Hi, my partner and I are visiting Japan for our very first time! We couldn’t be more excited, we are so lucky to have the opportunity to be there for a 24-day vacation. The main focus of our trip is probably food! We are most excited to try the amazing food we have heard about in Japan (especially sushi) and we are looking forward to enjoying the night life, seeing some beautiful temples and gardens, learning more about the culture, and taking in the beautiful sights. **Would greatly appreciate any critiques, recommendations to add to this itinerary, or any input whatsoever!**
We will be spending a few days in Seoul before flying to Fukuoka on April 1st and flying home from Tokyo on April 24th.
**FUKUOKA – Days 1-3**
* **Day 1** \- Arrrive to Fukuoka Airport around 17:30pm and check in to our hotel near Hakata Station
* Have a casual snack or stop for a quick bite along the way
* Fukuoka Tower after dark to see views of the city (looks like they are open until 10pm)
* Dinner and drinks at a yatai **(any recommendations appreciated!)**
* **Day 2** \- our only full day in Fukuoka. We plan to wake up early to do a lot of sightseeing including:
* Fukuoka Castle & Ohori Park & Maizuru Park (these seem to be all in one spot)
* Nishi Park, Sanno Park
* Rent bikes to see Uminonakamichi Seaside Park
* Unsure about taking the Fukuhokuyutaka line 30 min each way to see Nanzoin
* **Can anyone speak to whether or not this would be worth the trip?**
* We then have a 19:00pm dinner reservation at a sushi restaurant and plan to go out for drinks afterwards
* Maybe hit another Yatai if we get hungry late night
* **Day 3 -** Spend morning in Fukuoka before heading to Himeji to spend the night
* Kushida Jinja Shrine in the AM
* Maybe hit some parks/sights we might not have had time for on the previous day
* Ramen for lunch, maybe at Hakata Issou
* Take a shinkansen to our hotel near Himeji station – find dinner, wander around the area
* **Any good restaurant recommendations in Himeji?**
**HIMEJI -** **Day 4**
* **Day 4 -** Hit Himeji Castle right as it opens
* **Is there anything else in this area that we shouldn’t miss?**
* Once we have enjoyed the castle and anything else this area has to offer, we will take a shinkansen to Kyoto and check in to our hotel, which is near Kiyomizu Gojo Station
**KYOTO – Day 5-10**
* **Day 5 -** Fushimi Inari Hiking Tour in the morning and then a Sake Tasting experience in the evening
* **Day 6 -** Spend time around Gion
* Pontocho Park, Nishiki Market, Hanamikoji Street
* Dinner reservation at Gion Shirakawa Namisato Kaiseki
* Potentially walk a recommended night-time cherry blossom viewing path
* Maruyama Park, Kodaiji Oriori, Entoku-in, Kiyomizu-dera
* **Day 7 -10 will include:**
* Imperial palace, Philosopher’s Path & nearby Temples
* Hopefully Kokedera (Moss garden) if we can get a reservation
* Toji Pagoda
* A dinner reservation at Sushi Gion Matsudaya
* A day trip to Nara
* Time for rest
* A day spent near Arashiyama
* Arrive to Arashiyama early in the morning to enjoy the Bamboo forest
* Tenryu-ji & surrounding gardens
* Walk along the Katsura River to Daihikaku Senkoji Temple
* See Togetsu-kyo Bridge
* **Is the Iwatayama Monkey Park worth it?**
* **Can anyone recommend good restaurants in this area?**
* **What other areas of Kyoto are worth spending time in for tourists? Are there other areas of Kyoto with good food and/or things to do and sights to see?**
* **Any other day trips from Kyoto that you’d recommend besides Nara? Or worth it to stay in Kyoto for the rest of the time we have there?**
**KOYASAN – Day 11**
* **Day 11 -** Wake up very early in Kyoto for a 3.5hr trip to Koyasan
