Making it short, i’ve been to japan last summer for 20 days and i’ve done the usual spots and a bit more. i have the opportunity to come back this spring for another 18 days with the idea, this time, of visiting some less popular spots.
Here’s what i’ve put togheter so far. i know it might look a little too stuffed but i’ve checked train timetables ( i’ll move with JRP ) and i’m pretty positive, with a little help from the weather, that I can fit it all in. Just like last year the idea is to move to one city and use it as a base for day-trips, then move to the next city and repeat, this manily because that will allow me to leave the luggage in the hotel most of the times. I will book the hotels for just the two/three nights ahead to keep the itinerary flexible, but the program i’ve come up with so far is the following:
DAY1 – 28 april: landing in Tokyo around mid-day . i’m pretty fresh from last year experience, so it won’t take much to adapt. I’ll take my jrpass and my mobile Sim in Narita than i’ll take the NEX and i’ll settle down around tokyo Station. I’ll look for somewhere to eat and i’ll go to sleep to kill the jet lag.
DAY2 – 29 april: ASHIKAGA: should be 1h30 form Tokyo station. Hoping to visit the flower park, i’ll be late for the Sakura season but the wisteria there should be in full bloom and it should be a sight to see. i won’t rush it and will take all day.
DAY3: – 30 april: SENDAI: i’ll move from Tokyo to Sendai in the morning ( 2h ride ), there i’ll book a hotel for three nights. I’ll spend the day taking a stroll around Sendai ( any suggestion of something i shouldn’t miss? ).
DAY 4 – 1 May : HIROSAKI. Take an early 2 hours shinkansen + local train ride to Hirosaki. I will visit the castle, the garden, eventually the museum, i will get a vibe of the city i’ll eat early and i’ll be back to sendai by night.
DAY 5: 2 May HIRAIZUMI: It’s a 1h train ride north of Sendai. It’s a Unesco sight, everything there should be at walking distance, i should be able to fit Chuson-ji, Motsu-ji and a fine meal with no problem. In the evening back to Sendai for dinner time.
DAY 6: 3 May YAMADERA: i’ll spend the day to Yamadera, it’s a 1h30m from sendai. There’s a temple there with an amazing view. I’ll spend there the whole morning, in the evening i’ll go back to sendai, stop to the hotel, pick up the luggage and move to Koriyama where i will spend two nights. This will help save transfer time for the next day.
DAY 7: 4 May AIZUWAKAMATSU: day trip to AizuWakamatsu ( 1h from Koriyama ) still pondering if going to Ōuchi-juku is worth it. The Ōuchi-juku village looks very nice, but its not the easiest to reach. Eventually i’ll just visit Aizu, the castle park, the city center. in the evening i’ll go back to Koriyama.
DAY 8: 5 May NAGOYA morning dedicated to the transfer from Koriyama to Nagoya where i’ll spend 4 nights. Evening i will visit Nagoya, have yet to decide what is worth to see.
DAY 9: 6 May INUYAMA: day trip to Inuyama, should be 1h30. The place seems very nice, there’s another castle, and a nice street leading to it with all sorts of little shops. Alternative is a trip to Sekigahara, wich is famous for the battle, but i’m not really sure it’s worth a visit.
DAY 10: 7 May MAGOME: it’s 1h train + a little bus ride from Nagoya. It’s an Edo Style post town wich is famous for being part of the old Nakasendo trail. From here i’ll hike 10 km to TSUMAGO, another famous post town, on the Nakasendo and then i take a bus + train back to Nagoya.
DAY 11: 8 May – Day trip to ISE to visit the Ise-Jingu.
it’s a 2h train ride to the station of Iseshi, then a 4km walk ( or a local non JR train ) to the temple complex. i’m not really planning to see the married stones.
DAY 12: 9 may: morning transfer from Nagoya to Fukuoka ( 4h ). I’ll check in and spend the evening visiting FUKUOKA. Any suggestion of where to go and what to see in fukuoka is wellcome.
DAY 13: 10 May day trip NAGASAKI. should be less than 2h by train, i’ve heard the city is really nice. I’ve yet to define my day there, i’ll think about fitting in the bomb museum ( i’ve already been to hiroshima )
DAY 14: 11 May day trip YANAGAWA. looks like a nice place to rest a bit. There’s a canal area wich looks very nice, kinda like Kurashiki, would be the perfect spot for a lazy day.
DAY 15: 12 May resting in FUKUOKA. I plan to use the day to see a little more of fukuoka. again, suggestions on what to see, and what to eat there are more than wellcome.
DAY 16: 13 May Transfer to Tokyo. Spend the evening in Tokyo. transfer from fukuoka should take the whole morning. I’ll take a hotel near tokyo station again, that will come in handy also because the return plane will take off from narita.
DAY 17: 14 May TOKYO i’ll spend the last full day of my trip in Tokyo. I’ll probably hit some mall to buy some souvenir
DAY 18: 15 May take off and back home.
So, any suggestion? Any interesting place i might have missed that i can put in in place of what’s already there? Anything i can avoid cause it’s really not worth it?
by 0fiuco
