Japan - Our Honeymoon destination!! Real stuffs that work as a first timer!!

When I told people we were going to Japan for our honeymoon, their reactions were priceless.

Everyone was like — “Japan?! Who goes there for a honeymoon? Bali jao, ya Maldives!”

But here’s the thing — we’d been together for 7 years, and this was not only our first international trip together but also our first individually. A milestone. And like most doting husbands, mine left the entire planning to me 😌.

Why Japan?

I’ve never been a beach person. So, I wanted something unique, something offbeat — a place that could truly blow my mind. A place that felt completely different from our own. That’s when Japan found its place on our dream list.

What followed was hours of sketching itineraries, mindless squeezing of plans into tight timelines, and then cutting them down again to leave room for just enjoying. I decided on a simple rule:

“Which day — which city?” Rest? Dekha jayega. 😄

I’ll spare you the long travelogue and share the most useful things that actually worked for us — tips, suggestions, the good, the bad, and the surprisingly brilliant.

1. Traveling in the Off-Season = Underrated Bliss

We visited in mid-July — post cherry blossom season and just before the summer vacation crowd kicks in. It's right after the rainy season, so while we did get some showers, we also got:

- Fewer tourists 😍

- Better flight & hotel deals 💸

- A cooler, breezy weather 🌬️

Can’t recommend the timing enough if you want to truly enjoy without elbowing through crowds.

2. Hotel in Ginza: One of Our Smartest Decisions

Instead of staying in touristy hubs like Shinjuku or Shibuya, we stayed in Ginza, and it was a winner!

✅ Close to the metro (a 2-minute walk!)

✅ Centrally located — Shibuya, Shinjuku, Asakusa — all within ~30 mins

✅ Clean, peaceful, posh but not overly expensive

✅ Easy access to Tokyo Subway Pass routes (JR lines are costlier)

We stayed at Hotel Amanek, Ginza — 4 nights for approx ₹32,000. Totally worth it!

3. Metro + Google Maps - These two was enough for transportation around Tokyo. Google Maps in Japan is a rockstar. It shows:

👉 All train options available

👉 Exact timings, cost estimates

👉 Platform exits, and even which train compartment is closest to the exit 😯

Save yourself the chaos — just trust the maps.

4. Not too many bookings: Not everything is required to be booked in advance. It tightens the itinerary as well.

Some things are must books though:

👉 TeamLabs

👉 DisneySea / Universal Studios

👉 Tokyo Skytree / Shibuya Sky

But for the rest — go with the flow. Stumbling across hidden gems is half the fun!

5. Places We Loved (and Didn't): Here’s the raw truth of where we went and what we felt:

✅ Teamlabs – 100% YES! Immersive art like you can’t imagine.

✅ DisneySea – Worth it for the experience, even if the stories are in Japanese.

✅ Sensoji Temple – Peaceful if visited early (we went at 7 AM). But the famous alley shops open late, and thus we missed the good desserts of the area. Thus, choose your priority.

❌ Ueno Park – Skip unless you're super into pandas. We weren't wowed.

✅ Miraikan (Science Museum) – Loved the Robot & Innovation displays.

➖ Joypolis – Only if you're a big gamer or arcade fan (we weren't).

✅ Takeshita Street, Harajuku – Yay! For fridge magnets (we found fridge magnets at around 300 Yen and everywhere else it was more than 600 Yen), shopping cheaper, good food and evening stroll. I literally found it better than Shinjuku and Shibuya. More engaging and interactive.

❌ Shinchan Town (Kasukabe) – Just the theme song and one arcade. Not worth the travel.

➖ Doraemon Museum (Noborito) – Decent if you're a big fan, but far and niche.

✅ Maxell Aqua Park (Shinagawa) – Loved the dolphin show. Go if you’ve never seen one!

6. Booking a Day Trip to Mt Fuji: Considering less frequent transport options and within the mountains, we preferred the day trip package for Mt. Fuji. But make sure to book at least a week before. Cos good packages get sold early.

Just one day, no Google Maps drama, peaceful roads, and pure scenic joy. 10/10 recommend!

7. The Vegetarian Struggle is Real

The biggest challenge in Japan? Veg food.

You’d think social media & apps like HappyCow could save you. Nope. You’ll still end up hopping restaurant to restaurant hearing, “No vegetarian.”

What actually worked?

👉 Open Google Maps

👉 Click "Directions"

👉 Type "Vegetarian Restaurants" as your destination

👉 That’s it.

We found hidden gems this way — small, local places we would've otherwise missed.

7. Essential Apps (Skip the Rest)

Don’t clutter your phone. All we really needed:

👉 Google Maps – For routes & travel

👉 Google Translate – For conversations

👉 Google Lens – For translating signs/menus

Optional: Suica Card for tap payments — but adding Suica to Apple Wallet didn’t work for our Indian cards. So we gave up. Cash or physical IC cards work too.

So yes! We had a good trip. The country is overall 50 years ahead of India. With people either too sweet or they don’t care, cities being cleaner than you can imagine and the sky so clear. No pollution, no traffic. People have so much patience while in queue, or when talking to us trying to break the language barrier.

Loved how everyone is calm and not loud at all. Loved how every penny spent there felt like its worth it and that they are not overcharging. Loved how kids and teens and even the adult has so many anime keychains, stickers and stuff toys hanging on their bags. Even the young guys get so excited with hairbands and stuff toys when it comes to Disney and Anime.

And that’s how, the Country did make us awestruck. Happy and content! 😌