Trip Report: Tokyo | Kyoto | Osaka | Hakone (30s couple, traveling while visibly trans)

Hi everyone! This sub was so incredibly helpful to me in the planning process – I was deeply grateful for everything I learned, so I thought I’d post a trip report now that we’re back!

**About us:** We’re a 30s couple from the Midwest US. We’re pretty experienced travelers (South America, UK/Ireland, Europe, lots of places in the US), but this was our first visit to Asia and first visit to Japan. As travelers, we love getting out on foot, local food/drink (especially street food), live music, nerd shit, weird art/vending machines. Also, my partner is a cis guy, but I am a trans masc person who is visibly trans (post-op in a few ways, but not passing/not stealth).

**Dates:** May 13 – May 29

**What we did:** Tokyo | Kyoto | Osaka | Hakone | Back to Tokyo

**Tips and tricks:**

* Definitely get your walking training in ahead of time! We walked 10 miles a day on the trip. We’re pretty avid backcountry camping/hiking fans who regularly put in 8 – 10 miles on the trail (not to mention taking our dog for multiple walks a day in the neighborhood), so I figured we’d be good – but it was A LOT, especially since you’re also trying to translate and navigate at the same time. Japan is not generally a super accessible place from a disability perspective; benches and public seating areas are not common. I found myself wishing I’d packed a collapsible seat of some kind, tbh!
* Good shoes a must! Merrell Moabs are my go-to for hiking, but for this trip I went with Nike Dunk 6 high-tops, which rocked. My partner went with Onitsukas and didn’t do as well – he wound up buying inserts partway through the trip, which helped.
* Work on a little Japanese ahead of time! We came in with about a dozen words/phrases, which was honestly truly helpful. So many people are so kind and thoughtful anyway, but it was an appreciated gesture that we had planned ahead and were trying our best. Google Translate’s camera feature (Google Lens) was a life-saver for translating written words on signs!
* We had a great experience with Ubigi for an eSIM. The days of purchasing an actual SIM card or even a burner device (like we used to do when backpacking in Europe) are long past. We hooked up our Ubigi eSIMs beforehand, flipped the switch when we got there, and we were golden. Just in case, we’d set up our Verizon coverage to include a Pay-As-You-Go international plan, but we didn’t end up using it. We also didn’t use half as much data as we thought we would – we both came home with extra GB on our Ubigi plan still. We didn’t do a PocketWifi and I don’t think we needed it – Ubigi did most of the heavy lifting, and free WiFi at various places did the rest.
* Fly into Haneda, not Narita – way closer to Tokyo city center.
* Get your Suica right away at the airport – our beloved Suica got us through so many things! We also withdrew some cash and split it up between us – we withdrew a few more times on the trip and it worked like a charm. (Just make sure it’s an international ATM that includes your card type – not all of them do. Also, notify your bank you’ll be traveling, so your card doesn’t throw a flag!) We used our credit card as well – the Chase card was accepted pretty much all places CCs are, but many places remain cash-only, especially bars and restaurants.
* Had a great experience using the Friendly Limousine Airport Bus service straight from Haneda to our hotel area.
* I booked shinkansen tix ahead of time, so I got nice discounts on weekday Green Car tix for two – but I really needn’t have worried, there were plenty of seats available day-of.
* Don’t bother with shinkansen for Kyoto to Osaka – we wound up just hopping on a local with our Suicas and it was fine.
* Don’t bother with the Romancecar from Hakone back to Tokyo – it’s faster/maybe a nicer seating experience, but just hopping on a local with your Suica is an order of magnitude cheaper.
* Look things up in Japanese if using Google Translate; use Tabelog for restaurants if possible. Google Maps in English is more touristy reviews/reactions.
* Tokyo Skytree was hit-or-miss – only real letdown of the trip.
* Tokyo teamLab PLANETS was completely worth it – absolutely worth the hype in my opinion.
* Queer and trans travelers – I felt completely safe, but as a plus-size trans masc nonbinary queerdo, I stuck out like a sore thumb. I didn’t feel in danger, but I was absolutely aware that I did not fit in. Stares were common, especially from older men and young kids. (Weirdly, local women seemed more friendly and curious about me!) Just be prepared for it and remember you’re not in any danger physically – it’s all just curiosity.
* I have to thank this subreddit for recommending Hakone, especially for the tip to book a ryokan with private onsen access. We had an absolutely beautiful experience at Yamanochaya in Hakone, which included both a private “onsen” soaking tub in our room and private 1:1 access to a larger, actual hot spring onsen on the property. I otherwise would not have been able to experience a real hot spring onsen at all, as they are gender-segregated. Thank you, /r/JapanTravel!

