Japan Spring 2023 - Day trips from Osaka

There are a few interesting day trip options from Osaka and to fully utilize our JR pass, we chose to stay near Shin Osaka Station. Do note that Shin Osaka station is a massive multistorey complex with many exits on different levels. Because we arrived quite late from Takayama and hauling big and heavy luggage, it took us quite a while to find which lifts connects to which exit.

Osaka - Kyoto

Kyoto is quite touristy hence the accommodation is on the higher end. We chose to settle in Osaka for that reason and Kyoto Station is just 15 mins away from Shin-Osaka. Although Kyoto is not immense but because the attractions are scattered all over the place, it was tougher to plan than other cities. There are 3 main parts:

1. Central - Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)

2. Western - Arashiyama Bamboo forest, Sagano scenic train 

 

3. Eastern - Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion), Kiyomizu-dera, Gion, Hokan-ji, etc

We spent quite a lot on transportation. There should be a better, more budget friendly option, something like the hop on-hop bus in Kawaguchiko? If anyone has any recommendations, feel free to drop me a note in the Comments section 😊

Osaka - Nara

Note that there are 2 stations near Nara Park, JR Nara and Kintetsu-Nara. JR Nara station is slightly further away from Nara Park, approximately 15 mins/1 km more. With the JR pass, you can take a train from Shin-Osaka, change at Tennoji Station and proceed with JR Nara Station. Google map has pretty accurate train time tables. 

The park is enormous and there are many temples in between and some require entrance fees (cash only). You can easily spend half a day here :)

Don't get over excited at the first sight of the holy deer, there are many many more as you go further in. There are peddlers selling deer biscuits at ¥200. Once you buy them, hide them fast as many of them will swarm over when they catch sight of it! You can do your bowing and feeding them as you walk along. I loved it as much as my 8 year old, lol :)

We walked all the way to an udon shop called Mizuya Chaya, had lunch and took a bus back to JR Nara station.

Osaka - Himeji 

Himeji Station is just 2 stations away from Shin-Osaka, roughly 30 mins via Shinkansen passing Shin-Kobe. If you have time/beef lover, you can even plan another half/full day in Kobe :)

You can catch a glimpse of Himeji castle when you exit the station. The castle is another 20-30 mins walk. Along the way, there are restaurants and eateries. We might have picked the wrong ones but the food is pretty average, edible but not exactly tasty.

This castle, also known as the White Heron, is a ginormous beautifully well preserved. We regretted not spending a bit more time here. We bought a ticket which covers the castle and a flower garden. Though we covered the main attraction which is the 6 storey castle, we missed the living quarters and the garden as we needed to rush back to Osaka to take a train back to Tokyo. 

The castle is well organized, there are some places where you need to take off your shoes. You are provided a plastic bag to take your shoes along. When you reached the top floor, you have a full view of the city and from the bottom, the white castle seems like it's sitting on clouds because it's just so high up! 

More information here: The World Cultural Heritage: The National Treasure of Himeji Castle 

Japan Spring 2023 - Shopping

Ginza on the weekend

 

 

 

 

There are a lot of information on the web about shopping in Japan so we are just going to make this short and sweet :)

Most people would be interested to know just how cash based Japan really is? Not to worry as most places in the city accepts cards. That includes: 

1. Department stores

2. Supermarkets

3. Convenience stores (7-11 / Lawson / Family Mart) 

4. Electronic/electrical chain stores (Bic / Yodobashi Camera)

5. ¥100/Daiso stores

6. Most major restaurants

7. Main bus stations (Nohi Takayama) 

 

The places below in general accepts cash only:

1. temple entrances

2. small off main street / back alley / non-major city restaurants

3. transportation top-ups - physical Suica/Pasmo cards

It will be good to have some cash with you, maybe ¥20000 for starters. You can always withdraw when/if you needed more using a multi currency debit card like Wise. 

There are generally 2 categories of items for tax free shopping in Japan as a tourist:

1. Consumables - food, cosmetics, items from pharmacy, incense, liquor, etc - these items will be sealed in a bag by the merchant and you should NOT be opened until you leave Japan. 

2. General goods - clothing, bags, watches, shoes, electronics, etc - you can wear/use them after your purchase

The total amount on your receipt has to be ¥5000 and above before tax, i.e. at least ¥5500. Now the messy part is if you are buying a mixture of the above 2 categories, best example will be from a pharmacy. We bought some hair moisturizer, nail clippers, some medication, hair gel, etc to make up the ¥5500. All these items will be sealed in a bag and you will not be able to use anything. If you open the bag and custom finds out in the airport, you are liable to repay the tax.

 

There are also generally 2 methods of tax free shopping:

1. You get tax exemption upon payment, i.e. you just pay the tax free amount. Most merchants use this method (Bic Camera, Mitsui Outlet, etc). Just present your passport to the cashier and they will exempt the tax from your payment.

