Hey folks! This community and r/JapanTravelTips a lot while planning our trip so I thought it was time to post a trip report.
It was a roughly two week trip from July 14th through July 30th of 2024. There were 9 of us on this trip, 3 couples and 3 solo travelers. We booked all of the travel and hotels through Tripmasters, who I really can't recommend enough. It ended up being about $2700 including insurance for our flights, hotels, and Shinkansen tickets for Osaka-Kyoto and Kyoto-Tokyo. We paid around $100 for a shuttle from Osaka International Airport to our hotel, which we ended up getting refunded for due to travel issues. Always pay for insurance!
It's a long one, apologies!
Day 1
We flew out of Dulles in Virginia to Montreal, easy flight. Then our hour and a half layover turned into a 7 hour delay, which is a great way to start a trip you've been planning for a while. We got food vouchers from the Air Canada and were on the phone with Tripmasters figuring out what to about our connecting flight from Tokyo-Osaka that we were absolutely going to miss. Other than the stress of not knowing what was going to happen when we landed in Tokyo, the flight wasn't as awful as I would have expected. I was able to get up and walk around a little bit to stretch, read my book, played a game, and sleep a little. We landed at Narita around Midnight and we all met up at customs/baggage. Air Canada got us a shuttle bus to Haneda and a hotel for the night, which I believe was the Hotel Villa Fontaine Grand Haneda Airport. It was a very nice hotel for the four hours of sleep we got.
Day 2
Our new flight to Osaka was at 7:30 AM. We freshened up and met up with everyone at the airport, which was a short walk. Hit up our first konbini, grabbed some snacks, and were in the air without any issues. A nice bonus was that our plane was a Star Wars plane with a C-3PO wrap and seat covers. Landed in Osaka and got our baggage, then grabbed a bus to the station nearest to our hotel. We had booked a shuttle van so we wouldn't have to jump right into public transit, but with the delay that was cancelled and we got our first experience with walking in the Japan Summer. Growing up in the Southern US I thought I would be prepared even after reading how hot and humid it was and boy howdy I was wrong. Drink all of the water. You think you've drank enough? Wrong. Drink more. We stayed at the Dotonbori Crystal Hotel, which was amazing. Just a few blocks from the canal and everything that goes with it, but just far enough that it was nice and quiet. Great room, great service.
We met my sister at the hotel, and originally the plan was to take the first day to relax, but we essentially lost that day and got rested up in Tokyo, so we hit the ground running. Two of our group split off to meet some friends who were on a separate trip, another couple walked around Osaka, the rest of us headed to Takurazuka to check out the Osamu Tezuka Museum. Takurazuka is a beautiful city. Gorgeous views of the mountains and rivers and a lovely way for us to get used to Japan. The museum is a must visit if you're a fan of Tezuka and the staff were so nice. After we stopped in a small park to have lunch and a group of schoolgirls cautiously came up to us to practice their English. Adorable.
Day 3
We bummed around Dotonbori, checked out the Donki, went to Osaka Castle, then Den Den Town. Didn't go in the castle, just wasn't feeling it at the time, but the grounds are pretty amazing to walk around. Den Den Town was cool. I don't collect retro games any more but it was cool to see a lot of stuff that I love. The Dragon Quest Lawson was a fun treat to happen upon. A few of the group hit the wall this night and called it early. This was the night that kicked off me and my girlfriend never really being hungry for most of the trip. We were both looking forward to the food but outside of a snack here and there we were rarely hungry enough for a meal.
Day 4
Took the train to Kobe then the bus to Nijigen No Mori for the Godzilla zipline and Dragon Quest Island. The bus had a Dragon Quest wrap so we knew were headed in the right direction. If you go to Nijigen No Mori, make sure you get out at the huge parking lot. Don't be an idiot like me and assume the bus goes up to the theme park area like I did because it's further away on your map. Yeah, we missed the stop and got off at the next one which was a bench on the side of the highway and had to catch the next bus back. The walk through the park to the nerd areas is worth going to Nijigen No Mori on its own. Beautiful gardens, delightful folks tending them, and stunning views of the river and forest.
The Godzilla zipline was everything I wanted it to be. We got to watch a really fun video(In the AC!) on how they trapped Godzilla on Awaji Island and find out our objectives while ziplining. We got harnessed up and I went first. They give you a little necklace for your phone so you can film yourself ziplining, but my video was awful haha. Luckily my friend was too big to zipline and got video of all of us going into Godzilla's mouth. My girlfriend was super nervous but she was the second to go and did it like a champ! After that you get to do a fun laser gun game shooting cells on Godzilla's side, then on to the gift shop! Did I buy a lot of stuff here? Yes. Yes I did. The Godzilla cafe was fun too. Cute food that was pretty tasty for a theme park.
