This was my itinerary for a trip to Japan in October 2024.
Before travel
Booked activities/museums/exhibitions in advance
In particular, buying the JR pass and reserving trains
Day 1
This was a direct flight and took basically the whole day
At the airport, I picked up a tourist Suica card and the JR pass I’d bought
Day 2
Stayed in Akasaka
First, I went to the Hie shrine, a medium-sized city shrine with a lovely descent through a line of torii
From there the Aoyama cemetery, really peaceful and pretty…
on my way to the Nezu museum, small with a gorgeous garden
Then I roamed Omotesando (fashion district? Loads of cool shops)
And popped into Tamitu for a delicious honey coffee
Went to the Think of Things shop, which stocks simple products which have won design awards
And had a delicious dinner at the SYNdicate cafe near Takeshita street:
a Japanese pear crush drink
curry with zucchini and paprika
Day 3
Had breakfast of inari from a station which was utterly delicious
Went to the Asakusa sculpture museum which was a little out of the way but was well worth it; mainly of cats, but the house was the standout, with a spectacular garden and starkly beautiful interiors
Had a cheesecake from Sagittaire and ate it in the Yanaka cemetery
Attended an Edo festival in Ueno park
Went to the Tokyo National Museum with historical displays and modern Japanese art
Roamed around Akihabara but I didn’t like it that much, except for the Don Quijote which had Everything
Dinner at the Vault cafe on the third floor of a hidden building
a honey milk with ice
a cheese toast with honey
Day 4
Went to teamLAB Borderless, which I’d booked months ago and was utterly spectacular, I spent a few hours there just roaming
Had a bite in the cafe inside the exhibit, a transcendent matcha ice cream (creamy with just the right tinge of salt) and a barley tea (not my favourite)
Got some honey and jam from L’Abeille
Passed the Reiyukai Shakaden temple (unearthly and imposing, like a grounded spaceship)…
To get to Azabudai Hills, where I ate an amazing and cheap mapo tofu for lunch
Explored the Tokyo Midtown Tower and went to the Ritz-Carlton on the 45th floor for a view over the city
Popped by 21_21 Design Sight but the exhibition at the time (‘pooploop’) was not particularly good
The National Art Centre had an amazing shop with loads of cool little design items
And the Mori Art Museum was also very cool!
Had dinner at Vegan Bistro Jangara, which was sublime:
Karabon ramen with a cola
And finally in the evening I went to the Nintendo Tokyo store with loads of cool merch!
Day 5
Spent the day shopping in Ginza!
Shimbashi station was very very confusing
Itoya with floors and floors of stationery heaven
Ginza Loft with general goods
Ain Soph for lunch, cute and small, but the mushroom stew wasn’t that good
Then some more shopping!
Uniqlo, gigantic and so cheap and so good
Dover Street Market (briefly, before I realised I was in the wrong tax bracket)
Kyukudo for more stationery but it was very traditional Japanese stuff and full of old people
Muji! Absolute highlight, clothes and knicknacks and toiletries and food and stationery
Maruzen Marunouchi for a nice bookstore
And finally, dinner at T’s TanTan which was hard to find inside Tokyo Station, but delicious
Bottle of pomegranate juice
Golden sesame ramen with vegetable gyoza
Days 6-8
I was in Japan for a conference so I actually attended that for these few days
Day 9
In the morning I took a train from Kita-Senju to Shimo-Imaichi!
I took the Spacia X-5 (seats sold out very fast) and I loved it, so quiet and comfortable! I just took the cheap seat although some sections looked spectacular
And the views? Stunning
I was staying in Imaichi so I checked in - small town and slightly run-down but charming
Took a local train from Daiyamuko to Kosagoe
And went to the Tobu World Square! It’s a miniature museum, essentially, but over a huge area with hundreds of models, very cool, and I spent a few hours there
And from there I walked back to Imaichi over about three hours in the dusk
Day 10
I wanted to go to this really high-rated place called Uwasawa’s Breakfast but it was full - a lesson to book in advance!
So instead I got some inari from the station and took the train to Nikko!
And from Nikko station, a bus to Shinkyo bridge, a classic arching red bridge over a valley
I spent a few hours exploring the shrine area which was unbelievable and gorgeous and a highlight of the entire trip, well worth the journey
My favourite was the Grave of Prince Rinnoji
I bought an ‘amazake’ which was lovely and warming
And had a pizza toast for lunch at Cafe Bell - the owner spoke Japanese but was very welcoming and helpful
I spent an hour or so at Kanman-ga-fuchi Abyss, which was a really cool walk along the bottom of a valley
And then took an hour-long bus up to Kegon Falls for the town and the views!
