Help us Japlan
January 25, 2025 4:23 PM Subscribe
Mrs Blackleotardfront and I are headed to Japan for two weeks in late May. We have a rough itinerary but would love some up-to-date, non-sponsored, non-AI-generated, recommendations of places to stay, eat, and visit during our trip! See within for details.
We will also be checking travel sites etc but I always love to ask the hive mind here. And it's been a while since someone did a "I'm going to Japan!!" type AskMe.
The basic itinerary is as follows:
-Arrive Tokyo, stay 2-3 days; hoping to hit Ghibli Museum but otherwise don't want to spend too much time here except to acclimate.
-Travel by train to Kyoto; this is the main leg of our trip, a week or so. Here we would like to visit some lesser-known places and poke around the region a bit with a day trip or two. Planning to split time between traditional hotel and ryokan.
-Train to Kinosaki Onsen, stay 2-3 days; to relax and experience the hot springs, and see the coast.
-Return to Tokyo for final night before flight back.
We have not yet decided specific locations to stay (i.e. neighborhood) and aren't too picky, prefer convenience and authenticity over luxury. We are happy to spend a bit because the dollar is strong vs the yen (hopefully will stay that way..) and we don't get to travel together much.
We would love any specific recommendations for these areas, food (no dietary limits), lodging, places to walk around, tours or sights to see. Vintage stores appreciated too! And general timely tips like how Suica passes are kinda rare right now.
Thanks in advance for all your suggestions, we're really looking forward to this trip!
We will also be checking travel sites etc but I always love to ask the hive mind here. And it's been a while since someone did a "I'm going to Japan!!" type AskMe.
The basic itinerary is as follows:
-Arrive Tokyo, stay 2-3 days; hoping to hit Ghibli Museum but otherwise don't want to spend too much time here except to acclimate.
-Travel by train to Kyoto; this is the main leg of our trip, a week or so. Here we would like to visit some lesser-known places and poke around the region a bit with a day trip or two. Planning to split time between traditional hotel and ryokan.
-Train to Kinosaki Onsen, stay 2-3 days; to relax and experience the hot springs, and see the coast.
-Return to Tokyo for final night before flight back.
We have not yet decided specific locations to stay (i.e. neighborhood) and aren't too picky, prefer convenience and authenticity over luxury. We are happy to spend a bit because the dollar is strong vs the yen (hopefully will stay that way..) and we don't get to travel together much.
We would love any specific recommendations for these areas, food (no dietary limits), lodging, places to walk around, tours or sights to see. Vintage stores appreciated too! And general timely tips like how Suica passes are kinda rare right now.
Thanks in advance for all your suggestions, we're really looking forward to this trip!
Just one helpful tip: you're going to hear everywhere that various sites are "overtouristed." Overcrowding is definitely a problem in Kyoto and Tokyo, but don't mistake that for a place being, in the more classic sense, a "tourist trap" (that is, offering little of value). Always allowing for individual tastes, those places are still very much worth the visit, particularly if you can figure out how to time your visit so that they're not completely hammered.
If you want to splash out on a ryokan in Kyoto itself, my stay in the traditional wing of Hiiragiya was otherworldly.
(You can get a Suica on your iPhone and then you're golden. Can top up right from the phone.)
posted by praemunire at 4:57 PM on January 25
If you want to splash out on a ryokan in Kyoto itself, my stay in the traditional wing of Hiiragiya was otherworldly.
