9-ish Days in Japan – Pseudo Group Tour Itinerary – Cherry Blossoms 2023

13 comments

1. I almost always recommend people go immediately to a further location after landing rather than waiting a day. The day you arrive is already shot so you’re not losing much if you head straight to Hiroshima. This could potentially mean a second night on Miyajima or, if you’re not too bothered, a night in a Hiroshima hotel and then move to Miyajima. It sounds like people might have daypacks? If so, shouldn’t be difficult to pre-prepare an overnight bag so you might not even have to dig into your bags in Hiroshima so moving in/out wouldn’t be much of a hassle.

   It’s kind of difficult for me to understand how you’ve arranged the options but I would generally do:

   Arrive -> Hiroshima/Miyajim

   -> half day at Himeji?

   -> Kyoto (stay full duration if not intending to spend many days in Osaka; can do daytrip there if people want)

   -> hakone or whatever mt fuji thing people want to do; good to recharge after exhausting days walking around Kyoto

   -> Tokyo and depending on your flight, either go back to Osaka the night before or even morning of.

   The one downside is that you’ll need a 14-day pass so maybe play around with your travel schedule to see if you can make a 7-day + final ticket back to Osaka worth it. Alternatively, doing Kyoto immediately and then try to fit Hiroshima/Hakone/Tokyo into the 7-day is probably the best in terms of transportation costs, but if everyone is a working professional then maybe just springing for the 14-day is the best option anyway.

2. I’m a freelance free-time tour guide, been doing it a couple times per year since 2014 so let me reassure you, it’s completely doable

   Now, for the trip to be a success it’s 90% group mood (if they get along well with each other, can handle giving a bit extra time here for someone, a little extra there for someone else) and 10% on you being a good guide

   10 people are pretty easy to manage, anything above that and things start to get messy real quick, 15 people is my personal limit, would never go above that and I can’t understand tours that take 20-30 people per tour. That’s not a trip, it’s shit, but apparently they’re popular

   Restaurants might seem like a problem but as long as you put it very clearly that you might dine at the same place, just not the same table, and the group is fine with it, it won’t be a problem, you might have to concierge 2 or 3 tables to help everyone with the orders but that’s usually fine (eating at the convertor belt with tablet ordering comes to mind, they’ll need some guidance)

   The itinerary is pretty solid, maybe just maybe give Tokyo and extra day and take one off Kyoto? It’s all down to preferences though, I feel like Tokyo has more variety than Kyoto but if your group is big on history and temples then by all manners keep it as it is

   For the tra ceremony, there’s a VERY touristy show in Gion, at the Gion corner, look it up, it’s 1 hour long and gives a little taste of traditional arts, see if it could fit

   Now for what’s there to see, not sure how many times you’ve been there before, feel free to ask and I’ll gladly provide restaurants, weird attractions and so on, have been out of Japan for more than a year now (thanks Covid for my longest hiatus since 2014) and I’ve got to keep myself sane by at the very least talking about it

3. Dining is always an issue with big groups at popular restaurants in the cities, unless they are fine with eating separately in smaller groups. If say you want to take them to a popular ramen restaurant, there’s almost always going to be a line, and you will never be let in all at the same time, or get a table to yourselves. So if they are uncomfortable going in and ordering for themselves it will be a bit difficult. Even at izakayas I rarely see a group that big. If you go to all you can eat places, it will be probably easier.

   Day 2 Do Osaka, Shinsaibashi, Dotonbori, Kuromon Market can easily take a whole day. You’ll also want to factor in jetlag.

   In Kyoto, also go to Arashiyama.

   If they are not on a budget I recommend staying at an onsen ryokan at Hakone or Kawaguchiko instead of a trip to Hiroshima.

4. Maybe take in consideration that the first three days, the jetlag will slow you down. Otherwise this trip seems quite doable (and the distribution of days per city seems adequate). Good luck:)

5. Yes, dining as a group of 10 can be difficult. What I would consider is just to split in several smaller groups and even split in different restaurant if needed. I would just make sure you have several connection to internet (like one pocket wifi by group or several person with a sim card). That could also allow different people to split up and check things by themselves is they are getting comfortable and always be able to get Google map or contact the other.

   Why would it not be worth a day in Osaka ? I mean, there is a lot of things to see in Osaka, not limited to food.

   If you do Hiroshima, yes, doing 2 days 1 night would be good. You could avoid moving luggage by sleeping in Kyoto the first night (there is a direct train called Haruka to Kyoto station from KIX). Osaka can be done as a day trip from Kyoto and if you do Hiroshima, you can ask the hotel to keep the luggage an you return to the same hotel after a day. One thing you can also add it as stop by Himeji castle is that is of any interest to you.