Then we headed to Dragon Quest Island which was a ton of fun. We were split into two groups and you get to pick your character type and go off as your own jrpg adventuring party. The first bit you walk around town looking for money to buy equipment, then you head off into the wilderness to fight monsters. We had paid for the extra side mission, but most of us were pretty wiped by the heat so we skipped it. It wasn't too terribly expensive so I didn't feel like we lost too much. The final boss fight is really fun. If you like Dragon Quest you gotta check this out.
Leaving the park and getting back to Osaka was another adventure. By the time we were leaving there were no buses from the parking lot back across the bridge to Kobe. There's a huge rest area kinda thing across the highway that we were hoping had a bus stop, so we had to figure out how to get there. Crossing a huge highway was out of the question, so this was when we figured out something about Japan. You may not see it at first, but if you want to get somewhere, there is a way. The way we found was a small path that led under both highways to the rest area, which did not have a bus stop, but there was one between the two highways, which we eventually figured out and got back to Osaka, tired but happy.
Day 5
Another day bumming around Osaka. We found a laundromat near the hotel and we may have been the last people to use it. My sister dropped her stuff off and went for a walk. When she came back to toss her clothes in the dryer, an old man was ripping every machine out and tossing it in the back of a truck. So her clothes were air dried at the hotel. My girlfriend and I went to go to Namba Yasaka shrine, which was closed by the time we got there, but we found a really cool indie record shop/bar on the way and hit a beautiful nature walk near a mall.
Day 6
We got up early to hit up Namaba Yasaka shrine, which was totally worth going back for, then took the Shinkansen to Kyoto. This was an easy day of resting in our hotel, the Chisun Standard Horikawa Gojo, which was nice enough, once we figured out how the AC worked, then heading into Kyoto for dinner. We had too large of a group for most places so we split up. Our group ended up at nice little hole in the wall with good food, then we were in bed early because that wall was coming for us.
Day 7
My girlfriend, my sister, and I checked out two gorgeous temples, then a garden, then Kyoto Tower. The temples were one of the main things my girlfriend was looking forward to, and they did not disappoint other than an influencer and her boyfriend not taking their shoes off in the right area and filming their content in front of one of the big statues inside. The garden was beautiful and had one of my favorite signs of the entire trip, "Be careful of the bee".
That night we went near Gion to see the floats, and this is where I officially hit the wall. Tired caught up to me, the crowds became a bit too much with folks coming to a dead stop for no reason I could see, and the traditional flutes and bells were not what my ears wanted to hear at the moment, so I headed back to the hotel and crashed out. Missed out on going to Fushimi Inari at night with everyone but I was beat. There's always next time.
Day 8
My girlfriend and I wanted a day that was just us so we decided to check out the Sagano Romantic Train. This was easily my highlight of Kyoto. This was the hottest day of the trip, and luckily we got tickets for the open air car, so we at least had a breeze going. The views on the train ride are drop dead gorgeous. Riding along the river and seeing the beautiful forests is just unreal. When we got off at the station, our plan was to take a horse drawn carriage to the Hozugawa River Cruise company, but we missed the shuttle and decided to walk to the next station and wander our way there. I'm glad we did because we had a lovely walk along a path that crossed rice fields with a gorgeous view of the surrounding valley.
If you take the Sagano Romantic Train, I can't recommend taking the Hozugawa River on your way back in enough. The ride is incredible, you get to see some stunning nature along the way, and the guides are so friendly and hilarious. We had three guides who swapped out spots as we went, and each guy was unique and so much fun. We got off at Arishiyama, met up with our friends, had lunch, checked out the bamboo grove, then headed back to the hotel to pack up and get some much needed rest. As beautiful as the day was, the humidity was BRUTAL and wiped us out.
Day 9
We took the Shinkansen to Tokyo, checked into our hotel, the APA Hotel Higashi Nihombashi Ekimae, which was pretty nice other than the AC turned off whenever you left, so every time you got back you had to bring the temperature down again. That evening we headed to Ribera Steakhouse, a place I had wanted to visit since I was a teenager. 2024 was my last year in the wrestling business, and going to a place that EVERY wrestler I have ever liked has eaten at, as well as a lot of my friends who aren't with us anymore, was a little emotional. The steak was pretty damn good too! As a bonus, I ran into Mad Man Pondo there. I hadn't seen him in a few years so it was nice to say hi and text an old friend to tell him he said hi. Unless you're on tv, you're not getting their special jacket for free anymore. I bought a shirt and gave them an 8×10 anyway just to say I did it. They probably threw it away as soon as I left, but I don't care haha.
