Hello!! My wife and had our honeymoon planned for Mar/Apr 2020, but that got cancelled. So we have rebooked for 2021 – bigger, better and longer!!! I’d love it if you could check my itinerary. We’re city dwellers and foodies – this is our focus.
Day 1 – Tokyo, Arrive 10am, Shinjuku, Robot Restaurant, kabukicho area
Day 2 – Tokyo, Shibuya shopping, Genki Sushi, Yoyogi park, Meiji Shrine, Omotesando Street, Takeshita Street, Narisawa for dinner.
Day 3 – Tokyo, Asakusa area, Ueno park, Ameya Yokocho market, Skytree, Umi Sushi dinner.
Day 4 – Tokyo, Shinjuku Gyoen, Akiharaba go carting, shopping, imperial palace grounds, Ryu Gin for dinner.
Day 5 – Tokyo, Tsukiji market, borderless, odaiba area, Nissan crossing, Tokyo station, ginza area, Tapas molecular bar for dinner.
Day 6 – Tokyo, Roppongi area, ropongi hills, mori art museum, Akasaka area, Tokyo tower, Hamarikyu, helicopter ride around the city, DEN for dinner.
Day 7 – Tokyo, left empty at the moment buy probably go to Tokyo Dome, revisit our favourite spots and just eat loads of food.
Day 8 – Hakone, Arrive in area, Hakone open air museum, stay in a nice Ryokan (suggestions welcome but looking for 5*).
Day 9 – Somehow see Mt Fuji and then travel to Kanazawa (advice would be appreciated!). Evening in Kanazawa.
Day 10 – Kanazawa, not planned yet but suggestions welcome for the day!
Day 11 – 17 – Kyoto
Day 18 – Nara
Day 19 – Mt Koya
Day 20 – 24 – Osaka (including a day trip to Kobe and Himeji)
Day 25 – Fly out of Osaka
As you can see, Im planning down the holiday and we very much have a food focus. Lots of fine dining but also opportunity for street food. I’d love your thoughts on how ive weighted each area and if theres anywhere ive really overlooked. Money isnt really an object – ive got about £30,000 budget (of which £15,000 is for food). SO far I’ve allocated about £22k so have quite a big surplus, if I choose to spend it. I want some really memorable experiences, e.g., the night time helicopter ride. We plan to hire private tour guides a lot on Kyoto and probably in Asakusa, Tokyo.
My questions to yourselves:
1) Given our focus, have I balanced the trip correctly?
2) Are there any amazing places I’ve missed off? And if so, where could I afford to drop a day or two to fit them in?
3) Given my budget, are there any places or experiences I shouldn’t miss out on?
4) We have a private guide for 3 days in Kyoto, the Nara trip, and probably will for the Asakusa day. Are there any other areas that we would really benefit from hiring a private guide?
5) Based on my rough daily plan for Tokyo am I packing too much into the days? We’re not massive shoppers but it seems to be a focus for most of the japan itineraries.
6) I’m really big into cars. I have a GT-R and was planning to go to the factory but it’s a day out to do so, and apparently they dont take you on to the assembly line which would be my main interest. Are there any other car-related experiences in or around my route that anyone can recommend?
Appreciate I’m asking a lot here, but i really appreciate any and all advice. This is our honeymoon trip, and as it was cancelled this year I need to make it perfect next year!!!
Thank you everyone.
24 comments
Not sure where you’re traveling from but if it’s N. America, I’d consider pushing up the Tsukiji market earlier in your tokyo stay to take advantage of the time difference you’d have and waking up super early. Anything after 9am at the market and it’s fairly mundane. Keep in mind it takes some a couple days to get adjusted to jet lag.
Look by Lake Ashii for beautiful ryokans in Hakone. Ashinoko Hanaori is great, has an awesome buffet, but is a ways from the main town.
My wife and I have made many trips to Japan and have visited almost all of the places you mention. My general observation is that you are packing in too many things each day. Museums and parks often take hours to see. There are crowds in all places, I mean everywhere. That slows you down as well as the always present school groups. And transportation using any or most of the train systems takes time as well. BTW, only use trains since surface travel is almost always slower. If I was your agent I would plan at most 2 things in the morning, 2 things in the evenings, have a nice dinner and then try to get some sleep. Advice: plan your most extensive activity first thing in the morning and be the first to arrive. You will shuffle less if you are in the front of the queue.
