Trip Review: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara, Japan

I’m so excited to be back in Asia for the first time since 2017! And this time, I’m not a solo traveler — I’m on my one-year anniversary/delayed honeymoon with my husband, Matt. We are visiting three countries on this trip: Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, all three of which are completely new to both of us.

I feel like I have a million things I want to share about the trip so far, and I’m probably going to be writing about everything for the next year. 😅 But we spent the first two weeks of our trip in Japan, with a week in Tokyo and about a week in Kyoto, so I guess I’m going to start there…

Tokyo

The first stop on our trip was — of course — Tokyo. We flew from Madrid to Tokyo with a quick layover in Paris, and we arrived in Tokyo bright and early at 5:50 a.m. 🙃 Our friend and former roommate Conor, who is teaching English in Japan through the JET program, picked us up at the airport with his Tokyo native co-teacher, Yoshi. We spent the first few days of our trip with them before wrapping up the final three days in Tokyo on our own.

What To See and Do In Tokyo

Tokyo has a metropolitan population of about 40 million people, and I think there are at least 40 million things to do in Tokyo as well. A week felt too short but also felt too long in some ways — we were a bit relieved to leave the controlled chaos of the big city to move on to Kyoto when it was time.

If you really want to get a sense of the scale of Tokyo, the Tokyo Skytree or Tokyo Tower are worth a visit. We did Tokyo Tower, which is shorter but probably a bit more iconic because it looks like a red version of the Eiffel Tower in Paris! It was a fun way to spend a few hours (if you aren’t afraid of heights).

And if you want to be reminded of exactly how many people there are in Tokyo, all you have to do is visit the neighborhoods of Shibuya or Shinjuku. The Shibuya Crossing is the busiest crosswalk in the world, though truthfully it didn’t seem much busier than any other crosswalk in Tokyo. And Shinjuku seemed like Tokyo’s version of NYC’s Times Square. Our favorite part of these areas was the shopping — we spent way too much time (and money) at the Nintendo TOKYO store in Shibuya and wandering around the inexplicably named, 24-hour, multi-floor, mega-store Don Quijote in Shinjuku.

One of the best things we did in Tokyo — and it really helped having Yoshi with us because he was able to share information about the culture and history — was visiting some of the different shrines and temples. We learned that in Japan, if something is called a shrine, it’s part of Shintoism; if it’s a temple, it’s Buddhism. Our first visit to a shrine was the Meiji Jingu Shrine, which is in a beautiful park that almost makes you forget that you’re in the middle of a dense city. The next evening, we went to Nezu Shrine which is in a quiet part of Tokyo, and we had it almost all to ourselves as the sun began to set. And then once it was fully dark, we made our way to Senso-ji Temple, which is very impressive with its five-storied pagoda — especially all lit up at night.

And speaking of things lit up… we couldn’t miss a visit to TeamLabs Borderless. I wasn’t sure what to expect — there was a good chance it was just a gimmick for people to take Instagram photos, but it actually was really cool and I’m glad we went. Each room made me feel like I was in some sort of abstract, neon art exhibit. There were also opportunities for us, the guests, to be creative and create our own art that then became part of the museum… but I won’t spoil the surprise. 🙂

Besides checking off all that classic Tokyo sightseeing, we also prioritized a few more unique experiences:

• One morning, we took a kintsugi class with a renowned ceramics artist. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, making what was broken even more beautiful and stronger than before. Book it here.
• We made sure to set aside time for some hardcore arcade gaming, which seems to be from a bygone era in the U.S., but is still a strong part of Japanese culture and society. We marveled at the claw machines, where you could win big stuffed Pikachus as prizes, but also a keychain that looked like a foil pack of pills, industrial size boxes of ramen, or tiny meat sticks.
• We stepped outside our comfort zones to an extreme level and went to visit a public onsen. Onsens are natural Japanese hot springs, and while many visitors to Japan will book stays at private onsens for themselves and their partners/families, we didn’t do that. Instead, we took the metro about 30 minutes outside Tokyo where we got naked with strangers of our same gender and enjoyed the mineral baths. It sounds strange, but it was actually both of our favorite thing we did in Tokyo! I’ll definitely be writing more about this one. 😉

