We managed to get 3 Japanese stamps in our passports within 8 months.
Japan was on our list to visit during our 5 months of traveling in the summer of 2024. Now, as I write this in March and April 2025, I reflect back on those trips and our repeated visits to the places we love most: Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo.
Not much would change, except discovering new restaurants, new bars, new shopping sprees. Instead of discovering new towns, we felt like getting deeper into the local way of living.
Tokyo.
It had been about 9 or 10 years since my last trip to Tokyo before our most recent visit. For the first part of this trip, my parents-in-law joined us for 9 days. This worked out well, as it meant we could visit bars in the evenings while they watched our 3-year-old daughter.
I visited Tokyo as if it would have been my first trip to the capital of Japan, as I wanted to show them a maximum within a short period of time.
I noticed that a lot more people are speaking English in Tokyo than in Osaka. Lost in translation wasn’t as common as ten years ago.
In my own opinion, the three must-see places in Tokyo, and also the most touristic ones, are:
Asakusa
Shibuya
Shinjuku
From the red wooden shrines, through the gigantic crossing, to the vibrant nightlife in Shinjuku.
On this trip, we discovered a new neighborhood called “Harajuku” which I hadn’t visited before. We ended up returning three times over our 5 weeks in Japan because we enjoyed the vibe and the crowds. This hip area has a variety of shops and restaurants. You can easily walk from Shinjuku to Yoyogi Park, then to Harajuku, and finally end in Shibuya—a great route through Tokyo.
For Asakusa, you can easily spend a whole day checking out the surrounding streets and areas. There’s an endless mile of shops within a covered gallery. Even when it’s raining, you can enjoy shopping. My must-visit spot would be “Deus Ex” (a coffee bar and clothing shop about Surfing, Motorbikes, and music labels), which is between Asakusa & Tokyo Skytree. Around Asakusa, you’ll also find an infinite number of Izakayas, which attract the business people early in the evening. The streets are always busy, which makes it a lively neighborhood at any given time of the day. Go for Kimono shopping, Ramen tasting, get some booze at a local bar, and get in touch with Japanese people (easier when they are tipsy).
The famous Tokyo Tower is also a must-see, in my opinion. It’s so beautiful at night, when it looks like the Eiffel Tower painted in a neon red color. We visited the “Azabudai Hills Sky Lobby” from which you get a splendid view. It’s free entry, however, you gotta buy something to eat or drink, to use their main hall, which offers high windows with a 180° view all over the city. As mentioned, I’d suggest visiting the place before sunset, so you can enjoy the tower during golden hour and when it’s lit at night. Magnificent.
With my wife Vanessa, we visited a couple of bars, and Golden Gai in Shinjuku. It’s always an adventure making it through the tiny alleys, and jumping from bar to bar. We visited a tiny bar called “Second Line” in Shinjuku. I loved the place, when I first visited Tokyo, ages ago. That time back then, I visited the bar two or three times. 10 years later, I recognized the bar owner “matchan”. however I wasn’t sure if he’d still recognize me. We sat down, ordered a drink… and then he asked me “have you been here before”, and I gently replied “yes, 10 years ago”. He remembered “oh are you the police guy from Europe”, and we started laughing. After all that time, he hadn’t forgotten who I was. (Here comes a photo of me & Matchan)
From “Second Line”, we moved towards a tiny bar in Golden Gai, that I visit everytime I’m the city. I don’t even know the name of the bar, and it takes me a minute or two, to figure out which one it is. I always recognize the bar, by the entrance narrow stairs that lead up to the bar on the upper floor. The owner is a very charismatic person, even though he barely speaks any english. Three times out of four, I visited the bar, the owner was playing a song on his guitar. And mostly the same song… I just love it.
Another night, I made it to the viewpoint next to Shiinamachi Station in Toshima, which I discovered through social media. Online, I could witness an amazing vintage-looking restaurant, decorated with several neon lights. The ambience in the photo was jaw-dropping. I really wanted to visit, without any clue what to expect. The place felt like a serene, magical place within the busy city of Tokyo. While taking some photos, from the bridge, I noticed another couple of guys, tourists, who came to the same spot with the same idea: getting a great night shot of the restaurant, called “Uonami”. As I had my two hours off “without the family”, I decided to check out the restaurant while I was there. The guys that I saw on the bridge were having dinner as well. We easily made contact, as we were the only “gai-jins” (foreigners) at the restaurant. We shared some sake, and I had some delicious raw fish. The staff was very welcoming, even though they wouldn’t speak any English. I really enjoyed the vibe: the usual Japanese friendliness, surrounded by Japanese vintage decorations. After dinner, the Australian guys invited me for a beer from the 7-Eleven supermarket, and we shared an Uber to Shinjuku, where we split separate ways. They went to Golden Gai, and I headed back to the Hotel. Definitely a memorable evening.
