So you have a week in the Kansai region of Japan and it’s
your first time – Lucky you! But just how will you spend it? There’s years
worth of things to see, but having spent a few months in the region here’s how
I’d spend a full week in Kansai. I’ll be using Osaka as our base for this itinerary
as my friend is staying there and travelling from there with a hotel in Northern
Shinsaibashi.
Firstly, arriving! Kansai International Airport is great for
international flights and may work out cheaper than going direct to Tokyo. You
might be getting the shinkansen from Tokyo, but I’m going to assume you’re
flying in which leads to
Day 1 ‘s
Most prominent feature…Jetlag! It’s hard to account for how
you’ll settle in or what time your flight will arrive, so I count this as a
‘free’ day to explore as much – or as little of Osaka as you are able to. But
whether you do it all in your first day or split it across several evenings
after travelling, you should see Dotonbori, Shinsaibashi, and Namba areas on
foot at both day and night time. Honestly you could spend weeks exploring these
areas, so it’s a great place to just wander without time pressure and find some
food or souvenirs.
You’ll find every cuisine Osaka has to offer from Takoyaki
stands to Kushikatsu resturants in this district, bars a plenty, and a lot of
potential souvenirs from the Pokemon Center and Book-Off to Nippombashi’s
dozens of anime shops. If you have a bit more time, you could venture to Osaka
castle then stroll up Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street, the longest arcade in
Japan before visiting the station area as well, maybe even see the city from on
high in the Umeda sky building. But mostly, relax. Embrace wandering and find
something cool. You can always explore
Osaka’s nightlife bit by bit when you get back on other days and honestly it’s
one of the best places to be at night in Japan.
Day 2
We start to travel! Given we don’t know how jetlag is going
to set in, we have a shorter day-trip to Nara you can manage in a few hours if
need be. You can get the train from either Osaka or Shin-Imamiya station
depending on where you’re staying. For example if you’re staying in northern
Shinsaibashi, you might get on at Nagahoribashi, change at Dobutsuen-Mae for
the short walk to Shin-Imamiya, and go from there.
Once in Nara, you’ll want to take the half an hour walk from
the station to Kofuku-ji Temple. It’s a beautiful street to walk along so I
wouldn’t get the bus. It’s at this temple your first sightings of Deer are
likely to appear, and from there you can explore the park and see hundreds of
them. If you want you can buy some food for them from a nearby vendor, but just
be careful as while they will bow for you to get food, they might not be
satisfied with just one bite!
You can freely explore Nara park from there and see where it
takes you – but although I think just wondering and being surprised with what
you find is best, I’d recommend exploring up to Kasuga Taisha Shrine to get
lost in the forest only to emerge at a beautiful shrine, then head over to Todai-ji
Nigatsudo to get a wonderful view of Nara where you can relax for five minutes
after your walk.
On the way back, you have a few options depending on time
and preference. You can head back down and see Tōdai-ji if you want to see one
of Japan’s largest Buddha statues, before stopping off at the free but quaint Yoshikien
Garden for a while. There’s a paid garden nearby I didn’t try, as well as a few
museums you may enjoy but I didn’t see either. There’s lots of variety, and the
feline folk among you may even enjoy the Catship Museum! Just be warned it’s
only open on weekends. Make your way back and explore a little more before
resting up for a longer day.
Day 3
Hopefully you’ve recovered from Jetlag, as we’re in for a
long day you may want to rise early for to be there for 9am opening. We’re
going to get the subway up to Osaka station and see both Himeji and Kobe today!
Now there is a shinkansen to Himeji that google might try and recommend you,
but for just 1500 yen each way the Tokaido-Sanyo Line can get us to Himeji
Station in just over an hour, compared to the bullet trains 40, minutes, so
it’s worth the extra 20 minutes for a third of the cost!
From here you exit via the northern exit at Himeji and will
instantly see the castle we’re heading to. Make the walk up and head to the
castle grounds first and find your way to the ticket gate. There’s a zoo here,
if that’s your thing. But as for the castle make sure you get the joint ticket
for the gardens as it’ll save time later. With your ticket in hand, explore one
of the grandest castles still standing – Himeji really is worth the explore.
