We’ve spent 47 days in Japan and visited several cities and different areas around the country.
I was a little worried, as my expectations of Japan were high due to growing up with anime, manga, and retro games on the Super Nintendo and Game Boy.
Rest assured, Japan did not disappoint. It’s hands-down the best country I’ve ever visited in my entire life (and I’ve been travelling quite a lot!).
Tokyo
Like most tourists, we’ve started our trip in Tokyo.
The first thing you’ll notice is how easy it is to get around – from getting out of the airport, to getting around with the train system, and how convenient “convenience stores” can be.
Have you been to 7-Eleven before in another country? Forget about it, Japan nailed it.
Cherry Blossoms
We didn’t expect to see any cherry blossoms – usually, they should have been gone by the day of our arrival, but lucky us, we came just in time to experience it:
Mochi Cooking Class
We booked a cooking class where a lovely Japanese lady showed us how to make different kinds of Mochi. I can tell you, it looks and tastes a lot different from the stuff you get in your home country! 😅
Shopping
If you know me, you probably know that I hate shopping.
After five months of travelling in Asia, I haven’t bought anything – no souvenirs, stuff, nothing. I’m a minimalist, and I hate buying stuff that doesn’t have a practical use.
Well, Japan was an exception. I was pretty busy hunting for three things, especially:
- camera equipment
- retro games
- gadgets and game-related merch
On my first day in Tokyo, I bought a new camera – I went from a Sony A6000 APS to a full-frame Sony A7C II – it’s a night and day difference, and all the photos in this article were shot with the new camera!
Shopping isn’t just buying stuff in Japan – it’s a cultural experience and it will blow your mind – from crowded streets, weird shops, huge gacha halls, and the whole concept of collecting stemps (yeah, that’s a thing here).
Shibuya Crossing
You’ve probably seen it in photos and videos: Shibuya Crossing is the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing, with as many as 3,000 people crossing simultaneously.
Let me take you with us while we are crossing it (360° video):
Nagoya
After experiencing Tokyo and capturing many memorable moments, it was time for us to move on to our next destination: Nagoya.
I’ll be honest: We haven’t seen much of Nagoya. The only purpose of our visit was the Ghibli Park. We only later discovered that Nagoya is worth a visit, but as they say, there’s always a next time!
Ghibli Park
Ghibli Park is not only a must-visit for every Ghibli fan—it’s the perfect example of how an amusement park can combine calm and room for exploration while staying true to its roots and making it accessible for everyone (the price is really reasonable).
We didn’t get the premium pass, which would have allowed us to visit the inside areas of some buildings, but even without it, it’s definitely worth it:
There was also this little carousel – if you like me and you’ve never grown up, this instantly brings back those childhood memories, enjoy:
Kyoto
After our super-quick trip to Nagoya it was time for our next destination: Kyoto.
Aquarium
One thing we’ve learned from our long-term travel is that transfer days are the worst – they are long, exhausting, and not fun at all.
While the Shinkansen only took about 2 hours from Nagoya to Kyoto, we found ourselves in the need of spending about 4 hours before we we’re able the access our next apartment.
This time, however, we decided to do something fun: a visit to the Kyoto Aquarium:
Naked Sakura Festival
Before getting into exploring all the different kinds of temples around Kyoto, we booked tickets for the Naked Sakura Festival, which took place in the Nijo Castle:
Shrines and Bamboo Forest
Now we’re getting into why people visit Kyoto: the Fushimi Inari Shrine and the Bamboo Forest.
We’ve visited both and also explored a lesser-known shrine close to the Bamboo Forest:
While Kyoto was probably my least favorite experience in Japan, simply because it was overcrowded with tourists, seeing these shrines, especially the Torii, in person, was a memorable experience.
I can’t even count how many times I’ve seen photos of these and thought “One day, I will go and see them myself” and now I was here, experiencing it first-hand.
Exploring Kyoto
Exploring all the tourist attractions in a new spot is nice, but often we found joy in simply exploring the city as a whole, so enjoy some shots from street food and the overall city:
I would highly recommend the famous Wagyū beef, the Kyoto beef not so much – it wasn’t bad, but the difference was huge.
You should also get some strawberries. It was new to us, but the Japanese strawberries are famous for a reason. Even if you get some from your local food market, trust me, there is no comparison to the fruity taste of these from Japan.
Gion
We went to Gion the next day – it’s famous because of the Geishas, but sadly, because of a bunch of tourist idiots, you will no longer spot one in the streets.
However, it’s still worth a visit for the scenery – it’s just a special place to explore, especially in the late evenings:
Nara
We used our last day to make a day trip to Nara, which is famous for its bowing deer:
It’s worth a visit, though I have mixed feelings about it, but that’s how I feel almost whenever people, or more precisely, idiots, deal with animals.
They lack respect, and I can see why Japanese people get angry about it.
Wrap up
That was it, folks, but fear not – you can continue with my second post about Japan here.
Because we’ve experienced so much during our time in Japan, adding it into a single article was impossible.