Trip report: 10.5 days in Osaka, Kyoto, Himeji, Hiroshima and Tokyo in Oct-Nov

Hi all! We just got back from our incredible trip. Reading everyone’s trip reports was a great resource for us while we were planning our trip, so here’s us giving back. This post is going to be super long, but I’ll go through each day and put a few general points at the end. Sorry for any possible typos.

This trip was our honeymoon. We’re in our 30s and pretty used to walking. I’ve been to Japan once before 11 years ago, this was my husband’s first trip. I know some Japanese, my husband learned a few key phrases. We wanted a good balance with seeing several places and taking it easy. We feel like we managed to do just that and are very happy with how our trip went!

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**Oct 23rd and 24th – Osaka 🌆**

* We flew HEL-KIX, leaving on Sun 22nd and landing on Mon 23rd. Flight time was around 13 hours. We decided to fill out the immigration and customs cards on paper during the flight. The immigration lineup was surprisingly chaotic, but we got through with no problems. We took a couple of trains to get to our hotel (with a very lovely young lady helping us find our exit at Minamimorimachi station), checked in and changed before going out for dinner. We found our way to Hankyu at Osaka Umeda station and ended up eating ramen at Kamukura. After that we bought little hand towels at a nearby 7/11 before getting back to our hotel and crashing for the night.
* Woke up feeling pretty good on Tue 24th. After breakfast we went to get our **Rail Passes** (bought before the price hike) and **Icoca cards**. On the way to Osaka railway station we happened to come across Tsuyuten jinja, a shrine dedicated to the tragic love story of Ohatsu and Tenjin. Walking through the shrine became a habit for us. At Osaka station we lined up at the ticket counter and got our Rail Passes by showing our reservation numbers. Super simple stuff. I then decided to try out my Japanese and got us our Icoca cards, too. Everthing went super smoothly and I was embarrassingly proud of myself.
* It was still so early we lined up for the elevator to **Nintendo and Pokémon stores**. We got in right when they opened, and the stores got packed really quickly. I’m happy we got to browse the shelves before the register lines started to wrap around the stores. Bought some souvenirs.
* After a quick break we went to **Umeda Sky Building** and enjoyed the views of the city. The weather was perfect so we got to enjoy the rooftop, too. After that we went back to Osaka station and ate pasta for lunch at Lavagna since it was the first restaurant we saw. Spent a couple hundred yen on Sailor Moon+Sanrio gachapon.
* Took a local subway line to **Dotonbori.** Walked around and took in the sights and smells. It was somewhat crowded, but nothing that caused us anxiety. We ate incredibly delicious fried sweet potato slices from a street vendor but nothing else really caught our eye. I feel like taking pictures of the Glico man was way faster and easier from the lower level rather than on the bridge.
* Decided to walk to the hotel through **Shinsaibashi-suji.** Checked out Book-Off and Daiso, but that’s about it. We were pretty tired at this point so we didn’t feel like browsing much. On the way back we were crossing the Naniwabashi when we saw the **Nakanoshima rose garden** underneath it. What a beautiful place! Sat down for a bit there before returning to our hotel.

**Oct 25th – Kyoto ⛩**

* Took a few trains to **Fushimi inari taisha,** where we got off at Inari station around 9.20 am. Pretty bustling already! We were planning on climbing the whole Mt. Inari, so we didn’t spend too much time around the main shrine area. We bought some souvenirs and wrote a prayer on an *ema* plate after the first *torii* tunnel. This was probably the most congested area. We kept going up and ate some fried sweet potato with ice cream at the restaurant on the way. As others have said, the crowds thin out the higher up you go. The views of Kyoto were lovely, and we took several breaks just to keep hydrated. At the crossroads we went right and looped around. The summit is a somewhat bland experience, but we loved the way down. Saw a lot of shinto priests walking in formation somewhere. After some souvenir shopping we ate at Watashi no kare.
* We took another train to Nijo, where after an accidental detour (and Shinsen-en garden) we got to **Nijo-jo.** Loved all the details in the decorations! You can’t take photos inside the castle and you have to take off your shoes. After that, we walked around the gardens. The peace and quiet was just what we needed after the heavy crowds of Fushimi inari.
* Took a train to Kyoto station, went up to the little garden on top for views of the city (saw a lightning bolt!) and ended up eating dinner at McDonald’s, since we were super tired and wanted something easy and simple. You know what you’re getting when you eat at McDonald’s.
* Did coin laundry back at hotel. We had to ask help from another guest with the laundry detergent. He was super kind and made sure we got the laundry machine working!

