Hi r/JapanTravel – I have been a beloved follower of this subreddit for several years now and even posted my previous [Trip Report from Oct/Nov in 2019.](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/ftbtyg/trip_report_two_weeks_tokyo_osaka_hiroshima_kyoto/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
General Info: This was my third trip to Japan and my boyfriend’s second. We are from Australia, in our late 20s, and a huge amount of our trip revolved around food, experiences, and anime, so this all contributed to our itinerary and planning.
We mostly booked everything in October 2022 and honestly just got REALLY lucky with timing for accommodation, cherry blossom season, weather etc. [Peep some photos here.](https://imgur.com/a/B14iqje)
We were also flying return to Seoul because flights were way cheaper for us and then flying into Osaka and out of Tokyo. I will just cover the Japan portion of our trip here though.
*But first, my top three tips for visiting Japan – no matter the time of year.*
**1. Book everything you can.** If you ***think*** something may need a reservation, reserve it. If you aren’t sure, do your research. SO many experiences, attractions, and places in Japan need a reservation and usually, this needs to be booked weeks in advance (Shibuya Sky, TeamLab, Pokemon Cafe, etc.).
**2. Save sights on Google Maps.** Saving the places you wish to visit on Google Maps means you can instantly visualise where things are located. It also makes it super easy to check how far places are from each other. Sticking to similar areas and factoring in travel time will really help you avoid disappointment.
**3. Be prepared to wait.** If you’re hoping to visit ***anything*** popular or trending in Japan, you need to be prepared to wait. Or perhaps, find alternate locations or options. For example, we visited Gyukatsu Motomura for lunch in Ikebukaro and did not have to wait at all.
*Also, I will pop a TLDR of all the main sites + accommodation in the comments*.
**Day 1: Friday 24 March – Osaka (Namba, Dotonbori)**
We landed in Osaka mid-morning with the hopes of arriving at Namba Station by lunch… oh boy. I am not sure if it was just a huge influx of visitors, but customs took about 2 hours. We were pretty frazzled at this stage, but thankfully, we pulled it together to navigate our way to Namba Station (Thanks Rapi:t Express).
After checking into Fraser Residence Nankai we stumbled across the road to Ippudo for some much-needed ramen. And it was spectacular.
That afternoon we visited Namba Yasaka Shrine, explored the Namba area a little more and made our way to Dotonbori in the evening.
I got my beloved Kukuru takoyaki – well worth the wait (Hot tip: There are so many Kukuru locations around Dotonbori, some have much shorter lines). We then wandered around the back streets of Hozenji Yokocho before we felt the pull of CoCo’s… Absolute guilty pleasure and much needed after a day of travel.
**Day 2: Saturday 25 March – Osaka (Osaka Castle, Umeda, Sumo)**
Blossoms were starting to bloom across Osaka so we went to Osaka Castle to view an abundance of sakura. We arrived around 10 am and crowds were just starting to get a lot heavier as we were walking out of the main Castle area towards the sakura. The Castle grounds are absolutely massive so it’s really nice escaping the city. And, there are a lot of ‘quiet’ areas throughout the grounds once you move further from the Castle itself.
We jumped on a train to explore Umeda and grab a quick lunch. We had a quick wander around Hep Five to check out the new Bandai Namco Official Gashapon Store. Also ticked another guilty pleasure off the list and went to Shake Shack (I know, not very Japanese, but alas we Aussie’s are deprived of these burgers).
Next? SUMO!
We actually planned this whole portion of the trip to be in Osaka for the Grand Sumo Tournament. And it did not disappoint. We arrived around 2:00 pm for the second-division entrance ceremony and stayed until all the matches ended. We used buysumotickets.com to purchase tickets in advance and this process was so easy – we got the exact tickets we were hoping for.
