Visiting a culture, which feels too good to be true! - Nihon (Japan)

As a kid / Teenager - there were 4 things that made an indelible impression on me about Japan, and I added it to my bucket list to visit this amazing country:

• The stories of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose - the legendary freedom fighter of India and from there I learnt that his ashes were preserved in Renkoji temple, Tokyo - Japan. 
• Pictures of Mt.Fuji over Swan lake
• 2003 movie- The last samurai
• The bullet train!

At last, the bucket list was ticked off in 2024 October when opened another window to the world...

Day 1 : Date: 5-6th Oct : Stay at Airport hotel : Stayed in Kansai airport Hotel

We landed at around 9:00 PM in Osaka and we stayed at the Kansai Airport hotel - but why?  That is called a back-up plan ! In case our Jetstar flight got delayed - we would get stuck in the Airport .. but to our surprise it landed exactly on time!

So in spite of going to Kyoto on the same day - we spent some time at the Kansai airport Hotel. It was costly - but was worth it because we needed some good sleep after 10 hrs. of flying.

We had enough time to go to the JR ticket office in the Airport to get our Shinkansen (Bullet train) tickets booked, get our reservations confirmed  and get our IC card - more on all these at the bottom of the blog...

We were pleasantly surprise to find Englis speaking tourist counters and got the first hand experience of Japanese customer service - So polite and patient - just wow!

JR ticket office at Osaka Airport

We had our first encounter with a Japanese convenience store (Lawson) - It has everything - Food/ Fruits/ Microwaves to cook your food/ Milk / Coffee/ Fruits/ Water - the list doesn't stop !

We quickly bought our dinner - Onigiri (Boiled rice) / Chicken Butter masala (yes you read it right!) / Lost of Pro-biotic curd ...

Day 2 : Osaka to Kyoto / Arashiyama (started at 12:00 ish) / Samurai Museum

In the morning - after having our breakfast at the same Lawson (Sandwiches - there were 5-6 types of sandwiches, my favorite was egg sandwich) and refreshing coffee- we departed for Kyoto.

This was our first Japanese train ride - The Haruka (not a bullet train - highest speed was around 140 Kmph)

We reached Kyoto at 11:00 and we, quickly checked-in our hotel (which was 500 mtrs walking distance from Kyoto station - Picking a hotel so close to the hotel was the best decision we took!)

We started for our next leg of journey to the famous Arashiyama bamboo forest!

It was a quick train ride to the station Saga Arashiyama, post which you need to walk for 400 mtrs to reach the area ...

The wow view of the Bamboo forests - had seen so many pictures on the net and social media
Note:  I have digitally removed people from the picture - its crowded :))

You can take a ride of the Arashiyama Bamboo forests on one of these rickshaws pulled by human!
Costs around 2200 -4000 Yen

There is Romantic train ride ( around 40 minutes for round trip) from the Arashiyama station.
This train ride is known for its beauty during the fall season. We did it anyways and turned out to be a quick fun ride!

View from the train ride 

Once we came back from Arashiyama, we headed straight to the Samurai Museum and had some first hand experience of what it meant to be a Samurai.

Yours truly as Samurai - with Specs :)

Shopping alley around this area - beams with life - full of restaurants / shops and lots of vending machines!

Day 3 : Fushimi Inari 

We woke up to a serene traditional Kyoto morning - with a skyline where the sky and mountains are not yet covered by high rises!

Peaceful morning in Kyoto 

Today we had planned for the Fushimi Inari - the 1000 lucky gates!

The entry to Fushimi Inari Shrine 

  

 

Orange Toris (gates) - one of the few of the 1000 lucky gates that I crossed

In Fushimi Inari - To cover all the 1000 lucky gates (orange colour gates - "Tori") you will need to climb to Inari top which is 230+ mtrs climb, it takes 2-3 hrs  to complete, based on your fitness. I did it and this was the most tiring day where I ended up walking almost 13 kms. 

View of the Kyoto city - from halfway through to Inari top

My suggestion will be to walk to a certain distance where you can have a nice view of Kyoto, there are restaurants - have an ice-cream / Orange juice from Bireleys - very refreshing!

