From the neon-lit streets of Tokyo and the historic temples of Kyoto to the vibrant nightlife of Osaka, the rich culture of Fukuoka, and the scenic beauty of Yokohama, each city offered a unique window into Japan’s diverse landscape. Join me as I recount the delicious highlights, cultural discoveries, and unforgettable moments of my travels. I’ll be going back to Japan this weekend to explore Sapporo, so stay tuned and subscribe for updates!
There were 3-7 people in our group depending on the city we were in. During my last visit, I traveled with one other person. Both great trips, but a larger group does require more planning. Expect to be split up either dining at separate tables or eating at different times in the same restaurant. Details such as reservation links and wait times of the places we ate at can be found here.
Scroll all the way down for a TLDR itinerary download file.
Saturday, Day 1: Travel to Tokyo
Long travel day! Prep for comfort – these are some of my essential items I always bring with me on international flights: (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
- Portable charger and AirPods / Headphones
- Airplane footrest – game changer
- Tide pen and Kleenex tissues
- Charging station and cords – The hotels we stayed at did not require an outlet converter.
- Travel Pillow and Sleep mask
- Luggage scale – This tool tremendously helped me with packing and avoiding an overweight luggage situation at the airport (especially on the way back from Japan after all the shopping I did).
- Disposable steam eye mask for dry eyes and moisturizer (restock in Japan)
Pre-flight preparations:
Make sure your phone either has eSIM set up and ready to go once you land in Japan or your phone plan is cleared for international roaming. I used T-mobile and it worked well in the cities we visited.
Get screenshots of important hotel addresses to show the taxi or Uber drivers to confirm the drop off location. Set up the Suica transit card on Apple Wallet to easily use public transport. Plan to withdraw cash a convenience store instead of the airport for better exchange rates.
Sunday, Day 2: Tokyo
- Land in Tokyo
- Uber or taxi to hotel
- Get settled, change, explore Ginza.
- Kura Sushi Flagship Store for dinner once the entire group arrives
- Snacks and drinks from 7-Eleven
Haneda airport is significantly closer to Tokyo than Narita. We chose to take a car to our hotel instead of taking the train since we had a large group to split the fare. The Kura in Tokyo is next level compared to the Kura chains back in America. The fish is better and prices are significantly cheaper.
Monday, Day 3: Tokyo
- Ship luggage by EOD and pack an overnight backpack with essentials in case luggage gets delayed getting to Kyoto
- Tsukiji Market – leave at 7AM
- Saegen for the tuna bowl
- Shopping Day – Ginza
- Shibuya Sky reservation at 5PM
- Explore until Umi omakase reservation
Shipping luggage for this trip was a game changer. I did not use this service the last time I visited, and that was a mistake. Train stations will not always have escalators, so walking up those steps with 2 heavy suitcases last time was a struggle.
Favorite part of this day was when we randomly walked into a Japanese bar before our omakase reservations at Umi. We tried shochu for the first time and ran into a famous olympian!
Tuesday, Day 4: Tokyo to Kyoto
- 5AM shopping at Don Quijote Shibuya location
- Kappabashi Kitchen Tools Street
- KAMATA Hakensha – Japanese knife store
- Snacks and drinks
- Bullet train to Kyoto and meet up with additional friends for drinks and dinner
- Sukiyaki Gyunabe Chikarayama Shijo Kawaramachi Store – reservation
Out of all the days we had in Tokyo, this was the busiest of them all. I recommend buying bullet train tickets via their mobile app because it’s a lot easier to understand which ticket you’re getting and there are no lines. The group was super excited for Kyoto – some of the best bites and memories were in Kyoto! The sukiyaki dinner I picked out accommodated our group of 7! We sat at 2 separate tables; the dinner set was more than enough food, and the service was outstanding.
