Hey all, first time traveling to Japan after dreaming about it for 30+ years. I’m very excited but I’m starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by some of the trip planning and just want to see if what I’m looking at is doable. I found out I had PTO hours I had to burn or lose so my timeline is pretty short on planning which is making me feel a bit overwhelmed.
I’ve booked traditional hotels as I speak very little Japanese (I’m trying to crash course some conversational/travel phrases) and I do have some visible tattoos so since this is a solo trip navigating what onsens/ryokan are possible felt like a bit much.
I have no problem with solo travel generally (did a trip last summer solo to Manhattan and loved it, language/culture barrier is bigger here obviously, but have also done tons and tons of solo work travel). My main issue is where I live we just … don’t have trains. Or public transit.
My main goal is just to see cool things in Japan. I want to play at some traditional/old school arcades as this has been a dream of mine since I was a kid. Beyond that I want to see the aquarium in Osaka and was going to do Universal Studios to see Super Nintendo World but I watched a YouTube video on it and feel like I got everything I would out of it in person; so food/arcades/cool things to see is my main goal.
The trip will be end of December into New Years Day.
This is my daily area planning/where I’m currently booked, but willing to travel locally in any of these areas to see recommendations. I’ve found that for solo trips having a couple of stops planned but then going with the flow works well for me.
Day 1 – Travel Day
Day 2 – Arrive in Akihabara Tokyo (Settle in / Arcades / Tech Culture)
Day 3 – Akihabara Tokyo (Arcades/Tech Culture – Specifically HEY)
Day 4 – Akihabara Tokyo (Arcades/Tech Culture)
Day 5 – Travel to Central Kyoto (Traditional Japanese sightseeing going into Christmas)
Day 6 – Central Kyoto (Traditional Japanese sightseeing going into Christmas)
Day 7 – Travel to Kita Osaka (Traditional Japanese sightseeing going into Christmas)
Day 8 – Kita Osaka (Christmas / Enjoying the lights / Aquarium if it is open)
Day 9 – Kita Osaka (Traditional Japanese sightseeing going into Christmas)
Day 10 – Travel to ??? (Currently this night is booked at the same hotel below in Shinjuku Tokyo – Have considered Hiroshima but would would change my train plans from Hokuriku Arch to JR, and in the current timeline would make this an 8 day travel window)
Day 11 – ??? (Currently this night is booked at the same hotel below in Shinjuku Tokyo)
Day 12 – Shinjuku Tokyo (Arcades / Tokyo Night Life)
Day 13 – Shinjuku Tokyo (Arcades / Tokyo Night Life)
Day 14 – Shinjuku Tokyo (Arcades / Tokyo Night Life / New Year’s Eve)
Day 15 – Travel Day (return to USA)
Currently the ??? portion is booked in Shinjuku at the same hotel near the JR station. My plan was to find somewhere more fun to spend NYE but I was told to book early because Tokyo can get pretty packed for that night – turns out that is true. I’ll probably end up holding the hotel for the last 3 nights as a result but I am looking for a recommendation between those two either somewhere cool to stop on the way back, or another neighborhood in Tokyo worth checking out.
My questions are:
– Is this amount of travel reasonable for someone who doesn’t speak the language/is going completely solo?
– Does anyone have any good Arcade recommendations (not claw games, traditional cabinets or simulation/experience games)
– Is there enough to see in Osaka to just extend my time there, or is it worth stopping somewhere on the way back to Tokyo?
– Does this level of travel make a JR Pass under the new prices worth it? I was actually looking at the Hokuriku Arch Pass and am still not against that but didn’t know enough about the places on the north/west coast to justify it
Sorry if some of these questions are repetitive to other posters, just trying to ease some pre-travel anxiety. Thank you 🙂
8 comments
Don’t have a lot of insight but I did recently return from my own first time trip to Japan and I had very little trouble getting around. Trains and such are confusing at first but I quickly got the hang of it. Tokyo station can be bewildering and Osaka metro is hot and confusing, but other than that it’s not too difficult. I speak zero Japanese.
It’s my understanding that with new price increase on the JR pass if you’re just doing the usual Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto loop it’s not worth it but I could be wrong.
Hi OP,
From what I can tell, it’s a solid itinerary. The only issue that makes you feel a bit overwhelmed is travelling to and from once you’re in Japan, and since you’re splitting Tokyo up – it’s an additional hassle to book multiple hotels.
