Hi everyone
I’ll be traveling for the first time to Japan with my partner from late March to mid-April next year.
We want to make sure our itinerary is viable time-wise. We would be very happy if someone could tell us if this is too much or not!
* Should we spend more time around Kyushu and if so what should we cut away?
* Are the Kyoto -> Kanazawa -> Takayama -> Tokyo travel times doable for a 23 day stay?
* Hiroshima -> Himeji -> Osaka seems to be viable according to train schedules? Is it too busy for 1 day?
* Is the trip to Takayama worth it or should we remove it to make room for other things?
* I hope we found a balance between bigger cities, nature/hiking and cultural things.
* If we would book a ryokan or fancy hotel, where exactly would it be the most interesting? Kanazawa, Takayama or Lake Kawaguchi?
* We haven’t added Nara or any other day trips from Tokyo because it would be too busy as it is. I don’t have a particular attraction to the deer, not sure if it’s wise skipping it.
* It’s hard to know everything, not sure if we’re missing any super interesting things close by?
**————–Here’s the itinerary————–**
**Day 1 – Thursday — Arrival in Fukuoka at 18:00**
* No jetlag because we’re coming from a nearby country
* Do the typical paperwork, hotel check-in
* Walk around the city at night
**Day 2 – Friday — Nagasaki day trip**
* Peace park
* Dejima
* Meganebashi
* Mount Inasa
**Day 3 – Saturday — Fukuoka day 1**
* Tenjin yatai,
* Dazaifu
* Kyushu national museum
**Day 4 – Sunday — Head to Hiroshima**
* Depart in the morning to arrive in Hiroshima around noon
* find some Okonomiyaki Hiroshima Style food
* Hontori Shopping Street
**Day 5 – Monday — Hiroshima day 2**
* Peace park
* Shukkeien Garden
* Hiroshima castle
**Day 6 – Tuesday — Miyajima day trip**
* Itsukushima
* Hike around the island
**Day 7 – Wednesday — Himeji – Osaka**
* take the earliest train to Himeji
* spend the day at Himeji
* Travel to Osaka in the evening
**Day 8 – Thursday — Osaka day 1**
* Dotonbori
* lunch at Kuromon Inhiba market
* Namba
* Shinsaibashi
**Day 9 – Friday — Osaka day 2**
* Osaka Aquarium
* Osaka station and the Umeda sky building
* Shinsekai/Tsutenkatu
**Day 10 – Saturday — Kyoto day 1**
* Take a morning train to Kyoto
* Arashiyama bamboo forest
* Jojakko-ji temple
* Okochi Sanso garden
* Yosiya Arashiyama
**Day 11- Sunday — Kyoto day 2**
* Ninenzaka
* Hokan-ji
* Kiyomizu-dera
**Day 12 – Monday — Kyoto**
* Shopping
* Kokedera (Moss Temple)
* Gion
* Pontocho at night
**Day 12 – Tuesday — Kanazawa day 1**
* take the earliest train to Kanazawa (+- 3h)
* Omicho Market (Bus from the station)
* Ninja Temple (Bus from Omicho to Hirokoji)
* Ishiura Shrine (Bus from Hirokoji to Hirosaka/21st Century Museum)
* Kenrokuen (Walking – next to Ishiura Shrine)
* Castle park
* Higashi Chaya district and Geisha evening if time allows it (Bus from Kenrokuen/Kanazawa Park to Hashiba-cho)
**Day 13 – Wednesday — Kanazawa day 2**
* half day trip to Shirakawago (bus trip is 1.5 hours)
* take the bus to Takayama (1 hour)
**Day 14 – Thursday — Takayama day 1**
* Shinhotaka Ropeway
* Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition Hall
* find Hida beef
**Day 15 – Friday — Takayama day 2**
* Miyagawa markets
* Sanmachi Suji
* Takayama Showa-Kan Retro Museum
* take an afternoon train to Tokyo (4,5H)
**Day 16 – Saturday — Tokyo day 1**
* Staying around Western Tokyo
* Shin-okubo aka Korea town
* Inokashira Park,
* Strolling and shopping in Shinjuku
* Harajaku and Shibuya at night
**Day 17- Sunday– Tokyo day 2**
* Staying around Central Tokyo
* Imperial Palace
* Tokyo Station and Tokyo Ramen Street (Donguri Republic)
* Yasukuni shrine
* Akihabara
* take a late train to Kawaguchi area
**Day 18 – Monday — Lake Kawaguchi day 1**
* Staying in a nice hotel and hike around the area
* Chureito pagoda
* Rent a paddleboat
* Oshino Hakkai (train?)
**Day 19 – Tuesday — Lake Kawaguchi day 2**
* rent a bike to travel around
* ropeway
* Usagi shrine
* Kubota Itchiku Art Museum
* Herb hall/Music forest
* Iyashi no Sato
* take an evening train to Tokyo
**Day 20 – Wednesday — Tokyo day 3**
* Roppongi hills
* Tokyo Tower
* slower day, not sure if we should add much
**Day 21 – Thursday — Nikko day trip**
* Chuzenji
* Toshu-Gu shrine
* hiking trails/mount Nantai
**Day 22 – Friday — Tokyo day 4**
* Asakusa
* Sensoji Temple
* Ueno Park / Rikugien Gardens
* Tokyo Skytree
**Day 23 – Saturday — Tokyo day 4.5 – flight home at 21:50**
* shopping for souvenirs, catching up if we forgot to do something
* preparing for our flight in the evening