First of all, thanks to anyone willing to take a minute of their time to help out!
In about a month me and my friend are visiting Japan for the first time due, I love Japanese culture and have been planning this trip for a long time. I am hoping to get some help, advices and review of the trip itinerary, because the overall proces of planning such a long trip, especially for Japan, can be quite overwhelming and while I try my best to get all the information, I will for sure make some mistakes along the way. Please let me know if you have any questions.
**Some general information and thought process:**
* 2 persons, ~30 years old, first time in Japan (also first time in Asia for me), vaccinated, don’t need visa, etc.
* Long flight to Japan, first a 3-hour connecting flight, then 12 hour flight to Tokyo.
* We’ll be taking a 3 week JR Pass, based on internet calculator it made sense cost-wise. First 2 days will be covered by train pass from Narita and walking and then 1-day Tokyo metro pass for 2nd day. For internet we took a portable WiFi deal.
**We want to have an “organized but not rushed” approach to the vacation. We want to see a lot of stuff, but don’t want to be burned out by rushing place to place. We want to experience the vibe, food, etc. as well as see all the great things. For most of the days we have a list of places/activities for a certain district, etc., but we’re not planning on making all of them happen, it’s just things we thought were cool. Basically see as we go and visit what we like.**
# DAY 1-5 // TOKYO // Staying in Shinjuku district
**DAY 1:** Arrive from airport, checkin, explore Golden Gai, try to beat jet lag and chill.
**DAY 2:** Explore the Shinjuku district the whole day: Taisoji Temple, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Nichome (evening), etc.
**DAY 3:** Explore the Shibuya district the whole day: Harajuku area, Meiji Jingu park, Yoyogi Koen, Kawai Monster Cafe, etc.
**DAY 4:** *Not planned yet and open for any ideas.*
**DAY 5:** Checkout, leave for Kyoto.
# DAY 5-9 // KYOTO // Staying near Nijo castle
**DAY 5:** Arrival from Tokyo, chill at Pontocho alley and Kamogawa river.
**DAY 6:** Explore east side of Kyoto: Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kiyomizu-dera, Sanjusangendomawari, Eikan-do Zenrin-ji, Philosopher’s Path, Honen-In, etc.
**DAY 7:** Explore west side of Kyoto: Arashiyama bamboo forest, Monkey Park Iwatayama, Ryoanji Temple Kori, Kinkaku-ji, Yokai street, etc.
**DAY 8:** Visit Nijo castle, chill, Kyoto Samurai Experience (airbnb event), Nikishi market, visit any of districts: Gion, Teramachi, Shinkyogoku.
**DAY 9:** Check out from hotel, Kyoto tower and food, leave for Osaka.
# DAY 9-15 // OSAKA // Staying near Dotonbori district // daytrips to Nara, Kobe and a ryokan
**DAY 9:** Arrival from Kyoto, checkin, explore Dotonbori district.
**DAY 10:** Nara daytrip: Todai-ji Temple, Isui-en Garden, Kasuga-Taisha Shrine, Nara Park, Yoshikien Garden, Kofuku-ji Temple, Higashimuki district.
**DAY 11:** Explore Osaka by visiting some of (not all!) Utsubo Park, Umeda Sky Building, Namba Yasaka Shrine, Osaka Castle, Shitennoji Temple, Sumiyoshi Taisha, Americamura.
**DAY 12:** Kobe daytrip: *not planned yet and open for any ideas, love beef*
**DAY 13:** Visit Nippombashi Dem-Dem, maybe Osaka aquarium, explore Shinsekai district.
**DAY 14:** Check out from hotel, go to remote Ryokan, chill there and explore nature.
**DAY 15:** Check out from Ryokan, return to Osaka, leave for Hiroshima.
# DAY 15-19 // HIROSHIMA // Staying near the main train station // daytrips to Miyajima and Okoyama
**DAY 15:** Arrival from Osaka, check in, explore city centre, downtown, Nagarekawacho, visit Hiroshima Kagura show.
**DAY 16:** Exploring Hiroshima: Shukkeien garden, Hiroshima Castle, Peace Park, Peace Museum, Atomic dome, etc.
**DAY 17:** Miyajima day trip: Train, ferry to island, deers and island tour, Machiya Street, Mount Misen ropeway, ferry and train back.
**DAY 18:** Okoyama day trip: Handayama botanical garden, Korakuen garden, Okoyama Castle, Omotecho shopping district, etc.
**DAY 19:** Check out from hotel, leave for Tokyo.
# DAY 19-23 // TOKYO // Staying in Ginza district
**DAY 19:** Arrive from Hiroshima, check in, spend the evening in Chuo City district – Tsukiji Hongan-ji, Hamarikyu Gardens, Ginza Haccho Shrines, Itōya Stationary Store, etc.
