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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/SweeterGrass on 2024-12-10 20:33:33+00:00.
Trip Report: 19 Nights in November-December
I just returned from my first visit to Japan and wanted to get this down while it is all fresh in my mind. Since it was my first trip, I mostly stuck to places that have been well-traveled.
Nights 1 and 2 - Tokyo
My flight landed on time and I made it to my hotel in Otemachi around 4pm. After checking in, I took a train to Asakusa to see Senso-ji and the area. Beutiful at night. And crowded, but it was worth it since I got to cross it off my list and move on. Yea, some of this stuff was just about seeing things I’d read about in the years it took for this trip to come to fruition. If it wasn’t overwhelming to me, I took quick looks and moved on, which is exactly what I did here.
Next morning I woke up early and went to Meiji Jingu. I was surprised to find the gates closed until 6:15 (sunrise), but I had the place virtually to myself and it was lovely. I walked from there to Shibuya towards the crossing and walked right past it since for some reason I thought it would be much larger and there’d be people, you know, crossing the street. Well, not at 8:30 there weren’t. So I moved on, walking to the Mori building to go into teamLab Borderless, which was a cool thing to do when you have a somewhat jet-lagged and spaced out mind. Actually that was probably the best way to see it. Had a great dinner, went to sleep and then…
Nights 3 and 4 - Takayama
Got to Takayama via Nagoya at around noon and walked around that little beautiful post(card) town for a couple hours before getting my ride to a ryokan I stayed at about 20mins from the station. The autumn colors were ablaze and it was a pretty friggin’ great intro into Momiji season. I had planned this trip to see some colors, but I did not expect to see much in Takayama, which usually goes technicolor a couple of weeks before I was there. But the gods shined their lights on me and the late summer heat pushed things back just in time. Thanks Global Warming!
My next full day in Takayama will always be one of my favorite days ever. Today I did the Higashiyama trail which wound through the hills in the north of town, where a bunch of temples are located, This is not a popular activity for tourists, and that worked out great for me. I spent about three hours wandering from temple to temple; each unique and surrounded by beautiful maple, ginkgo, elm, and keebler trees bursting with all the colors of the rainbow. So woke! Then I strolled back down into the main strip and visited the retro museum there, which was super cool and a couple of old teahouses. I don’t drink so I can’t really comment on all the Sake culture that goes on there, but it looks like there’s a lot of it. But while I may not drink I do eat steak. And Hida beef was as good as advertised. So rich and creamy.
Night 5 - Shirakawa-go
The conventional wisdom around these parts is that Shirakawa is an amazing place to visit…for a few hours. Well screwing conventions and wisdom I chose to spend the night. Turned out to be one of the best decisions I made for the whole trip. When I got there via Nohi Bus at around 2pm it was raining pretty convincingly, but my inn had a small bus tour for guests and we rode up through the little main street to the observation area. By the time we got up there the rain had died down and the views of the grasso houses were pretty cool (the pictures are accurate!) I could see a lot of color in the hills trying to get their moment, but the darkening and graying sky kept things muted. I elected to walk from the observation spot back to the the inn which led me right through hobbit town. It was very very cool, and I stopped by a couple houses that allowed guests to visit for a small fee. The next morning the sun was a’ shinin and the people had pretty much went poof! The village was quiet, the colors were getting their time to shine and snow covered mountains loomed the distant. The whole feeling of the area was like a dramatic scene from a movie where people sing, till and twirl on hilltops. The feeling was I was my very own wonderland. I loved Shirakawa…
Nights 6 and 7 - Kanazawa