**Because I’m a nerd, here’s the actual breakdown!**

DAY 1 | ARRIVAL
📍 Flew into Haneda; made it to our hotel (lovely experience at Hotel Plaza Sunroute); had our first world-famous konbini 7/11 experience; walked around Shinjuku; went out for dinner at Ryu no Miyako Inshokugai – talk about jumping in the deep end
🍣 Onigiri and vending machine green tea; little whipped cream treats; Nagahama ramen and sesame mackerel donburi
👣 10,400 steps
🏁 4.8 miles

DAY 2 | SHIBUYA
📍 Meiji Shrine and Gardens – got goshuin and omamori; Harajuku, went to 7/11; back to the hotel for a nap; Shibuya, including Don Quijote, Center Gai and Dogenzaka Street; Nonbei Yokocho for late night
🍣 7/11 (plum onigiri and corn/mayo sandwich, some kind of spam musubi situation, matcha roll); Ichiran coin-op ramen with extra chashu and a matcha tofu custard thing; banana shock smoothie at Shibuya109 in Center Gai; chicken and pork belly yakitori with beers at Morimoto; brown sugar shoju and shoju-infused Oolong tea cocktails at Tight Bar (strong recommend for this joint!); grilled squid, octopus, and okonomiyaki for afters at Tsukishima Monja Kuuya Shibuya
👣 32,000 steps
🏁 14.5 miles 😮‍💨

DAY 3 | SHINJUKU
📍 Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden; Shinjuku area (including Disk Union, Disney, Onitsuka); Kabukicho and Kabukicho Tower; GODZ metal bar; Golden Gai; Omoide Yokocho
🍣 7/11 (onigiri, matcha filled roll thing, royal milk tea, tomago sushi, strawberry donut, cafe latte); many types of dango (sesame oil, soy sauce, and apricot mochi were our favs); McDonald’s (weirdly good chicken sandwich with yuzu radish topping, vanilla custard chocolate pie, white grape soda); yummy little warm imagawayaki filled with adzuki bean paste + royal milk from depachika); a couple of Asahis at GODZ; simple yakitori snacks at Golden Gai (including some… mystery offal items); back to 7/11 for drunk matcha ice cream and waffle snacks
👣 28,800 steps
🏁 13.0 miles

DAY 4 | ASAKUSA
📍 Went out for coffee; walked around Kinarimon Gate and Nakamise; toured Asakusa Shrine, Senso-ji Temple, surrounding Shinto and Buddhist shrines; stopped for sushi and mochi; went for a walk up Sumida River; dipped into Shoden and Imado shrines; crossed Kototoi Bridge to Tokyo Skytree; went up Tokyo Skytree; back to Senso-ji for night photos; capped off evening with gyoza
🍣 Lattes at cute puppet theater coffeeshop (espresso, dandelion tea); 7/11 for breakfast-y fuel; strawberries from a street stall at Nakamise; sushi lunch; beautiful mochi + tea dessert; grilled gyoza, soup dumpling gyoza, shoujo Oolong tea cocktail for afters
👣 25,500 steps
🏁 11.66 miles

