2025 3 1/2 weeks in Japan

My final day (Day 10) I did some shopping for presents. Asakasa has some great shopping areas, including Kappabashidogudai (Street) for lots of dishes and kitchen stuff, nearby stores for used kimono and yukata, a couple of stores for me to buy a bottle of yuzu (Japanese lemon) sake (new discovery), and tons of souvenir shops and small restaurants near Sensoji on pedestrian streets. Repacking the shopping and airport for a late evening flight to Budapest for a week of relaxing!

Driving: Yes, the roads that are not highways are small, but you see the best scenery. And they aren’t generally crowded and drivers aren’t aggressive. I had experiences with 3 different locations of Toyota Rental Cars and all were great. However dropping off in a different location really increases the cost, which otherwise isn’t high.

Taxis: We used quite a few because there were 3 of us to split the cost and it saved time (also valuable). The GoTaxi app worked well. A few times we went to a taxi stand. Only hailed one once but it works.

Cash: still pretty prevalent. However I used the Suica card in my Apple Wallet (not an app). It was so easy to load more money as needed and it works for convenience stores, lots of restaurants, subways, local trains, etc. Really useful but not absolutely necessary. My friends didn’t use it.

Trains: Especially in Tokyo they are so well signed and organized. It CAN get complicated, though, but everywhere I went, there was staff handy. I bought all our Shinkansen tickets on the Smart Ex app and had QR codes for all three of us. I don’t think the QR code process is running at 100% - we encountered issues, but there was always someone standing there to fix them (and it wasn’t just us - it seemed to be QR codes on the turnstiles).

Lockers: They were everywhere. So convenient! We also used the luggage sending process once from Kyoto to Tokyo so we didn’t have to lug suitcases for our overnight at Lake Ashi. I used it earlier to keep from having to carry a backpack full of unneeded stuff from previous parts of my trip from Matsumoto until our last hotel in Tokyo. Totally worth it!

Toilets: are amazing. Everything has changed in the 16 years since I last visited!

Tourist crowds: we found them at the shrines in Kyoto and in Tokyo. But really not anywhere else. I lived here, but I am a new tourist and I was amazed at how organized everything is. I worried a little about following the same circle as the crowds, but it was fine. However there is so much more to see!

GREAT! I'm so glad you had a wonderful trip, I'm sure there will be more stories... wow you really did move around locations a lot - If you were to pick 2 places besides Kyoto and Tokyo, which would you choose for easy-to-access no rental car, gorgeous locations? I too loved Kanazawa, maybe that would be one of the other must sees?

I had forgotten about sending luggage ahead, that's a great idea, I use to do that out to Narita the day before a flight when I'd be at the office all day in Tokyo. Thanks!

I enjoyed your trip report and enjoyed Japan as well. I have to agree that Japan has set the standard for public toilets!

One thing that surprised me was that Japan drives on “the other side “ of the road and people may want to keep that in mind when deciding about car rentals.

TTTM - Travelling Texas Travel Mom

or WTTTM - World Traveller Texas Travel Mom

or OMGWAYTTTM - OMG Where Are You Today Texas Travel Mom

or all of the above -

You've done it again. Great report, and with a week in Budapest you're not even done yet!

May I know how you can use GOTaxi app without a local phone number? It's impossible to get a local phone number even with a local esim, when we were there last March.

Thanks for sharing your Japan experiences. I have a new country to put on my increasingly long list.

Edited to say I hope you have a great time in Budapest!

Thank you for the great trip report. Japan is amazing and the low yen makes it even better.

Thanks TTM for your report. I’ve only been to Tokyo and Nikko on two trips to Japan for work. I’d love to see more.

Happy your trip was a success, especially since you were moving around so much. Japan is a fascinating country and I would love to see more of it someday.

@ Sandancisco, thanks! Of course, there are lots more stories - ha! But it was a smooth trip (in two parts). It would be hard to pick 2 locations because there are so many places I haven’t been yet. But you are right, Kanazawa is a pretty nice place to be. I think if I were picking a second place, it would need to be more rural and get to the nature. Someone else might have a suggestion for that….. And yes, sending luggage is amazing! I even did it from my last hotel in Tokyo to the airport also (my friends didn’t have enough time). Hotels have the process down.

@ Carol now retired, good reminder! I do both easily and forget to think about that as a consideration - but it can be. Someone asked me why the left side, but I have no idea!

@ Nigel, ok, you are funny! I think you win the prize. Lol! And at the moment I am sitting in Doha waiting on my next flight. (Sometimes when you fly with miles, it’s not the most efficient…. but definitely cheap.)

@ Gdtoknow, I set up GoTaxi using my home number. I admit to being out of the States when I did it (I didn’t plan that far ahead since I have been traveling for 4 months). But I wasn’t in Japan yet - I had to turn my home cell plan on for something else, so I set it up that day as well. And it doesn’t need a telephone number when you use it - it just needs data and I travel with an Airalo eSIM data.

@ Andrea, thanks! Our lists just keep expanding, right?

@ Barkinpark, thanks! I admit Tokyo in particular felt pretty expensive, but food everywhere was reasonable and other cities were not expensive.

@ BarbaraN, you’ve been to 2 great places. I do love Nikko. I stayed in a different area in a small onsen guesthouse this time, so that was fun. But I have to admit the futons were harder to manage than when I was 25. Ha!

@ Barbara, I am reading your report tonight! (Gotta head to my next flight) I know you had a great time! You are a good planner.

Oh boy, reading 2 Japan TR’s in one day! Yippee! Only 159 days till we go says my countdown app.

Hahaha, Tammy! And your trip will be totally different! I will be looking forward to hearing about it!