こんにちは from Japan! 

I have now been in Japan for a full month, enjoying it greatly and even extending my time here. The culture is very unique to what I have seen so far, and it has been very interesting to explore the different foods, shopping, hostels, and towns! I traveled through Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo, and Fujikawaguchiko (by Mt. Fuji). Below is information about Japanese transportation, hostels, activities, and vegetarian restaurants unique to each city I visited! 

Transportation: (Japan overall) 

-This was overall much more expensive than I was expecting, in every city I visited throughout Japan. You can pay cash and get individual tickets for the bus/metro or add the Suica card to your phone/apple wallet and add money there, which I had to continuously reload as many tickets are based on the distance/number of stops you travel. The bigger cities also had a very extensive system and the exits and entrances got confusing as there was so much underground and got overwhelming despite the many signs. Some transports to further places require bookings in advance, which you can do online or in some smaller towns only at the stations which may already be booked out.

Hostels (overall): 

-Hostels and guesthouses were all extremely clean, with many capsule-style rooms with more privacy and more female dorm options, and all the bathrooms were also very nice and separated by gender with shower pods. As I do plan as I go without much advance, I did have to rush to book things at times which was difficult, as many hostels were booked out and some were very expensive, occasionally similar to European hostel prices. If you are coming to Japan with a more specific plan I would highly recommend booking hostels in advance if you can, as hotels are a lot cheaper or you may have to find accommodation further out of the cities. The hostels do provide many extra toiletries in the showers and some even have slippers and robes as well, considering shoes are never worn indoors (aside from some shops/restaurants). 

-Food (overall):

I traveled most of mainland Japan with another vegetarian, Nicky, and we found different vegan and vegetarian restaurants that I included below from each city. This is definitely a more difficult country to be vegetarian in, as dishes are mainly fish, and even salads and snacks often have fish or pork oils or flavoring. The three main convenience stores are Lawson, Family Mart, and 7-Eleven, and offer many cheap hot and cold snacks, drinks, and even accessories like hats and gloves. I mainly ate my breakfasts and coffee here for a quick and cheap meal, but again as a vegetarian when taking the to-go meals be sure to check the ingredients through Google Translate! I occasionally found street markets with fresh veggies and fruits, and a few supermarkets although the convenience stores are much more common. If you are also vegan/veggie a great website to use is HappyCow! It shows you reviews and menus of all the surrounding veg restaurants. 

OSAKA:

Osaka Accommodation: 

-I arrived at the airport and took two buses for a total of about $10 to R Namba Hostel South for three nights at $18/night in a female dorm. For two additional nights, I stayed in Hostel Mitsuwaya Osaka for $25/night. 

Osaka Activities:

-Dotombori: popular going out area, during the day lots of commercial shops and street markets, at night most popular area with bars and clubs (club entry fee starting at $6)

-Osaka Castle Garden: lake view near the castle and garden entrances, pretty park for free outside 

-Ebisuhigashi: near my first hostel, very cool shopping streets with animated lights and shop signs, lots of souvenirs, games, and food shops 

-Don Quijote: Around Japan, huge stores with costumes, snacks, accessories and so much more, many with 2-7 floors 

-America Mura: American-style shopping center with many street thrift shops (western-style clothing) 

-Universal Studios Japan: $70 day-pass, smaller than the in the US but lots of different worlds including a new Super Mario World 

-Teamlabs at Nagai Botanical Garden: $19 unique outdoor virtual art experience 

Osaka Restaurants: 

-shinsekai paprika shokudo (vegan and gf)

-falafel sababa

-LUU’as BAO vegan BAO specialty shop 

KYOTO:

Kyoto Travel & Accommodation:

-train from Osaka for 1 hour

-Len Kyoto Hostel: 3 nights in female 

dorm at $45/night 

Kyoto Restaurants: 

-Gion Soy Milk Ramen Uno Yukiko

-Ramen Katamuki 

-Elk Kyotokawaramachiten (pancakes)

-Restaurant Namaste 

Kyoto Activities:

-Gion District: walk around the old traditional houses and neighborhood, one of the oldest in Kyoto, around many temples 

-In the Moon: can have a bite/get drinks or just enjoy the view at this rooftop bar where you can see all of Kyoto

-Nara Park: take a day trip by train (1 hour) to fields in the mountains with hundreds of friendly deer and a few famous temples around the town nearby

-Karaoke: private rooms that charge per hour with thousands of songs around Kyoto and other central cities, I chose Karaoke Manekineko which was about $12 for two hours and unlimited soft drinks (with a student discount) 

-Fushimi Inari: one of the most famous temples and sacred areas in Kyoto, known for its orange gates, food, and shops around the temples and you can view but not photograph praying and rituals 

-Nishiki Market: fresh foods and shops in outdoor roofed streets 

TOKYO:

Accommodation: 

-Shinjuku Apartment: for Halloween, I stayed with my new friend Nicky in an apartment, many can be found on booking.com with discounted prices or Agoda, and we spent $133 each for three nights.

-two additional nights were spent further out of the city at Guest House Itabashi-juku for $22/night for two nights 

Tokyo Activities: 

-Shibuya Crossing: largest crossing in Tokyo, with lots of shops around (you can view from above in the Starbucks or other buildings on higher floors)

-Shibuya: another huge shopping area, with lots of thrift stores and different shops for every preference 

-Otter Cafe: many cat, mini pig, and other animal cafes around the cities, here you could cuddle with the otters for 25 or 50 minutes, I chose 25 minutes for about $12

-Warner Bros Studios: $42 for a four-hour walk through the background information of the Harry Potter movies 

CLUBS:

-WARP Shinjuku: free with a costume for the weekend, regularly 800¥ ($5.23) entrance and drink, very lively and multiple rooms/music styles 

-ZEROTOKYO: free with a costume for the weekend, regularly 1000¥ ($6.53) entrance and drink but only the bar is open Sunday and was really empty

Restaurants:

-Kebab Ye

-Saray Kebab Cafe (falafel sando only 600¥)

-Ikea: plant-based foods $1-2 and ice cream for only $0.30!

Fujifakaguchiko:

Restaurants:

-The Spice Hut

-Ogino: large supermarket 

Activities: 

-bike rental 300/hr 1500/day from hostel to Oishi Park and around Lake Kawaguchiko (small outdoor stands in food and craft markets along the way, stopped at a fruit and veg market by the bridge also)

-Aokigahara Forest: a lot of caves to explore (additional cost around $3/entry) nearby Saiko Lake and Saikonishi Village, stunning moss and mushroom forest trek 

-Sightseeing bus: slightly higher than regular bus but a good way to go around if you have less time or want to take a more scenic route 

Accommodation: 

-K’s House Fuji 3 nights $22/night basic form in Kawaguchiko, one additional night in capsule room $37

As always keep exploring and thanks for reading!

xoxo,

Ang around the World 🙂