Sitting down for a solid 4 hours did wonders for resting our feet, so we ventured to Matsuya for an easy (and cheap) dinner before making our way to Dotonbori again. We were on a mission to get to Daimaru Shinsaibashi and visit the Pokemon Centre and Jump Shop. Unfortunately, both stores seemed to be super low on stock so we ended up leaving pretty quickly.
Thankfully, I knew exactly what was needed to perk us up – a Pablo cheese tart. They even had a limited edition Sakuramochi flavour. Content with my tart selection, we made our way back to the hotel for the night.
**Day 3: Sunday 26 March – Nara (Deer, Temples, and 12/10 Curry)**
We awoke on Sunday to a very overcast day. We made our way to Nara and slowly explored the sites – it wasn’t raining heavily, but hard enough that it took a bit longer to get around. We hit the main sites: Kofuku-ji, Nara Park, Todai-ji Temple, and Isui–en Garden (we had the sweetest English guide take us around the garden).
After making our way back to the Nara Station area, we scouted out some lunch… and, to this day, this would have to be one of the best meals we’ve had in Japan. It was a specialty Japanese beef curry restaurant called ワギュウスジカレー (searching ‘beef curry in Nara’ should bring this up). The meals were so decently priced and incredibly delicious.
I also HAD to try some fresh mochi from Nakatanidou – this place is quite famous for the fresh mochi they make, especially as you get to watch the incredibly fast rice pounders. This was super close to the restaurant as well!
We were pretty tired once we got back to Osaka that evening so grabbed a quick conbini dinner and hit up an abundance of arcades around Namba and Den Den Town for the remainder of the night. Many yen were lost. A few figures were won.
**Day 4: Monday 27 March – Kyoto, Osaka (Cherry Blossoms, Nagai Botanical Garden)**
With our still-abundant luck, sakura was blossoming all over Kyoto. This day was solely focused on hitting up some key cherry blossom locations and returning to eat one of my favourite desserts of all time.
Needless to say, Kyoto was insanely busy. Definitely the busiest I’ve ever seen it. This didn’t ruin the experience at all – we love exploring and we’ve always found crowds across Japan much more bearable to navigate.
We got the train to Keage Station and started off at the Keage Incline – a former railway track known for picturesque cherry blossoms. Nanzen-ji Temple was next, followed by a beautiful walk along the canal.
Our next destination was Maruyama Park. The Gion weeping cherry was amazing – and SO much bigger than I imagined. There was a selection of street food stalls and heaps of seating in the area to sit and enjoy the blossoms.The next mission was to secure a matcha tiramisu from Maccha House. It’s also located between Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka, making the walk there very worth it. There are so many fantastic stores in this area, you really could spend hours exploring BUT alas, the crowds were very intense and my mission was to secure a tasty treat. And of course, the tiramisu was JUST as good as the first time I had it. Instant bliss.
Walking was on overload that day, and we were only halfway done SO with all the Kyoto boxes ticked, we made our way back to Osaka to rest before hitting up Nagai Botanical Garden later that night.
I’ve seen a lot of mixed feedback on this teamLab art installation. We really enjoyed it and spent about an hour there.
**Day 5: Tuesday 28 March – Osaka (USJ USJ USJ)**
I am going to keep this super simple. This day in Osaka had stand-out weather and all park tickets were sold out prior to us arriving. But we were prepared. Please, make sure you are prepared.
Thankfully, we had purchased the Express Pass 7 from Klook which included time-designated rides for: Koopa’s Challenge, Yoshi’s Adventure, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Flight of the Hippogriff. We also had timed entry included for Super Nintendo World but this was not until 8:00 pm.
Honestly, I do not think I could do USJ without an Express Pass – a majority of lines were 120-150 minutes and the cost FAR outweighed the time-saving. Especially having that Super Nintendo World slot allocated in advance.
We had an absolute blast – both of us are HUGE Harry Potter fans and have played so many Mario games together.
