As title says, it’s our first time in Japan so wanting to make the most of it. We have bought a 21 day JR rail pass and we’re already locked into ski resort from 17th Jan to 23rd Jan.
Itinerary:
21st Dec – Arrive Osaka at 2pm and catch train to Tokyo
22nd Dec – No plans exactly, just wander around and enjoy, maybe Akihabara district or one of the smaller Christmas markets.
23rd Dec – Disneyland full day
24th Dec – Christmas Markets (Roppongi Hills) and Tokya Christmas Markets (Hibiya Park)
25th – Sky Tower and Winter Illuminations
26th – Train from Tokyo to Kyoto and explore local temples
27th – Fushimi Inari Taisha temple. Looking at maybe Fushimi sake village in the evening here.
28th – Explore Gion, any recommendations here let me know.
29th – Bamboo Forest and surroundings
30th – Leave Kyoto, day trip in Nara and then continue onto Osaka.
31st – General explore during the day. ‘Countdown no limit’ 26 hr tickets to Universal Studio Japan starting at 7pm and stay as late as we want/can
1st – Back to Universal Studios (partner seems to think we’re staying there the whole 26hrs, I say we need sleep at some point!)
2nd – Explore Osaka, maybe Amerika-Mura/recover from New Years
3rd – Explore Osaka, not sure where exactly yet
4th – Leave Osaka for Hiroshima and spend the day at the Hiroshima museum
5th – Leave Hiroshima for Hakone and relax
6th – Hakone, relax and explore, not sure where exactly yet, open to recommendations
7th – Hakone, same as the 6th
8th – Leave Hakone and head back to Tokyo
Here until the 13th – lots to do here really, open to any suggestions. We are planning to attend a sumo match, visit hedgehog Cafe, maid cafe, planetlab and the mariokarts.
13th – Leave Tokyo, 3 hours to get to Nagano
14th – See the snow monkeys and explore
15th – Head to Nozawa, the Nozawa fire festival starts at 6pm, get back to hotel about 1am.
16th – Nozawa back to Nagano and explore/relax
17th to 22nd – Getting picked up from Nagano and taken to ski resort in Hakuba. Skiing, etc. Taken back to Tokyo after the 5 nights and stay the night
23rd – Check out and head home!
As you can see, we have a lot of ‘exploring’ happening. We aren’t locked in to anything except the skiing at the end and the New years Passes. If anyone has any suggestions of things to see or do, or if you notice any problems with this itinerary that we’ve missed then I’d appreciate any insight. Thanks everyone!
2 comments
Why go to Tokyo straight after landing in Osaka just to come back again 5 days later?
I’m sure you’ve been told but most everything will be closed for New Years. Just be prepared to cool those few days and not do much.