Attractions to SKIP and DO in Japan 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto Things to Do in 2024

There are so many attractions you can do in Japan and I’m here to help you skip some of the one I think you can skip 😆 Just so you know, we still had a lot of fun on the attractions that I would skip, but if you don’t have enough time (or it’s not in your budget), it’s totally ok to skip some of these attractions.

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There are so many attractions I want to do but I have to skip because I didn’t have time. BUT that means I get to add them on my to-do list for the next time I’ll be in Japan!

If you’ve been to Japan recently, let me know in the comments if you agree on some of the skippable attractions on my list ⤵️

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I’m also sharing some of the attractions I would highly recommend for you to do while you’re in Japan. Tbh my favorite attractions in Japan are the castles you can visit.

We went to the Osaka Castle, Kyoto Imperial Palace and Nijo Castle 🏯 It was so intriguing to me visiting some of these castle and palaces. Because you got a glimpse of how royalties and emperors used to live back then.

And what impressed me most is how it’s still standing today, and it’s preserved so beautifully!

What are some of your favorite attractions in Japan?

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Hi, friends! 👋🏻 My name is Sarah and on my channel, I post travel tips and hacks videos that will help you travel more. I have a full-time job with limited paid time off (PTO), but I was able to travel more since 2022. If traveling more is one of your goals this year, I’m making it my mission to help you accomplish your travel goals!

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In today’s video I want to share with you some of the attractions in Japan that I think you can Skip and some of the ones that you absolutely must do hi friends my name is Sarah and welcome to my channel but before I share the list

With you just know that we had a pretty good experience for all of these attractions even the ones that I think you can skip since I did go to three different cities in Japan I went to Tokyo Osaka and Kyoto I’m going to categorize the list into three by the

Cities that they’re at let’s start with Tokyo first if you have been following for a while you might know that we spend the most time in Tokyo because Tokyo is so big there are so many different neighborhoods and areas that we want to go to but we didn’t even get to go to

All of them so I’m saving the ones that we didn’t get to do for our next trip hopefully sometime in the future but let me just go over a couple attractions that I think you can probably skip in Tokyo the first one is the Art Aquarium

Museum in Ginza let me just tell you the reason why I think you can Skip and also why I cannot highight recommend this exhibition it is just because I feel like it’s a little bit borderline maybe animal abuse if you have been there you probably know what I’m talking about

Although the exhibition was really pretty they really thought out the whole concept but when you see the little details that goes into it you kind of realize that this might not be right for the Goldfish and maybe it’s just me but I just feel really really bad for those

Fishes there’s this one part of the exhibition where there are a bunch of square-ish fish tank or fish aquarium in the middle and it kind of showcased the many different types of goldfish which honestly I had no idea before I went to this exhibit I just thought there’s only

One goldfish TP but there actually plenty and you’ll see in this little squarish tank that there’s like at least three or four fishes there’s also some decoration in there and when I take a closeup video footage of those fishes it seems like they are asking me to help

Them their swimming area is just very limited and and then they have to share it with three or four other fishes something is a bit off for me I just didn’t really like that and I couldn’t really highly recommend this exhibition for you like I said it’s still a very

Beautiful piece of art SL exhibition but I just kind of question the reasoning of the small tank and all of that that is why I couldn’t highly recommend and that’s also the reason why I think you could skip this attraction number two is a day trip to Yokohama I think you can

Definitely skip this if you don’t have anything that you want in Yokohama if you are going to Japan after March 31st 2024 I think the gunam factory should be closed already by then I think they were supposed to close in the past a couple times and they kept extending their

Opening I’m not sure if that’s the case for 2024 but if they are close and there’s nothing else that you want to see in Yokohama you can definitely skip a day trip to Yokohama for me it was still pretty cool to see because I kind

Of want to see the big Gundam at the Gundam Factory move around because we went at the time when the factory is not close yet I think it was still worth it to go to Yokohama we also went to have a really late lunch or early dinner I

Guess at hotel new grand which is where the spaghetti and napolitan dish was first created I love pasta and I love that show First Love on Netflix I just kind of like really connected to that dish so I thought it would be cool to actually go into Hotel new Grand and

Experience that it’s not really as special as I thought it would be that’s why I feel like you can skip Yokohama because I’m sure there are other places in maybe Tokyo Osaka or Kyoto that have spaghetti napolitan that maybe better and cheaper the next thing that I feel

Like you can skip in Tokio is Magi jingu and Harajuku I think it was just an okay Shrine and that’s because I’ve seen some other ones in Kyoto that is prettier and a little bit more interesting to me however when I did go to Mei jingu there was actually a traditional Japanese

Wedding ceremony happening I didn’t take any pictures and videos because I want to respect their privacy but it was pretty cool experience to witness especially if you have never seen it before and it is your first time in Japan the bride was wearing this very traditional wedding attire it comes with

That big white headdress or I don’t know what the actual term is but it was just really cool to see but I think just the mai Jingo attraction in general I think you can skip it because there are many other shrines that are more interesting

To me in my opinion in Kyoto the next thing that I feel like you can skip is the Mount Fuji ropeway right I know I actually went because I got a combination tickets for the ropeway and the boat ride but I don’t think the ropeway ride is worth the wait time when

You get up there honestly I didn’t really get to do much because they were closing at 2:00 p.m. and then there’s just a long line to actually go back down and then we also have to catch the last boat right so I want to make sure

That we get to go up to the summit of the ropeway right look around take some pictures and then we actually went back in line to go back down which is why I feel like you can definitely skip this if you have seen my Mount Fuji video

You’ll notice that once you get into the Fuji Yoshida and kawaguchiko area you can see M Fuji from anywhere just pray and hope that you went on a clear day you don’t have to go up the mon Fuji ropeway to see mon Fuji I’m hoping that

This video can kind of help you out especially if you are kind of on the fence about an attraction or two and whether or not you should add it into your own Japan itinerary and let me know the comment below if you have been to Japan and if you have gone to these

Attractions if you agree with me or not to skip it with that being said let’s go over to the attraction that you absolutely have to do and speaking about man Fuji area I think the Lake kawaguchi boat ride is totally worth it it’s a 20-minute ride and it was actually

Pretty cool to sail around Lake kawaguchi but then you also again get the few of man Fuji from the water level and if you have been walking around the whole day that 20 minute is definitely helpful because you can just sit and relax and enjoy the boat ride enjoy the

Scenery so if you have to choose between the ropeway and the boat ride definitely do the boat ride the next attraction I guess that you have to do in Tokyo is write the shinen and also make sure you get some uban to eat during your ride I

Actually only went on two shenans and rights one from Tokyo to Kobe and then the second one was from Kyoto to go back to Tokyo and both ways I make sure that I got some UB bans I even got the same one which was the pork cutlet one and oh

My gosh that is my favorite band ever if you are going on the shinan on your first trip to Japan make sure you get those uband another thing that I want to say about the shinan is that buying tickets for the trip is actually pretty easy I think I might actually upload a

Video about how I get our shinan tickets from the app called smartx app so make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss that video and actually search the Train by the time by the train type and you can also get the non-reserve tickets on the

App and if you do decide to get the reserve seating you can also pick can choose your seat from the app the next attraction and I feel like not a lot of people agree is to eat at an iteron Ramen on like your first couple days in

Japan I feel like you just have to experience it at least once wait in the line order the ramen and also eat in the individual Booth let me know in the comment below if you agree I’m just going to say this and I probably will

Spoil it for you it and ramen is not going to be the best ramen you eat in Japan because there are so many other places that are probably way better but I think you just have to go for the experience it’s kind of like an initiation for yourself are in Japan and

You just got to get that itam ramman dinner on your first night in Japan the last thing that I want to say about an attraction that you absolutely must do I think in Tokyo is to go to Sunan City in kabukuru especially if you are a fan of

Pokémon there are many Pokémon centers throughout Japan especially in Tokyo and there are many bigger ones than the one in sunshine City I feel like it’s just a Pokémon Heaven especially for anyone who is a Pokémon fan because even when you go up the stairs or the elevators to go

To the level where the Pokémon Center is located there’s like a bunch of Pokeball that you can see on the ceiling and then when you get to that level in front of the Pokémon centers there’s actually Pokémon figurines and I’m pretty sure those are the original Pokémons I want

To say if you want to reminisce from like your childhood back in the mid90s is you should go to Sunshine City and just take a look at some of the Pokémon stuff that they have there there’s actually two Pokémon related stores there I think one is the Pokémon centers

Which actually sell a lot of those Pokémon character merchandise and there’s another one where it’s more about the trading card games when we were there there’s not a lot of people at the other store so I’m not really sure how that works before going to the

Next city which is Osaka let me know in the comment below what are some of the attractions that you think you can skip in Tokyo and something that you absolutely must do in Tokyo according to your own experience so let me know in the comment below I feel like everybody

Else who are watching this video would definitely find that helpful I also went to Kobe but I only went for one day and we didn’t really do as much as I plan to so I couldn’t really come up with a list of things to skip and things to do but

