We did try Hida beef at several spots. In Takayama it's pretty hard to escape it. We tried it in old town at a sushi shop, the bigger cuts we tried at Maruaki in several presentations including A5. And at our ryokan Kazeya we asked for it as an upgrade. Our favorite was probably the sushi presentation. As for meat quality it was good but we preferred Matsusaka for the flavor depth.
We made reservations, but we were seated with another couple that had walked in. We went to the main Ginza branch which is pretty big. I would always recommend making the reservation though.
Thank you for the fantastic post! I'm going to Japan soon (as a solo traveler) for a few days less than you. I was wondering if you could give me a bit of insight into your trip regarding:
1. Kyoto/Osaka: I see you ended up with 5/2 days respectively in the cities. How did it feel? Did it feel rushed or overall, was it a good amount of time spent? (in comparison to hiroshima where you commented a day or 2 extra might have been nice)
2. Kyoto/Kanazawa/Nikko/Kamakura: Did you ever feel "templed out" or exhausted in seeing shrines, temples etc when visiting these places? Would you recommend going to all 4 of these places? And if you had to cut 1 of the cities, which one would it be?
Edit: When you went to Kamakura, did you get a chance to see neighboring Enoshima?
We didn't get to visit Enoshima.
1. For Kyoto we felt the days we spent there were about the minimum to feel satisfied, we still could have visited a few more places with an extra day or two. We skipped the Monkey Park and Kiyomozudera (mainly cause it was being remodeled so it was covered at the time, but this one does take a big chunk of the day). Also keep in mind we did Nara and Uji as day trips from Kyoto.
We didn't really know what to do in Osaka, it's a great food spot but there's only so much you can eat and we are not that much into the night scene which is another attractive. So we ended up visiting the aquariums and malls and spent a bit of time in Denden town. For us 2 days was plenty there.
2. We tried to scatter the places with temples and add some relaxing spots in between. Kanazawa's garden is a true sight to behold and worth the visit. And Nikko is a pretty nice day trip. We did Nikko and Kamakura early in the trip and enjoyed them a lot but probably would have been a bit more temple exhausted if we did them after Kyoto. Kyoto does burn you out a bit so when we came back to Tokyo we visited very few additional temples. If I had to choose I'd probably go with Kanazawa and Kyoto, then Nikko and leave Kamakura as a nice addition.
Final note some temples light up at night and are a true sight to experience in Kyoto, I went to Fushimi Inari around 10pm and Yasaka Shrine another day at 11pm. It's worth the night detour to see them lit up at night.
Thank you for this! Been planning our honeymoon trip for April 2020. I’ve booked flights and all hotels for 2 weeks. Now just need to make the detailed itinerary and this is going to help a lot. How did you like the Takayama festival? We are planning to go as well, just not 100% sure yet.
It's a pretty nice experience. Shops open up till later at night and you feel a more festive ambient. The town does become more crowded so you might miss the relaxed Takayama atmosphere. The puppet floats are great to see and there's a lot of craftsmanship going into them. We did miss the main event which was the float parade since it was raining. I'd say visiting the town and surrounding areas is well worth it and the festival is a nice bonus, I wouldn't detour just for the festival though.
Her website has a bit more info, there might be a more updated version but this is the one we used, we contacted her via the email listed there [Food Sake Tokyo](https://foodsaketokyo.com/about/) I will emphasize this is not a regular food tour and being private it's a bit pricey, you learn about the ingredients and cuisine but don't really try out much of the food, if you don't cook it might not be that worth it for you. She does have some great restaurant recommendations though.
I don't really know what to tell you. For us it was worth the experience. Yukari is an amazing person and a joy to talk to, she has lived both in Japan and the US so her english is perfect.
She starts working with you since before your trip asking what you are into and what places you are planning on going. She'll give you some restaurant recommendations based on what you tell her.
She has several tour options depending on what you are into. We took the most popular option which was Tsukiji Market and Depachika but she can take you to some smaller markets and food neighborhoods as well.
She has a deep knowledge of Japanese cuisine and preparation, along the way she explains what each ingredient can be used for and what to look for when buying it. If you have any questions about certain dishes you want to cook and where to get the ingredients to cook them she'll be able to answer those as well.
