Hello everyone! We’ll be spending our honeymoon in Japan – 21 days from mid-November. I would appreciate any input to the below itinerary, my main concern is that it is too packed. I would be willing to drop the Matsumoto/Shibu Onsen part of the trip and allocate those days somewhere else. I would like to decide on the final itinerary so I can book hotels and transport where possible. We will arrive in Osaka late at night, so day 1 would be our first full day. Considering how we felt during our previous trips to Asia, hopefully jet lag won’t affect us much. Thank you very much for taking the time to read the long post!
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**Day 1 – Osaka**
* Namba Yasaka Shrine
* Kurumon Ishiba Market
* Walk through Denden Town towards Shinsekai
* Harukas 300 observation deck for sunset
* Dotonbori in the evening
**Day 2 – Osaka**
* Universal Studios Japan
**Day 3 – Day trip to Nara**
**Day 4 – Osaka and Hiroshima** *(This day might be too packed? I might drop Minoo Park if that is the case)*
* Morning: Minoo Park (I’ve read it takes around 30 min to get there, and the hike to Minoo falls is 40 min each way, so hoping this is doable in the morning?)
* Afternoon: head to Hiroshima (hoping to get there around 2-3pm to be able to go to the Peace Memorial Museum and surroundings)
**Day 5 – Miyajima**
* Train + Ferry to Miyajima
* Itsukushima Shrine, Ropeway up to Mt Misen, Omotesando Street, Machiya Street
* Back to Hiroshima
**Day 6 – HIMEJI and KYOTO**
* Shinkansen from Hiroshima to Himeji
* Himeji Castle, Koko-en gardens, Soju-an tea house
* Head to Kyoto – not sure what time this is gonna be yet so didn’t make any plans. If I have time, check Teramachi-dori and head for drinks in Potoncho Alley
**Day 7 – KYOTO**
* Early start going to Hokan-Ji/Yasaka Pagoda (photo stop basically)
* Kiyomizu-dera
* Sannen-zaka and Ninen-zaka
* Kodai-Ji
* Explore Gion District
* If by any chance it’s still before 6pm, go to Nishiki Market
**Day 8 – Kyoto**
* Arashiyama Bamboo Groove
* Tenryu-Ji
* Sagano Romantic Train and Hozugawa River Cruise
* Tegetsukyo Bridge and surroundings
* Kinkaku-Ji (would also try to go to Ryoan-Ji before that, but that might be a stretch)
**Day 9 – Kyoto** *(would appreciate any input in which option to choose?)*
* Fushimi Inari Taisha
* Option 1: Walk a bit of the Philosopher’s path, starting at Ginkaku-Ji. Go to Heian-Jingu
* Option 2: Daigo-Ji
**Day 10 – Kyoto to Matsumoto** *(I am not sure about Days 10-12. Might cut them out completely if it’s too much of a detour and add these days on Osaka/Kyoto/Tokyo. However I would really like to go to and Onsen Village. Any thoughts?)*
* Shinkansen from Kyoto to Nagoya, then Shinano Train to Matsumoto. Will probably have our luggage shipped straight to Tokyo.
* Nakamachi-dori for Lunch
* Nawate Street
* Matsumoto Castle
* Asama Onsen for the evening
**Day 11 – Shibu Onsen**
* Matsumoto to Nagano (should take about 2 hours)
* Zenko-Ji
* Snow Monkey Park (aim to be there any time between 12pm and 2pm)
* Shibu Onsen (stay the night at Ryokan)
**Day 12 – Shibu Onsen to Tokyo**
No plans for these days so we can leave Shibu Onsen whenever we feel like it. Head to Tokyo eventually.
**Day 13 – Tokyo** *(not sure if I should swap the order and to Shibuya in the evening instead?)*
* Morning: Harajuku (Omotesando Street, Takeshita-Dori, Cafe Reissue, Meiji Jingu)
* Afternoon: Shibuya (Shibuya Crossing, Shibuya Parco, Shibuya Sky).
* Evening: Shinjuku (Godzilla Statue, Disney Flagship Store, Kabukicho and Tokyo Kabukicho Tower)
* Golden Gai, Piss Alley
**Day 14 – Tokyo -** *Have I planned too little for this day?*
* Tsukiji Fish Market
* TeamLabs Planet (hopefully 9am)
* Tokyo Station (Ramen Street, Character Street)
* Ginza (Uniqlo, Muji, Itoya)
**Day 15 – Day Trip to Enoshima and Kamakura**
**Day 16 – Kawaguchiko**
* Head to Kawaguchiko, not much of a plan here either. Might just enjoy the Ryokan, walk around the lake… will take it easy
**Day 17 – Kawaguchiko and back to Tokyo**
Haven’t planned much for this day as well, not sure what time we’ll be back to Tokyo
**Day 18 – Tokyo**
* Morning: Asakusa (Nakamise-dori and Senso-Ji, Asakusa Nishi-Sando Shopping Street)
* Afternoon: Akihabara (as I am not interested in Anime, my fiancée is going to choose what to do there)
**Day 19 – Day Trip to Nikko**
**Day 20 – FREE DAY**
*I have no idea what to do with this extra day. Should I allocate it to Osaka? Kyoto? Shibu Onsen? More time in Tokyo? Another day trip? Any input is appreciated!*
**Day 21 – Tokyo and fly home**
Our flight is at 10pm, so we have pretty much most of the day. If the stars align I would get Tickets for Studio Ghibli and just shop the last bits and bobs for the rest of the day, then head to the airport.
1 comment
Day 4: I would look at doing Minoo park during the previous day and head right to Hiroshima. We did a day trip to Nara and it’s pretty small and everything is relatively accessible. Went there at 9AM and was pretty satisfied I’d seen what I needed to by 1PM. So I imagine you could do Minoo park and Nara in the same day.
The peace park and museum in Hiroshima is worth spending some time at. And you can also add Hiroshima castle and Shukkeien if you like Japanese gardens.
Day 6: Koko-en gardens. This is a pass for me if you’re visiting any other gardens. This is a small garden where they have 12 distinct sections trying to recreate other garden styles. Not impressive if you visit anywhere else.
Day 8: Not sure how busy Kyoto is during November but this day is doable. My recommendation is to hit the golden pavillion / Ryoan-ji first since those are places that get overwhelmed by bus tours.
Day 9: You’ve got 3+ days in Kyoto, so you’ll be able to see quite a bit. You’ve got the right idea in terms of tackling it by districts. I would walk the Philosopher’s Path. But I’ve never been to Daigo-Ji.
Day 10-12: Never been to this area myself, but in talking to one of our guides about how Covid affected the travel industry she mentioned that Matsumoto Castle is one of the most visited places by Japanese citizens.
Tokyo: Your Tokyo days are fine. Better to have some free time to explore than to cram days too much. Golden Gai is in Shinjuku so that makes sense. You’ll end up doing more. I would definitely visit Ueno park and the national museum and add Tanaka as well.
Free Day: I think you’ve got appropriate allocation for your overall trip. But I continually recommend Koyasan as often as I can. Loved my visit there and really intend to get back.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4900.html