Hello! I am going to solo travel to Japan from 19 July to 22 August this summer. I am 20 years old and I have never been in Japan before, but I am fascinated by its culture and it’s been a dream of mine visiting Japan.
I’ve put out this itinerary for my trip. I don’t have yet an exact idea of what to do each single day specifically, as I want to keep things a bit more flexible and I will have to work remotely during my stay. I’d love to hear some thoughts and suggestions from more experienced travelers, so if you have any, please share!
**Tokyo** \- 4 days (19 July 20:00 – 22 July)
Arrive at Narita Airport at 20:00 Japan time, I’ll probably be quite exhausted and I will only eat something and go to my hotel.
I will come back to Tokyo for 5 more days at the end of my trip.
General things to do and places to visit in Tokyo:
– Sensoji temple
– Kagaya bar
– Akihabara
– Harajuku
– Togo shrine
– Shiba park
– Zozoji temple
– Tokyo metropolitan government building
– Koishikawa Korakuen
– Side trip to Yokohama
**Hakone** \- 2 days (23 July – 24 July)
– Lake Ashinoko
– Hakone Onsen
**Nagoya** – 3 days (25 July – 27 July)
– Nagashima Resort
– Nabana no sato
– Nagoya castle
**Ise** – 1 day (28 July)
– Ise Shima
**Nara** – 1 day (29 July)
– Nara park
– Todaiji Temple
**Kyoto** – 5 days (30 July – 3 August)
– Fushimi inari shrine
– Tenryu-ji temple
– Gion district
– Nijo castle
– Philosopher’s Path
– Kyoto Tower- Enryakuji Temple
– Kiyomizudera Temple
– Kinkakuji
– Ginkakuji
**Osaka** – 5 days (4 August – 8 August)
– Dotonbori
– Osaka castle
– USJ
– Osaka aquarium
**Himeji** – 1 day (9 August)
– Himeji Castle
– Mt Shōsha
**Okayama** – 2 days (10 August – 11 August)
– Korakuen Garden
**Hiroshima** – 3 days (12 August – 14 August)
– Peace Park
– Itsukushima Shrine
**Kanazawa** – 2 days (15 August – 16 August)
– Kenrokuen Garden
**Nikko** – 1 day (17 August)
– Toshogu Shrine
– Rinnoji Temple
– Kagon Falls
– Senjogahara Hiking
**Tokyo** – 5 days (18 August – 22 August)
– Summer Sonic
If you have anything to add or suggestions, please share!
I assume that for these trips I better get the 21 days Japan Rail Pass and activate it at the end of my initial stay in Tokyo (although it still won’t cover the entirety of my trip). Perhaps it’s more convenient to buy two 7 days JR pass, activate the 7 days pass at the end of my initial stay in Tokyo and then activate the other at the end of my stay in Kyoto?
Let me know if you think the length of each stay is appropriate and if you have any tips about accommodations, as I still have to look for that.
Thanks a lot!
9 comments
Just to clarify, which airport are you arriving at?
Did you already buy your tickets for Summer Sonic?
Honestly, I do not understand why you keep going from one place to the other on the other side.
Like… If you land in Nagoya, why do you go to Tokyo first just to then go back to Nagoya and go again to Tokyo… that make no sense.
Here is what I would do. Start by Nagoya, then go to Ise, Nara, Kyoto, while Osaka is next to Kyoto, save it for later. Himeji, Okayama, Hiroshima, Osaka. The reason to put Osaka here is to avoid wasting a day in the train from Hiroshima to Kanazawa. Kanazawa, Tokyo, day trip to Nikko, overnight trip to Nikko, like check out of Tokyo hotel, ask them to keep your luggage and go back to the same hotel after going to Nikko for a night.
As for JR Pass, try to calculate first. Having a bad order in your plan will just make it more expensive and it will “justify” the JR Pass. The Ise to Nara/Kyoto can be done on Kintetsu train, so check the Kintetsu pass. If you are able to do leave Kyoto and reach Tokyo within 14, that might be better for only 14 days pass, but still calculate and compare to cost of individual tickets. Nikko can be done with Tobu Nikko Pass and Hakone with Odakyu Hakone Free Pass.
In Kanazawa i recommend ninja temple :
Myouryuji (Ninja Temple)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/BPccUqnVSFCZ4Jds8?g_st=ic
got the tour there yday it was awesome
In Himeji I always recommend people visit Mt Shōsha. It has a stunning shrine and monastery set amidst old forest, up on top of a hill. You can take a bus from Himeji Station to the base. From there you can walk up (about 40 minutes) or take a cable car (¥1500 round trip?).
You could spend about half a day at each place.
Dear lord the 1 day check ins will be horrendous, I hope you’ve just picked somewhere as a home base in Kansai to do all those smaller side trips.
Kagaya closed years ago, unfortunately.
That day in Nikko is packed. You’ll have to start very early to hit all those places. You can use the Nikko pass there just like the Hakone Pass (very convenient) if your base is Tokyo.
I get you land in Tokyo but it would be better to have it as the last “leg of the tour” considering you’re attending Summer Sonic Festival, and there are other transportation passes e.g. Tokyo combination ticket, JR East, Tokyo subway ticket, etc.
And as others said before it seems like you’re heading from south to north, then east-west back and forth. I’d suggest to grab a map and trace your route based on a desired a path. Likewise, those 1 days checkins … it’s way better to choose a base and try to do day trips where it makes sense.
Hope it helps.
Miyajima Island from Hiroshima is 100% worth it. It can be done in half a day if you get up early.
Kamakura and Enoshima Island is an awesome day trip from Tokyo. The views on Enoshima Island from the Sea Candle are spectacular.
I’m curious on how much this trip costs or your budget