the area was great. It had plenty of life to it, great restaurants, three subways within 10 mins walking including one literally across the road from the hotel (Sotetsu Fresa Inn).

A note on hotels - I stayed in 2/3 star hotels with a couple of nights in 4 star. Prices were between £40 - £60, all were perfectly fine. All I needed was a bed and a shower. Rooms were generally small but no problem for a solo traveller, showers were all great. Some had Japanese breakfasts included which I liked. I found that Japanese people like to eat as early as possible so if you give it an hour it’s a bit quieter and there was always food available.

I loved Tokyo. Honestly I could’ve spent the entire three weeks there happily - there’s so much to see and to do, such a lively and amazing looking place, the public transport is amazing. The subway is a little overwhelming at first but you get the hang of it pretty quickly - I found it easier to look at station numbers rather than names, so for example if I was going from Akasaka-mitsuke station to Ueno on the Ginza line I’d be going from G 5 to G 16. But as has been stated a million times on here, google maps is all you need. Just be aware that sometimes it underestimates the time it takes to transfer between lines, so take that into account if you have a specific booking you need to make. But the great thing is if you miss one train there’ll be another in like 3 minutes. Sometimes the trickiest thing was finding the best exit but even if you take a different one than the one recommended you just have to cross a road or something, it’s not like you end up in fucking Narnia or something.

What I did. Museums - Metropolitan Art, National Museum, NM of Modern Art, National Art Centre, Mori Arts centre. All worth visiting - I felt Met Art was a bit smaller than I was expecting, there seemed to be several galleries that weren’t open unless I was being a moron and couldn’t find a way in. National Museum had some great stuff though I wasn’t that impressed by the special exhibition. Mori Arts was probably my favourite of the lot, had an interesting ecological exhibition. It’s also on the 52nd floor of the building so you get some great views over Tokyo.

Teamlab - I did both Borderless and Planets. I’d booked Borderless the week before and could only get 3pm on a Weds. I arrived at 2.30pm expecting a big queue but they let me walk right in. It was quite busy but not overwhelmingly so, and I really loved it (shoutout to the staff whose job it was to keep wiping off the fingerprints in the mirrored room, a Sisyphean task if ever there was one). I spent probably 90 mins there - it’s worth going back into rooms you’ve been in as they change over time. It would be an amazing place for kids too I bet. I went to Planets the next day and I have to say I was a little underwhelmed. Maybe because I liked Borderless so much I had high expectations, but it all felt very rushed and it was like being forced through each exhibit with little time to explore and some of them were pretty much the same as Borderless too. I was through the whole thing in half an hour - I spent much more time queuing up. This did have an unexpected benefit in that having more time meant I visited the nearby Maraikan Emerging Science museum which was amazing! Lots of interactive stuff with English explanations - if you’re travelling with kids definitely add that to the list.

I’d had a day trip to Okutama planned (more on that later) which had to be cancelled because of overnight snow, so I had an unexpected day. I went to Ginza - spur of the moment visited the aquarium there and didn’t like it, there were either a million fish in a little tube or one lonely fish in a small bowl. They weren’t even particularly interesting, just a bunch of slightly different goldfish. Felt sorry for them mostly.

As it’s such an impressive looking building I decided to go up the Skytree and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. I got a ticket for sunset but if I did it again I would get one for later when it’s already dark. The sun basically fucked off without even a tip of the hat, or maybe it was too cloudy. Then it was just waiting for all the lights to come on, but when they did, wow, Tokyo does look amazing, and being that high up really gives you a perspective at how big the place is. Went to Senso-ji after that, it was fairly quiet at night. I happened to be there on a Sunday afternoon - it was not quiet.

A note on crowds - while researching where to go I’d come across so many comments about hordes of tourists everywhere that it was making me a little anxious, but honestly, it’s not that bad. Yes, it can get busy, but wherever you are there’s always an empty little side-street you can duck down if you get a bit overwhelmed. I didn’t experience anything worse than tourist hotspots in London, Paris, hell even Bruges on a weekend. Just make peace with the fact that you’re visiting one of if not the biggest tourist destination in the world. There are going to be people. Dotonbori on a Saturday night was probably the busiest place I went, it was like a slow-moving queue at times, but again, you can take a side-street and catch your breath. You’ll be fine.

