Hi Japan travel, since my last post ([V3](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/rd5vqt/itinerary_v3_3_weeks_may_june_or_october_november/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)) I’ve made more changes than I anticipated I would (it is now point to point instead of a round trip among other things), so I’d love it if you could cast your eyes over it again. Relating to when the trip would be, its more likely to be at the end of this year (hopefully) but with the restrictions who knows. I have listed the days of the week though as I know what day of the week I would be flying out, so if some attractions are closed on certain days it’d be easier to shuffle them around. In terms of specific questions whilst I have a fairly concrete idea of what areas I’m staying in for Tokyo and Kyoto, I’m still figuring out where I should stay in Osaka, plus I’d appreciate any recommendations for good accomodation under 10000yen/night in Hiroshima and Yokohama!
Flying in from Melbourne to Tokyo overnight with JAL
Tokyo (Staying in Asakusa)
Day 1(Sat): Arrive in the morning, drop off luggage at the hotel and do light exploring. If I’m feeling energetic go to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. Afterwards check in and settle in.
Day 2(Sun): Visit the Hokusai Museum and Edo-Tokyo museum in the morning (if not already), visit Senso-Ji on the way back as well as the Nakamise shopping street. Have lunch in the area, do more exploring, return to the hotel. Then have drinks on Hoppy street after dinner.
Day 3(Mon): Train out to Koishikawa gardens in the late morning, then head over to Yanaka, having lunch around the main shopping strip. Visit Yanaka cemetery and the temple inside it in the afternoon, then head through Ueno Park to Ameyoko.
Day 4(Tue): Take a train out to the Imperial Palace in the morning, explore the gardens and visit MoMA before lunch. Take the train afterwards to Akihabara, have lunch and explore until I get tired.
Day 5(Wed): Take a train to Tsukiji in the morning, explore and eat an early lunch, then explore Ginza, Kyobashi and Nihonbashi throughout the day until I get tired.
Day 6(Thu): Train out to Yoyogi or Shinjuku stations. Visit Shinjuku Gyoen, Meiji-jingu and Omotesando in morning, Harajuku in the afternoon. After dinner either back in Asakusa or around Shinjuku, explore Kabukicho then Omoide Yokocho before heading back to the hotel.
Day 7(Fri): Take a water bus/ boat out to Odaiba (*1hr)* in the morning and visit Teamlab Planets or whatever has replaced Borderless, then see the giant Gundam. Walk the Rainbow Bridge to Sengakuji then have lunch in the area. Visit Nakameguro and Daikanyama in the afternoon. Go back to the hotel, then come back to visit central Shibuya and Centre Gai at night.
Day 8(Sat): Travel out to Kichijoji in the late morning and visit Ghibli Museum at one of the fixed entry times. Explore Mitaka and Kichijoji in the afternoon after lunch, get dinner out, have drinks at the Jojo bar in Nakano on the way back to the hotel.
Day 9(Sun): Check out of the hotel, then take a train out to Kamakura (*1hr*) as early as I can. Visit Kotoku-in in the morning, then Hasedera and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, have lunch along Komachi Dori. Visit any other shrines or spots during the afternoon then take a train to Yokohama (*30 min*) in the evening.
Day 10(Mon): Get a bus/ train to Sankei-en in the morning, explore, then get another bus/ train to Yamashita park. Visit Chinatown and grab lunch, then visit Osanbashi pier. After lunch head along the waterfront towards Minato Mirai, visiting Red Brick warehouse and Landmark Plaza/ Tower. Visit Nissan Gallery if open, head back to the hotel afterwards.
Kyoto (Staying in Gion/Kawaramachi/Sanjo)
Day 11(Tue): Shinkansen in the morning to Kyoto from Yokohama around 8am (*2hrs*), drop off luggage at the hotel. Visit Tofukuji temple then continue to Uji. Spend lunch and afternoon in Uji seeing sights then head back to Kyoto, stopping at Fushimi Inari Taisha in the evening.