**Day 6: Wednesday 29 March – Nagoya (Shinkansen, Nagoya Castle, Oasis21)**
Onwards to Nagoya! We got the shinkansen mid-morning and arrived in Nagoya around lunch. Highly recommend Nikko Style Nagoya, the rooms were massive (by Japanese standards).
We grabbed some Ichiran for lunch before visiting Nagoya Castle and Honmaru Palace. The castle grounds were surrounded by cherry blossoms, so we spent some time just wandering and taking it in.
Oasis21 was our next stop – this is a funky recreation/shopping/cafe area (??? there is a lot going on) but we discovered a great bakery and there was even a Jump shop in the area. After this, our feet were on death’s door, so we had a quick wander through downtown before grabbing a conbini dinner.
**Day 7: Thursday 30 March – Nagoya (Ghibli Park!!!)**
Ghibli Park day!!!
We fueled ourselves at a Komeda’s Coffee whilst I was in an absolute state of manic panic… I somehow could not log in to my account to access our Ghibli Park tickets. Turns out there was a random 4-digit PIN initially provided during this process that I had not noted down. THANKFULLY whilst we were on the way to the Park, their support team reset my account and I was able to access our tickets – we made it to our allocated time slot with 5-minutes to spare (phew).
I pretty much spent the rest of the day in absolute bliss. One of the first things my boyfriend and I bonded over was our shared love for Studio Ghibli so it meant a lot that we could both experience this together. I’ve visited the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo before and the Grand Ghibli Warehouse is hands-down a much more intricate and immersive experience. We spent way longer here than expected.
After leaving Ghibli Park, we briefly visited Osu Shopping Street before trying out Misokatsu Yabaton (big yes) and hitting up some arcades.
**Day 8: Friday 31 March – Driving to Lake Kawaguchiko**
One thing we wanted to tick off on this trip was seeing Mt. Fuji AND being able to drive around. So, driving from Nagoya to Tokyo with a stopover at Lake Kawaguchiko was the obvious answer.
We had so much fun on the drive – even visiting a few rest stops and making a few detours on the way. Japan drives on the same side of the road as Australia so we got our bearings very quickly.
Even with overcast weather, the view of Mt. Fuji from the Lake was incredible. We spent a few hours here getting lunch (highly recommend Restaurant Romarin), visiting Oishi Park, and trekking up Arakurayama Sengen Park to see the Chureito Pagoda.
The drive to Tokyo was just over an hour from here (Did I play Tokyo Drift on the drive in? Obviously). We dropped the car off at Shimokitazawa and made our way to Shinjuku – we were staying at Mitsui Garden Hotel Jingu-Gaien Tokyo Premier. The night ended in a quick venture to Yoyogi for dinner.
**Day 9: Saturday 1 April – Shinjuku, Shimokitazawa, Shibuya**
To Shinjuku! Eggslut was the breakfast destination of choice and it did not disappoint. We also picked up some baked goods from Boul’ange next door.
I’ve been to Shinjuku Gyoen on each trip and could not break the tradition – especially with some late-blooming sakura to see. BUT for the first time ever, we actually needed a prior reservation (I believe this is just for select weekends) … so we booked for the following day and left for Shimokitazawa.
Shimokitazawa was a great area to explore and wander – there are lots of roads and alleyways to get lost in. I was pretty keen to scour the vintage stores but quickly realised that a lot of items were still pricey. So, onwards to Shibuya Parco.
The 6th Floor of Parco houses the Nintendo Store, Pokemon Store, and a Jump Shop. It may have been our timing but most of these stores were quite low on a lot of stock. It was still great browsing but we surprisingly didn’t buy anything. Would recommend the Parco rooftop though, the garden and view is lovely.
We spent the afternoon napping back at the hotel before coming back to Shibuya for our Shibuya Sky reservation. If you’re looking for the elusive sunset view then definitely book a few weeks in advance – but we loved being there for nighttime too.
**Day 10: Sunday 2 April – Shinjuku, Skytree, Akihabara**
Back to Shinjuku – for delicious french toast this time. Cafe Aaliya is a staple for me when in Tokyo, and I may recommend this to everyone who goes to Japan.
