September 2021 7 Day Trip (Osaka / Kyoto)

11 comments

1. Before I read further, any reason you’re not flying Into Kansai International Airport?

2. >after spending 5 days in Tokyo in 2016 and fell in love with Japanese customs and culture.

   Unless you are loving the Japanese bag searching department, it’s ‘custom’ and not ‘customs’

   —-

   Why aren’t you flying to Kansai Airport instead? (Or connect to Itami Airport) You can then get one of the JR West passes which are much, much better.

   >Is it better to take the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station or Shinagawa Station?

   No big different, really. All trains stops at both station, and if you are doing reserved seat then no real different.

   >**9/10 (Osaka)**

   You might not have enough time in Nara. You are looking at 2-3 hours max until places start closing.

   >Head over to Kobe for lunch @ Wakkogu and go to herb garden. Return to Osaka, go to Kuromon Market / 551 Horai / Melon Pan Ice Cream / Rikuro Cheesecake. Spend the night wandering Shinseki. Eat at Ichiren Ramen.

   Not sure if it is even possible to eat that much in one day.

   >Again, is it better to take the NEX from Shinagawa or Tokyo Station?

   Shinagawa has a much easier transfer since NEX at Tokyo is from underground platform.

3. First you are wasting time and most likely money flying in Tokyo. Fly direct to Osaka. Last year my ticket round trip for Osaka (from Canada) was the same price as round trip to Tokyo, even if I did flew to Haneda on my way out.

   Instead of the national rail pass, you can check for a regional one that include Hiroshima (and check if worth it) as it would be cheaper than the national pass (JR Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass).

   Do you have an Suica or Pasmo from your previous trip ? If yes, it will work in Kyoto/Osaka. If you do not have one, you can get the sepcial Icoca with a discount price for the Haruka train (that is if you go to KIX. ITM is also an option).

   First day you can go direct to Nara if you do not waste time in the shinkansen (if you fly to Osaka).

   Why not go inside Himeji castle ? There is a combo ticket for it and the garden. If you take time to go all the way there, you might as well check inside, it is quite impressive to see how original castles are made all of wood. I’ve not been to Himeji, but to other original castles like Matsuyama, Matsumoto and Matsue and I think it have some interest.

   Again it is better not to take the shinkansen at all. And if you do, most people would advise not to do Kyoto-Tokyo the morning of your flight, that is risky.

   Osaka, famous food items are takoyaki, kushikatsu and okonomiyaki. Kyoto I would personally go for something matcha like matcha parfait. Nara is kakinoha zushi. Miyajima you have to try momiji manju.

4. 9/10 – Ooff.. Nara by itself is already a full day. Suggest to swap out i.e. get to Nara immediately and save your okonomiyaki for dinner or another day instead.

   9/11 day feels tight for me too. Hiroshima/Miyajima day-trip from Osaka is *definitely* doable, but something I would not recommend. Unless of course you did mention you want to prioritize on just feasting. The A-bomb dome and museum is definitely a must if you’re there. Alternatively take one of the earliest Shinkansens to Hiroshima (there should be one around 6) and come back close to 9 PM instead to really get the full day.

   One-tip – I think you are aware too – the JR pass *does not* grant you the availability to ride the *Mizuho* trains which are more frequent on the Sanyo Shinkansen line but instead on the *Hikari* only. I suggest if you can book and reserve the train tickets as early as possible as opposed to “walking in” and reserving your tickets on the day itself. Tbh I don’t know how crowded Japan will be by then (assuming all the borders re-open) but during the Rugby World Cup in 2019 I came across a lot of tourists having issues booking their preferred times on this section with the *Hikari* trains.

   From memory NEX schedule are quite frequent especially from Tokyo station – hopefully they go back to normal ops by then.

5. *- Any recommendations on local Ramen restaurants that stand out head and shoulders above Ichiran / Ippudo?*
   Yes.

   In Osaka: The Old Man’s Best Swing (aka Kusooyaji) – best name for a shop ever and the clam shoyu ramen is top shelf. Also: Moeyo Mensuke, Jouroku, Jikon (not a real convenient location but worth it)

   In Nara: Gumshara (AMAZING), Menjimbaromuan

6. That’s a LOT of travel and back and forth. Nara is a must. Gion won’t actually take that long. Nishiki market…go hungry lol. Def get takoyaki in Osaka. Grab some matcha from the shops outside of arashiysma. And for a great quick meal coco curry ichiban is a MUST. If you have any days free up, nikko or kamakura/enoshima island are great day trips too

7. Osaka is street food paradise: takoyaki stands out as a must have dish.

   Be warned: nishiki market is a MOB scene. Recommend checking it out but have a backup plan restaurant nearby. Wandering in that area was very enjoyable and I’m sure you will find something interesting.

8. Ichiran and Ippudo are solid choices. Would recommend Zundoya in Shinsaibashi, Muteppo in Daikokucho for ramen.

   If you’re in Kyoto, the ramen kaido on the top floor of Kyoto station Isetan department store is decent. If you’re a ramen maniac then the Ichijoji area is known as a ramen battleground, but it’s out of the way and probably not catering to tourists.

   Musashi no Sushi is good and affordable, but nothing amazing. Ganko zushi (locations everywhere) is great, has other options besides sushi, and locations everywhere.

   By the way, it’s shinsekai, shinseki means relative.

9. If you aren’t familiar with various ramen types and flavors Ichiran or Ippudo are OK as introductions to tonkotsu ramen. If you are beyond beginner I’d suggest tsukemen as it’s less common in the west. [ramenguidejapan.com](https://ramenguidejapan.com) and [ramenbeast.com](https://ramenbeast.com) are good sources of places to try. 7 days isn’t a lot of time and with lots of other cuisine you likely won’t eat that many bowls. The “ramen streets” in Kyoto or Tokyo stations offer good variety, and I’d recommend Tomita in Tokyo station for tsukemen.

   I would get your Suica/Pasmo card at the airport when you arrive as you’ll want to use it in Tokyo day 1. No need to wait until you arrive in Osaka. I’d aim to arrive/depart from Haneda myself if possible.

   Trying to do Hiroshima and Miyajima as a day trip from Osaka makes for a long day. If you have plans to return to Japan I’d save this for a future trip with more leisure.

   If you are interested in and have the budget for a kaiseki meal outside of a ryokan stay, I can heartily recommend Wa Yamamura in Nara for lunch in concert with a visit to the shrines. It was a highlight of my last trip.

10. To answer your train question, it honestly shouldn’t matter much and you probably should go to the one closest to wherever you are leaving from. But if you haven’t been to Tokyo station it’s worth a visit in itself especially the main Ekiben shop which has all the Ekibens from different parts of Japan so you can try a couple to compare.

    I’ve tried quite a bit of Ramen in Japan and they all have their charms, but you really can’t go wrong with Ichiran in my opinion. You should try it at least once if you haven’t before and make sure to get extra chili sauce.

11. my wife and i will be in tokyo those dates we should hang out!