My partner and I will be heading to Japan for the first time and are looking for some input on what we’re thinkin. Our itinerary looks a little different as we are still in the process of nailing down exactly what we want to do and then we will slate which days to do it. We will take any suggestions you have on how best to organize our time.
Above all things we are eaters and nature lovers. If we could spend 2 weeks straight just chugging ramen in a river it would be the best trip ever. But my stupid little stomach fills up kinda quickly so I guess we gotta find some other things to do. Our first priority activities we are considering basically mandatory. Our 2nd priority activities are things we would really like to do but its not the end of the world if we miss it. Filler is for if we find ourselves full but a bit lost or too brain dead to hunt for something better to do during our spontaneity time blocks. We were originally planning to go in mid October, but my partner’s best friend just announced his destination wedding for dead center in the middle of our trip. So now we are trying to choose between late September or mid May. I would strongly prefer May but am concerned with only 5 weeks until the date we can leave I may not be able to get it all together on time. I am more concerned though that it will be sweltering and humid as hell if we try to go in September. Ok, onto the meat of the post.
Tokyo:
4 days
1st priority
Shinjuku Golden-Gai
Capybaraonsen moffu tokyo or Capy Village
Omoide Yokocho Memory Lane/Piss Alley
2nd priority
Intermediatheque Natural History Museum
Zauo Shibuya
KAKURETAI- Speakeasy Bar
Team Lab Planets &/or Team Lab Borderless
Filler – If we find ourselves with spare time
Meiji Jingu
Shinjuku LOFT – Live music venue
Rock Bar Crawdaddy Club – Live music venue
Owl café
Hakone?
Day trip from Tokyo
1st Priority
Hakone Ropeway
Lake Cruise
A Rotenburo outdoor hot spring &/or foot spa
Filler:
Open Air Museum
Forest Adventure Hakone
Kyoto
4 days
1st priority:
Hozugawa River Boat Cruise & Sagano Scenic Railway trolley train
Saga-toriimoto Preserved Street
Train to Yamazaki distillery
Kyoto's Owl Forest or Café Owl
Sanjo Shopping St &/or Ponchoto Alley
Loutre otter café
Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama
2nd priority:
Hōnenin Temple or Ginkaku-ji
Amanohashidate Viewland
Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple or Jōjakkōji Temple
Dinning train to Ine
Philosopher's Path
Rent a Kayak in Ine
Filler
Kyoto Aquarium
Eikan-dō Temple
Tenjuan
Hōkan-ji Temple (Yasaka Pagoda)
Saihōji (Kokedera) Temple
Osaka
Fly out day – we will be taking the train in from Kyoto in the morning and flying out of Osaka around 8:00pm
1st priority
Dotonbori
Osaka Aquarium
If we have time
Namba Yasaka Jinja
Tombori River Cruise
Questions:
1.) Weather. Real talk. Is it gonna be hot as all fuck in September? I handle heat well but humidity less so. With how much we want to be outside the weather is a major concern for me.
2.) How much cash should we realistically start with?
3.) Any recommendations for tourist trap dupes? Specifically anyplace you found and liked that could potentially replace memory lane, Nishiki market, golden gai, Arashiyama bamboo forest etc.
4.) I am working on my conversationally Japanese but if we end up going in May I will obviously have much less time to learn. What phrases did you find were most useful to you?
5.) Anyone been to a Michelin star spot in Tokyo or Kyoto? Any recommendations?
6.) We will probably be getting in our first night around 11:00pm straight from an overnight. If we wanted to just push through what areas could we realistically stay out all night?
7.) We tend to prefer quieter areas so we’re looking at staying somewhere in Shibuya and just taking the train up to Shinjuku. Is it mellow enough down there to be worth the price or should we just suck it up and stay in the thick of it all for convenience?
8.) For the most part we are very happy to wander in search of excellent food and just dig whatever we stumble upon. I’m not daft enough to ask for recommendations on the best ramen or the best sushi. However, I do have 2 dishes I would love some help hunting down. I am an absolute hoe bag for chawanmushi. I could eat it morning, noon and night and never get sick of it. Any spot you can recommend for some super killer chawanmushi would make my trip. Likewise, I am after a reputable spot for some fugu that is maybe more casual and less fine dining. I totally understand if that is a tall order.
9.) Be honest, are day trips to Hakone and “Kyoto-by-the-Sea” really worth it?
10.) What did I miss?
by suzy9mm