Hello fellow travelers! I am going to Japan in October with one of my best friends and have created a itinerary for my trip. We are sort of on a budget, so we are primarily staying at hostels and using trains and public transport to get around. We love all sorts of stuff, so we want to visit both nature, shrines, museums, USJ and lots of other stuff to get a general feeling of the country and what is has to offer!
All I want to know is whether or not our itinerary makes sense. We still haven’t planned too many activities in the different cities. Is it too rushed? Is it too slow? What do you think? Should we consider visiting other places? Activity ideas? Thank you!
Here is the itinerary:
Tue, Oct 17 (Tokyo)
\- Arrive in Narita, pickup pocket-wifi, go directly to hotel in Asakusa
\- Check out Asakusa,, and relax to supress jet-lag
Wed, Oct 18 (Tokyo)
\- Do something in Tokyo
\- Maybe relax today as well
Thu, Oct 19 (Tokyo –> Nikko)
\- Get Nikko pass, Go to Nikko via train
\- Explore Nikko
Fri, Oct 20 (Nikko –> Tokyo)
\- Explore Nikko
\- Nikko pass back to Asakusa, stay in new hotel close to Shibuya and Shinjuku
Sat, Oct 21 (Tokyo)
\- Explore Tokyo
\- Reserved tickets to Teamlab Planetes
Sun, Oct 22 (Tokyo)
\- Explore Tokyo
Mon, Oct 23 (Tokyo –> Hakone)
\- Buy Hakone Pass, take train to Hakone
\- Explore Hakone
Tue, Oct 24 (Hakone)
\- Explore Hakone
Wed, Oct 25 (Hakone –> Kyoto)
\- Go to Kyoto
\- Explore Kyoto
Thu, Oct 26 (Kyoto)
\- Explore Kyoto
Fri, Oct 27 (Kyoto –> Nara –> Kyoto)
\- Day trip to Nara
Sat, Oct 28 (Kyoto)
\- Explore Kyoto
Sun, Oct 29 (Kyoto)
\- Explore Kyoto
Mon, Oct 30 (Kyoto –> Ryokan Kyoto)
\- Go to Ryokan close to Kyoto in a forest
\- RELAX!
Tue, Oct 31 (Ryokan Kyoto –> Osaka)
\- Go from Ryokan –> Osaka
\- Explore Osaka
Wed, Nov 1 (Osaka)
\- Explore Osaka
Thu, Nov 2 (Osaka)
\- Go to Universal Studios Japan
Fri, Nov 3 (Osaka –> Okayama)
\- Last day Osaka, go to Okayama
\- Explore Okayama
Sat, Nov 4 (Okayama)
\- Explore Okayama
\- Go to Kurashiki
Sun, Nov 5 (Okayama –> Naoshima)
\- Go to Naoshima art island, rent a bicycle, go around the island, sleep there
Mon, Nov 6 (Naoshima –> Teshima –> Hiroshima)
\- Go from Naoshima –> Teshima
\- Bike around again on this other island
\- Go from Teshima in the evening straight back through Okayama to Hiroshima
\- Relax in Hiroshima
Tue, Nov 7 (Hiroshima)
\- Explore hiroshima
\- Maybe go to Miyajima
Wed, Nov 8 (Hiroshima –> Imabari –> Shimanami Kaido)
\- Take a ferry to Matsuyama from Hiroshima –> Go from Matsuyama straight to Imabari
\- Take the Shimanami Kaido with a bicycle
\- Stay overnight midways
Thu, Nov 9 (Shimanami Kaido –> Onomichi)
\- Finish the Shimanami Kaido and end up in Onomichi, give the bicycle back (rented one-way)
\- Explore Onomichi if we are not too tired
Fri, Nov 10 (Onomichi)
\- Explore Onomichi
Sat, Nov 11 (Onomichi –> Hiroshima or Okayama –> Tokyo
\- Go from Onomichi –> either Hiroshima or Okayama to fly back to Tokyo
Nov, 11- Nov 16 (Tokyo)
\- Spend the rest of the time in Tokyo
\- Day trip to Kamakura and Enoshima
\- Maybe other day trips
2 comments
Your itinerary looks great! you know where you want to be and on what day. to maximize your experience i would say research more in what you want to do. “explore __” is vague and you might spend a lot of time deciding what you want to do rather than doing. i can share my itinerary if you need ideas!
There are a [TON of festivals](https://tokyocheapo.com/events/october/) happening over October – November period. Check out the link to see what suits your itinerary.
Overall, I’d say that your trip is looking fairly spontaneous. Have you considered trawling “best things to do in Japan” lists? Or customising your experience according to hobbies like hiking, anime, food, etc.?