I am admittedly a bit late with this trip report. As I sat at my desk reminiscing about the trip I decided now is better than never.
To preface, this trip was me and my sister with a second sister joining around the midpoint. The goal was following the fall colors from Sapporo to Kyoto. I used this post as some inspiration for formatting.
I'd love to do a day by day report but it would literally be like 15 pages long.
Cities Visited in chronological order with summaries added to save space:
Haneda Airport – Kawasaki King Skyfront – 1 Night
- A lot of people recommend not staying near Haneda and instead going straight to Tokyo, I think it's definitely a time thing. If you have the time, stay near Haneda. The plane ride is exhausting, we hopped out and were in a Hotel within 20 minutes of leaving the airport. For us it was a question of stay near Haneda or fly straight to Sapporo, we were definitely glad to have stayed one night.
Sapporo – Villa Koshido Odori – 5 Nights
- I don't know if Sapporo is really underrated but it can't be overstated how nice it is. It may be my favorite city we visited, and I am not even really sure why. It has big city vibes without being overwhelming. It's laid-back but there is still plenty to do. Susukino is very busy at night, if you're looking for nightlife you wont be disappointed. I can't recommend Sapporo enough. A few places we went and really enjoyed:
Otaru – Hotel Torifito – 1 Night
- Otaru was very enjoyable and was somewhere we wished we had gotten a second night. It's beautiful, great food, and just relaxing. The canals were very nice, especially at night. We had some of the best Sushi we had in Japan here.
Hakodate – HakoBA Hakodate – 2 Nights
- Hakodate was nice. It's a beautiful city with some fantastic attractions. Outside of the well-known views, there's not a lot to do. Also, I know this is very hypocritical, but this is the first time we noticed fellow tourists being frustrating. Before this there were very few tourists and nothing that stood out. Here there were a few instances of tourists being arrogant or disrespectful. Nothing super egregious just noticeable. Either way, I can recommend Hakodate for a short stay. Highly recommend checking out Mt. Hakodate, A few of the nice things in the area we visited:
Aomori – Super Hotel – 1 Night
- Aomori and Akita were specifically picked because of the Resort Shirakami. With that said, we were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed Aomori. We especially enjoyed the Nebuta museum and the morning market. I think it was my favorite of the seafood markets, and possibly my favorite breakfast.
Akita – Richmond – 1 Night
- We didn't have much time in Akita so I don't have a lot to say about Akita specifically. I really liked the design of the Station however. Instead I will take this point to talk about the Resort Shirakami. It is definitely in the top 3 things we did in Japan. Many of the views were downright breathtaking, It was almost 5 hours long, from 1PM to 7PM ish. The last hour or so was after nightfall. It really was amazing. Fall is definitely the off season so the train was pretty much empty. This was fantastic, except the bar was closed which was a bit of a letdown. I know I've said this a couple of times throughout this report but I really can't recommend it enough if you can be in the area at the right time.
Morioka – AirBNB – 1 Night
- We didn't pick Morioka instead we picked the AirBNB and it happened to be in Morioka. With that said, like Aomori, we enjoyed the city for sure. The downtown area was unique and quite interesting. The best thing without a doubt was Koiwai farm, which is right near. I am not sure I ever saw it mentioned in my research before the trip but it was great. Awesome views, ice cream, and pizza!
Sendai – Almont Hotel – 5 Nights
- We picked Sendai as a break from the non-stop traveling before and as a gateway to Tashirojima. The moving around so much above wasn't as taxing as we were expecting but it was still very nice to have 5 days in one spot again. Sendai itself was nice and the first "big-city" feel since Sapporo. Actually it felt much busier than Sapporo. Great food choices and lots to do in the area. Matsushima Bay was fantastic as well, it was great being so close so we could go multiple times. Some of things we did are listed below.
Tashirojima – Manga Ai-land – 1 Night
- Tashirojima was one of the places I found early in my research and just had to go. I saw some mixed opinions with some people saying the cats were in rough shape and not to go if you like cats. I decided to give it a shot after seeing a lot of people rebut these claims. I am happy to say it was absolutely fantastic and one of my favorite places I visited in Japan. The cats around the two restaurants were well cared for and seemed to be quite happy. At the end of the day they are obviously fully outdoors with relatively little care, but the residents do their best to keep them all healthy and happy. The island itself was an experience. It is almost entirely abandoned with only a handful of residents remaining. All of the structures are still there, it is eerie to say the least.
- Manga Ai-land itself was nice. The cabins are cute and cheap, the staff was helpful, the amenities were the bare minimum but they were there.
