Japan has often been known in the Western world as the home of technology and futuristic robots, however there is also another side to Japan we don’t often see, the natural landscapes and picturesque buildings which would leave your jaw on the ground. Including Kinkaku-Ji, Osaka castle, Jigokudani monkey park, Arashiyama and Nikko national park, there is plenty for you to see beyond a cheeky robot walking. three quarters of the country is actually covered in forest or mountains. In fact, you should definitely have a read of my list of things to do in Japan. However, the technology aspect is certainly pretty cool. I mean, this is the country that introduced Nintendo, Sony, Honda, Panasonic, Toshiba, Toyota and Sharp. Plus they created Pokemon, the 12 year old in me would still love to catch a Charmander. While in areas like India and Indonesia, the population under 25 years old is almost 50%, it is the reverse in Japan with an ageing population. The lifespan for people in Japan is much longer than the western world, which doesn’t seem that surprising when you think how much seafood and portions of fruit and vegetables they eat and the lack of red meat and alcohol. In fact, so long is the lifespan and ageing population that they actually sell more adult diapers than children’s ones.
While planning your itinerary for Japan, you’re constantly bombarded with ideas and activities that you ‘absolutely must try’. To be honest, Japan has so many unique and exciting things to see, we certainly couldn’t fit it all in our 10 day trip.
However, there were also a few disappointments along the way, so I want to highlight a few activities you might want to contemplate before booking or planning.
10-Yen Cheese Coin
We had seen these going viral on Instagram and TikTok, as well as virtually every YouTube guide on Japan showing these, so we were really excited, especially as we’re slightly addicted to cheese.
Admittedly, we had read a number of people highlighting how much it didn’t live up to expectations, but we tried to ignore it.
I mean, how could it not work, it’s basically a pancake with melted cheese, that sounds like a dream. The reality was a sweet bread, which tasted ok, with barely any cheese inside (all tucked into the middle, so you have to venture for quite a while until you reach it).
I reckon they could make it better with two changes. Firstly, evenly spread the cheese, so you get some with every bite, rather than one big lump in the middle. Secondly, they should try a different cheese, as the mozzarella didn’t offer much flavour. I mean, if that was double Gloucester, I would melt!
We ordered ours from Kyoto, at the base of Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama, so maybe if you ordered it somewhere else or in Osaka, you might have a very different experience, overflowing with cheese.
I’ll be honest, I have highlighted this on my list of things to do in Kyoto, which might sound very confusing, but it is an activity many people would highlight and I didn’t want people to be unaware of it or feel like they’re missing out. But I also want to calm expectations.
Biggest Disappointment – Studio Ghibli Museum
I am a huge fan of Studio Ghibli, growing up with Princess Mononoke and Howl’s Moving Castle being two of my favourite films through childhood (plus adulthood).
Raquel hadn’t seen any Studio Ghibli movies, so we spent 3 months beforehand bingeing absolutely everything.
When it came to getting tickets, they go incredibly quickly, you have to be up at 2am when they’re released (which is about 10am in Japan) and they go almost instantaneously. We therefore actually paid someone in Japan to get them at an increased price, as we didn’t want to lose out (nor wake up at 2am to buy tickets).
Having stayed in Shinjuku, it was a 20 minute journey on the Chūō Line and then a 10 minute walk from the station, nowhere near any other attractions.
We approached the colourful looking building, while staff informed us we couldn’t take photos or videos inside, I guess to keep the mystery. You were allowed photos in the garden and on the rooftop though.
We queued for around 10 minutes before heading inside, where we walked into various rooms and looked at pictures on the wall. This followed the format of a traditional museum, predominantly photos and demonstrations of the workplace.
But I felt, considering how creative Studio Ghibli is, the museum seriously lacked a creative spark. This was a great chance for an immersive experience (as Japan seriously loves an immersive experience), maybe a few fun games or really anything other than pictures.
We got through all the rooms within about 20 minutes and then wondered what to do, almost feeling stubborn after all the early excitement. We went to the cafe and got a coffee before heading onto the roof to get a picture with the Laputian Robot Trooper, then explored the garden.
All in all, we left within less than 40 minutes, we were passing another couple who we spoke to and they spoke of their surprise at how little there was to do, so I’m glad we weren’t the only ones feeling that way.
However, if you have a kid, there is one thing they will love, the giant cat bus play area, which looked brilliant (even as an adult I wanted to run through it, but thought that might look a bit odd).
Dog Cafe in Osaka
We visited the Mameshiba Cafe in Dotonbori, not something we had planned out, but we had stormed through our itinerary and happened to be right outside (coincidence, I doubt it, pretty sure Raquel knew what she was doing haha).
Never one to say no to playing with animals, we headed in and booked a slot in an hour, then wandered off to get some food.
Once we arrived, we were asked to take our shoes off and head in to find an area to sit on the ground for 30 minutes.
The reality is that the dogs had absolutely no interest in the people arriving. Some people have said the breed of dog they have are commonly not the most friendliest, I don’t know if that‘s true or if they’re fed up of the constant line of people patting them, but they really had no interest in us at all.
They were purely occupied on the people working their with treats in their pockets. After about 5 minutes, it quickly dawned on us we have a happy dog at home and this ‘experience’ really was a bit dull and underwhelming.
That’s not to say dog experiences aren’t great, we visited the Golden Retriever experience when I proposed to Raquel and it was immense, but this certainly didn’t have the same impact.
The staff here were nice and polite, as with everywhere in Japan, so I have to give credit to them. I do have an awkward feeling about any animal based cafe, while I know they’re frowned upon, but this was the first time I truly felt awkward in one.
So that’s our list. I did feel awkward about creating a negative post, but for people booking a trip, I think these are just as useful as the positive ones. By all means, I’m not stating you shouldn’t try these if you think you will enjoy them, but I wanted to provide our honest feedback on the experiences we just felt didn’t ‘hit the mark’ for us.
If you were to look up a list of things to do in Shibuya, most will highlight the Meiji Jingu Shrine, which was interesting, or the Hachiko dog statue, which is actually a little underwhelming. But I wanted to focus on the attractions we actually enjoyed, not just what the guidebooks say you should see, but what we genuinely loved.
We’ve also listed them in order of our favourites, so nearer the top, better the activity or experience.
1) Shibuya Sky
We originally had this booked for day 1 of our trip, but we completely messed up all of our timings and didn’t make it, which we were gutted about. Fortunately, we quickly booked it in for our return to Tokyo and I’m so glad we did!
The views across Tokyo are breath-taking. I do wish they offered an audio guide option, as I would love to hear about the different buildings you can see.
You can walk around the rooftop with 360 views of the city, while as you head inside there is a bar/cafe area so you can stop off for a coffee or a pint.
They also had a shop area where we picked up a couple of souvenirs for our family and friends.
The directions to the entrance were a little confusing. It’s right by Shibuya train station, but we walked in the wrong section initially before we saw the lift. Wow that lift flies up quickly, we got the true rollercoaster tummy feeling as we shot up. You initially go in a lift up 14 floors, before you switch to the rooftop view lift, which takes you all the way to the top.
You can also get views of the Shibuya Crossing from above, offering a slightly less manic view of the busy street.
When Should I Book For? So we booked for the day time, due to limited availability at the time we booked, however almost every article recommended around 6pm, around sunset (which is dependent on the time of year).
2) Micro Pig Cafe
I didn’t expect to enjoy myself as much as I did, but this was amazing! The pigs acted like puppies, all wanting to be close, to be held and to be stroked as they napped in your arms.
Some of the pet cafes in Japan made me feel a little awkward, like you questioned how happy the animals are to be there, but the Pig Cafe you felt confident they were loving life as they got cuddled constantly.
The micro pigs are tiny, but there were a few larger ones as well, which I liked as I wanted to give them all a cuddle regardless of their size. However, the bigger ones definitely weighed a fair amount as they climbed onto you.
At one point I had four sleeping on my lap, I simply couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.
