Learnings & recommendations from 17 days in Tokyo/Hakone/Kawaguchiko/Kyoto/Osaka from a Londoner

We’ve just finished a 17-day trip to Japan and have a bunch of learnings and recommendations that will hopefully help others. We’re definitely not experts, and I’m sure we misinterpreted a few things, but these are the things we’ll be bearing in mind if/when we go back. Worth mentioning that we’re very food-focused travellers!

Prices are quoted in yen (¥) in case the exchange rate fluctuates significantly, but we’ve also included some approximate costs in today’s £. For our trip, ¥1000 = £5.30.

# Itinerary summary

We flew directly from London to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, so we lost the first and last days of our trip to the \~14 hour flight. The remaining 15 days included:

– Tokyo (4 days inc. day trip to Kamakura)

– Mount Fuji 5 Lakes Region (3 days)

– Hakone (2 days, 1 night)

– Lake Kawaguchiko (2 nights, 1 day)

– Kyoto (4 days inc. day trip to Nara)

– Osaka (3 days)

– Tokyo (1 final day/night before flight)

# Overall learnings

## Money

– We had read that Japan is still very cash-centric, but \~80% of our purchases were by card (Mastercard and Amex). Cards are accepted at most shops, bars and restaurants, and all convenience stores.

– The notable exception to this was the Suica card for public transport (see below) which can only be topped up with cash.

– Many places accepted card but not Google/Apple Pay – you needed the physical card and sometimes you had to sign for it.

– Tourist attractions (e.g. temples) are often cash only but rarely expensive.

– There are ATMs in almost all convenience stores, which are abundant, so if you do run out of cash it’s easy to nip out to get some more.

– Generally Japan was less expensive than we’d expected given what we’d heard, though this might be due to the particularly weak yen right now. Some typical prices:

– Ramen: ¥1200 (\~£6)

– Beer in a restaurant: ¥500-600 (£2.50-3)

– Glass of sake in a restaurant: ¥400 (£2)

– Sushi platter for 1 in a sushi restaurant: ¥2500 (£13)

– Sashimi platter for 2 in an izakaya: ¥2000 (\~£10)

– 1-way subway journey: ¥200 (£1)

– 1-way train to day-trip destination like Nara: ¥1500 (£8)

– 1-way standard-class bullet train ticket with reserved seats, e.g. Osaka->Tokyo: ¥15,000 (£80)

– Coffee: ¥200 (£1) from a convenience store, ¥600 (£3) from a coffee shop, ¥1000 (£5) from a specialist coffee shop

– Hotels: we spent an average of \~¥20,000 per night (£100) for hotels of a reasonable standard (think 3-4 stars)

## Transport

– It’s an _absolute must_ to get an ‘IC card’, Japan’s equivalent of an Oyster card.

– The dominant brand of IC card is “Suica” in Tokyo. It works all over Japan, across different train/bus companies, even in convenience stores.

– There are other brands like “Pasmo”, but Suica is the easiest to get hold of as there’s a machine to get a “Welcome Suica” which is valid for 28 days for visitors at Haneda airport.

– As of right now, you can only get these at the airport. So don’t leave the airport without getting one!

– Note that you can’t get back unused credit when you leave, so don’t top up much more than you will use.

– You top up the Suica card with cash (only cash) and then use it to tap in/out of subway lines. It calculates the correct fare for you and deducts it from your balance.

– Without a Suica, you’ll have to buy paper tickets everywhere. This has the potential to be a nightmare, as the subway system is run by many different companies, which can mean multiple tickets per journey if you’re changing lines.

– Apparently there is a way to get your Suica on your iPhone and use it via NFC. Potentially this can also be topped up via credit card rather than just cash. But we didn’t try this as only one of us has an iPhone and only Android phones bought in Japan are supported.

– Every station has machines to ‘charge’ your Suica with cash. If you go on an expensive journey and your balance doesn’t cover it, you won’t be allowed back through the gates, but there are “fare adjustment” machines to recharge there and let yourself out.

– The subway systems in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka were all great.

