Hi everyone,
I did a post a couple of days ago, showing an itinerary from a tour package from a website that I was interested in ([https://www.traveljapan.com.au/packages-view/14-day-treasures-of-japan-2382](https://www.traveljapan.com.au/packages-view/14-day-treasures-of-japan-2382)).
I am hoping to book an independent trip through a travel agency (as required by Japan’s travel restrictions), and honestly booking through an agency seems easier so they can ensure I have all the correct documentation and passes etc.
All of the comments on my previous post suggested that the itinerary was WAY too jam packed and did not have enough time to really experience each area/was too much travel.
I added a few days onto the trip and tried to flesh it out a bit more so that we had more time in each place. It is for our honeymoon, and would be our only chance to visit Japan for at least a VERY long time, maybe even ever. This is why we wanted to see a few different places.
A couple of people also questioned why we would waste a day going to Universal Studios. We are both Australian and theme parks like that do not exist here, so we would like to experience going to a big theme park together and also… we are huge geeks, so Nintendo World, Harry Potter and Jurassic Park themed parks etc sounds awesome!
Below is the new itinerary. Please let me know what you think and if you think I should add/remove/change things around!
Day 1: Arrival in Tokyo. We live in Australia, so we would essentially arrive in Tokyo almost at the same time as we departed Australia. So if we leave in the morning, we would have the rest of the day to relax/nap if needed and explore a bit
Day 2: Tokyo National Museum, Sensoji. Explore Tokyo
Day 3: Day trip to Nikko from Tokyo
Day 4: Ghibli Museum and Team Labs. Explore Tokyo
Day 5: Leave early and travel to Mt Fuji, cruise on Lake Ashi, and maybe a ropeway (I’m not sure what one)? Then travel to accommodation in Hakone (ryokan)
Day 6: Relax, visit hot springs and the open-air museum if we feel like it
Day 7: Bullet train to Nagoya and then to Takayama.
Day 8: Shirakawa-go
Day 9: Travel to Kyoto, explore for the rest of the day
Day 10: Morning cycling tour of Kyoto, visiting: Geisha Quarters Miyagawa-cho, Ishibei Koji Alley, the Gion district, Yasaka-jingu Shrine, Shirakawa River and Heian-jingu Shrine. Tour ends at 1pm. Explore for the rest of the day
Day 11: Visit Arashiyama Sagana Bamboo Grove in the morning and then the monkey park.
Day 12: Day trip to Nara. Todai-ji Temple, Nara Park Kasuga-taisha Shrine
Day 13: Day trip to to Osaka, Osaka Castle, Dotonbori
Day 14: Universal Studios (we want to go to Nintendo World. We are also not American, we are Australian. We do not have big theme parks here, so this would be cool for us).
Day 15: Travel to Hiroshima
Day 16: Peace Memorial Park/atomic bomb dome
Day 17: Miyajima Island
Day 18: Fly home from Hiroshima to Aus
I also looked up Sumo matches, and it looks like there is a tournament on from March 12th-26th but it is in Osaka, which means I would have to try and do the trip backwards to make this. Do you think that would still work? And do you think this would this be worth it?
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Also, if there are any travel agencies that you recommend, I am open to suggestions as I’m not too sure what to look for!
Thank you for all of your help and advice so far! 🙂
7 comments
I really hope the visa waiver program returns before March I am planning to go back late March for sakura season
>We live in Australia, so we would essentially arrive in Tokyo almost at the same time as we departed Australia.
That’s not at all correct: Japan is roughly the same time zone as Australia. If you fly out of Australia in the morning, you arrive in Tokyo in the evening. It works quite well, as you then just get dinner, go to bed and are ready for action the next morning with almost no jet lag.
I went to Hiroshima and did the museum as well as miyajima island all in one day. 4 days is a long time for Hiroshima. Maybe spend more time in Osaka?
If you do the loop in Hakone, it will be the ropeway between Togendai (the north pier for the boat) to Souzan, with a stop via Owakudani. You do not really have the choice but to take the ropeway to complete the loop, unless you do the northern part by bus.
On the travel to Hiroshima day, you can absolutely stop somewhere on the way like Himeji. It’s even technically possible to get in the train early with the goal to be in Himeji when the castle open, lunch in the train, afternoon for Peace museum in Hiroshima. Or you can just completely skip Himeji and visit Hiroshima on the day you get there. This can potentially give you an extra day somewhere else as clearly, just moving from Kyoto to Hiroshima won’t take the full day (for example super easy to add a day in Tokyo).
I really like the idea of flying out of Hiroshima.
Generally speaking, seems ok.
Edit : Not a fan of amusement park, but do what you want!
I wouldn’t recommend planning a whole travel day around a match if you can help it, but if you do go, be sure to reserve food ahead of time. The good stuff sold out and the concessions weren’t very robust.
While I am glad I got to see a sumo match live, it wasn’t as fun as I hoped. It’s viewed as “an old person’s sport”, so the vibe wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be (lots of empty seats, and the good seats are quite expensive). We didn’t go to an important match though as far as I can tell, so maybe that was it?
All good, your itinerary looks fun. These are just ideas
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* Maybe Soccer could be more fun than Sumo. I really enjoyed the matches there when I went. Yes soccer exists in Australia, but the athmosphere at the games is great.
* Maybe Disneyland-Disney Sea rather than Universal. Disney-Sea has a great reputation.
* Maybe Yushukan Museum in Tokyo rather than Tokyo National Museum. Yushukan is controversial and about Japan’s WW2 experience in the Pacific. A good contrast for Hiroshima.
* Read up on the artist ‘Hiroshige’ before going to Akusuka.
* Consider going to a Festival rather than site seeing for a day. Nothing like a Matsuri in Australia. There may be Covid restrictions, but if possible highly recommended. Even better if you have a guide.
* Shirakawa Go is amazing, but you are using significant travel time to get there. Maybe a bit longer near Hakone at Kamakura, or going to Mt Koya (From Osaka), for a night at a Buddhist temple could achieve the same outcome.
I’m not sure if you can visit Ghibli museum, they are just opening in November and all the tickets are sold through lottery only for Japanese residents. Someone correct me if I’m wrong. Also TeamLab Borderless is closing until 2023, you can only visit TeamLab Planets.