14 day solo travel Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka

29 comments

1. [removed]

2. Sounds like a packed trip and a ton of fun – are you coming with a rail pass? Your itinerary seems very tight for the number of cities in two weeks. The transfer between local lines, bullet trains and hotel can take up a lot of time than anticipated!

   Most chain stores do early morning, but there isn’t much to do before 9am most parts of Japan… it’s a good time to use it on commuting and getting to the next destination.

   Personally, I’d spend more time in Nara and Kyoto.

3. > I’d like to try riding a funicular train, any recs?

   Ikoma Cable Line is right on the Kintetsu line between Nara and Namba, so alighting at Ikoma on your way back to Osaka would make a lot of sense.

4. Kawaguchiko in one day (incl travel from Tokyo) will be extremely rushed. Maybe find a ryokan to stay the night. Seeing the lake in the early morning is really nice, before the boats start creating wakes. I also did the hike up to Chureito in the morning and had no crowds.

5. I think that’s all doable. The only thing I would recommend is doing a full day at Koyasan. The train ride is awesome, but the real treat is Koyasan itself. It is simply magical. I would say that it will be a nice change of pace from all of your urban adventures. It would be easy to free up a day for it. I would combine your shopping day with your Dotonbori night. The train from Kyoto to Osaka only takes about 40 minutes so you will have plenty of time. Or it might make even more sense to go directly to Koyasan from Kyoto, it is a short train ride as well. Then spend the whole day at Koyasan, stay at a ryokan that night, and start Osaka the next day. Osaka Aquarium is really cool, but skippable.

6. I would recommend adding Starbucks roastery to the list. As your really into coffee you will probably appreciate it more then when I went. Loved the place, would be better if it’s active since you will actually see the coffee beans moving through the pipes etc. They make coffee fresh aswell.
   I had a delicious coffee with whiskey in it… At 8am.. I did not know what to order haha.

   But yeah Starbucks roastery big recommendation.

   Osaka aquarium is easily half a day if you take it slow. We planned it on a slow rainy day. But definitely have something after that

   I love it.. It looks close to what I did in himeji Osaka and Kyoto.
   I even completed the hike in Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine.
   Not recommend if your out of shape like me.. But I did it. Looooots of stairs.
   And I got passed by elderly Japanese.. I felt that out of shape xD.

   The route to the kurama temple also has a fun train ride.
   Last time I was there they were still recovering from some heavy storm that passed there but it’s also beautiful.
   Better known as the shrine with the long nosed mask (kurama?)

7. Sounds like a fun trip! I did a similar trip for 14 days in November 2019 (I posted a trip report in the sub about a year ago). Here are my answers to some of your questions:

   1. I actually really love getting to Senso-ji at around 8 am before all of the shops open. It’s peaceful, deserted, and you can take awesome photos. Then after you’re done exploring the grounds, you can get a coffee or something and come back at around 10 am when Nakamise-dori starts opening up.
   2. I think your Day 3-4 is fine. Teamlab is always awkward if there’s nothing else on Odaiba you want to do. Because the trip from Teamlab to Senso-ji is about an hour anyway, I want to make sure you know about the one-hour river cruise you can take from Odaiba to Asakusa. That might be a more pleasant way to make that journey! Also: have you considered doing Teamlab Planets instead of Borderless? I’ve only done Planets so I can’t speak much to the differences between the two, but we really enjoyed it. Unlike Borderless, the experience is a fluid path rather than a collection of rooms, so you can go at your own pace and you don’t have to wait hours to enter the next room. I would think that might be a better experience for a solo traveler since it may not take you as much time to go through it as others.
   3. I’ve never been to Kawaguchiko so I can’t speak to this, sorry! I know it takes about an hour and 45 minutes to get from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko by highway bus, which is the fastest way to make that journey.
   4. We stayed at Momijiya Bekkan Kawa no Iori in northwest Kyoto and I can’t recommend it enough—especially during fall colors. Beautiful scenery, magical setting, fantastic food, immaculate service. It can be pricey, but less so if you don’t want a room with a private bath. They had a really easy (and complementary) shuttle service that departed from major stations in Kyoto. Make sure you book the annex (bekkan) because it’s the prettier setting! There’s also a really cool temple nearby to explore. As far as other recommendations in Kyoto, it really depends on when you go. If you end up going during fall colors season, then I think the nighttime autumn illuminations are a must-see. Many of the temples do them, and they’re massively popular for a reason. I also noticed Kiyomizudera isn’t on your itinerary, even though it’s one of the. most popular temples in Kyoto. You certainly don’t have to go if it doesn’t interest you, but the walk up to the temple has a Studio Ghibli store that I thought had better merch than the museum, personally! I would also give yourself an entire afternoon to aimlessly explore Gion with a matcha soft serve in your hand. That was by far my most magical day in Japan.
   5. Never done this, sorry!
   6. I was only in Osaka for one night (it was an impromptu decision) so I can’t speak much to this. My only advice is to eat all of the yummy food you can 🙂
   7. Don’t know about this either, sorry!

