Heading to Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka) for 10 days in March. Any recommendations would be amazing! Thank You

Me too! Following!

Tokyo:
- Senso-ji temple in Asakusa
- Tokyo tower and Tokyo Skytree
- Tsukiji market
- Golden gai at night
- Ghibli museum
- Akihabara
- Shinjuku, Shibuya crossing, Harajuku
Osaka:
- Namba, Umeda, and Dotonbori
- Get on a train and go to Nara to visit the famous deer park
- If you have time visit Kobe city
- Kyoto is a must if you like temples
- Try okonomiyaki and takoyaki in Osaka
- Osaka castle
- Universal Studios Japan
- Shopping in Shinsaibashi
There are just way too many things to do but check out this Youtuber’s videos. She goes to some pretty cool places.
https://youtu.be/jWmD4aUWOUs
https://youtu.be/TcVBgOtXY_0
YOUTUBE.COM
Tokyo Hidden Spots: Tokyo Off The Tourist Guide Books

Tina Gohar thank you Tina! Do you think the ghibli museum is worth checking out even if you aren’t too familiar with animation?

Shyla it depends how long you have in the city. I am a Ghibli fan so I enjoyed it but I don’t know if it’s worth your 3-4 hours (including transportation and walking) if you’re in Tokyo for say, 3 days only.

Shyla yeah that should be fine! As long as you don’t mind paying 1000 yen (~ $11) for entrance

Going in May so fill me in Mike hahaha

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What are you looking for? I lived in Kyoto for a year. You want to find the flea markets, they are awesome. Some hole in the wall restaurants, always the best. Also, kinkaku-ji is always good.

Wyatt that’s awesome Wyatt! We have 2.5 days for Kyoto. We love culture and local experiences. We booked a ryokan for one night.

How many days do you need in Kyoto and osaka

Shyla for culture, Ryoanji is great. I saw turtles and a crane there, and the Zen garden is amazing. Kinkuji will be crowded, but is worth it if you don't mind the wait. Arashiyama mountain is good but, if it isn't warm, I wouldn't advise. Fushimi inari is not a climb that is meant to be tried unless you don't mind a hefty hike. The front area is really nice though. Another good spot in the area, for local experiences, is the road north of Shijo Dori, you can start at Shijo omiya, across from the McDonald's. Behind the train station on the north side is the entrance to a marketplace and fish market. Lovely place to go. And if you walk to the end, there are some nice hole in wall restaurants for okonomiyaki. If you want a little bit different, on top of the daimaru department store are quite a few great restaurants. Also, if you cross over to gion, on gion Shijo, there is an Irish pub right near the station there. Otherwise, you can rent a kimono for the day in gion or Shijo karasuma and just have a good time.

Wyatt thank you!

