Looking for some feedback and suggestions on my rough itinerary for an approximately 2-week trip to Japan. We will be one female and one male, around 30 years old, flying from Toronto to Tokyo. We’d like to stay in a mix of more budget-friendly hotels (up to $150/night), but also willing to splurge on a few nights of accommodations (i.e., Ryokans)
I have put two placeholders for ryokans – one for Hakone and one for Kyoto. Looking for recommendations on where best to slot in a stay at a ryokan. We both have small tattoos (ribcage/inner arm).
Based on this itinerary, is it worth getting the JR Pass?
**Day 1 – Arrive in Tokyo (10/21)**
* Flight arrives \~3pm
* Check-into hotel in Shinjuku area
* Dinner in Shinjuku
**Day 2 – Tokyo**
* Tsukiji Market
* Explore Ginza
* Ebisu Yokocho \*Dinner\*
**Day 3 – Tokyo**
* Asakusa
* Ameya Yokocho
* Shibuya District/Shibuya Crossing
* Harajuku Street
* Udon Maruka or Shin Udon \*Lunch\*
* ZakuZaku
**Day 4 – Hakone (Mt Fuji)**
* Travel to Hakone (\~90 min) – *is the Hakone free pass worth it?*
* Check into Ryokan – ***Suggestions? Konansou***
**Day 5 – Hakone to Kyoto**
* Travel from Hakone to Kyoto (\~3 hours) – Train
* Nishiki Market \*Lunch\*
* Philospher’s Path/Nanzen-Ji
* Check into hotel – ***Suggestions? Stay near Gion Station***
**Day 6 – Kyoto**
* Arashiyama (Bamboo Forest)
* Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavilion)
**Day 7 – Kyoto**
* Check into Ryokan – ***Suggestions for under $600/night total?***
* Fushimi Imari Shrine (7am)
* Explore Gion / Kiyamachi
**Day 8 – Kyoto to Hiroshima**
* Travel to Hiroshima (\~2 hours) – JR Pass
* Peace Park/Peace Museum
* Okkundou Mazemen Japan / Okonomi-mura \*Lunch\*
* Check into hotel – ***Suggestions?***
**Day 9 – Hiroshima**
* Visit Miyajima island
**Day 10 – Hisohima to Osaka**
* Travel from Hiroshima to Osaka (\~1.5 hours) – JR Pass
* Tenjinbashisuji
* Tenma \*Lunch\*
* Check into hotel – ***Suggestions?***
**Day 11 – Osaka**
* Dotonbori
* Kuromon Market
* Shitennoji Temple
* Okonomiyaki Mizuno \*Dinner\*
**Day 12 – Osaka**
* Universal Studios Japan
**Day 13 – Osaka to Tokyo**
* Travel to Tokyo (\~2.5 hours) – Not covered by JR
* Check into hotel
* Ginza Iwa \*Lunch\*
**Day 14 – Tokyo**
* Shinjuku District
**Day 15 – Tokyo (11/5)**
* Flight home to Canada
7 comments
Following for Kyoto ryokan suggestion
Why isn’t your Osaka to Tokyo trip covered by the JR?
All suggestions from my recent trip:
Day 2 or 13 if in Ginza area- perhaps Monjayaki (anywhere in Tsukishima) for lunch
Day 6 – Arashiyama monkey park
Day 10 – Shinsekai or shopping in Shinsaibashi (could also be done when in Dotonbori area)
For hotel in Hiroshima, check out Lazuli Hiroshima. It’s about a 15-min walk from Hiroshima station. Nice little hotel(only 11 rooms, iirc). Spacious rooms. We stayed 2 nights and paid 290 AUD.
Why not do Osaka directly after Kyoto? They are very close together / can take a regional train.
I did a similar itinerary in 2017, but went Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka-Hiroshima, then a flight to Sapporo. You can substitute this with a flight from Hiroshima to Tokyo (6K points on United or 7.5K on British Airways, transfers from Amex/Chase – book direct with ANA/JAL if don’t have points). There are a couple benefits of flying HIJ-HND instead of doubling back on the shinkansen. First, it saves a few hours of travel (though HIJ airport is a bit of a pain to get to). Second, since you are no longer doing a shinkansen roundtrip, it no longer pays to do the JR pass. The advantage of not travelling on the JR pass is that you can take the faster Nozomi trains, again saving time. And third, you no longer have to go out of pocket on the Osaka-Tokyo leg of the journey. Just some food for thought.
Also, if you are into steak and/or whiskey, would recommend sneaking in a day in Kobe after Osaka.
That’s kind of wild, I think I’m taking the same flight as you from Canada to Japan but on a different date. Very curious about the feedback on your itinerary, we don’t have any plans in stone yet and still have a lot of questions since our trip will only be for 11 days total.
This is almost our itinerary to a T lol, here to see suggestions