Trip Report. 8 days, 5 cities. Tokyo, Osaka, Nara, Koyasan, Kyoto

So as the title probably suggests, this trip was on a very tight schedule. This is a follow-up to my [itinerary check](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/13d8gjg/itinerary_check_7_days_may_tokyo_osaka_nara/). It was 6 of us, all with different medical needs and personalities. I’ll go through what we did and save commentary for the end. Cities we visited: Tokyo, Osaka, Nara, Koyasan, Kyoto. We visited mid-May. Total cost was around $2,000 USD/¥290,000 including flights and stays.

Day 1: Arrive in Tokyo.

Before even flying out to Tokyo, we filled out our information on the [visit japan web](https://vjw-lp.digital.go.jp/en/), where you can get a QR code to get through customs much faster. We arrived at Narita. My boyfriend had booked a different flight to Haneda. Although Haneda is closer, it was packed with people. So my friend and I were able to pick up our [JR Pass](https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/), a pocket wifi, and my SIM card while he was still waiting in line to get his JR pass. Bought the Suica online and already had it synced to my iPhone Wallet before the trip started. We arrived to Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro at the same time. (Side note, I got my SIM card [here](https://www.mobal.com/) (Mobal) and I purchased an 8 day card. But it only worked for seven days and didn’t pick up any signal in Kyoto. Big let-down.)

We went to the Golden Gai for casual drinks and ate nearby. We went back to the hotel and called it a night.

Day 2: Head out to Osaka.

We met up with the rest of the group that arrived a day earlier. The rest of the group didn’t get their JR Pass till that morning (I highly suggest getting the pass before even leaving the airport). We arrived at Osaka mid afternoon. Stayed at the MORI Apartment which was ridiculously close to Dotonbori. Since we arrived late, we skipped Nanba Shrine and ate and drank and hung out at Dotonbori.

Day 3: Day Trip to Nara

We went late in morning to Nara. Fed the deer and walked around Kofuku-ji. Most of the group went through the park quickly to get up to Mt. Wakakusa. My friend and I decided to enjoy the park at a slower pace. We visited the Daibutsu-ike Pond Todai-ji, Todai-ji Nigatsudo, and other spots along the trail. We all had a great time.

On the return, we were supposed to stop at Horyu-ji Kondo. Then were were supposed to go to Osaka Castle, Umeda Sky Building, and go out to Shinsekai in the evening. But it was 6 of us and there were LOTS of breaks and stops. It would have been feasible to do if we woke up earlier and if there were less people in the group.

We returned to Osaka, got dinner at OKO for some Okonomiyaki, and rode the Ebisu wheel.

Day 4: Koyasan

Someone had commented in the itinerary check post to skip Koyasan, but it was definitely a highlight of this trip. We left early to head to Koyasan. We forgot to purchase the [Koyasan World Heritage Ticket](https://www.nankaikoya.jp/en/stations/ticket.html), but wasn’t a problem. We went all the way up the mountain and checked into the temple stay at the Seikishoin Temple. We visited Kongobuji Temple (amazing rock garden), Daimon Gate, and Kongobuji Kompon Daito. We did the [night tour at the Okunoin Cemetery](https://awesome-tours.jp/en/koyasan-nighttour/).

Day 5: Head to Kyoto

We woke up early and visited the Okunoin Cemetery in the morning. We ate at a cafe right in front of our temple stay. We headed back and left to Kyoto. We got lost trying to get back using only the JR pass. Navigating Japan was not too hard. I blame my boyfriend for getting directions off Reddit. 🙂

We arrived in Kyoto. Our stay was right off the Gion District. It felt very centrally located. We went to Pontocho Park. Didn’t have much time after that. We were pretty exhausted this night so we decided we wanted to go to a small quiet bar. Found one nearby and met some locals in their 80s. We all chatted, played music, and took shots together. Walked (wobbled) back to our apartment.