– Clear signage in English in all the stations; announcements and digital displays on trains switch between English and Japanese every few seconds.

– All the stations are numbered as well as named, which makes things extra easy. Sometimes the Japanese names can seem similar to an English-speaker, but if you know you’re going from J-12 to J-16, there’s no room for confusion.

– They’re all very clean, largely because there is no eating or drinking allowed on any train. They’re also incredibly quiet as phone calls aren’t allowed and people keep talking to a whisper.

– Google Maps worked incredibly well everywhere we went (even for more-remote bus journeys).

– Although the station signage is clear, the maps are not. It’s much easier to let Google figure it out for you. It will even tell you what exit to use and where to get on the train to reduce your time spent walking down the platform.

– Sometimes the train will change subway while you’re on it. Google Maps will helpfully say “Remain on board” even though it might not be obvious from the map.

– Note that some stations are huge, and Google Maps doesn’t always properly account for walking from one platform to another. We didn’t find this to be a problem as the trains are regular enough for it not to matter (e.g. every 6 minutes). It’s something to watch out for when getting the Shinkansen (bullet train).

– The Shinkansen (bullet trains) are awesome. Super punctual, clean and quick.

– You can check prices and book up to a month in advance at <https://baolau.com/> – you get a QR code to pick up your tickets at the station. This was super easy and meant our longer journeys were low-stress as we’d reserved seats. It seems like this was worth it as every train we got was full or close to full.

– You can pick up tickets you’ve bought online at any major train station. It’s worth doing this in advance of the day you travel in case there’s a queue at the station (they can get long).

– For one short journey (Kyoto to Osaka) we didn’t reserve tickets because there are trains every \~5 minutes and it’s only a \~15 minute journey. But the queue for the Shinkansen ticket machines was so long, we spent longer queuing than we spent on the train!

– You can get delicious “ekiben” (bento boxes of food for the train) at the station. Don’t underestimate the quality of these, we had some great sushi for \~¥1000 (£5). Food and drink is allowed on Shinkansen.

– It didn’t seem like the green car (first class) upgrade was worth it. You get so much legroom in standard class.

## Language

– We had heard that the level of English was very low but we were pleasantly surprised by how many people could at least get by speaking English. We were actively seeking out less touristy places and we never had an issue communicating, even when there was no English spoken.

– There are a handful of Japanese phrases that we found incredibly useful:

– Ari-ga-to gozai-masu: “thank you”

– This is the polite version of thank you. You don’t pronounce the “u” at the end, it just sounds like “mass”.

– If you elongate the a to be like “maaaaas” then that seems to indicate more enthusiasm. We never heard anyone say “domo arigato” (thank you very much), so it seems like this elongation is the preference.

– We were surprised how rarely “arigato” (the casual version) was used.

– If you don’t bother with anything else, this is the one to learn.

– Fu-tari desu: “we are two” (again, don’t pronounce the u)

– This is all you need to get a table at a restaurant as a couple. You’d probably be fine just gesturing the number 2, but it seems a bit more polite to say something as you do it.

– If you are asked “nan desu ka?” when you walk in that means “how many are you?”, to which this is the correct answer as a couple.

– Ku-da-sai: “please”

– To order in a restaurant you just say the name of the thing and then this phrase afterwards. E.g. “bīru kudasai” means “can I have a beer please?”

– There’s a polite version of ‘please’ which is interchangeable: “onegaishimasu” (maybe just Google how to pronounce that one!)

– Kā-do de: “pay by card”

– Unlike in the UK where it’s assumed that you will pay by card, often in Japan you have to explicitly say it or they will wait for you to hand them cash without setting up the card machine.

– You can make this more polite by saying “kādo de kudasai” which means “I’d like to pay by card please”.

– The word for cash is “genkin” so if you hear that in a response, it probably means they only take cash. Most people know the phrase “cash only” though, even if they don’t speak much English.

– We used Google Translate’s camera function extensively to translate written Japanese, e.g. when there was no English menu. This works incredibly well, and we had a lot more confidence to visit places with no English (e.g. particularly local restaurants) as a result.