**Oct 26th – Himeji** 🏯

* Our calves were really feeling the day before, but we soldiered on. Took a train to Himeji. It was a pleasantly slow-ish train and we really enjoyed the views. You can see the castle straight from the train station!
* Walked to **Himeji castle.** What a beautiful and fascinating place! I’ve seen some opinions that it’s boring since it’s basically only ever been used as a storage, but we were super into it. Getting to take our shoes off was welcome, too. We toured the entire place and took our time. There were a lot of people inside the castle itself, but nothing we couldn’t deal with. It’s not a place for someone with bad knees, though. There were a lot of very steep steps. Bought some ice cream since it was so warm and we needed something to keep our sugar levels up.
* Went next door to **Ko-koen** gardens. I could have spent the whole day there, too. There are several garden areas with different themes and you get to see Himeji castle peek from behind the trees, too. I definitely want to go back there some day, especially during another season. The restaurant and tea house were full, so we didn’t stop there.
* Ate at Sen-hime. The machine at the front had English and Japanese menu items in different spots so I didn’t get what I ordered, but I was fine with my food. The old lady serving us was very lovely and came outside to thank us as we left. We both felt like we want to come back to Himeji one day to explore more!

**Oct 27th – Kyoto again ⛩**

* The weather forecast was warning us about a thunderstorm in the afternoon, so we decided to check out one thing in the morning and then see how the day went. We reserved our seats for the upcoming shinkansen trips at Osaka station. We didn’t press the Rail Pass button at first and were kind of confused until we started over. And we had mixed up our Rail Passes and got error messages about our passport numbers not being correct until we figured to swap our passes. Oops.
* Took a train to Kyoto again and after a 7/11 snack (sorry to the lady who couldn’t find their walking tour, hope your day wasn’t ruined!) we took off to **Sanjusangen-do.** We went down a much quieter road and really loved walking there. Crossed the Kamogawa, too. The statues inside the temple were very impressive! No photos, though. We loved the concept of the archery contests, too. Walked around the garden.
* We decided to walk to the city center following Kamogawa. A mistake in the hot weather, but we got there! Ate lunch at Morimori sushi, a conveyor sushi place. A neat experience! Continued our way to **Tokyu Hands** where I bought a whole lot of stationary stuff. It had started to drizzle and it turned into a whole downpour on our way to Kyoto station. Turned out that thunderstorm warning was real! At Kyoto station we went to the post office to buy and send post cards before heading back to Osaka, where we ate yakisoba at Abeno takoyaki Yamachan.

**Oct 28th – Hiroshima 🚋**

* Checked out from our hotel and sent our luggage to Tokyo. We only had our backpacks and a duffel bag for this leg of the trip.
* Took a local train to Shin-Osaka, bought ekiben and took a shinkansen to Hiroshima. We had reserved seats, which was very nice. It felt like most of the trip was spent in tunnels, but I really loved the views. We couldn’t get seats next to each other, but that was fine.
* Checked into our hotel and left our bags there since we couldn’t go up to our room yet. Took the streetcar (quite packed!) to the **peace park.** The mood in the peace park is understandably a bit different to normal parks. It felt kind of odd taking photographs. There were local volunteer guides and a very large group of school kids. We circled the park and had coffee and sandwiches at Backen Mozart cafe after seeing the line to the museum.
* The line for the **Peace Memorial Museum** was long but moved surprisingly fast. The museum was absolutely packed, being a Saturday, but we took our time. The whole park and museum combo is a very sombering experience. Didn’t want to take any photos here even though we could have. We were pretty upset at a big French tourist group that speeded through the museum and were so loud and disruptive they actually had to be shushed. Don’t be like them. By the time we left the museum it was near closing time. We walked back to our hotel.

