3 friends visiting Japan. 1 person visited Japan before (Osaka/Kyoto/Tokyo, doesn’t mind re-visiting the same spots), others haven’t
Just want to check if we missed any touristy stuff (eg I don’t think our dates cross any major flea markets in Kyoto), or hit any unexpected dates (eg major japanese holiday that I should avoid due to crowds), just trying to keep thing simple
decided to do 5 nights Osaka, then 1-2 day Miyajima/Hiroshima (Ryokan and/or capsule hotel), then 4 nights Kyoto – this allows us to try out ryokan/capsule hotel in the middle of the trip, instead of trying to base in one city the whole time (and travel to other cities)
* 30 Nov Wed – Land ITM ~3pm, checkin Osaka
* 1 Dec Thur – Explore Osaka/recover
* 2 Dec Fri – Explore Osaka (Namba/Kuromon Market/Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Street)
* 3 Dec Sat – Explore Osaka (Tenjinbashisuji Shotengai )
* 4 Dec Sun – Explore Osaka (or maybe day trip to Nara)
* 5 Dec Mon – Activate 7-day JR pass. Travel to Miyajima, overnight Miyajima or Hiroshima
* 6 Dec Tue – Explore Hiroshima, overnight hiroshima if Mon night was Hiroshima (or Himeji)
* 7 Dec Wed – Explore Himeji/Kobe, travel to Kyoto (hotel in Kyoto)
* 8 Dec – Thu – Kyoto – Arashiyama/Nijo Castle
* 9 Dec – Fri – Kyoto – Nishiki Market/Gion/Higashiyama
* 10 Dec – Sat – Kyoto – Fushimi Inari
* 11 Dec – Sun – Kyoto, travel to Tokyo to finish 7-day JR pass
* 12 Dec – Mon – Tokyo – Akihabara / Ginza
* 13 Dec – Tues – Tokyo – Ueno / Senso-ji
* 14 Dec – Wed – Tokyo – If not too tired, Kamakura
* 15 Dec – Thur – Tokyo – Shinjuku
* 16 Dec – Fri – Tokyo – free day (Ikebukuro or explore some other section of Tokyo, or TeamLabs Planet)
* 17 Dec – Sat – Tokyo – Harajuku/Shibuya, Fly out of HND evening
2 comments
Osaka, you really only need 1 day to see the major sites: Osaka Castle, Umeda Sky Building (suggest at night), the #2 best Aquarium in all of Japan- Kaiyukan, and Dontonbori (Foodie Heaven!). Other than that, there’s not much to do in Osaka except eat.
2 days in Osaka if you go to Universal Studios Japan (which you should).
Just outside of Osaka, about an hour or so by train, is Nijigen no Mori. https://nijigennomori.com/
Decent theme park with lots of things to do, if you’re into that and looking for something different to do.