Mt Fuji.
I must have visited Japan 8 or 9 times; however, I’ve never made it to Mount Fuji. As we were traveling with my in-laws from Tokyo to Osaka, we decided to stop for two nights in Fuji Kawaguchiko. During the summer months, it’s not easy to get a clear view of the mountain, well, actually it is still an active volcano. And because of the heat during those months, there isn’t any visible snow on the top of Fuji. Nevertheless, we thought it would be great to witness its beauty, and visit the surrounding areas around the lake and the town of Fujiyoshida.
As I was talking about the serene spot next to the “Uonami” restaurant in Tokyo. Fuji was another serene and scenic highlight of our trip. Once you step out the tiny cute train station of Kawaguchiko, you feel like teleported to a different world. Instantly from the station, you get a great view towards Mt. Fuji… if you’re lucky. During our September trip, there was a lot of fog, around Fuji, which was kind of disappointing.
Most hotels or ryokans (traditional japanese hotels) are pretty much dated around the famous Lake Kawaguchi. Expect a vintage experience, with basic hotels, but still a lot of charm. We were handed out Yukatas (a less formal kind of Kimono), while checking in, we opted for rooms, with futons, where we would sleep on the floor.
The most inconvenient part in Kawaguchiko, was the closing time of the restaurants. The town is pretty much dead at night. Lots of restaurants close around 20:00 and 21:00 (8 and 9pm). On our first night, we had food a the worst restaurant in the village. It was an indian restaurant. We were glad that nobody got sick.
During our stay, we visited the famous “Chureito Pagoda” from which you get an amazing photo, with the pagoda and the volcano in the background… if you’re lucky.
Fuji Yoshida is a tiny village, but a very photogenic one. Great to take photos, but not many food options.
Around Lake Kawaguchi you can easily spend a whole day or even two days. There’s a bus that brings you to every bus-stop around the lake. Every stop comes with its special activity: a park, a hill to climb, a vista point, … The bus is slow, it takes forever, but it’s convenient, and cheaper than a taxi.
During the September month, we were kind of lucky, to get an “ok” view of Mt. Fuji. However when we went back to Japan the following year in 2025 (April), we decided to visit Fuji Kawaguchiko with a day trip from Japan. It was exausting. However it was all worth it. An amazing view with endless cherry blossoms packed trees.
You can visit Mt Fuji with a direct train, starting from Tokyo, and making it to Fuji Kawaguchiko Station without changing trains. It’s called - Limited Express Fuji Excursion - train. I definitely recommend booking a reserved seat in advance. We used free seating, as it was the only option available for us. During the day, we wanted to visit it. We bought our tickets the previous day. Getting there was “ok”. However, heading back towards Tokyo was horrible; the train was just packed with too many people. My wife was pregnant, and our 3-year-old daughter was getting really tired; everybody was crouching on the floor. There was absolutely no free space for more than 3 hours. Was the trip worth it… yes!
While traveling across Japan, we bumped into a couple of matsuris (festivals), where people dress up in traditional clothing, carry around statues, they dance in groups, shout, laugh… It´s loud, but it comes with a very festive vibe. It’s a great opportunity to get in touch with another part of the Japanese culture.
Kurashiki.
Sometimes I have a hard time skipping Osaka on our trip when in Japan. As we recently visited Tokyo twice, I also got a thing going on with the capital of Japan. It reminded me of my trips to Tokyo 10 years ago. I had nice experiences in Tokyo, managed to bump into some lovely people; nevertheless, Osaka was the city closest to my heart.
However as we've already visited Osaka 4 or 5 times in a row, Vanessa, wanted to see “more” of Japan. Kurashiki wasn’t too far away. By Shinkansen and local train, it might take 1.5 hour to get there. From the photos, it looked like a cosy small town, with tiny canals all over the city. Sadly we lost more time than than we expected, as we started our journey in Tokyo, so in the end it we were traveling almost 4 hours, until we reached the hotel with our luggage, and a stroller.
