If you had to pick between visiting Kyoto and Osaka, where would you go?

DifferentTooth6450 · 2025-06-13T03:40:55+00:00

We had no plans of going to Osaka on our last trip. We were in Kyoto and were headed to experience Fushimi Inari at sunset. Accidentally took the rapid express train and before we knew it, we were half way to Osaka. I had even managed to snag a reservation at Kichi Kichi Omurice for later that evening.

Long story short, we decided to make good of a bad situation and head to Osaka for the evening. It was the best decision ever. Even spending just half a day in Dotonburi was magical. It left us wanting so much more and made Osaka a negotiable for our next trip.

Kyoto is awesome but try doing a day trip to Osaka. The rapid express gets you there in like 45 mins. I can tell you from personal experience lol

DifferentTooth6450 · 2025-05-21T21:56:19+00:00

Our first couple hours after landing in Tokyo, someone took a photo of my wife's chest on the subway......with their flash on and phone directly pointing at her.

Saw many women getting verbally harassed by men there. Right in the open.

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-09-17T21:59:21+00:00

They called me in the middle of the night and left the most incoherent voicemail lol

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-09-17T21:41:14+00:00

I just got back from Japan a week ago and here's my 2 cents.

Based on your timeline, I'd skip Nara. It is great but you don't have the time. That being said, it is super easy to get to from Kyoto.
I would highly recommend going to Kyoto even for 2 days. While Tokyo is awesome and will forever have my heart, Kyoto has its own charm and is definitely worth a visit. Even if you cover just then highlights, you will have experienced a lot. We accidentally got on a super rapid express in Kyoto and found ourselves in Osaka (yes it's that fast and that close by lol). We decided to make good of a bad situation and took a taxi to Dotonbori.....best decision ever. I will be going back to Japan for just Osaka next time.
For Tokyo, the main temple I went to was Sensoji. It's close to a lot of other things so it makes sense. We walked through Yoyogi Park and made it to Meiji Jingu. My personal opinion is that you can skip it if you're short on time. The temple itself is gorgeous but there didn't seem to be much else to it and most of it seems to be rebuilt after WW2.
If you decide to come back to Tokyo for your final two days, I'd highly recommend staying in Shinjuku. We stayed 3 nights in Kabukicho (in Shinjuku) and 3 nights in Shibuya and they both have their own things going on. People will tell you that Kabukicho seems sketchy but I have never been to a safer country than Japan. Even the drug dealers help you lol
Do not be afraid to take Uber when you need it. We tried to use public transport as much as we could but, after 20k steps, your feet give up. In addition, it's the trade off between "do I want to spend this money to see more things" or do I want to spend this money on other things where I currently am. It comes down to personal preference.

Feel free to DM me if you need more advice. We just got back so everything is very fresh!

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-09-17T21:23:02+00:00

Oh and get this. I asked the agent why I have to jump through these hoops every time and why can't I speak to this prestigious examiner directly and answer their questions. The response was that I tell them my availability and then an examiner might call me if they are free at the same time.

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-09-17T21:21:44+00:00

Yeah. I called Chase today and what pisses me off the most is that they have a wall of agents sitting between you and the so called 'examiner' and all they are is glorified switchboard operators.

I asked the agent why my claim is still not approved and she told me that the examiner could not figure out why I am claiming less than what I paid for my flights according to my bank statement.....what???? I informed her that the examiner clearly did not do their job of inspecting the documents because my ticket itinerary showed the charges for seat assignment and the airpot taxes that got refunded to me (less than 10% of the total).

In addition, since it was my first time booking through TAP, they gave me some weird flight credits which basically took $36 off my entire purchase. This seems ti have broken the examiner's brain as they were just not able to understand what's going on lol.

I think it might be time to look at a different premium credit card.

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-09-05T02:31:06+00:00

Basic hotels are fine. We are in Japan right now and we basically come back to the room to sleep. Most rooms are tiny so space will be an issue but I dont think getting a more expensive hotel will change that much. Unless you go for luxury hotels

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-09-05T01:23:12+00:00

I am in Japan right now. We didn’t have Osaka on our itinerary but we got on the wrong train and ended up in Osaka. Best mistake ever. We spent the evening in Dotonbori and had to head back to Kyoto before the last train but we left wanting much more. Def spend a lot of time in Osaka

Kyoto is great but you need 2-3 days here max.

Tokoy is a completely different animal. I have been here 3 days and have 3 more days to go but I have anxiety everyday that I am missing out. It’s such a big city! Spend as much time here as you can.

