Ohayo! I created this Japan Travel Checklist to feed my obsession with Japan, from its’ beautiful culture to its delicious food. I have kept it offline on Evernote for a few years now. But I decided to share it here, hoping it might be useful to you guys.
I have put a tick beside the ones I have done. There will be a link to a blog post (if I am not lazy — eep!), and I will put a recommendation (1 to 5 out of 5) on ticked lines. Enjoy!
Japan Travel Checklist
- Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage. ✔
- Stay in Shukubo – Japanese temple lodging. ✔
- Stay in a Ryokan. ✔
- Try Starbucks seasonal drinks. ✔
- Eat at Yoshinoya. ✔
- Participate in the tea ceremony. ✔
- Try on a Yukata and or Kimono. ✔
- Take a sushi-making class.
- Send a postcard from Japan. ✔
- Order 3D latte art. ✔
- Visit the Tsutaya bookstore. ✔
- Get a good luck charm or Kami. ✔
- Try the Japanese toilet. ✔
- Watch a sumo wrestling tournament.
- See a Geisha. ✔
- Visit the Ghibli Museum.
- Eat Fugu fish.
- Visit a Japanese castle. ✔
- Get drunk at an izakaya. ✔
- Eat at Jiro Sushi, the best sushi restaurant in Japan. ✔
- Hanami-ing in the park. ✔
- Celebrate New Year in Japan. ✔
- Stay in a capsule hotel. ✔
- Make Washi paper.
- Visit Tokyo Disney World and Disney Sea. ✔
- Eat Ekiben on the Shinkansen. ✔
- Immerse in Japanese Christmas traditions. ✔
- Get a Japanese tattoo. ✔
- Have the best ramen in Japan. ✔
- Visit all 47 prefectures in Japan.
- Have an Omakase dining experience. ✔
- Write my prayers on the Ema board. You can do it in almost any shrine all over Japan. ✔
- Roam around Asakusa. ✔
- See the 80 years of traditions of the Tsukiji Market tuna auction. ✔
- Visit Starbucks Reserve Tokyo Roastery. ✔
- Stay in Bed and Book in Asakusa, Tokyo. ✔
- Have a sushi breakfast at the Tsukiji Fish Market. ✔
- Eat at Sushi Dai in Tokyo. ✔
- Visit Ikebukuro, Tokyo Chinatown.
- Hike Mount Fuji. ✔
- Shop at Shinjuku and Ginza. ✔
- Cross at Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo. ✔
- Shop all things train-related at Karamatsu Train in Tokyo. #TrainNerd.
- Visit the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. ✔
- Visit Nishi Kasai, Tokyo Little India.
- Onsen. ✔
- Stay in Monogatari Odaiba hot springs.
- Visit the Tokyo Tsukiji Fish Market. ✔
- Play at Bubble Tea Park in Tokyo.
- See Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo.
- See a teacup poodle in Mameshiba dog cafe in Harajuku, Tokyo.
- Yayoi Kusuma Museum in Tokyo.
- Go on the Tokyo Japan Cultural Curiosities Walking Tour.
- Visit Hakone And eat the famous Black Eggs Of Owakudani. ✔
- Take pictures of Torii gates in Fushimi Inari, Kyoto. ✔
- Roam around Nishiki Market in Kyoto. ✔
- Pilgrimage To Okunoin Cemetery Koyasan. ✔
- Experience Summer Festival. ✔
- Visit Otaru, Hokkaido. ✔
- Eat the traditional Hokkaido breakfast. ✔
- Eat freshly cooked food at Kuromon Ichiba Market, Osaka. ✔
- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Osaka. ✔
- Pour water On Buddha in Hozenji Temple for good luck in Namba, Osaka. ✔
- Buy lacquered kitchenware in Sennichimae Doguyasuji Shotengai Kitchenware Street in Osaka. ✔
- Visit Yokohama Chinatown and the Cup Noodle Museum in Yokohama. ✔
- Go on the Nagoya Foodie Tour in Nagoya.
- Eat Yamachan Tebasaki chicken wings in Nagoya. ✔
- Visit Nabana No Sato. ✔
- Eat Ogura butter and Ogura toast in Nagoya. ✔
- Visit Snow Monkey in Nagano. ✔
- Visit Naoshima and Tottori (a recommendation by my friend Priscilla).
- Eat Kobe beef in Kobe. ✔
- Feed the deer in Nara. ✔
- Visit Gotokuji Temple. ✔
- Stay in Nozawa Onsen.
- Take the Murakami tour and Edo tour.
- Eat Onsen Egg. ✔
- Stay in the robot hotel.
- Eat Oden.
- Eat Lavender ice cream on farm Tomita, Furano. ✔
- Visit Tokyo, Kyoto, Tagawa, Enoshima, Shirakawago, Okinawa, Namie, Fukuoka, Yamanouchi, Matsumoto, Miyajima, and Hiroshima.
- Burn my Daruma doll in Takasaki Daruma-Ji temple after my wish is granted.
- Eat temple cuisine. ✔
- Stationery shopping at LOFT. ✔
- Eat Onigiri at Niigata. ✔
- Shop Japanese Knife in Kappabashi, Tokyo. ✔
- Collect temple stamp in a Goshuin.
- Take a local bus. ✔
Alright, that’s for now. I hope this Japan Travel Checklist inspires you, and maybe create a new one for yourself (share with me if you do 💛). I will keep updating it every now and then because the obsession keeps growing y’all!
[…] It’s one of the authentic Japanese cultural experiences you wouldn’t want to miss when traveling in Japan. It’s also the place I frequented the most in Japan, even more than temples and […]
[…] It’s one of the authentic Japanese cultural experiences you wouldn’t want to miss when traveling in Japan. It’s also the place I frequented the most in Japan, even more than temples and […]
[…] It’s one of the authentic Japanese cultural experiences you wouldn’t want to miss when traveling in Japan. It’s also the place I frequented the most in Japan, even more than temples and […]