I’m looking for feedback for my 14-day itinerary in June (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima). It’s my first solo trip (22M) and I’m not great at planning out stuff, so I apologize if the plan seems chaotic. I really want to see as much as possible, at the same time having some time to explore and wander around, but I’m afraid I will not have enough time to visit all of the attractions, so I’d appreciate any help with regards to that. I plan to buy the JR pass for 7 days (9.06-15.06)
I’ve already booked accommodation in Tokyo (6.06-10.06), Kyoto (10.06-15.06), and Tokyo again (15.06-18.06), but I could potentially be open to rescheduling some stays if it’s worth it.
**Day 1: Tokyo (6.06)**
* Arrival at 22:35 in Haneda
* Get to my hotel near Hamamatsucho station
* (Most likely) Sleep
**Day 2: Tokyo (7.06)**
* Explore the area near hotel, visit Ginza, Imperial Palace, Asakusa, Tokyo Skytree
* Walk around Akihabara in the evening/night
**Day 3: Tokyo (8.06)**
* Tokyo Tower, Shinjuku, Harajuku, Shibuya in the day
* Come back in the evening for food (Golden Gai) and views (Shibuya Sky)
* Kabukicho
**Day 4: Mt Fuji – Hakone? (9.06)**
Planning to do a day trip to see Mt Fuji. I was thinking of visiting Hakone, or Lake Kawaguchiko, but I’m open to any other suggestions/recommendations
**Day 5: Kyoto (10.06)**
* Check out of the hotel at 10 am
* Early afternoon Shinkansen to Kyoto
* Check in at the hotel at 15:00
* Imperial Palace
* Fushimi Inari Taisha
* Kiyomizu-dera
Not sure if it would be possible to see all of these in such a short period of time
**Day 6: Osaka (11.06)**
* Day trip from Kyoto to Osaka
* See Osaka Castle, Dotonbori, Abeno Harukas (for the view of the city)
**Day 7: Osaka/Himeji (12.06)**
Still undecided if I want to do a whole day trip to Himeji, or skip it and visit Osaka again.
**Day 8: Nara (13.06)**
* Day trip from Kyoto to Nara
* Visit Kokufu-ji Temple, Isuien Garden, Todai-ji Temple, Deer Park
* Come back to Kyoto and visit Arashiyama Forest
**Day 9: Hiroshima/Miyajima (14.06)**
* Early morning train to Hiroshima (7-8 am)
* Ferry to Miyajima
* Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima Castle, Shukkeien Gardens all in the afternoon
* Evening train back to Kyoto
**Day 10: Kyoto to Tokyo (15.06)**
* Check out at 10 am
* Shinkansen to Tokyo
* Check in at hotel near Otemachi Station at 14:00
* Explore Odaiba (TeamLab Planets, Museum of Emerging Science(?), Gundam Statue, Statue of Liberty)
**Day 11: Yokohama (16.06)**
* Morning train from Tokyo to Yokohama
* Sankeien Garden
* Yamashita Park
* Minato Mirai
* Landmark Tower
**Day 12: Tokyo/Day Trip (17.06)**
I was thinking of doing a short trip to somewhere near Tokyo (e.g. Kamakura), or simply wander around Tokyo (possibly visit museums regarding Japanese history)
* Metropolitan Government Building to see the last view of Tokyo at night
**Day 13: Tokyo (18.06)**
* Check out at 10 am
I will have a whole day to walk around Tokyo with a big backpack, before getting to Haneda late at night, and I’m not sure what to do during that time. Any recommendations will be much appreciated.
Thank you in advance!
3 comments
Most people say they aren’t able to see Fuji from Hakone, but Hakone itself is worth going to in itself.
Your main Kyoto day looks a bit too packed to me. You could do Fushimi Inari at night though (the other ones close at fairly regular hours). Personally, I would spend more time in Kyoto and less in Osaka/Himeji/Nara/Hiroshima. Arashiyama is sort of also on the opposite direction of Nara so maybe I wouldn’t do it on the same day.
For day 3, you’ll probably be able to do Shinjuku, day 12’s Metropolitan Government Building, Golden Gai (which is in Kabukicho) in a single trip and save a bit of back and forth.
Also, I wouldn’t recommend Golden Gai itself for food but instead you could try the surrounding areas.
Day 5: the only way you can see all three starting after 15:00 is when you rush to Kiyomizudera, then see the Palace from the outside only, and hike Fushimi Inari in the evening.
I suggest you leave sooner, put your luggage in the hotel, and go enjoy Kiomizudera, then head to fushimi inari, and if you are really lucky you can then go to the palace, and then back to the hotel to check in (or switch palace and fushimi, whatever is more important to you)
day 6/7 – when you go see Himeji you can skip Osaka castle.
day 8 – heading to arashiyama after nara is a tall order
day 9 – nope, not gonna happen. if you rush Miyajima, you can visit the peace park. but then the day will be over. you may be able to squeeze in to see the castle from the outside.
in summary. your Kyoto days are actually 0. you just sleep there. Now with some luck you can squeeze a few things in yeah, but, you are missing a lot of great stuff to sit in trains and to see some deer…