Hi, I am a solo female traveller in my 40’s. This will be my first time in Japan and also first time travelling overseas! I will be arriving on the 4th of October and staying for 9 nights in Osaka with day trips to Kyoto and Nara. My main interests are cultural experiences, museums, food and exploration. Keeping the food simple, mainly street food and conbini, so no restaurant reservations needed. I am aiming for a light itinerary with plenty of time to stroll around neighbourhoods and find hidden gems. Any helpful insights and advice are appreciated. Questions in italics.
**Day 1 (Wed) – Osaka**
* Arrive at Kansai Int (Pick up ICOCA and Osaka Amazing Pass)
* Train to accommodation in Higashi-Osaka
* Nap, shower, unpack
* Explore neighbourhood and local dinner
**Day 2 (Thu) – Nara**
* Nara National Museum
* Todai-ji (*goshuincho?*) and Nara Park
* Isui-en Gardens
* Higashimuki arcade and lunch
* Nakatanidou mochi demonstration
* Naramachi Mechanical Toy Museum
* Explore neighbourhood
**Day 3 (Fri) – Arashiyama**
* Bamboo forest
* Sagano Romantic Train (round trip) *Best way to buy ticket?*
* Bunch of shrines and temples
* Strolling and shopping (pottery store), lunch
* Monkey Park *Will I make it up the hill with old bones?*
**Day 4 (Sat) – Namba (Osaka Amazing Pass)**
* Namba Yaska shrine
* Rikuro cheesecake cafe *Is it hard to get in?*
* Ghibli store
* Kuromon Ichiba market, lunch
* National Bunraku Theatre
* Shinsaibashi, Amerikamura
* Dotonbori and dinner
* Tombori River Cruise
**Day 5 (Sun) – Osaka Castle and more (Osaka Amazing Pass)**
* Osaka Castle, grounds and museum
* Osaka Int Peace Centre
* Lunch – Friendship Curry
* Osaka Museum of History
* Shitennoji temple
* Tennoji Zoo
* Shinsekai
* Dinner – kushikatsu
* Team labs Botanical Garden
**Day 6 (Mon) – National sports Day**
Note: I didn’t know this was a public holiday
until after I booked everything*.*
*Is anything going to be open at all?*
* Local area exploring
* Shopping if things are open
* Local cooking class and dinner experience (Airkitchen)
**Day 7 (Tue) – Kyoto**
* Gion district and Geisha Museum
* Pontocho alley and park
* Nishiki market, lunch
* Kyoto Imperial palace and gardens
* Nijo Castle
* Gallery of Kyoto Traditional Arts and Crafts
* Tea ceremony (*suggestions?*)
**Day 8 (Wed) – Universal Studios**
*The plan is to buy the day pass + Super Nintendo world*
*entry from Klook. Not really interested in rides so hoping*
*this will work for me.*
**Day 9 (Thu) – Fly home**
Check out is at 10am and flight is not till 7pm so I have
some time to kill. I am open to suggestions here.
*Are there luggage lockers at Namba Station?*
​
Thanks so much for reading!
3 comments
Everything will be open on the public holiday. In fact it will be more crowded than usual. FYI Pontocho in kyoto is more lively at night.
Enjoy your visit!
If you are interested in food, always go to restaurant, you do not need reservation everywhere snit is easy to find affordable restaurants. I mostly eat in restaurants, have been for the last month an did 0 reservation. Konbini food should be if you are broke or do not care much about food. Also street food is not a thing everywhere.
You can get Kansai one pass instead of regular icoca, it is just a regular icoca with a special design and rebates/gifts in different places.
Pretty sure the sagano scenic train have a website to book tickets.
For Osaka amazing pass to make sense, make sure you do enough of the free act to save money.
Yes there is lockers in Namba station. It is a big station with a shopping center.
Temples are best enjoyed in tranquil settings so try to get there early in the morning when the crowd is smaller. For example, I’d suggest visiting Todaiji before going to the Nara National Museum. Also, Kyoto is getting insanely crowded these days, so unless you like being stuck in a pedestrian traffic jam, I’d avoid going there during the weekend. If you can, move Arashiyama to a weekday.