Hi! This is my first time traveling abroad without a guided tour. All suggestion about my itinerary is appreciated.
**Day 1 (Wed)**: Arrive at KIX in the morning, leave the luggage at the hotel, Sumiyoshi Taisha, Explore around Namba + Shinsaibashi, Stay around Tanimachi 9-chome station
**Day 2 (Thu)**: Osaka Museum of History, Osaka Castle, Nishinomaru Garden, Tempozan Ferris Wheel
**Day 3 (Fri)**: Minoo Park, Umeda + Umeda Sky Building
**Day 4 (Sat)**: Toshodaiji Temple, Yakushiji Temple
**Day 5 (Sun)**: Iga Ueno Castle, Iga Ninja Museum, Danjiri Museum, *(if I have time left: Sukodo Former School)*
**Day 6 (Mon)**: Yoshikien Garden, Isuien Garden, Kofukuji Temple, Gangoji Temple
**Day 7 (Tue)**: Nara Park, Todaiji Temple, Kasuga Taisha
**Day 8 (Wed)**: Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine, walk up to the top of the mountain, explore around Kyoto station, *(if I have time left and not too tired: Nijo Castle, Higashiyama District, Kiyomizudera Temple)*
**Day 9 (Thu)**: Togetsukyo Bridge, Tenryuji Temple, Bamboo Groves, Jojakkoji Temple, Nisonin Temple, Gioji Temple, *(if I have time left: Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street, Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple, Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple)*
**Day 10 (Fri)**: Shitennoji Temple, Shinkansen Osaka -> Tokyo, Stay around Ueno *(if I have time left before Shinkansen: Tsutenkaku, Shinsekai)*
**Day 11 (Sat)**: Ghibli Museum, Inokashira Park, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, Explore around Shinjuku
**Day 12 (Sun)**: Hachiko Statue, Explore around Shibuya, Meiji Shrine, Explore around Harajuku
**Day 13 (Mon)**: Imperial Palace, Explore around Odaiba
**Day 14 (Tue)**: Tokyo National Museum, Explore around Akihabara
**Day 15 (Wed)**: Check out from the hotel and depart from NRT in the afternoon.
**Additional Questions:**
* I am not sure if I overestimated the hiking in Minoo Park. If I am not too tired I might want to go to more places on day 4. The suggestions are welcomed.
* Is the Arashimaya trip on Day 9 too packed? Is it practical to rent a bicycle there and ride around the city?
* I plan to use the Kintetsu pass on Day 4 – 8. I know that it has not covered the limited express train fee. Are there any other pass alternatives recommended? (not limited to Day 4 – 8)
* I plan to use Yokoso Osaka Ticket but cannot find it anywhere, was it discontinued?
* I want to go to Tokyo mainly for shopping and explore around the popular district. Are there any places that I should visit?
1 comment
For Day 9, it does seem rather crowded. I noticed that you have a lot of temples in your “will do” category and a lot of other activities in your “if we have time” category for your Kyoto days. I would suggest moving some of the temples into the “if we have time” category and pulling some of the other activities/places out of that category. In Kyoto it can be slow/tiring to get around the city so you might miss out on a lot of variety of interesting things and only see temples if you prioritize them. Temples are nice but you don’t need to see every temple in Kyoto. Particularly I think Nijo Castle and Kyomizudera are worthwhile. On Day 8, if you manage to get up early (like getting to Inari about 6-7 AM) you can avoid crowds and finish earlier to have time to do more things. If you start at 8-9 it will take longer and you might miss the other things on that day. I think renting a bike sounds feasible for Arashiyama, I walked there but a bike could speed things up a bit. I’m not sure about bike rental availability there specifically, hopefully someone else will be able to answer that.
It’s hard to make recommendations for Tokyo shopping if we don’t know what you would like to buy. Are you looking for souvenirs, clothes, or other items? In Tokyo there are many niche shopping districts for certain items. Shibuya is a popular place for shopping but I personally found it to be a bit unpleasant because it’s harder to stroll around when the stores are stacked on top of one another.