Japan Planning Thread 3

[Takoneko]

Hi!

This is a new Japan Planning Thread for when our last one is full.

Feel free to ask any questions here related to travel in Japan, regardless of budget or style of trip.

@YoshisAdventures2026 I really like Sunny in Japan too. Lots of Japan YouTube content is very Tokyo-heavy, so I like that she’s based in Kansai. I often end up pinning places on my google maps when watching her videos.

He posts infrequently and has a much smaller following but I also really like Will Zhao’s Japan videos.

Just wanted to say a big thanks to @Takoneko and everyone else here for all the amazing Japan planning advice!
We’re currently en route from Scotland to London then heading to Tokyo this afternoon to begin our 3.5 week trip. Me, hubby and 2 student aged kids. June wasn’t our ideal time but it fitted in with Uni hols so had to be now - but we are all very very excited! And we’re used to rain 🤣 First time in Japan for all of us.
We’re visiting:
Tokyo-Hakone-Kanazawa-Takayama-Kyoto-Hiroshima-Naoshima (staying in Benesse House). Very art and food focused 🤩

@hashisucks That sounds awesome. I’m looking forward to hearing all about it.

Safe travels!

@YoshisAdventures2026 something cut you off !

I’m enjoying my fantasy hopefully to become a reality Japan trip planning
Flghts to and from Tokyo (JAL )
2 nights in Tokyo ( possibly Yokohama ) to get over the flight and find our feet
Train to Hiroshima for 3 nights ( or fly )
Train to Osaka for 4 nights
Then back to Tokyo for 4 nights

Just need to decide when to go ! Easy for me as I’m retired , but DH still works part time

safe travels @hashisucks

@SemmaLina We did a trip something like that last April. Our balance of days was a bit different but we went Tokyo-Osaka-Hiroshima and then flew home from Hiroshima to London (via Haneda), which ended up being very convenient. I strongly recommend the JR west regional rail passes. There’s a Kansai-Hiroshima pass. We went for the Setouchi Area Pass, which allowed us to travel for 7 days between Osaka and Fukuoka (which we did as a day trip from Hiroshima). We visited places like Himeji, Kurashiki, Okunoshima, Onomichi and Iwakuni using it.

I am joining as a completely informed anything Japan as I am going in November and have nothing yet apart from think it’s going to cost a lot of money!

@RandomMess No trip that far is cheap but it doesn’t have to be ruinously expensive either. You might be surprised by how affordable accommodation and eating out can be.

Getting there and the hotels were expensive, but we went in peak Cherry Blossom season and for the F1 Grand Prix, however we were pleasantly surprised by the local restaurants, bars and coffee shops etc. we found these to be excellent and less costly than the UK. Perhaps the £ fx is helping us at the moment.

Before we travelled I added up all our accommodation costs. We have booked a mix of mid range hotels some with a view or querk e.g robot coffee in reception, a hostel (mid mountain hike) ryakan with onsen (end of hike!) and some traditional houses with lots of space! For 19 nights of accommodation for 4 adults cost £1600

We are not peak time of year so costs may be lower than other times. We are managing the warmer weather and no rain so far (day 8)

I find hotels in Japan very reasonably priced, but you do need to shop around a bit. The same hotel can vary quite wildly in price from date to date and not always in predictable ways.

A hotel that was a bargain a year ago can suddenly be twice the price of similar ones the next time you look. I have some chains that I often gravitate to, but never get hung up on booking a specific hotel because chances are that the best deal for one trip won’t be the best deal for the next one.

@Jellyslothbridge have you posted your itinerary anywhere? Super intrigued by the hostel/hike/onsen you are doing….

japan planning this weekend! We’ve got our itinerary and hotels etc all booked so it’s the fun day-to-day ideas for what to do/see/eat in each location!

@SorrengailFables Are there any particular areas that you’re looking for things to do in? Given the scale of our next two trips, I now have some insanely comprehensive Google maps with hundreds and hundreds of categorised pins all over Japan. Every time I see anywhere interesting on an NHK show or in a YouTube video it goes on the list.