Day 12(Wed): Visit Nijo Castle in the morning before lunchtime. Have lunch at Nishiki Market, then visit Daitoku-ji via the Imperial palace gardens. Finish at Shimogamo shrine then have drinks and dinner in Pontocho.
Day 13(Thu): Head to Kiyomizu-dera in the morning, then walk north through Highashiyama stopping at Yasaka pagoda. Continue to Kodai-ji then have lunch. Spend the afternoon in Maruyama park visiting Chion-in, Yasaka shrine and Kahitsukan Modern Art Museum, then spend the late afternoon/ evening in Gion.
Day 14(Fri): Head to Ginkaku-ji in the morning, then afterwards walk the Philosopher’s path, stopping at the temples, shrines and gardens along the way, finishing at Nanzen-ji. Have lunch then visit Heian shrine, afterwards heading across the river into central Kyoto to visit the Manga Museum.
Day 15(Sat): Take a train out to Kinkaku-ji in the morning, then walk southwest stopping at Ryoan-ji and Ninna-ji, finishing at Tenryu-ji. Have lunch then head across the river to Arashiyama, exploring for the afternoon before heading back to the hotel.
Himeji and Hiroshima
Day 16(Sun): Check out of the hotel and visit Toji temple around 9am. Take the Shinkansen from Kyoto afterwards stopping at Himeji (*1hr*). Visit the castle and the gardens around, then have lunch. Explore central Himeji for the afternoon, then take another Shinkansen to Hiroshima (*1hr 15min*), staying central?
Day 17(Mon): Visit the peace park and museum in the morning, then head over to the Mazda museum (if open) just before or after lunch. Head back to central Hiroshima afterwards and visit Shukkeien in the mid afternoon before exploring the area. Eat dinner at Okonomimura.
Day 18(Tue): Check out of the hotel in the morning and take the ferry to Miyajima. Visit Itsukushima shrine and explore the surrounding area, having lunch there. Take the ferry back to Hiroshima, then take the Shinkansen to Osaka (*1hr 26 min*) in the late afternoon. Check into the hotel and rest.
Osaka
Day 19(Wed): Visit Nishinomaru gardens in the morning, then take a train south to Shitennoji. Visit Abeno Harukas tower, then the temple. Afterwards have lunch then walk northwest through Shinsekai to Namba and Dotonbori, exploring the areas and sights around. Then head slightly north to Orange street and America town. After resting at the hotel, have dinner and a night out in Tenma/ Umeda.
Day 20(Thu): Take a morning train to Nara, explore Nara park and Todai-ji. Have lunch and take a bus to the Heijo palace ruins, explore central Nara until late afternoon then train back to Osaka. Have another night out this time around Dotonbori.
Day 21(Fri): Check out of the hotel and take the train south to Sumiyoshi Taisha, then afterwards if there’s time head further south to Sakai to see Daisen park plus the tombs. Have lunch in Sakai, then continue to Kansai International to fly home. (Alternatively this can be a chill shopping day before I head to the airport.)
5 comments
Are foreign travelers allowed in Japan? I was under impression that they’re not.
Yokoyama is neither especially far or expensive to go to from Tokyo (40 min, 600 yen from Asakusa). I would think about luggage logistic, would you bring it all the way to Kamakura and leave it in a coin locker for the day ? So doing both as day trips from Tokyo is also a viable option.
If you decide on staying there, then just use a booking website like [booking.com](https://booking.com) and look at price and area where it could make sense to stay. Considering you want to see things around Yokohama station, that would be a good area. There is several sub 10k business hotels with decent rating.
For Hiroshima, I would say you have two options. First would be something kind of close to Hiroshima station, so going to Miyajima would be by train to the closest station. The other option would be something more “downtown” or even closer to the peace park. You likely want something close to a tram station and would likely consider just getting the tram all the way to Miyajima. Again, booking website and check rating.
