For our first Japan trip, I did a frankly stupid, unedited, brain-dump of our trip. I still wanted to do one for this trip, but more terse - a bullet point list of things I thought were worth highlighting on each day.

I did put together a (more brief than last time) video that follows a sort of day-by-day order. But we didn't record everything, so it isn't entirely complete.

For just a chronological ordered photo feed, click here.

Part of overall trip started in Hong Kong for a couple of days, I wrote about that here.

Tokyo

Day 1 - 2

• Landed in Tokyo (Narita) from Hong Kong in the early evening, last time we stayed in Shibuya (near-ish Ebisu station), this time we braved Shinjuku.
• First stop: Ippudo, as mentioned last time, for a chain restauraunt, I think it's really pretty good. Sonia rates the vegan Ramen in the Shinjuku station branch highly, and I enjoy the Akamaru.
• Shinjuku station is still a maze, especially when trying to navigate the Lumine Est. complex that is part of the station. Finding the right entrance to get to the right floor is a pain.
• After, we had a walk around Shinjuku with the mandatory 7/11 stop on the way back and ended the day there.
• For our first full day ('Day 2'), we returned to Shibuya. Last trip, despite staying here we didn't spend much time during the day here. Only returning and exploring at night.
• The aim for this trip in general was less about seeing notable attractions and more about just exploring and hanging around. You know, Coffee shops, bakeries, parks, etc.
  • What I liked about Japan on our first trip was how relaxing things felt, and we wanted to lean into that.
• Harajuku was something we mostly skipped last time, but made a priority this trip. It's fun, it's obviously touristy, especially Takeshita street, but there's also a cool vibe to the area. We spent time around Tokyu Plaza, a couple of shopping centres, each with their own roof terraces, food courts, etc.
• Later that evening, we went to a Yakiniku restaurant, which offers private rooms with a cool view over Shinjuku station. The food was good, not quite as good as the Hida beef we had in Shirakawago in May, but still good - I'd say it's a decent option if you're looking for something like this.

Day 3

• Meiji Jingu, first stop after a quick breakfast in a local bakery. We walked through a nice residential area that emphasised why I find Tokyo so impressive.
  • It wasn't far from the madness of Harajuku and Takeshita street, but in so many places across this city, you can turn a few corners and end up in the most pristine, quiet residential streets that don't feel worlds away from a quiet English village... right in the middle of one of the largest cities on the planet.
  • Meiji Jingu was pleasant, despite being a popular tourist attraction, and there being quiet a lot of people - it's large enough that it doesn't feel too bothersome. I enjoyed our morning here.
    • Watching the wedding precessions coming into this and other shrines later in the trip was a nice experience.. although I do wonder what it's like for those in the wedding ceremony.. having us tourists gawp at them as they walk through.
• In the afternoon, we went to Shinokitazawa - mostly to browse and visit Matcha Passport. Both really nice, again - really showcases a nice variety of Tokyo, all these areas with distinct personalities and niches. This is common in cities, but the way Tokyo does it just feels different to anything else I've experienced.
• In the evening, we ended up in Daikanyama to visit Tsutaya Books - a.. book store.. that remains open late. It's quite a large, purpose built building with so much to it. I later found out that FT named it in its 'The most brilliant bookstores in the world' list.
  • Both the book store and Daikanyama were great to end the night in. Not much else open in the area, so it's somewhere I'd definitely like to come back during the day, it seems like it'd be worth a morning here.

Day 4

• Day trip to Kamakura.
  • It was quite a gloomy day, but still warm enough and the rain rarely got heavier than a light drizzle.
  • It was pretty easy to get to - it's possible to get a single train from Shinjuku to Kamakura in just under an hour.
  • Kamakura is a popular day-trip from Tokyo, so it was relatively busy.
  • Started at BREAD IT BE for lunch, then to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu - the central shrine of Kamakura.
  • In general, Kamakura does give a feeling of Kyoto with it feeling very much like a town centred around its religious traditions and shrines. It's nice.
  • After a walk around the main shopping street, we realised Kōtoku-in (a Buddhist temple with a large Buddha statue) shuts relatively early and is a fair distance away. We hopped on one of the nice little trams to get towards that end of Kamakura and had a ~45 min look around that shrine before it shut.
  • Ended our day trip to Kamakura with a visit to the beach.
• Given how easy it is to get here from central Tokyo, it's definitely worth a trip for something a little different.

