September 16, 2026
Spend a week with me in Japan, where I take you through my adventures in Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka!
Day 1
After a hellish 14-hour flight to Taipei followed by another three hours to Tokyo, I FINALLY landed in Japan.
My first challenge: figuring out how the hell to get to my hotel.
I was having trouble paying for the train and, considering my Japanese is basically nonexistent, I was struggling. Thankfully, some locals noticed and helped me figure it out despite the language barrier. A very wholesome introduction to Japan after such a long day of travel.
I made it to the hotel just in time to meet my Contiki group, and our first night out was in Shinjuku.
Of course, I immediately got lost. I was still getting used to the Tokyo subway system, and thought that all exits led to the same place like the L back in Chicago. To help get myself “unlost”, for lack of a better term, I started sharing locations with my roommate to help me find the rest of the group. I took some pictures around Shinjuku for the Instagram feed, and we finished the night at a bar playing drinking games. I headed home relatively early since I was still jet-lagged.
Day 2
SO. MUCH. RAIN.
I started the morning by getting breakfast with my roommate and some of her friends before heading out to explore Tokyo. Our first stops were Sensō-ji in Asakusa and Meiji Shrine.
After that, I decided to go to Uniqlo and try some things on, but didn’t buy anything since I was short on time and had to meet the group before our next activity. Oh well. There are plenty of other opportunities to shop on this trip.
After that, we headed to Harajuku, where I got lunch. I had a Japanese egg sando, which was SO creamy and rich, as well as a matcha (despite already drinking TWO cups of coffee that morning. I know. I was stupid and thought extra caffiene would fix my jet lag).
And then I basically just went crazy shopping for the rest of the day. Did I take advantage of the weak yen, or did the weak yen take advantage of me? (Spoiler: it’s the latter)
Day 3
Update: The caffeine fix from yesterday did not work.
I only got 5 hours of sleep last night because of jet lag and I kept automatically waking up early because my circadian rhythm was messed up. I had a ticket to TeamLabs borderless in the morning, so I got up at like 7, walked around Minato/Tokyo tower, got some pictures, and went to the Azabudai Hills mall that TeamLabs Borderless was located in.
I spent about two hours inside, wandering through the exhibits without a set route—which is basically the entire point of Borderless. The artworks flow into one another and transform as you move through the space.
And, not gonna lie, I also spent a decent amount of time admiring my outfit in all the mirrors.
My favorite exhibit was “On the Asymmetry of the Universe”. Rays of light and color seemed to float through the space and change dynamically depending on the presence and behavior of the people inside. It was genuinely mesmerizing.
After that, I grabbed lunch at Azabudai Hills Market and got a salmon & veggie bento box and organic wine, which was pretty good but also overpriced.
For the rest of the day, I went back to Harajuku to do MORE shopping since I’m a shopaholic - I wanted to visit the Brandy Melville in Tokyo that I’ve seen all over TikTok, and I loved their Japan-exclusive styles that I couldn’t find in the states since they had that distinctly Y2K East Asian fashion aesthetic.
Day 4
I woke up early and took the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. I was still tired, so I slept on the train ride. I was worried about missing the view of Mount Fuji, but it was so cloudy that I wouldn’t get a good view anyways.
After arriving at Kyoto Station, I grabbed okonomiyaki topped with oysters, squid, and an egg for lunch. It was delicious, but somehow I was full within approximately five bites.
After lunch, I was in a rush to catch up with the rest of the group since we were going on a tour bus so I left my umbrella behind. It was raining HARD because it was typhoon season in Japan.
Our first stop was Kinkaku-ji, the famous Golden Pavilion. Despite the weather, it was absolutely gorgeous, and obviously I got plenty of pictures for Instagram. The problem was that I no longer possessed an umbrella, so I had to “borrow” some umbrella space from a friend.
After exploring the Gion district, we had a short break, during which I immediately bought myself a new umbrella from 7-Eleven.
Then came Fushimi Inari. It was a very long hike, and it was still raining. However the rain eased up a little. I tried so hard not to slip on the steps since they were still slippery from the rain.
For dinner, I got ramen at the food hall at Kyoto Station.
Day 5
This morning I visited Nara Deer Park. It was about an hour of a train ride, and I had the opportunity to sleep on the train. As soon as I got there, it was raining pretty intensely. After seeing some deer, we visited some Buddhist temples, which were very photogenic places. I got lots of pictures. For lunch, I got cold ramen, which I thought was pretty good, but the meat was a bit too fatty. In the afternoon, I had a ticket for TeamLabs Biovortex. I almost skipped and I’m so glad I didn’t.
I honestly preferred this one to Borderless because it was a lot more hands-on and immersive, I especially loved the “Athletics Forest” where your movement could actively shape and influence the artwork around you. I had ramen again for dinner (wagyu ramen) and went to a karaoke bar.
And that night?
I had a few drinks and sang my lungs out.
10/10 cultural experience.
Day 6
This morning, I went to a kimono rental place, where I got dressed in a blue kimono, pink bag, pink hair accessory, and pink slides.
We then explored a historic neighborhood in Kyoto, and I had a matcha shaved ice. I got a lot of pictures of the views of the mountains and temples.
For lunch, I had black garlic tonkatsu ramen, and in the afternoon, I didn’t really do much. I just did laundry and packed for the next city I was about to visit, which was Osaka.
That night, I went out with friends to ZaZa Pub and some neighboring bars before dinner.
And dinner was…quite filled with complications.
We initially thought we’d ordered way too much food, so we tried to cancel everything. Then we realized we’d actually ordered the right amount. So now we had to reorder everything we had JUST canceled. Eventually, we literally wrote our names next to each dish we wanted and handed the list to the waiter. Finally the food arrived.
We didn’t finish eating until around 11 pm, which was later than I would’ve liked considering I had to wake up early AGAIN the next morning.
Day 7
Still sleep-deprived, I woke up early to catch the train to Osaka.
I was annoyed that all the seats were taken because I wanted to sleep some more, so I decided to attempt to sleep standing up. As soon as we arrived at Osaka, I mostly spent the day solo, walking around the mall and doing some shopping, buying various jewelry and shoes.
For lunch, I had a sashimi bowl with udon noodles, which ended up being one of my favorite meals of the trip.
Afterward, I kept wandering until hotel check-in opened at 3 PM. The SECOND I could check in, I did.
Then I took a fat two-hour nap.
Absolutely glorious.
I started packing because this trip was almost coming to an end (ALREADY???) and got dinner at this restaurant nearby (I wanted to branch out and explore new restaurants, since Osaka is known for its food scene). And then, for my final night in Japan, I went clubbing.
Day 8
And my trip’s a wrap. I had to get up early, got breakfast, took the train to Kansai Airport, took the plane to Taipei, got some beef noodles for dinner at Taoyuan Airport, and then took ANOTHER 14 hour flight, and landed back in Chicago.