Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto)

Country visited: Japan
Places visited: Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto
Dates visited: November 21st to November 29th 2015

General tips:

(1) Always have cash on you. Lots of Japanese places don't take credit/debit cards.

(2) Be prepared to carry your trash with you, there are not many trash cans in the city.

(3) Japanese people in general are soft spoken and extremely polite.

(4) Walk in the subway station to catch trains is extremely long - you'll burn lots of calories in the process. So, eat lots of mochi!

Getting Japanese visa and booking flights to Tokyo: 

If you are an Indian citizen like me, you would need to get a visa to go to Japan. Apply at the Japanese embassy on a Monday morning and your visa will be available on Friday of the same week. 

Instructions for getting your Japanese visa at the San Francisco consulate can be found here Japanese consulate in SF 

As far as flights are concerned, you can get direct tickets to Tokyo from San Francisco for about $1200 per person. We booked our trip with All Nippon Airways (ANA). The trip takes between 8 to 11 hours) depending on the direction of flight. SF to Japan takes ~11 hours and Japan to SF takes about 8. The food on ANA - thumbs down! Being pescetarians, my husband and I had to take the Japanese lunch option which came with fish as the only other option was meat balls and spaghetti. We could not even eat half of our Japanese fish lunch. It was too smelly for us. I don't really blame ANA, but the odor was too strong for someone who does not eat Japanese food too often. Just before landing we were given a light snack which wasn't great either. For the entire time in between, most of us felt quite hungry and were given nothing to eat. The one good point about ANA was the leg-room. We felt it was more spacious than an average flight. The screens were also bigger than on most flights. If I take ANA another time, I'll be sure to request for special meals beforehand.

Getting to the city from the international airport:

There are 2 international airports in Tokyo. Our ANA flight into Tokyo landed in the one further out from the city, our return flight through United was from the closer airport. Irrespective of which airport you go to, trains are the only real option to get to the city. If you choose to take a taxi, be prepared to pay $$$. Taxis are quite expensive in Tokyo. Oh! and a tip: Many places in Japan including taxis and subway stations DO NOT ACCEPT credit/debit cards, so always have cash on you. 10,000 yen (~80 USD) is a decent amount and a recommended minimum you have on you at any given time.

A word on the subways in Tokyo

The subways connect every place you'd want to got to in Tokyo. It may be a little confusing to operate the ticket dispensing machine for the first time or a couple of times but then you'll get the hang of it. Station masters and Japanese people in general are EXTREMELY polite! So whether they like you or not, whether they speak English or not, they will try to help you to the best of their abilities. We even had a young boy walk us to our destination some 4-5 minutes away since we didn't understand his verbal directions in Japanese and he didn't speak English. You will likely have to switch between subway lines everyday or at least at some point during your visit. The lines are on different floors and you will have to walk up and down and right and left and every which way to get to them. For some reason, they've built the subways such that you will walk longer within the stations going from one platform to another platform than time spent on taking the subway. It should go: take a Japanese subway a day, and keep the doctor away. No wonder the Japanese are so thin! 

Things to see/do in Tokyo:

Tokyo is like a part of New York and a part of Paris put together. The tall buildings are from Times Square and the cafes and bakeries are from Paris. There's English song playing in almost all places but people can't speak or understand a word of English ;) Most menus are available only in Japanese and most dishes have pork or broth in them. So, for pescetarians like me, finding food in Japan can be a struggle. But, not to worry you can always fill yourself up with delicious mochis.

As far as accomodation is concerned, Japan in general and Tokyo especially is quite expensive, so AirBnB is the way to go. We stayed in a place in Shinjuku district (~ 2 minutes from the nearest subway station: Higashi Shinjuku) for about $110 dollars per night and thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

I've listed only a few things/places below. One can a spend in lifetime in Tokyo and still have things left to see/do.

(1) Meiji Shrine:

This stunning Shinto shrine named after Emporer Meiji is a must-see. The way you can tell a Shinto shrine from a Buddhist temple is by the Torri (usually bright orange gateways) which are typically present in Shinto shrines but not in  Buddhist temples. This shrine is in Tokyo's Shibuya district. Once you step out of the shrine, the rest of the area has hipster shopping and eating. We walked to Pierre Herme and had the best rose macarons of our lives. We also had their ispahan macaron and loved it!

(2) Sensoji/ Asakusa:

In direct contrast to the classy upscale shopping districts in Shibuya, Ginza and Shinjuku is the Asakusa district. This is where they keep the local dirty crowd. The moment you step out of the Asakusa station (which is > 45 minutes from central Tokyo), you'll spot men in underwear trying to sell you something/lure you to some place. Since they spoke in Japanese I could not tell what they wanted from me. All I knew was they looked ridiculous and I was wrong about assuming all Japanese people are soft and polite. There is then a long line of small shops selling all kinds of souvenirs leading the way to the Sensoji Buddhist temple. 

Sensoji temple is another beautiful place that is a must-see in Japan. The 45 minute one way train trip to Sensoji will not seem that bad once you enter the temple.

(3) Japanese tea:

This is an experience. We had our tea in a tea house in Hama Rikyu garden. The place is surreal. Me and my husband were the only 2 people in the tea house on a rainy weekday in Tokyo and we absolutely loved the calm peaceful environment right in the middle of a busy city. The tea and the confectionery which comes along with it were great too. They serve it with a small instruction sheet on the right way to eat the confectionery and drink the matcha green tea.

(4) Fish market and sushi:

If you want to see the world's biggest fish market in action, get up early and head to the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. You'll have be there atleast by 7 am to see buying, selling, auctions etc. Earlier you get there the more you'll get to see though. I think they may open around 4 am. You may want to  check the times before you head. I maily wanted to see the size of the market, so I went here at around 10 am. Most buyers and a lot of sellers had left by then. It's quite impressive the length of breadth of the market. 

Close to the market area are a few sushi joints. All all of them were brimmig with people when we went. After reading a few online reviews we went to the Daiwa Sushi. Even if someone put a gun to my head, I will never to able to eat/swallow raw fish - or in other words I absolutely hate sushi. But for people who are unlike me, you would have liked this place. Although there was a big line it moved fast (we waited for about 30 minutes in the line) and the chef was very cheerful and welcoming.

(5) Akihabara:

The crazy electronic city of Tokyo. I saw a few online documentaries about Japanese men having virtual girlfriends aka toys that speak in girly voices asking them if they had food, a good sleep etc. and here in Akihabara I actually got to see such toys! The street is filled with manga comic books, interesting souvenirs and all kinds of electronics. Visiting this place is a fun experience.

Tokyo to Osaka:

We took the super fast Nozomi bullet train train which took us from Tokyo to Osaka (distance > 500 kms or 310 miles) in about 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Osaka and Kyoto

The reason we had to stay in Osaka was because we did not find accommodation in Kyoto. Everything was apparently taken for the fall season (which is the high season in Kyoto). The AirnBnB where we stayed in Osaka was a bit more spacious than in Tokyo and a bit lighter on the pocket.  We stayed in the Namba district in Osaka which is two stops from the main Osaka station.

Namba has a building in the subway station called Takashimaya which has a lot of restaurants in its 7th,8th and 9th floors. So, you'll have a lot of food options if you decide to stay in Namba.

Osaka to Kyoto

The S Rapid train between Osaka and Kyoto takes about 40 minutes. Once in Kyoto, you'll have to take the Kyoto subway to go to places you want to see.

Things to see/do in Kyoto:

(1) Fushimi-Inari Shrine