Hi, I will be going on my first trip to Japan from early May to mid-June (\~1.5 months). I arrive at the Narita International Airport. I will have one suitcase and a backpack with me. At the airport, I plan to buy a SUICA card (or, would a PASMO card be a better option for me?), a SIM card with data, and a coin purse. Is there anything else I need to buy here?
My goal is to experience the culture, have a variety of food, and try out fun activities. Here is a rough itinerary of my trip:
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**Part 1: Tokyo**
Day 1-2: Arrive at Narita International Airport and take the Narita Express train (or should I take a cab?) to Tokyo. Check into the hotel (any suggestions?) and explore the nearby area.
Day 3-4: Visit popular tourist spots in Tokyo such as the Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo Tower, and Meiji Shrine. Explore Harajuku for shopping and street food. Visit the Tsukiji Fish Market for seafood.
Day 5-6: Visit the Suga Shrine, a shrine featured in the anime Your Name. Then, head to Yotsuya Station and climb the Yotsuya Staircase, which also appears in Your Name. Afterwards, visit Akihabara Radio Kaikan, which is featured in the anime Steins Gate. Visit the rest of Akihabara and the Sony Building. Try traditional Japanese foods such as sushi, ramen, tempura, yakitori, and izakaya.
Day 7: Visit the Disneyland theme park.
Day 8: Visit the Studio Ghibli Museum.
Day 9-10: Take a day trip to nearby attractions like Mount Fuji, Hakone, or Nikko. Visit an onsen at Hakone or Nikko.
***Check out a university or school. Maybe, go to one of the classes (if possible). I could probably do this in my last week.***
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**Part 2: Kyoto and Osaka**
Day 11-13: Take the Shinkansen train to Kyoto. Visit the Kinkakuji Temple, Fushimi Inari Shrine, and Gion district.
Day 14-15: Take a side trip to Nara. Visit cultural sites such as the Todaiji Temple and the Nara Deer Park.
Day 16-18: Take the local train to Osaka and visit the famous Osaka Castle, Dotonbori, and Kuromon Market. Try out Osaka’s street food such as takoyaki and okonomiyaki.
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**Part 3: Hiroshima and Miyajima**
Day 19-20: Take a day trip to Himeji Castle and the nearby city of Kobe.
Day 21-23: Take the local train to Hiroshima and visit the Peace Memorial Park and Museum, as well as the nearby Miyajima Island to see Itsukushima Shrine and floating torii gate. Go on a boat ride at Miyajima Island.
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**Part 4: Takayama and Kanazawa**
Day 24-25: Take the train to Takayama. Visit the Takayama Jinya government house and the Hida Folk Village.
Day 26-27: Take the train to Kanazawa. Visit the Kenrokuen Garden and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art.
Day 28-29: Take the train to the nearby town of Shirakawa-go to see the traditional gassho-zukuri houses and experience rural Japan.
Day 30: Return to Tokyo and relax.
\**Someone told me it’s not Hokkaido season, so I am unsure if I should visit Hokkaido and Sapporo. I don’t think I have much time anyway, lol\**
This is all I have at the moment. I have roughly 2 weeks left. Keep in mind, I want to take things slow. So, if you think I should allocate more days to certain events, feel free to let me know. I think I will spend my last few days in Tokyo. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!
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**A few questions:**
1. I am open to going somewhere else instead of the places mentioned in Parts 3 and 4. Are there better places I could go to? I also have one more week to spare.
2. How much do I load up on my SUICA card? Is 20k Yen the max? Also, I heard that when you leave Japan and have a balance on your SUICA card, you can return the card to a JR station and receive a refund of the remaining balance, minus a small processing fee. Is that true?
3. Adding onto the question above, do I need to load up the card in cash or could I directly transfer from my VISA card? Can I do this at the airport?
4. Should I get a SIM card with data for the internet or should I get pocket wifi devices? Which would be better? Would I be able to get an e-SIM? If so, which one should I get? And, does it matter which provider? Do I really need a Japanese phone number?
5. Any nice onsen suggestions/tips? I have never been to one, but I would love to experience it.
6. I do not want to switch hotels/Airbnb too much. I also prefer not to stay in capsule hotels. What is the least amount of switch that is necessary while still making sure I am comfortable? For instance, can I say in one hotel from Day 1 to Day 8? What about the other days? Any suggestions on where to stay?
7. Should I get the rail pass or any other regional passes? I know the rail pass is kind of expensive, and I feel like it’s not worth it for my trip, but please let me know.
8. Would my Macbook/iPhone 14 charger work on the sockets in Japan?
9. Is there anything else I need to bring before heading to Japan? I am planning to bring some cash and a portable charger, but that’s about it. Maybe a plastic bag as well because I heard it’s hard to find garbage bins in Japan lol.
Thank you so much in advance! 🙂
6 comments
Hi!
This is not meant to be rude.
If you don’t have tickets to the Ghibli Museum for your date in May you’re not going. The tickets for admission for May have been sold out for awhile. I guess if you want to move things around you would have the potential to still go in June, but you would need to work to get your tickets more than likely while in Japan.
Since you don’t have your specific dates listed, you would need to pay me to go to Tokyo Disney during Golden Week.
I don’t think you can just go to a university and go to a class.
I don’t know where you are starting from but a local train from either Osaka, Kobe or Himeji to Hiroshima is going to take a long time and involve multiple transfers.
You don’t have your dates, but again, you would need to pay me a lot of money to go near Hiroshima close to the G7 conference. I would give it several days leeway on either side.
