Solo trip to Japan. First time visiting and will be there for a little more than 2 weeks. Landing and departing from Haneda so Tokyo will be my home base. Below is the itinerary that I’ve put together. Tried grouping activities/landmarks by proximity in order to mitigate long travel times. Not looking to strictly follow it. Consider it more of a rough outline of what I want to do. I’m pretty flexible and open to re-arranging or eliminating stuff. Planning to purchase 7-day JR pass and activating it on Day 6 (Osaka to Hiroshima). Will it be worth buying? Or should I just get an IC card and individual tickets? I used the JR calculator and it seems worth it. Really looking for advice on best options getting between cities (i.e. Tokyo to Nara, Osaka to Hiroshima, Hiroshima to Kyoto, Kytoto to Hakone). Open to all and any critiques or advice. Thanks!
Day 1 | Tokyo (Arrival)
* arrive at HND late afternoon/early evening
* make way to lodging
* eat and explore a little before bed
Day 2 | Tokyo (West)
* Day
* Shinjuki Gyeon
* Meiji Jingu
* Yoyogi Park
* Evening
* Explore Shibuya, Harajuku
* Shibuya Sky
Day 3 | Tokyo (North)
* Day
* Ueno Park
* Senso-Ji
* Sumida Park
* Tokyo Skytree
* Tsukiji Market (eh, maybe)
* Evening
* Night bus or train to Nara
Day 4 | Nara/Osaka
* Day
* See Nara Deer
* Todaji
* Make way to Osaka
* Evening
* Dotonbori
* Shinsaibashi
* Amerikamura
Day 5 | Osaka
* Day
* Osaka Castle
* Tenmangu Osaka
* Tenjinbashisuju
* HEP5 Osaka Station
* Umeda Sky
* Evening
* Dotonbori
Day 6 | Osaka\\Hiroshima
* Day
* Namba Parks
* Kuromon Ichiba market
* Shinsekai
* Tennoji park
* Evening
* Head to Hiroshima
Day 7 | Hiroshima/Miyajima Island
* Day
* Miyajima Island
* Hiroshima Peace Memorial
* Evening
* Head to Kyoto
Day 8 | Kyoto
* Day
* Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
* Okochi Sanso
* Gio Ji temple
* Saga Toriimoto
* Tenryu-Ji
* Monkey Zoo (eh, maybe?)
* Evening
* Tofukuji (might move to another day)
* Fushimi Inari Taisha (might move to another day)
* Pontoccho Alley
Day 9 | Kyoto
* Day
* Ginkakuji
* Philosopher’s Path
* Nanzenji
* Evening
* Kaege Incline
* Kiyomizudera
Day 10 | Kyoto
* Day
* Kinkakuji
* Any other stuff from previous day that I ran out of time to do
* Evening
* Head to Hakone
Day 11 | Hakone
* Day
* Owakudani
* Hakone Ropeway
* Hakone-Jinja
* Evening
* Open Air Museum
Day 12 | Hakone
* Day
* Mishima Skywalk
* Kyukaido Ishidatami
* Evening
* Head back to Tokyo
Day 13 | Tokyo
* Ginza
* Relax, shop, explore
Day 14 | Tokyo
* Mizumoto Park
* Relax, shop, explore
Day 15 | Tokyo
* Kamakura
* Todoroki Ravine Park
* Institution for Nature Study
* Koajiro no Mori
* Yokohoma Gundam
Day 16 | Tokyo
* Anything from previous day(s) that I didn’t see
* Shibuya Sky Bar
Day 17| Tokyo
* Go back to where I came from
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3 comments
Day 15 isn’t even remotely possible unless your planning on spending 5 minutes at each location and then back onto a train. Kamakura is easily 3/4 to a full day itself. Koajiro no Mori is roughly 2 and half hours from central Tokyo. Why go from Kamakura and back track to Todoroki and then another 40 minutes on a train to the Institute for Nature study and then back track again to Yokohama. Personally move some of that to your last day and just couple Kamakura and Yokohama on the 15th.
If you’re a food person, def check out https://abnb.me/fX3SGcrSXBb . Insider tour of the new fish market + private dining experience + quick trip to the temple in Asakusa.
Skytree took us over 4 hours to do. It was crowded and uncomfortable and, even trying to leave was an ordeal. You already have yourself doing Shibuya Sky twice. I recommend skipping Skytree. If you must, move it to the end of your trip.
Kamakura deserves a day to itself. Take a leisurely stroll on Ofuna Nakadori, shopping and trying the street food. Take your time visiting Tsurugaoka Hachimangu. The grounds are breathtaking! Go see the giant Buda statue. Spend some time relaxing at the beach.
Double-check the opening hours at the places on your itinerary. Most places in Japan don’t open until 10 a.m. and “last entry” times may be earlier than you expect. For example, the Kotoku-in Temple in Kamakura closes at 5:30 p.m., but last entry is 4:30 p.m.
Monday is often the day places are closed. Double-check that the places you are going to on a Monday are not closed. In fact, I would check to see if other places don’t have random “closed” days as well. A particular art store in Tokyo that I wanted to visit was closed on Mondays and Thursdays.