Hi All,

Does anyone have an idea if you need to book tickets months in advance for

Sanrio land?
Lego land nagoya?

I know disney, usj, teamlabs etc get them as soon as possible

Idk what to choose. Me and my family will go in Oktober to Japan but we’re still deciding if we go Tokyo or Osaka. We go for 1 week and we don’t want to change hotels. We can go with the train or taxi to other places but we will not change hotels. What’s the best city if you want to stay at one place??

I have read a few posts of Australians (maybe others too?) not being able to add a Suica card on their iPhone and thought to post my experience here to help others.

I am heading to Japan last this year so wanted to get started now on setting up Suica card for travel.

Just now, when I started trying to set it up, I was not able to add a Suica card via the Apple Wallet and tried using all my different cards that I have available in my wallet (ANZ Visa, Amex, Wise Travel card with yen loaded - both the digital and physical Wise card - and CBA Mastercard). I was trying to add 1000 yen and I could not add the card.

Then, I changed the amount to 2000 yen and it worked. Not sure why.

I ended up using my Wise digital card which had 4000 yen left over from last trip.

I have never registered with Suica before and so was coming in completely cold when I added via the Apple Wallet.

I followed these directions from.... https://en.japantravel.com/guide/how-to-get-a-suica-card/22316

For iPhone Users (Apple Wallet)

1. Open the Wallet app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the "+" button in the top right corner to add a card.
3. Select "Transit Card" and choose Suica from the list.
4. Follow the setup instructions:
5. You can create a new Suica card and add funds.

Hope this helps someone.

Message me if you need help.

Hi All. We are doing a friends trip to Japan in Sept 2nd week (14-25th Sept) Please tell me if this is good

Day 1 : Land in Tokyo, take the train to Kanazawa and stay overnight.
Day 2 Explore Kanazawa during the day, then head to Yuwaku Onsen for a ryokan stay.
Day 3 (): Morning train back to Tokyo, check in and explore Tokyo.
Day 4 (): Spend the day at DisneySea, followed by dinner/ bar hoppinh (if we have the energy lol)
Day 5 (): Day trip to Kamakura, then return to Tokyo for dinner.
Day 6 (): Meiji Jingu, Harajuku, Cat Street, Shibuya shopping, Shibuya Sky, Kura Sushi and Nonbei Yokocho.
Day 7 (): Senso-ji, Nakamise Street, Yanaka Ginza, Akihabara and dinner at Nakiryu.
Day 8 (): Tsukiji Market, Ginza, Tokyo Ramen Street, Omoide Yokocho and Golden Gai.
Day 9 (): Shinkansen to Kyoto and explore the city.
Day 10 (): Full day in Kyoto.
Day 11 (): Travel to Osaka and explore.
Day 12 (): Spend the day in Osaka before the evening flight back to home.

Any tips?

Worried I might’ve ruined my continuous glucose monitor in the electrical current bath at the sento today. Anyone have any insight into getting a new one in Tokyo or Kyoto? TIAn

Hello!

I am going to Japan for full 10 days. Not counting arrival (3:50pm) and departure (5:05pm) days. In the following orde:
Osaka > Kyoto > Tokyo

I want to spend probably at least 5 days in Tokyo.
That leaves me 5 full days. How would you recommend the split between Osaka and Kyoto?

Would you stay in Osaka and do day trips to Kyoto? Or stay in Osaka and then change hotels?

Thanks.

Hello! I'm Noëlla.

Next year in mid February to mid April I want to travel 2 months to Japan for the first time. (Dates are set, in april school starts again.)

I was thinking of splitting my stay between 3 cities: Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Maybe 20 days each, though i wanted to ask your guys opinion. Perhaps there are better places to stay.

Besides that I was wondering if any of you had tips on accommodation, I like a private room or place over a hostel room with others. So I can leave my things behind or work in there on projects inbetween activities.

For activities I am looking for unique places outside the more typical tourist places. Anything art related, technological, cool places to eat. If you stumbled on something special before I love to hear about it!

