Hey guys, I’d love some feedback on my itinerary. I found it difficult to make since we will be traveling over the New Years, and I’m not sure if my plans are great because of that, like if things will be closed and i’m unaware, or incredibly packed etc. Some background info, we’re a couple in our early twenties, hotels are all booked so just need help with the actual destinations and if it’s feasible to do what we’re doing in a day and etc.
Day 1 \[12/26 – Kyoto\]
Arriving late into Kyoto, around 6-7 p.m, checking into hotel located in Kawaramachi. Will likely have jetlag so not making any concrete plans for this day, likely will grab dinner nearby and relax for busy days to come.
Day 2 \[12/27 – Kyoto\]
1. Bus to Kiyomizu-dera (20 minute trip, hope to arrive around 8:30am)
2. Walk down Sannenzaka & Ninenzaka
3. Walk to Maruyama Park
4. Walk to Chion-in
5. Walk to Shorenin
6. Walk back to Kawaramachi and grab lunch (thinking it would be around 12-1 by now)
7. Walk to Nishiki Market after lunch
8. Free time (buffer just in case things take longer then expected)
9. Train to Fushimi Inari Taisha around \~3pm
10. Spend as long as we want in Fushimi Inari Taisha, afterwards return to hotel
11. Dinner somewhere downtown
12. Evening stroll through Gion
Day 3 \[12/28 – Kyoto\]
1. Taxi or train/bus to Arashiyama in the morning, start at Tenryu-ji Temple
2. Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
3. Okochi Sanso Villa
4. Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama
5. Free time, have lunch somewhere nearby
6. Taxi from Arashiyama to Kinkaku-ji
7. Taxi from Kinkaku-ji to Daitoku-ji
8. head back downtown, free time, maybe go to the Imperial Palace if we’re not tired
9. Evening dinner/stroll through Pontocho
Day 4 \[12/29 – Kyoto\]
1. Last day in Kyoto, leaving free time for shopping and etc!
2. Tea ceremony in Kimonos in the morning/lunch time
3. Imperial Palace if we did not do so yesterday, possibly skip
4. Keage Incline
5. Nanzen-ji Temple
6. Higashiyama Jisho-ji
Day 5 \[12/30 Kyoto -> Tokyo\]
1. Free time in Kyoto before leaving, will leave around lunch time
2. Shinkansen to Tokyo, arrive at hotel near Shinjuku station and check-in around 3pm.
3. Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in the evening before it closes
4. Kabukicho / Golden Gai / Omoide Yokocho after dark
Day 6 \[12/31 Tokyo\]
1. Yoyogi Park
2. Meiji Jingu
3. Takeshita Street in Harajuku
4. Walk down to the Shibuya Scramble
5. Shop (Shibuya 109, Scramble Square, etc if they’re open on the 31st)
6. Hachiko Memorial Statue
7. New Years countdown event in Shibuya (if it doesn’t get cancelled like it did previous years)
Day 7 \[1/1 Tokyo\]
1. New years in Tokyo! I have nothing planned. Still researching what is possible to do on New Years since so much is closed on this day. Likely just a relaxing day strolling the streets. If you guys have any ideas please let me know!!
Day 8 \[1/2 Tokyo\]
1. Asakusa
2. Kaminarimon, Sensoji
3. Walk to Sumida Park
4. Walk to Skytree
5. Train to Ueno Park
6. Ueno Zoo / Tokyo National Museum (whatever time permits and what’s open, cool if both)
7. Walk to Akihabara
8. Free time the rest of the evening
Day 9 \[1/3 Tokyo\]
1. Tokyo DisneySea
Day 10 \[1/4 Tokyo -> Kawaguchiko\]
1. Teamlabs Planets TOKYO in the morning
2. Odaiba Seaside Park depending on how long Teamlabs takes
3. Return to hotel, pack and travel to Kawaguchiko Station near Mt. Fuji
4. Free shuttle to Ryokan near Lake Kawaguchi
5. Enjoy the Ryokan for the evening
Day 11 \[1/5 Kawaguchiko\]
1. Saiko Iyashi-no-Sato Nenba
2. Aokigahara
3. Narusawa ice cave / Fugaku wind cave
4. Options if time permits (Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway, Oshino Hakkai, Oishi Park)
Day 12 \[1/6 Kawaguchiko -> Tokyo final day\]
1. In morning maybe do one of the options we missed yesterday
2. Check out of ryokan at 11
3. Travel to Tokyo, spend final few hours before leaving from Haneda in the evening (not sure what we’l be able to do)
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So what do you guys think of my plans? It’s my first time ever planning an itinerary. If you think some things would be better to do on other days, like swap the itinerary day due to the holidays, please let me know! Also if you think we’l have plenty of time to spare / not enough time to do things.