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.

Hi all it was indeed a very long day! Have managed to get to Osaka castle & have a wander round Dotonburi but I’m in bed now at 6pm with a 7/11 egg salad sandwich lol 😂
flight was a killer

@princesspadam That’s what we did on our first day last year! I ate my egg sando by the castle rather than in bed but apart from that it’s exactly the same.

Our Japan trip cost 16,000 for four people

We flew Emirates, went to Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Hiroshima and flew back from Osaka.

We stayed in decent hotels, Ryokans and a Machiya house for 5 nights in Kyoto.

Travelled via Shinkansen

Ate at 7-11 and had some pretty amazing meals out and about too.

Did a lot of tours, universal
Studios, team labs etc.

✔️ sure you can do it cheaper...

Hi all, I’m looking for advice please on good areas to stay in Osaka. This will be the last bit of our trip, probably for three nights. We will potentially do our day trip to Nara from here, but otherwise we will be exploring the city itself, and shopping.
Should add that we will be arriving from Hiroshima. Thank you!

@Pusspot In Osaka I strongly advise staying along the Midosuji subway line in a hotel that is really close to fhe metro station. We stayed in Shinsaibashi, right by the metro last time, which was great for a first time visit. There’s loads of hotels in the area. We could walk to Dotonbori without being right in the middle of the madness. This time we’ve booked a hotel right on top of Yodoyabashi station. We wanted to be a bit closer to Umeda this time. The midosuji line connects the main tourist sites and stations and its by far the most convenient line to stay on.

@Takoneko thank you - I will focus on that area. Going to try and finalise hotels this weekend (for Hiroshima and Osaka).

Hi everybody,

I am a (hobby) potter and have been totally obsessed with ceramics and pottery techniques for the last 36 years.

I was in Japan, near Kyoto, more than 20 years ago on a work trip, and only for a week, but I was able to stay the weekend before flying back. I managed to arrange a visit to Shigaraki (one of 6 ancient kiln towns which are all around Osaka/Kyoto area) over the week end; it entailed changing 4 different trains/cable cars while knowing only one word in Japanese (arigato) and without mobile phones to direct me or translate, but I was young... and made it!

I was totally enchanted, and promised myself I would be back to visit properly.

Unfortunately, having left my job to care for young kids, it was more than we could afford for a long time, so it never happened.

Fast forward to 2025, and I am accompanying DH who has a work trip to Manila... So I convinced him that since we are "so close"😋 we could go from the Philippines to Japan, with the initial intention to visit just Kyoto and Tanba Tachikui, maybe Tokoname, maybe Seto.

Now I have also found out that the main centre for porcelain is in the south, specifically a town called Arita, SW of Fukuoka, and there is a ceramic festival which is happening right when we could be there.

But we have only a week, max 10 days, and I am not sure what is doable in the time available so I am getting nervous about wanting to do too much and having to rush everything. Keep in mind we are near retirement age and I'm not in the best of healths, so not sure if we'll ever be able to come back...

So far we are thinking we'll arrive in Kansai, find accommodation in Kyoto and visit the less touristy places to have a general feel, then do day trips to the one or two nearest ceramic towns, and then take the train to Arita, but I am struggling to find accommodation near there apart from seedy "love hotels" (not sure if it's because of golden week or the festival, or there just isn't anything).

I have taken notes of some of the places suggested in this thread (only managed to read 1/3 of it though, 900 messages full of info is A LOT!), and it looks kite Nara and maybe Uji are worth seeing too...

I am writing to ask if any you knows these areas and thinks it's worth the effort/expense to go down to Fukuoka or is it just too much to cram in the time and limited budget we have? Again, we feel we probably won't manage another long haul trip so this is it...

Can anyone advise if a trip to Arita is actually worth it? Or any other suggestions for anything specifically clay-related? We are not planning to buy loads of stuff, (we are actually trying to declutter and leave the least work for our children to deal with), it's more learning about pottery/porcelain history, traditions, techniques, maybe meet some potters.

Sorry for the long winded post and thank you for any advice you might be able to give me!

And thank you all to those who have just made it to the end! 😬

@MimosasInSpring I don’t have any direct experience of Arita or pottery.

It does look quite out of the way, but if pottery is what you really love then I don’t think you’ll regret spending time somewhere that you are really excited about. You could always fly out of Fukuoka to save time on the way back. If this trip is likely to be the only time you’re back in Japan, do what you really enjoy.

