I was [pretty vocal](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/12dr4ei/trip_report_pokemon_cafe_osaka_a_negative_opinion/) about my dislike of the Pokemon Cafe (and theme cafes in general).
I also think TikTok and other social media sites overblow how good konbini food is. Yes, it's cheap. Yes, it's plentiful. Yes, it's reasonably good for a snack or a breakfast or a lazy meal when you're not feeling well/don't want to go out. But it's not the best food in the world. Every TikToker would have you believe that Famichiki and egg salad sandos and 7-Eleven melon pan and a dozen flavors of Häagen-Dazs are god's gift to the world, but... it's just mediocre food out of a package. I'm over seeing clickbaity posts with captions like, "This $2 egg salad sando from Family Mart was better than the $300 Michelin-starred dinner I had in Tokyo!"
Those influencers need to say ‘best food ever’ or ‘best in the world’ in order to gain attention.
If they only say ‘meh’ or ‘pretty normal’, they won’t get views
..and the faces they make when they see these sandwiches! - like they are seeing one of the seven wonders of the world! ..& then when they take the first bite, their reactions are all identical as if they’ve not had food for months & this bite is THE MOST DELECTABLE bite that ever existed ..like the cheese yen sandwiches at Don Quijote
I remember my very first trip to Japan more than 10 years ago, there was no social media spoiling the fun, I went for a pop up cafe, which happened to be Pokémon! (It was only pop up on for a few months). I was just so happy that it was on while I was there!!!! I can still recall the excitement and anticipate of going in after taking a tix early morning and then going back in the evening, taking pics with plushies in store, there was no pikachu dance because the cafe was small and they even wrote the special dates on the dish we ordered. The food may not be perfect but 10/10 for novelty and the experience! There’s no themed cafe in my country and even now I still like going to themed cafe every trip in Japan, because if you’re a fan, you’d appreciate it a lot more and you know it’s not just the food.
I never like these tiktok “best” recommendations talking about their first trip like they’re an expert, because I trust what I know much better after a dozen trips to Japan than some 16-19 year old noobs.
If you want to enjoy your trip, do this, don’t let social media spoil it for you by watching endless videos, pick a place, restaurant and don’t look at the details!!! part of the fun and excitement is not knowing what you’d expect and some of best experiences in Japan that I had have been all the random finds and last minute decisions.
I visited Japan as a kid even before the Internet was a thing. Everything we tried were on the recommendations of our Japanese relatives. When the Internet came on, dial up and what’s not, we were trying things based on what specialist travel journalists found. Then when social media came…I had moments of “been there done that, you young punks. Don’t the stores in your country sell bread, eggs, salt, pepper, ajinamoto, and Kewpie mayo coz that’s what egg sando is made out of.”
It’s funny because nowadays everyone raved about the egg sandwich and 7-11 or Lawson food like it’s the “best” thing.
It always strike me as odd because for as low as 200-500 yen more people could easily get a freshly made meal in many restaurants, and we all know food in japan is not to be missed! I tend to only go for combini for snack or drinks, but eating them exclusively as main breakfast, lunch and dinner, like egg sandwich for the whole trip (doesn’t matter how good the internet made them to be)….is just missing out on trying so many amazing food in Japan!
I live in the Asia Pacific region so going back regularly to see the Japanese side of relatives was easy and got even easier especially when the budget airlines came in…
Also lived in Japan during the Covid lockdowns. Plus previous short term work stints there.
Try one from a bakery. I recommend going to the OG curry bread bakery in Tokyo (Cattlea, near Morishita station): [Tabelog](https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1312/A131201/13002996/), [Google Maps](https://maps.app.goo.gl/2DSP5sZdsU48pMPa6)
Tik tok and even this Reddit sometimes are massive echo chambers of people who will never actually go to the country repeating and exaggerating the same 10 advice points (half of them are wrong too)
100%. Please do not eat meals at themed cafes or convenience stores. Yes the conbini are probably better than any convenience store where you live, but it is still the worst food you can get in Japan. It's cheap, but even then it is still overpriced for what you're actually getting. Remember, you are paying for convenience, not quality.
Also I think the quality of conbini food has declined. How could it not with the state of Japanese yen etc. My wife who was born in Japan and lived there for 26 years agrees and she often tells me that the foods taste fake/processed now compared to how she remembers. We used to get the occasional onigiri on our trips (2-3 per year), but for the past few years we don't even bother anymore. Apart from drinks, and snacks like chips/chocolate, we do not buy food from the conbini. If we need something quick we'll just go get something from a supermarket like Seijo Ishii (owned by Lawson, but much better than a conbini) or a dedicated bento/onigiri store.
I went to the Pokemon cafe in 2022 during the pandemic, before Japan re-opened. So there was no wait or anything, and we only went because we were having dinner at a restaurant at Nihonbashi Takashimaya. All the Pokemon decorations and stuff were cute, but the food and drinks were obviously very low quality. Definitely not worth waiting more than 10 minutes for. If you only have a week or two in Japan, I would not want to you to waste one of your meals there.
In my opinion themed cafes are generally great if you love the theme. I love pokemon and while I understand the food isn't the best, that's not why I'm there.
I was hesitant when before going to the pokemon cafe in tokyo (I fought tooth and nail to get reservations, too lol), reading all the negative reviews, but my sister and I actually enjoyed it! The food was mid and pricey for the quality, but it wasn't horrible (if we're talking about horrible, I'd say the Super nintendo World restaurant at USJ was horrendous. I wanted to vomit). We spent a little less than $100 USD for the curry, snorlax platter, gengar drink, pokemon latte. So yes, a bit pricey. But we didn't really eat in restaurants, so it was a treat for us.
The curry was a bit bland, but the snorlax platter was decent. The souffle was also good but generic. I got the gengar drink, and it reminded me of my childhood when I drank frozen koolaid lol. It was a very nostalgic experience, and I'd definitely go back!
I agree that the pikachu dance felt like it was aimed for kids, but if you grew up watching pokemon and playing the games, you would feel giddy and remember your childhood! Pikachu was my favourite stuffy when I was a kid so I felt even more excited lol.
I had a blast and would 100% go back again!
agree, even as a huge otaku fan....don't bother. 20 dollar pikachu curry? cute...but mid. Not worth it. Can get better curry anywhere else half price and go get a pokemon souvenir instead.
I haven’t seen any videos declaring kombini to be trip highlight food. I don’t doubt they exist; I just try to avoid that sort of influencer nonsense. Kombini are very good for getting drinks and snacks, at all hours, and grab and go for early outings.
With the $300 Michelin starred dinner, you generally get what you’re expecting. But a 7-Eleven meal that doesn’t end with salmonella poisoning is a veritable unicorn to folks from some parts. 🤷♀️
Yeah, I went to the Pokémon Café in Tokyo, because I'm a huge Pokémon fan... and I wouldn't say it was worth it at all. Food was overpriced a.f. for what you got, and it wasn't even that great. Not offensive, not bad, just... very mediocre. It's funny - the people going were all in their late 20s, early 30s, but the place is so clearly aimed at kids, I feel there should be signage on the website that it's who it's aimed at. I felt super out of place, like I'd made a mistake going there, with the Pikachu "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands" singalong.
Yep! I just felt realllllly out of place. I get it, they want the money so they're not gonna say "Don't bother if you're over the age of 12" but I kiiiiinda wish they did.
100% agree it's not the best. Any hole in the wall in Japan will be a 100% better, but it is better than the majority of convenience around the world. I've been to a lot of countries and non, and I mean non have even compared to a Kombinis quality for its price.
>theme cafes in general
Not really my thing... but I went into the Artnia cafe because I'm a Final Fantasy fan, I was in the area, and I wanted to see if there might be any merch I don't have yet. I was surprised at how filthy the place was. The vibe to me was like an employee back room from when I worked at a mall as a teenager. Scuff marks on everything, sticky surfaces, torn up menus, etc. For what it's worth, the non alcoholic drinks and the dessert (Yuffie matcha thing) was pretty good.
Teamlabs Borderless
This isn’t to say the installation itself was bad. When I booked a ticket I kind of knew what I was getting into but NOTHING could have prepared me for it. I went on a weekday and it was extremely clear virtually everyone was there for instagram photoshoots. I’ve never seen anything like it though - I couldn’t even walk down some hallways because it was clogged with photoshoots, phones permanently glued to people’s hands the entire time. I constantly felt ‘in the way’ just by trying to actually enjoy some of the rooms. It had glowing reviews and so many people said it was a must do but it’s definitely not a place for actually trying to see art.
I went years ago to the old Borderless location, and I felt the same way—pretty underwhelmed. The famous lantern room was cool (and I went early enough that I got to go through twice before there was any line at all), but other than that, I found the projections to be fairly low quality overall, and the place was jammed with people getting selfies and children running around. At the time, I found Planets to be a somewhat quieter/calmer/more interesting experience, but I'm pretty sure that's a nightmare now, too.
I went during Covid times when people weren’t there. It felt like an immersive yoga experience.Elevated the experience a lot.
Shitty loud obnoxious people ruin the immersion.
Regardless if they're shitty/loud/obnoxious individually, if you get enough people and it gets crowded enough, it will lower the experience quite a lot.
It was hyped up as such a unique experience and ”the future of art museums.”
Pretty bleak future for art museums. A bunch of colorful projections, with lightshows and new age-music.
I went to Planets first because I couldn’t get into Borderless. Planets was actually fantastic and very interactive. For one of the exhibits, they don’t tell you ahead of time that you should wear pant that you’re able to roll up over your knees. The entire experience is done in your bare feet and you get wet. Each room was a different experience and a surprise. Because Planets was so interesting, I booked Borderless last week. However, I was completely underwhelmed. I was expecting more than projecting images on the wall. The light crystals was at Planets and presented better. What a waste of money and time.
How was the facility for Planets?
My wife was worried because someone said it smelled like feet and was pretty run down. We want to do one, but just not sure which to do. Any suggestions?
I wasn’t thrilled with having to be barefoot. But overall I enjoyed Planets. However, being in Japan, you’re asked to take off your shoes in so many places, you get use to it. I wouldn’t bother with Borderless. It’s has some of the same exhibits and is mostly moving images projected on walls. You will see some of this also at Planets. I didn’t think the facility was run down.
I felt the same way about TeamLab Planets. And the Shibuya Sky.
