This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/omfgsquee on 2024-03-28 15:56:08.
Our two weeks in Japan!
We just got home and I want to do this while it’s all fresh in my mind. So here goes!
Tokyo > Kyoto > Kinosaki > Osaka > Tokyo
We flew Zipair from San Jose to Narita. The flight was fine, nothing outstanding to note, but that’s what you expect from a budget airline. There are lie down seats we’ll spring for next time tho! There is no entertainment screen and their free Wi-Fi is absolutely laughable so bring your own entertainment. We didn’t have their meals that you can prepurchase but the folks behind us said they were alright. We did order some sparkling plum wine and it wasn’t overpriced at all for being booze on a plane. Very good. Definitely recommend. My only gripes with this airline is how fucking strict they are with luggage weight and staying in your specific seat. We opted to purchase extra carry on weight for one of us on the way there and checked baggage for one of us on the way back and it worked out well. They will absolutely weigh your all of your luggage so be prepared for that. We’ll still fly with them next time though because for two people, we paid $1700 roundtrip.
We have T-Mobile so we opted NOT to do a pocket wifi and unfortunately our phones are still locked thanks to paying on them monthly so no esim, so we just used the international thingy they have and it worked great like, 95% of the time. Maps and Google translate were the bulk of what we used and we kept our social media browsing limited to wifi, which was available a lot of places. We didn’t end up having to purchase the extra pass they offered either. So if you’ve got T-Mobile, use it.
Now onto our fantastic two weeks. My husband and I opted for a more chill itinerary as being rushed is incredibly stressful and we really wanted to take our time and enjoy Japan. We also had a very sick dog who we ended up losing 3 weeks before we left so our brains were mush. All last minute planning went out the window in our grief. We had full days where we had absolutely nothing planned. But it ended up working out well, as you’ll see below.
Tokyo Day 1- arrived at 2pm, whipped through customs, purchased Narita Express tickets and got the hell out of there. We made it all the way to Shinjuku, which is close to our friends place. She had the stomach flu so our first night was in a little hotel about a 12 minute walk from Shinjuku station. Of course we went to go see things but it was mostly just overwhelming and overstimulating what with jet lag, the sheer amount of people, noise, lights and no familiar language anywhere. Went back to our room after hitting up the 711 for fun food, ate, then slept.
Day 2- up early, as expected thanks to jet lag. Went to the Studio Ghibli museum for the first entry at 10am. Was absolute magic! So glad we got to go. Then we meandered around Inokashira Park for a while. Found some early blooming sakura and our first temple. Had some conveyor belt sushi for lunch. Headed back towards Shinjuku to meet up with our friend and get settled in her place, then bounced over to Harajuku. Fun, loud, touristy. Found a ramen shop with the ticket machine out front and was able to order ramen with minimal stress. Had yuzu ramen! Highly recommend. Back to our friends house and to bed.
Day 3- jet lag is easing! Meandered to downtown Tokyo for a kaiseki lunch with our friend. We ate a lot of new things (like horse meat) and drank a lot of sake. Then we headed down under Tokyo Station to Character Street and ended up getting lost in the massive sprawling shopping area. It’s like a whole little town down there. Very cool. Back to friends house for dinner and sleep.
Day 4 OFF TO KYOTO
We purchased our shinkansen tickets the day before and almost missed the opportunity to sit on the right side of the train to see Mt. Fuji, but we lucked out and found two seats. Absolutely worth it as Mt Fuji was out in her full spectacular glory! So cool. Definitely grab a bento box and a fun beverage for your ride. There is WiFi on the shinkansens as well, but no beverage/snack cart that I saw so make sure to load up on fun treats. Got to Kyoto and stayed at Sotetsu Fresa Inn. Enjoyed our stay there. Did a food tour that evening and can definitely recommend doing one of those. We were taken to places we never would’ve found otherwise.
