The Ultimate Guide to Summer Travel in Japan

Ultimate Guide to Summer Travelling in Japan Ver.1.1 May 2016

By ©Live! Work! Play! JAPAN!

Ultimate Guide to Summer Travelling in Japan Ver.1.1 May 2016

So you are going to Japan for summer vacation! Maybe it's your first time here or maybe you live in Japan and have a nice long break to spend travelling around. For those of you planning your first holiday in Japan, I can imagine how anxious you must be. It isn’t the biggest country in the world, yet there is so much to see and do!

We don't want you to waste your time here, so we have prepared what we think is a great itinerary for Japan, giving you opportunities to see everything, and maybe a bit of time to have some serendipitous adventuring too!

Some of the places in this guide are obvious, and some you can only appreciate if you have been to Japan.

If you have any suggestions, you can tell us at the bottom of the post on our website or on the Facebook page; we always listen to feedback and if you know somewhere awesome to go, don't hesitate to share.

Ultimate Guide to Summer Travelling in Japan Ver.1.1 May 2016

Itinerary Contents

Day 1: Arrive in Tokyo 東京, then REST. Day 2: What you Must See in Tokyo. 浅草神社 Asakusa Shrine. 渋谷スクランブル Shibuya Crossing. 東京スカイツリー Tokyo Skytree OR 東京都庁 Tokyo Metropolitan Building. 明治神宮 Meiji Shrine in Yoyogi 秋葉原 Akihabara Ueno 上野お台場 Odaiba Day trips out of Tokyo Koedo 小江戸 in Kawagoe 川越 Kamakura: Day 3: Go to Hiroshima for a day. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Day 4: Miyajima and then off to Kyoto. Day 5: Day trip to Osaka Castle. Day 6: Kyoto 京都 Tour. Day 7: Visiting historic 奈良 Nara and then on to Mount Fuji. Day 8: 河口湖オルゴールの森 Kawaguchiko Music Forest and 久保田一竹美術館 Itchiku Kubota Art Museum. Day 9: Back to Tokyo. Day 10: Get packed and ready to leave. The History of Japan and why it is such an incredible place! Resources: Accommodations: Travel: Tours:

Ultimate Guide to Summer Travelling in Japan Ver.1.1 May 2016

Day 1: Arrive in Tokyo 東京, then REST. If you come on an international flight to Japan, you will likely land right in Narita Airport 成田空港. Narita is somehow called a Tokyo airport, but it is actually in another prefecture called Chiba 千葉県.

Be warned: you will need to ride an hour or longer on the Narita Express train that costs about 30004000¥ (30 to 40 USD), or alternatively you can take the Keisei Skyliner train to get into Tokyo for a little less. This is important to know in advance so you can plan to have your yen ready and so you know that it will take you a bit more time to get into the heart of Tokyo. If you have a hotel in Tokyo, they may arrange a ride for you from the airport to the hotel directly. Another option is going by bus which takes 2 hours, but the train is faster and generally about the same price.

Warning number 2: A taxi going to run you in the hundreds of dollars! Ride if you want but be ready for it to cost 25% of the cost of your plane fare.

Welcome to Japan

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The trip to Japan from most Western countries is a tough one. You will need sleep after you arrive.

The best thing you can do is try to go to bed early in the evening and sleep for long enough to reset your body clock, then wake up the next day ready to do things and have fun.

If you're hungry then go grab a bite! Check out our Japanese delicacies article and take the challenge to eat all of them during your travels here!

Day 2: What you Must See in Tokyo. We have very limited time in Tokyo so a good bet would be to check out the things that really are unmissable. If you have the energy you can try to hit every one of these locations, but if not, feel free to go home a little bit early and rest up for the remainder of the trip.

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浅草神社 Asakusa Shrine. Definitely a must see. It is very popular and for good reason, it is considered an important cultural property by the Japanese Government. The temple at the end of Asakusa’s cool market street is a great place to go and learn the way to pray at a Shinto Buddhist temple, and pick up みくじ, what we would call a fortune, and hope for 大吉 (great luck). If you get 大凶 (worst luck), you can attach it to the bars at the temple to keep your bad luck away from you and have a happy year.

This is not busy for Shibuya, try going on a Saturday night!

