Trip Report – 2 Weeks Tokyo/Kyoto/Nara/Osaka/Tokyo (First timers!)

Hello! Excited to share back a Trip Report in hopes to share learnings recommendations and hopefully add value here. Went mid-May.

*About us*
We are late 20’s couple. From North America. One thing to note, we don’t drink alcohol, but we love coffee and snacks.

**Top Takeaways: Tips**

1. 7/11 breakfast was pretty great each day. The pancakes and smoothies were delicious. Very affordable and seemed to do the job well.
2. For dinner places we found that either go early – ie 5pm or go late to avoid long waiting times. We saved tons of time by doing early dinners.
3. When struggling on crane games, the attendants are more than happy to help you.
4. If you don’t like crowds, found some of the most relaxing times in Tokyo were pre-10am at a coffee shop or wandering around city side streets.
5. The weather seemed to be ALWAYS changing, keep very close eye on it as it sometimes changes hourly. A cloudy rainy day could turn to sunny by the time you check again. Important for trying to see Fuji.

**Top Takeaways:** ***Recommendations***

1. Ryogoku was a really pleasant place to have as home-base in Tokyo. Very casual, some good restaurants nearby, and Sumo wrestlers walking to work every morning was a huge highlight. It’s also close to 2 lines and a 7/11 and found most trips within 30 minutes train ride. I personally would not have enjoyed staying in busier places like Shinjuku or Shibuya.
2. Be very flexible with your itinerary. Planning out general areas to explore or specific stores or restaurants to visit are good, but after that be flexible. We found that we had a ton of free time actually which allowed us to feel very relaxed. It also helps if you want to make a trip to Hakone, Gotemba, or Mt. Takao – especially if you want to see the elusive Fuji. Speaking of which the cameras at Gotemba, Hakone, and Kawaguchiko can help advise on visibility.
3. If budget permits, staying in a Ryokan can be a nice break from hotels and can help you relax a bit more on your trip. Not only did it allow us to finally do laundry, but also just felt more private and refreshing in the middle of a trip.

**Favorites:**

1. Lunch/Dinner staples: Ichiran & Gyukatsu Motomura (value especially for these two)
2. Coffee (Pour-over): Glitch Ginza (the ladies there were absolutely phenomenal)
3. Coffee (speciality): Glitch (Osaka), Arabica (Kyoto), Blue Bottle Truck (Tokyo)
4. Pokemon Store: Shibuya since you can make a custom shirt and had very wide selection
5. Part of Tokyo: Shibuya
6. Gashapon Spot: Aeon Mall (Kyoto)
7. Crane Game Arcade: Fuchu had extremely friendly staff, Shinjuku probably best variety
8. Temple: Senso-Ji + Fushimi Inari

**Fumbles:**

1. Pocket wifi: the screen of it cracked somehow, I kept it in my pocket and all I did was walk so not sure how that happened. But would recommend people to be careful with that aspect of it.
2. A local in Fuchu randomly approached me at the train station and started asking me questions in English and it threw me off since that had not happened for the entire 2 week trip. I ended the convo with him early because I felt sketched out but he honestly probably just wanted to practice English. Felt terrible about that.

**Brief Day by Day Overview**
*Day 0 (Arrived mid-afternoon):* Checked into Hotel. Stayed in Ryogoku. Wandered around the area & stumbled upon Yokoamicho Park which was calm, the river running through the city also had tons of jellyfish. Lasted until about 7pm, ate 7/11 dinner slept by 8pm till 7am.

*Day 1 (Sibuya):* 7/11 breakfast then Camelback for coffee. Wandered into Shibuya Centre (short walk) around 10am or so and was super quiet and played some crane games. Went to Parco for 11am opening, checked out the Pokemon Centre there. Lunch at Ichiran nearby (so good). Afternoon coffee at Kitsune. It started raining so spent rest of day at arcades in Shibuya.

*Day 2 (Harajuku/Shinjuku):* Made it to Blue Bottle around 8:30/9ish, then walked to Gyukatsu Motmura in Harajuku, got there around 10:30 and into a barseat for its opening for lunch. So good. Did Takeshita street, visited SanRio store. Super crowded. Then walked to the Meiji Jingu park. Which was nice to get some fresh air in such a crowded area. Wandered back into the city centre to see Godzilla, play some crane games, and look at the 3D Cat billboard. Had poke dinner and finished evening at Omoide Yokocho.

