TL;DR:
* Fushimi Inari (in Kyoto) and Miyajima (near Hiroshima) were highlights
* Stop often for street food
* Knowing a little Japanese helps, and so does Google Translate
* Get to the train station early if you don’t know it well
* Jet lag may reduce your itineraries on the first few days (took us \~5 days to get over it)
* Global Entry rocks if you’re a US citizen
Prep:
* Bought flights and reserved hotels in advance
* Made 2 restaurant reservations
* Reserved Pocket Wifi in advance
* Bought appropriate clothing (walking shoes, flight slippers, etc.)
* Sleep schedule change to combat jet-lag (not sure if this helped, see TL; DR)
Took 2 rolling bags, 2 backpacks, and 1 purse as carry-on – bought 1 duffel bag for souvenirs on the trip. We had planned for this, so we were ready for the additional weight!
Glad I brought: Sunglasses, Ibuprofen (should have brought more), band-aids, make-up, sweaters
Wish I brought: Warm weather clothes, heavy jacket, Tums, aquaphor.
Packing system: 5-4-3-2-1 (5 shirts, 4 pants, 3 sweaters, 2 shoes, 1 jacket and belt) – could have done less as we did laundry often.
We are two 30-something American home-bodies, one of whom is a polyglot (my husband), and both of us have a love of travel. This was our honeymoon – I am a “let’s go do things” type person, and my husband loves more relaxed travel and loves chances to practice the language, so we adjusted this as needed on our trip. We also didn’t do a lot of late night “going out”, in part due to jet lag and in part due to who we are as people.
We studied Japanese casually for about 8 months – we took a class for most of that together, then had individual tutors through italki, which has been fantastic. This helped a lot when speaking, but we definitely need to learn more Kanji!
We went to Tokyo – Kyoto – Hiroshima – Hakone on this trip in mid-to-late March. The weather was all over the place (sunny and in the 70s F, then down to the 30s and rainy / snowy), and although I brought what I thought was good clothing for the trip, the extremes were too much for me and my clothing, so I had to purchase additional weather-appropriate clothing. Luckily there were Uniqlos everywhere, so I could quickly get what I needed.
Day 1:
Fly out of Chicago to Tokyo Haneda Airport. Layover in Detroit
* Flew out w/ carry-ons only
* Were pretty jet-lagged right away, despite sleep-training for this for the prior 2 nights
* Took 3 trains to our hotel which was a pain w/ even carry-on luggage, next time may take a cab
TOKYO: Days 2-5
Day 2
* Checked in to Hotel Monterey Hanzomon
* Good overall accommodations in relaxed, centralized part of Tokyo by the Imperial Palace
* Bed was a little too small for us
* Picked up our Pocket Wifi, which was perfect on our trip, just a little spotty in basements and some indoor dining
* Family Mart dinner
* Relaxed and tried to sleep
Day 3: Tsukiji, Ginza, Imperial Palace
* Breakfast: Tsukiji Fish Market (outer-market)- highly recommend as a jet-lagged activity, as the earlier you go, the easier it is to go places
* Shopping in Ginza: Itoya stationary store! A must-see for fans of stationary and for easy-to-pack gifts
* Stopped for Coffee and a break
* Shopping: Tokyo Character Street in Tokyo Station!
* Nature Walk: originally wanted to do East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, but they were closed on the day we wanted to go (Friday)
* Late lunch / early dinner: Ginza Kagari in Tokyo Station – delicious Ramen, but was tough to find in Tokyo Station
Day 4: Shibuya
* Breakfast: At a chain-cafe close to the hotel, forgot the name!
* Nature Walk: Meiji Jingu (famous Shinto Shrine) – worth the trip, this was relaxing and beautiful, also paid a little extra to go to the gardens, which were lovely even though there wasn’t much yet blooming. We appreciated how relaxing this was in the beginning of the day
* Lunch at a Kebab place close to Takashita, which was outstanding, if not a little small-portioned (compared to typical US portion sizes!)
