I’ve been in Japan since June last year and my mother came to visit me from March 26 until April 9. It was her first (and perhaps only) trip to Japan and she really wanted to see the cherry blossoms in all their glory, so I took her around the standard “Golden Route” of Tokyo – Kyoto – Hiroshima and despite the season starting earlier than usual, she got to see plenty of blossoms.
I could write up a huge wall of text about what we did on every day but I’d rather just write about some observations I made, both positive and negative. Since I have been “living” here for almost a year, my experiences and expectations were obviously different from my mother’s but I still found it fun to revisit some places I’ve kind of been “one and done” on.
My mother had a few things she really wanted to see and do (including a two hour Maiko styling and photoshoot in Kyoto) but most of it was pretty much me just winging it and showing her places that are must sees and some places that I thought are a bit out of the way for the typical first timer. Let’s start with some of the things that a lot of people might think about doing and whether I think it’s worth it or not.
**-Tokyo-**
Tokyo in general felt pretty okay as far as crowds go. This was probably due to the fact that the weather was kind of bad during the first week of this trip. Chidorigafuchi, Shinjuku Gyoen, Yoyogi and Ueno Park weren’t as bad as expected. In my opinion, Ueno park combined with the pond area is one of the nicest for cherry blossoms – especially the pond in the evening when it is illuminated. Shoutout to Inokashira park in Kichijoji. Perhaps not on a lot of people’s lists because it’s a bit off-center Tokyo but it was spectacular and if you plan to come to Japan during the next Sakura season, consider going. There weren’t a lot of (foreign) tourists and the pictures you can take there are fantastic.
**Teamlabs Planets**
My mother wanted to do this so we went there on the first full day. Personally, I am not that much of a fan. It’s chock full of people, the exhibit wasn’t _that_ impressive and the thing looks far better on pictures than in real life. My mother enjoyed it a lot, though, so that was nice. If you plan on going, make sure to book a ticket and line up when the little sign they put up shows your time. Otherwise they will just redirect you out and you have to line up again.
**Shibuya Sky**
I’ve never bothered going here because it seemed rather pricey for just another view of Tokyo but my mom wanted to see it. We reserved tickets a day prior and it proved smart because tickets were all sold out on the day. We got there shortly before 11am and spend roughly an hour on top and it’s 100% worth the entry fee in my opinion. The best view in Tokyo by far and we didn’t even have a clear, sunny day. Sky Tree might be higher but its location is just not it. This right here is worth every penny. Check the weather forecast and go if it doesn’t rain. Just be prepared to wait for certain spots where people take their instagramable shots but to be honest – there is so much space for great shots with 0 people, you will take enough pics!
**Sky Tree**
Speaking of aforementioned Sky Tree, my god was this a hassle. I’ve never seen a line for tickets at this place but when we got there on one evening, we waited 45 minutes to buy tickets. I’ve been there before and would not have gone up again if not for my mother. The view is good but as I said before, there are better views (not just from Shibuya Sky – the Metropolitan Building in Shinjuku has been mentioned on here a million times, is free and in a beter location too) and this thing is EXPENSIVE as all hell. If you are really hellbent on going there once, do it. Personally, I won’t be back because I have been there 3 times now. One nice thing about it though is that you can walk back from Sky Tree to Sensoji and then stroll along Sumidagawa if you like. Or do it the other way around. The Sky Tree looks great from afar, just like Tokyo Tower.
**Cafe Reissue**
Not sure how famous this is but it’s one of those latte art cafes. We went there before heading to Shibuya Sky because I read that there will be wait times. The staff wrote my name down and put us in for 12pm. I don’t drink coffee so I had a hot chocolate with 2D art of my favourite anime character while mom got a honey latte with a 3D Pikachu. It was honetly not too bad. I had worse hot chocolate in Japan and my mother liked her latte. The art was amazing and that’s what you pay for anyway. I’d say it’s worth going but it’s not a must.
**-Kyoto-**
So, I have a love-hate relationship with this city. On my first visits to Japan, I kind of disliked it. Too many people, too narrow, some attractions are too far away from each other and taking buses is such a monumental hassle that Kyoto ranked at the bottom of my list as far as cities in Japan go for a long time. That changed when I went there last year before the borders opened. Being able to visit all the sights without battling crowds of selfie sticks and (now) TikTokers dancing about was amazing so I was kind of afraid of going there during spring. And my fear was warranted!
It was insanely crowded, even at places that I thought were at least a _bit_ off the typical visitor’s itinerary (seriously, Heian shrine and Ginkakuji used to be fairly empty even in 2017 but the latter had a LINE for admission!). You definitely need to time stuff right in Kyoto. Fushimi Inari at around sunset was good, as was Higashiyama area. Although even then, the latter was crazy crowded and forget taking a nice picture of Kiyomizudera – three rows of people would stand around to take pictures of “that” part. The garden right next to the bamboo forest was also pretty full and that one usually barely had people in it either!
