First off, I wanted to thank you guys–along with various travel vloggers, this subreddit was so insightful about not only where to go, but about tips for “baby’s first time in Japan.” I planned a kind of last minute Japan trip (about 4 weeks ahead of time) with my mom, so it was a race against the clock to do all my research and write out a solid itinerary. I thought I’d share what I ended up doing/seeing (and any tips) as a first-timer in Japan in case it can be of any help to someone in the midst of planning their own itinerary (I also, selfishly, wanted to remember everything I did!). I added a lot of commentary, so apologies in advance for my rambles.
**\*** **Before your trip / some tips \***
* I watched a ton of “essential Japanese phrases” YouTube videos and practiced them almost every day leading up to my trip. Here are some of my favorite videos: [1](https://youtu.be/03-NQk__zNI), [2](https://youtu.be/rLsd7p-i7F8), [3](https://youtu.be/R64aOlkFhvU), [4](https://youtu.be/74aYs6rcbiM). Even made flashcards like a complete dork. Would highly recommend doing some basic learning, especially when it comes to restaurant phrases and traveling phrases (“roundtrip tickets, please”). I wanted to be able to communicate what I needed as politely as possible. Everything I learned very much came in handy because most people I encountered did not speak all that much English.
* I got a pocket WiFi from Global Advanced Communications because I saw it was highly recommended here, wanted to have it around just in case there were spotty areas of the city, but I didn’t really need it; my phone plan had a $10/day for international travel and that worked just fine (you may have the same). I would certainly recommend Global Advanced Communications as your pocket WiFi choice, though, if you need it; it was a great connection (when I used it) and easy to pick up at the airport and send back (via mail). Price was about 60USD when you get all the bells and whistles (charger + insurance for loss of the item).
* Took out the JPY equivalent of 300USD at my local bank before my trip. It was easier to have the cash already on hand. That ended up being just the right amount for a near one week trip.
* Download the Google Translate app. It’s extremely helpful. You can use the camera to translate signs (I used it primarily to translate menus). At some points, when I had more complex requests and knew I’d sound like a tit trying to pronounce long sentences in Japanese, I showed them the written Japanese as churned out by the app.
* Use Google’s “My Maps” to put pins in where you want to go. Really helps you visualize how you can most efficiently plan your day to day activities. I pinned my must-see spots, then cut up Tokyo in quadrants, dedicating one quadrant of Tokyo to one day.
* I walked about 20k steps per day, sometimes more! Be prepareeddd.
* There are basically no trash cans about. Bring your own bag to hold your waste until you happen upon a trash can, which is a bit of a mythical creature in Tokyo.
* Not one person wasn’t wearing a mask–be ready to wear one both indoors and outdoors, no matter what.
* No one talks on the trains, no one eats in public, and everyone diligently waits for the red light to change to green before walking. That last one was a revelation; as a New Yorker, I had a hard time reigning myself in and not crossing when there were no cars!
* 711 and Family Mart have a lot of good Japanese snacks!
**Day 0, Saturday, 11/26 – Arrive in Japan, Travel to Hotel**
Arrived at Narita Airport around 4pm. Bumbled around the airport to figure out where to get a Suica card for subway travel; it wasn’t that clear where to go. Couldn’t find the kiosk, so I waited in line and requested one from an attendant. Put 5,000JPY on it to start. Took the Narita Express (paid with the Suica card) to the Tokyo city center, then switched to a regular old train to get to our hotel in Ebisu (Ebisu isn’t the most convenient hub for touring the city, I will say, but it’s such a lovely area. Quite upscale). If you want to splurge, taxis are about 200USD from the airport to central Tokyo, who the hell knows why. It’s only about an hour trip by car.
Was ravaged from the 14 hour flight + about 1 hr 30 mins trip from the airport and attempted to sleep. Next time, I hope to have the option to fly into Haneda Airport, which apparently is about 30 mins from Tokyo proper.
