A $25K ten-day luxury trip to Japan

Introduction

Every year, the Save My Cents (Shang and her husband) take a no-kid international trip. This is a great investment in our marriage, and also, we can afford it. This is the trip where we tend to go all-out and not set a budget – but we’re the Save My Cents, and that means for the biggest items, we will still try to use credit card points to defray the costs.

We are no strangers to Japan. This would be our fourth trip, third time together. Exactly 10 years ago in 2014, we picked Japan as our honeymoon destination. Mr. Savemycents planned most of this trip back in 2023 (we booked the tickets right when the booking calendar opened in May 2023, and then hubby mapped out the hotels and itinerary). During this time I still had post partum depression, so I didn’t provide much input.

What I’d change

Looking back, I would say the itinerary was too hectic. We were up for ~14-15 hours a day, always walking, or always driving. It is not easy. And if you were to be driving, you’d have to be able to recognize Kanji characters because many Japanese road signs don’t have any English. Furthermore, you’re driving on the left through high-fog / high-rain conditions. It did get dangerous at times. For people looking to replicate this trip, I recommend taking half the trip and the building in time for trains if possible instead of driving.

If you’re driving in or out of Tokyo, Google Maps can cause you to get lost. Tokyo has various freeways that are above or underground. Google Maps has no way of telling which level you are on. Further more, the exits and on-ramps are very short and you don’t have a lot of them to go on if you miss one. As a result of this we added an hour of driving on the Tokyo to Mt. Fuji segment, just keep that in mind.

The big $$$$

At the time of travel, 1USD = 155 JPY
All hotel costs are reported assuming double occupancy

Flights
We nabbed round-trip business class flights on Japan Airlines from San Francisco to Haneda airport (we couldn’t find availability out of Los Angeles). Each ticket was 60,000 points per person per way, so we spent 240,000 points total (we typically earn around 300-400K points each year through various credit card sign-ups). This flight was valued at $4,500 per person per way, so a total of $18,000 value.

From Orange County to San Francisco and back, we flew Alaska Airlines for 7,500 points via British Airways, per person, per way. So we spent 30,000 points here. This roundtrip was valued at $368 per person, so $736 total.

Within Japan we flew from Haneda to Nagasaki, then from Fukuoka back to Haneda, using 5,500 United miles booked on ANA, per person per way, or 22,000 miles total. This was valued at $110 pp for the first flight, $117 pp for the second flight, so a total of $454.

Below is our itinerary and day by day costs. Keep in mind again, if I were to do this over, I would cut the trip in half for the same length. Unless otherwise noted, all costs for 2 people.

Day 1: Fly day to Nagasaki
🚗: We arrived late evening in Nagasaki. You can see the reel of the Japan Airlines flight here – it was incredible.
Paid 2400Y to bus from Nagasaki airport to downtown

🍚: We grabbed some food at the airport and Family Mart for 600Y and 181Y

🛌🏼: We stayed at the Crowne Plaza IHG using 15K IHG points. This night would cost $60USD to book.

Daily total (DT going forward): 3,181Y

Day 2: Explore Nagasaki

🚶🏼‍♂️:
First thing in the morning we hiked up to see Nagasaki from a hilltop. I do not recommend as I went back to sleep.

Don’t be fooled this was a forced smile after what felt like a lung squeezing hike

Then we spent 1050Y to see the Dejimamachi Museum, an island that housed European merchants. The island has a fascinating history and they’re building out the exhibits, but I would say medium helpfulness

🍚:
370Y Family mart (onigiri, coffee) for breakfast
1738Y lunch, Shang only, at Nagasaki central station
486Y and 324Y to try out slices of Castella cake

🚗:
1390Y for a taxi to switch hotels
2720Y pre-purchased train tickets for next day
280Y + 720Y in bus tickets
8327Y for a wagyu BBQ at Yakiniku Pure.