I need to prioritise Tokyo and Kyoto first I think…
we are only scratching the surface really but my thinking so far for Tokyo is to try to build an old vs new theme (staying in asakusa)

kyoto we are there for the summer Gion festival (staying in Gion - area I think) so will build at least an evening and a morning around the night events and the float parade then I’d like to try and get out of the city for a day but without too onerous travel…

I’m thinking to manage the heat we will try to get out early, then something indoor with AC then back out in the evening 😬😬 We def lean culture/museums/nature/activity over shopping - I def want to see some art so will research art galleries in the cities

then Kanazawa - we are doing the Japanese garden and there’s a fireworks festival in to anchor that section - need to look at exploring a bit outside of Kanazawa

then the alps around Hakuba where I’ve got my eye on some nice walks and SUP at a nearby lake…I think we’ll have a car for this bit to help with travel!

so I have the barebones down - I think Tokyo and Kyoto need the biggest “strategy” and then the second half feels easier!

@SorrengailFables

There’s such an overwhelming number of things to see and do in Tokyo. I don’t think I’ll ever reach the end of my Tokyo to-do list.

I’ve just added another load of pins in a new neighbourhood to my maps this morning. Jindaiji temple, Jindai botanical garden and a nearby pottery workshop. It is probably a bit out of the way for a highlights trip.

From Asakusa, I do recommend checking out the nearby Ochanomizu and Jimbocho areas. There’s lots of really nice little coffee shops and curry restaurants, guitar shops and bookshops. For culture there’s Kanda Shrine and Yushima Seido, which I strongly recommend. It’s is a very cool and peaceful Confucius temple. They are pretty rare in Japan compared to the Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines that you find dotted all over the place.

I also just love Sumida. There’s so many cool places to visit there and I love just wandering the back streets. The Hokusai Museum was a highlight for us and I’m really keen to visit the newly reopened Edo Tokyo museum. There’s also a little museum at the Kokugikan that’s open to the public on weekdays if there’s no event on. I wouldn’t go out of your way for that one, but do recommend popping in if you happen to be nearby anyway.

@Takoneko watching Will Zhao now - thanks for the tip! @SemmaLina your itinerary looks fab. We’re also starting and finishing in Tokyo.

This is our second trip to Japan. The first one we did Tokyo, Fuji Five lakes, Osaka, Kyoto, alpine alps (Kamikochi, takyama) Our Japan itinarary for this trip is
Kyoto including Nara. We were going to do a walk at kurame (just outside Kyoto) but decided to have a slower day. We are off to walk part of the Nikosendo trail where we have a hostel at Mugame booked and ryakan at Kiso. You can day trip from Kyoto but would be a long day and we are looking forward to the post towns in the evening. Then Kanazawa then Tokyo to include a day trip to nikko.

@Jellyslothbridge That sounds awesome.

We have Kurama on our list. It’s a little bit out of the way, so I understand why you’ve taken it out. Teo Crawford featured it in a video recently and it looked idyllic. We’ll be staying in Kyoto for 5 nights in early March and I’m hoping Kyoto will win me over this time if I stay away from the big tourist hotspots.

@Jellyslothbridge so jealous - we looked at the nakasendo trail and the post towns and then opted for the alps instead! But I already have a long list of places for another trip so hopefully one day…

For anyone into walking Roy and Aimee: Japan Outdoors on YouTube gave me lots of inspiration!

@Jellyslothbridge I saw a news report this morning that said that this has been the coolest June in Tokyo for 20 years, and I immediately thought of you. I hope you’re enjoying the milder weather and that you’re having an amazing time.

We expected it to be really hot or raining. We have had one day when it rained on a travel day but the rest of the time the weather has been ideal so feel quite spoilt and less sticky. Still warm enough for a 7/11 creme brulee ice cream! Really enjoyed Kanazawa it felt a very easy place to get around and not many tourists. Just arrived in Tokyo.

We really loved Kanazawa too, it was one of our favourite places last summer! Glad you loved it and have fun in Tokyo!

I’m so glad you’re having a good time. I loved Kanazawa too. We found it easy to get around. It’s touristy (in a good way) without being overcrowded.

I'm off to Japan in 2 weeks so any advice for the weather?

Oh goodness …
You know you’ve been doing too much Japan searching when you go to Instagram and everything is Japan tour related !