15 Small Tips from my 2025 Japan Trip ✈️ Things I Noticed!

15 Small Tips from my 2025 Japan Trip ✈️ Things I Noticed!

I’ve just got back from Japan. During my trip, there were a bunch of things I noticed that I wanted to tell you about. There’s nothing new or life changing. Just my little thoughts and observations that might come in handy. Or hopefully you’ll at least find them interesting. I’m Amy from Cakes with Faces. If you’re new here, I’ve been traveling to Japan for 15 years. Have a look through the playlists for lots of tips and ideas for things to do. I’ve also written a Japan guidebook, and I have a trip planning deck to help you get your itinerary under control. And there’s new Japan videos here every Thursday. As a recap on this trip, we spent the first few days in Tokyo because it’s a Japan trip, but you’ve got to spend some time in Tokyo. We did a day trip to Atami to go to the seaside, and then we took the shinkansen to Nagoya. From Nagoya, we did a day trip to the popular part of the Nakasendo Trail from Magome to Tsumago. Unfortunately, it rained the entire day, but it was still beautiful. The next day, we took the scenic train to Takayama, which I loved. It was such a change of pace to Tokyo and so many good snacks. We did a half day trip to Shirakawago by bus. We took the last bus for the day home, which was so good because most people were gone by then, so we had some streets all to ourselves. Then we took the train to Toyama for the night before doing the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, which is such an easy way to go up through the mountains, and at that time the snow walls were still 13m tall. Beforehand it was a bit confusing how the alpine route worked, so if you have any questions about that or anything else, just put them in the comments and I’ll do my best to help you out. After the alpine route, we took the shinkansen back to Tokyo. We tried gGran Class for the first time, which is a class above the Green Car. Then it was our last few days in Tokyo. We checked out the expansions to Teamlab Planets, revisited the SkyTree, went back to Akihabara and stayed in a fantastic hotel with a view of the trains in Tokyo Station. There’ll be videos coming up about all these things. I can’t wait to show you everything. I do still have a couple of older videos left to edit, and next week will be Japan Travel News, which I know some of you have been waiting for. So the first thing: There have been lots of stories about overcrowding and over-tourism in Japan recently, especially in Kyoto, where the old streets just aren’t designed for that many people. As I was walking through places like Magome on the Nakasendo Trail and Takayama, it made me think this is the experience that some people are looking for when they go to Kyoto. You can stroll through historic streets. You can sip green tea in an old wooden house. You can feed koi carp in the river. But in these less crowded places, it’s much calmer and much more atmospheric. I’m not saying don’t go to Kyoto. Kyoto has a lot of sights you can only find there, and it definitely has a much higher concentration of these beautiful places than elsewhere. But Kyoto is not the only place you can find that sort of thing. If you want to see historic or traditional Japan, there are other places you can find that too. And you might just have a better experience where it’s calmer and less crowded. So going at the end of May and start of June, it seemed like it wasn’t that crowded in most places, especially Takayama. I don’t know what it’s like all year round there, but from what other people have said about how many people there are there, it seemed pretty quiet. Also in Tokyo, I got tickets for Teamlab Planets last minute, and I got tickets for the SkyTree the same day for sunset time. It definitely seemed more crowded than in February in the start of March, which really is the off season. And some areas of Tokyo like Shinjuku and Shibuya were very crowded, but then they always are. Tokyo has such a high population density. That’s just part of what it is. It was kind of nice to get away from Tokyo, though, and have a bit of space and breathe. And not everywhere you go into is full of people. I think the reason this time of year is slightly quieter is because the rainy season starts halfway through June, so it’s not the most popular time of year for tourism. It is a risky time of year with the weather. The forecast was really changeable and this year the rainy season started a few days early. So our last couple of days it rained pretty much all day. So I’d recommend this for any time of year, but make sure you have some waterproof shoes and make sure they’re comfy, because you’ll be walking around a lot. Some hotels have umbrellas you can borrow, or you can buy them really cheap at any convenience store. And if you think the rain’s are really going to spoil your trip, avoid this time of year. Especially anything after the first week of June, really. Also, on the subject of crowds, if you need to take the Yamanote Line in the morning rush hour before 9 a.m. with suitcases like if you’re going to the airport, I would really consider getting a coach instead. I took the Yamanote Line at that time without luggage going from Shinjuku to Shinagawa. When the train arrives, it looks like it’s already packed full. But if you wait for the next one, it’s going to be exactly the same. So you have to somehow push your way on. And then, once you’ve got on, a load of other people will push their way on behind you. I couldn’t reach the handles or anything to hold on to, but there’s no way I could have fallen over. There were so many people compacted together. I have done that with luggage before and I really wouldn’t recommend it. So if you’re going to the airport in the morning, consider taking a coach instead. Or if you’re traveling within Japan, use a luggage sending service like Takkyubin, which I have a video about. As an update to that video, this time, the staff at the hotel front desk filled in all the forms for me. They also phoned the next hotel to confirm my reservation so they knew the suitcases would be coming. And then when I checked in, my suitcases were waiting for me in my room every time. It’s such an excellent, smooth service. Next, for any hayfever sufferers, you hear that seasonal allergies are really bad in Japan. Now before I went, here in the UK, my hay fever was flaring up and now I’m back it’s giving me trouble again. But while I was there in Japan, nothing. The pollen count was zero. Because the climate’s different in Japan compared to the UK, their winter’s shorter so their hay fever season comes earlier. So bear that in mind, and take your hay fever tablets just in case. Now, when you’re planning your trip, if you’re going to multiple destinations, have a think about where you’re going to be at the weekend. Weekends are always busier for domestic tourism, and people are just more likely to be out and about doing things. This time I was in Tokyo for both weekends, which meant it was busier there and it was quieter for the Gifu section of the trip, which was during the week. Having said that, Shibuya, even on a Tuesday night, is extremely busy. It was just like a Saturday night would be anywhere else now, because I was staying in Tokyo for two sections of the trip at the start and at the end I tried out staying in two different locations. First, I stayed on the west side in my beloved Shinjuku, my favourite place to stay. And then I stayed on the east side at Tokyo Station. There are, of course, loads of other choices beyond just those two. I’ve got a video about them. I divided up the things I wanted to do into the east side and the west side, which was more convenient. It cut down on traveling time and expenses, and I liked that the two sections had a really different feel in different parts of the city. Having said that, if you’ve got just one section of your trip in Tokyo, I probably wouldn’t bother moving hotels halfway through because you have to pack up all your stuff, move, check in and unpack again, and it’s kind of a waste of time. But if you’ve got two sections of your trip in Tokyo, I think it worked out well. Now on to some observations about going to a more rural area in Gifu and central Japan. The first time I went to Japan, we looked up all the giant poisonous bugs that exist there, and it was terrifying. Don’t do that! I actually have never really