Japan Planning Thread Part 2

[Takoneko]

This is a thread for anyone planning a trip to Japan. All budgets and styles of trip are welcome.

I got so much out of the first thread and would love to be able to continue the conversation with everyone who has been so helpful.

I fly tomorrow morning!

First Thread

@2025istheyeari I completely relate to that feeling. We had a little trip to Europe this summer, travelling through a few countries by train. We had a lovely time but quite a few times I found myself thinking “this would be better in Japan”.

We stayed in three hotels in three countries. Our rooms were lovely but the amenities, even in the two pricy higher-end hotels, just don’t compare to what you get in basic, budget Japanese hotel chains. I felt the absence of bidet toilet seats (I have one at home), bathtubs, mini fridges, the little amenity kits and items, the pyjamas, the slippers etc. Also the casting devices on the TVs just didn’t work in any of the hotels that we visited. They always work in Japan.

The food where we were was nice enough, but we were in an expensive region and every meal was roughly three times as expensive as an equivalent would have cost in Japan.

I’m glad we went, but I am also glad that our next trip will be back to Japan.

@Takoneko how difficult is it to have Japanese style bidets installed in the UK?

@TheyNotLikeUs Ours is in a standalone toilet room not a room with a bath/shower. That makes it simpler in terms of regulations, I think. We had an electrician put in a fused spur and wire in the toilet seat. When we replaced the toilet seat with a new one, DP just wired the new toilet into the spur. I think the plumbing bit was very simple. DP did that in a few minutes, but electrics are trickier in UK bathrooms. It wasn’t horribly expensive or complicated though.

Just found these threads and read through them taking notes.
Looking at going to Japan next October and planning 15 or 16 nights with two boys (13 and 15). Any must do with teens? Youngest loves animé.

Initial itinerary is
Fly into Tokyo 5 nights including Disneysea and day trip to Kamakura
Kyoto 2 nights - is it worth staying here or just day trips from Osaka?
Hiroshima 3 nights - what day trips are recommended?
Osaka 5 nights
Day trips to Nara, Uji, Himeji
Universal studios
Fly from Osaka

Does this sound ok for first timers?
Partner is worried about having to move around a lot but I want to see as much as possible.

There's so much info on these threads I'm trying to narrow it down.

Personally I would not miss the chance to stay in Kyoto. Staying there allows you to get up very early and hopefully miss the main crowds at the busiest temples and attractions.

October will be koyo (leaf colour) season. Please book hotels (near leaf colour spots) early. https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2014.html

@nwilson12 From Hiroshima we’ve done these day trips:

Okunoshima (bunny island). Transport connections were very tight but I had so much fun. We loved the bunnies and walking around the island looking at the ruined buildings and little museum.

Iwakuni and Miyajima- Iwakuni is a charming little small-town. We visited the bridge and wandered around the shrines and went to the little snake museum. Then Miyajima is on the way back into Hiroshimait was a wet day so we didn’t go up the mountain but we enjoyed hanging out there.

Onomichi- Amazing views, wonderful small-town vibes, really friendly locals and cool little cafes. Lots of cats!

Fukuoka- Really cool. Great tonkotsu ramen. We did the temple circuit in the city and had some ramen. We also went out to see the giant reclining Buddha at Nanzoin, which is quite a sight.

Joining as going to Japan as a first timer in June!

Going for 10 days - 4.5 days in Kyoto, 5.5 days in Tokyo. Planning on day trips to from Tokyo, also possible Disney. Any advice?

Hi @ChristmasMad1!
How many of you are in your travel party and what sort of ages? What are you main interests?

For Disney, I think Disney Sea is the more unique of the two parks. Even the non-Disney people in our group were impressed by it when we went. I also recommend going on a weekday and when you go to buy tickets some days might be cheaper than others. Choose the cheapest day available to you. Not just to save money, but because it means they are expecting it to be a quieter, less crowded day. We went on a quiet day and had very short queues for all but a few rides.

I loved my day trip to Kamakura from Tokyo. If you do go there, it’s worth checking the Fuji visibility and trying to go on a day where you can get the view from Cape Inamuragasaki. Fuji doesn’t have a snow cap in the summer but you might catch the tail end of the snow cap if you’re there early June. I’m sure the mountain is still a worth seeing without it, even if it’s slightly less iconic.

Hi! There's 2 of us mid 20's. Interest are so broad, not very into anime. We are both big foodies. Haven't planned anything itinerary wise, so reading these threads for inspiration. Also on a budget

any advice would be welcome!

@ChristmasMad1 Japanese chain hotel offer fantastic value for money. Their standard double rooms are often tiny, but there will often be larger room options for still very reasonable costs.

APA are everywhere but they are owned by a bit of a right-wing nutter.

We’ve had some really good experiences with Sotetsu Fresa. They are very budget friendly and they have hotels in great locations.

We’ve also used Daiwa Roynet and Henn Na hotels. They were a little more expensive than the Sotetsu but also very good. The Henn Na hotels have cool robots on check-in etc. We were generally impressed by the cleanliness and service though. It wasn’t just a gimmicky tourist trap.

