Japan trip 8 days August

[Japan8days]

We are spending 4 days in Tokyo snd 4 days in Kyoto at the end of August. Any advice of what things to see/not missed?

Do we need to take cash?

What about clothing? Cultural things we shouldn’t do?

Do we buy a sim card? Wireless internet? Where do we do that?

Any other advice would be appreciated. We haven’t done a lot of research due to work commitments?

Do not wear your outdoor shoes inside rooms especially if you are staying in a Ryokan there will be slippers by door to indicate you where need to change your shoes. You may also need to change your indoor slippers for toilet slippers in some places as well.

If you are going to use an onsen make sure you wash thoroughly (soap, shampoo etc) in the outer washroom before you get into the communal bath (Ofuro)

It will be very hot in August so cotton, linen clothing will be best, have a hat, sunscreen and water at all times.

Yes to taking money with you as smaller shops/ tourist attractions may be cash only. Have a great time😁

Thank you.

we are ok to wear shorts?

Are you too busy working to buy a guidebook? You could have ordered one from Amazon in the time it took to post on here.

Very helpful. Thank you😂

Yes shorts are fine as is all western clothes in fact you’d be more shocked by what some young will wear Harajuku in Tokyo is the place to see the weird and wonderful. The Japanese are very forgiving of foreigners. What they find difficult is rude loud behaviour. Most Japanese will not speak or understand English so be prepared for this outside the main tourist areas. Id try to avoid public transport at rush hour on Tokyo as the crowds are overwhelming.

Thank you very much for the advice; greatly appreciated

Yes take cash because for some kinds of western cards it's really hard to find a cash machine that works and you do need cash.

In terms of what you do, it really depends on what kind of people you are and if you are taking children or teenagers. We loved things like shops - Daiso and Don Quixote - and going round the Manga Museum in Kyoto (where there are too many temples if you ask me, lovely though they were) but were taking an almost teenager with us so that made a difference. Day trip to Nara from Kyoto was excellent though, despite it having even more temples.

The single best thing we did was to have a guide for half a day on our first day in Tokyo; she was lovely and showed us not just how to use the Metro, but also how to behave in a temple.

For the internet, we rented a portable wireless hotspot which was delivered to our first hotel and then we dropped it off at the airport.

You can pick up your wifi for the trip at the airport and return via post on your way out. The little hub (forget the proper term) was fully charged and ready for us on collection. Picked up at Haneda on arrival and posted back as we left via Narita.

I found sleeveless dresses more comfortable than shorts as I couldn’t bear anything around my waist in such heat. It’s the type of heat that causes sweat to run down your back. Buy a cotton neck scarf which you dampen to keep yourself cool.

I don’t think the Holidays board is the right place for you.

I've recently returned from a month in Japan.

1. You 10000% need cash. We used cash in every city, including Tokyo.

1. If you need to take out more cash whilst you're there - use the cash machines in the 7/11 as we found they didn't have any fees.

1. Clothing is tricky because I was there in the winter. I wore gym leggings one day and did feel a little insecure as it's not common for people to wear active wear for their day to day as it is in the UK.

1. If your phone has an e-sim option, use that.

1. Try and learn some basic Japanese because it is appreciated - just hello, please, thank you.

1. If you're going to use an onsen, be very respectful of the rules and read up on onsen etiquette before you go.

Have an amazing time, it is the most incredible place!

We got eSIMs for internet use. They were very easy to set up and very reasonably priced.

You definitely need cash. It doesn’t need to be tonnes as you can always take out more in any 7/11 at their ATM.

For clothing shorts will be fine. However, if you don’t want to stick out, I’d avoid leggings and “athleisure” clothing. Also worth noting that, for women, having shoulders and/or cleavage uncovered will definitely stick out more than showing a bit of leg. I wouldn’t feel comfortable in a strappy or strapless top/dress in Japan.