Tokyo 4-Day Full Itinerary
Day 1: Modern Tokyo/West Side
• 8:30am: Take the train or subway to Harajuku.
• 9:00am: Arrive in Harajuku and visit Meiji-jingu Shrine, Omotesando, and Nezu Museum (don't miss the garden!).
• Harajuku Station (Yamanote line), Omotesando exit; Meiji-Jingumae Station (Chiyoda, Fukutoshin lines), exit 2.
• Opened in 1920, the shrine is dedicated to Emperor Meiji – whose reign (1868-1912) coincided with Japan’s modernisation – and his consort, Empress Shoken. Exceedingly popular, especially at New Year, when it draws crowds of a million-plus, the shrine hosts numerous annual festivals, including two sumo dedicatory ceremonies in early January and at the end of September. Shinto weddings take place here regularly. The current main building dates from 1958, a reconstruction after the original was destroyed during World War II. It is an impressive example of the austere style and restrained colours typical of Shinto architecture. Just off the main path to the shrine, through the wooded Inner Garden, are two entrances to another garden, the little-visited Meiji Jingu Gyoen. It’s neither large nor especially beautiful, but it is quiet – except in June, when the iris field attracts many admirers. Vegetation is dense, limiting access to the few trails, which lead to a pond and teahouse.
•
• 11:00am: Take the train or subway to Shibuya.
• 11:15am: Arrive in Shibuya and explore this retail paradise. (Shibuya Pedestrian Scramble)
• 1:00pm: Eat lunch in Shibuya. For some picks, see the Shibuya district page Places to Eat section.
• 2.30pm: Take the train and subway to Shinjuku.
• 3:00pm: Arrive in Shinjuku. and visit the Tokyo Metropolitian Government Building Observatories to get a view over the city.
• 6:00pm: Eat dinner in Shinjuku. Inaba Wako (Taskashimaya) is recommended
•
Day 2: Traditional Tokyo/East Side
• 9:00am: Take the subway to Asakusa. (Tenshige is recommended restaurant for awesome lunch bowls) Visit Senso-ji Temple and nearby Asakusa-jinja Shrine.
• 10:30am: Take the Ginza subway line to Ueno.
• 11:00am: Arrive in Ueno / Koishkawa Garden and visit the park and the museums.
• 1:00pm: Take the train to Tokyo Station. Eat lunch in or around Tokyo Station. See the Tokyo Station Area Places to Eat section for some picks.
• 2:00: Visit the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum or the Bridgestone Museum of Art. Consider a nice stroll in nearby Hibiya-koen Park afterward.
• 3:30pm: Chasen book traditional tea ceremony. Located in Ginza.
• 6:00pm: Eat dinner in Shinjuku, Ginza, recommended Kondo for tempura.
• 8:00pm: If you've still got the energy, go out for a drink in a place like Roppongi, Shinjuku or Shibuya. See the relevant district pages for recommendations.
Day 3: Day Trip Outside of Tokyo
• Take a break from the big city by heading to one of the interesting places in the countryside around Tokyo. The best places for a day trip outside of Tokyo are Nikko, with its wonderful shrines and temples, Kamakura, with a Great Buddha statue and fine Zen temples, and Mt Fuji (you don't have to climb it – you can take a bus to the base or partway up the mountain to enjoy the views). See my Best Day Trips Out of Tokyo page for details.
•
Day 4: Traditional Tsukiji, Hama Rikyu, the Imperial Palace Area and Shinjuku
• 9:00am: Take the subway to Tsukiji and visit the Tsukiji Fish Market Outer Market. Then, have a sushi brunch at one of the sushi restaurants near the market. See the Places to Eat section of the Tsukiji page for recommendations. WARNING: Tsukiji Market is usually closed on Wednesday and Sunday!
• 11:00am: Walk to the Shiodome/Shimbashi Area and visit Hama Rikyu Gardens, which is a short distance from Tsukiji. Then head to Tokyo Station on foot, by taxi or train from Shimbashi Station.
• 1:00pm: Arrive at Tokyo Station and eat lunch in or around Tokyo Station. Tsujita Okuin for Ramen or Momose for awesome tempura is recommended.
• 2:00pm: Walk from Tokyo Station to the Imperial Palace East Garden. Exit via the Kitahanebashi-mon, walk north through Kitanomaru-koen Park and visit Yasukuni-jinja Shrine and the interesting Yushukan Museum.
• 4:00pm: Return to your hotel for a rest and shower.
• 5:30pm: Walk over rainbow bridge or head down for a food tour. There are back streets full of little restuarants like Yurakucho Sachoko.Then, go to East Side and experience the neon lights and crowds.
• 8:00pm: Have a drink somewhere in Shinjuku or head down to Roppongi. See the relevant district pages for some recommended bars.

Jas this is very detailed. Thanks!

Jas thank you for your detailed itinerary. A great help to my husband and myself travelling to Tokyo this year. We have been told to stay in Shinagawa. Any suggestion of hotels we should stay at?

Sylvia we stayed at an airbnb in shinjuku we found that area to be super accessible

In Kyoto the piece hostel was amazing (hostel prices but hotel amenities and they have private rooms)

Jas thanks.