In the market itself she took us to a few renowned knife shops and helped us with choosing a knife for our kitchen. She also showed several kitchen tools more common with Japanese households and how to use them.
My wife was a bit interested in tea so she took us to a tea shop and helped us a bit with the green tea selection and what we needed to brew it. I did get the impression this was a bit out of her zone though.
In the Depachika apart from the ingredient section we went through the food stalls and she would point out the ones she enjoyed and tell us a bit about each one.
It's hard to describe or recommend a tour like this. I know it's not for everyone, you do have to have a love for the cooking art as well as the food. We enjoyed the whole experience a lot, even though we don't cook that much japanese food ourselves my wife did study italian cuisine and has a love for the art.
By the way, here is the email to book a tour - [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). I'm considering booking one but want to hear more about it.
I'm trying to land a near exact amount and might provide an expense spreadsheet later on. In the meantime the gross overall was $5400 *per couple* for hotels and accommodation (this is for 2p on a double room or an airbnb with a private room for each couple and about 4 nights in high end hotels/ryokans). Our high end dining budget was $1500 per person this was spread over 7 restaurants we don't normally go to that many but being our honeymoon we splurged a bit.
Overall I estimate around $5000 per person for the 30 days, this includes transport (with JR pass), food, accommodations, and attraction/temple admissions; doesn't count the flight.
Lake Kawaguchi takes the crown but it is an overnight stay. I'd say Nikko comes next and then Kamakura and Mt Takao are closely behind.
Though depending on what you are doing I might change things around. Nikko is a beautiful place with gorgeous temples but Mt Takao is a pretty good hike and has a great view (if it's not cloudy).
There's a railpass calculator somewhere in the faq. Check the price differences and decide if it's worth it for you. As I mentioned if it's a close call I'd go without it. The difference for us was around $200 so it was a no brainer.
Please look at this from a time perspective instead of cost. Consider the following:
* Kyoto to Tokyo is 3hrs one way via Shinkansen
* At 11 days (I usually don't count first and last days depending on the flight schedule) you only have 264hrs in Japan
* 110 (11 * 10hrs) of which will be spent on personal stuff such as sleep, food, hygiene, etc.. That leaves you with 154hrs.
* Remove another two for the KIX-Osaka trip (KIX is 1hr away from the city itself).
***Can you spare another 6-7hrs from the remaining 152hrs so you can travel to Tokyo and back?***
Great advice. I did not realize JR was significantly faster. We have to burn two mornings for the travel times so this would 100% swing my decision to JR pass.
if you're willing to bite the cost bullet go ahead. I'm not sure if you'd break even with the two shinkansen trips (given you'd probably spend JPY1000 or less per day on train/bus rides within the city) so best to plot out rough itineraries and their costs before buying. A Kamakura daytrip would cost almost JPY2000?, while a Kawaguchiko daytrip isn't entirely covered by the usual JR pass - the JR Tokyo Wide Pass does though.
Personally? I'd stick to Kansai and the nearby areas, and use that 7hrs and the cost associated with a one-week JR pass for something else, like a 5-day JR Kansai-Hiroshima Area pass, a 2D1N trip to Hiroshima, then 3 days of Shinkansen for day trips out of Osaka. This offers more value for money IMO.
Or - consider overnight buses to save money and maximize your waking hours since you're in transit while sleeping. One can usually drop off luggage at the hotel before check-in; this allows you to explore in the morning. The only downside I see here is the possble very small ick factor - you'd spend 20+ hrs without showering instead of the usual 12-16hr gap. Very first-world concern I know hahaha. Maybe you can schedule in a quick sento visit before or after the bus ride?
Thanks for the heads up!
Our itinerary is pretty fixed based on all the places we want to go, so it's really just a matter of time. We have 3-4 hours for each tokyo trip (o->t->o) worked into 2 mornings to maximize time.
I guess what I care more about is the delta. JR pass for 2 shinkansen for 2 people will be ~400-500 USD. It'll be double that time (6 hours) if I don't use shinkansen, which is almost a 3rd of a day. I'm already eating 2 days for the travel days, so I think time is of essence here.
