Just returned from a 15 day stay in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Atami (was supposed to be Okinawa but typhoon)

First, going in the summer, I live on the east coast and had no issue with the heat, was it hot? A few days but very manageable. I got lucky with the sun not being out a few days but doing activities at 6-8am made a big difference and it gets dark early in Japan so by 5pm the sun was starting to go down

I flew United from Newark. I looked everyday for 3 months how much an upgrade to Polaris was and it was always 4k…the day of check in it dropped to $800 and I jumped on it, slept 6 hrs of the flight and it made it a breeze.

Everyone talks about needing cash, you really don’t. A few hundred in cash is plenty for the places that only take cash but 95% of places take cards.

Suica is awesome, load it up and use it on the subway, to pay for taxis and at 7-11…and you can just tap your phone to get on and off the subway with it ( you don’t have to actually have the suica app open to tap it lol ) at first I would always open the app and it took a minute but I soon realized you can just tap and don’t need to have it physically open.

Like everyone else says Google Maps is tremendous, tells you where to exit what subway car to sit in, so easy to navigate and when you enter those big stations just ask someone right away for help and they are more than happy to point you in the right direction.

Bullet train everyone said book prior to your trip, not needed, I booked day of when I showed up at the station, it was cheaper than the 3rd party apps that I was looking at the day before. I sat in the green car and it was 90% empty all 5 times I rode it.

Taxi and uber extremely easy to use and always around, so simple to grab a taxi . And my advice to that is to pick your spots with taxis . For example, going to monkey park in Kyoto, I saw it was a 50 min train and bus ride with 10 min walks added in or a $30 uber for a 30 min ride. That was an easy decision to take the uber, especially when I know it’s a 25 min uphill walk at the park, why waste time and energy taking train and bus.

Getting around Tokyo? Train most of the time bc of how simple and easy it was. And if it was late or tired it was usually a $10-15 dollar ride back to my hotel

I can’t wait to go back lol everyone there was so nice. Few interactions, went for a massage and it was starting to rain when I walked in and I had a FEW rain drops on my shirt and she immediately started to pat me dry lol my wife and I got 90 min massages which came out to $130 total and when we go to leave; this women is frantically searching for something around the place and finally she comes out and hands us two umbrellas to take with us free of charge, was such a nice and thoughtful gesture.

At the Hyatt, they have a bunch of amenities in the lobby and I asked if they had earplugs (I always use them at home) she said of course they do BUT how can she help me? Is the room too loud? Do I need a new room and location ? lol just so nice

The luggage sent ahead very easy to use and just dropped at every hotel lobby, you scan a QR code and it’s that simple, just need to have your reservation number and number of the hotel you are going to, made traveling a breeze

Limo bus from airport to hotel was super easy and same for going back to the airport; it stopped right at my hotel, couldn’t of been easier to use and cheap

It’s hard to explain the customer service, I felt like a celebrity every hotel I checked into lol they bend over backwards to help you and they don’t expect a tip, they all take such pride in their jobs.

Oh, one question I had for ppl familiar with their culture. My neighborhood here in NJ is small and anytime you walk down the street and you walk past someone it’s usually a polite smile and a “good morning “ or “hello” and over there, they just mind their business and don’t acknowledge anyone while walking , I thought that was interesting bc they are so friendly and helpful when you actually interact with them.

I also went to Jins for new reading glasses, eye exam, picked out frames and they were ready in 30mins and it was $60 total and that’s because I added $30 extra for the blue light blocker, got a few pairs lol

Went and got a custom pillow made that was expensive but I am really enjoying now that I’m home

This site was very helpful with planning my trip and I look forward to going back. I know everyone says you need to do two weeks at least for a flight that long but honestly going forward, I don’t want to travel to anywhere for two weeks or more lol I would have no problem going back to Japan for 8 nights or so.

Good luck to everyone planning and getting ready for their trips!

Just stopped by Sunshine City to pickup dinner tonight and saw the Pokémon Center in Sunshine is open again.

It's now called Pokémon Center MEGA TOKYO.

It's mostly unchanged from before, if anything they removed some sales stands to enable people to walk around easier.

