Japan!

[Old Fezziwig]

If you have an iPhone, set up the Suica app on your phone before you go. You won't be able to load the app until you're in country, but it's one less thing to do. If you have an Android, there is no Suica app available, so make sure to get the card and load it at whichever airport you're arriving at. You can get into Tokyo from Narita on the Keisei Skyliner without one, but you can only get the cards at certain stations, and, if you're not staying at one, it's kind of a pain. You can buy Skyliner tickets in advance on the Keisei website, but you have to use the whole ticket. That is, if you buy a combo ticket for the metro and the Skyliner, you have to take both legs of the trip. You can't just show up for the Skyliner and use the ticket.

We also didn't have an issue buying Shinkansen tickets; we bought them about a week in advance from JR at Tokaido Sanyo Kyushu Shinkansen Online Reservation Service!. Buy tickets on the right side of the train leaving Tokyo to see Mt Fuji. Heading back, buy them on the left side of the train. I had a brain fart and bought them for the right side both ways, so my wife, who had the window seat, couldn't see Fuji on our return to Tokyo. I was probably only saved by the fact that visibility was miserable on our trip from Tokyo to Kyoto when I had the window seat.

For things to do, I'll second @DrunkonDuty re Fushimi Inari Taisha, and I enjoyed Kinkaku-ji and Arashiyama (Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple and Gioji Temple were particularly striking). I really enjoyed Tokyo, too, but we mostly just wandered around and poked into different areas. The National Museum in Ueno Park was cool, and a trip out to Gotokuji Temple was worth the effort. One thing we did that I wouldn't recommend was waiting in line for carbonara udon -- the place we went to was fine, but not worth 90 minutes in line.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Oh, for food -- you'll want to make reservations through Tabelog for meals. Lunch and dinner. Places get booked, places close between lunch and dinner. It can be hard to find a place to walk in, depending on where you are, and, although you can get good food at the convenience stores, it's better to do that by choice than because there's no other options. For street food, you should eat it in front of the vendor. Walking off with it is rude, and it'll make disposing of any trash you have easier, too -- they'll take it back from you or have a bin you can use. Tsukiji Outer Market is fun and has some good food, but it does get crowded. We got there around 0800 for breakfast and didn't feel it was too bad.

 

[Retros_x]

Also be sure to check out a 7/11

omg the 7/11 are so good, they were basically our breakfast shop. Some delicious and cheap onigiri and other really good snacks to start the day.

Also the unsugared teas you get (iced or warm) at every 7/11 or at the vending machines that are on EVERY CORNER are better than any tea in most fancy cafés in my home town lol.

But the Japanese also love good cozy cafés with specialty coffee. If you enjoy vibing like the anime lofi girl, I can recommend them not enough, they are many where you can chill out, read a book, enjoy the vibes. But maybe not something for the whole family lol.

If you like tea I also recommend going to a good tea shop and buy some leaves to take home. I was enjoying green tea at home with a quality you rarely enjoy outside of Asia for months.

 

[Aeson]

Make sure to get pictures of any actual cat girls, kaiju, or giant mechs.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Make sure to get pictures of any actual cat girls, kaiju, or giant mechs.

According to some corners of the internet, apparently that's pretty much 75% of the population of the country

 

[Retros_x]

According to some corners of the internet, apparently that's pretty much 75% of the population of the country

Nerds first time in Japan being shocked that they are still nerds in Japan /s

But one thing that did surprise me how common manga where. Anime is still nerdy in Japan, but mangas or cartoon figures are everywhere. There are many manga/cartoon characters reminding you to wear a mask, do x, behave like y, take z. So many people in the subway read manga and older ones too. I saw a 50ish-woman reading something that looked like some "housewive"-manga. I saw an older man reading some ecchi - unbothered on the train.

 

[Bagpuss]

Make sure to get pictures of any actual cat girls, kaiju, or giant mechs.

Talking of giant mechs...

You have to visit THE GUNDAM BASE TOKYO.

Their is a full scale Gundam outside that lights up, so I suggest going when it will be dark later. Their is a massive museaum/shop for Gundam models which is really impressive and the models are great fun to make and surprisingly cheap if you are use to Warhammer 40K or other fantasy miniature prices.

It is on an island you can get a monorail to, and the island is also home to the Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, so you could also visit that.

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We went back in 2018, and used Japan Tours 2026/2027 | Holiday Packages To Japan | InsideJapan Tours who put together a personalised 10 day tour. They provided a booklet for a self-guided tour, it wasn't cheap but it was really impressive the effort they went to, they sorted out the flights from the UK, we got a schedule with the tickets for things like the bullet trains between the cities. Details on where and when to meet local tour guides all arranged in advance, notes about the place were visiting and suggested place we could visit on our own. And it was really tailored to the things we were interested in.

At the time our kids were 10 and 14, so we had a mix of historical sites and modern stuff like Gundam, Pokemon and the Arcades in Akihabara. They were really good organised trains, tour guides and the like. We had two guides in Tokyo one that took us round many temples on the first day and another that took us to arcades on the second. But they also did a guide book with recommendations of place to visit on our own. On the modern side we visited Takeshita Street in Harajuku district but even back then it was a over commercial tourist trap, so I wouldn't recommend that.

I recommend getting a getting a special book (Goshuincho) that you can collect the stamps of each of the shrines and temples you visit. It is a lovely keepsake of your trip.

Other highlights

Staying in a Ryokan in Hakone, with a private onsen visiting Odawara Castle.

Staying in a traditional house in Kyoto and seeing all the temples there, and an afternoon doing Taiko drumming.

A short train trip to Nara to see the bowing deer, and the Todai-ji temple the largest wooden building in the world, and the great Budda inside.

Last day was in Osaka where we visited a "Jump Shop" which had a load of anime and manga stuff for the kids, and Universal Studios there (for the kids), but it was near halloween so lots of the visitors were going round in costume.

Last day we went round Osaka Castle.

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[jian]

Lots mentioned already.

From Tokyo I’d really recommend the Enoden line (Enoshima electric light railway) as a day trip. It’s picturesque and goes to Enoshima (a lovely scenic island specialising in fresh fried whitebait) and Kamakura (see the giant bronze Buddha; you can go inside it but to my disappointment there’s no mecha cockpit).

Enoshima Electric Railway - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

When you’re downtown (as you certainly will be at some point) go past the Takarazuka Revue theatre, home of the all-female theatre and opera troupe immortalised in the Sakura Wars games, which has been running since 1913:

Takarazuka Revue - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

If you’re in Kyoto then of course you should visit Nijo Castle and walk on the nightingale floors, which are very musical.

Nijō Castle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Whisper-Kitten]

Do something super original....like eat sushi.

 

[Argyle King]

Just pulled the trigger on Japan - 6 tickets (spouse, two 20-something kids, each their partner).

Will be there Dec 20-Jan 3 this holiday season.

Tokyo through christmas, then down to Kobe/Osaka to visit with my brother and his family.

If you were going to Japan, spending 4-5 days in Tokyo area, and 5-6 days in Kanto (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe) area - what are the must do things?
Can be nerdly or not.

That's awesome.

Any pro wrestling shows around that time? Very different vibe than the US style.