Howdy folks, first of all I want to thank everyone on this sub for all their tips and sharing their experiences. I lurked this sub for several months to help plan my trip and it was very successful thanks to all of the resources I read online including this sub.
To give back to the community I wanted to share my 32M solo trip experience to help ease anyone else’s anxiety or if they just want to reference what to do or not to do.
**Itinerary:**
*note: If I don’t state what I ate that breakfast or lunch or dinner, it’s probably because I just ate 7-eleven food. I always had some kind of 7-eleven bread in my backpack at all times.*
**— Tokyo 4 days —**
**— — — — — —**
Day 1:
* Landed in afternoon,
* afternoon getting to Hotel in Asakusa called Hotel Trend Asakusa Tawaramachi
* night Shinjuku for food and karaoke at Big Echo
Day 2:
* Morning Asakusa Senso-Ji Tokyo Localized Tour group,
* Morning Sumida Park,
* Afternoon Shinjuku and Kabuki-cho,
* Dinner ramen at Menshou Taketora Main Branch
* night Tokyo Localized Tour of Shinjuku,
* later evening Golden Gai Bar Champion
Day 3:
* Morning trip to Totoro’s Forest in Sayama Hill,
* later morning hung out at Sayama Nature Park
* afternoon Akihabara shopping
* night Takanawa Sakura Festival
Day 4:
* Breakfast Latte Art Mania in Shibuya
* Morning Shibuya for food and shopping
* Lunch Menchirashi Udon Harajuku
* afternoon Tokyo Tower exploring and shopping,
* night Shibuya at Bar Triangle
**— Kyoto 4(2) days —**
**— — — — — —**
Day 5:
* Morning Shinkesen to Kyoto,
* got to hotel Ryokan Kyoraku in early Afternoon,
* afternoon checked out Kyoto Imperial Palace,
* later afternoon visited Gion District,
* night visited Potoncho alley and hung out at Barcode
* ended night at a bar, Misty Moon, near Kyoto Station
Day 6:
* Morning Fushimi Inari shrine,
* afternoon exploring random areas around Kyoto
* Dinner at Denshichi Sushi
* night bar hopped from G Bar, Bar Dam, and back to Misty Moon
**— 2 Day Trip to Osaka from Kyoto —**
**— — — — — —**
Day 7:
* Morning went to Tenmangu Shrine
* Morning rode train to Osaka,
* morning exploring Dotonburi,
* lunch random Takoyaki spot in Dotonburi
* afternoon Shin Sekai area,
* night back to Dotonburi and going to a bar called Space Station
* dinner Oknomiyaki at a random spot in Dotonburi
Day 8:
* Morning rode train to Osaka,
* morning check out Osaka Castle,
* afternoon exploring streets and ate ramen at Chommage-shokudo Ramen-bu,
* afternoon went to Umeda Tower area(didn’t actually go in),
* evening ride the Shinkesen back to Tokyo and hotel in Shibuya called Olympic Inn
* evening went to a bar in Shibuya called Female Leopard
**— Tokyo 2 days —**
**— — — — — —**
Day 9:
* Morning TeamPlanets Borderless in Koto City,
* afternoon shopping for souveniers at Tokyo Tower and Shibuya,
* evening went to an Izakaya in Shibuya. Can’t remember which, I tried to get into three different ones but they were all full and I randomly stumbled into one that finally took me in
Day 10:
* Slowly woke up and packed and went to the airport and did some more last minute shopping
**Length of trip:**
Felt 10 days was a good amount. Got to hit up all the major spots and explore some random spots here and there. If you can’t do anything more than 10 days; don’t worry, you should totally be able to do the big 3 in that time and fill accomplished.
**Pocket Wifi or E-Sim:**
I was all ready to go with an Ubigi eSim having downloaded it and installed it before my flight. When I landed and tried to activate it I realized my phone was not compatible. Well then…
Luckily getting a pocket wifi is super easy in Narita airport and I just went to the first kiosk available which was SoftBank. For 10 days renting the pocket wifi ended up only being $72. Pretty good still.
The pocket wifi was stable and useful except when we entered a tunnel and maybe once every 2 days it would lose all connection. A simple turn off and turn back fixed it every time
**Narita airport or Haneda airport:**
So what everyone says is true and it is quite a long train ride from Narita to the city. On a random day for fun I just rode the train from Asakusa to nearby Haneda and it was definitely way closer. If you want to maximize your time as much as possible, Haneda is definitely the correct choice. However seeing as I was gonna be in Japan for 10 days, I didn’t see saving 2 hours to and back as that big of a deal. But up to you.
**Pasmo and Icoca cards:**
Got the Pasmo card for Tokyo and Icoca card for Kyoto Osaka. Definitely a must pick up to make your life easier with the transportation and making quick purchases at 7-eleven. I didn’t get the JR Pass, so no comment on that. I would’ve got them on my phone, but I have an android.
**Navigating the trains and buses:**
Day 1 I got lost 4 times trying to find my hotel and trying to get to Shinjuku… >\_<
Best tip I can give you is if it’s hard for you to remember the station name; it’s easier to remember the station letter and number. It’s much simplier knowing you are at station G04 and need to board the platform that will take you to station G11. Also be aware you are at correct platform and not going the opposite direction.
Google Maps got the job done for me. It can act funky sometimes if you go into a tunnel and Google Maps tries to reroute you and thinks you’re on the streets walking. I found a useful thing to do was when you initially plan the route and train changes; take a screenshot on your phone so have the directions saved.
