Late November to Early December Itinerary Check: “golden route” but highly catered to personal interests

18 comments

1. Day 1, the first option seems to be well thought with the the boat to Asakusa, while Sunshine Aquarium option seems to be a bit light for a full day.

   Day 2, I would for sure select Enoshima and even add Kamakura to that day instead of Odawara. If the weather is good, there is a place in Enoshima from where you can see Mount Fuji.

   Day 3, not impossible, but keep in mind it’s a least 2h30 to reach the monkey park (I mean, the entrance before the hike to the park). Might want to check to stop by a onsen in Yudanaka onsen or Shibu onsen, either at a public onsen or check if there is ryokan that offer day use of their onsen.

   Day 4, try to figure when you will take the train and either plan something in Tokyo or in Kyoto.

   Day 5, Kinkaku-ji and Fushimi Inari-taisha are not exactly on the same side of the city, so you might want to split both on different day (you have potentially 2 blank day where you can move one of them). One general area you do not have in your plan is Higashiyama.

   You could consider doing Kyoto-Hiroshima-Osaka, so this way the train ride to return to Tokyo would not be as long.

   On the day you go to Hiroshima, you could consider stopping at Himeji (with goal to be there when the castle open) and check the garden in Himeji instead of Hiroshima, lunch in the train and afternoon around Peace museum.

   If you like history, the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno park is a great history museum.

   ​

   Yes, JR Pass 14 days would make sense, but keep in mind it does not cover everything, so it might make sense to get a Suica or Pasmo to pay for non JR transport, like subway in Tokyo or Osaka, bus in Kyoto and tram in Hiroshima, can also be used to pay in convenience store, vending machine and other. Note that if you land in Haneda, you can use JR pass for the Tokyo Monorail.

   ​

   Generally the itinerary seems to make sense, if you are going for food I would recommend to at least search a bit to know what the regional dish of each area you will visit are so you can try it, I can name several if you want.

2. Enoshima is one of my favorite places to visit. You could easily spend and entire day there if you do the long hike up the stairs from front to back. Nearby Hasedera Temple is also worth a visit if you’re interested in history. This could be because I’ve been so many times, but Ueno Park isn’t really that interesting, especially at night in the winter. In my opinion you’d have more fun going to Tokyo Dome City, or Yanaka which isn’t too much further than Ueno. A walk through Yanaka Cemetery before hitting the shopping area can be kind of cool too, as there are a lot of historic tombs in the area.

3. I’d suggest a day trip to Enoshima and Kamakura, and skip Odawara castle altogether. I’d visit the southern coast, Iwaya caves, and shrine in Enoshima, and the buddha, shopping street, and beach in Kamakura. Instead of Odawara castle, you should take a few hours stop at Himeji on your way to Hiroshima from Osaka (the castle is much nicer).
   I’d also suggest an overnight stay in Hakone (close to Odawara) for the onsens and ropeway to Owakudani valley. You can also take a cruise on Lake Ashi and see Mount Fuji (if it’s not cloudy).

4. May want to double check about Miyajima. Last I heard, it’s undergoing major repairs and might not be open in time for your trip, so perhaps plan backup activities for that day. A few suggestions are visiting Onomichi or Himeji Castle.

5. This is very close to my first trip to Japan, both the time of the year and the route. So my hot take is that it’s doable but I’ll look over again later tonight when I’m not on mobile.

6. Day 2: depends on what you’re into but I would choose Enoshima over Odawara. Odawara castle isn’t very impressive and Enoshima is lovely. You could consider adding Kamakura to an Enoshima day trip, they’re very near and Kamakura has some wonderful temples and shrines (my personal favourite is Hasedera). If you want a castle I’d consider adding a stop in Himeiji, much nicer castle and very much on your route.

   Day 3: is this intended as a day trip from Tokyo? It’s a lot of travel time. I did really love the monkey park but I would think about staying overnight in one of the nearby onsen towns, Nagano city or even Matsumoto. I’m a little biased because Matsumoto is one of my favourite Japanese cities but it has an excellent castle if you don’t go to Odawara or Himeiji. Onsen town are also lovely if you’re at all into onsen.

   Day 4: you can do something besides just travel here, the trip isn’t that long

   Day 12: This might depend on dates, the floating Tori restoration is due to be complete by the end of this year, so it might still be under wraps when you intend to visit.

   Just generally, I would probably go Kyoto > Hiroshima > Osaka > Tokyo because the train from Hiroshima to Tokyo is quite long.

