Travelling to Japan this September for 2 weeks to visit some friends! Will definitely be in Tokyo and hoping to visit Kyoto + Osaka. Any suggestions for specific places to visit, things to do/see, or restaurants to try? Also any suggestions on travelling between cities (budget friendly would be awesome though experiencing the bullet train seems cool too).

If you are in a budget, there's Sukiya and Saizeriya.

Try airbnb for staying in Osaka, the people are friendly there. In Tokyo the hotels are REALLY expensive, but I have friends that did not like their AirBnBs, since it's a big city. An alternative to hotels would be sharing a hostel or even a big room with more friends.
Visiting Japan and not going to Kyoto, to me is like missing most of the cultural/historical aspect of it. Osaka feels like Toronto or New York, and Tokyo, although different than most, is more fun than authentic.
In Tokyo there is a multitude of things to see, but the highlight of my trip was a rickshaw ride in Asakusa, a total must... and for Osaka the castle and its park.

Definitely visit Arashiyama in Kyoto, the Nijo Castle, and the Inari Shrine (at sunset or close to it, leave a bit of time for the lineup since this is the best hour).

Thanks so much! I'm super stoked to go to Kyoto

Christin I spent 5 days in Kyoto (3 in central Kyoto and 2 in Arashiyama, because it's a bit further away to the west, kinda like a village), 3 days in Tokyo and 2 in Osaka. Honestly, Kyoto is the true Japan for me.

Yeah, I can imagine. I'm staying in Tokyo for 6 days, Kyoto for 3, Osaka for 2, then back to Tokyo for a couple days. I'm not planning on sleeping much in Kyoto to optimize the trip haha.

Enjoy!!

Here are some my favourite things I've done in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka:
Central Tokyo: Akihabara, Don Quixote (these are everywhere). Super Potato,Tokyo Station
Northern Tokyo: Asakusa (where we stayed) & Sensoji Temple, Ikebukuro (Sunshine Aquarium, Pokemon Centre)
Western Tokyo: Shibuya, Shin Okubo (Koreatown), Tokyu Hands Shinjuku, Robot Restaurant, 100 Yen Store (great for souvenirs), Yoyogi Park, Harajuku
Outlying Areas Tokyo: Ghibli Museum, Hakone Open Air Museum
Central Kyoto: Nijo Castle
Eastern Kyoto: Kiyomizudera, Gion, Philosopher’s Path
Southern Kyoto: Fushimi Inari Shrine
Northern Kyoto: Kinkakuji
Western Kyoto: Arashiyama
Day Trip from Kyoto: Nara
Osaka: Osaka Aquarium, Dontonbori, Osaka Castle, Round 1 (24hr bowling/karaoke/games)
As for restaurants... wherever you go, there will be delicious food. Just follow your nose. Grab some okonomiyaki in Dontonburi in Osaka. Tokyo and Kyoto both have tons of food, try some ramen or udon at a hole in the wall. Try yakiniku for sure and visit some izakayas for some late night drinks and grub.

Thank you very much! Any chance you have suggestions or advice about ryokans in Kyoto?

The 3 of us stayed at Uoiwa Ryokan. It was very classy and traditional (tatami and futons), and even had a public onsen inside. Not cheap, it was about $260 CAD a night.
We stayed in Khaosan Tokyo Origami Hostel in Asakusa while we were in Tokyo. Bunkbeds and shared bathrooms with the rest of the floor, but it was a wonderful little spot and the owners were great. We were a five minute walk from Sensoji, and it was stunning to walk past every night when the streets were empty. That one was about $185 per night.
We went with our friend who lives in Japan, she did all our booking on Hostels.com.

Thanks so much

As for travel, if you plan on hopping around between Tokyo/Osaka/Kyoto a JR pass is probably worth the money. You cannot buy them in Japan, you need to order it before your trip. And definitely grab a suica/pasmo card for travelling around via subway, its just a card you load with money to speed things up and you won't need to dig around for coins all the time.

Thanks so much
Yeah I've decided that I'll probably get a JR pass. Does that cover the Shinkansen as well as the regular subway? Or just the Shinkansen?

Just fyi, you can buy the JR Pass in Japan -- it's a little more expensive though, so it's better to buy it before you leave if you can.

JR pass is reall only worth it if you are doing a round trip between Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka, for one way it isn't. It works on all JR trains, but not the private trains. But in the case you need to use private trains they usually aren't too expensive.

Ryo Somatani

Tokyo bike tour is a great way to see a lot of sights in one day in a reasonable way. Get a JR pass if you are there for at least a week ... can use the trains as much as you like, only available to foreigners. You can use it to travel between cities even and lets you use the Shinkansun without an extra fee.

Thanks so much
Yeah I've decided that I'll probably get a JR pass. Does that cover the Shinkansen as well as the regular subway? Or just the Shinkansen?

