April 2021 Itinerary – 3 Weeks

10 comments

1. I’m also flying back to Asia. I went to Seoul last year for 2 weeks and planning on a 3 week stay in japan as there is a lot more to cover. This is useful for me although I am learning myself. Thank you and gd luck

2. Hi. You’ll have a great time. Cherry blossom season is very beautiful. I’ve been to Japan about 6 times and I think on some days you’re trying to pack too much in. Trying to see 5 shrines a day in Kyoto for example, is too many to enjoy. 2-3 a day is plenty and you’ll have time to explore and find unplanned treasures. I select one main activity a day, and one per evening. That way you can take your time, explore, appreciate what you see, and relax. Don’t forget, you’re on holiday! Every fourth day should be a rest day. If you feel like it, you can go out but it’s tiring being on the go every single day. The Morris Hostel is a good place to stay in Kyoto. There is so much to see and do and eat absolutely everywhere you look that there is no danger of not seeing and doing enough fabulous things. If the Sumo wrestling is on definitely go see that. You need to buy tickets well in advance. Also, go to the baseball at Tokyo Dome. Again, get tickets in advance. Even if you hate sport, you’ll have a great time. Wear an orange scarf because you’ll want to join in. Trust me on this one. Learn as much Japanese as you can between now and when you leave. You won’t get too far in 10 months, however the enormous advantage is that if you try to speak Japanese there, most locals will love you for it, and will try to speak English, which most won’t otherwise do. These connections with locals are priceless. One last thing: it’s better if they know you’re not American. Maybe wear a Union flag lapel pin? Enjoy!

3. It’s nice to have a list, but I’d just evaluate each day to see what seems interesting and accords with the weather.

   Check if you can get the inbound flight to KIX. If not, then flying from Tokyo will be cheaper and faster. Using a luggage forwarding service for this leg doesn’t make sense.

4. First off, congrats on booking your first trip! It’s a game changer. [Here’s a map](https://www.google.com/maps/d/drive?state=%7B%22ids%22%3A%5B%2212rIe2IhcF-Ge-1gdjGhZlWH6LIEgT5KU%22%5D%2C%22action%22%3A%22open%22%2C%22userId%22%3A%22110708629817534548304%22%7D&usp=sharing). I’m going to reference it from time to time.

   * If you’re getting the 3 week JR pass (I’d recommend it based on the amount of traveling you plan on doing), I’d say take the train from Tokyo to Kyoto. It’s a very chill ride, you might see Fuji-san, and TBH I usually don’t want to board another plane after flying 14 hours.

   * Day 1 in Kyoto looks great! There’s a great suggested walk through Arashiyama on the map I posted above. Don’t sleep on Otagi Nenbutsu-ji temple though, It was one of my favorites and very few people there!

   * So I would recommend doing Himeji Castle/Kokoen Garden early. If you’re on the train by 8am you could be on the way to Osaka by noon. That gives you enough time to do some Osaka stuff. I’m assuming you mainly want to see Dotonburi. Plenty of shops in that area too!

   * So for April 3, your day is wide open now! I’d recommend doing [this itinerary](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_eastern_kyoto_full.html). It’s definitely a full day, (I cherry picked and it took my 5ish hours), but was one of the highlights of my last trip.

   * April 04 get up early and do Fushimi Inari (it’s on the way to Nara!). If you’re there early enough you’ll avoid the majority of the crowds. Spend the rest of the day exploring Nara.

   * April 05 looks good, [here’s](https://goo.gl/maps/TPJRDQVEiR78VC956) my favorite street wear store in Kyoto. Make sure to check out Nishiki Market while you’re there. Check out Gion at night on this day too since you’ll be in the area. There’s a great suggest walk on the map I posted.

   * April 06 It appears as though I’ve cleared this day up. You’ll probably be wiped, so I’d suggest R&R. Taking time to relax saved my butt on my 3 week trip last year (I was doing between 25k-35k steps a day). However, you could easily make a day trip out of it if you’re feeling ambitious. Maybe move Osaka here, do Kobe on the way back from Himeji?

   * I haven’t been to Hakone, so I’ll leave it to more experienced minds.

   As far as Tokyo goes, I usually throw an itinerary out the window and just do whatever my heart desires. However, here are a couple notes.

   * Try and avoid back to back day trips, they tend to be more tiring!

   * I would suggest Nikko over Fukuroda Falls. Even if it’s not autumn, it’s an incredible place to spend a day. Plenty of waterfalls and gorgeous photo opportunities, and it’s 2 1/2 hours quicker to get there.

