Here comes a review of the trip me and my boyfriend were planning. Thanks to all the comments!
Itinerary changes
– Moved the Fuji day trip to a day with highest visibility. It paid off and we were rewarded with the best view of Fuji-san ever!
– Skipped the Imperial Palace and did not regret it at all.
– Split visiting the Ueno Park area and Senso-Ji. It got too stressful otherwise.
What worked well
– We used the luggage delivery services and loved it.
– The heated toilet seats and washlets.
– Booking the shinkansen online wasn't a big deal, recommend it via the official website. Afterwards, we did have to look for the machine to get the ticket stubs printed out, since the QR code didn't work.
– Not over-stuffing out itinerary. We kept it for a major highlight + two-three optional stops and had a good time on our way.
– Planning the types of food we wanted to try and not where. This means we were much more flexible and could enjoy anything we saw on the street.
– Staying in Ginza, Tokyo. We had shopping we could do within 10 mins from the hotel, the metro line was in front of the hotel – it was very practical. The main station was also not far away. Would probably do it again.
– Overall, the time spent in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka was well-distributed. I was happy we listened to someone and spent a day extra in Kyoto, it was worth it.
What didn't work out
– Tea ceremony. Was booked out and most of the ceremonies involved matcha, which we don't like.
– Shopping larger sizes at Uniqlo. I didn't realize they would have the same approach as with the German branch. I didn't figure out the delivery to the hotel option, so left it at that. Thankfully, they had some XL t-shirts that we used.
Packing wins
– Taking extra tissues we were used to from Germany (Tempos). Life-saver!
– Only packing one set of comfortable shoes with the idea of buying more on the spot. We knew which brands were comfortable to us (Skechers, On) and focused on those.
Packing fails
– Shorts. Didn't need them. Switched to linen trousers from Uniqlo.
Other tips
– Get the Welcome Suica card and load it up with 3000-5000 yen, if you are going to travel a lot.
– Shopping "little as you go," worked much better than having a whole shopping day. Japan tends to have streets dedicated to certain products, so it would be much better to get into a random store on your way to anywhere.
– Taking a break in the hotel. We aren't sporty, so that helped avoid feet hurting and gave us more energy for an evening in Shinjuku or Shibuya.
– We withdrew about 20,000 Yen in cash per person and that was enough for card reloads and any cash purchases.
– Sticking to the veggie options in the 7/11 probably helped with the fibre intake. And their smoothies were amazing!
Apps we used a lot
– CardReader to read the suica card. The Apple wallet suica card worked well, too.
– Airalo for an eSIM.
– Merlin Bird ID – feeling like a Pokemon trainer catching Pokemon… or random bird sounds in this case.
– YEN to EUR converter.
– Google Translate.
– Maps. However, they weren't quite as effective when navigating the multi-layer shopping areas in Osaka Umeda.
by Bunchofbees
7 comments
Appreciate your feedback! Headed there in July so I’ll need shorts! Hope you had a great time!
The “plan food types not exact restaurants” advice is honestly so good for Japan. Trips got way less stressful once we stopped chasing specific viral spots.
Also moving the Fuji day based on visibility was 100% the right call 😭
Your packing win regarding shoes only really works if you’re only going to wear your one pair walking around still and not the new ones.
Trying to break in new shoes doing 20k steps a day is a terrible idea.
The best packing I ever do is bringing two pairs of shoes and mixing it up daily or even one pair in the morning and the other pair in the evening. Helps my feet so much.
Glad you had a nice trip. Quick question, how did you like the daily commute from Osaka to Kyoto? We are debating if we should stay in Kyoto for a couple of nights (to do the Kyoto-related things) and then go to stay in Osaka for a couple of nights.
What luggage service did you use? We are traveling soon too and are the same three cities in that order.
Just completing my trip in a few days. Agreed with the planning the food you want but not restaurant. Honestly, there is food EVERYWHERE. And you are bound to find a good restaurant. If there is a line at a place you found interesting, just come back later or the next day. Usually weekdays you’ll be able to find it easy to get in mid afternoon after lunch rush or before dinner rush, which I found to be around 6pm. The only place I booked was a high end Sushi Omakase which Ive planned to get reservation.
Some other tips.
Use jet lag to your advantage. I am from the states so am a whole 14 hour time difference. If there are popular shrines or temples that open early, get up and go. My first few days were in Kyoto and I was up around 4/5 am every morning. Walking zombie but all the sites were so quiet. Once it hits 9/10 am it is peak tourist crowd and visiting these sites won’t be as relaxing and calm.
Coffee. Most places in Japan do not open until later in the morning like 9/10 am. You’ll most likely have to settle for convenience store or a chain brand. But if you’re really into good coffee like I am, you’ll just have to drink it later in the morning if you want very specialized coffee (def worth it though!).
Thank you for this! Are you happy with the cities you picked?
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