I’ve got a major milestone coming up in 2021, and to celebrate I’m going to spend two weeks in Japan on my own (probably going in 2022, if I’m being honest – but the celebration will be booking my dream holiday!). For background, I’m a white British woman in my 30s who speaks about three Japanese words (but is eager to learn a few Japanese phrases and try them out – I’m also happy with Google Translate). I’ve never travelled solo to another country before. I was therefore hoping for a bit of advice on a few things. I know about the JR Pass, etc, as I’ve been reading around the sub. I’m particularly excited about the food, so experiencing as many different Japanese foods as possible is one of my main priorities. I’m looking to avoid western experiences, but happy with touristy things.
My budget is tbc, but in my head I was thinking £2000-2500 for the whole trip (which is around $2650-3350 USD atm). Is this a realistic budget, considering flights from the UK are usually around £1000 for a return journey?
I’m spending two weeks in Japan. I definitely want a full week with Kyoto as my base, and will go to various places from there as well (Osaka, maybe Hiroshima). I don’t want to move around bases too much, so I’m looking at another full week somewhere else (maybe). The obvious place is Tokyo, but I’m not a massive fan of big, busy cities. For example, I hate London, but other UK cities are fine. However, I also want somewhere where I can travel around easily, there’s things to do, and most importantly, lots of Japanese food to eat! I’ve been thinking maybe Ishikawa. Do you have any recommendations?
I’ve noticed I can get package holidays including a hotel for the same price as the flight themselves (so basically free hotel). This idea doesn’t thrill me, as I would really love a two-location holiday, but it looks like it would be saving me something like £500. The hotels look like quite western styles, which I gather is a bit rubbish sometimes. What alternatives are there? I know about ryoken (too expensive?), Airbnbs (tempting, I’ve used them in the past and love them), and hostels (never used one, not a big fan of the idea of a shared room, and I need somewhere secure to leave my suitcase and belongings). What do you recommend for a solo female traveller?
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I recommend using a VPN when buying airline tickets. Website algorithms cannot track your search history and generally charge less. Using this method I found round trips from Toronto to Tokyo for $500CAD, opposed to the $960CAD I paid in 2019.
Hope this helps
1. You do not need many Japanese words. We found that they were confused if you tried to say anything in Japanese beyond hello, thanks etc. Most Japanese know the English for their jobs.
2. Transport is super easy. We found that we could always get on the train we wanted without booking and the non-booked carriages were quieter. All the announcements & signs include English.
3. Food is just a dream. So much choice and not expensive. Beyond Ramen try okonomiyaki and takoyaki. I love all the street food.
4. Assuming tourist numbers have recovered you want to try to get to places in the quiet times. Not always possible as Japan is very busy.
5. We mostly stayed in ordinary business hotel with a few nights in very nice hotels. Ryokan are wonderful so even a couple of nights if you can manage it. Onsen are single sex so no embarrassment and worth a try.
Kyoto and Tokyo sounds like a good place for base. I don’t think there’s a whole lot to do around Ishikaea to warrant a full week. You can do Ishikaea/Kanazawa as a long-ish day trip from Kyoto. Even if you don’t like Tokyo itself, you can day trips to a lot of places easily.
Most of the hotel in Japan is western style. The majority are business hotel. Despite its name, it is also good for sight seeing (I stay at business hotel all the time). Basically it’s no-frill hotel. Don’t except gym, clubhouse, etc, but otherwise it’s a normal hotel. Japanese room are much less common, and more likely going to be a family room.
I traveled as a solo english-speaking female in Japan for 2 weeks and had no safety issues whatsoever. I would definitely recommend Tokyo and Kyoto as your bases; from Kyoto you can go to Osaka, Nara, and Kobe on day trips, from Tokyo I went to yokohama and Mt Fuji and explored onsens and ramen spots in the Tokyo suburbs which were really nice.
I stayed in hotels, western and business, and hostels. All were totally suitable; a lot of the hostels you can request a private or shared with one other person room, and there’s always a place to lock your stuff away. Normally i’m not one for a shared room either, but it allowed me to meet fellow travelers to go on some of these day trips with with which ended up being wonderful.
as for food, eat everything!! There’s often very good food options at travel hubs (tokyo airport, osaka train station, etc).
