Hello out there! My wife and I are planning our adventure in Japan and would like any advice y’all have, and to let us know if we’re crazy for anything we’re trying to do. We are both adventurous people but have never done a trip like this so there is a lot we admit that we don’t know. Now, onto the outline..
We’re leaving around 11am our local time on August 27 and arriving at Haneda August 28 at 4:05pm local Japan time. We’re not counting on getting anything done on the 28th other than maybe poke around the streets around our hotel in Tokyo, we mainly plan on sleeping till the next day.
Day 1: We are counting August 29th as our first true day in Japan and planning on going out to Kamikochi to see the sights and natural wonder of the area. Activities here will include day hiking and enjoying the baths.
Day 2: Will spend the full day in Kamikochi again and spend the night there as well. This day is to wrap up any hiking and sightseeing that we weren’t able to fit into the first day.
Day 3: We are planning on taking transit to Tsumago-juku and staying the night. We will most likely arrive with only a few hours left before the shops and such close, so this will mainly be exploring the architecture and character of the town before getting settled into a guesthouse.
Day 4: We are planning on staying the day in Tsumago and spending the night there again at one of the Ryokan or guest houses. The plan while here is to enjoy exploring the town and local shops while they are open. I would also like to see and hike some of the Nakasendo trail and do some day hiking. Plans for this day are interchangeable with day 3 since it’s the same location.
Day 5: We are going to take transit to Universal Japan and spend the day mostly in super Mario world. Any time left in the day will be spent on the Universal park as a whole. At the end of the day we will head to Nagoya and spend the night there.
Day 6: Spend the day in Nagoya visiting a friend who lives there and stay the night.
Day 7: This day will be dedicated to exploring all things Kyoto. Temples, shops, shrines, and parks mostly.
Day 8: After finishing in Kyoto, head to the Yunessun hot springs resort and enjoy the hot springs, all day will be spent enjoying the park.
Day 9: Tokyo day 1. Explore Shibuya, see the shops, visit the scramble etc, cat cafe. See the gundam museum.
10: Tokyo day 2. Themed cafes, Akihabra, mochi shops, retail shops, you get the idea.
Day 11: head back home
Any feedback on if this is doable, and if there’s anything we should reconsider before getting down to the finer details. Also of note, during this trip the wife will be about 6 months pregnant so any advice there would be helpful as well; my wife and I are both in our late 20s. Since we are going to be moving around a bit, we plan on springing for the JR pass, but realize it won’t work on some of the local lines we will need to use. I plan on needing mostly cash while in more of the remote areas, and I am concerned about how much I’ll be able to get by with in Tsumago using only English. I am working on and plan to continue working on learning common phrases in Japanese, but I fully realize I will not be anywhere close to fluent by the time we go. Also, am I planning on staying too long in Kamikochi/Tsumago? I love more remote areas and exploring their landscapes, but am I dedicating too much time to this?
5 comments
At 6 months pregnant your wife may struggle with mobility. Everyone is different but there is a chance she may find it difficult to walk more than an hr.
On itinerary, do you have to go Nagoya on day 6? Going Osaka>Nagoya>Kyoto>Tokyo means a bit of back tracking. Consider going to Nagoya before Osaka or after Kyoto.
Hey man, the rest of this post may sound harsh to you, so I’ll apologize in advance, but with all due respect, this itinerary is absolutely batshit crazy – and that’s not even taking into account that your wife is 6 months pregnant.
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>Day 5: We are going to take transit to Universal Japan and spend the day mostly in super Mario world. Any time left in the day will be spent on the Universal park as a whole. At the end of the day we will head to Nagoya and spend the night there.’
Maybe I’m misreading this, but you’re planning on traveling 4+ hours from Tsumago to Osaka and then another 1-2 hours back to Nagano at night. And then you’re going back to the area for Kyoto just 2 days later? Why wouldn’t you just group Kyoto and Osaka together?
You’re getting off a long, tiring flight to Japan, and you’re immediately taking a train for Kamikochi which is, I think, like 5 hours away, and then you’re planning on hiking for your first 2 days? With a 6 months pregnant wife, this sounds like a disaster. You’re traveling hours upon hours nearly every day.
Even without a very pregnant wife, you have way too much going on, way too much travel, and way too many cities for just a 10 day trip.
Everything in Japan involves lots of waking and stairs— even just transferring trains in the same station. You will enjoy things more if you go less places but stay there longer. If your pregnant wife is not happy, you won’t be happy.
So… there looks to be no public transport from Kamikochi to Tsumago. Also, from Tokyo to kamikochi is going to be 6-7 hours. Kamikochi is gorgeous, but the way you’re doing this is nuts.
I would suggest:
All of your Tokyo stuff at the beginning -> Kyoto base for Kyoto stuff and USJ -> Kamikochi -> Nagoya -> Back to Tokyo to head out.
I would eliminate Tsumago because you don’t have any way to get there on public transport. Do Takayama or Gero Onsen or somewhere else more easily accessible in Gifu if you must.
I think that, depending on how your wife is at 6 months pregnant, your current plan is way too much. Not the actual activities you have planned, as I liked to hike with pregnant as well, but the long travel days are just cruel to a pregnant woman. Also, my family and I just got back from Nagano to Nagoya and all of those trains and buses that go up into the mountains are ROUGH.
The AC tries its best, but its still going to be hot af on them, not to mention the winding and bumpy roads. If your wife at all gets nauseous, do not bother with going up there at all.
EDIT: Oops I see that I’m mistaken about no transport to Tsumago! But looking at the route, I’d still cut it. The Shinano in august while pregnant sounds awful. ðŸ˜
Will your wife even be able to enjoy the baths. From my understanding bathing while pregnant is a no go in super hot water, and the baths in japan get h o t. Might depend on the trimester but idk.
Also echoing what others have said. Did you or your wife plan this itinerary, because even without being 6 months pregnant it looks tough.