(You can get a Suica on your iPhone and then you're golden. Can top up right from the phone.)
posted by praemunire at 4:57 PM on January 25
(By the way, despite what I just said, the subreddits JapanTravel and JapanTravelTips, though mostly aimed at a younger and more impecunious crowd, can be very helpful.)
posted by praemunire at 5:02 PM on January 25
posted by praemunire at 5:02 PM on January 25
Chris Rowthorn’s Inside Kyoto and Truly Tokyo are excellent resources for trips like yours.
posted by mdonley at 5:21 PM on January 25
posted by mdonley at 5:21 PM on January 25
Make sure you get a plan for Ghibli tickets. They aren’t easy to come by (sell out immediately upon release) and they may have changed the process since we went but for us it involved really precise timing on a clunky website. The area the museum is in is pretty charming too, with a nice park and a low key commercial area.)
posted by vunder at 5:22 PM on January 25 [2 favorites]
posted by vunder at 5:22 PM on January 25 [2 favorites]
Depending on when and where you're arriving, I had an excellent first evening staying just outside Narita airport in Narita (the town) in November. Literally the best and best value sushi I had all trip here, and you can wake up the next morning and walk 15 minutes from the train station to Naritasan, which is a truly huge and not at all crowded temple and garden complex.
posted by deludingmyself at 8:02 PM on January 25
posted by deludingmyself at 8:02 PM on January 25
Seconding Tenryuji and the Arashiyama area, near Kyoto. Also, a short train ride from Kyoto is the small city of Nara with its many temples, well worth visiting, PLUS the hordes of tame deer that roam the central park. Hanging out with the deer and feeding them deer crackers is simply fun.
posted by JimN2TAW at 8:02 PM on January 25
posted by JimN2TAW at 8:02 PM on January 25
Yes on Nara, though it'll have tourists too. But Hasedera in nearby Sakurai is marvelous and out of the way enough to be less slammed.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 12:37 AM on January 26
posted by I claim sanctuary at 12:37 AM on January 26
I just MeMailed this to you, but I'll post it here too for posterity. This is a list of stuff that Mrs. TheCoug and I compiled when we went to Japan a couple years ago. (we make these lists whenever we travel to cool places, and it is really useful when folks are looking for info!)
Cool Stuff We Did In Japan:
Osaka:
Amerikamura, is an area with good coffee, lots of vintage stores, cool street fashion
Dotonburi, Big touristy food zone. Many animatronic crabs, much neon, do not skip!
Kamigata Okiyoe museum is very cool and depicts block prints made of theater scenes/kabuki actors etc. There is also a class you can take there about Japanese block printing. The gift shop is rad!
Tenjenbashi is a bonkers shopping/indoor/outdoor mall with tons of stores and food it is literally 2km long. There are ninjas hiding on the lamp posts.
Just to the northeast of Tenjimbashi Station is an AMAZING food/bar area, not super full of tourists, might be even cooler with a Japanese guide (I think that’s something that you might be able to find through Airbnb Experiences, but I’ve never tried that myself). Worth it even if you don’t eat anything to walk around at night, it really gets hoping later on in the evening, like after 9pm
DO NOT SKIP THIS!
***
Okayama:
Cute artsy town! There is an AWESOME restaurant called Cafe Mayou, they have very limited seating, so it’s important to take a reservation or show up early. We had one of the best lunches I’ve ever eaten there!
Okayama is located within a 45 minute train ride of Furashiki which along with Kojima is the traditional home of Japanese denim and a very cool OLD town with lots of cute stores and a lovely canal area.
***
Kyoto:
Kawai Kanjiro’s House is an incredible museum located in the artists original home. You can see many pieces of his functional artwork, visit his kiln etc. It is INCREDIBLE.
Shinsai Inari is a restaurant where we had a great meal! The style of food is called Obanzai and it was awesome.
There are a thousand famous shrines in Kyoto. We didn’t visit any of the big one, but they are supposed to be amazing. All of the small ones we saw (tucked literally EVERYWHERE) were awesome!
Higashiyama - Cool Neighborhood, old geisha houses, actual geishas, rad shit abounds.
Teramachi-Doro Street - shopping street like in Osaka.
Nishiki Market is a legendary food market (and for good reason) you could probably spend several consecutive days there and not run out of things to see.
There is a rad fancy perfume store called Le Sillage which carry’s very unusual perfumes, Japanese and otherwise
Ippodo Tea Store is supposed to be awesome, but we didn’t make it there in time!
