Hello, having recently visited Japan for the first time from the United States, I wanted to share a few things about the trip and some fun things that aren't as popular that we had the opportunity to do. I'm M23, and my close friend is M22.
Visiting in January was mostly to avoid crowds and it was cheaper, and to be able to experience some actual winter as we live in Texas. The weather was cold, but very manageable and never a problem when dressed properly. Adding to this, we only brought carry ons, and we shared a checked bag that was 50% full with the plan of bringing back the original checked bag plus one that we would purchase in Tokyo full of things we bought and wanted to bring back.
Osaka
We landed at Narita at about 2pm local time. After tasting Japanese mcdonalds, we got right to the shinkansen to ride directly to Osaka. We arrived in Osaka on monday evening checked in and went to dinner we stopped by a bar to try japanese whiskey, and speak with some locals. After drinking, a late night spa session before bed was perfect.
Next day, Hotel breakfast buffet, then straight to Universal Studios park in the morning. We arrived an hour after opening, and the crowds were light. We were able to ride everything we wanted to and more within 6 hours. The longest we waited for any ride was 50 minutes for mario kart ride. After leaving we met some other travelers and locals in our hostel. We ended up getting foot massages which was a great idea, and our masseuse led us to an amazing restaurant that serves wagyu and more by the skewer, they had an all you can drink menu that is very affordable and vast. We met some amazing locals in there that were very friendly; despite the language barrier, we ended up staying and drinking together for almost 5 hours.
The following day, Day trip to Kobe and a trip to Mt Rokko snowpark. This was both our first time snowboarding. Taking a bus from Kobe up the mountain, we bought day passes at the gate with all day lift tickets. There was snowboarding and skiing available which was very affordable and have rentals for everything you need. This was a blast, and there were many friendly people and other first timers along with experienced snowgoers who were very helpful. We went back to Osaka and enjoyed the food at the station area and shopping mall attached to it which was very fun. At night, we visited the onsen and sauna in our hotel to relax our beaten bodies from falling in the snow all day. Ended the night another small local bar in Osaka and met some amazing people who helped us learn more japanese and shared snacks and drinks with.
Thursday, Kyoto day trip from Osaka. Visiting Fushimi Inari shrine and bamboo forest. We recommend renting the kimono for the day, as it is very cool to walk around in and it's awesome to take photos in the temple wearing it. However, the sandals that go with the traditional outfit are optional, and very very uncomfortable so if you plan to walk around the temples and up the entire mountain for 4 hours your feet will start to hurt after 2 hours guarentee. The shrine was very beautiful, and the view from the top was amazing. This area had many tourists from all over the world, and the crowds can get heavy so be ready especially if visiting on a weekend or peak season. After this, we found some snacks and headed back to Osaka to visit Dotonbori for the evening. Dotonbori is very cool to see in person, and there are unlimited options when it comes to food and bars. We ate out at a buffet and visited some bars, and ended the night pretty early as we were tired.
Nagoya/Tokyo
(long day) – Starting in Osaka, and ending the day in Tokyo. We stopped in Nagoya halfway to Tokyo, and took a detour to Nagashima Spa Land. This park was amazing, it was almost empty so we were able to ride every ride with almost no wait besides the Steel Dragon, being a 25 minute wait. We ended up meeting some locals from Nagoya in one of the lines and ended up spending the entire day with them. This park is impressive, and they also have a waterpark and lodging attached to a large shopping mall with plenty of stores and great food. I definitely will visit this place another time and stay the night and do the waterpark next time. After the sun set, we took the bus back to Nagoya, then the bullet train to Tokyo. Checking into our hotel late at night, we ended up not having a plan for the night. We met some other travelers and ended up going to a nightclub in Shibuya and staying out all night, and having a great time.
Tokyo
The next day was a free day for us, with nothing planned in advance. We explored shinjuku while sleep deprived, eating at restaurants, visiting cool anime stores and more. Visiting bars at night, and soaking in all of the Tokyo sights, overall one of the best days.
Sunday was our first night of good sleep since arrival, another day of exploring Tokyo. Spending almost the entire day shopping and eating street food. The shopping in Shibuya can be overwhelming and there are so many places to go, that we couldn't even hit everything in one day. We definitely were carried away shopping and spent a lot of money but it was well worth it.
Monday was our Final day, spent the morning and afternoon in Harajuku, thrift shopping, and visiting the cat capybara cafe. We ended up getting distracted by a huge crowd, and joined in for the black pink meetup which was happening in the street which was very fun and a good place to converse with locals and meet people. We spent the evening in Akihabara, doing the street/mario kart, and going to do some last second souvenir shopping and final dinner at a sushi restaurant. It was a very memorable day. This was the first day I really started to remember some of the phrases we had been learning and they came in handy.
Flew out tuesday morning, and arrived back home on tuesday morning again, super jetlagged.
TLDR :
Overall, we had an amazing time and wished we stayed longer. Visiting Nagashima spa land is totally worth a full day. We fell in love with Osaka, especially the food, and I dont think you should go to japan without visiting it for at least 2 days. With any trip it is as fun as you make it, the Japanese are very nice and welcoming people. The best part of the trip was the people we met, and learning about Japan from their perspective, which was cool to see.
Lastly, a few pointers for anyone going to Japan.
-Leave open space on schedule, we had 2 free days in Tokyo, and every evening in Osaka was free. Sometimes going with the flow and getting lost can lead you to the best times. There will be times where you see something cool and will want to detour, and travelling from place to place will take longer than you think, as the stations can be difficult at times.
-I also highly recommend spending time in Tokyo as the last city, as most of the shopping happens there, and you will have to lug around everything you buy for the rest of the trip.
-You can beat the jetlag upon arrival as long as you curate your sleeping schedule the day before you leave, in our case, we stayed up all night before, and slept so we would wake up at 9am tokyo time.
-Also, try not to overpack, as it's easy to buy a lot of things here, and be stuck carrying it around.
-Learn basic japanese phrases, and try to make an effort to speak Japanese, it is appreciated.
I'm open to any questions in comments or dms! Safe travels!
by Qhooper21