They also moved the start of the line spot for registers to a better spot and roped off the old entrance.

Edit : They also have a small Pokémon Go place across the walkway with a dedicated spot for people to play the Pokémon Card game with 11 tables.

Edit 2 : Pokémon Sweets shop also open again.

I was lucky enough to snag tickets for the Yayoi Kusama museum in Tokyo for next month, but because of the demand I got a wonky midday time - meaning I could have a morning to kill. Is there anything else I should check out in that area of town? (Food, activities, whatever). I am staying near Omotesando Hills but I would love to do more exploring in the area around the museum.

My wife and I are staying at a ryokan on the southern side of Lake Kawaguchi - Wakakusa no Yado Maruei. We received a notice that the booking was complete but also there were no restaurants within walking distance, just so that we are aware. I'm looking at it on Google Maps though and it seems like that's not true. I can see a bunch of places within a mile walk.

Am I missing something, e.g. is the area not actually walkable even though it looks like it?

Hi Everyone

Thank you to everyone on this sub for the feedback. We just completed our 14 days trip

Original post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravelTips/comments/1vc43qk/first_trip_to_japan_add_osaka_or_keep_more/

Feedback if anyone is interested or for people wondering like we were.

The Good:
Japan is beautiful, Japan is cheap (compare to US) I guess the cost of living is already cheap and with the dollar and yen difference most of our meal were under or $10. The weather was hot and humid but bareable with hat, sunscreen and a portable fan. People are busy, like paris busy, there's very little chit chat but if you show a little bit of respect by trying/speaking a few words you see the smile on their face right away.

Top sentence we learned and used the most on our trip

ChatGPT was my best friend with a $20 subscirption + ubigi sim (15 days unlimited data) I never felt lost. Everytime I wasn't sure, I quickly pulled my phone typed in chatGPT, it was very accurate except for once it sent me to a scammer site for the Osaka aquarium.

E.g "Recommend me a must try ramen place within budget near my hotel, must be 10 minute walking distance" and once it gave me a few places I would book on tabelog

Shibuya and Shinjuku just never sleep and that was amazing, we stayed late with my SO, we just loved walking the street and stopping at random bar, the hundres of pharmacies, souvenir shop, hitting every Don Quijote that we came accross etc.

The Hakone experience was amazing as expected.

Also try to finish with a hotel that has a limousine bus straight to your airport, that saved us from hauling 3 large suitcase and pay for the service.

The Beware:

• "There is no soap in Japan", every place we went to, all the hotels, restaurants, places in general we went to had soap, never had an issue. We even packed dissolvable soap sheets never had to use it once. Could be because we were in tourist area mainly.
• "Bring cash everywhere", we only had to use cash at 2 temples in Kyoto, the other one accepted card. For restaurant everyone took our card except in Shinjuku in Memory Lane (tiny streets that serves streetfood).
• "No Trash bin/can", this one also didn't bother us, as we stopped a lot for water/drink at 7eleven or FamilyMart and they always have trash inside, or train station had trash. So we never had to carry our trash longer than 30min.
• Luggage Forwarding = Not everyone is equal, we use Yamato for most of our trip but sometime they couldn't ship next day so we had to use different company. Also it seems like a hassle to smaller hotel/familyMart/7eleven, a few times we were told it will take too long or they didnt offer the service when they actually did, the first business hotel we stayed at the front staff originally told us they dont do it, the family mart in front told us it would take 4 days to ship. I talked to another hotel staff member a couple hours later, they pretty much apologized for the FamilyMart and the employee and told us that both the hotel and family mart should be able to send our luggage within next day. It didn't bother us much but made me realize some people don't want to deal with it. We didn't have that problem in larger hotel chain e.g Park Royal etc

Tips:

