Looking to go next year, in october 2025. Plan to start booking hotels 6 months before (with the exception of a Ryokan I’m looking at which I’ll book at the soonest time) Will be a 2 person trip with my partner.
Looking for opinions on my itenary, anything in bold is a priority visit, and most activities on a day can be switched about. Left some chill days for general exploring/relaxing.
Mainly want opinions on if it is too overloaded, or just right.
Osaka – 5 days
* Oct 7: Chill day, arriving in Japan. Travel by plane into Japan, book in to hotel #1. Going to try and get a plane which lands after 2/3pm so we can book straight into hotel.
* Oct 8: **Osaka Castle Park + Namba Yasaka Shrine**
* Oct 9: Denden Town + Dotonbori + Kuromon Ichiba Market
* Oct 10: **Day trip to Nara park + Isuien Garden** and Neiraku Museum **+ Todai-ji shrine**
* Oct 11: Chill day. Book out of hotel #1, travel to Kyoto
Last day in Osaka, leave and travel to Kyoto
Kyoto – 5 days
* Oct 11: Chill day. Travel into Kyoto, book into hotel #2
* Oct 12: **Arashiyama Bamboo Forest + Giōji Temple**
* Oct 13: **Kinkaku-j**i + Ryōan-ji + Ninna-ji Temple
* Oct 14: Nishiki Market + Samurai Ninja Museum With Experience + Pontocho Alley + Hōkan-ji Temple
* Oct 15: **Fushimi inari Temple**
* Oct 16: Chill day. Book out of hotel #2, travel to Toyohashi
Last day in Kyoto, travel to Toyohashi
Toyohashi – 2 days
* Oct 16: Chill day. Travel to Toyohashi, book in to hotel #3
* Oct 17: **Toyokawa Inari** + Yoshida Shrine + Toyohashi Park
* Oct 18: Toyohashi Museum of Natural History. Book out of hotel #3, travel to Hakone
Last day in Toyohashi, leave and travel to Hakone
Hakone – 1 night
* Oct 18: **Ryokan night** + General wander and explore. Travel to Hakone , book in to hotel #4 (Ryokan)
* Oct 19: Book out of hotel #4, travel to Hakone
Last day in Hakone, travel to Tokyo
Tokyo – 7 days
* Oct 19: **Gōtokuji Temple** + Hachiko statue + Shibuya + Harajuku + Anime shopping + + Takeshita Street + Yoyogi Park. Travel to Tokyo, book in to hotel #5
* Oct 20: **Akihabara + Arcades + Anime shopping + Gachapon**
* Oct 21: **Tokyo Character Street** + Ginza Itoya (stationary store) + **Toyosu Market**
* Oct 22: **Ikebukuro + Sunshine City + Mega pokemon store**
* Oct 23: Ueno park + Ueno Toshogu Shrine
* Oct 24: Ghibli Park
* Oct 25: Chill day / depart. Book out of hotel #5, travel home
I think currently theres 2 days missing (to take it up to 3 weeks exactly, so I’ll probably throw an extra one or two somewhere. Possibly one in Osaka so theres more rest while dealing with jetlag, and one in tokyo for departure day.
I also have a few questions
1. I’ve tried looking at links which state what medication is or is not allowed into Japan, but still struggling to figure out if any of these are an issue. From the searching on the official websites i’ve done, the three listed should be fine? I have sent an email to the UK embasy but so far its unanswered. Meds i need to check are allowed: Amitriptyline, Lanzoprazole, Tramadol.
2. Any suggestions for good Karaokes / Arcades / Gachapon places in Osaka/Tokyo
3. If you’ve visited any of these areas, feel free to recommend some places to visit (both of us are visiting for great food, traditional culture, or anime nerd stuff)
Thanks in advance, just wanted folks thoughts to see if this was too jam packed, or pretty reasonable. Cheers yall!
by KatsuCorvid