Fushimi Inari is really cool at night. We hiked there almost to the top.

If you like stationary you can check Itoya store. We plan on visiting it. 8 levels of pens, pencils, paper, notebook etc.
Checkout Japanguide.com they have a lot of info about traveling in Japan. And reddit thread about Japan travel
JAPANGUIDE.COM
japan-guide.com - Japan Travel and Living Guide

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If you planning on traveling between cities on train, get Spacial JR pass for tourists

Agreed. My wife and I bought the 7day JRailPass and took the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka- Tokyo. Just those rides alone paid for the pass, and you have an unlimited amount of rides on all JR rail lines

Oksanatsynovska thanks! We picked it up today.

https://www.cupnoodles-museum.jp/en/osaka_ikeda/
One of the best museums I've ever been to! Cannot recommend enough!
CUPNOODLES-MUSEUM.JP
CUPNOODLES MUSEUM OSAKA IKEDA

Go to Nara! They have the most amazing park full of deer. It's an amazing half a day.

Megan I 2nd this.

I would recommend checking out www.reddit.com/r/japantravel. Lots of sample iteneraries and recommendations! We preferred Kyoto and Osaka to Tokyo (Tokyo is fun, but definitely a huge, busy city with a very normcore vibe. Kyoto/Osaka are more relaxed)
REDDIT.COM
Japan Trips & Travel Tips • r/JapanTravel

go get some gyugatsu in osaka. and if u can try the all u can eat a5 wagyu in tokyo. video about it by mikey chen on strictly dumpling. best beef ive had. everybody else has suggested other things. oh and cheese tarts from pablos

Natalie for beef, I suggest a day trip down to Kobe.

Wyatt or that. i just didn't have time to go to kobe.

Natalie it does take time, and requires at least 4 hours minimum

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find a sake tasting to do!

Tien Nguyen do you think a sake tasting will be better in Tokyo or Osaka?

Shyla I went in Osaka figuring it'd be less busy and more attentive. I had a great experience going to one where it's a liquor store upstairs and a cozy sake cellar downstairs! here's the one i went to: http://blog.sundaysgrocery.com/.../shimada-shoten-sake.../
BLOG.SUNDAYSGROCERY.COM
Shimada Shoten: A Sake Paradise in Osaka - Sunday's Grocery | Your One Stop Shop for News and Booze

Tien Nguyen thank you!

I just got back from Kyoto/Osaka and fit a lot into 6 days. And I used to live in Tokyo. Check out my IG for some photos/stories of attractions and restaurants in my highlights under “Kansai”) and DM me if you want my itinerary or have questions. The obvious tourist sights are easy to research but I can recommend some good restaurants and travel hacks. You’re gonna have an awesome time!
www.instagram.com/jujupuff/
INSTAGRAM.COM
J U L I A (@jujupuff) • Instagram photos and videos

Just gonna put this note here as a reminder for myself to follow and DM you for my trip in May.

Julia thanks Julia! We will check out your page.

Shyla np!! Feel free to ask if anything catches your eye from my IG stories

Julia will do

Shyla and in Kyoto you should rent a kimono! It was a lot of fun

Julia, what was the cream u sugg to buy in Japan??

Maggie Ng

Ohhh, almost forgot, just check out Rachel and Jun. They live there and have tons of vids about places to visit

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@michael Kang what did you pay for flights? I haven't booked quite yet and no deals I've been watching for so long

Katie we got a yvr deal last sept and paid about $600 each roundtrip direct to Tokyo

Katie my friend got a ticket to Seoul then Tokyo then Sapporo then back to Seoul and then Vancouver for around $650

And it was a yvr deal

Tina Gohar wow that’s really good!

Insane!! I'm looking at $1500

If you wish to HK into your Tokyo visit, you can fly for $650 in the next month. Same goes for the fall. Great price and it's with ANA.

