6-Day 5-Night Japan Honshu Group Tour

In March 2024, my first overseas trip of the year. Mr. Zhao (my husband) didn’t want to be my guide, he wanted a worry-free experience, so he insisted we not do independent travel. As someone with no sense of direction, I had no choice—so we joined a group tour.

2999 + 100 visa fee + 1000 tip = 4099 RMB per person. The tip was collected by the guide at the airport, payable in cash or via mobile payment.

1. Scanned copy of passport information page;

2. Digital photo: 3.5×4.5 cm white background color photo taken within the last 3 months;

3. Scanned copy of original household registration booklet;

4. Application form;

5. Bank certificate of deposit: at least 50,000 RMB. Note: This must be obtained at a bank counter, costing 20 RMB per certificate. It is not an income certificate like for Schengen visas. Policies vary by bank; Postal Savings requires 3 days’ notice, while CCB issues on the same day.

6. If a married couple shares one certificate of deposit, a scanned copy of the marriage certificate is required.

Single-entry visa or group visa no longer have stickers; instead you receive a certificate with a QR code. On departure day, scan the code at the airport, fill in the information, and show it when checking luggage. Screenshots are also accepted.

Original passport is not required for the visa application, but you must bring it when departing.

Early March, Japan’s temperature was similar to Beijing’s. I wore a thin down jacket, with a sweater and a knitted vest underneath. It was a bit chilly at the coldest times, but not unbearably cold.

Breakfast was hotel buffet; lunches and dinners were either buffet or set meals, always enough to fill you up. There are many 7-Eleven stores in Japan; no matter how remote the hotel, you could find one nearby, so it was easy to handle meals when group meals weren’t provided.

The Tokyo hotel was also in a suburban area, but fairly lively, with convenient shopping. Other hotels were in very remote locations.

1. Exchange yen at a bank; the travel agency also offers exchange, but at an unfavorable rate.

2. The travel agency asked us to bring a certain amount of cash, claiming customs would check, but I never follow their amount. I almost always use my VISA card on overseas trips. On this tour, several meals were not included. I heard that some Japanese izakayas don’t accept cards, so I brought 20,000 yen. We only ate out twice; the rest we bought from supermarkets, so we didn’t need much. I even used cash for shopping.

3. When exchanging yen at a bank, you can order small foreign currency amounts via the “small change wallet” in mobile banking, as counters sometimes only have large denominations. Usually you need to order 3–5 days in advance, though policies vary by branch.

The tour guide was a middle-aged woman from Tianjin. She contacted me the day before, informing me of the meeting time and place. Meeting at 06:50. The travel agency we booked with provided airport transfer, delivering us on time.

Departing from Daxing Airport, Juneyao Airlines 09:30–13:00. One meal served on board: chicken rice or beef noodles (the beef tasted better). The guide filled out the “Embarkation Card for Foreigner” and the “Customs Declaration Form (Accompanied Articles)” for everyone on the plane, then handed them out at the meeting point after landing. Both forms had a Chinese version.

Arriving at Osaka Airport, we first queued for—it seemed—passport and fingerprint scanning, then queued again for customs, submitting the Embarkation Card. Before exiting the arrival hall, we handed in the Customs Declaration Form.

The local tour guide was a middle-aged Taiwanese man. We exited the airport and took the hotel bus, arriving at the hotel around 16:00. The hotel was near the airport, with a large supermarket and izakaya nearby. Dinner was on our own today.

After dropping off luggage and resting a bit, we went to the supermarket around 16:30 to buy dinner. Purchases: one box of sushi (698 yen), one box of small fish (318 yen), one bag of beans (98 yen), one box of fried meat pieces (120 yen), one bottle of sake (1200 yen), tax 118 yen—total 2652 yen, about 130 RMB.

At the checkout, you can pay with cash or card. I used cash, inserting bills into the machine, which gave change automatically. The cashier only scans items and never touches cash or cards. In China, you usually bag items at the checkout counter; in Japan, customers take their purchases to a dedicated table to pack them, allowing the cashier to quickly serve the next customer.

