Hello! Wanted to thank this subreddit for providing a lot of the info and logistics of planning my first trip in Japan. My partner and I will be traveling from Canada for 16 days. My travel type is more laid back and go with the flow, but I realized to do the things we want, we were going to need to plan more than usual.
For transportation, we have the 14-day JR passes and IC cards.
Itinerary
* Day 1 (Mar 10) – Travel day, land in Tokyo next day
* Day 2-4 (Mar 11-13): **Tokyo |** 2 nights
* Airbnb in Ueno
* Day 4 (Mar 13): *Tokyo to* ***Takayama*** *(4h12)*
* Supper and breakfast at overnight stay at Yukimurasaki ryokan
* Day 5 (Mar 14)
* Explore Takayama
* *Takayama to Kyoto (3h25)*
* Day 5-10 (Mar 14-19) **Kyoto** | 5 nights
* Day 7: day trip to Nara (41 min)
* Day 10 (Mar 19): *Kyoto to* ***Koyasan*** *(Wakayama) (3h12)* via Koyasan world heritage ticket
* Okunoin cemetery
* Stay overnight in Daimyo O-in Temple
* Day 11 (Mar 20)
* Morning ceremony at temple, walk to Kongobuji and Garan, hike from Daimon Gate via Women’s Pilgrim Course to bus back to Osaka
* *Koyasan to Osaka (2h28)*
* Day 11-13 (Mar 20-22): **Osaka** | 2 nights
* Stay in Tennoji ward
* Day 13 (Mar 22): *Osaka to* ***Tokyo*** *(3h18)*
* Day 13-16 (Mar 22-25): Tokyo | 3 nights
* Day 14: Teamlab planets, omakase at Hokkaku
* Day 15: Studio ghibli
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For the blank days in each city, allowing myself to be more flexible and pick what I want to do a day in advance with these options in mind:
* Tokyo: Akihabara, temples and shrines in Ueno, pokemon center, ameyoko
* Restaurants: gyukatsu motomura, onigiri bongo
* Takayama: sanmachi suji, hida no sato, markets
* Kyoto: Arashiyama and Tenryu-ji, Gion, Nishiki market, shrines and temples, kinkaku-ji
* Restaurants: Ramen sen no kaze, Kagizen yoshifusa
* Nara: Naramichi, Isui-en garden, Todai-ji, Kasuga-taisha
* Restaurants: Nakatanidou; look for Persimmon wrapped sushi, miwa somen, narazuke
* Osaka: dotonbori, namba yasaka shrine, osaka castle
* Restaurants: Okaru, tempura makino
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Open to comments/criticisms especially logistics around traveling to each area. I’m aware we won’t be able to do all of the items I have listed, nor do I want to, as I like to wander and explore more than checking off things on a list.
I am more interested in the food, culture, and nature rather than shopping or busy urban centers.
That being said, what are your opinions and favorites of each place?
1 comment
>we have the 14-day JR passes
The 14-day passes are about 1300Y not worth it according to your stated travel plans. So unless you’re just looking for the convenience (and don’t need to ~~nickel and dime~~ loonie and toonie your budget), *or* if you foresee yourself riding the JR subways a bunch, I guess, I would say just get the suica cards and load them with cash for the shinkansen tickets.
>Koyasan world heritage ticket
Okay, maybe scratch everything I said above. Unless you can get this with the JR Pass it’s looking less worth it (I didn’t find any info during a quick google search)