Fukuoka & Kyushu

Day 5

Visiting Kyushu was the main focus for 'new' experiences for this trip, so this was our travel day.

• We took a flight from Haneda airport, ~14:00.
  • The Shinkansen is excellent, and not too expensive, but for Tokyo -> Fukuoka, it's an over 1000km trip and takes roughly 5 hours. I'm pretty confident that'd be a comfortable 5 hour trip, but when time is limited and... the flights were a bit cheaper.. it made sense to go for that.
  • It takes roughly 1 hour 40 -> 2 hours.
  • The domestic flying experience in Japan is known to be good and that was our experience too.
  • We took a taxi to and from Haneda (on return), it's not too expensive (~£30-40) and is just much less stressful with suitcases.
• Landed in Fukuoka at around 16:00, we got a taxi to our hotel too.
• Unagi (Grilled eel, specifically Kabayaki) is a dish we missed on our last trip, so we made a reservation for an Unagi set menu.. thing.
  • All the dishes were great, individually, but by the time we got to the main course, we just felt like it was a bit too much. This isn't necessarily a criticism against the restaurant, the menu, anything - we picked something that was effectively eel for every course. Overall, positive, but just something for us to remember next time.
• Fukuoka is known for its food stalls, Yatai, so we had a walk along the river in the evening around them. One of the things that really sets Fukuoka apart from other Japanese cities we've been to.

Day 6

Whilst we have plans to explore wider Kyushu, today was about Fukuoka itself.

• Generally aimless exploring, going through a few parks and attractions.
• Started at i'm donut?. A line down the street for it, but it moved quickly and was well managed. The egg and mentaiko donut was interesting.. but quite good.
• We sat in a nearby park, then jumped on the subway to visit Ohori Park.
  • One of the more popular attractions in Fukuoka thanks to the pond and pavilion. But it was still quiet and relaxed.
• Kushida shrine wasn't far from our hotel and is worth a visit. It's the oldest shrine in Fukuoka and is home to a supposedly over 1000 years old Ginkgo tree.
• I really like the vibe of Fukuoka. Subtropical, laid back, it's all good.
• I hadn't realised how close it was to Busan. Just a 1 hour flight away, it makes it noticeably popular with Korean tourists.
• Overall though, I know it was October, so maybe not peak season - this feels like a great place for those who want a big Japanese city with a unique character and access to wider Kyushu without some of the intensely popular tourist attractions around Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka.
• There is probably less density of attractions and I'm not sure it's necessarily the best use of time for a first trip (unless you have like a month), but definitely a great choice otherwise.
• We should have probably dedicated at least another full day of exploring the city itself, but we had limited time.

Day 7

• Started the day by picking up a car from near the airport. We didn't need it for the first couple of days, so didn't pick it up as we first landed, but needed it for the rest of the Kyushu trip.
  • The pickup was relatively easy, this time I learned my lesson and rented the ETC card for the toll roads. That was the only real friction point of driving in Japan on our last trip. This allows us to simply drive through the tolls, and they'll be charged to the card, and then you settle the balance on returning the car.
    • The last trip we had issues with some cash, not understanding where or what to push on different toll booths, etc. 98% of the time it was fine, but the 2% that were slightly different were a bit stressful.
• Our first stop of the day after picking up the car, Nanzo-in temple, home of the large, iconic, reclining buddha. One of the iconic images of Fukuoka/Kyushu and for good reason.
  • It is a massive statue, supposedly the largest bronze statue in the world. But the area around it is nice too. Good facilities around it, but not to the extent that it impacts the atmosphere around shrines. Not too many people here either.
  • There's a decent amount of parking around it, we had to go a bit further down the road - meaning we parked about ~10 minute walk away from the shrine.
  • We had our lunch in a restaurant near the entrance. It's obviously catered to tourists, but it was decent. Not great, but fine. Can't complain.
  • This is one of the iconic sights of Fukuoka and it's worth the trip, rent a car or get a tour.
• Our next step - Dazaifu, home of Tenmangu shrine. It's a large and impressive complex and the town itself is pleasant. But I do think we had shrine'd ourselves out. I do really enjoy visiting them in Japan, they're nice, quiet, relaxing and the iconography and history are super interesting.
  • But.. this one was very popular, so a few of those things we enjoy about them didn't really apply here. I won't discourage people from coming here, it's good - there's substantial grounds and it's supposedly an important shrine.