– The couple of times we struggled to communicate what we needed to say, we just used Google translate to generate the Japanese and showed it to the person on our phones. Some Japanese people also did this with us without being prompted.

## Food and drink

Food was the thing we were most excited about when planning our trip and it did not disappoint! There is lots to say. We’ve left specific recommendations to the sections below that focus on each of the places we visited. Some overall tips and learnings:

– The standard is very high everywhere. Even on train station platforms or at national chain restaurants where in the UK you would expect awful ultra-processed food, we were never disappointed.

– NB: we stuck almost exclusively to Japanese food. Maybe this wouldn’t be true of western cuisine.

– There’s absolutely no tipping anywhere. Some Japanese even see tipping as rude.

– Outside of izakayas (more on them below), the restaurant culture is very focused on the food. This means service is quick and efficient, you don’t spend much time at the restaurant other than eating, and conversation is kept quiet to avoid distracting people from their food. You’re often sat at a bar in a more ‘solo’ stance, even if you’re with someone else.

– In some places, you will be expected to order while you queue. Sometimes you will even pay before you sit down, and when you’re finished eating you just get up and leave.

– This means it’s hard to make a whole evening out of a visit to a restaurant like you might in the UK.

– The places that take this to the extreme (often ramen places) will have a vending machine at the front. You put in cash, push the buttons for what you want, receive tickets and hand them to the server.

– Izakayas offer quite a different vibe. They come in all shapes and sizes, but broadly speaking they are like a cross between a tapas bar and a gastro pub. There is an expectation that you drink, and there is also an expectation that you eat. But if you don’t eat loads, it’s okay. And you don’t have to order everything all at once.

– If you don’t eat, there is normally a cover charge of \~¥400-500 (\~£2) in the form of a small appetiser.

– We were taught that at an izakaya you should follow these steps, which helps explain the concept:

– Drink. Order a bit of food.

– Order more drinks. Order more food. Repeat until you’re nearly ready to go home.

– Order some food with carbs to fill you up. Go home.

– This can be quite a nice way to spend an evening if you don’t want to be in-and-out at a ramen restaurant or similar. There’s definitely less pressure to leave, especially if you’re still ordering drinks.

– They have a big drinking culture, although you don’t see many drunk people until after midnight. The standard drinks served everywhere are:

– Japanese lager (Asahi/Kirin/Sapporo)

– A “highball” which (without any further qualification) is whiskey with ice and soda water in a tall glass.

– “Chuhai” is short for “shochu highball”. Shochu is like a vodka made from rice/barley/similar, but not quite as strong (normally 25%). Most common is the “lemon sour”.

– Sake. It varies a lot more than we realised (in price and taste). We were relative newcomers before but we loved it by the end of the trip!

– It’s hard to order from a menu or by looking at the bottles, as they’re all in Japanese. You can normally explain what style you want to the server and they’ll manage – the simple options are light/rich and dry/sweet. So if you say “light dry sake” they will know what to bring.

– Some places serve it hot but the majority of the time it’s cold.

– It’s probably not worth ordering if they only have a single cheap option, just like it’s often not worth ordering wine in a pub in the UK.

– It’s normally ordered by the ‘glass’ (90ml) or carafe (180ml).

– They take their cocktails very seriously and there are some amazing cocktail bars. See city-specific section below for specific recommendations.

– At first they can seem very whiskey-focused. They really love their whiskey and it’s not uncommon for good cocktail bars to have 50+ bottles behind the bar, at every possible price point, but they make other stuff too.

– Many of them are tiny (8-12 seats at a bar, maybe 1 or 2 tables) and hidden in basements or on random floors of tall buildings. It’s very difficult to find them just walking along the street – you need to check the floor on Google Maps to know where you’re going.

– They like the concept of a “no menu” cocktail bar where you tell them what you like and they make something up. This also means you don’t know how much it will cost – we were typically paying ¥2000 (\~£11) so it wasn’t extortionate vs. London. There was also often a cover charge of ¥500.

– There’s street food everywhere, particularly in the pedestrianised walking streets. We took the approach of sticking to places with a queue of people who didn’t look like tourists and we were never disappointed.