Day 10
We took a bus to Gotemba Station to attempt climbing Mt. Fuji. My sister is an avid hiker and met up with her friends from back home to climb the next day on a different trail, and out group headed up to Subashiri 5th Station. We started the day a little later than we probably should have, and after taking an hour to acclimate, we hit the trail. We had been prepping for a long time, but this kicked most of our asses. Oxygen sickness is a real thing. Two of the people in our group have some heart issues and a few others of us were sucking wind the whole way. The views were amazing, but we struggled the last hour or so on the way to the 6th Station. One of our group went ahead to let the station know we were coming and not dead, and we crawled in a little after curfew and went right to sleep.
Day 11
The next morning we knew we weren't going to make it to the top, but we saw the sunrise from a pretty good place outside of our hut. I didn't appreciate at the time because I felt like garbage and climbing Fuji was something I had been planning on for a few years, so getting that close only to not make it hurt. I'd like to try it again sometime and do a few things differently.
We headed back down tot he 5th Station to catch the bus back to Gotemba, and then my luck/stupid brain struck again. And again. We got to the 5th Station around 8:45, and the next bus was at 9. My ticket was in my passport wallet and oh my god where is my passport? After having a minor, ok maybe not so minor panic attack, and taking everything out of my backpack, texting everyone still at the 6th Station, we found that somehow it had ended up in my girlfriend's backpack. So we get on the bus, exhausted and a little stressed.
At Gotemba Station we ran into an American family whose daughter goes to school in the small town I'm from, which was a pretty cool thing. Then we're looking at the schedule for the buses back to Tokyo and god dammit I lost my passport again. Feeling pretty stupid, I walked back through the station while my girlfriend went and got coffee, probably while telling everyone how stupid I am. The lady at the bus station explained the bus we had taken down the mountain wouldn't be back for another hour so I had to wait. When the bus arrived, the hikers were lined up to get on and the driver got out holding the waterproof bag my passport was in! After apologizing and thanking him profusely, I went back through the station again to find my girlfriend and apologize to her as well.
While I was gone she went to Picasso-Do, a cute little coffee shop across from the bus stop and was telling me about the owner, an older man who had once been a photography professor at a university. She sent me to get her another coffee to make up for being an idiot, and I met the man, who was as nice as could be. He was napping in a seat in the sunlight through the back door, so I had to wake him up, and we had a delightful conversation. He had antique cameras in a case behind the counter, and while preparing the coffee he asked where I was from and began to list off his favorite US movie directors and movies that took place in my home state of Virginia. Just a delight all around and put my mind at ease after being so stressed. We took the bus back to Tokyo and had an early night after doing laundry.
Day 12
We slept in then headed to Senso-ji and took in the sights there. My girlfriend loves tanukis so we walked down the tanuki street and found the nearby tanuki temple. We picked up some souvenirs at the stalls near Senso-ji then met up with our friends after dropping everything off at the hotel. That evening we headed to Akihabara, and everything you have heard about it is true. Is it touristy? Yes. Are some items a little pricier? Sure. Is it a lot of fun? Yes.
Bic Camera was a great place to pick up gifts for folks back home and a cool place to see cool gadgets and fancy tvs if that's your thing. I enjoyed the Mandarake here more that the one in Den Den Town in Osaka, but that may be because it felt like their doujinshi section was bigger. I could have spent all day there finding cool manga and random art, proven more by everyone in my group leaving one by one while I kept digging. I was alos able to pick up some games a friend had been after for awhile, which was cool.
I love crane games so we spent a little bit hoping around from arcade to arcade. I tried a few of the money sink games that aren't the standard ufo claw, and they were fun. I was able to win a mofusando shark cat for my girlfriend fairly quickly, which she loved. After that we hit up a few statue/figure shops for gifts then called it a night.
Day 13
We headed to Gotokuji Temple, which is supposed to be the birthplace of the lucky cat legend/statue. This was a gorgeous temple tucked away in a neighborhood, very unassuming from the outside. Inside there were thousands of lucky cat statues of all sizes. You can buy the size you want there and leave it with a prayer, so there were tiny ones tucked in everywhere, and a section with huge groups of them. We decided to take ours to go as a souvenir. I would love to visit this one again.
Later that evening we had tickets to a baseball game at the Meiji Jingu Stadium, so my girlfriend and I decided to walk through Meiji Jingu Shrine and park on our way there. This is another place I'd love to revisit with more time. We passed a lot of beautiful gardens on our way through, and the shade was a great way to get out of that sun for a little bit.
In our large group, my best friend was the only sports fan, and the number one thing he wanted to do was check out a ball game. I'm glad he brought it up because it ended up being one of the highlights of the entire trip. Meiji Jingu is a gorgeous open air stadium that has been around forever. Babe Ruth played there! We made sure to get seats in the cheering section and watched the home team Yakult Swallows beat the Hiroshima Carp.