And if you can, I recommend making the trip out to see Mt. Fuji and the Five Lakes (Fujigoko). We were vaguely aware that we wanted to do this at some point but had put no plans in action at the time of our arrival in Tokyo — which was perfect, because when Conor and Yoshi picked us up from the airport, they were like “We’re going on a road trip.” About an hour later, we arrived at Lake Kawaguchi where we were treated to some pretty views of Mt. Fuji before it got shy and covered up with a cloud for the rest of the day. We ended up visiting four of the five lakes, only skipping out on Lake Yamanakako.

Where to Eat in Tokyo

In case you missed it, I got diagnosed with celiac disease a few months before the trip so this was my first time traveling while being on a gluten-free diet. But we still managed to eat good! My top two recommendations are for places that my non-gluten free companions enjoyed as well.

Esoragoto Udon: SO YUMMY! Everything on the menu was gluten-free, and both things we ordered were delicious. Matt (non GF) loved it as well and declared it the best thing we ate in Tokyo. You order from a vending machine and you stand in a tiny place that seems mostly full of locals. You may have to stand in line for a bit, but we were lucky to walk right in without a wait.

Esoragoto Udon
3 Chome-27-3 Jingumae
Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0001

Soranoiro Nippon: A little hard to find on “Ramen Street” in the bottom of Tokyo Station, but very worth it in my opinion. There’s only one GF bowl of ramen on the menu, but I loved it. It was my first ramen experience in Japan and I felt happy to be in a little ramen shop with friends and be able to be included. Even if you don’t eat here, it was cool to see all the ramen shops in one place.

Soranoiro Nippon
1-9-1 Marunouchi
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005

Where We Stayed in Tokyo

Despite Conor recommending that we stay in Shibuya or Shinjuku, we did not stay in either of those areas. (And I’m glad we didn’t listen to him, because they were toooooo busy for us.) We stayed a bit north in an area called Takodanobaba, and I actually thought it was a great place to have as our home base in Tokyo. The hotel was called the Grand Fresa Sotetsu, which was pretty nice and had lots of fun free toiletries like sheet masks available on the bottom floor.

Final Thoughts on Tokyo

Tokyo was probably the most people-y place I’ve ever been, besides maybe Disney World. But I still enjoyed our time there! Just getting to see what daily life in Tokyo is like — millions of people commuting to work, eating ramen in izakayas in the train stations, young children in adorable uniforms navigating the metro on their own after school — was an experience in itself. Even having spent a full week in Tokyo, I feel like we still only saw the tiniest fraction of it, and I would definitely return someday to hopefully find some more of the hidden gems now that I’ve seen some of the touristy stuff. Maybe when the city isn’t currently experiencing a record-breaking heatwave next time, though.

Kyoto

While it would have actually been cheaper to fly from Tokyo to Kyoto, we didn’t want to miss the chance to ride on the world’s first high-speed train — the famous Shinkansen. (And we were able to book the cheapest Shinkansen tickets anyway.) It took just over two hours to arrive in Kyoto, which was blissfully devoid of people standing within three feet of you at all times. But just because the city was smaller, didn’t mean that we took it easy — in fact, we walked more per day in Kyoto than we did in Tokyo.

What to See and Do in Kyoto

Our hotel was only a few blocks from the covered markets, Nishiki Market and Teramachi Market. Nishiki is a food market with seemingly endless stalls of seafood, meats, and desserts. Sadly, food markets aren’t really going to be part of my life anymore, but Matt tried Tako Tamago, which is a baby octopus on a stick that has a quail egg inside the octopus head. He said he liked it. 🙂 And Teramachi has fun souvenir stores, specialty shops, and a lot of vintage/thrift stores.

Apparently, Kyoto used to be the capital of Japan — for more than 1,000 years, all the way until 1868! So Kyoto has a ton of history to explore. After wandering around Nijo Castle and Ninomaru-goten Palace, we spent a total of probably half a day just in Kyoto Gyoen National Garden, which is home to the Kyoto Imperial Palace as well as the Kyoto Sento Imperial Palace. You can go through the Imperial Palace grounds at your own pace (for free), but the Sento Imperial Palace requires a guided tour (also free) — as well as presenting your passport for registration and inspection. I read online that some people book this tour far in advance as it can be hard to get in, but we kind of just wandered up and decided to go along with it. Luckily we had our passports with us!