– The one thing to watch out for when eating on the street is that there are no bins anywhere in public. It’s expected that if you buy street food, you eat it directly outside the stall. Walking and eating is considered rude as you risk making the street dirty.

– There won’t always be a bin for used packaging/skewers visible at the street food stall, but vendors were always happy to have any litter handed back to them. This would be strange in the UK, but it’s expected there!

– Coffee is abundant but doesn’t match up to London coffee shops in terms of quality unless you visit the more specialist places.

– Convenience stores do pretty good, cheap iced coffees. Our favourite brand was Uchi Cafe from Lawson. Best to drink it in the shop to avoid carrying litter around.

– Convenience stores are everywhere and have some nice snacks for on-the-go food. We particularly liked the onigiri to fuel us in the mornings.

– Smoking is allowed indoors in Japan, which means some bars and restaurants will allow it. This is especially true of the whiskey-focused bars, rarer in restaurants.

– We don’t smoke, but we didn’t find this a problem on our trip. We found ourselves in a smoking bar 2 or 3 times and it just meant we didn’t stay too long. The ventilation is normally pretty good.

– It’s common enough that many hotels will have a spray in the wardrobe to prevent your clothes from smelling like smoke.

– We didn’t make any restaurant reservations in advance and we never compromised on where we ate because of a lack of availability.

– If you want to eat in the high-end omakase restaurants where they do or could have a Michelin star, booking is essential. For anything else, there are so many options that you can always find somewhere.

– Queueing is common but we never had to queue for more than 25 minutes for a table.

## Accommodation

– Generally we were very happy with the standard of accommodation. It was clean, comfortable and relatively inexpensive. Rooms were typically small but this didn’t bother us as we were light on luggage and spent minimal time in the hotels. If you have lots of luggage you might want to make sure you don’t get the smallest rooms.

– The more traditional places might only offer futons with relatively thin mattresses, and potentially Japanese pillows which are made from the husks of buckwheat seeds. We didn’t find these uncomfortable, but perhaps someone who likes a very soft mattress would.

– It’s surprisingly common to see separate beds in double rooms, e.g. 2 separate double beds.

## Shopping

– Many shops across the country offer “tax free” shopping, removing Japan’s equivalent of VAT (normally 10%).

– You normally have to show your passport to qualify for this, which they use to check you haven’t been in the country for more than \~6 months. So if you’re going shopping, take your passport.

– Some stores like Don Quijote have a minimum spend for tax-free shopping (e.g. ¥5000)

– Generally (as you would expect) we found Japanese brands to be significantly cheaper than back home. Western brands were often more expensive, even accounting for tax-free.

– E.g. Uniqlo is roughly 50% cheaper than in the UK, even before accounting for the tax-free shopping.

– E.g. Sony headphones were \~40% cheaper than in the UK

– Some stores have discount codes that are specific to travellers looking for tax-free shopping.

## Attractions

– We had heard that it’s good to visit attractions early to avoid the crowds. This was definitely true!

– Some places we arrived around 8.30-9am and it was quiet (a few dozen people) and by the time we’d circled back round to the start by 11am it was packed (hundreds of people).

– Unless you want there to be almost no one, it didn’t seem necessary to get there super early (e.g. 6am).

– For attractions on a hill or where there is potential to walk far (e.g. Fushimi Inari, Chureito Pagoda, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest) we found that without fail even if the start/centre of the attraction was packed, you could keep walking and soon enough it would be quiet again.

– If in doubt, keep walking up the hill and it will get quieter! Clearly some people just want to get the photo and get out of there.

# Location-specific learnings

## Tokyo

### Overall

We loved Tokyo. It’s one of the few cities we’ve been to that has a similar magnitude of breadth to offer as London whilst also feeling very different. It mixes the old and the ultra modern very well. The public transport is great. We expected it to feel busier, but outside of the main train stations and other hotspots, it was relatively relaxed and quiet. And it’s big enough that most people you see aren’t tourists, so you don’t feel like you’re in a tourist town. We stayed in Shinjuku but if we were to go back, we’d probably stay in Shibuya or nearby.