• If you have apple phone, install IC/Suica on it, load few thousand yen, use it as your card (7eleven, familyMart, arcade, vending machine etc)
• If you have prebook ticket to shinkansen, don't retrieve your ticket early in your trip, if you want to make any change you'll have to walk to a specific counter. This part could be confusing as you'll have to go to JR East specifically for JR east ticket etc if you're not familiar, just keep ticket online in case your plan change so you can adjust your ticket and retrieve it the morning of.
• If you miss a train like we did, (bullet train) you can get onto the next one (within 5 minute usually) but you'll have to seat in car 1-2-3 unreserved seat. Bonus: when the train arrive and if you're far from your car # or didn't line up corretly, just get on doesn't matter which car, and walk to your car.
• If you're not comfortable with speaking in Japanese or afraid, you can use Uber, i found this easier after a long day, it will prepay, call/use a local cab and the destination/payment is all taken care of. It will cost a couple dollar difference only.
• Book restaurants for your next day or two days in advance for most. Unless you want the 3.75+ on tabelog you'll need a week/month in advance.

The last post on this was from 6 months ago ( from what I could find ) sorry if I missed something!!

Any one of have any intel if 11/1/26 is truly the date they will implement? Trying to plan how much lead time at the airport we may need now that the refund situation is alot different...worried since its new that it will be a shit show...although it is Japan so I have a little bit more faith lolz :') ty all!

**edit: due to some responses.. we're not buying small items. Probably $10-$15k in USD purchases..per person.. if not more T_T

** édit 2: blocking redditors for myself personally that are not understanding- the point of this inquiry on this thread. If you aren’t interested in this process plz go kick rocks or get financially literate plzzzz

I’ve been planning a Japan trip for about a year and am gonna be there for 2 weeks starting the 15th of this month, conveniently coinciding with the death of the suica penguin. I was really looking forward to having a physical card with the penguin on it since it’s been my favorite animal since as long as I can remember and it’s just very cute. I know that the suica stations will still have the penguin cards until their final stock is sold out, which has already been processed and shipped out. Does that stock last long and I shouldn’t worry and it’s likely they’ll be there for when I go or should I cave and get one shipped overseas just to have?

Please recommend me food and/or bar tours for Tokyo.

I'm open minded and have no allergies, so recommend me the best.

Bonus points if it's solo traveler friendly.

Please and thank you.

Hi everyone!

I’m planning a two-week trip to Japan and I’m looking into getting travel health insurance.
For those of you who are European and have travelled to Japan, what travel/health insurance did you use? Are there any companies or policies you would recommend (or avoid)?
I’m mainly looking for coverage for medical emergencies, hospital stays, and possibly repatriation.
Any recommendations or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hello!

I’m looking for recommendations for a day in Tokyo.

I’m going on a group tour to Japan and there is one free day for people to plan their own time in Tokyo. That free day is subject to change so I’m not comfortable with trying to get reservations until the day before (possibly).

I’m a huge fan of Pokemon, Nintendo, and Square Enix (Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy etc.)

I am disabled and use a walker (I can briefly use a cane but only for short distances). I will have a travel companion to come with me as well for if I become over-fatigued and need assistance. This is what I’m most nervous about when traveling oversees- especially Japan as I heard it is not very disability friendly.

So I’m looking for bang for buck plans for spending energy, time and money for my free day in Tokyo.

Took my second solo trip to Japan. Was crazier than my previous one honestly... Focused this trip specifically near the Kansai region. This time I took the Kansai wide area pass, not sure if I used it to the fullest but it's worth it imo.

Wanted to recommend a few spots that you ought to appreciate (Note: These I'd say are slightly more underrated or missed out spots so they don't cover the more obvious ones):

1. Kobe's Mt. Maya Ropeway up to Kikuseidai Observation Platform: They said the view from up there is worth a hundred million dollars... And they were probably right... I went around the evening and stayed for about an hour and a half... It is one of Japan's three famous nigjttime views. Kobe itself is a unique city with a European vibe. Rating: 9/10

2. Amanohashidate: The mesmerising pine laden sandbar. Riding across the sandbar on a rented bike, stopping to appreciate the emerald waters was a highlight of this trip. The view from the Kasamatsu park is absolutely breathtaking. One of Japan's top three day time views. Rating: 9/10 (Getting there is not as tough as some people online make it out to be, I took the Hashidate 1 from Kyoto which is direct)