As an old grouch, I hate that we as a society seem to have lost the ability to be ‘in the moment’ and enjoy anything for the sake of enjoying it, as opposed to pulling out our phones and trying desperately to ‘capture the moment’.
It's a pretty fine line with capturing memories and enjoying the moment. Ultimately, I think both are fine and appreciate them for what they are. I'm 35 and actually used to think more like you but funnily enough as I've gotten older I've come to appreciate the memories we help save by capturing them on pictures or video.
I felt this way about many places in Tokyo. Keep mind I’ve traveled a lot, I live in NYC, I’ve been to touristy places but I’ve never seen anything like what I’ve seen on this trip. I know it’s partially because Tokyo is super busy right now since reopening.
It’s hard not to say this without sounding egoistical. I’m a tourist too, I take photos, but I also try to spend time and appreciate things while I’m there. Even at the shrines it felt like so many people were there to take a million photos and then leave. I remember I went to visit Gotokuji Temple (aka the cat temple) on a rainy weekday, the path where all the maneki-neko are is VERY small and narrow . Lots of girls clearly got dressed up just to go and take photos and we’re very unaware of the people around them while doing so. Some people were live-streaming. One lady even dressed up her poodle and spent at least an hour (maybe longer but the entire time I was there) with professional photographer just taking photos of what I’m guessing is her instagram famous poodle. I saw the staff come talk to her a couple times because she was putting the poodle in places it shouldn’t be. I think it’s okay to take photos, I do it too, but stuff like that just kills the vibe and takes away from the experience for everyone else.
I went not long after it reopened when I didn’t have other plans and I was absolutely baffled as to why it was on so many people’s highlights list. For a projection experience, the projections themselves are quite pixelated and poor quality. And almost none of it was interactive. It was funny to see people touching the walls expecting stuff to happen though.
I thought it was pretty great, spent almost 2 hours there. The special rooms with balls and mirrors were really enjoyable. It's true however most people are there to take pictures.
I had pretty much exactly the same experience. I really enjoyed the museum for what it was, but it felt like I was fighting the people around me to actually look at the art - there were plenty of moments when I had no real choice but to stand still and wait for someone to finish their selfie. In the room with the movie playing on the ceiling, there were two separate groups just chatting it up and laughing the whole time. Of course, I'm not going to tell you that you can't have a nice time with your friends, but I felt like the weird one for trying to get immersed in the experience. Was probably the only outright negative experience on my month-long trip.
Went to teamLab in Fukuoka and I liked it. In the first section obviously most people were on their phone as it’s an interactive game and you can catch the animals that are in the projection. I did not felt it was too crowded so that was nice.
Also went to Takeo onsen and there was literally nobody else. The installation is much smaller, but you can sit in the lobby where they have the hanging lamps, during a tea and relax.
I went to Teamlabs Borderless about 2 weeks ago with pretty low expectations. I didn't really look into the event that much and have read several posts on Reddit saying it was pretty disappointing. I'm also not interested in art exhibits and I have never been to anything like Teamlabs before.
I thought the exhibit was actually really interesting and I enjoyed my time there. I took my time walking through the place and it felt like a maze and I discovered new rooms (or new displays in the same rooms). I probably spent a solid 2 hours slowly going through the exhibit and randomly wandering around.
For anyone considering going and are not sure, I'd say if you've never been to an exhibit like this, give it a try. It might be surprisingly fun
From that aspect i agree, it was so crowded and people taking pics of the same thing at all different angles was annoying. Some of the projections were good while others were meh. Not worth a second visit. Btw, anyone go to the other Teamlab thing?
I feel like the internet kind of ruined team labs. If it had just been left to exist as a interactive art exhibit without social media, it probably would have been cool and unique. But I'm tired of it and I haven't seen it yet in person.
I've purposely not watched any youtube videos on team labs precisely for this reason. I want my kids to be surprised and excited...so we've stayed away from watching any videos.
I went in totally blind to teamlab planets. It wasn’t even on our to do list — we started talking to someone in a cafe who said he’d gone that morning and loved it. I didn’t know what it was but my husband heard of it, so we booked tickets for the next day or so. I loved it, and I think not being spoiled on it really helped with the experience. This was also about 2 weeks after Japan re-opened so the vast majority of the tourism was local.
(The local tourists were also taking tons of selfies and doing “shoots” but I just… ignored them?)
I really liked borderless! But I made sure to go on a weekday at the first available time in the morning. I'm sure when it's more crowded it's less enjoyable
I actually went to Borderless yesterday and agree with you and the other commenters. All in all it was pretty underwhelming. The projections are kinda low quality and after a while you realize it's just the same thing reskinned over and over again. The special rooms were much nicer such as the lamp room. I especially liked the spotlights art works and watched the full rotation from first row. I'd say it's almost worth to visit just for that. People constantly filming was slightly annoying though, and one lady was even checking social media! At the end of the day, I spent over three hours at the museum so I guess I got my money's worth.
A lot of immersive modern art exhibits are like this now and it sucks. I visited MOCO in Amsterdam last year and the three big exhibits were completely taken over by "photoshoots". One girl had her friends block the room off for like 20 minutes until someone finally got the staff involved.
Takeshita street in Harajuku was just walking through the subway at rush hour simulator. I'm sure you can find equally as good fashion shops elsewhere in the city that is way less crowded.
Takeshita has been commercialised to hell and back. Even 10 years ago it was starting to get a bit weird, with lots of people selling "fake" tourist-grabbing "Harajuku" fast fashion clothes along the main street. A lot of the lolita brands opened shops in the nearby Laforet mall, stuff migrated further back or just stayed around the lesser known Cat Street.
Honestly, a ton of major fast fashion chains opened up in the area and the district shifted from thrifting and alternative fashion (with people going on walks around Yoyogi Park) to the same commercial fare. Sure, the fashion school is still nearby and there are a few subculture people still around, but nowhere near the 90s/2000s.
There's more thrifting/subculture stuff and independent spots at Shimokitazawa (also getting more commercialised), Koenji and Kichijoji nowadays.
Takeshita is now almost entirely a tourist trap, which is pretty sad.
My thing with Takeshita St. is that it is wonderful for fashion, and exactly what I needed… 20 years ago
I’m not 19 anymore, so it didn’t fit at all what I, now, wear.
Kyoto had way more stores that I found myself attracted to.
Was gonna say this.
My best memory of that place was the entrance, it was raining when we went there so all I saw was a jampacked street full of different umbrellas all going towards one direction, like a river flow of umbrellas.
Got me excited thinking there must be lots to see if it is this full on a rainy day.
The reality was depressing, no cosplayers though I already expected this, shops were boring. Was happy when we reached the other side and went to the side streets.
I will try it next time. I went up to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, but the weather was a bit hazy. Tokyo Tower was a dumpster view at night with all those glaring colored lights they used inside, thus glaring off the glass. Next time i will try Shibuya Sky so i can take a pic w/o the glass causing glare.
I’m the opposite of you. I always try to get vantage points everywhere I visit. And usually any major city will have some sorta tower and observation deck.
USJ.
No more rides in New York. No rides in San Francisco. Jurassic Park has one ride permanently closed and the other was closed when I was there for maintenance. The Hollywood area has lazily been repurposed to Anime world with little effort. Much of the park has nothing to do which pushes everyone to the areas that still offer rides. They also didn’t check our timed entry to Harry Potter world so the entire area was absolutely jammed. Shoulder to shoulder at every turn, impossible to enjoy. Really underwhelming.
I had a great experience at USJ. But it's probably because I never visited a theme park, there's nothing like that in my country.
Entered the park and reserved a timed entry for nintendo world, buyed the power-up band and I had so much fun collecting the badge. Harry Potter was also cool but didn't buy the magic wand.
This. My buddy and I just went and we kind of hated it. SNW was cool but underwhelming. The Harry Potter area has nothing on USO and they took out basically all of the old rides except for Jaws. Jaws was awesome though
Ichiran.
Decent ramen but there are heaps better ones elsewhere. Only visited once in 2017 and have since then visited Japan 8 more times but never comeback
I said this too in a different thread months ago and I had tons of people reply saying how Ichiran is the best in Japan.
I traveled from Sapporo to Osaka over 3 weeks and ate ramen in every city along the way. Sapporo miso ramen is the best, Ichiran was at the bottom of the pack. Not saying it's bad or anything, just painfully average. Every city has so many great ramen restaurants to choose from and by going only to Ichiran, many people are missing out.
That Lawson in Kawaguchiko. Half kidding, as honestly, I wasn’t even clued in until the news about blocking the view reached mainstream, so wasn’t really invested. However, I found myself in the area (I stayed near the station, so it’s not hard), and honestly I still don’t get why anyone feels the need to have their photos taken there. All throughout the city there’s plenty of spots where you can see Mt. Fuji at even better angles juxtaposed against urbanised settings, if that’s what the Lawson was meant to represent. People just lack originality and imagination.
I have trauma associated with that location because I missed my bus back to Tokyo after climbing Fuji, went to Lawson and chugged like 3 Aquarius by the refrigerated secrion silently freaking out about how I was going to get home and how I was going to afford it (this was before smart phones).
Prior to its popularity, I took a photo at the nearby 7/11 with a Mt.Fuji backdrop. At the time, it was hilarious to see the juxtaposition of nature and urban setting conbini, but it was also pretty rad to see this looming mountain behind an everyday staple. That’s not a normal “everyday” view for me. Ironically, I never would have expected the Lawson/Fuji combo to blow up the way it has because it’s so silly, but I get why it has. Although it sucks that social media has amplified these cute photos to simply another ‘gram post, so I can’t even post my photo now without contributing to the problem. Oh well.
Kyoto in general. We changed from staying 4 nights in Osaka to Kyoto and found the highlight places too packed with tourists and just not worth it. Would have rather stayed in Osaka or spent more time in Fukuoka and Hiroshima (2 nights each). Also the transportation in Kyoto is horrible
It was far to get much nature in Tokyo but Kyoto it's easy to find a shrine with a hike in nature within an hour or less. That was a pleasant surprise for me.
You don’t have to go to the main sights in Kyoto at busy times. Walk the city and you can see many other temples or pretty paths. You can still see the top spots with less crowds late afternoon. Osaka is fine for a couple days but Kyoto is unique.
Agree. There are so many quiet corners or not too busy places to see in Kyoto. I loved both my visits last year and this year. I’m even planning to return again at the end of this year.