We decided to spend only 1 night in Kurashiki, instead of two, as we wanted to visit the World Expo in Osaka as well.
The weather wasn’t on our side during the 24 hours in Kurashiki. No sun, which made it hard to get decent photos. During the day, the “old town” was packed with tourists. And in the early evening, most restaurant shut their doors around 8 pm. We were used to Tokyo & Osaka hours, two cities that never sleep. Kurashiki was different; we ended up eating in an Italian restaurant, as all the local Japanese restaurants were closed after 8 pm.
Kurashiki is famous for its tiny Denim Street. Nothing spectacular though. You’ll find denim articles sold all over the city, also blue colored food, like ice cream or cookies (representing the color of the blue textile). It was a bad timing, shortening our stay, and being not lucky with the weather. However we enjoyed discovering a new part of Japan. As it’s not too far away from Osaka, you could also make it there, as a day trip.
Osaka.
The place called home. Back in Osaka. From summer 2024 until May 2025, we visited Osaka three times. And we didn’t get tired of it. We stayed at a fantastic hotel called “Citadine Namba”, with large rooms, a children’s room, a food court downstairs … something we haven’t experienced so far in Japan. Small rooms and a lack of space are very common in Japanese accommodations.
We stayed in the Namba area, and were surprised by how many new things we discovered only steps away from our hotel. Incredible shopping malls that were hidden between the buildings. A fantastic bakery and coffee shop, just across the street. Why didn’t we discover them on our previous trips?
We visited the Katsuo-ji Temple, near Osaka, for the first time as a family. It was my 2nd time. However, everything was easier this time. Due to social media, it has become a massive hotspot for tourists visiting Osaka. The very first time I visited Katsuo-ji, I had a hard time talking to the taxi driver, as it’s only reachable by cab or by bus. Buses didn’t run that often back then. And 9 years ago, I missed the last bus, which would bring me down to the city’s train station. No phone to call a taxi, no Japanese language knowledge, I walked down the hill for almost an hour.
This time, everything went flawlessly. And of course, we were enjoying our tiny screen print, which you can create at several checkpoints, where you add a stamp layer on top of each other, until it becomes a tiny piece of art.
The temple is beautiful, even without the postcard gimmick.
Tenma.
Our lovely friends Yasauyo & Odie took us to new places as well. They rented a car just for us, to make traveling easier for us, and decided to do a road trip to Awaji Island. However, due to a late arrival, super heavy traffic, we didn’t make it in time. So, with a last-minute change of plans, we visited “Hello Kitty Smile” with our daughter, Valentina. It was a tiny theme park for Kitty-Chan fans, created in a building that has the shape of Kitty’s head.
We absolutely missed the beauty of Awaji, as the sun was already setting. But I think, as it’s not too far away from Osaka, that it is a beautiful place to visit if you’re traveling by car. Lots of nature, the ocean, and the feel of an island.
After sunset, we headed back to Tenma. Tenma is very popular among locals for after-work drinking and eating. It’s way cheaper than in Namba, with a lot of “cheap drinking” options. The streets were packed with young people, all in a good mood, and welcoming towards foreigners.
They introduced us the an izakaya chain store called “Shirokiya”. There’s one right next to the Glico sign in Dotonbori. It’s delicious. You can order so many different kind of foods on a tablet, even pizza for the kids, if japanese food isn’t the easiest option for the youngsters.
ARASHIYAMA.
Arashiyama is always a must-visit when in Osaka. For years, we have been doing exactly the same thing. Spending money on things we don’t need, just because they’re so cute. Try some Japanese sweets. A mandatory matcha mochi with beanpaste, at the same vendor. A quick walk to the bamboo forest, and just enjoy the moment of being there.
I think Arashiyama feels like a serene place as soon as you step out of the train station. However, the serenity quickly ends as soon as you pass the first bridge near the station, where you are struck by a million tourists. Nevertheless, it doesn’t take away my joy of being in Arashiyama.
Vanessa came up with the great idea to visit the “Nenbutsu-ji Temple”. I was wondering why we haven’t done it earlier. It’s a 30-40 minute walk to the temple, but you walk through a beautiful rural area, which is very quiet, and there are a bunch of temples along the roads.
Once we came back to the city center, we went for a delicious Soba meal at “Arashiyama Yoshimura”. Definitely recommendable.
There are endless food options in Japan. Wherever you go. All the streets are packed with restaurants, sometimes they are hidden on an upper floor or in a basement. Every single time, we are surprised by how good the food is, even when we didn’t expect it.