Yamagata – Daiwa Roynet – 1 Night
- There is not a whole lot in Yamagata outside of Yamadera which is why we were there. We enjoyed Yamadera but the stairs are rough if you're not in good shape. I won't lie, I almost gave up a couple of times. I made it all the way up though, and the view was worth it.
Fukushima – Sankyo Hotel – 1 Night
- We really just stopped in Fukushima because we needed to use a day before our AirBNB. We didn't plan on doing a whole lot and we didn't do a whole lot.
Aizuwakamatsu – AirBNB – 3 Nights
- There is a lot to do here if you enjoy the sights and history. We stayed in a little AirBNB where we had a delicious homemade breakfast everyday which made the experience even better. They have a great bus system where you get a pass and it will bring you to every attraction with endless reruns. Some of the many things we checked out are listed below.
Hitachi – The Square – 1 Night
- Hitachi is the sister city of our hometown which is why we decided to visit. It is actually a very nice little city though with a couple of unique parks including the Hitachi Seaside Park.
Tsuchiura – Celecton – 1 Night
- Another thing I had learned about many, many months before the trip was the Tsuchiura Firework Festival. Somehow it lined up and we were able to fit it in. The festival was absolutely spectacular. However, to say it was busy would be the understatement of the century. I have never seen so many people in one place. We were lucky enough to have a hotel within walking distance, even if they did raise the rates 3x for the festival. I am confident we would have waited 4-6 hours to get back to Tokyo if not.
Tokyo – Henn Na – 2 Nights
- We didn't do very much for these first two days in Tokyo. Our 3rd member was supposed to fly in the first morning but was delayed until the next evening. Mostly we walked around and relaxed.
Nikko – Turtle Inn – 1 Night
- Nikko was high on our list based on what we read of other peoples' experiences. In reality, it was a bit disappointing solely due to the crowds. There were lines for every temple, just tons of people. More people than we saw anywhere except possibly some parts of Kyoto. The temples themselves were spectacular however.
Tokyo – Sakura Cross Asakusa – 5 Nights
- Admittedly, we didn't do a ton in Tokyo for these 5 days either. We walked around a ton, visited Senso-Ji since it was so close to our hotel, got a bunch of souvenirs from all around, saw Godzilla Minus One. Honestly, none of us really enjoyed Tokyo as much as other cities. It's fun to walk around and people watch, there's more food choices than you could ever eat, shopping is amazing, but for us I think it was a bit more than needed. I'd definitely go back, but 3-6 days is plenty.
Kyoto – AirBNB – 29 Nights
- This was a long term stay to then make day trips or longer from. It was in Joyo-Shi which is pretty close to center between Nara and Kyoto. With the Kintetsu Pass we could easily get to Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Mie, and many other places. It was an fun experience to stay in small neighborhood and walk down to the local grocery store and cook dinners at "home". Or take a train 2 stops down and get something different. Or get food delivery. We luckily had a Sushiro and multiple good ramen places just a short walk away. I am not sure if I'll have an opportunity to stay in Japan for this long again but if I do I am definitely going to do another long term stay somewhere.
- Kyoto was very good, but very busy unless you walked around lesser known areas or in off-times. We spent probably around 2 weeks in Kyoto total. We definitely prefered the little lesser visited areas. There are so many temples and other attractions that aren't one of the 5-10 famous ones.
- Nara was amazing and a definite highlight. Both the main park with the deer and the old Nara trail (Yamanobe-no-michi Trail). The temples were some of the best we saw in Japan and the crowds were nowhere like Kyoto or Nikko. It was busy enough in some areas but there was so much to see it didn't matter. I don't see the trail mentioned very much, if you are down for some serious walking I highly recommend it. There are tons of fruit/vegetable stands, some restaurants, and just beatiful views. We were stopped a few times by very kind locals to talk, it was just a great experience overall.
- We really enjoyed Osaka. We didn't go many times but it was definitely unique compared to pretty much everywhere we went in Japan. Parts of it are "grungier" than most of Japan(that we visited) but I definitely wouldn't skip it due to that. I can also highly recommend Tower knives if you're looking for a kitchen knife!
- Mie was kind of a spur of the moment decision because we had the Kintetsu pass but we really enjoyed it!
Yokohama – Royal Park Hotel – 3 Nights
- This was actually a last minute addition after we had already booked the AirBNB for 31 days. I am very glad we decided to do it though. I much prefered Yokohama to Tokyo. It still has that huge city feel but it's less intimidating I guess? There's a lot to do, tons of food, and plenty of shopping. We went to Chinatown, Cup Noodle Museum, saw the Gundam(moving!) before it was removed. It also helped that the hotel was nice, mentioned further below.
