Hi everyone, here is our trip report for a 19 day stay in Feb/March 2024. My partner and I planned a mix of activities and prioritized trying a lot of vegan food and also finding cinema related things. This subreddit was so helpful for our planning so thank you all and hopefully this will be helpful too!
*Pre-planning for the trip:* We booked most of our accom through [booking.com](https://booking.com) which was super easy. We booked ahead for a lot of restaurants, the Ghibli Museum, a pottery class in Kyoto, Saihōji (Kokedera) Temple, a hair salon, and a few small experiences on Klook. I used an Ubigi E-sim for the entire trip which I had no issues with, while my partner used the Sakura 4G SIM Card from Klook (picked up at Narita).
*During the trip:* If you’re from Australia we found the easiest way to go about money was to use an UP Card to pay and withdraw cash from 7/11 ATMs, we had extra bank cards as a precaution. We used Yamato luggage forwarding a few times which saved us as we definitely had over packed. Super convenient and nice to have your luggage waiting for you in your room once checked-in. Happy Cow was used everywhere we went!
**Day 1 -** Checked-in at our hotel in Jimbocho (**Sotetsu Fresa Inn Ochanomizu Jimbocho**), we had been to this area a few years ago and loved it’s vibe. Lots of secondhand bookstores. Walked to **Kyushu Jangara Akihabara** for dinner which had amazing and flavourful ramen.
**Day 2 -** Had breakfast at **The Nuts Exchange**, one of the only cafes that open early, and had the BEST egg/breaky muffins that were so good we went back later in the trip just to get them. This cafe is also near a Natural Lawson which had some good vegan finds. We then walked to **Shibuya** and passed a cafe that had vegan cinnamon donuts (**Camelback Rich Valley**). Did some shopping at HMV, Disk Union, and the MEGA Don Quijote. Had coffee and a snack at **Bio Cafe**, then went to **Shibuya Parco** for the Nintendo & Pokemon store, and lunch at **Izakaya Masaka**. The food here was a highlight and it was very chill, wish we could’ve gone back to try more on the menu and they may have more options on the dinner menu than lunch. Headed back to **Jimbocho** for more book shops, found a lot of cool movie memorabilia. Went past **ovgo Baker Edo St** for snacks for the Shinkansen, then headed to **T’s Tan Tan** in Tokyo station for dinner and explored the station a bit.
**Day 3 -** Wanted to go to **Glitch Coffee** in Jimbocho but it was closed for the day. Headed to **Whyte hair salon** near Harajuku for hair colouring and vegan donuts, would highly recommend this place and my stylist Moecha was so lovely and had a lot of helpful recommendations. While I was getting my hair done my partner went to **Good Town Donuts** (so good!), we also checked out **Ovgo Baker Meiji St** and **HealthyTokyo CBD cafe** while in the area. We had lunch at **Vegan Bistro Jangara** which had a really nice vibe but the food was pretty average. Took the Shinkansen to **Osaka** and checked-in at **Hotel the Flag**. This was a really well located hotel and very comfortable, they also gave us free breakfast for the first morning (not heaps of vegan options but perfect for a quick and early breakfast before USJ). Had dinner at **OKO – Fun Okonomiyaki Bar** which was one of our highlights, super fun and unique place that has delicious okonomiyaki combinations to try. After dinner we headed to the **Teamlab** experience in the botanical garden which had cool light installations and was a nice experience overall.
**Day 4 -** Had breakfast at our accom then took the train to **USJ**, mainly went for Super Nintendo World which was hectic. Had the pizza set at **Azzurra di Capri** for lunch. Went to **Paprika Shokudo Vegan** for dinner, the food was fantastic and nourishing and there were lots of options to choose from! Went past **LiLo Coffee** and some vintage shops and the way back, had a much needed massage across from our hotel at Luck Thai massage.
