Hi everyone! After waiting almost 3 years due to covid I was finally able to book flights for my first trip to Japan. Here’s a little info about the trip.
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# Info/Questions
* It will be my BF and I. We’re open to any and all recommendations! We love food, culture, museums, and anything that isn’t touristy.
* I’ve based a lot of this trip on this [\[video\]](https://youtu.be/IuTDuvYr7f0). If I need to move things around or skip certain cities I am completely open to that. I only ever wanted it to be a base. If you think this is too ambitious for a first trip feel free to let me know.
* We would really like to stay at an ryokan. The one mentioned in the video we’re referencing possibly wouldn’t work out for us. Our stay would probably fall on a weekend and it is MUCH more expensive on Saturdays at the ryokan they reference. Does anyone have recommendations for any others we could stay at during our trip?
* We would love to go to Koyasan but the hotel they recommend is full already for the day we’d like to stay. Are there any other places someone can suggest around here? Or could a day trip to Koyasan work?
* We’re trying to pack fairly light but would like to bring things back for ourselves and a few friends. Does anyone have suggestions for luggage or how to travel since we’re going to be on a lot of trains and staying at a few different hotels?
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**Day 1 (April 5-6, Wed-Thurs): Leave for Osaka**
* Arrival at Kansai International airport
* Take a train into Osaka and drop off bags at our hotel
* Rest and settle in. Head to Dotonbori to explore and snack
* Dinner (Ichiran ramen, food stalls, etc.)
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**Day 2 (April 7, Fri): Osaka day 2**
* Visit Namba Yasaka Jinja
* Afterwards take a 30-50min train to the Osaka Castle
* Afterwards walk or bike (?) to Americamura
* Afterwards take a train to the Umeda Sky Building
* Finish the day at Okaru
* Afterwards possibly explore more or go to the large don Quixote store with Ferris wheel
***Other things to do***
* Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
* Shinsekai
* Universal Studios Japan
* Tempozan Ferris Wheel
* Shinsaibashi
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**Day 3 (April 8, Sat): Leave Osaka for Koyasan**
* Then take a cable car the rest of the way to koyasan
* Check in at Saizen-in Temple (?) or find an equivalent
* Visit Danjo Garan
* Visit Daimon Gate
* Visit Konggobu-ji
* Visit Banryutei
* Lunch
* Head to Okunoin Cemetery
* Cross the Goyobashi Bridge
* Head back to hotel
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**Day 4 (April 9, Sun): Leave Koyasan for Nara**
* Check into Hotel
* Go to Todai-Ji
* See Kasuga-Taisha
* See Mount Wakakusa
* Snacks get mochi from Nanatanidou
***Other things to do***
* Isui-En Garden
* Nara National Museum
* Naramichi
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* **Day 5 (April 10, Mon): Leave Nara for Kyoto**
* Check into hotel
* Take early train to see the Arashiyama Bamboo grove
* See Tenryu-Ji
* Walk along the Katsura River
* See Senko-Ji Temple
* See the Iwatayama Monkey Park (?)
* See Kinkaku-Ji Temple
* Ramen sen no kaze for dinner (Or whatever we’d like)
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**Day 6 (April 11, Tues): Kyoto day 2**
* Go to Nishiki Market
* Head to Gion (Entertainment district. Explore the many streets ie. Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka and Hanami-koji)
* Fairly open day
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**Day 7 (April 12, Wed): Kyoto Day 3**
* Fushimi Inari
* See the Nanzen-Ji Temple (there’s an aqueduct and a temple)
* See the Eikan-Do Temple
* See Pontocho. Get dinner and cocktails here (?)
***Other things to do***
* Kiyomizu Dear Temple
* Nijo Castle
* Day trip to Kibune and Kurama
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**Day 8 (April 13, Thurs): Leave Kyoto for Kanazawa**
*\*May want to purchase an IC card. You can only use it on the JR Machi Bus line. All other buses require a one day pass or a bus ticket for around 200 yen.*
* Check into hotel
* See the Omicho Market
* Lunch at Mori Mori Sushi or other restaurant
* See some museums (D.T. Sukuki Museum, 21st century museum of contemporary art)
* Eat again at sushi Ippei or other restaurant
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**Day 9 (April 14, Fri): Kanazawa Day 2**
* See Oyama Shrine
* See Kanazawa Castle
* See Kenroku-En Garden
* Can see a traditional tea ceremony at Shigure-Tei
* Can also get gold leaf ice cream from Hakuichi
* Lunch Menya Taiga (black miso ramen?)
