In December, I will be visiting Japan alone for the first time and the last time I went was 8 years ago with my parents when I was still young. My trip will span from 13th December to 26th December, my itinerary is as follows(I plan to bring 1 large backpack (Unknown volume), 1 duffle bag (38L volume) and 1 day bag which will be my carry on):
Singapore to Nagoya: 1:20AM (Local time) -> 8:30AM (Japan time)
Nagoya to Singapore: 10:20AM (Japan time) -> 4:15PM (Local time)
Day 1 (13th): Flight lands in Nagoya at approximately 8:30 AM in the morning at Chubu Intl Airport. Upon landing I will be taking the Shinkansen straight from Nagoya station to Kyoto and will be checking into my hotel which is relatively near the station.
Day 1-4 (13th-16th): I will be exploring a few areas, yet to decide which days will be spent doing what but I do plan to take 2 day trips to Osaka VIA shinkansen, here's my bucket list of places I plan to visit so far (Still yet to add more places!)
Osaka:
Shitennoji Temple
Osaka Tenmangu Shrine
Osaka Castle (Osakajo)
Katsuo-ji
Kyoto:
Fushimi Inari Yotsuji
Kiyomizu-deraHigashiyama District
Tenju an
Nishiki market
Hokokuji temple
Donguri Kyowakoku (Ghibli Store)
Eikando zenrinji temple
Day 5 (17th): After checking out of my hotel, I will be heading to Kyoto station and will be taking a Shinkansen from Kyoto station straight to Tokyo station and will then switch to the Yamanote line to get to my AirBNB.
Day 5-8(17th-20th): I have yet to decide which day will be dedicated to which activity but I do plan to take 1 day trip to Fujikawaguchiko, here's the bucket list of places I plan to visit for Tokyo and Fuji:
Fuji:
Kosaku kawaguchiko
Chureito Pagoda
Arakurayama sengen park
Lake kawaguchi
Tokyo:
Akihabara Electric Town
Shibuya city
Gotokuji Temple
Hie shrine
Senso ji
Shibuya sky (Book 1 month in advance)
Shiba park
Frites Bruges Asakusa
Harajuku chillweeb
Animate ikebukurou
Tsukiji fish market
Gyukatsu motomura
Day 9-13(21st-25th): I will be travelling to Sapporo via 2 options listed below, I don't have much planned yet but I do plan to visit Otaru and Jozankei via the bus or Hakodate line.
On the 21st and 25th, I am conflicted over these 2 options:
- Take the Shinkansen from Tokyo straight to Hakodate and then to Sapporo (10h~ journey) on the 21st and again Shinkansen from Sapporo straight back to Nagoya on the 25th (11h~ journey) and stay out overnight, leaving my baggage in a locker and take the first train to Chubu Intl Airport, this would require me to buy the JR pass as it would then make my journey worth
- Don't get the JR pass, buy the shinkansen tickets individually using the Suica card for the rest of the public transport on local lines and busses etc. Take a domestic flight from Haneda on the 21st to Chitose Intl Airport and take the rapid transport straight to Sapporo station. The current flight I'm looking at is a JAL flight from Haneda to Chitose @ 2:30PM-4PM, I will probably be at the airport by 1:30PM to be safe. The flight back from Chitose to Chubu Intl Airport is another JAL flight @ 2:10PM-4:05PM. I will be at Chitose by 1PM to be safe. Both flights come with 20KG of check in baggage for free which SHOULD be enough.
The 2nd option would save me a lot of time and is slightly cheaper than the JR pass itself for 2 weeks (around $700+ Singapore Dollars/$520+ USD) but I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle? I've never travelled solo before and have also never taken a domestic flight before. Please give your thoughts and advice and thank you!
by BirdyLikesMen