3. Omi-Maiko Nakahama Beach: I absolutely did not intend to come here but my god what a beautiful excursion. Super underrated spot, calm vibe and a mesmerising beach with stunning views across lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. Short trip from Kyoto on the Kosei line. Rating: 7.5/10

4. Nara's Isuien Garden: Do visit this beautiful garden, super calm and wasn't touristy so quite peaceful. It's a short walk from the deer park. Rating: 7/10

5. Osaka Port Pier and Kaiyukan Aquarium: I've never been to an aquarium as unique as this. I went during the evening so the place was practically empty. The Ferris wheel besides it illuminates beautifully and the whole area has a relaxing vibe. It's relatively close to Universal Osaka. Rating: 8/10

Notable Mentions: Himeji, Otsu, Hikone, Wakayama areas

I myself haven't been to places like Tottori, Okayama etc. Plan to visit later someday!

Hi everyone! Has anyone done a day trip to Unzen Onsen from Nagasaki using public transportation? I know it can be limited there so trying to figure out if it is doable or if I should look for a tour that goes there (any tour/guide recommendations would be helpful too)! Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

Looking for a Maiko/Geisha tea ceremony in Kyoto for 5 people – 21 or 22 September

Hi everyone! We’re a group of 5 travelling to Kyoto and are hoping to do an authentic Maiko/Geiko (Geisha) tea ceremony/experience on either 21 or 22 September.

Unfortunately, the experience we originally wanted was sold out. Three of us managed to secure an alternative Maiko/Geisha experience through Klook for the 21st, but the other two weren’t able to get tickets. Before we split the group, I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for an experience that could accommodate all five of us together on either the 21st or 22nd.

Ideally, we’re looking for something involving tea/matcha, a Maiko or Geiko performance/dance, some interaction or conversation, and photos.

We’re also very open to private experiences or arranging something through a local Kyoto guide, concierge or tour operator. If anyone here has organised something similar, knows a guide with connections, or can personally help us arrange an experience for five people, I’d really appreciate any recommendations!

Thank you! 😊

Hi! My partner and I are planning our first trip to Japan in late November. We are landing in Tokyo at Haneda Airport. We plan to stay in Tokyo for 3–4 days and then travel to Kyoto for 4–5 days, then stay at a historic onsen in Izu, then return to Tokyo for the rest of our 15-day-total trip.

We've already booked our Izu and Kyoto accommodations, but I'm pretty conflicted about which Tokyo neighborhood to stay in. At first I was leaning toward Asakusa or Ueno for the first part of our trip because I'm interested in Kappabashi Kitchen Street, the Shitamachi Museum, Ueno Park, Senso-ji, etc., and it seems easy to get down to Ginza, although I'm wondering about connectivity to the rest of the city and Haneda Airport as well as to Kyoto. I've also considered Ginza, Akasaka, Ebisu, and Shinagawa. For the second part of our trip, I was thinking we would stay somewhere with better connectivity to Shinjuku/Shibuya (such as Shinjuku itself, Akasaka, or Ebisu; Shibuya seems too intense?), since I'm planning to do most of our intense shopping at the end, when we don't have to drag our suitcases around the country. I was also thinking somewhere like Shinjuku might provide easy connectivity for day trips if we decide to go to Kamakura/Enoshima etc., or travel westward to the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum.

Any thoughts? What neighborhoods (or even specific hotels) would you recommend for someone with these plans? Any help is appreciated!

We are staying in Kyoto from Nov 24-Dec 2 to chase the fall foliage. We are considering taking a break the Saturday and Sunday of Nov 28-29 because we speculate Kyoto will be at peak tourist capacity, so it might be a good idea to use that weekend to rest and relax at an onsen town no less than 2 hours by train before returning back to Kyoto Sunday afternoon to finish the last three nights there.

We have narrowed it down to Kinosaki Onsen, Yamanaka Onsen, Gero Onsen, and Yunohana Onsen.

Of these four, which do you think is the best for fall foliage Nov 28-29? Currently, we are leaning towards Yunohana or Gero because Kinosaki doesn’t really have fall foliage and it might be too late for Yamanaka.