Once you’re done, the Garden next door, Koko-en is one of my
favourite in Japan. You’ll notice two queues if it’s like when I last went – a
long, intimidating one on the right for if you just want to visit the gardens,
and one on the left where you can walk straight into the gardens with the
ticket we bought earlier. Take your time and explore. Both the gardens and the
castle together can take several hours. From there, you can head back toward
the station. There’s lots of shops on the way and Conger Eel is a speciality of
Himeji if you want to try something local.
But after Himeji we’re going to Kobe! There’s lots to see in
the city, but I’d recommend getting off at Kobe station itself and being ready
for a walk. There’s a shopping mall at Kobe Harborland right by if you’re
hungry, but I’d wait a little longer. Then you can take a leisurely walk along
the sea until you reach Chinatown, with lots of street foods or restaurants to
try! Then it’s time to assess how your day is going, as you basically have the
rest of the day to explore Kobe until say, an hour-ish before sunset. You can
explore the busy shopping areas, enjoy the parks along the coast, go a little
further inland to Sōrakuen Garden or visit Ikuta Jinja, one of the oldest
shrines in Japan. Maybe even try some Kobe beef! Just do your research online
and make sure it’s real wagyu, as there are also dodgy sellers who sell beef….in
kobe. Kobe beef. Not Wagyu. I went to a legitimate place called Kishuya, and
can’t recommend it enough – definitely the best meat I’ve ever eaten, and the
lunch set is cheaper than at night.
One thing I wouldn’t miss is the area outside Kobe Maritime
Museum – I didn’t go in, but it’s a wonderful area to take in the sea air. If
you have quite a bit of time left, you can even see a waterfall by getting up
to Shin-Kobe, going under the station and taking the walk to Nunobiki Waterfall.
On the way you can see Kitano Ijinkan-Gai, an area of Western-Style homes that
stands out in Japan and its worth a stroll through. Ultimately anywhere between
Kobe Station and Sannomiya station will be worth wandering around and
exploring.
Once sunset draws near though, it’s time to head up to the
Maya Cablecar to see one of the finest night views in Japan. You could find a
bus on google from wherever you are, but via train the easiest way is to go to Ojikoen
Station and make the 20 minute walk from there – just be warned it’s a steep
climb so you may prefer the bus! The cablecar is about £10 up and down, but
it’s a wonderful place to watch sunset with a café if you want something to eat
or drink. But make sure you wait for night to fall and the city to light up –
once the streets of Kobe light up, the city literally twinkles like a thousand
stars in the sky and it’s breathtaking. Once you’re done, it’s back down on the
train and back to Osaka for the night as you prepare to get up **early – **like
at least 7am – for the next day!
Day 4
And it’s a long one once more as we visit Kyoto – bring your
walking shoes! You can split Kyoto up across two days – and probably should –
but we’re going to try and fit it in one. Which means getting up extra early! You’ll
normally go via Osaka Station to Kyoto Station, but from our sample hotel in
Shinsaibashi there’s the Hankyu-Kyoto Line which proves superior if we leave at
the right time– we can go straight from Sakaisuji Hommachi Station to
Ibaraki-shi Station, change at Katsura Station, then change again to get to
Arashiyama, our first stop.
From here we can walk across the gorgeous bridge – an
attraction in itself, with a Ho-Oh Pokemon Manhole – to the beautiful and
historical shopping street. Maybe we stop for an ice cream then head to
Tenryu-ji Temple. Remember to take off your shoes…unlike me…then enjoy
wandering the historical temple and the beautiful garden beyond. You can take
the back exit to have a quick look at the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest you’ll see
in all the photos, which if you got up early enough might even be quiet enough
to enjoy, but with all the usual tourists it’s not worth more than a quick look
before heading back. Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street looks cool and I didn’t
go, and only adds 17 minutes to your walk, but then it’s 17 minutes back to the
station. From there, we’re back to central Kyoto – there’s a few ways back, but
the cheapest is to walk back to Arashiyama Station, get back to Katsura
Station, then go onto Kyoto-Kawaramachi Station. This takes you right in the
thick of Kyoto’s downtown and is a great place to explore in its own right, wherever
takes your eye – possibly a good place for breakfast or lunch before moving on.
