It’s our (2x 31F) first trip to Japan, and since we come from a place with no snow and no cities, our trip can be broadly summed up as: We want a lot of snow and a lot of cities! So we’ve centered the heart of this trip around visiting Sapporo during the Snow Festival.
In terms of our major interests in Japan, it can be broadly summed up as the food, scenery, relaxation, nature, tech, geek culture & fashion, roughly in that order. We’ve tried to keep it loose and not nail down specific activities on specific days, but perhaps we’re being overambitious?
Since we’ve heard Winter can affect public transport a lot, particularly in Hokkaido, we’ve stuck to domestic flights as the main way to get between cities. It also allows us to squeeze more things in too. 14 days doesn’t feel like enough! (Might even try and extend it a few more days…)
Would love any feedback, even if it’s “Your plan sucks!”. But, in particular, a few questions for anyone looking to help:
– What would you axe to free up an extra day in Tokyo?
– Is the train journey from Nagano to Osaka particularly nice, or are we better off shuffling things around to maybe fly there instead on a different day?
– A day in Nara, or old Kyoto?
– Mechanical keyboard shop reccs in Tokyo?
– If I was a lover of Japanese math rock, where would I look for live gigs?
– Any (SFW, daylight hours) LGBT-themed spots worth visiting in Tokyo or Osaka?
THANKS!
###Itinerary
#### Jan 29th – 30th: Tokyo (Part 1)
* Flight arrives at 10:45
* Staying in Ginza
* First day will definitely involve a lot of jetlag recovery
* Things we want to do/visit (grouped by roughly similar location):
* Hotel, Akihabara, Asakusa, teamLab Planets,
* Nakano Broadway, Shinjuku,
* Harajuku, Gotokuji Temple, Sanrio Puroland.
#### Jan 31st: Yudanaka Onsen
* 2h train journey from Tokyo via Nagano
* Staying in a ryokan
* Snow monkeys & hot springs
#### Feb 1st – Feb 3rd: Osaka ####
* Either fly from Matsumoto airport or take the train, both routes end up around 4h
* Staying in Namba
* Things we want to do/visit (grouped by roughly similar location):
* Hotel, Shinsekai, Dotonbori, Shitennoji,
* Kaiyukan Aquarium, SpaWorld (maybe),
* Osaka Castle
* Maybe a day trip to Nara and/or Kyoto (Higashiyama)?
#### Feb 4th – Feb 7th: Sapporo
* Fly from Osaka in the morning
* Staying in Nishi-Ku
* Things we want to do/visit (grouped by roughly similar location):
* EAT EVERYTHING
* Snow Festival, Mr. Moiwa, Susukino, maybe TV Tower
* Snowshoeing in Shikotsu Toya national park
* Maybe a day trip to Otaru, depending on how much we’re enjoying Sapporo
#### Feb 8th – Feb 9th: Yamagata
* Fly from Sapporo in the morning
* Staying in Futabacho
* Things we want to do/visit:
* Mt. Zao ropeway & the snow monsters
* Hiking to Yamadera Temple
#### Feb 10th – Feb 12th: Tokyo (Part 2)
* Fly from Yamagata to Tokyo in the morning
* Staying in Shibuya, maybe?
* Do anything we missed in Part 1 + shopping
* Flight leaves at 13:15 on the 12th