Hi everyone! Keeping the intro short; this will be me (31F) and my boyfriend's (31M) first time Japan in November for 14 nights. It's the typical golden route with some day trips included and I fully realize that it is a bit basic/mainstream, but I do want to go back in the future and go less mainstream at that point. My itinerary is mostly planned out but I feel myself hitting a little bit of a wall/needing advice. Main concerns are if it's a little too unplanned/formless on some days and maybe too packed on others, and if the way things are ordered make sense.
11/11 Monday – Tokyo. Land at Haneda airport 5:45 PM. Check in to hotel, grab food, check around the area, sleep at a reasonable time. Haven't booked a hotel yet, but looking at Ginza and Akasaka as potential areas based on my itinerary.
11/12 Tuesday – Tokyo. Go early to Tsukiji Market. Maybe grab some coffee, walk around Ginza and do some shopping, eat again at some point. Potentially eat at Chuka Soba Ginza Hachigou if I can get reservations. Depending on how we feel, maybe go to Shinjuku/Golden Gai/Omoide Yokocho for some nightlife or maybe Odaiba for chiller vibes/see the Small Worlds Museum. As you can see, this day isn't very fleshed out but I don't know if it's okay to just leave it like that…?
11/13 Wednesday – Tokyo. Shinjuku-Shibuya area. Probably do Shinjuku during the first half of the day (Shinjuku gyoen, shopping) and Shibuya the second half (like Shibuya Sky at sunset around 4:30PM). Thinking of doing yakiniku in this area for dinner. Maybe go back to Shinjuku for Golden Gai/Omide Yokocho if we didn't go the previous night? Do you guys prefer Shibuya or Shinjuku more at night? Would it be dumb to go back and forth (not more than once or twice)?
– note to self: while we're at Shinjuku station, figure out where we need to go for the bus ride to Kawaguchiko
11/14 Thursday – Tokyo. Teamlab borderless in the morning. Check out surrounding area like Tokyo Tower/Shiba Park. Possibly check out the Daikanayama/Ebisu/Nakameguro neighborhoods for afternoon/evening. Considering the tempura omakase at Tempura Motoyoshi but it's kind of expensive; would appreciate if anyone who's tried it can give their experience.
11/15 Friday – Kawaguchiko. Forward luggage to Kyoto. Take highway bus from Shinjuku station to Shimoyoshida station. Go see Chureito Pagoda/Arakurayama Sengen Park. Take a local train to Kawaguchiko Station. Eat somewhere that serves hoto noodles (regional specialty). Rent a bike around the station and ride around Lake Kawaguchiko (and across the bridge) and go to Oishi Park. Things to see on the way if there is time: Maple Corridor, Kubota Itchiku Art Museum, Music Forest Museum. I would like to head to our ryokan (Konansou) by 4-5PM and enjoy the rest of the day there. Looking forward to the in-room onsen and kaiseki dinner!
11/16 Saturday – Kawaguchiko to Kyoto. Eat breakfast early at the ryokan. Possibly go to the Fuji Panoramic Ropeway when it opens at 8:30AM and check out the park at the top. Might need to plan for a 40-min hike down if the cable car lines are long. Check out from ryokan and go to Kawaguchiko Station. Go on to Mishima Station to then transfer to shinkansen to Kyoto. Do you think I'd need to allow for a 1 hour layover between transfers to account for any possible delays, offboarding/onboarding? Or is 30-40 minutes about enough?
Once in Kyoto, check in to hotel and explore the area, get something to eat around Nishiki market/Gion. Possibly check out Kodaiji temple night illumination. Entoku-in is nearby and also has a night illumination; would that be worth going to also or too redundant?
11/17 Sunday – Kyoto. Go to Arashiyama early in the morning. Lunch at Shigetsu (or possibly Yudofu Sagano). Take the Sagano Romantic Train ride and take the boat back on the Hozugawa River. I'm not sure how long we'd stay at the bamboo forest itself or how much time will be in between things, but I have Otagi Nenbutsu-ji (would probably taxi there) and the monkey park as possibilities if there's time. Before leaving, I'd like to see Kimono Forest lit up at night, have dinner, and possibly check out the footbath at Arashiyama station before taking the Keifuku Randen tram back to the hotel.
