Hi all, we are planning a trip to Japan end of March 2023 for 22 days. We are planning on buying a 21-day JR pass but wondering if we can optimise the itinerary instead since we are there for 22 days in total.
We are an older couple in our 60’s and will be travelling with our daughter in her 40’s. This is our first trip to Japan, however our daughter’s third. She has come up with this itinerary but we want some opinions on whether this is feasible or if it can be improved, she also has limited memory of her previous trips. We are flexible on the itinerary as we are yet to book our stay. We would like to stay in a mix of accommodations to experience them, except for capsule hotel.
Things we would like to see are Cherry Blossoms, Sumo Wrestling (doesn’t seem like there are any matches when we visit), enjoy the Bullet Trains and experience authentic Japanese culture. I would like to experience Sake and Japanese Whisky. We are interested in Samurais, Ninjas. We have also allocated some time for shopping towards the end of our trip.
Things we are not keen on is going to any theme parks or museums, anything that requires too much physical exertion like long steep hikes. We also do not want to go to too many temples/shrines.
In terms of food – we are not foodies and I’m the only one in the travelling party that has no dietary restrictions. My wife and daughter will only eat Chicken (no seafood too).
Day 1 – 29 March – arrive Narita Airport – 6:05pm
Transfer with NRT express or Skyliner.
Just head to hotel, have dinner locally and sleep.
Question: Where to stay? Our daughter has previously stayed in the Shinjuku area although not sure if it’s the best option for us.
Day 2 – 30 March – wake up at leisure to recover from travel/jet lag. Start day around 9/10 am. Activate JR pass if we get the 21-day pass.
Not quite sure if this is the best way to start the trip – open to suggestions.
Take train to Kawagoe, explore Kitain temple, Warehouse district to enjoy the Edo period style village.
Or
Take train to Kamakura, go to Hasedara temple and Great Buddha.
Day 3 – 31 March – Go to Asakusa, Walk to Sensoji temple from Kaminarimon gate and via Nakamise Dori, enjoy the food stalls.
Head to Sumida River Boat ride and go to Hima Rikyu Garden.
Then go to Shiodome station to take the Yurikamome elevated train to Odaiba.
This is how my daughter had visited those places, not sure if Odaiba would be worth the trip. Is there anything there worth exploring? She mentions Rainbow Bridge, Statue of Liberty and feeling like it was a look into a futuristic side of Japan coz she saw some talking life-like robot.
Visiting TeamLab Planets is an option at this point.
We are going to skip Tokyo Skytree for the views from the Metropolitan Building in Shinjuku.
Day 4 – 1 April – Saturday – Spend day exploring Yoyogi park, Meiji shrine, Harajuku and Shibuya.
Day 5 – 2 April – Sunday – Leave at 6/7am to get train to Shin-Osaka and then from Namba use the Koyasan World Heritage Ticket to reach Koyasan around noon. Check into a Shukubo (temple lodging). Visit Okunoin temple, Daimon gate. If time permits, Garan and Kongobuji temple. Enjoy Shojin Ryori dinner at the Shukubo (something my daughter raves about).
Day 6 – 3 April – Attend early morning prayer at Shukubo, enjoy Shojin Ryori breakfast, explore Shukubo grounds.
This is where we are not sure if it makes sense:
Depart around 10 am for Nara using a combo of the Koyasan World Heritage ticket and JR Pass, spend time exploring Nara (Todai-ji and Deers at Nara Park) and return to Kyoto for the night.
Day 7 – 4 April – Visit Kiyomizudera Temple, Yasaka Pagoda/ Hokan-Ji Temple, Gion in the afternoon/early evening. Pontocho Alley. Enjoy the show at Gion Corner.
Day 8 – 5 April – Go to Fushimi Inari Shrine, Nishiki Market
Day 9 – 6 April – Go to Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Tenryuji Temple, Kinkaku-ji Golden Temple
Should we add another day to Kyoto? (Niko castle, Menbakaichida Fire Ramen – Lunch, do the dress up as a local thing, Ishibe-Koji Alley). We are not sure if these are worth adding another day in Kyoto.
Day 10 – 7 April – Early morning – Take train to Hiroshima – ferry to Miyajima, stay at Miyajima
We are skipping Himeji castle, my second daughter (not travelling with us) was quite critical of this stop when she had visited. We also are not keen on climbing steep ladders inside the castle.
Day 11 – 8 April – Saturday – Miyajima to Hiroshima, explore Hiroshima (Peace Park, Atomic Bomb Dome), depart for Osaka. Stay at Osaka.
Day 12 – 9 April – Sunday – Visit Cup Noodle museum. Dotonbori. Stay at Osaka.