You have to book in advance, you can’t turn up on the day and hope to get in, so make sure to plan this in advance, much like everything in Japan. Some people booked 30 minutes, while we had the full hour and I did feel I wanted more than 30 minutes, so we were very happy with our choice.
They don’t have an age limit in place, so you can go along with your kids, but the room was pretty much full of couples like us who just wanted to cuddle a pig.
You’re not allowed to bring food and drinks inside, but you can use their vending machine for small snacks and basic drinks.
If you live locally, you can look into adopting a pig, while they setup 1.5 hour consultations talking through the process, as there is a lot of paperwork to go through.
3) Henn Na Cafe – Robot Cafe
I was adamant I wanted to see robots when I came to Tokyo, but unfortunately the Robot Restaurant had closed down, while we didn’t fit the museum into our itinerary. But I wasn’t going to miss out on a robot serving me a latte!
Admittedly, the first time we came along, it was down for maintenance. Apparently this happens quite often, so do be prepared to squeeze in a second visit in case.
We arrived just as the cafe was opening, so this might not be a fair reflection, but we were the only people there, meaning we got to take our time with our order and plenty of videos.
You purchase a ticket for your drink, then scan it, before the robot kicks into gear and starts making your drink of choice, or even your snacks.
The coffee was pretty basic, it’s not a high-end coffee, you’re paying a premium for the experience, but considering a few people slagged off the coffee, I was pleasantly surprised by the latte, it was nice!
4) Takeshita Street – Rainbow Food
The images and videos of Takeshita street are coated all over YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, with the rainbow coloured food probably being the main attraction.
You will find rainbow coloured cheese toasties (which I had to eat), corn dogs (not so tasty) and candy floss.
The street is full of life, so even if you don’t fancy eating some multi-coloured food, you can enjoy all the whacky shops and bizarre atmosphere.
You will tick this one off pretty quickly, so you realistically only need an hour for this activity, but it’s certainly worth including on your list.
The area is actually Harajuku, while you will find a few other activities close by that you might want to tick off on the same day.
5) 3D Billboards
Raquel had spoken about the 3D billboards and initially I didn’t see what the excitement was all about, but standing in front of it, I was completely glued to them.
The one negative was that the playful panda was actually advertising a gambling company, which isn’t exactly what I wanted to see or promote, but hat’s off for the creativity!
There is apparently also a dog and cat 3D billboard, but we didn’t spot them. You really do feel like the animals are jumping off the screen as they play games and move around.
6) Shibuya Crossing
Ok, this one has to be ticked off, but I refused to put this too highly on the list, as at the end of the day, you’re simply crossing a road.
The Shibuya Scramble Crossing is located right by the train station, while you will spot a lot of tourists walking along with cameras and phones in hand, but be careful to watch where you’re going, as it must be frustrating for locals just trying to get to work and to catch their train.
For the best views of the crossing, you could head into the Starbucks, which is located right next to the road and with a higher view, but the seats by the window are taken quickly and you might have to wait a while.
As mentioned earlier in the article, you can enjoy the view from the Shibuya Sky building, as you go towards the exit you are near the window right above, so we made sure to capture a few shots.
7) Have A Drink On The Rooftop Of Shibuya Parco Shopping Centre
This didn’t make any of the lists we found and in fact, we didn’t plan on visiting here, but we were aimlessly wondering around and decided to walk in. Wow, I’m glad we did.
This building contained many of the other activities on this list that I will get to, but I first wanted to highlight the bar and garden area at the top.
Ordering a beer in Shibuya is scarily expensive, especially considering we had actually found Japan to be cheaper than we expected. But this was probably the best priced pint, which was a shock considering where we were.
You also had the nice garden area, so you could either sit inside in the bar or enjoy the outside air, if weather permitted.
They also had a Table tennis table, which I was eager to play on, but a few kids were having a game.
8) Street Mario Kart
Mario Kart has to be one of the greatest games of all time, so the chance to do it in real life sounds too good to be true.
I unfortunately couldn’t try this myself, as you need a driving license and I don’t have one (yep, I know).
The guide will lead you all around the town on your go-karts. Admittedly, it didn’t really feel like Mario Kart, except the karts do look quite similar, but it’s not like fancy dress clothing is provided, so unless you’ve all dressed the part, it really just looks like a bunch of people trying go-karting.
Heads-up, drivers hate the go-karts blocking up the roads and slowing them down, so don’t expect people to be looking at you and smiling.
9) Check Out A Pokemon Centre
Another legendary game, I loved Pokemon, however I didn’t include too many Pokemon based activities for my Japan Itinerary. However, while in the Parco Shopping Centre, we randomly found a Pokemon Centre.
There are apparently a good few dotted across the city. Yes, these technically are glammed-up names for a shop selling Pokemon products, but it did feel quite cool and unique.
If you happen to be in the area, then it might be worth ticking off, but you don’t need to go out of your way to do this one.
10) Visit Nintendo Tokyo & Capcom Store
I’m highlighting this, as it’s also in the Parco shopping centre, so you can tick off another activity on the same day. The stores felt quite fun and vibrant, while they also had life-size models that you can get photos with.
It was really lively here, while it was people of all ages enjoying the experience, plus there were a few games setup for people to try out before buying.
11) YoYogi Park
This park was massive, we knew a lot of places weren’t open until 11am, so we headed here first thing in the morning and I’m very much glad we did.
You also got to see a different side to this fast-paced city, where people were strolling calmly to work or heading out for a jog.
They have a public toilet available (for free) which was a relief. There were also areas where you can see some wildlife, but they were shut when we arrived.
12) Eat A Crepe
I loved the way these appear in the windows, appearing so real, it really is a skill! There were a good few crepe cafes dotted across the city and probably none more so than in Shibuya.
If you fancy a sweet treat, then this is a great option, plus you will be spoilt for choice, meaning you can find the one you’d enjoy the most.
The price also isn’t too steep, you pay what you’d expect to pay, but I’m glad they haven’t hiked up the prices considering how popular these are.
A lot of them are filled with cream, so you may be in trouble if you suffer from IBS, as I don’t think they offered any options without cream.
13) Win A Prize On The Claw Machines
I’m yet to win a game from any claw machine, not that I’m ever overly fussed about the prize, but sometimes they can be fun when on holiday.
Plus, the idea of winning a big soft toy for our dog Ruby to chew on sounds pretty good to me! These claw machine arcades were found in a few separate areas, such as Adores and Taito Station.
You will also find a few other games here, such as Street Fighter, which is good fun and a good time waster if you’re waiting to do another activity in the area.
I’ve tried my best to stick to things I really enjoyed, as there were a few activities in Japan that disappointed, but so much was unbelievably fun and you only have a set period of time you’re there so you will have a huge ticklist to work through.
I cannot express how confused we got before flying out to Japan, the whole process was beyond puzzling, but once you get your head around it all, public transport in Japan is actually very easy.
Where Are You Going?
This is first what you need to work out. Are you staying in Tokyo or are you heading further afield, such as to Kyoto or Osaka?
If you’re staying in Tokyo then you can get away with just the Suica card, albeit both forms of transport are very useful in Tokyo. However, if you’re looking to get on the bullet train (a must when you visit, especially as I personally think Osaka and Kyoto are better than Tokyo) then you will need a JR Rail Pass.
If you’re a Londoner, then the best way you could think about it is that the JR pass is for the Overground, while Suica Card is like an Oyster card for the Underground. It’s not exactly like this, but it is the easiest way to mirror with what we have. Having said that, both the Suica and JR rail pass will work in cities across the country.
JR Pass
We booked the ticket in advance, something that you’re strongly recommended to do. They will send you a paper ticket, which you bring with you and present at the JR Travel Service Centre at the airport.
We reserved our Japan Rail Pass with japanrailpass-reservation.net (not affiliated, not advertising them, but we used them and it worked perfectly). The tickets arrived a few weeks before we flew out.