**Oct 29th – Miyajima ⛴**

* Woke up early to beat the crowds. Took the train to Miyajimaguchi and the JR ferry to the island.
* Walked up to the **big** ***torii*** **gate** and took our photos with very few people around. The deer were very relaxed, too. Went up the hill to see the pavillion and pagoda before making our way to the **Ropeway.** The walk up there was so nice! Went all the way up to the **Shishiiwa observatory,** the views were stunning! We decided to walk to the **Misenhon-do** temple. Not sure I’d want to do it again, we were sweating super hard by the time we got there. At the temple they were practicing for a performance which was very lovely to watch while snacking. Walked back to the ropeway and went down.
* By the time we got down to the streets there were soooo many people! We ducked into Miyajima shokudo for lunch before some souvenir shopping on the main street.
* We got interviewed in English by local school kids! They absolutely butchered my name when writing it down, but I didn’t have the heart to correct them. Their teacher took a group picture of us and the kids gave us thank you gifts.
* We went the next street over for some peace and quiet and ended up getting coffee and ice cream at Miyazato cafe. I loved this place. It was quiet, there was a ticking wall clock and a beautiful inner garden. We ended up buying fabric coasters from them! Decided to head back to Hiroshima where we ate dinner at Narau since we had no luck getting into vegan okonomiyaki places.

**Oct 30th – Tokyo 🗻**

* Woke up early and checked out. Since we didn’t get reserved seats on the shinkansen to Shin-Osaka, we got to the train station early to line up for the train. At Shin-Osaka we bought ekibens and changed trains to Tokyo. On the way there the weather was once again perfect and we got incredible views of **Mt. Fuji!** Since we had seats on the right side of the train, we went to the car door to look out.
* Checked into our hotel before heading out to explore **Asakusa.** Saw another poster recommending the pottery/kitchenware store **Dengama**, so we started by heading there. I could have spent my entire budget in that store. Bought some souvenirs and continued down the **Kappabashi street.** Ended up buying more souvenirs at **Hashitou.**
* The stores were beginning to close so we headed towards Senso-ji. On the way there we stopped for yakitori at Motsukushi.
* Checked out the **Senso-ji area.** We feel like the area was even more beautiful in the evening with the fantastic lighting they’ve put up. Not too many people, either. Logged a virtual geocache. Headed back to the hotel and used the coin laundry machines.

**Oct 31st – Mt. Takao 🌄**

* We wanted to avoid the Halloween craziness. Another early wake up. Accidentally took a slow local train to Takaosanguchi, but it was fine. This whole day was a nice break from the cities and large amounts of people.
* We climbed up route no. 6. It was fascinating comparing the nature to our native one. The route followed a little creek most of the time. The path was mostly clay-like, so it will definitely be slippery on rainy days. On the way up there was a ceremony going on at a waterfall which gave us an incredible audio background with the chanting. Near the end the route goes up the bottom of the creek, so make sure to wear shoes that can take a little bit of water. The stairs at the very end were the most brutal part in our opinion.
* The views from the peak of **Mt. Takao** were okay, but it was a cloudy day. We felt like the climb up was more rewarding. We took route no. 1 down to the cablecar and then rode that down. There are beautiful temple areas along the way. We ate lunch at Sakae chaya at the bottom of the mountain, it wasdelicious! Took a faster train back to Tokyo. Bought some fruits and salad for dinner.

**Nov 1st – Tokyo 🗼**

* Started the day with **Koishikawa korakuen-koen.** We got there as it opened and loved strolling around mostly by ourselves. I kind of want to see the wisterias and irises there, one day! We took the train to the **Metropolitan government building** to check out the free observatory. Didn’t have to queue for long and got treated to incredible views of Tokyo while listening to people play the public piano.
* Walked to Shinjuku station and got abolutely lost trying to find food. I ended up having a bit of a meltdown before we noticed a Sushiroo conveyor belt restaurant and ate lunch there. Then we continued on foot towards Harajuku. We passed through **Meiji jingu shrine** where they were preparing for the culture day. They had beautiful ikebana on display. Continued on to the **Sailor Moon store** where I bought some merch. It’s a very small store, but it was fun to check out.
* Kept walking towards **Shibyua** where we took in the **Shibuya crossing**. We went into an arcade where I tried the drumming game (so much fun!!) and we managed to beat some locals in Mario Kart! Fun stuff! Took a quick photo of **Hachiko** before heading to **Akihabara.** There we looked around some stores, but didn’t really buy anything. Took in the lights and mood, really. Ate at Shogun burger and walked back to our hotel.