Day 4: Higashiyama Kiyomizu dera temple / Kyoto Sky tower

After an exhausting day at Fushimi INari, we started teh next day with ease and spend a relaxing day at Kiyomizu dera temple - My wifey and daughter wore the traditional Kimono (Rental costs 4000- 6000 Yen; you can buy Kimono with as less as 3000 Yen for a summer Kimono and 7000 Yes for a Cotton Kimono)

Kiyomizu dera temple

 

 

The Kiyomizu dera temple precinct - My wifey and daughter walking in the traditional dress :)

Tonight we also watched the Light show at the Kyoto station (Kyoto Station is huge!)

Kyoto station light show ( 5 AM to 10PM) 

Kyoto Tower at night - mighty presence in the city devoid of any high sky rises!

Day 5 : Kyoto to Tokyo - 1st Shinkasen-bullet train ride / Renko ji/Shibuya Crossing

I was eagerly looking forward to this day - as I was about to tick off a childhood dream of riding a bullet train and travelling at 300+ kmph !

View of countryside from a bullet train
Alas, the highest speed it clocked was 290 Kmph :(

From our visit to Renkoji Temple 

Shibuya crossing - worlds most crowded crossing

Shopping areas around Shibuya - Remember to take a pic with Hachiko memorial 

  Day 6 : Nokano Broadway/ Meiji Shrine /Team labs 

We always heard of the huge gaming parlours in Japan - and thought of visiting one - Nakano Broadway. Later we realized that Joypolis is better one. We couldn't go there - but will suggest that you put it in your itinerary.

Post which we went to visit the Meiji shrine - which again was a true resemblance of ancient Japanese wooden architecture

Meiji Shrine

After having a sumptuous lunch, we travelled down to Team labs in Tokyo (40-45 mins train ride) 

Team labs in an amazing display of immersive art form (Something I saw Field of light in Ayers rock, Australia).

The lights / Sound/ Water / Flowers - it was just mesmerizing -> Try wearing half pants - as you will be in treading through one feet of water / avoid miniskirts as you will have mirror all around ....

  

  

The serene Japanese skyline (Just a part of it)

Very few of us are lucky to have friends in far off places - and I was one of those; he just hijacked us from Team labs and we had homely dinner at my friend's place and had a nostalgic walk down the memories of our school days!

Day 7 : Mt. Fuji

The Swan lake - People take a boat ride here, to have a different view of Mt. Fuji, but for us - it was shy and covered itself in cloud :(

At last Fuji San (Mt. Fuji is revered in Japanese tradition) peeked out of cloud and we could see from the viewing point where we reached via the ropeway (waiting time for ropeway - 45 minutes)

Mt. Fuji from the Fujiyama Station

Day 8: Disney Land / shopping 

Japan has so many amazing amusement parks - Disney land / Disney Water / Lego Land / Nintendo Land ... you probably need a just 1 week to cover them all !

My daughter just wanted to see Disney land and so this whole day was spent at Disney land....

Day 9 : Senso ji / Sky Tree / Shinjuku Cat

Japanese wall art (Graphiti) and on the backdrop you can see the Tokyo Sky Tree - tallest manmade structure in Tokyo - 634 mtrs.

View from the Sky tree observation deck - around 350 mtrs

 Note: Sky tree tickets need to be booked online, in advance, for specific time slots. 

The Shinjuku 3D cat - worth a watch!
This is just outside Shinjuku station - and the 3D animation replays very 5-7 min

As we finished the day in Tokyo - we felt that there were so many places that we couldn't visit  - and it felt we needed at least 7-8 days to complete other key areas like - Luxury shopping district of Ginza ,  Tokyo tower, Odaiba and many more!

Day 10 : Travel to Osaka and Dotonbori visit

We were in our last leg of our journey - Travelling back from Tokyo to Osaka.

We took the Shinkansen again and this time it did cross the magical 300 Kmph - I recorded 326 Kmph!

