The Most Instagrammable Places in Japan

The Most Instagrammable places in Tokyo, Japan

1. Teamlab Borderless

• How to get there – Take the subway to Tokyo Teleport Station, from here it’s about 15 minutes walking.

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – First of all, you need to buy your tickets online at least a few weeks from before!
  Don’t wait until you’re there cause chances will be very high it will be sold out! Even that the doors only open at 10am!
  Arrive 1 hour earlier cause the line will be insane! Because of the big crowd they even opened the doors 10 minutes earlier!

Plan your visit to teamLab Borderless here.

2. Chidorigafuchi Green Way

• How to get there – Take the subway to Kudanshita Station, from there it’s about 15 minutes walking.

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – This spot is especially famous during cherry blossom season and not one of the standard most instagrammable places! 
  I heard stories about the line for the boat rental place to be pretty crazy but I was there during cherry blossom season and when I arrived at around 4pm it was around 20 minutes waiting to get a boat for 1 hour. This will cost you around 160YEN. Make sure to take 1 hour cause there will be a lot of people on the water and rowing looks way easier than it actually is!

3. Shinjuku Omoide Yokocho ( Pee Alley)

• How to get there – Take the subway to Shinjuku Station, take the West Exit, turn right and this little alley is only 5 minutes away.

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – This place is filled with little restaurants where the locals come and enjoy a lunch so try to go before 12pm.

4. Kabukicho Ichibangai

• How to get there – This spot is only 5 minutes walking distance from the Pee Alley.

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – This place is buzzing with people the entire time but to me that was also the beauty of it. So basically you can choose whenever you go here, it’s also a cool place to experiment with night photography.

5. Takeshita Street (Harajuku)

• How to get there – Take the subway to Harajuku Station on the Yamanote Line. It’s only 10 minutes walking from here!

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – The shops in Harajuku open at 10 am so make sure to be there ahead of time! It’s one of the busiest streets in Tokyo and it’s tiny so once the crowds arrive it’s rather unlikely to get a good photo.

6. Taito – Ku, Asakusa

• How to get there – Take the subway to Asakusa Sation and walk 10 minutes in the opposite direction of the Tokyo Sky Tower.

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – Try to go early in the day to avoid traffic. The Senso-ji Temple is located a little further so the surrounding area may be very crowded. The cherry blossoms that you see in the photo are made out of paper so are there all year round.

7. Yoyogipark

• How to get there – Yoyogipark is located very close to the famous street in Harajuku so perfect to combine these 2 spots in one morning.

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – Yoyogipark is one of the most famous spots for watching the cherry blossoms and during Sakura season this place is swarmed with people so make sure to go as early as possible!

8. Tokyo Metropolitan Aoyama Park

• How to get there – Take the subway to Nogizaki Station and simply walk from there

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – This place is only worth visiting during Sakura season. If you want to be able to take your photo quickly make sure to go around 7am before traffic starts!

9. Cherry Blossom street near Shibuya Crossing

• How to get there – Take the subway to Shibuya Station, take the South Exit and walk towards the pedestrian crossing over the main road. This street is located right on the other side.

Google Maps Location – Click here (this is a restaurant located in this gorgeous street)

• When to go – Go early in the morning before traffic starts!

Where to stay in Tokyo

Depending on which experience you’re looking for I can recommend you a few hotels.

If you’re looking for some luxury then these hotels are what you’re looking for!

If you want to have the full on Japan experience and stay at a capsule hotel I totally recommend this one. 

The Most Instagrammable places in Osaka, Japan

10. Nara Park

• How to get there – When staying at Osaka you have to take a day trip to Nara Park! The easiest way to get there is by subway/train which will stop at the Kintetsu-Nara station.
  From here you can choose to either walk or take the bus which will drop you off straight at the Nara park. There is a special counter at the train station to buy your tickets for the day.

Google Maps Location – Click here

 

• When to go – I was told it doesn’t really matter since the park is pretty huge. Well, that’s really not the case.. Is the park huge? Yes! But the deer will stay where all the tourists are cause they want their cookies! So if you can go at 7am so you will be able to take amazing photos without all the hassle!
• What to do – One of the top things to do in Nara is to feed the deer and walk among them in this giant park.

11. Shinsekai

• How to get there – Take the subway to Shin-Imamiya, from here you’ll have to walk around 20 minutes.

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – Go 30 minutes before sunset!

