Itinerary check: Two weeks in Japan on August 2021 (Hopeful) – Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Osaka

28 comments

1. Hiroshima deserves at least a full day to visit it, unless you just want to take a very superficial look at it.
   There’s so much to see in this very lively city.
   Also, Miyajima is not so close with public transportation. You need at least half a day to go back and forth and have time to look around.

2. Hey there! Looks like an awesome first trip, best of luck with everything ^.^

   I would say you definitely need more time in akihabara if you’re into the nerd-dom like me. Geographically it makes sense to go from asakusa to akihabara to the imperial palace but there’s no way you’ll make it to the imperial palace by the time it closes if you actually give yourself enough time in akihabara. I’d say do akihabara in the evening and give yourself enough time to explore and shop!

   You might wanna consider looking at your Day 8 in Kyoto, it looks like it would be pretty darn difficult to me. I think you’d have to run around like crazy to try to get all that done in a day. Fushimi Inari alone takes a couple hours if you plan on climbing a significant portion of it, and you’re gonna be relying on buses or cabs to go from place to place as opposed to speedy subway trains like in Tokyo. The imperial palace and Ginkakuji both close in the early evening, so you’ll be dealing with some time constraints, too. Just fyi!

   For lodging, I have some good/cheap hostel suggestions if you’d like! Kyoto Morris Hostel in Kyoto is amazing, has laundry, good breakfast, great staff, is clean/modern, is right down the street from the national park/imperial palace, and is walking distance to Gion. For Tokyo, Unplan Shinjuku is a cool spot, a little more expensive but free breakfast, has laundry, and has an amazing location within walking distance to shinjuku gyoen, kabukicho, etc. Within walking distance from Shinjuku station, too, so it makes checking in/out right after/before a flight very easy.

   I hope some of that helps, and I hope y’all have a blast!!

3. Day 1 : I think it’s ok to have a plan, but keep in might that with jet lag and everything, you might be more tired that expected, so be ready to not do both things depending on how you feel.

   Day 5 : If you are really into electronic and otaku stuff, you might remove jimbocho and imperial palace. Especially imperial palace to finish the day, when it get dark there is not much point going there, while Akihabara stores close up to 9pm and later for arcades. Some people say that a couple of hours was ok for them in Akihabara and some people say they could spend 2+ full days there.

   Only for two real days in Osaka, you can easily stay in Kyoto the whole time. It is not hard to move between the two cities for just two days. Of course, it’s ok if you want to see the different atmosphere between the two cities.

   Day 13 : I personally prefer an itinerary starting at Miyajima, then peace museum. The reason is that if you end up by Miyajima, after 5pm, there is nothing to do, while if you finish by Hiroshima, after 5pm there is still a lot of store and restaurant open. If you do only one day, you do not have time to hike the mountain in Miyajima, best is ropeway if you want to go on top. You want to start the day early and you might not have time for the castle, depending on how long it takes for the peace museum.

   From what I could see, you are probably better taking a JR pass from day 7 to 13 to save some money, but you have to fly out of Osaka to make it work.

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5. if you are a real foodie, Dotonbori should be 2 days. i could spend an entire week within Kyoto/Osaka.

6. One thing I’d like to ask: is there no other time of the year you can go than August? Japan in summer really isn’t fun: very hot and humid. Unless there are things you’re planning to see or do that can only be done in summer (like certain festivals or say, climbing Mt Fuji) I’d recommend going in either spring (April/May) or fall (October/November) instead.

7. Hey something to keep in mind – I’m planning a trip around the same time next year but moved my plans back to probably late September to try and avoid the Olympics. It would be cool to see but I’m going more to experience Japan than to experience the Olympics and would rather avoid the crowds and crowding associated with it.

8. We spent three days in Kanazawa last year and had a great time, it’s such a cool city with lots of fun stuff to do. If you like seafood I definitely recommend checking it out – my partner had the best sashimi of his life there and we really enjoyed roaming around the seafood market!

   We spent a night each in Takayama and Shirakawago on the way from Tokyo to Kanazawa. We stayed in a minshuku in Shirakawago which was fun, but there’s not a lot to do there – you could skip it if you’re pressed for time.