I’ll be honest, there seemed to be about 20 different websites that sold the JR pass, while all were very poorly constructed with out of date information, with some not offering delivery to the UK, so the whole process was a bit of a headache until we found one we truly trusted.
You don’t need to book all your trains in advance, but I would work out where you are going and on what days and generally around what time you would like to go. This will make it a lot easier when queuing to book the train seats.
Where Do You Pick Up The JR Pass From?
Once you have landed in Haneda airport, you need to get to terminal 2 (we landed in that terminal). You then need to walk over to the JR Ticketing Office. If you can’t initially find it, ask someone who works there, who will be happy to direct you.
Can You Book All Your Trains In The Airport?
No, when you arrive at the airport and collect your JR Rail Pass, you can book a single journey, but many people arrive wanting to book their entire itinerary of trains (like us) which they don’t allow.
Instead, you have to find a local JR Travel Service Centre, such as in Shinjuku or Shibuya, which you might want to do once you have dropped your bags off at the hotel.
We then booked all of our trains for the entire 11 day trip, while they will be able to help guide you on timings and ensure you get around with plenty of time.
How Long Is The Queue In The Airport?
There was a sign warning that 1 hour queues are regular. We also watched YouTube videos of others collecting their tickets in the airport and they said they waited an hour.
We must have got lucky as it only took 20 minutes for us, but I would expect it to be longer and then you won’t be frustrated on the day.
Green Car Or Ordinary Car
When you book your JR Pass, you can either book the Green Car or the Orginary Car. Basically, think of the Green Car as the first class section.
The price was quite a bit more, maybe £100 I think from memory (the prices have gone up since), but I felt it was totally worth it as we had a lot of trains and it was great to travel in comfort.
The chair leg room was massive. The chairs also reclined the whole way back. When you’re on a plane, you always feel guilty reclining the chairs as someone will be squashed behind you, but most of the trains we caught the carriage was about 90% empty with no-one behind us, so it was nice to push it back for a while.
Also, in the ordinary cars, there are three seat areas, whereas the green car is only two seats, so if you’re going as a couple or two mates then you can be ensured nobody is alongside you.
Remember The Bento Boxes
You can find Ekiben, also known as bento boxes, which you can eat on the train and they taste incredible! There are plenty of options to choose from in the stations, but make sure to arrive with enough time as it can be hard to find where they’re sold in some stations.
Altogether we must have eaten about 10 bento boxes and we didn’t have one bad one! They’re so much more special than the basic sandwiches we have in stations in the UK. I can only hope one day they start offering them here.
Of course, a trip to 7/11 is essential to pick up some tasty drinks and snacks as well, as I didn’t really see any snacks or drinks available on the trains we took (except one).
How Do You Use The JR Rail Pass?
Being a paper ticket, you put it into the machine at the barriers and it pops out further along (about half a metre in front of you) where you take it out and the barrier opens. This is much like most ticketing systems you will find in stations across the world.
You do however have to look for the JR Pass sign, we accidentally put it into the wrong barriers at time, but you will pick this up quickly.
Suica Card
We were initially worried, as we had heard there was a shortage on Suica cards and that it would be hard to get one when we arrived. Well that all seemed to be rubbish. Sure, they couldn’t provide the long-term one, but you could get a Welcome Suica Card, which lasts for 28 days, plenty of time for our 11 day trip.
These can be bought at the airport or at a station. We bought ours at the JR Ticketing Office in the airport in Terminal 2.
How Do You Top Them Up?
The Suica Card can easily be topped up at the machines, found in each station. The machines have a button so you can choose the language, meaning you don’t have to worry about seeking someone who works there, it’s very easy to pick-up and work out.
How Do You Use The Card?
Unlike the JR pass, which you put into the machine, with the Suica card you just place it over the scanner and the barrier opens up for you to go through, providing you have enough funds on the card.
The barrier will also flash how much you have left and the cost, so it’s worth having a peek if you remember, but I always feel too stressed when going through, trying to ensure I’m getting to the right platform.
How Much Do You Top It Up?
Ok, so the issue with the Welcome Suica Card is you cannot get your money back. Anything left on the card stays on there and expires after the 28 days, so they pocket your leftovers.
When you first get the card, they said you had to either top it up 1,000 yen or 2,000 yen, but after that point you could go to the machine and top it up any amount you want.
We initially put on 2,000 Yen, which is just over £10; however that didn’t last us long with all the trains we were taking, so we added on a further 5,000 yen for each of our cards.
What Route Did You Take?
We stayed in Tokyo for the first night, before using the JR Rail Pass the next day to do a day trip to Mount Fuji, which took about 2 hours (again, rough memory).
The day after that, we headed off to Kyoto, taking around 2 hours, where we stayed for a couple of days, before heading on to Osaka.
The journey from Kyoto to Osaka only took around 15 minutes. After a few days in Osaka, we then headed back to Tokyo, where we spent the rest of the trip.
I do like Tokyo, but it certainly didn’t match up to the other cities. It’s much like other capitals, they’re very big and take ages to travel around, while I tend to prefer smaller towns where you can navigate your way around and see loads of sights very quickly.
Unlike many of our other trips, we really did feel unprepared for a long time before heading to Japan. There were a number of aspects I wish I knew months in advance, so I wouldn’t have been so stressed, so I have tried to list them all in order to help anyone heading out there.
JR Pass
We ordered our JR pass in advance, while we received the voucher and receipt for it through the post to the UK.
Then, when we landed in Tokyo, you collect the actual pass from the JR East Travel Service Centre in the airport (terminal 2). It can be quite a long queue, they gave warnings of up to an hour but it only took us 15 minutes so we must have just got lucky.
Here they will print out your actual ticket which you need to keep on you and put in the machine for each JR line trip you take.
What I wasn’t aware of is that this will also cover a few basic trips, as well as your longer journeys. So yes, it covered us for our trips from Tokyo to Mount Fuji, Kyoto and Osaka, but it also covered some of our trains within Kyoto and Tokyo as well, which was useful. For the rest, such as the subway, you will need a Suica card, which I will get onto in a moment.
You can get a basic JR pass, or you can get the JR Green Car. We opted for the Green Car, as it didn’t cost a huge amount more and it meant we would have luxurious seats for our journey, well I’m very glad we did and I would recommend this if you’re travelling around Japan, providing it fits to your budget.
The seats could stretch back quite far, so you could have a good nap, although the bullet train goes so fast we were never on long enough for a snooze. Our longest journey was 3 hours, from Osaka to Tokyo.
To offer an idea of our journey, we took a 2 hour trip to Mount Fuji from Tokyo, plus 2 hours back at the end of the day. The next day we took a 2.5 hour train to Kyoto, stayed a few days, then a 20 minute train to Osaka, stayed a few more days, then it was a 3 hour train back to Tokyo.
At the Airport JR Service Centre, you can get your pass, but if you want to reserve your seat on all your future trips, you will have to do it elsewhere. They will let you book a trip that day if you wish, but for multiple reservations, you have to head to a local JR centre, of which there were many, such as in Shibuya or Shinjuku. We went to one and booked all of our seats very quickly and easily, but it’s worth doing on your first day so you don’t have to worry about being sat apart if you’re with someone.
Suica Card
This one we didn’t arrange in advance. We read numerous articles stating you should download the app, but the app kept showing it couldn’t be downloaded in our country. We also read they were out of microchips so we couldn’t get a proper card.
All the worrying was for nothing. Once we landed, we got a Suica Welcome card, which lasts 28 days, easily long enough for our whole journey. We ordered it in the JR East Travel Service Centre while getting our JR pass, but you can also get it at a separate section within the station, however it seemed quicker and easier to get it from the same desk as we were already there.
You can initially either top it up with 1,000 yen or 2,000 yen, we burned through the 2,000 yen in no time at all, so that was the better option for us.
It should be stated that you can’t get any money back after loading it onto the welcome Suica card, so you don’t want to put on too much, but it is really useful and you also don’t want to get caught short, so it’s worth checking at the machines how much you have on the card.
