16 days i Japan – Itinerary check

Hi

My wife and I plan to go on our very first trip to Japan in march 2025. Arriving on 11th march, and returning on 27th march.

Start in Tokyo for 5 days (11-15 march).
– Akihabara (arcade, Claw machines, Nintendo)
– Kirby Cafe (Food)
– Tokyo Skytree
– Teamlabs Planets (special museum)
– Sensoji Temple (Tokyo oldest Buddhist temple)
– Shibuya Crossing (Crosswalk)
– Robot restaurant
– Lake Kawaguchiko (view of Mount Fuji)
– Omoide Yokocho
– Golden Gai

then to Kyoto for 4 days (16-19 march):
– Arashiyama Bamboo Grove (Come early)
– Arashiyama Monkey Park (wild monkeys)
– Nishiki Market (food marked)
– Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine
– Pontocho Alley

then to Osaka for 6 days with 1 day in Nara and 1 day in Kobe (4 total in Osaka) (20-25 march):
– Dotonbori (neon lights, food, shops)
– Umeda Sky Building (night life view)
– Osaka Castle
– Universal Studios Japan
– Shinsaibashi (shopping district)

Nara
– Nara Park
– Todaji Temple

Kobe
– Kobe beef
– Rokko cable car

then back to Tokyo for 1 day (26-27 march) and fly back home at 27th march.

Will take the bullet train between cities.

Should I change the amounts of days each place ?
Is Kobe worth it ?
It does not seem a railpass makes sense according to the JR fare calculator.
Should we maybe take a day or 2 from the current plan and add another city like Hiroshima ?

Thanks fellow travellers

by Is-This-Heaven

2 comments
  1. Yes, remove Kobe (you can easily find Kobe beef in Osaka) and one day from Osaka and go to Hiroshima.

  2. I’d actually do it the other way around. Fly into Tokyo, and it’s up to you if you want to stay a night before going down to Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, etc). Personally, I stay a night around the airport since you can catch the train from there, but if you want to be efficient and don’t mind the additional travel time from the flight to Kansai, you can do that too.

    I’d also remove a day in Kyoto and Kobe to get two days in Hiroshima, then head back into Tokyo for your final leg of the trip.

    I’d also recommend going to Kamakura/Enoshima for a day trip from Tokyo. Very different vibe and it’s quite nice out there.

Leave a Reply
You May Also Like