First timers requesting guidance! 18 days in Japan

24 comments

1. For vintage shopping in Osaka – I’d explore Amerika-Mura, and I’d explore the laneways of Harajuku in Tokyo.
   Jump onto the website for Kichi Kichi Omurice as you may want to see if there are openings for seating at your desired meal time. I’ve read they are very strict with tardiness, so if you manage to get a reservation – be there early for it.

2. I’d recommend staying overnight at Dotonbori, it’s an amazing experience for the night life

3. Generally ok, do Miyajima first, oysted for lunch, move to Hiroshima for peace museum and okonomiyaki for dinner. Doing it in this order make more sense because almost everything close at 5pm in Miyajima while you would still have options of things to do, even if just shopping, in Hiroshima.

4. For your day trip to Hiroshima, take note of the ferry return timing from Miyajima. I got stranded for a night because of that…

5. Were you able to book kichi kichi? We’re trying to book for around the same day and their website is frustrating to use

6. There are so many things to stress over…enjoy the time there. Have fun experiencing things and don’t fixate on a to do list mentality. It’s your vacation after all!

7. If you’re into vintage shopping, check out amerikamura in Osaka. You stumble upon great vintage shops at every corner.

   For Kyoto: Skip Nishiki market. It’s a tourist trap, completely packed and there are little to no good shops. Been there today, it’s not worth it.

8. On one of your free Tokyo days consider Shimo-kitazawa. It’s a lovely little suburb easily reached by train and has wonderful vintage shops, plus the cafe that serves Totoro cream puffs which are both cute and delicious. It was one of my favourite Tokyo places.

9. I’d say chill out! I went to Japan with no plan other than fly into tokyo! It’s easy

10. I wouldn’t flesh out your itinerary any more than you already have it. There are so many hidden gems in the cities you’re planning on visiting.

    I’m in Kyoto at the moment and we were walking to the imperial palace, passed a long line of people waiting for a shop. Checked Google, saw it was for a donut place with incredible reviews. We decided to give it a shot spur of the moment and it was the best donuts we’d ever had (**Hitsuji Doughnut** be prepared to wait 45 mins and they sell out fast!).

    We were also wandering home after visiting Higashiyama area and similarly saw a small query for a soba noodle spot. I couldn’t have picked a better place and that meal was a highlight of our trip.

    Leave time and energy for wandering, meandering, and finding things you happen to stumble upon. It’s nearly always worth it.

11. I would recommend skipping puroland. We went recently and didn’t have a good time at all. I think we spent about 30 minutes to an hour there. It was overall very much for kids and there wasn’t much to see or do.

12. Depending on where you’re flying from I’d plan a bit around jet lag – we were fine the day after landing as we completely crashed after the flight, but we woke crazy early on our second day. We used the early start to explore the fish markets as they open early anyway, but we did need to nap in the afternoon, I don’t think we could have coped with a big night out that evening (although we might have been able to on day 1 surprisingly!)

13. Woof. That seems packed. We’re going for our second trip, and even our first was less than half as scheduled. I would say that Japan is just about the most fun place to explore. Pick a few things, and plan a few days, or buy tickets to a few things, but allow yourself to wander, and explore and discover things. If you’re a big planner one thing or two things a day is plenty. You should give yourselves some breathing room.

14. Don’t stress. You did well with such a long trip. Your feet will be so tired from all the walking that you might voluntarily cut something out lol. Thankfully you are going when the weather shouldn’t be as hot, but still consider y’all may need to include time for breaks at times, and not be able to do everything. But it’s ok when everything is new and interesting anyways!

15. Okay that seems like A LOT lol. I’d suggest to dial it back a little and allow yourself some room to breathe. If you’ve travelled before you’d know that the buffer time between activities is always more than you think it’ll be. Let loose a little and let your days go where they naturally go! But no harm in having a central activity or two each day 🙂

16. Currently on holiday in japan

    I thought Kura sushi was really mediocre. Almost every one of the smaller/independent sushi trains I’ve been to has been better.

    And plan some time to relax. You’re gonna be really busy with that schedule. Less things, more time allowed per thing and more downtime will be more fun and give an overall better experience

17. Looks pretty good overall, just a couple minor suggestions:

    In Kyoto I’d definitely check out kiyomizu dera. Id do it first thing in the morning for least number of crowds as possible.

    Probably same for arashiyama and fushimi inari as well. The experience is so much better when you’re there early.

    In Osaka, I don’t think the tsutenkaku observation deck is anything special. I’d go do umeda sky building or abeno harukas instead. Way taller, more impressive, better views.

18. Just got back covid/flu is everywhere try to bring a zpac

19. Not critiquing your itinerary- everyone does travel differently. My biggest piece of advise is to do a LOT of reading up on the train and subway systems (both, they’re interconnected but not necessarily the same). When you’re jet lagged and exhausted they can be overwhelming. There an app that you load onto apple wallet but there are also tons of confusing purchasing options. Sometimes booths, sometimes vending machines, and none of it really makes sense when you first encounter it. After 18 days you’ll be a pro but be aware that there is a steep learning curve

20. What should be my budget for japan 10 day trip
    Not a fan of fancy restaurants but a street food is love.
    First solo trip ,budget idea for enjoying culture and food enough.

21. Zuicho is closed on Sundays, so if you want to go I’d change the day. We went twice! Edited to add that it’s in Shibuya so would make sense to do on Saturday. You will have to queue.

    No need to reserve tickets really far In advance for Osaka Aquarium, I brought some online half an hour before we got there.

    We planned one or two things to do each day rather than planning every minute of the day, you can use up so much time just wondering, especially in Tokyo! We also didn’t realize quite how much of the day would be taken up traveling so don’t put too much pressure on seeing everything.

22. How’s your stamina? Are you prepared for 20k steps per day?

    You really need to pace yourself.

    Also, don’t expect to be able to navigate the transportation effortlessly on day one. You are getting to get lost and confused.

    Just keep these things in mind.

    Not trying to be a Debbie downer. Just giving you tips from my first Japan visit from a few months ago.

    It’s an amazing country and I pretty sure you will love it. But don’t over plan and enjoy your visit.

23. I definitely think you’re over planned. When I went to Kyoto in March it rained the first two days. So I tried to cram Fushimi Inari , Toji ,Gion ,Philosophers path and Higashiyama Josh’s-Ji in one day. I was burnt out before I finished philosophers path .

    First of I’d say go to Fushimi Inari early (I went at 7:30am and there were crowds already showing up,but thinned out quickly as you went up the mountain)

    Toji wasn’t something I had planned for prior to my trip but I kept seeing the Pogoda as I traveled around the city,so added it. I loved it!

    Gion was very busy by mid afternoon and although the buildings were cool,it didn’t feel worth it.

    Philosopher Path was pretty, but extremely overcrowded,granted it was peak Sakura blooms. I was so tired and there was so many people I skipped Higashiyama.

    My favorite experience was one that happened by accident. I was walking to a subway station that was a 15 min walk from my Airbnb and didn’t pay attention to which side of the river I needed to be on to get to said station. I honestly got distracted by the cherry blossoms. So when I finally looked at google maps I realized I needed to cross the river. I found a bridge that led to a neighborhood that I could cut through. Started walking thru the neighborhood and didn’t realize the street I was on was a dead end,there had been a split in the road but it looked like a dead end…turned out it was the other way around! The street that was a dead end ended up being the cutest neighborhood and I wasn’t even mad that I had gotten off track!

24. I planned on going to Team Labs Tokyo, but after watching Rion Ishida’s video where he vi decided against it. Don’t know what other people think about it but it seems like it’s not worth the time or money.