渋谷スクランブル Shibuya Crossing. This is of course one of the most popular tourist attractions, seeing the most travelled crossing in the world. It is on many lines so that makes it super easy to get to just about anywhere else you want to go in the city from here.

There are a few good places to get a good look of the crossing from. Most people recommend the Starbucks above Tsutaya but personally I prefer L’Occitane cafe on the second floor. It’s less crowded and has some very exotic teas, and a much more

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relaxing atmosphere than the dozens of people always crowding out any Starbucks in Japan. There is sushi, soba, udon and every kind of Japanese food you can imagine in Shibuya so if you get hungry, you can’t go wrong there. You could stay in the Shibuya area and head on the Yamanote to Harajuku 原宿 to see the newest fashion trends in Takeshitadori 竹下通り. Or if you want to walk to Harajuku, you could pass through Yoyogi park 代々木公園. And don't forget to say hello to Hachiko ハチ公! This is a meeting place for people all across Tokyo. The story goes that this loyal dog waited for his master at the station even after the master had passed away.

東京スカイツリー Tokyo Skytree OR 東京都庁 Tokyo Metropolitan Building. While Skytree is taller, the Metropolitan building has a free observation deck that is open to the public, and have a pretty great panoramic view of the city. If you do want the full experience, a little tip for you: do you see that crazy long line for the Skytree tickets? Ignore that, go around to the side and there is a single line for “International Visitors” that will take about 2 minutes instead of an hour or longer.

明治神宮 Meiji Shrine in Yoyogi

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An old shrine in Yoyogi park, a little ways from Harajuku station (paradoxically, Harajuku station is closer to Yoyogi park than Yoyogi station is… go figure). It takes a while to walk there but it is a really nice walk, and surprisingly peaceful for somewhere located in the heart of Tokyo.

秋葉原 Akihabara For those of you who love technology, Akihabara is a very exciting place to visit. Most of the shops sell all kinds of electronics and the whole place is lit up with neon signs. I go there frequently to find old videogames in places like Trader and レトロゲーム Retro Game, where they basically have everything you could ask for. If you want the full Japan experience you could visit a メイドカフェ (Maid Cafe) where you are served by girls wearing faux French maid uniforms. For most people it is a pretty uncomfortable experience, but who knows? You may awaken some strange feelings within yourself. Only one way to find out!

Ueno 上野 Ride the Ginza line from Shibuya or the Yamanote line from Shibuya or Harajuku to get here. Ueno is famous for the large park 上野公園 as it is not just a park. There are museums, shrines, and ongoing festivals to see there all year round.

I like paddling in the Shinobazu pond 不忍池 on a swan boat especially when I’m with friends. You could see the Ueno zoo 上野動物園 of course. I also enjoy taking a stroll through Ameyokocho アメ横町, a huge market in the middle of Ueno with many cheap food stalls called yatai 屋台 to eat delicious Tokyo street food.

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お台場 Odaiba There may not be a better place to get a view of the Tokyo Bay and the city of Tokyo than Odaiba. It is a little world untoitself. Residents of Tokyo know it well but not as many tourists seem to make their way there. I would grab dinner and then make my way on the Yurikamome line ユリカモメ線 to get to the Oedo Onsen Monogatari 大江戸温泉物語.

As Japan is the among the most volcanically active areas of the world, it benefits from thousands of natural hot springs called Onsen 温泉 where people bathe. You can even book a room at an Onsen hotel, so book in advance as the places tend to book up quick!

There are lots of artificial Onsen, called Sento 銭湯, that are still enjoyable but do not offer a lot of the health benefits of natural Onsen. The site Onsen Tipster can help you find only real onsen in any area of Japan that you are travelling to.

はわい温泉 Hawaii Onsen: it’s the biggest natural onsen in Japan!

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Note: The majority of Onsen are strict about not letting people with tattoos in. They used to be a symbol of criminality and Yakuza in Japan, and while this isn't strictly true anymore, the stigma remains. Be prepared to be barred entry or kicked out if you have tattoos.

Day trips out of Tokyo

Koedo 小江戸 in Kawagoe 川越 You can ride there on the JR TobuTojo Line 東武東上線 from Ikebukuro or directly from Shibuya on the Saikyo JR line. Kawagoe is an old Samurai town in Saitama prefecture.

