Here's a report from our two week family trip a couple of weeks ago. My girls are aged 8 and 11, and are into cute stuff and animals.
Day 0 (10th April):

• Arrived at Narita terminal 1, 6:30pm. Glad we knew which train to catch and the timetable, as the direct line to Asakusa Station (Keisei Sky Access) only goes roughly every 35mins. Took 30 mins to queue for Pasmo Passports, and despite short queues elsewhere, we had to run for our 8:05pm train!
• Hotel: Mimaru Tokyo Asakusa Station, right next to the station exit. The Mimaru chain is great for kids. Great service, big rooms, lots of beds, a dining area and kitchenette. Asakusa is a lovely, fairly quiet place to be based, and has beautiful early morning walk options along the river and to Senso-ji if you're jetlagged.

Day 1:

• Senso-ji early before the crowds. Beautiful temples and gardens, with cherry blossoms a bonus; a great start to Japanese culture before Hello Kitty and Pokemon took over! Next we stumbled upon the huge 24 hour Don Quixote nearby. Great for necessities and souvenirs alike.
• Sunshine City mall was next as we didn't want too much walking after not much sleep. I didn't know there was a Sanrio cafe there - luckily we were able to walk straight in! The Pokemon centre and Sylvanian Families stores kept the kids happy for a long time.
• Back to the hotel for a rest / nap, then Nakamise Dori (stalls near Senso-ji) and Kura Sushi for dinner. We finished at an arcade which we returned to every night as it was the only thing that kept our kids awake and fighting off jetlag!

Day 2:

• Teamlabs Borderless booked for 10am. No queues and straight in at 9:50am. There were a few people in there already, but it only felt crowded an hour later. Truly beautiful, well loved by the whole family.
• Harajuku next for Takeshita street. It was raining, so we picked up two of the famous big clear umbrellas. Sadly these were too big for our suitcases and a hassle to carry around - I suggest you plan ahead and buy a small umbrella or poncho instead. (Tiny umbrellas are cute and cheap at Don Quijote.) Plenty of interesting sights and stores condensed into a small space on Takeshita street, but nothing that you can't see elsewhere in Tokyo, so can be skipped if you don't like crowds!
• Ometosando: my kids had heard good things about Kiddyland toy store, but they were too tired to even walk all the way to the top floor, so back to the hotel for an afternoon rest.
• Katsukitchi (Asakusa) for dinner - best katsu we've ever had, lovely service, really highly recommended. We went back three more times!

Day 3:

• Odaiba. Here's where the Navitime app failed: it didn't recognise the monorail to Odaiba. Google maps recognises it as just another train. It's just as easy to catch as a regular train too, but provides excellent views.
• Poo museum at DiverCity mall first. Hard to access because the mall opens an hour after the museum. We hadn't booked but were able to walk straight in. The poo museum is tiny and seems mostly set up for social media photos, but the kids had a lot of laughs.
• Sega Joyopolis: I'm glad we didn't pay for the full unlimited passes, as my kids didn't like most of the rides. Instead we paid for entry and just paid for a couple of rides.
• Takoyaki food court nearby – literally only sells takoyaki – even some of the drinks have octopus in them! Bit of a mistake as our kids don’t like octopus, haha.
• Ferry back to our hotel in Asakusa.
• Rickshaw tour of Asakusa in the evening – expensive but a highlight for the kids.

Day 4:

• Kappabashi Street to shop for knives and book a workshop for Ganso Shokuhin Sample-Ya (see day 10).
• Samurai Ninja Museum: not in the itinerary, just saw it walking past. The kids didn't want to dress up and didn't find the tour very interesting, but my husband and I learned a lot.
• Skytree mall: bigger than expected; spent most of the day between the shops and aquarium. Sumida Aquarium is small but beautiful.
• Skytree is worth a visit, but there's not much to do up there and it's very crowded. I've heard the upper floor is less crowded, but it was booked out when I booked online a few weeks before. On the day they were selling walk up tickets including the upper floor, but it wasn't possible to upgrade our ticket, unfortunately.

Day 5:

• Travel from Tokyo to Osaka. Booked with Smartex a few days before using my Mastercard, then linked to our IC cards. We couldn’t figure out how to pick up tickets at first, but it was easy: Scan IC cards at the Shinkansen gate and a ticket will print out with your booked details. We sent our luggage by takkyubin the day before, but needn't have bothered as there was ample room for luggage in the Green Car.
• Hotel: Mimaru Osaka Namba Station: a game-themed hotel (board games, card games etc) with games to borrow and many integrated into the hotel itself. Fabulous. Our Japanese room had a tatami floor, with two regular beds and three comfortable futons. My only complaint was that we had been spoiled in Asakusa being next to the station and in a quieter place; Namba station was an eight-minute walk through a bustling district (with an Akihabara feel to it; lots of gaming and anime and technology), which didn't suit our family quite as well when returning from a tiring day.
• Dotonbori: the big signs were cool, but it's not that impressive by day. Rode the weird Don Quijote ferris wheel - surprisingly high, my kids found it quite scary!
• Teamlabs Botanical Gardens: also highly recommended! The kids loved the freedom to race around and interact with the glowing artworks.

Day 6:

• Harvest Hill first, to visit the Sylvanian Families village. My girls adore these cute Japanese animal dolls, and visiting their life-sized houses was a dream come true. Harvest Hill also has animals, boats, flowers, small rides and beautiful scenery. We couldn't find the bus from the nearest train station, but taxis were easy, and the bus back to the station was easy to find as it was a remote area with just one bus stop! Just tag on and off with your IC card.
• Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. We had high expectations as it's ranked at number six in the world, and it blew even those expectations out of the water! Incredible.
• Tempozan Ferris Wheel: long queue for people wanting a glass floor; we didn’t, so we skipped the queue and walked straight on. Amazing views to Universal Studios!
• Picked up takeaway pizzas from [A] Pizza as the kids were tired.

Day 7:

• Universal Studios Japan. Arrived at 8:10am. I'd read that it opens at 8, but not today! We had early entry tickets, but all queues were let in at around 8:40. The benefit of the early entry ticket is that the queue is MUCH shorter. We also paid for the 7 ride express pass: expensive but worth it as we could do all the best rides in one day with almost no queues. Truly magical for our young fans of Harry Potter, Super Mario and Minions.

Day 8:

• Nara: Still tired from Universal Studios, and the temples are spread far apart, so we stuck to the deer feeding near the station. We'd read the warnings, but inevitably, my eight-year-old got spooked and ran. Before we could help her, she'd been bitten hard on the back. After one more (carefully controlled) attempt, we headed back to the hotel.
• Osaka castle: The kids wanted to relax and play arcade games, so I headed out alone. Beautiful castle and grounds, worth a visit even with kids (there's a playground in the southwestern corner of the park with a view of the castle). Long queue to catch the elevator, but no queue for those happy to walk up. Every floor has museum displays, so you can rest on every floor if you're tired!
• I'm not much into social media, but on the way out through the park I tried one of the 'viral' ten yen cheese breads - yuck, why was it sweet?! Some things look great online but that doesn’t match reality, haha.

Day 9:

• Kyoto day trip. We planned just two stops that were easily accessible by train.
• Fushimi Inari Taisha first, because my kids love foxes. Lots of fox shrines (and souvenirs!) The red torii gates were crowded as expected, so we took a side path to the right a short way up the hill. This took us through the forest, past more shrines, with almost no people! It took us 50 minutes to reach the peak.
• Gion, up the Ninenzaka path. It was crowded and the kids were tired, so we didn't stay long! We'll do Kyoto properly when the kids are older.

Day 10:

• Travel to Tokyo. A week earlier I had accidentally booked today's Shinkansen in the wrong direction, but luckily the refund process with Smartex is easy and cheap! We found a huge discount (30% off green car) called Hayatoku 3 Family, available for groups of 2 or more on weekends on the Nozomi train when booked at least 3 days in advance.
• Ganso Shokuhin Sample-Ya, Kappabashi street: Sample food making workshop. Very highly recommended! The staff at the counter don’t speak much English, but the teachers do. Our teacher Koyama was really lovely and the whole experience was delightful.
• Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay: our hotel for Disney. It's the most convenient of all the unofficial Disney hotels, being across the road from the station, and had several restaurants, stores and an indoor pool. Half the rooms have views of the Disney fireworks - sadly not ours! But they can be seen from the lobby. Don’t expect regular Japan prices though – everything is expensive!

Days 11-13:

• Disneysea, Disneyland, then Disneysea. A dream seeing my kids enjoying everything. Get as many fast passes as you can, and you could do the entire park (or at least everything you want to do) in one day per park. We were glad to have a third day so our first day wasn’t stressful, but we didn’t really need it.
• My other tip is to perhaps send one adult, and perhaps a braver kid, on the rides which may be scary first. Our eight-year-old was so spooked by our first ride (Tower of Terror) that she refused to try anything scary again, so the eleven-year-old checked all the scary rides while her little sister rode the cute ones!
• Dining in the Disney parks is overpriced and not great; dining in Sheraton is also expensive but better quality. By the third night we ended up in the American restaurants at Ikspiari mall nearby.

Day 14:

• Ikspiari Mall shopping, then limousine bus (booked at hotel reception) to Narita. I realised by this point that we still had a lot of credit on our non-refundable IC cards. We used a little at the airport, but we should have planned it better!

hi! i'm selling some old and new prize figures that i've kept over the years. i've run out of space for my growing kpop collection so i'm selling my anime figures instead :(
i wasn't consistent with dusting them, but i did keep them out of the sun (displayed on my desk cabinets). if you want closeups or more photos of any figures, let me know!
all prices are without shipping included! i have boxes, but not the plastic inside, except for anya and miku, so i'll be shipping with bubble wrap inside. i'm based in the Bay Area in California, USA, so if you're local lmk and i can drop off!
if you're interested in discounted bundles, more photos of the figures and/or boxes, arranging pickup/drop off, negotiating prices, etc., feel free to pm me!
my mfc account: https://myfigurecollection.net/profile/regin33gus
all the figures with verification: https://imgur.com/gallery/TEffDyY

Figure Name	MFC link	Photo (with account verification)	Box condition	Figure condition	Price
Vocaloid - Hatsune Miku - SPM Figure - Snow Miku Skytown Ver. (SEGA)	https://myfigurecollection.net/item/1028853	https://imgur.com/a/sOFh7Uz	Brand new (unopened, bought in an anime shop in Japan and brought home in suitcase!)	Brand new, sealed	$20
Spy × Family - Anya Forger - Puchieete - Smile Ver., Renewal Ver. (Taito)	https://myfigurecollection.net/item/1590586	https://imgur.com/gallery/nC2mrgR	Good condition, no damages	Good condition, no damages	$20
Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax - Durarara!! - Heiwajima Shizuo - High Grade Figure (SEGA)	https://myfigurecollection.net/item/254295	https://imgur.com/gallery/5VhFDwg	Fine, no plastic inside	Good	$15
GOOD SMILE Racing - Hatsune Miku - EXQ Figure - Racing 2018 Team Ukyo Cheering Ver. (Banpresto)	https://myfigurecollection.net/item/768872	https://imgur.com/gallery/PIfv4PV	Fine, no plastic inside	Good	$12
Love Live! School Idol Project - Toujou Nozomi - PM Figure - No Brand Girls (SEGA)	https://myfigurecollection.net/item/197919	https://imgur.com/gallery/LHMSEeT	Quite worn, no plastic inside	Good, just a little old	$10
Love Live! Sunshine!! - Matsuura Kanan - SPM Figure (SEGA)	https://myfigurecollection.net/item/492282	https://imgur.com/gallery/9oJlb49	Fine, no plastic	Good, just a little old. Note: she's quite large LOL	$15
Love Live! School Idol Project - Toujou Nozomi - SPM Figure - Snow halation (SEGA)	https://myfigurecollection.net/item/316794	https://imgur.com/gallery/PgrguNA	Fine, no plastic	Good, just a little old, and also quite large with the base	$12

I have enjoyed reading other people's trip summaries so thought I would share ours as we just got back to Australia after 11 days in Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka/Hiroshima. I'll cover what we did well as well as any regrets. Thanks to all those who answered my previous posts and helped with planning.
I have seen a lot of recommendations for holiday itineraries for kids & teens who were into anime & characters but I had one more into shopping and one who was interested in just the vibe of being somewhere different. Child #2 is also neurodivergent and a fussy eater & overwhelmed in crowds, both of which guided our decisions somewhat.
For the sake of everyone's sanity, we also chose not to have the teenagers share a room at all during the trip.
Before going

• Bought Yen on a day with a good exchange rate (took around $1400 AUD)
• Pre-booked Tokyo-Kyoto Shinkansen
• Pre-booked Team Labs
• Pre-booked USJ and express pass

Unless I mention otherwise, you can assume that breakfast was from convenience stores, we are not big breakfast eaters and found a pastry or onigiri would tide us over.
Day 1 - Arrive Tokyo for 3 nights

• Arrive Haneda airport late in the evening due to flight delays. Picked up physical Welcome Suica cards & charged them up. 1 of us has Samsung phone hence physical cards. Regret not activating our e-sims before leaving the airport as we were relying on patchy roaming coverage from husband's phone and working out the subway details was a bit sketchy.
• Stayed at an APA hotel in Akhihabara - the ekigashi. Had 3 x standard double rooms. Kids enjoyed them. I found the room tiny to share with 2 adults. Was clean & well-located though and had a universal power point.
• We chose Akhihabara due to reasonable prices & husband's interest in vintage electronics & music equipment. It's a fun & vibrant area.

Day 2

• Visited Team Labs Planets in morning (pre-booked a month in advance). All enjoyed a lot
• Bus to Ginza. Tried to find ramen for lunch, lots of places had long lines but this one - Mugi to Olive - had a shortlsh wait, lovely staff. An unusual clear broth ramen with clams or chicken & olive oil. Everyone enjoyed it.
• Headed to the Sanrio NISHIGINZA store for shopping. I liked the '3 coins' store in the same building, like LOFT but cheaper (everything less than 1500Y).
• Rested at the hotel for a little while then went exploring Akhihabara. Had dinner at Sushiro, a popular conveyor belt sushi place where you can sit in booths rather than on stools. Order from iPad. Everyone very happy with this choice. It is a confusing place with no staff out the front though. What you need to do is arrive, get a ticket from the ticket machine, wait until your number is called and then scan the ticket you got into another machine that will give you a new piece of paper with your table number.

Day 3

• Visit to Shinjuku gardens which still had some Sakura in bloom. Lovely place to wander around for a few hours.
• Lunch at Gyoza no Fukuhu - LOVED this place. Very friendly staff and delicious & cheap lunch sets. The gyoza set with chicken & egg rice was particularly yummy.
• Caught bus to Takeshita st Harajuku. Child 2 found the crowds a little overwhelming. Looked at Meiji Torii gate then child #2 and husband headed back to hotel while Child #1 and I did some shopping in Shinjuju & Shibuya, looking for vintage clothes and Sonny Dolls. Checked out Shibuya Scramble.
• Kids had McDonalds for dinner, husband and I found an ikazaya near Akhihabara station for a grown-up meal. It was fine. It featured little private rooms for every group.

Day 4 - Arrive Kyoto

• Caught mid-morning Shinkansen to Kyoto. Booked all Shinksansen super express / Nozomi tickets in advance on the Smart ex site. Booked oversized luggage area where possible. Have no record of lunch.
• Checked into excellent apartment hotel in Kyoto, Four Sisters Residence. Very spacious and clean. Not in the centre of town but close to many bus routes and a station. Nice quiet area with some grocery stores & restaurants nearby.
• Went to Kodaji temple (very pretty) and explored the Higashiyama District, which I enjoyed from an architectural perspective. Gion was horribly crowded. Fresca grocery store dinner (pre-prepared meals) as all the restaurants near Gion were crowded and expensive.

Day 5

• Husband and I caught bus to Kinkakuji (Golden temple). Absolutely stunning and probably our favourite temple visit in Kyoto. There were crowds but they well spaced and you could still get nice photos and not feel pushed around.
• Met kids for lunch at this affordable gyoza spot with booths near hotel - Gyoza no Ohsho
• Relaxed and did laundry, then went to Fushimi Inari at late afternoon/sunset. Absolutely packed but got better further up and got to some nice views over Kyoto
• Intended to go to a pizza place for dinner but it was closed, so ended up at a nearby 'fusion' pizza restaurant which not very good nor did we feel very welcome.

Day 6 (Saturday)

• Caught bus to Arashiyama. Hired e-bikes next to the station. Didn't realise we couldn't take them into the bamboo forest, so explored it on foot but were unimpressed. Very crowded.
• Took our bikes over Togetsukyo Bridge and initially turned LEFT following the riverside parks and cycling paths. Got out of the tourist areas and pass some local family picnics, bbqs and baseball games. Lots of fun!
• Had a great tempura & soba lunch at Houzan. Kids found it so-so but ate it anyway.
• We then went to the monkey park (long HOT hike, need some fitness), got ice-creams near the bridge and rode down the river to near the entrance to the Daihukaku temple. Stunning views here and not many other tourists.
• Returned e-bikes and used the foot spa included with the ticket
• This night, husband and kids got karaage chicken for dinner near hotel and I went out on my own in Kyoto near Pontocho alley. GREAT vibe, lots of people out and about. Ate a nice counter meal at this friendly izakaya - Kazuya. Long lines at a lot of the bars that are popular with tourists. I had a complex and yummy cocktail at Bar Pillars. It is tiny but very atmospheric.
• Kyoto regret - not going to Kiyomizu-dera

Day 7 - Train to Osaka via Nara

• Checked out & sent 3 out of 4 of our suitcases to Kyoto using Yamoto luggage forwarding
• Did some shopping near Kyoto train station
• Bought ticket for Limited express train to Nara - note that the next time was sold out so we had to book the one after. These trains are really nice. McDonalds for lunch (easy).
• It was pouring raining in Nara and not a great day for sightseeing. The coin lockers at the station were all full. We sought refuge at the visitor's centre which has free activities like origami, free wifi and will also store your luggage for you for free for the day.
• Had a walk around the park to see the deer
• Caught the regular train to Osaka, it was packed because it was a Sunday.
• Checked into a quirky 3-level airbnb in Osaka
• Dinner from a hole-in-the-wall yakitori & karaage chicken place near airbnb

Day 8 - Universal Studios Japan

• Caught train to USJ
• I had pre-booked tickets at least a month before. Missed out on the best express pass options so BOOK THESE ASAP if you plan to go.
• USJ was OK. We found the single rider option best where possible to get on more rides not included with our express pass, like Jaws and Minions. I was pretty annoyed that Hollywood Dream and the Jurassic Park ride were both out of action. It felt like we didn't get that many rides in. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey was AMAZING, that was all of our favourites.
• Did not win the in-park lottery to access Nintendo World.
• Dinner at Shake Shack just outside Universal. Recommend flavoured popcorn from Popcorn Papa as well.
• Regret not staying an extra night in Osaka

Day 9 - Hiroshima

• Checked out of Osaka accommodation, Shinkansen to Hiroshima
• Caught the electric tram from Hiroshiman station (great way to travel) and Checked into ANA Crown Plaza Hiroshima - loved this place. Had 2 regular tooms and a Club room which gave access to afternoon tea, free cocatails & finger food + free breakfast. They let us check in at 1pm too when we were prepared to just drop off our bags. Great views from Club Lounge and rooftop bar.
• Great lunch at a mazeman noodle place - Okkundou. Tasty food and friendly staff.
• Visited the A-bomb memorial museum, Peace Park, atomic dome and other monuments
• Ate at hotel due to torrential rain and tired kids. Would have gone to the multi-level okonomiyaki place but not this trip. Wish we'd stayed 2 nights as I also wanted to see Miyajima island.

Day 10 - Head back to Tokyo

• Got up early, had breakfast at hotel and walked to Carp Castle on my own, went via a cute shopping street with vintage clothing but nothing was open until 10am :( The castle was rebuilt after the bomb but has a museum inside and is still worth a look
• Had morning tea (nice cakes) at the hotel then caught taxi to hotel because we were running late for the shinkansen
• Bought special train meal sets to eat on train as its a 4 hour trip.
• Wished I had booked this trip further in advance as we no oversized luggage areas were available. There was space there so we put our suitcases there only to be told off by the guards. Had to move very heavy suitcases to above our heads.
• Back to Tokyo and checked into the Hotel Grand Arc Hanzomon near the Imperial Palace. Great views from all rooms and the Standard room was big enough for 2 adults. Nice peaceful area on a direct line to Shibuya
• Husband and son went to a Giants baseball game at Tokyo Dome. They said it was great fun. They sell hotdogs and beer there as well.
• Daughter and went to the Mega Don Quijote in Shibuya and had dinner at a cool okonomiyaki & yakisoba restaurant called Kawanaka tucked away on the 4th floor of a nondescript building. Best service we have had in Japan! They gave us free cream-filled strawberries and candy after our meal.

Day 11 - Shopping and fly out

• Had hotel breakfast, checked out and had hotel store our luggage
• Went back to Shibuya for shopping at Donki (again), ABC Mart for shoes, LOFT for souvenirs plus some guitar shops. Snacked on 'coin cheese' pastry things made fresh at MEGA Donki.
• Lunch at Ueobi sushi conveyor belt. Enjoyable.
• Back to hotel to get luggage. We bought a guitar so had too much for the train. Large taxis aren't popular in Japan so husband caught the subway to Haneda with one medium-sized suitcase and the rest of us caught a taxi with the rest
• Used the rest of our change and Suica card balance on vending machines at the airport. Also bought reasonably priced cosmetics & alcohol.
• regret not spending an extra night in Tokyo at the end of the trip for more shopping and wished I’d gone up the Tokyo Metropolitan building.

REFLECTIONS AND FINAL ADVICE

• It was a busy itinerary and more rest days might have been nice. That said, we saw a lot and I didn’t force everyone to do every activity. Japan is safe enough that teens can hang in their room on their own or wander down to a 7-11. Ideally an extra 3 nights would have made for less rushing, but we still had a brilliant time.
• Most of the power points at our accommodation had 2 pins and we didn't have the right converters. Borrowed a couple from hotels, found it hard to get a convertor plug to take 3-prong devices like laptop chargers and hair tool chargers. Better to buy in Australia first
• Might sound obvious but look at hotels near the attractions you want to see plus any major transfers you have to do (to avoid 3 x train lines to get to your destination, for example). The last two hotels I booked I actually changed a few nights before hand. Was happy with my final choices.
• Google maps is ESSENTIAL for getting around on PT. Also look out for accessible exits, as many have lots of stairs. Most stations seem to have at least 1 accessible exit though
• Save places you are keen to visit in Google Maps before you leave
• Always get meals with rice, will fill kids up if they don't like the main dish. Most restaurant staff do not speak English well and won't be able to adjust your meals
• If all else fails, type what you want to say into Google translate and hold it up for the Japanese local to read
• Kyoto buses are boarded from the rear and you pay a flat rate when you get off.

Yet another long ramble from me, but we have new image colors!!!
EDIT: Thank you mochatyphoon for letting me know about SunnyPa’s updated colors! I fixed them (and the rest of the images) ~ EDIT 2: Added Sayaka to the blue category! Thank you Xernan for pointing that out!
As soon as the new Hasunosora members were announced, I was itching to update this, 7 months later (which proved to be a bit of a challenge—more on this later).
Thus, with 68 girls, the updated image color compilation is here! I added the new girls, updated the Hasunosora girls' sprites, updated Margarete's and Tomari's sprites, and did a bit of rearranging.
First off, while I don't follow LL!LL! since I don't have the game, I do listen to their songs, and I'm always excited to welcome new members into the mix! I love their character designs, and the new members don't fall short in that aspect.
That being said, since they're the main reason for an update, you can find their updated colors here. While I loved the original 6's palette as it felt pretty balanced (especially with Kaho filling in the orange and yellow spot nicely), the addition of another yellow image girl kind of threw things off for me. As cute as Kosuzu is, the color is just too close.
On to the aspect of things being harder, the value of Ginko's light blue was so hard to place within all the girls. I anticipated this since colors are a non-linear spectrum after all, with all the varying tones and values. She (and Hime) prompted me to rearrange a couple of the girls, comparing base hues with my color picker wheel. It doesn't look as coherent given the different tones, but that is future me's problem lol.
Before I ramble any further, here are quick links to the compilations per group/franchise:
μ's μ's with A-RISE Aqours Saint Aqours Snow Nijigasaki Liella Liella with SunnyPa Hasunosora School Idol Musical SIM Tsubakisakuhana only SIM Takizakura only full photo
Redoing this did lead me to a couple of things, though!

1. I realized that Shiki's image color, while a true light blue-green, leans more mint green than blue! Keke's is a more true light blue. In hindsight, it does add to the green spectrum and is supposed to make Liella's palette more balanced. But visually, it's still closer to Keke and Tomari's blue than it is to Sumire's green. So, no, it still is not balanced.
2. I have grown to appreciate School Idol Musical's colors as a whole except for one thing: why do they have two pinks? I get that Toa's pink is closer to Riko's cherry blossom pink and Maya's closer to a true pink, but put together, the values are too close. I tried to separate the two schools' colors, but it felt way too incomplete.

I also decided that with the growing cast, I wanted to compile the girls by color! Here are some observations, too.

