It is the land of the rising sun. And also the place where the sun rises in my heart. Because the people, atmosphere, food, the culture and architecture have something about them that makes you feel completely at ease.
Every step I take in Japan makes me feel safe. Every place is clean, the people you meet are polite and respectful and the architecture radiates calm and strength. For me, it is a special place in the midst of a wild and increasingly careless world.
I was there 22 years ago and now I would like to show this place, which I then chose as one of the most beautiful in the world, to my family.
From my experience, here are my travel tips for Tokyo and Kyoto.
Here is an overview:
Language in Japan
The Japanese language is complicated and takes a long time to learn completely, especially because of the characters, which are a mixture of Japanese and Chinese characters.
But knowing a few words will help you to speak to people in the country in a respectful way. This is highly recommended.
These include:
‘Kon’nichiwa’ – this means ‘hello’ and is the Japanese greeting.
It is also very important to say thank you. The Japanese say thank you over and over again. In Japanese, you do this with the word ‘Arigato’. ‘Arigatogozaimasu’ is a stronger way of saying ‘thank you’.
If you want to draw attention to yourself in the sense of saying ‘excuse me’ because you want to make a request, for example in a restaurant, you use ‘sumimasen’.
You should also know the word for goodbye – ‘sayonara’.
Now you have all the polite forms of address at your disposal to help you to move around Japan respectfully.
Travel Tips for Tokyo
Our journey begins in Tokyo. There are plenty of direct flights to several airports around Tokyo.
Haneda Airport is a little closer to the city and Narita a little further away. Both are wonderfully connected to the centre of Tokyo by public transport.
A very special tip for anyone travelling to Japan: Buy a ‘Pasmo’ or ‘Suica’ pass at the airport or at one of the major subway stations. This pass allows you to travel freely on all subway or bus lines through most cities in Japan. There are vending machines where you can top up your pass and at every subway exit you can see the current balance of your credit when you check out. You can also use these passes to pay in some shops or vending machines.
Related read: The Complete Guide to Experiencing the Shinkansen High-Speed Trains in Japan
While we’re on the subject of ‘paying’: you can pay with a credit card anywhere in the tourist areas. However, this is not always the case in more original places or smaller restaurants. Therefore, be sure to travel with some cash and check with your credit card company to make sure that you can withdraw money from ATMs in Japan with your credit card.
Ueno
Ueno is a very original, fun and colorful district with plenty of life and activity at all times of the day and night, and a spacious park that offers temples, a lotus flower lake and space for festivals and culinary discoveries.
Opposite the Ueno train station you will find the pedestrian area of Ameyokocho. Here you can immediately immerse yourself in Japanese culture. The colorful sea of evening, the delicious smells and the variety of Japanese specialties in the countless restaurants are a real El Dorado for all explorers.
The special highlight when traveling is when you know people who live in the country and you can see the country from their perspective.
So we had the opportunity to celebrate at a real Mikoshi festival in one of Tokyo’s suburbs. The large shrine is carried through the entire town by many men and women throughout the day.
In the evening, the Mikoshi carriers arrive at the festival’s large shrine and celebration site. They are accompanied by traditional Japanese music and the great joy of all participants.
Shibuya
When you think of Tokyo, you automatically think of the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing. Crossing it is a real highlight. So is watching others cross it.
You get a particularly good view from the Starbucks right at the intersection. From here, you can film, photograph or just watch the hustle and bustle on the street below.
Related read: A Guide to Nightlife in Shibuya and Shinjuku, Tokyo
Hachiko
Here you will also find the famous statue of Hachiko, probably the most loyal dog in the world. He accompanied his master to the train station every morning and picked him up again in the evening.
Even when his owner suddenly died, he continued to wait for him every evening – for almost ten years. He was given this monument in memory of this. It is a touching story that has even been made into a movie. Nowadays, the monument of Hachiko is a great meeting place.
Omotesando
The Omotesando in the Harajuku/Jingumae district is a wonderful place for shopping and strolling.
Just follow your instincts and explore the small alleys to the left and right of the main street. Be sure to plan a stop at Takeshita-dori on this route, with its many shops full of colorful, crazy clothes and accessories.
Asakusa
Asakusa is a typically Japanese and authentic district, centered around Senso-ji, one of the oldest temples in the country.
It extends over a large area and is bordered by numerous traditional shops and restaurants on the popular Nakamise-dori shopping street.