The supermarket had a microwave; if you bought food that needed heating, you could heat it right there in the store—very convenient.

After eating, I noticed a sign in the room saying no eating allowed. Ignorance is excusable; we cleaned up and took the trash to the recycling bins outside the supermarket. Back at the hotel, we realized there were tables and chairs in the lobby where guests could eat.

Hotel breakfast was simple, but had common items like eggs, bread, and milk.

Took a bus to Nara Park. Our group had 32 people, but the bus was large enough with empty seats. The driver was an elderly man over 70. He handled all the luggage himself and refused help.

Arrived at Nara Deer Park at 10:00. This is a World Heritage site. There are about 1,200 wild deer in the park, which have lived there since ancient times. The deer are unafraid of people and are considered sacred messengers, cherished by locals. The Great Buddha, greenery, and deer are symbols of the ancient capital Nara.

Visited Kasuga Taisha Shrine. Everyone followed the guide inside while also busy taking photos with the deer.

10:50 gathered, then went to Kyoto for lunch. Set meal, one per person: a plate of pickled fish, vegetable salad and fried chicken, miso soup and rice self-served (rice available cold or hot).

After lunch, visited Kiyomizu-dera Temple, another World Cultural Heritage site. Kiyomizu-dera is Kyoto’s oldest temple; along with Kinkaku-ji and Nijo Castle, it is one of Kyoto’s three famous landmarks. In spring it’s a famous cherry blossom viewing spot; in autumn it’s a popular maple leaf viewing spot. The Ninen-zaka and Sannen-zaka streets connecting to Kiyomizu-dera are quintessential Kyoto-style streets.

The guide recommended trying matcha ice cream: 400 yen each, about 20 RMB.

There were these cucumbers—they looked like a cucumber on a stick, soaked in lemon water. According to people who tried them, they weren’t very tasty.

14:00 gathered, then went to Heian Jingu Shrine, a former imperial family shrine of Shintoism. Arrived at 14:25.

15:00 tea ceremony experience. We were given a cookie and a wooden bowl with a bit of matcha powder. Add water, then quickly whisk left and right with a small bamboo whisk—not in circles. The more foam you make, the better; this prevents bitterness. It lasted about 10 minutes.

Took a bus to Tokoname City. This was just an overnight stop with no sights; probably because the hotel was cheap. From Kyoto to Shizuoka, this route was a detour. Arrived around 18:40.

Dinner on our own. Mr. Zhao wanted to go to an izakaya. The guide offered to take us; those who wanted to go gathered at the hotel lobby at 19:00. We ordered tempura, the guide’s recommended yakisoba, but they had no seafood—so we ordered yakitori (chicken skewers) and two bottles of sake. When paying, we found an extra charge. The guide asked the restaurant, who said it was tax. We paid and got a receipt. Didn’t check carefully at the time; back at the hotel, we felt the total was off, and found another extra item on the receipt—so we were overcharged 689 yen. Although it’s only about 30 RMB, it bothered us. From then on, we decided not to dine with the guide.

Hotel breakfast. Took a bus to Shizuoka. It was sunny when we departed; we hoped for clear weather at Lake Yamanaka, otherwise we wouldn’t see Mount Fuji. Unfortunately, the sky became increasingly overcast.

13:00 arrived at Yamanakako Village in Minamitsuru District. First had lunch: sukiyaki nabe, one pot for four people. Topped with beef slices, with chicken meatballs on the side, and vegetables and imitation crab sticks underneath. Rice still self-served. This was a simplified version of sukiyaki.

Lake Yamanaka, also called Swan Lake. Located at an elevation of 1,000 meters at the foot of Mount Fuji, it is the largest and highest of the Fuji Five Lakes, formed naturally by a depression.

After lunch, we went to the lakeside to see birds. It started snowing lightly—quite cold. On a clear day, you can see Mount Fuji reflected in the water—a beautiful sight. But today, nothing was visible. If I had a chance, I’d come later, when cherry blossoms are in bloom and the weather is good—what a splendid view that would be.