***
Naoshima (also referred to as Art Island)
Basically, every single museum and “art house” (small gallery) on the island is awesome worth visiting! There is a lot of info about these places online, so I won’t bother to enumerate what’s what. Some of the museums require advance ticket reservations.
We stayed at My Lodge, which was a little bit pricey, but well worth it, with lovely views and beautifully simple rooms.
It can be hard to find food for dinner if you don’t take an advance reservation, but we did find a bar called Saru which had some basic dinner food.
We stayed for two days, but three would’ve been nice to see absolutely EVERYTHING. The island itself is very peaceful. There is a bus, but we choose to walk everywhere. You can also rent bicycles.
There are low-price hostels which are supposed to be good as well and a private onsen that allows tattoos (most don’t). It’s called I Luv Yu.
***
Tokyo
First the basics:
Shinjuku - Holy shit, it's Japan. There is a life size godzilla. Go to the store called Don Quijote. In Shinjuku is a neighborhood called "Golden Gai" which is a tiny maze of bars just outside the station. It looks like maybe the best place to get hammered to the point of not knowing where your pants are in the whole wide world. At noon.
Sibuya - That one big ass intersection. Good shopping, a little upscale.
Harajuku - Sugar. Clothes. Teenagers. Cute. Holy. Fuck. Also, there are all the legit fancy brands.
Now the weird offbeat Tokyo stuff:
Naka Seguro station - Good food and coffee, canal to walk along with cherry blossoms in season. Cool shops.
Shin-Okubo station - Korea Town! We stayed here and it was cool. I got an egg sandwich that I thought might make me die. EXCELLENT Vietnamese food.
Shimo-Katazawa - College type cool zone. Lots of thrift stores and record shops. Don't miss Flash Disc Ranch, the owner is AMAZING.
Near there is the Japan Folk Crafts Museum. VERY COOL, not too overwhelming (maybe 1 1/2 hours?)
Kigumi Museum - A small museum dedicated to Japanese timber framing and joinery. If you're into carpentry, this is a must see!
Koenji - Old punk neighborhood. SUPER RAD. Good small shops, thrift stores, food, etc. I found a whole yo-yo store!
***
Some final Japan thoughts: Japanese 7-11 is EVERYWHERE and magical, I ate onigiri every single morning for breakfast and loved it.
Many bathrooms don’t have hand towels, so it’s a good idea to carry a small towel or fabric bandana with you (I packed several and was glad I did).
Many places you will go indoors require the removal of shoes, so it’s a good idea to wear socks and shoes that aren’t annoying to lace up, if possible.
Google translate app will be your new best friend. Outside of the train station, airport and heavier touristed area there are not a ton of signs in English, tho for the most part everything in 7-11 is also labeled in English, which is cool! It was also useful in communicating with people since (understandably!!) very few folks speak any English.
posted by TheCoug at 7:53 AM on January 26 [3 favorites]
Cool Stuff We Did In Japan:
Osaka:
Amerikamura, is an area with good coffee, lots of vintage stores, cool street fashion
Dotonburi, Big touristy food zone. Many animatronic crabs, much neon, do not skip!
Kamigata Okiyoe museum is very cool and depicts block prints made of theater scenes/kabuki actors etc. There is also a class you can take there about Japanese block printing. The gift shop is rad!
Tenjenbashi is a bonkers shopping/indoor/outdoor mall with tons of stores and food it is literally 2km long. There are ninjas hiding on the lamp posts.
Just to the northeast of Tenjimbashi Station is an AMAZING food/bar area, not super full of tourists, might be even cooler with a Japanese guide (I think that’s something that you might be able to find through Airbnb Experiences, but I’ve never tried that myself). Worth it even if you don’t eat anything to walk around at night, it really gets hoping later on in the evening, like after 9pm
DO NOT SKIP THIS!