   ​

   EDITED TO ADD: Getting Ghibli Museum tickets is an absolute nightmare, and I would recommend reading up on how to get them and make sure you fully understand the process well in advance. It took me 80 minutes of refreshing to get tickets, and I ended up with my last choice. So have a few dates in mind for when you want to go to the Museum and be prepared to make a last-minute decision if your first and second choices sell out before you can get them.

8. remindme! 6 months

9. I think you should try to do Ueno Park and Senso-ji in the same day because they are very close to each other.

10. Hakone is a nice place to visit, you can get the Hakone free pass which is a really nice way to spend the day. Limited views of Fuji tho.

    Osaka is the place to be for food… it’s like a smaller version of Tokyo but with a more intimate feel.

    I’ve only stayed in hostels and Airbnb while traveling in Japan so I can recommend some if that’s your plan for lodging.

11. Lotta feedback here- only thing I’ll add is to go to Bear Pond when you’re in Tokyo. Try for the Kitazawa location- good people watching and they open early

12. Fushimi Inari is opened 24 hours a day and going really early in the morning might help you beat the crowds. I also heard the same thing about the Path of Philosophy. The earlier, the better. I didn’t take that advice and it was a miserable experience. I’m sure it’s lovely if you can see anything other than swaths of people. Just don’t be me and do it in the afternoon.

13. Hey, just a heads up, there’s an overnight train route that I used to save time and money on accommodations on my way to Hiroshima from Tokyo. Unfortunately the train skips Osaka on the way west, but there is a stop at Osaka heading into Tokyo. It’s about a 6-7 hour trip arriving in Tokyo at 7 AM. If you’re okay with swapping your itinerary around (flying into KIX and heading home from Narita/Haneda), you could potentially be more efficient with how you spend your time.

    Alternatively, the overnight train DOES stop in Himeji. The train leaves Tokyo at 11 PM and arrives in Himeji at 5:25 AM. Might be a bit early, but it certainly does give you enough time to do what you want to in Himeji and arrive in Osaka with time to spare to eat dinner/explore Dotonbori and crash at your accommodations.

    Ignore if you actually want to ride on the shinkansen, or you’re a heavy sleeper. I think it’s an okay experience the first time riding the shinkansen, but after that, it’s just another few hours you’re not doing anything.

    I’d also suggest you being open to plan changes. This is a lot easier since you’re traveling alone. A friend and I had plans for the day, but while we were on the train, we noticed advertisements for a Final Fantasy exhibition that was on its last couple days at a weird theme park near Osaka. You better believe we dropped everything we had planned to attend that instead. Was super fun (had some FF7 remake stuff, before it was released), and we picked up some Final Fantasy swag. Maybe you’ll run into other tourists or locals that’ll offer suggestions on what to do.

    EDIT: With the JR Pass, the overnight train is free. At the time, you had to make the reservation in person (so this basically required your schedule being completely open as you couldn’t always get the date you wanted). I don’t know if things have changed, but I think it’s worth looking into.

    EDIT2: I just noticed one of your potential dates is in November, so I’ll point out a couple other things, since we also went in November. I’d suggest looking into any events going on in neighborhoods. While in Tokyo, we ended up going to the Tokyo Ramen Show (tons of ramen vendors from around Japan) for dinner. Maybe not worth it unless you’re a ramen fiend, since the lines get really ridiculous. And on a separate day, went to the Curry Grand Prix (same, but with curry) at Kanda. Neither of these were initially planned stops.

