Concerts, Autumn Photography, Cars…2weeks Solo in Japan Report

Wanted to write this for a while but kinda started and stopped a few times because not sure how to frame it. So I think the easiest is just to do it pretty much in point form spot by spot and offer some general comments.

Took this trip late Nov. Flew out of Toronto from Nov 20th and returned on Dec 3rd. Main route of the trip was Tokyo(arrival)->Hiroshima(2 nights, Shinkansen right off arrival),->Osaka(one afternoon, concert #1)->Kyoto(3 nights), Yokohama(2 nights, concert #2)->Kawaguchiko(2 nights)->Tokyo(4 nights).

Solo traveler, 40 years old male with interest in Japanese music, lifelong otaku, car guy(working automotive engineer) and photography. And this trip covered all that. Timing was decided by the 2nd concert as as soon as I got the date for that show it was planned that I want to be in Japan during that time and the ball started rolling. Autumn season dictated where I wanted to visit and capture the images I want, even if some cities were repeat from my last longer trip to Japan(May 2019).

Overall takeaway:

* Did everything I planned, but probably could filled out the itinerary more, but..
* Being flexible is good because I can try to do things as they come where it makes sense
* Shipping luggage point to point is a god send. Cheap, reliable and makes the transit so much easier
* Japan in autumn is next level, weather was perfect(40-60s almost everyday, only one day it rained)

What concerts?

* Osaka: Man with a Mission at Osaka-jo Hall, this just happened to land during my duration so I had to see them
* Yokohama: Band-Maid at Yokohama Arena, their 10th year anniversary tour final. Announced when I was in Tokyo in January to their show back then, so this trip was in the work since then.

City by city:

Hiroshima:

* Historically significant, and this was my first visit
* Happen to coincide with elementary/middle school school trips, so there are kids everywhere in Hiroshima
* Key things I planned to see: Miyajima, The Memorial for the Atomic Bomb, Mazda Museum.
* Miyajima: Obviously the main point was to see the Itsukushima Shrine, but also wanted to check out the Momijidani since ’tis the season. Attempted to climb Mt. Misen but decided against it on the first day of the 2 weeks trip knowing how much walking I typically do when I am in Japan. Some regret about that. Had some street food at the market between the shrine and the ferry terminal. Took the direct ferry from the Miyajima to Memorial Park, this was a pretty good call as it saves a lot of headache of navigating through the ferry to train.
* Memorial Park/Museum: The park is very nice, actually a lot of momiji everywhere. The subject matter and the museum is obviously very significant and regardless where you stand on the subject, it was important to preserve the memories and try to draw lessons from it.
* Hiroshima as a whole is a really cool place with water ways everywhere.
* Mazda Museum: If you are a car person. Totally worth the time. The tour is 2.5 hours and it is free and it takes you deep into their Hiroshima “city” as it literally feels like a city with their own bus system, road way and bridges, and their own shipping dock for the massive transport ship to ship cars all over the world. Just need to book prior to your trip and arrive on time.
* I wish I had maybe another day to spend in more spots in the city but doing what I did I had a good time. Had Hiroshima Style Okonomiyaki for the sole dinner during that time and I liked it. I stayed near the Hiroshima station and was able to walk to the Memorial park and the Hiroshima Castle area.

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Osaka:

* Mainly there for the concert for one afternoon/evening. Having shipped my main bigger bag with the Yamato transport to my Kyoto hotel I just had my camera and backpack, checked the backpack in a train station locker at Shin-Osaka and took the metro to Osaka-jo park.
* Walked around Osaka-Jo Park for some pictures and enjoyed the concert. Had Tonkatsu at a restaurant in the park;

Kyoto:

* As noted this was a repeat visit. 2019 I had been to Kyoto for 2 nights and I had a great time back them(also during school trip season, weirdly). I had seen a lot of the mainspots back then but I wanted to see some area with the leaves, and also visit Nara this time. Day trip to Nara and an interesting night photography work shop at Fushimi Inari were the only planned activities.
* Eyexplore Inari After Dark:
[https://www.eyexplore.com/adventures/kyoto-photo-workshops/inari-after-dusk/](https://www.eyexplore.com/adventures/kyoto-photo-workshops/inari-after-dusk/)
Kinda pricy by yourself(you can have up to 3 people I think), and its really a night photography workshop. The instructor is very experienced American who has lived in Japan for 25 years. Doing it at Fushimi Inari is really awesome setting. I definitely learned a lot.
* I tried also going to other touristy spots during the day. Hit up Kiyomizu Dera early in the morning when it opened and it already had quite a lot of people but probably less than it would have had. The color is maybe just off peak(needs probably another week) but was already beautiful. Went to Arashiyama area to see the Katsura River and the area. This day happened to be a Japanese holiday as well so aside from foreign tourists, there were a lot of domestic tourists also. It was way more packed than my 2019 trip. Shuffle steps all over and kinda funny seeing all the row boats in the river. But I didn’t enjoy myself here. Gave up on going to the bamboo groves just because it was way too many people. Spent the evening walking around Gion, Yasaka Shrine and thaYasaka Pagoda area shooting night photos.
* Night Illuminations: Many temples in Kyoto had night illuminations to showcase the fall colors in even more colorful fashion. I think I am of 2 thoughts on this that it seems a bit much, but some really look very good. I didn’t go see Kiyomizu Dera one which I regret a bit after seeing some photos, but the 2 I did go see(Kodaiji and Chion-in) were beautiful(and not as many people I think).
* Seems like every trip to Kyoto I had dinner at Pontocho eating yakiniku. Kinda just wondered into a place and the owner was young and was playing anime music in the background. Actually started a conversation with him with my broken Japanese about that. Pretty neat.

Nara:

* I probably should have done more research here, but I know the mainthing I wanted to hit was the Todai-ji and Nara Park. So that was the first thing I did.
* I took the Limited Express train from Kyoto to Nara by accident just following Google Maps instruction and not knowing I needed a different ticket from just Suica my way into the station.
* Todai-ji is just impressive. the size of the building, the buddha inside, everything is just at a scale you couldn’t believe. I think its worth just to see that.
* Went to see 2 gardens right next to the park, Yoshikien(free) and Isuien(1200 yen I think). Both are nice but the water feature at Isuien was beautiful during this time.
* Did stroll around the Shotengai next to the Kintetsu Nara station, and saw the line up for the Mochi place. Didn’t get the mochi though.
* Deers are less polite than they are made out to be…lol. Also coming from Michigan where deers here are honest to god traffic hazards, kinda crazy seem them roaming all over…

Yokohama:

* Mainly here for the concert and spent 2 evening hung out with other fans. Went to a couple izakaya with the group also a karaoke.
* During the day though, I found out that NISMO, Nissan’s Motorsports/Racing division has a “showroom” in the area thats open to public. So took a detour during the day to check the place out. Very small relatively speaking but had a few famous race cars that if you are a fan of the game “Gran Turismo” you would be very familiar with.
* I did come to Yokohama in my very short Jan trip. Saw the moving Gundam and China Town and walked around the Minatomirai area. I’d like to spend more time in Yokohama proper in the future.
* After Yokohama I sent my luggage straight from here to my Tokyo hotel 2 nights later and just brought my backpack with 2 days worth of clothes and camera back with me to Kawaguchiko

Kawaguchi-ko:

* Train ride from Shin-Yokohama to Kawaguchiko is a bit convoluted, taking normal JR(I think) train from Shin-Yokohama to Hachioji, then from Hachioji to Otsuki to Kawaguchiko on a limited express that was completely packed and again I didn’t have a ticket for(I couldn’t figure out how to buy it at Hachioji even asking the station attendant, at which point she just told me to get it with the train attendant which I did onboard).
* First time visiting here. Really wanted to see Fujisan upclose and boy that did not disappoint. Fujisan is a ever looming presence in the area.
* Stayed at a hotel on the 2nd floor over a Family Mart, biggest room I’ve had on this entire trip.
* Momiji Corridor is really popular, its within walking distance from my hotel(but I walked all the way from the train station to the hotel on the other side of the lake, so YMMV). In theory my timing was past the peak color season, but in reality its still red everywhere so very picturesque.
* Get to your good spots to shoot Fujisan early as there are plenty of people thinking exactly the same thing.
* Panoramic Ropeway is worth it. IMO the best view of the mountain on a clear day, also all the surrounding vista. Also go early though, by 9am the line was about 30-40 min and when I got off at 11-ish it was like 2 hours. The view was truly panoramic: [https://photos.app.goo.gl/eeqkADugLGt7pHyb8](https://photos.app.goo.gl/eeqkADugLGt7pHyb8)
* Rented a car there for a day so I can go see Fuji Speedway Motorsports Museum([https://fuji-motorsports-museum.jp/en/](https://fuji-motorsports-museum.jp/en/)), if you are into cars, this is a must visit. The drive there from Kawaguchi-ko can either take you through toll highway or just local route. I took toll road there and local road back. This was my first time driving in Japan and it took some getting used to.
* On the way back I went to see the popular Chureito Pagoda. 396 steps to the top and it was a bit of a hike. It was a lot of people as expected. Its probably a must visit for a lot of people and I am glad I did go but honestly, ropeway offers better view.
* Note, this area is pretty much dead after 7pm. The bus stops running after 7 as well.