• Red - Up until Nijigasaki it's been cool-attribute girls. Also, it's so funny how Tsuzuri towers over everyone.
• Orange - Our main girl image color! And, though Niji kind of changed things up, Ai is still a smile-attribute genki girl.
• Yellow - They are. Short. And mostly first years (during the first introduction). Also, despite being my favorite color, I don't have any oshis here lol. Also, while Yuna’s seem more like a gold/brown, her base hue is pretty close to that of Kaho’s!
• Green - Visually the most chaotic. I find that, even when color coding other things, green is just so hard to sort, with the various tones, tints, values. Like, you can get a yellow-green, a blue-green, a brown green, a true green... It's crazy. But I tried my best. (Also, yes, Shiki's hue is actually closer to green than blue, but it's so close!)
• Blue - Our biggest category, since we almost always have two blues per group. Biggest contributor would be Liella with three blues, and the least would be You, who is the sole blue member of Aqours (probably because Aqours' group color is already blue). Saint Snow are also light blue, with Sarah leaning a teeeeensy more violet (not obvious, though, since they're both so light).
• Violet/Purple - A lot of third years! Also known as my best girls! Nozomi, Mari, and Kanata are here. And when Keke, my Liella oshi, was introduced, I was hoping she'd have a lavender image color because of her highlights lol.
• Pink - The second biggest category! I find it so amusing how the brighter pink girls have their hair tied up in two—be it twin tails or twin braids—and the pinks that lean more salmon/sakura are the elegant/dainty-looking hair styles. And then we have Mao, bringing in some depth (her deep wine is a lot closer to magenta than purple, so I put her with the pinks!)
• Gray/Misc - I always wonder if LL staff would ever run out of gray image colors to hand out, but then remember just how vast grays can go. From cool to warm, some looking almost green or blue. Also, Tsubasa is the only brown image girl (but A-RISE doesn't really have official image colors, just based on their hair). Also, interestingly, we don't have a cream-colored girl! Hopefully in the future, instead of adding yet another gray, they do a cream/super pale yellow image girl. That'd be so cute.

One more thing (the last one, I promise): I also explored alternate colors for μ's and Aqours. Aqours is fairly consistent, especially since a huge chunk of their costumes are actually uniform. When they do their image colors though, Yoshiko is the only one who changes to a different color. She is mostly in a cute, light blue/violet outfit (see: Omoi yo Hitotsu ni Nare, Mijuku Dreamer & My MAI Tonight accents) and it fits pretty well.
For μ's though, they often use individual image colors in their costumes. And a lot of the time, even in the anime, we see half of the members in colors that aren't their image colors. From the start, Honoka and Kotori get pink and green in START DASH.
Moving forward, this is almost always their color (with Honoka occasionally switching to red or yellow). Aside from that, we have Maki often in violet (or pink), Rin in bright/lime green, and Hanayo in a warm marigold. All of these seen in Mogyutto, Music START, Kira Kira Sensation, Angelic Angel, even in accents in Natsu Iro, No Brand Girls, and Dancing Stars on Me.
I always wondered why these weren't made their image colors, since it visually suits them so well and they use it often. But when I tried it (here)... I immediately saw why. And, while it's pretty in its own way, it's so unbalanced and bright (I adjusted the rest of the members to match brightness/vibrancy). It's too punchy. And that is when I learned never to question LL staff-san's directions on these lol. And image colors are more for personality anyway, I think.
Anyway, this was a fun project as always. I apologize for the long post as I don't have a blog for this lol, but I love compiling things and seeing them grow (see: my Love Live Discography Sheet) and sharing them. I hope this satisfies a specific itch in your brains like it did mine!
Also, feel free to repost these elsewhere! You can cite this post or my Twitter (though it's on priv) @/sunsetika

My husband & I recently returned from our first trip to Japan from 21 March to 8 April. We mostly stuck to the golden route & wanted to see the cherry blossoms. We did most of the planning with help from this subreddit & watching YouTube videos (really enjoyed u/CurrentlyHannah & u/RionIshida). I enjoy reading everyone’s trip reports so here’s ours.
Overview 2 x nights Tokyo, Hotel: Hotel Century Southern Tower 2 x nights Lake Kawaguchiko (Mt Fuji), Hotel: Mizno Hotel 4 x nights Osaka, Hotel: JOYTEL HOTEL Namba-Dotonbori 4 x nights Kyoto, Hotel: Laon Inn Gion Nawate 6 x nights Tokyo, Hotel: JR-EAST Hotel METS Gotanda
Prep/Planning/Pre-booking

• We booked our flights with Qantas about 6 months prior & started a Google Map & pinned places & restaurants of interest, colour coded them by area & grouped things together when we planned our daily itinerary.
• Once we had our itinerary sorted, we booked hotels on Agoda, Booking.com & where we could book directly with hotels we did. We kept tweaking our itinerary until the last minute.
• We read some Japanese websites like USJ and SmartEx don’t accept Visa or certain other credit cards, we used a MasterCard Credit Card & it worked everywhere, no issues.
• We booked the below in advance as soon as we could, this is not required, this is just what we did. With it being peak season, we wanted to avoid any disappointment of things likely being sold out or wasting time researching and booking things while we are there.
  • Two months in advance we:
    • purchased Tokyo Disney Resort tickets
    • purchased Universal Studios & Express Passes
  • One month in advance we:
    • booked the Limited Express Fuji Excursion Train on www.eki-net.com to get from Shinjuku to Lake Kawaguchiko.
    • booked the Fujikyuko Express Bus on sekitori.jp to get from Lake Kawaguchiko to Mishima Sta.
    • booked our Shinkansen trips on SmartEX smart-ex.jp. Tips: This gets mentioned a lot but book seat D & E for standard car or C & D for Green Car going either way from Tokyo to Osaka/Kyoto to view Mt Fuji & link your IC card to your bookings so you don’t need to print tickets, just tag on with your IC card & save a couple of minutes.
    • booked the Kintetsu Sightseeing Limited Express AONIYOSH Train on www.kintetsu.co.jp.
    • purchased Shibuya Sky tickets (we wanted sunset slots for 17:00, they sold out within minutes, so got tickets for the 16:00 slot)
    • purchased tickets to the NAKED Flowers Sakura Nijo Castle Kyoto event on Klook.
    • reserved restaurants, we didn’t want to reserve any restaurants as we wanted to be flexible when it comes to this, however after research & being especially concerned about Kyoto , we reserved these four restaurants, we were still able to be flexible otherwise & stumbled upon a lot of great restaurants, but nonetheless three of these four were some of the best meals we had the whole trip:
    • Matsuzaka Gyu Yakiniku M Hozenji-Yokoch Osaka (www.tablecheck.com)
    • Kobe Beef Steak Mouriya Gion Kyoto (www.tablecheck.com)
    • Itoh Dining Kyoto (www.tablecheck.com)
    • Hokkaido Menkoi Nabe Kumachan Onsen Shibuya Miyamasuzaka (www.kumachan-onsen.jp)
    • purchased Skytree tickets on Klook
• Learned some Japanese using Duolingo & watching YouTube. These are the phrases we used the most:
  • “Arigatou Gozaimasu” – Thank you
  • “Sumimasen” – Excuse me
  • “Daijoubu Desu” - It’s Ok, I’m Fine, No thanks
  • “Onegaishimas” - Please (when asking for something)
  • “__ o Kudasai” – I would like __, please
  • “__ wa Doko Desu ka?” – Where is __?
  • When we tried to use any more than this people would try to have fluent conversations with us, so we just kept to basics. We also learned a bit of Hiragana was somewhat useful reading signs, but we mostly used Google Translate.
• Completed the Visit Japan Web site a few days before our trip.

Luggage & Packing

• We took 1 x large suitcase (160cm) & 2 x carry-on sized bags (Kathmandu Hybrid Trolley v3 32L). Our one large suitcase was empty & we planned to fill it up with shopping & souvenirs as we go and forward it using Yamato Transport TA-Q-BIN (black cat) when we move hotels. By the time we got back to Tokyo the one large suitcase was full so we bought another one as my husband needed one anyways. Both large suitcases were full at the end of the trip.
• Luggage forwarding gets mentioned a lot, but I mention it again as I see people keep asking about it & it is convenient. We forwarded our luggage twice, it is recommended to do it the morning before 11:00am & usually it will arrive the next day but could take longer. We took our luggage to our hotel reception or 7/11. They phoned our next hotel to check that they were happy to receive the luggage. As far as I know, this service is available all over Japan, we only shipped from Tokyo > Osaka & Kyoto > Tokyo.
• We had a small backpack for our daily shopping, & found coin pouches useful.

FYI for those taking their luggage with them on the Shinkansen:

• 160cm & below = No reservation required
• 161–250cm = Reservation required
• 250cm & above = Not allowed on train

Weather & Clothes

• Temperatures ranged from 0°C to 20°C. There was an unexpected cold front when we arrived in Tokyo & was colder than we expected so we purchased some gloves & beanies to keep warm. It rained about 6 out of the 19 days, most days were a little cloudy with no rain, we had some sunny days where it was warm & it helped that we could take off layers.
• We planned to use the laundry services & at our hotels so we each only took 2 x pairs of outfits & a lightweight windproof rain jacket. We also planned to buy some clothes during our trip.
• We each took only one pair of comfortable walking shoes & several pairs of thick comfortable socks. We averaged 20K steps a day.
• We each took a set of sleepwear but 4 out of 5 of our hotels provided sleepwear.

Thursday 21 March 2024 Tokyo Shinjuku

• Arrived at Narita Airport at 17:30 from New Zealand on Qantas Airlines.
• We activated our E-Sims (I used Ubigi 10G 30Days & my husband used Airolo) as soon as we landed. 10G data each lasted us the whole trip (had 60MB left at the end) & we had good signal everywhere we went. We always connected to WiFi at our hotels.
• We scanned our QR Codes from the Visit Japan Web through customs & had our luggage by 18:30.
• We each drew ¥50,000 cash at the airport & used ¥20,000 of this to top-up our Suica IC Cards. We topped up our Suica IC Cards a few more times throughout our trip as in addition to using it for trains, we also used it at the konbini & vending machines. IC cards can only be topped up with cash. We drew cash a few more times from ATMS at kobini's.
• We borrowed Suica IC cards from friends so we already had these & just topped it up when we arrived at the airport. We both have Samsung phones so couldn’t use the digital Suica cards on the iPhone wallets, else this would’ve been convenient.
• Took the Narita Express (N'EX) Train to our hotel in Shinjuku (can pre book but don’t need to, I didn’t prebook in case our flight got delayed or customs took long, very easy to locate & purchase tickets after arrival). Train took about 1-hour 30 mins from Narita to Shinjuku.
• Checked into Hotel Century Southern Tower which is conveniently located 5min walk from Shinjuku Station & has great views of the city from our room. Room was spacious. We specifically booked this hotel as it was close to Shinjuku Station where we needed to take a train to Mt Fuji in two days’ time. We will return to Tokyo again later.
• We were hungry so we walked to the nearest Ichiran Ramen & waited in line for 40 min before being seated, it was delicious.
• Got a few things from 7/11 before heading back to the hotel.

Friday 22 March 2024 Tokyo Shinjuku

• Kept this day free in case of any delays, but also for viewing cherry blossoms in case they bloom early (they ended up blooming late due to the unexpected cold front).
• We felt a bit anxious about the public transport (especially Shinjuku Sta.), we went to the station to print our train tickets that we pre-booked & wanted to make sure where we need to catch our train to Mt Fuji the next day. It was very easy & straightforward, & all our anxiety melted away.
• Visited the 3D Cat Billboard & Godzilla before grabbing lunch at CoCo Ichibanya which was really tasty and went down well with the cold weather & then dessert at this 2D Café.
• Decided to head the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building early for sunset which was just as well as there was about an hour wait to get up with the elevator. It’s a free observation deck with great views of the city & Mt Fuji on a clear day followed by watching the projections after.
• Visited Golden Gai & Omoide Yokocho for a few drinks where we chatted with a few locals & tourists before heading back to the hotel.

Saturday 23 March 2024 Tokyo Shinjuku to Lake Kawaguchiko

• Before checking out of our hotel in Tokyo we had them forward our large luggage to our hotel in Osaka to arrive in 3 days’ time (25 March), we are going to Lake Kawaguchiko for the following two days & didn’t need our large luggage for this leg of the trip, we just took our carry-on luggage with us. We put a Samsung Smart Tag in our luggage to keep track of it.
• Had some coffee near Shinjuku Sta. & grabbed some snacks from the konbini for our train ride.
• Took the 10:30 Limited Express Fuji Excursion Train from Shinjuku Station to Lake Kawaguchiko. Trip takes 2 hours. The train was full.
• Walked 30 min to our hotel Mizno Hotel. The hotel has free shuttle service for guests from Kawaguchiko Sta., but we opted to walk there instead as we didn’t have much luggage & the walk there was beautiful along the lake even though it was cloudy & we couldn’t see Mt Fuji yet.
• Mizno Hotel ticked all our boxes when we were looking for a hotel in this area:
  • a view of the lake & Mt Fuji from our room
  • Japanese style rooms with futon beds & tatami floors
  • private spring baths with a view of Mt Fuji
  • Japanese dining options
  • convenient location
  • The rooms are a good size & the views are incredible. As a bonus they also had free e-bikes which were excellent for exploring this area & a great open-air bar on the rooftop. We made good use of the e-bikes. They also had an excellent bar.
• We had Beef Shabu Shabu for dinner at our hotel followed by drinks at the open-air bar & private bath on the rooftop. Mt Fuji fully revealed itself at sunset, it was perfect.

Sunday 24 March 2024 Lake Kawaguchiko/Mt Fuji Area

• Today was all about Mt Fuji so this part highly relied on good weather as all the sites & activities are outdoors and centred around views of Mt Fuji. The forecast showed it was going to be cloudy & start raining from midday, so we decided to get an early start. We were lucky to have good weather for the morning, otherwise we probably would’ve spent most of the day at our hotel. We considered renting a car for this day, but since they had such nice cycling paths next to the lake we opted to explore by e-bikes. We used this website to see the Mt Fuji Visibility Forecast.
• Cycled to Chureito Pagoda Arakurayama Sengen Park for sunrise at around 05:00 to see this iconic scene with Mt Fuji + Pagoda.
• Shimoyoshida Honcho Street for Fuji Scenic view.
• Stopped by Family Mart for breakfast, egg sandwich with Fami Chiki, so good!
• Next, we wanted to go up to Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway (opens 09:00) for more Fuji Scenic views, but it was only 07:30 still too early so we cycled to Oishi Park where we had delicious Cremia ice cream & cycled back to Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway, but by the time we got back there the line was very long & going down the street & we could start seeing the clouds rolling in so it wouldn’t be long until Mt Fuji would no longer be visible, so we instead did some souvenir shopping before heading back to our hotel. Most of the shops in this area preferred cash only. We thought Oishi Park gave the best views out of all the viewpoints.
• Stopped by a food truck selling delicious Wagyu Burgers for lunch on the way back to our hotel.
• Cycling next to the lake with views of Mt Fuji was a highlight.
• For dinner our hotel helped us order some takeaway to have in our room & while we waited for our food to arrive we enjoyed some drinks in the open-air private bath on the rooftop & some more cocktails in the bar.

Monday 25 March 2024 Lake Kawaguchiko to Osaka This route gets asked about often, travelling from Lake Kawaguchiko to Osaka/Kyoto (West) is not as straightforward as it is from Tokyo (East) & requires a bit more travel time & planning. We were torn between just doing a day trip from Tokyo, but we understood that Mt Fuji can be shy so we wanted to increase our chances of seeing it by staying at least two nights. We also considered Hakone as it has better access, but we wanted to see Mt Fuji up close. We saw a lot of mixed reviews with some people saying there is not much to do in Kawaguchiko, which is true if the weather is poor, but with favourable weather we could’ve spent at least another day here.

• Had breakfast at the hotel & took our hotel shuttle to Kawaguchiko Sta. where we took the Fujikyuko Express Bus to Mishima Station. Trip took 1h 30min. We booked this bus one month in advance, so we had reserved seats & we just needed to display our booking QR code on our phone when we boarded the bus. Tip: When booking this bus, you need to get the Shinkansen at Mishima Sta. going west, ensure your arrival is to Mishima Sta. North Exit. You can select your arrival (North or South Exit) when you book. The bus was full.
• We pre booked our Shinkansen from Mishima Sta. to Shin-Osaka Sta. & ensured we gave ourselves at least one hour to get from our bus to our Shinkansen with extra time to get an ekiben to eat on the train, however unless you go at a busy time you can probably just book the Shinkansen when you get there. One hour was more than enough time. Shinkansen from Mishima Sta. to Shin-Osaka Sta. took 2h40min. The Shinkansen was full. We got these snacks for our train ride.
• Checked into our Osaka Hotel JOYTEL HOTEL Namba-Dotonbori which was conveniently located only a 5min walk from Osaka-Namba Station overlooking Dotonbori River. Hotel was affordable, room was clean but small. They had coin laundry facilities. Our luggage that we forwarded was there on arrival.
• Did laundry at the hotel before going to dinner at Matsuzaka Gyu Yakiniku M Hozenji-Yokocho & exploring Dotonbori & the Glico Man after.
• Dotonbori was vibrant with tourists & locals. We tried the ¥10 Coin, Takoyaki & Melon Pan with ice cream before heading back to our hotel.

Tuesday 26 March 2024 Osaka

• We planned to visit Osaka Castle in the morning, but it was pouring rain & the forecast showed it would clear up around midday so we decided to visit Kuromon Ichiba Market first where we tried a whole lot of different foods including this strawberry mochi, prawn tempura & these strawberries & visited the Ghibli & Capcom stores before heading to Osaka Castle where we visited the grounds but did not go inside. We thought the grounds & the castle were beautiful even though there weren’t many cherry blossoms yet.
• We planned to visit Harukas 300 at sunset, but it was cloudy & we were tired so headed back to our hotel to rest before visiting Dotonbori in the evening where we tried some more Takoyaki , Okonomiyaki & Melon Pan.

Wednesday 27 March 2024 Osaka

• Took the train to Universal Studios around 09:00.
• We got the Express Pass 7 which included timed entry for Nintendo World & express pass for 7 rides & it was well worth it as we didn't wait in any lines. My husband loved the Waterworld show, it was very impressive, I enjoyed how they got the crowd going even though I didn't understand a word.
• We had some excellent weather this day & it goes without saying it was overcrowded, we just ate some pizza as it had the shortest line & had lots of butterbeer.
• On the way back to our hotel we stopped by a konbini for some drinks & snacks to enjoy at our room.

Thursday 28 March 2024 Nara Day Trip

• Took the 09:10 Kintetsu Sightseeing Limited Express AONIYOSH train from Osaka-Namba to Nara. We reserved seats facing the window. The trip took 35 mins. We had some nice coffee & dessert from the train kiosk on the train.
• Fed the deer treats you can buy at Nara Deer Park before visiting Todaiji Temple. We enjoyed the deer & even though the area was busy with tourists there was a relaxing atmosphere.
• Took a train to Shinsekai & tried some more Takoyaki & Okonomiyaki then dropped by Namba Yasaka Jinja Shrine before heading back to the hotel & grabbing some tempura at a restaurant at Namba Station.
• After giving Takoyaki & Okonomiyaki a good few tries we thought it was just ok, the texture was too “mushy” but in saying that we just tried any place we stumbled upon & didn’t try to find the ‘best’ spots or places that had long lines, hence trying a few different spots.

Friday 29 March 2024 Osaka > Kyoto

• Took the train from Osaka-Namba Sta. to Gion-Shijo Sta. & dropped our luggage at our hotel Laon Inn Gion Nawate which was in an excellent location only 5min walk from Gion-Shijo Sta. Room was clean & a decent size. They had coin laundry facilities.
• Lunch at Kobe Beef Steak Mouriya Gion where we had some incredible A5 Kobe Beef Wagyu Steak.
• After lunch we went back to our hotel for a break before heading to in the Moon roof top bar for drinks overlooking Kyoto at sunset, saw cherry blossoms on the way.
• Had some Taiyaki on our way to Kiyomizu-dera Temple at night for the Special Light Up Event.

Saturday 30 March Kyoto We considered renting e-bikes for some days in Kyoto, but considering we would visit the most touristy places we concluded e-bikes might be a hassle in overcrowded areas, so we just opted to walk/bus/train.

• Visited Yasaka Pagoda at sunrise followed by Sannenzaka Street & Ninenzaka Street which was so picturesque early in the morning & revisited Kiyomizu-dera Temple at daytime.
• Visited Yasaka Shrine before going back to the hotel for a break.
• Visited Shore-in Temple & Gardens & saw Chionin Temple on the way there.
• Circled back to Maruyama Park where there was a festival with live music, food stalls & shops. We had a Sakura flavoured soda & Matcha ice cream before heading back to Sannenzaka Street & Ninenzaka Street which was now pumping with tourists, many dressed in kimonos. We browsed shops & got a caricature done of us with our dog. Saw this cute dog in a kimono.
• Back to our hotel for a break before heading out to dinner at Itoh Dining Kyoto where we had more A5 Kobe Beef Wagyu Steak for THE BEST MEAL OF OUR LIVES, my mouth just waters thinking about it.

Sunday 31 March Kyoto

• Visited Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine at sunrise & set off to Philosophers Path, but there were only a couple of cherry blossom trees so we didn’t walk that far along & headed to Nanzen-ji Buddhist Temple which was still very quiet & tranquil.
• Had great coffee & breakfast at Hoshino Drip Coffee before heading back to the hotel for a break.
• Visited Nishiki Market in the afternoon where we had several different foods & drinks, had a lot of ‘Sakura flavoured’ sake & beer.
• Headed toward Nijo Castle for the Naked Illuminations Event & had really good ramen on the way there.

Monday 1 April Kyoto

• Visited Arashiyama Bamboo Grove at sunrise followed by a walk along the Katsura River which was very calm & beautiful early in the morning before visiting the Kimono Forest close to the train station.
• Took a bus to the nearest McDonalds for breakfast as nothing else was open yet.
• Visited the beautiful Tenryu-ji Temple where we saw a few more cherry blossoms before visiting Arashiyama Monkey Park, you get great view of Kyoto from the top. The monkeys were very cute & entertaining as they were playing with each other.
• Visited Ryoan-ji Temple & Kinkaku-ji Temple before heading back to the hotel for a break.
• Got some drinks from the konbini and enjoyed it next to the Kamo River while we watched the sunset before going to Tokyo Station for dinner but the station was chaotic & every restaurant had at least a one hour wait so instead we headed back to our hotel & grabbed some pizza and cocktails from the bar across our hotel. Tokyo Station architecture is impressive.

Tuesday 2 April Kyoto > Tokyo
We stayed in Tokyo for the next 7 days with two full days at Disney. We felt we could’ve used at least another 2-3 days in Tokyo, there is just so much to do.

• Got our hotel to forward our luggage to our hotel in Tokyo. Before heading to Kyoto Sta. where we got food & these buddha desserts caught our Shinkansen to Shinagawa Station (Tokyo). We booked Seats C & D on the Green Car Nozomi N700S & had another great view of Mt Fuji. Trip took 2 hours. We transferred trains at Shinagawa Sta. to go to Gotanda Sta. to our hotel.
• Checked into JR-East Hotel Mets Gotanda. This hotel was great, it took only one minute to walk from our room to the station gates. We were connected to the Yamanote , Tōkyū Ikegami and Asakusa Lines. We booked a twin room, which was clean and spacious. They had coin laundry. There is also a Uniqlo in the same building (floor 2 on the same elevator to get to your room), many konbini’s and lots of eateries nearby.
• After dropping our luggage, we headed to Shibuya & visited the Hachiko Statue on our way to Shibuya Sky for our booked slot at 16:00, ideally, we wanted a 17:00 slot but this was sold out a month before. So, we spent 2 hours here for sunset, which was ok as there is a bar inside with a great view, so we enjoyed a few drinks here watching the city light up.
• Visited Shibuya Scramble Crossing before our dinner reservation at Kumachan Onsen Japanese Hot Pot Restaurant Shibuya, the food wasn't bad but it’s more known for the cute bears than how good the food is.
• Did laundry back at our hotel before calling it a night.

Wednesday 3 April Tokyo Visited DisneyLand today. With it being peak tourist season & spring break for some Japanese students we expected the worst in terms of crowds, we tried to avoid going on a weekend, but not sure going on a Wednesday & Thursday helped. Despite the crowds we enjoyed it. We researched both DisneySea and DisneyLand rides and attractions, watched YT videos, familiarized ourselves with the app beforehand and went into each day with a rough plan & must-do rides/attractions. We took advantage of the Premier Access & 40th Anniversary Priority Pass.

• Took the train to DisneyLand & arrived at 07:00.
• As soon as we entered the park, we purchased Premier Access for Beauty & The Beast (this was the only ride I really cared about and so worth it) & got a 40th Anniversary Priority Pass for Pooh’s Honey Hunt and after we got another Priority Pass for Haunted Mansion.
• It started raining at about 10:00 & drizzled for most of the day.
• We had some food & browsed the park & shops in between waiting for our time slots for our rides.
• There were a few rides we skipped as we have previously done these at DisneyWorld & we were satisfied with the rides we managed to do & did not wait in line for anything else.
• We were starting to get tired & decided not to stay for the fireworks, we arrived back at our hotel at around 18:00. We ordered room services at our hotel for dinner before calling it a night.

Thursday 4 April Tokyo

• Took the train to DisneySea & arrived at 09:30.
• As soon as we entered the park, we purchased Premier Access for Journey to the Centre of the Earth & got a 40th Anniversary Priority Pass for Soaring: Fantastic Flight.
• We loved DisneySea, it is unique to any other theme park we have been to.
• We were tired of theme parks by this point & decided to visit Shinjuku Gyoen Japanese Gardens to view the cherry blossoms in the afternoon since they were now in full bloom & it was peak viewing time.