Much like tapping your bank card at home, you just tap the card against the machines on the barriers and they open straight away, meaning you don’t have to worry about buying individual tickets at a machine.
I think we spent around 4,000 yen each for a 10 day trip, which is about £22 each.
Language
When I started researching Japan, I saw multiple videos and read numerous articles that stated people in Japan didn’t speak a word of English.
I then set out a 9 month strategy of doing 10 minutes of Japanese classes per day. I learned Hiragana and Katakana (but slipped up with Kanji) and didn’t take a day off for the entire 9 months.
However, once I was out there, I quickly realised people did speak English everywhere I went. We did only go to the big cities, Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, whereas if I went to a smaller village then it might have been needed more.
I am very relieved I did learn the language as it did come in use for trains and to generally understand what people were saying. But if you don’t want to learn the whole language, then below are some of the basics you have to know:
Ohayo Gazai Masu – pronounced ‘oh-hi-oh gazai mass‘: Good morning
Konnichiwa: Hello
Arigatou Gozai Masu – pronounced ‘arry-gateau gozai mass‘: Thank you very much (or just arigatou for thanks)
Hai: Yes
iie: No
Sumimasen – pronounced ‘sue-me-ma-sen’: Excuse me or sorry
Mizu – water
Kudasai – please – ‘Please’ can also be onegaishimasu
Many of the food names are recognisable as they have crossed over, such as udon, sushi, ramen, katsu and teriyaki.
WIFI Box
You have two options when it comes to using your mobile data while in Japan. Fortunately, me and Raquel went for different options, so we can demonstrate the two choices you have.
I opted to use my mobile data with a travel data pass. I’m with EE, so I had to message TRAVEL to 150 before flying out. This turns on your travel pass for when abroad, so you get charged a set price for each day you use data abroad. However, when you’re out there and it turns on, you still need to click on a link you get text to you and confirm you want to use it, each day, which is a bit of a faff.
The charge was £7.80, not exactly cheap, even worse when you consider they only give you 150mb of data, just enough to use Maps and to navigate us around the city but not to really use any apps at all.
The alternative option Raquel went for was the pocket WiFi rental service. You order this from home, then you can collect it at the airport, again at terminal 2 like the JR pass. It will be in a box and was annoyingly complicated to first setup and find all the codes, but once we got it sorted then we were good for the rest of the trip.
You also need to charge the battery each evening so it doesn’t die, so make sure you have enough chargers and adaptors. The amount of data we got was significantly more, but when it runs out it inevitably just switches off, so make sure not to have anything being backed up while using the WiFi and try not to upload or download anything, such as pics and videos.
One issue with the Wifi box was that it isn’t setup from the start, while we needed the internet to work out how we got to our hotel from the airport with Google Maps, so I turned on my data for day one, before gradually switching to the Wifi box after a couple of days (then I didn’t look back).
The cost for our trip to have the WiFi box was £80, so it works out as a similar cost to using your data, but with more data provided, so generally a better option, but it’s worth having your mobile data setup just in case it runs out or for people before it’s working.
At the end, you just post it back with the provided envelope, which can be done for free at a post box. We wanted to use it all the way until the end, so we posted it within the airport on the last day, with a number of post boxes in the airport before you go through security.
Neck Fans
This was a complete game-changer. I have been to a large number of hot countries and just had to deal with the heat, and not deal with it very well I should mention.
But before this holiday we had come across neck fans, which appear like headphones. You wear them around your neck and they blow cool air upwards below your ears. It made a huge amount of difference, I had mine on all day virtually every day in Japan.
The important thing to remember is that you want a strong battery so it lasts the full day. They were available for £12 on Amazon, but I went for one with double the battery life (4000mAh) and that worked perfectly. Of course, you have to charge them (via USB) each evening for the next day.
Smoking Booths
Neither of us smoke, so this didn’t directly affect us, but it is certainly something you need to know if you are a smoker. We didn’t see people smoking anywhere, it completely caught us by surprise.
People didn’t smoke outside at all, there were regulations in place so most areas we were in you would get a fine if you smoked there. This is especially true in busy public streets. You also can’t smoke while walking virtually anywhere in Japan.
Instead there were smoking rooms set out, which looked pretty tight for space, which people can go in and smoke. It really made it look very unappealing to smoke, so I guess a good deterrent.
It reminded me of the scene from IT Crowd where Jen has to walk for miles to find a smoking booth she can squash into.
Japanese Toilets
We were a little nervous beforehand, but we really didn’t have to be. Every single toilet had toilet paper, so if you don’t fancy using the crazy spraying machine, you don’t have to, but I’ll admit I quite enjoyed it once I got my head around it.
Every toilet did however use single ply toilet paper, the thinnest of the thinnest, even the posh hotels we stayed in.
The toilet spray machines were very easy to use. You have a button for the ‘front’ or the ‘back’, press it to get it going, then a stop button for when you’re done. You can then use the toilet paper to dab yourself dry.
They had toilet seat warmers, which Raquel loved, while they also had ‘deodorisers’ to tackle any bad smells. Some even had sounds or music coming out, not that I mucked around with that at all.
A few had buttons you could press so it would lift or drop the toilet seat, meaning you don’t have to touch it at all!
The hardest part was sometimes finding the flush, as they all seemed to have them in different positions around the toilet.
Cash Society
Just as we had read, it was very much a cash society, contrasting with back home where cash is almost extinct. For this reason, it is worth taking out quite a bit of cash before you head out there.
We took out a hefty amount and didn’t use our cards once. For the two of us, we took out £1,200 (£600 each), but we had £300 left at the end of our 10 day holiday, so £900 for two people seemed to be the perfect amount.
That works out as approximately £45 per day per person, but it should be highlighted that our accommodation and most of our travel was pre-paid, so that was food & drink, entry to attractions and general experiences.
Of course, the amount you require depends on what you book, how often you plan on eating out vs 7/11 and whether you plan on drinking a lot.
Also, it’s worth mentioning, tipping isn’t a thing in Japan, so you don’t have to worry about working out the exact amount. In fact, at one point I tried leaving a tip and she quickly shouted no (in a friendly way) and gave me my change.
After spending a few days in Kyoto, we headed on to Osaka, the city of bright lights and oh so much food! There were a few clear winners and a few disappointments in Osaka, so I have only included the best highlights of Osaka so you know what you have to book.
If you haven’t picked your hotel yet, make sure to opt for somewhere downtown, not too far from the Dotombori district. This means you will have a short journey to almost everything you want to see (except Universal Studios).
1) Universal Studios Japan
The first step to explain is booking your tickets, as that was a bit of a nightmare, as you have to book them in advance and they’re really not as straight forward as you think. Of course, you can pay at the ticket gate on the day, but everyone recommends booking in advance to get access to certain aspects.
You pay for your studio pass, which gives you entry to the park, costing 8,600 yen per adult (or 5,600 yen for a child). However, you also really need to pay for an express pass, as otherwise you don’t get access to everything, including some of the most popular spots, so this is an added cost to the pile, making it all very pricey.
The Universal Express passes basically give you access to certain sections of the park at set times of the day, to stop it overcrowding (actually a clever idea, if it wasn’t purely based on increasing profitability). It also gives you queue jumps on certain rides, which is worth its weight in gold, as this drops a queue from 50 minutes to 5 minutes!
We started off with the 4D cinema, which was a little disappointing purely as it was in Japanese (obviously) with no English subtitles, so I’m not sure what we were expecting but we did get a little bored through the show. The 4D aspect also isn’t great, as you expect to move around quite a bit, but it really is minimalist.
So, here comes the good and the bad….I’ll start with the bad. The Nintendo World part, the main area I was excited about and wanted to visit for, was very disappointing. I mean, when you walk in it’s spectacular, it takes your breath away, you’re in a literal world of Nintendo with giant characters everywhere.