9. Wear comfortable shoes! Walking will tucker you out big time.

10. Just my opinion, but I wouldn’t personally plan too much on your first day, cause you’re going to want time to settle in. I would recommend checking in to your hotel and depending on when you get in (I’ve had some 11 am planned arrivals be delayed to 6 pm before), grab some lunch/dinner. I would recommend keeping it local and doing some exploring around your hotel. Take it easy and try to sleep at a normal time for Japan.

    You’ll be charged up and ready to go bright and early! (I usually find myself awake and ready by 5 am the next morning)

11. Been living in Kanazawa for the past year and been to Shirakawago. Kanazawa is chill, not really a huge city like Kyoto but certainly not inaka status. If you’re not really into nightlife and want to see more cultural stuff plus try some of the best (and super affordable!) seafood ever, would highly recommend it.

    Highlights are of course Kenrokuen, Higashi-chaya, a ninja district I forget the name of, another smaller tea district, Omicho fish market, tons of cafes (both Japanese and more American/European menus), Katamachi (shopping district), lots of crafts stores, and the 21st century museum. if you rent a car you can take a drive on a beach sand strip in Chirihama ~40 mins away but I’ve also seen buses drive by.

    but you can spend a day just walking around Kanazawa popping into shops and exploring the streets. Everyone’s super nice for the most part.

    Big con is that Kanazawa is kind of out of the way though since you’re doing the east coast cities.

12. I would keep a day each for Universal and Disney Sea. I had a great time at each. The Flying Dinosaur at Universal will melt your face off. Kanazawa is great but fine to save for a future trip. You certainly want a couple days there.

    If it’s clear on the day you visit Fuji, you must climb it. I’ve tried a few times and it’s always been shit weather.

13. Day 13 doesn’t seem practical to me, you have 3.5 hours in train rides alone from Osaka to Hiroshima and back, plus, Hiroshima station isn’t that close to the main landmarks (iirc it’s a 20-30 minute tram, so that’s an extra hour for the round trip), going from Hiroshima to Miyajima is another 50-60 minutes, so to sum it up you’d have at least 7 hours of travelling that day, and that’s being optimistic.

    Hiroshima and Miyajima each deserve a full day imo, you should stay at hiroshima for 2 nights, but you’d have to drop a day from somewhere else. I’d do it like this: Tokyo => Kyoto/Nara => Osaka => Himeji (and stay for the night) => Hiroshima/Miyajima

    You could also leave Osaka for last so you have a shorter trip back to Tokyo the final day.

    And since you asked, Shirakawa-go is definitely worth visiting but I don’t see a way to squeeze it in your itinerary.

14. Day 12 – Early morning train

    THIS IS A BAD IDEA unless it’s a weekend OR you really want to experience rush-hour trains in Kansai. (Unless you’re talking about the 5AM train in which case you’ll be fine.)

15. There’s really no need to change accommodation between Osaka and Kyoto. They’re literally 30min apart by normal train.
    I made the same mistake my first time visiting and I honestly wish I’d just stayed somewhere near to Kyoto or Umeda (Osaka) station the entire time I was in Kansai.

16. I’ve lived a year in japan. I’ve been to Fukuoka, Osaka, Kyoto and lived in Tokyo.

    If you like anime and video games check out den den town in Osaka. It’s a smaller version of akihabra and way cheaper for retro games.

    I found Kyoto boring. It was so boring we left after 2 nights. But if you really like temples by all means stay longer. I’ve had other people regret leaving Tokyo etc with plans to stay in Kyoto for a week etc. I would spend more days in Osaka but that’s imo.

    Also, Yokohama it really beautiful. I would do that as a day trip wells in Tokyo. The China town is amazing. You could even also do a day trip to enoshima/kamakura I highly recommend both.

    If your looking for cheap places to stay. Stay in the guest houses. Taito area is usually super cheap for Tokyo. Like 40$ for two people. In the guest house you’ll have your own room. Shared washroom and showers. Most have kitchens if you really wanna save money and cook.

