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Things to do in Japan
cloudeagle
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So, in a week I'll set out for a nine-day trip to Japan. It's a mix of guided tours and free time in Tokyo, Nikko (small temple town), and Kyoto.
The overall itinerary is pretty much set, and I'm already diving into basic travel/cultural advice, basic phrases to say, how not to be a complete western oaf, etc. I'm curious if there's any more specific things I should know about these three cities. What less obvious places should I go to? What uniquely Japanese things should I eat/what specific restaurants are awesome? How well/badly has my virtual tourism in Persona 5/Strikers and the Yakuza games prepared me? (I'm assuming I probably won't be assaulted by random thugs every two minutes.)
Also, for the last day traveling back we've got a late flight, so we plan on popping into DisneySea. Anything we should know there?
Edit: Oh, and I already know the Nintendo headquarters is a boring white building in a desolate area and the security guard will tell us to go away. Might try to track down the original headquarters tho, it's been turned into a hotel.
The overall itinerary is pretty much set, and I'm already diving into basic travel/cultural advice, basic phrases to say, how not to be a complete western oaf, etc. I'm curious if there's any more specific things I should know about these three cities. What less obvious places should I go to? What uniquely Japanese things should I eat/what specific restaurants are awesome? How well/badly has my virtual tourism in Persona 5/Strikers and the Yakuza games prepared me? (I'm assuming I probably won't be assaulted by random thugs every two minutes.)
Also, for the last day traveling back we've got a late flight, so we plan on popping into DisneySea. Anything we should know there?
Edit: Oh, and I already know the Nintendo headquarters is a boring white building in a desolate area and the security guard will tell us to go away. Might try to track down the original headquarters tho, it's been turned into a hotel.
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I'm assuming you've already squared away internet/phone stuff but if not you can buy a sim card or rent a pocket wifi at the airport when you arrive. I'd also heavily recommend downloading the map for those cities offline in Google maps, and carrying a decent portable battery so you can charge your phone or other items in a pinch. My two most used phrases were Sumimasen and Arigato, use liberally and you'll get by fine.
For Tokyo, there's so much to see in each area it can be overwhelming. We spent about a day in each area and even then that's probably only scratching the surface for each place. I'd say the must sees included Shibuya, Shinjuku, Akihabara, Ikebukuro, Asakusa and Harajuku.
Teamlabs was closed when we went but it's really interesting looking and next time we wanna see this
I think that's around the same area in Odaiba where the Unicorn Gundam is at Diver City (big shopping mall with lots to do in it)
For food I'd recommend to experiment with stuff you might not have tried before. I tried Horse sushi and eel bowls and loved both of them. For chains there's Ichiran Ramen which is a solid cheap option you know will be tasty and it's foreigner friendly. There's also Coco Curry which is pretty good, and even Yoshinoya which is where I tried the Eel and really liked it. In Kyoto we wandered into a local place called "Sushi Time" according to Google maps and I quite enjoyed it, and the owner was excited to talk to us.
There's also a decent amount of all you can eat/drink places that are pretty affordable especially if you have more people. These typically are places where you'll cook the meat yourself Korean BBQ or shabu style.
Also, carry around your passport if you plan to make purchases (Probably a good idea anyways), most purchases over around 50 bucks and you can get tax off unless it's food or something like that. I bought a lot of games there at places like Bookoff or Mandarake and that can save you a lot.
Other random places to check out include Sunshine City, Nakano Broadway (say hit to Pipi for me) and the Ghibli Museum which again I missed last time as it was closed. Some of these things you need tickets for in advance so make sure to look into that as well. Oh and for souvenirs or cheap luggage go to Don Quijote.
I'm sure I'll think of more later but that's what jumps out at me for now
If you have T-Mobile you likely won't need a hotspot, you should just be put on Softbank's cell service for free, which is super fast.
Kamurocho/Kabukicho was fine, but I wasn't there after 10pm. You're just going to have to say "no" a lot. The more aggressive ones are the foreigners they hire to try and get you into places, depending on how tall and chad you are they'll stop after the first pitch.
Just be nice, they know you're a foreigner and won't hold things against you if you do something wrong as long as you aren't a dick, they don't really try and scam you like other countries/tourist spots so you don't need to always be on guard.
You cannot get this pass while in Japan.
I ate the majority of my breakfast at these places and no regrets
Seconded.. the JR pass is imo essential.