But the glamour quickly wears off, as it seems to be filled with 5 year olds who hog everything, so you won’t get a chance to try most aspects, well, unless you have a young child with you.
There were two rides, which were seemingly aimed at 5 year olds as well, so they certainly weren’t worth the wait.
I would then talk about the brilliant Spiderman ride, which has won numerous awards for being the best ride in the world, but it is actually closing down in a couple of months to be replaced by something else after 20 years being there.
But here comes the good, the Harry Potter world! This beat my expectations comfortably. You walk into this snowy scenery which truly makes you feel like you’re there, despite it being 30 degrees. They even have a huge Hogwarts building that left my jaw on the floor.
But even better, the Forbidden Journey was the best ride I’ve ever been on in my life! It’s not intensely scary, so if you’re looking for something absolutely horrific and with ten loop the loops then this isn’t that. But it combines a fun ride with 4D aspects and left me and Raquel, not to mention the others next to us, giggling and smiling by the end.
We got off and went straight back into the queue, if I could I’d still be riding it now!
In the same area is the less exciting Flight of the Hippogriff, not because it’s not fun, but because it lasted about 30 seconds, which makes the 40 minute wait seem a bit excessive!
We even stopped off for a pint of butterbeer (sadly containing no alcohol), while we also watched an immersive experience where a kid got to pick out their wand and see items fly off the shelves.
Beyond this, there is also a Minion park, which is good fun, but again aimed at a much younger audience, as well as a Jaws section, which is great entertainment even if I didn’t understand the language.
Oh, I almost forgot, the Waterworld section, here it’s not multiple attractions but one big show taking place. I was initially scared I was going to see something with animal cruelty involving dolphins, but fortunately it wasn’t. It was so much better than I could possibly imagine, with pyrotechnics and extreme acrobatic moves.
Sure, you don’t understand the words being said, but you don’t need to, it was so dramatic and over the top. It definitely wouldn’t pass health and safety in the UK, but that’s what made it so spectacular.
The food? Well, you can’t bring food into the park which is a shame, because it was all pretty nasty. They largely just offer burger and chips, or other basic dishes, all which taste really low quality and bland. I guess I shouldn’t expect much, while they’re clearly catering for a largely child-based audience.
2) Explore The Dotombori District
This isn’t just about finding somewhere to eat or to shop, it’s more about how eye catching it all is. Every building has some form of design, whether it’s a giant moving crab or a huge dragon, it was absolutely spectacular.
I would also recommend heading to the bridge in the evening at 1 Chome Dotonbori, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 542-0084, as you can get some great photos, as can be seen below.
Walking around at lunch time with all the hustle and bustle, people stopping to eat everywhere, it felt so lively and exciting, this was what I was hoping to see when I had arrived in Tokyo but found it in Osaka.
If you see a queue outside a certain restaurant, that’s normally a very good sign that it’s a great restaurant, but you may have to wait up until an hour to go in, so I commonly went elsewhere as we didn’t have time for queues with our busy schedule.
3) Enjoy Your Own Food Booth
While walking along Dontonbori, you will find a number of great places to eat, but I wanted to put forward somewhere that we absolutely loved and found by complete chance.
Ok, the restaurant name is クインソフト, but I know that might not help, so here it is on Google Maps. The address is 1 Chome-4-20 Dotonbori, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 542-0071, Japan.
This is better suited for meat lovers if I’m honest, so you might want to skip this if you’re vegetarian or vegan, they have some alternatives but not a great selection.
You’re led over to your own private booth area, where you swap your shoes for slippers and they close the walling. You then don’t have to worry about confusingly ordering, as they have a machine in the booth, which can switch to English, where you can order anything you like as often as you like.
We ordered multiples cuts of beef, from sirloin to premium cuts of gorgeous wagyu beef. You are brought a heater, which goes in the middle and you then cook your own meat cuts.
Of course, if you’d prefer food cooked for you, they had a number of noodle and rice dishes, something Raquel enjoyed. But I was hooked to the high quality meat, it was some of the best I’ve ever had, each bite melted in my mouth.
We ordered a huge amount of meat, 4 pints, a noodle and a rice dish, while it all came to £40, which seems bizarrely cheap for the quantity we ordered. Back home I dread to think what we would have paid.
4) The Glico Running Man
This is one of those sights that you have to tick off, but you merely need five minutes there before heading on. People are captivated by this sign, sometimes it is hard to really tell why, but once you get there you find yourself getting in the moment and you have to get some pics.
This is arguably the most famous landmark of Osaka, just as you reach the Dotombori canal. If you’re already exploring the Dotombori District then this can quickly be ticked off.
If you want to get a photo without crowds then you should arrive early in the morning. Personally, I don’t mind a few people in our pics, it wasn’t too busy that you couldn’t get a good photo despite turning up at peak times, but for that glamorous shot of just you it could be easier in the morning.
This is actually just one of many amazing signs along the canal, which I’ll get into later.
5) Visit The Namba Yasaka Jinja
Jinja means shrine in Japanese, while this shrine is easily my favourite from our holiday in Japan, with the giant lion head and its mouth open and teeth on show. I actually thought it was a dragons head, it’s only a couple of weeks later writing this up that I’ve learned it was a lions head!
To get there, we just had a 10-15 minute walk from the Dotombori District, which was nice as you can escape the busy crowds and see a slightly different side to Osaka, walking through a small park and passing some interesting restaurants on the way.
The trees around the shrine are cherry blossoms, but they weren’t blooming at the time we visited, but you might just get lucky, making that incredible photo even better.
Just remember when snapping some shots, this is actually a place of worship, so you still need to be respectful and considerate to others.
Your closest station is Namba station, which was useful for a number of trips we took.
6) Try Some Cakes
The first recommendation I have to give is the raspberry macarons in the Dotombori district. I’ve always loved macarons, but Raquel hasn’t been so keen on them, but this was a game changer, with some jam in the middle, meaning we were actually hooked. If they weren’t cream based in 30 degree heat, I would have taken a pack with me to nibble on over the next few days, but I had to settle for just a couple.
There are also multiple stores selling strawberry based desserts, with everything from sponge cakes to popcorn. They also have these famous desserts everyone goes on about, I’ve included a photo below but I’m not sure of the name, but the one recommendation I would provide would be to avoid the matcha flavour!
7) Walk Along The Dotombori Canal
We thought we had seen it all along the famous streets, then suddenly we got to the canal and we realised we had only just scratched the surface.
There were numerous signs outside store fronts that were implausibly large. They also had numerous animal cafes along the area, but we didn’t have the best experience with this, as highlighted further on.
We also found some fun shops with plenty of souvenirs to bring home, not to mention every version of KitKat you can ever imagine. Plus, of course, there were a lot of food vendors, so you could try the 10-Yen cheese coins or the onigiri balls, whatever picks your fancy.
8) Tombori River Cruise
Ok, this is one I have to quickly admit something about, we queued up to do this but the queue was taking a bit long, so we didn’t go ahead with it in the end, but I wanted to write about it as it looked great fun.
We watched the boats go along the Dotonbori canal, guiding you across the famous sights. They did really pack the people on, which might have weighed in Raquel’s mind when she changed her mind part way along the queue, but I still think it looked like it would be great fun.
The boat ride lasts 20 minutes, while they pick you up from the Tazaemonbashi bridge boat dock. The price was 1,200 yen, which seems reasonable for what you’re getting.
There were also some more private boat rides, which I’d maybe prefer, but I’m not sure what the cost would have been.
9) Ebisu Tower & Ferris Wheel
Ok, this recommendation comes as a one or the other (or both). The Ebisu Tower along the Dotonbori canal looks stunning from the outside, so you may just want to admire it from the riverside and get some pics.
Along the outskirts you will see the ferris wheel pods, which you can ride, something I was keen to do but it was closed when I got there. A lot of travel guide websites were incorrectly listing it as open from 11am to 11pm, which wasn’t true. Instead, they had a break during the day, I think it ran from 11 till maybe 3pm, then they closed until 5pm, so I arrived at just the wrong time, same as many people around us who were trying to work out why it wasn’t running.
