Cherry Blossom 2021 Itinerary

19 comments

1. Beside your concern for quiet (most of those being cities or heavily visited areas). I’m not sure about your selected Miyajima trip, it’s a long ride and then a lot of walking and more riding. The Shinkansen itself takes you to Hiroshima, then you need to take the train from Hiroshima to the ferry then there is a gondola up the mountain, which is stunning in the spring.

   I have gone to Hiroshima with the the sole plan of going to Okonomikyaki Tower for dinner and relaxing, hit Miyajima in the morning, spend the day and make my way back to Osaka for Cocktails at night.

   Going straight there from several days in Tokyo is a lot of traveling from my experience.

2. Inokashira area in Tokyo is beautiful and less touristy/congested but won’t be all that quiet during Sakura but still highly recommend

   Also you could squeeze in a trip to Kumagaya off the takasaki line and probably rent bikes to ride along the Arakawa all the way to Tokyo or stop along the way and get back on the train

3. Tried sakura this year. Was on day 4 of 18 when Covid escalation happened & we had to abruptly abort our honeymoon. If I were you, I’d push it back to 2022 or 2023 as Covid won’t be over until next summer at the earliest. You do you though.

4. Your “busy” days will be Tokyo and Osaka, while the “quiet” will be Miyajima, Koyasan and Kawaguchiko. Kyoto being somewhat in the middle between busy and quiet.

   You won’t spend a lot of time in Miyajima, as it will be a long train morning and with a stop in Hiroshima, it might be hard to get there before 5pm, when most attractions close, so you will have a bit of time in the morning before going to Osaka, if you do have some time to see the places you want.

   Good idea to do Koya san between Osaka and Kyoto, that make transport way lighter.

   I do not find Kawaguchiko to be the best on the way back to Tokyo, because of the time required. What I would do is probably day 8 in the morning go to Kawaguchiko, visit during the day, onsen at the ryokan, then return next morning. You can probably be in Tokyo around 10 or 11 am You’ll have time to do things in Tokyo. This somehow save you a day compared to spend 2 days to reach and visit that area.

   Check what you want to see in Kyoto, 5 full days is plenty, you could save 1 for a day trip to Kinosaki for example. Same idea, go in the morning, ryokan, onsen and back early next morning so you still have some time for Kyoto.

   Kiso vallery is a bit of a detour from the Tokaido shinkansen, but it’s possible to do it as a stop on the way between Tokyo and Kansai.

5. Is this your first time going to Japan? I can recommend a couple better scenic alternatives for you if it weren’t. In general, I would advise against going Miyajima based on your schedule because it’s so far off apart from rest of your destination. Miyajima is some place you should spend the whole day on so you can appreciate both the low tide and high tide beauty the island offers. If going to quieter and scenic spots were your preference, I would recommend forgetting Osaka and use that extra day on either Kiso, Miyajima, Hakone, and/or Nikko. The last two can be easily reached from Tokyo under two hours.

6. [deleted]

7. Since you enjoy scenic spots than cities, think about extending your fuji five lakes to a couple more nights. Fujisan can be elusive at times so the more days you spend there, the more chances of seeing it! 😄

8. If you’re going to Miyajima, if you’re pressed for time, I recommend going to Hiroshima instead. I absolutely love the food and history and would say that Hiroshima was the highlight of my trip! Consider extra days for Miyajima, as the torii gates, street foods, sunset views, and deer are also not to be missed!
   As a lover of Asia and traveling there, you might not want to spend only 4 days in Seoul (Incheon airport is an hour away, so I’d consider flying to Tokyo from Gimpo Airport, GMP). South Korea has SO much more beyond the capital that it would almost be a shame to rush through.
   If you change the order of the sights at all and end up in the Kansai region at the end, Osaka Airport (KIX) has as many international flights and connections as Tokyo.
   Regardless, take my advice with a grain of salt as you know yourself best. Happy travels!

