Hello everyone!
My partner and I will be travelling to Japan in Jan 2025 for our honeymoon. We have been to Japan (Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka) before about 7 years back during the Sakura season, and have seen most of the typical tourist destinations.
This time round, our goal is to see snow, try the onsens, try out skiing – All of which my partner has never experienced before.
We are also looking to attend some sort of crafting workshop (e.g. ring making, knife making…?), but we are not sure which region specialises in what kind of crafting workshops. Could you kindly suggest some crafting workshops along the itinerary route?
This will be a **14 day trip**, please feel free to add any other suggestions and/or changes you would recommend!
**Day 1 – 11 Jan, SATURDAY: Osaka**
* Land in Osaka \~9AM, drop off luggage in Hotel
* Shin Sekai
* teamLab Botanical Garden Osaka (Night)
\*Osaka – We have been to Dotombori, Kurumon Market, Denden Town, Osaka Castle already. We are not interested in Universal Studios or the Aquarium.
**Day 2 – 12 Jan, SUNDAY: Osaka**
* Travel upwards of Osaka
* Cup Noodles Museum Osaka Ikeda
* Katsuoji (We read that people tend to come here during Fall season, is it worth coming here during Winter?)
**Day 3 – 13 Jan, Monday: Nara**
* Day Trip to Nara
* Nara Deer Park
We plan to spend a full day here, what else is worth seeing other than Nara Deer Park?
Back to Osaka Accoms (I guess teamLabs Osaka could be slotted here at night if Nara can be cleared before 5PM?)
**Day 4 – 14 Jan, Tuesday: Hiroshima**
* Day Trip to Hiroshima
* Atomic Bomb Dome
* Peace Memorial Park
* Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
* To eat Hiroshima Okonomiyaki
* Back to Osaka Accoms
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**\*Kyoto** – We have been to Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Monkey Park, Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizudera, Sannenzaka, Ninnenzaka, I don’t think there are any other major places to go, so therefore we are thinking of skipping Kyoto entirely this trip. Do let us know if there are other places you think its worth considering for us.
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**Day 5 – 15 Jan, Wednesday: Nagoya**
* Drop off luggage at Nagoya Accoms
* Toyota Commemorative Museum
* Atsuta Jingu
* Osu Shopping District
* Sakae
* Nabana no Sato
* SCMaglev (?)
Based on our research, we don’t see much places of interest other than the above. Therefore. we are planning to only spend 1 day in Nagoya, with the SCMaglev Museum being optional if there is enough time. Not sure if this day is too packed. If you think we should split this day up, what other activities should we do?
\*We are not too interested in the Inuyama Castle
**Day 6 – 16 Jan, Thursday: Takayama**
* Drop off luggage at Takayama Accoms
* Miyagawa Morning Markets
* Sanmachi Historical Houses Preserved Area
* Hida Takayama Retro Museum
* Hida Folk Village (?)
Any other locations that should be prioritised above the others? We are not too sure on Hida Folk Village as it is a bit out of the way, low priority for now.
**Day 7 – 17 Jan, Friday: Shirakawa-go, Kanazawa**
* Luggage Transport service from Takayama to Kanazawa (Does the luggage transport only work in major cities? Would it work here in Takayama to Kanazawa?)
* Travel to Shirakawa-go
* Continue on to Kanazawa
* If we reach early, we’ll see some of the stuff mentioned in Day 8
**Day 8 – 18 Jan, Saturday: Kanazawa**
* Omicho Market
* Kanazawa Castle Park (We don’t plan to enter the castle)
* Kenroku-en Gardens
* Higashi Chaya District
* Nomura-ke Samurai Residence (?)
We plan to see on the day itself if we have time to visit the Nomura-ke Samurai Residence, if no time we will skip it.
**Day 9 – 19 Jan, Sunday: Nagano**
* We plan to book a ski resort in Nagano – research shows that Nagano is one of the best regions for skiing, is there any specific ski resort that you would recommend? We are currently thinking of Shiga Kogen
* Yamanochi
* Jigokudani Yaen Koen
What else to see here? Would be preferable if the ski resort / accoms is near the Snow Monkey Park to reduce time travelling
**Day 10 – 20 Jan, Monday: Nagano (Ski Resort)**
* Spend the whole day at the Ski Resort, try out skiing and other snow activities
**Day 11 – 21 Jan, Tuesday: Tokyo**
* Long travel time to Tokyo
* Ghibli Museum
* Inokashira Park
Any other tokyo destinations mentioned in Day 13, 14
**Day 12 – 22 Jan, Wednesday: Kawaguchiko**
* Day Trip to Kawaguchiko
* Plan to cycle around here – Is it easy to rent a bicycle as tourists?
* Any suggestions on what specifically to see here?
**Day 13 – 23 Jan, Thursday: Tokyo**
**Day 14 – 24 Jan, Friday: Tokyo**
* No specific plan for each day for the last two days, we’ll just see as many as is on the list as possible. We will need to be at the airport late night on 24 Jan, so we have two ‘full’ days.
* Ikebukuro Sunshine City
* Omote-Sando + Omotesando Hills
* teamLab Planets
* DECKS Tokyo Beach (?) – Worth going?
* Kappabashi Dougu Street
* Ameyoko Shopping District
* Marishiten Tokudaiji Temple
* Nezu Shrine
* Takeshita Street
\*Tokyo – We have been to Shinjuku, Shinjuku Garden, Shibuya, Tsukiji Market, Akihabara, Ueno Park, Meiji Jingu, Senso-ji Temple, Yasakuni Jinja
\*Hakone – Took the pirate ship + ropeway
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I think I have written down most of the places I have been to that I can remember, please feel free to suggest other places that I have not mentioned and you think is worth going to!
Not sure if our itinerary is too packed, and if we were to remove a day, I think we would probably remove Hiroshima.
Ultimately, the highlight of the trip will be the Onsen experiences + Ski Resort, so I would appreciate if you could suggest a good Ski Resort as I am totally lost on which to choose (not sure what to look out for).
It has been a lengthy post, thank you for taking the time to read this. Thank you in advance!
by Extrudius