Please Help Plan My Week in Japan

connorbush thought this was worth mentioning said Sun, Dec 17th 2017 at 1:56pm ET

I secured a round trip ticket to Japan via United Airlines. The ticket was about $428 (round trip/pp). The Mrs. and I will be there June 6 (around 3p landing NRT) departing June 13 evening. This will be our first time in Japan.

We aren’t too interested in any one area. I’ve read up on it and the word on the street seems to be 1-2 days in Toyko, 3 ish days in Kyoto, then a day or two elsewhere.

I was told I should invest in a 7 day rail pass. The cost of Kyoto to Tokyo alone makes it worthwhile. Please send more knowledge and tips my way.

Let’s brain storm this and craft an itinerary so that I can start booking hotels! Thanks.

20 comments, 23 replies
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DrunkCat said Sun, Dec 17th 2017 at 2:56pm ET:

Might be a good resource:

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

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RiotDemon said Sun, Dec 17th 2017 at 3:34pm ET:

I love the Abroad In Japan channel on YouTube. He goes a lot of different places. He did a special travel series with Odigo Travel.

I’m jealous of anyone that’s going or has been.

/youtube abroad in Japan odigo

Edit: yep, that video is from the Odigo site. There’s a link in the description to the travel site. Odigo paid for a bunch of youtubers that are living in Japan to go visit places and film videos for the travel site. There’s a bunch of different itinerary ideas and videos to watch. Rachael & Jun is another channel I watch that was part of it.

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- @RiotDemon seconded – Abroad In Japan is awesome
  
  skemmehs said Sun, Dec 17th 2017 at 7:38pm ET
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- @RiotDemon I also enjoy Rachel and Jun. Fun kids with cats.
  
  Fuzzalini said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 12:24pm ET
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skemmehs said Sun, Dec 17th 2017 at 7:36pm ET:

Congrats! Japan is my favorite place in the world.

It depends on your priorities, but I would say that 1-2 days isn’t nearly enough time in Tokyo, especially since you’ll be jet lagged for the first few days. I recommend just walking around the major neighborhoods – Shibuya, Shinjuku, Harajuku, and Shimokitazawa are my favorites. I often make the argument that if you’re visiting Japan for only a week you should just stick to Tokyo and save yourself the rail pass cost, but nobody every listens to me

Kyoto is great and the guidebooks will have everything you’d be interested in. I personally love Osaka, which is a very short train ride from Kyoto. It’s got great food and (in my opinion) a little more down-to-earth locals. And not many foreigners visit.

If you’re looking to travel cheap (and your first sentence suggests that’s so) I actually wrote a short blog post about budget travel in Japan. The biggest tip: Eat at fancy places for lunch and counter-service places for dinner.

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- @skemmehs I genuinely might take you up on the just Tokyo. We will see what the boss, I mean Mrs, says haha. Thanks for the tips.
  
  connorbush said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 12:28am ET
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- @connorbush But really think about what kinds of things you’re interested in. For me, 2 days might be too much in Tokyo alone since I’m not as big of a fan of the big city.
  
  Each time I’ve gone, my favorite part is getting out of the city and seeing the country. There’s an amazing feeling of how old the country is in Japan that is always the highlight of my trip. For the places that I’ve gone, it’s a bit easier to do in the Kyoto area. I’ll post some more ideas below.
  
  luvche21 said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 10:58am ET
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- @skemmehs I was going to say the same thing. If you’re only going for 1 week, stick to Tokyo.
  
  mbspell said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 8:25pm ET
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- @skemmehs agree 100% with the Tokyo and it’s environs for a week trip. Between a day trip to Yokohama (highly recommend the tower there, great birds eye view of the entire Tokyo region, which is so big it’ll make your head spin), Kamakura if you want some old stuff/temples and such, maybe an overnight to Hakone for nature and hot springs (if that’s your thing, which, I’d say make it your thing because it’s pretty awesome), on top of lots of time wandering the city proper… there’s your week. Add a fun very ‘Mehrican trip to one of the Costcos in the area and you’re set. I’ve done the express week with Tokyo and Kyoto and it always seems like a good idea but then slightly unsatisfying because Kyoto is amazing and the back streets of Gion could take 3 days on its own. I used to live there and go back every couple of years. Happy to help if you want more ideas, but sounds like everyone is chiming in with some great stuff. The bakeries are amazing, because when the Japanese commit they really go for it.
  
  hac said Tue, Dec 19th 2017 at 5:35am ET
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moondrake said Sun, Dec 17th 2017 at 7:42pm ET:

When we were there we found that not very many people spoke English. And of course none of us spoke Japanese. We discovered that at the train station, at the booth by the handicapped access for the train, the person assigned there generally spoke some English. When we needed directions we’d pop into a train station and ask that person. We found food to be very expensive. You got a great deal on the plane ticket though. One of our travel things is to go and eat at a Mexican restaurant in whatever city were in. It’s kind of like a joke, because I live about 2 miles from Mexico, and the best Mexican food in town is less than a mile from my house. We found a Mexican restaurant in Yokohama which of course we had to try. The food was terrible, but the Mariachi was surprisingly great. My friend filmed this, you can hear them a little in the background.

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RedOak said Sun, Dec 17th 2017 at 11:31pm ET:

Our daughter lives in SE China and is visiting Japan right now. It was one of the few nearby countries she hadn’t visited. Should I ask her for recommendations?

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theredia said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 12:10am ET:

Make sure you check out “The Man in Seat 61” for tips on rail travel in Japan- or really, pretty much anywhere. Mark is based in London, but has written detailed instructions and guides on how to travel by rail pretty much anywhere in Europe, and a little in Japan.

Intro to Train Travel in Japan

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tinsami1 said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 12:34am ET:

Look into the bus tours that are offered. The guides speak English and you can chat them up on what’s happening in the city during your stay. But 1-2 days will probably be not enough to see Tokyo.

Also, how far can you walk? Taxi cabs are expensive there. Expect to walk a lot. And most tourist spots are a considerable walk from the train stations. So wear comfortable walking shoes.

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connorbush said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 12:34am ET:

Thanks peeps! Keep em comin’

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- @connorbush Also, if you are going to do a temple tour in Kyoto, as I recall there are dress requirements to enter the temples. Be sure to have appropriate attire.
  
  moondrake said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 10:47am ET
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oknekok said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 1:56am ET:

@connorbush You picked a great time of year to visit. No major holidays, kids back in school, major holiday week over so everyone else back to work and life.

Are you comfortable driving in a foreign country on the opposite side of the road? Are you sure you’d use the rail pass? (There are deals for daily/multi-day passes for the trains if you aren’t sure about your plans until after you arrive.)

The northern island of Hokkaido with the major city of Sapporo is just an 1.5 hour flight from Tokyo. It’s usually between $99 - 150/one-way. June is typically nice weather, though it can be wet in Kanto (Tokyo-area). Hokkaido is the last to see the cherry trees blossoming, so if they are late next year, you could have a hanami trip. Just mentioning that as Hokkaido is growing in tourist popularity and they are catering to the uptick.

It’d be helpful to know what you and the wife want to experience. Or what you enjoy.
Are you group tour-types or more go-at-our-own-pace? View or do? Cultural heritage stuff vs pop culture - which is more important?
Knowing some of that sort of thing would help narrow it down more easily.

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lifftchi said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 5:34am ET:

I agree with @skemmehs that staying in Tokyo is a good idea. I mean, Japan’s a large place – think of it as the size of both coasts of the US, and you have a fair idea. And Tokyo itself is larger than any US city.

That said, I can’t really help itinerary-wise. I’m terrible at touristing, myself. I like to ride the trains, sit at coffee shops and program on my laptop, browse at bookstores, wander, and so on.

One thing that I recommend is to go out to Narita City the day of your return trip – leave your luggage at the airport, or a train station locker, and explore Narita itself. There’s a huge temple complex there, and it’s very peaceful and relaxing.

Oh, and you should allow an hour to get through customs on the way out, on top of however early you usually arrive for flights. The exit formalities at Narita are. . . often extensive.

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themutilator said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 9:22am ET:

If you like tech, you have to visit Akihabara https://www.huffingtonpost.com/gail-nakada/tokyo-akihabara-must-see-_b_3863989.html
Pro tip - in Japan, you are apparently supposed to pay for merchandise on the floor you found it. I wound up getting tailed by security as I carried things between floors until I finally went to the cashier and got grilled in Japanese asking which floor I picked everything up on.

