I appreciate the help I got from people when I posted my first draft a few weeks back. Made a few changes, switched things around, etc. Still really flexible as we aren’t traveling until April 2023. Our base of operation will be Osaka and Tokyo with a few day trips. Based on comments it was recommended to add more time to Kyoto so I carved out another day to catch anything we missed.
Any help/insight would be great. It will be our first trip!
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|City|Area|Travel Time (First Stop)|Notes|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|Travel Day||||
|Osaka|Kyoto|1:30||
|Osaka|Himeji / Kobe|1:30||
|Osaka|Osaka Castle / Mint / Aquarium|:40||
|Osaka|Kyoto 2|1:30|If not needed, Downtown Osaka?|
|Osaka|Dotonbori / Osaka Downtown|:15||
|Osaka|Nara Park|1:00||
|Travel Day||||
|Tokyo|Akihabara / Ueno / Sky Tree|:30||
|Tokyo|Yokohama|1:00||
|Tokyo|Imperial Palace / Tokyo Dome / Roppongi|:30||
|Tokyo|Shinagawa / Odaiba / Ginza|:40||
|Tokyo|Kawagoe|1:15||
|Tokyo|Shinjuku / Shibuya / Ikebukuro|:10||
|Travel Day||||
​
1 comment
Regarding the “If not needed” for Kyoto – I recommend checking out example itineraries for Kyoto and then see how much joy they spark and how long they take. My go-to planning page for Kyoto is [TravelCaffeine.com](https://TravelCaffeine.com), and they have an overview of itineraries: [https://www.travelcaffeine.com/kyoto-japan-planning-guide](https://www.travelcaffeine.com/kyoto-japan-planning-guide).
Personally, I feel like the “1-Day “Best of” Kyoto Itinerary” looks incredibly rushed – I’d not do that. Instead (from a quick look) I’d…
* Do [https://www.travelcaffeine.com/1-day-eastern-kyoto-itinerary](https://www.travelcaffeine.com/1-day-eastern-kyoto-itinerary) if I had just 1 day.
* Also do [https://www.travelcaffeine.com/1-day-western-kyoto-itinerary](https://www.travelcaffeine.com/1-day-western-kyoto-itinerary) if I had 2 days.
* Also do [https://www.travelcaffeine.com/1-day-central-kyoto-itinerary](https://www.travelcaffeine.com/1-day-central-kyoto-itinerary) if I had 3.
(But then again, I like Kyoto so much that the time ratio on my next trip is 2:1:2 Kyoto:Osaka:Tokyo, so I’d probably have even more days. Your mileage may vary 😉 )
I can’t comment on “Osaka Castle / Mint / Aquarium” yet (I’m visiting Osaka Castle and the aquarium for the first time in a few weeks), but the rest of the Osaka portion sounds good time-wise.