Hi everyone,
I'm planning my solo trip to Japan from November 25 to December 9. I'm mostly focusing on temples, parks and museums, as the pictures look so pretty. I'm starting with Hiroshima then going up to Tokyo because I'm thinking of attending the Chichibu Night Festival, which falls on December 3rd according to Japan Travel and such.
As for hotels, I'm doing Toyoko Inn at Hiroshima and Tokyo, I know it's a very basic hotel, but it's cheap and I'm alone, so I might as well save where I can. As for Osaka and Kyoto, the plan is to use Osaka as base and do day trips to Kyoto, just because I can't find a hotel I like in Kyoto for my budget (as I'll be there at the end of November).
Day 1 – November 25: Land in Narita at 12 pm, buy the Suica card and a physical SIM, then jump into a train to Hiroshima (from posts here, I can either reserve a seat in advance or just buy it at the counter, which might be better depending on how quickly I can go through immigration, as I'm from a visa-required country). Make it to Hiroshima around 7 pm, walk around the Peace Memorial Park, grab something to eat (haven't really checked what restaurants I'd like to visit, but I'm thinking on mostly going for konbini food for these 12 days).
Day 2 – November 26: Wake up early and take the metro for Miyajima to spend the morning there (Itsukushima Shrine and Mount Misen), then go back and visit the Peace Memorial Museum for the rest of the afternoon. I might have to cut Miyajima if jetlag is too bad, since I'm travelling east.
Day 3 – November 27: Take the train to Himeji, visit the castle, then move on to Osaka Castle. I'll be booking Bande Hotel, which I saw recommended in a post here and looks quite pretty. It'll be my hotel for Osaka – Kyoto.
Day 4 – November 28: Go to the Osaka Aquarium KAIYUKAN, then take the train to Nara (early afternoon) to visit the deer park and nearby shrines.
Day 5 – November 29: First day visiting Kyoto, waking up early to take one of the first trains from Osaka. Google Maps has me walking over half an hour between the station and landmarks in general (and I imagine it'll be pretty chilly at 6:00 am), but I'm decently fit and part of the fun of it is exploring the neighbourhoods. Hit Byodo-In, To-ji and the National Museum in one day. While planning this leg of the trip is when I understood what I read here, that some landmarks in Kyoto are far apart from each other, and I haven't seen or read of anything that appeals to me around Byodo-In. I'll go back to Osaka after checking the National Museum.
Day 6 – November 30: Second day in Kyoto, waking up early to reach Arashiyama at about 7 am (not as early as I should, but it's the trade-off with staying in Osaka). Walk to the bridge, the bamboo grooves, visit a few temples and maybe the monkey park. From there, take the bus/train to the Nishiki Market, walk around the stalls and have a late lunch there (I think), then move on to Nijo Castle. Go back to Osaka after visiting it (I'm thinking around 8 pm for every day, so I can be at the hotel around 10).
Day 7 – December 1st: Wake up early for Kiyomizu-dera, visit the shrines, the waterfall, then take the bus/train for Nanzenji and start the Philosopher's Path. Make it to the Silver Pavilion, have lunch around the area, then take the bus/train for the Golden Pavilion. I was thinking of checking the National Garden this day, but going over the schedule I don't think I'll have the time.
Day 8 – December 2nd: Get early to Fushimi Inari Taisha and hike to the summit. After going down and checking the shrines, I will go to park where the Fushimi Castle is located. I can't really find if the park will be open or not, so I guess I'll adapt my schedule as I see fit.
Day 9 – December 3rd: Take the train early from Osaka to Tokyo, then visit Shibuya and the Meiji Shrine. Then take train for Chichibu and spent the rest of the day until roughly 8:30 pm – 9:00 pm to leave before everyone else does.
Day 10 – December 4th: Hopefully go check the Ghibli Museum, it’ll be up to whether I can get a ticket, then come back and spend the rest of the day around the Shinjuku Garden and neighbourhood.
Day 11 – December 5th: Take a guided tour around Kokyo, then check Ginza for the rest of the day.
Day 12 – December 6th: Go early to the Tsujiki market (though I know it opens to tourists after 9 am), then visit Odaiba’s Gundam, to then go to Tokyo Sea life.
Day 13 – December 7th: I’ll go to the Imado Shrine, then to the Mori Museum (seems the view is really pretty from up there) and close the day with the National Art Centre. I’d like to include somewhere more history museums than art museums, so I’m open to suggestions.
Day 14 – December 8th: Last full-ish day of my trip. The plan is to go to the Shinagawa aquarium, then go back and check the stores in Akihabara, then go the airport (probably Haneda) for my flight home.
Here are my questions:
• As I said, I’m from a visa-required country. I checked the instructions on the Visit Japan web, so it seems I can complete the paperwork for immigration and customs on that website like other countries do. Does anyone have experience filling it as a visa-required traveller? I’ll also check with my local Japan embassy, of course.
• I don’t have a phone with credit card functionality or e-sim, so I’ll have to rely on the physical IC card (no issue here, I think) and a physical sim. From the looks of it, I can buy it without problems at the airport, but I wanted to know if anyone else had input on using one. As far as I know my phone has no sim block or anything.
• What has your experience been attending the Chichibu festival? I won’t have a car, so my biggest worry is coming back at night and I’m afraid it’ll be too crowded, or I won’t be able to get a ticket (I’ll try to make sure to reserve one, though). I will also have to talk with the hotel about doing a late check-in and keeping my luggage until I arrive, but the Toyoko In website suggests that’s something I can work out with them.
• Hotel check-ins are usually at 3 pm or 4 pm, but it feels weird to have to go there in the middle of the afternoon which eats into my sightseeing. I’ll check with each of them to see whether I can make it there at 7 pm. Have you had any issues with this? As for luggage, mine should fit in the coin lockers.
• My original schedule had me visiting Yokohama and Hakone in different days, but I had to cut it as I’ll be spending an extra half day at Hiroshima and added Himeji and Osaka castles. Does my schedule sound appropriate, or am I underestimating the time spent at each site or between them?
• I think I can get my souvenir shopping done at Shibuya and Akiha but do let me know if I should hit other stores or neighbourhoods. I thought about visiting Denden in Osaka, but it’s too far removed from my hotel.
by atropicalpenguin
1 comment
Like hotels in other countries, check in begins in the mid afternoon but isn’t limited to that time. You can turn up later if you prefer. Japanese hotels will also store your luggage if you arrive before check in begins.
Nara needs a full day. You wouldn’t have much time to see things if you don’t get there until the afternoon.
There are vast numbers of cheap restaurants in Japan that are better than convenience store food.