14:25 gathered, then took bus to Oshino Village. Arrived at 14:40.

Oshino Hakkai, a World Cultural Heritage site, ranked among Japan’s top three famous waters. “Oshino” is a village name located at the foot of Mount Fuji between Lake Yamanaka and Lake Kawaguchi in the Hakone region. The “Hakkai” refers to eight ponds, all very small: Okama-ike, Choshi-ike, Niga-ike, Waku-ike, Kagami-ike, Shobu-ike, and Deguchi-ike. Average water temperature about 13°C, clear and sweet, called “Japan’s Jiuzhaigou.” That’s an exaggeration; it’s nowhere near Jiuzhaigou.

15:40 gathered, then went to Mount Fuji 5th Station. Mount Fuji is Japan’s highest peak, a dormant volcano straddling Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures, near the Pacific coast, about 80 km southwest of Tokyo. It is Japan’s highest mountain and one of the world’s largest active volcanoes. As a national symbol, Mount Fuji is renowned globally. Its name has appeared frequently in traditional Japanese poems “waka” since ancient times. Mount Fuji is divided into ten stations from base to summit; the halfway point is the 5th Station; lower is the 2nd Station. Because of recent snowfall, the 5th Station was closed, so we could only visit the Mount Fuji Information Center. Arrived at 16:37, watched a short video.

Around 17:00 arrived at the hot spring hotel. Dinner was hotel buffet, starting at 18:00. Quite abundant: I had takoyaki, oden, small sweet cakes. Also had dumplings and various meats. All in all, this was the best meal of the entire trip.

After dinner, rested. At 20:30 went to soak in the hot spring. The hotel provided yukata robes; we changed in our room and brought towels. No swimsuits or swim caps allowed; we had to wash thoroughly before soaking—a difference from some other hot springs.

After the bath, dried our hair. Everyone was taking photos in the lobby; when it was empty, we also took a few shots.

Breakfast buffet, quite simple.

08:00 departed for Izu. Arrived at Shuzenji Town at 09:20, then went to the Bamboo Path. Shuzenji Town lies in central Izu Peninsula, surrounded by hills of the Amagi, Kumori, and Daruma mountain ranges. Walking along the elegant bamboo path, you can hear the sound of wind rustling through bamboo leaves—a heavenly sound, gentle and pleasant, calming the mind. This sound was selected as one of Japan’s 100 most worth preserving sounds. I have chronic tinnitus and didn’t hear it.

Izu Kawazu’s early blooming cherry blossoms are called the first cherry blossoms of Honshu. Due to Izu Peninsula’s location and climate combined with the Kawazu cherry variety, they bloom in early February each year. The blossoms are large with a beautiful pink color. I thought we came too late and wouldn’t see any, but we were pleasantly surprised.

10:20 took bus to Joren Falls. Arrived at 10:40. Joren Falls is the most famous waterfall in Izu region. It is renowned for the legend of a spider demon, a well-known scenic spot in Izu. The area around the waterfall is lush with greenery, said to be the spider demon’s lair, forbidden to humans, yet still maintaining a beautiful landscape. The sound of the waterfall cascading from basalt rock fills the valley, evoking a nostalgic feeling. The falls are surrounded by mystery, with a drop of 25 meters and a width of 7 meters, flowing down the valley. The spray and cool air bring summer relief, earning it the name “Amagi’s most beautiful waterfall.”

Izu specialty: wasabi. Wasabi ice cream.

My impression of Izu comes from the movie “The Izu Dancer” starring Momoe Yamaguchi. At the entrance to the scenic spot, there was a statue of the novel’s character.

11:50 gathered, took bus to a nearby place for lunch. Lunch was on our own; the guide took us to a shop with self-service ordering machines, offering noodles and rice. I ordered udon noodles, 650 yen per bowl. Japanese portions are small. Mr. Zhao ate bread we brought from China.

