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.

@RobinEllacotStrike Yes, that’s typical for public onsen and sentou in Japan. Some places don’t allow tattoos at all and most expect them to be covered. Tattoo friendly places exist but they are the exception rather than the norm.

My friends taking her two boys to Japan later this year (ages 8 and 10) and they'll be going to Disney and Universal.

I want to give them each some yen to buy a decent souvenir while there but not really sure how much to give. Would anyone be able to suggest a ballpark amount?

Thanks

@Selttan What sort of souvenir did you have in mind?

From memory, I think headbands and character ears were in the region of ¥2000-2500. Plush toys seemed to be more in the ¥4000 range for mid-sized ones. I’d imagine that ¥5000 each would be plenty to get a decent souvenir and have spare for an ice cream or two.

Thank you. This gives me a good idea of what to give.

The yunessun spa used to be amazing. All the various baths were built into a beautiful hillside and it was so tranquil and calm. Then there was an earthquake and they've closed that area permanently and now it's just not the same. They moved the main baths indoors and so its quite noisy as the sound just echos. So not a relaxing experience. It's sad as that used to be one of our favourite places to go.

For a day trip from Tokyo I love going to Mount Takao:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3029.html
I always get the chair lift part way up but go on a weekday when it's not busy. Its lovely to get out in nature after the hustle and bustle of the city. I never see it mentioned on these threads so I don't think many people know about it.

I've been to Kyoto once and that was enough for me. I agree with you 100% on the over tourism.

One of my all time favourites was the monkey park in Nagano. I'd seen photos of the monkeys in the hot springs online but it was so cool seeing it in person.

I'm going to Tokyo in January for a couple of weeks. I think this is now my 8th or 9th visit to Japan! It's addictive. This time I'm just staying in Tokyo with some day trips. It's going to be mostly a shopping and eating trip 😂 I always take 2 suitcases, 1 slightly smaller than the other so on the way out I pop one inside the other. Then I have an empty suitcase to fill to bring home!

@DancingLions I agree that it’s addictive. We’ve ordered a Japan scratch map and the plan is to eventually visit all 47 prefectures. It might take us a decade, but that’s ok.

We've been to six so far (Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba) and at the moment we think we will visit five new ones on this trip (Saitama, Okayama, Hyogo, Hiroshima and Yamaguchi).

The monkeys in Nagano look amazing for a winter trip.

Never been, but Japan is on my bucket list. Thanks for starting the thread, OP.

@Arthursayhey121 I think you must be on your trip now, right? Hope you’re having a wonderful time!

Yes we are! It's been amazing so far, feel like we've barely scratched the surface and have to come back. The favourite place so far is Kyoto although it is incredibly busy. The food is fantastic. If anyone's in the area and wants to try dipping ramen I'd recommend https://maps.app.goo.gl/321Pajinv8f6seTe9
We ended up going there twice because we all loved it!

So glad you’re having a great time. That tsukemen place looks fab.
Japan is definitely somewhere that needs multiple visits. There’s just so many things to see and do.
When your trip is over please come back and give us let us know how it went.

@DancingLions isn't it funny how we all experience places differently? Back from Japan a week now and adored Kyoto - likely because I avoided all the touristy spots. We never went to the bamboo forest, visited the big shrines at night after they closed, and quickly fled Gion because it was so packed, even in late September.

Already planning a trip back to Japan, and reading this thread has been fun. Likely a week in Tokyo in winter 2026 (I plan holidays that far in advance... I'm crazy but it brings me immense pleasure!). Hope you are enjoying your trip and savouring every moment, @Arthursayhey121!

I’ve just booked a flight to Japan for the first week of December. Has anyone been in December? I’m hoping that I’m not too late to see the autumn leaves. I’m travelling alone, staying in Tokyo for 1 night then catching the train to Kyoto and Osaka, visiting Nara then back to Tokyo for 2 nights. The thing with December is that it is dark early. I haven’t got a grip on jet lag will I be awake early as that will help me to get out by 8am and catch the daylight or will I want to sleep in late?

I’m going back to RTFT now.