Quick note: Typically when we travel, we don’t carry our passports around on a daily basis. But in Japan, if you spend more than ¥5500 when shopping, you can get it tax-free if you have your passport proving you’re not from Japan. Hence why we actually had them with us on that day.

Just like in Tokyo, Kyoto also has more than its fair share of shrines and temples. We ventured over to the district of Gion on our first night to see the Yasaka Shrine. We’ve kind of realized that we like visiting the shrines more at night, because the grounds typically never close, and it’s so pretty to see everything lit up! In Gion, apparently it’s common to see geishas (or geiko as they are called in Kyoto) walking to their appointments at teahouses. But Gion was a little too crowded for us so we didn’t spend too much time over there. Of course, the most famous shrine in the Kyoto area is the Fushimi Inari Shrine — the one with hundreds and hundreds of red gates. It can get pretty crowded, so going early in the morning or late at night is probably best.

And the biggest Buddhist temple in Kyoto is definitely the Toji Temple. It’s a bit reminiscent of the Senso-ji Temple in Tokyo, based on the fact that it also has a towering pagoda, but Toji’s is black instead of red. During the autumn there are special night visit events, but it’s still summer here, so we went during the day — only to find out that it costs ¥800 per person and it’s cash-only. Matt tried to run to the closest ATM (located in a konbini that was suspiciously not a 7-11, Family Mart, or Lawson) and it wouldn’t take his debit card so we decided to just admire Toji from outside the wall.

The last major thing we did in Kyoto city was attend a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony… and we even got to wear kimonos! I previously thought, based on no research, that foreigners wearing kimonos was cultural appropriation. I guess that would probably be the case if we were in the U.S. But in Japan, apparently it’s welcomed and appreciated by the locals — it’s seen as a way that visitors are connecting with Japanese culture. As long as you’re doing it respectfully!

For the tea ceremony, we were invited to wear kimonos while learning the tea ceremony customs, and I felt soooo pretty in it. After I chose my kimono, they even styled my hair! It was so fun seeing everyone in the group wearing such beautiful outfits, and it made the whole experience even more fun. Book your very own kimono + tea ceremony!

Okay, and one more thing I hadn’t mentioned yet — you can’t go to Kyoto without a trip out to the edge of town to visit the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. Just like the Fushimi Inari Shrine, you’ll be more likely to have it to yourself if you’re there veeeeeery early, but it could be worth it — a chance for some solitude in one of the “100 Soundscapes of Japan.” Kind of unrelated, but there was a little coffee truck parked off to the side in the forest and I had one of the top five iced coffees of my LIFE there. Shout out to Aspen Coffee. 🫶

Where to Eat in Kyoto

Kikyo Sushi: OMG, this place was amazing. One of our top meals in Japan for sure. They had a separate gluten-free menu and clear labeling, so I finally felt like I got to enjoy some sushi while feeling safe the entire time. This restaurant has been run by a family for generations, and their menu was full of interesting items — like pickled mackerel sushi, which is apparently a Kyoto classic. Also, the iced matcha pudding for dessert was soooooo good. It’s not a big place, so I recommend a reservation.

Kikyo Sushi
43 Daimonji-cho
Aburanokoji Marutamachi Sagaru
Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-city

Ikkakuju Karasuma: We had delicious okonomiyaki here, which was one of the main things we wanted to try in Japan! It’s basically a savory pancake made of batter and cabbage, with all kinds of delicious toppings. We got to sit facing the grill and watch them cook. The waiters and chefs were super nice too!

Ikkakuju Karasuma
B1F, Grand Jour Ayanokoji, 248 Shinmeicho,
Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, 600-8092

Where We Stayed in Kyoto

We loved our hotel in Kyoto! We stayed at the Oakwood Hotel Oike, which was pretty central for most of the things we wanted to do. The staff were incredible and friendly, and I really loved the huge shared workspace/lobby area with tables which were perfect for getting some work done. (And working on this very blog.)

