u/famichikin711

This happened a while ago, and while it was a moment of pure, unadulterated terror at the time, I can finally laugh about it now.

My friend and I were visiting Kyoto. And despite a relentless downpour, we were having a fantastic time. My friend had unearthed a highly rated traditional tea house via some travel website and really wanted to check it out. I had absolutely no clue what it was, so I casually followed along.

The moment we arrived, the reality of the situation hit. This wasn't just a casual cafe. It was a pristine, ultra-fancy tea house with ONLY traditional tatami seating.

I have naturally sweaty feet you see, and my shoes were already half-soaked from the downpour. "How bad could it be?" I thought - so I bit the bullet and walked in.

The second my shoes came off, the tranquil air was replaced by a stench resembling a million decomposing plague rats. It was almost instantaneous. People across the room stopped whispering to look for the culprit of this atmospheric violation. Burning with shame, I tucked my feet away as far as I could. But the deed was done, and I was already committed.

The premium matcha and delicate sweets meant to be slowly savored while contemplating the serene moss garden? I inhaled the entire course in 5 minutes and fled the scene.

Safe to say, I will be waiting a solid decade for the entire staff to fully rotate and forget my face before I ever attempt to step foot in there again.

Overall, the food and scenery were stunning. 9/10, would accidentally bio-terrorize again.

Hey Japan Travelers!

I’ve lived here in Tokyo for about 15 years now, and recently a friend from back home came to visit. Since they’ve been to Japan quite a few times already, I planned a vacation to show them a completely different side of the country - including somewhere I’ve always wanted to go, the Ghibli forest of Yakushima!

Instead of the usual central Tokyo crowds for the first two days, we did two unique regional day trips: a suburban cycling path from Shin-Kodaira to Sayama Park, and a road trip to Okuoikojo Station in Shizuoka. Then, we flew down south for 4 days of nature in Kagoshima and Yakushima. Thought I’d share it with everyone here since it borders on the more unique side of Japan.

I’ll be splitting it into two sections, Kanto / Shizuoka then Kyushu. I’ll also leave out the nitty gritty details of the planning logistics since I’m quite familiar with the system here (unless asked of course).

Travelers: 2 adults (age range 25 - 30’s)

Kanto Route:

Train ride to Shin-Kodaira
Bike path from Shin-Kodaira to Sayama Park

Shizuoka Route:

Train ride to Shizuoka
Rental car from Shizuoka to Okuoikojo

Kyushu Route:

Tokyo to Kagoshima via plane
Kagoshima to Yakushima via Ferry
Yakushima via rental car
Back to Kagoshima
Kagoshima to Sakurajima via Ferry

Trip Length: 6 days (2 in Tokyo, 4 in Kagoshima / Yakushima)

Rental car:

Rented and returned in Shizuoka
Rented and returned in Yakushima
Rented and returned in Kagoshima

Lodgings: Airbnb in Kagoshima, Minpaku in Yakushima via Jalan

Day 1: Shin-Kodaira

This was a cycling trip I’d been wanting to do for a long time. Being a massive Ghibli fan, my original plan was to bike from Shin-Kodaira up to Totoro’s Forest #1 just north of Sayama Park. My friend isn't exactly an animation nerd, so she was essentially dragged along for the ride.

We rented bikes outside the station using the Daichari app (ダイチャリ) for just 1,000 yen for 12 hours. Once we hit the Tamako Bicycle Route around Yasaka, it was a smooth, straight shot north. It's rare to find such a long, uninterrupted paved trail in Tokyo, and the two-hour ride was beautiful. At the Murayama Reservoir, we climbed the massive wooden staircase to the dam's ridge, which rewarded us with panoramic views of the entire Tama region. Sadly, our athletic glory was short-lived. Once inside the park, my friend immediately tripped and ate pavement, so we had to cut the day short.

