Itinerary Rough Draft

9 comments

1. Okinawa is definitely worth visiting but three days is not enough time to enjoy and explore the many beautiful beaches and islands, especially if you want a slower pace travel. Looking at your current itinerary, you really only have about 2 1/2 days in Okinawa. Would you fly to Hawaii and spend such a short time there?

   With the additional time and money spent flying to Okinawa, I would probably not go if I don’t stay for at least 4-5 full days. Thoughts?

2. Hakone from Asakusa, you can actually go to Shinjuku to take the Odakyu Romancecar, it would be maybe 10 minutes longer but close to 2000 yen cheaper. As you only plan to go to Kyoto one way, it would not even make sense to get a JR Pass, so may as well save some money on this ride.

   And for Hakone itself, as you pretty much plan to do the whole loop, then using the Hakone Free pass is usually a good value. But as you do not have to return to Tokyo, you can use the version that work only from Odawara station.

   Some days are a bit packed to my taste, so you might want to make priority instead of rushing to see everything.

   I personally think that there is interesting things in Osaka, but it is usually a stronger appeal for people who like shopping, food and nightlife as opposed to more quiet, traditional Japan and culture that is associated with Kyoto. But it’s super easy to go to Osaka for a day from Kyoto if you want to check it out anyway, you do not have to spend a night there.

   I’ve not been to Okinawa so far, but it is a valid option. As much as Hiroshima or Koya-san could be valid options. Kyushu could also be, but honestly it is next on my list and I can easily fill 2 weeks for Kyushu alone, so 3-4 days would just be an overview of a small part of Kyushu and you might end up putting it again in the itinerary of the next trip.

   My question would be, do you plan to return to Japan in the future ? If yes, then would Koya-san still be on the list of things to do ? If yes, then you would have to go to Kansai again. I personally think it would be better to do as much as possible in Kansai and next trip you could focus on other regions you want to visit likw Okinawa/Kyushu only without even spending a single night in Tokyo or Kansai area.

3. April 9th: unless you two move at an extremely quick pace, I think there’s a little too much crammed into this day. The Tokyo National Museum is quite large and can take a half day to explore in of itself.

   April 14: Kinkakuji and Ginkakuji are about 40-45 minutes away from each other by bus, so I think it’s unlikely you’ll get both of those AND Kiyomizudera done before lunch. Ginkakuji honestly isn’t that impressive (it’s not actually silver in the same way that Kinkakuji is gold), so I would recommend skipping it if you want room for everything else.

4. You should do two nights in Hakone/Lake Kawaguchiko on the 11th and 12th as they are right next to each other. It doesn’t make sense to go back to Tokyo and since the best views of Fuji are in the early morning having two mornings to see it from different vantage points would be ideal. You could stay at a ryokan or hotel in Kawaguchiko one night and second ryokan or hotel in Hakone the second. Or one place both nights. Using the Fuji Hakone Pass for this trip would likely pay off.

   – [Travel between Hakone and Lake Kawaguchiko ](https://hakone-japan.com/plan-your-trip/getting-around/areas-around-hakone/travel-between-hakone-and-kawaguchiko-lake/)
   – [Hakone and Kawaguchiko ](https://hakone-japan.com/plan-your-trip/stories/helpful-info/hakone-and-kawaguchiko/)
   – [Fuji and Hakone 2-day Sample Trip ](https://jprail.com/sample-itineraries/1to3-days/fuji-and-hakone-two-days-trip-sample-itinerary-spring-version.html)

   While you’re in Kyoto, depending on dates and blooming, you might overlap with some on the evening illuminations for cherry blossom season. So, look into that for updated dates the year you travel and see if you can visit some places at night too. If you can it’s nice as most temples, shrines, and gardens usually close by 5 pm so you can squeeze in another site before/after dinner.

   – [3 Must Go Cherry Blossom Illuminations in Kyoto ](https://sharing-kyoto.com/Events/magazine/ev005933)
   – [2020: Cherry Blossom Night Illuminations in Kyoto ](https://kyotokankoyagi.com/cherryblossom-illumination-en)

   Happy Planning!
   – [Fuji Hakone Pass ](https://www.odakyu.jp/english/passes/fujihakone/)

   ETA: Also, if you do go to the Ghibli Museum combine that with a trip to Nakano Broadway. They are both right on the Chuo line and I like Nakano Broadway much better than Akihabara.

   – [Who Needs Akihabara When You’ve Got Nakano Broadway ](https://tokyocheapo.com/lifestyle/nakano-broadway-akihabara/)

5. My advice is always to skip Hakone. I’ve had quite a few groups of friends visit Japan and all of them said that the one thing they’d do different is to not bother with Hakone.
   There’s nothing too wrong with the area, but it’s nothing special either and all you do is queue up to get on the next mode of transport. Some nice museums around there though.

6. Okinawa plans: Shuri Castle is a miss until it gets rebuilt/restored after a fire that destroyed it. Visiting Sesoko Island + Churaumi Aquarium, and Peace Museum (two hours away) during a single day would be a stretch. Peace Museum could be combined with Okinawa World, because visiting the latter and Kerama Islands in a single day would be extremely silly.

7. Poor Osaka :/

8. That is quite a schedule. My take is… stay in Tokyo. There’s plenty to do and experience for two weeks. You don’t want to be rushed and by the time you finish your vaca, you’ll need another vaca just to recuperate.

9. I would recommend looking a bit more into where things actually are in each area. Right now it looks like you’re gonna be running around each place in very irregular patterns and stressing yourself out.

   So for Kyoto, you’ve got the northwest, northeast, and southeast on the same day (the 14th). If you want to do both Pavilions on the same day, I’d recommend staying north of Sanjo that entire day – maybe do the Philosophers’ Path or something – and do Kiyomizu on a different day, perhaps the same day as Fushimi Inari as they share a train line. Then move Kodaiji to the same day as Gion, cause it’s right next door, and don’t worry about Pontocho, cause that’s gonna be part of “exploring” Gion if you wander across the river too.

   Okinawa is even more like this, you’ve got the far south (peace museum) and far north (aquarium) of the island on the same day! If it was me, I’d spend the 20th on Okinawa too, go back to Tokyo on the 21st (early if you want to go back into Tokyo proper, late if you’re OK linking the flights together), and schedule things accordingly. Something like, 18th in the north (aquarium + Sesoko), 19th in the south (Okinawa World + peace museum), and 20th in Kerama and clearing up anything you’ve missed in Naha. Oh, and Naha has perfectly decent public transport, renting a car would only be useful for the north and south.

   Hope that helps, and here’s hoping the world gets un-mad enough for this to happen!