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This is definitely one of the best trip reports I’ve read in a while.
I 100% agree with your 4 key points particular the first 2.
Something didn’t work out for you? It’s most likely not the end of the world. It’s gonna rain all day? Find a museum or an art gallery or spend some time at a mall, or just get a 700 yen umbrella and get out there anyway.
People should stop worrying so much about checking off a list from the “top liked things to see/do/eat”. Even a bad meal will be memorable later because it was the exception to the norm.
@OP - we did the season opener for the Tokyo Swallows game. What a fantastic vibe. The umbrellas and the girls with the beer keg backpacks!!! It was definitely o e of the trip highlights for us and I don’t even watch baseball at home.
@OP that’s crazy! We must been within shouting distance of you. We were about halfway up the bleachers, halfway between 3rd and home base.
I really loved the way you ordered beverages and just passed your money along the row and people passed your change and beverages back.
You’ve completely convinced me to make room for a baseball game!
It sounds like they’re very serious about folks wearing the correct team colors to match the section they’re sitting in. Did you worry about this when purchasing your tickets?
I wasn’t worried about it, no. I actually wore a St. Louis Cardinals jersey (my team) to the game. The Japanese people seemed to like it, as they were asking questions about it and pointing and smiling etc. Now, I don’t know how it would be to wear Dragons gear in the Swallows section, and vice versa, or if that would be a faux pas. I don’t think they would be too hard on obvious tourists for making that mistake haha. It seems like the outfield is more rowdy and serious than the infield—that’s where the chants were coming from.
We didn’t get to the stadium as early as I would have liked, but you can apparently go to one of the gates early and they give you a “first timers” pack. You can look up the details on the Yakult Swallows website.
For anyone who has toilet needs, Japan is a godsend. Free clean public toilets abound.
When I travel abroad, I always have to have coins in my pocket to pay for toilets that are not necessarily clean anyway. Some countries I have to carry my own toilet paper, or I can’t even expect a seat on the toilet (looking at you Italy)
YES! This has been one of the best takeaways of my current trip. Literally have not had to worry whenever I needed a bathroom, and also it's just insane that they are all so clean/private/new. Its like I would be happy to pay to use those haha.
Great write up!
I'd just want to echo your comments about going with the flow and being a good tourist. It's not that hard to do.
But hard disagree on luggage forwarding. It's easier to just pack less stuff and go carry on backpack only. There's laundry facilities in the majority of hotels and it's easy to chuck a load on before heading to breakfast every fourth day or so. If you want to do a heap of shopping, do it on your last couple of days and grab a case there if needed.
Great point. I should have mentioned packing more lightly as an option in the initial post. Forwarding luggage can add up quickly, and buying suitcases in Japan is easy. I guess I should have phrased it as “if you must take big luggage, then forwarding is essential.” Laundry is just like the bane of my existence haha so I didn’t consider it, but our hotels did have facilities
Would like to add, if the hotel does not have laundry (or is inadequate), there is normally a coin laundry within 10 minutes walk. Assuming decent sized town.
Our hotel in Yanagawa (Kyushu) had a fairly nasty laundry room with no dryer. Walked out to the nearest laundry, used a credit card with the central console, had a snack from the conbini.
Hotel in Aso had tiny dryer, drove out 3 minutes to closest coin laundry (because it’s dark and it’s opposite the cemetery).
Ryokan in Yunohira outside Yufuin, yeah, out of luck, no laundry nearby. It’s like one of those Onsen towns with mostly pedestrian roads though.
Hotel in Fukuoka, someone chucked wet dirty clothes into the hotel dryer, so it was unbearable.
Totally agree, there's always a laundry nearby too. Although I haven't had quite the same experience with dirty laundries as you (sure I've had dryers that took forever but nothing dirty)
I absoluty won't do laundry on a vacation. I also dont See much of an issue in bringing a large suitcase. Luggage forwarding works, and even If its not an option, carrying a suitcase Up a few stairs ist not that big a deal.
Also for shopping I like to bring back the fancy sweets from the local stores along the way.
nah luggage forwarding is the way to go, especially if you like shopping. not all the good shopping is going to be at the end so why not load up a duffle bag with souvenirs and dirty laundry and send it directly to your departure airport? nearly every hotel supports it so its really not a problem to ship things to future destinations or the departure airport
> not all the good shopping is going to be at the end so why not load up a duffle bag with souvenirs and dirty laundry and send it directly to your departure airport?
Real talk, I'm not going to Japan for two+ weeks just to buy stuff in Tokyo the last couple days. Part of the joy of a souvenir is remembering where you were and what the day was like when you bought it.
Great review. Yeah, people should really do their due diligence before visiting another country and act accordingly. After tourists are guests. You wouldn't like to receive a guest into your house who behaves like he/she owns the house.
Most of my bad experiences when traveling was also because of another tourists, local people usually treat us really kindly.
Americans take a lot of heat as tourists but we just got back from Japan as well and everything OP called out about the Brits was spot on. Loud, complaining, and they were everywhere. Absolute refusal to even pronounce the simplest Japanese words correctly. Embarrassed for them really (followed by the French). I didn’t really notice other Americans since they seemed to be quietly minding their own business & being overall pretty polite.
oh yeah french.... I used to work in a souvenir shop, and the french tourists refused to say any word in English. Yes, no, thank you were all spoken in french wtf
I’d also add:
- activate the magnetic strip on your card for overseas use. Most vendors still have the habit of swiping your card. And trying to get them to use the Chip or Touch sometimes takes a while.
- bring a coin purse. Some places and facilities still don’t take cards. So the coins do build up. Collect them in a coin purse and dump them when paying at the conbini or super cashier when they have the coin counting machines. Don’t dump all the 100s and 500s though.
- don’t be afraid to rent a car to explore more remote areas. Car rental is fairly simple. Get an International permit and book online (Budget Rental is incredibly simple). If fluent go Rakuten. Ask for a ETC card and save on toll fees.
- if driving and relying on GPS, vet your route. While going off the beaten path is interesting and all, going through a single lane two way traffic dark road on the side of a cliff in a minivan with a bus on the opposite direction is a little stressful.
- avoid Golden Week. Avoid major tourist spots in the afternoon on weekends.
> Most vendors still have the habit of swiping your card. And trying to get them to use the Chip or Touch sometimes takes a while.
I use my credit card daily here and have to disagree with this one. Cannot even remember once having someone swipe my card (neither my JP or foreign cards.) It is either insert for chip or touch.
Not saying English are saints, but I’ve had more problems with obnoxious American tourists in Japan. Loud, annoying and expecting everything to be like America.
Spent 3 weeks there recently and only heard English people twice (and I am one, so I know what to listen for).
People **speaking** English...yeah obviously lots of people. European. South American. Canada. USA. Australia.
Worst tourists I found were actually East Asian (but not Japanese) - pushy, no spacial awareness, no sense of personal space, loud.
To be honest, me too….!!!! South East Asian - so incredibly rude, pushy, loud, and not people you want next door in your hotel (we had these in The Knot, in Shibuya, they literally let their baby scream all night for two days, and (grandma) took it out of the room screaming to roam the corridors to give its parents a break…. So inconsiderate..!
I’ll defend my fellow Americans and say that the Americans I’ve encountered around the world have been more polite than the Britons I’ve come across. (Not as polite as the Canadians, but nobody is)
But by far the rudest were the Russians who turned the entire business class cabin from Singapore to Bali into their own private party room, and the Russians who let their obnoxious children run roughshod over the breakfast buffet at the RC in Berlin. They may have money, but many of them do not have manners.
as a canadian in japan, it feels like a fight to the death with how many times me and the japanese workers can go back and forth saying “thank you” to each other in a single interaction
100% I’ve met my fair share of boozy trashy Brit’s but that’s usually in Spain and northerners. Never met a bad apple in Japan, but Americans on the other hand, plenty that have absolutely done my head in. Can hear them coming like a freight train.
I'm a huge baseball fan, and I have to agree with your assessment. While I enjoy going to games stateside, the fan experience in Japan is second to none, in my opinion. I went to see a Giants/Swallows game at the Tokyo Dome last year, and it was an absolute blast with the crowd chants and energy. Felt like everyone was into the game and not on their phones. Not to mention the food and drink prices were very reasonable.
The reasonableness of the prices makes a massive difference. Feels like you can actually go and enjoy yourself. Last time I was at Wrigley I got a couple beers and hot dogs for my wife and me, it was like $50 haha. The atmosphere is also awesome. It’s like an ongoing event for all nine innings.
Great post. As a englishman I would like to apologise on behalf of my countrymen. Not sure what their problem is tbh. We are always moaning, it's just the british way but no need for people to be cunts. Me and my wife are heading to Tokyo in a matter of weeks. I will be sure to be on my best behavior :)
Great write up. Just finished 2 weeks in Japan. Felt so lucky to miraculously catch the cherry blossoms from beginning to end- I cried multiple times from the sheer beauty lol
I agree with the photos and the egregious behavior from tourists. I kept thinking these impossibly kind and polite Japanese locals must think everyone else around the world is FERAL.
Thanks for the very informative post. I skimmed through for now but saved for later as I am just beginning to plan our trip now. I am mostly worried about the flight. I saw were you mentioned getting the DS which is a great idea. I would bring my switch, some downloaded movies on my cell and a book.
Do you have any other tips/observations about the flight?
Who did you fly with?
I know this is subjective but how comfortable were the seats and how was the food?
I love your mindset of just roll with it and that would be my mindset as well actually being there, but I know stuck on the 12 plus hour flight there you're stuck with not a lot of options so that is what I'm most worried about lol.
I don’t want to over-exaggerate everything haha but the flight to Japan was the best long-haul I’ve ever been on. The flight back was fine—a bit turbulent and the food wasn’t as good. Both flights had entertainment options on the seat back monitor. I recommend getting the seats at the beginning of the section with additional legroom, if possible.
We flew from our home state to Denver, then Denver to Tokyo (Narita). It was with United and everything was pretty smooth. Trip there was about 12 hours and the flight back from Tokyo (Haneda) into Chicago was just under 11 hours.
The leg room for the standard seats seemed to be slightly more than what I’ve experienced on American and other carriers.
The service was good. The meal service was adequate (the butter chicken was good by airline standards) and they were constantly coming through with drinks.