DAY 5 | JIMBŌCHŌ, AKIHABARA
📍 Train to Ichigaya – notable French-inspired neighborhood; breakfast at local French café; Yasakuni Shrine; Kanda River walk by Hosei University; Tokyo Daijingu Shrine; Jimbōchō Old Book Town; walked from there to Akihibara; hit up noodles, arcade, nerd shops (comics, TCGs/CCGs, retro video games systems, TTRPGS, etc); gachapons; hit up the bizarre rare vending machines
🍣 Vending machine coffee and milk tea; yummy French pastries (bacon and sour cream roll, quiche, sour cream raisin custard thing); had to try some avocado and cheese Doritos; cold udon with duck broth soup, curry rice for Chris; fish-shaped taiyaki with custard cream dessert treat; dope gyoza place (“weekday” version with pork and cabbage, shrimp and chili mayo, yakitori with tare, and shogayaki with onions)
👣 Forgot watch at hotel – we’ll say 10,000 steps
🏁 Guessing about 5 or 6?

DAY 6 | TEAMLAB PLANETS, TRAVEL TO KYOTO
📍 Hit up teamLabs, had an amazing time exploring the exhibits – the infinite light crystal room was our fav; train to Tokyo Station; lunch at underground Ramen Street restaurants under the station – went with Soranoiro, one of the few veg/vegan ramen shops in Japan – delicious; shinkansen to Kyoto; out for nightlife in Kiyamachi-Dori and Pontocho
🍣 Quick 7/11 snacks; train snacks (pocky, coffee, little teriyaki cutlet sandwich); Soranoiro ramen bowls; killer yakitori we fried right at our table in izakaya in Pontocho (honestly probably a meal highlight of the whole trip); brown sugar shoujo; 7/11 for ice cream on the way back
👣 18,900 steps
🏁 8.63 miles

DAY 7 | KINKAKUJI, NISHIKI, GION
📍 Kinkakuji Temple; bus back to Kiyamachi-dori; spent whole afternoon walking and eating street food at Nishiki Market; back to hotel for rest, laundry, rooftop drink; out for nightlife in Gion
🍣 Family Mart for coffee and doughnuts; Nishiki Market Street street food delights – seared yakitori style crab stick, little octopus chuka idako on skewers, kara-age on skewers, sea squid croquettes and beer, strawberry and adzuki bean mochi balls; mimosas and red wine; Kyoto Gion Okaru – geisha-decorated izakaya with insane curry udon bowls and beers; picked up box of mochi dango for dessert
👣 20,200 steps
🏁 9.07 miles

DAY 8 | SHRINE DAY
📍 OK, this is a lot:

* Yasakajinja (we happened to be here while a young couple was having a Shinto wedding ceremony!)
* Yasui Kompira-gū (built 1170, shrine for ending bad relationships and starting new ones, has special stone that you pin your wishes to – many young girls will crawl through the stone to mark a breakup or wish for love)
* Kennin-ji (built 1202, large grounds – among the oldest in Kyoto);
* Reigen-in (part of Kennin-ji grounds, a Zen teahouse with a tea garden where they served adzuki bean buns with tea made from the actual hydrangeas of the tea garden outside!)
* Zenkyoan (boar shrine which we initially thought were cute hedgehogs)
* Kyoto Ebisu Shrine (dedicated to fishermen – we happened to be here during the shrine’s annual mikoshi festival – a battalion of locals in traditional clothes, hoisting and dancing with the mikoshi around the neighborhood)
* Kodai-ji (built 1606, gorgeous grounds – we skipped the tour)
* Hōkan-ji/Yasaka Pagoda (dating back to 589 and rebuilt in 1400s, huge black 5-story pagoda featuring massive shakyamuni pole inside and reliquary of a bone of the Buddha in the foundations)
* Ryōzen Kannon (built 1955 after WW2, massive Buddha statue and active Buddhist temple)
* Of course the world-famous Kiyomizudera (built 778, enormous Kyoto-red temple with beautiful buildings spiraling up into the forest)