11/18 Monday – Kyoto. Go to Fushimi Inarii early in the morning. Depending on energy, either go straight back down or take a trail toward Tofuku-ji. No other plans solidified for this day, but maybe we can do a kimono rental/tea ceremony, see Kiyomizu-dera at sunset and walk through Sannenzaka/Ninenzaka. Go (back) to Nishiki Market/Gion for food at some point?
11/19 Tuesday – Kyoto. Day trip to Nara, typical tourist spots like seeing the deer, mochi making, Todaiji. Try some regional foods and shop for regional specialties. Go back to Kyoto at some point. Nothing else planned but maybe check out Philosopher's Path or one of the following:
- Kinkakuji
- Kyoto Imperial Palace
- Nijojo
- Other?
In general I feel like my Kyoto days are a little unstructured, and some places are somewhat far apart. I am worried but also not lol. Anyone else feel this way about things? I figure if we find ourself with a lot of time, we could just decide in real time where to go or just rest up.
11/20 Wednesday- Kinosaki Onsen. Forward luggage to Osaka. Take train to Kinosaki Onsen station. Buy the Kinosaki Must-Visit pass. Grab food, check out the shops, hit up Kiyamachi square. Go to the Ropeway and take the tram. Stop by Osenji Shrine and Museum of Art at the midpoint then continue to the cafe at the summit. Check in at ryokan around 3PM. Check out some of the public onsen and get back to ryokan in time for dinner 6-6:30PM. Walk around more/do whatever. I know going to this city might be a weird detour, but we really wanted to try the local red matsuba crab specialty that's in season during this time. We looove crab!
11/21 Thursday – Kinosaki Onsen to Osaka. Breakfast at ryokan. Rent a bike to go toward the shore/Tsuiyama and/or bike to Genbudo Park. If there's time, clean up and relax at the onsen near the station and buy some food/more souvenirs. Plan to arrive in Osaka a little later in the evening (8PM would be the absolute latest arrival in Osaka for the train). May have time to check out Dotombori or just the area around the hotel.
11/22 Friday – Osaka. Universal Studios day. Plan to buy the express pass and also get there early. A little worried about crowds since it seems like the next day 11/23 is a holiday, Labor Thanksgiving Day.
11/23 Saturday – Osaka. Possibly get the Osaka Amazing pass. Possibly check out Osaka Castle (is the boat ride around the castle worth doing?), Kuromon market/Dotonbori, do a cruise on the river in the evening (is Tombori River cruise or Osaka Wonder Cruise better?). Also interested in Kaiyukan Aquarium and the nearby ferris wheel, but not sure if there will be enough time and if it would be way too crowded (this would be in the evening). Also, is Umeda Sky better during the daytime or at night? Not sure if it's worth doing a final luggage forward to Tokyo?
11/24 Sunday – Tokyo. Probably just head straight to Tokyo via Shinkansen. Check in to hotel. Maybe check out Ueno park or just do whatever, shop some more. Maybe have a nice sushi omakase for our last dinner before leaving. Maybe end up in Akihabara for the evening, check out the arcades. Heard that the streets will be closed for pedestrians on Sundays so that should be nice. Haven't booked a hotel but thinking of staying around the Asakusa area.
11/24 Monday – Flight back home at 6:25 PM. Go to Sensoji early in the morning, and walk around Asakusa area (Nakamise Dori, Kappabashi Dogugai). Whatever we can squeeze in before eating lunch and heading to Haneda airport by 3PMish or earlier.
Sorry this ended up being kind of long. I guess I'm mainly struggling to see if I have an okay level of preparedness as it feels like I'm getting to the point that if I do too much research, I'm going to start overloading things. I'm not trying to be too overwhelmed, but some advice would be truly appreciated! Also, not asking for any specific recommendations but always open to hearing them! Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read or respond!!
by extremities-