I’m a full-stack software engineer with a background in transportation and city planning.

I spent almost a month in Japan in spring 2024 (and was lucky to catch cherry blossom season since it came almost two weeks late!). Here are some of my highlights, across each of the sections below:

  1. General thoughts
  2. Tokyo 🗼
  3. Kyoto 🍡
  4. Osaka
  5. Hiroshima ⛩️
  6. Sapporo
  7. Places for future trips

General thoughts

First off, if you’re not familiar with different types of soba, this post has a good overview. You’ll also encounter a lot more types of ramen than you may have seen before! And an endless assortment of convenience store (konbini) onigiri.

Apps

Pack yourself a large external battery, because your phone will really help you out in Japan. Transit and many other signs are always in both English and Japanese, but aside from that there are often significant language barriers, even in major cities like Tokyo and Osaka.

Google Maps works great for navigating, and generally has perfectly accurate transit directions everywhere I tried it (correct timetables, routes, and often even platform numbers for municipal and national trains!).

Google Translate is also incredibly helpful. Download offline Japanese capability. Note that you can translate photos! Either point the in-app camera directly at Japanese (or any) text and it will translate it; or I found that sometimes, especially with small print, it worked better to take a photo on my phone’s camera and then upload the image to Google Translate from my photo library. I may or may not have had many successful conversations back and forth in a Japanese hospital via Google Translate…

Visit Japan Web was helpful both for filling out the immigration forms to generate a QR code that made it slightly quicker to get through immigration upon arrival; and also for generating a Tax Free Shopping QR code that some businesses accepted (others required seeing your passport, and a photocopy of it won’t work, so generally I found it helpful to carry my passport with me every day unlike in most of my travels). You can follow these instructions to put the website on your homescreen so it looks like an app.

Rail transportation

Enjoy the delicious ekiben (bento boxes for the train) on sale in the shinkansen train stations!

IC Cards

IC cards are transit tap cards. You can use them on many Japan Rail (JR) trains and local transit within major cities; but you can also use them at convenience stores, vending machines, and anywhere you see the IC symbol.

If you have an iPhone, you can get an IC card in your phone Wallet right now! Click on the + sign in the Wallet app, add a “Transit Card”, and in the Japan section choose whichever of the options (currently ICOCA, PASMO, or Suica) you think is cutest. They all work the same and are equally interoperable with all IC card networks across the country. For Android users, at least as of now (June 2024) you will have to get a physical IC card instead. I spent a while trying to research if there was any con to having a digital IC card on my phone, and couldn’t find a definitive answer online, but: the answer is no. It works just as well, and you can do everything you’d do with a physical card (such as link shinkansen reservations); but you also have the distinct benefit of easily being able to reload the card right on your phone at any time in any amount.

As of June 2024, many Visa cards (including mine from Chase) did not work for reloading IC cards from the Apple Wallet app, though American Express worked perfectly. You can buy your IC card before you leave home and try adding a small amount to it like 500¥ so you can figure out what credit card will work for you; you may need to add a different one to your phone’s wallet.

If you have a digital IC card, whichever one you choose will have a difficult-to-use, Japanese-only iPhone app that you can use to grab your IC card number (why it’s not just on the IC card info in Apple Wallet, I don’t know…). Use Google Translate if you need to to navigate the corresponding app and figure it out, so you can attach your shinkansen (high speed rail) tickets to your phone and effortlessly tap through the shinkansen turnstiles.

Rail passes

You’ll see a lot of things from pre-2023 encouraging getting a Japan Rail Pass. Prices increased by about 70% in October 2023, so I used the Japan Rail Pass Calculator to figure out that it was not a good deal for me. You have to cover a lot of mileage very quickly for it to be a good deal. There are however also a number of regional rail passes that might make sense for you. For example, the Sapporo-Noboribetsu Area Pass worked great for me and saved me a little bit of money.

Reserving trains

If you have a rail pass, it will have a protocol for how you can reserve tickets through it (I was able to prebook trips with my Sapporo-Noboribetsu Area pass through their website).

