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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/omchan on 2025-06-27 23:58:03+00:00.
I (33F) went on a 13-day solo trip to Japan in June 2025.
Itinerary
Osaka (home base) - Uji - Nara - Himeji - Kobe - Kyoto - Hiroshima - Miyajima - Fukuoka
The goal of this trip was to revisit places I’ve been to before now that I’m older and can appreciate them more and to see the highlights of places I’m visiting for the first time.
I was inspired by the trip reports posted here and decided why not try my hand at writing one up myself.
After I finished I realized this might be a bit lengthy…
Trip Report
Below is the outline and then some commentary for each day.
Days 1 & 2 - Arrival in Osaka
Afternoon
- Arrive at Osaka KIX from Toronto YYZ
- Hotel: HOTEL THE FLAG Shinsaibashi
Evening
- Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Street
- Dinner: Yakiniku Like (Japanese BBQ)
Left Toronto YYZ just after 1 pm. I don’t sleep on airplanes. This means I drink a lot of coffee and keep myself entertained with the airplane wifi. I find that time passes quickly online when I’m reading the news and chatting with friends so the wifi is well worth the splurge for me. I flew Air Canada and complimentary wifi is currently only available on flights within North America. Air Canada long haul international flights won’t have complimentary wifi until 2026.
After the 14-hour flight, I arrived at Osaka KIX just after 4 pm. Cleared customs and since I brought one checked bag I headed to the luggage carousel. Pleasantly surprised by how quickly the line moved at customs as last year at Narita it took over an hour. The time it took for me to clear customs and get my luggage at the carousel was 25 minutes. I did have priority so that helped when deplaning and picking up my luggage.
I bought a ticket for the Nankai Limited Express at the ticket counter to Namba Station. From Namba Station I switched to the local train to get to Shinaisaibashi Station. The trip from airport to hotel took about 75 minutes. I checked in at HOTEL THE FLAG Shinsaibashi. This hotel was mentioned by several people on this subreddit in past threads asking for hotel recommendations in Osaka. I stayed in the Namba area during my previous visits (and it was great) and wanted to try somewhere new this time.
I had dinner at Yakiniku Like for some cheap Japanese BBQ. It is what you’d expect - it was cheap, fast, and satisfying. After dinner I went to Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Street and the Uniqlo there to browse as the store close to my hotel had Osaka exclusive merch. While it was neat to look through, I didn’t end up buying any of it though. And my goodness the number of people crammed onto the shopping street is wild lol, like holy moly! More than what I remember the last time I was in Osaka in 2023.
Day 3 - Osaka
Morning
- Shin-Osaka Station (pick up JR regional pass)
- Umeda Sky Building Lunch: IZUMO Unagi (eel bowl)
Afternoon
- Nintendo Osaka
- Pokémon Centre Osaka
- Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street
- Osaka Castle
Evening
- Dinner: Tempura Makino Namba
- Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Street
I went to the Shin-Osaka Station JR ticket office to pick up my JR Setouchi Area Pass. Prior to my trip I purchased the regional pass on the JR West Company website and made all my seat reservations online. At the station I picked up my regional pass and all of my seat tickets for my trips from the agent.
After picking up my regional pass I made the short walk over to the Umeda Sky Building and bought a ticket to check out the day time view. Since I went at opening there were a handful of other people, not crowded at all. I’d imagine it gets crowded in the evenings.
Once I was done at Umeda Sky Building, it was another short walk for lunch at IZUMO Unagi for an eel bowl. I ordered the unagi tamago don. It was suuuper filling for me so I had a lot of leftover rice after I finished the eel and egg. It was nice that they use the leftover rice to form a rice ball for you to take take away. It is important to note that the shop was cashless so you either pay by IC card or by credit card.
After lunch I walked to Umeda Station to visit the Nintendo Store to see if they had any cool Nintendo Switch 2 accessories. Aside from some accessories I didn’t see anything noteworthy. I dropped by the Pokémon Centre Osaka to check out the merch selection. I’m not looking for anything in particular but I enjoy the nostalgia every time I visit so I make the time to pop into the stores whenever one is close by.
After the Pokémon Centre I took the train to the Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street. I walked the entire length of this street. It was crowded but it’s not shoulder to shoulder like the shopping streets in the Shinsaibashi and Namba areas.