I took a day trip to Kawagoe which I’d thoroughly reco...

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/smrglivac on 2024-03-28 18:20:23.

Trip reports were so helpful for me when planning, especially for planning a trip with kids, so here is my report. This is a looooong trip report with a few general tips at the end.

I have three kids (12 year old boy, 10 year old girl, 7 year old girl). We are travelling from California. Kids and husband have never really traveled internationally. We squeezed in a lot in 9 days, but it never felt too rushed. I did a lot of research and planning, and I tried to plan only one or two things per day. I also tried to have a balance between things the kids would like (monkeys, deer, mini pigs, roller coasters) and things my husband and I would like (temples, castles, walking around). My kids ended up liking the temples way more than I expected.

Day 1: The plan: arrive Narita in the evening, get PASMO cards, take Narita Express to Shinagawa station, stay the night at Shinagawa Prince hotel. It all worked out smoothly. The hotel was directly across the street from the train station, which was really nice after a long flight. (In retrospect, we could have paid more to fly into Osaka since the first part of our trip was in Kyoto. It would have saved us from going into Tokyo the first night, then taking a train to Kyoto the next day. But I found a great deal on flights that went in and out of Narita, so it would have been hard to justify an extra couple hundred dollars x five people.)

Day 2: The plan: Shinkansen to Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera, Ponto-cho. I did not reserve the train beforehand, as I could not get the app to take my American credit card. There are trains every ten minutes or so, but it was hard to find one with 5 seats together. All the trains within the next two hours only had middle seats left. We opted for green car seats (more expensive), which had plenty of open seats on trains leaving within the hour, and seats on the right side so we could see Mount Fuji! After arriving in Kyoto, we dropped off our luggage at our hotel. Then took a very crowded bus to Kiyomizu-dera. Wandered through Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka. This was our first experience in Japan, and the kids loved these streets. We ate food from a few street vendors for lunch. The kids also loved the temple itself. It was afternoon on a weekday, so the streets and temple were crowded enough that you couldn't get a picture without other people in the shot, but it was not so crowded that you were bumping into other people. The family was too tired for Ponto-cho, so we headed straight back to the hotel. My husband didn't want to brave the crowded bus, so we took a taxi home. We were asleep by 7pm.

Day 3. The plan: Fushimi Inari, Nara. Everyone was awake at 3am, tried to go back to sleep with various levels of success. Headed to Fushimi Inari around 8am. It was more crowded than I expected for getting their so early, but still not too crowded. The kids were not too impressed with the hike, but I thought it was nice. We then took a train from the station directly to Nara. The kids loved feeding the deer, whereas my husband and I thought it seemed a little like a glorified petting zoo. The deer closer to the train station were much more docile than the ones closer to Todai-ji. Some of those deer were quite aggressive, so I recommend doing the feeding at the first park you reach from the train station. Todai-ji was amazing and was a highlight for my husband and me. The kids were exhausted with all the walking this day, but even in their tired state, they were impressed with it and the giant Buddha. We also saw one tree blooming with cherry blossoms, so that was exciting for everyone. Took a rapid limited express train back to Kyoto (this train required reserved seats, for some reason that I was never able to figure out). Asleep by 7pm.

Day 4: The plan: Arashiyama and Iwatama monkey park in the morning, Ginkaku-ji in the afternoon. This was our last full day in Kyoto, so we shipped all our luggage (except for one small suitcase) to our Tokyo hotel. The staff at our Kyoto hotel took care of all of it for us. We left for Arashiyama around 8am. Not too crowded at the bamboo forest. We hadn’t planned on Tenryu-ji, but it was right there and the kids were excited to see it, so we went. It was so peaceful. The kids loved walking around in socks. I loved the gardens. It started pouring and we did the hike up to the monkey park in the rain. Everyone was crowded into the little indoor hut, so it was a bit chaotic viewing and feeding the monkeys. I would have been fine skipping the entire thing, but my kids thought this was one of the best parts of the trip, so I'm glad we did it. It poured on the walk down, and the walk back to the train station. Ginkaku-ji was vetoed by the family because they didn't want to walk around in the rain anymore. We went to Nishiki market instead, as it was a straight shot on the train and then indoors after that. This was our first really crowded experience where you were shoulder to shoulder with people. The vibe kind of fit the bustle of the market though, so we still all had fun. My older daughter does not like fish, and she got it in her head that everything had fish in it, so she refused to eat anything from the market. My son, on the other hand, ate all the crazy things he could find. Lots of good food, lots of fun.