### Favourite areas

Like London, Tokyo is really a collection of different towns. We picked 2 or 3 per day and just wandered around to get a feel for them. Our favourites were:

– Shibuya – this seemed to have the best bars and restaurants for what we were looking for. Not too touristy, also not too business-centric or residential. Soho would be the closest London equivalent.

– Harajuku & Omotesando – especially in the backstreets here, it felt like the more ‘hip’ shopping area with more Japanese brands and small/independent shops (vs. somewhere like Ginza where it’s only Chanel, Balenciaga, Dior etc.). Shoreditch is probably the closest London equivalent.

– Asakusa & Kappabashi Street – Asakusa has some nice indoor markets for street food around Senso-ji temple. Kappabashi Street is kitchenware central, with all of the best shops for Japanese knives.

– Tsukiji Market – the market itself has moved elsewhere but the area retains its focus on fresh seafood with all kinds of street food stalls and sushi restaurants. Great atmosphere and great food, even if it is a bit touristy.

– Akihabara – we’re not big anime/otaku culture fans but it was cool to see all the skyscrapers of retro gaming halls. We did have a play on some of the racing games (you can pay with Suica!)

### Best attractions

– TeamLabs Planets – immersive art exhibition, quite unusual if you’ve never done anything like it before, although similar exhibitions do exist around the world. Book a couple of weeks in advance. We spent about 90 minutes there. It’s near Tsukiji Market so it’s easy to combine the two.

– Meiji Shrine & Yoyogi Park – a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the city with lots of greenery. We even saw a traditional wedding taking place.

– Don Quijote – a chain of crazy “variety stores” that need to be experienced to be understood. Go to the ‘Mega Don’ in Shibuya for the full experience.

– Kamakura – easy day trip from Tokyo, Hasedera Temple offers great views over the surrounding area

### Best restaurants

– [Tsukiji Sushi Say Honten](https://maps.app.goo.gl/9LvYCTrA133PfyZ88) – great, fairly priced sushi in Tsukiji

– [Ginza Kagari](https://maps.app.goo.gl/BBbB55i7dVsVBSry6) – the best ramen we had on our trip (chicken broth). We actually went to their branch in Kamakura but I’m sure it’s equally good in both

– [This](https://maps.app.goo.gl/65GzGKvfFZvaKymP6) was our favourite izakaya – no other Westerners and very friendly staff who just about got by with English. The sashimi was great and the sake was very high quality!

– [Toritake](https://maps.app.goo.gl/Q4nZr3ooPSCvua1q8) – great yakitori (grilled meats). I think their specialty is eel but they seemed to have sold out when we went.

### Best bars

– [The SG Club](https://maps.app.goo.gl/4MNH3XpqWmB7JktZ6) – rated as one of the 50 best bars in Asia, we were downstairs in their ‘more experimental’ bar and had some of the best cocktails we’ve ever had

– [Jazz Blues Soul Bar](https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZbsLHn5Un5Py65MW6) – slightly hidden bar playing vintage records from a collection of \~10,000+. The owner is incredibly stern and doesn’t seem to like that customers interrupt his listening, but it’s a cool experience if you can ignore that.

– [Bar High Five](https://maps.app.goo.gl/Y2xQf7ZzEET3bK1S6) – the name sounds tacky but it’s actually a very high-end cocktail bar with no menu. They ask what you like and make something up. Again some of the best cocktails we’ve ever had, although almost everyone here was a tourist which never feels great.

## Hakone

We only stayed one night in Hakone, having rented a car and driven from Odawara station. The drive is super easy.

The primary reason for visiting was to stay at a rural ryokan (traditional Japanese inn). We stayed at [Kijitei Hoeiso](https://maps.app.goo.gl/9LvYCTrA133PfyZ88) and it was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. It was expensive at \~¥76,000 but this did include a delicious kaiseki dinner, breakfast, full use of their indoor onsen and private booking of their outdoor onsen next to the river. I would highly recommend one night in a ryokan. You probably don’t need more than one night, particularly as multiple kaiseki dinners would probably be too repetitive. It’s best to check in early to make sure you make full use of the facilities.

