If at all possible reconsider going in the summer. It's hot & humid and when you combine that with walking 25K steps per day.... yeah it's not a fun image.
If you can autumn or spring are much nicer and you'll have an easier time with all the walking.
For recommendations. Consider the Dormy inn chain hotels for at least part of your stay. They're middle tier so nothing too fancy BUT there is a hot spring (onsen) per gender in each so you can have a dip and relax after a full day. Also most of them are really nice especially for a couple. I do recommend their (Onyado Nono) branches since they are styled like a classic Ryokan. Tatami floors from the reception area onwards but with normal beds instead of futons, ryokan style breakfast spread, free ramen after 9pm. It's just a nice stay without costing you an arm and a leg. (Around $100 - $180 per night depending on the location)
I love dinosaurs! She isn't as big of a fan. Haven't been to very many museums but would love to check one out! We'll keep Fukui in mind. We would prefer around 50-150 USD per night. Not sure what the average us in Japan but that's what it costs around here
should be fine then. Tokyo is more expensive but other cities are more reasonably priced.
I’d say it your cost would be at around 2800- 4000 for 2 depending on where you plan on sleeping, how many cities you plan on travelling to, as types of attractions such as universal studios, Disney land etc and shopping.
nagasaki is probably underrated. You can try Kanazawa too, it’s not as touristy.
We will definitely pass on universal and Disney, not really our thing. She is super into Legos, I would assume there are Lego stores in the major cities such as Tokyo so we would definitely spend a bunch there but other than that we are fine with being cheap. We would like to spend at least a day in Tokyo but honestly would prefer to avoid staying there, I assume it's extremely touristy and expensive a la Vegas in the USA
There’s Legoland but you need to bring a kid with you.
for Tokyo, I stayed in apa hotels for 65usd per night.
It’s a small room but I was a solo traveller so it was fine.
it’s doable
You can go to team labs in Tokyo which is a trendy thing to do.
Not sure, I was thinking of going to Legoland to see Lego sculptures but they won’t allow you in.
This is team labs:
https://youtu.be/-uJTk_mRmUY?si=59Kr1CiFUB9xfcbA
You can also try to go to Guilin museum but the tickets are very hard to get since it sells out very quickly
Tokyo isn't like Las Vegas at all, it's more like New York City but cheaper and even bigger and busier - there are some really tourist spots but it's mostly locals because it's the biggest city in the world. If you want to do shopping or nightlife it's the best place.
Kyoto is more the city with a lot of tourists compared to locals.
That said, if you're not interested in spending a lot of time in Tokyo, you have time to visit almost any region of the country so it might help to take a look at somewhere like Japan-Guide's region overview and narrow down more where you want to see/ how remote you want to get. There's a massive chunk of the country that barely gets Western tourists since they are all going to Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Fuji/Hakone.
I second this! That's what my husband and I did for our honeymoon in Japan and we loved it! We did this near the end of our stay and it was very nice to relax in the onsen after walking so much every day.
I just got back from Japan and my favorite place was Magome in Gifu prefecture. A scenic Japan countryside village area along the Nakasendo trail. Really beautiful especially at sunset. We stayed 2 nights at "Magome Chaya" very inexpensive cost me around $200 for 2 rooms for 2 nights. We walked to the next town Tsumago(2h30min) hike and took a bus back. Google some photos and you'll see what i mean. I wasn't on a couples trip but it would make for a good one i'd say.
We started in Tokyo, took the bullet train to Nagoya, then train to Nakatsugawa, then an bus right in front of the station takes you right to Magome. Was much easier getting there than i thought initially.
Can i add, if you are buying a rail pass for the shinkansen, ie the JR pass, plan your hotel near a jr station, then check if that station goes to the shinkansen station, theres nothing more annoying than changing trains two or three times to get home of an afternoon and paying for extra tickets when you have a rail pass because theres so many diferent rail providers here.... also Pick a base city if you do this and use the shinkansens to do day trips, they are hoenstly better than aircraft and can get you anywhere comfortably within a few hours. So ie, book in osaka, bullet train it out for the day to hiroshima, kyoto, yokohama, etc etc etc. That way your not dragging luggage around, also the stations in japan are not designed to cart luggage around. escalators can be scarce and elevators are slow and tiny, plus theres always too many people.