@ChristmasMad1 Oh… and on food. The whole country is paradise for a foodie. Don’t go out of your way just for a meal though. There is so much good food in those cities that there is no need travel to a whole other neighbourhood for a specific to tonkatsu/soba/ramen/tempura/sushi restaurant. There will be great restaurants all over the place, so you’ll find amazing options close to wherever you happen to be.

Yes we have all the logistics booked, hotels, flight etc. it's just the fun itinerary stuff so far we have a few restaurants planned but looking at activity any day trips. Is there any you would recommend?

I see! Which neighbourhoods are you staying in?

From Tokyo my favourite day trip would be Kamakura. I also liked Kawagoe, but if I was only doing one I’d choose Kamakura.

From Kyoto, Nara and Uji are good options and close enough to Kyoto (and each other) that you could do both in one day. Himeji is also amazing if you have time.

4.5 days in Kyoto, 5.5 days in Tokyo

@ChristmasMad1 Apologies for not being clear. I was wondering which area of the cities you were staying in, in case there was anything close by that I (or someone else) could recommend.

I am way more familiar with Tokyo than Kyoto but there’s other people on here that know Kyoto really well.

There are some boats down the Sumida river in Tokyo. They are reasonably priced and I like them as a good way to travel between places with a view. They can work well for getting from e.g. Asakusa down to Hamarikyu gardens and Tokyo tower area. I think the one we took only cost about £5 each.

Oh sorry in Tokyo in asakusa and Kyoto in Nakagyo

If you’re staying in Asakusa I’d definitely recommend the water bus.

There’s also the culture and tourism centre at Asakusa, which is a really cool building and has a little cafe and viewing platform up at the top that has a brilliant view. If you look one way you get the view across the river to Skytree and the Asahi buildings, the other way you get a view over nakamise street and sensoji temple.

If you’re planning on collecting eki stamps and commemorative stamps, they have a stamp there. I missed it on my last visit.

Any general suggestions ?

@ChristmasMad1 My best advice is to accept that you will not see everything that is worth seeing in one trip. Prioritise the things that are most interesting and exciting to you. There’s lists all over the internet of things you “must see” or “must do” in Japan. Nothing is must do if you aren’t personally interested in it.

Some things I’ve loved:

Tokyo Disneysea
The Sky Lobby at the Azabudai Hills Mori building.
Harukas 300 in Osaka
Katsuoji temple on the outskirts of Osaka
Onomichi
Okunoshima (bunny island)
The Tale of Genji Museum in Uji
Byodoin and the attached museum in Uji
Nara temples and deer park
Going to a baseball game

I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to these threads, especially @Takoneko, for helping me plan our trip to Japan in October. There have been so many useful tips and suggestions that I really feel better prepared. We are going for two weeks, 6 nights in Tokyo, staying in Asakusa and with day trips to Hakone and Kamakura. Then we have 3 nights in Kyoto (1 night in a ryokan and 2 in a hotel), 2 nights in Hiroshima (day trip to Miyajima), then back to Osaka for 3 nights (day trip to Nara).
The Kansai Hiroshima 5 day pass fits our plans, so will get that. We might break our journey back to Osaka at Himeji, depending on how we feel. I have a few things booked in but want to keep flexibility in , depending on energy levels.
I have booked a temple tour with this group https://kev.jp/wp/ and sunset time tickets for the Skytree. I also have a booking for https://ise-sueyoshi.com/top-en/ which pp mentioned (otherwise eating will be much more casual, which I am also looking forward to). I have booked an organised day trip to Hakone, because we want to go on Monday 14th, which is a public holiday (Health & Sports day) so I thought this would be easier than dealing with the busier trains.
I am going to try to get single -act tickets at the Kabukiza theatre, available the day before.
In Kyoto, I have booked an organised an evening walking tour of Gion, and a tour of the Kyoto Sento Imperial Palace. I have found the Wanderlog app (thanks to the pp who mentioned it) very useful.
I am working on Duolingo Japanese and getting very excited!

@Topazpearlagain That sounds like an awesome itinerary! I’m sure the next few weeks will fly by. Come and tell us all about it. I would love to hear about the Kabukiza.

Could I have input on our draft itinerary? 2 adults, one 11 yo - we like food, nature, cities and culture. Mostly by public transport but we will hire a car for the Tango segment.
5 nights Tokyo
1 night Matsumoto
2 nights Takayama
2 nights Kanazawa
4 nights Kyoto
2 nights Kinosaki
2 nights Kyotango
3 nights Osaka including one day at USJ
Any thoughts / obvious issues / recommendations?
Many thanks for the help.

Could I have input on my itinerary? 2 adults - we like food, nature, cities and culture.
4 nights Kyoto
6 nights Tokyo
Any thoughts or recommendations?

That looks like a really interesting itinerary. You’ve got a good mixture of places, which should give you a range of experiences.

What time of year will this be? Kamikochi looks amazing if you’re going to be in Matsumoto during the months that it’s accessible. We’re going to be too early next year, sadly.

July - We considered Kamikochi but we couldn't quite make it fit. We didn't want to be too rushed. Next time!