Hello all! For our honeymoon, our husband and I will be visiting Japan for the first time, and we will be there for two weeks February to March. We seek validation that we aren’t woefully under-planned nor completed over-booked. Thanks for looking, and we will be sure to post a travel report follow up!
(Modified a bit — thanks for tips!)
**Day 0: Arrival**
1. Land in Narita
2. Narita Express to Shinjuku Station
3. Check into hotel in Shinjuku
4. Check out Shinjuku / Kabukicho / Golden Gai
**Day 1: Kyoto**
1. Shinkansen from Shinagawa Station to Kyoto Station (10:00)
2. Check into ryokan in Gion
3. Tenjin-san Market at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine
4. Shrine and temple near ryokan (optional)
5. Kaiseki dinner at ryokan
**Day 2: Kyoto**
1. Check out from ryokan
2. Philosopher’s Path / Otoyo Shrine to Ginkaku-ji Temple
3. Tour Matsui sake brewery (reservation @ 12:00)
4. Check into hotel
5. Shop at Pokemon Store Kyoto / Nishiki Market
6. Night visit to Senbon Torii / Fushimi Inari
**Day 3: Osaka**
1. From Kyoto-Kawaramachi Station with Hankyu one-day pass
2. Tazaemon Bridge / Dotonbori
3. Kuromon Ichiba / Namba Parks
4. OPTIONAL: *Minoh Park – is it too out of the way?*
**Day 4: Nara**
1. From Kyoto Station with Kintetsu one-day pass
2. Nara Park / Todai-ji / Mt Kasuga Forest
3. Tea ceremony at Nara Visitor Center (reservation @ 15:00)
4. OPTIONAL: *Imaicho – is it too out of the way?*
**Day 5: Kyoto**
1. Early morning visit to Arashiyama bamboo grove / Saga Toriimoto Street
2. Lunch at Unagi Hirokawa (reservation @ 11:00)
3. Nijo Castle / Pontocho / Shimogamo
4. Dinner at restaurant in Pontocho (reservation @ 17:30)
**Day 6: Return to Tokyo**
1. Shinkansen from Kyoto Station to Tokyo Station (12:30)
2. Check into hotel in Ueno
3. Akihabara
**Day 7: Ueno / Akihabara**
1. Ueno Park / Ameyoko Shopping District
2. Akihabara
**Day 8: Daruma Matsuri + Suginami Ward**
1. Suginami Museum (optional) OR Ghibli Museum (if lucky)
2. Daruma Matsuri at Jindaiji Temple / Kitaro Chaya
3. Kichijoji
4. Nakano Broadway
**Day 9: Miura / Yokohama**
1. From Shinagawa Station with “Misaki Maguro Day Trip Ticket”
2. Komatsugaike Park (optional)
3. Urari Fish Market / Jogashima Island
4. Kurihama Flower Park
5. Yokohama
6. QUESTION: *Anything else worth checking out around Miura, and do early-blooming variety cherry blossoms really bloom as early as the first week of March?*
**Day 10: Chiyoda Ward**
1. Daijingu Shrine
2. Imperial Palace
3. Karasumori Shrine
4. Art Aquarium / Tsukiji Market
5. Sanrio Ginza / Prefecture antenna shops / Kirby Cafe Petit
**Day 11: Meguro / Shinjuku / Shibuya**
1. Rinshi-no-mori Park (optional)
2. Parasitology Museum
3. Lunch omakase at Udatsu Sushi
4. Shinjuku & Shibuya
5. Omoide Yokocho
**Day 12: Waseda / Ikebukuro / Asakusa**
1. Haruki Murakami Library / Aizu Museum / Kigumi Museum
2. Travel Waseda Uni <> Sunshine City by the Sakura Tram (Toden-Arakawa Line)
3. Sunshine City
4. Ikebukuro
5. Asakusa
**Day 13: Ume Matsuri + Tokyo Dinner Boat**
1. Ume Matsuri at Yushima Tenjin
2. Rest and relax
3. Dinner boat from Asakusa (reservation @ 18:30)
**Day 14: Return Home**
1. Ueno Station for Keisei Skyliner to Narita
We put down Imaicho on Nara day and Minoh on Osaka day as optional places to visit, but not sure whether too out of the way. Other possible places we were interested in visiting were Ginza, Roppongi, Harajuku, Shimo-Kitazawa, and Small Worlds, but unsure whether we can fit them in without overcrowding our trip.
by tabbzi