Hey everyone! I’ll be heading to Japan for the first time in late April/early to mid May this year. I’d love some feedback on my itinerary since I haven’t navigated the country before, and I have some follow up questions at the end.
My trip will largely be focused on picturesque settings for photography as well as many food and drink experiences with some splurging on luxuries in between. Once I finish in Tokyo I plan to do a lot of eating and drinking as well as some shopping and exploring quirks of the city as well.
The itinerary is as follows:
Day 1 4/21: Arrive Narita. Check duty free whiskeys for anything good. NRT express to Tokyo, store empty suitcase in train station until day 14 return to Tokyo. Dinner. Sleep
Day 2 4/22: Travel to Nara, explore deer park and walk through city while recovering from jet lag
Day 3 4/23: Day trip to Mt Yoshino. Get lunch at yoshino station. Hike to upper area, return to Nara in evening. Backup if Yoshino is not worthwhile: Go to Osaka a day early.
Day 4: 4/24: Travel to Osaka, explore Osaka
Day 5 4/25: Osaka – zero things planned.
Day 6 4/26: Travel to Kinosaki, possible pit stop at Himeji Castle. Settle into ryokan, enjoy onsen and kaiseki dinner.
Day 7 4/27: Morning in Kinosaki, Travel to Kyoto. Check into Kyoto TBD lodging, dinner, search for cocktail bars.
Day 8-10 4/28-4/30: Kyoto for 3 full days. Seeing the usual highlights, looking for good dining/coffee/cocktails as well as photo spots.
Day 11 5/1: Travel to Takayama, explore Takayama. See Ida No Village, Shinhotaka Ropeway. Maybe Shirakawa go but worried about crowds. Drink sake. Find scenic photo spots.
Day 12 5/2: Explore any unfinished business in Takayama. Possibly travel to Toyama in evening?
Day 13 5/3: Start in or travel to Toyama. ~~See firefly squid in am?~~ (already sold out). Return to Tokyo Via Alpine route.
Day 14-23 5/4-5/13: Tokyo. Pick up empty luggage to fill with shopping items. Overnight trip to Nikko at some point. Possible other overnight trip to Kusatsu or somewhere else interesting. Explore Tokyo.
\-Tokyo plans: Food and drink centric and exploring quirks. A handful of high end restaurants planned. Hoping for Ghibli museum reservations and will be probably see other museums as well. Near the end I plan to purchase a handful of Japanese whiskey and ceramics to take home as well. Possibly shop for some clothes as well.
And here are some follow up questions and concerns:
\-Is Mount Yoshino still worth visiting in late April? Will I miss any picturesque reasons to be there?
\-Is the alpine route going to be completely overrun since I’ll be there on golden week holidays? Should I plan an overnight in Murodo to ease the schedule that day?
\-Is Takayama or Toyama a better place to stay overnight on day 12?
\-Are there any luxury ryokans that take single travelers? I have one booked for Kinosaki but am curious to visit others.
\-Do handmade ceramic vendors in Tokyo typically ship abroad? I have some concerns over weight and space.
Thanks in advance for any feedback, I’m booking it a bit last minute so I’m sure I’m missing some important details but I’m very excited to finally get out there!
4 comments
Booking.com allows free cancellations for accommodation. I would at least book a hotel for your Tokyo stay
Travel to Nara (or Kansai) on day 1
Also, alpine route on usual days are already busy enough. It will be impossible to enjoy in golden week. I suggest somewhere urban in golden week (or book onsen hotels and enjoy the onsen trip, tho it will be more expensive)
If you go to kansai I would recommend Shirahama. Stunning coastline with beach and rocks.
You may also want to cut your time in Tokyo city and explore the nature in Kanto region. Alternating between urban and nature will be more enjoyable imo. You can alternately stay in Kyoto for longer. Still urban but more traditional, much more shrines and forests.
Eh I had to scroll up after comments. So are you planning the tateyama kurobe alpine route, and in a day?
I did that but while it’s possible to do it in a day. You could stay on top at one of those inns and hike for a day if the snow has melted. It was also a tight timetable to do in a day. I took one of the last buses down. I thought it was a waste when I went up and didn’t make time for a hike so yeah. Since I saw you wanted to hike at Mt Yoshino, you could look into hiking around there too.