Hi there, I’m looking to get a check on our itinerary for our first trip to Japan. We’ve combed through this a few times and feel we have transit times and “stuff per day” laid out fairly well, but wanted to get some feedback to see if anything is not doable or way too tight/etc. Or if we totally missed something that we shouldn’t be missing while we’re there. There’s a few spots that are marked as free time, or with no plans between meals (or the whole day set aside to amble around and explore lol) that we could either move things to or fill with other ideas.
Also with the whole Suica/Pasmo thing going on, what would be our best option for transit? Pay as we go with tickets, get the Passport/Welcome cards at Haneda, etc? We were going to get a regular Suica and just use that everywhere for everything but I’m not 100% what the best option is right now.
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**Tokyo**
*Day 1 – Sept 25th*
* Land in Haneda 4:30 am Sept 25th
* Explore stuff in the airport
* Download app and make reservation for Kura
* Buy JR/suica/other passes
* Train to hotel (hotel is near Tokyo Skytree)
* Hotel Check-in (or drop bags)
* Sensō-ji Temple / Nakamise
* Lunch – Street food in Nakamise
* Dinner – Kura Revolving Sushi
* Back to see Senso-ji temple and Tokyo Skytree after dark
*Day 2 – Tuesday Sept 26th*
* Check out by 11am
* Drop bags in Ueno station lockers
* Ueno park and maybe Zoo if we feel like it
* Lunch – Ameya Yokocho
* Transit to Fujiyoshida ~3 hour train + bus ride
* Check into hotel
**Nagoya**
*Day 3 – Wednesday Sept 27th*
* Arakurayama Sengen Park (walking distance)
* Lunch – Fuji Tempura Idaten
* Travel (~4 hours from Fujiyoshida by bus + train)
* Nagoya Castle (closed at 4:30 but can view from the outside)
* Atsuta Jingu Shrine (open 24h)
* Maybe use the city bikes to get around
* Dinner – Atsuta Horaiken Main (or Atsuta Horaiken Jingu)
**Nagoya/Kyoto**
*Day 4 – Thursday Sept 28th*
* Ghibli Park
* Lunch in ghibli park
* Liberty Walk Store/Cafe
* Travel to Kyoto (35min)
* Check into Machiya/drop off bags (4-5pm)
* Nishiki Market
* Dinner here
**Kyoto**
*Day 5 – Friday Sept 29th*
* Rent Yukata – 9am
* Kiyomizu-dera Temple
* Sanneizaka/Ninenzaka
* Yasaka Koshindo Shrine
* Hanamikoji Street
*Day 6 – Saturday Sept 30th*
* Return Yukata
* Kinkaku-ji Temple
* Sightsee things beween temples
* Heian Shrine
* Maruyama Park
* Shoren-in Temple
* Yasaka Shrine
*Day 7 – Sunday Oct 1st*
* Train to Osaka (about 1 hour)
* Universal Studios
*Day 8 – Monday Oct 2nd*
* Fushimi-Inari-Taisha Shrine
* First train at 4:53am, sunrise at ~6am
* Check out (11am)
* Go to next ryokan to drop off/hold bags
* Byodoin Temple
* Can get here via JR easily from Inari
* Check into ryokan (3-4pm)
* Explore anything else we found from previous days
*Day 9 – Tuesday Oct 3rd*
* Transit to Arashiyama Station
* Tenryu-ji Temple
* Bamboo Grove
* Kimono Forest
* Monkey Park Iwatayama
**Osaka**
*Day 10 – Wednesday Oct 4th*
* Travel out of Kyoto (~1.5h)
* Drop bags at hotel
* Osaka Castle (Y600, 9am-4:30)
* Check in to hotel 4:00 or after
* Dontonbori
*Day 11 – Thursday Oct 5th*
* Day trip to Nara
* Nara Park (Todai-ji, Nandaimon Gate, Kasuga-taisha)
* (maybe) Kaiyukan Aquarium
**Kobe/Hiroshima**
*Day 12 – Friday October 6th*
* Travel out of Osaka to Kobe
* Put bags in a locker at the Sannomiya JR station
* Ikuta Jinja Shrine
* Lunch somewhere for Kobe beef
* Back to station and get bags
* Train to Hiroshima ~2 hours
* Leave bags at station again
* Hiroshima Castle
* Atomic Bomb Dome
* Retrieve bags from station
* Train/Ferry to Itsukushima Island (~1 hour)
* Check in at Ryokan on the island.
**Itsukushima Island**
*Day 13 – Saturday October 7th*
* Itsukushima Jinja
* Momijidani Park
* Miyajima Ropeway to the Shishiiwa Observatory
**Okinawa**
*Day 14 – Sunday October 8th*
* Transit to Iwakuni Airport (~1:30 hours)
* Fly to okinawa 11:25 am – 1:30 pm
* Rent car – stow luggage in the trunk
* Okinawa World (Y2000, 9am-4:30)
* Check into hotel (~5:00)
* Beach/explore city
* Maybe Shurijo castle
*Day 15 – Monday October 9th*
* Churaumi Aquarium
* Manza Ocean Park
* Pokemon Center Okinawa
*Day 16 – Tuesday October 10th*
* Snorkeling (guided 1/2 day tour, booked)
* Enjoy beach at resort
**Tokyo**
Day 17 – Wednesday October 11th*
* Quick breakfast at hotel
* Fly from Naha to Tokyo 8 am – 10:20 am
* Transit to hotel (~1h)
* Drop bags at hotel, check in isn’t until 2:00
* Train to Ginza (~35 minutes)
* Lunch – Pokemon Cafe (if we get tickets)
* Explore Ginza
* UNIQLO Ginza store
* Dinner – Ginza Steak (booked)
* Back to hotel in shinjuku
* Gigo Shinjuku Kabukicho Crane Games (or tomorrow)
*Day 18 – Thursday October 12th*
* Transit to Harajuku station (~25 minutes)
* 7-eleven for lunch to take as a picnic to the park
* Yoyogi Park
* Meiji Shrine
* Harajuku/Takeshita Street
* Omotesando street
* Drop stuff we bought off at hotel
* Dinner
* Shibuya Crossing
* Shibuya Parco mall
* Pokemon center
* SHIBUYA109
* Shopping mall
* Shibuya sky. View of the city at night
* Back to hotel in shinjuku
*Day 19 – Friday October 13th*
* Transit to Sunshine City (~35 minutes)
* Sunshine City Mall
* Pokemon Center Mega Tokyo
* Pokemon go lab
* Bandai Namco Cross Store
* Ghibli store here
* Lunch here wherever
* Hotel Pit stop
* Transit from hotel to Nakano Broadway (~20 minutes)
* Nakano Broadway
* Dinner – Nabezo Shibuya Center-gai
*Day 20 – Saturday October 14th*
* Free day – revisit or explore new areas in Tokyo
* Lunch – Kirby Cafe (if we get reservations when they open)
*Day 21 – Sunday October 15th*
* Free day – revisit or explore new areas in Tokyo
* Depart Haneda ~5pm