Hello, I'm planning a 18 days itinerary travel plan to Japan with my brother (both early 30s M) from December 20 to Jan 8. Mostly sticking to golden route going from Tokyo > Osaka > Kyoto > Hiroshima with a few day trips inbetween (Nagano, Kinosaki Onsen, potentially Nikko/Kawaguchiko). Nothing super set in stone yet except the flights that I just booked. Would love inputs on itinerary and winter clothing/shinkansen planning (never went internationally and live in a temperate climate) to not overload ourselves
Questions I have:
- For new years, how are train traveling and shinkansen? How early do I have to book in advance? If so, how do I go about it
- We both have android, so we know we have to get physical Suica or wait until Osaka to get ICOCA. Will it be a problem if we don't have it in the early leg of the trip?
- Since we travel quite a bit through multiple cities, is JR pass worth it? If not, how about small regional passes?
- For luggage delivery, will they still be next day delivery, even during new year? We're traveling with 1 carry-on and 1 large suitcase each (so 2 carry on and 2 big luggages, but the big ones left empty for gifts) so it's a matter of dragging the big things with us
Day 0 12/21- Tokyo from LA
- Asasuka base
- Land in the 4PM at Narita. doing customs stuff
- Check into Asakusa hotel (I'm looking at Sunroute Asasuka, any input on it? or any other rec as well)
- Explore Senso ji temple at night if awake
Day 1 12/22 – Tokyo
- Senso-ji Temple
- Nakamise street food and lunch, briefly check out Kappanbashi
- Afternoon train to Ueno. Explore Tokyo National Museum (must go since last day before 2024 closing) and Ueno Park
- Evening free, maybe Akihabara?
Day 2 12/23 – Tokyo
- TeamLab Planets in the morning
- Toyosu market, then exploring Ginza (Ginza 6) if feeling up to it
- Train to Shibuya for Shibuya scramble and Shibuya Sky at sunset (finger crossed). Backup sight is Tokyo metro building
- Evening exploration of Shibuya or Shinjuku for Christmas decor
Day 3 12/24 – Tokyo
- DisneyLand or DisneySea (not sure which is better? Brother requested DisneyLand just for the vibe but unsure)
Day 4 12/25 – Tokyo (Free day)
- Meiju Jingu
- Yoyogi Park
- Train to Harajuku and explore surrounding area
- Evening Christmas at Roppongi
Day 5 12/26 – Tokyo/Nagano
- Bags to Osaka
- Shinkansen to Nagano to visit Zenkoji temple. Lunch at Nagano
- Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park
- Overnight stay at Sotetsu Nagano (is it better here, or going back to Tokyo?)
Day 6 12/27 – Tokyo or Nagano > Osaka
- Shinkansen to Osaka early in the morning
- Lunch in Osaka (not sure what area yet)
- Check in Hotel (Bridge Hotel Shinsaibashi or Sauna & Capsule hotel)
- Explore Dotonbori at night
Day 7 12/28 – Osaka
- Hiroshima/Miyajima day trip
Day 8 12/29 – Osaka
- Universal Studio Japan + Super Mario Land
Day 9 12/30 – Osaka (Free Day – can swap with day 8 if USJ is less crowded on Monday)
- Himeji Castle in the morning
- Lunch at Himeji
- Back in Osaka for Osaka castle
- Free time for anything fun, Umeda building at night?
Day 10 12/31 – Osaka > Kyoto
- Check out Osaka, bag to Kyoto
- Train to Kyoto
- Explore Nishiki market, get food to prep for NYE in case everything closes
- Check in hotel (not sure where? so far I only have sauna and capsule hotel rumor plaza)
- How about traditional hotel rec? Looking for something fairly budget at around $50-$100 a night
- Hatsumode at night at any random shrine close by, maybe Fushimi Inari if we're bold enough
Day 11 1/1/25 – Kyoto
- Fushimi Inari Taisha (I know it's crowded. that's part of the fun of new year!)
- Explore Nijo castle afternoon. if closed, go to Gion
- Rest of the day free since not sure what's open and available
Day 12 1/2/25 – Kyoto
- go to Arashiyama in early morning
- Tenryuji
- Togetsukyo Bridge
- Bamboo forest
- grab a bicycle to explore rest of Arashiyama. Lunch is whatever
Day 13 1/3/25 – Kyoto
- Eastern Kyoto full day, start at Ginkakuji (hopefully with bicycles, if not, we're cutting half of this list down)
- Philosopher's Path
- Nanzenji
- Heian Shrine
- Yasaka Shrine
- Kodaiji Temple
- Higashiyama Streets
- Kiyomizudera
- Back to Gion/Pontocho for dinner
Day 14 1/4/25 – Kyoto/Kinosaki Onsen
- Check out hotel, take train to Kinosaki Onsen
- Check in Ryokan
- Relax
Day 15 1/5/25 – Kinosaki Onsen
- Full day relaxing at Kinosaki
- Kinosaki ropeway
- If bicycle is available, biking!
Day 16 1/6/25 – Kinosaki Onsen > Tokyo/Kyoto
- Check out early
- Lunch at Kinosaki or after train
- Train to either Tokyo to Kyoto (is better to train to Kyoto to explore old favorites/see new sights, or straight back to Tokyo and explore night life?)
- Kyoto hotel: probably a random capsule hotel, then bag to Tokyo
- Tokyo hotel: most likely Hotel Gracery Shinjuku
Day 17 1/7/25 – Tokyo (free day)
- Free day to explore
- Potential day trip to Nikko/Kawaguchiko/Kamakura? (could I please have some pointers as to which is better?)
- If up to it, evening at Shinjuku
Day 18 1/8/25 – Tokyo > Home
- Check out hotel early
- Last minute shopping
- Flight home in late afternoon (5PM flight at Narita). Cry about an amazing experience
Please let me know if this itinerary sounds reasonable!
by junkyself