I totally agree on many of the zoos there, but since I’ve worked at a zoo in the States for 20 years, I’d love to add some context for those who say they straight up “hate zoos.” Just like everything, there are good zoos and bad zoos. In the States, we have the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which requires very rigorous goals to be met to be accredited as an AZA zoo. These are things like the way you care for your animals, their enclosure spaces and much more. You aren’t guaranteed to keep your accreditation - we have to go through it every five years and other zoos have lost theirs. AZA also raises their standards more and more. So even something that met their standards once in the past could then no longer meet the standards, requiring a zoo to make changes so they can keep their accreditation. I know Europe has their version of our association and I believe some countries in Asia do as well. What’s best is to look up before you visit a zoo and see if they’re accredited under whatever the national accreditation system is in that country. People who work at the good, accredited zoos will tell you all day long that they also agree animals belong in the wild. We don’t do these jobs to be rich, we just really care about animals and conservation. Zoos like mine use a lot of their revenue from ticket sales and memberships to support their partners overseas who are doing the conservation work to save the animals in the wild. Hopping down from my soapbox now. 😂
Even "good zoos" keep animals in captivity that are meant to live free. Capitivity causes mental health issues, shown in stereotypical behaviour such as pacing&circling, head-bobbing, bulimia and coprophilie&coprophagia. Zoo associations also allow zoos that are proven to abuse their animals. Zoos claim to care about conservation, but why do they keep animals that aren't even endangered? I don't know which zoo you work at, but I have the numbers for the VdZ, which is an organisation for Zoos in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and, for some the reason, the infamous Loro Parque in Spain. They had a combined 45,3 Million visitors in 2019, invested 141 Million Euros into their zoos, but just a meagre 8 Million Euros into conservation projects. 8 Million Euros split between 170 different projects. You can do the math yourself.
My mom had a blast wandering around Ginza looking for American tourists, mom left Japan in 1946 at age 18 to come to the US with my dad, a US soldier stationed in Tokyo. She spent 27 years in the US before she had an opportunity to return to Japan. So, she is your typical 4 ft. 11 inch. Japanese lady and she is fluent in English and Japanese, and also picked up Spanish, so she'd look for American tourists who looked lost or confused and walk up to them and say in perfect English "Hi! You look like you might need some help or information," at this point the people's mouths have fallen open because they didn't expect someone to speak English like an American while looking just like every other Japanese on the street. Of course, the conversation immediately turned to how do you speak like an American and she had to explain her history and how she's spent the last 27 years in Arizona, with two teenage daughters, so she picked up on all American slang that usually confuse Japanese individuals who learn English in Japan. They'd talk and laugh, and then mom would say goodbye only to repeat the experience with the next American tourist she ran into. She said it was the best experience. Of course, this was back in 1970 when Tokyo was much less crowded.
Aww! That's a nice story of your parents meeting. :) My mother immigrated from the Phillippines to NYC, in the early 70s, and my dad stopped to ask her for the time, inside Grand Central Station, in NYC. :)
That’s precious and I am so thankful for people like your mom. My bf and I were trying to figure out if we needed to buy tickets for a punk show in Kobe one day when a young guy approached us and pointed us to the office of the venue. Turns out we could just buy admission at the door that night 😄
For me Ginza is for the "small" specialty stores (like stationary) which are 7 stories high. Tokyu Hands are everywhere, but also cool. Also, the Food Markets in the basements of Ginza Department Stores are amazing (only Gangnam in Seoul was comparable).
Yeah, because Americans are the only English speakers…😅 Interesting share and sweet of your mother - I’m sure things were very different back then! Therefore, I won’t be too puzzled that one assume tourist to be an American tourist.
Oh man. Totally agree with #11 (should be #1 imo) the Japan Zoos are incredibly depressing when you see how small and sad the animals look. We saw a Polar Bear at a zoo (unfortunately can't remember where), he was literally in a 3x4m concrete floored cage with a little indent as a pool. I'll never forget that.
Is that the one in Ueno? Its been maybe 8 years ago i was there but every once in a while I think of the poor polar bear in humid summer weather outside, with no indoor cold basin or anything, absolutely shocked me
Also want to add to the list: animal cafes. If you care about animals at all (you probably do if you are going to see them), do not support these. The animals live a really sad life in a very unnatural environment. A lot of them are also coming in from China from the illegal wildlife trade. Unfortunately, Japan is very behind on animal welfare. 😔
Dunno about where they're sourcing the animals, but I agree. They're not in their element. Owls are awake, and hunt at night. Being surrounded by humans all day trying to touch it must be torture.
