Photo by Angela Xu
By Angela Xu
This summer, I went to Japan for my summer break, making it the third consecutive year I had traveled to Japan. The years before, I mostly visited tourist spots, which were fun, but also crowded. On this trip, we decided to tour more hidden cities. This year, it was only me and my mom, and we travelled throughout Japan for about a month, heading to places we had never been to before.
Photo by Angela Xu
Kamakura, which is south of Tokyo, was one of our first stops on the trip, and we headed to this iconic temple with a fish pond. This temple, called Hase-dera, is known for having a huge wooden statue. Unfortunately, we didn’t head over to see the huge wooden statue. I did, however, walk around the gardens and came upon a cave, which was dark and had rooms for praying inside. This temple contained many hidden surprises in every single corner.
We also went to another temple at a different location, in an area called Enoshima. At this one, there was a long shopping street before heading to a mountain. It was steep, and at the top of the mountain was the temple where you either had to climb or pay to use the escalator which took you to the top. I paid for the escalator and found myself at the top of the mountain, which had many activities. The wooden signs in this photo are all wishes made by visitors. They were mostly wishes made by people for their family or their relationships with others.
Kamakura was mostly full of temples, but if you weren’t interested in them, there aren’t any other things to do. However, it is a beach town, if you want to see beaches.
Photo by Angela Xu
Just south of Kamakura in Shizuoka prefecture, Tokko-no-yu is a small village renowned for its hot springs. The oldest and most sacred onsen in its area, it has a rich history with legends about the village. I learned that one of the onsens was supposedly off limits for any one to bathe in, because only the gods were allowed to. I did go into a public bathhouse there, which was strange to experience. It was communal and different from anything in America. The water there is all extracted from the ground, so it is hot. There was also a temple nearby, with fresh hot water to rinse your hands and mouth before praying.
Photo by Angela Xu
Next, we went to Nagoya, a city famous for its breakfast tradition and Toyota cars. This bookstore at the Nagoya Noritake Aeon Mall is also at the former location of the factory of Noritake, a dinnerware company. The factory was changed into a museum.
While I was in Nagoya, I went to Sakae, a shopping district that was the most lively part of Nagoya, with bustling streets full of shopping, eating, and activities. I went to Yabaton, a famous miso katsu restaurant, and also bought some Bape, which is cheaper in Japan. There was definitely more to do there, because the more popular activities in the city were there. The Fuji Nagoya Science Museum was also there, and it had many locals, who probably visit the museum on weekends. When I went inside, there were a bunch of experiments inside which explained about different science topics, such as water.
Photo by Angela Xu
A friend of mine was stopping by Japan for only a few days, so my mom and I took a train up to Tokyo and met up with them at DisneySea. There are two separate theme parks for Tokyo Disney, DisneySea and Disneyland. My mom and I heard about a typhoon coming to Japan, and quickly rushed to Tokyo in fear of not arriving in time. We met my friend there, who had a plane that was delayed. DisneySea is considerably cheaper than California’s Disneyland, with tickets at just about $60 USD compared to $130 USD. It was well built, and the rides were intricate. However, it was extremely crowded, so the lines were all more than one hour and the rides were short.
I had gone to both DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland before, and it was my second time to DisneySea. In my opinion, Disneyland had less people, with shorter lines, but DisneySea is still fun to visit and has more photo spots. Both locations have great rides, but if you wanted to go on more of the newer rides, DisneySea has more.
Photo by Angela Xu
I headed to Osaka after DisneySea, taking public transportation. If you go to Osaka, there’s no way you’re not going to Dotonburi. There’s neon lights, delicious food, and ads in every corner. The famous Glico man stands near massive shopping streets for tourists. I won’t recommend staying there, because it is heavily crowded at all times, but it’s nice to look at the touristy parts and take a picture for your friends to see.
Besides Dotonburi, I also went to Tenjinbashi-suji, which is Japan’s longest shopping street. It was more for locals and had many good eating places. I have gone there before in previous years, but this year many shops had sadly closed. There was a delicious barbeque restaurant, which I had gone to three times in a week.
Photo by Angela Xu
Another tourist spot in Osaka is Universal Studios, which consists of thrilling rides, themed snacks, and shorter lines than other theme parks. In total, after 6 hours, my mom and I went on around 8 rides. The best one, in my opinion, is The Flying Dinosaur, which flips you onto your stomach. Riders experience what pterodactyls might have actually done.
Universal Studios in Osaka had different characters than the park in Los Angeles. In Osaka, they have characters such as Hello Kitty, Snoopy, and Elmo, compared to the characters in the US, which include Harry Potter, The Minions, and The Simpsons. There are more decorated foods and rides in Osaka’s Universal Studios park, but the American ones are also fun. I think Universal Osaka was more themed than the one in Los Angeles because it had more decorations.
Photo by Angela Xu
After Osaka, we traveled back up north to Yokohama, which is home to the Cup Noodle Museum, as well as a theme park near the shores. Yokohama is also famous for its Chinatown, which contains hundreds of Chinese restaurants. During my visit, I went on three rides at the theme park next to the Cup Noodle Museum. I went on a log ride, which was not very thrilling, and a mini rollercoaster, and a rollercoaster that went under water. It was a shame that the ferris wheel had such a long line, so I didn’t go on it.
Yokohama had many activities to do, and it is a port, so if you wanted to go on a boat or cruise ship, you would probably have to go to Yokohama. The Cup Noodle Museum is a little bit smaller compared to other museums, but does explain how Cup Noodles were invented. Lastly, Chinatown is slightly touristy, and as someone who is Chinese, their food is really good.
Photo by Angela Xu
Finally, we left Yokohama for Tokyo. One of the most famous crossings in the world, Shibuya Crossing is seen in many shows. It is considered one of the most touristy spots in Tokyo, so you should definitely go there. As many as 3,000 people cross the crossing per green light, making it one of the world’s most used crossings.
Shibuya is known for shopping and is very trendy, so there are a lot of people there, as shown in the picture. However, I still recommend going there for the shopping. In Shibuya, I also went shopping, and they had a lot of stores there compared to many other cities. Compared to the other times I went to Tokyo, there were less people this year, which was indeed surprising.
My trip was mostly a combination of touristy and not so known spots. It was exciting to see how a different country lived in their daily life and to experience different versions of our everyday routines. Japan is definitely a safer country, but it is not really sociable. I would enjoy going to the theme parks again and Nagoya. They were places with great activities and enjoyable experiences. If I were to go to Japan again, I would probably go in a few years, and also go to other parts of Asia.
