Hey everyone! We are planning a family trip to Japan and would love to hear your feedback to our itinerary. We want to know if it’s far too ambitious or unrealistic, especially since we are travelling over the new years. Would love to get some food recommendations, as well as some activities to do on some days.
We are planning to get the 7-day JR pass for this. With the JR Pass calculator, we will save only around 2000JPY per person. Would that still be worth it?
Background: We are 4 adults that have never visited Japan before. We don’t really like going to bar/clubs, so Japan’s nightlife is not really important for us to experience. The order of the list are in chronological order, so we are planning to visit from the top of the list to the bottom each day.
**December 26th | Tokyo (Asakusa & Shinjuku)**
* Land in Narita at 8 AM, ship baggage to hotel in Shinjuku
* Asakusa Shrine
* Sensoji
* Nakamise-dori Street
* Kaminarimon
* Ameyoko Shopping District
* Arrive at Shinjuku (goal is at 3 PM)
* Lunch: Yayoiken Shinjuku Meiji-dōri Shinjuku
* Kabukicho (TOHO Cinemas & VR Zone)
* Check out 100 Yen Shop at SEIBU
* Golden Gai and Omoide Yokocho
* Dinner: Zauo
**December 27th | Tokyo (Shinjuku & Shibuya)**
* Shinjuku Gyoen
* Suga Shrine
* Warner Bros. Studio (Harry potter)
* Lunch: Fuunji
* Shibuya Crossing
* Shibuya Sky
**December 28th | Tokyo**
* Tsukiji Market
* Odaiba
* Ginza ( Ginza six, Uniqlo)
* Tokyo Tower
**December 29th |Kyoto (need food recommendations please)**
* Planning to arrive in Kyoto around 12:30 PM
* Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple
* Aarashiyama Bamboo Grove
* Tenryuji
* Arashiyama Monkey park
**December 30th | Kyoto**
* Fushimi Inari (early around 6-7AM)
* Nishiki Market
* Kiyomizudera
* Sannenzaka
* Lunch: Kichi kichi Omurice
* Kinkakuji
**December 31th | Osaka**
* Planning to arrive in Osaka around 10 AM
* Osaka Castle
* Kuromon Ichiba Market
* Shinsaibashisuji
* Dotonbori
* Namba Yasaka Jinja
* Osaka aquarium
* Shitenno-ji Temple (first shrine visit in new years)
**January 1st | Osaka / Nara**
* Sakishima Cosmo Tower (First sunrise of new years)
* Go to Nara
* Nara Park
* Todai-ji
* Nakatanidou Mochi
* Go back to Osaka
* **(need some recommendations for things to do here please)**
**January 2nd | Kawaguchiko**
* Go to Mishima station then go to Kawaguchiko using local train
* Kawaguchiko Lake
* Kawaguchiko Bridge
* Shimoyoshida Honcho Street
* Arakurayama Sengen Park
**January 3rd | Tokyo**
* Buy gifts for people back home
* **(need some recommendations for things to do here please)**
**January 4th | Tokyo**
**-** Buy gifts for people back home
**- (need some recommendations for things to do here please)**
2 comments
Hi!
these were closing dates for December 2022-January 20923. I expect December 2023-January 2024 to be rather similar.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2276.html
So Osaka Castle is likely to be closed when you are there. It’s sort of fine because the inside of Osaka Castle is really only interesting if you’re into the history of the Siege of Osaka Castle.
A lot of places close early on the 31st. Lots of smaller places can just have weird hours.
I would make sure you know about open options of food on the 31st, 1st and 2nd, because yes, even some convenience stores are known to close.
Good kuck!
Particularly the 26th and the 31st don’t seem doable to me at all. Why would you want to hurry and run from place to place like this?