We (me and my spouse) flew to Japan from India on 18th May and explored it for 2 weeks and Japan just simply has too much to offer. 🙂
Brief Overview of Trip: What did we cover, what helped, and what could have helped
- OSAKA (3 days)
Covered local highlights such as shrines, castle, osaka museum, dotomburi market and, of course, USJ. We took an Airbnb near Tengachaya station and that was a good decision. Travel was seamless and we never took the cab. In in our whole stay we never took the cab. We purchased a one day pass which I will highly recommend. It is not only cost-effective, but also allows us to skip lines at ticket counters especially at Osaka castle. Food was amazing, sorry I can't recall the exact locations, but we just roamed the streets whenever we felt hungry and stepped into random eateries.
My best memory is stumbling upon an underground food market while changing metro lines! Top-notch sweets and bakery products 🙂
- KYOTO (4 days)
We again covered the basic stuff such as Kinkauji shrine, Inari Shrine, Kiyumizudera, Arashiyama and the castle. Here the IC card was the saviour. We used IC cards extensively wherever we could from 7/11 to metro stations. The bus service is amazing we never had to wait more than 5 min, as we had taken accommodation near Omiya station. This city had a touristy vibe to it as compared to Osaka where you could soak in the experience, but again it is simply beautiful.
We spent 2 evenings at Nishiki market as there is simply too much to explore and wherever possible we walked. Lots of food joints we discovered just by walking in and again we were rewarded. If you love seafood, then Japan is heaven.
We also went for a day trip to Nara and spent the day roaming around in the gardens. One advice, don't carry food packets in your bags near the deers. Otherwise, Nara was again amazing, much less crowded and lots of beautiful landscapes.
- KANAZAWA (2 days)
I am so glad that we took the effort to visit this place. It is on the western coast and is more of a tourist attraction amongst the Japanese. After stepping out of the metro station we headed for the castle ruins and we simply didn't know how the day passed by. Kanazawa is beautiful in every possible way. It is a bit pricey but worth every penny.
We went to Kenrokuen in the early morning and its tag of one of the best gardens is well deserved. There are so many spots where you just want to sit and let time go by.
Here we tried some local delicacies but also relied on 7/11 sandwiches.
If I had known before, how it felt in Kanazawa I would have extended my stay just to relax a day there extra.
- TOKYO (4 days)
Even 2 weeks are not enough to explore this megapolis. So we made peace with reality and picked our spots such as Akhibara, Shibuya, Harajuku, DisneySea, Team labs Borderless, Ginza and Teamlabs Planets. Disney Sea was awesome, I found it better compared to USJ. Here we took up accommodation near Chuo Line but messed up in Subway passes. We didn't use them that much as Chuo Line is under JR and not subway.
Tokyo is the polar opposite of Kanazawa. While Kanazawa is a laid-back, beautiful, serene location where you can unwind, Tokyo is a city on steroids, it is gargantuan, fast-paced, and highly tech-driven. However, both of them are equally mesmerizing.
Food here was again exploratory. There are simply too many good places. Folks are super helpful and they will guide you about the menu if you can't decide for yourself.
We could have better planned our trip to Tokyo had we taken accommodation closer to the city center.
Our highlight was Team Labs Borderless, it lives up to its name.
- FUJI (1 day)
We decided to stay in a ryokan at Fuji as we wanted the trip to end on a high note and it was worth it. We took a train to Fuji and the views were great. Fujisan graced us with a view. However, the best memory is soaking in the view in a private onsen. Public onsens are also great but we went ahead and booked a private one as well. The hotel provided us with a traditional Japanese dinner and breakfast which was awesome. Folks again were super helpful. After this, we went to Narita to catch an early morning flight back home.
SOME COMMON POINTS
Japan is extremely safe. Nowhere in our entire stay, we felt unsafe, even late an night on an empty street.
People are super helpful and humble. Whenever we asked for an address people came with us to show us the exact place. They respect you genuinely even when there are no gains to be expected.
IC cards rock. Load up on them if you are going to rely on public transport, 7/11, vending machines ,and JR facilities.
USJ becomes crowded even on weekdays, it is worth investing in fast access for rides. DisneySea you can cover even without fast access on a weekday.
Please be ready to walk a LOT. We were averaging 20K steps per day in our whole 14-day trip. You can rent bicycles but surprisingly they are also costly, as compared to the subway / metro.
Forget about cabs, use them only in rare situations. If you are a bigger group then economic of scale may work in your favour.
Be ready to experience new foods. Japan's culture cannot be truly experienced without trying the local food. It is very light in terms of oil or spices or carbs. However, you will smell fish oil in almost everything. If you can get over it, the experience is highly rewarding.
We didn't opt for a JR pass as our main travel was to and from Kanazawa which didn't justify the price tag. Though I will suggest please check Hokoriku pass which covers a unique set of areas.\
Maintaining public decorum is important. Japanese people are very particular about how they behave in public. For example, I never saw any Japanese individual talking on a phone or speaking loudly in trains, bus, subway or any public place. Also, you are responsible for your own garbage. Dustbins are very few, so please carry a bag with you at all time to collect the garbage and throw whenever you get a chance. Many places clearly mention what garbage you cannot throw in specific bins.
In closing, I would like to say, it was amazing and I am already thinking about my second visit to Japan where I would love to cover Hokkaido, Okinawa, Nagoya ,and some other spots. 🙂
by Skeptic_Marx