* Shopped at Uniqlo for hot-weather clothes for me and sunglasses for my spouse
* Snoopy Cafe in Harajuku for a quick cool treat and changed into hot-weather clothes
* Takeshita-dori – bought a dog outfit for my mother in law’s pup as requested, and enjoyed walking down the street and window shopping
* Kept walking to Shibuya Crossing and participated
* Hoshino Coffee to watch people cross – there was a bit of a line, but it was worth it to relax from the crowds.
* City Life: Hachiko Memorial statue – took a quick picture here of the pup.
* Shopping: Shibuya Parco, Tokyo Hands – we didn’t actually buy anything as most things were comparatively expensive and had long lines, but the Nintendo Store is great for die-hard fans who want merch.
* Went back to hotel
* Dinner: Tried to go to Shibuya Nonbei Yokocho, but weren’t confident enough in our Japanese speaking abilities and chickened out. Lines for food everywhere here were really long, so we went back and got Indian food at Mother India Hanzomon-Ekimae instead.
Day 5: Parks!
* Breakfast: Combini near hotel and 2nd breakfast at nearby hotel
* Rent paddle boats at Chidorigafuchi Park – nearly no one was there and we saw our first Sakura!
* Lunch: Sushi Go Round in Tokyo Station – we thought this would be more of a conveyor belt sushi type place, and although they had a conveyor belt, we sat right by the sushi chefs, so they just handed what we ordered to us, lol.
* Imperial Gardens! Very beautiful, but we went back to the hotel soon after because I was exhausted.
* We had planned to go to Uneo in the afternoon, but I ended up taking a 1.5 hr nap instead!
* Dinner: in Tsukishima Monja Street, which was fun to watch people make their own monja. We walked into the first shop that didn’t have a line, since we were hungry and didn’t know which ones were the best vs the worst, etc. Since we were new to this, one of the staff came over and cooked it on our stovetop, instead of us. Was a little embarrassing, but still fun! It was a lively atmosphere, and it was nice to see people letting loose a little!
* Grabbed some ice cream down the street for dessert.
* Did laundry at the hotel after
KYOTO: Day 6-11
* Day 6- TRAVEL from TOKYO to KYOTO – Finally got over the jet-lag on this day!
* Breakfast: Combini, EARLY
* Pharmacy trip
* Shinkansen to Kyoto – took a bit to get oriented in Tokyo Station, so we came about an hour early so that we wouldn’t miss our train
* You can totally eat on the shinkansen!
* It seems you can eat on a train if you’ve got a seat reserved, more or less. I don’t quite know enough to confirm, but that was my experience.
* Stayed at the Hearton Hotel Kyoto, which was centrally located and close to a train line and Nishiki, which we loved.
* Bed was a bit larger here, which we appreciated, too!
* Relaxed and walked around Kyoto Gyoen, which was lovely and already had paths of blooming sakura.
* It was pretty cold, like about 30-40 deg F, so we decided to grab coats the following day at this point.
* Dinner: Giro Giro Hitoshina
* Took a bus here, which was really easy to use due to the numbering system!
* I think they were reservation-only, but we had reservations made about a month in advance.
* Lots of restaurants from here forward were a bit of a hunt to find compared to more flashy, open restaurants in the US – a lot of the time it felt like we were intruding since doors were closed and windows had covers or had ricepaper over them, but that’s just the style. Once we got used to it, it was much less awkward.
* Taxied back to our hotel
Day 7 – Fushimi Inari!
* EARLY breakfast – Combini
* Fushimi Inari!
* We got here around 8:30 AM – while it wasn’t packed, it certainly had a long influx of people after.
* We took a path a little less traveled up the mountain, which was wonderful to have a little peace and quietness with fewer people. Lots of smaller, quiet shrines. We also saw a waterfall on this path, and the path had switchbacks, which was kind of funny and reminded us that we were in fact walking up a mountain.