Nohi Bus to Kanazawa in the morning. I got there and went straight to a ‘geisha experience’ I had booked months in advance via Airbnb. While waiting for my pre-paid moment to be with Japan’s iconic ladies in white, I spotted one in the wild, which I thought was like seeing a white rhino on safari…rare and emotionally stirring (if you’re like me anyways, who soley think of samurais and geiko when they think of Japan). I got the unique photo I wanted and enjoyed the the tea ceremony and short performance with the geisha I paid to see. That sounds awful…she was very nice and it was a very cool experience. The rest of the day I wandered around town, and then I went to Kenrokuen to see the night illuminations, which was beautiful and absolutely packed!!!. My first taste of mass-tourism on the trip. The next day I did a walking tour and visited the ninja temple. I’d skip it if you are on the fence. The day was really pretty and Kenrokuen in full foliage on a sunny day is a really special experience, despite the crowds. Woke up, bought some gold-leafed chopsticks and moved on to
Night 8 - Osaka
K. I didn’t plan this one earlier on, but I needed a break. So I went to Osaka, which was on the way to the second half of my journey. I found a hotel and proceeded to chill tf out. Good call. I got a massage, ordered room service and went to bed early. The next morning I rented a car and headed down to…
Night 9 - Koyasan
First, the drive. So, I almost got killed driving on the wrong side of the road about 10 minutes in. I highly recommend doing the same, because it’s a pretty efficient way to learn how to drive correctly if you’re anything like me: American, and an idiot. From there on out it was mostly smooth sailing up a pretty mountain to the famous temple town. This is the day I had my first ‘shit, I’m really here’ moment. I’d been planning to come to Japan since pre-Covid, and had my first attempt cancelled because of the pandemic. My second try was cancelled due to illness. So this was my third go, and I’ll just say on every itinerary I had put together, Koyasan was a part of it. So, five years late I finally arrived, saw the city sign and just got nearly lost it. All the hard work had finally beared fruit. It was something. And so was Mt. Koya. Very pretty, more fall foliage, a lot of temples, and unforutnatelty enough rain to cancel the night cemetery tour at Okunoin. This did not stop me from grabbing an umbrella and doing it myself, which may have been unwise seeing as I got lost and ended up walking around for two hours in the freezing rain with no idea what I was looking at except that there were stones and presumably bones everywhere. I did stumble upon the main shrine in the end and found the road, got back in my car, jumped in my temple’s onsen, and defrosted in a very spritual way. Woke up, got out of bed…
Night 10 - Nara
Nara was awesome. Another one of those popular day trips I extended into the night. I cannot stress enough how smart it is if you have the time to do it this way. The difference in the experience of visiting popular sites without the crowds is striking and extremely rewarding. I was the first to walk into Kodaiji and also one of the first to wander Kasuga Taishi shrine, which is an amazing place. The deer were everywhere and my advice is to skip the deer park, and visit the other places. There will be deer there too, I promise. Overall, Nara is a very pretty and unique part of the world. Just a few really large main temples, some fun shopping streets, and nice older spots to wander through. I could and would do it as a day tour, but I’m glad I spent the night.
Nights 11-15 - Kyoto
So much is written about Kyoto, so I won’t bore you with too many details. Kyoto was my favorite stop, but I could have done 4 nights instead of 5. Highlights for me were the autumn colors at Kiyomizu-dera, seeing the less touristy temples and doing the riverboat ride in Arashiyama (colors, colors everywhere on that ride), GEAR theater (it’s such a fun and beautiful show), walking along the Kamo river at sunset, seeing the sunrise at Fushimi Inari, and shopping for knives at Pontocho and Nishi Markets. I also did a pretty cool samurai experience and learned that I am indeed, no samurai. There’s a ton of other great things in this city like the Shirakawa canal and Philosopher’s Path that are worth the time if you want a nice stroll. I also really enjoyed Ginka-ji and was blown away by the statues at Sanjūsangen-dō.
Nights 16 and 17 - Hakone
Okay, so I was on the fence here about this stop because it was yet another place on an already stacked itinerary, but I am so glad I did it. I spent two nights in a ryokan in Gora which was awesome. It had it’s own onsen and the location was great. But what really made this worthwhile for me was seeing Fuji up close and personal. Taking the ropeway to the top for a perfectly clear view on a perfectly sunny day was unreal, and put a real cap on this whole trip. It was a perfect Fuji with the snow in the exact place I ordered it, and my 9000 pictures of that volcano can prove it. It was so nice I did it twice. Oth…
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