Would recommend Nara, both for it’s temples but also the fantastic museum.
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Also a number of good restaurants, and at least one great cocktail bar (Lamp Bar)
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Himeji Castle, as suggested above, is a great choice. It’s the only Great Castle that retains its original structures. You see the interior of the castle as the samurais would have seen it as you climb the narrow and steep stairs to the top – with each higher floor smaller than the one below but also filled with more of the natural light from the windows.
Himeji Castle’s austere beauty, in black and white, is a good contrast to the colorful, stunning beauty of Osaka Castle (60 miles east of Himeji), which was as much a showcase of feudal power as it was a military fort. (Note: The inside of Osaka Castle is a modern museum, not preserved interior like Himeji Castle’s.)
And, if you are to stop in Kobe, right around the Kobe shinkansen station (which is also where you get on the ropeway to the Herb Garden) is Ijinkan-Gai where the first wave of Westerners who came to Japan right after the borders were opened built their houses. It’s a popular domestic tourism destination, with many cute restaurants and cafes.
Also nearby is a hidden gem, Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum. You hear platform announcements from the shinkansen station at the museum entrance but, as soon as you open the door, you are hit with the smell of fresh-cut wood.
From there, you can walk to downtown Kobe and the original Kobe Beef restaurants still operating there, as detailed in this excellent guide by a local.
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Both Tokyo and Kyoto offer great day-trip opportunities.
From Tokyo -
The quintessential day-trip is Kamakura/Enoshima. It’s perfect for trainspotting with views of a quiet and relaxing beach, has plenty of history, and Enoshima Island is a short walk away (the island is connected through a bridge).
Although Yokohama is the 2nd most populated city in Japan, it’s often overlooked because of its proximity to Tokyo. There’s the Yokohama Landmark Tower, Instant Noodles Museum, an impressive Chinatown, Cosmo Ferris Wheel, and Red Brick Warehouse.
Hakone is great for views of Mt. Fuji, but only if you are lucky. When I visited, the view was obscured by clouds, but the Ropeway over volcanic springs, black egg (cooked in sulfur), and pirate ship on the lake were definitely worth it. There’s also a good amount of art museums in the area.
From Kyoto -
Kobe is extremely underrated and I actually prefer it over Kyoto (fits my traveling style more). There’s the Kobe beef, Ropeway that was already mentioned above, Kobe Port Tower, and good hiking opportunities.
Nara is full of history and you can’t go wrong with the adorable deer.
Nagoya is considered boring for a major city, but I don’t agree with that sentiment. It’s almost halfway between Tokyo and Osaka and is typically the launching point for a day trip to Shirakawa-go.
I’ve been to many castles throughout Japan and was surprised that I was pretty disappointed with Himeji Castle. It’s impressive how well maintained it is, but it didn’t scratch that Castle itch for me.
If you want more recommendations, just let me know as I’ve been to Japan 13 times with my 14th time coming up in less than 3 weeks.
We just returned from 2 weeks in Japan. We arrived in Tokyo and stayed for 5 nights, then trained to Atami to stay at a Ryokan for 1 night, then went to Kyoto for 3 nights, and closed out in Osaka for 2 nights. We were able to fly directly home from Osaka, so that worked out well.
My wife and I’s three biggest takeaways from the trip:
- The Ryokan was incredible. Highly recommend turning one of your day trips into an overnight. Atami and Hakone are two great spots close to Tokyo.
- Kyoto is insanely overcrowded, to the point that 3 days felt like 1 day too much for us. Your mileage may vary depending on interest in temples and history, and tolerance for tourists.
- Osaka is a dense city with much to explore, and we wish we spent more time there – especially since one of our Osaka days was spent with a day trip to Hiroshima (the Peace Museum is essential, by the way).
A nice bonus was we got a great view of Fuji on the train from Atami to Kyoto.
Edit: While our favorite meals of the trip were not in Kyoto, I highly recommend Rencontre Champagne Bar, and if you have even a remote interest in Sake, Sake Bar Yoramu. For cocktails, Fukurou is a special, very tiny place off the beaten path.
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Over-tourism is a problem all over Japan, but no doubt it’s particularly bad in tourism-dependent Kyoto. Still, FWIW, you can mitigate it to some digress, like:
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Needless to say, avoid peak seasons (particularly cherry blossoms, summer, and fall foliage).