Day 6: Kyoto

Got to Arashiyama Bamboo Forest at 7:30am. By 8, it was packed. Then the group split. Some went to the Monkey Park up the hill, the rest went to Ryoan-ji Temple (did not compare to Kongobuji Temple imho). I should have gone up to the park. The best perspective of the garden at the Ryoan-ji Temple was blocked and only available “to special guests”, which I found to be bs. It was the temple I was looking forward to the most and it was.. meh. Then we all went to Kinkaku-ji Temple (this one was worth it unlike Ryoan-ji). We split again since most of the group wanted to nap. My partner and I went to Kyoto Imperial Palace. Walked through the Nishiki Market (cool to look at, didn’t eat there because it was priced for tourists). Went to the Samurai Museum for our 5pm tour time that was booked in advance. Threw some plastic ninja stars. Ate dinner at a sushi spot called Sushi Sei a little outside of the Nishiki Market. Highly recommend this spot.

Day 7: Head back to Tokyo

We were able to store our luggage at our stay. We checked out and went to Fushimi Inari. We got lost coming back down the mountain. My friend with joint pain was struggling on this one. We finally found a paved road and found multiple tourists that were also equally lost. We found the rest of our group we had lost during the hike. The group decided to head to Tokyo afterwards. I stayed in Kyoto a bit longer with my partner, mainly because I didn’t have much interest in city activities. We visited Sanjusangendo Temple and finished at Sanneizaka. It was raining and there was a ton of people, so this part involved walking down the road bumping into everyone’s umbrella. Lots of great souvenir shops, all at a variety of price points.

We headed over to Tokyo. We got there rather late. Found ourselves at Golden Gai again. Went to a karaoke spot and stayed out till dawn. Went to our ridiculously small apartment and rested.

Day 8: Tokyo

We woke up late and had a Teamlab entry at 10am. We rushed to head over there. We made it in time, somehow. It was alright, but not sure if I would recommend this spot. The group then split up due to medical reasons. Four of us went to Akihabara. Then we all met up back at the apartment and headed out for ramen. We wasted a ton of time this day. We were planning to go to an onsen, but I crashed out at 8pm and everyone else was equally tired.

Day 9: Fly back

This is when I found out that my SIM card wasn’t working anymore. We all split up to get last minute souvenirs. We met at the Haneda airport and left.

Now the commentary:

* 3/6 had never travelled internationally before. The other two had never had a high-paced trip like this before and are more of the vacationer type. I have travelled a fair amount and was used to the high pace. So a lot of time was lost imo. We stopped after every activity to eat at 7/11 or Lawson, woke up later than planned, and had to navigate around several health issues. That being said, we were able to fit a lot of activities in and was a great “taster” of Japan and what it has to offer. We all know what we want to do next time based on our own personal interests. So I am happy this trip included various cities. Next trip will probably be at least two-three whole days per major city.
* These activities listed were the main things, but there was a lot of in-between things not included. A highlight of this trip was being able to stumble across places and exploring new spots.
* We walked at least 2 miles every day. We navigated with google maps and used our JR Pass and Suica. We never needed to use a taxi.
* Kyoto has a lot of great things to see, but most things involved a fee, the people were less friendly, and it’s very tourist-centric so it didn’t have the charm we felt in Koyasan. I would visit again, but only to sight-see.
* Tokyo is just another big city
* We had like, one meal that wasn’t amazing. The rest of the food was great. Best food I’ve had in any trip so far.
* I used my Amex card in a lot of places. Also used my Suica and cash. Having the Suica in my iPhone wallet was very convenient for adding funds, but can cause problems if your phone battery drains.

Overall, it was an amazing time. I went mainly for the architecture and it exceeded my expectations. My favorite souvenir was my goshuincho that I almost filled up. I could have easily spent a whole month there and not felt homesick. Feel free to ask questions regarding the trip. Hope this helps someone!

​

​