So we’re spending 4 weeks in Japan for our honeymoon this autumn – this is the rough plan, we haven’t mapped out each day specifically yet but we have a good idea of where we want to go.
Tokyo: 5 Nights at Keio Plaza Hotel.
* We wanted to go a bit ‘large’ in Tokyo so found a fairly upmarket, but still affordable, hotel in Shinjuku that should have good access to everything we want to see. Fairly standard Tokyo itinerary, with added Halloween festivities as we land on 30th October.
* Robot restaurant has re-opened – buzzing, going day 1 when we’re super jetlagged for maximum culture shock.
* Very loose breakdown of days:
* Day 1; Shinjuku & Shibuya
* Day 2; Harajuku, Roppongi
* Day 3; Akihabara, Ueno
* Day 4; Minato City, Odaiba & Ginza
* Day 5; Asakusa, Ryogoku, Sumida
Yokohama: 3 Nights, staying at our friend’s apartment
* Got friends doing something similar to the JET programme in Yokohama, so staying at their place for free for a few days while they show us round Yokohama before moving on.
Hakone: 1 Night at Hakone Ginyu Ryokan
* Our only ryokan for the stay so we went large. I’m sure there’s more ‘authentic’ ryokans but this place seemed to balance traditional, accessible, price and luxury.
Kyoto: 4 Nights in Urozna Guesthouse
* Recommended by one of my dads work colleagues who knows the owners. Wanted to go fully traditional in Kyoto rather than a modern hotel.
* One of the days will be a Nara day trip
* I think we’ll catch the tail end of Gion Odori Geisha and Maiko performance 1st-10th November
Osaka: 3 Nights in APA Hotel on Dotonburi
* Tried to be right in the heart of Osaka so we went for a hotel literally on the Dotonburi strip. Cheap and cheerful but won’t be spending a huge amount of time there.
* Want to check out spa world in Osaka because it looks like a vaporwave paradise, but November will mean that the European zone will be ladies only – gutted, but I’m sure my wife will enjoy feeling like a greek goddess while I’m in the Asia zone.
* Going to try and squeeze in Universal/ Nintendo World while we’re there but not essential, heard its a nightmare to book in advance.
Okayama: 1 Night in a cheap hotel on our way to Hiroshima
* More to just break up the journey to Hiroshima, but seems like a nice ‘mini-Kyoto’ experience. Possibly stop by at Himeji en-route.
Hiroshima: 3 Nights in a Webase hotel
* 1 day exploring Peace Park and the classic tourist destinations
* Day trip to Miyajima & Golden Gate island
* Day trip to rabbit island (my fiancee is obsessed)
Beppu: 2 Nights in a beachfront hotel (forget which)
* Probably going to rent a car for the 2 days as Beppu public transport seems less prevalent.
* Hells, Sand baths, you know the deal.
* Then get the Beppu-Osaka ferry then Shinkansen back to Yokohama.
Yokohama: 3 nights back at our friend’s apartment
* Mostly to use as a base for any additional daytrips / bonus Tokyo days without breaking the bank
* Daytrip to Nagoya to Ghibli Park
* Day trip to Lake Kawaguchi to hopefully get a bit closer to Mt Fuji
* Yokohama is surprisingly close to Haneda airport so we’ll just travel from my mate’s apartment to get our flight.
So that’s the bones of our trip. We’ve booked all the accommodation with the option to change if needed, but we’re pretty happy with the stops.
Originally we were toying with the idea of a week in either Hokkaido or Okinawa, but would feel like we were rushing the other sections, plus we didn’t fancy another flight. Will probably save for our second trip.
Questions:
– Beppu/Yokohama; should we spend more time in Kyushu and less in Yokohama at the end of the trip? Feels a bit of a shame to travel all the way to Beppu and not see more of Kyushu, but the free accommodation in Yokohama definitely sweetens the deal, and keeps us close to the airport. Thinking a possible day in Yufuin as it’s so close to Beppu.
– Beppu; does anyone have experience with booking the Ferry in advance? I understand its a 12hr overnight affair from Beppu to Osaka, but had some trouble creating an account as a westerner.
– JR Pass; I understand that they’re increasing the price juuuuust before we arrive by like 70% or something ridiculous. Probably going to go for regional passes instead but couldn’t find any that covered Kyoto-Hiroshima. Am I looking in the wrong place?
– The trip is quite heavily city-based; any day trip recommendations for villages or more rural parts during any of the stops? Particularly the Yokohama legs of the journey.
– We’re vegetarian but not militant; we fully expect to accidentally eat fish/meat at some point during the stop. I’ve made my peace with it haha. Any recommendations in the smaller towns for veggie stops? Got a decent list for the major cities, but I feel we’ll struggle a bit more in Okayama and Beppu.
– What’s the music scene like in the cities? Keen to go to some gigs/clubs, particularly in Tokyo and Osaka.
3 comments
Yokohama is cool. Very easy to visit Kamakura from there, worth doing, as well as Enoshima.
I’d recommend Kurashiki near to Okayama as a stopoff on the way to Hiroshima. Lovely canal area with some great independent shops and cafes. Himeji is worth it too, one of the few genuine castles in Japan.
Kyushu is a really lovely part of Japan. Beppu as a city is a bit dull. The most interesting part is the Hells, as well as the old bathhouse Takegawara Onsen, both you could do in one day. I would recommend seeing Yufuin and it’s a very short drive there. But if you have a car and don’t mind the drive, Kurokawa onsen is really lovely and has riverside hot springs in the forests (and near to Aso national park, so good views of the volcano). There’s also Takachiho gorge to the south, which is pretty.
Purchase your JR Pass from abroad before the price goes up in October. You have 3 months to convert the voucher to the actual rail pass.
You can use it for travel between Kyoto-Hiroshima (but not on the Nozomi).
Congratulations!
> vegetarian
Use the HappyCow app if you are strict vegetarian, otherwise order stuff that doesn’t look too meaty but be prepared for fish broth and such?
> Okayama
You don’t need the night in Okayama. Osaka-Hiroshima is only two hours on a very comfortable train, and Okayama city itself is really just about seeing the garden (Kurashiki, Naoshima etc. are more interesting otherwise).