JAPAN

Two Weeks+ in Japan During Cherry Blossom Season 🌸 – April 2023

We flew with Ethiopian Airlines with a long layover in Addis Ababa, which is one of the main reasons I chose this connection – I was curious to also explore Ethiopia. The flights were perfectly fine. If you have a layover longer than 8 hours, you get a hotel at the airline’s expense, and the hotel was excellent 👌🏻. On the way there we did a guided day tour, and on the way back we just rested at the hotel. It was really interesting, and we felt like we got an extra destination out of the trip.

We landed at Narita and arrived fully prepared with all the forms that need to be filled out in advance. We showed the QR codes and everything was quite fast. The luggage took a bit of time, but the whole process took about an hour.

Our hotel in Tokyo was in Asakusa. We followed the signs at the airport toward the train. There is a line called the Keisei Line, about an hour ride for 1,300 yen. We got off at Asakusa Station.

TAVINOS Hotel Asakusa – a cool hotel with an anime concept design. The entire hotel is decorated with comic-style artwork. The rooms are small but functional, and there was space for our suitcases under the bed.

In the lobby there is an area with hot drink and water machines available all day. In the morning they serve bread and pastries. There is also a library with anime booklets. They provide pajamas and additional toiletries.

Right next to the hotel is a Lawson convenience store, through which we also sent our luggage to our hotel in Kyoto for a bit over 17$ per suitcase.

The hotel is about a 10-minute walk from Asakusa Station and within walking distance of Senso-ji. We passed through it almost every morning and again in the evening. I really loved the Asakusa neighborhood – nice streets and a great atmosphere. It’s a five-minute walk from Kura Sushi and Don Quijote Asakusa.

In Kyoto we stayed at the same hotel chain – TAVINOS Hotel Kyoto. Same style and same vibe. The rooms are larger and more spacious than in Tokyo.

There is a bus stop right under the hotel to destinations like the Golden Pavilion, and a train nearby to Fushimi Inari. The hotel is about a 10-minute walk from Gion, and there is a Seven-Eleven right under it.

I booked the hotels through Agoda – it’s always worth comparing prices online.

Our Itinerary 👇🏻

Arrival evening.

First 5 days in Tokyo + half a day in Yokohama

One day in Hakone, returning to Tokyo for the night

2 nights in Kanazawa

During these days we made very good use of the JR Pass for long-distance travel.

We went from Tokyo to Nagano to visit the Snow Monkey Park, then continued to Matsumoto to see the impressive castle. That night we arrived in Kanazawa.

The next morning we went to Shirakawa-go, and spent the afternoon in Kanazawa.

On the third day we went in the morning to Toyama to see the Four Seasons Festival. From there we continued to Nagoya to Nabana no Sato, and in the evening we arrived in Kyoto.

These were long travel days to places we really wanted to see. The train rides were actually part of the experience – a break after a busy week in Tokyo and a chance to enjoy the scenery.

4 nights in Kyoto

Including:

‏Half a day in Nara
‏Half a day in Osaka

One day in Naoshima and return to Tokyo for the night

Final 2.5 days in Tokyo

For transportation within Tokyo we mainly used the Tokyo Subway Ticket. We got the 72-hour pass, which saved us quite a bit of money.

When the subway didn’t reach the destination, we used Suica, which we activated through the iPhone Wallet.

We ordered the JR Pass through Klook and it arrived within a week.

We also booked many attractions through Klook, a platform I’ve had good experience with in other countries as well.

We activated the JR Pass on the day we left Tokyo and used it well for trips between:
Tokyo → Nagano → Matsumoto → Kanazawa → Toyama → Nagoya → Kyoto → Nara → Osaka → Naoshima → Tokyo

We didn’t reserve seats in advance for any of the trips. At every station there were no long lines at the ticket counters, and we always found seats in the reserved cars. The Shinkansen staff were also very helpful in guiding us with tickets and platforms.

For internet I used Airalo. The setup was easy, instructions were clear, and it worked very well throughout the trip.

Tokyo Places & Highlights 🌸🇯🇵

Cherry Blossom Spots 🌸😍

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden – A beautiful Japanese garden with stunning cherry blossoms. We also visited during the evening NAKED illumination event, which added amazing lighting and atmosphere.

Meguro River – A gorgeous walking street along the river, lined with hundreds of cherry blossom trees on both sides. In the evening there are lights that make it even more magical, plus festival food stalls along the way.

