Hello all, we will spend 22 days in Japan as first timers in October. I would like to know your comments about our itinerary.
My main concern is if it’s realistic to visit everything listed without rushing all the time. I am particularly unsure about visit Ueno Park and Akihabara in the same day as I want to take my time in Akihabara since it’s really iconic.
Is it well balanced between the different Tokyo neighborhoods?
Is it worth is to visit Kawaguchiko for that short? I don’t want to cut anywhere else so we might skip it if you think it’s a bad decision. As a note, we volontarily decided to skip the Takayama Autumn Festival since the accomodations choices were close to none, very expensive or very far.
Also, is buying the JR Rail Pass worth it for this kind of itinerary? It seems that many routes from this itinerary would not be included in the pass.
If there are must sees that I didn’t mention, please do tell. Thank you so much to everyone who contributes. 🙂
September 29th: Arrival in the evening in **Tokyo Narita.** 3 nights in Hyakunincho (Shinjuku ward) near the Yamanote Line / Shin-ÅŒkubo station already booked.
September 30th: **Shinjuku**
October 1st: **Harajuku & Shibuya**
October 2nd: **Ueno Park and Akihabara.** Night in Akihabara.
October 3rd: **Tsukiji, Imperial Palace, Tokyo Station.** Night in Tokyo Station.
October 4th: **Ikebukuro**. Night in Tokyo Station.
October 5th: Travel from **Tokyo to Kawaguchiko**
October 6th: Travel from **Kawaguchiko to Kyoto**
October 7, 8, 9th: **Kyoto**
October 10th: Travel from **Kyoto to Shirakawa-go** \*special day, it’s our anniversary\* Was thinking of booking a ryokan with half board.
October 11th: Travel from **Shirakawa-go to Takayama**
October 12th: **Takayama**
October 13th: Travel from **Takayama to Okuhida Onsen.** Night in a onsen hotel with private bath, public baths and half board.
October 14th: Travel from **Okuhida Onsen to Tokyo**. Night in Asakusa.
October 15th: **Odaiba**. Night in Asakusa.
October 16th: **Tokyo Skytree & Asakusa**. Night in Katsushika (personal choice).
October 17th: **Katsushika**
October 18th: **Tokyo Skytree & Roppongi Hills**. Free night to decide on the spot according to our favorite neighborhood.
October 19th: **Free day**
October 20th: **Free morning** before departure to Tokyo Narita
4 comments
Ueno park and Akihabara in 1 day is fine. The shops at Akihabara won’t open until 11 so you have time in the morning. Also unless you plan on buying anime/gaming merchandise you will probably only need 3-4 hours at Akihabara.
Your other days in Tokyo looks fine and not too rushed but really depends on what you are planning at each location.
Akihabara, as any other shopping oriented neighborhood, is not an especially good morning spot as shops open between 10 and 11am (some even at 12 like K-books in Radio Kaikan) and they mostly close at 8pm, after that the arcades will still be open. So even if it’s iconic, you would have to really be into anime/manga to truly spend a full day in Akihabara. Spending at least the morning in Ueno is what make most sense.
Returning to the idea of not starting by area that focus on shopping, starting by Harajuku make sense as you can go visit Meiji-jingu, that open much earlier, than start checking the stores around Harajuku.
Not sure what you are expecting about the night around Tokyo Station… I mean it’s not especially a know nightlife spot and do not see why it would be worth 2 nights.
Considering that Kawaguchiko can be a day trip from Tokyo, yes, no problem doing that you plan. Realistically you have a day and a half in Kawaguchiko as you also need time to reach Kyoto on the second day.
JR Pass, use Japantravel by navitime (it offer more filters than Google Maps, like JR Pass filter) and calculate to cost of each long distance move (only count what could be covered by the pass). Compare the total to the cost of the pass (you can compare to the price to buy it before the price increase of October).
Note that your long distances are on the span of over 7 days, so compare 14 days and also covering the 7 most expensive days with the pass and doing the rest outside of the pass.
There is other detail, like Tokyo-Kawaguchiko you can count that as costing 2000 yen as you can do it by bus for 2000 (and anyway, going to Kawaguchiko is not fully covered by the pass, you will have to pay an extra even with the pass).
I am enjoying kayaking in Kawaguchi Lake.
Why is it so famous?
Is it convenient for transportation?
It is true that there is a special shrine on Lake Kawaguchi that can only be visited by people with boats, but no one maintains it and it is hardly a tourist attraction.
However, the dawns that greet you at some of the lakes at the foot of Mt. Fuji are exceptionally beautiful. They are all beautiful.
Tell us what you are looking for in a Japanese lake and we can show you around.
Can you drive, can you only travel by train, can you stay at an inn…
I will also be visiting Okuhida Onsen when I visit in November, it’s the part I’m looking forward to the most.
I originally had planned to do the same as you, to travel to Tokyo after Okuhida, but I have swapped my days around so that I visit Takayama *after* Okuhida. That way, the travel time to Tokyo is slightly reduced and makes the travel day slightly more bearable.