Cocktail Bars in Osaka.
I keep going back to the same old places, once I can make a nostalgic moment out of it. For example, Vanessa and I had our first night out in Osaka, in a tiny bar called “Cinque Cento” (500 in Italian). All the drinks were 500 Yen, hence the name (which is pretty cheap for Japan). It’s a bar, where expats can bump into locals, travelers, … they serve a rather international crowd.
Do they serve amazing drinks? No. But they are just fine for 500 yen, and they get you hammered pretty fast. We had a funny story, that first night…
Even when we were visiting Osaka with Vanessa’s parents, the staff would let us in with a kid (around 6 pm, which was very kind, as it’s not easy to get into bars with kids in Japan).
As our daughter was staying with the grandparents one night, we took the chance to go for a drink, which is almost never possible while traveling as a family. So we hit up a couple of places.
Bird/56, is tiny jazz bar in Osaka, right next to Dotonbori. I used to love the vibe, the very first time I was at that bar. And kept going back for a least one drink, when in Osaka. They serve the best Yuzu Sake Soda. Things have changed over the years, and it has become very popular among travelers. The first two times, there were 2 or 3 customers at the bar, including myself. On the last two trips, the bar was always packed.
We discovered two great cocktail bars: Bible Club & Nayuta. Neither bar is recognizable from the outside. Especially Nayuta. You definitely gotta look for it, to find it.
Bible Club has a cool American vintage vibe, very cool and unique decoration. The cocktails were really good.
Nayuta was different. No menu. You gotta tell the bartender what you like as a drink, and he will create something out of his magic hat. Nayuta feels more intimate. Seats are limited, the place is small, and it comes with a dark, moody vibe. Pretty amazing place.
As cocktails have become a passion over the the last years, I also had a night out by myself (thanks Vanessa!). I visited the cocktail bar “Akashic Records” & “Potion Station”. Both places served great cocktails as well. POTION STATION was kind of a unique bar, that I hadn’t experienced before. The bartender and owner of the bar, who is fascinated by TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) is creating cocktails with tea infusions… all kind of teas and herbs. And comes up with unique flavors & textures of the drinks.
Vanessa & I ended up at the Karaoke Bar “Kama Sutra” to close the night. No special drinks. But we had a good time and a laugh, as the crowd at the bar, was in a good mood, singing, drinking, … Even Vanessa sang a song. A night to remember.
We went out for one night and met people at every single bar, that we visited. You got to love Japan.
Not to forget, that we made it to one of the best tiki bars in Japan (there aren’t too many)… the Kazaan Room in Kobe. Luckily they’d let us in with our daughter. The bar is owned by an american couple who lives in Kobe. The bar owner was super friendly and absolutely welcoming. I loved the vibe and their drinks. Definitely a place to visit, if you fancy cocktails. Kobe is only 20-30 minutes away by train, from Osaka.
While in Tokyo, we had a stop a Trader’s Vic. Definitely an amazing bar, if you´re into tiki, and even if you’ve never been to a tiki bar, this place is magical, and it will blow you away. From the busy streets of Tokyo, Trader Vic’s will emerge you into a completely different world.
A place called home.
I could go on, and list another 100 things we experience in Japan. We visited the “Sanrio Puroland” in Tokyo, a theme park based on “Hello Kitty”. It’s a crazy place for kids. Less expensive than Disney Land, and they will keep you entertained for half a day. A nice daytrip for families.
Obviously we did the Disney Park as well. We opted for Tokyo Disney Sea, as it’s pretty unique. If I remember correctly it’s the only “Disney Sea” in the world.
The World Expo in Osaka, was nice to see. However if I had the choice, or better said, if I had a tight schedule while visiting Japan, we would skip it. It’s a huge area to check out, however not that much to experience or witness.
While in Tokyo we went to one TeamLab experience, crazy but beautiful live experience.
We met up with our buddies Brooke & Christian, with their kids. I haven’t seen them for more than 8 years, after they left Luxembourg, and moved to the Philippines, afterwards to Japan.
We met up with Yasuyo & Odie two or three times. Always a pleasure.
We met up with our friends Sofia & Andrea from Luxembourg in Tokyo.
Not to forget that we met the dancing Dog, each time we were in Osaka.
Now that I’m writing about those 3 trips in Japan, it felt like we’d been living in Japan for half a year.