• Finally; Itoshima.
  • The drive here and the whole area in the late afternoon/early evening was one of the highlights of Kyushu. Coastal views, quiet beaches - parts of it gave the feel of a tropical island.
  • Before reaching our destination, we stopped by a beach with a couple of fun photo spots - a stairway to nowhere, swings, and a big pink door.
  • Our target was Sakurai Futamigaura's couple stones. A couple of rocks connected by a shimenawa, framed by a large white torii gate. It's a popular attraction, but the time we arrived (sunset), it was dying down and it was easy to park.
• We headed back to our hotel for the night after this. This ended up as one of my favourite days of the whole trip.

Day 8

• Today we head down towards the Aso-Kuju national park, we've got an Airbnb booked for the night so that we can explore this end of Kyushu.
• First, though, Beppu.
  • Beppu is a geothermal city, unmistakably so, as you see the thousands hot spring vents steaming across the city. Beppu apparently accounts for 10% of all of Japan's hot springs.
  • The main tourist attraction is the 'Hells of Beppu', which are 7 hot springs of reasonable variety. They have been made into built up.. theme parks..? We bought the tickets to go through all 7 of them and it was somewhat enjoyable, but honestly, when you've seen one or two of them, you've seen them all.
    • There's also depressing Crocodile park that.. wasn't particularly fun to be in.
    • I feel like seeing one or two of the big ones, then maybe exploring Beppu itself would have been a better use of time. I'm sure it had more to offer than we saw.

• After this, we set off on the long-ish drive down towards Mount Aso. This was such a great drive, through the unique volcanic landscapes, the tiny, sometimes abandoned small towns and villages, there were many places I now regret not stopping to take photos.
  • Our plan was to actually take a walk up around the craters of Mount Aso once we arrived, but a lesson for those in the future, visit the official website to see if there's any restrictions if you're planning to go there to hike up to the craters.
  • We didn't do that and when we arrived, we realised the craters were closed due to 'dangerous gases'. It is an active volcano, and that's the attraction, so this is the chance you take when visiting something like this.
  • However, we were there for sunset and as I mentioned, there were some nice views and interesting features in the landscape.

• Our accommodation was an outhouse owned by an older Japanese couple in a forest. The hosts were really nice, they had a little translation app, were really attentive to us.
  • I felt bad as one of them was stood waiting at the bottom of his dark path for us to arrive. I had given them an approximate time of arrival of 18:00 - 18:30, we were there at about 18:30 on the dot. I hope he wasn't waiting for me all the time!
  • The accommodation itself was fun - quirky decor but also a traditional tatami-floored bedroom, but given its location in the forest.. there was quite a lot of flies and insects, so had to be careful around that. Hard to control it, I guess.

Day 9

• Takachiho gorge is another one of the iconic images of Kyushu, a volcanic gorge with waterfalls and rowing boats. It looks incredible.
  • We had done some research here prior and was aware of how difficult it is to get a boat, but we weren't 100% sure if:
    • If we wanted to have to get there on a schedule if we pre-booked online
    • If we even cared about going on the boats.
  • On the evening before, we had decided to at least try and go for some on the day tickets. Again, not necessarily expecting much - but as we arrived and saw how full the car park was already and how relatively busy the trail towards the gorge was, I wasn't super optimistic. I sped off ahead of Sonia to try and get in line anyway.
  • I arrived, they did have tickets still available for the day - but the earliest was for 15:00. We were there at 10:00 and had no plans on sticking around that long.
  • No matter, the area itself did live up to the photos and videos. It was an incredibly harsh and sunny morning, so photography was quite difficult, but nonetheless I loved this stop. My main regret is that we probably should have added an extra day for this end of Kyushu, there is much to see and we probably rushed it.