What’s “must see” probably depends on your interests. We had a lovely day trip to Kamakura from Tokyo and I personally love Meiji Jingu. If you’re going to Senso-ji in Asakusa make sure you go up to the top of the tourist information centre there too. It’s free and the fire is fabulous.

In Kyoto, Kiyomizudera is breathtaking. I’d also make sure to get out to Nara for at least half a day. We really loved Nara.

Have a great time!

When I went to Kyoto at the end of August it was 36 and humid. Really uncomfortable heat. In China - a week later - it was 29 and despite pollution much more manageable with asthma

As a pp said 7/11 is the best place to take cash out and they are everywhere.

It's easy to get around on the trains as all the signs are in English as well as Japanese. But be aware some of the stations in Tokyo have many many exits! So best to Google which one you need.

The tourist spots in Kyoto get extremely crowded. For that reason I wasn't as keen on it. But most people seem to love it.

Eating and drinking while walking isn't really the done thing. Oh and when you catch a train you have to queue. Anyone who says the English love queueing have never seen the Japanese! It's on another level. Oh and do not cross the road unless the light is green. Even if you can't see a car for miles! That's also frowned on and if a police man sees you he'll tell you off 😂

The exchange rate is really favourable to us at the moment so your cash will go further than you might expect.

Combinis (convenience stores) are everywhere and the food they sell is much better quality than comparable shops here. They even have a microwave to heat it for you if you want.

It's hard to advise on what you should see without knowing what your tastes are. You will only scratch the surface when you're there so best to prioritise what are must sees for you.

@DancingLions Glad to find another person who is not really that into Kyoto. Like you say, most people seem to love it. I felt like you about the crowds.

I recommend learning at least a few Japanese phrases and I would also spend a bit of time learning katakana. If you can read katakana you would be surprised how much you can understand even if you don’t speak Japanese, because it is used to write English loan words.

Being able to read things like the phrases below will get you a surprisingly long way and you can learn katakana very quickly, even without learning Japanese.

ホットコーヒー Hotto coohii (hot coffee)
チーズ Chiizu (cheese)
ハンバーガー Hanbaagaa (hamburger)
アイスクリーム Aisu Kuriimu (Ice Cream)

I've been to Japan twice - it's an incredible country.
It is quite hard to navigate though as even with WiFi Google maps is useless as it's impossible to follow the Japanese street names - we got hideously lost in Kyoto.
Restaurants and bars can be hard to find especially in Tokyo, as they are often hidden at the top of nondescript looking commercial buildings. Be brave though as there are some amazing places to eat and drink!
The bullet train between Tokyo and Kyoto needs to be pre-booked but is amazing. There is a Japan Rail pass for tourists that needs to be booked outside Japan but is great value
Hotel rooms can be tiny but are very clean and well equipped
We went in August the first time and it was extremely hot and humid. It's also Typhoon season which meant dramatic rain storms and flooding on one day of our trip.
The Japanese are really lovely and will try veru hard to be helpful but as PP said you can't rely on them speaking English.
It is a fantastic place so enjoy!

Thank you everyone. That’s super helpful. Getting very excited very soon excited.

We are travelling with 2 teens who are looking forward to do some shopping. DH will probably like to see all the sites.

Male or female teens? Akihabara is popular with anime/gaming lovers. Harajuku is a mecca for teen girls (but gets very crowded). Also shibuya 109 is very popular for clothing among teens. Character cafes (of which there are a few) are really cute and fun, great for food photos!

Re the Japan rail pass. You need to actually cost up where you're going as to whether it's worth it. It's not cheap (especially for 4). I actually used an internal flight to get from Tokyo to Osaka. Cost me a third of what the train would have done! I have been on a bullet train. It was fine, but it's a train not unlike most other trains, just faster.

There’s no way that a JR pass will be value for money for a 4 days Tokyo, 4 days Kyoto trip. It’s no longer the deal it used to be.

