It all started as a wild idea. After a couple beers and several skewers of yakitori, someone said “we should all go to Japan together!” That’s how I ended up planning a trip to Japan with my longtime friend Sean and our respective significant others.
It would be a fast-paced jaunt, seeing as many sights and eating as much tasty food as the four of us could manage in 10 days. We planned to stick to major cities: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka. A city adventure of epic cultural proportions.
Taste of Tokyo
Our introduction to Japan was the megalopolis of Tokyo. It’s an incredible, sprawling, energetic place. We based ourselves in Shinjuku, which is basically jumping into the deep end of neon lights and intense crowds.
Wandering the streets of Shinjuku at night was an experience itself. Every type of food, drink, or entertainment imaginable called out to us from the bright signs. We passed a huge LED screen with a cat that looked three dimensional. A towering Godzilla head peered down at us from another building. The smell of grilled meat wafted from a dim alleyway packed with people.
Tsukiji Outer Market
Speaking of food, one of the best things we did was visit Tsukiji Outer Market. Tsukiji used to be the site of a wholesale fish market and tuna auction. Though the wholesale business has relocated, the selection of incredible food stalls at Tsukiji remains today.
We arrived around 8:00 am and started sampling. Lines were already forming in front of the jumble of awnings, folks standing around tiny tables and a selection of bites. Fresh sashimi of salmon, sweet and savory tamagoyaki omlettes, huge scallops grilled and torched…I could go on. Actually, the best thing I ate had to be a sashimi bowl with the most outrageously good tuna I’ve ever seen. Eating raw fish for breakfast may sound strange (it was), but it’s totally worth it for some of the best seafood ever.
Afterwards, we ventured to an art museum of sorts. It’s called teamlab Planets, and it’s a whimsical, immersive experience that sends you walking through digital artworks. You have to go barefoot, as some of exhibits are literally in a foot of water. Bright colors swirled around us as ambient music reverberated throughout. It was a surreal experience that somehow transported me even farther away from home.
Tokyo Tower
To cap our adventures in Tokyo, we headed to a classic symbol of the city: Tokyo Tower. The red and white, Eiffel Tower-like structure is a combination communications tower and observation platform built during Japan’s post-war boom. It’s a touristy affair, a bit like visiting the Empire State Building. There’s a Hello Kitty store and a cheery souvenir photo stop.
But the view of Tokyo at night was a “wow” moment I’ll always remember.
There’s just nothing else like it. An infinite expanse of tall buildings aglow with countless windows. Highways and train lines flow like rivers through the luminous urban landscape.
Shinkansen
After a few days in Tokyo, we headed off for Kyoto. The best way to make that journey is with the shinkansen, Japan’s famous bullet train. The shinkansen gets you from Tokyo Station to Kyoto in about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Covering a distance of 283 miles, that’s the equivalent of getting from New York City to Washington D.C. in like 2 hours.
The shinkansen is a great way to travel too. It feels somewhere between an airplane and a train. I decided to bring along an adult beverage, because why not? My drink of choice was a canned highball cocktail, a combination of whiskey and soda that’s as widely available as beer in Japan.
Soon mountains, farms, and cities were zooming by as we zipped along from Japan’s modern capital to its ancient capital.
Kyoto’s Traditional Places
Kyoto was the capital of Japan for hundreds of years, and the city still has much of its traditional architecture. As a result, the city has an almost mystical atmosphere that draws you into traditional Japanese culture.
And what better place is there to learn about traditional culture than the Kyoto Samurai and Ninja Museum, a family friendly experience where you can try throwing ninja stars? That’s what we did during our first afternoon in Kyoto.
Jokes aside, it was a lot of fun visiting the museum’s collection and trying on some not-very-authentic samurai armor. Our guide gave a great presentation on the history of samurai culture, which helped me imagine what it might have been like in medieval times. And regardless of the historical value, throwing ninja stars is objectively fun.
Fushimi Inari Shrine
The next day we went to a more traditional place: Fushimi Inari Shrine. With thousands of red torii gates, this is the visually stunning shrine most famous in Kyoto. We arrived early and joined the sparse groups of tourists walking uphill towards the shrine. When you reach the shrine, there are just a few torii gates beside the main shrines. Then suddenly you find yourself in a long tunnel of them winding their way up the path through the dense forest. Among the gates are shrines with statues of kitsune, the fox spirits that are believed to be supernatural messengers.
