Hi all! I and a large group of friends are planning on going to Japan in December this year for the first time. Right now, this is what we have planned. I would appreciate any additional suggestions as we are still trying to figure out what to do and how to make the best use of our time! For example, for Odaiba, Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku, I’m sure there are a ton of shopping & eating to do around, but I’m not sure where to exactly look.
**12/4 TOKYO**
Arrive in Tokyo (2pm)
Our hotel is located in Akihabara so after we check in:
* Akihabara
* Senso-ji or Ueno Park
**12/5**
* TeamLab Planets
* Lunch in Toyosu Market
* Odaiba: Gundam statue, etc
**12/6**
Shibuya
* Hackiko
* Shibuya 109/Shibuya Parco/Miyashita Park
Harajuku
* Meiji Shrine
* Crepes
Shinjuku
* Godzilla head statue
**12/7 OSAKA**
Check out early morning -> Head to Osaka
Our Airbnb is located in Osaka, near Dotonbori.
Once we arrive in Osaka ->
* Osaka Castle
* Dotonbori/Shinsaibashi/Kuromon Market
Should we stop by Kyoto for some quick temple sight-seeing while on the way to Osaka? Because in our Kyoto trip that I am going to list out, it feels super packed.
**12/8 KYOTO**
**This is where I need the most help!**
Unfortunately a few friends are only able to stay till 12/10 so I could only dedicate 1 full day of Kyoto for those who couldn’t stay in Japan longer. Right now, I have this planned out, but I don’t imagine us getting all of this done within 1 full day worth in Kyoto:
*Morning*
First place to visit is **Kinkaku-ju**.
Afterwards, head to **Arashiyama for the Bamboo Forest**. Some friends also wanted to see the Monkey Park in Arashiyama. I also noticed that Tenryu-ji was also close by so is it reasonable to visit all 3 places together & still have enough time for the other activities I am about to list?
*Afternoon/Evening*
After Arashiyama, head to **Kiyomizu-deru**, then visit Nishimi Market for lunch/dinner.
For the evening/late in the day, last stop would be **Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine**. I put this last as it’s open 24 hours & I am guessing there would be less tourists late at night.
The places I highlighted are the ones I feel like we absolutely must visit for that day. Other places I noted are Nijo Castle, Kodai-ji, Yasaka Shrine, Ryoan-ji, & the Silver Pavilion. Obviously, there’s no way we could visit all of these temples/shrines in 1 day so I tried prioritizing the popular ones.
**12/9 Rabbit Island/Okunoshima**
We are huge pet lovers & I also have a pet rabbit so I especially wanted to visit this island. As it’s near Hiroshima, I envision that this trip would take up the vast majority of the day.
*Evening*
We have a second group of friends who will arrive in Osaka so we were planning on meeting up with them there. We would hang out in Dotonbori/Shinsaibashi/Kuromon Market.
**12/10**
FREE DAY
We were thinking of going to Universal Studios Japan for this day.
**12/11 NARA**
I have a friend who’s planning our Nara trip, but this is what I’ve heard:
* Nara Park for deer feeding
* Todai-ji
**12/12**
FREE DAY
I was thinking of using this day to re-visit Kyoto for more temple exploring.
**12/13**
Shopping spree. I’m not sure where exactly though. My friend was planning out this day.
**12/14**
Check out -> Head to Tokyo (flight is at 4pm)
This is the first rough draft of our plan! Again, I would appreciate any tips/suggestions on either places we should consider visiting that I didn’t specify or how to organize it better. Thanks!
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1 comment
your kyoto day. sigh… you know it, one day is not enough. hitting the popular ones, I feel like its a trap in Kyoto…
I suspect you will spend up to two hours of your precious day in puplic transport, that is without walking from and to bus stations.
First, if you only have one day, I would not consider going to see the bamboo grove if that is the only reason to travel to arashiyama.
further, I may want to stick to an area, especially an area with a high density of POIs. higashiyama is that. starting at kiyomizu dera, the streets, Kodaiji, Nanzenji, Eikando, towards the Ginkakuji.
if we simply must include Kinkakuji, and fushimi inari (and you are staying near the center) then start at Kiyomizudera, it opens at 6am. head to Kinkakuji, it opens at 9, then head back, to Todaiji or Nanzenji,Eikando, explore heading along the philosophers path, ending with ginkakuji.
it is truly very hard to estimate how fast or slow you will be, and if you can fit this all in a day. starting at 6am helps a lot, its not impossible. but its also very thinkable that Eikando will be your last entry that day.
hmm wait, if you head to ginkakuji after kinkakuji, you can do this backwards, going down hill, eikando, nanzenji, kodaiji. much better this way!
you can now head to fushimi inari, and depending on how late you can come back, maybe even see gion in the evening.
this day will be absolute murder. a lot of walking, little time to find a restaurant and rest, still some time wasted in public transport.
your free day can be used to explore arashiyama