• As we were relatively far south on Kyushu and needed to head back to Fukuoka, we set off on the drive back by about midday.
• Planned a stop of Kuju flower park, another one of the highlights of the trip.
  • The flower displays were impressive, the insects (spiders & butterflies) were fun to watch and it was very quiet.
  • It seemed like mostly locals, although it has a large car park and facilities, so I suspect in peak season it becomes quite popular. The aesthetic nature of an attraction like this, I imagine, makes it an Instagram magnet.
  • This was genuinely a bit of a surprise, I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. If you're in the area, I'd call it out as worth your time.

• Finally, Yufuin.
  • Popular online for the 'Yufuin Floral Village', a mock cotswolds themed street that looks cool in photos and videos. But.. I was sceptical even before going. It always seemed like every photo and video was from a few particular angles, and I didn't really seem to get why it was notable. I had a feeling there wasn't much substance here.
  • We went anyway, as it was on the way and Sonia was interested. But.. my fears were correct. It was a tiny novelty, plastic street. Not at all interesting or worth coming to. I rank this with Oshino from our first trip - as a place that I'm comfortable calling a tourist trap.
  • If the 'floral village' is the reason why you're coming to Yufuin, don't.
  • In our brief walk around the wider town, Yufuin, that seemed more interesting - particularly the main shopping streets and little rivers running through them. I'll not denigrate Yufuin as a whole, but I do want to be honest in that I feel the floral village isn't worth the visit.
  • I don't know if this has anything to do with the fact that it is supposed to be modelled on an English village - with a couple of British themed stores and a mini cooper displayed on the street - that the novelty is entirely lost on me? However, even for people not from the UK that this appeals to, I'd be surprised if people thought this place had any real substance.

Returning to Tokyo

Day 10

• Our trip is approaching its end, so we return to Tokyo for our last 2 days. We flew back again, back to Haneda and got a taxi to our accommodation.
• We stayed in Shiba - near Tokyo tower. An area we had yet to visit on our previous stays in Tokyo.
• After checking into the hotel, we went for more i'm donut ? in Shibuya and also tried Iyoshi Cola.
  • As a cola fanatic, I was sad we missed it last trip. But effectively, it's a craft cola served in a little plastic pouch, with a bit of spice, pepper, lemon, etc - it's nice, it's a cool experience.
  • We tried the bottled version on a later day and it is actually what I'd prefer to drink regularly, the fresh version is a cool experience but less consistent.
• The plan for these final days in Tokyo, again, was just to aimlessly explore. No big landmarks or attractions planned, other than Tokyo tower, just see where we go.
• And where we went after this was Ueno.
  • We spent a bunch of time photographing the crossing near ameya yokocho street and Ueno station. It has that classic 'Tokyo' look that I think makes for fun photography and videos.
  • We ate in a nearby tonkatsu restaurant.
  • Walked around a bunch of shops, went through Ginza, trying out a few camera lenses in some of the big electronics stores, etc.

Day 11

• Roppongi. We had plans to go to breakfast around here, but found a long line and we weren't that interested in waiting. We got some okay-ish pastries from another shop in the Roppongi Hills complex.
• The highlight of the day, the Mori Art Museum, which had an exhibition titled 'The Architecture of Sou Fujimoto: Primordial Future Forest'. Genuinely really interesting, with fantastic models of varying sizes, from minuscule to room-filling.
  • The Mori Art Museum is based in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower on the 53rd floor - so it has a fantastic view of Tokyo.
  • If you're in Tokyo and like museums or art exhibitions, go for it.
  • We spent much of the afternoon here.

