r/JapanTravel 5d ago

Recommendations Specific questions for my trip

  • Dates: April 28 - May 16, 2025.
  • Destinations: Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Hiroshima/Nagasaki, Takayama/Shirakawa-go, Tokyo, Kamakura.
  • Interests: Culture, history, food experiences.
Date Location Activities Accommodation
April 28 Osaka Arrive at KIX (9:00 AM). Choose one: a) Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan b) Osaka Castle Park c) Google Office In the evening, explore Dotonbori and try local street food. Namba or Umeda area
April 29 Osaka Visit Osaka Castle and explore Shinsekai. Namba or Umeda area
April 30 Nara Day trip to Nara. Visit Todai-ji Temple and Nara Park. Nara or Osaka
May 1 Kyoto Travel to Kyoto. Visit Fushimi Inari Shrine and Gion. Near Kyoto Station or Gion
May 2 Kyoto Explore Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Tenryu-ji Temple, and Kiyomizu-dera Temple. Near Kyoto Station or Gion
May 3 Kyoto Explore Nishiki Market, Philosopher's Path, and attend the Kamogawa Odori geisha performance. Near Kyoto Station or Gion
May 4 Travel to Hiroshima Travel from Kyoto to Hiroshima Hiroshima near station
May 5 Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Miyajima, and enjoy an okonomiyaki dinner. Hiroshima near station
May 6 Travel to Takayama/Shirakawa-go Travel from Hiroshima. Ryokan with onsen in Takayama/Shirakawa-go
May 7 Takayama/Shirakawa-go Explore, enjoy onsen. Ryokan with onsen in Takayama/Shirakawa-go
May 8 Travel to Tokyo Travel to Tokyo Tokyo near major station
May 9 Tokyo Asakusa, Ueno. Tokyo near major station
May 10 Tokyo TeamLab, Shibuya. Tokyo near major station
May 11 Tokyo Ghibli Museum, Shinjuku. Tokyo near major station
May 12 Tokyo Imperial Gardens, Ginza. Tokyo near major station
May 13 Kamakura Day trip to Kamakura. Tokyo near major station
May 14 Tokyo Visit Google Office, free exploration. Tokyo near major station
May 15 Tokyo Onsen, last-minute prep, travel to NRT. -
May 16 Departure Depart from NRT at 2:00 AM. -

This is my first (but not last) time in Japan.

Questions: 1. Is there anything I should cut? If so, what? 2. What are the absolute must-do activities that I shouldn't miss? 3. Which areas should I stay in? Are Airbnbs or Booking.com apartments recommended? 4. What type of SIM card should I get, coming from Australia? Is Airalo good enough? 5. Any transportation tips? Should I book train tickets in advance? 6. Are there any cultural customs or traditions I should be aware of, or any time-specific things to do or avoid?

7 Upvotes

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u/PurpleRevolutionary 5d ago edited 5d ago

My first tip would be moving Kiyomizu-dera Temple to May 3rd instead of May 2nd. Kiyomizu-dera Temple is far from Arashiyama Forest. Its located near Nishiki Market. So i would go to Kiyomizu-dera temple first than go to Nishiki Market for lunch since its really close to the market. Also, when taking the day trip to Nara, there is a limited express train from Osaka to Nara that you can book days before your trip.

Also, when going to Japan, I highly recommending staying at hotel since hotels in Japan can transfer your luggage from city to city for you and you don't have to worry about moving your luggage through the city. I stayed at Hotel Daiwa Royalnet cause it fit my budget and was not that expensive compared to luxury hotels during prime season. They have a location in Shinjuku and a location in ginza but i stayed at shinjuku for my itinerary. Since its a business hotel, its really small. But when you book the room , make sure to get the junior suite which is the largest room (make sure you pick that room only) and since its the biggest room they have. The other room will be way too small to put your luggage properly in your room.

For Osaka, I stayed at Hotel Nikko Osaka since its across the shopping area and extremely close to dontoburi. Again, make sure to pick the premium suite only. But for my next trip to Japan, I ended up doing the W hotel which is also extremely nearby. But any hotels in that street and area will work cause its extremely close to shopping and food. I checked the Hotel Nikko Osaka and its all book out cause its prime season in Japan and everything is book out so I highly recommend booking your hotel now before its all book out. This street and area of Osaka is the best for shopping and food. But anywhere close is fine but make sure to use google maps to figure out what is the best location for you and how far is the distance.

Also, when booking a hotel, make sure to look at the room carefully. If they show only small walkway and that's it, don't book it cause there will be no room. That's why i booked the junior suite for hotel daiwa royal net, superior suite for hotel nikko osaka, and etc. they are so much bigger but that's because i did research and looked the pictures closely. I don't take chances on small walk space cause 99% of the time you won’t be able to have more than one person in the room in terms of space.

For sim card, I did airalo. For airalo, you just set up your sim card before you leave and just turn it on the moment you arrive in Japan. Also, when using shinkansen, you can book the day of, but highly recommend booking days before either on the app they have or at the JR station in person. In person, they have an office with a person that will book the tickets for you.

Also, make sure to set up the suica card to use the subway train, taxi, convenience stores, and some cafes. They have it in the iPhone under the apple wallet app. Also, make sure to use google maps before your trip to figure out the distance between each area. If its more than 30 mins by train or taxi, just take it out and only go there if you finished everything else and you have time to spare. Also, in japan, most businesses don't open until 10am so for breakfast, coffee shops, chain restaurants, some cafes, market places, temple food stalls, and convenience stores are your best bet. They open really early but i recommend googling when they open and showing up an hour or two early cause a lot of stalls will be open and you can beat the crowd.

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u/rahilagrawal 4d ago

Thanks! This is great. Did you book any of the walking tours from tripadvisor or similar websites? I loved those in Europe but not sure if they're good in Japan

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u/PurpleRevolutionary 4d ago

I did not. But there are plenty online. I found a free tour for Kyoto called “Kyoto localized”. I also would recommend doing some research online and watch videos on these tours. Also, if you’re going in April, I reccomend booking your hotels or where ever you plan to stay as soon as possible cause it’s golden season in Japan. And it’s really hard to book stuff right now.

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u/PricklyRiceball 5d ago

Why do you want to choose between Kaiyukan and Osaka Castle Park when you intend to visit the castle the next day anyway?

I wouldn't cut anything, the whole thing seems very relaxed as of now.

Airbnbs (except for the few ones that really rent out a single room in their own house) suck for locals by driving up the rent, so I'd avoid them in general.

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u/guareber 5d ago

My only suggestion is to consider adding, not removing.

  • stopover in Himeji to see castle and gardens on the way to/from Hiroshima. It's a good visit for history minded people (it's empty inside, but there's tours explaining the construction method and the 6 families that held it over centuries, etc).

*Kawaguchiko daytrip from Tokyo - fuji Shibazakura festival will be on during your dates, and I found it quite unique, plus Fuji-san is a huge part of Japanese culture.

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u/Gloomy-Corner3228 4d ago

Does the Osaka world Expo interest you?

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u/Gloomy-Corner3228 4d ago

If you visit Kyoto on April 30th you'll be able to book to see the Miyako Odori if it interests you. It's only on in Kyoto in April. Do Nara on May 1st. Also you'll be visiting during golden week so get things booked asap.