**Nov 2nd – Tokyo 🗼**

* Our last full day!! Went to check out a wind chime store called **Shinohara Maruyoshi Furin** where I bought some souveniers. A tiny shop, but I loved it there. The owner kept bringing freshly painted wind chimes to the shelves. I spoke Japanese with the owner who knew quite a bit about our home country. Fun encounter! It seems like you can blow and paint your own wind chimes there, too.
* Bought some 7/11 ice cream before staring to make our way to the Skytree. While walking along the Sumidagawa we saw a lot of older people drawing and painting the nearby bridges. Giggled at the Asashi golden poop. Ate lunch at Tokyo Sumigawa Brewing.
* It was a really hot day! We got to the **Skytree,** ate more ice cream there and decided to head back towards Asakusa. Looked around Senso-ji area in daylight, bought last souveniers and breakfast for the next morning before going back to the hotel to pack up, shower and change for the evening. We met up with old friends and ate dinner at Torikizoku. After some group pictures at Senso-ji we parted ways and went to bed.

**Nov 3rd – back to HEL ✈**

* Woke up at 3.30 am in order to catch an early train. This train trip caused me the most anxiety since the train got incredibly crowded and I was worried we wouldn’t be able to get out in time. We did, fortunately. Even though we had completed our check-in online, the automated machines told us to check-in at the counter. We did and got through security and border control easily.
* Flight back took nearly 16 hours (!!!) due to a volcano eruption in Russia. Not a fun time, and we’re still feeling the jetlag.

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**General points and stuff:**

* Buy or bring a small hand towel! While most public toilets have hand dryers nowadays, there are still toilets where you have no means of drying your hands. We saw several tourists confused about the lack of paper towels. We also had hand sanitizer with us. Most toilets are the western style, now.
* We stayed at Toyoko Inns for the whole trip. Perfectly fine business hotels in good locations. The mattresses were hard, but we slept like babies through every night since we walked so much. The free breakfast buffet was one of the deciding factors for us, since it helped us start each day with a full belly.
* We used up most of our cash, only withdrew more once and used card to pay most of the time. Do note, though, that some shops and cashiers get incredibly confused if you have a combined credit/debit card and have to choose which to use. Other than that, no problems with paying.
* The Rail Pass and Icoca were super convenient to hop around on trains and other public transport. The Rail Pass especially gave us a piece of mind since we could come and go on trains as we wanted. We bought the Rail Pass with the old prices. We charged up our Icocas a few times.
* We saved locations on Google Maps and then downloaded those maps offline, which helped us navigate around. We also downloaded the Navitime app to figure out trains and transfers. It worked great! For internet we mostly used the free wi-fi spots available and also our mobile provider’s travel deal when necessary.
* Locals dress according to calendar more than weather. Wearing shorts was very much a tourist thing to do, despite the 20+ celcius weather. Locals also wear more muted colours.
* There were a looot of school groups! They behaved well and moved on fairly quickly, but we sometimes decided to hang around until they had passed by.
* Like everyone else has suggested, forward your luggage! We saw so many people struggling with their luggage on the shinkansen in the non-reserved cars and train stations. Also make use of the coin laundry service, if your hotel has one. This cut down the amount of clothes we needed by a lot.
* Knowing even a little bit of Japanese goes a long way. While we definitely could’ve managed with just English, we felt like the service we got was even warmer whenever I tried to speak Japanese. All the important signs and announcements are in English, so don’t worry though! The locals won’t be afraid to help you to the very end, even if you don’t have a common language and have to use a translator.
* We ate a lot of 7/11 onigiri and other snacks in order to not go hangry, especially since we walked so much. At the end we had to go to a grocery store to buy some fruits and vegetables though, since our bodies were really starting to crave something fresh. We went to Mybasket (まいばすけっと).

So that’s it! We already have plans to go back someday and see some things we left out this time. Thanks for reading and feel free to ask if you have any questions.