Osaka, the obvious area is somehow close to Namba station. You will be close to the nightlife and fun side of Osaka. Will also be easy to get Nankai train to go south or Kintetsu to Nara. Somehow close to Osaka/Umeda station can make sense. The place you want to avoid would be more or less Shin-sekai and the area south of it.
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Other than than that, I think it’s pretty good. For sure some people will say there is too much, so be flexible, enjoy what you are doing and don’t rush to see everything just for the sake of doing everything (and exhaust yourself in the process).
For day 7 in odaiba, the whole building complex where teamlabo is will be under construction. Team lab borderless is supposed to relocate somewhere though.
I stayed over in Kamakura and Yokohama and can highly recommend it. Getting up in Kamakura to hit the sights before the day trippers get there was magic… it was just me and two older folks at the Great Buddha, then half an hour later the area was packed. Also, my budget is similar to yours so leaving Tokyo you can dial it up on accommodations a bit.
The hotels I stayed at:
– Hotel New Kamakura: very cute and home-like place, right near the station. From Â¥4,200 but the cheap rooms are shabby and I’d go for the Â¥8,800+ ones.
– Yokohama New Grand: one of Japan’s first Western-style hotels, in the old city core of Yokohama. There’s an ocean liner parked outside and a water shuttle to Minato Mirai. The restaurant here invented seafood doria. Normally kind of expensive but there are a limited number of rooms from Â¥6,500 if you book direct in advance. (The Japanese and English sides of their direct site seem to have different room deals/availability). Highlight of my trip to stay somewhere so nice for so cheap.
If the New Grand is sold out, there are a lot of well-reviewed hotels in the ¥6,000-¥8,000 range in the area (Motomachi-Chuukagai)
>plus I’d appreciate any recommendations for good accomodation under 10000yen/night in Hiroshima and Yokohama!
For Hiroshima, I highly recommend the Nest Hotel. Was within that budget when I went though this may or may be the same depending on when you actually end up going. Nothing for yokohama though – I’m afraid – as I just did it as a day trip.
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>Day 5(Wed): Take a train to Tsukiji in the morning, explore and eat an early lunch
Just to check (as I’ve not looked back through previous posts) – it’s definitely Tsukiji market you’re wanting and not the actual tuna auctions at Toyosu? Asking as 99.999% of people on the sub say they want to see Tsukiji but they haven’t realised the auctions have moved a few years back and that they need to go to Toyosu for that now. If it’s definitely not Toyosu you want, feel free to ignore 🙂 (apologies if you covered that in previous versions).
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>Day 7(Fri): Take a water bus/ boat out to Odaiba (1hr) in the morning and visit Teamlab Planets or whatever has replaced Borderless, then see the giant Gundam. Walk the Rainbow Bridge to Sengakuji then have lunch in the area. Visit Nakameguro and Daikanyama in the afternoon. Go back to the hotel, then come back to visit central Shibuya and Centre Gai at night.
Toyosu is where TeamLab Planets is – just FYI (in case you were thinking it was replacing Borderless in Odaiba – they are two separate attractions by TeamLab). While they are both Tokyo bay area and close to each other, I just wanted to avoid any confusion. This would also be the ideal time to slot in Toyosu market if it *was* where you were meaning to go (though if it’s Tsukiji is right, you could still do it on this day as well as they are all close enough together to work and be efficient.
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Any themed cafes you’ll want to check the reservation requirements (E.G. do you need to book in advance or do you turn up on the day?). Perhaps covid has changed the game a bit, but a lot of them even just a few years ago were mainly ones you had to book in advance (in a similar way as the Ghibli museum) with very few to no slots actually available for walk-ins. Definitely worth checking in advance to understand before going and missing out as I imagine if they *do* take walk-ins, you’ll want to know how early to arrive to ensure you get a table as something like the JoJo cafe is bound to be busy.