Where to stay in Osaka or Nara

Here’s a list of all of the hotels in Osaka. Or if you prefer staying a little more outside the city center you can also opt for one of these hotels in Nara.

The Most Instagrammable places in Kyoto, Japan.

12. Fushimi Inari -Taisha

• How to get there – Kyoto can be a little tricky when it comes to public transportation. There is a subway station located right next to the entrance but by that time the shrine will already be crowded. I would opt to be there at sunrise and take a taxi

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – Go as early as possible!

13. Kiyomizu-dera

• How to get there – The only way to go here is on foot! Go through the pagoda and to the left to get to this viewpoint.

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – It’s the perfect place to enjoy a sunset.

14. Hōkanji- Temple

• How to get there – Get a taxi as close as possible and walk from there. To find this particular spot won’t be too hard. There are only two streets surrounding this temple and this spot will be recognisable by the line of tripods.

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – This is THE spot in Kyoto that you want to shoot during sunrise! Make sure to be there 30 minutes before to claim your spot!

15. Willow tree near Hōkanji-Temple

• How to get there – Simply walk up from the previous spot and turn right, follow the street until you reach a set of stairs. Et voilà, you’re there!

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – This spot is especially busy during cherry blossom season but makes for a gorgeous photo during every season. Make sure to come bright and early!

16. Chion-in

• How to get there – Chion-in is about 20 minutes walking from the above mentioned photolocation. As I said before, Kyoto is all about that walking public transportation kinda sucks here :p.

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – Make sure to visit before 10am

17. Yasaka Shrine

• How to get there – This shrine is located in the Maruyama park.

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – Before 10am the amount of people is still okay, after that it gets a little hectic.

18. Gosha Shrine

• How to get there – This shrine is also located in the Maruyama park so you can perfectly combine it with the Yasaka Shrine!

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – Be there before 10am

19. Gion Shirakawa

• How to get there – This exact spot is only 10 minutes walking from Maruyama park

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – This is one of the most popular spots in Gion so make sure to be there early in the morning! This is also the spot where I got invited up to watch an original Geisha performance!

20. Cherry Blossom Street in Gion

• How to get there – It’s only 2 minutes walking from the Gion bridge!

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – It’s a must visit during Sakura season

Where to stay in Kyoto

Kyoto isn’t big on public transportation, so for your hotel you might want to book something near Gion.

Otherwise you will either have to rely on taxi’s or do a lot of walking. For instance I was staying a little outside of the city center and walked an average of 17km/day.

The Most Instagrammable places in Fuji, Japan.

21. Lake Kawaguchiko

• How to get there – When visiting Mount Fuji the most beautiful place to stay is Kawaguchiko. This spot is located on the opposite side of the lake. Simply walk across the bridge and turn right.

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – It’s the perfect spot to watch the sunrise

22. Chureito Pagoda

• How to get there – Take the train to Shimoyoshida Station. To get to this viewpoint you will have to climb up a lot of stairs so make sure to wear comfy shoes.

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – This is THE spot in Fuji to go for sunset!

23. Mount Fuji Street

• How to get there – Take the train to Mount Fuji Station, from here it’s about 10 minutes walking down. Take note, if you want to recreate this photo you will need a zoom lens! Without 200mm you won’t get the same effect.

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – Go early in the morning so there won’t be too much traffic in the street!

24. Gekkouji Station

• How to get there – Walk towards the train station from the previous photo spot. This photo wasn’t taken at the train station but it’s the closest spot to it that you can pin on a map. Simply go a little more to the left where you will find a crossroads going over the train tracks. This photo was actually taken on the street, not on the train tracks itself, always be careful!

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – You can go pretty much during the entire day.

25. Yasuragisou Ryokan

• How to get there – It’s the perfect place to stay when visiting Mount Fuji and offers an amazing view

Google Maps Location – Click here

• When to go – This photo was taken during sunset

What gear do I use for taking my photos?

It’s a question I get asked a lot and below you can find the exact camera and lenses that I use to create my dreamy photos.

Camera – Canon 6D Mark II
Lens 1 – Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Standard Zoom Lens
Lens 2 – Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6
Tripod – Manfrotto Tripod – Good for heavy camera and lens!

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Charlotte

Charlotte Lint is the founder of Charlies Wanderings.
Charlotte has traveled all over the world and is based in Belgium where she also owns her very own dental practice.
She is an expert on writing efficient travel guides and finding unique places to stay.
Every month she helps over 134.000 people discover the most beautiful places in the world through her detailed travel guides.