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

Should add that we like the idea of a boat trip on the Sumida River- has anyone done that please?

@Pusspot I recommend just going with the regular digital. Once you have it you can just keep using it for future trips. The digital welcome one has never really made sense to me. There’s no deposit on the digital cards anyway and they are exactly the same as the regular one, they just expire after 6 months.

We’ve done that. We got on at asakusa and took the boat down to the Hamarikyu Gardens/Hinode Pier area. It was a nice alternative to the train and there were some really cool views. It wasn’t expensive either.

@Takoneko thank you for the Suica advice.
That is the boat trip I’m considering, possibly in reverse order so we can visit the gardens first, which don’t look too far from our hotel in Ginza. I’m getting seriously excited about our holiday now - just hope the Heathrow chaos is resolved!

I also highly recommend the Sky Lobby at the JP Mori Building in Azabudai Hills. The view there at and just after sunset is, in my opinion, the best in Tokyo. The view of Tokyo Tower is awesome and you’re not so high up that the city loses all detail.

I’m going in 6 weeks time to Tokyo and Okinawa. Already planning another trip in 2026 has to be after June, has anyone got an idea on the best time of year to visit Tokyo and central or northern Japan? I’ve been to Kyoto and Osaka and so I’m interested in visiting anywhere north of there and possibly north of Tokyo.

@TakonekoThank you - we were just talking about a sunset location! I’m not keen on heights in scaffolding type structures (Eiffel Tower etc) but an actual building will be fine.

I often feel quite sick in towers and skyscrapers and personally found the Mori building didn’t trigger that at all. The building is chunky and the observation deck isn’t way up at the very top. It’s positioned so that you have a view right out across at Tokyo Tower.

@Takoneko Thank you, I’ll give Age 3 a try if there’s no queue. I’ve also put the sky lobby at the JP Mori building on my list.

I signed up with Nagomi Visit and have 3 visits arranged with locals. We meet at a station near their home, they then show you around the area, go shopping together and then cook and share a meal. I’m really looking forward to it and have been messaging my hosts to get to know them a little before we meet. Has anyone else done this?

I've also got a couple of days with a goodwill guide, one is taking me to the quieter parts of Kyoto and some of the gardens and the other is a day in Kamakura. I’m really looking forward to meeting them and learning more about the area and the culture.

Thanks @Takoneko it’s on the list! Good to have an evening activity sorted. It will be dark a lot earlier than I anticipated - 17:40 according to the weather app.

@MyCatsSlave I hadn't heard of Nagomi Visit before. Sound really interesting - I wonder if I can convince my introvert DH! DS would love it.

I decided to tweak our itinerary after all - the forests and mountains won! So now we are thinking :

5 nights Tokyo
2 night Matsumoto with a visit to Kamikochi
3 nights Nagano
4 nights Kyoto
2 nights Kinosaki Onsen
2 nights Kyotango
3 nights Osaka including one day at USJ

Has anyone don't the boat trip down asakusa? I am interested in it

@ChristmasMad1 Yes, as I mentioned a few posts up, we took a boat from Asakusa down the Sumida river. I enjoyed it. We did it on a lovely, bright, sunny day in cherry blossom season. It only cost around ¥1000 each. If it fits with your itinerary, I definitely think it’s worth doing.

Hi, we are a family of 5 kids age 10,13 & 15 coming for first time over Easter 26. I have read both of the threads and made lots of notes but feeling a little overwhelmed.. We are coming for 2 weeks fly into Narita and out of Haneda. Kids definitely want to go on a bullet train, animal cafe, Anime stuff and to Universal Studios. I want to immerse myself in the Japanese culture and my partner wants to see a beach. Trying to do it on a tight budget. Any itinerary and accomodation suggestions would be gratefully received.

@japlan What is your rough budget range a day?

Take a look at the itinerary ideas here and think about what you'd like.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400.html

The primary reason for travelling there in ultra peak season is to see cherry blossom.

But do you also want to see Fuji, try onsen (hot springs), visit Ghibli museum or Ghibli Land, Tokyo Disney, or watch a baseball game?

How tight is the budget? We’re going Easter 2026 too and it’s an expensive time of year.

Have you booked your flights and accommodation yet? I have been impressed with Sotetsu Fresa hotels, which are usually pretty budget friendly.

Be careful with the animal cafes. Japanese animal welfare can be a bit grim.

Thanks both. We have booked flights so far and just looking at accomodation now. Thinking of splitting the time between Tokyo & Osaka with day trips to anywhere else. Considering AirBNB as with a family of 5 hotel rooms all seem very cramped or Mimaru etc seem a bit pricey for us. Want to save as much as I can for the fun stuff as opposed to rooms we will barely be in.

We’ve only ever stayed in hotels. No idea what Airbnbs are generally like in Japan. Tokyo and Osaka are pretty good base cities. Because you’re flying in and out of Tokyo, I’m assuming you’ll have two stays in Tokyo? If so, I’d stay in the Eastern half of Tokyo for one stay and in the Western half for the other one.

