Not really experienced in trip planning but i was hoping to write down some activities and sightseeing for a trip to Japan in the near future. With the borders closed i have no idea when (if) i’ll be able to go but i would love if someone could read though my list just to tell me if it’s realistic or not. I also need to pick the best order to visit each place, i think it might be easier to go from Hiroshima up rather than Tokyo down but i’m not sure. Thanks in advance! (sorry if a bunch of things are dumb, this is why im having it checked!)
Day 0: Arrive-Tokyo
– Travel to hotel
Day 1: Shinjuku
– Pokemon Mega Center
– Gyeon National Garden
– Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
Day 2: Shibuya
– “Scramble”
– Shibuya Sky
– Explore Shops
Day 3: Akihabara
– Super Potato Store
– Mandarake Complex
– Yodobashi Camera
– Other Stores
Day 4: Tokyo Bay Area? (idk what to call it?)
– Tokyo Joypolis
– Daikanransha Ferris Wheel
– Rainbow Bridge
– Statue of Liberty
Day 5: Other Places
– Anything Missed
or
– Tokyo Skytree
– Imperial Palace
– Leave for Kyoto
Hakone Day Trip:
(During stay in Tokyo, probably chosen while in Japan to ensure best weather)
Day 6
– Hakone Round Trip
– Back to Tokyo
Kyoto: (4 Days, 4 nights)
Day 7: Downtown Kyoto
– Kyoto Tower
– Sanjo Ohashi Bridge
– Nishiki Market
– Nishiki Tenman-Gu Shrine
– Shijo-dori
Day 8: Northern Kyoto
– Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama
– Gio-ji Temple and Moss Garden
– Adashino Nembustu-ji
– Kinkaku-ji Temple
Day 9: Central Kyoto
– Kennin-ji
– Kiyomizu-dera
– Yasaka Kōshindō
– Kodai-Ji
– Maruyama Park
– Yasaka Shrine
Day 10: Eastern Kyoto
– Fushimi Inari Shrine
– Tofuku-ji
– Tenju-an Temple
– Nanzen-Ji
– Philosophy Path
– Gingaku-Ji
Hiroshima (1 days, 2 nights)
Day 11:
– A-Bomb Dome
– Children’s Peace Monument
– Peace Arch
– Hiroshima Peace Museum
– Peace Flame
– Hiroshima Castle
Miyajimi: (1 day)
Aquanet Direct Ferry from Hiroshima
Day 12:
– Grand Torii Gâte
– Itsukushima Shrine
– Miyajimi Natural Botanical Garden?
– Mt Misen
Osaka: (3 days, 2 nights)
Day 13:
– Dontonbori and Surroundings
– Shinsaibuchi-Suji Arcade
– Ferris Wheel (600¥)
– Hozen-Ji Yokocho
– Mizukake Fudo
Day 14: Nara Day Trip
– Yoshiki-en Gardens
– Todai-ji
– Nigatsu-do
– Kofuko-ji
– Kasuga Taisha
Day 15:
– Osaka Castle and Museum
– Extra in Osaka:
– Amerika-Mira
– Umeda Sky Building
– HARUKAS 300
– Travel Back to Tokyo
Tokyo: (0.5 days, 1 night)
Day 16:
– Get to Airport
– Depart
10 comments
For tokyo u can include Harajuku for day 2, Asakusa for day 5. Ur day 3 is kinda empty probably got half a day free. I would drop Osaka Castle n do Himeji Castle either on the way or back from Hiroshima.
Your day 11 can be done in a few hours. You can probably add more things. All of that is almost right next to each other and usually isn’t crowded.
Day 1, I would consider not going to Tokyo Government Building. You already have two other observation deck listed for Tokyo (if you do Skytree) that I think are better, and even more in other cities. Yes, this one is free, but it’s about the only good thing about it in my opinion.
I would be flexible on the possibility to add Harajuku and Meiji-jingu to either days 1 or 2 as they can be a bit light.
Also consider that shopping oriented area are not especially good for morning as stores only open at 10 or 11 am. So for this reason, you can consider going to Meiji-jingu the morning of Shibuya and for the next day you can consider adding Ueno park before going to Akihabara.
Tokyo Bay Area you can say it’s Odaiba as everything you listed is on Odaiba island.
Day 5, if you end up going to Skytree, then the obvious place to go with it is Asakusa and Senso-ji. Realistically you could probably do Imperial Palace in the morning, and the rest in the afternoon.
I would highly consider doing Hakone as a full stop before going to Kyoto. First reason is that it’s on the way, so you do not have to go back to Tokyo to literally pass next to Hakone when going to Kyoto and second is that it would be a great opportunity to stop by a ryokan and try a onsen an eat a good kaiseki meal.
Day 7, I would suggest to get a hotel somewhere around Kawaramachi, Sanjo and Gion station. That way you can easily bring your luggage to the hotel (even before check-in) before visiting most of what you listed then at the end of any day you can easily walk to Gion or Yasaka-jinja.