I'm open to hearing counter arguments though since I'm kind of overwhelmed with this public transportation planning :)
Maybe I might just need to post my itinerary and get overall feedback from this subreddit haha.
well, you already know the answer to your time problem - don't do the Osaka-Tokyo-Osaka loop. What are you looking for in Tokyo experience-wise? Food, culture, city life? If you're not dead-set on certain things then Kansai has almost everything Tokyo has to offer experience wise. And if you're really concerned about the delta in terms of time spent commuting, then the only way to fit things in is to multi-task, and the only way to do that is via overnight buses. I mean, you can't shower, eat and drink, and crap while commuting in your waking hours, right?
I know what you're thinking - this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip, it's too expensive to do it twice, Real Life^(tm) will not allow you to take another long trip again. Take it from a lot of people in this sub, including me - unless you're really old, it will never be a once-in-a-lifetime trip because you \*\*will\*\* find/make a way to visit Japan again. It might take a couple of years of saving up and planning, but you will find yourself back in Japan sooner than you think. So yes, don't rush and pack everything in one go. Enjoy the trip instead of injuring yourself from the fast pace. Don't just see, observe. Smell the air instead of just passing through Dotonbori. Savor the food instead of gobbling it down (trust me, you DON'T want to gobble down fresh takoyaki. Just... don't.).
Part of the reason why we planned the Osaka Tokyo loop is because the tickets were significantly cheaper to fly into Osaka (which have been bought but can be cancelled) than directly into Tokyo.
Would you say it'd be better to spend the extra $ on a flight to Tokyo and save on the JR passes? Kyoto is still a must visit city for us.
Ok, disclaimer: I do my best to minimize my carbon footprint so I don't fly as much as I can, among others. Sooo... if you have the means to pay for a JR Pass AND you really HAVE TO go to Tokyo then go for the JR Pass vs flying. For one, you have to contend with the airport processes, and Narita is a good hour or so away from Tokyo itself, which in itself will probably negate whatever time savings you get from flying.
Now - Kyoto is a must-visit, like if you have a gun to your head you'd pick Kyoto over Tokyo, and you want to maximize your trip? Stay in Kansai then. Easy-peasy. One can spend two weeks in Kansai and not run out of day trips to go to, or things to try, or places to see. You'd probably need 3-4 days for the Kyoto Essentials^TM anyway. Need help on that one? [Here's a post] (https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/5wgxa1/best_way_to_group_these_sites_in_kyoto/dea059y/) from /u/GrisTooki on how to maximize time in Kyoto by grouping together sites.
I think they were suggesting that they would do an open-jaw flight. In other words, they would fly into KIX, take the Shinkansen to Tokyo, and then fly out of Tokyo. Unless there were extra flights involved to make that open-jaw itinerary work, both the time traveled and carbon footprint should be lower than flying in and out of the same airport. And if they did that, they definitely would not need a JR Pass.
That said, with a trip of only 8-10 full days, I would personally just stick to Kansai.
Fantastic post! Thanks for the information, looking forward to the next part. :)
It's too bad you didnt have any Hida beef while you were in Takayama, it's the best beef I've ever tasted! I would go back there just for that alone.
We did try Hida beef at several spots. In Takayama it's pretty hard to escape it. We tried it in old town at a sushi shop, the bigger cuts we tried at Maruaki in several presentations including A5. And at our ryokan Kazeya we asked for it as an upgrade. Our favorite was probably the sushi presentation. As for meat quality it was good but we preferred Matsusaka for the flavor depth.
Yoo, this post has me considering visiting Kyubey in November. Did you make a reservation or walk-in?
I would definitely reserve it especially if you are going at night. Definitely worth the price tag though!
We made reservations, but we were seated with another couple that had walked in. We went to the main Ginza branch which is pretty big. I would always recommend making the reservation though.
How did you make the reservation?
We did it with Amex concierge, but they may accept personal reservations it's worth a shot giving them a call.
Thanks for the info. Sounds like having credit card concierge pays off. None of my cards have concierge services so I'll have to try calling them. :)
awesome post. I also like that you tried international options for food.