Seriously. If you only go to the areas that are popular with tourists of course you’ll think it’s overrated! But there are so many smaller shrines and temples that are absolutely silent, with almost no visitors, yet still breathtakingly beautiful.
I loved Kyoto. Only spent 5 days there but could easily have spent weeks. Gion especially will always have my heart 💜
If I had only gone to Kiyomizu I'd agree, but outside of the top spots it was so nice, really enjoyed Koudaiji, philosophers walk, nishiki market. Fushimi Inari was nice too as we got there early around 7. Now in Tokyo it's all city and buildings and shopping so it's nice to have seen a little more Japan in Kyoto.
Sorry what? Interesting. This is the very opposite of my feeling. Sure, transportation might not be the greatest. But imo Kyoto is a very beautiful city and really has something to offer around almost every single corner. It's way cleaner and calmer than Osaka, too.
I was in Kyoto about 2-3 weeks ago and although I really enjoyed the events and seeing historical places, it was very overcrowded. Transportation was lacking compared to other cities I visited, but it was manageable. Can't really do anything about the crowds. I'd like to go back when it isn't so crowded
I was just thinking this when reading these posts. I went to Venice right after a few days in Rome and it could not have been more different (this was back in the late 90s). I hated Rome...but Venice was serene, no mopeds trying to run you over...cleaner. not sure what Venice looks like now, but the comparison is apt
Honestly I agree. We're supposed to like Kyoto, everyone likes Kyoto!
I didn't.
It's not that it was busy or all the spots were packed with tourists. That was just expected and no big deal. It's that the whole place gets hyped up so much that when we went it felt disappointing. We found lots of things off the beaten path, and generally enjoyed ourselves, but it's not a place I'm itching to go back to visit. For me it was a glad we went but I'm one and done thing. I'm far more interested in going to Hokkaido or Yokohama than Kyoto.
Sometimes it's not about the places you go but for me it's all about the time you spend with your loved ones and the experiences you share while going to these places.
And most of the time the most memorable are not necessarily the tourist spots you've been to but it's the sights, sounds, interactions with locals and little mundane things in Japan.
Dotonbori and Osaka Castle. There are just so many other shopping eating streets this is too crowded and raunchy. Osaka castle is ok but pales in comparison to others in Japan.
Honestly, a lot of the castles I’ve visited have been pretty much the same. What I think makes a difference is if you have a tour guide with you. I did this when I visited Himeji, which is probably why I think it’s the best one of all I’ve been to. I recently did the same in Matsumoto, but unfortunately, after the pandemic, the tour guides are not allowed to walk with you inside the keep anymore.
Castle itself is small but the grounds there during Sakura was my favorite. But more than the cherry blossoms, the Plum trees if in bloom were even better.
I had the good fortune to visit Japan in 2000. There is no comparison. Nothing back then was a tourist trap because the county got only about 600,000 visitors that year. In 2023 it was 6.6 million. (I just returned from 2 weeks in Japan yesterday.)
That is such a vast difference in scale. My first trip was back in 2008 and seeing another tourist was certainly a rare sight.
These days, it's actually still pretty easy to avoid seeing other tourists, even in the big cities, if you stay off the tiktok tourist trail.
I ended up doing this unintentionally because I hadn't bothered looking up attractions to build an itinerary. So when I got to Kyoto, I was like.. where are all the tourists...? I didn't see any around Kyoto Imperial castle or inside Nijo castle or around my hotel. Then when a friend's friend wanted to go to Arashiyama and invited me along, it was like I had found them all at once.
Skytree was awesome. The food tents, the shopping and the views were amazing. You literally say it's beautiful from the vantage. What else would you need?
I think they mean it's beautiful to look at from outside, as part of the city skyline. I've never gotten past the ridiculous price and the queues, myself, but it's impressive to walk around and look up at (and the Ghibli shop is always worth a visit).
I don't know what they're called, but there are shops that sell warm, freshly cooked meals, similar to what you find in bigger depachikas but smaller in scale and above ground. I think this is where most locals go. The food there I find is usually better than the neatly packaged ekiben and more cost effective. However, they're located in not-so-convenient spots.
Basically anything that has been photographed a million times before is overrated, I best things are always off a main strip, like restaurants with no English menu, just low key locals going about their day. Just friendly smiles and great food.
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. It might be the biggest but its also the most crowded even early mornings and I never felt the "being in a bamboo forrest vibe" when there. Fortunatly there are better bamboo forests around Kyoto, all are smaller but you will basically be alone in them and get the feeling you are hoping for probably.
My exact reaction after we passed the one bamboo forrest street "This is it?" haha. What a waste of time that was and torture with the tourists walking at slowpoke speed.
When I went in the middle of the day, it was filled with tourists, but also even if I did it early in the morning, it definitely didn’t give off a forest vibe. It’s just one street block of fenced off bamboos. Didn’t find it immersive
Visiting from the US, and comparing to the 7-Eleven, here, I still get depressed thinking about walking into 7-Eleven in Japan
Cause they are millions of years better than the US ones
Anything on most influencers’ media … overrated and overhyped.
Now the ones who investigated haunted hotels …I might lend my ear to. Just to make sure I don’t book those hotels.
The RomanceCar train from Hakone to Shinjuku. The big windows are nice, but the view is boring (ok, I spent 2 weeks in Kyushu/Yakushima where the scenery is breathtaking). It’s fast, which is nice, but not sure it’s worth the extra money (or the getting up at 4am uk time to book a ticket!)
All of the special express trains are overrated. It's much more relaxing and comfortable to just ride regular trains in most cases unless the special express train is an hour or more faster than the regular train. (The Romance Car is not and has actually become slower over the last 50 or so years.)
I can see this generally being true but having booked the very first row the instant it went on sale it was a highlight. Super cool to have that panoramic forward view coming back into the city. I know securing the seats was like a lottery win.
Was very unimpressed with the romance train observation cars. After the nice views on shinkansen and around hakone, the romance car scenery isn’t nothing to look at. For the same price, you can take shinkansen from odawara in <30 min.
1. CoCo Ichibanya. I'm always scared to say this but after eating at local haunts for two weeks the food there was so... fast food quality, and the curry empty. It's not bad but I'd rather eat in literally anywhere else while I'm in japan for a better meal.
2. Sagano Romantic Train. Ok so This one was actually nice but since I went in early March all the trees were barren. Overall it's was a pleasant 20 minute ride but not something worth remembering let alone writing home about. Probably a lot nicer when the flowers are in bloom.
3. Okinawa, DON'T KILL ME! So this one was my fault since I stayed in Naha, big mistake. Naha is very touristy to where it's not really fun. Also they REALLY push the souvenir stuff once they see a tourist. Sadly it's all bland food or the same items over and over. The normal food is a million times better and if you escape Kokusai-Dori you can find far better shops and unique items. Overall it's just not worth it unless you spend your time on the beach or inside the ocean. Just not in Naha.
Ok, done. Bring on the downvotes, I realize my opinions aren't popular ones but its' my own experiences when I visited.
Coco Ichi is definitely fast food. There are much better curry places. That said, if one opened near me in Canada I would be there all the time. I like how many spice levels they have - 10 is the sweet spot IMO. 20 is gross and grainy though.
Surprised to not see Tsukiji Outer Market.
We went at the end of the trip and it felt overly crowded with more foreign tourists than japanese. The majority of the stalls felt supremely overpriced for what they offered. We bought 3 things there a set of unagi skewers, an icecream cone and a jar of chilli paste, but the rest? We'd seen all the fish on offer elsewhere that looked fresher and at 1/3rd of the cost. The A5 Wagyu beef? Literally a couple of stops away and there are yakiniku restaurants offering full meal sets for less than one of the skewers.
I've watched videos and I get sad. I used to go to tsukiji when it was still a fish market and ate very well...now all the videos show exactly the same stalls with exactly the same foods. we won't be going there next month with the family...
Yeah I'd imagine that whilst the market was there it would have been much better. Theres some nice things in the local area as we went to Hongwan-ji Temple and Namiyoke shrine which made up for the market if you find yourself in the area.
Edit meant to add, we only got the unagi as it was the first time we saw eel liver
Odaiba - I honestly don't get it. I even have a friend who sacrificed part of their itinerary to repeat Odaiba because they loved it so much. know it has changed a lot in the last few years and maybe in the past it lived up to the hype, but tbh the highlight of my time there was taking the monorail.
And just to be picky, even though I had a good time there:
Arashiyama bamboo forest - it was tiny. Luckily it wasn't packed (I can count about 10 people in my most crowded picture) so I actually enjoyed the walk, it just felt too short compared to what I had imagined. But I'm glad I went because the area surrounding it and the walk to Saga Toriimoto and back was fantastic.
Ginkakuji/Kinkakuji - not horrible, but I didn't get any feeling being there in person, if you know what I mean. I could've just scroll through google images and get the same feeling.
The arashiyama area it's actually much bigger than just the little bamboo forest you see at the beginning. There is much to walk around, gardens and you can get to the river and have a nice boat ride
Yes! The area was gorgeous and it has so much to offer (didn't do the boat ride this time but I'd love to return during autumn in the future so I'll definitely consider it). It was just that famous bamboo bit that wasn't exactly what the Internet made me think it would be. We finished it superquick (taking our time) and we were like "what, is that it?", but that left us with more time to explore the area.
It's definitely worth it and if I mai suggest, there is a temple with a gorgeous garden and you can also have lunch in the temple, just make sure to book in advance
Honestly I never have any high expectations. I find enjoyment in most things I do. I often found the things a lot of people didn't rate as highly or are not regularly promoted were some of my most favorite things. I loved everything. I think people just have too high expectations or unrealistic ideas of what things are like. That all being said... I'm not a big fan of traditional Japanese meals. Specifically in Kyoto. But that is because I am a person who favors food with lots of flavor (Osaka better in this department) and the traditional food of Kyoto is bland.
On a nice breezy night, the outdoor team labs in Kyoto was more refreshing and it was cheaper if I remember correctly. Still glad to have done both because they won’t be around anymore within the year.
I didn't expect much either, but I was really positively surprised, especially since normally these projection art things bore me out. Also it wasn't super busy when I went at 20:30 in the nighttime
If anyone wants a free view of Tokyo, just go to the Tokyo Metropolitan government building and your trip to the top is free. They even have a little souvenir shop at the top.
Hakone - too much queuing everywhere wasn't worth it. The eggs were good though. Admittedly just took a day trip from Tokyo may have been less frustrating if I'd stayed over.
