Critique our 44 Day Itinerary

21 comments

1. Lots of solid choices in there!

2. For one of the extra days in Yokohama you could go to Kamakura. It’s not too far and there are a lot of nice temples/shrines to visit. You could also take a quick trip to Tokyo or areas around Tokyo. A day trip to Gotokuji and Sangenjaya could be fun.

   Also, Teamlab borderless is closing in August this year. If you’re interested art, the Yayoi Kusama museum in Shinjuku is pretty good.

3. You could move your trip to Hakone as being from Yokohama. I think there’s enough to do in Hakone to make it a two day, one night visit. You could also stop in Odawara en route.

   Other things to do when based in Yokohama- Chinatown, Kawasaki (Kawasaki Daishi, Kanayama shrine)

   Borderless closes at the end of August, palette town s also closing.

   You seem pretty into theme parks so I might be wrong but I don’t think Universal Studios needs two days.

   You could look at stopping at Himeiji castle between Hiroshima and Osaka

4. I’d think carefully about how long you actually need for some of these things. Some of these days (like 12/21 and 12/22) could very easily be combined.

5. Some places might be closed for the first few days of the new year.

   Three to four museums in one day seems like a lot. Definitely go to the best ones first in case you want to spend more time there.

6. I wouldn’t day trip to either Hakone or Nagano. If there is enough there that you want to see- stay overnight. If they aren’t that important to you? Do something closer and skip them. Otherwise you just spend so much time moving around.

7. First, I will talk about the order of things as it does not especially make sense to me.

   I do not have too much problem with starting with Yokohama then flying to Sapporo Next, why do you have to go to Tokyo if just to have to do a round trip from there all the way to Fukuoka. Next I would consider flying at least to Osaka, so just here you save one way from Tokyo to Kyoto. The Hiroshima/Fukuoka can be done with a JR West Sanyo-San’in Area pass for 20 000 yen. Then can do Kyoto before finally going to Tokyo, where you can do a bunch of shopping before flying back home. Doing you should only have to get the JR West area pass and a single ticket from Kyoto to Tokyo, so will be cheaper than weeks of JR pass as you planed.

   Yokohama : can add Yokohama Landmark Tower, Red Brick warehouses and Chinatown. For sure consider a day trip to

   03 : If you are into anime/manga, then add stores around Otome road and the flagship Animate store.

   04 : Nakano Broadway is in Nakano, not in Akihabara, so completely different part of Tokyo. Also consider that in shopping area like Akihabara and Harajuku stores only open at 10 or 11 am, so would be good to start by the shrines as they open earlier.

   06 : Yoyogi park is an easy skip, the good reasons to go are cherry blossom, go people watching when it’s warm, eat outside with friends, or exercise, so none of that in January. Yoyogi park is a park, no a garden, if you want a garden, then go to Koishikawa korakuen on the previous day and finish with Tokyo Dome city where there is a winter illumination. Instad on that day add Meiji-jingu.

   07 : Someone already said that teamLab Borderless is closing at the end of August, same goes with the whole Palette Town complex that is completely being redeveloped.

   13 : I know that you already have your onsen planed, but I would still consider stopping in Hakone for the night, especially as you have an extra rest day the 15. You do not have to get a ryokan with private onsen and kaiseki meal (as that can be a bit pricey), you can just go for a ryokan with no meal plan or even a hotel and you can still pick one with a general onsen and there is some that have a family bath that you can rent for an hour. It can also be placed between Kyoto and Tokyo.

   14 : Do not especially see why a day trip to Nagano. I guess that in your plan it make sense because it will be free with the JR Pass, but using that much JR Pass is kind of a waste to start with.

   17 : Fushimi Inari-taisha and Kinkaku-ji are already bad match if you ask me because they are quite far apart, so I would not recomend, then adding Kurama/Kibune make no sense at all as this is even further.

   19 : Travel day to Hiroshima consider stopping by Himeji to see the garden and castle. Realistically speaking, you can start the day early, stop by Himeji for Castle/garden, eat in the train for lunch and have time for Hiroshima peace museum/park. I think that the castle/garden in Himeji are more worth than the one in Hiroshima.

   20 : a daytrip to Fukuoka to see a park and a shopping center ?… ok… The park seems especially nice when there is flowers, so instead, do teamLab in fukuoka. it’s also close to Fukuoka city museum that is a great history museum and there is Fukuoka tower nearby and the tower is illuminated every night. So can take the morning to do Kushida-jinja, Canal city (open at 10) Kawabata Shipping arcade, probably eat in the area, then move to Teamlab, museum and tower.

   21 : if you had time to visit a bit of Hiroshima on the day you arrived, you can take the morning to finish the visit of other things in Hiroshima then afternoon in Miyajima (or just the whole day in Miyajima and finish Hiroshima next day before moving out).

8. I would stay more days in Kyoto. It is without doubt on par with Tokyo as a touristy stay

9. I think some of your Yokohama days could be allocated for other things, like day trips to Hakone, Narita, Nikko, Kamakura, etc. Yokohama’s only about 40 mins away from the center of Tokyo, so I suppose you can transfer some of the Tokyo days to Yokohama. Yokohama’s cool but you can do most things there in a few days.

   Since you’re flying into Tokyo from Sapporo and spending 6 days in Tokyo without leaving, you don’t have to activate your JR pass until Jan 9, which the 21-day JR pass would cover the rest of your trip. You might even just wait until you start doing day trips staring from the 13th and just get a 14-day JR pass. JR pass is convenient and offers flexibility for wherever you want to travel, but if you’ll be in the same areas for a while, then you might not even need it that much.

