5 Awesome Cities to Visit in Japan

If you have 10 days to explore Japan for the first time, what will your itinerary look like? How many cities can you visit? How will you squeeze all the activities in such a short stay in an amazing country?

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Japan! Japan! Japan! Japan has a reputation of being notoriously expensive which makes most travelers apprehensive to push their plans through. As the first country that I’ve chosen to go solo backpacking, I was nervous as heck whether my visa was going to be approved or not. But before that, I was able to score a really cheap round-trip ticket which just added to my anxiety because I don’t want to kiss my money goodbye without actually getting a glimpse of “The Land of the Rising Sun”.

I was full of what ifs just like any newbies. However, after months of careful preparation, my efforts paid off, and my visa was approved. Truth be told, I only had 3 things in mind before visiting Japan: to hike Mt. Fuji, go to Disney, and visit Harry Potter Museum in USJ.  That sounded like a laid back plan, does it? In reality, I was able to visit 5 cities and crossed out everything on my bucket list (for now) by compromising my sleep most of the time (laughs). I know… I learned it the hard way.

Here, I’m going to share the cities as well as the cool activities that you should try.

CHIBA

My first stop was in Chiba. This city doesn’t get a lot of credit and attention, but Disneyland and Disney Sea are actually located here (however, to avoid confusion, Tokyo is much more popular and easier to recognize than Chiba that’s why they named it Tokyo Disney Resort). I felt like a local after staying here for 6 days. I got to explore the city by riding a bicycle. You will be amazed how disciplined Japanese are when it comes to abiding traffic rules.

Chiba University

Chiba’s location is ideal for those who don’t like living in a crowded city nor get bored in a rural area. If you happen to visit this city, try visiting Chiba University, play a simulated baseball game in a batting center, eat at a sushi restaurant which delivers your order right in front of you via mini train, and of course Disney. During my stay there, I chose to visit Disney Sea in order to deviate from the usual, and also I wanted to watch “Turtle talk with Crush” (a virtual underwater interactive show) which my Japanese friend recommended.

Check out some of the cool and cheap tours you could do in Tokyo…