15-Night Itinerary: Nagano/Kanazawa/Osaka/Kyoto/Tokyo

21 comments

1. Coin lockers can be very useful. They’re 400 to 600 yen, meaning the cost can add up if you use them frequently. This is why people generally prefer to drop their luggage at their hotel.

2. Coin lockers are fine, although I prefer to use ta-q-bin more. You can send all big cases to the next destination instead of carrying everything.

   Based near JR Osaka station is fine, I actually prefer Umeda than Namba.

   Tokyo station/Ginza is also very good

   I’m not so sure about Kyoto though, personally I like either Gion or Kawaramachi Shijo/Sanjo area. But that’s just me.

3. Depending on the timing, the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route may be open right at the end of your trip. Maybe something to look into. If you do, strongly suggest you send your luggage on to Tokyo with Kuroneko, etc.

   I suggest you spend your last day fully in Kanazawa and catch a late train down to Kyoto/Osaka.

   For lockers – your hotel should be fine with you leaving luggage there after you check out for you to pick up before you go to the train station if that’s more convenient for you. For the JR pass, the vast majority of the expense is in moving between cities. In the cities, there are multiple train systems not all of which are JR. I suggest you buy an IC card anyway and use that when you encounter non-JR trains, though you could certainly try to just use the JR system. One nice thing, though, is you can use those IC cards at convenience stores, vending machines, etc. in case you find yourself with a little bit left. The cards themselves are 500 JPY with 1500 JPY precharged (2000 JPY total) last time I looked.

   Finally, I loved the duomo in Milan and you have the best gelato. Also carnaroli, mmmm.

4. When using a coin locker be careful as the suitcase may be too big to fit, and bigger coin lockers do tend to fill up earlier.

   If it’s Tokyo station Kuroneko Yamato has a service that will keep your luggage during the day. Thought it was around B1 near Gransta.

5. Have you checked if you would save money using the pass ? If you do your calculation, Himeji can be done for only 2400 yen using the Kansai Area Pass ([https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/kansai/](https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/kansai/)) , as the rapid train is about as fast as the shinkansen. I personally have some doubts that it is worth the cost. If you see you barely save money, then do not use the full JR Pass as you can go to Nara using Kintetsu instead, as the station is 1km closer to the park.

   That being said, booking hotels close to JR stations in these 3 cities may or may not make sense. For Tokyo, I would usually recommend about anywhere on the Yamanote line that also have a subway station. Asakusa would be the non-JR station that can work quite well too. Osaka you would likely want to go to Namba station that is closer to the nightlife area of Osaka, but using JR is not the most direct. The second good option in my opinion is around Osaka station. For Kyoto, close to Kyoto station is ok, but I would rather stay around Gion/Kawaramachi/Sanjo, that will be much more interesting to walk around at the end of the day than around Kyoto station.

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   In Nagano, did you consider booking a ryokan with onsen in Yudanaka onsen or Shibu onsen, that are close to the monkey park. You would already be close to the monkey park for next day and could relax in a hot bath. You might not want to book one with meal included as I am not sure I would want to eat that much on my first night.

   If you get to Kanazawa in late afternoon, you will not be able to see much as attraction i Japan usually close around 5pm.

   If you are not excited about staying in Osaka, you can always change hotel after Koya-san and you can also visit Nara from Kyoto.

6. I had a lot of trouble finding empty coin lockers in the bigger stations. That was my main issue with them.

7. One other note with coin lockers: They can very in size and availability. I’ve used them a few times, and once they were all full for my larger suite case, so I walked a town with my bags.

   I would recommend using coin lockers at the train station over any airport however. I got lost once trying to locate my coin locker at Narita International. (Matsuyama -> Narita for a flight the next morning international)

   Narita to Nagano is I think 3hrs by train? I’m not sure you will really have time/ energy for roaming Nagano too much.

   Kanazawa – Check out Kanazawa Castle, kenrokuen, and Higashichaya if at all possible.

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   Nara: This one is 100% personal as I’ve skipped Nara a few times. But with such a tight schedule I might consider skipping it again and perhaps add a day in Kyoto. You could get back some travel time, see temples, shrines and a little nature at say Arashiyama which has one of my off the beaten path interesting temples: Daihikaku.

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   Osaka – Most nights I’d recommend staying close to the station you need to move around: But at least one night, I’d definitely check out dontonburi.

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   Overall, I do think your plan is fine. But to me, a little too many days on trains. I’d probably try and slow it down a little. I know it’s hard to cut something you want to see, and if your a seasoned traveler this might be your style. I just feel like the itinerary is super tight and will be a little stressful. Temples and shrines are everywhere, the trains in Japan can be overwhelming for a first time visitor, the names can be confusing, etc.. Just a thought.

8. Our trip has been cancelled twice due to covid and it looked like we’ll now be going October 2022, we have a very similar itinerary to you so am interested to Amy lessons learned when you complete your trip! I would say use the Japanese railway ticket price calculator as we found a JR pass was more expensive than seperate tickets (I dont think you can use it to koyasan at all). Goodluck!

9. Seems like you will be traveling an awful lot before settling down in Kyoto and Tokyo. If that is your vibe then totally go for it, but between being jetlagged and getting up early for transportation and sightseeing, I fear you’re gonna exhaust yourself.

   I would strongly recommend slashing some destinations and rather focus your trip on Tokyo, Kyoto and either the Japanese Alps OR the daytrips + Koyasan in the Kansai region. Also, if you’re not excited about Osaka then just stay in Kyoto. The two cities are basically an agglomeration and you can visit Osaka easily from Kyoto. I felt the same way about Osaka, especially if you’re gonna spend some time in Tokyo there is not much added value IMO.

