I’m leaving on a solo trip to Japan this week (7/24-8/12) and I got overwhelmed and left a lot of the planning to the last minute! I’d appreciate any feedback on the below itinerary, I have a rough outline of things I want to see but think I could potentially add in more. I am worried booked too many days in Osaka and am trying to find either good day trips or am open to adding in an overnight in another city.
My questions:
1. Is there anywhere I may not have thought of that I should add in? I’m specifically interested in art museums or other indoor activities since it will be so hot.
2. Day trips from Osaka besides Kobe, Nara, and Kyoto.
3. Does an esim make sense for getting data while in Japan? Thought about using pocket wifi but it seems significantly more expensive.
My current itinerary:
Day 1:
* Arrive HND 5 AM
* Train to Tokyo station; leave luggage in a locker until hotel check-in
* Tokyo Disneyland for the day
* Stay in Ginza hotel
Day 2: Tokyo
* Disneysea (Ginza hotel)
Day 3: Tokyo
* Disneyland half day; spend the afternoon exploring Ginza(Ginza hotel)
Day 4: Tokyo
* Disneysea (Ginza hotel)
Day 5: Tokyo
* Sensoji Temple
* Asakusa
* Uneo Park
* Akihabara (Ginza hotel)
Day 6: Tokyo
* Wake up early and go to Sushi Daiwa
* TeamLab Planets at 9 AM
* Tsukiji Outer Market in the morning
* Shinjuku (switch to Shinjuku hotel)
Day 7: Tokyo
* Shinjuku
* Meiji Shrine
* Shibuya
* Roppongi (Shinjuku hotel)
Day 8: Takayama
* Train to Takayama and stay at Ryokan
* Takayama old town
* Hida Folk village
Day 9: Kyoto
* Train from Takayama to Kyoto
* Kiyomizu-dera, Higashiyama, Hokan-ji, Gion, Nishiki market
Day 10: Kyoto
* Arashiyama, Romantic Train & boat, Kinkaku-ji, Nijo Castle, Kyoto Imperial Palace
Day 11: Kyoto: ??
Day 12: Hiroshima
* Train from Kyoto to Hiroshima
* Peace park, Hiroshima castle
Day 13: Hiroshima
* Miyajima, Mt. Misen hike
Day 14: Osaka
* Train from Hiroshima to Osaka
* Osaka Castle, Dotonbori, teamLab botanical gardens
Day 15: Osaka
* Day trip to Nara
Day 16: Osaka
* Day trip to Kobe; Himeji castle
Day 17: Osaka: ??
Day 18: Osaka: ??
Day 19: Osaka: 10 AM flight home from KIX
3 comments
My standard advice is to go to Kanazawa by bus from Takayama (stopping at Shirakawago for a couple of hours if you like) and stay there for one or two nights, then go to Kyoto from there. I agree on your assessment on Osaka – though I’m sure you could fill the time with art galleries and such there (don’t really have recommendations though – the aquarium is nice I guess) – it also sounds like you’re not actually spending much time in Tokyo because of the whole Disney thing and Osaka days could easily be used there instead – probably hard to beat Tokyo in the big museums department.
I don’t think your day 10 is realistic if you really want to see each site. Take one day to explore Arashiyama, there’s a lot to do there, and then cover the castle and palace in the next day. And if you have free time, you can add the northwestern line of temples to your Arashiyama day, and maybe the Philosophers path to your castle day. Or something different, like the Railway Museum.
4 Days in Tokyo Disney is a lot. I don’t know what your exact interests are, maybe Disney is the whole reason you’re coming to Japan, but it seems like a lot, especially since the rest of Tokyo is only getting 3 days on your schedule.
I would recommend doing 2 days; 1 in each park, and then use those other 2 days to do other things. DisneySea is cool enough on its own to merit some time, but at the end of the day it is an expensive and crowded tourist trap. Attend a Japanese baseball game, look into all your other options, there’s so much more in Tokyo than Disney.
Also I can never recommend this to enough people; skip Teamlabs, spend that same time in Tsukiji and the surrounding area. It’s another tourist trap, and unless you’re a vanilla instagram influencer, there’s little of substance there.