16 Day 2024 Cherry Blossom Itinerary Check


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](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/16zwt67/16_day_november_itinerary_check_tokyo_hakone/)!

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 4d Tokyo > 5d Kyoto > 3d Osaka > 2d Hakone > 4d Tokyo.

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Day 1 (Mon 3/18) – Tokyo (Arrival)

\-Arrive at HND at 9pm/21:00

\-Head straight to hotel

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Day 2 (Tue 3/19) – Tokyo (Tsukiji, teamLab, Ginza)

|I tried to make this a slow day to give us time to rest from jet lag if needed.

\-Tsukiji Market

\-teamLab Planets

\-End the night at Ginza

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Day 3 (Wed 3/20) – Tokyo (Shinjuku)

|another slower day

\-Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

\-Shinjuku Golden Gai

\-Optional: Shin-Okubo Koreatown or Roppongi

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Day 4 (Thu 3/21) – Tokyo (Shibuya, Harajuku) [Based on LiveJapan itinerary](https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tokyo/in-shibuya/article-a0003129/)

\-Meiji Jingu

\-Takeshita Street

\-Cat Street

\-Shibuya crossing/sky

\-shibuya hotel en for onigiri bar and omiyage shopping

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Day 5 (Fri 3/22) – Tokyo (Akihabara, Ueno)

|Predicted full bloom of cherry blossoms in Tokyo

**-Akihabara**

|Considering trying to do a maid cafe but seems like it might be a little cringy/unenjoyable

**-Ueno Zoo**

\-National Museum of Nature and Science

\-Ameyoko shopping district

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Day 5 (Sat 3/23) – Kyoto (Nishiki Market, Manga museum)

\-Take the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto

\-Check into hotel or drop bags off

\-Nishiki Market

\-Kyoto International Manga Museum

\-Kyoto Imperial Palace

\-Fun in Pontocho

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Day 6 (Sun 3/24) – Kyoto (Monkey Park, Historical street) [Based on JG, with some stuff removed](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_arashiyama_full.html)

|Predicted full bloom of cherry blossoms in Kyoto – I am expecting this day to be busy with tourists

**-Monkey park**

\-Tenryu-ji

\-Arashiyama Bamboo forest

\-Gioji Temple

**-Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street**

\-Otagi nenbutsuji

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Day 7 (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

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Day 8 (Tue 3/26) – Kyoto (Temples) [Based on JG with some cuts](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_eastern_kyoto_full.html)

\-Higashiyama Jisho-ji

\-Ginkakuji

**-Philosopher’s Path**

\-Nanzen-ji temple

**-Keage Incline**

**-Higashiyama**

\-Kiyomizudera

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Day 9 (Wed 3/27) – Kyoto (Temples, Travel to Osaka) [Roughly based on JG with addition of Nijo and Kokedera](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_eastern_kyoto_full.html)

|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

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Day 10 (Thu 3/28) – Osaka (Universal Japan)

|Predicted full bloom in Osaka will happen the day before. Probably not ideal to be in a park, where I imagine there aren’t many cherry blossoms but chose to do Thursday for smaller crowds.

\-Universal japan with express passes

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Day 11 (Fri 3/29) – Osaka (General exploration) [Based on JG](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4028_osaka_deep.html)

\-Shinsekai Market

**-Nipponbashi Denden town**

\-Kuromon Ichiba Market

\-Sennichimae Doguyasuji Shopping street

**-Hozenji Yokocho**

**-have fun at night in Dotonbori**

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Day 12 (Sat 3/30) – Osaka (Historical walk) [Based on JG](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4028_osaka_history.html)

|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)**

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Day 13 (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 14 (Tue 4/1) – Hakone (Hakone loop, Travel to Tokyo)

\-Complete the Hakone loop counter clockwise

\-Take romancecar to Tokyo

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Day 15 (Wed 4/2) – Tokyo (DisneySea)

\-Tokyo DisneySea with fast passes for all the rides that have them

Day 16 (Thu 4/3) – Tokyo (Studio Ghibli, Nakano Broadway)

\-Take a train to the Studio Ghibli museum

\-Stop at Nakano on the way back

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Day 17 (Fri 4/4) – Tokyo (Free day)

\-Revisit places we’ve been if we want to, make sure we have enough omiyage for friends and fam

\-Optional: Odaiba, Sunshine city mall

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Day 18 (Sat 4/5) – Tokyo (Depart)

\-Depart HND at 10:40am

Edits: Formatting/addition of links.

by NovaNovus

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