Hello /r/JapanTravel! I’m planning my first trip to Japan in May. My mom will be tagging along for the trip, and since she tends to be a heavy packer, I was aiming to see as much of the major destinations as possible while also limiting the amount of hotel changes. That way, we can just have her big luggage shipped hotel-to-hotel and then travel lightly between destinations or take day trips using the JR rail pass.
I booked the tickets before knowing that there are other far-more-convenient airports than NRT, so unfortunately the trip is going to have to end with a long shinkansen ride back to Tokyo the day before we fly out (lesson for next time!)
I’m still ironing out the specific itinerary details, but at a high level here’s what I had planned so far:
* May 6 – Arrive at NRT around 2pm, check into our hotel in Gotanda and spend the rest of the day recovering from jet lag
* May 7-13 – Tour Tokyo, with three day trips:
* 1 day visiting a family member in Kofu
* 1 day to Utsunomiya for gyoza and Nikko for nature
* 1 day to sight see Mt. Fuji
* Misc Tokyo touring I intend to see:
* Shibuya/Harajuku shopping
* Imperial Palace and Gardens
* Tokyo Skytree
* Tokyo Art Museum
* Akihabara
* National Museum
* Asakusa/Senso-ji
* May 13-14 – Travel to Hakone, stay overnight in a ryokan
* May 14-20 – Travel to Kyoto, stay in Kyoto near the station, with day trips to:
* 1 day to check out Kobe and Himeji
* 1 day to check out Nara
* 1 day Universal Studios Japan
* 1 day Osaka proper
* Remaining time checking out Kyoto:
* Fushimi inari shrine
* Kinkakuji
* Imperial Palace
* May 20-22 – Shinkansen to Hiroshima, spend one day checking out the city and one day visiting Miyajima. Some attractions I was interested in:
* Peace park
* Downtown Hiroshima promenade
* Mazda museum
* May 22-26 – Shinkansen to Fukuoka and spend the period touring Kyushu. This is where I’m still the most unsure, as some of the things I had planned were:
* Fukuoka food stands
* Ohori Park
* A visit to Saga/Nagasaki for:
* Yutoku Inari Shrine
* Mount Inasa night view
* Nagasaki Clover Garden
* Nagasaki Peace Park
* May 26 – Shinkansen back to Tokyo and then train to Chiba, stay overnight in Chiba
* May 27 – Chiba to NRT to fly home
Some questions I’d like some insight from more experienced travelers:
* Is a single night in Hakone too little? I worry that between traveling there from Tokyo and checking into/out of the Ryokan, we won’t have enough time to properly enjoy the town
* I’ve heard that Utsunomiya is famous for it’s gyoza, is it worth stopping there for lunch on the way to Nikko?
* Is it redundant taking a day trip to the north side of Mt. Fuji if we’re also planning to go to Hakone?
* Am I too optimistic thinking we can stay near Kyoto station and have an easy time visiting all the nearby cities on my list?
* Any suggestions for a teppanyaki place in Kobe? [Misono](https://misono.org/shop/kobe/menu/) seems to be very highly rated and close to the station, and claims to be the “originator” of teppanyaki, but curious if there are others where people have had great dining experiences.
* My big question: Will I be spreading myself too thin going all the way down to Kyushu? Outside of Saga/Nagasaki and a few attractions in Fukuoka, I’m having trouble finding things in Kyushu I might want to do, as most of the attractions that had piqued my interest (Takachiho, Yakushima) take hours to travel to and would require more overnight stays in smaller towns. I’m wondering if it would be a better use of my first trip to only go down as far as Hiroshima, and then reallocated the Kyushu days to Tokyo/Kyoto/Hakone to see more of what’s around there. I do really want to see Kyushu, but it seems like it would be a better time if I do it next trip, alone, and dedicate a larger portion of the trip to that region specifically.
Thanks all in advance!
4 comments
What I always suggest with everyone is the logistics of trips.
How much time it takes to and from a place.
Make a centralized location and view it this way.
I believe the most important part is to enjoy each and every destination you visit instead of rushing for time.
I would narrow your list down to must visit places or places you really want to go to.
Then the rest for a next trip.
Just my 2 cents. Feel free to ask any more questions
Have you considered a domestic flight from Fukuoka to Tokyo instead of a very long train ride? We’re flying from Tokyo to Fukuoka and the logistics are very easy, and the flight is super quick too. Can even check your mom’s bag or ship straight to your hotel. It’s also super cheap to fly, cheaper than the shinkansen unless you’re using a JR pass obviously.
With regards to stopping at Utsunomiya for lunch on your way to Nikko, really depends on your plans within Nikko. If you want to experience more of the nature side and plan to travel further to see Lake Chūzenji, Senjogahara, or Yudaki Falls, you’re looking at 3.5 hours travel, each way, on top of an early start if you want see Tōshō-gū and Shinkyo Bridge in the main town too. Personally, I think it’s worth the extra travel time to see these spots, but you’d be pushed for time adding a stop in Utsunomiya too.
This is similar to the trip I just did! Tokyo – Osaka with day trip to Hiroshima + Miyajima & USJ – Kyoto – Hakone – Tokyo over 31 days
I did 2 nights in Hakone and thought that was a good amount of time. 1 night would‘ve been too short for me. With 3pm checkin and 11am checkout the next day, you don’t have much time to relax at the ryokan and explore the area. Depending on weather, you can see Mt Fuji from the Hakone Ropeway and the Owakudani station. You can also see Mt Fuji from the train between Kyoto and Hakone.
I did day trips from Kyoto to Nara and Osaka and it was manageable, but does take up a big chunk of your day and is tiring. Btw I had JR Pass and thought I would use that for the Kyoto trips too but I wasn’t staying by the larger Kyoto station so it was easier and faster to pay out of pocket to go from the closer station vs transferring to use the pass.