Oh god, I totally agree. I stupidly went to an owl cafe. It was awful. The poor things were chained to their perches with tiny tiny bits of rope, so they couldn’t even shuffle along it. Plus they were in a completely artificial forest in a basement. It was horrible. My worst experience in Japan and I regretted right away paying and supporting that business.
@_.mxggxn._ That's so sad, I'm sorry you had to experience that, but sharing it is important so others won't fall into the same trap. Maybe because we think that Japan is a first world country, that animal rights are the same as in the West, but they are so far behind. Same with women's rights. 😔
@@laurenrs Honestly, I was stupid as I allowed my ex (who I was on the trip with) to convince me to go as I’d hasn’t heard great things and know that animal rights in Japan aren’t brilliant. But it wasn’t a good experience at all and I would recommend it to no one. I think about those owls all the time, whether they’re still in that basement or if they’re even still alive. When you add that since that trip COVID has happened, I do worry about their fate since there wouldn’t have been much, if any, income from tourism to keep the place afloat.
Sarah is internationally infamous for breaking into houses. She's broken into Emma's house, she's broken into mine, whose house _hasn't_ she broken into?! :3 (I always enjoy it when you two collab)
Also, personally, when I go somewhere for the first time I want to experience the touristy stuff also, and then when I come back (or if I have the time) another time I can try the "off the beaten path" stuff. People always say this: don't visit the popular spots! Yeah, but also, you already went there several times, I have not seen those places not even once, so, let me see them and then I can decide if next time I will go there again. 😅 But, fun video nonetheless. ❤
We went to fushimi inari in the late afternoon early evening and it was really quietening down, the sun set when we were near the top with a great view over the city and fished the walk in the dark. It was magical. Sometimes changing up the time you visit these major destinations helps with the crowds and gives you a whole different experience.
I have seen people waiting nearly 2 hours for that 3D latte foam art shop? Like I get that it's a trend but there is so much you can do in that two hours for a photo of a coffee you'll drink in 5 ;w; It's cute but I'm honestly SO surprised how many "must do things in Japan!" Lists it has made!
Agreed for almost all of these points. Except the Ekiben, hard disagree on that, they can be such good quality if you look around. If you don’t like chilled gyudon or similar, then I can understand not being a fan though. The busy tourist spots can easily be worked around if you just go during the week. We went to most of the top tourist spots in Kyoto and only 1 was overcrowded (and we went during a bad time). Go see things when it’s raining, you get great photos and nobody will be there. Or walk up any hill. Tourists HATE climbing and you’ll immediately find yourself fairly alone. Even at the busiest temples, climb some stairs or hills be you’ll lose all the crowds.
I was in the Ueno Zoo last week. I was surprised when I realized they are hardly doing enough to cool off the animals. Poor birds and monkeys are stuck in cages under a 36 degrees sun and hardly any shade available.
Empathy for animals (or even acknowledging that they are living creatures with their own needs) is totally underdeveloped in most parts of Asia, it's unbelievable sad...😢
I got to say Kinkajuji if you're prepared to walk from the tram is perfectly lovely. I think it was a highlight of my Kyoto trip in February this year. I caught the tram from Arashiyama and it wasn't that crowded because it had been raining all day. It is definitely a bit out of the way though.
Was in Fushimi Inari earlier and I was surpised to see how little patience the crowd had with IG girls blocking the gates and paths. Like 3-5 seconds max, take your picture and move away. Good thing is they all stayed way down and once on the mountain path people were a lot more chill. (also a good excuse to take a break from the climb). As far a Kinkaku-ji you can get there by walking from the train. Then there's also a bunch of other shrines and temples to visit on the way! Ginza would maybe make sense if it was on the way to or from somewhere else but it's not really.
Asian zoos are all sad. The zoo in Asahikawa is a stop on several guided tours; therefore, one could assume it's a good zoo. In reality, the Asahikawa Zoo is a step up from other Asian zoos, but it hardly compare to western zoos. Please note that zoos in the US were like Asian zoos about 40 years ago. Back then, at least in the San Francisco Bay Area, small cages and bland, unnatural environments were the norm.