**Day 5 -** Got breakfast at **Cafe Morning Box** which was near our hotel and one of the only cafes open early. Good standard vegan options, get the thick toast! Went to **Osaka Castle** and walked around the lovely grounds. Had lunch at **Optimus Cafe** which had some solid options, nothing too exciting but still very yum. Then headed off to **Expo Commemorative Park/the Tower of the Sun** which was our favourite part of the trip! After that we headed off for dinner at **shelter cat ＆ VEGAN café “neu”**, a cute all vegan cat cafe. We had the best view enjoying a delicious meal and cat shaped matcha latte, watching all the cats playing with the volunteers. To end the day we went to **Dotonbori** and managed to get some of the last tix for the Tombori River Cruise, it was a fun way to view the area but definitely a tourist activity. Lastly we went to **Ichiran Namba Midosuji** nearby which is one of the only branches that sells the vegan cook at home version of their noodles, we told them we just wanted to purchase these and they let us skip the waiting queue.
**Day 6 -** Went to **Melbourne Coffee, Craft & Cider Osaka** because we were craving a coffee from home. Then we wanted to go to **MERCY Vegan Factory** for lunch but it was closed, so we headed to **Sukhasana Pozzuoli** instead. Then we went off to **Nara** for the rest of the day. Beginning with the beautiful Isuien Garden, we then passed by the Catship Museum which was the cutest little museum ever! The lady who runs the place has a massive collection of cat-themed items, she was so lovely and showed us pictures of her cats, and also gave us each a handmade keyring when we left. Then we headed to the Todaiji Temple and explored the surrounding area, encountering many adorable deer along the way. We passed by **Nakatanido** to try their famous mochi, this lived up to the hype and we’re dreaming of going back to eat these again. For dinner we went to **Onwa Cafe**, which was a chill and all vegan cafe that is only open for dinner on Saturdays.
**Day 7 -** Had a quick breaky at **Cafe Morning Box** again, then took the train to Arashiyama station. Went to the **Saihōji (Kokedera) Temple** (must book in advance) which had an incredible garden, and featured unique paintings on the sliding doors of the rooms. After this we passed by **Musubi Cafe** for a delicious slice of cake with matcha, then we walked to **Tenryuji Temple**. The grounds are really beautiful and if you visit on a weekend you can also get admission to the Cloud-Dragon painting in the Hatto. We had pre-booked for lunch at the restaurant there called **Shigetsu** which serves Shojin Ryori (Buddhist Vegetarian Cuisine). This was a memorable authentic Japanese exprience and the food had incredible textures and flavours, one of our favourite meals! Then we went to the main **Arashiyama** street and walked to the bamboo forest, lovely place to walk around but as expected there were heaps of people. We then checked into **Vegan Minshuku Sanbiki Neko** which is a bed and breakfast with traditional Japanese-style rooms. Very cosy, clean, and welcoming hosts! This accom was outstanding and had exactly what we wanted, vegan food and cats. After some rest we went to have dinner at **AWOMB Nishi-Kiyamachi**. This was my partners #1 food experience of the entire trip, and was definitely up there for me too. The set menu is a creative DIY sushi experience where you can mix ingredients and flavours as you wish. So much fun and every combo we made was good. The whole experience was even more special as there were no other patrons dining that night, it was just a private experience with us and the chef.
**Day 8 -** We enjoyed our free breakfast at our accom then headed to **Fushimi Inari**. Had a coffee at the quieter branch of **Vermillion cafe** that’s near Inari station, then headed to **AIN SOPH. Journey KYOTO** for lunch. Went past a lot of shops and walked around the Gion area on the way to **Zuikou Kyoto-Kiyomizu Studio**. We had pre-booked a pottery class that staff are able to run in English. You are able to select if you want to make a bowl or mug, and what glaze you want it to be finished with. The class was very guided so you couldn’t create too much of a disaster, very excited to see our final creations. After this we had a look at the **Sannenzaka Path** and shops along the way to **Kiyomizudera**. The streets were extremely crowded which made it a bit hard to enjoy. Kiyomizodera was amazing of course! Headed off for an early dinner at **Kyoto Engine Ramen**, and glad we arrived around 530pm because we were able to walk straight in. Incredible vegan ramen, this was both my partner and I’s favourite ramen from the entire trip.
**Day 9 -** Headed to **IMU Hotel** to leave our bags. Went to **Kinkaku-ji** then to **Stardust Cafe** which was a very aesthetic cafe with nice vibes, drinks (no coffee) and snacks. From here headed to **Mumokuteki Cafe** which had a great menu. After checking out the nearby shops we checked-in at our hotel. For dinner we went to **UZU Kyoto** (booked ahead), a smaller UZU branch can be found outside Teamlabs Planets. The experience itself was wonderful, the art was so immersive and the menu was exciting. Unfortunately this was my least favourite ramen of the whole trip, still worth going to for the unique vibe/art. After dinner we headed to **Demachiza** cinema to watch Ghost World, this was a highlight as we loved seeing the cinema culture and cute shop.
