…or constructively criticize it
Instead of having a wedding, my partner and I are going to spend 3 weeks in Japan this November. We both love design and architecture, and we want to experience both the contemporary/cool side of Japan as well as more rural/quiet/hidden gems. This will be our first time in Asia.
While I’m sure we could spend all three weeks in Tokyo, I think we have too many nights there on our itinerary right now. We know from previous travel experiences that we want to visit as much as we can (realistically this will probably be the only time we can visit in our lives). However, we also know from previous experiences that changing hotels every night and packing too much into the trip can be more exhausting than it’s worth.
Also interested if there’s a way to reshuffle the itinerary to avoid backtracking or minimize train fees? Just basing this off of Google maps right now.
Day 1: Flight
TOKYO
Day 2: Arrive at 5pm, go to hotel (in Akasaka maybe?) explore local area
Day 3: Visit Asakusa Culture and Tourist Information Center, Senso-ji Temple, maybe Sumida Hokusai Museum. Spend the evening in Ginza for the architecture.
Day 4: Ueno Park, National Museum, National Museum of Western Art
Day 5: Exploring Omotesando and Aoyama, Visit 21_21 Design Sight
Day 6: Day trip to Nikko or Minakami or Sendai (or similar small town with nice early November autumn foliage)
Day 7: teamLab Borderless
KANAZAWA/SHIRIKAWA-GO
Day 8: Stop in Kanazawa on the way to Shirikawa-go for a night at a ryokan. (Thinking of replacing this trip with Takayama?)
KYOTO
Day 9: Travel to Kyoto via Nagoya (see Museum Meiji-Mura). Explore the Gion District when arriving in Kyoto.
Day 10: Wake up very early for Arashiyama and Todai-ji Temple.
Day 11: Wake up very early for Fushimi Inari. Visit Nijo Castle, have tea in higashiyama.
Day 12: Day trip to Nara
Day 13: Philosopher’s Path and Ginkaku-ji Temple
NAOSHIMA ISLAND
Day 14: visit art museums and architecture on Naoshima Island
OSAKA
Day 15: Osaka Castle, Umeda Sky Building, Dotonburi
Day 16: TBD
KINOSAKI ONSEN
Day 17: Go to Kinosaki Onsen or similar small onsen town with nice foliage
TOKYO
Day 18: Shibuya, Harajuku, Daikanyama
Day 19: Shimokitizawa
Day 20: TBD
Day 21: Flight back home
Please give this a good-natured roast if anything on here makes no sense, or just share your personal experience and recommendations.
by Active_Mousse_8554