Planning Japan visit Dec/Jan - need help from locals

[seriously]

Hi guys-

I need some advice from the Japanese locals. This will be a bit long. Thank you for reading and providing input!

A few basics first. We are planing on landing in Tokyo 12/25 and flying out 1/13. We have been to Tokyo once before for a week and LOVED it. Felt like we just scratched the surface. So we would like to spend even more time in Tokyo exploring the food, culture and shopping but get out to see the rest of Japan.

After doing some research I decided to exclude Hokkaido because we are not into winter sports and also to exclude Okinawa since we have frequented Hawaii many times. Of course it's not the same thing, but there is a time cost to every location. So I've decided to focus on Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka with day trips from those 3 locations. We will do some sightseeing, but are interested in more cultural experiences like visiting a tea farm, Yamazaki distillery, will do something car related, etc.

So the trip is complicated by going over the new years time when the rest of Japan is traveling (higher cost and fewer reservations) and the fact that we are so flexible, we can stay in nearly any ryokan in the main land and I can't decide where to go or what's worth traveling out to.

The current plan is something like this to avoid this holiday season:
12/25 - 1/1 in Tokyo airbnb >>> will take day trips from here
1/1 - 1/3 in farmstay (somewhere remote)
1/4 - 1/9 in Kyoto (machiyas are more reasonably priced after 1/4 I think) >>> will take day trips from here
1/9 - 1/10 some fancy ryokan (I have no idea how to pick)
1/10 - 1/13 Tokyo in a nicer hotel

Based on that, I could use some help with the following:

1. I want to travel opposite of what Japanese tourists are doing to avoid holiday prices and crowds. Would you recommend any changes to my itinerary?

2. Are you aware of any farmstays that would offer something unique? Specifically I would like to have a farm to table meal. I randomly found two options > Bokenouen in Shikoku Island or Tea Moon House, a green tea B&B 1 hr from Kyoto

3. What would you recommend for a nicer ryokan with private onsen and public outdoor onsen? Ideally in the $500/night range.

I generally prefer older architecture when traveling. Thanks!!

 

[virtualmacho]

The current plan is something like this to avoid this holiday season:
12/25 - 1/1 in Tokyo airbnb >>> will take day trips from here
1/1 - 1/3 in farmstay (somewhere remote)
1/4 - 1/9 in Kyoto (machiyas are more reasonably priced after 1/4 I think) >>> will take day trips from here
1/9 - 1/10 some fancy ryokan (I have no idea how to pick)
1/10 - 1/13 Tokyo in a nicer hotel

I am based in Tokyo, let's meet up for a beer! We should also plan an hour or two to see the car scene at Daikoku Wharf.

1. I want to travel opposite of what Japanese tourists are doing to avoid holiday prices and crowds. Would you recommend any changes to my itinerary?

Not really, as it is now very difficult to avoid crowds. Japanese tourists aren't your concern - many are not traveling because they can't afford to anymore. The bulk of the tourists are from overseas, and they will be everywhere including the non-tourist-designations.

One concern is that Jan 1-3 is usually observed as a holiday. Make sure there actually is a place to stay that is open for business.

2. Are you aware of any farmstays that would offer something unique? Specifically I would like to have a farm to table meal. I randomly found two options > Bokenouen in Shikoku Island or Tea Moon House, a green tea B&B 1 hr from Kyoto

I have no experience in this area - maybe someone else can chime in. It might be better to leave out Shikoku Island this time, and come back in warmer seasons to do some island hopping driving.

3. What would you recommend for a nicer ryokan with private onsen and public outdoor onsen? Ideally in the $500/night range.

Since you would have already spent some time in or near Kyoto before moving to Tokyo, how about somewhere in between? There are many onsen, but most on the Pacific Ocean side are old and/or large scale... I would suggest moving north from Kyoto to the Japan Sea side to Ishikawa prefecture for a quiet getaway type place. Not sure of vacancy and holiday prices, but the Yamanaka Onsen town that our Emira group visited last month was great (we stayed at the Kagari Kisshotei hotel - strongly recommended !).


Hope this helps !