**Day 10 -** To start the day we had a very nice free breakfast at **IMU Hotel**, featuring vegan french toast. We visited the Pokemon store, and Hands, before checking out and heading to Kyoto station. Before our train we quickly went to **COYOTE the ordinary shop** nearby, the vegan scrambled egg on toast was so worth the quick visit, delicious! Taking the train to **Kanazawa** we then checked into our next accom, **Hotel Pacific**. We explored the area around **Kanazawa Castle/Gyokuseninmaru Garden**, then had a really satisfying meal at **Ippudo**.
**Day 11 -** Headed to **Kenroku-en Garden** which was absolutely beautiful. Walking through the garden we headed to **Siguretei** for a tea ceremony. This was lovely and also one out of two options for the confections to accompany the tea were vegan. From here we went to the **21st Century Museum** which was nice to explore but sadly most exhibitions were still closed due to the earthquake earlier in the year. We had a quick lunch at **Curio Espresso**, decent sandwiches and coffee, and this happened to be across from a small vegetarian grocery shop. We then took the train from Kanazawa back to **Tokyo**, and to our next accom **ICI Hotel** in Asakusabashi. We had a snack nearby at **Cafe Tarot**, a tarot themed cafe which was all vegan! The soft serve was really yum. We had a special dinner at **Veganic Monkey Magic** planned for this night that I had booked a while in advance. The restaurant is very small and we were seated with only 3 other people. The vegan set menu was really good, and made even more special as it is served by Monkey-san. Monkey-san was a great cook, and host and we had sooo much fun. Definitely our most unique dining experience besides OKO in Osaka.
**Day 12 -** Grabbed a coffee at **Cafe Tarot**, the went to **Meguro Sky Garden** which was quite tricky to find the entrance to. Not worth going to in hindsight but still had a great view. Next we went to **Alaska Zwei** and had an incredible mochi donut and focaccia that I’m still dreaming about, wish we could’ve gone back to try more of their food. From here we tried some more japanese snacks at **Taiyaki Hiiragi** and **Fruits and Seasons**, definitely would recommend the Taiyaki over the fruit sando. We also passed by Weller to check out their range but didn’t get anything. Checked out the Matisse exhibition at **The National Art Center Tokyo**. Headed to Jiyugaoka for dinner, didn’t get to explore the area much but went to a cool shop called SHIRO. Dinner was at **Saido** (must book in advance), rated one of the best restaurants in the world on Happy Cow. The experience was very low-key and the dining was not super fancy but still special. You were able to pick many options for your set menu and each dish had amazing flavours. Super satisfying meal with great service, one dish was even presented as a surprise while we were dining! Would highly recommend it overall.
**Day 13 -** Went to **Marugoto Vegan Dining** in Asakusa for lunch. Really good curries to choose from and close to the water. Walked around the **Senso-ji** area and had amazing mitarashi dango, then stopped by **Shochikuen Cafe** for their famous rainbow cake. We then took the train to **Tokyo Skytree** and walked around the shopping centre. For dinner we first went to **Vegan Gyoza Yu**, then **T’s Tan Tan** at Ueno station. Vegan Gyoza Yu was definitely a highlight for both me and my partner. We shared the plate of 12 pan-fried gyozas, each one was packed with flavour and it was so much fun tasting each type/colour. We wish we had something similar to this back home! At T’s Tan Tan we had the golden sesame ramen and a small side dish, another satisfying meal.
**Day 14 -** This morning we were on a mission to make it to **Morethan Bakery** in Shinjuku, which was a bit of an ordeal because we got caught up in the Tokyo Marathon and road closures. We did finally make it for the Sunday Vegan baked goods buffet, and it was so worth it! Everything is vegan on Sunday’s and there was so much to try. We stocked up for our trip to **Mount Takao**, which was a really nice short trip out of the city. After our hike we took the train to the **Shimokitazawa** area. Visited both branches of **Universal Bakes** where we were in baked goods heaven. Lots of vintage and record shops, and came across a nice market. Decided to make an out of the way trip to **Great Lakes** for dinner, only to arrive to see they had sold out for the day, it was just around 6pm. Ended up going to **AinSoph Shinjuku**. Went to our next hotel **Sotetsu Fresa Inn Akasaka** to check-in.
