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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/wokesloppygoblingirl on 2024-03-27 09:59:33.
Reddit Trip Report 3/12-3/23
Hi reddit! Y’all have helped me out so much on various occasions both before and during my recent Japan trip so I thought I’d try and return the favor with a trip report.
23F solo traveler here from the US here, first time to Japan, managed to get there at the end of shoulder season right before Sakura season. I hit all the highlights on the golden route and had an absolute blast!
Planning Essentials:
-Given the recent price jump, purchasing a Japan Rail Pass is a contentious subject because its value compared to buying individual tickets is much less than it was before. After much research, I opted to buy it and am glad I did. It was worth it for me because I ended up using the Shinkansen for Tokyo to Odawara, Odawara to Kyoto, Kyoto to Osaka (multiple times), Kyoto to Hiroshima, and Kyoto back to Tokyo (Shinagawa). While the monetary bang for your buck might be worth less than it used to be, the convenience is priceless. Not having to book individual Shinkansen tickets and being able to board the high speed trains on a whim was VERY nice—and I was also able to use the other JR lines as well.
-Suica and Pasmo: My original plan was to pick up a suica welcome card in Narita airport. With the card chip shortage in Japan, I had heard that they’re only limiting suica distribution to tourists. However, I quickly learned that it’s even more limited than that. To my knowledge, you can only pick up welcome suicas at Haneda. But no worries—they offer the Pasmo Passport in Narita! For those not in the know, Pasmo is the same thing as a suica—it functions as a subway card and reloadable instant cash card. Plus, it’s way cuter than the suica imo because of the adorable Sanrio characters!
-Major Attractions: Universal Studios, Tokyo Disneyland, TeamLabs, Pokemon Cafe, Osaka Aquarium. Because I’m from Socal, there was really no desire to check out disney and universal. However, I highly highly recommend booking tickets for those and the Pokemon Cafe BEFORE your trip—weeks in advance if possible! For TeamLab and the Osaka Aquarium, a couple of days to a week prior should be fine. If you’re going in the height of sakura season, maybe book a few weeks in advance.
Sakura Szn: While I may have avoided the wild crowds I’ve heard so much about in Japan during sakura season, I also avoided…the sakura :(. I was in Japan from 3/12-3/23 and didn’t get anything near full bloom. Many trees were still barren, and gardens like the ones in the Meiji Jingu or Sumida Park were colorless. Also, it snowed my last few days in Kyoto. There were still pockets of Sakura trees, especially in Nara! Just do your research. I think next time I go, I’ll either bite the bullet or go to Japan in fall to get the dramatic crimson landscapes.
Culture & Customs:
I was hugely obsessed with all facets of Japanese culture as a kid so I was fortunate enough to know some of these things going in, but there was so much that I had to learn once I was there. -Queuing Up: The level of patience that the Japanese possess is simply unparalleled by any other culture in the world! Even in the most crowded of train stations, they’ll queue up for the escalator instead of crowding it. You can tell how great a restaurant is by the length of its queue. If you have the time and patience and are undecided on a place to eat, join the queue to one of those restaurants. You’ll be rewarded. -The subway crush: On my second to last day in Japan, I boarded a local subway from the Arashiyama area back to central Kyoto. Complete opposite of the orderly and patient queues I just described. The subway car was packed in a way that I hadn’t even witnessed in Warped Tour mosh-pits or in India. I couldn’t move, my ribcage struggled to expand when I breathed, and my body was flung wherever the shaking of the subway car threw me. Truly terrifying. Being so short, I genuinely thought I would be crushed. The good news is that all it took to get out of that mess was one loud cry of “Sumimasen!” And the entire car parted as much as they could to let me off. But yeah, just be aware that that can happen, and keep your arms above your chest if you can. -Other subway etiquette: You might have heard of these ones: firstly, no eating and no talking on the phone in the subway. Ever. On longer haul trains and the Shinkansen, however, eating is allowed and encouraged! You’ll find special ekiben (bento boxes) in the Shinkansen stations optimized for snacking. If you must field a phone call in the Shinkansen, do it outside of the main passenger area and head near the doors and bathroom. Now let’s talk about priority seating and the women’s only cars. Neither of those are