Hi guys, I would be planning a solo trip to Japan in End June for Tokyo, Chubu and Kyushu region, have been in the popular cities in previous trips so am hoping to explore more in the Chubu and Kyushu region. My pit stops in Tokyo is mainly to strike a good balance between city/nature and will be focused on food and drinks (have been to most attractions previously)
Itinerary:
**Day 1 (Tokyo)**:
Arrive in Tokyo in the late afternoon, check in to hotel in Toyosu
**Day 2 (Tokyo)**:
1. Breakfast – Sushi dai + Explore Toyosu market
2. Teamlabs
3. Gundam base
4. Check in to new hotel in Shinjuku and explore city
**Day 3 (Tokyo)**:
1. Day trip to KamaKura
2. Explore shibuya at night
**Day 4 (Tokyo)**:
1. Day trip to Nikko
2. Explore Asakusa
**Day 5 (Tokyo -> Lake Kawaguchiko)**:
1. Leave tokyo early in the morning to five fuji lake area
2. Explore five fuji lake area (Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway, Oishi Park)
**Day 6 (Lake Kawaguchiko)**
1. Chureito Pagoda and explore other lake area
**Day 7 (Lake Kawaguchiko -> Matsumoto)**:
1. Leave for matsumoto in the morning
2. Matsumoto Castle
3. Matsumoto City Museum of Art
**Day 8 (Matsumoto -> Kamikochi)**:
1. Leave early morning to Kamikochi
2. Check in to hotel and explore Kamikochi trails
**Day 9 (Kamikochi -> Matsumoto)**:
1. Hike at short trails in the morning
2. Travel back to Matsumoto
3. Explore Matsumoto Nawate Street
**Day 10 (Matsumoto-> Alpine Route Tateyama-Kurobe -> Kanazawa)**:
1. Early morning bus to Alpine Route Tateyama-Kurobe. (Ogizawa route ending at Tateyama).
2. Train from Toyama to Kanazawa for the night
**Day 11 (Kanazawa)**:
Visit Kenrokuen Garden, Kanazawa Castle Park, Higashi Chaya District. Explore Omicho Market at the night
**Day 12 (Kanazawa -> Osaka)**:
1. Train to Osaka
2. Go to Dotonbori / Shinsekai
**Day 13 (Osaka)**
1. Explore the Kuromon market
2. Osaka aquarium
3. Explore Osaka bars
**Day 14 (Osaka -> Fukuoka)**:
1. Explore Fukuoka attractions
2. Yatai at night
**Day 15 (Fukuoka)**:
1. Day guided trip to Miyazaki
**Day 16 (Fukuoka -> Nagasaki)**
1. Atomic bomb museum
2. China town
3. Mount inasa
**Day 17 (Nagasaki)**
1. Gunkanjima
2. Huis Ten Bosch
**Day 18 (Nagasaki -> Fukuoka)**
1. Travel from nagasaki to Fukuoka
2. Explore remaining attractions of Fukuoka
**Day 19 (Fukuoka -> Tokyo)**
1. Travel from Fukuoka to Tokyo
2. Souvenir shopping
**Day 20 (Tokyo)**
1. Flight back to country
**Some questions**:
1. Is the itinerary pace generally ok?
2. For day 4 in Tokyo, i am considering whether it makes more sense to have a night over in Hakone instead. The other option would be to bring forward five fuji and add on an extra day at Matsumoto for day trip to Nagano. Any advice?
3. If hakone is recommended, would you recommend gora or hakone yumoto area to stay?
Any other feedback/comments is most welcome! Thank you 🙂
5 comments
Day trip to Miyazaki from Fukuoka is really long. By train it’s going to be 3 hours each way on the Shinkansen if you get your transfer just right. Driving it’s a good 3-4 hour drive to Miyazaki City on the best of days and that is with zero stops.
Just be aware that there is a possibility of their still being snow on the Alpine route even in June. I haven’t been to that particular mountain range in June but I’ve been to others at that time of year and I had to still put on my crampons to go hiking.
My evergreen comment is that you would pretty much save an entire travel day by connecting from TYO straight to FUK or NGS. Domestic flights are far cheaper and way faster than the train for this distance.
For Lake Kawaguchiko, have you considered renting a car? There are buses but they seemed to only run every hour, if that. I ended up walking, which was tiring but it’s a good way to see the scenery. At least my hotel was near the railway, which had a stop near Churieto Pagoda but I ended up skipping it due to time/clouds.
Looks like I need to upgrade my travel plans from ‘bullet train’ to ‘flying bullet’. Thanks for the tip!