Hi! Travelling to Japan 1st of May (Golden week, I know… but Tokyo should be “ok”). Travelling with my gf, couple in our 30s. My second time to Japan (5 days in Tokyo + 1 day in Hakone a couple of years back), first time for my girlfriend. Excited!
Got flight tickets kind of recently, and have spent quite a lot of time reading here (thanks everyone for so many awesome posts and content, incredibly valuable!), books, watching Youtube etc over the last couple of weeks.
After getting past that initial ‘overwhelmed stage’, I am now at the point where I feel I need some input on the itinerary. There is a more detailed version with activities per day, but for now what I feel I would really appreciate your support around is the sequence of things. Consider below, divided in to parts, see why below:
**Part 1**
* 2-6 of May – Tokyo – spend 4,5 days in Tokyo
* 7-8 of May – Hakone – “classic” route, onsen, ryokan
**Part 2**
* 8-12 of May – Kyoto – spend 4,5 days in Kyoto (possible day trips to e.g. Nara)
* 13-14 of May – Kinosaki Onsen town – travel to Kinosaki early, enjoy 7 different onsen + ryokan. Travel to Onomichi on the 14th of May
**Part 3**
* 15-16 of May – bike Shimanami Kaido, spend the night on Omishima or somewhere else. Go to Matsuyama or Hiroshima on the 16th after biking.
* 17-18 of May – Hiroshima half day – ferry to Miyajima spend the night on Miyajima
* 18-19 of May – Explore Miyajima, Mt Misen etc.. travel to Osaka in the afternoon
**Part 4**
* 19-22 of May – Osaka and potential daytrips (USJ booked and planned for the 19th)
* Fly back late on the 22nd of May
**Two questions:**
1. **My main question is whether the sequence above seems reasonable and doable?** Should I switch something around? Is it a better idea to head down to Hiroshima+Miyajima (Part 3) after Hakone and then head back up to do Kyoto+Osaka (Part 2 and Part 4). From a sequence perspective it would then be (with slight adjustments):
\* Part 1
\* Part 3
\* Part 2
\* Part 4
2. My aim with this trip is to have a good mix of the following elements: 1. **big** **city life** (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto), 2. **onsen** (Kinosaki onsen town, Hakone), **nature** (Hakone, Shimamani Kaido, Kyoto…), **other activities**, **including shorter hikes** (Shimamani Kaido, USJ, Kyoto). Only thing booked currently is hotel in Tokyo and USJ tickets + express pass – so flexibility is still there to change things up. **From your perspective, have I achieved that balance?** Anything you would do differently (e.g. cut out Kinosaki because we already go to Hakone, see this instead, and so on).
Really appreciate any input to this. Thanks!
//mumriki
1 comment
> Kinosaki
May 13/14 are the weekend, ryokan usually charge a premium for saturday night stays and it will be more crowded with domestic tourists. I would do anything possible to shift this to a weekday – perhaps move Part 3 up, then do Kinosaki in-between parts 3 and 4 on the 18/19?
The G20 in Hiroshima starts on May 19, so this method also lets you avoid being in/around Hiroshima on that date.