Hello, sorry but this is a bit complicated. For the first half of the trip I’ll be by myself and I’m doing a lot of scuba diving. For the second half I’m meeting my parents and sister. So I’ll split my itinerary into two parts.
We like art museums, animation, anime, and nature. We are all vegetarian. I’ve spent a long time on this itinerary but I’m still unsure about a number of things, which I’ll elaborate on later.
Basically my plan is Tokyo > Okinawa > Ishigaki > Osaka > Kyoto > Nara > Koyasan > Yoshinoyama > Tokyo
I did a lot of research but have a lot of trouble narrowing it down. The trip is complicated and I’m afraid I may need to narrow it down further but I don’t know what to get rid of.
I put an asterisk next to stuff I really do not want to miss, the rest I am less certain of.
>* **FIRST HALF OF TRIP – SOLO**
* **TOKYO – FOUR DAYS IN TOKYO**
**Day 1 – 03/09 Thursday**
**✈︎ arrive 4:15 PM**
Pick up JR pass (if cost effective, not sure yet), Suica card, SIM card/pocket wifi, and get cash in Yen.
Check into hotel
**Day 2 – 03/10 Friday**
Buy Ghibli museum tickets*
Go to shops
Pokemon center Tokyo*
**Day 3 – 03/11 Saturday**
Hair cut
See Ueno park
Get goshuincho
I want to get a hanko made
**Day 4 – 03/12 Sunday**
Tokyo Metropolitan Archaeological Center
* **OKINAWA – FIVE DAYS IN OKINAWA**
**Day 5 – 03/13 Monday**
Check out of Tokyo hotel
**Okinawa ✈︎ two hour plane arrive 9 AM**
Check into AirBNB
Begin open water scuba diving class, two to three days. I already did half this class in the USA but am completing it in Okinawa.
**Day 6 – 03/14 Tuesday**
Diving
**Day 7 – 03/15 Wednesday**
Diving
**Day 8 – 03/16 Thursday**
Diving or snorkeling with whales
Okinawa aquarium*
**Day 9 – 03/17 Friday**
Okinawa Prefectural Museum
* **ISHIGAKI – FOUR DAYS IN ISHIGAKI**
**Day 10 – 03/18 Saturday**
**Ishigaki ✈︎ one hour plane arrive 2 PM**
Check into hotel
Manta diving trip, four days
**03/19 Sunday**
Diving
**03/20 Monday**
Diving
**03/21 Tuesday**
Diving
My family flies into Tokyo on this day.
Check into another hotel on Ishigaki (not sure I have to do this, need to check)
Stay until 22nd
>* **SECOND HALF – FOUR PEOPLE**
* **OSAKA – SEVEN DAYS IN OSAKA WITH DAY TRIPS TO KYOTO AND NARA**
**Day 11 – 03/22 Wednesday**
**Osaka ✈︎ Arrive march 22rd**
Check into hotel
Osaka pokemon center*
Nintendo store*
Mall
Family checks into hotel?
**Day 12 – 03/23 Thursday**
Meet family in Osaka
See onsen theme park
**Day 13 – 03/24 Friday**
Go to Kyoto
Rental kimono* (I am plus size so I need to contact them to make sure I can do this.)
See shrines
**Day 14 – 03/25 Saturday**
Visit friends in Kyoto
Picnic with sakura
Yokai street
**Day 15 – 03/26 Sunday**
Inari shrine*
Golden pavilion
Kyoto international manga museum
**Day 16- 03/27 Monday**
The Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum in Osaka
Osaka aquarium
**Day 17- 03/28 Tuesday**
Day trip to Nara
* **KOYASAN (MT. KOYA) – ONE DAY IN KOYASAN**
**Day 18 – 03/29 Wednesday**
Rent car
Drive to Koyasan
Check in to temple stay for one night
See famous graveyard
* **TOKYO – SEVEN DAYS IN TOKYO WITH DAY TRIP TO HAKONE**
I am leaving it flexible when I go to Hakone because I want the visibility to be good.
**Day 19 – 03/30 Thursday**
Check out of temple
See Yoshinoyama mountain for sakura viewing and hiking
Go back to Tokyo
Nagashima Spa Land amusement park is halfway between Osaka and Tokyo, unsure if I am going here
**Day 20 – 03/31 Friday**
Suginami Animation Museum
Toei animation museum
National museum of western art
**Day 21 – 04/01 Saturday**
Ueno zoo
Sakura viewing Ueno park
Kayaking at imperial palace canal
**Day 22 – 04/02 Sunday**
Tokyo Dome City amusement park
Manga cafe (hotel) not sure what day I want to do this yet but I want to stay overnight with my sister.
**Day 23 – 04/03 Monday**
Ghibli museum*
**Day 24 – 04/04 Tuesday**
Tokyo DisneySEA*
**Day 25 – 04/05 Wednesday**
**Go back home ✈︎**
**Get plane back to USA, flight leaves 6:25 PM Japan time**
So here are some notes:
* I want to see a lot of museums, but some of these museums I might be able to skip. Or I might add more museums to the list as I do more research.
* I want to do a temple stay because they have vegetarian food and my family is into meditation. However I haven’t decided on which one and staying in a ryokan instead might be cool, I don’t have my heart set on it.
* I want to try out the manga cafe or a capsule hotel. I know this sub hates capsule hotels but I think it’s cool. I found one that has a decent selection of English books, but I’m afraid to link it as I haven’t made reservations yet, if anyone’s interested I’ll link it later.
* I want to do a four hour animation studio tour but undecided on the date.
* As you can see there’s a lot I want to do in Tokyo so I’m thinking maybe I should cut some stuff out of the Osaka/Kyoto part of my trip, but I’m unsure what to cut.
* I was going to skip the amusement parks but my family is into it so I’ll need to go to at least one park. Tokyo DisneySEA seems like the most interesting to me. I’m also interested in the roller coasters at Nagashima Spa Land near Nagoya, Fuji-Q Highland in Hakone, and Tokyo Dome City.
* I definitely want to see as much onsen as I can.
* The travel times right now are rough estimates as I still haven’t gotten all the plane tickets necessary and other than the AirBNB on Okinawa I actually still need to decide on hotels.
2 comments
>I was going to skip the amusement parks but my family is into it so I’ll need to go to at least one park
If you have to pick one go for either Disneysea or Nagashima Spa Land, depending whether you prefer very pretty looking and immersive rides or thrill rides. Fuji-Q has only three roller coasters (now that Do-Dodonpa is SBNO) so the lines do get very VERY long so that’ll definitely be the park you’ll have least genuine *fun* at, would only recommend it if you’re a roller coaster enthusiast and want to experience Eejanaika which is pretty much a one of a kind ride
Whatever you pick make sure you go on a weekday, you’ll thank yourself
Don’t get the JR Pass, especially since you are planning to be in Okinawa for 7 days while it is active. Then you are only going one way with it (Osaka > Tokyo via stops) with it. You need at least a return trip or more to make it worth it.