@Takoneko thanks! I found the foliage map you posted. I’m guessing (hoping) the leaves hang around for a week.

The jet lag will usually have you up early. Are you going to Japan from the UK? If so, it wilk probably feel like a decent amount of daylight. Japan is quite a bit further south. The northernmost point of Japan is further south than the southernmost point in the UK, so the days are not as short in winter.

@SunnyTimes3 I think you might be lucky and be there at a good time for autumn leaves this year! I’m keeping an eye on the forecast as I’m going in a couple of weeks, and it’s been warmer than average which is delaying the autumn a bit.

Last time I was in Japan was in November/early December and one slightly random recommendation for you is to check out a Christmas market. We stumbled across a couple by accident and it was really fun to see a Japanese version of Christmas, hear Christmas songs in Japanese etc.

@ChilliPB how lucky I would be as I booked the flights with no thought of what I might do there. Christmas market is a great idea, thanks.

I am under instruction to shop for anime and gaming merch in Akihabara. I’m staying in Shibuya so planning on taking a train one day. Has anyone used Uber in Tokyo?

Any recommendations for Reiki please?

@Takoneko yes from UK arrive in Tokyo at 7am planning to drop case and head out to explore, I don’t know if that’s sensible/the usual after a long flight or if everyone sleeps first.

What would you guys do if you were staying in Shibuya and had a day to explore Tokyo?

I wish I had of read this thread first as I’ve booked Kyoto but now feel I don’t want to be any part of harassing artists/trampling through a community with my big tourist feet.

Whatever you do don’t sleep. I made that mistake on my first time in East Asia. To beat jet lag you need to get out in natural daylight and stay awake until a normal bedtime. I’d spend the first day outdoors as much as possible. Meiji Jingu, Yoyogi park, Shinjuku national gyoen would be a good starting point. I wouldn’t do things like shopping malls and teamlabs as you need the natural daylight to reset your body clock.

Thanks outdoors it is.

Furoshiki is something to add to the shopping lists.

@SunnyTimes3 We used Uber a lot in Japan. It will summon a taxi, not an Uber, but everything else is the same. The app will accept English and Japanese addresses.

Taxis are wonderful in Japan though, unlike most parts of the world! Honest drivers, credit cards accepted and affordable compared to the UK. We would show them our destination on Google Maps with the Japanese address and that always worked.

@HighlandsExpat That’s useful to know. I don’t think I’ve ever used a taxi in Japan. The public transport system is so good that we’ve never needed to

Don't worry about it - Kyoto is worth a visit and it's easy to avoid the overtourism and crowding. Either visit the major sites at off-peak hours, find alternatives to these sites, or skip them. Tourism is a big business and supports many locals; the issue seems to be more life in some parts of the city is ruined by too many people squeezing in and poor behaviour from tourists.

Highly recommend finding alternative things to see outside of the typical bamboo forest/Geisha district/shrines and temples itinerary, as well! We had a day visiting a few museums and galleries (Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design and the National Museum of Modern Art) which turned into grabbing lunch at a local place tucked away on a side street and then walking by the canal with coffee. Not a single tour bus or selfie stick in sight!

Quite a few shrines and temples are open 24 hours and are illuminated. Fushimi Inari Taisha (with it's infamous Tori gates) is wonderful after dark - very few people there. The Yasaka Shrine is actually more beautiful at night. There are tons of alternative experiences worth exploring, too. We did a bike tour with a local guide and booked a Japanese archery lesson. We never made it to half the "must see" things in Kyoto and I don't feel we missed out, at all.

The way guidebooks describe Kyoto and it's "must see" sights really does the city a disservice. I'd keep those places in mind but also feel free to disregard them - there is so much more to see and do and the city is truly wonderful.

@faffadoodledo
My DD is currently in Tokyo, temp yesterday was 32, very humid.

I’m feeling more settled about Kyoto thanks for listing more options and an opinion @HighlandsExpat

32 degrees oh wow.

I always like a taxi option when travelling alone. I’ve played around with the Uber app and got an idea of prices if I need to head back to my hotel for any reason.

I would like to do some karaoke if anyone has a suggestion please.