enforced, unfortunately. In the states, no one dares to sit in handicapped bus seats usually unless they’re handicapped. However, I saw so many able bodied young adults in the priority seating areas, which are reserved of the elderly, handicapped, and mothers with young children. So yes, you can sit there if the other seats are taken, BUT the moment you see anybody who looks like they actually need those seats, you better stand your ass up. Also, I was bummed to learn that the women-only cars aren’t really women only. I understand husbands accompanying their wives and kids, but for the dudes who were riding the train solo, take a damn hint. Sit somewhere else. Finally, I fell asleep on the trains more times than I’d like to admit—they’re quiet, calming, and they were blasting the heat. And that’s ok. Because the trains are so damn safe, and it’s so easy to get off at a platform and find the train heading the other way. Littering, Photos, Shoes, and other annoying things that we do as tourists: Be prepared to carry your trash with you since trash cans on the street are so few and far between. This discourages eating while walking or eating on subway cars. If you grab food at a roadside stand, please be courteous and finish it in front of the store or wait until you arrive at a sitting area. (this is the one rule I knowingly broke a couple times while shoving wasabi peanuts or a 7/11 onigiri down my throat while trying to make it in time for my train, so to all of Japan, I’m very sorry for that). But for the love of god! PLEASE! Don’t litter. This should be common sense. Also as far as photos go: rumor has it that Gion, better known as Kyoto’s geisha district, is closing to foreigners because of problems with the tourists swarming the geisha for photos. Don’t be an asshole. If you see a geisha or maiko, leave them alone. Better yet, offer a little bow their way. Same with a lot of areas in Harajuku and Shinjuku. Many stores selling alternative fashion clothes (ie: the Foret Mall) or Gothic Lolita style stuff do NOT want you taking photos of the shop workers or their wares. This is to protect the safety of the workers, who often have to keep their alternative lifestyles from family. Or just ask the workers if photos are ok. Also, shoes. Rule of thumb: when you enter a building and the floor is raised above the entry way, take yo shoes off. Often times, slippers will be available for you. I’m in Thailand now and I’ve found that the same applies there. Finally, eye contact. In the states, we’re taught to hold eye contact and give big smiles when greeting someone. The Japanese don’t fw that. When bowing to greet someone, be sure to avert your eyes, and don’t go crazy with the strong eye contact.
PSA about JAL & Yamato Shipping in the Haneda Airport: Somebody wrote an ENTIRE blog post about using the Yamato shipping service located in Terminal 3 of Haneda airport to ship things back home to the US. So naturally I mosied on over there to ship some things back to the states since I had hours to kill in the airport. And guess what?! You can only ship domestically. So I had to carry this stuff with me to Thailand. Good news is that the “stuff” in question is just a collection of old sweaters I had been planning to donate anyways after the Japan trip (it’s very hot in Thailand), but I managed to sell it to a street pawn shop of sorts in an alleyway in Bangkok. But if you’re stopping elsewhere after your Japan trip and want to send stuff home, I highly recommend going to the Japan Post and doing surface mail for budget shipping or heading to DHL or Fedex for more express international stuff.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive in Narita 16:00, wait in lines for currency exchange, Pasmo, and NEX tickets. Got some dinner, found my airbnb, went to sleep.
Day 2 Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku: Hachiko Statue, Shibuya Scramble Crossing + the wrong starbucks, Yoyogi park walk, Meiji Jingu, Ichiran in Harajuku, window shopping harajuku and Foret Mall and others, feeling poor in Jingumae area w the designers stores, sunset from Tokyo Met Government Building, bed.
Day 3 Imperial Palace + Asakusa: Imperial Palace Gardens and museum (because my dumbass didn’t book a tour of the inside in advance), wandering Asakusa, Senso-ji Temple, toy poodle cafe, sushi, Sumida Park, my first takoyaki, wandering the gambling halls and arcades in Ueno, and then drinking the night away at Golden Gai
Day 4 Hangover, TeamLab Planets, and Shinjuku Nichome: slept thru my checkout time at airbnb and awoke to a very pissed off host, packed my shit and headed to the next place I was staying (also Shinjuku), was revived from my hangover by Curry House Coco curry, checked out TeamLab Planets (I had no idea Borderless was back o…
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