 

[seriously]

I am based in Tokyo, let's meet up for a beer! We should also plan an hour or two to see the car scene at Daikoku Wharf.

@virtualmacho thanks for the tips! Would absolutely enjoy grabbing a beer and visiting the car scene at daikoku. without knowing locals, I assumed I would have to rent a car to make it out there.

I'm going to check out the onsen you recommended. In my mind, the onsen is in the mountains covered with snow, but it doesn't have to be!

 

[virtualmacho]

For context so others can appreciate the discussions: Japan is roughly the size of the entire east coast of the USA. Excluding Maine / Vermont and Florida from the travel plans still leave quite a bit to explore. The distance between Tokyo and Kyoto is similar to Los Angeles to Las Vegas, but instead of empty desert roads, the space in between is filled with a few New York Cities and Chicagos, a Detroit or two, and a Miami and San Francisco thrown in for good measure.

 

[seriously]

For context so others can appreciate the discussions: Japan is roughly the size of the entire east coast of the USA. Excluding Maine / Vermont and Florida from the travel plans still leave quite a bit to explore. The distance between Tokyo and Kyoto is similar to Los Angeles to Las Vegas, but instead of empty desert roads, the space in between is filled with a few New York Cities and Chicagos, a Detroit or two, and a Miami and San Francisco thrown in for good measure.

View attachment 54716

Makes me feel better about a Kyoto and Tokyo focus. Still a lot of ground to cover!

I’m still looking for ryokan and onsen recs. So many to consider.

 

[Barrybarrybarry]

If car related means hiring a decent car then I rented a Nissan GT-R from these guys back in 2019 and drove it to Hakone and the surrounding areas (there were no restrictions on usage) https://www.omoren.com/en there weren't a lot of options back then so it might be worth having more of a look around as a quick search seems to have thrown up more results than back then, and residents may have better suggestions.

 

[virtualmacho]

Being local, I've never considered renting a car, but yes, that is definitely an option.

 

[seriously]

If car related means hiring a decent car then I rented a Nissan GT-R from these guys back in 2019 and drove it to Hakone and the surrounding areas (there were no restrictions on usage) https://www.omoren.com/en there weren't a lot of options back then so it might be worth having more of a look around as a quick search seems to have thrown up more results than back then, and residents may have better suggestions.

That's a perfect recommendation. I need to transport 3 people, so will consider hiring a "family" oriented GTR for a day.

 

[seriously]

Decided to do the tourist thing and go to Hakone. Booked a stay at Yama no Chaya and very excited.

We're spending too much time in the beginning in Tokyo- almost 11 days. So now considering spending a few nights in some kind of more traditional/village type location near Tokyo or finding day trips from Tokyo via train- places like Kamakura. Open to any of your suggestions.

 

[Nova]

That looks like a great stay! Doing the half board too? The food is 1/2 the experience at a Ryokan, IMO.

We spent a couple of nights at Izu, just south of Hakone. It's much less touristy, but we spent most of our time enjoying the Roykan and onsen anyway. During the day we hired a driver that took us all over the Izu peninsula.

 

[seriously]

That looks like a great stay! Doing the half board too? The food is 1/2 the experience at a Ryokan, IMO.

We spent a couple of nights at Izu, just south of Hakone. It's much less touristy, but we spent most of our time enjoying the Roykan and onsen anyway. During the day we hired a driver that took us all over the Izu peninsula.

Yes! Definitely doing the food.

How did you find the driver that toured you around Izu?

 

[dgrace]

Decided to do the tourist thing and go to Hakone. Booked a stay at Yama no Chaya and very excited.

We're spending too much time in the beginning in Tokyo- almost 11 days. So now considering spending a few nights in some kind of more traditional/village type location near Tokyo or finding day trips from Tokyo via train- places like Kamakura. Open to any of your suggestions.

You can definitely fill 11 days around Tokyo without getting bored - there are so many neighborhoods to check out, and if all else fails, you can always plan a day at DisneySea (the new Peter Pan ride was fantastic!). Odaiba, Yokohama Chinatown, Kappabashi, Azabudai Hills, Shimo-Kitazawa. The Sky Tree view never disappoints. Amazing food everywhere, from smoky yakitori standing bars to 3-star Michelin spots. By any metric, the world's greatest city.

