Hi everyone, my SO and I and another couple will be traveling to Japan for the first time later this month, and are super excited! We are all really into Japanese history, culture and are open to try basically any kind of food. We aren’t too big into amusement parks, but love museums, cool bars, thrift shopping, and just walking and exploring neighborhoods in general.
We’ve booked our hotels and a 7 day JR Pass, and just want to double check and make sure our plans aren’t too ambitious. Any feedback is appreciated!
**Day 1 – Flight from the USA to Narita**
**Day 2 – Tokyo – Akihabara**
* Get in around 230pm, pick up JR Pass, Pocket Wifi and take the Narita Skyliner to our hotel in Ueno. Is it worth it to get a e-sim card as well? Feel like the pocket wifi would be comprehensive, but not sure.
* After checking into the hotel, grab a quick meal and spend the remainder of the day exploring Ameyoko market and Akihabara, maybe visit an arcade if we are up to it.
* I imagine that we will be quite jet lagged and have some trouble getting on Japan time since its 12 hrs difference from US time. Anyone have any suggestions for getting over the jet lag?
**Day 3 – Tokyo – Nakameguro / Ebisu**
* Take the train to Nakameguro, walk towards Ebisu station explore some of the stores along the way.
* Maybe grab dinner at some other neighborhood on the way back to Ueno. Maybe Ikebukuro? Any recommendations for a quick one-off neighborhood stop in between Ebisu and Ueno?
* Send our big luggage onward to our Kyoto hotel
**Day 4 – Tokyo – Ueno Park / Travel to Hakone**
* In the morning, explore Ueno park and the Tokyo National Museum. Return to our hotel after and check out.
* Take a direct 2 hour-ish local train to Odawara, or multiple connecting trains (potentially Shinkansen? This wouldn’t be covered by our 7 day JR Pass since we wouldn’t active it yet).
* From Odawara, activate our Hakone free pass and take the bus up to our Onsen hotel in Hakone.
* Check out the Venetian Glass museum, grab dinner nearby or through our hotel.
**Day 5 – Hakone Loop**
* Do the full Hakone loop clockwise, starting in Onshi-Hakone Park for Mt. Fuji views. Boat across Lake Ashi, lunch near the Togendai ferry stop, Ropeway up to Owakudani volcano, walk down to Hakone open air museum.
* Nice dinner booked at our onsen hotel, relax in the onsen.
**Day 6 – Kyoto – Arrival**
* Bus down back to Odawara, activate our JR Pass and take the Shinkansen to Kyoto station.
* Grab lunch at Nishiki market on the way to our hotel in Kawaramachi/Pontocho.
* Distillery tour at House of Ki No Bi just up the road, dinner at Fortune Garden afterwards
**Day 7 – Kyoto – Walking Tour of Higashiyama**
* Our big day to really explore Kyoto. Maybe kick off the day by taking a cab to Kinkaku-ji, or just leave that until later in the trip, since it seems to be a bit far out of the way from the other main Kyoto attractions. and requires a cab or bus ride.
* Regardless, start our walking tour by taking a cab to Jisho-Ji. Walk down the philosophers path down through the Biwa Canal, Keage Incline, Shoren-in garden, Chion-in temple, Maruyama Park, Kodai-ji gardens.
* Walk up Nineizaka street to Kiyomizu-dera at the top of the hill and then back down through Sanneizaka street, Hokan-ji pagoda, Yasaka Shrine, Hanamikoji Street shopping, finally arriving back near our hotel in Kawaramachi/Pontocho for dinner.
* The whole walking tour should likely take about 7 miles/11 km. We are big into hiking so this seems ok
**Day 8 – Himeji / Osaka**
* Shinkansen from Kyoto to Himeji, explore the castle all morning.
* Shinkansen from Himeji to Osaka, then subway down to Dotombori. Try some of the street food, maybe visit the Ukiyo-e woodblock print museum.
* Train up to Umeda and visit the Pokemon Center, go to some of the bars and restaurants nearby.
* Take the train back to Kyoto, either the Shinkansen, or the ankyu Kyoto line (Rapid-Express Kyoto-Kawaramachi) or Keihan Main Line from Yodoyabashi–are these other two options covered by the JR Pass? They don’t seem to be, but not sure.
**Day 9 – Nara**
* If we didn’t do it already, visit Kinkaku-ji in the morning
* Hour train to Nara covered by the JR Pass. Spend the day exploring the park and hanging out with the deer. Could stop back in Osaka if we feel like we missed something there.
**Day 10 – Kyoto – Fushima Inari**
* Take a quick train down to Fushima Inari Tasha, walk the length of the gates to the top and back.
* Send our big luggage onward to our Tokyo hotel.