**DAY 20:** In the morning we booked a tripadvisor event to go to Daikoku car meetup, then spend the day in Taito City district – Sensō-ji tempel, Ameya-Yokocho Market, Ueno Park, Kan’ei-ji, Souvenir Hunting in Asakusa, Shichifukujin Pilgrimage, etc.
**DAY 21:** In the morning we will visit sumo stable training (airbnb event), then spend the day in Akihabara district – Shopping district, Kanda Myojin Shrine, etc.
**DAY 22:** *Not planned yet and open for any ideas.*
**DAY 23:** Check out from hotel (leave baggage there), spend whole day repeating things we enjoyed and buying souvenirs, leave for evening/night flight back.
10 comments
Just too many things to do each day. You wont make it
Even with the JR pass you will need to get an ic card for all the non JR transit you will need to take.
>Meiji Jingu park
Meiji Jingu is a shrine, not a park. It is adjacent to Yoyogi Park, which might be the confusion.
>Kawai Monster Café
This is permanently closed, unfortunately.
>DAY 4: *Not planned yet and open for any ideas.*
You mention liking Japanese culture, but what else? Music? Art? Anime? Nature? Can’t really suggest unless you throw some more specifics in. I’m very happy to throw some cool suggestions your way if you answer. Same with Day 22.
>DAY 6: Explore east side of Kyoto: Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kiyomizu-dera, Sanjusangendomawari, Eikan-do Zenrin-ji, Philosopher’s Path, Honen-In, etc.
This might be a lot. Fushimi Inari can take anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on if you walk the whole thing, including the shopping streets on the way up to it. So just remember to rest and pace yourselves.
>DAY 11
Holy cow that day is packed as hell. Just remember to rest and it’s okay to not do everything. I hope the ryokan has an onsen because y’all are going to need to soak your muscles, for real. Pepper in some really hot baths through out all your days.
>Owf Cafe (Akiba Fukurou)
This is a bit of my own personal drum that I bang, but please do research on any animal cafes you want to visit. Some of them foster and rehabilitate animals (yay!) and others just have really shitty conditions that the animals live in as they are basically props for photos and that’s it (boo!), so, just do some research first.
Aim to do 2 things a day. I went to Japan for 21 days and we had to slow down, it was too much to pack everything in. Consider travel time and more rest, relaxed days. Also some things in Japan don’t open until 11. Check opening an closing days for everything, ahead of time. I found, construction shut some things down. Also, a lot of of restaurants were closed on certain days. Also went I did this kind of trip, I was exhausted I had to go to sleep super early, we also started our days early. Because of that schedule, I didn’t get to do anytime activities.
You have enough time to explore all 5 districts in Tokyo, 1 district focused each day.
It’s not realistic to explore the city your in and take a day trip on the same day.
One of your free Tokyo days I think you should do team lab planets and odaiba or a day trip to nikko
* your middle leg from Kyoto/Osaka westward could be structured as Tokyo > Kyoto > Kobe > Hiroshima > Okayama (I don’t think I heard of Okoyama?) > Osaka > Tokyo – I don’t think it makes sense to do them as day trips if you are passing by it en route between Osaka and Hiroshima. Depending on your ryokan’s location it could be incorporated into this moving traveling itin as well.
* If large amount of luggage is a concern there are coin lockers or you could ship your luggage between places – Takkubin shipping you can nominate (delay) arrival date of your package.
* I am generally pretty anti-national JR pass and prefer regional passes or other company transit passes – typically it actually doesn’t afford as much convenience in town as people think
* this middle leg (Kyoto > Hiroshima > Osaka) would be better served by a west JR regional pass
Ayyyy my trip to Japan is exactly at the same dates! Learning a lot from this post! 🫶
I am Japanese, and this is an extremely important question: have you booked all of the places you are going, eating and staying from April 29 to May 5? If not, start doing it NOW. It may be too late, but still the earlier, the better.
Japan has consecutive holidays between the end of April and the beginning of May, and this is one of the busiest times throughout the year. Shinkansen are booked 300 % or so, and the traffic is jammed 10-20 km on the highway here and there. The hotels put high season prices and yet, many of them get booked up.
It’s not clear where you would be during the period. If you have planned on travelling from a city to another, the transportation would be a huge problem. Sort everything out asap.
In addition, I’m from Okayama. You wouldn’t have to go to Omotecho. Nothing there. The Korakuen Garden is beautiful, but think about exploring Kurashiki. There will be much more to offer.
Lastly, a suggestion for Kobe. Kitano Ijinkan-Gai during daytime, and Kikuseidai in the evening.