Hello again,
Excited for (*and not gonna lie, STILL super anxious about*) my upcoming solo (F) trip to Japan next month. Despite having traveled extensively and having creating incredibly detailed spreadsheets for each destination, for some reason, I have been confounded and low-key paralyzed when it comes to Japan. I have purchased guide books, studied these forums extensively and I would appreciate feedback on my itinerary below, which was compiled from Japan travel website’s recommended itineraries and fellow Redditor’s posts.
Given that there *might* be Cherry Blossoms during my trip and given the general advice that many of the most popular sites will be even *more* crowded on the weekends and also that the later part of my trip coincides with the last day of school, my questions are:
\-**KYOTO-**
1. Kyoto Day 1 – What can I improve upon, refine, tweak or eliminate ?
2. Kyoto Day 2- Which option, (#1 OR #2) seems to fit best, overall ?
3. Kyoto portion, in general, does the order of the days ( specifically what I am trying to see, each day work or should the *order* of the days be switched, based on the reasons listed above (*cherry blossoms, weekend crowds)* ?
4. I tried to group the sites I plan to see, based on the areas of the city *(northern, southern, western,eastern) however,* some days seem really light versus others that are temple heavy, *what, if anything* could\*/\*should be reallocated ?
**- TOKYO-**
I am trying very hard to be SUPER flexible once I reach Tokyo and I am steeling myself for massive crowds so I plan to get up super early to walk around, hit just a few key sites and in the event there are any cherry blossoms, I can marvel at my good fortune! I hope try to relax and celebrate my birthday and focus on absorbing the overall vibes while getting a bit of shopping and pampering in as well.
**Questions:**
1. Given my very “*lite and relaxed*” Tokyo portion, should I push the envelope and squeeze in a day trip at the end to Kamakura or Enoshima to escape the city or will traveling to outside of the city be even more insane that what I currently have planned in Tokyo ?
2. I followed the overall consensus of opinion that instead of making a plethora of restaurant reservations, it is far better to just meander and find restaurants that appeal to my senses. I only have 2 or 3 reservations, and only in Kanazawa and Takayama. However, is it unwise to not have a reservation for a special birthday dinner on 3/24 or even 3/23 given that particular weekend could be extra busy or as a solo traveler should I be fine ?
Thank you in advance for any and all feedback. (*Sigh*, please forgive the automatic reformatting, even after 2 hours carefully typing this, it still would not include the columns from the spreadsheet with various details:)
**EDIT:**
*Again, thank you to those who shared words of encouragement and constructive feedback, I feel much better and more optimistic about my tentative itinerary thus far, which is the reason many of us seek advice from this forum in the first place.*
**I followed the advice of some redditors who rationalized since they were already in the airport, they would just push through and fly domestically from HND into ITM and take the train on into Kyoto on the same day, instead of exiting the airport and trying to navigate the Shinkansen to Kyoto (*****solo AND jetlagged*****) on Day 0.**
**I put Kyoto on the front end of my trip to try to avoid the crush of the weekend crowds.**
**And to clarify, I had to change hotels mid-stay in both Kyoto and Tokyo, based on availability and pricing at the time of booking, so I am trying to take having to move hotels in stride and look at it as an opportunity to stay in a different part of the city and just a small minor inconvenience.**
I also confirmed that my phone is indeed unlocked and therefore no need for a pocket wifi.