seen any apart from a few spiders on day trips. I haven’t even seen any cockroaches which are supposed to be in Tokyo. However, going to a more rural area, there is more wildlife. We possibly saw 1 or 2 giant hornets. They may have just been very big wasps. I’m no expert, but they were definitely in that general category. One time I was filming a video and Phil said, “Amy, go over there” because there was a hornet behind me. You don’t need to worry about that sort of thing in Tokyo, but if you go into the countryside, you might see them. I wouldn’t let it put you off, and more wildlife is a good thing in general. We saw some huge butterflies. There were lots of birds. There were swallows flying around everywhere. There was even a monkey in the road that the coach had to drive around. And there were lots of flowers. It was so noticeable how lush everything was compared to our last trip at the end of February, start of March when not much was green, especially the grass. Something I really loved was how at this time of year, the rice fields are full of water. I just couldn’t get enough of them. It’s so picturesque. It’s also a good idea to pack some insect repellent. I took some and then forgot to put it on. And in a couple of places there were huge swarms of gnats. I always get insect bites and surprisingly, I didn’t get bitten at all. But there are mosquitoes in Japan, especially around water, so it’s a good idea to pack some insect repellent. Now, lots of people say cash is king in Japan and you do need cash for certain things. But in reality, in the city, most places do take cards. However, in smaller towns and the countryside, there are a lot more places that don’t accept them. Lots of restaurants, snack kiosks and smaller tourist attractions are cash only. Like this drum, which you can have a go on for ¥100. Some places don’t even take larger notes, so we found ourselves using the change machines quite a lot to get ¥1,000 notes and ¥100 coins. Also, in the countryside it’s a bit sleepy and the day seems to finish earlier, so use that jetlag to adjust your timings and get up earlier and finish your day earlier. It’s worth checking opening times. Tourist attractions might close at 5 p.m. or 4 p.m., restaurants close earlier and you might find not much is open after 9 p.m. You might see people saying online that Japan doesn’t want all you tourists here, but I found in Gifu in central Japan, people were so friendly and welcoming and it made it really lovely to be there. I especially felt that in Hida Furukawa, which is a little town a very short train ride away from Takayama, slightly off the beaten track. People were so welcoming. We stopped in the tourist office to get the stamp, and they had maps of all the interesting places and where to find the locations from your name. They had workshops and experiences and they seemed to really want people to enjoy their town. As it turned out, Hida Furukawa was actually my favourite day. I thought the alpine route was going to be the best part, but it’s a reminder that the highlight of your trip isn’t necessarily going to be the biggest and most spectacular attraction. It’s so easy to lose touch with that when you’re planning your trip. Sometimes the best times can be just walking back to your hotel at night when it’s really quiet, or when you’re strolling around not even doing anything in particular. Those times can be the best memories. Now I will be making a full video about how much I spent on everything, but immediately it feels like we spent a bit more on food this time. That might be because prices have gone up slightly and they probably have. It’s not that noticeable. And with the excellent exchange rate, that really isn’t a problem. I think it’s also down to our choices. We didn’t eat as many cheap places like conveyor belt sushi this time, and I think restaurants in Takayama were a little bit pricier, possibly because it’s a tourist place, but they were still excellent value compared to the UK. We’re talking like ¥8,000 for a meal for two people, and most of our meals were much less than that. And the food in Takayama was so good. I really wasn’t expecting that. But the best meals of our trip were definitely that. And there will be videos coming up. We went to some really friendly family run places. To me, cosy places like that are so much more appealing than modern, shiny, fancy restaurants. I loved this hoba miso which is a local specialty. It’s local Hida beef or tofu and vegetables for me, in miso sauce, cooked on a leaf on your table. We like to call it beef on a leaf, but that’s definitely not its proper name. It’s called hoba miso. I really liked how the local specialties are clearly really valued in the Hida region. That is true of most places in Japan, but it seemed to really come across in Gifu. The biggest surprise was this tofu restaurant, which we almost didn’t go to because it looks like too much tofu for one meal. But it was so good trying all the different textures and they flavoured it so well. I think tofu is often not cooked very well in the west. There were lots of veggie options in Takayama too. When I say lots, most places still didn’t have any. But if you do your research, you do have a choice. I thought there might not be anything in a more rural area, but they’ve clearly ready for tourists and their dietary requirements, so that’s really good to see. Oh, and I’ve also got to mention this amazing toast from Komeda Coffee, which is a chain. Look how thick it is now as the weather was warmer, my taste changed a bit and I didn’t feel like drinking Fanta Grape all the time. I went for some more refreshing options. There are so many good snacks in Takayama and in Tokyo. I went for some of these medicine style drinks from the convenience store. Every convenience store has them. Some of them have vitamins. Some have fibre, and some of them are supposed to stop you getting a hangover. I went for the vitamin drinks because on the flight, the guy next to me across the aisle had a cold and he was coughing and sniffing throughout the entire flight. It kept me awake, and I was freaking out because I really didn’t want to get sick right at the start of the trip. So I loaded up on vitamin drinks, and I really think that carried me through. I also finally tried the smoothies from 7-Eleven. You get a cup of fruit from the freezer, and there’s a machine that blends it all up into a smoothie. It’s a really good way to get some health if you feel like you’re not getting enough fruit and vegetables. On the subject of being healthy – or not…. You often hear people talking about Cremia or Cremia ice cream and Blue Seal ice cream from Okinawa. They’re both excellent. Believe the hype. Definitely try them if you get the chance. We got the Blue Seal ice cream from this Okinawan themed cafe in Akihabara. I really liked how they decorated the walls with all this colourful fabric. I think it’s called bingata. So I’m taking this as a sign that we should go to Okinawa next. So if you’ve been, give me your recommendations in the comments. When’s the best time to go and where should I go? On to shopping now: Some things are cheaper in Japan, some things not. There was looking at headphones which were inexplicably much cheaper in Japan for some reason. And I got some art stuff which, because it’s from Japanese brands, was a lot cheaper than it would have been in the UK. I always take a lot of SD cards for my camera for filming, but for some reason I was getting through them quicker than usual. So I went along to Yodobashi Camera to pick them up and they were so much more expensive there. So if there’s something you want to buy, have an idea of how much it would usually cost. Because some things are cheaper in Japan and some things aren’t. As always, we did find ourselves in Yodobashi Camera several times. I’m always blown away by the amazing choice they have of pretty much everything, and everything is right there for you to look at and try out. I don’t really do whole videos, but I am making a little Instagram reel about the stuff I bought. If you want to see what I got, I’m case your faces over there. So that was my 15 thoughts and observations from my Japan trip. I hope you found that interesting or useful in some way. There’s so much coming up on my channel. I really can’t wait to start editing all my new videos, so make sure you’re subscribed and I’ll see you next week with Japan Travel News. Bye bye!