Make this your first trip to Japan and go back many times.
Consider taking two days off Kyoto and go to Hiroshima/Miyajima. Given your food budget, try A5 Wagyu beef, eating it daily will fit your budget (usually £150-300), also go to the Michelin star sushi £250-300 restaurants in Tokyo. And if you can, buy a Japanese bidet toilet (usually around £400-500 for high-end ones) and bring it back home, it will change your life.
I like your Day 11 to 17 – Kyoto. You don’t need anything planned for Kyoto. Just go early in the morning for the main attractions like Inari and bamboo forest (not on the same day 😉 ).
How have you managed to get up to £22k?
If I had to guess, you’re flying at least business, so call that £5k, £3k if you got a good deal. 24 days on the ground so you’re looking at near £750 daily – £300/night hotels (probably bigger in Tokyo?) £200/night dinner + £200 daily activities?
I only ask as I’m predicting my trip will be around £12k for the two of us and our itinerary is pretty similar to yours, though ours is 4 days less.
While you’re in Shinjuku, I recommend lining up for Nakajima at lunch. It’s a 1* Michelin place that serves iwashi dishes starting at 880 yen all in. Their sashimi dish is especially good. If you go, get there at least 30 min before it opens to make sure you get into the first sitting.
Regarding Umi, are you going because of that hilarious chef? If so, he actually has his own place now, called Ryujiro.
Day 3 – Asakusa is between Ueno and Skytree, so it would be more effective for transport to change the order.
Day 4 – Go kart if they survive, their customers are 99% foreigners and with literally no tourist going in, it’s hurting their business. They made as crowdfunding campaign and failed. Also, they lost their appeal in court against Nintendo. ([source](https://japantoday.com/category/national/Street-Kart-company-ends-crowdfunding-campaign-with-dismal-support?))
Hakone in not on the way to Kanazawa, you’ll have to return to Tokyo for that, so it’s a bit awkward. Apart suggesting to return to Tokyo using the shinkansen and not the Romancecar, so you get to Tokyo station and not Shinjuku station, not much more advice to give.
Also, you should say “hopefuly see Mount Fuji” and not “somehow see Mount Fuji. If it’s cloudy, not matter what you do, you won’t see it. But you have two days, so with a bit of luck you can see it from Lake Ashi or on the ropeway or even from ryokan as I think some have a view on it.
You can easily do Nara as a day trip from Kyoko or Osaka, it does not require a night, unless you have a really specific plan in mind.
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If you are not a shopper, then don’t plan for shopping. Yes, there is people who are almost only doing that, I personally barely do it, apart for some souvenirs and stock up on tea. Check for things that interest you, some people like arcades, museum, amusement park, festival, concern, etc… and other like shopping (actually for lot off different things, like clothing or even manga/anime merch)… there is a lot to do, you don’t have to do what you think most people do if you don’t like it. I don’t like art museum, so even if everybody go to the Open Air Museum in Hakone, I have no interest at all to go there and I know that I can still enjoy my time doing something else in Hakone.
Ditch the go karting. Not only because it’s stupid but good chance the will go belly up due to the damages they have to pay to Nintendo, no tourist dollars and a dismal crowdfunding attempt.
For food:
– definitely do a high-end Kaiseki dinner (or 2!) while you’re in Kyoto. Book this in advance.
– enjoy a Kobe beef lunch / dinner in Kobe (easy trip from Kyoto / Osaka)
– don’t drive yourself too crazy booking a ton of high-end restaurants. We had 3-5 high-end meals, and many “simpler” meals while there, and only 1-2 of the high-end meals were really special. The regular food in Japan is amazing, so it’s better to experience it a bit more naturally and less planned.
And I highly recommend adding a day trip to Hiroshima + Miyajima. Quite beautiful and impactful experience to see the a-bomb museum and memorial.
The Nissan Global HQ is in Yokohama, if you’ve got time to fit a trip in there. If you’re a big JDM fan, there’s also a car parts store called Super Autobacs (there’s multiple locations in Japan but the big one near Odaiba in Shinonome is good if you’re looking to see some people’s personal tuner cars). I went to the Honda & Tokyo showrooms on my first trip to Japan in ‘07, as well as the Spoon Sports & TYPEONE garages (although we had a guide with us my ex met on a car enthusiast website. Not sure how open they are to the general public. Worth looking into, though!).
