I’m going to japan in 2 weeks (March 18) for almost 3 months!!
I don’t really have a lot of plans yet aside from exploring Tokyo’s music venues, arcades and cafes a lot (and going to that Nintendo Museum in Kyoto).
If anyone else here is in Japan in coming months and is keen for a drink or coffee, hit me up :)
Hey I’ll be there too! Won’t be in the Tokyo area unfortunately but happy to hear you’ll be there for so long. Have lots of fun!
What area are you staying in? I’ll try to go down south and up north at some point for sure, I was just gonna figure it out when I get there.
I’m very excited but also quite nervous (especially about my flight. I don’t do well with being confined to small spaces with uncomfortable seats for so long but hopefully I can just sleep through most of it!!)
Down south in Kurashiki and Kumamoto. If you’re flying JLA or ANA, get ready for a five star experience.
There are the obvious places like Mount Aso and Takachiho gorge. Both are great, but I particularly like the latter which is very pretty. When visiting Takachiho gorge you can also go to Amano Iwato Shrine (mostly focused around Ameterasu) which is close by and which I enjoyed as well.
You might also consider going to Yanagawa which is a smaller city in between Kumamoto and Fukuoka which is criss-crossed by canals and you can take a boat-ride on them. Touristy, but fun. Yanagawa is also famous for eels and if you like eel prepared Japanses style (which I love) you might as well get it there. Fukuoka city is also nice, but probably makes more sense to stay there a night than taking a day trip from Kumamoto. The yatai stalls along naka river are a fun experience.
In Kumamoto itself I would also recommend visiting Sakura Machi Garden at night. Last time I went to Kumamoto we accidentally went there without knowing there was an actual garden on the rooftop, just because we saw some trees up there and wondering what was up. It was a really fun (and surprising) experience. Much better than namba parks in Osaka. Kumamoto is also famous for its high quality horse sashimi (basashi) which I recommend if you don’t mind eating that kind of stuff. Personally I think it’s delicious.
Do you speak a decent bit of Japanese ?
What’s your daily budget and/or is there an aspect of your trip for which you are ready to break that budget completely, like food or photography?
I think I have different recommendations depending on the degree to which you can communicate and obviously on your budget. Kyūshū for better and worse is more like Japan in the 90s than the big cities on the main island.
Oh wow great suggestions, thank you @SU2MM
@chazumaru yes I speak Japanese. And not that I’ll be popping champagne every night, but no budget considerations within reason.
I had a nice time riding bikes on Shikanoshima island. My friend and I had a lovely time at a completely deserted showa era seaside cafe on that island off the main loop. It’s kind of dreamy and surreal, maybe depressing if you look too close or talk to the locals about the economy, but I’d say it’s worth a visit. The ferry is also like Japan in the 90s, for better or for worse, as chaz says.
@MoH Great, then for me, the most interesting aspect of Kyūshū is further south, in Kagoshima (straight south of Kumamoto) and Nagasaki (south west of the Island but across the Ariake sea). That’s where you can catch up on the root of the modernization of Japan, for these two spots double as the entry point to Japan for both the Korean and Chinese neighbors, and more famously Westerners (the Portuguese, then the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, then the British Empire) and their new technologies.
The Nagasaki connection is well known, and Dejima is interesting but visiting it won’t give you that much more than what you’d get from a book or a good video essay on Youtube. The most interesting Western settlement in the city is actually the Glover Garden, a pretty nice garden on one of the hills above the harbor, which has preserved the mansions of the British dignitaries that lived in the premises from the Meiji restoration until WW2. Most of the tour is dedicated to the incredible impact of the Scotsman Thomas Glover, who was instrumental in the modernization of Japan, both for his personal economic interest and to screw with the English. He was involved in the import of railroads, reverberatory furnaces, modern weapons, beer breweries etc. and became the key foreign figure of the early Mitsubishi industrial empire (hence the Mitsubishi factories the US clumsily tried to erase with Fat Man in 1945).
Obviously, the museum and garden dedicated to the second atomic bomb are a recommended (if chilling) visit as well. The local catholic churches were less interesting than I expected – mostly because the only cool one was destroyed by Fat Man – but I do recommend the Suwa shrine which was built precisely to make christianity less fashionable and reconvert locals to Shinto. It’s a pretty fun religious dick contest to digest.
