Hi all!
Could use some input; made some tweaks to my itinerary and added an overnight stop in Koyasan en route to Tokyo and 2 nights in Kamakura after Tokyo. Still have a few days before I fly home to fill and open to suggestions. My interests include hiking, photography (landscape and wildlife), and onsen and I would love to take a Kintsugi class.
Note: these dates are obviously just place holders for easy reference and I will pick dates once we know when Japan is opening again to tourism. I am traveling solo from Boston (59F) to see family in Kumamoto and will travel with them as far as Tokyo, then on my own again for the final 6 days.
Questions:
1. I took away one day from Kyoto to add in Koyasan, somewhere I really wanted to see but hoping I am not cramming in too much now. Can I do a Nara day trip with that same evening in Osaka, or should I plan that for another evening? The only thing I really have on my must do list for Osaka is Dotonbori at night but haven’t researched Osaka much; I could give up another Kyoto day for Osaka if need be
2. Is Miyajima better to do in afternoon day 1 or morning day 2? Which is best for photography? I could easily reverse activities on these 2 days.
ITINERARY
March 4 – land in Fukuoka – train to Kumamoto – visit with family and have dinner at local izakaya
march 5,6 – Mt Aso/Yufuin Onsen with family
March 7 rest/Kumamoto
March 8 Kumamoto – solo daytime- Kumamoto castle? evening with family
March 9 Kumamoto – solo daytime – exploring/photography/shopping/evening with family
March 10,11 – Kumamoto to Ibusuki/Tamatebako Onsen and return – solo
March 12,13 – explore more of Kyushu with family
Mar 14 – Fukuoka day trip
Mar 15 – travel to Hiroshima; Miyajima Island; c/i Airbnb
Mar 16 – Peace park and Atomic Dome; afternoon train to Kyoto; c/i Airbnb Gion
Mar 17 – Kyoto
Mar 18 – Kyoto
Mar 19 – day trip to Nara; evening in Osaka ? or another evening?
Mar 20 – Kyoto
Mar 21 – travel to Koyasan – check into temple lodging- night tour of Okunoin cemetery
Mar 22 – morning ceremony/breakfast c/o temple and travel to Tokyo. c/I Shinjuku airbnb for 6 nights; dinner/Golden Gai
Mar 23 — Tokyo – meji-ji, yoyogi park, tokyu plaza, cat alley, scramble crossing
Mar 24 – Tokyo- Hie Shrine; Chidorigafuchi Park, Ueno Park or Imperial Palace; Akihabara p.m.
Mar 25 – Tokyo – Senso-ji, asakusa shops, demboin photos, nakamise, Kaminarimon gate, walk through sumida park to tokyo skytree for sunset/beer garden.
Mar 26- Tokyo – Team Lab borderless and gaming (sunshine city??) maybe stop in Shinjuku Gyoen Nat’l Garden
Mar 27 – Tokyo – open, things we missed in Shinjuku or maybe a day trip to Fuji?
Mar 28/29 – Kamakura – oceanfront bed and breakfast 2 nights
Mar 30-Apr 2 open to ideas. Shibu Onsen/snow monkeys, Takagawara Onsen or Kusatsu Onsen. Open to any of these if there’s time. Looks a little more challenging to reach these areas and with the language barrier (I do speak very basic Japanese only) and traveling solo, not sure which I would be better off doing. If time is tight here, I could leave Tokyo for Kamakura a day earlier, giving me more time on the back end.
Apr 3- 5:30 pm flight out of Narita
thanks for any input or suggestions!
6 comments
Can you do Dotonbori after Nara ? I think you can. Most attractions like temples/shrine will close around 5pm anyway, so you can easily be at Namba station around 6h30. I would not expect to do too much in Osaka appart from finding a place to eat and maybe get a drink, check out Dotonbori and maybe do a bit of shopping.
Miyajima, you want to see the torii in the water or you want to walk to it ? So check the tide schedule and do what you want to see. If both, then you need to spend the full day there.
