Hi JapanTravel! My cousin and I are planning to go to Japan for two weeks in the summer (2022 if possible, or in 2023) This is our first draft so we are open to advice/changes.
We are both in our early 30s and are from NYC, so I am not too worried about a lot of walking or learning how to take the trains/buses within cities. The both of us have traveled internationally before, although this will be my first time in Asia, and my cousin’s first time in Japan. We are both anime fans, but our main interests in Japan are the food, shrines and temples, and traditional culture.
Thanks in advance!
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Day 0 – Flight (Fri)
Take flight from NYC to Tokyo. We will ideally leave in the morning and have only 1 layover.
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Day 1 – Tokyo (Sat)
Land in Tokyo around 4PM. Take the limousine bus to a hotel in Shinjuku to check in. Get dinner in the Shinjuku area (please let us know of any must-try restaurants)
We want to experience some of the night life in Tokyo. Will there be any bars/clubs worth checking out on Sunday and Monday? Or should we just deal with the jet lag and go out on Saturday after checking in to the hotel?
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Day 2 – Tokyo (Sun)
Morning – Sensoji Temple, Nakamise Dori Street / Afternoon – Ueno Park, Tokyo National Museum / Evening – Akihabara District
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Day 3 – Tokyo (Mon)
Morning – Shibuya, Shibuya Crossing, Hachiko Statue, Tokyu Hands / Afternoon – Harajuku, Meiji Shrine, Omotesando and Takeshita Dori shopping streets. / Evening – Shinjuku, Shinjuku Gyoen Garden, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Piss Alley
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Day 4 – Tokyo (Tues)
We are leaving this as an open day to do whatever we feel like at the time. Options we are keeping in mind are the Ghibli Museum (if we get tickets in advance), Single Act Box Office at the Kabukiza Theater, Ginza, Roppongi, Imperial Palace.
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Day 5 – Hakone (Wed)
I found a one day itinerary for Hakone on [trulytokyo.com](https://trulytokyo.com) and made some changes to it. Is this actually doable?
7 AM romance car to Hakone / 9:20am Hakone-Yumoto Station (drop off bags at bag shipping service to send to hotel near Gora station) / 10:15am Hakone Shrine and the Peace Shrine Gate / 11:00am Old Tokaido Highway Cedar Avenue and Hakone Checkpoint / Lunch / 1:00pm Pirate Ship Cruise from Hakone-machi to Togendai Shrine / 1:45pm Hakone Ropeway and black eggs / Yunessun Spa (which currently closes at 7PM in the summer) We are mostly interested in the outdoor bathing suit area. / Take the 10min shuttle bus to Gora station and then walk to hotel.
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Day 6 – Kyoto (Thurs)
We are not sure what area of Kyoto we want to rent an AirBnb in yet. We just know we want to stay in a rennovated Kyo-Machiya. I’ve listed what we plan to do during the days for Kyoto. In the evenings we will likely get dinner/drinks in the Gion area or Pontocho Alley.
Take the train to Kyoto and arrive in the early afternoon. / Drop off bags at AirBnB / Have Lunch in Nishiki Market / Nijo Castle / Bamboo Grove
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Day 7 – Kyoto (Fri)
Kinkakuji Temple / Quick stops at Ryoanji Temple and Kimono Forest / Walk across the Togetsukyo bridge / Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama
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Day 8 – Kyoto (Sat)
Fushimi Inari Shrine (as early as we can manage) / Kiyo mizu Temple / Explore Sannen Zaka and Ninen Zaka and proabbly get lunch around this time / Yasaka Shrine / Nanzenji Temple / Philosopher’s Path
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Day 9 – Nara (Sun)
In no particular order: feed the deer in Nara park, Kōfuku-ji temple, Todai-ji Temple, Yoshiki-en Garden, Higashimuki Shopping Street. Eat mochi, Persimmon Leaf Sushi, Dorayaki.
Take the train back to Kyoto at the end of the day.
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Day 10 – Kyoto (Mon)
We are leaving this as another open day to do anything we didn’t get to do earlier.
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Day 11 – Himeji / Osaka (Tues)
Take an early train to Himeji, with the goal of arriving in Himeji around 8AM / Leave luggage at lockers in Himeji station / Tour Himeji castle with tour guide / Pick up luggage from Himeji station and take the train to Osaka / Check into a capsule hotel in Namba neighborhood and drop off luggage / Explore Dōtonbori street ( Possibly stop by Nambayasaka Shrine) / See outside of Osaka castle at night / Back to Dōtonbori street for dinner/drinks
Day 12 – Okinawa (Wed)
We want to end the trip relaxing in Okinawa, without renting a car, so there is only one set destination per day. We know it will be typhoon season so we are going to think of alternate plans if it is not safe to fly to Okinawa.