2. You pay the full item price and claim a tax refund. This method is usually used in department stores (Takashimaya, Isetan, Daimaru, etc) where they have dedicated tax refund counters run by Global Blue. You can shop in the entire department store, collect all the receipts and present them together with your passport at the tax refund counter. Do note that Global Blue charges a small processing which means you will not be getting 100% back on your tax refund. On the bright side, you can choose to get back the tax refund in cash even if you paid for the goods using a card :)

There are also merchants who do not offer tax free shopping like Lalaport in Osaka and Costco. It will be helpful to know prior to visiting these places to avoid disappointment :)

If you are looking for G-Shocks, Bic Camera in Shibuya, Odakyu Shinjuku and Nanba Osaka have pretty good selection. The Seiko outlet in Mitsui Outlet in Makuhari Tokyo has pretty good prices as well. The SARX029 (Urushi dial) with a market price well over ¥100000 is selling for only ¥77000 (tax free).

The North Face apparel is very popular in Japan! It’s available in department stores and Outlets, they have their own stares as well. They have a very wide selection, from ladies’ skirts to kids’ snow gear to Goretex caps! On our Snow wall trip (https://wlst-ourfirstjourney.blogspot.com/2023/05/tateyama-kurobe-alpen-route.html), we noticed all the staffs were wearing North Face, from vest at the foot of the mountain to full hardcore snow jacket at the summit. They even have a dedicated North Face store in Murodo selling blue Tateyama apparels! It was spring when we were there hence most of the jackets displayed were the thinner wind/rain outer shells, not much choice of thicker jackets. Oh by the way, Takashimaya also carries North Face, and if you are tourist, you can get an extra 5% off plus a tax refund 😊

At the airport, we were unsure if we were lucky or if regulations have changed. Initially we read that if you have duty free items in sealed bags and you would like to check-in with your luggage, you need inform the ground staff and a customs officer will come over to check your luggage and receipts. That didn't happen when we left Tokyo from Narita Airport.

This page below is very detailed and informative! 

All You Need to Know About Tax-Free Shopping in Japan (2023) | LIVE JAPAN travel guide

Japan Spring 2023 - Kamikochi

Kamikochi topped our favourites list in our 20 days in Japan. This is a beautiful trekking area with aquamarine rivers, very well maintained with proper walking paths hence you will not get your shoes muddy at all!

Some things to note:

1. This place is closed during winter around November and only reopens mid April with limited accommodation, please check their website and plan your trip accordingly. You can download the digital brochure from https://www.kamikochi.org/ which includes details like walking time, places of interest, etc :)

2. Please bring along water and windbreakers/heat packs as it an be quite cold (6-7 deg Celsius) and windy. We were there when they just reopened and there's still snow in some places along the walking paths. I felt just nice with a pair of  jeans and a TNF Ventrix Summit Hoddie with a TNF Resolve 2 shell, wife was similar but with another extra sweater. The little one was on Macpac down jacket (650 goose down).

3. We walked at least 10-12km just within Kamikochi itself. The walking paths are generally flat so walking is easy but they are very long. I don't the think following our below path is recommended for families with younger children unless they can really walk! You can do the first part like ours and have lunch and rest when you reach the restaurant area. You can still decide whether you want to proceed if not too exhausted. There are plenty of places to hang around in that area, take photos, have a cuppa, apple pies and chill :)

We took the 7:40am bus from Takayama and changed buses at Hirayu Onsen, this leg of the trip is about 60 mins. We waited about 10 mins for the connecting bus to Kamikochi and that another 25mins. We disembarked 2 stops prior to Kamikochi, at stop K-28 (Taisho Pond) and walked 1.7km to Kappa bridge, passing by Taisho Pond and Taishiro pond. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have an 8 year old with us hence it took us less than 90 mins to reach the bustling Kamikochi rest area where the main bus stop and restaurants are located.

There are a few restaurants and cafes in Kamikochi so you just need to stay hydrated as their trekking/walking paths are quite a distance. The food there is just for convenience so try not to have your hopes too high. 

After lunch we took the shorter 2.7km path to Myojin bridge, aside from the views from the nearby campsite plus an easier walk, there’s pretty much nothing to see. 
 
Note that there’s an entrance fee (cash only) to Myojin Pond, ¥400/adult and ¥200/child. Myojin pond gives you the opposite feeling of the rushing Azusa river, it’s serene and peaceful. We personally find the river views more spectacular.

For our returning trip to Kappa bridge, we took the longer 3.6km path, it’s more challenging but more views for picture taking. Note that most of the shops in the Kamikochi rest area starts winding down around 3pm the Kamikochi bus station is about 300m away from the rest area, do allow about 5-8mins walking time for that.

If we were able to find more info prior to this trip, we would have started the journey to Myojin bridge from the longer route, which is a small path about 50m from the restaurant which sells apple pies. Because it’s a long walk to Myojin bridge, coming back from Myojin bridge to Kappa bridge we wanted the walk to be short and direct as everyone was already tired, no one is interested in taking any more photos 

Japan Spring 2023 - Nagano Jigokudani koen (Snow monkey park)

This is another trip where information is not abundant on the internet and you cannot book this online as well. Not to worry, it’s pretty straight forward from Nagano, proceed to bus stop no 23 on the ground floor of Nagano train station. What we did was, we went to the bus stop after dinner to check the latest schedule in preparation for the next morning. 

