18 day April japan adventure – report and tips from first-timers

We are Just back from our first time in Japan which we absolutely loved. Think we are a bit older than the average Reddit poster (a couple, man and woman, in our 60s) and from the UK but here goes:

April 7 Touchdown Haneda, all smooth there and 3 days in Tokyo. Hotel Niwa (excellent – close to Tokyo Dome)

A night at a seaside ryokan at Tomonoura near Fukuyama. Outdoor public onsen with a view of the Seto Sea!

A day at the wonderful Shinsho-ji Zen temple nearby where we booked a meditation class. Exquisite site, no more than 12 visitors there.

Three days on a self guided bike tour on the Shimanami Kaido – starting in Onimichi, staying in small island ryokans where we ate what fish had been caught that day, cycling over the longest run of suspension bridges in the world among the orange and lemon groves. Booked through a local company, ending in Imabari. Brilliant experience if you like cycling.

Two days on the “art island” of Naoshima – where we stayed in a museum (Bennesse House) and wandered among the many installations and galleries. Again fantastic if you like art.

Five days in Kyoto. Did the main sights, booked a cooking class in a local’s home where we learned to make sushi and miso, did a food tour of Nishiki market and went to the baseball (Hanshin Tigers – the most passionate fans in Japan)

A night in Hiroshima. Sobering, but loved the city which is very lively despite it’s sad history. Loved the okonomiyaki counter restaurants.

A night on Miyajima and a hike to the top of the mountain

A night in Atami en route to Hakone

Final three days in Hakone.

It was a great combination of city and countryside that worked for us, and felt about the right pace. Good to have a longer stop somewhere and to have time to bump into things. Very much hope we can go back to explore more. There is so much.

​

Tips:

Which rail pass? We had a 14 day pass not booked through the official Japan Rail pass site. This made it cheaper, but you can only reserve seats in person at ticket offices and not online. On a couple of occasions we had to wait a long time at offices to make our reservations and I would probably pay the extra not to have the hassle if I bought one again. The lines were very long in Kyoto. If you are well organised and want to book all your seats in one go it may not be an issue.

Meal times in ryokans. We stayed in 5 in all and loved the kaisecki ryori – the multi course meals often served privately. However they are rarely offered beyond 1900 and sometimes earlier. So once you have eaten there is spare time! If you are happy on your futon after that fine but one of our ryokans was isolated and there wasn’t really anywhere to go once you had eaten. So I would check the location of ryokans if booking again.

Tokyo. We booked a ticket for the night time Shinjuku park blossom festival. You arrive, get given a personal lantern and then wander with thousands of others among the lit up trees. That’s it but it was rather lovely and I would recommend it for blossom time visitors.

Kyoto. We took the advice and went to Fushmi Inari early. We were there for 0730 and did the whole climb and apart from right at the bottom it was really pretty quiet. Huge crowds were arriving by coach when we got back down at 0945. Think we could have gone at 8 and it would have been fine, but not much later, although I suspect once you get there the crowds always thin out on the second half of the climb. It’s a wonderful experience.

Kyoto – we visited the bamboo grove in the middle of the day and there were plenty of people there but it was tolerable. If you want some peace and quiet afterwards I really recommend Okochi Sanso villa which is next door. 1000 yen to get in, but beautiful gardens and you get a Japanese tea as part of the deal.

Kyoto – Booked a few months in advance a Miyaki Odori geisha dance and music performance at a local theatre. Just over an hour long and recommended.

Miyajima. So worth staying the night to see the “floating” gate once the crowds have gone. The island had a magical atmosphere at night.

Hakone. Wasn’t our favourite destination because it felt very touristy but the cable car ride over the smoking geysers with views of Fuji (if lucky with the weather) tells you the good reason why it is touristy. We booked two nights, but with my time again would do just one which gives you the time to do the transport loop. Hakone Free Pass is good value.

Booking restaurants. We worried about this in advance because it is rare to be able to book online in Japan but really unless there is a very specific restaurant you want to get to it’s not a problem. There are so many options, at lunchtime you can always go on a list and get in fairly quickly and we just never had a bad meal anywhere. The food is just amazing.

Taxis We used a few to complete journeys and thought they were good value. Needed sign instructions a couple of times but the drivers are scrupulous about sticking to the right fare.

Finally I just want to say two other factors helped as we piloted ourselves round. In Japan everything works so well, trains, luggage transfer, ferries, vending machines (although a mystery that such an advanced society is still so cash-focussed) and the Japanese people are so sweet, kind and helpful. I hope that gives you confidence if planning a first time trip like ours.