Hello everyone,
We are about to embark on our long-dreamed trip to Japan but before that I wanted to get people’s thoughts on the itinerary and especially whether we are overdoing it. We are a couple in our 20s/30s for context. Current plan is as follows for dates 26 Aug (Sat) until 10 Sep (Sun):
* 26 Aug: Arrival late afternoon – no trips planned but only check into hotel
* 27 Aug: Explore Shibuya & Shinjuku. Key stops: Meiji Jinju, Shibuya Scrambling, Shinjuku Goen
* 28 Aug: Tsukiji fish market (be there at 7am). Afternoon teamlabs Planet & Imperial Palace. –> **Is 7am for Tsukiji too early or too late? Are tickets required / recommended for Imperial Palace** (we have tickets for teamlabs). Explore Roppongi & Akasaka
* 29 Aug: Daytrip to both Arakurayama Sengen and Oshino Hakkai. –> **Is there anything specific to observe in terms of getting there & around? Is Hakone vastly superior as a daytrip instead of this?** We thought Hakone looked a bit touristy… so is Oshino Hakkai but at least it “feels” more exotic…!
* 30 Aug: Explore Asakusa & Ginza. Key stops: Ueno Park, Senso-Ji
* 31 Aug: Transfer to Kyoto in the morning. Visit Kinkaku-Ji, Nijo Castle, Nishiki market. –> **How long do you recommend for visiting those 3 (assuming we don’t want to spend hours in Nishiki)**?
* 1 Sep: Arashijama Bamboo Grove early morning (be there at 7am). Other key stops: Kyoto Imperial Palace / Ginkaku-Ji / Philosopher’s Path / Maruyama Park & Yasaka-jinja –> **Is 7am too early/late? Having looked I believe the rest can fit into an afternoon, or is that too ambitious?**
* 2 Sep: Fushimi Inari (be there at 7am). Other key stops: Tofuku-Ji / To-Ji / Higashi Hongan-Ji / Rengo-In / Kiyomizu-dera / Nanzen-Ji / Eikando Zenri-Ji –> **Same questions as for prior day, is this too ambitious?**
* 3 Sep: Nara daytrip. –> **We MUST be back in Kyoto for a 6pm dinner, is this doable? Feels ambitious so could swap with the following day**
* 4 Sep: Daytrip to Kobe & Himeji Castle. Alternative would be visiting Kibune Village –> **Is one or the other more recommendable (Himeji vs Kibune)? Alternatively, can Kobe & Himeji be done with return by 5pm to Kyoto?**
* 5 Sep: Transfer to Osaka. Visit Umeda Sky and Dotonbori district. –> **Are tickets for Umeda Sky recommended or is walk-up sufficient?**
* 6 Sep: Visit Osaka Castle and Shinsaibashi
* 7 Sep: Transfer to Nakatsugawa for a day trip to Kiso Valley. –> **Is there anything else worth adding to see in Osaka before departing? Or is it indeed worht considering extending Kyoto by 1 day?**
* 8 Sep: Nakatsugawa -> Hike Magome -> Tsumago. Return to Nakatsugawa and take train towards Tokyo. –> **We speak 0 Japanese and going outside Tokyo / Kyoto / Osaka is a bit daunting… how difficult is it to find our way around Magome & Tsumago (and inbetween)?**
* 9 Sep: Relax in Tokyo, go see anything that didn’t fit into the schedule earlier
* 10 Sep: depart early morning
I have added key itinerary questions in bold, mostly around prior experiences and also whether it simply is too much…
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
2 comments
One question is who your group consists of. If you’re traveling with, say, not very active people, young children, or grandparents, then this itinerary may be over ambitious.
Some thoughts on your plans:
* **28 Aug** – I think you can still visit parts of the Imperial Palace grounds without a tour, but a tour gives access to some more parts. There aren’t any afternoon tours in August though, and there might not be any tours on the 28th.
* **31 Aug** – May be tight, but doable if you take an early Shinkansen. Kinkaku-ji and Nijo close at 5, and shops in Nishiki Market start shutting down around 5 or 6, so just be mindful of time.
* **2 Sep** – That’s a lot of temples/shrines and a lot of running around. If you think you’d get temple fatigue, consider prioritizing them and spending more time enjoying some instead of seeing all.
* **3 Sep** – Absolutely doable. Half day for Nara works if you go early and mainly explore the area around the deer park.
For your Kyoto days, if you *must* do all of them, then taking taxis will be much more time efficient but costly.
For the Imperial palace, there’s an official app with an audio guide, which was really cool.
You might want to pair Fushimi Inari with your day trip to Nara (2nd), as they are in the same train line. Then do your day of temple viewing on the 3rd, and not be worried about making it to your dinner on time.
I wouldn’t bother with Osaka castle if you are doing Himeji. Osaka is a reproduction, while Himeji is original and I highly recommend.