my boyfriend and I just spent two weeks (12 full days of exploration, considering the travel time) in tokyo and osaka. we also did a day trip to kyoto, which was lovely. after visiting, i wanted to post about my experiences in hopes of providing some insight for those of you looking to travel to japan in the future! at the end of the post, i’ll include a day-to-day itinerary of our adventures. we did minimal planning, just general cultural research in preparation.
we stayed at the hotel metropolitan edmont in iidabashi in tokyo. this hotel was downright lovely. it was affordable, but so nice. iidabashi is a super quiet neighborhood, so if you’re looking to be in the middle of the action, i don’t recommend, but it suited us well. lots of eateries and train stations close by. we were more central in osaka, at the luxcare hotel in tenmabashi. definitely a different vibe from our tokyo hotel, but still good. the location was super convenient overall.
we took the metro absolutely everywhere. for context, i lived in nyc and have used the metro in various american and european cities, so i felt very confident navigating. the tokyo metro was a breeze imo. super intuitive and easy to use. a suica card is a MUST! it will get you everywhere you need to go – don’t even consider paying for another pass, IC covers it all. the osaka metro was a bit more confusing for us. i think it came down to signage and odd station layouts, but we always figured it out in the end.
it was obviously super hot, as our visit was mid-late august. i do not recommend visiting this time of year, i’ll be honest. we made do – we’re from north carolina so the weather just felt like home, but we spent many afternoon hours in our hotel room and found ourselves ducking into stores to find a respite from the heat. an umbrella, fan, and lots of water are non-negotiables. if you do visit in the summer, rely on museums and other indoor activities to save yourself from the relentless sun, take afternoon siestas, and go out at night.
we did do a day trip in kyoto, and if i were to change one thing, it would be the amount of nights we stayed in osaka. don’t get me wrong, it was a super interesting and much more diverse city (from what i saw) than tokyo, but 7 nights weren’t necessary. i maybe would have opted for 5 and done a couple nights in kyoto. as you’ll see in the itinerary below, we did all the main tourist spots. this was our first visit and they felt obligatory. the next time we visit, we’ll hit smaller, more niche spots. to our credit, we ate at lots of holes in the wall. don’t shy away from eating at local spots!!! ofc keep an eye out for those rare hostile “tourists unwelcome” signs, but in my experience, people are friendly and most restaurants have qr code or tablet ordering.
there was definitely awkwardness and minor faux pas along the way, especially in restaurant settings – i feel like that’s to be expected. we occasionally leaned on google translate but overall we were able to communicate without issue, regardless of language barriers. an example of faux pas on our parts: we often like to grab a snack between meals and share something, especially when it’s a new food item we’ve never tried before. we didn’t realize until the end of our trip that it’s considered rude to order one plate for two people. we were corrected by staff and urged to order a second item, and did so without issue. we just didn’t realize this was a thing!
a final note on osaka: sooo many more gaijin/tourists than tokyo. i was not expecting this! europeans were around every corner. i also found myself getting lots of more stares in osaka. i didn’t once notice anyone staring at me in tokyo, but almost from the get-go, i clocked it in osaka. i don’t care to read into why they were staring or what the social context is, i just observed this as a difference between the two cities.
general tips: get international phone service for the month of your visit or an esim – it’s a lifesaver. don’t get too attached to your plans and account for a rest day / a nap here and there. a suica/ic card is 100% necessary. always carry cash – you may end up using your credit card a lot, but carry it anyway. learn the basic phrases (arigatōgozaimasu, sumimasen, gomen nasai) – they will take you far. look up restaurant etiquette. be mindful of social norms and be quiet in public (there are exceptions like izakayas, but i’m talking about public transit and the average restaurant).
day 1 – 7-11 and jet lag. we landed around 9 the night before, got our hotel, and tried to sleep, but made the mistake of sleeping on the plane. if you land in the evening, try to stick it out and stay away. i was a mess this day and got actually sick. a mid-afternoon bath rejuvenated me and we ventured back out in the evening for a gyoza dinner.
day 2 – explored the imperial palace grounds and went to akihabara in the evening. visited the 10-story yodobashi camera and super potato. conveyor belt sushi for dinner.
day 3 – shibuya – record shopping, many stores, and the hachiko statue. shinjuku – kabukicho and golden gai. we went into an empty bar on a corner with no cover charge and ¥700 drinks. the man running the place played us guitar and gave me a cigarette. indian for lunch. yakitori for dinner.
day 4 – senso-ji temple and karaoke. dinner at an izakaya.
day 5 – last day in tokyo. back to shinjuku. art museum, views from the government building, and a rest in chuo park. korea town and a lovely bonchon dinner. thrifting in harajuku.
day 6 – fly to osaka (we probably could have taken a bus or train, but oh well, this worked for us). pizza and a shoeless smoke-friendly izakaya.
day 7 – universal studios.
day 8 – osaka castle (but i lowkey overheated so we didn’t stick around long). dontonbori. takoyaki and okonamiyaki for dinner. drinks and cigs by the water.
day 9 – kyoto. temples, views, markets. sushi and green tea ice cream for lunch. burger king for dinner LOL.
day 10 – history museum. beef bowls, unagi, and natto for lunch. shinsekai – rainy and so hot / humid i almost crashed out. sichuan noodles and a shared kebab for dinner.
day 11 – private hot spring at an onsen (this ran us ¥7,200. pricier than a normal onsen, but i have tattoos and we didn’t want to be separated for the experience). yakiniku for lunch. izakaya hopping in the evening.
day 12 – last day. taiwanese breakfast. kaiyukan, ferris wheel, more okonomiyaki. early night and home the next day!
if you want any specifics or recommendations, feel free to ask in the comments! the post was long enough so i limited myself lol.
thanks for reading 🙂
by manicpoopycumgir