My Thoughts and Tips after 1st trip to Japan
We just returned from our first trip to Japan and I want to share a few things about our 12 days of adventure in the land of the rising sun. This page was so helpful to me making my itinerary and plans, so I hope I can help others planning their first trip.
We spent 5 nights in Tokyo (Hilton in Shinjuku was incredible!), one night at a Ryoken in Hakone (I highly recommend Hananoyado Fukuya for your Ryoken experience!), three nights in Kyoto (wasn’t enough time), and two nights in Kanazawa. Then took the bullet train back to Tokyo, then onto NRT to fly home.
Things to skip - my friend told me not to bother with the Imperial Palace in Tokyo and I ignored her. It’s a huge property and our feet were already killing us by the time we made it there so didn’t see any gardens and you can barely see the actual palace. If you’re tight on time, I’d skip this.
Don’t miss - because we were expecting rain the first full day in Tokyo, I made reservations to visit Teamlab Borderless. It’s not a temple or shrine, but is an interesting experience and we all loved it. Highly recommend.
Temples and shrines - there are so many to visit and you’ll pass by some without realizing they are nearby. One thing I regret is that we didn’t do any paid tours so I really felt like we missed out on some important info that would have helped us understand what we were looking at.
One thing I did do that I enjoyed was to purchase a goshuin book before we flew to Japan and had my book signed and/or stamped at each of the temples and shrines. It’s a really cool thing to do and I’m enjoying reviewing it now to see if I can recall where I got each one done. There is usually a charge but it’s 500¥ or 300¥ so $2 or $3.00.
Eating - we did stop and eat at a random small restaurant in the alleys of Tokyo like was suggested. Unfortunately the food wasn’t very good with bones in the octopus tentacles and it was a big disappointment. So hard to know where to eat and we didn’t want the stress of making reservations and trying to get there in time if we were across town. I do recommend picking a place where you can sit and eat. You’re on your feet and walking around so much that any break to sit is welcome.
Exhaustion - we’d start most days early due to still being on US time zones. This was great but we were exhausted with sore feet and legs by 5:00 most days. We really didn’t go out much at night and I regret that. But I did love the foot/leg massage we were able to get after day four.
Tips - one thing I realized that we were going to be constantly checking was the exchange rate. When things cost ¥3984, it’s hard to quickly convert that to just $5.00. I did a list of yen to dollars on my Notes app on my iPhone, took a picture of it, and used it as my wallpaper/screensaver. This was hugely popular with my husband and friends who were with us and we were all constantly checking it.
Scheduling - I’d planned to spend two full and two half days in Kyoto. But the day we were going to go to Kyoto we were in Hakone and the weather was perfect so we spent the entire day checking out that area, (pirate ship, cable car, trains, buses, volcano, and the beautiful Open Air Museum, etc). By the time we arrived into Kyoto, we were exhausted and it was late (9:00 PM?). We spent two days trying to see the recommended sights in Kyoto and then left early on our departure date and headed to Kanazawa. Next time I’ll schedule 5 nights in Kyoto.
Hotels - we stayed at a variety of hotels and ryokans - from excellent to very basic. Our Ryoken in Kanazawa wasn’t nearly as expensive or as nice as the one we spent one night at in Hakone. There was a semi-private soaking tub we could use which was nice, but I missed the note on the Ryoken details that said ‘shared bathroom’. When you’re in your mid to late 60’s, wandering around the hallways at 3:00 AM looking for a bathroom isn’t a great idea.
Communicating- these are the things you’ll need to learn and use most -
Kon'nichiwa- hello
Sumimasen - excuse me
Arigato - thanks
Onegaishimas - please
We loved our time in Japan and hope to return within the year!