Other than the ryokan, we didn’t find Hakone itself to have much to offer of the sorts of things we enjoy most. We did the boat trip across the lake and took the ropeway (cable car) up to the volcano – both nice experiences but it all felt a bit too touristy for us. We enjoyed the Hakone Open-Air Museum (sculpture park) but it felt a little out of place.

## Lake Kawaguchiko

We drove from Hakone to Lake Kawaguchiko and spent 2 nights (but only 1 full day). We enjoyed this area much more than Hakone for 3 reasons: we had clear views of Mount Fuji (perhaps just luck); there were more active things to do like hiking/cycling; it didn’t feel quite as touristy, perhaps because it’s more difficult to do as a day trip from Tokyo.

There isn’t really a clear ‘centre’ to the town. We stayed in some very basic accommodation on one of the residential streets – it was only ¥10,000 per night (£55) but we did have bunk beds.

### Best attractions

– Chureito Pagoda – we got here early so it wasn’t too busy and the views of Mt. Fuji are stunning. We did the short (\~40 minutes each way) hike up to Arakurayama Summit which was definitely worth it. Not a difficult hike (apart from some slightly icy bits near the top) and you’re rewarded with even better views, with zero tourists. It’s well signposted, but you need Google Translate as the signs are all in Japanese.

– Tenjozan Park – we took the ropeway (cable car) up here and walked down. The views are also great of Mt. Fuji. We probably should have skipped the cable car and just walked up as well as down. You can’t see much from the cable car itself and the queues are long.

– Cycling around the lake – we rented bikes from [here](https://maps.app.goo.gl/N6smUjDzKhQqGPmz6) and cycled the \~18km around Lake Kawaguchiko. It’s a mixture of bike lanes and roads, but there are so few cars it feels safe. Make sure to cycle anti-clockwise so you’re on the lake side throughout. It took us about 90 minutes but we probably should have stopped more often – there are plenty of places along the way for food/drink.

– Driving to other lakes – because we had a car, we did the short drive to see some of the other lakes like Saiko and Motosu, which were equally picturesque (particularly the ones with a reflection of Mt Fuji) and almost deserted.

### Best restaurants

– [Kosaku Kawaguchiko](https://maps.app.goo.gl/8vNKVvjmRaXvkHas5) – the local dish is ‘houtou’, thick cut noodles and lots of vegetables stewed in miso soup. It’s delicious, very warming and incredibly filling. This is a traditional restaurant serving pretty much only this. You take your shoes off, put your name down and then are seated on the floor. There aren’t many choices to make, all the houtou options are virtually the same – the only thing that changes is additional meat you can add (although in hindsight perhaps the veggie version would have been better).

– [High Spirits](https://maps.app.goo.gl/ivuG5Xqj6GQj9rWMA) – a nice izakaya run by a couple who speak perfect English. The chef likes to chat to people at the bar. We had some great, varied food and spent a while here enjoying our evening, which was a nice change from some of the in-and-out restaurants.

## Kyoto

### Overall

We enjoyed Kyoto but we probably budgeted too much time here (4 days) given its best for its temples and gardens, which are less of a priority for us (temple fatigue is real!). Because it’s such a cultural and historical centre, with a population 90% smaller than Tokyo and a much smaller footprint, it feels a lot more touristy. Almost all of the time there are tourists around you in Kyoto, when they are easy to avoid in Tokyo. It’s also generally more expensive as there’s clearly more of a market catering to wealthy (often American) tourists.

### Best attractions

– Gion as a district is fun to walk around – you see people dressed as geishas (some real, some tourists) and there are lots of old, traditional buildings. This is a more upmarket district so you’ll find fancier restaurants here.

– Nishiki Market – this is a long, covered street/indoor market with hundreds of street food vendors. Have a wander and try a few things!

– Teramachi Street – perpendicular to Nishiki Market, another covered pedestrianised street but more focused on shopping, particularly clothes. Some interesting stuff, and it doesn’t require much time.

