I’ve been tentatively planning a \~2 week trip to Japan in February 2022 (assuming travel restrictions lighten up). As part of that, I posted [https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/o8pt77/kyoto\_5day\_itinerary\_arashiyama\_fushimi\_inari\_uji/](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/o8pt77/kyoto_5day_itinerary_arashiyama_fushimi_inari_uji/) a couple days ago, which describes a detailed 5-day itinerary for the Kyoto portion. Based on the feedback there, I was able to better refine the Kyoto portion, as well as get a better sense of how to structure my overall trip itinerary.
Here, I would now like to ask for any comments on the full itinerary — which is hopefully not nearly as maximalist and overstructured as the itinerary I posted earlier! All comments, suggestions, etc. appreciated. Obviously, there is a lot that I’m not including in this itinerary (Nara, Hakone, Osaka, Nikko, etc., etc.) but I can’t do everything in a single trip of course; I’ll save them for next time 😉
If you have any specific sento you love in either Tokyo or Kyoto, I’d really like to know, as ideally I’d visit one every single day 🙂
**Day 1 (Thursday, February 17th): Arrive in Tokyo**
**Day 2 (Friday, February 18th): Shinjuku, Shimokitazawa, and Central Tokyo**
Explore Shinjuku Station, have lunch at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building’s cafeteria, then explore Shinjuku, slowly heading toward Shimokitazawa. Train to Ningyocho to stop at Kanmidokoro Hatsune (anmitsu), then walk toward Shimbashi for dinner at local izakaya.
**Day 3 (Saturday, February 19th): Kamakura and Enoshima**
Take the train to Kita-Kamakura station; visit Engaku-ji and Kencho-ji. Hike the Ten-en course and have lunch in downtown Kamakura. Ride the Enoden to Enoshima. Visit Enoshima Shrine and Iwaya. Return to Tokyo for dinner and onsen.
**Day 4 (Sunday, February 20th): Akihabara, Shibuya, Akasaka**
Walk through Akihabara and have early lunch at Kitchen Nankai (curry rice). Visit the Imperial Gardens. Head to Shibuya and explore: Shibuya Square, Hachiko, Love Hotel Square, Spain Street, Yoyogi Park, GOMAYA KUKI (sesame ice cream). Head toward Akasaka and visit ESSE DUE (creme caramel). Dinner and onsen.
**Day 5 (Monday, February 21st): Teganuma Marsh cycling and Northern Tokyo exploration**
Take the Ueno-Tokyo line to Kashiwa. Bike around Teganuma Marsh. Lunch at 小暮や (ungai) or 豆でっぽう (ramen). Return to Ueno Station then explore area: University of Tokyo, Waguriya (chestnut Mont Blanc), Umemura (mamekan). Dinner somewhere local then visit Rokuryu Onsen.
**Day 6 (Tuesday, February 22nd): Intentionally unstructured**
Not specified; will depend on our interests in the last several days. Intend to stop by Koenji to visit Koenjikita and Kosugi-no-yu (onsen).
**Day 7 (Wednesday, February 23rd): Sendai, Yamadera, and Ginzan Onsen**
Train to Sendai, lunch at a local gyutan restaurant (Zenjiro Sendai Station Gyutan Dori?), then train to Omoshiroyama-kogen. Hike to Yamadera and up/down temple, then train/bus to Ginzan Onsen for the night.
**Day 8 (Thursday, February 24th): Travel to Kyoto**
**Day 9 (Friday, February 25th): Kitano-tenmangu flea market, Imperial Palace, Northern Higashiyama**
Clockwise bicycle tour of Kyoto: Daitoku-ji, Kitano-tenmangu Shrine (food at flea market, cherry blossoms), Imperial Palace, Ginkaku-ji, Philosopher’s Path, Nanzen-ji.
**Day 10 (Saturday, February 26th): Arashiyama bicycle tour**
On bicycle from Arashiyama station. Southern loop: Suzumushi-dera garden, briefly around Saiho-ji, north along Katsura River. Northern loop: Monkey Park, Bamboo Forest, Jojakko-ji, Giou-ji, Saga Toriimoto Street, Otaga Nenbutsu-ji, back south for dinner at Fu (Kyoto obanzai) and onsen.
**Day 11 (Sunday, February 27th): Fushimi Inari and Kibune-Kuruma hike**
Fushimi Inari in early morning, lunch/snacks at Nishiki Market and Kamo Tofu Kinki, Kibune to Kuruma hike, onsen in Kuruma, dinner at Izuju (Kyoto style sushi).