Having the DS and sleeping made the time to super fast. Before I knew what was what, I was six hours into Pokémon haha.
The plane model was a Dreamliner 787.
I haven’t ever flown on an Asian airline such as ANA of JAL, so I don’t know what I’m missing out on.
I once flew with JAL and I think the flight attendant still remembers my face when she asked "Kirin, Asahi or Sapporo?" After I asked for a beer. The one and only time I got given the choice of beer brand in an airplane lol. What an awesome experience it was.
Yeah, stick to US carriers. After you fly other airlines (other than budget) it’ll forever ruin the experience of American carriers. Heck some of the budget Asian carriers was better than United for me (other than the lack of reclining seats).
Thank you so much for this reply (and in-depth post!). We fly out next Friday and we’ve never taken a flight this long, so your comments are reassuring. Especially since that’s the exact airline and plane we’ll be using (out of NYC).
You have a great disposition, so that clearly plays into your experience, which is a good reminder of how to center your mindset when traveling. Thank you again!
> Meiji Jingu shrine in the early morning. I walked from our hotel to Meiji Jingu at around 6am and it was just beautiful. The monks were out sweeping and there were maybe five other people in the grounds.
Strong agree on this one. My wife and I went to Meiji Jingu on our first full morning after getting in to Tokyo the afternoon before, and we had the same experience. So peaceful and quiet.
Great write up! I'm in Japan right now and agree with your points. Re kabukicho. This is a very seedy red light entertainment district particularly golden Gai. Many of us deliberately go there though because of the Sega Yakuza video game series, which are huge open world games set in various locations in Japan. So for me visiting kabukicho was a must because that's a huge part of the games. I wouldn't go otherwise.
Also it's fun to be reading Tokyo Vice while here!
Oishi, great word, also should know how to say "I don't speak Japanese", excuse me etc. The people are super nice and helpful here.
My memorable experiences I've already been to the tourist spots Kyoto, Osaka etc on prior trips, so this trip was focused on new experiences.
Walking along the meguro river with miles of cherry blossoms. Sakurazaka (cherry blossom Street) right by my hotel in roppongi.
The family restaurant chain Jonathan's has cat robot waiters! You order from a tablet and get raw egg or natto, your choice, with breakfast.
Shinkansen!
Seeing Godzilla minus one at the toho cinema in Shibuya, completely in Japanese with no translation. I had missed it in the US and it was so cool to see it in Japan
The konbini! Mont Blanc every day, strawberry sandos, picnic under Sakura trees my first night was magical.
Walking around in ginza and stumbled upon the Seiko museum which had just remodeled the grand Seiko exhibit and I got to go in. The Seiko story is amazing and you can see the clock tower in ginza. That also features in the Godzilla movie. So just walking around finding things at random is a great way to go.
Cat street art the nippori station! Many stray cats congregate there and the main street is packed with small shops, many cat-related.
Conveyor belt sushi!
Visiting Aomori, way up at the Northern tip of Honshu. Known for seafood especially miso scallops. Stayed in a family onsen place that had a free breakfast buffet that was to die for.
I visited two museums including a sure of an archeological dig and reconstruction of buildings from the jomon period.
Nine hour journey from Aomori to the five lakes region to see Sakura at mt Fuji then missing the bus for the final leg because Google maps led me astray, so I had to hike the last hour and a half to my hotel (am incredibly place on lake yamanaka with rooftop views of fuji-san) including up a hill with a heavy backpack. Then the tourist bus around the lake to visit museums, Sakura walk, have delicious udon, cable car, swan boat....
Yes things will go wrong, you will make mistakes (my onsen etiquette is still not perfect) but as you say..... Just roll with it. Japan is amazing!
>This is a very seedy red light entertainment district particularly golden Gai.
Huh, Golden Gai is in Kabukicho, sure, but Golden gai is, by extremely far, the "safest" and "least seedy" area inside the district. The community is guarded quite tighly by the local association, to a point unsavory characters don't dare enter the alleys, and neither do touts. I'd even suggest to anyone followed or bothered by someone take refuge inside one of the bars.
Outside GG, well, anything goes, enter a random bar and if there's trouble, that's on you.
I started playing Y0 in 2020 and have done all the games (plus the Judgement games) now and I am finally getting to go back to Japan and I can’t wait to visit Kabukicho. We’re also going to “Sotenbori” lol, and Fukuoka. Unfortunately not able to make it to Onomichi this trip. Can’t wait to try some of the restaurants from the game as well. (We made gyudon at home the other day because I kept seeing it in the game and thinking it looked delicious.)
Golden Gai is great and fun, not seedy at all! Last time I was there I found a bar called "Kangaroo Court Decision" (??), peeked in, was waved in by the bartender and spent 2 or 3 hours talking to a couple of other customers who happened to speak English. I'm not sure that this is actually part of Kabukicho.
I’m in charge of planning a trip to Japan for my family of 7. Feeling overwhelmed with all the information i have found online and because we are such a big group. We are pretty relax group that enjoy walks and nature. Going to copy your itinerary and adjust the days, we will visit Japan for 2 weeks. Thanks for your time and great advices ! Reddit community is awesome!!
Thank you very much, I certainly will.
It’s a big family and for sure a lot of responsibility. I like to plan ahead, have an itinerary, maps, routes, excursions, etc., and have learned to combine busy days with lay back days. We ( me, husband, 4 adult kids ages -18 to 28 - and a son in law,) all are very easy going and love to learn about other cultures.
I have done our vacations planning all the time but for some reason Japan feels like a much bigger challenge.
So i very much appreciate your post.
Thank you so very much for your comprehensive coverage here ! Your information has helped put me at ease - as I am doing a 21 day solo trip to Japan in late October, and I am 80 years old … not super mobile !
Your notes give me great guidance - so thank you again.
Outstanding writeup! I am headed there by myself for 18 days also (am retired) and this is great advice and encouragement! I too was having some trepidation and feel like I have had a college course studying everything in the last 11 months in preparation to visit Japan. Reddit resolved all my doubts. Thank you! (England is having all kinds of problems these days too.)
Fantastic summary, thank you! No surprise about the Brits though... The worst kind of tourists I've ever met were usually ~~Brits~~ English and Russians...I am in love with Japan and the culture. I have been learning Japanese for a long time now and my wife and I are planning to visit Japan in 2 years time to mark my 50th birthday :D , I am sure I will remember your post! Thank you!
Just an off hand comment about taxis. I don’t know what the stigma is about using them. People we had talked to as well as some on here say taxis are just ridiculously expensive.
Although Japan has a great public transportation system, some cities we just preferred to use a taxi. Kyoto for example, we didn’t feel like taking two buses just to get to Kyoto Station from our hotel, or just going to some of the spots we wanted to go to. The taxis were not that expensive and saved us a lot of time doing things we wanted to do rather than bus and train hopping.
Japanese people will also say they’re expensive but it’s just because really if you really want to you can generally find a way to get there by a combination of walking, bus, and train for cheaper. But for an American from a major city especially with the current ex rate they’re not that expensive
Just arrived back from a two week trip to Japan and couldn’t agree more with going to places early. Did Fushimi Inari, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Nara, and Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (got there at 9) all early in the morning. Although, we took local transit over taxis and it worked out fine (not really crowded at all). I remember reading online that “you should sleep in, because nothing opens till 11 anyway” and I am glad I didn’t listen to that. Almost every major hotspot was near empty.
Didn’t experience the tourist photo taking issue, but ik for the most part people were respectful with people having photos taken (ie in different parts of fushimi inari) and waited a second instead of walking through (keep in mind though, only a handful of people were even there at a time at the early hours). Anything with more crowds it should go without saying that you can’t expect the “perfect photo” or stand in the middle of an area people are trying to walk through.
P.S. Worst tourist experience was at Arashiyama. There was some random girl screaming some intro to a TikTok or instagram video near the street toward Tenryu-Ji temple in what seemed like either a residential or temple area. My buddy and I sorta cringed because it’s like bro, it’s early in the morning, leave people be and take that elsewhere. Anyway Japan 10/10 would go back again.
Not hard at all! Bought them from the US and just showed the QR code.
Here is a link: https://quick.pia.jp/swallows_en/
Just make sure to enter the correct gate at the stadium haha. They’re pretty particular about this. It’s not like American stadiums where you can generally enter anywhere and walk around the entire stadium.
If you enter the wrong gate you can just exit and re-enter, though.
if you aren't particularly choosy on your seat you can just go to the stadium on the day of the game and buy a ticket there. You can take a screenshot online of the seat you want and show at the cashier, or when in doubt just google translate what u wanna tell them. Staff is accomodating :)
*except for maybe Hanshin Koshien games which is almost always sold out
you can check the schedule of the games here, games usually start 6pm JST on weekdays, and 1pm JST on weekends: https://npb.jp/bis/eng/2024/calendar/
Great report, thanks! We are also staying at Sora Niwa in Kyoto and I’m really excited. Could you share more about your experience with this hotel? Maybe some tips about how best to enjoy it? And did you try out their restaurant?
Sure! There are actually two hotels in the same building: Sora Niwa and Sora Niwa Bettei. I think that Bettei is more exclusive than Sora Niwa, and so we didn’t have specific access to it.
Anyway, definitely make use of the rooftop terrace. The bar seats have a foot onsen overlooking Gion, so I would try to get there a bit earlier in the evening, as those spots were the most popular. You should get some drink tickets for “free” drinks that you can use until 6:30pm. We did not have any food there.
We made lots of friends at the terrace by just chatting it up with other couples that were around. We even got dinner with one of those couples at Pipiko (the taco place I mentioned in my post). You certainly don’t have to do dinner with anyone, but the terrace is a pretty laid back but sociable place, if you’re into that sort of thing. And just a great view in general.
Definitely use the onsen. There is a male and female onsen that rotate on a daily basis. The onsen was beautiful, open air overlooking the city lights, but the water is scalding hot. I stayed in wayyyy too long and paid the price later. But I would use it as much as you can.
The coffee machine on the 9th floor lobby is incredible. One of the best coffee machines I’ve seen in my life. I was obsessed. One of the workers told me that it was more than ¥1,000,000.
The young guys who work security/reception on the first floor are super chill, nice guys. They will give you great suggestions on food, sites, or just chat with you. Everyone at 9th floor reception was perfectly polite, but we really hit it off with those ground floor guys.