If it’s not too late, a drastic consideration is to split your arrival and departure destinations to save on time and money. Eg. Arrive via Kansai International Airport and stay in Osaka for your first leg (with day trips to Kyoto) and then take the Shinkansen to Tokyo midway and say the second leg in Tokyo before departing via Narita or Haneda.
If this isn’t possible, disregard. With new JRPass pricing, even a round trip Shinkansen ticket between Tokyo and Osaka will be cheaper than a 7 day JRPAss, much less a 14 day pass; so don’t bother prebooking those in my opinion. You can easily purchase your tickets on the day of travel.
I think it’s a good idea to learn basic Japanese for the essentials, like when you enter a restaurant – in your case you’ll say “Hitori” to indicate you’ll be dining alone.
“Eigo menu onegaishimasu” means english menu – although if presented with an all Japanese menu, Google Lens will work well.
I did a similar trip in 2 weeks. Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kawaguchiko, Tokyo, Yokohama. I think it’s entirely doable. I felt like I could have maybe went to more places to be honest – majority of the trip was spent in Tokyo. Depends what you want to see!
Yo my friend and I spoke zero Japanese apart from the very very basics (hello and thank you lol) and got along fine.
Btw you can use google translate. It has text to text and text to speech. Most of the service crew we met are happy to oblige.
If you have an iPhone, you can simply take a photo of a menu and it can auto translate it for you. It does a passable job. I’m not sure about whether android has the same function, but I’m pretty sure it does too.
Its actually one of the more realistic itineraries I’ve seen on here.
I would strongly recommend Hiroshima, but it is a big travel add. Although I wasn’t solo, it stuck me as a place a solo traveller could enjoy, with places for quiet reflection, but places you can be social without Japanese language (e.g. Okonomimura has a few English speaking chefs who will help bridge the language gap and are great fun, craft beer bars who are used to international customers).
I spent 3 nights of my 16 there this year (with a Miyajima day trip) and I’d go back.
I did it recently, all via Airbnb and had a wonderful time. All the apartments were lovely and functional, and VERY cheap.
Your plans look fine for a first trip to Japan. To be honest and for a 14 day trip I don’t think it’s worth it to go to more places than Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka areas otherwise you will spend too much time of your holidays handling logistics/checking in and out of hotels and on trains instead of really spending time in each place. You also need to factor jet lag on your first days which may hit you a little bit. I would just skip Hiroshima. It’s nice but it’s a bit far and for a first timer on a 2 week trip the Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka axis is really more than enough (unless you are one of those box-ticker tourists which I am not – I prefer to get a real feel for the places where I am instead of just hopping around all the time). Personally and looking at your travel plans I would spend at least 3 to 4 days in Kyoto. Minimum. 2 nights seems short. I see you still have 2 “undecided” days so I would just move the Osaka dates and spend at least two more nights in Kyoto (and maybe spend one of those Kyoto/Osaka days going to Nara or something like that from your Kyoto/Osaka base). There’s really a lot to see and do in Kyoto (dozens of temples/gardens/ older style streets/ the areas around the mountains surrounding the city/ parks / river walks, etc…). Much more than in Osaka in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong Osaka is nice but most of the things you will see there you will also find similar stuff in a Tokyo. During your stay in Tokyo I would also recommend using one day to go to Hakone/Kamakura area… it’s a nice one day trip.
I just got back from two weeks in Tokyo Kyoto Hiroshima Nara hakone. Can reply with any questions happy to help!!
I have to mention that the Jr pass avoided me waiting in lines which was a huge benefit and peace of mind.
Language wise you’ll be perfectly fine. Ask for English menu and learn how to say one of these and two of these, check please etc.
Arcade I ran into two in Tokyo and Kyoto. I had some trouble paying with my suica. Hey Hirose entertainment in akihabara but there are others. The thing is the arcade was a little disappointing for me. Just fighting games and DJ/dancing games. They had a few shoot ‘em ups which was nice for me. But again it was pure claw games one or two floors and the rest these super new anime style music games and fighting games.
Osaka I only went as a day trip from Kyoto via Nara just for dotonburi and I got some amazing katsudon at an awesome restaurant the portion was HUGE (katsudon chiyomatsu)