Your budget is a bit tight. I spent about that per person for 10 days, but going as a couple means I shared accommodation costs, essentially halved per person
Direct return flight should be about £800, so that leaves you with £1700 for 14 days for accommodation and spending if you can save £2,500. Minus around £200 for 1 week JR Pass leaves you £1500 for accommodation and spending, £107/day. £80/£100 a day for accommodation is fair, which will leave you, at most £27 a day for food and other spending.
You can shave a bit of money off the flights by going indirect, which will be roughly £500. But it’s still tight for 14 days
I would recommend maybe bumping the budget to £3000. Not to say you will spend every penny of that, but you’ll be surprised at how quickly your cash depletes. Most of it will be going on food since you’ll probably be having lunch and dinner at restaurants most days. I spent 3 grand when I went for 2 weeks in 2018 (that was for everything, flights and hotels included) and I got through pretty much all of it.
I actually priced out and made a dream itinerary for my “trip” to Japan. I’ll dm u…
Basically what everyone else said… Plus be prepared for major culture shock when you come home. We got home two years ago and still get very bittersweet sad when we think about our trip and how much we miss it and how much being home kind of sucks… Oh the food I missed the food and the people… And you really only need to know how to say Arigato and Sumimasen
If you’re not keen on Tokyo, love food and don’t mind a big change of scenery from Kyoto, I think Kyushu would be a great place – went there on a solo trip myself and loved it.
Fukuoka would be your hub to pretty much every other city on the island, and most cities on the island are generally accessible within 1.5 to 2 hours. If you love pork, ramen, gyoza, and just street food in general (if you’re not afraid of plopping down next to some strangers and using Google translate on the menu), I think Fukuoka’s great. It may be a relatively large city, but it doesn’t feel nearly as congested as Tokyo, and there are a couple of places like Dazaifu and Yanagawa that are peaceful one-day trips.
From there, I would recommend heading down to Kagoshima. If you can’t stay more than a day (since you’re operating out of a hub city), Sakurajima is great for views, and if you do love food there is a place called the Furusato Food Village, which is a collection of izakaya / bars that’s maybe 10 minutes walk away from the station that serves up pretty much every regional specialty of Kagoshima. Again, you may have to muster up some courage and use Google Translate, but if there’s one thing that’s great about Japanese food is that it’s very hard to find a bad meal.
Your budget…I think most people can get by on $2,500-$3,500 USD. As you suspected, ryokan can be quite expensive, but are very nice for a one-night stay. I don’t have much experience with AirBnBs and hostels in Japan, but I believe that hostels generally have a place where you can lock up your luggage separately. If you really just need a place to park your body for a night, there are of course very budget options like capsule hotels and manga cafes if you’re desperate. Kyoto’s also not a very cheap place to be – Osaka generally has cheaper accommodations.
A few other things generally for solo travel (I’m mentioning a few other things that are usually brought up in most solo travel threads):
– Don’t worry much about packing too many changes of clothes. There are coin laundries everywhere
– Consider getting a mobile SIM or router – free WiFi isn’t too common in cities outside of Tokyo
– This usually gets brought up in JR Pass threads, but check out if some combination of regional JR passes might be a good idea to save you some money
– Be sure to grab something like a Suica (I suppose it’s like an Oyster card), as the JR Pass doesn’t cover everything, and carry some spare change for transit (if I remember right, I had trouble using the JR Pass and Suica either in Kyoto or Nagasaki for trams)
– If you end up bringing too much luggage or buy too many souvenirs, there are luggage delivery services if you just want to get your belongings to your next destination (the one I used was https://www.global-yamato.com/en/hands-free-travel/scene02.html)
– Tabelog is the go-to food rating website for Japanese restaurants – anything above 3.5 or so will guarantee that you enjoy your meal (Japanese people are very reluctant to give perfect ratings, but 3.5 will ensure it’s satisfying like a 4 on Google maps) and 4 will be fantastic.
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Is there anything in particular that drew you to Ishikawa in the first place? While the prefectural capital Kanazawa is certainly very popular, it is nowhere as popular as the tourist backbone of Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka. Coincidentally, I was in Ishikawa this past weekend. I stayed at an onsen about half an hours drive out of Kanazawa city. It snowed heavily while I was there, so imagine yourself in an outdoor bath, watching the snow fall on a village and the surrounding mountains.