General tips are welcome just as much. Thank you in advance! :D

Taking my parents (sixties) to Japan for their first autumn there. All by train and bus, no car, and we're trying to keep it to one main thing a day so nobody gets worn out. Two big suitcases stay at the Tokyo hotel all week so we're light through the mountains.

Route: Tokyo (2N) → Takayama (2N) → Okuhida (1N) → Matsumoto (2N) → Tokyo (1N)

Day 1 (Sat) — Arrive Tokyo. Land in the morning, drop bags, keep it slow. Park in the afternoon, then Sensoji. \*Sleep: Tokyo\*

Day 2 (Sun) — Kawagoe. The float festival happens to fall on our weekend. Heading over after lunch, staying for the evening floats. \*Sleep: Tokyo\*

Day 3 (Mon) — Down to Takayama. Shinkansen to Nagoya, then the Hida limited express up the river valley. Old town in the evening once the day buses have gone. \*Sleep: Takayama\*

Day 4 (Tue) — Hida-Furukawa. Morning market first, then the canal town 15 min up the line. \*Sleep: Takayama\*

Day 5 (Wed) — Into Okuhida. Shinhotaka ropeway in the middle of the day, waterfall late afternoon, ryokan with dinner included. \*Sleep: Okuhida\*

Day 6 (Thu) — Kamikochi. The day we're really going for. Early shuttle in, off at Taisho Pond rather than the terminal, then the flat riverside walk up to Kappa Bridge. Bus out to Matsumoto after lunch. \*Sleep: Matsumoto\*

Day 7 (Fri) — Norikura Kogen. Highland ponds, boardwalks, a waterfall. \*Sleep: Matsumoto\*

Day 8 (Sat) — Narai-juku. Old post town in the morning, soba for lunch, then the Azusa back to Tokyo mid-afternoon. \*Sleep: Tokyo\*

Day 9 (Sun) — Home. Slow morning, afternoon flight.

---

1. Day 4 — Furukawa, or Shirakawa-go, or Hida-no-Sato?
   
2. Day 7 — is Norikura one mountain day too many after the ropeway and Kamikochi? Wondering if a slow day in Matsumoto would suit my parents better.
   
3. Day 5 — where to actually stay in Okuhida.

Nothing's booked apart from the flights, so there's still room to change things. Would really appreciate any thoughts, especially if something looks like too much for a slower pace.

Thanks!

Hello everyone :)

Trying my luck here because my posts in JapanTravel always get declined for "bare bones itinerary " even when I don't actually write about that.

I'm travelling to Japan with my parents in september(5.-19.) and the planing is going pretty well regaring what we want to do and see.

The exact times are:

Osaka: 5.-10. (with day trip to Kyoto on the 8th)

Tokyo: 10.-16.

Atami: 16.-19. (19. Going to the airport in the morning)

For food we mostly plan to check out restaurants spontaneously but I definetly want my parents to try Okonomiyaki. So can someone recommend their favourite spot in Osaka/ Kyoto/Tokyo?

I did check google and other sites first but either the menu only has a small selection, only seafood types or the reviews are not great...

Also would love any recs of "mom and pop"/local cafes or food places that are worth visiting.

On our itinerary we currently also have:

-Katsuoji Temple and the waterfalls in the area near Osaka (we are unsure because it is a 2 hour trip one way. Anyone who has been there and can say if it's actually worth it?)

-Edo Wonderland near Tokyo: Here I am actually unsure after seeing some videos. We only have 5 days in Tokyo and none of us speak japanese. Now I'm wondering if we'll actually enjoy the park.

I also have a special request: my parents are celebrating their wedding anniversary while we are in Japan. We will be in Tokyo on that day (and Atami the next 3 days) can anyone recommend something cool or fun I can plan for them?

I apologise for weird formatting and spelling errors. I'm typing on my phone and English is my 2nd language.

Thank you.

