This subreddit was a huge help in planning our first time ever trip to Japan. We wanted to see the three cities, get to the daytrips we found are most interesting to us and do/see as much as possible without putting too much on our plate.
Any recommendations, tips, tricks or warnings you might have – we will appreciate it a lot!
DAY 1 – arrive at Narita airport in the morning, get to Tokyo (hotel is located in Shinjuku), roam around, soak everything in, do some shopping, eat, sleep.
DAY 2 – Meiji shrine, Yoyogi park, go to Harajuku (Takeshita dori, Omotesando) and then back to Shinjuku for dinner and drinks at Omoide Yokocho and Golden Gai
DAY 3 – Nakamise Dori, Sensoji temple, Ueno park picnic, then get to Akihabara for the electronics windowshopping. We end the day with the teamLab Planets visit at around 20PM
DAY 4 – mt.Fuji day trip, we will go to the Chureito pagoda, take the sightseeing bus around the lake Kawaguchi, go back to Tokyo and then take the bullet train to Kyoto. We check-in (hotel is close to Nishiki market), eat, sleep.
DAY 5 – Kiyomizu-dera, Sannenzaka/Ninenzaka, Hokan-ji, lunch at the Nishiki market, then walk around Maruyama park, Hanamikoji, Shirakawa, we end the day at Pontocho for some drinks and dinner.
DAY 6 – bamboo forest, Okochi Sanso, Tenryu-ji temple, Ryoan-ji, Kinkaku-ji
DAY 7 – Fushimi inari, Nanzen-ji, Zenrin-ji, walk around the Philosophers path, dinner, drinks, sleep
DAY 8 – we go to Osaka, check-in (hotel is in the Dotonbori area), go see the Osaka castle, Amerikamura, Namba Yasaka, Shinsekai, Dotonbori area for food and drinks
DAY 9 – Himenji castle, Kobe for lunch (any recommendations?), dinner and drinks in Osaka
DAY 10 – day trip to Koyasan, we go back to Osaka, sleep
DAY 11 – we go back to Tokyo, check-out a couple of things we liked the most, walk around the city, explore with no agenda
DAY 12 – Shibuya crossing, Shibuya sky, check-out, eat, get ready to go to the airport (our plance leaves in the evening, around 10PM from Haneda)
by vluetic