Since you might have a car, the nicest way to drive to Nagasaki might be to go straight and enjoy the ferry trip on the Ariake sea. It will take you slightly longer (about 3 hours) than driving (or taking the three trains necessary to go) around the Ariake sea (about 2h30min) but the experience itself is probably worth the extra 30 minutes.
Kagoshima is less widely known for its historical impact, but it is the home of the Shimadzu clan which is one of the coolest clans in Japan, constantly surviving wars, betrayals and their own bad decisions through the skin of their neck because they were too useful as the only known diplomatic point of contact to Korea, China and many foreign powers. The Shimadzu clan even created the modern Japanese flag hinomaru, because they were the first to build a modern warship, which also begot the first time Japan had to symbolically represent its nation on neutral ground.
If you are interested in this historical perspective, there is a commonly recommended Museum of the Meiji Restoration that’s kinda crap – or at least completely unnecessary because of my two recommendations. The first is the Reimeikan, or “Kagoshima History Museum and Fine Arts Center”, which has an even better and deeper explanation of the Meiji restoration on one of its floors. I stayed at the Reimeikan more than two hours and could have spent twice as much. The second is the personal residence of the Shimadzu family, the Sengan-en, which hosts not only a beautiful Japanese nobility residence where the Emperor and his family went to chill a few times, but also the UNESCO-protected Shoko Shuseikan museum, another great museum on the technological transformations of Meiji Japan, but from the amusingly more biased perspective of the Shimadzu clan. The Sengan-en is a bit far from the city center but perfect opportunity for a quick drive (or 20min taxi ride).
Kagoshima also has its own active volcano to visit, on Sakurajima, famously facing the city. You can reach the Yunohira Observation Deck via a ferry and roughly 20 minutes drive from the dock.
Food recs:
In Nagasaki…
Mutsugoro
Dejima Asa
Maruni Miso Ramen close to Nagasaki station
Hakata Motsunabe Ōyama next door
Bread A Espresso (but go early, sells out quickly)
Kōzanrō (although I think champon is overrated)
The honten of Castella Bunmeidō
In Kagoshima…
Uoshō (wonderful kaisen but nihongo only)
Hangyojin
Yakiniku Kamichiku
Roppakutei (or any kurobuta shabu, really)
Kairaku to try the local clam soup
Wasabi for a useful izakaya downtown
Nomura for exceptional ¥30,000 sushi
Ōkatei at the Sengan-en
The regional fruits section at the Yamakataya department store
Lastly, having your own car is a unique opportunity to go to a remote onsen. I had a wonderful time in a luxury one with an ex-girlfriend, private onsen in the room and everything, but there are myriads of options for all vibes and all budgets in a two hours drive radius if your home base is Kumamoto.
Hakata/Fukuoka is culturally pretty meager compared to these cities. Much more interesting for the people living there (especially the artists) than the city itself. Never been to Beppu, so I might be underestimating that side of the island, but it also feels like a lesser priority to me than Kumamoto, Kagoshima and Nagasaki.
This is an incredibly generous post—thanks, friend. Will talk it over with the lady and will be sure to let everyone know how it went!
Hey folks! From what I’ve gathered a lot of japanese ticket websites require a (jp) phone number to buy tickets and most esims only give you data and no actual phone number.
Can anyone recommend a sim carrier (esim or not) that will actually give me data AND phone number/texting ability ? : )
Kyushu rocks. Spent some good time there years ago.
What was already suggested to you is great. Might I add on recommendation for Miyazaki prefecture on the east coast of Kyushu? If chill beach towns sound like your vibe I’d definitely check it out. Miyazaki city is a good hub, and a good city to explore itself for a day (it’s pretty small).
Miyazaki prefecture and specifically Nobeoka (a charming coastal town nestled in a small foggy valley) is the home of Chicken Nanban, my personal favorite Japanese soul food. The OG spot is Nao-chan in Nobeoka and the newer small chain in Nobeoka and Miyazaki is called Ogura. Other local specialties are chicken sumibiyaki, konyaku ramen, and Torizashi (raw chicken prepared like sashimi). All delicious
Virtually no non-domestic tourists go to this prefecture so you can find some sweet stuff at Hard-Offs and the like if that’s your jam.
You can take a cruise on a lovely train called the Umisachi Yamasachi, decked out with plush seating and wooden paneling, from Miyazaki down to Aoshima, a relaxed surf town with an island shrine and strange, geometrically interesting rock formations.
