Hi everyone! My family is travelling back to Japan for the first time in several years. We’ve been to Tokyo twice and Osaka/Kyoto once, but we never did any detailed planning and I felt we weren’t spending our time well. So for this trip, I made the following itinerary and I would greatly appreciate your feedback!
#Itinerary
**12 Dec (Mon) – Osaka**
AM
– Land in HND (transit), Fly from HND to ITM
PM
– Check in to hotel (Osaka)
– Shinsaibashi (explore a bit), Pokémon Café
**13 Dec (Tue) – Himeji/Kobe**
AM
– (Train from Shin-Osaka to Himeji)
– Himeji Castle (arrive before opening, finish before noon)
PM
– (Train from Himeji to Shin-Kobe)
– Shin-Kobe Ropeway, Nunobiki Herb Garden (lunch on top)
– Kitano Ijinkan-gai
– Kobe Beef Dinner (restaurant recommendations?)
**14 Dec (Wed) – Nara/Osaka**
AM
– (Train from Osaka to Nara)
PM
– Nara Park (street food and feed deer)
– Todaiji Temple
– (Train from Nara to Namba)
– Dotonbori (explore and dinner)
**15 Dec (Thu) – Osaka**
AM/PM
– Universal Studios Japan
**16 Dec (Fri) – Osaka**
AM
– Umeda Sky Building
– Shopping at Umeda (Grand Front, LUCUA, LINKS)
PM
– Namba Parks (shopping)
**17 Dec (Sat) – Kyoto**
AM
– (Train from Osaka to Kyoto)
– Kiyomizudera
– Sannenzaka, Ninenzaka
PM
– Gion (Hanami-koji Street)
– Nishiki Market
– (Train back to Osaka)
**18 Dec (Sun) – Osaka**
AM
– Kuromon Market
PM
– Osaka Aquarium
– Osaka Castle
**19 Dec (Mon) – Kyoto**
AM
– (Train from Osaka to Saga-Arashiyama)
– Tenryuji Temple, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Okochi Sanso Villa
PM
– Togetsukyo Bridge, Monkey Park Iwatayama
– Sagano Scenic Railway
– (Train back to Osaka)
**20 Dec (Tue) – Tokyo**
AM
– Fly from ITM to HND
PM
– Check in to hotel (Tokyo)
– Tokyo Skytree (watch sunset and dinner)
**21 Dec (Wed) – Tokyo**
AM/PM
– Shibuya, Harajuku
**22 Dec (Thu) – Tokyo**
AM
– teamLab Planets, Small Worlds Tokyo
PM
– Tsukiji Outer Market (lunch and explore)
– Ginza, Marunouchi (explore a bit)
– Tokyo Christmas Market at Hibiya Park (explore and dinner)
**23 Dec (Fri) – Tokyo**
AM
– Ghibli Museum
PM
– Shirohige’s Cream Puff Factory
– Shinjuku (explore and dinner)
**24 Dec (Sat) – Tokyo**
AM/PM
– Free and easy (for anything missed)
– See winter illuminations
**25 Dec (Sun) – Tokyo**
AM
– Free and easy
PM
– Fly from NRT
# Questions
– Are any of the days too packed or too light? I’m erring on the slow side in case my parents (50s healthy but not super fit) tire too quickly.
– Is there any benefit to taking the shinkansen between Osaka and Tokyo? It currently seems like domestic flights are just cheaper.
– The 7-day and 14-day JR passes seem to not be worth it for my itinerary (even if we use shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka), but would it be a good idea to use the 5-day Kansai Wide Area Pass from 13 Dec to 17 Dec?
– Should we merge our 2 Kyoto days into a single day? We’ve been to Fushimi Inari and Nijo Castle before, and we’re not really that interested in temples and shrines (other than the must-sees).
– Are we missing any nearby must-sees or must-dos that can be easily added?