10-Day September Itinerary (2nd Visit)

Hi,

Planning a 2nd visit to Japan in mid September with my wife (her 1st time). My 1st visit was back in mid September 2018 with friends. We did Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka-Tokyo and surprisingly did not experience much rain. Osaka was my least favorite of the 3 cities, though all 3 were quite crowded. This time around, I was hoping to visit less frequented places accessible by train.

Is the following itinerary possible, and any suggestions?

  • Tokyo (3 nights) – Stay near Tokyo Station, explore Ginza, Shibuya, Shinjuku, was recommended TeamLabs Borderless & Tokyo Skytree.
  • Matsumoto (1 night) – Matsumoto Castle looks super interesting to me, and the Matsumoto Brewery as well, in a mountain town setting. Do the autumn colors appear as early as mid September?
  • Nagoya (1 night) – Worth visiting? Might be nice to see a Japanese city without all of the tourists. There is the Toyota Museum.
  • Kyoto (2 nights) – See Kinkakuji, explore Arashiyama & Gion
  • Hakone (2 nights) – Onsen & relax, Lake Ashi & Mt. Fuji View

Train from Hakone back to Narita, to fly back home.

Originally was just planning 3 stops, Tokyo-Kyoto-Hakone, but Matsumoto/Nagoya seem like interesting stops along the way, but not sure if staying just 1 night is worth the stops. Might be tiring getting on trains.

by chrisfotos

Leave a Reply
You May Also Like