Got time off work all of a sudden that had to be taken during GW and my partner REALLY wanted to do Japan. I was game – I’ve been to Japan twice before, so it didn’t bother me that we’d have to be flexible and potentially miss/skip stuff.
**How I booked/planned** ⤵️
Exactly 3 weeks out, I booked flights to Haneda (used points, but they were about $900 from the East Coast). I booked all our lodging within the airline ticket 24 hour cancellation window. I wanted to be able to call off the trip and go somewhere else if I couldn’t lock down good lodging.
I booked 4 nights in Osaka at the Moxy in Shin Umeda using Marriott points. While the location wasn’t the *most* convenient of all time, it was a nice hotel and still in an okay area. I did request a room upgrade using my Platinum Elite benefits and they were not able to fulfill the request. May not have been a GW thing but I blame GW.
I wanted to do an overnight to Yakushima or Miyajima but both were too booked up. I switched gears and scored the very last room at the very last temple stay available in Koyasan. I paid $331 for what ended up being a *gigantic* room in a highly rated temple 5 minutes walk from Kongobuji (main attraction of Koyasan). Having looked up their non-Golden Week rates, I believe I paid a premium of ~$100 over the normal price. Really glad it worked out this way as Koyasan was very tranquil and uncrowded.
Surprisingly, the Art Islands were not totally booked out. I was able to book the exact hotel I wanted in Uno port for the exact dates I wanted. The price was about $40/night higher than normal. The only option left was a dorm room, which I expected to be a capsule, but it turned out their “dorm” rooms are all private rooms! The downside was a communal shower, but I never even used it because the stay came with free entry every day to the incredible seaside hot spring spa next door!
For the last night in Tokyo before flying out, I got a capsule at the exact hostel I wanted. I would have booked a private room if one was available, but for a stay totaling only 10 hours, the capsule was fine.
My partner reserved all our shinkansen tickets 1 week in advance using Smart Ex, and also reserved our seats on the train to Koyasan (not shinkansen, but reservation only). We actually ended up changing several of our reservations during the trip without any issues. For example, for the shinkansen ride from Okayama to Tokyo, we moved up our departure time twice the day of *and* booked an oversized luggage compartment at the last minute. I don’t believe any shinkansens we took allowed unreserved seats during GW so there was never any risk of having to stand.
I got scared off by posts about taking the shinkansen out of Tokyo on April 27, so I chose to fly to Osaka instead. Our transit ended up being nice and relaxed that way, plus I could take advantage of JAL domestic one-way flights being only 7.5k AA miles. I booked the flights 2 weeks in advance without any issues.
My partner booked ebike rentals and museum tickets for Naoshima and Teshima 3 weeks in advance. The only ticket we couldn’t get was Art House Project Kinza which is extremely difficult to get under ordinary circumstances anyway. It turned out our booking didn’t actually go through for Chichu Art Museum on Naoshima, and we didn’t realize it until the day of! It was obviously fully sold out during GW so I panicked but my partner kept refreshing the booking page throughout the day and several last-minute tickets popped up from cancellations.
In terms of meals, I didn’t bother with more than 1-2 restaurant reservations. We did fancy kaiseki meals, two different fancy wagyu experiences, and a high end sushi omakase in Japan less than a year ago. That doesn’t mean I winged it though. I planned every single meal in advance, and built our itinerary around restaurant opening times so we could always beat the queue. I also mapped out backup restaurants in case places were unexpectedly closed for GW, which did happen twice. Honestly not a bad idea to do so no matter when you travel, since Japanese businesses randomly close all the time.
**Fully detailed itinerary below** ⤵️
**Day 1 (Saturday):**
Arrived HND. Left almost 3 hours between international arrival and domestic departure to Osaka. This ended up being way overkill but I didn’t know what kind of crowds to expect during GW.
Arrived at Itami late evening. Went out to see Massimiliano Pagliara’s DJ set at Compufunk Records until almost 3.
**Day 2 (Sunday):**
Mostly a shopping day other than a quick stop at Namba Yasaka shrine. Hit the Tojiro knife store, Graf and Meetdish for fancy homewares, Indigena for all things vintage Snoopy, and Lara Vintage for vintage European womenswear where I scored some incredible pieces.
Got lunch at Oretachino-curry since the seafood izakaya I wanted to visit turned out to be closed for GW.
Got coffee at Glitch (the GOAT) and okonomiyaki & yakisoba for dinner at Ajinoya Honten.
I got a heavenly dry head spa treatment at I Refre Shinsaibashi while my partner window shopped in Denden town. Wanted Rikuro cheesecake afterward but it was mobbed and sold out so got consolation Mister Donut.
**Day 3 (Monday):**
Successfully obtained Rikuro cheesecake in the shinkansen station on the way to Himeji!
Siphon coffee at the most charming shop in Himeji called Hamamoto Coffee (3.61 on Tabelog). No queue.