After lunch, took bus to Tokyo. En route, we passed the Kawazu Nanadaru Loop Bridge, a key transportation link connecting Amagi and Izu’s east coast, and a very distinctive scenic road on Izu Peninsula. The bridge cost 4.32 billion yen and took 3 years to build. It is the largest of its kind in Japan. The structure is a circular curve with a radius of 40 meters, height 45 meters, length 1,100 meters, divided into two layers, with portal and inverted Y-shaped columns to disperse seismic forces and ensure safety. When heading to Kawazu, you spiral down the valley two full turns from high above. We were going the opposite direction, spiraling up.

We stopped at Odawara City for a rest break. There was a shop selling frozen seafood; prices were quite high.

18:00 arrived at Edogawa Ward, Tokyo. The hotel was right next to a subway entrance, with a commercial area nearby. There were restaurants and drugstores right downstairs.

18:30 went downstairs to eat gyudon (beef bowl). The restaurant name resembled Yoshinoya but definitely wasn’t—we saw many branches of this chain everywhere, while Yoshinoya is less common. There was a small screen at the table for ordering; after ordering we waited. When the food arrived, the server gave us a paper receipt; after eating, we took it to the counter to pay.

There were free side dishes on the table, quite tasty. Regular gyudon was 400 yen; gyudon with onsen egg was 650 yen. Cheaper than in Chinese Yoshinoya.

This is a common beef bowl restaurant; this photo was taken at Dotonbori, Osaka.

After dinner, we wandered nearby. We saw a large supermarket and went in to buy a Kao kitchen cleaner. I couldn’t find it myself, so I used a translation app to ask a staff member, who promptly took me to the product and told me there was a refill pack. I also bought a pack of daifuku. It started raining; Japan’s weather forecast is very accurate. The forecast said it would rain for another half hour, so since the supermarket had several floors above with other shops, we decided to browse a bit longer.

When we thought it was about time, we went out—the rain had stopped.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a convenience store to buy a bottle of sake and tried paying with Suica: 451 yen.

Hotel buffet breakfast. Today’s first destination was a duty-free shop in Taito Ward. We bought two bottles of Dassai 45 sake at 3,670 yen each. The sales clerk’s Chinese was not great, so we didn’t understand the difference between 45 and 39. Later I checked: the smaller the number, the more the rice is polished, and the more expensive the sake. At Osaka Airport we saw Dassai 23, very expensive.

10:35 arrived at Senso-ji Temple. Senso-ji is the head temple of Kannon in Japan. According to legend, on March 18, 628 AD, three fishermen from the Sumida River caught a statue of Kannon in their net while fishing, and they built Senso-ji to enshrine it.

We entered not through the main gate but directly to the main hall. The guide asked everyone to gather back there by 11:25.

I wanted to take a panoramic view, so Mr. Zhao led me through the shopping street to Kaminarimon Gate. The spot for a panoramic shot is across the street from Kaminarimon. Time was tight; I dashed across the street, rushed into a building, queued for the elevator. I was quick and got a spot near the front. After a short wait, I got up to the rooftop on the first batch. No time to look around—quickly took three photos and returned to the elevator. By then Mr. Zhao had also come up, but there was no time—he followed me right back down. We hurried back and made it to the meeting point at exactly 11:24.

11:45 took a bus to Maneki Neko Shrine. The location on my phone was Imado Shrine. It enshrines the lucky cat.

The shrine was very small; we finished viewing in 15 minutes and then took the bus to Odaiba. On the way, while waiting at a red light, a car scraped our bus but didn’t stop. The driver pulled over and called the police. We had to wait. The efficiency in Japan is amazing: within less than half an hour, both the police and insurance personnel arrived and handled the matter.

13:20 arrived at Odaiba (Daiba or Odaiba), located on a man-made island in Tokyo Bay in southeastern Tokyo, one of Tokyo’s newest entertainment districts. The name “Daiba” originated in 1853 when Commodore Perry arrived with his fleet; at that time Tokyo was still called Edo. For emergency defense, gun batteries were hastily built here, hence the name “Daiba” (gun platform).