I'm just back from a couple of weeks in Japan. Just to add my two cents on some of the points others have raised, with the IC cards like Suica, if you have an Apple phone you can choose the regular or Welcome (tourist) versions, whereas with a non-Japanese Android phone you can only get the Welcome version through the app (AFAIK). We just bought physical regular cards (ICOCA, as we landed in Osaka, and Suica is the Tokyo area one, though they generally work throughout the country).

We did a day trip to Mount Fuji from Tokyo on our only organised tour. It was a bit meh but I think hard to do the various places of interest around there in one day otherwise. We were lucky to get a clear view of the mountain in the afternoon, as it's often not possible at this time of year, but I've been to Japan before, in April, and the snow topped version is so much more memorable than the current snowless one.

We also went to Kamakura from Tokyo. It's pretty busy with tourists, so I'd say go early. We enjoyed the ride on the little local Enoden (Enoshima) line from Kamakura. Go in the front carriage right behind the driver for an amazing view.

The temples in most places open early (like 6am) so for the popular ones it can be much nicer going early. Especially recommend doing that in Kyoto at Kiyomizu-dera as the lovely surrounding streets are also quiet at that time. All temples take cash only (if they charge).

We had a couple of days in Kanazawa and I enjoyed it. It's a bit cheaper for accommodation and food, and good for seafood at the Omicho market. Try the restaurants on the second floor.

In Kyoto we had a three-person hotel room at the Good Nature Hotel, which was very nice, though better if it's just two people as you basically sacrifice a sofa. It's normally pricy but we got a good deal.

We had apartments in Osaka and Tokyo. The Osaka one was at Ocean Tsutenkaku. We had the family apartment which was very spacious for the price. You need to be a bit tech savvy for it, as it's all digital (entry, check-in, doors) but good value.

Edit to add, used an e-sim from Airalo and it worked great, including adding a data topup.

@LuXun You can’t install any digital Suica on non-Japanese android phones. They don’t actually have the technology in them that the Japanese IC cards (including the welcome suica) run on. A physical card is the way to go for anyone with an android phone.

Did you enjoy your trip overall? Any particular recommendations for Kanazawa?

Oh well, good I just got cards!

We really enjoyed the trip. I'd been on a backpacking Japan-rail-pass tour in the 1990s, but it was an entirely different experience as a strong memory from that trip was the painful cost of most things. Almost everything, except perhaps Shinkansen tickets, seemed quite reasonable now.

There are more interesting cities in Japan than Kanazawa, but I enjoyed having a bit of a breather from the busy-ness of Kyoto, Tokyo and Osaka. I don't think there was anything really outstanding, but there was a pleasant vibe in several areas. The castle, and the grounds, were nice in themselves, but also in a lovely area, and the adjoining Kenroku-en garden was also cool. The Higashi-Chaya Geisha District was by far the more interesting of the three, and the Nagamachi Samurai District was also a nice, though small, area to wander for a wee while. Also had some great sashimi in a Kaisendon place above at the market at a reasonable price.

Nara was good, too. Quite an experience with the deer, but temples and shrines too, and easy to get to from Osaka.

Forgot to add for those looking for budget suggestions, The Tokyo Metropolitan Government building has a free viewing floor (the 45th) that's open into the evenings and is free. There was no line when we went in the evening - don't know if that's typical.

@japlan As a cheaper option, it may be worth looking at 2 rooms in a budget hotel. I have used airbnb in Japan twice (once to stay at the iconic Nakagin Capsule Tower) and knowing how much the other Japanese residents HATE it really made me swear off doing it again. They do not like how much noise tourists make, understandably.

I generally recommend a couple of nights in Kyoto because that is where sakura is particularly memorable. Staying there allows you to get up early as another pp has advised and access the temples before the huge crowds arrive. Going as early as you can to any popular location is best policy.

thanks so much for all the previous suggestions. We have now booked a ryokan in Kyoto, we have reserved a couple of hotels for Tokyo while we do another search, hoping to book tonight so will share when confirmed. We are looking at candeo for Osaka I think.

Unexpectedly we have been given some money from a very generous friend to treat ourselves while away.. we are used to doing our holidays on a tight budget. We think we will still reserve the hotels we had already planned, and try to resist bidding on business class upgrades and thought I would ask you all for suggestions of a luxury experience or treat while over there. It is myself, my husband and 9yr old son going to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.. thinking day trips, experiences, restaurants but also anything else you can suggest. Feeling very lucky and grateful

@ohim40 There are some really lovely specialist restaurants for fruit parfaits (fancy ice cream sundaes). There was a video on the Japan by Food YouTube channel not long ago that featured some, but they are pretty widespread. That was the first thing that I thought of when I thought about a treat that would be enjoyed by adults and a nine year old.

@ohim40 If there are any theme parks you fancy, you could to upgrade to Fast Track and/or stay in the linked hotel.