I am writing this on the day of our departure, feeling sad about leaving but so happy we decided to make this trip in the first place. For those of you who are planning a visit to Japan, it is unlike any place you have been before, but most similar to Switzerland in its punctuality, organization, and cleanliness. (FYI this redditor is a third-generation Japanese American.)
I visited Japan a few decades ago, and man how it has changed. Of course the last time I was here the exchange rate was about 104 JPY/USD, and now it’s above 150 JPY, and I’m coming after a full 30 years of deflation and economic stagnation.
I’ll recount a few Highlights that were absolutely worth the effort, a few Lowlights that I should have thought through more, a few travel tips (in accordance to the name of this subreddit) and some final observations.
Highlights:
* Tokyo: The Tokyo National Museum, for this history fan, was a superb presentation of some real treasures from Japanese history. The original Shogūn’s helmet, some of the most intricate samurai armor I have ever seen, and some amazing Buddhist scrolls from many centuries past demonstrate wonderful curation, the museum is large but not crammed with stuff, just a great visit.
* Teamlab Borderless in Tokyo was a neat and remarkable digital presentation, unlike anything I’ve seen before. I was NOT expecting 3D calligraphy, among a number of other things I will not spoil for you. Check it out, it’s different and interesting.
* We took a boat ride from Asakusa down to the Hama-Rikyu Gardens, and after a nice walk we stopped by the teahouse and enjoyed the view with matcha and a small red-bean pastry. Wonderful view, a neat setting, such a treat. You can easily imagine being there in its heyday.
* Kyoto: for one of my teens, the Fushimi Inarii Shrine in Kyoto was his favorite. We went in the late afternoon after a pretty long day (maybe 4pm) and went up and up and up – and then we found a side path, a ‘road less traveled’. Amazing bamboo forest, some amazing shrines in the mountainside, it was magical in the setting sun and we were all alone. That is until right toward the top where the trail rejoins the string of Torii gates, and we rejoined a stream of regular tourists near the very top.
* In Kyoto getting tickets to the Kitano Odori took a bit of effort and was a gamble that paid off in spades. Absolutely stunning, it was so professionally done, hearing the live singing and shamisen playing along with percussion and the dance, along with the acting… won’t forget that for a long time.
* I booked an early morning bike tour of Arishiyama, and it was well worth the expense. (These tend to be expensive, as they last about 3 or 3.5 hours, IIRC it was about $135 USD per person.) We did this once before in Spain, and it’s a great way to get around to see and learn things you would not ordinarily do. We visited a very close-by temple to Arishiyama (called Seiryo-ji Temple) that was basically deserted, and it has some remarkable art and artifacts inside. The bamboo forest yes is insanely crowded but nonetheless worth the visit. Seeing the countryside too from a bicycle felt so natural.
* I booked an advance ticket to Katsura Imperial Garden, and it is well worth the effort. An hour tour in English, if you love Japanese gardens it is an amazing place.
* It was 20 years ago that the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum was memorable for the feelings and notable artifacts. Had little idea that it has been completely redone, it is a must-see, because of the striking presentation, the manifold personal stories, and historical footage and photos. Unforgettable. And in its beautiful setting at one end of the Peace Park, we strolled by the Peace Memorial after closing, it was striking in the dark.
* Getting up early to take the JR train to Miyajima (and then a short ferry ride) was another major highlight of the trip. The ‘ropeway’ (what we call cable cars) is in two segments, and is about a mile long up Mt. Misen, and from there it’s another hike up to temples up near the top. Well worth getting up early for – when we descended (about 1 or 130pm) the line to get up on the ropeway was easily 1.5 to 2h long!
Lowlights:
* Given our budget and traveling preferences of the group, I could have done a better job on choosing a hotel. Lesson learned, it was $$$ enough to begin with, and one hotel with a 4.9 rating on [Booking.com](https://Booking.com) was quite disappointing. Should have used the suggestions in a Lonely Planet guide I bought after I made the reservations, frankly, or done more research.
* I should have given more space for our teenagers to roam as they wish, rather than trying to keep everyone together in the shopping arcades. As everyone has data / Apple Maps, it was only the last two days we loosened up and said “do whatever you want to do for the next x hours and meet us here” and send them a pin or other landmark. (Thinking about it we did some of that toward the beginning, I just now regret I didn’t do more of it.)
* Lacking a local number, Uber was useless, and while I got Didi to work with Google Voice, alas Didi can only call one cab at a time. And given our party was 5, that didn’t work for a single cab – Didi only calls the standard 4-passenger taxi. Yes I could have setup a second GV number but ay too many hoops to jump through while abroad, next time I’ll be better prepared on that front. Waiting for a bus that came less frequently became a bit of a drag.
* If you need to store luggage for a few (or many) hours while out of your lodging but don’t want to use the major subway station lockers, look into “ecbo cloak” ([website](https://cloak.ecbo.io/en)). Came in handy for us in Kyoto, where we didn’t want to leave the city until the late afternoon, and the crummy hotel had no accommodation for luggage storage.
Travel Tips:
* Airalo worked great. I used 8.8 GB across a 9-day trip with heavy use, and for $18 for 10 GB what a bargain. Activated at Haneda airport off their free Wifi, yes there are a lot of steps to take (print them out to get the hang of it) and I setup all the family members with all the data they needed for the trip. As everyone had iPhones iMessage was flawless.
* Suica added to the Apple iPhone wallet was also great. Sometimes there would be a glitch (needing a rescan) but super convenient.
* Don’t be afraid to try new or familiar foods in Japan – for example, you may be familiar with mochi, but not kinako-covered mochi cubes on a stick. Or mochi with red bean paste, split in half with a large strawberry on top. Or mochi-covered ice cream (available in the US) but from a 7-11 it was absolutely next-level. On that note, last night I found a cream puff for 140 JPY at a 7-11 that was so good I tried to find it this morning, and alas was disappointed. But that cream puff had to be the best one I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a few…
* One of our family speaks very good Japanese (IMHO) and a few others knew some Japanese. Very helpful in interacting. At least learn to say ‘sumimasen’ when you want to exit a crowded bus or train.
* Keep your voice down on public transit, also don’t walk around eating or drinking, and carry a small disposable bag with you to pack out any trash you generate. Rubbish bins are rare in Japan, and the streets are spotless.
Some final observations:
* For whatever reason we found two restaurants (one Korean, another Okonomiyake) that were small, really enjoyable food, but were single-person-cooking establishments. Cash only, only spoke Japanese, and they took your order, cooked your food, served your food and collected your money. Crazy to think about – both places had about 4 tables so including ours could accomodate 16 to 20 people at once.
* The politeness all across the board – whether a bus driver, a store attendant, someone holding a sign in front of a castle, or a taxi driver – is truly remarkable and enjoyable. A very useful phrase – Onegaishimasu – is really versatile (see [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/u69civ/comment/i58jmrz/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)).
* If you are on the fence of going to Japan, just go! If from the US, you are lucky, in that with the strong dollar you’ll be amazed at how affordable everything is. (Okay, you can spend as much as you want, there are places happy to take your money that’s for sure.)
​
by InterestinglyLucky