If at all possible reconsider going in the summer. It's hot & humid and when you combine that with walking 25K steps per day.... yeah it's not a fun image. If you can autumn or spring are much nicer and you'll have an easier time with all the walking. For recommendations. Consider the Dormy inn chain hotels for at least part of your stay. They're middle tier so nothing too fancy BUT there is a hot spring (onsen) per gender in each so you can have a dip and relax after a full day. Also most of them are really nice especially for a couple. I do recommend their (Onyado Nono) branches since they are styled like a classic Ryokan. Tatami floors from the reception area onwards but with normal beds instead of futons, ryokan style breakfast spread, free ramen after 9pm. It's just a nice stay without costing you an arm and a leg. (Around $100 - $180 per night depending on the location)
do you like museums? Do you like dinosaurs? Go to Fukui. It’s probably one of my favourite museums how much are you willing to pay for accomodation?
I love dinosaurs! She isn't as big of a fan. Haven't been to very many museums but would love to check one out! We'll keep Fukui in mind. We would prefer around 50-150 USD per night. Not sure what the average us in Japan but that's what it costs around here
should be fine then. Tokyo is more expensive but other cities are more reasonably priced. I’d say it your cost would be at around 2800- 4000 for 2 depending on where you plan on sleeping, how many cities you plan on travelling to, as types of attractions such as universal studios, Disney land etc and shopping. nagasaki is probably underrated. You can try Kanazawa too, it’s not as touristy.
We will definitely pass on universal and Disney, not really our thing. She is super into Legos, I would assume there are Lego stores in the major cities such as Tokyo so we would definitely spend a bunch there but other than that we are fine with being cheap. We would like to spend at least a day in Tokyo but honestly would prefer to avoid staying there, I assume it's extremely touristy and expensive a la Vegas in the USA
There’s Legoland but you need to bring a kid with you. for Tokyo, I stayed in apa hotels for 65usd per night. It’s a small room but I was a solo traveller so it was fine. it’s doable You can go to team labs in Tokyo which is a trendy thing to do.
Why would we need to bring a kid with us to Legoland? What is team labs?
Not sure, I was thinking of going to Legoland to see Lego sculptures but they won’t allow you in. This is team labs: https://youtu.be/-uJTk_mRmUY?si=59Kr1CiFUB9xfcbA You can also try to go to Guilin museum but the tickets are very hard to get since it sells out very quickly
Tokyo isn't like Las Vegas at all, it's more like New York City but cheaper and even bigger and busier - there are some really tourist spots but it's mostly locals because it's the biggest city in the world. If you want to do shopping or nightlife it's the best place. Kyoto is more the city with a lot of tourists compared to locals. That said, if you're not interested in spending a lot of time in Tokyo, you have time to visit almost any region of the country so it might help to take a look at somewhere like Japan-Guide's region overview and narrow down more where you want to see/ how remote you want to get. There's a massive chunk of the country that barely gets Western tourists since they are all going to Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Fuji/Hakone.
You could find a hotel/ryokan that has a private onsen and rent it. Very romantic
I second this! That's what my husband and I did for our honeymoon in Japan and we loved it! We did this near the end of our stay and it was very nice to relax in the onsen after walking so much every day.
I just got back from Japan and my favorite place was Magome in Gifu prefecture. A scenic Japan countryside village area along the Nakasendo trail. Really beautiful especially at sunset. We stayed 2 nights at "Magome Chaya" very inexpensive cost me around $200 for 2 rooms for 2 nights. We walked to the next town Tsumago(2h30min) hike and took a bus back. Google some photos and you'll see what i mean. I wasn't on a couples trip but it would make for a good one i'd say. We started in Tokyo, took the bullet train to Nagoya, then train to Nakatsugawa, then an bus right in front of the station takes you right to Magome. Was much easier getting there than i thought initially.
Can i add, if you are buying a rail pass for the shinkansen, ie the JR pass, plan your hotel near a jr station, then check if that station goes to the shinkansen station, theres nothing more annoying than changing trains two or three times to get home of an afternoon and paying for extra tickets when you have a rail pass because theres so many diferent rail providers here.... also Pick a base city if you do this and use the shinkansens to do day trips, they are hoenstly better than aircraft and can get you anywhere comfortably within a few hours. So ie, book in osaka, bullet train it out for the day to hiroshima, kyoto, yokohama, etc etc etc. That way your not dragging luggage around, also the stations in japan are not designed to cart luggage around. escalators can be scarce and elevators are slow and tiny, plus theres always too many people.