Hi.
Planning a somewhat last minute trip to Japan (from NY area) for this spring. Adult kids will be with us. Limited on timing and length-- need to be mid-March to accommodate college kid’s spring break. So the entire trip including travel days is 10 days using two weekends. Probably would stay in Tokyo and Kyoto and do things based from there. Get between them by train.
Beyond that, any tips on great flight hacks, things to do, places to stay or not stay, etc. are welcome.
Thanks.
Thanks for starting this thread. I was actually about to start a similar thread, although focused on the autumn months.
My wife and I are leaving soon on an extended trip including stays in Kyoto and Tokyo. In our planning for Japan it has become pretty clear that having access to a good hotel concierge is extremely valuable. If you plan on any great dining or cocktails having reservations is a must and most places will only work reservations with a concierge. Also, note that reservation no-shows will result in fees, and it makes sense because many dining spots are so small they can’t afford no-shows.
Tokyo/Kyoto & Nara/Hiroshima should be on the iten for 1st time visitors - the metro in tokyo is easy to manage, the bullet trains to Osaka/Kyoto are easy to manage. We lived in tokyo for a few years pre kids and went many times all over japan as we were living in HK and SG for 15 yrs
March tends to be crowded thanks to cherry blossoming viewing - but it is gorgeous to see esp in Kyoto. Autumn foliage is amazing in Kyoto area but another crazy crowded time
Def try to book some japanese ryokan in kyoto/nara - such a different experience
great food all over but restaurants tend to do 1 thing sushi or tempura or udon/soba or shabu shabu etc
enjoy! i’d move back there tomorrow if i had a chance!
You might hit the cherry blossom season if you are lucky, although it varies from year to year depending on the weather and is hard to plan for. They are currently projecting from around March 22 until the end of March for both Tokyo and Kyoto. Both cities have beautiful places to see the cherry trees, and both the flowers and the cherry blossom viewing parties are fun to see - much less serene than people imagine -although hotel prices may also be higher. In Kyoto, I also recommend the Philosopher’s Walk. There are beautiful temples at both ends and the walk itself is a lovely ramble alongside a stream. For flight hacks, its best if you can fly into Haneda airport in Tokyo, as it is much more convenient than Narita. It’s a good idea to take the train back and forth to Kyoto as there is no convenient airport.
I liked the castle in Kyoto.
Also, in general I liked Kyoto and Hiroshima better than Tokyo. The many temples in Kyoto were worth at least visiting some of them (I doubt that you could visit all of them even if you wanted to).
If you make it to Hiroshima, then you should definitely visit the peace museum.
I had a meeting in Hiroshima just a few blocks from the Peace Museum. Due to a last minute schedule change plus inability to change flights I ended up with an afternoon and nothing to do. I decided to go see the Peace Museum. In fact this really should have been the #1 thing on my schedule – it is very moving and very well done.
The bullet train from Tokyo and Osaka was also something to remember. It is so comfortable that you hardly notice that you are moving. When you look outside, things are flying by so fast that at first you think that there is something wrong with your eyes. Then you realize that you really are moving that fast.
Bentos from department stores in the basement are tasty, reasonably-priced and prepared fresh every day.
The subways are not as tough to navigate as they may seem. If you need help, you can press the help button and there is a window that opens on the machine and you are talking with a person. If you are really confused he may come out of the machine and help you.
Cabs are quite reasonable by US standards.
We caught subway to Uyeno park to see cherry blossoms in March. There were vendors there in the park and tons of people and families.
We went to an owl cafe (reservations required) where we each had an owl perched on us near Tokyo. It was interesting—my friend really wanted to do it. We also caught subway & taxi to Himeji castle, which was lovely and had a beautiful garden.
We caught a very inexpensive bus from Narita airport to near our hotel in Tokyo. We should have caught taxi from there to our hotel but tried to walk to hotel—ended up walking in circles with luggage for 2 hours before catching cab. haha! Cab was about $10!
