Inspired by a few excellent itinerary-posts, I’ve decided to fashion my own in a similar and easy-to-read way.
Quick facts:
* There are two of us. We’re a young couple.
* We love food, but we recognize that we can’t spend our entire vacation waiting in restaurant lines.
* I like Zelda, Fromsoft games, Sengoku and Edo period stuff.
* She loves art, futuristic stuff and shopping.
Feedback I’m looking for:
* Any advice really
* Any food that I should really have on my radar?
* Anything special preparations I shouldn’t miss out on based on my itinerary that people tend to overlook?
* Are there certain parts of my trip that you think should or shouldn’t require luggage forwarding?
* Anything you would recommend replacing in my itinerary (even if it’s just your personal opinion)?
* Your favorite things you think I’m missing in certain areas?
* Any days we should shorten in order to get more time in another area? (Im having some doubts on Kyoto – should we consider cutting a day there and put it somewhere else?)
April 6th: Arrival
* Land in Haneda at \~8 am
* Check into the hotel near Kinshi Park
* Try to go out and sight see while probably dealing with jet lag.
April 7th: Manga mania
* Explore Akihabara
* Visit Owl Café or Maid café
* Explore HEY
* Explore Yodobashi Camera
April 8th: Shopping spree
* Shinjuku shopping
* Beams Japan
* Shibuya shopping
* Visit Nintendo Tokyo and Mega Don Quijote
* Decompress at Hotel
April 9th: Asakusa day
* See Sensoji Temple
* Eat and drink at Hoppy Street
* Consider going to Rikugien Gardens
* Consider heading to the Pokémon Center
April 10th: Last-minute Tokyo sight-seeing day
* teamlab Planets at 10 am
* Explore Ginza and Tsukiji
April 11th: Departure for Okinawa (Ishigaki)
* Land in Ishigaki at \~11 am
* Get to Airbnb in Kabira
* Explore Kabira Bay area and enjoy the sun
April 12th: Beach day
* Try snorkeling or scuba at one or more of the great beaches around the island
* See Yonehara beach
* Relax
April 13th: Activity day
* Consider going for a hike amongst the plam trees or go to the observation point
* Consider going kayaking on the Miyara River
April 14th: Departue for Osaka
* Land in Osaka, Kansai at \~12 pm
* Check in at Hotel
* Consider going to the teamLab Gardens in the evening
April 15th: Day trip to Nara
* Deer and shrines
April 16th: Universal/Nintendo day
* If we can get fast passes – if not – we’ll explore Osaka
* Potentially a lot of Mario
April 17th: Departure for Kumano Kodo
* Arrive at Kii-Tanabe
* Start off on Kumano Kodo
April 18th: Kumano Kodo
April 19th: Kumano Kodo
April 20th: Kumano Kodo
April 21th: Kumano Kodo
April 22th: Departure for Kyoto
* Check in at Hotel
* Maybe go crazy at Nishiki Market
* Maybe see Pontocho Park (all depending on how busted we are from Kumano Kodo)
* Perhaps venture into Gion
April 23th:
* Early rise to see Fushimi Inari Shrine
* Explore the surrounding area (any ideas?)
April 24th:
* Early rise to see Arashiyama
* See Tenryu ji
* Consider going full on temple with Kinkakuji, Ryoan-ji and Ninna-ji
* Explore the surrounding areas (any ideas?)
April 25th: Mountain day
* See if the legs still work and then take a trip to Mount Hiei
* Attain enlightenment by doing a small kayhogyo of our own
* If the legs wont work, we might just head to Okochi Sanso and chill out
April 26th: Last minute Kyoto sights before leaving for Tokyo
April 27th: Departure from Japan from Haneda
4 comments
> Visit Owl Café or Maid café
Just a heads up – any and all owl cafes are inherently exploitative form of animal cruelty.
> April 9th: Asakusa day
To be honest – since Hoppy Street is generally an evening activity, I would start the day with Rikugien.
> Kumano Kodo
Honest answer is that you should be on your way to Kyoto on 20th after visiting Kumano Hongu Taisha. If you intend to visit Nachi Falls that could add another day in the area, but still you’d be on your way on 21st.
> we love food
Two ideas:
On April 23, after Fushimi Inari shrine (even if you climb all the way to the top it shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours) you could continue to Uji on the same train line, see byodoin and eat matcha themed everything
Depending on the specific Kumano Kodo route you are taking, if you finish in nachikatsuura eat all the tuna
Rent a car for ishigaki. Public transportation is non existent and you’ll miss out without one!
Don’t eat goat soup, maybe one of the only Japanese foods that I hated. Sea grapes and everything shikuwasa is amazing.
Bring sunscreen, it’s so expensive here and small containers.
For Kumano Kodo try to make a stop at kawayu and yunomine onsen. Both really nice and worth it. Way better than any of the big onsen towns. You can even rent a shovel and try to dig your own bath at kawayu and yunomine has Japans oldest onsen (supposedly) the reservation system is a bit complicated but loved the experience after hiking.
Also enjoyed the tuna in katsuura, but nothing much to do there other than that.
After going from Kii Tanabe to Hongu Taisha, I would advise taking the bus to Gojo in Nara Prefecture. Then, work your way slow up to Nara City with detours to Yoshino or Asuka or Horyuji. Southern Nara is rich with history and beautiful scenery.