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- @themutilator Another pro tip. Learn a little Japanese. Especially food related. “Osusume onigai shimasu” is priceless (roughly ‘your recommendation, please’).
  
  themutilator said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 9:32am ET
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luvche21 said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 11:37am ET:
I’ve been 3 times since my wife is from Japan and her parents and brothers still live there. A few things from my experience:
- Figure out how to get over jet lag quickly - force yourselves to stay up the first day you get there until night time and possibly take some sleeping pills that first night or 2 to help transition.
- As odd as this one sounds, go to a convenient store and see how “convenient” they actually are. Nice healthy and tasty foods for really cheap. Do it for lunch or dinner sometime if you feel like it. You’ll see them all over the place, and will likely be really close to your hotels too. Look for a 7-11, Lawson, etc.
- Look up a Daiso (100 yen shop). I’m weird, but I really like those stores. Since you’re only there a week, don’t go out of your way to visit one though.
- If you like Ghibli films, go see the Ghibli museum near Tokyo, the whole thing is as if it came right out of the films.
- Find a kaiten sushi restaurant - they’re those sushi places where a conveyor belt goes around the restaurant and you pick whatever you feel like eating as it comes around. My favorite one is about $1/plate, and it has a special bullet train track above the main track that brings out things that you order off of the ipad above your table. Super fun.
- My favorite place to go every time we visit is out to the country somewhere. There is something magical about seeing how old that country is. There’s a feeling of the world being bigger than my own little bubble that I keep myself in when I get out to the countryside.
- If you can plan it, go see a small island. You’ll take a boat to get there, then walk around the island. The photo below is from Miyajima, probably too far away from Kyoto to make a trip worthwhile for the time that you have. The 2nd photo is one close to Tokyo with a view of Mt. Fuji
- Eat as many pastries as possible. For some reason, there are really really nice French bakeries that have a Japanese spin on their pastries.
- Go see some shrines. This is why I like Kyoto, since that’s what many of the tourist attractions are. You’ll find some fun things to look at.
- Try to visit an old castle. They are all fairly similar, so one is enough.
I’m sure I’ll think of more suggestions later too! Have a blast on your trip! We just got back last month from ours!
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- @luvche21 wow this looks amazing.
  
  connorbush said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 1:28pm ET
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- luvche21 has a lot of good advice especially on the convenience and cheap but good eats. Others have already mentioned that a week in Japan is really short but some like to visit a country like that. Tokyo has the insane big city madness but hidden away there are many quiet places also - amazing temples, magical little gardens, small galleries and museums everywhere including the top of dept stores. You could also do smaller day trips to areas like Mount Fuji which is very close to Tokyo.
  
  A few things to keep in mind. June will be pretty hot and humid already. Tokyo is very crowded! The morning rush hour trains are not recommended! but with that being said the train/subway system is really very good. Yes, you will do a lot of walking but Tokyo is an enormous city… example: walking from one Tokyo subway stop to another would take about 1.5 hours! If you are taking a train out of Tokyo (such as to Mount Fuji) be aware that there are local and express trains. You don’t want to get on a local train as they stop at EVERY stop and will take forever to get anywhere.
  
  It has been some time since I traveled anywhere but I always found the Lets Go series of books very useful.
  
  fjp999 said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 1:44pm ET
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Pavlov said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 7:36pm ET:

The hookers are amazing. In Kabukicho, a district in Shinjuku (Tokyo), there are THOUSANDS of sex parlors, strip theaters, peep shows, porno shops, sex telephone clubs, karaoke bars and erotic / adult clubs . . . Some of them get pretty kinky - you name it, they have it. Some of it gets really weird, very quickly.

The definition of prostitution in Japan is strictly defined as intercourse. Therefore, numerous sex acts (just about everything else) performed for a fee are completely legal.

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- @Pavlov But, ironically, no kabuki theatre.
  
  therealjrn said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 7:41pm ET
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Targaryen said Mon, Dec 18th 2017 at 10:29pm ET:

Question, where’d you get the ticket so low?

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- @Targaryen https://slickdeals.net/
  I also got a round trip London for $200 something. It is just about the only way I vacation. I set alerts for flights then plan my vacation around that instead of planning a vacation then looking for flights. I let the flights come to me then plan away.
  
  connorbush said Tue, Dec 19th 2017 at 2:07pm ET
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- @connorbush Excellent, I once every other year or so travel to Korea, so maybe I can make something happen this year. Usually the tickets are fairly expensive. I didn’t even know about this site.
  
