Japan

[Ponderingwindow]

It turns out every member of my household not only dreams of a trip to Japan, they have a list of specific things they want to do while there. It was an interesting dinner conversation.

the catch is that we are all massively intimidated by such a trip. How do you even start thinking about planning?

I think 7 nights in Tokyo is a lot. Kyoto is a bit light because you might not have time for Nara, which is great. Some of the best temples and the castle are quite spread out so wandering around will not necessarily get you to the best sights. You have a lot of travelling!

@TizerorFizz I agree but this has been a bit of a balancing act between the 4 of us as DS wants more time in Tokyo. Wandering will include getting around on public transport I just mean a bit more of a relaxed timetable whereby we decide nearer the time where we want to go.

I'm not getting much input from DS's at the moment as both in the middle of exams and I anticipate they will come up with their own ideas nearer the time.

However it is great to have the thoughts of people who have been before and any tips are much appreciated.

Nara is not currently on the list. I suppose we could fit in a day trip on the way back to Tokyo so might look into that as those trains not booked yet but all hotels are and I don't really want to revisit that at this late stage. I still have the rest of the trip to finish planning.

We didn't find Japan expensive at all.

I've travelled a lot and Japan is my number one favourite place to visit. It's clean and organised and everyone is helpful and honest. You don't get harassed.

We used an app called Wanderlog to organise everything. It's free but you can pay for additional features. It's amazing. You put in your itinerary and it maps everything and pulls up info on the places you want to visit. It also extracts your flight and hotel booking information from your emails.

You can share the information with everyone going on the trip and you can store reservation details and tickets on the app. It's hard to explain but it was really useful. It was especially useful for us as we booked a lot of things such as Pokemon Cafes, Nintendo World, Studio Ghibli museum and Team lab events.

We called our Wanderlog trip details our 'Japlan'. 🫣

We were surprised how inexpensive things were. Food, accommodation and travel were all very reasonable.
Nintendo World tickets plus fast passes were pricy though.

7 days in Tokyo is a lot, but it means you can relax a bit. A day trip to Nikko, get there early before the day trippers arrive, is highly recommended. Toshogu Shrine is stunning.

I have been to Japan in the past (15 years ago). But has anyone been in July? We are potentially planning for next year and we are stuck with the dates (school).
But we would try to do less travelled places and potentially cooler places making the most of the summer (alps, north or the seaside at the south).

Yes Nara is lovely. Agree that I would try to spend a day there if I can.

It won’t be for everyone, but you can do a cruise around Japan. Will give you comfort, sort out transport between places and ease with allergies etc but probably not the most authentic Japanese experience. Fly to Tokyo, have a few days there and then jump on a cruise ship.

Following for advice!

We are also planning to visit Japan in the Easter holidays next year. There are a lot of informative videos on YouTube which have helped us get a feel for the places we wish to visit. Will definitely look into wanderlog when we have a few more things finalised, thanks to the pp for the tip!

That sounds like an amazing trip.

I personally think 7 days is a good amount of time for Tokyo. There’s lots of good day trippable places that you can reach easily if you ended up with spare time on your hands.

Kamakura, Yokohama, Kawagoe etc are all a short trip on a train if you were bored of Tokyo.

Tokyo is the biggest city in the world, you could be there a month and still not see everything it has to offer. I’ve lived in London my whole life and there’s still plenty that I have yet to see and do and Tokyo is even bigger.

In Kyoto, my absolute must not miss place would be Kiyomizudera. It is utterly breathtaking. Very crowded when we went, but still jaw-dropping.

It sounds like a phenomenal trip. Have a wonderful time!!

Also, if you’re considering squeezing in Nara then I’d probably do it on the day when you are travelling between Kyoto and Osaka rather than the day you leave for Tokyo. You could leave luggage in luggage lockers at Nara station in the morning if you aren’t using a luggage forwarding service and then just pick it up again before getting your train onto Osaka. You could then spend a bit more time in Osaka on the last day before getting the train to Tokyo. Nara can be done in a half-day for the key sites and to experience the deer park. It’s also pretty much equidistant to Kyoto or Osaka.

I loved Nara!

EDIT- ignore me. I’ve just realised you aren’t going to Osaka straight after Kyoto.