Rough itinerary – just starting to plan out trip to Japan in late Feb – early March 2023

13 comments

1. Do you have a preference of when you’d rather go in February or May? I’ve been during both months and I recommend May. The weather is nicer and there’s also a different aesthetic look and feel to the country compared to Feb to mid-March. When you’re riding the shinkansen, you’ll see the trees popping bright green in May and it just feels overall more bright and cheery.

   I like the idea of a 14-day JR pass. When you’re back in Tokyo for day 12-16, you may decide you want to visit other cities other than Nikko or Kamakura (or both!), and having the JR pass just makes it very flexible to go anywhere instead of having a set-in-stone itinerary. You can also use it to ride most subway lines, other than in Hiroshima, which is mostly streetcar transportation, and some districts in Tokyo don’t have JR lines, like Asakusa (from what I remember).

   If you only get the 7-day JR pass, you can get 1-3 day subway passes in Tokyo for foreigners by going to information centers at subway stations and bringing your passport. They were like 500-1500 yen from what I remember.

   Pasmo and Suica are pretty much the same, I believe. I always used Suica and never had a problem or restrictions with it.

2. I did almost this exact itinerary a few years ago….
   The Mario cart go carts in Tokyo were fun I would look into it.. you’ll need an international driving permit though. Also I really enjoyed the owl cafes.

   When in Kyoto I would wake up before dawn and be at fushimi Inari at sunrise. I was able to enjoy the whole place to myself and if you’re going to hike to the top you get great pictures without all the crowds.

3. U could look into Kansai-Hiroshima pass instead of JR pass which is expensive and not really worth it, in my opinion. The first 3 days, suica or pasmo card should be good enough, the last few days in Tokyo, u can consider 72 hours Tokyo Subway Ticket.

   Since it is your first time visiting Japan, the chances of missing certain places is high and that’s fine actually.
   Attractions can be adjusted if u are facing time constraints.
   Most importantly is to be able to enjoy and not burn yourselves out trying to visit the attractions that u listed.

4. Make sure to update us on where you go and how it is, I’m looking to go there once I’ve saved up enough money and when it’s completely open, I roughly have enough right now but still atleast want double so I can enjoy without a worry of expenses

5. Consider flying to Osaka – Kansai and flying out of Tokyo – Hanaeda (if the difference for the flight can compensate for the 7 day JR pass vs. 14 day). You can just get a 7 day JR pass and take the JR to Tokyo on the last day.

   Osaka – Kyoto – Nara can be done via regular train (less than an hour ride if I remember correctly). You don’t need JR for those.
   Use the JR for Kyoto – Himeji – Miyagima – Takayama – Tokyo lag and spend the rest of your time in Tokyo before heading out from Hanaeda.

6. Honestly I was super confused cuz I didn’t see the year you put for the date your going at first and was wondering why you told us your itinerary for a trip you already took but now I see

7. Note for Takayama: this leg is very rushed and tiring. A quick look at Google Maps tells me that you need to get the earliest shinkansen at 6am from Tokyo if you want to be at the morning market around 11am. I’d suggest staying two nights instead and take in all the goodness the city has to offer (Higashiyama, Hida, onsen, sake breweries, old city center).

   Definitely combine Miyajima with Hiroshima if you’re already in the area. Visiting Himeji in the morning and the Peace Memorial Park in the afternoon gives you the opportunity to spend the night on Miyajima island, which seems pretty magical and you can avoid some of the daytrip crowds that way. You could store your suitcases at the station so you don’t have to carry them around all day, or look into luggage forwarding services.

   I’d personally recommend looking into staying another day or two Kyoto, or basing your entire Kyoto/Osaka stay around Kyoto. Your Osaka plans are perfectly doable by train from Kyoto.

8. If possible do the March/April period (Cherry Blossoms). The flowers only bloom for a week so it is more difficult to catch and the weather is always very unpredictable. The sights are beautiful during this period. What you see in the photo and the real thing is very different. You need to check the forecast in the websites to plan your departure date.

   Since it is your first time, maybe you can skip Takayama/Kanazawa but go to either Hakone or Kawaguchiko for Ryokan (Onsen) which is very near to Mount Fuji.

   Tokyo:

   – Sensoji temple / Tokyo Tree /Ueno’s Ameyoko Market

   – Tsukiji Street food / sashimi

9. Suica and Pasmo are almost the same. About the only difference I could see for a tourist is that there is some pass that can only ne loaded on one or the other, those being the Nonbiri Holiday Suica Pass and the Tokyo Subway Ticket (Pasmo), but the second is also available as an individual ticket. So in reality, just take one or the other.

   Do not exchange the JR Pass at the airport if there is a line. Just exchange it later in Tokyo.

   In the first option, I would just focus on Kanazawa. There is some distance between the two cities so not realistic to do both.

   In the second option, day one is unrealistic. It takes over 4 hours from Tokyo to Takayama, so you would need an extremely early start to even be able to do what you want to see, but then you have to keep in mind that you usually have to check-in at ryokan before 5 or 6pm… and despite Oku-hida technically being in Takayama, it’s also 2h away on bus. So if you want to do Takayama, I would suggest to do a ryokan in Takayama, but like in city center, max using a local bus. Or if you absolutely want to go for a onsen, then consider Gero onsen that is 55 minutes away if you take the right limited express train.

   In two days you should have time to do al you listed. First day you can do Himeji, lunch in the train, Peace museum. Second day focus on Miyajima. If you want to avoid the long train ride to return to Tokyo, you could do Kyoto-Hiroshima-Osaka instead, so you break the Hiroshima-Tokyo ride in two parts.

   For your dates, you might be in time for plum blossom, so I would highly suggest to check out for some spots for it. Not as famous as cherry blossom, but also really pretty.

   I am not sure on when you would use the 7 days pass, but if you do it from Tokyo, then you are in Hiroshima when the pass end and the ticket Hiroshima-Tokyo is more expensive than the extra for the 14 days pass.

10. In Hiroshima, based on my memory of the place, the actual dome ruin is just the fenced-off building, and it’s next to the Peace Park. Despite its iconic presence, it doesn’t really convey the enormity of the devastation. The museum associated with the memorial is the place where you will spend the most time, I would think. I’m making a similar trip in October (knock on wood), and I hadn’t thought of Himeji castle, so thanks, mate, I’ll look into it as another stop.

11. Nintendo world at usj will eat your entire day.

    I’ve also done spa world. It was fairly underwhelming.

12. In kyoto, it is 100% worth paying for taxis to save literal hours of time. Their bus/train setup isn’t great for getting between each big tourist spot.

13. Kanazawas kenrokuen has some of the most aggressive bees I’ve ever experienced, and they are everywhere. The thunderbolt train between kanazawa and kyoto/osaka is great.