Final Touches on Itinerary

1. Tokyo: arrive (rest in hotel, explore area around hotel on foot)
2. Tokyo: activities (shibuya crossing, harajuku, golden gai)
3. Tokyo: activities (yanesen, omoide yokocho, meiji shrine)
4. Tokyo: activities (charter fishing boat, Tokyo fish market)
5. Tokyo: activities (spend the day with pen pal/touring)
6. Tokyo-Magome (arrive and relax at ryokan. eat dinner and explore the town before bed)
7. Magome-Tsumago-Nagiso (hike and stay night at hotel)
8. Nagiso-Takayama (arrive and explore the city before retiring to hotel early)
9. Takayama: activities (explore old town on foot, Takayama Jinya museum)
10. Takayama-Shirakawago-Kanazawa (Miyagawa morning market in Takayama, day trip, relax at hotel after travel)
11. Kanazawa: activities (Ninja temple, explore Higashi Chaya district, tea house)
12. Kanazawa- Osaka (explore the city near our hotel on foot and relax)
13. Osaka (Shinsaibashi & Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street, lalaport port expo city mall, spa world, amerika-mura)
14. Osaka (Tsurumi park, Tsuyu no Tenjinja shrine, Shitennoji temple)
15. Osaka: day trip to Kyoto (Nishiki Market, Nanzenji temple, Shinnyodo Temple Hondo, Kenninji)
16. Osaka: depart

This is an overview of hopefully my final draft on my first trip abroad. I’ve been struggling with planning this for quite some time and now I’m hoping I’m ready to buy plane tickets. After that, I’ll get into much better detail of what each day will look like. If there are any major things I’m forgetting or bits that just won’t work, please feel free to mention it so I can adjust and get this planning over with. All advice welcome. Thank you very much!

Dates: April 14th-29th
(These dates were chosen due to scheduling conflicts with family, weather, and avoiding crowds from Golden Week)

Transportation: Suica card or similar, paying out of pocket. Walking on foot whenever possible and practical.

Accommodation: 1 Ryokans and a mix of small hotel rooms and hostels.

Budget in USD: $500 travel, $450 accommodation, $350 food, $1300 open jaw flight, other: SIM cards, laundry, currency exchange, travel insurance
Roughly: $2.6k before any paid activities/souvenirs/emergencies.
This budget is supposed to be the “‘middle path” for us, on the inexpensive side but still gives us money to enjoy ourselves. I’m using it as a basic outline for what I’ll be spending, so it just needs to be in the right ball park, nothing exact is needed.

My questions:
1. Is this trip realistic time-wise? We are okay with being busy but not to the point where we can’t enjoy ourselves.

2. For those who have been to Japan in early-mid April.. How did the weather treat you? And the crowds? Would you come back in April again?

3. Does my budget look realistic (only including flight and transportation, food, accommodation)? I have adjusted it numerous times after talking to other Redditors. Like I said, it’s more of an idea then something we must stick to.

3. And finally… Am I ready to buy plane tickets? I have never left the country before or planned a trip besides road trips to neighboring states in the US. I’m scared I’ve made mistakes and will regret buying tickets (even though I’ve been researching for months and months!). But at the same time, I’m feeling pressure from my family and prices are rising.

(Notes: We had more time in Kyoto, but it was shortened from a 3 to 2 week trip due to family scheduling conflicts and work. I think it’ll be okay as we don’t have our hearts set on seeing lots of shrines and such. Each day’s activities are NOT set in stone and will definitely continue to change as we get closer to the trip, and when we arrive as well.. Just an outline so I can get my ducks in a row and buy tickets, and to give y’all an idea of the types of things we’re interested in. If we end up only having time for a couple things a day, that’s expected and fine with us. Most locations we would prefer another day but 16 days is our limit. We will be carrying backpacking packs or similar and obviously taking the bullet train when we can.)