Japan Holidays in June 2023

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English:
My trip to Japan in June 2023: I planned and booked everything almost a week before. The direct flight was with JAL and the ryokans were booked through booking.com. The entire trip cost around 2500€ for the 11 days, with the flight costing around half of that.
I spoke almost no Japanese at all and most of the Japanese people I came into contact with also spoke very little to no English. But with Google Translator it worked somehow.
For the trip, I bought a data SIM with unlimited volume for 30 days and a Suica card. Both can also be purchased at Narita Airport.
Otherwise, I only packed things for 4 days as luggage because you can do laundry in almost every hotel.

The journey went from Tokyo via Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Hemeiji, Miyajima, Nara and back to Tokyo or Chiba. Since I wanted to film as much as possible, the trip was very strenuous, especially the second day in Miyajima was a very dangerous adventure that I will never be able to do again in this form. Have fun watching.

German:
Mein Reise nach Japan im Juni 2023: Ich habe alles recht knapp eine Woche vorher geplant und gebucht. Der Direktflug ging mit JAL und die Ryokans wurden über booking.com gebucht. Der gesamte Trip hat ca. 2500€ gekostet für die 11 Tage, wobei der Flug ungefähr die Hälfte davon kostete.
Ich konnte fast gar kein Japanisch und die meisten Japaner, mit denen ich Kontakt hatte, konnte auch nur sehr schlecht bis gar kein Englisch. Mit Google-Übersetzer ging es aber einigermaßen.
Für die Reise habe ich extra vorher eine Daten-Sim mit unbegrenztem Volumen für 30 Tage und eine Suica-Card gekauft. Beides kann aber auch im Narita-Flughafen erworben werden.
Ansonsten hatte ich als Gepäck nur Sachen für 4 Tage eingepackt da man fast überall Wäsche waschen kann.

Die Reise ging von Tokio aus über Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kōbe, Hemeiji, Miyajima, Nara und zurück nach Tokio bzw. Chiba. Da ich sehr viel auf- und mitnehmen wollte, war die Reise sehr anstrengend, vor allem der 2. Tag in Miyajima war ein sehr gefährliches Abenteuer, dass ich in der Form nie wieder machen darf. Viel Spaß beim Anschauen.

Contents:
00:00 Start at Frankfurt Airport
02:12 Day 0 – Shinjuku Kabukichō (bad quality)
03:18 Day 1 – Shibuya (better quality)
04:51 Day 1 – Walk to Akihabara
06:13 Day 1 – Akihabara
07:13 Day 1 – Asakusa Shrine
08:12 Day 2 – Nagoya (Atsuta Matsuri)
10:13 Day 2 – Miko
10:33 Day 2 – Kyūdō
11:47 Day 2 – Kaguya
13:13 Day 2 – Martial Arts Performance
15:33 Day 2 – Kento Makiwara
16:29 Day 2 – Drums
18:28 Day 2 – End of Matsuri
19:26 Day 3 – Kyoto
20:38 Day 3 – Nijō Castle
23:54 Day 3 – Kyoto Imperial Palace
26:09 Day 4 – Kyoto Kamo River
27:35 Day 4 – Ape Park Arashiyama
31:38 Day 4 – Fushimi Inari Shrine
34:16 Day 5 – Castle Ōsaka
36:14 Day 5 – Kōbe
37:42 Day 6 – Castle Hemeiji
40:25 Day 6 – Empty garden next to Castle Hemeiji
41:44 Day 6 – Koko-en garden
44:21 Day 6 – Kōbe Waterfalls
47:51 Day 7 – Way to Miyajima (Hello Kitty Shinkansen)
49:28 Day 7 – Miyajima
53:25 Day 7 – Miyajima ropeway and mountain
58:30 Day 8 – Miyajima
59:40 Day 8 – Miyajima – Start the adventure
1:01:32 Day 8 – Miyajima Battery Ruins
1:05:28 Day 8 – Miyajime evening
1:08:36 Day 9 – Lets go to Nara
1:10:21 Day 9 – Nara
1:16:46 Day 10 – Back to Tokyo
1:18:29 Day 11 – Fligh back to Frankfurt airport over north pole

Day 0: Departure from Frankfurt 8 pm Planned and booked everything 1 week before Flight could be straight forward… … if there wasn’t this attack from Russia on Ukraine 14h Flight nonstop with JAL (1126€) Arrival about 4 pm Was a very relaxing flight with a japanese meal