Asakusa is located on the Sumida River and can be easily explored on foot or by rickshaw, passing wonderful bridges and colorful lanterns. Not far from there, you will also find the Tokyo Tree, a lookout tower from which you can see the entire city.
Here in Asakusa, you can find traditional arts and crafts, such as homemade knives or Japanese paper, alongside typical sweets or delicious snacks such as the tasty rice crackers, the famous dorayaki, stuffed egg pancakes, fried manju rolls or motchi skewers.
The lively streets of Denpoin-dori, Kannon-dori and Asakusa Chuo-dori are particularly charming and full of the atmosphere of old Asakusa.
Sensoji
The Sensoji is probably the most famous and most photographed temple in Tokyo. It was built in 628 and is therefore also one of the oldest Buddhist temples in the capital.
The history of the temple is also very exciting. Legend has it that two fishermen in the nearby Sumida River caught a golden statue of Kannon – the goddess of kindness and mercy – in their nets. They tried several times to return the figure to the river, but it kept coming back to them. Finally, they decided to build a temple for the statue. This was named Senso-ji.
The path to the temple is lined with white lanterns bearing Japanese characters.
Would you have thought that? The red lantern in the center weighs over 400 kg, the other two copper lanterns each weigh about 1000 kg.
Traditional pagodas always have an uneven number of floors. Did you know that the five levels of Buddhist pagodas represent the five elements? Earth, water, fire, air and emptiness.
Kokeshi Dolls
These Kokeshi dolls are given as a lucky charm for the birth of a girl, a wedding, a business opening or as a souvenir from Japan. They are made by hand to a high standard and mostly from fruitwood.
But they also have a sad history. In Japanese tradition, children up to the age of about 9 years belonged to God; this view came from the time of high infant mortality. When a child died, the family took comfort in the fact that God had taken the child back. These dolls were considered to be reminders of the child who had been taken back “by God”.
Shintoism
Shintoism is a fascinating and very open religion and, along with Buddhism, the most important religion in Japan. The Japanese do not learn about their faith at school, as is the case with many other religions. Often, the faith is passed down from parents to children.
Shinto means “way of the gods”. More than 100 million people, or 80% of the Japanese population, are Shintoists.
The shrines are dedicated to various deities. Everyone is allowed to pray at a Shinto shrine, regardless of their religion. I love the openness of this religion, which shows great wisdom and strength.
Ritual cleansing
You can often see water basins, temizuya with ladles, near the shrines, which are called hishaku. Here, before approaching the deity at the shrine, people perform the ritual of misogi, a purification of body and mind.
First, you pour a little water over your left hand and then over your right hand with the ladle. Next, you rinse your mouth with water, but do not swallow it. Finally, empty the water from the ladle over your left hand and the handle.
Praying in Japan
When you are standing in front of the shrine, first throw some coins into the slot. 5-yen coins are very suitable for this because they sound like “go-en”, which means luck. Then pull on the thick rope to ring the bell. The sound of the bell keeps evil spirits away.
When you arrive, you greet the god by bowing twice, then clap your hands twice. After that, you pray in silence, express your wish and hold your hands in front of your chest in prayer pose. At the end, thank you with a deep bow.
The respect that can be felt everywhere in Japan is also evident in its religion.
There are many activities dedicated to luck on the shrine grounds. Omikuji are small Japanese paper strips that predict the future.
The nice thing is, if you draw a paper strip that predicts bad luck, you can tie the strip to a small rope or, as here, to a tree and thus get rid of the bad luck immediately.
For prayers and wishes, there are wooden plaques known as ema that can be hung on the shrine. This is how the gods are said to receive the prayers and fulfill the wishes.
When leaving Japanese temples and shrines, the same rules apply as when entering. This ensures that the visit is a closed circle, which is also said to bring good luck.
Colorful and Diverse Neighborhoods in Tokyo
Tokyo is a huge city with 9.6 million inhabitants. It consists of many very different neighborhoods, so it doesn’t seem that big.
Above all, it seems relaxed and calm to me because the Japanese mentality is very elegant and reserved on the outside. To ease the traffic situation, there are often footpaths built over the roads or, conversely, large roads or even railroad lines on stilts one level higher through the city. And if you are standing at a traffic light in Shinjuku, for example, one of the busiest train stations in the world, the twittering of birds or the soft music from the loudspeakers is incredibly relaxing.
