Hello! I’m planning a 2 person trip to Japan around the holiday season. Detailed itinerary below but my main questions are:
1. Suggestions for where to stay/what to do on Christmas eve/day? We are currently planning on being on the Kansai area and I was entertaining the idea of staying in a temple on koya-san. And spending Christmas day taking in the scenery/hiking on the mountain. But I’m not sure if the holidays will mean reduced hours/closures for things up there.
2. General hotel suggestions for Tokyo during this time? I’ve been scouring the subreddit/online for advice but a lot of it is unsurprisingly prepandemic stuff so I just want to make sure my bases are covered. Also my understanding is that things will be very busy for Christmas/New Years so I’m trying to be a bit cautious about crowds and such.
3. Suggestions for things to do/a shrine to visit on Jan 1/2 in Tokyo? We want to visit a shrine and experience 初詣 but are a bit intimidated haha.
Any other suggestions/recommendations are welcome!
Thanks again!!
### **——–Itinerary overview——–**
### **12/17-12/18 Arrival in Tokyo + One night stay in Hakone**
###### 12/17: Arrive in Tokyo
###### 12/18: Travel to Hakone + Ryokan stay
### **12/19-12/21 Kyoto**
###### Itinerary:
– Arashiyama
– Kinkaku-ji
– Imperial Palace
– Hirano Shrine
– Fushimi Inari
– Daigoji Temple
– Ginkaku-ji
– Philosopher’s Path
###### Accomodations:
– 12/19-12/21: Hotel at Kyoto station
– 12/21-12/22: Ryokan
### **12/22-12/24 Osaka**
###### Itinerary:
– Dotonbori
– Nipponbashi
– 食い倒れ
– Osaka Castle
– Kaiyukan Aquarium
###### Accomodations:
– 12/22-12/25: Hotel near Namba station
### **12/25 Christmas day**
###### 12/25: Unsure (tentatively somewhere in Kansai)
### **12/26-12/29 Tokyo**
###### Itinerary:
– Ghibli Museum (only open on the 26 but hopefully we can get tickets)
– Nakano Broadway
– Shinjuku
– Shibuya
– Akihabara
###### Accomodations:
– 12/25-12/29: Hotel in Shinjuku/Shibuya
– 12/29-01/03: Hotel in Akihabara/Tokyo Station
### **12/30-12/31 Comiket**
###### Itinerary (If we have energy after comiket):
– Odaiba
### **01/01-01/03 New Years + Departure**
###### Itinerary:
– Visit a shrine
– Last minute shopping
2 comments
Christmas Day/week is a normal working week in Japan so no worries there. It will not be quiet and is actually a popular date night for couples. What’s also great about December is the tons of winter illuminations (Christmas light displays). Definitely make some time to hit up as many of these as you can before or after dinner. They are also free which is great for your budget. Info on 2022/23 winter illuminations will likely be updated in November so just consult Google-sensei (Prof. Google) before your trip. There used to be a German Christmas Market in Osaka but it’s been cancelled the past few years. Hopefully it’ll come back this year with more info likely announced in November. Pretty much every city/neighborhood in large cities will have some sort of illumination in winter too.
– [10 Amazing Ways to Celebrate Christmas in Tokyo](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/things-to-do/how-to-celebrate-christmas-in-tokyo)
– [Christmas in Tokyo](https://trulytokyo.com/christmas-in-tokyo/)
– [2021/22 Tokyo Winter Illumination Guide](https://jw-webmagazine.com/tokyo-winter-illumination-guide-2017-2018-13d71df4af67/)
– [2021/22 Osaka Winter Illumination Guide](https://jw-webmagazine.com/best-winter-illumination-spots-in-osaka-d19f1d509a4e/)
– [16 Best Winter Illuminations in Japan](https://www.tsunagujapan.com/attracted-by-the-world-view-8-popular-japanese-illumination-spots/)
New Years week is a major holiday time in Japan. Kinda like Christmas week in the US where lots of people take extra days off and travel home to be with family. Be sure you take this into account as New Years Day and the day before/after lots of places will be closed or have limited hours. Malls and museums will be closed. You likely ring be able to get much shopping done in New Years Day itself.
– [Visiting Japan During New Years](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2276.html)
Happy Planning!
>12/17-12/18 Arrival in Tokyo + One night stay in Hakone
Where are you travelling from/have you done a trip like this before (in terms of flight times, etc.)? I ask with the intent to try to understand if you’re going to have the potential of dealing with jet lag. If so, I personally wouldn’t be looking to land then travel to Hakone **for one day** just to then go down to Kyoto as it sounds like an aggressive start to your trip, but that is just my 2p (and you have to do what works for you).
I personally think it’s a mistake to only spend one day (including travel in) in Hakone, but not sure what type of experience you’re looking for so that would be good to understand. It could be better to cut it out entirely than to spend 1 day there. Are you just wanting to get into nature? Are you wanting to stay at a Ryokan and spend most of your time there doing onsen stuff? Are you wanting to attempt the loop (or any part of it)?
I also wouldn’t choose to move about in terms of accommodation in Kyoto/Osaka. I can understand spending 1 night at a Ryokan, but I would probably choose to spend the rest either in Kyoto **or** Osaka depending on the type of experience you’re looking for and where you’ll be spending most of your time. It will just be less faff and wasted time checking into/out of accommodations with very little pay off (IMO).
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>Accomodations:
>
>12/25-12/29: Hotel in Shinjuku/Shibuya
>
>12/29-01/03: Hotel in Akihabara/Tokyo Station
Is there a reason you’re choosing to move around hotels in Tokyo? Again, it feels like extra effort for little to no payoff.