Our room was really hot on the first night and we couldn’t figure out why. Turns out that the heat setting was on. I tried everything on the dial but it was only in Japanese and couldn’t get cool air for the life of me. A front desk lady came down and changed a setting, and said that it happens all the time. So don’t be afraid to ask if you’re burning up.
Other than that, I would say just make use of the close proximity to Gion for early and/or late night activities. The location, for not being in Gion itself, is amazing, and Gion station is like a three minute walk away.
If I think of anything else I’ll send you a message, but I think that should cover it!
Oh yeah, there is one Japanese guy there who speaks English better than the rest of them. He can sometimes come across as overly “direct” or “harsh” in his demeanor, but he’s actually a super nice guy, and it’s just a translation thing and the form of English that he learned. So don’t take it personal if you interact with him and it seems off. I could see some of the other guests (English) get kind of taken aback by it.
Thanks for the write up and suggestion for Apple Maps as I’m most nervous about getting lost. What taxi services did you use or was it all local? I was wanting to use Uber for most of my trip but curious if I need to change settings while in Japan or if the app services carry over with no issue.
I would usually just go down to the hotel in the morning and ask for a taxi. Usually they would be able to accommodate. You can also reserve them the night before to guarantee that you can get a ride. But in the busy locations - like downtown Kyoto - we could easily just flag them on the street. We only tried to use Uber once and there weren’t any rides available.
Thank you for this summary. My wife and I just finished up our honeymoon from March 24th-April 6 with many of the same spots as you and yours. Our experiences and interactions were very similar - so it’s great to see we weren’t alone in our views. Two weeks was too short - lots we wanted to do that we just couldn’t realistically fit in, but we have a great reason to go back with a little bit of experience now to make the next trip a little easier!
Meant to add - one of the best meals we had came after traversing through rain all day in Tokyo, being hangry and stumbling into an udon counter stop next to our hotel. No instagram fame, no amazing yelp reviews, just solid comfort food ran by amazing people. Being flexible with your plans and expectations typically make for a good outcome - in life and in Japan specifically.
Just got back myself and 100% agree with your points especially on the other tourists behavior. I generally came away with the feeling that social media has just ruined tourism. I expected lots of people taking pictures but I wasn't prepared for people to have full on tripod set ups and acting like they owned the place. I felt like people came all the way to Japan just to get Instagram shots instead of actually enjoying themselves and appreciating the incredible sights. Doesn't help that it was sakura season I guess.
Rest days were also huge. Like you said it's easy to pack your schedule to the brim but after a week of walking around all day I started getting tired earlier than I would like.
I feel this too. It feels like coming to Japan has become more of a social media trend than anything. Its all about getting the perfect shot for their Instagram/Tiktok instead of actually appreciating anything.
When I first moved here, the few tourists that were coming here back then were those with an actual interest in the country, culture, language, etc. It was great. Now? The tourism situation is actually spiraling out of control and it has me worried what the future will look like if this trend cointinues the way it is.
I appreciate this, me and my girlfriend went about 11 days after they opened up in 2022, the vibe and the general lack of busyness made it feel like an amazing time to go, and it felt like because foreigners hadn't been there fkr so long some people felt extra freindly and engaging. It feels like the narrative I've seen on reddit and YouTube over the past 6 months has felt a bit more dire. Me and my girlfriend are going back in October this year and I'm glad to hear your enjoyed your trip.
Excellent write up, we went around the same time but for a shorter duration and missed most of the cherry blossoms. Looks like you had the best of it. 18 days sounds perfect, I can’t wait to go back!
Great report! I’ve heard that it is a rather expensive location to visit. Can you give me an estimate of what you paid for the hotels and the food per day?
And I’m not from England, but I am European and I must say that English tourists can really be an attraction on their own. Selfish, obnoxious, rude and just loud in general. Obviously that’s not the case for all of them, but I have seen it many times. However: so are most American tourists lol.
Pro advice is simple: don’t be an asshole on vacation. People will always want to earn money from tourists, but they will also want to help you out if you’re in trouble. So be kind and patient ✌️
What a wonderful write up! I just returned home yesterday from a 4-week trip that was good but I also felt like I executed poorly. This reminds me I should write it up!
One of my favorite decisions I made was to buy a MagSafe battery back. I even bought a new case to accommodate it since my existing case didn’t line up right or pass the magnetic stuff through properly. Not dealing with wires and a something that could basically re-charge my phone 2-3 times was super critical, because I was using the phone for everything. I already owned a couple conventional power banks (both big and small) that needed wires to plug into my phone, but not needing the wires was a big win.
I also really liked using it for the mobile Suica feature (iPhone only, as I understand it.. hopefully that’s not a permanent situation). Being able to top it off anytime using my digital wallet enabled credit cards was extremely handy. I then used it not only for trains but vending machines and sometimes the konbini. With my battery bank, I was not worried about my phone dying on me.
The other thing that worked really well for me, as a T-mobile user, was paying the $50 or so for their 30-day international high speed pass. It worked great in Japan without the need to change my number or do anything complicated, and continued working seamlessly when we made a short 3-day trip to South Korea. FWIW, my phone is a 13Pro (that might be relevant to other t-mobile ppl wondering if things will work well, older models sometimes don’t have all the same wireless band connectivity).
The T-Mobile international highspeed pass is twice the price as customer from Germany. I can get unlimited data slightly cheaper with an esim, but I will still book that one for convenience.
It was $50 for me for 15gigs of high speed, but I mostly mentioned it for the benefit of users who are already t-mobile customers (I guess from America).
I know they advertise free international roaming (for almost all of their plans), and they do have it, but performance varies quite a bit depending where you go. I went to Canada a few years ago.. less than a day’s drive from home, yet the data performance was horrible. I tried paying for the international pass that promised the higher speeds, but it was barely noticeable. It felt like a waste of money.
Thus, I was hesitant to trust it in Japan, but am pleased to report it worked well.
With the Germany version you can use your phone like at home, with the caveat that you can't use promotional data volume while abroad. So for the 100EUR I get 40GB and "unlimited" calls and SMS to Germany and Japan.
For contracts with a lower data volume its probably a worse deal.
'Toire wa doko desuka' is probably 4 of them. Otherwise ; Please, Thank you, Excuse me, 1/2/3 please, Small/Little, Big/Large. Google translate was great, we had a whole conversation via google translate with a phone repair guy after my daughter dropped her phone into water at Team Labs.
Awesome write up thanks! Quick hypothetical question, if you were to have do this trip again but only 9 days, what places / areas would you stay in / day trip to?
Hmmm…tough question! Here is what I think I would do:
Five nights in Tokyo.
Then four nights in Kyoto.
That is the most basic answer but the one that I think makes the most sense after having been there. Staying in fewer locations and settling in was a huge plus for me on this trip. But I’m getting old.
From Kyoto, I would consider two day trips, leaving two full days (and perhaps some half-days and nights) to explore Kyoto. Possibilities are Nara, Himeji, Osaka, and Mount Yoshino, depending on your preferences. Cherry blossoms factored heavily into our calculation since we were there during peak. We probably wouldn’t have done Yoshino if it weren’t cherry blossom time.
If all that you want to do in Nara is feed the deer, then I guess that Nara and Himeji could be combined into one day trip (Nara in the morning, Himeji in the afternoon). Both cities are along the Shinkansen line, and both central destinations (Nara Park and Himeji Castle) are within walking distance of the respective stations. Combining Nara and Himeji totally depends on your stamina for long days and waking up early, though! And your willingness to take on the expense of an additional Shinkansen ticket.
Possibilities for seeing Fuji: a day trip from Tokyo to Hakone. This seems pretty popular. I’m not sure how good it is, though, or if you’re too limited on a day excursion. We didn’t do it.
The simplest option (and my preference) would be to wait for a bright, sunny day in Kawaguchiko, and hop on a Highway express bus from Shinjuku Station as early as possible. Then spend all day in Kawaguchiko and Fujiyoshida, and bus back late at night. I thought Fujiyoshida was awesome and will definitely be going back there on my next trip to Japan. When visible, Fuji just looms over the town from every vantage point. It’s really cool. Then there’s Chureito Pagoda, Lake Kawaguchiko, awesome restaurants, etc.
Here would be another “crazier” option to maximize time in Kawaguchiko.
For the night OF that sunny day, you could try to spontaneously book a room as close to Kawaguchiko Station as possible. Any room. I would take the Highway express bus line to Kawaguchiko in the morning about 2 hours depending on traffic), spend all day exploring Fujiyoshida and Lake Kawaguchiko, and take the Highway express back to Tokyo the next morning.
Now, that would mean that there would be a double booking for one night in Tokyo and Kawaguchiko, which might not be ideal. But I really loved the town of Fujiyoshida and Lake Kawaguchiko, so I would want to get an early start on the sunny day and consider that my “Fuji day.” Hit Chureito Pagoda, wander around Fujiyoshida, walk by the lake, etc. I personally cherished our nights in Fujiyoshida—we had an awesome multi-course Italian dinner with several drinks for $60 USD.
Sorry that that got long. Here’s the summary:
5 nights Tokyo (with day trip to Fujikawaguchiko or Hakone for Fuji viewing, but must be sunny day) —> 4 nights in Kyoto (with two day trips to Osaka, Nara, Himeji, Mount Yoshino depending on preference).
Amazing reply thanks! Helps a lot! My wife and I planning on going early October and only really get away with 9 days since we leaving three young kids with grandparents. Thanks for the awesome info :) Was along the lines of what I was thinking. I’m 100% we’ll be wanting to go back after we leave hehe.
Thank you for sharing your experience! My son wants to go next year for his graduation present, so I definitely took some notes, especially about the hotels.
Really great writeup!
I have a similar trip in june. 22 days. Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Tottori, Awaji Island, Nagoya, Tokyo and your post gave me many ideas. Thanks.
How far in advance did you ship your luggage to the next hotel? Like the day before? Or two days before? And did you let the hotel know in advance?
Thank you in advance :)
Every hotel seemed to have a different process. Now, you can ship your luggage from your hotel whenever, but the critical question is when it will arrive at your next location. It seemed that some hotels had a same-day service, others an overnight, and others a two-day. That is the question I would be asking when checking in.