That game was everything I had heard about Japanese baseball and more. Every player from each team had a special song the crowd would sing, there was a guy leading the chants with a card for each song, guys with drums and trumpets, it was incredible. We were behind a family who adopted us for the game, letting us know when fireworks were about go off after the fifth inning, lending my girlfriend a small umbrella for the Umbrella Dance after each home run, and telling us to stay and watch the post game interviews. On our way back to the hotel we hit up Shibuya Crossing which, for me, was pretty unimpressive. I did like the Hachi statue though.
Day 14
We hit up the Junji Ito Enchantment exhibition, which was amazing. As a long time fan of his work, it was unreal getting to see the original art for so many famous pages in person. Pick a Junji Ito scene you love and they had the original art. So cool. I could have easily spent every cent I had in the gift shop, but this was the priciest spot of the entire trip. There was a beautiful Tomie satin baseball jacket, but I just couldn't swing the $500 price tag.
That evening we went to Shinjuku to see the Godzilla head at the Gracery hotel. We lucked out and got there right as the music and sounds began to play, which was really fun to see from the street. We headed up the the hotel lobby hoping to get some photos on the balcony outside, but it was closed to the public. We had dessert at the hotel bar instead, which included a solid chocolate Godzilla which was tasty but took some gnawing to get through, then watched the show again from inside as the sun went down.
Day 15
For our final day we hit up the Ghibli Museum, the main thing my girlfriend and a few others in our group wanted to see in Tokyo. I'm not a diehard Ghibli fan, but it really was a cool place. The zoetrope is worth the price of admission alone. I loved the art everywhere and the general feel of the place. Walking there and back through the park was lovely as well.
That night we had one of our only big meals and the best meals of the trip at Nihonbashi Philly. We had seen things on social media about this man from Japan who loved Philadelphia so much that he opened a cheesteak joint in Tokyo, and as a former Philly resident and cheesesteak snob I had to check it out. My girlfriend was looking forward to sushi afterward for her last meal of the trip, but as soon we walked in she couldn't resist the smell and got a chicken cheeseteak that she loved. My friend and I each got a classic cheesesteak and I can say with zero doubt that Kosuke makes the best cheesesteak I have ever had. His wife Tomomu makes the bread and cheese sauce, which are both spectacular, and the steak is cooked to perfection. I brought him a Mitchell & Ness Eagles hat and a shirt, which he loved and immediately put on before taking photos with us. After saying goodbye we were taking photos out front and Tomomu came out and gave us each a sticker and tea that they wouldn't be releasing until the following week! Whenever a thread pops up on where to eat in Tokyo, this will always be my recommendation.
Day 16
Headed home! After packing everything in our checked and carry on bags, we made a last konbini stop then took the train to Narita. Our bags were juuuuuuuust over the weight limit so I had to frantically repack everything at the counter, which was fun. So fun. The flight home was a little rougher than the flight there. I was between an old man who slept the entire flight and my girlfriend and a friend, so I wasn't able to get up as much and had to try and get some sleep and read when I could. Easy connecting flight in Montreal then a quick flight back to Dulles, and before you know it we were home safe. Sleep wasn't happening so we stayed up late unpacking everything and coming down off of that vacation high.
Quick tips/thoughts/whatever
-Any issue we had with travel woes, Tripmasters was on it very quickly. We were able to get a refund on the missed shuttle and the missed first night at the hotel in Osaka within a week or so of getting home.
-Yes, konbinis rule. We all know it.
-I never had an issue finding a trash can. If we got a snack at the konbini, we ate it our front then tossed our trash inside. Almost every vending machine has recycling right there for your empty bottles or cans. If I had extra trash for whatever reason, I always had a backpack. Stow it in a pocket until we got to a trash can or back to the hotel.
-I did Duolingo for 4 years leading up to the trip, my sister and best friend did zero prep, and we were all fine. Most folks seemed to appreciate us trying to speak a little Japanese, but Arigato Gozaimasu and sumimasen go a long way.
-Read the room. If the train's quiet, be quiet. If everyone's chatting, you'll probably be fine chatting.
-I missed getting a Suica card, but didn't really have any issues paying at each stop. It was a pretty minor hassle.
-We never really experienced any xenophobia other than an older man in Osaka mumbling "Gaijin" in Den Den Town and a couple switching seats on a bus in Kyoto. Like anywhere else in the world, we tried to be respectful and not act like assholes.
-Wander! Can't recommend it enough. We had things planned just about every day, but some of my favorite times were the walks between what we had planned.
Thanks for reading, sorry it's a long one. I'd be happy to answer any questions if you're going around the same time I did.
by ECFNJ