Hello! Looking for some advice on our 14 day Japan itinerary, namely the following queries:
What do I need to pre-book tickets for?
Based on the cities we will be in, is 14 day JR pass best or would 7 day do?
What are some of the attractions we have missed off our list?
Which attractions are close to each other that we should keep them sequential/on the same day?
Please send me your specific must visit restaurant and eatery suggestions.
I like to shop, eat, feel the bustle of a city and see some tourist atractions.
Our rough itinerary is as follows. I really hate trip planning – it just doesn’t come naturally to me! Thanks for your suggestions.
Tokyo (staying in Shinjuku)
Day 1 – Shibuya Crossing, Shibuya Sky, Gyukatsu Motomura
Day 2 – Golden Gai dinner
Day 3 (Sat)- Tsukuji Market, Yoyogi park, Harajuku
Day 4 (Sun) – Team Planet Lab, Omoiode Yokocho
Osaka (staying in Naniwa Ward)
Day 5 – Osaka Castle, Dotonbori neighbourhood, Tempozan Ferris Wheel
Day 6 – Universal Studios
Day 7 – teamLab Botanical Garden Osaka, Kaiyukan Aquarium, Shinsekai, Kuromon Market or Kuromon Ichiba
Day 8 – day trip to Nara
Day 9 – Fukuoka? Cycle Osaka bike tour, Namba Yasaka Shrine (lion shrine), Japanese Tea Ceremony Workshop
Kyoto (staying in Shimogyo Ward)
Day 10 (Sat) – Fushimi Inari Taisha, Nishiki Markets, Higashiyama Area, Kiyomizu-Dera, Gion Corner
Day 11 (Sun) – Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Iwatayama Monkey Park, Kinkaku-ji (Golden Temple), Ginkaku-ji (Silver Temple), Philosophers Path, Potoncho Area
Tokyo (staying in Ripongi)
Day 12 – Mario Carts
Day 13 – Ueno Zoo
Day 14 – ???
4 comments
If you take one, it should be 7 days from day 5 to 11, especially if you do a daytrip to Fukuoka…. but you just named things in Osaka. Just considering the distance, I would not especially go to Fukuoka for a day. Would consider an extra day in Kyoto instead of that. Using a JR Pass for local train around Tokyo youd be a total waste of money. Instead just get an IC card to make payment easier.
No pass is also an option if you don’t do Fukuoka. There is little to no savings to be made and you could just use the faster Nozomi shinkansen and just use whatever train make more sense like using Kintetesu to Nara.
I found ueno zoo depressing and boring. Unless there’s some specific animal you want to see i’d skip it.
Tokyo:
harajuku is connected to shibuya, and yoyogi park so those should all be done together in an afternoon.
tsukiji really isn’t worth it IMO, it’s a very small market of 2 alleys about 100m long each.
Osaka:
Dotonbori,Shisekai and kuromon market are all in the same general area and should be done together it’s an easy walk.
Fukuoka i WAAAAYYY to far away for a day trip.
Kyoto:
Nishiki market is skippable, you’ll already have been to Kuromon market in osaka which is far superior, most of nishiki is just your run of the mill mall you’d find anywhere else on earth.
Iwatayama Monkey Park is a pretty shitty hike up the mountain to be honest. if it’s raining or muddy skip it.
please don’t do the fucking go carts in the city. it’s dangerous and a nuisance.
the zoo is sad, skip it unless you want to be sad also.
If you hate planning so much, why not just adapt someone else’s 14 day itinerary from here and adapt it.
try – [https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/10ljf83/itinerary_check_to_big_3_tokyo_osaka_kyoto_for/](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/10ljf83/itinerary_check_to_big_3_tokyo_osaka_kyoto_for/)