Visited Himeji Castle (busy but not uncomfortably so) & Kokoen Gardens (not busy) in the morning and Mt. Shosha/Engyoji (practically empty) in the afternoon. Got lunch at Ramen Koba in between. No queue.
Did more shopping after getting back to Osaka at Moyi Store (pottery), And Wander (gorpcore), Snowpeak (camping), and Mr. Kanso (tinned fish).
Horumonyaki for dinner at Yakiniku Susumu. No queue.
**Day 4 (Tuesday):**
Woke up unnecessarily early to go to Kizu Market for breakfast at Maruyoshi Sushi. No queue.
Had really good tea and wagashi in even better pottery at Wad Omotenashi. No queue.
Hours of vintage clothing shopping at ACORN, Post Acorn, Kindal, NATS, and Village. If I came to Osaka again I’d definitely stay in Kitahorie or Minamisemba!
Got lunch at Udon Kyutaro (3.83 on Tabelog, no queue) and coffee at Aoma Coffee.
Walked through Kuromon Market then went tax-free shopping at Shinsaibashi Parco for random stuff like Miffy merch at Kiddyland, Hario coffee gear at Hands, and SK-II (IYKYK). Also did a ton of skincare shopping at Matsu Kiyo.
Dinner at Dotonbori Kani Doraku. Admittedly a tourist trap, but super tasty – glad I had a reservation as the wait was bananas. Got dessert at Cheese Tart Pablo. Short queue despite being in an incredibly crowded shopping street.
**Day 5 (Wednesday):**
Traveled to Koyasan. Walked around and saw all the main shrines, had lunch at Hanabishi since the tofu shop I wanted to visit was closed for GW. Onsen at our temple stay before the shojin ryori dinner.
Did the obligatory and stunning night walk through Okunoin cemetery. We passed by the guided tour from Ekoin and were so glad we decided against it. It was way more magical being on our own in the misty dark night.
**Day 6 (Thursday):**
Morning prayers and breakfast set meal at the temple, then looong travel to Uno for the Art Islands leg of the trip. Lunch at 551 Horai when changing trains in Osaka 🤤
Got kakigori at Omachido on reaching Uno, then took the ferry to Naoshima. Walked to the Lee Ufan and Benesse Art Museums and ate fresh locally farmed flounder at Yuunagi. No queues.
Closed out the night in the seaside rotenburo under the stars at Setouchi Onsen Tamanoyu.
**Day 7 (Friday):**
Grabbed breakfast at the Marunaka grocery store, took the ferry to Teshima, and picked up our e-bike rentals from Setouchi Karen.
Hit Teshima Art Museum, Les Archives du Coeur, La Foret des Murmures, Needle Factory, and the Teshima Yokoo House. Got lunch at Shima along the way. No queue.
More kakigori at Omachido after getting the ferry back to Uno. Long queue! For dinner we had a very nice 14-course yakitori omakase at Sumi Habaki (Michelin Bib Gourmand). This was a reservation we had our hotel make for us a couple weeks in advance.
Hit the onsen again. It was a touch busy. More families with little kids than I’m used to seeing. GW problems.
**Day 8 (Saturday):**
Grabbed breakfast at Marunaka again, took the ferry to Naoshima where there was an open-air marché going on right at the ferry terminal. Got a bunch of cute pottery and then took photos of the iconic red Kusama pumpkin.
Picked up e-bike rentals at Ougiya, booked it to Honmura lounge to get the best chance of a convenient entry time for Minamidera.
Saw Go’o Shrine, Kadoya, Gokaisho, Ishibashu, Chichu Art Museum, where we also had lunch at the cafe, Minamidera, Haisha, Tadao Ando Museum, Hiroshi Sugimoto Time Corridors, the yellow pumpkin, and Valley Gallery.
Ferried back to Uno, then headed to Tokyo, with a stop in Okayama where we got ramen at Fujiya. No queue.
Was so tired on reaching my hostel UNPLAN Kagurazaka that I just ate a Manneken waffle and passed out.
**Day 9 (Sunday):**
Walked around Kagurazaka-dori and visited Tokyo Daijingu shrine.
Half the reason I stayed in Kagurazaka was so I could get breakfast at Pain des Philosophes (3.86 on Tabelog). Bread made with koshihikari koji and tangzhong 🔥 I only arrived 10 minutes before open and there was a substantial queue already.
Then immediately queued again at Tsujihan for their iiiiincredible kaisen don. Again, arrived 20 minutes before open but the queue was substantial.
My last stop before leaving for Haneda was tax-free shopping for souvenirs at the incredible Akomeya La Kagu. The other half of why I stayed in Kagurazaka. Got soo many fancy homewares and gourmet food items like hinoki room spray, kyoho grape jelly, Yuzusco hot sauce, a Tembea leather wallet, etc.
Haneda was not that busy. Had a nightmare scenario last summer where it took almost 2 hours just to get through the bag check queue. This time I had plenty of time to shop for Royce chocolates and eat Rokurinsha before my flight.
by thedevilsivy