***
Okayama:
Cute artsy town! There is an AWESOME restaurant called Cafe Mayou, they have very limited seating, so it’s important to take a reservation or show up early. We had one of the best lunches I’ve ever eaten there!
Okayama is located within a 45 minute train ride of Furashiki which along with Kojima is the traditional home of Japanese denim and a very cool OLD town with lots of cute stores and a lovely canal area.
***
Kyoto:
Kawai Kanjiro’s House is an incredible museum located in the artists original home. You can see many pieces of his functional artwork, visit his kiln etc. It is INCREDIBLE.
Shinsai Inari is a restaurant where we had a great meal! The style of food is called Obanzai and it was awesome.
There are a thousand famous shrines in Kyoto. We didn’t visit any of the big one, but they are supposed to be amazing. All of the small ones we saw (tucked literally EVERYWHERE) were awesome!
Higashiyama - Cool Neighborhood, old geisha houses, actual geishas, rad shit abounds.
Teramachi-Doro Street - shopping street like in Osaka.
Nishiki Market is a legendary food market (and for good reason) you could probably spend several consecutive days there and not run out of things to see.
There is a rad fancy perfume store called Le Sillage which carry’s very unusual perfumes, Japanese and otherwise
Ippodo Tea Store is supposed to be awesome, but we didn’t make it there in time!
***
Naoshima (also referred to as Art Island)
Basically, every single museum and “art house” (small gallery) on the island is awesome worth visiting! There is a lot of info about these places online, so I won’t bother to enumerate what’s what. Some of the museums require advance ticket reservations.
We stayed at My Lodge, which was a little bit pricey, but well worth it, with lovely views and beautifully simple rooms.
It can be hard to find food for dinner if you don’t take an advance reservation, but we did find a bar called Saru which had some basic dinner food.
We stayed for two days, but three would’ve been nice to see absolutely EVERYTHING. The island itself is very peaceful. There is a bus, but we choose to walk everywhere. You can also rent bicycles.
There are low-price hostels which are supposed to be good as well and a private onsen that allows tattoos (most don’t). It’s called I Luv Yu.
***
Tokyo
First the basics:
Shinjuku - Holy shit, it's Japan. There is a life size godzilla. Go to the store called Don Quijote. In Shinjuku is a neighborhood called "Golden Gai" which is a tiny maze of bars just outside the station. It looks like maybe the best place to get hammered to the point of not knowing where your pants are in the whole wide world. At noon.
Sibuya - That one big ass intersection. Good shopping, a little upscale.
Harajuku - Sugar. Clothes. Teenagers. Cute. Holy. Fuck. Also, there are all the legit fancy brands.
Now the weird offbeat Tokyo stuff:
Naka Seguro station - Good food and coffee, canal to walk along with cherry blossoms in season. Cool shops.
Shin-Okubo station - Korea Town! We stayed here and it was cool. I got an egg sandwich that I thought might make me die. EXCELLENT Vietnamese food.
Shimo-Katazawa - College type cool zone. Lots of thrift stores and record shops. Don't miss Flash Disc Ranch, the owner is AMAZING.
Near there is the Japan Folk Crafts Museum. VERY COOL, not too overwhelming (maybe 1 1/2 hours?)
Kigumi Museum - A small museum dedicated to Japanese timber framing and joinery. If you're into carpentry, this is a must see!
Koenji - Old punk neighborhood. SUPER RAD. Good small shops, thrift stores, food, etc. I found a whole yo-yo store!
***
Some final Japan thoughts: Japanese 7-11 is EVERYWHERE and magical, I ate onigiri every single morning for breakfast and loved it.
Many bathrooms don’t have hand towels, so it’s a good idea to carry a small towel or fabric bandana with you (I packed several and was glad I did).
Many places you will go indoors require the removal of shoes, so it’s a good idea to wear socks and shoes that aren’t annoying to lace up, if possible.
