21 things to do in Japan

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Japan is one of those places which can offer such contrasting experiences, 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 will come across while 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 many 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) Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto

This is the most famous sight associated with Kyoto, while you want to arrive early in the morning, as it can get pretty warm and you have a lot of steps to get in. By the time we had got up and down, we were on 25,000 steps, so we were absolutely exhausted and it was only 12 midday.

You walk through the red Torii gates, which surround you along the trail, up towards the shrines. In total, the mountain route took us about 3 hours to trek, but it was the extreme heat that made this quite a hard one, so make sure to bring a neck fan and plenty of water.

This is a completely free sight to see, while they’re also open 24 hours a day, albeit you don’t want to be wandering around here when it’s dark, with all those steps. Look out for the famous fox statues along the route. I will say this, if you don’t fancy an extreme hike, you can still get some great snaps near the entrance, as the start of the red Torii gates are quite early on, along with a number of temples.

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.

2) Dotonbori in Osaka

I loved Osaka, it’s a foodie heaven, with so many incredible restaurants. But it wasn’t just the eating, wandering along Dotonbori was fascinating as you spend half your time staring upwards at the 3D decorations and boards outside or above each restaurant. At night, they’re all lit up with neon signs, in a way I’ve never seen anywhere else.

I didn’t expect to love Osaka as much as I did. I don’t think you need more than a couple of days here, but you absolutely can’t miss it on your holiday to Japan. Of course, you’ve got the famous Running Man billboard, which everyone wants a photo of, but I wasn’t as fussed about that. You’ve also got some dog cafes which were a bit disappointing. For me, it was the restaurants and street food, the lively atmosphere and the bizarre nature of this city that made me fall in love.

You don’t have a long walk from Namba station to reach Dotonbori, so this can easily be ticked off on the day you arrive into Osaka.

3) Universal Studios (Mario World) in Osaka

Are you ready to be surprised, Mario World wasn’t the best part of the Universal Studios. I know, it feels wrong to say that, as I was seriously only visiting to see Mario World. But it was full of small kids, every game was targeted towards them and the rides were built for under 10 year olds. In contrast, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in this Universal Studios was by far the best. The rides involved a rollercoaster with immersive effects and I seriously loved it. I also had a good few rides on Rlight of the Hippogriff.

We also need to talk about WaterWorld, they seriously don’t have health and safety rules in Japan! There were explosions, jet ski chases and people jumping from huge heights. This was a show on water like nothing I had ever seen before. I don’t want to provide too many spoilers, but basically, even if Mario World doesn’t quite live up to the hype, the rest of the park makes up for it. Having said that, if you have young kids, you’ll still probably love Mario World, it just wasn’t aimed at adults at all which I think is a miss, considering we grew up with Mario.

You will need a full day for this experience, we arrived at the crack of dawn and didn’t leave until it was closing, while I still could have done with a couple more hours there on the rides. In fact, when we were leaving it was starting a fancy dress horror experience, something I wish I could have stayed for.

4) TeamLab Planets

This is an immersive digital art museum and I personally love an immersive experience so this was a big win for me. You had a water area (so expect to get your feet wet, you will have an area and locker to put your shoes and socks in) plus floating flower gardens. The hanging lights in the Infinite Crystal Universe was stunning, while the bizarre metal looking eggs were also eye-catching.

This one wasn’t located near anything else we had to do, so we had to dedicate a whole afternoon to the event, visiting Toyosu from the Shin-Toyosu station on the Yurikamome Line. You need to book tickets in advance and you’ll be given a time slot, which you have to be on time for.

5) Shibuya Sky

We were told the best time to book this is for 6pm, so we worked really hard to get a ticket for that time, only to seriously suffer with jetlag and sleep through it. So we quickly re-booked for a week later and had to settle for 1pm, which meant we didn’t catch sunset, but it was still one of our highlights of Tokyo.

You head up in the elevator an insane amount of floors up towards the observation deck, providing panoramic views of Tokyo. You can look down at the Shibuya crossing and across at all the skyscrapers. As you go up the escalator towards the opening, this is what many people show on Instagram and TikTok, so prepare for everyone to be posing and filming as they go up.

Once you’re ready to leave, you head back inside and there is a cafe area with seating, nice once you’ve walked around quite a bit and you fancy a coffee, but you are paying a premium price.

6) Mount Fuji

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. So we took the train over from Shinjuku Station to Kawaguchiko Station, but what we didn’t realise is that the train stops you off quite far from the base, a similar mistake many other tourists make. From that point, you need a bus to the 5th station, which takes almost an hour.

We didn’t want to waste time, therefore we instead hired out e-bikes and rode them to places like Oishi Park and the Northern Lakeshore, where you can get some great views of Mount Fuji, providing it’s not foggy…It was foggy that day. Either way, the parks were beautiful and we absolutely loved this day out as one of our favourite moments in Japan.

7) Micro Pig Cafe in Tokyo

I didn’t realise how much pigs would be like dogs! They were so cute and they loved getting stroked or being held. They would fight to be in your lap, all trying to get attention, it was just adorable. At several points, I would have 3-4 pigs on me, all trying to get scratches and then shutting their eyes as they relaxed.

