Hello everyone! I would really appreciate feedback on my proposed itinerary, thank you so much in advance! This is a trip I have really been looking forward to, and I will be travelling with my partner. Ideally it will be a chill trip with good food and good memories. I am a bit worried that it will be super crowded due to it being the sakura season, but I have high hopes for it.
1. I am thinking of buying a 14 day JR pass, but I am not sure if it would be worth it, or if I should purchase a 7 day one instead and reroute certain items. Current plan:
Day 1:
* Reach KIX
* Take shinkansen to Osaka station
* Check in hotel (staying near Osaka station)
* Dotonbori
* Nanba Yashaka Jinga
* Ichiran ramen for dinner / open to other food recommendations
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Day 2:
* USS
* Dinner at Ushigatari
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Day 3:
* Day trip to Kinosaki Onsen (going as a couple, not sure if we will be separated and lonely for long periods in the onsens)
* OR
* Day trip to Nabana no Sato (seems like it would be better as a day trip from Kyoto as the Shinkansen would go past Kyoto first?)
* Other day trip recommendations are welcome please!
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Day 4:
* Kuromon Ichiba Market
* Day trip to Kurashiki
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Day 5:
* Check out from hotel, go to Kyoto station
* Take shinkansen to Kyoto station
* Check in hotel (near Kyoto station)
* Nishiki Market
* Day trip to Uji
​
Day 6:
* Philosopher’s Path
* Gion
* Pontocho dinner?
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Day 7:
* Kurama Kibune hike (not sure if riverside dining available in spring, seems like it is for summer only?)
* Sagano Romantic Train from Saba to Kameoka
* Arashimaya bamboo trail?
* not sure whether to replan this day
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Day 8:
* Day trip to Miyajima Island
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Day 9:
* Fushimi Inari in early morning
* Checkout
* Take shinkansen to Tokyo
* Check in hotel (near Shinjuku station)
* Shibuya
* Nintendo store
* Pokemon Centre
* Harajuku
* Takashita
* Omotesando
* Ura-harajuku
* Eat Katsu don at Gyukatsu Motomura Harajuku
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Day 10:
* Tsukiji Outer Market
* Ueno Park
* National Museum of Western Art
* Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
* Gyukatsu Motomura Ueno for lunch
* Jiyugaoka in afternoon after lunch
* Shinjuku
* Omoide Yokocho
* Golden Gai
Day 11:
* Asakusa
* Senoji temple
* Nakamise street
* Akihabara
* Don Quijote
* Ikebukuro
* Pokemon mega store
* Meiji Shrine (optional)
Day 12:
* Day trip via Klook
* Either strawberry picking, all you can eat crab lunch buffet, tofu skin scooping, ashikaga flower park light show OR
* Hitachi National Seaside Park, shabu shabu lunch buffet, ashikaga flower park
* Other day trip recommendations welcome!!
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Day 13:
* Day trip to Enoshima
Day 14:
* Chill day before going to NRT in afternoon
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2. We love food and would love to find out if there are any must – eats in the three areas we are travelling to! Yummy and affordable food (under USD 30/pax preferred). We are also looking for meat buffet recommendations (googling online was not very helpful). I tried to search for restaurant recommendations on Instagram by checking #japaneats and similar hashtags, but the posts are mostly in Japanese and google translate isn’t the best. Please flood me with your recommendations in Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo!
3. I am also a hardcore tea lover and can’t wait to visit Kyoto, Uji, Lupicia and Karel Capek stores. Do let me know if I should try / visit any other tea related stores!
Thank you everyone in advance!
2 comments
From KIX, there is no Shinkansen. Either Nankai train to Namba or JR Haruka that stop in different places including Kyoto. Shinkansen is the most expensive and often not the most effective way to move between Osaka and Kyoto.
7 days pass is ok, but need to include Hiroshima, going to Tokyo and day trip to Kinosaki/Nagoya.
Kinosaki is lovely, but I would do it as an overnight stay and not just day trip. You won’t spend the full day in the onsen and I hope you can spend 30-40 minutes without you SO. If you really want to do it together, stay in a ryokan that have a bath in the room or a private bath you can rent.
– A 7-day pass is better. You won’t need a pass to get around Osaka/Kyoto, you will only need it for long distance trips, like travelling to Miyajima, Kurashiki, and Nabana no Sato (Nagoya).
– As for day 12, note that the Hitachi Seaside Park and Ashikaga flower park are in opposite directions and there’s no way you can do both in the same day in an enjoyable fashion. I would choose one or the other. You can do Hitachi Seaside Park + Mito city (with sites like Kairakuen garden, Kodokan, the Tokugawa Museum, etc.), or do Ashikaga flower park + Ashikaga city (with a visit to the Ashikaga School, Bannai-ji temple, etc.).
– Kibune riverside dining is a summer only thing.
– I agree with u/gdore15 that Kinosaki Onsen is difficult to do as a day trip. Transportation from Kyoto/Osaka is not so convenient, and it takes a while to get there.
– You don’t have to sleep in both Osaka and Kyoto. The two cities are next to each other. Personally, I’d sleep in Kyoto all those days rather than Osaka+Kyoto, it will save time having to check-out / in and will be more comfortable.
Note that places in Japan close around 5pm, such as temples and many shops. There are some cases where you may need to reorder your itinerary with that in mind. If you’ll allow me to move things around, I’m thinking something like this might be better:
Day 1:
– Reach KIX
– Take train to Kyoto, check-in hotel
– There’s an Ichiran in Kyoto​
Day 2:
– USS
– Dinner at Ushigatari
Day 3:
– Sagano Romantic Train + boatride
– Spend day in Arashimaya / Sagano area
– Dinner in Pontocho
Day 4:
– Day trip to Uji
– Nishiki Market
Day 5 [**Activate JR Pass**]:
– Day trip to Kurashiki (start early)
– Dotonbori, Nanba Yashaka Shrine
Day 6:
– Kurama Kibune hike
– Kuromon Ichiba Market, and more time in Dotonbori if you didn’t see enough
Day 7:
– Philosopher’s Path
– Gion
– Travel to Nabana no Sato for evening illuminations
Day 8:
– Day trip to Miyajima Island (start early, remember that everything closes at 5pm)
Day 9: Fushimi Inari, check-out Kyoto, go to Tokyo. Two days left on your JR Pass after this for the day trips