Welcome to my trip report. Hopefully I can give insight and information to people having a trip in Japan. My route was Tokyo- Hakone – Kyoto – Osaka
March 22 Haneda Airport and Shinjuku
We arrived in Haneda Airport Terminal 3. The walk to customs was surprisingly long. Thankfully there were a lot of those walking escalators that somewhat made it go faster. When we got to the section for customs, there were a lot of people and a lot of zigzagging through the lines. This is a good time to have finish filling out the online customs form from the Japan website. Before you get to see custom personnel, there is a mini section to the side where you will be asked to take out your passport and have it scanned in this kiosk machine and then you will be prompted to get one of your fingers scanned and have your picture taken. Afterwards you will go back in line to see the custom personnel. The process was fast especially when you show the qr code from the online customs form. Now you can get your luggage at this point, but you may notice another line of people. This is for electronic declarations. You can simply skip this wait with the online customs form that you have finished beforehand. There are kiosk machines nearby where it will be straightforward of what to do. When you are done find the signs that will let you go straight to the gate. They will scan your face (this is done from doing the kiosk machine) and now you’re finished with customs.
When we first rode the bus, I was surprised that we were driving on the left side of the road unlike in the US where it was on the right side. Oh, and be sure to keep the ticket and do not throw it away. They may or may not need it for verification.
When we started walking around Shinjuku. I was surprised there was no countdown timer for the walking sign. The only way to tell if it is about to turn red is if it is blinking a lot.
Apparently Don Quixote is like a famous cheap store that has everything you need. So if you need supplies or souvenirs check it out.
The Tokyu Kabukicho Tower first and second floors were the only things that were amazing about it.
When we walked in Kabukicho, the 3d billboard cat was nice. There was a line of girls with anime attire holding signs that had numbers on them. I was not sure what those were for but it weirded me out nonetheless.
If you did not know, your hotel can hold your luggage temporarily before and after check out. This was helpful when we wanted to check a place out quick.
March 23 Shibuya, Gyoen Park, Meiji Shrine
The three hotels that we were in that had breakfast provided very similar food. The block egg, scrambled eggs, sausage, rice, miso soup, chicken, salad, dessert, and others. Be warned that they mostly provided chopsticks only, so be sure to know how to use them. There was also natto, I heard Japanese liked them for breakfast. In my experience, they tasted gross.
If you need more money from ATM, go to 7 eleven or Family mart.
Shinjuku Gyoen park was nice but not a lot of cherry blossoms at the time
The walk to meiji shrine from the gate was LONG. You can buy charms here.
The starbucks reserve by Shibuya was nice, I recommend going there. There was a Tokyo sign and variety of food and drinks.
The Shibuya crossing was smaller than I expected
Pokemon center had too many people and I was sweating so much inside
There was no fitting room in One Piece store, I had to guess what my size was.
Shibuya Sky was a bit cool but not amazing at nighttime.
Department store have a food market but they usually do not have a table for you to eat in.
March 24 Asakusa, Odaiba Park, Teamlabs
When riding trains, find the name of the train line provided by google maps.
It may tell you where to enter or exit and those can be found by looking for the signs.
You will always have to tap in before you reach the platforms and there are always IC Card machines for you to replenish. If you have any issues, there will be personnel standing by those gates. REMEMBER only 1 person per card can be used. You cannot share cards. For example, if you went in and the other person cannot enter. You can’t give them your card to enter. In addition, you cannot just switch cards when you exit. For example, if you used iphone and then decided to use physical card, it will not work. You must use the same card from beginning to end. Pay attention to the platform number that is where the train will arrive. If you miss the train, it is ok they come again around 10 minutes or so. Oh and if you are confused that the train has a name that it is not your stop it is ok what that means is there end location but your stop is along the way so hop in. When you are inside just pay attention to the screen which should be by the door or by listening to the audio of what the next stop will be for you to get off. Do not stress if you made a mistake!
Asakusa had too many people, it was rather suffocating. It was a nice place and had street food! You can buy charms here.
Odaiba’s gundam statue and teamlab planets was amazing!
I got lost here when going back to Shinjuku, but I was able to ask for help from a local. They were really nice, so do not be afraid to ask for help.
March 25 To Hakone
Getting to Shinjuku station with our heavy luggage was a big pain especially having to not know where elevators are.
I used the qr code from the hakone freepass to get in and this will be used AGAIN when you tap out
I could not figure out where the elevators for the hakone romancecar platform were located so I had to resort to lifting the luggage via the stairs. I do not recommend it.
