I spent 11 days in Japan in December 2023, during my winter break after my 3B term. I visited Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, and briefly Nara and Kobe. Here is a summary of my trip.

Day 1 - Arrival in Tokyo, 12/25/2023

The flight from Vancouver to Tokyo (Narita) was 10 hours. I arrived at Narita Airport at 6pm local time. I bought a Pasmo card and took the Skyliner to Ueno Station. I stayed at a capsule hotel in Ueno for the first night. The capsule was surprisingly spacious and it fit my height (178 cm).

Right after checking in I met up with a friend at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant in Ueno. The sushi is incredibly cheap (150 yen per plate of two pieces) and very high quality. All in all the meal costed around ~1300 yen for 8 plates of sushi and a alcoholic sour drink.

I walked home through Ginza and Akihabara at night. The streets are empty by midnight, but the lights stay on.

Day 2 - Tokyo, 12/26/2023

Tokyo Tower

In the morning I walked around the city more, from my hotel in Ueno to the Tokyo Tower (~1.5 hour walk)

Imperial Palace

You can view the entrance to the Imperial Palace, but you can't enter. However, the Imperial Palace East Gardens are open to the public.

Tsukiji Fish Market

When we got there it was already 4pm and most places were closed. Nonetheless we walked around, and from the advertised prices I saw the impression I got was that it was a tourist trap. I would visit again in another morning (this would turn out to be a mistake).

Tokyo Tower at night

It costs 3000 yen to go to the top of the Tokyo Tower but I decided not to. I found out later that I can go to the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku for free for a similar view.

Day 3 - Tokyo, 12/27/2023

Didn't do much sightseeing this day - spent the morning in Ueno Park and rested a bit.

Day 4 - Tokyo (Ginza, Akihabara), 12/28/2023

Ginza

Ginza is a high-end shopping district.

Akihabara

Akihabara is a district known for its electronics and anime stores.

We tried to get into shabu shabu (Japanese hot pot) and yakitori (skewers) restaurants in Akihabara and Ueno for dinner but were turned away. We ended up eating ramen in Ueno after a 30 minute wait. In retrospect we should have made reservations.

Day 5 - Tokyo (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Asakusa), 12/29/2023

Tsukiji Fish Market

We visited the fish market again at 10am and it was a mistake. It was extremely crowded and we could not walk through the narrow alleyways. We managed to get grilled mixed seafood (1000 yen) and squid (1200 yen) at a stall near the exit and left after.

Shinjuku

Shinjuku is a major commercial and administrative centre.

I wanted to go to the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and the Gyoen National Garden, but they were closed until early January. We would return to Shinjuku on January 4th.

Meiji Jingu Shrine

We took a bus from Shinjuku to Meiji Jingu Shrine. From there we walked south towards Shibuya (around 30 minutes).

Shibuya

Asakusa

Senso-ji Temple

Day 6 - Tokyo $→$ Osaka, 12/30/2023

Shinkansen

We rode the Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka. The ride was a little over 2 hours.

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Dotonbori

Day 7 - Nara / Kobe 12/31/2023

Nara is a place where you can feed deer and visit temples.

Deer in Nara Park

Todai-ji Temple

Kobe

Port of Kobe

Day 8 - Kyoto, 1/1/2024

Visited lots of temples and shrines.

Travelling from Osaka to Kyoto took around 30 minutes by train.

Chion-in Temple

Kiyomizu-dera

Mt. Inari, Fushimi Inari Taisha (Thousand Torii Gates)

We visited at night. The base of the shrine is crowded, but much fewer people hike up Mt. Inari. The steps are well-maintained and the hike up was not difficult (around 30 minutes to the summit).

Day 9 - Kyoto

Arashiyama Monkey Park

The entrance fee is 500 yen. There is a 20 minute hike up to the top of the mountain where the monkeys are.

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

The bamboo forest path was quite short and crowded by 10:30am. Nonetheless it was a very nice view.

Ryoan-ji Temple

Kinaku-ji Temple (Golden Pavilion)

Wandering around Kyoto

Day 10 - Kyoto $→$ Tokyo

Shinkansen

Ginza

Yakitori at Nihonbashi

Day 11 - Tokyo (Shinjuku) and Departure

Gyoen National Garden

Shinjuku Government Building Observatory

There was a ~20 minute wait to go up the observatory.

Remarks

Expenditure

Here is a rough breakdown of my expenses during the trip:

Item	Cost (CAD)
Flight	2400
Pasmo card	13
Airalo 10GB mobile data plan	8
Shinkansen tickets (Tokyo to Osaka + Kyoto to Tokyo)	280
Transportation (subway, bus)	250
Accommodation	600
Food	350
Shopping	120
Total	~4100

I did not track my Pasmo card usage so the transportation cost is an estimate. Transiting to and from Narita airport can be expensive (1400 yen or 2500 yen for the Skyliner).

I used a Wealthsimple Cash card to withdraw cash frequently and sometimes paid by card. Before arriving I bought yen at VBCE and found that the rate was a bit better than withdrawing at an ATM. I had trouble withdrawing at ATMs other than 7-11 (Seven Bank).

Many temples had an entrance fee of 500-600 yen.

The plane ticket price was on the high end due to the holiday period.

Mobile data

I used Airalo and bought a 10GB data plan for 31 days for $6 (there was a 50% off deal plus a $3 off referral code). I ended up using a lot more data than I expected (9.5GB in total). Looking at my usage, I used ~2GB for Google Maps, ~1.6GB for web browsing, and the rest were for less necessary things like downloading apps. I think that it's possible to travel around with less data usage, especially given that many places have free wifi (e.g. subway stations, cafes), but I was glad to have the extra data, especially given it was inexpensive.

Food

Overall the food is substantially cheaper compared to Canada/US. For a quick meal before a day of travelling I would usually buy convenience store food (cold sandwiches and onigiri), which would average ~$10 CAD. The biggest expenses came from shabu shabu (~$36 CAD) and kobe steak (~$70 CAD). Ramen and sushi costs $10-20 CAD. Note that you do not tip in Japan.

Reflections

If I were to go again, I would:

• Pick a less busy time and not during the Christmas holiday. Places like the Tsukiji Fish Market were extremely crowded to the point that we could not walk through the narrow alleyways and had to turn back early. Furthermore, many places like the Gyoen National Garden and Shinjuku Government Building were closed until early January.
• Make reservations for restaurants as areas such as Akihabara and Ueno were difficult to find restaurants without a reservation (likely due to the holiday period as well). I used Google Reservations and it worked well, but calling the restaurant is probably better.