A first-timer’s review of an epic trip to Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Izu Peninsula)

My wife and I recently got back from an incredible 18-day trip to Japan with stops in Tokyo, where we spent the majority of our time, Kyoto, and the Izu Peninsula. This sub-reddit was instrumental in helping us plan our trip, so a big thanks to everyone who contributes and makes this community so helpful for prospective travelers to Japan.

To say our expectations for our trip were high would be a severe understatement. We were originally supposed to travel to Japan in March 2020 for a short 10-day trip – needless to say, that never happened. Fast forward three years, one pandemic, and a marriage (congrats to us :D) we decided to celebrate our honeymoon by finally making our trip to Japan. It was both of our first visits and it is safe to say that this beautiful country exceeded all of our expectations and gave us the trip of a lifetime.

I wanted to contribute in my own way to this sub-reddit by sharing some thoughts/feedback below for any travelers looking for some perspective and advice for future travel to Japan. I don’t think listing out every single step of our itinerary is particularly helpful, so I’m just going to provide some highlights/thoughts instead. One caveat – this was our honeymoon and we certainly balled out. That said, while we had our share of fancy stays and Michelin-starred restaurants/kaiseki meals, many of our most memorable experiences were found in inexpensive ramen joints, lovely cafes, raucous izakayas, and the hidden corners of Tokyo that don’t cost a dollar to explore. Let’s begin!

