Japan.
The land of the rising sun, ancient temples, neon-lit cities, and the birthplace of anime. For a lot of us otaku, it’s less of a vacation and more of a pilgrimage — the kind you spend years saying you’ll take someday.
And after more than 20 years of saying “someday,” it finally looks like that someday might actually be happening this year, which means, naturally, I’ve decided to plan the entire trip myself.
Because apparently I enjoy stress.
OK, maybe that’s a little dramatic. Planning a trip to Japan isn’t actually that different from planning a vacation anywhere else…aside from the 11-12 hour flight and jetlagged parts, but minor details, right? Fortunately, I’ve got friends who’ve been to Japan — some multiple times — and between their advice and the massive amount of travel information online, the planning process hasn’t been nearly as intimidating as it first seemed.
That said, planning a solo trip halfway across the planet does come with its own considerations. I briefly looked into tour options before realizing I’d much rather build the trip around the things that I personally want to see. Honestly, I could probably do a whole post on the solo-versus-tour debate when it comes to to trip planning.
Once I started mapping things out, the itinerary began to take shape pretty quickly. Some plans lean into the cultural side of Japan — temples, wandering neighborhoods, and just soaking in the atmosphere.
Other parts lean very heavily into the otaku pilgrimage side of things.
Anime locations.
Fandom landmarks.
Places that have been living rent-free in my brain for years.
And there may or may not be a certain once-in-a-lifetime event later in the trip that could potentially reshape my plans depending on how the ticket lottery gods feel that week, but no pressure.
Let’s just say if things go my way, there may be a lot of glow sticks involved.
One of the biggest early decisions was figuring out where to base the trip. At first I considered the classic first-timer route that hops between several regions of Japan. But the more I looked into everything there is to do in Tokyo — the neighborhoods, the arcades, the anime districts, the endless rabbit holes for fans like me — the more I realized something pretty quickly: Tokyo could easily fill an entire trip by itself.
So instead of rushing around the country, I decided this first visit will be Tokyo-heavy, with a few carefully chosen side adventures mixed in. That approach gives me the freedom to slow down, explore neighborhoods, and stumble across things that aren’t on any itinerary . Originally, I told myself the trip would be about two weeks, but then reality set in. Between the long flight, the time difference, and the fact that I’ll be walking miles every single day, two weeks started to feel way too short.
So the trip quietly grew.
And then it grew again.
And again.
What started as “about two weeks” is now sitting at roughly three and a half weeks, which should give me time to explore, pace myself, and maybe sneak in a few side trips along the way while giving my legs a chance to recover after heavier days. Even now, it still feels like I could spend longer, but at some point you have to draw the line, otherwise I’d probably just move there for a month and call it “research.”
This trip is still very much a work in progress, and there’s a lot more to figure out — flights, neighborhoods I’m considering as a home base, anime pilgrimage spots, and a few experiences I’m especially excited about.
So consider this the beginning of a series, because if the planning phase is already this much of an adventure, I have a feeling the actual trip is going to be something else entirely. Something tells me I’m going to have plenty of stories to tell along the way and I’m excited to document the madness!
This sounds magical!