Hi /r/JapanTravel!
I’m planning a trip for 4 adults in our 30s/40s to Japan for the coming cherry blossom season (3/18 – 4/9). All first timers to Japan. I’d like to know if this itinerary makes sense. Anything I should consider adding/removing? Particular must-not-miss sights? You’ll notice some of our stops are not super fleshed out. Also one of us is leaving after 2 weeks so we’re trying to prioritize the things she’s most interested in for the first half of the trip. Overall I’m feeling overwhelmed and getting to a point where everything looks the same and it’s hard to make decisions!
Things we’re most interested in:
* Cherry blossoms (fingers crossed!)
* Seeing a good cross-section of different Japanese cultural expressions, sceneries, regions- History and architecture (temples, castles, old buildings…)
* Modern Japanese culture (books/media, cosplay scenes, quintessential Japanese experiences, unusual shopping experiences;Â Â etc)
* Gardens/landscapes/mountains/countryside
* Interested but having a very hard time finding mixed/bathing suit onsen–our group is three women and a guy, and he understandably wants to actually talk to people in the onsen instead of being by himselfvon the men’s side
* Would be nice to know if there are particularly good places for bike tours particularly in the countryside
* We are often not fully utilizing our evenings–what’s there to do at night in the places we’re visiting? Anything that’s specifically worth seeing at night, or that won’t suffer from visiting it late?
Also particular open questions:
* We have a day to spend seeing either Okayama & Kurashiki, or Takayama, or Kanazawa. How should we prioritize? Should we be considering someplace else?
* Are we spending too much time in either Kyoto or Tokyo?One more thing–two of us are vegetarians; any advice about finding food? Because of this, this visit is NOT food oriented.
**Day 0**
* Arrive early evening, sleep off the jetlag
**Day 1 (Tokyo 1)**
* Chiyoda Gardens/Imperial Palace
* Tokyo Station neighborhood (walk around sightseeing)
* Tokyo Tower?
* Kabuki-za Theater
* Hotel New Otani Garden (if blossoms)
* Roppongi Hills skydeck?
**Day 2 (Tokyo 2)**
* Shinjuku station surrounds
* Shinjuku Gyoen (sakura viewing, weather permitting)
* Toshima City area — Ikebukuro shopping, Sunshine City, Maiden’s Road (don’t judge)
* Meguro River Cherry Blossoms Promenade (possibly at night)
**Day 3 (Tokyo 3)**
* Shibuya City area
* (Takeshita Street shopping, Mega Don Quixote, Hachiko statue, etc)
* Meiji Shrine
* Harajuku area (What’s the best time of day to visit?)
**Day 4 (Kyoto 1)**
* Arashiyama Bamboo Forest area
* Arashiyama Monkey Park?
* Gio-ji Temple & Moss Gardens
* Daikakuji Temple
* Teryuji Temple
* Nijo Castle
**Day 5 (Kyoto 2)**
* Kyoto Gyoen
* Kyoto Imperial Palace
* Philosopher’s Walk/Heian Shrine
* Nanjenji
**Day 6 (Kyoto 3)**
* Kiyomizudera
* Yasaka Shrine
* Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine Senbontorii
* Nishi Hongaji & Higashi Honganji/Shosei-en Gardne
* Tofukuji
**Day 7 (Kyoto 4)**
* Nyan-nyan-ji 🙂
* Kurama-dera Temple
* Byodoin (or is this better as a night visit on another day?)
* Maybe a river tour??
Is Lake Biwa worth a visit if you aren’t going to spend a bunch of time hiking/cycling? How about the Azuchi Castle ruins?
**Day 8** **(Kyoto -> Day trip to Himeji Castle)**
* Himeji castle
**Day 9 (Osaka)**
* Osaka Castle
* Gokuraju-jodo Garden
* Shinsekai district walking
* Shitennoji Temple
* Namba walking/shopping
* Hanami at Kema Sakuranomiya Park
* Night: Visit Hozenji Yokocho alley, get some dinner?