Another idea: Since you are British, if you are comfortable driving there, then you should have no problem driving on the left in Japan. That would greatly broaden your scope of activities if you want to spend a week NOT based in Tokyo, but in a smaller city like Kanazawa. Yes, many things can be reached by train or bus, but in the more remote prefectures, those can take a long time, up to several hours round-trip for a day-trip.
I would narrow down your ideas after you find out which month you’ll be visiting. Activities and, sometimes, things to eat vary based on season.
Aloha! Good choice on celebrating in Japan. It is my favorite place in the world to visit and I hope you have a great time when there. I have many suggestions and they start with some basic TV watching. NHK.com and go through some episodes of Journeys in Japan, Japan Railway Journal, and Cycle Japan(Or whatever the bicycle show is called but it shows a lot of great off-the-beaten-path kind of places. Also James May: Our Man in Japan on Amazon was a surprisingly decent show and covers a lot of places.
Kyoto- Menbakichidai Fire Ramen. First or second day. Father/Son ramen shop where they are both born and bred in Kyoto and are familiar with all the obscure celebrations and goings on in Kyoto at any given time.
Nara- If you are an animal person Nara is a must. Personally I would stay there a night or two rather than day trip just because getting to Todaji Temple at sunrise before the swarms of tourists show up is absolutely magical. If you want to be super popular bring a kilo of roasted almonds. The Onyado hotel next to the train station has a beautiful onsen inside and very comfortable beds. Which brings us to….
Hotels. They generally suck in Japan as far as comfort goes. I’ve slept on tile floors that were more comfortable than some of the beds at the hotels. Train station proximity is key. That was a harsh lesson. If you can find Japanese rooms anywhere they are generally way more comfortable. The western rooms are comparable to closets.
Tokyo-Meh. I have spent a cumulative 5 months on holiday in Japan and have yet to set foot outside Tokyo Station or Haneda Airport. The place is a zoo with a thousand predators and I’m sure it’s great if you’re a big city person. Sounds like you’re not and neither am I. But it’s on the way to places that are cool like Yamagata(apples and cherries) and Sendai. Best chef I have ever met is in Sendai. Works a small izakaya and does amazing work with everything. A handwritten menu with horrible penmanship that confuses Google translate and no English anywhere but the man has talent!
The Japan Rail Pass includes an overnight sleeper train from Osaka to Tokyo at no extra charge. If you head that way it’s worth saving the hotel money.
Ishikawa is gorgeous but away from the big cities English is not so common. We were there on our 2nd visit and loved it but it was a bit more difficult. I have nothing good to say about Kanazawa. To me it’s a wasted day.
Hiroshima- Yes! Double yes! Especially if you are an oyster person. Also it’s worth a day trip to the Saijo district of Higashihiroshima if you like sake. 9 breweries in walking distance from the train station and 4 of them are world class awesome.
Fukuoka is recommended as a Southern base for foodies. Great ramen scene with these little street side tents called yatai. Reasonable day trippage to Nagasaki and Kumamoto is possible. They eat raw horse in Kumamoto so be careful if you order a sashimi platter. Nagasaki is a beautiful city with a surprising amount of older churches( I grew up in West Coast America so anything over 150 years old is ancient).
Wow, running out of time here. Message anytime if you want advice about any particular area. Outside of the week in Kyoto I would recommend doing a couple of 3 night stays in different areas. The day trips get exhausting and it’s nice to find a cool place with cool people and be able to get a little tipsy and stumble to a bed close by. Cheers!
Be sure to book your flight well in advance (5 – 6 months), I never paid more than 640 euros there and back and I flew Lufthansa, British Airways and JAL. And this was mostly with a stopover in Heathrow so you might even find cheaper tickets.
The JR pass has unbeatable value if you want to travel around the country. But you should definitely get your free seat reservations well in advance. You can go to any big train station and there will be a green-themed office there (midori no madoguchi). Get the Hyperdia app for your smart phone or write down your itinerary before. Some clerks do speak English but not many and just showing your itinerary will help a lot.
