I started writing this trip report shortly after we came back in April of 2019, but never finished it.
As I am now currently planing a 5 week trip from early march til April, I decided it would be nice to finish this report, as it may be helpful to first time travelers.
\————————————————
**Trip Report**
I had previously lived in Tokyo for over a year during 2014-15, and made another trip back in late 2019; my father had visited Japan many times before on Business.
It was the first time my sisters and mom had visited Japan.
**Notes:**
* We bought the JR pass for one week.
* Used suicas and I still had my pasmo from my stay.
* Stayed in airbnbs, except for one night in Kobe.
* The Jetlag was pretty brutal (coming from Germany)
* Might have been smarter to take it easy and plan less on the first few days.
* Knowing some basic Japanese was quite helpful, especially being able to read hiragana and katakana and some Kanji.
**Trip Breakdown:**
1. Arrival at Haneda, check in at airbnb, quick ramen near the Imperial Palace, walked through the Imperial Palace (lucky, normally its closed almost year round, only had the chance once before when I lived in Japan), Dinner was at an Izakaya in Ginza.
2. We visited Sensoji temple in the morning, headed to Shinjuku for lunch at Ichiran Ramen, then walked through the Shinjuku National Gyoen (Park) (great for viewing Cherry blossoms), from there we walked on foot to the back entrance of the Meji-Shrine and visited the shrine, from there we left the forest/park and headed down takeshita street in Harajuku (insanely busy), we then walked through Omotesando, and from there down to Shibuya. This was a walk I did frequently when friends visited me in Japan (I was living in Shinjuku then), nice way to see multiple areas in one walk. Dinner was my parents and I (as my sisters were too tired), went to sushi bar (Sushi Kanda Unomaru), food was amazing, but expensive (130€ pp) (we had sake), fun place though, the chefs started pouring out their own red wine for free.
3. The morning of the third day was filled with breakfast at a coffee shop and heading to Tokyo station to activate our Rail pass. We grabbed some bentos and took the shinkansen down to Kyoto for our next stay. After checking into the Airbnb, we headed to the nishki market, after we walked towards and around gyon for a bit and saw some geishas (people were running after them and taking pictures like mad). (Kyoto was very overfilled with tourists). Dinner was at a sidestreet place that served up a variety of Japanese foods, was a bit touristy, and the food was so so, but we were too tired to keep searching.
4. The morning was comprised of family-mart sandwiches, onigiri, and coffee; we then walked to Kinkakuji (golden pavillion), took the bus to the zen garden at the Royanji temple. From there we took a bus to the Bamboo grove in arashiyama, which was so insanely crowded it was hard to enjoy it (the last time I was there was in July during a post typhoon torrential downpour, which was still more enjoyable, since no one was there). We then walked to the JR station and used our passes to then make our way to the other side of the city, and walk down the Philosophers Path (one of the highlights of the trip), the entire walk along the stream was lined with Cherry blossom trees. We took a late soba lunch next to the path, one of my favorite spots during our trip. After walking down a bit more of the path we took a bus back to central kyoto and ate at a kaiten (running) sushi place, which was great and very cheap.
5. Family-mart breakfast, Kyomizu-dera, then off to fushimi inari, after a short walk through the tori we took the train to Nara, went to the kasuga taisha shrine, fed, pet, and bowed to the deer (my sisters loved this), The places were nice, but so overfilled. We had a gyoza and ramen dinner in Nara before heading back to Kyoto at night.
6. Drove to Kyoto JR Station, took the shinkansen to Himeji, the castle was absolutely breathtaking, sunny day, cherry blossoms everywhere, and the castle as the backdrop. There was also a big cherry blossom festival going on the grounds of the castle that day, it was nice seeing all the Japanese enjoying their Hanami. After a quick visit, we jumped back on the next Shinkansen and drove down to Hiroshima. We had a yakitori dinner that night.
7. Day 7 began with a great breakfast at a bagel shop near our Airbnb, we then walked to the Memorial peace park and paid our tributes there. It was beautiful, yet instilled a somber mood. We then took the fairy nearby, to miyajima. Where you can see the floating tori (shrine). We had an oyster lunch there. The island was covered in Cherry blossom trees, it was quite stunning. After walking a short ways we found a small tee house/restaurant up on the hillside, which had an amazing view out onto the water and the “mainland”, we enjoyed some red wine on the terrace there. We then had some delicious okonomiyaki at “Hassei”.
8. We started our day once more with delicious Bagels at Wildman Bagels, We then took the Bus to Hiroshima JR Station. From there we took the shinkansen to Kobe. We took a short ship cruise of the bay. We then took some time to rest in our Hotel rooms (Hotel Trustee Tokyo) (quite nice for the price). The first hotel rooms of the trip; so the short respite in “luxury” was thoroughly enjoyed. We were then invited by a friend of my father to a kobe beef dinner. It was 5 of them and 5 of us, so we had the entire restaurant to ourselves (one long bar, along the teppanyaki grill). It was a memorable occasion, not to be soon forgotten. The food was outstanding, quite possibly the best thing I have ever eaten. I will say, Kobe Beef’s high fat content might make it less enjoyable for some that are somewhat sensitive to high amounts of fat.
9. The next day started with breakfast at the hotel, we then took a shinkansen and bus to arrive at Fujikawaguchiko were we had booked a ryokan for one night. We had a true postcard view of Fujisan from our room. Took a small hike around the area and got some more great views of Mt. Fuji. We then enjoyed the onsen, and had a traditional japanese set menu for dinner, quite typical for Ryokans.
10. We woke to heavy snowfall and a completly changed surrounding. Enjoyed a very early Onsen outside with the snow falling. We then took the train back to Tokyo. Relaxed day with some walking around Shinjuku that ended with a Tempura Dinner at Tsunahachi Tempura (Quite well known, but would recommend).
11. We had a quick breakfast at Dotour, and then took the train down to Kamakura to see the (Daibutsu) large Buddha, the Hasedera Temple, and the Tsuragaoka Hachumango. Ive been to Kamakura quite a few times, but its quite enjoyable every time. We ended the day back in Tokyo with a Gyoza dinner.
12. On the second to last day we took some time to explore Ginza, and take care of some shopping for souvenirs and gifts for friends and family back home. We then met a work colleague of mine from my time in Japan, and went for a Korean BBQ dinner and drinks after.
13. The last day was spent relaxing, exploring the new fish market in Toyosu, and Ueno Park. At night I quickly went to Shinjuku to have my favorite Ramen, and met my family at the Park Hyatt Bar (Lost in Translation) for a final drink. We had our last dinner at an Izakaya in West Shinjuku.
14. Flight home.
Closing notes:
* Unless its your first time visiting Japan, I can highly recommend avoiding the popular tourist spots during the Cherry Blossom season.
* Especially Kyoto is extremely overcrowded, making the experience less than optimal
* Tokyo is not so bad as there is always an abundance of people there and the city is large enough to not notice the increase.
* My favorite part of the Trip was Hiroshima
* In part because it was one of the places I hadn’t visited
* The Peace Memorial Park was very memorable
* The vibe seemed very different to Tokyo, and the people seemed to be more relaxed
* Miyajima was very enjoyable
* We definitely slowed down as we got to the end of the trip due to the packed days at the beginning.
* Might be smarter to balance out the days, especially with the Jetlag.
* I can definitely recommend trying out the traditional Ryokans
* The prices are steep, so try to make it a one night stay to save money.
* If you want to save money regarding the JR pass.
* Plan the first and last days of your trip in the same place
* that way you can activate your JR pass a few days later, and use it for the time inbetween.
If you have any questions feel free to ask.