Spring Break in Japan

A Week in Japan!

From April 18th-25th, six of my friends and I traveled from Tokyo to Mt. Fuji to Nara to Kyoto to Osaka and back to Tokyo. It was an absolutely incredible trip, and I know it's one I'll never forget.

Since there are so many places to travel throughout Southeast Asia, it was honestly hard to decide where to go for spring break because there were endless options. It's actually kind of a funny story about how we ended up choosing Japan.

One of my friends was super adamant that he wanted to go to Japan, so he kept throwing the idea out there. Originally, I thought Japan was off the table because one of my friends is from Morocco and has to apply for visas for a lot of countries. Then we found out that one of her friends, who was planning to visit her during the semester and travel with us, also wanted to go to Japan. My friend decided she would apply for her travel visa, and suddenly Japan became a real possibility.

I honestly hadn't always had Japan at the top of my travel list simply because there are so many countries I want to visit & I originally thought it was off the table for this semester. But once we decided to make it happen and started inviting more people, I got so, so, so excited. Looking back, I'm so grateful we chose Japan. It was such a unique experience, and every city felt completely different from the last.

For each place we visited, I'll share some of my favorite things we did (in no particular order), along with a few places we didn't have time for but were highly recommended to us. I'll also include some of my favorite foods we tried!

Tokyo

Things we did:

Imperial Palace

Tokyo Tower

Shinjuku City

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (we caught the very end of cherry blossom season!)

Omoide Yokocho (Memory Lane)

Shibuya Crossing (busiest intersection in the world)

MAGNET by SHIBUYA109

Meiji Jingu (Shinto shrine)

Toyosu Market (seafood market)

Chuo-Ginza Shopping Street (the roads were closed to traffic since we went on a Sunday, which made it really fun to walk around)

Takeshita Street (tons of street food, shopping, and people!)

Recommended to us but we didn't have time for:

Sumo show

SHIBUYA SKY Observation Deck

SUNSHINE 60 Observatory Tenbou-Park

Tokyo Skytree

Sensō-ji Temple

Teuchi Ren (ramen restaurant)

Hamarikyu Gardens

Tsukiji Hongwan-ji Temple

Pain Maison Ginza (bakery)

Chopsticks Studio Ginza

teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM

Tsukiji Outer Market

Kappabashi Hondōri Shopping Street

Mt. Fuji

Things we did:

Arakura Fuji Sengen Shrine

The views of Mt. Fuji from here were absolutely breathtaking. It was one of those places that looks just as beautiful in person as it does in pictures. A friend and I woke up at 3am to hike up and watch the sunrise. SO worth it.

Nara

Things we did:

Nara Park (yes, the deer really do bow to you!)

Recommended to us but we didn't have time for:

Tōdai-ji Temple (home to the giant Buddha)

Kyoto

Kyoto ended up being one of my favorite cities. It had such a peaceful atmosphere, beautiful temples, and so much history.

Things we did:

Fushimi Inari Taisha (the famous orange torii gates)

Nishiki Market (over 100 shops! I don't remember the name of the vintage store, but I spent over two hours there and wanted to buy everything.)

Gion District

Kimono Rental (HIGHLY recommend, such a cool experience)

Kintsugi (Gold Repair) Workshop in Gion

Recommended to us but we didn't have time for:

Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama

Komyo-in Temple

Tōfuku-ji Temple

Shōrin-ji Temple

Tō-ji Temple

Nanzen-ji Temple

Hōnen-in Temple

Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)

Ryōan-ji Temple

Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion)

Philosopher's Path

Yasaka Shrine

Heian-jingū Shrine

Higashiyama Ward

DRAGON BURGER Tofuku-ji

Aiyo! Kyoto Station Hachijo Exit Store

Osaka

Things we did:

Osaka Castle

Ate takoyaki (invented in Osaka)

Recommended to us but we didn't have time for:

Traditional onsen experience

Tori Soba Zagin Ikeda

Cup Noodles Museum Osaka

Kobe Beef Takakura

Tempura Makino Namba

Furuguya JAM Horie (plus lots of other cool thrift stores nearby)

Dotonbori Street

Osaka Castle Park

Kuchu Teien Observatory

Chao Chao Gyoza

Cocorono Bakery

Some of My Favorite Foods

One of my favorite parts of Japan was the food. We tried so many new things throughout the week!

Some of my favorites were:

7-Eleven (the convenience stores in Japan deserve all the hype)

Jidou Hanbaiki (these vending machines were everywhere!)

10-Yen Rainbow Cheese Coins

Ramen

Grilled skewers

Smoked salmon and avocado sandwich with a matcha latte

Anago nigiri

Meatball doria

Tamagoyaki (either on a skewer or in a sandwich)

Salmon and ikura or tuna kaisendon

Japan completely exceeded my expectations. Every city had its own personality, the public transportation made traveling between them so easy, the food was incredible, and I loved getting to experience both the busy city life and the peaceful temples and shrines.

It was definitely a trip I'll never forget.

Tokyo

Ramen

Mt. Fuji

Kyoto