Day 10, I would suggest to start that day early to be to Fushimi Inari before the bulk of the tourist.
For day 11, instead of Hiroshima castle, I would consider starting the day early, try to be in Himeji at 9am when the castle open and check Koko-en garden, maybe get a lunch to eat in the shinkansen to Hiroshima and to the Peace Museum and peace park.
I know that there is a ferry to Miyajima from Hiroshima, but it is more expensive than taking the train or tram to Miyajimaguchi, where there is a short ferry to Miyajima, but totally valid option if you want to have a longer boat ride.
Day 13, Finish by Dotonbori, I think it’s much more interesting when it get dark with all the light and it’s a good nightlife spot. It’s also a shopping area, so not a good morning spot.
I would suggest to check for Multi-city (open jaw) airplane ticket, so instead of returning to Tokyo, you could fly out of Osaka. Even if it is a bit more expensive for the airplane ticket, at the end it will be cheaper for train tickets.
If you were to leave and return to Tokyo within 7 days, it would not really matter as the JR Pass 7 days would cover all the shinkansen rides, so you could do it for about 30 000 yen. But as you want to stay longer, you are in a situation where it would cost you at least 15 000 yen more to return to Tokyo. Yes you can get a 14 days pass and it could cover a bit more, even going to the airport, especially if you fly out of Narita.
My point is that even if the multi-city ticket is 130$ more expensive than round trip (so about 15 000 yen), then get it. This will save you the time to return to Tokyo and you will not have to change hotel one more time just for one night. And yes, even if there is a layover in Tokyo I would still do it.
That being said, even if you fly out of Osaka, the 7 days JR Pass would save you a bit of money if you use it from the moment you leave Tokyo (or Hakone) up to the moment you get to Osaka.
And if you end up doing it round trip to Tokyo, then consider moving most of the shopping day in Tokyo to the end of the trip, so you do not have to move what you purchased all across Japan.
I think it’s fine to travel from Hiroshima down, but if it’s your first time to the country then starting in Tokyo might be more comfortable. Tokyo is probably the most accessible and connected city in Japan. Hiroshima is a little different in that they have streetcars to get around for public transportation.
I think you can add multiple Tokyo wards in one day, unless you are going to an event that takes up a few hours or you like to explore the city thoroughly. Shibuya, Harajuku, and Shinjuku are pretty close to each other. Ueno, Asakusa, and Akihabara are close. Yokohama and Kawasaki are in the direction of Odaiba (Day 4: Tokyo Bay area), though they’re more spread apart.
>Day 4: Tokyo Bay Area? (idk what to call it?) – Tokyo Joypolis – Daikanransha Ferris Wheel – Rainbow Bridge – Statue of Liberty
[**The Ferris Wheel is closing on August 31st, along with the majority of the complex around it.**](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/these-major-tokyo-attractions-are-closing-down-permanently-in-2022-011722)
Days 1, 2 and 3 can all be pushed into one day. I did everything you listed for Tokyo in 3 days if you’re willing to start at 5am.
Personally I would shave 2 days off in Kyoto, maybe it’s just because my wife use to live there but the tourists really kill the allure of a lot of stuff and most of it is not worth the price, hype and crowds. I’d add a stop in Kanazawa or Takayama instead.
Day 13 doesn’t have to be all day either. You could see the aquarium as well since it’s next to the Ferris Wheel. Man… you’re making me miss home now. ❤️❤️
I personally would want a little less to do each day as traveling around and such will take up some time. As for me, I like to explore and check out shops/places wherever I’m at. Last time I was in Japan, my wish was that I got more time each day to wander around and take everything in.
>Day 8: Northern Kyoto
Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama
Gio-ji Temple and Moss Garden
Adashino Nembustu-ji
Kinkaku-ji Temple
Arashiyama Monkey Park is quite a hike so do rest well the night before. May I suggest you move that to before Kinkaku-Ji because iirc, the train line that you are going to take should be the Keifuku Arashiyama line (lovely route btw).
A couple of things I wanted to add for Tokyo. I would say you should skip Odaiba completely. I’ve never been to Joypolis but I don’t think it’s worth going all the way to Odaiba to see it. My partner is from Tokyo and she says it’s not worth it either. The rainbow bridge is literally just a bridge that has 2 columns that light up…it’s nothing special. And you’ll be going on the ferris wheel in Osaka so there’s not much to do here really. It used to have onsen world here which is closed and team labs borderless which I think will be closed also by the time you go. Instead you should focus a day going to Asakusa instead which isn’t on your list. In fact you could go here for your first day as it’s tourist friendly, which would ease anyone in on their first day. There’s the little tourist centre with wifi and English speaking helpers if you need any help with anything. It’s definitely worth seeing sensoji temple.