My wife and I are heading to Japan for the first time this June for 14 days in the country. We have experience travelling in Europe and that has helped us plan our vacations better but there’s always new challenges or missed opportunities with every country. Our main focus is food, theme parks, some anime things, along with some temples and cultural activities sprinkled in. We have planned:
Day 1:
– We arrive at Narita airport in the evening so all we have planned is to head to our hotel in Asakusa in Tokyo and have a cheap dinner.
Day 2: (semi-chill day as we fly in the night before)
– Senso-ji Temple and Nakamise-dori St. in the morning.
– Explore Akihabara for anime goods, food, and just general shopping.
Day 3:
– Sanrio Puroland all day, starting when it opens at 10:00AM.
– Shinjuku or Shibuya if we finish Sanrio Puroland earlier than expected.
Day 4:
-Shinkansen to Osaka in the morning
– Explore Dotonbori and Namba areas in the afternoon. We’re big foodies so are mainly there to try out some street food while also going to Namba Yasaka Shrine, Food Samples Designpocket, and some shopping streets.
– Hotel is in the Namba area with a nearby public bath that we’ll go to in the evenings.
Day 5:
– Day trip to Hiroshima, Itsukushima Shrine, and then Kobe in the early evening for Kobe beef.
– Back at hotel by 7:00PM.
Day 6:
– Universal Studios Japan all day. We have bought express passes that include entry into Harry Potter World and Super Nintendo World.
Day 7:
– Rest Day. Nothing officially planned. Perhaps a day trip to Kyoto, Himeji or spend the day at Spa World.
Day 8:
– Head to Koyasan and explore some temples. We have booked a Shukubo for the night. We have planned to visit areas like Gobyo-bashi Bridge and Okunoin Temple & Cemetery.
Day 9:
– More exploration of Koyasan in the morning. This time closer in the town at Koyasan Reihokan Museum, Daimon Gate, and local shops. We’ll head back to Osaka in the early afternoon and head back to Dotonbori for food.
Day 10:
– Cup Noodle Museum Osaka and Osaka Castle.
– Check out Ikuno Korea Town for Dinner.
Day 11:
– Head to Nagoya and visit Nagoya Castle. Omakase Meal for Dinner.
Day 12:
– All day at Ghibli Park. Head to Tokyo around 6:00PM
Day 13:
– Spending the day in Harajuku for shopping and then Shinjuku for izakayas.
Day 14:
– Tsukiji Market in the early morning.
– A tea ceremony and samurai experience.
– Suga Shrine.
– Shibuya Crossing and dinner probably in Shibuya.
Day 15:
– Flight back home but we have the morning to explore one more area if we wanted.
Is there anything you would change or a sight that we’d be missing out? All intercity travel will be through a Shinkansen with the exception of to/from Koyasan. We’re not big into observatory decks so things like the Umeda Sky Building and Tokyo Tower are not a priority. Ueno zoo might be nice. Teamlabs might be interesting but we went to the Happiness Expo in Brussels and we feel that’s a close enough experience. We plan to go to DisneySea in the future when we have a kid.
by wallflower_perks2