There are two platforms for booking shinkansen (high speed) trains: SmartEX for JR Central (from Tokyo to the west and south) and Eki-Net for JR East (from Tokyo to the east and north). Eki-Net does not actually have an app, but for iOS you can follow the directions here to add an app-like website icon to your homescreen/apps list.

I found this video about booking shinkansen tickets very helpful, but I was still confused and nervous about booking tickets for a group (me and my partner) and how that would work. It ended up being super easy! I got both my and my partner’s IC card numbers (see the IC cards section above) into the SmartEx app, and was able to link the tickets I purchased to our IC cards. When it was time to go to the shinkansen platform, we just tapped our phones effortlessly at the shinkansen faregates!

If you book at least a few days or more in advance, different discounted fare classes become available. Generally, it’s possible to book tickets up to about a month at most in advance.

Itineraries

Japan is a huge country with too many wonderful places to visit, even for me having almost a month! It seems like everyone goes to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka; I did start with that, and it was wonderful! With my additional time I went to Hokkaido (to Sapporo, the largest city, and Noboribetsu Onsen, a nearby onsen town), Hiroshima, and Kinosaki Onsen (another onsen town, on the Sea of Japan northwest of Kyoto). I loved everywhere I went, but Hiroshima was really a standout for me.

There are so many other places I wish I could have gone and would like to go on future trips!

Onsens

Onsens (hot springs) are a big deal in Japan, and they are wonderful! If you’re not familiar with the etiquette, read up a bit before you go. There are onsens in many ryokan (traditional inns) in major cities, or a bunch of beautiful onsen towns across Japan – I visited both Kinosaki Onsen and Noboribetsu Onsen and they were both quite different and wonderful.

Tokyo 🗼

I stayed in a few different places in Tokyo: Shimbashi (at the 1899 Hotel) which was very convenient for getting all over the city; Akihabara (at the JR-East Hotel Mets Akihabara, directly above the train station, which was so convenient, and surprisingly spacious and inexpensive); and our first night at a very small hotel in Shibuya which was a bit far but a lovely neighborhood ambiance for my introduction to Japan.

If you fly into Narita International Airport, you may see signs as you’re waiting in the interminable passport control line to tell you to pre-purchase your Narita Express train ticket. Don’t do it! Prepurchasing just meant that I had to wait in an incredibly long line to pick up the ticket; it would have been much faster to just purchase directly at the ticket vending machines.

Activities, Shopping

Teamlab Borderless
  • The TeamLab 🎨 experiential art museums were really cool! There are two: TeamLab Borderless and TeamLab Planets. You should definitely reserve in advance (ideally a few weeks, though some last minute spots can open up). The two museums have some overlap. TeamLab Planets is a bit more linear – there’s a set sequence to follow to walk through it all; TeamLab Borderless is much more of a choose-your-own-adventure, wandering through tons of rooms, finding hidden doors, and you may not actually find every space in the time you’re there! The museums are very well done; this is not a “just for the ‘gram” experience, it’s actually really cool… although it definitely also makes for some dramatic instagram posts.
  • We weren’t able to visit the Ghibli Museum, even though I was ready to buy tickets at 10am Japan Time on the 10th of the month, the month before our visit (buying tickets). I sat in a concert-ticket-like queue for almost an hour, and the website crashed repeatedly when I finally was at the front of the queue to buy tickets… I then learned that Klook had been selling tickets months in advance, though they are not at the time I write this (June 2024)… My advice would be to buy tickets in advance through a third party if they are available, or to log on at least 15-20 minutes before ticket sales open (and to use the Chrome browser for it). Don’t try to use the ticket link for Japanese residents unless you have a Japanese phone number and address.
  • I loved the Asakusa neighborhood and Senso-ji Temple a lot! There were lots of interesting souvenirs and snacks along Nakamise-dori Street from the train station to the temple, and the temple and gardens were stunningly beautiful. Buy charms if you’d like, but I’d recommend NOT buying your fortune… there are a lot of bad ones! I also got inspired by the Japanese fashion I was seeing, and found a cool Japanese jacket nearby at Fujigoromo.
  • The Meguro River Cherry Blossoms Promenade 🌸 was a lovely walk, especially since we got lucky to coincide with sakura season.
  • The Flat Head 👖 is a nice denim boutique in Harajuku where I bought a great denim jacket! If you get hungry while shopping, the Dai Sui En izakaya next door is solid. My friend said there were more good stores for women’s clothing a couple blocks east on Cat Street.
  • Meiji Jingu is a nice temple in Harajuku, set in a large park.
  • HANDS Shinjuku 🛍️ is an impressive department store, and especially a destination for crafters, sewers, etc. Sekaido Shinjuku 🖋️ is nearby and is an excellent, large stationery store.
  • There are a ton of video game arcades across Japan. I went particularly to HEY 🕹️ in Akihabara because I knew it had the Densha de Go! 🚉 train simulation, which was amazing (actually there were two versions). There are a few arcades around Japan that have that game, which I found from a Reddit thread.

