Critique my itinerary – 4 weeks

Hi everyone!

I’m very excited about my first trip to Japan. I will be travelling from 31 August till 26 September; arriving and departing from Tokyo, so 26 nights in total.

I want to travel around the country a bit leisurely, so def not cramming as many tick-off items as possible. There will be a next time for sure. Should it help, I have no interest in theme parks. 😉 If anything, probably a heavier focus on the food and nature.

I am sharing below my preliminary itinerary. The accommodation for Tokyo, Nara and Osaka has been booked already, so no flexibility there. Those first 9 days/8 nights I will travel together with my partner, and I’ll travel solo the remainder of the trip. I have “grouped” some of the sights under each city, hopefully making it easier to select or drop things on a given day.

For the sake of convenience, I have simply written “days” that do not overlap, as I’m still figuring things out. But where I put a single day (e.g. Kawaguchiko), it presumes an overnight stay either before or after it. Hope this makes sense.
It would be great to hear your thoughts how feasible the below itinerary is (especially in terms of spread of the days in the different cities) and your suggestions to either drop/add things or shift things around (or stretch certain stays at the expense of others).

I have thrown Hokkaido into the mix as I’m quite curious about this island and to add more the nature component. A Japanese colleague also recommended it as worthwhile. At the same time, I don’t know if 4 days would do it justice or if it is better to spread out my stay elsewhere on Honshu or finish with a few extra nights in Tokyo before leaving.

I have not accounted for "special accommodations", but will probably want to include a temple lodging and another ryokan too (we will stay in one in the Nara area).

As far as I understand, the following are an absolute must to figure our or book asap, or right after landing in Japan: Suica card (only inside the airport), a one-month eSim (Airalo), any Shinkansen tickets (easier bought after landing in Japan?). Perhaps I am missing something else? In terms of activities, I think the TeamPlanets might be the only one from the below list that would require advance booking.

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

• Days 1-4: Tokyo
  • Group 1:
    • Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
    • Kabukicho
    • Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
    • Omoide Yokocho
    • Golden Gai
  • Group 2:
    • Meiji Shrine
    • Harajuku (including Takeshita Street)
    • Omotesando
    • Nezu Museum
    • Shibuya Crossing
    • Shibuya Sky
    • Tokyo Tower
    • Hachiko Statue
    • Roppongi (including Roppongi Hills Mori Tower)
  • Group 3:
    • Asakusa
    • Senso-ji Temple
    • Ueno (including Ueno Park, Tokyo National Museum and Ueno Zoo Ameya-Yokocho)
    • Akihabara
  • Day trip: Kamakura
• Day 5: Nara
  • Todai-ji Temple
  • Nara Park
  • Kasuga Taisha Shrine
  • Naramachi
  • Local food must-tries: kakinoha-zushi, miwa somen
• Days 6-9: Osaka
  • Osaka Castle Park
  • Museum of History
  • Shinsaibashi
  • Dotonbori
  • Umeda (including Sky Building, Floating Garden Observatory)
  • Hankyu Umeda and Yodobashi Camera
  • Osaka Aquarium
  • Local food must-tries: Okonomiyaki, Negiyaki, Kushikatsu, Kitsune Udon
• Days 10-13: Kyoto
  • Group 1:
    • Nijo Castle
    • Kyoto Imperial Palace and park
    • Nishiki Market
    • Pontocho Alley
    • Kamo river
    • Gion/ Hanamikoji
  • Group 2:
  • Group 3:
    • Fushimi Inari Taisha
    • Higashiyama
    • Kiyomizu-dera Temple
    • Sannenzaka/Ninenzaka
    • Kodai-ji Temple
    • Yasaka Shrine
    • Maruyama Park
    • Philosopher’s Path
    • Ginkaku-ji
  • Group 4:
    • Kinkaku-ji
    • Ryoan-ji Temple
    • Ninna-ji Temple
    • Daitoku-ji
    • To-ji Temple
  • Local food must-tries: kaiseki, kyo-yasai, shingen mochi, matcha sweets, yudofu, wagashi
• Days 14-18: Takayama or Kanazawa as base for day trips, including Shirakawago and Matsumoto
  • Kanazawa:
    • Kenrokuen Garden
    • Kanazawa Castle
    • Nagamachi Samurai District
  • Shirakawago:
    • Gassho-zukuri farmhouses
  • Takayama:
    • Takayama Jinya
    • Old town
  • Matsumoto:
    • Matsumoto Castle
  • Local food must-tries: Hoba Miso, Takayama Ramen, Kanazawa Curry, Jibuni, Gold Leaf Sweets, Soba noodles
• Days 19-21: Hiroshima
  • Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
  • Hiroshima Castle
  • Shukkeien Garden
  • Hondori Street
  • Kamiyacho
  • Daytrip to Miyajima
    • Itsukushima Shrine
    • Omotesando
    • Miyajima Ropeway up to Mount Misen
    • Daisho-in Temple
• Local food must-tries: okonomiyaki
• Day 22: Kawaguchiko (Mount Fuji)
  • Arakurayama Sengen Park
  • Chureito Pagoda
  • Kawaguchiko Music Forest Museum
  • Local food must-tries: hōtō
• Days 23-25: Sapporo
  • Odori Park and the Sapporo TV Tower
  • Historic Village of Hokkaido
  • Hokkaido University campus
  • Susukino district
  • Hokkaido Shrine
  • Daytrip to Otaru
    • Otaru Canal
    • Sakaimachi Street
    • Otaru Music Box Museum
    • Kitaichi Glass Shop
  • Daytrip to Noboribetsu
    • Jigokudani
    • Onsen
  • Local food must-tries: Sapporo ramen