Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory

Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.

All Buyouts are listed in cash value.

Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory

Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.

All Buyouts are listed in cash value.

• Popular Turkish dishes and ingredients
• Meze recipes – a selection of appetizers
  • 1. Hummus
  • 2. Sigara Borek
  • 3. Patlican Ezmesi (Eggplant Dip)
• Main course recipes – including meat, vegetarian, and seafood options
  • 1. Adana Kebab (Spicy Lamb Kebab)
  • 2. Imam Bayildi (Stuffed Eggplant)
  • 3. Balik Izgara (Grilled Fish)
• Side dish recipes – to complement your main course
  • 1. Patates Salatasi (Potato Salad)
  • 2. Coban Salatasi (Shepherd’s Salad)
  • 3. Bulgur Pilavi (Bulgur Pilaf)
• Dessert recipes – sweet treats to indulge in
  • 1. Baklava
  • 2. Tulumba (Fried Doughnuts)
  • 3. Sutlac (Rice Pudding)
• Turkish drinks to pair with your meal
  • 1. Ayran (Yogurt Drink)
  • 2. Turkish Tea
• Tips for cooking Turkish recipes at home
• Where to find ingredients for Turkish recipes
• Conclusion and final thoughts

Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory

Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.

All Buyouts are listed in cash value.

Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory

Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.

All Buyouts are listed in cash value.

• Pocket Wifi's - Since were a group of 6 we opted to get 2 pocket wifi's from Japan Wireless because we knew there would be days we'd split up since our group was made up of people that have visited Japan before and first-timers. One pocket wifi for some reason absolutely died on the 3rd day of our trip, which was not great lol. Unfortunately the only way we could find to get in touch with Japan Wireless was through their "contact us" page on their website which was basically just sending them an email, but they did get back to us the same day and delivered a new pocket wifi to a post-office near our Airbnb the next day. After that we had no issues with the pocket wifi's at all, some random places there was no service/a little slow but 95% of the time they worked great.
• Airport stuff - Definitely take screenshots of the QR codes for immigration and customs, it was just so much easier to pull them up when I landed because I didn't have to mess with connecting to the airport wifi to pull up my QR codes from the actual website. Immigration and customs were a breeze, I think I got out in ~30-45 minutes but I also did not check in any luggage so didn't have to retrieve anything at the baggage claim.Post-customs things - it was pretty easy to pick up our JR passes, pocket wifis, exchange money, etc. but each thing took some time because there were moderately sized queues for each thing, so we didn't get out I think for another 1.5 hours after getting out of immigration and customs.
• Shopping - if you plan on shopping for clothes then I'd take less clothes than you think you'd need. We wanted to take advantage of the favorable exchange rate, tax free stores and the vintage/thrift shops in Japan, so we did shop around quite a bit. I didn't end up buying a whole lot, but it was enough to make me think that I could've gotten by bringing less clothes than i did. Some of my friends bought a lot more and tbh could've really gone by with bringing just one outfit with them by the end.
• If you are planning on shopping make sure to bring your passport to be able to get tax free benefits!
• Bring a variety of layers - most of us only packed for cold weather because we saw that it was going to be cold especially in the mornings and at night during the first week we were in Japan, but we failed to notice that our second week in Japan was going to be much warmer. Towards the end of our trip the weather was in the upper 60s and low 70s during the day and most of us did not really pack for that weather
• WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES - I cannot stress this enough. Even days where we didn't have multiple areas to visit we still pulled at least 20,000 steps. I was dumb and bought a pair of Vans for style along with a pair of Nike sneakers. Because I didn't want to waste my pair of Vans that I used precious baggage space for I wore it on a day I thought was going to have less walking but we still ended up walking a ton and my feet were dying by the end of the day. Aka I'd just give up your style and go for comfort!!
• I would try to follow what exits that Google maps suggest you exit from when arriving at your destination especially in big stations like Tokyo, Namba, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, etc. Those stations are just so ginormous and we learned the hard way that getting out from a different exit meant walking a whole lot more to get to our destination sometimes even around the whole station itself. At smaller stations I found the difference wasn't that big, so if it is a smaller station than just go ahead and get out from any exit
• I think our group (6 people) is considered to be a large group in Japan so the times when we did go out to eat together, about 80% of the time we were split up into different table which was fine with us. Smaller more intimate places like small ramen stores where there's only like countebar seats we were sometimes split up individually but we still walked away with a delicious meal so can't complain much. Also places in a yokocho (small alleyways) were not really an option for us if we were trying to dine all together. I don't think splitting the bill is a thing in Japan so if we dined together we always just had one person pay the bill for all of us and later Venmo'd each other.
• Everything we planned on doing took like 1.5x longer than we expected, so we didn't get to see all the places that we initially planned for so that was kind of sad, but I also loved that we were able to see as much as we did. It was just that every place we went to there was just so many places that caught our attention as we walked around like cute little stores, cafes or we would just stop to take in all the sights. So if you're kind of like us and a little slow-moving than I think it would be best to not pressure yourself with lots of plans each day so that you can really explore each place/area to your heart's content.

