Hi all, we are travelling with a group of 11 to Japan in mid June. Half the group are first timers. Let me know what your thoughts are on this itinerary. (I’m sure our group will separate at points in this trip but this is a rough outline for people who want to see as much as I plan to)
Hotel Stays:
Gion, Gion, Gion. Kanazawa, Kanazawa, Tokyo Disney Resort, Shibuya, Shibuya, Shibuya
**Day 1** – Fly in from Seoul to Osaka at 1:45pm
Osaka Kickstart Tour at 2:30pm (4 hrs)
* Will see major sights, fish market, districts, Osaka Castle (exterior)
* Finish day off strolling Downtown Osaka, Dontonburi or Namba
* Train to Kyoto, check in to hotel in Gion
**Day 2** – Nara day trip (6 hour guided tour at 9am – 3pm)
* Deer Park
* Todai-Ji
* Stroll Old Town
* Sake Brewery
Head back to Kyoto
* See Nishiki Market
* Dinner in Gion (Wagyu)
* Whisky Bar
(I plan to do a night hike at Fushimi Inari and anyone in my group who wants to will join me)
**Day 3** – Full day in Kyoto
* Walk to Kyomizu-Dera (early at 7am)
* Explore streets around it
* Lunch (thinking Sushi, Katsu, or Okonomiyaki if you have any suggestions)
* 1pm- private 4 hour guided e-bike tour of Kyoto (stops at some temples such as Kinkaku-ji)
Dinner/bars
**Day 4** – half day in Kyoto/check in to hotel in Kanazawa
* Giou-Ji temple (moss gardens, close to Arashiyama)
* Arashiyama/River Boat
* Lunch
* Nijo Castle
Take train to Kanazawa
* Stroll Samurai District at night and get dinner
**Day 5** – full day in Kanazawa (with half-day trip)
Private driver/tour of Shirakawago
Spend rest of day in Kanazawa (looking to do some sort of cultural activity such as tea ceremony, or some from of crafts)
* See fish market
* Castle and gardens
**Day 6** – leave to Tokyo Disney Resort/check-in to hotel
* Tokyo Disney
**Day 7** – Tokyo Disney Sea, check in to hotel at Shibuya after park closes
**Day 8 -** Tokyo (Shibuya/Harajuku)
* Hit up some cafes in Shibuya
* Meiji shrine at opening hours
* Yoyogi Park
* Harajuku, Takeshita street for shopping and food
Head over to Shimokitazawa for underground music scene
* Shibuya Sky Tower
* Finish night bar crawling in Shibuya
* potentially will do a guided tour to get a good introduction
**Day 9 -** Tokyo
* TeamLabs Borderless at opening hour
* Azabudai Hills
Lunch/Free time
* Shinjuku around dusk
* stroll Golden Gai, Kabukicho
* bar crawl (potentially will do guided bar crawl tour)
**Day 10** – Tokyo, flight back home at 9pm
Haven’t made any plans for our last day in Tokyo, probably will leave it wide open and feel it out. Probably save this day for any shopping people wanted to do but couldn’t squeeze in.
Let me know if you have any tips, suggestions for activities, food/cafe/bar options in the areas I’m visiting, timing of itinerary, etc.
My brothers and I are musicians and appreciate all forms of music from Jazz to punk rock to electric so any good music scenes/spots would be appreciated.
by Own_Ad_6080
6 comments
Are you using the trains or flying? This itinerary looks ideal for the Hokuriku Arch Pass.
Yoyogi park is just a park. Shimokita isn’t really underground. Koenji often has better shows
>**Day 1**Â – Fly in from Seoul to Osaka at 1:45pm
>Osaka Kickstart Tour at 2:30pm (4 hrs)
How do you plan to do that ? arriving at 145, it would be very tight and risky to plan anything before maybe 4pm, provided customs, etc., go smoothly
Also, no bar in GG will be large enough to accomodate one group of 11. As a regular, doing a “guided tour” of golden gai seems like a big loss of money, and the whole business model of GG is set up to limit the number of hoppers (one large cover charge, to keep you in the same joint)
there is a lot of good street food near kyomizu-dera. I recommend just eating around there when the vendors are open (probably closer to 10am or 11am) instead of having a set lunch
have you made any reservations for dinners? just be prepared that most places will not be able to seat you all at the same table. some restaurants don’t even have 11 seats. maybe you already know this since half your group has been to japan before but maybe not in such large a group.
as you go around to eat on the fly, I highly recommend breaking your group up when you eat if you are altogether. maybe like break up as 4, 4, and 3. if you break up as a group of 5 and 6, be prepared that people in the back of the line to eat who have less people than you may jump head in line because they have less people in their group. so the less people you have in your group, the faster you’ll be able to eat if you queue, in which case you may even want to opt for 3, 3, 3, and 2 at times. some places will even ask if you can break up your group further so that they can seat you faster.
all food is amazing in japan but the best places usually have a queue. just keep it in mind when you go out to eat because even then if you get to a location at peak hours you could still be waiting to eat for an hour or more. best to do research about certain restaurants beforehand too
Day 2 nishiki market might be closed by the time you get back from Nara.