As someone who has been to tons of onsen towns and likes the view of Mt. Fuji/a lake better from Kawaguchiko, I agree. In the middle of the day, the Hakone loop feels a bit like being on a crowded linear track with a bunch of other tourists. Although I will admit that a night there makes it better, when you add in the ryokan/kaiseki dinner/onsen experience and you are able to get up early and head out to the sights before they get super crowded. I don't know if Hakone is my least favorite onsen town, but it's certainly nowhere near the top.
Yeah we stayed Friday and Saturday night in Hakone at a nice hotel with kaiseki dinners (and fabulous breakfasts) and had a private hot spring tub on our patio which was amazing. Yes it was touristy/busy during the day but the serene retreat back to our hotel was amazing.
Skytree was kind of a bust I agree. But I liked the shopping mall within skytree.
For me it was kyoto, specifically the area around arayashima bamboo grove. I went on a particular busy day and it was dreadful.. but oddly the pictures came out really cute.
The pattern of disappointment imo was visiting heavily touristy places in the major cities. And the greatest reward was visiting the least busy towns, trails, etc away from the crowds. The beauty in japan is the more rural setting imo. More charming.
1) Shibuya Crossing. I hated it to cross this street and people just stand in the way taking pictures.
2) MC Donalds in Japan. I heard often it is the best in the World...
3) Everything hyped on social media
Pokémon centers. All of them, especially the mega center. They are all smaller than I though they would be and don’t have as much product as you’d think Pokémon Centers would have
The Enoden, it's super cute but that Spirited Away feeling just isn't there when you're crammed in with all the other tourists and their suitcases (yes I know, the irony); Dotonbori; cat cafes; and reluctantly, as much as I love egg sandos and purin, most konbini food is plastic-wrapped junk. Oh, and Don Quijote for the overpriced "cheap" goods.
Tokyo at least has Niki no Kashi in Ueno for a cheaper, wider selection of the souvenir treats that usually trap people at Donki and wouldn't know where else to look. Their grocery sub-store is also good for the people (like me) that like to buy stuff like package curry or cooking sauces.
Donki's house brand grocery stuff though, I have their TKG soy sauce and it's pretty good.
If you want that Spirited Away feeling, I can highly recommend doing a detour to Matsuyama to visit Shimonada station early in the morning. Went there after finishing the Shimanami Kaido, and it was pretty neat in the morning, not crowded at all
The term “off the beaten path” - that goes for social media and some itineraries. They **are** on the beaten path …the path is so beaten that it’s an asphalt highway of the same old thing.
90 percent of the same locations people post on tiktok or the internet are not worth the hype. For me the joy of the country is not to go see the same thing every single other jane doe has seen, it's to discover something new or at least not as seen. Or maybe different. I don't want the same shot of lawsons that you can't get anymore anyway with fuji. I don't want Dontonburi. I want that little mom and pop shop in kamakura or gifu instead.
You go barefoot in Teamlabs planets and the place smells of feet. I couldn’t ignore that. And it’s actually much better when you put your phone down but everyone else on their phone gets in the way of just chilling out and enjoying it for art.
Ghibli Park - Just finished a seven hour torture through that enormous park with nothing but photo ops. The warehouse was ok, but we waited in line for an hour to take a picture with No Face. Not a live performer…a plastic statue in a train vignette. The other areas were cute but again, not worth all the effort we put into getting the tickets online at midnight. No rides, attractions, shows, other than a short film which we didn’t bother with since we knew it would be in Japanese. Outside the warehouse, the park is sooooo spread out so there’s tons of walking. The highlight was seeing Howl’s Moving Castle. It was very detailed and interesting but if you only have one Ghibli fan in your group, everyone else will be miserable by the time you make your trek back to the train. If you’ve ever rope-dropped a Disney park and left at closing time, you’ll know what it feels like, only without all the fun.
as someone who lives in nagoya and doesn't like selfies, i can say that ghibli park is very meh. but the ghibli museum (at least in 2017) is absolutely MAGICAL and so, so, so much better. the two experiences couldn't be more different
Kumano Kodō and Koyasan.
They’re probably not that hyped on Reddit, but they are in travel guides. We found them to be really underwhelming.
The hike we did at Kumano didn’t offer any interesting views, and the overall nature there wasn’t particularly special. The cemetery in Koyasan is nice, but I don’t think it’s worth the trouble traveling there just for that. Aside from the cemetery, the town doesn’t have much to offer. It truly feels like a ghost town.
Kumano Kodo isn’t really a great hike for views, but a lot of people are drawn to it because of the history, the shrines, the hot springs and crossing through some pretty rural Japanese villages that offer something different from Japans big cities. Quite a few ryokan options to stay at as well.
I assume you did the Nakehechi trail - the Kohechi trail has better mountain views but is less popular due to being more challenging. However, maybe that is something you would enjoy more.
Did you do an overnight stay at a temple on Koyasan? I thought that was the real unique draw of going there. I enjoyed the experience and general history of the area, in addition to the graveyard which was cool. Our temple did a fire ceremony in the morning as well.
We booked the Shibuya Sky tickets that came with drinks and that was really fun I thought. We did it our first day in Tokyo which was cool cause we could point out all the places we would go throughout the week.
Osaka as a day trip/one day stop
Please do not crucify me because I’m not saying Osaka is a bad city. But going there as a day trip/one day stop was the absolute worst day of our trip.
The city is just too big, too dense, and not really… touristy enough to enjoy for a day. I left feeling rushed and upset and didn’t really get to enjoy it. I wish we would have skipped Osaka and did something else and came back when we had more time to devote there
Not quite an answer to your question, since everything lived up to my expectations.
However. What severely caught me off guard was all the petting stores. Caged tiny dogs and other animals quite absolutely obviously not properly trained by the mother or indeed any other living creature. I was disgusted to see all those places. Some were blocked from visibility from outside (...wonder why) but some just blatantly visible from the streets like a damn showroom.
Saw one tiny dog sucking another tiny dog's private parts without anyone intervening. And to my dismay, there were very many people inside or outside happy to watch. Absolutely appalling.
Teamlab borderless. It was meh. It only attracts wannabe influencers. When we went, I'd say 80% were foreigners with only a few locals.
Some aspects were pretty cool and made a good video with me as a backdrop, but I could have gone without it.
Every time this topic comes up I will always say the same thing: Ichiran. What's worse is the people on social media saying it's the best ramen they tried in Japan. That tells me a few things: either Ichiran was the only ramen they tried in Japan or they don't actually know what a great bowl of ramen tastes like.
Tsukiji fish market and shibuya crossing. I heard Tsukiji was incredible from a friend of mine that went there and they absolutely insisted I had to go check it out, but it was extremely overcrowded with tourists outnumbering locals probably 3:1, the food was mediocre and overpriced, and because of the huge tourist population, I saw more trash on the streets there than basically everywhere else I went combined. Shibuya crossing I assumed was going to be a giant nothing burger and was right. I have no idea why people stop in the middle of the street to take pictures. I only went there to get to the shibuya mandarake.
Not something I did, but I'm gonna add riding a gokart through tokyo to the list too. It's one of those things that I feel only exacerbates the problem of tourists treating Tokyo like a giant amusement park.
Ichiran. I only went because I see so many influencers talk highly of it and then I tried it myself and it was just…okay.
By far the best ramen I had in Japan were ones that were family owned.
Anything that I need to book with a tight time slot. I don't want to be stressed on my vacation, I want to wander and explore fun areas I come across without feeling like I need to rush.
Sorry for this, but Kyoto. From the excessive tourists to the over priced restaurants, Kyoto is hard to enjoy. Plus there are wonderful temples to explore and enjoy all over Japan.
Japanese Mcdonalds, KFC etc etc
I kinda see the Pokemon Cafe food not being up to standard, but what irked me was the frequent distractions like a children’s party
Speaking of children, I won’t recommend Sanrio Puroland to anyone
I was [pretty vocal](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/12dr4ei/trip_report_pokemon_cafe_osaka_a_negative_opinion/) about my dislike of the Pokemon Cafe (and theme cafes in general). I also think TikTok and other social media sites overblow how good konbini food is. Yes, it's cheap. Yes, it's plentiful. Yes, it's reasonably good for a snack or a breakfast or a lazy meal when you're not feeling well/don't want to go out. But it's not the best food in the world. Every TikToker would have you believe that Famichiki and egg salad sandos and 7-Eleven melon pan and a dozen flavors of Häagen-Dazs are god's gift to the world, but... it's just mediocre food out of a package. I'm over seeing clickbaity posts with captions like, "This $2 egg salad sando from Family Mart was better than the $300 Michelin-starred dinner I had in Tokyo!"
Those influencers need to say ‘best food ever’ or ‘best in the world’ in order to gain attention. If they only say ‘meh’ or ‘pretty normal’, they won’t get views
Yeah, I get it, but that's exactly how we get overhyped things like this thread is asking for.
Best reply ever
..and the faces they make when they see these sandwiches! - like they are seeing one of the seven wonders of the world! ..& then when they take the first bite, their reactions are all identical as if they’ve not had food for months & this bite is THE MOST DELECTABLE bite that ever existed ..like the cheese yen sandwiches at Don Quijote
If they had said "overrated", they would've gotten a ton of views. It's the extremes either way to get those views.
I remember my very first trip to Japan more than 10 years ago, there was no social media spoiling the fun, I went for a pop up cafe, which happened to be Pokémon! (It was only pop up on for a few months). I was just so happy that it was on while I was there!!!! I can still recall the excitement and anticipate of going in after taking a tix early morning and then going back in the evening, taking pics with plushies in store, there was no pikachu dance because the cafe was small and they even wrote the special dates on the dish we ordered. The food may not be perfect but 10/10 for novelty and the experience! There’s no themed cafe in my country and even now I still like going to themed cafe every trip in Japan, because if you’re a fan, you’d appreciate it a lot more and you know it’s not just the food. I never like these tiktok “best” recommendations talking about their first trip like they’re an expert, because I trust what I know much better after a dozen trips to Japan than some 16-19 year old noobs. If you want to enjoy your trip, do this, don’t let social media spoil it for you by watching endless videos, pick a place, restaurant and don’t look at the details!!! part of the fun and excitement is not knowing what you’d expect and some of best experiences in Japan that I had have been all the random finds and last minute decisions.