At a restaurant called Maple I had a delicious cheesecake and some coffees overlooking the lake
And then took the last bus back to Nikko and the train home
Day 11
Took a train from Imaichi to Utsunomiya and had a nice breakfast of soba noodle ramen in a restaurant there
And then took the bullet train to Aomori via Sendai!
The acceleration was so cool, it was like taking off in a plane but for much longer
I found out that I messed up the timings a bit so I couldn’t do the Hakkoda Ropeway like I wanted to
So instead I did some shopping in town
Sakurano had nice clothes, a cool and cheap general store, groceries, and a food court (but unfortunately with very few vegetarian options)
A-Factory was dedicated to Aomori’s specialty of apples, with a spectacular range of apple products, so I got some jam, juice, and a small cake
Lovina et al. had lots of useful and interesting stores + a very unexpected Muji!
And had dinner at Saizeriya, a family diner place
Onion soup, very nice
Mushroom and sabu pizza, meh
Day 12
Took the bullet train from Aomori to Hirosaki
I hadn’t booked this, but the JR pass allowed me to just stroll on!
Walked from the station to Hirosaki Castle
But unfortunately I came at the wrong time of year, there were no cherry blossoms and the botanic garden was empty
Had lunch at Asian Ethnic GEN’YA (vegetarian place!)
a really nice curry
and an incredible vanilla ice cream
Took the train via Aomori to Hachinohe
And went to Kabushima Shrine, on the coast overlooking the sea!
It was somehow wild and derelict, and yet neat and pristine. Very pretty
I was craving something familiar so in Aomori I went to a shopping centre and got a Subway lol
Day 13
Took the bullet train from Shin-Aomori to Sendai
Explored Sendai station for a few hours - massive and really fun to walk around and check out the ships!
There was a Din Tai Fung! But limited veggie stuff so I ate in a bakery
Took the Loople bus to Aoba Castle
The bus stop was a little hard to find
And the castle wasn’t even a ruin, it was the plot of land where the castle used to be, so it wasn’t really worth it
Went to the Kamei Collection Museum
7th floor of an office building, an interesting and unique exhibition! Not a must-see though
Day 14
Took a very early train from Sendai to Ishinomaki
And from there I walked to the ferry terminal
And took the ferry to Tashirojima Island!
It’s a cat island: very small, more cats than humans
Spent a few hours there walking around, watching the feedings at the hill station, and exploring the deserted town
Dreamlike and derelict
Lots of GIGANTIC spiders
For dinner I went to Rigoletto in Sendai
Risotto made in a cheese wheel
With a rocket and mushroom side salad
And vanilla ice cream for dessert
Day 15
Took the bullet train from Sendai to Tokyo
Had a snack at the TRUFFLE mini pop-up in Tokyo station
Mushroom and cheese toastie, so good
Had brunch of a tofu ramen at one of the small stops
Took the train to Shinjuku station (very confusing) and dropped my bags off at Book n Bed Shinjuku
A really cool place to stay! Although the books were all in Japanese lol
Went to the Modern Art Museum
And the Western Art Museum in Ueno
With a fantastic collection + a Monet exhibition!
Back to Ginza for last-minute shopping
For dinner I went to NEOShinjuku Atsushi
A vegan place, really good!
Had a ramune with gyoza+ramen, very tasty
And for an after-dinner drink I went to the Brooklyn cafe and had a cassis+coffee drink with a gelato
Like, unbelievable vibes, one of the best places I went
Day 16
Breakfast of ramen at a nearby Nakau
And took a metro+bus to the Edo Architectural Museum
Cool reconstructions of Japanese architecture through the ages, and it was nice to walk through the houses and explore their interiors
Had a very good coffee and cake in their cafe in an old converted farmhouse
Took the train to Asakusa for the last place I was staying
And walked around the Senso-ji shrine area!
VERY crowded, but the shrine and the tiny shops and restaurants were interesting!
Had a snack in a cafe called Fulgen
A hot honey milk and a sweet waffle
And for dinner I went to Vegan Eat Tokyo for a very passable curry
And finally a last stop at Don Quijote
Day 17
My flight back was in the morning at around 11, so I didn’t have time to do anything in the morning
At the airport I was interviewed by a representative from the Tokyo tourism board and got a Mount Fuji eraser as a thank-you which I found so cute