🛌🏼:
17200Y: We stayed at the Hilton Nagasaki via friends and family discount. Retail 42,220Y. The hotel was fantastic. Very comfortable, LARGE king sized bed. Panoramic views of the city. Large bathroom area that you can separate with sliding doors. The breakfast buffet was vast and had many options

Our free breakfast the next day including made to order omelet. I also had a lot of congee with pickled toppings

DT: 34,119 Y

Day 2: Huis Ten Bosch

🚶🏼‍♂️: 14800Y for two one day tickets to see Huis Ten Bosch, a kitschy theme park made to look like The Netherlands. I had a lot of fun because I grew up in that country and many of the sites did look like key places I’d been to

500Y for a locker on site to store our luggage

🍚:
1200Y lunch at Huis Ten Bosch
700Y for a smoothie in Fukuoka
5880Y for soba diner at Soba Ishizuki – we chose this place largely because I was tired and hanging at the train station (me being tired is a big theme throughout this trip, which is why I said the itinerary was too hectic)

🚗:
7940Y for train to Fukuoka
We picked up a rental car in Fukuoka
2360Y, 590Y for tolls

🛌🏼:
9980Y for a no frills hotel, Usa riverside hotel 9980 a no frills hotel where I got injured by the bed, so I don’t recommend it. The bed was really hard and on top of a metal frame and since I’m a side sleeper, I woke up with sore ribs the next day that made it painful to breathe

DT: 36,620Y

Day 3: Oita Prefecture

🚶🏼‍♂️:
600Y to see Futagoji Temple (super worth it, although no one was collecting any entrance fee so we dropped it by a box)

2400Y combo ticket for 2 adults to see Kitsuki Castle and samurai residences 2400 (combination ticket, for two adults). The castle is small, the exhibits are all right. There’s also a museum – we ended up spending too much time there, a really nice museum guide insisted on guiding us through the museum so we went more slowly than intended and ran late that day. I was not really impressed with this stop, but my husband built it in as a good resting spot.

🍚:
380Y for breakfast at McDonald’s in Usa as nothing else was open
1183Y for water and snacks at Aeon grocery
560Y chicken (literally operated by an old couple as part of their convenience store in Kitsuki. Lady gave me a cake. 2225-2 Minamikitsuki, Kitsuki, Oita 873-0002, Japan is the address)
4800Y for dinner in Beppu at Antore

🚗:
200Y parking
Driving after dinner was quite the nightmare. Hubby decided on the mountain route in lieu of coastal route for more shelter from rain, but fog became impenetrable. Sharp turns, narrow roads in pitch black conditions. Thought we would die.

🛌🏼:
24800Y to stay at Hotel Takachiho

Beautiful location (also the only nice hotel in town) with sulfur based public bath (you will smell sulfur throughout the hotel).

Pros:

Of all the onsens I’ve been to, this one is my first truly sulfuric one. The onsen is super hot as a result and you can’t stay in it for long, but you know it’s authentic
They had many different products available for hair and skincare and powerful hair dryers
The hotel is nice and has kids’ play areas as well as board games that you can borrow
The hotel is quiet and does tend to cater to older travelers
The breakfast is excellent! Very local and authentic and you get an opportunity to sample onsen soft boiled eggs, premium rice

Cons

A sulfur smell permeates the entire hotel

Delicious breakfast buffet highlights include high quality rice, matcha pudding, and Onsen soft boiled eggs

This was just my first of two servings. You can see the matcha pudding and the rice (I topped with furikake).

DT: 34,923Y

Day 4: Takachiho, drive back to Fukuoka
(this was an especially exhausting day, but also quite beautiful)

🚶🏼‍♂️:

First we drove to the nearby Takachiho Temple, which is very beautiful in early morning light

300Y to park to see Takachiho Gorge. The Gorge is really worth it and even without you punting the boats you can spend an hour hiking here.