If you spend maybe more than 2 Days in coob let me know what are some of the attractions that is your favorite in coob and some of the ones that you can skip let’s talk about Osaka I only spent two nights in Osaka so I didn’t really

Again have an extensive list of things to skip and to do but I do have one that I think you can definitely Skip and that is the sutan Kaku Tower I’m hoping that I’m saying it right but if you don’t know which one I’m talking about this is

The tower that you can see I think from the shinsa area of Osaka it is still pretty especially if you get to see the tower from the bottom level but I would not really highly recommend going up the tower and I will tell you a few turn

Offs on why I think you can skip going up the observation deck but you can still go to the area and see the tower from the outside because it is still pretty but I don’t recommend going up the observation deck at all the line is

Super super long you have to go down the basement first there’s a long line there and then once you get to the elevator to go actually up the observation deck you thought that that is the time where you would actually go see the observation deck um no it wasn’t there’s more line

To go through and the other turnoff is that when you are waiting in line they would actually take one of those touristic pictures before you actually get to see the observation deck and honestly that was just a turnoff for me I didn’t even buy the photos I actually

Didn’t want to take my pictures but they insisted maybe I could have be a little bit more Stern so they would just let me skip the photo taking thing but I just feel like that was kind of a turn off I haven’t even experienced the observation

Deck and now you want me to take a picture like I have experienced the observation deck I feel like if they put that whole photo taking thing after before we exit that would be an even better experience now let’s go over some of the attractions that I think you

Absolutely must do in Osaka and I have three of them the first one is the Osaka Castle I don’t know about you but I love to see old houses palaces castles that people used to live at it was just kind of interesting to see how people used to

Live back in the day it’s amazing how they can build the whole castle a couple hundred years ago and it’s still standing to this day you could actually go inside the castle and go up to the upper level to look at Osaka from up above but if you want to do something

Pretty affordable and doesn’t cost you anything you can definitely walk around the Osaka Castle Park and you do get to admire the whole building from the outside which I think is the best obviously if you do go in you can probably see a little bit more about the

History of the castle maybe see how the interior looks like honestly I didn’t do it because there’s a long line for the ticket especially if you don’t have reservation but to me seeing it from outside is actually pretty cool and then you can walk around take a lot of good

Pictures with the Osaka castle and the fall leaves because we went in November and I would highly recommend you actually put Osaka Castle into your mon to-do list in Osaka the next thing that you absolutely have to do in Osaka is to visit Doon Bor area there are just so

Many things going on and there’s obviously a lot of people but there are different area of the Doon B that is not as crowded and you can actually get on one of those boat rides sailing through the River or the canal and you get to see all of the famous signs like the

Glyco sign from the water and then they go one way so one side can take a picture of the famous signs and then when they U-turn the other side get a chance to take pictures with the famous signs so honestly it’s worth it to pay a

Little bit extra to go on one of those boat rides and it’s just one thing that you absolutely have to do in Doon borri the next thing is another kind of like water typ attractions and that is the aqual liner Osaka water bus and you can actually take this right after you walk

Around the Osaka Castle Park but after you are done walking around the Osaka Castle Park Park you can go to this other Park and that is where the water bus is at on that day when we were going to the aqua Bus location there’s actually like a Ramen Showdown or

Something going on there’s basically I think 10 ramen shops that have like a boot there and you can pay 1,000 yen for the basic bowl and then if you want to pay extra for the toppings you can use cash we didn’t have cash at the time but

I did actually go to the ATM after we got our ramen ball anyways going back to the aquab buus I think this is something that you absolutely want to do when you are in Osaka I don’t know about you but I really really like the water the ocean

I love cruising and stuff like that one specific thing that is pretty unique into this water bus when you get on the boat everything is enclosed but halfway to the right everything can open you can get like an open air boat ride experience and it was just really cool

I’ll definitely show you like the footage of the whole thing opening up and I highly highly recommend adding this into your list I feel like I’ve been talking for so long but finally we are on the last stop or at least for my stop in Japan which is Kyoto it was

Actually kind of excited for me to finally go to Kyoto B I’ve heard so many good things about Kyoto and how pretty it is but it was also sad for me because that is our last stop in Japan before we had to go back to Tokyo and fly out of

Japan but let me just go over a couple things that you can probably skip on your next trip to Kyoto the first one and contrary to the popular beliefs is the arama Bamboo Grove or bamboo forest I definitely think you can skip this especially if you don’t have time it’s a

Little bit underwhelming for me like that’s because at the time we went to the bambo Grove it was actually overcast it was cloudy so it was kind of dark inside and honestly it was kind of creepy and a bit scary for me maybe if it’s clear and sunny day it might be a