Back in the city, we limped over to Torishige in Shinjuku for dinner to salvage the evening. My friend actually found it through some obscure travel planner website I'd never heard of. I called ahead to reserve, which was lucky because it was packed. Despite the "tori" (chicken) in the name, it's actually a high-end skewer spot specializing in premium pork offal and beef, and the quality was unreal.

The undisputed king of the night was their famous caviar onigiri. I usually eat out at dirt-cheap izakayas where "gourmet" means frozen french fries, so the depth of flavor in this thing hit me like a profound spiritual awakening. It gets an 8/10 only because our wallets took an unexpected beating - around 12,000 yen for the two of us including drinks.

Bike rental cost: 1,000 yen per person for 12 hours

Food - Torishige: ~6,000 yen per person

Trip Pics | Torishige

Day 2: Okuoikojo

For day two, we took the train from Tokyo to Shizuoka to pick up our rental car. This is mainly due to two reasons: navigating central Tokyo traffic is a nightmare, and the highway toll fees alone will make you want to weep. Once we cleared the city, the smooth roads quickly dissolved into tight, winding mountain passes. It wasn’t a difficult path to drive, but some of the roads were quite narrow. The views absolutely made up for it however, taking us past steep tea fields and small mountain villages with automated roadside stands selling local produce.

When we finally reached the gorge, the view of the bright red railway bridge slicing across the turquoise water was unbelievable. We hiked up the forest trails, passed a funny vending machine selling chabacco (haha chabacco), and walked right out onto the narrow pedestrian path running alongside the active train tracks. Standing on a tiny platform marooned in the middle of a lake, completely swallowed by towering green mountains felt entirely surreal.

After surviving the trek back, we caught the train into the city for dinner. Ushigoro is easily one of my favorite places in Japan, so I reserved ahead to show my friend how the upper crust eats.

The absolute sleeper hit of the night was their mizu (water) kimchi. It didn’t taste like regular kimchi. All I can say was that it was straight-up heavenly. From there, it was a parade of ridiculous A5 wagyu. I’ll save you the sickening details that I could go in-depth on, but if you guys ever have the chance, go try it out! The price for a one person course ranges from 8,000 to 16,000 or so yen.

Train: ~5,000 yen per person (via local)

Rental car: ~8,000 yen total

Food - Ushigoro: 12,000 yen per person

Trip Pics | Ushigoro

Day 3: Kagoshima to Yakushima

Not much to say for this day, except that it was mostly getting to the island. We took a plane, we took a bus, we took a ferry, and then we rented a car. Exciting. Although, we did find a random restaurant on the way that served flying fish. I’ve had some weird stuff in Japan before, like dolphins and grasshoppers; this one unfortunately didn’t make the list.

Flight: ~16,000 yen per person round trip

Ferry: ~12,000 yen per person round trip (not jetfoil)

Rental Car: ~25,000 yen total (2 days)

Food - 地魚料理海の恵み: ~3,500 yen total

Lodging: ~24,000 yen total (2 nights)

Trip / Food Pics

Day 4: Yakushima

We kicked off the morning around 10:00 AM to tackle the legendary Shiratani Unsuikyo ravine. The terrain was a bit rocky, but the trail stayed perfectly visible, which was great because my tracking skills are non-existent. We took the route aptly named the Moss Covered Forest, and as advertised, there was moss blanketing absolutely everything. It felt like walking straight through a live-action Ghibli film, minus the small forest spirits to carry my backpack. We pushed through the humidity to stop at the ancient Nanahonsugi (Seven-Inch Cedar), a massive force of nature that made me feel incredibly small and structurally unsound. Overall, it wasn't a super difficult hike, but the summer heat was no joke, and we were completely melting by the time we finished around noon.

To escape certain death, we headed over to Ayana for lunch, once again relying on my friend’s travel planner website discovery. The place was extravagant. The customer service was top-tier, the food was great, and the panoramic views overlooking the infinity pool and the ocean were completely outstanding - a stark contrast to how unhinged we looked post-hike. It was a perfect high-end oasis to pretend we were civilized human beings again.