I advise anyone who is afraid of crowds to take a trip to Tokyo, because there is no place where crowds of people are more relaxing than there. Nobody is loud, nobody jostles, nobody pushes, everything is gentle, orderly and full of mindfulness, even at rush hour. This is an art that I find admirable.
What I am describing is only one side of the coin, because no culture has only one dimension. As safe, as polite, and as orderly as everything appears, I have never seen a more colourful flip side anywhere in the world. The opposite pole of this structure is the colorful, the wild, the crazy, which is evident in the bars and gambling halls in the neighborhoods of Tokyo that come to life at night.
Related read: Tokyo: A City of Ordered Chaos
The outfits of many Japanese women in particular are anything but reserved or boring; they are a firework of possibilities and a great deal of courage is required to wear many outfits.
The shows that you see when you zap through the Japanese TV program in your hotel room also show the wild diversity within this strictly ordered world.
At night, the Shinjuku district is dazzling. Be sure to visit the famous Omoide Yokocho alley of bars. If you are alone or in a couple, you may be able to get a table in the quaint, tiny bars of this small alley.
Otherwise, just stroll on to Kabukicho Tower. You will find a wide range of specialties in a colorful setting, either on the way in Kabukicho-Ichiban-gai street or in the tower itself.
Culinary Japan
I find it fascinating that when you think of Japanese food, you immediately think of sushi, but there are so many different delicacies that have not yet made their way to Europe.
Sukiyaki or Yakiniku, to name just a few.
It is incredible how much meat, and not just fish, dominates the menus. Wagyu beef is at the top of the popularity scale here.
I admire the Japanese ability to celebrate everything that has to do with eating and enjoying food. In the various restaurants, you can prepare your own meal on a small built-in table grill or you can get a pot of broth on a hob on the table, similar to a Chinese fondue or hot pot, in which you can prepare all kinds of vegetables and meat specialties that you can get at the buffet.
Related read: Discover Unique Food Experiences in Tokyo
Shabu Sai Ueno is one of our favorite hot pot spots. And Tokori Japanese Yakiniku in Ueno serves up some fantastic yakiniku.
Related read: Discover Unique Food Experiences in Tokyo
Yakiniku
At a yakiniku meal, there is a small, fine grill built into the tables on which you can fry the various meat specialties that are served in thin slices. Rice and various sauces are served as side dishes. It is particularly cozy when you enter restaurants and take off your shoes and clothes at the door.
The Wagyu beef at the Narita Airport restaurant Yakisuki Yanma was a real treat. Raw meat that is brought to the table on hot stones, where it is poured with a delicious sauce accompanied by a variety of ingredients in small bowls, creating a great hissing sound, is a real treat.
Sukiyaki
Sukiyaki was also new to me. It is a one-pot dish in which the meat is cooked slowly on the table, either before or after the noodles and vegetables that are also in the stew. Before you enjoy the slowly roasted meat, you dip it in a raw egg. Delicious!
Onigiri
And not to forget the popular Onigiri, rice balls with various fillings, which schoolchildren and office workers pack as a sandwich. So delicious and varied that I really miss them here in Germany.
The wax models of the dishes at most of the restaurants are also particularly typical.
Hotels in Tokyo and Kyoto
A hotel on the Yamanote Round Line is worth its weight in gold. It’s a quick and easy way to get to the most famous, authentic and interesting places in Tokyo.
I can highly recommend the hotels of the Nohga group. We stayed at the Nohga Hotel in Ueno, but they are also available in other districts such as Akihabara or other cities such as Kyoto or Saporro.
This group also offers accommodation in ryokans, the typical Japanese inns.
The Mitsui Garden hotels are also recommended and a bit more international than the Nohga hotels. We also stayed a few nights at the Mitsui Garden Jingugajen Tokyo Premier, but there are 12 more hotels in this group even in Tokyo and they also offer great accommodation in Hiroshima, Yokohama, Osaka and various other cities.
On the “Train”
If you are planning to travel around Japan, I recommend the Shinkansen, the fastest train in the world. It will take you from Tokyo Station to Kyoto in just over 2 and a half hours.
There is an extra travel tip with tips just for the Shinkansen. I also recommend booking a JR Pass, which works perfectly and allows unlimited train travel in Japan.
Make sure you don’t miss Mount Fuji on your way from Tokyo to Kyoto. The Shinkansen passes so close to it that you can photograph and admire it through the train windows, surrounded by clouds of mist or, depending on the season, even with its peak covered in snow.
