I'm planning my second trip to Japan for this coming December/January – the first half with some friends (their first time) and then some solo time after. Our plan is to use the Seishun 18 tickets to save money on transport as much as possible until Jan 10th, with one or two Shinkansen where the slower trains would be impractical. Any opinions on especially the latter solo part would be greatly appreciated!
First part, me + 3 friends:
- 23rd – 26th Dec: Tokyo, Ikebukuro. Hopefully see some Christmas lights / market and introduce my friends to Japan. Mainly focus on Ikebukuro, Shibuya, Shinjuku, and that general side of Tokyo.
- 26th – 27th Dec: Enoshima (friends want to see coast). Currently looking at IZA Enoshima Guest House as the main possibility. Explore Enoshima + Kamakura, ride the hanging monorail.
- 27th – 30th Dec: Tokyo, Ginza / Asakusa depending on where I can find a cheapish hostel. Go to TeamLab Borderless, take my friends to Akihabara, SkyTree / Senso-ji temple, etc. Also look into lucky bags (mainly Pokemon one) around these dates.
- 30th – 2nd Jan: Tachikawa (Tokyo), homestay. Comiket on the 30th (and maybe I'll also go on the 31st if there's lots to do? Not sure how big it will be, the pandemic seems to have changed a lot). Metropolitan Gov. Building lanterns afternoon of 31st maybe? Homestay and chill on NYE (apparently there's a TV program loads of Japanese watch on NYE). Search for a non-packed temple on the 1st.
- 🚂 Trains to Yamanochi (Shinkansen only for Omiya – Nagano section to save money).
- 2nd – 3rd Jan: Night in Yamanochi (Nagano) – Snow monkey park. Searching for a decently priced ryokan. I've seen there's multiple small public onsen iin Yamanochi that most ryokan give you a pass for, but they look ultra basic and maybe not the best from photos? So will probably look for a ryokan with onsen.
- 🚂 Trains to Nagoya (to split up the journey Nagano – Kyoto). Aiming to do this with the Seishun 18 tickets, probably stopping off in Matsumoto for a few hours to break up the journey. I'm hoping there'll be lockers at that station to store our bags while we look around the town a bit. Then on to Nagoya, arriving late afternoon / early evening.
- 3rd – 4th Jan: Night in a hostel in Nagoya. In the morning we'll check out Nagoya castle, the long park, and I'm debating whether the Ghibli park is worth it or not (seems to be quite far out).
- 🚂 Trains to Kyoto, using the Seishun 18 pass.
- 4th – 8th Jan: Kyoto, in Guesthouse Gajyun. Showing my friends Kyoto, daytrip to Uji, maybe Nara if my friends want to go. Also a full daytrip to Osaka, staying until evening.
My friends then will leave on a Shinkansen on the evening of the 8th, to catch their return flight from Tokyo at 1am.
Second part, solo:
Last time I was in Japan in this area I went to Kobe, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Kyoto/Osaka, so I'd like to visit somewhere new. I have from the evening 8th – 25th Jan. This is what I'm currently thinking of, would appreciate any feedback if it seems like a mediocre plan!
- 🚂 Evening 8th. Trains down to Wakayama.
- 8th – 9th Jan: Night in Wakayama Surf Inn G-Sun probably. Explore the town, castle, etc.
- 🚂 Ferry across to Tokushima (there's a student discount, I wonder if they'd accept a foreign student card?). Maybe explore the city a bit? The train to Hiwasa.
- 9th – 10th: Night in Hiwasa. There seem to be both a hostel and guest house with great reviews, I'll have to choose between them. The idea is just to visit a less-visited village to see some of the quieter areas of Japan as well.
- — All Shikoku Pass (3 days) —
- 🚂 Train around to Matsuyama (maybe 7:33 – 13:15 option? Seems like the shortest route)
- 10th – 12th: Stay in Matsuyama somewhere. Castle, Dogo Onsen (supposedly finished rennovations by then). Daytrip to Ozu, stopping by picturesque Shimonada Station on the way or way back (I wonder if around sunset is the best time?).
- — Kansai Wide Area Pass (5 days) —
- 🚂 Trains to Himeji (considered adding a night in Takamatsu but I already went to the gardens last time, so not sure there'd be much to do there)
- 12th – 13th: Himeji. There seem to be surprisingly few options here, but I have found one guest house that looks decent. Explore the castle and rest of the city.
- 🚂 Trains up to Kinosaki Onsen. Maybe stopping by Izushi on the way? It looks nice (castle, kabuki theatre, etc.) although it is a bit off the train line, requiring a bus not covered by the pass.
- 13th – 14th: Kinosaki Onsen. Try out the onsens and stay in a ryokan (Morizuya maybe?).
- 🚂 Trains over to lake Biwa.
- 14th – 15th. 1 night somewhere around lake Biwa (there's a chance a friend will be there who I can stay with, otherwise I'll search for a hostel).
- 🚂 Trains to Kobe.
- 15th – 16th: Hostel in Kobe (maybe Guest house Kobe Nadesikoya). See stuff I didn't see last time, such as the Maritime museum and Ikuta Jinja.
- 🚂 Trains back to Kyoto.
- 16th – 20th: Hostel in Kyoto. Manga museum, Nijo castle. Maybe a daytrip out somewhere as I've been to Kyoto before.
- 20th – 23rd: Homestay close to Kashihara (south of Nara).
- 23rd – 25th: Hostel / homestay south of Osaka (for easy airport access). Last souvenir buying.
The Kansai Wide area pass is slightly wasted at the end with the Kobe – Kyoto travel, but I ran out of ideas of how else to use it, and it seems to still be cheaper overall than without it! 😅 I'm hoping to come across some big flea markets in the last week or two (fun to browse and maybe some souvenirs), and would love any other Comiket-style events… Unfortunately haven't found any so far though. I'm assuming most of the areas I'll be in probably don't get loads of snow (except Nagoya / Kinosaki Onsen), so hopefully won't have issues with train cancellations etc. I discovered last time that I love onsen (especially ones with multiple types of onsen, e.g. Toshimaen Niwa-no-yu in Tokyo – and it has a great discount in the evening), so I'll hopefully be able to find a similar one maybe in the Kyoto/Osaka area I can go to a couple of times.
Does all this seem realistic? Are there any parts that would be improved by switching around / changing?
Thanks!
by Hubbit200