    EDIT3: If you’re staying near Fushimi Inari and willing to make the trip twice, it really does feel different early morning and super late night. Otherwise I’d suggest going at night. Making a nighttime climb with crows cawing all around you is kinda surreal. The view once you reach the midpoint is pretty great too. I’ve always preferred night time views though, so do whatever!

14. I’ll provide some insight to the Nunobiki herb garden and ropeway. I travelled to Kobe in Jan 2018 and had it in my mind that I would hike Mt. Maya. I hiked up the ropeway trail, which took a couple hours with sightseeing, and I would definitely recommend the experience. The trail isn’t that difficult, and the shrines, views, bridges, and more along the way are a fun experience.

    I explored the herb garden and gift shop before finding the sign in the back of the park that pointed the direction of Mt. Maya. However, at that time the ropeway was closing and I had to catch the last gondola down or risk hiking in the dark.

    So, to actually answer your question, you could definitely just ride the gondola up for the view later on. However, I would recommend hiking up through the trail, dam, and garden. If you don’t want to hike, I’d still recommend going up with time to spare to view the garden exhibits.

15. you can adjust really your days 2-4.

    For example, Day 2, after Ghibli Museum you can go to Nakano Broadway also w/c is like Akihabara in a Building. There’s also a park in between Ghibli Museum and Nakano Broadway you can walk.

    Day 3 – you can go to Tsukiji Market early like 6am/7am then maybe put Nakamise-dori and Senso-ji in Day 3.

    Day 4 – since teamlab Borderless is in Odaiba, why not spend the rest of the day there? check out diver city, toyota museum, the gundam unicorn

    Day 5 – why not join a tourist bus trip to Mt. Fuji?

    *you can try Restaurant Kichi-Kichi in Kyoto. the one with the famous omurice. i don’t know if they still use a reservation system

    *no USJ?

    still, a packed vacation. very nice. i also can’t wait to go back to japan. 🙂

16. Gotemba Premium Outlets would require a completely different itinerary than just staying around Kawaguchiko, I do not think it is especially worth the relatively long detour to go there.

    ​

    1. Touristic attractions like temple/shrine, garden, museum, castle typically start to open at 9am. While store start to open around 10-11am. Before 9am, your options are more toward park, shrine/temple that do not have opening hours (or that open super early like Meiji shrine) or just waking in the streets or along rivers. Some market like tsukiji usually have shops open quite early.
    2. Not especially, day 3 can be started early, worst case you do not have much time to see the museums in Ueno if you had intention to see any, as they close around 5pm. Day 4, I think it’s a good match and you can check to ride the boat between odaiba and Asakusa.
    3. If the goal is to see Mount Fuji, then you would be better being flexible than staying for the night. So check the weather and if it’s good, then go to Fuji on that day. Unless it is a day you have a ticket already purchases, like Ghibli museum. And I think that to take the earliest bus is perfectly fine.
    4. .
    5. I would recommend not to go to that one if the goal is the night view. Yes it’s cheaper after the garden close, but the view is… meh. I was close to that ropeway and ended up going to the woodworking museum before the ropeway instead of going to one of the other ropweay. I liked the museum, but the best part of the view was in the ropeway, not on top. I would like to try Mount Maya our Mount Rokko next time, not sure which is the best.

17. This sounds amazing. I would love to do a solo trip one of these days!:)

18. >Are there any places I can visit earlier in the day?

    I suggest going for coffee in the morning. Many places are open from early hours. The Starbucks next to Shibuya is a good one, it’s open from 6:30 am and you get a great view of the Shibuya Crossing. When traveling early, I suggest sticking to the subway. Morning rush hour in Tokyo is not something you would want face.

    > Kawaguchi-Ko

    I think your best bet is to go the night before. The sun rises at around 5 am, so you’ll probably miss it even if you go on the first train. There is a direct bus from Shinjuku that you can take at night. They also have a direct overnight bus from Kawaguchi-Ko to Kyoto for about 6000~8000 yen. This way you can start day 6 without any traveling.

    I think it would make things easier if you go to Nara on your way to Osaka as a detour. But that really is on you.

