Hi, we are a group of 3 who will travel to Japan for the first time in late August to early September, we are grateful for all input on our itinerary that we can get. We are in our late twenties to mid 30s and our interests includes anime/manga, games, nature and food. While I’ll list main attractions we want to see, most of the time we just want to stroll around the area and see where it takes us. We want this trip to be laid back but with some structure on must sees that determines what parts of the city we’ll start off from.
We’ll get a 7 day JR pass. Nothing is booked yet except flights.
**Day 1 Monday 21st Aug arrival 7 pm in Narita**
The usual airport stuff (Sim card, Suica card etc). Getting to hotel and buying dinner plus breakfast and bentos for next day.
**Day 2 & 3 22-23rd Aug Tokyo to Kyoto or Kinosaki onsen**
Activating our JR pass. These days will depend on the schedule of Kinosaki onsen (they releases it in June) as we really want to visit during their summer festivals. We’ll swap this date with Kyoto days once we know which dates. We want to stay 2 nights at a Ryokan to enjoy both the festivals and the onsens.
**Day 4 Thursday 24th Aug Kyoto**
Get to Kyoto either from Kinosaki onsen or Tokyo (making this day 3 instead if Kinosaki is later). Dropping off bags at hotel and exploring in Kyoto. Fushimi inari and then we’ll stroll around in Gion and walk along Kamogawa river probably.
**Day 5 Friday 25th Aug Kyoto**
Head to Arashiyama early see Kinkaku-ji and maybe monkey park while we are there. Plan B? if we’ll arrive too late for the festivals at Kinosaki we’ll attend Tenjin-san at Kitano Tenmangu shrine in the evening, we might go to it even if we get to enjoy festivals at Kinosaki. Is it too late to come in the evening?
**Day 6 26th Aug Saturday**
Head to Nara in the the morning. Watch the mochi making, feed deers and walk up mount Wakakusa. In the evening we’ll take a train to Osaka and enjoy the nightlife
**Day 7 27th Aug Sunday** (might switch to a weekday depending on Kinosaki schedule)
Osaka day, beat the crowds to some of the must try foods on our list. Crowds will probably be shorter on a weekday but we also want to experiance the busy, friendly atmosphere any suggestions on which day is better?
**Day 8 28th Aug Monday – Head to Tokyo**
In the morning we might store our luggage and explore things we missed, suggestions?, or if somethings are too crammed on the other days. We hope to get a hotel near a station on the Yamanote line. Spare time in Tokyo, what we do will depend on where we stay but probably some shopping for souvernirs.
**Day 9 29th Aug Tuesday**
The first clear day (if there are any on the forecast) we’ll take the earliest train to Hakone for mt. Fuji viewing. The Hakone free pass will be used. I put it as day 9 but it’ll be switched once in Tokyo and we can plan according to forecasts. The spots we’ll visit are the Tori gate by the water, Hakone shrine, Owakudani (valley of hell) and the open air museum. We’ll enjoy amazake and have picknick for lunch. It would be really cool to see the sunset but im not sure how long we’ll stay in Hakone with good view.
**Day 10 30th Aug Wednesday**
Asakusa. We’ll be walking on Nakamise-dori, eat lots of street food and see Sensoji temple. Evening in Ueno park and then follow Sumida river.
**Day 11 31st Aug Thursday**
Visit Shibuya crossing and Hachiko statue first then Tsukiji market and TeamLab Planets. In the evening possibly Harajuku park and some street food and shopping in Shinjuku.
**Day 12 1st September Friday**
Akihabara day (maybe the best day to put on a rainy day?). No plans except FFXIV cafe, gachapon hall, arcades and possibly maid cafe.
**Day 13 2nd Sep Saturday**
Odaiba half a day trip. We want to see the Gundam statue and transformation, relax near the beach and walk back on the rainbow bridge. Swimming is not allowed but walking in the water is ok right?
**Day 14 3rd Sep Sunday**
Shinjuku day. Shin Okubo (Korea town), Shinjuku park, Samurai museum?, watch Godzilla’s roar and have dinner at a izakaya in Omoide Yokocho. Walk through Kabukicho, we want to see it and are aware of the dangers with people leading tourists into bars etc.
**Day 15 4th Sep Monday**
Spare day, we are thinking either a day trip or relieve some of the other days. If a day trip maybe Nikko but it feels pretty far. Yokohama has been on our list but got scrapped since most of the reason we are going is because of its China town.
**Day 16 5th Sep Tuesday**
Spare time until we leave Tokyo at arond 7 pm at latest. Maybe some gardens and revisits to shops etc
**Questions:**
* What do you think of this as a rough guideline for our itinerary? Will it be too busy, especially the first week?
* Is Nikko a good day trip or is it a bit too far in your opinion? Suggestions to replace with Nikko? We’d like something close to nature
* Would you prefere a sunday or a weekday to have a full day in Osaka?
* Anyone been to Tenjin-san at Kitani Tenmangu shrine? How was it and is it more of a morning or evening market?
Thanks in advance and for all the tips on other posts, it has helped us sort out things we really want to do
1 comment
When I went there at the end of October last year, I really liked Nikko, I especially focused on UNESCO World Heritage Site with beautiful temples lost in the middle of a forest with huge trees and the place has a very special atmosphere. But I didn’t really have the opportunity to walk fully in the nature or even to visit the rest of the prefecture.
Concerning the journey, if I remember well it takes 2 hours to go and 2 hours back from Tokyo.