TRIP REPORT: MAY 5th to MAY 19th 2023 (TOKYO, KYOTO, NARA, KUMANO KODO, OSAKA, USJ)

Hello everyone!

Recently came back from my first trip to Japan with one of my friends. Wanted to share a trip report after getting some tips from this subreddit.

Overall, I can say that Japan is such a lovely country to visit. Many interesting places and hole in the wall spots to explore. The food quality was exceptional and the Japanese people are incredibly welcoming despite the language barrier.

I felt I got to do everything I wanted with this itinerary without it feeling rushed or feeling too exhausted from day to day.

For this trip, I wanted to do a mix of the big tourist spots plus some attractions that are off the beaten path which helped keep the trip fresh.

So the overall schedule looked like this:

DAY | LOCATION
—|—
DAY 1 | ARRIVE @ HANEDA FROM TORONTO
DAY 2| TOKYO
DAY 3 | TOKYO
DAY 4 | TOKYO TO KYOTO
DAY 5 | KYOTO
DAY 6| KYOTO
DAY 7 | NARA
DAY 8 | KYOTO TO TANABE
DAY 9 | KUMANO KODO
DAY 10 | KUMANO KODO
DAY 11 | TANABE TO OSAKA
DAY 12 | OSAKA
DAY 13 | OSAKA TO TOKYO
DAY 14 | FLIGHT TO TORONTO

—
**DAY 1 (SATURDAY MAY 6TH – TOKYO):**

* Landed in **Haneda Airport from Pearson Airport** around 1540 after a 13 hour flight. Japanese Customs was quick.
* Got our JR Rail Passes and IC Cards at Haneda as well. The lineups for the JR passes are long at the airport, so pickup your passes at another JR office if you’re activating it later.
* Me and my buddy attempted to navigate the Tokyo Metro while sleep deprived. Slightly confusing at first but **Google Maps** was super clutch to know exactly what line and what platform you need to get to.
* We got to our Hostel **(Imano Tokyo Hostel/Cafe&Bar Shinjuku)** in the late afternoon. Was a private room for two. Overall it was clean and comfy. Near Metro Stations and some of the major attractions.
* Explored around the **Golden Gai in Shinjuku** after checking in. It was the tailend of Golden Week so it was PACKED. So interesting to see the different little bars and restaurants throughout the area.
* Got some **Ichiran Ramen** for dinner. The ramen wasn’t bad but definitely had better ramen later on in the trip. Did enjoy the little booths for privacy and the self-dispensing water.

—
**DAY 2 (SUNDAY MAY 7TH- TOKYO):**

* Started off easy by going to **Meiji Jingu.** It was raining that day so we got some umbrellas/ponchos from 7/11. Nice little walk and a peaceful area.
* Went to **Harajuku** next, specifically **Takeshita Street**. It was a nice area with cool thrift stores but was way too busy and the heavy rain made it unpleasant to navigate.
* Next up explored **Shibuya Crossing and the Shibuya Sky building.** Was sad that the rooftop was closed because of the rain but despite the rain, the views were worth it.
* Did some shopping at **Don Quijote** in Shibuya. Loved this place, several floors with lots of useful items and souvenirs.
* Ate dinner at **Coco’s Ichibanya**. Great curry place and affordable, no other complaints.

—
**DAY 3 (MONDAY MAY 8TH – TOKYO):**

* Started walking around **Nakamise-dori Street Nakamise-dori Street and Senso-Ji** Temple around 0900. Not too crowded around that time but quickly picked up as we left the area.
* The street food is great. Tried some Strawberry Daifuku, Melonpan, and Dango. All incredible stuff. More little souvenir shops as you walk across the shopping street.
* Had lunch at a standing sushi bar (**Uogashi Nihon-Ichi**). The sushi was good and the price wasn’t bad. Everything was quick as customer turnover was fast at the shop.
* Went to explore **Akihabara**. Went to some of the anime good stores and burned money at the different arcade machines. If you’re more into the anime stuff than myself, there are so many good souvenirs and figurines to look at and buy.
* Tried **Matsuya** for dinner. Once again, another good food place. Cheap and delicious beef bowls. Had an English tablet menu for ordering.

—
**DAY 4 (TUESDAY MAY 9TH – TOKYO -> KYOTO):**

* Took the Shinkansen from TOKYO TO KYOTO during the Rush Hour (0740). Not the smartest idea and will adjust next time. Not fun being crammed in the Yamanote Line.
* Once we got to Kyoto, we hit the ground running. Explored around **Pontocho Alley and the Kamagowa River.** Had some Soba Noodles and tempura (**Omen – Shijo Ponto-cho)** which was one of my favorite meals in Japan.
* We stayed at **The Millenials Kyoto Hostel**. Really enjoyed this place. It was a good central location and capsule pods were comfy. They had a free beer hour from 1730-1830 as well. Made it easy for me and my buddy to meet some friends in Japan!
* We hit up our first Kyoto Temple (**Kiyomizu-Dera**). 500 yen admission, great views but super crowded during the afternoon peak.
* Had our most expensive meal at **Kyoto Kaiseki Yakiniku (BBQ) HIRO Gion Yamana-an**. Reserved on Google a few days for a table. It was 20,000 yen for two people for their flagship kaiseki. My god it was such an exceptional meal. The taste, presentation and service made it such a memorable meal. A top meal in Japan easily.

