Planning a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun is no mean feat. I definitely learned it the hard way because we spontaneously decided to go on this trip with our friends for the year-end holiday break. Ever since Japan eased their post-pandemic restrictions, it’s become one of the most coveted travel destinations, especially for Asians. What I didn’t prepare for, was exactly HOW popular it’s become! And suddenly, the easiest step - getting the visas - became a nightmare for us. Usually, it’s an easy-peasy e-visa submission (from Singapore) with a get-your-visas-within-5-days norm, but due to holiday season, we didn’t get our visas until 3 days to our flight out. So, I’d advise everyone to plan for their Japan way in advance to get enough time for your visa (especially during peak seasons), book cheaper accommodations and get enough research time to plan out their itineraries.
Here’s a glimpse into our 2-week itinerary for 5 Indians during the year-end holiday break, covering both Christmas and New Year weeks.
Pre-trip
We only had a month to plan everything for our Japan trip! And oh boy, was it exhausting!
Here’s a checklist to cover all your bases: - submitting the documents for visa at least a month in advance - choosing the destinations and planning your itinerary with dates - booking your accommodation - booking tickets to attractions like Harry Potter World or Tokyo Disneyland (they get sold out pretty fast) - book your JR pass if you’re planning on getting one - buy an eSim before your trip begins or buy a pocket Wifi when you get there
Visa application We made the mistake of zeroing in on Japan for our year-end holidays because we can apply for our visas online from Singapore and all online sources said visas get approved within 5 business days. But when our application status didn’t budge by the next week, we got worried and started asking around among our friends. Word had it that Japan was facing over-tourism after they eased the pandemic restrictions and there was a huge rush, especially for the holidays. One of our friends had received the visa just the night before their travels. Though we’d submitted our application with 4 weeks in hand, we waited with bated breath for the approval. In between, we heard the authorities approve everything faster if you submit a detailed itinerary, which we added to our documents in the second week. And, finally received the approved visas in hand with just 3 days to go.
choosing the destinations and planning your itinerary Now, this is very specific to people. As 3 of our friends were first-time travelers, they definitely wanted to see the more talked-about and alluring cities. After much discussion and research, we finalised this itinerary: - Tokyo (just reaching and spending 1 night) > Kawaguchiko (1 night) > Kyoto (5 nights) > Osaka (5 nights) with day trips to Hiroshima and Kobe > Tokyo (5 nights)
Booking the accommodations Once our itinerary with dates was finalised, we could move on to booking our stays. - For our first night in Tokyo, we went with Japan’s most budget hotel chain - APA Hotel. The rooms are tiny (don’t be fooled by their online photos) but since it was only a matter of one night, this seemed like the best choice. - In Kawaguchiko, we wanted a scenic location. Our research quickly showed that most resorts with Mt Fuji views or onsen experiences were really expensive. But luckily, we came across this gem called Shoji Mount Hotel that fit our budget and had an amazing (and unobstructed) view of Fuji san. - When deciding on Kyoto accommodation, we were torn between modern conveniences and authentic experiences. So we decided our split 3 nights for a hotel stay. We stayed at Hotel Wing International Premium Sanjo Kyoto (I highly recommend this place!). And 2 nights were reserved at this Machiya house from Airbnb - the house is called Yaeya Kaneimachi Authentic Kyoto Machiya (at least that’s how the host has labelled her property on Airbnb) - and is located near Kiyomizu-dera temple. - For Osaka, location was our primary deciding factor because we needed to be connected to the city sights as well as be close to the JR lines for Shinkansen that are located in Shin-Osaka. Our aparthotel - [name?] - was located in [ ] which was about 10 minutes’ train ride to hotspots like Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi and about a 4-minute’ train ride to Shin-Osaka. - In Tokyo, our main agenda was city sights, shopping, and food. And a hotel that fit our budget but was a little spacious as well as we were going to spend about 5 nights here. Citadines Central Shinjuku turned out to be the perfect choice for us.
