Hello ! I’m usually a lurker, but as a student already in Japan I will be going to Tokyo in end of June for about 2 weeks, and I would love some recommandations on what can I improve or where would you guys recommend me to go.
First a quick introduction so I might get more specific recommandations. I live in Osaka, and I’m going to Tokyo for about 10 days. I can speak and read japanese (around N2-N3) so I don’t mind places that tourists wouldn’t go to usually .(actually I would like that) I’m going to be alone for a part of the trip, but I might get joined by friend throughout the process. I like food, space, nature/hiking and photography and more generally walking around in cool/pretty places, but I’m also a weeb. I also wouldn’t mind hitting an Izakaya or two during the trip.
I’m open for any kind of recommendations really, even if it’s not one of the things I mentioned. I just really like discovering new things.
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\- I will be arriving in Narita from Osaka around the 23rd. I know Haneda is closer, but the plane tickets were 10 000 yens cheaper and I wanted to see the aerospace museum which is not far from the airport, so I might end up hanging around Narita if I have time.) After that I’ll take the train to Tokyo.
\- I’ve never been to Tokyo, so I’m probably going to spend a lot of time exploring the popular first time tourist spots, like Shibuya, Akihabara, Ueno, Shinjuku, Asakusa, etc.
But the thing I love the most during trips is getting lost and exploring things “out of the loop”, so if you have any places in Tokyo that are a little lost with not many tourists then I would also like that.
\- After spending a few days in Tokyo, I planned to go to Enoshima and hang there for a few hours, then to Hakone and I might sleep there if there is enough things to do.
\- After Hakone I wanted to go to Fuji Q and climb mount Fuji, I would have to align my trip to when the climbing tours start in the beginning of July though.
This is where things are starting to get fuzzy and I need recommandations. I would like to go to a village with a pretty view Fuji-san and spend a night or two there. There’s also the lakes around it that are really pretty, so I would also like this if any of you went to one of these. Also if there’s onsen and good food that would be a huge plus.
That’s coming from nowhere, but I would also like to try and go camping near the lakes and sleep there, as I’ve heard it’s something that people do. I don’t have any camping gear so I might have to look around into that more.
I also think that right now it is the fireflies season in Japan, so if you know some cool places where I can see them/ take pictures of them that would be cool.
Thank you very much for your time !
13 comments
Let’s start from the last few points: Lake Motosu area has very nice campgrounds with very nice views of Mt. Fuji, so staying there could kill two birds with one stone. Not that wild camping in Japan is definitely illegal, whatever blogs may tell you – and this is increasingly enforced.
Now, for the onsen part: if 10,000 yen difference between a flight to Narita (note: Narita-san is also worth visiting) and shinkansen/flight to Haneda makes a difference than I doubt that onsen resorts in Hakone and Fuji Five Lakes would be within your price range (unless you are saving to make such a splurge – then by all means go for a night in one of Kawaguchiko’s ryokans/resorts).
Also official climbing season starts on 1 July and in this timeframe, you would be limited to Fujiyoshida trail.
Not that many festivals end of June but I found a food market in Ueno on the 26th with free admission. Good spot to practice using Japanese.
https://japan-attractions.jp/hands-on_activities/gotochi-ueno/
Also I really recommend getting lost in the back alleys of Harajuku, and going into some unique stores to look around. You can find some cool second hand shops, with really good quality stuff and not everything super expensive.
If I were you I would hit up all the super touristy places now (the good ones anyway) and leave the less touristy places for a future trip. Sure there are local tourists, but shit is gonna get real once Japan opens the borders properly to tourists!
I would skip Enoshima and instead recommend Kamakura, or you could take a surfing lesson in Shonan. Karuizawa and Nikko also aren’t that far.
I think that one of the most limiting factor will be time as there is lot of possible things to see in Tokyo.
For hiking options, Mount Takao, Mount Mitake and Mount Oyama are the first options that come to mind.
For weeb place, as you live in Osaka and have access to Denden town, then I’m not sure how much you really need to go to the places that have lot of anime/manga stores, like Akihabara, Ikebukuro and Nakano, maybe check one, but not them all. You could always check for Ghibli museum or Suginami Animation Museum. If you are into Gundam, then there is giant gundam in Odaiba and Yokohama. Or maybe you can go check real life location of some anime, like the staircase of Your Name, go camp around Kawaguchiko like in Yuru Camp, or check out Evangelion store in Hakone.