We then drove to Mt. Aso a volcanic mountain but I do not recommend. Very sulfuric atmosphere / disgusting to breathe, cannot do much other than a quick shot of the mountain. The route is also very curvy and I ended up car sick.

Then we drove to the city of Kumamoto which I highly enjoyed.
500Y and 800Y to park and see Suizenji Garden in Kumamoto
1,100Y to buy a coin purse
1600Y Kumamoto Castle admission we rushed as we also ran late and the castle grounds are massive. The castle is very worth it, the keep is well done – hubby and I have visited probably 5+ castles in Japan now and this is one of the most recently renovated keep museums, so it’s high quality with a lot of information and an app you can listen to in English. We spent 90 minutes on the grounds.

🍚:
2400Y at spice dou – the merchant street around the garden had very few food options so we found this biryani place to live. I had a great time seeing Kumamoto but wish there were more food options
6712Y, Clouds at Hilton Fukuoka mainly because we were too tired to go back out. 25% discount as Hilton Honors Gold members

🚗:
500Y parking at Suizenji park
200Y parking at Kumamoto Castle
3330Y, 630Y in tolls

🛌🏼: Hilton Fukuoka, to blog tomorrow. See reel here

DT: 17,572Y

Day 5: Fukuoka rest day

I literally ate and slept.

🍚:
Breakfast included w/hotel
Tea time 7500Y Clouds highly recommend! We got 25% discount as Hilton Honors Gold members

37200Y, Sola Factory, reviewed here on Instagram

🚗:
5959Y gas
630Y tolls
33,000Y for the rental
420Y for a subway ride
1070Y, 2100Y for cab rides

🛌🏼: Hilton Fukuoka, 33,498Y for two nights (valued at 67,100Y)

Pros about this hotel

Luxury for sure – from the impressive multi-level lobby, to the beautiful top level restaurants, to our well appointed room, everything was well done and modern as you’d expect from a Hilton 4-star abroad (Hiltons are better outside of the U.S. than inside the U.S.)
The breakfast was SOOOO good. I probably had more servings than I needed and you can tell from the video that I blogged that I loved the onigiri station

Cons about this hotel

It is out of the way compared to the rest of Fukuoka and if you’re traveling by bus, it’s not the easiest to get to, hence us taking cabs after we returned our car rental

DT: 125,265Y

Day 6: Travel to Mt. Fuji

We flew that morning to Haneda, then picked up another car. As I mentioned in the opening part of the blog – we got lost in the Tokyo area here, and so plan extra time if you’re driving!!!

🍚:
Breakfast included w/hotel (I raved about it on the previous day)
1391Y for a snack at Starbucks, to double as lunch on our way out of Tokyo. We missed two very important ramps and added an hour to our drive
1900Y Noodle soup on the Mt. Fuji viewing village area (called saiko Iyashi-no-Sato nemba)
550Y for a bag of chestnuts
1800Y extra for sake at dinner (dinner is part of hotel fee)

🚗:
34650Y, avis rental (give at least 45 min to get to rental spot which is off airport)
300Y parking

View of Mt. Fuji at saiko Iyashi-no-Sato nemba

View of Mt. Fuji breaking through the clouds from our room at Konansou

🛌🏼:
81,400Y for a Japanese style room w/dinner and breakfast, Konansou

Okay, it was hard for me to review this hotel because I had SUCH HIGH expectations of it, and it was a mixed experience

Pros

Location. The hotel is right on the lake and all the Mt. Fuji viewing rooms gave the Mt. Fuji view (assuming it’s not covered by the clouds) as promised and it was fantastic
The rooms are very large. You’ll come in to a shoe locker area, then a long corridor which is lined with the bedding closet, the tea preparation area, the shower and boudoir in one room, and then the toilet in another room
When you consider a large empty room with no furniture, the room looks quite large! And then there’s another sitting area before it opens up into the terrace with the private onsen bath (not all rooms have this). The onsen was very nice and comfortable, I did not try the public baths
If you had *no dietary restrictions), I’m sure that the in-room dinner would have been very pleasant and pleasurable