- Buying JR Pass which increased by 70% from October 2023 onwards. [JR pass guide needs updating]
- Buying the eSim - most convenient option [we didn't take pocket wifi as we are travelling in a group of 5]
In-trip
Landing at Tokyo and understanding we got a few things wrong and a couple of things unresearched! - What we did right: Caught the Narita Express and arrived at our hotel’s nearest station, which is Shinjuku. - What we did wrong: Though the hotel was close enough to walk. BIG MISTAKE. With the suitcases, the walk was long and quite hard. The roads were uneven and the tactile paving made it hard to drag the suitcases for so long. - What we did not know: 1. The J R Passes that we’d booked for 5 of us, couldn’t be picked individually. All 5 passports had to be presented together for the railway office to release the passes. But everyone didn’t need to be present; just the passports. 2. Uber doesn’t take cash 3. Shinkansen gaps: [for Kawaguchiko]
Kawaguchiko - Day 1
did the smart thing and got our luggy suitcases transferred from our Tokyo hotel to Kyoto which was the next destination from Kawaguchiko. Since we were going to spend only a day at Kawaguchiko, we packed enough for a day and could spend the 2 days hands-free.
Kawaguchiko Station was a straight out of a picture postcard, with Mt Fuji casually looming in the background. We reached around 11.00am - which is not recommended if you want to make the most of your sightseeing bus passes. Get there before 9.00am and queue up for your bus. The first bus leaves us 9.00am and every 15 mins thereafter. And it’s a hop-on-hop-off concept, which gives you the flexibility to explore one attraction at a time and your own pace.
Luckily, we opted for a one-night stay at a nearby mountain lodge and had 2 days in hand. So we took the 2-day sightseeing bus, with boat and ropeway included. The tickets cost us 2800 JPY (19.67 USD) per person. But it’s not really possible to do so many things together and, unless you REALLY REALLY want to do these activities, just go for the 1-day or 2-day passes without boat and ropeway included.
We did the touristy thing and went straight to Shimoyoshida Station to get the iconic shot of Mount Fuji with Chureito Shrine. But go prepared. You’ll have to climb 400 steps - which are quite steep - or you could also opt to walk up the path to the top, though this would take you longer. It wasn’t too crowded and we realized why when we reached the top. The sun was right above the mountain (we’d arrived around 1 pm) and it was quite a struggle to adjust your camera settings to capture the right colors. But I quite enjoyed less crowd and we spent quite a bit sitting on the steps and admiring this scene that made it out of the Instagram reel into our reality.
At the foot of the shrine, there are these cute souvenir shops that sell interesting items. We bought the [ ] and my friends also chose to write on an [ ] that needed to be hung on the prayer wall along with other messages.
For lunch, we came back to Kawaguchiko Station and decided to try their signature Yamanashi Udon udon in miso soup at the Instagram-famous [Hudo Futo] restaurant. I totally loved the quaint vibes of this place where you could sit on the floor Japanese-style or choose the usual seats. The dish was vegetarian but delicious and wholesome. I totally recommend this place to everyone.
Learn from our mistakes: - All online information says, if you buy the JR Pass, you can take a direct Shinkansen to Kawaguchiko. We were blissfully unaware there are 3 coaches where you need to reserve seats if you want to go all the way to Kawaguchiko and these seats get reserved pretty fast. So you’d need to collect your JR Passes as early as possible if you’re headed to see Mt Fuji in all its glory. Needless to say, we’d missed our chance and had to change trains [from Shinkansen to a regular local train] from [Oitsuka?] Station, buy tickets for Kawaguchiko Station again, which was again a 40-minute ride.
Our Hotel: Shoji Mount Hotel I came across this gem while scouting for a good hotel with Mt Fuji view and this was surprisingly cheaper than other nearby properties. I realised it was probably because of its location, which was about a 40-minute bus ride from Kawaguchiko Station and there was only one bus every 1 hour. And the last bus to leave the station was 5.38pm; so we had to plan our activities around this. BUT - oh my god - the view! This small Ryokan-like hotel delivered on this and how. With unobstructed view of Mt Fuji just across the street, the quaint property offers traditional rooms with tatami dining area and beds and even onsen facilities that are open 24/7. That night we experienced the most unreal view of this majestic mountain - the snowcapped peak glistening in moonlight against a clear sky. That sight left us all spellbound and despite it being minus 2/3 degree celsius outside, we made multiple trips to the balcony just to stare at this one-in-a-lifetime sight. And no matter how many shots we clicked, our cameras couldn’t do justice to what we were seeing with our own eyes.
Kawaguchiko - Day 2
The Red Line bus starts at 9am every morning and there’s a bus at an interval of every 15 minutes. We wanted to make the most of this day and managed to hop on to the 9am bus.