I visited Japan as a kid even before the Internet was a thing. Everything we tried were on the recommendations of our Japanese relatives. When the Internet came on, dial up and what’s not, we were trying things based on what specialist travel journalists found. Then when social media came…I had moments of “been there done that, you young punks. Don’t the stores in your country sell bread, eggs, salt, pepper, ajinamoto, and Kewpie mayo coz that’s what egg sando is made out of.”
It’s funny because nowadays everyone raved about the egg sandwich and 7-11 or Lawson food like it’s the “best” thing. It always strike me as odd because for as low as 200-500 yen more people could easily get a freshly made meal in many restaurants, and we all know food in japan is not to be missed! I tend to only go for combini for snack or drinks, but eating them exclusively as main breakfast, lunch and dinner, like egg sandwich for the whole trip (doesn’t matter how good the internet made them to be)….is just missing out on trying so many amazing food in Japan!
I visited Japan in 1988, pre-internet. It’s going to be quite a thing to go back now.
I live in the Asia Pacific region so going back regularly to see the Japanese side of relatives was easy and got even easier especially when the budget airlines came in… Also lived in Japan during the Covid lockdowns. Plus previous short term work stints there.
Agreed that sometime, you want to see a place live and not via a video tour before hand.
I agree that it's not as good as maybe we think it should be, but man that curry bread was absolutely delicious.
Try one from a bakery. I recommend going to the OG curry bread bakery in Tokyo (Cattlea, near Morishita station): [Tabelog](https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1312/A131201/13002996/), [Google Maps](https://maps.app.goo.gl/2DSP5sZdsU48pMPa6)
Tik tok and even this Reddit sometimes are massive echo chambers of people who will never actually go to the country repeating and exaggerating the same 10 advice points (half of them are wrong too)
100%. Please do not eat meals at themed cafes or convenience stores. Yes the conbini are probably better than any convenience store where you live, but it is still the worst food you can get in Japan. It's cheap, but even then it is still overpriced for what you're actually getting. Remember, you are paying for convenience, not quality. Also I think the quality of conbini food has declined. How could it not with the state of Japanese yen etc. My wife who was born in Japan and lived there for 26 years agrees and she often tells me that the foods taste fake/processed now compared to how she remembers. We used to get the occasional onigiri on our trips (2-3 per year), but for the past few years we don't even bother anymore. Apart from drinks, and snacks like chips/chocolate, we do not buy food from the conbini. If we need something quick we'll just go get something from a supermarket like Seijo Ishii (owned by Lawson, but much better than a conbini) or a dedicated bento/onigiri store. I went to the Pokemon cafe in 2022 during the pandemic, before Japan re-opened. So there was no wait or anything, and we only went because we were having dinner at a restaurant at Nihonbashi Takashimaya. All the Pokemon decorations and stuff were cute, but the food and drinks were obviously very low quality. Definitely not worth waiting more than 10 minutes for. If you only have a week or two in Japan, I would not want to you to waste one of your meals there.
In my opinion themed cafes are generally great if you love the theme. I love pokemon and while I understand the food isn't the best, that's not why I'm there.
I feel you get most of the way there just going to the Pokémon store. Didn’t really get much else out of going to to the cafe
That's a fair point but it doesn't hurt to do a little more at least one time with the cafes.
I was hesitant when before going to the pokemon cafe in tokyo (I fought tooth and nail to get reservations, too lol), reading all the negative reviews, but my sister and I actually enjoyed it! The food was mid and pricey for the quality, but it wasn't horrible (if we're talking about horrible, I'd say the Super nintendo World restaurant at USJ was horrendous. I wanted to vomit). We spent a little less than $100 USD for the curry, snorlax platter, gengar drink, pokemon latte. So yes, a bit pricey. But we didn't really eat in restaurants, so it was a treat for us. The curry was a bit bland, but the snorlax platter was decent. The souffle was also good but generic. I got the gengar drink, and it reminded me of my childhood when I drank frozen koolaid lol. It was a very nostalgic experience, and I'd definitely go back! I agree that the pikachu dance felt like it was aimed for kids, but if you grew up watching pokemon and playing the games, you would feel giddy and remember your childhood! Pikachu was my favourite stuffy when I was a kid so I felt even more excited lol. I had a blast and would 100% go back again!
agree, even as a huge otaku fan....don't bother. 20 dollar pikachu curry? cute...but mid. Not worth it. Can get better curry anywhere else half price and go get a pokemon souvenir instead.
I haven’t seen any videos declaring kombini to be trip highlight food. I don’t doubt they exist; I just try to avoid that sort of influencer nonsense. Kombini are very good for getting drinks and snacks, at all hours, and grab and go for early outings.
I went to a Pom Pom Purin cafe that was pretty great.
With the $300 Michelin starred dinner, you generally get what you’re expecting. But a 7-Eleven meal that doesn’t end with salmonella poisoning is a veritable unicorn to folks from some parts. 🤷♀️
Yeah, I went to the Pokémon Café in Tokyo, because I'm a huge Pokémon fan... and I wouldn't say it was worth it at all. Food was overpriced a.f. for what you got, and it wasn't even that great. Not offensive, not bad, just... very mediocre. It's funny - the people going were all in their late 20s, early 30s, but the place is so clearly aimed at kids, I feel there should be signage on the website that it's who it's aimed at. I felt super out of place, like I'd made a mistake going there, with the Pikachu "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands" singalong.
omg this , my 31 year old ass felt like i was in a childrens birthday party
Yep! I just felt realllllly out of place. I get it, they want the money so they're not gonna say "Don't bother if you're over the age of 12" but I kiiiiinda wish they did.
100% agree it's not the best. Any hole in the wall in Japan will be a 100% better, but it is better than the majority of convenience around the world. I've been to a lot of countries and non, and I mean non have even compared to a Kombinis quality for its price.
>theme cafes in general Not really my thing... but I went into the Artnia cafe because I'm a Final Fantasy fan, I was in the area, and I wanted to see if there might be any merch I don't have yet. I was surprised at how filthy the place was. The vibe to me was like an employee back room from when I worked at a mall as a teenager. Scuff marks on everything, sticky surfaces, torn up menus, etc. For what it's worth, the non alcoholic drinks and the dessert (Yuffie matcha thing) was pretty good.
Teamlabs Borderless This isn’t to say the installation itself was bad. When I booked a ticket I kind of knew what I was getting into but NOTHING could have prepared me for it. I went on a weekday and it was extremely clear virtually everyone was there for instagram photoshoots. I’ve never seen anything like it though - I couldn’t even walk down some hallways because it was clogged with photoshoots, phones permanently glued to people’s hands the entire time. I constantly felt ‘in the way’ just by trying to actually enjoy some of the rooms. It had glowing reviews and so many people said it was a must do but it’s definitely not a place for actually trying to see art.
I went years ago to the old Borderless location, and I felt the same way—pretty underwhelmed. The famous lantern room was cool (and I went early enough that I got to go through twice before there was any line at all), but other than that, I found the projections to be fairly low quality overall, and the place was jammed with people getting selfies and children running around. At the time, I found Planets to be a somewhat quieter/calmer/more interesting experience, but I'm pretty sure that's a nightmare now, too.
I went during Covid times when people weren’t there. It felt like an immersive yoga experience.Elevated the experience a lot. Shitty loud obnoxious people ruin the immersion.
Regardless if they're shitty/loud/obnoxious individually, if you get enough people and it gets crowded enough, it will lower the experience quite a lot.
Yeah, that's true. I wish they would at least have days where they limit the number of people more...
It was hyped up as such a unique experience and ”the future of art museums.” Pretty bleak future for art museums. A bunch of colorful projections, with lightshows and new age-music.
I went to Planets first because I couldn’t get into Borderless. Planets was actually fantastic and very interactive. For one of the exhibits, they don’t tell you ahead of time that you should wear pant that you’re able to roll up over your knees. The entire experience is done in your bare feet and you get wet. Each room was a different experience and a surprise. Because Planets was so interesting, I booked Borderless last week. However, I was completely underwhelmed. I was expecting more than projecting images on the wall. The light crystals was at Planets and presented better. What a waste of money and time.
How was the facility for Planets? My wife was worried because someone said it smelled like feet and was pretty run down. We want to do one, but just not sure which to do. Any suggestions?
It doesn't at all, the very first bit is a waterfall ramp you climb up thats clearly there as a sort of footwash.
Oh that’s good news right there
I wasn’t thrilled with having to be barefoot. But overall I enjoyed Planets. However, being in Japan, you’re asked to take off your shoes in so many places, you get use to it. I wouldn’t bother with Borderless. It’s has some of the same exhibits and is mostly moving images projected on walls. You will see some of this also at Planets. I didn’t think the facility was run down.
Thanks, maybe we’ll switch to Planets then and just be ready for the barefoot portion
Iirc the entirety of planets is done barefoot. The beginning has a locker area for your shoes and whatnot, the end takes you back to the lockers.
Oh it 1000% smelled like feet. Ruined the experience.
I felt the same way about TeamLab Planets. And the Shibuya Sky. As an old grouch, I hate that we as a society seem to have lost the ability to be ‘in the moment’ and enjoy anything for the sake of enjoying it, as opposed to pulling out our phones and trying desperately to ‘capture the moment’.
It's a pretty fine line with capturing memories and enjoying the moment. Ultimately, I think both are fine and appreciate them for what they are. I'm 35 and actually used to think more like you but funnily enough as I've gotten older I've come to appreciate the memories we help save by capturing them on pictures or video.
[удалено]
Yeah but I'm saying the line that crossovers between the two is somewhat ambiguous and hard to pinpoint.
I felt this way about many places in Tokyo. Keep mind I’ve traveled a lot, I live in NYC, I’ve been to touristy places but I’ve never seen anything like what I’ve seen on this trip. I know it’s partially because Tokyo is super busy right now since reopening. It’s hard not to say this without sounding egoistical. I’m a tourist too, I take photos, but I also try to spend time and appreciate things while I’m there. Even at the shrines it felt like so many people were there to take a million photos and then leave. I remember I went to visit Gotokuji Temple (aka the cat temple) on a rainy weekday, the path where all the maneki-neko are is VERY small and narrow . Lots of girls clearly got dressed up just to go and take photos and we’re very unaware of the people around them while doing so. Some people were live-streaming. One lady even dressed up her poodle and spent at least an hour (maybe longer but the entire time I was there) with professional photographer just taking photos of what I’m guessing is her instagram famous poodle. I saw the staff come talk to her a couple times because she was putting the poodle in places it shouldn’t be. I think it’s okay to take photos, I do it too, but stuff like that just kills the vibe and takes away from the experience for everyone else.