– Kiyamachi Street and Pontocho Alley – this is the centre of the nightlife in the evenings. It’s buzzing, although it did get a bit rowdy later on when we were there.

– Arashiyama Bamboo Forest – definitely worth a visit, arrive early and keep walking to get past the bulk of the tourists. If you walk up to Otagi Nenbutsuji via Saga Toriimoto you can see lots of nice preserved old houses with a few good ceramics shops.

– Fushimi Inari – definitely touristy but well worth the visit, walk all the way to the top for the fewest tourists (we did manage to get some photos with no other people in them). When you’re back at the start, head down to Fushimi Sake district where they make some of the best sake, you can do tastings and there’s also a sake museum.

– Philosopher’s Path – this is a nice little walk along the canal, although I’m sure it’s better when there’s full blossom.

– Nijo Castle – definitely some of the best gardens we saw anywhere. Arrive later before it shuts and enjoy golden hour here.

– Nara – easy day trip from Kyoto, although really it should probably be considered a half-day trip. The deer are nice to see but there isn’t much else to see, and it’s very touristy.

### Best restaurants

– [Aiba Curry](https://maps.app.goo.gl/QfK2yytKxEEhA2LN9) – we had one of our favourite meals of the trip here. We went for lunch and had ‘omurice’ (an omelette sliced open over rice) with curry sauce and fried chicken. A bit decadent and very filling but delicious!

– [Juju](https://maps.app.goo.gl/SHNczsiirvvRcuaa6) – tonkatsu restaurant specialising in lightly battered and fried pork cutlets. They are very high quality cuts of meat and they specify where each one comes from depending on availability. Each is served with rice, salad and an array of sauces and condiments. The meat is very fatty but it’s rendered well so the result is delicious even if it’s not something you could eat daily.

– [Kobushi Ramen](https://maps.app.goo.gl/GSDa4jAVySq9L59R9) – more great ramen, a bit more unusual than the classic tonkotsu. They do duck and fish broth ramen, as well as spicy tantanmen. It’s been in the Michelin guide for many years running, and isn’t expensive at all.

### Best bars

– [Umineko](https://maps.app.goo.gl/xYWo2tAhb8KMaJdH7) – a standing craft beer bar we absolutely loved, the beer was great (much of it is from their own brewery in Osaka) and the staff are super friendly.

– [Kazubar](https://maps.app.goo.gl/X5H7ueUfj92Q2wEeA) – this is a candle-lit only bar almost entirely hidden on the 2nd floor of a very unassuming building, with no clear signage. The door looks incredibly dodgy but inside is very cool, if a bit high on the ‘edgy’ scale. One of the bartenders speaks English, there’s no menu but it’s not expensive. It was a bit smokey, but a cool experience.

– [Sakesora](https://maps.app.goo.gl/kay5ALc4fX14Hhjp9) – this is a brewery and sake bar with a decent food selection. We only had a drink, which meant we paid a cover charge for some small appetisers (which were nice!), but the beer was very good.

– [This](https://maps.app.goo.gl/8TixztVxgrta7et17) bar was incredibly cute – absolutely tiny and pretty much only Japanese speaking, but thankfully “gin tonic” is the same in Japanese. I had one of the best gins I’ve ever had here.

– [Bar K6](https://maps.app.goo.gl/Moq7HScWpVdYFSQ9A) – huge spirit selection, quite an old school vibe although the place is quite large, surprisingly inexpensive given the vibe (¥1200 for a cocktail, just over £6).

– [Blue Bottle Coffee](https://maps.app.goo.gl/WP3xuigZvp4WfvV9A) – not really a bar, but the best coffee shop we went to on our trip in a beautiful building.

## Osaka

### Overall

Osaka is famed for its food (nicknamed the ‘Kitchen of Japan’) and for its nightlife, and it definitely delivers on both, which made it one of our favourite spots on our trip. It almost feels like a mini-Tokyo as it has similar sorts of distinct areas but they’re on a much more compact scale. We didn’t get the subway at all in Osaka apart from getting in/out because it was so walkable – whereas in Tokyo even if you walk a lot, you still need to get the subway often. There’s not a lot of typical tourist attractions but it’s a fun place to just wander and explore, particularly in the evenings. The locals here were the most friendly of anywhere.