Final thoughts on Kyoto

We really enjoyed the quieter pace of Kyoto, and the fact that there was basically always something interesting to look at no matter where you turned — whether it was a shrine, a temple, a palace, a garden, or even just a view of the lush surrounding mountains. We originally thought we’d spend two full days in Osaka, but we kept finding more and more things to do in Kyoto and stayed there even longer than we planned. Kyoto also seems to be a great starting point for a bunch of day trips in the area.

Day Trip to Nara from Kyoto

Nara is a city that is easy to reach from both Kyoto and Osaka, so we decided to go to Nara as a day trip when we were staying in Kyoto. Nara is famous for Nara Park, which is home to more than 1,000 deer! And not only that, but they’re friendly enough for you to be able to feed and pet.

We took the Kintetsu line from Kyoto Station, arriving at Kintetsu-Nara Station about 45 minutes later. It was a rainy day, and we were a little bit worried all the deer would be hiding. But it turned out that was a silly concern because the deer were literally everywhere, even just on the 15-minute walk from the station into the park.

Where To Buy Deer Crackers in Nara Park

Of course, if you want to feed the deer, you can’t just feed them anything you want — there are special rice crackers for sale throughout the park, generally at staffed kiosks. We actually had a really hard time finding anywhere to buy the food, and after walking all the way to the famous Kasuga Taisha Shrine, we still hadn’t found any. Did the vendors decide not to come out because of the rain, or were we there too late in the day already (11 a.m.) and we’d missed them? I had read online that they often sell out.

I turned to Google, where I learned that we were in close range to the two deer cracker vending machines! They’re not the easiest to find, because there are lots of people-food vending machines in the park so they kind of blend in. But here’s a little map I made with the two locations — as well as pictures of what to look for if you click on the pins. These vending machines take yen coins as well as credit cards.

As we were leaving the park, I did eventually find one single vendor selling the deer crackers, but I am not certain whether they took credit cards. (My instinct is no.) I also indicated that spot on the map above!

Feeding the Deer in Nara Park

In Japan, bowing is a great symbol of respect, and the deer here also bow before you feed them a cracker! Hold it up to them like it’s communion, bow to each other, and feed them the cracker. Some of them can be a little bit… not aggressive, but overzealous… so we tried to mostly find a few deer off on their own to feed instead of alerting the whole herd.

Other Things To Do in Nara

Nara is the birthplace of Japanese sake, so we couldn’t miss the opportunity to take a sake tour! It was actually something we’d been wanting to do in Japan, and so it worked perfectly to do it in Nara. We ended up being the only ones on our tour that day, which was fun because it gave us the opportunity to really talk with our guide about life in Nara and Japan as a whole. Book a sake tasting tour here.

By the time the tour was over, and much sake had been consumed, it sure was fun trying to figure out how to get back to our hotel in Kyoto. 😂

Wrapping Up Our Time in Japan

We spent our last full day in Japan in Osaka, which is only about an hour from Kyoto. But we didn’t have time to do much other than the famous Osaka Castle, and attend a concert that night — which was actually the whole point of our stop in Osaka.

If you do plan to visit Osaka Castle and its museums, be sure to book a ticket online in advance. We were fortunate not to run into too many long lines for anything during our trip, and it probably helped we were traveling in late August/September, but Osaka Castle DID have quite a line for buying tickets at the door — probably a 30-minute wait. And it was HOT outside. Luckily, we’d booked our tickets online the night before so we got to skip the line.

Osaka seemed like a cool city, at least the little bit we saw of it. It kind of reminded me of Chicago! But finally, it was time to say our goodbyes to Japan and move on to the next country on our trip: Taiwan.

Plan Your Japan Trip

 

Okay, so that’s what we got up to in Japan! Much more to come about specific experiences, things I learned/noticed about Japanese culture, tips and tricks for being gluten free in Japan, and more.

Have you ever been to Japan? Or would you like to visit someday? Let me know in the comments!

-Cathy

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