**Day 15 -** Started the day in **Shinjuku**, got a soft serve and plant based nuggets at **IKEA**, and visited the Godzilla store, Kitamura, and Kinokuniya. Also spent a long time in Disk Union! Had lunch at **Ippudo Lumine**, ramen wasn’t as good as the Ippudo in Kanazawa but still great options. Headed to the **Kichijoji** area and spent time in Inokashira Park before our allocated time at the **Ghibili Museum**. Ghibli Museum was a good experience if you can get tix, the souvenir film stills are really lovely! The highlight was the short film which exclusively plays at the museum. After, we walked around the area and checked out **genuine gluten free Where is a dog? cafe** and Kichijoji Petit Mura. We had planned to go to **Crayon House** for dinner as we’d seen they offer a vegan buffet on Monday’s but unfortunately when we arrived there was barely any vegan option and it was quite expensive. So we ended up just having some plain banh mi near the station.
**Day 16 -** Sorted out our **Hakone Free Pass** at Shinjuku station then had breaky at **Mr. Farmer**. We then passed by **Good Town Donuts**, **Ovgo Meiji**, **The Nuts Exchange** and **Natural Lawson** before our trip to Hakone. Once we arrived at our accom, **Emblem Flow Hakone**, we wanted to grab dinner at **Box Burger** but it was closed for that night. So we went to **Hakone Kappei** and they had a delicious small range of vegan options.
**Day 17 -** We made the most of our Hakone pass this day, first taking the cable car and ropeway from **Sounzan Station to Owakundani Station then Togendai station**. We then took the Hakone Sightseeing Boat from Togendai to hakone-machi which was fun, then the bus to **Mishima Skywalk**. This was a great attraction to visit and not too crowded at all. They also had a very helpful [**web page**](https://mishima-skywalk.jp/pickup/29632/) with all the vegan options. We took the bus back and went to the **Open Air Museum** which was incredible. Such beautiful scenery and so many statues/artworks to see, a must go if you’re in Hakone! We then went back to our accom for our dinner booking at the **Emblem Flow** restaurant. Despite good reviews on Happy Cow this was really disappointing as when we tried to order the vegan curry (marked vegan) the waiter told us it actually wasn’t fully vegan and offered as an alternative of tacos which was the worst meal we had on the entire trip. Used the onsen facilities after dinner which was a small plus. Also, we did find it strange that there was no showers in the main male bathroom (there was in the female), and they didn’t mention that the only option is to use the open shower in the male onsen.
**Day 18 -** Had a basic breakfast at **COFFEE CAMP** and checked out. We went to **Gora Park** which was a nice place to explore, had a few arts & crafts stores and a pottery workshop inside too. Then we stocked up on randoms snacks for lunch at 7/11 and headed to **Hakone Yuryo**. We had pre-booked a private onsen room, so cheap and relaxing! 2 hours was really perfect to unwind. From there took the train to Ginza to our final accom, **The Royal Park Canvas**. My partner went to Video Market and I walked around Ginza to check out Itoya and Muji. Went to **KOMEDA is** for dinner, lots of things on the menu I wanted to try, and the shiro noir with soft serve was so good. Then we went to **Teamlabs Planets** which we had booked in advance, and checked out the **UZU** branch outside. Much more casual with an outside dining area, we just got a donut to takeaway but they serve ramen and ice-cream too. Teamlabs Planets was good, a fair amount of people but a much longer and interesting art experience than I had expected.
**Day 19 -** Our final day! We had breakfast at **KOMEDA is**, really delicious matcha toast. Wish we had gone here more on the trip as it’s open 7am – 10pm every day. Went to the **National Film Archive of Japan** for the exhibitions, which was a nice and chill activity for our last day. Got takeaway from **2Foods** nearby and did some last minute souvenir shopping. Then we headed to Narita airport, no vegan options there but I hear there’s now a **T’s Tan Tan** at T2!
​
Please feel free to ask any questions! We also have vlogged our whole trip and may put it on public if it seems like it would be helpful/interesting to anyone.
by outerspacemirror