Our next stop in Japan was Kanazawa. It's known for well-preserved Edo-era districts, Samurai and the fish market - Omicho Market. It's gaining more popularity amongst tourists but a lot of people pass it by for the major spots. We decided to spend 2 nights here in a traditional machiya house so we had time to take in the sights leisurely.
There was a nice mix of sightseeing and shopping during our 2 days of exploring, but we did way more walking than we planned, read on to find out why, ha ha. On our last night I did a face mask that we got from another hotel we stayed at and turned in early at 8:30pm. We were out of the house by 6:30 the next morning to take the train to Kyoto!
In Kanazawa, we broke our rule of staying near the train station to spend a couple of nights in a traditional Machiya House. The house was located in the central Hikoso-machi area, a former samurai neighborhood. It was a 17-minute walk by the most direct route, but Google Maps kept rerouting us through side streets, making it take longer. While we loved the house (and would still go back,) the walk with all our luggage was a bit of a pain, especially since we were starting to feel the effects of all the walking we’d been doing.
Let's begin the recap!
Something I was most excited to do in Japan was stay at a traditional ryokan. We decided the time to stay at one was in Nagano, more specifically Shibu Onsen. Shibu Onsen is a traditional hot spring town in the mountains. We chose this spot because of the beauty and it's proximity to Jigokudani Monkey Park. That was one of the first things Christian had on his must-do list. It was a bit of a trek coming out here from Tokyo but in the end it was worth it because we stopped in Kanazawa on our way to Kyoto. Plus we got to see what a smaller more rural area was like. It was fun seeing the scenery change while we were on the train.
This was another planned "break" in the middle of our trip. We knew our evening at the onsen would be relaxing and spent in a hot spring, relaxing in our room and eating a delicious Japanese meal. Two out of 3 were great, ha ha! The following day we would be hiking up to visit the bathing snow monkeys but the rest of the day would be traveling to our next location.
As mentioned in my Tokyo recap, I will be going through each day of the trip sharing where we went, what we ate and where we stayed! Our third location was Lake Kawaguchiko and Fujikawaguchiko. We wanted to see Mt. Fuji but didn't feel the need to get super close or climb any portion of it this trip. You can only hike when the trails are open in the Summer anyway. After some research we decided that viewing from Kawaguchiko was our best option.
Day 6 (Friday) & Day 7 (Saturday)
Where We Stayed
Originally we were going to do a day trip from Tokyo and one day Christian randomly suggested glamping instead. You don't have to tell me twice, so I started googling options. I settled on Retreat Camp Mahoroba, a campground with multiple tent and car camping sites. They also had a couple tiny houses and domes. We chose to stay in one of the two dome tents for $300.
Retreat Camp provided a shuttle to and from Kawaguchiko station which was very helpful. We let them know what time we'd arrive by train and they were there to escort us in a cute little van. If Christian hadn't hurt his foot at Disney we may have decided to walk back to the train, but it was down hill and a little over 3 miles away so we opted for the shuttle back in the morning too.
Since it was Winter we were happy to know there would be a heater in the dome. When we walked in it was SO HOT, we actually had to turn the heat off! The dome was equipped with a couple beds and a nice big couch looking straight out of the front of the dome. We also had an outside patio/deck with a couple swings, picnic table, sink and cooking supplies. We brought convenience store food so we didn't have to worry about cooking. But if we wanted we could have paid for dinner items to be brought to us. We had to book through airbnb because we're from the US and that came with breakfast items. I forgot to take a photo but they provided yogurt, bread, cheese and a couple eggs for us to make sandwiches.
A short walk from our dome was the bathroom building which had 2 stalls with toilets and 2 stalls with showers. Each bathroom had it's own pair of slippers for you to change into from the outdoor slippers. We also had to be sure to take off our shoes before entering our tent. Everything was spotless, pure glamping bliss.
During the day we kept the shades of the dome open but for the evening we closed it most of the way to keep the heat in and prying eyes out even though you wouldn't really be able to see in from anywhere on the campground. It was fairly quiet when we were there with only a few other campers but I imagine in prime seasons every site is taken. Further up the hill from where we were there were spots for cars and small tents to be set up. I believe there are 29 total sites,
Where We Went
Getting to Kawaguchiko Station
Retreat Camp
Sunset
Sunrise
Tenku no Torii
Lake Kawaguchiko
Where We Will Go Next time
- Chureito Pagoda: beautiful views of Mt Fuji with the pagoda in foreground, supposed to be very pretty with cherry blossoms.
- Kawaguchi Asama Shrine: The entrance is only a 10 minute walk from the camp. There is a large torii gate at the entrance as well as "Shichi-hon Sugi" the sacred tree of seven cedars (over 1200 years old!) You can walk from here to Tenku no Torii.
- Oishi Park: Pretty views of Mt Fuji with Lake Kawaguchiko in the foreground
- Kubota Itchiku Art Museum
- Haha-no-Shirataki Waterfall
- Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway: Take a cable-car ride to the top for views and a swing photo op.
- Kawaguchiko Music Forest Museum: From the Kawaguchiko website: "Why not take a small trip to Europe, surrounded by beautiful gardens, rich nature, and soothing music?"
- Houtou Fudou Kawaguchiko North Main Shop: Eat "Hōtō noodles" a local specialty dish!