Kyoto Travel Tips
I love Kyoto. I can’t say it any other way.
Kyoto has become extremely modern in the 22 years since I last visited. But the original corners, the geisha district and the enchanting temples still tell of the magic of times gone by.
The Higashiyama district, with the very traditional lanes of Sannenzaka and Ninnenzaka, which lead off from the Kiyomizu-dera temple, is still so unspoilt that you get the feeling that Kyoto is not a metropolis but a small, touristy mountain village.
Related read: Complete Kyoto Travel Guide
Kimono
A special experience is to borrow a kimono for a day from one of the many kimono shops. It is a wonderful feeling to immerse yourself in the history of this city, where the geishas were at home.
Walking around in a kimono on a temple tour may seem touristy, but as with all experiences, it depends on your attitude. If you are curious and have a desire to immerse yourself in a certain feeling, to understand better and experience more intensely, then it is a profound experience that you should not miss.
For the Kinomos, I can recommend the rental shop right at the bus stop on Higashioji Dori, across from the Seven Eleven. But you can also find other rental shops to the left and right of it, such as First or Kyokomachi. We didn’t have a reservation and just walked in. For 4500 yen and 1600 yen for the hairstyle, you can transform yourself into a wonderful geisha for a day.
Nittai-ji Tempel
The old streets around the Kiyumizu-dera Temple are definitely worth exploring.
Unfortunately, over the past 22 years, everything here has not only become more crowded but also more tourist-oriented, and the old originality is no longer so easy to discover.
Don’t miss out on following your nose, looking into inviting archways, letting yourself drift and following your eye. This way, you will discover deserted temples, small subtleties, abandoned courtyards and special places beyond the tourist-lined alleys. Like this beautiful Nittai-ji Temple, which is located directly on the way to the Kiyomizu-dera Temple and is completely ignored by most. It is beautiful and deserted.
Kiyomizu-dera Tempel
The Kiyumizu-dera Temple is one of the truly impressive temples in Kyoto.
Good to know about visiting Kyoto
Admission to the temples is usually free or, in the case of the well-known temples, costs a few euros per person.
Do not book a tour in advance via Viator or GetYourGuide just because you are afraid of not being able to get tickets to the temples on the spot. You can get the entrance ticket spontaneously on the spot, which gives you much more freedom and flexibility.
If you absolutely want to take a guided tour and be accompanied by a guide, you are of course welcome to book such a tour through these platforms or locally.
Fushimi Inari Schrein
The Fushimi Inara Shrine in the Fushimi district is one of the most magical places in Japan for me.
During the day, the lower walkway is particularly busy, but as soon as darkness falls, it becomes a little quieter. There is something magical about entering this powerful shrine in the moonlight.
Related read: Must Visit Sites in Kyoto
When approaching a shrine, the first thing you see is the red torii, or gate. The red color is said to ward off evil spirits and danger.
To show respect, you should bow before the gate and only then enter the shrine.
Fushimi Inari Taisha is a Shintō shrine. It is considered the main shrine of about one third of all Inari shrines in Japan and is the most famous Shintō shrine in Kyōto.
If you have seen the movie “The Geisha”, you will see little Chio walking to this very shrine to pray for her greatest wish. It came true, and guess what? So did the wish I expressed there. For me, this shrine is one of the most powerful places I have ever visited.
A wonderful Japanese woman, whose mother is from Kyoto and very religious, explains the power of this place to me as follows: These shrines are the gateway to the world of the gods, of which there are more than 800 in Shintoism, each assigned to a topic and therefore all wishes are in good hands there.
The avenues of torii, the gates made of wood or stone and usually painted red, are particularly characteristic of this shrine. They symbolize the transition between the world of humans and the world of the gods.
The Fushima Inari Shrine consists of a multitude of these torii, all of which are donations from individuals, families or companies. She tells me that it is important not to walk near the posts or in the middle, as these are reserved for the gods.
More than 1000 of these red gates can be found at this impressive shrine.
There is a small half-hour path and a large circular route up the more than 230-meter-high Inari Mountain, which takes 2-3 hours and a lot of stamina.
Characteristic of all Inari shrines are the fox statues, the messengers of the goddess of fertility Inari, who usually wear red bibs around their necks.
Ginkaku-ji
Ginkaku-ji is one of my personal favorite temples in Kyoto. For one thing, it is not as overcrowded as other temples and because it contains a variety of beauty in a small area.