Tokyo:

* Previous trips I’ve stayed in Akihabara, Shinjuku, and Roppongi. This time I decided to stay in Daimon area. I think so far its my favorite. Easy access to trains from Daimon and Hamamatsucho stations, with access to Asakusa/Oedo/Yamanote/Monorail. The area is quieter than Shinjuku but still lively with lots of restaurants and izakaya that you see a lot of locals visiting. Walkable to Tokyo Tower and Azabudai Hill(again YMMV).
* First night I took a ride out to Skytree to shoot the reflection shot of the tower. This was the first time I’ve been to this area of Tokyo. Did not actually go up to Skytree though. Maybe another time. Afterwards, went to Asakusa to see Senso-ji and the surrounding Sumida river area. I still maintain its nicer to go there in the evening when its lit up.
* Took a day trip to Kamakura and rode Enoden up and down a few times. Saw Fujisan in the background to Enoshima. I love the vibe of this coast and again, the weather was great.
* Went to Shinjuku Gyoen’s night illumination event. Honestly, not as good as the Kyoto ones and more expensive to boot. The Gyoen is one of my favorite part on my previous trip to Japan and I think where this event was held in the big part it was just not as interesting, also I think the trees in Kyoto was just nicer colored.
* Did some shopping in Tokyo as well. Bought lens in Shinjuku’s big camera store district(near the west exit of the station between the station and the Metropolitan Building), checked out the MASSIVE Yodobashi Camera’s camera center(if you are into cameras, you can spend hours in there). Akihabara on the last day to buy some new anime release in BD and other otaku goods.
* Checked out the Odaiba Marine Park at night to see the night view of Rainbow Bridge and Minato Ward of Tokyo. Pretty cool spot to check out Tokyo at night.
* I spent many evening just walking around Tokyo Tower. The orange and white light just makes it look like a jewel in Tokyo night, I love staying near it.

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Random observations:

* I’ve stayed mostly with Sotetsu Fresa Inn on this trip. I’ve used them in Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Tokyo. I’ve also used it on my last trip when I stayed in Roppongi area. They are very consistent, pretty reasonably priced, and usually well located(Kyoto at Kiyomizu-Gojo is a bit out of the way, so more walking needed to get to train station).
* I stayed ay Shin-Yokohama Prince Hotel and stayed in a higher level room(costs extra), by far I think the most expensive one on this trip. The room is out of a 80s movie, also not very big. The view is nice(I can see all of Tokyo and Kawasaki from my room, but not Minato area of Yokohama). Windows could be cleaner for nicer photos though, lol. Not really recommended but it was really close to the Arena for the concert
* The hotel I stayed in Kawaguchiko was 河口湖 ほとりのテラスBan, looks like there might have been a couple location? The one I had was right on top of a Family Mart. It had I think 5 or 6 rooms. With 2 beds each. Very spacious by Japanese standard. Especially since rest of my trips were mainly business hotels. I booked it before it got busy and the price was very reasonable. It almost doubled a few months later. Right next to the bus stop, so its easy to access once I figured out how to use the bus.
* I have very basic level of Japanese, and because I look Asian if I start with Japanese they will respond in Japanese(and they usually start with Japanese with me). I find though English works pretty much everywhere, even in 7-11 trying to figureout how to do Yamato Transport stuff.
* I walked 354,000 steps in 2 weeks, about 160 miles, on non-transit days thats about 15 miles on those days alone, so bring good walking shoes.
* Future trip, I want to go to Kanazawa, revisit Fukuoka and Osaka proper, and eventually work up Tohoku and Hokkaido. But I feel like I will always find more time in Tokyo and I still want to go to Kyoto again.

* My photo highlights: [https://photos.app.goo.gl/XJpCBpJzp4fFSn3E6](https://photos.app.goo.gl/XJpCBpJzp4fFSn3E6)

If you actually read all of that, thank you. Hopefully you found some of that interesting. Feel free to ask anything.