Google translate app will be your new best friend. Outside of the train station, airport and heavier touristed area there are not a ton of signs in English, tho for the most part everything in 7-11 is also labeled in English, which is cool! It was also useful in communicating with people since (understandably!!) very few folks speak any English.
posted by TheCoug at 7:53 AM on January 26 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Amazing, thank you all so much! I'll leave the question open for a while but this is all super helpful, and definitely a lot of stuff we wouldn't have known about.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 12:38 PM on January 26
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 12:38 PM on January 26
TheCoug, thank you so much! Mrs Bigbootay. Tay! Tay! and I are going back to Kyoto, Osaka, Naoshima, etc later this year, so this list is fabulous.
Let me add a couple of ideas:
Okariba, in Kyoto, is a fantastic restaurant owned by a hunter who catches and forages most of what he serves. That might include bear (caught by bow and arrow), bees (served in mustard), snake and giant wasps (served in shochu) and myriad delicacies. The whole place is themed as a cowboy BBQ, with barrel chairs and wagon wheel tables.
Night services at Kyoto shrines let you visit by lantern light. Magical. Plus, in the spring, you can make wishes by writing them on special papers that either burn up in a puff of smoke, or melt away in a pool of spring water.
On Naoshima, Teshima and other islands where the Benesse foundation has presence, some of their museums let you stay the night there, and at night you can roam the exhibits as if you owned the place.
Get to know the Japanese way to write addresses. I find it fascinating because it seems so unlike western systems: While American or European addresses are by street with consecutive numbers (i.e. 1 is next to 2 and 3, etc), Japanese addresses can be recursive and chronological: First the prefecture, then the area, then the block, then the number (except that 1 is not necessarily next to 2 and 3, it might be next to 23 and 45 if those were built around the same time. Few straight lines to follow. Good thing that google maps shows you where things are. Before the mobile internet, getting directions was nearly impossible for a foreigner.
posted by Bigbootay. Tay! Tay! Blam! Aargh... at 12:28 AM on January 27
Let me add a couple of ideas:
Okariba, in Kyoto, is a fantastic restaurant owned by a hunter who catches and forages most of what he serves. That might include bear (caught by bow and arrow), bees (served in mustard), snake and giant wasps (served in shochu) and myriad delicacies. The whole place is themed as a cowboy BBQ, with barrel chairs and wagon wheel tables.
Night services at Kyoto shrines let you visit by lantern light. Magical. Plus, in the spring, you can make wishes by writing them on special papers that either burn up in a puff of smoke, or melt away in a pool of spring water.
On Naoshima, Teshima and other islands where the Benesse foundation has presence, some of their museums let you stay the night there, and at night you can roam the exhibits as if you owned the place.
Get to know the Japanese way to write addresses. I find it fascinating because it seems so unlike western systems: While American or European addresses are by street with consecutive numbers (i.e. 1 is next to 2 and 3, etc), Japanese addresses can be recursive and chronological: First the prefecture, then the area, then the block, then the number (except that 1 is not necessarily next to 2 and 3, it might be next to 23 and 45 if those were built around the same time. Few straight lines to follow. Good thing that google maps shows you where things are. Before the mobile internet, getting directions was nearly impossible for a foreigner.
posted by Bigbootay. Tay! Tay! Blam! Aargh... at 12:28 AM on January 27
I have recommended this before, but the Culinary Backstreets tour in Tokyo might be the best thing I have done in many years. We only had 3 days in Tokyo, and a good chunk of the day doing this tour, but we were able to eat and see things in Tokyo that we would have never been able to without the tour. Learned a lot, ate some AMAZING food, and overall just had a great time. They have two tours now (we did the Kichijoji tour, but also got to preview some of the other tour) and I would highly recommend if you have any interest in food.
posted by something_witty at 12:57 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]
posted by something_witty at 12:57 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]
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Your hotel can be a big help making dinner reservations, many do not have online reservations.
But lots of little touristy food through the city, really enjoyable just to try things out.
posted by nickggully at 4:44 PM on January 25