Japan itinerary – 21 days first time in Japan!
My husband and I are traveling end of October to mid November in Japan for the first time. Our interests are outdoor activities, hiking, food 🙂 looking for input on our itinerary:
Days 1-3 – Tokyo
Days 4-5 – Southern alps – train Tokyo to chino, pickup rental car in chino. Base in Chino with plans for day hikes to Mount Io, Mt Yokodake, Mount Aka.
Day 6- chino to senjokiki cirque (cable car) to narai-juku to Tsumago. Overnight in tsumago.
Day 7 – tsumago to magome on nakasendo trail. Bus back to tsumago. Drive tsumago to Hongu. Overnight in Hongu to start Kumano kodo next day.
Days 8-9 – Kumano kodo – hongu to nachi.
Day 10 – Nachi to hongu (public transit to pickup rental car). Dorokyo valley for the day. Overnight in valley/yoshino mountain.
Days 11-12 – Uda
Days 13-15 – Osaka
Days 16-19 – Kyoto
Days 20-21 – Tokyo
We will have a rental car from chino until we drop it off in Osaka.
My concerns are the following:
1) the weather in the southern alps in end of October and whether hiking trails will be accessible
2) are we trying to see too much on days 6-7?
Thanks in advance for any feedback on our itinerary!
1 comment
1. There might be snow end of October in Yatsugatake, southern and central alps. Depends on the year
2. Don’t forget that you have to take a bus to the cable car and back. Also if you plan to actually hike Kisokoma then it’s for sure too much.
3. The road for the akadake trailhead is really rough. Get a car with high clearance.
Also your itinerary is super packed not just for senjojiki. Also not sure why you’re going back to Tokyo after the southern alps to pick up a car? Why not pick it up in Kofu or something?