On my first trip I mostly stayed in Airbnbs and I have some great memories about a few of them, some others weren’t that great. If you find a nice one you might even find yourself having a party with other tourists and locals, happened to me a few times. So be sure to check the reviews on Airbnb and see what other travellers have to say about it. I didn’t really have any bad experiences in Airbnbs but in some you don’t even meet the host and just get a code for a mailbox in the house so you can get the apartment key. It can be nice to have some time for yourself though.
Spending a whole week in Kyoto is great. I’ve been to Japan three times now and this city amazes me every time. My favorite experience was the Kawadoko dining on platforms ON a river north of Kyoto. It’s a very beautiful, mountainous and lush area called Kifune. But be sure to go during summer because I think those platforms are closed in the other seasons. I can really recommend the following place, the food was amazing:
[https://goo.gl/maps/CJkAUAh4PrbLUWFi8](https://goo.gl/maps/CJkAUAh4PrbLUWFi8)
Another thing you might like to do is visit Mount Fuji. There is a nice little town north of it called Kawaguchiko which you can reach by train (part of it is not covered by the JR pass though but it’s not that expensive). You can see the mountain right from the train station but there is a lovely mountain hike north of the station. It’s not a hard hike and maybe takes an hour to reach but let me tell you: the view from the panorama platform is breathtaking. One of my favorite experiences in life. You may take the ropeway up but in my opinion it’s only half the fun. Here’s a link to the area:
[https://goo.gl/maps/HmgH8FBheskwk1m87](https://goo.gl/maps/HmgH8FBheskwk1m87)
I probably have a million other recommendations because I love the country so much. If you are interested in some more, just tell me.
Your budget is a pretty tight–especially if you’re only working with 2000 GBP. Assuming you have 1000 GBP after you pay for the flight, that equals roughly 140,000 JPY.
Plan on at least 5000 JPY per night just for accommodations. Yes, you can find cheaper accommodations if you’re okay with shared rooms at hostels or pick some particularly run-down place off the beaten path, but 5000 JPY is about what I would expect to spend for a private room at a hostel in Japan (with shared bathroom, kitchen, showers, etc.). 5000 * 14 = 70,000, which is already half your remaining budget. If you spend maybe 3,000 JPY per day on food/beverages that’s another 42,000, so you’re down to just 28,000. 28,000 would probably barely be enough for some local transit and a few attractions, but it’s not much to work with. If you’re a light eater, don’t drink, and really don’t mind sharing hostel rooms, you could stretch your budget a bit farther, but it still doesn’t leave you much room to do a lot of running around.
If your budget is more like 2500 GBP I think you’ll have a lot more leeway, but keep in mind that it’s very easy to go over what I listed above on things like accommodations, food, drink, shopping and transit, so it’s still on the tight side.
Keep in mind that domestic travel can really drive up the price of the whole trip. I’m not saying you shouldn’t travel around the country, but I do think that a lot of people travel around too much and it can quickly inflate the cost of your whole trip.
>I definitely want a full week with Kyoto as my base, and will go to various places from there as well (Osaka, maybe Hiroshima).
My general recommendation is roughly 5-7 full days as a starting point just for the highlights of the Kansai area (usually that includes at least 3 days in Kyoto, 1 in Osaka, 1 in Nara, and 1 in Himeji/Kobe). Hiroshima I would consider separate as it’s both too far and too big to recommend as a day trip. Moreover, the Seto Inland Sea region has a lot of other cool places to visit besides Hiroshima (my personal favorite is Onomichi), and it’s kind of a crime that so many people skip the 99% of the region in their rush to check Hiroshima off their list. If Tokyo doesn’t interest you, you could make a full 14 day trip just between Kansai and the Seto Inland Sea areas (actually, you could pretty easily do 2 full weeks in either one of them if you really wanted).
>The obvious place is Tokyo, but I’m not a massive fan of big, busy cities. For example, I hate London, but other UK cities are fine. However, I also want somewhere where I can travel around easily, there’s things to do, and most importantly, lots of Japanese food to eat! I’ve been thinking maybe Ishikawa.
Can’t speak to how Tokyo compares to London because I’ve never been there, but I can say that I find Tokyo much more pleasant than big cities in America. There are also plenty of things within a relatively short distance of the city (e.g., Kamakura, Nikko, Izu, Hakone) that you could consider combining with Tokyo itself. That said, as wonderful as Tokyo is, I much prefer the Keihanshin (Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe) megalopolis.