Chidorigafuchi Moat – A lovely park with a canal running through it and huge cherry blossom trees hanging over the water.

Ueno Park – A very large park with hundreds of cherry trees. Even though the blossoms were beautiful, I personally liked the previous three spots more.

Sumida Park – A riverside area in Asakusa with cherry blossom trees and a great view of Tokyo Skytree.

Tokyo Attractions & Things to Do 👇🏻

Shinjuku Gyoen Park – Beautiful even outside cherry blossom season.

teamLab Planets – Absolutely amazing immersive digital art experience 👌🏻

DAWN | Avatar Robot Café – A café where robots are operated by people with disabilities.

Gotokuji Temple – The famous “cat temple” 🖐🏻

Joypolis (Odaiba) – Indoor amusement park. Fun, but the queues were very long.

Harajuku Mame Shiba Cafe – A cute café with Shiba Inu dogs in Harajuku.

ART AQUARIUM Museum (Ginza) – Stunning fish and light art exhibition.

ANAKUMA CAFE (Harajuku) – A quirky café where a plush bear hand serves coffee through a hole in the wall 😁

Spadium Japon – A modern public onsen complex with various baths, saunas, relaxation areas, manga library, and food court.

Dagashi Bar (Shibuya) – A fun candy bar/restaurant. If you order one drink (~500 yen), you get a basket and can freely eat candy for two hours 😋 (5 minutes from Shibuya Crossing).

Areas We Spent Time In 👇🏻

Asakusa – Senso-ji temple area and surrounding market streets.

Shinjuku – Shinjuku Gyoen Park, restaurants, 3D cat billboard, Golden Gai, Kabukicho.

Shibuya – Famous crossing, Starbucks observation spot nearby, Shibuya Sky rooftop observatory, Dagashi Bar, and shopping streets full of major brands.

Harajuku – Takeshita Street with street food and shops. We had colorful toast and a huge fried potato skewer. Also visited the Shiba café, ANAKUMA café, Samsung store with teamLab-style experience, and Plaza mall with a mirrored geometric entrance.

Ginza – ART AQUARIUM, Japanese pancakes at A Happy Pancake (tip: reserve a queue, you usually have about an hour to walk around), and shopping at a massive 12-floor UNIQLO store.

Tokyo Tower – We didn’t go inside, but walked around and took photos near the entrance. There’s usually a long queue for the best photo spot.

Tokyo Skytree – Viewed from Sumida Park in Asakusa.

Akihabara – Electronics and gaming district. We visited Super Potato (retro games), GIGO arcade, and had amazing vegetarian ramen there.

Odaiba – Mainly Joypolis, which we reached after visiting teamLab nearby.

Vegetarian Food Spots 🌱🍜

Coco Ichibanya (Shinjuku branch) – Japanese curry chain with vegetarian options. Very tasty 😋

Zen (Shinjuku) – Okonomiyaki restaurant with vegetarian options. Highly recommended.

T’s Tantan (Tokyo Station) – Delicious vegetarian ramen.

Vegan Ramen UZU (teamLab area) – Michelin-level vegan ramen. We ate in the immersive projection room, but there’s also a cheaper seating area outside.

Kyushu Jangara (Akihabara) – Great vegetarian ramen options.

Kura Sushi (Asakusa) – Conveyor belt sushi chain. Super fun, cheap, and tasty (about $1 per plate 👌🏻).

A Happy Pancake – Japanese fluffy pancakes chain. We also visited in Kanazawa, where there was no waiting line.

Gonpachi Nishiazabu – The “Kill Bill” restaurant with great atmosphere and vegetarian options.

We also ate almost daily at convenience stores – 7-Eleven, Lawson, FamilyMart – onigiri, sushi, and lots of cheap and tasty snacks.

HAT COFFEE (Asakusa) – 3D latte art coffee shop near the subway station.

Half Day in Yokohama + Hakone + Northern Japan Route 🌸🏯

Yokohama – Gundam Factory 🤩

For a half-day trip from Tokyo, we went to Yokohama and visited the Gundam Factory. It’s about an hour ride from Tokyo.

A massive robot, about 6 stories high, stands there, and every 30 minutes it performs a “show” where it moves and speaks. It’s impressive, fun, and surprisingly cute 🤩

Hakone 🚡🌋

We did Hakone as a day trip from Tokyo. We booked the Hakone Pass for two days online (which is worth it) and used the digital version, including the train from Tokyo/Shinjuku.

