Because I previously lived in Japan, our main goal on this trip was visiting friends. That said, we still found plenty of sightseeing opportunities as well 🙂 Happy to answer any questions!
Day 1: Arrival in Osaka. Our flight into KIX arrived late afternoon so I didn’t plan much on this day. We staying at the APA Hotel in Tenma and visited the Tenjin Festival. If it hadn’t been for the festival, we would have stayed in the Namba area instead.
Day 2: AM Cup-a-Noodle Museum in Ikeda. Because it’s summer vacation time for families in Japan, this place (like many others) ended up being very crowded. A common theme to the trip was arriving early to lessen crowds! We arrived about 30 minutes after the museum opened and it was about a 20-minute wait to start making our instant noodle cups. By the time we left the museum it was a 2-hour wait😳 The ramen sampling room is still closed from pandemic precautions so we went to the Ippudo instead for lunch. Not my favorite ramen place but it was good enough for my kid lol.
PM we attempted to go to the Pokemon Center in Osaka Station but it was a nightmare. A 2-hour line to buy your stuff! I quickly vetoed that and we instead headed to Shinsaibashi to visit Owl Cafe Choucette. When we got there it was an hour wait. So I made the reservation and we headed up to a coffee shop to kill time. By the time we came back, they were no longer accepting reservations for the day. So go early if you want a time slot!
Afterward we decided to take our chances and visit the Pokemon Center in Shinsaibashi. This location was much calmer, with a 30-minute wait to buy your stuff. If you want merchandise from the Pokemon Cafe, you purchase those separately at the cafe register (that had no line!).
Day 3: Travel to Kyoto. We stayed at the Super Hotel in Sanjo. We explored Nishiki Market before heading back to the hotel to check in and relax in the hot spring. Dinner was Kyoto style dishes at Aoi in Pontocho. An excellent meal! My daughter’s favorite dish was the smoked duck. Mine was the negitoro wrapped in fresh yuba.
Day 4: AM in Arashiyama. We did a rickshaw ride through the bamboo forest which I highly recommend. The rickshaw company has a private path through the bamboo so you can experience it without the crowds! Once the ride was finished we explored the temple and got tofu ice cream from Kyozuan.
PM we ate lunch in Kyoto Station. Then back to the Teramachi area for visiting the arcade, checking out the micro pig cafe, and dinner near Yasaka Shrine.
Day 5: Travel to Kusatsu in Shiga Prefecture. We were here to visit friends but it’s also famous as the homeland of ninjas if you’re into that.
Day 6: AM visit to Ishiyamadera. This temple is famous for its gardens. Try the special mochi!
PM visit to Shigaraki. This is one of the six ancient kilns in Japan. It’s famous for its tanuki statues and you’ll find giant ones all over town.
Day 7: Travel to Kinomoto. This is in northern Shiga Prefecture and famous for having the largest Jizo statue in Japan. We stayed at Kusano Ryokan, a short walk from the station in the old part of the town. Many of the buildings in this town are on the national historic register! We visited the Jizo Temple and then bought sake from a 16th Century sake brewery.
Day 8: We started the day with a traditional Japanese music concert at Kinomoto Juku. For lunch we went to the local book cafe for traditional Kohoku area dishes. Then it was back to Kinomoto Juku for a mini tea ceremony lesson which my daughter loved.
Day 9: Travel to Hikone in Shiga Prefecture. This town is famous for having one of the oldest original castles in Japan. Before leaving Kinomoto, we went to the town shrine where there’s a hidden path up the mountain filled with jizo statues. It’s like something out of a Miyazaki movie. If you have time, you can hike all the way up to the castle ruins at the top of the mountain but it was hot AF so we did a small portion only.
We were staying with friends in Hikone so we didn’t do much the day we arrived 🙂 In the past I’ve stayed at Tobaya Ryokan and that’s a great ryokan!
Day 10: Day trip to Nagahama. In the AM we went to Kurokabe Square, a traditional shopping arcade famous for its glass studios and antique shops. You can even do a glass blowing lesson here. If you’re into anime, the figurine museum is worth checking out.
For lunch we did Rairaitei, my favorite ramen shop. Then we headed to Yanmar Museum. It’s a children’s museum near the train station and really cool! There’s also Nagahama Castle but it’s a replica so not worth the time to visit imo.
Day 11: Hikone Castle. You can book an English tour of the castle in advance through the Hikone Tourist Association and I highly recommend it. We ate lunch at Sun Burger, a Japanese style burger and crepes shop near the castle. Get the miso burger! Dinner was at Sports Bar Yab, one of my favorite bars in all of Japan.
Day 12: Taga Taisha Festival! This is a really cool lantern festival at the largest Shinto shrine in Shiga. If you arrive early enough, you can watch the spirit dance that they perform along the main walkway of the shrine.
Day 13: In the AM we joined my friends for their monthly Costco run. While I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit Costco lol, it was entertaining seeing what’s the same and what’s different from Costco in America.
PM was Hikone Yukata Festival. This festival is held on the road that leads up to the castle and a lot of fun.
Day 14: Travel to Kii-Katsuura. Originally we planned on two nights in this town but due to timing issues I had to do it ended up only being one night. Which was a bummer since you really do need two nights to explore the area!
We took the shinkansen to Nagoya, then transferred to the Nanki Limited Express. This train was recently renovated and throughout the trip they play announcements in English telling you about the history of the area. You get excellent views of the ocean and mountain forests too. I recommend getting reserved seat tickets since only one car is non-reserved. Make sure to buy bentos and drinks at Nagoya Station because there’s no cart service!
When we arrived we headed to the little fish market in town to pick up lunch and souvenirs. My daughter enjoyed the “tuna lottery” where you try your hand at winning a giant tuna plushie. Then we checked into Yukai Resort onsen. The resort is pretty nice though the baths are not as big as I would have liked. The meals are buffet style which my daughter liked since she could try lots of different things. They even had a station for making your own cotton candy!
Day 15: Travel to Osaka. Before leaving on the Kuroshio Limited Express, I had some of the best tuna of my life at a little restaurant near the train station. This train isn’t as nice as the Nanki but you get some amazing views of the ocean while on it.
We’re staying at the Star Gate Hotel next to Rinku Town Station. They have a free shuttle bus to the airport but you need to reserve a time slot for it when you check in.
1 comment
Love this report! I haven’t gotten to explore Shiga prefecture yet but definitely added some spots to my list for if/when I can visit in the future. Thank you for sharing.