The first bus to the Snow Monkey park is 9:10am. There weren’t that many people traveling on the same day with us, which was great! Note that the bus accepts cash only.

The bus’s final destination is Hotaru Onsen, you need to get off at S12 Snow monkey park, it’s about 42 mins from Nagano station, take note not to overshoot. 

When you reach, take a photo of the bus schedule so that you can plan what time you want/need to be leaving. 

It’s quite an uphill walk to the park, and this is the only place we were able to see the last of the Sakuras/Cherry blossoms in mid April! 

There’s a pretty good lunch spot called Enza Cafe on your way back to the bus stop. Their teriyaki pizza and apple pie is awesome! The spicy ramen is one of those better ramen we have had in the entire trip. 

 

Japan Spring 2023 - Tateyama Kurobe Alpine route

This is one of the highlights in our trip. Although the price is pretty steep and took us a full day, it was a very good experience, the views are beautiful :)

The reason we are writing this because we couldn’t find much information on the net as most people do a either a 1 way trip from Dentetsu Toyama to Ogizawa or Ogizawa to Dentetsu Toyama or a return trip from Dentetsu Toyama to Murodo (snow wall). We did a Dentetsu Toyama to Kurobeko return trip, unfortunately we missed the Migurika-Ike pond as it snowed heavily the night before and there was no path to walk on.

The tickets can be bought online via their web ticket website:

https://www.alpen-route.com/en/info/web_ticket.html

Do note that this is a very sought after side trip/day tour, especially between its opening on 15/4 and Japan’s Golden Week early May. Please register earlier and and logon when they announce the opening of the reservation. This is what I meant by well sought after:

 

When we booked ours, their website opened for bookings on 30/3 3pm JST, and it crashed immediately at 3pm! We refreshed and waited an hour before we could logon, select tickets and when we clicked payment, it crashed again! We persistently continued refreshing and an hour later we managed to make payment before the website when down again! When we checked again a couple of hours later, the whole of April was sold out. There’s a possibility that the company will open up more seats a week prior to your travel date. Not sure about previous years but in 2023, they opened up more bookings on 8/4 for 15/4 and will keep doing that every day, so please check the website’s announcements frequently 😊

Please be very careful when you select your tickets, it can be misleading/confusing. When selecting your tickets, you can pay from Dentetsu Toyama station but the TIME you are choosing is actually FROM TATEYAMA/OGIZAWA STATION. 

We bought return trip tickets from Dentetsu Toyama to Kurebeko at 7:20am. Meaning you need to be at Tateyama station before 7:20am to get on the cable car to Bijodaira. And Dentetsu Toyama is 65 mins away from Tateyama station. I.e. you need to get on the 6:05am train from Dentetsu Toyama. Don’t worry, There are hundreds of people waiting in queue there like you 😊  

Some useful pointers if you are taking the early train. 

1. Web ticket exchange - you can print your actual tickets from a machine in Dentetsu Toyama after 12pm the day before your trip. It’s very easy. Just scan your QR code and collect the printed tickets. Keep the tickets securely as all the transportation on that route is dependant on the QR code on the ticket, similar to a JR pass. Apologies as I didn’t have a photo of the ticket. The station master will collect the ticket at the end of your trip. 
2. Breakfast - you can either get bread and rice balls from convenience stores and bakery the day before or there’s a shop selling rice in Dentetsu Toyama just before the entrance gates at the station
3. The train from Dentetsu to Tateyama has non reserved seating and it stops every station in between to allow public to embark and disembark hence can get quite packed in the mornings 
4. Please wear weather proof shoes as it can get wet and slushy. Proper snow attire is recommended, maybe some heat packs as well because it can get very cold and windy. Plus sunglasses and sun screen on your face as the sun reflecting off the snow can get quite glaring. We wore a fleece sweater underneath a TNF Ventrix Summit Hoddie and a TNF Resolve 2 shell, long John with jeans worked well together with TNF Fast pack water resistant shoes. 
5. Take note of the last bus leaving Murodo, there are notice boards setup around the area. If you miss the bus, you will need to stay a night and only be able to get down the next morning

If you are able to go early, you get to spend more time in Murodo and the snow wall, the crowd will only get more and more. Take an early lunch and leave for the cable car to Daikanbo around 1pm. You can take pretty great photos at Kurobe dam, you can spend anywhere from 30-60 mins there. After that you can take all the transport back to Murodo. 

This trip is very weather dependent, so check back their website frequently before your trip. The evening before our trip, I heard of cancellations and possible delays or changes in schedule for our morning trip as well. We were very lucky the rain stopped near midnight and it was bright and sunny on our travel day. 

With the amount of people going for this trip, the queues and lines can be petty chaotic. Do not hesitate to ask the staffs there where you should be queuing, they are very helpful and can understand basic English when you show them your ticket. You don’t want to be waiting with a big tour group and delay your trip 😊