Hi! My wife and I are getting ready for our honeymoon trip from 4/24-5/13. I’ve greatly appreciated this sub for the suggestions that I’ve used so far to plan out our trip. Just wanted to post our very bare-bones travel plans so far and see if there are any suggestions. We plan on doing a handful of the most popular things in each location, but also love having unscheduled time to just wander around and discover things on our own.
A couple of things to note: PLEASE give any recommendations you have for the days below. We have some recs that I’ve listed here, but if you know of something more worth our time, it would be so lovely to hear. Also, I don’t expect to get by on English alone, so we’ve been trying to brush up a bit on some phrases. If you have any recommendations for resources on some phrases out of the ordinary that we should know, please share!
Itinerary:
* Day 1, 4/24: Arrive to Tokyo and check into AirBnB. Spend the evening either relaxing or exploring Shinjuku since we’re staying there.
* Day 2, 4/25: Thrift stores/general shopping in Shimokitazawa and elsewhere. We aren’t planning on bringing many articles of clothing and are hoping to kind of fill out our wardrobe while there. Hoping to also catch some live music and dinner somewhere around here. Open to suggestions!
* Day 3, 4/26: TeamLab Borderless Digital Art Museum. My wife is stoked on this place. I don’t really know what to expect. Thinking of checking out the Tokyo tower while we’re in the area and perhaps hopping over to Shibuya.
* Day 4, 4/27: Only plan this day is for Takumi Sushi Owana in the evening. We have 8:30pm reservations. Might split day three up for the first part of day 4.
* Day 5, 4/28: Travel day. Tokyo -> Takayama. Check in with our host and get some recommendations from them. Get dinner near our place.
* Day 6, 4/29: We would like to experience an Onsen while here. We both have tattoos, not completely inked out, but are in pretty obvious spots on our bodies. Any recommendations on locations that are not as strict or suggestions on covering up is appreciated. We’ll likely also use this day as a wandering day to just see different parts of Takayama at our own pace.
* Day 7, 4/30: Hit a morning market. Then Limestone Cave of Hida? Open to suggestions here. Would be nice to get some nature in here.
* Day 8, 5/1: Travel day. Takayama -> Osaka. Check in, explore Namba a bit. Looking to get dinner at Hotei for fugu.
* Day 9, 5/2: Explore Dotonbori shopping and food. Wander day. Perhaaaaps get a tour guide, but might just want to do our own thing.
* Day 10, 5/3: Explore Osaka. Considering seeing Osaka Castle, I think the history would be interesting to learn about. Perhaps visit Amerikamura. If we did not have enough to do this day (unlikely), considering doing an afternoon trip to Nara. On the list for Nara would be the deer park and Naramachi.
* Day 11, 5/4: Day trip to Kobe. On the fence about booking a nicer restaurant reservation for either Kokubu or Ishida steakhouse. Otherwise just getting a skewer somewhere to sample the beef. Spend the day in Kobe and return to Osaka in the evening.
* Day 12, 5/5: Day trip to Kyoto. Ambitious, I know. We’d like to go to a shrine, doesn’t have to be Fushimi Inari, just the first one that I’ve seen. Would be nice to do a tea ceremony. Also considering hiring a guide for this day, don’t want to try and jam pack too many things in. Either dinner in Kyoto, perhaps a Nagashi Somen, or dinner back in Osaka.
* Day 13, 5/6: Travel day. Osaka -> Ishigaki. Check in with our host. Relax for the afternoon.
* Day 14, 5/7: Slow day, take a drive around the island and take in some sights. Perhaps visit Yaima Village. Monkey 🙂
* Day 15, 5/8: Snorkel. Either rent gear and do our own thing or do a tour. Eat some real fresh fishies. Separate from the snorkeling I mean..
* Day 16, 5/9: Thinking we’d like to see Iriomote by kayak? Not big SUP folks. Either do that or just have a lounge day. Not looking to jam pack this leg of our trip at all.
* Day 17, 5/10: Travel day. Ishigaki -> Tokyo. Check in to hotel. Find a dinner place near our hotel.
* Day 18, 5/11: Ghibli Museum. I foinked up and tried to get tickets for April like an hour and a half too late so everything was taken by the time I was checking out. If the same thing happens for May, we’ll obviously forgo this and do something else. Would like to see Tsukiji Market, so that may be a backup.
* Day 19, 5/12: We’re getting tattoos at Yamada Tattoos on this day which will occupy the morning. Will likely explore Harajuku and pick up any last minute souvenirs before heading back to our hotel. Would like to do a nice dinner this evening to close out the trip.
* Day 20, 5/13: Travel day Tokyo -> US :(.
Thank you SO much for reading this far and for any recommendations you might have. You’re lovely.
Edit: Also, is JR pass reasonable for this trip? Would really be for getting from Tokyo to Takayama and Takayama to Osaka. From what I’ve seen, it looks like we would only use it for a portion of that.
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by slaughterwater