    As for traveling fees, I think your best bet would be:

    – Day 2,3,4 72 hour subway ticket ¥1500

    – Day 4 bus to Kawaguchi-Ko ~¥2000

    – Day 5->6 bus to Kyoto ~¥7000

    – Day 6-10, 12-14 IC card ~¥600 per day

    – Buy single day Kansai area pass (¥2400) for Kobe and Himeji

    – Total would be below 20,000 yen

    Note that this is just a example looking from what you have, so it might not be what you want. Just don’t buy the jr pass (¥36,000) it would definitely be a rip-off for your trip, and use the money for other stuff. Good luck on your trip.

19. Your schedule is fairly packed. Aim for 1 or 2 things max per day.

    Personally I’d flip the cities and arrive in Osaka and leave from Tokyo.

    I find that I tend to do the majority of my shopping in Tokyo and was a pain I the arse hauling everything throughout my trip if I started from Tokyo first.

    Ghibli museum is fairly out of the way from tokyo and you can easily spend a while day there.

    Himeji from Osaka is far. Also easily another whole day trip.

    Theres enough to do in Kobe for a day trip.

    Concern is you can probably do half of your list and the rest is best efforts.

20. I’ve done that route with 1 night of Fukuoka in the middle, going Tokyo (7 nights) > Kyoto (3N) > Fukuoka (1N) > Osaka (3N). This was in Oct 2019.

    My own sentiments:

    * Tokyo is really huge, I personally felt 7N was too short to try and fit in everything. The cross city travelling takes up quite a bit of time. Knowing what I know now, I would plan my activities to specific prefectures within Tokyo for more depth and to spend less time in commute. Plenty of activities within each prefecture if you dig deep enough. But that’s my opinion because I’m also coming from Asia and flights to Japan weren’t expensive and I can visit often (once every 1-2yr was possible pre covid)
    * Mt. Fuji, early trip from Shinjuku would work. I took the earliest bus to Fuji-Q from Shinjuku, reached at 845AM or so. I think there are earlier buses than 8AM. I would make a day trip out of this, to spend more time in Tokyo
    * Tsukiji and Boarderless are relatively close by. Would be more efficient if you can group this within a day. Coming from Shinjuki, it’s crossing the city, no reason to commute so far twice
    * Would second the other suggestion of spending more time in Kyoto than in Osaka, or at least travelling to Nara from Kyoto. Kyoto has better downtime opportunities in gardens/cafes for people watching than Osaka. I would happily skip Osaka with what I know now. YMMV
    * Osaka Aquarium – loved it. But it took out the whole day since it’s large and far (from where I stayed, 10min walk from dotonbori). If you’re just 50/50 on this, I’d say pass unless you’re interested in aquariums and have other options
    * My Fukuoka trip was for a Sumo tournament, by far the most memorable thing I’ve experienced. Sumo tourneys run (not sure if covid changes things) 4 times a year, in different cities from North, Central and South. It’s also not on anyone’s typical tourist agenda but is a deep part of Japanese history/culture.

    On JR Pass, you can research the cost of individual tickets to/fro each City and make your decision whether you need it. If I recall, JR passes for Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka were more expensive than individual. There’s also the time limit of activating the Pass that you’ll need to meet.

21. As for Tokyo, have you considered Tokyo Skytree or Tokyo Tower? Tokyo skytree has an amazing mall with a Pokémon center and a studio ghibli store. (Lots of others too, hello kitty store!!) I know you’ve got a lot packed in but I wanted to suggest them because they’re such classic spots <3 also, shinjuku gyoen Mae (shinjuku national gardens) are incredibly beautiful. Not sure if you’d have any time for that on day 2, you’ve got a packed schedule!
    That looks like such an amazing trip!! You’re an amazing planner wow!

22. For coffee shops, I recommend skipping chains like % Arabica unless you really want to go. There are way too many small cafes to try in Japan. I tried random alley hole-in-the-wall shops, mini shops that roasted their own beans, and even speak-easy like coffee shops that served their coffee in fine china. I planned none of these stops and went with whatever I stumble into or quickly found on Google maps and tabelog. I found these mostly while strolling around. It helped that I had coffee two or three times a day.

