Hello everyone.
I am planning a solo trip to Japan First time in feb20-mar7. I have been sifting through the posts the past couple weeks grabbing some great ideas, thank you too all.
I do have some questions itinerary wise. Not so much on places to go in each city, but if i can fit all the cities in the time I have or if need be to change the order of the city’s
feb 21, Arrive Tokyo. visit Shibuya and dinner
feb 22, Tokyo. visit Kichijoji and Shinjuku
feb 23, Hakone, I am not sure about here or should i use the day somewhere else.
feb 24, Kyoto, visit shrines
feb 25, Kyoto, visit Arashiyama area
feb 26, Hiroshima visit Memorial park and food
feb 27, Hiroshima/Miyajima? should I go to Miyajima still undecided?
feb 28, Osaka, visit Dotonbori and shopping
mar 1, Osaka, visit USJ
mar 2, Osaka, Nara + shrines
mar 3, Nagano/Shibu onsen, I really want to go here to the snow monkey park and this day fell on better price stays.
mar 4, Tokyo, Senso-ji, Tokyo skytree
mar 5, Tokyo, Akihabara, kappabash street, shopping
mar 6, Tokyo, trying to decide between Disney (im a big fan) or travel to some place’s in Yokohama like the cup o-noodle museum
mar 7, Tokyo, Travel day back home.
My questions would be is this a good order in which to see these cities? do I have sufficient time in each one or is there any other places between these cities I should stop and see? I really want to try to fit in the snow monkeys and stay in Shibu Onsen is this doable or too far out of the way. should I go there earlier in the trip. Im very flexible any and all suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thank you
2 comments
you can do shinjuku in the first evening after shibuya.
hakone is worth it but really needs to be over night
Disney is worth it, but there’s some ride closures
I think Hakone in one day is a bit tight. It’s an area that is slow to get around the different sites. You really need two days to enjoy it properly. Maybe consider a different day trip from Tokyo, like Kamakura.
Importantly, however, is that your long distance travel is over the course of 8 days. Have you looked into buying a JR Pass? A JR Pass is 7 consecutive days, and that means you’d have to cut something out. Basically, leave Tokyo on the 24th feb morning, return to Tokyo on March 2nd evening. You can cut a day from Osaka and do Nara + Dotonbori in the afternoon/evening that same day.
So something like this:
– feb 21, Arrive Tokyo. Beware jetlag, you may be too tired to do anything
– feb 22, Tokyo
– feb 23, Day trip from Tokyo somewhere
– feb 24, **[Begin JR Pass]** Early morning bullet train to Kyoto, visit Kyoto
– feb 25, Kyoto
– feb 26, Depart Kyoto, Hiroshima/Miyajima
– feb 27, Hiroshima/Miyajima, return to sleep in Osaka
– feb 28, Nara + Dotonbori and shopping
– mar 1, Visit USJ (or do this the day before, if you think you’ll take a long time there), train to Shibu onsen to sleep
– mar 2, Snow monkeys, return to Tokyo **[End JR Pass]**
– mar 3, Tokyo
– mar 4, Tokyo / day trip
– mar 5, Tokyo (kappabashi street is in/next to Asakusa, do that together with Sensoji)
– mar 6, Tokyo / Yokohama / Disney
– mar 7, Bye bye Japan
As for your Hiroshima / Miyajima days, I’d say most people consider Miyajima worth a visit. You can also stop at Himeji castle en route to Hiroshima, or Kurashiki / Okayama if you prefer.