Haha, thank you. Tokyo Tower is a strong possibility, we know we have to hit Shibuya too. I’m not sure Shibuya will be my favorite, being the extremely popular and crowded district, but we have to experience it.
For your Japan trip, Tokyo and Kyoto are great picks! In Tokyo, explore neighborhoods like Shibuya and Shinjuku for vibrant city life and amazing food. Check out Tsukiji Outer Market for fresh seafood and wander through Asakusa for a taste of traditional Tokyo. Kyoto’s stunning temples and gardens are a must-see—don’t miss Fushimi Inari Shrine with its iconic torii gates.
If you’re up for a bit of adventure, consider visiting a place like 신촌셔츠룸 in Seoul for a unique experience. I once had a fun night there with friends, and it was a lively, interesting place to meet locals and experience a different side of the city.
1 Like
Japan plans have been shoring up. We currently have tickets booked to the Ghibli Museum, where we failed at an attempt to buy tickets at ungodly early on the day they release, but we purchased a package through TripAdvisor for quite an upcharge that guaranteed access. Recently got official, direct tickets to the Ghibli Theme Park at an ungodly early hour when they released rather than paying the upcharge for a tour package.
Other activities will start getting filled in. Disney Tokyo releases their tickets in October. We’ll get tickets to Skylab Tokyo soon, not sure if they’re available yet. There is a Harry Potter cafe that only releases tickets for that month so I’ll be buying them when I can.
Next task is probably booking traditional ryokan (like hotels) to stay in for at least 2 nights.
I’d also like to book a dinner at a Michelin-star restaurant as I’ve never been to one! There are so many choices in Japan that I’m overwhelmed, but also encouraged I should be able to get into one once I make the decision.
We have a pile of ideas for activities right now. Need to narrow it down some, I’m sure we’ll find others, and book some. Mostly sticking in the Tokto/Kyoto/Osaka area, with at least a day and perhaps an overnight in Nagoya and a day in Nara. Mt. Fuji is a maybe, we haven’t decided as I know we won’t be doing a long hike up there, but perhaps will go for viewing. I need to refresh myself on the details but there is a festival that runs from 12:00-23:59 every Tuesday in November and we might be able to be at an area that blasts “on” at midnight to start the celebration.
We thought for a long time about going to Okunoshima Island (Rabbit Island) to see all the semi-wild bunnies, but that’s a shinkansen from Kyoto toward Hiroshima, to a local train to a ferry to get there. Would be most of a full day and maybe not worth it since we aren’t doing Hiroshima.
We are planning a trip to Japan too! Though a little later, we are going to be spending Christmas and New Year’s there. We are going to Okinawa, Nagoya, and Tokyo. I’ve started using Wanderlog to plan out the trip, you should give it a try. I’ve only used the free version, but it’s been pretty nice so far.
In Nagoya we’re hoping to do an Onsen, Logland, and Ghibli park. There’s also a Toyota museum that some people in our group might hit.
I’m guessing we’ll have a much different trip than you because I’m bringing my kids (youngest is 6). So trying to plan it around them having a good time.
1 Like
I will check out Wanderlog, have never heard of it, thank you for the suggestion!
Make sure you get those Ghibli Park tickets 2 months ahead at 14:00 JST on the 10th (10 PM-1 AM on the 9th-10th in the US). But if you miss out, I think that TripAdvisor or similar will have tickets as part of their contracted tour, at a premium.
You want to be logged into as many devices as possible prior to the hour flipping over, doesn’t matter when in that window you logged in. Then you’re thrown into a random queue on each device, I was given places 6000-29,000. The first one on mobile glitched out, so after half an hour more I got tickets on the second device.
1 Like
Oh, you’ll want your passport # ready at hand, and your CC #, don’t do anything to cause a delay.
They will also ask where in Japan you are staying. I don’t know yet - I googled a hotel that is in the airport and gave that address.
1 Like
Going with your church group?
1 Like
No, family. But there will be 10 of us total.
1 Like
Waiting for the bot link on this bump.
1 Like
Did you decide on Kyoto and the Samauri museum?
1 Like
Unless you find something suggesting otherwise, the Samurai Museum is temporarily entirely closed! Their website is up and I found links to buy tickets, but those take you to TripAdvisor which says no availability at all.
https://www.samuraimuseum.jp/en/experience/index.html
https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g1066457-d13774203-Samurai_Calligraphy_Class-Shinjuku_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html
We were highly likely to try it out though, were it available.
Right now we’re looking at 7 days + our arrival date in Tokyo, 3 days in Kyoto, 4 days in Osaka (one of those actually being a trip to Nara), give or take a day in any direction. We may also take one of those days and stay in Nagoya for one day after visiting the Ghibli Theme Park.
In Kyoto we are planning on staying at a swanky ryokan for at least 1 or perhaps all 3 nights. They are much more expensive than a hotel but we want to try it out for a little while.
1 Like
What a bummer that you can’t get into the Samauri classes!!
1 Like
My partner is an artist and I really wanted to try the calligraphy class, but oh well. There will be plenty to do 
2 Likes
Ryokan are -nice-
If it has one of the traditional baths, that’s really awesome. Gotta try an onsen.
1 Like
I have been in the planning stages for a Japan trip for a while (won’t be for another few years until the little one is older) but one thing that I found really cool was that:
You can order lunch while you are on the train, and the delivery gets made to your train at one of your next stops.
That has to be worth doing once. We can only dream of that over here in the UK.
1 Like
When I caught a train from Kyoto to Osaka, I ate at a sit-down bar on the platform. If you had a few minutes to spare, you could order and eat a bowl of udon soup. It took about a minute to make the soup and a few minutes to eat it. Oishii desu!
1 Like
Here’s an article on Kyoto that came out this week -
Unfortunately we didn’t know until recently that tattoos are not allowed in the vast majority of public onsen. A rarity of public ones will allow them. A number may allow you to cover smaller ones with a wrap, but I imagine it may be tricky to navigate language in less touristy areas. We may still try this, unsure if they would offer a wrap or we are expected to bring one. A majority simply won’t allow you in a public onsen with a tattoo.
I’m finding some indications there are private onsen for as cheap as $10-20/hour, but I think these probably refer to more basic “city onsen” which are pipe-fed fancy private bath rooms. I’d like to find a more scenic experience, which needing to be private will probably mean staying at a ryokan where we reserve their scenic private onsen area for a time when we check in.
Since I’m no longer studying for exams, I’ve gotten 42,378 experience in DuoLingo since June 2024. I most certainly cannot hold a conversation, but I can handle a number of things!
Oterarai wa doko desu ka? Chikai desu ka? Where is the bathroom? Is it on the underground level?
Udon teishoku o futatsu kudasai. Ikura desu ka - ku hyaku en desu ka? Two of the udon meal sets, please. How much are they - nine hundred yen?
Basu wa chikai kimasu ka? Does the bus arrive soon?
1 Like