Cons

Days before our arrival, I confirmed with the hotel our dietary restrictions (essentially a kosher diet of no pork, no shellfish)
However, the Japanese definition of “no shellfish” is very different from western definition of “no shellfish”. Half of the kaiseki meal we received either had some shellfish or blowfish or whatever, we could not eat it. My husband did not want a vegetarian meal. We had to order an extra beef meal because otherwise he’d go hungry. Our server had a hard time communicating what was inside the food (not her fault). The hotel offered no remedy, I had to be the one to order the extra food
A beautiful looking meal, but we couldn’t eat half of it
The next day, I brought this up to management (and the fact that they had meat in a vegetarian area at their breakfast buffet), and they weren’t very apologetic. Out of principle I asked for a refund of just the beef we ordered. I feel that if I paid for a room and board that INCLUDED dinner, we shouldn’t have to go hungry after our dietary restrictions were confirmed. He did not budge, so I had to do what I didn’t want to do, which was show my Instagram follower count. Then he listened. Good customer service shouldn’t have to be forced based on influencer status

It’s a pity because this kind of experience is something I’d wanted for 10 years, and it kind of got ruined.

DT: 125,781Y

Day 7: Travel to Kanazawa via Nagano (long driving day)

🍚: We ate at various rest stops
2810Y for lunch
140Y, 140Y, 770Y snacks
1200Y diner

🚗:
600Y, 600Y parking at Zenkōji temple, and upper temple for Togakushi Shrine (personally it was hard to get to and not really worth it), both in and around Nagano

The merchant street in front of Zenkoji Temple

The famous tall trees at the upper Togakushi Temple, which my husband loved, but I felt wasn’t worth the trouble of driving to get there

3742Y gas

🛌🏼:
Crowne Plaza Kanazawa using IHG points, 15K, worth 111 USD

DT: 10,002Y

Day 8: Kanazawa, then drive to Shirakawa

🍚:
189Y, 195Y, 345Y for breakfast at Kanazawa station
4620Y, sushi lunch, in higashi chaya district
4070Y dinner at a Roadside place on way to shirakawago specializing in Iwana fish

🚶🏼‍♂️:
7260Y kimono rental at Kanazawa-Kirara.com (I did basic rental with hairdo and insurance). I’d always wanted to do this since our 2019 trip and again, because our itinerary was so up in the air as hubby and I argued over what to keep and what to skip (as I was limping in pain by the 2nd day of the trip), we did eventually make this work by splitting up our mornings and one of us taking cabs. I loved my kimono rental and I felt so beautiful!

Visited the higashi chaya, Kanazawa castle grounds. I took off the kimono before going to the castle grounds. Thank goodness I did as we ended up walking maybe 4 hours that day and boy was I exhausted. Again.

🚗:
1200Y taxi

🛌🏼:
Onyado Yuishino stay was prepaid 37,400 in Shirakawago. This was my unexpected ryokan highlight, and it kind of made up for my bad experience in Mt. Fuji. Here’s why