Service point from JR was overcrowded. (14 days JR-Pass 52960 Yen / 355€) Sadly bad video quality this day Sun goes down very early (5-6pm) Ryokan Asakusa Shigetsu Best way to stay is a ryokan or a temple Saturday evening. Time to visit Kabukichō. Everything was filmed with a Samsung S20 FE 5G

But on this day I turned HDR on. That was a very big mistake. This smartphone wasn’t designed for HDR videos. I’ve decided to turn it off the next day. Shinjuku Cross Vision, only a few minutes every hour. Lucky that I came here to the right time.

Day 1: Nice weather today (04. Jun 23) It very crowded even in the morning, because my ryokan was near the famous Asakusa shrine Traveling to Shibuya first Gladly the quality was very good now. Vending machines on every corner. Yoyogi 1st Gymnasium I’ve found a festival by chance. Walked from Shibuya to Akihabara (2h)

Shibuya Miyashita Park Randomly a beach volleyball tournament. Famous Shibua Crossing Japan is really clean except for the piles of trash on the side of the road Walking to Akihabara Fishing next to a train station… Sukuni Shrine Haiden Arriving at Akihabara.

You want to come on a sunday because the main street is closed for tourism. Not even bicycles are allowed. Even some trucks have ads. Skytree in the background Way to ryokan again through Asakusa shrine mile Evening shots from Day 0 (Bad quality) Asakusa Shrine Tokyo Skytree Asakusa Shrine

Day 2: Way to Nagoya with a Shinkansen Mt. Fuji in the background Arriving at Nagoya and moving to Atsuta Shrine Atsuta Matsuri is on every 05. June. The Atsuta Shrine is very famous because one of the three imperial relics (sword) lies here. Relatively empty in the morning (monday, 10:30 am)

No Matsuri without food vendors. Washing station. Sadly I came 30 minutes to late for the opening ceremony because I took the wrong train and had to travel back. Holy tree Still part of the shrine area with toilets and an overcrowded restaurant. There were also some very lovely mikos (shrine maidens)

Kyūdō (about 11-12 am) Last part of the opening ceremony that I missed These flutes really hurt my ears Atsuta Kagura Some martial arts performances. I don’t know what this is calling exactly. Kento Makiwara I’ve listened over one hour to these drums Evening: School’s out, work’s over. In the end it gets hopelessly overcrowded.

Most exits to fireworks were ckised by police. Was hard to find a way out. Never stay until the end. Finally I made it back. Day 3: Moving on to Kyoto with Shinkansen I left my bag on another station. Kyoto has no free bag slots, everything was full. Moving to Nijō Castle

One big shrine on my way. I had to go in. Morning ceremony with some music I didn’t like. Shine insides. I didn’t know if filming was allowed but it was the first shrine I’ve entered. It looked very magnificent. Gladly everyone sat with their backs to me

Arriving at Nijō Castle (1300 Yen entrance fee) Very beautiful historical building. Most of them are empty and it’s not allowed to enter except one where filming wasn’t allowed. It has a very beautiful area. No castle without a moat Very idyllic Weather was getting worse Going to the Imperial Palace

A small park somewhere in between. Arriving at Imperial Palace There was an entrance fee I forgot about Dinner Day 4: Breakfast Morning walk Day 4: Visiting Ape Park Arashiyama Important rules: No food/drinks outside of the food house. Don’t squat down and never ever film apes directly into their face.

Sadly most younger people think they are better and simply ignoring these rules. Feeding times are 2 times per day. Moving back to see one of the most famous shrines On the east side are many big shrines Fushimi Inari is one of the most famous shrines Fushimi Inari Taisha Sembon Torii Sadly overcrowded again

Had to drink some of it because all vendor machines were already empty On my way down I took the wrong turn somewhere. No torii anymore, only bamboo… But I’ve found the way back to the hotel. Day 5: Visiting Castle Osaka before moving to Kobe

Castle Ōsaka was destroyed a few times and rebuild. Or atleast the outside was rebuild. Inside is only a museum now. Inside filming was only allowed on one or two floors. By the way entrance fee was 600 Yen (4€) Castle Ōsaka was a bit disappointed so I decided to move on to Kōbe

View from Mosaic Big Ferris Wheel Time to rest, was a bit disappointing day. But tomorrow will be better. Buttered fish head and caudal fin Tempura The almighty Göffel. What is it called in english? Day 6: Let’s got to Castle Hemeiji Entrance fee 1050 Yen Includes Castle and Koko-en Garden

That’s really a castle even from inside. It was really hot this day. Hemeiji Castle Disaster Prevention Center: They’ve said we should drink much water and looking for shadow places because of the heat. While the castle was very crowded the big park next to it was empty. And I mean empty!

