[Trip Report] May 6th – May 22nd 16 Nights. [Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Takayama, Tokyo]

Hello everyone. Its been a while since my friend and I went to Japan and I feel settled enough to give some kind of report. I say some kind because honestly it is so daunting from pictures and just everything I want to say. Unfortunately, its too much to a point where it is paralyzing, so instead I will be detailing more of what I still day dream about and how I would plan another trip because the good news is I had such a wonderful time I fully plan to do the full 90 day visa in another 10 years of time give or take.

 

So first off, as obvious as it seems, the longer you stay the better time you will have. At this point I fully believe you should do everything in your power to stay as long as possible. Japan is the premiere country for the longer the better because it is designed to be explored and that is how you should plan your trip. You would be making a huge mistake if you go to Japan and not take a Shinkansen somewhere. In fact, I was in Tokyo the last leg of my trip and now I regret not doing more day trips because I was trying to take it easy and relax more. Big mistake. I thought Tokyo would be so wonderful to explore, and it was, but you really dont need more than 2 to 3 days to see this City in a decent capacity from a tourist perspective. If anything you should go to the lesser known areas and explore something like say Asagaya. There are so many little residential areas like this within Tokyo that deserve your time and if you are going to over stay in Tokyo you should really do it this way.

 

So yeah, I really wish I did go to Yokohoma, Karakuma, Nikko, Lake Kawaguchi, and Hakone, I had the damn JR Pass and instead we ended up going back to places like Shibuya. Obviously still a great time, I loved Tokyo, but I can admit it was a mistake. Dont just stay in Tokyo, make it a base camp and do day trips, see everything. You will create better memories this way too.

 

Whats kind of crazy too is dont think you can over plan your itinerary. For a bit there I thought I might have spoiled too much from planning, but that could not have been further from the truth. Its going to blow your mind either way. The one truly shocking thing is that parts of Japan actually felt much smaller than the videos I was watching. For example, Shibuya Crossing felt very tiny compared to how big it looked on videos, I almost didnt think I was in the right place, but that was definitely it. Pretty wild.

 

To the Japanese people, oh God, this is one of the reasons why you should go. I have never been treated with so much respect and treated this well. I only hoped I showed them the same respect they showed me. I made sure to bow every time to show my respect whenever someone helped me. I never felt like I was being cringe, and I could tell they appreciated it. Arigato Gozaimasu.

 

In regards to the overall feel of the entire country. I cant believe Im saying this either, but when I was reading other posts on this sub planning my trip, I tried to tell people dont treat it like Disney Land, there are people here, a culture, and we need to show that kind of respect and realize it. But Ill be damn, Japan feels like Disney Land, I hate to say it, but it really does. You line up to an attraction (temple, shrine) and you pay for your Goshunin. You come out of a popular place and theres a bunch of parfait shops. Ya know, things like that, the country is really set up for tourism. Its not a bad thing. I loved it, but you do have to realize the country is becoming poor along with other problems it is facing, so it really does rely on its tourism sector at this point, and probably more even in the future. The culture is strong so I am not worried, but that is the reality… Japan feels like Disney Land

 

On to the food, next time I go back I know what to do, I was so obsessed with the idea of Omakases (Sushi) I found out that it wasnt actually that great. Id like to think I love Sushi, but man the Kaiseki (seasonal fine dining multi course meal) experiences absolutely beat the shit out of any sushi experience I had while in Japan even the high end Omakase. The Kaisekis themselves include sushi a lot of the time but its not the entire meal maybe one or two courses, and they seem to be the more popular fish like Tuna. I had one really fine dining Kaiseki and a more traditional one from a Ryokan and they were so much more interesting, better tasting, and well… fun!, next time I go back Im doing like four to five fine dining Kaisekis without question. Kaisekis are special and you need to do one. At least do a Kaiseki not an Omakase, not unless you are a true fine dining expert and you know you love sushi like Ark Shell (Akagai) stay the fuck away lol. Its one of those things I can say well at least I got the experience, but in truth I will not be doing any kind of Omakase on my return trip. There are plenty and I mean plenty of other ways to get sushi like sushi sets at decent restaurants for like 12 to 14 bucks and its still absolutely delicious. But shout out to Bonito, holy fuck that blew me away I never knew Sushi could taste like that.