I just returned to Hong Kong from my vacation in Wakayama and Osaka yesterday, it was fantastic. All eleven aspects that I am completely fascinated, especially sushi, crossed crossings, Ginza.
You two probably saved me a ton of time as I am going on my 1st solo trip Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka next Wed! Hope I run into some English speaking peeps there with similar real Japan suggestions! You should do a “worth the hype” video! Before next Wednesday 😂
I am here now and the way to beat the crowds is to make use of your jet lag in the first few days. That allows you to visit sites that are open 24h at weird times (e.g. in Kyoto - won't be naming names, but you will be able to figure it out; let' say you'll be seeing a lot of gates in one and a lot of bamboo in the other). This applies to Kyoto of course. Tokyo is another animal, plus much of what you want to see there is either not open 24h (e.g. restaurants or whatever) or actually relies on the busy vibe.
Some of this are still worth doing if you're a first time tourist. A lot of the things on the list are more geared towards people who already live there. For instance, Izakayas are an amazing experience that tourist of drinking age should most definitely try out.
We went to Japan last November, 4 adults 3 kids it was great the kids loved it and ask to go back to Japan almost every day😢. Being a large group and with kids we just had to go with the flow and no lining up for things, sushi train 2 nights in a row no problem. The kids museum in Osaka was amazing and the park/playground next to it was great. Found Osaka very family friendly.
I lived in japan for 3 years and advise for paolos discord, tourists in japan always do tokyo Osaka and kyoto. Way overhyped get out there and do other things. We normally stay in kitakyushu but we rent a car and just drive out to the country side and explore. Much more fun
Thanks so much for mentioning Team Labs: Planets. It was the least enjoyable experience of my last trip to Japan and I thought I was the only one who didn't like it. I never did get my balance in that cushion room and basically crawled through, and took me 5 minutes to catch my breath afterwards. After that all the water, lights, and mirrors left me seasick. Kyoto buses are a headache. When I visit Kyoto I try to navigate by train, subway, streetcar, and walking, and do my best to avoid the bus. Fushimi Inari is absolutely beautiful. But after about the 300th tori gate, you start to feel like "OK, I get the idea, do I need to keep walking up this hill?" I love maid cafes. I really click with Akihabara culture and always pick a hotel in that area when I visit Tokyo. But honestly, there have been unfortunate trends in maid cafes over the last few years. There are a few maid cafes worth visiting for the food (JAM Akihabara) but those are about 1 in 50. There are also some that fun for tourists. But the trend over the last few years have been Maid "Cafe and Bar" places that are really "girls bars". They charge you 2000 to 3000 yen for 40 minutes of nomihodai (all you can drink) and also encourage you to buy drinks for the staff. These are the places that have the most touts out on the street in cosplay with signs and fliers. I was speaking with the staff of some places that had been there for a long time, and they said that those places actually increased during COVID: lots of little traditional shops closed during the pandemic and lots of these bars moved in. I do like to try new places to give them a chance, I just always make sure I know the system before going in, and don't stay past the first time period (since they usually have automatic extensions) and leave a Google Review to let other people know what the place is like. Definitely look up a place on Google Maps first, read the recent reviews (even if they are machine translated) and understand the charging system before going in. Especially if the touts are telling you to visit right now. "Make sure you visit Ueno zoo if you're in Tokyo!" is something I've never heard anyone say. I guess I should at least give it a try on my next trip. I went to "Zoorasia" years ago which was pretty good. Sorry for the message getting so long!
Yay my two faves in one video! A lovely way to end my Saturday 🥰 On my first trip I bumped into Seerasan in a Pokémon store - so Pokémon stores are NOT overhyped 😆 Next year I’m solo travelling in April and deffo worried about overcrowding as I wanted to experience hanami. I’m an early riser though so I’d happily get up early to go see something before it gets too crowded - i think most overhyped things can be experienced if you have a flexible schedule which is why I’m planning very little for my three week trip. I have a list of things I’d like to do and only have a few on there that are a must so if I happen to be able to do it all then that’s great but if not I don’t really mind. I’m just pleased to be in a place where I hear the language and eat the food (my two favourite things about Japan 😂). Thank you for your videos ❤🎉
Omg I agree with EVERYTHING!!! And I will like to add 1 spot, please nobody hate me but....... Takeshita Dori!!! Why?! It was good until like 8-5 years ago when there where all kind of alternative styles there but now it's just crêpes and overpriced greasy food and too many people
In 2016 we visited Seoul and on the first day we were pretty much just bumbling around exploring the area when we found a queue. Since it was lunch time we thought it must be for a really popular restaurant... it was for a Baskin Robin 31, the wait for a single scoop of ice cream was an hour long. I decided that I could live with some popsicles from the 7/11.
Evening walks are the charm of Tokyo. The night view of Tokyo Station and Ginza is one of the charms of Japan. In Europe and the United States, it is dangerous for women to walk alone at night, but in Japan it is safe and possible. If you want to see the future city, take a walk at night.
For me, Harajuku (specifically Takeshita street) is a little overhyped. I did have fun there and found some unique clothes to buy, but a lot of the shops feel overly tourist-y and the crowding was severe.
Everyone needs to go to Kyoto at least once. Kinkakuji is spectacular (go at a quiet time) Ryonji Temple is spectacular (go at a quiet time and relax with the tofu soup) Ginkakuji is worth the visit (go at a quiet time) Eat okonomiyaki. By beer from a vending machine and consume it at your ryokan. Notice the common thread. All of the temple visits get ruined when too many tourists are at them. Especially while trying to reflect over the Tofu soup at Ryonji! Damn, now I need to go for another visit ;-) Enjoyed the video
I would love to hear more about rural places that would be good to visit, I'm from the rural Midwest of America so I'm more accustomed to the slow and steady pace of the countryside. Public transportation is a myth here, we don't even have Ubers, I don't think I could survive a day in Tokyo but that won't stop me from going LOL.
ok, so as a Kansas born man, let me tell you the countryside is great. One of the best things i did was go to a little town called Iwakuni, about an hour south of Hiroshima. They have an Air force base there so they're used to americans so it was a great jumping on point for me solo travel and get used to things over there including the train stations plus they have a cool bridge and a castle on a mountain. The southern areas/prefectures of the main island, or even extra islands like Ehime or parts of Kyushu are great for countryside enjoyers. If you do go to the Tokyo area or the Kanto region, stick to the fringe prefectures around the "popular" ones and you'll love it. Edit: Look at Tokyo Creative Travel Channel, it has some of their older videos before they were Tokyo Creative and they have a video for pretty much every prefecture
This is great Emma, please do things you’d recommend doing instead of the overhyped things on these list next cause I’m sure a lot of people would love to see that too 😊😊
Agree on Ekiben but glad we tried it... unsurprising that a boxed lunch that you buy at a train station is just ok. The Ueno zoo was definitely a mixed bag, the enclosures are tiny compared to U.S. zoos... I swear the polar bear we saw there was the saddest looking animal we've ever seen in a zoo. I disagree about Kinkaku-ji, it was amazing and worth the trip (we took a cab, $20 each way but we paid several thousand to fly to Japan, whats $40?). We also really enjoyed Teamlab except the beanbag room.
7:03 "We are well seasoned ekiben" gave me the weirdest imagery. xD Love hearing your raw take on some of the stuff that appears in other videos you host. Can onsen be overhyped? A private one might be nice, but the last one I was in was just a bunch of loud tourists.
I have only one hard and fast rule when it comes to food: "Never eat a century egg (again) and never eat fugu for it might kill you." I am with you on this, Emma.
I actually think that it is great that you are giving people a heads up so that they know and not get stuck in those places. It's better to be prepared then go in blindly 😊
I see these a lot. But if you're interested in the historical aspects of some of these "over hyped" places like in Kyoto, there isn't really anything you can do. If you're likely to only visit Japan once in your life and you want to see specific things, you have to deal with lines and crowds.
I agree that Team Lab Planets is crowded, underwhelming, and over-hyped. But Team Lab Borderless was all that and a bag of chips. The new location opens in January.
Totally on spot for Ginza. We've been there and we were like ??? What now?? Everywhere else in Tokyo you can find spots to explore, eat stuff, etc. but Ginza is just like... expensive stuff and not much else. I'll fight ya for the glory of Ekiben, though. They are amazing and I love them.