Ther is izakaya in a lot of place, does not have to be one of the few popular with tourist yokocho, but here are some fairly well known, omoide yokocho, golden gai, nonbei yokocho, Ebisu yokocho, Hoppy dori, under the train track in Yurakucho…
To the popular spot in Tokyo you can add Odaiba, Harajuku, Ikebukuro and Marunouchi (Tokyo station area). For other options, Yanesen (Yanaka-Nezu-Sendagi), Sugamo, Tokyo Dome City, I mean, there is much more than that. You can of course add day trips like Nikko (arguably this is easily 2 days), Kawagoe, Chichibu/Nagatoro.
I would try to check Kamakura on the day you go to Enoshima.
Hakone there is plenty to do to fill a full day, even two. If you want to try a onsen and not break the bank, then you can check to go to a hostel with a onsen, like Onsen Guest House Tsutaya, or pick a cheaper hostel and go to either a big onsen like Yunessun or check for day use of the onsen of a ryokan/hotel. If you want to do a ryokan with kaiseki meal included, either in Hakone or Kawaguchiko, you should be ready to pay at least 12 000 yen for the night.
As you want to go to Fuji Q, then Kawaguchiko would work well for a village with a lake and a nice view on Mount Fuji and camping nearby should be possible too.
People here pointed out most that I wanna say. So I can only recommend one. I always recommend this to any traveller, disney sea. Dubbed as the best theme park in the world. You might prefer to see nature. But I am just gonna recommend it anyway. I went there twice and still blown away how scenic it looks
Not sure how much you’re into history stuffs but I would like to recommend visiting Edo-Tokyo Museum before everything else. The museum tells the story behind Tokyo as we know it today and it really changes how I appreciate the city.
For other areas near Tokyo, you’d still be in the Hydrangea season in Kamakura! If you love flower, japanese garden, and temple, this is a must.
Kamakura and Nikko are standard recommendations and for good reason.
Don’t go to Tokyo without having a drink in a high rise bar and soaking in the skyline. It’ll be pricey, but not that much worse than a ticket to SkyTree and you get a chair, can stay as long as you want, and have drinks lol Prince Park Tower’s a good one. Andaz Toranomon Hills is a little swankier but also much higher.
I bet you’re going to Akiba, so try soba at Kanda Matsuya right across the bridge from there. Traditional dessert one street back at Takemura, the oshiruko and agemanju are especially good. Get ramen at Kagari. Do you like coffee?
The Kamakura area has some beautiful temples, I highly recommend them. Also there is a cool little cat temple in Tokyo which you can take the cat themed train to.
I did my fuji hike a few years ago. I didn’t stay overnight at an onsen but still went to a day onsen after my hike and it was amazing. So if you can’t do overnight, consider a few hours. I did the bullet climb if that’s your thing. It’s much easier than the daytime in the heat.
Ueno was a delightful surprise: then again in winter everything was delightfully vacant.
If possible, I’d recommend spending 1 night in either Kamakura or Enoshima. That way you can spend one day each exploring both areas. Especially in June when the hydrangeas will be blooming you may want more than just a few hours. I’ve used the below day trip itineraries as a guide on past visits and they’re spot on. Since it’s the rainy season you might as well embrace it and enjoy the best rainy season flowers. I’d do Kamakura first, stay the night here as there’s more restaurants, then Enoshima on your way to Hakone.
– [5 Best Hydrangea Temples in Kamakura](https://jw-webmagazine.com/3-best-temples-in-kamakura-for-hydrangea-viewing-8c2855f3fcf8/)
– [Kamakura Day Trip Itinerary](https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-kanagawa/in-kamakura/article-a0003564/)
– [Enoshima Day Trip Itinerary](https://trulytokyo.com/enoshima-island-day-trip-itinerary/)
If you do this, you could make great use of the 3-day Hakone Kamakura Pass. Day 1 would be travel from Shinjuku to Kamakura and explore Kanakura. Day 2 would be explore Enoshima to Hakone. And Day 3 would be explore Hakone.
– [Hakone Kamakura Pass](https://www.odakyu.jp/english/passes/hakone_kamakura/)
Hakone definitely deserves one night and at least one full day. Since it’s the rainy season you may not get to see Mt. Fuji as it depends so much on the weather. However, your best bet is to see Mt. Fuji early in the morning or in the evening at around sunset on a clear day. In late June though there will be more rainy than clear days so if your primary purpose for going to Hakone/Kawaguchiko is to see Fuji keep in mind you may be let down. This is why I’d suggest spending a night and enjoying Enoshima/Kamakura as even in the rain you won’t be let down there.