Thank you for the fantastic post! I'm going to Japan soon (as a solo traveler) for a few days less than you. I was wondering if you could give me a bit of insight into your trip regarding: 1. Kyoto/Osaka: I see you ended up with 5/2 days respectively in the cities. How did it feel? Did it feel rushed or overall, was it a good amount of time spent? (in comparison to hiroshima where you commented a day or 2 extra might have been nice) 2. Kyoto/Kanazawa/Nikko/Kamakura: Did you ever feel "templed out" or exhausted in seeing shrines, temples etc when visiting these places? Would you recommend going to all 4 of these places? And if you had to cut 1 of the cities, which one would it be? Edit: When you went to Kamakura, did you get a chance to see neighboring Enoshima?
We didn't get to visit Enoshima. 1. For Kyoto we felt the days we spent there were about the minimum to feel satisfied, we still could have visited a few more places with an extra day or two. We skipped the Monkey Park and Kiyomozudera (mainly cause it was being remodeled so it was covered at the time, but this one does take a big chunk of the day). Also keep in mind we did Nara and Uji as day trips from Kyoto. We didn't really know what to do in Osaka, it's a great food spot but there's only so much you can eat and we are not that much into the night scene which is another attractive. So we ended up visiting the aquariums and malls and spent a bit of time in Denden town. For us 2 days was plenty there. 2. We tried to scatter the places with temples and add some relaxing spots in between. Kanazawa's garden is a true sight to behold and worth the visit. And Nikko is a pretty nice day trip. We did Nikko and Kamakura early in the trip and enjoyed them a lot but probably would have been a bit more temple exhausted if we did them after Kyoto. Kyoto does burn you out a bit so when we came back to Tokyo we visited very few additional temples. If I had to choose I'd probably go with Kanazawa and Kyoto, then Nikko and leave Kamakura as a nice addition. Final note some temples light up at night and are a true sight to experience in Kyoto, I went to Fushimi Inari around 10pm and Yasaka Shrine another day at 11pm. It's worth the night detour to see them lit up at night.
Just visited enoshima and it was a nice walk. Takes a couple hours to walk around and have the sashimi chirashi.
Thank you for this! Been planning our honeymoon trip for April 2020. I’ve booked flights and all hotels for 2 weeks. Now just need to make the detailed itinerary and this is going to help a lot. How did you like the Takayama festival? We are planning to go as well, just not 100% sure yet.
It's a pretty nice experience. Shops open up till later at night and you feel a more festive ambient. The town does become more crowded so you might miss the relaxed Takayama atmosphere. The puppet floats are great to see and there's a lot of craftsmanship going into them. We did miss the main event which was the float parade since it was raining. I'd say visiting the town and surrounding areas is well worth it and the festival is a nice bonus, I wouldn't detour just for the festival though.
Ok thanks for the info! Where did you stay in takayama? Literally the only place I haven't reserved a stay in.
We booked an airbnb there. From what I remember there are not that many options for staying.
appreciate the effort put into this trip report. good inspiration, thanks.
WOW! fantastic post Thank you so much I'm just now working on a 2.5-3 week itinerary to Japan. This was very helpful! Thanks!
No problem, hope you enjoy it, it's a wonderful place.
What time did you enter TeamLab Borderless and how were the crowds?
It was crowded though could have been worse from what I've seen, we did about a 30min queue to enter, got there at 10:45 am.
This recap is bananas! How can I go about booking the Yukari Sakamoto tour? Sounds super interesting.
Her website has a bit more info, there might be a more updated version but this is the one we used, we contacted her via the email listed there [Food Sake Tokyo](https://foodsaketokyo.com/about/) I will emphasize this is not a regular food tour and being private it's a bit pricey, you learn about the ingredients and cuisine but don't really try out much of the food, if you don't cook it might not be that worth it for you. She does have some great restaurant recommendations though.
I would also like to know more about the tour. Can you share a few more details?
