Hi friends I am looking for ideas and itinerary check to make sure everything here is doable and makes sense.
Day 1: **Sunday – Tokyo**
* Land at NRT at 3:00 PM
* Hotel: Prince Gallery Tokyo
* Activity: Leaving this day open since we are probably going to be jet lagged and just focused on finding dinner nearby and maybe take a stroll then head to bed.
Day 2: **Monday – Tokyo**
* Spend day in Shibuya and Harajuku (Maybe Shimokita?)
* Hotel: Prince Gallery Tokyo
* Activity: Reissue Cafe, Go to Shibuya Crossing, Totti Factory, head to Harajuku shop at vintage stores and head back to Ginza to have dinner at Sushi Hashiguchi
Day 3: **Wednesday – Tokyo**
* Spend day in Ginza and Akihabara
* Hotel: Prince Gallery Tokyo
* Activity: Start day off with Toyosu Market (Sushi Dai Perhaps?) and TeamLab Planets. Head to Akihabara for Owl Cafe Don Quixote and walk around. Then dinner at Tempura Kondo in Ginza. This day seems light? Is there any thing else I’m missing in Akihabara or Ginza to do besides those?
Day 4: **Wednesday – Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park**
* Day trip to Mt Kintoki
* Hotel: Prince Gallery Tokyo
* Activity: This day we want to make a day trip and have a hike at Mt Kintoki. Is this doable all in one day? And is it enjoyable in December weather / nature wise?
Day 5: **Thursday – Tokyo**
* Spend day in Shinjuku
* Hotel: Prince Gallery Tokyo
* Activity: This is our last full day in Tokyo and we want to visit Shinjuku Gyoen Garden, but then the rest of our plans are night activities. We want to do Golden Gai, Bar Fiddich, New York Bar… Is there anything else worth while in the Shinjuku vicinity for day time? Or even adjacent??
Day 6: **Friday – Tokyo to Hakuba**
* Travel day to Hakuba
* Spend the day travelling to our hotel in Hakuba
Day 7: **Saturday – Hakuba**
* Ski all day at Happo One
Day 8: **Sunday – Hakuba to Kyoto**
* Travel day to Kyoto
* Spend the day travelling to our hotel in Kyoto
* Hotel: Moxy Kyoto
* Activity: Drop off our luggage, get dinner and perhaps a drink around the hotel?
Day 9: **Monday – Kyoto**
* Hotel: Moxy Kyoto
* Activity: Go to Orange Gates, Gion Street, Suntory Distillery, find Matcha Tiramisu and have kaiseki dinner at Kikunoi Roan then go out for drinks again in Gion Street.
Day 9: **Tuesday – Kyoto > Osaka**
* Activity: Go to the Bamboo Grove in the morning then travel to Osaka.
* Hotel: Conrad Osaka
Day 9: **Wednesday – Osaka**
* Hotel: Conrad Osaka
* Activity: Wake up and go to MANGER and get a ticket for breakfast/lunch. Go to Osaka Castle. Spend the rest of the day/night at Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori shopping for last minute gifts, food and drinking.
Day 10: Leave Japan and go to Taiwan for part 2 of the trip.
That’s my current itinerary and there’s obviously some gaps that I want to keep for last minute decisions or adventure. Does all of this seem doable and not overly stressful? I realize I only have one full day in Kyoto and Osaka and I know these are big cities so we want to only hit the most must do things there..
2 comments
About skiing part.
When exactly are you going to visit? Snow is delaying in this season. There still is no Japanese ski resorts open with natural snow, even in Hokkaido. Guessing from the weather forecast, Hakuba Happo-One may open in the middle of December if you are lucky. And by open, it means just upper area. I’m not surprised open will be delayed to the late December at this rate.
This is my best guess of Happo-One opening of Saturday.
Dec 3rd: No chance.
Dec 10th: Maaaaaaybeeeeee.
Dec 17th: Probably
Dec 24th: Certaily… at least so I wish.
There also is chance you get a deep powder day. There will be no groomed course at all.
There is a risk chair lift won’t operate due to the strong wind, or zero visibility due to the fog. Because you will stay just one day at Hakuba, accept the probability that you can’t ski at all.
And why Saturday? Weekend ski resorts will be crowded. It’s better to avoid it if you have a flexibility.
Not sure if you’ve stayed at the Prince or Conrad before but for anyone who hasn’t…the breakfasts at these hotels are just…chef’s kiss. Utterly scrumptious with endless choices of western and Japanese options. It’s very tempting to stuff our faces for breakfast but we had to pace ourselves or else we wouldn’t be able to eat anything else for lunch.
Also, is your concierge at Conrad not able to pull strings to get your name on the Manger resos list?