**Day 12 (Monday, February 28th): Uji and flight home**
Nara Line to Uji for matcha desserts at Mitsuboshien Kanbayashi Sannyu/Tsuji Rihei and tea ceremony at Taihoan. Have lunch locally then fly back in Osaka.
7 comments
Day 7 looks a little bit tight, considering that if you stay in a ryokan in Ginzan you should have check-in earlier that usual to have dinner there…
I would cut something from that day
Most of the trip looks pretty good apart from the crazy Sendai / Ginzan Onsen trip. The easiest option is to change destinations. Kanazawa is a solid alternative that’s only a slight detour from Tokyo to Kyoto.
But, if you absolutely cannot miss Sendai, I suggest going to Ginzan Onsen first along with Yamadera, visit Sendai the next morning, and then fly to Osaka. (Then take the train to Kyoto.) That way you can have the whole day in Yamagata and half a day in Sendai, while traveling cheep. (Flight on Peach costs ~¥6,000)
Also, is there a particular reason to visit Kashiwa and Uji, specifically? Kashiwa is a very local place without much around. (Sorry people from Kashiwa) I would suggest biking around Odaiba or Yokohama for more options and a better view. For Uji, I’m pretty sure you can find a Tea Ceremony in Kyoto without detouring to Uji before your flight. (Correct me if I’m wrong on this one)
Otherwise, it looks pretty good. You might want to shift some stuff around in Tokyo, but that really depends on where you’re staying, so I’ll leave that up to you. (If you’re unsure, I do know a few good places)
Edit: I didn’t comment much about Kyoto, but that’s mainly because I haven’t been there in a while.
If you plan to go again, then just focus on Tokyo/Sendai or Kansai. This could save you time and money for transport.
I would recommend looking at an itinerary like this as all the things you COULD do on each day instead of all the things you WILL do. I found that during my trip I would start each day going “here are our options today, what are we feeling?”. Give yourself the ability to stay in one place for a while (find a nice cafe along the Philosopher’s Path, wander Akihabara’s weirder stores, etc) instead of feeling like you’re on a speed run through all the highlights. You never know when or if you will get a chance to be in Japan again, so take time to enjoy the places where you are without constantly thinking “got to move to the next place now!” the whole time.
Unrelated but in February you are very unlikely to see any Cherry Blossoms unless it’s a really weird year. Plum Blossoms however should be in bloom around then.
Day 2: This is technically doable. Barely doable and rushed, because I sincerely doubt that you will get to Kanmidokoro Hatsune much before closing, but still technically possible.
Day 5: Note that bicycle rental facilities at Teganuma Marsh are not open year-round (1 April to 30 November), regardless of what English-language sources indicate.
Day 7: This is straight up undoable. The road from Omoshiroyama-Kogen to Risshakuji is going to be one of those three things:
* downright impassable, because of the amount snow
* barely passable with no space to get away from any approaching cars
* thawing nightmare (in case of random heatwave)
You may think that you have a chance to get up and Risshakuji and then get on 16:02 JR Senzan line train, but this is a sheer madness.
Day 8: This is an 8-hour trip and a total waste of a day.
Day 9: This is undoable since Daitoku-ji opens at 10am and it will be around 2pm at the earliest before you get Ginaku-ji (and that’s at a rushed pace) and Nanzen-ji subtemples close at 4:30pm in February. Besides, it’s plum blossom season at Kitano Tenmangu, not cherry blossom one.
Day 10: As previously stated, this is ill-conceived, wholly dependent at getting 10am slot to visit Saiho-ji and generally as much as enjoyable as taking a picture at each of titular churches in Rome.
Day 7, are you planning to hike from Omoshiroyama-Kogen to Yamadera? The hiking route is closed from end Nov to April. You may just want to go straight to Yamadera instead.
Going to Sendai and Ginzan Onsen on Day 7 doesn’t make sense. It is far out of the way and that could be its own 2-3 day trip in and of itself as there’s lots to see.
If you want a cool onsen experience with the added bonus of possibly seeing early cherry blossoms head to Kawazu on the Izu Peninsula. That’d be a much easier place to get to and quite different than Tokyo.
[My Trip Report: Tokyo Day/Overnight Trip: Early February Cherry Blossoms on Izu Peninsula](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/mlugpb/early_cherry_blossoms_in_the_izu_peninsula_in/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)