Different experience another thing about the arama area is that it is really really popular there were a lot of people who were on the sidewalk trying to go through the bamboo Groove With that being said maybe if if you went early in the morning you might have a

Different experience we did go at like maybe 1 or 2 p.m. I’m not a morning person I will not and I don’t think I ever will wake up super early to beat the crowd next thing that I think you can skip is the Maia Starbucks that are

In the Kyoto gon area I would say that you could still go to the area because the area where the Starbucks is at is still pretty there’s a lot of really traditional looking stores and stuff like that but I would really recommend going in and order a drink and try to

Find seats inside the machia Starbucks because there were no seats and I feel like they don’t really put a time limit for how long people can stay but I would still recommend going there and just admire the building from the outside you can actually just stand and chill kind

Of like outside of the store so I would say still go and experience the machia store but just don’t expect to actually have to sit there and chill there unless you go early in the morning when they’re open and again that was not my thing I

Just wanted to pass by and see what the fuss is all about but that was just based on my experience I’m sure other people have a different experience and if you do let me know in the comment below what are some of your strategy to actually be able to sit in there other

Than obviously lining up first thing in the morning so now that I kind of get all of the skip attraction out of the way these are some of my highly recommendation for Kyoto the first one is the Kyoto Imperial Palace and we actually get to go there on the first

Day we are in Kyoto about an hour or so before they close out the whole place it was just really really cool to walk around palaces and like I mentioned earlier I just love looking at how people used to live and how just Grand everything is like I feel like if I have

A lot of money and if I am royalty I would definitely understand why they need such a big place to live once you get there it feels like you’re kind of taking back in time and just walking around the whole Palace area like maybe people would back in the day and I would

Highly recommend going to the Imperial palaces we didn’t go go to Dan one in Tokyo so that’s why we decided to go to Dan one in Kyoto the next thing that I have under recommendation for Kyoto is the ni Castle or the nijo castle I think

It’s like a vacation home for one of the Japanese Emperors back in the day but I actually went after hours and I bought a ticket for the naked Autumn festival for njo Castle you couldn’t really see the whole architecture and building because it was obviously at night and it was

Already dark but it was just a completely different experience there’s like a lot of interactive art that they project into the castle wall and some of the trees if you have a chance to go to nio Castle in the morning in the daylight do that but also try to see if

They have a special event that you can go to after hours the next thing that I would highly recommend if you are into understanding some of the art and culture of Kyoto is to go to a gon Corner Performance guon Corner is like a Performing Art Center that specialize

For travelers they showcase a few different Japanese Arts from back in the day they have some musical numbers comedy number as well as puppet performances I couldn’t take any pictures or videos during the performance but you can definitely check out their website for more information they actually have two daily shows one

At 600 p.m. and another one at 7:00 p.m. it’s actually a small theater doesn’t feel as crowded whichever seat that you choose whether it be in the front or kind of like towards the back you can see everything I would highly recommend this performance you get to see a little

Bit of everything and it’s not as expensive and it’s not as long as if you were to go to the actual performance and they also have like a program in English so you can kind of understand what the performances is all about last but not

Least and I feel like I went to this attraction because of Tik Tok is the mapple tree tunnel trains I actually just realized that I make a mistake on this and I’m telling you this in this video so you don’t make it for your Japan trip make sure to go when it gets

Darker maybe like just right before the Sun is setting when you do go during the day again it’s still pretty there’s a lot of light out so you can definitely see everything clearer however those famous Tik Tok where they go through the maple tree tunnel is when it’s dark so

You get to see the fibrant colors even more and if you do want to see it the way you see it from Tik Tok I think the best time to go is when the Sun is setting but keep in mind it might be crowded and I feel like the train line

Is what people use to go home before you reach the map tree tunnel there’s actually like people homes on the side so it’s not just train for travelers but it’s also for locals and also it’s not the cheapest train ticket I forgot how much it is per person for round trip but

It was send like 120 yen for like a regular train right so keep that in mind if you decided to go on the maple tree tunnel train rides all right I’m done with all of the list that I have to skip and to do in Japan hopefully this is

Helpful for you especially if you are still debating whether or not you want to spend some time and money on some of these attractions let me know in a comment below if you have been to Japan what are some of the attractions that you think you can Skip and some of the

Ones that you absolutely need to go especially if they are different from the list that I have in this video thank you so much for watching and I really appreciate you staying till the end of the video I hope this has been helpful make sure to subscribe to my channel if

You want to see more Japan travel videos and recommendation videos and I will see you on the next one bye