>The hotels look like quite western styles, which I gather is a bit rubbish sometimes. What alternatives are there?
My preference is always minshuku or private rooms in hostels in that order. I don’t like sharing a bed space (especially because I travel with expensive camera gear), but I hate wasting money on fancy accommodations unless I’m going for something truly special. I also don’t mind sharing bathrooms and having a bit of social interaction in the common areas, and I generally find hostel/minshuku staff to be very down-to-earth compared to the cold professionalism you get from hotel workers. AirBnBs also work, but my experience with them is mostly limited to extended stays. Minshuku are basically cheap guest houses that frequently lean more towards more traditional Japanese accommodations (meaning tatami, futon, sometimes public baths, sometimes optional meal service, etc.). If you want a taste of what ryokan might be like at a much cheaper price, minshuku are worth looking at, but keep in mind that there might be less English available.
One last thing that I highly recommend is renting a bicycle for at least a day or two during your stay. Some accommodations even offer them as part of the package or for a small extra fee. You might need to budget more time in some areas to do this, but I think it’s really worth it and it can be a great way to get some extra enjoyment out of your day for not much extra money. Also consider activities like hiking and give yourself time to just wander around on foot or bicycle. Japan (and Kyoto in particular) is a great country to see on foot or bike.
EDIT: Also keep in mind that sometimes “bargain” accommodations can be way more trouble than they’re worth. Always check where the nearest station is and try to keep in mind what’s in walking distance. Also consider whether it’s really worth saving 1000 JPY on an accommodation if you’re going to spend 500 JPY and an hour more on transit for every day while you’re staying there.
I’ve done several solo trips to Japan (for both work and leisure). I’m a male but Japan is a very safe country so I don’t think you have much to worry about being a solo female unless you’re really trying to get into trouble.
I don’t know much about flights out of the UK, but from the USA it’s typical to see deals for well under $1000 (the $600-800 range comes up pretty often) so keep an eye out for deal sites and watch prices using tools like Hopper.
If your budget is just for flights+hotel then it’s very doable since you’re left with about $100 per night. If that includes food, shopping, trains, etc. then it will be tight.
Accommodation type is budget-dependent but in my experience the “sweet-spot” in Japanese cities are business hotels (look up chains like APA and Dormy to see examples). These are generally $60-$80 per night for a clean, stylish, private room and generally in very convenient locations near transit stations. The only difference between them and other hotels are that the rooms themselves are very small. For a tighter budget than that, your options would really be shared rooms in a hostel or capsule hotels (my preference would be the latter). Note that because of COVID lots of places aren’t taking reservations at all right now; it’s best to look again later.
For your Kansai stay, if you are going to have a JR pass during that time, then consider using Osaka as your base instead of Kyoto. The reason I say this is that most Kyoto attractions are “daytime” while Osaka has lots of “nightime” stuff, so it usually makes more sense to have your hotel in the area where you’ll want to experience nightlife. Osaka just generally is easier to get around since it’s well-serviced by subway (Kyoto is mainly buses). Plus, I find that hotels tend to be cheaper and in better locations in Osaka. That being said, if you do want to see Kyoto at night time, then you should stay there!
I’ve done a day trip to Himeji and Hiroshima out of Osaka before, I definitely recommend that if you’re considering it. It’s lots of train time but if you don’t mind having a day of mostly sitting on the Shinkansen then you can do a few hours in Himeji in the morning (see the castle and gardens) and then a few hours in Hiroshima in the afternoon (see all the atomic bomb/peace monument stuff).
You won’t be disappointed in terms of food regardless of where you are. Japan really can’t be beat when it comes to having delicious food everywhere you go.
In terms of your second week, it’s totally personal preference, but really you should spend at least a few days in Tokyo. It’s an amazing world-class city with so much to see and do and they’re (hopefully) going to be hosting the Olympics this year. It’s busy and crowded, but it doesn’t have a lot of the drawbacks that a lot of other big cities have thanks to a very efficient subway system and being relatively clean and safe.
