I want to begin by thanking all of the participants and mods on this subreddit! This has been an invaluable resource in planning! I’ve based a lot of this itinerary off of u/siete7, in particular; an extra thanks goes out to them and their helpful response on their original post!
My wife and I are taking our first trip to Japan for our honeymoon, aiming for the cherry blossom season. I know that the blossoming involves some luck, but I have tried to roughly plan around it. We both enjoy anime, experiencing the culture, and food. She likes to shop more than I do but I’m okay with looking through stores for a little.
I would love any general advice or critiques of the itinerary and have marked any notes with a “|” sign. If a day has a lot going on, I will note the main points with bold – unbolded destinations might be skipped or breezed through if time doesn’t allow. I would also particularly love any suggestions for general hotel locations for each leg of the journey. The general flow will be 6d Tokyo > 5d Kyoto > 3d Osaka > 2d Hakone > 4d Tokyo.
You can also see the itinerary here: [https://wanderlog.com/view/ktnacqscsk/trip-to-japan/shared](https://wanderlog.com/view/ktnacqscsk/trip-to-japan/shared)
Day 1 (Mon 3/17) – Tokyo (Arrival)
\-Arrive at NRT at 3:00
\-Head straight to hotel in Shinjuku/Kabukicho
\-If we feel up to it, explore the area
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Day 2 (Mon 3/18) – Tokyo (Ghibli Museum)
\-Ghibli Museum
\-Nakano Broadway
Day 3 (Tue 3/19) – Tokyo Disney Sea
Day 4 (Wed 3/20) – Tokyo (Shibuya, Harajuku) Based on LiveJapan itinerary
\-Meiji Jingu
\-Takeshita Street
\-Cat Street
\-Shibuya crossing/sky
\-shibuya hotel en for onigiri bar and omiyage shopping
Day 5 (Thu 3/21) – Tokyo (Shinjuku)
\-Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
\-Shinjuku Golden Gai
\-Optional: Shin-Okubo Koreatown or Roppongi
Day 6 (Fri 3/22) – Nothing planned – suggestions?
Day 6 (Sat 3/23) – Kyoto (Nishiki Market, Manga museum)
\-Take the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto
\-Check into hotel or drop bags off (Hotel is right outside the Nishiki Market)
\-Nishiki Market
\-Kyoto International Manga Museum
\-Kyoto Imperial Palace
\-Fun in Pontocho
Day 7 (Sun 3/24) – Kyoto (Monkey Park, Historical street) Based on JG, with some stuff removed
\-Monkey park
\-Tenryu-ji
\-Arashiyama Bamboo forest
\-Gioji Temple
\-Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street
\-Otagi nenbutsuji
Day 8 (Mon 3/25) – Kyoto (Nara day trip, Fushimi Inari Taisha) Copied from siete7, with the addition of Fushimi Inari Taisha
\-Take train to Nara from Kyoto
\-Todai-ji
\-Nara Park
\-Kasuga Taisha
\-Kofuku-ji
\-Mochi at Nakatanidou (we don’t particularly care about the demo)
\-Take train from Nara to Inari station
\-Fushimi Inari Taisha
\-Find our way back to the hotel
Day 9 (Tue 3/26) – Kyoto (Temples) Based on JG with some cuts
\-Higashiyama Jisho-ji
\-Ginkakuji
\-Philosopher’s Path
\-Nanzen-ji temple
\-Keage Incline
\-Higashiyama
\-Kiyomizudera
Day 10 (Wed 3/27) – Kyoto (Temples, Travel to Osaka) Roughly based on JG with addition of Nijo and Kokedera
|We might need to take some taxis here.. Are there any concerns with that? I’ve heard they can be expensive.
\-Nijo Castle
\-Koke-dera (I will make a reservation to do the praying/immersion offering!)
\-Kinkakuji
\-Ryoan-ji
\-Take the train to Osaka (Hotel is close to Kinetsu-Nippombashi station/Dotonbori)
Day 11 (Thu 3/28) – Osaka (Universal Japan)
\-Universal japan with express passes
Day 12 (Fri 3/29) – Osaka (General exploration) Based on JG
\-Shinsekai Market
\-Nipponbashi Denden town
\-Kuromon Ichiba Market
\-Sennichimae Doguyasuji Shopping street
\-Hozenji Yokocho
\-have fun at night in Dotonbori
Day 13 (Sat 3/30) – Osaka (Historical walk) Based on JG
|My partner and I don’t feel particularly excited about this day. Any other suggestions or affirmations on quality? I’m interested in maybe doing something with kabuki theater
\-The Osaka Museum of housing and living
\-Tenjinbashi
\-Osaka Castle
\-Osaka Museum of History
\-Shitenno-ji
\-Sumiyoshi Taisha
\-Forward luggage to Tokyo, keep backpack(s)
Day 14 (Mon 3/31) – Hakone (Travel to Hakone,Open Air, Ryokan)
\-Take train to Odawara station, get the freepass, then bus into Gora
\-Visit the open air museum
\-Go to ryokan and chill in private onsen/eat dinner at onsen
|currently booked at ZEN, but looking at other options. I think I will need to take the ropeway down to get there. I made sure to get a ryokan with a private onsen as my wife has many larger tattoos.
Day 15 (Tue 4/1) – Hakone (Hakone loop, Travel to Tokyo)
\-Complete the Hakone loop counter clockwise
\-Take romancecar to Tokyo (staying in Asakusa nearish Senso-ji)
Day 16 (Wed 4/2) – Tokyo (Akihabara, Ueno)
|Considering trying to do a maid cafe but seems like it might be a little cringy/unenjoyable
\-Ueno Zoo (thinking about skipping this due to animal welfare but the wife wants to see the pandas)
\-Botanical garden
\-National Museum of Nature and Science
\-Ameyoko shopping district
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Day 17 (Wed 4/3) – Tokyo (Akihabara)
\-Akihabara
Day 18 (Fri 4/4) – Tokyo (Tsukiji, teamLab, Ginza)
\-Tsukiji Market
\-teamLab Planets
\-Ginza or omiyage shopping (might stop over in Shibuya or Shinjuku)
Day 19 (Sat 4/5) – Tokyo (Depart)
\-Depart NRT at 5pm