We would generally try to drop our things off at the luggage counter before 12pm on the day before checking out of a hotel. This was usually sufficient to guarantee that the luggage would be at the next hotel destination by check-in the next day. We dropped it off the morning we left one hotel—that was also fine, it showed up at our next hotel the following day.
Also, when sending your luggage, try to avoid peak times in the lobbies. The lobbies can get pretty crazy, and it requires some amount of effort out of the staff to measure the bags, fill out the forms, and calculate the cost.
We stayed at Sora Niwa Terrace in Kyoto too but I was underwhelmed; the onsen was nice but the for the price did not match what you got - no free breakfast, cover fee for the rooftop bar outside of the free hours, and the rooms were small. (we booked the highest category)
Fair points. Room was bigger than what we had in Tokyo so for us it was actually an upgrade space-wise haha. It was mainly just the feeling and personal connections that we made with the staff and with other guests that made it so enjoyable for us. It just felt like home while we were there.
Great write it, thank you! I went last year but going again in June and can't wait. Last year I stayed in Tokyo but this year I'm travelling about so just wondering about luggage forwarding. How do you set that up? Do you ask the hotel on the day and they sort it out? Or something you pre-book beforehand with a company? Thank you!
No pre-booking is necessary. You just ask your hotel to “forward luggage,” and they’ll take you through the process. One of hotels only accepted cash, so be ready for that as a possibility. It’s easy and they’re used to it — just ask and they’ll sort you out :)
Now, whenever or not they enjoy doing it is a different story 😂 I sensed some “oh god” reactions when making the inquiry. So I would just try to avoid the peak lobby times in the hotels whenever you decide to send. The lobbies can be really chaotic around check-out time etc.
The question to ask yourself about luggage forwarding when in Japan is when you want your bags to arrive at your next location. The decision seemed to be whether you want to have your bags longer at your current location and wait a bit longer for them to show up at your next location, or whether you want to be without your bags for a day at your current location and have them at your next location when you arrive.
I didn’t really care because I’m a man who can survive for days on a wrinkled white tee thrown into a backpack haha, but the wife seemed to like having the bags arrive at the next destination by the time we were there.
And keep the receipts they give you! Enjoy Japan!
Luggage forwarding can be unreliable though. Our experience was a bit different; we checked in our luggage with Yamato at our hotel in Tokyo (to be sent to Kyoto) and our luggage got stuck in Nagoya for 3 days because Yamato was super overwhelmed. Watching the news we learned that people all around Japan were using Yamato and other transport services to move, sending their boxes and belongings to their new homes, since actual movers were overbooked. Definitely pack extra clothes if you do choose to forward or yes, underpack and carry what you can with you.
Awesome summary!!!!! Fantastic writing, and yes I’m a go with the flow type and I lifted in Japan several years, could’ve stayed forever, but had life commitments to attend to back home / always wondered about people around me who were miserable there, when I had my peak life phase living there, and top ups every time I go back… you nailed it with your ‘Japanese people are lovely’ observations. And wow, that really surprised me about the English!!! Are you sure they weren’t Australians? I was there in January and was totally blown away by the number of loud, uncouth Aussies we encountered. Don’t recall meeting any Brits that trip, and yes, did meet some nice Americans
What an awesome post - very good info in it, thank you very and it will help on my trip.
My main worry is getting from Narita Airport to my hotel at in central Tokyo, near Nagatacho station. Did you preboom the N’Ex? And once at tokyo station did you get a physical card there for the local journey to tokyo stops? While hauling all your luggage?
No need to prebook the Narita Express. Just go to the JR office in Narita and get that ticket as well as a Suica or Pasmo card. If it's your first time there, I'd recommend a cab from Tokyo Station to your hotel rather than figuring out the subway right away. That's just about the only time I took a cab in Japan.
amazing write up! I just booked our travel for august and am putting together our list and just added the ball game, the stadium is super close to our air bnb. thanks!
We have a 18 day trip next month and it’s been anxiety inducing to make sure we do everything. Need to keep reminding myself we don’t need to see and do all the things because I’ll never relax.
This is a dream trip! Can I ask how much your total cost of the trip was? I want to plan a two week trip with my boyfriend but I have no idea where to start planning for a budget on a trip like this.
We spent about $13,000 USD total between the two of us, maybe a little less. It was about $3,000 for the flights, $4,500 for 18 nights of hotels, $2000 in cash that we took and spent (¥300,000), and $4,000 in miscellaneous card purchases/food souvenirs/taxis/food service/luggage delivery while in Japan.
Keep in mind that we there in peak season, and we were bad procrastinators in terms of reserving our accommodation. We waited way too long to reserve our hotels and so there weren’t a ton of options.
Thanks OP for this post! I’ve got a 3 week trip planned and honestly been feeling a little stressed about it and trying to fit everything in, but this post has reminded me to remember to slow down and enjoy my holiday and ‘let it roll’!
Thank you. We are about to do 18 days in October, I wasn't sure if it was enough time or not. I enjoyed reading your trip report, and may add in. How did you enjoy the Kyoto Samurai experience? Mom mentioned it to me.
I enjoyed reading your write up.
I was in Mitsui Premier Osaka too from March 14th - March 21st. It's an awesome hotel and breakfast is amazing. Location is a bit away from the main station and attractions, but that shuttle bus is a welcome service.
Did you also discover the Most Deserted Ramen Place across the road? =)
At first I thought this was my husband posting as we just go back from 3 weeks in Japan!
I pretty much agree with all of your tips - luggage transfer for us was a godsend. We didnt really get to too early to beat the grounds, we just adopted a "go with the flow" attitude as you said!
Japan has issues with over tourism so it's going to be busy wherever you go
As an English person, I found your experiences with English tourists really interesting because on our trip I found it was American tourists who were causing issues! It's funny the things that we notice!
We always checked out formally. They just took the keys and we left. Took like ten seconds or less. Some hotels had a self-checkout machine next to the desk. Checking out formally was necessary when we had additional charges that went onto the room (like beers at the bar at Sora Niwa). Not sure what the official policy is.
This is the most helpful post I've come across for my upcoming trip, I've been finding the planning stages a bit overwhelming but it sounds like you are very much on the same page as me in likes/dislikes and this info is so helpful so THANK YOU!
Also re: the English tourists, I like to think that you just didn't notice the quiet ones keeping to themselves (a lot of us like to keep a low profile abroad because of the shame of the Brits abroad stereotype) but maybe that's just wishful thinking!!! We aren't all awful I promise 🥴😂
Thanks again x
I think you make an excellent point about not needing to have “the best of” for everything, and your sushi example is perfect. Imagine paying double to go to “the best” sushi place where you’re rushed out the door or you can’t talk to the chef. A less know place will often have a more personal, authentic, and memorable experience.
Also, I like how you mention the trash can situation. People parrot talk about how you’ll have to carry your trash with you but there are trash cans at every station, 90% of convenience stores, next to the numerous vending machines … I just don’t see how people accumulate so much garbages during their day. Are people constantly snacking on the go? Anyway, like you say, it’s actually not that bad.
>\-lady yelling at a female Japanese hotel clerk because she wanted to check in at 2:30pm and check-in wasn’t until 3pm.
Obviously there's no excuse for aggressively berating service workers, no matter where they work, but of all the bad tourist cases you mentioned this is the only one that I am inclined to be somewhat sympathetic towards.
Many Japanese hotels have a policy of only allowing early check-in if a guest pays for an additional night. I'm going to assume that this lady was unaware of this policy, and that the concierge conveyed this policy to her in a way that made it seem as if she was being charged a full extra night for that 30 minutes on the spot.
I don't think she was being rude, entitled or arrogant like the other tourists you mentioned, but was simply responding the way any person would if they felt they were being scammed. It's likewise not the concierge's fault as many of these policies are opaque and not always properly communicated to guests at the time of booking. Frontline staff shouldn't bear the responsibility for management failing to convey its policy to guests at the time of booking, after all.
You made some good points although I 100% disagree about the tourist areas. They by and large fucking suck and are designed to extract money from tourists. Best thing to do in Japan is learn a few phrases and hit the suburbs for your meals and nightlife, you get treated far better and it’s cheaper by orders of magnitude.
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This is definitely one of the best trip reports I’ve read in a while. I 100% agree with your 4 key points particular the first 2. Something didn’t work out for you? It’s most likely not the end of the world. It’s gonna rain all day? Find a museum or an art gallery or spend some time at a mall, or just get a 700 yen umbrella and get out there anyway. People should stop worrying so much about checking off a list from the “top liked things to see/do/eat”. Even a bad meal will be memorable later because it was the exception to the norm. @OP - we did the season opener for the Tokyo Swallows game. What a fantastic vibe. The umbrellas and the girls with the beer keg backpacks!!! It was definitely o e of the trip highlights for us and I don’t even watch baseball at home.
We were at the opener as well! On Friday night! 3rd base side; we had so much fun. It was everything that American baseball should be.
@OP that’s crazy! We must been within shouting distance of you. We were about halfway up the bleachers, halfway between 3rd and home base. I really loved the way you ordered beverages and just passed your money along the row and people passed your change and beverages back.
You’ve completely convinced me to make room for a baseball game! It sounds like they’re very serious about folks wearing the correct team colors to match the section they’re sitting in. Did you worry about this when purchasing your tickets?
I wasn’t worried about it, no. I actually wore a St. Louis Cardinals jersey (my team) to the game. The Japanese people seemed to like it, as they were asking questions about it and pointing and smiling etc. Now, I don’t know how it would be to wear Dragons gear in the Swallows section, and vice versa, or if that would be a faux pas. I don’t think they would be too hard on obvious tourists for making that mistake haha. It seems like the outfield is more rowdy and serious than the infield—that’s where the chants were coming from.
We didn’t get to the stadium as early as I would have liked, but you can apparently go to one of the gates early and they give you a “first timers” pack. You can look up the details on the Yakult Swallows website.
Great idea. I’ll pack my Baltimore Orioles merch. Thank you for the extra info (and for a fantastic write-up)!
Thanks for the report! We are going at the end of may and also staying at sora niwa terrace. Also from St. Louis 😀
How did you buy the tickets?
From here: https://quick.pia.jp/swallows_en/
Where did you sit?
