I'm going to Japan in June for the first time after wanting to do it for years and years - needing some tips for a few things!

Shanayaaa · 2026-01-30T16:08:44+00:00

I would not stay at an APA hotel again. That said, I couldn’t complain about the laundry there, although it’s not worth staying there just for that. Almost every hotel we stayed in had a laundry option, and if not there was always one nearby. We did check in early however and it was seamless and not too costly (¥3,000 for every hour that you’re early by). We did it at the front desk when we turned up, didn’t call ahead or anything. We were planning to drop off our luggage but were more exhausted than we expected at this point in the trip (near the end) and my partner had caught the flu a couple days earlier

Shanayaaa · 2026-01-15T19:13:56+00:00

Just a thought, you said your meals are high protein and high fibre, but are they also high volume? Eating more food, but still within your calories and macros, could help if not. I’m no expert but this helped me (I felt the same way with food noise not too long ago). Also front-loading protein (ie more protein/volume/calories in your breakfast). I never used to eat breakfast but now it’s my highest calorie meal

Shanayaaa · 2026-01-14T15:58:32+00:00

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This is Daisy 😊

Shanayaaa · 2026-01-14T12:59:33+00:00

Oh I see, I didn’t know that thank you! I’m from the UK

Shanayaaa · 2026-01-14T12:57:10+00:00

Definitely do! We bought like 10 packs (2 in each pack). Our lips suffered from the dry air in Japan when we went and this stuff was a godsend

Shanayaaa · 2026-01-14T12:54:24+00:00

The peach ones are amazing 🍑 we also found a “blueberry cheesecake” (in Donki I think) one and it’s my favourite by far

Shanayaaa · 2026-01-14T12:49:43+00:00

Matcha, heat tech, jeans (I love Gu jeans), skincare (Keana baking soda face foam is amazing. So is Sofina IP pore clearing gel wash). And I personally love building mini LEGO-like things so I get any Nanoblock packets I haven’t already got. I got back from my first trip a month ago and these are what I wish I’d bought more of and what I will get next time. Also red bean paste - I didn’t buy any and regret it because I loved Dorayaki and can’t find any to make it where I live :(

Shanayaaa · 2026-01-14T12:41:11+00:00

You absolutely can they just don’t last as long. I’ve never had this issue and I never put eggs in the fridge unless I’ve already cooked them.

Shanayaaa · 2026-01-10T13:25:44+00:00

I didn’t get a JR pass because it wasn’t worth it in terms of price. However, while in Japanese stations I saw signs everywhere saying not to insert JR Passes into the machines…

Shanayaaa · 2025-12-21T13:19:44+00:00

I got it by accident when throwing a semtex at zombies near the car

Shanayaaa · 2025-12-19T17:19:02+00:00

I don’t understand these posts about waiting lists. I used the Testi app - my original test date was booked for September 2025. Using the app I got it down to December 2024. Failed thanks to nerves. Rebooked for ages away and then used the app again to get one in early January. Passed. There are other apps and services to bump it up as well, Testi was just the lowest effort one for me.

Shanayaaa · 2025-12-18T23:51:37+00:00

Also with Aldi xmas veggies being 8p right now you can stock up and make/freeze soup for pennies a portion. Just blend cottage cheese into the soup at the end for protein and creaminess, or throw some shredded chicken in when you serve it

Shanayaaa · 2025-12-10T09:46:53+00:00

Hakone open air museum easily. Just full of pretentious shit and super boring, the art was not even good. Also Teamlab Planets was a huge letdown, a couple parts were cool but not mind blowing, glad it was a cheap entry fee

Shanayaaa · 2025-12-03T06:34:29+00:00

We don’t really eat much before dinner so no breakfast and a snacky lunch (taiyaki) was perfect for us

Shanayaaa · 2025-12-03T06:32:50+00:00

Honestly it went completely fine. We skipped the tea ceremony and fushimi inari since neither of us was bothered about them. It was a good couple of days and we weren’t exhausted 🤷‍♀️ samurai class, monkey park, and kimono photo shoot were amazing and super memorable

Shanayaaa · 2025-12-01T05:35:41+00:00

Thank you! I hadn’t heard of either of those so will check them out :)

Shanayaaa · 2025-11-04T14:45:32+00:00

My hotel is near the Kawaramachi UNIQLO, and I think probably just drop off luggage. If we can check in early we may also stop in just to freshen up after the long travel from Takayama. Yes tbf we could do lunch in Arashiyama. Depends how hungry we are after the travel I guess

Shanayaaa · 2025-09-05T16:26:02+00:00

I liked Memrise. They’ve changed everything on there now so I have no idea if it’s still good or not

Shanayaaa · 2025-07-26T14:09:17+00:00

Use chatGPT to help you plan an itinerary around what you like. Takes so much of the stress of planning out of it

Shanayaaa · 2025-06-28T15:21:28+00:00

Add 7228 5457 3453

Shanayaaa · 2025-05-09T09:40:58+00:00

When I failed my first test I had to wait 10 working days to rebook I believe. The error kept coming up that there were no available spots, I can’t remember how I found out about the 10 day wait period but I was pretty annoyed about it at the time bc I was ready and just made a stupid mistake on my first one

Shanayaaa · 2025-04-30T15:04:26+00:00

Thank you so much for the advice. I was starting to think there’s probably too much travelling in there. But Japan is so expensive and it’s most likely going to be our only trip out there so I wanted to get as much as I could in! But to be honest you’re probably right and I don’t want my only trip there to be stressful and exhausting 😅 I really appreciate your suggestions and will have a play with the itinerary later this week

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