Hello, my brother and I have a trip booked for August 30 – September 18. We have not planned anything in too much depth yet, but I am seeing if our itinerary so far is good.
We are open to pretty much anything, so if you have suggestions feel free to throw them my way.
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* 8/30 – 8/31 Arrive at KIX around 6:45. Make our way to our hostel, get food, sleep.
* 9/1 – 9/3 As far as Osaka goes we would like to go to Universal, Osaka Aquarium, Osaka Castle, and Den Den Town. We are open to staying longer in Osaka if there are plenty more things to do.
* 9/4-9/5 Take the train to Kyoto. Visit Fushimi Inari, Monkey Park, Bamboo forest. I have been to Kyoto, but my brother hasn’t, so we are just going to do the basic Kyoto Stuff.
* 9/6 – 9/7 Take the train to Onomichi and start the Shimanami Kaido. We plan on doing the whole ride in two days, but may be open to doing it in one day if that is a better option. My main concern is where we will leave our luggage. Are there big lockers in Onomichi station to put our luggage until we get back?
* 9/8 Take the Shinkansen to Tokyo, then rest since we will be wiped out from cycling.
* 9/9 – 9/18 We don’t want to necessarily plan out Tokyo too much. In a nutshell, we will probably spend entire days in one district, or maybe two. We will probably go to Akihabara more than once though since we are into all that stuff. The last few days will probably be full shopping days.
Should we spend more time in Osaka/Kyoto? Should we plan out Tokyo more in-depth rather than just do whatever? Let me know your thoughts!
22 comments
Side question, do you think everything will be opened up by summer due to the virus?
I’ve only been to Kansai so I can’t speak to Tokyo, but I’d definitely recommend spending more time in Osaka and Kyoto and maybe taking a day trip to Nara as well. There’s so, so much to see in these cities and I don’t think a day or two in each does them justice!
In Kyoto, the main tourist spots can be really overwhelming, so I don’t know your travel style, but I recommend going off the beaten path a bit to get a sense for the beauty of the city (I know you’ve been before, but for your brother)! My favorite places were Gingaku-Ji and Shimogamo Shrine, but I barely scratched the surface in my visit there.
Osaka also has so much to offer beyond the basic touristy things. Of course eat and shop around Dotonbori but also check out the Nakazakicho neighborhood around Temma for a more laidback, authentic experience of the city 🙂
Ahhh I think you should include your 2 weeks quarantine that will be necessary..
That sounds incredible. Enjoy the trip. On a side note, don’t try to open or close the cab doors. They are automatic and you will feel dumb. The Japanese are way too polite to say anything but it’s embarrassing.
Hi, I did my own version of most of your trip (apart from Osaka) in March 2019.
I agree with a lot of the comments regarding the affects COVID-19 will have on your timeline BUT ignoring that and just looking at the day plans exclusively.
– I did 3 nights in kyoto and personally would’ve liked more time there. This is a personal preference for me as I really enjoy looking at shrines and temples and to get to some of the less tourist-y ones in the mountains it took a bit more time to get to them.
– A friend and I decided to do the shimanami kaido over 3 days/2 nights. You should have no problem completing it in two days however we wanted to go off the main route and do some of the island explorer paths. My luggage was in tokyo at this point but as with most reasonable sized train stations you should be able to find some luggage lockers (check their website or the JR website).
– In regards to Tokyo I think you’ll be fine playing it mostly by ear, though if you have specific interests obviously prioritise those attractions/areas as you seem to be doing.
– In addition to these I also loved Hiroshima, the peace memorial museum is a must if you can get there.
You gotta visit Matsuyama (and the adjacent little onsen town, Dogo Onsen) which is an hour away from Imabari (the end-point of Shimani Kaido cycle), then you could also take the ferry up to Hiroshima.