    To see Mt Fuji, I recommend keeping the day trip open, unless the forecast says that it will be sunny the whole week. I booked my bus to Kawaguchiko the night before the clearest day of the week when I was in Tokyo. I took the bus the next morning. I did meet someone that took the bus/train the night before the clearest day. He got great shots of the pagoda the next morning. Knowing that now, I would have also tried to go that night instead and stayed in some random hostel/inn to catch the sunrise at the pagoda.

    For Fushimi Inari, maybe look into going an hour before sunset. The crowd wasn’t bad when you’re past a certain point. The lookout area faces West, so you would be watching the sunset. It was chill to just sit there and watch as the sun goes down.

    For Osaka, I recommend adding late-night people watching in Amerikamura. There’s a convenient store across the street where you can buy drinks/snacks. Buy extra so you can share some to strangers that you make friends with. Locals and visitors in that park were very friendly the nights I were there. It was also fun to watch them do fun stuff on skateboards.

23. Sounds like a nice itinerary. Couple of off script suggestions below:

    Nunobiki Gardens in Kobe is worth a day trip from Osaka if you like cable cars. Beautiful gardens and views over the bay, and really unique feel to the place.

    Also you mentioned coffee, this place really stuck in my mind from visiting Kyoto. Don’t know what it was about the place but it was really peaceful, friendly and had delicious coffee and cakes:

    Kissa Inon: https://maps.app.goo.gl/yuRTci5VJTGaeQvj9

24. The best views of Mt. Fuji are in the early morning before clouds come in and cover the view of the summit so I’d definitely recommend staying the night in the Fuji Five Lakes area. It’d be a nice break from the cities and you could spring for a hotel with an onsen too if you’d like.

    We recently took an overnight trip to Fuji Five Lakes and really enjoyed our afternoon/evening, overnight stay, and next morning there. I’d also highly recommend adding in the nearby Oshino Hakkai area for their cherry blossoms too if you do the overnight.

    – [Trip Report on Fuji Five Lakes Cherry Blossoms ](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/moqcwv/cherry_blossoms_in_fuji_five_lakes_dayovernight/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)

    Edit To Add: There are also some great coffee shops in Kichijoji where the Ghibli Museum is. I second the other persons comment who said you should enjoy the museum, Inokashira Park (beautiful both in cherry blossom season and fall), coffee/restaurants in Kichijoji and then head to Nakano Broadway for anime/manga area that is in an indoor retro shopping street/building. I like Nakano better than Akihabara as it’s less overwhelming.

    Kichijoji and Nakano Broadway are both on the JR Chuo Line so easy to do on the same day.

    – [Kichijoji Coffee Shops Recommended by Locals ](https://www.tokyoweekender.com/2020/09/the-6-best-kichijoji-coffee-shops-as-recommended-by-locals/)
    – [Kichioji: A Guide to Tokyo’s Most Livable Neighborhood](https://savvytokyo.com/kichijoji-guide/)
    – [Inokashira Park: Cherry Blossoms](https://jw-webmagazine.com/best-sakura-spots-in-tokyo-vol8-inokashira-park-acd411adc14f/)
    – [Outer Tokyo’s Best Fall Leaves ](https://allabout-japan.com/en/article/408/)
    – [Guide to Nakano Broadway ](https://www.tsunagujapan.com/nakano-broadway-a-collectors-paradise/)

25. Is there a way you can add maybe 3-7 days to your trip I feel like a lot of things in your plan is very jammed packed and you won’t be able to explore all of it. Based on past comments I have to agree that it’s jammed packed

26. Tsukiji can be visited early in the morning.

    Osaka aquarium is very well done and takes only about 2 hours. I went around 6pm.

    Personally I’d spend more days in Kyoto and less in Osaka. Dotonbori for me is a nighttime experience.

    I always recommend the JR train museum in Kyoto for people interested in rail travel/history.

27. Little Nap Coffee in Shinjuku!

28. Sounds amazing! One of my regrets from a recent Japan trip was not taking enough videos. It may not seem like a big deal at the time, but looking back you’ll be able to re-experience the feeling of being in Japan through videos. Have fun!

29. It’s gonna be hard to hit that many places even in himeji. Traveling eats up time too.