Disclaimer: I am able to read and speak a little bit of Japanese, from prior studies. Less than conversational, but still much better than absolute zero. This was our only advantage. Other than that, this was our first trip and we did not use a travel agent or set up an itinerary of any kind.
A few months ago, my wife and I decided we wanted to visit Japan and we booked a 15-day flight that worked out for us based on work scheduling. From there, we picked a few cities and then just booked hotels in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hakone.
We chose the airfare, dates, cities and hotel before planning anything specific. I fully intended to research more about activities to pre-plan, but due to a mix of work and some depression, I never sat down and actually planned anything out. The only thing we did set up before arrival was getting two JR passes.
Tokyo
We landed in Tokyo and thankfully booked a hotel in Shibuya, which was a few minute walk from Shibuya station.
Shibuya was our favorite place in Tokyo. We also visited Shinjuku, Harajuku, Minato, Roppongi, Akihabara, and some others. Shibuya just had a great mix of daytime and nighttime fun and attractions. Our hotel had in-room laundry, which was a total blessing and made the first half of the trip very easy for us.
Navigating Tokyo with the JR pass was very easy and fun. The only other thing I would strongly recommend is getting an IC card. We made due with physical yen, but an IC card would have been very convenient at different times (you can’t use the American credit cards we had at the ticket booths in the train station).
An unsuspected pleasantry was that we tried PST Pizza at the recommendation of a friend. I’ve been to Italy and let me tell you, PST Pizza was some of the best pizza I have ever had. Do not sleep on foreign foods in Japan, the artisans that open these restaurants are very well learned and there is so much more than just Japanese cuisine to be enjoyed in Japan.
We chose Tokyo DisneySea, since we live very close to Disneyland. It was huge and the attractions were a lot of fun. It was easy to take the trains there and the cost of food and merchandise there is a fraction of the cost it is in America (this has to do with Disney not actually owning the parks). It was cool to see a Disney experience that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.
There are many pet cafes and we chose to spend half an hour at an owl cafe. It was really cool to be up close and personal with some amazing animals. We were tempted to do an otter cafe as well, but chose to skip it.
*May not be advised, after reading some comments. Admittedly, I don’t know much about this industry at all. It was an improvised experience and wasn’t pre-planned. The owls we saw weren’t chained down and I never visited any other cafes. It wasn’t a highlight of the trip.
We spent six nights in Tokyo and did a lot of walking around. We had a lot of different food and were able to walk most of our calories off. We visited many shrines and also went to the observation deck of Tokyo Tower, which was very affordable and fun.
Kyoto
Kyoto wasn’t as densely packed as Tokyo, but it certainly did not lack for things to do and food to eat.
The only regret from our unplanned trip was that I did not get us a tour inside of the Kyoto Imperial Palace. We were able to see the grounds from the outside, but I never completed the registration and we arrived half an hour after they closed. It was still fun to walk the grounds and see a beautiful castle completely surrounded by modern architecture.
We took an afternoon to visit Nara Deer Park and it was just as magical as anyone can imagine. The Deer can be very pushy, but the polite ones will bow to you when you bow to them. This was the most heavily packed tourist portion of our trip, but the walk down ancient paths and interactions with the wildlife were very worth it.
My personal favorite experience in Kyoto was a (couple) visits to the Kyoto Beer Lab. Incredible craft beer in a small, intimate setting. It was down an unassuming residential street and was a great tasting room with some delicious beer, sake and appetizers. The first night we befriended some French tourists as well as some employees and went out drinking with them after they closed. The second trip we got to meet one of the owners and enjoy some more great beers. Strongly recommended for beer drinkers and people who want to make some vacation friends.
Osaka
Osaka was cool, but due to its proximity to Kyoto, one might consider just staying in Kyoto and visiting Osaka one or two days. It was beautiful and having lunch along the water was very enjoyable.
We stayed at a ryokan with public baths and got to enjoy that experience. It was definitely different than anything we had done before and it was actually extremely relaxing. The hotel served delicious soba in the evenings and we always made sure to have room for that before settling in for the night.
Walking to Osaka Castle was very peaceful and it was magnificent to see in person. We also walked to the Umeda Sky Building and got to see it from outside. You can go up to the observation deck, but since we had already done it in Tokyo, we didn’t do it in Osaka.
Of all the Pokémon Centers we visited, our favorite was the one in Osaka; I still recommend visiting any that you can, because they are each different. Very nostalgic.
We made a last minute decision to visit Universal Studios Osaka, a day before Halloween, and we had a total blast. The Flying Dinosaur is THE BEST ROLLER COASTER I have ever been on. Halloween festivities included lots of scary actors as well as dance parties.
Hakone
We treated ourself to one night at a high end ryokan with a personal onsen in Hakone. If you can afford it, it is absolutely worth it. It was extremely relaxing and we got to experience some very authentic Japanese cuisine with the provided dinner and breakfast. It was very hard to leave after being treated like honored guests. Due to this ryokan, we did not explore and stayed at the hotel the whole time.
I’m just scratching the surface in talking about everything we got to see and do. We had a wonderful time and are really looking forward to returning and seeing other prefectures and regions of this beautiful country.
The point of my post is that we planned almost nothing and we’re still able to easily navigate and enjoy much of what the Kanto and Kansai region had to offer. The dollar is very strong in Japan right now and it is definitely the right time to go there.
If you are on the fence, or you feel like you can’t navigate this trip without a translator, travel agent, or strict itinerary, I assure you, you can. I strongly recommend making this trip happen for yourself as soon as possible!
by dominus-pastor