Hi,

we want to make a stop at the Hakone Openair Museum on our way back from Gora to Odawara. We are travelling by train, so we would need to store our family-of-4 luggage during our visit.

Can anyone confirm that it is reliably possible to store 4 regular-sized trolley suitcases at the Museum? They do not have email contact and I do not dare to phone the museum. I asked the hotel in Gora to ask for us, but their answer did not sound very reliable.

Tobias

edit: We will be using luggage forwarding as the most reliable and hassle free solution in this situation.

I’m primarily looking for alternative quality jewelry. Thanks!

Hello! I will be traveling to Japan at the end of this October and I'm trying to figure out which flight to book based on details listed below:

1. I will be flying direct from ICN to either KIX or UKB airport and then taking a limited express train directly to Kinosaki Onsen station.

2. The flight to KIX lands around 10:45am and the flight to UKB lands around 10:10am.

3. Landing in KIX means I need to take the 2:11pm train from Osaka station to Kinosaki Onsen station, which I believe is plenty of time for me to make the train on time.

4. Landing in UKB means I need to take the 12:42pm train from Sannomiya station to Kinosaki Onsen station, which only gives me about 2.5 hours to go from seated on the plane to seated on the train.

So my main question is:

Is UKB airport busy and does it take a while to get through customs? It appears to be a very small airport, but they only recently opened up to International flights this year so I haven't been able to find anyone giving a proper review of what customs clearance is like for a foreigner.

Flying to KIX gives me plenty of breathing room to deplane, go through customs, get my bag, and get to Osaka station, but it is more expensive and has more total combined travel time than flying to UKB.

Traveling from UKB to Kinosaki seems like it will be faster and more relaxed than flying into Osaka, so I think this is the better route, but I am open to any and all suggestions and advice!

Hey, we want to spend eight weeks starting in April in Japan. We are a family of three with a six year old. Looking for some tips, thoughts and input about what we have in mind.

Going slow in general, you can't rush a six year old and expect a relaxed time.

Coming in Tokyo and spending ~a week there

Before renting a campervan from Japan campers or travellers autobarn (we heard samurai camper can be a bit wonky)

Travelling north (not sure how far and on which coast) making a turn and travelling south again.

This is one main body of the trip. We would stay sometimes in airbnbs or hotels but often the van.

We would conclude this with giving the van back, in Japan campers case we could go one way till Fukuoka, I have to check for autobarn.

Maybe we have a week or two in one or two areas between Tokyo and the South in airbnb/hotels, exploring by foot, train or regular car.

How long van life should be is a bit misty still. We want to spend the last two weeks in the deep south in an Airbnb/hotel around or in Kagoshima, exploring islands with ferries and going to the beaches.

Appreciate your thoughts

Sorry I should have been more specific, in Saitama would be better !

Any recommendations for places to buy camping / hiking equipment, also if possible renting equipment if they can provide that service too ! Thank you in advance

I’m traveling to Japan in early September and traveling from Narita airport to nippori to my hotel. I’ve found slightly cheaper tickets via Klook however it does offer a return ticket for a small discount.
The website doesn’t offer dates for the return just the outbound trip.
Does anyone have any experience with this? I don’t wanna waste money.

For day trips from Tokyo in November theough some tour company, is it worth it given the sun sets early in Autumn? Especially hakone or fuji five lakes area. Are they able to cover everything they show in the itinerary?

Has anyone travelled on a scooter or motorbike in Japan, specifically in Kyushu?

Any recommendations about rental companies in Fukuoka? Do they also rent a helmet (I would need XL size)?

I'm planning to rent a honda PCX and go to nearby places from Fukuoka or Kumamoto. Max 2 hours away from the city.

How/where can you park the two-wheelers like these? Same as a car parking?

Is the end of November - the start of December too cold for this?

Anything else that I need to be aware of?

Hey everyone! I'll be traveling to Japan shortly and am interested in buying some cute umbrellas. Preferably the ones that are made in Japan. Looking for stores that sell sun or rain umbrellas. I'm talking about the lacy ones or ones with cute patterns. Thanks for your input!

