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Kyoto

By Shinkansen I travelled to Kyoto and moved into my short stay apartment. The city is rather historical but also has a few modern shopping streets and a big street food market. Sadly it was very overfilled and you could barely look at the different stands without getting dragged away by the sheer amount of people.

Kyoto is also known for the many temples. Of course i looked at a few of them and theres really nothing negative to say about it. Personally I didnt struggle with overtourism since January isnt a popular travel month for Japan. The temples close relatively early so I often missed the chance to see a few but I saw more than enough.

Sapporo

After staying in Kyoto for a few weeks I decided to book a flight to Sapporo, a city in Hokkaido. In February a snow festival is held in Sapporo and I decided that this is the perfect time to travel there. The hotels were quite expensive however I expected it. The Yuki Matsuri is one of the biggest Snow Festivals with Snow & Ice Sculptures, Drinks and Food in the middle of meterhigh snow. And personally I love snow ☃︎! The flight there was short and it felt like arrive in Winter Wonderland. Ive never seen that much snow in my whole life. Sometimes it was even higher than I am and the temperature was freezing cold.

Sapporo looks entirely different than Kyoto its a relatively modern city and a lot more colorful and filled with winter decor. Walking was difficult at first since the pathways were icy. You could buy spikes in the convinience store or just suffer through walking tiny steps like I did. The Winter Festival was amazing. Huge Sculptures and lots of people it felt cozy eventhough it was -10 degrees xD.

But since Sapporo is only a part of Hokkaido I decided to book a one day tour. The tour included Asahiyama-Zoo (Asahikawa) where we watched the Penguin Walking and the Shirahige-Falls (Biei) and a few other popular Sightseeing spots. The Penguins were the cutest thing ever but sadly there were SOO many people I had to fight to see anything. After the zoo we went and ate a traditional lunch. Then we drove by the Ken & Mary Tree and the Christmas Tree. Our last stop was ath the Shirahige-Falls a truely fascinating Waterfall. On the whole trip i slipped at least 3 times haha I should have bought some of those spikes after all.

Nara

Nara was also a highlight of my trip. The city itself has historical architecture, many temples and cute shops however most people know Nara for the Sika-Deers. And of course I also went there for the deers. They were so cute ♡⋆⭒˚｡⋆🦌.

Most deers you can see in the Nara Park. There you can walk through the forest, see the Todai-ji Temple and buy Sika crackers for 200 yen. But be careful the deers are pretty greedy and can get food possessive so its best to feed the deers when they are alone.

Next to the obvious sightseeing activities I also happened to be there for a festival called: Omizutori. A fire festival at the Todai-ji Temple. It was pretty cold and crowded but I dont regret watching it, you could buy hot drinks from the vending machines and find a secluded spot however you have to be there early since many people come to see that event.

Kobe

Kobe is one of the more underrated places I've been to. Its a portcity with beautiful view on the sea, a Chinatown and fun places to explore. Kobe is more modern and less touristy. I wouldn't recommend it if you arent in Japan for longer than a week.

The Kobe Port Tower is very tall and fascinating. I thought that the Port Terminal Station had a really cute design and was pleseant. When I arrived in Kobe I went straight to the Chinatown and ate lots of tasty streetfood there. Then i took the train to the Shrine: Ikuta Jinja where I also bought a few charms and walked through the garden behind the shrine. Lastly I took the train to the Kobe Port and watched the sea. It was one of the more relaxing sight seeing since I didnt walk very much.

Oh and Kobe is famous for its Kobe-beef

Osaka

Of course I had to go to Osaka as well. Osaka is a famous city and many tourists, including me, visit Osaka. I will make 2 seperate Parts about Osaka since I was at the USJ as well and in my opinion Universal Studios Japan is an entirely own town.

So lets start with my visit to Osaka the train station was very confusing, it has several floors and a lot of different entries and exits. I took the train to Osaka found my way out and went straight to the famous shopping street. And I did what everyone does in a shopping street: spending money without regret. I also played around with the Gacha machines and then I found myself in a streetfood market to eat.

Afterwards I decided I had to see the famous Man Panel. I still dont really understand why its that famous but when I went there it was CROWDED. In general Osaka was very crowded the Don Quixote was crowded as well as the Streets. I wasnt that much of a fan of Osaka. It is simply a city to go shopping and sightseeing in. The Osaka castle is nice but I think its a little overrated and not a must see.

Universal Studios Japan

Okay so now we will talk about USJ (Universal Studios Japan). I loved this place!! It is a theme park located in Osaka. I took the train and arrived at the Universal City Train station and the Theme park already starts there! It was like travelling to an entire different world. You walk through a street with a few themed shops and after a while you arrive at the Entrance where you could already hear the theme music.

Inside, the park was a lot bigger than I expected you could walk for hours. I went to the Peanut theme first since my friend loves the peanuts. Every "theme world" had their own store there I bought a little plushie. Then i walked through USJ to get to Super Mario World.

The Super Mario World was amazing. I dont really have much negative to say about it except that it was once again crowded. Another problem was, you had to wait a really long time to ride the rides. For the Mario Kart ride I had to wait at least an hour if not two. I also rode the Yoshi ride which was my personal favourite since you could see the whole Super Mario world while riding in a cute Yoshi.

I also visited Hogwarts world which was quite memorable, making me wonder how someone can afford several buildings that looked exactly like the Hogwarts village and lastly I went to Minions. Ooh I love the minions! ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚. Again we had to wait an eternity to get into the ride but it was a fun experience.

All in all USJ was great but it definitely was one of the more expensive activities.