Fly to Okinawa from Osaka. Check in to hotel in Naha. Explore Kokusai Dori Street
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Day 13 – Okinawa (Thurs)
Take the ferry to Zamami Jima
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Day 14 – Okinawa (Fri)
Visit Shuri Castle
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Day 15 – Flight (Sat)
Fly back to NYC
7 comments
>Will there be any bars/clubs worth checking out on Sunday and Monday? Or should we just deal with the jet lag and go out on Saturday after checking in to the hotel?
You will likely have bad jet lag four your first day or two. Travelling from the US East Coast to Asian/Australian time zones is heavy going – and the bad news is that it will likely be worse heading home for you.
Day 3.
Shinjuku Gyoen closes at 4 PM, so it’s not an evening activity. You could change to do Shinjuku in the morning and Harajuku in the afternoon and Shibuya in the evening or something.
I do not find jet lag to be that bad coming from eastern US, but would not go clubbing the first night that is sure.
Day 3 is especially full so you may not have time for all of it, especially considering you want to start by Shibuya, that is oriented toward shopping so store start to open around 10-11. Would make a bit more sense to start by Meiji shrine that open much earlier, then do the Takeshita and walk toward Shibuya and take the train to Shinjuku. But that is still a lot for a day, so you may want to be flexible and drop things instead of rushing to do everything.
And if you do Ghibli Museum in the extra day, it would be a good match to finish checking out what you will have missed of Shinjuku the previous day.
Hakone, depend if you want to go with Kaiseki meal, but if you do, you usually have to check-in by 5-6pm, so you do not want to stay too late at Yunessun. Just check with the ryokan to make sure you do not get there too late.
On day 6 it does not make much sense to go to the bamboo grove if you are going to Arashiyama again the next day. I’d rather start to check around Higashiyama, tour day 8 really packed and probably a bit too much, good thing you have an extra free day.
About the kyo-machiya Airbnb: I did this on my trip to Kyoto with some friends, and the ambience was amazing! The house was absolutely stunning, and there was something really special about eating breakfast around the kotatsu each morning.
That being said, the Airbnb was in the northwest corner, about 5 minutes walking distance from Kinkakuji. Great for getting to Kinkakuji, but an absolute pain in the ass to get anywhere else. It was a minimum 45 minute bus ride to get to anywhere else in Kyoto, and really minimized what we were able to do in a day. So that’s just something to keep in mind: definitely do the Kyo-machiya if you can, but perhaps make sure it’s in the Gion/Higashiyama area or close to a train station so you’re not adding unnecessary time to your commute each day.
Day 1: Regarding jet lag: you will probably want to stay up until 9pm or 10pm, so you will start adjusting sleep patterns as soon as possible (and tourism-wise Tokyo does not really start as early.
Day 2: I would probably skip Ueno-koen area during summer and either visit Akihabara or perhaps Edo-Tokyo Museum. Note that while most of the shops in Akihabara stay open until 8-9pm – the area is pretty dead late in the evening and there is no cyberpunk vibe there.
> Check into a capsule hotel in Namba neighborhood and drop off luggage
Unless you plan an early morning (before 10am) flight to Naha – it does not make much sense to change accommodation.
This sounds extremely rushed and jammed pack. You will be more stressed than having fun if you are running around like this. I have been to Tokyo / Yokohoma/ Ibaraki / Kansai / Hokkaido, and also from NYC. You are better off doing less and savoring the landmarks than rushing everything. You will have more opportunities to travel to Japan, do less
In addition to most days being very ambitious it will be summer.
Have you ever been to the deep south? Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi in the summer? You are going to feel like you are walking in and breathing soup. This is gonna make you extra tired (and sweaty) faster than you are used to. I’ve done some pretty packed days here, but not this many in a row, and not during summer.
I wouldn’t put Okinawa at the end of the trip during typhoon season. What are you going to do if one pops up or turns right after you get there? You might miss your flight back to the US unless it’s direct from Okinawa.
Also, skip the monkey park in Arashiyama. It’s really not very enjoyable. Spend your time walking the bridge, checking out the temple, bamboo forest area, and eating something delicious. Or you can take a steam locomotive from Arashiyama to the next town over and then ride down the river back to kyoto as a passenger in an old time traditional river boat.
https://livejapan.com/en/in-kansai/in-pref-kyoto/in-arashiyama_uzumasa/article-a2000086/