Not too far from Miyazaki prefecture is Oita prefecture, the hot spring capital of Japan but not marked up for tourists like Hakone. Around there is Takachihou Gorge, the birthplace of Japan (and thereby the rest of the world) in Japanese mythology. You can rent a canoe and paddle through it.
Of course on the west coast of Kyushu you got the city of Fukuoka, which is definitely my favorite city in Japan. Nakasu on a Friday night is the best if you like street food, public drinking, and jazz clubs, among other things.
Thanks @Kuro_b — you and everyone else is making me feel like our time there is still not enough!
for now we’re going to go to see the gorge on one day (we were lucky enough to get tickets for the boat ride) which might also give us some time to hang around miyazaki prefecture. the other day we plan on checking out mt aso. then the third day is empty at the moment. we may just hang around kumamoto to soak that in, or if we feel like driving again (doubtful), maybe go up to fukoka or down to aoshima or over to nagasaki to eat at every single restaurant @chazumaru recommended. who can say what the future holds, but i have to tell myself that i’ll be back in kyuushuu again one day so there’s no need to see every little thing.
i should also mention that for work i’ll be in kurashiki for a week. my schedule will be full but look forward to a report. also outside of kyuushuu my wife and i will be spending time in onomichi and the surrounding area which we really liked last time
there’s a lot of strings that come with this, like passport identification is required and must be done in person. there are cheaper ways to do this, but https://www.sakuramobile.jp works at the airport (haneda/narita) and has a counter (there used to be dozens of these counters… i think there are only 2 now)
btw a lot of places, i just use a hotel front desk number for. ymmv.
I ended up just getitng the first data only sim card I could buy at the airport bc I was tired and just wanted to get to my place…
Now I’m facing the next dilemma: I have a ticket for the Nintendo Museum in Kyoto for April 14. I wanna stay in Kyoto for a few days and I’m wondering if I should pay the extra money to go there for the weekend of April 11th which may probably also be the peak cherry blossom time there. Or should I go for a few days afterwards from April 14-19th or so. Would be quite a bit cheaper.
Do you all think Kyoto will too busy during the cherry blossom weekend to be enjoyable? Or are there still some lesser known spots worth with fewer crowds yet pretty trees?
Depends on what type of traveler you are, but I find popular spots to be dreadful and or repulsive when crowded. I was lucky to go to Kyoto the first time right before Covid lockdowns started so it was comparatively empty. When I went the second time a few years later, the popular spots like the inari shrine or arashiyama felt alienating and stressful.
That said, it’s still an amazing city. I don’t really know any “spots” to speak of but my wife and I typically just spend all day walking around the city and going through little neighborhoods. Even at the peak of tourist season, it seems the crowds thin out pretty fast once you’re away from the main attractions. You can still find a temple nearly around every corner. The more time spent in Kyoto the better, imo. Hope this helps with your planning.
A fuller trip report incoming, but a small time sensitive request from me—
Does anyone know of a good, low key sushi spot in Tokyo? Don’t need anything crazy, but somewhere decent and vouched for would be nice. I’m terrible at finding good restaurants in bigger cities and would like to take my wife somewhere nice for our last day.
Going to cc the homies that don’t check the forum often just in case - @Kuro_b @chazumaru @Neko @SU2MM
Alright thanks! I don’t really feel a need to check out the popular spots anyway, walking around the nighborhoods is the way for sure.
So far I’ve really loved Tokyo (even though it can be incredibly overstimulating at times), but having to deal with a toenail infection and the really rundown room/house I’m staying at are keeping me firmly grounded in reality lol
Sushi Nihonbashi Seamon (pronounced shimon) on the 4th floor of the Coredo 1 department store. Excellent sushi, very reasonable price for the omakase course, surprisingly easy to book, expect between ¥20,000 and ¥25,000 /pers. depending on what you drink.
鮨 日本橋 鰤門
050-5868-5609
東京都中央区日本橋室町2-2-1 コレド室町1 4F
If you can go daytime, there is an incredibly cheap omakase (I think ¥10,000/pers.) for the lunch course at this fairly recent spot, Sushi Takaharu, just above the imperial palace.
神田錦町 鮨たか晴
03-3518-9218
東京都千代田区神田錦町1-17-5 DAIWA神田橋ビル 1F
Remember that most sushi spots are very touchy about perfume/cologne/fragrance, so make sure you two don’t have a strong fragrance on you when you go.