Hello! We have been working on an itinerary for a Jan ‘23 trip and I think we’re getting close and wanted wiser eyes on our plans.
We are total japan noobs. Please feel free to provide input esp. if we’re missing something cool or I haven’t thought something all the day through.
In particular I don’t fully understand how the JR pass works vs other types of public transit. I do have some food shortlists but won’t list them all individually as that’d be boring for you to read. Definitely taking recs
Thank you in advance!!
Day 1 – Saturday:
– Flight lands at NRT at ~ 4p local
– Check into hotel
– Dinner – ramen street? Anyone have a favorite?
– Mostly just stroll and get our bearings on the first night
Day 2 – Sunday:
– imperial palace in AM followed by the park nearby
– walk through Wadakura Fountain Park nearby
– lunch nearby or in Harajuku
– We’re supposed to spend a couple hours here, like maybe until dinner time. Go to Meiji, grab a snack etc
– Heading to Shibuya crossing and surrounding for the evening. Dinner recs? I’ve seen a bunch of hype about Tokyo ten and others
Day 3 – Monday:
– Would be interested in the early wake up to visit Toyosu. Prob won’t get a lottery slot but still fun.
– Supposed to go over to Asakusa after. Visit a couple of temples and try to avoid buying too much on nakamise
– After lunch we’re slated to visit sky tree, and then head over to Ueno for the early part of the afternoon
– A friend recommended visiting Asahi (the brewery). Has anyone been? I’ve had some of their stuff before and found it ok
– Heading over to Akiba this evening. Have some places we want to shop but taking dinner & drinks recs
Day 4 – Tuesday:
– ??? In morning. We leave today for a ryokan in Hakone for one night
– I don’t fully understand the order of operations for transit here. Our hotels in Ginza. I’ve worked out starting from Higashi-Ginza, train to Shinagawa, switch lines and head to Odawara, and then supposedly bus to our place
Day 5 – Wednesday:
– Moving from our stay in Hakone to Kyoto today
– We’re staying just west of Kamo a little north of the rail line
– More temple stops across the river. Also stroll around Gion. No formal plans this pm, just sightseeing
Day 6 – Thursday:
– Fushimi inari to start this day after breakfast.
– I’ve heard that beyond the Instagram photo of the gates, this is actually also a decent hike. True?
– Nishiki market, and we also want to stop at Nijo castle and the imperial palace.
– Possibly Kinkaku-ji and Ryoanji?
– Explore downtown area + dinner
Day 7 – Friday:
– day trip to Nara
– Stop at Kasuga Taisha
– I was excited about a mountain climb but I read Wakakusa is closed in winter – that true?
– Either way, visit Todaiji after and then visit nara park
– A friend encouraged me to stop at Isuien gardens also
– ??
– Possibly head back?
Day 8 – Saturday:
– Start the day at Arashiyama and visit some of the shrines here also
– Have been cautioned about the macaque park
– Empty afternoon
Day 9 – Sunday:
– return flight from nrt departs late afternoon
1 comment
>In particular I don’t fully understand how the JR pass works vs other types of public transit.
The JR Pass is a pass that give unlimited access to the train run by the company called JR. That would include the shinkansen, but also local lines such as the Yamanote line in Tokyo. It is now a ticket that you can put in the gate to enter. How it work vs other types of public transport…. well, about the same, the only difference is that with other transit you would have to buy individual tickets or pay using an IC card.
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I don’t fully understand the order of operations for transit here. Our hotels in Ginza. I’ve worked out starting from Higashi-Ginza, train to Shinagawa, switch lines and head to Odawara, and then supposedly bus to our place
If you are using the JR Pass, yes, that is the way to go. But from Odawara station, it really depend on where the ryokan is located, it could be a mix of train and bus. And if you plan to do the whole loop in Hakone, you can look into getting the Hakone Free Pass.
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Yes, Fushimi Inari-taisha is on a mountain and you can do the hike. As to know if it is a decent hike, that depend of your definition. It is mostly paved and there is stairs all the way up, so it’s not really a hike in a wild mountain.