Hi all - very excited as I just decided with my fianc� to spend our honeymoon in Japan! We've been saving up for a long time for the trip and are starting to get excited 😄

We have two weeks to prep before we arrive in Japan on September 14th and we've given ourselves 5 weeks to tour the country. We are a young couple in our late 20s and love to experience the authentic sides of culture � we prefer less hotspot tourist attractions and more backalley bodegas and towns that give a real sense of culture. We like spending money on nice stays but are also just as comfortable finding a bed-and-breakfast in a remote village. With that in mind, I had a few questions to get us started with our initial planning! Any help here is *greatly* appreciated.

• For our initial 1 week stay in Tokyo, which areas should we look to stay? Would love to know some of the more hip or up-and-coming areas to search for an Airbnb
• We are willing to splurge 1-2 nights on a Michelin star restaurant in Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, elsewhere). Are there any reservations we should make asap for amazing sushi (or otherwise)?
• Are there any must-visit restaurants or eateries along the way in Japan?
• Is there a good destination or venue to look at for authentic sumo wrestling?
• We will of course go to Tokyo and Kyoto � but are also interested in visiting lesser known towns and villages to get a sense of daily life in Japan. Any recommendations for us there?
• We are debating between taking the trains between cities and towns versus renting a car. We will have two suitcases (one small and one large) + a backpack so for that reason a rental car may be convenient. But I hear the train works well! Curious if anyone has thoughts here
• Any incredible natural / cultural visits we should make outside of the major guidebook attractions?

Thank you so much in advance! I've just put in a Fodors order for Japan guide as well, scheduled to arrive in 3-4 days.

Benni

Oh to be young, in love, and have five weeks to travel! That is so awesome.

My most profound food advice is not a particular place. I like the Wiki page on the different types of dishes in Japanese cuisine. That way you can seek out all of those dishes. Variety is the spice of life, and if you seek them out you will gain a deeper understanding of Japanese cuisine and have fun doing so. Some of them are regional specialties.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Japanese_dishes

My personal favorite discovery was dried fish, Himono (干物). That doesn't mean desiccated (like you might use as a base for soup). They are most often grilled and can be surprisingly plump all the same.

My other food advice is the Yelp of Japan, Tabelog. It is like Yelp on steroids. The amount of info is mind-boggling. There is an English-language version that is pretty darn good, but the Japanese version is even better. I don't understand Japanese, and I use it (with lots of cutting and pasting). The site has pictures of EVERYTHING. The exterior view of places (important for finding a place), and all the food and interiors. Pictures can be helpful in ordering.

tabelog.com
or
tabelog.com/en

In terms of unusual or out-of-the-way places not in guidebooks, I love the TaYa cave in Yokohama. Sometime in the early 20th century, monks at a temple carved out their own cave with engravings. They give you a slender paddle to put a candle on. There is no other lighting. And there are stations inside where you can refill/replace your candle. I brought a mini-flashlight with me as well. You could combine this with a visit to the Yokohama Ramen Museum, which is basically an excuse to eat ramen from some of the top ramen vendors throughout Japan. It is a two-story recreation of a Tokyo street scene from the Showa period. Stunning interior.

Still in Yokohama, Sea Paradise is an aquarium complex with multiple buildings and also has an amusement park, including a boss rollercoaster that takes you over water. Many stunning displays of fish you'd never see elsewhere.

While in Kyoto you will likely visit many of the top sites such as Kiyomizu Dera, Fushimi Imari and Arashiyama to name a few. These are extremely popular, rightfully so and I would suggest going very early in the morning or closer to sunset to avoid large crowds and have a chance to enjoy the experience.

Another suggestion would be to visit Uji, about 20 minutes by metro from Kyoto Station. Some equally beautiful places with a much quieter, peaceful ambience than the most popular sites in Kyoto. Great if you tire of crowds you will encounter.

