Trip report: First-time solo travel in south/west of Japan, 4 weeks from mid-Feb to mid-March

Contributing my own experiences as I got a lot of helpful information on this sub!

Went to Osaka – Kyoto – Nara – Fukuoka – Nagasaki – Hiroshima – Matsuyama – Okayama – Himeji – Wakayama.

Will mainly be writing about highlights for each place after some general info:

**General:**

* Solo traveller in my early 20s from Australia. Travelling as an end of uni celebration for myself before I start my career. I am fluent in conversational Japanese, however reading and writing skills are at the level of primary school lol – google translate camera helped.
* I mainly travelled with one 32L backpack (used a light drawstring backpack on day trips when I left my 32L at hostels/ coin lockers). I did take a mostly empty suitcase to take souvenirs and just for some extra space at the end of my travels, but I left this at a friend’s house while I was going around. And also to take my hiking boots for when I did the Kumano. Travelling light was amazing.
* JR pass was totally worth it as I used trains and shinkansen extensively. Also forgot my luggage like an idiot in a different city once and the JR pass saved me on a lot of time and money when I had to go back and retrieve it.
* I stayed in the cheapest hostels – great places to meet people and I met up with a few later on in my trip, which broke up the occasional boredom/loneliness of solo travel. Also went to izakaya and hot pot places with them where more = merrier.
* Got Mobal unlimited SIM card – however keep in mind that data speed slows SIGNIFICANTLY after going through the first 7GB, might as well not have been unlimited. I should have used free Wifi whenever possible.
* Withdrawing cash – major fuck up of mine, I only withdrew 10,000 to 20,000yen each time, so wasted a lot of money on transaction fees. Next time will cash out bigger amounts, especially as risk of theft in Japan is relatively low. Am counting this as a lesson for a first time traveller.
* Overall expenses including plane tickets, food/ entertainment expenses, accommodation, travel insurance (via RACV), transport, SIM card = $4000 AUD for 4 weeks (I did minimal shopping, also stayed with friends for free for 1 week).

**OSAKA**

* **Churaisai: Okinawan cuisine restaurant** \- went on a friend’s recommendation. Delicious, one of my favourite restaurants now. In Takatsuki, only a couple minutes walk from Settsu-Tonda Station.
* **Mister Donut and Duskin Museum -** small, however can decorate or make your own donuts if you book (which I didn’t). Actually found the upstairs Duskin cleaning museum more fascinating.
* **Namba, Dotonbori, Umeda** \- busiest part of Osaka, loved the vibes, great street food and shopping. Definitely get some *takoyaki.*
* **Hattori Ryokuchi Koen** \- in Suita. Open air museum of old Japanese farmhouses, found it surprisingly very interesting to imagine how people must’ve lived. Beautiful plum blossoms in bloom as well.
* **Minoh Koen** \- Beautiful landscape. Must try the *momiji tempura* (deep fried maple leaves).

**NARA**

* **Super fast mochi pounding** \- see up close and then enjoy the freshly pounded delicious *yomogi mochi filled with anko paste and covered in kinako powder.*
* **Todaiji** \- one of the largest bronze statues of Buddha.
* **Horyuji** \- arrived 20 minutes before closing, was rushed through but also there were absolutely no other tourists left and the atmosphere of the quiet temple was something else.
* **Kofun** \- ancient tombs/ graves for important people, interesting if you are into history.

**KYOTO**

* **Arashiyama** \- beautiful bamboo forest but busy with tourists. My favourite part was the Monkey Park (requires a fair uphill hike but beautiful view of Arashiyama town). **Tenryuji Garden** was also very pretty and peaceful. Lot of food and souvenir stores.
* **Kinkakuji** \- beautiful shrine covered in gold.
* **Byodoin** \- tranquil garden and shrine. Located in Uji which is famous for its green tea.

**FUKUOKA**

* Best *tonkotsu ramen* I’ve ever had at a place called **Kirin ramen.** Fukuoka is famous for hakata ramen!
* **Uminonakamichi Seaside Park** \- rented a bicycle and cycled around, is on a scenic island connected to the mainland. Then walked to **Shikanoshima** (which is further along the island) to the beach and **Shimanoumi Jinja.**
* *Motsunabe* at a place called **Miyamoto,** staff were super friendly and the food was so good! Convinced some people I met at the hostel to eat with me as nabe is something you can’t really eat alone, and the place was only across the road. We had an unfinished bottle of sake there and they let us take it back to the hostel.
* **Dazaifu** \- main temple sadly under construction but had *umegae mochi* (so good!). Pretty plum blossom trees. Line of shops leading to temple from the station selling souvenirs and other goodies.
* **Ainoshima Cat Island -** caught the ferry here with a new friend from the hostel. Beautiful ocean scenery. Friendly cats. Delicious roast curry for lunch at this hidden away restaurant, awesome vibes, they gave us pieces of sea glass to take home at the end. Very cute.
* **Yatai** \- small mobile food stalls alongside the river in Fukuoka. The one we went to had great gyoza and vibes.