Tokyo – Akihabara Tourist Hotel – 1 Nights
- This was just our final day in Japan to do some shopping in Akihabara before heading out. It was good, the hotel wasn't great but good locationa and it worked out fine.
Overall I was very happy with where we picked to go. I really didn't regret anything, there were a couple places I would have stayed longer or less time but nothing egregious.
Accommodations:
Accommodations are listed above to save space but I will comment on some specific ones here. Every accommodation was at least good, thankfully, so if I don't mention it that doesn't mean it was bad.
Favorites:
- Frog Bee AirBNB Morioka. I know most people err on the side of not recommending AirBNBs for a multitude of reasons. I for one can say all 3 we had were spectacular and were some of the best stays we had in Japan. This small AirBNB in Morioka was absolutely amazing. The Host picked us up at the local station and drove us to her apple orchard where the small guesthouse is located. She had fresh made ciders and apple sauces available for purchase and fresh apples from her orchard as welcome gifts. She also made us delicious rice balls for breakfast.
- Royal Park Yokohama. This was the only "5 star" accommodation we booked. It isn't priced like one because it is older, but don't let that stop you from going. We had one of the higher floor rooms facing Mt. Fuji. There are a few things that show the age of the rooms but I am still surprised the price isn't 2x what it is, even for Japan. The view is just truly breathtaking, the location is amazing, the amenities are great. Endless shopping and food options just a few steps away.
- Villa Koshido Odori. I'm sure part of this is due to how much I loved Sapporo. This hotel is in an almost perfect location, right at the end of Odori Park. It's a new hotel and it was very nice. Maybe a bit gimmicky but our room had two gaming computers with many games, some stuff in English. There were also a bunch of racing sim setups in the hallways. It was definitely an interesting hotel and the price was(and still is) ridiculously good.
- Cozy House AirBNB Joyo Kyoto. This was our only long term stay and it was great. It was a small house in Joyo-Shi, just a short walk from the local Kintetsu station. We went in wanting a nice quiet place to stay for cheap and take day trips from and that's exactly what we got. We were a bit worried that it was going to be too far out of the way but I really think it's in a great spot. Out of the hustle and bustle but only a short train ride to pretty much anything you could want.
Advice:
- Don't worry about cash too much, but worry enough. I know this is in pretty much every trip report but I thought I'd mention it regardless. I see a lot of things on both extremes, Japan is practically cash-only or Japan is almost like the US(I'm sure many other places as well) where no cash is more likely than no card. I found that outside of the major cities, cash is still a big thing. Since almost half of our trip was either in the north or more rural places, we ran into a lot of places that only took cash. Twice we were down to our last yen across all of us to pay a bill. With that said, don't worry about getting yen before you get there. Just get a Charles Schwab checking account and go to a 7/11 after you land and get settled.
- Use the Apple Wallet IC card if you have an iPhone. It just works. I was the only person in the group who used an iPhone. In fact, IC on iPhone was one of the leading reasons I swapped for this phone. It is just so easy to load the card, I used my Amex credit card to reload. You can't lose it, you can't easily forget it, you don't have to wait 40 minutes in line for a card.
- Look into train passes depending on location. The Kintetsu pass saved us literal 10s of thousands of yen for the month we were in Joyo. It also let us go to places we would not have gone like Mie. But do the math, many passes aren't worth it or just break even if you don't use them extensively.
- I am not sure if this needs to be said but don't stick to only Japanese restaurants. I found the best Indian and Chinese restaurants I've ever been to in Japan.
- Be mindful of your amount of luggage. It's very easy to get overloaded early. This is a bigger issue if you're there for an extended period of time, but I think it's important for everyone. So much stuff to buy, so little space to store it.
- Don't take a lot of luggage with you to Japan. This fits with the last one but I think it's important enough to make another point. I highly recommend only taking a carry-on. We all took carry-ons only, then purchased two large suitcases once in Japan. We only had our backpacks for the whole first month. It limited what we could buy, but it was so nice to only have a backpack. I agree with most people that the luggage forwarding is very good, but if you don't have to use it at all it's even better. Also use the hotel early luggage storage. Every hotel we went to offered it.
Closing Thoughts
Overall the trip was really something special. I don't see being able take off 2.5 months again anytime soon so I'll count myself lucky. I am hoping to go back for a couple of weeks next fall. I gathered most of my info from reading over posts on here so I appreciate everyone who's posted anything!
I think a couple of my days might be off and I definitely forgot like half of what I wanted to say, but it's something. I'd be more than happy to answer any questions! Food, accomodations, tips, anything!
Also just as a rough estimate, I spent right around $6000 ish for the full trip for myself. Very happy with the cost, it definitely helped to share hotels.
by TheRealMallowpuff