Hi!
We are a couple from the UK who are visiting Japan for the first time in August. We will both be celebrating our 30th birthday’s on the trip. We’ve travelled a lot on various backpacking trips, but it’s been our dream to explore Japan since we started! I understimated how difficult it could be to plan a coherant intinerary for this trip, so any help, suggestions or constructive criticism is definitely welcome!
In terms of us and what we like, we’re massive foodies, my girlfriend is a pescatarian. We love nature, walking / hiking but also love the buzz of cities, nightlife etc. We’re keen to immerse ourselves in the culture as much as possible. We’re thinking budget to mid-range for this trip.
Does the following itinerary make sense for the 14 day JR pass? Would the 7 day be better? What other cards / train passes should we be thinking about?
Ok, here goes…
30/07 – Arrive into Kobe (UKB) @ 21:45 – train to Osaka
31/07 – Osaka – food, food, food.
01/08 – Osaka – More food, maybe a street / food tour and experience nightlife.
02/03 – Osaka – Day trip to Nara.
03/08 – My birthday! – Osaka to Koyasan for an overnight temple stay.
04/08 – spend morning in Koyasan, do a short trail, see some of the temples. Then somehow get to Hiroshima? Explore peace park and then overnight stay on Miyajima.
05/08 – Miyajima & Hiroshima – explore both a bit more and then train to Kyoto in the evening.
06/08 – Kyoto – wake early to get to Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, then Kinkaku-ji
07/08 – Kyoto – wake early to get to Fushimi Inari Taisha, intending to climb to the top, or would this be better for sunset? Explore Higashiyama / Gion and then Pontocho in the evening.
08/08 – Kyoto – Kiyomizu-dera – explore Higashiyama and Gion more. Any must sees or not so touristy things we could do that I’ve not thought of?
09/08 – Morning train from Kyoto to Kanzawa – explore Chaya districs, Samurai district and Kenroku-en. Eat lots of sushi.
10/08 – Kanzawa to Takayama – explore the old town. Could we fit in a trip to Kamikochi? Conscious there isn’t much hiking in this itinerary yet.
11/08 – Takayama to Tokyo – get our bearings and explore!
12/08 – Tokyo – explore Shinjuku, Shibuya, mieji-jingu
13/07 – Tokyo – early morning to the fish market, TeamLab Planets, senso-ji, Akihabara
14/08 – Girlfriends birthday! Tokyo – day trip to Hakone or Nikko? Need to plan something worthy of a 30th birthday but at a loss currently!
15/08 – Tokyo – late ish train to Kobe for ealy flight home.
16/08 – Fly home – 7:05am from Kobe (UKB)
Hopefully this makes some sort of sense, I’m sorry it’s so long but I’d be so so grateful of some help. Anything we should change? Any hikes you’d recommend? Any less touristy things we could do?
Thanks again!
4 comments
You think you nail most of the things to see!
– You mentioned that you are a foodie – I suppose can’t help but recommend some of the Tabelog Silver or Michelin 1* Omakase experience. Omakase.in website has some solid sushi there (Sushi Hashimoto). Tabelog is very comprehensive to check review. Anything over 4 is stellar.
– For your girlfriend’s birthday – as nice ending to the trip – you can pick a Ryokan that is on the way back to Kobe. This can be along Izu Peninsula or in Hakone. Inn such as Yagyu No Sho, Sagasawakan. Checkout FlyerTalk Ryokan Post which has some of the best Ryokan!
Staying overnight in either Hakone or elsewhere eliminates your trip back to Tokyo since you are heading east anyway. You may forward all your luggage directly from Tokyo to Kobe. How nice is that?
For the JR pass there are some calculators online to check if it’s worth it. Generally it’s only worth it if you are doing a lot of long trips during the period – note that not all trains are included. I don’t believe you can use it to go to Koyasan.
I think you have 1 too many stops. The travel time to Hiroshima, Kanazawa and Takayama and then staying 1 night isn’t really worth it. I’m not sure what your priorities are but I would skip Hiroshima and add an extra day to Kanazawa/Takayama.
Is there any reason you are using Kobe Airport? They don’t (currently at least) have international services so it seems you will be transiting through somewhere else in Japan/somewhere more convenient?
14/08: teamlab borderless planet, Tokyo cruise from Odaiba to Asakusa, explore, then chill in Ueno park, rooftop restaurant, end with helicopter flight by night