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Also avoid weekends/holidays.
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Find attractions that require timed-entry reservations.
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Similarly, capacity-limited boat rides, bay cruises, scenic trains, and the like are a good way to get away from the crowds.
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Tour buses tend to come after 9:30 and leave by 5, so, if possible, avoid popular attractions between 10 and 4.
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Some attractions are open 24-7 (or open quite early in the morning), so get there early if you can’t sleep because of jet lag anyway.
Not magic bullets here but, I hope, every little bit helps…
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And a few more Kyoto/Osaka day trip ideas:
JAPANESE PAPER (WASHI): Echizen Washi Village is a long-ish day trip from Kyoto (or even Osaka).
MATCHA: Uji, the Matcha Capital of Japan (World?), is located between Kyoto and Nara. But the stores there may limit how much you can purchase, and still quickly sell out its daily inventory.
JAPANESE WHISKY: Suntory Yamazaki Distillery, the birthplace of Japanese whisky (in 1923), is conveniently located between Kyoto and Osaka. Due to the extreme popularity, all visits, even just to the gift shop, require advance reservations, some of them lottery-based.
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I’ll also throw out Oshino Hakkai as a potential short detour out of Tokyo, with views of Mt Fuji.
With regards wine bars, do also keep in mind that some of the wine shops in department stores often offer high-end wines by the glass - and are open during the day.
I was just in Ebisu Wine Market Party (Tokyo) on the weekend, and whilst not in a department store per se, I noted they had Salon and first growths on pour by the glass…
As has been mentioned elsewhere, a quick search on google maps or Tabelog for wine bars “near me” will often reveal some hidden gems.
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For a serene temple experience in Kyoto, go to Daitoku-ji. It’s a temple complex with many small wonderful temples. Not central, it’s close to the Golden Temple (Kinkaku-ji), which is stunning but usually mobbed.
Some of my favorite Zen Gardens are there.
Also in Kyoto, Nazen-ji is great, more central and while not slow, has lots of space so doesn’t feel mobbed. Murin-An is a lovely garden just outside Nazen-ji, which perhaps because it has a separate admission, was tranquil both times I’ve been there (both times peak tourist season in Kyoto),
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Daitoku-ji and Nazen-ji are both great and neither had that many tourists when I visited during the middle of the day. One of my favorite things I did in Kyoto was spending half a day walking the Philosopher’s Path and enjoying the tranquility (Nazen-ji is basically on that path).
It’s true that Kyoto has a lot of tourists, but if you are willing to do Kiyomizu-dera and Arashiyama early (like 6-7am early) both are perfectly pleasant to visit (I wouldn’t want to be at either place around midday though). Fushimi Inari is overwhelming at the entrance, but once you start hiking up a little bit, the crowds thin out and it becomes quite tranquil as well. And while Kinkaku-ji is always mobbed, it isn’t too bad because all you can do there is walk around the temple; you basically just walk the line and you are in and out in a reasonable amount of time.
And if you spend time in Kyoto, go to Weekender’s Coffee. It really is visually one of the most stunning coffee houses in the world (better than the Starbucks in the Higashiyama teahouse near Kiyomizu-dera) and Weekender’s serves the best coffee in Kyoto.
Philosophers path was busy the last two times, even when Nazen-ji wasn’t too bad.
My favorite “ bring home” food stop is the store that makes the rice crackers fresh outside the store. Right by the north end of the path. I bought like a dozen bags to bring home.
Thanks so much for all of the responses. I will do a deep review tomorrow when we pick back up with vacation planning. Flight booked and hotel in Tokyo and Osaka booked. Kyoto up next. And then some dinners and advanced tickets for certain things. Hope to have most of the trip sketched out by the weekend.
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We are planning an April trip and am currently researching restaurants (as usual, this board has been a great resource).
Has anyone eaten at Den in Tokyo? It’s got two Michelin stars, but looks to be on the more casual end of the spectrum. I think it looks interesting, but would love to hear from anyone with firsthand experience.
