こんにちわ JapanTravel!My girlfriend and I are headed to Japan for 2 weeks at the end of August and I’ve got an outline of where we are headed. I would love some input/ideas/etc if you’d be willing to share! We land Aug 18th and depart Sept 1 from Narita. We are one bagging it with a weight limit of 12kg, so luckily we are traveling pretty light. I have some busy days planned for us, but I know my partner will want to have some more kick back days as well. I’ll leave a \* near days where I think I need the most scrutiny/advice, but all recommendations or suggestions are welcome.
Day 1 – Aug 18th – Land and get situated in our AirBnB located in Sumida City near Tokyo Skytree. Nothing ambitious, just find dinner and head to bed.
Day 2 – Aug 19th – Itinerary includes Tokyo Skytree in the AM, Teamlabs in the early afternoon, and Akihabara in the evening/night. Outside of that we don’t have anything explicit picked out, though there are some cafe’s we might try to go see. If we can fit it in Senso-ji in the morning we will, but will depend on how rough the jet lag is.
\*Day 3 – Aug 20th – Our destination for the day is the town of Omachi in the Nagano prefecture. Google maps says it will take between 3.5-5 hours via train depending on the route we take. Check out is at 10am, which is probably when we will leave to go grab breakfast, and then meander over to our train to Nagano, and further train to Omachi. This will leave a few extra hours in the day, so any input on places to maybe stop in Nagano near the train station or additional nearby things to do in Tokyo ahead of departure are appreciated!
Day 4 – Aug 21st – We are planning to get up early and make our way across the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route. This will probably be an all day event and I’m praying that it’s not raining this day. Anyone with experience with this route, especially in summer, I’d love to hear your advice! We will end the day in Toyama.
Day 5 – Aug 22nd – After a lazy morning we can take our train to Kyoto, which is near the Kyoto imperial palace. I have budgeted this as a rest day where we can laze around in our hotel when we get there and get up and explore nearby when we get the energy for it.
Day 6 – Aug 23rd – Day trip down to Nara park to explore and see the shrine/deer. Probably will only take half the day there, and on the way back stop by Senbon Tori and see the gates.
Day 7 – Aug 24th – Visit Arashiyama Park to see the monkeys and the bamboo forest. Afterward, head to Kinkaku-ji. Head to the hotel for lunch and kick back a bit, and then the Gionmachi district for the evening.
\*Day 8 – Aug 25th – Check out in the early afternoon and head to Osaka. Check in is at 3pm in the Dotonbori district, so depending on our timing we may stop by Osaka Castle on the way. My only plan for the evening is food. As much as I can find while walking around the area. Suggestions welcome.
\*Day 9 – Aug 26th – This is our only full day in Osaka and I currently have no plan for it. The toss up idea currently is Tempozan Ferris wheel and Super Nintendo World with Tsūtenkaku in the evening/night.
Day 10 – Aug 27th – This day will be moderately long. We have tickets to Ghibli Park at noon so we will depart Osaka fairly early to get there around noon. Will spend as much time there as we can or until it closes at 5pm and then jump on the train the remainder of the way to Tokyo, check into our hotel, and if we feel ambitious enough maybe head to Golden Gai for the night for some drinks (not following anyone trying to user us inside).
Day 11 – Aug 28th – I’ve marked this as a rest day, which pretty much gives us the freedom to sit in our room if we like or maybe go shopping for gifts/souvenirs.
\*Day 12 – Aug 29th – Day trip to Kawaguchiko to get a good view of Fuji. If I can figure out the navigation then we will go to Chureito Pagoda for the killer view. I’ve admittedly not done a ton of research on other things to do in the area, but hopefully some summertime activities/foods will be easily found.
Day 13 – Aug 30th – More exploring/shopping around Tokyo and Takeshita Street Square. Check out the Shibuya crossing and Shibuya Sky. Check out nearby cafe’s for novelty (maid/cat/etc.)
Day 14th – Aug 31st – Last full day we want to see the Imperial Garden in Tokyo. I’m looking for a little more filler for this day in case we get bored but overall nothing major planned, just see where the day takes us.
Day 15 – Sept 1st – Departure day, flight is at 2pm and we will aim to arrive by noon.
General Questions:
* We have JR passes for most of our trains, but I know some of them are not on JR lines. Does anyone know if the Suica card in my iPhone’s wallet app will work for all other lines? Does it also work for busses? This is probably the most important info I need to look up still
* Recommendations on places to eat are highly encouraged, as my current plan is mostly winging it for food, which is a dangerous game with limited knowledge of the language.
* We will be in Tokyo for quite a few days at the end of our trip and while I think we have some items to do each day, I’m not sure that they will really fill up the entire day. If anyone has recommendations for Tokyo to help fill out certain days please drop a line
Let’s hear your input! Looking forward to the trip.
ありがとございます!