9. More Tokyo. Less Kyoto.

10. I would try to spend an afternoon in Oji when you are in Kyoto. I was just there and Phoenix Hall of Byōdō-in and the surrounding area is as nice as anything as you will see in Kyoto City. I have lived in Japan for over 25 years and I was impressed with it, and not much these days impress me anymore

11. I would add Ueno park specifically. There are over 4,000 cherry trees in the park. My first Tokyo trip was when the sakura were not quite full bloom and it was still amazing… more like breathtaking, to be honest. Hope this helps you out and safe travels.

12. For me, I find it more difficult to spend time at Miyajima without either staying at Hiroshima or Miyajima. I was there and stayed at Miyajima. I found that the night scenery was pretty good, with music performances at the sea side hotels open to public, quiet streets and coastline. And on the next morning, I got into Itsukushima Shrine at 6 am with less than 10 person inside. Went back to the ryokan I was staying for breakfast. Had a cup of nice coffee at a cafe nearby
    (Sarasvati) in which they roasted their own blend on location.

    If you can spare the time, try staying on the island instead of rushing through with everyone.

13. Keep in mind you can fly from Seoul to most places to Japan for dirt cheap. You could look into exploring a different area of Japan, like flying into Fukuoka / Sapporo and spending a few days there. You can probably get one way tickets for around $40, and then another 1 way ticket to Tokyo / Osaka for a similar price.

14. Need way more Tokyo. I can relate to the not enjoying visiting big cities typically but Tokyo is something else. Consider omitting Osaka if needed.

15. We met an American couple in Osaka. They had been to south Korea for a few days before coming to Japan and had a great time.

    In Japan the Sakura season is a really big thing. Everyone goes out to see the blossom. Because of this you will not find quiet Sakura viewing in the main places with loads of trees. Having said that it’s easy just to treat all the locals as part of the scene. Many Japanese will wear traditional dress so it’s nice to see them out enjoying the events.

    Miyajima is a nice visit as is the Kintaikyo bridge (which is less busy with some sakura).
    Kyoto is crammed full of temples, shrines, the philosophers path etc so loads to see and do.

    Nara is a good half day out too.

    Tokyo has loads of big parks and small parks and other great things to visit.

16. ps: The Kenrokuen park in Kanazawa is one of the best and reachable from Kyoto. Osaka for us was a slight let down but we used it as a base for Himeji / Mount Shosha & Nara.

    Just discovered that a friend of my wife stayed in Ryoken on Miyajima and really enjoyed it. We stayed in one in Nozawa and had a wonderful time.

17. Personally I think you’re trying to fit too much into Tokyo. I completely underestimated the travel time between areas.
    Borderless, you’ll want a couple of hours to explore. It’s huge and ever changing. There’s also a lot hidden in little corners and side rooms. Plus if you want to do the nest or the lantern room, there will be queues. TeamLab Planets is easier to do if you’re looking at a smaller window of time. You can probably do Asakusa and Akihabara in one day but Akihabara shops open quite late (11am ish) so don’t get caught out by this.

    Skytree is you can, do in the evening. Far less crowds but equally impressive view.

18. Ok, want something not city heavy? Don’t head too far west, head either north to Ibaraki and Fukushima, or south to Shizuoka. If you’re heading west, I’d probably go as far as Nagano (Karuizawa, Zenko-ji temple), but that’s it.

    Want a good aquarium? Head to Oarai in Ibaraki. Sakura? Shizuoka is an overlooked destination, and offers incredible views of Mt. Fuji too. Interesting torii? Oarai and Shizuoka also has them. Temples? Kamakura, Nikko, Zenko-ji in Nagano.

19. I think it is better to fly to Osaka and go to Hiroshima and Miyajima instead of Tokyo to Osaka and Hiroshima and back to Tokyo.

    I would definitely do your overnight stay in Miyajima. Beautiful and not busy at night and early morning.

    You can easily do day trips to Kamakura and Sendai. Kamakura is a small resort town with great view and Sendai is quite peaceful for a large city. The major sites there weren’t busy when I went there!