Hello! I posted in here a few years ago for my first Japan trip and it was hugely helpful for me. I am aiming to go to Japan again next year with a group of 3 like-minded traveling friends, two of which have never been to Japan. While I hit most of the major tourist attractions during my last trip, I would like to include some for the newcomers, but also add in some new things that us who’ve been before haven’t seen before. If there are some places that I neglected, it is likely because I’ve been there and thought it is not worth time revisiting, in my personal opinion (ex. Shibuya Crossing, Gion). Therefore, I constructed this itinerary that I think blends both, but I just wanted to check in with you all and see if it was feasible. We want to cut down on our temple visits this time and hit only major must-sees, but mostly I want to make sure that the itinerary isn’t too crammed. Thanks in advance!
May 11th – Fly into Tokyo, Stay in Asakusa, mild exploration while waiting for everyone to arrive
May 12th – Ameyoko, Ikebukuro, Akihabara at night
May 13th – Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Kabukicho
May 14th – Tsukiji Fish Market, Senso-ji, Asakusa Streets, Skytree
May 15th (Activate 7 Day JR Rail Pass) – Nikko, Toshogu Shrine, Taiyuin, back to Tokyo
May 16th – Kamakura/Enoshima, stay the night at Kamakura
May 17th – JR Rail to Yokohama Chinatown, then to Nagoya, Osu Shopping Street, eat Unagi/Wings, Downtown Nagoya, Nagoya Castle at night?
May 18th – JR Rail to Gero Onsen, spend the night
May 19th – JR Rail from Gero Onsen to Takayama, explore old street and surrounding (Hida Folk Village instead of Shirakawa-go), back to Nagoya
May 20th – JR Rail from Nagoya to Hiroshima, Peace Park/Museum, Hiroshima Castle, Downtown Hiroshima
May 21th – (JR Rail Pass Ends) Miyajima Island, climb Mt. Misen, JR Rail to Kyoto
May 22nd – Rent bike at Kyoto Station, bike to Arashiyama and through Kyoto, night-time hike of Fushimi Inari
May 23rd – Uji, Byodoin Temple, Kiyomizu-Dera
May 24th – Nishiki Market, Higarashiyama, Yasaka Shrine, Pontocho/Hang out by river
May 25th – Kurama/Kibune, back to Kyoto
May 26th – Kyoto to Nara, Todaiji, Kasuga Taisha, train to Osaka
May 27th – Day trip to Kobe, see wharf, eat kobe beef, Nada Sake Breweries, Hanshin Tigers baseball game, go back to Osaka
May 28th – Den Den Town, Osaka Castle, Dotonburi
May 29th – Umeda Building, Shinsekai, Buy Souvenirs and hang out
May 30th – Fly back
4 comments
7 days pass and fly out of Osaka ? I think that would make sense.
Nagoya castle have a really nice reconstructed palace, so if you are into visiting the castle, it would need to be during the day. Not sure what you could do at night appart from walking around the castle and not visiting anything (by that I mean, walk around the outside of the moat). Always depend on when you want to reach Gero Onsen, but you can probably use the morning to check the castle if you did not had time the previous days, I would personally try to reach Gero onsen for check-in time at the ryokan, so often it’s from 3pm. So you can realistically get Miso katsu or miso nikomi udon in Nagoya before hopping in the train.
May 22…. Arashiyama and Fushimi Inari are at opposite side of Kyoto. Would make more sense do to Fushimi Inari with Uji, as they are about half an hour from each on JR Nara line. And do Kiyomizu-dera along with Higashiyama… because Kiyomizu is in Higashiyama anyway.
I’d actually suggest staying 2 nights in Takeyama instead of staying overnight in Nagoya. You have a lot of moving around in your itinerary and Takayama is easy to explore so if you want to split up and wander/shop individually it’d be an easy place to do that. Lots of great sake to try and tons of good restaurants (most with English menus).