   * It’s almost 7 hours round trip to see the snow monkeys. I did a similar trip to see the Zhao Fox Village and it **was not** worth it. I’d recommend going to Kamakura. It’s way closer, you’ll see a lot of cool shrines/temples and a big old Buddha.

   * I would not recommend both TeamLabs on the same day, that’s a lot of sensory overload and might spoil it. Let the record state, I prefer Planets.

   I think when you book the hotels in Hakone/Kawaguchiko you should inform them that you’d like to skip the meals. However, I highly recommend trying a couple things out of your comfort zone, you’d be surprised what you’ll enjoy.

   I know that’s a lot of feedback, but remember it’s your trip, do it how you want. Lord willing, I’ll be in Japan around the same time. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions / want food recommendations. Have fun!

5. So, you plan to bring 2 checked luggage and 1 carry-on and 1 camera bag…. I think that the most common recommendation that people would give is to travel light. What do you need to bring to fill that many suitcases ? If you say cloth, just do your laundry, any decent hotel should have washing machine and dryer available. I would recommend to bring only 1 luggage, and if possible one you can carry yourself, and a backpack that can fit change of cloth for 2 days and your camera when you go to Hakone. Carry your luggage yourself to and from the airport. Sending the luggage to Tokyo to avoir carrying it in Hakone/Kawaguchiko is the right thing to do.

   Depend on what you want to see in Osaka, but it can take more than the half day after Himeji.

   I did the Hakone/Kawaguchiko trip. Just keep in mind the bus schedule to reach Kawaguchiko, you can stop at Gotemba premium outlet on the way as tou can change bus there. I personally decidede to only spend one night in Kawaguchiko and return by bus (it’s cheaper too) in late afternoon of my day in Kawaguchiko.

   I personally do not thing there is anything special about Shinjuku central park, if you are remotely interested in gardens, you should check Hama-rikyu, Koishikawa korakuen or rikugi-en.

   For your day trips from Tokyo, just keep in mind that some take quite some time to reach, like the closest station from the Monkey park in Nagano is 3 hours away from Tokyo station, so this will be at least 7 hours transport total between your hotel and the monkey.

   If you are conservative about food and don’t want to eat the awesome meal they serve at the ryokan, then book one without meal included. You can check on the ryokan/hotel website directly as they can offer different meal/no meal package than on some international booking websites. Reserving with meal and not eating it is literally trowing a bunch of money by the window. I would for sure offend them if you say nothing and don’t eat the food.

   Usually, if you are travelling solo, you pay the price for 1 person at the hotel. The only exception that I saw is that sometime, in ryokan you will have to pay and extra if you are traveling alone, or worst, pay for 2, however, some do have plans for 1 available. I always traveld solo and never had problem to book room for 1, but for sure, sometime I had to search a bit more. It would be absolutely a waste of money to pay for 2 in a ryokan with meal if you are going alone and not eating the meal. So Ubuya for 2 nighrs would be 114,400 yen… this is more than I paid for all accommodation for a 2 weeks trip.

   For all your day trips and train travel, did you had any plan to use a rail pass ? I am not sure if it would be worth, but in case it is, you should move himeji closer to going to Tokyo and start by you day trips to fit all the most expensive trips within 7 days of the 7 days JR Pass.

6. I’d shift at least one of your Tokyo days to Kyoto to give yourself more breathing room (personally I’d shift more like 4 days over, since I’d argue Kansai has even more to see than Kanto, I prefer Kansai, and it’s the height of cherry blossom season). Having days to do things like rent bikes and just explore is really worth it.

   Be sure to go to Maruyama Park at night for hanami if you go to Kyoto during the first half of your trip. There are loads of food stalls or you can bring your own and eat under the blossoms. Many major sights around Kyoto also have special night openings/illuminations at this time that are very worth going to, including Kodai-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, Shoren-in, and Nijo-jo.

   >April 01 – KYOTO

   While this is doable, I’d point out that it’s a very full day and it is your first day in the city. Arashiyama alone could pretty easily fill a full day if you’re really exploring it and not just rushing through, and there are quite a few things around Kinaku-ji/Ryoan-ji that you might want to consider visiting (e.g., Ninna-ji, Kitanotenman-gu). Ninna-ji is particularly beautiful in mid-April if you’re somehow still around at that point, since its blossoms bloom a bit later than the rest of the city.

