101 Japan Travel Checklist From Culture to Food

Ohayo! I created this Japan Travel Checklist to feed my obsession with Japan, from its’ beautiful culture to its delicious food. I have kept it offline on Evernote for a few years now. But I decided to share it here, hoping it might be useful to you guys.

I have put a tick beside the ones I have done. There will be a link to a blog post  (if I am not lazy — eep!), and I will put a recommendation (1 to 5 out of 5) on ticked lines. Enjoy!

Japan Travel Checklist

1. Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage. ✔
2. Stay in Shukubo – Japanese temple lodging. ✔
3. Stay in a Ryokan. ✔
4. Try Starbucks seasonal drinks. ✔
5. Eat at Yoshinoya. ✔
6. Participate in the tea ceremony. ✔
7. Try on a Yukata and or Kimono. ✔
8. Take a sushi-making class.
9. Send a postcard from Japan. ✔
10. Order 3D latte art. ✔
11. Visit the Tsutaya bookstore. ✔
12. Get a good luck charm or Kami. ✔
13. Try the Japanese toilet. ✔
14. Watch a sumo wrestling tournament.
15. See a Geisha. ✔
16. Visit the Ghibli Museum.
17. Eat Fugu fish.
18. Visit a Japanese castle. ✔
19. Get drunk at an izakaya. ✔
20. Eat at Jiro Sushi, the best sushi restaurant in Japan. ✔
21. Hanami-ing in the park. ✔
22. Celebrate the New Year in Japan. ✔
23. Stay in a capsule hotel. ✔
24. Make Washi paper.
25. Visit Tokyo Disney World and Disney Sea. ✔
26. Eat Ekiben on the Shinkansen. ✔
27. Immerse in Japanese Christmas traditions. ✔
28. Get a Japanese tattoo. ✔
29. Have the best ramen in Japan. ✔
30. Visit all 47 prefectures in Japan.
31. Have an Omakase dining experience. ✔
32. Write my prayers on the Ema board. You can do it in almost any shrine all over Japan. ✔
33. Roam around Asakusa. ✔
34. See the 80 years of traditions of the Tsukiji Market tuna auction. ✔
35. Visit Starbucks Reserve Tokyo Roastery. ✔
36. Stay in Bed and Book in Asakusa, Tokyo. ✔
37. Have a sushi breakfast at the Tsukiji Fish Market. ✔
38. Eat at Sushi Dai in Tokyo. ✔
39. Visit Ikebukuro, Tokyo Chinatown.
40. Hike Mount Fuji. ✔
41. Shop at Shinjuku and Ginza. ✔
42. Cross at Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo. ✔
43. Shop all things train-related at Karamatsu Train in Tokyo. #TrainNerd.
44. Visit the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. ✔
45. Visit Nishi Kasai, Tokyo Little India.
46. Onsen. ✔
47. Stay in Monogatari Odaiba hot springs.
48. Visit the Tokyo Tsukiji Fish Market. ✔
49. Play at Bubble Tea Park in Tokyo.
50. See Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo.
51. See a teacup poodle in Mameshiba dog cafe in Harajuku, Tokyo.
52. Yayoi Kusuma Museum in Tokyo.
53. Go on the Tokyo, Japan Cultural Curiosities Walking Tour.
54. Visit Hakone and eat the famous Black Eggs of Owakudani. ✔
55. Take pictures of Torii gates in Fushimi Inari, Kyoto. ✔
56. Roam around Nishiki Market in Kyoto. ✔
57. Pilgrimage To Okunoin Cemetery, Koyasan. ✔
58. Experience Summer Festival. ✔
59. Visit Otaru, Hokkaido. ✔
60. Eat the traditional Hokkaido breakfast. ✔
61. Eat freshly cooked food at Kuromon Ichiba Market, Osaka. ✔
62. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Osaka. ✔
63. Pour water on the Buddha at Hozenji Temple in Namba, Osaka, for good luck. ✔
64. Buy lacquered kitchenware in Sennichimae Doguyasuji Shotengai Kitchenware Street in Osaka. ✔
65. Visit Yokohama Chinatown and the Cup Noodle Museum in Yokohama. ✔
66. Go on the Nagoya Foodie Tour in Nagoya.
67. Eat Yamachan Tebasaki chicken wings in Nagoya. ✔
68. Visit Nabana No Sato. ✔
69. Eat Ogura butter and Ogura toast in Nagoya. ✔
70. Visit Snow Monkey in Nagano. ✔
71. Visit Naoshima and Tottori (a recommendation by my friend Priscilla).
72. Eat Kobe beef in Kobe. ✔
73. Feed the deer in Nara. ✔
74. Visit Gotokuji Temple. ✔
75. Stay in Nozawa Onsen.
76. Take the Murakami tour and the Edo tour.
77. Eat Onsen Egg. ✔
78. Stay in the robot hotel.
79. Ride on themed trains in Japan.
80. Stay in the Muji hotel.
81. Stay in Muji Airbnb.
82. Hike Mount Takao.
83. Soak in Yumori no Sato: Tokyo’s Black Water Onsen.
84. Do a Japan farm stay.
85. Travel to all of Japan’s 47 prefectures by train.
86. Do the onigiri trail in Japan.
87. Visit Adachi Fish Market in Tokyo and Kii Katsura Fish Market in Kii Katsura.
88. Eat Oden.
89. Eat Lavender ice cream on farm Tomita, Furano. ✔
90. Visit Tokyo, Kyoto, Tagawa, Enoshima, Shirakawago, Okinawa, Namie, Fukuoka, Yamanouchi, Matsumoto, Miyajima, and Hiroshima.
91. Burn my Daruma doll in Takasaki Daruma-Ji temple after my wish is granted.
92. Eat temple cuisine. ✔
93. Stationery shopping at LOFT. ✔
94. Eat Onigiri at Niigata. ✔
95. Get Japanese knives in Kappabashi, Tokyo. ✔
96. Collect the temple stamp in a Goshuin.
97. Watch the sunrise at Mt Fuji.
98. Take a local bus. ✔
99. Try saké crafting in Japan.
100. Eat (drink?) live shiro in Fukuoka.
101. Taste matcha dessert in Uji, Japan.

Alright, that’s for now. I hope this Japan Travel Checklist inspires you, and maybe creates a new one for yourself (share with me if you do 💛). I will keep updating it every now and then because the obsession keeps growing, y’all!