Afterwards I went to Osaka Castle. I’ve been inside the castle before so this time I decided not to buy a ticket and stayed outside instead. It was pretty sunny and hot so many people were sitting in the shade and resting by the vending machine area outside the castle.
I took the train back to the Namba area and had dinner at Tempura Makino Namba. The family next to me had a lot of leftovers, they didn’t even touch their pumpkin tempura (my personal favourite)! It was kind of crazy how much food was wasted to be honest. Even locals who were waiting to be seated commented on the waste.
After dinner I capped off the night with another stroll down Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Street.
Day 4 - Uji & Nara
Morning
- Travel to Uji
- Byodoin Temple & Museum
- Lunch: Nakamura Tokichi Honten (main store) (matcha buckwheat noodles)
- Byodoin Omotesando Shopping Street
Afternoon
- Travel to Nara
- Nara Park
- Todaiji (outside)
- Kasugataisha Shrine
Evening
- Sanjo Dori Shopping Street
- Dinner: Kamaiki (udon)
- Travel back to Osaka
This was my first time visiting Uji and my second time in Nara.
I took an early train just before 7 am to Uji. The trip was about 80 minutes from my hotel to Uji Station. From the station I walked to the Byodoin Temple which opens at 8:30 am. Since I was there at opening I got to do two loops around the grounds before the crowds started arriving. The ticket also included the museum so I got to check that out with a handful of other visitors as well. I did not purchase an additional ticket for the Phoenix Hall inside the grounds as it didn’t open until later in the morning when I have other plans.
At 9:40 am I headed over to Nakamura Tokichi Honten (main store location) for an early lunch as they open at 10 am. I took a number to queue and also queued up for their store for fun since I wouldn’t immediately be able to get into the cafe anyway. By the time I entered the store (5 minutes after opening), all the matcha sold out lol. So if you’re looking to buy matcha from their stores, be sure to start queuing waaay before I did. I didn’t have to wait long for my number to be called for the cafe. For lunch I had their cold matcha buckwheat noodles, matcha jelly, and an iced matcha drink. Relative to the average cost of a meal in Japan, it was a bit pricier with the total coming in to just under ¥3,000 but it was good.
After lunch I walked down the Byodoin Omotesando Shopping Street to pick up some matcha from the smaller shops and other souvenirs. Some of the shops had limits on the number of matcha items customers can buy. It was another hot sunny day today so interestingly I didn’t see crowds on the streets. After walking back and forth on the shopping street a bit I headed back to Uji Station and took the train to Nara. The trip was about 75 minutes from station to station.
From the station I walked to Nara Park. The last time I was here I bought the deer crackers and fed the deer so this time I opted to just observe others. There were a ton of people on the sidewalks and at the park. From Nara Park I walked to Todai-Ji (didn’t go inside this time to see the Buddha this time) and instead explored the east side on my way to the Kasugataisha Shrine.
I stopped by Nakatanidou and bought some mochi. I had their mochi the last time I was in Nara and made sure to get some again. Perhaps I was starving at this point but the mochi was so good, more delicious than I remembered. As expected, the shop was crowded and was very popular. A lot of tourists asked about the mochi pounding but the staff pointed to a sign that indicated that the mochi pounding was over for the day. Not sure if they have a soft schedule (ie. done in the mornings) but something to note if this is something you want to see. I continued down Sanjo Dori Shopping Street and had dinner at Kamaiki. I arrived at the store 15 minutes before opening and there was a queue. However all of us were able to comfortably get seated inside with seats to spare. I ordered their shrimp tempura and udon.
After dinner I walked back to the station and took the train back to Osaka.
Day 5 - Himeji & Kobe
Morning
- Travel to Himeji
- Himeji Castle
- Travel to Kobe
Afternoon
- Lunch: Royal Mouriya (Kobe beef)
- Nunobiki Herb Garden
- Kobe Motomachi Shotengai
- Kobe Chinatown Nankinmachi
Evening
- Dinner: Roshoki (Chinese dumplings)
- Travel back to Osaka
This was my first time visiting Himeji and Kobe.
I took the 7:40 am Shinkansen (with a reserved seat) from Shin-Osaka Station to Himeji Station. Since I got to Himeji before the 9 am open time at Himeji Castle, I took my time and walked to the castle from …
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