That being said, Kyoto was still pretty great overall. The weather was amazing, we just took it easy and despite crowds, my mom loved it. The Nara sidetrip was incredible too and my mom bought her goshuincho there.
**Maccha House**
Uh, yeah, another Instagram thing my mom really wanted to do and let’s just say it wasn’t my thing whatsoever. I am not a huge fan of Macha in the first place and this place just seemed like the typical “Oh look at this wonderful macha tiramisu on Instagram, it must be good” thing. My mom still liked it but yeah, not my thing. Enjoyed the Lindt store’s overpriced chocolate drinks more lmao.
**-Himeji-**
My god, Himeji. This was a day trip from Kyoto for us and one of my favourite days. I’ve been to Himeji in 2019 but the castle was under construction back then so I was looking forward to this the most and good lord was [it absolutely gorgeous with the sakura.](https://i.imgur.com/LmFcGww.jpeg). Seriously, if you go to Japan at any point and go this far down, stop by Himeji. We were really lucky that the Sakura were still there, the entire park in front of it was full of them and made for amazing pictures. The only thing that sucked was the inside. Mainly because there were so many people, we had to line up for stairs _inside_ the castle itself. Other than that, beautiful and a must see in my book. Petals falling off through the wind made this look like some anime or movie.
**-Hiroshima + Miyajima-**
Alas, our luck with the weather ran out when we hit Hiroshima. It was raining on both days but it added a bit to the atmosphere to be honest. I’ve visited the city before but the rain made the peace park and museum even more somber than usual. My mom was rather speechless the entire time and this was the rare time she refrained from taking a lot of pictures. Unfortunately, the sakura were pretty much dead in Hiroshoma when we got there.
If you go to Hiroshima, please eat okonomiyaki. I find Hiroshima style to be far more than Osaka style. I was afraid my mom would not like it because she has questionable taste (seriously, she didn’t like gyudon!) but she actually wanted seconds lol.
Miyajima was another place I wanted to see myself because even though I had been to Japan four times and I travelled all across the country, Miyajima eluded me because the last time I was in Hiroshima, I caught a stomach bug. This time, however, nothing stopped me/us from going and this was the second best place we went to in my opinion. Even though it was rainy and windy that day, it was beautiful. Perhaps the weather was a blessing even since there weren’t that many people on the island and taking pics of the torii was easy. We even got blessed by seeing it standing in the water and after we walked around the island, hours later the water retreated and we were able to walk around in front of it too! The climate and the flora in Hiroshima prefecture is just kind of unique and it really shows on Miyajima. Definitely want to go back to hike some of the routes up to the mountain when it’s not raining. Shoutout to the guy manning the IC gates for the ferry who recognised my Gintoki IC sticker.
**Other observations and nitpicks**
– This trip made me realise that I will not get a JR Pass on future visits unless it saves me more than a hundred bucks. Having been in Japan for so long, I was used to travel on Nozomi trains and my god, I hate to be _that_ guy…tourists really do whatever the fuck they want on Shinkansen. Several times I saw them put their suitcases behind the last row of seats before they fucked off to their seats somewhere else completely. Despite the sings and announcements stating that those spaces are for people who booked the seats right in front of them, people just threw their shit there. The JR Pass is great in general but if I can avoid having to go on these overcrowded non-Nozomi trains, I will do it. Nevermind the fact that you can’t directly travel from some places to others because of that restriction on the pass.
– People – no matter whether Japanese or foreign – are terrible at navigating sidewalks. This isn’t something I noticed just now, but it’s even more apparent when you are in crowded areas during sakura season. People just randomly stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, changing sides, groups blocking paths completely. Again, not a spring season specific thing but definitely more obvious because of the masses.
– Repeated advice #22323: learn some Japanese. If your trip is planned for next year, try to be able to read Hiragana and Katakana. It will make travels easier, it will make it easier to read some very basic menus and so forth. Plus, people will be happy you make their lives easier by speaking some Japanese at least. Of course, this is entirely unneeded and you can make it through your travels without it but I saw a few situations where even just knowing numbers would have helped the poor foreigner talking to staff get his point across.
– Overall, Sakura season is beautiful here but I am not sure I’d advise a first timer to go to Japan during Sakura season. Unless you know you won’t get to Japan any time soon or ever again, pick a different time, explore the country then, get used to how things work and then return another year for Sakura so you do not have to stress yourself out amongst the crowds of people everywhere.