### Best attractions

– [Dotonbori](https://maps.app.goo.gl/86fbpoVThZmdpgnn8) is a fun area to explore, both in the day and especially at night. You can walk along the river, along the main street, or along Hozenji Yokocho and soak it all up.

– Umeda Sky Building – we went on a clear day and the views from the top were very good. It’s an interesting building with two skyscrapers joined at the top and some angled escalators through the sky. There’s a reasonably priced bar at the top, too.

– Kurumon Ichiba Market – similar to Nishiki Market in Kyoto, lots of nice street food, particularly with a seafood focus

– Shi-Tennoji Temple Market – only 2 days per month, an interesting flea market in the grounds of a temple. It seemed to be mostly locals there.

– Osaka Castle – the building itself is surprisingly small and the queues were large so we didn’t go in, but the grounds are nice to walk around.

– Sennichimae Doguyasuji Shopping Street – mini version of Kappabashi Street in Tokyo focusing on kitchenware.

### Best restaurants

– [Yakiniku-densetsu Baribari Sennichimae](https://maps.app.goo.gl/tBa7KqgMLBRn9KJC7) – we had some very reasonably priced, high quality wagyu beef here. You cook it yourself, and the atmosphere isn’t as fancy as some of the omakase-style restaurants that serve high-end beef, but you save a lot of money for that compromise.

– [Okonomiyaki Sanpei](https://maps.app.goo.gl/EmnZiLdDbjUX4ux38) – just off the tourist trail, this place specialises in the cabbage pancakes that originate from Osaka. Their specialty is a green onion and soy variety, with lots of fresh seafood, but they also do more classic varieties. It’s all cooked in front of you, and there are only a few seats, so be prepared to queue!

– [This](https://maps.app.goo.gl/WLLb512hDkp7CnHx9) place specialises in kushikatsu – a local food consisting of fried everything on skewers, which you dip in a special sauce. It’s tasty and worth a try, but we probably over-ordered and regretted having so much fried stuff. Maybe go for a small lunch!

– Takoyaki is another Osaka favourite – fried balls of batter stuffed with octopus. We went [here](https://maps.app.goo.gl/HH3kehHAyCpo8jqC9) for our best of the trip after trying a few, but many places are good. Make sure to let them cool for a few minutes or you will incinerate your mouth. You might not be able to stand the [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM48pODu9G0) they play in the queue though.

### Best bars

– [Bar Shiki](https://maps.app.goo.gl/qxgpei4Tf7nKRRmd7) – this was our favourite cocktail bar of the trip. The owner/bartender is insanely knowledgeable. There’s no menu, he just makes something up based on what you say you like. The breadth of ingredients (many of them home made) and his understanding of them was incredible, not to mention his enthusiasm!

– [Nihonshu to Watashi](https://maps.app.goo.gl/HarvhkkXtgLUoV9o6) – this standing sake bar was recommended to us by another bartender. There were only locals there and the bartender was absolutely lovely but didn’t speak any English. It’s a funny concept where you pick a sake bottle from the fridge, and then let her pour it for you. You’re expected to order some food and it’s delicious – we went after dinner and it was easy not to order anything big. The locals there were very friendly and overall it was one of our favourites of the trip.

– [Umineko](https://maps.app.goo.gl/zGVrowGRkw7m6HXB7) – from the same brewery as one of our favourite bars in Kyoto, this is a tiny standing beer bar with great local craft beers and a very friendly atmosphere.

– [Milk Bar](https://maps.app.goo.gl/Pm3VMGAiUrXbGWiJ6) – a music-focused vintage record bar serving cocktails. Similar to Blues Jazz Soul Bar in Tokyo, but with a much friendlier owner.

– [Misono Building](https://maps.app.goo.gl/igbCiB1BQDXViXQd7) – we heard good things about the bars on the 2nd floor of this building and went to investigate, but there were too many to choose from and we arrived too early in the evening so they were all empty. If you want something a bit edgier, check it out.

by DizzyEwok