2021 3 Week itinerary

14 comments

1. I can’t speak about your Tokyo itinerary but your schedules in Kansai are very very empty and unless you’re planning on improvising you’re going to have a lot of free time. For example:

   July 8th: Morning: Kyoto aquarium and Kyoto tower Afternoon: Explore kyoto station

   You’re going to stay in Kyoto station until the evening? There are some shopping complexes connected to and around the station but other than that there’s not much to see unless you enjoy being surrounded by tons of people.

   July 4th: Morning: Kiyomizu-dera, Gion Afternoon: Gion and Nishiki market

   People always overestimate the amount of time they’ll spend in shopping districts like this. They’re not that large and chances are you’re not going to spend that much time there. However, around Gion / Sanjo area you can take a walk in the evening by the riverside, it’s pretty nice after sunset.

   Honestly you can see all the highlights in Osaka / Kyoto in half the time. Are you not interested in Kinkakuji or Arashiyama? If you and your friend like ramen then I’d explore you visit the “Ramen Battlegrounds” near Ichijoji station while you’re in Kyoto as well.

2. Do yourself the favor, summit Fuji… Go early, do it in one day.

3. You have a lot of items; instead of placing them into specific days just pick each day what you want to do/see, plus gauge how the budget is holding up. Ghibli museum requires getting tickets well in advance.

4. Is there a reason you’re doing the Kyoto Aquarium but not the Osaka Aquarium? The Osaka Aquarium is generally regarded as one of the best in the world.

5. I agree that your Kansai plan seems somewhat empty. There is a lot to see in the Kansai area so have a read up and see what interests you. Near Kyoto I recommend visiting Kifune and Kurama, maybe doing the hike between the two places if you’re up for it and it’s not too hot. In Kifune in the summer, restaurants set up dining areas over the stream which is very cool. Hikone Castle is easy to get to from Kyoto is you want to see an original castle (Osaka Castle was rebuilt using concrete in the 60s). Maybe consider a day trip to Hiroshima or Kobe, especially if you get the JR Pass. I’d definitely recommend Nara as well. If you like Chihayafuru you can visit Omi-Jingu in Otsu, a ten minute train ride from Kyoto. I can offer more recommendations if you’re interested.

   Don’t assign things to certain days just yet because you don’t know what the weather will be like. Speaking of weather, it will be very hot and humid when you are visiting. Expect to sweat a lot, it’s completely different to European summers. Having travelled around Japan during this time, I would recommend keeping an open schedule and seeing how you feel each day. You might want to have some days where you spend more time indoors and there is nothing wrong with that.

6. I was just in Japan for the first time with a similar trip (although shorter and in the opposite direction) before all the pandemic craziness!

   I would definitely recommend doing the Nara day trip! We ended up staying the night there, but since your accommodations are already set, I think it would definitely at least be worth stopping by for the day – it’s very fun to pet the deer, and the town in general is nice. It might also be worth looking into other day trip options from Osaka (e.g. Kobe, Himeji), depending on how jet lagged you are – I had much less time than you will, and I didn’t feel like I needed any more, to be honest.

   In Kyoto, I would recommend doing Gion in the evening. We walked through in the afternoon and most of the shops/restaurants were closed. I would also recommend seeing Ginkakuji temple when you do the Philosopher’s Path (doesn’t take terribly long, but is very beautiful!), and if you like monkeys, I was pleasantly surprised by the Arashiyama Monkey Park.

   In Tokyo, I would recommend visiting Tsukiji Market – obviously a matter of opinion, but I enjoyed it much more than Nishiki Market or Kuromon Market, and wandering around snacking there was one of the highlights of my trip!

   As far as rest days, I think it’s a good idea to fit them in! Our trip was only two weeks, so we didn’t have the luxury of full rest days, but we definitely had a couple lazy afternoons – you’ll need the rest to recuperate and approach things with enough energy!

7. Definitely be selective in your tokyo nightlife choices. The City has TONS of areas to go to.
   Golden Kwai was novel but it’s basically the same small bars that all charge you to go inside. There’s a strange bar there called death march from hell that I thought was pretty novel though.

   The really touristy area that used to be the redlight district is actually really obnoxious and full of those West african club barkers who get SUPER persistent on selling you on something that I don’t even get why they’d think it would ever convince anyone to go with them.

   There’s one all the college students go to, starts with an R but can’t remember off hand, is the better choice from the brief amount of time I spent in it.

   Osaka I should mention has a really cool speakeasy bar that is super hard to find. Took me and the people I met like an hour to actually find the way in but the drinks were good.

8. Please do share you experiences after your trip , if possible with pics and descriptions , I really want to visit Japan and I am looking forward to a good travel guide , most YouTube videos looks like planned commercial trips rather than a fun experience !

9. Mid-late July is a ***MASSIVE*** festival season in Kansai, including 2 of the country’s 3 largest festivals. The Gion Festival in Kyoto lasts all month, with main events on the 17th and 24th, and evening festivities on the few days preceding (especially the 15th-16th, but also the 22nd and 23rd). The 24-25th (especially the 25th) is the Tenjin Festival in Osaka. In addition Motomiya Festival is held from July 21st-22nd and the Mitarashi Festival is the last 10 or so days of July. Also, the 25th is Tenjin-san market at Kitanotenmangu and the 21st is also Kobo-san market at Toji (both in Kyoto and both highly recommended). If you were to switch Kansai to the end and do this, I would budget even more days for events. I’ll also point out that I see the festivals as basically the only good thing (although they are very good) offsetting the terrible heat and humidity of midsummer that would otherwise make it arguably the worst time of the year to visit Japan.