There is a lot of really fun shopping in Ginza…

  • The Uniqlo Ginza Flagship Store 🛍️ has a full 11 stories of Uniqlo! It was very busy in the evening, but going when it opened at 11am was awesome.
  • The Muji Ginza Flagship Store 🛍️ is a few blocks away.
  • Ginza Itoya 🖋️ is the place to go for all your stationery needs (and random other stuff, too).
  • Ginza Natsuno 🥢 had more expensive but very beautiful chopsticks, a great place for gifts. You can pay anywhere from ~$15 to unspeakably large sums.
  • Shoyeido Ginza 🛍️ is an incense shop that we stumbled upon that had beautiful, gift-worthy items.

Food & Drink

  • Tsukiji Outer Market 🍣 is both an attraction and very much a place to eat! The fish market has moved over to Toyosu Fish Market and there are plenty of guides about how to visit that, though we didn’t. But I went to Tsukiji three times! I suggest going in the morning; arriving around 8/8:30 was nice and a little less crowded than at 10am. I will never forget the incredible miso black cod I had from here. The A5 wagyu steak skewers at Tsukiji Ihachi made my travel partners very emotional, and I loved the King crab leg. 🥹
  • Around Asakusa and Senso-ji Temple, I enjoyed Hatoya’s Vegan Fruit Sandwiches 🍓 and had such a delicious tempura lunch at Tentou 🍤 … my mouth is watering at the memory of that mixed seafood tempura over rice.
Tenzaru soba at Soba Sadaharu
  • Soba Sadaharu 🍜 I LOVED this soba. This place was so great… just a casual lunch place where local office works line up outside, place their orders at the machine by the door (look at the menu in Google Maps while you wait/get your Google Translate handy!). I got the tenzaru soba (cold soba with a truly enormous mixed seafood tempura), and it was very good. You can add various toppings and an egg for free. Perfection, and it cost me less than $10.
  • Shinshodoh is a confectioner’s shop that was near our hotel, known for their seppuku monaka, a red bean cake that is traditionally given as an apology. I wouldn’t go far out of my way for it, but it was tasty! Near Soba Sadaharu.
  • Sushi Hiroya 🍣 was the omakase sushi we went to, which we really enjoyed! We made our reservation through JPNeazy. My friend loved her omakase sushi at Sushi Ishiyama.
  • 楽椿ーラクチン 🍣 in Shibuya was the izakaya we went to on our very first night in Japan, and we really struck gold with it. It was SO good. Delicious torched mackerel, an avocado-tuna dish served with garlic bread, great sushi, and it was all very inexpensive unlike most of the other nearby restaurants. They were friendly and spoke some English.
  • I’m sad I didn’t get to go to Katsuo Shokudo 🐟 for a unique, bonito-focused breakfast. Check their instagram for hours/days they’re open and read the advice from the reviews.
  • Shinjuku Ni-chōme 🏳️‍🌈 is the “gayborhood” of Tokyo. Some bars will be strict about being only for men or women, while others are mixed. My friend (a woman) and I enjoyed getting a drink at Alamas Cafe which feels like being right back in Mexico, and at Bar Gold Finger, a lesbian bar that was having a mixed night for men and women. My partner and I got a drink at AiiRO Cafe which had a fun, upbeat atmosphere and a bartender wearing an ATL hat who was very excited to learn we were from there (“Peace up! A-town down!”).
  • Sake Market 🍶 has locations in Akihabara and Shinjuku; I went to the one in Akihabara by myself for 30 minutes. You reserve for a fixed amount of time and people, and get unlimited pours of sake and other alcohols that are all out for you to serve yourself. It was a fun way to quickly try a variety of sakes! I went at opening time without a reservation, but generally it’s best (and easy) to reserve a day or two ahead. The menu has suggestions of what to try, and they are organized by flavor profile.