In terms of Love Hotels, they aren't really somewhere you would stay long term- they are often charged by the hour and you can't really leave and come back - but they also aren't 'seedy' if you understand the purpose of them. In Japanese society, it can be hard for couple to find time alone in intergenerational living arrangements. I find them really interesting: https://savvytokyo.com/japans-love-hotels-what-you-need-to-know-before-you-go/

Just came to see if I can glean any last minute tips from this fabulous thread, as we go on Saturday. I'm so excited!!

As I type this, I'm downloading stuff onto my ipad, doing laundry and browsing my bookshelf for reading materials.

The main thing I'm worried about right now is the tight connection we have in Seoul. We booked flights with a 3-hour layover and then Asiana changed the time and now there's only 1 hour 50 mins. We may or may not make the flight, but I'm really worried that our bags won't ...

@cheezncrackers I think you'll be fine. I had a flight from India to Seoul transiting through Bangkok in less than 1 hour. They put 'Hot Transit' tags on my bag and it was there on arrival in Seoul so I am sure they will do something similar for you if they consider the bag's transit to be tight. Things are generally pretty swept up these days i think and Seoul is an efficient airport IME...

Have a fabulous trip - so excited for you!

@MimosasInSpring it sounds like you SHOULD make your way to Arita - pottery is a long standing passion of yours and it look likes the train is only 4-5 hours from Kyoto. I think others would join me to say a Japanese train journey/ekiben is part of the Japanese experience so all part of the fun and not like a UK journey. We travelled from Tokyo to Hiroshima to Nagasaki to Fukuoka (for the Korea ferry) by trains and it really is not a hassle, and we had our bags with us but you could consider the bag forwarding service to make things easier. Definitely worth it - sounds like you would be in your dreams in a Japanes Ceramic festival....

I'm not sure what dates you are looking at for accommodation - the accommodation for Japan becomes available much later than we are used to in Europe so it may not have been released yet.

@cheezncrackers I think you’ll be fine. We had a shorter connection than that in Helsinki and our bags made it without issue. I always make sure to have a couple of days clothes in my backpack just in case a checked bag gets delayed but have never actually needed them.

@Takonekothank you for creating this thread. It’s been really helpful. I think you’re going on your own trip soon? Hope you have a great time!

@Pusspot Thanks! We have just over a week to go.

I’m really glad you’ve found this thread helpful. I’m having so much fun talking to everyone about their trips and plans.

@TakonekoI hope you can you tell us about your trip. I haven’t done my first visit yet, and I’m already considering my second!

@Takonekoim finding it so difficult to find anywhere to eat!
my friend is veggie & I don’t eat red meat
we are living on egg Sando & McDonald’s 🤦🏼‍♀️
we’re near hachobori Stn if you have any recommendations

@cheezncrackers As I have an awful track record with lost luggage I have, for peace of mind, stopped to check in luggage and only travel with a small carry on bag pack. A couple of summer dresses, t shirts and knickers take up hardly any space. Many hotels in Japan have laundrettes, and most have a laundry service, so if you take a few clothing items on board with you, you should be prepared if anythinggirs wrong. All the hotels I booked also supply toothbrush, shampoo, body lotion, razor etc, which seems standard. Japanese hotels seem very well equipped/generous.

We’re meat eaters. We had some good ramen near there but I don’t think they were veggie friendly. There was a Kushikatsu place that iI think you’d find things to eat in nearby. We also liked Bless coffee for breakfast.

I read that you can print/download and then show these cards in restaurants/ryokans to explain what you can/can't eat
https://justhungry.com/japan-dining-out-cards
I think you are north of Ginza. There are several recommended Italian, Indian and Vegan restaurants in Ginza serving vegetarian dishes, or are you looking specifically for vegetarian Japanese dishes?

I'll be booking the Shinkansen from the UK 1 month in advance (as will need space for luggage)...did anyone have problems with their payment card when paying online?

No problem with the card. Booked ours about a month in advance. One thing we noticed is that the site is often down for maintenance due to the time difference.

I fly on Sunday morning to Toyko direct. Good travels to all those going over the Easter period.

I'm vegetarian - bit nervous about the food but I think we are just in major cities - Toyko, Kyoto and Osaka.

@princesspadam I’ve also just remembered that there’s a strip of family restaurants not far from there. I think a Denny’s and maybe a gusto and/or Saizeriya. I think you might also have some luck at the Muji diner in Ginza, which isn’t far.

@YesYesKitten My card was fine for Shinkansen tickets/rail passes with JR West. I have a Visa credit card.

@libertineagain Have a great time!

Good luck, we have only found one vegan restaurant in Osaka.
nothing by us in Tokyo unless you count soup in Denny’s I just think it’s not geared for veggies