We arrived later than planned because transportation in Hakone itself also takes time, so the day felt a bit rushed.

We started at the Open-Air Museum, which we really enjoyed. From there we continued to the cable car and were lucky to catch a view of Mount Fuji.

Next, we rushed to the pirate ship cruise, and then to Hakone Kowakien Yunessun, which we arrived at much later than our reserved time, but still enjoyed it a lot. Highly recommended!

It’s a huge onsen complex with themed hot spring pools, including wine, sake, and coffee baths, plus regular hot springs and jacuzzis. Very relaxing and unique.

One of the fun details: when you get out of the pools there’s a machine you stand on that dries you, in the changing room there’s a machine that spins your swimsuit dry, and even on the train back to Tokyo we had heated seats. These little things are what make Japan special ✨ (and of course the toilets 😅)

JR Pass Route – Leaving Tokyo 🚅

After a week around Tokyo, we activated the JR Pass and left for Nagano in the morning, heading to the Snow Monkey Park.

We sent our luggage the night before to our Kyoto hotel (via Lawson, around 17$ per suitcase). We traveled with small backpacks for 3 days. Before Kyoto, we spent 2 nights in Kanazawa, but it was more convenient to send the luggage directly to Kyoto.

At every station we visited, we used lockers for one bag and moved freely. Lockers cost about 400 yen for small size.

Snow Monkey Park 🐒

We took the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Nagano, and from there a bus to the monkey park.

On their website there is a bus schedule, so it’s important to coordinate train timing with the bus.

The snow monkeys (Japanese macaques) are adorable and very friendly. There was no snow when we visited, which was a bit disappointing, but the park itself is beautiful.

The monkeys roam freely and even bathe in their own hot spring. It was amazing to see them living in a natural environment.

Matsumoto Castle 🏯

From the monkey park we returned to Nagano Station and took a Shinkansen to Matsumoto.

We walked about 15 minutes from the station to the castle and arrived before sunset, staying until it got dark.

The castle is stunning. The reflections of the castle on the water are especially beautiful, changing with the light until nightfall 👌🏻

From there we continued by train to Kanazawa.

Kanazawa 🌿

We stayed 2 nights at HOTEL TORIFITO KANAZAWA, a lovely boutique hotel with beautiful rooms and a modern onsen.

Great location, about 5 minutes from Kanazawa Station.

I booked it through Agoda – always worth comparing prices online.

Shirakawa-go 🏡

We booked the bus online in advance (tickets go on sale about a month ahead).

We went in the morning and returned in the afternoon, about 2 hours there is enough.

A beautiful traditional village with unique houses and mountain scenery.

There is also a viewpoint overlooking the entire village, which is stunning 😍

Kanazawa Highlights 🌳

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art – rotating exhibitions and a surrounding garden with unique sculptures.

Kenroku-en Garden – a stunning Japanese garden. We arrived during full cherry blossom bloom 🥰 and there was also a sakura festival with food stalls. Absolutely beautiful.

Asahi Funakawa Spring Quartet 🌷🌸

During cherry blossom season near Toyama, there is a special field where tulips are planted every year. Behind it are two rows of cherry blossom trees, a river in between, and snowy mountains in the background 🤩

It’s one of the most breathtaking views of the trip.

From Kanazawa we took a Shinkansen to Toyama, and from the station there were shuttle buses to the festival (with advance coordination).

Nabana no Sato 🌷✨

From Toyama we continued to Nagoya (a long ride of about 3+ hours).

Nabana no Sato is a flower and light park, one of the most beautiful places we visited 🌷

From Nagoya Station you walk to the bus terminal next door, and there is a direct bus (about 30 minutes).

The park combines flowers and world-class light installations. Truly impressive 🤩

It is open from around October to May (check exact dates).

We bought tickets at 7-Eleven, though they may also be available on-site.

From there we returned to Nagoya Station and took the Shinkansen to Kyoto (about 30 minutes).

Kyoto 🏯

We spent 4 nights in Kyoto at TAVINOS Hotel Kyoto, the same chain as in Tokyo (described earlier).

