Hello everyone,
I’m currently starting to plan out my fiance and I’s honeymoon travel plans, and have been eagerly waiting for Japan to open back up. I lived there teaching English for a few years, and have been wanting to share the experience with her.
We are planning a 14-16 day trip at the start of April optimally to see the cherry blossoms, and to have some Onsen experiences (something that has her very excited to try.)
I lived in Mie Prefecture for a couple years, and have biked the length of Japan, so I’ve hit quite a few places, if only briefly. So ideally I’d like to hit the “must-see” destinations for my partner, as well as some off the beaten path recommendations. I haven’t spent any time around the Fuji-Five-Lakes area, or Hakone, or the Tohoku region, but think that may be too far away. Kanazawa is also a location I have been interested in seeing.
I’ve looked into flights, and it seems like the easiest tickets were round trip out of Narita.
Just wanted to get some recommendations for that area, time period, and some potential recommended accommodations.
The itinerary is very basic, as I’d like to leave some flexibility open for feedback, before I concretize it. Largely looking for logistics recommendations. (Not enough time? too much? Weird route? etc.)
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|Day and Date|Location|example Activities|
|:-|:-|:-|
|Day 1 (Saturday, 25 March)|Tokyo|Arrive in Tokyo – 4:25pm Dinner Golden Gai (or crash)|
|Day 2 (Sunday, 26 March)|Tokyo|Yamanote Loop (akihabra, Shinjuku, Meiji Shrine, Odaiba) Asakusa Sensoji Ghibli Museum|
|Day 3 (Monday, 27 March)|Tokyo|Kamakura day trip|
|Day 4 (Tuesday, 28 March)|Hakone|Shibuya Scramble before Hakone day trip with overnight stay at Ryokan|
|Day 5 (Wednesday, 29 March)|Nagoya|early morning leave for Nagoya. Ghibli Theme Park (working on getting friend to purchase tickets from Japan)|
|Day 6 (Thursday, 30 March)|Nagoya| Visit Tsu, and Ise-jingu Return to Nagoya at night|
|Day 7 (Friday, 31 March)|Nagoya|Kiso Valley day trip Magome – Tsumago Juku|
|Day 8 (Saturday, 1 April)|Takayama|Gero Onsen Shirakawa-go|
|Day 9 (Sunday, 2 April)|Takayama|Miyagawa Morning Market|
|Day 10 (Monday, 3 April)|Kanazawa|Omicho Market, Castle, Samurai House|
|Day 11 (Tuesday, 4 April)|Kyoto|Kyomachi stay or Ryokan Kiyomizu-dera Fushimi-Inari|
|Day 12 (Wednesday, 5 April)|Kyoto|Arashiyama, Kinkaku-ji and Daitoku-ji|
|Day 13 (Thursday, 6 April)|Kyoto|Kurama/Kibune and Northern Higashiyama|
|Day 14 (Friday, 7 April)|Koyasan|Temple Stay|
|Day 15 (Saturday, 8 April)|Nara -> Osaka|Depart from Koya early, visit Nara and Todaiji, finish night in Osaka for Dotonbori|
|Day 16 (Sunday, 9 April)|Osaka -> Tokyo|Take shinkansen back to Tokyo early, finish any last minute stuff in Tokyo. Depart Tokyo (NRT) 6:10PM|
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