Hello! We are two guys in their 20’s travelling to Japan for the first time to Japan from late August to early September. We are nature lovers and will be doing the **Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route**. There is a lot of travelling between cities in our itinerary and it would be helpful to know whether it is feasible or too packed. For instance, we want to do a day trip to **Mount Koya** from Kyoto. We are also vegan, so any tips/suggestions on that would be great! We would appreciate any recommendations, suggestions, or tips on our itinerary. Thank you!
**DAY 1 – Arrival**
* Arrival at Narita airport at 5:50 pm
* Tokyo tower/skytree
**DAY 2 – Tokyo**
* Meiji shrine
* Yoyogi park
* Harajuku
* Takeshita street
* Omotesando Hills
* Omohara forest on top of Tokuy plaza
* Shibuya Crossing
* Shibuya Sky
* Center gai
* Koen dori
* Spain slope
**DAY 3 – Tokyo**
* Shinjuku district
* Shinjuku gyoen park
* Metropolitan government building
* Golden Gai
* Omoid Yokocho
**DAY 4 – Tokyo**
* Asakusa district
* Sensoji temple
* Nakamise
* Ueno Park
* Ueno toshogu shrine
* Gojotem-jinja shrine
* Kiyomizu Kannon temple
* Akihabara
**DAY 5 – Nikko (Day trip)**
* Use Nikko pass for transportation/activities
* Shinkyo bridge
* Rinno-ji temple
* Toshogu shrine
* Futarasan shrine
* Kanmangafuchi abyss
* Back to Tokyo
**DAY 6 – Hakone**
* Use Hakone free pass for transportation/activities
* Hakone shrine at Lake Ashi
* Sail Lake Ashi on sightseeing cruise
* Owakudani
* Open air museum
* Stay overnight at Hakone
**DAY 7 – Takayama**
* Activate 14 day JR Pass today
* From Hakone, take Shinkansen Hikari from Odawara to Nagoya, then from Nagoya take JR limited express Hida to Takayama
* Walk around old town
* Takayama Jinya
**DAY 8 – Kamikochi (Day trip)**
* Taisho pond hiking loop
* Head back to Takayama
**DAY 9 – Takayama**
* Miyagawa morning market
* Hida folk village
* Higashiyama
* Head to Toyama via JR Hida limited express service
* Stay overnight in Toyama
**DAY 10 – Tateyama Kurobe alpine route**
* Start alpine route from Tateyama, ending at Omachi
* Afterwards, head to Kyoto – JR Shinano limited express to Matsumoto, then switch at Nagoya and take JR Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto
* Stay overnight in Kyoto
**DAY 11 – Kyoto**
* Higashiyama
* Kiyomizudera
* Sannenzaka street
* Ninenzaka street
* Ichibei-koji street
* Kodai-ji
* Ginkakuji
* Nanzenji temple
* Nishiki market
**DAY 12 – Kyoto**
* Fushimi Inari shrine
* Nanzen-ji
* Eikan-do
* Philosopher’s path
* Honen-in
* Ginkaku-ji
**DAY 13 – Kyoto**
* Arashiyama
* Okochi sanso garden
* Tenryu-ji
* Ryoanji temple
* Kinkaku-ji
* Daitoku-ji
**DAY 14 – Kyoto**
* Day trip to Himeji or Mount Koya, leaning more towards Mount Koya
* Or stay in Kyoto
* Stay overnight in Kyoto
**DAY 15 – Osaka**
* Head to Osaka via JR Tokaido Shinkansen
* Explore Osaka
* Shinsaibashi street
* Dotonbori
* Shineskai
* Kuromon market
* Amerikamura
* Osaka castle
* Stay overnight in Osaka
**DAY 16 – Nara (Day trip)**
* Explore Nara
* Head to Miyajima – Take the Sanyo Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka station to Hiroshima station, then take the JR Sanyo Main Line direct to Miyajimaguchi station
* Stay overnight in Miyajima
**DAY 17 – Miyajima Island**
* Torii gate and Itsukushima shrine
* Daisho-in temple
* Senjokaku pavilion
* Hike Mt Misen
* See deers, walk around
* Stay overnight in Miyajima
**DAY 18 – Tokyo**
* Head back to Tokyo – Shinkansen from Hiroshima to Tokyo
* Any activities we didn’t get a chance to do
**DAY 19 – Depart**
* Arrive at airport by 3pm
* Depart Narita at 6:40 pm
2 comments
Kyoto to Koyasan is three hours each way. Definitely base in Osaka for it.
Uji is matcha capital and worth a half day visit if you run out of options in Kyoto. There are some cool shrines and nice shops close to Uji station.