Hello all,
My wife and I are excited about our very first trip to Japan. So, I just wanted to share the first iteration of an itinerary for our Japan trip on October 2023. It will evolve and get more specific, but there are a couple of decisions that need to be made – Nagoya, I am looking at you – before we commit to a more detailed plan. I am pretty set with most of the cities we want to visit, but I thought it would be interesting to see what comments I get. Who knows, I might convince to make some significant changes.
In any case, this is what I got so far:
**Day 1-2 Tokyo:**
* We arrive in the morning. I think this should be a couple of chill days. Mostly exploring, getting used to the trains and probably going to one main location. We are travelling from Australia, so not too concerned about jetlag.
**Day 3 Fuji Kawaguchiko:**
* Maybe have breakfast in Tokyo (Tskukiji market?) and then head out towards Fuji Kawaguchiko.
* Check-in is at 3 pm in the ryokan, so we would be exploring the area and the lake. The rest of the afternoon-evening is more of an all-included experience in the Ryokan
**Day 4-5 Takayama:**
* Check out around 11 to maximise the use of the facilities.
* Rent a car and drive north towards Takayama.
* I know renting a car is not the preference of the majority, but I want to explore rural Japan. Stop in a random little town, eat at an “on-the-road” restaurant, etc. That said, I am open to reading counterarguments.
* In Takayama, we want to see the Fall festival and explore the food. I want to be at at least one festival in Japan, but I am unsure whether restaurants will be open. If they are, we want to book way in advance. We prioritise food over anything else. If they aren’t, well, I might rethink this bit.
**Day 6 Nagoya:**
* Drive down to Nagoya to ditch the car on the fringe of the city.
* Visit Ghibli Park and any other location.
* I am unsure about this segment. It looks like Ghibli park is the only attraction. More in the comments below.
**Day 7-12: Kyoto (or Osaka):**
* Activate the JR Pass in Nagoya and get our way to Kyoto or Osaka. I am unsure which city would be better as an operation centre. I want to minimise the number of trips with all our luggage. It is a 26 days trip, so it will be a lot of it.
* The itinerary is TBC, but basically, I am thinking of filling it up with locations in Kyoto, Osaka, Naga and Universal Studio. I wanted to go to Kobe, is it worth going there?
**Day 13-15 Hiroshima:**
* Travel to Hiroshima to answer an existential question: Which okonomiyaki is better, Hiroshima’s or Osaka’s?
* Main attractions are the Dome, Peace Memorial Museum, and maybe the Yamato Museum.
**Day 16-18 Fukuoka:**
* Here, we are getting a bit far south. The main reason we want to go so far out is due to the dying Yatais. The plan is clear, food and sake in the streets during the evenings.
**Day 19-26: Tokyo:**
* Long journey all the way back to Tokyo.
* Focus on exploring, food, and maybe a day trip. Everything goes.
* Maybe Disneyland.
As you will notice, my itinerary is still a bit raw. I have included only a few details. Of course, we will be doing castles, parks, and some of the many highly-rated attractions in all these locations. This is a high-level itinerary with a lot of work ahead.
Some of my main concerns are related to the comments below:
* I wonder whether it is recommended to use one of those luggage courier services to send most of our luggage from Tokyo to Nagoya (or Kyoto/Osaka if we decide to skip Nagoya). That would make the Fuji Kawaguchiko and Takayama a lot more enjoyable. However, I feel a bit of anxiety about being away from my luggage for so long.
* It would be great to hear the experiences of people driving in the Kawaguchiko-Takayama area. I know it is expensive, but as I mentioned, I want to have the experience of rural Japan without the constraints of the train line.
* I have considered skipping Nagoya altogether since it seems there is not much happening there. I would love to go to Ghibli park, but not super keen to go to Nagoya just for one attraction.
* We are thinking of using a couple of days to complete the Shimanami Kaido. I know it can be done in one day, but we are in for the exploring side of the experience, not the achievement. We would like to take our time exploring. This could be done at either side of the Hiroshima segment or after coming back from Fukuoka.
* I got comments from friends that we should visit only a couple of cities due to how much there is to do and discover. However, we are not interested in going to every single castle and have tight daily itineraries.
* I am after some reassurance on the Fukuoka bit. I know a lot of people wouldn’t go that far south, but I want to see if someone that did go had a good experience.
Looking forward to reading some feedback.
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Edit 1: Edited to give my text some format for readability purposes.
1 comment
First of all, there is only one proper Okonomiyaki and it is found in Hiroshima. That mess from Osaka is meh… It even rhymes together: mess meh. Downvotes incoming, but it is really up to your preference.
Day 3:
It is not clear how are you going to Kawaguchiko, but probably it is a bus. Most likely it goes from Shinjuku, while Tsukiji is on the other end of central Tokyo, might be way too much travel just for breakfast. Besides, Tsukiji outer market is not really a breakfast place, but, again, it is up to your preferences. I’d get breakfast in the hotel, since there isn’t strong breakfast eaten outside culture in Japan to start with.
What I would do is to rent a car and go to Kawaguchiko on a car. Ryokan check-in at 3PM most likely means after 3PM any time. Several reasons to rent a car:
1. You aren’t tied to bus times.
2. Kawaguchiko is just one lake, while that area has plenty, plenty to see. Without a car it is impossible to do.
Day 6:
it is probably not very nice, because Nagoya is not a bad place at all, but why would anybody go to Nagoya without a particular need? It has a couple of attractions to see, but most of the time it is plain and boring. Perhaps spend that time elsewhere?
Hiroshima:
Visiting Miyajima on a boat would make a nice highlight of Hiroshima trip. Also, eat some oysters. Also, eat some proper Okonomiyaki. Hiroshima isn’t just atomic bomb, it is a vibrant city with great cuisine and lovely people.
Shimanami Kaido:
It is something like 70 kilometres of island hopping. There is not that much to explore, to be honest. What I would do is to go further through the mountains along Niyodogawa river to Kochi. It is beautiful there.
Fukuoka:
Why not, but since you are in the Kyushu, perhaps it is worth visiting what it offers.