About me: 23m solo, first time in Japan. When I travel, I love exploring nature and the culture of the country. I managed to learn about a couple hundred words in Japanese, which as you will see later, improved my experience in Japan a lot. I don’t like shopping, all I bring home from my travel is memories, pictures and magnets for my fridge. Also it’s important for me to enjoy local food as much as I can. I’d never go to a McD’s even if I was hungry and I’d try my best to find something that’s actually unique to Japan.
My itinerary was quite fast-paced for a first timer. When I posted my initial itinerary here, many of you thought that it could be too much for me, suggesting the classic Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka itinerary. That would never work for me. I wanted to see more nature and get away from the cities for some time, especially after I read reports about how crowded some places are (like Kyoto) In the end, I believe I made the right choice, except that I should’ve rearranged my itinerary a bit, so that I would lose a bit less time and money on the trains. So, here we go.
**Day 1: Arrival in Tokyo, Akihabara**
I booked using award miles and the only option was BKK-ICN-NRT, with the first flight being a red-eye. I’ve barely had any sleep and wasn’t feeling that great, but after a couple of cups of coffee on the second flight I was excited for my Japanese adventure.
At the airport, passport control and customs took a while because I haven’t filled out the online forms in advance. Tip: don’t be a lazy dumbass like me and actually do them! You will definitely save time at the airport. I arrived at 11am and was out of the airport at 12:20. My future plans were dependent on good weather and the forecast was promising, so I bought the Tokyo Wide pass at the airport (spoiler: it saved me roughly 10,000 yen), got myself some cash and took a local train to my hotel in Koiwa (~900 yen).
I stayed at Ryokan Fuji, which had the nicest host ever who even spoke some English. I really wanted to stay in a Japanese-style room, and given that it was cheap (28,000 yen for 4 nights) I really enjoyed it. The location isn’t exactly the best, 20 minutes to Akihabara and 40 minutes to Shinjuku, but for the price I’m not complaining. The futon was comfortable enough, I slept well and had no back problems at all.
It was already 3pm when I made it to Akihabara. This is when I found out that most restaurants close at 2-3pm, which was quite unfortunate because I was pretty hungry at this point. I spent way too much time looking for a place, in the end I walked around Akihabara and at 5 I went to the closest izakaya and had my very late lunch. Honestly, walking around Akihabara didn’t impress me that much, it’s all a bunch of shops and arcades and the buildings were… normal, nothing impressive. I played at the arcades for an hour and found a yakiniku restaurant for dinner with wagyu meat. Now that was quite impressive, even given my absolute lack of yakiniku experience. I under- and overcooked the meat all the time and yet it was still very tender and melted in my mouth. I can’t remember the name of the restaurant, but I paid roughly 6,000 yen for ~200-250g of meat.
**Day 2: more Tokyo**
I had a really long sleep and woke up at about 10am. I went to Senso-ji, roamed around the market to have a rough idea of what they even sell there, got myself a Tokyo magnet and enjoyed Senso-ji. It was so fascinating to me that there is this old temple in the middle of a huge city, in a lot of countries important historic and cultural buildings aren’t preserved at all. I got myself a “bad fortune” which really sounded so terrible and I had no idea how to tie it to the rack 😀 but I managed to do it in the end, I didn’t wanna take it with me at all!
I walked for about 20 minutes to the Tokyo Skytree. Didn’t have any prebooked tickets (I hate planning my day to the hour), I stood in line for about 15 minutes. The views were amazing, but I wish I’d do this on a less cloudy day. It all looked a little too grey for me, and having been to the Burj Khalifa, I know how much better a city can look from up there when it’s sunny.
I then took the subway to the Imperial Gardens only to find out that they are closed. I still roamed around the area and there are still some nice city views. The clouds cleared out, the sun was setting, I enjoyed the sunset and walked around in Ginza. It’s a shopping district, and as I said earlier I’m not a big fan of shopping, so an hour later I found an unagi restaurant, which offered a kaiseki-style unagi dinner. It wasn’t a proper kaiseki, it was basically unagi prepared with different ingredients. I loved it! I called it a day after dinner.
**Day 3: Kawaguchiko**
When I woke up, there was not one cloud in the sky. I didn’t have to think twice and took the 9:30 Fuji Excursion train from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko. Of course, I forgot to reserve a seat when I was at the airport, so I found a seat on the other section of the train to Otsuki and had to stand till Shimoyoshida, where I got off and walked up to Chureito Pagoda. Wasn’t too difficult for me but there are a couple hundred stairs, a lot of people were taking breaks in between.