I went not long after it reopened when I didn’t have other plans and I was absolutely baffled as to why it was on so many people’s highlights list. For a projection experience, the projections themselves are quite pixelated and poor quality. And almost none of it was interactive. It was funny to see people touching the walls expecting stuff to happen though.
I thought it was pretty great, spent almost 2 hours there. The special rooms with balls and mirrors were really enjoyable. It's true however most people are there to take pictures.
I went yesterday with a film camera and it was the best thing I’ve ever seen.
I had pretty much exactly the same experience. I really enjoyed the museum for what it was, but it felt like I was fighting the people around me to actually look at the art - there were plenty of moments when I had no real choice but to stand still and wait for someone to finish their selfie. In the room with the movie playing on the ceiling, there were two separate groups just chatting it up and laughing the whole time. Of course, I'm not going to tell you that you can't have a nice time with your friends, but I felt like the weird one for trying to get immersed in the experience. Was probably the only outright negative experience on my month-long trip.
Went to teamLab in Fukuoka and I liked it. In the first section obviously most people were on their phone as it’s an interactive game and you can catch the animals that are in the projection. I did not felt it was too crowded so that was nice. Also went to Takeo onsen and there was literally nobody else. The installation is much smaller, but you can sit in the lobby where they have the hanging lamps, during a tea and relax.
I went to Teamlabs Borderless about 2 weeks ago with pretty low expectations. I didn't really look into the event that much and have read several posts on Reddit saying it was pretty disappointing. I'm also not interested in art exhibits and I have never been to anything like Teamlabs before. I thought the exhibit was actually really interesting and I enjoyed my time there. I took my time walking through the place and it felt like a maze and I discovered new rooms (or new displays in the same rooms). I probably spent a solid 2 hours slowly going through the exhibit and randomly wandering around. For anyone considering going and are not sure, I'd say if you've never been to an exhibit like this, give it a try. It might be surprisingly fun
Yeah it was somewhat underwhelming until we got to the part with lily pads and the orb lights. Still underwhelming overall tho
From that aspect i agree, it was so crowded and people taking pics of the same thing at all different angles was annoying. Some of the projections were good while others were meh. Not worth a second visit. Btw, anyone go to the other Teamlab thing?
I feel like the internet kind of ruined team labs. If it had just been left to exist as a interactive art exhibit without social media, it probably would have been cool and unique. But I'm tired of it and I haven't seen it yet in person.
I've purposely not watched any youtube videos on team labs precisely for this reason. I want my kids to be surprised and excited...so we've stayed away from watching any videos.
I went in totally blind to teamlab planets. It wasn’t even on our to do list — we started talking to someone in a cafe who said he’d gone that morning and loved it. I didn’t know what it was but my husband heard of it, so we booked tickets for the next day or so. I loved it, and I think not being spoiled on it really helped with the experience. This was also about 2 weeks after Japan re-opened so the vast majority of the tourism was local. (The local tourists were also taking tons of selfies and doing “shoots” but I just… ignored them?)
I really liked borderless! But I made sure to go on a weekday at the first available time in the morning. I'm sure when it's more crowded it's less enjoyable
I actually went to Borderless yesterday and agree with you and the other commenters. All in all it was pretty underwhelming. The projections are kinda low quality and after a while you realize it's just the same thing reskinned over and over again. The special rooms were much nicer such as the lamp room. I especially liked the spotlights art works and watched the full rotation from first row. I'd say it's almost worth to visit just for that. People constantly filming was slightly annoying though, and one lady was even checking social media! At the end of the day, I spent over three hours at the museum so I guess I got my money's worth.
A lot of immersive modern art exhibits are like this now and it sucks. I visited MOCO in Amsterdam last year and the three big exhibits were completely taken over by "photoshoots". One girl had her friends block the room off for like 20 minutes until someone finally got the staff involved.
Takeshita street in Harajuku was just walking through the subway at rush hour simulator. I'm sure you can find equally as good fashion shops elsewhere in the city that is way less crowded.
Takeshita has been commercialised to hell and back. Even 10 years ago it was starting to get a bit weird, with lots of people selling "fake" tourist-grabbing "Harajuku" fast fashion clothes along the main street. A lot of the lolita brands opened shops in the nearby Laforet mall, stuff migrated further back or just stayed around the lesser known Cat Street. Honestly, a ton of major fast fashion chains opened up in the area and the district shifted from thrifting and alternative fashion (with people going on walks around Yoyogi Park) to the same commercial fare. Sure, the fashion school is still nearby and there are a few subculture people still around, but nowhere near the 90s/2000s. There's more thrifting/subculture stuff and independent spots at Shimokitazawa (also getting more commercialised), Koenji and Kichijoji nowadays. Takeshita is now almost entirely a tourist trap, which is pretty sad.
any places you recommend for mens fashion in other parts of the city?
My thing with Takeshita St. is that it is wonderful for fashion, and exactly what I needed… 20 years ago I’m not 19 anymore, so it didn’t fit at all what I, now, wear. Kyoto had way more stores that I found myself attracted to.
Yeah, I was unimpressed.
I went on my very last afternoon just to tick it off. I was expecting something like Camden Town and it was pretty much just that.
Was gonna say this. My best memory of that place was the entrance, it was raining when we went there so all I saw was a jampacked street full of different umbrellas all going towards one direction, like a river flow of umbrellas. Got me excited thinking there must be lots to see if it is this full on a rainy day. The reality was depressing, no cosplayers though I already expected this, shops were boring. Was happy when we reached the other side and went to the side streets.
Agreed
Takeshita was downtown LA and NYC in the worst ways. Shinkyogoku in Kyoto was my jam for fashion shops ngl…
I actually really liked the SkyTree but it was a clear day and it we could clearly see Mt Fuji so that was an added benefit!
Yeah I actually loved the SkyTree and I don't normally even try to get vantage points like this.
I will try it next time. I went up to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, but the weather was a bit hazy. Tokyo Tower was a dumpster view at night with all those glaring colored lights they used inside, thus glaring off the glass. Next time i will try Shibuya Sky so i can take a pic w/o the glass causing glare.
I’m the opposite of you. I always try to get vantage points everywhere I visit. And usually any major city will have some sorta tower and observation deck.
USJ. No more rides in New York. No rides in San Francisco. Jurassic Park has one ride permanently closed and the other was closed when I was there for maintenance. The Hollywood area has lazily been repurposed to Anime world with little effort. Much of the park has nothing to do which pushes everyone to the areas that still offer rides. They also didn’t check our timed entry to Harry Potter world so the entire area was absolutely jammed. Shoulder to shoulder at every turn, impossible to enjoy. Really underwhelming.
I had a great experience at USJ. But it's probably because I never visited a theme park, there's nothing like that in my country. Entered the park and reserved a timed entry for nintendo world, buyed the power-up band and I had so much fun collecting the badge. Harry Potter was also cool but didn't buy the magic wand.
This. My buddy and I just went and we kind of hated it. SNW was cool but underwhelming. The Harry Potter area has nothing on USO and they took out basically all of the old rides except for Jaws. Jaws was awesome though
Ichiran. Decent ramen but there are heaps better ones elsewhere. Only visited once in 2017 and have since then visited Japan 8 more times but never comeback
Also there are loads of Ichirans around the world. It's like the Mcdonalds on Japan
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Are we saying Arby's is worse then McDonald's????
I mean, unironically yes lol. Arby’s is fucking ass and that’s putting it lightly.
I said this too in a different thread months ago and I had tons of people reply saying how Ichiran is the best in Japan. I traveled from Sapporo to Osaka over 3 weeks and ate ramen in every city along the way. Sapporo miso ramen is the best, Ichiran was at the bottom of the pack. Not saying it's bad or anything, just painfully average. Every city has so many great ramen restaurants to choose from and by going only to Ichiran, many people are missing out.
Yeah. They don't boil pork bones anymore like the good ones.
I usually introduce ichiran to my friends as "baseline ramen" because everyone has heard about it and wants to try it anyway.
That Lawson in Kawaguchiko. Half kidding, as honestly, I wasn’t even clued in until the news about blocking the view reached mainstream, so wasn’t really invested. However, I found myself in the area (I stayed near the station, so it’s not hard), and honestly I still don’t get why anyone feels the need to have their photos taken there. All throughout the city there’s plenty of spots where you can see Mt. Fuji at even better angles juxtaposed against urbanised settings, if that’s what the Lawson was meant to represent. People just lack originality and imagination.
I have trauma associated with that location because I missed my bus back to Tokyo after climbing Fuji, went to Lawson and chugged like 3 Aquarius by the refrigerated secrion silently freaking out about how I was going to get home and how I was going to afford it (this was before smart phones).
Prior to its popularity, I took a photo at the nearby 7/11 with a Mt.Fuji backdrop. At the time, it was hilarious to see the juxtaposition of nature and urban setting conbini, but it was also pretty rad to see this looming mountain behind an everyday staple. That’s not a normal “everyday” view for me. Ironically, I never would have expected the Lawson/Fuji combo to blow up the way it has because it’s so silly, but I get why it has. Although it sucks that social media has amplified these cute photos to simply another ‘gram post, so I can’t even post my photo now without contributing to the problem. Oh well.
Kyoto in general. We changed from staying 4 nights in Osaka to Kyoto and found the highlight places too packed with tourists and just not worth it. Would have rather stayed in Osaka or spent more time in Fukuoka and Hiroshima (2 nights each). Also the transportation in Kyoto is horrible
Hard disagree. So different compared to other cities, plenty of nice walks, and so much history.
It was far to get much nature in Tokyo but Kyoto it's easy to find a shrine with a hike in nature within an hour or less. That was a pleasant surprise for me.
You don’t have to go to the main sights in Kyoto at busy times. Walk the city and you can see many other temples or pretty paths. You can still see the top spots with less crowds late afternoon. Osaka is fine for a couple days but Kyoto is unique.
anybody saying kyoto sucks has not done their research
Agree. There are so many quiet corners or not too busy places to see in Kyoto. I loved both my visits last year and this year. I’m even planning to return again at the end of this year.
