First-time Visit

Hello everyone.

My sister and I (both in our 40s) will be visiting Japan for the first time this spring and will have seven days to explore. We are incredibly excited and had a few questions we were hoping folks here would be able to answer for us.

We found a few articles online that talk about a few, "overrated sights," in Japan, mostly due to overcrowding but a few that the authors just felt were a bit underwhelming. A few of those include:

Kyoto's Fushimi Inari Shrine
Osaka's Dotonbori Street
Kyoto's Golden Pavilion
Himeji Castle
Nikko's Toshogu Shrine

I was curious if those here agree with the above sights being ones that you'd consider, "skippable," and if so, could provide a few better alternatives or, perhaps, a few "hidden gems," that you'd recommend.

Neither my sister nor myself speak any Japanese and we have been told that we'd probably have to rely a lot on Google Translate. The last we want to do is appear lazy or rude by having to constantly point to a screen on our phones to communicate with someone, especially in restaurants. I was told that many casual restaurants use tablets for ordering, though I would assume that, "nicer," dining options don't...?

Speaking of food, my sister is a vegetarian and I was told that while veggie options are certainly available in Japan, many of the foods we in the US wouldn't consider vegetarian, Japanese would, such as chicken/fish broth. Any advice on how a vegetarian can communicate and navigate the dining options while in Japan would be immensely appreciated.

My sister and I absolutely love nature and going on fantastic hikes so any recommendations would be great as well as any live theater performances that are not to be missed. A guided city walking tour or two would be lovely.

My sincerest thanks for any advice and/or recommendations those here have. No detail is too small so please feel free to express anything you wish. We truly want to make this first trip to Japan a unique and special one!

Kyoto's Fushimi Inari Shrine. —> very busy with tourists. So yes, kind of skipable.
Osaka's Dotonbori Street—> for me and many otger people entire Osaka is skipable. Not because of too many tourists but lack of sights.
Kyoto's Golden Pavilion—> if you want to go be there 10 min before they open and you can get maybe a look before all tge bus tours arrive. There isnft too much to see. Just a view of the temple.
Himeji Castle—> havnt been in a long time (25 + years). Probably a lot of tourists. Hikone castle in Shiga prefecture can be an alternative
Nikko's Toshogu Shrine—> a lot of school classes. Went there last year. An alternative can be Shibamata in Tokyo. Relatively unkolniwn and great temple with carvings.

Recommending off tge beaten Track attractionsc TGERE are simply too many.

Food: in some restaurants tgey have exhibits of their food you can point at. But generally Japanese know that they dint speak English so using google translate is fine.

Vegetarian options can be tricky. There is an other poster here who is vegetarian herself she can recommend a webpage. (I think something like ghappy cowh?)

Regarding hikes youfd need to let us know where you are and which months youfll come

For theater performances Kabuki can be an experience. There are shows with English subtitles. Or if you are lucky Bunraku in Osaka. Noh in my experience gets very boring.

Some (or most) of the places listed might be govercrowded,h and because of that some of the charm might be lost, but in my mind none is goverrated,h except for Dotombori.

Vegetarian - as the previous poster suggested, please look up restaurants on gHappy Cowh website listing. Manya Japanese dishes use fish based broth by default that it would be difficult to walk into a regular restaurant and try to ask for vegetarian goptionsh among what they have. Many would not have any goptions.h So it would be wise to look up completely vegetarian places upfront. Or decide to geaseh the restrictions while traveling.

All your listed sights are in one region. Nikko is 5 hours away in another region. I'd omit it and find similar in Kansai since you only have 7 days.

All the sights you list are interesting. And I have see all over hyped in some way for another.

Golden pavilion is nice. Travel to and from is a pain. And you might be there 30-45 minutes.

Dotonbori I think is great. Not much to do as earlier suggest. Just go there for dinner, the lights and a canal cruise. It's just a small touristy shopping district.

All the others are good but busy by 10am.

Seven days is super short, pick two cities at most.

The only un-missable temple for me would be Kiyomizu in Kyoto before 8am.

- Himeji: I haven't visited but I am not particularly fond of Japanese castles in general.
- Golden pavillon: went with someone who already visited it, and thought it was a must-see. I admit it is unique, but I did not feel that being there in person was so much different from seeing it in picture (unlike Kiyomizudera).
- Nikkō: for a day trip, crowded
- Dotonbori: same as LikeBike
- Fushimi Inari: the hike has views over the city, but it is not impressive or unique enough for a 7 days trip.

If you want to take pictures under a tunnel of red toriis, the Hie Shrine in Tokyo has it.

Hiking, beautiful nature: Kamikōchi. Probably not realistic to include it in your trip, sadly.

Dietary restrictions: you can print cards with ready made translations (something like "I can't eat A, B nor C, is there any suitable dish for me?). Printing is more appreciated than showing your phone.

Using Google lens: it is really handy but yeah, I always feel bad when using it. (But I would have loved to have that option when I visited Korea years ago, and had so much trouble reading the bus stops names!)

English is everywhere. You'll will have no issues with everyday normal stuff.

Your sister's food preferences will be a little more difficult. Just make some snap cards in Japanese explaining what your sister's food requirements are.

Heaps of nature hikes options. Plenty just on this website.

If you plan to visit Kyoto, you can refer to the below for vegan-friendly restaurants.
https://visitjapan-vegetarian.com/the-best-guide-to-kyotos-vegan-frien...

And here's one for Osaka
https://visitjapan-vegetarian.com/the-top-vegan-and-vegetarian-friendl...

You can also refer to the below for phrases you can use to communicate your dietary requirements.
https://visitjapan-vegetarian.com/essential-japanese-travel-phrases-fo...

If you plan to visit Himeji, you can visit Mt. Shosha for some hiking and nice scenery.
https://visitjapan-vegetarian.com/mt-shosha-himeji-japan/

For trekking, recommend Mt. Hiei.
https://visitjapan-vegetarian.com/the-best-guide-to-mt-hiei-kyotos-mos...

You can also hike from Mt. Kurama to Kibune in Kyoto.
https://visitjapan-vegetarian.com/kurama-kibune-the-hidden-gems-in-the...