I think the Bamboo Forrest / Grove is overhyped. It's a lot smaller than it looks in photos and it's loaded with people so VERY hard to get a shot with no people in it.
I really enjoyed TeamLAB when we went there in Feb, but it is definitely a health and safety nightmare. Can’t agree with you on izakaya, but 100% on fugu and ekiben
I have been to Japan 3 times. I will also share my opinion maybe it helps someone to decide about something and make their trip better. Food -> I didn't mind lining up for some places if the food was super good. I think it depends on how obsessed you are with that specific food. For chain places like Ichiran I like to pick a weird hour to go, not luchtime or dinner. And when its a holiday/weekend, most places have lines in busy streets so I try to avoid that. I totally agree with Ekiben. I get something I like from konbini instead, that can be eaten cold. Stations -> Tokyo and Shinjuku stations are really horrible. Always try to avoid transfers in those stations, altho it is not always possible. Places -> I really liked Kinkakuji, because of the park that surrounds it. But I would not go again because crowd was too much for me. I also went to hanami in Yoyogi park on a weekend day. Big mistake and waste of time. I think it took an hour to get from Harjajuhu station to the park (mostly standing around in crowd of people that was moving incredibly slow) and another hour to find a place you could sit for a bit. I have no words for how insanely crowded it was and how uncomfortable it was. Do not recommend at all.
When we went to Fushimi Inari, it was pre-COVID at the height of sakura season. It was crowded at the bottom, of course, but once we got about halfway up the mountain, all the exhausted unfit tourists had given up and we had a really quiet and peaceful walk up to the summit. My 4 year old and 6 year old handled the climb to the top without issue, and were only concerned about monkeys coming and ripping their heads off (there are signs, ha ha). Kinkakuji (the golden temple) was shoulder-to-shoulder with tourists, but it was still worth the visit. I guess the point is that if you've never been to Japan, I don't think many of these things are necessarily overrated because they are new and fresh experiences. Maybe if you've lived there for years, then yeah.
That was pretty much my experience with Fushimi Inari too, also pre COVID. Higher up you got, the quieter it was, which I guess makes sense. It was still well worth it in my opinion. Also found people were very gracious about people taking photos in general. We had no issues getting nice photos, I was also approached by quite a few people to take some pictures for them on their phones, it was a really nice experience and I think people did help make it comfortable for others.
I did a month in japan this year. My highlights was staying with Akita dogs in Kakunodate, doing the Shimanami Kaido and two days of hiking in Yakushima. I also went to Usuki and Hita (attack on titan purposes ;) in Oita prefecture. As for cities Sendai the city of trees was really nice. And I went to Matsuyama and Nagasaki both great cities
Very nice summery. Really good advice. Japan filled with great places that have less hype'but much less people. It take a bit of reseach to find them....or be lazy as me and watchs Emmas vids for great trips!
Zoo is definitely the number 1 overhyped. but ekiben is still ok for us. better than bringing a takeaway hot food and eat it with all the smell in the shinkansen
We went to Ginza for about 10 minutes. Looked around, realised there was nothing, then left. Also: I miss the sting of the intro music! 🎶 Doo-doo-doo, doop, doo! 🎶
nice video! I'm from San Diego, which has perhaps the best ZOO in the world, and I 2nd the idea that Japan Zoos are depressing. I went to Ueno Zoo and had to leave. My recommendation, as you mentioned, is to get off the beaten path. Try Shimane! Izumo Taisha is amazing and Matsue Castle and the Adachi Museum and gardens. Good stuff!
This has been so helpful not to mention refreshingly different from the others samey samey Japan Insta posts. I was curious about animal cafes, and how they must clock in to work every day. Or the pet shops. Keep up the good work.
