Hi, so this will be my first time in Japan arriving on 27th August and returning on 25th September.
I’ve written over 10 itineraries and am getting myself into overthinking territory now. I’m wanting to be sure that I’m getting the balance right and not missing any hidden gems!
I’m a nature lover and probably slightly more interested in seeing traditional Japan over tech Japan but only marginally.
August 27th: Arrive in Narita at 1.30pm. Relax and eat – Taito City.
August 28th: Tokyo – Akihabara District, Tokyo Tower and Senso-ji.
August 29th: Tokyo – teamLab Planets & Imperial Palace
August 30th: Fujinomiya – Leave Tokyo at 6am. Owakudani am – travel to Fujinomiya
August 31st: Fujinomiya – get the first bus to Fuji 5th station and recover in the evening.
September 1st: Kyoto – Leave Fujinomiya at 10am. Visit Shino-Ito falls before moving on to Kyoto & East Kyoto Attractions
September 2nd: Kyoto – West Kyoto attractions.
September 3rd: Kyoto – Samurai Experience
September 4th: Osaka – Leave Kyoto Midday. Osaka Castle & Central Osaka attractions
September 5th: Osaka – Hiking Day by Iwahashiyama
September 6th: Osaka – Kobe day trip and hopefully get some really good beef for my birthday 🎂
September 7th: Osaka – Nara day trip. Feed deer.
September 8th: Osaka – Today is all about street food and beer. Maybe do Osaka pub crawl (or do this yesterday to avoid hangover on the train)
September 9th: Hiroshima – Leave Osaka at 10am. Arrive in Hiroshima and visit peace park, castle and dome and eat Okonomiyaki
September 10th: Hiroshima – Day trip to Itsukushima
September 11th: Nagasaki – Leave Hiroshima at 10am. Central Nagasaki, peace park and atomic bomb museum
September 12th: Nagasaki – Mt. Inasayama observatory and surrounding parks
September 13th: Okayama – Leave Nagasaki at 10am. Okayama Castle and surrounding city centre
September 14th: Okayama – visit Kurashiki in the morning and then on to Takamatsu in the afternoon. Return in the evening.
September 15th: Kanazawa – Leave Okayama at 10am. Relax and maybe catch up on sleep if needed. Eat food and drink beer.
September 16th: Kanazawa – Kanazawa Castle, head to the coast going through all the parks
September 17th: Kanazawa – Day trip to Shirakawa-go
September 18th: Nagano – Leave Kanazawa at 10am. Arrive at Nagano and aim to see Snow Monkeys early-mid afternoon
September 19th: Tokyo – Leave Nagoya at 3.30pm. Visit Daio Wasabi Farm & Maybe pop to Matsumoto. Head to Tokyo.
September 20th: Tokyo – Shinjuku Area, maybe some theme cafes and the muscle girl bar.
September 21st: Tokyo – Nikko Day Trip
September 22nd: Tokyo – Shibuya Area
September 23rd: Tokyo – Yokohama Day Trip & Kamakura
September 24th: Tokyo – Free day to do anything I’ve missed
September 25th: Tokyo – Free morning and head back to Narita about 1pm
Part of me is tempted to cut off another day from Tokyo to head from Nagasaki to Kumamoto and rent a car to walk around Mount Aso but this is risky due to the instability of the conditions so could be inaccessible.
Reading my itinerary I’m not even sure I’ve allowed enough time to see Tokyo given all the day trips!
Not sure if I get both a 21 day followed by 7 day JR pass as I know it won’t cover every bit of travel I’ll be doing but I have a feeling it might be the least stressful option.
Money wise- for food, drink and activites/entrance fees – planning £3500. Realistic?
Thank you if you’ve read any of this 🙂
4 comments
I think this looks good. See a rest day in there.
Nikko is fantastic. Possibly my favorite. Be sure to visit the shrine and garden near Shibuya too.
If you’re going to Kanazawa Castle, why not Kenroku-en as a nature lover? Also if you’re more into traditional than modern, you want to spend more time in Kyoto not Tokyo but it’s your first time so doesn’t matter as much.
I don’t understand these round-trip itineraries that spend time in Tokyo, then work their way to Kyushu, only to return back for some days in Tokyo. Tokyo to Nagasaki is, what, 7 hours of train time? So you lose one of your 29 days to unnecessary travel. I love the shinkansen, but hate this inefficiency.
NRT to Nagasaki doesn’t have good flights, but you could easily connect to FUK or HIJ and cut at least one long train day out of your itinerary.
For anyone planning travel, just book the trip as a one-stop to the furthest point from Tokyo you want to visit, then work your way towards Tokyo.
Why go Hiroshima, Nagasaki them Okayama. Seems like a big detour. Nagasaki is far out of the way of anything