After our first trip to Japan in May 2023, we just couldn’t get it out of our minds. We tried to push the desire to return away, but in the end, we gave in.

ITINERARY

4 nights in Tokyo at All Day Place Shibuya.
2 nights in Hakone at the Hyatt Regency Hakone.
5 nights in Osaka at Candeo Hotels Osaka The Tower.
3 nights in Kurashiki at Royal Park Hotel Kurashiki.
1 night in Tokyo at Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Marunouchi.

LOGISTICS

See the blog post for our first visit for general notes about visiting Japan.
We tried to time our visit for peak foliage. The peak window moves every year based on how warm and dry the preceding summer is. It was an unusually warm and dry summer in 2024, so peak foliage was delayed and we missed it. That said, we did see some early shades of red, orange, and yellow, so it wasn’t a complete miss!
We had a rental car the entire time (minus the final day). We took advantage of Japan’s excellent public transit when it made sense to, but the car opened up lots of opportunities to see more and save time. We rented an ETC card from the car rental agency so that we didn’t have to worry about paying cash for tolls.
We found this site helpful for planning ferry travel to/from Naoshima and Teshima.

Day 1 & 2: OCTOBER 26 & 27, 2024

Flew Los Angeles to Tokyo.
Checked into our hotel, All Day Place Shibuya.
Quick dinner from Lawson.

Day 3: OCTOBER 28, 2024

Breakfast from Lawson.
Jindaiji Temple and around. Really peaceful, a great way to kick off the trip.
Lunch at Suzume no Oyado. Tasty soba noodles in a cozy setting.
Gōtokuji Temple. Famous for its hundred (if not thousands) of “beckoning cat” figures. We purchased and placed 2 in honor of Maya and Luna. Was a cool spot to visit anyway, not just for the cat figure gimmick.
Nakameguro for a walk along the Meguro River.
Snack from FamilyMart.
Dinner at Izakaya Masaka. A favorite from last time. Spicy potato wedges, salted rice balls, green bean tempura, karaage, fried spring rolls. It didn’t hit as hard as the first time, but it was still enjoyable.
Shibuya night stroll, including a stop at MEGA Don Quijote.

Day 4: OCTOBER 29, 2024

Breakfast from Lawson.
Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum. Super interesting. Beautiful demonstration of different architectural styles. Many of the buildings are originals that have been painstakingly relocated to the museum for preservation. The Kunio Maekawa house was a highlight. We also really liked the Yoshinoya farmhouse, the Tokiwadai Photoshop, the Korekiyo Takahashi house, the Jisho-in Mausoleum, the Maruji Shoten kitchenware store, the Hanaichi flower shop, the Yamatoya Honten grocery store, and the public bath house. We were one of the first people at the museum, so we had it mostly to ourselves.
Harajuku Cat Street stroll.
Lunch at A Happy Pancake Omotesando. Rico had chocolate and banana fluffy pancakes. Britt had plain fluffy pancakes with chocolate sauce and granola. Tasty!
Strolled the quiet neighborhood north of Omotesando Avenue and east of Cat Street.
Dinner at Jikasei MENSHO. Another favorite from last time. Rico had the spicy miso ramen. Britt had the vegan tantanmen. Just as good as we remembered.

Day 5: OCTOBER 30, 2024

Breakfast from Lawson.
Asakusa:
- Nakamise-dori Street. The stall buildings that line the street were under construction, but they did a pretty good job of covering it up.
- Sensō-ji.
- Wandered around a lot. This was one of our favorite parts of Tokyo last time. We enjoyed walking just about everywhere in the square bounded by Kaminarimon-dori Street, Route 462, Route 319, and Umamichi-dori Street. So many nooks and crannies. Very photogenic.
Lunch: “Asakusa Street Food Feast”. Chose our favorite spots from last time.
- Strawberry cream mochi from Ginkado.
- Custard taiyaki from Naruto Taiyaki.
- Strawberry and cream sandwich from Hatoya’s Vegan Fruit Sandwiches.
- Melonpan with vanilla ice cream from Asakusa Kagetsudō.
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. Peaceful as ever. Beautiful Japanese maples.
Walked through the neighborhoods of Sendagaya and Harajuku on our way back to the hotel.
Dinner at TsuruTonTan Shibuya. Kitsune udon. Delicious, with a view over Shibuya from the 13th floor. Watched the sunset while eating.
Dessert from Atelier Anniversary.

