My partner(23f) and I(25m) are going to Japan for 3 weeks in June. For context, I’ve lived in Japan for 7 months and visited once more for 2 weeks right before the pandemic. This is my partner’s first time going there. We both can speak basic Japanese can’t read very well. I’m also a huge ramen fan so I’ll be plopping in a bunch of ramen spots.
I’ve never planned out a trip this thoroughly before so I’d love to get some feedback.
##### 4th (Sun) – Tokyo
– Land, get IC card, exchange JR pass, activate SIM cards
– N’EX to Tokyo from Narita
– Check in at hotel and recover from the flight
##### 5th (Mon) – Tokyo
– Santora Ramen – top ranked Miso in Ramen DB
– Sensoji
– Yanaka Ginza
##### 6th (Tues) – Hiroshima
– Get an ekiben from Ekiben Matsuri
– 5 hour Shinkansen to Hiroshima
– Peace memorial
– Oysters
##### 7th (Wed) – Hiroshima
– Day trip to Miyajima
– Get Hiroshima Okonomiyaki for dinner
##### 8th (Thurs) – Osaka
– 2 hour shinkansen to Osaka
– 上方レインボー Kamigata Rainbow Ramen
– Dotonbori
– Big echo Karaoke – all you can drink!
##### 9th (Fri) – Osaka
– Denden town
– Capcom cafe
– Osaka Okonomiyaki
– Kuromon Market
##### 10th (Sat) – Osaka
– Asahi Beer museum
– Enjoy dotonbori more
– Dinner with friends
##### 11th (Sun) – Kanazawa
– 3hr thunderbird to Kanazawa
– Omicho Market
– Kenrokuen Garden && Kanazawa Castle
– Get Obanzai somewhere
– Go to a bar and get wasted
##### 12th (Mon) – Gifu Car Trip
– Pick up rental car in Kanazawa
– Get coffee in Nomi
– Drive to Oshima and Tojimbo in Awara
– Drive to Tonami and enjoy somewhat Inaka
– Try to get a love hotel room with private hot spring baths
##### 13th (Tues) – Takayama
– Drive back to Kanazawa and drop off car
– Train to Toyama and get some sodium poisoning from their black ramen
– 2 hour train to Takayama
– Visit the Hida Folk Village
##### 14th (Wed) – Gifu
– Check out Takayama Miyagawa Morning Market
– Get a mocha from Cafe Bagpipe (Hyouka fans rep?)
– Train to Gifu
– Visit the Gifu Great buddha
– Visit another love hotel
##### 15th (Thurs) – Kyoto
– 2 hours to Kyoto
– Nishiki Market
– Kura sushi (kaitenzushi chain)
– Sake bar Asakura
– Visit donquihote and get a hanko stamp from the machine
##### 16th (Fri) – Kyoto
– Thousand gates full hike
– Kiyomizu
– Get an 8 course meal
##### 17th (Sat) – Uji
– Train to Uji from Kyoto
– Temples, Matcha
– See the sunset from a Observation Deck (Hibike fans?)
– Buy some wagyu from a supermarket at half off and cook it at our Airbnb
##### 18th (Sun) – Nara
– Train to Nara from Kyoto
– Ask if fireflies are still around
– Get Tenkaippin
– Get Whisky at Prost
##### 19th (Mon) – Hakone
– 3.5hr shinkansen to Hakone
– Bus, then ropeway to Owakudani and eat those black eggs
– Ropeway to the Ryokan by 6pm or no dinner D:
##### 20th (Tues) – Hakone
– Get Hakone Tozan Train pass
– Go to Hakone Kowakien Yunnesun
– Train to Ramen Uzutokaminari – No 1. Ranked ramen (reservation required)
##### 21st (Wed) – Tokyo from now on
– Tsukiji market – get a sashimi don
– Visit KOFFEE MAMEYA for a 4 course coffee tasting
– Go to Odaiba and see the gundam transform at 5pm
– Visit Teamlabs Planets TOKYO
– Get tsukemen at 麺屋 周郷 – top 3 ranked tsukemen
– All you can drink at The Public Stand in ginza
##### 22th (Thurs)
– Harajuku
– Shibuya – Get parfaits?
– Ramen Mukan – Best Shio ramen in Japan (reservation required)
– Get full-price omakase sushi at Sushi Yuu
– Mori Art Museum and Observation Deck to see Tokyo at Night
##### 23rd (Fri)
– Tokyo Style Noodle ほたて日和 – no2 tsukemen (want to line up before opening)
– Akihabara + Some collab cafe
– Craft Beer Bar IBrew Akihabara
– Torikizoku Izakaya
##### 24th (Sat)
– Nakano Broadway
– Suzuran Niboshi ramen in shinjuku
– Shinjuku/Kabukicho + Golden Gai
##### 25th (Sun)
– Leave 🙁
Let me know what you think! I’m definitely somewhat worried about the love hotels since we haven’t booked any places to stay on those days, so if anyone has tips that would be great (there really isn’t much information on this subreddit regarding them) Also let me know if there’s any experiences I shouldn’t miss or should change my schedule for.
edit: Whoops! Just realized I’m not driving in Gifu at all, but Awara, Ishikawa, and Toyama prefectures.
3 comments
I’ve never been to one so I can’t say for certain but I was under the impression that for most love hotels it’s a one time in, one time out situation. You pay when you’re ready to leave but you can’t go in and out as you want. Of course if that’s what you want then that’s up to you but just want to make sure you know! And there are definitely ones that let you stay like a regular hotel but might just take some researching to find.
Why not take the bus from Kanazawa to Takayama? Drop your luggage at the hotel or luggage locker in the station and then go to Hida Folk Village. Or, you could stop off in Shirakawago on the way to Takayama. There’s luggage storage at the bus depot in Shirakawago.
– [Takayama Access from Kanazawa](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5908.html?aFROM=2167_5900)
Hi!
Just make sure to spend time researching the times of the train from Toyama to Takayama. While the bus between Kanazawa to Takayama is not covered, the times are much more readily available and the times from Toyama to Takayama are PIA to find, which is why I am not sharing them, as I misplaced the webpage I found. Back before Hyperdia died, there were 8 trains a day from Toyama to Takayama, 4 are locals and 4 are Hidas. Some of the locals get in within 30 minutes of the Hidas, you just get a layover in Inotani or Hida Furukawa. There are no additional trains, post Hyperdia dying, they’re just harder to get the schedule for now.
I am very aware of this because I missed my Hida from Takayama to Toyama and I had to wait a good almost 3 hours before I could get another train because there was just nothing else. Toyama Station is super clean, but it just had very limited shops and such and having a long layover there won’t necessarily give you the time to really leave the station. I will say I think the Takayama to Toyama leg of the Hida is more scenic than Takayama to Nagoya.
I also think Hida no Sato was much more enjoyable than Shirakawa Go.
Make sure you don’t need a reservation for the Capcom Cafe. I think they’re overall easier to get than Pokemon or Kirby, but you still might need one. I had a good friend who went to the one in Umeda in December when the theme was Phoenix Wright cause they’re a huge fan. We went to the Capcom Store in Shinsaibashi with them.
I’ve never stayed at a Love Hotel, so can’t comment on that.