17 day Itenary october/november 2022 (Osaka-Hiroshima-Kyoto-Tokyo)

20 comments

1. What airport are you landing in?
   I would also recommend the Osaka Castle

2. The trick is that you should always be flexible in your planning. If you try to do everything at all cost, you might get exhausted and rush things. Just make priorities and drop things if you see you do not have time for everything. Also keep in mind what time things close, for example, day 16, you might be able to end the day around Tokyo Tower, but Hamarikyu close around 5pm if I remember correctly, so depending how long it took to do other things, you might not be able to go, especially if you plan it as the last thing in the day.

   You should actually check not only the opening hours but also if there is day things are close, like Shinjuku Gyoen is closed on Monday, so you might have to move some days around in case that you have conflicts like that.

   If you are to only do 1 day in Hiroshima, you might as well just do it as a day trip from Osaka and not change hotel. It is doable, but really full day. You want to start early and go direct to Miyajima, if you want to go up Mount Misen, you only have time if you use the ropeway. Lunch in Miyajima then go to Hiroshima peace museum. You might have a bit of time left before 5 pm, by then you can go toward downtown area and get dinner before returning to Osaka. Think that if you do your actual plan, you will have to carry your luggage all day (unless you plan to leave it at Hiroshima station and return there before going to Miyajima, instead of taking the tram from the museum to Miyajima).

   If you really want to stay for the night, then I would recommend to use the first day for Miyajima only then next day Hiroshima city only and go to Kyoto at the end of the second day. And if you do not want to bother with luggage, just bring one change of cloth and use a forward service to send luggage from Osaka to Kyoto.

   Day 8 I would say you might not have time to go all the way to Kinkakuji before it close.

3. In Kobe, you can visit the Kirin brewery and do a tasting. Free of charge. Free shuttle bus to the nearest train station.

4. Koyasan is really not viable as a day trip imo. It takes a long time to get there and the real gem is experiencing an overnight stay in an ancient temple, eating shojin ryori, waking up early in the morning to view the chanting and fire ceremonies, and walking through Okunoin cemetery. You are really missing out on this quintessential experience if you choose to do Koyasan only as a day trip so if you want to add it, I would do an overnight stay there.

5. For Hiroshima I think you’ll need more than a day to do everything on your list. Mount Misen is like half a day by itself with all the trails and things to see. There is also itskushima shrine and the shopping street near by which is probably another half day there.

   For Tokyo, if you’re doing a private tour do you already know the itinerary? If it is highlights some of the places you’ve listed on following days may already be covered.

6. Might want to rethink your Hiroshima day as there may not be enough time.

   Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Hiroshima station is 1.5 to almost 2 hours (and this doesn’t take into account checking out of hotel and getting to Shin-Osaka which could take some time depending on where you are staying. Then it is 30 minutes to Miyajimaguchi station and another 10 minutes by ferry to the island.

   The A-bomb dome and peace park/museum are not next to Hiroshima station so that is 15 minutes by tram each way as well. You will also probably want to spend at least 2 hours here at a minimum unless you just run through everything (the museum is quite extensive and the peace park has many smaller monuments to check out). The hypocenter is close by as well if you want to see the exact point the bomb exploded above.

   Miyajima itself you have to factor in hotel check-in as well as times when things are open (stuff starts closing around 4-5 PM–the Mt Misen Observatory closes at 4 PM for example, and the ropeway is open until 5). I was there early Oct 2017 and it was already getting dark by 6 PM.

   Another thing to consider is that there may be a long line to use the ropeway (I waited almost an hour on the ride up) and the hike itself is around an hour each way.

   An extremely packed schedule (asuming no down time between transit which there can be some) would look like

   6AM Check out and get to

   7AM Shin-Osaka shinkansen to

   9AM Hiroshima (and put stuff in locker) and tram to

   9:30 A-Bomb Dome and Peace Park

   11:30 Lunch and tram to

   12:30PM Hiroshima Station train and ferry to

   1:30PM Miyajima

   ??? Check in, Itsukushima, Mt Misen, etc.

   6PM Dusk

   And that is only 2 hours for Hiroshima and at most 4 hours for Miyajima.