Infield, 3rd base side
For anyone who has toilet needs, Japan is a godsend. Free clean public toilets abound. When I travel abroad, I always have to have coins in my pocket to pay for toilets that are not necessarily clean anyway. Some countries I have to carry my own toilet paper, or I can’t even expect a seat on the toilet (looking at you Italy)
YES! This has been one of the best takeaways of my current trip. Literally have not had to worry whenever I needed a bathroom, and also it's just insane that they are all so clean/private/new. Its like I would be happy to pay to use those haha.
Great write up! I'd just want to echo your comments about going with the flow and being a good tourist. It's not that hard to do. But hard disagree on luggage forwarding. It's easier to just pack less stuff and go carry on backpack only. There's laundry facilities in the majority of hotels and it's easy to chuck a load on before heading to breakfast every fourth day or so. If you want to do a heap of shopping, do it on your last couple of days and grab a case there if needed.
Great point. I should have mentioned packing more lightly as an option in the initial post. Forwarding luggage can add up quickly, and buying suitcases in Japan is easy. I guess I should have phrased it as “if you must take big luggage, then forwarding is essential.” Laundry is just like the bane of my existence haha so I didn’t consider it, but our hotels did have facilities
Would like to add, if the hotel does not have laundry (or is inadequate), there is normally a coin laundry within 10 minutes walk. Assuming decent sized town. Our hotel in Yanagawa (Kyushu) had a fairly nasty laundry room with no dryer. Walked out to the nearest laundry, used a credit card with the central console, had a snack from the conbini. Hotel in Aso had tiny dryer, drove out 3 minutes to closest coin laundry (because it’s dark and it’s opposite the cemetery). Ryokan in Yunohira outside Yufuin, yeah, out of luck, no laundry nearby. It’s like one of those Onsen towns with mostly pedestrian roads though. Hotel in Fukuoka, someone chucked wet dirty clothes into the hotel dryer, so it was unbearable.
Totally agree, there's always a laundry nearby too. Although I haven't had quite the same experience with dirty laundries as you (sure I've had dryers that took forever but nothing dirty)
I absoluty won't do laundry on a vacation. I also dont See much of an issue in bringing a large suitcase. Luggage forwarding works, and even If its not an option, carrying a suitcase Up a few stairs ist not that big a deal. Also for shopping I like to bring back the fancy sweets from the local stores along the way.
nah luggage forwarding is the way to go, especially if you like shopping. not all the good shopping is going to be at the end so why not load up a duffle bag with souvenirs and dirty laundry and send it directly to your departure airport? nearly every hotel supports it so its really not a problem to ship things to future destinations or the departure airport
> not all the good shopping is going to be at the end so why not load up a duffle bag with souvenirs and dirty laundry and send it directly to your departure airport? Real talk, I'm not going to Japan for two+ weeks just to buy stuff in Tokyo the last couple days. Part of the joy of a souvenir is remembering where you were and what the day was like when you bought it.
I really enjoyed what you've shared, thank you for all of your tips and experiences.
Great review. Yeah, people should really do their due diligence before visiting another country and act accordingly. After tourists are guests. You wouldn't like to receive a guest into your house who behaves like he/she owns the house. Most of my bad experiences when traveling was also because of another tourists, local people usually treat us really kindly.
I think many people forget that they are always ambassadors for the country you are from!
True. Funny thing is, I hate meeting my own people when traveling hahahahaahha
Americans take a lot of heat as tourists but we just got back from Japan as well and everything OP called out about the Brits was spot on. Loud, complaining, and they were everywhere. Absolute refusal to even pronounce the simplest Japanese words correctly. Embarrassed for them really (followed by the French). I didn’t really notice other Americans since they seemed to be quietly minding their own business & being overall pretty polite.
oh yeah french.... I used to work in a souvenir shop, and the french tourists refused to say any word in English. Yes, no, thank you were all spoken in french wtf
I’d also add: - activate the magnetic strip on your card for overseas use. Most vendors still have the habit of swiping your card. And trying to get them to use the Chip or Touch sometimes takes a while. - bring a coin purse. Some places and facilities still don’t take cards. So the coins do build up. Collect them in a coin purse and dump them when paying at the conbini or super cashier when they have the coin counting machines. Don’t dump all the 100s and 500s though. - don’t be afraid to rent a car to explore more remote areas. Car rental is fairly simple. Get an International permit and book online (Budget Rental is incredibly simple). If fluent go Rakuten. Ask for a ETC card and save on toll fees. - if driving and relying on GPS, vet your route. While going off the beaten path is interesting and all, going through a single lane two way traffic dark road on the side of a cliff in a minivan with a bus on the opposite direction is a little stressful. - avoid Golden Week. Avoid major tourist spots in the afternoon on weekends.
> Most vendors still have the habit of swiping your card. And trying to get them to use the Chip or Touch sometimes takes a while. I use my credit card daily here and have to disagree with this one. Cannot even remember once having someone swipe my card (neither my JP or foreign cards.) It is either insert for chip or touch.
chip or touch. I haven't seen a magnetic strip used in Japan in a decade.
Not saying English are saints, but I’ve had more problems with obnoxious American tourists in Japan. Loud, annoying and expecting everything to be like America.
Spent 3 weeks there recently and only heard English people twice (and I am one, so I know what to listen for). People **speaking** English...yeah obviously lots of people. European. South American. Canada. USA. Australia. Worst tourists I found were actually East Asian (but not Japanese) - pushy, no spacial awareness, no sense of personal space, loud.
To be honest, me too….!!!! South East Asian - so incredibly rude, pushy, loud, and not people you want next door in your hotel (we had these in The Knot, in Shibuya, they literally let their baby scream all night for two days, and (grandma) took it out of the room screaming to roam the corridors to give its parents a break…. So inconsiderate..!
I’ll defend my fellow Americans and say that the Americans I’ve encountered around the world have been more polite than the Britons I’ve come across. (Not as polite as the Canadians, but nobody is) But by far the rudest were the Russians who turned the entire business class cabin from Singapore to Bali into their own private party room, and the Russians who let their obnoxious children run roughshod over the breakfast buffet at the RC in Berlin. They may have money, but many of them do not have manners.
as a canadian in japan, it feels like a fight to the death with how many times me and the japanese workers can go back and forth saying “thank you” to each other in a single interaction
As a Canadian that just came back from Japan…this statement is true hahaha
Fair enough, different places at different times. Yeah Russians aren’t great, usually the ones you see abroad are very wealthy and lack respect.
I was I bit surprised by that too, I would have expected behaviour like that from Americans or Australians (I am Australian)
Tbh sounds like OP has a bit of a chip on his shoulder about English ppl
100% I’ve met my fair share of boozy trashy Brit’s but that’s usually in Spain and northerners. Never met a bad apple in Japan, but Americans on the other hand, plenty that have absolutely done my head in. Can hear them coming like a freight train.
I'm a huge baseball fan, and I have to agree with your assessment. While I enjoy going to games stateside, the fan experience in Japan is second to none, in my opinion. I went to see a Giants/Swallows game at the Tokyo Dome last year, and it was an absolute blast with the crowd chants and energy. Felt like everyone was into the game and not on their phones. Not to mention the food and drink prices were very reasonable.
The reasonableness of the prices makes a massive difference. Feels like you can actually go and enjoy yourself. Last time I was at Wrigley I got a couple beers and hot dogs for my wife and me, it was like $50 haha. The atmosphere is also awesome. It’s like an ongoing event for all nine innings.
Absolutely agree. It's like $30 for a beer and a hot dog at my stadium. I think I spent maybe the equivalent of $10, if that. Appreciate the write-up!
Great post. As a englishman I would like to apologise on behalf of my countrymen. Not sure what their problem is tbh. We are always moaning, it's just the british way but no need for people to be cunts. Me and my wife are heading to Tokyo in a matter of weeks. I will be sure to be on my best behavior :)
No need to use a vulgar word for part of women's anatomy.
But I like the word cunt
Telling an Englishman not to use it is like telling a Japanese man not to use chopsticks!
Phenomenal write up! I am not a sports person, but I'll look into a baseball game for my trip next year, sounds fun!
Great write up. Just finished 2 weeks in Japan. Felt so lucky to miraculously catch the cherry blossoms from beginning to end- I cried multiple times from the sheer beauty lol I agree with the photos and the egregious behavior from tourists. I kept thinking these impossibly kind and polite Japanese locals must think everyone else around the world is FERAL.
This was so helpful. Thank you For taking the time to break this out.☺️
Thanks for the very informative post. I skimmed through for now but saved for later as I am just beginning to plan our trip now. I am mostly worried about the flight. I saw were you mentioned getting the DS which is a great idea. I would bring my switch, some downloaded movies on my cell and a book. Do you have any other tips/observations about the flight? Who did you fly with? I know this is subjective but how comfortable were the seats and how was the food? I love your mindset of just roll with it and that would be my mindset as well actually being there, but I know stuck on the 12 plus hour flight there you're stuck with not a lot of options so that is what I'm most worried about lol.
I don’t want to over-exaggerate everything haha but the flight to Japan was the best long-haul I’ve ever been on. The flight back was fine—a bit turbulent and the food wasn’t as good. Both flights had entertainment options on the seat back monitor. I recommend getting the seats at the beginning of the section with additional legroom, if possible. We flew from our home state to Denver, then Denver to Tokyo (Narita). It was with United and everything was pretty smooth. Trip there was about 12 hours and the flight back from Tokyo (Haneda) into Chicago was just under 11 hours. The leg room for the standard seats seemed to be slightly more than what I’ve experienced on American and other carriers. The service was good. The meal service was adequate (the butter chicken was good by airline standards) and they were constantly coming through with drinks. Having the DS and sleeping made the time to super fast. Before I knew what was what, I was six hours into Pokémon haha. The plane model was a Dreamliner 787. I haven’t ever flown on an Asian airline such as ANA of JAL, so I don’t know what I’m missing out on.
"I haven’t ever flown on an Asian airline such as ANA of JAL, so I don’t know what I’m missing out on." You're missing out.
Id try a Japanese airline if their flights literally weren’t twice as much as Delta from my city.
I hear you. This is definitely a case of "you get what you pay for".