Anesthetized by a great lunch, we hopped back in the car to drive an entire circle around the island. Along the way, we stopped at the Oko Waterfall, which crashes down right near the coastal road. The drive quickly turned into a real-life safari; the local monkeys and deer completely own the streets here and will just casually block traffic like they're charging a toll. Some sections of the island loop got so ridiculously narrow that the dense jungle foliage was aggressively slapping both sides of the rental car.

We ended the night at a random yakiniku spot we found on the way back.

Food - Ayana: ~3,000 yen per person

Food - Yakiniku Renga: ~2,500 yen per person

Trip Pics | Ayana | Yakiniku Renga

Day 5: Yakushima to Kagoshima and Sakurajima

We left Yakushima behind and headed back to mainland Kagoshima. After getting some local ramen, we picked up a rental car and drove straight onto the Sakurajima car ferry.

The drive up the slopes of Sakurajima was pretty amazing. We cruised past jagged black lava fields, winding our way up to the Yunodaira Observatory at 373 meters to catch a hazy view of the mountain. Looking down at the city close to the edge of an active volcano does make you question your life choices and insurance policies. Afterwards, we drove back down to a rest area that had a volcanic foot bath. We even found a random boulder where travelers had jammed coins directly into the porous lava rock like a makeshift shrine, because apparently, even volcanoes take tips.

Once we ferried back to the city, we wrapped up the night at Juan, a popular local spot specializing in Kagoshima’s famous Kurobuta (black pork). We ordered a spread of slow-braised pork belly, a beautiful plate of silver-striped kibinago (herring) sashimi, and the main event - kurobuta shabu-shabu to end the night.

Food - Komurasaki Ramen: 1,200 yen per person

Food - Kurobuto Ryori Juan: ~2,500 yen per person

Rental Car: ~18,000 yen total (2 days)

Lodging: ~11,000 yen total (1 night)

Trip Pics | Komurasaki | Juan

Day 6: Kagoshima back to Tokyo

For our final day, we wrapped up the southern expedition with a visit to Sengan-en, a massive traditional garden built by the regional Shimazu clan in 1658. This place took about an hour or so as it also includes a museum, a small palace, and a shrine.

We then ate our last kurobuta rice bowl before departing back to Tokyo.

Trip Pics | Food Pics

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Notes:

The Yakushima Pebble Incident:

I usually pass on the extra rental car insurance, but Yakushima aggressively cured me of that habit. While driving the island loop, a single rogue pebble left a tiny, microscopic scratch on the vehicle. When I returned it, the staff inspected the car with the absolute intensity of a forensics team working a high-profile crime scene. They ended up charging me a casual 30,000 yen out of pocket. Lesson learned - I now get the premium, full-coverage every time with no exceptions.

Google Maps is awesome:

Like always, Google Maps’ navigation was spot on with all the logistical stuff. A few minor mismatches with ferries but hey, can’t complain.

Surprisingly not a lot of mosquitos:

I was fully prepared to turn into a blood bag, but I was pleasantly surprised by how little insects tried to touch me without consent.

Finding food:

Have to give an honorable mention to my friend for finding great food, even on the remote island of Yakushima. I usually eat like a trash can, so this was a nice change of pace without having to think about it. She was also a great travel partner, making this an incredible trip. The true MVP.

Edit: I realized I put 7 days in the title but only wrote out 6 days in the breakdown. Let's just pretend Day 7 is the day I spent recovering from the financial damage of the Yakushima pebble.

Another Mt. Fuji Pic

Can't go back to regular udon after this...

That time I committed a biological war crime at a luxury Kyoto tea house

Anyone remember this gem in Kanda?

Went straight to "Crab Hell" in Shimbashi and honestly, I don't want to be saved.

Thicc and Saucy.

Hirobun

Nature is beautiful - here we see a juvenile train preparing to board its mother.

7 Days of the Road Less Traveled (Tokyo and Kagoshima / Yakushima) - Pictures Included