my advice: take your time and walk to places

26 comments

1. I second everything said and would like to add getting good shoes with good support. I walked everywhere during my 7 day trip a few years back. Feet were killing me by the fourth day.

2. Great advice!!!

3. But people think this means it’s a good idea to have an itinerary that says “Wander around, find a place to eat” because they expect something magical to happen along the way. But in reality they’re going to get frustrated and end up having a miserable time because they didn’t plan at all. There’s a happy medium between having every minute of the day planned out and having no plan.

4. Oh man the vending machines in unexpected places are so cool. My gf and I have very fond memories of them.

5. [deleted]

6. Couldn’t agree with this more. I hesitate to point this out on itinerary posts because for many people this may be something that they’ve waited years to do, probably won’t get another chance to do for a few more years after that, and they want to hit all their big checklist items, which I totally understand. That said, when I was travelling to Japan some of my best memories are from “off” days where I just set out to go shopping or went out more or less aimlessly. Sometimes you turn a corner and see the most amazing things. Sometimes you just want to pass through some area on the way somewhere else but run into a festival or some other event that you didn’t know about. Sometimes you get lost trying to change trains and end up finding the cutest café or restaurant or club or little semiresidential district. Sometimes you’re out for drinks and strike up a conversation and get invited to do x/y/z later that night or early next morning. And it’s good to have a little bit of a buffer in your itinerary so you can take these chances when they present themselves.

   Later on I lived in Japan for a couple of years but I’d still find absolute gems in my own backyard. Japanese cities are big. And some of the most random spots I stumbled into by accident eventually became favorites that I would go back to for years. So yeah, I definitely think getting lost and having time to take opportunities is underappreciated. Chances are talking to that chatty barkeeper until closing and going to Karaoke with him and missing that one museum that was planned for tomorrow morning at 10:00 is going to make the trip much better. Or buying a towel at the conbini and joining that beach party that you didn’t know was happening and missing the second temple of the day. And so on.

7. I agree with this sentiment fully. But I would probably decrease the distance to 1 mi. If someone is on a 1 month long trip like you were I think it makes sense, but for someone there trying to see all they can in 10 days that may not be feasible (I know this won’t apply to some people with superhuman energy). Even taking the trains as much as possible and doing normal exploring, you can easily rack up 15-20 miles in a day. I do agree that some of the best moments are on foot wandering, so Definitley don’t spend all your time in taxis and trains

8. I like your way of traveling! I’m going to Japan in November, and we are planning on doing a very relaxing itinerary like the one you mentioned. I’m so excited!!

9. also when looking for food using google maps, ZOOM IN. we found so many interesting places by not using the ‘explore this area’ button and instead zooming in to look for food icons. Google is not doing you a favor when they furnish those high point entries necessarily.

10. My poor feet, though.

11. I LOVE walking in Japan; it’s my preferred mode of transportation 🙂
    Watching the people go about their business is so fascinating and beautiful.

    I’d also add that if you’re usually one to put on headphones and listen to music as you walk, try unplugging and just listening to the sound of the city/nature/people. Immerse yourself!

12. Yes, but in moderation.

    My first three days in Kyoto I walked everywhere – from the station to Gion with my bags, to downtown, the whole Higashiyama area, walked a full day in Nara etc. Sunrise to sundown every day. And it was great, but I exhausted myself and was too tired to enjoy dinner or nightime.

    After that, I realised that it’s not a sin to take a taxi or a bus. To have an hour in the hotel halfway through the day. My second week has been much more relaxed, and I find that with a better tempo comes a more mindful appreciation of what you’re seeing.

    Also, having walked tons in Kyoto, Osaka, Himeji, Kanazawa, Shinjuku, and now Takayama, I have to be honest – 95% of the walk between places is just boring urban environment that you could see anywhere, with a slight Japanese twist. Once you get used to that Japanese element, there’s little interesting there anymore. You aren’t going to be having conversations with people randomly on the street.

    And yes, especially in Kyoto, you’ll stumble upon temples and shrines everywhere, but the truth is that the best ones really are the ones you’ll find on the itineraries – that’s why they’re there.

    If I could recommend one city that you walk around a ton, it would be Kyoto. And one that you use the transport – Tokyo.

13. I agree, every day we walked until it was to painful to keep walking but so worth it (as long as you have a day or two to relax in between!)

14. Seconded, great advice! You never know what you might find walking around… interesting places to eat, shrines etc. I am in Japan at the moment for the second time and we have averaged around 20-25km of walking per day. In my experience, most cities are very easily walkable!

15. My wife and I wanted to head to a place to eat while we were in Shibuya, and Google maps goofed up and took us to Ebisu (we didn’t realize at the time)! But if we hadn’t walked, we wouldn’t have seen some cool places, and Ebisu wasn’t even on our itinerary and it was so cool!

    Highly recommend getting “lost” sometimes.

16. The first time I went to Japan my partner had a catastrophic health event and ended up in ICU in Tokyo for 3 days and hospital for 8 more. I have seen NONE of the major sights but just wandering around Gotanda, Meguro and Ebisu kept me sane. Am going back solo next month and can’t wait to see more.

17. Really the best way to see *any* city is to walk! You’re exactly right – slow down and get to see all the little things. And cities in Japan are *full* of little gems, it’s amazing! One of our hotels this year was in Sumida City district, Tokyo. Right across the street there was a little shrine/park nestled between two large buildings and proudly proclaimed its name in English as Dog Shit park. It was a hilarious but wonderful start to our two week trip to Japan. This isn’t unusual, I think, because on our previous trip staying in Asakusa there was also a little shrine next door.

