Feedback on updated itinerary for 2 1/2 week honeymoon around Japan

15 comments

1. Overall I think you have an excellent plan for your itinerary! I visited Japan for 2+ weeks in 2019 and targeted the same 4 main cities (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima). I don’t have any critiques per say, and really like what you have planned out. I would say that for me personally, Hiroshima was a fantastic day trip from Osaka. Totally understand the idea of taking an overnight train, but with the Shinkansen travel time being so short between those cities, I would at least consider the possibility of setting up Hiroshima as a day trip. That being said, I spent the least amount of
   time in Hiroshima and would have loved the opportunity to spend more time exploring there, so I don’t think you can go wrong either way! Prior to the pandemic, I had lived in Asia for 3 years and have travelled to ~30 countries, the vast majority in that region. Every country has its pros and cons when you visit, but I consistently find myself raving about Japan to friends and family the most. I hope you guys have a wonderful time.

2. People plans three years later, then there is me who doesn’t know what to do tomorrow LOL

3. No overnight trains between Kyoto and Hiroshima…

4. Hi, great itinerary. On your Harajuku day, do make time to walk through Meiji Jingu. It’s worth seeing 🙂

   Are either of you into Manga or similar geeky stuff? Nagano Broadway is only about a 10 minute train ride further West from Shinjuku if you fancy it on your Shinjuku day.

5. Looks busy, but good! Make sure you organize your Japan rail pass before you leave your home country and then use the Shinkansen (bullet train) for all your travel. Why the overnight train? To cut out one night in a hotel? I’ve done an overnight train once and never again! Couldn’t sleep at all. To each their own.
   Enjoy your honeymoon and congrats on the (future) wedding!

6. Odaiba is not that great compared to the rest of Tokyo, I dunno, it just completely lacks atmosphere. But don’t get me wrong, teamlab:borderless is amazing and worth going to, I just wouldn’t spend a whole day in the Tokyo Bay area

   Make sure you check out Golden Gai that night in Shinjuku, one of the best things I did in Tokyo, it’s like a shanty town with about 200+ bars in three blocks, something that would’ve been demolished and gentrified years earlier anywhere else. The only opportunity I ever got to chat and socialise with Japanese people was in Golden Gai. Kabukicho nearby is worth checking out too (just don’t follow any Nigerian touts into any Yakuza run bars)

   Don’t forget to include Akihabara, check out Super Potato while you’re there, you could do that on day 2

   Squeeze in Yoyogi Park on day 3, if it’s a Sunday, check out the rockabilly dancers

   You could stop in Kobe between Kyoto and Himeji, Nunobiki Falls, the waterfront and Kobe beef, there’s not a whole lot else there, but you could easily give it a miss.

   If you can extend your trip by about two days, I’d recommend adding Fukuoka

   Look into a Sanyo San’in bullet train pass, this will cover you in the west of Japan, the advantage with this pass is that it includes the fastest Shinkansen, the Nozomi

7. My two cents : check in 2023 what the situation is.

   Borderless will close in 2022 for instance. Same goes for Palette Town.

   Referring to u/otherpeoplesknees is mentionning, several things that may have been true before the pandemic are changing, Golden Gai is taking a hard hit with the state of emergency and many similar places that relied heavily on inbound tourism will likely not repeat the mistake twice. There are talks to make tourism in Kyoto less crazy and limit overtourism, no idea what it will entice (limitation in the numbers of visitors, maybe ? who knows…)

   Also, rockabilies in front of Yoyogi is a thing of the past.

8. Day 7, no because Pelette town, that include Teamlab Borderless, is closing for redevelopment. [https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/palette-town-in-odaiba-to-close-facilities-from-december-for-major-redevelopment-072621](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/palette-town-in-odaiba-to-close-facilities-from-december-for-major-redevelopment-072621)

9. Opposites attracts indeed, congrats on your wedding beforehand!

10. What do you mean by day trip by train to Shinjuku on day 6? Shinjuku is only 8 mins from shibuya on the Yamanote.
    Other than that, I’d say your trip looks good, but you’re going to be dead tired. So much walking..like, you’re looking at 15,000-20,000 steps a day, most days. You may not be able to keep it up. Should try to do a mellow day by the pool or something one day in Tokyo cause the hustle and bustle here will get to you. This is just my opinion looking at all the sites you are trying to see. I would not enjoy all of it back to back to back like that.

11. So not going to Akihabara? What is wrong with you?

12. Get a train pass.

13. To save money I would only get the 7 day rail pass, and activate it the day you leave Tokyo. It should cover you on your trip to Hiroshima as well as your return to Osaka.

    Remember, the pass is only good for JR lines, and some lines in the cities are not JR, but private lines you have to pay for.

14. Just a few tips that should not affect your itinerary that much, and considering chill day = taking your time enjoying the place.

    Day 2: if you’re into beer, between Skytree and Sensoji there is the Asahi building (golden building and the golden “thing” on top), which have a bar and a restaurant.

    Day 6: if you have time, Shinjuku Gyoen is a gorgeous park near Shinjuku station, which have a greenhouse and a rose bed, interesting spots.

    Day 7: I don’t know where you will stay, but if you’re near Asakusa, there are boats (Tokyo Cruise) that goes to Odaiba, going along the Sumida River. The Hotaluna boat is pretty interesting and it is a relaxing travel. But be aware that the boats start working at 10:00-ish, which can be somewhat late for what you’re pretending to do at Odaiba.

15. You can walk from Harajuku to Shibuya if you want. Lots of small alleys of stores to pop in and out. You will pass by Tokyu Hands as well.

    Shinjuku is pretty big with lots of offices. It depends on what you want to do. Shopping? Soak in the rush hour atmosphere? Get lost in the station? Nightlife? There’s the garden in the east (Shinjuku Gyoen). The Met is on the west (night scene I presume?). The south is Meiji Shrine (also accessible from Harajuku). The north-east is Kabukicho and further north slightly is Shin-Okubo. The station itself with its numerous links to shopping malls will already take you a couple of hours of exploring.

    Odaiba…I am not really a shopping person. So if you just want to see the Gundam robot and the ferris wheel (beautiful at night), then a couple of hours is enough, in my opinion. If you did shopping and the bustling that comes with it, why not try out the Roppongi Hills area?

    You might get temple-burnout in Kyoto. Try to space out the temple visitations. Some temples are on the outskirts and so bus transport is needed. If I may suggest, use Kyoto as your base, and day trips to Hiroshima, Nara and Osaka to space out the temple visitations. I personally prefer Kyoto as a base to Osaka. The train between Kyoto and Osaka is just 30 minutes ride thereabouts.