* We want to have our really nice dinner on this night–any ideas for someplace near Pontocho that is actually worth the money, and potentially has outdoor seating overlooking the river? We’re open to Kaisecki and any other options.
**Day 11 – Kyoto – Arashiyama**
* Train out to Arashiyama, visit the monkey park first
* Walk through the bamboo forrest, Tenryu-ji temple, Okochi Sanso Garden
* Possibly take the combined boat/train tour–any advice on whether this is worth it? Seems like it takes quite a bit of time.
**Day 12 – Tokyo – Sumo Tourney**
* Shinkansen to Tokyo in the morning, subway up to Shinjuku to our hotel
* Grab a quick lunch near the hotel and then take a 30 minute train ride out to Kokugikan Arena for the Sumo tournament. We’ve already bought tickets, and the matches seem to go until around 6. Is this always the case?
* After the match, maybe walk/train over to Asakusa and grab some food and explore the temples
**Day 13 – Tokyo – Shinjuku**
* Spend the day exploring Shinjuku, maybe visit Gyoen National Garden. Is the garden worth going to when its not cherry blossom season?
* Reservations to see a jazz show at Pitt Inn.
* Spend the night exploring Omoide Yokochō and Golden Gai
**Day 14 – Tokyo – Shibuya**
* Quick train to Harajuku to go to Meiji Jingu temple, and Yoyogi Park.
* Walk south through Shibuya and do some shopping, go to Shibuya crossing, maybe visit Shibuya Sky observatory.
* Spend the night exploring Shibuya’s bar scene
**Day 15 – Tokyo – Shimokitazawa / Harajuku**
* Quick train trip from Shinjuku out to Shimo to check out some stores and grab food. Double back to Harajuku to do the same. This day could be done in reverse order
**Day 16 – Tokyo – Ginza / Roppongi**
* Last full day in Tokyo. Check out the big flea market at Tokyo International Forum in the morning, do any last minute shopping in Ginza.
* Take the train to Roppongo and finish the day at Nishi-Azabu Izakaya, visit the Mori Art Museum and thier rooftop since they seem to stay open until around 10pm.
**Day 17 – Flight back to the USA**
* Final day here, any recs for a great farewell breakfast in the morning?
* Narita Express from Shinjuku to Narita, long flight back home
I know that we have a pretty fully packed trip her, but aside from our 7 day JR Pass starting in Kyoto (day 6-13), the Hakone loop, the Sumo tourney and the Jazz club reservation, we really don’t have anything else set in stone. Would it be worth it to combine some of our Tokyo days and make a day trip out to Lake Kawaguchiko for some views of Mt. Fuji if we get bad weather in Hakone, or possibly go up to Nikko to see the shrines and waterfalls there? Are either of these doable as a day trip from Shinjuku? I figure we will likely have some rain (not sure how much Japan sees in May), so we are pretty flexible.
Appreciate any recommendations or critiques of our trip to help us pack in all the wonderful sights in Japan!
3 comments
>Get in around 230pm, pick up JR Pass, Pocket Wifi and take the Narita Skyliner to our hotel in Ueno. Is it worth it to get a e-sim card as well? Feel like the pocket wifi would be comprehensive, but not sure.
Skip pocket wifi, get SIM cards. If your phones support e-sim it’s dirt cheap, but otherwise you can order sims off Amazon, you can also order off Amazon JP (their selection of sims are better) and pick up at a convenience store near your hotel.
There is a lot of good food near Ueno, so enjoy.
I don’t know your groups physical condition or the pace you want to explore places but some of your days are looking a little scarce to me. For example a whole day at Fushimi Inari is a bit of a stretch, if you go in the morning (which you should to avoid crowds), even if you make the full hike to the top and down you’d finish before lunch.
Agreed on esim over pocket wifi – recommend carrying a battery pack over the pocket wifi. For the Fushimi Inari day, we also went to Nishiki Market and Gion area (around 9-2pm for our excursion) just to give some context for time
For jet lag, since you’re getting in around the same time we did, I recommend you bring some sleep aids (melatonin, sleeping pills, etc). We slept for a good portion of the latter part of the flight and that really helped us stay on track for the time change. Typically my jet lag starts to kick in really bad around 4pm but I didn’t notice it as much this trip!
> Would it be worth it to combine some of our Tokyo days and make a day trip out to Lake Kawaguchiko for some views of Mt. Fuji if we get bad weather in Hakone, or possibly go up to Nikko to see the shrines and waterfalls there? Are either of these doable as a day trip from Shinjuku?
Both of these are doable as day trips. Nikko might be a little rushed but you can do it. Also consider Yokohama and Kamakura. I think days 13-15 can be combined to 2 days (or even 1 if you don’t like shopping). My suggestion is to be flexible and have a couple of day trips available if you find you have some free time.