We’re also taking our Honeymoon in April 2021 as well (that is, if our wedding actually gets to happen this year, lol. Otherwise I guess it’s just for fun). This will be my fourth trip & my fiancée’s first. He’s a chef so your dining itinerary is about on par with ours. We’re planning for DEN & Tsurutokame in Tokyo (skipping the full dinner at Narisawa but going to Bees Bar), Fujiya 1935 in Osaka & Hokkoriya in Kyoto. Seconding the suggestion for Nakajima; it’s on our list as well! For your itinerary, I’d swap Genki Sushi as it’s a chain for another local kaisen sushi place; Ganso Sushi in Shibuya is pretty great. Honestly, just eat everything you see – from conbini to depachika (splurge on the expensive fruits!) – And enjoy!
For car stuff, I strongly recommend the Mazda museum and factory tour in Hiroshima. Very informative, and you get a good look at the assembly line. You’ll need to make reservations in advance (currently unavailable, but hopefully reopened by next year…)
I’d like to suggest a replacement for day 10, go Hamamatsu instead, which is more route friendly to your itin.
Let me share my last whole day trip for Hamamatsu. (Excuse my English translation as I planned it out in pure Japanese.)
Checkout: Kanzanji Sago Royal Hotel
kanzanji cruiser [https://www.hamanako-yuransen.com/](https://www.hamanako-yuransen.com/) , can feed seagulls onboard.
kanzanji ropeway, did a bit of trekking [https://www.kanzanji-ropeway.jp/](https://www.kanzanji-ropeway.jp/)
Air park, the military base [https://www.mod.go.jp/asdf/airpark/](https://www.mod.go.jp/asdf/airpark/)
Hamamatsu castle
中田島砂丘 nakatajima sand dune
may one, act tower
Try the signature unagi (eel) for meals. BTW, I rent a car.
A few things about tokyo
1) reserve DEN way in advance :), i have a reservation for next month and i’m truly excited 🙂
2) I don’t understand why you would go to Akasaka, i mean it’s a nice area, but… it’s where I work… it’s… bland? you have a nice shrine but other than that…
I would try to go to Shimokitazawa, or even doing an afternoon in the west (10 minutes away from shinjuku), like sighsee a little bit around koenji which is trendy as well, and then kichijoji with the inokashira park which is truly beautiful
The Nissan/Sony building in Ginza is cool to check out if you’re in the area. They had a couple of concept cars, an old 70’s Z, and a GTR, and a few other cars. No admission price, and they had a cafe where you could get a late with a picture of a car like, printed in the foam
https://i.imgur.com/TabiCRG.jpg
In terms of cars, see if the D1 drift series coincides with your trip. Not sure how covid has affected thier schedule.
I attended the comp in Odaiba years ago and it was a really cool day out.
Day 1: Unless you are flying in from SE Asia, South Korea or China, you probably won’t have enough energy to enjoy nightlife on your first day in Tokyo.
Day 2: Starting with Meiji Jingu/Yoyogi Park and ending with Shibuya makes the most sense.
Day 6: Depending on crowds at Mori Tower, this may be borderline doable.
Day 9: Hakone to Kanazawa is six hours+, so you’d probably be better off visiting Shizuoka or Nagoya (as a hub for day trip to Inuyama, Ise Grand Shrine, or Kiso Valley, or for various Toyota-related activities).
Regarding private guides: considering the miniscule amount of time you devote to Asakusa, you don’t really need a private guide there. In Nara, a guide, who can help with proper planning might make a day more fun (especially if sake distilleries open).
Before pandemic, there were Toyota (from Toyota Kaikan Museums) and Mazda (in Hiroshima) factory tours, so you may manage to book them, if things return to normal.
My trip this past March included 6 Michelin starred sushiya in two weeks, and while all were good there’s a certain sameness as all used the same in-season seafood. I wouldn’t do this again to the same degree. There’s also the “pressure” to show up exactly at mealtime and not 10 minutes later or earlier, and that tends to cut short any tourism during the day in order to be prompt. I had my hotel concierges secure the reservations; note that you’d be billed if for any reason you need to cancel or are a noshow within a day or two beforehand.
For an excellent Kaiseki lunch experience I wholeheartedly recommend Wa Yamamura in Nara. It was a highlight of my trip.