Friday 5 April Tokyo

• Visited Senso-ji Temple Asakusa early in the morning 06:30 to avoid crowds, it was nice & quiet, we got our fortunes.
• My husband and I are dog lovers & almost always when we see a cute dog we ask if we can pet their dog. There were a lot of cute Shiba Inu’s in Japan & whenever we asked someone if it’s ok to pet their dog they were exceptionally friendly and always thanked us abundantly.
• Visited Ueno Park to view some cherry blossoms before heading back to Nakamise-dori Street as most vendors only open 10am. Had a nice Macha Latte at Starbucks.
• Visited Kappabashi Str. where my husband bought himself a knife before having some good souffle pancakes at Belle & Emma.
• Headed back to the hotel for a break before making our way to Skytree for sunset & visited the Donguri Republic Ghibli Store.
• We couldn’t decide whether to get the Skytree Galleria (450m) tickets in addition to the Tembo Deck (350m) but ended up getting both, we don’t think it’s worth getting the Galleria (450m) tickets, we would’ve been satisfied with only visiting the Tembo Deck (350m). It seemed like a lot of people got both tickets & you had to wait ages for the lift to get to the Galleria anyway. We enjoyed some drinks at the Skytree Café watching the city light up.
• Visited Akihabara before heading back to our hotel.

Saturday 6 April Tokyo

• We considered visiting Tsukiji Fish Market this morning, but since we’ve already been to Kuromon & Nishiki markets we figured we can give Tsukiji a miss & get some extra sleep.
• We visited Meiji Jingu Shrine at Yoyogi Park at around 09:00 before heading to Harajuku & Takeshita Street, where we tried some different foods & browsed some shops.
• Headed to a store called Mamegyorai Koenji as my husband was after some specific Dark Souls & Bloodborne merch.
• Headed back to Shibuya for dinner (Ichiran again) & drinks before heading back to our hotel. Took some photos at Sakura Street on the way to the station.

Sunday 7 April Tokyo

• Walked along Meguro River to view the cherry blossoms.
• Headed to Mega Don Quijote in Shinjuku to shop for gifts for friends & family. We also got my husband a new suitcase. If you spend over ¥5,500 you can shop tax free. This is all the stuff we bought.
• Had lunch at Yoshinoya across from our hotel which was ok. I had the Unagi & my husband had a beef bowl. It's cheap and convenient.
• Went back to our hotel for a break before going to the observation deck at Azabudai Hills at sunset for views of Tokyo Tower. Took some photos of Tokyo Tower on the way. Had some drinks at the bar.
• KFC for dinner across from our hotel, once again thought it was ok, cheap & convenient.

Monday 8 April Tokyo

• Checked out of our hotel at 11:00 & left our luggage to be collected later again when we head to the airport later. Our flight was only at 22:00 from Haneda Airport.
• We planned to head to Tokyo Station/Ginza area for more shopping, but we already bought everything we wanted & instead headed to Sumida Park for nice views of the Tokyo Skytree as we missed this before when we were in the Asakusa area. Had one more egg salad sandwich with Fami Chiki.
• We also left some free time today to revisit anything we really liked or missed before but decided to just go to the airport early & relax.
• Headed back to our hotel at around 16:00 & took a taxi to Haneda Airport to catch our flight back to New Zealand at 22:00. We originally planned to take the train, but the taxi from Gotanda Sta. to Haneda Airport was only about ¥5,000 which wasn’t that expensive considering it would’ve cost us about ¥4,000 to forward all our luggage to the airport if we didn’t want to take them with us on the train.

Highlights

• Cycling around Lake Kawaguchiko with My Fuji in view
• Seeing Cherry blossoms in full bloom
• Riding the Shinkansen/Bullet Train
• Riding the Kintetsu Sightseeing Limited Express AONIYOSH Train to Nara
• If I could choose only one thing to see in Kyoto it would be Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine at sunrise
• Shibuya Sky at sunset was our preferred observation deck. Tokyo Metro Building & Azabudai Hills are free but felt more overcrowded & once the sun starts to set there is too much reflection on the windows to get good photos unless you have all the right camera gear to deal with this and SkyTree is nice but the height & angle of the city from this viewpoint was not as good as Shibuya Sky for us. Shibuya Sky also has the nicest area to have drinks and enjoy the view.
• Favourite meal Itoh Dining Kyoto A5 Kobe Wagyu Beef
• Favourite budget meal Ichiran Ramen
• Favourite dessert Cremia Ice Cream & Melon Pan+ Ice Cream
• Favourite konbini item Egg Salad Sandwich+FamiChiki & Mini Pancakes with butter & syrup
• Favourite vending machine drinks Pocari Sweat & Salty Litchi. I also appreciated being able to get a warm tea or coffee from the vending machines on cold early mornings when everything else was still closed.

Budget

• Budget is highly subjective as Japan can be very cheap or very expensive, but this is what we spent (approximately) for 2 adults. Amounts are in ¥ based on the conversion rate at the time.
• Flights = ¥341,030
• Accommodation = ¥470,262 (avg. ¥26,125 per night)
• Transport (All trains/busses/taxis) = ¥122,968
• Food & Drinks = ¥226,950 (avg. ¥5,900 per person per day)
• Travel Insurance = ¥22,191
• eSims = ¥3,086
• Pre Booked activities (Disney, USJ, Shibuya Sky, Naked Flowers, Tokyo Skytree, Go Karts) = ¥174,974
• Other Spending/Shopping/Shipping Luggage/Other (entrance fees to temples etc.) = ¥163,404
• Total budget for 2 adults = ¥1,524,865

This post has gotten long so I didn’t elaborate on everything, especially all of the food, but I hope someone finds something helpful. AMA. We will be reflecting on our amazing trip for a long time.

TL;DR: My recent trip to Japan has been centering, inspiring and expansive. I learned so much about the culture, and had a chance for deep introspection. I also enjoyed the Cherry Blossom season, Mt Fuji, Beef and other delicious foods.
I had a life-changing trip in Japan for the last 26 days. It reminded me that I need to be more patient, more kind, and more content. This trip was an investment in myself and my relationship. Got to eat delicious, natural food, and experience many of the world's greatest sights. What made this trip special was how it allowed us to slow down, enjoy each and every minute, and be present.
From working 12+ hour days to exploring new geographies, I was able to find inner peace and contentment. This trip report is more about my daily experiences, places I found interesting, and some general tips and trick that worked for my travel style -- which is slow paced, nature and culture focused, and welcoming every experience the country has to offer.

Context

• Dates: March 17 to April 11.
• My goals for this trip:

1. see Cherry Blossoms
2. eat yummy food
3. detox from social media and work
4. relax and slow down

• My personal travel values:

1. be respectful
2. be like water
3. enjoy the small surprises
4. there is a silver lining in everything

• Second time in Japan. First time was in 2019 with friends on a Gunpla shopping spree, this time was with my partner.
• Very different experiences but both were life changing in a profoundly positive way
• All figures are expressed in Japanese Yen (JPY) for simplicity
• Total cost of the trip 26 days was 2,000,000 Yen
• Cost of air travel is $0 as was paid through credit card points.
• Brought two medium size backpacks to Japan Went home with 4 luggages (two large, two carry on) and two backpacks, two clear umbrellas, and two huge bags of airport snacks.

Logistics

• If possible, hotels needed be 5-10 minute walk or less to the nearest subway
• Ideally the hotel should have a grocery, supermarket, or a discount store like Matsumoto Kiyoshi, Daikoku or Cosmos nearby (within 10-15 minute walk)
• Only use Konbini if necessary and avoid if possible
• Always ship luggage with Yamato Transport
• Always shop at Supermarket or discount drug store for daily goods and snacks
• Avoid commuting during rush hour if possible
• If possible, get lunch around 11-11:30
• If possible, get dinner around 5-5:30
• Always say yes to dessert and sometimes twice in the same night

General Routine

• Wake up 6-7am
• Breakfast 30 minutes
• Explore / Activity #1
• Lunch 11-12:30
• Explore / Activity #2
• Dinner at 5:30-7
• Explore / Activity #3 / Shopping
• Return to hotel between 9:30-11pm, in bed before midnight
• Laundry every 4-5 days

Itinerary

• Tokyo 4 days
• Kyoto 5 days
• Osaka 5 days
• Lake Kawaguchi 3 days
• Tokyo 8 days

We never have any luggage with us so we always use the travel day to explore and enjoy.
Apps used:

• Google Maps for navigation and planning
• Shinkansen SmartEX for booking bullet trains
• Suikakeibo (reading Suica transactions daily)
• Google Sheets for tracking expenses
• Google Keep for journaling and documentation
• ChatGPT 4 for tour guide and ideas

Costs

Type	SUM of Total (JPY)
Food	¥565,291
Hotel	¥494,000
Shopping	¥405,895
Transportation	¥307,138
Activity	¥228,638
Grand Total	¥2,000,962

• On average we spend about 2,000 on Breakfast and Snacks throughout the day, 4,000-5,000 for lunch, and 7,000-10,000 for dinner. This also includes drinks, grocery runs, and any food we buy from tourist traps.
• Typical hotel on average was around 15,000 per night. We also spent several nights in Ryokans that was worth every penny.
• Majority of shopping went to luxury bags for myself and my partner. We were able to get a lot of stuff at discount stores and dollar stores at 30-50% less than Don Quijote.
• Brought back a ton of Alcohol from grocery stores. Enough to make highballs every day for 6 months.
• Main transportation was using the Suica and the Shinkansen. I reserve all my seats for the bullet trains.
• Main activities were rentals, including bike, boat, and scooter. We also did a lot of tourist stuff like Gondolas, Amusement Parks, Observation Decks. If the city had one, we were there.

Day 1

• Land at Haneda around 5pm, activate Airalo data, get Suica at the kiosk, load 20,000 yen and off we go.
• Had dinner at Shibuya Sky and went to the observation deck. Very beautiful and felt like it was a great start to the trip. Cabbed to the hotel for convenience.
• Seeing the city in the night view reminded me of how small we are, and that everyone in Japan is trying very hard to get through the day. It signified the start of our new adventure and we have so much excitement for the rest of the trip.
• Staying at the OneFive around 12,000 per night (3 nights). Found this place to be a good location for walking and exploration. Rooms were small but we were out 12-14 hours a day so it didn't really matter. Check-in was smooth and amenities were available.
• Went to a supermarket near the hotel to stock up on drinks and snacks. Typically we found drinks to be between 60-90 yen at the grocery store vs 120+ at the vending machine and konbini.
• Snacks were about 100 yen less and there was a great selection of fresh fruits like Strawberries, Pineapple, Melons, etc. Salads, bentos, and Alcohol were way cheaper too. They also sold a lot of things that I would consider as gifts for friends and acquaintances.
  
• I did the math for our 26-day trip, and there was no way we were doing any konbini unless it was for fried chicken, skewers, or dessert. We probably saved 20,000 yen just by walking for another 2-3 minutes to the nearest grocery store.
  

Day 2

• Woke up at 3am due to jet lag, walked around the area. I was surprised how many people were out this late in the evening. There were so many people around Club Bala, and the surrounding streets. Even more people were out chatting and having a good time as I walked close to the Shibuya Crossing.
• Had a 4am ramen snack and spent time at the Mega Don Quijote. I packed light and only had two shirts, so I bought some new outfits and shoes. Also scored a large Hanami sheet for 800 yen.
• Commuted to the Reserve Roastery in the morning and explored the area. No cherry blossoms yet, and it was quite cold. Made our way to Yokohama for the Gundam Base.
• Gundam is one of my favorite franchises, and I used to build a lot before I started my business. Very near and dear hobby and I got emotional seeing this giant figure in person. I was so happy and my heart was pounding.
• Glad to share this experience with my partner who was very impressed with the engineering.
• Went to Cosmoworld and tried all the rides and the Ferris Wheel. This was so easy to do, buy a ticket at the kiosk and go. Very different than a typical amusement part.
  
• Took the Gondola to see the sunset. Amazing views but I felt the Ferris Wheel offered a slightly better view point.
  

Day 3

• Jetlag almost fixed, and I woke up at 5am. Again walking in Shibuya, its amazing how many people are awake so late / early. Truly is a city that never sleeps.Really admire all the cleaning staff that try their best with all the beer cans and bottles every where. I had breakfast at Matsuya and commuted to Roppongi to explore.
• We spent about 3.5 hours at the teamlabs borderless and had a quick bite to eat at Azabudai hills. Really nice area and looks futuristic.
• Left around 4pm and lined up for Sushiro. Quick 5 minute wait and we got in. Ate around 30 plates and it came out to be 8000 yen, really good. Did some shopping at Uniqlo for heattech as the weather forecast turned against us. We thought we’d be coming into 20C weather but it was closer to 5-10C. Had to layer up as I landed in a t-shirt and hoodie.
• Discovered Seria (100 yen store) and had a lot of fun shopping there. A lot of stuff you could get here instead of Don Quijote, such as cute keychains, small gifts, etc.
• We bought reusable shopping bags here to use throughout our trip. Couldnt believe how much we got for 10,000. Felt like we bought enough for 30 people.

Day 4

• Jetlag fixed, got up early to visit Sensoji and then Tsukiji market. Lots of people even in the early mornings. Had lunch around 11 at a Yakiniku place.
  
• I thought this was the low point in the trip so far. While it was nice to see the hustle and bustle, it was simply too busy and crowded for my liking. Did shopping for the rest of the day. Got back to hotel early to pack as we are leaving for Kyoto.
  
• We got one small luggage at Donqi for about 5,000 yen, just enough to put all the non-essentials in and shipped it to Kyoto. We had our light backpacks and got to the station.
  
• Bought some bentos and boarded the Nozomi train. We didn’t get a JR Rail pass because of how rigid it was, so we just bought all our tickets as we needed.
  
• Got to Kyoto at the Sosetsu Hotel across from the station, this was around 16,000 per night. Great selection of amenities including bath soaks. Went to a tonkotsu place at the station for dinner and explored the observation deck there.
  
• I often use ChatGPT to expand on the location that I am visiting, such as the architecture, historical and political significance, and any other interesting facts. This has given me so much more context and learning, which satisfied my curiosity.
  

Day 5

• Spent the day at Nara, visiting various museums, temples and seeing the deers. Amazing experience and highly recommended. There was a buddhist museum that had really nice statues.
  
• Had one deer that pulled my backpack down for food. What a guy.
  
• Learned a lot about its history as a previous capital, and the highways that connected ancient Japan. Got to learn more about the origin of the religion and how it shaped politics in Japan during the Nara era.
  

Day 6

• Got to Uji and there was a waitlist at ItohKyuemon and Tokichi, but we typically use the divide and conquer strategy where we split up and get line up numbers. Then it became a waiting game. We got to eat at both places and had an amazing matcha meal.
  
• Did a lot of matcha shopping. Dropped it off at the storage locker at Kyoto Station and went back to Inari Shrine for the afternoon.
  
• A lot less people now but it's still crowded. Took some photos and enjoyed a nice walk. One of the best parts about this was as we head up hill, there were less people. Got to have a nice and relaxing walk.
  

Day 7

• Arashiyama. It was a beautiful sunny day. Had lunch at Kameyamaya. We put our name down and were 3rd on the list. Got called in right after they opened and it was a peaceful meal next to the soothing lake.
• We took our time to enjoy the view and the food, which was an amazing traditional meal with Oden, Soba noodles, Fish and Tempura. The view was right on the lake and we saw animals and people sharing the water.
• What a relaxing experience. We chartered a private boat for the two of us and were transported to another beautiful world.
• Spent time walking the park, visiting attractions such as the bamboo forest and monkey park. The crowds became too much and we left around 3. Made our way to Hiroshige for a Sukiyaki dinner. Wagyu is simply amazing.

Day 8

• We are changing hotels today and staying at Seikoro, a beautiful traditional Ryokan in Kyoto. We were here for 2 nights for around 140,000 yen total. Rooms were huge! Big space for a table that gets replaced with tatami beds after dinner. Separate living room, private bath and toilet.
  
• Traditional Breakfast and Dinner were included. As soon as we entered the building, we felt like we were taken to the 1800s. Well crafted interior and traditional Japanese architecture. We checked in around 3pm and put on our Yukatas.
  
• Unpacked and relaxed at the Onsen. When we got back to the room, they were ready to serve us an amazing Kaiseki dinner.
  

Day 9

• I woke up with a nice Onsen bath. Had breakfast served in the room. Really amazing traditional Japanese breakfast with all fresh ingredients.
  
• We visited Kiyomizu temple and the surrounding areas, and rented Kimonos for around 3,000 yen each. Spent time walking in the streets and exploring Kyoto.
  
• Took a break back in the Ryokan and visited the Onsen again before venturing out. They served us warm matcha and cookies before we headed out again.
  
• In the afternoon we rented bikes and explored the area and alleyways. Felt very relaxing as there were not too many people.
  
• In the afternoon we visited the Samurai Museum which was great because I am a huge fan of ancient Japanese culture. Oda Nobunaga is a fascinating character, in addition to many other famous Shogun and Samurai that had a place in history.
  
• Picked up some sweet strawberries from the grocery store and had another Kaiseki at the Ryokan. We’ve accumulated quite a bit of luggage so we shipped it to Osaka, where we are headed the next day.
  

Day 10

• Got up early and started the check out process. The Ryokan staff all got outside and bowed to us. It was simply amazing and I really enjoyed my time at this paradise away from the busy areas.
  
• Since it's a short bullet train away to Osaka, and we don’t have any luggage, we decided to visit Mt. Hiei.
  
• It was snow covered and looked like a winter wonderland. We took the cable car up the mountain and spent a couple of hours hiking and exploring. In the afternoon, we made our way to Osaka.
  
• Since we are staying at Osaka Station - the Hankyuu Respire was the perfect choice. Rooms were 20,000 per night for 3 nights. It’s built on top of the station and we stayed on the 30th floor.
  
• It was a very busy lobby as you can imagine, but with 40ft high ceilings, it felt like there were a lot of space. Our room had a panoramic view of the city, which surprised us. We went for dinner and tried Okonomiyaki on the 8th floor where the staff cooked for us. Great experience.
  
• We got back to our room around 10 and noticed that there were still people working in the building across from us. At this time, we took a moment to reflect the first 10 days and how lucky we are to be here across the world. It reminded us that when it’s time to go home, we have to work even harder as Japan is a place we will want to return to.
  

Day 11

• Today was Hiroshima and Himeji. We took the Shinkansen (about 50,000 for the day) that went to the Hiroshima Peace Museum and reconnected ourselves with history, politics and everything that shaped modern Japan. It was a great learning experience.
  
• Then we made our way back to Himeji to see the Castle. Too bad no Cherry Blossoms. It was also preserved from the ancient times, so there were a lot of knee high stairs to climb barefoot. My partner did not like that very much.
  
• Ended our night with some Yakiniku at Gyukaku back in Osaka.
  

Day 12

• As a proud shareholder of the best company in the world, I had to visit Costco. Quite a trek from Osaka with a train and bus but we made it. I was so impressed by the different types of produce and meats and selection.
• Lots of furniture, decoration and tools that I wish I had room to bring back. Had lunch at the foodcourt and it was fantastic. We got one of everything and it was all about gluttony.
• Made our way to Kobe via bullet train and we took the Gondola up to the Herb Garden. Beautiful view of the city and it has a nice flower garden that we hiked down towards.
  
• Spent the night exploring the night market near Kobe Station and getting to Steakland for dinner. Bit of a tourist trap but we spent just under 30,000 yen getting various cuts of Kobe Beef. Very tender and delicious.
  

Day 13

• Went to the Osaka Aquarium and to see the ocean port. It was a windy day but we had a sliver of sun that made the experience well worth it.
  
• Visited the Osaka Nature Museum and it was wonderful. All the descriptions were in Japanese and I had a nice time ingraining myself in translations. Very local feel to this museum and we spent about an hour learning about Osaka’s landscape and the ecosystem here.
  
• This was our last night at this hotel so we decided to go shopping. Okura, Komenya and Book Off were places we visited. Very nice selection of bags and watches. Also tried to do a bit of gunpla shopping but the Bic Camera and Yodobashi seemed to have been raided. No stock of any recent lineups.
  

Day 14

• Check out of Hankyuu and commuted our luggage to Hotel Forza right in the middle of Dotonbori. This place was amazing in terms of location, size and price, at around 15,000 per night. We are only here for 2 nights before our next location. I wanted to live right in the action so could not have picked a better place.
  
• Went to Osaka Castle in the afternoon and finally saw a few cherry blossoms bloom. But it still seemed too early due to the cold snap that happened. Beautiful castle and the museum inside was really well done.
  
• Lots of educational information on the warring period, samurai’s rise and history of Japan. We bought some gifts at the souvenir shop because they looked delicious.
  
• Spent the night exploring Dotonbori.
  

Day 15

• After browsing various stores for luxury goods, we decided Kyoto had the best price and we went back there to secure our items. Had Shabutei for lunch and it was great. Love Japanese beef.
  
• Spent the afternoon scootering in Kyoto, I really love the alleys and “old Japan”. It was a good escape from tourists and crowds. I noticed so many bikes in Japan are equipped with baby carriage, umbrella holders, and storage.
  
• So amazing, I will definitely try to take these ideas back to my country.
  
• Explored Dotonbori at night again as it was our final night in Osaka. We walked about 10 minutes north to eat at Tsukemen Suzume. We were the first in line when they opened at 6, and spent over an hour devouring the best noodles, thick soup, and add on rice.
  
• Spent the night shopping at various discount stores in Dotonbori. Bought a large luggage for 8,000 yen and packed everything. At this point we had 1 large suitcase and 1 carry on. Backpacks were just carrying essentials so they were very light. We were spending the next 3 days in Mt Fuji / Lake Kawaguchi, so we shipped all the luggages to Tokyo, the final leg of our journey.
  

Day 16

• This was a busy day as it was a 5 hour journey to Lake Kawaguchi. We took the Shinkansen to Mishima station, where we booked a Sekitori bus to go up the mountain. Then we had our Ryokan send a shuttle to pick us up.
  
• The Ryokan is called Wakakusa no Yado Maruei. This was relatively inexpensive at 60,000 yen per night, including traditional Breakfast and Dinner. The view and private onsen was very spectacular. We went back to the station and rented bikes for our stay, around 10,000 for 3 days.
  
• Mt. Fuji was so majestic and had amazing gravitas to it. Fortunately the days we were there were close to 20C, very sunny and warm. Felt amazing to bike on the Lake Trail whilst enjoying the mountain view . We stopped every so often to admire and reconnect with nature.
  
• At this stage of the adventure, I began to notice something very different about myself. It was the need to spend quality time with loved ones, reconnect with nature, embrace and nurture physical health, eat clean and be content.
  
• Being in business, there comes a lot of high stress situations where certain sacrifices in relationships and time have to be made. It’s the “do what it takes” mentality that I have ingrained myself in.
  
• I felt so small standing underneath Mt Fuji and felt like it was the right place to be. Everything was peaceful, quiet, bird chirping and waves flowing. It became my happy place. My personal quest changed from making more money to finding ways to get more of nature and travel.
  
• It’s a fundamental change and I believe it is for the better. It reminded me of the story of “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, where the main character Ivan progresses through life with what society deems is successful, but in actuality it was superficial.
  
• Seeing the majestic mountain, biking through the lakes, while many cherry blossoms have flowered was just a once-in-a-lifetime view. It was simply breathtaking.
  

Day 17

• Our first full day in Lake Kawaguchi was action packed. I woke up with a hot bath facing the mountain. Seeing its snowy peak and cold winds breezing through my hair, I stayed in the hotspring and admired it's presence.
  
• Breakfast was served in our room and we got to enjoy a nice peaceful moment.
  
• We rode our bikes to various attractions, starting with the Panoramic Ropeway, stopping for a quick lunch, then headed to Arakurayama Sengen Park for the afternoon. Stopping at lots of scenic points to admire the great mountain from afar.
  
• Went to the main lake and rented a boat to take in the sights. Saw lots of cool views of the mountain that otherwise would not be accessible.
  
• Went back to the Ryokan for Dinner and more private onsen.
  

Day 18

• We dropped off our bags in the station lockers before embarking on more biking around the lakes.
• Saiko lake was nearby and we had a nice time enjoying bentos with a view of Mt. Fuji. Our bus to Shinjuku was scheduled for 4pm so dropped off our bikes and said “see you later” to one of the best travel experiences we’ve had.
  
• The bus ride took about 2.5 hours back to Shinjuku, due to traffic. We went to GyuKaku near the station for dinner. Amazing experience grilling beef. We checked into our hotel.
  
• We are staying at the E-hotel right next to the Higashi Shinjuku stop. This was around 20,000 per night, we planned to stay here for 3 nights. Very convenient location with lots of restaurants and stores nearby.
  
• Went to bed early after a long day. Excited to see all the Cherry Blossoms
  

Day 19

• Went to a whole bunch of parks that we heard had full blooms: National Theater, Chidoyafuchi Park, Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Midtown Garden, Yoyogi Park. All were very beautiful and exactly what we came here for.
  
• Had lunch at Kura and won two chopstick holders after 30 plates. Gotta celebrate the small wins!
  
• At night we went to the Meguro river, it was absolutely packed. We spent 2 minutes walking and bailed. Stopped by Don Qijote at the station to get another luggage and went back to the hotel. Shinjuku is very glamorous at night.
  

Day 20

• Went to Soumai park and took a boat cruise. Nice to see the area from a different view. Got on top of the Skytree with the Temba Gallery, a lot more people than I thought, but the view was unbeatable. Tokyo has amazing architecture.
  
