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%ARABICA is the most popular coffee shop in Kyoto, which is the heart of Japan’s third wave coffee scene. In fact, given that the nearby Kiyomizudera Temple closes before the coffee shop, there’s often an influx of visitors leaving the temple who arrive just before the coffee shop’s 6 p.m. closing. It’s easy to find via Google Maps, but there’s about a 95% chance you’ll naturally walk past this coffee shop when you head to Kiyomizudera. In our Best Coffee Shops in Kyoto, Japan post, I made a bold prediction: “5 years from now, %ARABICA will be the next Starbucks.

Our Los Angeles itineraries offer step-by-step 1-day plans for every area of the city, and we also have some itineraries for areas of Southern California outside L.A. While this is also the foundation and first day for multi-day itineraries, we’d recommend moving a couple stops from this itinerary to another day for those with more time in SoCal. To the contrary, this is my second-favorite itinerary overall and probably my favorite 1-day itinerary if you set aside the fact that it doesn’t hit as many iconic spots as the ‘Highlights’ itinerary above. This itinerary starts from that perspective, and focuses on the “real” Hollywood, hidden gems, while also spending a bit of time at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, TCL Chinese Theater, Dolby Theater, El Capitan Theater, and other recognizable points of interest.

This cluster includes some of our favorite hidden gem temples in Japan: Kurodani Temple, Shinnyodo Temple, and Yoshida Shrine along with its array of sub-shrines. On our Top 100 Temples & Shrines in Kyoto, Japan list, Yoshida Shrine ranks #32, Shinnyodo Temple ranks #29, and Kurodani Temple is #23. It’s situated nearby popular tourist areas of Kyoto, but is just far enough away in a relatively humdrum residential area that it’s exceedingly rare to see any other foreign visitors at any of these temples. If you’re planning a trip to Japan that includes Kyoto, we recommend that you start by consulting our Ultimate Guide to Kyoto, Japan to plan all aspects of our vacation.

It’s a jam-packed day that covering tons of Tokyo’s highlights, all in a time-saving manner. This is because Tokyo’s temples and shrines don’t hold a candle to those in Kyoto or elsewhere in Japan, and we’re assuming that if you only have a day in Tokyo, it’s because you’re bouncing around Japan. Much of the park is inaccessible to the public, and we’d recommend skipping most of it in favor of the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace Park, including the Sannomaru Shozokan Museum, which is a serviceable alternative to the exceptional Edo-Tokyo Museum that isn’t included in this itinerary due to time constraints. Alternatively, if you don’t want to spend as much time in Imperial Palace Park, leave the way you came, and take the Yamanote Line from Tokyo Station to Shibuya Station.