Heading back to Tokyo
What We Ate
7Eleven
Sandwiches
Time for destination two on our Japan trip, Tokyo Disney Resort! Tokyo Disney is known by many as one of the best Disney parks in the world and after having finally been there myself, I agree! (I have been to 4 of the 6 parks around the world.) We spent 3 days (plus an evening) and 3 nights at the resort so we could pack as much in as possible. It still wasn't enough to see and do everything but we got to experience all of our must-dos. Be sure to check out my Tokyo Disney Resort trip planning guide if you haven't already!
As mentioned in my Tokyo recap, I will be going through each day of the trip sharing where we went, what we ate and where we stayed! This post will be slightly different because technically we were at Disney the whole time, ha ha. This is going to be a long post, so buckle up! Or just scroll down and look at the photos, ha ha.
Planning & Timing
![]() |
Travel is important to us so we save for a bunch of different trips at once and always have a Miscellaneous, Disney and Missouri fund (to visit Christian's family) |
Booking Flights
Itinerary Overview
- Day 1: Land in Tokyo at 3pm
- Day 2: Tokyo morning, Tokyo Disneyland afternoon
- Days 3-5: Tokyo Disneyland (my trip planning guide)
- Day 6: Tokyo morning, Mt. Fuji afternoon
- Day 7: Mt. Fuji morning, back to Tokyo afternoon
- Day 8: Tokyo morning, travel to Nagano afternoon
- Day 9: Snow Monkey Park morning, travel to Kanazawa
- Day 10: Kanazawa
- Day 11: Travel to Kyoto, visit the Nintendo Museum
- Day 12: Kyoto morning, Osaka afternoon/evening, back to Kyoto
- Day 13: Nara Deer Park morning, Kyoto afternoon, back to Tokyo early evening
- Day 14: Tokyo morning, flight home at 5pm
![]() |
My crazy itinerary spreadsheet |
Accommodations
![]() |
Left: Dome with view of Mt. Fuji; Right: Traditional Ryokan at Shibu Onsen |
- Night 1: Keio Presso Inn Tokyo Station Yaesu (5 minutes from Tokyo Station)
- Nights 5-7: Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku (5 minutes from Shinjuku Station)
- Night 13: Hotel Monte Hermana Tokyo (5 minutes from Tokyo Station)
- Night 2: Tokyo Disneyland Hotel - Beauty & the Beast Room (5 minute walk from Maihama Station, or take Monorail)
- Night 3 & 4: Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel - Fantasy Chateau (Monorail to Maihama Station)
- Night 6: Retreat Camp Mahoroba Dome Tent (they offered a free shuttle to and from Kawaguchiko station)
- Night 8: Shibu Onsen Kokuya - Sakura Room with onsen (hotel offered free shuttle from Yudanaka Station and we took a cab back, but there are also buses)
- Nights 9 & 10: Kurohoro Machiya Holiday House (20 minutes from Kanazawa Station)
Train Travel
![]() |
The train was empty so we staged a silly photo |
I have a lot of posts planned to recap our two-week trip to Japan, but let’s start with an easy one—what I wore to stay warm and comfortable in the cold weather! After calculating our mileage when we got home, I realized we walked a total of 96 miles over the two weeks. By the end, our feet were definitely feeling it, but thanks to my comfortable supination insoles from PowerStep, I avoided serious pain. I've had these insoles in my boots for over a year now, and while the boots have always been comfortable, the insoles took them to the next level. To stay extra cozy, I also used a pair of Flat Socks fuzzy liner socks on top!
I tried to pack as light as possible since I knew we’d be bringing home a lot of souvenirs. The plan was for me to use my Day Owl backpack and a small carry-on, while Christian carried his brand-new Tortuga backpack (which he got specifically for this trip). We entered Japan with just these bags, determined to see how far we could get before needing extra luggage. We made it all the way back to our last night in Tokyo before buying a medium-sized suitcase from Don Quijote to check on the flight home. Before that, we had been using a giant Disney shopping bag for our purchases, which obviously wasn’t going to work for air travel. It was great for train travel because we didn't need to buy "oversized baggage" train tickets that are required if your bags do not fit in the overhead bins or by your feet.
Packing light meant re-wearing a lot of the same clothes, but honestly, it didn’t matter since I had my coat on almost the entire time. No one would have noticed if I repeated outfits every day (not that anyone would care!)
For clothing, I brought two pairs of jeans, comfortable pants that don't look like sweatpants I bought 2 days before we left (mainly for the flights, since hotels in Japan provide pajamas), and a handful of sweaters and layering shirts. For extra warmth I had a Disney hat, big Madewell scarf and gloves. I only packed one pair of boots, knowing they’d work in rain, snow, and cold. Looking back, I probably could have packed even less, but hey—a girl likes to have options! I also brought a simple sling bag that would fit my essentials on sightseeing days.
Here’s what you can look forward to in my upcoming Japan posts—assuming I can get myself in gear and actually tackle them! 😉
- Our Full Trip Itinerary
- A Deep Dive into Our Tokyo Disney Experience
- A Tokyo Disney Planning & Information Guide
- Our Stay in Shibu Onsen & Visiting the Snow Monkeys
Is there anything specific you’d like to hear more about? Let me know! In the meantime, you can check out my daily Instagram recap carousels for a peek at what we did.