   Also while in Tokyo, you can get 24-72 hour subway passes for 500-1500 yen each as a foreigner. Just bring your passport to the information center at one of the major subway stations and you can buy one. You can also buy them again after they expire.

10. I highly recommend a food tour in Osaka. Actually a food tour in Kyoto of the big market is also recommended.

    We love food tours. We try food we never would try and get history.

11. For one of your open days in Yokohama, I recommend a walk route through the seaside, Yamashita park, Chinatown and Yokohama park!

12. I think one day is enough for each theme park if it’s just you and your wife. It depends on your interest I guess. For us, we only like the rides and not really the shows. Maybe you might need more than a day if you watch the shows as well as go on rides.

13. for Yokohama there is an amazing place called Sea Paradise. It is a lot like Sea World, there are aquariums, live shows, great food, a few rides, and a shopping center. (there is a little place in the shopping center that is a spot to rest your feet but there are little fish in the water to eat your dead skin. sounds weird but it’s 10x better than a pedicure!) you can easily spend the day here, but if not Kanazawa Hakei is right next door and there are a few shrines, a beach, and lots of little shops.

    for Hakone, I definitely recommend going to the Open Air Museum. it can easily take your entire day to walk thru (most of it is outdoors). there are so many amazing art pieces, gardens, koi ponds. also next door is the Vanitian Glass Museum which is a quick trip but also beautiful.

    i hope you enjoy your trip and that some of this information is useful! I’ve been here two years now and there is still so much to see and do!

14. About your Yokohama days – My visitors to Japan are never disappointed by Kamakura. You could spend a whole day there.

    We usually start at Kita-Kamakura Station, visit Engakuji, get tea at the Bentenchaya, then either walk along the road stopping at Tokeiji, Jochoji, Kenchoji (Hansobo Shrine above), and enter Tsurugaoka Hachimangu from the north. Get lunch and stroll Komachi Dori, then get the Enoden to Hase Station for Hasedera and the Great Buddha.

    If you’re up for a hike, the alternative is the Daibutsu trail from Kita-Kamakura Station – Jochiji, Genjiyama Park, Zeniarai Benzaiten, Sasuke Inari Jinja, finishing at the Great Buddha and Hasedera.

15. I’m here to make the argument that four days at Tokyo Disney Resort is the correct amount of time. Especially if you have never been before.

16. >**okohama 17/12:**

    Personal opinion, but maybe don’t do all museums in one day. For me it would be an information overload, and no way to take in the experiences of each museum. Maybe do one or two museums this day, then do the other another day.

    Maybe add the area around red brick warehouses, the bluffs (yamate), Motomachi, and Yamashita park etc.

    Adding Kamakura/Enoshima as a day trip would work as well.

    >**Tokyo 07/01:** , teamLab Borderless,

    Teamlabs borderless will close in August, and won’t reopen (at another location) until sometime in 2023.

    >**Tokyo 14/01:** Nagano Day Trip

    >**Tokyo 15/01:** Rest Day

    Maybe make it a stay? Two daytrips in a row could be tiring, and instead of going back and resting in Tokyo, you could stay in Nagano with more relaxing nature atmosphere.

    In general, you have several rest days, and some daytrips, so you could make Hakone a one night stay at an onsen ryokan as well.

17. On Kyoto: I’d rethink your days, and give yourself an extra day or two. On 16/1, travel from Tokyo will take ~4 hours with transfer to/from accommodation then another ~30 mins to Arashiyama from Kyoto Station. I’d change my rest day on 15/1 to be a morning travel/afternoon wander day. You can take it easy wandering around Nishiki Market, Yasaka Shrine etc.

    16/1 You could do Higashiyama district and meander through all the way up to Kiyomizudera. Could also incorporate a tea ceremony and/or kimono hire. You can do Fushimi Inari at sunset/night considering it doesn’t close (or do it early on in the day).

    Mount Kurama/Kifune is a day trip.

    You can easily spend a whole day in Arashiyama too if you add in a couple other temples. Kinkakuji looks lovely in photos but realistically it’s in an awkward spot, so I’d cut it and just do some Arashiyama ones instead (Tenryu-ji, Jojakko-ji, Gio-ji etc.. Okochi-sanso Villa is also quite nice.) There are also a bunch of temples in Nara. The deer park won’t take you all day.

    Definitely try to fit in Himeji Castle. And unless you’re mad keen on theme parks, one day at Universal should be enough. I recommend forking out for the passes because even though it makes the experience more regimented, at least you don’t waste half a day lining up for one ride.

18. I would confirm if things are open during New Years, as most places will close for a couple days (especially anything family-owned).

    ​

    Also, suggest that you can look into the idea of “Hatsumode” – first temple visit of the year – especially since you’ll be in Japan during that time.

19. I apologise in advance, as I haven’t read through the abundance of advice given on this thread. I just read Osaka being light. You must do Dotonbori, IF you are a foodie that is. Or just if you enjoy different Japanese cuisine!
    Though, if you’re not into food, Dotonbori by night is still pretty spectacular!

20. Nara is close to Kyoto- I’d go there while in Kyoto. Himeji castle is amazing and near Kobe.

    If you want to go somewhere off the tourist track spend a day or night at Arima onsen near Kobe. It’s an Onsen town.

    Canal city is way overrated. It’s a shopping mall. I wouldn’t go to Disney land or USJ. You can do that in the states. That’s just me.

21. Might want to consider swapping around dates for skiing and the onsen ryokan, given I was pretty sore after doing the same and it was heavenly to rest back and destress afterwards. Are you considering Ginrinsou in Otaru? It’s a great pick in that higher end budget range! If you like sushi I’d definitely check out Kikuzen in Otaru as well.