Day 13 – 10 April – My wife’s birthday – we want to celebrate it doing something special and little travel or time in transfers, open to suggestions as our current itinerary has us travelling a lot on this day.
From Osaka depart for Iga-Ueno. Visit the Iga Ninja Museum. Watch Ninja show (will check to ensure timing). Depart for Takayama. Stay at Takayama (late arrival).
Our daughter had been to Kanazawa (and saw Ninja show there) and felt like this was a better option to see the Ninja show at Iga Ueno and travel to Takayama. We are open to suggestions on how we can make this better.
Initial thought was to stay at Nagoya for the night and visit the Toyota Factory tour next day however they are closed for tours at the time of planning so we are pressing through to Takayama instead.
Day 14 – 11 April – Take bus to Shirakawa-go, spend morning exploring the village. Return to Takayama to enjoy the afternoon and evening in town, enjoy Sake tasting in Sanmachi Suji. Stay at Takayama.
We had intended to stay the night at Shirakawa-go but didn’t want to move hotels too often.
Day 15 – 12 April – From Takayama travel to Hakone. This seems like a very long day of travelling. Open to suggestions on how to make the most of this part of the itinerary. We would also love to go to Lake Kawaguchiko but think it’s complicated to get there from Takayama, we’d be happy to spend 2 nights and 1 day at Hakone if we could add Lake Kawaguchiko.
Day 16 – 13 April – Visit the Hakone Open Air Museum, Gora Park, enjoy onsen at our accommodation.
Day 17 – 14 April – Do the Hakone loop – Tozan cable car – Ropeway – Owakudani (black egg), Pirate Boat on Lake Ashi.
Day 18 – 15 April – Saturday – From Hakone travel to Gotemba for shopping at Premium Outlets- return to Tokyo.
Again, not sure where to stay in Tokyo for the last leg of our trip. Should we be considering Shinjuku again?
Day 19 – 16 April – Sunday – Explore parts of Tokyo we didn’t earlier – Ginza, Akhibara
Day 20 – 17 April – Spend time in Shinjuku – Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, general shopping, evening at Golden Gai
Day 21 – 18 April – Shopping day/Rest day. Visit Origami Kaikan if workshop is available and see Sumo practice at a stable if available (both currently closed due to COVID).
Day 22 – 19 April – Last day, mostly stay locally and finish packing. Leave for NRT airport for 5 pm check in – Transfer with NRT express or Skyliner (depending on pass).
This is what we’ve come up with so far, really keen on getting the collective thoughts of others to refine this. Thanks a lot!
2 comments
> Question: Where to stay? Our daughter has previously stayed in the Shinjuku area although not sure if it’s the best option for us.
It depends on the area of Shinjuku if its on the west side the same area as the Hyatt it should okay. If its on the east side like around the Kabukicho area it can get pretty rowdy. Alternatives areas would that would be go would be Shiodome, Ginza (somewhere near Yurakucho station or south towards Tsukiji), Tokyo Station, and Nihonbashi.
> Activate JR pass if we get the 21-day pass.
I’d only activate JR Pass when you plan to leave Tokyo and only get one that would cover all your long distance train travel. Tokyo is better served using a Suica/Pasmo IC card.
> This is how my daughter had visited those places, not sure if Odaiba would be worth the trip. Is there anything there worth exploring?
The views of the Tokyo Skyline a very pretty from Odaiba. Other than that there are mainly large malls connected by elevated pedestrian walkways. The neighborhood does have futuristic vibe to it, but if you don’t see value in that then there is probably better places to spend your time.
> Day 8 – 5 April – Go to Fushimi Inari Shrine
Just be warned that this shrine is built on the side of a mountain and is basically a long meandering path to the summit. You don’t have to go up all the way to get a good experience of all the gates. Also Gion is quite hilly in some areas.
> We would also love to go to Lake Kawaguchiko but think it’s complicated to get there from Takayama, we’d be happy to spend 2 nights and 1 day at Hakone if we could add Lake Kawaguchiko.
Its also not that easy to get to Kawaguchiko from Hakone. Your best bet would be to take a day trip from Tokyo the fuji five lakes region. Its about a 2 hour train trip.
For Cherry blossom viewing you will want to be a little flexible in your itinerary plans. Blooming only last about 2 weeks. Some popular areas to see cherry blossoms in Tokyo are Shinjuku Goen, Imperial Palace, Sumida River, Meguro, there are of course many more.
14 days pass only, you want to end it the day you reach Hakone. Hakone you can use the free pass and have the option of the Romancecar to Tokyo. Even if you were to use the Narita express, the Shinkansen from Odawara to Tokyo and some local JR train in Tokyo, I do not think it would get to the point you would save money with the extra 7 days of pass.