    But looks good so far. Stay away from the strong zeros……lol

17. **big warning at the end**

    As far as your plan, I think you’ll enjoy most of those spots. I’d kind of leave out the Tokyo Metro Building, except for a quick photo op,

    As for as Odaiba, it’s a giant mall area for tourists and locals. I’d stay away. The Gundam is Unicorn, so it’s meh at best. If you care about Gundam, go to the new “WALKING” Gundam in Yokohama. The imperial palace is down the street from Tokyo Station, it might be better to get that out of the way when you arrive.

    Akihabara is pretty intense… not sure you can cram that in with Asakusa and the Palace in the same day.

    Bad news time and others have already said this but it needs to be UNDERSTOOD. August is the WORST time to be in Japan. The heat and humidity is crushing. No one goes outside for fun, it’s just to get from the train station to work or the mall and back home. Mid October to mid April is pretty ok, though it gets pretty cold in the winter. Still, I’d take that over the “can’t move in a sea of armpit humidity in hell” summers of Japan.

18. The only thing I would say about your Mt Fuji tour is to be very prepared not to see it – Give it a google for the exact stats but in August the mountain is only visible something like 7 days in the month on average. Very early in the morning will be the best chance. You will likely have a lovely time in the area regardless though! But don’t set your heart on the classic shot of Fuji standing proudly over a lake. Also worth noting there will be no snow on the top in August either so again it won’t look like the postcard picture we all imagine even if you do get lucky and see it.

19. Tokyo: samurai museum

    Tokyo: learn samurai sword – Samurai Kembu Theater
    Japan, 〒605-0005 Kyoto, Higashiyama Ward, Sanchome, 35-7 三条花見小路東入ル GOZANビル
    +81 75-751-2033
    https://goo.gl/maps/RVWaFhW4Tya9yxz39

    Kyoto: samurai joe tour (he’s amazing)

    Kyoto: best ice cream, ice cream noodles you will ever have! In old gion– Gojo Paradiso 五条パラディソ
    169-1 Shoshinjicho, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, 600-8116, Japan
    https://goo.gl/maps/Vzif2StYs4F8JvyK9

    Nara: nara Park to Feed bowing deers

20. This is your first time in japan? For me wayyy to much planning. My ex came here and honestly we planned out a lot, but realized that being spontaneous here was way more fun. Sounds like plenty of planning

21. I really appreciate all your inputs guys.

    I edited our itinerary and for **Day 1**, I removed Odaiba and just basically explore the area and maybe if we are near Tokyo Tower then basically just go there already.

    For **Day 5** I removed Jimbocho and Imperial Palace.

    **Day 8** is pretty much the same though I’m still looking at what [HisNameIsLeeGodammit](https://www.reddit.com/user/HisNameIsLeeGodammit/) said and might shrink the activities for that day.

    I also realize from your inputs here that I’ll just go to Hiroshima and Miyajima on my next trip to Japan as 1 day is not enough to see all the beautiful spots in those locations. Probably do **Takayama/Kanazawa/Shirakawa-go/Hiroshima/Miyajima** on my next trip.

    With that said, I moved Universal Studios Japan to **Day 13**. Basically just chill on **Day 14** and try restaurants and do some shopping.

    Now, we are accustomed to a hot weather already since I live in the Philippines but I also realized that why not move it to October or November instead where the weather is much cooler. Add to the fact that autumn leaves are awesome.

    I would like to ask another question though. Is it better to just stick to Kyoto as a base in going to Nara, Himeji Castle and Osaka? Day 15 is our flight back to Manila in Kansai Airport so I thought of having the remaining days there since our flight back home is from Osaka.

    ​

    You can see the much more detailed itinerary here (onedrive link):

    [https://1drv.ms/x/s!AqXmSZCBhSm4hGvvN8KDbHFJ2U6_?e=8Gvnov](https://1drv.ms/x/s!AqXmSZCBhSm4hGvvN8KDbHFJ2U6_?e=8Gvnov)

    ​

    Thanks guys!!!

22. I trust you guys to have done all your research and covered all your bases, but honestly, from someone who travels a lot and just been to Japan this January following this exact route (Tokyo Kyoto Nara Osaka), I feel like you’re doing too much. This may honestly come down to personal preference, but I think you’re trying to fit way too many activities into 1 day, and that’s across all your destinations.

