First of all sorry for my mistakes with the language, I am not an English native speaker.
I traveled to Japan for the first time in mid October 2023, until 2nd November, and it was the best trip of my life.
We visited Tokyo (and DisneySea), Kyoto (with day trip to Nara) and Hiroshima (day trip to Miyajima).
For those who don’t want to read the whole thing:
\-Data: We both bought 10 GB of roaming with Ubigi and it was great, 5G all the time.
\- Transport: Loaded the Suica into our iPhones and it was very easy to use, just tap in and out metro stations, trains within the city and buses.
We also bought the 7 day JR Pass with the previous price, for our trips from Tokyo – Kyoto – Hiroshima, and ended up using it also to get to Nara and Miyajima.
\- Food: Loved everything. Apart from the typical sushi and ramen, I enjoyed tonkatsu, Japanese curry, all sorts of snacks, tofu… We never queued for a restaurant, there’s such an amount of them that I feel we didn’t have to.
If you are a soft-serve lover, please try to find Cremia. Thank me later.
\-Crowds: I read here about how overcrowded Kyoto can be, but I didn’t have that experience. Yes, the most popular areas attract a lot of tourists, but there are so, so many temples in the city that are empty that you can always enjoy it. In Tokyo we also felt very comfortable, the only moment I felt it was too much was a weekend night before Halloween in Shibuya, but again, you walk one street away and it’s almost empty.
Staff: I have to say this, but every single employee, from hotels, to restaurants, to shops, was extremely polite, I loved it.
DisneySea: Best theme park I’ve ever been to. We went on 31st October and expected huge crowds but we had the park to ourselves!
Prices: Due to the yen being so weak, we found the prices very, very cheap. Food was much cheaper than in Prague. You can manage to eat in a lot of places for 1000 yen, or even less! Clothes were also cheaper than in at least most of Europe, especially Uniqlo of course.
1) Arrival in Tokyo:
We arrived at around 7 pm, and went through immigration quite quickly. We bought the Narita Express return ticket (since we were leaving within 14 days) and made our way to Tokyo.
The arrival to Tokyo Station was very easy, we had handluggage and a big suitcase and had more than enough space on the Narita Express (for the handluggage above our heads, for the big suitcase on ther designated area).
We were staying in Kanda, exactly one stop between Tokyo Station and Akihabara, and since this station is covered by JR lines, we could use our Narita Express ticket to get there. I thought navigating Tokyo Station would be complicated, but it is actually really easy, just follow the signs to your JR or metro line and be sure you are taking the train on the right direction.
We stayed at the Sotetsu Fresa Inn Kanda Otemachi, and for us it was great. Sure, the rooms are very small, but the price was great, the location excellent and the breakfast was good.
Kanda was a great place to stay. There was a lot of different restaurants, it became nicely alive in the evenings, and we also had 7/11, Lawson and Family Mart around us.
2) Tokyo Day 1:
Jet lag was quite bad but didn’t stop us from enjoying the breakfast and going to Asakusa to see the Senso-ji Temple and walk around the area. We also got exposed to our first Don Quijote, which was nice because it was almost empty, a big contrast compared to the Shibuya one.
After this we went to the Skytree, for which I had bought tickets. Highly recommend it. We also ate in the food court of the mall underneath the tower.
We walked around the area and ended up going to Ueno Park, where we rested for some time, and made our way to Akihabara. It was fun to just walk around and play some arcades.
For dinner we went back to Kanda and visited one of the restaurants there.
3) Tokyo Day 2:
This day was a Saturday, and went to TeamLab Planets at the opening hour. We really enjoyed the exposition (I thought it would be longer though), and the time we spent getting there walking around Odaiba afterwards.
We took the Yurikamome from there to go to Ginza and ejoy the views from the monorail. It was more expensive than the regular metro, but worth it.
We spent the next few hours in Ginza checking stores such as Uniqlo, and since it was Saturday the main street was closed to cars which was very nice.
In the evening we walked from our hotel back to Ginza to see it at night.
4) Tokyo – Kyoto Day 3:
In the morning we left Tokyo to go to Kyoto. We took the shinkansen at Tokyo Station and arrived in Kyoto around noon. I was surprised by how much space we had on the train. We could fit our big luggage on the overhead compartiment.
After arriving in Kyoto, we went straight to leave our belongings at the hotel (Hotel Rinn Niomon). This hotel was fantastic, a short walk from both metro and bus stops, and walkable distance from Gion or the river. The room was very big, but the downside is that they do not offer breakfast.
We made our way from there by walk to Nanzen-ji Temple, and from there we followed the Philosopher’s Path to the Silver Pavillion.
