My girlfriend and I (both early 20s) are going to Japan from Feb 27th to March 20th.
I’m looking for some suggestions and to see if the itinerary is reasonable
(either too packed or not packed enough on a day-to-day basis).
My interests include: anime (huge weeb) and history, computers, and history,
though I’m unfortunately not very knowledgeable about Japanese history.
I’d also love any more romantic suggestions,
since I suck at that but I know she’d love it.
I also love cats, which is why I don’t want to go to any cat cafes
(don’t want to take any chances supporting a place that mistreats its cats).
My girlfriend’s interests include: shopping (particularly clothing and skincare products),
architecture, and art.
Neither of us drink and we’re not into partying. We also don’t have any particular dietary restrictions.
I’m doing most of the planning, but I’ll run everything by her later.
Dates are in dd/mm.
# Day 1 (27/02) – Kamakura
Arrival at Haneda at 3 pm. I didn’t plan anything special for this day,
since I assume we’ll be tired out of our minds.
# Day 2 (28/02) – Kamakura
I’m open to suggestions here.
I wanted to visit the Great Buddha, so I was thinking of also hiking along the
Daibutsu trail and visiting the temples along the way.
# Day 3 (29/02) – Kyoto
– Train to Kyoto
– National Museum
# Day 4 (01/03) – Kyoto
– Nijo Castle
– Imperial Palace
– Sento Palace
# Day 5 (02/03) – Kyoto
Day trip to Nara?
# Day 6 (03/03) – Kyoto
Spend the day at Higashiyama, just walking around the streets and visiting the temples
from Kiyomizudera to Shorenin Temple. Is that too much?
# Day 7 (04/03) – Kyoto
– Ginkakuji
– Philosopher’s Path
– Eikando
– Nanzenji
– Heian Shrine
# Day 8 (05/03) – Hiroshima
– Train to Himeji
– Himeji Castle
– Train to Hiroshima
Is there anywhere (like a coin locker) where we could drop our bags while we visit the castle?
Or should we forward our luggage to Hiroshima?
# Day 9 (06/03) – Hiroshima
– Peace Park
– Sukkeien
– Hiroshima Castle
Is that too little for a day? I considered staying in Hiroshima for a single night,
but I didn’t know if Himeji + Hiroshima would be too packed.
# Day 10 (07/03) – Fukuoka
– Train to Fukuoka
– Shofukuji Temple
– Canal City
# Day 11 (08/03) – Fukuoka
– Dazaifu Day Trip
# Day 12 (09/03) – Fukuoka
– Nagasaki Day Trip
# Day 13 (10/03) – Fukuoka
– Kagoshima Day Trip
I stacked a bunch of day trips here cause I really wanted to know Kyushu.
None of those cities seem to be far from Fukuoka by train (both Nagasaki and Kagoshima
are ~1h30 apparently and Dazaifu is pretty close), so I assumed it’d be doable.
# Day 14 (11/03) – Fukuoka
– Uminonakamachi
– Marine world (aquarium)
– Momochihama
# Day 15 (12/03) – Osaka
– Train to Osaka
– Amerikamura
– Dotonbori
# Days 16 and 17 (13/03 and 14/03) – Hakone
I’m not really sure on what to see here. I picked Hakone because I assumed we’d be tired
(and it’s an onsen town, so it seemed good to relax) and also cause supposedly you can see
Mt. Fuji from it. These should be rest days, but we’re open to seeing a few things.
# Day 18 (15/03) – Tokyo
Walking around Odaiba? Not really sure.
# Day 19 (16/03) – Tokyo
DisneySea. Girlfriend really wanted to go to Disney, and, from what I’ve heard,
this is the best Disney Japan park (and, according to some people, the best Disney
park on Earth).
# Day 20 (17/03) – Tokyo
Visiting the Imperial Palace in the morning and spending the rest of the day in Akihabara.
I reserved the rest of the day for Akihabara cause I’m a huge weeb and computer nerd
so I assumed I’d spend the entire day entertained lol. My girlfriend loves walking and
shopping, so I think she’ll enjoy it too.
# Day 21 (18/03) – Tokyo
Visiting the National Museum and Asakusa (Kaminari Gate, Sensoji, Asakusa Shrine).
This day seems a little light now that I’m typing it out.
# Day 22 (19/03) – Tokyo
Meiji Shrine and Shibuya (shopping day)
note: I tried to pick things that would be close to each other for each day in Tokyo.
# Day 23 (20/03) – Departure
Our flight leaves at 7pm in Haneda, so I think we could do something on this day,
but I decided to not write anything down for now.
I’d like to hear your thoughts. I also accept any dish or restaurant suggestions.
We’re very excited for Japanese food lol.
I also ran some numbers and it seems that the JR pass would be worth it (or close to it) in our situation.
Does that seem to be the case?
by DeodoroDaFonseca