Koedo is an area in Kawagoe 15 minutes walk or a short taxi or bus ride away from the station where you can experience traditional Japan. The whole area is maintained in the old Edo style, one of the most beautiful styles of architecture in Japanese history.

You can go to the wagashi street 和菓子街 (Japanese traditional snack town) in Koedo and see the old temples and castles there.

Koedo is a beautiful old style Japanese town.

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Kamakura: Going south from Shibuya on the Shonan Shinjuku Yokosuka Line 横須賀行き湘南新宿線, you can get to Kamakura, one of the old samurai era capitals of Japan a stone’s throw away from Shonan, a popular swimming and surfing area. Kamakura is famous for the big Buddha 大仏 that you can walk inside and its many temples. I love it for its food beach area. A great place to eat traditional Japanese cuisine, do some sightseeing, souvenir shopping and maybe even get in a swim.

There is more one could see in Tokyo. You could go to Shinjuku to see the nearly 3 million people that pass through there each day. The station is huge! I always prefer Shibuya’s Hachiko as a meeting spot over Shinjuku station. It saves you at least 20 minutes of running around searching for each other.

The Imperial Palace is only open to the public one day a year on January first. Otherwise, it is just a big jogging track. Not much really to see. If you happen to be in the Ginza area or nearby you could go and take a look, but don’t expect to see much. Now let’s leave Tokyo and go to western Japan, where you can see ancient sites, castles and temples. This is where you can experience the Japan you’ve always wanted to see.

Day 3: Go to Hiroshima for a day.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

The trip to Hiroshima takes a few hours, and you won’t want to do anything that requires a great deal of time on that day. As long as you leave Tokyo in

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the morning you can get to Hiroshima in time, you can go to see the Peace Memorial Museum. I think it is important for western people to go and see this memorial, and to understand this horrifying event from the point of view of the Japanese. It is easy to get to and you can see it all in an hour or so.

But Hiroshima is more than just the Peace Memorial and park it is so famous for. Maybe you saw Obama just went there to pay his respects to the war victims. Of course you should go but there is a lot more to this city than just that!

Hiroshima is my absolute favorite town for food in Japan. It feels like you can just walk into any restaurant and get amazing Japanese or international food. The sidewalks in Hiroshima are wider. No smoking while walking rules are enforced! Thank God! It is a clean city where people are really not in a hurry like in Tokyo. People often won’t just tell you where to go if you ask them for directions, they will walk with you to where you want to go, a prime example of Japanese politeness.

I remember once I stayed at a hostel in Miyajima, where we will visit on the next day of this guide. A Japanese young man was traveling alone and asked an おじいさん (ojiisan, or grandpa as we say in Japanese) in Hiroshima Station how to get to there. Instead of showing him what train line to take, the old man said, “I’ll take you in my car.” I have heard story after story of this kind of おもてなし (Japanese sense of hospitality) in Hiroshima. I cannot say enough about how nice people are there. My theory is that since people are not in a rush and really just love hanging out with each other, they have the patience to make the best food in the country. That is just my theory, but it makes sense, right?

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The Hiroshimayaki in Hiroshima is very different than the Okonomiyaki in Osaka. The Hiroshima people put noodles and seafood in the pancake, and while Osaka people say it’s not real okonomiyaki, we say it is delicious! While in Hiroshima, you may want to see Hiroshima Castle as well, and from there you can get a great view of the city.

Day 4: Miyajima and then off to Kyoto.

The spellbinding Miyajima Island

Take the JR line down to Miyajima 宮島 to then take the JR ferry to Itsukushima 厳島. The island is known for its deer which roam around and will eat from your hand. More than that, it is known for its famous torii 鳥居 which we’ve used on Live! Work! Play! JAPAN! on our banner in the past. We would eat the famous oysters there and see the island. The spring or fall are awesome times to go to see the cherry blossoms

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or changing colors of the leaves, but if you’re going in summer you can still have a great time!

You can take a gondola up to Mt. Misen 弥山 or climb it. Martin has climbed it a few times, and says that it is a very easy climb, more like a hike. Absolutely gorgeous and the view of Hiroshima from the top makes the whole climb worth it.

Just be careful not to offer the deer too much in the way of food, those deer get aggressive! The shrine here is famous; as the tide goes out you can actually walk to the big red Torii 鳥居, and when the tide is in they have boats to take people out.

“Gimme some snacks!”