The views can’t really be described with words. I’m so lucky that Fuji-san decided not to hide and the huge crowd at the famous picture spot was a clear indication of that. To be honest, I felt like people were there to post it on Instagram and show off. They clearly didn’t fully appreciate the view, as they were quickly going down after taking their ‘mandatory’ 200 pics. I found a less crowded area and just stared at the view for about an hour before walking down to the station.
I took the next train to Kawaguchiko and got lunch at a sushi place very close to the station (Shaw’s Sushi). They offered lunch sets which were basically sashimi bowls with rice. Absolutely delicious and so fresh. Don’t go to the noodles place with a long queue, go enjoy some sushi instead.
I walked to the panoramic ropeway and found a nice 20-minute boat tour on the way. The only thing that wasn’t great about it is that the tour only 20 minutes long. I would totally be up for 60 minutes, given the views from the lake. Again, the view is something that you have to see yourself. I can’t and don’t even want to describe it, just come and see it.
The queue for the panoramic ropeway was roughly 45 minutes. It was absolutely worth it because it’s the only place that offers 360° views around the area. There is also a 6 hour hike to another mountain which I didn’t go for as it was already too late. Again, I was fascinated by the view and spent about an hour at the top.
I made my way back to Shinjuku, had to stand till Otsuki again and by the time I arrived it was already dark. For dinner, I went to Yakiniku Like which is a chain yakiniku restaurant. Their slogan is “tasty! quick! value!” and they deliver on all 3. Yes it’s not the best meat in the world, but it was still delicious. You can get sets with a soup, rice, kimchi and the meat itself for 1500-2000 yen. The only downside was that the meat portions were quite small and I had to order extra meat. Oh, and it wasn’t very comfy to sit there, but as a solo traveler it was the perfect place to get some nice inexpensive and tasty food.
I walked around Shinjuku for about an hour and a half, enjoyed the evening city views and called it a night.
**Day 4: Nikko**
Unfortunately I woke up quite late at 10am. I took the Shinkansen to Utsunomiya and then a local train to Nikko. I didn’t want to take the limited express from Asakusa because I’m a bit of a train nerd and this was my only chance to take the Tohoku shinkansen.
By the time I got there it was already 12:30pm, so I only had time for the shrines and temples. There are a lot of them and I loved the vibe of the quiet forest with several big temples. I even got to see a traditional prayer, however, I didn’t understand much of what was being said. Seeing all the interesting places took more than I expected, in fact, it was already sunset when I walked back to the station. Nikko is a very unique place, you don’t get to see anything like this in the big cities and I wholeheartedly recommend to come see it.
I got back to Ueno and went straight for Yakiniku Like again. Had a good time there again and went back to my hotel to pack my stuff.
**Day 5: Ryokan time!**
The ryokan is called Kashiwaya and it’s in Shima Onsen. It’s not so easy to get there: first you take a shinkansen to Takasaki, then a limited express to Nakanojo (it’s possible to take this express from Ueno. I didn’t) and then a bus to Shima Onsen. It’s a very quiet place where you can relax after many days in a bustling city. Some of the staff speak English but don’t expect much. This is where I got my first “nihongo joozu desu”! The dinner was very nice, maybe not Michelin star level but certainly very delicious. I relaxed in the onsen after dinner and went to sleep.
**Day 6: Full day at the ryokan**
It was my birthday and I was very much in the mood for it. The Japanese breakfast was impressive and I don’t even know how I could manage to finish it all. I’d imagine that it’s not how the Japanese have their breakfast every day, it took about 45 minutes to finish it all. I strolled around the town, but not for long as it was raining quite a bit. I had lunch at a local burger place (for some reason a lot of places were closed on a Tuesday afternoon) and just relaxed in the room and in the onsen. They have 3 private onsens which was important for me as I couldn’t imagine myself naked in a pool with other naked people. They prepared a different dinner on the second day, which I liked a tad bit more than the last dinner. They even gave me a small cake for my birthday. It was a great experience! The location is not optimal, but everything else was amazing.
**Day 7: Nagano**
While getting to Shima Onsen was fine, despite 2 connections, getting out was more difficult as the bus timetable doesn’t really take the train times into account, and you often get 30 to 45 minute connections. Luckily there was one option at 12:45 which was more convenient. Initially I thought about going straight to my hotel in Toyama and go from there, but I decided to stop in Nagano instead.
Turned out to be a good decision. I really liked Nagano’s vibe. Not very touristy, mountains around the city and a much more relaxed city center. It’s true that Nagano itself doesn’t have many touristy hotspots, but I didn’t need that. Just walking the streets and finding spots for nice views was good enough. I obviously coudn’t miss Zenko-ji, where I ended up later and enjoyed the area till sunset.
For dinner I found this kaiseki-style place called 割烹きたざわ (Kappou Kitazawa). They have counter seats and tables. The choice was only how much you want to spend: from 3,000 up to 11,000 yen. In fact it’s normally reservation only but the place was completely empty, so the chef said he can do it anyway. I went with a 7,700 yen menu and for the price it was really nice with a big variety of dishes. Next time I’m in Nagano I’ll go with the 11,000 yen menu 🙂
After dinner, I took the shinkansen to Toyama and stayed there for the next 2 nights. It was a lot cheaper to stay here than in Kanazawa.
**Day 8: Kanazawa**
I took the shinkansen to Kanazawa at about 10am. At 10:40, I made it to Omicho Market and walked aimlessly for about 20 minutes, while checking out what they sell there. At 11 I found a sushi restaurant and got myself a set of 10 nigiris, which were all sooo fresh and delicious. Overall, sushi in Japan is very impressive and I don’t even know how I’ll be able to eat sushi at home.
After that I did what everyone in Kanazawa usually does: Kanazawa Castle and Kenrokuen Garden, where I spent several hours enjoying the views and the the castle museum. The Kenrokuen garden was certainly very nice, but I feel that it would be absolutely gorgeous later in April. When I was there in the beginning of March, it felt more like winter, many trees haven’t bloomed yet.
At this point it’s worth noting that there was absolutely no sign of any earthquake damage and there were a lot of foreign tourists, although far less than in Kyoto. I enjoyed Kanazawa because it’s less crowded and walking here was a lot more enjoyable than in Kyoto.
After that, it was a 40 minute walk to the Higashi Chaya district. It’s actually not too big and you can walk it all in 30-40 minutes. I tried gold leaf ice cream there – the gold doesn’t taste like anything, they literally tell you to take a picture because, well, you only do it for the pictures. I also found a cafe where you walk up the stairs and enjoy the view from the 2nd floor.
At 5:30pm I had a dinner reservation at Teppanyaki Icho at the Nikko Hotel. The food was really good, I had a lot of fun watching the chef do his thing and the view from the 29th floor was breathtaking. It was a little bit too fast for me, I was the only one there and it took 50 minutes. Still, it was 11,000 yen well spent.
**Day 9: Takayama**
In the morning I took the Hida limited express to Takayama and the view from the train only compares to view from trains in Switzerland or Austria. Absolutely magnificent. 2 hours felt more like half an hour.
After I arrived I was hungry already and went to Ajikura, probably the most popular beef restaurant in Takayama. The Hida beef is obviously pricey, but worth it. I haven’t had an easy time cooking it because I was so afraid that I’ll overcook it, but in the end it all worked out and the meat is full of taste, juicy and just melts in your mouth. It’s definitely worth a try, despite the relatively high price!
After lunch I went to Takayama Jinya which was a government office in the Edo period. It has a lot of old documents and artifacts from that period. It was so interesting to just casually stroll through a historic building like this. Afterwards I went to the old town where it was nice to experience the Edo period buildings.
I then made it to the Higashiyama walking course in the Shiroyama park. It’s a ~4km hike in the woods, where you see small temples and shrines along the way. It was difficult to walk there because the walking path was very icy and slippery and took about 2 hours. I still recommend doing this walking course though!
By the time I was out of the park I had just enough time to go to the Hida Folk village. It was for sure the highlight in Takayama! It’s a unique open air museum with old 18/19th century houses and in the houses they showed all the tools they needed to live their lives 200-300 years ago. It is a very relaxing place and I regret that I came so late here, only an hour till closing time.
At this point I regretted that I haven’t chosen the ryokan here instead of Shima Onsen. While the ryokan back there was certainly great, it did add a lot of travel time. Also there just isn’t much to do in Shima Onsen, especially if it’s raining, while Takayama was honestly *the* highlight of my trip.
For dinner, I went to a sushi place called Naniwa. It’s run by an old couple who don’t speak English at all. A perfect opportunity to practice the little bit of Japanese that I learned. I got a lot of respect from them for even trying to speak Japanese and I felt the Japanese ‘omotenashi’ that you usually don’t get to experience as a foreigner. The sushi was sooooo good, the best of my trip.
**Day 10: Shirakawa-go**
In the morning I caught the bus to Shirakawa-go. The bus tickets were quite expensive at 5,200 yen return. I didn’t reserve seats on the reserved buses, so I lined up 20 minutes before departure and easily got a seat. Just like the Hida limited express, the view was out of this world.
Have you been to these small Austrian alpine villages? Well, Shirakawa-go is very similar… but Japanese. It’s surrounded by mountains and has these old gassho style buildings, similar to the houses in the Hida Folk village. Except people actually live in those. It’s a fascinating place and a must-do in Japan for me. I spent about 5 hours here before coming back to Takayama.
I decided to go to the same sushi restaurant for dinner. The sushi was just too good, talking to the owners was a lot of fun as they patiently deciphered my broken Japanese. Their hospitality was something else, you will *not* regret going there.
**Day 11: Kyoto**
I took the 8am Hida express train to Nagoya and just like earlier, the view was breathtaking for the 2 hours till Gifu, where it all changed for the typical urban view. In Nagoya I transferred to the Shinkansen to Kyoto.
It was a rainy day, and most activities in Kyoto are outdoors, which is slightly annoying, but doing nothing wasn’t an option, so I went to Fushimi Inari. It was at this moment when I saw the crowd and all I thought was “wtf”. Despite the heavy rain, there were so many people and the fact that everyone was taking pictures slowed the others down. I recommend not taking pictures until later: about 20 minutes later, as I ascended to Mt. Inari, there were a lot less people. I wondered where all these people were. Do they come there and just not go up? That’s weird. Well, it was better for me because I didn’t have to wait for literally everyone taking these pictures anymore. The place is truly special. There is nothing even remotely similar to this. I had a lot of fun hiking up there and stopping at all the scenic points. I spent roughly 2,5 hours there and by the time I descended down to the train station, my clothes were soaking wet, so I called it a day early and went to my hotel in Osaka.
For dinner I randomly found this yakiniku bar that was full with locals and wasn’t even on Google maps. It had great meat, nice vibes and I decided to come back the next day.
**Day 12: more Kyoto**
The weather improved a lot and it was sunny, so I went to the Arashiyama bamboo forest, where I was “welcomed”
by the crowd again. I didn’t spend that much time here, maybe about an hour. The forest just isn’t that big.
I made my way back to downtown Kyoto and I was craving sushi, so I went to Nishiki Market. I didn’t want to look for sushi restaurants and of course it was easy enough to find one: Nishiki Sushi Shin. It didn’t have the same vibe as the sushi place in Takayama as it was full with tourists, but they had a very nice omakase with 10 pieces for 4,500 yen.
At this point I felt like I’ve seen enough temples (‘temple fatigue’ as it’s often called here), but I still decided to walk to Kiyomizu-dera. It was the best decision. It’s very, VERY crowded but worth it. The temple really is special and you really have to see it for yourself. Be ready to spend an hour just to get up there, it’s very slow because of the crowd.
I spent the remaining of the day just wandering the streets of Gion till it got dark and went back to my hotel.
I went to the same yakiniku bar which was almost empty, but I had a lot of fun talking to an older Japanese man who just came for drinks, he ended buying me a drink and this is when I got my second “nihongo joozu desu”!
Overall, Kyoto really is special. I saw a question here where someone was asking if Kanazawa is a replacement for the soooo crowded Kyoto. It’s not. There is nothing like Kyoto. Don’t skip it. Yes, it’s crowded, but 100% worth it.
**Day 13: Last full day of the trip in Tokyo**
In the morning, I took the shinkansen to Tokyo and spent my whole day in Shinjuku, went to Omoide Yokocho where I drank at the bars and talked to fellow tourists. No real highlights, just had a fun day.
In the evening, I had a reservation for Nogizaka Shin, a Michelin star restaurant. Remember that 7,700 yen dinner in Nagano that I talked about? In terms of quality, it was about the same. Except the dinner at Nogizaka Shin cost 30,000 yen. The food was good, but quite disappointing for the price. What I really didn’t like was that they missed opportunities to show the best food of the season – the sashimi had just 1 type of fish and the dishes had repetitive ingredients. I’ve been to many Michelin star restaurants and I know how good they can be. Wasn’t the case here unfortunately.
**Day 14: Leaving Japan :(**
A painful day as my trip comes to an end. I took the Narita Express in the morning and well… that was it. Security check and passport control took 3 minutes.
While there were things that I’d do differently, these are just minor changes that would only slightly improve my experience. As you can see here, I haven’t spent more than 2 days per town/city, and it was sort of intentional. Even before the trip, I guessed that I’ll come again at some point, and on my second trip I can go to places I didn’t visit. I’m glad that I went with this itinerary instead of the classic Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka trip. It was a nice balance of bustling cities, nature, culture, history and relaxation.
by ib_examiner_228
