We’re flying in and out of Tokyo, going for 14 days, and I’m a little worried about the heat/ humidity and/or typhoons. Food is our primary focus with Japanese culture a close second.
Were considering the following “general” ideas:
1. Just Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. Stick to big cities with lots of indoor activities in case of a typhoon and eat as much as we possibly can, and seeing as many sites as the weather permits. 2 nights at a ryokan in Hakone
Tokyo for half the time, and smaller cities in central Honshu such as Kanazawa and Takayama and Hakone for the remaining half
Tokyo for half the time, Hakkaido/Sapporo/Otatu for the second half. Head north and try to beat the heat
Start in Tokyo but work our way up through Miyagi and then spend time on Hokkaido
Do any of these seem particularly better than others for a trip in September?
by 401kAsker
6 comments
You know maybe another option is leaning into the heat and staying at some beach side hotels during the trip such as the Izu peninsula
If you plan to do a lot of shopping in a particular city, go there last.
Osaka is the food capital of Japan and Kyoto is the historical and cultural capital. With 14 days and assuming you’ve never been to Japan before you probably will want to stick to option 1 even if it feels pretty basic.
I’m hoping at the same time as you with the same number of days. We booked straight to Osaka as soon as we land and are going to work our way back to Tokyo. Probably do 2 days in Osaka to go to some of the adventure parks and then 4 in Kyoto before spending a day or two in smaller places along the way back to Tokyo, and then like 5-6 in Tokyo
Assuming you’re coming from the US, start in Kyoto because it’s the best city for jet-lagged early mornings. Go to Osaka next as it’s got more happening at night, and then finish in Tokyo.
Option 1 sounds good for first-timers.
Hey OP if you’d like I can send you my itinerary for the last 12 days I spent in Japan.
TLDR: Fly to Haneda (tokyo) ->train to Kyoto immediately.
You can enjoy 5-6 days in Kyoto, and still do day-trips to Osaka + Nara (they’re about 40-1hr each way and totally worth it.
Return to Tokyo for the 2nd half of your trip. We also managed a day-over in Mt. Fuji, but if you want you could easily do a day trip to FujI (and I strongly suggest visiting).
I know that this is considered the ‘obvious tourism vacation’ but it’s totally worth it. I also plan like a crazy person with a google doc so I can copy+paste it for you.