3 city holiday in Japan. Can ane share their experiences.

[notacooldad]

We are going to Japan at Easter and starting and finishing in Tokyo. We are playing on going to Kyoto and Osaka.
Can anyone share their experiences and give tips that made the trip easier or fun.
What would you skip or not miss.
Did anyone use a luggage service. How dud you sort out your WiFi etc.
Thanks in Advance

Do you need to finish in Tokyo or can you fly back from Osaka? Top tips would be Team Planets in Tokyo or Osaka ( or both - they are very different). Day trips to Fuji and Nara. The Philosophers Path in Kyoto.

Thanks for replying, we are already booked to return from Tokyo.
I'll look at your suggestions, they sound really interesting.

Hiroshima & miyajima floating shrine are well worth a visit if you can use the Shinkansen from Osaka

We stayed in Air BnBs and a couple of them supplied mobile wifi dongle thingies which was great.

We were travelling with 4 kids across the country. Ending in skiing so we had a fair bit of stuff and the luggage service was amazing! We used Black Cat / Yamato, it really was flawless once we worked out how to do it. Pick up some of the billet forms from the airport or 7-11 to have on you ready to fill in., and then call the English language service centre to arrange the pick-up. Here's a link:

faq-en.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/app/answers/detail/a_id/3082/session/L3RpbWUvMTcwMjgxOTIyMi9nZW4vMTcwMjgxOTIyMi9zaWQvZlV3YmZOVUdmVVBPWlIxMVRUbDNvdXBlRlBIMkM5MzhLTDAySGhMMHhzb1dBMExvQVRpOEwwMHZCMUtjQmt4VEpzdW4zRkVTREVfMmhLa0poMzBxZXZLX2l2b0E2VDljUlhlMVhYckRvMXdHazAlN0VFd3FwN0VraFElMjElMjE%3D

Try and get to Nara. Loved Osaka. Very jealous! Didn’t use a luggage service but just took hand luggage as there are washing machines everywhere! Read up on the customs. Use the convenience stores for great, cheap, quick food. They are on every corner.

We were there during the Rugby World Cup. Unlike most people, I didn't LOVE Japan, although there were certain things that were amazing. Starting off with a typhoon in Tokyo wasn't great but we headed down to Kyoto and stayed in Gion. Did the evening walking tour and it was one of the most atmospheric and amazing experiences of my life - and we saw a Geisha and her Meike walking to an appointment - incredible.

We used a luggage service to take a suitcases from Gion to Oita which worked very well.

Took the Shinkansen to Hiroshima which was incredible moving and then visited Miyajima, although the Torii gate was under repair at the time. We spend around a week about an hour outside of Oita for the Rugby games, which was a little stressful as the local trains weren't able to handle the capacity. Probably tainted my overall view of Japan.

We bought a sim card in a Bic Camera store. I have a dual sim and just inserted it in my travel sim slot, did a bit a button pressing and we were away. Very easy. Some of the Bic Camera stores are marked on Google maps but the one we used (next to Akasaka Mitsuki station) doesnt appear on the search but if you zoon in far enough you can see it. So if you do go for this option have a look around your accommodation in case there is one nearby. They pop up all over town once you know they exist. Bic Camera sells alll sorts of electricals and electronics and definitely not just cameras!

Great replies from everyone!
Thank you!

Have a look at Kansai thru pass https://www.surutto.com/tickets/kansai_thru_english.html assuming you don't have a JR pass

TeamLabs Botanical in Osaka is absolutely worth a visit. We opted for it over their thing in Tokyo and it was gorgeous.

If you sign up to the free trial of Prime on Amazon.jp, you can get your data sim sent to your hotel.

We used esims in the summer, really easy to set up. Make sure you buy a bento for the train! Agree with others that Teamlabs is brilliant, go for the earliest time possible to book. The markets in Kyoto and Tokyo are must visits. Osaka had more of a night time vibe to me, quite heavy on the fried foods like okonomyaki and takoyaki. The aquarium there is absolutely stunning, I think it's the world's largest.