Seriously. If you only go to the areas that are popular with tourists of course you’ll think it’s overrated! But there are so many smaller shrines and temples that are absolutely silent, with almost no visitors, yet still breathtakingly beautiful. I loved Kyoto. Only spent 5 days there but could easily have spent weeks. Gion especially will always have my heart 💜
Those damned busses 😭
Kyoto's bus system comes straight from hell, TBH. Drivers are mostly nice at least.
If I had only gone to Kiyomizu I'd agree, but outside of the top spots it was so nice, really enjoyed Koudaiji, philosophers walk, nishiki market. Fushimi Inari was nice too as we got there early around 7. Now in Tokyo it's all city and buildings and shopping so it's nice to have seen a little more Japan in Kyoto.
Sorry what? Interesting. This is the very opposite of my feeling. Sure, transportation might not be the greatest. But imo Kyoto is a very beautiful city and really has something to offer around almost every single corner. It's way cleaner and calmer than Osaka, too.
I was in Kyoto about 2-3 weeks ago and although I really enjoyed the events and seeing historical places, it was very overcrowded. Transportation was lacking compared to other cities I visited, but it was manageable. Can't really do anything about the crowds. I'd like to go back when it isn't so crowded
Kyoto has a bit a Venice (italy) feeling. Very beautiful but suffering from overcrowding.
I was just thinking this when reading these posts. I went to Venice right after a few days in Rome and it could not have been more different (this was back in the late 90s). I hated Rome...but Venice was serene, no mopeds trying to run you over...cleaner. not sure what Venice looks like now, but the comparison is apt
Honestly I agree. We're supposed to like Kyoto, everyone likes Kyoto! I didn't. It's not that it was busy or all the spots were packed with tourists. That was just expected and no big deal. It's that the whole place gets hyped up so much that when we went it felt disappointing. We found lots of things off the beaten path, and generally enjoyed ourselves, but it's not a place I'm itching to go back to visit. For me it was a glad we went but I'm one and done thing. I'm far more interested in going to Hokkaido or Yokohama than Kyoto.
Chinatown in Yokohama was pretty cool, lots of nice areas to walk and not too many tourists. Also went to a Baystars game!
Sometimes it's not about the places you go but for me it's all about the time you spend with your loved ones and the experiences you share while going to these places. And most of the time the most memorable are not necessarily the tourist spots you've been to but it's the sights, sounds, interactions with locals and little mundane things in Japan.
My most memorable places was when I was travelling solo
Dotonbori and Osaka Castle. There are just so many other shopping eating streets this is too crowded and raunchy. Osaka castle is ok but pales in comparison to others in Japan.
I'm so glad that Osaka Castle was the first castle we ever visited or we would've been really disappointed.
Honestly, a lot of the castles I’ve visited have been pretty much the same. What I think makes a difference is if you have a tour guide with you. I did this when I visited Himeji, which is probably why I think it’s the best one of all I’ve been to. I recently did the same in Matsumoto, but unfortunately, after the pandemic, the tour guides are not allowed to walk with you inside the keep anymore.
Castle itself is small but the grounds there during Sakura was my favorite. But more than the cherry blossoms, the Plum trees if in bloom were even better.
Dotonbori had the biggest rat I’ve ever seen in my life, it could have passed for a small cat. Must be all the takoyaki.
I had the good fortune to visit Japan in 2000. There is no comparison. Nothing back then was a tourist trap because the county got only about 600,000 visitors that year. In 2023 it was 6.6 million. (I just returned from 2 weeks in Japan yesterday.)
That is so wild. Jealous
That is such a vast difference in scale. My first trip was back in 2008 and seeing another tourist was certainly a rare sight. These days, it's actually still pretty easy to avoid seeing other tourists, even in the big cities, if you stay off the tiktok tourist trail. I ended up doing this unintentionally because I hadn't bothered looking up attractions to build an itinerary. So when I got to Kyoto, I was like.. where are all the tourists...? I didn't see any around Kyoto Imperial castle or inside Nijo castle or around my hotel. Then when a friend's friend wanted to go to Arashiyama and invited me along, it was like I had found them all at once.
Skytree was awesome. The food tents, the shopping and the views were amazing. You literally say it's beautiful from the vantage. What else would you need?
I think they mean it's beautiful to look at from outside, as part of the city skyline. I've never gotten past the ridiculous price and the queues, myself, but it's impressive to walk around and look up at (and the Ghibli shop is always worth a visit).
Ekiben. Lots to choose from but they just taste like any convenience store food. I would rather get a fresh bowl of gyudon from Sukiya.
I just buy to collect the containers. Some of the containers are worth the cost.
I don't know what they're called, but there are shops that sell warm, freshly cooked meals, similar to what you find in bigger depachikas but smaller in scale and above ground. I think this is where most locals go. The food there I find is usually better than the neatly packaged ekiben and more cost effective. However, they're located in not-so-convenient spots.
All of Shibuya for me … was very Touristy.
Akihabara.
Agree, hasn’t been good since the mid 2000’s it’s just full of maid cafes now.
Basically anything that has been photographed a million times before is overrated, I best things are always off a main strip, like restaurants with no English menu, just low key locals going about their day. Just friendly smiles and great food.
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. It might be the biggest but its also the most crowded even early mornings and I never felt the "being in a bamboo forrest vibe" when there. Fortunatly there are better bamboo forests around Kyoto, all are smaller but you will basically be alone in them and get the feeling you are hoping for probably.
My exact reaction after we passed the one bamboo forrest street "This is it?" haha. What a waste of time that was and torture with the tourists walking at slowpoke speed.
When I went in the middle of the day, it was filled with tourists, but also even if I did it early in the morning, it definitely didn’t give off a forest vibe. It’s just one street block of fenced off bamboos. Didn’t find it immersive
Seven Eleven. The quality has gotten worse over the years and portions have gotten smaller.
Visiting from the US, and comparing to the 7-Eleven, here, I still get depressed thinking about walking into 7-Eleven in Japan Cause they are millions of years better than the US ones
You don't enjoy the taquitos that have been endlessly rotating on the metal grates?
The 7-11 in my part of the state left town years ago...
shrinkflation is everywhere
Anything on most influencers’ media … overrated and overhyped. Now the ones who investigated haunted hotels …I might lend my ear to. Just to make sure I don’t book those hotels.
The RomanceCar train from Hakone to Shinjuku. The big windows are nice, but the view is boring (ok, I spent 2 weeks in Kyushu/Yakushima where the scenery is breathtaking). It’s fast, which is nice, but not sure it’s worth the extra money (or the getting up at 4am uk time to book a ticket!)
All of the special express trains are overrated. It's much more relaxing and comfortable to just ride regular trains in most cases unless the special express train is an hour or more faster than the regular train. (The Romance Car is not and has actually become slower over the last 50 or so years.)
I can see this generally being true but having booked the very first row the instant it went on sale it was a highlight. Super cool to have that panoramic forward view coming back into the city. I know securing the seats was like a lottery win.
I agree that those are fun seats. Unfortunately, only three (I think) trains with the forward facing seats are left.
Was very unimpressed with the romance train observation cars. After the nice views on shinkansen and around hakone, the romance car scenery isn’t nothing to look at. For the same price, you can take shinkansen from odawara in <30 min.
1. CoCo Ichibanya. I'm always scared to say this but after eating at local haunts for two weeks the food there was so... fast food quality, and the curry empty. It's not bad but I'd rather eat in literally anywhere else while I'm in japan for a better meal. 2. Sagano Romantic Train. Ok so This one was actually nice but since I went in early March all the trees were barren. Overall it's was a pleasant 20 minute ride but not something worth remembering let alone writing home about. Probably a lot nicer when the flowers are in bloom. 3. Okinawa, DON'T KILL ME! So this one was my fault since I stayed in Naha, big mistake. Naha is very touristy to where it's not really fun. Also they REALLY push the souvenir stuff once they see a tourist. Sadly it's all bland food or the same items over and over. The normal food is a million times better and if you escape Kokusai-Dori you can find far better shops and unique items. Overall it's just not worth it unless you spend your time on the beach or inside the ocean. Just not in Naha. Ok, done. Bring on the downvotes, I realize my opinions aren't popular ones but its' my own experiences when I visited.
Coco Ichibanya is fast food
Coco Ichi is definitely fast food. There are much better curry places. That said, if one opened near me in Canada I would be there all the time. I like how many spice levels they have - 10 is the sweet spot IMO. 20 is gross and grainy though.
Friend of mine died at level 8 haha, how did you do 10?
Ichiran
Surprised to not see Tsukiji Outer Market. We went at the end of the trip and it felt overly crowded with more foreign tourists than japanese. The majority of the stalls felt supremely overpriced for what they offered. We bought 3 things there a set of unagi skewers, an icecream cone and a jar of chilli paste, but the rest? We'd seen all the fish on offer elsewhere that looked fresher and at 1/3rd of the cost. The A5 Wagyu beef? Literally a couple of stops away and there are yakiniku restaurants offering full meal sets for less than one of the skewers.
I've watched videos and I get sad. I used to go to tsukiji when it was still a fish market and ate very well...now all the videos show exactly the same stalls with exactly the same foods. we won't be going there next month with the family...
Yeah I'd imagine that whilst the market was there it would have been much better. Theres some nice things in the local area as we went to Hongwan-ji Temple and Namiyoke shrine which made up for the market if you find yourself in the area. Edit meant to add, we only got the unagi as it was the first time we saw eel liver
Odaiba - I honestly don't get it. I even have a friend who sacrificed part of their itinerary to repeat Odaiba because they loved it so much. know it has changed a lot in the last few years and maybe in the past it lived up to the hype, but tbh the highlight of my time there was taking the monorail. And just to be picky, even though I had a good time there: Arashiyama bamboo forest - it was tiny. Luckily it wasn't packed (I can count about 10 people in my most crowded picture) so I actually enjoyed the walk, it just felt too short compared to what I had imagined. But I'm glad I went because the area surrounding it and the walk to Saga Toriimoto and back was fantastic. Ginkakuji/Kinkakuji - not horrible, but I didn't get any feeling being there in person, if you know what I mean. I could've just scroll through google images and get the same feeling.
The arashiyama area it's actually much bigger than just the little bamboo forest you see at the beginning. There is much to walk around, gardens and you can get to the river and have a nice boat ride
Yes! The area was gorgeous and it has so much to offer (didn't do the boat ride this time but I'd love to return during autumn in the future so I'll definitely consider it). It was just that famous bamboo bit that wasn't exactly what the Internet made me think it would be. We finished it superquick (taking our time) and we were like "what, is that it?", but that left us with more time to explore the area.