Kyoto 🍡

I stayed at a few different places across my two times in Kyoto. We spent one night with a bit of a splurge at the Ryokan Tori which was so lovely! It included a tea ceremony, a very nice private onsen (one set of guests use it at a time), and a very delicious breakfast. It was also a very nice “home base” for visiting nearby shrines and the Kinkaku-ji and Ryōan-ji temples.

I also stayed at the very central Hotel Resol Kyoto Kawaramachi Sanjo, which was beautiful and relatively spacious, and very conveniently located; and The Blossom Kyoto which was also nice, had a shared onsen, and was walking distance from the main train station.

Activities

Hirano Shrine's cherry blossoms

In the northern/central part of Kyoto:

  • Near our first hotel (the Ryokan Tori), we walked to the Kitano-tenmangu Shrine and then the stunning Hirano Shrine a block away. We were very lucky to be there during peak cherry blossom season (by accident, it came almost two weeks late!), and the Hirano Shrine in particular is famous for its cherry blossoms. I think it would be very beautiful though at any time of year.
  • From there we visited the famous Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavillion). It’s one of the most famous temples in Kyoto, and it really took my breath away. Beautiful scenery around the temple, really lovely gardens.
  • We then walked to Ryoan-ji temple just down the road. It had beautiful grounds and a Zen rock garden.

Further west:

  • We took the train to Arashiyama (station), which was a beautiful and bustling neighboorhood! There were so many people on the street it was hard to walk at first, but it was very nice as we walked into Arashiyama Park. We had a lunch reservation in the park for a multi-course tofu menu (at Shoraian), and afterward made our way to the famous Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, which was crowded but still impressive.

Closer to the central business district:

  • We went to the Nishiki Market, which was so fun to explore. Mostly prepared food items (which you should eat at the stall, not walk with).
  • I ran out of time, but as a sewer I wish I had had time to visit Nomura Tailor House 🪡 and Nomura Tailor for fabrics, as well as Linnet for both linen fabric and ready to wear linen items.

On the east side of the city, working from south to north:

  • Fushimi Inari Taisha ⛩️ is the iconic shrine you’ve seen so many pictures of. It’s best to go early in the morning, both since it will still be crowded (but a bit less), and also because it’s quite a walk to the top so it’s better when the sun isn’t as intense. The crowds thin out a bit the higher you go, and it really was very beautiful, with impressive vistas.
Higashiyama Jisho-ji
  • Between Fushimi Inari and the temples further north, we walked around, shopped, and bought snacks around Sannenzaka shopping street (we didn’t make it up the hill to Kiyomizu-dera temple). We went to Kasagiya for tea and shaved ice, and Fujinami 🍡 for delicious warabi mochi and dango.
  • From there we walked and took a bus to get to Higashiyama Jisho-ji, a stunning Zen temple with amazing gardens, including very intricate sand and rock gardens. Possibly my favorite temple I visited?
  • Tetsugaku No Michi/Philosopher’s Walk Path stretches south from Higashiyama Jisho-ji, and is a beautiful walking path around a canal, with cafes, restaurants, and shops along it.