 

Second note on food, honestly I wish I would have stayed away from the fried food, I didnt eat much per say, but even the little bit I had wasnt worth it, its just so American at the end of the day, but shout out to Coco Curry House, like legit go there once. That was delicious and worth the fried food. Instead, now I know when Im hungry I will go to google maps and type in something like Ramen and go to decently high rated places. Yes, its true, I did not have one bad bowl of ramen while in Japan. Even the most lowest end of shops serving ramen was pretty damn good. In fact, I regret not going to more ramen places because it was without question the best food I had in Japan for the taste, price, and convenience, although there are so long lines for the popular places but worth it no question. You cant beat Ramen. The broths were so unique, the noodles always a treat, and they were filling but never over filling and easy to digest so you can get hungry again quickly if you want to. I went to a bunch, but man I should have just focused on more. Again, I see the error of my ways, stay away from the convenience stores (combinis) when you can, as good as they are you will miss out on other places that could be a short walk away. Im going to try to eat at least one bowl of Ramen a day when I go back.

 

Last note on food, I got word from this sub that the coffee is exceptional in Japan, and it is absolutely true. A lot of the days were spent just cafe hoping in between sight seeing areas like Kyoto because it was access to a bathroom, rest, and yummy treats. This is one aspect I do not regret. If you love coffee, do a little research, there is some damn good coffee here and again its a good way to find bathrooms and just take a break.

 

So that goes to my next tid bit, Japan is walkable alright, but christ there are no bathrooms anywhere, so my friend and I quickly developed a rule that if you see a bathroom, go to the bathroom. Everybody knows the rules. Just go when you see them no matter how many times and thank me later.

 

For shoes Im telling you right now what you think is good for you at home is not the same when you are walking 10 to 12 miles a day. The flagship Cloud shoe store is actually in Harajuku and I bought a pair of Cloud Monsters there. The shoes are incredible. I will exclusively be getting pairs of these shoes for future trips, so yeah, go there day one and buy a pair, or at least make sure you truly have shoes that are meant for that kind of punishment because my feet got fucked up to a point I was taking pain pills in Kanazawa and could not walk, but I got through it.

 

My favorite place in Japan might just have been Nara, Im honestly kind of shocked saying this, it felt the most touristy in a way from school kids and other tourists (largest amount we saw the entire trip), so how the hell could I say this, but damn the architecture there was mind blowing, the deer were fun, and there was some good food finds. Getting there was fun, the trains were late and those were some of the most crowded trains I was on during the trip, I got to see a lot of school kids and business’ people, it was a good day in so many ways. Dont skip Nara.

 

So back to the whole idea of how you should plan your trip to Japan, again, the longer the better, Im going for 90 days next time without question, but I get it not everyone has that kind of time, its really unrealistic, so now knowing what is worth it I can definitely say the ideal trip would look something like Tokyo Hotel, and Kyoto Hotel, and do day trips to Osaka and Nara from Kyoto. Without question this is the GOATED way to do Japan if your time is limited. I would say in total you need at least 9 days minimum. Anything less and I feel sorry for you, I do. So 4 days In Tokyo 3 days Kyoto, Osaka, Nara. The truth is I actually did not like Kanazawa, Takayama was much better and we stayed in the Ryokan there, but again, this really is not needed for first trip. Im telling you the blue print I gave you is really how you should plan your trip based on the days you have to travel. And if you have extra days then do the day trips from Tokyo, or spend extra days in Kyoto or whatever of your own choosing. But please don’t feel like you need to do any of those extra things. Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara is truly enough and very
gratifying.

 

But now on the the good stuff, if you do happen to find yourself with excess time, Im telling you go buck wild, see everything, do everything, rest rarely, there is so much to see, it is easy to get to, and there is adventure around every corner. Japan is clearly more than just big cities, and my focus next time will be on those day trips (please dont hurt me JR pass).

 

So last note, do not miss Mount Fuji. We went to Shibuya Sky a must see attraction, Shibuya Sky was without question the best sight seeing tower we went to. Mount Fuji was not visible during our visit and on our last day we decided not to go to an area where we could possibly see it. We were going to rely on luck because we came in from Osaka and were going to leave out of Osaka so we were going to see it on the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka, and holy shit the brief few minutes we got is still one of the strongest memories and one of the most incredible. To think we left that shit up to luck on a train ride is about the stupidest fucking thing I may have ever done. Make sure you see it, dont leave it up to a train ride please.

 

Ive been to two other countries, Costa Rica and Paris, France. I thought long and hard about which travel experience I liked better, and truthfully I do think Paris wins because it is just one place. And in that place there is so much history, art, sights, and food that it maybe cant be beat from that kind of perspective. But thats not why you to go to Japan, you go to Japan if you’re willing, if you have the energy, and if you love adventure, keep exploring and don’t stop, you’ll find a sense of completeness within yourself where you will realize its probably not ever going to get better than this. And I know that now, and Im going back, I’m going back to do it right.

 

If you have any questions feel free to ask me here or shoot me a DM. I feel pretty grateful and can now say Im an experienced Japan Traveler. The trains were not difficult for me and my personal itinerary was fantastic. I would love to help make your trip easier because this Sub made mine easier.