—
**DAY 5 (WEDNESDAY MAY 10TH – KYOTO):**

* Woke up early to get to **Fushimi-Inari Taisha** at 7AM. Definitely worth going early because by the time it was 0930 when we left, super crowded and congested with tourists.
* Got a recommendation to visit **Heian Shrine** by someone I met at the hostel. Definitely found a diamond in the rough when you’re the only foreigners amongst older japanese people lol. Another 500 yen admission but the highlight was seeing a beautiful Japanese Garden there.
* Had a late lunch at **Nishiki Market.** Great street food but a little pricey for what you get. Worth checking out.
* Chilled for the rest of the day, we did a Lawson dinner at Kamogawa River where other people were just sitting down and relaxing.

—
**DAY 6 (THURSDAY MAY 11TH – KYOTO):**

* Once again we woke up early for 7am to beat the crowd. Explored the **Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and Monkey Park** before it got crowded. Did a detour hike up **Mt. Ogura** for some great views.
* Went to **eX cafe** for a snack/lunch. Good tea and sweets.
* Finally feeling the temple burnout. Went to **Kinkaku-ji** but was getting tired of seeing temples. Was incredibly crowded and compared to other 500 yen temple admissions, we cleared everything in literally 20 mins which wasn’t the best value for your money.
* Can definitely say Kyoto’s Transit network isn’t prepared to handle the heavy crowds/tourists. The buses around this area were always super packed and not frequent enough for the amount of people needing it. Would bike around instead if I go back to Kyoto.
* Tried some Japanese McDonalds for fun. My favorite items were the pudding pie and the Shrimp Burger.
* Went out with some people from the hostel for dinner at **Kyoto Engine Ramen**. We waited for quite a while to eat because we lined up late. They have a full English menu and all the staff spoke English. Tried their spicy miso ramen and some of the sake which were all decent. They have vegan options as well!

—
**DAY 7 (FRIDAY MAY 12TH – Nara):**

* Did a day trip to Nara from Kyoto which was about an hour by metro to Nara.
* Feeding the deer was fun. We also visited the **Nara National Museum** where they had exhibitions with various Buddhist Statues.
* Got some lunch at **Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu** for some pork katsu. Got some Mochi at the famous **Nakatanidou** and got to see the mochi pounding which was fun to watch.
* After hanging out at the hostel, I got to go out for dinner at **Yakiniku LIKE** which had cheap set meals for yakiniku.

—
**DAY 8 (SATURDAY MAY 13TH) – KYOTO ->TANABE:**

* Took the JR rail to head up to Wakayama Prefecture for a brief taste of the Kumano Kodo Hike over the next few days. Recommend the Kumano Kodo Tourism website if you want more specific details about how to navigate around. We used their site to reserve all the accommodations during our stay in this region.
* It was raining in Tanabe that day but we got to walk around **Ogigahama Beach** and the side streets. A good break from the big cities as it was super calming and quiet.
* Stayed at **Django Hostel**. Another nice and comfy hostel, they had some good craft beer at the bar!
* Ended the day with some conveyor belt sushi

—
**DAY 9 (SUNDAY MAY 14TH) – WAKAYAMA:**

* Took a bus to start a partial part of the **Kumano Kodo Hike**. I hated that you had to give exact amounts for the bus route you’re taking. Anyways there were lots of options to do a full day of hiking or take the bus to do bits of the hike as you desire. Honestly, the fantastic views and the beauty of the Wakayama mountains were sensational, especially with all the rain and fog we had that day.
* Ended our day of hiking at the **Guesthouse AGAE**. Our host had a lovely accommodation stay and had a great bento dinner and breakfast organized!

—
**DAY 10 (MONDAY MAY 15TH – WAKAYAMA):**

* Did a bit more hiking the next day but ended up bussing up to see the **Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine** and the surrounding area. We also got to see the **Hongu Oyunohara Torii Gate**, the largest Torii Gate in Japan which was a sight to witness in person.
* Hiked up to our accomodation at a ryokan at **Yunomine Onsen** called **Yoshinoya Ryokan**. They had a public indoor onsen and an open-air private onsen. I ended up trying both, which was a well-deserved rest after all the walking. The Kaiseki dinner and breakfast they served was another top meal I had in Japan, something that makes me dream of coming back to Japan.

