[Itinerary check] – 12 weeks in Japan

Introduction

Hey everyone,

This is my second trip to Japan and I got the once in a lifetime opportunity to do a 12 week traverse across almost all of Japan. Since this will most likely be the only time I'm ever able to do this I obviously try to optimize this as much as possible so I'd be really glad to receive every helpful input I can get. 🙂

About me: I'm (21M) and have been to Japan once. I especially like shrines/temples, nature, historical landmarks and food. Budget wise I'm put up well but I dont necessarily have to splurge too much (e.g. I'm also fine to use slower transportation sometimes because damn these shinkansen rides add up so fast…). Language wise I know the most useful sentences and kanji but I obviously also have to rely on translation apps. Transportation wise I'm limited to public transport since I can't get an international drivers license and it isnt worthwile to rent a car as a solo traveller anyways.

Now to the itinerary: Although I have marked a bunch of things on google maps for each place I only added the main reason why I'm trying to visit each place on the following itinerary so if there is something that you found totally underwhelming in general or or in comparison to the travel time needed please let me know. I'm totally aware that some people may find the pace of this itinerary too fast but thats how I like to travel. Still I obviously dont want to exhaust myself too much so I also tried to add a few more relaxing parts here and there… The main thing I wanna know (besides a few specific questions) is: Am I clearly over/understaying at some places, am I missing some absolutely unskippable places, am I wasting time with some places and would you change the route in any way?

Itinerary

17 / 09 (Osaka)

Arrive at Kansai Airport from Busan (South Korea) by noon. Make your way to the city and check into the hotel. Maybe check out Dotonbori in the evening.

18 / 09 (Osaka)

Spend a day in Osaka and see what the city has to offer / namba yasaka shrine / denden town / shin sekai area.

19 / 09 (Osaka daytrip to Kobe)

Spend a day in Kobe. Herb museum overlooking the city / kitanocho area / chinatown / port area (not the island). Eat kobe beef.

20 / 09 (Osaka to Koyasan)

Relaxed morning in Osaka, then head to Koyasan with the nankai line and cable car / bus. Explore the town / Okunoin. Spend a night in a temple (already booked)

21 / 09 (Koyasan to Tanabe via Osaka)

Watch the morning prayer if I'm able to wake up early. Go back to Osaka and eat lunch, then head to Tanabe for the kumano kodo (and enjoy the scenic ride). In the evening stroll through the city.

22 / 09 (Tanabe to Chikatsuyu)

Beach stroll in the morning (?). Get bento box, then head to the kumano kodo information center and take the bus to Takijiri. Hike from Takijiri to Chikatsuyu (13.5km). (Accomodation already booked)

–> is it a bad idea to do this solo? Are bear encounters a real issue?

23 / 09 (Chikatsuyu to Kawayu Onsen)

Hike from Chikatsuyu to Hoshinmon-oji (17km), then take the bus to Kawayu Onsen. (Accomodation already booked)

24 / 09 (Kawayu Onsen to Katsuura via Hongu)

Take the bus back to Hoshinmon-oji and hike from there to the kumano hongu taisha (7km). Then take the bus / train to Katsuura (there was a river cruise option but unfortunately I missed to book this and now it isnt available).

25 / 09 (Katsuura to Ise via Nachi)

Bus to daimon-zaka. Hike to nachi grand shrine. Bus back and then train all the way to Ise (is this too much?)

26 / 09 (Ise to Nagoya)

Relaxed stroll through okage yokocho to the ise-jingu (already went there last time and I really loved it). Outer sanctuary / meoto iwa (is it worth it?). Alternatively just stroll through the city, then head to Nagoya in the late afternoon.

27 / 09 (Nagoya)

Spend a day in Nagoya / atsuta-jingu / science museum / sakae area. Maybe the castle if I have spare time but I have been there already and it didnt blew me away… (Maybe also a day trip instead? Any suggestions?)

28 / 09 (Nagoya to Kiso via the nakasendo)

Train to Nakatsugawa / bus to trail start. Do the nakasendo stopping by at Magome and Tsumago. Train from Nagiso to Kiso.

