Hello! My fiance and I are early in the process of planning our honeymoon in Japan. We will be going in late June/ early July.
We’re both American, and this will be our first time in Japan. We are incredibly excited but also very overwhelmed by the amount of things to see and do. We’re very active and love food, culture, and hiking. We have 11 days and would like to see Tokyo, either Hakone or Lake Kawaguchi, Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara.
We typically travel by picking 1 or 2 things to do per day and then seeing where the day leads us. We’d appreciate feedback on our itinerary, and if you have suggestions for must-do experiences that we’re missing:
Day 0 | Home → Tokyo (Appx. 14 Hour Flight)
Day 1 | Tokyo
\~3:30PM Arrive at Haneda Airport + Check into Hotel
PM Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
Day 2 | Tokyo
AM Ginza: Imperial Palace & Gardens, Tokyo Tower, Shopping + Eating
PM Harajuku/Shibuya: Meiji Shrine, Shibuya Scramble around dusk, More Shopping + Eating
Day 3 | Tokyo
Tokyo DisneySea
Day 4 | Tokyo → Hakone or Lake Kawaguchi
AM Outdoor Experience (Hike, Bike, etc.)
PM Relax at Ryokan with dinner service + private onsen
Day 5 | Hakone/Kawaguchi → Kyoto
?
Day 6 | Kyoto
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest + Monkey Park + Tenryu-ji Buddhist Temple
Day 7 | Kyoto
AM Fushimi Inari Temple
PM Gion District + Maiko/Geisha Tea Ceremony
Day 8 | Kyoto → Osaka
AM Osaka Castle
PM Dotonbori District
Day 9 | Osaka
AM Universal Studios: Nintendoland
PM Osaka Aquarium
Day 10 | Osaka
Nara Day Trip: Deer Park + Todai-ji + Mt. Kasuga
Day 11 | Osaka → Tokyo
AM See anything we missed in Osaka/Tokyo
PM Tokyo SkyTree
Day 12| Tokyo → Home
​
My questions for you:
* Are we trying to fit too much into that first full day in Tokyo?
* If you had to choose between Tokyo DisneySea or Universal Studios Nintendo Land in Osaka, which would you pick? My fiance is team Disney, and I’m leaning towards Nintendo, but I also recognize that there is a huge Nintendo store and Pokemon Center in Tokyo we could visit too.
* If you have to choose between Hakone or Lake Kawaguchi, which would you pick? We’d love to see Mount Fuji, but our primary goal will be to stay in a ryokan with a private onsen and relax.
