17 days Itinerary Help – Osaka, Kyoto, Takayama and Tokyo
I’ll be solo travelling to Japan from the 6th to the 22nd of November and have a rough itinerary for Osaka to Takayama and would really appreciate some feedback and suggestions as honestly, this will be my first long solo trip overseas and it got quite overwhelming for me to plan lol.
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**6/11 (Osaka, Day 1)**
\- Land in Osaka KIX @ 1550
\- Make way to hotel around central Osaka and check in. Hotel is nearby to Dotonburi
\- Explore Dotonburi and surrounding area
\- End the Night
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**7/11 (Osaka, Day 2)**
\- Early breakfast around hotel area
\- Explore Minoo Park until noon
\- Make way to Osaka Aquarium
\- Lunch in the area
\- Explore the aquarium and the Tempozan area nearby (Tempozan Ferris Wheel etc)
\- Make way to Tsutenkaku for dinner and exploration
\- Back to hotel and end of day 2
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**8/11 (Osaka, Nara Day 3)**
\- Breakfast around hotel area
\- Explore Nara (Nara Park, Todaiji etc) Planning 1/2 a day in Nara
\- Lunch in the area- Make way to Osaka Castle and followed by Osaka City Central Hall
\- Dinner around the area
\- Slowly make way back to hotel
\- End of Day 3
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**9/11 (Osaka – Kyoto, Day 4)**
\- Checkout and make way to Kyoto hotel at central Kyoto
\- Drop off luggage at the hotel (Check in only at 1600)
\- Planning to spend the whole day at Arashimaya such as the park, bamboo grove, river and monkey park
\- Make way back to hotel, dinner and check in. Maybe explore the Kyoto tower and the surrounding area
\- End of Day 4
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**10/11 (Kyoto, Day 5)**
\- Make way to Kiyomizu-Dera
\- Will try to make my way up north and explore the different shrines like Sanneizaka, Koda-ji and Yasaka-jinja
\- Hanamikoji Street
\- Either ending at Pontocho Park or Ninshiki Market
\- End of Day 5
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**11/11 (Kyoto, Day 6)**
\- Probably renting a bike for the whole day
\- Starting from Imperial Palace
\- Demachi Masugata Shopping Street
\- Cycle along Kano river and crossing the river
\- Shimogamo Villa and shrine
\- Ending my bike rental at philosopher path
\- End of day 6
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**12/11 (Kyoto to Takayama, Day 7)**
\- Making my way to Takayama via train (Kyoto – Nagoya – Takayama)
\- Check in to my hotel
\- Explore a bit of the area, get some necessities for my hike at Kamikochi
\- Rest and chill at hotel for the whole night
\- End of Day 7
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**13/11 (Takayama to Kamikochi, Day 8)**
\- Going to Kamikochi for hiking/trekking
\- Probably spending the whole day there
\- Back to Takayama by evening
\- End of Day 8
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**14/11 (Takayama, Day 9)**
\- Exploring Takayama
\- Hide Folk Village
\- Takayama Old town and the surrounding area
\- Depending on time available, would like to visit Hida too
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15/11 to 22/11 itinerary is still being decided but am really open to suggestions as I could spend the last 7 days in Tokyo, doing some day trip out of Tokyo for certain days OR spend another 3 full days in another city and ending it with Tokyo, really appreciate any feedbacks thank you 🙂
4 comments
You should go to Takayama via Kanazawa, and spend at least a full day there.
In the Tokyo part of the trip I’m planning for next year, I’m doing a day trip to Nikko and a separate day trip organized tour of the Saitama prefecture through TripAdvisor.
Hello again,
Here are my suggestions:
1. If your priority is Takayama and Kamikochi, go there as early as possible. Their peak of fall foliage is usually in October, but could stretch out to early November at times.
2. On your day 2, have lunch at Minoo Park because the setting is beautiful. There are some restaurants and cafes there. And then, go to Osaka Castle after this. It’s only open until 5pm. You may need to rush when you plan a visit on your day 3.
3. On your day 3, spend the whole day in Nara. You can have breakfast on your way on the train. Stop by a convenience store and get some food. I personally believe that Nara is more worthy of your time than Kaiyukan. The aquarium is open until 8pm. You can visit it if you ever come back to Osaka early.
4. Around the middle to late November, the fall foliage is starting in northern Kyoto. If you are willing to go up to Kifune or Ohara, you may get the chance to see some. I don think it’s happening in the central part of the city. Look into the two places. They are actually very beautiful, and I personally prefer visiting Kifune and Ohara over going somewhere in a busy area in the city. Or you can extend your stay in Kyoto.
Did you hear about the Romantic Train and the River Boat Cruise? You could combine them both with Arashiyama when in Kyoto.