Hi Everyone,
My partner and I are traveling to Japan for the first time in October, from 19th to 1st November. We are coming from Europe and this will be our first time there.
I would really appreciate if you could give me some feedback with regards to our itinerary, and help me answer some questions.
The italics mark places that I am not sure about, either because I don’t know if they fit within that day or because they may not be worth it.
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* **Day 0: Arrival at 19:00 in Narita.**
* Nothing this day, just arrive to the hotel around Kanda and rest.
* **Day 1: Tokyo**
* Senso-ji temple
* Sky Tree? Not sure about this one because we will probably be tired, lost, and I wouldn’t know at what time to make the reservation to go to the top.
* Ueno Park?
* End day at Akihabara. We are not anime fans, so just checking it out should be enough.
* **Day 2: Tokyo**
* TeamLab Planets
* Not sure about Tsukiji market?
* Ginza, because it will be Saturday and main street will be closed to traffic.
* Imperial Palace East Gardens?
* **Day 3: Tokyo to Kyoto.**
* I would like to leave Tokyo as early as possible to make use of the day in Kyoto. The idea is to start exploring at around 12 – 13. Staying near Higashiyama station.
* Walk to Nanzen-ji Temple, and then Philosopher’s Path until Honen-in or Higashiyama Jisho-ji Temple.
* By then it will be dark, so probably just head to Pontocho area for dinner.
* **Day 4: Kyoto**
* Kiyomizudera to Gion (including Kodai-ji, Kennin-ji, walk around…)
* Nishiki market?
* Kyoto Imperial Palace or Nijo? (I read that parts of Nijo Castle are under reconstruction though)
* **Day 5: Kyoto (Arashiyama day)**
* Tenryuji Temple
* Bamboo Grove
* Togetsukyo Bridge
* Saga Toriimoto?
* Sagano Train?
* Kinkakuji instead of the train?
* **Day 6: Day trip to Nara**
* Nara
* Fushimi Inari on the way back?
* **Day 7: Kyoto to Miyajima**
* Train to Hiroshima, and from there go right away to Miyajima.
* Sleep in Hiroshima.
* **Day 8: Hiroshima to Kyoto**
* Hiroshima Peace Park and Museum.
* Train back to Kyoto (stop in Himeji to see the castle?)
* **Day 9: Kyoto to Tokyo**
* If we have things left to see in Kyoto, use the morning for that. Ideally we would go to Tokyo early to at least use the afternoon in Tokyo.
* Tokyo National Museum
* **Day 10: Tokyo**
* Meiji Shrine
* Explore Shibuya
* Explore Shinjuku
* **Day 11: Tokyo**
* DisneySea, either this day or day 12.
* Otherwise: Odaiba + Roppongi?
* **Day 12: Tokyo**
* DisneySea if not on day 11
* Otherwise: Odaiba + Roppongi?
* **Day 13: Tokyo**
* Our flight departs after 22:00, so explore something else or go back to our favorite areas, shopping, etc.
General questions:
1. How feasible is the itinerary, especially considering many places (museums, temples…) close at 5 pm?
2. Is it worth going to Nijo Castle with the ongoing works?
3. Going to Tokyo DisneySea on Monday 30/10 or Tuesday 31/10? I would normally choose Tuesday, but it’s Halloween so there may be larger crowds.
4. I am thinking of going maybe elsewhere the day we are not going to DisneySea, such as Kamakura (or Enoshima), Nikko seems a bit too far though, Yokohama?
Thank you!
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4 comments
You can just buy skytree tickets inside, no need for reservation.
Maybe do Fushimi Inari at the start of the day, instead of on the way back. It gets crowded quickly.
Id maybe move the himeji castle visit to the day you travel to Hiroshima, but its definitely worth visiting.
I enjoyed miyajima during the sunset, but note that everything closes at around 5 on the island.
> Not sure about Tsukiji market?
If you like fish and want good sushi, yes go, super early in the morning, I mean like 4-5am and be ready to line up. If not, it’s not really worth it.
Other thing is Odaiba is just a very short distance from tsukiji market and team lab planets. i’d definitely recommend doing it then, rather than waiting and going out of your way for it.
I would swap day 7 and 8. Tet in the train early and try to be in Himeji when the castle open at 9am. You should have enough time to see the castle and garden, then eat there or grab a lunch to eat in the train. Then you can do Hiroshima in the afternoon. The reason is that the castle close at 4pm while the peace museum close at 6 or 7pm and the park is always open.
General questions:
1. Yes, seems feasible, but as you already noted the opening hours, you will have more time if you are at the first place when it open. And while it’s nice to have a plan, you should make priority and accept that you might not have time to see everything.
2. Have not been during the restauration work so cannot tell, but they seems to be working on the palace now, that is the main building in the castle, it does not have a keep, so it’s not the same type castle as Himeji for example.
3. Never been to Disney.
4. Those 3 are common trips from Tokyo. Nikko is about 2h away from Asakusa on the Tobu Limited Express train, so it’s not that bad, it would compare to go to other destination like Kawaguchiko, that is 2h by Limited express train or bus from Shinjuku.
Skytree is easily doable with this itinerary. You can see it from Senso-ji temple and it’s a single train ride away. There are hourly slots to visit the top, and tickets can be purchased on the spot using vending machines or staffed counters. Google maps is really useful for navigation!