A big part of this trip is food, even though I didn’t list restaurants.
Tokyo 1,2,3,4
– Tsukiji market
– Ghibli Museum
– Shibuya parco
– Omoide Yokocho
– Ameyoko shopping district
– Imperial palace east gardens
– Sunshine city
– Shibuya sky, observation deck
– Owl cafe
Day 5-7 – kamikochi to MT Hotaka, via Karasawa
– take night bus in, arrive 5am on day 5
– day 7, take afternoon transit to Kyoto
Kyoto -8, 9
– Kimono purchase
– Samurai lodging, sake
– Onsen – can be hotel or public bathhouse
– Uji, check out area and tea shops
– Kinkaku-ji
– Fushimi Inari
– Yasaka
Osaka – 10
– Food day
Yakushima 11, 12, 13 –
– Hirauchi kaichu onsen
– Jomon Sugi hike
– Senpiro no taki waterfall
– Ohko no taki
3 comments
Please don’t perpetuate the operation of owl cafes. They are extremely cruel and exceedingly inhumane.
For Yakushima, I assume you’re aware that Jomon Sugi is a 10+ hour round trip hike?
If you might be looking for something shorter, Yakusugiland and Shiratani Unsuikyo are both awesome. Renting a car is highly recommended.
For food there, Panorama, Shiosai, Hachimanjyu, Nomado Cafe, Issou Coffee are all great.
During the Kyoto part of the trip, I think you can consider visiting Fushimi Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum, which offers a guided tour on weekdays. You could go into the brewery floor, have sake tasting, and bring a 300ml bottle of Sake home as a souvenir.
The tour is in Japanese, and the booking site is in Japanese only, but if you don’t mind these, you can book you le spot here: https://gekkeikansake.resv.jp (reservations for dates after Sept. 25th will open on Sept. 1st.).
You don’t mention when in October but from mid October expect snow for Okuho. Depending on how much you’ll need full winter gear