Hi everyone,
My girlfriend and I are planning a trip to Japan in early May, and we’d appreciate your thoughts on this itinerary. We’ve both been before but are trying out a few new places. We usually start our days pretty early at 7:30am, especially for the day trips, but some days might still be a little too cramped. Suggestions welcome!
Reposting to get some additional opinions, hope that’s allowed.
Thanks for looking!
**Day 1 – Tokyo**
* Arrival Approx 2pm. Sorting out pocket wi-fi, sim, JR pass.
* Train from HND to Akihabara hotel
* Shibuya Pokemon Centre
* Shibuya Sky. Dinner at Shibuya Scramble
**Day 2 – Tokyo**
* Pokemon Cafe, early reservation
* Train to Ashikaga Flower Park, stay till 7-8pm
* Train back to Akihabara
**Day 3 – Kawaguchiko**
* Store luggage at Akihabara hotel, bring only a mid-sized duffel bag of clothes and essentials
* Direct bus from Akihabara Station to Fuji Q Highland Station? (7:30am to 9:15am)
* Drop luggage off at hotel (Highland Resort)
* Arakuyama Sengen Park + Chureito Pagoda
* Oshino Hakkai
* Yamanakako Hananomiyako Park
**Day 4 – Kawaguchiko**
* Check out, leave bags at hotel
* Fuji Q theme park
* Check-in to ryokan hotel
**Day 5 – Kawaguchiko/Tokyo**
* Check out of ryokan hotel
* Shibazakura Festival via Shibazakura Liner bus
* Head back to Tokyo after, leaving at approx 12pm, 2.5hrs journey
* Check back in at Akihabara hotel
* Dinner at MoonFlower Sagaya Ginza 7pm
**Day 6 – Tokyo**
* Train and bus to Hitachi Seaside Park, 2.5hrs
* Spend approx 2-3 hrs here, and then another 2.5hrs to get back
* Art Aquarium Ginza
* Ninja Restaurant Akasaka
**Day 7 – Tokyo**
* Tsukiji Outer market
* teamLab Planets
* Joypolis
**Day 8 – Tokyo**
* Ikebukuro + Akihabara shopping for anime goods
* Any suggestions for new stores to check out at these places? I know a few have closed/open since pre-covid
**Day 9 – Tokyo**
* Disney Sea whole day
**Day 10 – Tokyo**
* Sanrio Puroland
* Asakusa and Nakamise Dori
* Harry Potter Cafe in Akasaka
**Day 11 – Nagoya**
* Check out of Akihabara hotel, ship luggage to Osaka with Yamato Transport?
* Travel to Nagoya from Akihabara via shinkansen
* Check in to Nagoya Hotel.
* Nabana no Sato park. 1 hour train ride from Nagoya Station
**Day 12 – Nagoya**
* Check out of Nagoya Hotel
* Ghibli theme park
* Travel to Osaka via shinkansen, collect luggage from Yamato transport, check in to Osaka Airbnb
* Dotonbori
**Day 13 – Osaka**
* Bring mid-sized duffel bag of Kyoto luggage to USJ station, store at luggage lockers located outside the park
* USJ
* Travel to Kyoto from USJ, check in to Kyoto hotel
**Day 14 – Kyoto**
* 6:50am Yasaka Pagoda for photos
* Kishin Kitchen breakfast 7:30am
* Travel by bus to Arashiyama area 1hr journey
* 2hrs at Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and Tenryuji Temple
* Leave at 12pm, train to Kichi Kichi for lunch
* Okazaki Shrine
* Collect luggage and train back to Osaka Airbnb
* teamLab Botanical Gardens 6pm onwards
**Day 15 – Osaka**
* Direct Bus (Kakehashi) from JR Namba Minato-machi Bus Terminal to Nijigen no Mori, 8:10am to 10:15am
* Nijigen no mori theme park
* Last bus back to JR Namba Minato-machi Bus Terminal, 4:40pm to 6:30pm
**Day 16 – Kyoto, Kobe**
* Travel to Kyoto from Osaka, train 7am to 8:30am
* Kiyomizudera
* 10am booking at Kyoto Samurai Experience
* Pokemon Centre Kyoto, leave at 12:30pm
* Travel to Kobe, 1hr15min trains
* Lunch at Mouriya Honten. 2:15pm
* Atoa Aquarium
* Dinner at Ishida 6:30pm
Questions/Concerns
* I’m not sure how luggage transport works as I’ve never used it before. With Yamato transport, I had a look and was hoping to ship from our Akihabara hotel to a convenience store near the Osaka Airbnb, or to their Osaka Minami Office near Kuromon Market. Is this possible?
* I’ve been to Kyoto before but had a harder time navigating as Kyoto seems to be serviced more by buses than trains. Are the timeframes for the Kyoto days reasonable? We had to split it into 2 days as different activities weren’t available all on the one day.
Is a JR pass worth getting? I don’t see us making much use of it. The only shinkansen trips are from Tokyo -> Nagoya and Nagoya -> Osaka.
* Any must-eat, must-see places we’ve missed? All suggestions are welcome.