Zoos: Yup. I lived in Misawa for 3 years. We took a spring break trip to Morioka and as part of that we went to the zoo. So sad.... While we in Morioka we did also go to the site of Kokigata Castle. That was a recommendation from the hotel and that was great. I think it was there that a local showed the kids how to break pine nuts out of the pine cones 🙂
Maybe reword your title to ".....Overhyped Places in Japan". When I read "overhyped things" I was expecting you were gonna talk about actual objects that Japanese people use that's gotten so popular but aren't really anything special. Other than that, good video. Glad to see Sarah there too!
oh man I went to the Ueno zoo last year and the panda exhibit was crazy. We stood in line for 30 mins (which was supposedly a short wait) and then there was an employee literally standing with a giant timer to give everyone two minutes to look at the pandas before we had to leave the exhibit to give the next people their turn. And yeah, coming from American zoos there were definitely questions in my mind about if some of the animals had enough space and stimulation. Some of the enclosures were reeeeeeally small. The polar bear exhibit made me really sad, it was about 30 degrees C and they were just outside in direct sun, with nowhere to cool off they looked miserable. :c Plus, we saw multiple people yelling to get the animals attention or banging on the enclosure glass just to get photos. :/
Was in Japan recently for the 1st time and didn't go to a zoo but went to the Monkey Park in Kyoto and I liked that as they were just walking around with plenty of space. Did a couple on this list went to Teamlabs, an Izakaya (but as a solo traveler this was fine), Kinkakuji (liked it but wouldn't go back) and Fuugu (At least I'm pretty sure it was Fuugu and was actually my favourite thing I ate on the trip but it was part of a dish so it could have just been everything else).
The monkey park over there is great. I haven't gone yet, but have seen many a youtube vids about it. But they're not suffering, they're free to wander, climb trees, often disappear into the forests - and visitors can't even see them, and they aren't forced to do anything...as far as I'm aware. I was in Nagano in 2017, and was going to go, but there was a snowstorm, and the trail got too covered over for a few weeks; so I missed out. Next time!
I can't go to zoo's anymore. They're too depressing. I wouldn't mind a sanctuary for rescues - visiting that would be nice. But a normal zoo, with all these amazing and majestic creatures of land, sea, and air...just, prisoners? Nah, fam. Never realized that about the TeamLab place. I never went there when I was in Japan, it's been on my to-do list, but that's a good point about the funkieness of it all! One thing I think is overrated, but...kind of a nice experience still are the deer in Nara. Like from the tourist aspect, yeah, look a deer is bowing for a cracka. Nice. But then I saw this documentary, where the deer in more of the wooded areas ARE HUNTED! lol And it's sad because...it's just population control! And there's not too many specialists that can process deer meat, but they need to control the population. So they often hunt to kill them, THEN JUST BURY THEM! Like, wtf! So, the whole, "Oh japan is so respectful, and peaceful, so the deer bow" is overrated, and kind of just misinformed. Because it's JUST FOR TOURISTS. In the surrounding woods, they're literally just hunted and killed. Jaysus, JAPAN!
I was looking forward in going to the zoo since it seems like a place that won't be crowded with people, sad to hear that zoos in japan are not very roomy for the animals, in my experience with zoos the animals have a lot of space to roam around ☹
I'm visiting Japan for the first time and I booked a hotel in Ginza. It's a 4 star hotel, was extremely reasonably priced compared to other hotels in Shibuya and Shinjuku I checked out and it seems pretty centrally located in Japan and close to Tokyo Station. Now you have me second guessing this choice. Suggestions on where I should stay?
So far, the only thing I did in Japan and was disappointed by was M's Pop Life. I swear my local "adult entertainment" store is bigger here in Australia. Though admittedly, all the sample screens and audio on the video floors was a new kind of experience...and disorienting enough that my husband and I walked right past the exit and into the basement.
Agree with everything except: Ginza - there are a lot of gems in the backalleys. While the main attraction is indeed its main street, but there are a lot of more affordable venues in the smaller streets behind the main ones. IMO, Shibuya is too crowded and could be overrated - and it is just another "list ticking item" to see Hachiko, the crossing, and maybe shop for souvenirs there. The same goes for Takeshita street (Harajuku) - unless you are the target audience, that's another bucket list ticking exercise, better go to Yoyogi Park or Meiji Jingu while you are around Shinjuku. Ekiben - the taste is quite amazing despite being (most often) cold, maybe another list ticking exercise, but some special ekiben is really special and unique, since mainstream Japanese food flavour tends to be dashi + trio sauce (soy, mirin, ryorishu) + trio aromatics (garlic, spring onion, ginger) - they are too predictable. The only complain for me is that they are just very expensive. And you may need to research a bit about some local specialities rather than just pick anything.