If the train comes early and the door is open for your car, do not go in they are busy cleaning.
There was a section for luggage in the train which was nice. Be sure to be in your assigned seat, the attendants seem to care about it a lot and they bow before exiting the car.
We got to hakone Yumoto station, you can transfer here to Gora station no need to tap or anything.
Our hotel was on the other side and the only path was to go down the stairs and upstairs in the tunnel. It was painful carrying the luggage in this part especially later when we had to go up a hill to our hotel.
Our hotel hakone tent bar felt like it was made for college students. No elevator lmao. Shoes are not allowed inside. There is a private onsen.
March 26 Exploring hakone
It was raining the entire day, feels bad.
Breakfast was very limited in the Gora area.
The black egg was surprisingly ordinary. It is just any other boiled egg.
Before you reached the ship, cruise there was a lot of decorations of Neon Genesis Evangelion. I did not know Hakone was where the show took place.
Hakone shrine was massive. I loved it!
March 27 To Kyoto
From Hakone we had to reach Odawara station. We used the tozan line to reach the station.
Since our 2 day hakone freepass was over, we switched to IC Card
Use the ic card again when you exit in odawara station
We had to use shinkansen qr code to tap into the shinkansen platform
When we enter the shinkansen, it seemed like there was no place for luggage but there was enough space by your seat. It sucked but it was the only option.
Be sure to reserve on the D or E seats so that you can potentially see MT FUJI on the right.
Kyoto station was massive and had multiple exits. Use shinkansen qr code to exit.
Using the bus was key in exploring Kyoto. Be sure to ride the bus with the number indicated in your google maps.
GION had too many people.
March 28
Tea ceremony with kimono was amazing. I decided to not wear the kimono like the other people were doing because it seemed hard to walk in and you had to go back to the place to give it back.
It felt like a matcha capital in this place lol maybe just bias because of the tea ceremony, starbucks and a nearby ice cream shop that had MATCHA everywhere.
Going to the imperial palace was a waste of time since you cannot go inside anyway. Maybe not if you had tour tickets.
Kiyomizu dera was a hiking trip just to reach it haha. The buildings and the view was worth it.
March 29 To the bamboo forest and Osaka
It is a long trip by bus from Kyoto so take note of that.
Too many people and the forest was okay at best.
Now if we are talking about the river now that was amazing.
Depending on where you are going in Osaka, there is a limited train or shinkansen that you can take.
When we got to Osaka, particularly in the Tembashi Station, there was less people than I have ever experienced in Japan. It felt so nice.
March 30 Universal Studios
Get there early if you want a chance in Super Nintendo World
I could not get an entry after 12 pm
Flying dinosaur was the best ride. We rode it twice
Hollywood front or back ride was a nice ride especially because of the music that you can choose and it kind of syncs the beatdrop as the ride drops.
All rides were in Japanese, it was kind of funny not knowing what anyone is saying.
Nezuko and Tanjiro churros was nice
You can do all rides in 1 day if you start as the park opens
March 31 Osaka Castle and Donburi
Osaka castle was nice, but it was a lot of walking. There is nothing to pay to get in. You only need to pay to get into the museum. The only thing worth in the museum was the souvenir shop. There is just too much stairs to climb and some rooms were compact that had too many people.
Donburi had too many people too but a lot of amazing décor kind of like being in the place where everything happens.
April 1 Nara
Nara park was worth. The deer were cute.
April 2 Goodbye Japan
TLDR:
• Use suica on iphone, your Charles scwab debit card can pay for it instead of a credit card. All you must do is tap your phone and that’s it. No need to go on wallet app. It was so annoying having to get the physical card out to tap.
Be prepared to get lost and be frustrated in the subways
• Hotel rooms are COMPACT like tall people may struggle and usually have 1 bed for 2 people
• Esim on your phone is the best especially UBIGI
• Google maps and google translate will be your best friends
• Taxi is expensive
• Some hotels have laundry machines that you can use
• Heavy luggage is a PAIN when going through train stations or when going to your hotel.
• There are places that feel like walking on a hill, Japan is not flat!
• Train stations have a lot of stairs and sometimes elevators and escalators are not easy to spot. This can be frustrating with big luggage
• Buildings inside are HEATED. In a way I do not recommend too many layers. I was sweating a lot in these buildings when I wore a jacket, long sleeve shirt, heated shirt, heated underwear, and pants.
• Department stores are underrated places to check for food.
• Have good shoes for you to stand and walk the entire day
by Atecno