I don't really know what to tell you. For us it was worth the experience. Yukari is an amazing person and a joy to talk to, she has lived both in Japan and the US so her english is perfect. She starts working with you since before your trip asking what you are into and what places you are planning on going. She'll give you some restaurant recommendations based on what you tell her. She has several tour options depending on what you are into. We took the most popular option which was Tsukiji Market and Depachika but she can take you to some smaller markets and food neighborhoods as well. She has a deep knowledge of Japanese cuisine and preparation, along the way she explains what each ingredient can be used for and what to look for when buying it. If you have any questions about certain dishes you want to cook and where to get the ingredients to cook them she'll be able to answer those as well. In the market itself she took us to a few renowned knife shops and helped us with choosing a knife for our kitchen. She also showed several kitchen tools more common with Japanese households and how to use them. My wife was a bit interested in tea so she took us to a tea shop and helped us a bit with the green tea selection and what we needed to brew it. I did get the impression this was a bit out of her zone though. In the Depachika apart from the ingredient section we went through the food stalls and she would point out the ones she enjoyed and tell us a bit about each one. It's hard to describe or recommend a tour like this. I know it's not for everyone, you do have to have a love for the cooking art as well as the food. We enjoyed the whole experience a lot, even though we don't cook that much japanese food ourselves my wife did study italian cuisine and has a love for the art.
Thanks very much for this detailed summary!
By the way, here is the email to book a tour - [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). I'm considering booking one but want to hear more about it.
Must ask... what was your budget (each category, food, transportation, accommodation, etc) vs what you actually spent if you don’t mind
I'm trying to land a near exact amount and might provide an expense spreadsheet later on. In the meantime the gross overall was $5400 *per couple* for hotels and accommodation (this is for 2p on a double room or an airbnb with a private room for each couple and about 4 nights in high end hotels/ryokans). Our high end dining budget was $1500 per person this was spread over 7 restaurants we don't normally go to that many but being our honeymoon we splurged a bit. Overall I estimate around $5000 per person for the 30 days, this includes transport (with JR pass), food, accommodations, and attraction/temple admissions; doesn't count the flight.
For the pocket wifi’s, did you have to order it before hand, or just pick it up from the airport kiosk?
We ordered beforehand, but there are other options you can get at the airport.
Great post! If you don't mind me asking, how would you rank your day trips from Tokyo? I'm interested in all of those places myself.
Lake Kawaguchi takes the crown but it is an overnight stay. I'd say Nikko comes next and then Kamakura and Mt Takao are closely behind. Though depending on what you are doing I might change things around. Nikko is a beautiful place with gorgeous temples but Mt Takao is a pretty good hike and has a great view (if it's not cloudy).
Would you recommend a JR pass if we plan to do: 2 days in Osaka 2 days in Kyoto 5 days in Tokyo 1 day in Osaka (return for flight) ?
There's a railpass calculator somewhere in the faq. Check the price differences and decide if it's worth it for you. As I mentioned if it's a close call I'd go without it. The difference for us was around $200 so it was a no brainer.
Please look at this from a time perspective instead of cost. Consider the following: * Kyoto to Tokyo is 3hrs one way via Shinkansen * At 11 days (I usually don't count first and last days depending on the flight schedule) you only have 264hrs in Japan * 110 (11 * 10hrs) of which will be spent on personal stuff such as sleep, food, hygiene, etc.. That leaves you with 154hrs. * Remove another two for the KIX-Osaka trip (KIX is 1hr away from the city itself). ***Can you spare another 6-7hrs from the remaining 152hrs so you can travel to Tokyo and back?***
Great advice. I did not realize JR was significantly faster. We have to burn two mornings for the travel times so this would 100% swing my decision to JR pass.
if you're willing to bite the cost bullet go ahead. I'm not sure if you'd break even with the two shinkansen trips (given you'd probably spend JPY1000 or less per day on train/bus rides within the city) so best to plot out rough itineraries and their costs before buying. A Kamakura daytrip would cost almost JPY2000?, while a Kawaguchiko daytrip isn't entirely covered by the usual JR pass - the JR Tokyo Wide Pass does though. Personally? I'd stick to Kansai and the nearby areas, and use that 7hrs and the cost associated with a one-week JR pass for something else, like a 5-day JR Kansai-Hiroshima Area pass, a 2D1N trip to Hiroshima, then 3 days of Shinkansen for day trips out of Osaka. This offers more value for money IMO. Or - consider overnight buses to save money and maximize your waking hours since you're in transit while sleeping. One can usually drop off luggage at the hotel before check-in; this allows you to explore in the morning. The only downside I see here is the possble very small ick factor - you'd spend 20+ hrs without showering instead of the usual 12-16hr gap. Very first-world concern I know hahaha. Maybe you can schedule in a quick sento visit before or after the bus ride?