If you’re a ramen fan, consider visiting Tomita for what is ramked the best Tsukemen in Japan. It takes effort to trek out to Chiba in the early morning to get a reservation for lunch. I hired [ramenguidejapan.com](https://ramenguidejapan.com) to do the legwork, meet me at my hotel, and escort me to the restaurant. Then we did the same for the second best tsukemen, Menya Itto.
Appreciate your optimism.
The food in Japan surpassed my expectations. Make sure to try a formal Kaiseki meal at least once. Street food is great. I would just try to avoid the more tourist oriented places and go where locals go. Had sushi at some little places in Kyoto and Osaka that was outstanding. Not expensive either, at least by California standards.
Public transit is great, I wouldn’t get a car without good reason, it would be a hassle in any city.
We did a day trip from Tokyo to Yokohama and enjoyed that a lot. A few good craft beer pubs there, and we liked walking around the harbor area, there is a giant Ferris wheel and could see Mt Fuji from there.
Don’t miss the Tsujiki fish market, go there early there is excellent coffee and tamagoyaki. All kinds of stuff to nosh and good for photos.
Hopefully everything is open by then… personally I suspect the virus will still be a factor for the next year until there is a vaccine.
I’d probably put a 2D1N slot for Koyasan to allow for two lunches and a really early morning stroll in the cemetery and probably observe the monks doing their morning prayers. The vegetarian food there is incredible, especially the multigrain rice. And – if you’re chasing sakura, put this nearer the end. Koyasan is higher, so sakura blooms later there than say, in Osaka itself.
For Tokyo… no ramen in your list? And if you’re into photography and have a ton of money to burn, check out the Tokyo Vertigo tour from Eyexplore https://www.eyexplore.com/adventures/tokyo-photo-workshops/tokyo-vertigo/
I noticed you used GBP for currency, so you’re probably Brit, therefore you probably like beer. If yes, then Shimokitazawa in Tokyo is the place to be. Lots of craft beer places there.
You want cars? Skip Kanazawa, fit Nagoya in. I’d probably swap out Hakone with Shizuoka if you’re after the Mt. Fuji view and food (Shizuoka is known for fish and there are nearby onsens with a killer view).
Den is pretty much impossible to get into. They do not accept reservations from a third party and only phone reservations are allowed. I’ve been trying to get reservations there for over 3 years a no luck. So unless you have some local connections who have been there before and are willing to take you there its probably best to consider an alternative.
I would also consider spacing out your fine dining reservations for a little bit. Tapas, Ryugin, and Narisawa all have extensive course meals and doing those back to back is pretty intense. Also don’t forget buy some of the Ryugin curry packs before you leave.
For Kyoto you can try to get a table a Kitcho in Arashiyama, this place served one of my favorite Kaiseki meals. However, might be a little challenging to get a reservation. There is no set menu they only ask what your budget is and it’ll prepare a meal to maximize that.
In Osaka Hajime is a great fine dining option, it leans more towards modern techniques but not as over the top as Tapas.
Generally I would say 15K is a lot of food budget unless you’re eating fine dining every day it may be difficult to hit that. There are many great food experiences at all different price ranges that are unique to Japan. Izakaya culture, fried foods, and ramen are some things you can’t miss. If your looking to just stick with the high end, you can probably throw in a few more sushi places. For some more fine dining options here are a few more to consider:
* Sazenka in Minami Azabu is very good, its Chinese food though, but done extremely well.
* Inua in Idabashi is also good its a combination of Japanese/Nordic its run by a former Noma chef so lots of influences from there.
* Sublime In a similar vein to Inua in Azabu-Juban a little bit more affordable and shorter menus.
* Shiseido Parlor in Ginza serves a good high end Yoshuku meal and is a great spot for lunch.
* Ushigoro.S also in Ginza does some high end Yakiniku.
* Takazawa in Akasaka does a good take on French/Japanese cuisine its a small space run by a Husband and Wife they are always super friendly.
If you are into Alcohol if you are must go to some bars Japan has some of the best bartenders in the world.
If you are looking for a comprehensive 3 day guide to Tokyo written by a local, I can highly recommend: https://mapaday.com/itineraries/5ef47785ce7bfe01b7ea0b8d
You could always go on a [hakone/fuji tour](https://fun2drive-japan.com/fleet/) in one of your favorite JDM cars. Easily one of the best things I did in Japan as a car lover.
Or go to a Tatsumi Parking Area or Daikoku Futo car meet.
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Edit:typo