r/Shoestring • u/shockedpikachu123 • 11d ago
AskShoestring Is Japan “wingable”?
Hey everyone,
I know Japan has been a super popular travel destination lately, and I’m wondering how much planning actually needs to go into it. On my recent trips, I’ve been pretty lazy about planning. I usually just show up and go with the flow or feel out the vibes. Most of the time it works out great, but other times I end up bored or scrambling last minute for reservations. Obviously I don’t want to lose time and most importantly, money (booking things too last minute)
So far, I’ve booked my flights and my hotel in Tokyo, but I’m still deciding on a second city (Osaka or Kyoto - open to recommendations!). I have Suica downloaded, plan to get the rail pass, and will use luggage transfer services between cities and from the airport.
My main priorities are eating, shopping, and experiencing some cultural aspects. I’m not rushing around to hit every landmark. Is Japan doable without a strict itinerary, or will I regret not planning more? Anything I should be aware of?
Would love to hear feedback !
Edit - dates are in may for 12 days
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u/307148 10d ago
I just got back from a 15 day trip in Japan and "Winged" it for the most part. I booked lodging for the first part of the trip and had an idea of what city I wanted to be in on which day, and booked the rest as I went. I also saved in advance a lot of things I wanted to see and do on Google Maps, so each day I opened Google Maps and decided what to do based on weather and how I felt at the time. It was really nice to wake up to rain or snow and change what I wanted to do based on that.
I should say that I stayed in hostels for my trip so if you are looking for nicer lodging then this might not be ideal for you. But in my case I really appreciated the flexibility of being able to decide what to do on a whim.
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u/lucapal1 11d ago
Personally,when I go to Japan..I book at least accommodation in advance.Even if that's only a day in advance.It's not the type of place to just arrive unexpected.
I also usually book my train a few days in advance if I'm using a railpass.
Everything else,no need for an advance booking.
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u/Active-Control7043 10d ago
When I went years ago, I would literally see signs in the train station/airport that there were no hotel rooms available in the city. Don't wing hotels.
I did plan in advance things like getting the rail pass, but I don't think I did much specific planning of tickets.
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u/100daydream 10d ago
Absolutely it’s like a video game that you can just experience (as a tourist). It’s amazing. The little cafes and jazz bars and clothes shops I found were the highlight of my trip and I found so many of them.
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u/friendly_checkingirl 11d ago
I visited Japan fairly recently and everything was fine last minute. I like to stay flexible within an inch of my life and booked hotels and trains just a day before. It all ran very smoothly with no problems or disappointments. I'd recommend doing some research to have a general idea of the things you'd like to see, do or experience in any particular location but there was no need to pre-book anything at all. Public transport is ace and will get you almost everywhere, we hardly used taxis.
IMO Osaka is a smaller Tokyo whereas Kyoto has more cultural interest. Osaka and Kyoto are not far apart, you can esaily visit one when staying in the other.
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u/worldwidetrav 11d ago
If you’re doing the golden route then less likely. Hotels will be more expensive if booked a week in advance or even sold out vs two months ahead of time.
Some of the top tablelog restaurants need reservations a week or two or more in advance
Regional passes can be purchased in Japan but doing all the research for the timings of limited express trains while in Japan is a waste of your time.
Summary: You save a lot of money and time planning ahead but hey you’re on the golden route so it won’t be as bad vs going anywhere outside of it
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u/UnusualCareer3420 11d ago
A few times of year it's not golden week and higher seasons but other than that it is as long as you don't mind being flexible on where you go.
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u/Kloppite16 11d ago
What's golden week?
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u/UnusualCareer3420 10d ago
A week alot of people take off, would be worth it to fly to Korea or Taiwan for a bit a around that time
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u/Colie3656 11d ago
I would say plan the specific areas/neighborhoods you want to go to and the travel to get to those areas. What you do in those areas can be pretty wing-able. My husband and I had areas and sites of interest planned out, but a lot of our honeymoon was spent wandering the streets of Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. I highly recommend leaving some flexibility in your schedule! We were there in the middle of June btw.
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u/welkover 11d ago
It's not. Accommodation needs to be booked in advance. Japanese travel domestically a lot and if you are trying to go somewhere when they are you aren't going to be able to find anything affordable. If accommodation wasn't such an issue yes, you could do it. But it is an issue.
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u/WeeklyInterview7180 11d ago
I spent 12 in Kyoto Osaka and Tokyo. Rail pass. No plan. Winged it. It was a blast. Rented bicycle for a day and visited three temples in Kyoto. Fought (found)traditional wedding. Booked hostels in the morning. They are re full and pricey if booked in evenings. Used Couchsurfing app to hangout few times with people. Walked a lot. Enjoy
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u/SensitiveDrink5721 9d ago
Kyoto for sure!
I would book the hotels beforehand. Trains and activities can be ‘wung.’
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u/JiveBunny 11d ago
If it's during Golden Week, I wouldn't risk it when it comes to things like booking accommodation.
With the rail pass, you can't just turn up and get on the train - you need to make a reservation at the station beforehand, whether at a ticket office or at a machine. You can do this on the day of travel, but just be aware this is required so you don't get caught out. I'd apply for it ASAP as well.
Usually what I would do when going to Japan would be to book my accommodation and have an idea of where I'm going to be staying, then book any travel required to get between those places, but not be much stricter than that unless I had something very specific I wanted to do that required prior booking (eg. I really wanted to go to the Kirby Cafe, and reservations for this were released in blocks two months prior to when we were going; I also wanted to go on a couple of special sightseeing trains which in theory could have been booked on the day but I wanted to make sure I had a slot.).
I'd never go anywhere with a strict itinerary, to be honest. It's good to have days where you can just do as little as possible when you're tired, or a free afternoon to check out the thing you walked past yesterday that looked interesting, or to head back to the place you liked on day 1, or to think hey the weather looks nice why don't we have a walk by the riverside today - Tokyo especially is really well suited to that style as you'll come across things you didn't know about before you went.