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I had a question I was hoping the experienced board members here can answer. It seems there are so many different types of travel related passes available (JR pass, Kansai Thru Pass) plus different cards for travel on the subway or buses. From what I can gather, we can preload Suica card for subway travel in Tokyo (and perhaps other cities) but for train travel, what do you recommend? Our current itinerary would involve train from Tokyo to Osaka, Osaka to Kyoto, Kyoto to Handea airport to fly home along with day trips via train to Nara, Himeji Castle and maybe one more. Do you just buy single tickets for each leg or is buying a 2 week pass that would cover all train travel more sensible? A 7 day pass would have been perfect if all train travel was within that 7 day period but since we are there for almost 2 weeks, that doesn’t work out.
Any help is appreciated! Thanks!
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For subways, do you have iphone or Android? The easiest pre load Suica or Passmo on your phone is only available for iphone the last time I checked. I have an old physical Passmo card that I love and will never give up unless I have to. It works in many cities, not just Tokyo, and can also be used for taxis, vending machines, convenience stores and more.
Unless you are doing heavy shinkansen, we don’t find the passes cost effective, but we drive a lot. I can’t say for sure, but my guess is that for what you are doing, buying individual tickets is still going to make most or same sense financially since regional trains just don’t cost that much. It’s also not like subways where you just flash your pass at the turnstile - you still have to reserve the trains you want for most rail lines, so it doesn’t save you time there.
We haven’t bought rail passes in years, though we’ve looked at it and decided it didn’t make sense many times. If anyone has more recent use experience that refutes what I wrote, do listen to them.
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Just confirming what @Sarah_Kirschbaum has said - Suica is only available on iPhones now.
Also - the JR Rail Pass used to be a great deal for Shinkansen travel many years ago. They increased the price in recent years and it is no longer as cost effective, so I would just purchase individual train tickets. Pro tip - when purchasing your tickets for your Tokyo - Osaka leg, request to sit on the Fuji side.
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Agree with Sarah and Michelle that, for your itinerary, it makes sense to buy single tickets.
For your itinerary, you’d be on shinkansen twice, Tokyo to Kyoto and then Osaka to Tokyo (Haneda), for which you can buy single tickets at any big JR Station. You can do it ahead of your travel date, but you should be able to get same-day tickets unless it’s a busy season. (And, yes, definitely sit on the Mt. Fuji side – which would be the right-hand side when going from Tokyo to Kyoto – as Michelle pointed out. And FWIW, morning trains tend to have clearer views of Mt. Fuji.)
But, if you know the date/time of your shinkansen travels already, you can make reservations on JR’s website or their “Smart EX” app. At least on the app, it’s very easy to change your reservations.
No need to take shinkansen from Kyoto to Osaka. Plenty of regular (non-shinksansen) express trains between the two cities. (Besides, the shinkansen station in Osaka is in the suburbs, so not very convenient.) However, for the Himeji outing, you may want to take shinkansen, particularly if you are starting out in Kyoto.
For all other (non-shinkansen) trains, you can buy a single ticket for each ride at the station, but it’d be far more convenient to have a pre-paid “swipe-and-go” card. As mentioned above, if you have an iPhone, you can turn it into the pre-paid card by setting up one of the Japanese train cards available in Apple Wallet as your default transit card. (You can pick any card as they are all inter-operatable but, if you are not sure, just pick Suica, which has the largest user base.) Then you can add value to it any time using your existing payment methods.
If you don’t have an iPhone, you can buy a credit-card sized physical “IC” card at any big train station. But, chances are, you’d need Japanese cash for that (and for subsequent topping offs).
Lastly, as you are probably already aware, local train systems in Japan can be quite complicated, particularly Tokyo and Osaka, with many companies operating multiple lines. Google Map does a decent job of helping you with that but you can do as the locals do and use specialized websites and apps by Jorudan and Navitime.
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There are machines at some stations that allow topping with a credit card, but cash is better. Of course, you are going to want cash anyway, as Japan is still a heavily cash-centric society outside the big cities, though that is changing.
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With the huge price increase of the JR Pass, it’s really no longer worth it unless you have very specialized trips. It’s perfect for Kyushu (especially if you are taking the Shinkansen or other high-speed trains).
And yes, you need the physical IC Card for Android phone users (which is no issue for me). I love my physical ICOCA Card and will never part with it.