After you come back from Miyajima it will be about time to pack your bags and get ready to go on to Kyoto. The shinkansen takes only an hour and a half from Hiroshima, or a little longer if you are adhering to the “No Nozomi” policy dictated by your JR Rail pass (an absolute bargain for travellers from outside Japan, so best to stick to the rules). Arrive, go to your hotel, drink some Matcha tea and sleep.

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Day 5: Day trip to Osaka Castle. I almost always recommend using Kyoto as a base to travel from in this area. It is conveniently located and it is very easy to get around to see other parts of Kansai with your JR Pass, and on the first day I think it would be good to see just a few bits of what Osaka has to offer.

First stop is 大阪城 Osaka Castle, a beautiful and historic location to see, even though it was rebuilt in the 1930s. After visiting the castle you could choose to go to 新世界 ShinSekai, a foodie’s heaven with some delicious Japanese Takoyaki, Okonomiyaki, Kishikatsu and a lot of our other favourite foods that you must try. Osaka has some of the most incredible delicacies!

Doutonbori: Come back at night... it's all lit up like Christmas! Finish off the day in 道頓堀 Doutonbori, the famous bridge with all the neon signs you can imagine. It’s a cool place to see and take lots of photos for your friends back

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home to see what they imagine the whole of Japan looks like (but you know better by this time).

Day 6: Kyoto 京都 Tour. Kyoto is incredible! You could spend two weeks seeing a different site every day in this amazing city and still not see anywhere close to everything. One reason for that is, unlike Tokyo and Osaka, there aren’t many convenient trains here, but embrace that difference! Everything is on foot, bus or taxi so you can see the beautiful city streets lined with temples and izakayas (Japanese style restaurants). The most popular destinations may be the Water Temple, Kiyomizudera 清水寺 and the Golden Pavilion, Kinkakuji 金閣寺. Whatever you do, you must taste the Matcha 抹茶 and other Japanese “wagashi” 和菓子 (desserts) in Kyoto, as it is famous for its traditional Japanese sweets.

Beautiful Kinkakuji!

If you have time, I would advise taking a day trip to Arashiyama 嵐山, which would let you have a completely different experience than that of most tourists. It is a beautiful area filled with nature, temples, rivers and restaurants.

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Ginkakuji 銀閣寺 and Tenryuji 天龍寺 are some of the lesstravelledto beauties as well. You could do Kyoto on your own, but you may actually want to take a tour to be able to see more. There is a free tour guide help desk in Kyoto station to help you if you need.

When Charlie's parents came to visit Japan they had a great tour with JAPANiCAN tours, who have excursions of all kinds going all around Kyoto, Osaka and Nara areas. Some of them are pretty decent value at 6000¥ or something for a morning tour of Kyoto, visiting the majority of the shrines and castles in the area. My parents took that morning tour when they were in Kyoto and had a great time, and then went on to see Kiyomizudera by themselves (an easy train ride away if you plan ahead and know where to go).

Check out all the cool things Charlie’s parents did in Japan, and see how much fun they had on a very similar 10 day itinerary in Japan!

You could stay at a hotel or Airbnb in Kyoto. That is a good option. I would suggest you try out a hostel in Kyoto if you are going to stay there as it is one of the backpacking capitals of the Pacific. You can meet people from everywhere and make friends very easily in the hostels. I usually book my hostels on Hostelworld.

Be sure to walk along the 鴨川 Kamo river when you go for dinner, and if you like people watching like I do, sit there and watch the behaviour of the couples walking along the banks of the river. This is a strange Japanese custom in this area I think, but notice how they don’t all walk together but rather spread out every 5 metres for one couple. It’s fascinating that everyone somehow knows to give each other a little

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space for their privacy, but I guess it is an old Japanese custom in Kyoto, maybe to be expected in one of the more traditional cities in Japan.

Day 7: Visiting historic 奈良 Nara and then on to Mount Fuji. You must go to visit Nara while you're in Kansai. Nara Park 奈良公園 is famous not only for its beauty but also the deer roaming around the park that will eat food from your hand.

"I said gimme snacks!"

There are more temples than one can count there too. Todaiji temple 東大寺, Isuien Garden 依水園and the Wakakusa Hills 若草山 are some of the other more notable sightseeing stops.