* See the Tsuzumi Gate
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**Day 10 (April 15, Sat): Leave Kanazawa for Takayama**
* Morning Market (?) Explore the city
* See Takayama Jinya
* See Sanmachi Suji (the place to try the cities sake)
* Hida folk village (Mountain village houses)
* Shirakawa village (?)
* Take bus to our ryokan (are there any other ryokan’s in this area?)
* Shin-hotaka bus line
* From nori bus center to okuhida onsen-go
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**Day 11 (April 16, Sun): Takayama Day 2**
* Enjoy onsen once more
* Breakfast and then check out
* Shinhotaka ropeway
* Take bullet train to Tokyo!
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**Day 12-14 (April 17-20, Mon-Thurs): See Tokyo**
* Check into hotel
* Meiji shrine
* Harajuku (?)
* Uobei sushi (?) dinner
* See Akihabara
* Daiwa Sushi
* Nezu Museum
* Sensō-ji
* Etc. These days are pretty open
3 comments
Fyi the Takayama Spring Festival is April 14 + 15 so it could be really hard to find a hotel for the 15th!
I am travelling almost the same dates with a similar itinerary, happy travels!
> Take bus to our ryokan (are there any other ryokan’s in this area?)
I usually stay at a place called Yari Mikan if I am in the area. It’s pretty cool because most of the outdoor baths are private and they have a variety of different styles. The downside is that is probably one of the farthest Ryokan’s from Takayama so the bus ride is pretty long. It is really close to the Shinhotaka ropeway so you could visit that on the morning that you leave. You’ll get a great view of the Japanese alps from there. IIRC yarimikan can take you the ropeway with their van and from there you can take the bus back to Takayama.
In general Okuhida is a onsen area so there are quite a few good options for ryokans in the area. If you can’t find one that fits your price range on the weekends you may just want to adjust your itinerary to make the ryokan stay fall on a weekday. You can easily do this by swapping your Kanazawa and Takayama days. From Kyoto take the shinkansen to Nagoya and a express train to Takayama. Then from Takayama take the train to Kanazawa then the Shinkansen from Kanazawa to Tokyo.
This is a pretty active but mostly quite achievable itinerary (edit: except the list of “other things to do” listed under Osaka, but I assume those are just backup options rather than you wanting to do all of them that day)
> ryokan on weekends
Saturday night is the most expensive, if you can swap things around so that you sleep there on a weekday it would likely lead to significant savings. The same might apply to the Koyasan temple as well (idk as I’ve never slept on Koyasan but it is definitely worth checking). One swap could be to reorder as Osaka-Kyoto-Nara-Koyasan or even Osaka-Nara/Koyasan-Kyoto.
> Day 4
It looks like you are sleeping in Nara this evening, but there are no activities in Nara on Day 5? If so, please consider storing your bags in a locker at Nara station, spending the day in Nara, and sleeping in Kyoto. This means you save the time / hassle of one check in / unpack / pack / check out routine and just increases the amount of time available for touring vs doing admin. Luggage lockers are a couple hundred yen for the day, and there’s not much to experience in Nara at night which you couldn’t experience elsewhere.
> luggage for souvenirs and gifts
On Day 12, buy a cheap suitcase in Tokyo, and use it to store your shopping there. Alternatively, bring a foldable duffel bag along (Walmart has these for $20), tucked in your suitcase on the way there and then use it to stuff shopping.
> Kanazawa Castle / Osaka Castle
Unless you are super into castles, going inside one is enough imo. Kanazawa Castle is right next to Kenrokuen so you could pop by the exterior
> Mori Mori Sushi
is insanely popular and always has a queue. I would head straight there to grab a queue number (iirc the ticket has a QR code which goes to a webpage with an estimated waiting time), then explore the rest of the market while monitoring the queue, and head back when it’s almost your turn.
> Shirakawa village
This is a half-day trip from Kanazawa/Takayama, one popular option is to stop by there in-between the two cities. In the case of the itinerary above it means shifting it to the start of Day 10 and cutting down on other activities in Takayama.
> isn’t touristy
Takayama has a major festival in mid-April and you’re there during those days, also Kyoto/Shirakawago/Koyasan/Sensoji etc. are never not touristy. Not trying to be bitchy, just pointing this out since everyone defines touristy differently. That said I don’t think you have any kitschy activities listed other than arguably the gold ice cream in Kanazawa, just attractions that are classically popular (for good reason!)