Fair warning: The buses get crowded pretty quickly; so be sure to queue up about 10 minutes in advance if you want to grab a seat.
Our first stop was Oishi Park - this was such a pretty place on the northern shore of Kawaguchiko Lake. Mount Fuji looked amazing against the lake but since we were visiting during December, the colors were not as vivid as they are during spring and autumn. Nonetheless, the entire experience was great, especially because we spent some time at the cafe enjoying the soft swirl icecreams and the view.
Next, we hopped off at the Funatsu-hama Onsen Town, which was dotted with cute cafes and gift shops, to have lunch. We picked a random restaurant with pretty views of the lake and decided to have their piping hot ramen that was delicious! We had tickets for both ropeway and boat ride but the queue for the ropeway was quite long. We skipped it and opted for the 20-minute boat ride which was just the right amount of time as it was quite cold and windy. There was enclosed space but we ditched it for the deck as we wanted to enjoy Mount Fuji views. There was a cameraman who’d take photos and later sell the hard copies for a price. We picked up our group photo as a memory even though the price was pretty steep.
We did have time to squeeze in another stop but instead, we popped into this quaint cheesecake cafe to sample their authentic cheesecakes with complimentary coffee and tea and sat on the outdoor seats to soak in the charming small-town vibes.
Finally, we caught the last bus out and headed back to the Kawaguchiko Station. The plan was to catch another local bus to Mishima Station and catch the Shinkansen to Kyoto.
Kyoto - 4N5D
4 nights and 5 days seems enough but when you’re in this old capital of Japan, time flies! We opted to stay 3 nights at a hotel and 2 nights at a Machiya house to experience an authentic stay.
Kyoto hotel: Hotel Wing International in Sanjo district (from USD 58)
First off, I would absolutely recommend this place. Since we wanted to stay in the Gion district, Hotel Wing turned out to be the perfect find. From the hotel, it was only a 5-min walk (10 if you stop for a coffee) to the nearest bus stop and train station. And it was a 10-minute walk to the main streets of Gion, like Hanamikoji Street and Shijo Street.
What we liked about the hotel: - its location, especially if you want to stay in Gion - spacious rooms and roomy bathroom - their skincare (yes, that’s right!). This hotel gives you free access to great quality skincare and haircare products, such as small sachets of cleansing oil, cleansing foam, toner, face cream, shampoo & conditioner, hair cuticle serum, soft face towels among other things. These products were so good, especially for the harsh weather, that needless to say all of us picked a handful to stock up for the rest of our trip - complimentary beverages, like coffee, tea, juice, and soup between 12pm-10pm - the looks and feel of this hotel is like a Machiya house (without the tatami beds and chairs) that exude a very authentic vibe. In fact, the exterior of the hotel blends with the residential houses of the street too. - they had luggage courier service and helped to send our suitcases from Kyoto to Osaka
What we didn’t like: - there wasn’t anything I didn’t like about the hotel; but if I were to nitpick the reception lady could’ve granted us a complimentary coffee from the vending machine out of goodwill on our check-out date but she refused us because it wasn’t 12pm yet (oh, well!).
Hotel Wing International Premium Kyoto Sanjo
Address: Sakyo-ku, Wakokucho 407-6
Day 1: Kinkakuji, [Ryon-ji zen garden], Yasaka Shrine and dinner at Gion
We took a local bus directly to Kinkakuji in the morning. For buses, you can just hop on and pay the bus driver for your tickets. But remember if you don’t have a bus card, then they’ll only take cash. It took us about 30 minutes to reach, and we were lucky to see this shrine cast its shine on us on a bright, sunny day. The top two floors of this Zen temple are completely covered in gold leaf and the top houses a phoenix overlooking the water. We spent about an hour admiring the structure, its serene gardens, and the many souvenir shops dotting the temple complex.
Next, we took another bus to Ryonji temple, which is another zen garden close to Kinkakuji. It took us about 10 minutes to get there. Though I loved their zen gardens and shrine (we clicked some amazing pictures with the red little Torii gate we found inside the gardens), you could give this a miss if you’re hard-pressed for time.
Day 2: Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Tenryu-ji temple, Gion and dinner at Pontocho
11am-3pm
We opted to take a bus to get to Arashiyama, which is about an hour’s ride. They drop you right by the river, and the first sight that greets your eye is quite scenic. The river looked beautiful against a sunny sky and the over-bridge is apparently a place to click some great photos (we didn’t have the time to go to the bridge but we overheard one of the guides saying it!).