However, if big rides aren’t your thing, then I would still recommend visiting the building, as it’s a huge store with multiple levels, containing some great items whether it’s for you to snack on or as a souvenir. There was an entire floor just for chocolate bars!
They even had an entire section dedicated to Pokemon, which I couldn’t help but dive into.
Hidden Gem
I wanted to highlight somewhere we at for lunch, as it was away from the main tourist spots and we loved it.
I was really keen to get some sushi, while Raquel wanted to witness the conveyer belts, so we ended up going to Kura Sushi. Sure, there were places closer to where we were, but this one had the belt so we travelled a bit further.
When we got there, it was impossible to initially find, as it was on the second floor and had a side stair entrance, so unless you were directly looking for it, you wouldn’t know it was there.
You head in and go over to a machine to get given a ticket with a table number. We had table 17 so we headed on over, while we found a machine at the table which we could easily order from. This meant we could order as much as we like and as often as we liked, making loads of fun experiments.
You can just grab a plate from the conveyer belt, but it’s easier ordering from the machine. The item is then brought over on a higher level of the conveyer belt, with the machine beeping to let us know our order is coming in.
At the end, you put the plates in a whole on the table, which counts the plates on the machine, before ‘checking out’. You then take over your receipt to a machine, which reads the code and lets you know how much you owe.
We ordered copious amounts of food for us both, as well as 4 different drinks and the total price was £8…I thought there was some mistake initially. £8! That’s the best price I’ve ever witnessed in a restaurant.
What To Avoid
We decided to visit the Mama Shiba dog cafe, not something we had on our itinerary, but we passed the front and decided to pop in, next thing we knew we had paid and had a time scheduled. You book it on the second floor and it all takes place on the fourth floor of the same building, but they’re often quite busy so we were booked in for an hour later. They also have a cat cafe on the third floor.
Once you go in, there are about 15 people sat around the long room, with various dogs wandering about.
They tell you not to pick up the dogs, but to wait patiently for them to come over. The reality however is that the dogs aren’t interested at all in the constant visitors, they’re only interested in the people that work there with the treats.
You get 30 minutes with your booking, but after about 5 minutes of staring at a couple of dogs from afar, it became obvious to us both how ludicrous this was. We have a dog at home and hang out with dogs as much as possible, but these were dogs that just wanted to keep away from people and were irritated when you stroked them.
I found myself counting the seconds until this ended, I never thought I would say that about anything dog related, but it was abysmal.
Before arriving in Japan, I went through numerous lists of the best things to do in Kyoto and the consistent thing I found was that it was apparent most of the writers had never stepped foot in the area.
From inaccurate advice to bizarre tips, I wanted to provide a list of the things I truly felt were the best activities or experiences to try while there, as well as a real-life visitors tips for someone going for the first time.
1) Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama
Easily near the top of both mine and Raquel’s list of the best things to do in Japan, this activity really was one of my highlights of the whole holiday.
To get up close with wildlife is always a thrill, but I hate zoos or anything enclosed, while on a safari you still keep a distance, but this was the perfect opportunity to see them and feed them while still seeing them in their wild habitat.
The views at the top are meant to be the best you’ll get of Kyoto from above, capture one with a monkey at the front and you’ll be delighted!
Once you climb to the top, you’re instantly met with the views, as well as a banana bench for you to sit down on and recover.
To the side was the feeding room, where you go in and can pay for food items to feed the monkeys. It was 50 yen for each bag, consisting of cut up apples or peanuts, we went for a few bags of apples which they loved.
The feeding room has wiring so the monkeys can gather along the outside and put their arms through to grab the food from your hand. This is a safe way to feed them up close.
You can then also head out and further up the hill, to get views of the monkeys that aren’t chasing after food, with a little waterfall there.
There are certain warnings you must abide by, such as not crouching down when taking a photo.
Oh, there is a slide at the end going down a portion of the hill, I gave it a go but my butt got well and truly wedged in (watch our video on YouTube to witness the humiliation). Great if you have kids, but maybe meant for more slimmer people than myself. Still, great fun to try.
How Much Does It Cost?
The cost of entry was 600 yen per person, which isn’t too pricey and totally worth the cost. Remember they only take cash, so don’t expect to use a bank card. There are a few ATM’s dotted across the city, with the Bank of Kyoto at Kyoto station, where you can take out cash if needed.
Just a heads-up, we took out plenty of cash for the whole holiday as it is a cash-focused society still, so we didn’t once use a bank card.
How Long Does It Take?
A number of websites highlighted the hike up as being 40 minutes, I’m not sure whether they add on some time for slower walkers, but we were up there in 20 minutes. It should be said that it’s all up-hill, a combination of steps and just an upward path, so expect to sweat quite a bit.
How Do I Get There?
Once you have taken the train to Kyoto, the best route is via the train. If you bought a JR pass to get to Kyoto then you will be delighted to hear you should be able to take a train utilising the JR pass the whole way there, to Saga Arashiyama station. The entire trip can be as short as 30 minutes, but we took a bit longer with finding the right platform and getting our bearings, so more likely 40 minutes.
Alternatively, there are buses that go there, which some people preferred if they’re hotel was no where near Kyoto station, as it would take them longer to go back in and take the train than a direct bus.
Google Maps will be able to guide best on the different bus routes, but one of them people took was the 28 at Nishi Oji Shijo, which was 16 stops until it arrived at Arashiyama Koen, just outside the Monkey Park.
When Should I Get There?
We did a hike in the morning to a shrine, therefore we arrived in the early afternoon. There were certainly crowds and if you want to get pictures of the monkeys or the views without any crowds then earlier is always better, with the Monkey Park opening at 9am.
Personal Tip?
Make sure to pack water as you won’t be able to buy it further up and you will definitely get a little sweaty. I’d also highlight packing a neck fan, these things were an absolute game-changer in the warmer climate we’re not used to.
2) Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine
Wow, people don’t warn you about quite how many steps you’re going to take! The Shinto shrine is an amazing place to visit and always takes centre stage in any photos of Japan, easily the most recognisable scene of Kyoto.
This is one of those that you simply have to tick off if going to Kyoto, especially if you’re short on time and can only tick off one shrine or temple.
It’s such a short walk from the station, while it starts with a number of temple buildings, which did have some work being done when we arrived. You then head on through towards the never-ending steps through the orange posts.
You will also see a good few statues of the Kitsune foxes, which are worth keeping an eye out for.
How Much Does It Cost?
It didn’t cost a penny. Entrance fee is completely free.
How Long Does It Take?
This is one hell of a physical challenge, especially with it being around 28 degrees when we were there. Altogether, it took us about 80 minutes of continuous walking to go up and down, with the majority of that being up hill (you can walk down a hell of a lot quicker).
You should give yourself a good couple of hours, as we tried charging through it (hence the very sweaty armpits), but a lot of people needed breaks along the way, which does add onto the time. You also want time to get photos.
Much like the other recommendations on this list, you should definitely get a neck fan, as well as packing water, while make sure you’re wearing sturdy walking shoes for this.
How Do I Get There?
If you were to go from Kyoto station, which is what we did, then you need the Nara train line, going to Inari station. The station is right outside the entrance and absolutely everyone getting off here is heading in the same direction, so no chance of you getting lost once you leave the train station.
The Nara line train is going towards Local Joyo and takes 5 minutes, with two stops, initially stopping at Tofukuji station. The platform in Kyoto station should be 10, but double check on the day.
When Should I Get There?
We arrived for about 9am, which we thought was pretty early and already there were quite a lot of people and tour groups. But nothing could prepare us for how busy it was when we were down the bottom around 10:30, so we didn’t even see how busy it got midday and I can comfortably say this is an activity that has to be done early hours.
An added benefit of getting there for 7-8 in the morning is that the temperature is a bit cooler when walking up all the steps.
