First time to Japan

18 comments

1. Does the budget include plane ticket?

2. I love that you included Shimokitazawa!

   As for Kyoto, IMO the Blue Bottle near Nanzenji is far more beautiful than the famous Starbucks (and the coffee is better), so if you’re in the area, and I do recommend it (Nanzenji, Suirokaku Aqueduct, Tenju-an, Keage incline), please check it out.

   Ninenzaka is still worth a visit as well, and you can get that famous pagoda shot, but it’s usually a lot more crowded.

3. Osaka doesn’t shine like Tokyo and Kyoto. Tokyo is easy to get around.

4. Seems fine to me. The only thing I would note is that Tokyo Tower would not be my first choice of observation deck, I would do Shibuya Sky or Roppongi Hills Mori Tower instead.

   Otherwise, You might want to split what you want to do each day to group things that make the most sense to do together, or at least, know what is close to what and know how to move between the different places.

5. Getting everything done in Osaka in 2-3 days will be difficult since you’re planning on 2 day trips. Also depending on where you are flying from need to take into account jetlag. Keep in mind there are some things you want to do in Osaka can be done in the Tokyo area too like the Pokemon center and Cup Noodle Museum. Also the Don Quijote in Osaka Dotonbori would be the more interesting one to visit since they have a ferris wheel built into the building.

   You honestly have quite a lot of stuff packed in already and borderline unrealistic at this point. Also budget of 2500usd seems a little low for a 2 week trip if that also includes accommodations.

6. Oh, why do not people reccomend one day trip to Hioshima instead of Kobe?
   Beautiful Itsukushima shrine and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
   Once you visit there, you will understand why Japanese in 21th century deeply love peace.

7. 5 days might be a bit much in Osaka unless you include a couple of day trips. Kobe, Himeji, Nara and Koya san are good options. As a fan of Pokémon, you probably already know there is a center in Kyoto too.

8. Guessing this is a custom packaged tour?

9. I’d add a day trip to Kamakura during your stay in Tokyo. One of my favorite places in Japan.

10. I don’t really like Osaka much. It’s pretty much like any other big city. A lot of the landmarks like the giant crab are being removed or downsized. I’d rather spend the time in Kyoto, or go to Mt Koya as a second day after visiting Nara. Beautiful.

    Personally, I would skip Osaka Castle if it’s not cherry blossom season (late March/early April). Take the train 1 hour west to Himeji Castle. It’s worth it! They even have English-speaking volunteers. In the morning, you could go to Mt Shosha 30 minutes to the west and visit Engyoji Temple, where Tom Cruise’s character met the Samurai character in “The Last Samurai”. Then go to Himeji Castle after lunch and into Kokoen tea garden right next door, take a walk through, then have a mini tea ceremony.
    It would be a busy day, but I took my sister to all of that in one day; even got her, her husband and friends to dress up in rental kimonos in Himeji.

    For Kyoto, make sure you plan it out in zones. The Golden Pavilion is in a totally different area of the city as Kiyomizu Temple, Kawara
    Machi.

11. Is your budget just for fun or does it also need to cover hotels and trains/shinkansen? If it is the latter, you really need to hope that the Dollar keeps being strong, else you might be quite strapped for cash (Although not impossible).

    The Mario Kart thing in Akihabara closed down as far as I know (Thank god). Other good recommendations for Tokyo and vicinity would be: Yanaka Ginza, Odaiba, Jiyugaoka, Yokohama Minato Mirai + the waterfront area, Kamakura, Enoshima. If you are willing to make a overnight trip out of town, my favorites are Atami/Odawara/Hakone. If you like hiking you could also take the ferry to the Nihon-ji.

12. If you stay in Tokyo, I recommend Jimbocho where I live.

    You can soon go to The Empire Palace from the place.

    A nice alley is in Jimbocho, too.

    Anyway, Good luck with your trip!!

13. Rapid Train from Osaka to Nara is like around an hour, sometimes less. Id totally recommend your stop at Kintetsu Nara and spend the day around the Nara Park and visit all the temples and shrines around. Make sure to plan what is near to what to plan your days thoroughly, because for example you can take the train closest to Dotombori to go to Nara. Or you could take the Osaka-Jo (Osaka Castle) train to Nara. It’s gonna take little time!

    I once did an Osaka and Nara (limited) day trip with a friend who came from Tokyo (I lived in Nara at the time) and we managed to sightsee a LOT in one day. I was the tour guide of sorts because I was already familiar with the places, so it could be a little more challenging it its a first-timer. But you also reasonably have more time, so Id recommend Osaka , Osaka Castle, take the train from Osaka Jo station to Kintetsu Nata Station, and travel around!

14. You have some really cool things on your list, you’re going to have a lot of fun even if you only do half of those things. Just a few tips, Nara doesn’t take a full day, you can see most of what you want to see in just a few hours. I would go to Nara early (make sure you hit up the pastry/bread shop connected to the train station) see the deer, then head back to Osaka and spend the rest of the night in Dotonbori. Also if you’re talking about the Mario go karts I’d suggest skipping it, it looks fun on Instagram but they’re kind of obnoxious. Actually I heard not too long ago that they might be shutting that down. Only tourists rode them and with covid and lack of tourists I’m not sure if they’re still around. Personally I could spend an entire day in akihabara because there’s so much to see, but I’m a nerd, so you’re mileage may vary.

15. >Go kart (Akihabara/Shibuya)

    Doesn’t exist anymore, thank god.

16. My thoughts…
    – Basically 2 big cities, a traditional city and a bunch of others that you’ve stacked in with bigger cities. Sure. Just keep in mind that travel is travel (I can personally spend a week in 1 small city and not see enough).

    – Budget? I’d factor in more (particularly since you’re following the tourist path) but that’s just me.

    – It’s a long list of stuff (much of which can be found literally anywhere). Have you factored in the idea of having time to just randomly explore? We’re all different but I find that I get a lot of value out of ‘areas’ rather than shops if that makes sense? For example last night I went to Junka in Fukui and just walked around, hitting up local bars and getting drunk. I found a sweet place and clicked with the owner so we sat there talking/drinking for hours. Now I could name ‘that place’ but it’s now my little hole in the wall if that makes sense?

    I dunno. Two weeks will go quickly IMO. Just my personal preference but I like to plan my journeys a bit like a solid jazz tune, with lotsa time to slow down and suck in the air. Totally respect it may simply not be your style but I like to factor in rest time and improvisation.

17. I loved everything about Japan, but my only reservation was Tokyo.

    I would say avoid going there, unless you want to experience what it’s like to spend a long time travelling across urban sprawl, to arrive at another densely built up part of a city that looks much like where you first started out from and you end up wondering why you bothered.

    The rest of Japan is totally amazing

18. I would probably only visit 2 cities if you are only going to be in Japan for 2 weeks. Unless you’re traveling from somewhere nearby in longitude, jet lag is going to mess you up for a good 2-3 days when you fly in, and it will probably be a good week before you’ll want to go out and take in the night life. Plus you basically lose a day every time you change hotels/cities. Osaka and Kyoto are also close enough together that you can easily stay in one and visit the other, especially if you have a JR pass and can use Shinkansen to go between them.

    I don’t think it matters that much what you cut out as a lot of the most interesting stuff about visiting Japan for the first time is just doing everyday stuff that you can do in any reasonably sized city over there.