–> Is the nearby Achi worth it to stargaze? If so I could do the nakasendo one day later and spend a night there first

29 / 09 (Kiso to Matsumoto via narai-juku)

Take the train to Matsumoto stopping by at narai-juku. In Matsumoto do the castle / museum of art for yayoi kusama artworks if time permits.

30 / 09 (Matsumoto to Kamikochi)

Train to shinshimashima station then bus to Kamikochi. Walk form taisho-ike pond to kappa-bashi bridge if time allows further to the myojiin ponds. Spend the night in Kamikochi or in Hirayu Onsen? Which one would you recommend?

01 / 10 (Kamikochi/Hirayu to Takayama)

Bus to Takayama. Stroll trough the sanmachi district / takayama jin'ya (?) / retro museum or showa-kan museum

02 / 10 (Takayama)

Spend a day in Takayama with nothing really planned / maybe rent a bike and ride to Hida-Furukawa

03 / 10 (Takayama to Tateyama via shirakawago)

Take a bus to shirakawago and explore the town, then head to Tateyama to be able to start an early day for the tateyama-kurobe alpine route

–> Are Suganuma and Ainokura worth it aswell? Can you even reach them with public transport?

04 / 10 (Tateyama to Omachi)

Do the tateyama-kurobe alpine route stopping at Midagahara, Murodo and Kurobe. (the website says the whole route with some shorter walks takes 6-7hrs… Can somebody confirm this, does it take longer?) Take the bus from ogisawa station, spend night in Omachi. (Accomodation in Murodo is too expensive for what it is in my opinion…)

05 / 10 (Omachi to Tokyo)

Travel day from Omachi to Tokyo. Maybe stop in Azumino for the daio wasabi farm (have already been there and really liked it) or in Matsumoto (?). Spend evening în Tokyo.

06 / 10 (Tokyo)

(I actually split my days in Tokyo into three different visits). Need no advice for the itinerary here.

07 / 10 (Tokyo to Hitachi Seaside Park)

Daytrip to hitachi seaside park (hoping to see the kochia blooming in red). Daytrip can be shifted if the weather is bad.

08 / 10 (Toyko to Hakone)

Travel to Hakone by bus in the morning. Open air museum / hakone shrine / ropeway (owakudani) / hakone checkpoint

09 / 10 (Hakone)

Spend another whole day in Hakone (maybe a trip somewhere, any reccommendations?)

10 / 10 (Hakone to Ito via Atami)

Head over to Ito. Make a stop in Atami and spend some time there, then head to Ito and explore the town.

11 / 10 (Ito to Izu)

In the morning take the bus to jogasaki coast and walk the trail then take the bus and head to mount omuro if time allows make a stop at maboroshi hakurankai otherwise go back to Ito and take a bus to Izu. Explore Izu in the evening. (do you think this is too much?)

12 / 10 (Izu to Shizuoka)

Spend a relaxed morning in Izu then take the train all the way to shimizu station, from there take a short ferry ride to Mihono then walk all the way over miho no matsubara, from there get somehow back (in case of cloudy/rainy weather do something else… any recommendations?)

13 / 10 (Shizuoka to Sapporo)

Bus to shizuoka airport, Flight from Shizuoka to Sapporo. Get from new chitose airport to sapporo. Spend the evening in Sapporo.

14 / 10 (Sapporo)

Spend a day in Sapporo. Odori park / clock tower / historical village or hokkaido university museum (?). Try some royce chocolate / all kinds of dairy products / soup curry etc.

15 / 10 (Sapporo daytrip to Otaru)

Daytrip to Otaru. Canal area / temiya line / sakaimachi / glass museum. Eat some fresh fish, visit leTAO for a dessert.

16 / 10 (Sapporo to Noboribetsu)

Spend the morning in Sapporo then go to Noboribetsu by bus or train/bus. Walk through the hell valley to okunoyu and oyunuma pond walk back on the other side, try the natural footbath. Enjoy a relaxing onsen experience.

17 / 10 (Noboribetsu to Hakodate)

Go to Hakodate by bus/train. Goryokaku + maybe the tower (?). If time permits head over to the observatory otherwise do this the next day.

