Tokyo 4n > Magome-juku (Nakasendo) 1n > Matsumoto 1n (Alpine Route) > Kanazawa 2n > Kyoto 5n (Nara, Himeji) > Okayama 2n (Naoshima, Kurashiki) > Hiroshima 2n (Miyajima) > Osaka 1n > Koyasan 1n > Narita 1n.
As I loved reading these during my preparations I am happy to share this long report about our experiences. We are from Europe and in our twenties. We are quite fast paced with 10 hotels during 3 weeks as we treated it as a once in a lifetime trip, but we relaxed at our hotel most of the evenings and didn’t wake up too early (except for the Alpine Route). We focused on visiting temples and shrines, castles, gardens, (modern) art, and doing short hikes. The last few days overlapped with Golden Week. I’d recommend any spot we visited, but some highlights included the Alpine Route, any place where we did short hikes to see temples or villages (Kamakura, Nakasendo, Kurama/Kibune from Kyoto, Miyajima), Koyasan shukubo, and the Naoshima museum island. See the long description below, happy to answer any questions!
**Leg 1: Tokyo**
I think we had a fairly standard 1st time itinerary but we enjoyed it a lot! We failed to get Ghibli tickets but in hindsight we needed our time in Tokyo for the other sights anyway. Stayed at CITAN hostel where we enjoyed the specialty coffee to ease our jetlagged mornings.
Day 1 – Arrival, Asakusa/Ueno
Arrived at Narita at 10:00AM. Arrived in hostel after buying Pasmo Pasport card (requires cash which you can get at the 7/11 ATM) at 14:00. Had no sleep but excitement carried us through the day. Quick shower and went sightseeing at 15:00 (standard itinerary around Asakusa/Senso-ji > Sumida Park > Ueno Park) and had an early night. Cherry blossoms were still blooming due to the cold so the parks were wonderful, seeing a bustling temple for the first time very impressive as a European in Asia for the first time, and loved all the food stalls and people at the Ueno Park illuminations. Bought a goshuincho at Senso-ji to collect goshuin, which I enjoyed a lot while visiting many temples in the next days.
Day 2 – Shibuya/Harajuku/Shinjuku
We walked all the way from South to North along Shibuya crossing, with a short shopping visit to Loft, then the Ota Memorial Museum of Art (small but beautiful ukiyo-e museum), the Meiji Shrine (very peaceful among the trees), Shinjuku Gyoen (beautiful garden and we loved it with cherry blossoms especially), then Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building for the free views at sunset (had to queue for a bit) and walked through Shinjuku including Omoide Yokocho on our way to dinner and then home.
Day 3 – Central Tokyo, Odaiba, Roppongi
Visited Sengakuji, which is an interesting historic place with the 47 ronin graves. We burned incense and copied a sutra here. Then took the monorail to Odaiba just to enjoy the view, had konbini lunch at the beach, took the monorail back, quick stop at the Ghibli clock while switching trains, and walked past Zojo-ji and Tokyo Tower to visit TeamLab Borderless at 16:00. Especially the smaller rooms were beautiful and I loved drawing my own fish to see it appear on the walls. Abdij It was a nice and unique experience and fun to explore at our own pace.
Day 4 – Kamakura
We started a bit late bc of remaining jetlag and making our Golden Week train reservations as well as some struggles picking up our JR pass for the Alps at Tokyo Station. Kamakura was crowded but lovely because of spring matsuri at the shrine. Visited Komachi dori shopping street and had taiyaki, went to Tsurugaoka Hachiman shrine where many people attended the matsuri, walked to Daibutsu walking course via Jufuku-ji/Genjiyama park (bit of a search but worthwhile!), visited the interesting Zeniarai Benten (money washing) shrine, of course saw the large Daibutsu which was very impressive and finally visited the beautiful Hasedera with its nice gardens and many interesting sights in its many halls. One of my favourite days, the sun was shining, the hike was peaceful, and all four temples and shrines were stunning and very different and interesting. Would have loved to also see some of the temples in the north and to have gone to Enoshima.
**”Japanese Alps” leg**
We got the Alpine-Takayama-Matsumoto pass from JR West, picked up at Tokyo JR Central. I am not sure it paid off without using all 5 days of travel (it would have covered Takayama) but it guaranteed access to the Alpine Route when we had missed its presale.
Day 5 – Nakasendo
Early Shinkansen to Nagoya, then local train and bus to Magome where we stayed overnight at Magomechaya. We took the 13:30+- bus to Tsumago then walked back so we wouldn’t have to rush for the last bus. We were too late for the tea house but had plenty of time for the hike. Quite some European tourists here. The walk was scenic and lovely, both the nature including two waterfalls and the post towns looked beautiful like a journey back in time, and staying overnight we got to see Magome with hardly any people around. Enjoyed the traditional stay, sleeping on futon beds for the first time with dinner and breakfast included. Overall one of the highlights of the trip. Check the bus times in advance of your trip and bring cash.
