In November, after three months of interviews, I lost out on a job and decided it was time for a travel break. I set out on a three-and-a-half-week trip to Japan.
The timing worked out — the favorable dollar-to-yen exchange rate, mild weather, and vibrant autumn foliage made it a great time to visit.
With little time to find a travel companion, I embraced the freedom of solo travel and the ability to make plans on a whim. And since I’d traveled on my own before, I thought I could wing it. This trip to Japan proved to be more difficult than expected.
My trip included exploring the “golden triangle” of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, with day trips to nearby destinations like Nikko, Mount Fuji, Nara, and Himeji. It also included visits to Hiroshima and Miyajima Island, and a week in central Japan.
The trip cost about $3,400, not including the airfare, which I paid for with credit card points. As a cost-conscious backpacker, I stayed in pod hotels or hostels and mostly ate street food, convenience store fare, or noodles at ramen shops.
My biggest expense was accommodation, which totaled more than $915 for 24 nights. On-the-ground transportation added up as well. While local trains were fairly inexpensive, tickets for the Shinkansen bullet train were costly. My ride from Tokyo to Toyama was the most expensive at about $100, Hiroshima to Osaka was about $70, and Osaka to Tokyo was about $90.
A few indulgences included attending a kimono tea ceremony, a Kobe steak dinner, and visits to a handful of themed cafés.
While I loved the trip, here are three things I would have done differently.
1. More planning before the trip
My pre-trip research focused mainly on sites and activities, not the logistics. I didn’t book anything in advance, aside from my first few days in Tokyo. This led to a chaotic and inefficient trip full of missed trains, lost opportunities, and unnecessary stress.
I had read that Japan was popular in autumn, but it was busier than I expected, and difficult to find last-minute budget accommodation. Many of the popular attractions, including Tokyo’s Ghibli Museum and Ninja Tokyo restaurant, had been booked in advance. Other places throughout the country, including Osaka’s Nintendo Museum, and ryokans — traditional Japanese homestays — everywhere, also booked up quickly.
I did get lucky with the tea ceremony — a plus of solo traveling — but I wish I’d pre-booked the ones I missed out on.
I also would have booked accommodation ahead of time on sites with a free cancellation policy. This would have allowed me to secure lodging while also offering the flexibility to change plans.
For transportation, I would have secured my IC card when I arrived at the airport. These cards — which include Suica, PASMO, and Icoca — are prepaid and allow easy travel among public transportation systems in big cities. After a 13-hour flight, I rushed to get to my hotel. But getting one of these cards later was harder than I expected — they were only available in the larger train stations and not consistently.
2. Opted for hostels instead of capsule hotels
Many people think solo travel is about doing things alone, but one of my favorite parts is the new people you meet along the way. Hostels are usually good for being social, and I thought I’d have the same luck in capsule hotels. Instead, I found the pod hotels — though delightfully calm and spa-like — to be much less social. There were also a lot of local travelers staying at these who didn’t speak English.
However, I made friends immediately at the hostels I stayed in. In Hiroshima, seven of us spent the day exploring Miyajima Island together, and I climbed a mountain I never would have visted alone. Had I started my trip in hostels, I would have made friends to travel with earlier on.
3. Spent more time in Nikko and Osaka
About 90 miles north of Tokyo, Nikko is a popular day trip, but I wish I had dedicated two full days to exploring the town properly. It’s known for both its elaborate shrines and temples and beautiful mountain scenery. When I visited in November, the sites closed at 4 p.m., and things started to get dark not long after, which meant there was a limited window to explore everything Nikko had to offer.
The 126-acre Tokugawa shrine and temple complex — which became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999 — is less than 10 miles from Lake Chuzenji, where the Mount Nantai climb begins, but traveling from one to the other can take an hour. I could have happily wandered the complex — especially its famous Toshogu Shrine — for an entire day.
I also wish I’d had a full day to explore the beautiful lake, waterfalls, and hiking opportunities around the mountain. My single day there felt rushed and was limited to just the highlights.
I also wish I had spent more time in Osaka. Since it is primarily known for its food, I thought two days would be enough, but it was the non-foodie parts that were my favorites and what I wish I had more time for.
Its Dontonbori area was full of lights and people with a palpable energy I liked being a part of. I enjoyed spending a half-day at Osaka Castle, but with more time I would have visited the Osaka Museum of Housing & Living and the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, which travelers I met along the way raved about. I also would have flown home directly from Osaka, which would have saved me a half day and a $90 bullet train fare.
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