Day 6: OCTOBER 31, 2024

Breakfast from Lawson.
Left Tokyo. Drove to Odawara.
Enoura Observatory. Stunning setting. The upper area has gallery spaces and beautiful landscaping. The lower area has a fossil house, bamboo grove, citrus farm, and little vermilion shrine. All with a great view of the coastline.
Citrus drink from Stone Age Cafe.
Lunch from Lawson.
Hakone Open-Air Museum. Great space tucked into the mountainside.
Mt. Fuji from the Mt. Taikan Observation Deck. We were fortunate to have clear views of Fuji from multiple vantage points during our stay in Hakone.
Checked into our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Hakone.
Room service dinner. Veggie burger, veggie club, fries. Sometimes this is exactly what you need.

Day 7: NOVEMBER 1, 2024

Breakfast at the hotel.
Hakone nature loop (we drove, but you can also follow a well-trodden public transit route):
- Heiwa no Torii. Large torii in the water. Popular photo spot. Had to wait in line.
- Hakone Shrine. Lots of people only visit the torii. The shrine was well worth some time.
- Hakone Komagatake Ropeway up to Mount Koma. Great views on the way up. 360 views of Mt. Fuji, the lake, the surrounding landscape, and the ocean. Hakone Mototsumiya Shrine is also up there.
- Old Tōkaidō Road Ancient Cedar Avenue. Walked the length of it.
- Check out the view of Heiwa no Torii with Mt. Fuji in the background from here.
- Onshi-Hakone Park. Peaceful with nice elevated views of the lake. Sat on a bench for a while.
- Ashino Skyline Drive over Shakushi Pass. We were surprised by a section of this road that is designed such that a melody plays when you drive over it.
- Walked Hakone Kuzuryū Forest Therapy Road to Hakuryū Shrine and Kuzuryū Shrine Hongū.
Room service dinner. Same thing as the night before. It was exactly what we needed, again.

Day 8: NOVEMBER 2, 2024

(Unfortunately, Britt woke up feeling unwell. She battled a cold for the next 4 days. We adjusted our plan accordingly. She rested when needed and masked up when around people, we avoided crowded places/restaurants, and at times we opted to drive over using public transit even when public transit would have served us fine. In the end, we didn’t miss anything we had originally planned to do—other than a few restaurants that we just weren’t comfortable going to given the circumstances.)
Breakfast at the hotel.
Left Hakone. Drove to Osaka. It was rainy most of the way, which was annoying, but led to some moody mountain scenery which made up for it.
Lunch from 7-Eleven.
Checked into our hotel, Candeo Hotels Osaka The Tower.
Dinner from 7-Eleven.

Day 9: NOVEMBER 3, 2024

Breakfast from Lawson.
Sumiyoshi Taisha and around. Beautiful setting and a really cool arched bridge. Cool little streetcars in the surrounding neighborhood.
(Taking the car vs. public transit was a double-edge sword in this case, because Rico got into a very, very minor car accident that turned into a half-day ordeal. We had to go to the police station and fill out a very detailed report. It sucked a lot of energy out of us, but we continued on with our day.)
Lunch from FamilyMart.
Shitenno-ji and around. We got here hours later than planned, but it kind of worked out because the sunlight was turning golden. One of the most photogenic pagodas we’ve seen in Japan.
Dinner from Lawson.

Day 10: NOVEMBER 4, 2024

Breakfast from Lawson.
Murou village in Uda:
- Murou Art Forest. Amazing. We especially liked the spiral canal leading to the single tree, the series of 3 islands and their reflections in the water, and the spiraling bamboo forest that led underground.
- Murou-ji. Beautiful arched bridge leads to the temple, which is built into the mountainside. Lots and lots of steps to get to the top, but it’s worth it.
- Wandered around town and along the Murou River. Such a picturesque village. Saw some of the best fall foliage of the trip.
- Murou Ryuketsu Shrine.
Lunch at Hashimotoya. Rico had kitsune udon. Britt had wild vegetable udon. Tasty food with a great view of the river.
Dinner from 7-Eleven.

Day 11: NOVEMBER 5, 2024

Breakfast from Lawson.
Namba Yasaka Jinja. Famous for its gigantic lion’s head.
Kuromon Ichiba Market.
Retro video game stores: Super Potato and Retro TV Game Revival. Bought some souvenirs.
Lunch from Lawson.
Shin Sekai "New World" mall. The area south of Tsūtenkaku was especially lively. We loved the elaborate storefront designs.
Snack from Coconchi Osaka Shinsekai. Biliken filled with custard.
We were stopped by a film crew who started rolling and then asked Rico a question in Japanese. They didn’t speak English, so he used Google Translate to try to understand what they asked. The host took out his phone, scribbled in some Japanese, then showed Rico the English translation: “surpassing father”. He had no idea what they meant. They didn’t clarify. Once it was clear that this wasn’t going anywhere, they just walked away from us. So maybe Rico’s now a Japanese TV star?
MEGA Don Quijote.
Dinner from 7-Eleven.
Dotonbori night stroll:
- Tombori River walk. So much energy at night, all lit by the neon signs adorning the sides of the buildings.
- Glico sign.
- Ebisu Tower Ferris Wheel.
- Hozenji Yokocho and Hozen-ji. So cozy.

