Kyoto-Uji-Nara-Hakone-Tokyo
Our trip is from September 30th-October 12th. Our goal is to take things slow, eat good food, and come home with fond memories. I'm worried we're planning to do too much each day. I'm interested in gardening and my husband is interested in attending live music venues and breweries. We are also VERY excited about the food, I swear half of our Google Map pins are just places to eat.
Day 0/Day 1 – Flight leaves at 12:20pm on September 29th. We're landing in HND at 3:30pm on September 30th. Since we'll arrive mid-afternoon, we're planning on hopping onto a shinkansen and heading straight for Kyoto. This means we should arrive in Kyoto by roughly 8pm.
NOTE – We know we're going to for sure see Fushimi Inari, but we're planning on having that be a floating destination, where we'll play it by ear when we'll actually go. Either early in the morning the first couple of days due to jetlag, or in the evening towards the latter part of the trip. I don't have it listed in the following itinerary because we're not certain what day we'll pencil it in.
Day 2, Oct. 1st – Southern Higrashiyama/Central Kyoto/Gion
- International Manga Museum – Dungeon Meshi Exhibit
- Nishiki Market – stop by Horaido Tea Stall for their genmaicha
- Gokomacki Dori for vinyl
- Spring Valley Brewery
- Wander around Gion in the afternoon/evening
- Dinner – Pontocho
Tried to base the first day close to our hotel and nothing is more than thirty minutes away. Figured we'd be tired from the flight so we wanted to take it relatively easy that first day.
Day 3, Oct. 2nd – East Kyoto
- Philosopher's Path
- Honen-in
- Nanzen-ji, Nanzen-ji Tenjuan
- Ginkaku-ji
I've seen it recommended that you should rent bicycles for East Kyoto and the Philosopher's Path. Has anyone done this? How did it go?
Day 4, Oct. 3rd (Anniversary) – Arashiyama
- Sanjo Station – take Randan to Arashiyama, walk through Kimono Forest art installation
- Tenryu-ji Temple – go in the morning when it opens!!
- Taxi or bike rental to Otagi Nenbutsu-ji and Adashino Nenbutsu-ji
- Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street
- Giōji Temple – MOSS MOSS MOSS MOSS
- Fu-fu-no-yu Onsen – relax after a morning and afternoon of walking
Today is our anniversary! Let us know if there's anything specific people would recommend to celebrate this. Maybe a riverboat cruise?
Day 5, October 4th – North Kyoto
- Ichimonjiya Wasuke – 1,000+ year old mochi shop. This stop is non-negotiable. An article about the shop is what inspired us to actually go on this trip.
- Kyoto Botanical Gardens – we are both very excited about visiting the conservatory here!
- Visit various temples in the area, we have them pinned and we'll visit whatever is close by
Day 6, October 5 – South Kyoto/Uji/Nara
Go to Nara first thing for the deer, and then Uji in the afternoon. Maybe stop in the Fushimi district for dinner and sake?
NARA
- Yoshikien Japanese Garden
- Nandaimon
- Todai-ji
- Kasuga Taisha
- Harushika Sake Brewery OR Nara Machi Craft Beer
UJI
- Tsuen Tea
- Byodin Temple
Day 7, October 6 – Kyoto/Hakone
Checkout from our hotel in Kyoto is at 10AM, and check-in at the ryokan in Hakone is at 3pm. Our goal while staying in Hakone is relaxation and not doing too much.
- Onsen
- Hakone Botanical Garden of Wetlands
- Pampas Grass Field
Day 8, October 7 – Hakone/Tokyo, Ueno
Checkout from the hotel is 10AM. We'll probably spend a few hours in Hakone after checkout before heading to Tokyo. We haven't booked our Tokyo hotel yet, but we're planning on staying somewhere in Ueno or Asakusa. We'll probably just wander around the area outside our hotel in the afternoon/evening once we arrive in Tokyo, see what's still open. Maybe stroll through Ueno Park?
I'm a little worried that the following Tokyo itinerary doesn't "flow" very well from place to place, in the sense that we're backtracking a lot. We're totally flexible on shuffling
Day 9, October 8 – Asakusa/Ueno
UENO PARK
- Morning – National Museum of Western Art, Monet Exhibit. The goal is to spend a relaxing morning wandering through the museum exhibits and not rushing.
- Wander through the park to Yanaka
- Bentendo Temple
- Gojoten Shrine
- Toshogu Shrine
Day 10, October 9, Akihabara/Asakusa
ASAKUSA
- Senso-ji
- Hikan Inari Shrine
- Asakusa Underground Street
- Nakamise-dori
- Kappabashi
- Mokuhankan – VERY excited for this, I love woodblock prints!!
AKIHABARA
- Eorzea Cafe
- radio Kaikan
- Ninben Nihobashi
- Akihabara Electric Town
Any suggestions on what else to do on this day would be very much appreciated! We're both weebs, but we don't want to spend ALL day shopping in Akihabara.
Day 11, October 10, Shibuya/Shinjuku
- Tower Records – Tatsuro Yamashita, Mariya Takeuchi vinyls
- Meiji Jingu
- Sake Market
- Shibuya Crossing/Square
- Thrift stores (Chicago, Kinya, PukuPuku, Bruan)
- See a live band somewhere in the evening!
Day 12, October 11, Tokyo
??? idk, suggestions welcome!
Day 13, October 12 – Ueno/NRT
Checkout from hotel, flight out from NRT at 5:10PM. Leave for the airport by 1pm at the very latest.
Thanks for taking the time to read through all of this! Any and all recommendations are welcomed! We want to make sure that this trip is balanced and we're not planning too much for each day. I know that is a big mistake first time travelers make with their itinerary.
by madishartte