If not for cherry blossom time, there is places like Yoyogi park and Chidorigafuchi and Sumida park that can easily be removed as they are good sakura spot, but otherwise could be skipped. If nor for cherry blossom, I would only consider Yoyogi on the weekend to watch people ther, otherwise, it’s just a park, not a garden. If you want to see a nice garden, go check one like Koishikawa Korakuen instead.
TeamLab Borderless will close August 31, so in case the trip is really delayed, then you will have to change it for Planets of a new exhibition they might open elsewhere in Tokyo. Or go check the exhibition in Fukuoka, or in Takeo (Saga prefecture) while you are in Kyushu.
What kind of gaming are you expecting to do in Sunshine city ? If you want to go to an arcade, for sure there is some in Shinjuku, no need to go all the way to Ikebukuro.
Shibu onsen should not be especially hard to reach, just a train to Nagano then a train to Yudanaka station and walk to shibu onsen, the two other would require to take the bus. But while you are in Kamakura, why not go somewhere closer, for example there is several onsen town in the Izu peninsula, such as Shuzenj, that would take 1 to 2 hours less than to reach the one you named.
Other than that, it general it seems to make sense to me.
Looks like a good list. You could do Nara and Osaka in the same day. I feel like you might end up spending an extra day in Osaka, but that depends on how much you like the city. It’s pretty neat down there.
Regarding Miyajima, there is a ferry that takes you there, but I don’t know if it is available early in the morning. I think the ferry runs from 9am – 5pm. When I went, it was in the afternoon and my photos were okay, but weren’t really to my taste as I like taking them during golden hour. So not really sure if the photos would be that much different if you went around 9:00am or in the afternoon. Maybe there are other ferrys that operate earlier in the morning.
Sounds like I great itinerary, totally something I would like to do too.
About your first question, I think you are not cramming in too much, there is just too much to see and it’s a waste too only see the big cities especially when you love hiking. Nara can be easily done within a day, and of course you could end the day then at Dotonbori. But you might be exhausted so if you want to really spend more time to enjoy Osaka, and not just have dinner at Dotonbori, I would add another day, or at least half a day of Osaka.
About your 2nd question. I would suggest you go to Miyajima in the morning, simply because the shrine and also stores and other things you might want to see, will most likely be closing soon if you go in the afternoon.
I’ve done a two night stay in Kusatsu and loved it. There’s a limited express train you can take there and back direct from Tokyo (bus from arrival station near Kusatsu to the Onsen town). I used the JR Tokyo Wide Pass for that trip. See my trip report below.
– [Tokyo Overnight Trip: Tattoo Friendly Kusatsu Onsen (Gunma) ](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/meafbh/trip_report_kusatsu_onsen_in_gunma/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
ETA: You might also consider staying in Osaka one night before Koyasan. It’s logistically easier to get to Koyasan from Osaka and that way you can enjoy the Osaka nightlife fully.
Mar 20: Checkout of hotel in Kyoto and ship large luggage direct to hotel in Tokyo. Pack a backpack/small overnight bag with essentials for 2 nights.
Day trip to Nara and then checkin to a hotel in Osaka near Dotonbori. I’ve stayed at the [Cross Hotel Osaka ](https://goo.gl/maps/4rUU8XtCBZaQAD4D6) and found it a great location.
Mar 21: Travel to Koyasan from Osaka.
– [JapanGuide: Getting to Koyasan ](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4904.html)
– [Koyasan Access Guide ](https://en.japantravel.com/wakayama/koyasan-access-guide/67283)
Maybe not useful for this trip, but one can easily spend a day or so in and around Narita itself. Lots to see and do. The temple and old town are quite nice. And there are nice places nearby in Chiba — like the National Museum of Japanese History in Sakura — and the lovely merchant town Sawara.
If you can afford 4 days, I recommend sightseeing in Nikko. Nikko has a lot of foreign tourists, so there are many English guidebooks and signs. I don’t think the cherry blossoms will bloom yet because it’s cold in Nikko. But even so, there are many sightseeing spots such as Toshogu Shrine and Kegon Falls, and your collection of photos should increase even more. Kinugawa is relatively close to Nikko and is famous for its hot springs.