Hey all, planning a trip for March 2023 (nothing’s booked yet, pending Japan’s travel requirements, tour stuff, etc.). Group size is 5, everyone’s first time to Japan.
I would mostly chunk this into “activities that we want to do” and “free time to wander around for shopping/food” in terms of the day planning. I ended up with Shikoku onward as a buffer towards the end of the trip. I don’t mind eating into if more time spent on activities before will make the trip better overall!
***Day 1*** **- Tokyo**
Arrive and decompress.
***Day 2*** **- Tokyo**
Full day: Disney Sea
50/50 split on the group about going to Universal *and* Disney so this was the compromise. In my past experience at Disney parks I’ve found that 1 day is enough and I end up spending only about a quarter of the next day doing anything, but obviously this is somewhat risky depending on arrival time the day before.
***Day 3*** **- Kyoto**
Afternoon: Nara Deer Park
Planning Nara Deer Park in the afternoon but earlier than later to make sure the evening’s relatively free
***Day 4*** **- Kyoto**
Sagano Romantic Train and Hozugawa River Boat back, followed by dinner.
***Day 5*** **- Osaka**
Himeji Castle in the morning, Nunobiki herb garden in the afternoon/evening.
***Day 6*** **-** **Koya**
Shojoshin-in Temple
I’m personally very interested in this, so I’d be alright deviating from the general group for a day.
***Day 7*** **- Kyoto**
“Free day”
***Day 8*** **- Hiroshima**
Peace Museum
The group’s interested in the Peace Museum but given the rest of the itinerary it may just not make sense to fit Hiroshima in for just this activity.
***Day 9*** **- Okunoshima**
Given the distance, I’m presuming going there, touring, and coming back will eat up the day. I’m not sure if there’s a smarter way to go about visiting here.
***Day 10*** **- Shikoku**
Takegashima and/or the beach.
***Day 11*** **- Takamatsu**
Megijima
***Day 12*** **- Takamatsu**
Ritsurin Garden
***Day 13*** **- Shikoku**
Shodoshima(?), Naruto Whirlpools
Planning to head to Tokyo so we’re there the last two days.
***Day 14*** **- Tokyo**
Afternoon: Studio Ghibli (depending on ticket availability)
***Day 15*** **- Tokyo**
Airport and heading back home
3 comments
Considering you want to go Koya and Tokushima (Naruto whirlpool) why not go to Wakayama and ferry to Tokushima ? Of course it would not work if you are not all going.
Takegashima, not sure if I see the same place you want to go, but that is out of the way, so would take a lot of time to access.
Next you can go to Takamatsu, Shodoshima, then get out to go to Okayama. From there you can go to Okunoshima and continue to Hiroshima.
If you are only going to be in Tokyo for 2-3 days, you might as well consider going to the airport in Osaka and just completely skip Tokyo. You could easily end the trip via Tokushima, ferry to Wakayama and you would be close to KIX.
That’s a long trip back to Tokyo on day 13. About 6 hours if you know what you’re doing (like you know all the ports, ferries, platforms, trains and transfer times – don’t count on Google Maps to be 100% accurate outside of large cities).
One mistake and you could end up missing a ferry or train. In remote areas, this could result in an hour or more delay. Turning a 6 hour tip into 7 or 8. Miss a last train and you’re stuck. Errrr, not my cup of tea.
I like to max out at somewhere between 3 to 4 hours of travel between places. Traveling is nice and relaxing in Japan, but it’s still exhausting.
**Arrival in Japan**; I would advise to land at Kansai aiport near Osaka and leave from any of Tokyo Airports. It is a waste of time travel to and back between two cities. Also you can get round tickets from leaving from different airports.
Please review your travel times between places and the modes of transport.
>Day 3 – Kyoto
>
>Afternoon: Nara Deer Park Planning Nara Deer Park in the afternoon but earlier than later to make sure the evening’s relatively free
This not in Kyoto, Nara is 45 km away from Kyoto.
>Day 5 – Osaka
>
>Himeji Castle in the morning, Nunobiki herb garden in the afternoon/evening.
This is not in Osaka, Himeji is 93 km away from Osaka.
>Day 6 – Koya
>
>Shojoshin-in Temple
This is 86 km away from Osaka, Also has a lot of transfers and require waiting for other transports.
>Day 8 – Hiroshima
>
>Peace Museum
This is 358 km away from Kyoto.
Beware that high-speed rail only goes between the major cities of Japan. It does cost a bit more to travel by high-speed rail. Traveling by ferries between the islands also could take sometime to travel on. Japan isn’t a small country as you think.
**My advise is to stick with a region of Japan and not travel more than 200 km away. It would be less stressful from not racing to your next location. As this “Itinerary” won’t allow much time to sightseeing and exploring if traveling too many places after each day.** Plus, where you plan to stay? One night traveling stays might be difficult if not arranged correctly. It easier to have a central base stay where it easy for the group to reach anytime that not a hassle.