🍣 Hotel coffee, tea, cream puffs; adzuki bean buns with tea made from the actual hydrangeas of the tea garden at the shrine; dope bento box lunch; got takeout fast food donburi and fizzy lemonade
👣 22,800 steps
🏁 10.39 miles

DAY 9 | FUSHIMI-INARI
📍 Fushimi Inari, the famous shrine of over 1,000 torii gates – super amazing (and intense!) summit of Mt Inari! Back to Nishiki Market for reward street food and drinks; back to hotel for a rooftop drink and soak; finally out for soba at Kawamichiya Ginka in Pontocho.
🍣 Snack pack on our hike (sausages, cheese, some kind of fish meat/cheese stick, and surume – sweet chewy dried squid stuff); orange smoothie; conveyor belt sushi; strawberry mochi roll; whisky highball and red wine; massive soba spreads (chicken seared with wasabi/yuzu/horseradish dipped in ponzu sauce, fried soba noodles in a rich soup, cold soba noodles dipped tsukemen-style in a really amazing umami soy sauce soup, tempura shrimp and veggies, a hot soba noodles in a clear broth soup)
👣 27,600 steps
🏁 Supposedly 12.3 miles, but that hike to summit Mt Inari was something else 😤

DAY 10 | TRAVEL TO OSAKA, SHINSABASHISUJI, AMEMURA, DOTONBURI
📍 Beautiful brunch on the bank of the canal in Kyoto; local train to Osaka-Umeda; checked into Osaka hotel; walked around Shinsaibashisuji and Dotonburi a little bit; scoped out Amemura (“Ameri-mura”) for dope American-inspired Japanese streetwear; wandered up and down street food stalls in Dotonbori; swung by Namba Hips (mostly pachinko); found a couple of fun little hole-in-the-wall places (little Japanese craft beer brewery, retro video games bar)
🍣 Brunch at Kawa Cafe (croque monsieur, ramen, tea and delicious apple tart); takoyaki, cheesy waffle shaped like a massive 10yen coin, sweet chili hotdogs from stands in Dotonbori; dashi gose craft beer (by Derailleur Brew Works) from Umineko, shots at Space Station bar
👣 19,500 steps
🏁 9.01 miles

DAY 11 | NAMBAYASAKIJINA, DOTONBURI
📍 Morning Japanese breakfast at a wonderful little 24-hour diner; Hozen-ji (moss shrine); Kamigata Ukiyo-e Museum across the street (focusing on Osaka woodcuts celebrating Dotonburi’s kabuki and entertainment history); Nambayasaka-jinja (lion head shrine); Den Den Town (Osaka’s Akihabara); ended up at a cozy little kushikatsu bar which actually was playing the Tigers game (away game vs the Swallows at Tokyo); street food waffles for dessert; hit up a late-night batting cage – ended up at Round1 (a big multi-floor arcade complex) and did the rooftop batting cage! My partner won a giant plushie for me from a claw machine!
🍣 Dope traditional japanese omelette and fish breakfast; cute macarons from market stand; Family Mart for snacks before nightlife; skewers, beer, and highballs from Dotonbori kushikatsu place; ridiculous nutella, whip, and strawberry stuffed waffle from Waffle Khan
👣 29,100 steps
🏁 13.31 miles