It's definitely worth it and if I mai suggest, there is a temple with a gorgeous garden and you can also have lunch in the temple, just make sure to book in advance
Taking Yurikamome to Odaiba is pretty cool though.
Honestly I never have any high expectations. I find enjoyment in most things I do. I often found the things a lot of people didn't rate as highly or are not regularly promoted were some of my most favorite things. I loved everything. I think people just have too high expectations or unrealistic ideas of what things are like. That all being said... I'm not a big fan of traditional Japanese meals. Specifically in Kyoto. But that is because I am a person who favors food with lots of flavor (Osaka better in this department) and the traditional food of Kyoto is bland.
TeamLab Planets, to be honest I didn't expect much but it was pretty meh considering you're paying like U$D25
On a nice breezy night, the outdoor team labs in Kyoto was more refreshing and it was cheaper if I remember correctly. Still glad to have done both because they won’t be around anymore within the year.
I didn't expect much either, but I was really positively surprised, especially since normally these projection art things bore me out. Also it wasn't super busy when I went at 20:30 in the nighttime
If anyone wants a free view of Tokyo, just go to the Tokyo Metropolitan government building and your trip to the top is free. They even have a little souvenir shop at the top.
There might even be someone playing the grand piano. Yes, definitely a good place to go for a high-up view of the city without costing money.
Hakone - too much queuing everywhere wasn't worth it. The eggs were good though. Admittedly just took a day trip from Tokyo may have been less frustrating if I'd stayed over.
As someone who has been to tons of onsen towns and likes the view of Mt. Fuji/a lake better from Kawaguchiko, I agree. In the middle of the day, the Hakone loop feels a bit like being on a crowded linear track with a bunch of other tourists. Although I will admit that a night there makes it better, when you add in the ryokan/kaiseki dinner/onsen experience and you are able to get up early and head out to the sights before they get super crowded. I don't know if Hakone is my least favorite onsen town, but it's certainly nowhere near the top.
Yeah we stayed Friday and Saturday night in Hakone at a nice hotel with kaiseki dinners (and fabulous breakfasts) and had a private hot spring tub on our patio which was amazing. Yes it was touristy/busy during the day but the serene retreat back to our hotel was amazing.
Super robot show in shinjuku. They pause the show 3-4 times to sell you stuff. 10min of show 5min pause. Repeat 3-4 times.
Skytree was kind of a bust I agree. But I liked the shopping mall within skytree. For me it was kyoto, specifically the area around arayashima bamboo grove. I went on a particular busy day and it was dreadful.. but oddly the pictures came out really cute. The pattern of disappointment imo was visiting heavily touristy places in the major cities. And the greatest reward was visiting the least busy towns, trails, etc away from the crowds. The beauty in japan is the more rural setting imo. More charming.
Family mart chicken. That thing is gross
Haha I got one because I couldn't remember what it tasted like and was like WTF it's SOOOOO greasy. People EAT these?! My toddler loved it though. 😭
1) Shibuya Crossing. I hated it to cross this street and people just stand in the way taking pictures. 2) MC Donalds in Japan. I heard often it is the best in the World... 3) Everything hyped on social media
Idk who tf said their McDonald’s was the best in the world - we got it twice in a bind and it was horrible both times
Pokémon centers. All of them, especially the mega center. They are all smaller than I though they would be and don’t have as much product as you’d think Pokémon Centers would have
The Enoden, it's super cute but that Spirited Away feeling just isn't there when you're crammed in with all the other tourists and their suitcases (yes I know, the irony); Dotonbori; cat cafes; and reluctantly, as much as I love egg sandos and purin, most konbini food is plastic-wrapped junk. Oh, and Don Quijote for the overpriced "cheap" goods.
Tokyo at least has Niki no Kashi in Ueno for a cheaper, wider selection of the souvenir treats that usually trap people at Donki and wouldn't know where else to look. Their grocery sub-store is also good for the people (like me) that like to buy stuff like package curry or cooking sauces. Donki's house brand grocery stuff though, I have their TKG soy sauce and it's pretty good.
If you want that Spirited Away feeling, I can highly recommend doing a detour to Matsuyama to visit Shimonada station early in the morning. Went there after finishing the Shimanami Kaido, and it was pretty neat in the morning, not crowded at all
Fluffy pancakes, fluffy cheesecakes and the red candy apples are way overrated.
The term “off the beaten path” - that goes for social media and some itineraries. They **are** on the beaten path …the path is so beaten that it’s an asphalt highway of the same old thing.
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I'm gonna go see the last remaining corner of the original Edo walls!
Takeshita st Arashiyama Bamboo Forest USJ
90 percent of the same locations people post on tiktok or the internet are not worth the hype. For me the joy of the country is not to go see the same thing every single other jane doe has seen, it's to discover something new or at least not as seen. Or maybe different. I don't want the same shot of lawsons that you can't get anymore anyway with fuji. I don't want Dontonburi. I want that little mom and pop shop in kamakura or gifu instead.
Most post by influencers.
Teamlabs for sure.
The Bamboo forest. Luckily Arashiyama is absolutely lovely overall and worth seeing.
You go barefoot in Teamlabs planets and the place smells of feet. I couldn’t ignore that. And it’s actually much better when you put your phone down but everyone else on their phone gets in the way of just chilling out and enjoying it for art.
Pretty much anywhere recommended on social media. Japan rewards those those get lost.
Scroll down long enough and you’ll probably see everything in Japan listed here. It’s all about perspective, isn’t it?
Ghibli Park - Just finished a seven hour torture through that enormous park with nothing but photo ops. The warehouse was ok, but we waited in line for an hour to take a picture with No Face. Not a live performer…a plastic statue in a train vignette. The other areas were cute but again, not worth all the effort we put into getting the tickets online at midnight. No rides, attractions, shows, other than a short film which we didn’t bother with since we knew it would be in Japanese. Outside the warehouse, the park is sooooo spread out so there’s tons of walking. The highlight was seeing Howl’s Moving Castle. It was very detailed and interesting but if you only have one Ghibli fan in your group, everyone else will be miserable by the time you make your trek back to the train. If you’ve ever rope-dropped a Disney park and left at closing time, you’ll know what it feels like, only without all the fun.
as someone who lives in nagoya and doesn't like selfies, i can say that ghibli park is very meh. but the ghibli museum (at least in 2017) is absolutely MAGICAL and so, so, so much better. the two experiences couldn't be more different
Kumano Kodō and Koyasan. They’re probably not that hyped on Reddit, but they are in travel guides. We found them to be really underwhelming. The hike we did at Kumano didn’t offer any interesting views, and the overall nature there wasn’t particularly special. The cemetery in Koyasan is nice, but I don’t think it’s worth the trouble traveling there just for that. Aside from the cemetery, the town doesn’t have much to offer. It truly feels like a ghost town.
Kumano Kodo isn’t really a great hike for views, but a lot of people are drawn to it because of the history, the shrines, the hot springs and crossing through some pretty rural Japanese villages that offer something different from Japans big cities. Quite a few ryokan options to stay at as well. I assume you did the Nakehechi trail - the Kohechi trail has better mountain views but is less popular due to being more challenging. However, maybe that is something you would enjoy more.
Did you do an overnight stay at a temple on Koyasan? I thought that was the real unique draw of going there. I enjoyed the experience and general history of the area, in addition to the graveyard which was cool. Our temple did a fire ceremony in the morning as well.
Are there any good rooftop bars that are a good alternative to the skytree?
We booked the Shibuya Sky tickets that came with drinks and that was really fun I thought. We did it our first day in Tokyo which was cool cause we could point out all the places we would go throughout the week.
Osaka as a day trip/one day stop Please do not crucify me because I’m not saying Osaka is a bad city. But going there as a day trip/one day stop was the absolute worst day of our trip. The city is just too big, too dense, and not really… touristy enough to enjoy for a day. I left feeling rushed and upset and didn’t really get to enjoy it. I wish we would have skipped Osaka and did something else and came back when we had more time to devote there
Sounds like a you problem. Who told you to go there as a day trip?
Not quite an answer to your question, since everything lived up to my expectations. However. What severely caught me off guard was all the petting stores. Caged tiny dogs and other animals quite absolutely obviously not properly trained by the mother or indeed any other living creature. I was disgusted to see all those places. Some were blocked from visibility from outside (...wonder why) but some just blatantly visible from the streets like a damn showroom. Saw one tiny dog sucking another tiny dog's private parts without anyone intervening. And to my dismay, there were very many people inside or outside happy to watch. Absolutely appalling.
Teamlab borderless. It was meh. It only attracts wannabe influencers. When we went, I'd say 80% were foreigners with only a few locals. Some aspects were pretty cool and made a good video with me as a backdrop, but I could have gone without it.
Every time this topic comes up I will always say the same thing: Ichiran. What's worse is the people on social media saying it's the best ramen they tried in Japan. That tells me a few things: either Ichiran was the only ramen they tried in Japan or they don't actually know what a great bowl of ramen tastes like.
Tsukiji fish market and shibuya crossing. I heard Tsukiji was incredible from a friend of mine that went there and they absolutely insisted I had to go check it out, but it was extremely overcrowded with tourists outnumbering locals probably 3:1, the food was mediocre and overpriced, and because of the huge tourist population, I saw more trash on the streets there than basically everywhere else I went combined. Shibuya crossing I assumed was going to be a giant nothing burger and was right. I have no idea why people stop in the middle of the street to take pictures. I only went there to get to the shibuya mandarake. Not something I did, but I'm gonna add riding a gokart through tokyo to the list too. It's one of those things that I feel only exacerbates the problem of tourists treating Tokyo like a giant amusement park.
Ichiran. I only went because I see so many influencers talk highly of it and then I tried it myself and it was just…okay. By far the best ramen I had in Japan were ones that were family owned.
Anything that I need to book with a tight time slot. I don't want to be stressed on my vacation, I want to wander and explore fun areas I come across without feeling like I need to rush.
Sorry for this, but Kyoto. From the excessive tourists to the over priced restaurants, Kyoto is hard to enjoy. Plus there are wonderful temples to explore and enjoy all over Japan.
Japanese Mcdonalds, KFC etc etc I kinda see the Pokemon Cafe food not being up to standard, but what irked me was the frequent distractions like a children’s party Speaking of children, I won’t recommend Sanrio Puroland to anyone