7-11 and family mart have reasonably-priced food items all the time—early morning to late evening. Look carefully—there is often english in fine print, small font—or use google translate. Cashiers are very helpful and honest—give them your handful of coins and they will sort through and return what you don’t need to pay.
Son and DIL went to Japan (had a fabulous time) and brought us back a Japanese knife (not sure the exact name but a chef type knife). Yaxell. It is the sharpest knife and most useful one we have ever owned. He did his research before leaving the states to figure out what he wanted. Said the knife store was a trip in itself–he finally narrowed it down–the variety of handles, blades etc is vast and most are only sold in Japan (and of course much cheaper there). So a great souvenir if you enjoy cooking.
We paid for a private driver to drive us around Tokyo for 8 hours. She had a van, would drive us where my friend wanted us to go and then pick us up at designated time (or just wait wherever she told us she’d be). It was a nice luxury and we could leave our things in vehicle. My friend found driver by searching reviews online. It only cost about $400, so $100 apiece and seemed very worthwhile to us. We did this the day after we arrived and were mildly jet-lagged.
Maximize train trips and dining on eki bento bought at the stations. Go to a hot spring ryokan – the ones in Hakone are convenient to the Tokyo-Kyoto corridor, but there are gorgeous ones at every price point in every region.
The airport buses are excellent—clean and inexpensive and run regularly. We caught a taxi to airport bus stop to catch bus back to airport on our way back from osaka to Honolulu. We were glad to have splurged for taxi to bus stop. Taxi to airport would have been very expensive and not needed.
Surprisingly, taxis are more spacious than they appear. An ordinary taxi was able to fit 4 of us and our luggage and get us from one hotel to the next.
We had kobe steak in Kobe at Steakland for a fraction of the price of other places. The 4 of us were seated with 3 strangers and we had a fascinating conversation. It was near the train station and a kind stranger helped guide us when we couldn’t find it.
Son and DIL visited in summer and it was very hot. So they got to gardens, temples, tourist areas very early in the morning (like 7-8am) when it was cooler. Enjoyed it all because there weren’t any crowds. Worked out well because by 10 am they said the tour busses showed up (sometimes all at the same time) and suddenly the vibe was totally different. They also took advantage of night time strolls–many temples are lit up at night and really beautiful with less visitors.
The people in Japan were very polite and refused tips. They went out of their way to help guide us to where we were trying to go.
One of the hotels we booked and stayed at was part of a highrise. The bottom floors were markets and department stores including Uniqlo. It was newer and very clean hotel in Osaka. Actually everywhere in Japan was clean!
I agree that it’s lovely to try an older style traditional lodging, especially with a mineral hot spring.
Tipping is not a “thing” in Japan. We love Japan - art, culture, food, the people. Quirky, fast moving, quite, and serene all at the same time. We stopped visiting Europe long ago, preferring Asia in general and Japan specifically.
We just got back from an 18 day trip to Japan. It was our second trip. The first was in the spring and included Tokyo, Kyoto, Takayama, Matsumoto and Koyasan. This trip was all about skiing in Tohoku, well off the beaten path.
I haven’t read every reply, so these things may have already been mentioned.
Don’t drive in the cities. The subway is much faster.
Great food is EVERYWHERE, including 7-11 and Lawson’s. The fried chicken and a highball after a ski day…YUM! Sign up for dinner if you stay at ryokans. Reservations are easy to get with the exception of the highest Michelin rated places. We were able to book 1 star places without help. If you can’t get in, have the concierge try. They usually hold spots back.
Go to TeamLab Planets. Very fun.
Learn about all the noodle options. There are bunches of them, all good, but different.
Have fun!!!
Oh yeah, the vending machines are fun and freshly stocked. They have hot things, designated by red lights, including canned hot coffee. They have frozen and cold things designated by blue—including tasty ice cream!
Wow! Lots of great travel tips here.
Japan is high on my wife’s travel bucket list, but her dietary restriction gives her pause. How vegetarian friendly (or not) is Japan? At least the major cities?
If she likes soy products, she’s in good shape. Does she eat shellfish, fish? Some vegetarians do and some don’t. If she likes seafood, Japan has tons!