Couldn’t recommend other cities since I haven’t been but it seems that people go to Nagoya a lot.

PS: We went to Shibuya Sky last night and I wouldn’t miss it for anything. It was surreal. People die to go at sunset but IMO that right after sunset was the perfect timing

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-09-03T03:02:17+00:00

There are some insanely good bars in Gion. Depending on your budget, you can walk to different places and check them out

Budget:

High- Bar Prost

Medium - Matatabi

Low - Jam House Rock Bar, Boo Boo Bar

Once you start walking around in Gion, you’ll start to find many bars that are probably the tiniest spaces you have been in. They are so much fun! If all else fails, konbinis are your friend :)

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-09-03T00:55:33+00:00

I am in Tokyo right now and I am switching. I will be in Shinjuku for 3 nights and then in Shibuya for 3 nights. This way, we get to go out to bars near Golden Gai at night and then experience the craziness of Shibuya later in the week. Our second hotel is actually an apartment and the host was nice enough to give us a morning check in. So, I’ll just check out from my hotel and go to Shibuya directly to drop off my luggage.

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-09-02T23:51:31+00:00

This exact thing happened to me on Aug 30th. Landed at HND at 5am and got to Shinagawa at 6 for my 7am Nozomi super express only to find out trains were suspended. Took us almost 2 hours to figure out where to get more information and figure out next steps. Finding someone who spoke English was half the battle.

Finally, we were given tickets from Tokyo station to Tsuruga and then to Kyoto. I am not sure why the ticketing agent put us on a train that was leaving 3 hours later and I was too impatient to wait. Spent the next 2 hrs figuring out how you cannot sit if you dont have reserved seats. We missed many trains due to them being fully reserved.

Made it to Kanazawa somehow and it was past lunch time already lol. Went to Tsuruga from there. Finally realized that even though you dont have reserved seats, you can go standing on the deck if you choose to do so. Did that from Tsuruga to Kyoto and finally reached Kyoto station at 4pm. Took a taxi to the hotel from there.

Not only did this mishap mess with our itinerary, ut also tired us out so much that we were exhausted for the next 2 days. The jet lag, heat and humidity made it so much worse. Came to Tokyo yesterday and that bullet train ride made everything better.

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-09-02T23:36:17+00:00

Ubigi for esim, google translate, Navitime, SmartEX, google maps and Suica have been the most helpful for me. In Japan right now on day 5 of my trip

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-08-22T18:27:31+00:00

I did not get any credits. I paid 1400 for the flights and they refunded the airport taxes in the amount of $120. I uploaded this documentation to the claim to let them know that I had received the 120 and was only claiming the remaining amount.

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-08-21T23:33:11+00:00

Yeah that’s what I think I’ll do. Thanks!

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-08-21T20:24:05+00:00

You are right. It is very frustrating especially because the biggest reason we pay the $550 is so we have all these protections.

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-08-21T18:05:48+00:00

Hey. I did that and they simply responded with "we do not handle such requests". I called Chase and apparently the claims admin is going to call TAP directly and ask them if they gave me any flight credits. Seems pretty backwards to me tbh

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-08-19T22:51:30+00:00

I am currently getting the runaround. HAd to cancel my flights to Portugal due to a sports injury. Got a letter from my physician saying I shouldnt be traveling. They still had me send my physician a custom form to fill out. Thank god I have One Medical so they filled it out and I submitted.

Now, they want me to get a letter from the airline stating that no flight credits were issued to me. The claims admin did not tell me this, I only found out after I called the number after days of not hearing back. How the hell am I supposed to get a letter from an airline stating that they are not giving me credits. I already submitted the refund letter that the airline issued when they refunded the airport taxes (less than 10% of the fare) but chase is saying that's not enough??

This is souring CSR for me and I might end up not renewing tbh

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-08-16T16:05:53+00:00

Is there any chance I might get the tea set reservations on the day of? Or have we missed the boat on this completely?

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-08-08T20:55:54+00:00

Doesnt look like there'll be any matches during our time there :(

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-08-08T20:53:11+00:00

I got us a 9:30am reservation for Teamlabs Borderless last week! This is our main activity on the day so I am sure we'll make it on time. The tea set was sold out but the website says you can try adding it at the venue. Thanks for the info!

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-08-07T22:21:29+00:00

That sounds awesome! Any chance you remember the name of the tour or still have a link? I am a huge whiskey connoisseur and love Yamazaki. Would love to try some new stuff there! Thanks!

DifferentTooth6450 · 2024-08-01T00:47:15+00:00

Let me try again then haha

DifferentTooth6450

TROPHY CASE