Finally after 4 years of traveling I made it to Japan. Trying to choose where to go in Japan is probably the most difficult part of planning the journey, that and saving ridiculously large amounts of money. This country definitely does not compare to South East Asia prices at all. Before I left I researched a bunch of blog itineraries, which advised me to stay put in either the North or South, grab a JR Pass(this is a must have), and be prepared to eat and eat. I bought the JR Pass (purchase this a few weeks before your trip online), and I indulged on anything and everything I found, but I just couldn’t help myself when it came to staying in one area. I figured the flight to Japan is so expensive and I wanted to see everything even in just two weeks of time. Therefore I did what everyone said not to do and …. THE TRIP TURNED OUT TO BE INCREDIBLE!
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4 Days- Tokyo
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3 Days- Kyoto
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1 Day- Travel between Kyoto and Sapporo by Shinkansen
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1 Day in Sapporo
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3 Days in Niseko
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1 Day in Noboribetsu
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1 Day travel back to Tokyo and fly out
In this post I’ll tell you about my experience in Kyoto and Tokyo, and in the following post I’ll write about the Northern parts of my travels. The first four days were spent wandering around Tokyo. I’m from New York City and this is the first city that made me feel like I was home. The people are so polite, kind, and quite. Tokyo has so many amazing places to visit and there is no need for a tour guide. Everything is accessible through their amazing metro system. There was an option to buy a weekly metro pass but it didn’t work for all of the lines, therefore we didn’t choose that option. We paid each way separately, and just focused our day trips to one area of Japan at a time narrowing our rides to one roundtrip each day. The only thing your really need to handle in advance is the JR Pass, I can’t emphasise this enough. Here was our itinerary for each city:
Tokyo
Day 1:
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Shibuya Meijing Shrine
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Gardens and wells
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Takeshita Street- Harajuku Street
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Owl Cafe
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Shibuya for sushi
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Shinkjuku at night for Japanese BBQ at Omoide Yockocho Street (very popular street to grab some good food- little touristy).
Hanging out with the Harajuku girls on Takeshita Street.
Making a connection.
Although the owl cafe said they were booked for the full day we snuck in and asked if we could join. Lucky enough they let us in. I have heard since our trip that they have opened a hedgehog cafe. These animal themed cafes seem to be the new thing in Tokyo. I believe is was 15 USD and we got 30 minutes with the owls in a closed area, then after they provided us with some tea. It was a nice experience and I recommend it.
Day 2:
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Sensoji Shrine
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Walk around Asakusa
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Walk around Ueno
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Edo Tokyo Museum
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Shinjuku at night ate Seafood Ramen from a local joint called Menya Kaijan
Day 3:
Walked around Shinkjuku ( unfortunately I had blisters on my feet from new shoes I bought which really put a downer on this day, but we really just enjoyed getting lost and taking in the sites). Later in the day we went to the Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku. Yes was pretty expensive but equally entertaining. Look in the Tokyo timeout brochure at any tourist shops or information centres, and you will find great discount voucher for the show.
Day 4:
We took a road trip out of Tokyo to see the Snow monkeys. This is a must in my opinion. Take the train, using your JR pass to Nangano, then hop on a local bus to the Park. If you go right to the information counter they will direct you to the right bus, everyone is familiar with the Snow monkeys. The parks name was Jigokudani Yaenkoen park.
For anyone interested in a reasonable place to stay in Tokyo, I suggest Guest House Shinagawa-shuku. It was decently priced and right near the metro.
Kyoto
Hop on the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. Remember to definitely get your JR Pass( you have to buy this in advance), it will save you a ton of money. You are traveling from the modern fast paced city of Tokyo to the old beautiful antique city of Kyoto. Kyoto really is magical, and even though we travelled to Kyoto in December we decided to rent bikes and tour the old city this way. We did almost freeze to death but it is the best way to see Kyoto, and I highly recommend it.
Day 1: We got there a bit late and most temples close around 4- 5:30 in the winter so the first day was cut a bit short.
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Head to Nishiki market
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Kyoto Kinkua Ji temple (Golden Temple)- this was my favorite temple
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At night we went and wandered around the Gion area looking for Geishas.
Kinkua-Ji Temple
Day 2:
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Started at the Nishiki fish market again and enjoyed lots of different foods.
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Gion during the day
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Kiyomizu-dera
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Nanzan-ji Temple
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Ginkaku-ji Temple (Philosophers walk)
Kiyomizu-dera
Day 3:
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Arashiyama
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Bamboo groves
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Fushimi Inari Taisha
The bamboo groves are absolutely beautiful. You will have a nice time walking through it and taking tons of pictures. Fushimi Inari is again an incredible place to take some magical pictures of the orange arch ways. It does get a little claustrophobic at times when it is busy.
Fushimi Inari
We stayed in an airbnb for called Sakyo-ku, kyoto-shi. It was super cheap and nice. They also provide free bike rentals if you stay with them. The total cost was 93 USD for three nights. Kyoto is a walkable small city so don’t freight over where to stay in the city. Choose anywhere and just wander around. After Kyoto we hopped on the long Shinkansen train up to the North, Hokkaido. Check out the next blog post for the details on that trip.
Delicious Ramen in Kyoto
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