Hi Everyone. It is my 2nd trip (and my first solo trip) to Japan and would like to see your input on my itinerary. Unfortunately, i have only discovered this sub AFTER buying all of my accomodations so i cannot really change the places where i will be sleeping as most of the hotels are unrefundable. I am looking for some advice on what else i can do, or any changes to my daily plans.
This is my 2nd trip to Japan and ive been to tokyo (all the main cities), kobe, kyoto (incl uji), arima onsen, hiroshima (incl miyajima), Sendai,.
Day 0 – Tokyo – Arrive at Haneda
Day 1 – Tokyo – Daytrip to Yokohama (Cup Noodle Museum, Chinatown, Explore Yokohama)
Day 2 – Sapporo – Flight to Sapporo at 7am (JR Tower Observatory)
Day 3 – Sapporo – Daytrip to Otaru (Denuki Koji Street Food, Explore Otaru)
Day 4 – Sapporo – Maruyama Park, Odori Park / Tower, Ramen Alley, Sapporo Beer Museum
Day 5 – Noboribetsu – Train to Onsen
Day 6 – Hakodate – Arrive at 5pm Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse
Day 7 – Hakodate – Ekini Market, Goryokaku Tower, Mt Hakodate at night (use ropeway)
Day 8 – Fukuoka – Flight to Tokyo at 9 am. Shinkansen Tokyo to Fukuoka (I like trains). Late dinner fukuoka
Day 9 – Fukuoka – Daytrip to Nagasaki – Bomb museum, Museum of history of culture
Day 10 – Fukuoka – Nanzoin Temple, Dazaifu Street Food, Night Yatai
Day 11 – Fukuoka – Tochoji Temple, Kushida Inja Shrine, Millenium Night Market
Day 12 – Kyoto – I plan to cook Wagyu
Day 13 – Kyoto – Daytrip Nagoya (Nagoya Castle, Toyota Museum)
Day 14 – Kyoto – Arashiyama Monkey Park, Tenryuji Temple, Sannenzake/ Gion Exploration
Day 15 – Kustatsu – Explore the area
Day 16 – Kusatsu – Onsen, Onsen, Onsen
Day 17 – Tokyo – Walk around Shinjuku
Day 18 – Tokyo – Kamakura Daytrip (Komachi Dori, Kotoko-In)
Day 19 – Tokyo – Shopping day (Akihabara, Tokyo Station, Donquijote, Nintendo / more videogeame store)
Day 20 – Fly back home
6 comments
> Flight to Tokyo at 9 am. Shinkansen Tokyo to Fukuoka (I like trains)
Acknowledging that you like trains, this seems like a massive waste of time (and quite possibly does not save any coin or maybe even costs extra) compared to flying directly to Fukuoka. You will be taking the train to Nagasaki and to Kyoto, anyway.
Have you been to the Railway Museum in Saitama? I heard it’s a good one, something to consider if you have time since you like trains.
You’ve never been to Osaka?
I’m at Narita Airport right now, headed back home after 12 days in Japan. I spent four days in Nagoya and three in Osaka. Osaka is far more fun and interesting than Nagoya, and it’s closer to Kyoto than Nagoya is. If you can change your itinerary in any way, you should tweak it there.
> i have only discovered this sub AFTER buying all of my accomodations so i cannot really change the places where i will be sleeping as most of the hotels are unrefundable.
Really? I mean that severely limits what we are even able to recommend… For example, I would generally recommend staying in some of the places you have as day trips (e.g., Otaru, Nagasaki, Nagoya, and Kamakura)–especially in cases where you’re basically making the trip twice because they’re on your way to another destination. I’d also cut Hokkaido and spend more time in Honshu and Kyushu, but that’s another story.
>Day 8 – Fukuoka – Flight to Tokyo at 9 am. Shinkansen Tokyo to Fukuoka (I like trains). Late dinner fukuoka
This makes zero sense. If you’re flying, why not fly all the way to Fukuoka? Also, which airport are you flying out of? If it’s New Chitose, it would actually be faster just to take the Shinkansen. In fact, I wouldn’t normally recommend taking the Shinkansen all the way from Hakata to Fukuoka, but if you’re going to be taking it from Tokyo to Fukuoka anyway, I think it would be a much more relaxing and potentially faster to just take the Shinkansen all the way from Hakata to Fukuoka. That way there’s no dealing with check-in or security, no checking bags, no transferring to and from airports via local trains or busses, and it could all be covered on the JR Pass.
>I like trains
The not-so-secret truth that train-lovers know about Japan is that the Shinkansens are not that interesting to ride. If you wanted an interesting ride, I’d give yourself way more time and take something scenic like the Inaho or Hida Wide View or something.
Awesome trip. I’d typically say that 11 days in transit is too much, but by train you’re going to have an awesome time. The trains in Japan are awesome. You’ll DEFINITELY get your value out of the rail pass… make sure you buy it before the prices go up!