12 comments
Thanks for the post – what is it like travelling on the Nozomi trains in comparison to the non-Nozomi?
I won’t be getting the JR pass when I visit later in the year so I’ve been excited about the idea of using the Nozomi and hadn’t really thought about there being less tourists on them but if that’s the case then I’m even more excited about them!
In regards to trains, my partner and I will have a small suitcase each which would probably fit under our feet. Is this acceptable?
The last point about travelling to Japan in Sakura Season not being ideal for first timers totally makes sense. I feel it’ll be too overwhelming and can make people think Japan is always chaotic. It will be my 6th Japan trip in a few days but 1st time during Sakura season. Already mentally preparing myself 😂
Kyoto is always crazy busy though. I’ll only go back there if I have a companion who hasn’t been to Japan. Something about Kyoto makes me feel like I’m ticking off a list rather than experiencing the place.
The “problem” with Kyoto is that everybody goes to the same temples/shrines at the same time of the year, or trust articles about “off the beaten path” temples that are not off the beaten path at all (even if they were, the moment they get written down in a semi-famous publication…).
Imagine contemplating the metaphysical on the Philosophers Path these days…
Get up early (if you have a North America body clock this should be extremely easy with the jetlag, if you are flying in from Europe my sympathies) for the 24/7 locations or the 6:30 temple openings, and/or go to the temples in Wakayama, Hyogo, and Shiga prefectures that are within day trip distance – for most of us the architecture style and historical appearance is “close enough”, and it can be a dramatically more pleasant experience.
Totally agree with the don’t make sakura season your first trip statement. I’m glad Sakura season was my third trip to Japan. I was much more comfortable traveling with public transport and finding workarounds. Eating at izakayas and places without an english menu was a lifesaver this trip as all the normal restaurants had hour long waits.
Haha! It was our first time and we just got back from our cherry blossom season Japan trip and by the end of it, my husband and I were like “is Japan ALWAYS that busy?!” And then I would see TikToks of people in Japan during non-cherry blossom season and the same packed places we went to, looked so much less crowded. We agreed that although we loved the beauty of everything, we’ll aim for an Autumn trip next time instead 😂
We just got back from an 18 day trip and your comment about people just STOPPING in the middle of paths, etc really resonated! Husband and I have always been a “if you need to stop, navigate to the side of everything and get out of the way” couple. We even announce to each other “pulling over!”, lol.
The sheer number of people who would simple stop in the middle of crowds was astounding. Multiple times I narrowly avoided ramming people from behind when they made sudden stops in super crowded areas.
We also found the “I’m going to stand in the middle of all these people while my friend takes my picture and expect everyone to avoid this area while I do so” mentality super annoying. Like… it’s Senso-ji Temple and there are wall-to-wall crowds but YOU want everyone to avoid your 6 foot radius so you can get the perfect picture of you standing in front of the gate? AUGH!!!! It’s super rude and (as my husband put it) “main-character syndrome.” Like, you are not the only people in the world! Have some respect for everyone else.
I’m always amazed at how averse so many people are to learning some Japanese before going to Japan. Most people I have talked to just openly admit that beyond arigatou/konichiwa/sayounara they know zero Japanese despite having planned multiple week visits to Japan.
Meanwhile, a reasonably interested person can learn both hiragana + katakana in about a week if they spend ~1 hour a day.
How was traveling with your luggage?
Man, I wholly agree with learning at least a smidge of Japanese. Katakana in particular – 99% of the words you see in katakana are loanwords, so if you can read that it literally says “coin locker” on that sign, you’re already farther along than half the tourists. I have a hard time conversing but I can read signs, hear important words in announcements (I can’t emphasize enough how much better life is when you can hear whether the train doors are opening on the left or right without having to wait for the translation which almost comes too late), and order food or ask very simple questions, and just being able to manage that while also apologizing profusely and assuring everyone that all was daijobu, made us everyone’s favorite foreigners in all sorts of random places. Sure, the phone app that lets you use the camera to instantly translate signs is great, but there was just something reassuring about being able to grasp the gist of what was going on without having to hit the internet in the middle of a crowded train station or hotel lobby.
I can still hear the “doa ni shimari masu” from the elevator in my dreams sometimes.
A simple google translate app does wonders when trying to communicate. I’ve had no issue throughout my travels and not only in the city areas.
I’m taking my mom next month to Kyoto and Tokyo and I’m worried about getting around Kyoto specifically. You mentioned you took it easy in Kyoto… how did you get around? I’m leaning toward taxis at this point because we only have a day there unfortunately and we also need to take it easy because we have some more intense days planned later on. I’m just wondering if that’s realistic or if buses are not as complicated/time consuming as it seems.