7 days is ¥50,000. A Tokyo-Kyoto Shinkansen is only ¥14,000. Even if OP is doing a round trip on the Shinkansen (rather than flying back from KIX) there’s no way they’ll rack up another ¥22,000 each in shorter trips that would be needed to make the numbers work.

Horribly hot so wearing decent enough vests is ok and shorts or skirts. The department stores in Tokyo have lots of restaurants. Depends where you are staying but we didn’t find choosing a restaurant difficult. Time Out is very useful.

Kyoto - yes everyone else visiting and spoiling it for others who are somehow more deserving of having it to themselves is an issue. Many are Japanese and Korean.You do notice the Japanese love their own country. Kyoto has 17 World Heritage sites so it’s a major cultural centre. Not seeing any of them would be a tragedy.

Not sure what you want to shop for. With your very few days, it could take a lot of time. Kyoto has exquisite shops selling Japanese crafts. Hair ornaments for Gaikos are amazing. As are kimonos. If you go to the department stores in Tokyo, look at the food halls and then look at the kimonos. Always check prices for anything if you could buy it here.

2 female teens.

I don’t think we are doing the rail pass but will buy one in Kyoto

“Kyoto has 17 World Heritage sites”

Not exactly. The Historic Monuments of Kyoto are collectively one world heritage site. That world heritage site is made up of a 17 locations within Kyoto and the surrounding area.

Japan has a further 24 world heritage sites outside of Kyoto. Many of those are also made up of a number of locations. For example, the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range has 20 different locations within the overall World Heritage Site. The ones for Mount Fuji, Nikko and Nara also have multiple locations within them.

Thank you everyone

one more question: what sort of adaptor we need for the electronics?

Tokyo notes 📝
sequence SUIDOBASHI hotel
Ghibli Museum 三鷹の森ジブリ美術館
Komaba Museum
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No. 1 32nd Floor Staff Cafeteria 東京都庁第一庁舎32階職員食堂
Godzilla Head js ゴジラヘッド GODZILLA head
8bit cafe (エイトビット カフェ)
Minato City Local History Museum 港区立郷土歴史館
A Happy Pancake Ikebukuro 幸せのパンケーキ池袋店
Komeda's Coffee コメダ珈琲店 東京ドームシティミーツポート店, melon soda, breakfast
Marugame Seimen Tokyo Dome City 丸亀製麺東京ドームシティbasic noodle chain
Hibiya Park 日比谷公園
Tokyo DisneySea 東京ディズニーシー
Hokusai すみだ北斎美術館
Akihabara Electric Town 秋葉原電気街
Kikanbo カラシビ味噌らー麺 鬼金棒 神田本店 popular spicy noodles
A Happy Pancake Ginza 幸せのパンケーキ 銀座店
CoCo Ichibanya カレーハウス CoCo壱番屋 ＪＲ秋葉原駅昭和通り口店 Katsu Curry
Haneda Airport 羽田空港
Sogenji Temple 曹源寺 water goblin temple
Marugame Seimen Tokyo Dome City 丸亀製麺東京ドームシティnoodles
Kissa Laundry 喫茶ランドリー 本店

Kyoto notes 📝

Terrace Kiyomizu Kyoto Hotel
Kiyomizu-dera 清水寺 (dragon temple near hotel)
Kōdai-ji Temple 高台寺
Yasaka Shrine 八坂神社 (entrance to Gion)
Keage Incline 蹴上インクライン
Ginkakuji Temple (Silver Pavilion) 銀閣寺
Higashiyama Jisho-ji 東山慈照寺
Kinkaku-ji 金閣寺
Ryōan-ji 龍安寺
Tenryu-ji 天龍寺
Sagano Scenic Railway trolley train 嵯峨野観光鉄道トロッコ列車
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove 嵐山 竹林の小径
Kōsan-ji Temple 高山寺 (far out)
Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple 愛宕念仏
Nishiki Market 錦市場

Nara 🦌
Tōdai-ji 東大寺