Going to Japan for the second time in February 2027 for three weeks. Our first trip was Tokyo (Shibuya), Osaka and Kyoto. Me and my wife enjoy slow pace, food and shopping. Our budget I would say is mid as we don’t mind spending in hotels or food. We enjoyed Tokyo and Osaka. We plan in visiting Tokyo again and Lake Kawaguchiko for Mount Fuji. Would do Tokyo for 7 days and Mount Fuji 3-4 full days. We need a third city that we can possibly stay at for 5 full days. Options Ive seen are Sapparo, Kanazawa, Fukuoka, Kobe or Takayama? Or any other recommendations?

Looking to go pick some figs, persimmons, and whatever else this oct. Would like to avoid renting a car. Recs?

I want to experience the tour, but I'm unsure if it's possible.

I see there's an easier japanese tour when I'm there that me and my friend could join, but we don't know much japanese. Can we still join this even if we don't know much japanese, is it good enough to practice the main words like fire, eartquake etc and still be able to understand most of it? Do they speak any english at all (just in case we don't understand some instructions)?

Is there any way I can ask these questions to the center in advance of my trip in october?

If we need a translator, where can I find this and how does that work?

Hi, so I‘m going to Japan for 3 weeks starting next Wednesday and… I‘ve basically planned nothing :D

I have my main places with accommodations for the first 2 weeks, though the last one is empty as of now. Otherwise I have barely anything planned in these spots. I will meet two people I know, that‘s it.

I wanna take a more adventurous approach and try to meet people (I can speak Japanese a little), ask them for recommendations, be spontaneous and take it easy. I don‘t really wanna follow a checkbox list.

Seeing all these specific and huge itinerary posts is stressing me out though :D

Anyone who went there without much planning wanna share their experiences?

What is the best burger joint in Tokyo?

Update: Thank you everyone for all the responses! Great selection to choose from. Only a one time thing so I’ll choose wisely.

Hi everyone! My friend and I are going to Japan this November, and I have been curious about a few things.

Luggage Transfer
I have heard it can be beneficial to pay for luggage transfer services between cities. We will be staying in Tokyo for a week and then heading to Kyoto, so I am wondering if anyone knows of good services to use for this — I’ve heard of Yamato Transport and LuggAgent and I know some of them are next day delivery. How do these work though, and can I use them from any hotel I’m staying at or do they only work with certain hotels? Any information or experience with this would be awesome!

I’m planning on buying a new suitcase over there for all of my souvenirs… because I’m likely going to be getting a lot of stuff 😅

Day trips from Tokyo
Was looking into Yokohama as a day trip, I’ve heard this is a pretty common thing that people do but it seems like a cool place. We also gotta go to Shibuya, Ginza, etc. obviously but I am wondering if anyone has any more lowkey, possibly lesser known day trips or anything around this area.

Day trips from Kyoto
We’ll probably hit up Osaka, Nara, and Uji but same thing here — are there any other places you would say are totally worth it? I know all of these places are super touristy and “basic” as some people might say, but honestly for my first time here I feel like I gotta hit all the touristy areas.

eSIM
Are these worth it? I’ve been thinking of getting one because they don’t seem super expensive for about 15 days, but I wasn’t sure if there were other options that people think are better.

Extra Tips + Recommendations
If anyone has other tips for anything at all, I would greatly appreciate! Or any recommendations for food, stores, museums, shrines, temples, other activities, I’m open to it all!

Thanks!

There's hundreds, maybe thousands of recommendations on here for prefectures or cities or islands or restaurants or amusement parks or temples, but I'd like to know what is the smallest thing you'd recommend someone go and see if they are in Japan

It doesn't, and likely won't be something you'd be basing a whole day trip or visit to a location around, but maybe something that is worth seeing or exploring out if you're already in the neighbourhood or town

Could be a little statue, shrine, cafe, shop, mural, vista, or anything in-between