Hey guys, I’m after some help revising my itinerary for my trip later this year from 15 Nov – 25 Dec. I’ve trawled through hundreds of threads in this sub and hope I’ve planned enough to keep us busy, but not so much that we’ll be too exhausted to get through the trip. I’m wanting to finalise at least my accommodation locations so I can start booking them next month. If we can’t get through everything in the major cities like Tokyo, Kyoto & Osaka, we’re happy to save them for the next trip, but we definitely want to see & do as much as possible in the other cities as there’s a smaller likelihood of us going back to them in the future. If we do go back, it’ll be in smaller 2 week trips, not like this 6 week trip.
For some background, I’m going with my partner, we are 29F & 32M. We will be celebrating both of our birthdays while in Japan, which we are really looking forward to (turning 30 & 33). His interests are cooking/food, knives, anime and history. My main interests are food, onsen and sightseeing. He has never been before, while I have been a few times, but I’ve always stuck to the standard Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka itineraries due to going with first timers each time.
Here is my revised itinerary – note that we’ll be arriving from Australia, so there won’t be any jetlag, and the bolded headings are where we plan to base our accommodation (with the exception of Fukuoka, as you’ll see):
**Tokyo – 15-22 Nov (8 days)**
* Day 1 (Wed) – Arrive at Haneda at 5:15pm. Will just check in and eat in the area.
* Day 2 (Thurs) – Meiji Jingu, Yoyogi Park, Takeshita Dori, Omotesando, Shibuya Sky & general exploring, Diesel Art Gallery
* Day 3 (Fri) – Shinjuku Gyoen, surrounding Shinjuku exploration, then Shimokitazawa in the evening
* Day 4 (Sat) – Senso-ji, Nakamise-dori, Kappabashi, Ueno Park, Nezu Shrine, quick stroll through Akihabara, Kanda Shrine if illuminations are happening at night
* Day 5 (Sun) – Imperial Palace tour & East Gardens, National Museum of Modern Art, and then possibly either Todoroki Gorge or Tokyo Station shopping
* Day 6 (Mon) – Kamakura/Enoshima day trip
* Day 7 (Tues) – Teamlab Borderless in Toranomon Azabudai (hopefully it’ll be open by then), Mori Art Museum, Keyakizaka
* Day 8 (Wed) – Yokohama day trip – Ramen Museum, Minato Mirai, Chinatown, Sankeien Gardens, organize luggage forwarding to Takayama
**Nagano – 23-24 Nov (2 days)**
* Day 9 (Thurs) – Tori no Ichi in Asakusa in the morning, then check out & go to Nagano, Matsushiro samurai village, Nagano Ebisuko Fireworks Festival at night
* Day 10 (Fri) – Jigokudani monkey park, Zenkoji Temple
**Takayama – 25-26 Nov (2 days)**
* Day 11 (Sat) – Check out, stop by Matsumoto Castle, then bus to Takayama
* Day 12 (Sun) – Partner’s bday!!! Takayama Jinya morning markets, lunch at Sakurajaya if we can make a reservation in advance, Old Town, Matsuri no Mori
**Kanazawa – 27-28 Nov (2 days)**
* Day 13 (Mon) – Check out, bus to Shirakawago & explore village, then bus to Kanazawa (and organize luggage forwarding to Osaka)
* Day 14 (Tues) – Omicho fish market, Higashi Chaya, Kanazawa Castle Park & Kenrokuen Garden, 21st Century Museum of Modern Art, Nagamachi Samurai District
**Osaka – 29 Nov – 8 Dec (10 days)**
* Day 15 (Wed) – Check out, shinkansen to Takefu Knife Village to buy knife, then shinkansen to Osaka (long travel day)
* Day 16 (Thurs) – Osaka – Sumiyoshi Taisha, Shitenno-ji Temple, Shinsekai, Kuromon market
* Day 17 (Fri) – Kobe – Nankinachi (Chinatown), Sannomiya-motomachi shopping arcade, Ikuta Shrine, Shin-Kobe ropeway to Nunobiki Herb Garden, Maya cable car & ropeway to Kikuseidai for night view on Mt Maya
* Day 18 (Sat) – day trip to Mt Kurama, ROR comedy club at night for standup comedy in Osaka
* Day 19 (Sun) – Uji/Nara – Byodoin Temple in Uji, then head to Nara for the deer park & Todai-ji, Kasuga-taisha, Kofuku-ji
* Day 20 (Mon) – free/rest day
* Day 21 (Tues) – Kyoto – Fushimi Inari Shrine, Tofuku-ji, Sanneizaka, Kiyomizu-dera, Toji Temple (illuminations?)
