A close friend and I visited Japan! They'd been there twice before, and were looking to go again. This was my first time there, and also, it was my first time travelling anywhere overseas in almost a decade. Together, we planned for two weeks of general tourist-abroad, land-of-the-rising-sun good stuff!
We decided on the classic, often-suggested Japan trip, called the "Golden Triangle". You visit Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, then usually end up back in Tokyo for your flight out. And two weeks is the common recommendation, as that provides three to four days in each city to explore without feeling rushed.
We booked our trip for the bottom of January. When looking online, the accommodation prices were very cheap for that timeframe. And though it was mid-winter, we'd be both coming from Canada... so the "chilly" temperatures would be like pleasant spring-time weather to us!
We landed in Narita and spent our first couple days in Tokyo. Our hotel was right by Shinagawa station, making it extremely easy to get around the city. We purchased visitor Suica cards, using them to travel by train; just a tap in and out! Refilling the cards was done at any ATM, and, thanks to a favourable exchange rate, was cheap to do so!
We explored on our own quite a bit, including Scramble Crossing, Tokyo Tower, and Zōjō-ji. But we also had the foresight to hire a day guide in each city. This was a fantastic experience, as all of our guides were expats... they'd all been in Japan between 5 and 10 years, lived and worked and married and raised children. So this means they knew a lot about their local areas and could still present us context of their own "outsider" experiences.
Travel between the cities was by Shinkansen bullet train. The convienence and comfort of travelling by train puts all other north-american travel options to shame. Seriously.
Our second stop was Kyoto. Kyoto is a beautiful city that holds onto its older architecture and spirit. Its a much slower experience after Tokyo. We visited the Kiyomizu-dera, Nishiki Market, the hanamachis... and, of course, as many of the restaurants as we could manage!
All the food we had while in Japan was incredible! And surprisingly good for you... at least, in comparison to a stereotypical north-american diet. Using chopsticks forced me to eat an a slower pace, letting me enjoy the flavours while giving the food time to settle. As such, it didn't take a lot of anything to satisfy a single person, and the food you get isn't the cheese-covered, bread-filled, calorie-stuffed fare I'm used to. I stuffed myself while there and, with the benefit of all the walking I did, I actually lost five pounds or so!
After Kyoto, we hopped over to Osaka. Here, I started to finally do some shopping. We purposely avoided picking up anything in Tokyo as we'd be returning there at the tail end of the trip. But when we were in Oksaka, there were some places I just couldn't help but buy some super-cool merch. Thankfully, I was limited by the size of the luggage I brought!
We visited historic locations like Osaka castle, but Os is known for its bustling night culture. Dotonbori was extremely crowded, even in the chill of the evening. But it was worth it for all the lights and smells and tastes and the vibes! It's a place that feels constantly alive. Full of experiences.
And so many, many signs. All manner of wonderful, amazing signs!
While in the area, we snuck in a day-visit to Nara. The city is famous for tame spotted deer openly roaming throughout the parks, the town... hell, pretty much everywhere! And, yes, they do in fact bow to you, in hopes that you'll feed them some of the deer crackers all the local snack vendors sell. We also visited Tōdai-ji Temple, took in a saké tasting, and explored amazing gardens and parks. After the whirlwind of Osaka at night, a calm day in Nara was the perfect moment of quiet.
Our last stop was back to Tokyo for a couple more days. Now that we didn't have to haul our luggage cross-country, this is where we visited our geek meccas. We spent a day in Akihabara, exploring stores and shops, electronics and figures and toys, books and manga! As a surprise to me, a lot of it was relatively cheap... the advantage of not paying for a middle-man to import it from overseas, I guess! My plan wasn't to fill my bag with statues and plastic and the like, but there was a couple items I just couldn't say no to.
I'm breezing over most of the trip. The photos posted here are a fraction of the pictures I took, and I could write a novella of all I encountered. But that... that I'll save for if you and me ever sharing a beer in person ;)
Japan was a bucket-list trip for me. I'm glad I was able to finally do it! I've travelled to Europe, but this was my first time to east asia. And it is a completely different experience. Its both brilliant and fascinating, captivating and crazy.
If you ever get the chance, go for it. Highly recommended!