Hi all, I’m finalizing my itinerary for second trip to Japan for this October, and looking to get some feedback on this current pace. My first trip was 6 years ago during Sakura season and I went to Tokyo, Kyoto and Nara. I wanted to check out some other regions this time around.
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**Tokyo (4 nights)**
Day 1: Half Day
> 3PM Arrival at NRT.
Days 2 – 4: Full Days
> Asakusa, Shinjuku / Omoide Yokochō, Shibuya / Harajuku, Akihabara
> Attractions: Ghibli Museum, TeamLab Planets
**Sendai** | Tōhoku (4 nights)
Day 5: Half-Day / Rest
> Asaichi market
Day 6: Full Day
> Loople Tour of Sendai (Day Pass)
Day 7: Day Trip
> Yamadera (Rissyakuji Temple)
Day 8: Day Trip
> Leaving this open for a day trip. Yamagata (Ginzan Onsen) or Kitakami (Tenshochi Park) are currently on the list.
**Sapporo** | Hokkaido (3 nights) – Flight from Sendai
Day 9: Half Day
> Odori Park, Sapporo TV Tower, Ramen Yokocho Alley
Susukino (Entertainment District)
Day 10: Full Day
> Sapporo Fushimi Inari Shrine & Mount Moiwa Observation Deck
> Jozankei Onsen or Nakajima Park
Day 11: Day Trip (Otaru)
> Otaru Canal, Tenguyama Observation Deck, Yunohana Otaru Onsen
**Nagoya** | Honshu (3 nights) – Flight from Sapporo
Day 12: Half Day / Rest
Day 13: Full Day
> Morning: Magome-juku (Nakasendo) – Hike from Magome Pass to Tsumago-juku (Approx 2-3 hour hike).
> Afternoon: Nagiso to Narai-Juku. Return from Narai Station to Nagoya.
Day 14: Day Trip (Osaka)
> Osaka day trip
**Back to Tokyo** (2 nights)
Day 15: Half Day
Day 16: Full Day
> Missed sights, shopping, etc
Day 17: Departure
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Narai-Juku: Is this enough time for me to explore with the Magome-Juku hike already on the day? I missed out on Osaka on my first trip, so I was hoping to explore it this time around as well. My alternate plan was to knock out one day from Tokyo at the end to explore Osaka as a day trip.
I’ll be buying domestic open jaw flights to cover Sapporo. Am I booking enough time for it, or should I knock out a day from Sendai?
Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. I’m hoping to start booking stuff soon. Thank you!
3 comments
Update: I booked my flights through Peach Aviation because there were only 1 or 2 seats left for my date. Does anyone know if they’re super strict about their carry-on weight/size? It says 7kg, but here in Canada they don’t weigh it– As long as you’re able to lift it yourself they don’t care. Is it the same rule there? I’m using a regular rolling bag that works on all domestic flights here.
I love Sendai, but four days is kind of a lot. The morning market won’t take as long as you think, at least when I’ve gone it’s one street of vendors, so not the biggest market. There’s plenty of shopping in that area near the train station though which can fill out your day. Sendai station is really cool and there’s plenty to do around that area if you run out of ideas. The loople was nice but you probably won’t want to stop at all of the points and some may be randomly closed, so the day of the week you go is important. Just my opinion though, like I said – I love Sendai, but 3 days is plenty for me when I go.
For the nakasendo day make sure you know the bus and train schedules because they aren’t that frequent. I don’t know if Narai-Juku is feasible or not. I did just Tsumago- Magome as a day trip from Nagoya, and if it helps as a reference, I took the 7am Shinano to Nagiso and ended up catching a 1350-ish bus from Magome to Nakatsugawa. The actual hike took me about 2.5 hours
with a ton of stops to take pictures.
Nagoya-Tokyo the travel won’t cost you half a day if you take an early train