Hi all,
I’m planning a holiday to Japan in November 2024. It will be our (me and my wife’s) first time visiting the country after a failed attempt in 2020 and just wanted to see if I’m making any stupid mistakes that I’m currently blind to.
Below is the outline of our itinerary:
Nov 13th – Flight
14th – Arrive in Osaka probably mid afternoon. Nap. Then hit up Dotonbori
15th – Train to ~Takamatsu. Rent car. Arrive in Iya valley around lunch
Iya valley onsen hotel relax.
16th – Iya valley – Iya valley vine bridges, Oboke gorge, maybe the scarecrow village
17th – Iya valley – Mt Tsurugi hike. Relax at the hotel.
18th – Early morning flight to Tokyo from Takamatsu. Arrive by mid morning. Depends on area we choose to stay. Likely explore that area on the first day.
19th – Tokyo. Asakusa. Senso-ji. Akihabara. Tokyo Dome. Evening, food and photography in Shinjuku/Kabukicho area
20th – Tokyo (Day trip – Kawaguchiko)
21st – Tokyo. Shibuya. Reissue cafe. Meiji shrine. Tokyo tower.
22nd – Tokyo. Tsukiji market, Imperial palace. Other ideas? Or not to miss?
23rd – Tokyo –> Hiroshima arrive ~11am. Peace memorial museum. Hiroshima castle
24th – Hiroshima. Miyajima day trip. Hike up Mt Misen. Sunset at Itsukushuna Jinja shrine
25th – Hiroshima to Kyoto (4/5 Ns)
26th – Kyoto. Early morning Fushimi Inari. Relax. ?quieter areas during the middle of the day. Gion area in evening.
27th – Kyoto.
Day to Arashiyama area. Bamboo grove. Tenryu-ji.Kameyama park. River walk/Hozugawa boat ride
28th – Kyoto. Honen-in temple. Eikando. Sunset…depending on how terrible the crowds are at Kiyomizu Dera
29th – Kyoto. If Kiyomizu Dera too busy at sunset. Arrive at opening for sunrise.
Maybe travel to Osaka in the evening to spend another night there to gorge on takoyaki and other street food.
30th – Osaka. Morning at Osaka castle. Relax and pack ready for evening flight from Kansai
Dec 1st – Arrive Home
Summary (16 nights)
Osaka (1)
Shikoku, iya valley (3)
Tokyo (5)
Hiroshima (2)
Kyoto (4/5)
Osaka (0/1)
I know the order of destinations isn’t the most sensible geographically speaking but I think autumn tends to come to the Iya valley a bit earlier than the rest of central Japan. We wanted to go before the trees are bare there and aim to hit the peak elsewhere, hence why we are starting there.
Questions:
1) Anything I should be aware of about driving/car rental in Japan. I know they drive on the correct side of the road but any resources or guidance which is worth a read before visiting.
2) We plan to get up before sunrise to avoid the crowds at the busiest locations especially in Kyoto. During the middle of the day are there any locations you could suggest which don’t see as much foot fall? Or perhaps quieter day trips.
3) My wife is a matcha tea fan. Any casual (not ceremony) tea houses in Tokyo or in the other locations that you would recommend?
4) Also interested to hear any suggestions of where to stay in Tokyo. Shinjuku would be convenient with our plan to get the bus to Kawaguchiko but I’m not sure if I’ll find the area a bit much for the 4/5 days we’re there. Looking around £100ish/night hotels. Easy access to the metro would be important too.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
Thanks
(Edited: hopefully sufficient detail now)
4 comments
Why Hiroshima then double back to Kyoto?
>>3) My wife is a matcha tea fan. Any casual (not ceremony) tea houses in Tokyo or in the other locations that you would recommend?
I enjoyed Marukyu Koyamaen near Nijo castle in Kyoto.
You could also do a day trip to Uji from Kyoto, which is only a 20-30 minute train journey and famous for its tea. I enjoyed Tsuen Tea there.
Uji (small town near Kyoto) is famous for tea. There are shops with all sorts of tea and tea products. It’s easily accessible by train along the route to Nara (and a little further than Inari Shrine). You can also buy Uji tea in Kyoto (I think I remember seeing some in both Arashiyama and the shopping areas near Gion).
(Also, I for matcha fans I would recommend namacha (生茶) out of vending machines. It has a freshness similar to matcha. It is a cold brew green tea).
For the Tokyo>Hiroshima portion you could consider flying if you aren’t using a rail pass. I stopped at Himeji when I took the shinkansen in the other direction, but if you aren’t stopping in between you could consider it (which might save money). The airport in Hiroshima is a bit outside of town though, so it might not save much time.
I personally think you are seeing too many places on this trip. I spent 16 days on just Tokyo, Kyoto & Hiroshima. I had four days in Kyoto and felt like I had barely seen anything. Personally I would cut Tokyo out of this trip. You can do another trip to the Tokyo area flying into Tokyo. (I usually have to include Tokyo in my itineraries since KIX flights are never reasonable from my location, I would focus a lot of Kansai if I were able to get tickets to KIX). You’re barely seeing Osaka at all and you could spend extra days in both Kyoto and Hiroshima. You are wasting a lot of time traveling inefficiently to only see Tokyo (one of the largest cities in the world) for only 3 days. You waste nearly an entire day getting to and from Tokyo.
Like many have suggested, Uji is a great city for tea lovers, it’s very close to Kyoto (30 minutes by train) and super walkable .
They have recently opened up a matcha experience centre where you can learn the whole process of grinding and making your own matcha.