It is going to rain. Might get better weather in Hokkaido. You might still be able to find decent airfares (see my thread about domestic flights). Less foreign-touristed up there, small cities and towns to visit. Onsen

>> Is there a good destination or venue to look at for authentic sumo wrestling?
The September Grand Sumo tournament will be in Tokyo. I advise against getting box seats. Get there at noon or 1PM and stay to the end at 6PM. Walk around the arena. Get in the line for chanko nabe.
Info here: 日本相撲協会公式サイト (sumo.or.jp)

>> We are debating between
End of debate: take the trains. Use the excellent luggage delivery service: Takuhaibin (Takkyubin) - Delivery Services (japan-guide.com)

If you actually want to drive then consider this: Japan Romantic Road (japan-guide.com)
,
Kusatsu is one of the stops. It is one of my most favorite onsen towns. Can be reached from Tokyo by train and can be a day trip but it is a bit involved and worth an overnight stay.

Chuzenji is another stop on that Romantic Road. Can also be reached by rail + bus from Tokyo. That whole area around Nikko, outside of Nikko town itself, Nikko National Park has a lot of natural beauty and should be less touristed. Nikko is very touristed but still worth a visit. Not touristy, exactly, just tons of foreign tourists.

September is off-peak season because of the weather and school. So Nikko should be better than when I was there one November.

An interesting story of chanko nabe (wrestlers stew) a protein and vegetable rich hot pot. Back in the 1970’s my father was in Tokyo on bank business and was invited to observe a training session and have lunch at one of the sumo stables in Ryogoku.

He said the training session was old school, brutal, almost a medieval throwback. For lunch huge pots of chanko nabe was prepared by junior wrestlers. They did all the preparation and serving while the senior wrestlers, stable master and guests ate.

If a senior wrestler silently held up an empty rice bowl and wasn’t served quickly, the junior wrestler got smacked, a knock off the feet smack! The junior wrestlers only ate after everyone was finished and by then just what was left, usually the dregs of the meal, gravy from the hot pot and lots of rice. The stew gravy in which all the ingredients cooked was rich with nutrients just very little solids. The saying was if you want to eat well, wrestle hard, win and move up in ranking.

Thank you all for your quick responses! Super helpful. We will plan on taking trains and, if necessary, rent a car for shorter drives or day trips. Some follow-ups below!

• I looked into the September Grand Sumo Tournament and it's all sold out, understandably! I read online that you can buy same-day tickets starting at 8am, one per person, but also heard the longs get really long and you have to arrive very early in the morning. Are there any secondary markets to purchase tickets or other creative ways to get tickets? Any tickets would be fine for us (minus box seats which you said aren't worth it)? September 10th - the first day of the tournament - would work really well with our schedule!
• I've been looking into onsens for a more romantic getaway. Are there any onsens that are closer to nature (e.g., by natural water or fed by natural water) in the countryside that we should consider? The good news is anywhere on Honshu is fair game for us
• I've just started digging in to Tabelog and so many options. Still digging in to the Wikipedia article you shared to put a longer list of places together
• We are looking into staying in Shinjuku or Shibuya unless we're told otherwise (ha!)
• More to come!

Especially good for a honeymoon, I very much like the experience of eating at

清流 初つぼみ秋葉原店 (Hatsu Tsubomi)

Danke Akihabara Bldg., 1-chōme-6-4 Kanda Sakumachō, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0025, Japan

It is on the 9th floor of the Danke Akihabara Building. You could always get your hotel to call for you, but no need to reserve far in advance. It will feel like you're going to your own secret place.

>> September Grand Sumo Tournament and it's all sold out
I'm surprised. I think there is a secondary market for tickets, but idk about it.

Ticket prices below. By "Japanese" box they mean you sit on a cushion on the floor. The boxes are below the walkway, closer to the dojo. If you are willing to pay �9,500 per person to sit on the floor and that is your only option then go for it. The arena seats at Ryogoku are comfortable and set above the walkway and offer a good view. On a walk around the arena, go over to the place where the rikishi enter the arena and you can see them up close. (and get to see sumo fans; i went to the Kyushu tournament in 2001 and the wresters entered the arena building through the front door. A woman was so excited about being close enough to touch (her favorite wrestler?) that she was crying)

"The price of a Japanese box starts at approximately�38,000** (tax included) with one box seating four people.The price of an arena seat starts at approximately�3,800** (tax included)."