Or should we just stay in Kyoto that weekend and find places that are less likely to be crowded that weekend (are there any?) and head to the onsen after Kyoto so we aren’t circling back?

Would love and appreciate any insight from those who have experience with these onsen towns. Thanks!

Wondering if I can get some recommendations on shops. I'm looking to buy some knives as gifts (and one for myself) was wondering if there's any shops that sell some that won't break the bank and offer engraving too.

Staying in Ueno so great if it’s easy to get to from there. Will be bringing a travel stroller so hopefully no shops that are too cramped.

For the coffee, I enjoy lightly roasted pourover options. Family enjoys fun espresso/milk drinks.

Appreciate any recs!

Hello planning a trip with my parents in their early 70s. We are looking at Tokyo and Osaka because we love modern cityscapes neon skylines and futuristic architecture.

Our biggest concern is the walking. My dad is fine but my mom gets worn out after about 1500 to 2000 steps which is under a mile and needs regular breaks.

Our idea is to basically skip the subway entirely and use the GO taxi app or street cabs for almost all our transit aiming for just one main neighborhood or sight per day.

For anyone who has used cabs heavily in Japan or traveled with seniors does relying on taxis actually keep daily steps down to the 2000 to 3000 range or do drop off limits and pedestrian only zones still force tons of walking? Also with the lack of public benches how realistic is it to regularly find places to sit down like department stores or cafes without long waits? Finally are there modern viewing decks or sights with wide open spaces that are easy to access directly by cab?

Thanks in advance for any tips

Coming back from Osaka via the Shinkansen for one last night in Tokyo before flying to Seoul (TBD whether HND or NRT, leaning HND). We have dinner planned in Ebisu that evening. Looking for a great hotel for our last evening and these hotels are the ones that caught my eye.

For the next morning before heading to the airport would love to be in a cute area to wander around and grab coffee at a cute cafe, though I know that can be tricky with coffee shops opening ~10am.

We’re staying in Ginza before going to Osaka so looking for a different neighborhood for our final night.

For Mandarin and Fairmont, love the floor to ceiling windows.

I heard Park Hyatt was recently renovated.

Any recommendations?

Has anyone done the matcha grinding experience at Chazuna in Uji? I was wondering how far in advance I should book tickets. I’m planning to go in mid-November. Also, does anyone know if the experience is offered in English, or is it only in Japanese?

Are you required to purchase admission tickets to Hirakata Park for this event? They list two ticket types, but I don't see if the admission ticket is required.

Hi everyone!
We’re planning our second trip to Japan, and this time we’d love to experience a different side of the country.😊

On our first trip, we spent 21 days visiting Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kanazawa and Tokyo. We absolutely loved Japan, so we’re now planning to go back for around 16 days in mid-November.

This time, we’re mainly looking at Shikoku and Kyushu. Our current plan is to fly into Osaka and fly home from Fukuoka, but we’re completely open to using different airports or changing the route if you think there’s a better option.

We’d love to hear your recommendations:

-What places in Shikoku and Kyushu are absolute must-sees?

-Which places are especially beautiful in mid-November?

-How would you divide the 16 daysbetween different places?

-We really enjoy nature, mountains, beautiful scenery and onsen, so we’d love to include plenty of these.

-We’d also like to stay in a ryokan for at least one night, ideally somewhere with a private onsen.

-At the same time, we don’t want to completely miss the lively urban side of Japan either.

We’re not necessarily determined to visit both islands. If you think 16 days would be better spent focusing on just one of them, we’re very open to that. We’d rather visit fewer places and actually enjoy them than spend the whole trip rushing from one place to another.

We’d really appreciate any personal experiences, hidden gems, must-see places, or suggested itineraries!

Thank you!🙏🏻
ありがとうございます!

Wondering if it's best to take the Shinkansen from Hakodate to Tokyo or if we should fly considering the train would be 4+ hours.

Has anyone travelled via train from north to south? Wondering if it would be worth viewing the scenery and using it as a nice break or if it's more hassle than it's worth.

We will be flying into Sapporo from Tokyo and working our way down to Hakodate, currently planning our trip for October 2027.