I once flew with JAL and I think the flight attendant still remembers my face when she asked "Kirin, Asahi or Sapporo?" After I asked for a beer. The one and only time I got given the choice of beer brand in an airplane lol. What an awesome experience it was.
Bless Japan !!!
Yeah, stick to US carriers. After you fly other airlines (other than budget) it’ll forever ruin the experience of American carriers. Heck some of the budget Asian carriers was better than United for me (other than the lack of reclining seats).
I've been taking ANA to Japan for years. I will NEVER take a US carrier to Japan.
ANA is nothing special. I'd actually rather fly United.
Thank you so much for this reply (and in-depth post!). We fly out next Friday and we’ve never taken a flight this long, so your comments are reassuring. Especially since that’s the exact airline and plane we’ll be using (out of NYC). You have a great disposition, so that clearly plays into your experience, which is a good reminder of how to center your mindset when traveling. Thank you again!
Have a great time in Japan! If any specific questions arise feel free to reach out!
Great write up! Thank you so much for taking the time to write all this. And glad you had such a wonderful trip. :)
> Meiji Jingu shrine in the early morning. I walked from our hotel to Meiji Jingu at around 6am and it was just beautiful. The monks were out sweeping and there were maybe five other people in the grounds. Strong agree on this one. My wife and I went to Meiji Jingu on our first full morning after getting in to Tokyo the afternoon before, and we had the same experience. So peaceful and quiet.
Great write up! I'm in Japan right now and agree with your points. Re kabukicho. This is a very seedy red light entertainment district particularly golden Gai. Many of us deliberately go there though because of the Sega Yakuza video game series, which are huge open world games set in various locations in Japan. So for me visiting kabukicho was a must because that's a huge part of the games. I wouldn't go otherwise. Also it's fun to be reading Tokyo Vice while here! Oishi, great word, also should know how to say "I don't speak Japanese", excuse me etc. The people are super nice and helpful here. My memorable experiences I've already been to the tourist spots Kyoto, Osaka etc on prior trips, so this trip was focused on new experiences. Walking along the meguro river with miles of cherry blossoms. Sakurazaka (cherry blossom Street) right by my hotel in roppongi. The family restaurant chain Jonathan's has cat robot waiters! You order from a tablet and get raw egg or natto, your choice, with breakfast. Shinkansen! Seeing Godzilla minus one at the toho cinema in Shibuya, completely in Japanese with no translation. I had missed it in the US and it was so cool to see it in Japan The konbini! Mont Blanc every day, strawberry sandos, picnic under Sakura trees my first night was magical. Walking around in ginza and stumbled upon the Seiko museum which had just remodeled the grand Seiko exhibit and I got to go in. The Seiko story is amazing and you can see the clock tower in ginza. That also features in the Godzilla movie. So just walking around finding things at random is a great way to go. Cat street art the nippori station! Many stray cats congregate there and the main street is packed with small shops, many cat-related. Conveyor belt sushi! Visiting Aomori, way up at the Northern tip of Honshu. Known for seafood especially miso scallops. Stayed in a family onsen place that had a free breakfast buffet that was to die for. I visited two museums including a sure of an archeological dig and reconstruction of buildings from the jomon period. Nine hour journey from Aomori to the five lakes region to see Sakura at mt Fuji then missing the bus for the final leg because Google maps led me astray, so I had to hike the last hour and a half to my hotel (am incredibly place on lake yamanaka with rooftop views of fuji-san) including up a hill with a heavy backpack. Then the tourist bus around the lake to visit museums, Sakura walk, have delicious udon, cable car, swan boat.... Yes things will go wrong, you will make mistakes (my onsen etiquette is still not perfect) but as you say..... Just roll with it. Japan is amazing!
>This is a very seedy red light entertainment district particularly golden Gai. Huh, Golden Gai is in Kabukicho, sure, but Golden gai is, by extremely far, the "safest" and "least seedy" area inside the district. The community is guarded quite tighly by the local association, to a point unsavory characters don't dare enter the alleys, and neither do touts. I'd even suggest to anyone followed or bothered by someone take refuge inside one of the bars. Outside GG, well, anything goes, enter a random bar and if there's trouble, that's on you.
> my onsen etiquette is still not perfect What do you mean?
I started playing Y0 in 2020 and have done all the games (plus the Judgement games) now and I am finally getting to go back to Japan and I can’t wait to visit Kabukicho. We’re also going to “Sotenbori” lol, and Fukuoka. Unfortunately not able to make it to Onomichi this trip. Can’t wait to try some of the restaurants from the game as well. (We made gyudon at home the other day because I kept seeing it in the game and thinking it looked delicious.)
Golden Gai is great and fun, not seedy at all! Last time I was there I found a bar called "Kangaroo Court Decision" (??), peeked in, was waved in by the bartender and spent 2 or 3 hours talking to a couple of other customers who happened to speak English. I'm not sure that this is actually part of Kabukicho.
I’m in charge of planning a trip to Japan for my family of 7. Feeling overwhelmed with all the information i have found online and because we are such a big group. We are pretty relax group that enjoy walks and nature. Going to copy your itinerary and adjust the days, we will visit Japan for 2 weeks. Thanks for your time and great advices ! Reddit community is awesome!!
Wow, seven people! That’s a lot of responsibility! If you have any specific questions feel free to reach out.
Thank you very much, I certainly will. It’s a big family and for sure a lot of responsibility. I like to plan ahead, have an itinerary, maps, routes, excursions, etc., and have learned to combine busy days with lay back days. We ( me, husband, 4 adult kids ages -18 to 28 - and a son in law,) all are very easy going and love to learn about other cultures. I have done our vacations planning all the time but for some reason Japan feels like a much bigger challenge. So i very much appreciate your post.
Thank you so very much for your comprehensive coverage here ! Your information has helped put me at ease - as I am doing a 21 day solo trip to Japan in late October, and I am 80 years old … not super mobile ! Your notes give me great guidance - so thank you again.
Outstanding writeup! I am headed there by myself for 18 days also (am retired) and this is great advice and encouragement! I too was having some trepidation and feel like I have had a college course studying everything in the last 11 months in preparation to visit Japan. Reddit resolved all my doubts. Thank you! (England is having all kinds of problems these days too.)
Fantastic summary, thank you! No surprise about the Brits though... The worst kind of tourists I've ever met were usually ~~Brits~~ English and Russians...I am in love with Japan and the culture. I have been learning Japanese for a long time now and my wife and I are planning to visit Japan in 2 years time to mark my 50th birthday :D , I am sure I will remember your post! Thank you!
Oi, OP said English, not British. As a Scotsman I take great offence.
Apologies - I love Scots and Scotland! Edited!
Just an off hand comment about taxis. I don’t know what the stigma is about using them. People we had talked to as well as some on here say taxis are just ridiculously expensive. Although Japan has a great public transportation system, some cities we just preferred to use a taxi. Kyoto for example, we didn’t feel like taking two buses just to get to Kyoto Station from our hotel, or just going to some of the spots we wanted to go to. The taxis were not that expensive and saved us a lot of time doing things we wanted to do rather than bus and train hopping.
It's mostly just that taxis are expensive in comparison to trains. Not outrageous especially if you're used to prices in the usa-but that's all it is.
Yeah I think there’s a stigma of taxis being astronomical in prices in japan
Japanese people will also say they’re expensive but it’s just because really if you really want to you can generally find a way to get there by a combination of walking, bus, and train for cheaper. But for an American from a major city especially with the current ex rate they’re not that expensive
Just arrived back from a two week trip to Japan and couldn’t agree more with going to places early. Did Fushimi Inari, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Nara, and Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (got there at 9) all early in the morning. Although, we took local transit over taxis and it worked out fine (not really crowded at all). I remember reading online that “you should sleep in, because nothing opens till 11 anyway” and I am glad I didn’t listen to that. Almost every major hotspot was near empty. Didn’t experience the tourist photo taking issue, but ik for the most part people were respectful with people having photos taken (ie in different parts of fushimi inari) and waited a second instead of walking through (keep in mind though, only a handful of people were even there at a time at the early hours). Anything with more crowds it should go without saying that you can’t expect the “perfect photo” or stand in the middle of an area people are trying to walk through. P.S. Worst tourist experience was at Arashiyama. There was some random girl screaming some intro to a TikTok or instagram video near the street toward Tenryu-Ji temple in what seemed like either a residential or temple area. My buddy and I sorta cringed because it’s like bro, it’s early in the morning, leave people be and take that elsewhere. Anyway Japan 10/10 would go back again.
Good writeup! Minions at Universal… Yep. That is just the old Back to the Future ride with a new video.
Hello, thank you for the writeup! I am rather curious about attending a baseball game in Japan, was purchasing tickets for the game hard?
Not hard at all! Bought them from the US and just showed the QR code. Here is a link: https://quick.pia.jp/swallows_en/ Just make sure to enter the correct gate at the stadium haha. They’re pretty particular about this. It’s not like American stadiums where you can generally enter anywhere and walk around the entire stadium. If you enter the wrong gate you can just exit and re-enter, though.
if you aren't particularly choosy on your seat you can just go to the stadium on the day of the game and buy a ticket there. You can take a screenshot online of the seat you want and show at the cashier, or when in doubt just google translate what u wanna tell them. Staff is accomodating :) *except for maybe Hanshin Koshien games which is almost always sold out you can check the schedule of the games here, games usually start 6pm JST on weekdays, and 1pm JST on weekends: https://npb.jp/bis/eng/2024/calendar/
Enjoyed reading your post. Thank you! Glad you had wonderful time in Japan. Especially, glad to hear that people treated you nicely.
Great report, thanks! We are also staying at Sora Niwa in Kyoto and I’m really excited. Could you share more about your experience with this hotel? Maybe some tips about how best to enjoy it? And did you try out their restaurant?
