Japan planning thread

[Takoneko]

I’ve just booked the hotels for my third trip to Japan next year and about to start planning the itinerary in earnest.

Japan threads pop up here quite a bit and I think people spend a lot of time on planning for Japan trips. I thought it might be nice to have a shared thread where we can pool questions, tips and share research for anyone who has a trip coming up.

All budgets and styles of trip are welcome, whether you’re going hiking, temple-hopping, skiing or visiting theme parks, maid cafes and arcades and whether you’re going to hostels or 5 star hotels. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to enjoy Japan. It has something for everyone.

We’re a couple in our late 30s and our trip will be mid-budget, probably up to about £3.4k per person with food and spends. We’ve splashed out a bit on direct JAL flights and have upgraded all our hotel rooms to at least king size beds in hotels that are in really well connected locations. They are all mid-range Japanese business hotel chains rather than luxury hotels though. (Candeo, Daiwa Roynet and Sotetsu Fresa). We like Japanese food but we’re definitely more likely to be eating eat in mom and pop restaurants and mid-range Japanese chains than in fancy kaiseki places. Any recommendations for mid range restaurants with relaxed atmospheres would be very welcome.

We plan to use the Sanyo-San’in rail pass in the second half of our trip and would be really interested to share ideas for places to visit with anyone else who is planning on using that pass (or who has used it in the past). At the moment we are thinking Iwakuni, Miyajima, Kurashiki and Onomichi from Hiroshima and Himeji and Uji from Osaka, but we are open to other ideas. I speak passable tourist Japanese and we are ok with going to places that don’t cater to English speakers and muddling through with broken Japanese and Google translate.

Placemarking! Looking at Japan for my honeymoon next year (Early November)

@SunnyTimes3 don't worry about bringing a huge wad of cash from the UK - you can always pop into a 7-11 and use the ATM to withdraw cash (they accept most international bank cards; but double check).

@HighlandsExpat makes a really good point. Next time I’m not going to bother getting cash before I leave unless it starts to look like the exchange rate is heading drastically in the wrong direction. I have a 0% on foreign withdrawals credit card and so I would have been better off just taking out money from the ATMs when I arrived.

After reading this thread since it started I’ve just booked flights for next October. I’m flying into Osaka and out of Tokyo and am staying for 14 nights not including travel.
I’m initially thinking 5 nights in Osaka with trips to Kyoto, Nara and Kobe and possibly Himeji.
Then maybe one night on Miyajima followed by 3 nights in Kanazawa where I’m planning on hiring a car to visit Shirakawa-go and Takayama and Nagano.

I’m then going to finish with 5 nights in Tokyo with a day trip to Kamukara and possibly one other day trip.
My flight home is at 00:20 from Haneda so I’m considering keeping my hotel for an extra night but maybe that’s unnecessary.

I’m open to suggestions on everything, apart from the flights nothing is booked.

For anyone booking a trip a few months in advance, it's well worth keeping an eye on the exchange rate. It's varied a lot over the years I've been going and it's currently very favourable to us. I normally just withdraw cash from 7/11 stores while I'm there but I've actually exchanged a fair bit of cash prior this time.

We took that flight home in April and I didn’t bother with the extra hotel night. It was honestly fine. We had a lie in in the morning and a leisurely breakfast at our favourite cafe then did some shopping and sightseeing, had lunch and a did bit more sightseeing interspersed with a stop in a bar for a drink. Then we had dinner and then headed to the airport. If it’s the JAL flight then they give you access to their business class lounge for 2 hours even if you’re in economy for that flight as they don’t serve a meal after take-off, so it’s pleasant enough waiting around for your flight. If you’re planning to use that day for sightseeing then an extra hotel night probably isn’t worth it. Unless you’ve got a toddler that’s going to need to nap to make it through the day, I’d just push through.

Your itinerary sounds really great! That’s such a nice mix of places. I personally wouldn’t bother with the night in Miyajima unless Japan is definitely going to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip to you. It’s 200 miles from Osaka in the opposite direction to Kanazawa so it’s a big detour for 1 night. I’d just have an extra day in one of the other cities or stop off somewhere in between them.

Post office is showing ¥188 £1. Is that a decent rate?

@MyCatsSlave i wouldn’t book an extra night as you will be heading to the airport around 9pm. You could book a show or spa or an indoor sitting activity for the evening if you feel you need the breather before flying.

For comparison, if I withdrew cash in Japan with my credit card today I’d get:

1 GBP = 197.216957 JPY

If you’ve got a credit card with 0% fees on foreign cash and withdrawals that uses the visa exchange rate you won’t be able to beat it in a bureau de change.