Kyoto – Day 1 Itinerary 👇🏻

Places we visited on the first day, in order:

Kinkaku-ji – Golden Pavilion
Ginkaku-ji – Silver Pavilion
Philosopher’s Path
Keage Incline
Nishiki Market
Gion
Kiyomizu-dera

All the temples and gardens were beautiful and impressive. Getting around Kyoto was done mainly by buses and walking.

We arrived at the Golden Pavilion right at opening time (around 9 AM), and the line wasn’t long at all, it moved quickly.

For Kiyomizu-dera, I had read that sunset is the best time to visit, and it really is stunning at that time. I just didn’t realize they close before sunset. When we arrived, we were planning to sit and rest a bit before sunset, but suddenly they started announcing that the site was closing. We literally ran in, quickly bought tickets, and made it inside just in time. It was amazing, but very rushed. Keep in mind to arrive before closing time, some people who arrived after us were not allowed in.

In the evening, we ate gyoza at a recommended restaurant with vegetarian options – Gyoza ChaoChao. Really tasty 😋

Kyoto – Day 2 👇🏻

We started early in the morning at Fushimi Inari Shrine, arriving around 7 AM. There were already people, but it was still manageable, and we managed to take photos here and there 😅

From there we took a train to Nara and visited the deer park 🦌. We relaxed there and fed the deer, they bowed to us and we bowed back 😁

On the main street back toward the station, there’s a stall selling melon bread with ice cream. I had the chocolate banana flavor and it was amazing 😋🤤

Melon de Melon

From Nara we continued by train to Osaka.

We booked a Mario Kart experience through Klook. We originally wanted to do it in Tokyo, but it was fully booked on our dates. While searching, I found out there’s also one in Osaka, and it was perfect 👏🏻

We drove go-karts through the streets of Osaka dressed in costumes 😁 It was super fun 🤩

Osaka Kart

You need an international driving permit valid for one year.

After that we went to eat the best Japanese cheesecake I’ve ever had 🤤😋

Rikuro’s Namba Main Branch

When we were full, we went to teamLab Botanical Garden Osaka. A magical forest with teamLab light installations. It opens in the evening after dark, and tickets must be booked in advance.

From there we took a walk around Dotonbori and then returned by train to Kyoto.

Kyoto – Day 3 👇🏻

We went to Arashiyama by JR train and arrived at the Bamboo Forest around 7 AM. There were already people, but it was still okay.

At 9 AM, the kimono rental shop opened, located about 5 minutes from the bamboo forest entrance. We were very “proper tourists” 😅 and walked around and took photos in kimono 👘

Kumonocha Arashiyama – a café with cloud-shaped desserts 😋 located on the main street leading to the river.

Arashiyama Yusai-tei – an artist gallery featuring specially designed fabrics and kimonos. The building has a traditional Japanese style with beautiful windows overlooking trees and the river. A very peaceful and aesthetic place. It’s small, with a few rooms connected by corridors where you can photograph reflections of the windows on glossy tables. There is also a gallery of the artist’s works and a terrace with water surfaces where you can experiment with reflections. A small but magical place 😍

From Arashiyama we traveled to Gion, where we had booked tickets in advance for the Miyako Odori performance. It was absolutely stunning, beautiful, and unforgettable 😍

Naoshima – Art Island 🎨🌊

We said goodbye to Kyoto and traveled to Naoshima, the island of art. This was our last day using the JR Pass.

The island is beautiful and very unique, a whole island dedicated to art, design, and architecture surrounded by sea views.

We visited two museums:

Chichu Art Museum – requires advance reservation. A small but extremely impressive and unique museum.

Benesse House Museum – modern art and design museum. There is also an additional outdoor gallery with installations in nature.

After that we walked around the sculpture park, including the famous Yayoi Kusama “Pumpkin”, and other sculptures near the ferry area.

Back to Tokyo 🇯🇵

In the evening we traveled back to Tokyo for the final 2.5 days of the trip, some shopping and many hours at Don Quijote Asakusa 😁

The journey in Japan started and ended in Tokyo. The beautiful cherry blossoms decorated the cities and created a romantic atmosphere throughout the entire trip 🌸

An amazing culture, a different world, people walk on the lines and follow etiquette so naturally 🤭 Unique food 😋 and advanced, fascinating technology 👏🏻

It was perfect 👌🏻

For photos, places, and tags, you’re welcome to follow on Instagram.

Posts 👇🏻

Homepage K.S WORLD TRAVELER