Been in Japan for the past 2 weeks and have one more to go, passed through Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima and day trips to Yokohama, Koyasan, Yoshino, Miyajima and Okayama. I’m in the shinkansen going to Kyoto and still going to Nara, Fuji and back to Tokyo (1 week more).
This is my experience and what i have learned here, probably will differ with your plan travels so nothing here is written in stone. (Wrote this in my phone and english is not my first language)
1. A lot is said about Japan Rail Pass, but no one says about the JR regional passes that can be really woth it, the nation wide JR pass was not worth for my itinerary but the Kansai Hiroshima pass that I’m using is really worth it (plus this pass can be used in Nozomi trains while the wide JR cant). Bought my regional pass with Klook.
2. Right now is the peak Cherry Blossom season and last week was the Spring Break week for some schools across Japan, so everything was packed, every tourist attraction, restaurants that I saw on social media (waited for 2h30 for a Katsudon in Osaka and 2h for a Gyukatsu in Tokyo). Be prepared and have some spre time if you want to try them, most of the restaurants are also really small and don’t be fooled with the sized of the line, it can take much longer (in some of them there is also a line “inside” that is hidden, so take that into account). Most of them also dont let people line if they run out of dishes or if the line is already long enough to fill the restaurant untill its closing time.
3. Universal was a blast, but it was really packed (It was a tuesday), took us 30min to enter the park because of the lines and we got there at 7 am (the park was scheduled to open at 8 but it openned at 7). I was able to do evrything that I wanted because of the Express Pass and single line. If you have money, dont have time and its a busy day its a no brainer. (In the normal ticket there are letters A being not a busy day, B busy and C very busy).
4. Some restaurants in Hiroshima and Okayama close to the train station required reservations (like 5 of that we tried). This was strange but maybe because it was friday and saturday night.
5. Some tourist atraction close “early”. Miyajima ropeway last descent was 16:30, Yoshino ropeway last descent was 17 and some of them required reservation because it’s peak season or holiday like Shinjuku Gyoen, Tokyo sky tree and Osaka aquarium. Some of them we reserved when we arrive but waited for 1h before entering the line. If you are going to Japan in high season plan before, get to know holidays, and avoid putting sightseeing highlights on weekends.
6. Also for high season, book you hotel before coming to Japan. You will find options if you book it here but either is going to be really expensive or its going to be a not good option. I made the reservations 3 to 5 months earlier with free cancellation policies that enabled me to change the itinerary multiple times.
7. Get to know the closing days of the atrractions that you want to go. This is going to be usefull if you want to exchange one day itenerary or part of it with another day. Had planned for cherry blossoms spots but it was rainy so chaged ir with other tourist atraction that the rain woudlnt bother. (Of course that this is not possible with reserved atractions)
8. This might be less about Japan and more about long travel and very far from where you live (it took us 30h to get into japan with a 3h connection). Prepare for it physically and take into account spare time after packed days (like after Universal or day trips that are far).
9. Most of all, have a lot of fun. This is an epic destination where expectations will be met and it will still blow your mind. After 3,5years of planning, waiting and looking at every single detail of my itinerary this has been the best destination of my life (have been to more than 30 countries). This is a dream come true place and I will definetly come back, so if thing don’t work out I can deal with it and not stress over it.
This is the last version of my itenerary: [link](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/11gmwut/final_itinerary_marapr_2023_22_days_tokyo_osaka/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1)
18 comments
How busy was the Shinkansen? We’re you able to book seats easily?
Every Tom Dick and Harry I know is going to Japan. I would wait until the hype is over. Japan has made it to the social media recently. In the meantime, this might be a good time to explore underrated places such as Vietnam, Korea, or even China.
Each time I’ve been to Japan has been during peak season like cherry blossom, fall (although fall is still nowhere near as peak as cherry blossom gets imo). This makes me really want to go during off season to see what the crowds are like, even if some attractions won’t be at their best at the time.
You can also order regional pass online, it might be a bit more expensive but no shipping fee.
Restaurant can be tricky if you want to go to a specific place, I have been here for a month and did not want over 30 for a place. I did visit less busy places but still.
Izakaya style restaurant can be busy around the weekend, it’s either reserved or be lucky they have places available. I was in a place in Onomichi and saw people get refused as it was full. I guess some places do not really do the waiting in line stuff. I got that once in Tokyo. There is always the possibility they do not want to deal with non Japanese speaker, but that is hard to tell.