18 / 10 (Hakodate)

Day in Hakodate. Morning market / Red brick warehouses / motomachi park + old public hall of hakodate ward / hachiman-zaka slope / the churches / (observatory for one of the top three nightviews in japan. Try Lucky Pierrot (a burger chain restaurant thats only in Hakodate).

19 / 10 (Hakodate to Morioka via Aomori)

Train from Hakodate to Morioka. Stop in Aomori, Nokkedon for lunch then the WA-RASSE museum / A-Factory for some apple treats. Continue to Morioka. For dinner eat jajamen.

20 / 10 (Morioka halfdaytrip to Kakunodate)

Visit the charming town of Kakunodate. Nakamachi with the samurai houses. Head back, maybe stop at tazawa lake for omoide no katabunko (has anybody been there, would this be worth the detour?). Eat not too much, attempt the wanko soba challenge.

21 / 10 (Morioka to Sendai via Hiraizumi)

Train from Morioka to Sendai. Stop in Hiraizumi (mainly for the chuson-ji). Then continue on to Sendai. Castle ruins / zuihoden. Try the zunda shake / gyutan.

22 / 10 (Sendai daytrip to Matsushima)

Go early for the shiogama fish market, then take boat to Matsushima, walk along the coastline / fukuurajima / zuigan-ji, entsuin / go up to the saigyo modoshi no matsu park for sunset. Go back.

23 / 10 (Sendai daytrip to Futaba)

Planned a guided tour visit around the disaster area, any organizer you can recommend?

24 / 10 (Sendai halfdaytrip to Yamadera)

Visit yamadera temple, maybe exit the train at omoshiroyama-kogen and hike the rest (can anybody recommend this?). Go back and if time allows go to arahama elemntary school (worth it for the time to get there?)

25 / 10 (Sendai to Nikko)

Take the train to Nikko, stop by in Utsunomiya and eat some gyoza. Shinkyo bridge / tosho-gu and surrounding area / kanmangafuchi abyss. Bus up to the chuzenji lake area.

26 / 10 (Sendai)

Kegon falls / boat ride to shobogahama / ryuzu falls / hike through senjogahara all the way up to yudaki falls. Bus back. (again: Are bears a realistic issue if youre going solo, do I have to take some precautions? I guess during autumn colors the trail will be busy anyways…)

27 / 10 (Nikko to Tokyo)

27 / 10 – 01 / 11 Tokyo with a daytrip to Kamakura/Enoshima, dont need any advice here 🙂

02 / 11 (Tokyo to Fukuoka)

Flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka in the afternoon. Spend the evening in Fukuoka. Eat at a yatai.

03 / 11 (Fukuoka to Karatsu via Itoshima)

Relaxed morning in Fukuoka / kushida shrine / tocho-ji. In the afternoon head over to Karatsu to attend the karatsu kunchi festival and stay until the later evening before going back.

04 / 11 (Fukuoka to Yakushima)

Go to Fukuoka airport and fly to Yakushima. Take a bus/shuttle bus to accomodation. Check out Miyanoura.

05 / 11 (Yakushima)

Hike one of the numerous trails.

06 / 11 (Yakushima)

Hike one of the numerous trails.

07 / 11 (Yakushima to Kagoshima)

Take a speed boat to Kagoshima. Relax in tenmonkan park / check out shiroyama park observation deck / sengan-en (no interest in sakurajima since I'll be going to aso the next day)

08 / 11 (Kagoshima to Aso)

Take the shinkansen to Kumamoto, then go to the aso area. Kusasenrigahama / kusasenri observatory / hiking if permitted. Stay somewhere around Aso station.

09 / 11 (Aso to Yufuin via Kurokawa)

Take the bus to Kurokawa. Stroll through the town, eventually do the rotemburo meguri (?). then take the bus for Yufuin. Lake kinrin / yunotsubo street / yufuin floral village. (any other recommendations?)

10 / 11 (Yufuin to Fukuoka)

Relaxed morning in Yufuin, then take the yufuin no mori train to Fukuoka. Spend another night in Fukuoka.

11 / 11 (Fukoka to Hiroshima)

Take the shinkansen to Hiroshima. Explore Hiroshima / peace memorial and everything around it. For dinner eat okonomiyaki.

