Hello all,
I’ve got my itinerary pretty much planned out for my first trip to Japan. Looking for any feedback, especially on length of stay in Hiroshima and Kyoto.
I’m planning to get a 7 day JR Pass.
Nights in each city:
1. Tokyo x 3
2. Kyoto x 1
3. Hiroshima x 1
4. Osaka x 3
5. Hakone x 1
6. Tokyo x 1 (final night)
for a total of 10 nights
**Day 0/Monday:** Depart JFK for HND
**Day 1/Tuesday:** Arrive HND at 1715
Check in to Daiwa Roynet Ginza Premier
Recover from the flight
**Day 2/Wednesday:**
Explore area around where I’m staying, possibly check out Akihabara
Bar Hopping/Night out in Shinjuku
**Day 3/Thursday:**
0900\~1500 Shinjuku Bicycle Tour (actually goes all around the city)
1900\~2100 Tokyo StreetKart (Tokyo Bay)
**Day 4/Friday:**
First JR Pass Day
AM: Check out of Daiwa Roynet Ginza
Send bag(s) ahead to Osaka
0830\~1130 Tsukiji Outer Market walking tour
(\~2.5-3 hrs) Shinkansen to Kyoto
Check in to \*either\*
* Hotel Resol Trinity, or
* Solaria Nishtetsu (right on the river)
1700\~1830 Tea Ceremony at Jotokuji Temple
**Day 5/Saturday:**
Check out of Hotel
930\~1200 Gion Brunch/Walking Tour
(\~2 hrs) Shinkansen to Kyoto to Hiroshima
Check in to Rihga Royal Hotel (looks like an older hotel in a good location)
**Day 6/Sunday:**
Check out of hotel
(Still planning the day in Hiroshima, but I will probably focus on the standard destinations)
(\~1.5 hrs) Shinkansen Hiroshima to Osaka
Check in to Osaka Excel Tokyu Hotel
**Day 7/Monday:**
1030\~1330 Cooking Lesson in Kawanishi Ikeda area
Daytrip to Nara (too late in the day?)
**Day 8/Tuesday:**
Free day in Osaka
Cat/Train/Diorama Cafe
Day trip to Nara if I can’t do that on Day 7
1730\~2030 Osaka Backstreets Tour
**Day 9/Wednesday:**
Check out of hotel
Send bag(s) ahead to Tokyo
(\~3-3.5 hrs) Shinkansen Osaka to Hakone (Odawara)
Freepass Activities
Check in to Suiun Ryokan (Hakone Gora)
Keiseki Dinner
**Day 10/Thursday:**
Final JR Pass Day
Check out of Ryokan
More Freepass Activities
Train back to Tokyo
Check in to \*either\*:
* Hotel Groove Shinjuku, or
* Park Hotel Tokyo (Art Room)
**Day 11/Friday:**
Check out of Hotel
Free Day
Depart HND at 1945
​
Questions:
* Am I shortchanging Kyoto and/or Hiroshima? I’d be open to moving one night in Osaka to one of those cities
* Suggestions on the Day 4 and Day 10 Hotel Choices – anyone recommend one over the other?
* Are my intercity travel times realistic? In particular, does Day 4 cut it too close to make it to Kyoto?
​
4 comments
One day in Hiroshima is OK but you’re really shortchanging Kyoto with just a tea ceremony and 2.5 hours walking around Gion (actually less than 2.5 hours since part of it is spent eating brunch).
I am not anti-tours but it feels like a lot of time is spent traveling on trains to then do tours for a relatively short amount of time, and that the days are planned around these tours rather than the other way around.
Day 7 going in the opposite direction from Nara to join a cooking class…No way I would shortchange Nara for this, maybe if the teacher is a Michelin star chef (it is 1.5 hours from Kawanishi Ikeda to Nara and many attractions close at 5pm).
Another example is day 4, which is doable on paper but seems quite stressful. For me, Tsukiji Outer Market is self-explanatory enough that I’d want to do it myself so that I can finish at 10:30am (for example).
I don’t suggest doing the street gokarting. I always tell people this but a lot of the locals here hate it, they’re loud, disruptive, and dangerous. I suggest rethinking it honestly.
If I’d travel around Japan for 10 nights, I’d skip Hakone and Osaka.
It takes about 2 hours from Kyoto to Hiroshima, so it’s better to stay in Kyoto longer and visit Hiroshima(day trip).
Personally, I would skip Osaka except maybe as a day trip from Kyoto, and allocate at least one more day to Kyoto proper. People will say to do Hiroshima as a day trip but I disagree – it is worth an overnight stay so that you have time to do the peace museum etc. and Miyajima as well as just have time to wander around the city because IMO it’s a pretty nice place.