**Day 1, Sunday, 11/26 – Day Trip to Kyoto**
The jetlag is no joke, my dudes. I flew in from NYC, so I was working with a 14 hour time difference.
My dad had been in Japan on a work trip for about 3 weeks at this point, so my mom and I were meeting him at the tail-end of his time there. He really wanted to go to Kyoto with us on this day. He’d been working Mon – Friday, 9am – 6pm, barely had opportunities to be a tourist, so we couldn’t say no to the man even though we were tired as all get out.
We headed over to Tokyo station just to have a central hub from which to book our trip on the shinkansen (other stations have shinkansen ticket booths). Make sure to order roundtrip tickets if you’re doing a one-day trip. The ticket booth woman didn’t know a lick of English, but she was patient with us–I was very pleased that I was able to communicate what we wanted (with my broken Japanese and the beauty that is the Google Translate app). You can order shinkansen tickets online too, of course, but I found it a bit annoying to sign up on the website. Tickets acquired, we rushed to find our platform, got on the train, and were off. (Edit: a commenter reminded me that I should have mentioned the price. It was about 200USD roundtrip per person. Very pricey, I know, but it worked for our schedules.)
Arrived about 2 1/2 hrs later in Kyoto. At Kyoto station, I ordered an Uber so we could make our tea ceremony at 1pm (shoutout to **Tea Ceremony Camellia FLOWER**), which I had booked the night prior. Later on in my trip, there were times I struggled to get Ubers in both Kyoto and Tokyo, so I didn’t use the service much. The train system is so high quality in Tokyo, anyway.
After the tea ceremony (which was intimate, educational, and fun–also too short, 45 mins!), we headed to the imposing **Kiyomizu-dera**. I picked the tea ceremony place specifically because it was within walking distance to the temple. Spent maybe a couple hours at the temple (there’s a small fee to get inside), then walked around the area–all those winding, narrow, stepped streets and tiny food and merchandise shops–before heading to **Nishiki Market,** which is about a 30 min walk from Kiyomizu-dera. The market was lively and the aromas were glorious at every turn; couldn’t resist having small plates at various restaurants.
In the market, we stumbled upon an owl cafe called **Kyoto’s Owl Forest**. Very conflicted about this experience–a fascinating and unique thing to do, to be suralle, but seeing the owls with locks around their feet made me feel like a horrible person.
We left fairly early to make our 8pm shinkansen back to Tokyo. Ubers kept cancelling on us, so we gave up trying to order one and walked from the market to Kyoto station (which is another 30 min walk).
All in all, we spent about 8 hours touring the town.
I remembered that people on here weren’t loving the idea of day trips to Kyoto, said it’s too long of a trip and ruins the day, but as someone who had a daily 2-hour commute to school for years, maybe I’m just desensitized to that sort of thing. You certainly will not see everything, we saw only a sliver of the city (I would’ve liked to do a boat tour or have seen the monkey forest), but I’m still glad we did it. If your trip is short and you’re based in Tokyo, Kyoto really gives you a nice taste of traditional Japanese charm. Would only recommend not doing a day trip outside of Tokyo the day after you land in Japan. Your girl was running on fumes.
**Day 2, Monday, 11/27 – Shinjuku, Shibuya**
Train to **Meiji Shrine.** The walk there through **Yoyogi park** is beautiful.
Directly on the other side of the park is the **hedgehog cafe (Harry’s).** I felt far less turned off by this experience than the owl one in Kyoto; the hedgehogs were free to roam (and, god, they are adorable with their little faces). However, I did feel very weird when I saw that they had a meerkat on a leash.
Train to **Omoide Yokocho / Piss Alley** for lunch. Definitely gave us the local izakaya experience.
Walked about 10 mins to **Hotel Gracery to see the Godzilla head.** He’s only kind of peeking over the ledge, you don’t see much of him. Walked 15 mins from there to the **official Godzilla store**. (I may be a fan.) The store was small and underwhelming. I felt like it was a waste to have made the trek.
From there, we took a train see the **Pokemon Center Mega Tokyo** store. It’s in a massive mall that has a lot to do, but most things seem geared toward children. I was also very underwhelmed by this store, and it’s a little out of the way, but I suppose it was cool to have seen another part of the the city (i.e., Toshima City, which has a futuristic quality about it). One upside is that there’s a cute Pokemon cafe near the store; I got a tasty strawberry cake thing with a pikachu on it.
Headed back to the hotel, dinner with my dad.
**Day 3, Tuesday, 11/28 – Asakusa, Akihabara**
Jetlag finally abated. Train to **Senso-ji.** Wow, is it stunning. The grounds surrounding the temple are also picturesque–we were there on a windy day, and all the drifting autumnal leaves made it even more cinematic.
After gawking at the temple, we got a nosh in the little market near Senso-ji.
Since it was such a nice day, we decided to walk to the next place on my list, **the Tokyo National Museum** (30 min walk from Senso-ji). The walk there wasn’t particularly pretty, definitely not a tourist-friendly walk, but I enjoyed the slice-of-life view. The Tokyo National Museum was pretty all right. Also, at the moment, they have a special exhibit that explores the history of Japanese cultural icons (Hello Kitty, Tamagotchi, Kikkoman soy sauce, Godzilla, Pocari Sweat, to name a few), but none of the signage was in English. I asked a museum worker if there was an English guide, but they didn’t have one. That was unfortunate; it seems like a very fun exhibit. The main museum does have everything in English, though.
Afterwards, since we were utterly spent, I ordered an Uber to take us to Akihabara (even though Akihabara isn’t all that far from the museum), specifically **Maidreamin Akihabara Honten**. I figured a maid cafe would be a very uniquely Japanese experience and had to give it a try (also, cute food and cute girls really don’t hurt). Dragged my poor mother with me. The entire experience was embarrassing but enjoyable. Had a very good matcha ice cream that sported a panda face.
Walked over to **GiGo Akihabara 1** (which is only a couple blocks from the maid cafe), one of those big arcade game buildings. Not really worthwhile. Played a couple of games, then headed back to the hotel (via train) to have dinner.
**Day 4, Wednesday, 11/30 – Toyosu, Odaiba**
Train to see **Shibuya crossing** and the **Hachiko statue** (they are in the same location). Yes, it’s just a crosswalk and could’ve been done when we were in the area on Day 2, but we didn’t get to it then and I still wanted to see it–it’s so iconic. Seeing it, I really felt like: *holy shit, I’m in Tokyo*. The Hachiko statue had a swarm of people around it; it’s precious, but nothing to write home about. We considered doing Shibuya Sky for a view of the city, but actually found a way to see it just fine (for free) by going to one of higher floors of **Shibuya Scramble Square.**
From there, we took a train to **teamLabs Planets TOKYO** (close to an hour ride). You guys on Reddit really hyped this one up, and you were right to do so! So much fun, such a cool experience. We spent close to 2 hours there.
From teamLabs, went to **Joypolis** (about a 20 min train ride). This is an indoor amusement park located on a waterfront in Odaiba. Limited English availability, but you don’t really need to know Japanese to enjoy rides (both VR and actual amusement park rides). I had a good time. I believe the cost was around 30USD for access to rides + arcade games.
Went back to the hotel to get ready for an omakase (in Ebisu) that I reserved for me and my parents a couple nights prior. I think it was around 110USD per person. Had the freshest fish ever, enjoyed watching the art of sushi-making. It’s pricey, but I highly recommend doing an omakase anywhere in Tokyo, if you can swing it.
**Day 5 & 6, Thursday (12/1) and Friday (12/2) – A Migraine and the Return Home**
Sadly, Thursday was a wash.