• As many people have already suggested but I would listen and use the luggage transfer services. We ended up not because we were kinda confused about how it would work when we were staying in Airbnbs. In the end we managed but only because we had to haha. It got a little tough in the subway stations because the escalators or elevators up were not always in obvious places so lots of stairs while carrying our luggage were taken. It was a REAL struggle on our first night in Hakone because one of our places was an Airbnb up a semi-steep hill + was not the most accessible by public transport there aka just use the transfer services lol.
• Since we didn't use the transfer services, we did end up using the lockers at the Hakone train station. We used our backpacks for our one night at a ryokan and left our luggage at the lockers at the station which ended up being 1400 yen for one night (700 yen until midnight for the first day + 700 yen when we picked them up the next day). These lockers though saved our butts from having to drag our luggage around Hakone while we waited for our ryokan's check in time.
• Lockers - they were very helpful for the days that we had to check out but had time to kill before a train or next check in. We were able to use our IC cards to pay for them except for the Hakone ones which only accepted coins. The large lockers can hold two carry on sized luggages or one large check-in sized luggage. However you might have to walk around the station to find an open large lockers if it's the weekend because they're not as plentiful as the smaller lockers so a lot of those could be taken up on busier days. I would also take a picture of your locker and the surrounding area of your locker because in the really large stations like Kyoto, Tokyo and Shinjuku, it can be quite hard to find again.
• Bring an empty and foldable/packable duffle bag with you or pack less in your suitcase initially to leave space for souvenirs. I only used a carry on bag to pack all my stuff for the trip because I didn't to lug around a progressively heavier check-in sized suitcase as we moved around and bought more stuff along our trip. However, I also knew though that I was probably going to buy enough things in Japan that it was not going to fit my suitcase by the end, so I also packed an empty foldable/packable duffle bag to pack all my souvenirs for when I was coming back to the US, which I was super grateful to have and actually had to start using as soon as we we were getting ready to leave Tokyo to go to other cities.

• I'd HIGHLY recommend for anyone that can to get/use the Suica/Pasmo card on their phones. Half of us opted to get/use the card with the Apple Wallet on our iPhones. It was so easy to top up with our Apple Pay and super convenient to use at the station ticket turnstiles. I also preferred the cards on our phones because we could use our credit card to top up via Apple Pay thereby saving some of our cash to use for other stuff.
• Other people in my group opted to get the physical Welcome Suica card and it was just slightly inconvenient to reload because they'd have to stop at a ticket machine in the station to reload it with cash, but otherwise they were happy with them, had no issues with them and got a special sakura Suica.
• 2 of my friends got the Suica card on their phones while I got a Pasmo card on mine. We were all able to use these on all the metro and bus systems, vending machines and some stores/restaurants in all the other cities we visited outside of Tokyo without any major issues.
• Sometimes for some reason when we beeped our card on the turnstile it would randomly not work even though we had enough funds on our cards, but it was easily fixed by going to the office next to the turnstiles where we explained to the staff that our cards didn't work and they just let us through.
• None of us were able to use our Visa cards to reload our IC cards. My friends were able to use their MasterCards to reload their Suicas. I don't have a MasterCard, but I was instead able to use an AmEx to reload my Pasmo. Just something to be mindful of if you are going to use the mobile Pasmo/Suica card.

• We all got our JR passes through Klook so we couldn't book any seats online, but that ended up not being a huge deal. In Tokyo we stayed in Ikebukuro and there was a big JR office nearby our place so we went ahead booked majority of our seats ahead of time there one morning. It was quick, easy and the staff were super helpful. Some of our smaller day trips like from Kyoto to Himeji we booked the same day using the JR ticket machines at Kyoto Station, which was easy to do, but you do have to know your passport number to use these machines. There were also plenty of seats available but it was a weekday and not during the busy season.
• One of my friends had a large check in bag which was considered oversized so we needed to get him one of those special reserved seat that's at the back of each train car with the space behind the seats for large suitcases, except we were dumb and forgot to get him that special reserved seat. I didn't go with him to change his ticket, but apparently it was pretty easy for him to change his ticket when he visited another JR office.
• My friend and I did miss a Shinkansen once (from Himeji to Osaka) because we went to the wrong platform so we went to the staff at the side of the Shinkansen ticket gates for help and he was super nice, helpful and spoke English. He was going to change our ticket to another one, but ended up recommending that we just take a special rapid JR train that is a little slower, but would get us to Osaka faster instead of us waiting another hour for the next Shinkansen. Moral of the story if you miss your train just talk to the staff member at a JR office or the one by the shinkansen ticket turnstile (I noticed there always seemed to be at least one person by those particular gates) to get help.
• If it's a clear day and you're doing Tokyo Kyoto on a shinkansen try to reserve a seat on the left side of the train because you'll be able to see Mt. Fuji about an hour or so into the train ride. Even if you don't get to sit on the left side you can go in between the train cars where there will be a window that you can look out of instead (which is what I did).
• If you get to the train station too late to look at the bentos/ekibens at the station I think on some of longer routes there is a very small food cart that goes up and down the train with some bentos, drinks and snacks, but there aren't as many choices and they only take cash.
• There are some ekibens that are self-heating but majority I think are at room temperature, so some of the ekibens can be hit or miss. Some of us liked ours while others were not huge fans because they didn't like how it tasted at room temperature