    When I went I visited 3 sights a day and took the time to enjoy the city as it was, and to me taking it slow enjoying the journey along the way is way better than rushing everywhere just to get a superficial look of a landmark. One of the main attractions of Japan is the atmosphere, way of life and culture, so maybe cut down some attractions and give yourself some extra time (trust me you’ll need it). Also if you are seeing that much a day you can easily burn out and it will definitely impact your experience negatively. I think this is especially noticeable in days 5/6 in Tokyo. Shinjuku Gyoen and the Imperial Palace are both massive attractions, so you definitely won’t have time if you’re thorough.

    Now for some attractions I like that you missed: Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, Ueno Park in Tokyo, Nijo Castle in Kyoto, Osaka Aquarium, Shinsekai in Osaka. Again, just make sure you evaluate your priorities and cut down on some attractions and plan ahead (I remember when I went, I easily racked up 30,000 steps every day. Be sure to look at maps beforehand).

23. Hey guys! I posted (comment) my edited itinerary earlier. I’ll be sure to read all your suggestions and advice on that one.

    Basically i removed some of the spots from the original.

24. My two cents: I did a similar itinerary last year in September and from my experience, your days 8, 12 and 13 look really packed, you will probably be in a rush and end up very tired.

    Also, I highly recommend visiting Nikko and Kamakura, those were among our favorite places to visit. However, we didn’t visit Disney or Universal Studios.

25. Hi! I went to Japan for the first time last year October. My husband and I went to Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo. for 10 days. When I went there last year, there was a huge tropical storm that flooded the railway systems and our flight from LA were delayed for 6 hours… needless to say, we had to switch up all of our plans on day 1 and 2 to make up for the travel time that we didn’t get to put in on day 1. So if you’re going in October, be ready for that, or maybe don’t plan on too much on day 1 and 2 just in case.

    Plan on walking a lot and the fatigue that comes with it… we were walking 20-30k steps a day. If you regularly walk that many steps a day, you should do fine.

    Day 3 – You might be able to squeeze in more, I was able to finish the first 4 items by 2 pm.

    Day 5 – I think you scratched the Imperial Palace, but it’s not a bad walk around the park if you have extra time. You need to preorder the ticket on their website at least a month before to get in.

    (btw, I hope you don’t over pack and have too many luggage. Some of Kyoto’s subway exits do not have elevators or escalators. My husband had to carry our 3 suit cases up 3 flights of stairs to get out at one of the exit).

    Day 7 – you might have time to squeeze in ninenzaka, which is directly in front of kiyomizudera. Found a Studio Ghibli store in there.

    Day 8 – yeah, plan to miss some of these locations. Kyoto travel will be mostly by bus, so plan to wait. Fushimi Inari will take up half a day if you plan to hike the whole thing, which was totally worth it. But, that location is actually quite a distance from the Imperial Palace (which you also need to prebook tickets for) and Ginkakuji (closes early). But now I’m looking at your other days… some days are a bit sparse… so maybe you can plan for day 8’s location to be an overflow.

    Day 9 – If you are planning a kaiseiki lunch in Gion, totally worth the extra spending too just for the experience, will need to ask hotel accommodations to help you book. There’s also a very good kakigori place there… I am missing it =D.

    Osaka also has it’s own electric town/anime district, since you’re into anime. We also went back to dotombori 2 nights in a row just for fun and food.

    If you are planning to visit some morning markets for food, beware of its opening time, some don’t open till 10-10:30 am.

    Overall, have a great time! It will be awesome and much more!

26. I’ve been to Japan multiple times in August….going again( hopefully) next August. The heat is wonderful and exhilarating….ignore all the naysayers and enjoy your vacation!

27. Just curious, because I’m wondering myself, will you just be carrying all your luggage with you around?

28. Just throwing my street fair coment out down below since you said August and the one we went to was that month. It was fucking HOT and HUMID to where a few walking trips sucked, but I’m a big baby and if I still had the time of my life most people should be able to deal with it.

    Street fairs were easily one of the **best** parts of our trip. We walked around the **Azubu Juban festival**, blocks of people and SO MANY food stalls! Look up the time frame you’ll be there and find a street fair/festival to go to, especially if it’s food oriented.