Curator’s statement
My husband and I shared part one of our three-week honeymoon in Japan. We spent 12 days navigating through Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima. Each place we visited offered something different throughout the trip - experiencing big, silly, traditional and historic cities all in 12 days. Experiencing Shibuya crossing and then a few days later learning about Geisha culture was remarkable. Kyoto is where we felt traditional Japanese culture and ended in Hiroshima walking through the A-bomb exhibit. Japan really brought something new to us each day we explored it.
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Things to do in Japan
Tokyo Exploring
Tour the Imperial Palace (Emperor’s home) and walk through the Imperial Palace Gardens.
Visit the Meiji Jingu shrine.
Walk along Harajyuku/Takeshita street, Ura-harajyuku.
Futako-Tamagawa: we opted for more history on this day, so our guide took us to this very cool Buddhist temple a little further outside the city (there's a lot of historical meaning behind this temple and an overall cool experience if you want to do something different).
Go see the Mori Garden and Mori Museum in Roppongi.
Visit parks to see the cherry blossoms: Ueno Onshi Park, Asukayama Park, the Meguro River, Chidorigafuchi, Sumida River bank, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Hama Rikyu Garden.
Tokyo Activities
TeamLab! Truly one of the coolest experiential museums I've ever been to, A MUST-see.
Any second-hand designer shop at RagBag or Cassanov.
Have a few drinks in Golden Gai (many small bars stacked right on top of each other in Shinjuku).
Watch a sumo wrestling tournament if it's in season.
Watch a baseball game.
Visit Tsutaya's book shop and cafe in the Naka Meguro neighborhood.
Play a game of Pachinko, a Japanese arcade game where the object is to fire balls that will then fall through a maze of metal pins.
Go to Spain-zaka - Shibuya’s most atmospheric alley with cute clothing.
Kyoto Exploring
Visit Arashiyama, the most popular and traditional vacation district with beautiful nature and relaxing walks.
Go to a bamboo forest. Though bamboo is not native to Japan, it was brought here and the forest grew.
See Nijo Castle, one of the most important sites in Japanese history (this place is the start of the prime of samurai and also the end of it).
Kyoto Activities
Partake in a traditional Tea Ceremony.
Visit the Rokkakudo Temple, where you can learn ancient Japanese flower arranging.
Go to Maruyama park.
See the Sanjusangen-do temple with its 1001 life-size warriors guarding the longest wooden room in japan.
Go through the Takashimaya department Store and check out the basement for food (the displays and the quality maker the one at Harrod's in London, look like a fast food joint - this is class all the way).
Head to the Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum.
Stop by the Yamamoto Honke Brewery.
Ride a Eizan cable car.
Visit the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto.
Head to the Yamazaki Distillery. If you're into whisky at all, you can take a short train ride here.
Day Trips
Hiroshima or Osaka
Places to eat & drink in Japan
Tokyo
Tsukiji Market: make sure you bring cash, we loved this - you basically walk through the market and try everything from tuna, to squid, uni and skewers
Shima Steak: wagyu steak house - probably my favorite meal of the trip
Lawsons or 7/11: for egg salad sandwiches, or really ANYTHING, the food quality is great and it's fun to try different things
Kyubey: one of the most well-known Omakase staples in Tokyo
Gyozaro: extremely fresh gyoza place that we loved
Ichiran Ramen (several locations, most famous one is in Shibuya at Chone-22-7 Jinnan, Shibuya) – known for their Ramen
Ippudo Ramen - one of our favorite ramen spots we've ever had, few locations
Other Dinner Spots
Sushi Yoshitake
Sushi ko (ginza area)
Kaiseki kikunoi
BEEF BAR in Ginza (melt-in-your mouth wagyu that tastes insane)
Jojoen for kobe deliciousness: $60 per person
Teyendei (Nishi-Azabu): make a reservation here
Tsukuji Itadori Higashi: at Tsukiji fish market
Ebisu Yokocho (Shibuya - enter through small door to left of 7/11)
Hiyashi (Shibuya): epic ramen- expect to wait about 30 minutes if you go during lunch time
Warito (Naka-Meguro): Tsukemen-style ramen
Sushi Sawads: this place blew me away Jiro, Mizutani, etc. I'd recommend going for lunch (have your hotel or Amex call)
Narizawa: this place does creative and modern Japanese food that is excellent - we had one unreal meal and one solid meal
Sushi-Ya: great sushi from one of Saito's proteges
Ukai-tei: this is the best hibachi place we went to! It's basically Benihana on steroids and without the families.