   Also keep in mind getting to Kyoto–ferry back to Miyajimaguchi (10 min), train to Hiroshima (30 min), Shinkansen to Kyoto (2 hours) and the time inbetween each transport. Nijo Castle and Daitoku-ji both close at 4PM and are 30 minutes apart by bus.

7. Hey, that itenary is looking mighty fine!

   Personally, I would skip Kamakura for an extra day in Tokyo. But then again, I love Tokyo, so I may be biased. ^^

   We spent a long time at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and the museum, so as someone else already mentioned, maybe consider an extra day in Hiroshima. It is quite a lot to take in. It’s also a very nice city!

   A tip for Tokyo: Try planning your Akihabara visit on a sunday if possible. They close down the main street in that district on sundays and it becomes a pedestrian only zone. Quite spectacular to walk in the middle of the street in between all those tall buildings. 😀

   Also: Mister Donut!

   Also 2: Denny’s for breakfast! Order the french toast and think of me. :’) Mmm

   Also 3: Take me with you, it would just be easier! And I’m from Belgium too, really, it’s no problem for me, I live to serve! <3 😀

   &#x200B;

   Enjoy every second of your time in Japan. And please, report back to us on your trip! 🙂

8. Day 8 – Kinkakuji isn’t in the Higashiyama district. It’s actually on the other side of the city in the northwest corner. If you’re dead set on seeing it, it’s probably best paired with Arashiyama. The only problem is that both Kinkakuji and Arashiyama can get very crowded, so they’re best visited early in the morning. So if you’re doing both on the same day, you’ll need to decide which one you want to experience with low crowds.

9. 1. If you want to limit changing the hotels – the advice would be to start on day 1 with Hiroshima/Miyajima and use a single hotel in Osaka for whole Kansai leg.
   2. It would probably be better to combine Rikugien, Nezu Shrine, Yanaka Cemetery with Ueno Park and shopping and Akihabara (if you are walking at least you can walk through Yanaka Ginza and Ameya Yokocho), then walk a lot over different parts of the city. In fact it would be better to combine Hamarikyu Gardens and Tokyo Tower/Zojoji with activities in Odaiba (unless you are set on combining Asakusa with Odaiba with Sumida River Cruise).

10. I’d definitely recommend spending more time in Hiroshima, the city is extremely charming!

11. Fushimi Inari is amazing. Highlight of our trip there!

12. I found a web app that really helped up plan both my Japan trips was Inspirock. It helped a lot with figuring out timing for things and for travel. While we would “pack the day” with things. We always had 2 things we ABSOLOUTELY had to do and if we got other things done from that day we looked at it as a bonus. This way we weren’t rushing the whole time.

    Another thing is Temples close quite early. (4pm sometimes) so you will want to check on that.
    You may want to change your trip around where you hit up Osaka and Kyoto at the same time, but there is about a 45min travel time between them. But it may be easier travel-wise to do. Osaka > Kyoto > Hiroshima x2 days > Tokyo (I personally would take a day out of your Tokyo timeline for Hiroshima)

13. If the timing would work, I’d consider going direct to Hiroshima after landing.

    On the return you might decide to stay in Kyoto. From there a day trip to Nara is easy as is one day in Osaka for the aquarium. That assume that the Koyosan day trip is skipped as it’s not really good for a single day.

    In any case, plan on being flexible as to weather and how you feel. October can be rainy.

14. A couple of suggestions for you as I did a similar trip a few years ago.

    1. Stay overnight in a template in Koyasan, I had a great experience there
    2. Stay overnight in Miyajima if you can, it’s really beautiful at night after the last ferry leaves
    3. Make sure to visit a bar called Koba in Hiroshima, I had the time of my life there. The owner is one of the funniest human beings on earth.

15. I did a similar trip, Osaka (2 nights) – Nara (1 night) – Hiroshima (2 nights) – Kyoto (3 nights) and then Tokyo (4 nights). Consider also doing a day trip to Miyajima from Hiroshima, but this would require you stay more than one night at Hiroshima. From what I’ve seen at Miyajima, you’re better off at Hiroshima since more stuff to do.

    This gave me the most use of the JR Pass as you can use it on JR ferry from Hiroshima to Miyajima, and also can use the Loop Bus at Hiroshima. I did a day trip from Tokyo to Nikko and a day trip from Kyoto to Himeji using the JR Pass.