• I saw a lot of posts saying cash is king still in Japan and I think I found this to be only somewhat true. It's true enough that I did end up using some cash almost every single day and made sure to have some cash on hand with me, but I also was also able to use my credit card at about 90-95% of the stores and restaurants that we stopped by. I ended up mainly using cash for small mom and pop type restaurants, street food stalls, small stores and the entry fee for temples, but nothing was ever over 2000 yen. Also I was surprised that a large amount of the smaller gift stores will take credit cards.
• Hakone was the only place we visited where I feel like I mainly had to use cash to pay for things as opposed to credit card, but again nothing was that expensive
• I bought with me 40,000 yen (from my bank in the US) to Japan and had to use a 7-11 ATM once while in Japan to get an extra 10,000 yen (I actually wanted just 5000 but the minimum withdrawal amount was 10,000 for that ATM). I did end up using most of the cash that I bought with me initially and the extra cash I had to get while there. I think, though, I actually could've spent less cash, but (1) our Hakone ryokan only accepted cash for payment so half of the cash I spent was for this and (2) towards the end of my trip I realized I was going to have quite a bit of cash leftover so I just started using cash to pay for things even if card was accepted so that I could use up as much of the cash I had.
• Definitely listen to what everyone says about carrying around a coin purse or buying one when you get there. So many coins were accumulated throughout the trip lol.

• Tokyo
  • Ghibli Museum
  • TeamLabs Planets
  • Yoyogi Park - got to see some early blossoming sakura trees!
  • Gotokuji Temple (the lucky cat temple) - the temple itself is quite small, but the surrounding neighborhood is really nice to walk around with lots of little shops, cafes and nice restaurants. It's also a quieter area of Tokyo if anyone is looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
  • Harajuku, Ometasando and Aoyama - just walking around in the less busy streets was one of my favorites
  • Shimokitazawa - just loved the vibes here. Lots of cute vintage and antique stores amongst all the thrift stores there
  • Itoya Ginza - I love stationary so this 12 story stationary store was heaven
  • Muji Ginza - my friend and I love Muji products so this was a must stop for us and it was wonderful lol
• Hakone
  • the onsens - Hakone was the coldest place we went to on our trip and the outside onsen at our ryokan + the cold weather at night was the perfect match because it meant we never got too too hot from the onsen (though it was still pretty hot lol)
  • Owakudani - the black eggs and the fairly close up view of Mt. Fuji. We went on a semi-cloudy day so we unfortunately didn't get to see all of Fuji-san but we did get to see a little more than half of it and it was already super impressive.
• Kyoto
  • Kiyomizodera and walking around the surrounding streets/area - can be crowded though but it is beautiful, the further you walk away from the temple there seems to be less people.
  • Philosophers Path - we went before any cherry blossoms were blossoming so unfortunately we just saw lots of dead trees lol, but the area was still really nice, passed by a lot of cute cafes and stores along the path/river
  • Arashiyama - the Monkey Park, the Bamboo Forest, Gio-ji temple, and the BREAD, ESPRESSO & ARASHIYAMA GARDEN bakery (we didn't go into the main restaurant/cafe because the wait was too long so we just went to the bakery to the side which was SO GOOD). We loved walking around the northern part of Arashiyama which we did to get to the Gio-Ji temple. It's a lot less crowded than the bamboo forest area and was just so beautiful, lots of preserved old machiya houses and streets, lots of little stores and cafes/restaurants and open fields. It was collectively one of all of our favorite days and areas to visit during our trip.
• Osaka
  • Osaka Castle
  • Dotonburi - all the sights and food is a little chaotic but I loved it
• Nara
  • Todai-ji
  • Kasuga Taisha - the walk up to it was beautiful and all the deer along the way was a definite plus
  • all the deer - some of them are definitely a bit aggressive lol like they'll bite your clothes or try to headbutt you for biscuits. at the base level though if they don't do that most will definitely at least follow you for those biscuits.

- DisneySea (try out Klook for cheaper booking)

- Ninja Restaurant (book in advance)

- Akihabara (anime)

• arashiyama bamboo forest
• Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion)
• fushimi inari sunset

• Kiyomozudera (platform, then stroll grounds)
• Hozugawa River Boat (Evening)
• Kyoto Station (night)

- Buy suica card (for transport within Tokyo & convenience stores) + pocket Wi-Fi

- DisneySea (try out Klook for cheaper booking)

- Ninja Restaurant (book in advance)

- Akihabara (anime)

• Bullet train Tokyo Station to Kyoto Station (can buy ahead of time)
• arashiyama bamboo forest
• Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion)
• fushimi inari sunset

Tokyo

Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory

Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.

All Buyouts are listed in cash value.

Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory

Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.

All Buyouts are listed in cash value.