 

[Nova]

Yes! Definitely doing the food.

How did you find the driver that toured you around Izu?

Oh, the thing in Japan I have experienced is that they are all very helpful, especially the hotel staff. Our Ryokan arranged the car for us, and it belonged to a local taxi agency. I want to say Hakone Taxi, but not sure. It cost about 300 dollars for 5 hours, because it was a big van and there was six of us. We just told our hotel what we wanted to do the day before, where we wanted to go, a rough iterniary, and when we wanted to start off. They called around to find a big enough van, told us the cost, and what it would cost for extra time. I felt very taken care of.

 

[virtualmacho]

Full day trips from Tokyo:

• Yokohama Chinatown
• Kamakura
• Kawagoe
• Nikko
• Kinugawa Onsen
• Kusatsu Onsen
• Hakone
• FujiQ Highland (roller coasters w/view of Mt. Fuji)

Activities in Tokyo:

• early morning Sumo stable
• Sumida River cruise, followed by a trek to cross all the bridges you just passed under
• ride every subway line
• visit every public park
• Akihabara
• Kappabashi
• Ueno
• Shimo-Kitazawa
• walk from Nakameguro thru Daikanyama to Roppongi
• load up on Swiss watches at Ginza
• post-midnight to pre-dawn cruise around and around the Shutoko (Metropolitan Expressway) "ring"

 

[seriously]

I knew this group would have great recs.

My itinerary is finally settled so we can take our time and plan out some of the activity details. We will be doing Tokyo (Shimokitazawa) > Kanagawa > Hakone (Ryokan) > Kyoto > Tokyo (Roppongi).

We've done DisneySea in the past so we'll skip that. We'll make time for all the different Tokyo districts- it's the main reason we came. Staying in shimo is good for us because we'll do a lot of vintage clothes type shopping. I will be looking for Swiss watches. heard that Osaka may be good for this, but haven't researched much yet. my love for smoky yakitori is challenged only by my love for sushi- especially affordable sushi like you have in Japan. I like the Yoko chinatown and Kamakura options so will definitely look into those and some of the others if we have time.

@virtualmacho I am considering renting a car on Saturday or Sunday- do you have thoughts on which days are better for driving in the mountains? OR am I better off doing the post-midnight cruise in the city? Also, is there any organization to this pre-dawn cruise?

 

[virtualmacho]

@virtualmacho I am considering renting a car on Saturday or Sunday- do you have thoughts on which days are better for driving in the mountains? OR am I better off doing the post-midnight cruise in the city? Also, is there any organization to this pre-dawn cruise?

Sat or Sun, shouldn't be too different. The weather will be the deciding factor. No organizing necessary for late night cruising, but if doing the Shutoko Expressway, some pre-work (studying the junctions and on/off ramps) is recommended !

 

[Nova]

TeamLabs Borderless and/or Planets if you have not gone before. Borderless was definitely one of the highlights of our visit.

 

[virtualmacho]

Oh yeah, the Tokyo Auto Salon 2025 will be held Jan 10-12.

東京オートサロン2025 in 幕張メッセ | チューニング・ドレスアップの総合展示会

東京オートサロン2025 in 幕張メッセ　2025年1月10日(金)、11日(土)、12日(日)開催！　日本が誇る世界最大のカスタムカーイベント。チューニング・ドレスアップの総合展示会

www.tokyoautosalon.jp

 

[seriously]

Oh yeah, the Tokyo Auto Salon 2025 will be held Jan 10-12.

東京オートサロン2025 in 幕張メッセ | チューニング・ドレスアップの総合展示会

東京オートサロン2025 in 幕張メッセ　2025年1月10日(金)、11日(土)、12日(日)開催！　日本が誇る世界最大のカスタムカーイベント。チューニング・ドレスアップの総合展示会

www.tokyoautosalon.jp

OMG - I had no idea and will be going 100%.