Pros

This is a truly Japanese Ryokan. When you come in, your shoes go in a shoe locker in the front and the entire hotel is lined in tatami
I dream in tatami
The hotel was really nice to inform us that if we don’t arrive by a certain hour there is no food (as Shirakawago and Gokayama are postage stamped UNESCO sites with strict opening and closing times). We were very lucky we found a roadside “diner” so to speak to eat at and left earlier than we originally planned. We didn’t buy the full room and board plan (we did not include dinner) though in hindsight we should have, because the UNESCO sites shut down earlier than we thought and we couldn’t see them at sunset without staying in one of the thatched roof houses
The public baths! Oh man I was in for a treat. There were 4 different paths in the women’s areas including indoor pool, outdoor rock pool, outdoor wooden pool, outdoor tub pool, and I was the only person there fore my bath. There’s also a sauna. The hair drying stations were generously equipped with personal care items (brushes, cotton swabs, clips, skincare)
The breakfast!!! I’m so glad we got half board. We were given a breakfast time and as it turns out, it’s because everyone gets a private room in their dining hall, which is divided into these beautiful little alcoves. The use of wood throughout the hotel is sheer beauty for me. The servers actually knew the ingredients this time (or had a competent manager at least) and the food was more vegetarian so we didn’t have to deal with a similar shellfish fiasco. The main was beef. YUM.
The ryokan also had fun things like free ice bars / yogurt drinks / ramen at different times during the day
They had two GORGEOUS private baths. They were in use during the evening time but I snuck a photo in the morning of one of them. You could use them by oneself or as a couple
A private bath
Breakfast!

Cons

They played music in the hallways
The personal care items in the rooms were not as nice as that in the public baths

DT: 55,279Y

Day 9: Thatched roof villages

🚶🏼‍♂️:
800Y Wada house
Visited Shirakawa and Gokayama, famous for thatched roof homes

One of the many photos I took in Shirakawa

Hike up the hill at Gokayama and you’ll be rewarded with this view

2000Y for a museum in Takayama (okay, not great)

This picture shows 80% of the Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan museum. While it’s a fascinating festival to learn about, and a good place to go to cool down, I personally would have preferred to nap

🍚:
Breakfast included w/hotel
1600Y Lunch in Gokayama at their main tourist shop thatched house which is also a hotel with restaurant
350Y for ice cream

Surprisingly this was the only ice cream cone I got in Japan because I love soft serve and would have gotten more.

2570Y dinner, Nan House Matsumoto. one plate of food more than enough for both of us! Pretty tired of eating soba with vegetables at this point. Food wasn’t great, but we were also doing a long drive (from Takayama to Matsumoto as a stop, then onwards to just a little outside Tokyo)

🚗:
1000Y parking at Shirakawa
500Y parking at Gokayama
200Y parking to see a temple in Takayama (boring)
300Y parking to see a museum of festival floats and a nearby shrine (okay, not that interesting)
450Y parking again
3698Y gas

🛌🏼:
300 bath tax for night before
Random hotel in Otsuki $83usd call it 12865 yen. Mainly we wanted to stay just outside of Tokyo (and not pay Tokyo prices), but close enough that we could drive in quickly the next morning and return the car right as the car rental opened around 8AM (after finding gas, which again wasn’t easy)

DT: 26,633Y

Day 10: Tokyo

🍚:
528Y breakfast for a croissant
42,883Y splurged on lunch at Teppanyaki Akasaka at the Intercontinental ANA Tokyo hotel. SO good. We came here and got a wagyu set lunch and the server was very good at making the proper substitutions for our dietary requests. Hubby also got a glass of Chilean Rioja wine which he said was some of the best wine he’d had in over a year. The service was definitely 5 star. I imagine with the hotel being so close to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, probably had something to do with their flexibility with dietary requests as well. This hotel also seemed to be very popular for their afternoon tea and dessert buffet.

A tuna tartare

Mouth. Watering. Black hair chateaubriand wagyu prepared right in front of us with various vegetables

🚗:
2262Y gas
19,940Y tolls (for all 5 previous days)
1100Y, 360Y, 360Y, ,360Y on Tokyo subways

🛌🏼:
Andaz Toranomon Hills, Tokyo. Spent 30K Hyatt points and had our Hyatt Globalist friend do a guest of honor booking. Got upgraded to a beautiful room worth $1,800USD a night. Raving review to come!

DT: 67,793Y

Day 11: Toky0, then fly home

🍚:
Got free breakfast at the Andaz, valued at 13,200Y

🚗:
360Y, 360Y, 360Y, 1,100Y for Subway
$60 in Ubers (we left our car at home so that my MIL could use it for our kids)