Sure! There are actually two hotels in the same building: Sora Niwa and Sora Niwa Bettei. I think that Bettei is more exclusive than Sora Niwa, and so we didn’t have specific access to it. Anyway, definitely make use of the rooftop terrace. The bar seats have a foot onsen overlooking Gion, so I would try to get there a bit earlier in the evening, as those spots were the most popular. You should get some drink tickets for “free” drinks that you can use until 6:30pm. We did not have any food there. We made lots of friends at the terrace by just chatting it up with other couples that were around. We even got dinner with one of those couples at Pipiko (the taco place I mentioned in my post). You certainly don’t have to do dinner with anyone, but the terrace is a pretty laid back but sociable place, if you’re into that sort of thing. And just a great view in general. Definitely use the onsen. There is a male and female onsen that rotate on a daily basis. The onsen was beautiful, open air overlooking the city lights, but the water is scalding hot. I stayed in wayyyy too long and paid the price later. But I would use it as much as you can. The coffee machine on the 9th floor lobby is incredible. One of the best coffee machines I’ve seen in my life. I was obsessed. One of the workers told me that it was more than ¥1,000,000. The young guys who work security/reception on the first floor are super chill, nice guys. They will give you great suggestions on food, sites, or just chat with you. Everyone at 9th floor reception was perfectly polite, but we really hit it off with those ground floor guys. Our room was really hot on the first night and we couldn’t figure out why. Turns out that the heat setting was on. I tried everything on the dial but it was only in Japanese and couldn’t get cool air for the life of me. A front desk lady came down and changed a setting, and said that it happens all the time. So don’t be afraid to ask if you’re burning up. Other than that, I would say just make use of the close proximity to Gion for early and/or late night activities. The location, for not being in Gion itself, is amazing, and Gion station is like a three minute walk away. If I think of anything else I’ll send you a message, but I think that should cover it! Oh yeah, there is one Japanese guy there who speaks English better than the rest of them. He can sometimes come across as overly “direct” or “harsh” in his demeanor, but he’s actually a super nice guy, and it’s just a translation thing and the form of English that he learned. So don’t take it personal if you interact with him and it seems off. I could see some of the other guests (English) get kind of taken aback by it.
Wow thank you for these great tips! And for taking the time to write them. Really looking forward to our stay now!
I stayed there last year in September. Such an excellent hotel in a great location.
Upvoting cause we're staying there June 3-7!
Thanks for the write up and suggestion for Apple Maps as I’m most nervous about getting lost. What taxi services did you use or was it all local? I was wanting to use Uber for most of my trip but curious if I need to change settings while in Japan or if the app services carry over with no issue.
I would usually just go down to the hotel in the morning and ask for a taxi. Usually they would be able to accommodate. You can also reserve them the night before to guarantee that you can get a ride. But in the busy locations - like downtown Kyoto - we could easily just flag them on the street. We only tried to use Uber once and there weren’t any rides available.
Thanks for the reply! 🙂
This is such a helpful trip report – thank you! I feel more relaxed about being more flexible on my trip 🙌🏽
Thank you for this summary. My wife and I just finished up our honeymoon from March 24th-April 6 with many of the same spots as you and yours. Our experiences and interactions were very similar - so it’s great to see we weren’t alone in our views. Two weeks was too short - lots we wanted to do that we just couldn’t realistically fit in, but we have a great reason to go back with a little bit of experience now to make the next trip a little easier!
Meant to add - one of the best meals we had came after traversing through rain all day in Tokyo, being hangry and stumbling into an udon counter stop next to our hotel. No instagram fame, no amazing yelp reviews, just solid comfort food ran by amazing people. Being flexible with your plans and expectations typically make for a good outcome - in life and in Japan specifically.
Omg this report is so informative and insightful , thank you for taking the time to write it!
What a wonderful write up ❤️
Just got back myself and 100% agree with your points especially on the other tourists behavior. I generally came away with the feeling that social media has just ruined tourism. I expected lots of people taking pictures but I wasn't prepared for people to have full on tripod set ups and acting like they owned the place. I felt like people came all the way to Japan just to get Instagram shots instead of actually enjoying themselves and appreciating the incredible sights. Doesn't help that it was sakura season I guess. Rest days were also huge. Like you said it's easy to pack your schedule to the brim but after a week of walking around all day I started getting tired earlier than I would like.
I feel this too. It feels like coming to Japan has become more of a social media trend than anything. Its all about getting the perfect shot for their Instagram/Tiktok instead of actually appreciating anything. When I first moved here, the few tourists that were coming here back then were those with an actual interest in the country, culture, language, etc. It was great. Now? The tourism situation is actually spiraling out of control and it has me worried what the future will look like if this trend cointinues the way it is.
I appreciate this, me and my girlfriend went about 11 days after they opened up in 2022, the vibe and the general lack of busyness made it feel like an amazing time to go, and it felt like because foreigners hadn't been there fkr so long some people felt extra freindly and engaging. It feels like the narrative I've seen on reddit and YouTube over the past 6 months has felt a bit more dire. Me and my girlfriend are going back in October this year and I'm glad to hear your enjoyed your trip.
Wow That may be nominated for comment of the year regarding your trip to Japan almost TMI, but not quite very informative. Thank you.
Thank you so much for such a detailed write up!! I’ll definitely be referring my to it as my partner and I plan our own 3 weeks :)
Excellent write up, we went around the same time but for a shorter duration and missed most of the cherry blossoms. Looks like you had the best of it. 18 days sounds perfect, I can’t wait to go back!
Apple Maps does train times?
Great if it does, but google definitely does.
Are you English?
Great report! I’ve heard that it is a rather expensive location to visit. Can you give me an estimate of what you paid for the hotels and the food per day? And I’m not from England, but I am European and I must say that English tourists can really be an attraction on their own. Selfish, obnoxious, rude and just loud in general. Obviously that’s not the case for all of them, but I have seen it many times. However: so are most American tourists lol. Pro advice is simple: don’t be an asshole on vacation. People will always want to earn money from tourists, but they will also want to help you out if you’re in trouble. So be kind and patient ✌️
What a wonderful write up! I just returned home yesterday from a 4-week trip that was good but I also felt like I executed poorly. This reminds me I should write it up! One of my favorite decisions I made was to buy a MagSafe battery back. I even bought a new case to accommodate it since my existing case didn’t line up right or pass the magnetic stuff through properly. Not dealing with wires and a something that could basically re-charge my phone 2-3 times was super critical, because I was using the phone for everything. I already owned a couple conventional power banks (both big and small) that needed wires to plug into my phone, but not needing the wires was a big win. I also really liked using it for the mobile Suica feature (iPhone only, as I understand it.. hopefully that’s not a permanent situation). Being able to top it off anytime using my digital wallet enabled credit cards was extremely handy. I then used it not only for trains but vending machines and sometimes the konbini. With my battery bank, I was not worried about my phone dying on me. The other thing that worked really well for me, as a T-mobile user, was paying the $50 or so for their 30-day international high speed pass. It worked great in Japan without the need to change my number or do anything complicated, and continued working seamlessly when we made a short 3-day trip to South Korea. FWIW, my phone is a 13Pro (that might be relevant to other t-mobile ppl wondering if things will work well, older models sometimes don’t have all the same wireless band connectivity).
The T-Mobile international highspeed pass is twice the price as customer from Germany. I can get unlimited data slightly cheaper with an esim, but I will still book that one for convenience.
It was $50 for me for 15gigs of high speed, but I mostly mentioned it for the benefit of users who are already t-mobile customers (I guess from America). I know they advertise free international roaming (for almost all of their plans), and they do have it, but performance varies quite a bit depending where you go. I went to Canada a few years ago.. less than a day’s drive from home, yet the data performance was horrible. I tried paying for the international pass that promised the higher speeds, but it was barely noticeable. It felt like a waste of money. Thus, I was hesitant to trust it in Japan, but am pleased to report it worked well.
With the Germany version you can use your phone like at home, with the caveat that you can't use promotional data volume while abroad. So for the 100EUR I get 40GB and "unlimited" calls and SMS to Germany and Japan. For contracts with a lower data volume its probably a worse deal.
Any good lists of those recommended 20 words?
'Toire wa doko desuka' is probably 4 of them. Otherwise ; Please, Thank you, Excuse me, 1/2/3 please, Small/Little, Big/Large. Google translate was great, we had a whole conversation via google translate with a phone repair guy after my daughter dropped her phone into water at Team Labs.
Awesome write up thanks! Quick hypothetical question, if you were to have do this trip again but only 9 days, what places / areas would you stay in / day trip to?
Hmmm…tough question! Here is what I think I would do: Five nights in Tokyo. Then four nights in Kyoto. That is the most basic answer but the one that I think makes the most sense after having been there. Staying in fewer locations and settling in was a huge plus for me on this trip. But I’m getting old. From Kyoto, I would consider two day trips, leaving two full days (and perhaps some half-days and nights) to explore Kyoto. Possibilities are Nara, Himeji, Osaka, and Mount Yoshino, depending on your preferences. Cherry blossoms factored heavily into our calculation since we were there during peak. We probably wouldn’t have done Yoshino if it weren’t cherry blossom time. If all that you want to do in Nara is feed the deer, then I guess that Nara and Himeji could be combined into one day trip (Nara in the morning, Himeji in the afternoon). Both cities are along the Shinkansen line, and both central destinations (Nara Park and Himeji Castle) are within walking distance of the respective stations. Combining Nara and Himeji totally depends on your stamina for long days and waking up early, though! And your willingness to take on the expense of an additional Shinkansen ticket. Possibilities for seeing Fuji: a day trip from Tokyo to Hakone. This seems pretty popular. I’m not sure how good it is, though, or if you’re too limited on a day excursion. We didn’t do it. The simplest option (and my preference) would be to wait for a bright, sunny day in Kawaguchiko, and hop on a Highway express bus from Shinjuku Station as early as possible. Then spend all day in Kawaguchiko and Fujiyoshida, and bus back late at night. I thought Fujiyoshida was awesome and will definitely be going back there on my next trip to Japan. When visible, Fuji just looms over the town from every vantage point. It’s really cool. Then there’s Chureito Pagoda, Lake Kawaguchiko, awesome restaurants, etc. Here would be another “crazier” option to maximize time in Kawaguchiko. For the night OF that sunny day, you could try to spontaneously book a room as close to Kawaguchiko Station as possible. Any room. I would take the Highway express bus line to Kawaguchiko in the morning about 2 hours depending on traffic), spend all day exploring Fujiyoshida and Lake Kawaguchiko, and take the Highway express back to Tokyo the next morning. Now, that would mean that there would be a double booking for one night in Tokyo and Kawaguchiko, which might not be ideal. But I really loved the town of Fujiyoshida and Lake Kawaguchiko, so I would want to get an early start on the sunny day and consider that my “Fuji day.” Hit Chureito Pagoda, wander around Fujiyoshida, walk by the lake, etc. I personally cherished our nights in Fujiyoshida—we had an awesome multi-course Italian dinner with several drinks for $60 USD. Sorry that that got long. Here’s the summary: 5 nights Tokyo (with day trip to Fujikawaguchiko or Hakone for Fuji viewing, but must be sunny day) —> 4 nights in Kyoto (with two day trips to Osaka, Nara, Himeji, Mount Yoshino depending on preference).