My thoughts and small tips from my recent trip to Japan, and what it’s like going to a more rural area in the Japanese countryside.

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A collection of my thoughts, random observations and small tips from my most recent Japan trip. I hope you find them useful or at least interesting! These are just things I happened to notice this time, especially about visiting a more rural area in central Japan (Gifu and Takayama) and how it’s different to Tokyo and the other big cities. For example, cards aren’t accepted in as many places, and there are more insects, as well as more wildlife in general, but the food’s excellent and people are so friendly. As a recap, we spent a few days in Tokyo, then took the shinkansen to Nagoya to do the Nakasendo Trail (just the popular section from Magome to Tsumago), then on to Takayama with day trips to Shirakawago and Hida Furukawa, then Toyama to do the Tatayama Kurobe Alpine Route before going back to Tokyo via Gran Class shinkansen. The video also includes a summary of the trip, including highlights and the best food and snacks. I’ll also cover how busy it was, what it’s like just before rainy season, hayfever tips and whether you should go to Kyoto to see historic Japan.

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00:00 Trip overview
02:11 Alternatives to Kyoto
03:09 How crowded was it
03:56 Rainy season
04:40 Yamanote Line rush hour
05:56 Hayfever
06:25 Weekends
06:56 Staying in two places
07:55 Bugs & wildlife
09:35 Cash vs cards
10:13 Closing times
10:34 Friendly & welcoming
11:10 Highlight of the trip
11:39 Food highlights
13:45 Drinks & snacks
15:16 Shopping

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