* **The food!** Like many, Japanese cuisine was a driving force behind our visit – and the food did not disappoint. I thought that throughout our trip we did a solid job of balancing planning reservations at top destinations and popping in and out of random restaurants we encountered on the streets. I seriously don’t think we had a single bad meal during our trip. The food standards are so high in Japan that you really can’t go wrong. Here were some of our favorite spots:
* Tokyo: We live in NYC, and I’ve long argued that we live in the greatest food city in the world, but Tokyo may be coming for that mantle. Arguably the best meal we had in Japan was at Sushi Yuu. A friend recommended this spot to us and it was easily the best sushi I’ve ever had in my life. The master chef was a great host and was able to speak with us in English throughout our dinner to explain to us what we were eating. Other top highlights include: Sama (Japanese curry in Shimokita), Fuji Ramen, Kurosawa (teppanyaki in Ginza), and GEM by Moto (awesome Sake bar with shared plates in Ebisu). There were many other places that we stopped by on a whim that I don’t know the names of lol but also provided some fantastic eats.
* Kyoto: Coffee Shop Yamamoto in Arashiyama was probably the best cafe we visited on our trip. Some seriously epic coffee and fruit and steak sandwiches (separately of course!). The Nishiki Market was also the source of amazing udon and tempura that we used to fuel our days. We spent the majority of our trip in Kyoto at a ryokan and ate dinner there most nights.
* **The drinks!** My wife and I love a night out on the town and Japan provided us with some nights that we may never remember clearly but certainly will never forget :D.
* We spent NYE in Tokyo at the Liquid Room in Ebisu and had the absolute time of our lives! The venue had three different rooms/stages with a variety of musical acts. While we didn’t know of a single performer going into the night, we left with a long list of Japanese artists and DJs to add to our Spotify playlists.
* Despite how touristy Golden Gai can be, we had a fantastic experience bar-hopping in the neighborhood. The very cramped quarters of the bars meant that you almost had to interact with the folks sitting next to you. We ended up staying out until near sunrise one night with a group of salary men that we met at the UpOut bar. The brutal hangover the next day was well worth a night of free champagne (thanks to our new friends!) and debauchery.
* Karaoke is a must! Even if it’s just by yourself or you and your partner, it is worth the experience.
* Lost in Translation is one of my favorite movies so we had to make a stop at the New York Bar at the Park Hyatt. We did this on the last night of our trip and the experience of drinking cocktails on top of the world while looking down at the city lights was a very symbolic and reflective note to end our trip on. As long as you go in knowing you’ll pay some serious cash for cocktails, I think it is ultimately worth the experience.
* Some other bars we loved: Bar Amber (delicious seasonal fruit cocktails), Craft Beer Bar Ibrew Akihabara (awesome list of domestic/international craft brews with some great bar food), and the Prost Bar in Gion, Kyoto (the best Japanese whisky I’ll ever have)
* **The accommodations!**
* Tokyo: We stayed in a number of accommodations across various price ranges during our time in Tokyo. While this afforded us the opportunity to see and stay in a bunch of different neighborhoods throughout the city, it also meant that we had to pack, re-pack, and lug our luggage around Tokyo on numerous occasions… Not totally sure if it ended up being worth it. I recommend Hoshino Resorts OMO5 Tokyo in Otsuka if you’re looking for an affordable stay. Tsuki Hotel near the Tsukiji Market was also another nice mid-priced option.
* Kyoto: We stayed in the newly opened Ace Hotel in Kyoto and it did not disappoint. It perfectly blends the design aesthetic that you come to expect from the Ace Hotel brand with exemplary Japanese hospitality. Highly recommend it if you’re looking for a more luxurious stay. We also stayed at the Izuyasu Ryokan, which was a real treat. The ryokan has been in the same family for more than 170+ years and each time that a new member of the family assumes the role of the head proprietor they legally change their name to that of the original host of the ryokan. I thought that was the coolest thing and really emblematic of the dedication to one’s craft that makes Japan so unique.
* Izu: If you’re looking for the quintessential ryokan/onsen experience, I highly, highly recommend Hanafubuki in Izu Kogen. It’s only 2 hours from Tokyo but feels like a world away. The ryokan had 7 different private baths – some outdoors, some indoors, some mixed – that just melt all your troubles away. The ryokan is a five-minute walk to the Jogasaki Coast, which is just about the most beautiful coastline I’ve ever seen. I don’t think anything will ever beat the feeling of jumping into an open-air onsen after spending a day hiking the rugged coastline.
* **Getting around!**
* Google Maps made navigating Japan a breeze. The Tokyo subway looks like a maze when you first get there but it is surprisingly easy to navigate once you get the hang of it. I recommend adding a Suica card to your phone so you can easily use it to get in and out of stations and add to your balance while on the go.
* We opted to purchase the JR Pass and it made travel around the country very accessible. We purchased the tickets in advance of our trip from one of the third-party sites which meant that we couldn’t make train reservations prior to obtaining the passes while in Japan. I was a bit concerned about this prior to the trip, but those concerns quickly evaporated once we got to Japan. We were able to easily book trains around New Year’s, which I understand to be the busiest travel time of the year in Japan.
* One thing to keep in mind is that we purchased a 21-day JR pass to cover the entire length of our trip but we really only used the passes during a shorter period of time, meaning we could have saved some money by purchasing a 14-day pass. Something to think about to save you some dough.
* **More fun things!**
* Shopping: My wife and I are both into fashion/street fashion and we came back with enough clothes for an entirely new wardrobe lol. If you’re like us, keep this in mind when packing or you may have to buy a new suitcase to bring back all your fun new outfits.
* Some of our favorite stores included Beams Japan and the myriad thrift shops that are spread out across Shimokita (you could spend days getting lost in all these stores)
* Team Lab Planets is a must. You may have seen it all over Tik Tok/Instagram but it is so much more interactive and engaging in person.
* All the animal cafes are so much fun. Went to a mini-pig and cat cafe that we had a blast at.
* **Other random tips/thoughts!**
* Be prepared to walk… a lot! We were averaging 15-20k steps a day easily. We are used to walking a lot given we live in NYC, so this wasn’t too rough on our legs, but I could easily see this being a challenge for those coming from more car-centric environments.
* Every single person we encountered was incredibly nice, helpful, and beyond respectful. I found that Japanese people often won’t make the first contact in conversation, but once you engage them they are excited to chat and practice their English. Not to mention that I am pretty sure service workers there will literally die for you if it came down to it lol.
* Highly recommend pre-ordering a pocket WiFi. It’s not essential but it certainly helped us navigate and translate menus.
* I was astonished by how quiet and serene so much of Tokyo is. Coming from NYC where there is just constant noise in every part of the city, it was quite restorative to be in an environment where I could hear myself think without the constant sound of cars honking.
* Not to sound creepy but Japanese kids are so adorable. My wife and I were considering volunteering at a local elementary school for a few days (sarcasm).
* Prior to our trip, we were under the assumption that Japan was a cash-based society. Not sure if COVID fundamentally changed things, but we did not find this to be the case. Almost everywhere we went accepted credit cards, Apple Pay, Suica/IC payments, etc.
* I think there is also a misconception that Japan is cost-prohibitive for many. Sure you can spend all your savings staying at luxury accommodations and hitting Michelin-starred restaurants for every meal. But at the same time, you can find quality hotels for \~$70 a night and the best bowl of ramen of your life for $6. The strength of the USD might have something to do with that right now, but still think that this is a misplaced stereotype of traveling in Japan.
* For those planning to travel over the new year in the future, be prepared to encounter closures. It is not as if the entire country shuts down for a few days, but there were definitely some sites and restaurants that we, unfortunately, missed out on.

If you’ve made it this far, a sincere thanks for reading! If anyone has any questions, I’m more than happy to answer.

Typing this all out was therapeutic and brought back so many incredible memories from our trip that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. Japan was everything we could have imagined and more. There is a certain standard of excellence that just permeates everything in Japan, and it makes the culture such a joy to experience. We can’t wait to go back.

But to leave a final piece of advice for prospective travelers, just like anything in life, there is a need for balance – and that is especially true for experiencing a new country/culture. Make sure to hit all the things you really, really want to do on your trip, but also make sure to leave some flexibility in your schedule so that you can live in the moment and see where a chance encounter might take you. You won’t be disappointed.