Hello,
I very recently made a post about an itinerary check, but soon after posting it, I made some changes ater considering certain dates i.e. Takayama Spring Festival. When I’m in Tokyo, I’ll be staying in a hotel very close to Akihabara, so don’t need to set aside a day to visit it as I’d be a stone’s throw away (this allows me to take a day trip to Hakone if wanted).
The itinerary now looks something like this:
1. Saturday 25th: Tokyo: Arrive \~14:25 at HND Airport. Transfer to hotel and relax in evening around hotel area (stay at THE TOURIST HOTEL & Cafe AKIHABARA). (Akihabara)
2. Sunday 26th: North Tokyo – Senso-ji temple, Asakusa and Ueno Park, Tokyo National Museum.
3. Monday 27th: Tokyo: Tokyo: West Tokyo – Shibuya. Meiji Jingu Shrine, Yoyogi Shrine. Lunch. Streets/Arcades/Shibuya Crossing/Shibuya Sky + Center-gai etc
4. Tuesday 28th: Tokyo: Free day. Hakone day trip?
5. Wednesday 29th: Tokyo: Morning/lunch = undecided. Evening – teamlab Planets, Tokyo Bay Mario Kart.
6. Thursday 30th: Tokyo: West Tokyo – Ghibli museum (tickets pending), Jindaiji temple.
1. Combine with Shinjuku?
1. Shinjuku Golden Gai in evening.
2. Get bulk of luggage sent to Kyoto?
7. Friday 31st: Tokyo-Kyoto. Flexible arrival time – undecided, pending Tokyo activities.
8. Saturday 01st: Kyoto: Eastern Kyoto (Ginkaku-ji – Kiyomizudera itinerary)
9. Sunday 02nd: Kyoto: Arashiyama area. (Katsura Imperial Villa – Okochi-Sanso itinerary)
10. Monday 03rd: Kyoto: Southern Kyoto area. (Fushimi-Inari, Tofuku-ji (Kiyomizudera if first day is too long?) Sake Brewery in the area.
11. Tuesday 04th: Kyoto: Northern/Central Kyoto (Kinkaku-ji, Toji, Gion district?, Botanical Garden lit up in evening)
1. Get bulk of luggage sent to Osaka?
12. Wednesday 05th: Kyoto-Hiroshima (Peace Museum). Okonomiyaki in the evening.
13. Thursday 06th: Hiroshima/Miyajima day trip.
14. Friday 07th: Hiroshima-Osaka (Himeji day trip on way back?) Arrive early-evening.
15. Saturday 08th: Osaka: Nara day trip.
16. Sunday 09th: Osaka – Osaka Castle. Dotonbori Street?.
17. Monday 10th: Osaka – USJ day trip.
18. Tuesday 11th: Osaka-Kanazawa
1. Get bulk of luggage sent to Tokyo?
19. Wednesday 12th: Kanazawa. (Rokuen, Ninja Weapon Museum, old town)
20. Thursday 13th: Kanazawa-Takayama (stay at Hotakoso Yamano Iori Ryokan)
1. Hida no Mura, Showa Museum, Sake Brewery visit, Hida beef consumption.
21. Friday 14th: Takayama: Takayama Spring Festival (stay at Kuretakeso Takayama Ekimae)
1. Miscellaneous events in morning, visit Old Town. Shrine procession in evening.
22. Saturday 15th: Takayama-Tokyo.
1. Arrive \~15:30. Collect luggage at hotel and prepare for next morning.
2. Any miscellaneous shopping, walking around city etc.
23. Sunday 16th: Tokyo: Depart 10:40 from HND Airport.
In short, this can be summarised as **”Arrive in Tokyo and stay for a few days, go to Kyoto and stay for a few days, go to Hiroshima and get luggage sent to Osaka, spend an afternoon in Hiroshima, a day trip to Miyajima, and some time in Hiroshima before going back to Osaka with a stop at Himeji Castle, spend some time in Osaka whilst doing several day trips, and then go up to Kanazawa and send luggage to Tokyo, spend a day in Kanazawa before heading down to Takayama for two days, and then travelling back to Tokyo for a return flight the next day”.**
So, my questions would be:
1. When I’m in Tokyo, I haven’t set any special time aside for Akihabara as I’d be in the area and probably spend the evenings there. Is this a good idea, or should I set time aside anyhow?
2. In this current plan, I would spend the late morning/afternoon in Hiroshima, and then take a trip to Miyajima with one more night in Hiroshima, and then head back to Osaka with a stop in Himeji on the way. I was wondering, would it be possible to plan to go to Himeji Castle on the way to Hiroshima from Kyoto, spend the rest of the day at Hiroshima, and then the next day go to Miyajima but instead of spending the night in Hiroshima go to Osaka for the night?
1. By doing this, it will give more one day to be in Osaka, which could be spent either in Osaka or a day trip to Yoshinoyama at a time when, hopefully, it’ll be in full-bloom. Is this spending too little time in Hiroshima, though? Is Yoshinoyama worth the tight schedule?
Looking at the travel plans, I think that getting the JR Pass would be justified, but it is a 23 day trip and a 21 day pass. I’ve scheduled to be nearer the Akihabara area for the first two days to accomodate this; is there a local pass I could get? Is walking realistic? What options are there for transport from the airport (Haneda)?
Any information or advice would be very helpful!