   Nara should not have a question mark next to it. It is absolutely unskippable. I would also definitely add Himeji Castle and its gardens (which make Osaka Castle look like a glorified office building), and consider doing Kobe on the way back. In Osaka, I highly recommend walking from Kuromon through DenDen Town to Shinsekai (possibly as Osaka as Osaka gets) and then perhaps over to Abenoharukasu and/or Shitteno-ji.

   Kyoto aquarium isn’t terrible, but it’s kind of a joke compared to the Kaiyukan in Osaka and is viewed by most locals as more of a destination for school field trips than someplace worth taking tourists. Skip it. Kyoto Tower is nothing special. Skip it. The view from the top of Kyoto Station is no worse, and it’s free (also the upper floors of the station are pretty cool). If you really want the absolute best view in Kyoto, go to Shogunzuka around sunset.
   Kyoto Manga Museum is okay, but be aware that it’s more of a library than a museum in a lot of ways, and it has a lot less to offer for people who don’t speak Japanese.

   Overall, your Kyoto time is ***EXTREMELY*** light on the things that actually make Kyoto…well…Kyoto. Where is the time to actually explore Higashiyama? Where is Arashiyama? What about a day trip to Kurama/Kibune? Or Ohara? Or Mt. Hiei? There are so many beautiful and amazing things to see in the city, and you’re skipping almost all of them. See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/5wgxa1/best_way_to_group_these_sites_in_kyoto/dea059y/?context=3) for my general advise about arranging sights.

   Also: Rent bikes to explore if at all possible–especially in Kyoto. And be aware of the heat–it will sap your energy and you will end up doing less per day than you think because of it.

   Edit: Also also: I’m not really a “club person,” but when I was living in Kyoto I know that all of my friends who were club people went to Osaka on the weekends and had nothing good to say about Butterfly (or any other club in Kyoto for that matter). Kyoto has a great nightlife, but it’s more focused on laid-back experiences in small bars and restaurants or out along the river or wandering Higashiyama rather than clubbing.

10. Thanks for that link! I will probably modify that really good itinerary you made to fit in the stuff we want to see.

11. I am really bullish on the [Osaka City Museum](http://www.mus-his.city.osaka.jp/eng/) if you’re visiting Osaka castle. It does a great job of telling the history of Osaka and is located near the ruins of the former Naniwa palace. It’s an easy add-on and will help you appreciate the city.

    As for Nara, make sure you get an early start. I always recommend that people get to Nara park very early since you want to have enough time for everything and most places close around 5 PM or so.

    Lastly, is there a reason for you wanting to go by Yoshiwara? If it’s for the services, do you, not going to comments but note that there are some interesting shrines in the area. It has a lot of history to it if you’re into urban history.

12. If you have iPhone 8 or later, you can use your iphone as Suica card, automatically charged to Credit Card or ApplePay as you use, means you can setup Suica before visiting Japan.
    Suica is handy for local public transit, such as subway, city bus etc, because you don’t have to buy ticket each time.
    Also it is acepted by many restaurant and attraction too.
    However, since you travel Osaka – Kyoto – Tokyo, obviously you’d better purchase JR Pass, which is for foreigner, has good discount depend on how you use it.

13. In my opinion if you are planning to go to all the temples in Nara and Kyoto you can skip them in Osaka. I don’t think they are anything noteworthy compared to the ones in Nara and Kyoto. Umeda and Shinsaibashi are areas worth checking out. If you have extra time in the Kansai region I **highly recommend** visiting Mount Koya. Its pretty easy to get to from Namba. One tip for Osaka castle, either go early in the morning or after the sun goes down, there is literally no shade and it gets insanely hot.

    In Kyoto you have to visit Arashiyama, there’s tons to do there, and there’s lots of good restaurants around the station. Kinkauji is a must too, it’s probably one of the more unique buildings you’ll find in Japan.

    In Tokyo, Kaminarimon is basically Sensoji. While you’re in that area Ameyokocho is nearby for some cheap street food. If you are into anime, there’s tons of stuff in Akihabara. If you like Gundam, Odaiba is a must. There’s a life size Unicorn Gundam that transforms with a light show every hour or something. If you are on a budget, Ginza is probably too expensive to shop at.

14. Hi there. Tokyo resident here. Here’s a couple things I noticed.

    On your July 12th plans, you list Senso-ji in the morning and Nakamise Dori for the afternoon. With all likelihood, you will enter Senso-ji from walking up Nakamise Dori. The shopping on that street in general isn’t great, just the same souvenir type items at lots of different stalls. However, I think the snacks and street food are really fun and worth hitting. Asakusa is a great area. I think the better shopping is in the shōtengais surrounding the area outside of the station. Skytree can provide some air conditioning in the afternoon, but unless you plan on paying to go up in the tower, it’s mostly just typical mall shopping (except for the Pokémon Center, Donguri etc.). If you’re looking for other things to do in Asakusa, spend some time at Sumida Park along the river. Personally I would go to see Ueno/Ameyokocho, which is in that direction.

    Again on your Shibuya day, you list Center Gai as separate from seeing the crossing. Center Gai is basically right there, once you’ve walked across Shibuya Crossing. There is a lot of nightlife in the area obviously, which may be your plan to return to. I would add going in the new Shibuya Parco where there is a floor with the new Nintendo store, Pokémon Center, And similar shops.

    Have fun.