Day 5: The plan: train to Himeji in the morning, visit Himeji, then shinkansen to Tokyo in the afternoon, Akihabara. Starting to wake up a little later. Checked out of our Kyoto hotel a little later than planned. Decided to take a shinkansen to Himeji instead of a rapid train to save an hour of travel time. Again, we had a choice between waiting a few hours to get seats together or booking a green car. We opted for a green car again so that we could get on an earlier train. We put our one piece of luggage and 5 backpacks into two storage lockers at the Himeji train station. After our train full of people, most of the lockers were full, so I was glad we got there relatively early (around 9am). By the time we got to the castle, it was closer to 9:30. It was not crowded at all. The kids loved climbing the steep stairs in socks. They enjoyed the castle way more than I expected. We spent about 2 hours total at the castle, then went back to the train station to book a shinkansen for Tokyo. We were able to book regular seats (not green car) and get seats together on the next direct train. By the time we arrived in Tokyo and made our way to our hotel, we were able to check in to our hotel. Our luggage from Kyoto was already in our rooms! We headed to Akihabara to look around. The kids had fun with some crane games until they gave up trying to win anything as they all seemed rigged. We spent way longer than expected at a gachapon place, and enjoyed the neon lights and walking around with the night time bustle of a city. This was our first evening where we were out past dark.

Day 6: The plan: DisneySea! We took a taxi there because public transport would have taken us an hour and we wanted to be there for rope drop. It was an amazing day. We got several priority passes, so we didn't have to wait in too many lines. The park is so big that it never felt crowded. I vowed to take the train home, but in the end, tiredness won out and we took a taxi. Both taxis were pretty expensive, but it allowed us

Day 7: The plan: rest in the morning, Harajuku, mini pig café, Shibuya, Tokyo Dome City in the evening. This was mostly a rest day. We went to Sushiro in Shinjuku for a late breakfast/early lunch. This was a highlight for everyone in our family. You order all your food on a tablet (in English), and then the food arrives via conveyor belt. Even my daughters who don't like fish found things to eat and enjoy. There were lots of families, so I never felt worried that my kids were being too loud (which I felt quite often during the rest of the trip). We made our way to Harajuku for a visit to the Mipig "minipig" Cafe. It was a little gross and stinky for me, but the pigs genuinely seemed to enjoy snuggling and being pet. My older daughter had lots of pigs to cuddle and this was her favorite activity of our whole trip. My younger daughter felt left out since not as many pigs cuddled with her, and so she cried about it for the rest of the trip. Murphy’s Law for kids. Afterwards, we planned to explore Harajuku and Takeshita street, but the street was too crowded. (It was a Saturday, so we kind of knew what we were getting into.) Shoulder-to-shoulder tourists and tour groups. The shops were cute but tiny, and it seemed like you could buy those things elsewhere. We had some crepes and then gave up. We went to Shibuya to see the Shibuya crossing and to shop at the Mega Don Quixote. The Don Quixote was packed and the tiny aisles made it hard to shop. My kids wanted to buy everything they saw, and I kind of regretted the whole thing. We bought a bunch of kit kats that were probably over-priced, but it was definitely an experience walking through the shop. (We much more enjoyed a trip to Bic Camera, although I’m not sure if they have the same selection of chocolates and candy). At the end of the day, we headed to Tokyo Dome City because my son wanted to ride the Thunder Dolphin roller coaster. We had checked the schedule a few days before, and it said the roller coaster would be opening that day. I should have checked it again because once we got there, we found out it was closed indefinitely. There was a baseball game about to f...

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