From here we want to cross the bridge towards Hanamikoji
Street and explore the Gion district a little, which has the real traditional
Kyoto vibe we love. It’ll be too early to see Geisha, but you can stop by later
in the evening if you’re desperate you might get lucky. From here we talk to
Yasaka-Jinja Shrine and enjoy the greenery as we begin our walk through the
traditional district. There’s even a Pokemon Manhole, if you want to see it and
a public garden. From there we head north past – or through – a string of
temples. From here there’s a few ways to walk so just take whichever road seems
most enticing, but we’re heading for my favourite street in Kyoto, The
Philosophers Path. A stoned path, a clear river with fish, and a dozen small
temples and shrines you can poke your nose in along the way as your curiosity
sees fit. It’s not quite the same when it’s full of tourists, but I still love
the area.
Once we reach the end of the path, it’s a further 12-minute
walk to Higashiyama Jisho-ji, one of my favourite Gardens in Kyoto. It’s a
single walking route through the moss-covered Gardens but it’s well worth the
stroll. But now we really are out in the sticks of Kyoto – well, train wise at
least. You can either choose to make the 40 minute walk or get a 22 minute bus
to the Imadegawa Entrance of the Imperial Palace Grounds. If you fancy the walk the river area around
Shimogamo Shrine is lovely and you can walk up to it through the woods for a
nice detour. When I went there was an outdoor book market in the woods, which
just felt unreal.
The palace grounds are free to walk around, and there are
two palaces to enter. The first, Kyoto Imperial Palace, requires a security
check and registration, but you can enter any time of day. There are a few
English tours worth waiting for a bit of time if you happen to arrive when one
is about to happen, but you needn’t structure your day around it. The second building,
Kyoto Sento Imperial Palace, has a beautiful garden to explore, but you can
only enter on a pre-booked guided tour and spaces fill up fast, so be quick and
book! After that you can explore the palace grounds some more then leave by the
south eastern exit and from here we’re heading to my second favourite Kyoto
destination, Fushimi Inari. It’s a bit of a mountain hike so we need a good
amount of daylight ahead of us, but it might be time for a little break from
walking to some lunch. You can get closer trains, but the cheapest will be a 25
minute walk to Sanjo Station and then go straight down to Fushimi Inari
Station.
From here walk to Fushimi Inari itself and prepare for a
walk! There’s a lovely viewpoint over Kyoto 2/3rds the way up the climb and a
further 1/3
rd if you want to reach the top. It’s also worth noting
you can – and should – climb up and down the mountain via different routes, as
is the general directed route, so you won’t see the same thing twice. Once
you’re down, that’s the main things sorted! You can get the train back to Kyoto
station or just walk a bit along the river. Kyoto Station itself is worth a little
exploring, with a 10 story set of escalators leading to a nice sky-garden with
a Kyoto view, and more importantly, a floor with about 10 different ramen shops
to choose from for dinner! After a nice dinner I’d exit Kyoto station through
the northern exit and find the water show and wait for the next show at night
as it’s quite a lovely little experience. Assuming it’s night by now, it’s been
a long day and it’s up to you if you want to explore Kyoto anymore, then be
free! To-Ji Temple looks cool lit up at night and is just 15 minutes away, but
honestly if you’ve followed everything on this schedule you’ll have had a busy,
fulfilling day. Go where your heart takes you, whether that be exploring Kyoto
at night or back to base with Osaka! Whatever the case, remember last trains in
Japan tend to be around midnight, so always make sure you’re on the last
connection you need to be on by then.
Day 5
Right, day five is where the disclaimer comes in for why
this post exists. See, I made this guide for a friend who is arriving in
Kansai 4 days before me and I wanted them to know what to do with themselves.
This day – Day 5 – is the day I arrive, and the activities I want to do change
a lot! What me and my friend will do depends
on how my jetlag goes, so I have a few suggestions to make regardless, but it’s
a less strict itinerary.
What we will likely to is explore Osaka – I put everything
for Osaka onto my day one guide, but with jetlag how much you can get to is a
mystery. I’d be sure to thoroughly explore Namba, Dotonbori, , Osaka Castle, and the Osaka Station area.