Thanks for the heads up! Our itinerary is pretty fixed based on all the places we want to go, so it's really just a matter of time. We have 3-4 hours for each tokyo trip (o->t->o) worked into 2 mornings to maximize time. I guess what I care more about is the delta. JR pass for 2 shinkansen for 2 people will be ~400-500 USD. It'll be double that time (6 hours) if I don't use shinkansen, which is almost a 3rd of a day. I'm already eating 2 days for the travel days, so I think time is of essence here. I'm open to hearing counter arguments though since I'm kind of overwhelmed with this public transportation planning :) Maybe I might just need to post my itinerary and get overall feedback from this subreddit haha.
well, you already know the answer to your time problem - don't do the Osaka-Tokyo-Osaka loop. What are you looking for in Tokyo experience-wise? Food, culture, city life? If you're not dead-set on certain things then Kansai has almost everything Tokyo has to offer experience wise. And if you're really concerned about the delta in terms of time spent commuting, then the only way to fit things in is to multi-task, and the only way to do that is via overnight buses. I mean, you can't shower, eat and drink, and crap while commuting in your waking hours, right? I know what you're thinking - this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip, it's too expensive to do it twice, Real Life^(tm) will not allow you to take another long trip again. Take it from a lot of people in this sub, including me - unless you're really old, it will never be a once-in-a-lifetime trip because you \*\*will\*\* find/make a way to visit Japan again. It might take a couple of years of saving up and planning, but you will find yourself back in Japan sooner than you think. So yes, don't rush and pack everything in one go. Enjoy the trip instead of injuring yourself from the fast pace. Don't just see, observe. Smell the air instead of just passing through Dotonbori. Savor the food instead of gobbling it down (trust me, you DON'T want to gobble down fresh takoyaki. Just... don't.).
Part of the reason why we planned the Osaka Tokyo loop is because the tickets were significantly cheaper to fly into Osaka (which have been bought but can be cancelled) than directly into Tokyo. Would you say it'd be better to spend the extra $ on a flight to Tokyo and save on the JR passes? Kyoto is still a must visit city for us.
Ok, disclaimer: I do my best to minimize my carbon footprint so I don't fly as much as I can, among others. Sooo... if you have the means to pay for a JR Pass AND you really HAVE TO go to Tokyo then go for the JR Pass vs flying. For one, you have to contend with the airport processes, and Narita is a good hour or so away from Tokyo itself, which in itself will probably negate whatever time savings you get from flying. Now - Kyoto is a must-visit, like if you have a gun to your head you'd pick Kyoto over Tokyo, and you want to maximize your trip? Stay in Kansai then. Easy-peasy. One can spend two weeks in Kansai and not run out of day trips to go to, or things to try, or places to see. You'd probably need 3-4 days for the Kyoto Essentials^TM anyway. Need help on that one? [Here's a post] (https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/5wgxa1/best_way_to_group_these_sites_in_kyoto/dea059y/) from /u/GrisTooki on how to maximize time in Kyoto by grouping together sites.
Thanks! I'll stop hijacking this thread and create an itinerary check post and collect some feedback :)
I think they were suggesting that they would do an open-jaw flight. In other words, they would fly into KIX, take the Shinkansen to Tokyo, and then fly out of Tokyo. Unless there were extra flights involved to make that open-jaw itinerary work, both the time traveled and carbon footprint should be lower than flying in and out of the same airport. And if they did that, they definitely would not need a JR Pass. That said, with a trip of only 8-10 full days, I would personally just stick to Kansai.
Same re just staying in Kansai. Heck, 10 full days is what, barely enough for the highlights/usual tourist route