10. Each to their own but, don’t you think you’re going to be a little tired after that flight? Taking an almost 3 hour train ride to Nagano and then moving the next day to Kanazawa seems a little overkill.

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12. “D1: 6 April – NRT – Nagano”…. I always took money out from 7-11 bank machines, AND, the MOS-Burger on the road leading up to Zenkoji shrine is the best MOS I’ve eaten! We love Nagano area

13. Hey from D2 Nagano to Kanazawa – unless it’s the Shinkansen (not sure about it’s timings) you might land late in evening in Kanazawa, And Unlike Tokyo/Osaka/Kyoto there isn’t too much happening in Kanazawa late after 8.
    Kenrokuen closes down way early and other sites too are closed by 4/5 PM.
    Just be mindful of that, plenty of restaurants would be open though so don’t worry about that.

    Now in D3 since you wanna visit Shirakawago and make it back to Kanazawa – this needs proper planning – you should visit your Kanazawa places very early in the day cause it will take at least 5 hours to and from Kanazawa to Shirakawago and let’s say you spend 4 hours in Shirakawago you would be pretty much done for the day and would only be able to reach Kanazawa late in the evening.

    In D4 again, the trip from Kanazawa to Osaka is a long one – it will take upwards of 4 hours – trust me on this and don’t just go by Google map time, So if you don’t want to waste your whole day try starting early from Kanazawa – so you reach Osaka early in evening – get rest – and explore Dotonburi in evening.

    D5 – You have already traveled a ton in trains and I just find that extremely tiring, so realistically Kobe and Himeji in same day doesn’t feel right – going back to Osaka or not.
    I would say choose 1 – and imho it should be Kobe.

    D6 to D15 are fine, Again I would say start early from Osaka to Nara – it takes time on train. Nara has many awesome places to visit and chill out, so give it enough time or just stay the night in Nara. Rest is good.

14. If you are staying near the station then I’ve always found it easier to just leave your bags at reception rather than trying to find a coin locker.

    The schedule looks pretty good. Some people are saying its rushed but it’s doable. I personally would spend more time in Tokyo and skip either Nagano and Kanazawa. Both are nice places but not essential for a first trip, think of it as your first of many 🙂

    Also going to Nagano on day 1 is fine. The trains are pretty relaxing and I’ve always found the best way to get over jet lag is to just get out and do things and have an early night.

15. Was there in 2017. Wife has family in Kure and Okayama. Hiroshima is an amazing experience the island of miyajima was great, there is a cable car that takes you right to the top when you can enjoy the view of the seto inland sea while eating ramen.
    Don’t forget to eat at the Family mart/Lawson/ 7-11. The convenience stores in Japan are amazing.

16. If you are not keen in Osaka, I would suggest you make Kyoto your base. Stay somewhere north of Kyoto station, near a subway. So you will have the best of both worlds. Venture out of Kyoto? Subway – Kyoto Station – out. Venture in Kyoto? Subway / bus. The travelling time between Kyoto and Osaka is about 30 minutes. Not very significant, I reckon.

17. Yes, coin lockers are fine for suitcases. I’m not sure how many tourists there will be there at that time but I always find empty ones and use them. If not, some major stations have a luggage service.

    I think basing yourself in Osaka is wise if you are going to explore the different regions in the Kansai area.

18. How about doing Tokyo the first day? You are going to be tired so better to stay in Tokyo, give yourself a night or day to get over the jet (still not enough) and then move on to somewhere else?

19. Skip Kobe/Himeji Castle, spend more time in Kyoto. Make sure you do a dinner in the Dotonbori area in Osaka while you’re there.

20. 1) I would also recommend taking a day of rest after arriving in Japan. Its good to have a plan, in case you feel good and wanna do something, add some less important things to do for the first day. When i travelled to Japan for the first time (FRA-NRT) the travel took 25 hours in total (like getting up very early in the morning, take train to airport, be there early in case something happens on the way just so that i dont miss my flight, waiting for boarding, flight 11hours, take train from NRT to Tokyo, find Hotel) and i couldnt sleep during the flight cause of a slight fear of flying. So after checkin at 3p.m. I slept until 3p.m. the next day.

    2) dont hesitate asking hotel stuff for taking care of your luggage before check-in and after check-out until you come back and pick it up. because thats what they always do with big group of tourists, they are prepared for that kind of thing. Also you can ask them for subway or bus 1-day tickets. I would recommend subway 1-day ticket in Tokyo, 1-day bus tickets in Kyoto or Osaka are also available, but i would refrain from taking the bus if possible, after 2 years Im still sometimes confused with the buses in Kyoto.

    3) Agree to IamKukuBird, stay in Kyoto and take the train to Osaka. Best place is either near Kyoto station or Kawaramachi / Karasuma station.

    4) Since youre likely to see sakura bloom, i recommend visiting the following locations in Kyoto: Maruyama park, Philosopher’s walk and Silver Pavillon (Ginkaku-ji), Arashiyama, Takase River (a bit east of Kawaramachi station, walk south along the river until the big road Gojo), Sannenzaka, Emperors Palace. Staying in Kyoto also has the advantage of being flexible with seeing sakura.

21. Just a thought on your itinerary. I think you are going to be wiped on that first couple of days after arriving in Japan. If Nagano is really important to you what about changing your itinerary so it’s done what reversed. Make Kyoto your first stop then work your way back to Nagano and spend the end of your holiday in Tokyo.
    Go those places where you are only staying one night I would recommend using luggage forwarding to send your suitcase’s ahead to the place after the overnight stay. If you can manage it with just a day pack each with a change of clothes and toiletries then you can hit the ground running in those overstay places without having to get your suitcases to the hotel or worry about finding coin lockers. Most hotels will help your organize this when you are checking out. Here’s an article about it . [Takkyubin](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html)