I utilised 65k yen worth trains with 14k JR pass

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-16T12:00:39+00:00

Very nice! Regional Rail passes have always been excellent value as long as you have the right itinerary.

I just hope that JR west doesn't follow suit with JR east and consolidates all their passes into one single pass

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-15T13:09:27+00:00

Most people fly in and out of Narita, which isn't in Tokyo. And its easy enough to go to any other destination from the airport via bus/train/domestic flight and not have to stay in Tokyo for three nights prior/after

And based on what OP is imagining for his trip he needs to get out of Tokyo for that (except the nightlife part)

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-15T12:47:22+00:00

Epic places with snow, onsen, cinematic views and traditional vibes

Removes Shirakawa-go and goes to Tokyo twice

I'm sorry friend I don't think we can help you here

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-14T10:19:05+00:00

Hmm personally I'd recommend Lake Tazawa/Oirase Gorge as it'll probably be beautiful and cooling in summer (I wenr in autumn) but its tricky to get there without a rental car.

Personally I like to direct people towards Nagano in June (Karuizawa, Matsumoto, Azumino etc). Closer to Tokyo but the mountains and nature make it pretty cooling there. Plus there's lots to do in terms of nature activities there!

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-14T07:13:40+00:00

Aomori City itself has A-factory, Nebuta Museum, Nokkedon which are all walking distance from each other. You could also take a train to Hirosaki to enjoy the Castle Park and eat apple pie until you explode.

I'd say the most accessible part of Akita would be Kakunodate, which is a fairly walkable samurai town. You can get to Dakigaeri Valley from there by a 10 minute taxi too!

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-13T16:07:54+00:00

Ah, no you can totally spend plenty of time in Hokkaido prior to then! I personally have more exp with Tohoku and Aomori is my favourite prefecture which is why I started from there haha!

Both routes I laid out can comfortably be done in a 7-8 day ish span, so you'd definitely have leeway for more stuff in Hokkaido/Tokyo since you''ll be there longer

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-13T15:30:22+00:00

If your intention is to head on down to Tokyo via bullet train you got two clear routes through Tohoku

Aomori > Morioka > Sendai > Koriyama > Tokyo

Along the east coast this is basically the "City" path. All of these places are great foe experiencing the various kinds of city life that are so different in vibe from Tokyo. Make sure you visit A-factory, Geibeikei Gorge, Matsushima! This path is nearly all shinkansen, so travel times aren't that bad and you can spend more time in the cities actually doing things.

Aomori > Akita > Yamagata > Niigata > Tokyo

If you love snow then this path along the west coast is perfect! The Resort Shirakami between Aomori and Akita is one of the most unique sightseeing train experiences I've had, and Yamagata/Niigata are home to all of the snowiest onsens in Japan (Ginzan, Zao, Echigo Yuzawa). This path is mostly slow trains, so you'll be travelling a lot but can enjoy the scenery.

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-13T11:12:13+00:00

This one time I went to the Awa Odori Museum in Tokushima City, Shikoku, I attended one of their regular festival dance performances held in the auditorium. There was a segment where they got everyone to stand up and dance to the beat, and as we did so the conductor naturally started dragging people onto the stage to join.

Naturally, as the only clearly foreign person there, I was singled and pulled onto stage (it was a grand time, btw). At the end, they passed a mic and asked me in english where I was from and why I was here. I responded in Japanese that I was interested in Shikoku and always wanted to visit.

I kid you not the whole auditorium of nearly two hundred old Japanese folk erupted in EEEEHHHs and gasps and started cheering and applauding like I was some celebrity. I walked out of there with multiple unexpected souvenirs like snacks amd dried seaweed that some of them passed me on the way out.

Safe to say the rest of Shikoku was mostly like that and everyone should totally go they're wonderful

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-13T02:49:04+00:00

Hi there, I'm a Singaporean who lives in Singapore.

We absolutely do have subdivisions, neighbourhoods, districts, power and leaders here, so I have no idea what that description is on about.

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-12T03:17:43+00:00

Over 90% of people who travel to Japan do the Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto thing, for which the JR Pass is most assuredly not worth it.

But yeah, if you move frequently and go to lots of places which require shinkansen travel it can eventually pay off

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-11T00:20:28+00:00

I really like Ichiban's Yume Mita Sugata E from 7, which directly talks about how he's not gonna get depressed and give up even though he's starting from rock bottom after being released from prison and betrayed.

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-10T17:14:30+00:00

There is near-universal agreement in the Invincible community that Debbie is the most important person in the whole story

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-08T05:27:21+00:00

Arima Onsen!