However, there’s lots to do in Hakone and I’d still recommend spending a night there. If you like roller coasters then plan to visit Fuji Q Highland Park. We’ve stayed at the [Hotel MyStays FujiQ](https://goo.gl/maps/c3nSsFToiMvfooDz8) and it’s right across from the park. There is a large public bath on the top floor but it’s not a ryokan experience.
If you want a ryokan experience, stay one night in Hakone. Most places are spendy there but we stayed at [Ajisai Onsen Ryokan](https://goo.gl/maps/n7VCaVVmYqgjiYuP8) once before and it was quite reasonable. The onsen there is by reservation with no additional fee. When you check in you choose which hour to reserve for that evening and can reserve an hour the next morning too. Down side is that the location is a far walk from the station so grab a taxi at the station if you don’t want to walk. It’s about a 15 minute walk to [Gora Brewery and Grill](https://goo.gl/maps/HZH6gRTFJbfvrYSy7) which I highly recommend but you should make reservations as it’s quite popular – especially on weekends. It’s also just a 15 minute walk to the [Gyoza Center](https://goo.gl/maps/ta154xNs6JMfFtXj6) which I’d also highly recommend.
The other benefit of staying in Hakone vs Kawaguchiko is that there’s a lot more to see/do easily via public transit that’d still be fun in the rain. From seeing the hydrangeas going up the mountain on the train to Hakone, to eating black onsen eggs at the volcano, to soaking in and onsen. In the rain, I’d rather be in Hakone. The Hakone Navi website has lots of helpful info.
– [Hakone Hydrangea Train](https://www.hakonenavi.jp/international/en/spot/427)
– [Hakone Navi Website](https://www.hakonenavi.jp/international/en/)
For your days in Tokyo, the #1 piece of advice is to lump your sightseeing together by district/neighborhood. Otherwise you waste time and money cross crossing the city on public transit. There’s also no need to recreate the wheel as you can also follow recommended itineraries which are set up in a way to go in logical order based on opening times and distance.
– [Tokyo Districts](https://trulytokyo.com/tokyo-districts/)
– [Tokyo Itineraries](https://trulytokyo.com/tokyo-itineraries/)
– [12 Unique Tokyo Neighborhoods and Districts](https://livejapan.com/en/article-a0002322/)
– [TimeOut Tokyo: Neighborhood Guides](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/neighborhoods)
And be flexible with your plans based on the updated weather forecast once you get to Tokyo. For example, there’s little point going up into a sightseeing tower on a rainy/cloudy day. So try to save that experience for a clear day. I love visiting the [Mori Art Museum](https://www.mori.art.museum/en/) at night as you get to see awesome modern art *and* have a view of Tokyo at night from their gallery windows – but it’s closed for an exhibit change until June 28th and won’t reopen til June 29th. The [Tokyo City View Observatory](https://tcv.roppongihills.com/en/index.html) is open though and is my second favorite view of Tokyo at night.
Save museums and indoor places for those really rainy days. For example, visit the TeamLab Borderless or Planets museum on Odaiba on a rainy day. Odaiba has lots of great indoor shopping malls with restaurants too. Many of these places, including Borderless, will close later this summer as they redevelop many sites so definitely check this off your list while in Tokyo. You could easily spend all day/evening here and it’s fun to see the rainbow bridge lit up at night.
– [20 Things to Do on Odaiba](https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tokyo/in-odaiba/article-a0000132/)
– [Tokyo in June: Best Things to Do](https://jw-webmagazine.com/tokyo-in-june-best-things-to-do-62c948b87e5d/)
– [TimeOut: June 2022 Events Tokyo](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/things-to-do/june-events-in-tokyo)
– [Best Places to Hide From Rain in Tokyo](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/things-to-do/best-places-to-hide-from-the-rain-in-tokyo)
– [11 Fun Affordable Ways to Spend a Rainy Day in Tokyo](https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/rainy-day-cheapo-ideas-tokyo/)
ETA: Here’s a couple articles on fireflies I found by Googling.
– [5 Places to See Fireflies in Tokyo](http://savvytokyo.com/5-locations-see-fireflies-tokyo-summer/)
– [6 Places to See Fireflies in Tokyo](https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/outdoors/tokyo-firefly-festivals/)
Safe travels and hope you enjoy your trip in Tokyo!