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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/WishCharming5301 on 2025-06-24 16:24:32+00:00.

I had to make a TLDR of my TLDR- I went to Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto, and Osaka for 10 nights at the end of May. None of my trip report contains anything different than most people, except I chose to stay at a different hotel in a different neighborhood each night. How I planned my trip, what I did, what I packed, and my expenses are all listed out below in various levels of detail. If you like detail, keep reading. If not, this probably isn’t the post for you. I’m hoping that putting these keywords in will help somebody searching for specific info. A few photos are here: https://imgur.com/a/s3cnAFF (I think, first time on Imgur)

Background- 43F solo traveler on a budget using mostly points/miles, likes cities and is confident navigating them, loves hotels and wants to stay in every single one, coldest person alive and happy one-bagger (with lots of other bags ready for different scenarios because of being the coldest person alive), not a foodie, technically visited Japan previously but was 7. I’ve always enjoyed walking and seek that out, but in my daily life I am as equally likely to walk 500 steps a day (WFH in the winter) as 50,000 (a running day when I’m dogsitting). I run 15-20 miles a week and have every foot, knee, and hip issue from that, but for whatever reason my body really likes to walk. I record all my walks on my Garmin watch/Strava because I like to see where I went. Hyatt Explorist, Hilton and Marriott Gold. Can sleep anywhere, jetlag not an issue. Before arriving in Japan I spent 5 days in Doha and 3 days in Bangkok (I flew around the world on this trip!).

Long term planning- google/IG/blog/reddit/word of mouth searched and pinned to google maps everything I could possibly be interested in, including recommended running routes and baseball games. Pinned the Hyatt hotels where I could get free nights. Built an itinerary that had me moving every night, but in a way that was naturally moving from one neighborhood/hotel and group of sites/attractions to the next. Picked end of May due to the US Memorial Day holiday allowing me an extra day off work, and was hoping for warm weather/missing the highest costs of the earlier spring. Opened credit cards that got me the flights I wanted. Made a spreadsheet to start narrowing everything down.

Medium term planning- made reservations/got tickets for the very limited time-based plans that I made- two baseball games, one lunch, and one “race.” I made Disney plans for specific days because I got a vacation package, but I kind of count that separately since it’s not a common thing to do and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. The regular evening Disney ticket I bought was purchased the night before. Everything else was on the fly/didn’t need specific timing. Went clothes shopping because all I wear are bright leggings and graphic tees. I found the perfect clothing (for me) that was comfortable, practical, and fit in better with what other people around me were wearing. Opened a free Charles Schwab debit account to receive an ATM card that would reimburse foreign ATM fees (there is probably a better way to word this, but if you search there’s tons of info).

Short term planning- Got a data only Airolo eSIM for one phone (no issues with service), got a Minternational Text/Call only package for my second phone (no issues). Downloaded offline maps. Dowloaded google translate (and a bunch of other apps that I never used). Got my immigration QR code. Added the Suica transit card to my Apple wallet the night before and easily added funds from my stored credit cards (this is how my city’s transit system works so it was the obvious option for me). Got an unreserved Shinkansen ticket at the station just before boarding. Reviewed and revised my spreadsheet before the start of each day based on what I had seen/wanted to see. I ended up keeping the framework and only shifting a few things around.

Things I was not interested in: anime, manga, Nintendo, Universal, teamLab, paying for views, shopping, nightlife/drinking, eating anything but snacks and fast casual

TLDR: 11 days/10 nights, 10 hotels in Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ginza, Maihama, DisneySea, Akihabara, Odaiba, Yokohama, Kyoto, KIX airport. Weather low 50s-mid 70s Farenheit, with 3.5 solidly rainy days, 3.5 solidly sunny days, and the rest overcast (it rained at some point on 7 different days). I walked a lot, but because I wanted to rarely because I needed to.