• Had Coco Curry for lunch and we decided it was time to buy some souvenirs. Cleaned out the place with over 25 boxes of curry. Stored it in the Asakusa locker and went to Ueno park Sakura Dori.
  
• It was just ok but I felt the crowds were too much.
  
• Went to the Chiyoda river and rented a rowing boat for about 2 hours. It was great to carve out a moment of peace. It was absolutely beautiful on the river. This place is both admired from far and being in it.
  

Day 21

• Went to the Shinjuku Gyeon Garden for Hanami, it was beautiful to see all the large trees have bloomed. We had a good spot near a pink tree and spent time admiring it and people watch.
  
• Made a reservation at Teppan-yaki Tamanami on top of the Keio Plaza Hotel. This restaurant has a nice view of the city whilst the chef is cooking for us. We spent about 90,000 yen on lunch with excellent seafood, Hida Beef (A5), Kobe Beef (A4) and garlic rice.
  
• After lunch, we went to Surugaya for my Gunpla shopping. Had a great haul of Gundam Seed Freedom kits, figures, and books. Left everything at the Shinjuku Locker and went to the Lumine Est building for dinner and dessert. Lots of good options there.
  

Day 22

• We are moving locations to Asakasa to be more central. Staying at the Hotel Sui which was only 14,000 per night. We had our luggages shipped and everything was so easy.
  
• Went to the Asukayana park to do a Hanami. It was a really nice vibe to be a part of Japanese locals and no tourists. Had an amazing time. Went to Ginza for shopping, visited the Muji Store, Don Quijote and several other discount stores. Had a buffet meal after shopping.
  

Day 23

• Went to the imperial palace for their tour, luckily got in because we were early. A lot of people didn’t get in. I think it was only 300 per visit. Went to line up at Sushi Mawashizushi, this has to be the best Conveyor belt sushi restaurant I believe. Really great selection.
  
• Visited the Harry Potter store near the hotel and enjoyed the Yozakura event there. Did some more grocery shopping and watched a movie in the hotel. Funny enough it was called Bullet Train. So good.
  

Day 24

• We took a special rapid train to Showa Kinen Park for a day trip. Rented a tandem bike and it was an amazing experience, we had it for the full day and got to enjoy every area of the park.
  
• First we did Hanami at the Sakura park, which was full of different varieties. Different colors and all, very pretty. We actually fell asleep and woke up after an hour with petals all over. Then we biked to the lake and rented a rowing boat.
  
• Great place to relax, be present and enjoy the moment. We probably saw over 10,000 people at the park but it did not feel packed at all. It was very spacious and everyone had a good space to spend time with loved ones. Great vibes overall.
  
• Got back to Shinjuku in the evening and went for Gyukatsu again. As a beef man I just love it. Triple portion (400gs) this time as the trip is winding down.
  

Day 25

• Spent an hour in the morning to pack. I am an excellent packer. Equipped with many Amazon packaging cubes I was able to put about 100kgs of stuff into the suitcases. We didn’t shop much but it just ended up this way. Lots of drinks, snacks, sauces, curry and everything in between. Went to the Tokyo Tower to the observation deck. I love this view.
  
• Had lunch and went to the Tokyo National Museum. Very well done, capturing the history of 12,000 BC to present day. Lots of historical pieces, artifacts, notes, painting and more. Puts a cohesive story around the culture and politics at each different era.
  
• Went to Ameyoko district for Sushi. After that we got to experience more Yozakura at the Ueon park. This time it was beautiful with all the lanterns lit up. At 8pm all the lanterns turned off so we went shopping at Ameyoko. A few more things for me to pack.
  
• This was our last night in Japan. It felt so surreal, bittersweet, but mostly bitter. Sucks that we are leaving. I saw a 3 bedroom apartment in the Uji/Nara region for 4,000,000 yen. Seriously thought about it. We talked about all the fun we’ve had and how much we’d love to visit again. What an amazing place, people and culture.
  

Day 26

• This was our last day in Japan, our flight was in the afternoon. The make full use of the day, we visited the National Art Gallery in Roppongi, stopped by Azabudai hills to pick up Coffee Beans at Arabica, and had Tsukemen one more time.
  
• Went to Narita to do some more snack shopping and got on the flight.
  

Final thoughts

• Japan is an amazing country. There is something here for everyone. All we need to do is to be respectful, and have a good time.
  
• Yes there are some language barriers but every person I have encountered have genuinely tried to help.
  
• I have learned so much about this country, its history and culture, and my role in our big world.
  
• If we all just have a little bit more kindness, patience, and contentment, I think the world would be a better place.
  

Just came back from Japan last week. I wanted to write this trip report to 1) journal my experience and 2) give back and share my experience with others so their future trip to Japan can be more amazing. Happy to answer questions!
Background:

• First time in Japan. Originally was going to go with an ex in March 2020... finally got to go this year due to strong dollaweak yen, 2 weeks off from work, and using my United points to pay for the flight.
• Flight booked Nov 2023 using 110k points via United website. direct to HND, layover in YYZ on return to IAH.
• Hotels booked Dec 2023. Checked roughly once a week to see if there was anything cheaper. Saved a few bucks 1) changing hotels in Osaka, and 2) choosing another, but same room layout for Kyoto hostel.
• 34M Chinese American. Big foodie. When it comes to sights, I am more of a 'checkbox' traveler. I'd rather spend more time on the restaurant experience, and learning about products, such as origins, etc. As such, I wanted to pack a lot more sights in this trip, and walked a fair amount everyday. I didn't use a step counter. Just reporting the miles walked via Google Maps timeline (I would +10% just in case).
• When planning this trip, I put more emphasis on 'older' restaurants/stores, e.g. established in 1600s, or credited with creating a special product.
• Wanted to check out the Tokyo antennae stores, which sell the regional/prefecture goods. They have mostly food, but also have crafts, sake, and some even have a restaurant. 99% of customers were Japanese, hardly any foreigners.
• No interest in anime/manga products so I breezed through Akihabara/Den-Den Town, though I did buy the volume 1's of a few popular manga. Difficult to find Jujutsu Kaisen Vol 1.
• For food, I put more emphasis those with high ratings on Tabelog, aka Japanese Yelp.
  • 3.0 - average.
  • 3.5 - very good.
  • 3.6 - you'll start to see lines, and prior to opening. Start checking online to see if reservations are required.
  • 3.8 - very tough to get in these. The ones that didn't have reservations, had insane lines, like 3.86 donut shop in Kyoto, I waited almost 2 hours in the rain, and that's arriving 40 minutes early.
  • 4.0 - seemed to apply mostly to high end sushi/kaiseki, e.g. you gotta know someone to get on the list.
• For sights, I will assign a priority number (P1, P2, etc). Use this as datapoints for figuring out where to visit on a quick trip.

Resources

• My Google My Map for points of interest, shopping
  
• My Google My Map for food
  
• My Google Sheet with prices of gifts, food, and ratings
  
• ~80 select highlights from my trip, with comments, mostly copied from my trip report. Photos were taken with the Pixel 8 Pro, no edits/filters.
  

Monday, March 18 - Houston:

• Arrived 7am at IAH, boarded 10:45am for 11:15am flight. While waiting, an ANA employee already mistook me for Japanese; confused, what little Japanese I prepared for this situation left my brain. Knew this won't be the last time I get mistaken as Japanese.

Tuesday, March 19 - Tokyo Osaka (1.9 miles) - Just a travel day:

• Land in Haneda around 3:20pm. I stupidly went through the door to the other Terminal 3 gates instead of going through customs, because I wanted to go by gate 108B to grab the special edition Pikachu plushies. Only the flight attendant plush was left. Then I realize I couldn't get out. It took ~20 min to explain to the Info desk and wait for the person they called to escort me to customs. When I got to customs, it looked like there were two flights worth of travelers in front of me.
• Once past customs, activated my Ubigi eSIM with no problems, got my Welcome Suica card (machines to the left when facing towards the exits to the stations).
• Took the Keikyū line to Shinagawa, then took the Shinkansen to Osaka. At first I was going to buy the ticket via the counter at Shinagawa station but there was a line so I figured I would give the SmartEX app a chance. It was pretty easy to buy tickets via app. I linked it to my Suica card. Took the 5:46pm Nozomi, it looked like I was the only foreigner on my car.
• Food - Dinner: Fukutaro Main Store (3.74 Tabelog, 4/5 rating, 20 min wait @ 9:30pm) - Ordered the triple negiyaki (recommended by staff) and beef okonomiyaki. Freshly made at the front grill, and placed on your grill to keep warm. Very bold flavors due to the okonomiyaki sauce (using Worcestershire), dried seaweed flakes, and pickled ginger. Great for drunk people. The worst thing about solo traveling is not getting to try a little bit of everything. Two entrees was way too much for me, despite eating closer to 10pm. I recommend getting okonomiyaki in Osaka, especially since many open late very late, I've seen some open until 3am.
• Sight: Dotonburi (P2) - Very bright and lit up, lots of young people walking around. Felt like a mini Times Square.
• Hotel: Tabist Hotel ASIATO Namba (5/5 rating, $39/night) - Business hotel. 10 min walk to station. Next block was Kuromon Market. Mix of Japanese and foreign guests. Pretty good for the price, and I had my own room and bathroom. The bathroom was a little tiny even for someone 5'10", particularly the space between the toilet and the opposite wall. Would stay again!

Wednesday, March 20 - Osaka (5.9 miles) - Food & Aquarium:

• Sight: Kuromon Market (P2) - Pretty dead at 8am, many shops are closed, some are setting up for the day. Would recommend sleeping in. Or you could get your shopping in early at the Don Quijote in Umeda (only Osaka Donki that's open 24 hours).
• Food - Pastry: Rikuro’s Namba Main Branch (3.51 Tabelog, 5/5 rating, 45 min wait @ 8:20am) - The famous jiggly cheesecake. Was 3rd in line 45 minutes early. Turns out there are two lines, one for the cafe, one for just cake, the two people ahead of me were 3 hours early for the cafe. Line was about 20-30 people when it opened. Not sure how long it'd be middle of day or on weekend. Not as jiggly as the IG posts, but damn good. Note, there are raisins at the bottom. I had to save half for later, it's a good size for 2-4 people. Another note, cheesecake is take-out only, unless it's bought at the cafe (with possibly a more ridiculous line).
• Food - Appetizer: Fukahiro Honten (3.5/5 rating, no wait @ 10am) - Saw a Youtube vid that said the scallops were very good here. Pretty fresh, No line. Note, most of the scallops at the market will grill it all, ovary included. So you'll get an orange sac to eat. The muscle part was juicy and delicious grilled, the ovary part I could do without.
• Food - Appetizer: 満福 / Manpuku (1/5 rating, no wait) - AVOID! Figured I'd try a wagyu on a stick, price seemed okay ~¥2000. One of my worst food ordered this trip. It was microwaved in plastic wrap before being put on a skillet, not grill. Then he added lots of salt/msg and lastly torched and sauced. Terrible quality meat, super sinewy and I could not chew down. Seems to be Chinese-run, only the cashier was Japanese as the other staff were talking in Chinese but spoke Japanese to her. I don't have high hopes for the other stuff.
• Sight: Osaka Castle (P2) - Beautiful up close. This area was super windy. Pretty long lines to go in, so I skipped the interior.
• Food - Lunch/Dinner: Kadoya Shokudo (3.84 Tabelog, 3/5 rating, 60 min wait @ 2:30pm) - Late lunch since the original place I had in mind for some reason was closed. This was the highest-rated ramen in Osaka, which explained the line at 2pm. Shoyu ramen was very solid and rich but wasn't salty like many of the ramen in the US. However, I didn't think it was necessarily 'memorable'. I also ordered the stamina rice bowl. Delicious and well-braised, but still not worth the wait time.
• Experience: Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan (P1) - Reservations recommended. Though when I went, there wasn't a line to buy tickets. Good amount of people @ 4pm. You may have to wait 15-60 seconds each exhibit for the people in front to finish up. The main twin whale shark exhibit is huge, there are many many many angles to view them, so if you are pressed for time, you have plenty of chances. At first I thought the aquarium was less impressive than the Atlanta one, considering Osaka only had 1 river otter, but the later themes were pretty impressive/unique such as the twilight/jellyfish one, artic waters/Japanese spider crabs, and coral. Gift shop was pretty neat, much better than Atlanta's. Picked up some ceramics with otter designs for the girlfriend.
• Shopping: Don Quijote Namba Sennichimae - The original plan was to buy my Donki haul in Tokyo since I didn't want to lug it to Kyoto/Uji/Tokyo. But I saw some sign that said the Biore sunscreen was the cheapest in the region and all reason flew out the window. Oops. I had a shopping list from the girlfriend, so much of what I bought was to fulfill that. It's somewhat organized, categories I remember: food on 1F, cosmetics on 2F, alcohol, electronics, suitcases, pharmacy on 3F. There's a fairly long line for the tax-free counter on 3F. You can get an extra 5% off ¥10,000 purchase if you use the coupon, not sure if it's tied to your passport, e.g. if you can use it on more than one purchase. Check my link at the beginning with what I bought and prices.

Thursday, March 21 - Osaka Kyoto (2.8 miles) - Travel to and shopping in Kyoto:

• Sight: Sumiyoshi Taisha (P2) - Neat iconic bridge. Lots to see and free to enter. Worth a visit in the morning!
• Food - Lunch: Men-ya Takei - Hankyu Umeda (3.73 Tabelog, 5/5 rating, 10 min wait @ 12pm) - Inside Umeda station, this was my favorite ramen/noodle dish I had. Ordered item #11 on the vending machine, rec by staff. Insanely fragrant due to the yuzu on top and green onions. Comes with pork and grilled chicken. Apparently the tsukemen is top class too.
• Experience: Kobo-san Market at To-Ji Temple (P2) - once a month on the 21st. Got lucky it was happening during my trip. Went straight here when I landed in Kyoto. Packed with stalls all over the grounds, all very diverse. Had a more farmer's market/antique shop feel to it. Food looked very homemade. I wish I had more time to explore it! Random note, I got takoyaki at a stall near the entrance, the guy shortchanged me.
• Shopping: Horaido Tea Stall - outer area of Nishiki market. Established in 1804. The guy who runs it is very knowledgeable and has pretty good English. His family's shop is credited with creating genmaicha (tea and roasted rice). Bought hojicha and genmaicha. I wish I had bought matcha here. I got a nice sakura-pattern bowl as well.
• Shopping: Takashimaya - fairly high-end department store chain, considered a purveyor of kimono to the Imperial household. Lots of international brands. I went to check out the ceramics section on the 6th. I bought a mini flower vase and nice ceramic chopstick holders.
• Shopping: Nintendo Kyoto - Same floor as the tax-free counter in the Takashimaya building. Not crazy packed. Lots of folks of all ages. No Pokemon items here. Photo booth upstairs. Not tax-free.
• Shopping: Pokemon Center - Lots of recent gen Pokemon stuff.
• Shopping: Hands - DIY/lifestyle chain located fairly close since they're all along the shopping street. Got stickers for the gf.
• Food - Dinner: KARA-KUSA curry (3.54 Tabelog, 4/5 rating, 5 min wait @ 8pm) - Bib gourmand by the Michelin Guide. As the name indicates, they're known for offering a red and black curry. Red is vegetable-based with chicken, black is beef. Solid 'fusion' curry. ¥1150 for combo with med/large rice. I got the large rice and paid ¥100 more for extra curry Crazy good value!
• Hostel: THE POCKET HOTEL Kyoto-Shijokarasuma (4/5 rating, $63/night) - Pricey, but it was still the cheapest for a place centrally located with your own room. Wasn't a 5 because you had to go to 1F for the shower. Room is tiny, not great if you have to organize your luggage. Otherwise, it's literally part of Nishiki Market. They have a free self-service luggage-locking tool; it's great for leaving luggage before check-in, or after check-out.

Friday, March 22 - Kyoto (5.5 miles) - Gion:

• Sight: Kiyomizu-dera (P1) - Not too crowded at 7:45am. Definitely check this out!
• Sight: Ninenzaka (P2) - Iconic street. A few shops were open at 9:45am.
• Food - Snack: Starbucks Coffee - Kyoto Nineizaka Yasaka Chaya (3/5 rating, 20 min wait @ 930am) - The only Starbucks in the area and right on Ninenzaka. THe upstairs is fairly basic, and not particularly photo-worthy imo. Matcha scone was pretty tasty, good with a sweet drink. It seems if you order a Venti, you get a special paper cup with a sakura design. Got a Japan 'Been There' tumbler, which came with a free drink, which I used for a Yuzu Citrus Tea. Note, you need to stir up the yuzu that's at the bottom!
• Food - Snack: 月下美人 (3.00 Tabelog, 2/5, no wait) - I saw it was open after leaving the Starbucks. They have dango, sweet potato chips and sticks. I got the sweet potato sticks. They were cold and didn't taste particularly fresh.
• Sight: Yasakanoto (P2) - Iconic structure. I didn't enter.
• Sight: Kennin-ji (P2) - fairly large complex, gigantic dragons painting on ceiling. Built 1202 and is claimed to be the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto.
• Sight: Zenkyo-an (P4) - small sub-temple of Kenninji, honoring a guardian boar. Lots of cute little piggy ceramics all over. Worth checking out if you're already visiting Kenninji.
• Food - Lunch: Gion Uokeya U (3.64 Tabelog, former 1 Michelin star, 4/5 rating)- Reservations strongly recommended. Had a friend reserve this for me. Saw this was highly recommended for unagi in Kyoto. Staff recommended the unadon, grilled eel on rice with eel liver soup and pickles. Also ordered a skewered eel. Both eels were perfectly cooked. Unfortunately it only confirmed that I don't enjoy eel very much. The eel liver soup was delicious, until I ate the liver, tasted just as I should've expected: liver but seafood-y.
• Food - Dessert: Gion Tokuya (3.86 Tabelog, 5/5 rating, 5 min wait @ 12:40pm) - Large menu of traditional Japanese sweets. Grab a ticket and wait until you're called. I got lucky and got a private room to myself. Staff recommended the pure warabimochi & green tea pure kuzumochi. Both are sweetened with wasanbon, Japanese traditional sugar. You get black syrup and kinako powder for the warabimochi and red bean paste and green tea flavor kinako for the kuzumochi. At the end, you can use leftover flavorings to mix with the iced used to chill the mochi to create a mini shaved ice. Highly recommend!
• Sight: Yasui Konpiragu Shrine (P3) - interesting shrine with a fairly long line, ritual is to go through the hole in the stone to end a bad relationship.
• Sight: Ryozen Kannon (P3) - war memorial with a giant Buddha.
• Sight: Kodai-ji (P2) - Has lots of maki-e objects, rock garden, and a bamboo garden in the back (great if you don't have time to check out Arashiyama)
• Sight: Kodaiji Sho museum (P4) - neat tiny museum with objects from the temple, a lot of tea ones. 5-15 minutes to go through it all.
• Shopping: 岡林院接待所 - Kind lady selling local goods, apparently married to an Uji tea farmer, surname Hasegawa. Had a few matchas and tea stuff for sale.
• Sight: Maruyama park (P2) - apparently a great place for cherry blossoms, only a few trees had flowers at the time I went.
• Sight: Yasaka Shrine (P1) - Built in 656. Very large grounds area, LOTS of people here.
• Shopping: Nishikisatake Florist - The first florist I found with ikebana scissors under ¥4000 and kenzan.
• Shopping: Ichihara Heibei Shōten - Founded in 1764, supposedly a historical purveyor of the Imperial family. Has chopsticks of all types of woods, shapes, and prices. Limited English. Super authentic stuff. Bought a very nice pair of maki-e chopsticks among others.
• Food - Dinner: Soba-no-Mi Yoshimura (3.69 Tabelog, 5/5 rating, 30 min wait @ 7:50pm) - Ordered the set menu, Moriawase-Zen. ¥4000 got me an appetizer, sashimi, assorted tempura, soba, oroshisoba, and dessert. Good deal, you get a lot of variety, tempura is perfectly crisp and light. Soba was wonderfully aromatic and had this amazing texture. Towards the end, you get the starchy water, leftover from cooking the soba, to mix with sauce and drink. Delicious!

Saturday, March 23 - Kyoto (9 miles) - Spending big money:

• Sight: Fushimi Inari (P1) - Wasn't too busy at 8am, though it was a little rainy that day. Even fairly early on the trail, you can get a photo without too long of a wait for people to clear out. Lots to explore, I did not opt to go to the peak/loop, and ended my trek at the 'crossroads'. On the way down, it definitely got more crowded.
• Shopping: Zohiko - high-end lacquerware, founded in 1661, purveyor to the Imperial court. Bought a very nice plate and tray. Some pieces are quite expensive. Note, some of the pieces will use lacquer mixed with urethane so the piece doesn't scratch as easily, e.g. trays.
• Food - Snack: Hitsuji Doughnuts (3.86 Tabelog, 5/5 rating, 95 min wait @ 10:40am) - Insane wait in the rain. I didn't think the line was that bad, but there was a sign on building wall later that said it would take 5 minutes per person, assuming they're making it fresh for person. Also only 5 per person. Since it took a lot longer than I expected, I opted to pick up my donuts at 4pm as I had to make it to my kaiseki reservation (which I had to ask my Japanese friend to call them to push back to 12:45pm from the original 12pm). Even reheated that night, these were the best donuts I've ever had. It's almost insulting to call them donuts. There's no oiliness to them, they're light, they have a mochi-like texture that just melts in your mouth, and the flavors offered are subtle. Got the cinnamon, cream cheese, earl grey and cream cheese, chocolate, tanba black soybean and kinako. Honestly, they were all amazing. Would I wait that long again? Probably not. But I'm glad I got to try it. I think "i'm donut ?" in Tokyo (was comparable, maybe 90% of the power level, (I go there on the 28th). Donuts ranged ¥280-400.
• Food - Lunch: Kiyama (4.37 Tabelog, 1 Michelin star, 5/5 rating) - Reserved in December when the slot opened via Pocket Concierge. Sat on the far left side of the 9-person counter. Chef Kiyama did not like me taking photos (forgot that was mentioned in the reservation page). Food was presented beautifully. Very delicate, light flavors. New tastes and texture combinations that I haven't had before, and I've been to quite a few Michelin-starred restaurants. Everything very purposeful. Lots of use of dashi. While chef was not at the counter often, he did come to make the dashi in front of us. Menu was a little crude, but had English. Towards the 2nd half, they give you the option to choose the serving size, from bite-sized to entree-sized, for 4 dishes. Being the greedy, value-driven bastard that I am, I got 'large' for all 4. Normally I can devour these no problem, but it was straight-up too much food. On the 3rd one, marinated maguro on rice, I had to leave rice in my bowl (literal crime in Asia) or else I couldn't finish the rest of the meal, then meekly asked a chef to reduce my 4th to a medium. At the time, I didn't know if the price would be the same no matter the serving size, it was in fact the same :). I wholeheartedly agree with the insane Tabelog score of 4.37. At ¥14,520 gratuity/tax included, (a little under $100), it's fairly approachable and possibly even underpriced. Easily a $250 meal back in the states, not including tax/tip...
  *hopping on my soapbox* Kiyama has mixed reviews on Reddit, I thought it was perfect. Yes, there are no big bold flavors, but no one dish outshone the others, each has their place. You can go straight to the next dish with no interference from what you previously had. Each dish was cooked perfectly (though the after-meal matcha could've been better whisked). The bonito is shaved fresh right in front of you. Beautiful dishware. Kiyama has been a refreshing fine dining experience, wonderfully memorable from the other restaurants I've been to. *hops off soapbox*
  
• Sight: Kyoto Gyoen National Garden (P2) - very large area with plenty of early blooming sakura. Did not go inside Imperial Palace.
  
• Food - Dessert: Toraya Karyo - Kyoto Ichijo (3.52 Tabelog, 5/5 rating, 5 min wait @ 3:15pm) - Tearoom, operating since 1628, purveyor to the Imperial court. Has English menus. Ordered the sweet azuki bean soup (ogura), kinako anmitsu, and sakura mochi. A nice woman at the table next to me that explained that you can eat the pickled sakura leaf but some find it too bitter so you can also skip it. I thought the mochi was perfect with the leaf as it balanced the sweetness and provide complementing texture. Excellent cafe-vibes, with an inner garden area with outdoor seating. Perfect for the cloudy day. Seemed like a popular date spot. There were plenty of other desserts to try, alas it was just me.
  
• Shopping: Ippodo - Founded in 1717 and a favorite of Prince Yamashina. Approximately 30 tea products, with some Kyoto exclusive at this store. Very knowledgeable staff. Fairly crowded with lots of foreign customers. Cafe/barista behind the shopping counter.
  
• Shopping: 古裂とよ - Older grandma was running the shop. Walking back to the hostel, I was attracted to the various cheap ceramics outside the shop, thinking I can find a good chawan here. It has lots of vintage stuff, but in the back there's lots of old kimono's, for what I'd suspect, is very cheap. I found a beautiful chawan for ¥1000.
  
• Shopping: Standard Products Kyoto Shijo-dori Store - Premium brand of Daiso. Store reminds me of Muji. I got a decent travel neck pillow for ¥300 (note, this was at least ¥1500 elsewhere).
  