There is no train to Shirakawa Go. There is only a bus. If you want to go it makes sense to go in between Takayama to Kanazawa as it is about 1/2 way between them and on the bus route that connects them.
To answer your questions:
1 It depends on your interests and what you want to do. You can experience culture, try out interesting food and find fun activities most places in Japan.
2 A Suica card can only be returned to a JR East Station. (and a Pasmo can only be returned at Tokyo Metro station.) A Suica is just a JR East branded IC card. I tend to put 1000 yen at a time on my Suica and just reload it as needed. It’s not like once you put money on it, it can never be reloaded.
3 Yes you need to use cash to reload an IC card. (I think there is a way to use credit card if you get a mobile Suica via ApplePay but as I don’t have an iPhone I just use a physical card.) You can reload the IC card at most stations. I put money on my Suica at Tokyo Metro Stations as well as in Osaka.
4 Sorry can’t help you there, I just use roaming on my cell phone because it is easier and tends to be cheaper.
5 Do you have any tattoos? That will limit your onsen options.
6 For places to stay, stay in one place for Tokyo, one place in Kansai, one place in Hiroshima, one place in Takayama, one place in Kanazawa, and then back to Tokyo. There are also services for forwarding luggage.
7 You would need to calculate out your ticket prices. If you are going from Osaka to Hiroshima and you don’t have Nationwide Pass the cost of the 5 day Kansai Hiroshima Pass is the break even point for a roundtrip from Osaka to Hiroshima. [https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/kansai_hiroshima/](https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/kansai_hiroshima/)
If your goal is to save money, you can look into taking various highway buses though they sometimes take significantly longer than the train.
8 I can’t speak for iPhones but my Google phone charges fine in Japan as does our iPad and both our Apple laptops. We are from the US and do not need a converter.
9 It can be hard to find bins it depends on where you are looking and when. During the G7 most public bins are likely to be closed as are locker banks. Like many places in the US, Japan does tend to charge for plastic bags. I bring my ATM and credit cards because I only like to carry so much cash and I make sure my cards have a travel alert on them. When it is not the G7, I tend to throw things away (or recycle them) on trains or in train stations. There are often bins and recycling on train platforms.
About the sim card, check the ones from Japan rail.
Price is OK, coverage perfect, and unlimited data (to be on the safe side, I imagine you’re not there to enjoy Netflix).
Every phone can now create its own Wi-Fi, so sim is enough.
Loved Miyajima. Leave a full day for it if you can separate it from Hiroshima.
You pay a 500yen deposit for an IC card. Can load any amount on it with bills up to 100,000yen. You’ll get any remaining yen and that deposit back when you exchange it with a station attendant at the end of your trip.
Shirakawa I believe is only accessible by highway bus.
This is a super similar itinerary to mine that I did in 3 weeks. I think the extra time will help to dig in deeper and not feel rushed, seems like a good plan.
Where are you staying? Seems like Tokyo, Kyoto, then?
Re Hokkaido, I would argue that June is one of the best times to go. In May there might still be some snow/mud from the snow melt but Hokkaido is a very popular place with domestic tourists to get away from the heat and humidity!
1. I’ve been to all these places and loved them. I think I spent two nights in each and did Miyajima as a day trip which is totally doable. If you’re looking for more places then Okayama and Naoshima island were also big favourites of mine. Cycling across the Kibi Plains solo was an incredible experience.
2. You don’t need a lot and it’s super easy to top up at any train station/conbini. I kept about 5,000¥ on at any one time. More if you find you use it for vending machines/lockers etc. Yes I believe you can get the money back.
3. If you get the app then I think it only works with Mastercard atm. Otherwise, it has to be cash. Seriously, it’s so easy.
7. You can use a JR calculator online to work it out. Have you thought of flying or using night buses though? It’s much cheaper and the night buses mean you don’t have to pay for a nights accommodation.
See you there. Going solo too.
Pasmo and Suica are practically the same.
Do not take a cab from the airport, it will be expensive. Also, the Narita express may not be the best depending on where your hotel is.
Suga shrine is not in your Name, it’s known because the staircases are in front of it, that make the order you lister strange.
JRp pass the only way to know is to calculate cost of all long distance train, use google maps of Japan travel by navitime to compare with the cost of the pass.
You can do Kobe for one day, but I would do Himeji as a stop on the way to Hiroshima.
You cannot go in a university and attend a random class.
Nara only need one day for Nara park area, you need more than that to fill two. Also take the Shinkansen to Hiroshima.
Going to Takayama will be long from Hiroshima.
There is no train to Shirakawago go, you go by bus and it can be done between Takayama and Kanazawa. It is also not that long to visit, half a day is more than enough.
Yes you can get a refund of the remaining balance on your card. It is easy to charge so no reason to over charge it. 20 000 might be a bit much on local train, but if you pay everything you can with it, it can go fast.
You usually charge IC cards with cash at train stations. I will try today but I ask at a convenience store and they told me I can charge my IC card with a credit card.
If you can esim, that seems to be the best option to me. Ubigi seems to be a popular choice here. No need for a phone number unless you want to create an account to buy concert tickets or use some app apparently like taxi apps.
Yes you can stay in a hotel as long as you want. From day 1 yo 10 if you do day trips and not overnight trips.
Your chargers should be ok, but you did not say from where you are. Japan use two prongs like in US/Canada.
Yeah, garbage can are hard to find, but plastic bags are easy to find. Also is there that much trash that you are constantly producing for it to be a problem? I would bring a small towel as not all public bathrooms have a way to dry your hands, that make more sense than bringing a plastic bag from home.