    Speaking of, the trip when we stayed in Asakusa, I wandered around one evening and meandered past an open garage with a lift, 4 cars 2 wide by two tall, and saw some insane condition classic cars (Gen 2 Gtr, what I’m assuming is a replica of Speed Racers car, a mint condition old Mini, and something else.) Being a car guy, this tickled my fancy indeed, and I absolutely wouldn’t have seen it had I taken a cab as it was on a smaller back alley off the main roads.

    Even still, walking gives you the chance to slow down and see these places, read about them, take a deep breath, step back from life, and be in the moment. You’ll find the unexpected in the best of senses – cafes, cars, people, shops, gardens… That’s one of the things I love about Japan. So many places and opportunities to stop and take the atmosphere in. Not even just small shrines, but parks, small gardens that are squeezed between modern buildings yet *meticulously* cared for. I’ve never seen another country take so much pride in the small things.

    For reference, we walked 65 miles in 5 days in Tokyo the first time we were there. Since then, we always make it a point to walk as much as possible when there. And when I travel for work, I do the same thing in whatever city I happen to be in, provided it’s not a sketchy location. It’s always great to find the little things, but I haven’t found cities in any other country that do the little things *this well.*

18. I spent a month in Japan for a holiday. I had an itinerary, but it ended up being somewhat basic. Initially my schedule was pretty packed, but I found after 4-5 days I was exhausted, and wasn’t really taking everything in. I felt busy, and I don’t think holidays should feel that way.

    I went during hanami, and one of the things I wanted to do was go to the meguro river area. I decided to take the train, but get off 2 stations early and walk the rest of the way. Walking through those quieter areas were some of my favourite moments.

    I enjoyed it so much that I actually removed some things from my holidays to-do list so I had a bit more “exploration time”.
    Some days all I did was go to my nearest station, walk to a random platform, and get off at a random station, pick a random exit, and walk a random direction. There’s some really cool stuff out there outside the typical tourist spots.

    If you have more than a week to explore Japan, definitely take some time to just walk around and explore.

19. Wholeheartedly agree on this. I may not have the luxury of staying in Japan for close to a month, but those “unplanned” walks have always been the highlight of my trip.

    I’ve been to Japan for 5+ times now, and have completely gone off the beaten path since the 3rd visit and boy, wished I had done this earlier.

    The wonderful side streets, the hole-in-the-wall joint, the small park and shrine sandwiched between skyscrapers and the quiet vibe away from the centre of the action was really something.

    I know arguments would go like Tokyo/Japan is expensive, and not everyone has the luxury to go there again multiple times – but to be honest, most of the usual tourist circuit is overrated and not “Japan” at all after coming across all those smaller sites. You can definitely squeeze those in for a day or two, but after a while there’s nothing much to it.

    To each their own, but if you’re the “tick-the-box” tourist then by all means you can squeeze in the traditional Osaka-Kyoto-Tokyo circuit in a week, but I tell you one thing for sure, you’ll be missing out a lot if you don’t wander out.

20. Yes!!! One of our favorite things about Tokyo was when I got a little confused with transportation on our way to the Ghibli museum so my 5 year old and I walked about 1.5 miles to it. We walked under tons of picturesque cherry blossom trees and talked and had a great time.

    I will never forget that walk.

21. I’ve not been to japan. Yet. I do however visit Washington DC pretty frequently. It’s my favorite city and it’s where I was born so that makes it my city.

    I walk everywhere when I’m there. Miles and miles I have walked. I encourage everyone to walk in unfamiliar cities. The things you come across by going slowly more than make up for what you think you’re missing by not taking a car or mass transit.

    Course, I do have one problem. Anytime I’m just randomly taking lefts and rights in DC I will inevitably look up and realize I’m standing next to the Watergate. I swear that building is following me.

22. I must agree cause you find the most amazing things just by walk around like I found a really good bakery right near my hotel that was not on Google maps

23. I’m on day two of a three week trip and agreed 100%. Haven’t taken a bus/cab/subway yet. One of my favorite things about Japan is just walking around and finding places to eat.

24. man my favorite thing in japan was walking everywhere with back bag full of onigiri, it was utterly lovely to walk in that country.

25. I completely agree… if you’ve got a month to spend.

    If you only have a week or two and you’d be gutted if you didn’t fit the big list of sights on your itinerary into your trip, I’d say absolutely use public transport and try and cram everything in. Then on your second trip (if possible), you can spend a bit more time smelling the roses.

    That being said, I’ve recently got back from a 2 week tour of Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, and Osaka, and my absolute favourite memory was getting up early to leave the apartment at 4:45am to see Senso-ji temple without any crowds. That was an amazing experience to see such a, normally, busy city so quiet and peaceful.

26. Wholeheartedly agree. You find the most unexpected and beautiful things in Japan. I was on my way to a Pokémon Store in Osaka when I passed by a park (saw it on my phone’s maps) and thought it’d be cool to peek in. To my surprise, there was a ramen festival going on that week, and I happened to stumble upon it on its last day! Worth all the extra time 🙂

    Another scenario was when I didn’t really have an agenda while in Takayama. I roamed around, found a cute cafe, then a bike renting shop, and biked around town to a few shrines, mini rivers, and saw the sunset on the taller side of town. Near dinner time, I randomly asked our hotel’s receptionist for a food recommendation, and she suggested going to the local family-owned sushi restaurant which was usually packed with locals. Per her instructions, I went 15 minutes before it opened and was able to grab the only walk-in seat. It was awesome.

    I can’t say the same for other countries, since wandering around Bangkok, Thailand (am Thai) would definitely be 1) too hot 2) too crowded, but Japan…it’s just so different.

    Can’t wait to go for my second time and just spend a whole day wandering around with a camera.