I partied too hard at the omakase, had 2 substantial sakes, and ended up getting sick. I get bad migraines every so often, and alcohol is one of the triggers, but sake usually doesn’t affect me. This time it very much did. Pain and vomit! Unfortunate to waste a day in Tokyo but, honestly, we had only just got over our jetlag on Day 3 and were sore from all the walking we’d done, so maybe it wasn’t so bad to have a genuinely lazy day.
Friday was our return trip home. I took the migraine home with me. It was a rough flight.
**Final thoughts:**
Tokyo is a lot of fun. I can’t say it’s the most aesthetically appealing city, it’s a bit industrial-looking, but there are so many ways to stimulate yourself: food, gaming, shopping, activities. I didn’t get to check out the night life, but I’m sure that’s also a rollicking good time.
I couldn’t help comparing it to my hometown of NYC as I went along–it is cleaner, more efficient (that train system, my goodness they are never late and come so often), and much, much quieter than NYC. The locals are also quieter and immensely more polite.
The food seems to be of good quality wherever you go. Even though I’m a big foodie, I didn’t plan to go to specific restaurants because I figured anywhere would do the trick. I think my theory was right.
I hope to see more of Japan one day–would love to visit Osaka and Hiroshima. See more nature and traditionality. Another trip to Tokyo wouldn’t hurt, either.
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Best of luck with your travels! I hope this screed is somewhat helpful.
2 comments
Thanks for your report, especially about your day trip to Kyoto as, and you pointed out, most people don’t do it but people do ask about it. If your goal is just to see ANY of Kyoto then it can work as you said, but it’s just that there is SO MUCH to Kyoto as I’m sure you saw when planning. But given your more special circumstance with your dad, it’s certainly reasonable and I’m glad you were able to enjoy yourselves.
Re phone: I suggest people look into getting a sim card or esim instead. It’s less things to carry or worry about while leaving and cheaper than pocket wifi. Also much cheaper than per day plans if you’re there for any appreciable amount of time. (I think the one I usually get is 30 for 2 weeks or something.)
Re Uber in Kyoto: especially in Kyoto, the taxi drivers have been dealing with international tourists for a LONG time and they are very good at it. Every time I’ve taken taxis in Kyoto, the driver has spoken SOME level of English and sometimes also had material prepared (binders with pictures, information, etc) for sites in Kyoto. I really suggest people consider just taking a regular taxi in Kyoto, especially as they will be waiting wherever you’re likely to be.
Thanks again for your report!
If it can help other people, the Suica or Pasmo IC cards are available at the ticket vending machines. You might have to select a specific machine as not all of them sell the cards. For example the Narita Express ticket machine does not seems to sell Suica (from the picture I can find).
Out of curiosity, did you get controlled in the Narita express ? because it is a limited express train with reserved seat only and you technically cannot take it only with the Suica. So either you did not get controlled and did not pay the full fare, or someone in the train got you to pay the limited express fare and seat reservation fare.
I would personally recommend to get your limited express and seat reservation ticket at the airport instead of trying to use if with IC card. Also, if you do round trip within 14 days, there is a discount ticket for he Narita express, otherwise the Keisei Skyliner is cheaper.
Even if there in no shinkansen ticket vending machine, you can book shinkansen as the ticket office of any train station.
What I do not like about Kyoto as a day trip from Tokyo is that you spend about 30 000 yen for barely a day there, like that is 3750 yen an hour spent on the shinkansen, or 28USD/h… that is a lot of money for a little time if you ask me. On top of that the city have enough to easily fill 2-3 just of the most famous sights. So while it is absolutely possible to do, it is also not something I would especially recommend. Even if the experience is quite different, I would say a day trip to Kamakura or Kawagoe is much shorter and much cheaper and you can still have a taste of some more traditional things.
On the way between Senso-ji and Ueno, you could have stopped by Kappabashi, that is full of stores that sell kitchenware and kitchen utensils, but yeah, otherwise there is nothing special there.