Personal Tip?
Everyone arrives and starts taking a thousand photos, with tourists all around you in the shot and the pictures aren’t all that great. As you head further up, people get bored of taking photos and not as many people make it up higher, so once you get 50-75% of the way up, there is plenty more space to get photos with no-one in them.
Basically, hold off spending hours taking all the photos at the bottom as you’ll get cleaner ones higher up. Admittedly, you will have sweat patches in the photos taking further up.
3) Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
If I’m honest, when we started planning out our short trip over to Kyoto, this one didn’t actually make the list. It then got sneaked back on due to its proximity to the Monkey Park, meaning it could easily be ticked off before heading back to the station.
This natural forest does look stunning as you walk in, while it stretches for so far, so again, don’t take all your photos near the entrance like the many other tourists do and instead hold off a bit and find yourself a more secluded area to get them.
There were also some shrines, where we watched people ring the bell, before bowing twice and then clapping twice and a final bow. This is the traditional form of worship in Japan, you need to bow quite low to show respect to the deities.
There was also a number rickshaw tours going on around the forest. I personally found them a bit weird and imperial, having someone pull you along, but the idea of a guide while skipping the steps after already doing 20,000 steps does sound intriguing, so I understand why people did it.
There aren’t too many rickshaws, so you don’t find yourself constantly moving out of the way, which is good.
How Much Does It Cost?
The entrance fee is free, again I was happy to see this! Your only cost is travelling here.
How Long Does It Take?
It depends how long you want to go, whether you want to walk the whole thing. If you want to do the whole thing, then 30-45 minutes is normally ideal, however after about 20 minutes, we felt like we had ‘completed it’ and decided to head off. It was spectacular, but there is only a set amount of bamboo we can see before we feel like we’re repeating ourselves.
How Do I Get There?
If you’re coming from Kyoto station, then you will need to take the JR San-In line, heading towards Kameoka, getting off at Saga Arashiyama station. You will then have a 10-15 minute walk to the entrance.
If however you did the monkey park beforehand, which I’d recommend, then you simply have a 15-20 minute walk, going across the bridge (with great views for some photo opportunities). It may be 20 minutes if you decide to stop at any of the shops you pass, as quite a few did look interesting, not to mention all the incredible food on offer.
When Should I Get There?
The forest is open all hours of the day, so it does mean you can arrive at the time to suit you and decide based on how busy your schedule is.
Unlike some of the other attractions on this list, this wasn’t too busy, there were certainly plenty of groups, but it didn’t feel overcrowded despite being the middle of the day, perceived to be the busiest period, so I’d focus your morning key quiet time on a different area and slot this between activities, possibly after seeing the Monkey Park.
Personal Tip?
I have briefly mentioned this, but tick off the Monkey Park and simply do this one straight after. It’s a short walk away and won’t take a huge amount longer, before you head on for another experience.
4) Nishiki Market
I love a market, they’re always an amazing place to visit on holiday, allowing you to try some local cuisine, get some souvenirs and test out your language skills.
The Nishiki market is downtown, the best place to stay, while it was lively throughout the day. The narrow street has been serving people for over 400 years, while there are about 140 vendors located across the market, with plenty of other shops nearby as well.
We even found a Snoopy tea house, which sold absolutely anything and everything related to Snoopy, such as towels, teddies and ice cream with snoopy’s face on.
You will also find the small octopus on a stick here, not my cup of tea, but a popular option it seemed. I did like the skewers of chicken they were cooking with a blow torch though.
We also bought the famous strawberry sandwiches from here. It’s basically strawberry and whipped cream inside two slices of white bread. What did it taste like? Well, exactly that, a little odd and not sure I’d have again, but I do love strawberries so there is that.
I also picked up some great souvenirs here, focused around Studio Ghibli. I wanted to mention the souvenirs, as I kept contemplating whether to buy here or not, but the prices for the same products were two or three times more expensive in Tokyo.
I mainly took clips of the market, so you can get a full idea from our video on YouTube, but I don’t have many pics (silly old me).
How Much Does It Cost?
The market is free to enter, but how much you spend on food and treats is down to you!
How Long Does It Take?
To walk from one end to another would only take 5 minutes, but as you’ll be looking at each stand, potentially going inside some stores and trying a few tasty bits, it should take about an hour to complete.
How Do I Get There?
If you’re going from the station, you can take a bus, being the Shiei 205 from the bus terminal right outside the train station. This will drop yuou off at Shijo Kawaramachi, a 4 minute walk away. Alternatively, this is a stop on the Sky Hop On bus route, which I will cover in more detail later.
You can also walk from the station, which takes about 30 minutes, but make sure to bring water for the heat.
When Should I Get There?
Well, we arrived for around 3pm and while it was busy, I don’t mind a market being relatively lively. It also meant my stomach was ready for some snacks and I certainly made the most of it, trying several options along the way.
Of course, the morning will always be quieter, but if you only have a short amount of time in Kyoto then you should prioritise the busiest attractions for the mornings, such as the shrines.
Personal Tip?
Don’t eat before you arrive, get here on an empty stomach, sure you might spend a bit more, but it means you will try everything possible. Considering a large portion of the stands and stores are food based, it would be a shame if you had just eaten lunch and didn’t really make the most of it all.
5) Sky Hop On Bus
I am a huge fan of hop-on-hop-off buses, trying them out all across Europe, but I haven’t really seen them outside the continent, so I was delighted to spot this in Kyoto, making it an unexpected item for the list. It also bizarrely doesn’t make many other lists, which I think is ridiculous.
It’s highlighted as an open top bus, which is maybe a bit cheeky, as we took 4 separate buses and not one was an open top bus, so maybe it’s just lack if you manage to catch one.
The stops include:
Kyoto station
Nishihonganji temple (Kyoto Tokyu hotel)
Shijo Karasuma – the main stop for Nishiki market
Nijo-jo Castle (careful with your timings, we got off and it was closed already)
Kitano Tenmangu Shrine
Kinkaku-ji temple
Daitoku-ji temple
Kyoto Imperial palace
Ginkaku-ji temple
Heian-jingu shrine
Gion (Kotowa-Kyoto Yasaka)
Gojo-Zaka – the stop for the Kiyomizu-dera temple
Sanjusangendo – Kyoto national museum
One thing which wasn’t great in the slightest was the audio guide. I mean it was absolute trash. Firstly, they used a robot voice rather than a real person, meaning it lacked the natural up and down of conversational talk and left you day dreaming after a while.
Also, the audio barely played at all for each stop, predominantly just playing irritating music. There were no interesting stories or tales from the area. This is one area which they really need to improve.
I loved this activity not for the rubbish audio guide, but for the ability to quickly and easily be able to get around town and tick off so many activities with ease.
How Much Does It Cost?
For adults it is 3,500 yen, or 5,000 yen for two days. For children it costs 1,750 yen, or 2,500 yen for a two day pass.
How Long Does It Take?
The entire route around took about one hour, but if you plan on getting off at multiple stops then this will take 1-2 days to complete.
How Do I Get There?
The first stop and ticket stand are right outside Kyoto station.
When Should I Get There?
The first bus takes off at 8:40 am and it ends at…I’m going to say 6pm. They will give you a leaflet when you pay for it which will show you the times. Or you can pay for it online and have it all setup on your phone, but we were outside the ticket office (at Kyoto station) so it seemed quicker and easier just to pay them and get our paper tickets.
I would recommend getting up for the first bus, as time will quickly tick away and you may struggle to tick it all off before the end otherwise.
Personal Tip?
When I’ve taken hop-on buses before, they normally have a bus at each stop every 10-15 minutes, so you jump off each stop and get your photos before returning to the bus stop. However, these were far less regular, with a bus once per hour. This isn’t ideal if you want to take lots of stops.
Tip number two, the price for one day was 3,500 yen, while if you wanted two days it was 5,000 yen. It would be very difficult to tick everything off in one day, unless you plan on just sitting down and looking out at it all, so it might be worth getting the two day ticket if you have the time for it.
