Hello fellow Japan travellers,
I'm super excited to be heading back to Japan in mid April, especially because it's my husband's first time visiting! I have only ever been for short work trips, so I'm excited to see the country more widely now that I have downtime too. I know he will absolutely love it, and I want to make it a super special trip for us, as we are also celebrating our wedding anniversary. We love ramen (tonkotsu especially), gyozas, matcha, all types of sweets and design. We are slightly picky eaters (no eel, sea urchin, turtle, etc.), so we aren't phased about fine dining/set menus in Japan, but are super open to very nice food as long as it's a la carte.
I know the itinerary looks a bit crammed, but we are hoping that the 2 night Ryokan break in between will give us time to relax and recover a little bit. We have lots of energy and aren't afraid of big days walking around and seeing lots of things.
I'd love any tips from more seasoned travellers on our itinerary below:
Tokyo, Mustard Hotel – 4 nights
- Arrive in Tokyo super early at 7am, and stay in Shibuya at Mustard Hotel – we will be doing a lot of sightseeing so I didn't want to splurge on a hotel in Tokyo. I also looked at Trunk but I don't know if it's really worth it.
- Day 1: Shinjuku Gyoen Park (to try and catch any remaining blossoms), coffee at Mameya + matcha at The Matcha Tokyo Omotesando, walk around Harajuku + Omotesando, lunch potentially Gyukatsu Motomura?, afternoon break if we're tired / keep walking around Shibuya if we're not, and probably something easy like 7/11 snacks for dinner or Ichiran ramen.
- Day 2: Senso-Ji Temple, local ramen lunch at Fuji Ramen, head spa at Ritts Shibuya, Sakurai Japanese Tea Experience in the late afternoon/early evening.
- Day 3: Imperial Palace, ramen at Chūka Soba Ginza, afternoon in Ginza/relaxing, dinner at The Bellwood.
- Day 4: TBC morning, Azabudai Hills Mori JPTower for shopping, teamLab Borderless/Planets, Jade Room Garden Terrace with views of Tokyo Tower/Prince Shiba Park.
- Day 5: travel to Izu in the morning.
TBC, Asaba Ryokan in Izu – 2 nights
- 2 nights at Asaba – I've done a lot of research on Ryokans and this one seems to have incredible reviews and comes highly recommended by a friend. They have been so accommodating with our food preferences, and it's a very traditional experience. It's super pricy but because it's our wedding anniversary and a bit of a bucket list item, I thought it would be worth it.
- I'm sort of torn on this or Gora Kadan in Hakone, or perhaps even Shishi-iwa House since we're more likely to see late blossoms in Nagano. We ideally want something relaxing after a few busy days in Tokyo.
- Excited to have a little Onsen break between cities and do something more in nature. I've heard Izu is gorgeous! Mostly we will enjoy the Ryokan and perhaps have a little walk around the village during the day.
Kyoto + Nara/Mount Yoshino Day Trip – 4 nights
- We are exploring either Yoin Hotel Kyoto Gion or ASAI Kyoto Shijo – we want something clean, not tiny and simple and centrally located, like in Tokyo, we aren't super phased since we will be sightseeing a lot.
- Day 1: travel to Nishiki market, Hokan-Ji temple, sweets at Kagizen Yoshifusa Shijo, Kiyomizu Dera Temple, Dinner at Gyoza Taizou.
- Day 2: Nara/Mt Yoshino day trip – still deciding between the two.
- Day 3: Morning at Arashiyama Monkey Park + Bamboo forest, lunch at Kameyamaya, chilled afternoon, dinner at Katsukura Tonkatsu.
- Day 4: Fushimi Inari AM, flexible afternoon – potentially Kyocera museum, ramen dinner at Men-ya Inoichi Hanare.
- Day 5: Shinkansen to Tokyo / Haneda airport in early morning, 1pm flight home.
I'm sure I'm missing some amazing places that aren't on my radar, so any suggestions are hugely welcome.
Thank you so much in advance!
by bonvoyagearabella