Voylin's Life

Golden Triangle – Best travel route for first time in Japan

Golden triangle?

In today’s video I’ll be talking about the perfect trip for people who travel to Japan for their first time. There is a lot to see and consider when deciding what places you’ll go to. Please listen to my ‘Golden Triangle’ route and you can decide if it would be worth it or not.

This route makes you see the Nature, Cultural and City life of Japan in a trip which could easily be done within a week as all locations are rather close-by. It also saves you money as the travel destinations aren’t that far apart from each other, so you’ll have more money to spend on shopping or food in Japan. 😀

Kyoto

One of the first locations of this Golden Triangle is Kyoto. With it’s many temples and streets which look like how Japan would have looked like many years ago, you feel like you are being taken back in time. Kyoto is a place where you can see the cultural history in many places like the Gion district. Want a nice stroll? Go to the philosophers path. Want a nice hike? Fushimi Inari is what you are looking for. You want to escape the busy city, take a bus and go to one of the many temples in the mountains surrounding Kyoto.

Basically, there is so much to do and see in Kyoto, that you’ll never be bored. I used to always advise people to visit Kyoto, however it became quite busy so for people like me who easily feel stressed in busy places, Kyoto may not exactly be the city for you. However, if you are like me and you still want to see Kyoto, stay away from the center of Kyoto (Kyoto station).

When I went there I stayed in a hostel near the Gion district, the calmness of the water and the fact that there were not many people walking there during mornings and evenings made it the ideal place for someone like me who can’t handle busy places. Also, just walk everywhere in Kyoto or rent a bicycle, this way you avoid the busy train stations.

Nara

Next stop on the Golden triangle route is Nara, the place of nature with deers. This really is a very comfortable city to stroll around in. Everything is close together, there are many free things to do, and there aren’t that many people, just avoid going during Japanese vacation periods like Golden Week or Obon.

The mountain side can be climbed in a couple of different ways, if you decide to walk the mountain, take enough water and snacks. If you walk a bit more into the forest at the top of the mountain you can find a waterfall which is nicely refreshing during the boiling Japanese summer days.

There is also a Japanese Sake tasting spot where you can drink delicious Sake. If you went there before 2023, you were able to take your sake cup home, however because it is not profitable for them anymore they decided to put this action to a stop. Ever since I started coming to Japan I’ve been going there (2016) and got many cups from them. But it is understandable why they stopped this.

Overall Nara is a great place for strolling and seeing the more nature and countryside of Japan.

Osaka

Osaka, the big city, not as big as Tokyo but it will still give you a real big city vibe. Wanted to go to Akihabara? Well go to DenDen town for the same experience. Tokyo tower? Go to Osaka castle and get a nice view over the city whilst being surrounded by a very well maintained park.

Osaka is also known as the kitchen of Japan, so please do eat a lot of different food there! It’s mainly known for Okonomiyaki (kind of a pancake) and Takoyaki (Octopus balls).

Sounds great!!

I made the Golden triangle so I could recommend people a travel plan in which they can see the 3 main points of Japan. Osaka really shows of the city life, Kyoto shows the more cultural side of Japan, and Nara is all about the nature and countryside.

More suggestions

Some more suggestions would be Kobe if you are a fan of beef. Or Mount Koya is also a nice one if you really want to feel like you went back a couple of hundred years in time. Another recommendation for people who want to see more craftmanship and how the small city life is in Japan, go to Sakai shi.

Here’s a list of other places you can go to:

Have safe travels!

In the end it doesn’t matter where you decide to go in Japan, this country is really different compared to mainland countries in so many ways. In many ways it’s the same and also different at the same time. The culture and people are really special in my opinion.

Enjoy your trip to Japan! 😉