I’ll probably take my friend to the lovely Okonomiyaki restaurant under the sky
tree and would highly recommend it. There’s also a night time teamlabs
exhibition at Nagai Park you may enjoy, or a wonderful walk though eastern
Osaka that tourists rarely visit to find the five Pokemon manholes there.
There’s a further five in the town of Horyuji, which is on the way to Nara, if
you really love finding these you can stop by. Other notable Osaka attractions
include the massive park around the Tower of the Sun, which is quite impressive
and contains a uniquely modern while traditional Japanese Garden as well as the
strange tower itself.
You could have another day in Kyoto – maybe splitting some
of day 4 up as well as visiting a few spots I missed – for example, the golden
pavilion, which I didn’t really enjoy or Kiyomizu-dera, which I did but is
often far too packed with tourists and still lower down than everything else on
my Kyoto list. The area between Kiyomizu and Hanamikoji Street has a lot to see
though, so it could be worth coming back for, even if it’s not your whole day.
Kyoto always has another temple you could see, another part of history to
uncover – I just personally wouldn’t recommend the Kyoto History Museum, sadly
– expensive and with relatively little on show.
There’s also a great day here to see Universal Studios
Osaka, which is on many Osaka visitors must-see list, especially for
Nintendo-Land. You want to arrive prior to 9am and leave at park close to fit everything
in, so other than a meal in Osaka this is a full day by itself.
Day 6
We will probably do something most tourists won’t do and
that’s explore Nishinomiya. This city is just half an hour away from Osaka and
has a lot to see you won’t find on any tourist guide to Kansai. It has my
favourite shrine in Japan, Hirota Shrine, A shrine over 1800 years old and
covered in a pure white marble leading up to it, and beautiful flowers when
they are in season. It has the Shuku River which while most beautiful in Cherry
Blossom season is a wonderful walk any time of year as a very peaceful, shallow
river to walk and think by. But ultimately this is where my inner anime fan
comes out, as it’s the setting for one of my favourite shows, the Melancholy of
Haruhi Suzumiya.
You can see all the locations from the show in the town, and
even visit the café, café dream, that the cast frequent, which pays homage to
the show with its own Haruhi stamp and notebook, with words from travellers to
the city who are fans of the series which is a joy to browse through. Not
everyone can appreciate these, but I still think the city has a lot to find and
love. I found the city though the anime, but really it let me do what Japan
does best – find somewhere off the beaten path and discover a dozen interesting
things there, such as when I found myself seeing my first city view of Kansai
on a somewhat accidental walk-up Mt Kabuto and the view was stunning. Not
quite the same after Mount Maya, but worth a trip – or at least a little stop
off on the way to Himeji if not.
Day 7
And as for the seventh day, maybe you have a full day but if
this is your last day, checkout is often at 10am and there’s somewhere else to
be – for me and my friend, the long journey to Tokyo (On the slow trains,
meaning the journey only costs 2400円
– check out the seishuin 18 pass!) . If you’ve missed anything on this list,
maybe you can go back to it in the morning – Kyoto is on the way to Tokyo, so a
quick stop for an hour at Kiyo-Mizu Dera early morning is feasible – or in my
case, I want the exclusive merch at the Nintendo Kyoto Store!
But that marks the end to my week in Kansai. Really, it’s a
four day intense itinerary with some bonuses tacked on, but I hope it’s been
useful to you. Let me know if you have any questions, or I do have a video on
each of these cities if you want to see exactly what I did in detail, as well as
a video version of this guide.
Thanks for reading.
** **Finally, a few
general notes for exploring alone –
·
Save this word in your phone – コンビニ – it means convienience store, so
type it into google maps if you ever need a snack, a drink or the toilet,
searching for the closest one of these will likely have one and be a few
minutes away.
·
In restaurants, you need to get attention of the
server most of the time, they won’t come to you. It’s not rude to loudly shout
– sumimasen – for attention.
o
If you go to the Kyoto ramen places, most of them
you get a ticket at the machine outside then just hand it to the chef/server
and no more interaction is required
o
Mizu is water, if you need a drink. Toire is
toilet if you need to find that.
·
A lot of the destinations for entry fees e.g.
garden will only take cash, make sure you have enough
o
Every 7-11 has an English language card machine
to get cash from.