@MyCatsSlave I'd ease up on the Osaka day trips; that's a lot of time running around. The trains/subways are fast and efficient but four day trips in five days is a lot and doesn't leave a lot of time to linger and soak up the atmosphere. If possible, I'd try to spend at least two nights in Kyoto. A day trip wouldn't do the city justice!

Nara or Uji for a day trip from Kyoto? Hmmm. Tomorrow's the day. We may have to flip a coin and see if Uji's temple on the 10 yen coin lands or not!

I think I’d go for Nara as a first timer. I love a giant Buddha and the deer are fun.

I loved Nara, one of the highlights of our Japan trip. Hope you enjoy wherever you decided @faffadoodledo !

Just back from Nara. Perhaps a Saturnian best. It was rammed! The Buddha however is impressive, and the further most temple lovely with far fewer people.

@Takoneko @HighlandsExpat @SunnyTimes3 Thanks for all the advice. I’m going to save Hiroshima and Miyajima for my next trip, spend 3 nights in Osaka, 2 in Kyoto and have an extra night in Kanazawa.
@Takoneko It is the Jal flight and your last day sounds perfect. I’m going on my own so can just relax with a coffee if I’m flagging.

Does anyone have any tips for avoiding/reducing jetlag?

Also any recommendations for clean, comfortable hotels that are well located and would be good for a lone female.

this Thread looks really useful! Hoping to go April 2026!

@MyCatsSlave There’s loads of Japanese hotel chains with well located hotels that are reliably clean and comfortable.

We stayed in the Henn Na Hotel Osaka Shinsaibashi and for the price had pretty modest expectations. It wasn’t fancy, but it was spotlessly clean and the rooms were comfortable and well equipped with everything we needed. The location was awesome. It’s just steps away from shibsaibashi shopping street and a metro entrance and an easy walk to Dotonbori. For our next trip we’ve booked the Sotetsu Fresa Yodoyabashi in Osaka, the Daiwa Roynet Premier Kyobashi in Tokyo and a Candeo hotel in Hiroshima. We’ve specifically chosen the Osaka and Tokyo hotels because they are directly above metro stations. We really liked that about the Shinsaibashi hotel, so made it a priority this time.

Monterey, Gracery and Intergate hotels are all probably a safe bet too.

For jet lag the best advice I have ever had is that when you arrive on your first day just spend as much time outdoors in natural daylight as humanly possible and whatever you do, don’t go to bed until a normal bedtime.

/perhaps Saturday isn't better/!

Fumble thumbs!

@faffadoodledo Perhaps it’s a weekend thing. All of our time in Kansai fell on weekdays. I think we went to Nara on a Tuesday and it wasn’t empty by any means, but felt quiet compared to the busy areas of Osaka and Kyoto.

Unless part of the trip is to stay in a "fancy" hotel, I think you can't go wrong with a business hotel. APA is one such chain in Tokyo. I've booked 16 nights for £850. It's right by the metro, one stop (or a 15 minute walk) to Ueno. From there you can go anywhere. They have several hotels across Tokyo.

Yes the rooms are small but it's Japan, unless you're paying £££ you won't get a big room. They are clean and comfortable, have everything you need. What I always find useful is there's a washing machine/dryer you can use. I don't spend much time in the room anyway so I just need it be to functional.

My other tip won't help everyone but may be useful to some, flights. A non stop premium economy flight is around 1400. I know lots of people stump up for premium economy given the flight length. Especially now coming home its gone up to 15 hours 😱If you're willing to do a short stopover you can often get business for 2000. I'm going via Rome, couple of hours in the airport there between flights each way (but as it's business can use the lounge). Obviously for a family that would add on a lot of cost but for singles or couples it's doable. Plus what I'm saving on hotel cost makes up for it.

I physically can't fly economy that far anymore. I have some pain issues and I can do up to about 5/6 hours. After that I'm in agony. I also can't sleep sitting up so that doesn't help. For me it's absolutely worth the extra 600 and a bit of a longer journey. Having the space to vary my seating position and lie down is brilliant. You do have to shop around and keep checking prices over time though.

Is 2000 business one way?

Return.

Oh I would also add, I do skip all the Chinese airlines. They are cheap but have a bad rep. I've been with KLM, Qatar (they had a brilliant deal once) JAL and this time Alitalia. As I say, it involves some shopping around and keeping an eye on prices.

Thanks @DancingLions i can’t manage long flights well and have got a BA business direct return for £2,500 which was very impulsive and I didn’t shop around but feels like an ok deal with your explanation so thank you for that.

Anyone that’s been to Tokyo what are the top 2 activities/things that you enjoyed the most?

I haven’t seen the fish market mentioned in the thread. I don’t think I fancy it but I thought it was popular.