12 / 11 (Hiroshima daytrip to Miyajima)

Train hiroshimako station and take the ferry to miyajima. spend the day there / itsukushima shrine / daishoin / hokokujinja senjokaku / momijidani park / hike up/down mount misen take the ropeway one way. (Is it worth it to stay in Miyajima itself or is it a better idea to just go back to Hiroshima so I dont have to change hotels?)

13 / 11 (Hiroshima to Onomichi)

Relaxed morning in Hiroshima, then take the train to Onomichi (probably shinkansen with change at mihara station and bus from shin-onomichi station. Explore Onomichi / cat alley / senkoji park / temple path.

14 / 11 (Onomichi daytrip to Tomonoura)

Take a ferry to Tomonoura. Explore the town, head back with ferry.

15 / 11 (Shimanami Kaido)

Start the shimanami kaido (reserve bycicle in advance). take the short ferry to mukaishima. Stop at mukaishima itsukushima shrine / kosan-ji, cave of 1000 buddhas, hill of hope. End the first day on Omishima.

16 / 11 (Shimanami Kaido #2)

Bike the rest until Imabari. Then take the train to Matsuyama. Then rest.

17 / 11 (Matsuyama)

Spend a day in Matsuyama / matsuyama castle / dogo onsen. maybe also a daytrip where you stop at shimonada station…

18 / 11 (Matsuyama to Matsue via Izumo)

Take the speedboat to Hiroshima and then a bus to Izumo / izumo-taisha. then take the train to matsue.

19 / 11 (Matsue)

In the morning/noon visit adachi museum, then explore matuse, (maybe yuushien? is it worth it that time of the year?)

20 / 11 (Matsue to Kinosaki via Tottori)

Take the train to Tottori. (not really interested in the sand dunes since I could see this also outside of japan). Eat lunch there and then take the train to Kinosaki onsen. Stroll through the town.

21 / 11 (Kinosaki to Kyoto via Amanoshidate)

Train to Toyooka, then train to Amanoshidate. Explore Amanoshiate / sandbar / chionji temple / viewland. Then take the bus to Kyoto.

22 / 11 (Kyoto)

22 / 11 – 27 / 11 Kyoto with (half)daytrips to Omihachiman, Arashiyama and Uji (any other daytrip recommendations?) Need no advice for Kyoto itself 🙂

28 / 11 (Kyoto to Nara)

Take the nara line to Nara. mochi shop / kofuku-ji / todai-ji / kasuga taisha / mount wakakusa for sunset (?). Spend the night in Nara.

29 / 11 (Nara to Osaka)

Relaxed morning in Nara, then take the kintetsu nara line to Osaka. Spend the rest of the day there, then in the late evening take the sunrise express back Tokyo.

30 / 11

30 / 11 – 02 / 12 one last time three days in Tokyo with a daytrip to Yokohama, no advice needed 🙂

03 / 12 (Tokyo to Chichibu)

Spend the majority of the day in Tokyo, then head to Chichibu for the chichibu matusri. (I forgot to prebook this and now pretty much everything is booked out… any recommendations where I should stay, to have a confortable for the next day (Nagano) thats not too long of a distance after the chichibu matsuri?)

04 / 12 (Chichibu/(???) to Nagano)

Get to Nagano. Zenko-ji / togakushi, ninpo museum (?)

05 / 12 (Nagano)

Daytrip to the jigokudani yaen koen (Is this worth your time if there is no snow?, otherwise I'll spend my time elsewhere…) + obuse

06 / 12 (Nagano to Nozawa)

Relaxed day in Nozawa. Stroll through the town.

07 / 12 (Nozawa to Kanazawa)

Get to Kanazawa. Kenrokuen / higashi chaya district / nishi chaya district / d.t. suzuki museum / oyama shrine / omicho market

08 / 12 (Kanazawa)

Spend another day in Kanazawa and do the check out the remaning things above.

09 / 12 (Kanazawa to Osaka)

Visit daihonzan eiheiji between these two last destinations. Maybe stay closer to the airport for this night.

10 / 12 (Osaka to Taipei)

Flight from Osaka to Taipei in the morning to continue my journey.