Traveling in September for honeymoon with my wife. We’re foodies, want to see major sites, but don’t care too much to overly pack our days. We like contemporary art/museums and music. Any food, beer, museum, music venues, and architectural sights/easy walking tours recommendations in these areas would be welcomed! Have a TON bookmarked in Google maps, etc, but always great to hear from others.
A few key questions as we look to our plans:
\- We’re a little overwhelmed by JR Pass and “levels” that are not covered, and interpretting it all on the fly. Have Navitime app, which seems a bit helpful, but also scared to put too much trust into it/Google Maps for helping us get to where we’re going. Getting a 14 day JR Pass, activating day of trip to Tokamachi/House of Light from Tokyo
\- Going to be relying on public transit a lot as we are public transit nerds, but also don’t want to make dumb choices if it makes sense to take a taxi. Looks like a lot of the taxi apps don’t really work as well as uber (based on the reviews). Does uber work well in Tokyo? I also downloaded DiDi and Go app, but they both seem a bit less user friendly.
**Day 1-3 TOKYO**
Day 1
Land Haneda 5AM
Drop bags at hotel near Shimbashi
Tsukiji Fish Market Breakfast/Ginza
Metropolitan Government Building/Shinjuku
Takeshita
Golden Gai/Omoide Yokocho
Day 2
Toyusu Fish Market
TeamLabs
Takeshita/Shinjuku
Meiji Jingu
Shibuya/Omote-Sando
Ise Sueyoshi for Dinner
Day 3
Popeye for craft beers pre-Sumo
Sumo Tournament
Tokyo Skytree (Saw something about being there way earlier than your reservation slot, what’s the process for this?)
Day 4
Travel to Kanazawa via Train \[Start JR Pass 14 Day\]
**Day 4-5 TOKAMACHI / House of Light**
Day 4
House of Light
Echigo-Tsumari Art Field
Day 5
Travel to Kanazawa via Train
**Days 5-7 KANAZAWA**
Day 5
Staying near Kanazawa Castle Park
Higashi Chaya Old Town
Kenrokuen Garden
Kanazawa Castle
Day 6
Omicho Market Lunch
Dinner at Sushi Ikuta
Day 7
Morning activty in Kanazawa, take late morning train to Osaka
**Days 7-10 OSAKA**
Day 7
Hotel in Dotonburi
Kushiage 010
Okonomiyaki Sakaba O
Takoyaki Wanaka
(generally.. *kuidaore)*
Day 8
Day trip to Himeji/Hiroshima?
Misono Namba
Day 9
The Kishiwasda Danjiri Matsuri Festival is occuring this weekend, and it seems like it is a bit of travel outside the “tourist” area in Osaka, but does look to be one of the highest regarded festivals in the area. Can anyone cosign this being worth the time/effort for what we have?
DenDen Town
Day 10
Osaka to Kyoto transfer day
Mixing of activities in Osaka or early move to Kyoto, depending
**Days 10-13 KYOTO**
Day 10
Staying near Fushimi Inari
Gion
Kiyomizu-dera
Heading to Fushimi Inari later in evening/early next morning based on weather
Day 11: Day Trip to Nara
Nara Park
Kofuku-Ji
Day 12
Nishiki Market
Kinkakuji
Arashiyama/Romance Train Sagano
Day 13
Early AM travel from Kyoto to Okayama/Uno Port (to ferry to Naoshima)
**Days 13-15 ART ISLANDS (Naoshima and Teshima)**
Various biking around, multiple museums (Chichu, Art House Project, Benesse House, Teshima Art Museum)
Day 15
Long travel via train starting early AM from Art Islands/Okayama to Hakone by hopefully mid-afternoon
**DAY 15-17 HAKONE**
Day 15/16 (Depending on how early we arrive first day:
Hakone Open Air Museum
Ropeway to Owakudani
Onsen
​
**Days 17-19 TOKYO**
Booking hotel possibly in Shibuya or Shinjuku area to get different base for second Tokyo experience.
All things we may not have hit in first few days, including:
21\_21 Design Sight
Akihabara
Asakusa (Senso Ji, etc)
Birdland
Gotokuji Temple (looks super cute, but sort of out of the way?)
Gen Yamamoto
Nikko Day Trip (Considering a day trip to Nikko, but things seem already very travel-heavy and assume we’ll just want to hang out the last few days in Tokyo and keep things slow)
Intermediatheque
Japanese Ramen Gokan
Mori Art Museum
Pizza Studio Tamaki
Savoy Tomato and Cheese
So – any gaps, anything missing, anything that doesn’t make rational sense from a timing and moving perspective? Thank you to this forum for helping me wrap my head around things much better!