Make sure to give some attention to the bigger ones, as they clearly don’t get as much attention from visitors, simply as they’ve grown out of that micro size. For me, I don’t care about whether they’re big or small, I just wanted to cuddle a pig! I visited the MiPig cafe in Harajuku, but apparently more have popped up across Tokyo. You either paid for 25 or 55 minutes, we went for the 55 minute option and I’m caught as I would say 25 minutes is way too short, but 55 minutes was more than enough, somewhere in the middle would have been perfect. You can also order food and drink from here, but I’d rather spend the time stroking all the cute pigs.

8) Arashiyama monkey park Iwatayama

We visited Arashiyama Monkey Park after heading up Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, so we were already pretty knackered, but it was 100% worth it. There are approximately 120 wild monkeys living up here, while you can also purchase food to feed them with for pretty cheap. The park opened in 1957, while the hike up to see them took about 20 minutes, but completely uphill with steps, so it’s a bit more tiring than it sounds, expect to be a bit sweaty by the time you reach the top, especially if you’re walking in temperatures above 30c.

Of course, an added benefit to climbing all those steps is that you have the best views over Kyoto, being 160 metres above sea level. This involves panoramic views of Kyoto, but the monkeys will be the key distraction that takes your attention. While it’s amazing to see the monkeys up close, it’s important you don’t touch them, they have quite strict rules in place around this.

You can reach the monkey park by train, via Kyoto Station to Saga-Arashiyama Station, then walking for about 20 minutes over to the park entrance.

9) Takeshita Street

Are you ready for the weird and wonderful world of Tokyo? Well Takeshita-dori in Harajuka was certainly that, where everything is rainbow themed. We’re talking rainbow coloured cheese toasties, cotton candy and clothing. In fact, just about everything sold on this street is rainbow themed. Of course, I had to order some cheese on toast which was rainbow coloured, it tasted fine, nothing amazing, but it was more the gimmick. Raquel got a rainbow corndog which was definitely a miss.

This street is actually quite short, lasting just 350 metres, so you’ll tick this off within 10-20 minutes, depending on how much time you dedicate to each store and shop along the way. Inevitably, food is one of the main aspects, but there are also clothing stores and bizarre signs along the way. The area is completely pedestrianised, but it can be quite crowded with tourists.

10) Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in Kyoto

Another experience in Kyoto, I could honestly write about Kyoto for hours as there is so much to see. This is the area with the famous tall bamboo groves, stretching right above your head. The whole walking route is around 400 metres long, so it will only take about 10-15 minutes to complete, therefore this can be part of a multi-activity experience, while we did it after seeing the monkey park.

It’s free to walk through, while you don’t need to arrange tickets or pass any barriers. In general, if you want to get some good photos, it’s worth arriving early in the morning, as it’s pretty busy by midday. You will also find a shrine half way along the route, while it was quite fascinating watching people perform the ritualistic prayers here, involving clapping.

11) Visit A 7/11

It feels weird to highlight this, but if you’ve never been to a 7-11 in Japan then you just won’t understand. It might be the equivalent of a Newsagent in the UK, but the food is phenomenal. We actually ate our dinner from here multiple nights, as did most of the people I know who have been. Then when you need to go on a bullet train, you can pick up a bento box from here and the experience is so different to a ‘meal deal’ back home.

They have some hot food available, but the cold food was just as good. I actually made a video where I showed everything I ate at 711 on a visit, but we were back each and every day, so this was merely a glimpse of what to expect.

12) 3D Billboards in Shinjuku

I know what you’re thinking, why would I go out of my way to look at some advertising boards. That’s exactly what I thought when Raquel brought it up, but I’m so glad she convinced me, as they were amazing. They really do look like they’re popping out of the wall, with numerous different ads, including a giant cat and a spinning panda, but I won’t ruin them all by giving away every single one.

Sure, they’re advertising, but they’re done in such a creative way you really don’t care. The enormous LED screens create such a clever illusion and they can also look a bit different depending on where you’re standing, so you may want to move around for the best viewpoint. Head out of Shinjuku station, towards the East Exit, and this is where you’ll find most of the 3D billboards, but there are some others dotted around Tokyo.

13) Eat Sushi From A Conveyor Belt

These conveyor belt sushi restaurants are fascinating to me. You pick up the plate which you’d like, then when you dispose of the plate inside a slot on your table, it records what type of plate it was to work out how much you owe at the end. Each plate may have a different colour, so you know the price. We also had a big screen so we could look out or pre-order dishes we wanted.

At the end, we printed our ticket and went to the front where we scanned the ticket and found out how much we owed. Considering how much I ate, I expected it to be a lore more expensive. I visited numerous sushi conyeyor belt restaurants in Tokyo and was very happy with the pricing and how technologically advanced it all felt to back home. Plus you don’t feel judged when you keep picking up salmon sashimi, as nobody can see how many plates you’ve had.

14) 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.

15) 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!

16) 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.

17) Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

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.

18) 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.

19) 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!

20) 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.

21) Wisteria Tunnel

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.