If its the end of March it's cherry blossom season, for which I recommend getting shittered on strong zeros at Osaka castle at 10am. Traditional Japanese past-time.

Andrew beginning of March so we will miss cherry blossoms

Shyla you'll get the plum trees in bloom!

There are so many questions coming up about Japan that it almost deserves its own page.
Pay a visit to Dotonbori for the over the top craziness of Japan with the finest food you'll find. Stay in a capsule hostel while there.
Eat from a department store. And a 7-11. Eat ramen in Osaka for breakfast.
Drop in to a Don Quixote and a Daiso.
Ueno Zoo, if only for the pandas.
Fushimi Inari is a must but get there early and hike the whole thing. Stop to fuss the cats and have a hard boiled egg trailside because you can.
Pop into a Pachinko shop but leave before you get lung cancer.
Strongly recommend day trips to Nara and Kamakura.

Get the JR Pass

Seryna Myers might be good to get some info from here for Liam.

Don't buy JR pass unless you are planning to move around a lot in Japan. If you have only three destinations of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, believe me that JR pass will be more expensive than buying regular tickets for Nozomi at a station. Also, you can't take Nozomi and Mizuho, the fastest bullet train with JR pass. You don't have to worry that tickets being sold out as Nozomi runs every 10 to 15 mins between Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Also they run till late. If you use JR pass, you can take only Hikari with more stops. Also Hikari tends to stop operating early on a day.

Mariko not sure about that, I pay $150 USD one way Kyoto to Tokyo, JR pass was about $450 CAD

All of the places mentioned above are great, you just have to decide what you are the most interested in. Make sure you get a JR pass and a Suica card they make getting around much easier and all the people are very helpful to find where you should be. Have a great time I know we did.

Silas Luna!

Tokyo Disney seas is a must imo

buy your JR pass that you will need before you get here well in advance because they can take a couple weeks to be sent to canada. im in tokyo right now
pack as light as possible too. or with luggage thats easy to pull around. the train stations can be crazy to navigate with a lot of stuff (i have a snowboard and a ski bag. and another wheely and a backpack... yup over prepared.
also they are not getting a lot of snow in the main island so if you want to ride or ski i would suggest heading to north island niseko area

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Steven

10 days for ALL Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto? That’s too aggressive. You can easily spend 10 days in just Tokyo and still have a very fulfilling vacation.

I'm living in the countryside of Japan. In a Onsen Town two hours south from Tokyo. If you need help let me know

Panchoo Méndez what is the the name of the onsen pls?

Bonnie Au the town is called Yugawara. Just next to Atami.

Panchoo Méndez is there one u recommend?

Bonnie Au I've been to just one here in Yugawara. I would recommend Atami or Hakone instead. They are more famous onsen destinations...

Panchoo Méndez thank you!

Nara! One of my favorites. Lots of deer, GORGEOUS with cherry blossoms, and the temple is just Awe inducing.
Also look up the whirl pool in osaka. That’s pretty cool. Walk on glass floors and see a crazy giant whirlpool.

I did the same 3 cities a couple years ago, but I would recommend finding accommodation in either Osaka or Kyoto as the 2 cities are not far from each other. Can easily take the train back and forth as day trip or take a day trip to go Nara.

Carrie Yuan

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The Ghibli clock in Tokyo and Mario Cart
https://maricar.com/en/akihabara.html
MARICAR.COM
[MariCAR Akihabara] Real Life SuperHero Go-Karting / Street Go-Kart Tour

Astrid we just did this yesterday and it was amazing!! Thanks!!

Shyla, you’re welcome...glad you tried it-so fun!

looks like you got tons of information already! but feel free to check out my guide on what i considered the iconic experiences of tokyo and some hidden gems: http://www.raincouverbeauty.com/.../complete-travel-guide...
RAINCOUVERBEAUTY.COM
Complete Travel Guide to Tokyo: Quintessential Experiences and Hidden Gems — Raincouver Beauty

Angela thanks for the tips! Our last day in Tokyo is today so this is great timing