– [Trip Report: Takayama Long Weekend ](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/mg8ir9/autumn_weekend_in_takayama_gifu_prefecture/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
Similarly, I’d recommend just basing yourself in Kyoto and not shifting hotels to Osaka. It’s so easy to travel between Kyoto/Osaka/Nara and even Kobe on local trains that it’d be nice to just stay in one place during that leg of your trip and not have to pack up all your luggage again until you’re leaving for the airport.
I prefer staying in Kyoto in the Gion/Higashiyama area and when you’re ready to head to the airport you can catch the airport limousine bus straight to KIX from Kyoto station which is super worth it with large luggage as it drops you right outside the terminal doors.
– [Getting to KIX from Kyoto ](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2033.html?aFROM=2033_2158)
>Tsukiji Fish Market
The Tsukiji fish market longer exists, with the market having moved to another location.
>JR Rail to Yokohama Chinatown, then to Nagoya, Osu Shopping Street, eat Unagi/Wings, Downtown Nagoya, Nagoya Castle at night?
Yokohama Chinatown isn’t much fun in the mornings (or at least it wasn’t when I visited it in the morning!). Why do you want to go to a post-war reconstruction of a castle at night?
>Osaka Castle
Also a concrete post-war reconstruction. If you want to see a good castle, Himeji Castle is a better choice (it’s a huge and authentic castle), and can be easily visited while travelling between Hiroshima and Osaka.
More broadly, that itinerary is doable, but a bit rushed.
Hey just wanna put in my 2 cents, been living in Osaka 3 years but of course I don’t know everything.
Personally den den town, ikebukuro and akihabara are just fun if you like shopping for anime/game merch or doujinshis. If at least one of you guys is planning to drop money on that kinda stuff then hitting up the secondhand shops like Kbooks and lashinbangs would be worth it. If not… uh… i guess maid cafes are fun depending on who you go with lol. Ive been to the maidreamin chain a few times. Their omurice ketchup art is awesome (omurice itself is quite sweet and overpriced) and song and dance shows complete with lightstick waving dancing fanboys is lit. On that note if you’re a group of fancy and nerdy girls with some cash to spend then Tokyo actually has a butler cafe called Swallowtail where you can have a nice afternoon tea. I’m not sure if they accommodate non Japanese speakers very well but if you wanna book anyway then I’d be glad to advise LOL.
Btw dendentown and dotonbori are walking distance from each other.
If you come across an extra day or half day in Osaka area I really recommend Banpaku Park and expo city. The park is huge, quiet, there’s always some great flower action going on in the spring. Nearby there’s a fun place called NIFREL with aquatic and land animals. ngl NIFREL is a bit targeted towards kids but i saw capybaras and a white tiger and an alligator (?) for the first time here so i thought it was awesome. Also there’s a Sweets Paradise at the mall there. If you’ve never been to an ayce cake buffet then I think it’s worth going. Their cakes arent the best but cant go wrong with 10 slices of their pudding roll cake lol! There also happens to be an ayce KFC there which I’ve been to and is… interesting… (dont bother with their mashed potatoes thats all i gotta say). Also a gundam cafe if you guys are into that.
If you like parks then another park I really recommend is Shinjuku Gyoen in Tokyo. It’s also huge. The ticket is SO cheap. There were cherry blossoms blooming even in the fall LOL.
By Umeda Building I wonder if you mean Osaka Station area in general? That’s a great place to shop, have some boba or relax at a trendy cafe. Just normal stuff. If you guys are around your 20’s and into Japanese fashion then Hep5 and EST are fun places to shop.
I’ve been to Nagoya on multiday trips three times and it took me all of those meals to finally try all their delicious specialties. Ogura toast sounded so whatever but when i tried it (i ordered one with cheese) my life changed LOL. Makes for a great breakfast with coffee. As another commenter said Nagoya castle is closed at night. I think the golden-paneled rooms are quite a unique sight compared to all the other castles I’ve been to in Japan so if possible you might wanna hit that up during the day and go shopping in the evening. Also another commenter mentioned Himeji Castle which I really agree with, it’s out of the way but the most beautiful castle in Japan (probably). Iirc there are lots of plaques to read in english and it was very interesting.
It became kind of word vomity and overly focused on food but I hope any of this info could help and that you have a fun trip!