Sunday, March 24 - Kyoto Uji (9.2 miles) - All-the-temples:

• Sight: Heian Jingu Outemmon Gate (P2) - Large open court area, I opted not to check out the garden given the current state of blooming in Kyoto.
• Sight: Okazaki shrine (P4) - cute shrine with the rabbit as the symbol of fertility and safe childbirth. Lots of ema's (wooden plaques) with messages on a future child. Worth checking out even if you're not expecting.
• Sight: Manganji temple (P4) - small temple, can skip. I just walked by and took photos of a blooming sakura tree.
• Sight: Keage Incline (P1 if blooming, P4) - nothing was in bloom here, every tree was bare, so you're just walking along old railroad tracks. Fortunately this was the 'scenic route' to Nanzen-ji, so it wasn't too much of a detour. If it is blooming when you visit, HIGHLY recommend you walk this path, though it might be crowded.
• Sight: Konchi-in temple (P4) - small temple complex with a rock garden. Nothing spectacular but worth a visit if you have the time.
• Sight: Nanzen-ji (P1) - decent sized temple complex, has a rock garden, and a more recent European aqueduct. I paid an extra ¥500 for the tea experience, which I thought was quite worth it. You get matcha, a piece of wagashi, and sit on a tatami facing a little waterfall and pond, very relaxing. You can pay extra to go to 2F of the Sanmon entrance gate for a city-view.
• Sight: Eikando-ji (P1) - also a large templex complex, has a rock garden, and a pagoda you climb up to with decent city-views. Has a pond and a very impressive hall with beautiful golden objects everywhere.
• Shopping: Aoki Hanaten Co. - Saw a little shop selling ceramics right when I stepped out of Eikando-ji, so I took a look. It's mainly a flower shop but sells stuff they buy from auction/wholesellers. I actually recognized a Zohiko lacquerware 6-piece mini plate set for about 50% off MSRP so bought that (still expensive lol).
• Sight: Philosopher's Path (P1 if blooming, P3) - Similar to the Keage Incline, the Philospher's Path was bare all along the whole route. Interesting way to make your way to Ginkaku-ji than walking the regular streets.
• Food - Lunch: Omen Ginkaku-ji (3.56 Tabelog, 5/5 rating, 5 min wait @ 12:15pm) - This place serves udon with broth to dip it in, similar to tsukemen. You choose whether you want the dashi broth hot or cold (hot was rec by staff), and you also get seasonal fresh vegetables and sesame seeds to mix in the broth for extra flavor. Pretty unique style, highly recommend. They make their own chili powders, which you can buy, which I did.
• Sight: Ginkaku-ji (P2) - relatively small complex, you can easily do a quick loop in 5-10 minutes. I wasn't too impressed by the pavilion. There's a neat sand garden and sand cone. Has a neat observation area. Personally would skip in a 1-day Kyoto trip.
• Food - Dessert: Kazariya (3.61 Tabelog, 5/5 rating, 15 min wait @ 3:10pm) - Sells aburi-mochi, mochi rolled in kinako then grilled and covered in white miso paste. Very tasty, and pretty affordable. You get ~9 skewers of it and a hot tea for like ¥600. Operating since 1656, though its competitor 10 feet away, Ichimonjiya Wasuke, has been operating since 1000 with a 25th generation owner. Ichiwa had a higher Tabelog score, but the line was slightly longer there when I visited. Eat this on the way to Imamiya shrine, both stores were established for travelers to the shrine.
• Sight: Imamiya shrine (P4) - Shrine founded in 994, moved 1001, to protect against epidemics. Went here since it was right next to Kazariya.
• Sight: Kinkaku-ji (P1) - The famous Golden Pavillion. A little bigger than Ginkaku-ji, but similar structure. Much better looking in person. Crowds were noticeably larger compared to other sights.
• Sight: Ryoan-ji (P3) - Has a famous rock garden and a rather large pond, otherwise not particularly outstanding imo. If you're already visiting Kinkaku-ji and you have time, check it out.
• Food - Dessert: Nanaya Kyoto (3.20 Tabelog, 4/5 rating, no wait @ 5:55pm) - Popularized due to the 7 levels of matcha ice cream. I got the hojicha, sakura, and level 7 matcha. I thought these were an excellent combination, and all different. The sweeter hojicha and sakura balanced the bitter matcha. I would not recommend the level 7 matcha ice cream by itself. They do not offer sampes/tasting spoons.
• Other: Yamato Transport - Since I had prematurely bought a whole bunch at Don Quijote in Osaka, and a few more items in Kyoto, I had enough souvenirs to fill up my 100L duffel (see tips further below regarding why I chose duffel bags). So I brought it to the Nishiki location, bought 3 boxes there for ¥680, packed the stuff in the boxes, which I then put in the duffel, and shipped it straight to Haneda for ¥2630 + 660 airport fee.
• Food - Dinner: Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu (3.23 Tabelog, 2/5, 50 min wait @ 8pm) - Chose these since I wanted to be flexible on when I'd eat before leaving for Uji. Unfortunately this place had a huge line given it's pretty close to Tokyo Station. It's also the highest-rated branch. I opted for the Premium Wagyu Sirloin Gyukatsu Zen for ¥5379. Honestly I don't think it was worth it. Having wagyu as katsu kind of masks the reason why you're eating wagyu. You can get the regular American sirloin katsu for less than half that price. Yes, it was good, but not ¥5000-good. Also, the center of my wagyu was actually cold(!!), so I had to use hot plate to further cook mine, no bueno. Tiny bowl of rice, extra rice costs more. 3/5 for food, 2/5 accounting for price and wait.
• Hostel: トラベラーズ道 麒麟舎 / Travelersdou Kirinya (4/5 rating, $38/night) - Didn't find a lot of places to stay in Uji that was near the bridge/Byodo-in, I did get lucky and found this hostel that offered a room with two sets of bunks for $38/night, which seemed wrongly-priced. I thought perhaps it was for a single bed in the room, but after I booked it, that room was taken off Expedia. You had to take stairs up to the 3rd floor, a little scary with my roller and duffel. There's a traditional Japanese toilet, so that wasn't great. Otherwise there was a traditional shower room with tub.

Monday, March 25 - Uji Tokyo (4.9 miles) - Tea & travel:

• Sight: Byodo-in (P1 if going to Uji anyways) - The centerpiece is definitely Phoenix Hall, which is quite impressive. I would cough up the extra ¥300 for the 15 minute guided tour of the hall. Note, they only spoke in Japanese during the tour. Get here EARLY and queue in line to buy the ticket to the tour. Otherwise, your tour time might be much later, and you don't get free re-entry (not sure how it works if you have a tour much later). The museum is neat, with plenty of signs in English!
• Shopping: Nakamura Tokichi Honten - I checked out their shop after I got a ticket for the line to the restaurant. Lots of tea available to buy. Famous tea shop started in 1854 and purveyor to the Imperial family. Has tea ranging from affordable dailies to expensive. Tax-free! One of their employees is white, so I was able to easily converse and figure out which teas I'd want.
• Food - Lunch: Nakamura Tokichi Honten (3.56 Tabelog, 5/5 rating, 60 min wait @ 10am) - famous for their matcha parfait and cha soba (soba infused with tea). I ordered the uji tencha buckwheat noodles set. Can have it hot or cold (hot was rec by staff). The set, an extra ¥550, came with A) tea rice and small matcha jelly bowl or B) large matcha jelly bowl. The jelly bowl was pretty close to their popular 'matcha namacha jelly' minus the matcha ice cream. Since I got the set, I opted not to get the namacha jelly. The noodles were great, and you layer in additional flavors through use of the tencha, citron, and special usucha oil. Super satisfying! Their other famous and more IG-worthy dessert is the 'matcha maruto parfait', inside of a bamboo 'bowl'. For an extra ¥200 at ¥1850, I got the seasonal sakura version. There's like 11 ingredients used to create this parfait. Very tasty, and you can create all sorts of combinations with each spoonful.
• Sight: Ujikami shrine (P4) - small shrine, can check out on the way to Kosho-ji.
• Sight: Uji shrine (P4) - small shrine, can check out on the way to Kosho-ji.
• Sight: Kosho-ji (P1) - Established in 1645, it's still being used as a training monastery. There's a beautiful garden in the inner court area. A few things to see, though two features that I wanted to experience was 1) the nightingale floors, which make a chirp when stepped on, and 2) the blood-stained ceilings. The ceilings are right above the main hall. They have a pamphlet explaining where, also it's circled in chalk when you look up.
• Food - Dinner: Katsukura Shinjuku Takashimaya (3.54 Tabelog, 4.5/5 rating, 25 min wait @ 7:30pm) - Met up with friends of my GF. Got the 160g kinkaton rosu (pork loin) cutlet set for ¥3300. Juicy, crispy, hot (unlike the gyukatsu...). Also got shrimp to share. What's neat at this restaurant is you grind your own sesame to mix it fresh with the sauce to dip your tonkatsu in, delicious!
• Sight: Kabukicho (P3) - Went here around 8:45pm with the husband of my GF's bestie. Actually felt pretty safe, though not sure how it'd be solo and perhaps much later. A few guys asked if we were interested in anything, just a quick no and kept walking. No eye contact is key!
• Sight: Golden Gai (P3) - Just a few alleyways with lots of hallway-sized bars. Most were full and full of foreigners at that.
• Sight: Hanazono shrine (P3) - Pretty interesting to see a shrine right in the middle of a city and next to Golden Gai/Kabukicho. It has a somewhat unique shape and is quite colorful.
• Shopping: Mega Donki Shinjuku - Straight up smelled like raw sewage all over the store. Prices are about the same as those in Osaka. Lots of people. If you do shop here, since it's open 24 hours, I would aim for the less popular times (great if you need to pass the jetlag!)
• Hostel: Lucky Hostel (4.74 Airbnb, 4.5/5 rating, $46/night) - Got lucky and found the 4.74-rated listing on Airbnb, which came with my own room, on the outskirts of Shinjuku, 4 minutes from Okubo station. I didn't see anything under $50/night after taxes/fees in the central Tokyo area, even after checking periodically leading up to my trip. Looking now in deep summer (lol), I see Lucky Hostel, then a few in Asakusa area. If it's available, I'd recommend this hostel, otherwise the Asakusa ones seem pretty good, decent location. Other guests were foreigners, fairly respectful, enough showers and western toilets for everyone. My hostel experience has been pretty good! Though walking to/from the larger Shin-Okubo station sucked, it smelled like sewage in that area (and one of the only areas in Japan with lots of trash on the ground).

Tuesday, March 26 - Tokyo (3.3 miles) - Asakusa & Kappanbashi:

• Sight: Senso-ji (P1) - Very impressive 'Thunder Gate' at the entrance, with a line of folks taking photos with it. After that, there's a street leading up to the temple with lots of shops, most were not open at 8:40am. The pagoda on the left is neat, and you can kind of see the Skytree to your right as you move forward.
• Sight: Sumida River / Park (P2 if blooming) - No blossoms here. There's a good view of the Skytree.
• Food - Dessert: Choumeji Sakuramochi (3.74 Tabelog, 5/5, no wait @ 9:30am) - Credited as the creator of the sakuramochi in 1717. Great tasting wagashi, I love the pickled sakura leaf that balances the red bean paste. ¥250 each. I had been scarred by Kyoto, I thought there would be a line, perhaps it was the fact it was Tuesday or it was a pretty rainy day. Must take to-go.
• Shopping: Yagenbori - His family's shop is credited with creating shichimi togarashi in the 1600s. He displays all 7 spices and you can see him mixing them. He speaks pretty good English. He actually lets you sample any of the furikake (and he has a lot to choose from!). Highly recommend giving it a look!
• Shopping: Tatsumi (Office Senju) - Shop near Senso-ji. Lots of cheap kimono, not sure what the high-end of the price range is. I happened to find a nice unused haori for ¥3300.
• Food - Lunch: Tempura Shimomura (3.80 Tabelog, 5/5) - Originally wanted to book Tempura Fukumachi but that was much more famous and a Michelin Star, thus incredibly hard to reserve. Shimomura still had a great Tabelog rating, could book easily through Pocket Concierge (no fee!), and was cheaper for roughly the same menu (at least at the basic level), ¥7150 vs ¥12650. This was tempura at a whole other level. Crispy, insanely light, and each ingredient was amazing. It's hard to choose a favorite because everything was so good. A few things to highlight would be the prawns, tilefish, and anago (conger eel). It's just one guy, so the pacing will slow down if the counter is more full. You can order more a la carte. At this price point, I would do it monthly. Having had this experience, I ocassionally think about quitting my job, training at a place like this, and bringing it back to the US. Reservations recommended.
• Shopping: Nakamura Tea Life - Expensive tea, but a rec by my Japanese friend.
• Sight: Kappanbashi (P2) - Great street for anything kitchen supplies. If a more common/generic item, would recommend keeping track of prices before buying. If more unique item like ceramic or knife, unless you love that specific design, I would go through a few shops before deciding, there's so many shops to go through, I spent 3.5 hours there and that was just looking at matcha-wans and a nakiri knives. Note, all the stores below have been mentioned on Reddit several times, maybe not the Tojiro one.
• Shopping: Dengama - The first shop at the southern end of the street, right side. Lots and lots of ceramics, higher-end stuff on 2F. Picked up a tokuname tea pot and a few plates/bowls/matcha-wan.
• Shopping: Hashitou - High-end chopsticks shop, lots of signage with English.
• Shopping: FU WA RI - Ceramics and wooden stuff.
• Shopping: Union Commerce Cutlery - Kitchen knives, most nakiri ¥15000+, there were a few right at ¥11000 but they had blemishes and I didn't like the design.
• Shopping: Cutlery Tsubaya - Pricey knives, no nakiri under ¥14000.
• Shopping: Utsuwazoshi - Wooden stuff
• Shopping: Kama-asa - Nice shop, same as the others, though they did have one that looked great at the right price-point but it had sold out. I asked about the Tojiro-brand, which they had one but the staff said a new Tojiro store had opened up and to check it out.
• Shopping: Tojiro Knife Gallery Tokyo - Finally found nakiri's within my budget. They had a basic version for a great price (forgot the price) but I opted for a better handle and construction at the ¥10000 price point (excluding tax, they're tax-free!). Interesting story, the saleswoman who answered my questions in rough English, when she saw name on my passport, asked if I was Chinese and we chatted in Chinese, apparently she moved her 7 years ago.
• Shopping: 伊藤又右衛門之商店 - half a block away from Kappanbashi, the owner had lots of wares for sale, picked up 3 mini plates to give as gifts.
• Shopping: Sotei Yabukita - Ceramics, but didn't see anything I wanted.
• Food - Dinner: MENYA SHO (3.78 Tabelog, 4/5 rating, no wait @ 6:40pm) - Ordered the special ramen which had chicken and possibly duck (possibly smoked), ¥1600. Very delicious, but didn't particularly stand out from the other noodles I had, beyond that duck.

Part 2 here.

Hello everyone! I am a 29 year old professional photographer from Eastern Europe. This is the longest and farthest trip I'm going to make (NYC 10 days farthest so far). Japan has always been a big wish of mine and I managed to get some free time and money for this trip. I've been following this sub for a while now, and since my trip starts on April 27th here we go with the itinerary.
Some things about me: photography, anime, getting lost and exploring, museums, driving around, not much of a party person but love to drink a beer or two, boxing. I am open to trying out types of food, would love to try atleast one michelin starred ramen/sushi place, interacting with locals, karaoke
Before I get to Japan, I plan on getting a virtual Suica on my Iphone, international drivers license, travels insurance, 100 euro in Yen cash, electrical converter. With my flight tickets, I got two whole luggages (23 kgs) but I think that would be an overkill to carry around in Japan. For NYC I just had a duffel bag stuffed with some tshirts, extra pair of pants and toiletries plus a bagpack. I was thinking about using the same system in Japan, but buying another duffel bag in Japan because I plan on buying some souvenirs for friends (Chefs knife, wooden trinkets etc.) and eventually buying a whole suitcase? Does that even make sense?
EDIT: My budget is 1200 euro for flight tickets, 700 euro hotels, 400 for trains/buses, and 2000 for whatever.
My flight leaves at April 27th at 8:25PM local time. I will arrive at Osaka April 28th 7:00 PM Japan time.
Day 1 - OSAKA Take the bus to Osaka, check in at the Hotel Sun White walk around and get something to eat and hopefully sleep some. Will try my best not to get jet lagged.
Day 2 - Osaka Castle Park, Osaka Peace Center, walk around the neighbourhood. Dotonbori district at night/sunset maybe?
Day 3 - Aquarium, Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, Tsūtenkaku
Day 4 - KYOTO Checkout at the hotel, travel to Kyoto, checkin at the Guest Inn Chita. Toji temple, Gion district at sunset/evening
Day 5 - Arashiyama, Kinkaku
Day 6 - Imperial Palace, would love for a walk on a cemetery, just dont know which one
Day 7 - Philosophers path, Summit of Mt. Inari
Day 8 Hiroshima Checkout, Shinkansen to Hiroshima. Checkin at Daiwa Roynet Hotel Hiroshima
Ground zero, Peace memorial museum
Day 9 - Trip to Myajima
Day 10 - Rental car, some good music and no plan. Actually now that I'm thinking about it, I found a cool beach at Kurahashi-jima, I'm okay at swimming in cold water (13 degrees Celcius). Thoughts?
Day 11 - Checkout, getting to Takayama with Shinkansen, checkin Country Hotel Takayama
Walking around, exploring Old Town. Would love to get some wooden trinkets here!
Day 12 - Rental car, Shirakawa-go and Kanazawa
Day 13 - Chill, looking for onsen that allows tattooed people (dont mind being spending extra)
Day 14 - Checkout, Bus to Tokyo. Checkin at Flexstay Inn Sugamo. I'm gonna be arriving on a Saturday, so I thought about maybe going out for drinks and partying? Just not sure where, would love somewhere I can meet with other english speaking people
Day 15 - If it goes as planned, I'm gonna be hungover and chilling the day untill afternoon, evening. St Marys Cathedral mass?
Day 16 - Ghibli Museum, Magnum Photos office, Nakano Broadway
Day 17- Minipig cafe Meguro, Shibuya crossing, Hachiko Statue, Minipig cafe Meguro, Aoyama cemetery, Jazz Blues Soul bar
Day 18 - Shinjuku garden, Godziilla head, Omoide Yokocho, Museum of Contemporary Art
Day 19 - Teamlabs planet, R34 gtr driving around
Day 20 - last day, probably chill and think about the whole trip.
Day 21 - travel back
To anyone who reads this, thank you very much! I cant wait enough for this trip, and will definitely consider any tips for some cool stuff too check out!

found some creepy photos that contains some variants of aheno and the two JTK faces
its at the 49th thread
https://nozomi.2ch.sc/test/read.cgi/lovelive/1442924751/
its just a find

I'd like to post a photo reference in this reddit post. But because the AI ​​thinks it's a NSFW photo, I'm going to post it on my personal reddit. You can also view on my twitter Image1-4,Image5-8
EP1 The Fool[0] The Magician[1] [The Fool] card represents the beginning. Everyone in school are fool because they don’t know what is happening to them and they are manipulated by the Principal. At the end of the episode because Nagara fell into the darkness along with Nozomi he suddenly activated his power. [The Magician] represents willpower and manifestation
EP2 The Magician[1] The High Priestess[2] The Empress[3] Early on everyone relies on items that are created from Mizuho power and there's also Rajdhani's table that reminds of [The Magician]. Most items burn because rule of this world Mizuho hides this and doesn't tell everyone until the end when she finally gives in. [The High Priestess] represents Mystery and deep knowledge. The black and white pillars show opposites like male and female. At the end of the episode, Mizuho gets rich from selling things. [The Empress] represents abundance nurturing and femininity.
EP3 The Empress[3] The emperor[4] The hierophant[5] [The Empress]Early on we see Mizuho caring for and working with Nagara. In the middle of the episode, Asakaze begins to use his power to oppress Nagara. [The Emperor] represents those who demand respect and commands that represent authority. After that the story about “backdrops” that people flee to because they feel comfortable more than live in society. [The Hierophant] key meanings: Conformity Spiritual values and “tradition”. Some student choose to escape from their duties and go to a place where they are comfortable. Then “Pony“ orders Mizuho to find a way to bring them back.
EP4 The Lover[6] The Chariot[7] [The Lover] card represents soulmate and decision-making. Also on the card will be Adam and Eve. Eve's side represents knowledge(snake) and sin(woman). Angel represents balance, which has the same meaning as Solar eclipse (EP3). The presence of the Buddism statue probably points to Hoshi's faith in God, or maybe because he can reach nirvana(EP11). “Nirvana is a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Buddhism.” Next, Nozomi and Mizuho tell Nagara to win a baseball game to get a flashlight. Compare it to Eve convincing Adam to eat an apple. [The Chariot] represents competition and ambition. Which is exactly what we can feel in Monkey Baseball.
EP5 Strength[8] [Strength] key meaning: inner strength, courage, and compassion. It represents how the teacher can control Azakaze like a lion[Emperor] in the card.
EP6 The Hermit[9] Wheel of Fortune[10] [The Hermit] represents Self-reflection, Introspection, and solitude. First met with Yamabiko. He is a character who lived like a hermit all along and in this EP Nagara and his friends Separate themself from the group class. In the second half EP. We saw a film reel, which is [Wheel of Fortune].
EP7 Justice[11] The Hanged Man[12] The Tower[16] The Star[17] At the beginning of the episode, the stage where Nagara's sentence is being decided by another student represents [Justice]. Bat, the judge represents to [The Hanged Man]. Babel represents [The Tower] Futatsuboshi who helps Nagara and persuades him to find shooting stars represents [The Star]
EP8 The Moon[18] Death[13] [The Moon] key meanings: Illusion, anxiety, fear, insecurity. [The moon] and [The high priestess] both cards share common symbols of water and moons. It also has similar meanings. Yamabiko reveals his story to Mizuho. It would be like the moonlight shining on the dogs and wolves in [The moon]. “War” represents to [Death], he has 13 medals(He give Kotama 1 from 14). Each one has a flower symbol compared reaper flag on the card.
EP9 Temperance[14] [Temperance] In a square on the breast, representing that humans(the triangle) are bound by Earth natural law(square). the angel balances between one foot on the rocks(solid), and one foot in the water(liquid) compared to this “Ice world”. This episode is also full of items or persons related to the number 3.
EP10 The Devil[15] The Sun[19] [The Devil] It symbolizes the darker side of human nature. In relationships, it can indicate obsession. [19_The Sun] is a symbol of positivity, optimism, freedom, and fun. The name of this EP “Summer and the Demon” represents Nozomi and Kossetsu. That means Kossetsu is [The Devil] and Nozomi is [The Sun]
EP11 Judgement[20] [Judgement] signifies awakening, renewal,self-evaluation, and reflection. This is an episode where we get to see the characters reflect on themselves. They wonder why they stay and where to go, which will lead to the conclusion in the next episode.
EP12 Judgement[20] The World[21] The Sun[19] [The World] Nagara is fixed on one’s own faith like a bull He wanted to return to the origin(the light that Nozomi saw). Nozomi Compass might be two wards, it represents Life and Death. If (−a) × (−b) is positive it might be the same as Nozomi's life because only one compass is left with Nagara That's why Nozomi, who was supposed to be dead(EP6), is alive. [Wheel of Fortune] and [The World] are very similar cards maybe that's why Principal came to meet Nagara again.
Chapter 12 is a judgement of everything that was done. We saw Nagara and Mizuho return to their world and heard what happened to others who didn't return to this world from Asakaze. In EP2 Nagara say“We can’t change the world”. But now, instead of letting everything happen on its own, He chose to come back to the old world because of Nozomi. Then he says “The world cannot be changed after all, but this is the world I choose”. Nagara's power and speech indicate that he is [The world] . At the end of EP12, he believes that life has just begun, so he thinks of facing the future like Nozomi [The Sun] did. Nagara who is [The World] is no longer the world. He is now "Sonny Boy", a boy full of confidence and hope.