* Night: Kucho Tien Observatory? (Worth it?)
**Day 10 (Osaka / Yoshinoyama)**
* Yoshinoyama — advice for best cherry-viewing experiences? Good bus companies etc?
* Are there any structures particularly worth visiting? (Temple pavilions etc)
**Day 11 (Nara (day trip from Kyoto/Osaka))**
* Nara Park & Temple
* Todaiji
* Heijo Palace remains
* Horyu-ji
**Day 12 (Hiroshima 1)**
* Hiroshima Castle
* Peace Park
* Shukkeien
**Day 13 (Hiroshima 2 / Iwakuni)**
* Kintai Bridge
* Floating Torii Miyashima
* Itsukushima Shrine
* Mt Misen (might try a hike?)
**Day 14 (Okayama & Kurashiki ) (OR TAKAYAMA OR KANAZAWA OR…)**
* Okayama Castle
* Shinkyou Bridge
* Cycling tour?
* Kurashiki canals boat tour?
**Day 15 (Japanese Alps 1 / Matsumoto)**
* Matsumoto castle
* Ukiyo-e museum?
* View the nature
* Is it possible to visit e.g. the Kiso Valley without a car?
* Same question for e.g. Kamikochi?
**Day 16 (Japanese Alps 2 / Nagano)**
* View the nature
* Zenko-ji temple
* Hokusai museum?
* Worth visiting Jigokudani Monkey Park in the spring? (This will be first week of April)
* Visit hot springs
**Day 17 (Kawaguchiko/Five Lakes region (day trip from Tokyo))**
* View Mt Fuji from a safe, non-elevated distance
* Chureito Pagoda
* Is the Panoramic Ropeway worth it?
* Any other particularly good viewing points or experiences? Should we be considering Hakone instead?
**Day 18 (Kamakura (day trip from Tokyo))**Question: how long does it take to get around here?
* Great Buddha
* Shopping on Komachi Street
* Hasedera
* Engakuji
* Zuisenji
**Day 19 (Nikko (day trip from Tokyo))**
* Toshogu shrine, Shinkyo bridge, etc.
* Mostly follow day trip itinerary from [https://trulytokyo.com/nikko-day-trip-itinerary/](https://trulytokyo.com/nikko-day-trip-itinerary/)
**Day 20 (Tokyo day 4)**
* Akihabara shopping
* Retro Game Camp
* Any must-see electronics stores?
* Kanda Myoujin Shrine
* Ueno Park
* Ueno Thoshogu Shrine
* Senso-ji and Nakamise-dori
* Walk around Asakusa
**Day 21 (Tokyo day 5)**
* Anything leftover we didn’t get to in the first few days, mostly walking around
* Any neighborhoods we should check out?
2 comments
Some of your days look too full but I need to go and run some errands.
I honestly don’t like any of your options. I would either do Kanazwa or Okayama and Kurashiki. If you do Kanazawa, I would swap out Nagano for the next day and Matsumoto the day after, which is slightly closer for heading to Kawaguchiko.
Kanazawa gives you a long travel day from Hiroshima to Kanazawa. Okayama/Kurashiki give you a long time to Matusmoto the next day.
The only mixed bathing suit onsens I know of are like Yunessun and I think I just saw an Oedo one at near Urayasu. there might be one in Osaka, I am less sure.
For mixed bathing and no bathing suits, Shirahone has one place where women can wear special towels and Gunma has a place where both genders wear special towels. Finally up in Tohoku you could go to Nyuto onsen which has mixed naked onsen bathing, but is really far from anywhere where you will be.
Since you’re going to Nara in the sakura season, check out Mount Yoshino (though you’d have to cut something else in order to fit it in).
Since you’re into history, culture and temples, you can also add in Koyasan and even hike there (or choose any other route from the ancient Kumano Kodo pilgrimage roads).