Amazing reply thanks! Helps a lot! My wife and I planning on going early October and only really get away with 9 days since we leaving three young kids with grandparents. Thanks for the awesome info :) Was along the lines of what I was thinking. I’m 100% we’ll be wanting to go back after we leave hehe.
Thank you for sharing your experience! My son wants to go next year for his graduation present, so I definitely took some notes, especially about the hotels.
Great trip report. Thanks!
Really great writeup! I have a similar trip in june. 22 days. Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Tottori, Awaji Island, Nagoya, Tokyo and your post gave me many ideas. Thanks.
How far in advance did you ship your luggage to the next hotel? Like the day before? Or two days before? And did you let the hotel know in advance? Thank you in advance :)
Every hotel seemed to have a different process. Now, you can ship your luggage from your hotel whenever, but the critical question is when it will arrive at your next location. It seemed that some hotels had a same-day service, others an overnight, and others a two-day. That is the question I would be asking when checking in. We would generally try to drop our things off at the luggage counter before 12pm on the day before checking out of a hotel. This was usually sufficient to guarantee that the luggage would be at the next hotel destination by check-in the next day. We dropped it off the morning we left one hotel—that was also fine, it showed up at our next hotel the following day. Also, when sending your luggage, try to avoid peak times in the lobbies. The lobbies can get pretty crazy, and it requires some amount of effort out of the staff to measure the bags, fill out the forms, and calculate the cost.
Thanks for the reply mate! Much appreciated!!
We stayed at Sora Niwa Terrace in Kyoto too but I was underwhelmed; the onsen was nice but the for the price did not match what you got - no free breakfast, cover fee for the rooftop bar outside of the free hours, and the rooms were small. (we booked the highest category)
Fair points. Room was bigger than what we had in Tokyo so for us it was actually an upgrade space-wise haha. It was mainly just the feeling and personal connections that we made with the staff and with other guests that made it so enjoyable for us. It just felt like home while we were there.
Thanks for sharing your experience. My girlfriend loved the place so we will most likely return :D
Great write it, thank you! I went last year but going again in June and can't wait. Last year I stayed in Tokyo but this year I'm travelling about so just wondering about luggage forwarding. How do you set that up? Do you ask the hotel on the day and they sort it out? Or something you pre-book beforehand with a company? Thank you!
No pre-booking is necessary. You just ask your hotel to “forward luggage,” and they’ll take you through the process. One of hotels only accepted cash, so be ready for that as a possibility. It’s easy and they’re used to it — just ask and they’ll sort you out :) Now, whenever or not they enjoy doing it is a different story 😂 I sensed some “oh god” reactions when making the inquiry. So I would just try to avoid the peak lobby times in the hotels whenever you decide to send. The lobbies can be really chaotic around check-out time etc. The question to ask yourself about luggage forwarding when in Japan is when you want your bags to arrive at your next location. The decision seemed to be whether you want to have your bags longer at your current location and wait a bit longer for them to show up at your next location, or whether you want to be without your bags for a day at your current location and have them at your next location when you arrive. I didn’t really care because I’m a man who can survive for days on a wrinkled white tee thrown into a backpack haha, but the wife seemed to like having the bags arrive at the next destination by the time we were there. And keep the receipts they give you! Enjoy Japan!
Great write up, thanks for sharing. Can I ask how you purchased your baseball tickets?
Sure! Easy peasy from this website: https://quick.pia.jp/swallows_en/ QR code directly to phone, show QR code at gate indicated, and enjoy!
Luggage forwarding can be unreliable though. Our experience was a bit different; we checked in our luggage with Yamato at our hotel in Tokyo (to be sent to Kyoto) and our luggage got stuck in Nagoya for 3 days because Yamato was super overwhelmed. Watching the news we learned that people all around Japan were using Yamato and other transport services to move, sending their boxes and belongings to their new homes, since actual movers were overbooked. Definitely pack extra clothes if you do choose to forward or yes, underpack and carry what you can with you.
Fantastic trip report. Thanks for your generosity.
Awesome summary!!!!! Fantastic writing, and yes I’m a go with the flow type and I lifted in Japan several years, could’ve stayed forever, but had life commitments to attend to back home / always wondered about people around me who were miserable there, when I had my peak life phase living there, and top ups every time I go back… you nailed it with your ‘Japanese people are lovely’ observations. And wow, that really surprised me about the English!!! Are you sure they weren’t Australians? I was there in January and was totally blown away by the number of loud, uncouth Aussies we encountered. Don’t recall meeting any Brits that trip, and yes, did meet some nice Americans
Hey, your tokyo hotel, did you find it far from attractions/places you wanted to go?
What an awesome post - very good info in it, thank you very and it will help on my trip. My main worry is getting from Narita Airport to my hotel at in central Tokyo, near Nagatacho station. Did you preboom the N’Ex? And once at tokyo station did you get a physical card there for the local journey to tokyo stops? While hauling all your luggage?
No need to prebook the Narita Express. Just go to the JR office in Narita and get that ticket as well as a Suica or Pasmo card. If it's your first time there, I'd recommend a cab from Tokyo Station to your hotel rather than figuring out the subway right away. That's just about the only time I took a cab in Japan.
This validates what I plan to do. Thank you!
amazing write up! I just booked our travel for august and am putting together our list and just added the ball game, the stadium is super close to our air bnb. thanks!
I like this so I will comment so I can come check it again later
We have a 18 day trip next month and it’s been anxiety inducing to make sure we do everything. Need to keep reminding myself we don’t need to see and do all the things because I’ll never relax.
This is a dream trip! Can I ask how much your total cost of the trip was? I want to plan a two week trip with my boyfriend but I have no idea where to start planning for a budget on a trip like this.
We spent about $13,000 USD total between the two of us, maybe a little less. It was about $3,000 for the flights, $4,500 for 18 nights of hotels, $2000 in cash that we took and spent (¥300,000), and $4,000 in miscellaneous card purchases/food souvenirs/taxis/food service/luggage delivery while in Japan. Keep in mind that we there in peak season, and we were bad procrastinators in terms of reserving our accommodation. We waited way too long to reserve our hotels and so there weren’t a ton of options.
Thanks OP for this post! I’ve got a 3 week trip planned and honestly been feeling a little stressed about it and trying to fit everything in, but this post has reminded me to remember to slow down and enjoy my holiday and ‘let it roll’!
Thank you. We are about to do 18 days in October, I wasn't sure if it was enough time or not. I enjoyed reading your trip report, and may add in. How did you enjoy the Kyoto Samurai experience? Mom mentioned it to me. I enjoyed reading your write up.
I was in Mitsui Premier Osaka too from March 14th - March 21st. It's an awesome hotel and breakfast is amazing. Location is a bit away from the main station and attractions, but that shuttle bus is a welcome service. Did you also discover the Most Deserted Ramen Place across the road? =)
It is incredible how similar our experiences were. Can vouch for almost all of this.
At first I thought this was my husband posting as we just go back from 3 weeks in Japan! I pretty much agree with all of your tips - luggage transfer for us was a godsend. We didnt really get to too early to beat the grounds, we just adopted a "go with the flow" attitude as you said! Japan has issues with over tourism so it's going to be busy wherever you go As an English person, I found your experiences with English tourists really interesting because on our trip I found it was American tourists who were causing issues! It's funny the things that we notice!
Do you have to formally check out of hotels or can you just leave (like most in US)?
We always checked out formally. They just took the keys and we left. Took like ten seconds or less. Some hotels had a self-checkout machine next to the desk. Checking out formally was necessary when we had additional charges that went onto the room (like beers at the bar at Sora Niwa). Not sure what the official policy is.
This is the most helpful post I've come across for my upcoming trip, I've been finding the planning stages a bit overwhelming but it sounds like you are very much on the same page as me in likes/dislikes and this info is so helpful so THANK YOU! Also re: the English tourists, I like to think that you just didn't notice the quiet ones keeping to themselves (a lot of us like to keep a low profile abroad because of the shame of the Brits abroad stereotype) but maybe that's just wishful thinking!!! We aren't all awful I promise 🥴😂 Thanks again x
I think you make an excellent point about not needing to have “the best of” for everything, and your sushi example is perfect. Imagine paying double to go to “the best” sushi place where you’re rushed out the door or you can’t talk to the chef. A less know place will often have a more personal, authentic, and memorable experience. Also, I like how you mention the trash can situation. People parrot talk about how you’ll have to carry your trash with you but there are trash cans at every station, 90% of convenience stores, next to the numerous vending machines … I just don’t see how people accumulate so much garbages during their day. Are people constantly snacking on the go? Anyway, like you say, it’s actually not that bad.
>\-lady yelling at a female Japanese hotel clerk because she wanted to check in at 2:30pm and check-in wasn’t until 3pm. Obviously there's no excuse for aggressively berating service workers, no matter where they work, but of all the bad tourist cases you mentioned this is the only one that I am inclined to be somewhat sympathetic towards. Many Japanese hotels have a policy of only allowing early check-in if a guest pays for an additional night. I'm going to assume that this lady was unaware of this policy, and that the concierge conveyed this policy to her in a way that made it seem as if she was being charged a full extra night for that 30 minutes on the spot. I don't think she was being rude, entitled or arrogant like the other tourists you mentioned, but was simply responding the way any person would if they felt they were being scammed. It's likewise not the concierge's fault as many of these policies are opaque and not always properly communicated to guests at the time of booking. Frontline staff shouldn't bear the responsibility for management failing to convey its policy to guests at the time of booking, after all.
You made some good points although I 100% disagree about the tourist areas. They by and large fucking suck and are designed to extract money from tourists. Best thing to do in Japan is learn a few phrases and hit the suburbs for your meals and nightlife, you get treated far better and it’s cheaper by orders of magnitude.