Lunch was on our own. The first floor of Odaiba had many food shops. To save time, we ate hamburgers. I tried to order one hamburger with a drink and one plain hamburger, but the server misunderstood and gave me two hamburgers, so I also ordered two drinks separately. Like in the US, drinks come in small or large cups, and you get a cup and fill your own drink at the station—unlimited refills.

After lunch, we walked around inside. The place was huge, but we had no clear goal. I bought one inner layer at Uniqlo: 1,290 yen, about 63.41 RMB.

14:30 gathered, then took a bus to Ginza. Arrived around 15:30; given one hour of free time. Where we were dropped off, there was an eyeglass shop. A group member who hadn’t eaten at Odaiba went to get glasses made; they could be ready in one hour. I planned to get glasses for Mr. Zhao, so we went in directly. However, this shop required seven days to make glasses, so Mr. Zhao only bought the frame to have lenses fitted back in China. Cost: 48,000 yen, about 2,358.56 RMB. After buying the frame, we still had some time, but didn’t feel like buying anything else.

Gathered and took the bus back to Osaka; it was a long ride, and we stayed overnight in Toyota City. The guide said that since the weather was good today, on the way back we would stop at a rest area where we could see Mount Fuji. However, the accident delay wasted time, so we couldn’t stop. Fortunately, we could see Mount Fuji from the bus along the way.

Arrived at the hotel around 19:00. The hotel area was very remote—pitch black around. Dinner was not provided. I checked the map on my phone and found a 7-Eleven nearby, about a 10-minute walk through an underpass. Many group members didn’t dare to go out. We bought onigiri, imitation crab sticks, a box of salad, and a box of fried chicken—total 1,558 yen, about 76.66 RMB. The crab sticks weren’t actually crab, but definitely contained fish, because Mr. Zhao had an allergic reaction.

Hotel buffet breakfast. Depart at 08:00. Arrive at Osaka Castle Park at 11:00.

Osaka Castle is one of Osaka’s famous landmarks; along with Nagoya Castle and Kumamoto Castle, it is one of Japan’s three great castles. Also called “Kinjo” or “Shiro.” In Osaka Castle Park, besides the main tower (Tenshukaku), there are 13 historical structures designated as Important Cultural Properties, including Otemon Gate, Sengu Yagura, and Kasho-zou, as well as a plum orchard and Nishi-no-maru Garden.

A small incident: when the bus arrived at Osaka Castle Park, everyone got off. Since we’d been together for a few days and were somewhat familiar, the guide was careless and didn’t count heads. After we had been exploring for a while, the guide received a message that a group member had fallen asleep and no one noticed—he was left on the bus! So he missed this sight.

12:00 took a bus to Shinsaibashi, arrived at 13:10. Shinsaibashi is Osaka’s largest shopping district, lined with many boutiques and specialty stores.

Dotonbori is full of food shops: not just Japanese cuisine but also dishes from various countries and regions.

14:10 gathered, then took a bus to the airport. The travel agency allowed too much time; we waited over an hour before check-in started.

After security, we entered the departure lounge. There was a place selling Shiroi Koibito cookies and nama chocolate. At this store, you order via self-service machines, get a printed receipt, pay, then go to the pickup counter: check the big screen—if your order number is on it, you go directly to the counter to collect your items. Note: nama chocolate is only sold here; if you only want Shiroi Koibito cookies, the mini supermarket inside also sells them. I bought a box of cookies; the nama chocolate needed ice packs, which was too much trouble.

Juneyao Airlines 18:30–20:55. Departure was delayed; the flight arrived at 22:30. Collected luggage, shopped, went through customs, took an airport bus, and arrived home safely.

Summary: The advantage of this tour is the low price. The disadvantage: we didn’t really get to see any city clearly—half a day in Kyoto, just over half a day in Tokyo, half a day in Osaka. In one sentence: neither sightseeing nor shopping was satisfactory. I do not recommend this itinerary.