I will be going to Japan for the first time early to mid December. I will be there 9 days with friends. I want to make sure we hit most of the must-see destinations! I can probably extend the trip by 1 day if needed but want to avoid if possible. We are doing the reverse golden route.
Once we arrive at Osaka International Airport we will be transiting to our hotel near Kyoto Station. For the next two days we’ll be transiting to sights in Osaka. I wanted to avoid getting a hotel in Osaka and having to worry about check-in/check-out from Osaka to Kyoto.
Any more ideas for Tokyo will be nice.
**Day 1: Kyoto (Arrival, Pontocho Alley, Night visit to Yasaka Shrine and Gion)**
\- Arrive in Osaka International Airport (Itami)
\- Check-in to our hotel near Kyoto Station
\- Transit to **Pontocho Alley**
\- Night visit walk to **Yasaka Shrine and Gion area**
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**Day 2: Osaka (Himeji Castle, Umeda Sky Building, Dotonbori)**
\- Shinkansen from Kyoto hotel to **Himeji Castle**
\- Transit to **Umeda Sky Building (Hopefully arrive around sunset time)**
\- Transit to **Dotonbori (Hopefully its night by now to see the lights)**
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**Day 3: Osaka + Kyoto (Fushimi Inari Taisha + Osaka Castle + Dotonbori)**
\- Since our hotel is near Kyoto station we’ll visit **Fushimi Inari Taisha (early visit to avoid crowds)**
\- Then take transit to **Osaka Castle**
\- Then finish off with **Dotonbori** for dinner
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**Day 4: Kyoto (Yasaka Shrine, Hokan-Ji Temple + Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka Slope + Kiyomizudera Temple)**
\- Start day at **Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka Slope** before crowd sets in
\- Walk to **Kiyomizudera Temple**
\- Walk to **Hokan-Ji Temple**
\- Walk to **Starbucks Coffee – Kyoto Nineizaka Yasaka Chaya**
**-** Walk to **Maruyama Park**
\- Walk to **Yasaka Shrine**
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**Day 5: Kyoto (Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Saga Romantic Sightseeing Train, Hozugawa River Boat Ride + Kinkaku-Ji)**
\- Send luggages to Tokyo hotel
\- Visit **Arashiyama Bamboo Grove** early to beat the crowds
\- Walk to **Saga Romantic Sightseeing Train** starting station. First train is 10AM I think.
\- Take **Hozugawa River Boat Ride** back to Arashiyama area
\- Optional: Visit **Nagatsujidoori Street** and **Togetsukio Bridge**
\- Transit to **Kinkaku-Ji**
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**Day 6: Mount Fuji + Tokyo Check-In + Shibuya Crossing + Shibuya Sky**
\- Check out of Kyoto hotel
\- Take Shinkansen + other transit and walk to **Chureito Pagoda**
\- Walk to **Shimoyoshida Hondo Street** for more photo spot of Mount Fuji
\- Transit to hotel in Tokyo (near Shinjuku station)
\- **Shibuya Crossing** at night
\- **Shibuya Sky**
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**Day 7: teamLab Planet + Pokemon Center Tokyo DX + Sensoji Temple + Akihabara**
\- Transit to **teamLab Planet Tokyo** early to beat crowd
\- Transit to **Pokemon Center Tokyo DX**
\- Transit to **Sensoji Temple**
\- Optional: walk to Nakamise-dori street
\- Optional: Transit to Tokyo Sky Tree
\- Transit to Akihabara (hopefully its dark by now to see all the lights)
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**Day 8: Meiji Shrine + Takeshita Dori + Omotesando Area + Kabukicho**
**- Meiji Jingu**
\- **Takeshita Dori**
\- **Omotesando Harajuku Store**
\- Walk around aimlessly
\- **Tokyo Plaza Omotesando Harajuku Store**
\- **Kabukicho Area** (hopefully its night now to see the lights.
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**Day 9: Departure**
**- No plans for morning, will probably walk around aimlessly to enjoy the sights and sound one last time**
\- Check out of Tokyo hotel
\- Go to airport for departure
2 comments
In my view you could add something else into Day 8. I don’t think Harajuku is really quite the whole day worthy.
Day 7 if you go from Teamlabs to Asakusa then you can walk down Nakamise dori to the sensoji temple, then walk to the sky tree and do the Pokémon centre in there.
Don’t bother with Osaka Castle if you’re visiting Himeji: it’s a concrete replica