Itinerary advice late October 2022

10 comments

1. Tokyo Government building is nice because it’s free, otherwise, I do not think it is the best observation deck in Tokyo. I prefer Roppongi Hills Mori Tower and am looking forward Shibuya Sky.

   For the first day in Osaka considering you have to take the train, that seems to be a bit all around the city. For example instead of Umeda sky, you could replace it by Abeno Harukas that is closer to Shitenno-ji, and just make sure you put things that are physically close together on the same day.

   If you are to say in both Kyoto and Osaka, I would do it as Osaka-Hiroshima-Kyoto, so at least you cut down on travel time to return to Tokyo.

   I do not think Nishiki market is especially a end of day thing, in t hat area, pontocho would fit better for the end of day.

   For JR Pass, technically, yes, you would save money using the 14 days pass. However, it would be even cheaper to buy the individual tickets to do Tokyo-Osaka and Kyoto-Tokyo + the JR West Kansai – Hiroshima Area Pass. If you count some use of the pass around Tokyo, then it might end up about the same price.

   The pro point is that you would also be able to take the Nozomi and Mizuho, the down side is that it would not cover the part between Osaka and Kyoto (if you are to change the order as I said). If you do not change the order, then you would want to use the pass to move from Hiroshima to Shin-Osaka and buy your ticket from Shin-Osaka to Tokyo.

   Doing it this way, you can also consider flying out of Osaka, even if the multi-city ticket is the equivalent of 14 000 yen more expensive (it’s how much it would cost you to do Osaka-Tokyo), this mean move all the Tokyo day first, that will also remove one change of hotel.

2. I travelled to Japan in November 2019 and the autumn leaves had already started turning in places like Arashiyama and Shinjuku Gyoen.

   Yes, JR Pass makes sense for your itinerary.

   Since you’re planning to get out of Tokyo and explore Kansai all the way upto Hiroshima, I suggest you don’t spend the first few days in Tokyo. On the day you land in Narita / Haneda, get your JR Pass from their airport desk and go to the farthest city in your itinerary – Hiroshima. Then do Kansai (Osaka and Kyoto), Mt Fuji, etc, as you get nearer to Tokyo. Don’t split Tokyo into half, keep it as the final leg of your journey.

   For the 16th day you’re planning to spend in Tokyo, might I suggest adding that day to your Hiroshima days? An easy way to spend that day is make full use of your JR Pass and go all the way down to Kagoshima. Along the way, you can stop at Hakata and taste their famous tonkotsu broth ramen. In Kagoshima, you can get a glimpse of the island of Sakurajima active volcano from a ferris wheel in the shopping mall next to the shinkansen station or taste other local delicacies.

   Have a great trip of Japan!

3. I think Osaka aquarium and usj + finding and eating dinner in one day would be very crammed. Considering the size of both usj and the aquarium + wait times for rides

4. Also booked a flight for October 10th. Good luck

5. October is a bit early for fall colors in Tokyo or Osaka area. November is better.

6. I love Tokyo with the autumn colours. October is great because the stifling heat and humidity is finished for the year.

7. I’m glad to see you’re going planning to go to the garden in shinjuku, that’s a great place to see autumn colors and foliage. Miyajima too. Like others have said, mid to late November is much better for that though. I went in mid November a few years ago and that was definitely the “prime” time for autumn colors. Also, if you’re looking for other additions to your itinerary, Kurobe Gorge is really great to see and visit too. It is a bit of a train ride to get there, as you’re basically going to the Sea of Japan side of the country, then going back inland. So it’s a 2 night experience. And that’s something that I think can be enjoyed any time of year, not just in the Fall. But it gets pretty cold there too

8. I could obviously be completely wrong about this but I wouldn’t buy a flight ticket yet. The estimation that Japan is gonna open up for tourism again in October was extremely vague and October/November is usually when the new variants hit. We have all seen what the japanese gov’t considers to be it’s “unfailable 100% proof solution” for such a situation, the last two years. I wanna go there just as much as everyone else here and meet my family again but I would advice you to keep your expectations in check.

9. how are people getting to Japan with it being closed for tourism? I want to go so badly and now that I can finally afford it I can’t get in!

10. Late Oct-early/mid Nov is absolutely deadly for autumn leaves 🍁 Beyond beautiful, really. All the best!