Preface:
– Places I’ve been to already: Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Hakone
My interests:
– cooking (kitchen tools, pottery/dish ware, knives, etc)
– food (If there is a local dish you suggest or favorite restaurant please leave me a comment)
– nature (long walks, scenic views, anything active)
– cloth shopping (I buy most of my cloth in Japan)
– less interested in museums, temples, history, tourist heavy areas
My Itinerary
Day 1
– Arrive in Narita airport late afternoon
Day 2
– Tokyo
– Kappabashi street for shopping
– Sensoji temple
Day 3
– Use Jr pass (7 days)
– Leave Tokyo checkout 10am
– Arrive in Osaka ~3pm
– Dontonbori at night
– Note: I’ve decided to stay in Osaka and travel by day to Kyoto
Day 4
– Morning train to Kyoto
– Fushimi Inari early morning
– Walk around Gion
– Knife shops
– Note: I’ve been to Kyoto before (fushimi inari/bamboo forest) and the only area I want to revisit is Gion hence only here for one day (open to suggestions of other places around Kyoto I’m flexible with my schedule)
Day 5
– Watch a sumo match in Osaka
– Light shopping in between matches
Day 6
– Shopping in Osaka
Day 7
– Leave Osaka checkout 8am
– Arrive in Hiroshima ~11am
– Leave for Miyajima right away
– Return to Hiroshima at night
Day 8
– Visit atomic bomb museum
– Walk around
– Leave for matsuyama afternoon
– Visit dogo onsen
– Check in to hostel at Imabari at night
Day 9
– Last day of JR pass
– Shinanomi kaido early morning
– Ride into hakone at night
Day 10
– Rest
– Visit an onsen
Day 11
– Day trip to Mt Fuji
– Undecided on whether to climb it
Day 12
– Visit Aokigahara
– Is there time to do a hike in Aokigahara and visit to lake Kawaguchi in the same day?
Day 13
– Day trip to Okutama or Kanagawa
– Slowly making my way towards Tokyo
Day 14-28
– Tokyo
Thanks for reading if you’ve made it this far!
Questions
– Would it be worth it to buy a 14 day jr pass rather than a 7 day one? If so where else would you go?
– I’m rather fit and confident I can complete Shinanomi Kaido in a day just curious what I might miss out on if Im not spending more time on each island (more of a statement than a question)
– Im planning to store my luggage in Tokyo and only bring a backpack with me on the train so Im wondering if I can store my luggage at a coin locker for multiple days?
– Besides the 3 day subway pass in Tokyo is there a longer day pass I can get or do I have to buy that 3 day pass every time it expires?
3 comments
As for day 11: Mt. Fuji can only be climed in July/August.
Don’t climb Fuji in March unless you have winter climbing experience.
Shimanami Kaido is definitely doable in a day, I personally didn’t feel like I was too rushed at all, still had time to explore a bit.
Was leaning towards not climbing it but this puts the nail in the coffin thank you!