However, in my opinion, I would give Arashiyama Bamboo Forest a miss because the place is definitely not as beautiful as shown on Instagram; it’s super crowded all the time, unless you reach this place really early in the morning; and the bamboo forest isn’t that dense or green either. But I did enjoy walking up the street that led to the bamboo forest entrance as it was dotted with so many food shops and souvenir stores. I could’ve spent all my time exploring the quaint shops and eating everything literally! I had the most interesting snack there - it’s called the Raindrop cake - which is really a transparent mochi which is consumed with a sauce and some peanut powder. The taste isn’t great but the concept was so amazing that we didn’t regret buying it, and the store lady helped us unbox the “raindrop” and add all the ingredients.
You could also stop by Tenryu-ji temple which houses a rock garden right next door and it’s really lovely.
4pm-6pm
We caught the 3pm bus and headed back to the historic Gion Kyoto geisha district as we wanted to reach the streets while the shops were still open. Even though it was quite crowded, we loved exploring the quaint and colorful alleys and the by-lanes and hoped to catch a glimpse of a geisha (never did, though). It gets dark really fast, like by 5pm, in winter - so we slowly made our way to the Yasaka Shrine, which is open 24 hours. It’s located at the east end of Shijo Street and makes for a district landmark for tourists, and looks amazing at night with its hundreds of lanterns all lit up.
6pm onwards
For dinner, we decided to head to Pontocho Alley, which is a narrow alley by the Kamo River and is dotted with these traditional wooden houses that now serve as bars and restaurants. Some of them have an English menu at the door, which is helpful for tourists like us. We finally zeroed on one and proceeded to have one of the best meals in Kyoto. Most restaurants don’t have an English translation for their names, so I can’t really mention which restaurant it was. We loved their beef stew, the yakitoris (meat skewers), pork dumplings and omelets - all this with hot sake. I couldn’t have wished for a better Christmas dinner!
Day 3: Fushimi Inari Shrine
All day
I was really excited to visit Fushimi Inari, which is one of the most revered shrines in all of Japan. We decided to give this place the entire day as it’s a long hike through more than 12000 torii gates up the hill and we wanted to take our time and enjoy the hike. These torii gates are actually donations made by companies or people and the donations can start from 400,000 yen for a small gate and go up to over a million for larger gates. The donors’ names are inscribed at the back of the gates.
The 4km (2.49 mi) hike is truly beautiful once you get away from the crowds at the entrance jostling to get a photo. The trick is to walk about 15 minutes into the trail and you’ll find fewer and fewer people. At some places, you’ll have a big stretch of torii gates all to yourself.
Within every 10 minutes of the hike (which also includes steps), you’ll come across small shrines, souvenir shops, vending machines and tea houses. After a while, you’ll come to a bifurcation - one is a shorter route to the top via steps and the other is a longer walking trail through the forest. We chose the latter because it was just easier on our unfit knees and then we realised it was a much more beautiful route than the shorter “steps” route. The sun-dappled green forest made for an amazing backdrop against the orange torii gates. The trail also had fewer people and this stretch was the highlight of my hike. We took all our perfect group and solo photos on this stretch.
Finally, halfway through the hike, Yotsutsuji intersection arrives, which is the viewpoint and there are seats to rest and soak in the aerial view of Kyoto. To reach the top, it’s another stretch of quite steep but small steps to reach their main shrine. The God of Rice and Sake resides at the top and travelers pay their respects here once they finally reach this point. We did the same and then started our descent, which was much shorter and took us about 45 minutes to reach the main roads again compared to the 3 hours up the hill but this also included our stops for rest and photos along the way.
For dinner, we decided to stick close to our hotel, which was in the Gion district, and walked into a random ramen restaurant and called it a night! It had been a long but satisfying day.
Moved out of our hotel and went to our Machiya house, called [], for two nights
The first thought that struck me when I saw the house was how cute and cosy it looked from the outside. It didn’t disappoint when we unlocked the gate with the passcode provided by the host and trooped inside.