   Doing Hiroshima as a day trip (I would start by Miyajima, maybe Mount Misen (no time to hike tho) lunch on the island, Peace museum, when things close you can still take time to eat dinner. That is for sure a packed day, but possible.

   From Kyoto, the area that is the easiest to access is Hakone. If you go early, you can have almost a full day in Hakone the first day and can spend most of the second there. Kawaguchiko is not as easy to reach and in my opinion not as much to see/do as in Hakone.

   ​

   Considering the length of the trip, I would even consider just staying around Kansai and not do Tokyo at all. For onsen, you could replace Hakone by Kinosaki, include castle by a stop to Himeji, replace Shinjuku nightlife by Osaka Dotonbori nightlife.

   ​

   Final thought, just make sure that your group have the same expectation. Will you just bring them to a location, tell them “this is a temple” and let them do whatever or will they be expecting you to give explanation, like historic fact and such about the location. It is not terribly hard to find info online about popular spots, but for sure it’s more work if you have to do lectures about many locations during the trip.

6. A ) In Germany, if you do something like that, you automatically become a tour operator, with all the liabilities including travel insurance certificate and taxes … Please check your local law about that!

   B ) I know two english speaking guides in Japan. If you hired them and divided their fee amongst all of your friends, it is not a big amount anymore.

   C ) This is a tightly packed schedule for 8 to 10 days…

7. 10+ people trying to cram a huge amount of stuff into just 7-8 days? What could go wrong? Even if you were traveling by yourself I think this is way too much ground to cover on a trip of this length. With a large group everything will likely go slower and you’ll end up running into a lot more issues. Do yourself a favor and pick one area. My recommendation would be Kansai. I’d recommend something like 3-4 full days in Kyoto, 1-2 full days in Osaka, a day in Nara, and a day for Himeji+Kobe just as a starting point for the region, and honestly it’s very easy to justify longer–especially during cherry blossom season. Spend less time traveling around and more time doing and seeing things.

8. Some restaurants in Japan has this weird policy of turning down group customers even if they are fine with seating at separate tables. I personally experienced this at Nanko Restaurant at Imperial Palace Garden. In addition, popular restaurants at lunch time can be super crowded, so either make a reservation in advance or schedule your lunch a little before noon.

   I agree with the previous post that your itinerary might be a bit too enthusiastic, especially when this is your first time handling a group of people who are also personally connected to you. After half way through the trip, when they started to feel more confident with getting around in Japan, you may started to get suggestions to change your plan, or some members may even ask to break away from the group to travel on their own because they found something more appealing than what you had in plan for them. Therefore, you may want to leave 1-2 days open for free exploration.

9. Osaka has Osaka Castle, Kaikuykan Aquarium and the attractions in that little area (like the Tempozan Ferris Wheel). Lots of stuff to explore around Namba during the day, lots of little temples and shopping (it’s not just a nighttime attraction area) and of course, photos out from the Glico Man. Since everyone will be jet lagged, maybe it’ll be enough and enjoyable for everyone to just walk a few laps of Osaka castle park and enjoy the sakura and the fresh air.

   Other stuff: Go to the Sky Building for (someone correct me If I’m wrong) the world’s highest open air escalator, get a guided tour of Umeda station (no one said you had to do all the guiding), Sumiyoshi Taisha is good, as is Shinsekai and it’s tower. Don’t go to Tennoji Zoo, it’s depressing. If people are into tech/otaku stuff, Denden Town is nearby to Namba and has about 90% of Akihabara without having to specifically go to that area. You’ve got Namba Parks and the nearby Yamada Denki for some hardcore shopping. There’s a “fun” do-it-yourself kushikatsu restaurant at the top of Namba Parks that might appeal – just make sure people don’t burn themselves on the pools of hot oil in the middle of their table.

   If nothing else, take them to the Cup Noodle factory. 🙂

10. Maybe start the trip in Hiroshima and then move North each day from there.

    I live in Kobe, near a Shinkansen station, and I travel to Hiroshima a lot. Hiroshima and Miyajima, between Osaka and Kyoto is too much in a day.

    Depending on the departure city, getting to Hiroshima a short flight from Osaka, or it’s kind of a fun “welcome to Japan” experience to land in Osaka, get over to Shin-Osaka and Shinkansen down to Hiroshima. When you arrive in Hiroshima on Shinkanen you’re right in the middle of the city and Hiroshima is easy.