Something I felt VERY uncomfortable with when I was in Japan, was animal cafes. I went to an owl one and they seemed scared of everyone allowing to touch them, while chained to a fake tree branch. Then there also was a sea-otter cafe but once I saw the otters state, I left immediately. Over-hyped and definitely not worth it!
I agree about the Zoos. I lived in Kyoto for a year and went to the zoo there. The first thing I saw was an emaciated lion. I nearly turned around and left.
I stand by the fact that Kabukicho tower is overrated - went there a couple weeks ago and thought it would be this huge place with lots of arcade games and things to do. Turned out it just a small section on the floor of mostly overpriced claw machines and some restaurants 😆😆
Im planning my trip to japan, ive bever been before but thought the same things you had listed. Except for the last couple ones because it didnt cross my mind to go. Nice to know! Ty. Where do you think is a worthwhile place to visit for an entire 1 week long stay? Not the usual touristy places but somewhere that feels more authentic/less crowded.
Great video. Fushimi Inari was so so busy when I went. The higher up we got the emptier it got though. Which is only good if you’re able to do that of course. Plenty of opportunity to get those classic photos! I took loads of pictures for other people too so that was nice! Also didn’t go to Team Lab as it was a super long queue and a really rainy day. I was sad at the time but I think looking back I’d have been upset if I’d spent hours of my last day in Japan queuing for it!
Curious what your thoughts are on Universal Japan or Disney. Are they worth a trip or should I skip? Sad to hear about Team Labs, was planning to go but now I’m reconsidering.
Thanks for crushing my dreams Emma, lol. A really enjoyable video and I agree on a bunch of things after living here for awhile too. I live in a very touristy part of Tokyo and usually leave it when I am looking for any entertainment or restaurant.
On TeamLabs, I'm guessing you mean TeamLabs Planets. I think TeamLabs Borderless (now closed) did it better...but also, that once you've been to any of them once, there's less reason to go again unless you really want to visit them all. Also agree with the lining up for food thing.
Same here. As much as I think I would enjoy Sakura season, I really dislike crowds. I'd much rather visit at a quieter time and just enjoy photos of the Sakura.
You realize that sometime a place is popular because it's really interesting and worth it and so a lot of people want to go there? And crowds in japan a pretty mild even when there's a ton of people.
1) Ginza is absolutely amazing. You can watch the Mitsukoshi opening ceremony and see their gourmet floors and the aquarium expo, watch a show at the Kabuki-za, enjoy some of the best sushi and ramen in Tokyo, visit the Itoya flagship store or Kyukyudo for some incredible stationaries, visit the Sony store and the 12 stories high Uniqlo flagship store, check out one of the 20 or so art galleries in Ginza, explore Tsukiji right next door and visit Tokyo station and its many galleries, character street and ramen street etc, drop by Hamarikyu garden etc etc and that's all on a budget and just off the top of my head. (Yeah, Tokyo station, Hamarikyu and Tsukiji markets aren't TECHNICALLY in Ginza but they literally bordering Ginza and are all 10-15 min walk from the center of Ginza). I have no idea what you've been doing in Ginza that you couldn't find stuff to do. 2) Kinkaku-ji and Ryonan-ji are right next to the other and if you actually know what you're looking at there isn't any place in Kyoto or Japan that is an equivalent. If you are just a tourist that wanna mark off a checklist then I think that you'd regret not going there if only for how well known they are (it's easy to suggest to skip them if you live there and have seen them like 5 times, but asking someone to skip them when it might be their only time in Japan is asking a lot imo). But I would recommend that if you go there then plan to be there as early as possible and especially in the case of Ryoan-ji do your research in advance. 3) Tokyo station is incredible and basically have everything on a single axis of the passageway from the main entrance of Marunouchi next to the Imperial Palace and the other main entrance of Yaesu near Ginza. Which is a straight line. Not sure why it's that confusing to you. It's really not like a Shinjuku station situation. Maybe your issues with Tokyo station is part of why you hate Ginza so much tbh. 4) I'm pretty sure that you're not the demographics for Maid Cafe.... like... isn't it like going to a butler cafe as men and complaining that all the customers are women? And to try and "encourage" the guys as much as possible as a dude visiting so that not to look awkward? If you felt like that then maybe it's not for you... I wouldn't say that this makes it overrated... 5) Who thinks that Zoos are great in 2023? 🤔 Agree with everything else though, so I guess that I'm like 50% on board with you guys lol
Hello (Sarah also). I guess, the recent superconductor news was certainly overhyped. But, I guess, pumped hydro projects in Queensland, seems promising. OK, bye.