With September out of the way, I am finally motivated to write properly again! The next two months were packed with lots of travel and some of my favourite moments during my time in Japan. As always, you can find previous reports down below.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
Tokyo
Something I failed to mention in my September post is that during that month, I made a Japanese friend in Tokyo! I found her on Hello Talk (previously mentioned in my first Sapporo report when I had a random meetup with someone there) and we met up when I got back Tokyo to go to the Berserk exhibition. Both of us were fans of the series and I still vividly remember the day I woke up and got news that Miura had passed away. The manga holds a special place in my heart, to say the least. This exhibition was absolutely amazing. It took quite a bit not to tear up at some of the panels and especially when I saw Guts' greatsword like this. Would have loved to pick up some merch but it was obscenely overpriced, unfortunately.
My time in Tokyo was rather short this time because as the title of this thread suggests, I finally made my way to Kyoto. Another thing I don't think I mentioned so far is how different the Shinkansen experience is on Nozomi trains compared to Sakura/Hikari ones as a regular tourist with the JR Pass (RIP to that one nowadays, though). The Nozomi train was/is not included in the pass and even when borders reopened, the trains remained relatively empty compared to the other types, which was great.
Kyoto
And so I made my way to Kyoto, the city I have somewhat of a love and hate relationship with. The first time I went there, I barely even remember what I did because I suffered from some sort of food poisoning. The second time I went there, I didn't enjoy it all too much because it was so unbelievably packed back in 2019. Granted, we always hit the usual spots back then but still - it was not that enjoyable to walk around Kyoto as it felt more like an open-air museum than a city.
But I had the benefit of being able to visit Kyoto before regular tourism resumed and it was so, so different. Just writing about it is weird because on one hand, it was an absolute joy to wander the streets with barely anybody there and actually seeing the sights without fighting hordes of people or rushing to not stand in someone's photo while on the other hand I knew that a lot of people relied on tourism to keep afloat. Somewhat mixed feelings in my mind about that time.
On the day I arrived, an obligatory visit to Fushimi Inari in the evening was a must for me. I was even lucky to be there when there was some sort of lantern illumination event. I'll let the pictures do the talking for this one. Mind you, this was at around 6-8pm - which in normal years would still have plenty of people around.
The following day, I went to Kiyomizudera for the first time ever. I will keep repeating myself and it might get annoying but... aside school classes, there was barely anyone there so I got to take some great pictures of a relatively empty temple. Since it was around the corner, I also checked out the Yasaka pagoda and strolled (can't exactly remember what place this was), towards Maruyama park, ultimately ending up at Yasaka itself.
This was a rather long day because I also then walked to Heian Jingu. I could have probably taken a bus at any point but to be honest, I was in the mood for walking (as per usual) and it was probably the correct decision. Once I checked that out, I made my way to the final destination of the day, which was Ginkakuji, the less famous "brother" of Kinkakuji. At the time, this place was pretty damn empty. I really enjoyed this one much more than Kinkakuji. Kinkakuji is just one golden temple and you walk through the area in like five minutes. Ginkakuji might not be as shiny, but the garden around it makes up for it. I also got there at the perfect time for sunset! As the sun set further, I made my way back to the airbnb I was staying at, enjoying the peaceful streets.
I actually went to the pagoda a day later in the evening to try and get some better pics and...unfortunately, this car just didn't move away from this spot for ages so it ended up on the shot one way or another. On another day, I actually did go to Kinkakuji and this was basically right after borders had reopened. I didn't expect too many people there and even though it was still rather empty, there were already a few tour groups around. A sign of what was to come in the months ahead! I also visited Ryoan-ji, which I strolled to from Kinkakuji. The north-west side of Kyoto is pretty much never mentioned when people talk about the city and I've only really checked this place out but am absolutely planning to visit this side of Kyoto more in the future. It's very quiet, a bit more residential and made for a really nice, relaxing walk through the side streets. Topped the short trip here off with a katsu curry in a small, local shop!
Nara
Of course, a visit to Nara was obligatory. I think I've only been there once before and barely remembered much due to being sick at the time, so this was basically a brand new experience. I must say, I am not the biggest fan of the deer and think they're kind of overrated and more...annoying than fun. So I somewhat beelined to Kofuku-ji and then Todai-ji. The latter being extremely impressive, which is probably nothing new to people who've read trip reports before. But damn, it's so damn huge, it made me wonder how people built that back in the day. I also went to Nigatsu-do and took a little break in a restaurant across it, having some curry udon. The last stop of the day was Kasuga-Taisha - which I have actually just never been to before, despite it being quite famous apparently. It's quite the beautiful place, both the shrine and the surroundings itself since it's pretty much in the middle of the woods. There's also sort of a "dark room" where you simply walk through, only lanterns faintly burning inside.
I was quite exhausted at that point if I remember correctly, so I headed back to Kyoto, had an amazing ramen and then turned in for the night.
Uji
Another day with brilliant weather lent itself well to visiting Uji at the time. It is a short train ride away from Kyoto and known for its matcha, but there are also a few shrines and temples worth visiting. Most notably Byodoin. Uji river looks fantastic at this time of the year. One of the many things I love about Japan is that this sort of scenery is found all across the country. Wide rivers, forests to the side, shrines nestled within them and hills or mountains in the "background". I never got enough of these sorts of views. On my little hike I visited Ujigami shrine, of which I only took these two pictures of
Somewhat close to Ujigami is Kosho-ji, which doesn't even have a reception or anything - you can get a ticket at a vending machine in front of the place and nobody checks. It's an often repeated stereotype, but a lot of things in Japan truly are built on trust. Nobody would notice if anyone were to walk into this place without a ticket, but everyone buys one all the same. You can walk through the interior sanctuary and check out the well maintained garden here. This was a while ago of course but even now I don't think this would have many tourists flocking to it, so if you want to check a more "off the beaten path" location in Uji, this one is it!
Kifune Shrine
Speaking of "off the beaten path" locations, Kifune shrine is rarely mentioned in travel itineraries either. That might be because it's outside of Kyoto city, to the north. If I recall correctly, the train ride takes about 30 minutes from Demachi-Yanagi station. Once you arrive at Kibune-guchi station, you can either take the bus up the road to the shrine, or you can walk 20-30 minutes. As always, I opted for the walk, which was fantastic. That being said, you will be walking right next to the road, so if you don't like the occasional car or bus driving past you, take the bus itself. The road is surrounded by mountains and there's a river along the way as well. Once you enter the area close to the shrine itself, you will find a lot of restaurants around and during summertime, they build platforms over the river where you can eat and drink. Unfortunately, I was too late for that but perhaps someone here will get the chance to check that out!
The shrine itself is quite lovely! There a a bunch of orange lanterns dotted around the stairs up to it. I originally planned to take the hiking trail from Kifune shrine to Kuramadera, but since it had rained a day prior, I didn't have the right footwear to tackle the roughly 1 hour long hike, so I simply walked back down to the station, taking in the surroundings before heading back to Kyoto, taking a final walk along Kamogawa and then preparing for the ride back to Tokyo the following day.
Now, one thing to mention is that I stayed in an airbnb in Kyoto for a few days and then switched to one in Osaka...namely, Nishinari. Yep, that Nishinari. It was an experience, to say the least but there was a curry shop right in the middle of it and I decided to get dinner there one evening. At first, the owner spoke Japanese and we had a little conversation about what I was doing in Japan and yadda yadda for about 5 minutes. Then he suddenly busted out brilliant English. He studied in London, listened to Tatsuro Yamashita and made a banger curry.
Tokyo, again
November would be the busiest month in the entire year I spent in Japan, therefore I took a 1 1/2 week breather back in Tokyo. On one of my trips to Nakano, I went to a small sushi place nearby that was run by incredibly nice people. They didn't speak much English and my Japanese was still kinda ass, but we managed to communicate well enough. The sushi was great, the atmosphere very relaxing and there are lots of regular customers coming in here. It's called Tama Sushi, if anyone wants to check that out. I also met up with the friend I mentioned at the beginning of this post. First to check out stuff in Shinjuku and then watching the sunset from the Tokyo Metropolitan building and then a couple of days after, we walked over Rainbow Bridge to Odaiba since she's never even known that you could do that.
Since this was the end of October, Halloween was happening. I am not much of a party person, so I only stayed around for an hour or so. It was pretty packed even though tourism wasn't back to normal and to be quite honest, I have no idea how people can enjoy this because just the walk from Shibuya station across the scramble almost gave me a panic attack from how cramped it was. At least I got to see Miyachi and even got a high five. He couldn't take a picture with me due to some contractual stuff I guess, but it was nice anyway.
Two bonus pics here. One from Yanaka Ginza, where I stayed at at the end of October and the other one from Setagaya, when I ventured out to visit a BREAD FESTIVAL...as you may be able to tell, I did not attend that one.
And with that, October was done. As I said in the beginning, these ~2 weeks in Kyoto truly made me appreciate the city for what it is when it isn't packed. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and one of the experiences that took a long time to actually set in, mentally. There will likely NEVER be a time when I (or anyone else, for that matter) can enjoy Kyoto the way people were able to enjoy it back then. It's still a great place to visit, otherwise people wouldn't flock there but I will forever cherish this unique experience!
That being said, I'm going to work on the November report now. I think it will turn into at least a two parter because I visited a lot of cities, had some pretty challenging things lined up and want the reports to make them justice.
As always, if you have any questions about the places I visited or whatever, feel free to ask. Thank you for reading these posts and see you in the next one!

TW: Bullying
Before we begin, a glossary of terms for those who may need one. In particular, 'graduation' (a voluntary retirement of a given VTuber identity, whether indie or corporate) will come up a lot; the other specific term is '[Virtual] Livers' (rhyming with 'divers'), Nijisanji's specific term for its VTubers.
Writing this in early March 2024, chances are that the name 'Nijisanji' will ring a bell if you have engaged with just about any online space with even the slightest connection to weeb fandoms in the last few weeks. The scandal resulting from the termination of Nijisanji English's Selen Tatsuki on 5 February – exactly a month ago at the time of posting – has become a matter of considerable attention reaching well outside the VTuber bubble, and may well hang over the agency for the rest of its existence. But it's worth remembering that this was not the first scandal to rock Nijisanji, and especially not the first to revolve around its international branches. The recent blow-up has some rather older precedents.

Where did Nijisanji come from?

On 29 November 2016, tech startup Activ8 debuted Kizuna AI, voiced and acted by Kasuga Nozomi, as the first self-proclaimed 'Virtual YouTuber'. Unbeknownst to her creators, their apparent dominance of the medium was not to last. AI's time as the face of the industry was to end in flames in 2019, as Activ8's attempts to follow through on their original vision of the 'eternal idol' ran up against a fandom that had developed its own set of expectations about VTubing, driven by the proliferation of new VTuber personas that had become inextricably tied to the talents behind them. And at the arguable forefront of that movement was Nijisanji.
Nijisanji, officially styled NIJISANJI and often informally stylised as 2434 (ni shi san shi), is the brainchild of Riku Tazumi (born c.1996), who dropped out of his studies at Waseda University in 2017 to establish Ichikara Inc, and set to work developing a Live2D tracking app, offering a much cheaper and less labour-intensive alternative to the full-body studio 3D then in vogue. On 11 January 2018, Ichikara publicly unveiled Nijisanji, the name of its official app, and opened auditions; eight successful applicants debuted from 8 to 16 February. Nijisanji's bursting onto the scene with Live2D arguably kicked off modern VTubing as we know it, leading competitors like Cover to copy the format, and paving the way for an eventual explosion in the number of independent VTubers as the cost of entry continued to fall. Aggregator site Userlocal would claim that there were over 1000 VTubers by the end of March, and 6000 by the end of the year; 61 belonged to Nijisanji. (source).
We could get bogged down in early Nijisanji history forever, but the meat of this story requires us to leave Japan and 2018 behind and move away in both space and time. Before we get to that, though, why do Japanese VTuber agencies set up overseas operations, anyway?

Why expand overseas?

Even today, the exact limit of the Japanese market for VTubers is not really known, but from the very beginning, the industry has been keenly aware both of the eventual limits of the domestic space and the potential room for growth in foreign markets that will be receptive to Japanese cultural exports. Rarely has a media company sought to have less of an audience. But we also ought to account for the fact that a lot of VTuber agencies have their origins as tech startups, where you get a lot of initial funding and then need to find a way to become profitable before it runs out. Overseas expansion carries with it a certain amount of risk, but when there is only so much money before it all runs out, those are risks that may need taking.

Where to first?

If you look at the history of the major VTuber ventures, it is notable that their first priority of expansion has usually been China, then other Asian regions, and then finally the English-language market, if they ever get there. Regional markets are just easier logistically (both in terms of timezone difference and in terms of shipping for physical goods), and presumed to be more predictable in terms of spending, and historically, the largest of these markets has been the Chinese one. Activ8 did some limited English outreach with Kizuna AI, but their experiment with Multiple AI explicitly included one voice actor to serve as her Mandarin voice. Hololive's overseas expansion went in the order China -> Indonesia -> English. Brave Group, whose modus operandi has often revolved around buying up existing ventures rather than introducing its own, acquired the Chinese agency MUGEN-LIVE in 2022, and only started an English-language branch with V4Mirai the year after. What I'm saying is that we in the Anglosphere have tended to be a pretty distant, fourth-tier concern for the Japanese VTuber industry. Nijisanji would be no exception.

Only Nijixon could go to China

When I earlier wrote that Nijisanji debuted 61 Livers in its first 10 months, that was not entirely true. Nijisanji had licensed its app and its branding to a different company, who proceeded to launch Nijisanji Shanghai and Nijisanji Taipei, each of 8 members, at the end of August 2018. In other words, some 77 people signed on to become official Nijisanji talents that year.
Trying to find out what exactly happened to 二次三次虚拟主播企划 (er ci san ci xuni zhubo qihua, or 'Nijisanji Virtual Streamer Project'; evidently sometimes shortened to '"Nijisanji" Project') is tricky given the relative lack of attention from back in the day and the retroactive scrubbing of a lot of material. Thanks to kirandra I was put on to this writeup concerning Nijisanji Shanghai, but this too is a rather later retrospective. Probably the only comprehensive timeline comes from the relevant page on Chinese ACGN wiki Moegirl.org.cn, which has no citations. So, bear in mind that the following is pretty dry and summative because I have to work with what I could find.
On 8 July 2018, a Facebook page for Nijisanji Taipei emerged, with a cover image featuring silhouettes of its eight members. The project would be formally announced on the 17th on Facebook (focussing on Taipei), Bilibili (focussing on Shanghai), and Weibo (ditto) with auditions open until the 27th. Over the course of the next few weeks, promo images would be teased until, on 24 August, both branches formally began debuting talents.
The debut announcement simply said that Nijisanji had partnered with unspecified 'local company/ies' (在地企業), something which may at the time have been seen as innocuous but which, with the benefit of hindsight, was a bit of a major red flag. Per the summary by Shitantan in the linked writeup, it very quickly became apparent that the quality of models in both instances was noticeably poorer than what was on offer from Nijisanji's main branch. Things got worse after debut, as rumour had it that agency management were abusive towards their talents, linked to a continual wave of graduations from the Shanghai branch which began in November with the exit of Siddel. By March 2019, only one of eight remained, Saitania Liun Linse, and her graduation had already been announced and scheduled for that June (in the event, she brought it forward to 10 May). In mid-February, Monmon would be the first Taipei member to graduate.
The news then came, in late March or early April 2019, that 'Nijisanji' Project's affiliation with Ichikara would cease, and the remaining seven members of Nijisanji Taipei, along with Saitania, would rebrand as VEgo. This was formally announced on 2 April on both Weibo (this was their final post on the site) and Facebook, although the process of rebranding had started a little earlier. VEgo trundled along for another year, but continued losing members until the final one, Talency, left on 31 March 2020, having been alone at the agency since the departure of Siarurin on 8 February. And so came the end of Nijisanji's first overseas foray. Whatever specific events behind the scenes caused all these exits may never be known at this point, but clearly neither the setup nor the management of the two branches was done with particularly great competence.
Tangent: It is commonly asserted across several sites, primarily wikis (including Moegirl, Chinese Wikipedia, and the Virtual YouTubers Wiki on Fandom.com), that Nijisanji's partner was the Japanese-owned, Taiwan-centred influencer and marketing firm, Capsule Inc., with considerable inconsistency over whether it was the 'core' business in Taiwan, its (now-defunct) Hong Kong subsidiary, or its (still-active) Japanese subsidiary that was running the show. However, neither I nor those who helped me with this writeup have found any evidence that Capsule was Ichikara's partner in 2018-19. Capsule's website has press releases going back to late 2018 that make no mention of this partnership, nor of VEgo, nor do social media posts from 'Nijisanji' Project/VEgo mention Capsule's involvement. Moreover, Capsule has since been involved in collaboration marketing projects with both Hololive and Nijisanji, something you wouldn't expect if the latter agency still remembered them for botching their first China project.
However, Nijisanji Shanghai and Taipei did not mark the end of Nijisanji's attempts to edge into the Chinese market. Barely two and a half weeks after 'Nijisanji' Project's rebrand to VEgo, on 19 April 2019 came the announcement of VirtuaReal, a new VTuber project based on a joint venture between Ichikara and Bilibili, with Ichikara licensing their proprietary tech while management would be local, and if this is giving you flashbacks well yeah basically, it is the same idea just without the Niji branding. Without an account I can't see many of the comments on the Bilibili piece, but I will say that it is very amusing to me that of the three that I am allowed to see, one of them is someone remarking:

上海2434屍骨未寒

Which, to translate idiomatically, would be along the lines that:

Shanghai Nijisanji's corpse is still warm

And that really made my day.
I won't go into VirtuaReal at length, for a couple of reasons: firstly, I don't want to get bogged down in the details, and secondly, while its relationship with Niji is really about the same as the earlier entities (its main thing is it uses Nijisanji's tech, and it has some cross-branch collaboration both in 'official' events and between talents), the fact it doesn't even use the Nijisanji name marks it as something other than a simple extension of the brand. I'm sure the group has had its own triumphs and tribulations, but I am happy to place it outside the purview of this post.

An Indone-jerk reaction

Midway through its invasion of China, Nijisanji struck southwards into Indonesia, and… wait no that's the Japanese Empire during WW2. But it does apply to both. Nijisanji's third foray into overseas expansion would move into what is arguably one of the more unexpected VTuber markets to the layperson, that being Indonesia. But Indonesia has a lot of attractions for a VTuber company: there's a strong demand for Japanese cultural exports, a relatively ubiquitous lingua franca in the form of Bahasa Indonesia, and also a relatively decent standard of English that can help Indonesian streamers reach out to a more global audience.
Nijisanji started auditions for its Indonesian branch on 19 July 2019, and saw its first 'wave' of debuts on 17 September with Hana Macchia, ZEA Cornelia, and Taka Radjiman, whose group was later informally dubbed 3SetBBQ. Five more 'waves', one of four members and the rest of three, would debut until 31 July 2021, for a total of 19 talents signing on with Nijisanji Indonesia, or NijiID for short.
NijiID's first wave would be one of, if not the, first groups of agency VTubers in Indonesia. While it was overshadowed in viewership by its successors, locally-based agency Maha5 (pronounced Mahapanca, first debuts in October 2019) and Hololive's Indonesian branch (first debuts in April 2020), it was nevertheless well-liked by fans as a cohesive community unto itself, as well as having very good ties with its notional competitors, with frequent collaboration between the three. Throughout 2022 and going into early 2023, an informal unit known to some as HoloNiji5, comprising two members from each agency, had cropped up, although unfortunately Zen Gunawan's graduation from Maha5 in June 2023 marked the beginning of the end of that particular partnership.
In contrast to the supposed horror-show behind the scenes of 'Nijisanji' Project Shanghai, fan and talent opinion on Nijisanji Indonesia and its talent management was almost universally positive, especially in retrospect. Merch arrived on time, talents didn't complain about mismanagement, and they were able to get along with each other. For its second anniversary in 2021, NijiID pulled out all the stops to do a 7-hour 'Virtual Summit', held partly in VRChat, accompanied by a merch drop featuring a body pillow depicting 'Staff-san', the personification of NijiID's management.
'Hang on,' you may be thinking, 'why is this all in the past tense?'
Hahahahaaaaaa oh god.
On 17 February 2022, Anycolor (which Ichikara had renamed itself to in May 2021) announced that Nijisanji Indonesia was going to be merged with the main branch of Nijisanji at the beginning of the Japanese financial year in April, with its management integrated into the 'main' agency staff. NijiID would no longer exist as a separate branch on the books. This was also to happen to Nijisanji Korea (covered later), but not to Nijisanji English. In the long run, resentment over this decision has been very visible, thanks to NijiID's fans being both more numerous and being more fluent in English than Nijisanji Korea's. At the time though, responses were a little more mixed, with some cautious optimism about the benefits of closer integration with the core agency in Japan, but also concern over the loss of the branches' distinct identity. Of particular note was the implied end of any future debuts in either market, with then-ongoing audition and onboarding processes for both branches being cancelled at whatever stage of completion they may have been at.
To this day, the exact reasons behind the merger are unknown. Officially, Anycolor's reasoning was that it would allow for more efficient management of their talents, a statement that rang a little hollow for fans of NijiID who had (correctly, it seems) never been under the impression that the Indonesia branch was suffering from any management problems. Since then, it has been speculated, and widely accepted, that NijiID may have been operating on relatively low margins compared to EN and the main branch, if not at a loss, and that the merger was done to hide NijiID's financial status in advance of Anycolor becoming a publicly traded company, which eventually happened in June 2022. The charitable but realistic take is that Anycolor had to either go public or sell to a larger company so that early investors could cash out, especially thanks to the credit crunch that happened post-Covid. Pulling ID into the main branch did mean cutting any future development, but at least the talents would still keep their jobs for as long as they wanted to.
Unfortunately, in time it seemed like that was all they would get. For many VTubers, merch releases are a big part of their income, with agency VTubing in particular tending to put a lot of emphasis on talent 'birthdays' (albeit not necessarily the real birthdays of the IRL talents). Usually, these warrant an official merch drop, but as early as July 2022 it was clear that the former NijiID cohort had been pretty definitively shafted. That month, Azura Cecilia's birthday was accompanied by fan merch in the form of a pair of voice packs (voice recordings that basically serve as a sort of mini-audiobook), promoted by fellow talent Riksa Dhirendra, increasingly nicknamed 'Staff R' for how much he was having to carry things for actual management. The same happened with Rai Galilei and Bonnivier Pranaja in September. With Nijisanji Indonesia no longer having its own branch-wide social media accounts, promotion for Indonesian talents was entirely driven by their own efforts and their fans', with no visible support from higher up.
Probably the most glaring example of just how badly ID were treated post-merger relates to fan mail. Unsurprisingly, VTubers get fan mail. Or at least, they do if their agency forwards it to them. Reza Avanluna stated on 30 January 2023 that he did not actually receive fan mail and told fans not to waste their money on postage. Two other ex-IDs added their own perspectives: ZEA Cornelia said that she had received fan mail in the past and that she did sometimes get softcopy scans, but the last time she got the mail physically was when she visited Japan for NijiFes in October 2022; Mika Melatika simply confirmed that she didn't get the mail. This didn't kick up much of a storm, but the tone of the fan response, seen both on Reddit and in various Twitter replies, was one that suggested that the earlier cynicism about the merger was warranted.
Beginning in 2022, graduations from former Nijisanji Indonesia talents started trickling in, typically announced in batches a few months in advance. Miyu Ottavia seemed a lone outsider when she left on 27 November, but then from May 2023 onward, at least one former NijiID member has left each month, except, ironically, February 2024. The first two, in May 2023, were members of NijiID's first wave, in an especial vote of no confidence. Reza Avanluna, the fanmail whistleblower, left in September, though not before Azura Cecilia in August, who accompanied her graduation with this rather provocative thumbnail. Mika Melatika, who was very much well-liked among English-speaking viewers, left in late December last year, followed by Riksa, 'Staff R' himself, in January.
As of writing, only seven of NijiID's original 19 Livers remain. Of the twelve who left, all of them did so post-merger. The typical postmortem on NijiID would have it that this was a branch that was flourishing, but then cruelly thrown on the pyre for the sake of Anycolor's financial reports. We are unlikely to find out soon – possibly ever – if Nijisanji Indonesia's financials really were as bad as many have presumed. But what cannot be denied is that Nijisanji's stated aim of providing better support to its non-Japanese talents in Asia was very clearly unfulfilled in the case of its Indonesian talents. The agency should have done better, and very much could have done better, but it didn't.