For budget, this is really on the budget side. Like, eat in cheap restaurant and use cheap accommodation like hostel. I am personally doing my trip on the budget side of things and did plan for 10 000 yen by day. If you want to have a hotel/ryokan or a bit more than just cheap restaurant, for sure bump that budget. Just think that in food it’s minimum 2000 yen by day, hostel 2500 by day, local train 500-1000 by day. So you are at least at 5000 yen by day if you buy nothing and do not pay ticket for anything, and no long distance train either.
I would advise to put a tracker on google flight and buy the ticket when there is a deal. Google say that average price for London-Osaka is £ 425 to £ 610 (ok data might be messed up becaus covid, but still). Personally used to think that from where I live paying under 1000$ was a good price and last year I properly tracked price and got a deat at 725$ (could have been 590$ flying on week day).
Kanazawa might not be a bad option, there is different place around that might be interesting, but just check what interest you, just check what you want to do in the area, maybe give a bit more time to Kyoto area as there is honestly a lot to see in the area.
One thing to consider is that if you want to go to Kanazawa and Hiroshima, those are on different side of Kyoto and from what I remember, there is no regional JR Pass to cover both, so you have to calculate if the national pass would be worth. Actually one option would be to spend you second week around Hiroshima area. There is many places that can be nice, like Iwakuni, Onomichi, so with Miyajima and Hiroshima, that’s easily 4 days. Then there is Okayama, Kurashiki, Himeji that are between Osaka and Hiroshima. As there is regional pass for this area, that would also be cheaper on the train pass. There is the 5 days JR Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass or 7 days JR Setouchi Area Pass.
Yes, hotels are usually “western style” in the sense they have beds instead of futon. When you go in the cheaper price range like business hotel, the room tend to be small. Not sure what you mean by western style hotel being rubbish… I would not go that far. If you want a big room, then just pay the price for a bigger room.
Ryokan are expensive when you go to fancier place or ryokan that have meal plan included. I’ve been to cheap ryokan that were actually cheaper than the business hotels. Just use as site like [booking.com](https://booking.com) and filter with ryokan and order by price to have an idea. Just read the detail as some cheaper place are actually more like hostels.
If you want ryokan with onsen and meal, then you are better to look to do it for a single night and probably better to do it in a town that is know for onsen if you want to have some choice (note that not all place accept reservation for 1).
Thing to think about is that in ryokan, there is a good chance that you do not get a toilet/bath in your room, as those can be shared facilities. I’ve mostly done hostels, and well, you have a shared room, so yes, sometime people can make noise, so not good if you have light sleep. Everybody leave their suitcase in the room (lock it) and many places have small lockers if you want to put some smaller items. Many offer female only room too. But I can understand it’s not for everybody.
Before making a recommendation, the question is, what is your budget and what is your priority. If you want to go the cheapest, hostel. If it’s important to have your own room and shower, then business hotel.
I’ve been a few times from the UK now, I found the best flight by an absolute mile was with ANA. They do return tickets for approx £650-775.
Booking.com has also been my go to accomodation site, they also sometimes have an extra 10% off if booked on a mobile device.
As said by some other people here, the budget is a tad low, especially for a first time visit. A lot of Japanese hotels and ryokans won’t post availability until half a year before your desired date. That could work in your favour giving you time to save a little more.
Unless you are looking into hostels or capsule hotels, you are bound to end up spending £125 per day for accommodation and daily expenses (local travel, baseline food and entry-level attractions). This is excluding long-distance travel, which, even with Japan Rail Pass is fairly expensive compared to Europe.
Note that if you are not a fun of big, busy cities than Kyoto might also be overwhelming as it is a part of a metropolitan area bigger than London. There are quite neighbourhoods, but the popular destinations are crowded and dare I say in peak times (Hanami season, during summer festivals and autumn foliage) more crowded than the worst of London.
As far as food goes, Osaka is called ‘Japan’s kitchen’ and it’s probably ideal town for foodies (and generally cheaper than both Tokyo and Kyoto).