  Targaryen said Wed, Dec 20th 2017 at 11:12am ET
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- @connorbush wow, there are some good flight deals there. Wish I’d known about it sooner, I’d have planned a trip to go visit family using the 90% off for Frontier airlines which expired on the 13th. But there are some great deals on international flights here some of which are even leaving from the West Coast. That’s usually my problem with international flight deals, getting to Chicago or New York to take advantage of them adds a $500 round trip plane ticket, negating the savings on the discounted flight.
  
  moondrake said Wed, Dec 20th 2017 at 12:02pm ET
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- @moondrake I love the alert feature. Plug in a few key words and get emails or app notifications when the deals are posted.
  
  connorbush said Wed, Dec 20th 2017 at 1:06pm ET
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hac said Tue, Dec 19th 2017 at 8:21am ET:
A few additional random recommendations and thoughts:
- Get a PASMO train pass for Tokyo (if you opt to not get the JR weekly pass). It works both on the subway, many private railways and the JR local trains in the Tokyo area, which is really handy since you’ll find yourself going from one to the other type of line quite a bit. Saves you from having to get a new ticket each and every time you change trains. Luckily, in recent years they have made the system super easy and now even in the little piddly stations they have the handy “English” button so when you go to buy train tickets you don’t have to memorize characters or hope someone walking by can help.
- On my recent trips, I’ve rented a portable wifi at the airport and for about $60 I have peace of mind that almost anywhere I will have internet access. While I am all about unplugging and just being in a place, Tokyo in particular is confusing because there’s no grid and little/no rhyme or reason to the streets, so the GPS comes in handy.
- At the same time, be ok getting lost! Tokyo and really all of Japan have so many secret streets with amazing food and sights, you never know what you’re going to find when you have no idea where you are. People there may not be able to communicate that well with you because of some language barrier, but I often found that in a pinch with lots of hand gestures and some basic vocab they will be amazingly helpful to get you back to the main road/station/hotel.
- If possible, try and stick to accommodations close to the Yamanote line in Tokyo. It runs in a big circle around the central part of the city. Not to say there aren’t great places to stay elsewhere, but for ease of transport around the city and getting to/from the airport it makes things easier.
- I have lots of restaurant recs too if you’re interested.
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- @hac Yes please restaurant recs
  
  connorbush said Wed, Dec 20th 2017 at 1:05pm ET
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- @connorbush sorry for the delay in getting this out to you - I’ve copied this from an email I recently put together for a friend visiting Tokyo so some of this may not apply but figured it would be worth sharing in case it’s interesting to you. Enjoy your trip! Also excuse the crude language:
  
  EAT:
  - Afuri ramen (vegan and meaty options available, and the vegan option is surprisingly delicious!). This is one of the fancier “vending machine” ramen shops. I like the location in Harajuku but there is also one in a shopping center basement in Roppongi. The Roppongi one gets a lot of lunch business but will be harder to find.
  - Coco Ichiban curry - chain of curry shops all over the place, good solid Japanese style curry which is more stew-ish than anything. Menus available in English!
  - UNFUCKING REAL RAMEN - Menya Musashi Shinjuku. Get the small size, the large was REALLY LARGE. Easily walkable from Shinjuku station, west side: https://www.yelp.com/biz/麺屋武蔵-新宿本店-新宿区
  - For tonkatsu (pork cutlet), this mini chain cannot be beat. There are a few locations, I went to the one in the Roppongi shopping area (it’s in what would best be described as an underground shopping/dining arcade). Amazing, and the basic set is worth every penny.
    https://www.yelp.com/biz/豚組食堂-港区
  - Tsikiji Fish Market - definitely a must see for any visitor to Tokyo. Strongly recommend getting there early - around 7am is probably the latest I would suggest - and then getting sushi/sashimi at one of the neighboring vendors. Tons all around the market, and while some are a smidge better than others, you really can’t go terribly wrong! We did this walking tour with Toshi through Airbnb experiences and I cannot - really, truly - recommend it higher. He was awesome, took us all around the market and then later we met at his shop for lunch AFTER he took us around the historic temple areas around the Asakusa neighborhood where his shop is located. it was really great, worth every penny and the time spent. He knows his shit, and we had an awesome lunch AND he takes pictures the whole time that we shared through the shared album thing in the iPhone. brilliant!
    https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/71924?location=Tokyo%2C Japan&checkin=2018-02-01&checkout=2018-02-06&source=p2&currentTab=experience_tab&searchId=1f40cf13-7dfe-4ea0-b476-6932b73f139f&recommended_instance_id=409345
  SHOP:
  - I’d STRONGLY recommend you hit this BEAMS store, I didn’t even get upstairs because I spent too much time downstairs!
    the address is Japan, 〒160-0022 Tōkyō-to, Shinjuku-ku, 新宿区Shinjuku, 3 Chome−3−32−6. If you tell the hotel Concierge you’re looking for the BEAMS Shinjuku standalone store on the East side of the station, they will know what you’re talking about.
  - Other shopping:
    Shibuya - crazy big department stores, tons of little side streets, just a mess of stuff. I’d almost recommend taking the JR Yamanote line the few stops from Shinjuku, get off at Shibuya and then walk over to Meijidori to walk up to Harajuku, which you will want to meander through, because…
    Harajuku - famous for the crazy young people who dress up in their cosplay whatever on the weekends, but has incredible shopping regardless. High end, lower end, everything in between. Sporty, dainty, just cute as crap stuff… There’s a great big store on Meijidori called “Niko and…” - they have a little bit of everything, great souvenir stuff to bring home and not bad prices AND clothes AND shoes and random camping gear AND jewelry, it’s like a Japanese Urban Outfitters without being offensive. On the main drag - Omotesando - is where you will find all the higher end western shops.
    