Food & Drink

Mackerel ramen from Nabura
  • Nabura 🐟 was an incredible, dreamy mackerel ramen that was right by our ryokan. Very inexpensive, one of the restaurants where you order first from a ticket machine at the door and then hand your receipts to the waiters. I would go out of my way to come back for this unique ramen!
  • Mentioned above in activities, but the Nishiki Market 🍡 was so fun to explore. Tons of prepared food items and some other durable goods/souvenirs. I’m sure prices aren’t the best, but it was great to have such a variety of snacks in a fun atmosphere. We had an egg sandwich, broiled crab legs, and tried some pickles. You could easily make a meal out of walking around the market, but we were saving room for our lunch!
  • Mentioned above as well (Japan really blurs the line between food and activities…), but on Sannenzaka shopping street we went to Kasagiya 🍵 for delicious tea and shaved ice in a very cute, traditional cafe; and to Fujinami 🍡 for delicious warabi mochi and dango, probably the best I had in Japan.
Tousuiro Gion
  • Kyoto is particularly known for tofu and yuba, and I went to two different multi-course tofu menus: Shoraian is a remarkable setting, in a beautiful house inside Arashiyama Park with views of the river. It felt very special to eat here, and the food was beautiful and delicious (reserved via JPNeazy). However, I enjoyed the food just a bit more at Tousuiro Gion (they also have another location Tousuiro Kiyamachi, though the menus are slightly different). We got the “shirakawa” dinner menu, which was filling and delicious with such an incredible variety. You can choose to get a gluten free or vegetarian menu. I didn’t make it to Yuba Cuisine Higashiyama Yuuzu for yuba tofu, but I hope to on my next trip!
  • Ikiteiru Coffee ☕ was a very traditional basement coffee shop with nice cakes and ice creams to go with your coffee. I went at opening time (10am) and a line was quickly forming behind me. You can choose from a bunch of different coffee roasts.
  • I’m sad I didn’t make it to Men-ya Yukou 🍜 recommended by my friend for their oyster broth ramen.

Osaka

My beloved Osaka ❤️ especially because I found an amazing, English-friendly ENT here when I had unexpected medical issues. Osaka was a lot of fun, with delicious food. We loved our hotel, the Cross Hotel Osaka which was just around the corner from Dotombori and was spacious and comfortable, with by far the largest hotel bath tub of the month (and free bath salts to use with it).

Activities

  • We loved the sake bar crawl Airbnb experience we went on, hosted by Taka. We met at Temma station, further away from the main tourist neighborhoods, and went to a few different bars. Taka was able to accommodate dietary restrictions, and we enjoyed having delicious small plates and trying multiple sakes. This would be great either as a group or an individual!
  • Osaka Castle Park 🏯 was beautiful to walk through (once again, we were lucky with the timing of cherry blossom season, but it would be pretty at any time). We didn’t have the energy/time to go into the castle but maybe next time.
Tiramisù cocktail from Lamp Bar
  • Do a day trip to Nara (Kintetsu-Nara Station) 🦌, which is very easy and fast to get to. There were great shops and restuarants on the Higashimuki Shopping Street next to the train station, including Nakatanidou for delicious mochi. From there, walk over to the impressive Todai-ji Temple and its enormous grounds. You’ll see plenty of Nara’s famous deer. Before you head back to Osaka, stop at Lamp Bar 🍸, an amazing bar with a bartender who was named best in the world in 2015. There is not a printed menu; the bartenders will ask what types of drinks you like. My favorite drink was the “tiramisu” cocktail that my partner had; I also really liked my Japanese cedar-infused negroni.
  • We went to Universal Studios Japan and for us it was a miss. It’s quite expensive, and the biggest draw for us was Super Nintendo World which we didn’t end up getting to go to; the advanced tickets that include that zone were already sold out months in advance (look on Klook to buy in advance from the US). We got there almost an hour before opening to line up to get in, and once inside we were able to grab a timed entry for late afternoon for Super Nintendo World, but after a couple hours we didn’t want to spend the rest of the day waiting for our entry. It was also a school vacation week, so it was extra crowded; but your mileage may vary!

Food & Drink

Curry from Hakugintei
  • Hakugintei 🍛 for Japanese curry was absolutely incredible. I recently told a friend that “it was so good, it makes me angry.” An absolutely perfect shrimp curry with egg. It’s a very popular lunch spot near office buildings, and we lined up about 20 minutes before it opened which ended up working out perfectly – we were third in line, and a long line quickly formed behind us.
  • Okonomiyaki Kiji was really good. It’s a bit hard to find (downstairs in a mall, but the Google Maps location is accurate!) and is popular so there was about a 20-minute wait when we arrived on a weekday. It was so delicious though, and really fun to sit at tables where each table has a built-in griddle so you can eat the okonomiyaki hot off the griddle with a spatula.
  • There are lots of places to try takoyaki in Osaka. My favorite was Takoyaki-house Biya 🐙. Hours may be incorrect on Google, it was closed the first time I went.
  • Gyukatsu Motomura 🥩 has three locations all very close to each other in Dotombori, and serves only one thing: beef which you finish grilling yourself on a hot stone at your table, and is served with very delicious sauces/sides. The line can be very long, but you can check which of the three locations has the shortest line.