Uphill is certainly the theme of exploring Fushimi Inari Shrine. We worked up a sweat in the humid air, and we continued until we reached a viewpoint of Kyoto and the mountains beyond.
Temples and Tourists
That afternoon, we explored more shrines and temples in Higashiyama ward. The daytime sightseeing crowds met us in full force there, filling the narrow streets to the point that it was difficult to walk in places.
By the time we reached Kiyomizu-Dera temple, I felt like I was on a conveyor belt of tourists. We inched up the cobblestone street towards a bright red structure in the distance. Kiyomizu-Dera was still beautiful, and we tried to break off from the crowds to enjoy the majestic temples and mountain scenery. But I was awfully hot and tired from all the walking by the end.
Weary, I sought refreshment from one of the many vending machines. They’re everywhere in Japan! I was thinking of getting a bottle of water, but my friend Sean suggested I try something called Pocari Sweat. It turned out to be a sports drink something like Gatorade but less sweet. This refreshing beverage became key to my hydration for the rest of the trip.
Though there were many more temples worth exploring, we decided instead to spend the last of our time in Kyoto touring Nijo Castle. It’s a beautiful wooden structure, with ornate entrance gates and a collection of elegant murals inside. In these surroundings, I could imagine the shogun enjoying a fancy tea ceremony or meeting with his military leaders long ago.
Osaka Overload
Smash cut to Osaka. I’m at a tiny standing bar in the carnivalesque neighborhood of Shinsekai, eating a pork omelette (tonpeiyaki) and drinking a plum wine spritz. I can’t read a single thing in this place, but fortunately we’re on a food tour. Our guide passes down a small plate of something to try. It’s sort of fishy but also chewy? No one in the group can guess what it is. Our guide tells us it’s grilled ray fin. Not bad!
Osaka is a great town for food, and we had a blast taking a food tour on our first night there. Besides the aforementioned treats, we also got to sample things like takoyaki, balls of pan fried batter with octopus, and some of the best chicken wings I’ve ever had. We chatted with our group of mostly Australians and enjoyed a few drinks as the night went on.
Universal Studios Japan
I would love to say we did some rich cultural experience the next day, but the truth is we wanted to go to Universal Studios. They have Super Nintendo World! And the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! We got up early for our day of fun and took the train to Universal City (everything is by train in Japan, if you haven’t caught on yet).
Our first order of business was securing our timed entry to Super Nintendo World. The place truly makes you feel like you stepped into a classic Mario game. We walked in through a green warp pipe and were greeted with a landscape of spinning coins and chomping piranha plants. The highlight was Mario Kart: Bower’s Challenge, where we got to experience a Mario Kart race in real life with the help of fancy augmented reality headsets.
As an avowed Harry Potter fan, I had to head over to the Wizarding World for a butter beer and lunch at the Three Broomsticks. We saw part of a show where the robe-wearing actors delivered their dialogue partly in Japanese and partly in British-accented English. It was fun seeing Harry Potter as interpreted by Japan.
Dotonbori
Back in central Osaka, we had another themed attraction to visit in Dotonbori. Dontonbori is the most famous nightlife and food area in Osaka, where dozens of glowing signs line a big canal. Specifically, the attraction was the Don Quixote Ferris Wheel, an elliptical ferris wheel attached to a discount shopping emporium. (It’s real—look it up!). I saw this strange contraption and knew I had to ride it.
As we enjoyed sweeping views of Dotonbori from our mechanical viewing pod, we plotted an evening of further adventures. We walked to the other side of the canal for sushi dinner at a respected local chain. We found Hozenji, a tiny Buddhist temple tucked in between dozens of bars and izakaya places. And we ended the night going out for karaoke. Once we figured out how to change the tablet-based controls to English, we launched into that time honored tradition of drinking and singing along to an assortment of music.
Final Thoughts
Japan’s cities were like no place I’ve been before. There are so many experiences to seek out, from the futuristic to the ancient. I guess what I learned is that there’s no right way to visit Japan for the first time. You could be interested in visiting the Zen temples, but maybe you just want to go to Super Nintendo World. Either way is fine.
Whatever drew us there, I’m glad I finally got my introduction to such a fascinating place.
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