Wednesday, Day 5: Kyoto
- Light bites and coffee from Family Mart or 7-Eleven
- Uber to Kiyomizu-dera (or walk)
- Explore temple grounds – My Only Fragrance reservation
- Ramen lunch with vegetarian dumplings
- Sushi Saeki omakase reservation
I visited Kiyomizu back in 2018 and it was unfortunately raining! Our group got blessed with perfect weather this time around. My goals for the day was to get the pickled cucumber from the temple grounds I kept seeing on TikTok and make my omakase reservation. Mission accomplished! If you’re in Kyoto, go to Sushi Saeki. You won’t regret it!
Thursday, Day 6: Kyoto
- Early morning breakfast, coffee, and 7-Eleven run
- Uber to Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
- Explore Kyoto after getting back from forest
- Random bar hop night
Friday, Day 7: Kyoto to Osaka
- Ship luggage to Osaka – similar to above – pack an overnight bag in case luggage gets delayed.
- 7:30 AM Traditional Japanese Breakfast Reservations at Choshoku Kishin
- Leave for Osaka by 11AM to get to knife shops in Sakai
- Explore Sakai and meet up with knife makers
- Meet back up with group in Osaka – check into hotel and explore Dotonbori
My friend is a fan of TAKADA no HAMONO, and the owner of his shop is located in Sakai, which is pretty difficult to get to. Our taxi driver took a couple of wrong turns, but we eventually made it! Takada-san is a great guy and if you’re lucky, you can purchase his extraordinary knives at his shop directly (if there’s inventory).
Saturday, Day 8: Osaka
- Breakfast and coffee at Cafe Tales
- Tower Knives Osaka – great place for gifts
- Explore Dotonbori more (shopping / bars / walk around)
- Yakiniku Kitan for lunch
- Round 1 Stadium in Japan
- Explore nightlife and grab dinner somewhere that looks good; bar hopping
Cafe Tales is a cute cafe that has it all – great coffee and great breakfast plates starring Japanese toast. The line for Yakiniku Kitan was the longest 2 hour wait we had to endure on this trip. I did not think the food was worth the wait, but if you go early and get first or second seating, then I’d recommend it. Don’t get me wrong, the food was great, but not good enough for a 2 hour wait.
Sunday, Day 9: Osaka to Fukuoka
- Pack and ship luggage to our final destination in Yokohama / Pack an overnight back for 2 nights in Fukuoka
- Breakfast and coffee at Arabiya
- Dessert at MooKEN – usually a line but goes by fast – we waited ~30 mins.
- Bullet train to Fukuoka
- Check out Yatai stands
- Offal pot for dinner – Oyama or Maedaya Motsunabe Nakasu (might be too busy)
Monday, Day 10: Fukuoka
- Find a random cafe for coffee and toast
- Ohori Park
- Hakata ramen for lunch somewhere (originated here)
- Explore Canal City Hakata Imoto Omakase – reservation
Tuesday, Day 11: Fukuoka to Yokohama
- Fly to Yokohama
- Check into hotel and explore Chinatown and Yokohama
- Train to Tokyo for WAGYU USHITOMI GINZA reservation
- Pack and get ready to fly out the next day 🙁
Half of our group stayed in Yokohama and the other half went to Tokyo. We left the last day fairly open because we all had different priorities. The only thing to make was our reservation in Tokyo for a wagyu omakase. It was delicious! Reservations are needed and details can be found here.
Packing was a whole ordeal, so make sure to set aside some time. Weigh your luggage with a scale before heading to the airport! Your future self will thank you.
Wednesday, Day 12: Bye Japan
This concludes our trip! Get to the airport early – lines are long to check in bags. FYI – If you bought a “katana umbrella”, there are specific instructions around the check in luggage area. No one in our group bought one, but I did see some people having to repack their bags because of the umbrella.
We did a last dash around the airport and ordered as much food as we could for lunch until we had to fly out. The souvenir shops will take all your leftover yen at the airport (coins and all), or you can keep it for your next Japan trip!
TLDR of itinerary:
If this post inspired you or positively influenced your Japan trip in any way, please post below or reach out via email or instagram and share with me! I’d love to hear from you. ありがとう ございます!
Discover more from Wen & Where
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.