The only thing about Nara is that getting around by yourself may be a hassle, and there is a lot of walking involved. If you want to see many places in Nara in a short amount of time, it might be worth taking a tour.

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Be sure to go to Nara early in the morning most temples in Japan close by 5pm and you must see 東大寺 Todaiji and the gargantuan 大仏 Daibutsu (Big Buddha). If you have time after that you can walk around, see some of the old buildings and buy little crackers to feed the wild deer here as well (they are everywhere), before heading back on the short train ride to Kyoto, picking up your stuff and heading out to your next hotel near Fuji mountain. It takes a while to get there on the trains, so I would advise making sure you know your path before you set out, which you can check here on Hyperdia in English. I still use this website on a near daily basis to find my way around Japan’s expansive train system easily.

Fuji is aweinspiring and must be seen from close up.

Since it is summer you could climb it if you were so inclined, but since that is a lot of hard work I would rather just stay at a lakeside hotel nearby and have some time in the beautiful nature of Japan, not just the hustling bustling big cities.

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Day 8: 河口湖オルゴールの森 Kawaguchiko Music Forest and 久保田一竹美術館 Itchiku Kubota Art Museum.

What a treat you are in for this day! Crazy music boxes from the turn of the century including a French Fournier musical horn that fills an auditorium! Whether you come to Japan with kids or with friends this place is nuts and really fun to just listen to all the bonkers musical machines.

There is also a very nice garden with some European looking houses and pathways, and it is a very nice place to be.

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The Itchiku Kubota museum was very interesting for me, but you can feel free to skip it if you would rather do something else in the area. It contains the most beautiful kimono tapestries created using a technique thought lost in the 1700s, but revived in the 1970s by Itchiku Kubota. The silk on show here is priceless and absolutely exquisite.

This part of the trip is an opportunity to relax and see some of Japan’s truly beautiful nature. A city is a city, but Japan has incredible and unique countryside, and being able to see huge mountains and breathe fresh air is a real treat. Leave your phone in the hotel room if you can. Tomorrow you can go back to Tokyo. There’s still plenty to see and do, and if you have a longer trip here you can fill it with other excursions. For the average 10 day holiday in Japan, I think you’ll have seen a great deal of what Japan has to offer in just a short amount of time on this trip.

Day 9: Back to Tokyo.

Scroll back up to the top for our top recommendations for things to do in Tokyo. This is not an exhaustive list but there is plenty of stuff to do in the capital for a day or two before you head out. If you wanted to do some gift shopping this would also be a great time to do that.

Day 10: Get packed and ready to leave. Leave early, don’t miss your flight as Japan’s airline staff are very strict and probably won’t let you on if you’re late for your flight’s final boarding time. We hope you had an amazing trip in Japan and consider coming back someday soon!

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The History of Japan and why it is such an incredible place!

We call Japan one nation now. However, in the past for many centuries Japan was like a little Europe during the middle ages. There were tons of small feudal states that at different points in history were ran independently from one another. This lead to each area having its own way of doing things, its own culture so to speak and very importantly for us now, its own cuisine.

This lead to local food specialties that still persist to this day, as certain areas of Japan became famous for the particular way their prepared a dish.

Many of the cultural differences among Japanese areas remain and especially in the Kansai region where we spend the majority of this trip (Kyoto, Nara and Osaka) are famous as some of the best places to go for food in the whole of Japan.

And people there are quick to tell you they are starkly different from their countrymen in Tokyo, and we would have to agree. Today we do divide the Japanese map up into 都道府県 (todoufuken capital cities and prefectures).

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For just ten days in Japan, we haven’t included everywhere. We didn’t go to 四国 Shikoku, nor up north to 北海道 Hokkaido, and we didn’t go to 九州 Kyūshū either. In such a short trip there isn’t time. Charlie has lived in Japan for four years and has never been to Hokkaido, and Martin has been in and out of Japan for six years but has never visited Kyūshū.

But this is our idea of the most interesting and fantastic places in Japan to go and see for a short trip.

Where would you go if you only had 10 days here. What would you want to see? Do you think we have missed something unforgivably big that we must include? Please tell us in the comments on the post, on Facebook or email us at [email protected] to let us know what you feel.

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Resources:

Accommodations:

Airbnb Hostelworld

Travel:

JR Rail Pass Narita Express Keisei Skyliner

Tours:

JAPANiCAN Onsen Tipster