Lucky you! We were there in 2019 and Tokyo was preparing for the Olympics so all signage was bilingual making the transport system super accessible. Google Maps was very detailed & reliable in Tokyo for all navigation needs. And Google translate is very helpful for any communication needs eg at a chemist. Once you learn the unwritten rules (stand on left side of any escalator in Tokyo so people in a hurry can move up the right side, but it’s opposite in Osaka/Kyoto) Japan is a joy. Safe, amazing service, never boring…I agree that exploring Tokyo neighbourhoods is a great way to start. Don’t be afraid to just wander the city without a plan. The best meals we had were just chance visits to little neighbourhood restaurants that looked busy and smelt great. And you will always find something cheap and delicious in a convenience store. Safe travels!
Tokyo is nothing like the other big cities of the world. It is so different and you should experience it. Have fun!
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dying to go back. hopefully us ‘mericans can travel there soon
Google translate app will take care of most of the language barrier. Just a few phrases like thank you and excuse me.
I think the budget is alright, but it’s better if you allocate more for emergency expenses. If you don’t mind capsule hotels they’re pretty good and safe imo (there’s one in shijo but I forgot its name). Also, you don’t have to eat lavishly for all 3 meals, save some of that budget on a really good lunch or dinner everyday.
I went for two weeks. I wish I spent more time In Kyoto.
You definitely need an internet modem to get by. We bought one with unlimited data for two weeks. We consistently used the Internet,google maps, and gps everyday. Super worth it. Bring an extra battery park
Monkey island and arashiyama are a must go to in Kyoto
Hiroshima…. loook into mount misen.
Also look into japan rail pass. I blogged about my trip and have over 5000 photos.
We stayed at the Tobu levant hotel and ibis in Kyoto (ridge beside the train station)
I think your budget is doable. If you decide you want to travel around, Sakura is a reliable brand of hostels where you can rent a bed in a bunk room super cheap. I would recommend doing at least one night in a fancy onsen. However, at most onsen towns and tourist places there are things called Minshoku—they’re basically little inns run by a sole proprietor and are around the same price as a hostel but with home cooked traditional breakfast included. Bathrooms will be shared. Many of these places don’t speak English. However, if they have a website and you can book in English, you should be able to communicate. Same with ryokan-some are more foreigner-friendly and if they are they will have an English website.
I am a female who has solo traveled in Japan a couple times. It’s awesome!! Everyone will tell you it’s very safe, but do still stay smart and alert, don’t get too drunk in golden gai, there are creepy guys in any city in the world. I have always stayed at hostels as they’re the most affordable. If there isn’t a secure place to store my belongings I often use a coin locker or rent a hostel with private rooms. I am totally with you on not liking to store my suitcase in shared quarters. Capsule hotels have become so trendy as cultural experiences for tourists that they’re often not that much more affordable than hostels, lol.
Ensure you get the right JR pass for your itinerary and do a little research on how to use it to take the shinkansen, it’s easy to get on the wrong train lol. Some of the JR Pass sale websites will also sell you SIM cards and pre-loaded IC cards, both of which I recommend having. Pasmo & Suica are the two biggest brands of IC cards. They are both pretty much the same and you can use them at vending machines, convenience stores and a lot of public transportation so it’s a nice way to avoid carrying too much cash and saves you the trouble of calculating your train/subway fare and purchasing the appropriate ticket before every ride. I can’t remember if this is still the case but I believe Tokyo also offers very affordable unlimited metro cards to tourists, which you should definitely take advantage of if that’s still a thing. Look into whether kyoto has a similar bus pass situation too.
I think $3350 USD is enough if you’re keeping a tight budget, you may want a little more if you plan on buying souvenirs or splashing out on nicer dinners.
Osaka and tokyo are amazing for vintage shopping if you’re into that. Wander around Amerikamura in Osaka and Shimokita in Tokyo for some good shopping, trendy cafes or just people watching.
Do pursue the terrifying and wonderful experience of being the only white person at an onsen.
I would recommend using YouTube to learn a few common travel phrases (stuff like “do you have an English menu?”, “Sorry, I don’t speak Japanese” etc). It’s possible to navigate the most populous cities in Japan without speaking any Japanese at all but it is a little awkward and embarrassing so being able to speak a few sentences of Japanese goes a long way.
This comment has become a novel.. I hope it’s useful to you or someone!
Even £2500 are tight. 1000 for the flight, 500 for hotel, 350 for JR Pass/maybe Suica and a pocket WIFI for like £50. That’s £1900 for just being there for 2 weeks. You will (for sure!) find some stuff you really want to buy, maybe a shirt with a cute Shiba or some cool chopsticks. Stuff like that and some landmarks will burn the last £600. Please don’t underestimate this point. You go there for a reason and you want to have fun right?
Then food: Ramen, Takoyaki, Sushi. For a “first timer” even a 7/11 has so many things to try. If you say you are “particularly excited about the food” then £25+/day is the minimum.
Maybe you can find a cheaper flight and hotel and if you can resist that cute Shiba shirt, then and only then £2500 might be realistic. Waiting one more year and being able to spend £3000 might be worth it. Booking 5-6 months before your trip will safe you the most money. Please don’t forget that 2021/22 the prices will be higher than right now (covid).
You don’t need to speak japanese but being able to understand some very basic things will be useful. No need to learn Kanji, Google will handle it.
Do not expect that everyone is able/willed to speak/understand english. Try to avoid heavy dialects and use simple words only.
Good luck and have fun. 🙂
Hi, wow! Your post got big! I meant to respond when it was new, but I got sidetracked by holiday activities.. I wanted to respond though, as I (at the time 32M) also had a 2 week visit to Japan, and earlier this year (in the super narrow pre-covid window) finally re-visited (another ~2 weeks), so obtained some new perspective on my prior visit.
I’m trying to keep it short, but it’s hard 🙁 I deleted two long drafts..
Trip1: 1 week in Tokyo with a day-trip to Kamakura (just ok), and 1 week in Kyoto with a day-trip to Nara (excellent! many friendly deer!). In Tokyo, I mostly explored Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Akihabara–lots of shopping. I made quick visits to Asakusa, Roppongi, and a after-close visit to the area by the then-active Tsukiji Fish market.
I stayed two places in Tokyo, a hostel in Ueno, and a budget ryokan in chidoricho (about 20 minutes on the local train to Gotanda, which is a couple stops from Shibuya on the Yamanote line). I’ll say it’s nice to stay central, and nicer still if your lodging area has an active night life. However, as long as your inside the sprawl, I think staying a little off the main path is fine. I really enjoyed being in Chidoricho–it had lots of konbini and little resturants and was quieter. It just felt a few train stops away.
I think having two “longish” stays in such megacities is a good idea. I’m glad I didn’t break it up too much. In Kyoto, I saw the shrine-gate area (Fushimi inari taisha (sp?)) as well as the big one in the post cards (forget name), but then briefly lost my sense of purpose. Kyoto is a temple haven, and not knowing really what else to do, I started visiting lots of temples and it started blurring together–until I picked up and started keeping a [goshuincho](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuin), which I highly recommend. I would advocate that you learn to properly pay your respects, and make a donation, which is what you’re supposed to do. Having a goal (and a prize!) at each temple rekindled a sense of purpose within me.
I also went to several tea rooms in Kyoto, which I really enjoyed. Just casual, walk-in places, order a tea set, enjoy, leave. Nothing elaborate, but even the humblest in Kyoto was more enjoyable than most of what I saw in Tokyo (teahouse-wise).
In hindsight, if I’d wanted to go to Osaka, I’m not sure how I’d have squeezed it in. Maybe chop a day off of Tokyo and Kyoto, and nixed Kamakura (hindsight is 20/20). It’s hard, because on your first trip, you are never perfectly efficient.
In Tokyo, I spent tons of time aimlessly shopping, because I am into tech and gaming things. At the time, I was not into anime at all, but I have admit, since it’s intermixed with all the tech stuff in Akihabara, I couldn’t help but notice it…as well as some of its interesting…extremes. Browsers beware >_< I wish I spent less time shopping, but I don’t know how I could have managed to really achieve that on my first trip.
My more recent trip, I was in Tokyo and Sendai, and a short 2 night trip to a nearby, proper onsen+Ryokan (on the historical register). The Ryokan stay was one of the most memorable things I’ve done in my life. But I still can’t think of what I’d trade from my first trip to have squeezed it in. Two weeks simply isn’t enough time.. but on the other hand, if you were there a month, you might start suffering from travel fatigue and have things blur together too much.
Sorry, short got long..not even sure if this is that helpful. I just saw your situation closely mirroring mine (for time) so really wanted to share my experience 🙂