Hi everyone! My partner and I are travelling to Japan, second time for her, first time for me. Last time she went, she prayed at Senso-ji temple for a boyfriend and I guess the gods pulled me out of some blessing bargain bin.
The trip is primarily to repay the favour at Senso-ji but seriously, we'd love to just unwind and enjoy a relaxing vacation with some banger food. Any tips and suggestions would be welcome and appreciated.
General Questions:
Is the JR Pass worth it for flexibility/ease of use? I've calculated the cost of doing Tokyo -> Takayama -> Kyoto -> Mishima, it's roughly 80% of the value of the JR Pass. Is the added premium worth avoiding buying tickets online/at stations on the day we'd need to travel? Or is there an
There is potential we'd bring 1 oversized bag on our trip, making us need to reserve seats ahead to time to accommodate. Does the JR Pass become more or less valuable with that in mind? Is an oversized bag (for clothes and souvenirs) more trouble than it's worth?
Is Tabelog the best way to find and reserve restaurants? I heard for larger cities like Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka, walking around is sufficient but how has the surge in tourism impacted this? (I know I'm part of the problem here lol)
Waking up early seems to be the key to avoiding the crowds. Is there anything that would be better to visit at night? I know Arashiyama can look pretty good in the evening lighting, same with any observation deck.
Sun Nov 10 – Tokyo
- Flight lands 5:30pm at NRT, pick up basic 7 day JR pass, load up Suica cards
- Take Narita Express to Tokyo Station
- Hotel is a short walk away in Ginza
- Figure something for dinner (not planning on reserving anything because we heard customs at NRT could be anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours)
Mon Nov 11 – Tokyo
- Thank the gods at Senso-ji, go early to avoid the crowds, pray for more money
- Casually wander Asakusa and Ginza (always open to restaurant recommendations)
- Try to adjust for jet-lag
- Maybe visit Imperial Castle and garden, since we're really close
Tues Nov 12 – Takayama (1st day of JR Pass)
- Activate JR Pass, ride Tokaido Shinkansen to Toyama, ride Hida to Takayama Station
- Check into hotel around 1-2pm (leave baggage there if check-in not available)
- Hotel is close to Takayama Station
- Ride bus to Shirakawago (not covered by JR Pass), come back around dinner
- (The House of Pudding isn't open on Wednesdays, let me know if it's too overrated to plan around)
- Honestly, I'm worried the timing here is going to be really tight, this might be a bad idea
Wed Nov 13 – Takayama (2nd day of JR Pass)
- Takayama Morning Market/Old Town
- Takayama Jinya
- Day drink, sake brewery crawl
- Reserve a restaurant to enjoy Hida beef
Thur Nov 14 & Fri Nov 15 – Kyoto (3rd and 4th day of JR Pass)
- Ride Hida line to Nagoya, Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto Station
- Check-in to our machiya around noon (we might need to store our baggage with the office)
- The machiya is close to Tambaguchi Station
- Places to visit on our two days, no concrete order for now:
- Arashiyama (go early)
- Fushimi Inari
- Kinkaku-ji (go early)
- Sanzen-in
- Gion & Kiyo-Mizudera (go early)
- Uji? For matcha
- Nishiki Market
- Have a nice washoku restaurant booked ahead of time on Tabelog
- Is Michelin overrated? Worth doing for one of the meals? I know the standard of quality for food in Japan is already really high, so not sure if it's worth it
Sat Nov 16 & Sun Nov 17 – Osaka/Kobe (5th and 6th day of JR Pass)
- Day trips to Osaka/Kobe from Kyoto, order not firm, could leave flexible?
- Osaka:
- Dotonbori
- Osaka Castle
- Kuromon Ichiba Market
- Kuchu Teien Observatory (at night)
- Kobe:
- Harborland
- Chinatown
- Sorakuen Garden
- Kobe Beef meal (or two)
Mon Nov 18 & Tues Nov 19 – Fujikawaguchiko (7th day of JR Pass to get here)
- Ride Tokaido Shinkansen to Mishima Station
- Take a bus (not covered by JR Pass) to Fujikawaguchiko Station
- Looks like we need to reserve this ahead of time, let me know if there are better ways to get there
- Stay in a ryokan for two nights, become a pair of onsen tamago
- Maybe go on the Mt.Fuji Panoramic Ropeway on the 19th?
Wed Nov 20 to Sat Nov 23 – Tokyo
- JR Pass has expired at this point
- Take a bus from Kawaguchiko Station to Tokyo Station
- Hotel is close to Tsukiji
- We haven't decided the order yet but we have a few days, roughly planned out
- It seems a bit sparse, let me know if you think there's more we could do?
- Day 1: Shinjuku
- Meiji-Jingu
- Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
- Kabukicho
- Day 2: Shibuya
- National Art Centre
- Shopping
- Shibuya Sky
- Day 3: Akihabara
- Ueno Park
- Akihabara
- teamLab Planets (seems interesting?)
- Day 4: Yokohama
- Chinatown
- Ramen Museum
- Sankeien Garden
Sun Nov 24 – Flight Back
- Flight from NRT is at 6:15pm
- Narita Express takes an hour, aim to be at the airport by 4pm, so leave by 3pm?
- Enough time to wander area around Tokyo Tower during the day
by average_shitpost