If you are with three friends rent a car. It'll save you money on travel between those destinations. As for Things to Do, you haven't seen Tokyo until you've toured it MarioKart style.

http://maricar.com/en/shinagawa.html These guys were the best and very organized. Crazy fun.

That's awesome haha thanks so much!

Renting a car is quite damn expensive in Japan and the toll charges are high. The drive from Kyoto to Tokyo is also 6-7 hours instead of 3 on the bullet train

I did the same trip solo this past fall with a tight budget. If you want to save on transportation and two nights of accomodation, consider the Willer night bus. Leaves from Shinjuku station and you just sleep the whole time and arrive in Osaka around 7am. 3 bus rides in a 1 month period for like $125. It's much cheaper than a JR pass if you are going to just Tokyo/Osaka/Kyoto. As for accommodations, I highly reccomend the hostels in Osaka and Kyoto. Many are boutique, beautiful places to stay on sub $50 a night. Fuku hostel in Osaka and Lower East Nine in Kyoto are both awesome. In Tokyo, I'd reccomend experiencing a capsule hotel if you're not claustrophobic. Awesome experience and you get some sweet perks of you choose a more premium one. Honestly, I could talk about this trip forever, so message me if you have any other questions. I'd be happy to help!

Yeah, I was thinking of trying out the capsule hotel in Haneda before catching my flight! Did you purchase pocket wifi or get a SIM card?

I rented a pocket wifi. Search online for some companies. They shipped it to the airport and I picked it up at the post office there. Dropped it in the mailbox at the airport on the way home. Super easy! Just make sure it covers all regions.

Thanks! Was the service good and how much did you pay?

It was CDJapan and was about $30 a week. The service was pretty good. I used it primarily for maps and simple searches, not so much for calling or video.

TSUKIJI fish market is a MUST! (If u like sushi) go really early the line up for food gets crazy fast.

Take a day trip out to Kamakura when you are in Tokyo. Beautiful temples and walking in this former capital without the big city crowd.

So awesome haha

We did a similar trip last year (Tokyo-Kyoto-Hiroshima-Mt. Koya-Osaka) and the JR pass was a really good value. It's really hard to give any specific recommendations on restaurants because we just ate at whatever looked good where we were! The food in Japan is insanely good everywhere you go!

Hi Shaleen. I am also doing the same trip. Did the JR pass allow you to use the Shinkansen trains? I'm getting conflicting information on this! Would be very helpful! Thank you

Yes you can! There are specific classes of train that you can't use, but you do get to ride the bullet train.

Thanks so much! Did the JR pass cover the regular subway as well or just the Shinkansens?

It includes the subway in Tokyo. We got a 7 day pass to use for the travel outside of Tokyo (the whole trip was two weeks) and used Pasmo cards in Tokyo as that was cheaper than getting the longer JR pass

Ah perfect! I'll probably do the exact same

So helpful! Thanks for this information!

No problem!

If you can, try to see a baseball game - that was one of the highlights of our trip to Japan!

The fushimi inari shrine is so worth it but I would DEFINITELY recommend getting there no later than 8:30 am. The time and light is best to take photos and you will not have to deal with massive slow moving crowds! Took us only about a half hour to get to the top. (Even at 9:30-10 the crowds start rolling in).

Andrew Gunadie
If you aren't claustrophobic, capsule hotels are a super affordable option for short stays! They're also in prime locations. I'd also look into a JR Rail Pass if you're going to travel between different cities - you have to order in advance as I recall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GVieEjSD6o

Saved so much money by booking with Airbnb.
Sign up for airbnb and get $50 CAD off your first adventure. Here’s my invitation link: http://abnb.me/e/V0WrbpazmF

Check out an onsen for sure! It's the most relaxing experience

Kanghee Lee
Kohji Nagata Sascha Darius

Definitely get a pocket wifi - great for GPS navigation

Stacey
One of my most treasured memories was in a very small village called Pazano. Farmers Market on Sat. and you MUST go see the crazy butcher!! No need for directions are you will hear his roaring hard rock music throughout the streets. Usually crowded but friendly staff greet you with a glass of wine and some delicious meats/cheese and bread and we were there at 10:00 am!! They also serve an awesome lunch or dinner if you reserve. You will not regret this amazing Italian experience!!

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g635878...

Shimokitazawa in Tokyo..hidden gem

airbnb are great in the main cities, I've used dozens and rarely now use hotels. Stay around Namba/Shinsaibashi in Osaka, and usually I recommend Shinjuku or Shibuya station for Tokyo. Capsule hotels are an option but luggage storage can be an issue and many don't allow women. airbnb is generally going to be cheaper if you're traveling with at least one other person

Thanks for all the comments...