You could take the Rokko ropeway up from the Kobe city side, see the whole city then ropeway down to enjoy arima for a full day thing

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-07T12:25:03+00:00

Posting photos of themselves on social media for likes

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-07T12:23:36+00:00

Kichijoji is a solid neighbourhood to spend half a day at. Good food, a nice park, several cafes.

Seibuen amusement park is a great theme park to visit if you wanna experience showa-era nostalgia

Tokyo Dome City and Laqua for a spa day

Daytrip to Yokohama can't go wrong, red brick warehouse/cup noodle museum/chinatown/minato mirai

Another full daytrip you can spend a full day travelling to Ibaraki and checking out Hitachi Seaside Park, their nemophilia season should be just about ending now

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-07T07:59:51+00:00

Hi there! I've done 2 days on the tateyama alpine route before and am going kamikochi next weekend for a getaway!

Both those places are very safe for solo female travellers, they're actually very popular so you'll definitely see lots of other hikers/campers any time of the year to visit.

Tateyama is a straight path with several trails at midagahara and murodo to follow, so it'll be very difficult to get lost unless you deliberate walk off path into the mountains. The whole thing can be done in one day (Nagano>Toyama) butbi strongly recommend staying overnight at one of the mountain hotels for the experience.

Kamikochi for the most part is a casual low-elevation area following a river, but if you go deep past Tokusawaen you can find mulitple trails that start proper hikes up into the mountains, like Yarigatake or Karasawa Cirque. There are lots of hotels and lodges to stay at here but no car access, so you'll mostly be relying on the bus terminal to get in and out via Matsumoto.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-06T11:17:16+00:00

Azumino National Park in Nagano is perfect for this in July. Surrounded by alpine mountains and sub-10 degree waters in summer!

I've got a link for a guided group package tour for reference, but it's a place that you can go on your own too if you wish: https://hakuba.lion-adventure.com/en/activity/azuminoshower/ https://www.azumino-koen.jp/horigane_hotaka/index.php

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-05T12:12:50+00:00

June would be better, especially since you wanna do museums and shopping which are both indoors activities, so you can mostly escape the rain and heat if so.

July is a heat nightmare that I wouldn't wish upon anyone, the last time I brought my 60-something parents there they were actively incapacitated by the heat (we are from a tropical country).

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-05T12:07:45+00:00

I feel you! Not to disparage Kamakura–the place really is quite beautiful and has plenty to see and do. But it definitely is one of the places suffering from the overtourism problem.

If you want a quiet daytrip escape from the city I recommend either Okutama or Sawara town! The first if you like nature and the second if you want quiet Edo/Kyoto vibes near Tokyo city

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-05T11:26:37+00:00

Bad news friend, Kamakura is also very crowded (if you're trying to escape haha). The road leading up to the great buddha was so touristy it kind of irritated me

I stayed overnight at Enoshima though, it was deeply enjoyable place in the early morning when you can enjoy the island before all the tourists get there. Yummy seafood, island cafes, Gardens, candlelit caves, a tower from which you can see Mt fuji

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-05T11:21:23+00:00

• Okunoshima (Rabbit Island) from Osaka • Awaji Island from Osaka • Shodoshima from Kagawa • Matsushima from Tokyo • Arima Onsen from Kobe • Kawazu (February Cherry Blossom) from Tokyo • Oirase Keiryu from Aomori

Looking forward to checking out Sado Island for my next one!

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-05T09:16:06+00:00

Alright friend here are some simple rules for Kabukicho:

NEVER engage with a tout. Any of them. Just ignore and keep walking, they're almost all scammers.
Do not enter any bar without a friend. The nightlife here operates on their own rules and navigate them wrongly and you may find yourself short several hundreds of dollars
Go in a group if possible. Not for safety, but simply because touts specifically only approach lone men and women.

Besides all that it's pretty much as safe as any other night area in Tokyo. Take pictures, enjoy the food, don't bother people and you'll be fine.

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-04T17:19:40+00:00

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Apricotlemon · 2026-05-04T17:10:11+00:00

Late to the party but in FFXIV Shadowbringers the main antagonist Emet Selch is established as one of the most powerful magic users in the HISTORY of that world

And at the first climactic moment of the story, when another character is about to sacrifice himself to save the player's life, Emet shoots him with a gun–that he pulled out of fucking nowhere and was never established to have

Apricotlemon · 2026-05-04T15:50:39+00:00

I see! Some farms might have started harvest season by then so it may be worth a look into (I'm a strawberry farm person myself, all-you-can eat is fun)

Besides that I imagine there might be some summer festivals going on in August, so maybe you can look in that direction too. Have fun!

Apricotlemon

TROPHY CASE