​
Here is my current itinerary:
**11-Mar** *DAY 0-MON* 935AM **DEPART FLL TO SFO** ( ARRIVES 12:56PM)
HOTEL SFO
DINNER IN SFO
**12-Mar** *DAY 1-TUES* 1125AM **DEPART SFO FOR HND**
**13-Ma**r *DAY 2-WED* 250PM **ARRIVE HND AIRPORT**
CLEAR IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS AND TRY TO MOVE UP FLIGHT TO **ITM**
600PM- FLIGHT TO ITM VIA ANA
TRAIN FROM OSAKA AIRPORT TO TRAIN STATION ( NON-STOP, IF POSSIBLE) TRAIN TO KYOTO)
TAXI FROM TRAIN STATION TO HOTEL ? OR WALK
GRAB FOOD FROM COMBINI
CHECK IN TO HOTEL #1-GION MISEN IN KYOTO
**14-Mar** *DAY 3-THURS* **KYOTO DAY 1**
EARLY START TAKE KEIHAN LINE
BUY GOSHUINCHO
630AM FUSHIMI INARI TAISHA
KIYOMIZU-DERA
HIGASHIYAMA
TANAI-MEGURI
SANNEN-ZAKA, NINNEN-ZAKA,
MARUYAMA KOEN PARK
CHION- IN TEMPLE
SHOREN-IN TEMPLE
SANJO-DORI
TAKE TRAIN FROM HIGASHIYAMA STATION TO DOWNTOWN
LUNCH
EXPLORE OR REST BACK AT THE HOTEL
500PM EXPLORE GION
DINNER -TBD
WALK ALONG THE RIVER
**15-Mar** *DAY 4 -FRI* **KYOTO DAY 2**
EARLY CHECK OUT OF HOTEL GION MISEN & EITHER SHIP OR STORE LUGGAGE
***OPTION #1***
1/2 DAY TRIP TO NARA
TODAI-JI TEMPLE
NIGATSU- DO
***OR***
***OPTION #2***
KINKAKU-JI TEMPLE
ROYANJI
NINNAJI
DAITOKU-JI
LUNCH
STROLL MIYAGAWACHO
CHECK IN HOTEL MIRU KYOTO NISHIKI
DINNER -TBD
**16-Mar** *DAY 5-SAT* **KYOTO DAY 3**
GINKAKU-JI
PHILOSOPHER’S PATH
NANZENJI
KEAGE INCLINE
HEIAN SHRINE
YASAKA SHRINE
NISHIKI MARKET
PICNIC OR BOAT RIDE (WEATHER DEPENDENT)
KENNINJI TEMPLE
DINNER IN PONTOCHO
**17-Mar** *DAY 6-SUN* **KYOTO DAY 4**
EARLY RIDE TO ARASHIYAMA
TENRU-JI
OTAGI NENBUTSU-JI TEMPLE
OKOCHI SENSO
BIKE RIDE
DINNER
**18-Mar** *DAY 7-* MON **KYOTO DAY 5/ KANAZAWA DAY 1**
EARLY AM- HOKANJI TEMPLE
GRAB BREAKFAST
CHECK OUT OF HOTEL
TAKE TRAIN TO KANAZAWA
DROP LUGGAGE AT HOTEL = HYATT HOUSE KANAZAWA
HAVE LUNCH
STROLL \_\_\_\_\_\_ ???
**19-Mar** \*DAY 8-\*TUES **KANAZAWA DAY 2**
KENROKUEN
OYAMA SHRINE
OMICHO MARKET
DINNER- AMEX RES
**20-Mar** *DAY 9* \-WED **KANAZAWA TO TAKAYAMA DAY 1**
CHECK OUT OF HOTEL
TAKE BUS TO TAKAYAMA (STOP IN SHIRKAWAGO)
EXPLORE SHIRKAWAGO ( OGIMACHI)
CHECK IN TO FAV HOTEL HIDA TAKAYAMA
DINNER-AMEX RES
**21-Mar** \*DAY 10-\*THURS **TAKAYAMA DAY 2**
EXPLORE OLD TOWN (SANMACHI SUJI)
EXPLORE HIDA FOLK VILLAGE
LUNCH
HIGASHIYAMA WALK ?
DINNER- AMEX RES
**22-Mar** *DAY 11*\-FRIDAY **TAKAYAMA TO TOKYO TRANSIT**
(LAST DAY OF SCHOOL) TRAIN TO TOKYO
DROP LUGGAGE AT HOTEL THE GATE HOTEL RYOGUKU
ASAKUSA
COCKTAILS AND DINNER-
SHIBUYA CROSSING
**23-Mar** *DAY 12*\-SAT **TOKYO DAY 1**
EARLY AM- SENSO-JI
TENNOJI TEMPLE
COFFEE AND BREAKFAST
10AM UENO AND YANAKA
LUNCH
**24-Mar** *DAY 13*\-SUN **TOKYO DAY 2 – MY BIRTHDAY !!!**
MASSAGE
MANICURE
LUNCH
STROLL
DINNER
**25-Mar** *DAY 14*\-MON **TOKYO DAY 3**
CHECK OUT
SHIP OR DROP LUGGAGE AT HOTEL B GINZA
EXPLORE GINZA
LUNCH
**26-Mar** \*DAY 15-\*TUES **TOKYO DAY 4**
IMPERIAL PALACE ?
TOKYO NATIONAL MUSEUM
LUNCH
***OR***
IF FEELING UP TO IT, DAY TRIP TO KAMAKURA OR ENOSHIMA ?
**27-Mar** \*DAY 16-\*WED **TOKYO DAY 5**
TOFUKU-JI FOR CHERRY BLOSSOMS
CHECK OUT OF HOTEL
TRANSPORT TO HND
625PM DEPART HND
1200PM ARRIVE SFO
11:59PM DEPART SFO
8:20AM ARRIVE FLL
​
by cocoboca01