What I find difficult, especially in smaller cities is how it can be hard to find a place open, like lot of lunch only on dinner only places, opening day/hour not right on Google. Once the restaurant I got recommended was apparently not open at the hour it should have been, ended up finding an okonomiyaki place open, only six seats, one was available.
Thanks so much I. Heading to Japan for the first time 31st May and glad that the peak season will be over I’ve planned my days in Osaka and Kyoto but will look into the other areas you mentioned and that regional pass sounds like a good idea
So is Japan more or less back to pre pandemic levels of tourism?
Also in Japan now as well…
I’ve noticed a ton of English speakers here as well, mostly American but also tons of Canadians, Aussies, and Brits. I grew French, Germans, and Spaniards as well.
Seems people love lines here… I find it strange there’s no ticket system for lines here. You just have to sit and wait.
If you hate waiting, then finding places that take reservations and calling/booking ahead helps. Just like in other countries, line doesn’t mean it’s good…
So far been able to use credit for most things except Pasmo/Suica as an international Android user.
I dont understand the benefit of the rail pass.
It locks you in to using shinkansen travel for long distances, when you might change your mind and fly domestic instead. Or change your itinerary and spend more time in one city that you really like.
Suico card + pay as you go for any long distance travel is simply unmatched when it comes to options.
We actually did a lot of cherry blossom stuff in the rain over the last couple of weeks because nobody else is there. Philosopher’s Walk in the rain was amazing on Sunday last week. There was hardly anyone there, it was so comfy with the rain hitting the water, and we got some lovely photos. If you don’t mind the rain, I would highly recommend going to popular places then!
> restaurants that I saw on social media
Unless you are chasing Michelin stars or a specific shot for instagram/tiktok or reserved one of those places that do one seating per night (so the table is waiting for you), it’s basically never worth going to these in peak season. The baseline quality of cooking in Japan is very high, and you’re better off going to random shops (that are only marginally less tasty than the place requiring 2.5 hours in line) and using the saved time to do more touristing.
Another strategy is to eat at off-peak times, I usually do a small breakfast so eating lunch at 11 and dinner at 5ish (after the temples close) works perfectly for my schedule and for queue minimization.
> regional pass
JR West and JR Shikoku have the most generous regional passes 😀 Depending on where you stop, local passes for longer distance day trips or foreigner-targeted deals (e.g. 500 yen Hiroshima <-> Matsue bus) can be great value too.
3,5yrs planning? Wow!
Kinda nervous as it’s my first time travelling during peak season in Japan. I’ve always gone on moderate season, not low season but not peak PEAK. I will condition my mind to not look forward to ky gyukatsu mean that much lol
To prepare I will reserve shinkansen seats right after I exchange my voucher and I’ve pre-booked the popular attractions.
Also, now that you’re experience regional passesnI swear you’ll get “addicted” my fave value for money are the hokuriku passes. Right now I’ll use the East-South Hokkaido pass which is tbh almost coats the same as the 7day JR. It will still be worth it for sure!
We planned poorly and arrived at the Miyajima Ropeway at 4:20. Unfortunately it was already closed, and the safest way down the mountain was back the way we came (according to the monk we met up there). It was already dark and started to rain. 0/10 would recommend.
The regional passes are nice. Just make sure that pay attention to what it covers. My mom and sister got the Kansai Hiroshima pass (iirc). You get to go around the area but it only covers shinkansen between Osaka and Hiroshima. One day they went to Kyoto from Shin-Osaka on the Shinkansen and only when they arrived in Kyoto did they realize that the ride was not covered by their pass. The station staff told them they could either take a shinkansen to go back to Shin-Osaka or just pay for the ride. They decided to go back to Osaka and take the regular train instead
How mucb did you spend for USJ plus express passes per person? I’d love to go but there’s 4 of us (3 of them love Spy Family) but I think it’s so expensive.
If I travel in early March (during Spring break in Canada), do you think it would be less busy?
Sakura is actually past its peak in many places, a lot of the petals have fallen by now.
I’m heading to japan on the 21 to May 10, anybody have any assumptions as to if the blossoms will be gone and hopefully be a little less busy?