Princess Sen Peony Garden Koko-en garden There was also a yellow one that I missed to film Traveling back to Kobe for a hike to the waterfalls Nunobiki Reservoir Akashi Kaikyo Bridge I wanted to film the sunset, but it was to cloudy. Day 7: On my way via Hiroshima to Miyajima

Sadly I couldn’t take the Hello Kitty Shinkansen. Most times it is booked up and drives only two times per day. I also didn’t know that this special train is still existent. Last part with ferry (included in JR-Pass) Here are many deers like in Nara

I had many blisters on my toes and the cold water felt like a blessing. Kawaii I’ve decided to make a short walk over the nortern part of the isle. I took the last drive upwards of the ropeway and then walk down. Easier than the other way.

Normal weather in japan in june. It was very cold on the top and I had only a shirt and shorts. Shinto shrines are on the outside. Inside the isle are mostly buddhist temples with monks. Sad because I prefer Shinto shrines.

You have to walk about 30 minutes from the ropeway to the top of the mountain. Ebb. There was also a lawson konbini. Nothing to say about this… I’ve booked this room for 35€/night one week before I’ve started. Other Hotels were full and prices started at about 200€/night But I got a wonderful view.

Still a bit ebby. On my way to the military ruins Wild monkey. He disappeared very quickly. I had to go over the beach because the way through the Natural Botanical Garden is closed on weekends. Here they are growing oysters. Remember: It is ebb! And what follows to it a few a hours later?

They are really sharp, which I would find out later. Translated picture with Google Battery ruins next to the Hiroshima University Natural Botanical Garden. Was still early in the morning so I’ve decided to walk around the isle and visit all shinto shrines.

This was a very bad idea because there was no other people around and no vendor machines. I had only a 300 ml bottle with green tea and one bag of Tsubugumi with me. Also a way was not easy to find. I had to climb many times. Naitsu Rock

End of the beach, had to go through the jungle. With shorts and a shirt at about 30 °C in the sun. At least there was an old path. But the way was getting worse and worse with shorts.

Here I was able to refill my bottle. The water was very clean, delicious and saved my life. At this point I lost the way completely. I stopped about 500 meters after Sue Daiichi Shell Mound (陶第一貝殻塚) I’ve tried to go back the same way.

And now comes the flood. Walking barefoot through the barnacles was a bad idea. I’ll never take the beach again for a walk. I needed to reach the rock in the background. From there I found a more suitable way through the woods (and a lot of spider nets).

After over 6h I was happy to feel the hard street under my broken feets. And I was happy to see some kind of civilisation again. As you can see, flood has come. After this dangerous trip I needed to relax. I also wanted to record the sunset this time.

But a stormfront from south korea spoiled everything. So I bought me an ice cream and relaxed with the deers. For natures sake, please don’t feed the deers with konbini stuff. The late evening of Miyajima. Shops are closing very early about 5-6 pm. Goodbye Miyajima Day 9: Let’s go to Nara.

Creepy Nara mascot. Due to a suspicious item at a state building, two helicopters flying the whole day over Nara… Sorry for the noise. Nara Park. I little bit rainy this day. There were many deers and temples, Nara seems to be more buddhistic than shinto.

But because I’ve seen many of them already in Miyajima they weren’t not so special for me. Nigatsu-do Todai-ji Shichijunoto Sorin Tōdai-ji 15m height, 452t weight bronze buddha. Nice to see for one time but I don’t like buddha.

Tabist Nara Hakushikaso (16.170 Yen / night) Most expensive room on my trip with room service. He brings dinner and makes the bed after. Day 10: Back from Nara to Tokyo with Shinkansen. I was really exhausted of my whole trip and decided to stay in my room for the rest of the day.

Also Chiba has nothing really interesting to offer. I chose this place only because its near to the airport. Day 11: Return Flight over north pole again due to the Russian attack on Ukraine.