Hi there!
I am trying to organize a 21 day or so trip to Japan for April 2025 but I have some things I really want to do that I have to plan around. They are:
- 2 days at Disneyland Tokyo and Disney Sea —- can be any time during trip\
- 3 days at Star Wars Celebration (will have some time at night to do some stuff) which is April 18-20
- 1 day at World Expo Osaka which can be any day after April 13th
A few assumptions 1) I know Golden Week starts April 29th so I would like to avoid that. 2) I would like to travel there on a Saturday and leave to head back home to LA on a Sunday to really maximize my time in Japan and I only have 15 vacation days to use. 3) The dates I am currently planning on are April 5th – April 27th.
There's a big problem with that though as I can't start with Osaka and Tokyo starts in the middle of my trip. This means I'll have to do a lot of zig zagging.
My current plan is:
- 10 days total in Tokyo (5 days for DT, DS, and SW C while leaving 5 days to explore the city + maybe 1 or 2 day trips)
- 4 days in Kyoto although that may be day trips as Osaka is way cheaper and I like nightlife (3 days for city, 1 for Nara)
- 3 days for Osaka (1 for city, 1 day for World Expo, 1 day for Himeji + any missing stuff)
- 2 days for Kanazawa (1 travel day, 1 day to explore, maybe stop at Takayama) or a better suggestion (ie maybe Hiroshima and Miyajima)?
- 3 day travel buffer as I don't know where I am starting/ stopping yet (probably arriving Osaka, out Tokyo as that is cheapest option right now)+ loss of a day coming from California
- 1 free day open to suggestions ?
Potential ideas for free day/ day trips:
- Nikko (would probably be day trip from Tokyo or maybe a stop on the way to/from Kanazawa)
- Kamakura (day trip from Tokyo) not sure I would do this
- Hiroshima and Miyajima — this seems really far out of the way though so I am not sure it is worth it as it seems to have deer like Nara and temples/shrines that seem similar to other areas although it does have the Peace Museum. I just think maybe for another trip?
- Hakone —- seems too overcrowded and being in my 20s I am not sure I can afford Ryokan which seems to be the main draw
Do you guys have any tips for planning the route for this? Is it too difficult to start in Kyoto then go to Kanazawa to Tokyo then Osaka and back to Tokyo? Alternatively, is going to Japan during Golden Week really that bad? I am expecting crowds no matter what haha.
by DarthAndylus