Nakahara: A great steak joint, though it's more sukiyaki style.
Tender: This is our favorite cocktail bar in Ginza.
Coffee
Toranomon Coffee (the new Omotessando Koffee)
Bar Tram
Cafe de Lambre
Sarugaku
Cafe Kitsune
Bars:
Ben Fiddich: An amazing speakeasy.
JBS (Shibuya): A really awesome bar lined with vinyl records and an intimate vibe on the second floor.
Nightjar
Brian bar
Nikka blendars bar
Star Bar: A fun little speakeasy in Ginza.
Kyoto
We ate two different nights in the Kyoto train station restaurants - as the food was incredible.
There’s a Ramen Street on the top floor of the train station with 10 different ramen places.
Go to the super-market level of the Kyoto station, the Curry place was one of our favorite meals (trust me).
Honke Daiichi-Asahi: The best ramen of the trip! There's always a line, but it’s worth the wait.
Souden: Stop here for special Kyoto sushi for lunch with Makoon.
Shiki Yoshina: You can sit outside on the river.
Hafuu Honten: A steak house, benihana style.
Ishibekoji Kamikura: They serve kaiseki for $200 per person at this Michelen-starred restaurant.
Nanzenji Junsei: A famous tofu shop that you need a reservation for. Roughly 20 minutes by car from the City Center.
Omuraya: Unlike the exquisite local kaiseki cuisine, obanzai is a traditional Kyoto cuisine consisting of multiple small dishes. The style relies heavily on seafood and vegetables.
Okutan: An ancient Tofu Place in actual Gion.
Aji Fukushima: A one-star Michelen restaurant.
Shogetsu: A bomb dessert place!
Mikura: My favorite teppanyaki restaurant in the world is Kyoto on the Ponto Cho, which is the ancient geisha house alley. It's upstairs overlooking the river. Don't miss it!
Bars
Asakura: An amazing speakeasy sake bar.
Masuya Sakaten: Another amazing Sake bar. There's also an incredible menswear vintage store right next door.
Ponto-Cho: A cool neighborhood to walk around in.
Chez Quasimodo
Need to know
Tips for Japan!
Tipping: You don't tip at restaurants or hotels or taxis - only for special services like a tour guide (we gave $60 per guide for the whole experience. In Japanese customs, you give the tip in a nice envelope; you don’t just hand them cash).
Cash: Japan is still a very cash-oriented city, so bring dollars to convert or make sure you take out - even the subway system only allows you to buy a card and put money on it with cash.
Language Barrier: download a translator app. Most people will not speak english, so you’ll need to use one if you’re asking for directions.
Subway card: Different than a JR pass, buy a card and load it with money so you don’t have to buy individual cards every time - it’s called Passimo.
Lack of trash: There are no garbage cans anywhere on the street, so bring a big enough purse with a plastic bag inside to keep your garbage until you find one (it’s also the cleanest city ever.)
Public bathrooms: The public bathrooms are everywhere and very clean! Though they don't have paper towels or hand dryers, so bring the hand towels from the hotel bathroom out with you.
Reservations: Most great restaurants don’t accept reservations from outside the United States. When you book your hotel, email the concierge to have the reservations made for you - things fill up, so request sooner than later.
Transportation: Wear good walking shoes. We walked almost 12 miles per day. This is a public transportation city and the train is very clean and safe. The last train departs around 12:15 am, so watch your timing if that's how you want to get home
JR Pass: Since we were going to Osaka and Kyoto by train from the airport, we ordered JR passes (Japan Rail passes) that allowed us to travel between cities without paying for individual tickets. You have to order these before you come as they're only available to tourists. You can do a seven-day or 14-day pass
Travel Advisor
Alexi Scheck
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For more travel tips, check out Fora Advisor Jonah Muyano’s itinerary, A Week in Japan.
This guide is part of our ongoing series on travel to Japan.