Sites/Activities (and the neighborhoods around them): Tokyo Tower Climb, Olympic Museum, Café Reissue for dog latte art, Little Mermaid lunch at Oh My Café, Yoyogi Park, Meguro River run, Hachiko statue, Meiji-jingu, Takeshita Street, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Tokyo Dome, Godzilla lights, Senso-ji, Nakamise Street, Don Quixote, Sumida River Walk, Ueno shopping streets, Tokyo Station, Ginza Itoya, Kura Sushi, Imperial Palace run, Tsukiji Outer Market, Ikspiari, Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea, Origami Museum, Hie shrine, Statue of Liberty, Unicorn Gundam show, Rainbow Bridge run, Yokohama Stadium, Yamashita Park/rose garden, Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse, Nippon Maru, Yokohama Port Museum, Yokohama Port Festival, Sannenzaka, Ninenzaka, Yasaka, Shirakawa Canal, Kamo River, Fushimi Inari, Nishiki Market, Kyoto Imperial Palace, Kinkaju-ji, Higashiyama-ji, Philosopher’s Path, Dotonburi, Nakau, United Cinemas Odaiba

Miles recorded on Strava: 114.65 walking and 12.5 running Highest step day: 62,040 (Kyoto and Osaka) Lowest step day: 21,674 (departure day)

Non-award travel expenses (all on CC-Chase or Amex-unless cash as noted)

• ESims: 17USD Airolo + 5USD Mint (used 4.5 of my Airolo 6GB, but also kept my phone on airplane mode when I wasn’t actively navigating because the first couple days drained it excessively)
• Airfare: miles + 74USD taxes
• Hotels: points + 143USD for the 9 non-Disney package nights plus 100USD in pool visits/an upgrade
• Transportation: 7,882JPY from Suica on trains and lockers
• Food: included in cash plus about 22,000JPY from CC
• Activities: included in cash plus about 125USD
• Souvenirs: included in cash plus about 22,500JPY from CC
• Cash from ATM: 30,000JPY (12,650JPY to Shinkansen ticket, the rest to food, activities, and souvenirs)

A note on cash vs. CC- I wanted and needed cash for the street food and some site fees. I took out 10,000JPY at the airport because it was the lowest amount, and I didn’t pay attention to how I spent it. As in, I used cash in some places where I could have used a card. With a few days left in the trip I realized I would need more cash, but the lowest amount the ATM would give me was also 10,000JPY, which was way too much for a few more snacks and entrance fees. I did not go seeking other ATMs, and I did not ask anyone or google whether it was possible to find an ATM with a lower minimum Instead I took out 20,000JPY and used cash for the Shinkansen ticket (not all ticket machines take cash but I found one that did). That left me with more cash than I had originally wanted, but at least less than 10,000JPY to spend in a few days. I definitely had extra that I spent down at the airport, but I don’t regret those purchases and it all worked out. Just a note for your planning in case you run into this also.

MVPs of my trip:

• my sandals that I did all my walking in (brought running shoes that I only wore for the runs). I’ve worn other pairs of these for at least a hundred miles at home, so I knew that they would be my main source of footware and I never had any issues. I brought socks in a Ziploc in case I needed to take them off, but anywhere I needed to do that provided slippers.
• an inflatable seat cushion that I brought for the plane ride there and was ready to ditch if it was too much to carry. I’m so glad I held onto it- I spent hours sitting at Disney waiting (by choice) very comfortably.

Other than that I don’t have any tips that haven’t already been said. Sometimes I found trash cans when I wanted, sometimes I didn’t- mostly I just stuffed wrappers in my bag til later, but in one case there was messy food residue on the packaging so I used one of the dog poop bags I had brought for this purpose. If you didn’t bring anything no worries, your hotel probably has a small plastic bag labeled “sanitary bag” that you could use for this purpose. I didn’t find my hotel beds too firm at all, would never have noticed had I not read about it here beforehand. I was tickled by the idea of being given pajamas to sleep in at every hotel, and utilized each set, though they are definitely not sized for all bodies (only one hotel, the Akihabara Bay capsule hotel, noted that you could request larger sizes). I enjoyed Tokyo as a clean, safe, and pedestrian-friendly city with reliable public transportation. I will miss the lockers, quiet transportation rides with low wait times, snacks, and nice people. I am happy to have more color, light switches that I know where to find, and jaywalking back in my life (and see more dogs every day).

What I would do differently planning this exact trip- go when it is warmer, get baseball seats in the cheering sections, bring a few sheets of paper soap or put some in a mini container (the lack of hand towels didn’t bother me), go to the Haneda JAL airport museum- I only found out about this the day before my layover, have no idea how it never came up in my million google…

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