I have to say this was one of the best parts of the trip. We visited many temples on the side of the path, and the are itself is extremely peaceful.
At night we made it to Pontocho and walked back through Gion. Both were very beautiful at night.
5) Kyoto Day 4:
We took the bus to Kiyomizu-dera at around 9 am. Although it wasn’t early, and there were many people, the experience was very good. We spent quite some time here, and then made our way down to Kennin-ji Temple, which was almost empty and was simply amazing.
We decided to visit Nishiki Market, which was a bit too crowded at that time, and finished the day walking around the center and by the Kamo river.
At night we decided to have dinner in some local area, and ended up having some spectacular Japanese curry in a tiny restaurant in front of the University Hospital.
6) Kyoto Day 5:
This was Arashiyama day. Getting there by public transport is really easy. The bamboo grove is alright, but walking around the area and seeing the hills, the river and the Saga Toriimoto streets was much better.
We had an amazing lunch (herring and tofu ramen) at Jurakuan. The owner is a very old lady, and she worked there alone. Obviously she doesn’t speak any English, but we somehow managed to communicate. You sit on the floor, and the place looks like from an old movie, definitely recommend.
On the way back to our hotel, we walked around the Imperial Palace gardens and next to the Kamo River.
7) Kyoto Day 6 (Nara and Fushimi Inari):
We visited Nara Park during the morning and really liked it, Todai-ji is worth the trip alone. Since we came with the JR train, the walk from the JR station to Nara Park was quite long, so be aware of that, a lot of time was spent just walking to get to the park and then back to the station.
On the way back we stopped by Fushimi Inari, and while at first it was very crowded, after 20 minutes going upstairs we were almost alone. We couldn’t make it to the top because it was getting dark already, but I really liked the place.
8) Kyoto to Miyajima Day 7:
At 8 am we took the direct shinkansen to Hiroshima from Kyoto Station. From there, we took the local train that leaves you by the sea, where we took the boat to the island.
This was one of the best days of the trip. The island is really beautiful, with its forests and deers, and they have great oysters!
In the evening we went back to Hiroshima, and stayed at Smile Hotel Hiroshima. Typical business hotel, but bigger than the one in Tokyo. Good breakfast and location.
Special mention to the sushi place we visited that night, Tsuru Sushi, run by an elderly couple who do not speak any English and offer an amazing sushi for very good price. On top of that, when leaving, they gifted us with a very cute mug from their restaurant.
9) Hiroshima to Kyoto Day 8:
We visited the Peace Memorial and Museum. It’s not a fun experience, but necessary. After that we went for a walk around the Hiroshima castle and the city center, and made our way back to Kyoto, this time with a short change in Osaka.
10) Kyoto to Tokyo Day 9:
The next morning we left Kyoto. After arriving to our hotel in Tokyo (same one in Kanda), we headed to Shinjuku and spent the rest of the day there, walking around Kabukicho too. Not much to tell here, interesting buildings, but not my favorite area in Tokyo.
11) Tokyo Day 10:
We first went around Takeshita street, which was interesting to see but not our vibe, but we had a good time exploring streets around, like Cat street. Plenty of shops, any brand you can imagine was there. Once you leave Takeshita the streets are much quieter too.
After that we went to Shibuya and walked around the main streets. It was the weekend right before Halloween so the experience wasn’t as enjoyable because there was police everywhere and you had to rush to cross the scrumble.
12) Tokyo Day 11:
We decided to walk around a different neighbourhood, Shimokitazawa, and it was great! No tourists on sight, streets that seemed to have come straight from an anime and a very nice vibe overall.
Also, I had to buy some stuff at Uniqlo so this area was great for that, the store was very big and it was empty compared to other locations in more popular areas.
13) Tokyo Day 12:
Tokyo DisneySea day! I was extremely worried about the crowds because it was Halloween day, but the park was almost empty! I rode Journey to the Center of the Earth three times because the lines were never longer than 15 minutes. We rode every attraction and enjoyed the park immensely.
If you have time, I really recommend the park. I’ve been twice to Disneyland Paris and DisneySea is much, much better. Just comparind the staff is night and day…
14) Tokyo Day 13:
Our last day we decided to go to Kanda Shrine. They have a very interesting cafe and shop, where we bought a lot souvenirs that look much better than those you can find in Don Quijote. We also bought some amulets there and enjoyed a matcha in their cafe.
After that, we went to East Gardens of the Imperial Palace and explored the massive complex of the Tokyo Station. I think one can spend days without seeing it all, it’s incredible!
by Hey-Prague