First Trip Itinerary – 16 nights in December

My boyfriend and I (early 20s) are visiting Japan for the first time in December. We’re interested in most things outside of intense nightlife (like clubbing), and I’m especially interested in fine dining (which is why I’ll mark out estimates for meal timings). We’re aiming for both quality and quantity (i.e. diversity) of food while there, so if we’ve missed any foods you recommend please let us know! I’ve been researching things fairly extensively for Tokyo and Izu, but wanted to see if there were any glaring issues or other suggestions, particularly for the other cities.

* Day 1 – Friday (Home – Tokyo)
* Land and check in to hotel in Ginza
* Dinner at a local ramen restaurant
* Briefly explore Ginza before heading to bed
* Day 2 – Saturday (Tokyo – Nikko – Tokyo)
* Daytrip to Nikko, roughly from sunrise to sunset (does it make sense to leave around 4:30 PM? Any later than that and this day might be pretty tight)
* Asakusa at night
* Senso-Ji
* Pokemon Center DX
* Dinner at a wagyu restaurant nearby (8:30 PM – whenever)
* Day 3 – Sunday (Tokyo)
* Tsukiji Market
* Lunch at a Spanish restaurant in Ginza (11:30 AM – 1:00 PM)
* Akihabara/Ueno (Not sure if the zoo is worth seeing)
* Dinner at a French restaurant (8:00 PM – whenever)
* Day 4 – Monday (Tokyo)
* Hamarikyu Gardens
* Lunch at a katsu restaurant in Ginza (1:30 PM – 12:30 PM)
* Harajuku/Shibuya
* Meiji Shrine
* Dinner at a Kaiseki restaurant near Shibuya (6:00 PM – whenever)
* Day 5 – Tuesday (Tokyo)
* Odaiba
* teamLab Planets
* Cycling
* Lunch at a teppanyaki restaurant in Ginza (2:00 PM – 3:00 PM)
* Shinjuku
* Dinner at a sushi restaurant in Ginza (TBD)
* Day 6 – Wednesday (Tokyo – Hakone – Tokyo)
* Daytrip to Hakone, roughly from sunrise to sunset
* Hakone loop
* Dinner at a ramen restaurant near Shinjuku station
* Shinjuku at night
* Day 7 – Thursday (Tokyo – Kamakura – Tokyo)
* Daytrip to Kamakura, roughly from sunrise to sunset (is this too many daytrips?)
* Roppongi Hills Skydeck
* Oden restaurant nearby (\~8:00 PM – whenever)
* Day 8 – Friday (Tokyo)
* Do laundry
* Lunch at a tempura restaurant in Ginza (12:00 PM – 1:00 PM)
* Free day
* Dinner at a Kaiseki restaurant
* Day 9 – Saturday (Tokyo – Izu)
* Take train to Izu
* Izu Shaboten Zoo
* Stay in onsen ryokan
* Day 10 – Sunday (Izu – Kyoto)
* Take train to Kyoto and check into hotel in downtown
* Dinner at a tempura restaurant in hotel
* Gion at night
* Day 11 – Monday (Kyoto – Nara – Osaka – Kyoto)
* Daytrip to Nara
* Lunch at soba restaurant near Nara park
* Dotonbori at night for street food
* Okonomiyaki
* Kushikatsu
* Takoyaki
* Day 12 – Tuesday (Kyoto – Osaka – Kyoto)
* Daytrip to Osaka
* Osaka castle
* Shitennoji Temple
* Shinsekai
* Kuromon Market
* Dinner at French restaurant in Osaka (6:00 PM – whenever)
* Day 13 – Wednesday (Kyoto)
* Kobo-san
* Lunch at a temari sushi restaurant
* Visit various temples (any recommendations in particular?)
* Dinner at a kaiseki restaurant (6:30 PM – whenever)
* Day 14 – Thursday (Kyoto)
* Otagi nenbutsu-ji
* Lunch at a shojin restaurant
* Arashiyama
* Dinner at a kaiseki restaurant (5:00 PM – whenever)
* Day 15 – Friday (Kyoto – Hiroshima)
* Take train to Hiroshima and check in to hotel near station
* Hiroshima peace museum/park
* Dinner at a kaiseki restaurant (6:30 PM – whenever)
* Day 16 – Saturday (Hiroshima – Miyajima – Okayama – Tokyo)
* Miyajima
* Lunch at anagomeshi restaurant
* Okayama
* Korakuen/Okayama castle if we have time (I think they’re both illuminated at night?)
* Sunrise Express sleeper train to Tokyo
* Day 17 – Sunday (Tokyo – Home)
* Last minute shopping/sightseeing
* Fly home