Korea-ending controversies

Nijisanji Korea is a bit of an oddity in terms of the history of Nijisanji branches. Whereas its Chinese branches have always been licensed out to other companies, and most of its others have been 'home-grown' so to speak, Korea was a bit of a strange hybrid. Although Nijisanji did set up its own in-house branch, it also bought out an existing Korean agency, 541E&C, whose name just rolls casually off the tongue. The first, ten-member wave of Nijisanji Korea (henceforth NijiKR) would comprise four members specifically hired onto KR, who debuted on 25 January 2020, and six members of 541E&C. This, it is commonly believed, is where the trouble started.
Now, as a disclaimer, whereas I can read Chinese and could therefore deal with Niji's Chinese branches, and a lot of NijiID stuff has filtered into English because of a generally multilingual fanbase and talent pool, NijiKR is a lot harder to find reliable info on in languages that I understand. I thus am reliant on English summaries of variable quality that I cannot vouch for the reliability of, on either an individual or collective basis.
541E&C had been in operation since April 2019, and its members were themselves indies, most of whom had debuted over the course of the year. Unfortunately, 541E&C seems to have been a little lax in its screening process, and this resulted in a rather dramatic exit very early when Moarin, one of the 541E&C members, quit NijiKR on 28 February 2020, and VTubing outright the next day. The full circumstances are discussed in a comment by HarunaKai in this Reddit thread responding to the announcements, but I offer a brief summary here:
Three of 541E&C's nine members, Alice Mana, ENA, and Lucia, had chosen to graduate from 541E&C rather than continue into NijiKR. Alice Mana and ENA had been part of Project Paryi, a one-man show run by illustrator Paryi, which had dissolved in mid-April 2019; they presumably knew Moarin and thus joined 541E&C afterward. The allegation seems to be that Moarin functionally ran 541E&C herself, and exploited her position to coerce and bully the members. Alice and ENA thus seem to have taken the opportunity to jump ship during the NijiKR takeover. (As a coda to this, ENA never resurrected her old identity, but Alice returned to VTubing again in September 2020 and has been active on Youtube since.)
(TW: This is the serious bullying part)
But the allegations about Moarin run deeper. Supposedly, Moarin was also a singer going by SIN*SKI, who was one of a number of high schoolers who, in 2016, had been exposed for bullying. Now, the implications of this seem to be complicated, and the two extant writeups in English present two stories: according to HarunaKai, Moarin/SIN*SKI's bullying went as far as forcing their victims to assume positions that, in one instance, required extensive surgery. On the other hand, there are some writeups from 2021 on DeviantArt by MapuruCafe (1) (2) (whom I will note was apparently 13 when they wrote them so believe at your peril) but which presents something a little different. Per these writeups, it was someone else going by Kyamjya who was exposed as the outright torture bully, and that this led to the 'resurfacing' of unspecified but presumably somewhat lesser earlier allegations against SIN*SKI, a student at the same school. I cannot tell which of these versions is the correct one, but either way school bullying allegations against Moarin/SIN*SKI definitely exist.
Regardless of the scope and nature of the allegations, Moarin's departure was taken as a cause for celebration. Such celebration may have been premature, at least as regards the future of the branch, as four further 541E&C members left in July, leaving only Gaon still present with NijiKR. While I have been unable to find any clear indication as to why, it seems plausible enough that the reason was simply that these were largely former indie VTubers who had signed onto 541E&C when it was an indie network, and the Niji buyout had placed new, corporate-specific expectations on them that they weren't happy with.
In the longer term, KR never really managed to get a particularly strong audience outside a few outliers. Many members were bilingual and chose to stream in Japanese rather than Korean, likely due to the nature of their likely audience: South Korea historically (until recently) had relatively low Youtube livestream viewership compared to Twitch, while Japan historically was the reverse. The branch seems to have lacked a lot of institutional support, with apparent delays in technical support and tensions between talents and management.
Things came to a head in 2021 with the graduations of Shin Yuya and Nun Bora in June and November, respectively. They were the two most highly-subscribed members of the Korean branch, and with their departure, nobody in NijiKR had a sub count above 50k, a bad sign for the branch's overall performance and prospects when compared to other parts of the agency. This became worse in retrospect when it turned out that neither of them actually left for very long. (Spoilers owing to standard VTuber etiquette:) Yuya re-appeared as V-LUP's Lee Jooin on 22 January 2022, and is still streaming today. Bora re-debuted with VSPO! on 24 June 2022 as Nekota Tsuna, a particularly stinging choice given VSPO!'s emergence as a growing competitor to the existing big players on the market.
NijiKR's fate would be sealed with the 2022 merger announcement. Seven more Livers would leave, four in the run-up to 21 April and two very shortly after. As of writing, twelve former KR Livers remain in the main branch. If nothing else, it has been two years since the last graduation, so at least the merger has helped with retention in some regard, with 12 of 27 original members of NijiKR (11/21 if we exclude the 541E&C cohort) still active, representing 44% (or 52%) of the branch, compared to 37% of NijiID. Even before the merger, many of them had pivoted largely to streaming in Japanese and/or English, which may account for their continued presence.
Retrospectively, feverish speculation has hung over this entire period thanks to further bullying accusations against Chae Ara, one of Nijisanji's own hires who debuted in the second wave in May 2020. What exactly happened with Ara is shrouded in mystery, with next to nothing in writing, at least on the English web. The only definitive piece of information I could find was that on 29 December 2021, she posted a message on Twitter, apparently addressing and denying existing bullying allegations. This would be the last thing she said as Chae Ara before she more or less disappeared (though she did retweet the message on 12 January), and she would be unceremoniously struck from Nijisanji's list of talents on 20 April 2022, the day before the merger. (See also her page on the VirtualYoutubers wiki, and its comments section.)
As of writing, I have been unable to find anything more definitive than the above. There came to be considerable speculation (as seen here on Nijisanji's fan subreddit) that bullying by Ara was responsible for Yuya and Bora departing in 2021, and that the graduations of Ko Yami and Lee Siu, announced on 2 February 2022, were also linked to her. In retrospect, Yami and Siu's cases would seem to be more connected with the merger, which was announced to the public only two weeks after the graduations were announced.
There's also something about a lawsuit. No idea what that involves because nobody seems to want to talk about it.
It is not hard to see why the popular narrative on NijiKR and NijiID frames them as direct opposites. In contrast to ID, which at least from the outside seemed to be entirely problem-free, KR came across as a disaster from start to finish, bookended by bullying scandals. Then, post-merger, the branches' fortunes inverted. As of writing, no former NijiKR Liver has graduated since May 2022, with 12 of the agency's 27 members (11 of 21 if we exclude 541E&C) still active at a modest but at least better-than-obscure level of popularity. Whatever Nijisanji's Japanese management has done with its Korean members has, somehow, managed to achieve a far greater degree of long-term retention than it has with the Indonesians.

India unlikely event of a total management failure…

Nijisanji India was many things, and it was also not many things. Tragically, as time passes it seems increasingly fated to be relegated to a footnote, a neat bit of trivia to be inserted into the history of Nijisanji's last overseas branch, Nijisanji EN.
On 18 November 2019, Ichikara announced auditions for the first generation of Nijisanji India, calling for one male and two female talents to take on the roles of Vihaan, Aadya, and Noor. These proceeded to debut on 23 January 2020, soon followed by some relay stream events with other members of Nijisanji and VirtuaReal on 2 and 3 February, as reported at the time here. Even a cursory keyword search on the VirtualYoutubers subreddit shows a small but persistent effort by fans to give the branch a boost. Unfortunately, Nijisanji India never really got very far off the ground popularity-wise.
On 22 June 2020, Nijisanji India's Twitter account rather abruptly posted that the branch was rebranding as Nijisanji EN, and aiming to more strongly target English-speaking audiences. This was evidently given very little fanfare elsewhere, and some of the fan discussion can be seen in this Reddit thread from October. Why, it was asked, had the branch been less successful than its cousins, despite a clear appetite for English VTubers among the viewing public, demonstrated by the recent, explosive debut of Hololive's English branch? Part of it was that the branch was just not very well marketed despite the name change, but part of it also was that it had seen no new members since the starting trio. Both the Korean and Indonesian branches had brought on at least one new wave by the 6-month mark, but there had been no new auditions, let alone debuts, for NijiIN/EN so far. Then, on 27 November, Nijisanji English's Twitter account rather abruptly posted that the branch was rebranding as Nijisanji IN. Er, yes.
So, NijiIN, formerly NijiEN, formerly NijiIN, kept soldiering on. It never did get a second generation, and then, on 13 April 2021, there came an announcement that Nijisanji India would be 'temporarily suspended' and its three Livers would graduate on the 30th. And, that was it. No real fanfare, just a lot of sadness and quite a bit of indignation as well.
One thing that is immediately striking about Nijisanji India in retrospect is just how conservative it all was, and this was apparent just from the VTubers themselves. The designs for Aadya and Vihaan were just not that interesting even considering Nijisanji's relatively down-to-earth designs; Noor stands out as the only one of the three who looks like what an average viewer would expect from a VTuber. That all three streamed in English was certainly a 'safe' choice, but they never really got substantial traction out of it, and Ichikara's indecision over whether or not to simply rename the branch 'Nijisanji EN' further speaks to a lack of any strong direction to the branch as a whole. Worst of all, NijiIN never actually got any new members after the first three, and that seems to suggest that Ichikara went into the whole thing without a particularly strong intent to keep it running. Everything seems to point to either Nijisanji having gone into IN with minimal expectations and thus minimal support, or that it got cold feet extremely quickly.
Today, if Nijisanji India is remembered at all, it is usually for the fact that it was, technically, the first iteration of Nijisanji English. And, in a coda similar to what happened with Nijisanji's Chinese ventures, the second attempt began as soon as the first one was cut loose. On 1 December 2020, three days after the NijiEN->ID rebrand, Nijisanji officially opened auditions for a new branch targeted at English-speaking countries. On 16 May 2021, barely two weeks after NijiIN's members graduated, the first three members of Nijisanji English (round 2) debuted, starting yet another chapter in the story. One of those members, Finana Ryugu, recounted that Noor had been one of her interviewers during the audition, and she is believed to still have been on staff at the end of the year thanks to her voice being heard in an accidentally-leaked test stream by a new talent. Whether she, or anyone else from NijiIN's talents and management, is still involved with Nijisanji is unknown.

Wherever next?

Well, as the last section noted, technically Nijisanji still formally maintains a distinct overseas branch 'in-house', that being Nijisanji English. However, writing this in early March 2024, it is quite hard to give a reasoned retrospective on its history while the wounds are still fresh and the dust is still being blown up. It is too early to say if the branch has imploded, or if it is dying a slow death, or if it is on the path to recovery.
What I think we can say is that Ichikara/Anycolor's overseas branch attempts have been less than stellar. To re-summarise, here's what has happened with each of them:

Branch	Auditions Open	First Debuts	Current Status
Shanghai	17/07/2018	24/08/2018	Separated from Nijisanji to form VEgo on 02/04/2018; last talent graduated on 10/05/2018
Taipei	17/07/2018	24/08/2018	Separated from Nijisanji to form VEgo on 02/04/2018; last talent graduated on 31/03/2020
VirtuaReal (China)	19/04/2019	14/05/2019	Still active (41/106 graduated or transferred to indie)
Indonesia	19/07/2019	17/09/2019	Merged into main branch 01/04/2022; 12/19 graduated
Korea	17/12/2019	25/01/2020	Merged into main branch 01/04/2022; 15/27 graduated or terminated
India/English	18/11/2019	23/01/2020	'Temporarily suspended' since 30/04/2021; all members graduated
English	01/12/2020	16/05/2021	Still active (7/38 graduated or terminated)

Nijisanji has clearly had a lot of opportunities to learn some hard lessons from its earlier attempts to do things overseas. It – and any other agency doing the same – needs to have a strong enough hand to do things like clamp down on bullying and toxic clique-building (Shanghai, Korea), but also to have more locally-minded staff that are, among other things, fluent in the talents' primary language and supportive of their efforts (Indonesia). The result of Nijisanji's repeated failures in achieving these has been tragedy for many. For those who were bullied by coworkers, those who had their support network suddenly removed, and those who dreamed of performing before the world, whose dreams were sadly crushed through no fault of their own.
But if there is one slight silver lining to all this, it is that Nijisanji's repeated missteps in international expansion have not fundamentally harmed the overall trajectory of VTubing as both a business and as a hobby. Granted, VTubing in India never really managed to take off, despite hopes for a potential market, but it is still going strong in China, Indonesia, and Korea; the Anglosphere, of course, goes without saying. VTubing may owe its current existence as a medium to Nijisanji, but at the very least, Nijisanji can no longer destroy that which it has created.

My wife and are early 30s heading for our first trip to Japan in early March. The itinerary feels pretty packed but we are aware we won’t get to everything we’ve listed. We are usually up with the sunrise to walk our dogs so we aren’t worried about the early starts to get sunrise photos or a lot of walking.
A lot of the itinerary revolves around finding spots for good shots so suggestions for other photography spots would be great!
Day 0:

• Arrive in Osaka
• Arrive 7.45pm into Kansai International Airport
• Train to hotel Check in

Day 1: South Osaka and around hotel
5.00am wake up

• Explore surrounding neighbourhoods
• Shinseki markets and get photograph of Tsutenkaki tower before markets open at 10am Tsurunashi
• Korean town markets (opens at 7am)
• Abeno Harukas (opens at 9am)
• Walk back to Shinseki markets for lunch.
• Namba Yasaka Shrine
• Amerika Mura
• Back to hotel Dotonbori for dinner – night photographs
• Hozenji Temple and walk through to Hozenji yokocho alley way

Day 2: Half day trip & North Osaka
5am wake up

• Katsuo-ji Temple
• City Kita Ward
• Ohatsu Tenjin Shrine
• Kemasakuranomiya Park
• Izakaya Toyo
• Umeda Sky Building
• Head back to hotel and have dinner somewhere close by

Day 3: Travel Osaka to Kyoto
5.00am wake up

• Walk to Osaka castle – 1 hr walk from the hotel. Walk around the gardens.
• Grab a coffee on the way back to hotel
• Check out of hotel
• Hirakata T-Building (luggage in station storage).
• Grab lunch Train to Kyoto
• Check in to hotel at 3pm
• Explore around hotel
• Walk along kamo river near gion-shijo station and Sanjo Ohashi Bridge at dusk
• Have dinner in Pontocho alley

Day 4: Explore Arashiyama and surrounds
4.30am wake up

• Arashiyama Bamboo Grove – Train at 4.50am arrive at 6.20am
• Tenryu-ji (opens 8.30am), Jojakko-ji, Gio-ji, Adashino Nenbutsu-ji, and Otagi Nenbutsuji temples. Saga Toriimoto preserved street Kimono Forest. Decide which ones to see when we get there.
• Lunch
• Golden Pavilion (if time)
• Hotel
• Dinner
• Sanjo-kai Shotengai shopping arcade, Nishiki Market and Nishiki Tenman-gu Shrine

Day 5: Explore Southern Higashiyama and surrounds
Wake up 5am

• Fushimi Inari Taisha. Walk to the top (3hrs)
• Explore neighbourhoods
• Yasaka Jinja/Maruyama Park and Chion-in, Gion, Pontocho (photograph), Kiyamachi, Teramachi and Shinkyogoku. Spots to stop off on the way POJ studio and The Shinmonzen, Kyoto.
• Head back to the hotel.
• Dinner somewhere local
• Nijo Castle for the Sakura Festival

Day 6: Kurama to Kibune Hike

• Kurama to Kibune Hike (2-3hrs)
• Grab lunch afterwards

Options for after:

• Hakuryū-en Garden Kyoto - 17min hike from Kibune station.
• Kyoto Botanical gardens and Garden of Fine Arts
• The face House, Kyoto – Koromonodara-dori, Tatedaionjicho, Nakagyo Ward, 604-0012
• Head back to hotel
• Find somewhere for dinner
• After dinner do the Shijo-dori walk – running east from the Kumo River towards Yasaka Shrine

Day 7: Explore Northern Higashiyama and surrounds
Wake up 4.30am

• Hokanji Temple and Yasaka Street to photograph temple at sunrise.
• Explore Sannenzaka neighbourhood, stop through Ishibei Koji.

Hire bikes and explore

• Herian shrine (antique markets held on 10th of each month 10am-4pm)
• Nanzen-ji (option)
• Eikan-do (option)
• Honen-in (option)
• The Philosphers path
• Gingkaku-ji (option)
• Kamo River
• Shimogamo Shrine
• Imperial Palace and garden surrounding gardens

Head back to hotel Find somewhere for dinner (Pontocho, Kiyamachi or Gion)
Day 8: Kyoto to Tokyo travel day
Wake up 4.30am

• Sunrise at Kiyomizu-Dera (opens at 6am) – sunrise at 6.13am
• Grab breakfast and snacks
• Check out Train to Tokyo at 11.01am at Kyoto Station Platform 12 Nozomi (enter via Hachijo West Exit) Car 4 Seat 5D & 5E Arrive in Tokyo at 1.15pm – drop bags off at hotel
• Explore surrounding neighbourhood and check in from 3pm

** check weather for Mt fuji – reserve rental car if there is a clear day
Day 9: Shibuya and Harajuku
Wake up 5am

• Visit Meiji Shrine Leisurely stroll around Yoyogi Park (Early morning for photos – sake barrels) Shinjuki Gyoen National Garden (if time)
• Shibuya crossing
• Shibu Niwa go to on 17th floor to get photos of Shibuya crossing and surrounds
• Walk past Hachiko Statue
• Walk to Harajuku – visit Takeshita dori street (opens 11am)
• Lunch
• Head to Omotesando for high-end shopping
• Wander through Centre-Gai, Daikanyamacho, Tomigaya and Shimokitazawa
• Shibuya Sky 4.20-4.40pm reservation
• Sakuragaokacho (cherry blossoms)
• Dinner

Other things in area:

• Yayoi Kussama Museum
• Shimokitazawa

Day 10: Asakusa, Akihabara and Ueno + Tokyo Tower
Wake up 5.30am

• Hozomon Gate
• Nakamise Shopping Street
• Senso-ji
• Akihabara (electric town)
• Ameya Yokocho Market
• Ueno Park
• Kagurazaka
• YAYOI KUSAMA Museum
• Jimbocho Book town
• Imperial Palace
• Nihonbashi
• Head back to hotel 3pm
• Tokyo Tower photos
  • Tokyo Tower parking entrance
  • Azabudai Hills
  • Roppongi Hills (30min walk from tower)

Other things in Asakusa to do early mornings

• Hoppy street
• Walk along Sumida park
• Walk to Kuramae – can see Tokyo sky tree from here

Day 11: Roppongi, Ginza and Shinjuku
Wake up 5.30am

• Tsukiji Outer Market
• Coffee and breakfast
• 21 21 Design Sight (opens at 10am)
• The National Art Centre (opens at 10am)
• Tokyo midtown (walk through)
• Lunch
• Roppongi Hills observation deck (opens at 10am) & Mori Art museum (opens at 10am)
• Ginza
• Head back to hotel
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
• Shinjuku for dinner in Omoide Yokocho Kabukicho (Golden Gai, 3D billboard) Shiinamachi Station
• Photo spots Golden Gai Omoide Yokocho alley Shinjuku Cat Shinjuku Kabukicho rd gates Yodobashi camera shinjuku Shiinamachi station

Day 12: Mt Fuji – check weather and live cameras
Train to Kawaguchiko station
Hire car from Toyota
Spots to stop:

• Lake Yamanaka swan lake
• Lawsons kombini kawaguchiko
• Tenku-no torri
• Lake kawaguchiko
• The park café
• Honcho street
• Chureito pagoda
• Mt fuji Station
• kawaguchiko station
• Arakura Fuji Sengen Shrine
• Oishi Park
• Lake Motosu
• Onshirin Garden
• Oshino Hakkai
• Fujisan Yumeno Ohashi
• Arakurayama Sengen Park
• Lake Shōji

Day 13: Yokohama, Kanagawa & Zushi Beach
Yokohama

• China town
• Yamashita Park (5mins from China town)
• Minato Mirai 21
  • Leonards cinnamon doughnuts
• Sankeien Garden
• Harbour Landmark tower and observation lookout

Kanagawa & Zushi Beach

• Enoden Railroad Crossing
• Explore neighbourhood
• dinner

Day 14: Tokyo – Home
Free day to explore what we may not have gotten to or want to visit again. Check out of hotel at 11am 4.30pm pick up bags from hotel and head to airport (be at airport by 7pm)
Additional day if we cant go to Mt Fuji: Gotokuji Temple Inokashira Park Harmonica Yokocho alley Shimokitazawa
Thanks for any feedback!

Got a ton of great info from previous trip reports so hope this is helpful to those reading. Happy to answer any questions in the comments. Trip was last month in January. Travel schedule: TokyoKyoto /OsakaTokyoHokkaidoTokyoHakoneTokyoHome
 
Background:
Late 20s / Early 30s M/F. I’ve been to Japan a few times but mostly Tokyo, the first time for my partner. We stayed with friends in the Tachikawa area while in Tokyo so this added ~2 hours extra travel time per day.
 
General thoughts on popular topics:
 
Prebooking: The things we booked before the trip: Studio Ghibli museum, Suntory Yamazaki tour, Nikka Yoichi tour, DisneySea lunch reservation. For Studio Ghibli we had many devices open and we were 115-9.8k in queue to get in. Most slots sold out within minutes if not seconds. For Yamazaki we missed the lottery period but we were able to get a first come first serve canceled tour spots. Disneysea the top restaurants were all booked out within 3 minutes. Nikka should be fine to book until a few days before. We debated restaurants but did not want the schedule / flow of travel to be interrupted to make a set reservation time so did not book any.  
Cash: We spent 95k yen in cash over 21 days. (Just cash, most of our spend was on credit card). Most places took credit card and/or IC card. Would always carry a bit of cash in case but overall you should not need much, especially while inside Tokyo. Plenty of smaller restaurants would not have a card machine visible, but would take out if you asked to pay with a card. A lot of card machines would have a tap option but it would not work so you have to insert a card. Some machines do not accept the newer 500 yen coin as well, so you may need to swap it out. If you have a lot of loose change there would sometimes be payment machines in front of registers that let you dump a bunch of coins.
We withdrew from ATMS in convenience stores as those would accept foreign debit cards. We had no fee card but it seemed to be 110 yen or 220 yen each time we withdrew. Not all stores had international ATMs, especially once you got outside of Tokyo.  
Suica / train / bus:
We both had iPhones and loaded Suica cards before the trip. Super convenient and easy to refill on your phone. You do not have to unlock the phone to use, though a few times it would not scan and you would then have to unlock. Seemed to happen when Face ID wanted the passcode to unlock. We used Suica exclusively for all trains and buses and only bought physical tickets for Shinkansen, Haneda and Sapporo airport buses. Both Haneda and Sapporo airport buses took Suica, but we wanted to be safe in case. For some buses you have to tap on and off at the front, others are flat fee. You can see if it charges you a flat fee or says trip in progress. Also for JR stations if you enter and leave it charges you a 150 yen fee. We didn't want to walk in the cold one day and found that out.
As for Google maps and trains, the info for which car was fastest transfer was pretty nice. I found timing and pricing to also be pretty accurate inside Tokyo. In Hokkaido some of the prices did not match (usually was cheaper than what Google said). Also with snow cancellations and delays, Google did not have all the info so using the JR site was more useful. We were probably unlucky but we had multiple delays on trains / buses and cancellations due to weather and random events.
Another tip I would mention (probably more relevant to traveling from Tachikawa to Tokyo) is that Google did not seem to give the option to switch from a local train to the express train that skipped more stops unless there was more than a few minutes to transfer. In a lot of cases you can save 5-15 minutes boarding an express train. If a train stops and a lot of people walk to the other side of the same platform and wait and doors don’t close, there will usually be an express train soon.
 
eSIMS:
We used Verizon TravelPass, Ubigi, Airalo and T-Mobile 2g. Verizon TravelPass was the fastest and most consistent, but we only used the days we had banked for free. Ubigi was the next best, although I found it would randomly drop / lag in more crowded areas. Airalo was definitely slower than Ubigi but maybe a bit more consistent? I used 2g a few times when my Ubigi dropped and it was fine for a few quick map checks and iMessages. Of my 10gb allotment for Ubigi, 4.7GB was used for Google Maps (seemed quite high considering I downloaded offline maps), 2.3 for Safari, 1.6GB for System Services, 122MB for Google Translate. I ran a bit low so ended up buying 1GB more to be safe.Would probably buy Ubigi again in future even at double the cost of Airalo. On a side note, once we stopped using Verizon TravelPass we did have to do the sim lock trick to use Verizon number for iMessage.
 
Convenience stores and trash:
Most convenience stores have a small bar table line to eat and if not we ate outside in front if other Japanese people were doing so. All the convenience stores have trash cans as do many of the department stores. I never felt I had any issues carrying trash / bottles.The hot section was pretty nice for mornings and if you do not mind carrying around a larger bottle of water, it is much cheaper than a small bottle. We also went to grocery stores over convenience if that was an option for pricing and selection.
 
Japanese usage:
I know the basic phrases and can read some Kanji. I found if I started a conversation in Japanese they would then respond in Japanese and I would not be able to communicate so after the first day or two I just started in English with google translate. It saved a lot of time and got points across much faster. That said, compared to previous trips for me there were many more random people who could speak English and a few who were fluent. Reading Kanji was helpful both in train stations (not having to wait for signs to switch to English) and for general signs.
 
General food and restaurant thoughts:
I listed some restaurants that we enjoyed, really bad ones and slightly different places. Almost every meal was pretty good in general. We tried to eat at restaurants that were at least 50% Japanese inside / in line. I found that the 3.5-4.2 rating was the optimal range like others mentioned, and anything above 4.2 would be more tourists. For a lot of the recommended restaurants on social media the customers were 80-100% tourists.This was especially true in Kyoto and Osaka, as all the places we had down were all tourists. We did not have any specific foods we needed to try so we would just go with what we were craving at the time. Many restaurants you check in on a tablet to join the queue and it gives you a slip. Some slips have a QR code to scan to see where you are in line. You can usually browse shops around the restaurant and go back closer to your time.
Another tip would be a lot of restaurants (especially ramen) offer a mini / half bowl. This worked well for my partner as the normal bowls would normally be too much food on days we had second breakfast / elevenses and afternoon tea. A lot of restaurants (Tonkatsu / Tempura) also have an option for unlimited rice / miso soup so if you are fat like me make sure to get your second bowl.
Lastly, fruit is ridiculously priced compared to the US. We wanted to have fruit throughout the trip but held off most of the time due to cost. My partner did bring oatmeal to have for breakfast some days, and you can get hot water at convenience stores.
 
Luggage and laundry:
We had two backpacks (Allpa 35 and North Face Recon) that we used during the side trips. We did take an empty 22l suitcase to Hokkaido for food souvenirs but for the rest of the side trips it was backpacks only. It made trips much smoother not having to worry about luggage space and transport. We packed pretty light and the only item we didn’t use were flip flops since the hotels all provided slippers.
All the hotels we stayed at offered either free or coin laundry. Should note my partner got a few rashes from the detergent which I believe is a common issue.
 
Hotels / bed bugs:
We read a few reports about bed bugs right before we left so checked each hotel but all were pretty clean. All hotels had amenities on the first floor or on request. This was nice as you were able to just get the things you needed. Some of the hotels we stayed at used a machine to check in so check in times were a bit stricter as machines would not work before check in time.
 
Flights:
ANA Premium Economy SFO to HND.
ANA Economy HND to TSA, TSA to HND
AirDo Economy HND to CTS to HND
United Economy NRT to SFO
ANA SFO to HND: The ticket gives you basic United lounge access, which is a nice perk for premium economy. Service was good and flight attendants were really nice. First meal was box with tuna croissant sandwich, grandma’s cookies and banana. Second meal was an option of tempura or hamburg steak. They provided snacks (kit kats, arare snack mix and hard candy) as well as beer, wine, plum wine and champagne. Seats were ok and was about 75% full. Business was about 50% full.
AirDo: Bag drop was with ANA, seems most of things handled with ANA. Good service and only drinks for flight. Full flights both ways.
ANA HND to TSA to HND: Chance to get a Pokemon plane where you get a pokemon gift. Good service and happy with flight. One meal included. Full flight both ways.
United NRT to SFO: Long delay due to mechanical failures and poor service throughout. Entertainment system did not work outside of showing a flight map. Food was edible though. 2/3 filled around us. Business and premium economy fully filled.
 