* We did the top loop about 1.5 times because of where we exited our up-to-the-top hike, but it was nice and we had a chance to stop and drink some coffee and people watch, which my husband loved.
* This was one of my favorite parts of the trip due to the unique nature of the shrine and the relative peace on the way up. That being said, It wasn’t as crowded as Himeiji Jo or Shibuya, but there were still a ton of visitors, and the amount of people whose photography got in the way was pretty annoying.
* Lunch: Nishiki Market
* Nishiki was a lot less crowded than Tsukiji, and was a lot easier to navigate.
* I loved just stopping wherever looked good to eat!
* Shopping: Uniqlo (again) for warm coats – this was a must, as we didn’t have good rain gear or very good cold-weather coats. This definitely saved me for the rest of the trip!
* Back to Hotel to relax (originally wanted to do Philospher’s Path, but were pretty tired from the Fushimi Inari hike and the weather was getting worse – rainy)
* Dinner: Hatsune Sushi – small place run by husband and wife team, had a chance to chat with them about our trip and their business. It was nice to have a chance to try our Japanese!
* Nature Walk: Nanzen-ji Temple
* By this time, the weather had gotten pretty rotten (raining, cold, windy), so we hailed a cab back to our hotel after seeing the outside of the temple since it was closed for the rest of the day
Day 8 – Arashiyama forest day!
* Breakfast – Combini!
* Nature walk: Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple
* Getting here was a little rough – the last part of our trip was a bus ride from the train station, but the scheduled bus never came. We hailed a cab, but they dropped us off at the wrong temple, so we ended up walking in the rain a bit more anyway up to this temple
* This temple has really interesting sculptures of people, about 2-3 ft tall, and they’ve got faces ranging from relaxed to laughing. It was fun to see!
* Nature Walk: Gioji Temple
* This temple is moss-covered and lovely, and has a break-down of which mosses are in the temple as well. Fairly inexpensive to visit!
* Nature Walk: Okochi Sanso Garden
* This garden is lovely to visit with many nice views of the city, and it also has a free cup of tea included, which is a relaxing way to end the visit. It’s more on the expensive side (1000yen / adult), but it’s worth it in my opinion.
* Nature Walk: Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
* Much too crowded – we walked through here to get to Tenryuji Temple, but otherwise I would maybe skip this and walk through the forest around Fushimi Inari instead.
* Lunch: Tenryuji Temple Shigetsu – at 12:30
* I think this is reservation-only as well – made reservations about a month in advance here.
* Buddhist vegan cooking style on tatami mats – a very cool experience, and extremely delicious and filling!
* We weren’t always certain what we were eating, but it was all delicious, in particular the soft tofu!
* Back to hotel:
* The weather got much worse as we had lunch, which was beautiful to look at while eating, but hell to walk the 20 min to the train.
* We stopped briefly in the rain and had warm taiyaki, which was funny to scarf down while we were both huddled under the awning
* Shopping: Sanjo Meiten-gai Shopping Arcade
* We originally intended to see Gion that afternoon but due to the weather, we went shopping at Sanjo Meiten-gai instead
* Dinner: Ichiran Ramen
* It was so cool to experience this “loner” type dining together – and the ramen was of course delicious!
* Obviously from the way the place was laid out for lines, we could tell that normally this was a pretty popular spot, so it was funny to just walk right in and order at our stalls! It was a unique experience to try at least once.
* It was snowing by the time we got out; we were very grateful for our new coats!
* Back to hotel!
Day 9 – SUMO
* EARLY breakfast – Combini
* Reserved train to Osaka
* This is where things went a little awry – we missed our original reserved train, then had to jump on another
* Using just Google maps, there are some trains like the shinkansen where there isn’t info about the platforms on that app – we relied heavily on the help from train station staff to find where we were supposed to go, which was stressful
* I’m 99% certain that other local trains went to Osaka and were less expensive, but couldn’t be sure without more research / help, which we didn’t have time for.
* Next time, I would download a couple other transit specific apps to help understand what other train lines we could take and where the platforms were
* At any rate, we made it into Osaka with a ton of time to spare for the Sumo Tournament
* Osaka – watched the preliminary rounds until around 11AM
* Lunch – went to Dotonbori St for conveyor belt sushi at Genrokuzushi Dotombori
* This was actual conveyor-belt sushi! Delicious, uncomplicated, and no lines.
* There was snow when we left, so another day I was glad to be inside!
* Back to Sumo – we were sitting next to Canadian Sumo experts, who were happy to share their knowledge. We enjoyed this a lot, especially with more context!
* Leave Osaka at 8:07 pm, arrive in Kyoto station at 8:36PM
* Got 7-11 for dinner, as we wanted enough time to navigate Osaka’s maze-like station to find our trains and not have a repeat of the morning.
* Back to the hotel!
Day 10 – Himeji-jo
* This was a much more beautiful day – still cold (30s and 40s), but no rain and sunny!
* Breakfast – hotel buffet!
* Train from Kyoto Station leaves at 9:43 AM to Himeji-jo
* Nature Walk: Himeji-Castle
* This took about 2 hours to go through the whole castle
* The main keep was pretty crowded, and the stairs were very steep, so it felt a little treacherous. It was a very cool experience, though, and I’d definitely recommend it to others!
* I made a mistake and had a handful of nuts right after exiting the main keep in a more spread-out outdoor area, but realized that since no one else was eating, it probably wasn’t the right thing to do
* After looking around, my hunch was validated as there was a “No Eating” sign – a little embarrassed but that’s ok!
* Snack outside the castle!
* Once we made it fully out of the castle (and saw other people eating), we stopped to have a much-needed snack!
* Nature walk: Himeji gardens
* A lot less crowded and crazy than Himeji-Jo
* The beautiful ponds and gardens were a lot more my speed – and it was cool to see different types of Ikebana in the lord’s Garden area
* Lunch: udon at Memme
* Small place right on the main strip, very friendly people run this delicious shop!
* Headed back to hotel
* Shopping: picked up a duffel bag for our souvenirs
* We thought we had enough room in our carry-on for all our souvenirs and gifts, but we were mistaken!
* Dinner: Oryori Menami
* A very nice obanzai restaurant, we had a lot of tastings of small plates. Do try the duck if you come here, it was one of my favorite things I had on this trip!
* Walked back to hotel since weather was so lovely!
Day 11 – Nara! – It rained all day but we made the best of it
* Breakfast – Komeda Coffee near Nishiki
* Train from Kyoto Station to Nara Station
* We weren’t sure if our Suica cards would allow us to ride on these JR trains, so we just bought individual train tickets, which worked out completely fine!
* Nature Walk – Todai-Ji and Nigatsudo
* We were a little surprised by the deer
* Even with the crowds and the rain, Todai-Ji and the Daibutsu were inspiring and uplifting.
* Nigatsudo was also a welcome respite from the crowds, and the view was wonderful.
* My husband enjoyed feeding the deer a lot – I’m less inclined towards wild animals, but it was really fun to see his enjoyment!
* Nature Walk – Kasuga Taisha
* This was so crowded that we actually skipped going inside
* Since the rain was pretty-much non-stop at this point, I was sick of being water-logged, so I pushed for us to skip it.
* Lunch: Kameya (okonomiyaki)
* My god this place was good. After walking in from the cold wet rain, to having great okonomiyaki, this really lifted my spirits.
* Souvenir shopping in Nara’s arcade
* Headed back to Kyoto and hotel to dry off.
* Dinner – Mugyu Ramen 2
* The best ramen on the trip, and we had countertop seats, which was a little unusual for us at that point in the trip
* Most places relegated us to another floor or table away from the chefs at that point in the trip).
* Not a long wait (probably due to the rain), cash-only.