Day 6 – Matsumoto
After breakfast and coffee in Magome we took the bus and train to Matsumoto, where we climbed the beautiful original castle (highly recommended) and then went to the local art museum for its Yayoi Kusama part (small but enjoyable and quiet for a place showing her work, including one infinity room and a yellow pumpkin). Very walkable and welcoming city with cherry blossoms at full bloom and ongoing castle illuminations and hardly any tourists crowds. Had dinner at a nice izakaya, used the hotel bath, and forwarded our luggage to the hotel in Kanazawa from here.
Day 7 – Alpine Route
Took the first train at 05:56 from Matsumoto to Shinanoomachi to start Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route that opened two days before from the Ogizawa side. We were very stressed about securing tickets but managed to exchange tickets for the 08:00 departure from Ogizawa with our specific regional JR Pass. Wonderful day, enjoyed seeing the Kurobe dam, the views from all stops, and walking along the snow wall. Crowded with mostly domestic and a lot of Asian tourists, but as it is so well organized the crowds are no problem at all. This was our most expensive activity but it was worth it. I would also love to see it with fall colours or be able to hike in summer. Arrived at the end around 15:00 sleepy and happy, then on to Kanazawa for a short evening walk, dinner, and sleep.
Day 8 – Kanazawa
Walked all day through Kanazawa: Nagamachi district with the small enjoyable Shinise Memorial Hall, Oyama Shrine, Castle park where we went to the tea house, the beautiful Kenrouken garden with Seikankaku villa, Kazue and Higashi Chaya districts, obscure temple walk uphill with many quiet temples and hardly any passerbys, bus back to Nagamachi district, walked through Nishi Chaya district at night. Again a very friendly and welcoming city that is not crowded at all, the historic districts were beautiful and we loved the garden. Kenrouken really feels like you are exploring and stumbling upon new beautiful sights all the time and the villa was worth it too. I would have loved to visit the Nomura-ke samurai house as well as the DT Suzuki museum too but we only had one day. We also brought some of our nicest souvenirs here.
**Leg 3: Kyoto**
Kyoto was not what I expected in some way, but I still loved it. We were not at all prone to temples fatigue and visited +-20 temples and shrines which we personally enjoyed a lot but also did some more quiet half-day trips and walked some random residential areas.
Day 9 – Gion/South Higashiyama
Morning shinkansen to Kyoto. Walked through Pontocho, Gion, visit to Kennin-ji (only one hall opened unfortunately, but we could see the dragon painting on the ceiling), via Ishibei-koji lane and Ninnenzaka/Sannenzaka to visit Kiyomizudera (16-17h, very crowded at 15h but got better over time, beautiful with golden hour). After dinner visited illuminations at Kodai-ji and Entoku-in (where we were the only visitors!) and Yasaka shrine. I was a bit overwhelmed with the crowds, the heat, and queueing for dinner, so this was not my favourite day, but the night walk helped me relax again.
Day 10 – Kurama/Kibune and North Higashiyama
Half-day trip for walk from Kibune and Kifune shrine to Kuramadera with lunch in Kurama. Very calm and beautiful, absolutely loved it, everyone walking there greeted us and chatted with us as we spotted some deer, and the approach to the temple and shrine are stunning. We also had a great vegetarian buddhist meal in Kurama just after descending. Then train back to Demachiyanagi, walk to Ginkaku-ji (beautiful moss garden), Philosopher’s Path and Nanzen-ji (arrived just in time to enter hojo and see the zen gardens here at 16:29 by following a speed walking Japanese couple to the reception, unfortunately no time to enter other buildings but we did walk around the grounds for a bit after with the aquaduct, gate, some temple hall exteriors, etc.). All in all a wonderful day, but I would have liked more time at Nanzen-ji. People who start early in the morning or take taxi/bus instead of walking to Ginkaku-ji might be able to see additional temples. Walked past the torii of Heian shrine on our way home and got lovely confectionaries from a bakery.
Day 11 – Nara
Rainy day when we did a day trip to Nara with the cute purple Aoniyoshi limited express train (booked in advance). Very impressed by visiting the daibutsu at Todai-ji, the view from Nigatsudo, Kasuga Taisha (very special) and liked walked between the deer in the park. The colours and rain were quite athmospheric and there weren’t many tourists in the park. We didn’t enter Kofukuji, there was a lot of maintenance/building going on. We went to some vintage stores and department stores in central Kyoto at night.