With the exception of Izakaya (a type of japanese after-work diner which serves a rather wide range of dishes, much of it grilled or deep fried) most good japanese restaurants tends to have a very narrow menu (very few options), but they're very good at those dishes.
While you're not going to get into the best places as a tourist (Japanese restaurant and business culture means that Tokyo is the best city in the world if you're a business traveler and invited by one of the established Japanese corporations. But a lot of those places are hidden and by invitation only) I'd recommend just picking any place that seems neat an interesting. Or, as you said you're going on guided tours, just ask your guide for a decent place.
I recommend trying out at least one decent soba lunch place, a hotpot (nabemono) restaurant and one of the many restaurants that serve food teishoku style (a set of 4-5 dishes that you eat at the same time. Typically alternating between rice and one of the other dishes). But that might be my preference as I like the very comfortable and low-key style.
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It's slow for sure, but good enough for basic needs.
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It's also required by law. Police officers can ask to see your identification at any time.
It's also available for sale in Japan now, but only until 2024.
Stuff that I don't think that anyone else has mentioned:
1. Okonomiyaki - Cabbage pancakes with stuff in them and a savory sauce on top. Great stuff. There's two styles, Kansai and Hiroshima. I prefer Kansai, but they're not *that* different. Some places make it for you, some give it to you to make. You probably want the former. Kansai-style is most associated with Osaka, but it's available nationwide, and my favorite place is actually in Kyoto.
2. Takoyaki - Octopus balls. The cuisinary cousin of okonomiyaki, also available nationwide. More of a snack than a meal, though.
3. Mazesoba - "Mixed noodles." So called because they give you a bowl of noodles with a bunch of stuff on top and you're expected to mix it all together. Despite the name, it does not use soba noodles.
4. Izakaya - Restaurants specializing in both drinks and food. The term "izakaya" has been coopted in the US by expensive Asian fusion places, but a real izakaya is a great way to try a wide variety of food at a fairly cheap price.
4a. Torikizoku - This is a national izakaya chain specializing in chicken. Lots of yakitori but a fair amount of other stuff as well. Their gimmick is that everything on the menu (including drinks) is 350 yen ($2.65; after tax).
4b. Sekai no Yama-chan - This is a Nagoya izakaya chain with some locations in other areas (including Tokyo). They're most famous for their chicken wings (which are not like American wings).
5. Gyoza - There are a number of Japanese Chinese restaurant chains with "gyoza" in the name. Their gyoza is obviously good, but it can also be interesting to experience Japanized Chinese food. You won't find a lot on the menu that you'll recognize.
6. Shin-Okubo - This is Tokyo's Koreatown. I recommend the dakgalbi. There's a Koreatown in Osaka as well (Tsuruhashi), but that's pretty much focused on Korean bbq and is fairly old-fashioned compared to Shin-Okubo.
If you like beer, there's a great place called Ant 'n Bee in Roppongi. Craft beer in Japan can be fairly pricey, but they have about 20 taps with beers from across the country.
On a more serious note, if you like art at all, the National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo is worth seeing. The Tokyo National Museum, Japan's equivalent to the Smithsonian, is *okay* but no where near as good as it could be.
ETA: You should also consider catching a baseball game. Tickets are pretty cheap and it can be a pretty amazing experience.
Oh man.. yes the Aquarium!! man I really need to go back and look at my old photos from 2008
If you have time while in Kyoto, I would recommend taking a train ride south to Nara. The Nara park is where all of the japanese deer are, and the Kasugataisha shrine is located within. It was having its 1250th anniversary when I visited, and is just breathtaking.
Finally, I would recommend Arashiyama. Its in the northwest quarter of Kyoto. There are a number of shrines and nature parks there, including a bamboo forest and a monkey park. There's a huge river with plenty of wide banks to sit along as well.
RE: JR Pass, its great if you're going to be doing a lot of traveling, but if you're not, then its not going to be worth it. Your best bet is to use the JR Pass calculator to see if it makes sense for you to get it or not.
RE: Cellphone, Japan uses CDMA only, so you need to make sure your phone supports that, and then enable international calling. I used Google Fi, and after it taking about 10 minutes to connect, I had no issues the rest of the time.
Oh, also, money, make sure you take cash. Japan was still very much a cash heavy society when I went. Credit Cards were available at very expensive places like hotels, but most shops and restaurants I ate at only took cash.