• Later in the evening, we had a booking for Tokyo Tower in the evening (past sunset) . It was a rainy, misty day, so I was actually quite looking forward to the views from it.
  • On our last trip, we did Tokyo Sky Tree at sunset. The views were great, but I wasn't a huge fan of the number of tickets they sell. It was really crowded and loud and that dampened the experience a bit.
  • Tokyo Tower has been somewhat superseded by Tokyo Sky Tree, but Tokyo Tower is one of those iconic landmarks that persists.
• We chose the main and upper deck tour tickets, and my advice here is that.. the upper deck isn't terribly worth it. Yeah, it's a higher vantage point - but the extended time it takes to get up there, waiting around watching.. fairly basic videos about the history of the tower.. didn't seem worth it. Not from a financial perspective, the extra cost isn't that significant - but I'd have preferred to spent my time in another way.
• The main deck however, was a much better experience. It wasn't busy at all - it felt like there were only a handful of other people and you could enjoy the experience.
• So if you're looking for a view over Tokyo with smaller crowds, then skip some of the new and shiny attractions like Shibuya Sky and Tokyo Sky Tree and visit the classic Tokyo Tower.

Day 12

• Our flight was later on in the day (~18:30), but it was from Narita - so whilst we had some time - we didn't have a lot of time in the morning.
• We spent it going back to Shibuya, getting more donuts & Iyoshi cola and then heading to Shiba park. There was some kind of school competition / festival thing going on, so didn't take any photos here for obvious reasons.
  • Lots of people in the upper park area too around the base of Tokyo tower, very popular area for hanging out for young people.

• Finally, we headed to the airport - via Narita Express from Tokyo station.
  • Somehow I managed to buy just the seat reservations for the train and not the actual train tickets, so I had to then scramble to figure out what happened.
• Found a Kiosk, they helped me buy the tickets properly. No idea why it's possible to buy the seat reservations separately. Maybe as a follow up if you already have the tickets? I dunno.
• We always give ourself too much time around airport travel, so we didn't miss any trains or arrive late - but it's added stress in a massively busy station.
• Flight home via Hong Kong again. Much preferred this Cathay Pacific route over the Qatar Airlines Doha connection. Direct from Hong Kong to Manchester is just better.

Final thoughts

The trip in May was my favourite trip I've ever done, Japan lived up to expectations and exceeded them in a few ways for me. Evidenced by the fact we so quickly booked another trip within the same year.

This second trip was, as I've mentioned multiple times, a lot more relaxed and a lot less.. pre-planned. It gave a different feel. There was a reduced sense of novelty and uniqueness on our second trip, but that lifted the pressure that often comes with going to somewhere new to 'see everything', to start checking off landmarks and attractions.

I don't know why, but before a couple of years ago, there was kind of a mental block I had that certain types of trips were 'once in a lifetime' places, that you go - make the most of it, then move on to the next place and don't really come back.

I'm not talking about resort holidays or similar, where people do often return to similar places every year, every couple of years, etc because it's a place with good weather, nice scenery, and just a place to relax.

You know, the 'holiday vs travelling' cliché. But the realisation I made with my repeated trips to Iceland is, you can come back. Sounds obvious, but when you know you can come back, and have the means to, then to me - it makes your first trip more enjoyable. I know if I like a place and I leave with a sense I've missed out on seeing more, then I'll be back.

It also significantly improves the subsequent trips, the confidence you have in navigating that foreign country improves significantly and you can find new ways to enjoy it that you may have shied away from on the first trip.

Like Iceland, Japan is a place I can't imagine ever believing I'd never be open to coming back to again. As I spoke about in my May 2025 post, because of the outsized influence Japan had on my childhood, it does invoke a quite a strong sense of nostalgia.

Modern and historic Japanese art and culture is appealing and interesting. The general civic sense produces genuine results that I'm so jealous of. The immaculately clean public spaces, the sense of safety, general day-to-day orderliness and the pride and urgency in providing good public services. It feels good to exist there, at least as a visitor.

I feel like I should caveat what sounds like endless gushing, with the obvious disclaimers. Japan is facing some very significant issues, there are many reasons I would have absolutely no interest in living there, there are many flip sides to those positives I mentioned above. There are real problems with social isolation, sometimes coldness, sometimes a sense of insincere or performative politeness, and an attitude to foreigners that can rattle someone used the relative tolerance and openness of many other countries, UK included.

I also don't want to overcorrect here, my experience with Japanese people was 95% positive, I don't want to over generalise. There's a reason I'm positive I'll be back at some point in the future. I do want to see Hokkaido in the winter. I do want to explore a few more areas in southern Honshu. But I also want to explore more of East Asia...