Hi everyone, my husband and I (both early-30s; no kids) are planning our first trip to Japan. We are leaving California on March 17 and will be in Japan from March 18 to April 2. Visiting Japan during Cherry Blossom season has been a lifelong dream for both of us. We’ve spent countless hours on this page researching all things Japan and preparing the itinerary below. We were hoping the itinerary can be looked over in case anything needs to be changed or there are must see areas that we missed. Our goal is to have a fast-paced vacation and wake up early each day to see as much as possible and beat the crowds. We are worried about not seeing Cherry Blossoms but after researching this page, it seems planning a trip specifically around Chery Blossom viewing is tough as the timing changes every year. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
3/19: arrive at Narita airport; pick up pocket Wi-Fi, SUICA card, make way to hotel, grab food and explore Shinjuku
**Accommodation: Shinjuku**
3/20: Sensoi-ji, teamLab Planets, Imperial Palace, KitKat store, Pokémon Café, Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Skytree
**Accommodation: Shinjuku**
3/21: Meiji Jingu, Gyoen National Garden, Yoyogi Park, Harajuku/ Takeshita St., Hachiko Memorial Statue, Explore Shibuya/ Shibuya Sky
**Accommodation: Shinjuku**
3/22: Meguro River, Ueno Park, Ameyoko, Akihabara. Take afternoon train to Lake Kawaguchiko.
**Accommodation: Lake Kawaguchiko**
3/23: Chureito Pagoda, Momiji Corridor, Forest Museum, Oishi Park, Asama Shrine
**Accommodation: Lake Kawaguchiko**
3/24: take morning train to Kyoto. Kiyomizudera Temple, Hokanji Temple, Gion neighborhood
**Accommodation: Kyoto**
3/25: Fushimi Inari, Nishiki Market, Nijo Castle, Pontocho Alley
**Accommodation: Kyoto**
3/26: Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Tenryu-ji Temple & Okochi-Sanso Villa, Kinkaku-Ji, Daitoku-ji Temple
**Accommodation: Kyoto**
3/27: Hokanji Temple, Philosopher’s Path, Higashiyama Jisho-ji. Take afternoon train to Hiroshima.
**Accommodation: Hiroshima**
3/28: Itsukushima Shrine and Itsukushima Floating Torii Gate during morning. Atomic Bomb Dome, Peace Memorial Park, and Hiroshima Peach Memorial Museum in the afternoon.
**Accommodation: Hiroshima**
3/29: Take morning train from Hiroshima to Osaka with stop in Himeji Station. Osaka Castle, Umeda Sky Building, Dotonbori.
**Accommodation: Osaka**
3/30: Nara day trip. Todai-ji Temple, Yoshikien Garden, Nara Park, Kasuga-taisha, Kofukui Temple.
**Accommodation: Osaka**
3/31: Take morning train from Osaka to Odaware Station. Hakone Shrine & Tori Gate, Hakone Ropeway, Odaware Castle.
**Accommodation: Hakone**
4/1: Open Air Museum, Mishima Skywalk, and Lake Ashi.
**Accommodation: Hakone**
4/2: Take morning train from Hakone to Tokyo. Looking for suggestions in Tokyo this day. Maybe visit Akihabara in the evening?
**Accommodation: Shinjuku**
4/3: Flight takes off at 5 PM so will likely pack and get some food before heading to airport.
Some questions:
1. Are we spending too much or too little time in one spot?
2. We tried to plan for the must-see areas but anything we missed?
3. Any recommendations for seeing peak Cherry Blossoms?
4. How accessible are taxis? There are a few days when we plan to wake up at 6 AM and get to a location as quickly as possible (ideally by 7:30 AM). Public transportation would be approx. 1 hr whereas driving would be 20 mins so if we could grab a tax, that would be great. I noticed this in Lake Kawaguchiko, Kyoto, Hakone, etc.
Thanks so much. Any and all input is appreciated.
3 comments
3/28 hiroshima looks a little busy to me. I dunno if you can get the museum,dome, Itsukushima done in 1 day. looks a bit hectic,
3/31 unless you catch the 6am train I really doubt you can get to hakone and get the loop done before it closes at 4pm. also zero chance you’ll get done with that and make it to odawara castle before it closes
my suggestion, take train from Osaka to Odawara, go see the castle, stay the night, do full loop the next day which includes ferry on lake ashi
Why not group Kawaguchiko, Hakone, and Odawara together? They are all very close. Odawara has no access to the fast Shinkansen (Hikari) so getting there from the west is a bit slow.
Worst case skip Odawara castle. I do like the city though.(Ninja museum is more fun than the castle imo. Gardens are nice, but zoo is horrifying). If you have a lot of spare time, Atami in the vicinity is much cooler.
Don’t think you have time in your itinerary but the Yokohama/Yokosuka/Enoshima/Kamakura area is pretty nice. I’d usually recommend it over spending too much time inside Tokyo proper or Osaka.
Cherry blossoms bloom at different times at different places. With slight changes every year. Bad weather might kill it straight away. In return there are places in basically every city. So if it is meant to be, you’ll see them.
I just went to Sensoji yesterday. It can be easy to spend most of a morning there. Also, the little shopping street leading to the temple is pretty cool and has a lot of neat stuff to check out. I just bought a bunch of ukiyoe paintings. You’ll have a blast just be prepared for it to take longer than you may think.