Day 12 – North and Arashiyama
Kinkaku-ji at opening (already crowded but still worth seeing this famous sight), then Ryoan-ji (absolutely loved the zen garden! Had heard stories about it as a kid so the anticipation was high). We took the Randen tram to Arashiyama, saw the bridge and had a wonderful lunch at the Shigetsu restaurant at Tenryu-in (delicious if you are looking for vegetarian options), then walked through bamboo forest simply because we were there. Bus uphill to Otagi Nenbutsu-ji (funny and happy place with all the unique statues) and walked down via Adachino Nenbutsu-ji (more sad and meaningful experience) through Saga preserved street. Enjoyed the peace and quiet here.
Day 13 – Sanjusangendo, Uji and Fushimi Inari
Sanjusangendo in the morning (very impressive with 1001 Kannon). Then half-day trip to Uji to see Byodo-in, enjoy matcha soba noodles for lunch and an accessible and nice tea ceremony at Tea House Taihoan, crossed the river and walked back to the station, making for a relaxed half-day trip. We did Fushimi Inari at the end of the afternoon, with hike until the terrace with the nice views. It wasn’t too busy, perhaps because of the time and the rainy weather.
**Leg 4: Himeji/Okayama/Hiroshima**
This stretch had several highlights of the trip, including Himeji-jo, the Naoshima museums, Peace Memorial Museum and Miyajima.
Day 14 – Himeji and Okayama
Himeji – We stored our luggage close to the station and walked to the castle. We didn’t plan to enter as we thought it would be busy and had already visited Matsumoto Castle. However, it was very quiet with no lines at all so we did go in. I would highly recommend this castle. Its history, its size and the presence of the adjoining buildings make it very impressive. We didn’t go to the gardens as we’d go to Okayama next.
Okayama – Visited Korakuen. Beautiful but completely different from Kenrouken because of its open layout with lawns. Both are stunning but myself I slightly preferred the garden in Kanazawa as the less open layout allowed for more exploring without having seen whats next. They also have cranes here. Also visited the Okayama castle, which had some history expositions on the battle of Sekigahara – of course this could not live up to Himeji. Non-Japanese speakers can read translations of the information on their phone. Okay but absolutely no must see. Had dinner at a nice tofu place.
Day 15 – Naoshima
Daytripped to Naoshima and absolutely loved everything about it. Felt like we were in the Mediterranean, the island is stunning, views of Seto inland sea are stunning and the architecture and art are wonderful. We took the train to Uno, then the ferry arriving at 09:22 and we took the bus and ferry back from Honmura after the art houses closed at 16:30. We had reservations at Chichu Art Museum at 10:30 (when we arrived others without reservation could not get in) and Time Corridors at 14:00. These two also were our favourites out of the museums (also visited Benesse House + Valley Gallery and Lee Ufan museum). We mostly walked which was enjoyable (although already hot in spring) but I’d recommend bicycle rental. We only had a limited time left to visit the Art House Project, visited 3 and 1 from the outside. Minamidera was a special experience. If budget/time is not an issue I would certainly overnight here to also see the onsen, have sufficient time for the Art House Project, and perhaps go to Teshima, but also as a daytrip it is absolutely worth it. Must visit if you like modern art.
Day 16 (Friday before Golden Week) – Kurashiki and Hiroshima
In the morning, we wandered around the Bikan historic distright in Kurashiki and bought some bizen ceramics here. The western art museum here is apparently very nice but after seeing all of Naoshima the day before we didn’t feel like entering. Enjoyable for a short visit but I wouldn’t make a large detour for it.
In the afternoon we took the Shinkansen to Hiroshima. We first saw the Peace Memorial Park then entered the museum with audio tour at 16:30. This was a very impressive museum that had a profound impact on us. We spent more time than most people based on what I read online, as we were in there until closing time at 19 and we hadn’t even listened all audio tour recordings in the second part of the museum. Highly recommended to experience this important and harrowing part of world history. It shows the personal stories of victims as well as the scale of suffering as a result of this bombing. People around us were overall quiet and respectful, it was not too busy (perhaps due to our visit timing extending into the reservations-only period), a few people were visibly emotional. We walked around the Memorial Park again at dark and had some comfort food.
