We travelled to Japan in July and it was our third trip, first time in the summer. I thought I would first share some tips on that as I see it’s a frequent topic on Japan travel subs. Skip these paragraphs to move onto the trip report if you prefer.
Lifesavers: Personal hand-held fan (purchased a cute hello kitty one), handkerchief soaked in cold water and worn around neck, or frozen ice necklace – both of which were good for an hour, sun umbrella. Also, trying to plan indoor activities for the heat of the day, which didn’t always work out. Pocari Sweat and ice cream.
Laundry: you will do it a lot. The laundry-mats are better than hotel laundry, taking only about 45 minutes for wash & dry. They are fully equipped with soap. You just need yen coins. Just expect you will need to wash your clothes far more often if you are coming in this season.
Kyushu
We stayed 5 nights in Fukuoka in a hotel across from Hakata station, which was great so we could easily go places and because there were so many good restaurants nearby. I loved Fukuoka. I always say I love to visit but could never live in Japan but if I had to live in Japan, I’d probably want to live in Fukuoka.
Worth It:
Fukuoka: Must-have the hakata ramen at least once, fried gyoza, yakitori, and visit any yatai at least once. We went to a yatai (mamichan) in Tenjin. TeamLab Forest was very cool, and not crowded. We also liked exploring the Daimyo neighborhood, which had some interesting cafes and stores. The CanalCity mall was underwhelming but my son loved their gundam store. We absolutely loved our visit to the 8 story Yodabashi Camera, which I realize is all over Japan, but that one holds a special place in my heart now.
Dazaifu, as it’s a very quick trip from Fukuoka, and you get to see a beautiful old temple in a natural setting, with a mountain hike and the pleasant (and air-conditioned) Kyushu National Museum where you can learn a lot about Japan and its interfaces with other cultures.
Nanzo-in: The giant Buddha has a big impact, plus all the trails going up to it, the temples and shrines, statues, and natural setting. Definitely not boring! It was one of my highlights of the trip.
Kumamoto: The castle itself is one of the best I’ve seen in Japan with interesting exhibits inside. Their tram system seems helpful but it is not that comfortable in the summer and it’s packed (standing room only).
Not really worth it: Fukuoka Tower. My son wanted to see it but it’s a very long and hot walk from the closest subway. Similarly, the beach there. Much better big buildings in other parts of Japan.
Osaka/Kansai:
We spent about 5 nights in Osaka, with the intention of taking the train around Kansai but we didn’t make as many day-trips – the heat was such that by the time you’d arrive anywhere, it would be the hottest part of the day.
This is our second time in Osaka and we mainly came for the food – and we found it – takoyaki, okonomiyaki, kushi-age – we had some of the best examples of these dishes. We also had amazing Chinese food located near where we were doing our laundry. That was also a love-hotel district with interesting architecture.
We spent exploring Osaka’s neighborhoods at night, particularly Shinsekai and Dotonburi (I just love the energy, to me it’s way better than the Times Square it’s often compared to.). We even ran into a night-time matsuri walking from Shinsekai back towards Shinsaibashi. One night in Dotonburi, they had these guys in traditional outfits rowing a boat, singing and playing drums. I don’t know whether it was a festival or just something they do there, but I liked it.
Sumiyoshi Taisha, which I found out about from a poster here, was really a cool place, very peaceful, beautiful.
My son wanted to go to Kaiyukan (aquarium). Whale sharks are impressive but it’s busy even on a weekday. It’s a long way out to go just for an aquarium. He also wanted to go up Abeno Harukas, which was a great view and it’s far taller than Umeda Sky Tower.
We went to Kobe one day and it’s a nice, relaxed town and reminded me of the vibe in Yokohama. We were lucky at the advice of a post here to get into a beef restaurant for lunch (mouriya), by showing up right when they opened without a reservation. If we had come any later, they were booked up for the whole day (on a weekday). Enjoyed walking along the waterfront area. We also tried to go on a waterfall hike but the heat was too much and we turned back after the first waterfall.
Day trip to Koya-san: We wanted to get out of the city and it was significantly cooler in the mountains. You can see a lot but definitely not all of Koya in a day. We started with the cemetery, and its main attractions, then visited the Kongo temple, and the buildings behind it, before heading home. My takeaway is that Koya is very spread out and the buses do not run frequently. Take cash for lunch! There was a great restaurant where I got Zaru Soba. It takes a long time to get there but you can relax and just enjoy the scenery. We took the express train there and two separate trains back as we didn’t want to wait for the express another hour.
Tokyo:
We spent three days in Tokyo at the end, staying in Shinjuku. We did some shopping in Shibuya (fun) and Harajuku (do not recommend but my son was looking for streetwear), went over to Asakusa to go to kappa-bashi, and walked from there to Skytree though we didn’t go up it – merely escaped into their air conditioning. The only big building we went up in Tokyo was Carrot Tower, which is free and quiet, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Building, which is free and just slightly busier. My highlights were two new places we checked out – gotokuji temple (the one with the waving cats) and Nakano Broadway. I did not want to visit Ikebukuro or Akihabara again on this trip as both are a bit overwhelming. Nakano was perfect – inside, so air-conditioned, and full of interesting small stores. We even found some merchandise for an old game we like. Both were short trips from Shinjuku. As a fan of the Yakuza game series, I loved walking all around Kabuki-Cho. I’m sure there is more I can explore in Tokyo – when we make our fifth trip, we are likely to fly in and out of there, so every time I go, I just see another place and don’t try to see it all at once.
by MoragPoppy