Tangential, but: NEVER go to a Caracas zoo … or, at least, decades ago, I went to the zoo in Caracas, after having first been to the renovated Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago on a visit to see my United States family, and the Lincoln Park Zoo had enormous habitats for the animals, enrichment activities - it was the beginning of a period of zoos realizing living souls should be treated humanely, so the gorillas seemed happy, the tigers seemed happy, even the bears seemed happy - so seeing the Caracas zoo after that, with my Venezuelan family … I won’t describe it, I’ll just say it left me in tears, and memories of it haunt me to this day. It’s been a few decades since I was there, so I hope things have improved.
While I have yet to got to Japan, a lot of the things about Kyoto remind me of Venice (they have the same problem: overtourism). Last year on my first day in Venice, my body had the good sense to be wide awake at 05:00 in the morning, so I was out exploring a city empty of nothing but the garbage crews going about their jobs and I got to see the sunrise hit San Giorgio Maggiore. By 06:00 I reached the Piazza San Marco and about a dozen newly-weds and wedding photographers had made their way to the square to get the honeymoon shots. Those already had to kinda work around each other. After breakfast our group went to the Ducal palace at opening time and the square was starting to fill up, but still fairly normal. When we left the palace at 11:00, the square was so busy and the line for the basilica so long that we had to work out way through it at three separate places just to cross the square. Also the waterbuses were always absolutely packed. I would still 100% go back to Venice in a heartbeat, but I definitely recommend going at least a week and doing and seeing the things that are not on top of the blogs lists and if you want to really see the big ticket items, show up 15 minutes before opening time and have your tickets booked in advance if you can. I imagine advice for visiting Kyoto would be pretty similar: wake up early, show up early and spend time finding things that most people don't put high on the list.
You said themed cafes are no good. But seriously try the warhammer cafe in Akihabara. I wanted to visit and got wife and kids to come with lure of drinks and snacks. OMG winning. Wife loved the pistachio coffee. Plus plastic crack (as those in the game call the tiny plastic toys!)
You go to Ginza for a few reasons: Shima; flagship watch stores; people watching. You never know who you'll bump into on your lunch in Ginza. I ended up at a donburi place and had a conversation with someone who was high-up at Olympus Cameras (I guess it's OM-D now).
I think the only one on your list which I have been to personally was 金閣寺 but that was back in 1997 and I visited some relatives in 京都 as well, so it wasn't as if that was the only focus of the day and it was OK I guess? As an undergraduate I also had to read 三島 由紀夫's book of the same name, so it was kind of neat to see that in person and contextualize the reading a little bit more? Some of the other things mentioned were probably mitigated because: I am vegan, and even when I went to an 居酒屋 I was mostly in 大阪 and friends who lived there were showing me the ropes, so I doubt anything was quite as expensive or crowded? But, it was also decades ago.
You have to get up super early to beat the tourists. Of course, you can also go to shrines at night. Fushimi Inari Taisha is great after dark. Just get your act together and get to Kyoto Station by 6AM. Or walk. I can't tell you how many miles I've walked in Japan at 5 or 6AM. It's totally safe and peaceful. And you won't be the only one. Mid-day is for recuperating in your hotel room until the tourists get hungry.
I wholeheartedly disagree with kinkaku-ji. Yes it is a bit off the beaten path, but it's incredible to look at, I think it is worth it to go there, even if only one time.
2:49 I thought smoking was now banned in restaurants? When I was there every restaurant smelled like smoke and some were hard to breath in but I thought I heard that changed.
The new team lab was so lame compared to the old team lab I went back in 2019. The old location was worth it. It was called team lab borderless and its now closed permanently. This new team lab planet ..with the water thing was so lame and so short, it was like they cut the attraction from 15 different things to a lame 5. And yes the water was filthy. I took a shower right after I got back.
I was recently in Kyoto and hit the insta spots at 5:30 am with a photographer friend, sunrise through the bamboo forest was stunning. It was good to beat the crowds and the summer heat but i’m not a morning person, much coffee was needed