Day 5- Kyoto
We braved Nishiki Market. I recognize it’s pretty touristy but in the middle of a weekday it wasn’t bad. Ate a bunch of fun stuff, including some of the best sashimi I’ve ever had in my life. Then went to the Kyoto City Museum of Art for the Takashi Murakami exhibit. If you’re around before September 1st, you should definitely check it out. After the museum we walked over to the Heian-jingū Shrine then over to the Kyoto Imperial Palace gardens. Grabbed some onigiri and fun shochu drinks for the walk. Gardens were cool, but nothing was exceptionally note worthy except for the plum tree we found in bloom. Very beautiful. Walked alllll the way back down to our hotel, soaking in the sights, and stopping at Ichiran for some ramen. Not the best, not the worst, but having your own private ramen window where no one speaks to you except to give you your food was nice. They also do the ticket machine ordering.
Day 6- Kyoto
Leisurely morning then off to Minamiza Theater to catch some Kabuki. We stayed the whole show plus the dance act afterwards and it was quite the experience. Get the English audio guide! Well worth it. Minamiza is a historic theater too so it was all around awesome. Wandered down the main road in Gion to find ourselves at Yasaka Shrine. Hung there for a bit and then wandered back down to our hotel to refresh for the evenings activities. Grabbed more onigiri and shochu drinks for the walk. 🙈 Once 6pm rolled around, we went to Fushimi Inari. It was still very people-y but they were trickling out and by the time the sun went down, we found ourselves alone a few times while making our way through the gates. It was eerie and beautiful. We would’ve gone to the top but there were no bathrooms and I have a tiny bladder so hopefully next time we’ll make it. Went and found a tan tan ramen spot for a late dinner and then a tiny tiny little sake bar where we drank ourselves silly with the owner, who was a little old Japanese woman who spoke very little English.
Day 7- Kyoto
Back to Nishiki Market to get more sashimi and oysters from that little fish stall we loved so much. If you go, you’ll recognize it. They have a dingy little seating area in the back of it. It was so good and they were really nice! Afterwards, I let my husband talk me into the most corny thing ever : the samurai and ninja museum and experience. Y’all, I love this man, but oh my god. Unless you’ve got kids super into ninjas and samurai, skip it. It was super cheesy and expensive for what it was. Wandered around a bit, ate some more street food, then headed back for a rest and a bath, as my lower back was killing me. Stopped at a curry place for dinner (coco house is pretty solid) Then we did a free walking tour of Gion at night. Omg this was fantastic. We immediately saw a geiko right next to us as we walked into the side streets of Gion. She was so beautiful! Our guide was incredibly respectful and told us outright from the get go how to behave and about the tensions in Gion with tourists. He taught us all about the history of geiko and maiko and showed us some historical spots that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Then we headed off to see some shrines and discuss the religious history of Japan. It was a 3 1/2 hour long tour and we saw SO MUCH I can’t even write it all down. I highly recommend you do this tour. My husband and I went backwards basically after it was all done so we could see the sights with no people and it was incredible. We found another sake bar and had another wonderful time there and then decided to do one more walk through the side streets of Gion, just to see if we could spot another geiko. We were rewarded with a maiko! All alone, no one else, just us and her, and it took my breath away how beautiful and poised she was. Of course we didn’t say one word to her, just let her be on her way. I love the geiko and maiko culture so this was very special for me, especially since after next month those side streets will be closed to tourists. Apparently, people can’t act right. 🙃
Day 8 KINOSAKI ONSEN
Train ride up was lovely. Stayed at Sennen no yu Gonzaemon. The rooms were really cool as they were authentic ryokan style, complete with tatami mats and futon style beds. Only had an ensuite toilet but that was fine as all the onsen had showers and products to use. We got our onsen passes, jumped into our yukata and geta, and got to it. What bliss. It’s awkward being on full display but you get used to it quickly. Bathe before going in, put your little white towel on your head and keep your hair out of the water. Dry off a bit with the little towel before heading back into the changing room. Onsen etiquette is simple. Don’t forget to bring money with you so you can grab some milk afterwards (trust me on this) or pop into one of the little stores in-between onsens. We got the set breakfasts and dinners with our stay, and its crab season so dinner was fantastic. After dinner, we went back out to soak some more, then off to bedm
Day 9 kinosaki
Breakfast was very traditional and fun. Then we rented bikes to ride up to the beach. I have this thing where I have to touch the water near…
Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/1bpxkyl/recap_of_our_two_week_journey/
You must log in or register to comment.