7. Thank you so much for all your helpful feedbacks! I was afraid of being overwhelmed by the train/bus system so we figured we would play it safe-ish

8. Sort of unrelated but noting your excitement about whale sharks, I went to La Paz Mexico a couple years ago and had the opportunity to swim with whale sharks in the ocean, it was the coolest experience ever and super logistically easy. You should check it out for another adventure in the future:)

9. For the foodie in your group, get the tabelog app. Anything above a 3.5 rating is fantastic.

10. Day 2: Enoshima is reasonable day out.

    Odawara Castle/Mishima Skywalk is an odd combo outside Odawara ume festival (March). If anything, you could start the day early with Mishima Skywalk and then move on to Lake Ashi area, because the bus connecting Mishima station with Skywalk terminates at Motohakone-ko.

    Day 3: Jigokudani Monkey Park in late November/in early December is a bit pointless hike through muddy/sleety terrain for little pay off since it’s generally too warm for monkeys to be permanently around the pools.

    Day 9: Visit either Himeji or Hikone instead of Osaka-jo (in late autumn – it does not have any redeeming graces).

11. Japan is very easy for a traveller. English signage everywhere. Let’s hope independent travel is possible later this year. IMHO Osaka is an ok base but not a great visit. Hiroshima is nice and is a good base. Tokyo is great and huge. Has a zoo. Kyoto is super though no underground trains. Busses and taxis there.

12. Ok, first up: I will never recommend the golden route loop* within 14 days to anyone. You only have (realistically) 196hrs (14hrs over 14 days) of non-upkeep waking time; doing the golden route at so short a period means spending so much time spent on trains (4hrs from Hiroshima to Tokyo, for one). There *will* be a second, third trip. Save some places for later to enjoy the now.

    That said – if you’re dead set on doing it that way, below are my notes:

    * Weather might be off for the monkey park (too early for snow?), and srsly, it feels too far out of the way. I’d skip for now, and maybe sub Hikone for it. It’s a good day trip from Kyoto (an hour’s train away) and has an original castle. Skip the other castles, original castles are where it’s at.
    * If you’re looking for number of places to try the nightlife, go for Osaka over Kyoto. Or Tokyo. Kyoto can be pretty dead at night.
    * What kind of history are we talking about here? Feudal era? Check out the Hikone and Himeji castle (both originals) and Oyamazumi shrine, they have the biggest concentration of feudal weapons and armor in Japan (new, used, you name it). WWII and/or modern naval warfare? Check out the Yamato museum and the JMSDF Kure Museum in Kure, Hiroshima
    * check if the torii in Miyajima is done with restoration; otherwise you’re not missing much unless you plan to stay overnight there.
    * given the time of year, double-check the opening hours of museums. They’re probably closing earlier vs say, August, where places are open till past 5pm.

    ​

    * I said loop – if you can do an open jaw flight, then maybe it’s borderline feasible

13. Please skip JigoKudani Park Snow Monkey. I was there 3 years ago Feb winter. The weather was 2-3 degC. It was not cold enough for the monkeys to dip in the onsen. Moreover it is quite far away with very long trip and you need to walk 1.6km from the entrance to see the Monkeys. Unless you are staying in the nearby Ryokan, else leave it for another trip.

    If you want a day trip out of Tokyo, got to Mount Fuji instead. Or spend more time visiting Tokyo. You didn’t list down Shinjuku / Harijuku . Shibuya. Lots of nice food in this area.

14. Are you planning on taking the Sumida River Line from Hama Rikyu to Asakusa? Because the Hama Rikyu stop doesn’t have any boats going to Asakusa.

15. Everyone has covered the non-food aspects really well already so I’ll just concentrate on the food aspect.

    My wife and I made food, and sightseeing equal priorities so I’ll have a few tips from my personal trip.

    It depends what sort of food you’re into but I would recommend planning beforehand. A lot of the high-end restaurants require booking in advance before, sometimes months in advance. Some really good restaurants have special ticketing systems or very long lines so you’ll have to plan accordingly.

    This is contrary to a lot of other people’s experiences but I found the restaurants I planned ahead for where really good and the spontaneous ones were more underwhelming.

    Someone else mentioned tabelog. I highly recommend that as well. I would suggest finding a 3.5 rated or higher restaurant near where you’re planning to be during meal times and plan accordingly.

    I found that to be perfect for me and my wife but some people might prefer to be more spontaneous.