What we liked about the Machiya house: - location! Again, this place was also super close to the nearest bus top and a Lawson (like, just a couple of minutes walk down the lane) - aesthetic decor, complete with tatami beds, chairs, and traditional kitchenware - the bathrooms were amazing - spacious and well-stocked - heated floors - we were not expecting this. Even the bathroom floors were heated, which made me think that these houses can get freezing during sub-zero temperatures - complimentary tea and coffee thoughtfully stocked by the host - easy locking systems
What we didn’t like: - the steep stairs leading to the bigger bedroom, which made it quite impossible for us to log our suitcases upstairs and ended up having them strewn about in the “hall” - because of this, the space became very cramped for the five of us - a single space for a bath, for which it took us longer for us to get ready for the day
Day 4: Nishiki Market, Kyumizo-dera Temple and dinner at Nishiki Market area again
10am-1pm
Nishiki Market was on our list since the beginning of our time in Kyoto but somehow we were always too tired or too late (the place shuts down at 6pm) to get there. On Day 4, we switched up our plans and decided to have our breakfast there first and then go gallivanting about town. Don’t be thrown by the crowd (it’s never really empty) because this place is vibes!
We maneuvered our way through the crowds and tried whatever looked interesting. Here, it wouldn’t be fair to recommend or highlight any particular food counter or shop - the best thing is just to stop by whatever catches your eye (and palette!). We ended up having tempura prawns, tempura egg, piping hot grilled prawns, some amazing barbecue beef, yakitoris, and sweet crepes. We didn’t really want to stuff ourselves; so we (unwillingly) stopped at this and headed to Kiyomizudera.
Sidenote: If you want to get some shopping done, then there are parallel lanes that have many shops selling clothes, souvenirs, shoes and everything in between. We got distracted by this lane and wandered around exploring them a bit before heading to the food lanes.
2pm-6pm
Stomachs and hearts full, we took a [bus/train] from Nishiki Market and made our way to this Buddhist temple which is also a part of Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto UNESCO World Heritage Site. More than the photos, the history inspired me to visit the Kiyomizudera temple.
Osaka
ACCOM NAME?
Kyoto >> Osaka
From Kyoto, we took the Shinkansen and reached Osaka after a short 30-minute ride. My first impression of this port city was “wow”! It exudes similar vibes as Tokyo but is less crowded for sure. We were put up at an aparthotel called [ ] for our 5-night stay.
What we liked about our aparthotel: - It’s very central. You can walk to the train station [name of the station] in 8 minutes - It’s part of a university building called the Kansai University; so the street has very hipster vibes with graphic walls and quaint restaurants and bars. - A library-themed Starbucks (I loved their interiors!) is right downstairs and is open from 7am - 8pm - Convenience stores like Lawson and 7-11 are a couple of minutes’ walk - The room and the bathroom were roomy, unlike most cramped hotel spaces - There’s a balcony with a space for drying clothes (yes, there’s a washing machine in each bathroom, which was a huge big plus!)
What we didn’t like: - There was no complimentary tea or coffee in the rooms (there’s an electric kettle for hot water though) - there’s no work desk - [wifi?] - If you’re staying for more than 2 days (which we were), then you were stuck with unchanged towels and bed sheets because they’ll clean only when you’re checked out.
Osaka - 4N5D
Day 1: Rest after travelling from Kyoto, then headed to Dotonbori for dinner
Day 2: Day trip to Miyajima island and Hiroshima
Day 3 - New Year’s Eve: Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street followed by dinner at an Italian restaurant on our hotel street
Day 4 - New Year’s Day: Namba Yasaka Shrine followed by a day trip to Kobe
Osaka >> Tokyo
It takes about 3 hours to reach Tokyo by Shinkansen. We took the 10.33 one which got delayed by a few minutes due to the earthquakes that happened on January 1 but we were in Tokyo by 1pm.
We booked Citadines Central Shinjuku hotel for 5 nights, and I totally recommend this one for your trip.
What we liked: - room and bathroom are spacious by Japan standards - there’s a well-planned space to hang your jackets and coats - there’s a TV table that doubles up as a work desk - central location - about 8 minutes’ walk to Shinjuku station and a 5-minute walk to the nearby bus stop [bus stop name] - there’s a Lawson downstairs and a 7-11 next door - there are shops, restaurants, and massage places dotting the entire street - there’s complimentary coffee for you at the front desk from 12pm - 9pm, daily
What we didn’t like: - the size of the bed is a bit small for 2 people to sleep comfortably
- no complimentary coffee or tea in the room
Day 1: Rest after travels, Shibuya crossing and dinner at Shibuya Street
**Day 2: Meiji Shrine,
History
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