* Day 22 (Wed) – Kyoto – Yasaka Pagoda, Hokan-ji, Higashiyama, Gion
* Day 23 (Thurs) – Kyoto – Tenryu-ji, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Arashiyama Monkey Park (maybe), Nishiki Market, Gion again
* Day 24 (Fri) – Himeji – Himeji Castle, Kokoen Garden, Shoshazan Engyoji
**Kinosaki Onsen – 9-10 Dec (2 days)**
* Day 25-26 (Sat-Sun) – Check out and go to relax at Kinosaki Onsen, with day trips to Marine World and Amanohashidate
* Will it be very crowded on the weekend??
**Okayama – 11-14 Dec (4 days)**
* Day 27 (Mon) – Check out and go to Okayama, Korakuen Garden, Okayama Castle
* Day 28 (Tues) – Kurashiki – Kurashiki Historical Bikan Quarter, Kurashiki Hondori
* Day 29 (Wed) – ferry to Naoshima to see art installations/museums
* Day 30 (Thurs) – organise luggage forwarding to Fukuoka, marine liner to Takamatsu, Risturin-koen, Ogijima
**Miyajima – 15 Dec (1 day/night)**
* Day 31 (Fri) – Check out and go to Hiroshima, and straight to Miyajima – Itsukushima Shrine/floating torii, Daisho-in Temple, Momiji-dani-koen park, ropeway up Mt Misen, revisit floating torii at night
**Hiroshima – 16 Dec (1 day/night)**
* Day 32 (Sat) – Visit anything missed the day before, then check out and go to Hiroshima – Atomic Bomb Dome, Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima Castle, Shukkeien Garden, Okonomi-mura
**Fukuoka – 17-25 Dec (9 days) – quite a few accommodation changes**
* Day 33 (Sun) – Check out and travel to Fukuoka, Fukuoka Castle, Ohori Park, Atago Shrine, Asahi Beer tour (if we can reserve in advance), Canal City, Tenjin Underground Shopping – may not do all, but will have free days to revisit later
* Day 34 (Mon) – Nagasaki – Huis Ten Bosch, Oura Cathedral, Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum & Peace Memorial Hall, Dejima, Chinatown, Koshibyo Confucius Shrine, Suwa-jinja if time permits
* Day 35 (Tues) – Check out → Kurokawa Onsen overnight stay
* Day 36 (Wed) – Check out → Unsure – possibly Kumamoto or Kagoshima overnight
* Day 37-39 (Thurs-Sat) – Check out → Yakushima – my bday!!! – either fly or jetfoil there depending on previous night’s location, rent a car on the island, and explore & relax
* Day 40 (Sun) – Check out → back to Fukuoka – Unsure – thinking Karato fish market(?)
* Day 41 (Mon) – Xmas Day! Unsure what to do, but we are flying 3pm Hakata → Haneda, then 6:25pm Haneda → Australia
I feel that the Fukuoka portion of the trip is a bit of a mess with nonstop changes to the accommodations, but I’m not sure how to tidy it up without removing too much – I am super keen to go to both Kurokawa Onsen and Yakushima if possible. I’m also not sure what to do with the luggage – maybe store it in Fukuoka somewhere during the time between Kurokawa Onsen to the end of Yakushima?
Please give me any advice, recommended changes, and any general constructive criticisms to the itinerary. Thank you in advance!