Hi, me and my friend would be going to Japan for 2 weeks in October. I have been to Japan before (Osaka and Tokyo) but it is the first time my friend is going. We aim to see most of the things Japan have before the JR pass increase in price :). My friend is into anime and gundam which is reflected in our Tokyo trip. The itinerary feels ambitious, but because we both young we thought why not make the most out of it lol. Do you guys think any of the route doesnt make sense or any place should be removed?
For the sunrise overnight train, we plan to get the cabin. So my understanding, I book through the JR west website 1 month before for just the cabin (non-base fare) and then when we reach Japan we go to JR west counter and show our reservation +our JR pass. Do let me know if I missed any step!
Day 1-7 based in Osaka, day 8-10 based in Fukuoka, day 11-14 Tokyo
Day 1 – Reach Osaka 9am -> Osaka Castle, Nishinomaru Garden, Osaka Museum of History -> Denden Town -> Namba
Day 2 – Nara (park and temples) -> Fushimi Inari Shrine (climb and see sunset) -> Umeda
Day 3 – Kyoto: Kinkakuji, Genbu Shrine -> Kyoto Imperial Palace -> Nijo Castle -> Kyoto Manga Museum -> Kyoto National Museum -> Kiyomizudera temple, Higashiyama -> Gion
Day 4 – Osamu Tezuka Museum -> Universal Studio
Day 5 – Ise (outer, inner shrine, meoto iwa) -> Nagoya (atsuta shrine, nagoya castle)
Activate JR pass
Day 6 – Himeji (castle, kokoen garden) -> Kobe (chinatown, Great Kobe Bridge & Kazamidori no Yakata, Port Town)
Day 7 – Amanohashidate (walk along the sandbar, cablecar)
Day 8 – depart to Fukuoka (Ohori park, Fukuoka castle ruin, Shofukiji temple, Canal city) -> Dazaifu (temples etc, is it worth?)
Day 9 – Hiroshima (castle, Shukkeien garden) -> Miyajima (try to catch both low and high tides to see the torii) -> Hiroshima (Peace park, Atomic bomb dome)
Day 10 – Nagasaki peace park -> Atomic Bomb Museum -> Meganebashi Bridge -> Sofukuji Temple -> Glover garden -> Oura Church -> Dejima -> chinatown -> go to Okayama to take the sunrise train
Day 11 – reach tokyo at 7am -> drop luggage at asakusa hotel -> nikko (shinkyo bridge, shoyoen garden, rinnoji temple, toshugu shrine, taiyuinbiyo temple, tamozawa villa, botanical garden, kanmagauchi abyss) -> akihabara
Day 12 – Inagi Naganuma station -> Fujiko F Fujio museum -> yokohama (chinatown, cup nodle museum) -> shibuya shopping -> odaiba to see giant gundam
Day 13 – asakusa (kaminatimon, sensoji temple, asakusa shrine) -> shinjuku -> nakano broadway -> tokyo skytree -> Seikado Bunko Museum -> Sumida Hokusai Museum
Day 14 – free day, flight at night
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TIA :))
2 comments
Overall it looks very doable. There’s quite a few days that are a little ambitious, but you can always cut out activities if you need a break. The constant go-go-go gets old really quick. Day 11, for example, sounds pretty brutal, especially after getting off a morning train. There’s a lot of walking there. Just be careful, because everything might not be as close to each other as it seems, so I’d highly recommend making a map on Google Earth or something so you can me easily prioritize your adventure.
Most days you have super packed with stuff, like way too much. Cut it down alot and enjoy your time. Just your Day 8 you have a couple hour trip from somewhere to Fukuoka then seeing 5 things. And you are missing the Gundam at LaLaPort mall here in Fukuoka for your friend…
> Day 8 – depart to Fukuoka (Ohori park, Fukuoka castle ruin, Shofukiji temple, Canal city) -> Dazaifu (temples etc, is it worth?)
Day 9 – Hiroshima (castle, Shukkeien garden) -> Miyajima (try to catch both low and high tides to see the torii) -> Hiroshima (Peace park, Atomic bomb dome)
Day 10 – Nagasaki peace park -> Atomic Bomb Museum -> Meganebashi Bridge -> Sofukuji Temple -> Glover garden -> Oura Church -> Dejima -> chinatown -> go to Okayama to take the sunrise train
This section makes no sense. 2 days before this you are in Himeji. Then you go down to Fukuoka, back up to Hiroshima then back down to Nagasaki. The order should be Hiroshima to Fukuoka to Nagasaki so you are not wasting hours on the train.