With our reservation ready, we could finally explore Shinjuku Gyoen! The Gardens have an array of sakura so even though a lot of trees had already bloomed, there were also a few varieties that had only just reached full bloom. I love visiting here because it provides such an escape from the hustle of Tokyo.
Hot tip – even if you aren’t interested in the Skytree view, the Skytree area is super cool! We mainly wanted to visit a few stores there, like the Kirby Cafe store, Pokemon, and the Ghibli store. There’s also a crazy amount of food in the area, and we found an amazing bakery called Penny Lane for lunch.
Now… our long-awaited visit to Akihabara. I’d say we spent a good 6 hours here (like always). I also timed this to make sure we arrived in time for Pedestrian Paradise. With all the main streets being closed, it made the rushing around, purchasing of all the gachapon, and hunt for figures a lot more fun. There’s also a small Hitachino Brewing Lab nearby that we checked out.
**Day 11: Monday 3 April – Kamakura**
If you have 4+ days in Tokyo, Kamakura needs to be added to your itinerary. This was such a pleasant, relaxing trip out of the city. We walked through Dankazura which was lined with sakura trees in bloom (I know, I was not expecting this either), visited Hokokuji Temple, and made our way to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine.
Komachi-dori Street was charming, I could have spent too much time in the stores. But, we were hungry, and curry at Oxymoron was the answer (this was great!). After lunch, we went to Glanta to get some custom rings made. This was a nice experience, but my boyfriend got silver and they never re-quoted the price when he chose sizes and they were a lot more expensive than we thought (he loves them though). I ended up choosing the brass, and the rings dulled in less than a week so I really wish I had just invested in the gold.
We got a train to see Kamakura Daibutsu. It was exceptionally beautiful, and I’m glad we visited. We decided to walk back from here to Kamakura Station. We got back to Tokyo around dinner – a relaxing conbini dinner in the hotel was a must.
**Day 12: Tuesday 4 April – TeamLab, Ikebukuro, Nishiazabu**
I know, I know. We did go to TeamLab Planets. We got an early slot and enjoyed the experience (albeit the highly-chlorinated water… try not to think about it?). I would say that I felt like we did enjoy the Botanical Garden a smidge more.
Next stop was Ikebukaro for lunch. We made it to Gyukatsu Motomura and somehow did not have to wait at all. Highly recommend searching for a location outside the ‘main’ areas.
The largest Bandai Gashapon store is in Sunshine City and we wanted to see if we could find any limited/different collections. Definitely felt deja vu at almost every turn as there were a lot of the same machines everywhere. So we cut our losses, grabbed some matcha, and checked out a bunch of arcades, and of course the newly re-opened Animate. If you’re looking for a slightly quieter area that feels like Shinjuku, well Ikebukuro is for you.
Later that night we went to Nishiazabu for our booking at Gonpachi – the notorious Kill Bill restaurant. We were both pleasantly surprised by how delicious the food was. The restaurant itself was also delightful.
**Day 13: Wednesday 5 April – Last day madness**
Last day feels. We were hoping to get breakfast at A Happy Pancake in Ginza but with a 1.5+ hour wait, and only a few hours remaining, we decided against it. There is a conveniently located waffle place next door, so that was our best option.
After breakfast, our day consisted of madly running around to a few last-minute places. Uniqlo, Bic Camera, Yodabashi, Coco’s Curry, Sofmap, and a last 7/11 run. We ventured from Ginza, to Ueno, and back to Akihabara before picking up our luggage and getting the train out to Haneda.
For our next trip, we are going to make sure we aren’t rushing on our last day. Don’t be us, take it all in.
**Next trip?** Yeah, we are going again with a few of our friends in February. So, if anyone has any different recommendations/suggestions for Kyushu that would be amazing!
Edit: Formatting, spelling, etc.