My boyfriend and I are planning a first trip to Japan in May 2024. We’ve put together a rough itinerary and would appreciate any feedback. We’ve been editing it a bunch over the past week to try to fit in everywhere we want to go, but hopefully in a way that makes sense. Please let me know if you have any suggestions, espeically for our time in Kyoto. We decided we wanted to spend time at a ryokan with a kaiseki dinner and also spend a free night reward the Roku Kyoto LXR. But two nights at either place is not possible for us, so we also have the third hotel near Kyoto Station. Is moving to a different hotel every night in Kyoto going to be too much hopping around?
Day 1 (Tues, 5/14) – Arrive In Tokyo
* Arrive at Haneda Airport at 5 AM. Get IC card and yen.
* Drop off luggage at hotel in Akasaka
* Meiji Jingu
* Harajuku
* Shibuya
Day 2 (Wed, 5/15) – Tokyo
* Tsukiji Outer Market
* Ginza
* Akihabara
* Kaminarimon/Senso-ji (to see them illuminated in the evening)
* Hoppy Street
Day 3 (Thurs, 5/16) – Tokyo
* Ikebukuro
* Shinjuku
Day 4 (Fri, 5/17) – Tokyo
* Senso-ji/Asakusa Shrine (Sanja Matsuri)
* Ameyoko Shopping District
* Ueno Park
* Yanaka Ginza
Day 5 (Sat, 5/18) – Tokyo
* Not much planned. Can be more of a rest day.
* Could check out the area around Tokyo Tower and Roppongi which is all within walking distance of our hotel
Day 6 (Sun, 5/19) – Tokyo/Osaka
* Senso-ji (Sanja Matsuri)
* Check out of hotel in Akasaka
* Shinkansen to Osaka
* Check-in/drop off luggage at hotel in Nakanoshima
* Dotonburi
Day 7 (Mon, 5/20) – Osaka
* Osaka Castle
* Kuromon Market
* Sailor Moon Exhibit in Namba Parks
* Shin Sekai
Day 8 (Tues, 5/21) – Osaka/Kyoto
* Take train to Kyoto
* Drop off luggage at hotel near Kyoto Station
* Arashiyama Monkey Park
* Tenryu-ji
* Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
* Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street
* Adashino Nenbutsuji/Bamboo Path
* Otagi Nenbutsuji
Day 9 (Wed, 5/22) – Kyoto
* Check out of hotel near Kyoto Station and forward luggage to Roku Kyoto LXR
* Kiyomizu-dera
* Ninenzaka
* Gion
* Check in to ryokan in Higashiyama
* Yasaka-jinja Shrine (to see it illuminated at night)
Day 10 (Thurs, 5/23) – Kyoto/Nara/Kyoto
* Check out of ryokan in Higashiyama
* Fushimi Inari as early in the morning as possible
* Day trip to Nara
* Come back to Kyoto and check in to Roku Kyoto LXR
Day 11 (Fri, 5/24) – Kyoto/Tokyo
* Kinkaku-ji
* Ryoan-ji
* Check out of Roku Kyoto LXR and forward luggage to hotel in Tokyo
* Nishiki Market
* Shinkansen to Tokyo
* Check in to hotel in Akasaka
Day 12-13 (Sat-Sun, 5/25-5/26) – Tokyo
* Take a rest day, go back to places in Tokyo that we might have walked by but didn’t have time for
Day 14 (Mon, 5/27) – Tokyo
* Possibly more free sightseeing until we go to Haneda Airport in the early afternoon and then fly back home