   >April 02 – KYOTO

   I usually suggest combining Himeji with Kobe since it’s right on the way. A morning at Himeji Castle and Koko-en (don’t skip this) matches very well with an afternoon/evening wandering Chinatown, the Iijinkan, and possibly a night view from Mt. Rokko/Maya.

   >April 03 – KYOTO

   Osaka is a city the size of New York. There is easily enough there for at least a full day. If you only have a day for Osaka I would pick Umeda, Tenjinbashisuji, or the Kaiyukan to start with. After that, I’d head over to Kurmon, walk from there down to Shinsekai (I generally consider this unskippable for first time Osaka visitors) through DenDen Town, eating at either Kuromon or Shinsekai, then walking over to Abenoharukas (Japan’s tallest building) if you’re interested, and then heading back to Namba/Dotonbori/Shinsaibashi when it’s starting to get dark, perhaps doing Namba Parks while you’re in the area. This is an absolutely packed day, but it’s a decent single-day Osaka experience.

   >April 05 – KYOTO

   This day is a bit on the light side and I would combine. Rather than going into more specific suggestions, I’ll just direct you to [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/5wgxa1/best_way_to_group_these_sites_in_kyoto/dea059y/?context=3) for my general advice about arranging sights in Kyoto.

   >April 06 – KYOTO

   This is a ton of ground to cover in just one day. I would suggest this into at least 2 days (see the above linked post). Fushimi Inari is open 24 hours and can be done at literally any time. I suggest going before dawn if you can manage it (maybe if you’re jet lagged on the first day?), but the very late afternoon/dusk is also a great time to go.

   **EDIT:** A couple of your Tokyo day trips are kinda nuts. Jigokudani and Fukuroda Falls are way outside of Tokyo and don’t make any sense as day trips to me.

   And I don’t really get going to Jigokudani just for the monkeys when you’ll already have seen monkeys at Arashiyama–especially considering there almost certainly won’t be any snow on the ground when you get there. It seems like a complete waste of a day just to do something you’ll have already done elsewhere.

7. You’ve got a lot of days in the big city and then others in tourist hot-spots. While you can definitely fill those days, sometimes it is nice sneaking in a small quiet country town experience if you can.

8. A couple of suggestions:

   1. Since you are based in Kyoto and spend 5+ days in the area, I recommend also going to Uji, a city well-known for Matcha (green tea).
   2. Day tripping from Kyoto to Osaka and Himeji would be too much. You may want to add 2 more days to the Kansai area to more fully explore Osaka, Himeji and perhaps go to Okayama as well. If that’s the case, look into buying a JR West pass.
   3. I do not recommend day-tripping from Tokyo to the Jigokudani Monkey Park in Nagano. You will be extremely tired. Not to mention you may get lost with all the train and bus transfers, and the long mountain hike.
   4. I would cut 4 or so Tokyo days and add it to your time in Kansai or spend a few days in Northeast to view cheery blossoms. There are many good day trips from Tokyo as well so highly suggest you spend less time in Tokyo.

   To answer your question about hotels… Yes, hotel charges are based on the number of persons staying in the same room. This is standard practice across Japan. Have fun planning your trip. Let me know if you have any questions!

9. Hi, just my 2 cents. I found kyoto to be extremely boring. I wouldnt spend so many days there if i were you.

   Just an example: Fushimi Inari is situated gobsmacked in the middle of an urban area and theres no awe inspiring sense of beauty or wonder from it. But i understand that since its your first time you prolly want to tick it off your bucket list.

   I found many ropeways up the mountains to be kinda the same, its nice to take in the scenery from uptop but after awhile it gets really stale.

   Some of the more memorable sights that i can recall is kamikochi , the sea of japan during my drive up to suzu as well as the Iya valley & the highest point on the alpine route (tateyama).

   Basically anything man made, ie the Kinkaku-ji, fushimi inari, parks, temples or the palaces all felt boring. Nothing too spectacular. Only teamlabs was kinda exciting.

   I feel tokyo is really awesome for only 1 reason, the food. Theres so many good restaurants down there for ramen, sushi, tonkatsu, beef & desserts that I would really plan out my lunch and dinner spots properly just to visit all these places. And you do not need to go to extremely costly places. The food down there is just so good, i could eat that same meal for a whole week if i have to.

10. You’re bound to have a great time! The Sumo is great. Most locals turn up about 2.30-3.00pm to watch the end of second grade and all of first grade. It ends at about 6pm so there’s nothing to worry about in terms of it going too long. My advice is pretty simple: underplan rather than overplan. There’s so much fabulous stuff to do that you days will be full of wonder.