Hello and happy new year!
Based on the feedback of “too much” from my previous post (deleted to avoid cluttering the page), plus having time off to plan, I’ve re-done it to focus mostly on the central part of north Japan and the central part of… Central Japan, I guess. The 29 days does not include day of arrival (day 0), or the day I leave (day 30), because those don’t count.
I’m hoping for the following feedback:
* Practicality of the amounts of travel, not including day trips;
* Whether any of these should be skipped and/or switched to somewhere else; and
* Advice on things to eat or see or buy in the various locations.
I am mainly interested in delicious food that isn’t seafood (though dashi is fine as an ingredient, not an entire flavour itself), nature, amateur photography, shrines and temples, art, and history.
* Day 0: arrive Tokyo mid-afternoon; clear customs, go directly to Sendai.
* Days 1 – 4: Sendai
* Day trip ideas: Yamadera Temple, Zuiganji Temple/Matsushima Bay, Motsuji & Chuson-ji Temple (per previous itinerary, these temples are the Tohoku Four Temple pilgrimage and you can get special stamps)
* Days 5 & 6: Nikko
* I’ve [been here before](https://imgur.com/dA9H6IB), and spent the day around the [Toshogu Shrine](https://imgur.com/LxXSEa0), but I wanted to explore the nature side of it as well, as it was one of my favourite parts of my previous trip.
* Days 7 – 9: Niigata
* My step-grandmother’s parents were from this area (her father’s hometown is listed as “Shinetsu-shi,” which I can only find referenced as a train line), so I want to find gifts for my (half) sister and brother here.
* Days 10 & 11: Nagano
* Days 12 & 13: Matsumoto
* Days 14 – 17: Kanazawa
* Days 18 & 19: Takayama
* Days 20 & 21: Gero Onsen
* Days 22 – 25: Nagoya
* Day trip ideas: Hikone, Tsubaki Grand Shrine, Ise Grand Shrine, Naegi Castle Ruins, Inuyama Castle.
* Days 26 & 27: Atami
* Days 28 & 29: Tokyo
The Japan Travel pass calculator didn’t include all of my destinations, so I wasn’t able to use it for calculations, but my spreadsheet indicates that the 21 day pass could be worth it, assuming I start it the day of arrival (only moving between locations per Hyperdia first 21 days \[day 0 to 20\] is ¥75,910, 21 day pass is ¥60,450), but I don’t believe any other passes work/are cost-efficient for the remainder.
Thank you in advance, and fingers crossed the formatting isn’t super messed up!
8 comments
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All of your interests are very similar to mine. FYI though you might get “tired” right in the middle of week 3 so be prepared to have rest days where you just don’t do much.
That said, yes this much travel requires a 21 day rail pass. You might also want to look into trying the last overnight train in Japan. That will save you some hotel charges and get you an unforgettable experience.
As for food, Japan does have salad and a lot of meat options but if you dislike seafood, you’ll be much more restricted in terms of options.
Lastly, Sep 22 is way too early to hope that Japan will open up for general tourism. In general, expect Japan to be the LAST major economy to reopen again for tourism due to many many factors. So yeah if you’re lucky, 2023 but definitely not 2022 unless by some miracle the pandemic dies down in 2nd quarter 2022.
Why don’t you fly where you’re going?
I made a trip that involved that area and made a giant writeup about the planning portion: [https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/bidu2y/july_2019_toyama_backpacking_tohoku_fuji_rock_how/](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/bidu2y/july_2019_toyama_backpacking_tohoku_fuji_rock_how/)
Yamadera: If you get an early start on the day, you can be back very early afternoon.
Matsushima is a full day
Note that Niigata is, although geographically close, closer to Tokyo than Sendai in terms of travel. The best way to Niigata from Sendai is literally back to Saitama (Omiya) to switch to the Joetsu shinkansen.
For places like Matsumoto, how much time you actually spend there depends on how you’re thinking about the days (if Day 12 means you arrive evening of day 11 or morning of day 12, for example) but you may want to think about playing with travel times to adjust how much time you spend in each city.
Case in point: Kanazawa was not a 4 day trip for me. I got through pretty much everything sightseeing-wise in a day and a half. If your 4 days means you arrive day 14 later in the day, kind of hang out, spend 15 and 16 going around doing things, then leaving somewhere in the middle of 17 then I think that’s perfect. On the other hand, if you planned on four full days there, I’d say it’s too much.
Consider looking at Fukui prefecture (between Kanazawa and Kyoto) – the dinosaur museum there was particularly cool if you’re remotely interested in something like that. Echizen was also really neat.
Also, there are things up north past Sendai but obviously you’d have to make some tradeoffs. Consider it if the idea of going to the less-traveled parts of Japan (though still tourist places, keep that in mind) appeals to you.
You might also consider traveling through the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route (more or less a full day). This connects, more or less Nagano or Matsumoto up to Toyama. Look it up, it’s pretty neat. There’s a bit of walking involved so I do not suggest doing it with your luggage (though backpack is fine if that’s how you’re traveling).
I’d recommend Karuizawa during your stay in Nagano. It’s right in between Niigata and Matsumoto. Rent a bicycle and ride around the city/nature which is pretty refreshing.
Have you been to Tokyo before? Just a day or two might not be enough if you were a first timer.
Quick question. I live in the UK. Are we allowed entry in Japan for tourism? Thanks
Given the time frame I don’t think you’ll have time to do it on this trip but look into the Kumano Kodo as well. It goes through Wakayama and Mie and if you like hiking/traveling long distances by foot I would highly recommend it.
For exploring the nature side of Nikko, I highly recommend hiking through the Senjogahara Marshland. It was absolutely one of the best parts of my last trip to Japan. The views were spectacular, and it was a very relaxed hike. It took me about three hours at a very leisurely pace, if I recall.
I took the bus up to Yudaki Falls and then hiked back toward Nikko. Had I not been fighting a wicked head cold at the time, I would have stopped to sketch so many times along the trail. I imagine you’d find plenty of places to get some excellent photographs (the shots I took with my phone were certainly among my favorites from the trip).