Hi everyone, my wife and I are traveling to Japan for the first time from May 13-May 29 and are super excited! We wanted to start with 2 nights at a Ryokan in Hakone, travel onward to Osaka for 3 days, Kyoto for 4 days, and spend the rest of the time in Tokyo.
We’re both really into Japanese cultural stuff, and are open to any recommendations for museums, temples, food or drink that we might have missed below. We also are pretty frequent travelers and are pretty much up for anything, including long walks, hikes or day trips. Also, we plan to meet up with 2 other couples and stay with them in an airbnb in Tokyo, so any good recommendations for groups is appreciated as well.
Here is a sketch of what we have planned:
**Saturday May 13** \- **Fly out of LAX at 2pm**
**Sunday May 14** \- **Flight and travel day, Sleep in Hakone**
* This is the biggest challenge for the itinerary. I figure that staying the first 2 nights in Hakone would be a nice way to relax and handle the jetlag, but the travel issues getting to Hakone directly from the airport seems to be a bit of a challenge.
* Ideally, we would land in Tokyo around 2pm, grab lunch (really dinner for us) at the airport. We have 2 flight options, with the later being far cheaper, but landing farther away in Narita and taking an hour or so longer to get across Tokyo:
1. Arrive via Delta at Haneda Airport around 2pm. Take the Keikyu Airport Line to Shinagawa (15 min), transfer to the Tokaido Sanyo Shinkansen to Odawara (30 min), then finally take the bus 30 minutes up to the Ryokan.
2. Arrive via ZipAirlines at Narita Airport around 2pm. Take the Narita Express to Shinagawa (1 hr), transfer to the Tokaido Sanyo Shinkansen to Odawara (30 min), then finally take the bus 30 minutes up to the Ryokan. Has anyone flown ZipAir? They seem to be a brand new budget carrier, and I can’t really find a ton of reviews. Is it worth the extra money to fly a better airline into Haneda instead of a cheap budget airline into Narita?
* We would finally check into into the Ryokan Hakone Ginyu, around 5 or 6pm, relax in the Onsen, and try to adjust our sleep schedule.
**Monday May 15 – Explore Hakone, Sleep in Hakone**
* Take the Hakone Ropeway up to the top of the Owakudani volcano, sulfur geysers, views of Mt Fuji.
* Take the Hakone Ropeway down the otherside of the mountain to Togendai station
* Take the pirate ship ferry across Lake Ashi to the Heiwa no Tori water shrine
* Get off the ferry at Narukawa Art Museum and take 20 min bus back to the hotel
* If there is time, maybe take bus 20 min to Hakone Venetian Glass Forest Museum (closes 530), eat dinner nearby
* relax in the onsen
**Tuesday May 16 – Travel to Osaka and explore, Sleep in Osaka**
* Wake up and take the bus down to the Odawara train station, take bullet train to Shin Osaka station around 11am
* Arrive in Osaka around 3, check into hotel near the train station
* Visit Osaka Castle (probably don’t need to go inside), closes at 5pm
* Dinner at Takonotetsu, Drinks at Bar Juniper, Bar Elixir-k
**Wednesday May 17 – Himeji day trip, Sleep in Osaka**
* Day trip to Himeji: 35 min train and 20 min walk. Need to leave really early as the castle gets packed
* Back to Osaka around noon to eat lunch, shower and relax
* 20 min train ride for dinner and drinks in Dotombori canal district
**Thursday May 18 – Nara day trip, Sleep in Osaka**
* Day trip to Nara: 1 hour train to Kintetsu-Nara Station
* Spend the day in Nara Park, Kōfuku-ji and Tōdai-ji temples
* Dinner in Osaka near the hotel
**Friday May 19 – Train to Kyoto and explore, Sleep in Kyoto**
* 45 min train from Shin Osaka Station to Kyoto Station
* Check into hotel near Kyoto Station
* Free day to relax
**Saturday May 20 – Sleep in Kyoto**
* Day Trip to Arashiyama Forest and Monkey Park (most things close at 4-5pm). Its a 30 min train to Saga-Arashiyama Station
**Sunday May 21 – Sleep in Kyoto**
* Explore Hashimotocho district, walk to Kiyomizu-dera temple
* Visit the Flea Market at To-Ji Temple (only open on Sunday)
**Monday May 22 – Sleep in Kyoto**
* Visit Kinkaku-ji gold Temple (closes 5pm)
**Tuesday May 23 – Train to Tokyo, Sumo Match, Sleep in Shinjuku**
* Early Shinkansen departure from Kyoto to Shinagawa (2 hours), transfer to the subway and head to Shinjuku station (20 minutes)
* Check into airbnb
* At 7pm take the train to the Sumo tournament at Kokugikan Arena
**Wednesday May 24 – Explore Shinjuku, Sleep in Shinjuku**
* Explore Shinjuku district, Gyoen National Garden
* Maybe visit the Ninja Trick House and Samurai Museum
* Dinner at Ichiran Ramen or Tenkaippin Ramen, drinks at Ben Fiddich
* More drinks in Golden Gai district, check out Piss Alley (Omoide Yokochō)
**Thursday May 25 – Explore Ueno and Shimokitazawa, Sleep in Shinjuku**
* 30 min train to Ueno station, Explore Ueno Park
* Visit Tokyo National Museum (closes 5pm)
* Go back to airbnb and shower/change
* Take a 15 min train to Shimokitazawa district for dinner and drinks
**Friday May 26 – Explore Shibuya, Sleep in Shinjuku**
* Take 15 min train to Shibuya station
* Visit Yoyogi Park, Meiji Jingu temple
* Explore Shibuya
* Drinks at Jazz Blues Soul Bar, Lion
**Saturday May 27 – Explore Asakusa, Sleep in Shinjuku**
* Take 40 min train to Asakusa station
* Visit Sensō-ji temple (closes 5pm)
* Walk around Asakusa, go to Hoppy Street and Orange Street for Food and Drinks
* Walk 25 min to Pokemon Center, Tokyo Skytree (closes 9pm)
**Sunday May 28 – Shiba Park and Roppongi, Sleep in Shinjuku**
* 30 min train Hamamatsuchō Station
* Visit Shiba Park, Tokyo Tower, TeamLab Borderless and Mori Art Museum
* Dinner and Drinks in Roppongi
**Monday May 29**
* Maybe try to stay awake for the whole day to help adjust to the coming jetlag?
* 1 hour train to Narita or Haneda Airport, 3pm connecting flight back home to the US, get back stateside around 8pm EST.
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Just want to get some feedback on what we have so far, especially on the flights and trains to see if all of these general travel times are doable. I assume the JR Rail Pass is worth it since we will be taking the Shinkansen 4 times.
Also, we aren’t specifically wedded to this order for Kyoto/Osaka, and could probably swap the two if its a better option. Likewise, while we would probably want to do Hakone on the front end, would it make more sense to do it on the backend, as a nice reward after a long trip? I’d rather have it on the front or back of the trip rather than stuck in the middle, but if anyone has had some tough experiences with traveling there to/from airports, we might have to swap it.
Any help on these are appreciated! Thanks everyone.