3 week solo trip

13 comments

1. One thing I would add on is laundry days. Some hotels will have a laundry service or an area you can do your own laundry. Some hotels wont so you would need to find a coin laundry. From my own experience the dryers in Japan suck, so it takes a long time for your stuff to dry.

2. >whether the order of my journey works, or is there a route that is much better

   Since you arrive at 7am , I think it’s better to get an immediate train to Hiroshima, spend 3 nights there, and then work your way back to Tokyo and ultimately check into and out of a Tokyo hotel once.

   Or go to Kyoto or Osaka on day 1.

   Otherwise you’re going to spend the first 7 hours on day 1 wandering the streets waiting for your Tokyo hotel to let you check in. And then you’ll check in to a Tokyo hotel at the end of your trip again.

3. You should take the time to visit Tokyo instead of having so many day trips. You’ll be spending more time in the train than actually enjoying yourself. You could arrange for 1 night in Kamakura and 1-2 nights in Hakone on your way to Kyoto.

   Neighborhoods that are generally considered musts in Tokyo and not listed here:
   – Shinjuku
   – Chiyoda
   – Ginza/Chuo
   – Roppongi/Akasaka/Aoyama
   – Ueno

   Then there’s less popular but still interesting neighborhoods that will save you train time such as:
   – Shimokitazawa
   – Koenji
   – Ebisu/Daikanyamacho/Tatemichiya

   I’m also visiting soon for 16 days, haven’t actually been to those places *yet*.

4. I did a 4 week solo trip to Japan earlier this year and hit up all these cities except Osaka. You can check my post history if interested.

   I spent more time in Tokyo than you and still didn’t feel like I had enough time.

   I would not cut Day 11 from Kyoto. It’s a big city and these places are not close to each other. Taking travel time and crowds into account, you don’t want to scramble.

5. I’d def spend more time in Tokyo. I’m in Japan now and was heartbroken to leave Tokyo after 5 nights, as it felt too little.

6. Nara can be easily done in a half day if you’re just going to see the major things (the shrine, deer, getting some food etc). Then you can move some of your Kyoto itinerary to that day and go to Kobe instead!

7. When in September are you going? My itinerary is very, very similar

8. Book the Nintendo world in advance bro. I believe the tickets available now are for next month already

9. I would personally do less time in Kyoto and spend a couple of days in Hakone. It’s so peaceful and a nice change of pace from the busy cities. Also, Nara is much closer to Osaka than Kyoto so you could squeeze that into a day there, plus Osaka had much more to explore, eat, and shop.

10. MORE TOKYO!

11. Don’t miss out on Osaka nor Kyoto. I lived in Nagasaki that’s a cool town. A lot of history there and shrines, about the atom bomb and distraction it caused. I am also going in September/October.

12. I don’t see Akihabara on your itinerary

13. I have no advice to offer, but I have a question as someone planning a similar trip

    Do you speak/read any Japanese?  If.not, do you have any concerns about isolation for a longish trip?

    I’m planning a trip to South Korea and Japan next spring. I’ll be travelling solo for about 3 weeks. I’ve done similar length trips on my own elsewhere, but I’m a bit concerned that with very little entry to the languages, I’ll find 3 weeks here a bit isolating.

    I thought that maybe halfway through the trip I might join an English-speaking small group tour for say a week, for a bit of company for a while.