I’m heading to Japan in September for 17 days. I prefer to have home bases for longer periods of time and do day trips vs. changing accommodation a lot, and I prefer being able to relax a little vs having an extremely packed schedule, but my 17 day itinerary only has me staying in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka and I worry I may get bored. Any insight/advice?
A bit about me: gay New Yorker. Love architecture, history, nightlife. Urbanism/transit nerd. Bringing at least one extra suitcase to shop for clothing. Very much a city person (when I went to Thailand, so many people on Reddit said Bangkok wasn’t for lingering, it was mainly just to fly in and out of. Yet it was my favorite place in the country by FAR despite the islands having insane natural beauty). I prefer to plan the things that need to be planned (difficult to get reservations, tickets, transportation) and roughly outline everything else to allow for flexibility and keep it fun. It’s vacation after all, right?
Itinerary:
Days 1-6: Tokyo
To do: shopping (I’ll spend a lot of time on this, much more than the average person), meandering around the neighborhoods, Asakusa & the shrines, team labs borderless, an observation deck, Disneysea, at least one splurge omakase. The standard stuff.
Day trip: Kamakura or Nikko, but I also see myself not wanting to leave the city.
Days 7-12: Kyoto
To do: Again, a lot of the usual suspects— bamboo forest, Fushimi Inari shrine, Gion, golden & silver temples, cafe hopping, railway museum, Kibune River. Also want to build in a mid-trip relaxing vibe day around here so I don’t get burned out.
Day trips: Uji, Nara
Days 13-15: Osaka
To do: Universal Studios, Dontonbori, Shinsekai, Osaka Aquarium, Osaka Castle.
Day trip: Kobe (maybe)
Days 16–17: Return to Tokyo
To do: huge souvenir/ don quijote haul. Revisit anything I loved the first time. Wanna keep this pretty open.
How does this look? Looking at it now after having typed it up I definitely think I’ll be fine and have enough to fill my days without being stressed, but would love any feedback.
by GroundbreakingMap441