Hi everyone, here is the itinerary I came up with for my 2 weeks in Japan in March. I usually don’t plan my trips, I often pick a fun country/city/place and stay flexible, but in Japan, a plan seems to be very helpful. I decided to use the Tokyo wide pass and the Hokuriku arch pass for this trip. Since planning trips in advance isn’t really my thing, I’d appreciate if you could check if I could improve this itinerary.
**Day 1**
Arrive at 11:20 in NRT. Luckily there will be no jetlag issues so no need for a lot of rest. Get lunch and visit Asakusa, Ueno park and take a Sumida river cruise. If that’s not enough and I won’t be too tired after the flight, I’ll probably figure something out.
**Day 2**
I wanna try as much food in Japan as possible and this is probably the day to do it. I wanna try the Michelin-star ramen, some sushi maybe, I mean there is so much variety that I can’t plan this in advance. In terms of sightseeing – Tokyo Skytree, Shinjuku and some shrines. Maybe Akihabara in the evening, I’m not exactly an anime fan but I’m open to something fun.
**Day 3** (swap with day 4 if the weather sucks)
Buy and activate the Tokyo wide pass and head to Kawaguchiko early in the morning on the Fuji Excursion train. Visit the Chureito Pagoda, take a boat cruise on Lake Kawaguchiko, take the panorama ropeway. Return to Tokyo in the evening.
**Day 4** (swap with Day 3 if the weather is good)
Take the early morning Shinkansen to Utsunomiya and get to Nikko from there. Visit Toshogu Shrine, Shinkyo Bridge, all the shrines and temples, Kegon Falls, and Ryuzu Falls. Take the limited express train back to Tokyo (or do the Shinkansen route again if the wait for the ltd. express is too long).
**Day 5**
This is the day I can sleep for a while if I want. Sometimes you kinda need these days. Anyway, I’ll be refreshed for the next part of this trip because I’ll head to my ryokan in Shima onsen. The Tokyo wide pass will cover the Shinkansen part of the trip.
**Day 6**
Full day at the ryokan.
**Day 7**
Check out after breakfast, activate the Hokuriku Arch pass and stop in Nagano for the castles, shrines and the snow monkey park. Continue to Toyama in the evening and get dinner there. Check the weather forecast to decide where to go for the next 3 days and pray that the weather will be good.
**Day 8/9/10** (if bad weather)
Kanazawa day trip. Visit the Kenrokuen garden, the samurai and the geisha districts, the Kanazawa castle, the Ninja temple and the Omicho market. Take the Shinkansen back in the evening.
**Day 8/9/10** (if okay weather)
Take the train to Takayama and explore the old town, eat some Hida beef for lunch and stop in Hida-Furukawa on the way back to Toyama in the evening.
**Day 8/9/10** (if great weather)
Day trip to Shirakawa-go and if time allows, Shinhotaka Ropeway. Rent a car for the day if I really want to do the latter (I kinda do)
**Day 11**
Take the early morning Shinkansen to Kyoto with a change of trains in Tsuruga (it will be the second day of operation of the new Hokuriku Shinkansen extension, yay, fun!). Visit Kinkakuji, Ryoanji, Ninnaji, and the Bamboo Grove. Head to Osaka to my hotel (it was a lot cheaper right next to Shin-Osaka station)
**Day 12**
Very action-packed day, not sure if I really can manage all of it, but it won’t hurt to try! Head to Nara early in the morning and visit Todaiji, Nigatsudo, Kofukuji till lunch, if time allows maybe add a shrine or two. After lunch head to Kyoto, where I should still have time for Kiyomizu-dera, Arashiyama and maybe just wander along the Kamo river if time allows. Return to the hotel in Osaka in the late evening.
**Day 13**
During breakfast find the last train to Tokyo via Tsuruga/Kanazawa and Hokuriku Shinkansen (it’s the last day of the Hokuriku Arch pass, so taking the longer route makes sense). I decided to not plan anything for this day since I don’t really know when the last train will leave. Or maybe I’ll leave earlier for some Tokyo sights. It’s always good to have a flexible day.
**Day 14**
Departure from NRT at 11:45.
by ib_examiner_228