Hello all! My wife and I (28F & 28M) are planning our honeymoon to Japan for this October and wanted to get some feedback on our tentative itinerary. The main questions I have:
* Does it make sense to do Takayama first? Ie especially coming from long plane ride to a longish train ride?
* 2nd day of Takayama Autumn festival: good or terrible time to arrive? We know that more of the festivities happen the night of the first day – we are ok missing this as the prices for accommodations were much higher and it seems like a bit of an overstimulating event, plus we could only leave as early as we currently are anyways
* Does the rough breakdown of time in each place seem appropriate from those who have travelled there?
* Does this seem like an insane amount of moving around? Given how it’s all trains, with the longest journey being Tokyo -> Takayama (4-5hrs) and others being generally <3hrs, it seems doable at first glance, but maybe those with more experience can chime in?
* Hakone worth it for 2 nights or would that be better spent adding a day to Takayama (for a day trip) or Nagoya?
For context, it will be my wife’s 3rd time to Japan (last time was in 2016) and my first. For both her other two visits, she spent considerable amounts of time in the Osaka/Kyoto area and would rather visit new places this time, which is why we aren’t going down there. Big draws for us are cultural activities, food, shopping, art, and nature (so basically everything lol).
Thank you in advance for the input!
**Day 1 : Arrival (Tokyo) -> Takayama**
* Land at NRT at 12:20PM Thursday October 10
* Train into Tokyo Station, grab some quick food around there
* Take shinkansen to Nagoya then Hida Limited Express to Takayama
* Check in at hotel around 6:30pm, eat dinner, shopping, sleep
* Note that this the second day of the Takayama Autumn Festival, so while most things are probably wrapping up we may be able to wander around and see some of the festivities
**Day 2: Takayama**
* Mostly exploring the town, maybe even half day trip to a nearby town
**Day 3: Takayama/Kanazawa**
* Spend morning in Takayama
* Take Hida Limited Express to Toyama
* Optionally stop in Toyama (still researching if worth it)
* Arrive Kanazawa mid-late afternoon, check in and have dinner
**Days 4 & 5: Kanazawa**
* 2 full days in Kanazawa for exploring/shopping, can fit in a day trip
* Tea district, samurai district, art museum, etc
**Day 6: Kanazawa/Nagoya**
* Around 3 hours of this day spent on the train, but rest of it can be split between Kanazawa & Nagoya (more research pending)
**Day 7: Nagoya**
* At least half a day to be spent at Ghibli Park (assuming we can get tickets – of course not guaranteed)
**Day 8:** **Nagoya/Hakone**
* TBD on if we want to stay in Hakone this night. We have booked a fancy ryokan for the next night, so if we stay two nights in Hakone, the first one would likely be somewhere cheaper. Considering renting a car for the day to explore the town, maybe do a hike or something
**Day 9: Hakone**
* Staying at Yama No Chaya – this one is a bit of a splurge but very excited for it. Likely spending from the afternoon onwards just at the ryokan relaxing, enjoying the onsen, omakase, etc.
**Day 10: Hakone/Yokohama/Tokyo Disney**
* Planning to check out of the Hakone ryokan around 9:30am and arrive in Yokohama around 11:30am
* Have lunch, go to Uniqlo Park and/or Cup Noodle Museum and/or Yokohama Sea Paradise
* In the evening, depart Yokohama for Tokyo Disney area. Planning to stay in an on-resort hotel (another splurge).
* Have dinner and do some shopping around Disney area
**Day 11: Tokyo Disneyland**
* Full day in the park
**Day 12: Tokyo Disney Sea/Tokyo**
* Full day in the park
* At the end of the day, head into Tokyo proper and check into hotel
* Have a hotel booked in Shibuya area and one in Ginza area, both with good cancellation, still deciding which one to go for.
**Days 13, 14, 15, 16: Tokyo**
* Lots and lots we want to do… This could be a whole post in itself, and probably will be at a future date
**Day 17: Tokyo -> Travel Home**
* Have the morning/early afternoon in Tokyo before flight leaves NRT at 3:40pm
by Virtual-Parking9785