    Some other cool areas for shopping/walking around are Shimokitazawa (west Tokyo, funky stuff), Koenji, Roppongi/Ebisu if you want fancy stuff and miss westerners for some weird reason (lots of expats here), Azabu-Juban (also big expat population).
  TO DO:
  - Tokyo Tower - try and go on a clear day though!
  - Yokohama Tower - if you had time, it’s fun and I kind of liked it more than Tokyo Tower
  - Bar for Western Sports - i’d ask at your hotel too, they may have more specific options but i do think Roppongi or Azabu-Juban would both be good areas for finding a bar that’s showing sports from the other side of the world. I know there are TONS of American and English places all over, I just didn’t really go to any but they are there for sure!
  - Meiji Jingu Shrine - located near the Harajuku station, it’s an oasis away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Honestly, if you see no other shrine while in Japan that’s ok. This is free, you walk through a lovely park to get to the actual structure and if you’re lucky maybe someone will be getting married while you’re there!
  So, that all could keep you busy for a bit, that’s without even getting into the bars, whiskey stuff that’s kind of the thing now over there. I’d also say you should see if you can get into the Robot Restaurant Show (http://www.shinjuku-robot.com/pc/?lng=en). It was ridiculous, bordering on absurd and yet, I now firmly believe that every traveller to Japan should sit through this mess. it’s insane and kind of stupid, and yet so… Japan. So very Tokyo. It’ll be the largest collective foreign audience while in Tokyo for sure, but it’s kind of a great experience.
  hac said Mon, May 14th 2018 at 9:15am ET
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- @hac YES THANK YOU
  
  connorbush said Mon, May 14th 2018 at 9:37am ET
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therealjrn said Tue, Dec 19th 2017 at 9:41am ET:

Pro-tip: I find that if I talk LOUDLY and S-L-O-W-L-Y it helps the foreigners understand you.

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- @therealjrn Also do lots of expressive hand gestures that don’t really mean anything.
  
  medz said Mon, May 14th 2018 at 9:42am ET
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msklzannie said Tue, Dec 19th 2017 at 1:30pm ET:

Carry a business card with the name and address of your hotel in both (if available) Japanese and English. If you have to take a cab or need help navigating public transit to your hotel it can be priceless.

This particular advice can obviously be tailored to whatever the local language is in any given place.

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- @msklzannie Genius.
  
  connorbush said Tue, Dec 19th 2017 at 2:06pm ET
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connorbush said Tue, Dec 19th 2017 at 3:06pm ET:

I am now 10,000x more excited to go. I have a bit of a better idea of a plan. Thanks all. Keep 'em coming!

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connorbush said Fri, Dec 29th 2017 at 1:56pm ET:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHL9bfHTxCMi-7vfxQ-AYtg

this channel helps so much

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- @connorbush I’m glad you like him. He’s my favorite.
  
  RiotDemon said Fri, Dec 29th 2017 at 2:38pm ET
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- @RiotDemon you’ve changed the game
  
  connorbush said Fri, Dec 29th 2017 at 2:51pm ET
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- @connorbush let’s see if I can find my type of humor:
  
  /youtube abroad in Japan teaches fuck
  
  RiotDemon said Fri, Dec 29th 2017 at 2:56pm ET
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Kidsandliz said Mon, May 14th 2018 at 11:09am ET:

That is an amazing price! It’s usually (although I haven’t been in a number of years (have an NGO there) due to the cost but I track it) around $13-1400 to Cambodia - with plane change in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong or Bangkok.

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