6) Eat A 10-Yen Coin
Ok, I say a 10 yen coin, they’re basically a pancake with melted cheese in the middle, need I say more?
Well, yes I should, considering this is a guide. People are obsessed with these in Japan, whether you look on Instagram or Tik Tok, travel guides or simply speaking to anyone.
One downside, there is no where near enough cheese. They place a slab in the middle, but you have to eat the doughy outside before you get to the cheese, which is a little frustrating.
Which cheese you ask? Good question! They use mozzarella, which means it’s extra stringy, like an advert for Dominoes. I do think other cheeses would be worth experimenting with, such as ones which could add more flavour (maybe some Red Leicester, just throwing it out there).
How Much Does It Cost?
It cost 500 yen to buy one, so not too expensive at all. This is hardly going to be a whole lunch, just a naughty snack after an intense hike, to keep you going that little bit longer.
Where Do I Get one?
These are sold at a number of locations, but we got ours from the exit-base of the Arashiyama Monkey Park. Once you get to the bottom, there was a stand setup selling them, so you can watch her work her magic and make them in front of you. The crowds aren’t too intense, so we got ours within about 3 minutes.
Hidden Gem
Sure, I should be highlighting Japanese food, but we ate Japanese food virtually every day and being English, we start to crave Indian food if we go too long without it. We looked around for a decent one and came across one purely by mistake.
It wasn’t effectively listed on Google Maps (the image is of a car park and doesn’t show up when you search for Indian restaurants) and they didn’t have reviews setup (albeit they are on Uber Eats), they were upstairs above a shop and completely hidden away. But my word, it was one of the best Indian restaurants I’ve ever been to.
The food was beyond words, the cheese nan was the best Raquel has ever had and the curry was simply spectacular. It was called Queens Restaurant & Bar. Not sure about the bar bit, maybe that was downstairs or next door, but we were sat in the restaurant upstairs and loved every second of it.
Japan is one of those places which holds such a contrast, from the technology hub of the world Tokyo, to the peaceful mountains and Buddhist temples all over the country. There are many cultural differences which you must be made aware of before visiting Japan. In general, people in Japan are very proud and do not believe in humiliating people in public, as they call it, ‘losing face’. If you have an issue with someone in Japan, do not try and embarrass them in front of everyone, simply try to have a quiet word. Along a similar line, tipping is not a tradition in Japan, therefore don’t think you are being rude by not leaving a tip as you are more likely to demean someone or confuse them if you leave a tip. Some may accept tips, however unless you speak the language, it might not be worth the hassle and confusion as the gesture is lost in translation.
If you are planning a holiday to Japan, I have done my best to list everything you should give a try when arriving in Japan, however I am sure there are much more which could be added to the list. If you can think of any more, let me know in the comments at the bottom and I will do my best to add them to the article, so that we can collectively collate every piece of Japan together.
1) Kyoto’s rich heritage
Kyoto is filled with tourist attractions and world heritage sites, often seen in photo’s around the world. Visiting Kyoto’s ancient sites has to be right top of anyone’s list if they are heading to Japan. The terrific looking Kinkakuji, which is now a Zen Buddhist temple, is quite breathtaking. The beautiful gardens and water around Kinkakuji add to the image, while I would also recommend a visit to Ryonanji. There are 2,000 temples in Kyoto and 17 world heritage sites, so Kyoto will take a long time to see it all, make sure you stay for a good week.
Creative Commons License photo credit: goto_
2) Ryokan
While in Japan you have to embrace the culture and stay in a Ryokan rather than a hotel, to gain a glimpse into the Japanese lifestyle and customs. For example, the room will have sliding rice paper doors, everyone would have communal baths and spend most of the day in robes, futons in most rooms and the tranquil gardens.
Creative Commons License photo credit: Adrian F
3) Sing in a Karaoke
You can often agree to a private karaoke booth for you and your friends with an all you can drink special offer. This way it is a bit like pre-drinking the whole night, which is normally the most fun anyway. Pick your favourite song and don’t be afraid to make a complete tit out of yourself!
Creative Commons License photo credit: Adam Kahtava
4) Himeji Castle
One of the best preserved castles in the entirety of Japan, Himeji castle will have your camera full of photos by the end of the day. The destruction of World War 2 never quite reached Himeji castle, leaving the impeccable building untouched by warfare. Easily the most stunning castle in Japan, you really don’t want to miss this.
As many as 140,000 people were victims to the cruel and ruthless nuclear attack by America, where the memories and lost lives are commemorated and respected, in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
Creative Commons License photo credit: galaygobi
6) Eat fish for breakfast
I’m not a fan of seafood, but when in Rome! Eating sushi was always going to be on the list, however on this list I would like to highlight eating fish for breakfast as something you have to complete. Quite the opposite of the traditional English breakfast, the traditional Japanese breakfast includes a low down table and sitting on cushions while eating small bowls of grilled fish and plenty of salad, rice and miso soup.
Creative Commons License photo credit: Gustty
7) Spend the night in a temple
If you are curious about the Buddhist ways, and want to gain a life-altering experience, spend time with the monks on Mount Koya, where you can look over the mountains and ponder on life and the meanings of it. Eko-in allows guests to stay overnight, pray with the monks and eat the traditional vegetarian food.
To anyone who used to watch Studio Ghibli anime, this will be something you will be determined to tick off, located in Tokyo. If you have never seen any of Studio Ghibli’s work, make sure you watch a few films before you go to Japan, such as Night of the Fireflies or Princess Mononoke (to name a few of the more famous ones). One head’s up is that Night of the Fireflies is actually incredibly sad, whereas most of the others are like an animated action/fantasy film.
Being the highest mountain in Japan, at 12,389 foot, climbing some of Mount Fuji is always a temptation, even if you don’t go too high and you just want a great photo. Although I wouldn’t recommend this trip if you are going through peak times, as you will literally have to queue the entire way up and then will have a large amount of heads in your photos. Check out the best times to visit, to gain an idea of when is best.
Creative Commons License photo credit: midorisyu
10) Kumano Kodo
The Kumano Kodo is an ancient pilgrimage route, through the great mountains of Wakayama Prefecture. Understandably, Kumano Kodo has become a World Heritage site, due to its relaxing and natural hot springs, the waterfalls and the green forests coating the land. A large amount of Japanese mythology is based here, while I would state this might be a surprise package as one of the absolute best things you could do in Japan, do not miss!
Creative Commons License photo credit: jmurawski
11) Onsen
An Onsen is a natural hot spring, where people will regularly come to relax and unwind on the weekend or after a hard day’s work. These can be found all over Japan, however some are definitely better than others. Dogo in Matsuyama, Shikoku, is one of the most well known hot springs you can find in Japan, while I can’t think of a better way to relax.
If you are visiting the mountains close by to the monkey park then you will easily spot a number of wild monkeys, however you will often struggle to get a good shot of them as they approach fast and then jump away to safety. This is a must for all animal lovers, however make sure you time your visit right as the temperature can get very high and if you plan on walking up the mountain, you might find yourself cutting your trek short.
This is a beautiful tunnel of cascading flowers hanging over your head, predominantly offering a purple colour, combined with some white flowers. Unfortunately, whether I recommend this one all depends on when you visit. As you can imagine, being something so seasonal, when the flowers aren’t budding then it is quite a drab and depressing looking site. The ideal time to see this is during late April to early May, which is when it should be in full bloom.
14) Robot Restaurant
Most people who visit Tokyo from the UK have some interest in technology, hence making the long journey over to this technological hub spot for the world. The level of robotics is better here than anywhere else in the world, while it is slowly being added to more attractions and venues, however one of the most popular is the robot restaurant. I mean, being served by robots sounds pretty damn cool, if not scary to young waiters and waitresses who are watching their career path being overthrown by their metal overlords. This place feels like a mix between a restaurant and a rave, with bright lights flying off in all directions.
