Hey everyone! Here’s our planned itinerary for an upcoming trip to Japan. We’re taking our time to enjoy the journey. Initially, it was a 12-day trip, but we had to cut it down by a day. Currently, we’ve shortened our stay in Osaka. Should we cut a day in Kyoto instead? We need to be in Tokyo on Day 5 for the fireworks festival, so we can’t cut any days from Tokyo. This is the only fireworks festival happening during our trip.
Tokyo
Day 1: Tuesday
Explore Shinjuku: Hanazono Shrine, Godzilla Head, Don Quixote, Golden Gai and Omoide Yokocho, 3D Cat Billboard, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (Light Show and Observation Deck), Kabukicho Tower
Day 2: Wednesday
– Harajuku: Meiji-jingu Shrine, Takeshita Dori (Breakfast)
– Shibuya: 3D Dog Billboard, Shibuya Crossing, Scramble Square, Shibuya 109, Hachiko Statue, Shibuya Sky, Lunch at Pepper Parlor
– Imperial Palace Area: East Garden, Kitanomaru-koen Park, Yushukan Museum
– Ginza: Chuo-dori Street (Matsuya Department Store), Harumi-dori Street (Ginza Mitsukoshi), Kabukiza
– Tokyo Tower
Day 3: Thursday
– Morning: TeamLab Planets
– Rest of the day: Disneyland or DisneySea
Day 4: Friday
– Day trip to Mt. Fuji (can be swapped with Day 2 depending on the weather)
Day 5: Saturday
– Asakusa: Senso-ji Temple, Asakusa-jinja Shrine, Tokyo Sky Tree, Chacha Futatsume
– Ueno: Ueno-koen Park, Ueno Zoo, Ameya Yokocho Arcade, Mihashi (for Anmitsu)
– 6 PM: Kita Fireworks Festival
Kyoto
Day 6: Sunday
Shinkansen to Kyoto
– Southern Higashiyama: Higashiyama Station, Chion-in Temple, Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kodaiji Temple, Ishibe-Koji Alley, Ninen-Zaka & Sannen-Zaka Street (Lunch), Yakasa Pagoda/Hokanji Temple, Kiyomizu-dera Temple
– Northern Higashiyama: Nanzen-ji Temple (Room of Tigers, Tenjyuan Garden, San-mon Gate 2nd Floor), Nanzenji Oku-no-in, Eikan-do Temple, Path of Philosophy/Tetsugaku-no-Michi, Honen-in Temple, Ginkaku-ji Temple/Silver Pavilion
Day 7: Monday
– Arashiyama: Tenryu-ji Temple, Hozugawa River Boat Trip, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest or Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple, Togetsu-kyo Bridge, Iwatayama Monkey Park, Kinkaku-ji Temple
Day 8: Tuesday
– Downtown Kyoto: Nishiki Market, Nijo Castle, Kyoto Imperial Palace, Kyoto Gyoen
– Gion: Pontocho, Fushimi Inari Shrine (at night)
Nara and Osaka
Day 9: Wednesday
Kofuku-ji Temple (Central Golden Hall, Southern Octagonal Halls), Nakatanidou Sweet Shop, Isuien Garden, Todai-ji Temple, Nara Deer Park, Kasuga-Taisha
Kintetsu Line to Osaka
– Osaka: Check-in at the hotel, Explore Dotonbori (Ebisubashisuji Shopping Street, Dotonbori Canal, Ebisu Bridge, Glico Running Man, Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Arcade, Ghibli Store, Parco Building 6th Floor, Amerikamura Statue of Liberty at New America Plaza)
Day 10: Thursday
– Osaka: Osaka Castle, Kuromon Market, Umeda Sky Building, Hozenji Temple, Hozen-ji Yokocho Alley, Namba Yasaka Shrine, Rikuro’s Cheesecake Café, Namba Parks Shopping Mall, Denden Town, Shinsekai Area (Tsutenkaku Tower, TeamLab Botanical Garden), Dotonbori (places missed on Day 9)
Day 11: Friday
– 4:15 AM: Check out from the hotel
– 4:30 AM: 10-minute walk to Namba Nankai Station
– 5 AM: Buy ticket for 5:15 AM train
– 5:15 AM: Nankai Airport Express from Namba Station
– 6:30 AM: Arrive at Terminal 2
– 8:40 AM: Flight to Hong Kong
Would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions! 😊
by iwillbemine