3 weeks over Christmas / NY – help figuring out optimal order of cities (First timers)

Hi all,

First timers visiting Japan for our honeymoon that has been delayed 4 times.

I wanted some advice on the city order because of new years & departure/arrival from Haneda.

Dates are Dec 21 – Jan 10th. We land in HND at around 10am on 21st.

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Option 1:

**Dec 21:** Land in Haneda > settle in Tokyo for jetlag

**Dec 22, 23:** Tokyo eating + visiting sites (unsure on what yet) > leave for Kyoto in PM

**Dec 23:** Arrive in Kyoto, stay for 4 nights, do the usual first-timer visits before the holiday periods and shrines close

**Dec 27-31:** Move to Osaka, staying in Namba and exploring the city + maybe some day trips to Kobe etc (unsure if this is where we should start being mindful of holiday adjusted opening times?)

**Dec 31 – Jan 4th:**

Here is where we are unsure. Part of us thinks it makes sense to travel back to Tokyo as there will be plenty of things open despite it being the holiday period. It also seems like people travel out of Tokyo so might be nice to be there whilst it is a little quieter.

We want to visit somewhere that would be low in crowds. We were also considering flying to Hokkaido as we could use this period to do some day hiking/walking around wilderness and enjoy some hot baths. Totally up for some recommendations! We wanted to avoid shrines etc at this time as we aren’t fussed about New years. It is also the middle of our trip so anything nature-based that allows us to take things a little slower would be great to recharge.

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**Jan 4th – 10th**: Tokyo / staying in Ueno or Shinagawa:

Enjoy the rest of Tokyo / maybe a day trip to Hakone. Could even consider an overnight stay to enjoy the onsen until we fly home

**Option 2:**

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**T**his feels like the more efficient option but im wary about travelling again after such a long flight

**Day 0: Arrive in HND and fly straight to Osaka airport**

**Dec 21-25**: Kyoto

**Dec 25-29:** Osaka

**Dec 29-Jan 2:** Hokkaido (or equivalent)

**Jan 2 – Jan 10:** Tokyo including day/overnight trip to Hakone

Questions:

1. Best time to go to Kyoto during this period? I am thinking before Xmas to ensure we can visit the main sites without having to deal with holiday crowds
2. What makes sense over the NY period? Worried about spending too much time in Tokyo if we went with option 1 + stayed there during NYE as that would be close to 2 weeks in one city.
3. Are we missing any other trick for the NY period in terms of where to stay? I know hokkaido is very far away so maybe I am presuming it’s the best place after reading lots of redding posts praising it as a “Must see”, but really we are open to somewhere more convenient if it offers what we wanted from Hokkaido (we don’t ski)

The TLDR is that we want to cover Kyoto/Osaka/Tokyo + surrounding areas, yet also include some time during the NY holidays to go somewhere more quiet/involves nice nature walks.

Thanks!