You can briefly see Mt.Fuji during this train ride

We arrived at Osaka and after checking in we had some sumptuous lunch and hit the Dotonbari shopping precinct. It is a happening place for the evening - you have food ( try Pablo)/ Clothing (Try Gu)/ and fun....

The famous Glico man neon sign of Dotonbori

Day 11 : Nara 

When we got down at Nara - there was an even more unique experience awaiting for us - Nara deer park , where the deer's roam around freely and they bow down from you for rice crackers

The Great south Gate of Todai-Ji Temple

The Todai-ji temple (there is entry fees to enter and it's worth it)

Todai-ji temple precinct

The humongous Buddha Statue inside Todai-ji temple

I was pleasantly surprise to see India's Ashok stambh and could see a deep cultural connection between India and Japan

Day 12: Hiroshima / Miyajima   ( Shinaksen - Hello Kitty Bullet train)

We took the unique Hello Kitty bullet train - where the first 2 compartments of the train is decked up with Hello Kitty theme and you can buy Hello Kitty merchandise. 

Was a unique experience - I haven't seen something like this anywhere till now ...

The building which stands as a stark reminder of this heinous act of dropping a nuclear bomb

 

View of the Hiroshima from the bridge which take you to the Museum. Please do visit the museum to understand the impact of this event and the harsher realities of war.

Apart from the Hiroshima, we also visited the Miyajima island , which has the famous Shinto shrine - Itsukushima shrine and the famous tori on water !

This Tori (Gate) at Miyajima has been build inside the sea and can be visited in Low tides. Its a magnificent view and worth the visit.

When in Miyajima do taste the famous Momiji cakes - it's a cake with a different flavours of custard inside.

Day 13: Himeji Castle / Dotonbori again

Himeji Castle also known as the "White Heron" - It is the largest castle in Japan built almost 800 years back. 

We missed booking for Team Labs in Osaka and did not get any tickets - it has a different set of displays; hence book your tickets in advance.

We had sumptuous lunch we returned back to Osaka and spent the rest of the evening in Dotonbori - shopping. Believe it or not we had to buy a suitcase to accommodate everything that we bought, and we had added almost 30Kgs additional luggage :) 

Day 14: Aquarium, Giant Ferris wheel - Depart

Last day in Japan - we wanted to keep it simple - hence checked out of the hotel, stored our luggage at the hotel and moved out to explore a bit more of Osaka!

When built in 1997 the Tempozan Ferris wheel was tallest one in the world at 120 Mtrs!
The total ride is for 17-18 minutes and waiting time was 15 minutes.
Go for the Glass floor gondolas!

 

Breath taking views of the Osaka Bay area  

View of the Minato bridge at Osaka bay area

After, climbing down from ferry we visited the Osaka Aquarium - again when it was built in 1990 - it was world's largest Aquarium. Even today it has everything that can mesmerize not only the kids but also the grown-ups!

After this we collected our luggage from our hotel, and went straight for the Kansai Airport.

While travelling back to the airport and as I looked outside - I couldn't believe that I (along with my family) have just lived a dream - a dream that I nurtured from my childhood. Who says dreams don't come true - they do!

A big thank you to my wifey - who had planned / booked everything for us - and believe it or not she was on it since early 2024!

Trains of Japan:

A luxury train with restaurants inside

 

A mass transit train 

Haruka Express

  

Hello Kitty Bullet Train

Rapid Transit train (The face looks unique!)

 Artistic manholes of Japan: 

 

Want to see more: click here

Now for some Pro tips for your planning (All details are as of Oct'2024 - it will be advisable to cross check before you start planning for your journey.)

Note: All over in Japan you have places where you can store your luggage, securely, by paying through coins - 500 / 400/ 200 Yens. So, it is advisable to carry coins with you!

Total Cost of trip for a family of 3: 9500 AUD (Including Flights / Accommodation / Travel / Food) - Cost might vary, as we had started our planning way early and hence were able to get some good deals on flights!

Now for the last parting experience - one that I always saw in Whatsapp and other forwards; I experienced it first hands across all my accommodations and it's a luxury plus a great water saving feature: