Japan Trip 2025

I finally went back to Japan more than twenty years after my first trip, and fell in love all over again.

I first travelled to Japan on an organised small group tour. This time I went with my Mum, who researched everything and put together a fantastic itinerary for us; we’re lucky in that our interests are almost completely the same. I was naturally curious to see how much Japan has changed. I can only speak as someone who spent mere two weeks in the country, but if you take away the bigger tourist crowds and technological changes that have affected life everywhere, I didn’t feel that Japan has changed all that much. It still felt like the safe, clean, unique and fascinating place I remembered. In a way, it was a comforting thought.

Weather: at this time of year, temperatures ranged from an almost T-shirt weather to a puffer jacket and two layers of merino wool when in the mountains. Pretty much like Melbourne in spring right now, but the big difference is that the climate in Japan is more mild and humid, and you don’t get hit with a gust of icy wind.

Shopping: last time I came back from Japan with a giant haul of crafts and souvenirs, which are just so beautiful and irresistible. This time I was a lot more restrained and satisfied myself with a few small things: little plates and figurines, sweets, fridge magnets and T-shirts. A more unusual thing I found in Kyoto is a printed towel that you can frame and hang on the wall. We of course went to Don Quijote, the discount store on steroids; the Akihabara store in Tokyo has seven floors and made my head spin.

Food: Japanese is my favourite Asian cuisine, so food was a major highlight of the trip. We treated ourselves to an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet in Tokyo; another standout meal was a wagyu dinner where you get to cook your own meal in a hot pot. It was also fun to eat our way through the various food markets, where I had the most scrumptious grilled octopus, among many other things. 

I loved taiyaki, a popular street food that traditionally looks like a fish-shaped cake filled with red bean paste, custard or chocolate. I discovered that I actually don’t mind the sweet red bean paste, but a custard taiyaki became a daily must-have, calories be damned. To my surprise, I also developed a taste for matcha drink, which on occasion was my substitute for coffee (as a Melbourne coffee snob, I have to say that I consumed coffee in Japan more for the caffeine hit than genuine pleasure).

Tokyo

I only had one day in Tokyo on my tour, which wasn’t anywhere near enough. This time we had nearly a week in total in Tokyo, which gave me a chance to see areas and districts like Asakusa, Shibuya, Ginza, Akihabara and Shinjuku. I’m always up for an observation deck and city views, so we went up Shibuya Sky (the most glamorous), Tokyo Skytree (the tallest), and Metropolitan Government Building (free one with long queues). We also saw a very touristy sumo show, super cheesy but a lot of fun.

Probably the strangest area we went to was Odaiba, located on an artificial island. There we saw the Statue of Liberty (no really), the statue of Unicorn Gundam and its somewhat underwhelming light show, and the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation where you can interact with robots.

Cats

I love cats and so does Japan. We didn’t have time to visit one of Japan’s famous cat islands, but we did check out a Tokyo cat cafe. We spent an hour admiring the gorgeous felines, who were too jaded to play with us, but consented to being petted after kibble.

Another Tokyo destination for cat lovers is Gotokuji Temple, a Buddhist temple with thousands of figurines of maneki-neko, also known as the beckoning cat. If you’re lucky, you can catch a ride to the temple on the cat-themed local train.

Kyoto

I enjoyed Tokyo and its megalopolis energy, but I still love Kyoto more for its feeling of old Japan, natural beauty, exquisite gardens, wooden townhouses and beautiful temples and shrines. I was more than happy to re-visit the Gion district and the marvellous Kinkakuji Temple. We didn’t make it all the way around the Fushimi Inari Shrine and its thousands of torii gates, but we still got a decent uphill walk out of it. Kiyomizu Temple with its dramatic views was another place I missed out on before. 

Kyoto Imperial Palace was interesting to visit for the sheer contrast between the Japanese simplicity and the gilded baroque style of the European palaces. The Imperial Villa gardens on the other hand are quite elaborate and magnificent.

My favourite experience in Kyoto hands down was dressing up for the traditional tea ceremony. Turns out, putting on a kimono is an elaborate process that you couldn’t do properly by yourself. I wished I could leave it on for a day, which is actually a very popular thing to do in Kyoto, but our plans for the rest of the day involved a lot of public transport, and I didn’t have any practical but decent shoes to wear with my kimono. Next time!

Arashiyama

We spent a full day in this scenic district on the outskirts of Kyoto, known for its many temples, gardens and bamboo groves. This is also where we learned that you always need to carry an umbrella, even if the forecast indicates zero percent chance of rain. 

Himeji Castle and the cutest bullet train

Himeji Castle is a short train ride away from Osaka and is as pretty as a wedding cake. There’s an option to get there on the pink-and-white Hello Kitty Shinkansen, so of course we had to take it. Only the first two cars are actually themed, including a Hello Kitty gift shop and pink bathroom, but it’s still adorable and thankfully wasn’t overcrowded like we expected.

Osaka

There’s not much sightseeing to do in Osaka, but if you’re after food and exciting nightlife, it’s definitely the place to go. We only had a short stay there, but I really enjoyed its vibrant and lively atmosphere.

Hakone

Last time I was in Hakone, famous for its views of Mount Fuji, the weather was overcast, rainy and misty. This time around… the weather was exactly the same. But even if Mount Fuji remained elusive, Hakone Open-Air Museum was just as amazing as I remembered. In addition to sculptures and installations, there’s also Picasso Exhibition Hall, devoted to Picasso’s paintings, drawings and ceramic works.

At the start of our trip, autumnal colours just started to show up, but they were in full swing by the time we got to the mountains. We had a hired car at our disposal, and after Hakone we went for a drive to a small and quaint mountain village, through some absolutely stunning scenery of red and gold.

Tokyo DisneySea

I only have a casual interest in theme parks, but the nautical twist of DisneySea sounded appealing to me. My Mum on the other hand had zero interest, so this was the only half-day we spent apart doing our own thing. I was definitely glad that by this time, I got my head around Tokyo’s dense transport network of trains, subways and buses, as the park takes time to get to.

I was fully prepared for the total sensory overload, and sure enough the place was crazy crowded, with queues everywhere including restaurants. Since I can’t do rides anyway thanks to my motion sickness, I had fun just exploring the park and its spectacular themed ports like Mediterranean Harbour, American Waterfront and Arabian Coast. The only two queues I endured were for the chocolate popcorn and a short ride on a vintage-style train.