* Arrive to Koyasan mid-morning and see:
* Daimon gate, Danjo-garan Buddhist Temple, Kongobuji, Okunoin Cemetery, Gobyo-bashi Bridge, and the Mausoleum of Great Master Kobo Daishi
* Have a vegetarian dinner and stay the night at a temple
**OSAKA – Day 12-15**
* **Day 12 -** 7:30am Fire ceremony, maybe spend a little more time in the area in the morning and then travel to Osaka
* 18:00pm tour of food/craft sake bar crawl in Osaka
* **Day 13, 14, and 15**
* 9:00am – 2h tour of Dotonbori & Shinsekai
* Dinner Reservation at Yakitori Ichimatsu
* Lots of walking through Dotonbori, eating food along the way and enjoying the night life in Osaka
* Osaka Castle, Namba Yasaka Shrine, Umeda Sky Building
* **Any other specific sightseeing places we shouldn’t miss?**
* **Would love recommendations for bars! Especially karaoke bars**
* Bar Nayuta, Balabushka, and Moonshine Karaoke bar are on our list
* **Would also love restaurant recommendations! And do you think reservations are needed?**
* We currently just have one dinner reservation in this city. While we are happy to wait in some lines for good food, it’s also nice to avoid lines if a reservation is possible
**KANAZAWA – Day 16/17**
* **Day 16 -** Travel in the AM from Osaka to Kanazawa (about 3.5h traveling from hotel to hotel)
* Sushi lunch and dinner, sightseeing when we aren’t eating sushi
* Kenrokuen & Kanazawa Castle Park, Oyama Shrine
* Higashi Chaya District
* Spend time in our hotel’s onsen
* **Day 17 -** Morning in Kanazawa and (probably) a sushi lunch in the area before traveling to Tokyo
* Check into hotel in Shibuya, wander around the area
* 21:30pm dinner reservation (also sushi)
**TOKYO Part 1 – Day 18-20**
* **Day 18 -** Tokyo DisneySea (the only day we have free that isn’t a weekend)
* **Day 19 -** Full day inn Tokyo
* 10am TeamLab Planets
* Tsukiji Market, then head back over to Shibuya area
* **Shibuya SKY or MAGNET?**
* Spend time exploring Shibuya, maybe hit some izakayas
* 19:00pm Dinner reservation (sushi) & go out drinking after
* **Day 20 -** Spend the AM in Shibuya before checking out of hotel & traveling to Kawaguchiko
**KAWAGUCHIKO – DAY 20-21**
* **Day 20 (cont’d)** \- Arrive to our hotel, check in 15:00pm and fingers crossed for good views of Mt. Fuji!
* Our hotel room says it has a Mt. Fuji View (very excited about this!!)
* **If for some reason our hotel’s Mt. Fuji view isn’t all that I imagine it to be, where do you recommend going in this area for good views?**
* **How do people get around this area of Japan without a car?**
* **Day 21 -** Hoping for some early morning views of Mt. Fuji
* Free breakfast at hotel, maybe go somewhere in the area in the morning for more views?
* Head back to Tokyo
**TOKYO Part 2 – Day 21-24**
* **Day 21 cont’d** \- arrive to Tokyo
* Check in to our hotel in Shinjuku
* Explore the area and/or Harajuku that afternoon/night
* **Day 22 & 23** \- Last full days of our trip!
* One of these days is a Sunday, so might check out Akihabara when the streets are closed to traffic
* See Senso-ji & Hoppy Street & Ueno Park, maybe National Museum
* Waiting to hear back about a 17:00pm reservation request at Iwasawa (sushi restaurant)
* Visit the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
* Spend time enjoying the night life at Kabukicho & “Memory Lane” Omoide Yokocho
* **Any other areas or specific places we shouldn’t miss?**
* **Do we need more reservations?**
* **Day 24 -** Find breakfast, one last walk in the morning, check out of hotel for 14:00pm flight
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**Thank you if you read through this, your advice or insight or anything at all that you can add is so SO appreciated!!**