**Decorum and respecting the culture:**
If you’re on this subreddit than you probably already done you’re research on how to be on your best behavior as a tourist. Still it bears reminding to just use common sense. If everyone is lining up on the left side of the escalator then do the same. Unless you’re in Osaka then all of a sudden everyone lines up on the right. Wear your backpack on the front if the place is crowded or the train is crowded. And when all else fails; do a small bow whenever you say sorry(gomen nasai), excuse me(sumimasen), thank you(arigatou).
**Hotels:**
I really enjoyed my first two hotels in Asakusa and Kyoto. The Asakusa hotel was at a nice location away from the hustle and bustle and was around a 10 minute walk from the nearest station. The Ryokan I stayed at didn’t have a onsen(I have a tattoo so I didn’t even wanna try), but it was still very quiet and peaceful. No kids allowed and also only a 10 minute walk from Kyoto Station. The third hotel in Shibuya was very eh. My entire floor smelled like smoke and room strongly smelled like smoke. Luckily they always leave you a fabric spray which I blasted the room with. Also always left the window open and the a/c fan blowing. Overall I think I would’ve stayed at a Ryokan more because it was such a unique and fun experience. But it’s not like I go on vacation to spend most of my time at a hotel.
**Laundry:**
Every hotel had a washing machine and dryer. Very helpful. One time though they were both being used so I just walked to a laundromat 6 minutes down the street and threw my clothes in and got breakfast. Either way, pack light. I had pajamas, 4 pairs of jeans, 4 pairs of shirts, and three jackets that I would mix and match to make different outfits. I probably could’ve did it with 3 pairs of jeans and shirts honestly.
**Debit and Credit Cards and Cash:**
I think there were only two instances where I encounterd cash only. Otherwise I had no problem using my cards.
**ATM and pulling out cash:**
I pulled out my cash always at 7-eleven atms. The rate was not the full amount as it should’ve been and was like 0.07 less or something. A fellow tourist friend told me that the ATM at Costco gave him the full exchange amount, but I never got a chance to go to Costco.
**Language and Knowing Japanese:**
A little goes a long way I think. I’ve watched anime and played japanese games for years so I picked up some words. To prep further I was listening to multiple “Learn Basic Japanese for Travelers” podcasts for several weeks. I wasn’t able to hold a conversation in full japanese, but I could do basic responses and understand basic phrases. English will get you by in most tourist places and most restaurants had an english menu. The only place that was japanese menu only was the izakaya I visited.
**Sakura and Cherry Blossom season:**
I didn’t emphasize it that much in the itinerary, but looking at sakura trees was one of my favorite parts. I didn’t have to look hard or far for sakura trees. It felt like every other street would have some trees. Lots of times I would stumble upon a really pretty tree at a park and just sit underneath it for abit. My favorite moment was when I was walking by some sakura trees at Sayama nature park , the wind suddenly blew, and the petals all started to fall. Its like I was in a Bleach opening or something lol
**Steps and Fitness:**
So I averaged around 25,000 steps a day and maxed at 31,000 steps when I was in Osaka and hanging out at Dotonburi. Its definitely excessive compared to folks back at home, but I am solo and I enjoy just wandering around a new city and getting lost. I’m decently fit and have been doing a lot of stair master the past two months to prepare. But I was still surprised by the amount of steps and stairs I had to take. Some subway stations are at B3F, so that means going down 3 flights of stairs with your luggage and then up 3. I was able to get by, but I always tried to hide how hard I was breathing by the time I reached the surface. Also while exploring Tokyo there would just be random hills and inclines out of nowhere.
By the end of every day I was pretty tired and my feet were sore, but I would wake up the next day ready to go. The excitement of being there was enough to get me going. Though there was two days I had to pop some ibuprofen for the hangover and the achey muscles.
Like everyone has said before, bring some good walking shoes and get some Dr Scholls in that thing as well. And if you work remote like me, then make sure to start training back at home and get some steps in preperation.
**Miscellaneous:**
* I heard how big the crowds are in Tokyo but I was still shocked. Especially Shinjuku at night. The most tourists I ‘ve ever seen as well. If you have anxiety with crowds be aware.
* Karaoke Bars was fun every time. I would usually be the only foreigner there and the bartender and some of the locals were always welcoming and friendly. After awhile they would always encourage me to sing and was asked at three different bars if I knew Cruel Angel Thesis lol. Instead I’d sing Bakamitai to live out the Yakuza dream.
* Fushimi Inari shrine is packed at the bottom like everyone says. I ditched the crowd and went on the Bamboo Hike Trail instead. Waaaayyy less people on that hike. It’s relatively easy at first and halfway all of a sudden there’s a marathon of stairs and I was pouring sweat. Luckily it’s a nice forest area so it’s plenty of shade and feels nice
* Going on walking tours was a nice way to meet other tourists and make some fellow tourist friends. As well as “foreigner friendly bars”
* The highly touted areas to visit like Shinjuku Kabuki-cho, Kyoto Gion District, Osaka’s Dotonburi, etc are indeed giant tourist traps. But since it was my first trip it was fun to experience atleast once. If I ever go back I probably won’t visit some of them again
* Try out the instagram influencer food spots, but also don’t be afraid to try some random local spot. The instagram spots was always filled with foreigners, hah. It was still always good however. The local spots though just always felt a bit more authentic and was also just as good. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with food.
* McDonalds was different but not amazing. It really wasn’t that much better than what we have at America. However it was a nice place to sit and charge my power bank and pocket wifi
Anyway that about sums it up. Giant boring post, but I wanted to make sure I get everything out there. It was a really basic trip hitting up the three major cities, but that just means my next trip will be much more off the beaten path. Thanks again everyone for all your tips and I hope my trip’s details can assist someone else in return.
Mata ne\~
by rhenevers