—
**DAY 11 (TUESDAY MAY 16TH – TANABE -> OSAKA):**

* Took the JR Rail to Osaka for the last leg of the trip.
* We visited **Osaka Castle** when we first arrived then checked into our Hostel **(&And Hostel Hommachi East)**
* Did the usual run around Downtown Osaka which included **Dotonbori** and **Shinsaibashi** for some eating and window shopping. Was going to those highly rated Okonomiyaki places on Google but all had super busy lines. We ended up finding an okonomiyaki place that was empty which was also really good. Got some cheese tarts from **Pablos** and some takoyaki which were all good snacks to end the night

—
**DAY 12 (WEDNESDAY MAY 17TH – OSAKA):**

* Dedicated this day in Osaka to explore **Universal Studios Japan**. We bought our tickets and express passes ahead of time. Arrived at 9am and the park seemed to be opened earlier than what was listed on their website.
* The goal was to explore **Super Mario World** and the **Harry Potter area** but we felt we had enough time to explore a majority of the parks and try a good chunk of the rides.
* We went on a weekday but there were still long lines for rides and food. Would definitely recommend an express pass if you want to maximize your time there especially during peak hours/days.
* Really loved the presentation at this theme park. Even while waiting in line, the lines for rides like the Mario Kart Ride had very extensive room setups/decorations.

—
**DAY 13 (THURSDAY MAY 18TH – OSAKA TO TOKYO):**

* Took the Shinkansen back to Tokyo from Osaka.
* We wanted to take advantage of our last full day despite being tired. We started by shopping around **Ginza** for some souvenirs including UNIQLO and surrounding malls.
* We checked in at our hostel **(CITAN HOSTEL)**. Looking back, I would’ve preferred to stay here longer than our first accommodation in Tokyo. More laid back and they had a nice lounge/cafe to chill in.
* Finally, we spent the evening in **Odaiba City**. Checked out the **Unicorn Gundam Statue** and went to **TeamLab Planets Tokyo.**
* TeamLabs was a good one time visit. The art exhibits were a spectacle for the eyes and got some good photos. The smell of feet throughout the facility couldn’t leave my brain though lol.
* Had a late dinner at **Soryu Asakusabashi** which had some great Tsukemen-style ramen. Not too busy either.

—
**DAY 14 (FRIDAY MAY 19TH):**

* Took it easy on the last day. Just hung out at the **Citan Cafe/Lounge**. Drank some coffee and spent some time talking with one of our friends in Japan till our flight back home in the afternoon.
* Had some good katsu at **IMOYA** near the hostel. Be prepared if you go here though, no english, everything was in japanese and only locals seemed to go here.

—
**OVERALL IMPRESSIONS/REFLECTION:**

* I’m already used to walking a lot daily. But be prepared to walk approximately **25,000- 40,000 steps** depending on your activities for the day. And bring good walking/running shoes for the trip. Trust me, it will make a difference as your step count adds up.
* Consider putting your accommodations near big attractions or with good transit options. Made it easier to navigate around daily.
* Got away with some basic Japanese from Duolingo. Learned a couple of basic words and numbers to do some basic communication which was good for most of the trip. Would definitely want to learn a bit more of the language and do some basic reading, especially going to some places with zero English.
* Pack as light as possible and maximize the space you have. Helps moving around the country a lot easier. You can get stuff as needed while in the country.
* Keep your passport on you, **it’s legally required**. Also handy to get **Tax-Free purchases** for your souvenirs as long as the cost of purchase adds up to 5,000 Yen or more.
* Used **Ubigi** E-SIMS for our data needs. Quick, reliable and fairly cheap. (10GB for $17 USD).
* Get a coin purse. Used cash for most payments so the amount of coins started to add up.
* **Google Maps** was overall the most useful app to navigate Japan. However, I sometimes felt it gave weird routing options or didn’t give what platforms to board especially at USJ and in Kyoto. Used another app called **Navitime** which helped fill in the transit planning with more specific details when GMAPS was confusing us.
* My buddy wanted to bring some more souvenirs home but did not have enough luggage space. We ended up buying one piece of luggage at Don Quixote and just checked it at Haneda. Useful if you’re backpacking like myself or need more space.
* Coming from Canada, the food quality standards in Japan are incredibly high. From the “fast food” places to fancier Kaiseki/Omakase Places, I was not disappointed with any meal I had in Japan. Any place you eat in Japan will be amazing! **I found it fun to translate a dish I wanted to eat from English to Japanese and put it on Google.** Found some great hole in the wall restaurants and they weren’t crowded with this method.
* Going to miss Japanese Combinis 🙁 Had everything from ATMs, snacks and drinks and all those little items you needed during the trip. The toilets are going to be missed too.

If anyone has specific questions, please feel free to hit me up! Can’t wait for a second trip to Japan!