Japan
Tokyo, Kansai and Hiroshima, with the cheap eats and the day trips that made the trip
Japan is the destination people ask me about most, and the one where the generic advice is least useful. What follows is what I would tell a friend over a drink: where to eat when you are tired and hungry, which day trips are worth the train ticket, and how to get there without paying Air France prices.
Restaurants
- Kitashinchi Sand: perfects the art of the sandwich, in Osaka. Takeaway only, still worth the detour.
- Chao Chao Gyoza Yurakucho: small, excellent, cheap gyoza in Tokyo.
- Shichiku Kiko: a family-owned soba shop next to the Golden Temple in Kyoto. Amazing food.
- Miyajima and Hiroshima both have several very good beer breweries.
- Hiroshima is oyster country. Both raw and fried are excellent.
Cheap eats
Around five euros for a proper meal, all of them chains you will see everywhere once you start noticing them.
- Kura Sushi: conveyor-belt sushi, and genuinely fun.
- Ramen: any ramen place is its own thing and most are good. For souvenirs, Maruchan dried noodles are far better than dried noodles have any right to be.
- Tenya: tempura bowls.
- Matsunoya: tonkatsu.
- Marugame Seimen: udon.
- Gyoza no Ohsho: Japanese-Chinese, the comfort food end of it.
Museums
- Osaka’s aquarium is one of the best in the world.
- Miraikan in Tokyo works for both kids and adults, which is rarer than it sounds.
Hotels
- Mitsui Garden Toyosu Premier, Tokyo: great views, a bit out of the way on the artificial island of Odaiba, but the airport bus shuttle stops right in front. The open-air onsen on the 45th floor is the reason to book it.
- Hotel Intergate Osaka Umeda: good hotel, right next to the station.
- Miyajima Kinsuikan: private onsen in each room and an incredible view. Pricey, but the rooms are impressive, the evening meal was excellent, and the top floor has free unlimited beer and ice cream.
Getting there
- Japan Airlines (JAL): my recommendation. Direct, cheaper than Air France, comparable service. Staff are attentive, food is good, seats are slightly wider.
- ANA: the other national carrier, top five worldwide. Runs promotions regularly; around 700 EUR direct is findable between October and February.
- Chinese carriers (China Eastern, Air China): much cheaper with a stop in Beijing. Expect a second hand-luggage check at the connection with their own rules (power banks especially), a limited English film selection, and slower check-in. They are perfectly pleasant otherwise. Watch for cancellations when China-Japan relations sour.
- Via Seoul: direct Paris to Seoul goes for around 400 EUR, and a low-cost hop to Japan (Peach, for instance) for around 55 EUR. Paris to Seoul to Osaka, then Tokyo back through Seoul, is a genuinely smart itinerary. Book a night in Seoul if the two legs are on unconnected tickets.
- Others: British Airways sometimes prices well with a short London stop, ITA routes via Rome or Milan, and Iberia flies direct from Madrid.
- If your trip starts in Hiroshima, the Busan to Japan ferry is an idea, though booking it without Japanese is painful.
- Skiplagged surfaces very alternative routings. Do not book an actual skiplagging itinerary unless you know what that entails.
Excursions
- Osaka: the Dotonbori canal is the right place to end up with a drink.
- Kyoto: the path of red gates up the mountain is beautiful and crowded. Take the longer route and it becomes a calm, very beautiful hike.
From Tokyo
- Enoshima: ocean walks, caves, shrines. A little like Mont-Saint-Michel.
- Hakone: hot springs, a volcano and lakes. Good hiking.
- Mount Nokogiri: a Buddha and cliff views.
- Kawagoe: “Little Edo”, old merchant streets, sweet potato snacks, and calmer than Kyoto.
From Kyoto or Osaka
- Nara: deer park and a giant Buddha. The deer are friendly and the whole thing delights adults more than they expect.
From Hiroshima
- Itsukushima, better known as Miyajima: the floating torii gate, and the private-onsen hotels above.
- Okunoshima, Rabbit Island: wild rabbits, WWII factory ruins, seaside trails.
- Onomichi: hills, temples, cats, and a properly retro town.
Tips
- Landing at Haneda or Narita gets you access to the Welcome Suica, which has more advantages than a normal IC card but expires after 28 days.
- Even without it, get an IC card. They are lifesavers for transport and for paying for things generally.
- Buses work backwards from the EU: enter at the back, tap your IC card, exit at the front and tap again. Without a card, take a ticket and keep cash.
- Kyoto is close enough to Osaka and Nara that you can base yourself in one and day-trip to the others. Trains run late between all of them.
- Onsen are in nearly every hotel. Read how to use them once and you will have no problems. Use them as often as you can. Small tattoos are usually fine: most reception desks keep cover patches on request.
- Look for restaurants in the Bib Gourmand category. Affordable, excellent, and more likely to have an English-speaking waiter.
- Omakase means the chef chooses. Without allergies it is the fastest route to a good meal that does not involve deciphering a menu.
- Cards are increasingly accepted but cash still rules. ATMs often close between midnight and 6am, so plan ahead.
- Most stores have a separate counter for tourist-visa holders to claim back tax above a spending threshold.
Worth reading first
Chronique japonaise, Nicolas Bouvier. Travel writing and Japanese history in the same book, and it will change what you notice. Best read on a slow train.