Day 17 (Golden Week Saturday) – Miyajima
We did a very enjoyable day trip to Miyajima with the (more expensive) direct ferry from Peace Park departing at 08:30 returning with the regular JR Ferry and train around 18:00. Although it was the first Saturday of Golden Week I’d say crowds were okay and we didn’t need to queue more than 5 mins for the ropeway. When we arrived we saw Itsukushima jinja and the torii with high tide, saw its treasure hall and Senjokaku, and had lunch/snacks (momiji!) in the area. We then went up Mt Misen by cable car, hiked the small distance to the top and then hiked down to the very worthwhile Daisho-in with an adjacent cafe. The hike is very enjoyable as you pass many sights and have beautiful views over the Seto inland sea, although we were happy to skip the hike up. Around 17:30 we saw the torii again at low tide. This day was one of our favourites, we enjoyed the beautiful nature, culture and history, and everything is very well-organized and easy to find, as it was everywhere in tourist-frequented areas. I’d really recommend a full day here rather than a half day in many people’s itineraries if you like to hike and would like to see more than the torii.
**Leg 5: Osaka/Koyasan**
Day 18 (Golden Week Sunday) – Osaka
We had a slow morning with some specialty coffee and took a shinkansen to Osaka. Having seen our fair share of temples, castles and museums, we spent our half-day in Osaka just exploring the Namba/Minami streets including Dotonbori, Amerika-Mura and Hozenji Yokocho without visiting any major sights. Had fun people watching especially in Amerika-Mura. Nice change of pace. For us, one night was enough.
Day 19 (Golden Week Showa holiday 29 april)
We stored our luggage in a coin locker (plenty available at Namba underground station) and travelled to Koyasan in the morning. Bought the Koyasan World Heritage ticket including return trip and unlimited bus travel as well as some discounts, this requires internet connection of you want to use the digital ticket to load QR codes. Our travel wonderfully and accidentally coincided with the anniversary of Kobo Daishis entry into eternal meditation so we saw many pilgrims, flowers at the temple, and a procession. We visited Okunoin twice, at day time (all halls are open and can be entered) and at night time (special atmosphere, we didn’t do the tour but walked by ourselves). In the afternoon we visited the Garan temple complex and Kongobu-ji temple. To see all these sights comfortably you really need a full day, also considering dinner time and curfew at the temple stays. We stayed at a smaller temple (Daien-in) including both meals and with attendance of the morning prayers. Perhaps because of the anniversary ceremonies we were a minority as Western tourists among domestic worshippers at the temples and the place truly felt spiritual and meaningful to me, almost to the point where we felt a bit intrusive as non-buddhist tourists despite our efforts to visit respectfully. Were very impressed by our visit, highly memorable.
Day 20 – Travel
After morning prayers and visiting the Tokugawa clan mausoleums in Koyasan, we travelled back to Narita, with lunch at a nice soba place outside Osaka Namba station and dinner at Tokyo Station. Overnight before early morning transfer to the airport.
**General comments**
Food: we eat vegetarian and mostly plant-based at home, but decided to be relaxed about it here, eating milk and eggs as well as dashi/stock. Still, using Happy Cow we could find vegetarian or vegan dinner options almost everywhere, e.g. nice shoyin ryori places, tofu restaurants, izakaya with vegetarian options, vegan ramen places, Indian restaurants, and the occasional Coco Curry or Mos Burger, and we were content with basic onigiri and inarizushi for lunch. Many vegan ramen places with high scores on Happy Cow were pretty much 100% targeted at foreign tourists with corresponding price range, fully vegan places more directed at locals seemed to serve either buddhist cuisine or vegetable dishes that were not specifically Japanese.
Travel: So easy to navigate. Maps, signs, lots of English and tourist information on the streets, public transport is delightful and so well organized I found it similar or maybe even easier compared to European countries where I do not speak the language. People working in tourism are highly service-oriented so you will always be treated politely, and people really made an effort to help us more than at other touristic places I have been to. Learning 4-5 basic words is helpful and appreciated. All hotel experiences were okay to good. We prebooked the Golden Week shinkansen tickets in our first days at Tokyo Station.
Packing: For clothing: bring layers! We have experienced up to 28 degrees by the end of April and it felt warm and summery already at 22/23 coming from Northern Europe. However, rainy days as well as mornings and evenings could be fresh, and of course the snow wall at the Alpine Route requires a warm coat. If you have standard hotels many amenities will be provided and you’ll have to bring hardly anything. My electric toothbrush charger would not work on the voltage here. Wore comfortable sneakers with an average of walking 14-15km a day.
Goshuin: Do not forget to seperate goshuin from stamps you might find at tourist sites, even the regular free stamps provided at temples. It is a religious practice and temples may not want to provide you with goshuin if you do not treat them with respect.
Happy to answer any questions! Before we went, I was most nervous about the Alpine Route and navigating Naoshima, but I hope this post helps others in planning their trip.
by bngabletofly