Wondering if you intentionally skipped Nara or forgot about it. It’s a good day-trip from Osaka or Kyoto. But then again, there are deer in Miyajima as well haha
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For Osaka, you can look into visiting Shinsekai, and by extension, the Tennoji area that’s just beside Shinsekai. These areas are much more laid-back compared to Umeda and Namba 🙂
I would suggest budgeting more time in Kyoto, 2 days is barely enough time to cover the must-sees of Kyoto and there are so many more hidden gems around the city, you can also use Kyoto as base for Nara to avoid dragging your luggage to another hotel
A day or two in Kyoto should be fine if you’re just doing basic stuff. I’d definitely plan out the big things you want to do so you don’t spend a lot of time crisscrossing the city.
I think it sounds like you’re going to stay in Osaka and and stay in Kyoto. Tbh if you’re spending such a short time in both places just stay in one city and take the train and back to the other. If you’ve got the JR Pass, you can take the shinkansen between the 2 cities and it takes like ~15mins. But the normal trains take ~30mins if I remember correctly so it isn’t too bad. Also, you can also do some stuff in Osaka at night after your day trips to Kyoto. I did a drinking tour in Dotonburi.
I live in tokyo.
There’s no way you are gonna be able to come in august.
Even if you are, tourism is gonna be so different. Many places closed, etc.
I don’t recommend coming.
Second wave is expected around that time so… good luck mate
There’s lots to do in Osaka. Day trip to Nara is a must. Dotombori, Shinsekai, and Shinsaibashi are all great to just wander around and eat street food.
In Kyoto definitely loved Monkey Park, and Kinkakuji was worth the trek. Also the Otter cafe was worth every yen.
Hard to think of planning a trip during these uncertain times, my trip to Hawai’i in June has already been cancelled and I don’t have high hopes for Mexico in October. Best of luck!
I really love Nishiki Market for an early lunch/late breakfast in Kyoto.
I also really enjoyed SEXMACHINE, a reasonably priced yakiniku place in Dotombori.
Miyajima is absolutely worth a full day if you have time… but seems like maybe it won’t fit? I recommend at least one night there… climb mount misen, then enjoy the festival and go to your next destination in the morning.
If you go in September (or move it to march/April next Year) Why no hicking up Fujisan and seeing one of the Most stunning sunsets you will ever see
For your luggage- when my wife and I hiked the Kumano Kodo, we used a luggage forwarding service. They picked it up at our hotel in Tokyo and it was waiting for us in Kyoto after our hike. This service is ubiquitous in Japan and cost under 20000yen.
I already had to cancel my three weeks vacation to Korea + Japan this year. You should reschedule as well. Japan ain’t opening, sorry to break it to you. We have no cure or treatment for this thing. Just cancel and reschedule for next year.
For the Shimanami Kaido : There are big lockers at JR Onomichi Station. We left our suitcases at the station and cycled the main route with backpacks in two days (night stay in Setoda around halfway). Hope you can go, good luck.
Had 18 days planned & only got 4 in country due to virus in march. August is start of flu season and probably the beginning of the next major wave. Postpone. Or don’t, and lose like 4 grand like my wife and I did.
September 2021, right?
The echo chamber in this comment thread about Covid related travel is remarkable.
IMO:
* Skip Osaka Castle, it’s just ok. I’d recommend making time to see Himeji on the way to or back from Onomichi. It’s the best castle in Japan, is on the way, and doesn’t take an incredible amount of energy and time to explore.
* There’s plenty to do in Osaka, but I got a little overwhelmed both times I went. Aquarium is can’t miss though.
* If you end up being interested in Nara, do Fushimi Inari and Nara on the same day. I did Fushimi early to avoid the crowds and took the train straight to Nara afterwords.
* I always say this here, but both of my trips I spent time in Kyoto, and both times I wished I’d spent more time there. It’s an incredible place.
* I haven’t done the Shimanami Kaido, but I went to Onomichi for a half day on my way back from Hiroshima. There are definitely lockers big enough in the train station.
* I fully support leaving Tokyo unplanned. I did the same last time and it was fun just winging it and going wherever I felt like. Pick some sights you want to see and just explore.
Zero chance Japan ever opens to Americans again. I’d cancel the trip if I were you.