Itinerary check – 13 days Kyoto/Koyasan/Osaka/Fujikawaguchiko/Tokyo

Konichiwa!

My wife (30) and I (34) will be visiting Japan from 21 April to 3 May for our honeymoon and made an itinerary based on our research from Google and Youtube. We want to explore the Japanese cities to experience the cool and unique stuff only to be seen in Japan and at the same time have a romantic getaway. Our idea is that in the cities we want to do/experience a lot and in Koyasan and Fujikawaguchiko we take it more slowly. We’re big Nintendo fans so Super Nintendo World and the official Nintendo stores are must-sees.

We already booked the flights and hotels so we can not change our schedule (we are aware we travel during the golden week), but are looking for feedback on our plans with regards to time management, peak hours and suggestions for places to see in the different cities we’re visiting (and places to avoid/that are overrated). Below the itinerary we also have some specific questions we hope you can help us with 🙂

A few remarks upfront: we decided to travel from Osaka airport to Kyoto on day 1 so we can visit Universal studios on a weekday (Wednesday). And the activities in *italic* we should probably make reservations for. With regards to food/restaurants we just added some general ideas/restaurants per city we saw in video’s (other suggestions are welcome!).

**#1 Friday 21 April: Osaka – Kyoto**

* Late afternoon: Arrival in Osaka airport
* Evening: *Travel to hotel in Kyoto*

**#2 Saturday 22 April: Kyoto**

* (Early morning): Fushimi Inari Shrine
* Morning/afternoon: Kiyomizu-Dera temple, Hokan-ji Pagoda, Yasui-kompira-gu Shrine & Yasaka Shrine
* Afternoon: Nanzen-Ji Temple & Eikan-Do Temple
* Evening: Ninenzaka, Sannenzaka, Hanami-Koji, Nishiki market & Pontoncho

**#3 Sunday 23 April: Kyoto**

* (Early morning): Bamboo Forest, Tenryu-ji Temple
* Morning/afternoon: Senkoji Temple, *Iwatayama Monkey Park*
* Afternoon: Kinkaku-Ji Temple
* Evening: Ninenzaka, Sannenzaka, Hanami-Koji, Nishiki market & Pontoncho

**Kyoto food/restaurants:** Kimura Fresh fish, Pass the baton, Kagizen Yoshifusa, Steak & Wine, Yakinku Hiro, Ramen Sen No Kaze, Hachidaime Gihey, Gion karyo

**#4 Monday 24 April: Kyoto – Koyasan**

* Morning/afternoon: *Travel from Kyoto to Koyasan*
* Afternoon: Explore Koyasan
* Evening: *Cemetery tour*

**#5 Tuesday 25 April: Koyasan – Osaka**

* Morning/afternoon: Morning ceremony & explore koyasan
* Afternoon/evening: *Travel from Koyasan to Osaka*

**Koyasan food/restaurants:** Included in hotel/temple stay

**#6 Wednesday 26 April: Osaka**

* Daytime: *Universal studios (Nintendo world!)*
* Evening: Umeda Sky building

**#7 Thursday 27 April: Osaka**

* Morning: Namba Shrine & Shinsekai exploration
* Afternoon: Osaka Castle
* Evening: *Teamlab Botanical Garden* & Dotonbori exploration ((board)game bars)

**Osaka food/restaurants:** Takoyaki, Okonomiyaki @ Fukutaro, Fugu, Naruto Taiyaki Hompo, Cheese tart by Pablo, Kushikatsu

**#8 Friday 28 April: Osaka – Fujikawaguchiko**

* Morning/afternoon: *Travel from Osaka – Fujikawaguchiko*
* Evening: Relax in hotel/Onsen

**#9 Saturday 29 April: Fujikawaguchiko**

* Morning: Mount Fuji sightseeing (Chureito Pagoda)
* Afternoon: Mount Fuji Panoramic Ropeway
* Evening: Relax in hotel/Onsen

**#10 Sunday 30 April: Fujikawaguchiko – Tokyo**

* Morning/afternoon: *Travel from Fujikawaguchiko – Tokyo*
* Afternoon/Evening: Izakaya alley

**Fujikawaguchiko food/restaurants:** Hotel?

**#11 Monday 1 May: Tokyo**

* Morning: Shibuya exploration, Shibuya Crossing, Shibuya Sky, Parco Mall (Nintendo and Pokemon Store)
* Afternoon: *Go-kart* & Explore Harajuku (fun stores, snacks)
* Evening: Tokyo Tower

**#12 Tuesday 2 May: Tokyo**

* Morning: *Teamlab Planets,* *Unko museum*
* Afternoon: Explore Akihabara; Super potato, Mandarake, Yodobashi Camera, Chuo Dori, Yellow submarine, Radio centre
* Evening: ?

**#13 Tuesday 3 May: Tokyo**

* Morning: Shinjuku national garden
* Afternoon: Royal Palace
* Evening: *Travel to airport for departure*

**Tokyo food/restaurants:** Happy Pancake, Kura Sashi, Wagyu beef at Hakushu, *2D Cafe*, Kirby cafe

Specific questions:

1. Everywhere we read that the JR pass will save you a lot of money, with some exceptions. We think we are one of those exceptions because we will not do a roundtrip. Using IC-cards in cities and one-way tickets appear to be cheaper for our journey (we also used these JR pass calculators and they state the same). We just wanted to check, because it feels odd because everywhere it says use the JR pass. Please correct us if we’re wrong 🙂
2. In Osaka we saw a lot of video’s on the streetfood. Would you recommend doing a street food tour or is it easy enough to just do your own ‘tour’ and order street food on the fly?
3. Do you expect it to be (extra) busy at Fujikawaguchiko because of the golden week? Our is it mainly more busy in the cities?
4. We are in Tokyo during the Golden week, are certain days (monday/tuesday/wednesday) expected to be more busy than others? So we can better decide which day to visit Teamlab Planets for example (currently it is planned on Tuesday).
5. Will there be any special events during golden week in Tokyo worth visiting as a tourist?
6. We know public transport is great in Japan, but what about Uber and/or rental bikes? We hear very different stories (e.g. rental bikes are easy to use vs. rental bikes are a hassle because it is very hard to park).
7. How is the mobile connection in more remote places like Koyasan and Fujikawaguchiko? We saw tips to use mobile wifi units, will they also work in remote places?

Lot of info, but hope you can provide is with some nice tips and advise. Your input is really appreciated, thanks!