Hiroshima ⛩️

Hiroshima surprised me with just how much I loved it! I stayed at the Hotel Intergate Hiroshima, which was a perfectly adequate hotel in a very good location.

Activities

Paper cranes at the Children's Peace Monument

Aside from that, I enjoyed walking around in Hiroshima since it was such a beautiful city, but a highlight of my trip was my day trip to Miyajima Island (technically called Itsukushima). You can take the streetcar or JR rail to get to the Miyajima ferries, which depart frequently. Once on the island, I enjoyed wandering around the shops and restaurants near the ferry (food recommendations in the next section) and then:

Itsukushima Shrine
  • Itsukushima Shrine ⛩️ is iconic, and really was breathtaking. The enormous red torii gate is actually free-standing in the water, anchored only by its own weight.
  • Momijidani Station 🚡 is the beginning of the Miyajima Ropeway which you can take to Shishi-iwa Observatory, most of the way up Mount Misen. I rode the ropeway up, did the hike from Shishi-iwa Observatory to the top of Mount Misen, which includes a number of very nice shrines. From there, I walked all the way back to the bottom of the mountain as opposed to taking the ropeway. It was a long way down, a little over an hour of mostly stairs or slopes down, so I made the right decision for my timeframe in taking the ropeway up! See more information here about enjoying Mount Misen.

Food & Drink

Okonomiyaki at Hassei
  • Hassei was my favorite okonomiyaki I had in Japan. I sat at the bar and watched them make my okonomiyaki, then slide it over to my seat. When I arrived, there was a bit of a wait so they told me what time to come back.
  • Okonomi mura Suigun is an enormous multi-story food hall dedicated to okonomiyaki. It was fun to walk through and decide where to eat, and I enjoyed having another opportunity to try a delicious okonomiyaki (and make sure to order it piled high with scallions this time).
  • My paramedic (sigh…) recommended two restaurants I’ll check out next time! Gensou Honten, an izakaya near the train station; and Takotsubo for more upscale Japanese cuisine.

On Miyajima Island, I enjoyed:

  • Sakuraya (Yakikaki) 🦪 for fresh grilled oysters near the ferry station.
  • Yamamura Chaya for the most delicious and friendly lunch. I got an oyster rice bowl (kaki donburi) and sake, and the women who run the restaurant were so nice. It’s located near the cable car to go to the top of the mountain, so I stopped here before going up the mountain.

Sapporo

I stayed at two different places in Sapporo, and the JR Tower Hotel Nikko Sapporo was so nice and incredibly convenient (directly above the train station), albeit a bit expensive. Breakfast was amazing, including croissant dough that you could cook in a waffle iron 🤯 and beautiful views in all directions.

Activities and shopping

  • I went on a short urban hike on Maruyama 🥾 above the zoo. (It sounds like the zoo is also good, though I didn’t go.) Eventually I had to turn back close to the summit when the trail got very muddy, but before that it was very nice.
  • Popondetta Sapporoodoriten 🚂 was a train-themed store in the basement of the Maruzen & Junkudo department store. They had model trains and accessories, and also nice train-related gifts; I got some shinkansen children’s chopsticks.

Yoichi 🥃 and Otaru

I would definitely suggest a day trip to Yoichi, and Otaru is a nice stopover along the way.

Yoichi is home to the Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery 🥃. You need to reserve tours of the distillery in advance on their website, but it was possible to reserve a slot about a week in advance for me, unlike the other popular distilleries closer to Kyoto, etc. Even if you don’t manage to get a reservation, you can still visit the Nikka Whisky Museum on the premises without a reservation, and taste any of their whiskies in the attached tasting room.