    And if you have Sakura on the list or a priority, they you MUST hit Himeji Castle. The castle itself is amazing, and with blooms… it’s the best.

    I wouldn’t just skip Osaka, it’s a pretty cool place and it’s very easy to see a couple neighborhoods and eat some food. Nara is only a 35-40min bus from Osaka.

    I always find Kyoto exhausting… and am wiped after a day of sight seeing. Recommend to start with Kyomizudera walking down thru Maruyama park, you’re also in Gion are, which is also a nice walk and good place for lunch. then taxi it over to start the philosopher path (very nice walk with Sakura) at Nyakuoji bridge

    Fuji can be a real pain in the ass to get to without a car and to travel around, and if the weather isn’t good its a couple days of not much to do, and no volcano. I haven’t found much to do there except check out the mountain – don’t forget the caves in Aokigahara forest or Shiro-Ito waterfall.

    My two cents on overall planning.

    D1 – Hiroshima arrival and Hiroshima dinner

    D2 – Hiroshima /Miyajima, Bomb Dome etcetera, Shukkien Garden ( very nice during anytime but also during Sakura) eat some okonomiyaki, drink famous Hiroshima Saki.

    D3 – leave Hiroshima early. Himeji Castle stop first thing in the morning, I think 9AM opening so good to be early in Sakura season (leave bags at Shinkansen station, nice walk or taxi or bus to castle), get lunch then back on Shinkansen arrive to Osaka. Osaka night

    D4 – Nara in day, Osaka at night or on to Kyoto

    D5 – Kyoto….

    D6 – Kyoto…

    D7 – Fuji

    D98- Tokyo

    D9 – Tokyo

    D10 – Tokyo

11. I’ll go

12. General advice regarding group size:

    1) Everyone should get their own ICOCA on arrival at KIX. Make sure that everyone understands that it can be topped up only with cash.

    2) Finding a place that will sit ten people, especially together might be a challenge, so unless you want to book ahead of time (especially for dinner), or are set on a particular experience (along with long waiting times) – you may need to split up into smaller groups.

    3) Make sure everyone has their pre-paid data SIM cards (unless they have agreeable data plans or are able to get certain e-SIM plans). Getting two pocket Wi-Fi’s might seem a good idea for such a large group traveling together, however, with multiple devices, those are getting drained fast.

    4) Transport: Kyoto – using buses with such a large group might be a significant challenge, especially in Higashiyama area. You should pre-book your shinkansen trains. Also note that on subways or certain local lines during peak morning or evening traffic, you might want to split your group into two.

    Day 2:

    Option A: I would probably amend it to visit Himeji castle in the morning and then stick to Osaka in the afternoon with Kaiyukan area (if you like aquariums), Tenjinsujibashi (longest shopping arcade in Japan), or Shinsekai and end up somewhere around Dotonbori in the evening. Considering Sakura season, I’d guess Osaka-jo in the afternoon also makes some sense.

    Option B: Himeji Castle, then Hiroshima would be probably the wisest choice. Note that hiking Mt. Misen would make this a really full two day trip.

    Option C: You could visit Arashiyama and the northern Tokyo temples (Ninna-ji, which is famous for its cherry blossoms, Ryoan-ji and Kinkaku-ji)

    Day 4: Tofuku-ji is more autumn leaves destination with huge crowds, but it is a nice temple nevertheless (and with far fewer people than typical spring destinations). I would probably spend my afternoon rather in Fushimi sake district, or at Yamazaki Distillery than on this tasting, though probably it would be impossible to book the latter for 10 people.

    Day 5: If you are not visiting Nara on day 6, just do that, otherwise see Option C on day 2.

    Day 6:

    Option A: It’s probably the most sensible option.

    Option B: Hakone would be Okayish (with 6-7-amish start). Fuji Five Lakes – effectively you lose almost a full day to travel.

    Option C: If you start with Miyajima and Mt. Misen – it’s sort of rushed, but sort of doable; starting with Hiroshima makes climbing Mt. Misen mission impossible (during Hanami season at least). Note that group hiking is generally fairly difficult to co-ordinate.

    Day 7:

    Option B: Trying to do a full loop when starting from Kyoto would be silly (consider that it will take 4 hours+ and at least 3 transfer to get just to Gora) and I wouldn’t even attempt that with a full group.

    Days 8-9: You should really at [Japan-Guide’s](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3051.html) half-day or full day itineraries for parts of Tokyo.

13. Japan is still going to be on lockdown in 2023. You should postpone your trip until 2026 due to COVID-19.