DAY 12 | KUROMON ICHIBA, OSAKA CASTLE, DOTONBURI
📍 Kuromon Ichiba Market for street food; Osaka Castle Park and Nishinomaru Gardens; toured Osaka Castle and museum all the way up to the top; subway to Tanimachi-9-chome subway station for amazing live jazz at Sub Jazz Cafe. (This was amazing! Akira “Ro” Hasegawa (sax) and Yukie Fujikawa (keys) – Ro is also the owner and was bartending on this particular night too.) Out to Don Don for killer yakiniku and beer; found our way to Oboradaren, an Tokunoshima-themed island vibes bar and music spot where there was a great live band playing fun island vibes beach rock – big crowd of 40s+ Japanese women who knew all the songs, wound up drinking passionfruit chuhai and joining them in the conga line around the bar
🍣 Oden hot pot, wagyu skewer, otoro sashimi, crab gratin in the half-shell, bracken green tea soy cakes at Kuromon Market; ice cream sandwiches at Osaka Castle; milk tea, little roast beef sandwich, and cheesecake at Sub Jazz Cafe; yakiniku-style wagyu, ribs, ox tongue, assorted mushrooms; passionfruit chuhai and red wine at the island vibes spot; taro and brown sugar boba teas
👣 23,000 steps
🏁 10.42 miles

DAY 13 | KAIYUKAN, SHINSEKAI, DOTONBURI
📍 Fun trip to Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan; quick pass through Shinsekai; lunch at spot where you can fish your own catch from an indoor fishing boat pool; out for one last Dotonburi night – wound up getting konbini snacks and sitting on the waterfront talking and people-watching for hours
🍣 Not a banger food-wise, but interesting little spread at the fish-your-own place – huge prawn for grilling, kara-age, and fatty tuna nigiri for Max, tempura veggies and whitefish with doteyaki for Chris; from Family Mart, fruit smoothie, ice cup, and KitKat for Max, onigiri and lemonade for Chris
👣 19,100 steps
🏁 8.64 miles

DAY 14 | TRAVEL TO HAKONE, HAKONE SHRINE
📍 Bombed to Shin-Osaka for an early shinkansen to Odawara; trained to Odawara to Hakone; dropped luggage off at ryokan, then bus to Motohakone; saw Hakone Shrine and Onshi-Hakone Park (as well as a segment of the actual Old Tokaido!); returned to ryokan for the night, where we were treated to a gorgeous 1:1 kaiseki from a Michelin-star chef, private hot spring onsen, and private in-room hot spring bath
🍣 Konbini snacks before shinkansen; snacks and coffee on train; late lunch in Motohakone (curry and soba, pork cutlet); incredible, massive multi-course kaiseki and sake for dinner, plus strawberry cake, champagne, and more sake for dessert
👣 13,900 steps
🏁 6.26 miles

DAY 15 | HAKONE OPEN AIR MUSEUM, TRAVEL TO TOKYO, LAST NIGHT IN SHINJUKU
📍 Woke up in gorgeous ryokan; leisurely kaiseki breakfast with leftover cake; final soak in the private onsen; Hakone Open Air Museum – very cool; had kind of a challenging trip back but finally made it from Museum back to ryokan to bus stop to Hakone-Yumoto to Odawara to Shinjuku to the hotel 😮‍💨 Considering the last night as our real “last night” of the trip, our final night out in Tokyo was all just extra icing on the cake – went out for yakitori skewers and Asahi Superdrys in cozy alley in Omoide Yokocho, found really wonderful cake and tea dessert open late also in Omoide, hit up 🎵 Donki! 🎵 for a final round of bulk snacks and souvenirs, ended up on a late-night excursion to find Park Hyatt Hotel (featured in Lost in Translation); finished night at hotel watching the city go to sleep from our balcony
👣 22,700 steps
🏁 10.3 miles

FINAL SCORE
📸 Pics: 1,929
👣 Steps: 337,700
🏁 Miles: 153.78 (we averaged 9.6 miles per day, every day, for 16 days)
🇯🇵 “Nihongo jōzu!”: 4 (I know more proficient Japanese speakers are insulted, but it’s honestly a pretty nice comment when you’re at my level)
👶 Comments on how young we look/how we can’t possibly be celebrating our 10-year wedding anniversary: 3
✨ Gratitude: Infinite.