Hi everybody,
My partner and I are trvelling to Japan in September. I created an itinerary and I have some questions and would also be happy to hear different opinions about it.
We are a couple in our late 20s. This will be my first trip to Japan, but my partner spent a month in Japan six years ago (she visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Hakone, and Nikko). On this trip we are planning to visit some places that she has been to (like Kyoto and Tokyo) as I haven’t been there, and some places that she has never visited like the Japanese Alps. We also want to visit a few off-the-beaten-path places but haven’t had much luck with combining those in our itinerary and I would love any suggestions. We are traveling on a medium budget. We would love to save mostly but are willing to splurge on some things – especially on transportation to other areas and day trips if they are worth the effort.
We are both very interested in culture, history, food, nature, and day hikes. Have we chosen the best places to do this in the Alps? I have a few specific questions, included in the itinerary below, but I wonder if we should change it completely and spend more days in the Kiso Valley area or even go toward Nagno (snow monkey park and Shigakogen Hasuike area for hiking) instead of spending time in Kurobe Gorge and such. Also, would it be better to shorten the time in the Alps and Tokyo and go for three days of day hikes in the Kumano Kodo area (Nachi Taisha and Hongu Taisha mostly)? Should we remove one or two days from Tokyo to dig deeper in the Alps? Takayama and Shirakawa-Go didn’t seem as interesting and while we would love to stay in a Ryokan it kind of seems out of our budget for now.
The itinerary is:
First hotel – Kyoto
Day 1 – September 11th – Land in the Afternoon at Kansai airport and travel to the hotel in Kyoto. Probably just eat dinner and go to sleep after 18 hours of flights.
Day 2 – September 12th – Ginkakuji
, Philosopher’s Path
, Kodaiji Temple, and Gion area.
Day 3 – September 13th – Nijō Castle, Kinkakuji, Ryoanji. Maybe also Kyoto Imperial Palace and the gardens.
Day 4 – September 14th – Kurama to Kifone. Does this really take a full day or should we combine something else on the same day?
Day 5 – September 15th – Fushimi Inari and then a day trip to Uji to see the temple and the teahouses. I really love Matcha so I’m excited to visit, but I’m not sure if there’s a point in spending a full day in Uji or not. Should we start there and then get to Fushimi Inari in the afternoon?
Second hotel – Osaka
Day 6 – September 16th – Take the train from Kyoto to Osaka. Visit Osaka Castle, Namba area, and maybe the aquarium if we feel like it. Food tour in the evening.
Day 7 – September 17th – Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri. Is this the better day to see the race and enjoy the stalls and the environment? Should we go there on the 16th? I found some posts about it in this sub but not which day is better.
Day 8 – September 18th – Nara day trip from Osaka. Todaiji Temple, National Museum, Yoshikien Garden, and maybe Kofukuji Temple. While this all really sounds really interesting to me, I would love to get some opinions on whether it’s really worth it or if should we spend another day in the Alps.
Third Hotel – Kanazawa
Day – 9 – September 19th – Stop in Fukui on the way from Osaka to Kanazawa. Visit Eiheiji and then Tojinbo. Are both of these actually realistic in one day like it seems to be on Japan Guide or is it too Much?
Day 10 – September 20th – Kanazawa. Kenrokuen, Seisonkaku Villa, Ninjadera, and just some walking around the old city.
Day 11 – September 21st – Day trip to Kurobe Gorge. I read mixed opinions about this. On the one hand, it seems to be a nice experience and a beautiful place. On the other hand, it seems to have very little hiking and not to be worth it when there aren’t fall colors. What do you guys think?
Fourth Hotel – Matsumoto
Day 12 – September 22nd – Alpine route from Tateyama and at the end take the train to Matsumoto.
Day 13 – September 23rd – Day trip from Matsumoto to Kamikochi.
Day 14 – September 24th – Day trip from Matsumoto to Kiso Valley. Tsumago to Magome Hike.
Fith hotel – Tokyo
Day 15 – September 25th – visit Matsumoto castle in the morning then take the train to Tokyo. Shinjuku in the evening.
Day 16 – September 26th – Ueno Park and the museums around it.
Day 17 – September 27th – Meiji Jingu, Shibuya, Harajuku.
Day 18 – September 28th – Asakusa for Sensō-ji and old town feel around it. If there’s time also visit Akihabara.
Day 19 – September 29th – Kawaguchiko day trip.
Day 20 – September 30th – Ginza, Tsukiji, and maybe Odaiba.
Day 21 – October 1st – Some less visited areas such as Shimokitazawa, Jimbocho, or Suginami.
Day 22 – October 2nd – Morning flight home.
Thank you guys very much!
5 comments
> Kurama to Kifune
This is a half day thing assuming reasonable fitness, you can definitely plan more activities (extended lunch, quick visit to Ohara, etc)
> Fushimi Inari and then a day trip to Uji
If you have any interest in sake, the Fushimi sake district (next to the Chushojima train station which is on the Keihan Uji line) has some nice same districts. I would go Fushimi Inari – Uji – Sake.
> Osaka – Tojinbo/Eiheiji – Kanazawa
It’s doable in a day but you will have to look up all the train and bus schedules in advance and be disciplined in sticking to it because the buses are not very frequent.
> Kurobe gorge
Not worth it outside of fall colors IMO.
I unfortunately cant answer your questions concerning hiking as Ive never been to the alps myself, but I wanted to add two or three little things/tipps concerning Tokyo and Kyoto:
– If you like food you might wanna check out Nishiki Market in Kyoto. Had a great time there…
– Definitely check out Shimokitazawa, it’s much cooler than most of the “Cool Neighborhoods” in Tokyo. You might also wanna go there by night as there are many cool Bars/Restaurants
– Go to Odaiba late afternoon/evening as there are some lightshows when its dark and the view of Tokyo Bay is much nicer by sunset/night.
Osaka Castle is not that good. If you have time, go see himeji or matsumoto castle instead. Every Japanese person ive talked with agrees that osaka castle is kind of bad in comparison.
If you do go to osaka castle, check out the national museum right next to it, gives a nice view of the castle too. You can even get a combination ticket for the castle and museum.
> Day 15 – September 25th – visit Matsumoto castle
Matsumoto castle was the biggest let down of my trip to tateyama, had a long wait, even with the borders being closed during covid, and it’s really not interesting inside at all. it might be worth popping outside of it and taking some photos, but going in it is just not worth it.
> Day 20 – September 30th – Ginza, Tsukiji, and maybe Odaiba.
Depending on what you plan to do in ginza, really there’s not much there unless you really like shopping, Odaiba is very doable here.
Also just a warning, don’t try to see too many temples in such a short period of time. At a certain point you’re going to feel like you’ve just been at the same place all day because other than the major ones like inari, kinkakuji, and kiyomizu dera they all are pretty much the same, unless you’re super into the history of each temple.
Hi, I’m Japanese who knows Osaka and Kyoto well.
I have looked at your itinerary for the two cities, and I really like it as it’s neither greedy nor ambitious, which is my style.
1. Let me look into Kishiwada Matsuri. Many of my friends live in Osaka. I will ask them.
2. If you would like some food recommendations in Osaka and Kyoto, let me know so that I can share them with you. But in this case, I will need to know your food preference and budget.
One thing I recommend in Kibune is Kawadoko Lunch, which you literally eat food above the river. It will be a quite nice and refreshing experience. I will give you more details.
3. I lived in Uji for 3 years. I will get back to you to share some popular matcha places in the city. (I’m on my way to work now, so I don’t have time. Haha)