Hey gang! I’m planning a 3-week trip to Japan sometime next spring to take in the beauty of Japanese culture and landscape.
I know a good handful of you are in Japan, please tell me the good things to do! Specific questions…
Gaijin friendly onsen?
Good (possibly weird) food?
Places to hear music?
Rough itinerary is start in Osaka, then Kyoto, then work our way up to Tokyo on the train line.
In the meantime, I’m furiously trying to learn some Japanese so I can read a few signs, order food less stupidly, and just generally not offend/embarass too many Japanese people.
So many suggestions. tl;dr, pm me you and your wife’s interests, something for everyone here. Also I will show you Bass Heaven if you have a free afternoon - would make good content too, ask @John_E
Vegan is tricky but doable. Vegetarian much easier.
^^ This was indeed Peak Civilization. Sadly much more rare these days, but it’s still fine to walk around on a casual stroll with a nice convenience store beer.
You can still find beer vending machines around resorts. Not a good selection like in the US but all the Japanese macro beers are represented. A good place to find macro beer and sometimes craft beer is at a local convenience store. The best one for beer IMO is Lawsons but if you happen to go to Yokohama, and you should, then check out Hammerhead 7-11. They have the biggest selection of beer for any convenience store. If you have any other beer or spirits questions then let me know.
As @howard has mentioned, there is a lot of information that would be of interest to you. We are both based in Kanto (Tokyo area). I’m not sure where the other Japan based BassBuzzers are located. They might have a better idea for places in Kansai (Osaka and Kyoto). As for onsen, all of them would be gaijin friendly but most of them are not tattoo friendly. It would definitely be best to ask onsen directly if they have a tattoo policy. There are a few onsen that allow tattoos but they are a little hard to find. Since it is on your way to Tokyo I would consider visiting Hakone. It’s certainly a touristy area but they have very good onsen. I’m sure there will be ones that cater for gaijin and tattoos.
As for food, vegan is certainly very challenging. But there are some options for vegan foods at convenience stores. For example an onigiri (rice ball) with umeboshi (pickled plum). There are many fruits and vegetables (ready made salads) that can be bought at a local supermarket. Also Japan has many delicious breads and rolls. Just be careful to look at the label. Google translate will be extremely helpful.
Let me think a bit on your other questions.
Throughout Japanese history, tattoos have been associated with criminals. And then later on yakuza started to get tattoos so the stigma continued. So basically tattoos have a bad social stigma in Japan. But things are changing as more and more young Japanese are getting tattoos. There are onsens and other bath houses that are accepting tattooed people now. There are even a few website dedicated to listing onsen that accept tattoos.
I can’t say too much about weird food but the kill bill restaurant the boat restaurant (you catch your own fish from a boat in the restaurant) are an experience as is some of the ninja, and themed cafes and eateries. Ton of live music opportunities, catch Tokyo Groove if you get a chance. Deals on gear at most any second hand store and there seems to be one everywhere. Harajuku is a must visit.
You’ll be fine in Tokyo! People here often like to show off their english skills, believe it or not
Agree with all of @ejwong’s and @Tokyo_Rat’s recommendations. A couple things I would call out in particular:
Hakone is an excellent suggestion, it’s a nice day trip direct from Shinjuku Station, and if you are wanting to go to Onsen there’s a lot of them there.
Definitely, I would recommend calling or emailing even if others recommend a location.
One good way to guarantee you can enter (due to tattoo) is to stay overnight at a Ryokan (basically, like a Japanese bed and breakfast), picking one which has private onsen in the rooms. Some of these will have each guest room having a deck with their own private hot spring entry. The food at Ryokan would also be outstanding (but not vegan) and the room rate should include at least one and often two meals.
Another nice day trip is Kamakura, for the temples and beach, and the 40-foot Buddha. And it’s close to Yokohama, another great visit - fantastic Chinese food in its neighborhood Motomachi.
For Vegan fare - Afuri Ramen is excellent, relatively inexpensive, and have a Vegan option (and also gluten free options if interested):
Yes! Gonpachi. I recommend the Nishi-Azabu location as that is where they filmed. They make their own soba which is likely vegan (though the dipping sauce will not be.)
100%, Baseball here is next-level and you’ll be blown away.
For shopping, a must-visit for you is Ochanomizu, specifically Meidai-dori. This is Tokyo’s musical instrument district, the Bass Heaven I mentioned. Happy to help you get there, show you the place, or just give store tips
I’d suggest starting with this one, their bass annex is in back
Tons and tons of other shopping options - Kappabashi is the cooking tools/knives/etc area, Jimbocho for books, Akihabara for electronics, Harajuku for (younger focused) fashion, mostly it all depends on what you’d like to do!
I would suggest planning ahead for this. There’s lots of Live Houses to choose from in terms of rock and rock-adjacent shows. If you would like a nice night out with your fiance, Blue Note Tokyo will have world class Jazz, Blues and sometimes Funk.
But, yes, can confirm, BlueNote is a nice venue (with the caveat that my last trip there was in 2007 )
Also: in case you end up flying from Osaka to Tokyo, make sure to book seats on the “correct” side of the plane, i.e., the one where you can see Fuji-san!!
My last time there was actually not long after that, 2010 I think, it’s been a while
Good advice - but I would suggest instead of that to use the opportunity for a ride on the Shinkansen, it’s longer but no airports to deal with and it’s a nicer experience
Another thing to warn about - late March/early April will be packed, tougher to book, and if booked late, extremely expensive (2-4x normal) due to the huge influx of tourists for Hanami (cherry blossom viewing). Really recommend booking far in advance for that.
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