Day 12: NOVEMBER 6, 2024

Breakfast from Lawson.
Osaka Castle Park. It’s a modern reconstruction, but the surrounding park and views of the castle are beautiful.
Lunch from Lawson.
Katsuoji. Known for the thousands of red Daruma dolls tucked in every nook and cranny. There was some preservation work going on, but it didn’t affect our visit.
Nintendo Museum in Kyoto. It had just opened one month earlier. Nostalgia overload. We loved playing Mario on the huge NES and N64 controllers. The batting cage setup was fun too. Overall, it was a lot of fun, but felt like they could have done more to tell a cohesive story about the company’s history and game design.
Dinner at the museum (Hatena Burger). Mushroom burger, potatoes, chocolate pastry, and apple juice. Wasn’t great, but we were starved.
Snack from Lawson.

Day 13: NOVEMBER 7, 2024

Breakfast from Lawson.
Left Osaka. Drove to Okayama.
Okayama Korakuen. One of Japan’s finest gardens. Very peaceful.
Lunch at Shiromi-chaya. Mushroom udon. Tasty with a cozy atmosphere and views of the river.
Drove to Kurashiki. Checked into our hotel, Royal Park Hotel Kurashiki.
Walked around Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter. Really picturesque. The facades of the buildings are really unique. We timed our walk so that we could see this area both at golden hour and in the evening.
Dinner at Organic Cafe Natur. Keema curry. Tasty.

Day 14: NOVEMBER 8, 2024

(We spent the next 2 days visiting the region’s “art islands”. Many of the spaces did not allow photography of any kind. It was a bummer at first because we like taking—and sharing—photos, but in the end we were grateful for this policy because it made for a better viewing experience in the moment.)
Breakfast at the hotel.
Drove to Uno port for the Shikoku Kisen ferry to Naoshima. Brought our car to the island.
Naoshima:
- Kusama’s Yellow Pumpkin. We came here first thing, but we ended up coming back at the end of our time on the island, when the light was really special.
- Benesse House Museum. We liked the indoor/outdoor element of the museum.
- Chichu Art Museum. We really liked Walter De Maria’s “Time/Timeless/No Time” and James Turrell’s “Open Field”.
- Lee Ufan Museum. The stuff outside of the museum (before they check your ticket) was more interesting to us than the stuff inside the museum.
- Lunch at Apron Cafe. Cranberry walnut scone, lemon chocolate scone, and chickpea curry. Extremely tasty.
- Art House Projects:
  - Minamidera. Plays with your eyes’ response to light and darkness, and highlights the relationship between perception (which changes based on circumstances) and existence (which doesn’t—or does it?). One of the most profound art experiences we’ve ever had.
  - Kadoya. We were pleasantly stumped by the changing clock in the window.
  - Go’o Shrine. We liked how you can see half of the piece above ground, but have to go underground to see the rest.
  - Gokaisho. Didn’t do anything for us.
  - Ishibashi. It was just OK.
  - Haisha. Quirky. A stark contrast to some of the more minimalistic spaces on the island.
- Quick visit to the outside of Naoshima Public Bath I Love Yu.
Ferry back to the mainland. Drove back to Kurashiki.
Another stroll around Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter.
Dinner from 7-Eleven.

Day 15: NOVEMBER 9, 2024

Breakfast at the hotel.
Drove to Uno port for the Shodoshima Teshima ferry to Teshima. We did not bring our car to the island.
Teshima:
- Rented e-bikes from SETOUCHI Karen. It was a pleasure riding e-bikes around the island. Amazing views around every bend. And all of the destinations had dedicated bicycle parking.
- Teshima Art Museum. We agreed that this was our favorite art museum experience ever. First of all, the natural setting is incredible. But the star of the show is the museum’s single artwork: Rei Naito’s “Matrix”. Just a stunning and thought provoking space. No words can describe the experience.
- Lunch at Teshima Art Museum’s cafe. Onion and pepper bagel.
- Les Archives du Cœur. Cool concept. It’s an archive of peoples’ heartbeats.
- Teshima Yokoo House. We loved the use of red-tinted windows to give the space a special glow. A stream runs through the house.
- Snack from Ichigo-ya. Rico had a strawberry and cream crepe with ice cream. Britt had a strawberry shaved ice with ice cream.
Ferry back to the mainland. Drove back to Kurashiki.
Dinner from Lawson.