The wife and I are heading to Japan during Obon for 3 weeks. Between my travels, and her growing up in Kansai and working all over Japan we have both “been there done that” although this will be our first intensive trip of Japan since getting married. This is mostly to see her family and squeeze in a little fun.
I’m looking for weird shit to do, places to eat, bars (she drinks I don’t) clubs and anything else. I guess I would be mostly happy with cheap and weird eateries, but I am open for suggestions of things that probably aren’t on the top 50 things to do on Trip Advisor.
5 days Tokyo
Matsumoto stop on the way to Takayama for 2 nights in an onsen ryokan with Kaiseki service.
5 days Osaka
7 days in Wakayama
1 last night in Ginza before leaving in the morning
There is a low likelihood of the days changing.
Anybody have anything cool or weird to share? Also, cheap day passes for gyms would be appreciated because for some reason they are astronomical in many areas.
Edit: All things Hoji-cha. It’s pretty rare to find even in Japan so anything Hoji-cha sweets I’ll take, cakes, ice cream, lattes, anything. I would probably even make a stop somewhere just to have it.
22 comments
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Can you even enter right now?
If you’ve never been, go bar hopping in Golden Gai. It’s a neat experience.
It kinda depends one where you want to go. You would probably have good luck going through google reviews for the restaurants around the places you will be staying. Or googling around for events related to hobbies and interests you already have.
From a Tokyo perspective, Roppongi does seem to be pretty happening lately since everything else shut down. Just before covid, VR centers and escape rooms ( 脱出ゲーム ) were also kindof a big deal but I don’t know if they’re coming back yet. the best “weird” times I end up having tend to come from not having a strict plan and striking up a good conversation with someone in a bar who knows a cool spot to go next. But that’s never a guarantee, ya know?
For a gym pass, search up the public gyms for the place you will be staying like OOスポーツセンター. Usually it less than 1000 yen for pretty nice facilities!
‘weird Japan’ isn’t off the beaten path
When I am in Osaka I like to catch a couple[ taishu engeki](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhb-pQpYamA) shows, The suzunariza theater is very old fashioned and cool and there are several others.
Yakko in Osaka. Old dudes smoking cigarettes and making kushikatsu behind a tiny counter.
Are you going to Koyasan in Wakayama? I loved everything about it, from the shukubo to the temple walks to the shops to the little vegetarian cafe run by a Western couple. I was there in 2016; I hope they’re still there now.
I don’t know that there’s anywhere really in Tokyo/Osaka that’s “off the beaten path” unless you consider just random izakayas off the beaten path.
Especially in those cities where many tourists go, if it’s something you’ve heard of, they have too. If it’s not something you’ve heard of, is it “special” at all? Don’t get me wrong, I loved my neighborhood izakayas when I lived in Japan and miss them dearly, but it’s not as if I couldn’t find similar izakayas anywhere else.
It sounds like maybe Wakayama is the family time? I can’t imagine spending a week there otherwise. Best suggestion is to pop over to shikoku or wherever else there is convenient ferry access to. That’s probably your best bet for places that aren’t inundated with (foreign) tourists, relatively speaking.
To be honest, as your wife seems to be a Japanese citizen, you’d probably be better off researching in Japanese. There are plenty of Japanese sites that talk about 穴場スポット.
They ask for off the beaten path and you recommend golden gai?
Go to Osorezan and Hotokegaura in and around Mutsu City. You can visit the Aomori festivalsaround that time too. Can’t get anymore off the beaten path than that.
Have you ever seen Awa Odori in Tokushima? It’s held during Obon. It was cancelled the last two years, so I’m sure it’ll be extra crazy this year. I wouldn’t count on finding a hotel now, though.
Definitely not everyone’s cup of tea but my partner had a blast at a gun bar in Tokyo. It was called Shooting Bar EA and was just up the road from the Ghibli Museum.
In Takayama go to Toshi Ten for tempura, it is unbelievable, you will not regret it.
Yous guys should see if her family has any friends who teach at a middle school, and see if they’ll invite you out to spend a half day. I taught in Japan a couple years and stay in touch with the teachers I befriended, and when I brought one of my friends (who had no experience in Japan or with Japanese culture) back for vacation a few years later, the teachers invited us to join them for a day. As mundane as the day was, it was absolutely the highlight of the whole trip. We showed up in the AM, we were introduced to the school at their morning meeting after the sports practices were done, then we spend the day with the English teachers hanging out with their classes. The kids were *fucking pumped* and we got a free lunch out of it too. It was a good combination of feeling awkward, feeling like a superstar, and getting a genuine glimpse into “normal life”.
There’s a ferry from Wakayama to Tokushima. If you can rent a car you can head to Nagoro Scarecrow Village. It’s a small town made up entirely of scarecrow dolls.
Fight Club 428 bar in Shibuya. Go after 6pm and have fun drinking and watching people spar.
FIGHT CLUB 428
〒150-0043 東京都渋谷区道玄坂２丁目２７-２
03-3464-1799
In Osaka you have a Gundam themed bar Axis [https://goo.gl/maps/VeepR9nd6yFbpRrp6](https://goo.gl/maps/VeepR9nd6yFbpRrp6)
And another themed bar called DIO in Nakano [https://goo.gl/maps/PEzGMYQXBjeLAmvAA](https://goo.gl/maps/PEzGMYQXBjeLAmvAA)
https://en.visitwakayama.jp/venues/venue_39/
Fun / little silly adventure. I’m not a huge onsen guy, but some of the smaller Wakayama ones can be fun. As it’s over Obon, Kawayu Onsen might also be nice. I’ve stopped at some fruit orchards, in Yuasa for soy sauce (soy sauce soft serve was surprisingly delicious), and for lacquerware shopping in Wakayama. If any of those are of interest, I can share more.
Depends on how you define ‘cool’, but I found the really big collection of used feudal weapons in Oyamazumi shrine cool. It’s quite out of the way, and not that easy to get to if you’re not familiar with how public transport works in Japan.
Not sure about how you feel about cycling, but exploring side streets along a major cycling route is something I do a lot. I once cycled around Kyoto, it was pretty fun going down side streets, trusting your nose and ears to suss out interesting places. When I get back to Kansai I’d most likely either cycle around Lake Biwa (Hikone is *such* a chill town) or do the Shimanami Kaido.
Have you tried any of the municipal public gyms (sports center)? I know some places require you to be a resident of the city/ward, but that’s not true for all of them. Day entry for them is super cheap, like less than 1000 yen.
After 5 minutes using osaka and weird as my main terms I found, well, I found this site : https://theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles/off-the-beaten-path-osaka-s-best-kept-secrets/
I’m intrigued in the suicide pact temple and may add to my own list. 🤣
If you’re into architecture I suggest checking out the massive underground flood water system in Saitama. You’ll need to speak or have someone that speaks Japanese just in case there’s an emergency (Since emergency instructions are in Japanese). It’s a guided tour though and you only get to walk around a brief section of the massive underground area, but it’s still pretty sweet
My off the beaten adventure was to nachi katsuura… and stayed at hotel urashima. Had excellent whale sashimi in town. Great place for those that have done the regular stuff already.