Hi! My fiancé and I are traveling to Japan in 2 weeks for our honeymoon and looking for feedback on our itinerary below. Any veteran tips based on the itinerary is super appreciated. If it matters for feedback, one of us is a vegetarian and one of us doesn’t eat pork. While that requires some additional planning ahead, it doesn’t seem to be too limiting, at least in Tokyo and Kyoto where we will spend most of our time. We generally love walking, hiking, and cool nature experiences. We do not plan to get a JR Pass, as it doesn’t seem at all worth it with our travel schedule, but have already gotten digital Suica cards in our Apple Wallets.
The bulk of the time will be in the Kyoto area, so would love any feedback on the daily itineraries – if you think we’re doing too much/too little/any food recommendations/etc.
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* **Friday June 7: Tokyo**
* Arrive at Narita airport around 3:25pm local time and take the JR Narita Express into Tokyo. Check into our hotel and get dinner. Plan is just to wander and pop in for food anywhere that catches our eye since we’ll be tired and going to bed early this night. Since we’re staying nearby, may be in the Dogenzaka area near Shibuya/Shinjuku
* **Saturday June 8: Tokyo**
* Grab breakfast at the hotel, then start the day at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden shortly after they open.
* After exploring the Garden, we’ll head over to Yoyogi Park and the Meiji Jingu Shrine. Walk through Shibuya Crossing/check out the Pokemon Center there.
* We have reservations at Udatsu Sushi Omakase at 9pm in Nakenmeguro for dinner. Depending on timing and our energy, we’ll explore that area before dinner.
* Plan is to then go back to Shibuya Crossing to see the craziness at night
* **Sunday June 9: Tokyo**
* Wake up early and head over to Tsukiji Outer Market for breakfast/early lunch
* We have reservations at Teamlab Planets after the Market
* Make our way to Ueno Park/explore the area and walk around. Check out the Senso-Ji Shrine while in the area
* While in Asakusa, we want to check our Kamiya Bar
* No dinner plans yet this day, but thinking we will cross the river and go to the viewing deck at Tokyo Skytree. We’re interested in the Musashi 634 restaurant in the Skytree, but it doesn’t look like there’s any vegetarian options
* **Monday, June 10: Tokyo Day Trip**
* Day trip to Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. We’re likely going to go to the Lake Kawaguchiko area for hiking and exploring. This day requires additional planning to map out public transport routes.
* **Tuesday June 11: Head to Ryokan North of Kyoto**
* Take the Shinkansen Hikari bullet train to Kyoto Station, from there, take the green Karasuma line to Kokusaikaikan Station. From there, take a bus to Ohara
* Spend the night at the ryokan in Sakyo Ward north of Kyoto
* **Wednesday June 12: Kyoto**
* Breakfast at Ryokan
* Head down to hotel in central Kyoto
* Wander around and explore neighborhood – looking to check out Veg Out vegan Cafe and Kyoto Beer labs
* Head to Fushimi Inari in the evening and hike all the way up, be there for sunset
* **Thursday June 13: Kyoto**
* Head to Kiyomizu-dera Temple to be there when it opens at 6am
* Walk a bit north to Nanzenji temple to be there by 8:30am open
* Walk the Philosopher’s Path from Nanzenji to Ginkaku-Ji template and explore the complex
* Plan to hang around and explore Gion district and get lunch at Hobodo Cafe, chill for lunch. Also want to check out Ippodo Tea Shop
* If we feel up for it, and have time, may check out the Kyoto Botanical Garden (closes by 6pm) but we also may just chill and explore
* Get to bed earlier after early wake up and early wake up tomorrow
* **Friday June 14: Kyoto**
* Quick breakfast at hotel
* Take JR-San-in or Sagano lines from Kyoto Station to Sara-Arashiyama Station, walk to bamboo grove
* Check out Arashiyama bamboo forest early, walk around the river. Check out Tenryu-ji template. Get lunch at the temple
* Plan to check out Monkey Park Iwatayama while we are in the area
* Head back to hotel area and continue to explore, find a good spot for dinner in the evening.
* Maybe check out Tseun tea shop if we have time/up for it
* **Saturday June 15: Kyoto/Day trip to Nara**
* Grab an early meal at Nishiki Market
* Get coffee at Weekenders Coffee
* Hop on the train to JR Nara Station and walk over to Nara Park, spend the morning exploring the bar
* Plan to get dinner at Mimikou, read this is a good place for vegetarian udon noodles
* Maybe check out Tsuen tea shop on our return if we don’t do it the day before
* **Sunday, June 16: Kyoto/Day trip to Kibune**
* Day trip to Kibune/Kurama
* Hike between cities, get food at a kawadoko in Kibune
* Head back to central Kyoto in the evening
* **Monday, June 17: Day trip to Osaka**
* Day trip to Osaka – leave early in the morning
* Check out Osaka Castle and TeamLabs Botanical Gardens. Get dinner/see early nightlife around Dontombori before catching the last train back to our Kyoto hotel
* **Tuesday June 18: Kyoto/Travel to Nagoya for departing flight**
* Check out Kinkaku-Ji Template (Golden Pavilion) when they open at 9am
* Any final follow up visits/exploration in Kyoto for stuff that came up on our trip, wrap up
* Take an evening train to get to Nagoya, where our flight departs the next morning
by fertile_unsullied