Itokodon and ruby crab at Kakizaki Shōten

However, far and away the highlight of Yoichi for me was the incredible Kakizaki Shōten 🐟, a seafood restaurant above a seafood market. I went before the distillery tour, and got the kaisen donburi (mixed seafood bowl over rice). It was so good, that I came back after the distillery and… ordered two more lunches: the divine salmon and salmon roe bowl (itokodon), and a seasonal ruby crab bowl over rice. This was probably the best sashimi of my month in Japan.

I also stopped for a coffee at Coffee Stand by Shizuku ☕ in Yoichi, which was nice.

After my second lunch, I got on the train back toward Sapporo, and stopped in Otaru on the way. I did an impromptu sake tasting at Tanaka Sake Brewing Company 🍶, and really enjoyed their sakes and bought a couple. After that I walked along the Otaru Canal. Lastly, before returning to Sapporo on the train, I stopped by 鯉櫻 Koi Zakura 🏳️‍🌈 a gay bar owned by a man who is from Otaru but lived for many years in San Francisco; it was opening time so I was the only person there, but we had a very nice conversation.

Food & Drink

Asparagus tempura at Araki
  • Araki Tempura Restaurant 🍤 is a Michelin-starred tempura omakase, and was one of the most memorable meals of my entire trip. It was mostly seafood and vegetables, and there were so many incredible dishes; a really special experience. I was able to make a reservation for one person on JPNeazy (but not their other platform).
  • Hachibousei 🍜 is a delicious tsukemen (dipping ramen) restaurant! My second-favorite meal in Sapporo after Araki. Very popular and will likely have at least a short line to get seated.
  • Ebisoba Ichigen 🍜 is across the street from Hachibousei, and serves very delicious and unique shrimp ramen. Also popular, but at least the line here is a long bench so you’ll get to take a seat as you wait!
  • Crab Gang 🍜 has crab miso ramen, which was very unique! An inexpensive, casual ramen place. Sapporo is famous for its miso ramen. Just a few blocks away is Ganso Ramen Yokocho Sapporo, the “ramen alley” of Sapporo for more varieties of miso ramen.
  • Sapporo Beer Garden 🍻 is here, not too surprisingly! I didn’t make it during my stay.

Nearby: Noboribetsu Onsen ♨️

Noboribetsu Onsen is a bit far to be a comfortable day trip from Sapporo, and it’s worth it to stay overnight to take full advantage of the hot springs in this onsen town. I took the train to Noboribetsu Station, and hopped on the bus right outside that dropped me right by my hotel. If you don’t manage to time the buses correctly, Ubers were also available when I opened the app and were not prohibitively expensive. There are also direct buses from Sapporo and elsewhere, on Donan Bus.

I stayed at Dai-ichi Takimotokan, which I definitely recommend. It’s not the fanciest hotel, but it has the largest number of hot springs of any of the hotels in Noboribetsu Onsen. There are five different types of water (salt, sulfur, aluminum, etc.) across 35 baths, with separate sections for men and women. There are indoor and outdoor baths, and you can order sake or snacks to have on a wooden floating table at the outdoor baths. The baths are the reason to stay at this hotel, and they’re really great.

The food at the hotel was quite expensive, so I opted to dine elsewhere. Fukuan Soba 🍜 was so good. I got a tsukimi soba (hot soba with a raw egg). I ended up getting dinner at a different hotel’s buffet, which was decent and less expensive than my hotel.

Jigoku-dani, Noboribetsu Onsen

There were some nice shops on the main street of Noboribetsu Onsen, and the primary other attraction was Jigoku-dani (Hell Valley). It is a very easy and scenic hike on boardwalks through a sulfuric geothermal valley. There are more trails that are open in the summer only (they were still closed in mid-April when I was there), although I was able to visit the natural footbath (I think I had to approach from the west, not east).

When I got back to the train station and had a couple hours to kill before my train, I left my luggage in a locker at the station and visited the Noboribetsu Marine Park Nixe 🪼 a couple blocks away. It was more charming than I expected, and I was lucky to be there in time for the parade of the penguins through the central courtyard!

Places for future trips

Some places I’d love to go on future trips are…

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