* Back to Hotel
HIROSHIMA – Day 12-13
Day 12 – Hiroshima Peace Museum
* Breakfast – Combini
* Shinkansen to Hiroshima
* Dropped bags at Dormy Inn Annex, which had the largest bed of the trip
* Had an in-hotel onsen
* Good amenities
* Went to Hiroshima Peace Museum
* Powerful, sad, very very crowded
* The museum focuses on individual stories of those impacted by the atomic bomb, including interviews and journal entries – heart-wrenching is probably the best word I have for it
* Highly recommend going to the museum first thing in the morning, then visit the rest of the park.
* Lunch: Okkundo Mazemen
* Really great food, very close to the museum
* Went back to the Peace Memorial Park to finish our visit.
* Checked in at the hotel
* Shopping in the Hiroshima arcade to stay dry and to have something to do
* Dinner – Okonomimura
* This was a lot of fun – we just went for the first two open seats, and had some of the best okonomiyaki we’ve had on the trip!
* The chefs make the food right in front of you – it’s warm and crowded, but in a pleasant way.
* Back to hotel!
Day 13 – Miyajima!
* Breakfast – Hotel Buffet
* Take Ferry to Miyajima
* Took the ferry from the Peace Memorial Park as we didn’t want to have multiple connections to get to the ferry
* Miyajima shopping, park-hopping, and eating!
* Originally we were going to hike to the top of Mt. Misen, but my husband was feeling a bit under the weather, so we slapped on some masks and went shopping, to local parks, and ate instead for about 6 hrs!
* This relaxing plan was really what we needed after 1.5 weeks of pretty intense touring.
* We saw the floating shrine at Itsukushima Jinja both at high and low tide, so we went out when we had a chance at low tide, which was fun
* Omoto Park was remote and lovely – there was nearly no one there, and the park itself was gorgeous
* Ferry back to Hiroshima
* Couldn’t find a cab, so walked back to the hotel in the rain
* Dried off at hotel
* Dinner: Banya
* This Izakaya that specializes in yakitori felt like a place that locals go to
* The atmosphere was fun and relaxed, and the two-person staff were really friendly even though they were quite busy.
* They do allow smoking, but the whole time we were there, there was only one smoker and they only lit up like once.
* We sat right in front of the chef at the counter, which was really cool to see him cook!
* Food was delicious (we ordered the omakase, lol), and they had a bunch of organ options, which I particularly enjoyed
* Went back to Hotel
HAKONE Day 14
* Breakfast – Hotel Buffet
* Peace Memorial park to hear the clock chime at 8:15
* Shinkansen to Odawara
* I was a little nervous because we had an 11 min transfer, but it was on the exact same platform as our first train, so we were good!
* Took a cab from Odawara to Tōnosawa Ichinoyu Honkan in Hakone
* The rain was coming down hard and we had a ton of luggage, so took a cab instead of trying the bus.
* This ryokan was amazing – we had our own private Onsen right next to the river, and we slept on futons on the tatami mat floors.
* The private onsen and river-front views were worth every penny!
* Food at the ryokan was outstanding – we had shabu-shabu, and tons of grilled fish.
* Best night of sleep I had on the entire trip.
HAKONE TO HOME: Day 15
* Breakfast: at the Ryokan
* Another delicious meal
* Get back to Haneda ASAP
* The staff at the ryokan went above and beyond to find us a cab, even though most were all booked
* We took a cab, then 2 trains to the airport, but it wasn’t too bad as we found spots to sit on the trains.
* Flying back to Chicago from Tokyo Haneda airport with a layover in Minneapolis
* Since we checked a bag, we had to re-check it in Minneapolis after customs, but it was not a huge deal as they had a special, separate bag-check and security (TSA) line specifically for international flights with domestic connections.
* GLOBAL ENTRY MADE CUSTOMS A 20 SECOND TRIP – we literally just walked through with just a brief face-scan.
* We had plenty of time with a 3 hr layover
That’s about it! Thanks for reading if you’ve made it this far : )
by skibearz