Hello 🙂
First, some context:
* Travellers: me and my partner (M+F, both 25 y/o, physically well)
* We’re currently on a sabbatical year, and are spending ~5.5 months in Asia
* We generally like to take things slow, it is okay if we do not see absolutely everything
* We’re usually on a budget of 50euro/person/day for ***everything***, but we understand Japan is often expensive and hence we’re willing to go slightly over budget for these 2 weeks
* We fly in to Narita Airport on a red eye flight from Ho Chi Minh Vietnam, landing at 7.40am Japan time (we are already very used to GMT+7, so GMT+9 should not be too much of an adjustment)
* We fly out from Fukuoka at 9am to New Delhi, with a layover in Hanoi
* We’re super excited for Japan but we’re not really Anime fans, or massive videogame fans
* I (25M) have had the opportunity to go skiing three times recently in Europe and I absolutely love it, so if possible I would love to spend a day skiing
* We have bought 2 week JR passes and have received the exchange orders
* This will be our first time in Japan! Currently we know zero Japanese, but we will of course try to brush up on some basic phrases before we go
Layout of post:
* some rationale for decisions taken
* questions organised by day
* itinerary
—
Rationale:
* Skiing in Karuizawa: very close to Tokyo when taking Shinkansen, partner can continue on to Nagano. train station close to ski lifts. I am still a beginner skier so I do not need incredible slopes to have fun.
* Staying 5 nights in Kyoto vs splitting it up between Kyoto/Osaka/Nara: travelling with luggage is extremely tiring and it’s much more convenient to travel light and do day trips. Kyoto/Osaka/Nara/Uji are also not very far from each other. I have also read on this subreddit that Osaka is “fairly skippable”.
* Doing Mt Fuji day trip with tour operator: I have found trying to plan this a bit overwhelming as it seems there are many spots you can go to to see Mt Fuji and also many beautiful spots in the area (Hakone, Aokigahara forests, Fuji 5 lakes, Lava caves, Hakone ropeway). I have also read that organised day trips are also worth it and save you from the hassle of transporting yourself around this area.
—
Questions:
* Day 5: Will it be possible to rent ski trousers (the only cold weather gear I do not have for skiing) along with usual ski equipment in Karuizawa?
* Day 10-12: Do you think the Shimanamikaido cycle route in early March is a bit too ambitious? (too cold, too high a chance of bad weather?)
* Day 14-15: Would you recommend trying to get to Fukuoka earlier to try and explore it? Or is it more worth exploring Hiroshima and arriving in Fukuoka late (essentially seeing none of it due to early flight the next day)?
* Are there any days in this itinerary that are far too busy or too empty? (or days which seem logistically impossible to you?)
—
Itinerary:
Day 1: [25/2/23]
* Arrive in Tokyo
* Exchange JR passes and head to hostel to rest for a short while (in lobby/common area if beds would be unavailable)
* Shibuya intersection
* Imperial gardens
Day 2:
* Nikko day trip (~roughly 2h eachway by train)
* Experience night life in Kabuchiko / Golden Gai back in Tokyo
Day 3:
* Senso-Ji Temple
* Walk along the Sumada river
* Spare time to add things to itinerary / walk around tokyo streets and get lost
Day 4:
* Mt Fuji day trip – We will probably go for one of the cheaper ones of [these tours](https://www.wapititravel.com/blog/en/mt-fuji-tour-from-tokyo/).
* Alternatively if we are really loving Tokyo, we could decide to spend more time in the city and skip the day trip
Day 5:
* I will catch the first train to Karuizawa (~ 1-1.5h train), rent skis/ski poles/boots/helmet as early as possible, and spend till maybe 3/4pm skiing
* My partner is less into skiing, so she will not ski. She has decided she will either stay in Tokyo to continue exploring or head on to Nagano and spend the day there, exploring hot springs and maybe the snow monkey park
* Head back to Tokyo for our last night there
Day 6:
* Take train to Kyoto in the morning , check in to Hotel
* Take it easy, explore Kiyomizu-zara & Kiyomizu-dara
* Pontocho alleys
Day 7:
* Wake up early and see Fushimi-Inari shrine+hike
* Other *possible* temples: higashi hongan-ji, nijo castle, kyoto imperial castle, heijan jingu (might visit some, all, or none depending on how we’re feeling)
Day 8:
* Wake up as early as possible and take first train to Nara (Nara-Koen, Todai-ji Buddhist temple)
* Depending on how we’re feeling, stop at Uji on our way back to Kyoto (Try macha, Byodoin temple, river walk through Uji)
* Back to Kyoto
Day 9:
* Take train to Osaka, visit Dotonburi, explore food (takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and Nankin Machi (china town) in kobe)
* Consider visiting Kaiyukan aquarium
* Take late train back to Kyoto
Day 10:
* Take it easy in Kyoto, visit temples we haven’t seen yet, go to areas we really liked again
* If we’re up for it take short day trip to Arashiyama bamboo forest
Day 11:
* Send luggage to Hotel in Hiroshima
* Take train to Onomishi (~3h)
* Rent bikes from Giant bicycle shop in Onomishi
* Start cycling the Onomishi -> Imabari cycle route (Shimanamikaido)
* Take it easy and slow, and stop to spend the evening somewhere along the islands in Setonaiki national park
Day 12:
* Finish cycling to Imabari, leave bikes there
* Get train (or bus+train) to Hiroshima
* Take it easy in Hiroshima, walk around and explore/get lost
Day 13:
* Miyajima Island / Itsukushima day trip
Day 14:
* Hiroshima Peace memorial park/museum + Atomic bomb dome
* Take late afternoon/evening train to Fukuoka and check in to hostel there for last night in Japan (JR pass expires at the end of day 14)
Day 15:[11/3/23]
* Get to Fukuoka airport by 06:55am to catch flight
—
Thanks in advance! Please feel free to give advice unrelated to my questions!
1 comment
For day 8, there’s at least a full day’s worth of excellent things to see in Nara (just walking around and visiting the main sites in Nara Park takes most of the day), so I’d suggest not planning to go anywhere else that day.
You’ll likely get a good view of Mount Fuji from the train from Tokyo to Kyoto (if the weather is clear-ish), so unless you want to get up close to it in winter for some reason, I wouldn’t bother with that day trip.