    I also did a stopover from Kyoto to Tokyo at Kobe to try the Kobe beef.

    Not sure about beer since not a beer drinker.

16. If you schedule your trip for mid-to-late November you will overlap with the autumn leaves illuminations at many temples and gardens. This is nice as a) most temples/gardens close at about 5:00 pm but during the illuminations they are open til ~ 9:00 pm and b) if you are starting to get ‘templed out’ seeing them lit up at night is a completely different/new experience.

    I wrote a recent trip report on autumn leaves illuminations we saw the last week in November in Kyoto but there are similar illuminations in Tokyo too.

    – [Trip Report: Autumn Leaves Illuminations in Kyoto ](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/mjt5yf/kyoto_autumn_night_illuminations_at_temples_and/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)

    – [5 Best Places to See Autumn Illuminations in Tokyo ](https://jw-webmagazine.com/best-places-to-see-autumn-leaves-in-tokyo-at-night/)

    – [Autumn in Tokyo: 16 Best Places for Fall Leaves ](https://livejapan.com/en/article-a0000567/)

    Just Google Fall Leaves Japan + Year of Travel in late summer to check what the dates of peak leaves are looking like for that year. The fall leaves forecast is usually updated every couple of weeks as it varies a bit based on weather but typically in Kyoto and Tokyo it’s best in mid to late November. Be aware Oct 11, Nov 3, and Nov 23rd are all public holidays in Japan so those dates and if the holiday falls on a Monday or Friday, the long weekend will be very busy/crowded at tourist spots due to increased numbers of domestic tourists. See [public holidays in Japan ](https://matcha-jp.com/en/3662) for more details. This page will be updated with 2022 dates as we get closer to the end of 2021.

17. In terms of the Tokyo Guided Tour Day, have you considered just using the Hop on Hop Off Bus? That will take you on a loop around to many key sites and you can just get on/off as you like. It’s a nice way to get oriented to the city a bit and a bit more relaxed than rushing around via subways as you’ll probably be tired by the time you get to Tokyo after visiting Osaka, Kyoto, and Hiroshima. There are similar sightseeing buses in other cities too but it may not be worth it to use these everywhere you go.

    The Hiroshima one is quite convenient to get to all the key sites especially if you are only doing a day trip there. The Kyoto one might be helpful on as then you don’t have to rely on the public buses which can get very crowded but it kinda depends on which areas you want to see. I find it best in Kyoto to go to one district/neighborhood in the morning and visit your must-see site as early as possible then walk to the other nearby places/shopping in that area as you might stumble upon less popular places that are also much less crowded. Then, head to a different district in the afternoon or the next day. Kyoto is so spread out that you’ll save a lot of time by lumping your sightseeing by district so you aren’t criss-crossing the city to see only the most popular sites.

    – [Tokyo Sky Hop Bus ](https://skyhopbus.com)

    – [Kyoto Hop on Hop Off Bus ](https://skyhopbus.com/kyoto/)

    – [Inside Kyoto: Kyoto Districts ](https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-districts)

    – [Inside Kyoto: Kyoto Itineraries ](https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-itineraries)

    – [Osaka Sightseeing Buses ](https://livejapan.com/en/in-kansai/in-pref-osaka/in-umeda_osaka-station_kitashinchi/article-a2000475/)

    – [Hiroshima Sightseeing Loop Bus ](https://www.hiroshima-navi.or.jp/en/information/loopbus/)

18. If you want to see Hiroshima at all, stay an extra day. Miyajima is very quiet at night but to me that’s part of the charm. See a couple of shrines, eat some street food, climb Mt Misen, have a long bath and then something to eat at your ryokan, then go out for a wander in your Yukata and enjoy the peace and the city lights across the bay, maybe a nightcap with the locals. That’s a whole day though.

    If you’re going to Shinsekai in Osaka, go at night and find a place to have dinner. It’s way better all lit up, still cool during the day but a different (weirdly seedier) vibe.

19. can we even travel to japan? the april notice makes it look like we cant….

20. This is extremely helpful! We just booked our trip to Japan and Korea from November 13 – December 3. Osaka/Kyoto and Tokyo are our must stops. I’m about to dissect your whole thread. Thank you!!!