Hey everyone,
Please take a look at our itinerary and let us know if we’re making any mistakes with seasonality, opening times/busy times, doing anything overrated, or wasting money. We also love hidden gems so please share any of those! 😀
The middle is very packed, though we have a lot of free time at the start and end of the trip. But let us know if that’s unrealistic.
Some context: Myself, my brother and mother are taking a 14 day trip from the UK to Japan on 12th Oct. We’re fairly active, and don’t mind walking and using public transport to save ££ (we’re quite budget-conscious). We’ll be travelling with 1 large rucksack each, so will l be looking for a laundry place halfway through the trip. Our nightly accommodation budget target is around £40 GBP per night each.
Our focuses are seeing the main tourist sights (but let us know if any are overrated!), eating interesting food, and exploring the cities. I’ve got interests in filming locations, FPS gaming (call of duty) & JDM car culture so any recommendations there are appreciated!
Some questions we have are:
- Wondering if the bullet train pass is worth it – what can we use to reliably price up our individual train costs?current plan is to use the bullet train 6 times, with current bullet train price at ~£435 standard class.
- Is pocket WiFi the best way to get mobile internet?
- Is there anything to consider when booking Airbnbs, e.g. certain rules to watch out for?
Itinerary
Sun 13th Oct
- 18:30 – Arrive at Haneda airport
- Get pocket wifi
- Travel to Tokyo AirBnB, drop stuff off, explore area, food
- Accommodation: 2.5D style Airbnb in Shinagawa city (not booked) – heard this is a highly recommended area
Mon 14th Oct
- 11:00 – Explore Takeshita fashion street, Shiba inu cafe
- Food, free time
- 17:00 – Shibuya crossing (is there a better time for this?)
- Tokyo free time
- Accommodation: 2.5D style Airbnb
Tues 15th Oct
- 08:50 – Bullet train to Kyoto
- 12:00 – Food
- 14:00 – Fushimi inari
- 18:00 – Restaurant Tempura Endo Yasaka
- Gion exploration
- Accommodation: M's Hotel Gojo Odawara (booked)
Weds 16th Oct
- 10:00 – Kinkakuji temple (golden temple)
- 12:00 – Food
- 14:00 – Hozugawa river boat ride
- 16:00 – Arashiyama bamboo grove
- 18:00 – Kyoto free time
- Accommodation: M's Hotel Gojo Odawara (booked)
Thurs 17th Oct
- Kyoto free time – let us know of any hidden gems and food recs!
- Accommodation: M's Hotel Gojo Odawara (booked)
Fri 18th Oct
- 10:00 – Train to Nara
- 11:00 – Nara deer park
- 13:00 – Train to Osaka
- 14:00 – Osaka style Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki octopus
- Osaka free time
- Accommodation: karaksa hotel grande Shin-Osaka Tower OR APA Hotel Osaka Higobashi Ekimae (not booked) – any opinions on these?
Sat 19th Oct
- 10:00 – Train, bullet train, bus, boat to Naoshima Island
- 14:00 – Food
- 15:00 – Naoshima Island
- 18:00 – Boat, train, bullet train to Hiroshima
- 21:00 – Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki
- Accommodation: Airbnb in Hatsukaichi (not booked) – any opinions on the area?
Sun 20th Oct
- 10:00 – Itsukushima shrine
- 12:00 – Food
- 13:00 – Bullet train, train to Nanzoin temple
- 16:00 – Nanzoin temple
- 17:00 – Train, bullet train to Himeji
- 21:00 – Himeji free time
- Accommodation: Bed and breakfast Airbnb in Himeji-shi (not booked) – area opinions?
Mon 21st Oct
- 10:00 – Himeji castle
- 12:00 – Food
- 14:00 – Himeji free time (lots of time here, any hidden gem recs?)
- 23:30 – Sunrise sleeper train to Tokyo (07:00 arrival)
Tues 22nd Oct
- 07:00 – Train from Tokyo (or Fuji) to Fuji Five Lakes (currently getting train to Tokyo to allow for 7hrs of sleep, as Fuji would only give 5, but let us know if this isn't ideal!)
- 10:00 – Fuji Five Lakes free time (let us know of any easy hikes, hidden gems or food recommendations!)
- Accommodation: Airbnb in Fujiyoshida (not booked) – area opinions?
Weds 23rd Oct
- 10:00 – Bus, train, bus to Mount Omuro chairlifts
- 14:00 – Mount Omuro (is this overrated? It's a lot of travel time to get here)
- 16:00 – Travel to Ito
- 17:00 – Food
- 18:00 – Bus, train, bullet train to Tokyo
- 21:00 – Tokyo free time
- Accommodation: Looking for a capsule hotel to experience that, any recs?
Thurs 24th Oct
- Tokyo free time – lots of free time here to do anything we hear about while on the trip, and/or recoup some energy
- Accommodation: Toyoko Inn (not booked), not sure which one yet
Fri 25th
- Tokyo free time
- 21:00 Daikoku car meet (let us know if there is an ideal way to do this – should we pay for a guide or just show up?)
- Accommodation: Toyoko Inn (not booked), not sure which one yet
Sat 26th Oct
- 08:00 – Flight back to the UK
Thanks for taking a look! 🙂
by arifmp
