The Japanese know how to have fun and everything they do is to the extreme. This is why I love Japan and one of the reasons why it is so unique. I like to do different and interesting things when I go traveling and these are my top fun things to do in Japan.
Red Wine Onsen
There’s only one place in the world where you can fulfill your dream of taking a spa in a massive pool of red wine. Yunessun Hot Springs is a fun and wacky take on the traditional Japanese onsen spa, offering various delicious beverages for you to soak in. There’s not only a red wine spa but also sake, green tea, coffee and many more!
Cost: $25
Website: https://www.yunessun.com/en/
Mario Kart
Ever wanted to play Mario Kart in real life? Well now you can! A company called MariCar (just avoiding litigation there…) offers kart trips through Tokyo so you can take a spin around all the major landmarks in the city. For only $60 you get to dress up as your favorite character and burn around the streets as pedestrians cheer and take photos of you. This was definitely one of the most awesome things I did in Japan, just remember to get an international drivers license beforehand.
Cost: $60 (Depending on which circuit you do)
Website: http://maricar.com/en/shinagawa.html
Animal Cafes
Animal cafes are everywhere in Japan and are a place where you can grab a coffee and spend some time with the pets that live there. There’s an animal café for just about anything you can think of: Owls, cats, rabbits, birds, reptiles, even pugs! If you need some time out from the hustle and bustle of the city or simply miss your pets at home, an animal café might be just what you need.
Cost: It varies but usually around $10 including a drink
Website: https://www.kyotopug.com/
Capsule Hotels
If you’re on a budget and not claustrophobic, you’ll love the unique experience of sleeping one of Japan’s famous capsule hotels. The fiberglass capsules were surprisingly comfortable and usually have a built in TV, radio and power sockets. There are usually different floors for men and women and the pod comes with a slide down door for privacy. I probably wouldn’t stay in one for more than a couple of nights but it’s a novel way to sleep on the cheap.
Cost: Around $30
Website: There are many, I would suggest Googling for one in the city you would like to stay in.
Theme Parks
The Japanese do many things well and theme parks is one of them. Nagashima Spa Land is a dream combination of a thrill ride park and a water slide park just outside Nagoya. The entire park offers 45 different ride and you seriously need at least 3 days to have a go on everything. Their most popular coaster is the Steel Dragon 2000 which is a staggering 97 meters at it’s highest point and gets up to speeds of 153km/h. I have not screamed that much in my life!
Cost: $36 (unlimited rides)
Website: http://www.nagashima-onsen.co.jp/index.html/
Theme Restaurants
Japan love their themed restaurants and it seems like they are quite the hot spot for birthdays as I think I heard the ‘Happy Birthday’ song at least 10 times at one restaurant we dined at. Some of the themed restaurants I came across were Alice in Wonderland (pictured above), Robot Restaurant (robot show and meal), Zauo Fishing Restaurant (you fish, they cook it), The Lock-up (get locked up in a cell while you eat). Keep in mind that you really need to like the theme as the food typically isn’t world class and these restaurants tend to be fairly overpriced in my opinion.
Cost: Usually cover charge plus food
Website: http://alice-meikyunokuni.com/
Love Hotels
Love hotels are a short-stay ‘accommodation’ primarily for the purpose of privacy and well…sex. These pleasure rooms are usually rented with minimal human interaction (sometimes completely automated) and themed rooms with karaoke, anime décor and fantasy worlds are not uncommon. There are love hotel districts in both Tokyo and Osaka so you can walk the streets and pick the hotel that looks the most fun. If you want to have a kinky sexual experience with your partner in a classroom or a train seat, this is the place to go!
Cost: Around $50 for a few hours
Website: https://fastjapan.com/en/p116100
Deer Park
I’ve never had any experience with deer but at the Nara deer park, they roam free! As soon as you walk into this free and open park there are all sizes of deer from babies to full grown males having a munch on grass and awaiting your gentle caress. You can feed the deer but if you’re not into that, it’s entertaining to watch tourists getting their fingers bitten from hand feeding ‘deer biscuits’ to these beautiful animals.
Cost: Free
Website: https://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/regional/nara/narakoen.html
Snow Monkeys
The famous snow moneys of Nagano are one of the coolest things you will see in Japan. The locals built a spa for the monkeys back in the 60s where they can come down from the hills to bath and warm themselves in the winter. The monkeys were really cute and seemed completely unfazed by the human presence. I’ve been to a few monkey parks in various countries and these monkeys were the most well behaved by far. You can spend hours just watching the monkeys interact with each other and soaking in the hot spring.
Cost: $8 entrance fee
Website: http://en.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/