Looking for some advice/an itinerary check for our upcoming trip in November of 2023. I want to get things sorted because I’m a bit of a nutjob about transportation going as smoothly as possible while we are there.
Three of us are going to be in Japan from November 6th to November 18th, 2023. The 6th and the 18th are realistically going to be travel only days, so we are working with 12 days of actual time to fill. One of my travel partners drew up a draft itinerary, and we are making some edits as we do our research into the sights. Here’s what we have so far:
**Nov 6th:**
\-Arrival in Haneda at 4:55pm.
\-Hoping to be out of the airport and on the way to the hotel in Asakusa by 6:30/7pm.
\-Check in to the Hotel around 7:30/8pm.
\-Find food and pick up things we may need from nearby Konbini
\-SLEEP
**Nov 7th:**
\-Kirby Cafe (if we get a reservation)
\-Don Quijote (Travel Partner did not specify which one…)
\-Gashapon Stores
\-Skytree
\-Explore Akihabara
\-Pokemon Cafe
(trying to gauge if we will have enough time to see Senso-ji and Kaminarimon on the way home since our hotel is 10 min walk away from them)
**Nov 8th:**
\-Nintendo Store
\-Kiddy Land
\-Shonen Jump Shop
\-Line Friends
\-Explore Shinjuku/Kabukicho
\-Sunshine City in Ikebukuro
**Nov 9th:**
\-Disney Sea (I assume this is going to be an all day thing, also, it’s non negotiable to skip)
**Nov 10th:**
\-Sanrio Puroland
\-Gundam Factory Yokohama
\-Tokyo Tower (Time Permitting)
Nov 11th:
\-Mt. Fuji day trip, Arakura Sengen Park
\-If there is time upon return to Tokyo, just explore the city at night for a bit.
**Nov 12th: (JR PASS activation day)**
\-Check out Hotel
\-Shinkansen to Osaka
\-Check in to Hotel in Osaka
\-(possibly find the kiddy land and pokemon center here)
\-Find dinner and unwind
**Nov 13th:**
\-Universal Studios Japan (again assuming this will be an all day thing)
**Nov 14th:**
\-Cup Noodle Museum (Non negotiable)
\-Railway Forgotten Market
\-Explore Osaka
\-Osaka Castle
**Nov 15th:**
\-Day Trip to Nara
\-Feed the deer
\-Aquarium/Reptile Center
\-Dinner and return to Osaka
**Nov 14th:**
\-Day trip to Kyoto
\-Kinkaku-ji (Non negotiable, I missed this last time and I’m not gonna miss it again!)
\-Rilakkuma Sabo
\-Bamboo Forest
\-Find lunch somewhere
\-Fushimi Inari
\-Old Town district (Time Permitting)
\-Return to Osaka
**Nov 15th:**
\-Day trip to Kanazawa
\-Mostly this is because i want to see Kenroku-en and the Castle
\-But also didn’t get to see the Higashichaya district last time and I would like to see that as well
\-And also the Oumicho Market
\-Return to Osaka
**Nov 18th:**
\-Catch Shinkansen back to Tokyo
\-Be at airport by 3pm for flight that leaves at 6:55pm
**NOTE:** I do not know how realistic it is to have both Kinkaku-ji and Inari on the same day. My other group tried this last time (There were some hiccups in the travel granted) and we did not make it to Kinkaku-ji on time. We had traveled FROM tokyo that day, and lost a LOT of time to that, AND to the HORRIFIC traffic in Kyoto. Hopefully traveling from Osaka will cut down on the time wasted solely on transportation.
We all have different priorities as well, and trying to manage them all has been a bit difficult. I am mainly going to experience what I can of Koyo season, so my personal focus is on Gardens and Temples (also a guilty pleasure Pokemon center visit). I have been to Japan before, however, and plan to again in the future, so I am trying to give the newcomers in my group priority on things to do and what to see. One Travel Partner is very Merch-oriented, and the other is very Exploration/Experience-oriented. It is their first time to Japan for both of them.
I’ve run a cost analysis on using the JRPass, and we will be saving around 110$ USD in fare if we activate it on the 12th and use only a 7 day pass. Will Probably get a Suica or Pasmo app for the other days.
My main concerns are:
\-Making sure my travel partners get to do the things they want (Which is why some things are non-negotiable)
\-Making sure we are using our time the most efficiently. If there is a day that looks TOO packed please let me know. If there is a day that looks TOO empty please let me know and if you have any suggestions with which to fill it. I wanna make sure we aren’t being too ambitious.
4 comments
You Kyoto day won’t be enjoyable (and potentially not possible) as you are jumping around a city that is slow to get around.
Something to consider: if it doesn’t have to be the original location, there’s a Cup Noodle museum in Yokohama too, fairly close to the Gundam Factory.
Why return to Osaka from Kanazawa to then go to Tokyo?
Why not stay the night in Kanazawa and get the shorter shinkansen from there?
I wouldn’t recommend Kanazawa as a day trip from Osaka. The garden and castle both close early (around 5pm). Looking at the train schedule, you wouldn’t arrive until 10 or 11am at Kanazawa station. Is it possible, yes. But is it the best use of your short time? Have you considered Himeji as a day trip? Much closer to Osaka, it’s an original castle (and much more impressive than Kanazawa castle) and also has a lovely garden (Koko-en).