*Day 3 (Tsukiji/Chuo/Ginza/Minato):* Started day at the fish market. Daifuku and macha latte were great. After went to Chuo Pokemon Centre. Afternoon coffee at Glitch in Ginza. Explored some shops including the massive Uniqlo. Stumbled upon a cosy/amazing hidden gem Udon place called Kyoto Udon Kitsunean for a late lunch. Trained over to Tokyo Tower, finished day with dinner back in Ryogoku called Ichikatsu.

*Day 4 (TeamLABS/Sumida/Asakusa):* Did TeamLABS at 9am, very awesome experience, and great start to the day. Stumbled upon the Blue Bottle Coffee Truck in Toyosu which seemed to have an exclusive latte flavor. Was relaxing and a nice morning view. Did Skytree next including Pokemon Centre. Then did Senso-Ji and Nakamise-Dori. Melon pan was amazing. Explored the pottery shops nearby and finished with dinner at Kura Sushi.

*Day 5 (Kyoto):* Took Shinkansen to Kyoto, got their early afternoon. Stayed near Toji Station. Explored To-ji temple and Pagoda and also the Aeon mall for some crane games and Gashapon Bandai official store (huge). Did the main strip in Kyoto after, had some really great JBBQ at Yakiniku Yamakawa and tried some Kobe. Explored around the Gion district after and saw some Geisha.

*Day 6 (Nara/Fushimi):* Did the morning in Nara with the deer and explored the park. Loads of fun. Then made way back to Kyoto to Fushimi area. Afternoon coffee at Vermillion which was good. Did the hike up Fushimi Inari which was spectacular and well worth going up if you can for more relaxing atmosphere. Finished day off with dinner at Suba Soba which was delicious and a hidden gem.

*Day 7 (Osaka):* First enjoyed Glitch again in Osaka super cool atmosphere. Played some crane games, visited the Pokemon Centre, and had lunch at Okonomiyaki Chitose. Quaint and cool spot. Explored Dontonbori area in the early evening but found it incredibly busy. Finished with late dinner at Ichiran.

*Day 8 (Kyoto):* Did Pokemon Centre first, then Arabica for coffee and Nishiki Market area. Did some more crane games. Went back to the Gion area explored the Pagoda there and Kiyomizu-Dera. Also the matcha house which tiramisu was great.

Day 9 (Arashiyama/Kyoto): Went to Arashiyama and did the Monkey Park which was super cool experience. Baby monkeys were adorable. Also views there were great. Went back to Kyoto Nishiki area did early Katsu dinner and then spent night at a 120 year old Ryokan with open air bath, which was phenomenal experience.

*Day 10 (Back to Tokyo/Akihabara):* Spent morning in Kyoto, then took afternoon train to Tokyo, checked back into hotel near Ryogoku. Went to Akihabara area for early dinner at Gyokatsu Motomura and then to play crane games – pretty cool area at night.

*Note -* had plans to hit up Hakone the last few days but weather wasn’t amazing, so kept it casual in Tokyo. Also debated on Nikko but the cost/distance was discouraging.

*Day 11 (Shibuya/Kitazawa/Shinjuku):* Started day for coffee at Blue Bottle Shibuya, then back to some stores in the Shibuya centre. Ichiran for lunch again then went to Kitazawa for vintage shopping. Then back to Shinjuku for crane games, also explored the new Namco entertainment centre.

Day 12 (Ginza/Bunkyo/Toshima): Morning coffee at Glitch, in afternoon went to Bunkyo Civic centre and very faintly saw Mt. Fuji (beautiful views and free). Then took the short trip to Toshima for Sunshine City.

Day 13 (Fuchu/Shibuya/Shinjuku): Spent morning in Fuchu to check out the arcades. Huge Gashapon store there. Then back to Shibuya for SKY. Finished night in Shinjuku again.

Day 14 (Morning/Fly out): Did morning coffee at Blue Bottle Shirakawa, which was cool cause also a Roastery. Got last few things – flew back home.

Any questions happy to try to help!