Oh we also visited Nara for the deer around the same time in April and it was a bit of a let down as the deer are all moulting at that time of year

My carer has done 3 trips and is planning trip 4. I will ask him to post, he will be here tomorrow.

We did a two week loop of Honshu for our honeymoon in May/June 2019. We didn't use a luggage service as we only took two suitcases (one medium, one cabin size) so it was no bother to take them on the bullet trains.

For wifi we ordered a pocket wifi for collection from Narita airport. That thing was invaluable and was only about £30 for two weeks.

I agree with everyone that TeamLabs should not be missed. We did that on the first day in Palette Town in Tokyo and loved it.

I would really recommend going through the Japan Alps - really beautiful and you can stay in smaller towns/smaller cities, which will give you a different experience to just focusing on Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka. You could also stay at a Ryokan which I think is an experience not to miss in Japan.

For example you could leave Tokyo and go via the Alps to Kyoto. We visited Shin Hotaka/Takayama/Kanazawa between Tokyo and Kyoto.

I’m probably going against the grain but Kyoto was our least favourite place - very busy and some pretty poor tourist behaviour. There are some amazing sights but there are lovely places that are less popular but just as nice IMO.

Agree with @ChilliPB, if you can, it is worth seeing the Japan Alps. Matsumoto, Takayama, and then Kanazawa is a good route to Kyoto.

Personally I would drop Osaka and do Himeji, and then Hiroshima and Miyajima in preference (particularly if you are on the Japan RailPass). Miyajima also has deer like Nara.

We lived there for 10 years and were back recently for a holiday. I would recommend renting a WiFi device from whichever airport you are arriving and departing from.

If you have large luggage then a luggage delivery service is a good way to go. The Shinkansen does not have much in the way of space for bags too large to lift onto the overhead luggage racks.

We absolutely loved Kyoto. We were there in Japan school travel week and that, in itself, was fascinating. It has 17 world heritage sites and it’s truly a world class city. We had no issues with anything or anyone and I’d love to go back. We saw a big festival procession and enjoyed a traditional Odori dance performance. The traditional clothes worn by the performers are fantastic.

I would want to go to the Alps area next time but I can recommend walking the Nakasendo highway. We did a short section between Magome and Tsumago. It was peaceful and really special,

You’re going to love it OP. We went in October this year and had an amazing time. We spent 4 days in Tokyo, 4 in Kyoto, 2 in Hiroshima and 2 in Tokyo.
we didn’t use luggage forwarding, there is quite a bit of space on the trains ( which are fab and as others have said, get bento boxes to take- delicious!)
team labs in Tokyo is phenomenal, def book. We loved Shibuya crossing, amazing ramen shops, Ueno park ( great museums), and the shrines and temples. Fantastic underground system, and so easy to get round.
we liked Kyoto but as someone else said we found it the busiest place of all, literally throngs of people at the golden temple, but it was still so worthwhile. We went to Fushimi inari ( with so many tori gates and amazing views from the top), Kyomizu- Dera, lunch at Nishiki market, the bamboo forest ( inc the Sagano railway) and a day in Nara which we absolutely loved- so many temples and shrines which were stunning and we had an amazing lunch there. It was def more difficult to get around Kyoto, we got ubeers to the forest etc.
we went to Osaka for 2 days really to go to Universal ( not theme park lovers but v lucky to get free tickets and Super Nintendo world was fab!), liked the food, and went to see the running man lit up.
we then went to Hiroshima which was amazing but sobering. The museum was v busy but worthwhile, peace memorial was great. We also went to Miyajima to see the floating tori gate. We loved it and would have liked to have more time there. On the way back to Tokyo we went to Himeji castle which was another highlight and def recommended.
we absolutely loved Japan and want to go back to do some of the more rural places and Alps but for a first time trip and to immerse yourself, I don’t think you can beat a 3 centre as you’ve described. Take comfy shoes, we walked an average of 10 miles a day! Have an amazing time

There is a great bus system in Kyoto. No need to walk everywhere. Ubers are useful. A good hotel will help with planning your day regarding transport.