Hotels:
Kyoto: Royal Park Hotel Kyoto Sanjo ($84/night): big rooms, good location, clean, coin laundry
Sapporo: Sotetsu Fresa Inn Sapporo-Susukino ($46.55/night): standard rooms, good location, clean, coin laundry
Jozankei: Grand Blissen Hotel Jozankei (~$420 / night dinner and breakfast included): huge room, pretty new, nice amenities, free hotel shuttle, free laundry. We had some issues with a/c airflow so we had to open the window at night.
DisneySea area: JR East Hotel Mets Tokyo Bay Shinkiba ($85/night): bigger than normal business room, good location, can’t open window
Hakone: Hakone Gora KARAKU (~$640 / night, Breakfast included): huge room, newer, free hotel shuttle, unlimited beer / wine / liquors / snacks / coffee / tea in lounge, some issues with a/c airflow as well.
 
Day 1 Travel Day (9,325 steps, 3.87 miles)
Arrived in Haneda in the evening and used QR code for customs. Almost no wait and the whole process took less than 10 minutes. Bus to Tachikawa, with extra traffic on the road we took one hour and 45 minutes to arrive, 20 minutes behind schedule. Had food at a local restaurant and prepared for Kyoto next day. No jet lag issues as already adjusted to the time zone, and most steps were from Taipei in the morning before we left.
 
Day 2 Travel to Kyoto (22,960 steps, 10.02 miles)
Took Shinkansen from Tokyo station. We had a few issues buying tickets as we scanned in using IC cards from Tachikawa and the machine did not read phone IC cards. Ended up having to buy tickets from the counter. We did not use Google translate and said we wanted Nozomi and Green Car with seats together. We were told no green car but were able to buy Nozomi tickets. Pricing seemed a lot higher than what Japan Travel app listed but they confirmed it was correct. Looking back it is in line with Klook / Google pricing but much higher than what Japan Travel App listed for some reason. We then went back to the machine to upgrade tickets to green car and were unable to find any seats next to each other for the next 4 Nozomi trains. We ended up booking two separate seats in the car but found an older Japanese guy using one of our seats as his luggage storage. We showed him our ticket and he said it was a green car and to just sit where we want. The conductor came by and the Japanese guy talked to the conductor and the conductor gave us seats in the reserved luggage seat and said these were ok to sit together. Was a bit weird but not an issue and the train ride was smooth otherwise. With ticket issues we did not have time to get ekiben so we ate Clif Bars we brought. We did see most of Mt. Fuji around Shin Fuji station.
We arrived at Kyoto station around 1pm. We walked to Honke Daiichi-Asahi and waited about 30 minutes for our ramen. You queue in line and when you get close you go to the machine to put in your order. We thought ramen was solid, gyoza was meh. Main server spoke some English. After our meal we walked over to Higashi Hongan-ji Temple. It was pretty empty and this was our favorite temple in Kyoto with beautiful woodwork and architecture throughout. Very tranquil all over the grounds and a lot of people are going to worship. You do have to remove shoes to go inside, but they provided bags to hold them. This was the only temple we felt where we were visiting a temple and not a tourist attraction in Kyoto. Afterwards we walked towards our hotel and stopped by koé donuts. We enjoyed the more mochi style donuts and they have a lot of unique flavors. We browsed a few shops and got to our hotel around 4pm. After checking in we walked towards Gion and Yasaka shrine. After wandering a bit we ended up at the Kyoto Ebisu Shrine for their Toka Ebisu festival. It was a fun experience and interesting to see the festival and stalls on the street before the shrine.
 
Day 3 Fushimi Inari Taisha, Yamazaki, Sannenzaka Ninenzaka, Kiyomizu-dera (28,971 steps, 12.18 miles, 78 flights climbed)
Took Keihan Main Line and got to Fushimi-Inari at around 7:30am. It was pretty empty and we had time to set up a tripod and take photos at the start of the gates. It took 40 minutes for us to reach the peak and about 1 hour to go down as we stopped more. Beautiful scenery and views throughout and we thoroughly enjoyed the visit. The amount of people throughout was about the same at this hour and we would have 1-2 minutes of no one else for most of the hike. Some shops started opening on our way down but most were still closed. We were very happy that we did the full hike and glad we went early before it got busy. We were back to the main entrance at 9:03am and it was still pretty empty.
We took a train to Kyoto station and went on our way to Suntory Yamazaki Distillery. We got to Yamazaki and had a second breakfast at Daily Yamazaki at the train station. After that we made our way to the distillery to check in before our 11:20am English tour. We checked in and went through the museum and checked out the tasting menu. Tour was pretty good and it was nice to see the process. You spend a lot of time listening to their audio guide on your phone and watching a video for each section. The grounds are really beautiful and you end the tour with a tasting of Yamazaki from different casks. Afterwards we went to the tasting room and ordered. There is a total limit of only 6 drinks and 1 per each of the premium whiskies. Pricing for 15ml pours: 300 yen for 12 years, 1000 yen for the 18-21 years, and 4000 yen for the 25-30 years. We ordered Hibiki 30, Yamazaki 25 and Hakushu 25 to start. Afterwards we went back for our next three and we were allowed to get Hibiki 30 again, as well as Hibiki 21 and Hakushu 18. It was an amazing experience as even with Costco pricing I would never be able to afford most of these bottles. After the tasting we picked up a few souvenirs at the gift shop (they don’t sell any of the nicer whiskeys unfortunately) and ate at a local Udon shop (かぎ卯) before going back to Kyoto.
We went to the hotel and relaxed for an hour before stopping by Lawson for our afternoon tea meal, which we ate by the river. We walked to Kōdaiji Temple then to Sannenzaka Ninenzaka area. It was crazy packed at 4pm and we were not really able to browse or stop at any shops comfortably. We went through and got to Kiyomizu-dera in time for the sunset. Afterwards Sannenzaka was a bit less crowded so we had some mochi and went to the two Ghibli shops and Ocha-no-ko SAISAI. We ended up going to Kura sushi for dinner and won the game on our last set of 5 plates and got a wasabi tape prize.
 
Day 4 Osaka Day (26,261 steps 11.01 miles)
Took train to Osaka in the morning and shopped around Osaka station and Umeda sky. We browsed the malls, Lululemon, Pokemon center, Ghibli stores, and Samurai jeans. Had lunch at Human Beings Everbody Noodles Premium downstairs in Lucua and then took the train down towards Shinsaibashi, and stopped at Warehouse (Denim) on the way. Walked through the shopping streets and to Namba Parks. Got our Gilco man picture and decided to get Gyukatsu. Went to Gyukatsu Tomita by Namba parks and got in line. Queue got super long behind us quickly and it turned out to be 100% Korean diners except for us. It was a pretty solid meal and the line was tripled when we left. Browsed a few more stores and took the train back to Kyoto.
 
Day 5 Kyoto back to Tokyo (12,142 steps, 5.16miles)
Started at Nishiki market at 9am but was a bit too early to go as many of the shops had not opened. Afterwards we checked out and took the Shinkansen back to Tokyo. This time we bought tickets outside of the station so it was an easier process and we were able to get seats next to each other. We went for green car again and were pretty happy we did as the normal cars seemed quite packed (guess it was weekend?). Relaxed the rest of the day in Tachikawa.
 
Day 6 Ghibli Museum, Ginza (14,729 steps, 5.69 miles)
Had 10am tickets for Ghibli museum and arrived around 10am. Huge line but it moved quickly and the museum inside was busy but you were able to browse everything you wanted in peace. They give you a small film ticket featuring a random movie for short film screening and it’s a nice souvenir. I really wanted to get my favorite movie and asked a few different employees but unfortunately we were not able to exchange. I really enjoyed the visit and we spent about two and a half hours there. The gift shop has a lot of stuff not found in the other Ghibli stores as well.
Afterwards we headed to Ginza to have Shabu Shabu at Shabusen Ginza 8F shop. Wait was about 30 minutes at 1pm. We had the basic set meal and added on the A3/A5 meats. Pretty satisfied with the meal and you get free refills on your rice / noodles. Afterwards we browsed a few stores but as it was the weekend everything was very packed. Itoya was really bad in particular as you had to wait to even make it across the floor. Headed back to Tackikawa for dinner afterwards.
 
Day 7 Flight to Sapporo (20,341 steps, 8.32 miles)
Took the airport bus from Kichijoji to Haneda, paid with IC cards. At terminal 2 departures the Pokemon machine was there but broken. We flew Air Do but you check your bags in at ANA counter and most things seem to be through ANA directly. Flight was pretty smooth and we arrived at New Chitose around 12pm. We bought tickets for the airport bus and got in line. We were the first stop and when we arrived at the next terminal they could only fit a few people in line so most people had to wait for the next bus. With snowfall from the previous day as well as bus driver change midway through, we took 2 hours to get to our stop in Susukino (40 minutes late). We arrived at hotel around 2:15pm and the machines did not allow check in until 3pm. Their luggage storage was full so the front desk took our bags. We walked over to the ramen street and the places we wanted to go were already not taking customers at 2:30pm. We ended up having soup curry at SHO-RIN which was pretty good. The beers we ordered throughout Sapporo were bigger size bottles and you have the option to get Sapporo Classic which is not sold outside of Hokkaido. After checking in we headed to Shiroi Koibito Park. It started snowing pretty heavily as we got there so we had to walk through snow for about 10 minutes. As we were a bit behind schedule, the tour and factory were already closed. Due to snow it was pretty empty and all the picture areas of the park include a phone stand so you can take pictures easily. We were able to get ice cream at the cafe before the last order and there is a huge difference with the Hokkaido milk. Afterwards we looked for food options around and decided to walk over to Taoka Miyanosawa for some Abura ramen. It was full snow and wind so we were pretty frozen when we arrived but it was worth the walk. When we finished eating, the snow had stopped so we walked back to the train station. For some of the bigger intersections we discovered there was actually an option to go underground to cross and avoid snow. We had waterproof shoes which was a big benefit as the snow was up to our knees at some of the streets we had to walk. We walked around Susukino and Tanukikoji before going for a second dinner at Ramen Shingen. Wait was about 30 minutes and I really enjoyed the Miso ramen here. Checked train schedules for Otaru / Yoichi the next day and Google stated everything was canceled. After a bit more checking JR website said some trains were canceled between Sapporo and Otaru and all trains after Otaru were canceled. We fortunately were able to book two times for our Nikka Distillery tour the next day so we were flexible depending on weather / cancellations.
 
Day 8 Otaru / Yoichi / Sapporo (20,134 steps, 8.03 miles)
We got to the train station early to make sure we could catch a train. We were able to get to Otaru by 8am and got to the bus stop to get to Yoichi for our Nikka tour. About 10 minutes before our bus was supposed to arrive an employee came out and made an announcement. We asked the lady in front of us and she said that due to the snow the bus was 30 minutes to 1 hour late. Google did not show this delay so keep in mind when checking maps. We decided to just do Otaru first and to go to Yoichi in the afternoon. We walked over to Sankaku market and it was fully empty. We went to eat at Takinami Donburi Restaurant and there was no wait to sit but food took about 20 minutes to come out. I got a variety bowl and my partner chose three toppings bowl. We found the bowls to be pretty disappointing. We did enjoy trying the Otaru pilsner though. Afterwards we walked to the canal and browsed shops until we got to the music box factory. It was pretty empty throughout, though there were a few Korean tour groups. We made the obligatory stops at LeTao and Rokkatei as well as Kitaichi Hall. Kitaichi Hall was really nice inside with the lamps but the chiffon cake and ice cream both left something to be desired. We were happy to have gone to see the ambiance though especially with no wait. Afterwards we walked back to Otaru station and caught a local bus to Yoichi.
We got to Yoichi around 1pm and went to Kakizaki Shōten around lunch. This meal was much better than our breakfast and we also tried the local 41 Beer Craft Works beers. Afterwards we made our way to Nikka Distillery. It was beautiful in the snow and the tour ended up being just the two of us. While the tour is normally in Japanese, our guide made it in English with the help of the printed cards. Due to snow a few areas were unfortunately closed but it was still a great experience. It was really cool to see the worker shovel the coal into the stills. The tour is completely free and you get a free tasting at the end of two whiskeys and their apple wine. Afterwards we went to the tasting room and ordered all the cask variations of their whiskey as well as a few other drinks we had not tried before. The menu is a bit more limited compared to Yamazaki though. They do have older bottles on display but were told those were not available to try. No limit on how many drinks you want to order here. Afterwards we went to the museum and gift shop to pick up a few souvenirs. A much larger selection of whiskey available to purchase compared to Yamazaki. We explored the ground a bit more before heading for dinner at Garden House Family sushi. We enjoyed our sushi bowls here and the waitress spoke English / they have an English menu. I got a variety bowl and my partner got a chutoro bowl. No uni available so they subbed chutoro for it in my bowl. Afterwards we walked back to the bus station and it seemed that some buses were not running. A bus eventually showed up and it went all the way to Sapporo. The driver said due to snow it would be very delayed so we ended up getting off at Otaru and took the train back to Sapporo. We wanted to do Otaru beer warehouse for dinner but did not want to risk getting stranded in Otaru.
 
Day 9 Jozankei Onsen (14,401 steps, 5.88 miles)
Debated going to Nijo market but after yesterday just checked out instead and headed towards Sapporo station. We had planned to go to Rokkatei for the ice cream sandwich but did not realize they were closed that day. Ended up browsing the department stores and picked up some snacks / sweets / ice cream for second breakfast. We also tried Mister Donut finally and they offer free refills on coffee if you dine in.
Went to the bus stop to catch our hotel bus to Jozankei. As with our previous travels, the bus arrived at the hotel at 2:30pm or about 30 minutes late due to snow. We stayed at Grand Blissen Hotel Jozankei and were very happy with our stay. We paid for the view floor and the room was amazing. Very spacious room and in room onsen. Only complaint would be the A/C airflow seemed to be pretty weak and we ended up leaving the window open to sleep. Guests were mostly Japanese as well when we were there, and there were a lot of families. After relaxing for an hour we headed out to go to the Futamitsuri Bridge. Google maps stated you had to make a big circle but the front desk said there was a pathway before Jozankei Manseikaku Hotel Milione, which was accurate. It was pretty empty at the bridge and the pathway were pretty icey. We stopped by the parks before heading back. Dinner was really good and consisted of sashimi starter, scallops and cooked fish second course, a very fatty prime rib main, and black sesame creme brulee dinner. You had a drink machine for water / tea / coffee and a table to order other paid drinks. Spent the rest of the night relaxing in the onsen.
 
Day 10 Sapporo in morning, flight back to Tokyo (9,226 steps, 4.05m)
Started the day in the onsen before heading to breakfast. Breakfast was the standard meal set with an additional buffet. It was a step down compared to the night before and the salmon main fish was not grilled which was kind of strange. Most people had a bite and left the salmon which was the first time I’ve seen so many plates uneaten at a restaurant. Checked out and headed back to Sapporo. Bus took about the same time (1.5 hours) and we went to Nemuro Hanamaru at Sapporo station for lunch. The queue is pretty ridiculous but there is an option to wait for standing bar only, which we waited about 15 minutes for. The fish here was really great and we were really happy with our meal. You write down your order on a slip and hand it to the chef. They had an English menu but it seemed to be missing a lot of the nicer items so I ended up just asking the chef if they had and wrote names down on the order slip (English spellings of fish we wanted). The initial sushi chef was pretty good and she got most of our orders quickly. They switched chefs halfway through and after that service slowed considerably. We also had a few kitchen orders that never arrived so we asked to cancel and got the bill. All the off menu items were charged at the standard expensive price point (418 yen) which was a great deal.Afterwards we took the train to the airport for our flight. I believe Google maps stated the trip would be 1750 or 1990 yen but the trip ended up being only 1150 yen.This is when we went back and noticed a lot of price discrepancies from Google. We flew Air Do for the return leg as well but this time it was ANA plane.
 
Day 11 Shibuya / Harajuku / Aoyama / Roppongi / Shinjuku (24,030 steps, 10.51 miles)
Spent the day walking through shops, starting from Shibuya. There were quite a few stores that did not do tax free. After Shibuya we walked to Cat Street and Harajuku before going to Aoyama and Roppongi. We mostly stopped by denim stores and character stores. We ended up eating in Iruca Tokyo for dinner and it was probably our favorite Ramen on the trip. We waited about 40 minutes from the start of Line B cone to enter. We ordered both the special Shoyu and Shio ramens as well as the truffle rice bowl. Stopped by Shinjuku on the way home for some pancakes and dessert.
 
Day 12 Shinjuku / Nakano (15,300 steps, 6.12 miles)
Started the day in Shinjuku and browsed some department stores including Lumine and Isetan Men’s. Might be nostalgia speaking but felt the selection in general for a lot of the men’s stores seemed much more bland and generic compared to before.. Had Tempura Funabashiya Shinjuku for lunch which was consistent and solid as always.We did a little more shopping and went to Shinjuku Takano Fruits Parlor. It was a good experience and we waited about 30 minutes. When we left the line was extended down multiple floors of the stairwell. There were a lot of empty tables but not enough staff to process everything. We then went to Nakano Broadway and browsed the shops for a while.
 
Day 13 Asakusa, Tobacco Salt, Skytree, Akihabara, Kichijoji (20,652 steps, 7.99 miles)
Went to Asakusa in the morning and despite the pouring rain it was already pretty packed at 10:30am. Walked through Nakamise shopping street to Senso-Ji. After visiting the temple we took a bus to Tokyo Skytree. Before Skytree we walked over to the Tobacco & Salt Museum. This was much better than expected, especially considering the 100 yen entry fee. We spent about an hour and half before heading back to Skytree shops. I would say the Ghibli store there had the most selection out of all the ones we visited. After Skytree we headed over to Akihabara. We browsed for a few hours and played some claw games before heading to Kichijoji for dinner. We went to Satou steakhouse and had the duo cuts sampler (12k yen per person). No wait though and I enjoyed the meal. Afterwards we picked up their famous minced meat katsu on the way out.
Day 14 Sunshine City, Shin Kiba, Ginza (16,136 steps, 7.12 miles)
Started the day in Sunshine City, mostly for the gachas and to check out the different stores. The Gacha store was pretty insane in size and we found a few unique ones. We enjoyed it much more than Akihabara and felt the overall vibe was much more relaxed. Afterwards we headed to Shin-Kiba station to check into our hotel for DisneySea the next day. We stayed at JR East Hotel Mets Tokyo Bay Shinkiba ($85/night) and we were pretty happy with our stay. Slightly bigger than normal room and was pretty new. Some issues with airflow as well and you cannot open windows. Convenience store in the lobby and a few restaurants at the station next door. It’s only two stops from DisneySea so location wise was perfect for us as the trip from Tachikawa was just too far. Spent the night in the Ginza area and had drinks / dinner at Torikizoku. This location ended up having two American groups who let their kids run around and scream. While I did not notice before, it was actually the first time I realized how many restaurants we ate at did not have kids. Good choice if you are traveling with kids though.
Day 15 DisneySea (24,119 steps, 10.26 miles)
Got up early and made it to the gates by 7:50am. There was already a decent crowd waiting at the time. Unfortunately for us, they did not open the gates until 9am. Once in, we quickly walked over and got in line for Soaring. When we entered, the sign said 40 minutes and it took about 60 minutes. Wait was 120 minutes when we got out. While waiting we got the 40th anniversary pass for Indiana Jones. It should be noted there is a two hour delay before you can get another anniversary pass and one hour delay for premier pass and Stand By pass shop bookings. They also sell out which we did not realize and would have booked Raging Spirits before it sold out. We were also unable to book the Tower of Terror Capsule toys, so it was sold out before 9:20am when we got in line. That said, towards the end of the day they allowed people into some of the standby pass stores, but were strict about the Tower of Terror gacha. We ended up paying for premier passes for Tower of Terror and Journey to Center of Earth (1500 and 2000 yen per person) and we found it worth skipping lines which stayed at around 60-90 minutes all day for those rides. Food wise we tried a lot of the stands and booked The Teddy Roosevelt Lounge for lunch. The Teddy Roosevelt lounge seated us about 15 minutes after our reservation time and we were told we had 30 minutes to order and one hour to get out upon being seated as they were busy. The drinks were sugary and very light and the food was not very good. We would stick with just the casual dining / stands in future. Only other note would be that the fireworks are launched in between the parks, so while most people gathered by the water, the best view was actually outside of the park. My partner really wanted to go and was very happy with her experience. Overall as someone fully indifferent to Disney, I enjoyed the day and found the park to be quite empty outside of the lines for the popular rides. You always had a place to sit and did not have to wait in any of the bathrooms. Plenty of rides had very short waits and things like the old style sailing ship were completely empty. Our favorite ride was Soaring and we were happy we did it first.
 
Day 16 Imperial Palace, Tachikawa evening (14,740 steps, 6.53 miles)
After checking out we headed to Tsujihan Kagurazaka. We arrived at 11:02am right after opening but one full set of people had filled out seats so we ended up having to wait until 11:25am for the next round. Overall it was a solid meal and the 20 minute wait felt about right. Not something I would go out of my way for in future, but it was nice to try. Afterwards we headed to walk in the Imperial Palace. It was pretty empty but pleasant to walk through. Headed back to Tachikawa after and had a relaxing rest of the day.
 
Day 17 Hakone (13,302 steps, 5.76 miles)
We headed for Hakone in the morning and took local trains there. We debated the RomanceCar but the train timing was not right and it would have added a bit of travel time and cost. Our hotel had a shuttle from Odawara station so we took that to get to Gora. We stayed at Hakone Gora KARAKU (~$640 / night, Breakfast included). Overall it was pretty good, but felt a step down compared to our Jozankei onsen. The hotel included a lounge that provided unlimited beer, wine, water, sparkling / tonic, tea, coffee, and various snacks. The lounge removes the beer in the morning and changes out the snacks as well. They also did not provide amenities for you to grab, so you have to request it during check in. After arriving, they took our bags and gave us tea and a cake to prepare for check in. We were not able to enter our rooms until check in time so we headed over to Tamura Ginkatsu-tei for lunch. Queue was about 25 groups ahead of us so we decided to walk directly to the Hakone Open Air museum instead. We had a quick lunch at Lawson on the way. We spent around an hour and 45 minutes there, though I would have liked to stay a bit longer. We left so we could get back to the hotel to enjoy the Onsen and have some time before dinner. Room was pretty spacious and the outdoor bath was pretty nice. We paid for the mountain view / east building but did not pay for a view floor this time which was the right choice as the area is more developed. That said, if you are debating between western or Japanese style rooms in the east building, the Japanese style rooms are one floor higher and on the same floor as the lounge. We headed back to Tamura Ginkatsu-tei for dinner and arrived around 15 minutes before it opened. There were six groups on the list before us and about 6 more groups that got in line before us. The tofu cutlet was pretty unique but we would probably not return. We tried the local Hakone beers as well and the Red Ale was my favorite.
 
Day 18 Hakone / Owakudani / Tokyo (13,178 steps, 5.89 miles)
Woke up for the sunrise and then had breakfast at the hotel. Meal was pretty good and they gave you the chopsticks as a gift. Enjoyed the onsen until check out time and headed to Owakudani. The Ropeway was unfortunately down for maintenance so we ended up taking a taxi using the GO app. Cost was 2600 yen - 500 yen promo, so a pretty good price to save 35 minutes vs walking and bus (~800 yen). It was a sunny day so we had a great view of Mt. Fuji and had the customary black eggs and ice cream. We took the bus back down and had a nice walk through undeveloped areas before getting back to Gora. Took hotel shuttle back to Odawara station and had a relaxing rest of the day once we got back to the Tokyo area.
 
Day 19/20 Kichijoji / Tachikawa shopping days (15,262 steps, 5.94 miles, 7,602 steps, 3.08 miles)
Spent the weekend in Kichijoji and Tachikawa to pick up any more souvenirs we needed and to get any cravings we had out of the way. We did have Flipper’s pancakes in Kichijoji with minimal wait on a weekend so it might be a better option compared to the more central locations. Both Kichijoji and Tachikawa are good options as they have most stores with fewer crowds and less waiting.
 
Day 21 Travel Day Home (9,823 steps, 4.17 miles)
Our flight left in the afternoon and it took about 2 hours to make it to Narita. We watched the 49ers game in the morning with the DAZN stream which was 1020 yen for the rest of the season. It was the FOX broadcast with most ads going over as well. Coming from Tachikawa we ended up taking the Musashino train to Higashi-Matsudo Station to take the Narita SkyAccess. It was pretty smooth throughout and you did not have to buy any special tickets. We had a United flight home that was super delayed and did not have a working entertainment system. With zero expectations for United flights in general, the food was better than expected, service was still pretty bad. We flew normal economy and from the seat map it should have been fully empty by us. People switched seats due to this and our empty area ended up being somewhat full. They also let people move into the extended legroom economy seats which was a bit surprising but I think flight attendants gave up after our delays and some of the passengers’ behavior. We did debate upgrading but both business and premium economy were fully filled and flight is relatively short so happy we did not.
 
Overall we had a great trip and if we were doing it again we probably would have spent one more day in Kyoto / Osaka and more time in Hokkaido. We also would stay more central in Tokyo, as the hour train rides each way were pretty draining and the Chuo line train stayed full no matter the time of day.
My favorite parts of the trip were: Suntory Yamazaki Distillery, Yoichi Nikka Distillery, Fushimi Inari Shrine, Studio Ghibli museum
My partner’s favorite parts of the trip were: Onsens, Hokkaido milk, Shirito Koibito Chocolate Factory, both whiskey distilleries, Studio Ghibli museum and Disneysea.
Happy to answer questions in the comments below!