There is an area with Zen sand art, a lake with a typical Japanese wooden pavilion in the background and a beautiful garden.
Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion Temple) is a Zen temple and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
No one really knows why the pavilion in the middle of the property is called “Silver Pavilion”, even though it is made of wood. Legend has it that the pavilion’s jet-black wood shined silver in the moonlight, hence the name.
Maybe there is a less magical explanation. The Pavilion by the Lake, the Kannon-den, was built in the 15th century by the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa as a retirement home and was supposed to look like a smaller version of the famous Golden Pavilion, Kinkanku-ji, which his grandfather had built at the time. Instead of gold, it was supposed to be silver, but it never happened.
Before the shogun’s villa became a temple, it was the center of Higashiyama culture, home to tea ceremonies, flower arranging, poetry and No theater. Nowadays, Ginkakuji is one of the most famous temples in Kyoto and far less touristy than its “golden” brother, Kinkaku-ji, especially just after opening or just before closing time.
Ginshadan
Right in the middle of the complex is the sand garden and an approximately 2-meter-high sand sculpture.
The sand garden is called Ginshadan, which translates as ‘sea of silver sand’. In Buddhism, looking at a sand garden is part of meditation. The waves in the sand represent water and the sand cone called Kogetsudai symbolizes Mount Fuji.
You can walk along small paths through the moss-covered and hilly garden landscape, past a splashing waterfall that flows into a stream, and up to a lookout point where you can catch a glimpse of Kyoto. The arrangement of the different shades of green, the interplay of sand and stones against the backdrop of the wooden temple is a feast for the eyes.
You should plan about an hour for your visit to the temple. From there, you can reach many other famous temples and shrines along the Philosopher’s Walk, a small path that runs along a stream. These include the Chion-in Temple and the Nanzen-ji Temple.
Arashiyama
The Arashiyama district is worth visiting, as it is home to the famous Arashiyama bamboo forest, the Arashiyama Monkey Park and the Tenru-ji Temple, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The entire district is very popular with visitors.
Arashiyama – Bamboo forest
If you don’t want to share the bamboo forest with so many people, you can book a rickshaw tour in a separate area. It’s best to book well in advance, as these are often booked out days in advance.
The bamboo forest is beautiful and the atmosphere is impressive.
Tenryu-ji Temple
The entrance to the Tenryu-ji Temple is right next to the entrance to the bamboo forest. It is one of the five most famous Zen temples in Kyoto and has been a World Heritage Site since 1994.
The Sogenji Garden behind the main hall, laid out by Muso Soseki in the 14th century, is particularly beautiful. Muso was a master of garden design and a Zen master who developed the Japanese tea ceremony.
The garden, with its watercourses, moss and gentle hills, has been preserved in this way to this day and frames a lake that can be seen from the steps of the main house.
Arashiyama – Primate park
The Arashiyama Monkey Park is a particular highlight for children, where they can watch baby monkeys swing through the trees from the branches or groups of monkeys chilling in the meadow.
In Kyoto, as in Tokyo, it is easy to get around from place to place by subway or bus. If you need to get somewhere faster, many of the temples close as early as 5 p.m. in the fall, so taxis or Uber are also available.
Culinary Kyoto
The place to eat in Kyoto is the famous Pontocho alley. Here, one restaurant follows the other.
The alley is car-free and only a few meters wide. One side of the restaurants faces the river that flows through Kyoto, the Kamo. In summer, it is wonderful to sit and eat on the spacious terraces by the river. In winter, the action moves indoors.
If you are curious, you can try typical Kyoto dishes in one of the restaurants, including eel, snails, radish and fish.
In the side street of Pontocho Alley, which is also crossed by a small river, there is another row of restaurants around the bridges and alleys.
Besides all the temples and the geisha district with its alleys, Kyoto also has other sides. Modern skyscrapers, shopping streets and the large Nikishi Market.
Karaoke
What is definitely worthwhile is a visit to a karaoke bar. We went to Manekineko on Karamachi-dori and really had a lot of fun singing in our booth.
There is still so much to discover in wonderful Japan. If you have a little more time, you can certainly visit other cities there or relax on the beautiful Okinawa archipelago.
Okinawa is one of the 5 Blue Zones on earth. People here live longer than in other places on earth.
My personal insider tip!
Here: Okinawa – Japan’s oasis
For me, it was definitely not the last trip to this wonderful country. “Matane”, which means “see you soon”!