**NAGASAKI**

* **Bomb Museum and Peace Park** \- heartbreaking and thought-provoking. I have been to the Hiroshima one before but this museum is definitely worth going to as well. Cheap admission, very well structured, very interesting and important lessons.
* **Urakami Cathedral** \- beautiful cathedral but emphasised that it is not a tourist attraction.
* **Oka Masaharu Museum** \- small 3 storey home exhibit tucked away, a shame it is not better known or advertised. I was the only one there and it looked closed from the outside when I was looking for it. Very detailed and informative sources on the war crimes committed by Japan on Korea and China.
* **Dejima** \- open air museum of the preserved former trading Dutch post. Reconstructed buildings and exhibitions inside. Open til late.
* *Champon* at **Lao Lee** in Nagasaki’s **Chinatown.** Must try
* **Unzen Onsen** \- debated whether worthwhile the 1.5hr bus ride from Nagasaki but glad I went. Bubbling mud and vapour clouds. Wish I had planned better and went early enough to hike. Soaked in the onsen. Had to get used to the sulphur smell but very cool place.
* *Toruko rice* is a Nagasaki specialty with spaghetti, beef sauce, tonkatsu and curry pilaf on the one plate. Tasted great.
* **Inusayama Observatory** \- took ropeway to the top of the mountain to see one of the top 3 night views in Japan.

**HIROSHIMA**

* Note: only time I stayed in a capsule hotel and didn’t enjoy as much as my other accom. Something like 30 beds in one room, lots of business people coming and going at odd times, people not as friendly as a guesthouse. Obviously this is not relevant just to Hiroshima.
* **Miyajima -** ate *Hiroshimayaki,* climbed **Mt Misen** (very steep! Took around 75mins to climb 2.5km but view was worth it). Must eat *age momiji manju*.
* **Fukuyama** \- went to the castle grounds, and the art museum. 2 exhibits in the art museum plus an additional special katana exhibit which we unfortunately didn’t have time for. But art exhibits were cheap and I enjoyed it.

**SHIMANAMI KAIDO CYCLING: ONOMICHI to IMABARI 76km**

* Stayed in **Onomichi** the night before – small seaside town. **Cinema Museum** and **History Museum** were small but interesting, especially the cinema museum. However there is no English information so found it a bit inaccessible.
* Left early to rent the bicycle and catch the ferry across to the cycle starting point. Would recommend anyone in the area to do the cycle, it is absolutely beautiful going across the 7 islands between Honshu and Shikoku, biking across the ocean on the bridges connecting the land. I am not a cyclist but relatively fit so I finished in about 6 hours, and only stopped briefly for breaks. Because I left so early many of the stores weren’t open for the first half of the trip. Doable for beginners as well, you can cycle part of it and go back or catch a bus, split it into two days by staying a night somewhere, or cruise along the whole thing in about 10 hours. Path is incredibly well marked and easy to follow, roads are safe and lead all the way to Imabari station, the finishing point.
* Area is famous for citrus, lots of citrus desserts even in the konbini.

**MATSUYAMA**

* Caught the train to **Dogo Onsen** after my cycle. Unfortunately the main onsen was under construction, and only allowing limited numbers to a restricted area. I opted to go to the two smaller onsens connected to it called **Tsubakinoyu** (soooooo hot! Couldn’t stay in longer than 5 minutes at a time. Awesome for my fatigued muscles) and **Asukanoyu** (the newest of the three onsens, very clean and very warm).

**OKAYAMA**

* I may have been getting tired of travel at this point but felt like there wasn’t much to enjoy here. **Okayama Castle** was pretty from the outside, they had English resources but I still found it a bit hard to follow. I should’ve also eaten beforehand as there was only a small cafe inside. **Korakuen Garden** is famous and huge but the grass looked a bit dead when I went. Still beautiful though, nice place for a picnic.
* **Kurashiki** was very cool! Old preserved merchant town with buildings converted into museums, shops and restaurants. Area is famous for producing denim. Easy access via train from Okayama.
* **Kibiji / Kibi plans** \- rented a mamachari (bicycle) but I got lost and didn’t make it the whole 17km between Bizen-Ichinomiya station and Sojo station as I didn’t have enough time. Easy to get lost if not paying attention to signs. Pleasant trail meandering through rice fields, going past historical sites.

**HIMEJI**

* One of the few surviving castles in Japan. Obviously maintained and refurbished but walls still intact after hundreds of years! Beautiful structure, extensive and fascinating history exhibits. Definitely worth going.
* An artist called **Yuki Matsuoka** had a little exhibition in the shopping street between Himeji station and the castle. Was some really cool art, and artist is hella friendly.

**WAKAYAMA – KUMANO KODO PILGRIMAGE HIKE, NAKAHECHI ROUTE**

* Spent one night in Tanabe, then hiked 4 full days (80km total for me) staying in Tsugizakura, Yunomine onsen, Koguchi and Shingu.
* World Heritage Site. Beautiful and challenging hike across mountains. Saw 2 wild deer, felt very lucky. Visited the three Grand Shinto Shrines in the region: **Hongu Taisha, Nachi Taisha and Hayatama Taisha**, as well as **Nachi Fall**s, the tallest single-tier waterfall in Japan.
* Required extensive planning as minimal food available, accommodation is limited and needs to be booked early. If staying in **Yunomine Onsen** my hostel had 3 of its own private onsens inside included in accommodation fee. Blissful after a day of hiking.
* I regret not collecting stamps from the very start, as if you do this and the Camino de Santiago they award you with a ‘dual pilgrim’ recognition, as they are the only two pilgrimage routes listed as World Heritage sites. Also the stamps are very detailed and unique to each area.
* I caught the train back to Tanabe from Shingu along the coast – stunning ocean scenery and beach areas. Stayed another night in Tanabe before heading to Kansai Airport to return home.

Had the most wonderful time :)) Just missed the cherry blossom season but also means I missed the peak tourist season too so am content. Would love to explore the north and east areas of Japan next time I travel!