    Hope you enjoy! I’m happy to answer more questions if you have any.

16. I though you basically did a good job in spreading things out.

    Tokyo: Only three days in Tokyo. That’s a mistake. Perhaps you could cut out on day in Osaka and one day in Kyoto to give you two more days in Tokyo. Just a thought. Don’t do the snow monkeys. I assume you’ve read up on Tsukiji Market. If not, you should.

    Osaka: I like how you gave Osaka a minimal amount of time. Frankly, there’s really not much to do in Osaka, beside Dotonbori. Make sure you try the Okonomiyaki. Later you can compare the Osaka style to the Hiroshima style.

    Kyoto: I like how you gave Kyoto a lot of time. Don’t forget Philosopher’s Path!

    Hiroshima: I also like how you gave Hiroshima a lot of time. Yes, I kinda feel like I’m walking through a cemetery when I visit Hiroshima. But, if you open your mind, you’ll see that it’s VERY clean city. The night life is wonderful. The people are very nice. Make sure you try the Okonomiyaki. DON”T go to “Okonomiyaki-Mura”. It’s a tourist trap. Just find some nice mom-and-pop hole-in-the-wall neighborhood restaurant. Or, ask some people for a recommendation. Check out Tabelog.

    Miyajima: I hope the torii is fixed when you get there. The deer are nice. Make sure your partner doesn’t walk around with an ice cream cone because those deer will jump on her (?) and chomp down on the ice cream.

    Additional thought: If you can, try to make time for a day trip to Himeji Castle. You won’t be sorry. It’s the finest castle in Japan.

17. I definitely recommend Enoshima. Alternatively, Hakone is also a lovely day trip. The Sunshine City aquarium isn’t very interesting. It’s crowded and overpriced. But, be sure to give yourselves plenty of time at the Osaka Aquarium, that one truly is world class.

    In Hiroshima, I believe within walking distance from the peace park, there’s a multi story mall of nothing but different okinomiyaki restaurants.

    I’m so-so on Miyajima, tbh. It’s full of deer like Nara, but the deer are larger and more aggressive. If you’re into animals, heading out to Okunoshima (aka bunny island) is a neat experience. You can wander the ruins of poison gas factories and pet/feed hundreds of rabbits. It might be hard to fit into your schedule, but the Safari Park just to the south of Mt. Fuji is a great animal experience too. You can pet capybaras and stuff there.

18. (Posting again since it’s been a few days since my first post)

    If parks and gardens qualify under nature, I’d suggest adding a few of them–especially since the leaves should be turning while you’re there. In Tokyo, I liked both [Shinjuku Gyoen](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3034_001.html) and Meiji Shrine (there’s a [garden on the grounds](https://www.meijijingu.or.jp/en/whattosee/garden/)). Before Corona, there was a festival near these (1/2 to 1 mile)–[Icho Matsuri](http://www.jingugaien-ichomatsuri.jp/)–that had [a bunch of food booths](http://www.jingugaien-ichomatsuri.jp/shoplist.html) (ja) with stuff from around Japan (it’s also at the start/end of [an avenue lined with ginkgo trees](https://www.amusingplanet.com/2015/12/the-ginkgo-avenue-in-tokyo.html)). Also, right next to Hamarikyu is the smaller [Kyu-Shiba-rikyu garden](https://www.tokyo-park.or.jp/teien/en/kyu-shiba/index.html).

    In Kyoto: You may want to rethink the Fushimi Inari / Kinkakuji day since they are on opposite sides of the city–maybe Arashiyama and Kinkakuji (both are still on my to-visit list)? I did visit Fushimi Inari but when moving from Kyoto to Nara — since your Nara day is fairly light, this *might* be something to look into? Additionally, in Kyoto, I’d recommend looking into [some of](https://sharing-kyoto.com/Events/magazine/ev005935) the [temple illuminations](https://jw-webmagazine.com/5-best-temples-in-kyoto-where-you-should-visit-at-night-269a680b70fc/) that are in the evening — they light up the trees and buildings and some have light shows (projections onto the Zen rock gardens and buildings).

    For Miyajima, if you can time it right, try to visit Itsukushima during high tide — it ends up looking like the *shrine* (not just the torii gate) is floating on the water. I enjoyed staying the night on the island but I think you should be able to hit your three items without doing so. The one thing to keep in mind would be the weather — it ended up being overcast and drizzly the day I did the ropeway so my view at the summit was of only the clouds it and I were in.