Juast landed last night from a great second trip in Japan. Travelled with my husband – we are in our late 30s, from Europe, pretty chill travellers who plan max one thing a day and take it from there. We were in Japan a total of 14 days. Here is what we did:
Pre-trip prep:
Internet: e-sim Ubigi for me, sim card from Yodobashi Camera for him. Both worked great.
Customs: got QR code via Visit Japan Web. Customs in Kansai airport took 10-15 min tops.
Transport: we had suica cards from the last trip. Worked perfectly.
For payments, we used Revolut VISA, AMEX and cash. Cash was needed at around 15% of places where we paid, so it is good to have 5-10k in the wallet at all times.
Luggage & laundry: we brough an empty suitcase and forwarded it to our final Tokyo hotel from Osaka, so we travelled inbetween with two carry-ons only. Best decision, this suitcase was full by the time we were heading back. We used hotel laundry services where it was available, and used a coin washing machine once since it was the only thing our hotel had.
Booked in advance: only hotels and one meal in Osaka. We did not go to teamlabs etc. this time.
Trip itself:
Osaka, 3 nights:
Arrived on Thursday around 11:30, took an Uber to the hotel. There is also a train but we did not feel like it after 13-hour flight and with many bags.
Hotel: Mitsui Gargen Ginza Hotel Premier. We stayed in this chain in Tokyo and it did not disappoint again: the room is comfortable, view on the river is beautiful, and breakfast is full of options. There is also a great bakery 2 min from the hotel which we stopped by every day.
The location is very convenient between Umeda (15-min walk) and a subway statios directly to Namba, which is what we needed.
Since it was our jetlag city, we did not intend to do much – but here are a few highlights:
- Umeda: we went there to get tickets to Kanazawa and found the area in and around the station much more pleasant than last time. We enjoyed walking around and into the randum shops.
- Namba Yasaka Shrine: decided to go based on some youtube research and ended up slightly disappointed – while it is surely interesting, it is small and touristy.
- Osaka Castle: we came back and it was beautiful as always. Fall colors started to pop up a bit, so it is definitely worth a second visit if you visited before in spring time.
- Dotonbori and Namba: great area to be in for shopping and food, and best okonomiyaki of the trip at Tippan Okonomiyaki Mitsuki. Strongly recommend!
Kanazawa, 2 nights:
We took a Thunderbird + Shinkansen combo from Umeda which is the easiest way to reach Kanazawa. The transfer from thunderbird to shinkansen is 11 minutes and is very straightforward so you can book it without any concerns. We booked both tickets 2 days in advance and travelled in the green car so there was no issue with seating.
Hotel: Kanazawa Zoushi, an absolute gem. Very quiet, central, clean, fantastic ambiance and value for money. Second best property we stayed in this trip after Hakone.
We picked Kanazawa as a Kyoto alterniative as neither of us is into the tourist crowds. It was a right choice: Kanazawa was just… normal? Some tourists, but not too many and definitely not a zombi apocalypse we experienced at the Inari Shrine last time.
The city itself is beautiful: a couple of old street districts, the gardens and the castle grounds are all stunning. We felt like we saw most of the city in one full day we were there, at a leisurely pace. Nothing required reservations, including incredible yakiniki we had at Kiryoku. The place does not look like much but the food was to die for.
Nakasendo Trail (Nakatsugawa -> Magome -> Nagiso), 2 nights:
We took a Shinkansen to Nagano and transferred to a local train to Nakatsugawa, a starting point of the trail. The train trip itself was a highlight – we passed the Japanese Alps (snow capped!), and valleys with full fall colors. Will be back to explore that area for sure.
Hotel: Onn Nakatsugawa. It was the smallest room and overall the simplest property we stayed at, but it was clean and had what we needed. I did not see anything better around either, so can recommend this one.
The trail starts at Magome, which is easy to reach by bus from Nakatsugawa station. We took the 9:50 bus and arrived early to the bus stop which was a good idea- it did not take everyone who lined up by the time it was departing. Come early, bring cash.
The walk from Magome to Nagiso is about 7 km and very easy if you're a hiker, probably medium if you don't walk much in your daily life. Totally accessible to all. Many people wore bear bells – the sounds are very similar to a herd of cows in the alps, which we found funny.
The walk is unlike anything else we experienced: you are really transported back in time when you're in the little old towns, and the nature inbetween was so peaceful. We never saw this side of Japan before, and I am really glad we did.
After about 3,5 hours we reached Nagiso, grabbed a coffee and headed back to Nakatsugawa, abour 10 min train ride. I think it is totally possible to do one night in Nakatsugawa only and then head somewhere else by train (Nagano or Nagoya), but we did not want the hassle since our next leg was train + train + bus to Hakone.
Hakone, 2 nights:
Took a train to Nagoya, switched to Shinkansen to Odawara and then a bus to Sengokuhara, about 1 hour bus ride.
Hotel: Kinnotake Sengokuhara. The best stay of the whole trip: we felt like we were the only people there, especially with the dinner and breakfast served in the room directly. Private onsen bath on the top floor with the view of the valley is stunning. The kaiseki dinner was very special as well. Yes, it is expensive, but worth every cent.
We loved Sengokuhara area itwself as well: easy walk to grass fields and to Venetian Glass Museum (stunning garden, worth a visit), and a short bus to the lake or all the way to the Mount Fuji viewing point at Motohakone. We also took beautiful Peace Torii photos from the same viewing point, and did not go to stand in line for a photo at the gate itself. The area around the shrine is unfortunately a tourist hot spot and we got out of there as soon as possible.
The fall colors were in full display, so early November seems to be a good time to go – we definitely enjoed it more than early March.
Tokyo, 5 nights:
Took the cab back to Odawara, then Shinkansen to Tokyo Central and then Ginza line to Asakusa where we were staying the whole time.
Hotel: Prostyle Ryokan Asakusa. It was ok: comfortable room, good breakfast and an ourdoor bath were a plus. A big minus is only Japanese TV, no Netflix connect, wihch was a first in all of the properties we stayed at. If I were to stay in Asakusa again I'd pick something else.
Staying in Asakusa was great: Sensoji at night is unbeatable, so is the Skytree tower view from the river. The area is a bit more lived in compared to Ginza where we stayed last time, and we had no trouble finding food and entertainment. Easy connect to the areas where we wanted to go as well: Ueno, Akihibara, Ginza, Shibuya and Nippori.
I won't say much else about Tokyo as we did not do any popular attractions and mostly explored what interested us and what we felt like on the day. Since it was out second time in Tokyo we went with with flow and I enjoyed the city much more this way.
We flew back from Narita airport and it was also a breese – done with security and immigration in 15 min tops and had plenty of time for duty free and food.
Overall learnings from the trip:
Going from Osaka towards Tokyo was perfect. Osaka is much more green, chill and easy to navigate, which is great when you're jetlagged.
The nature parts of our trip were the highlights, and did require a bit of planning mostly because buses and trains are not as frequent in the rural areas. It was worth it.
We used hotel umbrellas because they need to be wrapped in a plastic sleeve when enteting a shop, and it is easier with a full size umbrella.
I do not speak Japanese, and had no issues. My husband does speak Japanese, but hardly ever needed it outside of small niceties. We used google translate for labels.
I will miss good water pressure, cheap food and shopping (compared to Europe), konbinis and vending machines. I will not miss being unmistakeby an outsider, and always guessing which way a person will duck if we are in each other's way.
Now we are back and starting to plan the next trip in 1-2 years… maybe South next time? We shall see.
I hope this report was useful.
by strsofya